MASSACHUSETTS STATE COLLEGE GOODELL LIBRARY Ser.3 V35 wrl ' I ill.,.. No. 1, Vol. XXXV.] JANUARY, 1869. Third Series. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE AND MONTHLY JOURNAL OP THE AGRICULTURAL INTEREST. 2Betrwateb TO THE FARMERS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. LONDON : PUBLISHED BY ROGERSON AND TUXFORD, 265, STRAND. PRICE TWO SHILLINGS. ROGERSON AND TUXFORD,] . [PRINTERS, 265, STRAND. IMPORTANT TO FLOCKMASTERS. Tp HOMAS BIGG, Agricultural and Veterinary I Chbmist, by Appointment to His late Royal Highness The Prince Consort, K.G., Leicester House, Great Dover-street, Borough, London, begs to call the attention of Farmers and Graziers to his valuable SHEEP and LAMB DIPPING COM- POSITION, which requires no Boiling, and may be used with Warm or Cold Vater, for effectually destroying the Tick, Lice, and all other insects injurious to the Flock, preventing the alarming attacks of Fly and Shab, and cleansing and purifying the Skin, thereby greatly improving the Wool, both in quantity and quality, and highly contributing to the general health of the animal. Prepared only by Thomas Bigg, Chemist, &c, at his Manufac- tory as above, and sold as follows, although any other quantity may be had, if required : — 41b. for 20 sheep, price, jar included £0 61b. SO 8 1b. 40 10 1b. 50 201b. 100 30 1b. 150 401b. 200 501b. 250 60 1b. 800 801b. 400 100 lb. 500 (cask and measure included) 0 10 0 15 1 0 1 S 1 7 1 17 2 5 Should any Flockmaster prefer boiling the Composition, it will be equally effective. MOST IMPORTANT CERTIFICATE. From Me. Hebapath, the celebrated Analytical Chemist : — Bristol Laboratory, Old Park, Jauuary 18th, 1861. Sir, — I have submitted your Sheep -Dipping Composition to analysis, and find that the ingredients are well blended, and the mixture neutral. If it is used according to the directions given, 1 feel satisfied, that while it effectually destroys vermin, it will not injure the hair roots (or " yolk ") in the skin, the fleece, or the carcase. I think it deserves the numerous testimonials pub- lished; I am, Sir, yours respectfully, William Herapath, Sen., P.C.S., &c, &c, To Mr, Thomas Bigg, Professor of Chemistry. Leicester House, Great Dovev-street, Borough, London. He would also especially call attention to his SPECIFIC, of LOTION, for the SCAB, or SHAB, which will be found a certain remedy for eradicating that loathsome and ruinous disorder in Sheep, and which may be safely used in all climates, and at all seasons of the year, and to all descriptions of sheep, even ewes in lamb. Price FIVE SHILLINGS per gallon— sufficient on an average for thirty Sheep (according to the virulence of the disease); also in wine quart bottles, Is. 3d. each. IMPORTANT TESTIMONIAL. "Scoulton, near Hingham, Norfolk, April 16th, 1855. " Dear Sir, — In answer to yours of the 4th inst, which would have been replied to before this had I been at home, I have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the efficacy of your in- valuable ' Specific for the cure of Scab in Sheep.' The 600 sheep were all dressed in August last with 84 gallons of the ' Ifon Poisonous Specific,' that was so highly recommended at the Lincoln Show, and by their own dresser, the best attention being paid io the flock by my shepherd after dressing according to instructions left; but notwithstanding the Scab continued getting worse. Being determined .to have the Scab cured if possible I wrote to you for a supply of your Specific, which I received the following day ; and although the weather was most severe in February during the dressing, your Specific proved itself an invaluable remedy, for in three weeks the Sheep were quite cured ; and I am happy to say the young lambs are doing remarkably well at present. In conlusion, I believe it to be the safest and best remedy now in use. " I remain, dear Sir, your obedient servant, " For JOHN TINGEY, Esq., " To Mr. Thomas Bigg." " R . RENNE Y |£g" Flockmasters would do well to beware of suck prepara- tions as "Non-poisonous Compositions:" it is only necessary to appeal to their good common sense and judgment to be tho- roughly convinced, that no " Non-poisonous" article can poison or destroy insect vermin, particularly such as the Tick, Lice, and Scab Parasites — creatures so tenacious of life. Such advertised preparations must be wholly useless, or they are not what they are represented to be. Dipping Apparatus r ,»...£ 14, £5, £4,& £S. THE ROYAL FARMERS' INSURANCE COMPANY, 3, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. CAPITAL. — Persons insured by this Company have the security of an extensive and wealthy proprietary, as well as an ample Capital always applicable to the payment of claims without delay. LIFE DEPARTMENT— BONUS— Insurers of the participating class will be entitled to four-fifths of the profits. FIRE DEPARTMENT- 1st Class — Not Hazardous , Is. 6d. per Cent. 2ud Class — Hazardous ... ... ... ... ... 2s. 6d. „ 3rd Class — Doubly Hazardous 4s. 6d. „ BUILDINGS and MERCANTILE Property of every description in Public or Private Warehouses.— Distillers, Steam Engines, Goods in Boats or Canals, Ships in Port or Harbour, &c. &c, are Insured in this Office at moderate rates. SPECIAL RISKS.— At such rates as may be considered reasonable. NEW INSURANCES— No charge made for Policy or Stamp. FARMING STOCK.— 5s. per cent., with liberty to use a Steam Thrashing Machine without extra charge. Nearly FIVE MILLIONS Insured in this Office. LIGHTNING and GAS.— Losses by Fire occasioned by Lightning, and Losses by Explosion of Gas when used for Lighting Buildings will be allowed for. HAIL DEPARTMENT— (Crops and Glass.) -u a PoJic^s to Protect Parties from Loss by the destruction of Growing Crops or Glass, by Hail, are granted on LOSSES.— Prompt and liberal settlements. AGENTS WANTED. Apply to JOHN REDDISH, Secretary and Actuary, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. JANUARY, 1869. CONTENTS. Plate I.— THE LATE MR. JOHN FOWLER. Plate II.— THE BLACK PRINCE; A Prize Cart Stallion ; the property op mr. j. manning, of orlingbury, northamptonshire. Description of the Plates .... Red Clover and Wheat. — ByCuthbert W.Johnson, f.r.s. Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland. Central Chamber of Agriculture The Business of the Chamber of Agriculture . Leeds Fat Cattle Show . Liverpool Fat Cattle Show . West Herts Fat Stock Show .... The Yorkshire Society . The Tredegar Agricultural Show The Keep of Cart Horses . The Opening of the Metropolitan Meat and Poultry Market The Cattle-plague Rate in Cheshire . Shorthorns and Ayrshires ...» Farm-yard Dung the Foundation of All Successful Farming The Growth of Seed for Root Crops . Restoring Exhausted Land .... Rutland Agricultural Society The Birmingham and Midland Counties Cattle Show Disqualification of Lord Radnor's Pigs at Birmingham The Birmingham and Midland Counties Cattle Show The Hellidon Sale of Shorthorns The Forcing Power of Rain. The Means of Increasing the Home Production of Animal Food Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland The Reigate Fat Stock Show .... Abingdon Fat Cattle Show .... Basingstoke Root Show . Botley Root Show and Dinner The Birkshire Root Show .... The New Farm ..... The Winter Managemeet of Sheep A Hamlet in Sussex ..... Prime Scots ...... Palm Nut Meal . . . . The Story of the Seed .... Royal Agricultural Society of England The Smithfield Club Show .... The Annual Meeting of the Smithfield Club The Luncheon . The Smithfield Show Week . The Great Christmas Cattle Market The Central Farmers' Club.— The Influnce of Railways upon Agriculture The Annual Dinner .... The General Meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society Staffordshire Chamber of Agriculture Calendar of Agriculture . Calendar of Gardening .... Bath and West of England Society and Southern Counties Association West of England Fat Stock Show at Plymouth The Chippenham Agricultural Society Agricultural Reports .... Review of the Corn Trade during the past Month Market Currencies, Imperial Averagks, &c. page. l, 2 3 6 9 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 26 27 33 33 34 35 36 37 38 38 39 39 39 40 41 42 43 44 44 45 56 70 72 73 75 76 84 87 88 89 90 91 92 92 93 94 96 ROGERSON&.TUXFOKD'S AGRICULTURAL WORKS. PRICE ONE SHILLING EACH, Neathj Bound in Foolscap Octavo, EACH VOLUME CONTAINING from 130 to 190 PAGES OF LETTERPRESS, RICHARDSOFS EUML HAID-BOOKS. WHEAT : ITS HISTORY, CHARAC- TERISTICS, CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, and NUTRITIVE PROPERTIES. By "The Old Norfolk Parmeb," Author of " Agriculture, Ancient and Modern," &c, &c. THE AGRICULTURIST'S WEATHER- GUIDE AND MANUAL OF METEOROLOGY. By Henry C. Creswick, Assistant Observer in the Magnetical and Meteorological Department of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, Author of several papers on Meteorology. FLAX: ITS CULTIVATION AND PRE- PARATION, and BEST MODE OF CON- VERSION.—By James Ward, Author of "The World and its Workshops," &c. Till. RURAL ARCHITECTURE: a SERIES OF DESIGNS FOR RURAL AND OTHER DWELLINGS. The Ground Plans, Elevations, and Specifications by James Sanderson, Burgh Engineers' Office, Liverpool. THE AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTOR: or, YOUNG FARMER'S CLASS BOOK.— By Edmund Murphy, A.B. VI. DOMESTIC FOWL: THEIR NATURAL HISTORY, BREEDING, AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT. HORSES: THEIR VARIETIES, BREED- ING, AND MANAGEMENT.— Edited by M. M. MlLBURN. D OGS: THEIR ORIGIN AND VA- RIETIES. UGS: THEIR ORIGIN AND VARIE- TIES. THE FLOWER GARDEN.— By George Glenny, F.L.S., Author of "Properties of Flowers," &c. COWS AND DAIRY HUSBANDRY.— By M. M. Milburn, Author of "The Sheep," &c. The Dairy Department Revised by T. Horsfall. SHEEP AND SHEPHERDING : embrac- ing the History, Varieties, Rearing, Feeding, and General Management of Sheep ; with Treatises on Australian Sheep Farming, the Spanish and Saxon Merinos, &c. By M. M. Milburn, Author of " The Cow," and various Agricultural Prize Essays. THE HIVE AND THE HONEY BEE. xrv. >ESTS OF THE FARM. A New Edition. By M. M. Milburn, Author of " The Sheep,", &c. LAND DRAINAGE, EMBANKMENT, AND IRRIGATION.— By James Donald, Civil Engineer, Derby. SOILS AND MANURES, with INSTRUC- TIONS FOR THEIR IMPROVEMENT.— By John Donaldson, Government Land Drainage Sur- veyor. In the Press, m conUnuaUon of the same Series, THE IMPLEMENTS OF THE FARM. — By R. Scott Burn, C.E. THE POTATO: ITS HISTORY, CUL- TURE, AND NATIONAL IMPORTANCE.— By S: Copland. London: Houlston & Wright, 65, Paternoster Row ; Rogerson & Tuxford, 246, Strand, W.C. Dublin : J. McGlashan, Upper Sackville Street. And all Booksellers. ROGERSON & TUXFORD,] [PRINTERS, 246, STRAND. X - ■Si & ,• , >maH..af Zeeds. ■ \i6lished. by Hogrerson &■ TwzfbrcL.266. Strand 1369. c / THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. JANUARY, 1SG9. PLATE I. THE LATE MR. JOHN FOWLER. John Fowler, of a Quaker family, was boru at Melksham, Wiltshire, on 11th July, 1826. He was at first engaged in the corn trade, but in 1S17 entered the engineering works of Messrs. Gilkes Wilson and Co., of Middlesbrough. When in Ire- land in 1849 he was impressed with the great necessity that existed for drainage in reclaiming the waste lands of that country, and conceived the idea that some mechanical system for executing drainage work could be introduced, by which the great ex- pense of manual labour might be avoided. Accord- ingly, in the following year, he joined Mr. Albert Fry in some works at Bristol for this purpose, and commenced experiments which resulted in the successful completion of the draining plough. Al- though horse-power was at first used for these draining ploughs, a very short time elapsed before steam was successfully applied to them ; and Mr. Fowler,^ finding that he was then able to lay clay drainage pipes at any required depth, entered into large draining contracts in the south of England, to which he devoted himself for about five years. this subject ; the success which attended the appli- cation of steam-power to draining machinery leading him to the idea of applying the same power to the cultivation of land. A series of experiments which he conducted at Ipswich in 185G convinced him that this idea was practicable ; and he ultimately exhi- bited a set of steam ploughing machinery at the Chester Meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society in 1S58, which gained the £500 prize. Mr. Fowler's indomitable energy enabled him to sur- mount all obstacles, and the practical applica- tion of steam power to agriculture became gradually so much extended, both in England and on the Continent, that in 1861, in conjunction with the late Mr. Hewitson and Mr. Kitson, he established works in Leeds specially devoted to the manufacture of these implements. The works were subsequently extended and carried on by Mr. Fowler up to the time of his death in conjunction with his brother Mr. Robert Fowler. He died on 4th December, 18643 from the results of an accident, at the early age of thirty-eight. The following is a list of prizes gained by Fowler's Patent Steam Cultivating Machinery: — During this time he was also studying the application of steam-power to the cultivation of the soil, and from 1852 his attention was constantly directed to The Gold Medal, at the French Agricultural Exhibition in 1856. The Highland Society's Prize, at Stirling, October, 1857 .C200 The Royal Agricultural Society's Prize, at the Chester Meeting, in July, 1858 500 The Yorkshire Agricultural Society's Prize, at Northallerton, August, 1858 50 Lord Bolton's Prize, at Northallerton, August, 1858 25 The Royal Agricultural Improvement Society of Ireland's Prize at Londonderry, August, 1858 50 The Scotch Farmers' Prize, at Stirling, October, 1858 50 The Royal Agricultural Society's Prize, at Warwick, July, 1859 50 The Kent Agricultural Society's Prize, at Ashford, August, 1859 50 The Royal Agricultural Society's Prize, at Canterbuiy, July, 18(30 90 The Yorkshire Agricultural Society's Prize, at Pontefract, August, 1860 50 The Royal Agricultural Society's Prize, at Leeds, July, 1861 100 The Royal Agricultural Society's Prize, at Leeds, July, 1861. (for the best set of Apparatus to bo worked by ordinary Portable Engines) 75 The Northamptonshire Agricultural Society's Prize, at Northampton, September, 1861 30 The Gold Medal, at the General Meeting of the German Agriculturists and Foresters, held at Schwerin, Mecklenburg- Sch werin, August, 1861. The Gold Medal, at the Meeting of the Ayrshire Agricultural Society, held at Ayr, April, 1862. The Prize Medal, at the International Exhibition, in London, May, 1862. The Northamptonshire Agricultural Society's Prize, at Stamford, July, 1862, for the best Plough 30 Ditto Ditto Ditto for the best Scarinei' 30 Old Series.} (Yoi,. LXV.— No. 1. 2 THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. The Sparkenhoe Agricultural Society's Prize, at Leicester, September, 1862 JB 40 The Premium of 5,000 dollars, given by the Colony of British Guiana, for the best application of Steam Power to the cultivation of the soil 1050 The Eoyal Agricultural Society's Gold Medal and First Prize, at Worcester, August, 1863 30 The Eoyal Agricultural Society's Prize, at Worcester, August, 1863, for the best application of the ordinary Portable Engine 25 The Hamburg International Agricultural Society's First Prize 105 The Yorkshire Agricultural Society's Prize, at Stockton, August, 1863 50 The Yorkshire Agricultural Society's Prize, at Stockton, August, 1863, for the best application of the ordinary Portable Engine 50 The North Lincolnshire Agricultural Society's Prize, at Boston, August, 1863, for the best system of Steam Cultivation 20 The Gloucestershire Agricultural Society's Prize, at Cirencester, August, 1863, for the best application of an 8-Horse Power Engine 10 The Northamptonshire Agricultural Society's Prize, at Kettering, September, 1863, for the best Steam Plough 20 The Northamptonshire Agricultural Society's Prize, at Kettering, September, 1863, for the best Steam Cultivator 20 The Manchester and Liverpool Agricultural Society's Prize, at Birkenhead, September, 1863 50 The Bengal Agricultural Society's Prize, at Alipore, Calcutta, January, 1864, for the best Steam Cultivating Apparatus, 500 rupees 50 Ditto Ditto for the best Double Cylinder Engine, 200 rupees 20 Ditto Ditto Silver Medal for the best Steam Plough. The Boyal Agricultural Society's First Prize, at Newcastle, July, 1864, for the best application of Steam Power for the Cultivation of the Soil 100 Ditto Second Prize, at Newcastle, July, 1864, for the best application of Steam Power for the Cultivation of the Soil 50 Ditto First Prize, at Newcastle, July, 1864, for the best application of Steam Power adapted for Small Occupations t 50 Ditto First Prize, at Newcastle, July, 1864, for the best Steam Plough 20 Ditto First Prize, at Newcastle, July, 1864, for the best Steam Cultivator 17 10s. Ditto First Prize, at Newcastle, July, 1864, for the best Windlass for Steam Power 15 Ditto First Prize, at Newcastle, July, 1864, for the best Anchor for Steam Power 20 The Lincolnshire Agricultural Society's First Prize, at Gainsbro', August, 1864 30 Ditto Second Prize at Gainsbro' 10 The Gold Medal as Prize of Honour of the Pomeranian Agricultural Society, at the Universal Exhibition at Stettin, May, 1865. The Prize of 500 Thalers for the best Steam Plough, at Ditto 75 The Prize of 150 Frdks. D'or, at the International Exhibition, at Cologne, for the Steam Plough, June, 1865 12710s. The Prize of 500 Thalers for the Best Traction Engine at Ditto 75 The Silver Medal and Three Pounds for an 8-Horse Power set of Steam Cultivating Machinery, at tho Oldham Meeting of the Manchester and Liverpool Agricultural Society, August, 1865. The Gold Medal, at the Meeting of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, at Doncaster, August, 1865. The Gold Medal, at the French Universal Exhibition, August, 1867. The Silver Medal, at the Yorkshire Agricultural Society's Meeting, at Thirsk, August, 1867. The Louisiana (U.S.) State Fan- Premium Diploma and First Prize, February, 1868, for the best Traction or Locomotive Steam Engine for Farm or Plantation use, adapted to all purposes 250 dols. Ditto Premium Diploma and First Prize, for the best practical working arrangement of Gang Ploughs, for breaking up and preparing ground for planting, to be drawn by Steam Power 50 dols. The Gold Cup, offered by his Highness the Viceroy of Egypt, at the Royal Agricultural Society's Meeting at Leicester, July, 186S, for the best Implement for the Cultivation of the Soil by Steam Power, combining strength with simplicity of construction, for use in Foreign Countries, where & skilled labour for repairs is difficult to be procured Value 200 The Boyal Agricultural Society's First Prize, at Leicester, July, 1868, for the best Double Set of Steam Cultivating Apparatus 100 Ditto Second Prize, at Leicester, July, 1868, for the best Single Set of Steam Cultivating Apparatus 25 Ditto Second Prize, at Leicester, July, 1868, for the best Single Set of Steam Cultivating Apparatus (8-Horse Power Engine) , 25 Ditto First Prize, at Leicester, July, 1868, for the best 4-Furrow Balance Plough. V.-V.V.V.V.V-V.V..V.V.V 12 Ditto First Prize, at Leicester, July, 1868, for the best 7-Tine Balance Cultivator 12 Ditto First Prize, at Leicester, July, 1868, for the best Light Land Cultivator 15 Ditto First Prize, at Leicester, July, 1868, for the best Frame for Harrows, Rollers, &c 8 Ditto First Prize, at Leicester, July, 1868, for the best Disc Travelling Anchor 10 Ditto First Prize, at Leicester, July, 1868, for the best Double Drum Windlas on Engine 8 JJitto First Prize, at Leicester, July, 1868, for the best Clip-Drum Windlass on Engine 8 ±ne Silver Medal, at the Yorkshire Agricultural Society's Meeting at Wetherby, August, 1868. Beyond its rapidly extending use in Great Britain, America, New Zealand,° Australia, India, Java, v°J^l % i m p gh haf bf'a s£nt t0 Russia' An«gia, one going to China, Cuba, Barbadoes, Trance, Turkey, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Porto Rica, and Natal. Argentine Republic, Spam, South and North THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, PLATE II. THE BLACK PRINCE: a Prize Cart Stallion. THE PROPERTY OP MR. J. MANNING, OF ORLINGBURY, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. The Black Prince, bred in 1861, is by Mr. Manning's celebrated horse Sampson, a winner of more prizes than any other cart stallion in England, out of a brown Shire mare. The Black Prince stands over seventeen hands high, upon good clean legs and feet, while he com- bines great power with fine action, being a very smart stepper. During his career in public he has taken the following Open to All premiums : — England In 186 i tlio Northamptonshire Agricultural Society's Second Prize £5 0 Iu 1864 the Leicestershke Agricultural Society's Second Prize 5 0 In 1865 the Northamptonshire Agricultural Society's First Prize 10 0 In 1865 the Leicestershire Agricultural Society's Second Prize 5 0 In 1865 the Bedfordshire Agricultural Society's First Prize 10 10 In 1866 the Huntingdonshire Agricultural Society's First Prize 15 0 In 1866 the Leicestershire Agricultural Society's First Prize 10 0 In 1867 the Northamptonshire Agricultural Society's First Prize 10 0 In 1867 the Peterborough Agricultural Society's First Prize 10 0 In 1868 the Northamptonshire Agricultural Society's First Prize 10 0 In 1868 the Peterborough Agricultural Society's First Prize 10 0 We have ourselves had Black Prince before us in the ring at an early date in his history, when he took his usual first, and when we find we pronounced £100 10 him "a colt with good looks, light action, and plenty of promise." RED CLOVER AND WHEAT, BY CUTHBERT W. JOHNSON, P.R.S. The value of red clover as a preparatory crop for wheat is well known to the agiiculturist. The reason for this has, however, never been clearly ascertained. It is very true that other green crops have been successfully intro- duced into our rotations ; but then these have been com- monly fed off by sheep. Other crops, such as rape, buck- wheat or mustard, plants which derive the chief portion of their purely organic matters from the atmosphere, have long been grown, to be either fed off, or ploughed into the soil. But here we appear to understand the chemistry of the operation, since a large amount of carbon is absorbed by the crop from the atmosphere, and added to the soil. But, in these cases, the cultivator is careful to feed off or plough in his crop before it has ripened its seed. He uses the crop just when it is coming into flower. But these facts do not apply in explanation of the beneficial effects produced on the soil by the growth of red clover. In commencing a recently published very valuable report on this subject, Professor Voelcker observes {Jour. Roy. Ay. Soc, vol. iv, p. 397, N.S.), "The heaviest crops of clover removed from the soil, appear to render it more capable of yielding a good crop of wheat. The addition of even powerful saline manures to such clover leys, seems to hardly improve the subsequent wheat crop." To refer to only one series of experiments, with these saline dressings, carefully conducted at Rothamsted (ibid, vol. xxi. p. 182^. In this case the produce of wheat grown after red clover, which had been cut three times, was nearly as great without any manure as when portions of the same clover-ley were dressed with various fertilizers. Thus, the produce of wheat per acre was : Bush. Pecks. Prom the unmanured land 29 2 „ superphosphate of lime (150 lbs. bone- ash, 112 lbs. sulphuric acid) 32 2J „ 300 lbs. sulphate of potash 30 \\ „ 300 lbs. sulphate of potash and super - phate of hrae 33 „ Mixed alkalies : 300 lbs. sulphate of pot- ash, 100 lbs. sulphate of soda, 100 lbs. sulphate of magnesia 31 ., Mixed alkalies ami superphosphate of lime 33 34 Various, indeed, have been the attempts to explain the phenomena observed in the cultivation of red clover. Robert Baker, of Writtle, in his prize report upon the agriculture of Essex {ibid, vol. v., pp. 4 and 30), remarked, " Clover is grown only once in six or eight years, for if sown oftener it is apt to fail in plant ; and even when in plant it is not very productive, unless7 highly manured, which is done upon the young plants in autumn ; in that case it is mostly afterwards mown, but the usual practice is to feed with sheep through the summer, or to feed close until 1st June, when the stock is removed, and the clover is reserved for seed, producing from four to eight bushels per acre. Wheat generally succeeds it, but not so well as when the clover is mown for hay, the late period of sowing giving opportunity to the slug, which frequently destroys the plant of wheat." Then, again, Mr. C. Sewell Read, in his prize report on the farming of Oxfordshire, observes {ibid, vol. xv. p. 215), "One-eighth of the land is sown with broad or red clover. Its return only once in eight years does not, on light soils, guarantee a crop ; and to ensure a plant some excellent farmers drill the seed instead of sowing it. The clover is deposited with a Suffolk drill, having the turnip-seed barrel, the coulters being six inches. It is best done across the barley when it is up, and is afterwards rolled in. On most soils the clover is sown alone, without any mixture of rye-grass, and from 12 to 20 lbs. of seed are used per acre. Better crops of wheat are frequently grown after the clover has been twice mown. The clover roots increase in size much more than when fed, and so afford greater nourishments the wheat." Voelcker further observes {Jour. Roy. Ay. Soc., vol, iv., N.S., p. 397) : "|Whilst it holds good as a general rulejthat no soil can be cropped for any length of time without gradually becoming more and more infertile, if no manure be applied to it, or if the fertilising elements removed by the crops grown thereon be not by some means or other- restored, it is nevertheless a fact that after a heavy crop of clover carried off as hay, the land, far from being less fertile than before, is peculiarly well adapted, even without the addition of manure, to bear a good crop of wheat in THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the following year, provided the season be favourable to its growth. This fact, indeed, is so well known that many farmers justly regard the growth of clover as one of the best preparatory operations which the land can undergo in order to its producing an abundant crop of wheat in the following year. It has further been noticed that clover mown twice leaves the land in a better condi- tion as regards its wheat-producing capabilities, than when mown once only for hay, and the second crop fed off on the land by sheep ; for notwithstanding that in the latter instance the fertilizing elements in the clover-crop are in part restored in the sheep excrements, yet contrary to expectation, this partial restoration of the elements of fertility to the land has not the effect of producing more or better wheat in the following year than is reaped on land from off which the whole clover crop has been car- ried, and to which no manure whatever has been applied. Again, in the opinion of several good practical agricul- turists with whom I have conversed on the subject, land whereon clover has been grown for seed in the preceding year, yields a better crop of wheat than it does when the clover is mown twice for hay, or even only once, and af- terwards fed off by sheep. Most crops left for seed, I need hardly observe, exhaust the land far more than they do when they are cut down at an earlier stage of their growth ; hence the binding clauses in most farm leases which compel the tenant not to grow corn crops more frequently nor to a greater extent than stipulated. How- ever, in the case of clover grown for seed we have, ac- cording to the testimony of trustworthy witnesses, an exception to a law generally applicable to most other crops." The elaborate investigations of the Professor are well worthy of the careful study of the agriculturist, since they materially tend to the elucidation of a very material diffi- culty. The result of these lone-continued labours rather inclines to the conclusion that it is the large amount of nitrogen, accumulated in the soil by the clover plant, that renders it afterwards so well adapted for the growth of wheat, and that the explanation of the phenomenon must not be sought in the amount of mineral matters required by either the clover or the wheat. This conclusion might, perhaps, have been anticipated by the fact well known to the agriculturist, that nitro- genous manures are commonly far more beneficial to wheat than those of a mineral or saline nature ; and hence also we are led to strongly incline to the opinion that the clover plant possesses a power of assimilating nitrogen from another source than from the soil. I can only give in this paper a brief quotation or two, explanatory of the results obtained by the Professor, re- ferring the reader to the last published number of the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society for far more complete and valuable details. The first question to be decided was the amount of mineral matters abstracted from the soil by the wheat and clover crops, and thus ascertain if the explanation of the mystery was to be found in the result of the analysis. On this considerable branch of the inquiry the Professor remarks (ibid, p. 399) : "By those taking a superficial view of the subject, it may be suggested that any injury likely to be caused by the re- moval of a certain amount of fertilising matter is altogether insignificant, and more than compensated for by the bene- fit which results from the abundant growth of clover- roots and the physical improvement in the soil which takes place in their decomposition. Looking, however, more closely into the matter, it will be found that in a good crop of clover-hay a very considerable amount of both mineral and organic substances is carried off the land, and that if the total amount of such constituents in a crop had to be regarded exclusively as the measure for deter- mining the relative degrees in which different farm- crops exhaust the land, clover would have to be described as about the most exhausting crop in the entire rotation. " Clover-hay on an average and in round numbers con- tains in 100 parts — Water 17'0 *Nitrogenous substances (flesh-forming matters) ... 15-6 Non-nitrogenous compounds ... ... ... 59'9 Mineral matter (ash) 7'5 * Containing nitrogen 100-0 2-5 "The mineral portion or ash in 100 parts of clover-hay consists of — Phosphoric acid 7'6 Sulphuric acid 4-3 Carbonic acid ... ... ... ... ... 18-0 Silica 3-0 Lime 30-0 Magnesia ... ... ... ... ... ... 8-5 Potash 20-0 Soda, chloride of sodium, oxide of iron, sand, loss, &c. 87 100-0 " Let us suppose the land to have yielded4 tons of clover- hay per acre. According to the preceding data we find that such a crop includes 224 lbs. of nitrogen, equal to 272 lbs. of ammonia, and 672 lbs. of mineral matter or ash consituents. " In 672 lbs. of clover-ash we find — Phosphoric acid ... ... ... ... 51^ lbs. Sulphuric acid 29 „ Carbonic acid 121 „ Silica 20 „ Lime 201 „ Magnesia ... ... ... ... ... 57 „ Potash 134£ „ Soda, chloride of sodium, oxide of iron, sand, &c. 58 672 lbs. "Pour tons of clover-hay, the produce of one acre, thus contain a large amount of nitrogen, and remove from the soil an enormous quantity of mineral matters, abounding in lime and potash, and containing also a good deal of phosphoric acid. "Leaving for a moment the question untouched whe- ther the nitrogen contained in the clover is derived from the soil or from the atmosphere, or partly from the one and partly from the other, no question can arise as to the original source from which the mineral matters in the clover produce is derived. In relation, therefore, to the ash-constituents, clover must be regarded as one of the most exhausting crops usually cultivated in this country. This appears strikingly to be the case when we compare the preceding figures with the quantity of mineral matters which an average crop of wheat removes from an acre of land. " The grain and straw of wheat contain in round numbers in 100 parts : — Grain of Wheat. Straw. Water 150 ... 16'0 *Nitrogeuous substances (flesh forming matters) 11-1 ... 4-0 Non-nitrogenous substances ... ... 72-2 ... 74-9 Mineral matter (ash) 17 ... 5-1 100-0 * Containing nitrogen ... ... 1'78 V The ash of wheat contains in 100 parts :■ 100-0 •64 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Gram. Straw. Phosphoric acid 50-0 .. 5-0 Sulphuric acid 0-5 .. 2-7 Carbonic acid Silica 2-5 '.'. • 6?'9 Lime 3-5 .. 5-5 Magnesia ... 11-5 .. 2-0 Potash 30-0 .. . 13-0 Soda, chloride of sodium, oxide of iron, sand, &c. ... 2-0 .. 4-8 100-0 100-0 " The mean produce of wheat per acre may be estimated at 25 bushels, which at 601bs. per bushel, gives l,5001bs. ; and as the weight of the straw is generally twice that of the grain, its produce will be 3,0001bs. According, there- fore, to the preceding data, there will be carried away from the soil : — In 1,500 lbs. of the grain ... 25 lb. of mineral food (in round numbers). In 3,000 lbs. of the straw... 150 „ „ „ Total 175 lbs. " On the average of the analyses, it will be found that the composition of these 1751bs. is as follows : — In the grain. In the straw. Total. Phosphoric acid 12.5 lbs. 7-5 lbs. 20-0 lbs Sulphuric acid 0-1 „ 4-0 „ *-l „ Carbonic acid — — Silica ... 0-6 „ 100-5 „ 101-1 „ Lime ... 0-9 „ 8-2 „ 9-1 „ Magnesia 2-9 „ 3-0 „ 5.9 „ Potash 7-5 „ 19-5 „ 27-0 „ Sado, chloride of so- dium, oxide of iron, sand, &c. ... 0-5 „ 7-3 „ 7-8 „ 25 lbs. 150 lbs. 175 lbs. " The total quantity of ash-constituents carried off the land in an average crop of wheat thus amounts to only 175 lbs. per acre, whilst a good crop of clover removes as much as 672 lbs. " Nearly two-thirds of the total amount of mineral in the grain and straw of one acre of wheat consists of silica, of which there is an ample supply in almost every soil. The restoration of silica, therefore, need not trouble us in any way, especially as there is not a single instance on record proving that silica, even in a soluable condi- tion, has ever been applied to land with the slightest advantage to corn or grass crops, which are rich in silica, and which, for this reason, may be assumed to be parti- cularly grateful for a supply of it in a soluble state. Silica, indeed, if at all capable of producing a beneficial effect, ought to be useful to these crops, either by strengthening the straw or stems of graminaceous plants, or otherwise benefiting them ; but after deducting the amount of silica from the total amount of mineral matters in the wheat produce from one acre, only a trifling quantity of other and more valuable fertilising ash-constituent of plants will be left. On comparing the relative amounts of phosphoric acid and potash in an average crop of wheat and a good crop of clover-hay, it will be seen that one acre of clover-hay contains as much phosphoric acid as 2£ acres of wheat, and as much potash as the produce from five acres of the same crop. Clover thus unquestionably removes from the land very much more mineral matter than is done by wheat ; wheat carries off the land at least three times as much more valuable mineral constituents as that abstracted by the clover. Wheat notwithstanding succeeds remarkably well after clover. " Four tons of clover-hay, or the produce of an acre, contains, as already stated, 224 lbs. of nitrogen, or, cal- culated as ammonia, 272 lbs. "Assuming the grain of wheat to furnish 1*78 per cent, of nitrogen, and wheat-straw 0'64 per cent., and assum- ing also that 1,500 lbs. of corn and 3,000 lbs. of straw represent the average produce per acre, there will be in the grain of wheat per acre 26'7 lbs. of nitrogen, and in the straw 19-2 lbs., or in both together 46 lbs. of nitrogen ; in round numbers, equal to about 55 lbs. of ammonia, which is only about one-fifth the quantity of nitrogen in the produce of an acre of clover. Wheat, it is well known, is specially benefited by the application of nitro- genous manures, and as clover carries off so large a quantity of nitrogen, it is natural to expect the yield of wheat after clover to fall short of what the land might be presumed to produce without manure before a crop of clover was taken from it. Experience, however, has proved the fallacy of this presumption, for the result is exactly the opposite, inasmuch as a better and heavier crop of wheat is produced than without the intercalation of clover. What, >t may be asked, is the explanation of this apparent anomaly ?" After adducing various analogous facts, the Professor adds {ibid, p. 404) : " Taking all these circumstances into account, is there not presumptive evidence that, notwith- standing the removal of a large amount of nitrogen in the clover-hay, an abundant store of available nitrogen is left in the soil, and also that in its relations towards nitrogen in the soil, clover differs essentially from wheat ? The results of our experience in the growth of the two crops appear to iudicate that whereas the growth of the wheat rapidly exhausts the land of its available nitrogen, that of clover, on the contrary, tends somehow or other to accumulate nitrogen within the soil itself. If this can be shown to be the case, an intelligible explanation of the fact that clover is so useful as a preparatory crop for wheat will be found in the circumstance that, during the growth of clover, nitrogenous food, for which wheat is particularly grateful, is either stored up or rendered avail- able in the soil." After detailing the results of some most valuable examinations of the composition of a soil on which the clover had been twice mown, and of the same soil on which the clover had been once mown, and then grown for seed, he continues {ibid, p. 418) : " The total amount of nitrogen accumulated, especially in the surface-sail, when clover is grown for seeds, ex- plains intelligibly, as it appears to me, why wheat, as stated by many practical men, succeeds better on land where clover is grown for seed than where it is mown for hay. " All the three layers of the soil after clover-seed are richer in nitrogen than the same sections of the soil where the clover was twice mown, as will be seen by the follow- ing comparative statement of results : Percentage of nitrogen in dried soil ... Equal to am- monia I. Clover-soil twice Mown. II. Clover-soil once Mown, and then left for Seed. Upper 6 inch. 2nd 6 inch. 3rd 6 inch. Upper 6 inch. Next 6 inch. Lowest 6 inch. •168 •198 •092 •112 •064 •078 •189 •229 •134 •162 •089 •108 " This difference in the amount of accumulated nitrogen iu clover-land appears still more strikingly on comparing the total amounts of nitrogen per acre in the different sec- tions of the two portions of the 11 -acre fields : THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 1st 2nd 3rd Percentage of nitrogen per 6 inches. 6 inches. 6 inches, acre : lbs. lbs. lbs. *L In soil, clover twice over 3350 ... 1875 ... 1325 fl. In soil, clover once mown and seeded afterwards... 4/725 ... 3350 ... 2225 Equal to ammonia : *I. Clover twice mown 4050 ... 2275 ... 1600 fll. Clover seeded 5725 ... 4050 ... 2700 I. Nitrogen iD roots of clover twice mown 24£ II. Nitrogen in clover, once mown and grown for seed afterwards 51J I. Weight of dry roots per acre from Soil 1 1493J II. Weight of dry roots per acre from Soil II 3622 *Total amount of nitrogen in 1 acre 12in. deep of Soil I. 5249| •j-Total amount of nitrogen in 1 acre 12 inches deep of Soil II 81261 *Equal to ammonia 6374J fEuual to ammonia 9867 Excess of nitrogen in an acre of soil 12 inches deep calculated as ammonia in part of field mown once and then seeded 3592^ " It will be seen that not only was the amount of large clover-roots greater in the part where clover was grown for seed, but that likewise the different layers of soil were in every instance richer in nitrogen after clover-seed than after clover mown twice for hay." The results at which the Professor, at the conclusion of his paper, arrives are as follows {ibid. p. 422) : 1. A good crop of clover removes from the soil more potash, phosphoric acid, lime, and other mineral matters, which enter into the composition of the ashes of our cul- tivated crops, than any other crop usually grown in this country. 2. There is fully three times as much nitrogen iua crop of clover as in the average produce of the grain and straw of wheat per acre. 3. Notwithstanding the large amount of nitrogenous matter and of ash constituents of plants in the produce of an acre, clover is an excellent preparatory crop for wheat. 4. During the growth of clover a large amount of nitro- genous matter accumulates in the soil. 5. This accumulation, which is greatest in the surface-soil, is due to decaying leaves dropped during the growth of clover, and lo an abundance of roots contain- ing when dry from If to 2 per cent, of nitrogen. 6. The clover-roots are stronger and more numerous, and more leaves fall on the ground when clover is grown for seed, than when it is mown for hay ; in consequence more nitrogen is left after clover-seed than after hay, which accounts for wheat yielding a better crop after clover-seed than after hay. 7. The development of roots being checked when the produce, in a green condition, is fed off by sheep, in all probability leaves still less nitrogenous matter in the soil than when clover is allowed to get riper, and is mown for hay; thus, no doubt, accounting for the obser- vation made by practical men that, notwithstanding the return of the produce in the sheep excrements, wheat is generally stronger and yields better after clover mown for hay, than when the clover is fed off green by sheep. 8. The nitrogenous matters in the clover-remains on their gradual decay are finally transformed into nitrates, thus affording a continuous source of food, on which cereal crops specially delight to grow. 9. There is strong presumptive evidence that the nitro- gen which exists in the air in the shape of ammonia and nitric acid, and descends in these combinations with the rain which falls on the ground, satisfies, under ordinary cirumstances, the requirements of the clover-crop. This crop causes a large accumulation of nitrogenous matters, which arc gradually changed in the soil into nitrates. The atmosphere thus furnishes nitrogenous food to the suc- ceeding wheat indirectly, and, so to say, gratis. , 10. Clover not only provides abundance of nitrogenous food, but delivers this food in a readily available form (as nitrates) more gradually and continuously, and conse- quently with more certainty of a good result, than such food can be applied to the land in the shape of nitrogenous spring top-dressings. These examinations I have already commended to the careful study of the reader. They are not only valuable in tending to elucidate one of our great agricultural mys- ^ teries, but they are equally so as leading to other im- portant reflections and researches. The very considerable amount of nitrogen found in the soil, at a depth far be- low that to which the plough commonly extends, indi- cates a fresh reason for the advantages of deep and fre- quent stirrings of the soil ; and, again, the amount of nitrogenous matter added to the soil by the growth of clover will naturally tend to revive the inquiry whether the ammonia and the nitric acid found in minute propor- tions in our atmosphere are the only sources from whence that increase of nitrogen to the soil and our crops is obtained. ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF IRELAND. The monthly meeting of the council of this Society was held in Upper Sackville-street, Dublin ; Sir George Hodson, Bart., in the chair. The other members present were — Lord Talbot de Malahide, Lord Clonbrock, Hon. Bowes Daly, Hon. Charles J. Trench, Sir Allen Walsh, Bart., Sir Robert Paul, Bart., Sir Richard Musgrave, Bart., Lieutenant-General Hall, C.B., Hans H. Woods, D.L., Charles Colthurst Vesey, Dawson A. Millward,Rev. R. W. Bagot, Joseph Kincaid, J.M. Royse.C. U. Townsend, Phineas Ryall, Robert Wade, John Bolton Massey, J. P. Byrne, Richard Chaloner, John La Touche, William Donnelly, C.B., William Petherstone H., Laurence Waldron, D.L., and^H. J. MacParlane, J.P. The minutes of the former meetings were read and approved of. It was agreed unanimously to ask Lord Ventry to accept the office of President for 1869. The vice-presidents were re-elected for the several provinces, Lord De Vesci being appointed in the room of Mr. Naper, deceased. The Chairman said the members of the council were aware that an application had been granted for an extension of time to those competing for the prize offered by his Grace the Duke of Abercom for the best plan for labourers' cottages. Since then they had received thirty-three new designs. The committee did not go back on any of the old ones, but found amongst those sent in there were several which possessed great merit. They reduced them to three, and then they selected the best of those three, which were then hung round the room, and they had agreed to a report, which was as follows: — " Your council, appointed to consider the designs of labourers' cottages, submitted in competition for the pri/.e offered by his Grace the Duke of Abercom, beg to report that THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. since the extension of time accorded to competitors they have received and examined thirty-two new designs, and that, alter proper deliberation, they have selected as the best of such that marked ' Experientia,' sent in by Mr. Mallison. Your committee are of opinion that convenience and economy have been attended to in this design, and they observe that, by a simple and inexpensive arrangement, accommodation can be provided for a small or large family, according to requirement. " George Hodson, Bart., Chairman." Sir Allen Walsh moved the adoption of the report, which was seconded by M"r. Ryall, and adopted. The draft report to the society at large was prepared. Sir John Barrington, D.L., James Robertson, and Mr. Richard W. Morgan, steward and assistant secretary, attended as a deputation from the green crop committee, to submit the award of judges for the approval of council. The awards were as follows : — Turnip Competition, 1868. — The judges now beg to hand the following report to the committee : " They consider the turnip crop throughout Ireland very good, and in Mr, Hutchinson s opinion, who was adjudicating on the turnip crops four years ago, they are much improved as regards the cultivation since that period, which is, no doubt, to be attributed to the example set by exhibitors for some years back. This is particularly remarkable as regards the larger and smaller classes of tenant farmers, who have on this occasion exhibited that degree of careful cultivation, not only as regards the turnip crop, but the general management of their farms, which it is only doing them justice to express our unqualified approval of ; and not to be considered invidious, we are reluc- tantly obliged to withhold the names of many. The soil of Ireland in general is well adapted for growing turnips. We recommend the farm-yard manure to be applied, if practicable, in autumn, and the artificial mannre when the seed is de- posited in spring. Any farm-yard manure made in summer, or at any other season, when storing, should be covered six inches deep all over with soil or peat. We observed much waste of valuable manure through neglect. The turnip drills should be, twenty-eight inches, and the plants fourteen inches apart. We consider the turnip crops we examined fully as well culti- vated as the crops generally are in either England or Scotland. We have observed in some instances what is termed ' fin^er-and-toe,' and as a remedy and preventive recommend the application of lime and deep cultivation." Green Crop Committee, 1868. — Turnip Competition : Judges' award — For the best ten stutute acres of swede turnips — 1st prize, £50, Allan Pollok, Skahard, Co. Calway ; 2nd, £30, James Simson, Cloona Castle, Hollymount, Co. Mayo ; highly commended, Allan Pollok, Lismanny, Ballinas- loe ; commended, Wm. fiumphrys, Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan. Tenant Farmers' Prizes : For the best five statute acres of swede turnips — 1st prize, £50, William Wilson, Ballyglass, Co. Mayo; 2nd, £30, Mrs. Margaret Campbell, Deny ; highly commended, George Walpole, Strokestown, Co. Roscommon ; David Patton, Glasslough, Co. Monaghan ; and Denis Dunne, Stradbally, Queen's Co. — Signed, John Hutchinson, Manor House, Catterick Bridge, Yorkshire ; James Currie, Gore- bridge, Mid-Lothian, Scotland, judges. Approved, Michael Dunne, Collinstown House, Clondalkin, County Dublin, umpire ; R. W. Morgan, steward. It was suggested that the following members of council be associated with the committee for green crops : — Sir Allen Walsh, R. C. Wade, C. C. Vesey, and Charles U. Townsend. Rev. Mr. Bagot : How many competitors were in each class ? Mr. Morgan: Twenty-five in the amateur or landlord class, and nineteen in the tenant-farmers. Mr. James Robertson said he had received the accom- panying letter from Allan Pollok : — " Lismany, Ballinasloe, Nov. 23. "My Dear Sir, — Thanks for your letter received this morning. I was in hopes that you and Sir John Barrington would have been here to visit me the end of this week, as I would have liked you to have seen some of the turnips grow- ing. They have improved very much since you saw them. I have been so very fortunate in winning the cups for best tur- nips in Ireland, I will feel obliged by your letting the Council know that I will give a cup for turnips next year, leaving them to name the number of acres to be shown, size of farms , &c., and, of course, not competing for [the cup myself. Be- lieve me, yours, very truly. Allan Pollok." Sir John Barrington said he had been requested td ask the Council to give the same grant to the committee which they had done last year, namely, £50, as Mr. Pollock bad acted very generously. The committee were short of funds, but they hoped the proprietors of large establishments in the city, who would be benefited by anything which had for its object the improvement of the country, and others, would subscribe li- berally. He might add that Mr. Pollok's desire was that the committee should direct their attention to the encouragement of tenant-farmers, recent competition by him and others show- ing what may be effected by proper cultivation and good ma- nagement. The Chairman said they were obliged to the committee for their report; and as to the request that the Council should continue the grant of £50, of course that would be referred to the finance committee. Mr. Woods : That committee is intended to he permanent? Sir John Barrington : That is what we intended. The report was adopted. The Rev. Mr. Bagot read the report of the committee ap- pointed by the Couucilto consider their relations with Dr. Ap- john, as regarded chemical analysis, by which considerable im- provement would be effected. He had submitted the report to Dr. Apjohn, who authorized him to state that he had no ob- jection to try the arrangement proposed. The restriction which he had laid down for the local societies were the same as those which they had carried out in the Kildare Agricultural Society for the last seven years with great success. He moved the adoption of the report. Mr. Wade seconded the resolution, which was adopted. The following gentlemen were unanimously elected mem- ber : — Lord Headley, Aghadoe House, Killamey ; and Edward Rae, Keel House, Castlemaiue. TheCouncil adjourned tothegeneralmeetingonDecemberl7. Council Meeting. The Monthly Meeting of the Council of the Society was held in Upper Sackville-street, Dublin, Sir George Hodson, Bart., in the chair. The other members present were — Lord Talbot de Malahide, Sir Percy Nugent, Bart. ; Lieutenant- Gen. Hall, C.B. ; Hon. Charles J. Trench, Robert Wade, William Owen, John F. Meekings, Charles Uniacke Townsend, Leopold Cust, Edward Purdon, Denis Kirwan, Charles Colt- hurst Vesey, J. P. Byrne, L. Waldron, D.L. ; Joseph Kincaid, Hans H. Woods, D.L. ; and Rev. R. W. Bagot. The accompanying communication was received from Lord Ventry, accepting the office of President of the Society for the ensuing year ; — " Burnham, Dingle, 30th Nov., 1868. " Sir, — I beg to acknowledge your letter of the 27th inst., informing me that the Council of the Royal Agricultural So- ciety of Ireland have done me the honour of selecting me to act as President for the year 1869. While I cannot help re- gretting that the Council have not fixed on some one more competent to do justice to the position, I feel I have no alter- native but to accept this very flattering proposal. " T remain, Sir, your faithful servant, " To Sir George Hodson, Bart., " Ventry. " Chairman of Council, " Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland." The following letter was received from Lord De Vesci, ac- cepting the office of Vice-President for the province of Leinster, in the room of Mr. J. L. Naper, deceased : — > " Kilkenny Castle, Nov. 29th, 1868. " Dear Sir George, — I am much obliged for your letter. 1 shall be most happy to accept the office of a Vice-President for the province of Leinster, which the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society have done me the honour to offer to con- fer upon me. I am truly sorry to hear of Mr. Naper's death. He was an active and useful country gentleman. " Believe me yours sincerely, " Sir George Hodson, Bart." " De Vesci. The Chairman brought up the half-yearly Report, as amended at the last meeting of the Council. Sir Percy Nugent moved the adoption of the report, which, having been seconded, was adopted. 8 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. The Hon. Mr. Trench brought up the lleport and Rules for Competition for all prizes offered by the Society for essays or reports. The terras were, that — " The Society's Gold Medal, or its value in money, is offered for the best essay or treatise on the management of a dairy, and the manufacture of butter for the home and foreign mar- kets. The writer should point out the breeds of cows best adapted for dairy purposes, and the modes of feeding them ; also the best construction of the dairy, the utensils to be used therein, the churn and its working, and the manner in which the butter should be salted and cured for the different markets. " The Society's Gold Medal, or its value in money, is offered for the best essay or treatise on thorough drainage, and the subsequent management of the land. The writer should show the best modes of laying out the drains, as suited to various descriptions of land ; the materials to be used for carrying off the water, and the prices, whether by task or otherwise, for which the work can be executed. The subsequent manage- ment of the land, whether by subsoiling, trenching, or plough- ing, should be pointed out, and the general effect, founded upon practical experience." The rules for competition were — "1. That the decision of the Society is to be considered final and conclusive, and the Society shall not be bound to give any prize in case of insufficient merit. " 2. That the information to be contained in the essay shall be founded on experience or observation, and not on simple reference to books, and shall be as full as possible. "3. That plans, specimens, or models shall accompany writings requiring illustration. " 4. That the names of competitors shall not be transmitted but that a sealed note shall be attached to each essay, contain- ing the name and address of the author, with a motto on the cover of the note corresponding with the one inscribed in the essay. " 5. That the Society shall be at liberty to publish such extracts from the essays and reports to which prizes shall be awarded as they may deem advisable. The unsuccessful essays to be returned to the writers, provided they be applied for within the space of three months from the decision. " 6. That the imperial weights and measures shall be used in all calculations, and no prize shall be awarded to any essay which has already appeared in print. " 7. The essays must be forwarded to the Secretary on or before the 15th of March, 1869." He moved the adoption of the rules and report. Mr. Wade seconded the motion. The resolution having been put from the chair, was unani- mously adopted. The Chairman stated that it was usual on occasions like the present to present an address to His Grace the Duke of Aber- corn, on his retiring from the high position of Lord Lieutenant of this country. It generally originated with the Council, and probably they would follow the customary procedure on that occasion. Captain Vesey observed that in the case of the Earl of Kim- berley the address was sent after his Lordship. The course heretofore adopted was to send the address after the outgoing Lord Lieutenant, and perhaps they ought not to depart from such a precedent. The following gentlemen were appointed as a committee to draw up an address for presentation to His Excellency -.—Sir George Hodson, Bart., the Hon. Charles Trench, and Mr. Robert Wade. Lord Talbot de Malahide gave notice that at the next meet- ing of the Council he should move that a committee be ap- pointed to inquire into the state of the library of the Society, and to frame a catalogue. The Half-Yearly Meeting. Subsequently the half-yearly meeting of the Society took place, the Earl of Claucarty in the chair. Captain Thornhill, Secretary, read the half-yearly report as follows : — On the occasion of presenting the usual half-yearly record ot the transactions of the Society, your Council have to ex- press their regret that the names of many landlords and land- holders, with whose interests agricultural improvement in Ire- land is intimately connected, do not appear upon the list of members. The annual cattle show of your Society was held in August last in Londonderry. The attendance was good, the several classes were adequately represented, and the competition in each was well sustained. Much credit is due to the local committee, whose efforts to carry out all necessary arrange- ments were eminently successful. Munster being the province in which, according to rule, the Annual Cattle Show of the Society for 1869 is to be held, ap- plications have been received from Cork and Tralee, and your Council have, after due consideration, selected Tralee, as they confidently believe that much advantage is likely to result from the introduction of superior breeds of stock and improved implements into that remote district. After an extension of time for the reception of designs in competition for the prize offered by His Grace the Duke of Abercoru for the best plan and specification of a labourer's cottage, your Council have selected that sent in by Mr. Mal- linson, marked " Experience," for a double cottage, as com- bining a due regard to economy with the most suitable accom- modation in a class of buildings, the improvement of which is so desirable in this country. The local committee who, in 1867, acted so efficiently with your Society in bringing to a successful issue the exhibition of that year in Stephen's-green, having decided on applying a portion of the surplus funds to the encouragement of the growth of green crops in Ireland, your Society allocated a sum of fifty pounds in augmentation of such fund, thereby carrying out the recommendation of the general meeting of the 31st May, 1866. The inspection of the lots offered in competition in the several provinces has just taken place, and your Council have great pleasure in perceiving by the committee's report that considerable advancement has been made since the last inspection in 1864, both as regards this particular branch of husbandry as well as in the cultivation of land generally. Your Council have received and adopted a report from a committee appointed to consider the existing arrangements be- tween the Society and Professor Apjohn, as regards chemical analysis, by which considerable improvement in that depart- ment is likely to take place. The Council have adopted the following rule, which is simi- lar to an existing one of the Royal Agricultural Society of England and Royal Dublin Society : — The scale of charges for chemist's analyses is not applicable to the case of persons commercially engaged in the manufacture or sale of any sub- stance sent in for analysis. A vacancy having taken place in the list of Vice-Presidents of your Society, in consequence of the death of J. L. Naper, Esq., of Loughcrew, your Council recommend Viscount De Vesci to fill such office. They also recommend Lord Ventry as President of the So- ciety for the year ending 31st December, 1869. The following is a statement of the receipts and disburse- ments of the Show at Londonderry : — National Cattle and Horse Show, Londonderry, 186S. Receipts. £ s. d. By amount received from the local committee ... 500 0 0 Balance to debit 516 13 5 1,016 13 5 Disbursements. To cash premiums awarded £754 15 0 Medals 17 10 0 772 5 0 Judges' expenses Ill 4 2 Director and steward's expenses . 45 1 10 Secretary's travelling expenses... 12 8 3 Accountant's ditto 8 0 0 Veterinary surgeon's expenses ... 10 0 0 186 14 3 Printing, advertising, and sundries 54 11 2 Banquet tickets for stewards 3 3 0 £1,016 13 5 George Hodson, Baronet, Chairman. The Report was then put from the chair and adopted. The business of the meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the Earl of Clancarty for presiding. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. CENTRAL CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. A council meeting of the Chamber of Agriculture was held ou Wednesday, December 10, at the Salisbury Hotel, and was attended by about 40 members, including several deputed members from provincial Chambers. The chair was taken by the chairman for the year, Mr. Jasper Moke. Mr. Clay, the treasurer, made a financial statement, from which it appeared that there had been received during the year £316 ISs. Sd., being £96 13s. in excess of the payments, and that there was £208 in hand. Several new members were elected. Mr. Clay was re-elected treasurer, and Mr. J. Algernon Clarke secretary ; and after some explanations with regard to the expenses and the secretarial duties from the latter, in the course of which he stated that the estimated income, was now £370, the council voted him a salary of £100, with an addition of £20 for a deputy. The Secretary read the draft report of the council, of which the following are the chief points : — " In last years' report the council congratulated the Chamber upon an increase of more than 200 per cent, in the total con- stituency of members of Chambers of Agriculture ; and during the year 1868 a rapid rate of progress has still been main- tained. Sixteen new chambers have affiliated themselves to the central council, contributing to its funds, and sending de- puted members to take part in its decisions. So that we have now upwards of 15,000 members entitled to representa- tion in our council meetings in London by means of 90 de- puted members. The 66 Chambers and branch Chambers arc as follows : The Central, the Scottish, Banbury, Brecknock, Carmarthenshire, Cheshire, North Cheshire, Cirencester, Corn- wall, Croydon, Devon and Cornwall, Central Devon, Devon- shire, Barnstaple, Bideford, Colytou and South-east Devon, Tiverton and East Devon, Dorsetshire, North Durham, Soutli Durham, Essex, Farringdon, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Howdenshire, Hungerford, East Kent, West Kent, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Loughborough, Midland, Monmouthshire, Newbury, Norfolk, Northampton- shire, North of England, Bellingham, Hexham, Morpeth, Penrith, Peterborough, Shropshire, Somersetshire, Stafford- shire, East Suffolk, West Suffolk, Sunderland, Swindon, War- wickshire, Wigton, Worcestershire, East Biding of Yorkshire, West Biding of Yorkshire, Bedale, Malton, Pickering, Bipon, Byedale, Scarborough, Thirsk, Whitby, and York. The coun- ties in which Chambers have yet to be formed are Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Huntingdon- shire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Butland, Sussex, Anglesey, Cardigan, Carnarvon, Denbigshire, Flint. Glamorganshire, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire, Pembroke- shire, and Badnorshire. In accordance with a decision of the council the secretary is forming a list of correspondents who will act for the council in localities not yet embraced in any Chamber organization. The treasurer's financial state- ment is given below. The annual contributions from the pro- vincial Chambers now amount to £220, which, with the addi- tion of about £150 subscribed by members of the Central Chamber, make the present income at the disposal of the council about £370 per annum. On a revenue of no larger proportions than this it is impossible to maintain in the metro- polis an establishment worthy of the united agricultural body, with a staff capable of diffusing and collecting information on a commensurate scale, of concentrating as quickly as desired the public opinion of all the agricultural districts upon any given question, and of giving effect at the right moment to the declared will of the Chambers. And, while remembering that the collective income of the Chambers has probably reached £7,000 per annum, the council would urge the neces- sity of supplying head-quarters in London, with the means for more systematic and comprehensive action in pressing the claims and defending the interests of the agricultural classes. Arrangements, however, have been made for communicating intelligence and for facilitating the distribution of official and Parliamentary papers to the Chambers, and for efficiently con- ducting the business of the council. The office of the Cen- tral Chamber is now established at the Salisbury Hot -pleet" street. The secretary or his deputy attends d ailel'; ing on Saturdays and Sundays), between one and six ° clock, and by appoiutment meets at other hours persons desinnS m_ formation. Acts of Parliament, bills before Parliament, Par- liamentary papers, reports, minutes of evidence, official returns, statistics, forms of petition upon legislative measures dis- cussed by tbe Chambers, &c, are forwarded, on application, to the secretary of any provincial Chamber ; and it is proposed that of every bill affecting agricultural interests one copy immediately after publication shall be sent gratis to the secretary of each Chamber. " The Council understand their special function to consist, not in merely debating and passing barren resolutions upon one question after another in rapid succession, but in acting as the ultimate mouthpiece of all the chambers, which here announce, through their representatives, the conclusions they have ar- rived at upon measures that have been the subject of simulta- neous discussion. Nevertheless, had circumstances permitted, the Council would have held more than five meetings during the year 1868. " At the first Council meeting, on March 3rd, were selected a number of witnesses, who afterwards gave valuable evidence before the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the malt-tax. At the same meeting, resolutions were passed, warmly sympathising with efforts for the improved education of the labouring classes : approving the exclusion from field labour of children under nine years of age, but disapproving of compulsory attendance at school, and declaring that the out- lay for national education ought not to fall upon the rates. On the subject of the Metropolitan Foreign Cattle Market Bill a resolution (afterwards embodied in a petition presented to the House of Commons, by the Chairman) was passed, hailing with satisfaction Lord Bobert Montagu's proposed amend- ments, urging that the regulations for cattle importation should be made general, and praying for sundry practical improve- ments in the Bill ; and witnesses were chosen, who afterwards gave evidence on the question before the House of Commons' Select Committee. " The Secretary sent up a great number of petitions, which were sent up from every provincial chamber, and from public meetings and gatherings of farmers, and by this, and also by other means of bringing the influence of the Chan.' jr to bear upon Parliament, strenuous efforts were made to support the Metropolitan Foreign Cattle Market Bill, not as a thoroughly satisfactory measure, but as one step towards the attainment of security against imported disease without detriment to the interest of consumers. The Select Committee of the House of Commons reported the preamble to be proved, and a decisive parliamentary majority was obtained in favour of the principle of the Bill. But, weak and imperfect in its provisions, no certain means having been taken to secure the funds necessary for constructing the market, and too limited in application to arouse an enthusiastic support from the agriculturists of the whole kingdom, the measure, though supported by the largest majority that ever voted in favour of an agricultural measure— a majority made up of members from both sides of the House- succumbed only too readily to the attacks of a small opposition. The large and persistent support the measure received, not- withstanding its drawbacks, may be put in great part to the credit of the chamber of agriculture. The contest, however, established in public opinion the soundness of the principle of safety markets for imported animals. Leading journals adopted our arguments. An outbreak of small-pox in foreign sheep has occurred without the enforcement of waterside slaughtering, being found to damage the meat market, thus practically confirming the feasibility of our proposed safe- guard ; and so many adherents to our views have come over from the ranks of our opponents that we have now a fair prospect of carrying a good general act for the sanitary regu- lation both of the home and foreign trade. " On March 31st the Council confirmed the resolutions on Turnpike Trusts which had been passed in February, 1867, to 10 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the effect that turnpike trusts should be abolished simultane- ously, that the consolidated fund should aid in the liquidation of debts, and that, as no settlement of the question can be satis- factory which is based upon the exclusive rating of that pro- perty, Mr. Knatchbull Hugessen's Turnpike Trusts Bill should be opposed. That Bill was withdrawn, and, in moving its second reading, on June 17th, Mr. Knatchbull Hugessen admitted that ' the Chamber of Agriculture had been extremely agitated about the measure,' and had presented a great number of petitions against it; while Mr. Knight, in opposing the progress of the Bill, referred to it as having been largely dis- cussed, and with little favour by the chambers of agriculture, where, he inferred that its principle was contrary to the wishes of the agricultural community. " On May 5th the Council passed resolutions in favour of the establishment of County Financial Boards, and appointed a committee to choose witnesses, who subsequently gave evi- nience before the House of Commons' Select Committee on county financial arrangements. It is a matter for congratu- lation that the chambers of agriculture originated or revived the present manifestation of public opinion in favour of county boards. Sir William Payne Gallway's Bill was prepared at the suggestion of a chamber ; the draft of Mr. James Wyld's Bill was submitted to all the chambers before being introduced into Parliament ; the Select Committee of Inquiry was virtu- ally conceded to the appeal of the chambers ; and successful legislation on the subject will be due to the power of our chamber organization and to the exertions of those honourable members who may be said to specially represent us in the House. " On the subject of Local Taxation the Council, on May 5th, passed the following resolutions : ' That the taxation now levied under the name of "Poor-Rate," to the extent of nearly £10,000,000 annually, bears unfairly upon income arising from real property, and that the exemption from the rate of income arising from personal property is unjust, and therefore requires the early and serious consideration of Parliament.' The unequal pressure of local taxation was further discussed at a very largely-attended banquet and public meeting held at Leicester in July. "On September 22nd the council decided to take action during the elections, not by bringing the Chamber of Agri- culture candidates before the constituences, or by attempting to pledge candidates to a number of categorical questions, but by circulating a printed statement of the resolutions passed upon important subjects that have been considered by the council. The address, embodying these resolutions, urged upon members of chambers the desirability of ascertaining the sentiments of every Parliamentary candidate there- upon, and the importance of securing the return of representatives favourable to the views of the chambers. By the hearty co-operation of most of the provincial chambers many thousand copies of this address were distributed ; and whatever may have been the influence of this wide dissemination of the opinions of the chambers, it is gratifying to know that warm friends of the chambers devoted to these questions muster more strongly in the present than in the late Parliament, notwithstanding the loss of some who were among our most prominent supporters in the House. A knowledge of agricultural politics has been greatly extended ; the Chamber meetings have, in many cases brought out new intellectual ability; they improve in debating power. The Central Council of the chambers of agriculture is now recog- nized by all parties in the Legislature as the organ of agricul- tural public opinion, and in future we may confidently expect that our representations upon measures affecting the farming interest will meet with increasing consideration from the Government." On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr. Beach, M.P., this report was adopted and ordered to be printed. Mr. May (North Cheshire) then proceeded to introduce a resolution relating to the cattle-plague, more particularly as affecting the county which he represented. After alluding to a printed statement on the subject which had been circulated among the provincial chambers, the object of which was to obtain an amendment of the Compensation Act passed for Cheshire, he remarked that that county suffered more than any other in England in 1865 and 1866, nearly all the cattle dying or being slaughtered. Under the present Act of Parliament the compensation for the slaughtering was to be paid by Cheshire itself — an arrangement which was considered a great hard- ship, because nearly half the cattle of the county were dead before the Act came into operation, and it was done for the benefit of the whole kingdom. In the end nearly the whole of the cattle were lost. As the matter stood the county was sub- ject to a charge of £270,000, which was to be paid off by means of a rate extending over 30 years. The £270,000, however, did not represent half the amount of the actual loss. It was thought desirable that Parliament should do something to- wards relieving Cheshire from its heavy burden, and that for that purpose the charge should be spread, by means of a uni- form rate, over all the unions in England. The representa- tives of Cheshire in the room would be glad to obtain an expression of sympathy, and a promise of assistance in the event of an application to Parliament for amended legislation. When the bill for this purpose w as first introduced into Par- liament, the towns of Cheshire were quite willing to con- tribute, with their agricultural neighbours, towards the com- pensation. They were still willing ; but he feared that if there were no fresh legislation, they would, in self-defence, seek to get themselves relieved, and ask Parliament to free them from any obligation to contribute in future. It was considered desirable that a second appeal should be made to Parliament in the next session for a measure which would spread the compensation over all the unions of England, those counties which had already had a rate having credit for what they had paid. In the absence of further legislation, a rate of from 4d. to 6d. in the pound would be levied on Cheshire for the whole 30 years ; whereas, if the burden were spread over the whole kingdom, a rate of Id. in the pound would clear off the debt in one year. TI13 question was not merely one of amount, but one of principle. It was not fair or equitable that one particular county should pay the whole cost of compensation when the slaughtering of the cattle was car- ^ ried out for the benefit of the nation at large. He concluded by proposing a resolution to the effect that " the charge for compensation on account of the compulsory slaughtering of cattle in Cheshire in 1865 and 1866 should be borne by the whole country." Mr. Rigby, of the Cheshire Chamber, in seconding the resolution, admitted the difficulty of getting Parliament to legislate retrospectively ; but contended that this case ought to be made an exception to the general rule. Mr. H. Geokge Andrews, of the Somersetshire Chamber, observed that the principle contended for applied equally to the question of a national rate for the poor — a question which he had given notice of his intention to introduce on that occa- sion. Losses from the cattle-plague and the support of the poor ought, in his opinion, both to be borne by the nation. Sir Geokge Jenkinson, M.P., thought Mr. May's pro- posal struck at the root of the whole system of local taxation. In his opinion every national calamity should be paid for out of the funds of the nation. Mr. A. Pell, M.P., said it was clearly desirable that reso- lutions that were discussed in that council should be such as might lead to some practical result (Hear, hear). What was now proposed was, that all that had been done in reference to the cattle-plague should be set aside ; that a debtor and creditor account should be opened in every county in the kingdom ; and that there should be an adjustment of the burden of compensation among them all. He did not think such a proposal was at all likely to be accepted ; neither did he consider it desirable that it should be. It might have been very proper in the first instance for Parliament to adopt the principle that the whole nation should pay for a national calamity ; but were there ten practical men in that room who believed that the great commercial and manufacturing towns would not rise against such a proposal, even if the farmers themselves did not do so in the counties which were not so severely hit as Cheshire ? (Hear, hear). The adoption of such a resolution would, lie believed, tend to injure the cause which the Chamber had at heart. Lord Berners and Sir M. Lopes, M.P., expressed concur- rence in Mr. Pell's objection. Mr. Read, M.P., hoped that the mover of the resolution would consent to accept an expression of sympathy with Cheshire, in lieu of his resolution. Mr. G. Jackson, of Tattenhall, entered into some details with regard to his own losses of cattle in Cheshire. Captain Horsell observed that this question had been THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 11 fully discussed by the Swindon Chamber, which came to the conclusion that the losses ought to have been borne by all the counties iii England, inasmuch as the public at large were benefited by the slaughtering. Mr. Coppock, Town-clerk of Stockport, supported the reso- lution. Sir G. Jenkinson moved the following amendment: "That, while this Council acknowledges the justice of the principle involved in the resolution proposed, as being ap- plicable especially to the future, it does not consider it de- sirable, or, if desirable, expedient, to reopen the question of compensation for losses sustained by the late cattle-plague." Mr. Biddell seconded the amendment. Mr. Read, M.P., proposed an amendment similar in spirit to the foregoing. After some further consideration, the resolution and the amendments were all withdrawn. Mr. George Andrews, in postponing resolutions of which he had given notice, with regard to a national poor-rate, ex- pressed a hope that it would be placed first on the agenda- paper for the next meeting of the Chamber. He concluded by moving a resolution to that effect. ANNUAL MEETING OF MEMBERS. The Secretary stated that the following list of sub- jects for discussion had already been placed on the agenda paper : — A Government Department for Agriculture, The Over-preservatiou of Ground-game, A System of Compensation for Unexhausted Improvements, The best Substitute for the Malt-tax, The Working of the High- way Act, Uniformity of Weights and Measures, Pre- vention of Contagious Diseases of Sheep and Cattle by Legislation, and The Land Laws of England and their Inlluence upon Agriculture. Mr. Brandram strongly recommended the Council to avoid overloading the paper, to select two or three sub- jects of the greatest importance, and devote a day to the discussion of each. A conversation of some length ensued upon this question, in which Sir M. Lopes, Lord Bridport, Mr. Howard, Sir G. Jen- kinson, and others, took part. Eventually Mr. Duckham moved as an amendment to Mr. Andrews' motion, that the first subject to be considered should be that of the necessity which existed for carrying a measure for the establishment of water-side markets at the ports of de- barkation for foreign cattle and sheep, and to prevent the re- moval of animals suffering from contageous diseases of any sort. This led to a division, when the Council decided by a ma- jority of two only, that Mr. Andrews's motion should have precedence, which elicited from Mr. Bead the expression of a hope that the Council would discuss the general subject, and not the particular proposals of Mr. Andrews. The question suggested by Mr. Duckham was then ordered to be taken as the second on the list ; and at the instance of Sir G. Jenkinson, it was agreed that the subject of the best substitute for the malt-tax should be the third. It was further arranged that a day should be devoted to the discussion of each in the order in which they stand, the first to take place at the meeting of the Council, on the first Tuesday in February next. Mr. Maseen proposed that the Council should meet at least six times a-year, viz., in the months of November. December, February, '.March, April, and May. Mr. Read : Of course reserving to the Council the power of calling special meetings, should they deem it necessary. The motion of Mr. Mast'en, having been seconded by Mr. T. Willson, was carried unanimously ; and it was understood that the meetings so appointed will be held on the second Tuesday in each month. Mr. Willson moved that Mr. Wells, the new member for Peterborough, be the Vice-Chairman for 1869. The Chairman proposed Mr. J. Howard, member for Bed- ford ; and Mr. G. Andrews proposed Sir Massey Lopes. Mr. Read had one great objection to Sir Massey Lopes : it was that the hon. baronet was of the same politics as him- self ; and it was desirable that the chair should be filled by a gentleman of different political opinions every alternate year, and that the Chamber should steer as clear as possible of all party considerations. He should, therefore, prefer either Mr, Wells or Mr. Howard. Sir M. Lopes readily acceded to the suggestion of Mr. Read. It would be the worst thing that could happen, for the Chamber to have anything to do with political considera- tions. Mr. Andrews having withdrawn his proposal, a show of hands was taken for the other' two candidates, neither of whom, the Chairman intimated, had signified his intention to accept the ollice ; whilst it was understood that Mr. Howard was forbidden by his medical adviser from taking any active part in public matters until he had completely recovered from his recent illness. Under these circumstances, the decision of the meeting was pronounced in favour of the appointment of Mr. Wells. Of the eight retiring members of the Council, Mr. T. Duckham, Mr. Gardner, Mr. C. Clay (Treasurer), Mr. E. Hol- land, and Mr. J. Hemsley were re-elected ; and Mr. H. Nield (Manchester), Sir G. Jenkinson (Wiltshire), and Mr. G. Whitaker (Worcestershire) were elected, in the place of Mr. J. Byron, Mr. T. Chandler, and Mr. W. E. Long ; and the Rev. E. Smythies and Mr. W. H. Clare were, again chosen auditors. The Chairman gave notice that on an early day he should move the appointment of a deputation from the Chamber to the President of the Board of Trade, with the view of urging upon the Government, through that official, the desirability of establishing an Agricultural Department in the Government. He did not think, however, that they could ask for more at present than the creation of an Under-Secretary ship ; but he certainly should like to see an Under-Secretary for Agriculture sitting in the House of Commons, and responsible for the in- troduction of measures relating to agriculture. Mr. Read : There ought certainly to be discussion upon that or any other subject, before the Chamber took action upon it. He agreed in everything the Chairman had said on the question ; and as the present Government were so strong in the House of Commons, and likely to last for six years in- stead of six months, he was inclined to think that in the course of three or four months after the needful discussion of the matter a deputation from the Chamber, accompanied by as many members of Parliament as they could get together might with propriety wait upon, and possibly produce an im- pression on the Government (Hear, hear). Mr. Willson, in the absence of Mr. Duckham, moved to amend the rule relating to the contributions of provincial Chambers by providing that the subscription for one deputed member should be £5 per annum ; for two £8, and for three £10 ; instead of as at present £3 for the first deputed member, and £2 for each additional one. Mr. Read proposed by way of amendment that the subject be postponed until the next annual meeting, and that the secretary be instructed to write to the district Chambers re- questing larger subscriptions to the central body. And this amendment was agreed to nemine contradicente. Mr. A. Pell, M.P., rose to move what must be the con- cluding resolution of the Chamber, which was a vote of thanks to the chairman, whose term of office under the rules had now- expired (Hear, hear). He was quite sure that those who had attended the meetings of the Chamber would be ready to bear their testimony to the efficient manner in which Mr. Jasper More had presided over and conducted the business during his presidential year (Hear, hear). This he had done at a period when there had been a great many calls upon his time ; calls which had affected his position as a member of the so- ciety and of the House of Commons. Still, notwithstanding that, he had unflinchingly and undeviatingly attended to his duty here. At the same time he might be allowed to say that he sympathised with his hon. friend upon his leaving the great assembly to which he had referred ; and although lie was not exactly of the same politics, he hoped the day was not far dis- tant when the views of his hon. friend would be modified, and that they would be able to sit together and join in promoting what he was sure they both desired, the prosperity and welfare of the agricultural interest (cheers). Sir G. Jenkinson in seconding the motion observed that he should rejoice to see the day when Mr. More again repre- sented an agricultural county ; for there was no better friend to agriculture than he had proved himself to be (Hear, hear). 12 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. On that subject lie trusted the views of the lion, gentleman would not undergo any change. As to others he begged to decline expressing an opinion (cheers and laughter). The motion on being put by Mr. C. S. Read was carried amid loud applause. Mr. Jasper More, in acknowledging the compliment con- gratutated the Chamber on so many friends of agriculture having been elected to the New Parliament, and especially those who were members of agricultural Chambers. There were others, however, who had not been so fortunate, and he happened to be one of the number. A hope had been ex- pressed by Mr. Pell that he would modify his political views ; but he begged to say that he had always been a moderate politician, and in the last Session of Parliament had voted against all the measures that were proposed of an extreme character. He had ever entertained the desire to see an in- dependent agricultural party formed in Parliament, a party who, if possible, would regard the interests of agriculture as paramount over those of political party. That was an object which it might be difficult to attain, and in the opinion of many persons an impossibility. He recollected writing to a gentleman during the contest in which he had recently been engaged, and asking if he could say a good word for him as chairman of the Central Chamber of Agriculture ; but the reply he received was that he could not do so because he dif- fered from him in politics. Now that was a view which he (Mr. Jasper More) would not himself have entertained, and such a consideration should not have prevented him from vot- ing for Mr. Pell or Mr. Read, though they did not happen to sit on the oppositejside of the House. It would be his proudest remembrance that he had had the honour of sitting in Par- liament, and next to that the almost greater honour of having been the chairman of the Central Chamber of Agriculture (loud cheers) . The sitting then terminated. THE BUSINESS OF THE CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. TO THE EDITOR. SIR,— I attended the meeting of the Central Chamber on the 9th inst., and I must confess that the proceedings were not satisfactory. In reality very little was done ; and the proposition that, at any future meeting of the Chamber, only one subject should be taken up for discussion savoured more of deference to the power of talking than of regard to real business. Time was wasted in determining whether anything or nothing, as it were, should he done. If I am not mistaken, a resolution was made that the Chamber should meet six times in the course of the year. Now, looking at the time ex- pended in speeches on the 9th inst., namely three hours, the Chamber would, in accordance with the above resolution, seem disposed to devote only eighteen hours during the year to the purpose of establishing that legitimate influence in Parliament and in the country which the agriculturists are fondly antici- pating, and which they have a right to expect. Let us hope for more prompt and decided action. At least three subjects for discussion might be submitted to every meeting, arrange- ments having been previously made with respect to movers and seconders, and a fixed limit to the time of speaking pre- scribed. If one day be not sufficient for the business in hand, let two be given. I must in all honesty declare that, on the occcasion referred to, there was much cry hut little wool. One valuable proposition was made, but, as far as I could gather, nothing came of it. It was to the effect that one-third of the Conrcii should go out every year, and should not be eligible for re-election for a period of twelve months. Yours respectfully, Bee. 11. A Member or the Central Chamber (Who gives his name). [We have heard the same complaint from other members of the Chamber, who were leaving before the meeting was over. According to some accounts the officials seemed to have the feeblest notion of conducting such a Council. — Ed. P. M.] LEEDS FAT CATTLE SHOW. On Saturday the Leeds Smithfield Club opened its annual exhibition of fat cattle, sheep, and pigs, on the usual covered site in the Cattle Market. The show is in point of merit each year advancing. The following gentlemen officiated as judges : Cattle and Sheep. — Samuel Wright, Halifax ; T. P. Outhwaite, Goldsborough ; Geo. Shaw, Leeds- Pigs.— Stephen Barrett, Harewood ; Wm. Robson, Great Ouseburn. AWARD OP THE PRIZES. CATTLE. SHORTHORNS. Ox of any age, £10, W. Hill, Wetherby ; second, £5, W. Ireland, Goole. Ox, not exceeding three years old, £10, G. and C. Lancaster, Northallerton ; second, £5, J. Outhwaite, Catterick. Cow, £10, and Sir A. Pairbairn's Cup and £20 special prize, Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart., Wallington ; second, £5, ditto. Heifer, not exceeding four years old, £10, Sir J. W. Rams- den, Bart.jByram Hall; second, £3,H. C. M. Ingram, Temple Newsam. OTHER BREEDS. Cross-bred or Irish ox, £10, R. H. Harris, Porres ; second, £5, J. Bruce, Fochabers. Cross-bred or Irish cow or heifer, £10, and Tradesmen's Cup, value 10 guineas, J. lleid, Alford ; second, £5, Sir W. C. Tre- velyan, Bart. Polled Scotch ox, £10, and Innkeepers' Plate, R.H.Harris, Porres; second, £4, Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart. Polled Scotch cow or heifer, £8, Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart. ; second, £4, J. Reid, Alford. Highland ox, £8, and Royal Agricultural Society's Cup, Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart. Highland cow or heifer, £8, Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart.; second, £4, J. Harrison, Skipton. Ox, £8, and the Leeds Butchers' Association silver cup, value 10 guineas, for the best beast in the tenant farmers' classes, R. Wood, Clapton ; second, £4, J. Hill, Wetherby. Cow, having a calf, £8, W. Hill, Wetherby. Heifer under four years old, £8, R. Wood, Clapton ; second, £4, W. Hill, Wetherby. Pat cow in milk, £5, and the Chairman of the Committee, Mr. J. Wright's silver cup, value 5 guineas, W. Hill, Wetherby; second, £2 10s., W. Gratton, Leeds. Extra Cattle. — A silver medal was awarded to T. Robin- son, Tadcaster. LEICESTER OR LONG-WOOLLED SHEEP. Pen of three wethers or gimmers, under two years old, £7, and silver cup, value 6 guineas, for the best pen of sheep in the show-ground ; second, £3 10s., executors of the late P. Jordan, Driffield. OTHER BREEDS. Pen of three South or other Down wethers, of any age, £5, the Right Hon. Lord Wenlock, Escrick Park; second, £2 10s., ditto. Pen of three cross-bred wethers, of any age, £1 5s., W. Shields, Kelso ; second, £2, ditto. Extra Sheep. — Silver medals were awarded to M. Simpson, Sledmere; and L. J. Crosley, Willow Hall, Halifax. PIGS. Fat pig, large breed, of any age, £4, and a silver cup, value 5 guineas, given by the club for the best fat pig in the show- ground, J. Dyson, Leeds ; second, £2, G. Chapman, Seamer. Fat pig, hog or gilt, middle-breed, exceeding 14 months old, £4, J. Newton, Chapeltown ; second, £2, J. Rinder, Sheep- scar. Fat pig, hog or gilt, middle breed, under 14 months old, £4, M. Wilson, Leeds ; second, £2, G. Chapman, Seamer. Pat sow, middle breed, £4, W. Rinder, Chapeltown. Fat pig, hog or gilt, small breed, exceeding 14 months old, £4, J. Dyson, Leeds ; second, £2, ditto. Fat pig, hog or gilt, small breed, under 14 months old, £4, J. Dyson, Leeds. Fat sow, small breed, £4, J. Dyson ; second, £2, — Holroyd, Sheepscar. Pen of three pork pigs, under 20 weeks old, £4, J. Newton, Chapeltown ; second, £2, ditto. Extra Pigs. — Silver medals were awarded to J. Rinder, Sheepscar ; and M. Dean, Leeds. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 13 LIVERPOOL FAT CATTLE SHOW. Many of the animals entered here had already been ex- hibited either in Birmingham or London ; and some of them, indeed, at both meetings. Thus amongst the Shorthorn winners Mr. Foljambe's white steer, Mr. Groves' and Mr. "Willis's cows arc " auld acquaintance" ; as are Mr. Wortley's, Mr. Plimley's, and Mr. Yeomans' Herefords ; while Mr. Smith's and Mr. Burton's Devons had previously made themselves famous. LordWalsingham's Southdown wethers had travelled on from Loudon ; Mr. Henry Smith's, Mr. Beach's, and Mr. Matthews' Shrop- shires, and Mr. Pears' Lincolns had also been already in the prize list. The pig show was thought to be better than that of the Smithtield Club, and the novelties, headed by a capital Shorthorn ox, came chiefly from over the Channel. Major Barton's beast also took the first prize in his class at the Royal Dublin Society's show in the previous week ; and by the Irish Farmers' Gazette we gather that "at the Liverpool show Mr. R. Walsh, the winner of the first and second prizes in the section for the best two heifers at the late Royal Dublin Society's show, and the special prize of £5 for the best single animal in the same section won the second prize for the best pair of fat heifers of any breed or age, bred and fed in Ireland, with his second Royal Dublin Society prize pair, while, singularly enough, one of the two in that second prize pair was the animal to which the special prize of £5 was awarded : his first prize pair, hav- ing been sold, were not exhibited at Liverpool. Colonel Mathews, Drogheda, got the first prize in this class and the Liverpool Chandlers' £15 cup for the best pair of Irish fat animals in the show ; and we find 19 pair of fat heifers shown at Liverpool in this section, and in the whole 34 pairs exhibited in the sections exclusively devoted to Irish cattle, besides the several Irish-bred fat Shorthorns shown in the sections open to all comers." JUDGES. Cattle : Messrs. Dodd, Joseph Ruddock, and Walter Farthing. Sheep: Messrs. Murray (Edinburgh), Fookes (Dorset), and Clancey (Roscommon). Pigs : Messrs. Bell (Rhyll) and Dale. SHORTHORNS. Ox or steer, of any age exceeding three years and three months. — First prize, £15, Hugh L. Barton, Stratfan, County Kildare; second, £8, William Hesseltine, Beamount Cote, Barton-on-Humber ; third, £4, William Drysdale, Kilmie, Kinghorn, Fifeshire. Age, three years and eight months. Bred by Mr. Corrie, Cornley Bank, Ellon. Ox or steer, not exceeding three years and three months. — First prize, £15, G. S. Foljambe, Osberton Hall, Worksop, Notts ; second, £8, Thomas Knowles, 7, Newmarket, Aberdeen. Cow above four years that has had a live calf. — First prize, £15, William Groves, Brompton, Shewshury ; second, £8, Thomas Willis, Manor House, Carperby, Bedale, Yorkshire ; third, £4, William Prankish, Limber, Tjiceby Lincolnshire. Heifer not exceeding four years. — First prize, £15, Colonel Towneley, Towneley Park, Burneley ; second, £8, H. S. Strat- ford, Thorpe, by Lubenham, Market Harborough ; third, £4, Thomas Atherton, Chapel House, Speke. HEREFORDS. Ox or steer, of any age.— First prize, £15, R. Wortley, Suffield Hall, Aylsham, Norfolk. Cow or heifer, of any age. — First prize, £15, Robert Wort- ley ; second, £8, Samuel Plimley, Alberbury, Shrewsbury ; third, £4, Henry Yeomans, Llowes Court, Hay, near Here- ford. DEVONS. Ox or steer, of any age. — First prize, £15, William Smith, Higher Hoopen, Exeter. Cow or heifer, of any age. — First prize, £15, Richard Burton, Place Barton, Broadclyst ; second, £8, William Smith ; third, £4, Richard Burton. SCOTCH BREEDS. POLLED ANGUS OR. ABERDEEN. Ox or steer of any age exceeding 3 years and 3 months.— First prize, £15, second, £8, Win. McCombie, Tilly- four, Aberdeeu ; third, £4, J. and W. Martin, New Market Buildings, Aberdeen. Ox or steer not exceeding 3 years and 3 months. — First prize, £15, Wm. McCrombie ; second, £8, Robert Bruce, Newton-of-Struthers, Forres. Cow, above 4 years, that has had a live calf. — First prize, £15, second, £8, James Reid, Greystone, Alford. Heifer, not exceeding 4 years. — First prize, £15, James Bruce, Burnside, Fochabers ; second £8, third £4, James Reid. GALLOWAYS. Ox or steer, any age exceeding 3 years 3 months. — First prize, £15, The Duke of Buccleueh ; second, £8, third £4, Joha Herries, Black Park, by Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbright. Ox or steer, not exceeding 3 years 3 months. — First prize, £15, second £8, Quintin Bone, Greenan, Ayr. Heifer not exceeding 4 years. — First prize, £15, The Duke of Buccleueh. WEST HIGHLAND, Ox or steer, any age. — First prize, £15, J. and W. Martin ; second, £8, James Knowles, Wetherby House, Wetherby, Yorkshire ; third, £4, Sir Robert Gerrard, Garswood Hall, Newton-le-Willo", s. Cow or heifer, any age. — First prize, £15, Richard East- wood, Thorneyholme, Clitheroe ; second, £8, Joseph Harri- son, Carlton Grange, Skipton ; third, £4, Thomas Knowles, 7, New Market, Aberdeen. IRISH. One pair of out-fed oxen or steers, of any breed, bred and fed in Ireland, any age exceeding three years. — First prize, £15, second £8, Thomas G. Pepper, Ballygarth Castle ; third, £4, Thomas Gerrard, Boyne Hill, Navan, Ireland. One pair of cows, any age, of any breed, bred and fed in Ireland. — First prize, £15, James Cullen, Liscartou Castle, Navan, County Meath ; second, £8, third, £4, Wm. Reilly, Castletown, Kilbarry, Navan, County Meath. One pair of heifers, of any breed, of any age, bred and fed iu Ireland. — First prize, £15, P. Mathews, Aunagor, Drog- heda ; second, £8, Richard AValsh, Kingswood, Laggard ; third, £4, Richard Steele, Featherstonhaugh, Ptock View, Kil- lucan. WELSH BREEDS. Ox or steer, exceeding three years and three months. — Prize, £10, Captain Piatt, Bryn-y-Renard, Llanfaerfechan. CROSS BREEDS. Ox or steer, exceeding three years and three months. — First prize, £15, William Drysdale, Kilrie, Kinghorn, Fifeshire ; second, £8, Thomas Ross, Hillhead, Forres ; third, £4, Robert Moir, Tarty, Ellon, Aberdeenshire. Ox or steer, age not exceeding three years and three months. — First prize, £15, Robert Moir, Tarty, Ellon, Aberdeenshire ; second, £8, Richard H. Harris, Earuhill, Forres ; third, £4, James Bruce, Burnside, Fochabers. Cow, any age exceeding four years, that has had a live calf. — First prize, £15, Thomas Statter, jun., Stand Hill, Whitefidd, near Manchester; second, £8, John Holland, Cuddington, Northwich, Cheshire. Heifer, any age not exceeding fonr years. — First prize, £15, Robert Bruce, Newton of Struthers, Forres, N.B. ; second, £8, James Bruce, Burnside, Fochabers ; third, £4, J. and W. Martin, New Market-buildings, Aberdeen. LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE. Ox or steer, any age, fed within the two counties. — First prize, £10, Richard Evans, Haydock, St. Helens ; second, £5, Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, Haigh Hall, Wigan. Cow or heifer, any age, fed within the two counties. — First prize, £10, Colonel Towneley, Towneley Park, Burnley ; sec- ond, £5, Solomon Ashton, Manor Farm, Timperley, Cheshire. FOREIGN BREED. Pair of oxen or steers, of any age, imported after 1st No- vember, 1868.— First prize, £10, David Rodger, Penkiln, Gar- liestown. EXTRA STOCK— CATTLE. Highly Commended. — Gerge Burgess, Brooraiands, Moffat, Bumfrieshire, 14 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. SHEEP. LEICESTERS. Pen of three fat wethers, any age. — Pirst prize, £10, and second £5, Lord Berners. LINCOLN, COTSWOLDS, AND OTHER LONG WOOLS. Pen of three fat wethers, any age. — Pirst prize, £10, John Pears, Mere, Brenston, Lincoln ; second, £5, William Swallow, Barton-on-Humber, Lincolnshire. SOUTHDOWNS. Pen of thret fat wethers, any age. — Pirst prize £10, and second £5, Lord AValsingham. SHROPSHIRE. Pen of three fat wethers, of any age exceeding two years. — First prize, £10, Henry Smith, Sutton Maddock, Shifnal ; second, £5, Mrs. Beach, The Hattons, Breewood, Penkridge. Pen of three fat wethers, one shear. — Pirst prize, £10, Henry Matthews, Montford, near Shrewsbury ; second, £5, Joseph Beach. CHEVIOTS. Pen of three fat wethers, any age exceeding two years. — Pirst prize, £10, Hugh S. Stratford, Thorpe-by-Lubenliam, Market Harborough ; second, £5, James M'Gill, Rochell, Dumfries. Pens of three fat wethers, one shear. — Pirst prize, £10, Thomas Biggar, Chapelton, Dalbeattie ; second, £5, James M'Gill, Rotchell, Dumfries. HALF-BRED. Pen of three fat wethers, one shear, Cheviot and Leicester. — First prize, £10, James Bruce, Burnside, Fochabers ; Second, £5, George Coulthard, Lanercost Abbey, Brampton. ANY OTHER CROSS. Pen of three fat wethers of any age. — First prize, £10, Richard H. Harris, Earnhill, Forres ; second, £5, James Stewart, New Market, Aberdeen. HALP-BRED. Pen of three fat wethers, black-faced, Scotch ewe, and Lei- cester. (Extra prize, presented by the Scotch salesmen.) — First prize, £10, Robert Webster, Airds of Kellis, Castle Douglas ; second, James M'Gill, Rotchell, Dumfries. IRISH. Pen of three fat wethers, of any breed, any age exceeding two years. Fed in Ireland. — First prize, £10, and second, £5, Thomas Gerrard, Boyne Hill, Navan, Ireland. Pen of three fat wethers, any breed, one shear. — First prize, £10, and second, £5, O. C. L. Murphy, Breemount House, Trim, County Meath. SCOTCH. Pen of three black-faced wethers, any age. — First prize, £10, Andrew Wilson, Whiteside, Alford, N.B. ; second, £5, Moses Hully, Kendal. ANY OTHER BREED, not qualified to compete in the fore- going classes. Pen of three fat wethers, any age. — Pirst prize, £10, John Treadwell, Upper Winchendon, Aylesbury, Bucks; second, £5, Jonathan Peel, Knowlesmere Manor, Clithero. The Woolbroker's Cup of £25, and another Prize of £25, for the best pen of sheep of any breed, Lord Walsingham (Southdowns). PIGS. Large breed. — First prize £8, and third £2, Messrs. J. and F. Howard, Britannia Farms, Bedford ; second £4, Messrs. J. and W. Sagar, Lister Hills, Bradford, Yorkshire. Middle breed, exceeding one year. — First prize, £8, Messrs. R. E. Duckering and Son, Northope, Kirton-in-Lindsay ; se- cond, £4, J. Pennington, Raiuhill, near Liverpool ; third, £2, Messrs. J. and W. Sagar, Lister Hills, Bradford, York- shire. Small breed of any age. — First prize, £8, James Harding, 91, Byrom-street, Liverpool. Second, £4, and third, £2, Messrs. R. E. Duckering and Son, Northope, Kirton-in- Lindsey. Large breed, not exceeding twelve months. — First prize, £5, second, £2, and third, £1, Messrs. J. and F. Howard, Britan- nia Farm, Bedford. Middle breed, not exceeding twelve months. — First prize, £5,Henry N. Abbinett, Finch House, West Derby ; second, £2, Thomas Atherton, Chapel House, Speke, near Liverpool ; third, £1, Messrs. J. end W. Sagar, Lister Hills, Bradford, Yorkshire, Small breed, not exceeding twelve months. — First prize, £5, James Maxwell, Mossdale House, Aigburth, Liverpool ; se- cond, £2, Nicolas Twigge, Haleword, near Liverpool ; third, £1, Thomas Statter, jun., Stand Hill, Whiteiield, Manchester. WEST HERTS FAT STOCK SHOW, A show of cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry was held at Watford. It was the general opinion that this was the best show the Society has had. The cattle and sheep were par- ticularly fine, and amongst the latter were some bred by Mr. E. Marjoribanks, which were much noticed. The judges were, for cattle, Mr. Newton, Campsiield Farm, Woodstock ; Mr. Elliott, Wingrove, Aylesbury ; and Mr. Home, Pinner. The following were the prizes : CATTLE. Shorthorn oxen or steers, not exceeding three years old. — First prize, £5, Earl of Clarendon ; second, £3, George Stone, Cassio-bridge Farm, Watford (this prize is disputed). Shorthorn oxen or steers, three years old and upwards. — First prize, £5, E. Marjoribanks, The Hall, Watford ; second, £3, the Earl of Clarendon. Shorthorn heifers, not exceeding three years old. — First prize, £5, the Earl of Clarendon ; second, £3, George Stone, Cashio-bridge, Watford. Shorthorn cows, above four years old. — First prize, £5, John White, Parsonage Farm, Rickmansworth ; second, £3, Lord Ebury. Oxen or steers, of any breed or age, not shorthorns. — First prize, £5, N. G. Lambert, M.P., Denhani Court, Uxbridge ; second, £3, George Beament, The Holt, Park-street, St. Alban's. Fat cows of any breed, not shorthorns. — Prize, £5, Mr. Weall, Rugby-house, Pinner. SHEEP. Cross-breeds or long-wool, wether sheep, one year old (under 23 months). — Pirst prize, £5, J. White, Parsonage Farm, Rickmansworth ; second, £2, Lord Rokeby. Southdowns, wether sheep, one year old (under 23 montlis). — First prize, £5, and second, £2, E. Marjoribanks. Southdowns, wether sheep, two years old (above 23 months and under 35 months). — Prize, £5, E. Marjoribanks. Hampshire and other short-woolled wether sheep not South- downs, one year old (under 23 months) .—First prize, £5, W. Hodges, Aldenham ; second, £2, J. White, Apple-tree Farm, Rickmansworth. Hampshire and short-woolled wether sheep. — First prize, £5, W. Jones Loyd, Langleybury, Watford ; second, £2, Geo. Stone, Cassio-bridge Farm, Watford. PIGS. Pork pigs, any breed, not exceeding 16 weeks old. — First prize, £2, E. Marjoribanks ; second, £1, W. J. Loyd. Fat pigs, any breed, not exceeding eight months old. — Pirst prize, £4, the Earl of Essex ; second, £2, W. J. Loyd. Pat pigs, any breed, not exceeding 15 months old. — First prize, £5, Earl of Essex ; second, £2, W. J. Loyd. Fat pigs, any breed or age. — Prize, £2, W. J. Loyd. EXTRA PRIZES. Silver Cup, value £10 10s., for the best Ox or Steer, any breed, not exceeding 3 years — The Earl of Clarendon. Silver Cup, value 20 guineas, for the best animal exhibited by a tenant-farmer — Mr. G. Stone, Cassio-bridge Farm, Watford, for the animal which was awarded 2nd prize, class 1, but a protest was entered on the ground that the animal shown was above 3 years old, and after an examination the prizes were withheld. Second prize of £3 10s. for the best animal, any breed or age, exhibited by the owner or occupier of a farm of not more than 150 acres, having been pastured in the open fields to Sept. 1st. — C. Snewing, Esq., Holywell, Watford. Silver Cup, value £10 10s., for the best pen of Sheep exhibited by a tenant-farmer — Mr. J. White, Parsonage Farm, Rickmansworth. Silver Cup, value £5 5s. for best pen of Pigs, exhibited by a tenant-farmer — Mr. J. White, Parsonage Farm, Rickmans- worth, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE YORKSHIRE SOCIETY, FAT STOCK SHOW AT YORK. The show opened on Tuesday, December 8. JUDGES. Fob. Cattle. — T. B. Whitewell, Gate Helmsley, York; Joseph Culshaw, Towneley, Burnley ; and George Taylor, Sewerby Cottage, Burnley. For Sheep. — H. Peacock, Mount Vale, York ; and George Leightou, Osgodby, Scarborough. For Pigs. — Thomas Dodds, Mount Pleasant, Wakefield; and Robert Fawcett, Osbaldwick, York. For Roots. — F. Dickson, Heslington ; G. Hutchinson, Prospect House, York ; and James Knowles, Wetherby. SHORTHORNS. Best ox, not exceeding four years old, £10 and the Presi- dent's silver cup, value £25, R. Wood, Clapton, Tlirapston ; second, £5, J. Hill, Wetherby ; third, £1, S. Wiley, Brandsby. Ox, not exceeding three years old, £10, G. and C. Lancaster, Mortou Grange, Northallerton ; second, £5, J. Laycock, Low Gosforth, Newcastle ; third, £1, J. Outhwaite, Bainesse. Cow of any age, £10, and a piece of plate, value £20, and second, Lb, Sir W. C. Trevelyau, Bart, Wallington ; third, £1, W. Gomersall, Otterburn, Bell Busk. Heifer, not exceeding four years old, £10, R. Wood ; second, £5, Sir J. Ramsden, Bart., Byram third, £1, W.Hill, Wetherby. CROSS-BREEDS. Ox, not exceeding four years old, £5, J. Bruce, Bumside, Fochabers ; second, £3, B. Wilson, Brawith, Thirsk. Cow of any age, or heifer not exceeding four years old, £5, J. Reid, Graystone, Alford, N.B.; second, £3, Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart. TENANT-FARMERS' CLASSES. Shorthorn ox of any age, £5, C. Wright, Oglethorpe Hall, Tadcaster; second, £3, R. Danby, Stamford Bridge; third, ;£1, J. Howe, Broughton, Huntingdon. Shorthorn cow of any age, or heifer not exceeding four years old, £5, G. Harrison, Newton-on-Derwent, York ; se- cond, £3, R. Thornton, jun., Stapleton ; third, £1, M. Thom- linson, Cowthorpe, Wetherby. Ox of any other breed or cross, of any age, £5, R, H. Harris, Earnhill, Forres ; second, £3, and third, £1, G. Mit- chell, Meikle Haddo, Newburgh, Aberdeen. Cow or heifer of any other breed or cross — the cow of any age, and the heifer not exceeding four years old, £5, and a silver cup, value £10, J. Reid, Graystone, Alford, N.B. ; se- cond, £3, G. Mitchell, Meikle Haddo, Newburgh, Aberdeen ; third, £1, J. Reid. SCOTCH BREEDS. Polled ox, £5, R. H. Harris, Earnhill, Forres ; second, £3 Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart., Wallington. Polled cow or heifer, £5, Sir W. C. Trevalyan, Bart., Wal- lington ; second, £3, J. Reid. * Horned Highland ox, £5, and Mr. John Roper's challenge cup, value £20, and second, £3, Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart. Homed Highland cow or heifer, £5, Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart. ; second, £3, R. Eastwood, Thorney Holme, Clitheroe. DISTRICT PRIZES. For tenant-farmers residing within twenty miles of the city of York. Ox of any breed, not exceeding four years old, £4, and the York Licensed Victuallers' Association cup, value 10 gs., W. Hill, Wetherby ; second, £2, R. Cattley, Wganthorpe. Cow or heifer of any breed, the cow of any age and the heifer not exceeding four years old,£4, and second, £2, W. Hill. Extra Stock — Cattle. — £1 to J. W. Pease, Hutton Hall, Guisbro'. SHEEP. Pen of three Leicester wethers, under twenty-two months old, £4, and a piece of plate, value £5, and second, £2, the executors of F. Jordan, Eastbum, Driflield. Pen of three Sonth or other Down wethers, of any age, £3, and second, £1 10s., Lord Wenlock, Escrick Park. Pen of three horned Scotch or mountain wethers, of any age, £3, J. Knowles, Wetherby ; second,£l 10s., W. Hill, Wetherby. Pen of three wethers, of any cross breed, of any age, £3, and second, £1 10s., R. Shield, Swethorpe, Kelso. Sheep of any age and breed, not a ram, £2, G. Wright, Broughton, Malton ; second, £1, J. and E, Tindall, Knapton Hall, Riilington, PIGS. Pig, large breed, of any age, £3, J. Dyson, Leeds ; Seconal. £1, J. Sagar, Bradford ; third, 10s., J. Dyson, Leeds. Pig, small breed, exceeding twelve months old, £3, and second, £1, J. Dyson, Leeds ; third, 10s., G. Earle, High Roans, York. Pig, small breed, under twelve months old, £3, J. Dyson, Leeds; second, £ I, J. Sagar, Bradford: third, 10s., W. Fall, York. Pig, middle breed, exceeding twelve months old, £3, Mr. J. Sagar, Lister Hills, Bradford ; second, £1, Mr. F. Dickson, Heslington; third, 10s., Mr. R. Taylor, Holtby. 1'ig, middle breed, under twelve months old, £3, and apiece of plate, value £5, Mr. J, Wilkinson, Strensall Station; se- cond, £1, Mr. G. Chapman, Seamer; third, 10s., Mr. W. Inglis, York. Pen of three pork pigs, under eighteen weeks old, £3, Mr. G. Earle, High Roans, York ; second ; £1, Mr. J. Dowson, Colliergate, York; third, lUs., Mr. IT. Routledge, Shambles, York. Extra Stock— Pigs.— £1, to Mr. R. Hill, Paragon-street, York. BULLS AND BOARS. Bull of any breed, between the age of 9 and 15 months, £2, Mr. B. Baxter, Elshck Hall, Skipton ; second, 10s., Mr. S. Frank, Brandsby. Bull of any breed, between the age'of 15 and 21 months, £2, Mr. W. Lintou, Sheriff Hutton; second, 10s., Mr. C. Wright, Oglethorpe Hall, Tadcaster. Boar, large breed, under 13 months old, 5s., Mr. J. Dyson, Leeds. Boar, small breed, under 12 months old, £1, Mr. J. Sagar, Lister Hills, Bradford; second, 5s., Mr. H. Falkingham, York. ROOTS. Six specimens of mangold wurzel, any variety, 10s., Mr. H. Hawking, Ellinthorpe, Boroughbridge ; second, 5s., Mr. W. H. Gaunt, Old Thornville, Kirk Hammerton. Six specimens of globe mangold wurzel, any variety, 10s., Mr. W. H. Gaunt ; second, 5s., Mr. J. Agar, Brockfield, York. Six specimens of swede turnips, any variety, 10s., Mr. T. Dacre, Stockton Forest, York ; second, 5s., Mr. T. Brown, Wheldrake, York. Six specimens of common turnips, and variety, 10s., second 5s., Mr. J. Kirby, Burton Fields, Stamford Bridge. Twelve specimens of carrots, auy variety, 10s., second 5s., Mr. G. S. Thompsen, Moorlands, York. Twenty specimens of potatoes, any variety, 10s., Mr. J. Agar, Brockfield, York ; second, 5s., Mr. J. Long, Wheldrake, York. Six specimens of ox cabbage, 10s., Mr. T. Brown, Whel- drake, York ; second, 5s., Mr. J . Long, Wheldrake. THE YORKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.— The annual meeting of the members of the Yorkshire Agri- cultural Society to elect a president and other officers for the ensuing year was held at Harker's Hotel, on Tuesday last, Mr. H. S. Thompson presided. Mr. Legard, of Easthorpe- hall, Malton, was elected president, and Mr. James Brown and Mr. G. Lane Fox, vice-presidents, the former being re- elected, and the latter elected in the place of Lord Wharu- cliffe. The retiring councillors were Mr. Beilby, Lord Bolton, Mr. T. Dawson, Lord Herries, Sir John Johnstone, Mr. Lane, Hon. G. E. Lascelles, Mr. Legard, Mr. Peirson, Mr. H. S. Thompson, and Mr. Wood, and of this number the fol- lowing were re-elected: Mr, Dawson, Lord Herries, Hon. G. E. Lascelles, Mr. Wood, Mr. Thompson, and Mr. Lane. The following gentlemen were appointed to fill vacancies: The Mayor of Beverley, Mr. W. Young (Be- verley), Mr. R. H. Bower, (Malton), Mr. James Hall, and Mr. E. Riley (Beverley). Mr. George Hutchinson alluded to the fact of the poultry show being discontinued, and stated that he knew many subscribers who were disap- pointed, and who would, if it was not again set on foot, with- draw their subscriptions. He referred to Beverley especially as being a great poultry-breeding district. The chairman explained that there would be a deputation from Beverley at the meeting when the prize-list is decided upon, and they would then have an opportunity afforded them of alluding to the sirbject. A vote of thanks to the chairman, on the mo-< tioa of Admiral Duucombe, concluded the proceedings, 16 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE TREDEGAR AGRICULTURAL SHOW. The exhibition of stock, implements, and poultry annually held at Newport, under the countenance of Lord Tredegar, has this year been attended with marked success in the great element of numbers, leading to good competition in the majority of the classes, while there has not been wanting the higher feature of quality as the true index to progress. The number of entries of stock was so large that the rauge of the shedding hitherto appropriated to poultry had to be given up to the possession of sheep and pigs, and a new " home" found for the representa- tives of the feathered race in the Artillery Drill Hall. Thus the show, as it advances in age, seems to be growing in size. PRIZE LIST. Judges. — for horses (thorough-bred, hunters, and cohs) : Colonel Lindsay, of Woodlands, Cardiff; and Mr. R. Milward, of Thurgarton Priory, Southwell. Horned stock, sheep, pigs, and cart-horses : Mr. Haine, Over Farm, Glou- cester ; and Mr. Richard Parr, Hereford. — Poultry : Mr. Hutton, of Pudsey, Manchester. CATTLE. Best yearling hull, North Devon breed. — Silver cup, given by Lord Tredegar, Rev. Agustus Morgan, Machen Rectory, Newport. Best two-year-old heifer, North Devon breed. — Silver cup, given by Lord Tredegar, Rev. A. Morgan. Best bull, cow, and offspring, North Devon breed. — Silver up, given by Rev. A. Morgan, Rev. A. Morgan. Best yearling bull, Shorthorned breed. — Silver cup, given by Lord Tredegar, and a piece of plate, value 20 guineas, by the Corporation of Newport, for the best male horned breed- ing animal, Richard Stratton, Walls Court, Stapleton, Bristol. Best two-year-old heifer, Shorthorned breed. — Silver cup, given by Lord Tredegar, Right Hon. Lord Tredegar, Tredegar Park, Newport. Best bull calf, Shorthorned breed. — Silver cup, given by D. R. Williamson, John Pybus, Court Parm, Magor, Newport. Best heifer calf, Shorthorned hreed. — Silver cup, given by Colonel William Mark Wood, and a prize of 20 guineas, given by S. Homfray, for the best female horned breeding animal, Richard Stratton. Best yearling bull, Hereford breed. — Silver cup, given by Lord Tredegar, Warren Evans, Llandowlas, Usk. Best two-year-old heifer, Hereford breed. — Silver cup, given by Lord Tredegar, John H. Arkwright, Hampton Court, Leo- minster. Best bull calf, Hereford breed. — Silver cup, given by West of England and South Wales District Bank, Aaron Rogers, The Rhodd, Kington. Best heifer calf, Hereford breed. — Silver cup, given by West of England and South Wales District Bank, Aaron Rogers. Best yearling heifer — Silver cup, given by Mrs. Hanbury Leigh, John H. Arkwright. Best fat cow. — Silver cup, given Mr. W. H. M. Style, Sam. Channing, Tynewydd Parm, Pontnewydd, Newport. Best fat ox. — Silver cup, given by Lord Tredegar, W. S. Powell. Best pair of cows, of any pure hreed, in-calf or in-milk. — Silver cup, given by Mr. John Logan, John J. Stone, Llan- trissant, Newport. Best stock bull, over two years old and not exceeding six years. — Silver cup, given by Mr. Thomas Powell, E. T. Wil- liams, Caldicot Parsonage, Chepstow. Best pair of two-year-old steers. — Silver cup, given by the National Provincial Bank, William Williams, Red House, Ely, Cardiff. Best pair of yearling steers. — Silver cup, given by Mr. Fred. Justice, Right Hon. Lord Tredegar. Best pair of yearling steers. — £5, Rees Keene, Pencraig, Caerleon, Newport. Best pair of two-year-old steers. — £10, Wm. Pride, Llanvi- hangel, Chepstow. Best pair of yearling stock heifers. — £5, Thos, Thomas, St. Hilary, Cowbridge. Best pair of in-calf heifers, under three years old.— £10 Rees Keene. Best pair of breeding cows. — £10, Matthew Hale, Cold Harbour, Nash, Newport. Best bull, cow, and offspring, the offspring being under one year old, the cow being in-milk, or within three months of calving. — Pirst prize, £10, William Pride, Llanvihangel, Chep- stow ; second, £5, Thomas Thomas, St. Hilary, Cowbridge. PIGS. Best boar. — Silver cup, given by Lord Tredegar, Rev. VY. Holt Beever, Pencraig-court, Ross. Best fat pig, — Silver cup, given by Lord Tredegar, Henry Workman, Coedkernew, Newport. Best boar and sow, under a year old. — Silver cup, given by Mr. Octavius Morgan, M.P., J. Seys, The Graig, Newport. Best breeding sow, with litter of pigs. — £5, William Price, New-house, Caerleon. SHEEP. Best ram lamb, long wool. — Silver cup, given by Lord Tredegar, John Williams, Caer Cady, Cowbridge. Best pen of four shearling ewes, long wool. — £5, Thomas Thomas. Best ram lamb, short wool. — Silver cup, given by Lord Tredegar, G. Wallis, Old Stafford, Brampton, Farringdon. Best pen of four shearling ewes, short wool. — £5, George Wallace. Best pen of four breeding ewes and one ram, of real Welsh Mountain breed. — Six guineas, given by Lady Llanover, John Stevens, Sheep-house, Hay, Breconshire. Best pen of five wether lambs, long wool. — £5, Thomas Thomas. Best pen of five ewe lambs, long wool. — £5, T. Thomas. Best pen of five yearling stock ewes, long wool. — £5, John Williams. Best pen of five breeding ewes, long wool. — £5, T. Thomas. HORSES. Best yearling cart colt or filly. — Silver cup, given by Lord Tredegar, Isaac Theyer, Walford Court, Ross. Best cart mare and foal. — Silver cup, given by Admiral Sir Rodney Mundy, Thomas Derrett, Mardee Farm, Llange- view, Usk. Best cart stallion, that has been used in the county of Monmouth in 1868. — Silvercup, given by Mr. Crawshay Bailey, Thomas Bill, Lower Tresenney, Grosmont. Best nag mare, for general purposes, in-foal to, or with colt by her side, by a thorough-bred horse. — Silver cup, given by Mr. William Herbert, William Allen, Llanarthon, Cardiff. Best pony, under four year old. — Silver cup, given by Mr. John E. Rolls, George Hoskins, Carngethin-wharf, Newport. Best cob or galloway. — Silver cup, given by Mr. W. T. Car- lisle, William Ayres, Hayes, Cardiff. Best yearling colt or filly, for hunting purposes. — Silver cup, given by Mr. J. P. Gwynne-Holford, Henry Powell, per Temple Stroud, Blackwood. Best three-year-old colt or filly, for hunting purposes. — Silver cup, given by Hon. G. C. Morgan, M.P., George Pritchard, White-house, Abergavenny. Best weight-carrying hunter. — £20, given by Messrs. H. and W. Powell, Ernest Bowly, the Cranhams, Cirencester ; £10 for the second best, given by Mr. J. Lawrence, and Mr. Charles E. Lewis, Hon. P. C. Morgan, Ruperra Castle ; and £5 for the third best, given by Mr. David Harrhy, Charles Williams, Roath Court, Cardiff. Best light-weight hunter. — £20, given by Mr. Daniel White- house, and the Provincial Banking Corporation, Right Hon. Lord Tredegar ; and a superior hunting saddle, value £6 6s., given by Messrs. E. Daniel and Co., George C. Williams, Llanrnmney Hall, Cardiff. Best thorough-bred entire colt, two years old or upwards, or for the best thorough-bred stallion, at the service of the public during the season 1868. — Silver cup, given by Mr. W. S. Cartwright, Henry Brown, Monkton, Swindon. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 17 T H B KEEP OF CART HORSES Farm works of every description are now or should be pro- gressing briskly ; tillage is extending, because it is paying better than hitherto. Wheat sowing has been going on to a considerable extent for some time in several districts ; plough- ing lea laud and top-dressing grass land is being executed to some exteut, indicating that fanners, generally speaking, are tolerably well satisfied with the present state of things, as well as of future prospects. Active attention to fanning works requires exteuded and continuous horse labour, and horses cannot work without being fed, and that liberally. The high price of oats and other cereals, as well as hay and straw, will render horse labour dear, and will, no doubt, prevent farmers of limited means keeping up a sufficient number of horses to get through their work in seasonable time. It there- fore becomes a matter of necessity to consider the subject well, so as to substitute other and cheaper feeding stutfs for oats, and also to exercise the most rigid economy in the use of corn and other provender. By recent market quotations white oats brought an average of 15s. lOd.per 14 stone, or about 13£d. per stone ; grinding barley, 17s. 6d. per 16 stone, or a fraction over 13d. per stone ; Indian com, 36s. per 480 lbs., or about 12Jd. per 14 lbs. ; and bran, 5s. per 6 stone, or lOd. per stone. It will be observed that the above prices of the grain, weight for weight, approximate very closely ; but we must now con- sider their nutritive values, as ascertained by practical experi- ence and scientific research. Thus, it is found that 54 lbs. barley, 57 lbs. Indian corn, 59 lbs. oats, and 105 lbs. wheat ' brau are of about equal nutritive value. The above propor- tions show that, weight for weight, barley takes the first place, Indian coru the second, oats the third, and bran the fourth place. Barley, therefore, stands cheapest, Indian corn next, oats next, and bran the dearest of all at the above prices. Now as to fodder. Good hay is the most nutritive that can be used, 100 lbs. of good hay being found equal to 88 lbs. of clover hay made before the blossom is expanded ; 90 lbs. if made after the blossom is fully developed ; 195 lbs. oat straw, or 374 lbs. wheat straw ; so that good hay is equal to near double its weight of oat straw, or nearly four times its weight of wheat straw. Somehow or other there is a prejudice against the use of barley for feeding horses. It is supposed to purge them ; but though we have fed horses exclusively on barley, and also when mixed with oats, we never found it have that effect ; and we have known, several years ago, a day coach, traversing some of the heaviest roads in Ireland, the horses of which were fed on oats, and it is pretty generally known that barley is the favourite food with the Arabs for feeding their horses ; and as theie happens to be a very large proportion of barley grown which is not suited for malting purposes, it could not be appropriated to more economical purposes than feeding horses, and thus lighten ]the pressure on the supply of oats. Concentrated nutritive food, and less nutritive, but bulky, food, are both equally necessary for the due maintenance of the animal economy in either man or beast ; and it is evident that if either be wanting in due proportion to meet the demand occasioned by the labour to be performed, a general reduction of the muscular power must be the result. Practical experi- ence has long since ascertained that horses for fast work must get less bulky food, and proportionably more concentrated food, than horses on slow work ; but in either case the quantity must be proportioned to the bulk and substance of the animal. The military rations allowed for horses are about 10^ lbs. oats and 14 lbs. hay per day ; but it is perfectly evident that those proportions would not suit either a racer or a cart or dray horse. To enable either to perforin the work required of them the racer must get more oats and less bay ; and the draught horse, being larger and more bulky, must get more of the bulky food, and the same or an increased quantity of oats. Our remarks must be for the present confined to the econo- mical maintenance of the farm horse. Whatever grain the farm horse gets should at all times be bruised or coarsely ground. Horses at constant daily work get but little time to masticate their food properly, and too frequently bolt the grain, Bruising or grinding it, therefores saves their time and their teeth also, and is more readily acted upon in the stomach, so as to extract and assimilate its nutritive properties. In like manner both hay and straw should be chaffed, and given in troughs ; in that state either yields up their nutrition more readily, the animal's muscular power is saved, and much waste prevented; and it is no uncommon thing to find with those who have tried both modes, that 10^ lbs. of either oats or hay — the former bruised, the latter chaffed — keep the animal in better condition than 14 lbs. unbruised oats and 14 lbs. un- chalfed hay — a saving of one-fourth in both cases, and propor- tionably so when the size and work of the animal requires more than thostf proportions to keep it in good working condition. When slow-draught horses are fed exclusively on dry corn and hay we would recommend mixing with the bruised corn about 1 lb. of dry bran, which though not much more than one-half so nutritive as barley, Indian corn, or oats, serves to make the animal chew even ground corn better than it would do without it ; it also serves to keep the particles of corn sepa- rate in the stomach, and allows the gastric juice to act upon the food, so as to extract the greatest amount of nutrition, keeps the bowels regular, and gives bulk to the food. Altogether grinding or bruising the corn, whether barley, Indian corn, or oats, and chaffing the hay and straw, saves expending the ani- mal's muscular power and fat, and affords more time for rest and sleep — no inconsiderable requirements in animal economy. But the very expensive use of grain at present prices may be sensibly reduced in feeding farm horses by substituting other feeding materials for part of the grain. Thus, two or three gallons of distillers' or brewers' grains, when to be had, can be substituted for as many pounds of oats or other grain ; the grains may be mixed daily with the day's rations of oats, &c., and divided afterwards. Sliced swedes or carrots, 1 to 1| stone, may be given at night, mixed with the chaffed hay and straw, or grains and oats, so that 7 lbs. of oats may be saved daily by the substitution of grains and swedes or carrots ; but on no account should the bulk of chaffed hay, or hay and straw mixed, be reduced. Furze, when chaffed and partially bruised, makes a very hearty and nutritious food for horses, cows, or sheep. Horses may get about three bushels of it daily, which will effect a great saving in the articles of oats and hay. With the above quantity, four or five lbs. of oats, and six to seven lbs. of hay per day, and a few swedes or carrots, horses can be kept in tine, hearty working condition. Experience shows that furze is a very warm and heating food, and it will be always necessary to give a few swedes, carrots, or even raw potatoes, to correct such a tendency. And in chaffing the furze it will be a good plan to mix straw or hay with that provender, and chaff both together; the furze giving out in chaffing much juice, which is absorbed by the chaff, and also serves to keep the edges of the chaffing knives clean. Those, therefore, who have furze meadows or can procure the last season's growth of them, will effect a great saving in their use this season in feeding their working teams partially on them. llegularity in the hours of feeding, and economy in the supply of food by bruising or grinding the grain, ana chaffing the hay and straw, will effect a saving scarcely to be antici- pated by those who have not yet adopted the practice, and the horses, if kept clean, dried at night, and regularly worked, will be in fine working condition through the season. We must also observe that tbe addition of 1 to 2 lbs. daily of linseed-cake, rape-cake, or palm-nut meal promotes the secretion of fat, condition, and sleek coats, more than any sub- stances we have yet any knowledge of. Palm-nut meal and rape-cake are the cheaper materials ; the rape-cake is fully as good for the purpose as linseed-cake, provided it contains no mustard, once the animals get accustomed to it ; but palm-nut meal, which is rather a new feeding material, possesses a fat- ting power quite superior to any that we know of. In our ex- perience, for the past three years, we found it fat the cow, and yield rich milk ; it fats the horse, the pig, and fowl of all sorts, but, bulk for bulk, it weighs heavy, and should be measured out accordingly, and mixed with bran to give it bulk and absorb the oil — Irish Farmers' Gazelle. 18 rnm FARMER'S MAGAZINE.. THE OPENING OF THE METROPOLITAN MEAT AND POULTRY MARKET. Tt was a very happy thought or seasonable incident that the inauguration of the New Metropolitan Meat and Poultry Market on the classic site of old Smilhfield should serve as the prologue to the Christmas cattle shows. This establishes a new phase in London life, and like the quality of mercy, it should be alike a blessing to him that sells and to him that buys. The arcade or public way with its grand span and elegant arches is one of the hand- somest structures of the kind in London ; and such build- ings as the Agricultural Hall, for instance, sink into utter insignificance by the comparison. Nothing, moreover, could have been better devised than the opening ceremony. After an hour or so spent in inspection, during which you encountered many a bucolic worthy mixing well with the civic element, the Lord Mayor gave greeting to his brother Mayors from the country towns, and everybody turned his steps to the public way, for the nonce con- verted into the most magnificent of banquet halls. There were some thirteen or fourteen hundred guests, and there was no confusion, and but little crowding. By the aid of a colour and a number a man found his seat in a minute, and then the best of everything was at his com- mand. There was turtle-soup, clear and clouded ; game pasties and rounds of beef, boar's heads and ice-puddings. Personally we own to something of an objection to this mid-day "mugging," but if anything would reconcile one to such a practice it would be the good taste displayed over an occasion where eating and drinking were so ap- propriate a part of the celebration. As for the speeches, it was clearly quite optional whether any one listened or not, and the most significant feature in this part of the proceedings was the eminently Conservative demonstra- tion with which the toast of the new House of Commons was received. Mr. Crawford, one of the liberal mem- bers for the City, rose to respond ; but the calls for Mr. Bell, who was also present, were so loud and continual, that it was with difficulty the other honourable gentleman could obtain anything like attention. Aud the omen was not without its import, for just about that very time, Mr. Gladstone must have been getting off by heart his lesson in Lancashire. But with Mr. Sewell Bead where he should be, at the bead of the poll, and the illustrious but unknown Hudson no-wherc, we can afford to drop even " agricultural politics" for a while, and bring agri- culture herself once more into fashion. It may be better to follow here with a description, more or less official, of the way in which the design has been carried out, and the capabilities of the building. The Lord Mayor, who came in state, formally declared the market open on Tuesday, November 24th, while to Mr. Lowmau Taylor and Mr. Budkin, amongst others, especial credit is due for the great attention and ability which they have given to this good work. In 1852 the Corporation obtained an Act of Parliament for the removal of the " live market" to a more convenient and spacious site, in Copenhagen Fields. The new market, con- si rncted by the Corporation, was opened by the late Prince Consort, on 13th June, 1855, under the name of the " Metro- politan Cattle Market." Consideration having been given to the question of the appropriation of the site of Smithficld, thus left vacant, it was determined to build thereon a market lor the sale of moat and poultry, the lower part or basement of which should form a railway depot for goods, more espe- cially meat. For carrying out this purpose an Act of Parlia- ment was obtained in 18G0, and under its powers the present building has been erected, Another Act was obtained iu 1S61 for dismarkcting Newgate market, which had been established by Act of Parliament in 1670, in place of the shambles which had previously occupied Newgate-street. The ceremony of opening the new market is also, by the Act of 1861, in fact, the closing of the old one. Under the powers of " The Me- tropolitan Meat and Poultry Act, 1SG0," the Corporation were authorized to raise £235,000 for the purchase of pro- perty, and £200,000 for the erection of the market building. The Act also fixed the rental at one penny per foot, super- ficial, per week for each shop ; also a toll of one farthing on every 211bs. of meat brought into the market, with powers, under certain conditions, to raise the toll to one farthing on every 141bs. So large is the quantity of meat brought to Lon- don— about 100,000 tons — that this toll, practically inappre- ciable by the salesmen, is estimated to yield an income of £10,000 a-year. The carrying out of this work was confided by the Corporation to the Markets Improvement Committee, who proceeded to purchase the property required. Some time necessarily elapsed in these preliminaries, but, finally, a design was prepared by Mr. Horace Jones, the city architect, and approved by the Court of Common Council. The committee then obtained estimates from several of the most eminent builders for the erection of the building, and accepted that of Messrs. Browne aud llohiusou, with whom a contract was entered into on the 22nd December, 18G0. In the meantime the railway companies had been proceeding with their portion of the work, viz., the excavation of the site and formation of the substructure — a very heavy and important work ; about 3,500,000 cubic feet of earth, weighing about 172,000tons, had to be removed. Twenty-one main girders were carried across the entire width (240 feet) on wrought-iron stanchions. On the main girders were laid cross girders, 2 feet G inches deep and 7 feet (5 inches apart, between which were turned brick arches, the whole covered with concrete and asphalte to receive the wood pavement of the market About 5 miles of girders, carried on 180 wrought-iron stanchions — altogether about 3,000 tons of wrought-iron — were employed in forming the floor of the market ; and retaining walls, in addition, had to he erected all round the area, when excavated ; but these works not being in a sufficiently forward state, the contractors for the market building were excluded from any portion of the site for more than four months after the signing of the contract. The interval was not lost, however. The preparation of the stone- work was immediately proceeded with, and the casting of the iron columns, so that when the first portion of site (150 feet feet from east end) was given up to the contractors, on the 1st May, 18G7, a large quantity of material was ready for fixing. On the 5th of J une following, the south-east corner-stone was laid by Henry Lowman Taylor, Esq., the chairman of the com- mittee. A glass jar, containing the coins, newspapers, &c., of the day, was deposited in the cavity under the stone, which weighs upwwards of 5 tons, and bears the following inscrip- tion: THIS STONE Was laid June 5th, a.d 1867, BY HENRY LOWMAN TAYLOR, ESQ., J.P., Chairman of the Markets Improvement Committee Of the Corporation of the City of London, During the Mayoralty of THE RT. HON. SIR THOMAS GABRIEL, BART. Horace Jones, Architect. Browne ami Robinson, Builders. At this time a large portion of the walls were built up to a height of 5 feet, and some of the iron columns aud girders were fixed ; but owing to the difficulty of dealing with the traffic, the keeping up of the temporary way, and above all, the delay in the works of the substructure, it was not until the 2nd March last, less than nine months ago, that the entire area was given up to the contractors for the building. Since thai time the work has been carried on with great rapidity, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 19 notwithstanding the intricacy of the fittings, the difficulty of meeting the individual views of the tenants, greatly increased the difficulties in the way of the contractors. The formation of the roads round the market, notwithstanding some trouble and annoyance, has been satisfactorily performed hy Messrs. fllowlom and Co. The western approach street, required hy tbe original Act (from Farriugdon Iload to the north side of the market), constructed under the powers of a separate Act of Parliament, involved much labour in excavating- for and forming a sewer and vaults under the Metropolitan Railway. A bridge over the railway also had to he constructed, the, work to which was only performed during two or three hours in each night, or rather early morning (from 1 to 4 o'clock), to avoid the risk of accidents to passing trains, as the tratlic of tlic railway was uninterrupted. The work is now completed, and reflects much credit on the contractors, Messrs. Kelk and Co. The style of architecture adopted for the market build- ing is that generally understood by the term Italian, but of a type more nearly allied to the Renaissance architecture of France than the more severe Talladian school. The prevailing feature is a scries of arcaded recesses hetween Doric pilasters Hated on the upper two-thirds, and elevated on pedestals. The entablature is returned and ornamented over the pilasters, and finished with ornamental vase-like terminations, which recurring at regular spaces through the length of the building give an effective sky-line. The general height of the external wall is 32 feet. Between the Portland stone pilasters the re- cess is built in red brickwork, which, hy its brilliant colour, gives point to the architectural effect, and adds greatly to the pleasing appearance of the whole. The semi-circular head of the arcade is filled in with rich iron scroll-work, so designed as to occupy the space, and yet leave room for air and light to . pass freely through, there being no glass behind. The key- stones of the arches are richly carved, those over the twelve side entrances being carved into heads, the others into shields. The windows under these openings have stone sills and trusses, architraves, and cornices, and are also filled in with iron-work, but of a less ornamental character than that in the arched head above. The cliief points of architectural effect are the four towers, frontispieces, or facades of the public roadway, which passes through the market from north to south, and the pedimented gateways to the east and west fronts. The four towers wliicli mark the angles of the building are in the only positions where it was possible to raise superstructures of any great importance within the general line of the walls. These, however, are most valuable, as marking the extent of the facades, and keeping up, as it were, the unity of the design. They are entirely of Portland stone, the brickwork being omitted in the lower arcades, and a large window filling up the arcaded recess. The lower story or vertical compartment is square, with double pilasters at the angles, and a carved pediment on each face. Above this height the towers are octagonal. The junction between the square and octagonal portions, always a dillicultarchitectural problem, is here very successfully managed by introducing boldly cut griffins (the supporters of the City arms), in a couchant position. The octagonal part above has windows on each face, with carved friezes, and over each is a very elegantly designed circular window, the opening forming the eye of a boldly cut shell-like ornament. The dome which crowns each tower is pierced on four sides by dormer windows, and above is a "lantern," surrounded by an ornamental iron railing. The roofs of the domes and lanterns are covered with copper cut into the form of leaves, which overlap eacli other like slates. The covered roadway, which divides the market into two equal parts, has been made the means of uniting the design, and supplies just that feature of interest which is ne- cessary to mark the centre of the building, while it prevents the long length of the north and south fronts being monoto- nous. The roadway is fifty feet wide between the double piers, which carry a richly-moulded elliptical arch and pediment of cast iron. Over each double pier is an emblematical figure, sculptured in Portland stone, representing one of the four prin- cipal cities of the United Kingdom ; those on the south front represent London and Edinburgh, and those on the north front Dublin and Liverpool. The sides of the roadway are shut [off from the market by an elaborate screen of open ironwork, 14 feet high, and at its intersectipus with the central avenue, winch runs east and west, ihe market is closed by gates of ornamented ironwork, having enriched iron spandrels and semicircular beads, similar to those on the arcades outside. Towards the north end of the roadway, and on the east side, another gate gives access by double stair- case to the railway department below, and near this the post and telegraph offices aud markets officers' rooms are placed. The gateways at the cast aud west end of the building to some extent resemble the fronticcpieces at the end of the roadway on the north aud south sides ; they form the central features and by their importance mark the chief entrances to the market. The opening of these is 27 feet by 19 feet width, surmounted by an elliptical pediment, with the city arms boldly cut in the tympanum. The gates at these entrances are unequalled in Britain — if not in the world — for their elaborate and rich de- sign and great size. Though made of as light construction as isconsisteut with strength, they weigh 15 tons a pair ; the di- mensions are 25 feet by 19 feet. The twelve side entrance gates are also of considerable size, aud of similarly enriched design in scrollwork. The architecture of the interior of the market has been, of necessity, more subservient to the purpose of the building than the exterior, still here the architect, by con- centrating his efforts chiefly on the central avenue, has pro- duced a handsome appearance, without in the slightest degree interfering with the utilitarian purposes of the building. The ornamental columns with elliptical arches and spandrels, with the curved principals of the roof, produce a pleasing and airy effect. One of the leading features of the arrangement of the market is that for securing light without sunshine, and free ventilation without exposure to rain or snow. This has been most successfully accomplished by using the Mansard form of roof throughout the building; the lower part is filled in with broad glass louvres, which admit air, whilst the overlapping of the plate-glass shuts out the direct rays of the sun. During the excessive heat of the past summer, the effect was tested by thermometers in various places, inside and out- side, and the result was highly satisfactory, the interior of the building being seldom less than ten degrees cooler than in the shade outside. The importance of the result in a meat mar- ket will be apparent to everyone. The construction of the roof of the market was, as might be supposed from its great size, a work of considerable labour, and requiring much care. Two miles of wrought-iron girders are employed, carried on 180 cast-iron columns. The shops are arranged on each side of the side avenues or passages, which cross the building from north to south, and intersect the central avenue. The latter is 27 feet wide, while the side avenues, of which there are six, are 18 feet wide. One bay at the eastern end of market reserved for dealers in poultry and game, but no fish or vegetables will be sold in this market. The cast-iron frame- work forming the shops, composed of light iron columns and lattice girders, and to which the brackets for carrying the rails and meat-hooks are fixed, form a large item in the cost of the structure. These lattice girders are 1 8 inches deep, and the whole form a length of about three miles. There are 162 shops in the market, each about 36 feet by 15 feet. Each shop consists of front shop, enclosed by open iron railing, and back shop, which can be entirely closed after business hours. In the back shop is the counting-house, and over it a private room, with W.C., &c. The entire cost of the market building will be somewhat within the architect's estimate of £200,000, REVIEW. THE FAMILY DOCTOR : A Dictionary of Domestic Medicine and Surgery. Especially adapted for family use. By a Dispensary Surgeon. Rontledgc and Sons, The Broadway. The design of this work is very faithfully carried out. It is a book really adapted for family use ; a country-house volume, from which oue may gather what to do while the family doctor is on his road. It goes just deep enough to be useful without being dangerous, is written in a plain, simple style, and treats not merely of diseases and remedies, but very fully and ably of the properties of herbs and other such simple home-made medicines. As with a dictionary or gazeteer, it is impossible to read a work like this right off or through ; but we have already tried it under several different headings, and can testify to the succinct force with which symptoms are described and advice is offered, e 2 20 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE CATTLE-PLAGUE RATE IN CHESHIRE. At a recent meeting, Mr. Rigby said : On coming to the subject of our discussion, it will be noticed that the terms in which the first part of it is drawn assumes that some action to obtain exemption from the cattle-plague rate will be gene- rally assented to, and that there are several modes of actiou from which to select ; but at the outset I would like it to be understood that we do not appeal to sympathy for our losses in justification of this proceeding, nor simply to evade meeting our liabilities because they are large and will tax our industry for a lengthened period. For myself, I believe that the landed interest in this country is strong enough to bear its own bur- dens, and can meet all its engagements if let alone, without appealing for help as a charity from any other of the rich and powerful interests of the country. The late trial through which it has passed in Cheshire has revealed many noble traits of character in the landed proprietor, which for sympathy, and considerateness, and generosity to his tenant fully equal, if it does not greatly excel, what would be shown in any other of the business relationships of the world between creditor and debtor ; and I will be free to say that this generosity has been received and responded to by the tenant farmer with a commend- able spirit of perseverance and industry that must be satisfactory and agreeable to the landlord. The three last years have brought more than their usual average of disappointment to the hopes of the tenant, and yet we have little complaint, and we are con- scious of much patient endurance in hopes of better days. We need not therefore assume the character of a mendicant who would rather beg than work, and we desire our brethren in other counties to consider our case in all its bearings before they hastily condemn the course we are pursuing, or say, as was ungenerously said by the chairman of the Lincolnshire Chamber of Agriculture in reply to a request for co-operation in this manner from a sister chamber, " It's a begging letter, acknowledge its receipt, but decline to assist." We rest our case for exemption from the repayment of the loan made to the county on the plea that it would have been more equitable to provide compensation for the compulsory slaughter of cattle under the Cattle Diseases Prevention Act of 1SG6 by a national rate ; and also on the ground of the impracticable character of the provision of that act for the collection of the money in Cheshire to repay the loan. Much may be said in palliation of the mistake made by Parliament in not adopting this mode of rating. It was called upon to legislate in haste for an extra- ordinary calamity, of the character of which but few of its members had any adequate conception. Close acquaintance with the disease was quite requisite to conviction of its fatality — indeed, it needed men to live among its dire effects in this country to realize its fell power, and this not many members of Parliament had done. Even those who saw it daily hoped against hope that it would soon pass away, and could scarcely credit the havoc it was making or would make. It was, there- fore, excusable and quite natural for Parliament to suppose that the loss would not be heavier than each county could easily bear by a small rate. Nor were the benefits that would accrue to the country or to counties adjacent to those where the plague was raging, especially by the stampiug out of the fatal disease therein, understood, or I think it would have been evident that as the cattle-keepers of these counties would be largely protected against its spread among them by this course, aud as the consumers of milk, butter, and beef would also participate in the benefits so secured, it would only have been fair and just that they should all assist in repaying some of the loss that might fall upon the ill-fated counties ; and that if a rate was the best mode of doing this, then that rate should by all means be a national rate levied all over the country. The justice of this course was acknowledged by the Government when the disease was better understood upou the bill being- made appli- cable to Ireland, compensation being provided for therein by a national rate. These principles being allowed as reasonable, it is not difficult to make out a claim for their application to ourselves. When the Cattle Diseases Prevention Act came into force Cheshire was charged with a contageom and fatal disease among stock then realised as incurable, and its preven- tion by any ordinary methods impossible. " Immediate slaugh- ter of all diseased cattle," said the Act of Parliament, " is the only way in which we cau hope to save any of our herds in the country," and it appointed inspectors, &c, to see it done ; and soon 35,000 of the remnant of our stock, as I have said, were despatched by the pole-axe, and '.the expenses of their burial added to their value as the'loss of the county. Had this not been done, what would have been the result no man can tell ; but the fact of such a number being killed must have reduced the amount of the fatal contagious poison that attended the disease, and have limited its progress into other parts of the country. Possibly some of our cattle in the county were saved by this course, but it was too late to be of the benefit it would have been had it been adopted earlier. And, on the other side, possibly some of those that were slaughtered might have re- covered had they been spared longer, for there were instances of recovery before the Act was passed from the worst type of the disease which had been given up as hopeless ; and on the whole there can be no doubt that adjoining counties, and the country generally, were more benefited by this action than we ourselves were. It may be said that other counties were sub- jected to the same Act in reference to the disease, and they have paid compensation under it out of their county rates. Why, therefore, should not Cheshire ? Chiefly because its action was more beneficial to the country than that of any other county, and because its loss thereby was so much greater. To lose nearly 35 per cent, out of so many hundreds of cattle as were then in Cheshire is a much more serious thing than where the loss was counted only at 12 per cent., 0^ per cent., 5 per cent., and much less, as in other counties where a far smaller number of cattle were kept. It cannot be anything but unjust to this county, then, to subject it to such taxes as I have specified for nearly SO years, when the action it Mas compelled to pursue was clearly beneficial to the whole king- dom, and the loss so great to itself. In considering the imprac- ticable character of the provisions made in the Act for collec- tion and repayment of the loan, we shall only require to glance at the labour and responsibility it throws upon the local au- thority. The disease prevailed in upwards of 400 townships in the county before the Act was passed, and according to re- turns collected by the police, 30,823 cattle had died of the plague by this time. How large the number of the owners of these cattle who will think themselves eligible for a remis- sion of rates under the clause I have recited, it is difficult even to guess, but in the Nantwich Hundred 808 persons had the disease in their stock before the Act was passed, and other Hundreds in similar proportion; and if the local authority is to examine every claim that may be made with a view to exer- cise the discretionary power vested in it in all these cases, its duties will be by no means enviable. Many persons partook in the distribution of the county relief fund, so that they at least will be entitled to be heard. But supposing this point adjusted, is the benefit of remission of rates to be attached to the farm on which the loss occurred, or is it to be given to the man? If the former, a change of tenancy may locate a man on a farm where cattle were slaughtered after the Act became law, and whose tenant partook of the compensation clause ; aud on the other hand, one that lost heavily before the Act passed may move to a farm liable to pay cattle plague rates, and be obliged to contribute its quota. If exemption lrom rates is to be given to the man, will it attend him in any changes of tenancy he may make, or in any changes of circumstances or situation? and on the death of such man will his title to it descend to his heir as a legacy or annuity ? Another clause in the Act renders the landlord liable to pay half the cattle plague rates of his tenant, a fact which will have to be borne in mind by the landowners when accepting a new tenant, and by a farmer when taking a farm, as it may be a consideration worth entertaining to both ; and all this must continue for the next 20 years. Complication upon ^complication must necessarily nriseinthal time, aud confusion upon confusion make it most THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 21 difficult, if not utterly impossible, to work out these details with any degree of justice. '1 here are legal difficulties, too, in the levy of the rate, '1 am told, which it is almost impossible to overcome ; but waiving any remark oil these, I would say that ou these two grounds, without going further into the question, it can be only equitable and proper that the loan should be re- mitted to us from the Consolidated Fund, or that a natioual rate for its discharge should be levied. The calamity from which we suffered was not an ordinary one, and the compen- sation paid to those whose cattle were slaughtered was only half their value. No blame attaches to formers for any wilful neglect or default that induced the disease, nor for want of energy and effort in attempts to cure, nor for indifference in not making preparation against its inroad by insurance, inas- much as there was no known data on which to base calcula- tions. Another anomaly of the Act is that the city of Chester is exempt from the payment of Cattle Hague Hates on account of the loan, having had ouly to pay for the Cattle that died within its boundary ; while the towns of Birkenhead, Maccles- field, and Stockport arc liable to pay!; and it would be well if all these difficulties were at once overcome by a remission of the loan, or by ordering a national rate to be levied. There arc large sums paid from the public purse every session of Parlia- ment for things which arc not more deserving, and indeed for some that have less claim ^pon the just administration of its funds. SHORTHORNS AND AYRS HIRES. At the Inverness Farmers' Society, Mr. Anderson, of Loch- dhu, in the chair, and Mr. Gair Hilton, croupier, the subject of discussion for the evening was — " Granted that the Short- horn breed of cattle is the best for fattening purposes, and the Ayrshire as milkers, which, in a natioual point of view, should be preferred ?" The Secretary said that Mr. Gentle had proposed the sub- ject, aud would no doubt open the discussion. Mr. Gentle said the question, taking certain things for granted, was, which of the two breeds of cattle, Shorthorn or Ayrshire, was to be preferred ? Seeing that Shorthorns sent to market specimens that brought, when two or three years t old, nearly £100, the preponderance seemed to be altogether against the poor Ayrshires. But the merits of the Ayrshire must not be overlooked, as it supplied what was indispensable to the sustenance of the human family, lie came to the con- clusion that milk was of more importance than beef, lie had often regretted that a breed could not be selected, distinguished alike for its beef and milk-giving qualities ; but he believed such a breed did not exist. As far as general rules could apply, few, if any, animals could be found to supply well both milk and beef. Mr. Macewen agreed with Mr. Gentle that we could not expect to get a breed that would feed well and fatten well. In a natioual point of view, good milkers were to be preferred. Sir. Gair did not see that there was much use in discussing a subject of this kind ; it would be better for a local society to discuss questions of local than of national interest. Both breeds of cattle were very important ; the Ayrshires perhaps were better near towns, and the Shorthorns in country dis- tricts. At the same time he considered that milk, in a na- tional point of view, was of most importance ; and, therefore, perhaps Ayrshires were of more importance to begin with. Mr. Macleod, Migavie, Mr. Davidson, Mr. Munro, Mr. Frazer, corn merchant, agreed generally with the views of former speakers. Mr. Auckland would have Ayrshires for juveniles, and Shorthorns for adults. Mr. Beaton was strongly in favour of Shorthorns. Ayr- shires were able to milk their own calves, and were of little use besides to the country. Mr. Sutherland, Ballifeary, was for Shorthorns. Mr. Cameron, Woodside, thought Highland cattle aud crosses, which would give milk and beef too, were best ; he would prefer Shorthorns to Ayrshires. Mr. Sinclair, Balnafettack, considered milk of more na- tional importance than beef. Mr. Fraser (Secretary) was a little surprised at the course the discussion had taken, and the difficulty which some mem- bers seemed to have about the question. The fact was, there was a great deal to be said on the subject. He did not pretend to be able to say much himself, but he could throw out a sug- gestion. Ploughmen, who were the most healthy class of the community, lived almost entirely on milk and meal, and they were able to work well on the farm. On the other hand, he had heard one of the largest railway contractors in the king- dom say that a Highlandman was no use in the world to him as a labourer until he had him a month feeding on beef. In short, it appeared that while a man could live on milk and vegetables, and accomplish a certain kind of work, he would not do for the heavier kind of work now prevalent in the country. Looking at the subject in a national point of view, he thought Shorthorns should be preferred. Mr. Rose expressed himself rather in favour of Ayrshires. Mr. Hendrie was decidedly for Shorthorns ; he did not go in for Ayrshires at all. Mr. Macbean, Nairnside, considered that the question was not whether milk or beef was most necessary or best for the sustenance of the people ; he thought they must take the question commercially. He should say that to a poor crofter in the neighbourhood of a town an Ayrshire cow would perhaps be best, but in any other view he considered Ayrshires the worst class of cattle reared in G:-eat Britain, and the rear- ing of them a most prejudicial thing for the country. An Ayrshire calf at this moment was worth only a few pounds, while a good Shorthorn calf would bring from £20 to £30. Ayrshires perhaps were better milkers, but their milk was not so good ; and, if milk was an object — though it was not so necessary as beef for the nation — he would have first-cross cattle, which were better milkers and better animals. Ayr- shires, indeed, were the ouly class of cattle he would like to see extirpated from the country. Mr. Mackessack said it had been overlooked that Short- horns gave milk as well as Ayrshires. In his opinion Short- horns were the most necessary for the nation. Ayrshires had no chance at all with them. Mr. J. A. Fraser and Mr. Arres agreed that Shorthorns were the most valuable for national purposes. Mr. Inkson also considered Shorthorns best, and drew at- tention to the fact that in discussing the question they must take into account the milk given by Shorthorn cows. He did not at all admit that the Ayrshire was a better milker than the Shorthorn for feeding purposes. He had seen a Shorthorn cow bringing up two fine calves, which he did not think an Ayrshire could do ; or, at any rate, could not rear them so well. For dairy purposes he admitted that Ayrshires were better, but in a national point of view Shorthorns were de- cidedly to be preferred. The Chairman summed up, stating that ten members had spoken on each side, aud the numbers were thus equally balanced. Both were doubtless right, for milk aud beef were alike necessary, and he would say that Shorthorns should be kept for feeding and Ayrshires for dairy purposes. In a national point of view, however, he would go in for Short- horns. Though they were not such good milkers they would give a sufficient quantity of milk to support their calves, and a little besides. Some of them, indeed, would only keep up their calves, and no more ; while others were nearly as good as Ayrshires ; but in a national pointof view Shorthorns were by far most preferable- Crosses, he remarked, between the Shorthorn and the Ayrshire were an excellent breed of cattle ; they gave as much milk as the Ayrshire, and their feeding qualities were as good as the Shorthorn. 22 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. FARMYARD DUNG THE FOUNDATION OF ALL SUCCESSFUL FARMING. The growth of heavy root crops of necessity involves the liberal use of fertilizing agents calculated to promote this result. The produce of the farmyard is to every far- mer the iirst and the chief assistance. The production and proper use of farmyard dung is the foundation of all successful farming. A very large proportion of the ma- nure thus produced is employed for the root crop. Its employment differs very widely according to the nature of the soil. In some cases it is drawn upon the land as soon as it is made, and ploughed into the soil without delay ; in other iustaaces it is heaped in the field until the spring tillages are well advanced ; whilst some adopt the ride of drawing it fresh from the yard, aad putting it in bouts or ridges, ready for being at once covered up by the ridge plough. Each system has its advocates, and there ara circumstances under which each may be pre- ferable. The course adopted must be chiefly influenced by the soil upon which it has to be employed. If the soil is light and porous, it is clear that we do not want the ma- nure to loosen the land, and therefore it should uot be in a long and unfermented state. When the land is heavy, this fresh condition of the manure is very advantageous, as it tends to give a friability to the soil which favours the growth of the root crop. It is, however, open to very serious doubt whether we do not lose considerably every year by the practice of keeping farmyard dung in heaps or in yards when such manure would be much more safely preserved if it were in the land. It is an excellent plan upon soils which are of a retentive, or even moderately retentive character, to get the dung, spread upon the land as early as possible in the winter, and covered up by the winter ploughing. The spring tillages complete the dis- tribution of such manure through the soil, and it becomes very thoroughly incorporated with it, and in this condition it is exceedingly valuable for the purposes of vegetation. It may be taken as an established rule that a given quan- tity of farmyard manure will exert a much more beneficial influence upon the growth of any crop by being well dis- tributed through the soil than by being so placed within reach of the plant that its delicate rootlets penetrate into the decaying mass. In the former case the rootlets get nourishment such as the plant requires, mellowed by the action of the soil, and in the latter the food is rank and often injurious to the fibres : these are strong reasons for advocating a more general distribution of manure through the soil, for its efficiency is increased thereby, and a more healthy growth results in consequence — these are matters of no small im- portance, when considered in relation to the keeping qualities of our root crops. Every succeeding season increasingly shows the value of this character, and yet, whilst its importance is fully appreciated on all sides, we do not see sufficient care taken to secure such a growth of roots as shall best withstand exposure to severe cold and violent changes in the weather. We are all aware by ordinary observation that moderate sized roots, which are heavy and dense in their character, withstand the influence of wintery weather far better than those of larger growth and less density : the latter upon examination often present all the indications of an over vapid growth. The general structure of such bulbs is spongy, and there is an evident want of solidity : in some cases we have even a hollowness in the centre. Such bulbs cannot withstand severe weather ; but rapidly be- come rotten, and are almost valueless as food. If a bulb be required for keeping under trying conditions of climate, we cannot let its growth be too regular and steadily progressive : the influence of the manner in which farm-yard manure is used is most important in attaining this result. If the manure be thoroughly inter- mixed with the soil, the supplies of nourishment are more equable and of a more varied character than when the plant has to get its supplies of food from decaying manure. The keeping qualities of such bulbs will differ widely, and, apart from all consideration as to their relative feeding value, it is unquestionable that the preference must be given to the careful distribution in the soil of such farm- yard manure as may be employed for the root crop. The same rule is found to apply in the use of artificial manures. The more ordinary plan is to drill the manure with the seed, and thus bring them in tolerably close con- tinuity. The reasons for doing so are doubtless to secure a prompt action upon the seed as soon as it has burst into growth, and the other reason is the fear of loss arising from the young plant not finding its nourishing supplies. The idea is fast gaining ground amongst practical men that both of these reasons are of an erroneous character, and that they have led to a practice which is very unde- sirable, especially when a farmer is anxious to have roots which will stand the winter. The same reasons arc here brought to bear which at one time so generally influenced the use of dung. Nothing appeared so desirable as for the roots to strike into the dung, but gradually this was found undesirable, and the practice of having the dung well intermingled with the land has become very gene- rally acknowledged. The same feeling is now entertained about the use of artificial manures, and hence so many fear to distribute them broadcast over the land, under an im- pression that the roots will never find them. The influence of the usual mode of using artificial ma- nures is eminently calculated to produce a very rapid early growth. In all its stages the plant is deficient in that firmness of character which is observed under a more steady growth. The plant is evidently over-forced in its deve- lopment, its general structure is encouraged by the rapid growth of cellular matter, but the cells are left empty, or comparately so. The growth is altogether unhealthy and unnatural, and the value of such food is of a very low standard. When the artificial manure is sown over the ground and intermixed with the soil the influence is less energetic but more permanent ; so that although the growth be slower, it is more continuous and a better crop is the result. The crop will be superior in its character, whether taken at its produce per acre or judged by its nutritive value as food. The growth of the root crop is in like manner very powerfully influenced by the choice of artificial manures. These are well known to differ very greatly in their cha- racter, composition, and value; but without intruding upon personal grounds, and comparing the relative merits of the produce of opposing manufacturers, we may with safety make some few comments which influence all alike. Here we may especially draw attention to the increasing tendency to prepare artificial manures so that they come into very immediate action, forcing the growth with extra- ordinary rapidity during the early stages, and having but little power left for assisting the latter stages of growth. Happily this is attracting the attention it deserves, and many a farmer now notices the steady and continuous THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. :2cJ action of the manures he uses with greater satisfaction than tiic impetuous but ill-sustained gallon of some crops, over-stimulated for a short time, and then left without further assistance to become mildewed, aud have to be used as promptly as possible. At no period of the growth of the crop is the influence upon the weight of the bulb so powerful as in the latter stages. The bidbs may not appear to increase much in size, but if the early growth has been steady, and there is condition in the land to help the crop, an accumulation of valuable food is gained almost imperceptibly. This will be the most valuable and nutritious addition to the crop ; and that is the most judicious policy which secures a safe germination of the seed, a steady progress through the several successive stages of the plant's growth, with sullieieut power remaining at the last to ao in and win. THE GROWTH OF SEED FOR ROOT CROPS. There are few truths more generally acknowledged than the close connection which exists between the character of the seed sown and the crop to be grown therefrom. At the same time, it will be readily admitted that in the growth of our root crops this is not duly considered in the selection of seed. It appears almost contradictory to place these statements side by side ; but we do so advisedly to represent in its full force a neglect which is very much too general. As each winter comes round, we hear of sad complaints of the root crop failiug — the majority acknowledge that their crops do not stand exposure as they used to do. We have already shown that to a great extent this result may be traced to the early growth being over-rapid and imperfect, in consequence of the high-pressure speed at which they are forced in their growth. We then took occasion to show that such rapidity of growth was unnecessary and impolitic, and that the best quality of roots for feed- ing purposes and for keeping were those grown upon well- cultivated land, having the manure well distributed through the soil. The result of this system of cultiva- tion, as demonstrated, was calculated to produce heavy crops — firm and dense bulbs of high feeding character, and such as would best withstand exposure during the winter months. The system of cultivation has been shown to have very great influence in securing these results ; but the success can be materially promoted and insured by the selection of seed, grown with care and judgment. There are some growers of seed who pay very strict attention to the character of root selected and preserved for this purpose, and they merit our warm commendation. A very large proportion of our seed is grown in an exceedingly unsatis- factory manner. The seed of an over-forced root cannot have that constitutional vigour which is desirable for suc- cessful growth. The produce must have a tendency to an enfeebled growth. No doubt it is well calculated for making rapid growth ; but this is not the sole qualifica- tion which is desired. So loug as the growth is firm, healthy, aud nutritious, we need not complain of rapid growth ; but when quality is sacrificed for speed, the supposed advantage is of questionable benefit. The great difficulty we have to contend against is that which is ex- perienced in keeping roots until the time they are most wanted. To attain this result, we say that not only must care be taken in adopting such a course of cultiva- tion as shall encourage this result, but it must be supple- mented by the use of seed calculated to promote this object. In the growth of seed for our root crops it is clear that we must exercise great care in the selection of bulbs, preserving the characteristic from which is considered de- sirable. All our root crops are improved varieties, and this improvement has been brought about by cidtivation and selection. The improved form having been attained by selecting the best specimens, and getting seed from these, the habit of growth has been strengthened : thus we have arrived at very satisfactorily results. There is, however, nothing permanent in these improved characters. Our root crops need nearly as much care to maintain their character as to produce the original improvement. When neglect is shown in selecting suitable roots, and growing seed only from these, there are sure sigus of degeneracy soon evident, giving us strong warning of further loss of character unless greater care be taken. When we consider the large extent to which seed for our root crops is grown without the slightest regard to the proper selection of roots, can it be any surprise that we have such continual evideuce of degeneracy in the form of our bidbs ? It is not simply that we need a certain quantity of seed annually produced for the use of farmers, but we need a supply of good seed : those who arc growers of inferior seed are doing an amount of mis- chief to their brother-farmers far beyond anything they imagine. We would therefore urge all who may be in- clined to grow seed, not only for their own sakes but for the common interest of others of their own occupation, either to abstain from growing seed altogether, or else to grow for the future good seed. This cannot be done without careful selection and judicious management : but by this means the growers will be doing a good service, whereas now they are causing an incalculable amount of evil. There shoidd be no mistake on one point as regards inferior seed when once it has been grown : some one is sure to be deceived by it. It may be sold as grown — it may be mixed with other seed aud then sold, or it may be killed and then mixed with other seed and sold — but sold it will be, and disappointment in some form or other must of necessity result. It can afford no real satisfac- tion to any farmer to know that by encouraging the growth of inferior seed he is for his own beucfit sendiug out into the country seed which must occasion very severe loss. Far better would it be for him if he grows seed to take care that by a proper selection of the bulbs, by a judicious and temperate growth, and by general good management he is sending out a seed that go where it may shall be no discredit to the grower, but shall do good service to the buyer. We recognise in relation to animal life that like pro- duces like, whether it be in relation to form, constitution, or quality, but we sadly overlook the same facts in their influence upon vegetation. This does not alter the facts, there they remain to remind us by our failures that we have brought upon ourselves loss and disappointment by an entire disregard of principles respecting the truth of which we do not entertain any doubt. We need not say one word to show the very great importance which the success or failure of the root crop exerts upon a farmer, but in the face of this we sadly ueglect to adopt a prudent course in the choice of seed. We do not trace out its 24 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. antecedents, and possibly it is purchased of those who know as little about it as the buyers. The time will come, and it cannot be long delayed, when seed will be purchased under some pledge as to its growth, and wc are satisfied it will be a great blessing to the entire body of farmers to have this security. How- ever good may be the quality of the laud, or the general management adopted in its cultivation, bad quality seed damages the entire result, and throws serious loss upon the cultivator. RESTORING EXHAUSTED LAND J. W. C, Fairfax Co., Va., inquires what course he can best pursue to restore fertility to a " still loam or clay soil of a dark brown mould appearance." The fact that a clay loam has such an appearance would lead to the opinion that the land may not be as badly exhausted as it is supposed to be. In most places it would be inferred that there is considerable vegetable matter and consequent latent fertility, that only needs good management and thorough cultivation again to become available in growing crops. Hence give a thorough fallowing, by ploughing late this fall seven or eight inches deep, allowing the soil to freeze and crumble down this winter, and harrow- ing and ploughing next season as often as may be necessary to keep the soil clean, fme, and mellow ; and in the fall, as soon as the climate and season will allow, sow to winter rye. If this rye makes a fair start, so as to indicate even a moderate crop, then seed well to clover early in the spring. If the rye makes but a feeble growth, showing it cannot be much of a crop, and clover is not expected to do well, then omit, the clover seed and plough down the rye when as large as it can well be turned under, and sow buckwheat or corn, also to be ploughed under. If the rye is turned under rather early, perhaps two crops of buckwheat or corn may be ploughed in, and there still be time to sow again to rye in the fall. But the rye should be sown early enough to make a good growth in the fall, whether two summer crops or only one be secured. Then, if there are indications of returning fertility, clover can be sown in the spring. As soon as clover, with the help of plaster, can be made to produce a fair crop to turn under, it will be the best fertilizing crop that cau be grown. Care should be taken to plough under the buckwheat before any seed is formed to grow in aud injure future crops. Corn can be ploughed in when as large as it can be well turned under. Lime may be a good application on the soil described. Pure clay is white ; consequently there must be other substances mixed with the soil described, to give it a dark colour. To vegetable mould or matter more or less decomposed, this ap- pearance is often due ; but the fact that " no grain or grass will attain perfection" on this soil, would indicate some other cause for the dark appearance, something that if not detri- mental, at least is not useful. Or there may be sufficient vegetable mould or matter to give a brown colour, but ren- dered useless by the presence of some deleterious substance or agency in the soil. Whatever the cause may be, lime will be very likely to operate as a corrective, and may be sufficient alone, but will be more likely to answer the desired purpose when used in connexion with thorough cultivation or a course of green cropping, or what is still better, both together. Thorough cultivation often works a great improvement in the soil. When deeply and finely worked, air, light, heat, and the rains, with all their beneficial and chemical agencies and effects, are admitted and brought into operation in the soil. By these means many substances injurious to growing plants are rendered inoperative, or changed to a useful condition, while other heretofore useless but really valuable matters, locked up in the badly tilled soil, are set free and made to help support vegetation. Sometimes these deleterious or hitherto useless matters are corrected and made available by the use of lime, while on other occasions lime does not appear to be of any benefit. Hence in most cases its value must be determined by repeated experiments. But there are many instances where the soil is so completely exhausted that the most thorough cultivation and liming will have hut little effect in promoting the growth of crops. In such cases, a summer fallow not being needed, it will be best to get something growing as soon as possible. It may be buck- wheat, corn, oats, or peas, o be followed by rye in the fall — any crop that will grow the best and soonest afford a supply of vegetable matter to the soil. An advantage in sowing rye in the fall is that it will make more growth before winter sets in, and early 'n the spring, than any other crop. It is also a good crop to seed with, and will be ready at the proper season, when- ever the evidence of returning fertility shows it will do to sow clover. 1 1 extreme cases, two or three seasons have to be de- voted to growing crops to plough under, before the soil is in a condition to grow profitable crops to harvest. Still, in all cases where clover cau be made to do well, the sooner it is made the principal reliance, the better. In Western New York, badly run farms have been made very rich and productive by plough- ing under clover every other year. The usual course in such cases is to plough in clover when in blossom, or when as large as it cau be well turned under; prepare and sow to wheat, and seed to clover again the next spring, ivhich is again managed in the same way the next year. When plenty of barn-yard manure can be had, of course it is best for restoring an exhausted soil. If but a limited amount is within reach, ten, eight, or even five or six loads to the acre, of well-rotted manure, finely spread before sowiug rye in the fall, will be a great help to the crop and to the new seeded clover in the spring. There are many instances where it will pay to apply a moderate dressing of some commercial manure, in order to get the land started in crops and secure a good seeding to clover. But clover is decidedly cheaper than any other fertilizer ; hence commercial manures or greeu crops need only be used so long, and to such amounts, as may be needed to secure a good crop of clover. Plaster is always in order for clover, and should never be omitted when seeding down. At the same time, all the manure that can be made with the means at hand should be applied. The quickest, best, most thorough, and profitable renovation of an exhausted soil is secured by thorough cultivation, manuring either with barn- yard, green crops, or some of the best commercial manures, clovering, and a judicious rotation of crops. The cases are rare where, on a naturally good and reasonably dry soil, the means indicated will not produce the desired effect. But if they should fail — if the soil needs some of the constituents of crops not restored or developed in this way — then the farmer can only learn how to renovate his particular soil by experi- menting with manures best calculated to restore what is sup- posed to be lacking, or by learning from the experience of some farmer that has been successful in bringing up such a soil under similar circumstances. During the recent fair of the Saratoga Co. Agricultural Society, evening meetings for discussion were held. At one of these meetings the Hon. S. Cheever, of Waterford, made some remarks on renovating worn-out farms. He said : " I do not propose to talk of the phosphates, the nitrates, the exact amount of potassium, or of any other element in any plant or in any crop — that is better learned from books — but to talk, if I can, in a practical way of the restoration of worn-out farms, of which we have too many. When a man finds himself on such a farm, by whatever means he came there, I would re- commend him to look to his barn-yard. If that is draining into the highway, or into a brook, or situated ou a slope, send- ing its drainage to parts of the farm not needing it, he should at once change it, even at the expense of moving his barn, un- less he can, by embankment or otherwise, shape it where it is. It should be protected on the north and west by barn or shed, and on the south by shed, or at least a high and tight fence, and be supplied with water for his stock, if attainable. It should be large enough to give dry ground for racks in which •The eahmee/s magazine. 25 to place straw and rough feed for the stock in day-time while out of the stable, and room to lie down. The centre should be so depressed, by embankment or otherwise, that all drainage will be inward. If he has muck upon his farm, or anything of kin to it, or can avail himself of it, and it will bear carting some distance, he should use it. If he cannot do better, he can procure loam, even from a bank, or mud from some pond, and place it in this basin, to serve as an absorbent of the liquids and any drainage of the yard. A stack of straw, weeds, or wild grass, well rotted, placed there, surrounded by a low fence, will attract the cattle to it, where they will work it up, and everything placed about it for an absorbent with it. Muck, if it can be had, if not, some other absorbent, should be placed under the animals in the stable, either on floor or without tloor ; also in the sheep and hog pens, to take up the liquid. It should be borne in mind that the liquids from the animals are of nearly as much value as the solids for fertilizing pur- poses, if properly secured by absorbents or otherwise. From one to two hundred loads of fertilizing matter may in this way be added to the farm annually, dependent upou the extent of the farm stock, and the facility of procuring the absorbent and fertilizing material. " The barn-yard and these pcus form the pocket-book of the fields, into which they cast their earnings, and on which they in turn, should be able to draw for a full balance of the in- debtedness. "This basin in the baru-yard will furnish a supply for top- dressing the meadows directly after mowing, and to spread upon the. furrows for any winter crop to be put in and dragged in with the seed, and then the basin immediately tilled again. That made in the stable, including the absorbents placed there, now saturated with the liquids, should be taken from the heaps into which it is thrown from the stables, and spread evenly upon the furrows for the spring crop, or, to avoid hauling over " wet roads in the spring, it may. be taken on late snows and placed in small heaps along the bach furrows of the last ploughing, where the dead furrow of the next will fall, and then spread upon the furrows on each side where the plough has come up to the heaps. "The question of putting manure upon the furrow after ploughing, or spreading it before turning under, was discussed before the State Society at Albany sixteen years ago, in which I had the honour to take part, aud from my remarks there I take the liberty to quote as pertinent here : ' The manure should be taken to the fteld as soon after made as possible, so that whatever of its elements are to be washed out by the raius should be washed out in the field rather than in the barn- yard. We cannot lay down even a small heap of it upon the grass, and let au hour's raiu fall upon it, and take it up again ever so clean, but it leaves its mark in the growth of the grass. The salts and alkalies, as well as other fertilizing elements in it, are not available for the use of the plants untii dissolved by water. If placed at the bottom of the furrow, the water car- ries the solution with itself downward away from the roots of the plant. If put upou the top of the furrow, or nigh there, it is taken directly to the roots, where it is taken up. It would be about as wise if a man, wishing to feed his horses, should drive them up to a tight fence aud put his hay upon the other side.' " Dr. Voelckcr,thedistinguished German agricultural chemist, remarked, more recently, that ' the most advantageous mode of applyiug the manure in all cases is to leave it on the surface to be washed into the soil ; it is better distributed than if ploughed in' (See Patent Otlice Report for 1860, p. 113.) " Some of our farms are so reduced that clover cannot be made to grow upou them. Clover is the great vEsculapius — the great doctor — of the farm, aud must be called in when the patient is suffering under mal-practice. Clover should imme- diately follow the offerings of the barn-yard, and a cure is sure to follow ; hut it must be continued and repeated as often as symptoms of the disease return, and should be carried over all the tillable parts of the farm. Agricultural chemists estimate a good clover ley ploughed in equal to eight to twelve loads of barn-yard, manure to the acre. That is certainly cheap manuring, for the farmers of Saratoga county can as well raise their own cloverseed as those of Seneca and Ontario. " The potato crop, to which the sands and sand loams of Saratoga county seem so well adapted, aud where it so generally escapes " the potato rot," is undoubtedly an exhausting one. Prom the great ease with which it is cultivated, and its profit- able yield, it is a very inviting crop. The only condition upon which it can be cultivated without exhaustion, is frequent turning in of clover leys, or treatment from the barn-yard. This is probably the best land on which to use muck, which is almost entirely organic matter, in which these lands arc defi- cient, it having been washed out and carried by the water down through the subsoil. Muck and clover seem to possess the best elements to supply it. The third year should not pass with the potato crop on these lands, without a clover ley or manure from the barn-yard. " There is sometimes difficulty in getting clover to catch upon sandy lands, when sowed in the spring upon winter grain. A crust is often formed upon the surface by the winter and spring raius, to which the clover has difficulty in attaching itself. In such a case I successfully used a light harrow with small teeth, tracking eight feet wide. I made a sled 4 feet wide of two pieces of hard wood, wall strips 3 by 2, using two rungs be- tween them, fastening by cords to the under side of the harrow frame, leaving the teeth about 1| or 2 inches below the runner. With this I scratched the surface, broke the crust, gave a tillage to the rye or wheat, aud secured always a good stand of the clover. " There is one fact that the farmer, either on the worn- out farm or any other, should know aud never forget — that every plant upon his farm, from the smallest blade of grass or grain to the tallest tree, is made up mainly from the same clement — to wit, carbon, and that the living plant feeds upon the dead and decaying or decayed plants ; and that unless it has that to feed upon, or its result, organic mat- ter, in muck, soil, or something combined with it, it can have no growth, or but a dwarfed one. He should therefore take care, and that constantly, that he does not waste, throw away, or unnecessarily burn up, any plant or vegetable matter which he can in any way turn into plant food on his farm. "We often see a farmer bum his weeds, his wild grass, his leaves, his broom-corn stubble, and his potato tops and straw. He has but to go only one step further in the same direction, and burn up his dung-heap, if dry enough. Weeds, if cut before seeding, should be piled) up or left on the ground to decay, and used as a fertilizer ; aud if seeded should be piled up green, when they will ferment aud destroy their own seed by their own heat, except on the outside, and that should be turned over. All weeds and vegetable rubbish, even briars, should be spread on the land to decay, if not taken to the barn-yard or house. " The little savings of this carbon upon the farm will very much help to bring it back to fertility, as it has by little and little been brought to sterility. This burning of the straw, potato tops, &c, is sometimes sought to be justified 'because they have the ashes left !' They should learn from the books that the ash of these dried plants gives only from one to three per cent., while they burn up the other 97 to 99. It is true that they save the richest one to three per cent., and that the quickest to act, but a very small part of the value of the whole is left. " Our clay soils, lying upon a level or gentle slope, must be drained before they can be successfully improved by manuring or clover. Manure will be of little service on laud which di- vides its time between the softness of the mortar bed aud the hardness of the brick. If clover is applied, the frost will take it out by the root the next spring after it grows. Many of our farmers are commencing to drain. Their success will be the best argument to prove its utility. When they have put their fields in a condition to pass the falling rains through their soils, instead of ponding and stagnating on the surface, they will be ready for ministrations from clover aud the barn-yard." — Country Gentleman. THE SEX OP EGGS. — When, on examining an egg, by holding it between the eye aud the light of the sun, or of a caudle, the vivifying speck is seen exactly on the top, such an egg, it is said, will produce a male bird ; but if, on the contrary, the speck be on one side, it will produce a hen. It is said also, that the sex of the embryo bird may be distin- guished by the shape of the egg ; as, if the egg is elongated in shape it will contain a male, but if more globular it will centain a female. So that, if these indications be true, either sex may be propagated at pleasure, which is not yet known to be the case in any other class of the animal creation. 26 THE FARMERS MAGAZINE. RUTLAND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT OAKHAM. This show was generally good, with the classes well filled, and the competition close, although with no promise of the Gold Medal Ox coming up from Oakham. Mr. Spencer's shorthorn cow, that takes the special prize as the best fat beast, is, however, pretty sure to be heard of again ; while Mr. Chapman's fat heifer is very compact, if scarcely big enough, although the point of preference lay entirely between her and the cow. Sir W. De Capell Brooke's young white steer is very good already ; but will be still better as he developes himself; and Mr. Lynn, of Stroxton, had two nice breeding heifers, the yearling being particularly promising. There were also some good breeding cows, and the yearling bull and bull- calf classes were meritorious. There was the usual dis- play of hunting horses, but the Leicester sheep were thought not to be up to an average ; and there were very few pigs. It is only right to add that the general management of this show is very efficient and business-like. PRIZE LTST. CATTLE. Judges. — Mr. T. Brown, Marham, Norfolk. Mr. J. Robinson, Clifton Olney. Mr. C. Bosworth, Dishley. Best ox or steer of any breed or weight, exceeding three years and three months old (open to all England). — £15 to the Duke of Rutland ; £7 to T. Fulver, Broughtou. Highly commended, Rowland Wood, Clapton. Best ox or steer of any breed or weight, not exceeding three years and three months old, fed within the district (open to all England).— £10 to Sir W. De Capell Brooke ; and £5 to the Marquis of Exeter. Best cow of any breed, age, or weight (open to all England). — £10 to W. Spencer, Potters Marston. Highly commended, R. Searson, Cranmore Lodge. Commended, Sir W. De Capell Brooke, Geddington Grange. Best heifer, not exceeding four years old, of any breed or weight (open to all England). — £10 to C. Chapman, Exton. Highly commended, R. Wood and Sir W. De Capell Brooke. Best steer under two years and six months old, fed within the district.— £10 to Sir W. De Capell Brooke ; £5 to Joseph Hind, Ryhall Grange ; and £4 to T. Pulver. Best beast shown in classes 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. — Silver medal and extra premium of £25 to W. Speuccr. The exhibitor, being a tenant-farmer, of the best cow above three years old. — £10 to C. J. Bradshaw, Burley-on-the-Hill ; £C to T. H. Blaud, Dingley ; and £4 to E. Wortley, Ridling- ton. Highly commended, W. Eowler, Manton. The exhibitor, being a tenant-farmer, of the best heifer, above two and under three years old, bred within the district. — £7 to Mr. Lynn, Stroxton ; £5 to T. Stokes, Glaston ; and £3 to John Snodin, Stonesby. The exhibitor, being a tenant-farmer, of the best heifer, under two years old, and bred within the district. — £7 to J. Lynn, Stroxton ; £4 to C. Speed, Horn Mills, Oakham ; and .t2 to R. Searson, Cranmore Lodge. Best young bull, above nine and not exceeding fifteen months old. — £10 to Messrs. R. and 3 . Fisher, Ashwell ; and £5 to L. Hardy, Burley-on-the-Hill. To Tenant Occupiers or not more than Thirty Acres of Land. The best cow in milk. — £5 to G. Chester, Waltbam ; and £2 to W. Hubbard, Langham. Lest heifer under three years old. — £4 to John Lane, Bur- ley ; and £2 to Joseph Harris, Langham. Best heifer calf above six and under twelve months old. — £2 to C. Hubbard, Langham ; and £1 to J. Harris, Langham. To the cottager for the best breeding beast shown as extra stock. — £5 to W. Hubbard, Langham. Best breeding beast shown as extra stock. — A silver medal, values £5 5s., to Sir W. De Capell Brooke. Highly com- mended, E. Wortley, Ridlington. Commended, the Marquis of Exeter. Best beast shown in classes 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 13, or 14.— An extra premium of £10 to J. Lyun. Best fat beast, above two years and six months old, shown as extra stock.— £7 to C. Chapman, Exton ; and £3 to Sir W. De Capell Brooke. SHEEP. Best three long-woolled fat wether sheep, one year old (open to all England), a silver cup or £10 to Sir W. de Capell Brooke, and £5 toC; J. Bradshaw, Burley-on-the-Hill. To the owner, being a tenant farmer, of the three best long- woolled fat wether sheep, bred and fed within the district, £10 to W. Shipman, Eaton Lodge ; and £5 to C. J. Bradshaw, Burley-on-the-Hill. Best three short-woolled, or short and long-woolled cross- bred fat wether sheep (open to all England), a silver cup or £10 to the Marquis of Exster. Best pen of sheep in classes 16, 17, or IS, an extra premium of £5 to W. Shipman, Eton Lodge. Pour long-woolled breeding ewes, bred within the district, £5 to W. Shipman, aud £3 to the Marquis of Exeter. Best four long-woolled theaves, one year old, bred and fed within the, district, £5 to C. J. Bradshaw, and £3 to W. Shipman. Best four long-woolled wether lambs (ram lambs excepted), £4 to B. Painter, Burley ; and £2 to W. Shipman. Best four long-woolled ewe lambs, £4 to W. Shipman, and £2toB. Painter. Best pen of sheep in classes 19, 20, 21, or 22, or extra premium of £5 to C. J. Bradshaw. Best sheep shown as extra stock (open to all England), a silver medal, value 5 guineas, to C. J. Bradshaw, Builey-on-thc- iim. PIGS. Best fat pig under IS months old (opcu to all England), £5 to R. E. Duckering, Northorpe, Kirton Lindsey ; and £3 to Messrs. Carver and Sons, Ingarsby. Best fat pig under 10 months old, not exceeding 30 stone live weight (open to all England), £5 to Messrs. Carver aud Sons, and £3 to W. Bryan, Preston. Best fat pig of any weight (for tenant occupiers), £2 to G. Chester, Waltbam ; and £1 to John Tookey, Exton. Highly commended : W. Bryan, Preston. Best in-pigged or suckiug sow or yclt (for tenant occupiers), £3 to S. Deacon, Polebrooke Hall, Oundle. Highly com- mended: Messsrs. Carver and Sons; commended, John Wild, Great Dalby. HORSES. Judges. — The Marquis of Exeter. Westley Richards. Hon. G. J. Noel, M.P. Best mare for agricultural purposes, £7 to J. Parker, Pres- ton ; and £3 to Mr. Woods, Wytehley Warren. Best cart horse, under 7 years old, £7 to Charles Speed, Horn Mills ; and £3 to John Sleath, Brauuston. Best hunting mare or gelding, above 5 years old (open to all England), £20 to S. Gale, Kelmarsb ; £10 to Wm. Gil- ford, North Lumenham; aud £5 to John Drage, Moultou Lodge, Northampton. To the exhibitor, being a farmer, of the best four-year-old hunting mare or gelding, bred within the district, £25 to Wm. Gilford, North Luffenham ; and £10 to P. B. Sharp, Pinedon. To the exhibitor, being a farmer, of the best three-year-old hunting mare or gelding, bred within the district, .tin to Thomas Stokes, Caldecote ; and £5 to R. L. Healey, Ilain- bleton. To the exhibitor, being a tenant-farmur or tradesman, of the best mare for breeding hunters, £7 to John Berridgc, Caseby ; and £3 to Wm. Berridge, Burley. Best hackney mare or gelding under 7 years old, not ex- ceeding 15 hands, £10 to T. Percival, Wandsford ; and £5 to J. Hornsby, Grantham. For ponies under 7 years old, not exceeding 13 hands, £3 to Frederick rainier, Withcote ; aud a hunting whip to Wm. Tasker, Collwyestou. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 27 THE BIRMINGHAM AND MIDLAND COUNTIES CATTLE SHOW. With just an exception or so, here and there, interdic- tion, and the consequent interregnum have been followed by no very permanent depression. Indeed, almost all the best men seem to have fairly got their hands in again ; ami, so far as the cattle are concerned, seldom has the Midland Counties collected the material for a better meeting. Some classes and some animals, like the Hereford ox, aud the Cross-breds, have rarely been excelled ; whereas, by way of balance, the sheep showed but a moderate front, and the pigs were rather scarce than select. Then in the galleries, there was a much liner exhibition of roots than coidd have been expected, considering the season : and the echoes from the poultry t avenues went to proclaim more excellence than ever. Even, further', never did awards give more general satis- faction ; and the only complaint was that Messrs. Sauday, Bright, aud Potter were terribly over-worked. Beginning punctually at nine o'clock in the morning, they went on with scarcely any intermission until five o'clock in the evening, when they had to finish by gas-light ! In fact, had not these gentlemen acted with commendable prompt- ness and decision, they never could have got through. Now and then, to be sure, some fussy official would busy • himself in measuring a beast from the tip of his tail to the point of his nose, and then from the point of his nose to the tip of his tail, and so waste a few precious minutes, but it was good to see a judge turn his back while all this was going on ; and, if people must amuse themselves in this way, they should surely' take some other opportunity for doing so. Again, towards the close, the judges were most shamefully pressed by the lookers on, and, seeing how many members of the direction there were about, the ground might have been much better kept. The only other objection would be to the very imperfect manner in which the catalogue is made out. In these days pedigree is everything, and the name of every cow and heifer at least, with that of her sire and dam, should appear in the entry. Exhibitors usually furnish these particulars which are given by other Societies ; but for some reason or other of his own, the secretary, to the disgust of many breeders, thinks lit to withhold such information at Birmingham. If the Council will only see to this, and put on again another set of cattle judges, the show in Bingley Hall will still for liberal management, aud good, but not " finical" arrangement, be something of an example and correction to the petty exclusiveness which yet lingers on the threshold of the Smithlield Club. The very first-class out was sufficient to prove the strength of the show, for it contained one of the grandest beasts at all points ever exhibited. This is a Hereford ox, four years and three months old, bred by the late Mr. Elsmere, of Berrington, in Shropshire, aud fed by the well-known Mr. Heath, of Ludham, in Norfolk. Of great size and breadth, with an upstanding commanding appearance, a noble handsome head, and long deep frame, this animal has also fed capi- tally, aud is as good to the hand as the eye. In truth, there was no getting away from such a first impression ; and we own to having at once jumped to a conclusion, which the judges also in due course arrived at, that this Hereford was the best of his class, the best of his breed, the best of all the oxen and steers, and altogether the best animal in the yard. He fairly overshadowed the best of all the oxen and steers shown at Abingdon, on Monday, that now stood side by side by Jiim, and was quite good enough to take the second prize. Remarkably neat, in fact, Mr. Aldworth's beast, at just about the same age, lacks alike the size and grandeur of the other, although he finished before another clever steer of Mr. Heath's, and a fairish one from the Royal herd ; the only four placed in a lot of thirteen being, noticably enough, the four first num- bers on the list. The " remainder," indeed, were of uo great pretension, three of these being entered by Mr. Dew, of Kivernole, two by Mr. Fanner, of Kyrewood, and two by Mr. Rainlbrth, of Monkhopton, not very familiar names on the prize list. The class of younger Hereford steers was distinguished by another very superior auimal, over whose merits there could be no mistake, although there certainly seemed to be as to his age. This was Mr. Robert Worthy's beast, entered as three years and two months old, and a winner during the past summer and autumn at Downham and Walsham. There were, however, two or three objections to him ready to be put in ; and Professor Brown, the veterinary inspector, being called in, disqualified the steer as exceeding the age stated in the certificate, aud no doubt his mouth was against him. It must be understood that although the inspector religiously looks into the mouth of every pig, to a continual chorus of indiguaut remon- strance, he examines none of the cattle unless specially requested to do so ; and Mr. Worthy maintains there were beasts in the yard entered at a younger age than his own whose dentition was still more forward. This Here- ford was bred by Mr. E. Urwick, of Eelton, Ludlow, with whom of course the charge rests ; while Mr. Wort- ley is said to have even a better steer coming on to Smith- field, so that the white-faces would promise to be in high fashion abroad, if they can make no public stand about home. In the default stated, Mr. Corbet Groves succeeded to first with a shaggy-coated good steer, of fine character ; a moderate beast of Mr. Bettridge's, that was nevertheless first in his class at Abingdon the other day, being second ; and Mr. Shirley claiming the other two selected from the seven or eight exhibited. There were only four Hereford cows, and of these Mr. Hill's little Villa was quite overweighted, the first and second being two fine great cows ; but Mr. Bet- tridge's first, only second at Abingdon, is rather coarse, if a wonder for her age — over twelve years— with eight calves born alive. The four, in fact, had all done some service in the herd. The Hereford heifers only ran at five, Mr. Piidglcy's second being neat and pretty, and Mr. Plimleys's third lengthy, level, and handsome ; whereas Mr. Worthy's first, another purchase from Mr. Urwick, is getting patchy behind, if, without doubt, the best butcher's beast, and also previously a winner at Dowuham and Walsham. Some people still maintain there is no such beast to feed or graze as the Hereford, and certainly there was some evidence of this at Birmingham. Nevertheless, there was a strong class of Shorthorn oxen and older steers, with so many so good, that no- where was the competition so close, or the judges so long- in settling the award. The handsomest, or, to go further, the most elegant animal in the show, was Mr. Heath Harris' ox, with his nice sloping shoulders, his great length, his round barrel, his level top, and his kind, hand- some head. He was full of style and quality ; but at nearly five years old he had not the weight of some of the younger beasts, and so was fairly beaten for first by another Scotch entry. This is Mr, Frost's four-year-old, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. of a good colour and nice coat, famous to meet or to look over, with his broad well-covered back, but loose and slack iu his rib as you take him in profile, as well as a somewhat awkward animal out; and if there be nothing to complain of, it is still by no means impossible, should they come together again, that these two beasts may change places. Mr. Rowland Wood's third prize, very good behind and faulty forward, was only highly commended at Oakham, but then neither of those which then beat him came on to Birmingham ; while Mr. Wood prefers York and Leeds to meeting the same judge again iu London. There were some other a;ood animals iu this class, but the authorities confined their approval pretty much to the three prizes, although they kept four or five out for a time. The young steer class was more easily disposed of ; where Mr. Foljambe won with a white beast, very good forward, but getting lumpy behind, and with a capital thick coat of his own, if not quite firm in his touch. He travels on to London and Liverpool, and will most likely meet again, and again defeat the Badminton entry, a gaudy-coloured square animal, very sharp and narrow about his " withers," and wiry in his hair. Sir de Capell Brooke's third was the best young steer at Oakham ; but, so far, he is nothing extraordinary, begin- ning with a very mean head ; and the winning beasts here scarcely make the class so good as one would have thought from the first look through. Amongst the Short- horn cows, style and neatness had to give way to size and weight, as the third prize and commended entry were the two handsomest of the class. Mr. Foljambe's cow, Cherry Blossom, was commended at Leicester, and second to Lady Fragrant at Wetherby, when we spoke of her as beginning with a nice head and fine forehand ; as having a well sprung rib, a capital back, and great breadth over her loin, but as growing a little gaudy over her tail ; as she was, of course, feeding on for honours in another direction. Mr. Spencer's merely commended cow was not only the best of her class, but the best of all the fat beasts at Oakham ; and it strikes us that she has merit enough to have a higher place on the prize-list. The first, a Yorkshire cow, and a well-known winner in the North, is, however, a very good one without being anything very extraordinary until you get her out, when she improves on the eye, moving well with all her weight and breadth, and having a beautiful bosom and a deal of useful character, while she is very firm and sound in her flesh. Mr. Willis was thus altogether next best, as his cow was the best of her class, the best of her breed, the best Shorthorn bred and fed by the exhibitor, and the best of all the cows or heifers. Mr. Groves' second prize, Lady Rockingham, bred by the Honourable and Reverend T. H. Noel Hill, waddles in her wralk, has a steery head, and is altogether coarsish, but is full of meat and worth a deal of money to the butcher. Indeed, these said Shorthorn cows would seem to take far more kindly to the shambles than the herd. Mr. Eastwood's entry at seven years old has had one calf born alive ; Mr. Spencer's, at just six-years-old, two calves ; Mr. Brogden's, at five years and a-half, one calf ; Mr. Foljambe's, at live years old, two calves; Mr. W. Trethewy's, at nearly seven years old, two calves born alive and one dead ; Mr. Stratton's, at six years and a-half, one alive and one dead ; Mr. Willis', at over six years old, two calves ; Mr. Groves's, at six years and a-half old, two live calves and two dead. And so on ; whilst neither of the two famous Duchesses, pur- chased at the Preston-Hall sale at seven or eight hundred guineas each, can be got to breed at all ! The class of Shorthorn heifers was disfigured by five poor plain things placed all of a row, and exhibited by Messrs. Evans, Woodward, Statter, Mace, and Mumford; whereas the others were nearly all good ; and Lord Radnor's Darmsdat for one, long and low and light of bone, was surely worthy of a commendation. Then, Messrs. G. and J. Perry — new names to us — sent three very nice useful heifers, one of which took a prize, and another a com- mendation ; whilst Lord Walsingham's Thoughtless, the third prize at Leicester, where many considered she should have been higher, now honestly earned her high commendation, if not something more, taking her age into consideration, at a year and some months younger than anything put before her. As Thoughtless may yet be in calf, she did not go to London, or she might have there seen a better day. Mr. Rowland Wood's Maria Monk and Sir W. de Capell Brooke's Clara were both highly commended at Oakham ; but Mr. Chap- man's heifer, who there took the prize, and said to be very clever, was not entered at Birmingham. With the excep- tion of the unsightly lumps on the tops of her shoulders, Maria Monk is a great, good straight heifer, beautifully let down to her hocks, and with so much merit as to make one rather anxious to see her successful rival, the Exton Roscdale. Colonel Lloyd Lindsay's second-prize heifer, bred by Messrs. Game at Broadmoor, had injured her back on the way to the show, and could not be exhibited, was of course sold and slaughtered in Birmingham ; al- though the secretary, who has the sale of her, was inclined at first to make some absurd mystery about the matter. This is the sixth year in succession that Mr. Smith, of Exeter, has shown the best of all the Devons at Birming- ham ; and it really did look at one time as if he were now going to sweep the decks for the best of everything, as no animal made so good a fight of it against the Hereford as his Devon three-year-old steer, bred by Mr. Tapp, in North Devon. This is a particu- larly handsome wealthy beast, full of high breeding, fa- mously fed, and with perhaps more prime meat about him than anything in the show. You liked him more the more you saw of him ; and although we go altogether with Mr. Sandy's decision, who had to act as referee be- tween the Hereford and Devon men, it was with some feeling of regret that we saw the blood-red defeated. The Scotch Shorthorn had previously been ordered off, and the new M.P.'s polled Scot, just a big lump of flesh, with neither style nor contour, never had a chance for the highest honours. The next best in this lot of young- Devon steers was bred by Mr. Smith, but exhibited by a new man, Mr. Nixey, from Windsor way, who here made a good beginning with a very nice rich steer of quite the true type, and beat his next door neighbour, her Majesty. There was not much to like in Mr. Gibbs' plain lop-eared third, nor Mr.Farthing's commendation; but Mr. Overman's beast had been very well done by. Amongst the older oxen, Mr. Trood was first and third with two hand- some high-quality beasts, which Mr. Farthing contrived to separate with a very good one that had something more than mere size to recommend him ; but if we are to judge by the Hon. Godfrey Morgan's and Mr. May Hardings's entries, the Devons do not keep to their character when transplanted to South AVales. The Devon heifers were generally commended ; with plenty of high commenda- tions to follow the two prizes, which were both taken by Mr. Gibbs with a couple of great useful but coarse heifers, by comparison with some of the others. Her Majesty was the next best, or reserve number ; and Mr. Smith and Mr. Nixey were again deservedly distinguished ; while Mr. Hambro's Mary was second in her class at Leicester. This reserve number would, indeed, appear to be very essential in a show of Devon cattle; for what with sailing under false colours and other contrivances, objections are becoming as common as in leather-plating or steeple-chasing. Mr. Burton, for example, had here four entries, as fed and bred by himself, but to one only THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. was a prize awarded, and straightway the following paper was lodged in the otlice : " The cow exhibited by Mr. Richard Barton, Broadctyst, in class '2, No. 107, was bred by Mr. G. Shapland, Oakford Farm, North Moltoii, North Devon. Entered in the Devon Herd Book, ' Per- fection ;' calved March 25lh, 1SG3 ; sire Quartly's War- rior (548) ; dam Pretty (2:24'J) ; age, 5 years S months.' — Geo. Shapland." And, if this be Perfection, she was well -named ; for a capital cow she is, far better about her quarters than .Mr. Smith's handsome Gipsy, second at Leicester, and second again here, whereas Her Majesty's Rose of Denmark, highly commended at Leicester, had now no rank whatever. As to the objection, it seems scarcely credible that any man should run so great a risk with so little to be got by it — a mere medal, or an extra prize. The five Long -horn steers were all good, and, in fact, never so good ; the return running to two prizes and three commendations ; while Sir John Harper Crewe's first cow was a beauty, so long, level, and true! and Mr. Chap- man, of Upton, may, like Beau Bruinmell, " bring the old kiug again into fashion." There were only three Polled Scots, of the best of which we have already spoken as nothing extraordinary. Mr. McCombie's other beast was gone in his back, and Mr. Stephen's, of elephantine pro- portions, was a vast deal like an elephant in his quarters, and the very incarnation of ugliness. The West High- landers were far better ; and Messrs. Martin's first, bred by the Duke of Athole, quite a picture, with his low stalwart frame, rather big bone, and thick rough coat — the very animal to get his own living, if "ever weary of his stall." The Duke of Sutherland's ox, on a greater scale was almost as good ; but the cows we did not see out, although from a run through these they look to be above the average. Lord Penrhyn had two excellent Welsh runts, the better of which is coming to London ; and the cross-bred steers made up one of the most successful classes of such experiments ever illustrated in public. There were four or five quite good enough to be first, and it is chiefly to be regretted that they were left for examination by gas-light. The first prize, and cer- tainly the best, is a capital beast, with great length, firm flesh, and very handsome appearance ; so that he would seem to have had more promise for the Medal than the judges subsequently gave him. The Scotch, it will be seen, have still the best of this business by the u*p of the Shorthorn bull ; but Mr. Pike's Shorthorn and Hereford nick was almost equally successful, and Mr. Wingfield amougst the cows tried a similar cross with a similar result— that is a third prize — and a very neat pretty cow she is. Mr. Brace's best has fed beau- tifully, and Mr. Reed's second is long, straight, and deep. It is scarcely so clear but that the crosses might have made more impression had their turn come earlier in the day ; and one of the judges, at least, was so weary that he reasonably enough wished to put off the deciding courses until Monday morning. Knowing there was so much to do, it seems extraordinary that more hands were not called in to do it. There were only two animals as extra stock, one a high leggy cross that could have no chance in company, and a Shorthorn cow entered by Colonel Towneley that we did not eucouter. Mr. Bradshaw, who had the best of it at Oakham, did not send any sheep to Birmingham ; and as Mr. Fol- jambe again declined to make any entry, Lord Berners w:as first and second for Leicesters with his highly-bred, refined-looking wethers, the chief opposition being from Yorkshire. The half dozen pens of Lincolns were all good, and as such all noticed by the judges ; but the Cotswolds made up a moderate muster and nothing more. The competition among the Southdowns was very limited, Lord Radnor having lost some of his best sheep from scour and other causes; so that, in reality, Lord Wal- singham had no one but his neighbour, Lord Sondes, to beat, as he did easily enough, indeed, the Merton wethers at under twenty-two months old, were never better matched, nor better looking, combining great weight with quality, and they were eventually pro- nounced to be the best pen of sheep in the yard. The older sheep were not so good, nor so " much of a much- ness," one animal in the first prize pen having a terribly plain head, with little Southdown character about it ; and under the circumstances the Colcshill flock made a better fight than could have been expected. The Shrop- shires have not for many years been so indifferently re- presented, and Mr. Mansell, on their behalf, could make no stand whatever for anything extra. There were only five pens in the first lot, of five to a pen, where Mr. H. Matthews, of Mountford, won with some good size- able sheep, " the best pen of all the Shrop- shires ;" and he was first again in a numeri- cally much stronger class, but in which onlv one commendation was appended to the two awards. For old sheep there were but two entries for two prizes, both duly bestowed ; and never have the Shropshires seemingly excited so little interest in Bingley Hall. The Oxford Downs, on the contrary, were well supported by the Duke of Marlborough, Mr. Druce, Mr. Stilgoe, and Mr. Alfred Rogers with some of the Biddeuham blood, which was again in the ascendant. The first prize pen have all over the look of useful sheep, with plenty of mutton and wool ; and though Mr. Druce was good enough to win at Abing- don, he was quite out of it here. Of the other breeds there were only five pens, amongst which Mr. Pears was first with some Leicester looking Lin- colns; and the cross-breds were very indifferent, Mr. John Overman's, in fact, never 'worse ; while the first prize pen was badly sorted, and " took " all dif- ferent ways. There were two lots of West Country sheep for two premiums, and these were something terri- ble to look on, as exhibited by Mr. Morrison and Colonel Loyd Lindsay, in all their natural deformity. The en- tries of single fat ewes were but limited, and the call upon the energies of Messrs. Brown, Fooks, and Mansell no- where very vehement. In Yankee parlance, they had " done hansum " by lunch-time. The show of pigs was curiously small, and the chief sensation in this department centred over the inquiries of Professor Browne, who has succeeded Professor Gamgee as inspector. He disqualified Mr. Duckeriug twice over ; he disqualified Mr. Richard Fowler — not the first time the Aylesbury pigs have been in this predicament — and he disqualified Lord Radnor. Mr. More, however, on the part of his lordship, is by no means inclined to let the matter rest here ; for two of these three pigs have already won in company, at the West of England show at Falmouth, and there is said to be plenty of proof all the other way. In the first class of three fat pigs, Mr. Melville Cartwright's whites are as handsome as usual, and they look well for another gold medal in London ; and in the next division, with Lord Radnor and Mr. Duckering put out of competition, Lord Aylesford's blacks had only Her Majesty to beat. In the single fat pig class Messrs. Howard were placed first, with one said to have been shown here in a young pen last Christmas; but that is now as bare of any coat as if he had been shaved, and as cold to the hand as a stone — a pig with so little to protect him against the elements, that if turned out to shift for himself would probably soon be starved or scorched to death, as the weather might turn out hot or cold. Surely is is the duty of judges to give some attention to this increasing evil — one from which highly- bred or highly-reared pigs suffer so frequently I °The 30 THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. young pens of Bedford pigs, as better covered, and with some really good hair upon them, fairly took their two prizes, Mr. Eden, who was third to them for large, get- ting first for the smaller sorts, with as clever a lot as any in the show. Amongst these smaller breeds, Lady Aylesford was second, with something that looked like Berkshires ; but Mr. Heber Humphrey notwithstanding, t here were no Bcrkshires to compare to those of Mr. Gil- bert— a long, handsome pig, with a good head and collar, improved, no doubt, but not quite out of his original character. Considering, as already stated, the exceptional cha- racter of the past season, the show of roots was not ouly larger but also much better than might have been expected. Still the turnips and the swedes were much below the average in size and quality ; but the mangolds much superior to them, having enjoyed the advantage of an earlier start, and in deeply-cultivated laud been less affected by the protracted drought. Many of the specimens, however, were coarse and unequal in growth. The Kohl Rabi presented fewer indications of the intense heat and dryness of the summer than probably the great majority of persons would have anticipated, and its appearance altogether is calculated to encourage its more extensive cultivation as a regular farm crop for feeding purposes. To the parti- culars which appear in the subjoined list of awards we may add that the silver cup collection of six long mangolds, six globe mangolds, and six swedes gave a total weight of 27S-J lbs. The six first prize kohl-rabi weighed SO libs., and the second, 72|lbs. ; Mr. Boxall's six long mangolds, lSGlbs., and Mr. Fleming's second prize six, 17Mbs. ; Mr. Fleming's six first prize globe mangolds, 1331bs., Colonel North's sccoud prize six, 1271bs. ; Mr. Simson's first prize swedes, S21bs., and his second prize swedes, 7Hbs. The prize carrots arc not large, but the best in quality of any which have ever been exhibited here. There is a limited display of ox cabbage, and the quality is indifferent : the three which gained the first prize weighed S21bs., and the three sccoud, 721bs. The most noticeable feature in this part of the Hall is the potatoes, which are now divided into twelve classes ; and some admirable examples of the leading varieties are brought together. There is a fairly good show of corn, but none of the samples call for auy special remark. PRIZE LIST. CATTLE. Judges. — Mr. George Bright, Broom, Aston-on-Cluu, Salop. Mr. William Sunday, Radclifie-on-Trent, Notting- ham. Mr. T. Potter, Yellowford, Thorweton, Devon. HEREFORDS. Oxen or Steers. — First prize, £15, extra prize of £20 for the best Hereford, Hotel and Innkeepers' prize of £25 for the best animal in all the cattle classes, and gold medal for the best ox or steer of any breed or age, William Heath, Ludliam Hall, Norwich; second, £10, William Aldworth, Frilford, Abingdon ; third, £5, William Heath, Ludham Hall ; re- serve and commended, the Queen, Windsor Castle. Steers. — First prize, £15, and silver medal as breeder, Robert Vincent Corbet Groves, Berrington, Shrewsbury ; se- cond, £10, Henry Bcttridge, East Ilaunby, Wantage, Berks : tli'ml, £5, Richard Shirley, Bancott, Munslow, Church Stree- ton, Salop ; reserve, Richard Shirley ; disqualified, the state of dentition indicating that the animal exceeds the age stated in the certificate of entry, Robert Wortley, Sufiield, Aylsham, Norfolk. Cows.— First prize £15, Henry Bettridge, East Hamiey, Wantage, Berks ; second £10, Henry Yeomans, Llowes Court, Radnorshire ; third £5, The Queen, Windsor Castle. IIutfers. — First prize £15, Robert Wortley, Sufficld Ayl- sjjam, Norfolk; second £10, Herbert Ilidgley, Slevcnton, Lud- low ; third £5, Samuel Plimley, Alberbury, near Shrewsbury, SHORTHORNS. Oxen and Steers. — First prize £15, John Frost, Delab, Monymusk, N.B. ; second £10, Richard Heath Harris, Earn- hill, Forres, Morayshire ; third £5, Rowland Wood, Clapton, near Thrapston, Northampton. Steers. — First prize £15, and Silver Medal as breeder, G. S. Foljambe, Osbcrtou Hall, Worksop, Notts ; second £10, Duke of Beaufort, Badminton, Chippenham ; third £5, Sir William de Capell Brooke, Bart., Geddington Grange, Ket- tering. Reserve and commended, Colonel Loyd-Lindsay, M.P., Lockinge Park, Wantage, Berks. Commended, Earl Spencer, Althorp, Northamptonshire. Cows. — First prize, £15, silver medal as breeder, and extra prize of £20 for best Shorthorn, Earl of Aylesford's extra prize of £15 for best Shorthorn bred and fed by the exhibitor, and gold medal for the best cow or heifer, Thomas Willis, Manor House, Carperby, Bedale Yorkshire ; second, £10, William Groves, Brompton, Salop ; third, £5, G. S. Fol- jambe, Osbcrton Hall, Worksop, Notts. Reserve and com- mended: Richard Eastwood, Thorneyholne, near Clitheroe. Commended : William Spencer, Potters Marston, Hinckley. Heieers. — First prize, £15, silver medal as breeder, Rowland Wood, Clapton, near Thrapston, Northamptonshire ; second, £10, Colonel Lloyd-Lindsay, Lockinge Park, Wantage, Berks ; third, £5, G. and J. Perry, Acton Pigott, Condover, Salop. Reserve and highly commended : Lord Walsinghara, Merton Hall, Thetford, Norfolk. Commended :. Sir William de Capell Brooke. Bart., Geddington Grange, Kettering ; G. and J. Perry, Acton Pigott ; Solomon Ashton, Manor Farm, Timpcrley, Chesliire. DEVONS. Oxin or Steers. — First prize £15, Edward Trood, Bow- bay, Exminster, Devon ; second £10, Walter Farthing, Stowey Court, Bridgwater ; third £5, Edward Trood. Steers. — First prize £15, and extra prize of £20, as Lest Devon, William Smith, Higher Hoopem, Exeter, Devon ; se- cond £10, William George Nixey, Upon Court Farm, Slough, Bucks; third £5, Charles Gibbs, Tatham, Bishops Lydeard. Reserve, and highly commended, John Overman, Burnham Sutton, Burnham Market. Highly commended, Thomas Bond, Petliertou Park, Huntworth, Bridgwater, Somerset. Com- mended, Richard Burton, Place Barton, Broadclyst, Devon. The class highly commended. Cows. — First prize £15, silver medal as breeder, Richard Burton, Place Barton ; second £10, William Smith, Higher Hoopem, Exeter, Devon. Reserve, and higldy commended, Walter Farthing, Stowey Court, Bridgwater, Devon. Heieers. — First prize, £15, and silver medal as breeder, Chas. Gibbs, Tatham, Bishops Lydeard ; second, £10, Clias. Gibbs. Reserve and highly commended, the Queen, Windsor Castle. Highly commended, Wrilliam Smith, Higher Hoopem, Exeter, Devon ; William George Nixey, Upton Court Farm, Slough, Bucks. Commended, C. Hauibro, Milton Abbey, Blandford ; Thomas Bond, Petherton, Park, Huntworth, Bridgwater, Somerset. The class highly commended. LONGHORNS. Oxen or Steers. — First prize, £10, and silver medal as breeder, Sir John Harper Crewe, Bart., Calke Abbey, Derby- shire; second, £5, Sir John Harper Crewe, Bart. ; reserve and highly commended, Joseph Holland Burbery, The Chase, Kenilworth. Commended, W. T. Cox, M.P., Spondon Hall, Derby ; W. T. Cox, Esq. Cows or Heifers. — First prize, £10, and silver medal as breeder, Sir John Harper Crewe, Bart., Calke Abbey, Derby ; second, £5, R. H. Chapman, Upton, near Nuneaton ; reserve, John Jackson Burbery, The Crofts, Stratford-upon-Avon. SCOTCH BREEDS. Tolled Oxen or Steers. — First prize, £15, and silver medal as breeder ; President's extra prize of 25 guineas for best ox or steer of any breed or age bred and fed by exhibitor, and extra prize of £20 for best Scot ; and Col. Ratcliff's extra prize of 10 guineas for best Scot bred by exhibitor. William M'Coinbie, Tillyfour, Aberdeen ; second, £10, James Stephen, Couglass, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire; third, £5, William M'Combie, Tillyfour. West Highland Oxen or Steers. — First prize, £15, J. and W. Martin, Aberdeen ; second, £10, Duke of Suther- land, Duurobia Mains, Golspie, NtB,j third, $5, Ralph TILE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 01 Sneyd, Keele Hall, Newcastle, Staffordshire j Reserve, Duke of Beaufort, Badminton, Chippenham, Wilts. Scotch Cows ok Heifers. — First prize, £10, James Reid, Graystone, Alford, Aberdeenshire: second, £5, James Reid. WELSH BREEDS. Oxen or Steers. — First prize of £15, and silver medal as breeder, Lord Penrhyn, Penrhyn Castle, Bangor, Novtli Wales ; second i5, Lord Penrhyn. OTHER PURE BREEDS AND CROSS-BR Kl) ANIMALS. Eat Oxen or Steers. — First prize, £15, Thomas Ross, Bullhead, Forres ; second, £10, Walter Scott, Glendronach Distillery, near Huntley ; third, .15, Aaron Pike, Milton, near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. Reserve and Commended, .Land W. Martin, Aberdeen; Commended, Robert Lacey, lioton, near Loughborough, Leicestershire. Fat Cows or Heifers. — First prize, .€15, Robert Bruce, Newton-of-Struthers, Forres ; second, £10, James Reid, GTay- stone, Alford, Aberdeenshire ; third, £5, C. Winfield, Onslow, .Shrewsbury. Reserve and Commended, Richard Ratcliff, Wal- ton Hall, Burton-upon-Trent. EXTRA CLASSES. For animals not qualified to compete in any of the preceding classes. Oxen or steers. — Prize, £5, T. Parker, High-street, Shcpton Mallett. Cows or heifers.— Prize, £5, Col. Towncley, Towneley, Burnley. SHEEP. Judges.— Mr. T. Brown, Marhara Hall, Norfolk. Mr. H. Fookes, Whitechurch, l'.landt'ord. Mr. Thomas Mansell, Eieall Park, Wellington. LEICESTERS. Three fat wethers not exceeding twenty-two months old. — First prize, £15, and silver medal as breeder, and Mr. Bromley- Davenport's extra prize of ten guineas for the best pen of long- woolled sheep, and the Birmingham Linen and Woollen Drapers prize of £10 for the second best pen of three fat wethers, Lord Berners, Tngby, Leicestershire ; second, £5, Lord Beruers. Highly commended : William Brown, Highgate Farm, Holme- ou-Spaldiug Moor, York. Commended : James and Edward Tindall, Knapton Hall, Rillingtou Hall, York. LINCOLNS. Three fat wethers, not exceeding 22 months old. — First prize £15 and silver medal as breeder, TYR. Casswell, Quarding, Spalding ; second, £5, Geo. Casswell, Goobeston, Spalding. Highly commended : John Edwards, Buckworth, Kimbolton. Tlie whole class commended. COTSWOLDS. Three fat wethers, not exceeding '22 months old. — First prize £15 and silver medal as breeder, Sir John Rolt, Ozle- worth Park, Wootton-under-Edge ; second, £5, John King. Toml t Langford Lechladc, Gloucestershire. Commended : John Williams, Caercaddy, near Cowbridge, Glamorgan. SOUTHDOWNS. Three fat wethers, not exceeding 22 months [old. — First prize £15 and silver medal as breeder, and Linen and Woollen Drapers' prize of £20 for the best pen of three fat wethers, Lord Walsingham, Merton Hall, Thetford, Norfolk ; second, £5, Lord Walsingham. Highly commended : Lord Sondes : Elmham Hall, Thetford, Norfolk. Three fat wethers exceeding 22, but not exceeding 34 months old. — First prize, £10, and silver medal as breeder, Lord Wal- singham, Merton Hall, Thetford; second, £5, Earl of Radnor, Coles Hill, Highworth. SHROPSHIRES. Five fat wethers, not exceeding 22 months old. — Prize of 10 guineas, given by Messrs. Mapplebcck and Lowe, for the best pen of five shearling Shropshire wethers, and silver medal as breeder, Henry Matthews, Montford, Salop. Three fat wethers not exceeding 22 months old. — First prize, £15, and silver medal as breeder, and Mr. Newdegate's prize of £10, for best pen of Shropshire sheep, Henry Mathews, Mouutford; second, £5, Henry J. Sheldon, Brailes House, Warwickshire. Highly Commended : Thomas Nock, Sutton Haddock, Shiffnal, Salop, Three fat wethers exceeding 22, but not exceeding 31- mouths old. — First prize, £10, and silver medal as breeder, Henry Smith, Suttou Maddock, Shiflhal second, £5, Mrs. Beach, The Hatton's, Breewood, Staifordshirc. OXFORDSHIRE DOWNS. Three tat wethers not exceeding 22 months old. — First prize 115, and silver medal as breeder, Alfred Rogers, Bromham, Bedford ; second, £5, Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Oxon. Highly commended: Alfred Rogers; commended, Duke of Marlborough. HAMPSHIRE, WILTSHIRE, AND OTHER DOWNS. Three fat wethers not exceeding 22 months old — First prize £15, and silver medal as breeder, Alfred Morrison, Fonthill House, Tisbury, Wilts ; second, £5, Col. Rolt, Loyd-Lindsay West Hsley, Newbury, Berks. SHEEP NOT QUALIFIED TO COMPETE IN ANY OTHER CLASS. Three fat wethers of any age. — First prize £10, aud silver medal as breeder, John Pears, Mere, Lincolnshire ; second, £5, J. B. Downing, Holme Lacey, Herefordshire. CROSS-BRED SHEEP. Three fat wethers not exceeding 22 months' old. — First prize £10, and silver medal as breeder, Nathaniel Stilgoe, Ad- desbury Manor Farm, Banbury, Oxon ; second, £5, 11. Sydney Waller, Farmingtou Lodge, Northleach. — Commended : John Overman, Burnham Sutton, Burnham Market, Lynn. LEICESTER EWES. Fat e.wc of any age, having bred one or more lambs.— Prize, £3, and silver medal as breeder, William Brown, High- gate, llolme-ou-Spalding Moor, York. Highly commended, James and Edward Tindall, Knaptou Hall, Rillingtou, York. LINCOLN EWES. Fat ewe of any age, having bred one or more lambs.— Prize, £3, and silver medal as breeder, John Henry Casswell, Laughton, Folkingham, Lincolnshire. Highly commended, John Henry Casswell ; John Peasmere, Lincolnshire. The class commended. COTSWOLD EWES. Fat ewe of any age, having bred one or more lambs.— Prize, £3, and silver medal as breeder, Robert Lane, The Cottage Farm, Northleach, Gloucestershire. Highly com- mended, John Townscud, Priory, Leonard Stanley, Gloucester- shire. SOUTH DOWN EWES. Fat ewe of any age, having bred one or more lambs. — Prize £3, and silver medal as breeder, Sydney Waller, Farmington Lodge, Northleach. SHROPSHIRE EWES. Fat ewe of any age having bred one or more lambs. — Prize £3, and silver medal as breeder, John Coxon, Freeford Farm, Lichfield. OXFORDSHIRE EWES. Fat ewe of any age having bred one or more lambs. — Prize £3, and silver medal as breeder, John Treadwell, Upper Win- chendon, Aylesbury. HAMPSHIRE, WILTSHIRE, AND OTHER DOWN EWES. Fat ewe of any age having bred one or more lambs. — Prize £3, and silver medal as breeder, Sydney Waller, Farming- ton Lodge, Northleach. FAT PIGS. Judges. — Mr. John Lynn, Stroxton, Grantham. Mr. A. E. Druce, Burgbfield, Reading. Three fat pigs of one litter, not exceeding 10 months old.— First prize, £10, and silver medal as breeder, Thomas Leslie Melville Cartwright, Melville House, Fife, and Ncwbottle, Northamptonshire ; second, £5, The Queen, Windsor Castle ; third, £3, Thomas Bantock, Merridalc House, Wolverhampton. Three fat pigs of one litter, not exceeding 15 months old. — First prize, £10, and silver medal as breeder, and silver cup value 5 guineas as extra prize for best pen of pigs in this and preceding class, the Earl of Aylesford, Tackington Hall, Coventry ; second, £5, The Queen, Windsor Castle. Disquali- fied : Earl of Radnor, Coleshill, Highworth ; R. E. Duckering, Northope, Kirton- Lindsey. Fat pig, exceeding 15 months old. — First prize, £0, and silver medal as breeder, James, and Frederick Howard, Briton- 32 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. nia Farms, Bedford ; second, £4, Heber Ilumfreys, Kingston Farm, Shrivenham, Berks ; third, £2, Heber Humfrey. Commended : The Queen, Windsor Castle ; Thomas Stratter, jun., Stand Hill, Whitefield, Manchester. BREEDING PIGS. Berkshire Breed. — Eive pigs of one litter, exceeding three and not exceeding six months old. — First prize, £10, and silver medal as breeder, and silver cup value £5 5s. as extra prize for best pen of Berkshires, John Spencer, Villier's Hill, Keuilworth ; second, £5, Heber Humfrey, Kingston Farm, Shrivenham, Berks ; third, £3, John King Tombs, Langford, Lechlade, Gloucestershire ; silver medal, Joseph Smith, Henley-in-Arden ; commended, Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, and Joseph Smith ; disqualified, Richard Fowler, Broughton Farm, near Aylesbury, Bucks. Pigs of other large Breeds. — Five pigs of one litter, exceeding three and not exceeding six months old. — First prize, £10, and silver medal to breeder, James aud Frederick Howard, Britannia Farms, Bedford ; second, £5, James aud Frederick Howard; third, £3, Peter Eden, Cross-lane, Salford, near Manchester. Silver medal : Thomas Bautock, Merridale House, Wolverhampton. Disqualified : R. E. Duckering, Northorpe, Kirtou Lindsay. Pigs of a Small Breed. — Five pigs of one litter, ex- ceeding three, and not exceeding six months old, first prize, £10, and silver medal as breeder, and silver cup value £5 5s., as best pen of pigs of a small breed, Peter Eden, Cross-lane, Salford, near Mauchester ; second, £5, Countess of Aylesford, Packington Hall, Coventry ; third, £3, Thomas Leslie, Mel- ville Cartwright, Melville House, Fife, and Newbottle, North- amptonshire. Silver medal : The Queen, Windsor Castle. Commended : Earl of Radnor, Coleshill, Highworth. CORN. Judges. — Mr. J. Mathews, Edgbaston, Birmingham. Mr. Edward Davenport, Erdington. WniTE Wheat. — Samples of one bushel each. — First prize, £2, Col. Loyd Lindsay, M.P., Lockinge Tark, Wantage, Berks (Talavera) ; second, £1, William Dickinson, New Park, New Forest, Lymington, Hants (Chidham). Red Wheat. — Samples of one bushel each. — First prize, £2, Richard Hall, Great Barford, Deddington, Oxou ; second, £1, Thos. Horley, jun., The Fosse, Leamington (Nursery). Barley. — Samples of one. bushel each. — First prize, £2, Edward Parrott, Shirburn Farm, Tetsworth, Oxon (Hallett's Chevalier) ; second, £1, Robt. Wortley, Suilield Hall, Nor- folk (Golden Mellon). Oats. — Samples of one bushel each. — First prize, £2, Frederick Lythall, Spittall Farm, Banbury (Canadian) ; second, £1, E. Morley, Sapcote, Hinchley, Leicestershire. Beans. — Samples of one bushel each. — First prize, £2, Frederick Lythall, Spittall Farm, Banbury ; second, £1, E Morley, Sapcote, Hinckley, Leicestershire. Peas (white). — Samples of one bushel each. — First prize, £2, Frederick Lythall, Spittall Farm, Banbury (Baubury Prize-takers) ; second, £1, Col. Loyd Lindsay, M.P., Lockinge Park, Wantage, Berks. Peas (blue). — Samples of one bushel each. — First prize, £2, Frederick Lythall, Spittall Farm, Banbury ; second, £1, Edmund Lythall, Radford Hall, Leamington. Peas (grey). — Samples of one bushel each. — First prize, £2, George Duukley, Kingsthorpe, Northampton (maple) ; second, £1, Frederick Lythall, Spittall Farm, Baubury (Par- tridge). ROOTS. Judges. — Mr. J. Mathews, Edgbaston, Birmingham. Mr. Edward Davenport, Erdington. A silver cup or other article of plate of the value of £5 5s., offered by Messrs. Proctor and Ryland, of Birmingham, for the best collection of the three following varieties, viz., Long mangold wurzel, globe mangold-wurzel, and swedes, six roots of each. George Fleming, Grouudslow, Stone. KohlRabi (Six specimens). — First prize £2, Col. J. Sid- ney North, Wroxton Abbey, Banbury, (green) ; second £1, Col. J. Sidney North (green). Long Mangold Wurtzel (Six specimens). — First prize, £2, and £2 2s. added by Messrs. Proctor and Ryland, William B. Boxall, Strathiieldsaye, Winchfield, Hants (Sutton's red mammoth) ; second £1, Geo. Fleming, Grouudslow, Stoue, Staffordshire. Highly commended, George Baylis, Gayton Farm, Ross, Herefordshire. Commended, Robert Allfrey, Wakefield Park, Reading; George Baylis ; William Dew, Kivernole, Much Dewchurch, Herefordshire (old mammoth) ; Charles West, Flowers Farm, Pangbourne, Reading ; Colonel J. Sidney North, M.P., Wroxton Abbey, Banbury ; Sir Henry W. Dashwood, Kirtlington Park, Oxon. Globe Mangold Wurtzel (six specimens). — First prize, £2, with £2 2s. added by Messrs. Proctor and Ryland, William B. Boxall, Strathfield-sayej Winchfield, Hants (orange); se- cond, £1, Col. J. Sidney North, M.P., Wroxton Abbey, Bau- bury. Highly commended, Col. J. Sidney North , Duke of Portland, Clipstone Park Farm, Mansfield, Notts ; Sir Henry W. Dashwood, Kirklington Park, Oxon. Commended, Robt. Allfrey, Wokefield Park, Reading; Robert Impey, Street, Somerset (Defiance). Swedes of any Variety (six specimens). — First prize, £2, and £2 2s. added by Messrs. Proctor aud Ryland ; James Simsou, Cloona Castle, Dolly Mount, County Mayo, Ireland (Hoggand Robertson's Green-top) ; second, £1, James Simson, Drummond's Improved Purple-top). Highly commended. T. Leslie Melville Cartwright, Melville House, Fife aud New- bottle, Northamptonshire (Skirving's Improved Purple Top) ; Willium Taylor Glynley, Westham, Sussex (B. Gibb's Yellow Globe). Common Turnips, White Flesh (six specimens). — First prize, £2 2s., Duke of Portland, Clipstone Park Farm, Mansfield, Notts ; second, £1. Charles West, Flower's Farm, Pangbourne, Reading (West's Green Globe). Highly com- mended, Hy. Biddies, Park Lane, Loughborough (Early Stone) . Common Turnips, Yellow Flesh (six specimens). — First prize, £2, James Stephen, Conglass, Inverurie, Aberdeen (Green-topped Aberdeen Yellow) ; second, £1, William Mc Combie, Tillyfonr, Aberdeen (Aberdeen Yellow). Highly commended, Henry Biddies, Park Lane, Loughborough (Orange Jelly) . Carrots of any Variety (Six specimens). — First prize, £2, Duke of Portland, Clipstone Park Farm, Mansfield, Notts (Altringham) ; second, £1, Duke of Portland (Altringham). Commended: Duke of Portland (Altringham). Ox Cabbage (Three specimens). — First prize, £2, Richard Hall, Great Barford, Deddington, Oxon ; second, £1, Sir William Heathcote, Hnrsley Park, Winchester (Robinson's Champion). POTATOES. Ash Leaf Kidneys (Twelve specimens). — First prize, 15s., Frederick Lythall, Spittall Farm, Banbury ; second, 10s., John Ghoyce, Pinwall Grange, Atherstone. River's Royal Ash Leaf Kidneys (Twelve, specimens). — Prize, Henry Biddies, Park Lane, Loughborough. Gloucestershire Kidneys (Twelve specimens). — First prize, 15s., John Ghoyce, Pinwall Grange, Atherstone ; second, 10s., J. G. Wheeler and Son, Gloucester. Daintree's First Early (Twelve specimens). — Prize, Frederick Lythall, Spittal Farm, Banbury. King of Potatoes (Twelve specimens). — Fist prize, 15s., John Choyce, Atherstone ; second, 10s., Henry Biddies, Loughborough. Wheeler's Milky Whites (Twelve specimens). — First prize. 15s., J. C. Wheeler and Son, Gloucester ; second, 10s., Henry Biddies, Loughborough. Flukes (Twelve specimens). — Prize, John K. Fowler, Pre- bendal Farms, Aylesbury. Dalmahoy's (Twelve specimens). — First prize, 15s., Henry Biddies ; second, 10s., John Choyce. Red Regents (Twelve specimens). — First prize, 15s., John Choyce ; second, 10s., Frederick Lythall. Paterson's Victorias (Twelve specimens). — First prize, 15s., and second, 10s., Henry Biddies. Skerry Blue (Twelve specimens). — First prize, 15s., Thomas Bantock, Merridale, Wolverhampton ; second, 10s. Frederick Lythall. Any other Variety (Twelve specimens). — First prize, 15s., John Choyce (Sutton's Berkshire Kidney), first prize, 15s., John K. Fowler, Aylesbury (Seedling) ; second 10s., John K. Fowler (Shackel's Conqueror), second, 10s., Geo. Dunkley, Kingsthorpe, Northampton (Johnson's Seedling). Referee for the Ages of Stock.— Professor G. T. Brown, Princes-street, Westminster. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 33 Veterinary Inspector.— Mr. E. Stanley, 35, Islington, Birmingham. The show of poultry is such as can ouly be witnessed in Bingley Hall. The entries include no fewer than 2,315 pens, and the general standard of excellence in the nume- rous classes is exceedingly high. The following are the winners of the prize-cups : Dorking (coloured, except silver grey) cocks, exceed- ing one year old, Thomas Statter, Stand Hall, White- field, Manchester ; best cock, hatched in 1868, Mrs. Arkwright, Etwall Hall, Derby. Best two Pullets, Ad- miral Windham Hornby, Knowsley Cottage, Prescott. Cochin China (cinnamon and butf), for best cock hatched in 1868, Joshua H. Dawes, Moseley Hall, Bir- mingham. Best two Pullets, W. A. Taylor, Turner- street, Manchester. (Brown and partridge), best cock exceeding one year old, E. Tudman, Ash Grove, Whit- church, Salop. Cochin China (white.) — Best cock, exceeding 1 year old, W. R. Smalley, Lune Villa, Lancaster. Bramah Pootras (dark.) — Best cock, hatched in 1868, Duke of Newcastle, Clumber, Worksop, Notts ; best two pullets, John Anderson, Ruthven House, Meigle, N. B. Bramah Pootra (light,)— Best cock, hatched 1868, H.M. Maynard, Holmewood, Ryde, Isle of Wight. Creve-Cceur, Houdans, or La Fleche. — Best cock in the three classes, F. W. Zurhorst, William-street, Dublin (Creve-Cceur). Spanish.— Best cock of 1868, John R. Rodbard, Aldwick Court, Wrington, near Bristol. Golden Spangled Hamburgh.— Best cock, any age, W. A. Hyde, Prospect Cottage, Hurst, Ashton-under-Lyne. Silver-Spangled Hamburg.— Best cock, Henry Beldon, Goitstock, Bingley, Yorkshire. Best hens or pullets, Miss Wakeman, Coton Hall, Bridgnorth. Polish (Silver).— Best cock, any age, G. C. Adkins, Light- woods, near Birmingham. Game (Black-breasted Reds).— Best cock, exceeding one year old, Duke of Newcastle, Clumber, Worksop, Notts. Best cock, 1868, Samuel Matthew, Stowmarket, Suffolk. Best pullet, John P. Gardner, The Stone House, Rugeley. Game (Brown and other Reds, except Black-breasted). — Best cock, 1868, James Wood, Moat House, Wigau. Game (Black and Brown Winged, except Grey). — Best black cock, any age, Captain Walter G. Webb, Elford House, Tamworth. Game, Bantams (Black- breasted). — Best cock and two hens, James Eaton, Vine Cottage, Farnsfield, Notts. Ducks (White Aylesbury.)— Mrs. Leamons, Hartwell, Aylesbury, Bucks. Ducks (Rouen.) — John Anderson, Ruthven House, Magle, N.B. The first prize Aylesbury Ducks weighed 17£lbs. (Drake and Duck), the second 17£Hjs., 3rd 16-£lbs. ; Rouens, first 19^, second ISi, third 18^ fourth 17i fifth 16£, sixth 171bs. White Geese, first prize 551bs., second 511bs. Ditto Birds of 1868, first 501bs., second 40|lbs. Grey Geese (exceeding one year), first 55Jlbs., second 531bs. Ditto Birds of 1868, first 451bs., se- cond iilbs. Turkeys (Cocks exceeding one year), first 331bs., second 321bs. Ditto hatched 1868, first 241bs., second 23£lbs. Hens (exceeding one year), first 37ilbs., second 301bs. Hens of 1868, first 291bs., second 26£lbs, DISQUALIFICATION OF LORD RADNOR'S PIGS AT BIRMINGHAM. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — I shall be much obliged if you will be good enough to give me space in your paper on Monday next, to state that I shall be prepared to afford the most conclusive evidence as to the correctness hi every particular of the entry of the above pen of pigs. I arrived home from Birmingham too late to take any steps this evening ; but I shall hope next week (or at least as early as possible) to arrange for the most thorough sifting of the whole matter, and I am perfectly satisfied the result will prove the integrity of all our servants. There is not a person on the premises but knows well that any deviation from the path of rectitude designedly would cost him his place ; but I am happy to say that I honestly believe there is not one amongst them capable of such conduct, and I am extremely anxious this matter should be cleared up, in order to prove that this is so. I need hardly say that I entirely sympathise with the efforts made both at Birmingham and by the Council of the Smithfield Club to put a stop to practices which have, in certain instances, been very discreditable ; but it does seem to me important that when an animal (or pen of animals) is dis- quabfied because of the state of its dentition, an opportunity should be afforded to the parties to show, if they can, that the decisions of science are not infallible. To be excluded from competition when everything is perfectly straightforward is one thing ; but to be allowed no appeal, or opportunity of putting yourself right, is not quite consistent with that fair play which is the characteristic of Englishmen. I am quite aware of what is said in Article No. 3 of the Regulation ; but I confess the question has never occurred to me with reference to our stock, the arrangements being such that a wilful error is impossible, without involving three separate individuals. I have written this in great haste, but hope it will be legible. I am, your obedient servant, E. W. Moore, Agent to the Earl of Radnor, Chloshill, Highwortli, Nov, 28. THE BIRMINGHAM AND MIDLAND COUNTIES CATTLE SHOW. The annual meeting was held at the Hen and Chickens Hotel. Iu the unavoidable absence of the Earl of Bradford, the President, Mr. C. M. Caldecott took the chair. Mr. J. Mathews proposed that the Earl of Coventry should be the president for the ensuing year. He stated that his lordship had courteously consented to discharge the duties of the office. Mr. T. Rtland seconded the motion, which was passed by acclamation. On the motion of Mr. Howard Luccock, seconded by Mr. Adkins, thanks were voted to the Earl of Bradford for his liberal support of the Society during the past year. Mr. T. B. Wright proposed a vote of thanks to the donors of special prizes, which wa8 seconded by Mr. G. A. May, and carried. On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr. Benja- min Dain, thanks were voted to the stewards of the various departments for their able assistance in the management of the exhibition. Mr. J. Mathews proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Shackel, the treasurer of the Show, which was seconded by Mr. W. James, and carried. On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr. T. T. Buruan, thanks were voted to Mr. W. B. Mapplebeck and the other members of the poultry committee. Twelve months ago a resolution was passed recommending D 34 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the council to consider the subject of the admissibility of life members, and to report thereupon ; and on the 5th of Novem- ber the council resolved that such admission was expedient on payment of a composition of not less than £10, which amount should be invested. In the absence of Mr. Horley, from indisposition, Mr. Luccock moved that life members be admitted upon those terms. The proposition was seconded by Mr. W. J. B. Scott, and agreed to. Mr, G. A. May proposed the omission from the prize-list of [the class for two-shear wethers. This was seconded by Mr. Btjrman, and approved. Mr. Scott gave notice that at the next council meeting he should propose that the regulations as to stock should be re- vised. As one of the stewards of the cattle department, he would say that an unpleasant circumstance had arisen in re- ference to an entry and certificate, and that the existing regu- lations were not adequate to the requirements of such a case. The motion was seconded by Mr. Wright, and passed. The proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman. THE HELLIDON SALE OF SHORTHORNS. THK PROPERTY OF THE REV. JOHN STOREB. BY MB. JOHN THOENTON, AT BUGBY. " And so for years I studied and slaved under this good man ; until at length, having seen all I could, I made one of my master's best bows, and set up for my- self." So said Foote, the dramatist, of a comedian in his company ; and on December 2nd Mr. Thornton made one of Mr. Stafford's best bows, and set up for himself. The opening was certainly auspicious enough, as for merely a portion of the herd the average was a very good one. Mr. Storer's stock, moreover, unlike " the royal game of goo9e are kept less for ornament than use ;" and scarcely tell so much in public as more pampered animals might. From the introduction to the catalogue, far better put than usual, we gather that the animals sold comprised the Booth portion of the Hellidon herd, with the exception only of Kosy, now in her sixteenth year, and two bulls kept for use. They are of a blood that has filled the veins of the majority of, indeed nearly all this year's prize animals at the three great national shows of England, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as at the great Yorkshire meeting, and that has not been in the mar- ket for some time. One of the animals is a sister to Rosedale, the winner of more than twenty prizes, cups, and medals, in England, as well as several others lately in Canada, and two of the bulls are from the same dam. Two heifers trace directly from Mantalini, through La Valliere, the dam of the prize bull Prince Talleyrand, being of the same line as the larger portion of the Westland herd in Ireland. Three are representa- tives of the old Anna family, coming from Adelaide (daughter of Anna) the highest priced cow at the Studley sale in 1 834 ; seven are descendants of the late Mr. John Booth's cows Calomel and Mistress Mary ; Modred, from the latter cow, being half-sister to the Commander-in- Chief. The animals were sold in consequence of the extreme scarcity of keep, the effects of this almost unparalleled summer being so severely felt in the midland counties that it has been found necessary to reduce the number of the herd. The stock is and has always been very healthy, COWS AND HEIFERS. Alice Grey, nearly red, calved March 20, 1859 ; by General Havelock (16110) out of Alice Hawthorn, by Harbinger (10297) ; has had six calves. — Mr. R. Jefferson, Cumber- land, 31 gs. Modred, white, calved February 14, 1861 : by Valasco (15443) out of Mistress Mary, by Baron Warlaby (7813) ; has had four calves.— Mr. J. R. King, Lincolnshire, 52 gs. Fairy Lily, white, calved April 5, 1862; by Elfin King (17796) out of Mignonnette, by Baron Warlaby (7813) ; has had four calves.— Mr. Bernard Hall, Sussex, 20 gs. Rosedale 2nd, roan, calved December 30, 1864 ; by Pater- familias (18521) out of Rosy, by Master Belleville (11795). —Mr. W. Bolton, The Island, Wexford, Ireland, 40 gs. Anna 3rd, red and white, calved February 26, 1865 ; by Man- talmi Prince (22276) out of Anna 2nd, by Brilliant Star (17450) ; has had one calf, which died November 8, 1868. — Ill, not offered. Killerby Queen 2nd, red and white, calved March 20, 1865 ; by Mantalini Prince (22276) out of Killerby Queen, by Royal Hamlet (18769) ; has had one calf. — Colonel Leslie, Ireland, 52 gs. Mistress Margaret, roan, calved November 17, 1865 ; by Pater- familias (18521) out of Modred, by Valasco (15443); has had one calf. — Mr. Hugh Aylmer, Norfolk, 51 gs. Anna 4th, red, calved April 6, 1866 ; by Prince of the Realm (22627) out of Anna 2nd, by Brilliant Star (17450) ; has had one calf. — Mr. J. J. Gartskell, Cumberland, 38 gs. Lady Booth, roan, calved April 10, 1866 ; by Baron Booth (21212) out of La Valliere, by Gainford 5th (12913) ; has had one calf. — Lord Skelraersdale, Lancashire, 150 gs. Lady Buckingham, nearly red, calved August 27, 1866 ; by Royal Buckingham (20718) out of Alice Grey, by General Havelock (16110).— Mr. R. Frost, Chester, 37 gs. Killerby Queen 3rd, red and white, calved September 5, 1866 ; by Royal Buckingham (20718) out of Killerby Queen, by Royal Hamlet (18769).— Mr. W. Bolton, Ireland, 100 gs. Royal Mistress, roan, calved January 11, 1867; by Royal Buckingham (20718) out of Modred, by Valasco (16143). —Mr. W. Bolton, 110 gs. Killerby Queen 4th, red and white, calved December 28, 1867; by Royal Buckingham (20718) out of Killerby Queen, by Royal Hamlet (18769).— Mr. Hugh Aylmer, 60 gs. Mistress May, red, calved May 29, 1868 ; by Prince of Rose- dale (24837) ;out of Mistress Margaret, jby Paterfamilias (18521).— Mr Hugh Aylmer, 67 gs. Mantalini 2nd, white, calved September 3, 1868 ; by Windsor Fitz- Windsor (25458) out of Lady Booth, by Baron Booth (21212). — Lady Pigot, Cambridgeshire, 70 gs. BULLS. Royal Buckingham (20718), red and white, calved November 4, 1862 ; by Don Windsor (19585) out of Wide Awake, by Royal Buck (10750) .—Mr. J. W. Botcherby, Darlington,33 gs. Baron Sockburn, red and white, calved June 10, 1867 ; by Royal Buckingham (20718) out of Sibyl, by Duke of Cam- bride (12742).— Mr. W. Trethewy, Cornwall, 36 gs. Prince of Rosedale (24837), red, calved March 24, 1866 ; by Prince ot the Realm (22627) out of Rosy, by Master Belle- ville (11795).— Major Barton, Ireland, 63 gs. Second Earl of Rosedale, red, calved April 10, 1868 ; by Royal Buckingham (20718) out of Rosy, by Master Belleville (11795).— Col. Leslie, Ireland, 80 gs. Baron Studley, red, calved June 13, 1868 ; by Prince Barley- corn (24792) out of Anna 4th, by Prince of the Realm (22627).— Mr. C. Smith, Warwickshire, 25 gs. Sir Rufus, red, calved June 22, 1868 ; by Prince Barleycorn (24792) out of Infanta, by Prince of the Realm (22627).— Mr. E. Gilbert, Notts, 21 gs. Prince Excellent, red, calved July 3, 1868 ; by Prince of Rose- dale (24837) out of Alice Grey, by General Havelock (16110).— Mr. E. Paddison, Lincoln, 36 gs. Summary. 14 Cows at £65 17s. each £921 18 7 Bulls at £44 2s. each 308 14 21 Averaged £58 12s, ; £1,230 12 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE FORCING POWER OF RAIN. There is an old proverb which implies that England need never fear drought ; and we have had clear evidence this year that an exceptionally dry summer is not necessarily followed by a bad harvest. But we believe that when a balance is carefully struck between the good and the evil effects result- ing from excessive drought in England, it will be found that the latter largely prevail. In fact, it is only necessary to ob- serve the effects which have followed the recent wet weather to recognise the fact that rain has a forcing power, the very diminished supply of which at the due season cannot fail to have seriously injurious effects. In various parts of England we see evidences of the action of such a power during the present autumn in the blossoming of trees, in the flowering of primroses and other spring plants, in rich growths of fungi, and in various other ways. It cannot be doubted that there is here a comparative waste of powers, which, expended in due season, would have produced valuable results. The modern theories of the correlation of force suffice to show how enormous a loss a country suffers when there is a failure in the supply of rain, or when that supply comes out of its due season. When we consider rain in connexion with the causes to which it is due, we begin to recognize the enor- mous amount of power of which the ordinary rainfall of a country is the representative ; and we can well understand how it is that " the clouds drop fatness on the earth." The sun's heat is, of course, the main agent — we may al- most say the only agent — in supplying the rainfall of a coun- try. The process of evaporation carried on over large por- tions of the ocean's surface is continually storing up enormous masses of water iu the form of invisible aqueous vapour, ready to be transformed into cloud, then wafted for hundreds of miles across seas and continents, to be finally precipitated over this or that country according to the conditions which determine the downfall of rain. These processes do not ap- pear at first sight indicative of any very great expenditure of force, yet in reality the force-equivalent of the rain-supply of England alone for a single year is something positively start- ling. It has been calculated that the amount of heat required to evaporate a quantity of water which would cover an area of 100 miles to a depth of one inch would be equal to the heat which would be produced by the combustion of half a million tons of coals. The amount of force of which this consump- tion of heat would be the equivalent corresponds to that which would be required to raise a weight of upwards of one thousand millions of tons to a height of one mile. Now, when we remember that the area of Great Britain and Ireland is about 120,000 square miles, and that the annual rainfall averages about 25 inches, we see that the force-equivalent of the rainfall is enormous. All the coal which could be raised from our English coal mines in thousands of years would not give out heat enough to produce England's rain-supply for a single year. When to this consideration we add the circum- stance that the force of rain produces bad as well as good effects — the former when the rain falls at undue seasons, or in an irregular manner, the latter only when the rainfall is distributed in the usual manner among the seasons — we see that an important loss of force accrues in such exceptional years as the present. There are few subjects more interesting than those depend- ing on the correlation of physical forces ; and we may add that there are few the study of which bears more largely on questions of agricultural and commercial economy. It is only of late years that the silent forces of nature — forces conti- nually in action, but whieh are too apt to pass unnoticed and unrecognised — have taken their due place in scientific inquiry. Strangely enough, the subject has been found to have at once a most practical bearing on business relations, and an aspect more strikingly poetical than any other subject, perhaps, which men of science have ever taken in hand to investigate. We see the ordinary processes of nature, as they are termed, taking their place in the workshop of modern wealth, and at the same time exhibited in a hundred striking and interesting physical relations. What, for instance, can be stranger or more poetical than the contrast which Professor Tyndall has instituted between that old friend to the agriculturist, the wintry snow-flake, and the wild scenery of the Alps ? "I have seen," he says, " the wild stone-avalanches of the Alps, which snoke and thunder down the declivities with a vehe- mence almost sufficient to stun the observer. I have also seen snow-flakes descending so softly as not to hurt the fragile spangles of which they were composed ; yet to produce from aqueous vapour a quantity which a child could carry of that tender material demands an exertion of energy competent to gather up the shattered blocks of the largest stone-avalanche I have ever seen, and pitch them to twice the height from which they fell." We may point out in this place the important connexion which exists between the rainfall of a country and the amount of forest-land. We notice that in parts of America attention is being paid — with markedly good results — to the influence of forests in encouraging rainfall. We have here an instance in which cause and effect are interchengeable. Rain encou- rages the growth of an abundant vegetation ; and abundant vegetation, in turn, aids to produce a state of the superincum- bent atmosphere which encourages the precipitation of rain. The consequence is, that it is very necessary to check, before it is too late, the processes which lead to the gradual destruction of forests. If these processes are continued until the climate has become excessively dry, it is almost impossible to remedy the mischief, simply because the want of moisture is destruc- tive to the trees which may be planted to encourage rainfalls. Thus there are processes more difficult (as has been found by experience in parts of Spain and elsewhere) than the change of an arid region into a vegetation-covered district. In fact, if the region is one of great extent, the attempt to effect such a change is a perfectly hopeless one. On the other hand, the contrary process— that is, the attempt to change a climate which is too moist into one of less humidity— is in general not attended with much difficulty. A judicious system of clearing nearly always leads to the desired result. The dryness of the past year has not been due to the want of moisture in the air, nor to the exceptionally unclouded con- dition of our skies. We believe that on the whole, the skies have been rather more cloudy than usual this year. The fact that so little dew has fallen is a sufficient proof that the nights have been on the whole more cloudy than usual, since, as is well known, the presence of clouds, by checking the ra- diation of the earth's heat prevents (or at least diminishes) the formation of dew. The fact would seem to be that the westerly and south-westerly winds which usually blow over England during a considerable part of hte year, bringing with them large quantities of aqueous vapour from above the great Gulf stream, have this year blown somewhat higher than usual. Why this should be it is not very easy to say. The height of the vapour-laden winds is usually supposed to depend on the heat of the weather. In summer, for instance, the clouds range higher, and therefore travel farther inland before they fall in rain. In winter, on the contrary, they travel low, and hence the rain falls more freely in the western than in the eastern counties during winter. A similar relation prevails in the Scandinavian peninsular— Norway receiving more rain in win- ter than in summer, while Sweden receives more rain in sum- mer than in winter. But this summer the rain-clouds have blown so much higher than usual as to pass beyond England altogether. Possibly we may find an explanation in the fact that before reaching our shores at all the clouds were relieved by heavy rainfalls — due, no doubt, to some exceptional elec- trical relations— over parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It is related that the steamships from America this summer were, in many instances, drenched by heavy showers until they neared the shores of England.— Daily News. p 3 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, THE MEANS OF INCREASING THE HOME PKODUCTION OF ANIMAL FOOD. A special meeting of the members of the Midland Farmers' Club was held at the Royal Hotel, Birmingham, (Mr. Ford, president in the chair), when a paper was read by Mr. Willoughby Wood on " The means of increasing the home production of animal food." Mr . Wood said the subject was one of national importance. It was not only important to agriculturists, but to the whole community. There were special reasons why the supply of meat should be of paramount importance at the present time. It was not the mere increase ot the population in numbers which rendered the subject urgent, for in other countries popu- lation had advanced more rapidly than in England. The in- creased demand for meat was caused by the steadily-advancing well-being of the population. He did not speak of individual years, because in any progress there must be occasional pauses ; but he maintained, without fear of contradiction, that the last twenty years had witnessed a steady growth of the class which earned remunerative wages. The growing importance of this class was evident when they looked at the number of men to whom railroads alone gave employment ; when they thought of the teeming population of the manufacturing towns, and of the simultaneous advance in all wages which had been estab- lished during the period in question. It was evident that those were no mere accidents, but permanent and essential phenomena of our social state. Hence the national importance of the supply of animal food. It was probable that in no other country of the old world was there at any previous time so large a proportion of the population which con- sumed meat or wished to consume as a regular article of diet. The necessity of providing additional supplies of animal food had long attracted the attention of public men. Even before the trade in corn was thrown open, Sir Robert Peel deemed it his duty to endeavour to make meat more accessible to the humbler classes by allowing the importation of foreign cattle. The time selected for that innovation was, however, in his (Mr. Wood's) opinion, a serious mistake. Farmers knowing that the grain of Russia and America was soon to come into unrestricted competition with their produce, had consoled themselves to a certain extent with the idea that they would retain in their own hands the supply of meat to the home markets ; but when that small comfort was withdrawn, a complete panic was the result, and singularly enough the effect of that was felt more in the price of stock than in the price of grain. The depression in the price of stock was serious. Every one appeared anxious to sell, but buyers where nowhere to be found, and meat for some years was lower than it had been for a generation. But it was evident that to rear stock to be sold at such prices entailed a certain loss. Practical men felt that it was far better to buy store stock when it could be obtained for little more than half what it would cost to rear, so that it signified little how low was the price of meat provided store animals were cheap in proportion. The consequence was that the breeding of store stock was extensively abandoned, and large tracts of grass land were broken up. The imports of foreign stock were, however, insignificant in number and inferior in quality, and as a natural consequence it was not long before stock became scarce, the result being an advance in price which was without parallel in previous history, when its permanence was taken into accouut. Had the late Sir Robert Peel been a practical agriculturist, and allowed some time to elapse after the repeal of the Corn Laws before permitting the importation of foreign stock, the result would have been different. Those events, however, taught them a lesson. They wanted a minister of agriculture. This country ought no longer to be without a statesman who would devote his special attention to this important interest — one who, being practically conversant with the subject, would be able to appreciate the representations made to him by practical men. Such a minister would give to agricultural topics the considera- tion which their importance deserves. They would then no longer be pushed aside as mere farmers' questions, or be made the plaything of party feeling, but discussed as matters of im- perial interest. He then went on to state that while the im- portation of foreign cattle had done little to reduce the price of meat, it had caused serious injury to the British farmer in introducing into this country pleuro-pneumonia and the foot- and-mouth disease. On the whole he was disposed to agree with those veterinary authorities who maintained that the loss of British cattle caused by the entry of foreign stock, had ex- ceeded the number of the importations, even without taking into account the late fearful visitation of rinderpest. He was of opinion that the cattle-plague had taught them a lesson from which they would derive benefit ; but he suggested, in additions to the precautions which were now taken, that all dealers or jobbers in cattle should be licensed, such licence to be forfeited in case of conviction for dealing in stock infected with conta- gious disease. He maintained that if British farmers had only fair play, they would without doubt be able to furnish an in- creased supply of meat, adequate to the wants of the population. A proof of their ability to do so was afforded by the late returns of stock, which showed an incraase of five per cent, on sheep and eight per cent, in cattle over the previous year. The pro- blem requiring attention was to discover means for providing for more stock. In the first place cultivation must be improved by every appliance suggested by science and experience. He would merely indicate by one word the means of accomplishing that improvement, and that word was capital; and he would add that if landlords desired increased capital to be invested on their property they must give it security. On strong soils he thought the maximum cattle food at the smallest cost was to be obtained — first, by devoting a moderate breadth to roots, but aiming at a heavy acreable produce — steam cultiva- tion would insure the land being fit for mangold, which on strong laud ought to form a considerable portion of the root crop. Second, by keeping, say, one-third instead of one-fourth of the arable under clover or other grass seeds, on which cake should be regularly consumed. Third, by the cultivation of tares, either for soiling or for folding sheep, of cabbages, and of beans and peas. This plan had the advantage of throwing the turnip and clover crops more widely apart than the four- field system, while it specially conduced to the general im- provement of the farm. After alluding to the restrictions as to the selling of straw which prevailed in some agreements, and which, he contended, acted prejudicially both to the land- lord and tenant, Mr. Wood went on to deprecate the policy of stinting animals their food. He maintained that every animal on a farm ought to be well kept from the time of itsbirth to the day when it was sold to the butcher. He protested against the doctrine contained in Mr. Mechi's paper, that " the grass land of this kingdom is a great national loss and a mistake : it is starv- ing our people, and to advocate its extension is a cruel error." He considered the error lay in making such assertions, without regard to modifying circumstances. After referring to the im- portance of purity of breed in the rearing of stock, Mr. Wood recapitulated his arguments as follows : The legislature must give us security against foreign contagion ; farmers must ne- glect none of the means of increasing the produce of their land which modern science places at their disposal. Above all, they must improve their grass land by returning to it a portion of those valuable constituents of which the sale of dairy stock annually deprives it. They must feed their store stock with such reasonable liberality as to keep them in a constantly growing state. This will furnish one important means of im- proving the land. Landlords must co-operate in the good work by improved buildings, and by affording to tenants secu- rity for the outlay of their capital. Mr. J. Brown said that beef and mutton ever find a place among the social ties that bind Englishmen together, and the more they could increase the home production of those sub- stantial necessaries of life, the more they would increase the material prosperity of the whole country. It had been said that the famine in Ireland had proved a blessing to that country, and he saw no reason why the cattle- plague, if fol- [THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 37 liiwed up by wise legislation, should not prove a blessing to the people of this country. For the last thirty years they had been suffering in their herds from various diseases, but, under the regulations which had been introduced in conse- quence of the cattle-plague, they found those diseases to which reference had been made, extinguished or reduced to a mini- mum. He contended that the members for Birmingham could not better serve their constituents than by bringing forward or supporting measures which would prevent them suffering from the recurrence of the cattle-disease, as well as from those other diseases from which the farmers had so long suffered. But there was another kind of disease from which the farmers suffered — and that was the ground game. Comparisons had been made as to how many sheep or cattle could be raised on the food annually consumed by rabbits, but he should like to know how many sheep or cattle could be raised upon those roots when grown to maturity which those little vermin de- stroyed when in their infancy ? That was a question to which he firmly, but courteously and respectfully, called the atten- tion of landlords. There was another question as to the security of tenure. It was not supposed that tenants would lay out their capital in a fearless manner until they had a security of tenure. He believed they would not arrive at a full development of the agricultural resources of this country UDtil they had something like an equitable arrangement for compensation for unexhausted improvements. He advocated some improvement in the four-course system, and urged that, on some soils it was better to keep on the clover till February, when it might be broken up and sown with oats, which would be off in time for wheat-sowing the same year, and the land would then bear as good a crop of wheat as it would have done in the first instance. Mr. R. H. Masfen said, within the last six months they had heard different opinions expressed in that room in regard to grass lands : but he could more heartily endorse the views which had been expressed that evening than those which had been expressed by M. Mechi in the month of June last. In regard to the absence of capital, he urged that the great thing was absence of security ; ample capital would be found when the security was forthcoming. There were numbers of cases constantly occurring in which persons having invested all their capital on the land were turned out of their holdings without receiving one farthing ; and a case had occurred in the Bankruptcy Court during the past week, in which a widow was turned out of her farm and reduced to poverty on her husband's death, without one farthing being paid for the per- manent improvements which he had made. He moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Willoughby Wood for his paper. Mr. G. A May seconded the resolution. He considered, with Mr. Wood, that all stock should be kept moderately well from birth. In regard to the question of security, he said that many landlords thought they met there [to state that as their principal grievance. He attended a meeting at Stafford a short time ago with Mr. Masfen, and a landlord called them out of the room, and said, " You are at it again ; you never meet in Birmingham without saying you can't get security for your capital. I am bound to tell you that is a great mistake, as the majority of the landlords in Staffordshire, if asked for security, would grant it." He replied, " Well, my lord, the fact is, that it is not granted." His lordship replied, " That is the fault of the tenant in not asking for it." He there- fore felt it to be his duty to stand up ou that occasiou and say that it was the fault of the tenants if they did not ask for the security. They all knew that there was nothing to enable them to obtain compensation for permanent improvement, or for the consumption of corn or cake, which was considered as extraor- dinary ; but his lordship said to Mr. Masfen and himself, " that improvements ought to start with the tenant, and not with the landlord, and that it was the duty of the tenant to ask, and not for the owner to give without asking." He replied : " My lord, I think it is not so ; but my own opinion is this, that if I were a landowner I would endeavour so to influence my tenants that they should not grumble. I would offer them every means for farming well, and if they did not they should go." He would only say that if it were the case that the reason the tenant-farmer had not security was because he did not ask for it, then the sooner he asked for it the better. Mr. John Lowe expressed his opinion that the ventilation of the question of security or compensation for permanent im- provement would be productive of good. He contended that what was wanted for the interest of agriculture was not merely a minister of agriculture, but a board of agriculture, which should take cognizance of all matters affecting the farming in- terest. Mr. W. Fowlek, jun., who had been referred to by Mr. Masfen, said the only restriction he made as to farming in his agreements was, that no two white-straw crops should be grown in succession. Mr. J. King agreed with Mr. Wood that it was undesirable to break up old turf land. He thought the clause that pre- vented a man taking two white-straw crops was unfair. The Chairman remarked that it was a most extraordinary fact that while the population of the country has been in- creasing, the production of stock had decreased in the same ratio ; and the cause of this he ascribed to the want of security for the investment of capital. If the tenant-farmer had secu- rity, sufficient capital would be found for all purposes. Tne resolution was passed unanimously. Mr. Wood briefly responded, and a similar compliment having been paid to the chairman, the proceedings terminated. HIGHLAND AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND. The monthly meeting of the directors of this society was held in their chambers, No. 3, George IV. Bridge; Mr. Walker, of Bowland, and afterwards Sir Thomas Buchan Hepburn, Bart., hi the chair. A letter was read from Mr. Curror, Secretary of the Edin- burgh Christmas Club, thanking the board for the grant of £50 voted at the last meeting in aid of the general premiums of the club. The anniversary general meeting of the society was fixed for Wednesday, the 20th January, 18G9. The report of the committee on office-bearers for 1 869 was given in. Mr. F. N. Menzies submitted the pass-book exhibiting the balance on the ordinary account with the Royal Bank at the close of the financial year on the 30th of November. The report of the local committee on the implements tried at Broomhill, near Aberdeen, on the 24th of October last, was given in, and silver medals were awarded to John Thomson, King Street Road, Aberdeen, for a drill grubber, and to William Rae, Bourtie, Old Meldrum, for a turnip-sowing machine. On Mr. Duff's rotatory digger the committee reported favourably. They considered it most suitable for loamy and deep classes of land, which it could pulverize sufficiently for sowing crop or for breaking up clay or stiff soils, the land being thoroughly loosened to the depth of eight or ten inches, so that the crop might have been sown immediately thereafter. They add, " No doubt the machine will by-and-bye be con- siderably improved under the persevering enterprise of its inventor, Mr. Thomas Duff, Perth. On the motion of Sir Thomas Buchan Hepburn, Baronet, seconded by Mr. Lawson, of Borthwick Hall, the thanks of the board were voted to the local committee, consisting of Major Ramsay, of Barra, convener ; Mr. James Abernethy, C.E., Aberdeen ; Mr. Walker, Portlethen ; Mr. Campbell, Blairton ; and Mr. Porter, Monymusk ; to the local secretaries, Messrs. John and Robert Ligertwood, Aberdeen; and also to Mr. Walker, Portlethen, and Mr. Monro, Broomhill, for put- ting at the disposal of the committee various kinds of land suitable for the different implements tried. The report of the Committee on General Shows was sub- mitted, and the board approved of the allocation of about £1,500, to be given as premiums in money or in medals at the, Edinburgh show next year, in the classes of stock. & THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Two additional sections were added in the class of extra horses, viz., mares or geldings between 12 and 14< hands high, and mares or geldings under 12 handa. In consequence of the letter from the Secretary of the Scot- tish Society ior the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in re- gard to the milking of dairy stock, which was before the board in November, and referred to this committee, the following was recommended as a regulation at future shows of the So- ciety : — " All milk cows must have been milked dry the even- ing previous to being judged ; and they must, while within the show-yard, be milked morning and evening. The judges will be instructed to withhold the prizes from any animals overstrained or suffering from want of being milked." The directors adopted the rule ; and it was accordingly added to the general regulations for the Edinburgh show. The report further narrates that owing to the days at pre- sent set aside for the show, judges, members of the deputation of directors, and others coming from a distance, were under the necessity of leaving their homes on the previous Saturday ; and for a similar reason a large number of the stock was placed in the showyard on the same day, thus entailing on exhibitors the cost of two or three days' additional keep, which might be avoided were the period made one day later. The committee, believing that the change of one day would be of considerable advantage to all parties, recommended that the days should be Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, in place of Tuesday, Wed- nesday, and Thursday. This suggestion met with the approval of the directors ; and the secretary was instructed to bring the matter before the meeting of members in the Edinburgh dis- trict, and at the general meeting of the society. If the change is then finally adopted, the show at Edinburgh will be held on the 28th, 29th, and 30th July— the week between the meetings of the Royal Agricultural Society of England and the York- shire Society. The classes of stock for which premiums will be offered at the show at Dumfries in 1870, as fixed by the Committee on General Shows, were approved. The Secretary reported that the Committee on District Competitions had held a meeting on the 25th of November, when the returns relating to the competitions held in the va- rious districts in receipt of the society's premiums had been revised. The committee had at the same time the different grants for 1869 under consideration. The report was approved, and will be brought before the general meeting in January. In regard to the applications on behalf of the Forres and Northern Fat Cattle Club for additional assistance, the com- mittee regret that they cannot recommend the directors to vote a sum of money in aid of local fat shows, but suggest that in the meantime the medals should be continued. The board adopted the report; THE REIGATE FAT STOCK SHOW. The Fat Stock, Root, Butter, and Poultry Show of the Rei- gate Agricultural Society, which has been suspended for three years, in consequence of the Cattle Plague, was held on Tues- day in the Castle Field. The entries of cattle were not nu- merically large, but, taken as a whole, they were of good quality. The best fat ox in the yard was undoubtedly the one that received the prize offered, and there were but two in the class — Mr. Oakley's Hereford steer, three years and a half old, and bred by Mr. Geo. Harmer, of Boatside. Mr. John Clut- ton took second honours with his home-bred ox. Mr. A. All- berry's Sussex steer deservedly received the 1st prize of £5 awarded to the tenant farmer who shall exhibit the best fat ox of any breed or age. This animal is entered at the Islington Show. The Sussex cow, shown by Mr. Wm. Wood, of Ifield, was a model of the breed, and won the first prize ; and the prize animals exhibited by Mr. C. Hall and Mr. John Maple, possessed points of very great excellence. The sheep were unusually good. The three Down wethers exhibited by Mr. F. H. Beaumont, of Buckland, were well entitled to the first honours awarded to them. Mr. Henry Wise came second with some beautiful animals, and in the class for half-bred wethers, Mr. Robert Clutton " walked over." There were some capital lat pigs in the show, Mr. NcNiven, as before, taking first prize for the best fat hog, Mr. Geo. Simpson, of Reigate, being second. In the second class, Mr. John Clutton took first and second prize, and both of Mr. Oakley's were commended. In the lean stock Mr.* A. 0. Wilkinson's Alderneys distanced everything else, and got first prize. The roots, considering the season, were excellent. There was not a large collection of poultry, but] the birds shown were of good [quality. There was a large show of butter, and in this Mr. John Maple and Mr. Simpson carried the palm. In the class "not for compe- tition," Mr. Geo. Simpson, of Reigate, and Mr. Thomas Pitkin, of Crowhurst, exhibited two very fine bulls — an Alderney, and a shorthorn. Mr. Philip Hanbury, of Redhill, sent a fine wild boar, and Mr. E. T. Bennett, of Betchworth, had an extraordi- nary Insiis natura, in the shape of a lamb, with two heads and six legs, which was bred in the spring of 1868. The judges of stock were Mr. George Franks, Mr. George Holdsworth, and Mr. Hy. Still. For poultry, Mr. Elgar and Mr. Wood, For roots, Mr. Hy. Wise, and Mr. Smithers. ABINGDON FAT CATTLE SHOW. The day of the annual show of fat cattle, horses, corn, and roots being the day of nomination for the Berkshire election, there was an unusually large attendance of visitors. The show was a very good one. There were some very good sheep, Col. Loyd-Lindsay's entry,inclass7,beingmuchadmired. The heifers in class 5 were also commended by everyone who saw them. JUDGES. Cattle.— Mr. W. Franklin, Ascott, and Mr. E. Castle, Longworth. Roots.— Messrs. T. M. Dewe, Drayton; J. Williams, Shippon ; and J. Lichfield, Southmoor. Horses.— Mr. Charles P. Duflield, Marcham Park ; Mr. Mr. T. Theobald, Sutton ; Sir Paul Hunter, Bart., Mortimer ; and Capt. Pipon, Woolley House. The following is a list of the prizes :— BEASTS. Best fat ox, £5, to W. Aldworth ; second ditto, £3, to Joseph Druce, Eynsham. Best steer, under three years and three months old, £5, to H. Bettridge ; second ditto, £3, to Colonel Loyd-Lindsay. Best fat cow, £5, to W. Aldworth ; second ditto, £3, to H. Bettridge. Best fat heifer, under four years of age, £5, to Colonel Loyd- Lindsay ; second ditto, £3, to Colonel Lindsay. Best two heifers, in-calf, under three years of age, £3, to W. Curtis, Fernham ; second ditto, £2, to W. Curtis. A silver cup, of the value of £5 5s., the gift of the Mayor, for the best fat ox or steer, to W. Aldworth. A silver cup, of the value of £5 5s., the gift of Lord Over- stone, to the exhibitor of the best fat cow or heifer, to Colonel Loyd-Lindsay . A silver Cup, of the value of £5 5s, the gift of Mr. J. B. Jenkins, for the best pair of heifers, to W. Curtis. SHEEP. Best pen of three fat half-bred wether sheep, under 22 months old, £5, to S. Druce, Eynsham ; second ditto, £2, to the executors of Wm. Button, Botley. Best pen of three fat short-woolled wether sheep, under 22 months old, £3, to Colonel Loyd-Lindsay ; second ditto, £2, to ditto. PIGS. Best fat pig, under fourteen months old, £2, to C B. Beasley ; second ditto, £2, to ditto. Best fat hog, irrespective of weight, age, or breed, £2, to H. Humphrey. HORSES. £10 10s., the gift of Colonel Loyd-Lindsay, for the best four-year-old hunter, to G. B. Morland. £5 5s., the gift of the Masters of the 0. B. H., for the best ' cart colt, under three years old, to W. Aldworth. ROOTS. Best 25 untrimmed roots of Swedish turnips, grown on a piece of not less than five acres, to J. Druce ; second ditto, £1, to W. Graham. Best 25 untrimmed roots of mangold wurzel, grown on a piece of not less than two acres, £2, to J . Druce ; second ditto, £,1 to the Rev. W. V. Harcourt, Nuneham. Best collection of roots, not less than 10 each, field culture THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. not less than four sorts, £2, to T. Kimber ; second ditto, £1, to Col. Loyd-Lindsay. Premiums given by Messrs. Sutton and Sons, or Reading. 10s. 6d. for the best 12 roots of globe mangold wurzel, to E. Pullen. 10s. 6d. for the best 12 roots of long ditto, to S. Druce. 10s. 6d. for the best 12 roots of swedes, to J . Druce. 10s. 6d. for the best 12 roots of turnips, to T. Kimber. BASINGSTOKE ROOT SHOW. At this annual root show a fair display of agricultural roots of various kinds was exhibited ; but their size, and occasionally good quality, attracted some attention. Many of the specimens, considering the late unfavourable season for root crops, proved that great care and attention must have been bestowed to produce such successful culture. The following are the Prizes awarded : — Swedes. — 1st prize, W. M. Harris, Long Sutton ; 2nd, W. W. Chute ; 3rd, E. Cobden, Preston. Green Round Turnips. — 1st prize, W. M. Randall, Strat- fieldsaye ; 2nd, W. M. Harris ; 3rd, W. W. Chute. Devonshire Grey Stone Turnips. — 1st prize, W. M. Harris ; 2nd, W. W. Chute ; 3rd, W. M. Randall. White Globe Turnips. — 1st prize, S. Clark, Mapledurwell ; 2nd, W. W. Chute ; 3rd, W. M. Harris. Red Round Turnips. — 1st prize, W. M. Randall ; 2nd, J. Buller, Upton ; 3rd, A. Booth, Sidmonton. Mangel Wurzel — Long Red or Yellow. — 1st prize, Mr. Boxall ; 2nd, W. M. Randall. Yellow or Orange Globe. — 1st prize, W. W. Chute ; 2nd, A. White. EXTRA PRIZES. Given by Messrs. Sutton : — Best four acres of turnips, grown after a greeu crop, not a root crop. — W. M. Randall. Given by Mr. W. C. Isaac, Reading :— Best ten acres of swedes, a piece of plate value three guineas. — Albert Booth. Best piece of mangels, not less than three acres. — Mr. Boxall, Stratfieldsaye ; second best, W. W. Chute, The Vyne. Best piece of swedes, not less than four acres. — W. W. Chute ; second best, Mr. Read, Nutley. Best collection of roots, one of each sort. — W. W. Chute. BOTLEY ROOT SHOW AND DINNER. At this annual root show, in consequence of the late un- favourable season, the number of exhibiters was less than usual, but some of the specimens of mangel were almost equal to those of previous years, particularly the long red shown by Mr. Drewitt, which evidently had had more space than some capital roots of the same sort from Mr. Chiveton, of Shal- fleet, Isle of Wight, exhibited by Mr. Toogood, of South- ampton. The following was the Prize List :— £5, given by Mr. Thomas Chamberlayne, of Cranbury-park, for the best ten acres of swedes, raised by means of artificial manures only. — H. Leggatt, Brownich; £1, for the second best, W. W. Hooper, Hound. £5, given by Mr. Steuart Macnaghten, of Bitterne Manor House, for the best six acres of drilled swedes. — W. W. Hooper ; £1, for second best, H. Drewitt, Melville. £3, given by Messrs. Dixon and Cardus, for the best six acres of common turnips. — H. Leggatt. £3, given by Mr. Toogood, seedsman, for the best four acres of turnips raised by means of artificial manures only, and grown as a second crop after peas, vetches, rye, &c, and sown after July 7th. — W. Warner. £5, given by Messrs. Spooner and Bailey, for the best live acres of mangel wurzel. — James Hewitt, Posbrook. £2, given by Mr. W. Warner, for the best two acres of mangel wurzel.— T, Dean, Burlesdon. 10s. for the six heaviest swede*.— T. Hewitt and W. Hooper divided. Six best shaped purple-top swedes.— W. Hewitt ; six second best, W. Warner. Six best shaped green or bronze, six best shaped white, and six heaviest turnips.— H. Drewitt ; six second, Mr. Pamplin. Six best shaped green, white, red, round, or globe.— W. Warner ; six second best, W. Thatcher, Wockland. Six hybrid turnips and six heaviest mangel wurzel,— H. Drewitt ; six second, T. Dean. Best shaped long red mangel wurzel. — H. Drewitt. Six best shaped orange globe ditto.— W. Warrington, Thornley, Isle of Wight. Six best shaped long yellow ditto.— Mr. Marchant, Wick- ham. Six best shaped red globe ditto. — H. Drewitt. Six heaviest carrots. — Mr. Marchant. The four heaviest cabbages and the four heaviest kohl rabi. — Capt. Robinson. The best collection of gourds and the six heaviest ditto. — Mr. Withers. THE BERKSHIRE ROOT SHOW. This show which was established, and has been continued by Messrs. Sutton and Sons, was held last month. The entries were in advance of previous years, while the quality in many instances was very fine. Among the entries were specimens from Her Majesty (from the Norfolk Farm), the Marquis of Ayles- bury, the Marquis of Anglesea, the Earl of Dartmouth, Lord Penrhyn, Mr. S. Druce, Mr. J. Druce, Mr. A. F. M. Druce, Mr. R. H. Hall Dare (Ireland), Mr. A. H. Wood, Mr. G. Jenner, Professor Buckland, Mr. J. B. Monck, Mr. R. Allfrey, Mr. J. H. Clarke, and Mr. W. B. Boxall ; the roots exhibited by Mr. G. Allen, of Old Windsor, were drawn from the field, and to these were awarded his Royal Highness the late Prince Consort's prize cup, value 20 guineas. The following are the other awards : — The best nine roots of long red mangel wurzel, Mr. James Messenger, Bonhams, Alton ; second, equal, Mr. R. Allfrey, Wokefield Park, Reading, Mr. W. B. Boxall, Strathfieldsaye, Hants. Best nine roots of long yellow ditto, Mr. R. Allfrey; second, Mr. J. H. Clarke, Altwood House, Maidenhead. Best nine roots of yellow globe, equal, Mr. George Knights, Haw- thorn Cottages, Ipswich, Mr. R. Allfrey ; second, Mr. W. B. Boxall. Best nine roots of yellow intermediate, Mr. Joseph Druce, Eynsham, Oxford ; second, Mr. J. Blyth, Woodhamp- ton, near Reading. Best nine roots of red globe, Mr. R. All- frey ; second, Mr. W. B. Boxall. Best single specimen of long red, Mr. J. Messenger ; best long yellow, Mr. R. Allfrey ; best yellow globe, Mr. R. Allfrey ; best red globe, Mr. C. West, Flowers Farm, Pangbourne. Best eighteen Sutton's champion swedes, Mr. Thomas Banfield, Shinagh Hough, Bandon, Ire- land ; second, Mr. George Allen, Manor Farm, Old Windsor ; third, Mr. Joseph Druce. Best twelve swedes of any other variety, Mr. R. Webb, Beenham, Reading ; second, Mr. Alfred J. Pitfield, Bridport, Dorset ; third, Mr. Charlwood, Padworth, near Reading. Best twelve tankard turnips, Mr. R. Webb, Beenham. Best twelve white globe turnips, Mr. Wren, Whitley, near Reading ; second, Mr. Charlton. Best twelve red, grey, or purple-topped white turnips, Mr. George Keep, Whitley ; second, Mr. R. Webb. Best twelve green-topped white turnips, Mr. A. F. M. Druce, Burghfield ; second, Mr. J. Kimber, Fyfield, near Abingdon. Best twelve yellow- fleshed turnips, her Majesty the Queen, Norfolk Farm ; sec- ond, Mr. James Case, Upton. Best nine green kohl rabi, Mr. Robert Allfrey ; second, Messrs. Maiden and Sons, Biggles- wade. Best nine purple kohl rabi, Mr. Robert Allfrey ; sec- ond, Mr. J. H. Clarke. Heaviest drumhead cabbage, Mr. R. Allfrey : second, Mr. H. Frampton, Watership, Newbury ; third, Mr. J. Blyth. Best twelve parsnips, Mr. R. H. Hall Dare, Newtonbarry, Ireland; second, Mr. Robert Allfrey. Best twelve red carrots, Mr. R. H. Hall Dare ; second, Mr. J. Hinson, Sutton, Surrey. Best twelve white carrots, Mr. R. Chandler, Pewsey ; second, Mr. R. H. Hall Dare. Best twelve Reading onions, Mr. J. H. Wilson, Whitley ; second, Mr. S. Mortlock, Henley. For Rivers'* stubble swede, Mr. W. Banbury. For large green-top orange Belgian carrot, Mr. H. Bull, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex. 40 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE NEW FARM. Cider 'drinking, is it wholesome ? Bless me, to see the rubbish — the absolute mud of decayed fruit that is committed to the press in certain hope of a satisfactory drink being produced ! Why, one has read and seen how carefully is the making of the best foreign wines, each mildewed or decaying berry is sorted and picked out before the juice is crushed — but oh ! to seethe apple heap with which ordinarily the Herefordshire farmer (myself amidst the number) is content — the fruit is gathered and spread eighteen inches deep, and occasionally fenced about with wattled hurdles, then upon these heaps, if you are curious and take a pipe and spend the forenoon sitting on the bar of the chaff-cutter to look on ; why, the geese waddle, and — why, what don't they do ? then the hens pick daintily here and there, and the dirty-footed duck tribe go dabbling in with inquisitorial beaks, and the old sow steals an occasional crunch. Eh dear ! to think what reversions of fortune the crop has gone through before its yield is committed to the cask, and after all it really is good stuff ; very grateful to the senses, especially that one of taste (the liquor being new), and what's more — it's very odd — but the system on an apple-growing soil seems to require it. I am one of those who hold out against the truck plan of paying my labourers so much in money and so much in drink. The arrangement is deplorable. Give the poor fellows their full share of the coin of the realm, and let them buy from your cellar what they feel they require and can afford, and you'll be surprised what a little they content them- selves with ; and then what a real pleasure it is to you to find that the family is better off, and you are not disap- pointed when you have a cask a trifle tart, which must be emptied before next year. It is a pleasure to reward men who have denied themselves ; and the slightly acetous drink is more grateful to their taste as a rule, and more service- able to their system than the sweet readily saleable drink. Problems there are on every soil ; and and a stout pro- blem here is the question of drink. The water of this district, at least, is undoubtedly deleterious, being very strongly impregnated with sulphate of lime. Very good then, the cider-apple, a positive hedgerow weed, the fruit of which you cannot chew to your gratification, yields the liquor needed by the human system, that is grown upo n this particular geological formation. The cocoanut is meat and drink to the fortunate native who lives upon the reefs whereon its parent tree springs luxurianly from a seed that was an ocean waif; buttermilk is the comfort and mainstay and luxury of the rich meadow butter- making counties (its a fine drink too — experto crede) ; whey, that of the cheese district ; and so I've come to per- suade myself that cider is essential to the native (small or adult) of the apple comities. It is rather astounding when fry, just as high as your table, ask for " four- pence a day and their drink," just as it is to see a female worker in harvest time pack up her can in her basket as an essential implement for the day's performance ; but under proper regulation I have come to think it is re- quired. I have given them tea, but it did not do — beer and it intoxicates ; acidulated drinks I saw recom- mended in the Times, and so to acidised cider I reverted. The only thing is observe method in the distribution. The reason of all this is, of course, obvious enough to any- one who will take down Johnson's Atlas, and note the various character of the foods and products of different latitudes; but what drew me into this discussion was the contemplation to-day of several cider messes at dif- ferent stages of development. After all, what have we not read of the way in which London bread used to be kneaded, and the moist sugar squeezed ? Nasty enough each one anyhow. It was curious yesterday that a number of thrushes about the house took to singing quite spring-like upon the boughs. They are "mum" again to-day: whether wearied with their exertion, or that they took cold, or that they have found out their mistake, I don't know. There was such a glorious breeze on Sunday upon the river, making foam-crested billows run up the surface ; but it failed before Monday ; and now the flood has fallen some feet, and left the boat high and dry upon the meadow adjoining her moorings. I am longing for another run before the wind : danger despite ! The barley sheddings, of which I spoke, has been quite a god-send to us. It is fully a foot high, and much has gone into premature ear, so that I had no alternative but to mow it. The clover looks so fresh and regular underneath, after the mown swathe is cleared. I am cutting it up with wheat-straw for a yard full of cows and heifers, and they do well upon it. It seems a better plan than if I had fed down the crop a month since, for I should have lost the subsequent length of growth, beside injuring the clover- plant, as I believe the nibbling of sheep does. So cer- tainly the lamented Nesbit taught. It quite delights me, every time I enter the field, to see how regular and thick the produce is. Every year now I shall certainly harrow the barley-stubble remorselessly four ways, with sharp- fined drags, and then put the chain-harrows across just to cover the seed, which is dispersed from the shattered ears ; the benefit of which I should have lost too, had I allowed the bailiff to turn the pigs on, as he desired to do. The mangold-wurzel has yielded fully sixty loads more than the bailiff calculated, so I trust we shall not be short of keep, after all. I am insisting on the most rigid economy in the use of the new sweet straw, which the stupid or perverse hinds began to use freely for litter, although there was plenty of last year's straw a little distance away. For the life of me I cannot find old Drury's work, and I forget exactly how he compounded his wholesome gelatinous mess of soaked wheaten chaff and meal. I am afraid the book is out of print. Having amused myself with it repeatedly throughout the summer in tapping the damp spots upon my several fields, I am to-day about to drive my Abyssinan pump down along- side the highest stage of buildings, into which I shall put pipes if our search for the drink be successful. As it is now the water-supply lies below or on a level with the homestead, and a good deal of toilsome carrying consequently devolves upon the feeder. Alack a-day ! we don't know how to distinguish the pet pheasants from the wild ones with which they have begun to associate, and we are bound to have a clearing now the leaves are off, for the poor bird is so confiding in its mind, and roosts so prominently, that some measure of thinning must be adopted, or our night's slumbers will be incessantly disturbed by the poaching-gun. I think I shall soak some peas in gin, and feed the tame ones, to- morrow ; so that, if they want to rise, they cannot. We may save them so. What a delicious scent there is in the steaming-house THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 41 to-day ! The bad potatoes that I didn't want for plant- ing are being steamed and mixed with meal in a vat to force off the porkers, which, up to this morning, have been for weeks under the oak and chestnut-trees. I sat down and eat a lot myself of the whiter sort, as did my labourers for their dinner. Mose excellent escu- lent ! I shall hope to clear my crop, in the end, of disease, by this plan of sowing the iuvalids in autumn. Some of my friends, who have tested my deep-sea crop of last year, and found what a floury lot I obtained from what was otherwise of little comparative value, are about to copy my example this year. The farmers I cannot per- suade. For some reason s one might, if selfish, be thank- ful : but then one musn't be selfish, and just this moment one's bound to be off : so good-bye. Vigil. THE WINTER MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP. The past summer has been one of the hottest and driest On record. The summer of 1864 was very dry and hot, and in addition to the difficulties thus occasioned, we bad the sore visitation of the great brown grub and many other grubs, which speedily took off many early thriving crops of mangolds and turnips, so that the supplies of these valuable roots were less than in the present season. The " green food" crops of all kinds were nearly all lost, so that every expedient our flock-masters could devise was resorted to, hoping thereby to bring their flocks safely through the winter. The difficulties of the winter of 1868-9 are very similar to those of 1864-5. The hay and straw crops were better than in the past summer, but the potato crops were far less prolific. The one will, » however, balance against the other in some degree, but unfortunately the potatoes of this season are woefully dis- eased though abundant, nor will the sheep eat them, ex- cept they be denied other food. They only, in fact, set at liberty for the consumption of the flock other food, which would otherwise have been appropriated to the herd. We ask, how then are the sheep in this season to be wintered without the usual supplies of their natural food ? This is the question of all others, and one which I am not prepared to answer very satisfactorily, and must leave the few suggestions I may be able to make to be carried out according to the discretion and judgment of every individual flock -master. Sheep have in like seasons been carried through the winter subsisting almost entirely upon dry food, of which we have many instances. Breeding ewes and store sheep have frequently been brought through upon good pea-straw and corn, or hay and oat- straw chaff, with moderate supplies of artificial feeding- stuffs. Lambs, too, have frequently been brought through upon very short rations of succulent food, aided by chaff and artificial foods. It may suffice for the present to reiterate what has been so often said in so many ways upon this subject. The first suggestive remark I shall therefore make is, that sheep, as a general rule, should be well taken care of in the early part of the winter. It is far better to put them upon "short commons" in the spring than to pinch them in the winter ; cold and stormy weather upon short rations and empty stomachs makes sad work with young sheep, and much loss frequently takes place. In the spring they will subsist upon a few ounces of cake daily in addition to a very limited supply of " green food," or " green food" and oat-chaff, or hay, and if the weather is fine and warm will actually thrive. The milder the season the less food will they require, but it should be good and nutritious. The chief thing, then, to be done is to economise food in every possible way, and to see that the flocks have good and dry lairage. The task of economising " green food" is not a formidable one. In a time of scarcity like the present, turnips and mangolds should be sliced or pulped, and dealt out very sparingly indeed in the troughs to avoid waste, and certainly not to the extent of one- half what a sheep will readily consume, and supplement his other wants by cut chaff from oats or barley sheaves, and a ration of cake or feed of corn. Unfortunately, the crops of oats and barley are so bad this year that but little dependence can be placed upon them, and the hay crop is unusually scant, so that chaff from wheat-straw must be the great resort, and if this is sprinkled pretty freely over with bean, Indian corn, or other meal, forms an excellent food. In years of scarcity we are accus- tomed to many suggestions for economical procedure. I will take a few from both old and new sources. The pulper and chaff-cutter must be kept in pretty constant use. Old sheep and shearlings may be satisfactorily win- tered upon pea-straw cut into chaff and given with a little corn or cake. "Watering the chaff and allowing it to stand a few hours is said to make it more [palatable. Lambs may be allowed a pint of crushed oats daily. Low qualities of sugar may be used for sheep with advantage, as also molasses (treacle). Brewers' grains are often resorted to, as also malt-dust or malt-comb. Bran and pollards have long been popular as good mixtures with cut chaff. Indian corn is capital food at any time, and in scarce years should be freely used ; a pint a day is ample allowance for a sheep. It should be ground or steeped. Lentils are frequently appropriated for sheep food. Inferior rice, or rice-dressings would afford a little help. Locust beans have become more popular, and are nutritious food. Beans in the straw are good for foddering on grass. Sheep will pick up every leaf and pod, and consume very much of the straw. Straw cut into chaff, and damped with boiled linseed, is excel- lent practice. Linseed-cake is probably the most useful and most popular of artificial foods, and only requires discretion in its application to all kinds of stock, accord- ing to age and condition. Cotton-seed cake is more use- ful as a condiment or corrective, rather than a nutritive food. It is highly useful in conjunction with very suc- culent or purgative food. Potatoes, given with judgment, are almost unrivalled as food for cattle and pigs, and if boiled equally good for horses. Sliced potatoes have often been given to sheep with advantage. This is the only prolific root-crop of the season ; they are woefully diseased, but are nevertheless excellent food, either raw, steamed or boiled. It is highly probable, under intelli- gible management, they might prove excellent food for sheep in this scarce season. Stock owners may buy them cheaply, and the trial is well worth making ; a little salt may be useful. Well, after all, there appears to be no sufficent substitute for a lost root-crop, and the question recurs as strongly as ever, What is to be done ? The great facts are still the same. The low price of lambs is certainly tempting to enterprising farmers to try experi- ments in various ways of wintering them. The " great hypothesis" of wintering sheep upon dry food was proved satisfactorily in the winter of 1864-5, but in that winter there was great abundance of this dry food, i. e., hay, 42 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. straw, bean and pea-haulm, but now we have but little or nothing to fall back upon but wheat-straw, which how- ever is well got, and is of excellent quality. Of old hay we are in very short t supply, but old straw is in fair stock, and old straw well secured is frequently more valu- able than sharp new straw. Old bean-straw is certainly better than new. Every advantage must be taken to make straw-chaff nutritious by the addition suggested, as it must in the main be the great resort. I am by no means an advocate for stinting sheep in their daily allow- ance of food, but it will be found that a moderate supply of " green food" with a liberal ration of cake or corn will keep them thriving. Lambs will do well upon 51bs. of turnips or swedes daily, and older sheep upon 71bs. daily, provided they are well supplied with cut chaff, hay, and straw. The artificial rations need not be excessive. Lambs should commence upon £lb. per day, to be increased to £lb. per day, this allowance to be doubled for older sheep. If corn is used instead of cake, lambs should commence upon half-a-pint daily, to be increased gradually to three-quarters of a pint ; older sheep to have about one-third more, straw ad libitum. Although I am making these observations for the general public I am happy in the knowledge that all are not suffering equal privation from lost root crops. In the western counties and in Ireland there are ample supplies of tur- nips and other like food. This will enable the stock owners in those quarters to keep up in a great measure a supply of animal food for the kingdom. Scotland, too, is in possession of a good and healthy crop of potatoes, which are realising good prices. I trust, therefore, that no distress from want of our food supplies will be felt, although in many districts the farmers' losses are exceed- ingly heavy, and to potato growers ruinous, thousands of acres from disease not being worth taking up unless a de- mand should arise from farmers for their stock. A HAMLET IN SUSSEX. Sir, — Permit me for a few minutes to raise the curtain on this scene, that the agricultural world may, through the medium of your paper, catch a glimpse of a small portion of itself. A little church, eight labourers' dwellings grouped around my own house, a farm on my right hand, another on my left, in front of the hamlet the wide-spreading range of the South- downs, and at the back of it an extensive common, bordered with copses. This is a scene upon which volumes might be written, if all its parts were considered hi extenso ; and for upwards of two years I have had it constantly in view* To one who admires Nature, and the Wisdom which fills and sustains it, and the mind of man, which wrests Nature's facts and deeds, and applies them to his own immediate pur- poses, the country and the whole art of agriculture present a most pleasing subject for study. It is my habit, therefore, while in conversation with those around me, both farmers and labourers, and while observing their operations in the fields, to make notes of their sayings and doings as they fall under my notice ; and it is from these notes that I extract the fol- lowing facts relating to agriculture. Every whole is com- posed of atoms ; and though, to the vast amount of knowledge that has been acquired upon this art, my contributions may be but atoms, I hope they may be acceptable to those who make it a practice to compare facts collected from different quarters. I will begin with the condition of our labourers. The want of education shows itself here by few — indeed, scarcely any — of them being able to read or write, and by absurd su- perstitions, which are held chiefly by the women. All of them are aware of the advantages to be derived from receiving some education while young. One man, with whom I was lately conversing, says he should not have kept to this farm- work, if he had been a scholar. This man gets now no day of rest, but must work on from week to week and month to month, making no difference on Sundays to any other day. Each day he must set up five sheepfolds, moving the wattles and hurdles himself. He has, moreover, no fancy for sheep, and never had, horses being what he always took to most. With these he would stay in the stable all night, till driven out by the carter. I should add, however, that this is not his usual work ; but, the shepherd's hands being over-full, he is put to it for a few months. In another cottage lives a man who has lost an arm in an agricultural machine. I hear him rising at five o'clock in the morning, and it is generally with a song. The loss of the limb does not seem to depress him, except in haying and harvest time, when it naturally debars him from earning as much extra wages as he otherwise might. He is cheerful, and, like the rest of the men, not without some little humour. When this accident happened, the parish al- lowed him and his wife seven shillings a week for three months, when it was withdrawn ; and he returned to work, not thoroughly recovered, thinking this alternative preferable to the workhouse. The farmer on whose premises the acci- dent happened was very kind to him, keeping him (in food), giving him the instrument he now wears, constantly calling to inquire after him, and taking him in again at the end of the three months. His work is to attend to the cattle in the marshes, drive the cows home, and fatten the beasts. His wages are nine shillings a week, to which sum they have been gradually raised from six shillings, at which he recommenced work. There is staying with him now, for a short time, a brother of his, who left the plough at the age of eighteen to join the army, for which he always had a fancy. He is now half-paralysed, and scarcely able to move, but does not regret having left the farming work. He says " soldiering in time of peace is gentleman's work ; but in war-time 'tis rough-and- tumble." He has a pension of elevenpence a day. Another of my labouring friends tells me the work is not over-hard, and does not knock him up at all, except in haying and har- vest-time, when he gets enough of it, having been sometimes by two o'clock in the morning. After dark, and at the end of a day's work which one might think would have been suffi- ciently fatiguing, this man will occasionally go, with one or two others, sparrow-catching. They generally bag from half- a-dozen to a couple of dozen only. " The birds get as artful as foxes," he says, " and dodge over the net." This man has two children under four. He wishes them to receive some education, and will send the elder to the school in a village about a mile off when he is a little older. He thinks many who receive any education leave farming work for other occu- pations, but that there will always be plenty to keep to it. He, for one, likes the life, and has no desire to change. As regards the house-accommodation, it is ample, all the cot- tages having two and some three bedrooms, and the largest family being a man and his wife, their two children (under four), and another labourer, the wife's brother. The wages here are 12s- a week ; and the women go out washing, etc., at Is. a day. Nearly all belong to some club, the main features of one of them being a subscription of one shilling and sixpence a month, and a doctor's fund, to which the subscription is one shilling per quarter ; in illness ten shillings a week allowed for the space of a year, after that time five shillings a week for as long as the recipient continues a member. The club can- not, by rule, break up, as long as three members stand out for its continuance. The rent of all the cottages is about £4 ; and the men all have good gardens, in which they employ themselves of an evening — in winter, often by moonlight. All keep a pig or pigs. The hour of the evening meal, when the men have returned from their work, is, I am sorry to say, an hour of doubtful smells. In one cottage, where an old woman prepares for her two sons, it is abominable. These two young men are, however, hearty and robust, and must certainly pos- sess strong stomachs. At another cottage I find the meal made tempting by the care of a cleanly wife, and the room lit by the economical and cheerful paraffin lamp, instead of the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 43 dirty old tallow candle. Most of the cottagers brew at home ; and, though I do not suppose this hamlet to be a paragon, yet I will say that I have never seen one of its inhabitants the worse for liquor. I have taken up so much space in looking at these cottagers, that I am afraid I must say but little now about the farms. I will, however, just mention one or two points. We follow here the four-course rotation, though not binding ourselves very strictly to it. For instance, on one farm there is a field, from which globe-mangold has just been drawn for storing, which was last year wheat, and is to be so again this next sea- son. This field was a picture of cleanness. In passing through it, there seemed scarcely a plant to be seen but its proper crop, the spaces between the drills being clear earth, which pleasant sight was obtained by twice hoeing, and after- wards spudding up the grasses, and carrying them off the field. The sheep are now folded on it, eating the tops of the roots which have been just removed. The field will be limed, and then sown with wheat again. Feed being rather short here this year, some of the sheep are already being fattened on oil- cakes. Some sheep are in the mustard, some in the mangold, others consuming the seeds and shed barley, which latter, we will hope, will not prove very injurious, as the frosts will soon cut it down a bit. The Dorsetshire horned ewes are, with their lambs at their side, in the rye. Lime is in demand here, one farmer having to make do with a kiln and a half, instead of five kilns. This is being used on a clover-ley, after a good dressing of farmyard manure— a " black coat and white waist- coat," to be sure ; but he has buried the former out of the way first, so the latter will not hurt it so much : it is, more- over, slaked with the wet. This field is ploughed, pressed, sown broadcast, harrowed twice, and rolled. The seed, in places, falls in bunches ; but, on looking into the drills after the machine has passed, I see there two clumps of five and six grains, and twenty and more lying in a foot's-length. The quantity of wheat sown here per acre is from 3 bushels down to 1^ bushels, two being the usual amount. I gather the fol- lowing as the opinions of one of the farmers : The land here is not sufficiently highly farmed to admit of thin sowing. The higher you farm, the less seed you may use. The capital em- ployed here is about £10 per acre : in the Weald of Sussex, where about £7 per acre is the rule, the quantity of seed is increased. This farmer ploughs deep once in four years, for the root-crop, but at other times ploughs the manure in shal- low, to augment the quantity in the surface-soil. After feed- ing sheep off, he skims the ground over about three inches deep. His wheat this year has produced about forty bushels per acre. The best field on the farm, in 1867, was one sown with one-and-a-half bushels. This farmer allows his men a bushel of malt for their haying and harvest-beer, while others give from a half to a gallon of beer or cider per diem. And now, having endeavoured to give in a few words a no- tion of what some of us think and do in this little hamlet of ours, let me drop the curtain again upon kindhearted farmers, temperate and patient labourers, and Your humble servant, E. B. PRIME SCOTS When the " droving" of cattle to the English market ceased, and the first ventures of a few fat beasts for the London mar- ket were made, they were sent from Aberdeen by sailing- vessels. Sending by steamer came next ; but the vessels, not being very powerful, instances occurred where, in stormy weather, almost the whole of the live freight were either thrown overboard to ease the ship, or smothered below decks before the vessel reached the Thames. The introduction of larger and more powerful vessels has obviated this risk, or, at any rate, reduced it to a minimum ; and one favourite boat in particular, the " City of Loudon," well known at the wharves at Wapping, of large size and [admirable steaming qualities, often carries very considerable numbers of fat stock. Her freight on the trip directly before the London Christmas mar- ket in December 1867, besides sheep and swine, included 188 very large cattle, which might be valued at fully £6,000 the lot. For the twelve months of 1867, the Aberdeen steamers carried to the London market 2,758 cattle (an exceptionally small number), and 494 tons of dead meat. During the same time they carried 26,983 sheep and 4,573 pigs. The number of sheep here stated is as near as may be half the number ex- ported from Aberdeen to London and elsewhere. The country being mainly agricultural rather than pastural, fewer sheep are fed than in districts still farther northward. Formerly, the greater part of the Aberdeen cattle were sent on to London as live stock. But the greater despatch and diminution of risks secured by forwarding in the shape of dead meat has reversed this, and now the despatches of dead meat — the carcases being halved and carefully sewed into pack- ing sheets — exceed those of live stock by a long way. A com- parison of the returns for 1865 with those for 1859, shows that the number of live cattle sent by rail had diminished folly one fourth within that period, while the number of tons of dead meat had increased in more than a corresponding propor- tion. In 1865 there were 9,031 live cattle sent southward by railway from Aberdeen, and 10,074 tons of dead meat, the whole, with inconsiderable exceptions, going direct to the London market. The same year thd steamers carried 4,558 fat cattle from Aberdeen to London. Let us take the live cattle at 13,000 nett, discounting the odd 500 for the benefit of the provincial towns by the way ; and reckoning each of the 10,000 tons of dead meat as equivalent to the carcases of three average bullocks — and the estimate, I believe, is tolerably correct — we have a total of 43,000 as the annual export of fat cattle from Aberdeen to the London market. A moderate average per head give the gross value of the whole as £1,075,000. Thus far of the general supply for the year. But, as I have said, the larger farmers and dealers make a point of preparing special lots for the great Christmas market, which is held about the second or third Monday of December. To that market some of the principal Aberdeen dealers frequently forward as many as 100 to 120 cattle, all well-matured in growth and thoroughly fattened, and varying in value from £30 to £50 each. For just as the Aberdeen men send no inferior beef to the London market at any season of the year, so the grand Christmas beeves are, to a large extent, the pick and choice of their herds, marked out and destined to that particular pur- pose many months before. On the middle days of the week preceding the great Christmas market, the long cattle-trains come steaming slowly over the various local railway-lines to " the Granite City," the astonished bullocks, all unconscious of their destination, staring and blowing over the edges of the high- walled trucks in which they are cooped up. At Aberdeen the London trains are at once arranged and despatched south- ward with as little delay as possible. The numbers sent on by these special trains, of course, vary ; but taking .the average for the last half-dozen years to guide us, the prediction may be safely ventured that the total Christmas consignments to Smithfield and Islington of these astute northern purveyors in this present month of December — reckoning all that will be sent both by sea and land— will not fall much short of 1,200 fat " bestial," of the primest of " Prime Scots," and that the value of these will be from £40,000 to £50,000. — 2%e Broadway for December. 44 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. PALM NUT MEAL. This substance constitutes the residuum obtained when the palm nut has been deprived of a portion of its oil. The ex- traction of palm nut oil is effected by pressure ; and the pres- sure is by no means so effectively conducted as in the case of linseed cake or of rapeseed cake. The character of palm nut meal is, therefore, that of a highly oleaginous or fatty kind of nutriment — in which respect it occupies the highest position amongst the fat-formers, if we except the unpressed oily seeds, which are rarely given to stock. In Doctor Cameron's Stock-Feeder's Manual, page 224, he states that he made eight analyses of palm nut meal during the period 1864-66, and that the mean results were as follows : — Composition of Palm Nut Meal. 100 parts contain : — Water Albuminous or flesh-forming principles Fatty substances Gum, sugar, &c. Woody fibre Mineral Matter 100.00 The nature and relative value of palm nut meal will be best understood by comparing the above analysis with that of an average sample of linseed cake : — Average Composition of English Linseed Cake. 100 parts contain : — Water 12 Flesh-forming matters ... ... 28 Oil 10 Gum, mucilage, &c. ... ... ... 34 Woody fthre. 10 Mineral matter (ash) ... ... ... 6 100 On comparison with these analyses, it will be seen that one ton weight of palm nut meal contains more oil than two tons weight of linseed cake. On the other hand, there is about 50 per cent, more of the flesh-forming, or albuminous principles in the linseed cake. In both cakes the proportions of gum, sugar, and other digestible carbo-hydrates are about equal. Now, the question is, why is the price of linseed cake no less than £14 per ton, whilst that of palm nut meal is so much lower ? Is there so great a difference in the nutritive value of the two foods to sufficiently account for the very much higher price of the one as compared with the other ? To the latter of these questions we feel disposed .to answer in the negative. The composition of the palm nut meal appears to be decidedly superior to the linseed cake ; and unless it is extremely indiges- tible it should, judging from its analysis, be a much more eco- nomical food. It cannot be contended for palm nut meal that all kinds of stock relish it so much as they do linseed cake ; but, so far as we can learn, oxen and sheep do not refuse to eat it, and pigs| are downright fond of it. So far as the results of experiments with this food go, they are unquestion- ably in favour of it. Some time ago, when What we may term the nitrogen theory of nutrition was the popular one — when the nutritive value of a food was estimated by the amount of nitrogen which it con- tained— there is no doubt but that palm nut meal would have been regarded as decidedly inferior to the ordinary oil-cakes. For some time past, however, the belief has gradually been gaining ground that the fat-forming constituents of food are the most urgently required, and the most rapidly appropriated to the wants of the system. No doubt all the elements that are found in animals must be supplied to them in the form of food, and in one respect — in a purely physiological one — they are all of equal importance ; nevertheless, in a practical point of view certain forms of nutriment, even proximate principles of food, have a greater value than others. Taking this view of the differential value of aliniental principles, it was some time ago the fashion, as we hf ve already stated, to regard the nitrogenous or albuminous principles as being more important than the other constituents of food. The former experiments of Voit, Mayer, and the very recent investigations of Fick, Wislicenus, Parkes, Frankland, and Haughton, show that the changes wliich take place in the body are nearly altogether due to the action of the non-nitrogenous principles (the carbo- hydrates) of the food, and not, as was supposed by Liebig and others, to the nitrogenious, or albuminous foods. Now, the most concentrated carbo-hydrate is oily or fatty matter — one part of whicli is, indeed, equal as food to two and a half parts of sugar or starch. It is evident, then, that within certain limits the value of a food substance depends upon the amount of ready formed fatty matter which it contains. It has been shown that in the animal economy starch and sugar are con- verted into fat, because animals maintained on a diet altogether destitute of oily matters nevertheless become fat. But it has also been shown that there is a great tax on the system when it is obliged to elaborate its adipose tissue out of starch and sugar. It is for this reason that ready-formed fat is so valu- able as food ; for a very slight effort, so to speak, is only neces- sary in order so reorganize it into the fatty tissue of the ani- mal which consumes it. There is good reason, too, to infer that ready-formed fat in food favours digestion. In the case of man, at least, there appears to be an instinctive longing for fat in some form — butter, oil, the fat of meat, or the oily matter which is so abundantly diffused throughout the muscu- lar tissue of flesh. From what we have stated, it will now be seen that unless palm-nut meal contains some noxious principles — but no one avers that it does — it is one of the most valuable foods which the stock feeder could employ. It is, unquestionably, by far the cheapest source of ready-formed fat now available for food purposes. Palm-nut meal may be given to all kinds of stock intended for food. In the first instance, to fattening oxen and milch cows, 3 lbs. may be given every day. Sheep may receive, ac- cording to age, from \ to ^ lb. of this food, and pigs may be supplied almost ad libitum with it. It is, in some cases, best given in a cooked form, or mixed with other foods ; but al- though some animals may not at first eat it with avidity, they will not require very much coaxing before they take to it readily enough.— Irish Farmer's Gazette. THE STORY OF THE SEED. John xii. 24. — "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone ; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." Come with we into the garden and hear the plants preach a sermon from this singular text — so seemingly contradictory : lite out of death— here are hundreds of living illustrations of its truth, some guided, placed and cared for by man, requiring man's assistance because man has removed them from their natural homes ; others being in their natural home cared for only by our Heavenly Father who cares for all, even these neglected and despised weeds of our garden. So untiring is tli is strife between life and death, that each pursues the other constantly. Here stands a little tale-bearer of last year's sorrows, " one THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 45 left to tell." Its mother was a lovely quilled Aster, purple, tipped with white and rayed with a rosy glory, all her little progeny eaten by the birds except this one, which fell into a seam of the dried earth and was saved for a long, winter's rest, alone in its life, having no companionship but the snows and frosts of winter, dying iu the early spring from the destructive influence of returning life — dying to give life to others of its kind. All the long winter it lived, and was alone — in the spring the frosts left it changed in some respects, and ready for a greater change ; the rays of light crept into the moist earth, changing the starch of the seed into sugar, to nourish the young plant while it thrust its rootlet downward into the moist earth and forced upward through the brown crust its cotyledons, or seed leaves, bearing between them the plumule carefully protected, or the rough earth would kill it — opening out its young leaves to the sunlight, it is now an established plant, but the seed is gone ; its death was the life of the plant. Now the decaying masses of dead vegetable matter and the waste material of animal life are caught up by that great chemist, oxygen, and changed into healthy food for our young friend. The inert carbon could not feed it, but combined with oxygen it became carbonic acid, and that is just the food required ; under its little leaves are placed its mouths, formed for imbibing carbonic acid gas ; the roots furnish the circulating fluid which distributes the food to all parts of the plant when properly prepared or digested, but before that can be the agency of the sun must be called in again to re-transform the carbonic acid after it has entered the system of the plant. So the little plant tells its own story of life and death : " I have now enough to do to keep out of the way of death. All the day long I drink in my allotment of carbon and oxygen, because I cannot feed upon the carbon unmixed. But « even as I cannot take in my food in its simple state of carbon alone, so I dare not retain it undigested in my system, or it would kill me, just as undigested food would kill you. So I hasten to spread it out in the tissue of the beautiful leaves, where the kind sunlight liberates the oxygen, to be returned to the air, in order to befriend you, my friend and admirer, in reddening your blood and making you strong and healthy ; carrying out the waste materials of your body to feed mine, while the carbon left in my leaves is carried about to build me up into strength and maturity. Sometimes in the dull night time, I feel that I am changiug too, and that many of my supple branches are growing less flexible than when I was young ; my body is stiffened up with age, my leaves refuse to serve me as well as of old, and creeping up beside me I feel the cold hand of death taking hold of my cells and closing their days into inactivity. What shall I do to shun the destroyer's hand? Am I to be the last of my race, to die and leave none of my kind to cheer you when I am gone ? Well I know how you have loved and cared for me when you came to the garde.u for rest and contemplation ; and well do I know that the great Father has made the world fuller of life than of death. He, too, has given me a power that death cannot thwart, though it destroy me. Changes more strange than feeding me upon the death and decay of others ; He has given me a power more wonderful than any of the arts of man ; taught me to escape death in dying. I shall transform my leaves into flowers ; and though I cannot enlarge myself and wax great in size, yet tlw same force of life in death shall leave behind others of my kind to beautify the earth. These young leaves that would be my last shall be changed to calyx, then to petals, again to stamens, still others to pistils and ovary. Carefully wrought within the ovary, will be germ cells, that shall be enlivened by the pollen from the stamens through contact with the pistil. All this time the beauty of my petals will plead for pity and against destruction in my old age, until I have finished the mystery. They, too, will then fade and perish ; but I shall have triumphed, for though , I die my seed shall be left, and my kind shall not perish from the earth ; for even in my death there is life transmitted to thousands. I have fulfilled my Master's bidding, and am ready to go." — Isaac A. Pool, in The Prairie Farmer. ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. Monthly Council : Wednesday, Dee. 2. — Present : Lord Walsingham, V.P., in the chair ; Viscount Brid- port, Lord Tredegar, Mr. Acland, Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Bamett, Mr. Booth, Mr. Cantrell, Col. Challoner, Mr. Davies, Mr. Druce, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Hassell, Mr. Hornsby, Mr. Wren Hoskyns, Mr. Lawes, Mr. Milward, Mr. Pain, Mr. K. C. Kansome, Mr. Shuttle- worth, Mr. Torr, aud Dr. Voelcker. His Grace the Duke of Richmond, K.G., was elected a Governor of the Society. The following new members were elected : Addison, Joseph, Mapledurwell, Basingstoke. Allnutt, Albert A., Hunsdon Lodge, Ware, Herts. Ashworth, Alfred, Egerton Hall, Bolton-le-Moors, Lancaster. Charteris, the Hon. Frederick William, Eccles Hall, Attle- borough, Norfolk. Cookson, John, The Firs, Stretford, Lancashire. Cowper, Edward Alfred, C.E., 6, George-street, Westminster, London. Duncon, Alexander, Kuossington Grange, Oakham. Edwards, Sir Henry, Bart., M.P., Pyenest, Halifax. Etches, Edward, Derby. Farrel, John Arthur, Moynalty, co. Meath Gillett, Frederick, Upton Downs, Burford, Oxon. Godoer, Henry, H., Whyburn House, Hucknall Torkard, Nottingham. Hammerton, George, Princethorpe, Rugby. Harper, William, Bury, Laucashire. Keep, Joseph S., Russell-street, Birmingham. Leese, Spencer, West Cliff, Preston, Lancashire. Morris, John, Weston, Chigwell, Essex. Powell, W. S., Eglwysnunyd, Taibach, Glamorgan. Price, Richard John Lloyd, Rhiwlas, Bala, Merionethshire. Proby, Rev. William Henry B., Seaton, Axminster, Devon. Purser, Henry, Willington, Bedford. Purser, William, Cople, Bedford. Purkis, William, Horseheath, Linton, Cambridge. Ross, Owen, C. D., Little Bookham, Leatherhead, Surrey. Smithell, Mrs., Hengrove, Margate. Sykes, Edmund H., Edgeley, Stockport, Cheshire. Thompson, Edward C, Tugby, Leicester. Tryon, Richard, Loddington Hall, Leicester. Whitlow, William, Crouchley Farm, Lifunn, Warrington. Finances. — Major-General Viscount Bridport, Chair- man, presented the report, from which it appeared that the Secretary's receipts during the past month had been duly examined by the committee and by Messrs. Quitter, Ball, & Co., the Society's accouutants, and found correct. The balance in the hands of the bankers, on the 30th November, was £218 8s. 8d. The committee recom- mended that the sum of £2,000, now on deposit, be placed to the drawing account. The committee, having gone through the list of arrears due to the Society, re- commend that six names be struck off. Mr. Jenkins, Secretary and Editor, having submitted two names for his sureties, it was recommended that they be referred to the Society's solicitor, to ascertain their solvency, and to 46 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. draw up the necessary agreement between the Society and Mr. Jenkins. — This report was adopted. Chemical. — Mr, Wren Hoskyns presented the fol- lowing report, which had been received from. Professor Voelcker : Chemical Report, 1 have the satisfaction of reporting to the Chemical Com- mittee that the members of the Society availed themselves more frequently during the past year than in any previous year of their privilege of sending samples of manures, soils, cakes, &c, to the laboratory. The number of analyses made in 1868, amounts to 4*32, and exceeds that of 1867 by 91, being larger than the total number of analyses recorded in any previous years. This increase in the analytical work for members of the Society probably is mainly due to the brisk transactions in artificial manures which took place in the past season, and the scarcity of food, in consequence of which a large number of artificial manures, principally of the character of superphos- phates, and many oilcakes and feeding materials were sent to the laboratory for analysis. By far the larger proportion of the class of manures to which superphosphate belongs were found of good quality, well pre- pared, and worth the money at which they were offered for sale. Of late years the manufacture of superphosphate has much im- proved, and notwithstanding their superior quality and intrinsic value, the market-price of this description of fertilisers has not been increased. On the other hand, high quality Peruvian guano continues to be scarce, and several samples were found to be grossly adulterated. Compound artificial manures, sold under the name of British guano, corn manure, &c, as a rule were found too dear at the price at which they were offered for sale. Most of the com- pound manures analysed might be readily obtained by the far- mer, at a much cheaper rate than they are sold, by mixing to- gether in certain proportions well-known manuring matters, such as guano, sulphate of ammonia, diosolved bones, salt, &c. ; but if he prefers to buy the mixture ready made, he is strongly recommended to have the manures analysed, and to have ascer- tained whether the intrinsic value of the fertilising constituents of the compound manure corresponds with the price at whioh it is offered for sale. Sulphate of ammonia has largely been used in the past sea- son, and with good effects both for wheat and grass crops. The demand for sulphate of ammonia, moreover, has greatly in- creased of late, it having been found remarkably efficacious for sugar-cane, and for the cultivation of beet-root on the conti- nent. In consequence of the exportation of sulphate of ammonia to the sugar-growing colonies, and to tbe beet-root districts in the north of Germany, the price has gone up from £12 10s. to £17 a ton, and with it the price of all ammoniacal and nitrogenous manuring matters has risen considerably of late. There is, therefore, no probability that Peruvian guano will become cheaper, the chances being that it will go up, if its quality con- tinues to remain pretty constant. Damaged Peruvian guano is eagerly bought up by dealers in artificial manures at its full market value, and afterwards fre- quently mixed with some kind or other of phosphatic material, and again sold at a good profit under an assumed name, such as Coral Island guano, phosphatic guano, South Sea guano, &c. Although such mixed natural guanos may be used with advan- tage as manures, especially for root crops, upon which they often have a more beneficial effect than genuine Peruvian guano, it is, nevertheless, not to the benefit of the consumer to encou- rage this species of adulteration. The coprolite beds of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire are gradu- ally becoming exhausted or too expensive to work, and the quality of coprolites has become of late somewhat deteriorated. Whilst there is every prospect of the coprolite beds in England becoming practically exhausted at no very distant period, it is satisfactory to find that new sources of supply of phosphatic minerals are constantly being discovered. Large quantities of Somorero rock phosphate and Novassa guano, and the more recently discovered phosphorite in the valley of the Lahn, in Nassau, and some cargoes of Spanish and Canadian apatite, now find their way into England, and no fear need be entertained that British agriculture will suffer from want of the principal raw materials from which super- phosphate and similar artificial manures are manufactured, or that the price of such manures will be raised in the approach- ing season. On account of the great importance of these phosphatic mineral deposits, I took an opportunity last summer to visit the Nassau phosphoric mines, and was struck with the great extent of country over which these mines are spread. At the time of my visit new shafts were sunk in every direction, and the phosphatic deposit has now been found all along the valley of the Lahn. In the immediate neighbourhood of Lim- burg, the place where the phosphate was first discovered, the deposit was still marked ; but more extensive deposits have recently been discovered at Dehrn, and in the neighbourhood of Wetzlar. Unfortunately a large proportion of the Nassau phosphate is much impregnated with oxide of iron, a consti- tuent which is objectionable in the production of soluble phosphate of lime. On an average the better importations of German phosphate into England yield from 60 to 65 per cent, of phosphate of lime, and though this is not a high percentage, yet the comparatively low price at which this mineral is sold renders it a useful material to the manufacturer of artificial manures. Nassau phosphate of a very superior quality, containing barely 30 per cent of phosphate of lime, I was informed when travelling last summer in Germany, has been used in that country in a finely ground state, without having been pre- viously treated with sulphuric acid. When applied to the land in large quantities, this mineral, like chalk marl, no doubt will benefit the crops grown upon the land to some extent, but it appears to me very questionable whether the application of a merely powdered very poor mineral phosphate can be carried out with advantage to the farmer beyond a reasonable distance from the locality where it occurs. With respect to feeding substances, I would observe that the great scarcity of green food and the failure of the root crops have compelled farmers to become purchasers of oilcakes and corn to a much larger extent than in ordinary years. In consequence of the increased demand of purchased food, the sophistication of oilcakes, I regret to say, has received a great impetus. I hardly remember any season in which I had to examine so many inferior and adulterated linseed-cakes than in the past. The subject deserves the most serious considera- tion of the agriculturist, for the buyer of adulterated oilcakes generally is not only defrauded by paying high prices for inferior feeding materials, but occasionally he runs the risk of endangering the health of his stock by giving them adulte- rated oilcakes, inasmuch as those who deal in such cakes, from want of knowledge and cupidity, occasionally incorporate with feeding cakes substances which are positively poisonous to animals. I have already reported on the admixture of Castor-oil Beans, and the still more poisonous Curcus Bean, both of which I found last season in sevaral samples of linseed-cake, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 47 and may add that not unfrequently almost any kind of rubbish, such as mill-dust, sittings of seeds, spoiled cakes, ground rice- husks, &c, when ready at hand, is deemed good enough by unscrupulous oilcake-makers for the production of feeding- cakes. The audacity of some makers in palming off udulte- rated linseed-cake as pure would hardly be credited, if it were not a fact that more than one linseed-cake sent to me for analysis, and bearing the press stamp " pure," proved to be mixed or adulterated with a variety of feeding materials, such as cotton-cake, earthnut-cake, bran, and rice-dirt. The mention of rice-dirt reminds me of a case brought under my notice a short time ago, in which the refuse meal did serious mischief to a number of pigs to which it was given. The analysis of the meal in question showed me that it was contaminated with about 4 per cent, of nitre : a salt which, taken in large doses internally, has a powerful medicinal effect upon animals. In all probability the contamination of the meal with saltpetre was caused by damage in a heavy sea, as if a cargo of saltpetre and Rice sustains damage, by sea-water, the latter most likely would become impregnated with a solu- tion of nitre, and the damaged Rice, on being dried and ground into meal, will contain this non-volatile salt. On the occasion of a tour on the continent last summer, I attended the annual Congress of Agricultural Chemists of Germany, which met this year at the Royal Agricultural College of Hohenheim in Wiirtemberg, and was much struck meeting with nearly fifty scientific men, who, in different parts of Germany, are all engaged specially in chemico-agricultural pursuits. Many of them preside over laboratories, to which some experimental fields, feeding stalls, and glass-houses are attached, and in which every facility is provided for carrying on scientific agricultural inquiries. These establishments are called on the continent Versuchs-stationen (Experimental Stations) . The results of the labours of the German agricul- tural chemists are published in a Quarterly Journal, containing much useful theoretical information, which deserves to be more generally known in England than it is. In 1868 I contributed to the Journal of the Royal Agricul- tural Society of England the following papers: — 1. On the Solubility of Phosphatic Materials, with special reference to the Practical Efficacy of the various forms in which Bones are used in Agriculture. 2. On the Composition and Nutritive value of Trifolium striatum, a new kind of Clover. 3. On the Causes of the Benefits of Clover as a Preparatory Crop for Wheat. With the sanction of the Chemical Committee I set on foot, as in previous years, a number of field experiments on— 1. Root crops — Mangels, Swedes, Carrots. 2. On Potatoes. 3. On Artificial Grasses. 4. On Permanent Pasture. The following printed list was forwarded to a number of agriculturists residing in different parts of the country, mostly former pupils of mine :— • Experiments. — Field Experiments on Roots: Mangolds, Swedes, Turnips, and Carrots. — The following experiments are recommended with a view of ascertaining what is the best root manure on different soils ; each plot to be^. one-twentieth of an acre ; — Plot 1. — No manure 2. — Mineral superphosphate o r Mineral superphosphate * I and potash salts . f Mineral superphosphate ' I and Peruvian guano... 5. — Peruvian guano ... 6. — No manure /"Mineral superphosphate 7. ■] and potash salts (.and sulphate of ammonia .. 8. — Rotten dung ... .. f Mineral superphosphate 9. •< and potash ... (. and nitrate of soda ... 10 C Rotten dung ... .,, 1 X and mineral superphosphate -., (Bone dust ' ' t and mineral superphosphate 12. — No manure At the rate of, per acre, 16fc lb. or 3 cwt. 16*,, ... 3 „ 11 ,, ... 2 „ 16* „ ... 3 „ 5* „ ... 1 » 16* „ ... 3 „ 16* ,, ... 3 „ 11 „ ... 2 „ 5* „ ... 1 „ 1 ton ... 20 tons 16* lb. ... 3 cwt. 11 „ ... 2 „ °2 „ ... 1 ,, \ ton ... 10 tons 8* lb. ... 1* cwt. 16* „ ... 3 „ 8*„ ... 1*„ At the rate of, per acre, 22 lb. or 4 cwt. 11 » ... 2 „ 11 „ ... 2 „ 1 ton 20 tons 22 lb. ... 4 cwt. 22 „ ... 4 » 22 „ ... * „ 11 „ ... 2 „ 11 » ... 2 „ 22 „ ... * „ 22 „ ... 4 „ 22 „ ... 4 „ 1 ton ... 20 tons Samples of the experimental fields were desired to be sent to Dr. Voelcker, 11, Salisbury-square, Fleet-street, London, E.C. FieldExperimcnts on Potatoes. — The following experiments are specially recommended on light soils j each plot to be one- twentieth of an acre :— Plot 1.— No manure C Mineral superphosphate 2. < and crude potash salts (.and sulphate o' ammonia 3. — Good rotten dung ... a C Mineral superphosphate ' (. and crude potash salts 5. — No manure C Mineral superphosphate 6. < and crude potash salts (.and anitrate of soda ... 7. — Peruvian guano o r Mineral superphosphate ' i and .common salts ... 9, — Good rotten dung ... 10. — No manure. The artificials should be first mixed with ashes, burnt clay, or dry earth, and then dug in, or ploughed in, quite early in spring, when the dung is put on the land, and when the pota- toes are planted. Experiments on Artificial Grasses.— Each plot to be one- twentieth of an acre : — Plot 1.— Nitrate of soda 221b. 2. — Sulphate of ammonia 22 3. — Mineral superphosphate (dissolved coprolites) 22 4. — Common salt 22 5. — No manure. 6. — Muriate of potash 22 7.— Sulphate of potash 22 8. — Sulphate of lime ... ... ... ... 56 q r Mineral superphosphate 22 ' I and nitrate of soda , 22 {Mineral superphosphate ... ... ... 22 and muriate of potash 22 — No manure. 10. 11, The manures should be applied not later than the end of Eebruary, and the first crop, as well as the aftermath, be weighed green. The produce of each plot should be weighed directly it is cut. Experiments on, Permanent Pastures. — Each plot to be one- tenth of an acre :— 1. — Quicklime ... ,., ... 10 bush a f Quieklime ' I and common salt ... ... 10 „ ... 56 lb. 3. — Fine bone-dust ... ljcwt a / Mineral superphosphate ' i and crude potash salts ... ... 56 lb. ... 56 „ 5. — No manure. 6. — Common salt ... ... ... 56 „ 7. — Peruvian guano... ... 56 „ 8. — Crude potash salt ... 56 „ q C Mineral superphosphate ' (. and Peruvian guano ... ... 56 „ ... 56 „ 10. — No manure. The effect of the manures should be observed for at least four successive seasons. The experimental acre should be hurdled off from the rest of the pasture-field, and the whole produce be carried off and weighed every year, and not be fed off by stock. The long-continued drought in the past season, I regret to say, spoiled almost completely all the experiments on root crops, carried out with considerable expense and much pains- taking labour. Favourable reports, however, have been re- ceived of experiments on potatoes, artificial grasses, and perma- nent pasture. The experiments on permanent pasture were less favourable, and require to be watched and continued for a number of succeeding years before any legitimate conclusions can be drawn from them. The experiments on artificial Grasses, on the whole, are con- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Amatory of similar ones made in previous years ; they bring out strongly the beneficial effects which a mixture of salts of potash and superphosphate produces on seeds grown on poor light sandy soils, and show the inefficacy of potash for 'seeds, and I may add for nearly all crops on land in a high state of cultivation, aud on soils containing a fair proportion of clay. The accumulated results obtained in different counties of England are sufficiently numerous to warrant the publication of a paper, which I hope to prepare for the next volume of the Journal. Augustus Voelcker. Analyses made for Maulers of the Royal Agricultural Society, Bee, 1867, to Dec, 1868 : Guano (natural), 33 ; artificial guano and similar compounds, 32 ; superphosphates, 91 ; bone-dust, 1 8 ; refuse manures, 22; nitrate of soda and sul- phate of ammonia, 17 ; marls, limestones, and other minerals, 22 ; soils, 18 ; oilcakes, 102 ; feeding meals, grains, aud other vegetable productions, 32 ; waters, 36 ; milk, 5 ; examinations for poisons,*. Total, 432. — Laboratory, 11, Salisbury-square, Fleet-street, E.C., Dec, 1868. House. — Viscount Bridport reported that the commit- tee had personally inspected the house, the state of which is satisfactory. In consequence of the change of occupa- tion, they think the inventory and valuation should be re- vised, the Society taking such articles as they consider de- sirable as fixtures to the house. Several rooms require to be papered, and other necessary repairs to be done, and the committee request authority to have them carried out ; the expense involved, of which an estimate will be pre- pared, being very moderate. This report was adopted. Implements. — Colonel Challoner reported the recom- mendation of the committee, that a gold medal be offered for the best system of drying corn and hay in wet wea- ther sufficiently economical for practical purposes. This report was adopted. Committee of Selection. — The name of his grace the Duke of Richmond was recommended for election as a Vice-President in the room of the late Marquis of Downshire, and having been proposed by Viscount Brid- port, and seconded by Mr. Milward, his Grace was unani- mously elected a Vice-President of the Society. The committee recommended that a paper showing the dis- tricts of members of the Society and members of the Council in the different districts be printed in the current numbers of the Journal, which was approved. The Duke of Richmond being detained at a Cabinet Council, Colonel Challoner proposed the following mo- tion, of which his Grace had given notice : " That, on the retirement of Mr. Henry Hall Dare, the Council wish to express their sense of the ability and integrity he has displayed in carrying out the duties of his office, and their regret that a change in the arrangements of the Society has necessitated his retirement," which, hav- ing been warmly seconded by Lord Tredegar and Lord Walsingham, was carried unanimously. It was resolved, on the motion of Mr. Torr, that an advertisement be issued announcing the intention of the Council to hold the country meeting of 1870 at some place in the counties of Berks, Bucks, Hants, Kent, Oxford- shire, Surrey, or Sussex. On the motion of Mr. Milward, seconded by Mr. Torr, district H., comprising Cheshire, Shropshire, Stafford- shire, and North Wales, was selected for holding the meeting of 1871. The Annual Reports of all the Standing Committees were presented by the respective Chairmen. The Standing Committees for 1869, viz., Finance Committee, Journal Committee, Chemical Committee, House Committee, Implement Committee, Veterinary Committee, Stock Prizes Committee, General Manchester Committee, Shovvyard Contracts Committee, and Educa- tion Committee, were appointed. Standing Committees foe 1869. Finance Committee. — Viscount Bridport, Mr. Bramston, Colonel Kingscote, M.P., Mr. Randell, Mr. Torr. House Committee. — The President, Chairman of Finance Committee, Lord Chesham, Mr. Bramston, Colonel Challoner, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Torr. Journal Committee. — Mr. Thompson, Larl Cathcart, the Right Hon. J. E.Denison, M.P., Sir J. V. B. Johnstone, Bart., M.P., Sir E. C. Kerrisou, Bart., Mr. Acland, M.P., Mr. Dent, M.P., Mr. Holland, Mr. Wren Hoskyns, Mr. Mil- ward, Mr. Jacob Wilson. Chemical Committee. — Mr. Lawes, Earl Cathcart, Lord Vernon, Sir J. V. B. Johnstone, Bart., M.P., Sir E. C. Kerri- sou, Bart., Sir Massey Lopes, Bart.,M.P., Sir H. Vane, Bart., Mr. Acland, M.P., Mr. Davies, Mr. Dent, M.P., Mr. Holland, Mr. Wren Hoskyns, Ven. Archdeacon Huxtable, Mr. Thomp- son, Mr. Wells, M.P., Mr. Jacob Wilson. Veterinary Committee. — Viscount Bridport ; Hon. H. Lid- dell, M.P. ; Sir J. V. B. Johnstone, Bart., M.P. ; Sir H. Vane, Bart. ; Colonel Challoner, Mr. Dent, M.P. ; Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Pain, Professor Simonds, Professor Spooner, Pro- fessor Varnell, Mr. Wells, M.P. ; Mr. Jacob Wilson. Stock Prizes Committee. — Viscount Bridport, Lord Chesham. Lord Kesteven, Lord Walsingham, Hon. II. Liddell, M.P. ; Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Barnett, Mr. Barthropp, Mr. Booth, Mr. Bowly, Mr. Clayden, Mr. Davies, Mr. Dent, M.P. ; Mr. Druce, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Hassell, Mr. Holland, Mr. Jonas, Mr. Milward, Mr. Pain, Mr. Randell, Mr. Rigden, Mr. Sanday, Mr. Torr, Mr. Turner, Mr. Webb, Mr. Jacob Wilson, and the Stewards of Live Stock. Implement Committee. — Colonel Challoner, Earl Cathcart, i Viscount Bridport, Lord Vernon, Sir E. C. Kerrison, Bart. ; Sir A. K. Macdonald, Bart. ; Mr. Amos, Mr. Cantrell, Mr. Druce, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Holland, Mr. Hornsby, Mr. Wren Hoskyns, Mr. Randell, Mr. R. C. Ransome, Mr. San- day, Mr. Shuttleworth, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Torr, Professor Wilson, Mr. Jacob Wilson, and the Stewards of Implements. General Manchester Committee. — Duke of Richmond, chair- man ; Duke of Rutland, Lord Kesteven, Earl of Powis, Vis- count Bridport, Lord Chesham, Earl of Lichfield, Lord Port- man, Lord Tredegar, Lord Vernon, Hon. H. Liddell, M.P. ; Sir E. C. Kerrison, Bart.; Sir H. Vane, Bart.; Sir W. Williams Wynn, Bart., M.P. ; Mr. Amos, Mr. Barnett, Mr. Bowly, Mr. Cantrell, Colonel Challoner, Mr. Clayden, Mr. Davies, Mr. Dent, M.P. ; Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Holland, Mr. Hornsby, Mr. C. Wren Hoskyns, the Mayor of Man- chester, Mr. Milward, Mr. Pain, Mr! Randell, Mr. R. C. Ran- some, Mr. Sandav, Mr. Shuttleworth, Mr. Statter, Mr. Stone, Mr. Torr, Mr. Webb, Mr. Wells, M.P. ; Mr. H. Whitworth, Major Wilson, Mr. Jacob Wilson, and the Stewards. Showyard Contracts Committee. — Mr. Randell, Earl Cath- cart, Viscount Bridport, Lord Vernon, Mr. Amos, Mr. Brand- reth Gibbs, Mr. Hornsby, Mr. Milward, Mr. Sanday, Mr. Shuttleworth, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Torr. Committee of Selection. — Duke of Richmond, Earl Cathcart, Earl of Powis, Viscount Bridport, Lord Walsingham, Right Hon. J. E. Denison, M.P- ; Sir J . V. B. Johnstone, Bart., M.P. ; Mr. Clayden, Mr. Dent, M.P. ; Mr. Druce, Mr. Edmunds, Mr. Holland, Mr. Milward, Mr. Randell, Mr. Thomson, Mr. Torr, Mr. Wells, M.P. Educational Committee. — Earl of Lichfield, Earl of Powis, Viscount Bridport, Mr. Acland, M.P. ; Mr. Dent, M.P. ; Mr. Holland, Mr. Wren Hoskyns, Colonel Kingscote, M.P. ; Mr. Wells, M.P. ; Professor Wilson, Dr. Voelcker. Cattle Plague Committee. — The whole Council. *** The Presideut, Trustees, and Vice-Presidents are mem- bers ex officio of all Committees. The Live Stock and Implement Prize Sheets for the Manchester Meeting were settled at a Special Council, which met by order of the President at the rising of the Monthly Council. The General Meeting of members will be held at 12 o'clock on Wednesday, the 9th inst. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 49 The annual meeting of the members, was held ou Wednesday, December 9, at noon, at the Society's House, Hanover-square, his Grace the Duke of Richmond, in the absence of II.R.H. The Prince of Wales, presiding. The attendance was exceed- ingly numerous. The Secretary (Mr. Hall Dare) read the following report of the council : — Since the last general meeting in May, two gover- nors and thirty-eight members have died, and three governors and 237 new members have been elected, so that the society now consists of seventy-five life governors, seventy-five annual governors, 1,4*00 life members, 3,947 annual members, and fourteen honorary members, making a total of 5,511, being an increase of forty-nine names. His Grace the Duke of Rich- mond, K.G., has been elected a vice-president in the room of the late Marquis of Downshire, and the Earl of Lichfield a member of council in the room of the late Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot. The half-yearly statement of accounts to the 30th June, 18C8, has been examined and approved by the auditor and accountants of the society, and has been furnished to all members in the last number of the Journal. The funded capital stands at £16,027 19s. 7d. in the New Three per Cents. The collection of the arrears of subscription has been steadily progressing, the amount now due, inclusive of those in arrear for the current year, being £1,050. In cousequence of the lamented death of Mr. Frere, the late editor, it has been necessary to make temporary provision for carrying on the Journal work, and the council are glad to have secured the services of Mr. Goodwiu, the secretary of the Bath and West of England Society, to bring out the last and the next numbers. The arrangements connected with filling up the vacant post of editor having been the subject of much discussion, it was finally resolved that after the 1st January, 1869, the offices of editor and secretary shall be held be the same gentleman. An advertisement was therefore issued inviting candidates, and from forty-six names the council have selected Mr. H. M. Jenkins, E.G.S., to fill the post of editor and secretary of the society, from the 1st of January next, at a salary of £000 per annum, with residence in the house of the society. Mr. Jenkins is at present discharging the duties of assistant Secretary, Curator, and Librarian of the Geological Society of London, and of Editor of the Quarterly Journal of that Society, and Sub-Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Science. The Council have resolved that on the termination of their engage- ment with Mr. Henry Hall Dare, he be presented with £600. They have recorded their sense of the ability and integrity he has displayed in carrying out the duties of his office, and their regret that a change in the arrangments of the Society has necessitated his retirement. The Leicester Meeting was in every way eminently successful, and the number of visitors who thronged the Show-yard gave evident proof that the interest taken in the Society's Country Meeting remains unabated, while the enormous entry of Implements appears a satisfactory indication that the present quinquennial classification for trial and prizes in no way interfered with the variety and general excellence of the exhibition. The trial of steam ploughs proved a source of great attraction, both on account of the extraordinary character of the work done and the hand- some offer of a gold cup by His Highness the Viceroy of Egypt, which was ultimately awarded to Messrs. Eowler. The Mayor and Corporation of Leicester, and the Local Committee, used every exertion to forward the wishes of the Society during the preparations for the Meeting, and the period of holding it. The Council have also to acknowledge the courtesy of the County Magistrates in giving the use of the Judges' Lodgings for the accommodation of the Stewards of the Society during their stay in Leicester. On the Sunday during which the stock was in the yard, Divine service for the servants and men employed was performed by the Vicar of the parish. The grant of £200 for the improvement of agricultural education has been continued for the ensuing year. Candidates must send in their names on or before the 18th March, and the examina- tions will take place in the Society's house in the week com- mencing Monday 12th April. The scheme of the present year will be adopted in 1869, with some amendments in the details. The country meeting at Manchester will be held in the week commencing Monday, the 19th July, and will close on Satur- day, the 24th. Prizes to the amount of £2,930 are offered by the Society for live-stock, and £1,546 has been added by the Manchester Local Committee, including classes for heavy and light-weight-carrying hunters ; for leaping over hurdles and water ; for Cleveland, dray, carriage, and cart-horses ; for roadsters and ponies ; for the Yorkshire dairy cross, Ayrshire? polled Angus or Aberdeen, polled Galloway, West Highland, Welsh, and Kerry breeds of cattle ; for Cheviot, Limestone, Border Leicester, and blackfaced Scotch sheep ; and for both British and foreign cheese and butter. The prize-sheet for implements for trial at Manchester in 1869, which was issued in July last, comprising mowing, reaping, and haymaking ma- chines, hay-collectors, horserakes, carts, waggons, and liquid- manure carts, has been supplemented by the addition of prizes for the class of carriages with low body, adapted for moving stock, implements, &c, on a farm, in the most conve- nient form, and for the class of sheaf-binding machines. A gold medal has also been offered for the best system of drying corn and hay in wet weather, sufficiently economical for prac- tical purposes. The Manchester Local Committee also offer prizes for the best broadcast distributor of guano or other manure, to be worked by one or two horses ; for the best ma- chine for potato-getting ; for the best plans or models of labourers' cottages, of hay or corn-sheds, and of covered sheds for storing manure ; for dairy utensils, for harness for a pair of horses for agricultural purposes, and for the best illustration of the prin- ciple of shoeing. Mr. J. C. Morton said that he rose with some diffidence to submit that some further information was required before the Report could be accepted. On the death of Mr. Frere it was resolved to amalgamate the two offices of Secretary and Editor of the Journal. That decision of the Council he con- sidered an unwise one, considering how very diverse were the functions to be performed. However, it was thought best to adopt that course, and Mr. Jenkins was selected by the unani- mous vote of the committee of selection to fill the post out of 46 candidates who offered themselves ; but he contended that from some cause or other, they had failed to select a gentle- man possesing the requisite qualifications for conducting a journal which ought to be the exponent of all the agricultural wisdom of the country. In the first place, the Editor of their Journal ought to be a man whose name was known to the great body of the agriculturists of the country, and especially to those practical writers who were the most valuable con- tributors to the publication. He ought also to be a man of such eminence with respect to his knowledge of agricultural subjects that he could be looked up to as a guide by farmers and others who expected the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal to contain the best information in regard to agricul- tural topics. He (Mr. Morton) was, however, sorry to say that not one of the testimonials offered to the committee of selection by Mr. Jenkins came from a practical agriculturist (Hear, hear). None of the principal agriculturists of the country or of the most eminent writers on agricultural sub- jects ever heard of that gentleman. Surely the editor of such a journal ought, not only to have some practical knowledge of agriculture, but an acquaintance with agricultural writers, otherwise how could he lay his hand on the best authority on particular points under discussions as they arose ? If he had no knowledge of agriculture, how was it possible for him to know the points which led to discussion on which information was ^ deficient, or how could he marshal and instruct the teachers of whom he was to be the chief. Again, how could he insure the accuracy of the articles submitted to him before publication in the Journal ? He had looked in vain among the testimonials of Mr. Jenkins for some proof that he possessed the requisite practical knowledge, and all that he could find was a statement from Sir R. Murchison that his geological knowledge would be no light recommendation. That, however, was a very unsatisfactory testimonial; in fact, there was not a single agricultural consideration dwelt upon in any one of the testi- monials which had been furnished by the successful candidate ; nor had he thought it worth his while to get the testimony of a single witness to show that he possessed a general knowledge of the theory and practice of agriculture, which was absolutely indispensable in a gentleman who undertook the important duties of the editor of their journal. In reply to a question from the Chairman, Mr. Morton said he had no wish to make any motion on the subject, and, having apparently mislaid some of his notes, sat down somewhat abruptly. Sir J. H. Maxwell then moved the adoption of the Report. Col. Towneley having seconded the motion, 50 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Mr. Duckham said that before the report was adopted lie would follow the example of Mr. Morton by alluding to what had taken place daring the past year. When lie looked at the Journal of that Society, and found in the Prize Essay on the customs and covenants of farming a custom or agreement set forth which reserved the game and rabbits and everything else of that kind for the landlord to the exclusion of the tenant (Hear, hear), he did feel that something might be said by the members of that great national Society on such an important subject (Hear, hear). The over-preservation of game had brought to many homes want and misery ; it limited the culti- vation of the soil, so that millions had to be paid to foreign countries for food for the nation ; it produced a demoralizing effect on the rural population, filling the gaols and work- houses with inmates, thereby adding to the burden of local taxation (Hear, hear). Whatever, then, might be the ordinary compact between landlord and tenant, he did think that an essay expressly setting forth an agreement as a model agree- ment, and holding it up to the eyes of landlords and agents for imitation, should not have treated the matter in the way that it had done, or represented that the game, rabbits, and fish upon an estate should be preserved for the landlord, and this, too, in direct defiance of the common law of the country, which gave the produce of the soil to the occupier (Hear, hear). Again, he could not help joining with Mr. Morton in expressing deep regret that there should be an amalgamation of two such important situations as that of Secretary and that of Editor of the Journal (Hear, hear) ; offices which were so distinct that in his opinion they could not properly be held by the same individual (Hear, hear). It must be borne in mind that that Society was a great national Society ; that it comprised some- thing like 6,000 members ; that its correspondence entailed very great labour ; and that the accounts required very close attention. He admitted that the duties were to a certain extent of a routine character ; but, on the other hand, the Secretary had to receive gentlemen from all parts of the world, who came there to seek information, and they all knew that it was the pride of England that her agriculture stood promi- nent all over the world (Hear, hear). Such being the case, the gentleman holding the appointment in questiou should be a man of intelligence, a good linguist, and one who could worthily represent that great institution (Hear, hear). He woidd also endorse the opinions of his friend Mr. Morton, that the Editor of the Journal, be he who he might, should have some knowledge of practical agriculture (Hear, hear). They all knew that for some years past the Journal had not held that high position which the organ of such a Society as that ought to hold throughout the kingdom. They knew that when anything of importance had to be written it was paid for out of the funds of the Society and did not proceed from the pen of the Editor. Of course, contributions had to be obtained from gentlemen of intelligence in all parts of the country ; but thorough practical knowledge should be applied by the Editor before those contributions were published iu the Journal, He feared that iu this matter the Council had been taking a leap in the dark; and he should be glad if the result proved satis- factory. No one felt the value of that Society more than him- self. He fully acknowledged that great national benefit had been conferred by the Society ; but that had arisen, he thought, more from the thirst of the English farmer for knowledge than from the good management and Editorship of the Journal. He wished to express his delight at finding that Mr. Hall Hare was leaving the Society without any imputation being cast upon him (cheers). He learnt with 'great pleasure from the Report that that gentleman's services were warmly ac- knowledged by the Council, and as a humble member of the Society he felt that he should be wanting in what was due to Mr. Hall Dare if he did not bear testimony in his favour. He had never corresponded with the retiring Secretary without receiving a punctual answer, and he had always experienced at his hands flic utmost courtesy (Hear' hear). Although the Council had voted to him the sum of £600 as an acknowledgment of his past services and in con- sideration of his being called upon suddenly to relinquish his post, he (Mr. Ouckham) would be glad to see some mark on the part of the members of their appreciation of his labours and of their regret at his being summarily dismissed from the position he had so long occupied. Ee must addtaafcitwas with much regret that he had learnt that they had just lost the valuable services on the Council of Mr. Clare Sewell Read (Hear, hear), a gentleman to whom every farmer in England must feel — and he thought that in the end every landed proprietor would also feel — that agriculture was deeply indebted (cheers). The agricultural community could not but lament that circumstances had arisen which had caused that gentleman to retire from the Council, his occupying such a position being a matter of considerable importance to every farmer iu England (Hear, hear). Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., said after what had fallen from his friend Mr. Duckham, he thought it necessary to say a few words in explanation of the reason why he had relinquished the. honourable post of a member of the Council of that great Society (Hear, hear). He had recently been elected for the southern division of the county of Norfolk, aud he thought his first duty was towards his constituents (cheers) . He found that his duties there on a Wednesday clashed very much with his Parlia- mentary duties, and that was the reason why he had resigned his membership of the Council (Hear, hear). He could not attend to both at onee, and he repeated that he thought his first duty was towards those who had been good enough to send him to Parliament (Hear, hear). At the same time he was quite ready to admit that since he became a member of the Council a great deal had been done of which he did not ap- prove— at least as regarded the manner iu which it was done (cheers). In the first place, he regretted the step taken by the Council in uniting the duties of the secretary and of the editor of the Journal in one person, the duties being so dis- tinct and separate that it was very questionable, to say the least, whether they could be coucentrated in one man (Hear hear). Moreover, he thought that after Mr. Hall Dare had worked for them as he had done for so many years, the course which had been pursued indicted a great injustice upon him ; for although the Council had generously tried to compensate him for the loss he had sustained, yet he must say that there were some things for which men could not be compensated (cheers). One word in reference to what had fallen from Mr. Morton in connection with that subject. He believed the Council had selected the very best man out of the 46 candi- dates to be the future editor of the Journal ; but he must say that he did not think the Council in arriving at that conclu- sion went quite in a business — or, he would almost say, an open — way to work. What did they do ? They appointed a Committee of Selection. Forty-six gentlemen forwarded testimonials to that committee. Instead of selecting, in ac- cordance with the general practice, three or four names, the committee selected but one. They laid their report before a very large Council meeting, and the Council immediately pro- ceeded to the election of that gentleman (Hear, hear). The report just presented stated that the Council selected the editor, but he would really say that the Council had been more or less puppets, seeing that they had not time to con- sider for a moment the recommendation placed before them (Hear, hear, and cheers). He wished to refer briefly to another topic. Colonel Challoner contradicted him at Leicester in reference to the election of the Couucil, and de- clared that the Council were virtually elected by the mem- bers of the Society (cries of "No"). He (Mr. Read) main- tained that practically the Council elected themselves, and he must repeat that that was his opinion. Take the last case previous to the general meeting in May last. Three members of the Committee of Selection looked over the list. Amongst the 25 members of the council that might be re-elected they found one victim, one gentleman whom they wished to get rid of; and consequently they nominated two gentlemen instead of one, that is, two names were handed in with the other 24. As a matter of course the recommendation of the council was endorsed ; the name of the offending gentleman was struck out and the two other names were inserted. The general meeting to which he alluded was attended by eight or ten members of the Society who happened to be m London at that period. The list was placed before them, and of course they endorsed it ; but he ventured to say that not one of the members present who did not belong to the council knew thai the name of Mr. Smith of Exmoor, had been struck out of the list of the council (Hear, hear). He knew very well what might be said — "Stick to your charter." Now, that the ('barter was a very convenient thing there could lie no doubt. Wherever there was any real necessity for getting rid of the charter it was put on one side, and whenever it was desired to stop a man's mouth or to frighten him the council brought THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. M that great. l)ook out. of (lie cupboard again and dismissed lum (laughter). Havingmade these remarks, he wished tbsayib con- clusion, after liis late retirement from the council that he felt most grateful to its members for the courtesy which they had always exhibited towards him, and to assure the meeting that if he had sufficient time at his disposal he would have been happy to continue a member of that body (cheers). Mr. S. SmxKY said he believed that Mr. Morton had re- presented in the truest possible manner the opinions of the great mass of the agricultural public, and if he (Mr. Sidney) spoke confidently on that point it was because owing to the position in which he was placed he had had more opportuni- ties of learning the opinions of tenant-farmers than most gentlemen who were not practically connected with agricul- ture (Hear, hear). Some of them might perhaps recollect some remarks which he made with regard to the editorship at the meeting at Leicester, and he must say that he then sketched what has since occurred pretty clearly, except, indeed, that the course pursued was much more satisfactory than he had expected it to be, considering what had been done previ- ously when the Council had to elect an editor. On the former occasion to which he alluded there was, nothing satisfactory about the matter, except that the gentleman chosen was a most earnest and illustrious scholar. On this occasion the advertisement for a secretary was so framed that not one gen- tlemen who had acquired any reputation as a writer on agri- cultural topics had applied for the situation. It was indeed remarkable, after they had had so many meetings and published so many journals, that with all their cultivation the Council had uot yet been able to cultivate an editor (laughter). He would venture to say that nothing of that kind could be aflirmed in the case of any other great society. If the Geolo- gical Society were to advertise for a secretary no doubt a number of gentlemen would come forward who had won their spurs on geology (Hear, hear) ; but the great agricultural society, which included so many peersand landedproprietors,and which spent several thousands a year in promoting agricultural objects, could not, it appeared, breed an editor (laughter) . Perhaps he was entirely wrong in his view of the matter. It might be that the Society was going to alter its character. When the Society was formed it adopted as its motto, "Science with practice." On that occasion a gentleman observed that he thought practice should be put first, and the motto be " Practice with science" ; but now, he supposed, the motto of the Society, or of the Journal, was to be " Science without prac- tice" (laughter). He presumed that the Journal Committee had undertaken the duty of educating the new editor. Many elergymen undertook the education of young men for a certain consideration. In the present case, he presumed the Journal Committee were to educate the editor ; only, instead of his paying them for his education the Society was going to pay him £600 a year for learning (laughter). The Journal Committee would, he supposed, be seen going about, like a hen with one chicken, instructing this gentlemau in the elementary knowledge of agriculture (renewed laughter). He should cer- tainly have thought that such knowledge ought to have been acquired beforehand (Hear, hear). The Council having adopted a gentleman as editor, against whom he had nothing to say, except that he did not possess the essential requisite of an acquaintance with agriculture, he hoped they would treat him well (Hear, hear). They had saved £300 a year by the change — a very enormous sum, considering that the Society had au income of several thousands a year. He hoped they would allow the new editor to spend that£300 a year in attending agricultural dinners, as it was at such dinners that he must get his information ; though he must, indeed, be very cautious as to the information offered, lest it should mislead him (laughter). It must be universally admitted that no person in the country who was not an agriculturist was competent to instruct farmers in agriculture. If agriculturists were to be taught in that Society, it should be done by allowing farmers to teach each other ; and how that was to be done, when the editor of the Journal had not even a preliminary knowledge of agriculture, he could not imagine. Perhaps, however, the chairman of the Journal Committee (Mr. Thompson) not having been returned to the new Parliament, where he (Mr. Sidney) had hoped to see him, and where he was well adapted to shine (cheers), would at first take the duty of the editorship upon himself, the editor being put forward iu that capacity when, in fact, he knew nothing at all about the matter, This brought him to the important question of prize-essays. So long as the Council went on with that System of prize-essays — and especially now that they had no competent editor — they would never lie able to make the Jounal what it should be. They devoted to prize-essays a large sum of money which ought to be paid to men who were known as agricultural writers, and who would be able to supply information of value to formers. Two prizes had, he perceived, been gained by Mr. Dixon. It was great condescension on Mr. Dixon's part to compete for prize-essays at all ; and he thought it would be very much better for the Society if arrangements were made that he should take up particular subjects and contribute, on liberal terms. This country contained more periodical litera- ture of a superior kind, devoted to the requirements of par- ticular classes, than any country iu the world ; and there was not one of these periodicals that offered a prize-essay (Hear, hear). In the old days of the Gen/lemans Magazine — in the days when publications of that kind contained pictures and poems and perhaps an essay by Dr. Johnson — prizes were indeed given ; but the times had changed. Prize-essays and poems were now almost confined to the universities ; and it was a striking fact that since the Newdegate prize was insti- tuted, Oxford University had never scarcely produced a poem of even respectable merit. What did the Council do in this matter of prize-essays ? They induced a number of men to write on a particular topic ; the essays weut before a committee, consisting of nobody knew who ; and, after a cut-and-dry arrangement, an unsatisfactory sketch was placed before the world. He knew that that was the view taken by one of the most literary and scientific farmers in this country (Hear, hear). Having himself acted as editor, and had considerable experience in that capacity, he aflirmed that no editor could make the Jounal of the Society what it ought to be, unless the Council placed a liberal sum at his disposal, in order that he might invite competent persons to contribute. Why was it that while every other important interest could support a litera- ture of its own, agriculture could not do so ? At the present moment there was not one public journal that lived by agricul- ture. The journal which was edited by Mr. Morton did not live by agriculture — it was obliged to depend on the Gardener 's Chronicle : it could not live by agriculture alone. Again, let him take the case of Bell's Messenger ; that was a political newspaper, affording a large quantity of news, aud upon that it lived; It backed agriculture, aud therefore it went among agriculturists. To be sure there was one other paper, but even that was not purely agricultural. It depended very much on the corn markets, and besides that it had a considerable circulation, because it somewhat resembled the little boys who frightened away the crows (laughter) . The Mark Lane Repress was a sort of literary scarecrow (laughter) ; what it could not do by means of information, it did by pitching into them all round (laughter). It made a living partly by that sort of thing(laughter). Now the Journal of the Society ought to succeed without anything of that kind. But how was it carried on ? It was managed by amateurs, who were now going to have an editor who knew nothing about farming. There should be nothing to prevent a man from coming for- ward and offering to contribute ; but at present when educated farmers — men who, not being accustomed to society, were rather shy — wished to offer contributions, there was nothing to encourage them. One of the most successful journals of the present day — a journal which realized a profit of ten or fifteen thousands a year — was managed in such a way that the meanest and shabbiest-looking person who went to the office to offer a contribution was almost sure to meet with a courteous reception ; but there was nothing there to encourage those who desired to contribute to the Journal. He did not want to see the Society drifting on the waters. Intelligent farmers had come forward in vast numbers to support it, and let them be canvassed, one by one, for assistance in promoting the object. At present, while the members felt the greatest re- spect for the noblemen and gentlemen who sat on the Council, they were greatly disappointed at the unpractical mode in which the business of the Society was conducted. Sir G. Jenkijison, M.l'., said he was anxious to say a few words in reference to what had fallen from his friend Mr. Clare Sewell Head, especially as he was in some degree responsible for the introduction of the subject. He wished to elicit what truth there was iu the charges brought by Mr. Read against the Council ; and, without offering any opinion as to the E 2 52 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. cause, he mnst say that the retirement of that gentleman could not fail to be regarded with deep regret by that large body of agriculturists by whom he was regarded as emphatically the far- mers' friend. What had happened, seemed to him to prove the enormous difficulty which any independent member of that So- ciety must encounter when he undertook to question in any shape or degree the proceedings of the Council (cheers). If the result of such interference was to be the retirement of such a man as Mr. Read, he could only say that lie regretted a state of things under which they must blindly accept every- thing that was done by the Council (Hear, hear). He, for one, thought that that would not conduce to the interest of the Society, or meet with the approval of the members generally. He hoped he should not be misunderstood. He imputed no- thing to the Council, for he knew nothing about the circum- stances ; but he must say, that if the result of anything that was said in opposition to the Council was to be the stifling of investigation, and the forced retirement of a very eminent mem- ber, that was a result which must be necessarily and generally deplored (Hear, hear). He agreed with Mr. Duckham in re- gretting the retirement of Mr; Hall Dare, and he was sure everyone present would acknowledge the ability and courtesy with which that gentleman had performed his duties, and was sorry that circumstances had arisen which compelled him to resign. As regarded the prize essays, he regretted that a prize was not offered to secure a better system of shoeing horses. When prizes of ten or twenty pounds were given for leaping over hurdles and water ! some reward might be given to prac- tical blacksmiths for shoeing. They all knew that the foot was a very important part of the horse, as regarded his work- ing power, and a prize for the best-made and best put-on shoe, would, in his opinion, prove very advantageous in the result. Sir Massey Lopes, M.P., wished to express his deep regret at having heard, as he had then done for the first time, that Mr. Clare Sewell Read had retired from the council. He was sure the agricultural community at large would receive that intelligence with much concern (Hear, hear). In the House of Commons he had himself always derived great assistance from Mr. Head's advice ; and, being a member of the council, he must say that if any reform were needed in that body there was no man more capable of originating it than that gentle- man (Hear, hear). He hoped Mr. Read would be induced to reconsider his retirement* Mr. Treadwell desired to call the attention of the council to the regulations with regard to the shearing of sheep. Having been disqualified at Leicester by the inspectors, although he had the certificate of two respectable farmers who saw his sheep on the day of shearing, he appealed to the council but they declined to reverse the decision. The Chairman here interposed by observing that any remarks of that kind should be made by way of suggestion after the report had been disposed of ; and in consequence of this Mr. Treadwell sat down. Mr. Neale said while he sympathised very much in what had been said with regard to the Journal, he hoped it would not operate as a discouragment to the new editor, who would require all the countenance and support of the agriculturists be- longing to the society (Hear, hear). Let what had been said be a stimulant to effort, and let them hope that hewould beas success- ful in agricultural as he had been in other pursuits. No man could regret the retirement of the secretary more than he did ; but, not knowing the motives and reasons which guided the council in their decision, he would not presume to pronounce any opinion upon them. Mr. Hall Dare would carry with him the deep respect of the members, and there were very good reasons for it. When he became connected with that society in 1859 the invested fund was £10,000, the amount invested at present was £16,000, and this notwithstanding the fact that some of the exhibitions during his term of office had proved disastrous to the finances of the society (Hear, hear). He (Mr. Neale) must remind Sir George Jenkinson that the report referred to the offering of prizes " for the best illustration of the principle of shoeing," by the Manchester Local Committee. Many persons in the neighbourhood of Manchester considered that the proper management of the horse's foot was greatly neglected at the present time, and in consequence three prizes had been offered. In conclusion he would remark that he hoped the Manchester exhibition would prove a memorable one in the society's history (cheeK). Sir G. Jenkinson, M.P., said he must repeat that what he especially desired to see was a prize for the best made and best put on shoe. Mr. M. Stevens said he agreed with Mr. Morton that the posts of secretary and editor ought not to be united in one person. The two offices were so entirely distinct in their character, that they could not be well filled by any one man ; and when he found that the man who had been selected to fill them was a gentleman utterly ignorant of the principles and practice of agriculture, he must as an humble individual question the wisdom of the choice. He exceedingly regretted that Mr. Hall Dare had been displaced from his positions ; a position that lie had filled so entirely to the satisfaction of the council, and he would add of the members of the Society generally (cheers). That gentleman took very great in- terest in agriculture, and he could only recollect one occasion on which he had written to him that he had not received an answer by return of post. He had never heard of any com- plaint against him. As a member of the Council of the Bath and West of England Society, he must remark that the coun- cil had been trespassing — he did not use the term offensively — on the preserves of that Society ; they had employed its keeper to kill their game ; in other word, they had got the secretary of that Society to edit the Journal, temporarily. The motto of the Royal Agricultural Society " Practice with Science," was the best one that he had ever met with. Although a great deal might be learnt from such men as Mr. Morton, with regard to the principles of agriculture, yet no one could be thoroughly conversant with the subject unless he were practi- cally employed iu agriculture (Hear, hear). He should have beeu glad to have learnt that among the numerous testimonials furnished by the new editor, there was one from some eminent agriculturist. There was science, but there was not practice. Farmers worked above ground ; geologists worked chiefly below ; and though he was quite ready to admit that a good agriculturist must know something about geology, the fact remained that his occupation was carried on upon the surface. Sir Walter Stirling said he was in a position to offer a very impartial opinion upon what had been said, and he must say he had not heard a single reason why the Report should not he adopted by the meeting. There had been a great deal said that rested upon no foundation whatever. One gentleman had described the landed interest as in a state of utter ruin, and spoken of the unhappiness of families as beyond description. If he looked at the facts ; if he looked at the price of wheat at that moment — a rather declining one ; if he looked at the state of the funds of the Society ; or if he looked at the show which was at that moment witnessed at Islington, he must confess he could not agree with that gentleman that the farm- ing interest had been " sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind." He was certainly at a loss to discover the grounds on which that was virtually stated. Mr. Duckham observed that what he had said was that in some cases the result was what he mentioned. It was what happened under peculiar circumstances (Hear, hear). Sir Walter Stirling continued : It appeared that great fault was found with the Council on account of the retirement of a most useful gentleman who represented one of the most important agricultural counties in the kingdom. He was very much inclined to say, having regard to the general goodwill which that gentleman commanded, that he should have made something like an apology to the Society instead of offering the excuse that he had done for leaving the Council (cries of" Oh, oh !") : that he required something more than an excuse to the county of Norfolk for leaving the Council (" No") ; that he owed some excuse to the House of Commons itself, as a valuable agricultural member, for not having it now in bis power faithfully to represent the views of that Council in re- ference to the real interests of the agricultural community. (Continued expressions of dissent). And what did his excuse apparently amount to ? He wished to have his Wednesdays free. His charge apparently against the Council was that of Mr. Morton — namely, that they had separated the two offices of Secretary and Editor. (Mr. Read : " No, no"). Well, that was at all events the only point that he dwelt upon in the. way of objection. He would really ask Mr. Read, or any other gentleman who had addressed the meeting, no doubt with a conscientious desire to perform a duty, what fault he had to find with the Council in general. They had laid nothing to its charge ; they had not even alleged that there was an un wil- lingness on its part to listen to suggestions from that (the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. members') side of the table. As regarded the case of one member of the Council acting in discord, no doubt most con- scientiously, with the others, he should like to know how any society was to be carried on supposing there was one person setting himself up as a dictator over the rest — he did not say that was the case there (laughter). If there were somebody who thought he knew better than all the rest, and who could not be satisfied unless he was able to carry his point, the only choice which such a man had was to retire. With reference to the education of the farmer, they could most of them re- member the time when, in place of getting him to read an agricultural journal, it was difficult for him to keep the ac- counts of his farming operations. That was all altered now ; but so long as the farmer was called upon to rise at tour in the morning, it was hard to expect him to be a book-worm also and to sit up all night reading and studying the essays in the Journal. On the whole he thought that the council were right in respect of all the proceedings mentioned in the re- port. At least, he had heard nothing to contradict them ; and being themselves for the most part great territorial proprietors, they had no interest which was separate or distinct from the well-being of the tenant-farmer in particular and of agricul- ture in general (Hear, hear). Mr. H. Thompson, as chairman of the committee of the Council to whom the selection of an editor and secretary was referred, wished to make some reply to the objections which had been urged against the character of the appointment re- cently made. He would not reopen the argument as to whether it was a desirable thing to unite the two offices. That point was amply discussed and considered at the Council, and he ad- mitted that a great deal was to be said upon it on Soth sides. But the view of those who were in the majority on the occa- sion was, that considerable economy might be effected with- out any sacrifice of efficiency. That, indeed, was the ground upon which it was defended, and eventually adopted by a large majority of the Council. That decision having been arrived at, it then became the duty of the committee of selection to find the best man they could to carry it out ; and that com- mittee was unanimous in the selection which it made. Ad- vertisements for candidates were widely published, and plenty of time was given for all who considered themselves qualified for the post to send in their applications. The result was that there were 46 applicants, a considerable number of whom, as proved by their testimonals, were extremely competent men. Of these the committee selected seven, with whom to have personal interviews, and from them tochoseonefor recommenda- tion to the Council. Mr. Sewell Read had stated that the selection was not made in a business-like or open way, and that the Council must have acted somewhat as puppets in con- firming that selection. Surely Mr. Read could not have well considered what he was saying when he said that : because he should like to know, in the making of such an appointment what other steps could be suggested that would be more business-like or open to adopt (Hear, hear). You advertised to the whole country ; you appointed a committee ; no one dis- puted the competency of that committee — and in saying this, he spoke not of himself as its chairman, but of the committee generally. The committee was unanimous in its recommenda- tion. Every member of the Council had had the testimonials in his hand ; and he ventured to assert that no gentleman competing for an office ever had better, more consistent, more hearty, more unanimous testimonials than those which had been furnished with regard to the high character of Mr. Jen- kins, and the very efficient manner in which he had discharged all the duties connected with the office he had previously filled. He should like to know, therefore, in what other way the com- mittee and Council could have proceeded, if they wished to act business-like and openly, and how Mr. Read could support his charge (Hear, hear). The duty had devolved upon the Council of making the highest appointment at their disposal, and if they had done it in an unbusiness-like or underhand way (and if it were not in an open way, it must be under- hand) they would justly expose themselves to censure. But what was there in their proceedings which was not business- like ? or which all commercial societies, companies, or busi- ness men did not do when they had an appointment to make ? What course could be suggested that would have been fairer or more open ? With reference to Mr. Morton's speech, which he regretted that owing to some inadvertence that gentleman was unable to complete — because they might be sure that what Mr. Morton said would be the result of a good deal of thought and reflection — he was sorry that the meeting had not heard the whole of his case. But, failing the speech, he was obliged to fall back upon the news- paper whose spirit Mr. Morton inspired, and which he pre- sumed was the exponent of what he had intended to say if he had not lost his notes. Before quoting that, however, he asked gentlemen to consider what was the nature of the appointment which had to be made. It was that of joint secretary and edi- tor ; and in making the appointment they had to consider, first, what was the most important of the secretary's business, the business from which, if not well and thorouglily done, the Society would take most harm. In reference to this he found Mr. Morton saying, in his newspaper, that the serviceableness of the Royal Agricultural Society arose entirely from its being an institution ior mutual improvement; that its great and only effort, or rather its only achievement in the year, was its annual Show. Now, he wished to guard himself against being supposed, even by inference, directly or indirectly, to cast any reflection upon Mr. Hall Dare. That was perfectly foreign to liis intention, as Mr. Hall Dare well knew. He spoke solely with a view to the future, and as it was to be done, of course they wanted to get a good man. Well, what was the most important business, and that from which the Society would receive most harm if it were not properly at- tended to ? Mr. Morton had pointed out that it was the Show, and for that it was necessary that they should have a good man of business to attend to it, and to the management of the finances. Now, supposing a Secretary were appointed who was not a good business man, who allowed the business of the Society to get into arrear and the finances into confusion, they could not bring in assistance until the fact was discovered and the mischief had been done, to put matters straight. It was decided, therefore, that the first thing to be done was to get a thorouglily good Secretary, a man who could prove, by his experience in a similar post, that he was thoroughly up to the management of the current business of a large society and the management of its finances. Upon that point the testi- monials produced were exceedingly good. They had the Pre- sident, the Auditors, and other officers of the Geological Society testifying that Mr. Jenkins was not only a first-rate Secretary, courteous, business-like, and clear-headed, and that he kept all his work extremely well up, but that, in respect of the finances of the society, when he joined it he found the subscriptions considerably in arrear, that he had succeeded in getting them in, and that on the score of finance his services had been of great utility. That pretty well disposed of the part of the business which Mr. Morton treated as the principal business of the Society during the year. Mr. Morton had next proceeded to state that, besides the annual Show, there was an annual pub- lication, the Journal, which was little read by the rank and file of the members ; that its pages did not supply such a me- dium for the interchange of agricultural information as was furnished by the Show and annual meeting ; and that the So- ciety had been remarkably inefficient here as compared with its success elsewhere. Now, with regard to the Journal, the question was how could it possibly be managed by a gentle- man who, he admitted plainly, did not possess practical agri- cultural knowledge ? How far was it likely that the editor of an agricultural journal, who was not acquainted with practical agriculture, could succeed ? In the first place, in editing the Journal of the Society they had to deal with that which he called the practical part of it ; that was, the printing and the revision of the press, the arrangement of the illustrations, the settlement of the. printer's bills, and in short to see that the volume was well got up, that it was free from errors as much as possible, that it was creditable to the Society, and that it was produced at no inordinate cost. All this, it was clear, might be done just as well by a good man of business, whether he were acquainted with agriculture or not. (Criess of " Oh !" and "No"). What, not manage the printing and look after the press ! Who was the gentleman who said " No" ? He, for his part, should say that a man who was accustomed to literary work, to communicating with printers, to choosing type and the quality of paper, who knew something about the proper charge for printing, even though he were not acquainted with practical agriculture, would be the very best person to manage that part of the work (Hear, hear). Having disposed of this part of the question, he came next to the matter that had to be printed. Here they had, first, to deal with the re- 54 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. cords of the Society's proceedings. Competent gentlemen un- dertook to furnish reports upon the Shows of the Society, the trials of implements, and the exhibitions of stock ; and these reports constituted a very interesting part of the. contents of the Journal ; but it was one which the Editor never had anything to do with, except getting the reports printed and correcting and revising the press. The next description of matter con- sisted of the Prize Essays. And what had the Editor to do with them ? The subjects and the prizes were fixed by the Couucil. They were advertised to the world, and the whole agricultural mind of the country was invited to compete ; and that was what the rank and file of the Society, and the farming commu- nity in general, had to do with the Journal. If, however, they did not choose to compete, whose fault was it ? Certainly not that of the Council. If the subjects of greatest present in- terest were put forward, and people either did not enter into competition for the prizes, or sent in badly written papers, or, as was sometimes done, mere twaddle (Hear hear, and a laugh), who was to be blamed for that ? Surely not the Editor (Hear, hear). Leaving this part of the subject, he came, in the next- place, to another important class of papers : he referred to the scientific contributions to the Journal. And to the value of those which had been furnished by Dr. Voelcker, Mr. Lawes, and Mr. Gilbert, Mr. Morton had borne some evidence to which lie (Mr. Thompson) heartily subscribed ; only he would go further, and say that there were many other subjects besides those which these gentlemen had treated, and intimately con- nected with agriculture, upon which a society like this could and ought to supply the best information, and which were also discussed in the Journal. Por example, there were the effects of dressing of manures of different kinds, the ravages and habits of certain insects, the botanical arrangement and habits of various weeds which infested the crops, and numerous other points where science and.practical agriculture met, and which had been dealt with in the Journal by the highest authorities (Hear, hear), and he appealed to any gentlemau present to point out a work of any kind in this country in which better papers on such subjects had appeared than were to be found in the Society's Journal (Hear, hear). He had now gone through the principal topics and classes of subjects which were treated of in the Journal ; what then was left in respect of which agricultural knowledge was specially wanted on the part of the Editor? It was required, no doubt, for those original articles which showed that the Editor was in communication with the leading agriculturists of the country, and was able to extract from their minds the prevailing ideas, combine them in a paper, and present them in an interesting and readable shape (Hear, hear). Such papers as these, the Society had no doubt been furnished with in years gone by ; especially from the pen of the late Mr. Pusey, and occasionally by other gentlemen of eminence in different parts of the country. But it was clear that the Editor could not do that, if he were not practically acquainted with agriculture. That, however, was a very small part of the Journal; and if they examined its pages since the days of Mr. Pusey it would be seen that the number of such papers contributed by the Editor occupied a very minute portion of its contents (Hear, hear). It was a part of the publication, then, in which he was free to admit there might be for a time a certain deficiency; but was it im- possible for a man who was between twenty and thirty years ofage to acquire a fair knowledge of agriculture ? Did they believe that a man who had proved himself the possessor of great talent, and whose acquaintance witli several difficult sciences had been vouched for by the leading professors in those sciences, and in geology especially, which had some affi- nity to agriculture, by Murchison and Lyell ; that a man who at that age had been able to discharge efficiently the duties of the combined offices of Secretary aud Editor, and had made himself so far the master of those sciences as to write original papers which were read with approbation by the leading pro- fessors ; that such a man as that would be incapable of making himself acquainted with practical agriculture, if he turned his mind to it ? (Hear, hear). He did not mean to say that he could take charge of large farm, if lie went down aud devoted himself to its management ; but what lie meant was that, even in that case, lie would be able in a short time to hi :ike himself a farmer (cries of" No"). Then lie would cite against that opinion the numerous instances of men who en- tered upon large farms without any practical agricultural edu- cation whatever, and at all times of life ; and what was to happen to them ? [A Voice : " Lose money by it."] No doubt they did ; but at the same time many of them became good farmers (" No" andf " Hear, hear"). Well, here was a ■ man who would have every advantage presented to him for ob- taining a knowledge of farming by drawing upon the informa- 1 lion of others. He would not be required to go and manage stock and be a practical farmer himself ; but to get sufficient knowledge to enable him to see where there was a good farmer, ask him his secret, and allow him to publish that secret for the benefit of others. That was what the Editor of the Journal was wanted to do. True, he was ready to confess that it was in some measure an experiment ; but do let it be worked out fairly. He was certain that in Mr. Jenkins the Society had a good man, and the Council had told them all about him. All that had taken place was perfectly open. He was satisfied that Mr. Jenkins was a clever man. After giving him a fair trial, the members would see for themselves whether the experiment had been successful or not; and he (Mr. Thompson) should be much surprised if, in the course of a couple of years, they did not find that that gentleman had proved himself a fit man for the office. If, however, he had not, then he would be the first to suggest that Mr. Jenkins should retire from a position the duties of which he could not properly discharge (Hear, hear). Allusion had been made by Mr. Read to the election of the members of Council, who he said were practically a self-elected body. Mr. Read's quitting the Council was to him (Mr. Thompson) a matter of great re- gret ; and he was not aware that the lion, gentleman had re- signed until that morning. He was perfectly sure that nothing had taken place at the Council after the Leicester meeting which could have led to his resignation, and for confirmation (if this lie appealed to Mr. Read himself. There had been only two councils held after that meeting at Leicester until the one at which Mr. Read tendered his resignation. These were in August and November, aud he would call upon Mr. Read fo say whether anything had taken place with reference to that meeting which had any bearing upon his resignation. All he knew with reference to the suggestion of Sir George Jenkin- son, that there had been a forced retirement and a stifling of investigation, was that, if the lion, baronet attended the meet- ings of the Council and saw what went on, he would be satis- fied that nothing of the kind was possible. The gentlemen who formed the Council would not for a siugle moment tole- rate one member of the Council being treated differently from another. Prom H. R. H. the Prince of Wales down to the smallest tenant-farmer one was treated with the same courtesy as another, so far as freedom of discussion was con- cerned, as a member of the Council. One would think, from the manner in which the Council was spoken of, that it was some close secret conclave (Hear, hear). Whereas, the fact was that any one who felt an interest in its proceedings, and subscribed £5 a-year to become a governor, had a right to be present at its meetings, and take part in its discussions, though he might not vote (Hear, hear). To say, then, that it was a secret body was obviously inconsistent with the fact. Next, as to its being self-elected, Mr. Read had stated that there was a committee of selection which was attended by three mem- bers, and that their decisions were accepted as conclusive on the questions referred to them. Was that so ? In the first place, the committee of selection consisted of twelve persons, of whom the members attending varied from nine or ten to three or four ; aud generally there were not less than five or six present. Ail they did was to point out to the Council that such and such a district had a certain number of members in it, and that such and such a man had been named by the members in that district as a fit person to fill up a vacancy occurring in the Couucil ; but of course the name must be proposed by some member of the Council, and voted upon by the Council at large. Therefore, it was not true that the committee of selection settled the matter. They merely went through a preliminary inquiry, and laid the results before the Council, whose duty it was then to elect or not; aud it was open to every member of the Council present to propose a candidate for their approval. With respect to the selection of the 25 retiring members of Council in May, that was the time when the greatest change might be made in the constitution of the < 'ouiicil, if the members of the Society deemed it to be desir- able ; but practically Mr. Read had said the members of the Council were self-elected (cries of "Hear"). [A VoifiB : " So THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 55 they are"). He distinctly declared that it was not the case, and would give them the proof. They were, ;i body which, at the outside, could assemble fiftj mens but hatween thirty an.' forty were considered a good' Council, and lifty was an ex- treme number, indeed lie was disposed to think that they never made up that number | but, taking them at fifty, who, • l, were to issue the fiat for the self-election of the body ? (Hear, hear). A printed list of the members of Coun- cil who went, out by rotation was placed upon the table of the Council prior to the meeting- in May, and below that list were aes of the candidates suggested by members of the So- ciety to till up vacancies. It was open to every member of the Society to write to the Council and mention the name of any gentleman whom he wished to have elected (Oh ! oh !). The list of candidates was printed at the foot of the other ; and it was from that list that the selections were generally made to till up vacancies, arising sometimes from the fact of gentlemen elected to scats at the Council not attending to their duties. Haying looked over this list, and made selections, the Com- i up the list, and the result of the preliminary voting of the Council was declared by scrutineers. No one knew how the other voted ; but the result was brought up by the scrutineers, and announced by the Council. The decisions of the Council on these occasions were never unanimous. There was always a division as to the election of this or that man (Hear, hear), and the majority only decided what names should be recommended to the general meeting for election. Was it not ridiculous, then, to tell him that in a Society con- sisting of some six thousand men the Council were elected by some thirty or forty of them in opposition to the feelings of the great body of the members ? Why, if only ten per cent. of their number entertained the opinion that their interests were not properly regarded, and attended the general meetings to give expression to the sentiment, the " House-list" would go for nothing (Hear, hear). Don't let them hear any more, then, about the Council being a self- elected body (Hear, hear). Some amusing remarks had, as usual, been made by Mr. Sid- ney ; but they were principally directed to the subject of the appointment to the Journal of an Editor who had no practical knowledge of agriculture. He did not know whether Mr. Sidney was still in the room [A Voice : No ; he is gone]. Then he would only make one remark with regard to Mr. Sidney's own editorship, and that he hoped in no unfair spirit. Mr. Sidney himself had not received an agricultural education, but he had nevertheless achieved success in editing a work on — Pigs! (loud laughter). It was scarcely right, therefore, to say that the editorship of an agricultural subject, without the possession of agricultural knowledge, was impossible (Hear, hear ; and renewed laughter. Mr. D. Long : What was the mode of electing scrutineers ? for it was to the scrutineers that he objected. Mr. Thompson : Do you mean to say that any gentleman appointed a scrutineer would alter the votes ? Mr. D. Long had, on one occasion, come up with others respecting the Cotswold sheep, and they considered that they had a majority in the room ; but their votes had no effect, be- cause they were handed over to scrutineers who — Mr. Thompson : Altered them, I suppose you mean to say. Mr. D. Long : Whom we much suspected — (shouts of "Oh!" " Sit down"). Mr. Head, M.P., explained that, when he said there was one portion of the proceedings in the election of Editor and Secretary that he considered unbusinesslike and not open, he alluded to this circumstance. Mr. Thompson came before the Council and read the report of the Committee, and from the time that he began reading the report until the election was over was just three minutes and a-half. That was really and truly unbusinesslike, because it was hasty ; and it was not open because no time was allowed for discussion. To the question put to him by Mr. Thompson, whether he had re- tired from the Council in consequence of any treatment he had received there, he emphatically answered, No (Hear, hear). Surely he was at liberty to question the wisdom of the Council in some of their proceedings ; but, as he had re- peatedly said, he had always experienced the utmost kindness and courtesy at the hands of every member of the Council. Sir (1. J enkinson observed that he had not charged the Council with stifling investigation or secret proceedings. What he had said was that he knew nothing of what had taken place, for be had not been present-; but that certain charges bad been made in public against the Council by a member of that body ; that he had brought the subject to the notice of the Society ; and that, after the lapse of many months, that members of the Council had retired, and that this was all that was known to the agricultural body at large. He had made no charge whatever against the Council ; but the only inference that could be drawn by the public from these circumstances was that there had been a stilling of investiga- tion, and that the only independent member of the Council who had ventured to question its proceedings had in fact been compelled to retire. Mr. Thompson accepted this explanation ; but, in reference to what had fallen from Mr. Head as to the time occupied in reading the report and completing the elections, observed that Mr. Read was himself present, and that if he had chosen to speak for an hour on the subject there was no reason why be should not have done so. The members of the Council voted without making any remark, having had the papers in their hands for weeks past. The Bev. Mr. Constable differed in lolo from the view propounded by Mr. Thompson that a gentleman who was utterly ignorant of practical agriculture could satisfactorily edit a journal devoted to agricultural subjects. He had had ten years' experience in that line himself, and was convinced that nothing short of a practical acquaintance with the routine of agriculture could enable a man to edit such a publication with credit to this institution. On Mr. Constable resuming his seat, the question that the report be adopted was put to the meeting and carried, although there were several dissentients. On the proposal of the Chairman, Messrs. Astbury, F. Sher- born, and II. Cantrell were elected Auditors, the last moved in the place of Mr. Corbet, who resigned. Mr. Treadwell re-opened the question to which he had before adverted with regard to the shearing and inspection of sheep. He suggested that the inspection was utterly useless and ought to be abolished. Mr. T. Brown (Norfolk) was also of opinion that the system of inspection of shearing had completely failed; and men- tioned as an example that, at the last show of the Society, of two sheep shown by one person, one was disqualified by the inspector of shearing, whilst the other gained a prize, the latter having been more unfairly shorn than the one which was disqualified- Several eases of the sort had come under his observation, all tending to justify the remark he had made. He utterly disclaimed imputing blame to the inspectors, but he could not forbear quoting the reply which was once given to him by an inspector of shearing connected with the Society : " We do our inspecting gently," said he ; " we only disqualify in palpable and glaring cases" (Hear, hear, and a laugh). He was a strong advocate for sheep being fairly shorn ; but, in his view of the matter, the existing restrictions were premiums upon dishonesty. Lord Chesiiam said that the sheep he had exhibited at Bury St. Edmund's Show were disqualified— and he felt very much aggrieved at it ; but when he showed again at Leicester he took the second prize. He had brought this case, and several others with which he was acquainted, before the Council in November; and an alteration had, he believed, been made in the rule, which would meet objections, although the inspection of shearing was still retained. A Member asking what was the actual rule in the matter ? Mr. Haxl Dare read it as follows : " Sheep exhibited for any of the prizes must have been really and fairly shorn hare after the 1st of April in the year of the exhibition, and the date of such shearing must form part of the certificate of entry. Two inspectors will be appointed by the Council to examine the sheep on their admission to the show-yard, with instructions to report to the stewards any cases in which the sheep have not been really and fairly shorn bare" A Member observed that that was the old rule (Hear, hear) . Another Member, speaking in the name of the Shropshire breeders, said that they did not like being judged in the dark, and that he could prove cases where unfairly shorn sheep had been passed by the inspectors. Would the Council receive a memorial on the subject from the Shropshire breeders ? The President replied in the affirmative, and thought the question a superfluous one. Mr. W. Garne expressed his disapproval of the rule, and declared that it was impossible for any man to tell whether a 56 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. sheep had heen fairly and barely shorn from the 1st of April till about the 18th of July. In his time he had hare-shorn hundreds of sheep, and given scores of them what was termed a " clipping ;" and if, after doing so, he had not known the animals himself, he could not have said which had heen clipped and which shorn. Lord Walsingiiam said the Council had given much con- sideration to the suhject, and made alterations from time to time. The present rule had been in force about two years, and he was not sure that it was quite satisfactory. After all, the truth was that the judges, in judging sheep, depended more upon the touch than upon the sight, the hand than upon the eye ; and he must be a very bad judge indeed who could not dis- tinguish mutton from wool (Hear, hear, and laughter). He was rather inclined to think himself that the rule for inspection was unnecessary (Hear, hear) ; though as an exhibitor he was ready to show his sheep, whether under the restrictions laid down by the Society, or, if it were deemed proper, without any restrictions at all (cheers). Mr. Torr remarked that the existing restriction had been adopted at the instance of a large body of sheep exhibitors, and in consequence of the clever dodges resorted to in the practice of clipping for the Society's shows. Mr. Badham drew attention to the fact that no prizes were offered by the Society for Norfolk and Suffolk cattle at the Manchester show next summer, and recommended the matter to the local committee as it was too late for the Council to make an alteration in its arrangements. Mr. T. Willson (Leicester) criticised, with much severity, the arrangements made for the late exhibition at thai/ town, complaining generally that they had led to serious loss of funds to the Society, the exhibitors, and others, whilst a niggardly economy had been dealt out towards the local authorities. Finally, he made the following suggestions for the considera- tion of the Council : " 1st. That all exhibitors of implements who intend entering any implement for trial shall give notice of their intention to do so in time to allow the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society to make proper arrangements for the land required for competition. 2nd. That for the future the contract for erecting the shedding, &c, be offered each year for competition; thus giving the local builders an opportunity of competing for the same. 3rd. That in future all exhibitors of implements, &c, shall be al- lowed to do any work they may require, either by their own workman or by employing anyone they may prefer, instead of, as at present, being obliged to employ the contractor of the Royal Agricultural Society, of course making good any damage they may do to the contractor's property. 4th. That for the future a different arrangement be made respecting the refreshments in the judges' and stewards' room. 5th. That some different arrangement be made at the entrance gates. 6th. That for the future the local authorities be very much more liberally dealt with, and that the Mayor of Leicester and all other mayors, on future occa- sions, upon signing and carrying out the requirements of the Society, be made honourable life members of the Society ; and also that, in future, a large number of tickets be given to the mayor and local committee for distribution. 7th. That all local agricultural associations who give their funds for prizes be dealt with more liberally, and that all be dealt with on the same terms. 8th. That different arrangements should be made for the exhibition of cheese and butter, to prevent their being injured by the sun, and also to prevent their being de- stroyed by the visitors, as at Leicester. 9th. That the la- bourers employed in the showyard and at the Leicester meet- ing be allowed each a gratuity, as, in consequence of the harvest and the very hot weather, many of them were considerable losers by being at the show. 10th. That, in future, the elec- tion of the twenty -four members, who retire by rotation, shall be as follows, viz. : That in the first number of the Journal all members who retire in that particular year shall have an asterisk placed against their names, and the members of those counties in which they are situated be requested to forward to the secretary, before a given date, the name of any gentleman they think most fitting to fill the vacant seat, and that the member who has the greatest number of votes be placed on the council. The President recommended that Mr. Willson should lay his suggestions formally before the Council. Some of them appeared to him to be dictated by wisdom : others he saw great difficulty in carrying out." Mr. W. Bowyer wished to correct the statement made at an earlier period of the proceedings that no practical agricul- turist had applied for the editorship of the Journal. This was not the case ; for there was one practical agriculturist among the seven selected by the committee, and he was informed that that gentleman stood second in the list. Mr. Hall Dare, as that was the last occasion on which he should meet the members of the Society in an official capa- city, desired to express his acknowledgment of the kind re- ferences made to him and his services that day, and the consi- deration with which he had always been treated during the nine years that he had held the appointment of Secretary. On first assuming the office he felt extremely diffident of his powers, owing to his ignorance of the sciences specially con- nected with agriculture but after a time he found that the ignorance was no bar to the successful performance of the duties required from the Secretary. Having resolved to de- vote all his energies to the business of the Society, he at once set to work at the collection of the subscriptions in arrear, amounting to nearly £5,000, and he feared that in the process of dunning he offended a good many persons. At that time the capital of the Society was only £10,000 ; but by dint of hard work, in the course of four years and a-half he raised it to £21,000, of which £16,000 was invested in the funds, and some had been expended not very judiciously he thought in show-yard plant. The number of members had slightly fallen off lately in consequence of the cattle-plague, but this he believed they would soon recover. The severance of his con- nexion with the Society was a source of regret to him, par- ticularly in the present year, when he had hoped, under the presidency of II. R. H. the Prince of Wales, to have been able to carry out the Manchester show with success : however, there was no help for it but to bow to the financial requirements of the Council, and to take his leave of the Society (Hear, hear). A vote of thanks having been passed to the Duke of Rich- mond for presiding, the meeting separated, after lasting nearly three hours. THE SMITHFIELD CLUB SHOW. A Southerly wind and a cloudy sky, with a muggy moist atmosphere, may promise well enough for a run with the hounds in the open, but will scarcely answer as satisfactorily for a show of cattle in cover. One likes to feel the crisp, bracing, seasonable change as we look upon the goodly array of Christmas beef " in the flesh" ; and nothing could be worse for either exhibitors or visitors, for butchers or consumers, than the warm, wet weather we have had. Indeed, this had its effect, for some of the animals entered alike in Birmingham and London did not come on, and sundry numbers in the Catalogue were thus drawn blank. Still, the chief prize winners, however much they have suffered in the interim, are always pretty cer- tain to turn up again, and one meeting is in its main features very generally an echo of the other. In plain truth, people who hold back for Islington see much of the show at second hand. Like a pantomime after a run, the bloom has worn off ; the silks and satins have lost their gloss ; and the nymphs and naiads, alias the cows and heifers, are getting very weary of the performance. By the time a beast has been best of all at Aberdeen, Abing- don, or Oakham, and then stood a week's punching and other such very practical criticism at Birmingham, no THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 57 wonder if, as some elegantly phrase it, he begins to lose " his handle," and to get dull, feverish, and altogether out of sorts. The connoisseur, with his heart in the business, who for the nonce almost yields to the me- tamorphosis— " Semi bovemque virum, semi virumque bovem," must give Bingley Hall the preference to the Agricultural Hall, if he really means to see the best of McConibie and Co. There, the Gold Medal Ox, like the lump of flesh which Sinbad the Sailor threw into the Valley of Diamonds, turns up as a kind of delightful surprise, with costly ornaments fairly stuck all over him; whereas in London, as last year, the thing is often nothing more than an encore. Something still of a surprise awaited such of the members of the Club who on the Monday morning were prepared to avail themselves of their customary " right" of looking on from above. With an amount of courage and deter- mination for which they can scarcely be too highly com- mended, the stewards of the year fairly rode through the red-tape boundaries, and passed the few visitors at once into the body of the Hall. The only thing to be regretted is that more notice could not be given of this, or more members would no doubt have availed themselves of the opportunity. The show was only good in places. The Devons, Here- fords, and Cross-breds have, for general excellence, seldom been better; whereas the Shorthorns made up only a moderate average ; nor were the Scotch breeds so good as " they have been. Amongst the sheep the Southdowns, with Lord Walsingham winning everything, were better than they have been for some years; whilst amongst the Longwools, the Lincolns were still maintaining their rising repute as one of the best represented breeds in the Hall. The Leicesters and Cotswolds were short in numbers, and of no very remarkable merit, there not being a single commendation added to the awards. The Hampshire was a much superior entry to that at Birmingham; and the Shropshire made up of much the same material as in the Midlands, although four or five eutries were wanting, in a by no means a large class. The Oxford Downs were all very good, and there were plenty of entries as extra stock and cross-breds. The pig show, either for numbers or merits, was the very worst ever seen at the Smithfield Club " within the memory of man." There was, in fact, but one really good pig in the yard ; and that one Mr. John Overmore's silver-medal white in the extra stock class. Co^d he have only been matched with two others like him, the gold medal must have gone to Burnham Sutton. As it was, this chief honour rested between Mr. Melville Cartwright's whites and Mr. Chamberlayne's Sussex blacks. The latter are no doubt, for age and size, the better pen ; but they have the fatal defect of no hair, nor would they otherwise compare with the best of all in other years. The show, as we have said, in its great indi- vidual features and more prominent classes, is still very much an echo of Birmingham. " The very first-class out was sufficient to prove the strength of the show, for it contained one of the grandest beasts at all points ever exhibited. This is a Hereford ox, four years and three months old, bred by the late Mr. Elsmere, of Berrington, in Shropshire, and fed by the well-known Mr. Heath, of Ludham, in Norfolk. Of great size and breadth, with an upstanding commanding appearance, a noble handsome head, and long deep frame, this animal has also fed capi- tally, and is as good to the hand as the eye. In truth, there was no getting away from such a first impression ; and we own to having at once jumped to a conclusion, which the judges also in due course arrived at, that this Hereford was the best of his class, the best of his breed, the best of all the oxen and steers ; and altogether the best animal in the yard. Although the Herefords, as in the instance of the late Mr. Phillips' ox, are not always lucky in London, it is difficult to believe, if he comes on, that* Mr. Heath's entry can ever be beaten for best next week." It was thus we spoke, immediately on oui' return from the Birmingham meeting, and the cor- rectness of the opinion has been thoroughly verified. Mr. Heath's ox, now, of course, admitted to be " one of the grandest beasts ever exhibited," could not be beaten for best in London. When writing previous to the highest honours being awarded in London, we said : "Mr. Smith's best Devon steer at Birmingham is still far away the best of his breed here, and really promises again to have a chance with another set of judges for the best of all." Again, we stated in our Midland Counties report, that Mr. Wortley would " have even a better steer coming on to Smithfield" than his disqualified beast ; as further on the opening morning at Islington, that " until the judges have decided, it seems a very doubtful point whether Mr. Wortley's capital three- year and two-mouths-old steer, also bred by Mr. Urwick and by Young Knight, or Mr. Heath s ox, of course again the first of his class, will be now the most formidable for further honours." But here, from a necessarily hasty inspection, and not having time to see the two placed side by side, we scarcely did our first fancy full justice ; for, as the two sets of judges ad- mitted, he won all the way, looking hardly any the worse for the receptions he had been giving during the previous few days. Still the two next were the Devon and the other Hereford, the Shorthorn judges merely bringing out any of their first beasts as a matter of form, for they never had a chance, and were quickly ordered back again. The excuse is, that all the promising Shorthorn bull-calves arc retained for use in the herd ; but considering how many highly-bred Shorthorn heifers are prepared for the sacri- fice, any such explanation cannot have much weight ; as, of course, the champions of other sorts might advance precisely the same argument. Fortunately, however, the fair fame of the Shorthorns was maintained, as at Bir- mingham, by the females, although not by the same means. Speaking of the Shorthorn cows in Bingley Hall, we said, " style and neatness had to give way to size and weight, as the third prize and commended entry were the two handsomest of the class. Mr. Foljambe's cow, Cherry Blossom, was commended at Leicester, and second to Lady Fragrant at Wetherby, when we spoke of her as beginning with a nice head and fine forehand ; as having a well-sprung rib, a capital back, and great breadth over her loin, but as growing a little gaudy over her tail ; as she was, of course, feeding on for honours in another direction. Mr. Spencer's merely commended cow was not only the best of her class, but the best of all the fat beasts at Oakham ; and it strikes us that she has merit enough to get a higher place again on the prize-list." The Oakham cow did not come on to London, but Cherry Blossom again confirmed our opinion as " one of the handsomest of the class," by beating everything that had beaten her at Birmingham, and fi- nishing a good second to Lord Hardwicke's heifer, for the Ladies' Cup. Mr. Willis' best of all the cows at Bir- mingham was now only second in her class, and Mr. Groves' second at Birmingham, here taking only a com- mendation. Still it is but fair to say, that both had suf- fered much iu the interim ; the Yorkshire cow being terribly tucked up, with her great weight telling mani- festly after her travels, while Lady Kockingham showed even more the injurious effects of her previous outings, standing roach-backed before the judges, with her legs almost touching each other. Still, as we said when we 58 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. first saw her, this cow never improved ou being brought out ; but " waddles in her walk, has a stecry head, and is altogether coarsish ;" as it turned out, far too much so for the London bench. Nevertheless, a fresh animal, like Lord Hardwicke's, must always have an advantage at " a second-hand show," and as such the Smithfield must be treated here. It would be only wearisome to go over again all the ground we have travelled so recently, or to dress up our opinions and facts, as already given, in a new garb, so that if we are found to repeat ourselves, this arises simply from the shows repeating each other so closely as they do. As we have said, the show i3 only good in some places, and the Shorthorns made up only a moderate average. Indeed, they pretty generally disappointed their warmest admirers, and there was little or nothing for Mr. Strafford or his pupil to be busy about. No need for telling how " His sire gained that sweepstakes, his dam won that plate." There were very many common animals amongst these classes, as we reported there were at Birmingham, and none of those really grand " leading" beasts that have hereto- fore served to illustrate the story of the Smithfield Club. In the young class of steers, with only four entries, there was nothing like a superior ani- mal, the chief interest centering on the mature, much-developed frame, and staid look of the two years and a half old steer that took the first prize, and the breeder has been called upon to prove the correctness of his certificate. Not that this was by any means the only case of the kind. Another of Mr. Wortley's steer is again under something like protest, and the same breeder, Mr. Urwick, has been already before the stewards, who sent him back for his herd- book. There were a number of other young beasts whose mouths and general appearance rendered them equally objects of suspicion ; but the veterinary inspector does not venture to proceed to disqualification, but mildly sug- gests some further inquiry ; that is, the stewards or the secretary will be instructed to address an exhibitor some- thing alter this fashion : " My dear slt, — Is there not some slight mistake in the entry of your admirable steer ? The judges and the stewards and the veterinary inspector are inclined to think from appearances that he must be two or three years older than the stated age ; but we shall be very happy to have your explanation of this remarkable phenomenon, aud I am, with kind regards, yours et csetera, et csctera." As to the objection to the Devon cow that has travelled on with her from Birmingham, this, not- withstanding her white spots, her ear marks, and her udder marks, made little or no way to a settlement. Half-a-dozen gentlemen were quite ready to swear that one man bred her, and half-a-dozen others to give the credit of this to somebody else. Indeed, there can be no disguising the fact that never was the bucolic atmosphere so tainted as at present ; while the veterinarians, as usual, when it comes to business, arc as helpless as ever ; and objections and rumours of objections are, as we said at Birmingham, "becoming as common as in leather plating or steeple-chasing." The class of three-year-old Shorthorn steers was better filled ; Mr. Bult's first, a fresh beast, looking a deal better out than in his standing, where he was not much liked by the public. Mr. Foljambe's second was first at Bir- mingham, where we spoke of him as very good forward, but bad behind ; and Mr. Thompson beat his employer, the Duke of Beaufort, for third with a good butcher's beast of not much " appearance." Nevertheless the Duke's was second in the Midlands, where we went against him as " a gaudy coloured but square animal, sharp and narrow about his withers, and wiry in his hair" ; and he received no notice whatever in London. Of the Shorthorn oxen at Birmingham we wrote : " The handsomest, or, to go furthei, the most elegant animal in the show, was Mr. Heath Harris' ox, with his nice sloping shoulders, his great length, his round barrel, his level top, aud his kind handsome head. He was full of style and quality ; but at nearly five years old he had not the weight of some of the younger beasts, and so was fairly beaten for first by another Scotch entry. This is Mr. Frost's four- year-old, of a good colour and nice coat, famous to meet or to look over, with his broad well-covered back, but loose and slack in his rib as you take him in profile, as well as a somewhat awkward animal out ; and if there be nothing to complain of, it is still by no means impossible, should they come together again, that these two beasts may change places." And they did change places at the next time of meeting ; Mr. Harris' ox being highly commended, aud Mr. Frost's never noticed. One of the judges, indeed, as- sured us that Mr. Harris' ox would have been yet more forward on the award but for his age at four years and eight months, a great objection certainly, but for style when out there was still nothing equal to him. Of the others in this class, " Mr. Aylmcr's best ox, a very handsome one of fine quality, has only pre- viously been shown about home ; while Mr. Strat- ton's second best was never noticed at Birmingham. This is a white of very good frame, but not half fed ; aud Mr. Stratton had another white in much the same con- dition, in another class. In fact, neither of these beasts went on very kindly with their feeding. There was a large class of oxen, but many of the entries were very ordinary beasts, more after the manner of plain Lincolnshires than Improved Shorthorns. Lord Hard- wick's heifer, with her sweet head, broad frame, and fine quality won very easily in her class, although the second and third prizes are both good fair animals ; Messrs. Perry's third having been also third prize, and best of their three, at Birmingham, and the only one sent on, though " all very nice useful heifers," as we there and then re- ported. Almost generally indifferent as were the Shorthorns, so almost generally good were the Devons, Herefords, and Cross-brcds, or " for general excellence," as we have said, " seldom better." The judges occasionally com- mended whole classes, and they might have gone on to generally commend the two breeds of Devons and Here- fords, so little was there inferior, and so much was there so good. Barely, indeed, has the fashionable " cosmo- politan," as he is called, had to encounter such " a facer." If the highly-bred Shorthorn steer will not feed, and the long-pedigree Shorthorn cow will not breed, as woidd seem to be the result arrived at by these more recent ex- hibitions, where are we to look for any special excellence ? where the return in meat or milk ? It has recently been said of the one or two thousand guineas occasionally given for a yearling colt that " there is a deal of jlash about this kind of thing, and the racehorse market is gradually dropping to a more wholesome tone." Has there not been a good deal of jlash also about the Shorthorn market ? The Devons are so much an echo of Birmingham, that we must really refer to our report of that meeting as the chief commentary on the Smithfield Club prize-list. In the youngest class of steers, however, Mr. Smith's first — a broad but beautiful, blood-like beast, bred by Mr. George Turner — was not in the Midlands ; nor was Mr. Nixey's neat second, also as highly bred, and from the herd of Mr. Mogridge. Whereas Mr. Smith's best steer at Birmingham was still the best, the second to him in the three year and three months class was also second at Birmingham, but Mr. Overman's first in the next lot had not been out ; while Mr. Farthing's second at Binning- THE FAIiMER'S MAGAZINE. .< ham was now third ; and tlic Devon cows placed pre- cisely as they were in Bingley Hall. Sir. Tfood did not send his ])ri/,e animals, but held in reserve Gar Plymouth, or the returns might have been yet more identical ; and Sir. Gibbs ouly forwarded his second-best heifer from Bir- mingham, although she was good enough to get first in London; as Sir. llambro's commended heifer in the Slidlands was the reserve number in the Metropolis As Falstall" has it, there is "a d — able reiteration" in all this ; and, admirable as the Devons were, we " cannot sing the old song" over again. Weight for weight, as well as for looks, level feeding and character, the Hereford beat the Shorthorn, and at all points was no question the best beast in the Hall. By the bye, as these weights were almost all ascertained before the show was opened, the Council should hare them inserted in the catalogue. By just leaving sulli- cient blank space for the several figures these might easily be added ; and if, as one of the stewards assured us, such information would " prove useful to young begin- ners," of course the catalogue is the means through which this should be conveyed. Tor our own part we confess to a feeling of something like contempt for these we'.ghts and measures, which of comse so far as any correct judg- ment be concerned, are amongst the most superfluous of superfluities. One of the directors was good enough to oiler us the loan of his book with, we believe, the weight of almost every entry inserted ; but it would be perhaps better that this should come as official information in a few months time. At any rate, we have no desire to anticipate anything so interesting ; or if a man specially cared for this he might copy it from the placard at the head of each animal or pen. The heaviest weight was that of Sir. Ross' cross-bred, at 23 f cwt., first also in his class at Birmingham, of which we wrote thus at the time: "The crossbred steers made up one of the most successful classes of such experi- ments ever illustrated in public. There were four or five quite good enough to be first, and it i3 chiefly to be regretted that they were left for examina- tion by gas-light. The first prize, and certainly the best, is a capital beast, with great length, firm flesh, and very handsome appearance ; so that he would seem to have had more promise for the Medal than the judges subsequently gave him." And he was the chief hope of the Shorthorn judges in London when they had to pro- duce their cup champion in opposition to the Devons and Herefords. Mr. Heath's Gold Sledal and cup ox weighed 22^ cwt. ; and in his class was separated from Sir. Aldworth's second at Birmingham, and best of all at Abingdon, by a very good famous-fleshed beast, exhibited by Sir. Shaw Leigh, and bred by Sir. Edwards, of Woodside, Shropshire. In the two younger classes Sir. SVortley was first in each with two capital beasts, to whose merits we have already alluded, as well as to the inquiry in- stituted over the three-year-old also bred by Mr. Urwick, and by Young Knight. Sir. Lewis Loyd's second in this class, though a good butcher's beast, and bred by Mr. Pitt, of Chadnor Court, looked more like a cross with a Channel Islander than of pure Hereford character ; and Sir. Corbet Groves' first at Birmingham should have been second in- stead of third here. But the class was a clipper, and very deservedly commended. Sir. Wortley's and Sir. Ridgley's heifers in much the same company wrere of course again first and second, as at Birmingham. " The Hereford heifers only ran at five, Sir. Ridgley's second being neat and pretty, and Plimley's third lengthy, level, and handsome ; whereas Sir. Wortley's first, another pur- chase from Sir. Urwick, is getting patchy behind, if, without doubt, the best butcher's beast, aud also pre- viously 'a winner at Downham and Walsham." Again, quod (//.a, di.ri, and no doubt Sir. Wortley's heifer was overdone. Her Majesty's heifer here third did not show in the Slidlands; but the Royal cow now fust was only third at Birmingham ; while Sir. Yeoman's second was again second, the transposition being over Sir. Bettridge's old cow and the Windsor Florence ; and of all this we said on first seeing the lot, " the first and second are two fine great cows ; but Air. Bettridge's first, only second at Abingdon, is rather coarse, if a wonder for her age — over twelve years — with eight calves born alive." As it seems we somehow missed Her Majesty's entry ; and the Hereford Times states she was " cooped up in a corner at Birmingham." There is no class of animal making more advance as butchers' -beasts of prime quality, level feeding, and good weights than the Sussex ; and although they did not this year run up for the cup, the classes were generally well filled with some famous steers and heifers amongst them^ The Norfolk and Suffolk Polled, on the contrary, only mustered in all seven entries for four prizes ; and the show of these was mainly remarkable for his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales having taken the first prize in each class. The Lonahorns, Scotched-horned, and Scotch Polled were very much after Birmingham, save that the Shorthorn judges — who could not have known what they were about here — would place Sir. Stephen's ungainly beast, "of elephantine proportions, and the very incarnation of ugli- ness," before Sir. M'Coombie's Ox. This was, of course, the great mistake of the day, aud nothing but the scales will ever explain it away. There were three Irish beasts contending for four prizes — rather a safe game to play ; and Lord Penrhyn's Birmingham best Welsh runt was still the best, though they were all good. Of the famous crosses we have already spoken ; but the old class of oxen contained some really extraordinary hits in this way; and Aber- deenshire again ran Morayshire very closely indeed ; but eventually the first, second, and third were placed pre- cisely as at Birmingham. What an echo the whole thing- has become ! In the Heifer class, however, Mr. Durrant's capital Scotch-nick beat Sir. Bruce's beautifully -fed heifer, the best at Birmingham ; and some Norfolk experiments are also successful in a younger class of steers, although Mr. SVortley's Devon and Shorthorn cross throws more to Hereford in his appearance. Colonel Towneley's extra stock cow is not so formidable as the entry reads, and, even had she been eligible, would have stood no chance for the Cup against others of the same breed. One of the stewards of cattle writes to say how much he " was struck with the bad state of the feet of many of the animals : the poor creatures must have suffered very much, their great weight having to be borne upon, in many instances, deformed hoofs." And, again, " many of the animals had never been accustomed to be led, and were very difficult to manage in the yard, Exercise is most important to show animals." Very possibly ; but in these sharp times there may be some method in making an animal " difficult to manage." There was once going about the country a young, or thought to be old, race- horse, who would not suffer any man alive to look into his mouth ! The Longwool judges pottered terribly over their work ; but, nevertheless, came ultimately to very sound conclusions — not always the result of taking too much time over such a business. Slere weight had of course little or nothing to do with their awards, and in utter defiance of such a test Lord Berncrs' high-bred really pure-looking Leicesters were again placed above the heavier coarser sheep shown against them. Of the best pen of Cotswolds we said, when we saw them at Hereford, in October, " Mr. Kearsey's Cotswold wethers, although en- 60 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. countering no competition, were admirable in their way, showing a deal of blood, with a good hand, and being al- together famously turned out ;" as, no doubt, more justice was done to this flock in London than at Bir- mingham. The third prize pen here, exhibited by Mr. King Tombs' executors, embraces sheep of great size and weight, but terribly coarse and masculine in their cha- racter, looking, indeed, like lately-cut rams. The Lin- colns are really admirable, combining, as they now do almost to perfection, handsome appearance, mutton, and wool, and Mr. Casswell should surely have been near upon winning a Cup. At any rate the whole class might have been commended. There were only three pens from Romney Marsh, but these were better than usual, and more fancied than ever by the butcher ; while of the cross-breds, Mr. Game, one of the judges, said at the Farmers' Club dinner, " this year's was one of the best show of them he had ever seen," as he went on to more especially eulogize the Oxford Downs. As we have re- corded already, these sheep were all good ; but young Mr. Rogers, by the aid of some of his brother-in-law's blood from Biddenham, had again not only the best of the class, but also carried off the Cup ; although for a long time it looked as if the two sets of judges would never agree over this, and nothing but the energetic exhortations of the steward, Mr. Henry Overman, brought them to unanimity. The Southdown sheep shared with the Devon and Here- ford cattle the great honours of the show. Whole classes were commended ; but the excellence of the Merton sheep was never more marked, so that they may be fairly said to have placed themselves. At any rate, with the active Mr. John Clayden at their head, the short-wool judges went to work with a will, and fairly ran away from their fel- lows ; and we do like to see a judge with something sharp and decisive in his method. With a capital hand, blood- like looks, good heads, and broad backs, it is scarcely pos- sible to speak too highly of Lord Walsingham's lot. And then, again, the form in which they were made up was something to marvel at, the very type of neatness dnd mould of fashion. Within the last year or so both the Duke of Richmond and Mr. Rigden have lost their shep- herds, and this may in some measure account for the comparatively little attention the Sussex entries have lately received ; at least here, where we imagine more art is required in turning out a fat wether than a ram in breeding condition. Another Sussex breeder, however, Mr. Penfold, the value of whose flock has long been appreciated about home, deservedly took a prize for sheep of high quality, backed by good size. In the old class of sheep Lord Walsingham's first were proved by the scale not to be so heavy as Mr. John Overman's second prize pen , but woe to the man who goes to prove a Southdown by weight ! The Hampshire Downs were much more comely to look on than they often have been, although there threatened at one time to be some dispute over the winning pens, Messrs. Robert and John Russell taking first and Mr. John Russell second ; but we believe the explanation comes to this, that Mr. John Russell has a flock in partnership at Horton, and another of his own at Sutton. The Shropshires were mainly an echo of Birmingham, but two of Mrs. Bigge's pen had been changed in the interim, a fact that might go to account for their advanced position on the prize-list. In the only two pens of old sheep, Mr. Henry Smith's nice matchy lot were again the preferred ; and with this further distinction, it is said, we are to see nothing more from Sutton Maddock in the Bingley or Islington Hall. Mr. Game has given a character to the cross-breds, of which the first-class was generally commended, with Bedfordshire and the Oxford Down blood altogether in the ascendant : Mr. Hine's first, Mr. James' second, and Mr. Street's highly- commended lot being all by Oxford Down rams out of Leicester or quasi, Leicester ewes. In the other class Mr. Overman hit it with Norfolk long-wools on to Southdowns, and Colonel Lloyd Lindsay by a double-cross of South- down, Cotswold, and Hampshire. There were some capital sheep in extra stock, more especially amongst the South- downs, which included a wonderfully good old ewe of Lord Walsingham's, nearly nine years old, with every tooth in her head, that has had " ever so many lambs," and is even said to be in lamb again ! But the curiosities of the show were Mr. W. G. Gucrrier's Hungarians, with their spiral horns and bountiful coats, long the playthings of his children, but now like the pet lamb of the picture on their way to the butcher. Messrs. Sexton and Carver shook their heads the moment we encountered them, and half apologised even for their Cup pen. Mr. Cartwright did duty again with the Birming- ham lot, where we said " they looked well for another gold medal ;" but they are not equal to last year's entry, being rather deficient in quality. The Royal Windsor whites again appear to be crossed with something coarser, or at any rate they are losing much of their fine character. Lord Radnor's prize pen is fairly good, but the seconds, with no further competition, very moderate ; while Mr. Kent, second to the cup pigs in one class, has not merit sufficient to take a prize when unop- posed in another. The other breeds are mainly remarka- ble for mediocrity ; and Her Majesty's commended pig is only half a good one, being very slack in his loin. How is it the pig-show has gone to grief? How is it that some of the best Birmingham exhibitors will not send on ? And is that negative good, the veterinary inspection, at the top and bottom of so serious a decline ? A sporting contemporary, in excuse for not saying more about the pigs, says : " Those of our readers who visited this de- partment will, we are sure, bear us harmless for not stay- ing for a minute inspection, and corroborate the statement that there were strong olfactory reasons for not doing so." It is, indeed, a horrible hole, and quite a disgrace to the Smithfield Club Show. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES : CATTLE. DEVONS, HEREFORDS, SUSSEX, NORFOLK, OR SUFFOLK POLLED, LONG-HORNED, IRISH, CROSS, OR MIXED. Bedford, George, Milton, Leominster. Blaker, George, Paugdean, Hurstpicrpoint, Sussex. Hole, James, Kuowle, Dunster, Somerset. SHORTHORNS, SCOTCH, AND WELSH. Ladds, William, Ellington, Huntingdon. Robinson, Joseph, Cliftou Pastures, Newport Pagnel. Parkinson, Thomas, Hexgrave Park, Southwell. SHEEP. LEICESTERS, COTSWOLDS, LINCOLNS, KENTISH, OR ROMNEY MARSH, CROSS-BRED LONG-WOOLS, OXFORD- SHIRE, MOUNTAIN AND CROSS. Borton, J., Barton House, Malton. Bennett, Joseph, Southcott, Leighton Buzzard. Game, William, Manor House, South Cerney, Ciren- cester, SOUTHDOWNS, HAMPSHIRE, OR WILTSHIRE, SHROPSHIRE, RYELAND, CHEVIOT, AND DORSET. Keeling, Charles, Yew Tree Farm, Penkridge, Clayden, John, Littlebury, Saffron Walden. Woodman, Richard, Southease, Lewes. PIGS. Carver, Robert, Ingarrby, Leicester. Sexton, M., Wherstead, Ipswich. Inskip, William, Shefford, Hardwicke, Beds. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. CI CATTLE. DEVONS. Steers, not exceeding 2 years aud 6 mouths old. First prize of £20, to W.Smith, Higher Hoopern, Devou. Second prize of £10, to W. G. Nixey, Upton Court Farm, Slough. Commended. — T. Bond, Petherton Park, Huutworth, Somerset. Steers, not exceeding 3 years and 3 months old. First prize of £30, Fo W. Smith, Higher Hoopern, Devon. Second prize of £20, to W. G. Nixey, Upton Court Farm, Slough. Third prize of £10, to J. Overman, Burnham Sutton, Norfolk. Highly commended. — The Earl of Eldon, Eucombe, Dorset. Commended. — Her Majesty the Queen, Prince Consort's Norfolk Farm, Windsor, and C. Gibbs, Bishop's Lydeard, Somerset. Steers or Oxen, above 3 years aud 3 months old. First prize of £30, to J. Overman, Buruham Sutton, Norfolk. Second prize of £20, to W. Barrington, Thorley, Isle of Wight. Third prize of £10, to W. Farthing, Stowey Court, Bridgewater. Commended. — R. Farthing, Farrington, Somerset. Heifers, not exceeding 4 years old. First prize of £25, to C. Gibbs, Bishop's Lydeard, Somerset. Second prize of £1 5, to W. G. Nixey, Upton Court Farm, Slough. Third prize of £10, to Her Majesty the Queen, the Prince Cousort's Norfolk Farm, Windsor. Highly commended. — C. Hambro, Milton Abbey, Blaudford, Dorset. Commended. — T. Bond, Petherton Park, Huutworth, Somerset. Cows, above 4 years old. First prize of £25, to R. Burton, Place Barton, Broad- clyst, Devon. Second prize of £15, to W. Smith, Higher Hoopern, Exeter. Third prize of £10, to W. Farthing. HEREFORDS. Steers, not exceeding 2 years and 6 months old. First prize of £20 to R. Wortley, Suffield, Norfolk. Second of £10 to R. Shirley, Bancott, Salop. Commended. — Her Majesty the Queen, the Prince Consort's Flemish Farm, Windsor. Steers, not exceeding 3 years aud 3 months old. First prize of £30 to R. Wortley Nuffield, Norfolk. Second of £20 to L. Loyd, Monks Orchard, Adding- ton, Surrev. Third of £10 toR. V. C. Groves, Bei-rington, Shrews- bury. Highly Commended. — The Earl of Darnley, Cobham Hall, Gravesend. Class generally commended. Steers and oxen, above 3 years and 3 months old. First prize of £30 to W. Heath, Ludham Hall, Norwich. Second prize of £20 to J. Shaw, Leigh Hoo Park, Lu- ton, Beds. Third prize of £10 to W. Aldworth, Fulford, Abingdon, Berks. Highly commended : Earl of Darnley, Cobham Hall, Gravesend. Heifers, not exceeding 4 years old. First prize of £25, to R. Wortley, Suffield, Norfolk. Second prize of £15, to R. Ridgley, Steveutou, Salop. Third prize of £10, to Her Majesty the Queen, the Prince Consort's Flemish Farm, Windsor. Cows, above 4 years old. First prize of £25 to Her Majesty the Queen, Prince Consort's Flemish Farm, Windsor. Second, of £15, to H. Yeoman, Slowes Court, near Hay, Radnorshire. Third, of £10, H. Bettridge, East Hanney, Berks. Commended : R. Hill, Orletou. SHORT-HORNS. Steers, not exceeding 2 years and G months old. First prize of £20, to It. Newcomb Morley, Leadenham, Lincolnshire. Second of £10, to J. S. Bult, Dodhill House, Kiugston, Somerset. Highly commended : R. Stratton, Burderop. Commended : Sir W. de Capell Brooke, Geddington Grange, Kettering. Steers, not exceeding 3 years and 3 months old. First prize of £30, to J. S. Bult, Dodhill House, Kingston, Somerset. Second of £20, to G. S. Foljambe, Osberton Hall, Worksop. Third of £10, to J. Thompson, Badminton, Wilts. Highly commended : Earl Spencer, K.G., Althorp Hall, Northampton. Commended : T. Tait, Crichie, Keith Hall, Aberdeen. Steers or Oxen, above 3 years and 3 months old. First prize of £30, to J. B. Aylmer, Fincham, Norfolk. Second of £20, to R. Stratton, Burderop, Swindon. Third of £10, to T. Pulver, Broughton, Kettering. Highly commended : R. Heath Harris, Earnhill, Forres, Moray. Commended: H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, Sandriug- ham, Norfolk ; J. Overmau, Burnham Sutton, Norfolk ; W. Hesseltine, Beaumont, Lincoln. Heifers, not exceeding 4 years old. First prize of £25, to The Earl of Hardwick, Wimpole, Cambs. Second of £15, to J. B. Aylmer, Fincham, Norfolk. Third of £10, to G. and J. Perry, Acton Pigott, Shrop- shire. Highly commended : E. Frost, West Wratting Hall, Linton, Cambs. Commended: C. Chapman, Brook Farm, Exton, Rutland. Cows, above 4 years old. First prize of £25, to G. S. Foljambe, Osberton Hall, Worksop. Second of £15, to T. Willis, Carperby, York. Third of £10, to R. Searson, Market Deeping, Lincoln- shire. Highly commended: W. Groves, Brompton, Shrews- bury. Commended: R. E. Oliver, Towcester, Northampton. SUSSEX. Steers or Oxen, not exceeding 3 Year Old. First prize of £20 to J. Napper, Wisboro' Green, Horsham, Sussex. Second of £10 to T. Child, Slinfold, Horsham, Sussex. Commended : J. Shoosmith, Berwick, Lewes, Sussex. Steers or Oxen, above 3 years old. First prize of £25, to J.M. Montefiore, Crawley, Sussex. Second prize of £15, to G. C. Coote. Third prize of £10, to Hon. H. Brand, M.P. Highly commended : E. Cane, Berwick Court. Commended : A. Allberry, Flanchford. Heifers, not exceeding 4 years old. First prize of £20, to W. Nealc, Torlington, Sussex. Second of £15, to The Right Hon. H. Brand, M.P., Lewes, Sussex. Highly commended : W. Sturt, Fetcham, Surrey. 62 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Cows, above 4 years old. First prize of £20, to J. M. Montefiore, Crawley, Sussex Second of £15, to G. C. Coote, Tortingtou, Sussex. Commended : W. Wood, Crawley, Sussex. NORFOLK OR SUFFOLK POLLED. Steers or Oxeu, of any age. First prize of £15 to H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, Sandringham, Norfolk. Second prize of £10 to W. Smith, Whitton, Norfolk. Commended, W. Postle, Small burgh, Norfolk. Heifers or Cows, of any a?e. First prize of £15 to H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, Saudringham, Norfolk. Second prize of £10 to Wm. Bond, Bacton, Norfolk, LONG-HORN. Steers or Oxen of any age. Prize of £10 to Sir J. Harpur * Crewe, Bart., Calke Abbey, Derby. Heifers or Cows of any age. Prize of £10 to Sir J. Harpur Crewe, Bart., Calke Abbey, Derby. SCOTCH-HORNED. Steers or Oxen, of any age. First prize of £30, J. and W. Martin, Newmarket, Aberdeen. Second of £15, J. Gerard Leigh, Luton, Beds. Highly commended. — J. Shaw Leigh, Luton, Beds. Heifers or Cows, of any age. First prize of £15, R. Eastwood, Thorneyholme, Clitheroe. Second of £10, W. Tavlor, Glynley, Sussex. SCOTCH-POLLED. Steers or Oxen, of any age. First prize of £30, J. Stephen, Conglass, Aberdeen- shire. Second of £15, W. M'Conibie, Tillyfour, Aberdeen. Heifers or Cows, of any age. First prize, of £15, J. Read, Graystone, Aberdeenshire. Second of £10, W. Postle, Smallburgh, Norfolk. IRISH. Steers or oxen, of any age. First prize of £10 to J. Wortley, Felmfngham, Norfolk. Second of £5 to J. W. Long, Beeston, St. Lawrence, Norfolk. Heifers or Cows, of any age. First prize of £10 to Lord Bemers, Keythorpe Hall, Leicester. Second prize of £5. — No entiy. WELSH. Steers or Oxen (Runts), of any age. First prize of £20 to Lord Penrhyn, Penrhyu Castle, Bangor. Second of £10 to Captaiu II. Piatt, Bryu-y-Newadd, Carnarvon. Highly commended. — H. Bettridge, East Ilanney, Berks. Heifers or Cows, of any age. First prize of £10 to S. Spencer, Suareston, Leicester. Second of £5 to Lord Penrhyn, Penrhyn Castle, Bangor. CROSS, OR MIXED BREED. Steers, not exceeding 3 years old. First prize of £25 to J. Wortley, I'elmingham, Norfolk. Second of £15 to F. 8. Durrant, Wimboteham, Norfolk. Third of £10 to J. C. W. Martin. Highly commended: T. Tait, Crickie, Keith Hall, Aberdeen. Commended: J. D. Allen, Lisbury, Wills. Steers or Oxen, above 3 years old. First prize of £25 to T. Ross, Hillhead, Forres, Morayshire. Second of £15 to W. Scott, Huntley, Aberdeenshire. Third of £10 to A. Pike, Mitton, Gloucestershire. Highly commended : J. T. Senior, Broughton, Aylesbury. Heifers, not exceeding 4 years old. First prize of £20 to E. S. Durrant, Wimbotsham, Norfolk. Second of £10 to R. Bruce, Newton of Strnthers, Forres, Elgin. Highly commended : Her Majesty the Queen. SHEEP. LEICESTERS. Fat wethers, 1 year old (under 23 months). First prize of £20, to Lord Bemers, Keythorpe Hall, Leicester. Second of £15, to W. Brown, Holme-ou-Spal ding- Moor, York. Third of £5, to J. Newman, Harrowden, Bedford. Fat wethers, 1 year old (under 23 months) . Each sheep not to exceed 2201bs. live weight. First prize of £20, to Lord Bemers, Keythorpe Hall, Leicester. Second of £15, to C. J. Bradshaw, Burley-on-the- Hill, Oakham, Rutland. Third of £5. to W. Brown, Holme-on-Spalding-Moor, York. COTSWOLDS. Fat wethers, 1 year old (under 23 months). ' First prize of £20, to C. Kearsey, Glewstone Ross, Hereford. Second of £15, to J. II. Elwes, Colesborne Park, Cheltenham. Third of £5, to executors of the late J. K. Tombs, Langford, Lechlade, Gloucestershire. Commended : J. Williams, Caercaddy. LINCOLNS. Fat wethers, 1 year old (under 23 months). First prize of £20, to T. R. Caswell, Quadring, Spal- ding, Lincolnshire. Second of £15, to J. Pears, Mere, Branston, Lincoln. Third of £5, to W. Swallow, Chapel Farm, Burton-on- Humber, Lincolnshire. Highly commended, G. Caswell, Gosberton, Spalding, Lincoln. Commended, J. Byron, Kirkby Green, Sleaford, Lin- colnshire; T. Pears, Hackthorne, Lincoln. KENTISH OR ROMNEY MARSH. Fat Wethers, 1 year old (under 23 months) . First prize of £15 to J. Newport, Elmsted Court, Ash- ford, Kent. Second of £10 to F. Murton, Smeeth, Ashford, Kent. CROSS-BRED LONG-WOOLS. Fat Wethers, not being Leicesters, Cotswolds, Liucolns, or Kentish, 1 year old (under 23 months). First prize of £15, to J. Newman, Harrowden, Bed- ford. Second of £10, to T. H. Pack, Maidstone, Kent. SOUTHDOWNS. Fat Wethers, 1 year old (under 23 months). First prize of £20 to Lord Walsingham, Merton Hall, Thetford, Norfolk. Second of £10 to II. II. Pcnfold, Chichester, Sussex. Third of £5 to Sir W. Throckmorton, Bart., Backhand Faringdon, Berks. Highly Commended. — Lord Sondes, Thetford, Norfolk. Commended. — The Duke of Richmond, Goodwood. Fat Wethers, 1 year old (under 23 months), each sheep not to exceed 2001bs. live weight. First prize of £15 to Lord Walsingham, Morton Hall, Thetford. Second of £10 to Sir W, Throckmorton, Bart... Buck- land, Faringdon, Berks, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. G3 Third of 65 lo Lord Sondes, Thelford, Norfolk. Highly Commended.— Earl Radnor, Coleahill, High- worth. Commended. — The class generally. Fat Wethers, 2 years old (above 23 and under 25 months). I ir-t prize of 620 to Lord Walsiugham, Mertou Hall, Thetford. Second of £10 to J. Overman, Burnham Sutton, Norfolk. Third of 65 to Duke of Richmond, Goodwood. Highly Commended. — Lord Sondes, Thetford, Norfolk. Commended. — Earl Radnor, Coleskill, Highworth, and W. Taylor, Sussex. HAMPSHIRE OR WILTSHIRE DOWNS. Fat Wethers, 1 year old (uuder 23 months). First prize of £20 to R. and J. Russell, Horton, Kirby, Dart for J, Kent. Second of £15 to J. Russell, Sutton-nt-Howe, Dart- ford, Kent. Third of £5 to L. Lloyd, Monk's Orchard, Adding- ton, Surrey. Highly commended : A. Morrison, Tisburv, Wilts. SHROPSHIRES. Fat Wether 1 year old (under 23 months). First prize of £20 to H. Matthews, Montford, Shrews- bary, Shropshire. Second of £10 to the Executrix of the late J. Beach, Brewood, Penkridge, Staffordshire. Third of £5 to T. Nock, Sutton Maddock, Shiffnall, ^ Shropshire. Highly Commended. — Lord Willoughby de Broke, Compton, Verney, Warwick. Commended. — Earl of Aylesford, Packington Hall, Coventry. Fat Wethers, 2 years old (above 23 and under 35 months). First prize of £15 to H. Smith, Sutton Maddock, Shiffnall, Shropshire. Second prize of £5 to the Executrix of the late J. Beach, Brewood, Penkridge, Staffordshire. OXFORDSHIRES. Fat wethers, 1 year old (under 23 months). First prize of £20 to A. Rogers, Bromhani, Bedford. Second prize of £15, to Edwin Fruemau, of Chilton, Thame, Oxfordshire. Third prize of £5, to Thomas James, of Octagon House, Cople, Bedford. Class highly commended. MOUNTAIN. Fat Wethers (of any White-faced Mountain Breed, of any age). First prize of £15 to W. Smith, Higher Hoopern, Exeter. Second of £10 to J. Tapp, Twitcheu, South Moltou, Devon. Fat Wethers (of any Black-faced or Speckle-faced Moun- tain breed, of any age. First prize of £15 to J. Peel, Kuowlmere Manor, Clitlieroe, Yorkshire. Second prize of £10 to J. Stewart, Newmarket, Aberdeen. RYELAXDS, CHEVIOTS, DORSETS, &c. [Or any other pure breeds not specified iuthe foregoing classes]. Fat Wethers. First prize of £15 to II. Farthing, Nether Stowey, Bridgewater, Somerset. Second prize of £10 to J. B. Downing, Holme Lacy, Hereford. Highly commended : R. Heath, Harris. CROSS-BREDS. Long and Short-woolled Cross-bred fat Wether, 1 Year Old (under 23 months). First prize of £20 to O. Iline, juu., Oakley, Bed- ford. Second of £15 to T. James, Cople, Bedford. Third of £5 to N. Stilgoe, Adderbury, Oxford. Highly commended : F. Street, llarrowden, Bed- ford. Commended : Class generally. Long and Shortwoolled Cross-bred fat Wether, 1 Year Old (under 23 months). Each Sheep not to exceed 2201bs. live weight. First prize of £10 to J. Overman, Burnham Sutton, Norfolk. Second of £5 to Colonel Lloyd Lindsay, Wantage, Berks. PIGS. WHITE BREEDS. Any white breed not exceeding 9 months old. First prize of £10 to T. L. Melville Cartwright, Mel- ville, Fife. Second, of £5, to Her Majesty the Queen, Prince Con- sort's Shaw Farm, Windsor. Above 9 and not exceeding 12 months old. First prize of £10 to Her Majesty the Queen, Prince Consort's Shaw Farm, Windsor. Second, of £5, no entry. Above 12 and not exceeding 18 mouths old. First prize of £10 to Earl of Radnor, Coleshill, High- worth. Second, of £5, to W. H. Dunn, Inglewood, Berks. BLACK BREEDS. Any black breed not exceeding 9 moutlis old. First prize of £10 to T. Chamberlaync, Cranbury Park, Winchester. Second, of £5 to J. Kent, jun., WThyke, Chichester. Above nine and not exceeding twelve months old. — No merit. Above twelve and not excediug cighteeen months old. First prize of £10 to J. Coate, Hammoon, Blandford, Dorset. Second prize of £5. — No entry. ANY OTHER BREED. Not exceeding nine months old. First prize of £10 to J. Roberson, Brayfordbury, Herts. Second prize of £5. — No entry. Above nine and under twelve months old. First prize of £10 to J. Roberson, Brayfordbury, Herts. Second prize of £5 to J. Biggs, Cublington, Beds. Above twelve and not exceeding eighteen months old. First prize of £10 to J. II. Clark, Altwood, Berks. Second of £5 to J. P. King, North Stoke, Berks. EXTRA STOCK. Silver medal to the exhibitor for the best Steer or Ox in extra stock, also £5 prize, to W. Heath, Ludham Hall, Norwich. Highly commended : J. Overman, Burnham Sutton, Norfolk. Commended: E. Farmer, Kyrewood, Worcestershire. Silver medal to the exhibitor for the best Heifer or Cow in extra stock, also £5 prize, to Colonel Towneley, Burnley, Lancaster. Commended : R. Oliver, Towcester, Northampton- shire; T. Chaniberlayne, Cranbury Park, Winchester. Si'ver medal to the exhibitor, for the best Leicester Wether Sheep in Extra Stock, to Lord Berners, Key- thorpc Hall, Leicester. Commended. — C. J. Bradshaw, Burley-on-the-Hill, Oakham. Silver medal to the exhibitor, for the best Leicester 64 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Ewe in Extra Stock, to W. Brown, Holrne-on-Spalding Moor, York. Very highly commended. — Lord Berners, Keythorpe Hall, Leicester. Silver Medal to the exhibitor, for the best Long-woolled Sheep (not Leicester) in extra stock, to F. Sardeson, of Cranwell, Sleaford, Lincoln. Highly commended.— T. Pears, J. H. Casswell, and R. Lane. Silver medal to the exhibitor, for the best Southdown Wether Sheep in Extra Stock, to H. Humphrey, Ash- iue;ton, Sussex. Highly commended.— Lord Walsingham, Merton Hall, Thetford ; and Sir W. Throckmorton, Bart., Buckland, Berks. Commended. — The Duke of Richmond, Goodwood, Sussex ; and W. Rigden, Hove, Sussex. Class generally commended. Silver medal to the exhibitor, for the best Southdown Ewe in Extra Stock, to Lord Walsingham, Merton Hall, Thetford. Highly commended. — Sir W. Throckmorton, Bart., Buckland, Berks ; and H. Sydney Waller, Northleach, Gloucester. Silver medal to the exhibitor, for the best Short- woolled Sheep (not Southdown) in Extra Stock, to T. James, Cople, Bedford. Highly commended.— S. Druce, Eynsham, Oxon ; R. and J. Russell, Horton, Kent; A. Morison, Tisbury, Wilts ; and Sir H. W. Dashwood, Bart., Kfrtliugton Park, Oxford. Silver medal to the exhibitor for the best cross-bred Sheep (long and short-woolled) in extra stock to H.R.II Prince of Wales, Sandringham, Norfolk. Class generally commended. Silver medal to the exhibitor, for the best Pig in Extra Stock, to J. Overman, Burnham Sutton, Norfolk. Commended.— Her Majesty the Queen, Prince Con- sort's Shaw Farm, Windsor. SILVER CUPS. Silver Cup, value £40, to the exhibitor, for the best Steer or Ox in any of the classes, to W. Heath, Ludhara Hall, Norwich. Silver Cup, value £40, to the exhibitor, for the best Heifer or Cow in any of the classes, to the Earl of Hard- wick, Wimpole, Cambridge. Silver Cup, value £20, to the exhibitor, for the best pen of Leicesters, Cotswolds, Lincolns, Kentish, or other long-woolled breed, in any of the classes, to Lord Berners, of Keythorpe Hall, Leicester (Leicesters). Silver Cup, value £20, to the exhibitor, for the best pen of one-year-old South-Downs, Hampshire or Wilt- shire Downs, to Lord Walsingham, Merton Hall, Thet- ford. Silver Cup, value £20, to the exhibitor, for the best pen of Shropshire, Oxfordshire, Cross-breed, or any other breed of Sheep (not specified in prize list) in any of the classes, to Alfred Rogers, of Bromham, Bedford (Oxford Downs). Silver Cup, value £20, to the exhibitor, for the best pen of Pigs fcin any of the classes, to T. Chamberlayne, Cranbury Park, Winchester, Hants. SILVER MEDALS TO BREEDERS. DEVONS, (Silver Medals are given to the breeders of first prize animals in every class. The exhibitor is more frequently the breeder, but it is better to add the names where this is not the case.) To G. Turner (Steer), J. Tapp (Steer), and Mrs. Clarke (Ox). HEREEORDS. To E. Taylor (Steer), E. Urwick (two Steers and Heifer), aud the lateT. Elesmere (Cup Ox). SUSSEX. To G. Pcufold (Heifer). NOREOLK. To E. Farrer (Steer), and the late Mr. Pridgeon (Heifer). SCOTCH-HORNED. To the Duke of Athol (Ox). SCOTCH-POLLED. To A. Stewart (Heifer). CROSSES. To D. Cruickshank (Steer), and J. Read (Heifer). SHEEP (KENTISH). To W. Carter, Ospringe. THE IMPLEMENT SHOW. Marked by the presence of new, aud the absence, by accident, of at least one leading firm, the implement and machine makers mustered in force quite equal to that of former years. With here and there an exception, the business, too, was spoken of as being satisfactory. More noticeable amongst the new and improved imple- ments aud machines were Fowler and Co.'s steam culti- vator for 15 feet breadths, and new arrangement for quick turning ; Howard's traction and ploughing engine and super-heating safety boiler ; Burrell's traction engine, worked with double-chain gearing ; Aveling and Porter's farm locomotive ; Gibbs' wheat- drying apparatus for drying corn in the sheaf; Gooday's thatch-sewing machine ; Amies aud Barford's straw elevator, in model ; Davey's one-way plough ; and Thompson's " rough," for pre- vening horses, in frosty weather, fromfalling. Of roots and seeds there was a fine collection, and the number of stands increased. Wheeler and Co.'s " milky- white" potatoes, and Carter and Co.'s specimens of grasses and corn are worthy of note ; as of course much more so are the collections of Thomas Gibbs and Co., Sutton and Sons, and George Gibbs and Co. The following list of stands and implements exhibited will speak directly to the strength of this department. THE DOWN-STAIRS DEPARTMENT. Sykes, London. — Twenty-two and five-horse power portable steam-engines, one-and-a-half-horse power combined vertical steam-engine; large and small crushing mills for steam-power ; and improved and self-acting saw-benches with circular saws. Robey and Co. (Limited), Lincoln. — Eight and twelve- horse power single and double cylinder portable steam engines, three and six-horse power vertical stationary engines ; im- proved corn-mill, fitted with 3ft. Gin. French burr-stones ; thrashing and finishing machine ; straw elevator with Roper's patent driving arrangement ; and improved sack-lifter. Garrett and Sons, Leiston. — An eight-horse agri- cultural self-moving steam engine for thrashing and con- veying thrashing machines ; six, seven, and eight-horse power improved portable agricultural steam engines ; ten-horse power portable agricultural engine, with extra-stayed boiler for steam cultivation ; ten to thirteen-row Suffolk corn and seed drills, improved general purpose, seed, manure, and ridge roller drills ; one, two, and three-horse iron field-rollers ; improved chaff-cutters, winnowing machines, corn-dressing machines, and lever drag-rake ; corn and hay -rick ventilator ; patent combined finishing and dressing machines for two, six, and eight-horse power ; patent straw elevators for straight and angular delivery; improved corn-grinding mill on iron frame with French burr-stones ; two-horse power bolting thrashing machine complete with driving gear ; two-horse power driving gear for working barn machinery, and intermediate motion for conveying power from ditto. Gibbons, P. and H. P., Wantage, Berkshire. — Seven- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. horse power portable steam engine, and portable combined thrashing machine. Hornsby and Sons, Grantham. — Eight-horse power patent portable steam engine, with contracted steam chamber ; patent combined thrashing, shaking, and finishing dressing machine ; Royal first-prize swathe delivery reaper, patent "Governor" self-raking reapers, "Premier" one-horse back delivery reaper ; " Premier" universal harvester ; combined "Paragon" mower and reaper; rotary corn-screens; patent turnip -cutters ; patent root-pulpers ; ten-row "Great Exhi- bition" prize corn-drill, and assortment of wrought-iron ploughs. T.vsK-ER and Sons, Andover. — Six and eight-horse power portable steam-engines ; single-blast and finishing combined thrashing machines ; " Bury first-prize" winnowing and horse power thrashing machines ; and screw-jack. Barrows and Stewart, Banbury. — An eight-horse power portable steam engine ; double-blast thrashing machine with vibrating screens and bean-thrashing apparatus ; steam cultivator ; lever aud screw-lifting jacks ; endless leather and india-rabber driving bands ; waterproof covers for thrashing macliines ; and portable steam engines. Fowler and Co., Leeds. — Ten and fourteen-horse steam- ploughing engine; six-horse power furrow-balance plough; and cultivator. Burrell, Thetford. — Ten-horse power traction engine with double-chain gearing ; and patent clover and trefoil seed- drawing machine. Clayton, Shuttleworth, and Co., Lincoln. — Eight and twelve-horse power single and double cylinder portable engines, six-horse power portable engine, ten-horse power horizontal fixed engine, ten-horse power double-cylinder traction engine for steam cultivation, portable steam engine mounted for use as a fixture, ten-horse power portable engine and centrifugal pump ; double-blast finishing thrashing machine with set of adjusting blocks ; finishing thrashing machine for small occupations ; portable elevator to deliver at any angle ; corn-mill with iron frame and 3ft. stones ; improved flour-dressing machine ; saw-bench with saw and boring apparatus ; Gillyatt's patent two-row combined liquid- manure and turnip drill ; double-action irrigation or liquid- manure pump ; improved lifting-barrows and jacks ; and rolled-steel patent beater-plates. Humphries, Pershore. — Combined double blast thrashing machine. Underhill, Newport, Salop. — Six-horse power portable steam engine ; six-horse power finishing thrashing machine ; 30-inch patent corn elevator ; wrought iron cultivator ; im- proved horse rake ; combined horse hoe ; colonial plough ; and cheese press. Howard, J. & F., Bedford. — Ten-horse power patent safety boiler and superheater ; twelve-horse power patent traction and ploughing engine ; set of patent steam cultivating apparatus ; set of steam harrows ; an assortment of one and two wheel ploughs for every variety of soil ; ridging plough, potato body, and plough sledge ; sets of three and four beam and flexible or chain harrows, and Whipple tree ; patent horse rake ; hay- making machine, with wire screen ; two-horse mowing and reaping macliiues ; one-horse British reaper with back delivery ; an improved dynamometer ; and stand of models of agricultural implements. Holmes & Sons, Norwich. — Improved eight-horse power portable steam engine ; Bury prize finishing thrashing machine ; corn dressing machines ; corn, seed, and manure drills ; fore steerage to drills ; portable seed sheller for clover and trefoil ; prize manure distributor, circular saw-table, rotary harrow, and broadcast corn sowing machine. The Beverley Iron and Waggon Co. (Limited,) Bever- ley.— Leicester first prize clod crushers, with cast .iron travel ling wheels ; field-rollers ; one, two, and three-horse mowing and reaping machines ; a selection of Newcastle, Leeds, Ply- mouth, and Yorkshire prize one aud two-horse harvest carts and waggons, with harvest raves and ladders ; liquid manure carts and distributors ; pairs of patent cart and waggon wheels and axles ; patent portable farm railway, with end and side- tipping trucks ; single and double roller bone mills ; archime- dean root washers, compound action grain mill, and patent pig trough. Turner, E. R. & F., Ipswich. — Five and ten-horse power portable steam engines ; combined dressing and ^thrashing ma- chines ; grinding and crushing mills for oats, linseed, malt, beans, &c. ; oilcake breakers ; chaff cutters for steam horse or hand power ; gear work with intermediate motion, suitable for pony, bullock, and one, two, or four horses ; and maize or In- dian corn sheller. Aveling & Porter, Rochester. — Twelve-horse power patent steam ploughing engine ; eight-horse power patent agricultural locomotive ; and patent travelling rope porter for steam cultivation. Eddington, A. & W., Chelmsford.— Ten-horse power patent portable steam engine ; an assortment of india rubber cotton canvas, leather, and gutta percha endless driving bands, rolls of leather belting in various widths, and variety of laces. Allchin k Son, Northampton. — Eight-horse |power steel boiler portable steam engine ; three-horse power (low moor fire box), portable steam engine ; and set of six iron screw jacks for portable engines and machines. Ransomes & Sims, Ipswich. — Two eight-horse power economical portable steam engines ; patent combined finishing steam thrashing machine ; adjustable self-cleaning rotary corn screen; one and two-horse light, strong, general purpose, turnwrest, and ridging ploughs ; Biddell's steam and patent combined mills for oats, beans, oilcake, &c. ; Gardener's sin- gle and double action turnip cutters ; Biddell's root pulper and improved chaffcutters ; and improved oilcake breaker. Asiiby & Jeffrey, Stamford. — Six-horse power portable steam engine ; two and four-horse power vertical steam en- gines on upright boiler ; ;;Palmerston haymaker ; new patent horse and wheel hand rakes ; thirty-inch corn grinding mill ; an assortment of chaffcutters for hand, horse, or steam power ; bean and oilcake mills ; single action turnip cutter ; one-horse gear works ; and sets of patent rotating, chain, aud " excelsior" harrows. Ruston, Proctor, & Co., Lincoln. — Eight and twelve- horse power single and double cylinder portable engine ; six- horse power fixed steam engine ; patent combined finishing thrashing machine ; large and small self acting saw tables com- plete ; corn grinding mill, with two pairs of 3 ft, 6 in. stones ; and Woodford's patent centrifugal pump. Woods, Cocksedge, & Warner, Stowmarket. — One, two, four, and six-horse power vertical steam engines, complete ; portable corn grinding mills, with French burr and" peek stones ; universal mills for oats, malt, linseed, barley, wheat, beans, peas, maize, &c, to work by hand, horse, or steam power. Brown & May, Devizes. — Eight-horse power portable steam engine, roller crushing mills ; root graters ; Gardener's single and double action turnip cutters ; one and two-horse works, with seperate intermediate motion ; Phillips patent steam horse or water power pulper ; one-horse carts ; oilcake break- ers for hand or power ; Rumbelow's patent pig troughs ; and portable one-horse pump and gear complete. Marshall, Sons, & Co. (Limited), Gainsborough. — Five, eight, and ten-horse power improved portable steam engines complete ; two-horse power vertical steam engine, with boiler combined, complete ; combined finishing thrashing machine; improved straw elevator ; improved circular saw benches, fitted with boring apparatus, &c, complete ; and improved grinding mill, with 3 ft. 6 iu. French burr stones. Nalder & Nalder, Wantage, Berks. — Five foot combined finishing thrashing machine. Crosskill and Sons, Beverley. — Improved clod-crushers and field rollers ; strong, light, pony, and harvest carts ; three ton pair-horse waggon ; liquid manure cart with portable pump and pipe ; pairs of improved 25 and 30 cwt. wheels and axle ; Bell's improved three-horse reaping machine ; single and double roller bone mills ; improved portable farm railway, with trucks and turntables complete ; fixture and circular pig troughs and improved archimedean root washer. Tye, Lincoln. — Single and double mills, fitted with one and two pairs of 3 ft. 6 in. stones ; and improved prover and stone staff. THE GALLERIES. Cambridge, London. — Models of new patent press wheel roller and clod crusher, and new patent chain harrow. Mason, Ipswich. — Portable boilers and steamers, hand drills, and counter-balance lever horse rake. PIERCE, London. — An assortment of barrow pumps and garden engines ; water, meat, and farmyard barrows ; galva- nized flour and corn bins ; portable agricultural furnace, 66 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. steaming apparatus, and 50 gallon galvanized cistern ; samples of shovels, corn measures, pin', sheep, and cattle troughs, and variety of dairy, si able, and domestic utensils. Penny and Co. (Limited), Lincoln. — Patent adjustable rotary corn screens, combined with complete winnowing and dressing apparatus ; malt, coal, gravel, breeze, and lime screens ; rolls of galvanized woven game netting; specimens of flour dressing wire ; and improved linseed dressing machine. Gibbs, T., and Co., London. — An extensive collection of dried specimens of permanent grasses ; specimens of foreign wheats, barleys, oats, &c, in the ear ; collection of various grasses, clovers, agricultural seeds, and kitchen garden seeds ; and large collection of every variety of agricultural roots. Arnold and Sons, London. — A large and general assort- ment of veterinary instruments and appliances for service in the stable, kennel, and farmyard. Wheeler and Son, Gloucester. — Collection of roots and seeds. Hardon, Manchester. — Hardon's Royal Patent cake and condimental food. Gibbs, G., and Co., London. — A general collection of agricultural roots, samples, and dried specimens of grasses ; and samples of wheat, barley, oats, aud agricultural seeds. Unite, London. — Variety of waterproof-dressed hay, waggon, cart, and load cloths ; assortment of corn, bran, and flour sacks ; assortment ot collar reins, halters, nose-bags, and sack tyers ; samples of sheep and fruit netting, and canvas tubing for manure and other purposes ; and models of rick cloths and marquees for agricultural shows. Day, Son, and Hewitt, London. — Stock breeders' com- plete medicine chests, with " Key to Farriery," chests of " Chemical Extract," for wounds and sore udders in lambing ; chest of " Gaseous Fluid," for colic and gripes in horses, and diarrhoea and debility in sheep and lambs ; chest of " Red Drench," or inflammation powders ; chest of "Red Paste," or condition balls for horses ; tin case of '• Blister Oint- ment," for horses ; tin case of " Aluminate of Zinc," for foot disease in sheep and cattle ; tin case of " Sulphuretted Kxtraet," for scab, mange, and itch in sheep, horses, and pigs ; the " Gaseodyne," for desperate heaving and paining in owes and mares foaling ; the " Husk or lloose mixture," for sheep aud calves ; large and small editions of the " hey to Farriery ;" copies of a lecture on " The Breeding and Management of Sheep," and copies of prize essay on " The Hearing of Calves." Raynbird, Caldecott, Bawtree, Bowling, and Co. (Limited), Basingstoke. — Collection of roots, cereals, tec. Wright and Son, Great Bentley. — Grass specimens and seeds, and agricultural roots and seeds. PAGET, Lower Edmonton. — Models of rick cloths, marquees, and tents ; canvas hay cloths, tarpaulings, and waggon aud cart covers and sheeting ; samples of corn, flour, potato, and bran sacks, and specimens of wheel grease, tyers, ropes, and lines. Alway, Loudon. — Milk coolers, pans, pails, kettles, strainers, and bottles, to hold various quantities ; London, Sussex, field, and tin barrel churns, to make from 41bs. to 401bs. of butter ; and miscellaneous collection of dairy utensils. Duffield, London. — Collection of various sized sycamore box churns, tin and barrel churns, and variety of farm, dairy, aud domestic utensils. White and Co., London. — Specimens of the patent S.L.V. oil-feeders, for applying oil to locomotives and agricultural engines and machinery, artificial dams on the same principle for feeding young lambs, tec. ; specimens of needle lubricators for shafting and bearings of engines; and rolls of improved leather banding, specially prepared for outdoor and other agri- cultural work. Fox and Co., London. — Rolls of fin. to 2in. mesh gal- vanized netting, samples of galvanized wire lattice and wove wire for various purposes, strong, light, and ornamental fence for poultry, sheep, cattle, gardens, tec. ; sheep and cattle hurdles, wicket-gates, and standards ; 30-gallou galvanized swing barrow ; gravel and potato sieves ; and galvanized hen and lattice coops. Beach and Co., Dudley.— Farinaceous food for cattle, sheep, and pigs, and condiment for horses. Bellamy, London.-— Wrought and galvanized iron cisterns for farm or homestead, galvanized hot water tank, circular drinking and wrought-iron cattle, and sheep feeding troughs ; riveted and circular corn bins ; wrought iron carts for liquid manure or rubbish ; and galvanised oil tank for engine use. Corbett, Shrewsbury. — Two Bury St. Edmunds patent prize " Eclipse" combined winnowing machines. Cranstone, Hemel Hempstead. — Portable grindstones for sharpening reaper knives and other agricultural purposes ; and paint mills for grinding colour for farm buildings and outdoor work and implements. Dupree, London. — New sifting machine for seeds, flour, &c, and specimens of machine wire work and sieves. Day and Sons, Crewe. — Black drinks and conditioning draughts for colic or gripes in horses and cattle, purified Driffield oils for wounds and bruises, " Universal" and other medicine chests containing cattle medicine for all ordinary disorders, " Stockbreeder's chest" and " Flockmaster's chest," containing assortments of all Day and Sons' preparations suitable for the farm, tec. Davis and Co., London. — Collection of Admiral Fitzroy's prize medal barometers and thermometers especially adapted for farmers and agricultural purposes. Davis, London. — Samples of new cattle food prepared from brewers' grains, and samples of patent compressed lodder. Allnutt, London. — Copies of the Estates Gazette news- paper ; diagrams showing the average price of wheat weekly and annually ; aud selection of books, instruments, and models relating to agriculture and gardening. The Agricultural, and Horticultural Society, London. — Collection of linseed, cotton, and rape cakes, manures, seeds, and feeding stuffs. Corbett, Wellington, Salop. — Two Bury St. Edmunds prize medal grinding mills, and patent root pulpers and oilcake breakers. Greening and Co., Manchester. — Samples of patent machine-made wire fence, proof against horses, cattle, sheep, hares, rabbits, &c. ; samples of light and strong poultry and sheep-fold fence ; best wrought iron hurdles for sheep, cattle, and light and heavy stock ; specimen rolls of ornamental wire garden fence and bordering ; iron field and garden gates, and samples of wrought iron railings. Dodge, London. — Large rssortment of vulcanized india- rubber and gutta percha machine bands, hose, and tubing suitable for agricultural and other purposes ; iiidiarubber double texture waterproof covers and tarpaulings ; assortment of ditching and malting boots, driving aprons, capes, and coats ; and roll of asphalt roofing felt. Duffield, London. — A variety of butter prints, moulds, slices, tec, for private use, and assortment of pastry and butter rollers. Dye, Westerham, Kent. — Two improved horse, hoes, and improved four-horse scarifier. The Driffield and East Riding Ture Linseed Cake Company (Limited), Driffield. — Samples of pure linseed cake. Eagles and Burn, London. — Two three-horse horizontal steam engines ; and two Eade's patent epieyeloidal pulley blocks, to lift 10 cwt. and a ton. Ferguson, II. and J., London. — Slate manger, cattle trough, cistern, cooler for milk, aud cooler for whey. Harbord, London. — Samples of tanned leather double straps, of various width and length ; samples of tanned and patent leather butts, leather buckets, headstalls, hide gut bands, laces, hide rope, and patent leather and edge bands. Gwynne, London. — Portable and centrifugal pumps for liquid manure, drainage, and irrigation. HARRISON and Son, Leicester. — Collection of agricultural roots and seeds, horticultural seeds, dried grasses, coloured plates, signs, tec. Lyon, London. — Machines for pulping roots, carrots, tec, or horses, cutting meat and biscuits for hounds, and pulping vegetables for poultry. Epgington and Co., London. — Canvas and waterproof cart and waggon covers, gig aprons, and horsecloths ; india- rubber, gutta percha, leather, and hemp driving bands ; sheep folding netting ; flour, corn, and bran sacks, and samples of sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda, superphosphate, fish and blood mannres, waggon grease, engine oil, and boiler compo- sition. Carter and Co., London. — Specimens of swedes, mangels, turnips, cabbage, Italian ryegrass, &c. ; a large assortment of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 67 general farm seeds, packets of" Laxton's Supreme" and other new peas, a varied collection of natural permanent grasses, and specimens of barley, wheat, oats, &c, in straw. Edgington, 15., London. — Hick, hay, waggon, and cart cloths ; woollen and dressed loin and horsecloths ; samples of sheep, rabbit, tanned, and garden netting ; hemp and jute sucks and bags, and models of rickcloths and marquees for agricultural shows, Kc. " Kinc, Coggeshall. — Collection of seeds and roots. Taylor, Manchester. — Improved hexagon eccentric churns, from 12 to 25 gallons. King, London. — Rick, hay, waggon, cart, and waterproof cloths, and for covering machinery; four, five, and eight- bushel corn, bean, and potato sacks ; samples of india-rubber and canvas driving bands, and hose piping; sheep, rabbit, and garden netting ; cotton waste, roofing felt, and models of marquees and rickcloths. Sutton and Sons, Reading. — Large collection of natural grasses, and grasses in growth, showing their germinating powers ; field specimens of Sutton's Yellow Globe Berkshire Prize, Mammoth Long Red, Yellow Intermediate, and other mangel wurzels; field specimens of swedes, turnips, kohl rabi, and other agricultural roots ; large assortment of the principal varieties of the potato cultivated in England ; and collection of parsnips, carrots, onions, &c., suited for garden and farm cultivation. Owens and Co., London. — Steam pumping engine, Ber- nay's patent centrifugal pump, Cassiobury fire extinguisher, Townsend's pail extinguisher, single and double barrel well ; cottage, liquid manure, and other pumps in great variety ; fire engines force pumps, and garden engines ; improved hydraulic pumps, boring tools, pulley blocks for rope and chain, gal- vanised iron pails, india rubber suction and delivery hose, and models of hydraulic ram and water wheel and pump. St. Pangeas Iron Works Company, London. — Wrought iron stall and loose box divisions aud fronts, manger racks and water troughs ; specimens of yellow deal boardings, wrought iron gutter and capping, patent stable paving bricks and tiles ; sets of harness brackets and headstall fastenings ; collection of patent collar bar sheep, cattle, and ox hurdles ; wrought iron wicket, field, and hurdle gates, and set of im- proved iron fittings for cow stalls. Hancock, Dudley. — Several sizes of butter machines, suit- able for dairy, private families, schools, hotels, aud ships ; do- mestic press for mashing fruit, potatoes, turnips, and carrots ; aud tliree sizes of Hancock's tincture press. Cullingford, Stratford. — Samples of cocoa-nut fibre, hemp, aud jute hemp sheepfoldiug net ; batfolding and bird nets and traps ; rabbit nets and poultry feucing, waggon and rick cloths, and roll of wire net two feet wide. Tinkler, Penrith. — Six sizes of patent churn, with new patent Napier dashes. Burney and Co., Millwall. — Strong wrought iron cisteru, to hold 400 gallons ; liquid manure cart, to hold 200 gallons ; wrought iron cattle troughs, to hold from 50 to 100 gallons ; one and two quarter wrought iron corn bins, galvanised tanks, and cisterns, and Edinger's constant supply cisterns. Barton, London. — Three ornamental stall ramp divisions ; sets of improved patent stable fittings; eleven-inch improved pot grating ; nine, ten, and eleven-inch horse and mare pots ; and wood framed showboard, containing saddle and harness brackets, hooks, &c. Coultas, Grantham. — 6 ft. 6 in. twelve-row general pur- pose drill ; 6 ft. 6 in. twelve-row corn drill, and 0 ft. four-row turnip and liquid drill. Ball, North Kelworth, Rugby. — Cart for agricultural pur- poses. Brown and Green, Luton, Bedfordshire. — Improved fodder harrow, and new pheasant feeder. Tree and Co., London. — Cattle gauge and key to the weighing machine, cattle gauges adapted for any market, farmer's slide rule and cattle gauges, improved telescope draining level, agricultural barometer, and patent horse clipper. Ray, Mead, and Co., London. — Two two-and-a-half and four horse power horizontal engine, boiler, and stand, com- plete ; four bushel corn bin, galvanized iron wheelbarrow, and galvanized pails. Roby, Bury St. Edmund's. — Two patent haymakers, new self-acting horse rake, corn screens with Gratton and Abbott's adaptation, corn dressing machine and screen combined, barley haveller, malt and gravel screens, and pair of patenl wheels. Lloyd and Sons, Loudon. — Hand Hour mill and dressing machines, corn crushers fitted with steel rollers, corn grinding mills, linseed grinding mills, drug mills for horse and cattle medicines, and post corn grinding mills. IIolgate, London. — Leather mill bands, hose, buckets, cart harness, and laces. Brown and Co., London. — New patent lawn mowers, with twelve to forty 2-inch cutters, to be worked by a boy, man, or horse ; improved galvanized wire and sheep netting, pecimens of galvanized trellis wirework and ornamental por- table fencing, wrought iron hurdles and straining pillars, and specimens of field, entrance, carriage, and wicket gates. Cornes and Co., Nantwich, Cheshire. — An assortment of chaft" cutting machines for hand aud horse power. Wilderspin, Elsworth, Cambridgeshire. — Horse rake. Moser and Son, London. — Five sizes of Bowden's patent forge, large and small bellows, and machine for straining fencing wire. Peene, Braintree. — Four sizes of root graters, oilcake breaker, chaffcutter for hand power, double torn and furrow plough, furrow hoe, Rayne plough, and six round pig troughs. Parham, Bath. — An assortment of strained wire fencing, with wrought iron winding straining pillars ; five-barred con- tinuous fence ; five and six-barred field, lawn, and ornamental entrance gates ; pair of wrought iron self-fixing posts and bases ; pair of fluted cast iron posts for gate ; and strong cast iron mangers for cart horses. Hughes and Sons, London. — French and peak runner millstones, 4< feet diameter, with bed stone to match ; 3 feet Newcastle griudstone, smut machines ; iron prover, mahogany stone staffs, machine brushes, pulley blocks, com measures, sack barrows, leather driving bands, mill bills, smut and kiln wire, tube brushes, lifting jacks, machinery oil, and case of sundry spanners. Stagey and Sons, Uxbridge. — An assortment of chaffcutters of various power, one and two horse power gear, and barley hummeller. Tangye Brothers and Holman, London. — Four horse power horizontal agricultural steam engine ; special steam pumps of various power ; an assortment of land, house, and Britannia force pumps ; bundle of Niagara farces, hydraulic tree-stump extractor, Holman's patent duplex steam pump, hydraulic hay press, and bundle of hose pipes and pails. Rosher, F. and G., London. — Collection of stable pavings, channel bricks, aud gutter tiles, glazed wall tiles, garden border edging tiles and wall bricks, agricultural drain pipes, drain traps, and roofings for farm buildings. Smith, Foston Lowthorpe. — 12 ft. self feeding sheep rack, and 12 ft. hay rack. Johnston, Loudon. — Assortment of improved butter churns, to make from one to thirty pounds; yokes aud straps, wood and till milk pails, aud cases of butter prints, knives, and beaters. Amies and Barford, Peterborough. — Royal Society's first prize Leicester land roller, second prize clod crusher, general purpose Cambridge pattern roller and crusher, patent water ballast garden rollers, portable farmers' steaming appa- ratus, com grinding mills, Bury first prize oilcake mills ; and model of new straw, hay, and corn elevator. Burgess and Key, London. — Mowing machine for meadow grass, combined machine for grass or com, reaping machines with sheaf and swathe delivery, and reaping machine with hand delivery. Salmon, Beraiondsey. — Samples of manures. Simpson, London. — Samples of " Simpson's cattle spice," and sundry samples of feeding compounds. Smith, Kettering. — New patent prize horse hoe with lever, Paris prize medal horse hoc, newly constructed horse hoe for hoeing all kinds of cropping, and collection of prize and other grindstones for sharpening reaping machine knives. Nicholson, Newark. — One and two horse power vertical steam engines and boilers complete, five sizes of Nicholson's patent haymaking machines, horse rakes, new patent safety cake breakers, patent cake mills for hand and steam power, sack lifter and weighing machine combined, 24 inch garden roller, collection of com shovels, and new land roller with turn- table shafts. Samuelson's & Co., Banbury.— Self raking reaper, grass mowers, combined reaper and mower; one and two-horse 68 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. "Eclipse" reaper, single and double action turnip cutters, chaff cutter, and lawn mowers. Norms & Co., Shadwell. — A large collection of single and double leather bands and waterproof leather belting ; fire hose and buckets, and boxes of patent wood packing, band screws, and fasteners. Newton, Bermondsey. — Samples of artificial manures ; and asphalte roofing felt. Mitchell & Burgess, Manchester. — Patent machines for sharpening mowers and reapers, emery composition files for sharpening the reaper or mower knife ; patent machine for grinding and sharpening the fingers of mowers and reapers ; and registered wrought iron stand for holding the section of mowers and reapers while being sharpened. Ransome & Co., London, — An assortment of Weston's patent pulley blocks, sets of London pattern pulley blocks ; Weston's patent sack hoists, agricultural lifting, and hydraulic sets ; lubricators ; steam gauges ; rolls of leather belting ; patent boulder for steaming roots ; lawn sweeping machine ; and samples of Long's " non-poisonous" specific. Kittoe & Brotherhood, London. — Four-horse power horizontal steam engine ; six-horse power cheap steam engine ; steam pumping engine for raising water ; and a feed pumping engine for supplying boilers. Priest & Woolnough, Kingston-on-Thames. — Nine, eleven, and thirteen-row drills ; turnip and manure drills ; patent broadcast manure distributor ; drill for grass seeds, with 24 rows, and patent lever horse hoes. Bentall, Maldon. — Patent horse gear and thrashing machines ; improved oilcake mills ; corn and seed crushers ; Gardener's improved double and single action turnip cutters ; improved disc pulpers and slicers ; sets of harrows ; and as- sortment of ploughs. Hosken & Pilditch, London. — An assortment of injectors; india rubber valves ; washers, and hose ; pulley block ; and sample of tube brushes. Maynard, Whittlesford, uear Cambridge. — Patent portable steam power lifting chaff engine. Sheen, Aylesbury. — Chaff cutting macliines for hand, horse, and steam power ; horse power for driving machines ; eight row steerage Woburn drill ; intermediate motion for horse works ; and sack barrow. Hepburn and Sons, Southwark. — Lengths of stout double leather and composite bands and belting ; lengths of india- rubber bands for portable engines ; hose and branch pipes, and leather fire buckets. Hunter, Maybole, Ayrshire, N.B. — Sets of Dickson's new patent double-drill turnip cleaners. Riches, Norwich. — New self-acting hay and corn gatherer ; hexagon sheep feeding rack on wheels ; improved one-horse water cart, steam and grinding mills ; new hand-power Hour dressing machine, and cider mill and press. Reynolds, London. — Sample lengths of poultry fence, poultry hurdles ; samples of folding lattice, coops, wire netting, rat-proof wire lattice, chicken food protectors, and pea and seed protectors. Carson and Toome, Warminster. — An assortment of chaff engines for hand, horse, and steam power ; Moody's patent turnip cutters, oiicake crushers, prize horse-hoes, cheese presses, and horse-gear. Whitmee and Co., London. — Corn crushers for hand, horse, and steam power ; corn-grinding mills for horse, hand, or steam power ; domestic flour mills in several sizes ; French burr stone mills for horse and steam power, and pairs of three and four feet French burr stones. Hitchcock, Bury St. Edmunds. — An assortment of teather bands, thongs, fasteners, pulleys, and adhesive composition for preserving leather. Morton and Co. (Limited), Liverpool. — Models and drawings of iron roofing for agricultural purposes ; farm fencing, gates, and iron buildings, hay barns, stores, &c. Hill and Smith, Brierley Hill. — Improped skim or culti- vator ; wrought iron sheep racks, troughs, and cattle cribs ; wrought-iron wheelbarrows, field gates, pillars, and piers ; patent rotary gravel screen on wheels ; samples of flat and round bar hurdles, and continuous fencing ; stall division for cow house ; an improved sheep shed, with fodder rack and trough ; and samples of galvanized and japanned game-proof wire netting. Boyd and Co., Loudon.— Samples of improved fencing and hurdles ; wrough iron field, garden, wicket, and carriage gates ; au assortment of Boyd's patent brush and self-adjusting lawn mowers ; brass models of lawn mowers ; rolls of fencing wire, chaffcutters, corn bin for sundries, and samples of iron coated with Boyd's black varnish. Bryan, Corcoran, and Co., London. — Specimens of French runner millstones for agricultural purposes, grinding coprolites, &c. ; mill bills, stone staffs, cast iron stone roof, and jack sticks; the "Premier" combined smut and wheat cleaning machine ; the " Excelsior " vertical smut machine ; mahogany flour cylinder ; samples of flour machine brushes ; Swiss silk, smut, wire, and sack marks ; weighing machine, shovels, sack-hoisting chain, pulley-blocks; corn measures, from a bushel to a gill ; sieves, chronchometers, lubricators, grindstones , leather driving bands, and cart and waggon covers. The Tanned Leather Company, London. — An extensive assortment of single and double leather driving straps for agricultural aud other machinery, strap laces, &o. Headley & Son, Cambridge. — Five sizes of new patent hydraulic apparatus for watering gardens, extinguishing fires, &c. ; newly improved cattle and pig troughs, and a new porta- ble reaping machine, combined knife rest, vice anvil, and one gripping drill. Cottis & Sons, Epping. — "Paragon" chaff cutters, for hand and horse power, expanding iron horse hoes for one and two horses, iron trucks, harrows, troughs, and galvanized iron barn shovels. Smyth & Sons, Peasenhall. — An " eclipse" corn drill, with steerage, and lever corn, genera! purpose, and turnip and ma- nure drills. Jones, Gloucester. — Gloucestershire specific for foot rot in sheep ; composition for waterproofing ; and chemical essence for cuts aud wounds in cattle, horses, sheep, and dogs. Watson, Pimlico.— An assortment of sheep shears, hay forks, scythes, and portable machines for weighing beasts, &c. Matthews, Sons, & Co., Driffield. — Samples of new corn- feeding cake, linseed and cotton-seed cakes, and cakes made from barley, peas, beans, wheat, tares, and locust-beans. Handley, Stepney. — French burr millstones, provers, mill chisels, grain separators, seed sowers, lubricators, &c. Gooday, Great Leigh, Chelmsford. — Multiple-needle sewing machine, arranged for stitching straw or other material for covering ricks, brick stacks, &c. Davey, Crofthole, Devonport. — Two patent " excelsior" turnwrest ploughs. Smith, Ipswich. — Au assortment of newly improved horse- rakes, cultivators, light and strong beam harrows, and model of newly improved sheep-feeding rack. Bamlett, Thirsk. — Working models of Bamlett's reaping and mowkg machines Hart & Co., London.— A large collection of patent portable weighing machines for agricultural and general use. Wilkins, Ipswich. — One, three, and six horse power hori- zontal steam engines ; two-horse power portable steam engine, grinding mill on four wheels, straightway stop valve, and three-inch plank pump. Waide, Leeds. — Four revolving barrel-churns, to make from two to 401bs. of butter. Tupper & Co., London. — Wrought-iron painted and gal- vanized cisterns and cattle troughs ; corrugated galvanized, iron sheet for roofing ; patent tiles ; models of corrugated - iron roofs and fencing, and galvanized pails and corn-bins. Trowbridge, London. — Weighing machines for agri- cultural use, steelyards, dairy scales, corn measures, sack trucks, dairy machines, lever machines for seeds, aud machine for barn use. Thompson, London. — An improved method for preventing horses from falling in frosty or slippery weather ; to be applied without the shoe being prepared in any way. Kitmer, Louth, Lincolnshire. — Two corn-dressing and blowing machines. Hunt and Pickering, Leicester. — Oilcake breakers, steel roller corn crushers, chaff cutters, turnip cutters, pulpers, sets of horse geariug whippletrees, iron ploughs, and turnip slicer and stripper combined. Hodgson, Louth, Lincolnshire. — Sets of duck feet harrows, bundles of hay forks, collection of handsome draining tools> and bundles of manure, digging, and pitch forks. Gibbs, Sewardstone, Essex. — Models of agricultural steam tHB FARMER'S MAGAZINE. engine, atmospheric hoists or elevators, wheat dryer, and iron shed for drying wheat, hay, and other crops in wet seasons. Nye & Co., London. — Machines for pulping roots, making lard, &c, and machine for crushing hones for poultry. Reeves, R. & J., Westbuty. — Liquid manure, seed, corn, and small occupation drills, broadcast manure distributor, im- proved water cart and pump, Richard's patent water cart, and improved barrow pump and pipes. Hall, Westhury. — Specimens of Hall's swedes, mangels, carrots, turnips, and other agricultural roots and seeds. Taylor and Co., London. — An assortment of chaff machines, oat, malt, and bean crushers, combined pulper stripper and sheer, improved pulper corn bins, American churns, oilcake breaker, and winnowing and blowing machine. Herbert and Sons, London. — Corn, hay, potato, and other weighing machines, permanent platform weighing machines, scales and weights, corn and seed measures, sack hand harrows, and assortment of balances and steelyards. RICHES AMD Watts, Norwich. — Travelling grinding mills for power, original pattern American grist mills, " Eureka" grinding mills for hand, horse, and steam power, universal mill for hand power, American grain separator, improved water cart, American horse rake, and screw lifting and carriage jacks. Hayes and Son, Stamford. — Royal Society's and Paris Exhibition first prize Plymouth one and two horse carts, and Royal Society's first prize agricultural waggon. Le Butt, Bury St. Edmunds. — Patent double-action Champion haymakers, fitted with wood or iron wheels ; re- gistered self-acting seed drills, with and without registered elf-marker ; registered hand seed drills for two rows ; registered everlasting malt screens, lamb hurdles, and rest for holding reaper knife while being sharpened. Warren, Maldon Esses. — Seven sizes of Star chaff cutters, oilcake mills, turnip spreader, bean mill, set of horse works, and North Essex wood and iron ploughs with two wheels. Larkworthy & Co., Worcester. — Five iron ploughs, mould- ing or ridging plough, pairs of patent " Excelsior" duck -footed drags, sets of patent " Excelsior" harrows and drag harrows, wrought-iron cattle feeding cribs, and sheep rack with iron top. Sawney's Trustees, Beverley. — Royal prize winnowing, blowing and screening machine ; sack elevator ; improved prize sheep racks ; and improved and farmer's treadle grindstones. WEDLAKE,Hornchurch aud Romford. — Three horse power portable steam engine ; thrashing machine with 4*-ft. drum ; one, two, and four horse adjustable intermediates and horse gear ; patent hay machine ; horse and stubble rake ; chaff cutters ; corn mill ; and circular saw-bench and augurs. Cambridge & Co., Bristol. — An assortment of patent chain and combined tine and chain harrows, several sizes of the " Cambridge" notched and plain wheel rollers, sets of Sea- man's tine harrows, improved winnowing machines, one and two horse gear, two-horse thrashing machine, three-wheel iron frame land presser, and improved horse rake. Denton, Wolverhampton. — Sets of chain harrows, adjust- able chain harrow on carriage, horse works made entirely of iron, and vices for sharpening reaping-machine knives. Gilbert, Abingdon. — Eleven coulter improved Suffolk corn drill, and clover-seed box to attach to corn drill. Hobbs, Basingstoke. — Improved corn grinding, bean, and oilcake mills, combined sack barrows and elevators, improved chaff cutters, one-horse gear, iron wheel and water barrows, and liquid manure pump. Ball & Son, Rothwell. — One and two horse prize carts and waggons, prize ploughs for light and heavy land, general pur- pose ploughs, iron scarifier or scuflier, and set of general pur- pose harrows. Baker, Compton, near Newbury. — Liquid manure carts and distributors, pump with 12 ft. suction hose, and improved water cart. Rollins, London. — American spring-tooth wheel horse rake, American grindstones and pond scythe stones, American hayrakes, samples of American hayforks and shovels, Ame- rican, corn-dressing machines, American thermometer churns, farmyard pumps and fire-engines, pumps and hydraulic rams, Burrell's American corn sheller, Pairbank's American sack- weighing machines, side-hill ploughs, and self-rake reaping machine. Wood, London. — Two Royal first -prize grass-mowiug ma- chines, Royal first-prize one-horse reaping machine, and grindstone for mowing-machine knives. Hunt, Earl's Colne, Essex.— Steam-power clover and trefoil seed-drawer, three sizes of one and two horse gear with inter- mediate motion, corn and seed dressing-machines, prize oil- cake breakers, Gardiner's single and double-action turnip cut- ters, four sizes of disc root -pulper, and two-screw lifting jacks. Page, Bedford. — Drainage pipe, tile, and brick machine ; chaff cutting machines for hand and steam power ; linseed cake mills, bean mill, disc root pulpers, and set of new patent drag harrows. Croggon, London. — Samples of roofing and inodorous felt, improved garden pumps, wire netting, pails and cisterns, shovels and digging forks, and models of iron and felt buildings. Bkenton, St. Germans, Cornwall. — Reaping machine, and two sheep racks. Warner and Son, London. — A large assortment of manure, force, domestic, and other pumps ; fire engines, annihilators, garden aquajects, and all necessary tackle ; and model of wind engine, for pumping, thrashing, &c. Bradford, London and Manchester. — Collection of patent counter current and midfeather churns, improved wrought iron portable boilers, and sets of improved pulley blocks, James, Tivoli, Cheltenham. — Prize liquid manure pumps and distributors, improved clod crushers, an assortment of gapping drills, and best flexible rubber suction pipe for manure pumps. Powis and Co., Millwall. — An improved self-acting circular saw bench. Dell, London. — Complete wheat cleaning machine, smut machine, and separator ; Paris Exhibition " Eclipse" and " Unique" smut machines ; pairs of French Burr and other millstones ; flour dressing machine complete, weighing ma- chines and scales, corn measures, cart and waggon covers, prover and proof staff, Bradshaw's patent centre bar for hanging millstones, an improved crane for lifting millstones, improved swivel carriage for trucking millstones, and a variety of articles connected with the milling trade. Picksley, Sims, and Co., Leigh, Lancashire. — An assort- ment of chaff cutting machines for hand, horse, and steam power ; post oat and bean mills, steel grinding mills, crushing mills ; pulping, stripping, and slicing machines ; treble-action turnip cutter, oilcake breaker, one-horse gear and motion complete, and two-horse Lancashire clipper (new) mowing machine. Downing, London. — Five sizes of chaff cutting machine, double-action turnip cutter, root pulper, oilcake mill ; mills for bruising and crushing oats, beans, maize, linseed, &c. ; grindstone mounted on frame, portable weighing machine, iron corn bins, manure and other pumps, and assortment of buckets, measures, shovels, forks, &c. Haynes and Son, London. — Collection, in various sizes, of the patent " Hydrouette," for watering gardens, green houses, conservatories, &c, and for fire extinguishment. Richmond and Chandler, Salford. — Large and varied assortment of chaff cutters and corn crushers for hand, horse, and steam power ; new two and one horse gear ; root washer ; and steaming apparatus, with thirty gallon boiler and four bushel pan. Coleman and Morton, Chelmsford. — Two cultivators for mixed soils, with or without side lever ; improved water cart complete ; patent oilcake cutters for hand or steam power ; patent adjustable rotary com screen and separator ; improved one-horse gear and intermediate, and samples of shares for cultivators. Baker, Wisbeach. — Combined winnowing and screening machine ; combined corn dressing machines for power, corn winnowing machine, and pair of patent spring elastic rakes. Smith and Grace, Thrapston. — Steam, horse, and hand power grist mills ; oat and bean mills ; and steam, horse, and hand-power chaff cutters. Braggins, Banbury. — Collection of handsome entrance, school or churchyard, park, field and garden gates, with iron- work complete. 68 THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SMITHFIELD CLUB. The annual meeting of the members of the Smithfield Club was held on Tuesday, December 8, in the Club Rooms, at the Agricultural Hotel. The chair was taken by the Earl of Hard- wicke. The minutes of the last meeting having been read and con- firmed, The Hon. Secretary (Mr. Brandreth Gibbs) read the re- port of the Council, which was as follows : — The Council beg to lay before the general meeting their annual report for the past year. The Council has held four meetings, which have been as usual well attended. In addi- tion to the ordinary business of the Club, the following sub- jects have had their consideration : — 1. The regulations which should be enforced in order to guard against the introduction and spread of the cattle plague. The Council therefore in March last requested the President to transmit the following resolution to the Select Committee appointed by the House of Commons— viz., " That this Coun- cil approves of the principle of the Metropolitan foreign Cattle Market Bill introduced by Her Majesty's Government, and is of opinion that all fat animals imported should be slaughtered at the port of debarcation. And lean live stock should be subject to such a period of quarantine as would pre- clude the possibility of the re-introduction of the cattle plague." 2. The preparation of the prize sheet for the present year. — It was deemed expedient to alter the wordingj of the class for Long-wool Sheep, not being Leicesters, Cotswolds, Lin- colns, or Kentish, and to substitute in place thereof a class for Cross-bred Long-woolled Sheep ; also in place of all breeds of 1'igs going into the same classes, it was resolved to have three divisions as follows— one for white breeds, one for black breeds, one for other breeds, each division to be sub-divided into the ordinary classes. 3. The Council considered it would be advisable for the live weight of animals exhibited at the Show to be ascertained and made public, and they have therefore provided a weighbridge for that purpose. 4. The Implement Committee have revised the rules of ex- hibition in the Implement Department, and by the slight ad- dition to the charge per superficial foot in the galleries and down-stairs a considerable increase has been made in the an- nual revenue. 5. The new Dining-hall being ready for the Club's use this year, the Council determined to try the experiment of having a luncheon in place of the anniversary dinner. This will take place at 2 o'clock, immediately after the close of the general meeting, and it is hoped that the new arrangement will enable a large assemblage of the members being present. 6- _ It having been represented that the existing restrictions prohibiting cattle leaving the metropolitan boundary would have a prejudicial influence on the sales of the animals ex- hibited at the present Show, the Council, having regard to the general freedom from cattle-plague at the present time, deter- mined to endeavour to obtain a relaxation of the Orders of Privy Council in this respect in favour of animals exhibited at the Club's Show, and a deputation was appointed to wait on the Lord President of the Council to represent the matter, and to place in his hands the following resolution : " That the Council expresses its opinion that all cattle exhibited at the Smithfield Show should, under proper regulations, be allowed to be removed into the country at the close of the Show." The Council have the satisfaction of reporting that this re- quest has been granted, subject to the following conditions contained in the Order of Privy Council granting the licence for the Show to be held : " Cattle which have been exhibited at the exhibition may be moved alive out of the metropolis with the licence of the Commissioner of Police of 'the metropolis, which licence such Commissioner is hereby empowered to grant, and, if he thinks fit, to revoke. Such licence shall only be granted upon the production of a certificate of health, signed by one of the veterinary surgeons of the exhibition, certifying uiat such cattle do not exhibit any indication of infectious or contagious disease, and also of a certificate subjoined to the certificate of health, and signed by the person appointed as Pass-master for the Exhibition, certifying that the cattle de- sired to be so moved have been exhibited at the exhibition. The cattle shall be conveyed, without stopping, from the exhi- bition out of the metropolis in properly constructed cattle-vans, or if they are moved out of the metropolis by railway, then they shall be conveyed in such cattle-vans, without stopping, to the railway station, and there be transferred from such vans directly to the railway truck. If any such cattle while in the metropolis come accidently or otherwise in contact with any cattle other than cattle which have been exhibited at the ex- hibition, they shall not be moved out of the metropolis, but shall be slaughtered within its limits. All cattle which are ex- hibited at the exhibition, and are not moved out of the metro- polis under this order, shall be slaughtered on or before the 23rd day of December, 1868." 7. The Council determined to order a reprint, at the Club's expense, of the History of the Club, which was written by the Honorary Seoretary in 1857, he having expressed his willing- ness to carry it up to the present date, and a copy of this has been transmitted to each member of the club. 8. The Council has determined that the report on the ani- mals exhibited at the show shall be continued, and a copy furnished to each member, as last year. 9. The Council lay before the meeting the annual audited balance-sheet of the club, from Dec. 1st, 1867, to Dec. 1st, 1868. The total amount received, less life com- positions £3187 Oil The total ordinary expenditure 2962 9 0 £224 11 11 The number of implements exhibited in the uew bays being so large as to greatly impede the view of the live-stock from the galleries, the stewards deemed it their duty, under these exceptional circumstances, to admit the exhibitors and members to the gangway in front of the heads of the animals in the body of the hall. In conclusion, the Council congratulated the club on the increase in the number of entries for the present show, which is beginning again to approach the magnitude to which it had attained previous to the first appearance of the cattle plague in tliis country. By order of the Council (Signed) B. T. Brandreth Gibbs, Hon. Secretary. On the motion of Mr. J. Clayden, seconded by Mr. C. Cantrell, the report was adopted. Mr. Mill ward moved the election of the Earl of Powis as president for the year 1870. Mr. Torr seconded the motion, which was carried unani- mously. On the motion of Mr. C. S. Bead, M.P., seconded by Mr. Painter, the vice-presidents were re-elected, with the addi- tion of the names of the Marquis of Exeter, Lord Penrhyn, and the Earl of Aylesford. The trustees having also been re-elected, Mr. R. H. Ell- man proposed the re-election of Mr. Brandreth Gibbs as Honorary Secretary, with thanks to him for his past services, and the publication of the continuation of his history of the Club. Mr. Shuttlewortii seconded the motion, which was carried by acclamation. In place of the eight members of the Council who retired, and who will not be eligible for re-election until the expiration of the year, namely — Messrs. Joseph Druce, Thos. Duckham, Samuel Jonas, Richard Milward, John Painter, William Rigden, Richard Stratton, and Thomas Twitchell — the following gentlemen composing the House List were appointed : Messrs. Hugh Aylmer, Johu Beasley, C. S. Bigge, John Clayden, Charles Howard, Wm. Ladds, Chas. Randell, and Jacob Wilson. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 71 Mr. Duckham moved that the following rule for the selec. tiou of judges be rescinded: "Tin1 judges shall be appointed by the Council." — And that it be, substituted thus: "The judges shall be nominated by the Council, and appointed by a judges' selection committee." lie said he felt that this latter alteration, small as it might appear in itself, was one of con- siderable importance to the future welfare of the Club, lie should be sorry to say anything that might appear to reflect on the manner in which any member of the council had acted in previous years, but be felt that it was highly desirable thta gentlemen who were not exhibitors and not about to enter into competition for any of the prizes which were offered by the Club should be the class of persons from among whom the judges should be selected. Under the existing regulations the selection of judges was made by the council at a full council board, and sometimes perhaps without that consideration whice such an important matter deserved. lie submitted that for the future the council should have the power of nominating, and that the selection of the judges should rest entirely in the ] lands of a judges' selection committee, who should be ap- pointed by the council of the Club. Were he to give an opin- ion as to whom the selection committee should consist of, he should certainly suggest the stewards of the live stock, who were by a rule of the Club proliibited from exhibiting during the period of their stewardship. He thought also that the nomination by the council should be made some few days or a week previous to the meeting of the judges' selection com- mittee, so that the Honorary Secretary would have an oppor- tunity of examining the entries, and of ascertaining whether or not there was auy reason why he should represent that some of tlie parties might be interested in the appointment of the judges. Mr. Wilmore, in seconding the motion, observed that the « selection used to be left entirely to the stewards, and be thought there was then seldom any cause to find fault. Everyone was aware that the stewards could not exhibit, and hence the selection made by them did not admit of any improper motive being insinuated. Mr. Beasley said since be became a member of that club a great many different plans had been adopted with regard to the judges, and he was convinced that the best plan was that of making the stewards personally responsible, the names not being brought before the council at all (Hear, hear). He did not mean to say that they had not always had very good judges, and he believed they could not have better ones than they had at the present Show ; but the plan which be had mentioned appeared to him the best, and by reverting to it they would, he thought, get rid of all difficulty. He then moved an amend- ment to the effect that in future the judges should be ap- pointed solely by the stewards. Mr. Millward said he could not help feeling surprised at Mr. Duckham' s proposal, for if his memory were correct that gentleman was one of the most active opponents of the old plan ; and when it was proposed to alter it expressed himself very strongly in favour of the system which had worked so well. He (Mr. Millward) felt certain that the selection of judges bad never been so good as it was under the old rule, and when the alteration was proposed he challenged any one to mention a single judge during all the years the rule had existed who did not perform bis duties in an efficient and satisfactory manner. Mr. C.S. Read, M.P., begged to ask Mr. Duckham whether he wished to deprive members of the club of the power which they now possessed of nominating judges — whether, in fact, he would confine it to members of the council. Mr. Duckham replied, that it was confined to members of the Council at present. Lord Bridport begged to inform Mr. Duckham that any member of the Club might send up the name of any gentleman whom he considered tit to be a judge, and when that was done, the recommendation was sure to be taken into consideration by the Council. Mr. Woods said, although he felt quite sure that Mr. Duckham and Mr. Beasley were both actuated by the best possible mo- tives, yet he could not agree with either of them. On the one hand, he thought the old system, the working of which he ob- served very carefully, was never satisfactory to exhibitors ; and on the other, he believed, that of having the judges proposed in Council had worked remarkably well. He had heard very few complaints of the present system, which seemed to have given general satisfaction ; and lie thought it would be a rather dangerous flung cither to go hack to the old principle of selection, which he ventured to affirm, did not work satis- factorily, or to jump into the new mode of proceeding, now pro- posed. Mr. Torr believed that no one did more to originate the present system of selection than Mr. Duckham, and he must really congratulate him on having discovered that for once he was slightly in error (laughter). There were other ways besides that now suggested, of avoiding the absolute appoint- ment of judges by the stewards. If the stewards for the time being had the power of nominating, and their nomi- nation were submitted to some other tribunal to be appointed, there would then be a combination which would obviate the objections now raised. Having been a steward, he could de- clare that he made great efforts to secure a clever and suitable person for the office of judge, ransacking, as it were, the whole country to secure the right man. It must be recollected that there was formerly room for jealousy which did not exist now. The llerefords, Shorthorns, and Devons were at one time classified according to age. There was great jealousy, therefore, when a Shorthorn was judged by a Here- ford man, or vice versa. Now it only required a man who was really a judge of form and quality, to put the right Shorthorn in the right place ; and the same might be said with regard to the Herefords and the Devons. When they came to the cups and brought in the whole body of judges they might surely expect that there would be no dissatisfaction. The present system did not work well for this reason, that the nomination was too large (" No, no"). The list was certainly very large. His idea was that the appointment should not rest with the three stewards, but that the nomination should ; and if their nomination were made subject to the approval of the council that arrangement would, be thought, get rid of whatever was objectionable in the old system — a system, he would add, which had worked very well, and quite as well as the new one. He hoped that what he had suggested would meet the views of both the parties who bad made proposals, and if that were the case the meeting need not go to a vote on the question. Mr. Beasley said he could not adopt Mr. Torr's suggestion for this reason, that the stewards might ask a gentleman to be a judge, and when the name came before the council it might be rejected. He should himself strongly object to being placed in that position. He saw no reason why the stewards, who were gentlemen of experience, who knew all the best men in the kingdom for judging, and whose own character would be at stake, should not make the appointment. As to partiality lie had never heard such a thing alleged. The President observed that whilst sitting in that chair he would not express an opinion which was likely to bias the judgment of the meeting in reference to the proposition made by Mr. Duckham ; but he ventured to say there was no sub- ject that could come before them of higher importance to the interest of the public and to their own honour and character than that of the appointment of judges. Dp to this moment there had never been any sort of slur cast upon the judges of the Club, and he was not aware of a single instance in which a corrupt judgment had been pronounced (Hear, hear). What was desired to be done now by any change that might be adopted was undoubtedly to command the public confidence and satisfaction, and to do as much as lay in their power to secure strict independence in the judges by selecting high and honourable men of sound judgment, and by that means to retain the public approval. In relation to the appointment of judges, they had before them a bright example in the case of the criminal judges of the country, as fit and proper a com- parison to make as could be suggested, for so thorough was the independence of those learned personages and the confidence reposed in them that not a suspicion could be breathed against them or the least disapprobation expressed with regard to the sterling honesty of their judgments (Hear, hear). Think for a moment what had produced this result. It was long service in an arena where the public saw, heard, and knew all the pro- ceedings that were carried on. But with the Smithfield Club matters were different. They had not the power of knowing and selecting the best men to fill the office of judge. A great many of the members might be acquainted with Mr. A or Mr. B, and deem him a respectable and an honourable man, and a capital judge of live stock; perhaps ten gentlemen out of a hundred in the room might know him, and the rest be utterly 72 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ignorant of his existence. To his surprise the other day, when presiding as chairman of the Club, the names of the judges were proposed ; but of the whole number he knew not one, and could not say whethev he was assisting in the ap- pointment of a fit and proper person to that important office or not. Many other gentlemen wf re in the same position, and the result was that, after all, it might be said to have depended* upon the opinions expressed by some half-dozen persons who were present that the judges of the day were appointed. Now that was a state of things which required a remedy, and what was wanted was a more general knowledge of the men, so that the Club might get hold of the best judges of stock in the country. No doubt they might adopt the plan of keeping the good men when they had once secured them ; but the answer to that was that the finances of the Club, satisfactory as they were, would not admit of such an arrangement. Mr. Duckham said before the question was put he begged permission to say a few words in reply. Mr. Millward had expressed surprise that he should have come forward in 1868 to propose when, as he stated in effect, the adoption of the present system was mainly attributable to himself. That re- mark certainly took him by surprise, as he was not aware previously that the new system was adopted at his suggestion. Having just referred, through the kind permission of Mr. Brandretli Gibbs, to the minute book of the proceedings of the Club, he found that instead of the new rule having been proposed by himself — Mr, Millward observed that he did not say proposed. Mr. Duckham : Well, Mr. Millward was still in the same position. The alteration of the rule was proposed by Mr. Giblett, on the 22nd of May, 1863, at a council meeting, and he not being then a member of the council could neither pro- pose nor support it (Hear, hear). Mr. Woods was mistaken as to the privilege enjoyed by members of nominating persons for the office of judge. The rule was that the members of the council might nominate a judge for each class and submit the nomination to the Hon. Secretary, in order that it might be said before the council meeting, which took place in the No- vember preceding the show. As the chairman justly pointed out, names came before the council from allparts of the kingdom. The parties might be connected with exhibitors or might not be connected with them, but 19 out of every 20 were total strangers to the members of the council. It was a mere chance whether they got the best men or not under such cir- cumstances, and therefore it was that he had brought the question before the meeting. He must say that he was sur- prised at opposition to his motion on the part of gentlemen who were members of the council of the Royal Agricultural Society, in which judges were selected for the shows in a similar manner to that which he now proposed. The old system of selection by the stewards would not, he thought, bear comparison with that which he suggested. The stewards retired by rotation, and fresh blood was introduced, that ar- rangement dating from the alteration of the bye-laws in 1863. Mr. Beasley was of opinion that the introduction of fresh blood was one very good reason why the appointment of the judges by the stewards would be a good plan. It prevented their falling into anything that partook of the nature of cliquism. Gentlemen should remember that the stewards were appointed by the council and the council by the members of the Club ; that the stewards had always possessed the confi- dence of the council and the council that of the Club. They paid great attention to the business of the Club, sacrificed much valuable time, and put themselves to considerable trouble in performing their duties, and upon the whole, he thought, that with the extensive connections they had throughout the country the six stewards were the most likely persons to select the best men to fill the office of judges (Hear, hear). The President then put the motion for rescinding the rule vesting the appointment of judges by the council, and it was carried by a small majority. He next took a show of hands on Mr. Beasley's amendment, which was negatived by nearly two to one ; after which the original motion of Mr. Duckham — " That the judges shall be nominated by the council and appointed by a judge's selection committee," was agreed to by d an equally decisive manifestation of opinion. Several new members having been elected, the thanks of the meeting were voted by acclamation to Lord Hardwicke, the president, at the instance of Lord Berners, who took occasion to congratulate the Club upon the success which b ad marked his noble friend's presidency. SMITHFIELD CLUB LUNCHEON. At two o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, about half-an-hour after the termination of the annual meeting, a rambling party of about eighty or ninety, who came in at intervals, assembled in the Hall, to partake of a cold luncheon, which the Council had determined to substitute for the dinner. The entertainment, a cold one, was set at five shillings a mouth, exclusive of wine j and the hour was too early for anything like the warmth or enthusiasm of a feast ; the only music being the distant hum of the teeming multitude without. It had been previously arranged that the principal toasts should not be accompanied by speeches, and this plan was rigidly adhered to, the toasts being chiefly proposed with the utmost brevity during the actual progress of the lunch. The chair was taken by the President of the Club, the Earl of Hardwicke. In proposing the health of the Queen, the President re- marked that that was a meal of a peculiar character. It was usual for Englishmen to dine together after the labours of the day were over ; but upon that occasion a lunch had been sub- stituted, a meal to which it had been said there was no begin- ning and no end (laughter). With equal brevity the noble Earl gave the toast of the " Prince and Princess of Wales," and that of " Success to the bmithfield Club," which he described as the toast, not of the evening, but of the morning. Then followed a toast to the winners of the six silver cups. Colonel Ciialloner gave the " Health of the President, Vice-Presidents, and Trustees." Lord Hardwicke having acknowledged the compliment in a single sentence, Lord Berners performed a similar task on behalf of his colleagues the vice-presidents. Departing in some measure frosi the rule which the President had laid down for his own guidance, Lord Berners ventured to say that in these stirring times it was of more importance than ever that all who were connected with the agricultural interests should be united, and that in this bond of union should be included alike the owner, the occupier, and the labourer (cheers). There were three things to which it was their duty to turn their attention. The first was to press upon the legislature the necessity of defending their herds from the scourge with which they had been lately afflicted (Hear, hear). Next by means of chambers of agriculture and other agencies to endea- vour to obtain from the same source a revision of local taxa- tion, so that it might be borne in equal proportions by all classes of society. And, lastly, they should endeavour by all legiti- mate means to get rid of that unjust impost the malt-tax ; at all events, to convert it into a tax upon the manufactured article (cheers). Mr. Torr, in responding to the toast of " The Trustees," observed that the club had never been more prosperous finan- cially than it was then ; adding that for this state of things the Club was mainly indebted to the honorary secretary (cheers). He congratulated the company on the vast improvement mani- fested in the present Exhibition and the evidence consequently afforded of the increasing usefulness of the society. There was one part of its proceedings with which his own name had been connected more than he desired by the public press. It had been said that he was the author of that luncheon. He did not know that he was so, except in common with other members of the Club, and he believed the only parties to suffer on that occasion were those who were absent (laughter). A better repast the Smithfield Club had never had, and he hoped THE FARMERS MAGAZINE. 73 that one result of that fact becoming known would be a larger attendance on a future occasion. Mr. J. Cl.yyden, in responding to the toast of "The Judges," said he believed the conduct of the judges had al- ways been characterized by probity and an earnest endeavour to perform the duties undertaken in a satisfactory manner, and he hoped that reputation would always be maintained. The Chairman said, so far, he had strictly adhered to the regulation which had been laid down by the Council that they should have what was essentially a lunch, and that there should be formal toasts without speeches. He must, how- ever, depart from that rule in the cases of the stewards and the honorary secretary (cheers). As to the stewards, he wished them health and happiness ; and with regard to them he would say nothing more. With respect to the honorary secretary, however, he might be forgiven for saying a few words. Having now been president for a year, he was enabled to bear testi- mony to "what was done by that gentleman ; and he begged to tell them that they could not be too grateful to him for sus- taining the Smithfield Club. He was, in fact, the president and the organizer of the whole concern (Hear, hear). He (the Earl of Hardwicke) had, like other gentlemen, been put up to fill the office of president, which was purely ornamental (laughter). How the duties of that office had been performed by himself was of course a matter for other people to judge, as was also the question as to how far he might have been orna- mental (laughter) ; but as to the great usefulness of the honorary secretary he could not express himself too strongly (cheers). That gentleman was the prop of the Club ; his zeal, his activity, his intelligence, his unwearied exertions to promote the interest of the Club, were beyond precedent ; and, when he added that he received no pecuniary reward for his services, they had before them one of the most extraordinary instances of valuable service on record (cheers). Having said these few words from his heart, he now gave " The Stewards and the Honorary secretary." Mr. C. Howard in responding for the stewards observed that their labours were considerably lightened by the methodi- cal manner in which the worthy Hon. Secretary performed his duties. The noble president had not said one word too much as to the value of that gentleman's services. No one who had not been officially connected with the Club could tell how valuable those services really were. The labours of the stewards had, he might remark, been somewhat increased that year in consequence of the Order of the Council that every animal that came into the yard should be weighed. The stewards considered that arrangement a proper one, and had done their best to secure its being carried out. It was, he knew, said by some of the fathers of agriculture that such a course was not of any value ; but from what he had heard from the young men led him to conclude that they regarded it with favour, and it was to the young men that they had to look for the future support of ^that club. Mr. Brandreth Gibbs saYd he could assure them that he felt it quite impossible to return thanks suitably for the very handsome manner in which their noble president had alluded to his humble services, and the fact of that being a luncheon instead of a dinner was an additional reason why he was un- prepared to express his gratitude in appropriate terms. He had then the honour of rising to thank the members for the 25th time (cheers). He had always appreciated the warm manner in which his name was received, because he regarded it as an expression of approbation of his humble endeavours faithfully to discharge the duties of his honourable office. He would only add that any efforts which he had made and any services which he had performed were most amply rewarded by the very handsome compliments paid to him on those occasions (cheers). The Duke of Richmond proposed the "Health of the Butchers" (who, however, were not represented in the room), and expressed the pleasure it gave him to see so large and good a show. Although on that, as on some former occasions, he had had the ill-luck, the misfortune, or, as some might choose to call it, the bad management not to appear in so prominent a character as his noble friend who hailed from Norfolk (Lord Walsingham), and who had won the silver cup for short wools, yet he could assure his noble friend that now that his time was more at his own disposal (Hear, hear, and laughter), and he could pay more attention to agriculture than to trade and commerce, it would be his earnest endeavour to tread upon his noble friend's heels, and, if he could possibly do so, to trip him up (much laughter). The President then rose and said, gentlemen, I wish you good afternoon, and the first and last luncheon of the Smithfield Club, which occupied altogether about an hour, terminated with this valedictory salutation. THE SMITHFIELD SHOW WEEK, If, as the very Hamlet of the scene, we let the Smith- field Club Show tell out its own story in its own place — and this is really, after Birmingham, becoming something of a twice-told tale — we may touch here the more readily on the other events of a very eventful week. Taking these in chronological order, the business began on Mon- day evening at the Farmers' Club, where Mr. Fowler, of Aylesbury, read a very " pretty " paper on the influence of railways upon agriculture. The theme was certainly in- viting enough ; bnt it was done all justice to in the open- ing address. There may, perhaps, be noticeable just towards the conclusion a certain lack of logical sequence — a little want of comprehensive power in pulling the several points together ; but it was a very telling, tasty essay, which fairly swamped the discussion that followed, despite a very full attendance of members. The dinner of the Club, on the following evening, was equally well supported ; and with Mr. Sewell Read, fresh from the head of the poll at the head of the table, it would have been strange indeed if, with a company of farmers at his back, the chairman had not cause to con- gratulate himself and the society on a most successful issue. The official proceedings, again, of the Smithfield Club were as full of promise. Thanks to the good offices and strong will of the Stewards, the last remnant of red tape has been cut from the neck of the body; and, at the general meeting, an advancing spirit was very observable. Notwithstanding that a little of the old leaven cropped up here and there, Mr. Duckham carried his proposal for the appointment of the judges being arranged on a more satisfactory system, by a large majority ; and it was in very good heart that the members went on to luncheon. In very charity shall we say anything more of this "entertainment?" Or shall we imitate the example of the noble president and get over it as quickly as possible ? As with a man at an awkward place, or a boy with a black draught, clearly the more Lord Hardwicke looked the less he liked it ; and with an amount of judgment that can scarcely be too highly extolled, he cut everybody and everything as short as he could. Mr. Ton- certainly stood bravely by the notion, but we fear that we must condole with him on having seen the first and the last of the Smithfield Club luncheons. On Wednesday at noon the general meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society was held in a room in Hanover Square, quite inadequate to the purpose. From where we stood it was evident that the president could not see many of the hands that were held up for or against the adoption of the report; and if anything like equal interest be attached hereafter to these occasions, it will certainly be necessary to be better provided. Of course the recent appoiutment furnished the text word of the day, and the House soon resolved itself into a committee on agricul- 74 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. tural literature. During the debate, however, the very awkward fact, to which we referred some weeks since, came out, and Mr. Sewell Read, for various reasons given in our lengthy report, announced his inten- tion of taking his name off the council. Eased down as it may be, there can still be no disguising the damaging effect produced by this determination, and by Mr. Read's charge that the actual management does not go in an open way to work. Beyond the governing powers, the lucky or luckless Mr. Jenkins was, as he might have expected, the shuttlecock, and for hours was he knocked about from one to the other. Mr. Morton commenced the play, but broke his bat very early ; and then Messrs. Duckham, Sewell Read, Sidney, Constable, and Thompson, amongst others, did much to keep the game alive. For one, in- deed, Mr. Sidney was by no means inclined to let the thing flag ; and having disposed of the unfortunate Journal, and its yet more unfortunate conductors, he proceeded to a general attack upon agricultural literature. Our con- temporary, the Agricultural Gazette, it appears, could not live if it were not tacked on to the Gardeners' Chronicle ; another paper, Bell's Weekly Messenger, owes its exist- ence rather to politics aud general news than to anything very agricultural : while the Mark Lane Kij>ress depends very much upon its markets, or partly makes a living by pitching into them all round — abuse, as we understood Mr. Sidney to say, at which they were all much amused. Now, naturally, a good deal will rest upon any just cause for pitching in. If, working with oidy one object in view, and that the welfare of Agriculture, we see that she is occasionally employed as the stalking-horse under cover of which vidgur assumption and needy as- surance seek to gain certain private ends of their own, of course we must pitch in. We defy any man to say that we have any aim but the best interests of those with whom our Journal is identified, or that we have ever been in- duced to swerve from our path through fear or favour, by bribe or threat. Moreover, there is scarcely an abuse that we have abused but that has in time been amended. Mr. Sidneymay perhaps have heard of, although weare sine he could not sympathise with, men who are ready to pitch in on no such inducement as ours, but to degrade the little ability they may possess, and to turn it to any purpose if they be only paid for doing so ? — wretches who will attack anybody or anything, if they can only make money at their shameful trade. Why does he not direct his great powers of eloquence against such as these ? Let us illustrate what we mean. Not so many years since, the man who had done more for the agriculture of Scotland than any man of his time had some difference with another person, more or less directly engaged in the same pursuit. The latter, feeling his own weakness, came to London and engaged one of these sorry hirelings to write a scur- rilous flippant pamphlet against a gentleman whose name his assailant could hardly have known until he was primed to prepare his cowardly concoction. Again, when here in England a certain section of exhibitors wished to carry out their own views, they hired some other such a person to do their dirty work, to talk and write as he was told ; although, to the credit of his employers be it added, they eventually refused to avail themselves of these services, whatever they might have cost. The very movement in favour of a Foreign Cattle Market is not free from such contamination. And possibly in pitching in, in abusing, as we admit we have done, underhand abuses like these, we may, as the poet says, " have hit some meddling fool too hard," or have shown up some " would-be wit and can't- be gentlemau" a little more vividly than he liked. But wc shall persevere, for we know that we have done good ; and so soon as the duty be again required of us, so soon as another of these pitiful tricks be attempted, we hope to afford as much " amusement " as we may hitherto have done. But surely does not our critic see that in talking of our paper, he is very oblivious of his own powers. He is the very embodiment of the sketch. He is always pitching in, always amusing people after such a fashion, as witness his oration only the other morning ; for he rarely speaks but to a coatinual chorus of laughter, more at him, perhaps, than with him, but still they laugh. At the very height of his invective people laugh ; nay, whether he be disparaging others or praising himself, they laugh. When, leaving for a moment the Society and the Journal, he changes his tone, and proudly refers to his own especial acquirements and experiences in lite- rature, they roar. When, seizing the now annual oppor- tunity for such an advertisement, he announces that the pig emanated from his fertile brain, they roar again. And as they go on to gather from his own account, that when he wrote this famous work he knew no more about live pigs than a Jew should of pickled pork, they roar more than ever ! And this is about the end of it. Beyond a half- sentence from Mr. Thompson, noticeably curt and con- temptuous, no one, so far as wc heard, said another word during that long sitting of Mr. Sidney or of his speech. And yet the thing is amusing, if not altogether ori- ginal ; but then many a famous author suffers from such almost unconscious plagiarism of style. Just thirty years since, Thackeray, with a modesty wc arc sure Mr. Sidney will appreciate, not liking to see his name placarded on every wall, wrote a romance foi- Frazer under the signa- ture of Ikey Solomons, juu., Esq. Mr. Sidney may not, perhaps, have caught quite the refined sarcasm or genial humour of this, but he has succeeded admirably in re- producing that air of importance and dignity which the lamented Ikey Solomons, juu., Esq., so delighted to assume ; and it seems a thousand pities, as they say at the Herald Office, that the title should have ever died out. Would Mr. Sidney object to taking it up again ? We are the more induced to sug- gest this fromhehimself being apparently rather prone to provide other people with an alias ; as at the meeting the other morning, so far as we could follow his very peculiar vernacular, he styled this Journal " a scare- crow." And then, as people looked at a remarkable figure before them, tricked out with a halfpennyworth of riband or some such tawdry tinsel, they roared again ! But is this fair or generous of Mr. Sidney, for a man so lavishly favoured by Nature, of so noble a presence, and with his ancient lineage so indelibly stamped upon him, to gibe at other people as scare-crows ? " Oh ! wad some power the gift would gie us, To see ourselves as others see us, It might from mony a blunder free us !" But we cheerfully undertake the duty thus implied or asked of us. When the carrion-hunter, the disgusting scavenger, and the noisy quack, for whose wide, heavy jaws no filth is too unsavoury — when these come wad- dling on to the fair fields of agriculture, we will scare them away. JEu ! all up I When the jabbering magpie, with his caddish, almost hmnan assurance and swaggering gait, comes prying and picking about the grounds of gentlemen, we will scare him off again. Or, should he, in his greedy impudence, venture within range, we will gibbet him forthwith, and let the much-wondering fanner look for a moment on the gorged carcase of the foid bird, with whose husky, ropy note he has been so familiar. We will scare the crows away ! Eu ! all up ! On this same Wednesday afternoon there was a meet- ing of the Chamber of Agriculture, when, according to a letter in another column, there was a deal more talk than work, and altogether a most unpromising sitting. But if Mr. Duckham at his Chamber would only denounce the game abuse as ably as he did in Hanover-square, some- thing surely might come of his onslaught ! — Mark Lane Rvpressc THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 75 THE GREAT CHRISTMAS CATTLE MARKET. LONDON, Monday, Dec. 14. Notwithstanding that the past has been a very unfa- vourable season for the production of Cattle-food — the supply now in the country being unusually small — the show of Beasts here to-day, for Christmas consumption, was quite equal to any former period as regards quality. All breeds, with the exception of the pure polled Scots, were well represented ; in fact we may observe that there was scarcely an inferior English or Scotch Bullock in the market. As regards numerical strength, we may place the Shorthorns and Crosses first, and the splendid condition in which they came to hand reflects the highest credit upon the graziers. The Herefords come next in point of numbers ; many of them were of great weight, and sold at corresponding prices. The Devon s, though not very numerous, were exceed- ingly good, some of them weighing from 140 to 150 stones (Slbs.). The show of North Devons, however, though of very good quality, was small. Two breeds which formerly held a high position in Smithfield — namely, the Welsh and Sussex — were in limited supply. This is to be regretted, because it is well known that these two particular breeds have long been famous for their superior quality of meat. But, it is obvious, that whilst the system of crossing is continued to its present extent, and whilst the animals can, by that means, be made ready for market in so short a time as fifteen months, it is not probable that pure breeds, of compara- tively slow growth, will continue to maintain their posi- tion in the market. The arrivals of stock from Scotland comprised some wonderfully fine animals, forwarded by the most eminent breeders in that country. About a moiety was pure, and the remainder cross-bred animals. Even now that food is very scarce and dear, Scotland promises to send us a full average number of prime Beasts during the next three months, notwithstanding that the graziers have been com- pelled to force sales of stock. As regards Ireland, we may observe, a good supply of Beasts come forward from that country, in somewhat im- proved condition. The prices realized, however, were only moderate. It is satisfactory to find that very few mongrel breeds were exhibited. The breeders as a body appear to rest satisfied that the " in-and-in " system will never pay. Amongst the foreign animals on sale those from Ton- ning were exceptionally good. The following return shows the number of beasts ex- hibited and the prices realised for them on the great days during the last 27 years : — Year. Beasts shown. s. d. s. a. 1841 4,500 .... 3 8 to 5 0 1842 4,541 .... 3 4 to 4 8 1843 4,510 .... 3 8 to 4 4 1844 5,713 .... 4 0 to 4 6 1845 5,326 .... a 6 to 4 8 1840 4,570 .... 4 0 to 5 S 1847 4,282 .... 3 4 to 4 8 1848 5,942 .... 3 4 to 4 S 1849 5,765 .... 3 4 to 4 6 1850 6,341 .... 3 0 to 3 10 1851 6,103 .... 3 S to 4 2 1852 6,271 .... -?, 8 to 4 0 1853 7,037 .... 3 2 to 4 10 1854 6,181 .... 3 6 to 5 4 1855 7,000 .... 3 8 to 4 2 Year. 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1S62 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 Beasts shown. s. .... 6,748 3 .... 6,856 3 .... 6,424 3 .... 7,560 3 .... 7,860 3 .... 8,840 3 .... 8,430 3 .... 10,370 3 .... 7,130 3 .... 7,530 3 .... 7,340 3 .... 8,110 3 S to 4 to 8 to 4 to We now proceed to particularise the best portions of this fine market. Mr. George Dickson exhibited a large number of prime Scots and Crosses forwarded direct from Scotland, princi- pally from Aberdeenshire and Banffshire. The leading lots from Aberdeen were the property of Messrs. Knowles, Wishart, Shand, Beddi, Skinner, Reid, Frost, Bruce, Mitchell, and other graziers. Those from Banffshire were bred by the Messrs. Longmore, Stodart, Milne, &c. Messrs. Maydwell and Hoyland exhibited some excellent Beasts, forwarded by Messrs. Reed, Berton, and Elmslie, of Greystone, Afford. Also some fine animals from Messrs. Stewart and Martin, of Aberdeen, and Mr. Stoddart, of Banff. Mr. Duckworth had some choice animals from various parts of the country. Mr. Thomas Dickson had some good animals. At Mr. Vorley's stand there was a good collection of animals, and Mr. Hick and Mr. Walsh had some fine lots. Other salesmen had some choice animals, amongst which were some very superior Beasts, the property of Mr. M'Combie, M.P., of Tillyfour. On the whole, the show of Beasts was excellent, although not equal to former years in point of numbers. The market was but moderately supplied with Sheep, aud there were but few animals of a showy character. Messrs. Snitott and Sons had some really choice Sheep on sale from Mr. Hobgen of Chichester, and from Messrs. Cox, Bates, Shotters, and Balckin. There were also some good Down Lambs in the pens. The Messrs. Wallby had some choice Lambs from Messrs. Home, Webb, and Cox. Mr. Dodd exhibited some fine Sheep, the property of Messrs. King, Reddine;, and other graziers. • Mr. J. Collins, Mr. AVeall, Mr. Gurrier, Mr. Elond, Mr. Corp, Mr. Starkey, and Mr. C. Burrell had some very choice animals on sale. STATE OF THE TRADE. The demand for English beasts ruled fairly active , and the number on sale being comparatively small, prices ad- vanced fully 2d. per Slbs., the top quotation being 5s. 8d. In some few instances, however, this price was exceeded. The arrivals of Beasts from Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, aud Northamptonshire were 2,000 shorthorns, &c, from Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Cambridgeshire, about 1,800 Scots and Crosses , from other parts of England 650 of various breeds ; from Scotland, 1,048 Scots "and Crosses; and from Ireland, 680 Oxen, Cows, &c. Really prime Down aud half-bred Sheep were in active request at an improvement of 2d. to 4d. per 8 lbs., the top figure being 5s. 6d. per 8 lbs. % THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Calves changed hands steadily at late rates. The sup- ply was small. No change took place in the value of Pigs. The trade, on the whole, ruled quiet. Per 81bs., to sink the offal. s. d. 8. d. Coarse and inferior Beasts 3 4 to 3 8 Second quality ditto 3 10 4 6 Prime large Oxen 4 8 5 4 Prime Scots, &c 5 6 5 8 Coarse and inferior Sheep 3 2 3 8 Second quality ditto 3 10 4 6 Prime coarse-woolled ditto 4 8 5 0 Prime Southdown ditto 5 2 5 6 Large coarse Calves 3 8 4 8 Prime small do 4 10 5 10 Large Hogs 3 6 3 10 Neat Small Porkers 3 10 4 8 Suckling Calves 22s. to 25s., and quarter-old store Pigs 23s. to 26s. each. COMPARISON OF THE " GREAT DAYS." Statement showing the Supplies and Prices of Fat Stock Exhibited and disposed of on the " Great Days" in 1867 and 1868. Per 81bs., to sink the offal. Dec. 16, 1867. Dec. 14, 1868. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Coarse and inferior Beasts 3 4 to 3 6 3 4 to 3 8 Second quality ditto 3 8 4 0 3 10 4 6 Prime large Oxen 4 2 4 6 4 8 5 4 Prime Scots, &c 4 8 5 0 5 6 5 8 Coarse and inferior Sheep 3 4 3 8 3 2 3 8 Second quality ditto 3 10 4 2 3 10 4 6 Prime coarse-woolled ditto 4 4 4 8 4 8 5 0 Prime Southdown ditto ... 4 10 5 0 5 2 5 6 Large coarse Calves 4 4 4 8 3 8 4 8 Prime small ditto 4 10 5 4 4 10 5 10 LargeHogs 3 4 3 8 3 6 3 10 Neat small Porkers 3 10 4 2 3 10 4 8 Quarter-olds (each) 23 0 26 0 23 0 26 0 Suckling Calves (each)... 23 0 26 0 22 0 25 0 THE CENTRAL FARMERS' CLUB. THE INFLUENCE OF RAILWAYS UPON AGRICULTURE. The concluding meeting of the Farmers' Club for discussion in the present year was held on Monday eveniug, December 7, at the Club House, Salisbury Square, and very numerously attended. The chair was taken by Mr. C. S. Read, M.P. The subject fixed for discussion, introduced by Mr. J. K. Fowler, the Prebendal Farm, Aylesbury, was " The Influence of Rail- ways upon Agriculture." The Chairman said : Gentlemen, twelve months ago we were engaged in this room in discussing the application of the giant power of steam to the cultivation of the soil. We are met this evening to consider the influence of railways upon agriculture ; and, although in that case steam is not applied directly to the cultivation of the land, I think we shall find that it has been most beneficial to the agricultural interest. The subject is so vast, and I may say so little considered, that when it is opened our friend Mr. Fowler will, in my opinion, find it very difficult to circumscribe his notes within any reasonable limits; but, on the other hand, I am sure he will exercise that wise discretion, and that good common sense by which he is distinguished, and will give us a practical, useful, and interesting paper (cheers). Mr. J. K. Fowler said : Mr. Sewell Read and gentlemen, to-night you are invited to discuss a subject of so much interest and importance to agriculture that I almost shrink from the task, and I can assure you, when I sent up to the secretary last January the suggestion that this paper should be dissussed, I had no idea that I should be called on to do it, and on seeing it printed on the card that it was to be in- troduced at the meeting of the club during the Cattle Show week, I certainly at first hesitated to enter on the question. I will say, at the outset, that I find on investigating the matter, that it is a subject so vast in its bearings and so difficult of treatment, that I fear you will think it presumption on my part to attempt it ; but I must crave your indulgence, and hope that, whatever may be its failures and short comings, it may be the means of bringing out the opinions of many of the most eminent agriculturists in the kingdom, numbers of whom I now see around me. On thinking over the subject I find it will be very difficult to confine my remarks strictly to agriculture, as there are so many ramifications that I hardly know where to stop ; but I will be as concise as possible and will not tire your patience by a mass of statistics — which all of you can get — or at all events fill in and apply as the subject opens out. I will also state that when I allude to increase of rents and other matters of a like nature, consequent on the introduction of lines of railway, I shall studiously avoid naming the localities, as I well know the sensitiveness of my brother farmers on all such things, and will leave it to your own imaginations ; and doubtless every one of you can in some way or other bring to bear your own knowledge on the subject. Macaulay says, in his first volume of the " History of England," " Of all inventions, the alphabet and the printing-press alone excepted, those inventions which abridge distance have done most for the civilisation of our species. . . . Every im- provement of the means of locomotion benefits mankind morally and intellectually, as well as materially, and not only facilitates the interchange of the various productions of nature and art, but tends to remove national and provincial anti- pathies, and to bind together all the branches of the great human family. In the seventeenth century the inhabitants of London were, for almost every practical purpose, farther from Reading than they are now from Edinburgh, and farther from Edinburgh than they are now from Vienna." And in a very interesting book, written by a gentleman I knew well, the late Sir Cusack Roney, called " Rambles on Railways," he begins by saying, " When in 1672 Madame de Sevigny wrote of a journey she had just made from Paris to Mar- seilles, she was able to inform her correspondent she had com- pleted it with great satisfaction to herself in a month. She travelled over 530 miles of ground : she was therefore able to get over some seventeen to eighteen miles a-day. The courier that brought Madame de Sevigny's letter from Marseilles to Paris travelled twice as fast as she had done. He was only fortnight on the road. In that year the course of post between London and Edinburgh, 130 miles less distance than between Paris and Marseilles, was two months : one month going with a letter and one month coming back again with the answer. Ninety years afterwards the one-stage coach between London and Edinburgh started once a month from each city ; but in nine-tenths of a century speed had been accelerated. It only took a fortnight on the road in each direction. Seventy -live years afterwards, that is in 1837 — the year before any portion of railway between the two capitals was opened for traffic — the mail coach completed its 400 miles in forty-two hours, or one day eightesn hours. Now-a-days, our Limited Mail (one of the few ' Limited' associations of very modern date that has not come to grief) is only 10J hours :" so that a letter might be written and a reply obtained in less than a-day and night. However, I shall not take you back to those times, but will begin by a few remarks upon the beginning of the preseut century. At that time the means of transit through the country were very meagre indeed. The main thoroughfares were in tolerable order, and as time wore on turnpike roads were formed, and the great lines of communication became noted throughout Europe. Many I now see around me can re- member with pride the splendidly-appointed four-horse coaches, the slashing mails — the carriages of the nobility and gentry — the old yellow post-chaise, and the modest gig thronging the great lines of road, and rendering a journey from town to town cheerful and pleasing ; but along with these were the eight-horse broad-wheeled waggons, heavily laden with manufactured goods and the lighter productions of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 77 the land, such as butter, cheese, and poultry ; and also the market waggon of the farmer, drawing his ten quarters of corn, with four horses, fifteen or twenty miles to the market town, or to the water-mill of the district, Only a few labourers would be seen trudging along ; but the farmer himself , on his useful hackney, jogging aloug the road, and his custom of rather late hours at market, was a standing joke among his fellows. The country roads were in a deplorable state : in some districts the want of material rendered them almost im- passable, and the difficulties of carriage for all sorts of agricul- tural produce rendered it troublesome and expensive to get to market ; but for all these difficulties agriculture improved, and with improved systems of cultivation came better roads, and greater facilities for disposal of produce. In addition to the state of the roads I will briefly allude to the state of agri- culture some 35 years ago, previous to the introduction of railways. Agriculture, as I have previously remarked, had been more than a century progressing rapidly in the kingdom, and the great revolutionary war iu France tended to enhance the value of agricultural produce to a very great extent, and many thousands of acres were put under the plough, and I be- lieve in many districts large fortunes were made ; distressed times came, the war ceased, prices fell largely, pauperism in- creased fearfully, and the money panics of 1819 and 1825 brought ruin and dismay on many a happy and prosperous home. In the year 1830 greater distress prevailed, large num- bers of the labouring population were out of work, incendiar- ism and the " Swing" riots spread over the land ; the work- houses were filled to over-flowing, poor's-rates increased to an alarming extent; many thousands of acres which had been put under the plough were allowed to go out of cultivation, and " fell-down" as it was called into poor pasture, aud the New Poor Law was the result of this combination of circum- ■y stances. I am not now going to discuss the political causes which lei to this state of things, but I merely relate the facts which occurred. The state of the agricultural population at this time was at a very low ebb. I was then a school-boy, but I remember that in 1S33, nearly every farm in the parish of Aylesbury was in the hands of the landlord, and many of the finest farms on the Duke of Bedford's Bedfordshire estates were out of occupation. Rents in our district were as low as from 20s. to 27s. per acre, the wages of the labourer were 8s. to 9s. per week, and the poor's-rate lGs. in the £., with two labour-rates of Is. 6d. each, making nearly 20s. in the £, and I regret to say this was no exceptional case. In the year 1833-4 the Grand Junction, and the London aud Birmingham Railways were commenced, many other lines followed ; the superabundant agricultural labour was draughted off into these new channels, and the plethora of stalwart unemployed coun- try labour found a vent, and the New Poor Law, the applica- tion of which at one time threatened to produce a revolution, began more quietly to be established. Here may well be said was one of the " Influences of Railways upon Agriculture." It will simply be impossible for me, without tiring your pa- tience to go into all the various details of how railways have influenced and are influencing agriculture, and yon must par- don me for refusing to go into heavy statistics, all these are to be found in various railway returns, from numerous railways, aud in the Board of Trade returns, but I will touch on the most salient points. Pirst, then, as to transit of produce. Since the introduction of railways the hacknied motto o f the free-traders has been fully verified of " buy in the cheapest and sell in the dearest market." In fact, the whole country has become one great market. As the giant brewers of Bur- ton-on-Trent send their representatives to buy the choicest samples of barley throughout the laud, and the energetic factors of the great northern towns have their agents in many of the southern counties to buy the choicest white wheats to mix with the coarser red wheats of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Whilst the oats of Scotland and Ireland are now transported cheaply and easily to feed the thousands of horses engaged in the great metropolis. I know much of this is brought by sea, but railways influence the cost of transit. The potatoes of the moory soils of the north are also brought to London, and also into the great centres of the manufacturing districts. Whilst the hops of the famed southern counties are rapidly sent to every part of the kingdom, and the glories of Weyhill fair, with its Jong line of farmers' waggons on the hills of Hampshire, will certainly, in a very short time be no more, from the all powerful influence of the iron road. I have thus rapidly glanced at the effects produced by railways on the arable districts of the kingdom, and if these effects have been great there, how much greater are they iu the pastoral dis- tricts of the kingdom? In my own rich aud fertile vale of Aylesbury, where the Hereford ox finds a genial home, aud the North Devon revels in its rich green pastures' and the placid Shorthorn yields up her milky riches, the grazier of the Vale can go to the western fairs of Here- ford, Leominster, or Kinetou in half-a-day ; buys his beast, can see them put on the rail, and they are safely home the next morning ; or he can meet them half-way at various markets or fairs, and bring them home the same night. The same may be said of the half-bred sheep from Lansdown, near Bath, the west-country Downs from Salisbury, the Shropshires from Shrewsbury, and even the prolific Norfolk ewes from Norwich Hill — allthese arc easily aud readily trans- ported from and into the various districts where they are re- quired. Iu like manner the horse fairs of Horncastle, Lincoln, &c, and the Exmoor pony sales can now readily be reached by the railway. And here let me digress for a moment to show how all were deceived about the demand for horses. The breed of horses was considered to be at an end when rail- ways were introduced ; but there is a greater necessity for them than ever, although I regret to say the stamp of horse prevalent thirty years ago is nearly gone : I mean the rare old- fashioned wheel-horse for a coach, or, as he was called, " a riding-post chayer" — a horse on short flat legs, with good shoulders, famous loins, head well up, and shortened tail, bend- ing his knees up to his chin, and trotting along from ten to twelve miles an hour. Here railways seriously " influenced agriculture" by driving the breeding of this useful animal into that wretched three-parts- bred weed which now is seen in traps of all descriptions at our railway stations. Cart horses are also increasing in demand, to carry the immense products of our manufacturing towns to the railway-stations and sea- ports throughout the kingdom. I now come to another most important manner in which railways have influenced agricul- ture— I mean the breeding of live stock, more especially Short- horns, and if I will dwell for a moment on this matter, I hope I may be pardoned for so doing, as you all know my favourite hobby, and the same rules will apply to breeding all other stock. The first stimulus to breeding Shorthorns was given by Mr. John Day travelling the country round with his celebrated " Durham Ox," bred by Mr. Chas. Colling, by the celebrated bull " Favourite." This ox was taken to nearly all parts of England — from the banks of the Tees, where he was bred — and was exhibited for several years, when he was slaughtered, weighing the enormous weight of stones of Slbs. This gave a great desire to obtain this breed, and a great sale took place in 1810 of Mr. Charles Colling's stock. There was no other sale until 1818, by Mr. Robert Colling, aud another in 1820 ; then a great gap till Mr. Mason's sale at Chiltou in 1829 ; then Mr. Whitaker's in 1832, on till Mr. R. Booth's at Studley in 1333 ; then the "Roses" in 1838 ; Mr. Wetherell then held several sales in 1 Sll and 1812, hold- ing five in succession in as many days iu the same locality, as it was so difficult to get a company together. Mr. Strafford began in the autumn of 1848, by the great Fawsley sale of Sir Charles Knightley's noted stock ; Bates's at Kirklevington in 1850 ; J. Booth's at Killerby, 1852 ; Earl Ducie's at Tort- worth in 1853 ; and now during the last three vears he has sold from £30,000 to £40,000 and £50,000 worth of short- horns annually, averaging 1,000 head per annum. Here are therefore annually distributed an immense number of valuable food-producing stock, forming many centres of fresh breeding herds, and disseminating better animals into every district of the kingdom, besides large numbers sent abroad for the im- provement of foreign herds. Surely railways have done some- thing here for the " Roast Beef of Old England !" I find that Mr. Strafford left Euston- square this last September on a Monday evening, went down to Killhow in Cumberland, held three large sales of shorthorns on three consecutive days, and was home again by the next Saturday morning. I don't know how much sleep he had, but he travelled over 700 miles. It is difficult to know how things were managed formerly ; but I am informed on good authority that Lord Althorp, afterwards Earl Spencer, engaged his bed at Rushyford Hotel in January to attend the Chilton sale the following autumn ; and when George III. hired the noted bull " Windsor " of Mr. R.Colliugs, he was nearly three weeks iu getting him to Windsor ; and 78 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the rioted bull Duke of Northumberland and the Oxford cow and two calves, exhibited by the celebrated Tommy Bates, were sent by the Stockton steamboat to London, then by canal- boat to Aylesbury, and thence by road to the first show of the Royal Agricultural Society of England at Oxford. It was a work of nearly three weeks to get them to and from the show, and the expenses were over £90 and the prizes won about £70 ; now they could be sent to the same place in twenty- four hours, and the cost there and back would be about £12. The statistics at the end will give you some idea of the num- bers in consecutive years of stock exhibited and of persons visiting the Royal Agricultural Society of England's meetings from their first show at Oxford in 1839. Most of the stock has been sent out and home chieily by the railways ; and hundreds of ardent lovers of Shorthorns, Herefords, and Devons have been enabled to visit the most celebrated herds, and form the nucleus of fresh herds to give food for the people. One of my Shorthorn purchases at the Didmartoii sale last Spring was sent from Chippenham station at 1 1 a.m., and arrived by a very round- about way safely at my farm by 3.15 p.m. the same day, a distance of more than 100 miles. These facts show how rail- ways influence opportunities for the breeding of cattle. Having stated thus much upon live stock, and shown cursorily what railways have done for that portion of agriculture, I come to quite as important a function which they perform for carrying dead meat, poultry, and other food for the people. It is incalculable in how many ways the feeding of the people is influenced by railways. It is not the province of this paper to go into the question of the transit of fish ; but, as it bears upon the food of the people, to a certain extent it indirectly acts upon agricultural products. 1 shall merely say that sal- mon is sent now from the Scottish and Irish rivers almost alive, packed in ice, into the metropolis in less than 21 hours, and gives a splendid addition to our human feeding-stutl's to almost all classes of the people. In my own inland town of Aylesbury we receive a daily supply of excellent fish from Great Grimsby. But if fish is important to us, what must be the supply of dead meat ? I find by returns which I have before me thai the London and North Western Railway brought upwards of 17,070 tons of dead meat into London alone during the first eleven months of the year 1807 ; and when it is known that splendid meat can now he sent from Aberdeen in 30 hours, and the mutton from Dartmoor and pork from Devonshire in 14 hours, you will see again how railways influence agricul- ture. There is another branch of food for the people in which railways have played an active part, viz., poultry and eggs. The consumption of these articles of food is so enor- mous as to exceed belief. The Midland Railway, in the year 18(57, brought 1-11 tons of eggs, and the Great Eastern alone brought 5,012 tons of poultry and game. But this is a mere fleabite in the course of the year ; and from my own town it is no uncommon thing in the early spring months for the Ayles- bury Railway to carry two or three tons weight of ducklings, butter, and eggs, up in one night to London ; and it is stated that nearly £20,000 per annum for ducks is returned into the neighbourhood of Aylesbury alone. There is another product of the land which has been made considerably more available for manufacturing purposes by railways — I mean wool. The establishment of wool fairs would have been but of little use to the farmers if railways had not enabled buyers to attend them. Now the great northern towns of Leeds, Dewsbury, Bradford, Cleckheaton, and others, pour out their buyers into the mid- land fairs, and create a healthy competition in this most valu- able product with the buyers of the West of England ; and in many instances the wool brought to the fairs one day was at the great centres of manufacture the next. There is another great agricultural product which must not lie passed over — I mean vegetables for the early spring. From Cornwall and the extreme south and west counties, cauliflowers, early peas, potatoes, fruit, and all sorts of garden produce, are now grown M,nd sent easily to market in as fresh a state as the market gar- dens near London. I mention this as the rent of land has in- creased so enormously in Cornwall as to be almost incredible, and the labouring population have been greatly benefited by Opening up their county in this manner. Vegetables are sent from Cornwall as far as Ncwcastle-on-Tyue. No paper on this subject would be complete without alluding to the carriage ')( milk and other dairy produce, and I much question Whether anything will influence agriculture more than the readiness with which railways now carry this product of the soil. I find that last year the quantity of milk carried by the Great Eastern Railway into London amounted to 1,322,429 gallons and by the Midland line 180,300 gallons ; and this is hut a very small portion, as I am unable to get the exact amount from the other great lines into London, There is no doubt the outbreak of the cattle-plague first tnrned the attention of people to the propriety of keeping cows in the country, and sending milk to London ; but, necessarily, if there had been no railways this could not have been carried out. Not only has new milk found its way on to the tables of all classes in London and the other great towns, but the cream for the tables of the "upper ten thousand" is now safely carried without being churned into butter in transit. Another way in which even skim-milk is used is by the large biscuit factories, where the milk is required to be tnrned sour before it is used, and immense quantities are sent to Huntley and Palmer's (at Reading), and other great factories for this purpose. There is a very difficult problem to be solved by this sudden change of the produce of pasture-land, as all the products of the land are now sent away, and nothing is left in the shape of means of making manure, as formerly. When butter was made and sent to market, large quantities of pigs were kept to eat the skim-milk, and quantities of meal were consumed, and famous bacon-pigs were fatted on the land. I kuow that many landowners are beginning to make fresh agreements with tenants of grass-land in the neighbourhood of railways, so as to compel certain quantities of oil-cake to be consumed, or crushed bones and other manures to be drawn on to the land ; and I think they will be perfectly justified in doing so. I have now gone through the chief products of the land, the cultivation and rearing of which have been much influenced by railways ; and I could dilate more on all of them, but there is still so much to say that 1 must leave each of these matters to be treated on separately by other members at future meetings of the Club. I must now speak of the way in which agriculture is influenced by other products being made available for the improvement of that science. First, as to transit of coal: How much comfort has been brought to many a fireside, of gentle and simple, by the introduction of railways into country districts ! Rapidly the forests, woods, and hedgerow timber trees are disappearing from the face of the land, and many districts formerly supplied with firewood are denuded of timber. Coal happily comes in to cheer the long winter evenings, and all trouble from loss of timber ceases. But coal really influences agriculture in a remarkable manner. What should we have done with our steam thrashing-machines, with our glorious steam cultivators, if we could not have had easy access to coal ? Even the fact of making tiles for draining, and bricks for farm-buildings could not have been carried out if coal had not been brought just where it was wanted, namely, iu the cold heavy clay land districts. I much question whether anything has more influenced agricul- ture than the facility with which coal can now be brought to all parts of the country by railway. Again, t he great facilities of bringing artificial manures, guano, and the various feeding staffs, oil-cake, meal, and foreign corn into the country have vastly enabled the farmer to carry out those improved systems of agriculture so needed at the present time. I now come to a portion of my paper which, I think, you will say influences agriculture as much as any of the foregoing. A leading engineer of the present day said recently that, " if a railway could be made through a country that would grow good grass, and other good crops, for £5,000 per mile, it would pay hand- somely ; " but I regret to say, and I say it with a feeling of great reluctance, as a Railway Director, that, from the rapacity in general of landowners and farmers, that any attempt to accomplish that fact will be fruitless. Surely when all the advantages I have described are enjoyed by the land, the owners and tillers of the soil should be the very first, not only to wel- come the promoters, but should find the land at agricultural value, and aid in every way by taking shares, and otherwise in opening up their districts ; and, until this is done, there is no chance of railway accommodation being much further extended. I could well imagine, at the outset of the introduction of rail- ways, that objections would be made to them, as I find that when Mr. Adams, as counsel for the Liverpool and Manchester Bill before Parliament, endeavoured to show that the newly- proposed mode of conveyance would be " as cheap, as safe, and as certain as any other moile in all respects," it was THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 79 strongly opposed by the Caned Companies, who brought forward witnesses to prove that a speed 01 8 or 9 miles an hour was utterly impossible; that the railway trains could only be worked by horses, and would be beaten easily by canal boats; and Mr. Harrison, one of the counsel for the opposition, said that, " any gale of wind, which would affect traffic on the. Mersey, would render it impossible to sot off a locomotive engine, either by poking of the tire or keeping up the pressure of the steam till the boiler was ready to burst!" Since this time, aud since the establishment of railways throughout the kingdom, whenever large importations of food conic into Liverpool, it is with the greatest difficulty that the railway companies can clear their stations. Loudon is now become the great distributing centre of the traffic of England, aud almost of the European world, and its inhabitants are almost dependent on railways for their daily trade and food. When it is known that in 18G6 32,439,891 tons of merchan- dise were carried by railway in England, some idea may be formed of w dial can be done by that means of transit. In addition to this 1,813,151 head of cattle were carried, 7,180,845 sheep, and 1,617,587 pigs; but in the United King- dom there were, in that vear, cattle 2,706,362, sheep 9,537,524, pigs $837,936, and total general merchandise 38,649,938 ti ins. Most of the food arrivals are in the night. The Quarterly ■/>■ says, that " the most important are the two express meat trains from Scotland ; trains which may be said to have revolutionised the cattle trade of the Highlands. The first arrival is the daily meat express from Inverness, Aberdeen, and all Scotland north of the Tay, consisting of forty-four waggons tilled entirely with fresh beef and mutton ; it per- forms the journey in about 30 hours, and arrives punctually at 11.5 p.m. The second Scotch meat express consists of 55 wag- gons, usually drawn by two powerful engines as far south as Rugby. It is principally filled with fresh butcher's meat from the west of Scotland, and arrives at Camden at 2.40 a.m. These valuable freights are despatched with all celerity to Newgate and Leadenhall markets, from thence they are dis- tributed by noon all over London ; so that the bullock that was grazing under the shadow of Ben Nevis, may within 48 hours be figuring as the principal piece de resistance at a West- end dinner." The Aylesbury meat, butter, and milk train of 20 waggons arrives at 1.20 a.m., and is followed by various others np to 3.20 in the morning. I am speaking now only of the London and North Western line to Camden Town. Cattle dealers calculate that for every beast travelling he loses 8 His. weight per day — whether by road or railway ; it there- fore behoves us to see that our animals are carefully and ra- pidly brought to their destination. I regret to say, however, that nothing can exceed the brutality with which cattle are treated oftentimes on lines of railway ; surely some means could be found, at all events, of giving them water on their journey. The Quarterly Review again says, that London atone received in 1867, 172,000 beast, 1,147,609 sheep, and besides these, the dead meat brought by railways was equivalent to 112,000 more beast, and 1,267,000 sheep, a legion of live stock which, ranged m close columns of twelve deep, would extend from London to beyond Aberdeen. Of wheat 500,000 qrs., 1,250,000 sacks of flour, and 771,034 sacks of malt (how much more if the odious malt tax were off !) ; of milk 6,309,000 gallons were delivered ; potatoes, fruit, and vegeta- bles, more than 155,000 tons ; of butter, from the farms of Normandy chiefly, the Brighton and South Western lines alone brought 14,819 tons ; and these two companies brought 1 1,259 tons of French eggs, or more than three million eggs a week all the year round. A great deal of this goes through London for distribution into other parts of the couutcy. Manchester alone takes from 10 to 15 tons of watercresses daily; and 200 tons of new potatoes. Now all this enor- mous consumption of food, all, mind you, sprung some how or, other from the land, if not all from England, being rapidly carried from the place of production to the place of consumption has enormously influ- enced agriculture. It will completely change the aspect and cultivation of the country in a few years, aud arable farms con- tiguous to railway stations within easy reach of the metropo- lis or the large towns of the north, I believe, will soon be laid down into permanent pasture where the soil is at all suitable, so as to produce those perishable commodities which must have rapid transit, and corn-growing must be followed farther a-field. This is rather different, I think, to some opinions, which had lately been broached al our meetings, as to ploughing up grass lands. It is too deep a subject, and would be fearfully tiring to go into this branch of the matter. I shall, therefore, pass OB to (he cousi'M/itiou, or I may say the absorption, of land by railways. I find that up to the end of the year 1866, the last year which has been made up by the Board of Trade, that 9,701 miles of railway have been opened in England and Wales, and you may fairly take on an average that, including station accommodation, about 10 acres of land are taken per mile ; there will, therefore, have been 97,000 acres of land taken out of cultivation, or 500 farms of about 200 acres each. This is another of the influences of railways upon agriculture. It may be said, " But a great deal of this land was moor land, or commons, or tracts of useless land for agriculture." This is not so great as you may suppose, our main lines mostly follow population, and population has generally settled itself down in early times in fertile places. Take all the ancient cities of this favoured laud, Salisbury, Canterbury, York, Wells, Exeter, Worcester, Carlisle, and most others ; fertile districts brought population, and they in turn spread themselves over the land. In more modern times manufactures and mining wealth have exercised influence, and cultivation followed, so that there are not many barren tracts occupied by railways in England and Wales ; but when I throw in Scotland and Ireland, it still further strengthens my argument. I find the former has 2,244 miles opened, and Ireland 1,909, or 4,153 more, which at 10 acres per mile, is equal, therefore to 41,530 acres, or over 200 more farms of 200 acres each. Now, against that quan- tity of land, which was taken from uncultivated districts, I will put all those lines made since 1866, and those in process of construction ; and I think I may safely say, that over 700 large farms of 200 acres each are gone out of cultivation in Great Britain and Ireland in the past 35 years. You will see here how wonderfuly railways have influenced agriculture, by absorb- ing so much of the cultivated land of this nation ; but on the other hand, by the facilities they offer for the carriage of coal and manures for the cultivation of the land and other purposes, and the delivery of the produce of the land, and rapidity of communication, they somewhat help to make up for this ab- straction, if I may so call it, of the raw material of agriculture. Again, the labour market is greatly influenced by railways. I find, from a valuable little book written by Mr. Mills, called The Railway Service, that from the last reliable source of infor- mation obtainable, that there were in 1866 — 200,OOS servants, such as ticket collectors, engine drivers, porters, guards, police, gate keepers, plate layers, and labourers, the last two classes comprising more than half that number employed on railways. Now, Mr. Leone Levi, in his remarks on the "Condition <»f the Working Classes," gives the following averages as their earnings i — Agricultural labourers 13s. per week, railway ser- vants £1, railway artificers £1 10s. per week. I thiuk these are fair calculations ; and as most of those employed as ser- vants and artificers — to say nothing of porters, &c. — are drawn from the strong, healthy, agricultural population, there is a great influence at work to abstract them from agricultural pursuits. I must here also call your attention to this fact also, which strikes me forcibly, that this absorption is a great stimulus to education in rural districts, as " Hodge" finds his sons can't get a place on the railway unless they have had a reasonable education, at least as far as the three It's — " Read- ing, riting, and rithmetic." I hope our national schoolmasters will look to this. I am confideut this creates a great desire on the part of our rural poor in the neighbourhood of railways for better education. You may well see how this constant drain of young men will tend eventually to raise the price of agricultural labour throughout the country. Now, as I have shown how largely railways influence agriculture in every de- partment, I have not space, and I am sure you have not time, to go further into the matter to-night. That rents have been largely raised by railways passing through districts where com- munication with great towns was difficult, cannot be denied ; but they have given an equivalent to the tenant, by giving him increased facilities for personal travelling and for dis- posing of his produce. That labour has risen and will rise higher cannot be denied ; and I believe the increased facilities for the poor man obtaining his daily wants, will make a considerable addition also to his income, and he therefore will be bettered both ways; aud the whole agri- cultural population must be largely benefited by railway progress. I find even costume has been influenced by rail- 30 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ways ; the long smock frock dangling about the heels of the labourer is rapidly going away to the short slop of the navvy ; and the top-boot in which the farmer rode to market has given way to the very uncomfortable trowsers. Dialect has been in- fluenced by railways ; men travel now so constantly that pecu- liarities of speech are in some degree disappearing, and the tendency is to a more general fusion of races, if I may so call them, throughout the kingdom. I have no doubt it would amply pay to make cheap lines through favourable districts as regards gradients, and I have no hesitation in saying the day is not far distant when tramways will be made from town to town, and thus increase facilities for communication. But, if railways do so largely influence agriculture advan- tageously, they have certain drawbacks, which they ought to be compelled to remedy. I have before alluded to the dis- graceful way in which live-stock is generally treated on transit, unless they are sent in horse-boxes or by other very expensive means ■ and I must call attention to the manner in which their embankments and cuttings and waste lauds are often left — noxious weeds of every description growing on them, and their seeds wafted away for miles over the country ; in many cases the fencing in a wretched state, and the level crossings often insecure ; the embankments stopping the drainage of whole districts, and the watercourses often badly attended to. On the other hand, they have been the means in many agricultural parishes of largely reducing the rates, in some instances to a fabulous extent, almost bearing themselves the whole ratal of the parish. Having, therefore, read so much on this subject, and finding my paper comprises such a vast area of discussion, I must bring my remarks to a close, as I am sure I have tired your patience, and know I have tried my hand in writing ; yet 1 cannot conclude without calling attention to one subject — that of the way in which agricul- tural meetings and exhibitions of stock and implements have been influenced by railways. Prom returns which I have ob- tained from two of the leading agricultural societies in Eng- land, I am enabled to give you the following wonderful results : Although a large number of visitors attended by other means than that of the railway, in 1864, at the New- castle meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, the number of visitors was 107,405 ; in 1865, at Plymouth, 88,036 ; in 1867, at Bury St. Edmunds, 61,837 ; in 1868, at Leicester, 97,138 ; and this does not include the members of the Society, of whom about 2,000 attend annually. The eutries of live-stock at Oxford, in 1839, were 350 ; in 1840, at Cambridge, 451 ; in 1847, at Northampton, 580 ; in 1854, at Lincoln, 950; in 1863, at Worcester, 1,217; and in 1868, at Leicester, 994. The largest number was at Battersea, where 1,986 were entered. And in implements the results are even more marked. At Canterbury, in 1860, there were shown 3,944; at Leeds, in 1861, 5,488; at Battersea, in 1862, 5,064; at Worcester, in 1863, 5,839 ; at Newcastle, in 1864, 4,024; at Plymouth, in 1865, 4,023; in 1866 there was no show, in consequence of the cattle-plague ; at Bury, in 1867, 4,804 ; and at Leicester, in 1868, 6,369. At the Manchester and Liverpool Society the numbers were : At Manchester, in 184S, 2,322 ; at St. Helens, in 1855, 3,757 ; at Warrington, in 1S62, 14,868 ; at Manchester, in 1867, 33,403 ; and at Southport, this year, 24,242 ; and for stock and implements, in the same proportions. I think the following quotation from the Quarterly Review is as truthful as elegant : " To whichever branch of the subject we turn our attention, it is George Ste- phenson that fills the foreground of the picture. The monu- ment of his greatness may be said to be everywhere. There is not a line or a locomotive which does not bear testimony to his genius, his sagacity, and his perseverance ; nor is there a tra- veller on a railway, who saves time, money, fatigue, and anxiety, nor a consumer of the commodities which are conveyed so cheaply and so expeditiously by this new channel of communi- cation, nor a single soul, of the many thousands to whom the system directly or indirectly lias given wealth, competence, and employment, who has not reason to think of George Ste- phenson with gratitude for the benefits he has conferred, and with admiration for the intellectual triumphs he achieved." And I may without fear say that, had it not been for the steam horse and the iron road, I should not have seen so distinguished and enlightened a body of agriculturists here to-night, to be bored by my lengthy paper ; but my apology must be the importance of my subject, and the confidence I have that those who hear me and those who read the paper will be fully convinced how greatly the whole kingdom haa felt " the influence of railways on agriculture." I may there- fore fitly close my paper by quoting the epitaph on Sir Chris- topher Wren, in St. Paul's, in relation to this great influence — " Si monumentum, qua-ns circumspice." Mr. J. J. Mechi (Tiptree) wished to take that early oppor- tunity of thanking Mr. Powler for the comprehensive, truthful, and enlightened manner in which he had treated a subject, which was so interesting to the country at large. The subject was indeed a vast one, and he must confess that until that evening he had never been sufficiently impressed with its im- portance. There was, however, one benefit arising from rail- ways which Mr. EWler had omitted to mention, he meant the benefit which they conferred by rubbing off the minds of agriculturists as well as other classes of society that great ob- stacle to progress, prejudice (laughter) ; by diminishing that spirit of localisation and self-esteem which led men to think almost all other parishes inferior to their own (renewed laugh- ter). Gentlemen might laugh, but it was true that there was a general disposition on the part of men to consider their own parish the best until railways brought them into communica- tion with persons who lived at a distance and subjected their ideas to the hard testing of facts. Railways had done a great deal to check that tendency, and by repressing pride and self- esteem had greatly facilitated agricultural progress. Again, Mr. Powler bad not dwelt sufficiently upon the conveyance back from the metropolis to the country of the elements of food after they had been consumed. If he went to a metro- politan railway early in the morning, while on the one hand he saw milk which was brought from Salisbury, and other articles of produce conveyed from a still greater distance, on the other hand he perceived a very strong smell, owing to the demand on the part of intelligent and progressive farmers for the refuse of the consumption of one or two previous days. When it took six million acres to feed the people of London, and those acres were being constantly robbed of the elements of fertility, how important was it that every possible facility should be afforded for the reconveyance to the land of some of those feeding qualities which had been abstracted from it (Hear, hear). The opportunities which had been afforded for sending agricultural implements from England to foreign countries was another great benefit connected with railways. Let them consider how that operated as regarded labourers. An implement maker in his own neighbourhood, who he was happy to say had been returned to the New House of Com- mons (Mr. Benthall), had employed a number of persons in the district, who at one time could only have obtained eight or niue shilling a-week, at good wages, in the manufacture of machines for the magnates of Russia — great nobles, whose estates were formerly cultivated only by the labouring serfs, but who had now adopted an enlightened policy, and were en- deavouring to produce large crops of wheat which helped to feed the English people, and to fill up a gap which he still be- lieved would not exist if our own agriculture were properly developed. He made no charge against the agriculturists for not employing labour they did not require. Acres had no children (Hear, hear) . The increase of the present popula- tion must be regarded as a blessing, but it was a great ad- vantage to the labouring class as well as to society generally that there should be a demand abroad for English agricultural implements, and railways had in that point of view been very beneficial. Mr, J. Everitt (Eaton, Norwich) said the other day while travelling he listened to a conversation between two very intelligent men on the subject of railways, and one of them remarked that it had been calculated by some eminent statistician that if the Government were to buy up the whole of the railways of the kingdom they could carry passengers at 2s. 3d. per head, whether they travelled one mile or 500 (laughter). Perhaps Mr. Read would enlighten them on that subject (laughter). He must here remark that he was very glad to find that that gentleman had been re-elected (cheers). Their politics were opposed, but he congratulated him with perfect sincerity on his re-election ; and he must say that, in his opinion, his conduct reflected great credit on the House of Commons and on the county of Norfolk (loud cheers). If the penny postage had proved such a great success in the hands of the Government he saw no reason why railways should not have the same result. The Rev. E. Smytuies (Hathern Rectory, Loughborough) THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 81 Said it might be in the recollection of gentlemen in that room who had read George Stephenson's life that when he was being examined before a Committee of the House of Commons on the subject of the projected Manchester and Liverpool Kail- way, a member of the committee, who probably wished to see the project extinguished, said to him, " Well, but now, Mr. Stephenson, suppose a cow were to stray upon the railway, would not that be a very important matter?" to which the witness replied, in his broad northern dialect, " Varra important to the coo" (laughter). And I think Mr. Fowler has shown that railways were very important to the cow, and to those who lived by the cow (Hear, hear and laughter). The establishment and success of railways seemed to afford a very useful moral for them all. Some of them might remember what a fierce battle there was in Parliament when powers were sought for the construction of the London and North Western Railway. The town of Northampton distinguished itself above all other towns by its opposition, and the in- habitants exerted themselves to the utmost to prevent the line from coming near them. Unhappily for themselves they succeeded in their object, the result being that they had since had to pay for a branch line four or live miles long. One argument used in opposition by the people of Northampton was that the county depended to a great extent on the oxen, grazed in their fine pastures, and that if a railway were con- structed the cattle would always be careering round the fields with their tails over their backs (laughter) . Mr. Fowler's paper had furnished a complete answer, supposing any to be needed, to everything of that kind (Hear, hear). Without railways the food question would now be in a very different position from what it is. The opposition to which he had alluded was the result of prejudice and a blind adherence to old associations of ideas ; and if it had succeeded, if persons occupying the most in- fluential positions could have put a stop to the construction of railways, where would the country be at the present moment ? This was a point which ought now to be considered in con- nection with the question of agricultural progress. Mr. Mechi said he had made eighteen per cent, by improved cultivation at Tiptree Hall. Well, that was a statemen t which should be calmly investigated on its merits, instead of being being met and cried down by unreasoning prejudice(Hear,hear). The past history of railways, as indeed of everything which had been done to promote the prosperity of the world, pre- sented a strong moral, which should lead them to consider things on their own merits, instead of saying they were new and therefore they would have nothing to do with them. Sir Harry Verney (M.P. for Buckingham) said he had come there to listen, and not to instruct. He was, however, he supposed, one of the oldest railway makers in the country, and he wished to say a few words on the subject under consi- deration. When it was first proposed to construct a railway through the county of Buckingham the landowners met the attempt by sending their game-keepers to knock over the sur- veying instruments of the engineers, and he did not think the projectors would have succeeded in getting the preliminary survey had they not resorted to a stratagem. They annouuced that they were determined to have the survey made on a parti- cular night notwithstanding all obstructions ; but they took care to get the survey made the night before (laughter) . When forty gamekeepers were sent to prevent the survey from being made, he (Sir H. Verney), as chairman of the company, sent eighty navvies to protect the engineers (laughter). The obstructions and difficulties with which railway projectors were met at the outset were most extraordinary ; but, although he was from the first in favour of the construction of railways, he did not like to throw blame on those whose views differed from his own, and who he daresay were just as honest in their desires and intentions to benefit society as he was (Hear, hear). Now the important question, he thought, for them to consider was what could be done for railway extension in agricultural districts. On an occasion like that, when an interesting paper had been read, the effort should be to turn it to some useful practical account. There could be no doubt whatever that the existence of railways was of the utmost importance to agri- culture. The advantage, however, might be greatly increased, particularly if telegraphic facilities could be increased. When he was staying near Vevey a few years ago he found that the chickens and pigs were not sent to the market at Vevey, which was a do/.en or twenty miles off, until it had been ascertained by telegram what were the prices of the day ; and he thought that if telegraphic communication were made as cheap in this country as it ought to be, that would assist agriculture very materially. Another point on which he wished to remark was one connected with the construction of railways originally. It had always been his own opinion that they might derive much greater benefit from railways if tramways were added to them in a inexpensive form, and he thought that tramways might be carried into almost every field. As regarded the enormous expense of constructing railways, owing to the suras demanded by landowners and also by farmers, he must say he thought that was a subject for which landowners might take some shame to themselves. There could, he repeated, be uo doubt whatever that railways had greatly benefited agriculture, and but for that cause they would have done so to a much larger extent. He was rather astonished to hear Mr. Fowler state that beasts lost 8 lbs. a-head per day in travelling whether by road or on railways. He had supposed that the loss was less in the latter ease than in the former ; but no doubt Mr. Fowler investigated the matter before making his statement. He thought that no better person could be found than their respected chairman, Mr. Read, to introduce into the House of Commons some measure which would at all events prevent the brutal treatment of animals on railways which had been referred co, and which inflicted great loss upon all of them (Hear, hear). He thought companies that under- took to transport animals ought to be compelled to furnish whatever might be necessury for their comfort and safety (Hear, hear) ; and they should certainly be required to find a proper supply of water. Iu conclusion he would mention, as an illustration of the value of railway communication to agri- culture, that some years ago, when he was in Spain, he was told that the conveyance of produce in the interior of the country doubled the cost in a single day. Mr. Eve (Union Court, City) said he desired, in con- nection with the subject under consideration, to call atten- tion to a bill which was coming before Parliament, notice having been given for that purpose. It was thereby proposed to establish a landowers' association, for the construction of branch railways and other works ; and the general object was to enable persons, through whose estate a railway passed.to- coutribute towards the cost of construction, and also to gua rantee four per cent, on the outlay. The object was beset with difficulties ; but if it were carried in substance the effect would be that the owners of settled estates would acquire powers something like those which they now possessed with respect to drainage and other works. The first great cost of railways had hitherto been the expense of obtaining an Act of Parliament, but if this bill passed a branch railway might, with the sanction of the Board of Trade, be constructed in an agricultural district without the necessity of getting an Act of Parliament. It was not always owners who were re- sponsible for exorbitant demands for land. He had heard of a case in which a surveyor, having been called in to make a claim for compensation, consulted his client as to the amount which he expected. The client said he did not know what to ask, but, perhaps, eight or nine hundred pounds would be the proper sum. The surveyor, however, demands £3,500, and he got £3,000. As regarded the conveyance of fish by rail- way, Mr. Fowler, iu stating that fish was sent regularly from Scotland to London omitted to add, that some of it was very frequently sent back to supply retail customers. As to the cheapening of conveyance by railway, he had heard of a still more remarkable estimate than that referred to by a preceding speaker. A gentleman in London, an architect, had, he be- lieved, propounded a scheme for carrying everybody anywhere in Great Britain for 3d. (great laughter). Mr. Edmunds (Rugby) said they had heard a great deal about the opposition to the construction of railways through prejudice. It was very easy to be wise after the event. They could all see now what useful things railways were ; but it required a large amount of insight to tell what effects they would pro- duce beforehand. This question of railways could not be con- fined to agriculture ; it was an imperial question. The rail- way system had been the great educator and civiliser of Eng- land, and it would have been strange, indeed, if the body which was the most numerous one in the kingdom had not reaped any advantage from it. It was impossible for a great blessing to be enjoyed by the country without commerce and agricul- ture benefiting in a similar manner. Their great object on an occasion of this kind should be to turn the subject to useful THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. account, and not to look hack, in order to see how much wiser they were than people were 40 years ago. The people of 40 years ago had not the advantages, and, perhaps, the people of 40 years hence would be as superior to themselves in many respects as they were to the last generation (Hear, hear, and langhter). That subject was not one for vain glory. Science made it easier for a man to do everything, because it taught liim how to do it (Hear, hear). He repeated, that the great iron way of which Mr. Fowler had just been treating was the great civiliser and educator of the nation. What could Ame- rica do with her surplus food if she had not railways to con- vey it to the coast, where it was shipped for Europe ? (Here hear). Mr. J. Treadwell (Upper Winchendon, Aylesbury) said Mr. Fowler alluded to the useful side of railways ; but there was another side which he had abstained from mentioning : As soon as a new trade had been developed in a particular produce, the railway authorities at once took it into their heads to raise the rates. The farmers in his locality had been very unfairly used in that respect. When the cattle-plague had reduced the London dairies, milk was sent from their dis- trict to supply the London market, and the consequence of this was that the railway company raised the charge for con- veying milk by one penny per gallon, which was equivalent to raising the rental of land in Buckinghamshire 10s. per acre. The company also charged l|d. per mile more for conveying a sheep than the third-class fare for a man ; and, while the fare for a man from Aylesbury was about 3s. 7d., the charge for conveying three pigs was 22s., being almost double for each pig. He differed from Mr. Fowler with regard to milk. He thought that if the farmer sold his milk he did not thereby impoverish his land. The returns being more direct, in tbat case he used an increased amount of artificial produce, or such purchased food as was recommended by Mr. Mechi, thereby increasing the value of the manure. Mr. J. Bradshaw (Knole, Guildford) said when he re- membered that the subject appointed for consideration was " The Influence of Railways upon Agriculture," he could not help asking how far that topic had been generally adhered to ? (Hear, hear). He did not know that he had ever listened to a more practical or a more interesting paper than that of Mr. Fowler's. If he wished to depart from that gentleman's sub- ject he might easily do so. He was indeed acquainted with railway construction from the commencement, the first rail- way introduced in this country having passed through his fatlier's property ; but he would not trouble them by doing so, and he hoped he should be forgiven for suggesting that those who were to follow him should confine themselves to the influence of railways upon agriculture. Mr. J. Wilson (Woodham Manor, Morpeth) agreed with Mr. Bradshaw that the speakers should confine them- selves to the subject on the card, and would endeavour to do so himself, especially as it was a subject to which he had paid some attention. In the year 1864, Lord Grey succeeded in carrying a bill having for its object the raising of money on landed property for the construction of railways, the money to be raised being chargeable on settled estates, and having to be paid off within a certain number of years. On the strength of that bill a line was commenced in his county called the Central Northumberland Railway ; but though the money was forthcoming on paper, the lauded proprietors in the dis- trict through which it passed did not come forward, and the consequence was that the railway stuck in the middle (laughter) . He mentioned this as an illustration of the fact that no railway could prosper which had only an agricul- tural district to support it. Being requested to get up infor- mation in favour of the bill, he entered into some calculations with regard to his own farm. There were two lines of rail- way not far from that farm, one being five and the other three miles off ; and the result of his calculation was that he was thus benefited to the extent of from 2s. 6d. to 4s. per acre. Mr. T. B. Dring (Claxby, Spilsby) said he agreed with Mr. Fowler that railways had done a great deal for agriculture. For example, before railways were introduced farmers used to go to the nearest market town, and that was about the greatest distance they travelled ; while the only persons with whom they ever associated were their brother farmers living within a dis- tance of four or five miles. But railways had enabled them to meet together in agricultural societies, not merely in their own oouaty but ia others, and to see what other people were doing ; and when they found that some persons were doing certain things better than themselves they had copied them. He thought that when farmers went out on a little railway excursion they generally derived some benefit. A substantial proof that railways had done good in that way was to be found in the fact that the business of farming had flourished much more during the last five-and-twenty years than it did before. Farmers occupied a better position than they did before rail- ways were formed, and got a great deal more out of the soil. Besides being so valuable to the tenant farmer, railways had improved the position of the labourer. A greater amount of produce had been obtained from the soil, with the application of a greater amount of manual labour ; and by thus doing had been better employed, and improved their position. They did not now see a number of men working on the roads at a shilling a day, as was the case before the use of railways, but that they were lately better employed, excepting this season, from the turnip crop failing, over which no one had any con- trol. The owners of the soil had also derived great benefit as regarded the value of their estates. Railways had in many cases increased the rent-roll, and when land was sold it fetched an enhanced price. Altogether he thought railways had done a great deal for agriculturists. Mr. R. H. Masfen (Pendeford, Wolverhampton), observed that there could, at all events, be no doubt that railways had been the means of bringing men to that room from almost every county in England — a thing that would have been im- practicable a few years ago (Hear, hear). During the career of the last Parliament he took pains to ascertain the number of railway directors it contained, and he found that there were no less than 169 gentlemen. There was no good without some attendant evil, and they all knew that during the preva- lence of cattle plague railways were frightful sources of the dissemination of this disease throughout the country, in con- sequence of the laxity with which the transit was carried on. After the Abergele accident and other disasters which had occurred during the last few months no one could doubt the necessity of legislative interference to prevent a recurrence of accidents, and he trusted that the new Parliament, while di- recting its attention to the question of the prevention of acci- dents would not omit to take steps for placing the transport of animals on a more satisfactory footing. Mr. F. Tallant (Easebourne Priory, Midhurst) said, being a very young member of that club, he should not have addressed them had it not been that in the district in which he lived a certain railway had been lound an abominable nuisance (laugh- ter). A line was taken in hand by a company which had not the means of carrying out the project, and it had stuck in the middle. The fences were thrown down, the tunnel had col- lapsed, and the poor farmers had to pay tithe on the very land which the company had taken to make a railway, while at present there appeared to be no remedy. He hoped that the chairman, Mr. Read, being in Parliament, would be able to assist them in that case (laughter). In reference to what Mr Mechi said respecting the transport of London manures to the country, he might observe that he had lately seen on a lot of railway trucks at Horsham the inscription " John Smith, manure contractor," and it appeared that a number of trucks were specially employed in carrying manure from London, which were met at the station by the waggons of farmers in the neighbourhood. Mr. Mechi inquired where the uncompleted railway just re- ferred to was situated. Mr. Tallant replied that it was in Sussex. It was the Midhurt and Chichester line, and if Mr. Mechi would take its completion in hand he would feel much indebted to him (laughter). Mr. A. Crosskill (Beverley) said that at that hour he should not discuss the question whether railways had proved a nuisance or a benefit to agriculturists, especially as he thought farmers generally were convinced that they had de- rived great advantage from them. In considering that ques- tion he did not wish to confine himself to the past influence of railways upon agriculture ; for he thought it behoved them to look to the future as well as the past (Hear, hear). One gentleman had remarked — and such language had been heard before in connection with the subject of railway extension — that no railway could prosper through agriculture alone. Many of those who listened to that were no doubt anxious to get the railways made ia new districts ; not possessing at pre- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 83 sent such communications as they required, they were desirous of witnessing railway extension ; and the question now to be considered — and it was a question of great interest to agricul- turists as a body — was how they were to get more railways made in the teeth of the opinion, which he believed was not entirely correct, that agriculture alone would not maintain rail- ways. He was very strongly of opinion that if railways were worked entirely by the Government, on a system somewhat analogous to that which had proved so successful iu regard to the post-office, and that on which it was now intended to work the telegraphs, there would be a much better prospect of getting the requisite lines made than there was at present, especially considering the obstacles which existed to hinder railway companies from going into new districts at all. It was an admitted fact that agriculturists wished for more rail- ways, but railway authorities declared that railway lines de- pendent on agriculture alone would not pay, and under these circumstances the question which he had raised seemed to him to deserve the careful attention of all connected with the land. Let them not be frightened by the bugbear of Government in- terference. The Government had the postal system under its the entire control, and the result had been unmixed benefit to coniniuuity at large, every district however remote participat- ing in the advantages conferred ; they were now going to work the telegraphs, and he believed that with proper organization the rural districts would greatly benefit by that change ; and it was well worthy of the consideration of gentlemen living in the agricultural districts, who had no chance of getting rail- ways as railway management was at present constituted, whether it would not be better for them if railways were in the hands of the Government, seeing that that would be the most likely means of attaining the object (Hear, hear). Mr. T. Duckiiam (Baysham Court, Ross) said he thought it was desirable that the Government should take the construction and management of railways into its own tuuds. They all knew that one great barrier to the introduction of railways was the enormous fees which had to be paid to different parties before a bill could be obtained. That railways were of enormous value to agriculturists, could not be denied ; that they were practically- great disseminators of knowledge, and great civilisers of man- kind, was beyond dispute. There was one important point con- nected with the subject, which, comprehensive as the discus- sion was, had not been touched upon that evening — namely, the connection between the development of the railway system and the competition of English agriculture with foreign. In that respect, the importance of railway development was pal- pably very great ; and it behoved agriculturists to do every- thing in their power, by cheapening the cost of transit, and so on, to place themselves in a position to encounter successfully competition from abroad. It also became them to take steps to guard against the further dissemination of diseases among cattle during their transit on railways. For many years be- fore the outbreak of cattle-plague, the filthy state of the trucks, and the defective nature of the arrangements gene- rally with regard to cattle, were a disgrace to the country ; and a serious loss was inflicted on the nation by the manner in which infectious and contagious diseases were spread throughout the length and breadth of the country (Hear, hear). Since the cessation of cattle-plague farmers had had to pay a tax of a shilling a truck for the cost of disinfecting ; but the sanitary arrangements were still very inadequate, and he thought the farmers' ." representatives in the House of Commons should direct their attention to that subject, and endeavour to secure an improvement. Mr. J. A. Nockolds (Bishop's Stortford) said Mr. Fowler, in speaking of the absorption of lands by railways, said many persons had assumed that they were chiefly waste and inferior lands ; whereas, in fact, they included a large proportion of good soil. No one could ride in railways with his eyes open without observing that in nine cases out of ten railways fol- lowed the course of rivers, having on each side fine alluvial soil ; and when that was taken into account in connection with the large quantity of land which had been, and would yet be, absorbed by railways, it must have a considerable effect in any calculations which were formed of a future produce. Mr. C. Wescomb (Strand) said every speaker seemed to feel that the railway system had conferred great benefit on agriculture. As to the case in which a railway had not been completed for want of capital, it had nothing to do with the question for consideration (Hear, hear). The Chairman said : Gentlemen, before calling upon Mr. Fowler to reply, I will, with your permission, make one or two remarks. Mr. Nockolds seemed to apprehend just now that railway extension will take away from farmers a great deal of good arable land. I do not much fear that. I think that if we go into two counties in England, small as they are, by grubbing a few hedge-rows we might bring more land into profitable cultivation than railways would take away (Hear, hear). I quite endorse what fell from Mr. Masfen and other speakers that railways have been the means of disseminating all sorts of cattle-diseases. I am also aware that, owing to the way in which the transit of cattle is carried on, it compresses the ills and sufferings which were formerly distributed over a protracted journey by road, within the space of perhaps four- aud-twenty hours ; but that is the abuse and not the use of rail- ways ; and, as we know the evils, I trust we shall soon obtain acure for them. It is quite true, I believe, that an agricultural district, pure and simple, would not maintain a railroad. We have an illustration of this in my own county, where some land- owners have recently made a branch railway, and there is no one to work it (Hear, hear). It is impossible for a small com- pany to work a branch line of five or ten miles ; and therefore I would advise all persons before embarking in an enterprize of that kind to have some good understanding with the directors of the trunk line which the branch is to join. But I think there is a possibility of the construction of railways, or I should rather say tramways, along some of our great arte- rial roads — some of those wide turnpike roads which are so little used that grass grows upon them. There would in that case be a few engineering difficulties to contend with ; and I see no reason why we should not have tramways formed on many of our widest country roads. One point connected with the subject which has been touched upon this evening- is the great advantage of railroads to the agricultural labourer. I quite agree with Mr. Fowler, that if you place an intelligent boy in a night school near a railway, he is almost sure to come to you after a time, and ask you whether you can get him a place on the line. Railways always have absorbed, and always will absorb, a larger proportion of our best agricultural la- bourers. There is, however, this great benefit connected with railways, that whereever agricultural labourers superabound, by means of railways, they can for a week's pay transport them- selves to almost any county in England ; while on the other hand where labourers are wanted, railways enable masters soon to procure a supply from other districts, which was quite im- practicable a few years ago. In conclusion I would observe that Mr. Fowler has read one of the most interesting papers that I ever heard, and I believe that he will receive the cor- dial thanks of the meeting for it for which I now tender to him my own personal thanks (cheers). Mr. Fowlek then replied. Adverting to the question of the Government providing agricultural districts with railway ac- commodation where it was now wanting, he said he was perfectly convinced that if the Government were to take possession of all the railways in England on the basis of their real value, and of the dividends paid during the last seven years, giving in exchange a Government stock, bearing 2^ or 3 per cent, interest, such an arrangem ;nt would lead to a vast development, both of agriculture a nd of commerce, and prove very beneficial to the whole commu nity. A gentleman, who was a great authority in the railway world, had stated, that if railways could be made in good agricu Itural districts at £5,000 per mile, they would pay but that if the cost amounted to ten or fifteen thousand pounds a-mile it was impossible for them to pay. If the owners and occupiers of landwould offer the requisite facilities, the cost might, he believed, be kept within the former amount. As re- garded the sewage question, introduced by Mr. Mechi, he saw no reason why sewage should not be carried along the sides of railways, and distributed in its course over the land on each side. On the motion of Mr. Newton, a cordial vote of thanks was given to Mr. Fowler for his paper. On the motion of Mr. Tra.sk, seconded by Mr. FowiER, a vote of thanks was given to the Chairman. This terminated thepioceedings. g? THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, THE ANNUAL DINNER. The annual dinner took place on Tuesday evening, December 8, the chairman of the year, Mr. C. S. Eead, M.P., presiding. About ninety gentlemen were present. The musical entertain- ment was entrusted to Mr. Ransford, who was assisted by Mr. T. Young, and both gentlemen delighted the company with their singing. After an excellent entertainment, The Chairman proposed " Her Majesty the Queen." They had, he remarked, very recently heard in regard to a neigh- bouring State that the throne and the Queen who sat upon it had been set aside, and those fleets and armies which were de- signed for the special protection of the crown turned against it, helping forward its destruction. Happily for them their Queen did not govern by means of fleets and armies, but reigned supreme in the affections of many millions of her sub- jects. It was, indeed, a blessed thing for them that the sove- reign was a thoroughly religious and conscientious woman, who really appreciated her position as the temporal head of the church, aud who was in every respect a staunch and tried Protestant (cheers). Whatever might be the political opinions of any gentlemen present, he was quite sure they would sym- pathize with her Gracious Majesty in this her time of doubt and difficulty ; for it must be to her a time of doubt and diffi- culty when a majority of her subjects asked her to pull down what she had solemnly sworn to maintain (cheers) ; and their sympathies must be doubled when they reflected that that warm and constant companion who was ever at hand to give her honourable and just and wise counsel had been removed. Whatever might be the issue, of this crisis he was quite sure they would be right in emphatically altering the words of their great national anthem, aud singing, " She will protect our laws, And ever give us cause To sing with heart and voice God save the Queen" (cheers). The toast was drunk with great enthusiasm. The Chairman next gave " The Prince and Princess of Wales, and the rest of the Royal Family." As a NorfolV mau he was of course very proud that his lloyal Highness lived among them, that he had there chosen his country-seat, that he joined in the sports of the district, and that he was a thorough Norfolk farmer. In proof of the last statement he need only refer to the list of prizes just obtained at Smithfield (cheers). It must be a source of gratificatian to them all that her lloyal Highness the Princess of Wales had recovered her health, aud was enabled to take a foreign tour aud spend some time in the bosom of her own family. If he might, from the rest of the lloyal Family, single out one, he would remark that they must all feel truly grateful that their Sailor Prince did not perish by the assassin's bullet; and he must add, that they could not but admire the pluck and courage which led him again to visit the colony where that fearful and brutal at- tempt was made upon his life (cheers). The toast of the " Army, Navy, Militia, and Volunteers" followed, Captain Wood returning thanks for the volunteers. The Chairman then said, Mr. Vice-Chairman and Gentle- men, i have now come to the toast of the evening, " Success to the Farmers' Club" (cheers). It is my pleasing duty to inform all those who have not read our report that our finances are in a very flourishing condition ; that we have more membeis on our books now than we have ever had be- fore, and that the Club is in every respect progressing satis- factorily. It is true we have had a good many additional expenses this year. In the first place we have had to pay an increased rent ; but previously to this year we could scarcely be said to have a " local habitation," whereas we are now comfortably housed, aud we cannot, I think, object to paying for good lodgings (Hear, hear). We have aiso had some extra printing expenses, which we are not likely to occur again for a few years, and I must plead guilty of being the source of one of those expenses, inasmuch as the Club m me the honour of printing for extended circulation the paper which I read here in February last on the sale and transit of stock. That brings me to the consideration of the subjects which we have discussed during the year ; and I may truly say that I think they have been most opportune and most important (Hear, hear). Not long ago it was said that we had debated threadbare every subject that could interest agriculture ; but I think that when you look down the card for the last year you will feel that we have discussed topics that required immediate attention, aud were of the greatest importance to the British farmer (cheers). With regard to the first question on the card — the sale aud transit of stock — you may remember that, after that, we formed an important deputation to the Government, and that it was received with courtesy ; and I believe we were thus instrumental in induc- ing the Government to bring forward a bill which, although it was defeated, was, I feel quite sure, only defeated for a time (Hear, hear). I can assure you, gentlemen, that it was no easy task to sit on that committee for five and twenty days and to be exposed, as I was, to the polished wit of counsel and the keen irony of a good many members of the committee as if I were the plaintiff in the, case. You were aware that that Bill was never discussed on its own merits, but was what is technic- ally called talked out (Hear, hear). Advantage was taken of an expiring House to smother the Bill and kick it out. The Bill was not what I should have wished it to be ; but it was framed in the right spirit ; and I must say that, in its progress through the House, I marked this fact, that any concessions that were ' made, were something like pearls cast before swine : the oppo- » sition immediately turned round, and triedall themoretorend the Bill. Take, for example, the question of sheep. Our opponents made a great point of excluding sheep ; and, against, my earnest protest, the Goyernment gave way, and sheep were struck out of the Bill. What followed ? Why these sheep, which were said to be so wonderfully clean that they had never brought any disease into this country, the moment Parliament ceased sitting were found to be so deeply in- fected with small-pox, that thousands and thousands of them had to be killed, and this although the Government of Hol- land had assured our own Government that they were sub- jected to a regular scientific investigation before being shipped for this country (Hear, hear). If, therefore, we wanted an- other illustration of the insufficiency of inspection, that would be one. Now we must have separate markets for foreign stock (cheers). How that object is to be accomplished I will not at present say ; but I would just make this one observation, that if the plan of the Corporation is carried out, and if we have a large number of public slaughter-houses, it will be very easy to accommodate almost everybody. But until that time ar- rives— and these slaughter-houses cannot all be built in a day — we must, I think, be content witli having separate mar- kets for the sale of stock, and we must permit animals to be removed to the slaughter-houses in the metropolis. On the other hand, we shall have our market free, and cattle and sheep ougJit to be taken from the Islington market by rail alone into the country. That, I say, is a temporary measure ; but I believe it is the best compact that we could make for a time. Let me further observe that we shall be in a much better position in this Parliament than we were in the last ; for the question is better understood and more Liberal members have pledged themselves to side with us (cheers). Well, gentle- men, let us not forget that, while we want to keep out foreign diseases, we must also endeavour to eradicate those that we have among our own stock (Hear, hear). While we are talking about keeping foreign diseases from our shores, let us not forget the necessity of improving the transit of our own stock and eradicating, as I believe we can, the diseases which infest them. Let us not separate the two subjects ; for if we do so people will say " You wish to place all sorts of restric- tions upon foreigners, and yet you won't do that for yourselves which must be of the greatest possible benefit" (Hear, hear). Gentlemen, the next question that we discussed was compul- sory education. Although we came to no resolution on the subject — we never do so now— still I am sure the feeling of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 85 the Club was against compulsory education (Hear, hear). I am very glad iudeed that it was so ; but I believe we shall hear a great deal more about the matter in the new Parlia- ment. Again, we had a very interesting discussion, of a thoroughly practical nature, upon the manufacture of cheese in cheese-factories ; and as that lias succeeded so well in America, and the Americans are driving such a roaring trade here, I do hope the experiment will be tried. Then we had Sir George Jenkinson — who I am sorry to say is not here to night, although we expected him — on the great question of the rating of personal and funded property. That is a questiou which must engage the attention of all farmers' clubs, chambers of agriculture, and the legislature. But I say tliis, that before we draw up a cut-and-dry plan for its solution, there must be a great deal more inquiry on the subject than has yet taken place (Hear, hear). Well, gentlemen, after our long summer recess we met to hear Mr. Mechi discuss the un- developed power of British agriculture. Aud here I would remark that if any one doubted it before, he must have become convinced this year that, however man may plant, it is an all- wise Providence alone that grants the increase (Hear, hear). Mr. Mechi, usually prophetic and speculative, was on the occasion to which I have alluded singularly practical. He told us that what had been done at Tiptree could be done on every other farm in England ; and I would vent re to say that if it were done, instead of being members of this very flourish ing club, we should all be candidates for the pensions of the Agricultural Benevolent Institution (laughter). Yesterday we had the very important subject of the " Influence of Rail- ways upon Agriculture" brought before us in a paper so in- teresting and so comprehensive that I am sure it must have been listened to with the greatest satisfaction by every one who had the pleasure of hearing it (cheers) . It was really a subject for a paper rather than for a discussion ; and, therefore, if the discussion which followed was not equal to the paper, I hope the able author of the paper, who is present, will excuse me for saying that it was not to be expected. And now, gentlemen, I have gone through the list ot what we have done in the way of discussion ; and I will only add that I hope next year's discussions will be as practical, as useful, and as well- timed as the last year's. I will therefore, geDtlemen, give you the toast of the evening — " Success to the Farmers' Club." The toast was drunk with great cordiality. Mr. Albert Pell, M.P., said he had to propose the health of a tried friend of agriculture ; a man who was utterly fear- less when he had a course before him which he considered it right to pursue ; a man who had in every sense proved him- self a true English gentleman, and worthy to fill the honour- able position which he occupied. He had to propose the health of their chairman, Mr. Clare Sewell Read, the newly- elected member for a new division of the county of Norfolk (loud cheers). Mr. Read was not permitted to attain that honourable distinction which he had just mentioned with- out a struggle, but this had been attended with one advantage — it had proved afresh that the same confidence was reposed iu him in his native county as was manifested in that Club (cheers). It had been said that during the last 10 or 15 years a great change had taken place in the relations which existed between the occupiers of land and the owners. Some years ago there were men extravagant enough to assert that the tenant farmers of Eugland were getting behind in the race, and that it would fall to the lot of the owners, acting through the medium of their agents, to occupy larger tracts of land than they ever had done, in order that the agriculture of this country might keep pace with that of other countries, and provide adequately for the feeding of the people. (Cries of " Walker"). He concurred in the spirit of that ex- clamation. They had in their Chairman a living instance of a man who had not merely kept pace with the times, but who had taken the lead in all that was most valuable in agricul- tural progress (cheers). He had not had the pleasure of Mr. Read's acquaintance for more than three years, but he could assure them that he seemed to have lived a life with him. He had often admired his activity and energy, and derived advan- tage from his advice. He knew how to value his abilities, and above all he had learned to appreciate his straightforward con- duct (cheers). It was an immense advantage to have such a man taking a leading part in that Club ; for their worthy Chairman had never truckled to the common feelings or the popular movements of the day, but had always expressed in an independent mauncr his own views, even though they might not be in harmony with those of the majority. He (Mr. Pell) had indeed beeu delighted to find that some views expressed by him that evening, although they rather trenched on poli- tical questions, met with a warm reception. He would now call upon them to drink, " The Chairman." The toast having been drunk most cordially and with honours, TheCiiAiKMAX, after acknowledging the compliment paid him, adverted to the late contest for South Norfolk, which had resulted in his being again returned as a member of the House of Commons. He owned that he had been annoyed and vexed at the opposition raised against him, though the result had been unmingled gratification. If confidence in him had not been pronounced by the electors of South Norfolk, their Club might have imagined that their Chairman was really guilty of all the shortcomings and misdemeanours that had been laid at his door ; but it was remarkable that in every instance where an accusation had been brought against him or an adverse pro- phecy made, that accusation was answered by the constituency of Norfolk, and the prophecy turned back on those who made it. He had been told that they were to have no more Read in Norfolk ; but they would have him, in all probability, to the end of the present Parliament. He was told that he would be shifted to the bottom of the poll ; but he found that they had put him at the top. He was assured that even if returned it would be by a very small majority ; instead of that, and in place of a majority of 800 in 1865, he had been re-elected by a majority of 1,400 (loud cheers). Finally, in a constituency which was considerably smaller than the previous one he had received more than 100 fresh votes. What was the cause of the opposition? With the exception of one man, who said he would not vote for him because he had not abolished the malt- tax ; and with another exception, that of some outrageous fel- low, who declared that because he had not exterminated hares and rabbits he could not support him, he believed there was not one fault found with him as an agricultural member (cheers) . It was simply said that he had stuck too close to his party. Well, in these days he thought that was rather creditable than the reverse (Hear). If any man supposed that he could go into the House of Commons to make a party for himself, to become a unit in that great assembly, he would not only defeat the object for which he was sent there, but would heap ridicule upon himself as well as those who sent him. Although, then, he (Mr. Read) might have stuck close to his party, and meant to do so again, he ap- pealed to his audience to say whether, when that party tailed in its duty to the agricultural interest, he had not boldly spoken and boldly voted against the Government and against the party (loud cheers). Mr. Jas. Thomas gave " The Royal Agricultural Society of England, the Highland Society of Scotland, and the Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland." He said these three societies were so important in themselves, and had worked so beneficially in the countries where their operations were carried on, that he regretted that the toast was not in abler hands. He was happy to say, however, that the duty of responding had been entrusted to a gentleman who was far better qualified than he was to en- large on their merits. This much he might say, that, having been in 1839 a very careful inspector of the first exhibition of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, and having attended nearly all the meetings since, he could testify that those benefits which the late Lord Spencer shadowed forth as likely to arise from the establishment of the Society had been realised (cheers). When they recollected the paucity of the exhibition, the infe- riority of the animals, and the small and insignificant show of implements at Oxford, and then thought of the splendid and magnificent show at Leicester last year, they must agree with him that the objects of the Society had been fully carried out. The Highland Society of Scotland, which existed before the institution of which he had just spoken, had been equally successful in its endeavours to improve the agriculture of the country for which it was formed. Scotch agriculture, after having been a bye word throughout the world, had become ex- traordinarily good, and an example to the agriculturists of other countries (Hear, hear). The Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland, which was of later birth, had to some extent realised the same kind of success that had attended the others. He lamented from the bottom of his heart that there existed in Ireland such a spirit of hostility aud jealousy. 86 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. that when an English farmer settled there he did so almost at the imminent peril of his life. He hoped that such feel- ings would soon pass away; that they would live to see the rose, the shamrock, and the thistle entwined together, and that the lion would at last lie down with the lamb (cheers). Mr. J. K. Fowler, in responding said, he was sure the re- marks of Mr. Thomas, with regard to the importance of the three great Societies included in the toast, must have com- mended themselves to all present. The Royal Agricultural Society of England, of which he was a humble member, had been established now for more than 30 years. It had done an enormous amount of good ; it had been the means of calling forth the latent energies of agriculture in this country, and, following as it had done in the wake of the Highland Society of Scotland, it had shown the necessity which there was for the concentration of the energies of English far- mers on agriculture as those of Scotchmen were con- centrated upon it. With regard to the Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland, he was sure every one present would endorse the sentiment expressed by Mr. Thomas in the concluding part of his speech. These three great Societies were, if he might use the expression, an embodiment of the Farmers' Club. The discussions that arose at the meetings of farmers throughout the kingdom, found a vent in the exhi- bition of stock and implements at the annual meetings of those great Societies. In considering the influence of those Socie- ties upon the improvement of stock, and of implements, it must not be forgotten that they published their transactions ; that their journals went throughout the length and breadth of the land, enabling members who could not attend to ascertain what was witnessed at the annual meeting. Moreover, these journals went into other European countries, into every colony of the British Empire, and into the United States ; so that persons in almost all parts of the world might imitate what was done in this country, and profit by the union of science with practice. The three Societies being coupled together in the to'ast, he would make a slight allusion to one or two facts bearing on that union. The Royal Agricultural Society of England had the pleasure of knowing that a Douglas of Athelstaneford had constantly carried off the great prizes of the shorthorn world at its annual meet- ings (Hear, hear) ; and when this year they found that the renowned bull Bolivar, which came from Ireland, had de- feated them all, they must feel that these facts bound the three countries together, and was a practical suppression of any attempt to dissever them (cheers). In one remark of Mr Thomas he (Mr. Fowler) did not quite concur ; he alluded to what he said about the inferiority of the show at Oxford. Seeing in the room Mr. Adcock, Mr. Saville, and Mr. Game, he must say he should like them to do their utmost to beat the Duke of Northumberland. If they could only succeed in that, the " ineffectual fires" of Bolivar would "pale" (laughter). In conclusion, he would remark that he trusted the mission of the three great national Societies was not yet half fulfilled, and that they would continue to be the pioneers of agricultural science and practice for many years to come (cheers). Mr. T. Congreve proposed the " Vice-Chairman," Mr. R. J. Newton. After remarking that the members of the Club must all feel that it never had a more able Chairman than Mr. Clare Sewell Read, he said he felt sure that the Com- mittee had made a wise choice on electing Mr. Newton, of Campsfield, as the chairman of the succeeding year (cheers) . Mr. Newton was well known in the Midland Counties as a judge and an authority with regard to cattle ; his kindly dis- position and straightforward honesty were equally appreciated ; and so long as men like Mr. Read and Mr. Newton were found in the chair, there could be no danger of that Club ceasing to be a flourishing institution (cheers). He regretted that far- mers did not act more unitedly with regard to their repre- sentatives in Parliament. If they had sent to the new House of Commons a greater number of men like the Chairman and Mr. Pell, they would soon be in a very different position. The difficulty was, indeed, to find such men (Hear, hear). It was easy to draw a cover, but they could not always find the fox (laughter). Were there a large number of men like Mr. Read in Parliament, many questions in which farmers were interested would soon be settled to their satisfaction. Mr. Newton said it was with very great diffidence that he rose to respond to the toast, which had been proposed in far too complimentary a manner (" No, no.") He felt that it was one of the greatest honours that could be conferred upon a tenant farmer to be selected by his brother farmers from all parts of England to preside over the Central Farmers' Club of England. It was a compliment which he had not antici- pated would ever be conferred upon him, knowing, as he did, his inability properly to discharge the duties of the, chair, and knowing, too, that many other members of the committee were far better qualified for the post than himself. He must candidly say that his feelings strongly dictated his declining the honour of the chairmanship ; but, thinking that his doing so might be regarded as an act of discourtesy on his part, he felt bound to accept it (cheers). He should require a good deal of assistance from their excellent secretary, Mr. Corbet, and he knew the difficulty of following one of the most able, courageous, and accomplished men that ever presided over the Farmers' Club, lie should, however, endeavour to do his best to perform the duties satisfactorily, and it would be his anxious desire and constant effort that the proper dignity of the chair and the high position of the club might not suffer any loss during his year of office (cheers). He would con- clude by proposing " The Smithfield Club," coupling with the toast the name of Mr. W. Game. He thought that all pre- sent who had visited the show yard, seen the excellent arrangements made for the accommodation of the cattle and the men in charge of them, and the facilities afforded to the public for the proper inspection of the animals, could not have failed to be highly gratified. Mr. Game was one of the judges of the present show, and might be disposed to 'say something about it. Mr. W. Garne, in responding, remarked that some animals now included in the show were never seen a few years ago. As regarded sheep, he remembered seeing a number of long-horns, now there were only five in the yard. Instead of these they had now got — and he had the honour of pronouncing an opinion on that class of animals — cross-bred sheep, which was this year one of the best he had ever seen. When he first went into the yard there was no such thing as that to be seen. Farmers then looked upon cross-bred animals just as they looked upon a field of black oats (laughter). He thought great credit was due to the pure breeders (Hear, hear). Great credit was, in his opinion, due to the gentleman who had judgment and energy to class two breeds together, and secure such a cross-breed as they had got. Although he pro- fessed to be a pure breeder of Cotswolds, he must say that there was in the present show one of the best classes of cross- bred sheep that he had ever seen in any show — he alluded particularly to the Oxfordshire Downs (Hear, hear). The Reverend E. Smytiiies proposed " the Committee of Management," in a humorous speech. After all they had heard as to the position of the Club, he was sure they would give the committee every credit for good deeds, and on seeing them stand up in acknowledgment of the toast, they would equally compliment them on their good looks (laughter). With the committee, although perhaps somewhat anticipating the order of the list, he must associate their secretary, Mr. Corbet, who had been so long their exponent, and whose portrait he should like to see hung side by side with that of the late Mr. Baker in their dining-room. He (Mr. Smythies) thought, indeed, that he had already recognised the original of Mr. Punch's portrait in that capital account of the visit to the Leicester show, where " When I tried to look as a critic should Who holds the balance fair ; I wore my hat upon my nose, And my nose was in the air !" —(Cheers and laughter). After the toast had been drunk with cordiality, Mr. H. Trethewy, in responding, said he could bear testi- mony that his colleagues in the committee were excellent men of business, that they showed that they had the interest of the club very much at heart, and that it was owing, in a great de- gree, to their exertions and influence that the club had attained its present high position. The management might be said to be almost entirely vested in the committee, whose ranks were filled up, from time to time, by the accession of new members. He was happy to state that the society had now more than a thousand pounds to the good (Hear, hear, and cheers) ; and he ventured to say that the increasing number of members was THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 87 some proof that the exertions of the, committee hud heen suc- cessful (Hear, hear.) The committee had one very diflicult mat- ter to deal with, namely, the selection of subjects for discussions (Hear, hear). They felt very much indebted to those gentlemen who proposed subjects, and who were kind enough to introduce them if they were accepted, and they must in that respect draw largely on the members of the Club. Hitherto they had been generally successful in their efforts to present good sub- jects for discussion, and he hoped they would be enabled from time to time to present subjects equally acceptable to the mem- bers. He would now, with the permission of the chairman, propose the health of the Secretary, Mr. Corbet (cheers). It was his advantage and his happiness to have known that gen- tleman for many years, and to have acted with him during that period. Mr. Corbet had been so long connected with the Club that he might be almost said to be part of the institution (cheers). For considerably more than twenty years he had acted as their Secretary ; and he (Mr. Tretliewy) might safely say that during the whole of that period he had thrown into the affairs of the Society a degree of energy and of talent for which they ought all to feel exceedingly obliged to him (cheers). It was unnecessary for him to say more on that subject, seeing that from the position which Mr. Corbet held in that Club they must all be well acquainted with his merits (cheers) ; and he was sure that the more they knew of him the better they would like him (Hear, hear). The toast having been warmly responded to by the company, Mr. Corbet returned thanks. There were, he said, on most lists some toasts which were more or less formal, but after the reception it had met with he was not inclined to regard this one in that light (cheers). Moreover, if he said that he was determined to do his utmost to carry out the objects of the Club, he did uot wish to say that in by any means a formal way (Hear, hear). He was proud of that Club, proud of the posi- tion which it held in the country, and he had a right to feel so (cheers). In most Societies of which he had any knowledge these were overlaid by " great men ;" but although it was all very well to have members of Parliament and others attending the meetings and dinners of that Club, even such gentlemeu were estimated there chiefly as representatives of the tenant- farmers of the country. Theirs was a real Farmers' Club, and its views and objects were fitly represented by such men as Mr. Read and Mr. Newton (cheers). Let him mention one fact which illustrated the position and influence of the Club. Within the last few weeks was issued the first report of the Commission on the Employment of Women and Children in Agriculture. The commissioners therein published the evi- dence of gentlemen more or less honourable, and of others more or less reverend ; but in the appendix to their report they give the report of the discussion on the allotment system at the Farmers' Club (Hear, hear). That discussion had been opened by the last speaker, Mr. Trethewy, in a paper, which however admirable would not become him (Mr. Corbet) here to dwell on. As regarded the somewhat personal remarks of the Rev. Mr. Smythies (laughter), if he did carry his head in the air, he had ever fearlessly endeavoured to " hold the balance fair," and he so felt that he might have some right to do so cheers). The Chairman, in giving the toast of "The Visitors," wished to supply an omission on his part, and to offer his own thanks to their Secretary for his valuable co-operation during the past year. The toast was responded to by Mr. David Martin, and the company then separated. THE GENERAL MEETING OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE EXPRESS. " Verhaque jactanti mi/issima, desine, dixit." Sir, — An old member of the Royal Agricultural Society, incapacitated by infirmities from taking an active part in the world's doings, would fain ask leave to make, in your columns, a few observations on what took place at the General Meeting held last week in Hanover-square. It was amusing to read how sedulously, in order to justify the selection of the new secretary and editor, Mr. H. S. Thompson, laboured to prove that for the editing of a journal exclusively devoted to one special subject, any knowledge of that subject was entirely superfluous. The present age is rife with new marvels and discoveries of every kind, but this last new thing of the season is surely the most marvellous of all. Hitherto editors have been regarded as a highly superior class of men ; their genius, knowledge, and ability have met with all honour and respect from the multitudes whom it is their vocation to inform, enlighten, and instruct. But, according to Mr. H. S. Thompson, " Notts arons change tout cela." If this new theory be correct, editors may henceforth repose with bland satisfaction in all the bliss of ignorance, and calmly ruminate upon the folly of all wisdom. In the terms of this new discovery, provided he is equal " to managing the printing and looking after the press," " to choosing type and the quality of the paper," any man is good enough for an editor. The author of this new principle might probably shrink from advo- cating its general application ; but wherein does the editorship of the Society's Journal differ from that of any other periodical ? All those that treat of law, medicine, and science, in all its branches — every other agricultural journal — has some able and specially informed gentleman at its head. So, surely, ought the Journal of this great society. " Science witli Prac- tice " is the motto graven on its title-page, and yet that very Journal is now to be conducted without either — neither, in the opinion of the chairman of the Journal Committee, being in the slightest degree necessary or important. No wonder, then, that Mr. Duckham should observe that " for some years past the Journal had not held that high position which the organ of such a Society ought to hold," and that the great national benefit conferred by the Society " had arisen more from the thirst of the English farmer for knowledge, than from the good management and editorship of the Journal." Mr. Duckham has but given public expression to an opinion long held by many in private. If this however can be truly said of the Journal of the past, what may not he predicted of the Journal of the future? Beyond all doubt the amalgamation of the two offices of secretary and editor is a serious, if not a fatal error. In an earlier portion of his laboured oration, Mr. H. S. Thompson says that " the first thing to he done was to get a thoroughly good secretary." In the report of the Council presented to the meeting it is stated that " They (the Council) have recorded their sense of the ability and integrity which he (Mr. Henry Hall Dare) has displayed in carrying out the duties of his office." On the Council's own showing therefore they had already " got a thoroughly good secretary." If, then, the editor- ship of the Journal is such mere clerk's or journeyman's work as the chairman of the Journal Committee in his justification of the new appointment seeks to prove, why should not a gentleman of proved " ability and integrity " have been re- tained in the service of the Society ? The report goes on to express the Council's " regret that a change in the arrange- ments of the Society has necessitated his retirement." This is open to sharp comment. I however content myself with remarking that the word " retirement " is out of place here. Retirement is a voluntary act. Sir George Jenkinson naturally took it to mean " resignation." Unless my memory grossly deceives me, it was neither a retirement nor a resignation, hut a dismissal. A dismissal without a cause shown ; a dismissal — after a remonstrance, the simple, honest pathos of which was almost affecting — of a man to whom, as secretary, they could impute no fault, and who was more than equal to the routine duties they required of an editor. I thought at the time that Mr. Hall Dare had been most hardly used, and I think so still. As regards the constitution of that august body, the Council, Mr. Read, in spite of Col. Challoner's assertion at Leicester that the Council were " virtually elected by members of the society," manfully reiterates his opinion that " prac- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. tically the Council elected themselves." Mr. H. S. Thompson states that " the Council only decides what names should he recommended to the general meeting for election." It is true that the Council have the power themselves to fill up vacancies as they occur, and that at the May meeting, the places of those retiring hy rotation are to he filled up by the general body of the members. The Charter, that " big book in the cupboard," which according to Mr. Head is kept dark or brought to light as found most convenient, together with the bye-laws down to 1st May, 1861, and a number of resolutions of the Council may be found printed in the Journal, vol. xxii, part 1. Those bye-laws which regulate the election of the Council are given at p. 12, to which the reader is referred. It will be seen that the machinery there devised is so cumbrous and complicated as to paralyse the action of individual voters. The Council is a compact united body, meeting together once a month, acting in concert, and deciding beforehand upon the time to be taken upon every question, elections of course included ; but each individual member acting alone and apart from his fellows with whom he has no means of communication, his single voting paper doled out to him three days only before the election, finds it impossible to displace even a single nominee of the all-powerful Council. In fact the twenty-five vacancies are filled up at a general meeting, but not by a general meet- ing. Mr. Read, therefore, is perfectly right, practically, beyond all doubt the Council is, and probably always has been, a self-elected body. I well remember the occasion referred to by Mr. Long, and would have voted with him had I not been practically dis- franchised by the bye-laws. Some change surely is required in the mode and manner of these elections. Mr. Willson's suggestion No. 10 is good, as far as it goes ; but reform must be carried much further to be of any real utility. How such reform is to be obtained I know not, unless indeed certain of the bye-laws, on which a serious legal question arises, should be invalidated by a court of law. A result to be deprecated as a still greater evil might perhaps ensue — to wit, the break- ing up of the Society. If the Council are even as Mr. Read maintains " more or less the puppets" of a committee, then, as the members of the Society, in the words of Sir G. Jenkinson, must " blindly accept everything that is done by the Council," the outer six thousand are simply made into puppets of the puppets — a position truly humiliating. However this may be, a large important national society ought not to be governed by a mere oligarchy. Mr. Smith, it seems, is kicked out, Mr. Hall Dare is turned out, and Mr. Read, M.P., goes out. What is there behind the scenes ? who really pulls the strings ? We of the outer world may at least be permitted to look on and wonder, and there is little doubt but that we shall also be permitted to rest in ignorance as profound as that of one of Mr. 11. S. Thomson's editors. I am sir, your humble servant, December 18, 1868. Dehors. [Who gives his name, and is a well-known exhibitor of stock.] STAFFORDSHIRE CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. A meeting was held at Stafford; Mr. R. Masfen, vice- president, in the chair. Lord Harrowby proposed the following resolution : " That the Staffordshire Chamber of Agriculture is of opinion that while it would be impossible to throw the whole burden of the maintenance of the poor on the national Exchequer, there are portions of that expenditure in which the vigilance of local parties is not required to which justice demands that the whole property of the country should be called upon to contribute, and not merely that comparatively small propor- tion of it which is subject to rates." Mr. Willoughby AVood seconded the resolution, w Inch was unanimously agreed to. Mr. Willoughby Wood then proposed another topic, which was offered for consideration, " That this Chamber is of opinion that a permanent Department of Agriculture is essential to the due representation of this national interest." Lord Harrowby said he did not see the necessity for a distinct Government department for agriculture. He would not, however, oppose the motion, which was seconde d by Mr. Grindley, and agreed to. Mr. T. C. Smith proposed the following resolution : " That, in the absence of any well-established custom in this county giving security for compensation to the tenant for un- exhausted improvements, it is the opinion of the Staffordshire Chamber of Agriculture that the interest of the landlord, equally with that of the tenant, is involved in some better arrangement, legislative or otherwise, to secure a more liberal outlay of capital by the occupant of land." In supporting the motion, Mr. Smith said it was not a question of leases, but of •compensation for unexhausted improvements. Supposing a tenant to spend more than he could legitimately be called upon to spend upon the land, and was called upon to give up his farm, he left the benefits of those improvements to his successor or the owner of the land. A man and his family might have been occupiers of land for generations, but the land might have been sold to a stranger at a high price, the result of the improvements the tenant had effected ; and the new occupier naturally expected a rent that would pay him a fair rate of interest on the purchase. A case of that sort had oc- curred to Ins own brother, who, with his father before him, had held a farm for thirty-six or thirty-seven years, and so improved it that the rent, when it was bought at a high price by another owner, was raised some fifty per cent, higher than when they first took to it. His brother thought the rent asked too much, and was leaving. Amongst other improve- ments, he had built a lime-kiln, and water had been conveyed in lead pipes for a mile, owing to the water at the homestead being bad ; and he did not suppose that, in the absence of any agreement, he could make any claim for those improve- ments. The Chairman observed that on the occasion of a meeting some four months ago, their president, Lord Lichfield, told him he was very much surprised that amongst all his tenants only one had expressed a desire to ask him for an agreement. That surrpised him exceedingly, after all the outcry there had been as to the insecurity of tenure and the necessity for provision for compensation for unexhausted improvements. He (Mr. Masfen) saw a gentleman who farmed under Lord Lichfield, and who was a very enterprising man, and he said he was per- fectly satisfied with the agreement which Lord Lichfield was ready to give, and he must say that the fact that this agree- ment was not asked for showed great lukewarmness on the part of occupiers. There was a recent case in the Court of Bankruptcy where a man had spent a great amount of capital in the improvement of his farm, and he died, and his widow and family were really and truly brought to penury. He did think it very suicidal for a man to take a farm and expend a large amount of capital on unexhausted improvements without having security for compensation should death or any other circumstance terminate the tenancy before he could reap the advantage of those improvements. He thought no one could object to the terms of Mr. Smith. Mr. Lowe (Trysull) seconded the proposition. Mr. Lowe (Comberford) supported the motion. The Earl of Harrowby said it seemed common sense that a man should not lay out money in matters that were beyond ordinary cultivation without some security for compensation, either by specific agreement or by a sort of common law right iu the shape of local custom. As, however, the circumstances differed very greatly he should prefer a specific agreement. For some kinds of outlay the tenant would be reimbursed in two or three years, for others it would take twenty years, but by one means or the other there ought to be some provision by which a man going out should be reimbursed for improve- ments of an extra character. Then came the question which was always raised with respect to the land question in Ireland, whether a tenant was to be at liberty to make what he consi- dered improvements without the permission of his landlord, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Many of the Irish landowners were very jealous of being come upon for compensation on account of expenditure to which they objected, and he thought no expenditure for which compensation would be claimed should be incurred by a tenant without communicating with his landland, and then an agree- ment could be come to by which security would be granted, and improvement by the tenant encouraged. He was sure no one could feel any difficulty in calling the attention of the Central Chamber to that question. Mr. Trevor Holland, of Oakfields, said he had occupied a farm on which his family had been for three or four genera- tions, and, without any expectation, got notice to leave it at Michaelmas, as Lord Bagot wished to lay some farms together. He had used on the farm the year he had notice £60 or £70 worth of cake, besides a great deal of extra corn, and it pro- duced 14> bags of wheat to the acre. He took to a farm under the same owner, which was in a very bad state, and one field, of 17 acres, only produced ll'J bushels, and there were none above 12 bushels to the acre. [A Voice : " Ground game."] There was no game at first, but he had plenty since. Mr. WiLLOUuiirsY Wood proposed "That the operation of the Highway Act has not been so satisfactory as to induce this Chamber to ask for its extenston at present ; and it appears to this Chamber that the feeling of the ratepayers ought to be consulted before the formation of a new highway district is de- cided upon by the Court of Quarter Sessions." Or the proposition of the Earl of Harkowby, seconded by Mr. Smith, it was agreed "That the Staffordshire Chamber of Agriculture would press upon the Central Chamber the impor- tance of forwarding in every way an uniformity of weights and measures." On the motion of Mr. C. Bvrd, seconded by Mr. Shaw, it was resolved "That it is desirable that attention should be drawn to the absolute necessity for further legislation to pre- vent the introductiou and spread of infectious disease in cattle and sheep." CALENDAR OF AGRICULTURE The first mouth of the year is generally the stormiest of the twelve divisions, in winds and rains in southern climates, and in northern latitudes in severe frosts and heavy snows of great weight and duration. During hard weather of the latter de- scription and the severity of the former, to stop the work on the ground, carriages of all kinds may be employed in delivering grains to the merchant, carrying fuels of all kinds, stones for drains and tiles where the latter are used, and stones for build- ing walls and other purposes. Collect and carry earths to the lime compost heap, and grassy and vegetable earths to the liquid manure pit, where absorption by earths and vegetables constitutes the legitimate application of all liquid bodies for the purpose of manure. Bring forward calcined lime for use in the spring and early summer crops, as potatoes and beet ; place the cinders in an oblong or conical heap, and cover it with a layer of straw, to prevent the dissolution of the cinders by rain and moisture, and the consequent evolution of caloric till the time of application, when the heap is exposed and turned over with a watering for dissolution, and when much diligence and activity must be used to convey to the land the largest quantity of caloric to warm the ground and raise its temperature, on which the value of lime depends for the purpose of cultivation of land. The earthy base of the mineral enjoys a very large aptitude both to imbibe and evolve the quality of caloric, which insinuates itself into every conducting medium, and very imich alters the original constitution. In agriculture this quality of conveying and receiving has a very large field of development. In all weathers the thrashing of grains must be frequently done by machinery in 10 to 14 days of interval, in order to supply fresh straws to be con- sumed in stalls and racks, and to be cut into chaffs, and also cut into short lengths for litter, which last will be a very beneficial practice and soon to be adopted. Move from one place to another the straw cribs in the cattle yards very frequently, in order that the dry spaces underneath may be duly moistened, the dung made of an uniform quality, and the yards littered over thinly, and evenly, and kept in a level surface. This should be regularly attended to. Where thrashing by flail yet prevails, the opera- tions being daily done afford fresh straws in a regu- lar succession, but in a slow process and at a larger cost than by machinery. Mankind persist in their prejudices long after the means have been found of overturning them, and there cannot be a greater blunder in social economy than in expending labour and capital in the manufacture of any articles instead of iucreasing the quantity ; for if £5 was expended in thrashing a quarter of wheat, there is only ob- tained the quantity of 8 bushels of grain, which is done by machinery at one-quarter part of the usual cost. The practice of thrashing by flail is a most miserable prejudice continued long after facts and experience have wholly overturned it — a most child- ish infirmity of mind, and a most pitiful latent barba- rism, that seems riveted and stereotyped even in the minds of the most highly placed and titled dis- tinctions that employ the time and capital in agri- cultural pursuits. And the anomaly is daily wit- nessed of subscriptions being paid by members of societies to promote improvements in arts and science, while prejudices are most obstinately con- tinued, thus expanding with one hand, and contract- ing with the other. Against this very silly and obsolete custom, there may be placed with great advantage (to show the march of intellect with profitable development) a fixed steam machinery on all farms above 200 acres in extent, built by the landlord, and maintained in current going order by the farmer. The barn stands at right angles to the north wing of the farmery, and throws the straw in- to the side and not into the end of the straw, thu3 giving more room and convenience for stowage. The ricks of grain unthatched, under a cover of corrugated iron on pillars, stand in two rows alongside a railway that passes and repasses the end of the barn, to which the sheaves are conveyed by a light waggon on the railway and are conveyed by a travelling carrier to the third and upper floor of the barn, when the scutchers separate the straw and the grains, the latter falling to the second floor in a chaffed condition and riddled down to the ground floor in a state to be measured for use. The straws are fed into scutters on the third floor for chaffs, that de- scend to a storehouse below, for provender ; and. 90 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the greater part being cut into short lengths for litter, is conveyed into all the cattle yards by means of travelling carriers that rest on triangular legs, to reach each yard by being moved as required. By the use of one power, artificial and inorganic —itself the grandest discovery and by far the mightiest agent yet given to man — a combination of purposes is effected in the separation of straws and grains, in the dressing of the latter for use, and the manufacture of the straws into chaffs and litter. Turnips may also be sliced by the same power, and the house supplied with steam for cooking food. Several purposes are thus done at the same time and by one agent. Sow wheat on any fallows delayed from autumn, and on the strongest turnip lands from which the roots have been removed. In fresh weather, plough stubbles for wheat and green crop fallows with furrow of 7 or 8 inches in depth. All stubble lands should be ploughed in this month, and a beginning made to plough grass lands and young leys for lent crops of grains and pulse. All lands are benefited by being early ploughed ; heavy lands are pulverized by the vicissi- tudes of atmospheric action, and light lands acquire a consolidation from lying for a time in a certain position. In the case of light lands, this firmness of the soil has been found of very great importance. The fresh weather of this month affords a very good opportunity of cutting hedges, underwood, and copses ; of planting forest and fruit trees, and young hedges ; of cutting drains to the half depth, to be afterwards deepened, and finished in summer, and for clearing water courses, cleaning the sides of roads, and carrying the materials to a heap for lime compost, of which a large quantity may be got in this way. During mild dry weather, if any happens, continue to pull and lay in store Swedish turnips in a heap at the homestead in a longitudinal row — about six feet wide at bottom and four feet high, with sloping sides thatched with straw. Choose a cool situation. Lay in store, as provision against a storm, a quantity of common turnips, sufficient for a month's con- sumption— keeping beyond that time produces mould and a musty taste. Flood watered meadows and lay dry occasionally. Give turnips and other roots to the store and fattening cattle in the yards and stalls by break of day, in such quantities as may be all consumed by night to prevent any accidents by choking being un- seen after darkness prevails. Wooden cribs with latticed bottoms are preferable for holding turnips in passing downwards the rain, mud, and filth, from the roots in wet weather from stormy latitudes. A few young pigs are very useful to run loose in the yards to pick up the shells and scraps of turnips, that fall from the cattle. These stray animals find a very comfortable bed among the warm dung of the stable which is very beneficially mixed with the saponaceous excrement of the pig. Cows will now begin to drop calf, and the secre- tion of milk requires juicy food in at least one meal daily of roots which may be steamed with chaffs and given at mid-day. Suckle all calves for veal and weaning two or three times a day. No substance yet found can equal the mother's milk, and the cows may be divided for suckling and milking. The sheep that are consuming turnips on the ground require fresh turnips daily, laid on a grass field, and weekly by removing the fence and giving a fresh break. This mode of eating the turnips standing ou the roots in the ground, will best con- vey to the animal the vegetable freshness that comes from the earth, and which is lost by storing and slicing. Early ewes will begin to drop lambs, and must have a warm shelter with ample feeding with juicy articles. Feed bacon hogs twice a day with steamed roots, as potatoes mixed with meals and bran. The food of brood sows may be thinner and more washy. Store pigs may have roots in a raw state, and a meal of cooked food daily. Of all the animals of the farm, the pig is the most benefited by cooked food. In the last month of fattening, give them corns, as oats, beans, and barley, to produce firmness and whiteness in the flesh. Feed poultry with light grains and with steamed potatoes mixed with meals placed in troughs under a shelter shed. The lodging-houses must be heated below the floors with a hot water pipe leading from the boiler in the cooking-shed, and which is wormed beneath every floor, and returns the water into the boiler. This warmth will much promote the hatch- ing of chickens and the laying of eggs during the cold season of the year. The foremost fattening bullocks and the early bacon hogs will come for sale during this month ; the market will be ready and the prices advanced at this early season, which renders it desirable to for- ward the condition of the animals. Work-horses are benefited by oue feed daily of steamed potatoes, or other roots, giren in the even- ing after the work of the day. But the horse is a dry feeding animal and not ruminant, and being- subjected to hard work and exposed to cold, juicy food is too laxative, and warm food opens the pores to the admission of cold. Dry food, as oats and beans, with hay and pea-straw, constitutes the choice food of the work-horse. CALENDAR OF GARDENING. Kitchen Garden. So uncertain is the weather at this season, that it is impossible to do more than suggest. At all events, they who desire to have lettuces, radishes, and salads early, must provide frames and lights. We do not allude to forcing, but merely to pro- tection ; yet this will simply imply some kind of linings either of dung, fern, or straw, laid so thick around the box and lights or brick pits, as to ex- clude a frost of 20 degrees, which often visits us and lasts for many days and weeks. Every vegetable grown in frames ought to have air in fine intervals, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 91 by day, but the sashes should be closed every night, and be covered whenever it freezes, with straw mats, which is the most effectual means of defence that can be constructed. If the weather and ground be open, the green and white coslettuce, and the Brown Dutch, and also a sprinkling of short-tapped radish, can be sowu on a warm border. The earth ought to be free, opeu, and rich, to promote a quick growth, aud straw or fern should be at hand to throw over it on hard nights. Sow radishes twice. A little horn carrot seed, a drill of round spinach, some mustard-and-cress, may be sown; but little good will result in general. Pease and broad beans should be sown at least two to three inches deep in soil enriched in the autumn. Earth up peas and beans if any be ready, obser- ving to select the driest weather. Transplant cab- bages from the seed bed. If frosty, protect the frames and cauliflowers under glasses, and celery by a couple of boards laid ridgwise, or by straw each side of the ridges. Wheel out manure to be ready for plots, asparagus beds, and root crops ; place the dung in square heaps of moderate height, in order to produce fermentation, which, if in action at the time when the manure is dug into the ground, will convey much benefit to the tender rootlets of the sown plants. In the fruit garden prune very little unless the buds swell materially ; lay manure around the roots of gooseberries, currants, and raspberries : it very much improves the spring growth. Do the same also to fruit trees and espaliers. If snow abounds, recollect to have it shaken and sweeped clean off all the evergreens before the sun breaks out ; nothing tends so effectually to prevent scalding and other accidents to foliage. Do nothing in the way of planting flowers, but seeds may be sown in pans, with marks on each, and placed in a frame. Much time and labour are economized, and flowers better secured by this method of pro- ceeding. Plant forest and fruit trees, as directed last month. Deep digging and ample manuring are essential to the growth of any plants, and more especially to the tap roots which descend into the ground, as trees are both taprooted and horizon- tally fibrous, and hence the necessity of digging deeply, and of trenching laterally to make a loosen- ing or the ground. This loosening advances the growth of the tree for several years beyond that of plants that are placed in firm ground, whereby the roots obtain a vigour that enables the plant to overcome, without detriment, the passage from the loosened ground into a firm bed in search of nutri- ment. This fact has been observed and verified in common plantations of trees. Plant during the month all berry-bearing trees, as the goose and rasp, with currants white and black, dress the stems neatly from all excrescences, cut the main root short with all fibres, as the fresh cutting induces a quickness and a number of growths. Plant gooseberry bushes in at four feet distant each way, currants at three feet, and rasps at three feet distant in the rows, and two feet from each plant ; each kind of berry to be grown in a square ground allotted to each kind without any mixture, and no trees of any kind to be planted in contact with vegetables or berries. The habits aud natural qualities are so very different that a mutual damage is inflicted from the propinquity. The collection of the materials of manure in the liquid pit and the dry compost heap must never be neglected for one moment, but every attention paid to this point, the most essential of all the operations in cultivating the ground. The liquid manure wiil suit for all juicy plants with fleshy roots and broad leaves, as turnips, potatoes, beet, and asparagus, and the dry compost for lighter purposes of top- dressings for fibrous roots and flowers. These requisites are ever uppermost. Our directions are necessarily restricted during this dead month of the year, for except in early cli- mates the operations are few and confined to preparations for the coming season of seed-sowing which has not yet commenced. Dunging and digging, with the planting of arborescent vegetables must be the sum of the objects of attention. BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND SOCIETY AND ASSOCIATION. SOUTHERN COUNTIES A Meeting of the Council of this Society was held on Tues day, Dec. 1, at the Three Choughs Hotel, Yeovil. In the unavoidable absence of the Earl of Carnarvon, President, the chair was taken by Sir J. 1. B. Duckworth, Bart. There were also present : — The Hon and Rev. S. Best, Messrs. T. D. Acland, M.P., R. G. Badcock, Clement Bush, T. Danger, F. H. Dickinson, F. W. Dymond, Mark Farrant, Henry Fookes, John Fry, Charles Gordon, John Gray, John D. Hancock, John Hooper, Thomas Hussey, H. St. John Maule, K. J. Spiers, II. Williams, and J. Goodwin (Secretary and Editor). On the Stock and Poultry Prize Sheet being brought up for final approval and confirmation, a motion was made — " That so much of bye-law 78 as requires that ' All sheep exhibited must have been closely shorn in every part at the time deter- mined by the Royal Agricultural Society of England' be re- scinded." The motion being put to the vote, was lost by a majority of eight to five. The time for the shearing of sheep as determined by the September Council Meeting therefore ipmains unaltered. A letter was read from the Earl of Portsmouth, pointing- out the important omission from the Stock Prize Sheet of any prize for Hampshire Down ram lambs, and offering a prize of £10 at Southampton for the best Hampshire Down Ram Lamb, if acceptable to the Society. The offer was accepted by the Council, and Mr. Henry Fookes guaran- teed that in a few days an additional prize for the same class of animals should be forthcoming. On the motion of Mr. Gordon, seconded by Mr. Hussey, a Committee was appointed to consider whether the number of Council Meetings may not with advantage be reduced, and to report generally to the Council as to the best mode of transact- ing the Society's business. The Finance Committee having consented to act for the pre- sent year as a Contracts Committee, several matters relating to contracts were referred to their consideration. A design for the form of official sea), &c., for the Society having been submitted by Mr. Alderman R. J. Spiers, of Ox- ford, a Committee, consisting of Sir J. T.B. Duckworth, Bart., 02 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Mr. T. D. Acland, M.P„ Mr. Clement Bush, and Mr. Alderman R. J. Spiers, was appointed to settle the same. The following new members were elected: — Mr. Thomas Best, Standen, Andover ; Mr. William Long, "Wring-ton ; Mr. Charles H. Wood, Keynsham, near Bristol ; Mr. Charles Pain, Lower Clatlord, Andover. WEST OF ENGLAND FAT STOCK SHOW AT PLYMOUTH. The second exhibition in connection with the West of England Pat Stock Association commenced on Dec. 14, at Ply- mouth, and although the weather was most unfavourable, the proceedings were attended with an amount of success that was unexpected. The exhibition of cattle, as compared with that of the previous year, was most successful, and the competition was not confined to animals of merely local celebrity, but in- cluded prize animals from the Birmingham Show. Some of the sheep were very fine, but there was not much competition. The show of pigs was good. The poultry show exceeded, both in the number of entries and in point of excellence, that of the previous year, and the mangel wurtsel, turnips, carrots, and cabbages showed no symptoms of the late dry season. PRIZE LIST. Judges: Cattle Badock, J ., Bearscombe, Kingsbridge. Bait, J., Kingston, Durston, Somerset. Duckham, Thos,, Baysham Court, Hereford. Smith, J. A., Bradford Peverel, Dor- chester. Sheep, Pigs, ") Potter, Thos., Yellowford, Thorverton, and Roots) Devon. DEVONS. Oxen or steers, exceeding 3 years and 3 months old. Pirst prize, £10 and a silver cup, value £10 10s.,' as the best ox or steer, and a special prize of £5 5s. for the best ox or steer bred aud fed by the exhibitor, Walter Farthing, Stomey Court, Bridgwater ; second, £5, E. Trood, Exminster, Devon. — [These animals competed in the same class at Birmingham, when Mr. Trood's was placed second and the one now first was third.] Highly comraended.W. Perry, Low Down, Devon ; commended, R. Burton, Broadclyst, Devon. Devon steers, not exceeding 3 years and 3 months old. Pirst prize, £10, E. Trood ; second, £5, H. Earthing. Highly commended, R. Burton, for two steers. Cows or heifers, exceeding 4 years old. Eirst prize, £10 and a cup, value £10 10s., for the best cow or heifer in the Hall, W. Earthing ; second, £5, R. Burton. Commended, J. Tremayne, Sydenham House, Devon, and J. Drew, Tavistock, Devon. Heifers, not exceeding 4 years old. A special prize, £5, W. Senior, Blandford, Dorset. Commended, E. Trood. SOUTH DEVONS. Oxen or steers, exceeding 3 years and 3 months old. First prize, £10, G. Coaker, Plympton, Devon ; second, £5. With- held : want of merit. Steers, not exceeding 3 years aud 3 months old. First prize, £10, S. Huxham, Kingsbridge, Devon ; second, £5. Withheld. Cows or heifers, exceeding 4 years old. First prize, £10, J. May, Charleton, Kingsbridge ; second, £5, E. Palleyblank, Ugborough, Ivybridge. Heifers, not exceeding 4 years old. A special prize, £5, J. M. Toms, Coyton Ivybridge, Devon. SHORTHORNS. Oxen or steers, exceeding 3 years and three months old. First prize, £10, J. Horswill, Low Down, Devon— [This animal (6 years and 3 months old) won the first prize in this class last year, and it was generally thought the second prize steer (3 years and 5 months old) should have been placed first, but the judges appear to have looked at weight and not age] ; second, £5, C. Elliott, Hutt, Cornwall. Commended. J. Horswill. Steers, not exceeding 3 years and 3 months old. First prize, £10, W.Trethewy, Probus, Cornwall ; second, £5, ditto. Com- mended, S. Widdicombe, Ugborough, Ivybridge. Cows or heifers, exceeding 4 years old. First prize, £10, W. Senior ; second, £5, W. Hosk3n and Son, Hayle, Corn. wall. Highly commended, S. Widdicombe ; commended, E. S. Tucker, St. Germain's, Cornwall. Heifers, not exceeding 4 years old. A special prize, £5. Withheld. HEREFORDS. Oxen or steers, exceeding 3 years aud 3 months old. First prize, £10, R. S. Olver, St. Mabyn, Bodmin, Cornwall ; second, £5, G. Lobb, Lawbitton, Cornwall. Highly commended, R. S. Olver ; commended, T. Olver, Penhallow Grampound. Steers, not exceeding 3 years and 3 months old. No entry. Hereford cows or heifers, exceeding 4 years old. First prize, £10, J. W. James, Blandford, Dorset ; second, £5, G. Lobb. Highly commended, Oliver Ryall, Milton Abbott, Devon. Heifers, not exceeding 4 years old. A special prize, £10 5s., for the best cow or heifer, bred and fed by the exhibitor, J . W. James. CROSS BREEDS. Oxen or steers, of any age. First prize, £8, S. Widdicombe ; second, £4, J. F, Buller, Liskeard, Cornwall. Highly com- mended, T. M. Cardell, Colan, St. Columb, Cornwall ; com- mended, J. Horswell. SHEEP. Pen of three Leicester wethers, under 23 months old. First prize, £5, and second, £2 10s., J. B. Comer, Longforth, Somerset. Pen of three wethers, of any Long-woolled breed not being Leicesters, under 23 months old. Eirst prize, J. S. Davey, Rednith, Cornwall. Pen of three Down wethers, under 23 months old. First prize, £5, and second, £2 10s., J. S. Davey. Pen of three Exmoor wethers, of any age. First prize, £5, and second, £2 10s., W. Smith, Higher Hopern, Exeter. Pen of three Dartmoor wethers, of any age. First prize, £5, and second, £2 10s., J. Jackman, Kelly, Tavistock, Devon. Pen of three ewes, of any breed. A prize, £3, J. B. Comer. PIGS. Pen of two pigs, under 9 months old. First prize, £4, W. F. Collier, Honabridge, Devon ; second, £2, T. B. Cornish, Teignmouth, Devon. Commended, R. Nicholls, Lostwithiel, Cornwall. Pen of two pigs, above 9 and under 16 months old. First prize, £4, T. B. Cornish ; second, £2, W. F. Collier. Highly commended, S. Hyne, Stonehouse, Devon ; commended, J. S. Davey. Best fat pig, of any age. The prize, £3, J. S. Davey, Com- mended, S. Widdicombe. THE CHIPPENHAM AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. At the show the entries were more numerous than usual, but there was nothing of remarkable excellence ; and for fat stock both the Duke of Beaufort and Mr. Stratton gave the preference to Birmingham. Mr. Stratton, however, took the chief prize for the bull, cow, and calf, with a good bull and a nice calf, but a thin-fleshed cow ; and Mr. Goulter's second prize cow was, single-handed, by far the better of thetwo. The older class of bulls were all in- different, although Mr. Stratton took the prize; the yearling bulls not much better, with Mr. C. Hobbs first ; but Mr. Stratton's best bull calf was a very good thick-fleshed promising young one. The two older heifer classes were bad, with Mrs. and Mr. C. Burbridge claiming the best of them ; but Mr. Strat- ton had a very good yearling heifer, though overdone ; and a good, but patchy calf, both of which won in their classes. The milch and dairy animals were very bad in- deed, either for numbers or excellence ; but Mr. Bur- bridge and Mr .'Smith, of Bynoll, made the most of such merit as their animals possessed. Mr. E. Little's prize steer requires only more time to make a very good beast ; and Mr. Moore snowed a nice pen of short-woolled ewes. The Judges of stock, who did not add a single commenda- tion to the actual award of prizes, were, Mr. R. J. New- ton, Campsfield, Woodstock ; Mr. W. H. Beauford, Bed. ford ; and Mr, T. Morris, Maesmaur, Gloucester, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 93 AGRICULTURAL REPORTS. GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR DECEMBER. The season having proved very favourable, great progress has been made with out-door farm labours, and the winter wheats have come up with much regularity. The growth, in- deed, has been too rapid on many lands, and farmers have been anxiously awaiting slight frosts to check the too forward vege- tation. The quality of the produce on sale at the leading mar- kets has been excellent, and fully bears out the opinion we have all along expressed of the great superiority of the recent growth to any crop within memory. The downward tendency in prices, noticed in our last, continued to characterise the markets during the former half of December; but latterly a firmer tone has prevailed, and a slight reaction has taken place in prices. A little consideration will show that farmers are acting wisely in holding back their produce, rather than in realising at the low rates now current. Since the commence- ment of the year wheat has fallen nearly 20s. per quarter, and it may well be doubted if that reduction is not an excessive one, and whether the present range of quotations represents the legitimate value of wheat under the circumstances in which the trade is now placed. It is true we have secured a most abundant crop of wheat ; but we question much whether one favourable season can counterbalance the effects of three suc- cessively bad ones ; certainly the surplus of the late crop will not make up for the alarming deficiency of the former ones. We have of course imported largely from all quarters, and much of this has gone into warehouse, but our stocks are still below their natural level, and the trade cannot by any means be considered on a safe basis until they are heavily replenished. The Baltic ports are now closed for the season, and, beyond the shipments now on the way, we shall receive no more supplies from that quarter until the opening of the navigation. We have drawn too largely in the Ukraine districts to expect any large supplies from thence. In America there is a large quantity of surplus produce, but the freezing up of the canals will prevent its transhipment to the ports of shipment. On the other hand, the railways, an advantage which the United States possess in an eminent degree, will greatly obviate this difficulty ; but the high rates of freight, and the panicky condition of the money market at New York will tend to deter speculators from operating, as, in the present condition of our market there is very little margin left for profit. The imports we may receive will all be required to meet the large consumption going on, and we do not believe that they will be extensive enough to exert any depressing in- fluence upon prices. Any further fall in values seems to be out of the question, if indeed we do not see a slight advance dunng the winter months. Farmers have, to some extent, the control of the markets in their own hands, especially as the easy con- dition of our own money market will give them every facility for holding. Barley has ruled firmer, notwithstanding a considerable decline in values at the commencement of the month. Fine malting qualities have been on 'the advance, and grinding and distilling qualities have partly recovered the recent reduction. Oats have been in limited supply, and values have tended upwards. There has been a good demand for both oats and maize, for feeding purposes, notwithstanding the fact that the root crops have turned out more favourably than was antici- pated. Beans and peas show, a slight reduction in the month. Eng- lish beans continue to come to hand in very inferior condition. Although the supplies of potatoes have been liberal — the importations having been unusually heavy — the general quality of the produce has been very middling, and the trade has, con- sequently, been much depressed. In the Metropolitan markets prices have ranged from 40s. for inferior foreign to 150s. per ton for the best Yorkshire Flukes. English wool has ruled very inactive, the attention of the trade having been principally directed to the public sales of colonial produce, which have lately come to a [conclusion. Values, however, have been fairly sustained, there being a steady demand for woollen goods of all descriptions. At the public sales there was a good attendance throughout, and the biddings ruled active, at an advance of 0|d. to Id. per pound. The inferior greasy wool, which sold so badly at the former series, benefited most by the improved tone in the trade. Foreign houses were well represented, and it is estimated that about 50,000 bales have been taken for export to Belguim and France. About 120,000 bales were offered, the whole of which was disposed of. There have been decided signs of returning activity in the hop market. There has been a brisk inquiry for choice sam- ples ; but the heavy influx of foreign hops has prevented any rise in the quotations. The comparative scarcity of cattle food throughout the country has caused an increased demand for artificial means of sustenance, and the outlay on the part of stock feeders promises to be very great during the winter. Cakes, both English and foreign, have met with a good inquiry, at very full currencies. The supplies of wheat on sale in the Scotch markets have been only moderate, but generally of excellent quality. Sales have progressed slowly, millers having only operated to supply positive wants, and the quotations have fluctuated in sympathy with the movements in the English markets. Barley and oats have ruled steady, but beans and peas have tended downwards in value. The Irish grain trade shows no important feature. In wheat there has been very little doing, although some few transactions have taken place for export. Towards the close of the month prices showed considerable firmness. Spring corn of all descriptions, with the exception of oats, has ruled dull and drooping. REVIEW OE THE CATTLE TRADE DURING THE PAST MONTH. The drought which prevailed throughout the summer months, and the consequent scarcity of food having com- pelled graziers to send their stock to market at a much earlier period than usual, the show of beasts for Christmas consumption in the leading cattle markets has been much less extensive than in former years, and the falling-off in number has been particularly noticeable in the case of the metro- politan market. The quality of the stock, however, has been generally good, and, when the numerous disadvantages under which graziers and feeders have laboured are taken into con- sideration, it must be admitted that the condition in which the bulk of the animals were despatched to market reflects great credit upon all those concerned in promoting the growth of fat cattle. Some very superior Scots have been disposed of at as much as 5s. 8d. per 81bs., but the general top quotation has been 5s. 6d. per 81bs., to sink the offal. The trade has been moderately active, preference being given to choice stock. Only moderate supplies of sheep have come to hand, and the quality has been generally inferior, prime breeds being quite the exception. The business doing has been limited, nevertheless prices have shown but little variation. The best Downs and half-breds have sold at from 5s. 4d. to 5s. 6d. per 81bs. The orders compelling the slaughter of foreign cattle at the place of debarkation have continued in force, therefore only English breeds have been exhibited in the various markets. Calves have been sparingly offered. The trade, however* has been far from active, yet the quotations have been well supported. No change of importance has taken place in the value of pigs, notwithstanding that the demand has been inactive. The supply offered has been limited. The heavy rains which have fallen in all parts have greatly benefited the country. In all pastures there is a fair quantity of grass, whilst the turnips and other root crops have greatly improved in quality. Considerable inroads have been made, however, into the hay crop. The demand for feeding stuffs lias been moderately active, and prices have ruled firm. H 94 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. The imports of foreign stock into London have been as under : Head. Beasts 3,472 Sheep 13,116 Calves 567 Pigs 76 Total 17,231 Same time in 1867 38,336 „ 1866 34,658 1865 66,721 1864 41,712 1863 34,435 1862 25,435 1861 21,904 1860 20,795 1859 ... 17,430 The total supplies brought forward in the Metropolitan Cattle Market have been as follows : Head. Beasts 17,770 Cows 310 Sheep 81,780 Calves ... ... ... ... 935 Pigs 1,070 Total 101,865 Comparison of Supplies. Dec. Beasts. Cows. Sheep. Calves. Pigs. 1867 21,910 312 92,490 943 1,880 1806 20,750 200 71,390 1,053 1,950 1865 31,720 470 126,170 2,823 2,930 1864 23,780 470 78,410 1,441 2,700 1803 29,302 485 88,470 1,150 2,680 1862 25,810 536 85,621 1,354 3,082 1861 24,840 470 84,630 701 2,950 1860 24,540 510 82,340 1,577 2,445 The arrivals from our own grazing districts, as well as from Scotland and Ireland, thus compare with the three previous years : Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. From— 1868. 1867. 1866. 1865. 1864. Lincolnshire, Leices- tershire, and North- amptonshire 7,845 9,700 7,800 10,500 8,500 Norfolk 550 2,000 — 700 1,200 Other parts of England 2,330 2,500 2,700 4,700 3,200 Scotland 2,190 1,710 1,360 2,243 1,901 Ireland 1,292 1,042 2,020 1,150 1,070 Beef has sold at from 3s. 2d. to 5s. 8d. ; mutton, 3s. to 5s. 6d. ; veal, 3s. 8d. to 5s. lOd. ; and pork, 3s. 6d. to 4s. 8d. per Slbs., to sink the offal. Comparison or Prices. Dec, 1867. Dec., 1866. Dec, 1865. Dec, 1864. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Beeffrom 3 4to52 3 4to5 6 3 2 to 5 6 3 6to6 0 Mutton... 34 50386438 683862 Veal 44 54425 10 40 50445 6 Pork 32 4236 4 6 40 543650 The increased facilities afforded by the railway'companies for the transmission of dead meat, have greatly interferred with the trade in live stock ; whilst on the other hand they have mate- rially contributed to the expansion of the trade in dead meat. Large quantities have been forwarded from all parts of the country to the metropolis, and have in a great measure com- pensated for the deficiency in the arrivals of live stock. At the same time, with the advent of cooler weather, the receipts from abroad have been on a more liberal scale ; but, without assuming anything like important dimensions. A fair busi- ness has been passing in most descriptions as follows : — Beef from 3s. to 4s. 10d., Mutton 3s. to 4s. Sd., Veal 3s. 6d. to 4s. 10d., and Pork 3s. 2d. to 4s. 8d. for Slbs. bv the carcase. REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE DURING THE PAST MONTH. The closing month of the year has brought with it stormy winds and heavy floods, with a temperature more like spring than winter. All external traces therefore of the severe drought and intense heat of the past summer have passed away, and we are getting into the danger of winter pride as respects the luxuriant wheat, and too early a starting of the fruit buds. The dry autumn having given unusual time for the preparation of the land, no- thing can be in arrears except through mishap or negligence. Many mills have been clogged by the abundant waters, and a frost now becomes desirable to prepare the land for spring-planting as well as for a timely check upon too forward vege- tation. It would appear that the same kind of weather has generally prevailed on the continent, and once or twice some ports on the Baltic which had been frozen were again freed by the breaking of the ice ; but as a yet sterner time is at hand, it will now be useless to expect supplies from these changes. Though the holiday season is naturally against an advance on wheat in ordinary times, its undue depression below the value of barley and other spring corn has lately drawn attention enough to produce something of an upward movement, and the gain for the month has been about 2s. per qr., with every prospect either of a permanency or a greater rise as the new year comes on. It would indeed seem that the deficiency of the spring crops as well as of esculents begins to be felt, and should two or three months of hard weather be at hand, the consumption of wheat for cattle-feeding would most effectually prevent any decline in that grain, as we should be shut-up entirely to the Mediter- ranean and Atlantic arrivals. In France prices are so near to our own that very little would be forth- coming, and a change would soon come over the French markets, from the very idea that England was in want. As to Spain, it is known that her crop is exceedingly short, and when the Govern- ment of that country becomes settled very large demands may be made by it upon more favoured countries, and at present rates it would pay to ship English produce if merchants were but certain of their money. There are continual fluctuations at New York, and speculation is sure to spring up there upon the least appearance of paying exports. So that we cannot but come to the conclusion that wheat will pay those who can hold it. The follow- ing rates were recently quoted at the several places named : White wheat at Paris 55s., red 52s., white at Bordeaux 54s., fine red at Louvain 50s., at Brussels 51s., white Zealand at Rotterdam 53s., fine red Wahren at Hamburgh 52s., Saale 51s., Rostock for spring shipment 50s., Danzic for spring shipment to 56s. (cost and freight included), red at Berlin 44s., at Cologne 43s. 6d., at Pesth 38s., average red at Trieste 36s., low white in THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 95 Egypt 43s., hard at Algeria 4Ss., soft 51s., white at San Francisco in California 51s. per qr. free on board, red spring at Montreal 38s., at New York 42s. per qr. of 4S0lbs. The first Monday in Mark Lane commenced on a short English supply of wheat, the foreign arrival being moderate. The show of samples on the Kentish and Essex stands was very limited, and though sales were not brisk, a feeling of more confidence in the trade was evinced, with less dif- ficulty in placing either red or white. In the foreign trade there was a similar increase of con- fidence, with more doing; but no positive advance was noted. The floating trade, however, evinced no improvement whatever, though the arrivals were only limited. The firmness in the London trade was more confirmed in the country, with a rise of Is. per qr. in several places — as at Boston, Bury St. Edmund's, Ipswich, Birmingham, Wakefield, Newark, and Bristol : while on Saturday several markets were Is. to 2s. per qr. dearer. Edinburgh was only firm, but Glasgow advanced 3d. to 6d. per boll. No change of price was noted at Dublin, where business remained slack. On the second Monday there was a rather bet- ter supply of home-growth; but a diminution in the foreign arrivals. The show of samples during the morning on the Essex and Kentish stands was short, and the condition somewhat affected by the prevalence of rainy weather. Yet, with the marked improvement in the latest country markets, an advance of Is. to 2s. per qr. was readily obtained, and a general clearance made of everything really good. The same cheerful aspect was exhibited at the foreign stands, and fully Is. per qr. more was realized on all qualities ; the chief business, how- ever, consisted in the sale of Russian and Ameri- can red. With moderate arrivals off the coast, some cargoes realized a small advance. The im- provement noted this week, in London, was rea- dily responded to in the country. The smallest advance any where quoted was Is. per qr., many were up Is. to 2s., and fully 2s. improvement was paid in several places of importance. Edinburgh, though not decidedly dearer, found sales made with greater facility. At Glasgow a rise of 6d. to Is. per boll was generally demanded, which checked busines. Irish wheat at Dublin being scarce, was 6d. per barrel dearer, and the same improvement was demanded on all descriptions of foreign. On the third Monday supplies were small, both in English and foreign qualities. An unusally small exhibition of samples appeared on the Kentish and Essex stands, and some further de- terioration in the samples was evident ; yet a brisk inquiry soon took off whatever was procura- ble, at the previous currency, and some factors were even holding for 2s. more, which millers were not inclined to pay. Great firmness was shown in the foreign trade, notwithstanding the near approach of the holidays, with a fair amount of business. But few arrivals were reported off the coast, and some cargoes were sold at rather better prices. This being Christmas week, the country markets were generally of a holiday character, and the accounts mostly nniform, the little business transacted ..being at unaltered prices, with some places asking more money, and millers refusing to pay it. The same reports applied to the Scotch and Irish markets, with scarcely any change of prices. On the fourth Monday there was but a mo- derate supply of wheat, both English and foreign. The show of samples on the Kentish and Essex stands was almost nothing, partly from the diffi- culty of thrashing and partly from the expectation of a holiday market, which it certainly was, though the scantiness of the supply would have raised prices had there been only a common demand, but rates, though firm, were without any positive change. The foreign trade was limited, yet there was no giving way on the part of holders. The imports for four weeks into London were, 23,874 qrs. English and 43,683 qrs. foreign, against 29,735 qrs. English and 223,948 qrs. foreign, for the same period in 1867. The imports into the kingdom for four weeks, ending December 19th, were 2,611,285 cwts. wheat and 339,762 cwts. flour, against 4,500,303 cwts. wheat and 639,018 cwts. flour in 1867. The general averages commenced at 51s., and closed at 49s. 5d. Those of London commenced at 52s. 5d., and ended at 55s. The London exports were, 320 qrs. wheat and 98 cwts., flour. The flour trade, though nominally the same as to prices, has varied with the changes in wheat in the greater or less facility of sales. The country supplies throughout the month have been too abundant to admit of a positive rise beyond 6d. per sack on any market, Norfolks have, therefore, stood at 33s. per sack, and town qualities have remained at 47s. as the top price. The depression in the flour trade in the earlier part of the month at Paris, and other parts of France occasioned some shipments, and the American supplies have improved, but from neither of these countries have imports yet paid those who ventured upon them. The imports into London in the four weeks were, 86,455 sacks country sorts, and 3,812 sacks 27,186 barrels foreign, against 100,419 Isacks English and 2,507 sacks 140,813 barrels foreign, for the same period in 1867. The importations of maize have not equalled the supplies of the two previous months, yet prices have about receded Is. per qr., which may have arisen from repeated reductions in the value of beans and peas, good useful yellow could be bought at 37s., so that for weight it is cheaper than barley, and we expect from the li- mited shipments from New York, that prices are likely to improve. The London imports for four weeks were, 31,711 qrs., against 8,362 qrs., in 1867. The barley trade during the month, so far as malting qualities are concerned, has been quite in a state of excitement, from the smallness of the sup- plies, and the general belief that the crop was nearly exhausted. Arise of fully 3s. per qr., has, therefore, taken place, and extraordinary prices have been paid for really fine sorts, say 54s. to 55s. ; we have, therefore, followed the advance at New York, and if it were not for the fact, that brewers have been using immense quantities of sugar in the manufacture of beer, its value might have exceeded wheat by 10s. per qr. In this state of things 96 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the future is more uncertain than usual excepting that extremes are always dangerous. Foreign malting sorts have also enhanced in value, but grinding descriptions from the the free imports have been dull at 32s. for low sorts. The imports into'London for four weeks were, 14,568 qrs. British and 76,600 qrs. foreign, against 16,683 qrs. British and 70,904 qrs. foreign, for the same period in 1867. The malt trade, although only slowly following that of barley, has improved to the sxtent of Is. to 2s. per qr. Brewers, however, complain that the demand for malt-liquor has considerably dimi- nished. There were good supplies of foreign oats for the first fortnight ; but they fell off afterwards, from the closing of most of the Baltic ports. At the commencemeut of the month there was a decline in the value of new corn of 6 d. to Is., but on the third week this decline was fully recovered; so prices both of old and new remain much as they were at the outset. Old Russian sorts, weighing only 38lbs. per bushel, are worth about 27s. 6d. to 28s., and new Swedes (40lbs. weight per bushel) fully 30s., other descriptions being in proportion. There has been a great falling off in the English supplies. Almost nothing has come from Scot- land, and the Irish arrivals for the whole month have not been equal to more than a fortnight's consumption from London. It seems, therefore, there is no help for this grain's continuing dear until the opening of the Baltic in spring ; and, our own crop turning out so short, a large reduction is not then to be expected. The arrivals into London for four weeks were 1,783 qrs. English, 499 qrs. Scotch, 12,198 qrs. Irish, 197,402 qrs. foreign, against 28,638 qrs. English, 270 qrs. Scotch, 3,685 qrs. Irish, 228,090 qrs. foreign, in 1867. Beans have been dull throughout the month, from the low price of maize and white peas. New English have given way 2s. per qr. and old sorts about Is. ; but should it become frosty we may expect to see prices somewhat improve, as they have been advancing in Egypt, and our own crop runs very short. The imports into London for four weeks have been in English sorts 2,481 qrs., in foreign 15,851 qrs., against 6,797 qrs. English, 5,608 qrs. foreign in 1867. Peas throughout the month have been a very dull trade. Duns, as well as white sorts, have given way Is. to 2s. per qr., and the latter, from the absence of frost, have almost been exclusively used for feeding purposes. The former are not worth over 42s., and the latter 44s. to 45s. per qr. ; but should the weather turn sharp, the last would be likely to rise. The imports into London for four weeks were 2,020 qrs. English, 17,739 qrs. foreign, against 3,527 qrs. English, 3,527 qrs. foreign in 1867. Linseed, with good supplies, has declined in value about Is. per qr. ; but cakes have found a fair inquiry. The seed trade has lately been very inactive, no buyers seeming disposed to anticipate the spring trade. Cloverseed and trefoil have been nominally the same. Tares dull at 45s, per qr. CURRENT PRICES OF BRITISH GRAIN AND FLOUR IN MARE LANE. Shillings per Quarter WHEAT, new, Essex and Kent, white 55to59 „ „ red 50 53 Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire 48 52 BARLEY 37 to 40 Chevalier 48 63 Grinding 35 38 Distilling 44 47 MALT, Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk 69 extra 68 76 Kingston, Ware, and town-made 69 , 68 76 Brown 54 63 RYE 40 42 OATS, English, feed 28 to 34 Potato 32 35 Scotch, feed 00 00 Potato 00 00 Irish, feed, white 24 27 Fine 28 31 Ditto, black 23 26 Potato 28 31 BEANS, Mazagan ...42 44 Ticks 42 44 Harrow 45 47 Pigeon 50 55 PEAS, white, boilers..44 46 Maple 46 to 48 Grey, new42 43 FLOUR, per sack of 2801bs., Town, Households 42 47 Country, on shore 33 to 34 „ 37 38 Norfolk and Suffolk, on shore 32 33 COMPARATIVE AVERAGES. WHEAT. BARLEY. 1 OATS. Years. Qrs. s. d. Qrs. s. d. Qrs. s. d. 1864... 76,478| ... 38 1 88,416i ... 28 4 7,495| ... 19 9 1865... 76,1261 ... 46 8 84,632| ... 32 10 7,844| ... 23 1 1866... 58,431 ...59 5 62,889| ... 44 4 7,273 ...25 11 1867... 56,7211 ... 66 9 82,892* ... 41 2 8.777J ... 24 4 1868... 60,383| ... 49 5 65,152| ... 45 3 4.830J ... 27 7 AVE! Fob the last Six Weeks : Nov. 14, 1868 JAGE Wheat, s. d. 52 0 51 6 51 0 60 1 49 8 49 5 50 7 66 9 S Barley, s. d. 46 9 47 3 47 0 46 3 45 9 45 3 46 4 41 2 Oats. 6. d. 28 0 Nov. 21, 1868 28 4 Nov. 28, 1868 27 4 Dec. 5, 1868 29 8 Dec. 12, 1868 27 3 Dec. 19, 1868 27 7 Aggregate of the above ... 28 0 24 4 BRITISH SEEDS. Mubtabd, per bush., brown 12s. to 14s., white 10s. to 12s. CiBTAEY.per qr 68s. 72s. Cloverseed, red 66s. 80s. Cobiandeb, per cwt 20s. 21s. Tabes, winter, new, per bushel 10s. 12s. Tbeeoil 22s. 24s. Ryegbass, per qr , 28s. 30s. Linseed, per qr., sowing 66s. to68s., crushing 62s. 64s, Linseed Cakes, per ton £12 10s. to £13 Oa. Rapbseed, per qr 66s. 58s. Rape Cake, per ton £6 Os. to £6 10s. FOREIGN SEEDS. Cobiandeb, per cwt 21s.to22s. Caebaway , 36s. 38s. CiiOVEBSEED, red 56s. to 72s., white 70s. 84s. Tbeeoil 20s. 22s Ryegbass, per qr 26s. 303. Hempseed, small 36s. per qr., Dutch 36s. 38s. Linseed, per qr., Baltic 56s. to 61s. ..Bombay 62s. 63s. Linseed Cakes, per ton £11 15s. to £12 10s. Rapesebd, Dutch 68s. 60s. Rape Cake, per ten £6 0s.to£6 10s. HOP MARKET. Mid and East Kent £2 10 15 0 £8 8 Weald of Kents 2 0 Sussex 2 0 Farnham 4 0 Country 4 0 Bavarians 2 16 Belgians 2 2 Yearlings 3 0 5 3 0 5 0 4 10 3 10 2 10 3 10 4 15 4 4 6 0 5 5 4 10 3 0 4 4 PRICES of BUTTER, BUTTER, per cwt. : s. s. Dorset 134 to 140 Carlow — — Waterford — — Cork — — Limerick — — Sligo — — Friesland 128 132 Jersey 112 130 Fbesh, per doz., 15s. Od. to 18s. Od. CHEESE, HAMS, &c. CHEESE, per cwt. : s. 8. Cheshire 66 to 74 Dble. 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With instructions to the Married and Unmarried of both Sexes, for removing the special disqualifications and impediments which destroy the happiness of wedded life, founded on the result of a successful practice of 30 years. — By Dr. J. L. Curtis, M.D., 15, Albemarle Stbeet, Piccadilly, London, W. Also, by the same Author, a New and Revised Edition of MANHOOD : A MEDICAL ESSAY on the Causes and Cure of Premature Decline in Man; the Treatment of Nervous Debility, Spermatorrhoea, Impotence, and those peculiar infirmities which result from youthful abuses, adult excesses, tropical climates and other causes ; with Instructions tor the Cure of Infection without Mercury, and its Prevention by the Author's Prescription (his infallible Lotion). REVIEWS OF THE WORK. u Manhood. — This is truly a valuable work, and should be in the hands of young and old." — Sunday Times, 23rd March, 1858. 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FLAX: ITS CULTIVATION AND PRE- PARATION, and BEST MODE OP CON- VERSION.—By James Waed, Author of "The World and its Workshops," &c. T> URAL ARCHITECTURE : a SERIES XV OP DESIGNS FOR RURAL AND OTHER DWELLINGS. The Ground Plans, Elevations, and Specifications by James Sandebson, Burgh Engineers' Office, Liverpool. THE AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTOR: or, YOUNG FARMER'S CLASS BOOK.— By Edmund Murphy, A.B. DOMESTIC FOWL: THEIR NATURAL HISTORY, BREEDING, AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT. THE FLOWER GARDEN.— By George Glenny, F.L.S., Author of "Properties of Flowers," Ac. THE IMPLEMENTS OF THE FARM. —By R. Scott Buen, O.E. HORSES: THEIR VARIETIES, BREED- ING, AND MANAGEMENT.— Edited by M. M. MlLBUEN. D OGS: THEIR ORIGIN AND VA- RIETIES. UGS : THEIR ORIGIN AND VARIE- TIES. COWS AND DAIRY HUSBANDRY.— By M. M. Milbuen, Author of "The Sheep," &c. The Dairy Department Revised by T. Hoeseall. SHEEP AND SHEPHERDING : embrae- ing the History, Varieties, Rearing, Feeding, and General Management of Sheep ; with Treatises on Australian Sheep Farming, the Spanish and Saxon Merinos, &c. By M. M. Milbuen, Author of " The Cow," and various Agricultural Prize Essays. THE HIVE AND THE HONEY BEE. >ESTS OF THE FARM. A New Edition, By M. M. Milbuen, Author of " The Sheep,", &0. LAND DRAINAGE, EMBANKMENT, • AND IRRIGATION.— By James Donald, Civil Engineer, Derby. SOILS AND MANURES, with INSTRUC- TIONS FOR THEIR IMPROVEMENT.— By John Donaldson, Government Land Drainage Sur- veyor. In the Press, vn conbwuation of the same Series, THE POTATO: ITS HISTORY, CUL- TURE, AND NATIONAL IMPORTANCE.— By S: Copland. London: Honlston & Wright, 65, Paternoster Row ; Rogerson & Tnxford, 246, Strand, W.C Dnblin : J. McGlashan, Upper Sacknlle Street. And all Booksellers. ROGERSON & TUXFORD,] [PRINTERS, 246, STRANIX THE FAKMER'S MAGAZINE, JULY, 1869. CONTENTS. Plate I.-PROFESSOR VOELCKER, consulting chemist of the royal AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. Plate II.— T HE PRETENDER: winner of the derby, 1869. Description of the Plates .... The Food we Give. — By Cuthbert W. Johnson, f.r.s. . The Culture of Vegetables.— By a Practical Farmer The New Farm ..... Haymaking . . . . . The Small-Pox in Sheep : Mr. Sewell Read's Amendments Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution: the Anniversary Dinner The General Annual Meeting The Culture of Flax and Hemp in Russia The Purchase or use of Food for Stock The Colony of Victoria .... The Albert Model Farm, Glasnevin . The Law of Hypothec .... The Cultivation of "Anthyllis Vulneraria."— By G. Schulze The Cultivation of Artificial Grasses Making Hay ..... The Millennium of Farming .... The Fattening of Stock .... The Quality of Labour : North v. South Carrots and their Cultivation The Nutriment in Grasses .... A Picture with a Pen .... What the Government has been doing The Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association : Meeting at Penzanc The Adulteration of Seeds . Royal Agricultural Society of England The Bath and West of England Society and Southern Counties Association Meeting at Southampton Horse Breeding and Horse Showing . The Islington Horse Show "The Privileges" of the Press at the Islington Horse Show Contagious Diseases (Animals) Bill: Meeting in Dublin How to Save Manure The Central Chamber of Agriculture The Ketton Shorthorns The Adulteration of Seeds Bill The Diseases of Stock . Alsike Clover . . . Pleuro-Pneumonia . . The Midland Farmers' Club . The Essex Agricultural Association : Meeting at Colchester Glasgow Agricultural Society: Meeting at Glasgow Thorne Agricultural Society: Meeting at Thorne Hants and Berks Agricultural Society : Meeting at Reading Export of Shorthorns .... The Royal Agricultural Society's Meeting at Manchester The Adulteration of Seeds Bill Royal Agricultural Society of England Calendar of Agriculture Calendar of Gardening . , Agricultural Reports Review of the Corn Trade during the past Month Market Currencies, Imperial Averages, &c. Index, Title-page, &c. page. 1,2,3 4 7 8 9 11 13 15 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 30 31 31 32 34 35 36 38 51 52 54 55 55 56 61 62 63 63 64 66 68 73 75 76 76 76 77 79 80 81 82 84 86 B I P II 0 S P II A T E D PERUVIAN GUANO. TJEES & CO., in Jl\) directing the atten- tion of Farmers to their BIPHOSPHATED PE- TRADEi'MARtC RUVIAN GUANO," desire to point out the advantages that this Manure possesses more fully than the short Prospectus issued at the begin- ning of the year gave space for. It has always been felt that the use of Peruvian Guano alone must be limited to those cases in which an abundance of real nourishment for the plant, or " food," in the shape of soluble Phos- phates and Alkaline Salts, already exists in the soil, and it is therefore chiefly applied as a top-dressing for gram, as a sti- mulant to enable plants readily to assimilate the nourish- ment previously provided for them, generally Superphos- phate added during the previous year to the root crop, or otherwise. The " BIPHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO" is compounded to meet the objections to which the above plan is open, viz., first, the accidental loss of Phosphates, or their removal beyond the reach of the plant by excessive moisture ; secondly, by the conversion of soluble into insoluble Phosphate of Lime, by the lime and other bases in the soil, which undoubtedly occurs on long continued contact; and thirdly, the consequent unknown, and probably improper relation existing between the stimulating and the nourishing portions of the compounds formed on the addition of the Guano in the spring. In the " BIPHOSPHATED PERU- VIAN GUANO" the proper relative proportions between the AmmOniacal Salts and the Phosphates of Lime and the Alkalies are detei'mined beforehand, and the mixture abso- lutely, it is believed, represents the requirements of the grow- ing plant, whilst the combination is such that it may, with almost equal advantage, be applied to the land as a top- dressing, or in any other way, and is equally — in varying quantities — applicable to arable or pasture lands. REES & CO. desire to point out the very serious mistake sometimes committed by Farmers, who have endeavoured to supply a want most have felt for such a manure as this, viz., the mix- ing of Superphosphate of Lime with Guano. A very small amount of chemical knowledge will show how wasteful a process this is, the fact being that a large part of the Salts of Ammonia in the Guano is employed, immediately the mix- ture is made, in rendering insoluble the Phosphate of Lime which it has been the Manufacturer's business, at consider- able cost, to render soluble. The practice, therefore, cannot be too strongly condemned. The want, however, of a proper mixture is met in a way in which the Farmer cannot meet it for himself, in the supply of this very valuable Manure -the " BIPHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO." The finest Peruvian Government Guano only is used as its basis, and after due preparation, with this is associated the lai'ge pro- portion of soluble Phosphates and Alkaline Salts, indicated in the analyses. Great consideration and the results of long experience'have guided them in its manufacture, whilst low- ness of price, in relation to its value, has been a principal element in the calculations. Appended are the opinions of the best authorities iu Agricultural Chemistry in confirma- tion of their statements, and they confidently offer " BI- PHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO" to Agriculturists as a manure of the very highest class. For top-dressing for Gram Crops they recommend 3cwt. to 4cwt.peracre. For drilling for Root Crops 4 ,, 6 ,, „ For Grass Land, for which it is admirably adapted 3 ,, 4 ,, „ REES & CO., 32, King William Street, London-bridge, 20th February, 1869. BIPHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO. The following are the results which I obtained in a careful analysis of the sample of Rees' Biphosphated Pebuvian Guano, sent to me last week for examination : — Moisture 16.36 ♦Organic Matter, Salts of Ammonia and Water of . Combination 32.37 Biphosphate of Lime 12.87 Equal to Tribasic or Bone-phosphal e of Lime ... 20.16 Insoluble Phosphates 2.69 Oxalate of Lime 4.76 Sulphate of Lime 21.62 t Alkaline Salts and Magnesia 6.24 Insoluble Silicious Matter 3.09 100.00 * Containing Nitrogen ... .,. 6.17 Equal to Ammonia 7.49 t Containing Potash (K.O.) ... 2.82 The* preceding analytical results show that the sample of prepared Guano sent to me for examination is a very valuable Artificial Manure, which, there is no doubt, will give great satisfaction as a general Manure for most crops, if it can be sold ait a reasonable price. Practically speaking, the whole of the Phosphateg in the Manure are rendered soluble, and the greater part of the Ammoniacal constituents of Peruvian Guano in its natural state have been transformed into non- volatile and readily available Sulphate oi Ammonia. Unlike most artificial Manures, the prepared Guano which you sent me contain*, «ts you will notice, an appreciable quantity of Potash, a constituent which materially adds to the value f this Manure. I consider it a very good Manure for grass land and cereal crops. For root crops it may, in my opinion, with advantage be diluted with an equal weight of a cheap Mine- ral Superphosphate. (Signed) AUGUSTUS VOELCKER. 11, Salisbury-square, Fleet-street, Feb. 23rd, 1869. REES' BIPHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO. I have examined a sample of the above manure. It is a well-made article, iu good condition for use, and containing, according to my analysis, 6.88 per cent, of Ammonia, and 24.85 per cent, of Phosphate of Lime, of which 21.51 per cent, is soluble in water. Combining as this Maure does the quali- ties of Peruvian Guano and Superphosphate of Lime, I have no doubt that it will be used with excellent effect both on corn and green crops. (Signed) J. THOMAS WAY. 9, Russell-road, Kensington, Feb. 20th, 1869. I have carefully examined this sample of Messrs. Rees & Co.'s Biphosphated Peruvian Guano sent to me, and find it to contain— Water 16.50 Organic Matter and Ammoniacal Salts 31.28 Biphosphate of Lime 11.84 Equal to Soluble Phosphates Insoluble Phosphates Sulphate of Lime \ Alkaline Salts Sand 18.55 1.65 33.08 2.45 3.20 100.00 Nitrogen 5.51 Equal to Ammonia 6.69 I consider this to be an excellent and well-manufactured Manure ; it is in a very high state of division, the Phosphates are almost entirely in the soluble form, and then- quantity is well proportioned to that of the Ammonia. I have no hesita- tion in giving it as my opinion that it is well adapted for general use on the farm, and will be found to give satisfactory results. (Signed) THOMAS ANDERSON. 15, Shuttle-street, Glasgow, Feb. 18th, 1869. Having made a careful analysis, as here appended, of a sample of Biphosphated Peeuvian Guano manufactured by Messrs. Rees & Co., I find it contains almost 24^ per cent, of total Phosphates, of which 21J per cent, are in the soluble condition, and as much as 7 per cent, of Ammonia, derived from Peruvian Guano ; I therefore consider this a very con- centrated and superior Manure, and from the excellent pro- portions of its principal constituents and their complete in- corporation, should prefer it even to Peruvian Guano as a general high-class fertilizer, as it is equally suitable for all root crops, as well as cereals, and may, in my opinion, be relied upon for giving the most satisfactory results in the field. (Signed) ALBRED SIBSON, F.C.S. Moisture 12.80 ♦Nitrogenized Organic Matter and Salts of Ammonia 32.08 Biphosphate of Lime 13.84 Equal to Bone Earth made Soluble 21.60 Insoluble Phosphates ... 2.83 Sulphate of Lime 28.79 Alkaline Salts 6.20 Insoluble Matter 3.46 100.00 ♦Containing Nitrogen 5.78 Equal to Ammonia 7.02 11, Eaton-terrace, St. John's Wood, London, Feb., 1869. BIPHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO. I have analysed a sample of this Manure manufactured by Messrs. Rees & Co., and find the following to be its compo- sition : — Moisture .f « 14.37 ♦Organic Matter and Salts of Ammonia 33.00 Biphosphate of Lime 13.80 Equal to Neutral Phosphate made Soluble Insoluble Phosphates Sulphate of Lime Alkaline Salts Insoluble Matter 21.54 2.99 26.59 6.21 3.04 100.00 ♦Containing Nitrogen 5.76 Equal to Ammonia 6.99 This Manure is unquestionably of the very highest class. The large per-centage of Ammonia, accompanied as it is with 21^ per cent, of Solnble Phosphate of Lime, and more than 6 per cent, of Alkaline Salts, leaves no room to doubt that its application to both cereal and root crops, as well as to grass land, will be attended with very great advantage. (Signed) G. H. OGSTON, 22, Mincing-lane, London, 20th Feb., 1869. BIPHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO. REES & CO., 32, King William Street, London Bridge. First-class Agent* wanted for several Districts. March 3rd, 1869. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. VOLUME THE THIRTY-FIFTH. THIRD SERIES JANUARY TO JUNE MDCCCLXIX. . LONDON: PUBLISHED BY ROGERSON AND TUXFORD, 265, STRAND. MAY BE HAD BY ORDER THROUGH ALL BOOKSELLERS. LONDON : PRINTED BY ROGEKSON AND TUXFORD, 265, STRAND. v. 1ST INDEX- A. Abingdon Fat Stock Show, 38 Adulteration Seed Bill, 43-1 Agriculture, Calendar of, 89, 182, 277, 372, 468, 560 Agriculture, Cberaisty of, 199 Agriculture, The Progress of, 388 Agriculture, The Sense of the Chamber of, 268 Agricultural Chemistry, 387 Agricultural Intelligence, 186, 280, 375 Agricultural Labourer, The Condition of the, 334 Agricultural Labourers; Education and Employ- ment of the Children of the, 201 Agricultural Labourers of Northumberland, 548. Agricultural Leases, 544 Agricultural Reports, 93, 184, 279, 374, 466, 561 Agricultural Societies — Bath and West of England, 91, 267, 305, 396 Boroughbridge, 172, 452 Chippeham, 92 Essex, 151 • Herefordshire, 557 Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, 37, 149, 250, 448 Kingscote, 270, 341 Royal Agricultural Society of England, 45, 225, 326, 411, 481, 508, 531 Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland, 6, 275 Rutland, 26 Suffolk, 275 Wharfdale, 461 Worcestershire, 150 Yorkshire, 15 Agricultural Statistics of 1868, 361 Agricultural Talk in Sussex, 129 Animal Food, Means of increasing the Home Pro- duction of, 36 Artificial Manures, and the necessity for Analysis, 344 Australia Meat Dinner, The, 265 Averages, 96, 189, 37S, 472, 566 Averages, Comparative, 96, 189, 284, 378, 472, 566 Averages, Imperial, 189, 284, 566 Averages, London, 1S9 Ayrshire Agriculture, 540 B. Bark, Price of, 190 Basingstoke Root Show, 39 Beasley, Presentation to Mr. John, 153 Beer-houses, The Licensing of, 274 Beet-root for Sugar. Will it pay ? 325 Beet-root Sugar, 316 Beet-root, The Cultivation of, 454, 495 Beet Sugar Question, The, 441 Beginning of the End, 141 Berkshire Root Show, 39 Bingley Hall Show of Shorthorns, 404 Birmingham and Midland Show, 27 Black Prince, Prizes taken by, 3 Botany, its use to the Agriculturist, 489 Botley Root Show, 39 Botley Stock Show, 36G Bread-making, A new Method of, 43'j Butter, Cheese, &c, Prices of, 96,190, 284, 378, 472, 563 C. Cabbage as Food for Stock, 112 Caird, Mr. as an Agricultural Authority, 360 Cart Horses, The Keep of, 17 Cattle by Railway, their Transit, 217 Cattle Disease in the United States, 175 Cattle Losses in Cheshire, 457 Cattle-Plague Legislation, 367 Cattle-Plague, Prevention of, &c, 166 Cattle-Plague Rate for Cheshire, 353 Cattle Removal from the Metropolis, 174 Cattle Trade, Review of the 93, 185, 375, 466, 562, Centralization, The Curse of, 315 Chambers of Agriculture : — Brecon, 130, J5S Carmarthen, 114 Central, 9, 240, 320, 425, 460, 523 Cheshire, 166 Cirencester, 289 Devon, 178, 199, 246 East Riding, 203 East Suffolk, 249 Essex, 152 Hampshire, 544 Herefordshire, 464, 465 Leicestershire, 170, 259 Lincolnshire, 434 Norfolk, 177, 457 Scottish, 433 Shropshire, 165 Staffordshire, 88, 201 Warwickshire, 273 West Suffolk, 316 Worcestershire, 212, 317 Chambers of Agriculture, The " Vagaries" of the , 274 Chambers of Agriculture, the Business of, 324 Cheddars: Scotch v. English, 300 Cheese Dairies ; by C. W.Johnson, F.R.S., 191 Cheese, The Marketing of, 260 Cheese Trade of 1868, 158 Chemico Agricultural Society of Ulster, 465 Cheshire, Cattle Plague Rata in, 20 Christmas Great Cattle Market, 75 Clover Dressings; byC. W. Johnson, F.R.S., 380 Clover: Red and White; by C. W. Johnson, F.R.S.. 3 Clover, the Substitutes for; by C. W. Johnson, F.R.S., 286. Conjuring Tricks, 538 Contradiction, Something like a, 273 Corn Trade Annual Statement, 154 Corn Trade, Review of the, 94, 187, 282, 3/"6, 47®, 564 County Financial Boards, 170 County Government, 539 Covent Garden Market, 190 Crops, Comparative Profit of different, 340. Crops, the Requirements of, and ComnoRJ'tittinr of the Soil, 480 Crows and Wood Pigeons, 503. ii INDEX. Current Paces at Mark Lane, 96, 189, 284, 378, 566 D. Dairy Farming, 309 Deep Cultivation, 224 Devon Steer — Description of Plate, 285 Disease in Animals, and its Prevention, 369 Drainage, Agricultural and Arterial, 202 E. Earl, The— Description of Plate, 97 Eggs, Sex of, 25 Ely — Description of Plate, 285 England and Scotland : What one is doing and the other is not doing, 510 F. Farm Agreements, 341 Farm Servants' Cottages, 438 Farm, Stock, How Kept, 403 Farm, The New, 40, 109, 197, 336, 384, 487 Farm-yard Manure, The Character of, 143 Farmers and Foxhunting, 557 Farmers' Club Dinner, 84 Farmers' Clubs — Athy, 134, 254 Ayrshire, 309 Central, 76, 175, 227, 328, 413, 511 Cork, 390 Croydon, 504 Dairy m pie, 388 Dorchester, 218, 489 Hexham, 214, 346 Hungerford, 307 Inverness, 21 Kilkenny, 497 Kincardineshire, 238, 459 Lavenham, 340, 454 Lincolnshire, 173 Maidstone, 483, 492 Midland, 301 Newbury, 344 Newcastle, 548 Penrith, 180 Stewartry, 222 Wenlock, 391 West Cumberland, 224 Wigton, 172, 387 Farmers' Friends, and Finacial Boards, 196 Farming in the West of Ireland, 485 Fen Country, The Improvement of the, 314 Fluke, The, What is it, and why is it? 436 Foot Rot in Sheep, 400 Foreign Agricultural Gossip, 181, 276, 559 Foreign Cattle Market, A, 259, 273, 556 Foreign Cattle, the Importation of, 325 Foreign Sheep, Free Admission of, 247 Fowler, the late Mr. J. ; Biographical Sketch of, 1 Foxes v. Rabbits, 511, 557 G. Game Abuse in Herefordshire, 181 Game Bills, The Scotch, 366, 433 Game Laws in Scotland, 397 Game, Over-preservation of, and Land-tenure, 165, 180, 558 Gardening, Calendar of, 90, 183, 278, 373, 469, 56l Goodenough Method of Shoeing Horses, 306 Goose Wheat, 559 Government Cattle Diseases Bill, 369,410,421,429 Grass Lands, Old or New ? 401 Grass-seed and Clover, Thick-sowing of, 500 Grasses, Natural, 497 Green Crops, The Cultivation of, 390 Ground Game, The Over-preservation of, 289 H. Hares and Rabbits, How They Must Go, 463 Hawley's, Sir Joseph, Resolutions, 173 Hay Markets, 190 Hereford Cattle, Breeding and Management of, 130 Herds of Great Britain, 102 Herts (West) Fat Cattle Show, 14 Hide and Skin Markets, 190 Highways, The Future Maintenance of, 464 "^Honeycomb" — Description of Plate, 97 Hops, Price of, 96, 189, 284, 378, 472, 566 Hull, Trade of, 155 Hypothec, Law of, 529 I. Insects of the Farm, The, 483 Ireland, The Agriculture of, 409 Ireland, The Land-tenure Difficulty in, 383 "Iris' — Description of Plate, 474 Irish Agriculture, 34S J. Jenkinson's, Sir George, Destiny, 465 L. Labour Question in Ireland in 1868, 134, 254 Labourer in Englaud and Australia, 339 Labourers for the Farm, Methods of Procuring, 452 Land, Autumn and Winter Cultivation of, 194 Land, Restoring Exhausted, 24 Land, Tenure of, 218 Landlord Element in the Central Chamber of Agriculture, 432 Landlords and Taxation, 179 Landlords and County Finance Boards, 272 Leather Trade, 160 Leeds Fat Cattle Show, 12 Linseed-cake Company, 394, 530 Linseed, &c, Trade Report for 1868, 162 Liverpool Fat Cattle Show, 13 Local Taxation, 177, 205, 246, 249, 269, 447 Loggin, Mr., Testimonial to, 169 "Lonk Wethers" — Description of Plate, 379 " Lord Wetherby" — Description of Plate, 473 M. Male Animals, The Use of Young, 211 Malt or Beer, The Tax on, 307 Manure Heap, The, 207 Manures, 346 Manures, Chemical Analysis, of, 222 Manures, Liverpool Annual Report on, 159 Manures, Price of, 190, 284, 472, 566 " Master McGrath," Pedigree and Performances of, 206 Meat, Another Patent for Preserving, 266 Meat, Bad ; Sending to London Market, 17* Meat, Methods for Preserving, 180 Meat Supplies for Spring, 101 Metropolitan Meat Market, Opening of the, 18 Milch Cows, Winter Feeding of, 111 Milk by Railway, 119 Model Agreement, 113, 114 Mowers and Reapers, 176 INDEX. N." Northern Counties Fat Stock Show, 172 Number, The New. 402 O. Obituary — Crisp, Mr. Thomas, 111 Herbert, Mr. Robert, 111 Johnson, Mr. B. P., 558 Radnor, Earl of, 441 Ox, The, on the Rail, 318, 343 P. Palm-nut Meal, 44 Paris and Havre Exhibitions, 128 Pasture Land, The Fertility of, 298 Pauperism and Crime, 216 People Who Represent Themselves, 451 " Pigs, Improved Sussex"— Description of Plate, 191 Pleasant and Profitable Visits, 168 Plough, The, in America, 177 Ploughing, American Views of Shallow, 121 Poetry — Dutchman's Hen, The, 313 Independent Farmer, The, 176 Norfolk Hunting Song, 257 Wood Chopper, The, 558 Poor's-rates, The Assessment for, 464 Potash, The Exhaustion of, 475 I Potato, Cultivation of the, 504 Potato Markets, 189, 284, 378, 472, 563 Potato, New Varieties of The, 395 Potato, On the, 542 Potato Trade in France, 440 Potatoes as Food for Farm Stock, 108 Potatoes, New Mode of Cultivating, 368 Poultry for the Farm, 337 R. Railways, their Influence on Agriculture, 76 Rainfall, The Heavy, 142 Rain, The Forcing Power of, 35 Rats and Mice, How to Kill, 345 Reigate Fat Stock Show, 38 Resolution, Someting Like a, 262 Reviews — Bath and West of England Journal, 458 Book of the Landed Estate, 458 Family Doctor, 19 Road Management, 214 Foot Crops, 537 Royal Agricultural Society ; Letter on the General Meeting, 87 Royal Dublin Society's Show, 444 Royal Farmers' Insurance Company, Annual Meeting of the, 448 " Running-a-bye" — Description of Plate, 379 S. Scots, Prime, 43 Seed, The Story of the, 44 Seeds, Adulteration of, 139 Seeds, Price of, 96, 189, 284, 378, 472, 566 Sewage at Barking, Actual Profit from, 263 Sewage Schemes, so far, 258 Sheep, Breeding and Feeding, 209 Sheep, How they Pay, 106 Sheep-shearing, 541 Sheep-shearing Prospects, 442 Sheep-shearing Inspectors, 456 Sheep, The Management of, 492 Sheep, The Winter Management of, 41 Shorn Sheep in the Cattle Market, 367 Shorthorns and Ayrshires, 21 Shorthorned Herd, A Pure, 270 Smithfield Club, 319 Smithfield Club Show, 56, 367 Soi[s, Physical Condition of, 543 Stallions for 1869, 354 Steam Cultivation, 301 Steam Plough, Progress of the ; by Cuthbert W. Johnson, F.R.S., 98 Steam Ploughing in the Highway, 204 Stock, How to Rear them Without Turnips, 203 Stock Sales — Ainslie's Shorthorns, 553 Alderney Stock, 467 Allan Pollock's Farm Stock, 553 Bowley's (Mr.) Shorthorns, 462 Cruikshank's Shorthorns, 369 Hellidan Shorthorns, 34 Kingsfort Shorthorns, 408 Ridlington Shorthorns, 552 Stiles Rich's Shorthorns, 370 Wateringbury and Wicken Shorthorns, 554 Stock, The Diseases of, 502 Summer Grazing, 443 Sussex, A Hamlet in, 42 Swedes, The Growth of, with Artificial Manures, 146 T. Texan Cattle Disease, 494 Tithe Commutation Averages, 175 Tredegar Agricultural Show, 16 Turnip and Barley Crops, Effects of Superphos- phate on, 350 Turnip Plant, The; by C. W. Johnson, F.R.S., 476 Turnip-seed and the Ravages of the Fly, 391 U. Unmarked Cattle, The Removal of, 465 V. Vagrancy, 145 Valuation of Property Bill, 457, 528 Voelcker's, Dr., Chemical Investigations of, in 1868, 531 W. Wages in Worcestershire, 317 Water Meadows, The Formation of, 368 Weights, Measures, &c, Uniformity of, 238 West of England Fat Cattle Show, 92 Wheat, Australian, Commission on Diseases in the, 122 Wheat, Fluctuations in the Price of, 189 Wheat, Salt as a Manure for, 547 Wool Markets, 190, 284, 378, 472, 666 Wool Trade of Liverpool, Annual Report of 1868, 163 Wool Trade of South Africa, 171 Wool Washing, 501 Wools of South America, 351, 437 Woolston System of Steam Cultivation, The, 479 Worcestershire Markets and Fairs, 212 Y. Year 1869, The, 338 Yorkshire Fat Cattle Show, 15 THE EMBELLISHMENTS Portrait of the late Mr. John Fowler 1 The Black Prince, a Prize Stallion . 1 Honeycomb, a Short-horned Heifer 97 The Earl 97 Improved Sussex Pigs 191 Master McGrath 191 A Devon Steer 285 Ely, a Thorough-bred Stallion . 285 Lonk Wethers . 379 Running a Bye . 379 Iris, a Prize Hunter 473 Lord Wetherby, a Shorthorn Bull 473 No. 2, Vol. XXXV.] FEBRUARY, 1869. Thiud Series. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, AND MONTHLY JOURNAL THE AGRICULTURAL INTEREST. ©tfitcatrtr TO THE FARMERS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, LONDON : 11 PUBLISHED BY ROGERSON AND TUXFORD, 265, STRAND, PRICE TWO SHILLINGS. • IT— ROGERSON AND TUXFORD,] [PRINTERS, 265, STRAND, ■ i IMPORTANT TO FLOCKMASTERS. rilHOMAS BIGG, Agricultural and Veterinary J_ Chemist, by Appointment to His late Royal Highness The Prince Consort, K.6., Leicester House, Great DoTer-street, Borough, London, begs to call the attention of Farmers and Graziers to his valuable SHEEP and LAMB HIPPING COM- POSITION, which requires no Boiling, and may be used with Warm or Cold Vater, for effectually destroying the Tick, Lice, and all other insects injurious to the Flock, preventing the alarming attacks of Fly and Shab, and cleansing and purifying the Skin, thereby greatly improving the Wool, both in quantity and quality, and highly contributing to the general health of the animal. Prepared only by Thomas Bigg, Chemist, &c, at his Manufac- tory as above, and sold as follows, although any other quantity may be had, if required : — 41b. for 20 sheep, price, j ar included £0 61b. 30 8 1b. 40 10 lb. 50 20 1b. 100 SO lb. 150 40 1b. 200 50 lb. 250 60 lb. 300 80 1b. 400 1001b. 500 (cask and measure 0 10 included) 0 15 1 0 1 3 1 7 1 17 2 5 Should any Flockmaster prefer boiling the Composition, it will be equally effective. MOST IMPORTANT CERTIFICATE. From Ma. Hehapath, the celebrated Analytical Chemist : — Bristol Laboratory, Old Park, Jauuary 18th, 1861. Sir,— I have submitted your Sheep-Dipping Composition to analysis, and find that the ingredients are well blended, and the mixture neutral. If it is used according to the directions given, 1 feel satisfied, that while it effectually destroys vermin, it will not injure the hair roots (or " yolk ") in the skin, the fleece, or the carcase. I think it deserves the numerous testimonials pub- lished. I am, Sir, yours respectfully, William Herapath, Sen., F.C.8., &c, &c, To Mr, Thomas Bigg, Professor of Chemistry. Leicester House, Great Dover-street, Borough, London, He would also especially call attention to his SPECIFIC, of LOTION, for the SCAB, or SHAB, which will be found a certain remedy for eradicating that loathsome and ruinous disorder in Sheep, and which may be safely used in all climates, and at all seasons of the year, and to all descriptions of sheep, even ewes in lamb. Price FIVE SHILLINGS per gallon— sufficient on an average for thirty Sheep (according to the virulence of the disease); also in wine quart bottles, Is. 3d. each. IMPORTANT TESTIMONIAL. "Scoulton, near Hingham, Norfolk, April 16th, 1855. " Dear Sir, — In answer to yours of the 4th inst, which would have been replied to before this had I been at home, I have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the efficacy of your in- valuable ' Specific for the cure of Scab in Sheep.' The 600 sheep were all dressed in August last with 84 gallons of the ' Non Poisonous Specific,' that was so highly recommended at the Lincoln Show, and by their own dresser, the best attention being paid '0 the flock by my shepherd after dressing according to instructions left; but notwithstanding the Scab continued getting worse. Being determined |to have the Scab cured if possible I wrote to you for a supply of your Specific, which 1 received the following day ; and although the weather was most severe in February during the dressing, your Specific proved itself an invaluable remedy, for in three weeks the Sheep were quite cured ; and I am happy to say the young lambs are doing remarkably well at present. In conlusion, I believe it to be the safest and best remedy now in use. " I remain, dear Sir, your obedient servant, " For JOHN TINGEY, Esq., " To Mr. Thomas Bigg." " R . RENNE Y B3J~ Flockmasters would do well to beware of such prepara- tions as "Non-poisonous Compositions:" it is only necessary to appeal to their good common sense and judgment to be tho- roughly convinced, that no " Non-poisonous" article can poison or destroy insect vermin, particularly such as the Tick, Lice, and Scab Parasites — creatures so tenacious of life. Such advertised preparations must be wholly useless, or they are not what they are represented to be. Dipping Apparatus r ,....£ 14, £5, £4,& £$. THE ROYAL FARMERS' INSURANCE COMPANY, 3, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. CAPITAL. — Persons insured by this Company have the security of an extensive and wealthy proprietary, as well as an ample Capital always applicable to the payment of claims without delay. LIFE DEPARTMENT.— BONUS.— Insurers of the participating class will be entitled to four-fifihs of the profits. FIRE DEPARTMENT,- 1st Class — Not Hazardous Is. 6d. per Cent. 2nd Class — Hazardous 2s. 6d. „ 3rd Class — Doubly Hazardous ..; 4s. 6d. „ BUILDINGS and MERCANTILE Property of every description in Public or Private Warehouses.— Distillers, Steam Engines, Goods in Boats or Canals, Ships in Port or Harbour, &c. &c, are Insured in this Office at moderate rates. SPECIAL RISKS.— At such rates as may be considered reasonable. NEW INSURANCES— No charge made for Policy or Stamp. FARMING STOCK.— 5s. per cent., with liberty to use a Steam Thrashing Machine without extra charge. Nearly FIVE MILLIONS Insured in this Office. LIGHTNING and GAS.— Losses by Fire occasioned by Lightning, and Losses by Explosion of Gas when used for Lighting Buildings will be allowed for. HAIL DEPARTMENT— (Crops and Glass.) Policies to protect parties from Loss by the destruction of Growing Crops or Glass, by Hail, are granted on Moderate Terms. LOSSES.— Prompt and liberal settlements. AGENTS WANTED. Apply to JOHN REDDISH, Secretary and Actuary, V | S * THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. FEBRUARY, 1869. PLATE I. HONEYCOMB; a Shorthorn Heifer. THE PROPERTY OF THE EARL OF HARDWICK, OF WIMPOLE, ROYSTON. Honeycomb, bred by Lord Hardwick, was by Archdeacon, out of Waxworth by Nelson, and Nelson by Roan Kirtling (18487). Archdeacon was a son of Noble Arch (18455), a bull bred by the late Mr. Langston, at Sarsden, and by Archduke 2nd (15588), out of Cherry Blossom by Glo'ter's Grand Duke (12949). Noble Arch passed into the possession of Mr. Adeane. of Babraham, a near neighbour of Lord Hardwick's. Roan Kirtling, the sire of Nelson, was bred by Mr. Clover, at Kirtling, and by White Kirtling (7718),>ut of Lady Flora by Julius (4124). At the Smithfield Club Show, in December last, Honeycomb, then just three years and a-half old, took the first prize of £25, with a silver medal for the breeder, as the best Shorthorn heifer not ex- ceeding four years old, and the silver cup value £40, as the best cow or heifer in any of the classes. As we wrote at the time, " the fair fame of the Shorthorns was maintained, as at Birmingham, by the females, although not by the same means. Mr. Willis' best of all the cows at Birmingham was now only second in her class ; but she was terribly tucked-up, with her great weight telling manifestly after her travels ; and a fresh animal like Lord Hardwick's must always have an advan- tage at a second-hand show, and as such the Smith- field must now be treated. Honeycomb, however, with her sweet head, broad frame, and fine quality, won very easily in her class. Her recorded weight was l,9S8lbs., her girth 8 feet 10 inches, and her length 5 feet 2 inches ; and she was fed upon oil- cake, bean-meal, Thorley's food, and hay. Honey- comb was sold in the Hall to the butcher. Lord Hardwick was President of the Smithfield Club when his heifer thus distinguished herself. PLATE II. THE EARL. The Earl, bred at the Royal Paddocks at Hamp- ton Court in 1865, is by Young Melbourne out of Bay Celia, by Orlando, her dam Hersey, by Glacus out of Hester, by Camel — Monimia, by Muley — Sister to Petworth, by Precipitate. Young Melbourne bred by Lord Glasgow in 1855, is by Melbourne out of Clarissa, by Panta- loon, her dam by Glencoe out of Frolicksome, by Frolic — Stamford — Alexina. Young Melbourne never started but once, in 1S57 as a two-year-old, when he was beaten in a match ; but fell in the race. Young Melbourne's stock came out in 1861, and he is the sire of the following winners : — Maid of Masham filly, Beauvale, Coalition filly, Passion Rapid Rhone, filly out Old Sebies.] I of an Orlando mare, filly out of a Birdcatcher mare, filly out of a Gameboy mare, Brother to Rapid Rhone, General Peel, Emigration, Chess- man, Melbourne, Mary, Arcade, Stratford, Bar- maid, Satanella colt, Bab-at-the-Bowster filly, colt out of a Teddington mare, Lizzie Hexham, The Earl, Epigram, Geelong, Kingsland, Owain Glyn- dwr, Python, Scotchman's Pride, Actress, Agrip- pa, Anne Boleyn, Baroness, Miss Sarah colt, another Maid of Masham filly, Clovis, Di Vernon, Kingsiand, Liberal, Poinsettia, and Prince Impe- rial. Young Melbourne will stand this season at the Royal Paddocks Hampton Court, where his subscription of twinty-five mares at 50 gs. each is full. [Vol. LXV.— No. 2. 98 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Bay Celia, bred by General Peel in 1S51, passed into the late Mr. Henry Elwes' hands, when, as a two-year-old she showed great promise, winning the Lavant at Goodwood, and the Hopeful at New- market, her only other appearance during the year being at Bibury, where she ran second in a large field for the Champagne. Bay Celia never ran after- wards, but eventually went into Her Majesty's stud with the following result, the produce hav- ing been sold at the hammer as yearing : Gs. 1856 ch. c. by Pyrrhus the First (Mr. Merry) ... 270 1857 b. f. by Loup-Garpu 54 1858 Missed to Barton 1859 br. f. (sent to Lexington, U.S.) by Hie Flying Dutchman (Mi. Dudley) 67 1860 b. c. by The Cure (Mr. Webster) 28 1861 br. f. by Voltigeur (Mr. Oldacre) 60 1862 b. c. The Duke by Stockwell (Lord Hastings) 500 1863 b. c. Grand Falconer by St. Albans (Colonel Baillie) 300 1864 b. f. Duchess by St. Albans( Lord Hastings) COO 1865 b. c. The Earl by Young Melbourne (Lord Hastings) 450 1866 b. f. Lady Cecilia by Stockwell (Lord Hast- ings) 750 1867 b. c. The Baron by Tom King (Mr. J. Day) 1,350 1868 ch. f. by St. Albans. The first time we ever saw The Earl was when he was sold as a yearling at Hampton Court, and where we remember, despite his connections with The Duke, he did not make much impression, the general opinion being that the Marquis of Hast- ings' representative had by no means exhausted his commission at 450 gs. Although a lengthy level colt, with all the Orlando markings, he still took more in character after the Melbournes, and was then of by no means stylish appearance. The last view we had of The Earl was in October, when with a strong body-guard of police about him, he was put up at Knightsbridge as the pro- perty of — nobody seemed to exactly know whom, and bought in at 3,900 gs. But this was not the only time The Earl had thus been paraded, as in November of 1867 he was offered with others of the Marquis of Hastings' horses, but kept at Danebury for 6,100 gs. ; being then considered by that good judge, Captain Machell, who went as far as 6,000 gs., about the best of his year. The Earl has, indeed, gone on improving both in looks and deeds, as his history will show. He is a dark bay, almost brown horse in places, standing just a trifle under sixteen hands high. He has a very good expressive though not " pretty" head, wide between the eyes, and deep in the jowl, with broad rather lopped ears. He has a strong powerful crest, with a longish neck, and well-laid shoulders, although a little heavy at the point. He has a good depth of girth and barrel, if somewhat flat over the back ribs ; while his quarters are power- ful tfrom the hip over towards the tail, but flatten- ing down towards the gaskins. He has very good arms, and stands short from the knee and hock to the ground, with plenty of bone, and large feet. The Earl has a large blaze extending from between the eyes to the upper lip, is very temperate, despite the troublesome times he has seen, and " a leg" — an enlargement on the near fore-leg — over which essays have been already written. We confess that at Knightsbridge on that ominous Monday we could never get near him. The Earl has started sixteen times, and won ten, ran one dead heat, divided once, and received two match forfeits. In the spring of the year he beat Blue Gown at Newmarket. Although sent to Epsom the Earl did not run for the Derby, and his history in this way may be best told like Richardson's Clarissa, or Smollett's Humphrey Clinker in the series of letters which appeared in The Times. The Earl has ended his career on the Turf, having been purchased by Mr. Cookson for the stud, and he will stand this season at Neasham Abbey in the North PROGRESS OF THE STEAM PLOUGH. BY CUTHBEET W. JOHNSON, F.B.S. The application of other than animal power to agricul- tural operations was a late improvement. Many ages elapsed before even windmills were used to drain land, and it was not till about the year 1649 that we find a sugges- tion for using the Persian wheel for the purposes of irri- gation. It was in that year that good honest Captain Blyth, in his " Survey of Husbandry," ably and earnestly advocated the construction of water meadows, and ad- vised the English farmer to even raise the water by me- chanical means, such as by a Persian wheel, worked by water power. The stout commonwealth captain had a knowledge far beyond his age, he was justly impatient where obstacles impeded his course ; he was disgusted at the impediments thrown in the way of his irrigation im- provements by the water millers of even his time, for he tells us in the preface to his work that the opposition of the millers to the use of their streams for watering mea- dows operated very injuriously to the landowner ; he ealls himself as » yrU.w* p, ■!. " Myself am a president, herein I made a good improvement upon a little brooke about halfe-a-mile above a water mill, I turned the water course upon my land, aud turned it againe into the course halfe-a-mile before it came into his mill ; he sues me at Common Law, and recovers against me. My improvement was from six loads of hay to twenty, his prejudice little or nothing, for which no composition would serve but the ruin of it, which by this verdict was accomplished." It was twenty years after the work of Blyth appeared, that in 1069, John Worlidge, in his " Mystery of Hus- bandry," pp. 21-32, strongly urged the use of windmills for raising water for irrigation, and even as a locomotive power. So that we see that for agricultural purposes at- tempts have long been made to substitute other moving powers for animal labour, as by wiud and water mills. We need hardly endeavour to find auy traces of the use of the steam engine iu husbandry until after the f$rea1 Watt had made hi* noble improi THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 99 This was in 1769. It was lone; also after this, that the high-pressure sleaui engine was brought to its present state of perfection, and it is this variety of the steam eu- giue which is the most extensively used by the agricultu- rists of our island. In the very year that "Watt had perfected his fine steam-engine we find another enthusiastic inventor — a Mr. Francis Moore — engaged upon an invention, for which he obtained a patent, dated March 14th, 1769, in which it is thus described : " New machines or engines made of wood, iron, brass, copper, or other metal, and constructed upon peculiar principles, and capable of being wrought or put in motion by lire, water, or air, with a small assistance of horses or manual labour j and which machines or engines, upon repeated tryals he hath dis- covered will be very useful] in agriculture, carriage of persons, goods, and navigation ; that he humbly conceives that the said machines or engines will be of great utility to our subjects iu tilliug, improving, and cultivating lands." In a letter published in the Leeds Mercury of April 11th, 1769, a correspondent mentions Mr. Moore's machine, which is to go without horses, and which is applicable to " plowing, harrowing, and every other branch of husbandry." And it appears from the same letter that the enthusiastic inventor had such great con- fidence in the success of his invention, that he " sold all his own horses, aud by his advice many of his friends have done the same, because the price of that noble and useful animal will be so affected by his new invention that their value will not be one-fourth of what it is at present." In the same year, viz., June and July, 1769, Moore took out two other patents, both of which had reference, amongst other objects, to the cultivation of the soil. This, and many of the following references to the dates of various letters patent, T take from a recent very valuable address of Mr. Balwin Latham, the President of the Society of Engineers. Half-a-century before the date of Francis Moore's patent, other attempts had been made in a similar direction. " The first record," observes Mr. Latham, " we have of an invention for applying power, other than that of horses, for the cultivation of the soil is contained in the patent No. 6, January 17th, 1618, the invention of David Ramsay and Thomas Wildgoose, which is set forth in these words : ' Newe, apte, or commodious formes or kiude of engines or instrumente and other profitable invencons, ways, aud means for the good of our common- wealth, a3 well to ploughe grounde without horse or oxens, and to enrich and make more fertill as well barren peate, salte, and sea-sande, as inland and upland grounde within our kingdomes of England and Ireland and our domynyon of Wales.' " This invention was followed by another patent, No. 39, August 6th, 1627 ; it is the invention of William Brouucker, John Aprice, and William Parham, and is described as ' a most readye and easy way for the earing, ploughing, and tilling of land of what kind soever with- out the use or helpe either of oxen or horses, by the labour or helpe of twoe men onely to goe with everie plough that shall be used with an eugyne or gynn for that purpose.' " On the 21st of August, 1630, David Ramsay had letters patent for improvements of his invention of 16 IS, and in January, 1634, he took out a further patent. All these inventions had, amongst other objects, the application of power to the cultivation of the sod — 'to make the earth fertile more than usual.' " It is only within the present century that the steam engine has been in several ways used for ploughing. These modes have been thus classified by Mr. B. Latham. He remarks : " There are four systems that have been proposed for adoption in the application of steam to the rultiva.' tion of the soil ; and each of these primary systems is capable of further subdivision thus : " 1st Class. Traction engines, or machines that draw the implements of cultivation after them, which may again be subdivided into — 1st, machines that work rotary cul- tivators ; 2nd, machiues that drag the ordinary cultivators after them j 3rd, traction engines that are so by means of the power being applied direct to the wheels ; 4th, traction engines that are impelled by pushers from behind ; 5th, traction eugiues that are pulled forward to a fixed anchor by the winding of a rope on the drum of the engine, or by the winding of a chain on a grooved pulley ; 6th, traction engines that are provided with a moveable rail or floor on which it travels ; and lastly, traction engines, worked upon any of the above principles ; but which are impelled by auy other power than that of steam. " 2nd Class. Locomotive engines travelling upon fixed railways. This class may be divided into — 1st, machines that drag the implement after them : 2nd, those that draw the implements by means of ropes ; and lastly, machines that are propelled by any other agency than that of steam. "3rd Class. Fixed engines communicating the power to the implements by the agency of chains or ropes. This class may be divided into two divisions : those machines that carry the winding drum, and those on which the windlass is detached from the engine. "4th Class. Traction engines moving along the head- lands or other part of a field and working implements by the agency of wire ropes. This class may be divided into two divisions, or, those in which one engine is used, and those in which two engines are used. It may be further subdivided into — 1st, those systems that work but one implement ; 2nd, those systems that work two imple- ments at the same time ; 3rd, those in which two engines are at work at the same time ; 4th, those in which but one engine is worked at a time ; 5th, those in which the implements travel the full length of the field ; and 6th, those systems in which the implements travel over but one-half the length of the field. " Of traction engines, the earliest recorded is that of Mr. R. Lovell, Edgeworth, dated in February, 1770. A rotary cultivator was introduced by Messrs. Bonser and Pettit in 1846. A steam digging machine was patented in 1853 by Mr. R. Romaine. " The first invention relating to ploughing, in which other motive power than that of horses is used, and in which the railway or guide-rail is introduced, is the inven- tion of Messrs. Clarke, Freeman, and Varley in 1846. The invention consists in the application of a pneumatic tube placed between the rails, similar to the arrangement adopted in the atmospheric railway. The apparatus for exhausting the tubes is intended to be placed iu a central position on the estate to be operated on, and the whole estate is then to be divided into rectangular plots, in such a way that it shall be intercepted with main or branch lines leading direct from the central station ; from these branch lines other subsidiary lines are to diverge at right angles. In 1850, Lord Willoughby de Eresby introduced his system of steam ploughing. The machinery consisted of the " California" locomotive engine designed by Sir Daniel Gooch, which weighed %\ tons, and was twenty- six horse power. The engine was fitted with a double capstan, which could readily be removed when the eugine was required for other purposes. It was intended by the inventor of this system that the engine should be moved ' across the centre of the field on a light portable rail- way.' The ploughs advance and recede on either side of the railway at right angle to it. The ploughs, or other implements of culture, are intended to be worked by ' an endless chain 150 yards in length, which will be put in motion by the capstan of the engine.' I 3 100 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. " Fixed Engines. " The plan of working apparatus for the cultivation of the soil from stationary engines," continues Mr. Latham, " is one of the earliest methods that has been proposed for applying power for the purpose of assisting in the various agricultural operations carried on by the farmer. The chief exponent of this system at the present day is Mr. William Smith, of Woolston ; but the honour of originating the system cannot be claimed for him, as we have inventions older in date than the experiments of Mr. Smith, which he only commenced in 1S54. Although the place as original inventor of this system caunot be claimed by Mr. Smith, yet he is deserving of all praise for the care, skill, and unremitting attention that he has given to this system when in its infancy ; and, under his fostering hand, he has had the satisfaction of seeing it developed and pretty generally employed. " In 1850, R. Cotgreave procured a patent for a drain- plough that was to be worked by an ' ordinary capstan or windlass placed at a distance from the trenching machine and connected thereto by means of ropes or chains.' " In the same year Mr. John Fowler took out his first two patents for drain ploughs ; and there is no doubt that, to the success attending the improved drain ploughs of Fowler, the present success of steam cultivation is due. We have seen in all the late Mr. Fowler's undertakings an energy and perseverance that has commanded a well- merited success. In 1852, Mr. Fowler introduced the steam-engine as the motive power of the drain plough ; and, when so applied, the manifest advantages of applying the same power in an analogous way became manifest ; and, in the report of the judges at the Itoyal Agricultural Society's meeting at Lincoln, in 1854, after extolling its merits and describing its performance, they are led to say that, ' Surely this power can be applied to more general purposes ; we earnestly commend the idea to our engineers and machinists.' The idea, once started, was not long in being taken up, and hence we find, after this period, a number of inventions all tending to train the great power of the steam-engine for the purpose of cul- tivating the soil. " In May, 1856, Messrs. Howard procured their first patent for the application of steam power to the cultiva- tion of the soil. This invention consisted in the use of a number of ' turn-wrest' ploughs attached by chains to a travelling frame, which was intended to be driven by means of a wire rope passing over a number of guide pulleys ' set at opposite corners or other points of the field, and thence' proceeding ' to the winding on and off barrels of the engine.' The pulleys in this invention were intended to be fixed by means of a sort of screw or cork-screw anchor, and ' rotary guides' were used ' to assist in the laying of the rope or chain upon the wind- lass. Another portion of this invention had reference to the attachment of ploughs to a locomotive engine ; but, as this method of cultivation has been exploded, it is not necessary to refer to this portion of the invention. " Locomotive Engines moving along the Head- lands OK OTHER PART OF A FlELD, AND DRAWING IMPLEMENTS BY THE AGANCY OF WlRE ROPES. " The method of cultivating the soil by means of locomotive engines moving along the headlands is pro- bably the earliest system of steam cultivation that was attended with any great success ; and there can be no doubt but that, if the early production of the machines of this class were only improved in the accessories to the system, or in the construction of the hauling appliances, these early inventions would have answered all the re- quirements of the more modern system. But in 1810, when Major Pratt first introduced this system, the country was not ripe for such an innovation as steam ploughing, and therefore to this fact may be due the very small success that attended the efforts of this inventor, Pratt's mode consisted in the employment of ' three four- wheeled carriages, which travel along the field parallel to each other, with two endless chains extended between them, and passing around a single horizontal chain wheel on the outer carriage, and around a double chain wheel, driven by mechanical power, on the centre carriage. Ridge ploughs being attached to the chains, two ridges will be ploughed at the same time between the centre carriage and each outer carriage.' The only drawback to the successful working of this invention was found in the chains, which were continually breaking. This apparatus of Pratt's, if fitted with a steel wire rope for hauling, would perfectly comply with all the requirements of modern culture." Mr. Latham then refers to the patents of the great steam -ploughing manufacturers of the present day, such as Messrs. Fowler, of Leeds; Howard, of Bedford; Smith, of Woolston j and Ransomes, of Ipswich. The various merits of the improvements made by these great houses it is needless to describe, for they are pretty generally known to my readers. During the three years which have elapsed since the Steam Cultivation Committee of the Royal Agricultural Society made their report {Jour., vol. iii., N.S., p. 97), great advances have been made in the steam plough. In an obliging reply to my inquiries, Messrs. J. Fowler aud Co., of Leeds, observe (January, 1869) : " Steam cultiva- tion is very different now to what it was three years ago — in fact, we are now doing with our machines in all cases twice as much work, and in some cases three times as much as was done at the former period. They are also working at a great disadvantage, as a great number of our machines are constantly working for hire, and are only employed to do the heaviest work." In fact, ma- chines made four years ago would never have been able to do the work which has been done this last summer. It is a great mistake in speaking upou the subject to only refer to work done two or three years since, as the ma- chines since then have been greatly improved, aud, more- over, the men employed were then in a very uneducated state. In the communication to which I have referred, Messrs. Fowler aua Co. alluded in support of their statement to the continued experience of Mr. Edmund Ruck, of Castle Hill Farm, near Cricklade. Now, according to the ex- amination made of that farm about three years since by the Steam Committee of the Royal Agricultural Society, no farm could be better adapted to test the power of the steam plough than that of Mr. Ruck. The Committee observed as the result of their very laborious examination {Jour. Royal Agrlc. Society, N.S., vol. iii., p. 297) : — " Castle Hill Farm consists of 620 acres arable and 100 acres of grass. It formerly lay in 36 fields, but by destroying nearly five miles' length of old fences, it is now in 9 fields of about 70 acres each, having straight boundaries and very little timber. Four of these fields have a good loamy soil, managed on the four -course shift; the other five fields have a calcareous clay and strong loam soil, growing vetches, rye, and other sheep-keep, followed by wheat, then clover, broken up for beans (manured), and then wheat again. The draft-labour used to be performed by 9 horses in 3 -horse teams, and 56 oxen worked in seven 4-ox teams, 28 in the morning, and the other half in the afternoon. These bullocks, bought as two-year-olds and sold out as four-year-olds, improved themselves in value about 50s. each, grazing 100 acres of moderate pasture, and doing only summer work. Mr. Ruck arguing that they paid the rent of the land they fed THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 101 on, giving their tillage-labour into the bargain. How- ever, there was, at any rate, the cost of their harness, im- plements, manual labour for working them from thirty to forty weeks, and feeding them during winter, besides the interest of capital locked up in them ; and seven teams, or 28 oxen, at say £15 a year each, would involve an annual outlay of £420. But without entering into a dis- cussion of this question, we may merely say that, had there been no oxen, the same work would probably have required 14 horses ; and these, at our standard figure of £-14 each for everything connected with their mainten- ance and working, would have cost £616. " We do not pretend to settle here whether it is £420 or £616 that Mr. ltuck saves every year by the banish- ment of his 'horned horses ;' but we arc very sure that it must be a handsome sum. At present, Mr Ruck has 10 horses. He admits that he is longer about carrying his harvest than most people are ; but the farm always has had about a hundred hands out of Cricklade to cut the com. The reaping is thus done very quickly, and the 10 horses, with 1-horse carts, stack a large part of the crops in the fields. "At the date of our visit (November 9th) he had done very little autumn cultivation ; but he had ploughed 600 acres since the 1st of May, and all his wheat-sowing was finished. In 1865, not a single acre of the ploughing was done by horses. We noticed a little couch on one of the headlands, and the explanation of this given us was, that the headlands are worked by horses, and not by the ? steam plough. After all the wheat is in, the clover-leas are steam-ploughed for beans, which are sown on the stale furrow. " The apparatus now used is a double-engine 14-horse Fowler set. Mr. Ruck tried the roundabout, the clip- drum siugle-engine and anchorage, and now declares him- self warmly in favour of the two-engine system. The travelling anchorage he thinks wrong under any circum- stances, for now he can finish up in one field and begin the next in about ten minutes, which saving of precious time is worth anything on a large farm. Three men work the tackle, Mr. Ruck paying the engine-men £1 a week each (ordinary wages being 10s. a week, or rather ave- raging about 13s. a week the year through) ; and his hands being good fellows, and treating him and his ma- chinery well, he does not care to begin piece-work. The average day's ploughing with one engine used to be eight acres; with two engines it is ten acres a day. We picked up a good notion from Mr. Ruck as to getting water from the field-wells or elsewhere— place the pump-barrel so low that the " bucket" is under the water-level, and you find the pumping so much easier that a boy can do the " water-work" of a man. " Mr. Ruck can never be persuaded to go back to the old slow horse system, with all its trouble and its scamp- ing of work ; and (as he exclaims, with characteristic ex- pression) " What a life the poor fellows used to lead I" He could never think of lowering his men again to the level of followers at the plough-tail. He has done some little steam-work for other people ; but can seldom spare the tackle for the purpose, and his opinion is that for small farms the hiring system is much better adapted than the doubtfully feasible partnership of three or four farmers in an apparatus. " We do not know what is the total yearly expenditure here upon steam cultivation —it may be considerably more than the sum saved by displacement of teams ; but the following items of advantage will be readily appreciated : Mr. Ruck said that he found he could do the work of a horse with 6d. worth of coal. As to effects upon the farm, the staple soil, formerly five inches in depth, is now seven or eight inches deep. A considerably increased head of stock is kept, owing to the larger production of green-keeping and roots, as well as to the absence of the working bullocks ; and, what is very remarkable, Mr. Kuck declares that, by the use of the steam plough, he has improved his grain cropping at least eight bushels per acre. Large as this result is, it agrees with the estimate of Mr. Holland, of Dumbleton, and some other adopters of steam cultivation." Upon a careful retrospect then of the progress of steam cultivation, the review is certainly cheering. It would be very unfair to regard the steam plough as an exception to all other implements — to believe that time would not render its use better understood, or its construction more simple and more economical. It is true that, like all other agricultural implements, it is not adapted for all soils and situations ; but it will assuredly more and more be employed to the saving of animal labour, and the pro- duction of a much larger supply of food. It is, we have every reason to believe (among other great advantages), the stepping-stone to the profitable, far deeper stirring of our soils than has hitherto been accomplished. OUR MEAT SUPPLIES FOR THE ENSUING SPRING. BY A PltACTICAL FAEMEK. This is a subject of very grave importance, and I take it up mainly to elicit information from all parts of the United Kingdom. I trust many will be induced to give their views upon it, so that needless or groundless fears may be allayed, if it should transpire that an average sup- ply may be forthcoming, or, on the contrary, if the dis- cussion or inquiry should evidence an unusually short supply, that every provision shoidd be made to meet it. The present prospects are far from being encouraging. So far as my own observation and inquiry extends, I find that the vast majority of winter food crops in all the eastern and middle parts of the kingdom have proved failures, owing to the excessive drought of the past summer ; that the western counties of the kingdom, Wales, and Scotland, have nearly average crops, and that in Ire- land the crops are quite equal to those of former years, How then stands the main facts? The eastern counties and eastern districts of Yorkshire and Durham, and the whole of the middle of the kingdom are nearly without winter food crops. Turnips are almost nil, except those light crops sown after harvest. Mangolds are nine-tenths under an average. Rape, cabbage, kohl-rabi, &c., are scarcely to be found. The only serviceable crop is that of potatoes ; and two-thirds of these tubers are blighted in many parts of the country ; but there is a large crop, and the blights are at present excellent food, and every advantage is taken to turn them to good account as food for every kind of farm stock, including sheep, which thrive well upon them when given in moderation. Now, as our main supplies for the early spring mouths have hitherto been derived from these districts, and that they must this year fail, how is the deficiency to be made up ? The Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, the midland and northern counties' supplies must be exceedingly short, 102 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. at most not much in excess of the wants of their own populations. The western counties may have a small surplus, and Scotland may contribute her quota to supply the London market ; but these will fall far short of the requirements of the great Metropolitan Market, supply- ing, as it does, both town and country to a large extent. We have, then, to look only to Ireland and the continent. Ireland has abundance of good green-food crops, that is, abundance for the consumption of her own cattle and other farm stock; but we have been hitherto unaccus- tomed to look for any heavy amount of animal food from thence, certainly not an equivalent for the absence or loss of the eastern counties' supplies. We are in a position to know that a large amount of farm stock was left over in these counties from the past dry summer which failed to be fatted. It is not so much the want of stock as the want of food, and more especially fatting food, that these spring resorts will fail us. If we turn to the western and south-western counties, we find that they are princi- pally devoted to dairying purposes ; and their supplies consist in a great measure of cheese, butter, and milk — not animals fatted for slaughter. No doubt the supplies of Devons and Herefords is very considerable, as well as Down and Cotswold sheep ; but " what are they amongst so many ?"— scarcely equal to an annual Lincolnshire supply, and which must in the ensuing spring be a very meagre one. Many animals are also appropriated for fat- tening purposes, although in lean condition, in order, if possible, to enhance a much-needed supply in the spring. We have, then, a great dependence upon the continent and other sources. These I fear will be very inadequate, as the countries bordering the Baltic are in a similar posi- tion to ourselves. The number of fatted animals from thence will in all probability be much below the average of the past few years. What effect high prices here may have upon eastern Europe is problematical. Of course the tendency will be to induce the Russian and Polish graziers to try the British market ; and to such an extent has railway accommodation progressed, that the transit of fatted stock from these countries to the western shores is comparatively easy. We may look for an increased supply from the continent, and which will be very acceptable, but it cannot compensate for home losses, or make up the de- ficiency. As for the long-promised supplies from South America, Australia, New South Wales, and other far-off countries, very little may be expected at present. We see so much effected by scientific processes in the present age, that it woidd be foolish to say these supplies will never come : they certainly are on the increase, and are likely to continue so. How would our English population like to subsist upon dried fish from Newfoundland, aided by po- tatoes and a very moderate ration of bread ? yet this is the common food of the Irish population in Mayo, Galway, Connemara, and other parts of western Ireland. Nor would they be much better pleased with the homely fare of oatmeal porridge and oatmeal cake, with a little milk oc- casionally ; but this is the daily food of the Scotch la- bouring classes the whole year round. As to our sup- plies for the coming spring, these I fear will be unusually short. What then is to be done ? The consuming public depend upon stockowners to provide the supplies. They cannot do it without the usual winter food crops to any extent, but they may and will do much. I would suggest, as one great means of adding to our meat supply, the fatting of a much larger number of pigs. These animals will fatten at almost any age ; and they are so prolific, that a renewed supply may soon be bred. The consumers, too, should aid : they must occasionally forego their Sunday diuner of roast beef or hung mutton, and put up with pork. There is always some alleviation in the worst of cases. The dry summer has been highly favourable to poultry breeders. The supply of poultry is in excess of former years ; and as so much care and atten- tion has been taken to increase the production of poultry throughout the kingdom, it will now form no inconsider- able accession to our meat supplies. The true interest of consumers lies in economizing the consumption of meat, and promoting the consumption of bread and vegetable foods. THE HERDS OF GREAT BRITAIN. Chapter LVI1. THE MERTON AND MR. FOWLER'S HERDS. Our last Norfolk notes left off at Elmham. From thence we work round past Hampshires for evermore; past one or two ruined ivy piles, now silent to all the services of church ; past the ancient home of old Denney, a very Webb among original Norfolks; through Fakenhain, which was in the full enjoyment of its market-life ; and so past Egmere, and its well-stored fold-yards, to Holkham. History describes it as being in 1776 little better than a swamp or blowing sand, where two rabbits would differ for a blade of grass, and where little was heard but the wild sea birds' cries, and nothing felt save the alternations of ague. Still it would seem that twenty years or more before that the work of reclaiming the marsh had begun. The estate itself contains about 30,000 acres, and of these seven thousand are held by Mr. Hudson, and seven other great farmers in the Castle Acre district. The Park in- cludes 1,000 acres of arable land, 800 of pasture, and 1,200 of water aud woodland; but somehow the utterly unsuitable style of the house seems at once to destroy the whole of the historical interest you had conjured up. There is no old English mansion or grey ancestral grange which has been defended against the Roundheads, and no church tower peeping through the trees hard-bye, where generation after generation take their rest, or a knight lies cross-legged in stone, to tell of his prowess in the Holy Land. Still there was the big barn farther on to remind us of old times, with a couple of Devons up for Christ- mas, and Jenny Lind and Blossom among the matrons from the "West Countrie." The last Norfolk ram of old Deuney's lingers in canvas on the walls of the office ; but they were too good jumpers, and on that account alone they might have been given up for Southdowns. The present Earl, however, gave them another trial, and decided that they were only fitted for a deer park. " Starling," which hangs near it, was a true old Norfolk beast, with a white star and sparky, with one horn up and one down, while in shape he might be a Tonning. There, too, is the white cob, on which Mr. Francis Blackie, the old steward, rode ; and there, too, is the old gentleman himself — clad in the Whig buff waistcoat and blue coat of the period — who was so great on forest trees and tillage, and so steady a believer in sliced turnips and oilcake. The Devon cows and heifers numbered about a score, and the Southdowns yielded place in 1863 to the Hamp- shires, which are put to Mr. Hugh Aylrner's rams, THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. 103 and the wethers fed-oil' at their second Christmas. The cross-bred Iambs were ouec sold, hut now they are always gone ou with. The only relic of the Southdown, " the small in size and great in value," of the late lord, are to be found on his monument in the park, occupying one of the four corners, with the drill, the plough, and the Devon. The late lord also loved to plant oaks, and he aud John Duke of Bedford would work among the sheep, with their smocks on, lill the day was far spent. Larches and ever- greens have been planted since his day, and there is quite a paradise of ducks among the sedge and the willows of the Island. The Devon cows with their calves, the year- lings, and the heifers in-calf are in the marshes outside, where the '" \\ Imers" and Ilampshi res also consort ; while Hanking them on the east and shutting-out the chaungs and tumblings of the big blue German Ocean, are the sand banks honey-combed with rabbit-burrows, on which no master save Nature has laid a hand. Seven Burnhams, one of them Nelson's native village lie to our left. As we once more clear the park bounds and drive through Sutton Burnham, we spy the first old Devon bullock of the next Smithfield Club, taking his ease in the straw -yard of Mr. John Overman. It is, however, with the Leicester on the Southdown that the latter has made his name. He first won with them in 1S4S, and up to 'G8 inclusive he had taken twenty-three Firsts and three Cups, besides Extra Stock Medals with them at the Smithfield Show. We remember meeting Mr. Jonas Webb and Mr. Ton* in conclave over them at Baker- ~ street, and they were unanimous in their statement that such " half-and-half" was all that buyer or butcher could desire. From here wc worked round by the railway into the Norwich district once more. Then came a long pleasant day at Stanlield Hall among Mr. Charles Groucock's Royal prize ponies, the grey " Champagne Charlie," and the miniature chesnut sire King Arthur, a regular Merry- legs over timber, and the small but select stud of pony- mares, whose foals will in due time dot the park, and come up to do battle at the Royal, with the somewhat unusual aflix to their names in the catalogue, *' bred by the owner." The statue of Melancthon still looks down on the inner hall, as it did on that fearful night, for which Rush had to take his " leap from the leafless tree," but twenty years have passed away since then, and the house has been four times occupied. " The Queen" took her turn in the gig that day, and, tooled by her owner, the 2k miles to Wymondhaui station soon melt into nothing. "We are in due time at Dereham, celebrated among other matters for its pig markets. Shipdham, which we pass through on the way to Watton, is a great turkey parish, and so we thought when we met one of its premier turkey boys in command of 179. Lord Walsingham's estate begins at Watton, which is four miles further on. This is one of its best portions, aud consists of rich loam on a clay subsoil, which grows among other things sheep cabbage — drumhead, savoy and common garden savoy, as well as Battersea and ox heart — to perfection. On other portions of the property the soil is very much mixed. The light sandy portions of it are clayed, with from 60 to 100 loads per acre, with an excellent result ; and there are some rare "pockets" of clay on most of the farms. His lordship has fifteen hun- dred acres in his own hand, three hundred of which are park. Rye and early spring feed do well here, and vetches and sainfoin are ready by the middle or end of June. On his distant estates in Suffolk, Huntingdonshire, and the out-lying one in Norfolk, the tenants are allowed to shoot upon request, though the game is reserved in the lease. His lordship gives no quarter to rabbits, and also allows his home tenants twro days' coursing — Monday and Satur- day— from November 1st to February 28th. Merton is situated in a tine wild park, not unlike Knowsley. Little belts of plantation and brackens of a marvellous height, which are mown about " Holyrood day" for cattle litter and mangel storing, furnish fine cover for pheasants and hares, and foxes are preserved in Way- laud Wood (the scene of the " Babes in the Wood") and in the Home Wood, although the West Norfolk very sel- dom draw them. Oaks flourish bravely, and the crop of acorns last year took a world of gathering for stock at from 8d. to lOd. per bushel. Scotch firs flourish in places, but the wind of February 1850 thinned-out the larches. Lord Walsingham has not confined his ideas of im- proved breeds to sheep, but extended it to pigs and Short- horns. The pigs are Improved Essex, -with an extra dash of the Neapolitan, and an infusion of Stearn and Sexton blood ; but so far his lordship has never exhibited, even locally. The herd dates from 1847, with Lady, from Mr. Parkinson's, in-calf to Captain Shaftoe. The calves have no nurses, and no new milk after a month, and are simply treated as farm-stock. Jack Andrews from Lady was the first high-bred bull, and the sales of Mr. Fawkes, the Bushey Grove (whence came Dauntless and Jessica), Mr. Noakes, Mr. Banks Stanhope (who furnished the "J" sort in Jane and Jardine 2nd) were all laid under contri- bution. The white Lord Lovell, by Booth's Sir James, and bred by Mr. Sanday, did good ; and so did his son Merton Beau (a useful county prize-taker) from Pretty by Jack Andrews, and the winner of nine local prizes. Prince Rupert by the celebrated Seventh Duke of York, and Norfolk by Jack Andrews were useful in their turn ; and Mr. Matthews' first-prize Smithfield Club cow in 1863, was by his lordship's Norfolk. Royal Wharfdale by Duke of Wharfdale, from Royal Butterfly's Duchess, was hired from Mr. Betts', to use to the Merton Beau, Lord Lovell, aud Prince Rupert heifers ; but he was rather staring in his colour. Baron Windsor was hired for six months, from Mr. Fitzwilliam ; and Oxford Marshal by Eleventh Duke of Oxford, from Memento by Irish Oxford (18084), and very nice over the crops, is now on service. They have also one of their own breeding, Wensleydale, from Sly, very gay, and with deep flesh, and the reserve bull- calf at the Leicester Royal. Among the cows in the meadow wrere the big aud thick Dauntless, Fuchsia, Minnie by Lord Cobham, with her nice forehand, Lady Ancibell, and Jessica. The belles of the byre were the young heifers Ladydale, a very nice one from Amanda, and Cannondale, a good match for her, but too upright in her horn, from Minnie, which was also represented by a good- haired burly calf by Rodolph. Thoughtless, a very wealthy heifer, but not quite of the modern fashion, was also there, with her third Leicester Royal honours fresh upon her, and going on for a fat show. The Southdown ewe flock is 420 strong, and about a score of them have won as gimmers at the Royal. One of them, whose form is " beautiful for ever," but her wralk rather rheumatic, was one of the Worcester prize pen in 1863, and also the winner of the silver medal in extra stock at the Smithfield Club. Being in lamb at the time, she was saved from the knife, and has had two Royal prize winners since then, and is still breeding. His lordship has also an excellent flock of 200 Southdown ewes ou the Mouse Hall Farm. There are only four or five other flocks of the breed in the county. Tups from Babraham were used at Merton, more or less, until the death of Mr. Jonas Webb, and since then his lordship has gone occasionally to Mr. Henry Webb, for some of the old sort at Steetley Hall. Nothing did more to establish the flock type than Mr. Webb's Windsor Castle, the first prize shearling at Windsor, which was used freely in 1851-52. It was not long, however, before they began to use their own, and they have mainly relied on home sires. Their 104 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. trade with France and Germany is very extensive, both for tups and ewes. The showing has been on a most exten- sive scale, and dates back as far as the Norfolk Agricul- tural Show of 1851, where the Hock took three first prizes, two of them for rams, and another for ten Southdown ewe lambs. Since then they have been pretty constant at the county tryst, and occasionally at the Yorkshire, as well as Poissy, Hamburgh, and Liverpool. The last Christmas Cup pen opened the campaign on the banks of the Mersey, and swept away £55 in money and plate, which included two cups for the best pen of sheep of any breed or age. They have taken firsts at Birmingham (where the special prize was adjudged to them in 1867-68 over all other breeds), and the same pen. never goes on to the Smithfield Club. The flock was first commended for a pen of wethers at Baker Street in 1851, and took a second prize in 1852. It was not, however, until 1863 that the Gold Medal monarchy of Sussex, in which the Duke of Richmond, Mr. Rigden, and Mr. John Kent had taken part, was fairly broken down, and, bar Lord Sondes' s year, Merton has car- ried the Short-wool Cup ever since. The first Royal victory was for shearling Southdown ewes at Lincoln in '54, and Chelmsford in '56 saw the orange and blue cards both over the gimmers and the old ram pens. The Merton flock has had a great time of it and boundless firsts at the Royal since Mr. Jonas Webb retired. Mr. Rigden beat them at Leicester for the first prize both in the shearling and the aged ram classes, but still the prizes of last year include four cups, six medals, and £160. Charles Crane and John Day may be said to be the stud-groom and trainer for the stable. The former, who always goes in charge of the prize pens to Birmingham, was born on the spot, and lives at the Broadflash farm, while John is located at the old parsonage house in the village. Perhaps Charles's greatest triumph was when he received the Wayland Association shepherd prize in 1S66. He had 415 ewes to tup (on grass) at the end of September, 1865, and in the following June he produced 609 living lambs, and only six ewes were on the dead list ! Late in December he hands over the lambs for ex- hibition to John Day, who gradually finds himself in command of thirty shearling rams, ten old rams, and fif- teen shearling ewes to put forward for the Royal. In August he also takes in hand fifteen shearling wethers, ten old wethers, and three or four old ewes for Christmas, so that during the year he is a sort of centurion, and con- stantly pervading the capital new and old sheep houses at the home farm. " Ne touchcz j>as" was the only French with which J ohn was armed, when he once left Babraham for France ; but he illustrated the sentiment most vigo- rously with Mr., Herr, and Monsieur : and protected his cup sheep for Liverpool so ably last December, that we found him sitting on the side of his pen at Islington on the Thursday, and studying a report in a dail^, which stigmatized him as an " acid-tempered dragon." The ram lambs (of which the Newcastle blood could be told by their lighter faces) were " acting all round" him in the paddock, while a cade lamb, which promises to be a cracker, maintained a dignified reserve in company with a heifer. The Old and Young Gaiety sort were very numerous, and John had his weather eye on one of the former, as " a thick pluggy fellow." The first Bury shearling and second old sheep at Leicester was there ready for his October toils, and earned the loving appel- lation of " an easy-minded sheep." Of course, we had a look at "that roguish old dog," the ancient Clipper with his " splendid nob," which has descended in a mea- sure to his son, Young Bury. John, in his little red-tile sanctum, is the greatest sight after all. Three shears hang on the wall, as a token of the truth of what Fundi says of him : — " And here's John Day from Merton, With his Southdowns in full fig ; Oh ! don't he trim their whiskers, And don't he curl their wig !" The weighing machine is in one corner, and he gave a " splendid groan" when he and his son placed a " light weight" upon it that October, and found that it was 4^1bs. already on the wrong side of 2001bs. The astonishment of Mr. Perch when he let fall a few observations in a public before a gentleman of the press, and found them " worked np in a Sunday paper next morning in a truly surprising manner," was almost equal to ours when we saw a wether cross this threshold in a rough state at 9 a.m., and step out as trim as a bridegroom in three hours, all ready for Turner, Fookes, or Lugar. They talk of horse-clipping by machinery ; but John will hold on manfully to his Conservative shears, and leave machinery to the " dauntless democrats." Nearly all the London pens were by Reserve, a sheep which was never let. John has known the shearling rams make a pound a day for twenty-four days, after being taken up, and getting to " a better shop than they had before," and after that half-a-stoiie a month has been about the gain. One shearling wether made 3 fibs, between July 20th and October 5th, an old sheep 271bs., and a ewe 161bs., aud 16st. 21bs., 17st. 41bs., and lGst. 91bs. were the live weights respectively. The best wether they ever had for weight was one of 18st. 21bs. four years ago, by Old 102, and a brother made up to l?st. 51bs., and another to 16st. 121bs. ♦ The whole system pursued with the flock has been given by Mr. Henry Woods in his pamphlet " Sheep Manage- ment," which has become quite a text-book among flock- masters in all lands. We will therefore merely mention, while on the subject of feeding, that among other points he strongly insists on the necessity of giving chaff with linseed-cake, in order to stave off diarrhoea, and points out that cotton-cake takes the wool off the forequarters, and makes the mutton yellow. As regards abundance of lambs, he had, like the Premier, " three courses to pursue." By way of experiment some ewes were tupped on fresh layer, some in the park with cake, and some on turnips alone, and those on turnips had 25 per cent, more lambs. A somewhat tortuous route, enlivened by a peep at See-Saw's Cambridgeshire win, and Blue Gown's second under 9st., found us within sight at last of the leaded church-spire of Aylesbury. A third of a century since, the steeplechase jockeys knew it well. They had, in fact, no other guide in their " guesses at truth," wheu they were taken four miles out of the town, to Wad- desdon Wind-Mill, and told to reach that beacon as they could, on pain of disqualification, if they went through a gate or along a road. " Seventeen were in the big brook at one time ; and the Marquis of Waterford's Lancet died soon after, from the effects of that plunge-bath. Lau- restiua (Allnutt) got over well, and sailed away three or four hundred yards in front ; but Captain Becher and Yyvian, by dint of hard swimming, reached dry land at last, and reached and beat the mare in the winning field. Every field has, in short, its steeplechase history. " Yon- der is where they started for the Light Weights when Vyvian was beaten by Saladin," said our friend : <: there they started for the Heavy Weights, but Vyvian won that time." They can show you the very place where the unctuous Bill Bean tried to squeeze Rochelle between two trees, and was removed, half-Absolom fashion, from " The old saddle tree Which had borne him of yore," and left sitting with a bruise on his knee, which made him limp for life. Then there is the great grass field near the famous Putlowe's grazing farm, into which Vyvian THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 105 and Grimaldi jumped almost abreast at the finish; the big double, where The Marquis, on i' el low Dwarf, came to grief; ami the point in (lie hedge where the rail was doctored to no purpose for Jim Mason and The Poet. So many people came after Yellow Dwarfs day that far- mers complained, and the fun was put an end to. The Pratt Club then had some steeplechases ; and now the Aristocratic, for past and present members of the uni- versities, arc run over one of Mr. Fowler's farms. The late Lord Strathmorc pronounced it " about the best course in England," and won two races over it; and little do anxious parents know " by the pricking of their thumbs," or any other secret intelligence, how their sons, under divers aliases, " take silk " there, without waitiug for the Lord Chancellor to "offer it." Aylesbury lies in the middle of the Vale, which is watered by the Thame, and famous for its beef, its ducks, aud its elms. The Vale proper, is about thirty miles rouud, ten miles iu diameter, and flanked on the south- east side by a spur of the Chiltern Hills, which extend by Wendover and Princes Risborough on to Wallingford and Devizes. Northwest of Aylesbury, the bulk of the country is grass, but on the south-east side, it is plough, with the exception of Broughton Pastures, which are farmed by Mr. Senior (who once fed Herefords), and includes Broughton Farm, of whim Mr. Fowler's brother is tenaut, aud some of the very finest grass land. Mr. Joseph Terry, of Quarreudon, has a rare tract of more than a thousaud acres, and his three hundred beasts, like Mr. Rowland's of Creslow, lie out till old Michaelmas-day, and are then tied up with 121bs. to 151bs. of oilcake a day till Christmas. Putlowe's is held by Mr. Terry, and was purchased not long since by New College, Oxford. Herefords and Devons have not by any means the hold they had in the Vale, and the graziers supply themselves very much with Lincolnshires and pure Shorthorns and Scots, at Northampton and Banbury fairs. No one can, however, realise the real glory of a grass country till he stands on the topmost point of Creslow Great Pasture, near the clump where its tenant, Mr. Westcar, of Smithfield Club renown, was found dead with his pony grazing at his side, llogston and Dunton parishes break the line of sight with an occasional naked fallow, but everywhere else is sound galloping ground, such as Mr. Davis's eye loved to rest on when he came here with the Royal staghouuds, and his grey Hermit for a week each November and February. Sir Francis Grant, R.A., once thought of making this pasture the scene of his meet of the Royal staghounds, but Ascot was eventually substituted. The " Great Pasture" has 351 statute acres, and will carry 200 bullocks aud 500 sheep and lambs. Behind us as we stand there, are the ivy-clustered gables of the old manor-house, with the beech foliage of autumn green and gold, hard by the spinney, where Mr. Selby Lowndes holds his crack meet of the season. We looked on the spot as we would upon Waterloo, and strange and deceiving as its shape may be, there is no such expanse of rich pasture in the kingdom. Mr. Fowler's Prebendal Farm lies about half-a-mile out of Aylesbury. It is here that he has for years pro- duced those wonderful Aylesbury clucks, a pair of which will sometimes scale 181bs., aud which preserve that pale white, or flesh-coloured tint on the bill, which is so diffi- cult to achieve out of the vale. The bill should be like a woodcock's, coming away fiat and broad from the head, and without a spot of black or yellow; but it will become cream-coloured with age, or it may be the action of the soil. His geese, which arc almost pure Toulouse, have also scaled 371bs. each, when they have been tested in the judicial Birmingham basket ; but with turkeys, he has not much troubled himself. One of his finest was a wild turkey, caught on the prairies, and sent by way of Toronto to England. She laid and hatched her brood iu a hedge row, and when they were found, they at first rose out of a wheat field like a covey of partridges, and then ran like a race-horse, when they came to earth again. Nearly every kind of fowl is in the yard, but Brahmas are the breed upon which Mr. Fowler chiefly stands. He eschews all brown on the wing, and will have the pencil- ling on a silver, and not a brown ground. Creve Cocur, La Fleche, Dorkings, and Silkie Fowls, Bantams and Cochins are all represented at one of his two farms; and the chief disadvantage he has found with the La Fleche is, that the cocks arc prone to die of apoplexy. He has uot " been oft' with the old love before he was on with the new ;" but contrives to be true to both the "Poultry Manual" and the " Herd Book." He com- menced breeding Shorthorns about six years ago, by pur- chasing eight or nine promising heifers of various strains of blood, at the sale of the late Mr. Lawford, at Southcote. They proved very prolific when crossed with Prince Chris- tian (22582) and John o'Gauut (16322), and he sold off the whole of their produce, in September '67. He had then begun to see from personal observation, that in order to establish a thoroughly good herd, it was necessary to take up a special line of blood ; and from constant visits to most of the leading herds of the kingdom, he determined to base his future efforts on a pure Fawsley foundation. He was convinced that that fine old English baronet, the late Sir Charles Knightley, had succeeded in establishing, not only a fixed type of line symmetry, but had also de- veloped a deep-milking property ; and that a judicious cross with a Bates' bull would conduce to a still finer touch, aud richer hair and colour. He, therefore, at- tended " the small but select sale" at Fawsley, which Sir Charles often playfully anticipated in our hearing under that title iu his latter days, and added " those Northamp- ton radicals won't put up the shutters for me." Sylphide by Sarawak (15238) was Mr. Fowler's purchase that day, and she produced a fine roan heifer, by Bull's Pun, called Pipalee, and afterwards Edith of Fawsley by Prince Christiau. Hence he most reluctantly sold Sylphide at his sale. Pipalee in her turn had Knightley Princess by Prince Christian, and is in calf again to Eighth Baron Wetherby. On the celebrated Kentish May morning of '67, Mr. Fowler again swelled his store with Nympnalin, own sis- ter to Pipalee, which bore Knightlcy's Grand Duchess by Fourth Grand Duke (the 450 guinea bull of Mr. Betts's sale), and quite realized his idea of what Bates on Knight- ley could effect. After Nymphalin came Sunrise by Mameluke, bred by Mr. Adkins, of Milcote, and de- sended from The Sylph by Sir Walter tribe, to which the Charmers and Sweethearts belong. She was bought from Mr. Slye, of Beaumont Grange, and is the dam of Fawsley Royal by Prince Christian. The white Seraph, of the Charmer sort, joined the ranks from the Milcote sale ; and so did Princess Charlotte (by a Booth bull), bred by Her Majesty the Queen from the Cold Cream tribe, and bought at the Windsor sale ; while Lady Ellen and Verbena, two Bates on Fawsley cows, came afterwards from other herds. Seraphiua the Eighteenth by Imperial Oxford is another tribe, by which Mr. Fowler sets great store, and from her Princess Seraphina and Imperial Seraphina by Prince Christiau both sprang. Fantail 2nd is by Costa, a pure Charmer bull, and the Marquis of Aylesbury is her Prince Christian calf. This bull, who was by Touchstone from a Seventh Duke of York cow made the sale, and was killed before the value of his calves was known. Eighth Baron Wetherby by Seventh Duke of York, and bred by Mr. Bowly, took his place, while Hardicanute by a Charmer and Princess bull from a Furbelow cow was bought at Milcote for the Prince Christian heifers. Such is the history of the herd ; and when we had paused to look at the draining of Chidham wheat straws — 106 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. which leave the barn at £9 per toil, sell for £36 when the straws are re-drawn and split, and rise to £200 when they are plaited and made into bonnets — we passed byHardica- nute, an improving and very mellow-handling young bull, to " the feeding pasture," which the new line of railway cuts in half. Princess Royal and her daughter White Princess, two very cheap bargains at Mr. Robarts's sale, had two clever Duke of Claro calves, with beautiful mossy coats at their side. "The Duke" himself goes back through Duchess 79th by 6th Duke of Oxford (12765) to Duchess 51st, so that their lineage has no Haw, and Ursula 28th by 13th Grand Duke and Imperial Seraphina were not far away — one with a very sweet head, and the other snug and deep-fleshed. The roan Marquis of Ayles- bury was a gay straight calf of the Towneley Butterfly style and the Fantail blood, and another foud memento of Prince Christian. Bates on Knightley was well pour- trayed in Knightley Grand Duchess— a fine roan by 4th Grand Duke, from Nymphalin by Bull's Run, with a beautiful head and fore quarter, and full of Shorthorn cha- racter. The thick and wide Fawsley Princess (another Prince Christian) won in a pair with her at Aylesbury. Princess Royal by Duke of Bolton (12738), and of pure Fawsley descent, had a cow of line length, and with all that queenly walk which so distinguished the blood, was the last in that pasture, and then wc entered Hyde Mead, where a Brahmin heifer was ever lingering by the side of Fantail 2nd, a cow with a rare rib. Lady Mabel had more milk than looks, and a good calf, Weatherbit, by 8th Baron of Weatherby, had smeared his face well at her udder. Lucretia, by The Briar, had rather a Douglas's Rose of Sharon head, and was a remarkably nice cow, with a well-laid shoulder, great depth, and on a very neat short leg. Seraphina 18th, by Imperial Oxford, and own sister to Mr. Barclay's of Keavil, was pulled down by three calves in twenty-two months, but she was good in her brisket and middle, and rather light in the thigh. Edith of Fawsley was a good heifer of the true mixture, but a trifle high on the back ; Princess Seraphina had plenty of wealth and thickness ; and Nymphalin was quite a shorthorn, but rather rubs off the good points from her hips. Sunrise by Mameluke, from Sweetheart 2nd, was on a nice short leg, and what may be called not a flash but a sound " representative cow" for a herd. Pipalee would have been better a size larger, but she is prolific, and docs not refuse to breed like old white Seraph, for one of whose calves Mr. Leney gave 160 gs., and Mr. Sartoris 140 gs., at the Milcote sale ; aud Princess Charlotte proves that Booth and Fawsley can go together, as she unites rare substance with great growth for her age. And so ended our experiences of The Vale. HOW SHEEP PAY. We resume this subject for the purpose of still further illustrating the statements put forward in .the previous article, viz., that sheep require great care and intelligent management on the part of tbeir owner to make it pay. Moreover, that there is uo more dangerous stock a farmer can put on his land, if the breed is not judiciously chosen to suit the soil on which they are to find a living, and the number of animals carefully balanced, so that there shall be no over-crowding, and consequent danger of deterioration instead of improvement and ultimate pro- fit. The old and well-known saying, which is generally imputed to the Swedes, that sheep are animals with a golden foot, meaning that they not only leave a profit, and enrich their owner by their rapid thriving, but at the same time materially improve the land on which they feed, has led many a man to get into this kind of stock, who has afterwards had abundant reason to regret his doing so. To make money by sheep, unless the elements of success are numerous, and the facilities for rapid im- provement unusually favourable, it is absolutely necessary that a man should know his business, and either attend to all the minutice of it himself, or have an intelligent and re- sponsible servant, who will meet his views in every respect, and carry on the different processes of feeding and at- tendance with mechanical regularity. The very skill and experience which enables a man to perceive, at a glance, when the sheep require a change of pasture, aud the kind of change which will suit them — whether a drier or more suc- culent food, a shift abounding in grass, or one where they have to work pretty hard for their living, even if they are to remain on it but a limited period — is invaluable to any man who owns a flock of sheep, or has the care of them, and is paid for his services. By attention to these features, insignificant as they may appear at the first glance, the health of the flock can be sustained, and much loss ami disappointment from deaths avoided. It is with sheep as with everything else, much easier to prevent disease than to get rid of it when it has once obtained a footing. Probably with sheep it is more difficult to be got rid of than with most other animals, owing to the numbers that arc together, aud the peculiarly contagious character of most of the diseases that affect this race of animals. These ailments are mostly brought out by ir- regularity of food, having abundance at one season, and, perhaps, then at another a lengthened period of semi- starvation, when food other than what they are able to pick from the pastures has uot been provided. Disease is also brought on by unsuitable pasture, and by conta- gion ; the former affecting the liver, stomach, and intes- tines, and the latter, including foot-rot, and the various forms of cutaneous affections, are so difficult to eradicate, and which but too frequently prove so destructive to the flock. All these forms of disease are aggravated by over- crowding, the very mistake which moneyed people, not familiar with sheep-stock, are most liable to fall into; and when once a heavy stock begins to retrograde, the down- ward process is a speedy one. When sheep have been largely introduced on extensive farms, for the purpose of getting rid of cultivation, and displacing labour, they mostly do remarkably well for the first few years ; and when the produce of the flock bears a high market value for the time-being, the success and improvement brought by the change, appears to be indubitable. When travelling during the past week we chanced to meet an acquaintance who in the course of the journey detailed his experience with a flock of sheep, which, unluckily for him, fully bears out the view we have taken of this question. His statement we give verbatim, the coincidence being so striking. In 1865 he purchased a flock of ewes, long-woolled useful sheep, at an average price per head, expenses included, of £3 7s. 6d. With this flock he stocked a portion of his farm, which he had laid down to permanent pasture expressly for this purpose. Previously he had done remarkably well with a dairy stock, the produce of which he was enabled to sell in the shape of new milk with peculiar advantage at a neighbouring THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 107 sea-port. Thinking, however, that feeding horses and keeping up a statl" of labourers lo grow the necessary amount of green crops for winter consumption absorbed too much of Ihe profits, lie, in an evil hour, made up his mind to get rid of his cows and put sheep in their stead. To all appearance the change was a decided success. The ewes were healthy, had a clean range, required compara- tively little attendance, the weekly bill for labour was re- duced surprisingly, and having but few men to look after, and nothing on the farm at all likely to go wrong, he had much more opportunity for recreation than he had ever before been accustomed to. The ewes were crossed with pure-bred Shropshire Down rams, and the lambs were really very fine, having immense bone, a quality which was the result of the freshness of the grass and entire freedom from sheep for many years. The first year's lambs were sold from the mothers at 37s. 6d. a head, the second at 32s., which was doing remarkably well, especially as wool was a fair price both seasons, and made a good average per fleece. Thus eucouraged, lie increased the number somewhat in the autumn of 1867, and then his troubles began. From what- ever cause, scour and scab almost simultaneously presented themselves ; and in spite of every exertion on the part of himself and his assistants, a large number died, and the remainder were so emaciated as to be scarcely of any value. Thoroughly disgusted and worn out in the end, he deter- mined to be clear completely of sheep, and sold them by auction in the spring of the present year, the average price obtained being scarcely 21s. a head. On making up his account he fouud that he was minus a sum considerably over £600 of his original capital. The error here, how- ever, was in not having a properly qualified man to take charge of the flock, as, if the owner had not relied quite so much on his own personal attention, assisted by a so-called intelligent labourer, much of the loss might have been averted. No man obtains a better price for his lambs and sheep, or has them always in such a thriving state as he who keeps a comparatively small number in proportion to his acreage. Let the land be ever so bare, the animals are in good condition, and, when killed, the internal fat and the covering of the kidneys is wonderfully firm in tex- ture and large in quantity in comparison to the appearance when living. A few ewes running with milch cows thrive remarkably well, requiring almost no attention, the return from them being probably greater than it is possible to extract from a sheep under any other conditions. This fact leads to the conclusion that, in small inclosures, it is much better policy to keep but few together, rather than large numbers, and to mix the stock, having a few light heifers or other young cattle grazing with each lot of sheep. By this mode of management the flock generally will be in better health, the feet will be sounder and give less annoyance, the weights arrived at will be relatively greater, and, altogether, they will turn out more satisfactory to the butcher. By purchasing what may be termed a flying stock of ewes in autumn, and letting them run over the pastures which have been occupied during the summer months with cattle, a good deal of money is frequently made. If of a thrifty breed, they will keep themselves in good condition on the rough half-dried grass ; and, after the turn of the year, a few turnips thrown daily on the pastures, and a little hay given in racks, or chaffed and given in troughs, will bring them inexpensively on to lambing time. Eat lambs being the object, the moment they become nurses, good keep and abundance of it is indispensable, so as to work the lambs up to heavy weights at an early age, and get rid of them at big prices These being disposed of early, gives ample opportunity to get the ewes themselves fattened and cleared off at a comparatively early period of the season. When grass can be taken for the summer and autumn months, and in many districts this can be calculated on with certainty, it being so much the custom to let grass land by auction, an opportunity is afforded of working out this system to great perfection. By taking as much grass outside the farm as will maintain and finish the number of sheep and lambs held by the farmer, and pro- bably a portion of the young cattle also, the permanent stock is not interfered with, the food resources not too heavily taxed, and the general home arrangements be- come in no way hampered. Numbers of energetic men now devote a portion of their spare capital in this way. And although, as has been the case during the present season, it was difficult to do little more than make all ends meet ; yet, taking one year with another, a consider- able addition can be added to the income of those who follow the system, and that too with but a moderate ex- penditure of time, trouble and capital. On an arable farm, capable of maintaining a permanent stock of ewes, it suits admirably to have them of two distinct breeds, for the purpose of crossing. Thus, Down ewes crossed with a Leicester ram will, from their excellent character as nurses, force on a portion of the lambs, so as to enable them to be disposed of early fat, and at remunerative prices. Again, Leicester or other white-faced ewes, of established reputation, are eminently useful when crossed with any Down ram, their progeny making ex- cellent feeding sheep when netted on turnips. The wool is of very fine quality, and being very thick and rather shorter than that of the pure white, it resists the action of the weather much better, not permitting the rain to penetrate to the skin nearly so much. They also attain to heavy weights at an early age, and die remark- ably well. The first cross from pure parents is the most useful ; aud there is not the slightest necessity for breed- ing from crosses, providing a slight amount of care and forethought is exercised. A few ewes of each breed should be selected to keep up pure stock, and the best ewe-lambs picked out every season and held over in store condition for breeding purposes. Fresh blood can easily be had by purchasing sires when required, and gradually perfection is reached, and the flock becomes known for its good qualities, aud will always make itself a name under good management, providing the land is sound and every way suitable for sheep. Breeding from crosses is bad policy in nearly every case ; and, however well it may appear to do for a time, it is sure eventually to prove highly injurious by lowering the standard of the flesh, the good qualities for which the original sire aud Jam were famed becoming in a great measure lost, and the profits greatly lessened. The way-going stock should be so managed as to have them fit for the butcher at the age of from twelve to fourteen months. When the breed is a good one and the treatment liberal there is no diffi- culty in doing this, and it is highly questionable whether sheep leave a profit at all when kept longer ; certainly on an arable farm, worked on a regular system of mixed hus- bandry, they cannot be so kept without materially inter- fering with the working arrangements. A cross between a Down and Leicester will, at twelvemonths, weigh easily 211bs. a quarter, realizing at 8d. per lb. 56s. for each sheep ; a price quite sufficient to make their breeding and feeding remunerative. Many men do more than this ; but we have carefully abstained from putting the figure too high, having merely limited it to what is in the power of the ordinary rent-paying farmer to attain to without any very extravagant outlay for concentrated foods. To arrive at early maturity it is highly essential that the young animals have always abundance of food, never knowing what it is to be stinted ; aud if they have been accustomed to eat oilcake and crushed oats before leaving their mother so much the better, as with even a very small allowance they will be kept from falling off when 108 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. weaned. The 1st September is by 110 meaus too early to begin giving them a few turnips, so that when a few weeks later they are put on them altogether there may be no time lost in learning. It is excessively impolitic to be late in getting them on the turnips ; a month's delay re- quiring a month to make up the lost condition, and thus two months are frittered away and no good done. The use of the machine in cutting up the turnips is now con- sidered better management than the old system of letting them scoop out the bulbs themselves, and is generally adopted, whether the turnips they may be feeding on are the softer varieties or not. There are many advantages gained by a liberal use of corn and cake in the feeding of sheep besides the primary object for which it is given. It effects a great saving of turnips, no small consideration during the feeding season, on which we have now entered; it shortens the time required for fattening, and it greatly enriches the land. The latter is a most valuable consi- deration, reimbursing the farmer for his outlay on con- centrated foods, with but little aid from the increased profit on the animals. Although the value of oats is at present very high, it is very questionable whether they would not return more money by being crushed and given to the sheep, than when sold at the market. Not only are oats useful for those that are fattening, but they are also highly beneficial to the ewe when carrying her young, even when given in such small quantity as half a pound a-day. AVith this allowance of corn and a very small portion of turnips she comes to lambing time in excellent health and good condition, dropping her young strong, and thus giving them an opportunity of doing well, when endowed with a good constitution from the very outset. Although oat-crushers can be had of all sizes and corresponding prices, from those driven by hand to those worked by steam, we consider it both cheap and convenient to get the crushing done under the ordinary mill-stones, when there is a mill which works for hire at all near. AVe get it ourselves done at four-pence a cwt., which is as cheap as it can well be done, in the absence of water or steam power at home. A constant supply of hay is also necessary, as it tends to correct the watery nature of the turnips and the tendency to scour. They will eat it very well when given long in racks, but there is less waste when it is chaffed. The sheep-rack has been greatly improved of late years ; racks for uncut and troughs for cut hay, bruised corn, oilcake, and turnips being all contained on the one frame and under one roof : this is very near perfection ; but to have a rack that is alto- gether so, there should be movable wings which could be let down when the inclemency of the weather required it, so as to completely protect the sheep when feeding. In any case no rack should be without a shoot to carry off the rain, and prevent its falling in a stream on the backs of the poor things : this is too often neglected, to their great discomfort and positive injury. The man in charge of a lot of fattening sheep should have a decided taste for the work with which he is intrusted, so that he may not merely go through his work mechanically from a sense of duty or because he must do it, but looks upon it, and as- sumes it to some extent, as a labour of love, taking a hearty interest in the well-doing of the animals. Such a man will be regular in his attendance, and punctual as the clock to his hours of feeding, persistently keeping the wants of his charge before tbe notice of their owner, and will always give timely warning when fresh supplies of food require to be brought forward, so that there may be no interruption or delay. "When the season's business has been properly organized and reduced to a perfect system, the whole working machinery goes on smoothly and sweetly, being lubricated with the oil of regularity and order, while harmony and good humour are the prevailing characteristics of those engaged. An abundant supply of food for all the animals of the farm is a wonderful shortener of the winter, and helps to make what is na- ture's dullest season one of the pleasantest of the year. When, however, the supply is unavoidably short and has to be carefully husbanded, and given with a sparing hand from the very commencement, the winter and spring ap- pear to be interminable, the anxiety of mind in the end becomes positively harassing, and, alter all, the results ar- rived at are far from satisfactory. It is much to be feared the latter is likely to be the case pretty generally this winter, the only prospect of alleviation being in the use of greatly increased quantities of the various kinds of concentrated food, to supplement that which is home- grown. J. S. POTATOES AS FOOD FOR FARM STOCK. Prior to the introduction of turnip-culture as a main feature in farm practice, and almost up to the time when " Mangel Wurtzel" became so popular in field culture, the potato crop was relied upon as producing the best and cheapest food for farm stock during the winter months. As food for pigs it still holds the first place ; but for cattle it is now seldom used to any extent. This has, in a great measure, been owing to the mysterious potato disease, which caused such woful destruction to the crop that it has been with difficulty that a supply of the invaluable esculent could be kept up for the British public, and that at a high price. This distressing visita- tion has now prevailed for upwards of twenty-two years, and without mitigation till within the past two or three years, and then under singularly fickle and uncertain cir- cumstances. Now, the crop in some districts altogether escaped the attack ; in others it was never worse. Last year the crop was good throughout Lincolnshire and all the eastern counties, and bad in Scotland and the western counties. This year, the crop is good and abundant in Scotland and in most parts of the western counties. In Lincolnshire, and many parts of the eastern districts, the crop is abundant ; but the disease was never more fatal. Thousands upon thousands of tons are quite unfit for human food, and are appropriated for cattle feeding. They were got up dry, and keep well ; hence they are good food for farm-stock, and will no doubt in many in- stances supply the deficiency occasioned by the loss of the last summer's turnip and mangold crops. It was customary, many years ago, to harvest surpris- ing crops of potatoes. Such productive crops have not been known for very many years ; but then the study was to produce heavy crops, irrespective of quality, for human service. They were, in fact, grown exclusively for farm- stock : and the larger and coarser they grew, the better were they approved : the old ox-noble being the grand favourite, and was the largest and most productive variety grown. It was a large round white variety, and would yield from three hundred to six hundred bushels per acre of excellent food, i. e., from nine to ten up to sixteen or eighteen tons per acre, and occasionally more. As soon as the Swedish turnip became a popular farm crop, the culture of these potatoes declined. The Swedish turnip being more productive, and not necessarily requir- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 109 ing to be harvested, proved much less expensive iu cul- ture and management, and, if not quite so fattening in quality, the excess in weight counterbalanced the potato ; and, as it became a universal crop, quite superseded it as a food for stock, with the exception that potatoes con- tinued to be the prime food for pigs, aud Swedish turnips became a favourite food for sheep, as they never relished or thrived upon potatoes, whereas both alike were nearly equally good cattle food. This year, the potato crop far exceeds iu weight the turnip crop, aud is extensively grown in many districts. The diseased ones being excel- lent food, only requires distributing over the couutry destitute of turnips to prove a decided relief from scarcity. This is the main object I have in penning this paper. I desire to show that much good must arise to stock-owners, who will introduce them on their farms as a substitute for lost mangolds or turnips. They are this season the most economical food to be had ; and as railways otter every facility for transport to any district, there is no difficulty in obtaining them. The rate of carriage charged is much lower than usual, and is a recent arrangement, be- ing one penny per ton per mile ; and, the original cost to the growers being from 20s. to 30s. per ton, the total cost is not expensive. The proper application of the potato as food for cattle is of importance, and upon which mainly depends the success. The greatest error, generally, is in giving the stock too many. It is best to commence with moderate rations, about one bushel per day, given at three intervals, to be increased gradually as the animals appear to require it, T which will soon be manifest from the laxative state of their bowels. lull-grown cattle will consume profitably from one bushel to two bushels per day, or, by weight, from four to eight stones per day, provided tiiey are well supplied with good dry chaff, hay, or straw. The great consideration is to keep their bodies right. The chief danger arises from the laxative character of the raw po- tato : it is not only purgative, but frequently causes "hove," or great distension of the body. This, however, seldom occurs, except the animal gormandises too many, a3 they frequently will do if they are given in profusion. It requires only ordinary care and watchfulness to pre- vent this. My neighbour lost three young steers last week from this cause. The animals I understand came home hungry from a market, gorged themselves too fully, and, being rather low in conditiou, hove and purging came on, which they could not withstand. This was an oversight, and ought not to have been suffered. The po- tatoes would have been the very food to have prepared them for good keeping and rapid progress, had they been given iu moderation. For young growing cattle they are admirable food, if given with judgment aud discretion. Young calves thrive well upon them, if they are cleanly washed and cut for them. From a quarter to half a peck per day is good allowance for calves, commencing when they are ten or twelve weeks old. Young cattle, under two-and-a-half years old, may have two to six pecks daily, taking care to watch the state of their bowels, which of course is indicated by their dung. As the spring puts in, an increase in their rations may be safely dis- pensed to every animal. Potatoes, like mangolds, contain a considerable proportion of water, which during the winter is dissipated, and the tubers are thereby rendered more acceptable and wholesome food ; and as the spring advances, and the warmth of summer begins to be felt, they become very valuable as food ; in fact, they form an excellent substitute for early grass. It is somewhat re- markable to observe, but wheu cattle, which have been wintered iu the usual way upon straw with a few roots and a little cake, are put upon good rations of potatoes in the spring, they thrive as rapidly as upon a good grass pasture : they quickly lose their " old hair," and soon look like a well -grazed bullock. In this way potatoes are decidedly the best spring food grown for cattle aud pigs, and, should we ere long lose the potato disease alto- gether, it would be good farm practice to grow a reason- able quantity for the precise purpose just indicated. I will just name that some danger arises to cattle from giv- ing the tubers whole. They are liable to choke from small ones becoming fixed in the gullet. It is best to cut them with the turuip-cutter, or pulp them. Should choking occur, a stiff piece of rope, or (what should be upon every farm) the choke-tube should be gently passed clown the animal's gullet, to remove the lodged potato. If the lodgment is not low down, it may frequently be removed by the pressure of the hand along the gullet downwards : great care must be taken not to injure or burst the gullet. As food for sheep, potatoes have never, I believe, been extensively tried. That sheep will eat them is unquestion- able ; but they do not appear to be palateable food to them. They will generally leave them to go after any other kind of food. It is only in case of necessity, or absolute privation, that they would be iuduced to con- sume them readily. The scarcity of sheep food in this season is ample reason for trying the experiment of adapt- ing them in one form or other as sheep food. Boiling or steaming for a large Hock of sheep is out of the ques- tion, owing to the cost ; but cutting, or pulping, woidd suffice. As food for pigs, mixed with meal, potatoes stand unri- valled, whether boiled, steamed, or pulped. In either case they should be cleanly washed. The pulping is the least expense ; but the pigs do not thrive quite so fast as when they are boiled or steamed. The difference, how- ever, is not great. As food for poultry, geese, ducks, turkeys, boiled or steamed potatoes are exceedingly valu- able. My own yards are chiefly supported from them, aided by occasioual supplies of grain, and, when fatting, meal. THE NEW FARM. At last the winds and rain have come. The heavens have broken iu earnest, aud the full-flooded river hath over-run the bank, pouriug-in, I observe, along an old ditch (the filliug-iu of which must have shrunk from its original dimensions), and at the mouth of which I shall fix sluice-gates next year, so as to be able to warp the flat meadows of thirty acres at will, at the same time con- structing a main drain by which to draw off the stagnant volume of water which is apt to abide too long upon the same place. It is so delightful sailing over the fields. There being no stream to oppose, you positively tear along. Returning after nightfall I steered my boat right over a high flight of rails, and moored her in a meadow with the bows tied to a stile and the stern to a bush ! There is a grand wind blowiug now and I shall soon be off, so I must make sail fast iu the delivery of my sentiments. I have been greatly amused by listening to the recital of the woes of a young agriculturist who has bought a fine 110 THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. tract of improvable laud in Ireland, but which he farms at dwelling distance, being as far out of reach as he can. About fifteen of his flock, a small sort selected and fed for the picking of himself aud Mends, the mountain foxes took. Their remains were found in the bog (a store- house, usually of the peasant's methinks I have read, who I dare say on occasions can imitate the depredation of his vulpine majesty, even to the biting and tearing of the wool !) His geese, also, a fine flock as they floated on the bay and river, went too ! But, after all, he has an enjoy- able life in the wild West, which I should like much to share if it were not for the family mill-stone. Our pet pheasants have, alas ! at length shown their ingratitude, and joined the company of the covert-bred, only occasionally coming at breakfast-time to the school- room window. We are all in high glee expecting the return from school shortly of our eldest boy, for whom I bought a singularly clever galloway, fast as a thorough- bred and a rare jumper; but most amazingly I have just found out that she has quite lately learnt a trick of turning home occasionally, in which, if she be opposed, she has a donkey-like habit of crushing you up against the nearest wall or fence, as I found quite unexpectedly to my cost the other day, having at this moment my leg from knee to ancle all bruised and black. It seems a stable-boy who exercised her was in the habit of yielding to her when she first began the bad habit, until it has now be- come seriously confirmed. Spurs she does not seem to mind, so that I am rather at a nonplus. She was so wonderfully temperate and gentle before this humour came. It is quite delightful to behold how well the cattle and horses do upon the chopped barley-sheddings and wheat-straw iu their line of extempore boxes, which we have run up for the winter with wattled hurdles and oak poles around the yards. Unless suow comes to beat it down and rot it, there is several weeks' keep remaining, and so the haystacks are left almost in their eutircty as yet. A terrible thing is it to have mainly consumed the hay before Christinas, as thoughtless youth is sometimes apt to allow. I remember, when I began farming, having a fearful nip of that sort: having to give from £5 to £7 10s. per ton for fodder for some weeks of the spring when my own stores had run out. I see old Melon in a fit of the greatest delight beckon- ing me out from my study. And well he may be, for he has managed to purchase for me a whole cart-load of choice firs, roses, laurestinas, yew, dahlias, and hollyhocks for the mighty sum of JB1 15s., his own feeding aud gates included ! A youug market- gardener in this neighbourhood having become bankrupt several times, upon this occasion, at the first day's sale, there was little competition, when I sent Mr. Melon to look after a few things. I hear that the next day, when everyone went, hearing how cheaply things had gone the day before, there was a pretty spirited sale. We may congratulate ourselves, therefore, upon having taken time by the forelock. We shall now have some new occupa- tion in the planting to fill gaps and improve points of landscape. Our watercress pool is a rare success, as we have an ever-abundant supply quite close to the house. A London cousin, who was lately staying here, was much amused at the Robinson Crusoe meals to which we introduced her. Our own pork, mutton, wild-duck, pears, chestnuts, walnuts, perry, butter, and cream, all uubought, and produced upon the premises, this sim- ple phase of the farmer's enjoyable existence surprised and delighted her, making her teeth water in more senses than one. During this period of flood, the boatmen to whom the salmon-fishery is let are considerably oc- cupied in netting the pools formed upon hol- lows of the meadow -land, wherein toft? take at almost every hand a quantity of trout and " coarse fish" as they invariably answer if you make inquiry, wrhich means, I suspect, anything they can catch. A winter or two back a salmon ran up a ditch where it got frozen in, and was discovered by the children who had been down to skate. One of the workmen had it given to him, and it was discussed, he told me, with amazing gusto by his little ones at dinner. It weighed about eight pouuds and was in excellent condition, having been preserved by the ice. This pleasurable devoration of an animal that had died a natural death, reminds me of an intention wre have of shooting a few chickens instead of bleeding them to death, as the common mode is. They must assuredly taste less insipid from having been so slaughtered. 1 fancy I have seen that the plan has been tried before. I have just had the offer of a large quantity of lime refuse from a tanyard, which, having been used to dress the imported hides, has also a considerable mixture of salt and hair in it. The price being only one shilling a horse for every load, I shall put a lot on my turnip fallow'. I am sorry to have to record that the clover crop, thick where I planted swedes with home-made compost of wood ashes, salt, soot, and bone-dust, all saturated with liquid manure, is upon the piece adjoining, of two acres, which I dressed with over five cwt. per acre of superphosphate, feeble beyond measure. I shall rely more than ever, consequently, upon the home-made stuff, for of the farmer's difficulties I have long come to the con- clusion that the artificial manure and excess of labour bills constitute a great part. Hurrah ! there's one of the missing pheasant hens come out of the bushes, with the bantams, to feed ! I throw them some small wheat, and she runs up the first to pick it ; but she hops away quite indignantly from the atten- tion of the gay Lucknow chanticleer. Hero comes a workman with a brace of squirrels — " Executed in the very act of nibbling off the tops of afir- plantation," he says. I hope the statement is true, for they are very pretty, running up and down the trees, al- though I am not partial to them, I must confess, when the filbert and walnut crops are ripe. There is a beautiful hawk floating about, notwithstand- ing the number that my neighbour's keeper has shot upon the ledges of a rock just in sight of our lawn. T have given orders to my man to spare him. He looks so elegant sailing amidst the tree tops, as we see them below us; and Ave can quite well spare a lot of the increasing wood-pigeon tribe. "Murder! Oh! my — my!" I was startled to hear yesterday uttered rapidly and in shrill tones by au unhappy green woodpecker, who comes daily to feed upon the grass-plot. Master hawk had spied him and gave chase, which was the reason of the agonized cries I heard, aud which were uttered as the foolish bird took his flight, rapidly losing way, across a small meadow. He turned suddenly, however, into the wood ; whereupon his pursuer, making a graceful but contemptuous swoop, declined further pursuit, and fioated elegantly out in quest of new game. Just at the children's dinner there was awful excite- ment— a boat apparently upset, aud another following. I took out the glass and discerned the state of things to be that there was a light punt, with two men aboard, iu chase of a runaway raft, on which another man had managed to crawl, at imminent risk of his life — the more especially as he experienced our rapids. It wras interest- ing to watch their manoeuvres. How calm and yet ef- fective their performance ! It reminded me of the quiet way in which a lad, used to the sort, will coolly go in and out of a savage bull's box with little risk of accident ; only a certain amount of snorting rage mi the animal'* THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Ill part, and a trifle of contempt on the boy's. Here, down the foaming, dirty river, went puut and raft, waltzing gracefully around and around, when the men, as calmly as if on shore, were lashing it gradually up, then slipped quietly along a pole into the punt, all three of them, and with a skilful scientific tow just arresting its affrighted gallop, as they reached a backwater, into which they guided it, all helpless ; and where, in an instant, it was stranded as comfortably and humbly as, at this period of my storv, 18 Yours obediently, Vigil. WINTER FEEDING OF MILCH COWS. From communications received from numerous districts respecting the short crop of roots, there is now no doubt that many will find it difficult to feed their dairy and other stock as well as they have been accustomed to do, and the increased prices of all sorts of oil-cakes and grain, consequent on short crops of oats at home, will require great economy on the part of dairymen to feed and maintain their cows profitably, and at the same time in thrifty condition. To save roots and fodder the dairymen about Dublin have, with few exceptious, up to within the last week or so, kept their cows out on the after- grass, which is still good, but they are now housing them pretty briskly. Brewers' and distillers' grams aud wash, with hay, will henceforth be their chief dependence ; hitherto grains were supplemented with swedes, as for several years past the owners of dairy stock found out that no other root produced milk so rich and abundantly, particularly daring the early part of the season and on to March, when mangels come into sea- «f son ; but this season swedes will scarcely be had for love or money, and they must look out for something else in lieu of them, or at least part of them. As other food rises in price so will the grains, aud the dairy farmer must economize with this species of food also ; but grains are not very nutritive unless accompanied by the wash also, and in many localities neither grain nor wash can be obtained, from the distance they are from breweries and distilleries. Cooking the roots for milch cows, where fuel can be had at a reasonable cost, should be attended to during the winter months. Cold roots chill the animals and retard the secretion of milk, and when the roots are sliced aud given in the distillers' or brewers' wash and grains the cows yield well and put up condition at the same time ; but where grains and wash cannot be had, a rich and nutritions wash may be compounded by the admixture of oatmeal seeds 7 lbs., malt dust or combs, 1 to 2 lbs., and rape cake 4 to 5 lbs., digested with 8 to 10 gallons of boiling water in large casks, aud covered up till cool, then mixed with 28 lbs. of chaifed hay and straw per head per day, and given lukewarm. Instead of the boiling water, the entire mass may lie mixed together and steamed where a steaming apparatus is available, which it should be in large establishments. Mr. Horsfall, a few years since, published his formula for feeding milch cows, which he found both profitable and eco- nomical. The following are the proportions he adopted for each cow, after some years' experience : — G lbs. rape cake, 1 lb. malt combs, I lb. bran, or, instead of the malt combs, 2 lbs. bran, which were mixed " with a sufficient quantity of bean straw, oat straw, and shells of oats in equal proportions to supply them three times a day with as much as they will eat." The compound was then moistened and steamed, and given to the animals warm, with from 1 to 2 lbs. bean-meal, mixed in its raw states with the above compound, after it was cooked, and just before feeding the cows. Other feeding stuffs have come more into use since Mr. Horsefall wrote than before. Amongst the most prominent are Indian corn or meal and palm-nut meal. Malt combs are sometimes not to be had ; and although they are nutritive, Indian meal or palm-nut meal, or both, may be substituted for the malt-combs or dust, and may now be had everywhere. Turnips give milk and butter more or less the turnip flavour, which may be greatly modified by not giving raw turnips before, but after, milking, and raw turnips should not be given the first thing in the morning, for the same reason ; but the best way to prevent the flavour of the turnips being communi- cated to the milk and butter is to cook them, and in this way they give scarcely any flavour to the cows' produce, Liuseed cake is a useful ingredient in feeding dairy stock ; but its cost, we fear, will for this season preclude its use. Unadulterated rape-cake is fully as good as the. Linseed cake, aud vastly cheaper. It is sometimes difficult to get cattle to eat it, from its peculiar flavour ; but once accustomed to it, they eat it greedily, and to effect this object it should be reduced to powder, and some of it put into the animal's mouth from time to time, when they soon take to it. The same may be said of palm-nut meal ; few animals will take to eat it, unless a little be first mixed with some other food they have a liking for ; but after they get accustomed to the smell and flavour, as in the case of rape cake, they eat, aud thrive on it. Should 1 he dairy farmer be trusting to swedes, grains, and wash, the best way to use them will be to cook the turnips, turn them out into a vat to cool, and mix the grains with them, which will cool the turnips sufficiently, and give the mess to the cows while milk warm. The best way to prevent the milk having a turnip flavour is to cook the turnips, dissolve nitre in as much warm water as it will take to do so, and put a dessert spoonful of the solution in each gallon pail before milking. Furze, when chaffed aud partially bruised, to destroy the spines, makes a very nutritive and milk-producing food for cows, of which they may get live bushelfuls per day. They are the better by being accompanied by a few swedes or mangels ; and where they have been cultivated as a furze- meadow, or can be clipped off furze-bushes in breaks or hedge- rows, they will save a vast amount of hay and other provender. More particular care should be given to milch cows in keep- ing them clean than is usually the case. It is no unusual thing to see their quarters covered with filth, which is allowed to dry and cake there, and no attempt made to remove it till it falls off in the next season with the hair. This should not be — they should be cleaned daily, and, above all things, their udders should be washed before each milking, so that the milk may be pure, and free from such abominations. Milk is one of the greatest luxuries we have, and the most easily tainted. Their house should at all times be kept well ventilated, clean, and sweet, and themselves] kept perfectly clean, so as to preserve their produce from pollution. — Irish Farmers' Gazelle. SUDDEN DEATH OF MR. THOMAS CRISP, OF BUTLEY. — The death of this well-known agriculturist oc- curred in the field on Friday, Jan, 22, during a day with Lord Rendlesham's hounds, which had met that morning at Easton. There was no approach to an accident, and Mr. Crisp was supposed to have died from apoplexy. There were few men whose names were more familiar in the agricultural world, as Mr. Crisp not only farmed extensively at Butley Abbey, near Wickham Market, as well as having another outlying holding or two in Suffolk and Essex, but he achieved some well- merited success as a breeder and exhibitor of stock. He may be said to have followed Mr. Catlin, whose widow he married, as the especial champion of the Suffolk carthorse, while he was quite as celebrated for bis small breeds of pigs, had cultivated a well-bred shorthorn herd, and pos- sessed a good flock of Southdown sheep. He had, further, a thorough-bred stallion or two for the use of his own and his neighbours' nag mares, and was in every way " up" in the im- proved art of agriculture. With his Punches and pigs more particularly, he was almost invincible at the local shows, as ■well as a frequent winner at the Royal, the Smithfield Club and Birmingham meetings. Mr. Crisp had established a good foreign connection, and year after year sent a number of well- bred animals abroad. A keen shrewd judge, an agreeable companion, and a most hospitable host, " Tom Crisp" as he was familiarly known was deservedly popular, and his loss is sure to be ielt in the Eastern Counties, Mr. Crisp, who was about sixty years of age leaves no family. As may be sup- posed this sad event caused a great shock, and Lord Rendle- sham at once ordered the bounds home. At an inquest held at Hasketon, the jury returned a verdict of death from natural causes. DEATH OF MR. ROBERT HERBERT.— This gentle- man died on Wednesday, January 20th, in the fifty-second year of his age. For a period of thirty-five years Mr. Herbert had been connected with the agricultural press, chiefly in re- porting the London Cattle Markets; and he was also a regular contributor to the '■ Journal" of the Royal Agricultural Booietg i 112 TEE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, THE CABBAGE AS A FOOD FOR STOCK, It appears to us that the cabbage is a plant which might be much move abundantly employed as food for the animals of the farm. It possesses several substantial advantages — a large acreable return, high nutritive properties, and excellent fla- vour. Iu England and Scotland large quantities of it are grown for feeding purposes, but in Ireland this plant is, as a rule, chiefly used as food for human beings. The cabbage requires a pretty good soil, and does not suc- ceed well unless supplied with abundance of manure ; it has, therefore, been said of it that it is an exhaustive crop, and that it impoverishes the soil. The same allegations may, however, be made against all valuable crops, but more especially against all green crops, which remove much mineral matters from the laud. A crop that takes but little from the soil cannot be very valuable. If, however, wc compare the cost of producing a crop of cabbages, and the quantity of nutriment contained in it, with a crop of roots, and its cost and value, we should find the comparison to be more favourable to the cabbage ; nor does the cabbage rob the soil to anything like the extent which the abundance of the crop would indicate; The plant being very large-leaved takes up extremely large quantities of ammo- nia aud carbonic acid from the air ; and it is probable that the amount of nitrogen in the soil increases rather than diminishes during the cultivation of this crop, even iu cases where no ammoniacal manures are employed. A rather common but very injurious practice is strippiug off the leaves of the cabbage whilst growing, often to such an ex- tent as to remove nearly half the substance of the plant. This practice greatly injures the development of the plaut, because it is thereby deprived of the organs by means of which it takes in its supplies of aerial food. In stripped plants, too, the mineral matter accumulates in excessive proportions in the stem. It is also injudicious to allow the stem to remain in the ground, because the young and useless shoots that spring forth take up much valuable fertilizing matter from the soil. The same evil result follows the seeding of the cabbage, when the collection of the seeds is not the object of the grower. The drumhead cabbage is, perhaps, the best adapted for field cultivation. When grown on a good loam, and supplied with abundance of manure, as much as from 50 to 60 tons per acre have been obtained. As a general rule, the acreable re- turns from the cabbage are decidedly greater than those ob- tained from turnips or mangels, and were it not that this plant cannot be so well stored as roots, it would certainly be by fai- th e most economical green crop that the British farmer could cultivate. The success of a cabbage crop depends in no small degree upon the quality of the seed, and a good crop caunot be expected unless the greatest care has been exercised in growing the plants from which the seed has been obtained. The largest aud best formed plants yield the best seed, but unless the laud is very free from not only weeds, but all other varieties of the brassica family of plants, good reliable seeds cannot be ob- tained. The cabbages may be kept for some time by placing them on the floor of a cool and damp house, and turning them occa- sionally. The composition of the cabbage has been carefully studied by several British and continental chemists. According to Eromberg the composition of the plaut is as follows : — 100 parts contain — Water 9340 Nitrogenous or flesh-forming matters 1-75 Non-nitrogenous matters, such as gum, sugar, &c. 4-05 Mineral matter 0-80 100-00 Dr. Thomas Anderson, chemist to the Highland and Agri- cultural Society of Scotland, gives the composition of the cab- bage as follows : — 100 parts contain — Outer leaves. Heart leaves. Water 91-08 94-1S Flesh-forming compounds 1-G3 0-'J4 Non-nitrogenous matters, gum, sugar, &c 5-06 4-08 Mineral matters 2-23 0-50 Total 100-00 100-00 The most receut and elaborate analysis is that made three or four years ago by Dr. Voelcker, chemist to the Royal Agri- cultural Society of England. That chemist finds in 100 parts of the cabbage the following : — Water 89-42 Oil 0-G8 Soluble flesh-forming matters 1-19 Sugar, digestible fibre, &c 7'01 Soluble mineral matters 0-73 Insoluble flesh-forming compounds 031 Woody fibre 1T4 Insoluble mineral matter t 0-12 The nutritive value of the cabbage will be best comparing the composition of the plant with Aberdeen turnips. The following are average these roots ; — 100 parts contain — Swedish turnip. Water S9-50 Elcsli-forming matters 1--1 1- Non-nitrogenous matters, fat, gum, sugar, &c 5'89 Woody fibre 2-54? Mineral matters 0-G3 100-00 estimated by Swedish aud analyses of Aberdeen turnip. 90-43 114 5-46 2-34 0-G3 100-00 100-00 Taking all the facts in relation to the cabbage nto account, we think that it well deserves the attention of the stock-feeder, and we, therefore, strongly recommend that some space on every farm, where the soil is suitable, should be devoted to this plant. It would be well, too, to have a seed-bed of this plant ready to supply cabbages wherever the blanks, which too often occur in the mangel and turnip fields, might be filled up. — Irish Farmers' Gazette. WEST SUSSEX AND CHICHESTER CATTLE-SHOW CLUB. — At this show the judges were Mr. C. Hayllar, Mr. Childs, and Mr. T. Elman. The following were the prizes : A silver medal (thegift of HisGrace theDuke of Richmond) forthe best beast, in any class, to Mr. John Turvell. A piece of plate of the value of ten guineas for the best pen of three sheep, iu any of the classes, to Mr. A. T. Newman. £10 (the gift of His Grace the Duke of Richmond) for the best fat ox or steer of any breed, to Mr. J. Turvell ; and £5 (the gift of the Earl of March) for the second best, to Lord Leconfield. £7 for the best fat steer under four years of age, to Mr. II. Upton ; and £4 (the gift of J. A. Smith, Esq., M.P.) for the second best, to Mr. W. R. Keatley. £6 (the gift of the Hon. H. Wyndham, M.P.) for the best fat cow or heifer, to Mr. W. Neate ; and £3 (the gift of the farmers) for the second best, to Mr. W. R. Keatley. £G (the gift of J. A. Smith, Esq., M.P.) for the best pen of three two-tooth fat South Down wether sheep, to Mr. A. T. Newman ; aud £3 (the gift of the Hon. H. Wyndham, M.P.) for the second best, to Mr. H. H. Penfold. £6 (the gift of the farmers) for the best pen of three two-tooth fat wether sheep of any description, to Mr. A. T. Newman ; and £3 for the second best, to Mr. H. H. Penfold. £6 lor the best pen of three fat South Down full-mouthed ewes, to Mr. A. T. Newman ; and £3 (the gift of the trades- men of Chichester) for the second best, to Mr. Charles Hobgen. £G for the best pen of three fat full-mouthed ewes of any de- scription, to Mr. A. T. Newman ; and £3 (the gift of Col. Barttelot, M.P.) for the second best, to Mr. C. Hobgen. £5 for the best pen of three fat pigs, not exceeding nine month* old, to Mr. John Kent. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 113 THE MODEL AGREEMENT AGAIN. " We often hear remarks on the want of go-a-head in agriculture, but such a document as this offers no induce- ment to men of capital to come forward, no stimulus to agriculture. There is no ' let live' about it ; in fact, it seems to shut every door against enterprise. How is a man with some thousands in his pocket to look at it ? You can make a very good land-agent with a long head, who can use the ribbons and whip well amongst a lot of tenantry, without a penny in his pocket. You may make a very good lawyer, sharp as a needle, and who can bite hard, without one stiver to rub on another ; but you can't make a farmer without money. With or without brains, he must have money ; and it you want a good farmer, he must have money in both pockets, and brains to boot. Then why tamper and bind them up as if they were a lot of rogues, wishing to carry off the land altogether, as these covenants seem to do ? " The new year opens, or rather the old year goes out, bravely enough when a tenant-farmer can be found to declare himself in his own district after this straight-forward fashion. It is now some two or three months since that we directed more general attention to a monstrous creation, which in the guise of " a Model + Agreement" had been propounded to the farmers of South Wales. It required no very lengthy consideration on our part to warrant our entering the strongest possible protest against such a document, as promising rather to preserve practices and principles which should be obsolete, than in any way working up to the times we live in. The tenantry of Carmarthen- shire and Pembrokeshire, however, asked for more time, and, after three months' law, came together again a week or two since to resume* the discussion. We give, as we in fairness did of the first, a full report of this adjourned meeting, with the greater call to do so from our Paper now occupying a place in the proceedings. Mr. Harvey, the author of the agreement, introduced the second reading in a brief speech, the main point of which was, perhaps, a reference to ourselves : " The editor of the Mark Lane Express devoted a leading article to the sub- ject, and although he misrepresented the conditions of the agreement, I acquit him of doing so wilfully. His ignorance of the locality, climate, and customs of the country, are an ample excuse ; and I do not think my- self called upon to refute what he has said." This, of course, is all very well so far as it goes ; as nothing can be easier than for one man to affirm that he has been mis- represented by another when he declines to euter into any particulars or to offer any proof. But fortunately, or unfortunately, for Mr. Harvey and ourselves, all that was advanced on either side still remains on re- cord; and it may be as well, on public grounds, to clear this matter up. Anything like a personal dispute with Mr. Harvey would not promise to be of much interest or advantage ; and we propose accordingly to at once put him out of the question, and to confine ourselves, as we hitherto have done, to his proposed agree- ment. He is, we believe, a land-agent, of some position in Carmarthenshire, and so far it may be well to identify the sponsorship of the paper. But, beyond this, our business is to deal with the several clauses of a "model" agreement as issued in the year 18G8 : to ascertain to what this went, and to show how far it was worthy of adoption. In doing so, we erred "through ignorance of the locality, climate, and customs of the country" — " an ample excuse," as it is kindly suggested, of which we do not intend for one moment to avail ourselves. It so happens that circumstances have tended to make us espe- cially conversant with the agricultural customs of Eng- land and Wales ; while, it may be added, that the editor of this Journal has been repeatedly in Carmarthenshire and the adjoining counties, as that, within a very recent period, he was invited to act as one of the judges at a show held in the town of Carmarthen, where he had the opportunity of meeting many of the leading agriculturists, and of hearing the expression of their opinions at the dinner of the day. But we do not hold any such local acquaintance to be very material after all. There may be still certain antique gone-by usages in Carmarthenshire and those parts, that we know not of ; but surely the religious observation of these should not be the object of a model agreement ? And here we may at once join issue. We have been guilty of misrepresentation and so forth. We protested against Mr. Harvey's production as a one-sided narrow- minded piece of workmanship ; but it may be just as well to give here the pith of what we did say early in October: An agreement which, prepared by a 'legal friend,' abounds in all the worst evils of that which it proposes to replace — the wearisome perplexing prolixity, the absurdly minute detail, and the ever-recurring penalty to which the man who does not farm according to law shall be subjected. He shall not sell his straw — he shall not kill the rabbits — he shall not take this crop after that — he shall not sell his produce in the way he thinks fit, and so on. Mr. Harvey 'is still weak enough to think there should be mutual feelings of good- will, kindness, and gratitude subsisting between those who own and those who occupy the land.' And a fine oppor- tunity he has given for the development and display of this good feeling in the precious paper he has just put his sign to ! A mutual understanding, wherein the one is ready to give the other credit for little or nothing ; but where, from the very out- set, the tenant is regarded as very like a rogue, and the landlord as quite equal to cope with him in the way of sharp practice. Further on we say : The monstrous proposition, at least in a model agreement, for reserving such vermin as rabbits as landlords' rights, is got over by a clause on the other side permitting the tenant to occasionally destroy them, but not with a gun ! Such pests to the farm should be rooted out by every known means. And then, a tenant is not to sell a ton of hay or a load of straw, at a time when steam is supposed to be about to take the place, at least in some degree, of horse-power in the cultivation of the land, and other changes are occurring in the system of providing manures. He shall have just so many acres in tillage, and he shall not do this or that act of husbandry without permission. In other words, the landlord or his agent shall farm for him, and the tenant be content to take the rank of a bailiff. The reader will now be kind enough to turn to the report of the adjourned debate. If we misrepresented Mr. Harvey, he was misrepresented by almost every speaker at the meeting ; while his own knowledge of custom, his only "ample excuse" appears to have been continually corrected. Moreover, there was scarcely a feature in his scheme that we denounced, but which his hearers and neighbours threw over. " We must destroy the rabbits by hook and by nail, all the year round," said K 114 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Mr. Lewis. " If tlie tenant signs an agreement which reserves the game, it is impossible that can be an agree- ment of equity," said Mr. Davies ; and the word "rabbits" was struck out of the model agreement. " Mr. Harvey must have had to deal with a slippery lot of tenants or he would not have produced a document so much in the landlord's interest," said Mr. Brodie. As we had said, "the tenant from the outset is regarded as very like a rogue ; " and Mr. Brodie said again, as to quarterly payments, that such a system " ap- peared to be taking a man for a rogue, to start with," as Mr. Harvey seems to have got out of place in his customs. Then, by another covenant, according to Mr. Davies "the landlord would'be the farmer, and the tenant only a man working under him ;" and there was a very general opinion that a man should be allowed to sell hay, straw, and so forth, either during his occupancy or at its termi- nation, as might best suit his arrangements. In fact, we can only repeat, that if we misrepresented Mr. Harvey, everyone else has misrepresented him. There was not an argument we had advanced but the farmers adopted, and eveu the landlords went against ^him. Mr. Puxlcy said the thing " was much too long, and likely to lead to law" ; although Mr. J, L. Philipps, another landlord, cer- tainly tried to get rid of about the only good feature of this wondrous model, which went to recognize the Tenant-Right principle. But, of course, no one sided with this gentleman, and " the clause was retained." An open and hearty discussion like this must work an infinity of good. We should, perhaps, "acquit him of doing so wilfully ;" but Mr. Harvey has done immense service by the public display of his model agreement. The landlord bearing which runs through it — the old feudal love of power — the countenance of obsolete drag-chain practices — and the desire to secure everything one way — how fearlessly and how ably have these been shown up ! His paper will live ; but, to use an old simile, like the buoys at sea, as something rather to avoid than attract. The thanks of the meeting were passed to the introducer of the subject, but a much greater meed of thanks is due to the meeting itself. In these times, when we so often see in public how prone people are to trim and dove- tail their opinions to the taste of the high table, it is wholesome to hear men speak out as they did at Carmar- then ; and the tone of the discussion should surely have its weight elsewhere, or what is the use of a central when compared with a local organ ?■— • Mark Lane Express. A "MODEL" AGREEMENT. At the quarterly meeting of the Carmarthenshire Chamber of Agriculture, the subject of discussion was Mr. Harvey's Agreement, the consideration of which had been adjourned from last meeting. Mr. James Buckley took the chair. Mr. Harvey, in re-introducing the subject, said : I appear before you on this second occasion in order to be present at the discussion which is expected to take place on the Form of Agreement which I had the honour of submitting to the Chamber of Agriculture at its meeting in September last. At that meeting it was felt that the subject was too important to be lightly discussed, and what then took place was principally in the way of question aud explanation. There were also certain covenants calculated to establish a new course of things, which took many gentlemen by surprise. The whole scope and in- tention of the agreement is to establish a perfect and unmis- takeable understanding between landlord and tenant, which result has not been attained without greater length than I could have wished. On this point, however, one of your eminent countrymen— Lord Chief-Justice Vaughan— is re- ported to have said : " Nothing is too long from which you can take nothing away." And with all due deference to the opmions of others, I think that there is not a single point upon which the agreement is either so prolix or obscure that an action of law could be founded on misinterpretation. I beg to submit that the great thing for you to do to-day is to consider the substance only of the several provisions, for it is very obvious that when parties are agreed as to what ought to be embodied in the formal document, the expression must be left to the draftsmen, who, if lie be a competent person, must necessarily be the sole judge of the length. During the period of three months which has elapsed, there has been ample time for the consideration of the agreement. Much discussion has also, un- doubtedly, taken place between gentlemen and farmers meeting at agricultural shows, fairs, aud markets, aud I have every con- fidence that to-day we shall hear some well-considered and practical remarks. I have not personally heard any objection to the agreement, except as to its length, which objection I hope I have explained satisfactorily. The Editor of the Mark Lane Express devoted a leading article to the subject, aud although he misrepresented the conditions of the agreement, I acquit him of doing so wilfully. His ignorance of the locality, climate, aud customs of the country, are an ample excuse ; and I do not think myself called upon to refute what he lias said. My attention has also been drawn to the subject of the stamp required. The Act of Parliament referred to by Mr. Thomas Jones had not escaped my attention, and although there may be a way of evading the higher stamp duty, provided the docu- ment is made a certain number of folios (thirty), yet I now advise that the very small lease stamps should be affixed to the agreement, and if a formal lease is subsequently executed, it will only require a 2s. Gd. stamp. Mr. Jones has also inserted, in the newspaper, another and shorter form of agreement. This form has many merits, but requires several important al- terations before it is suited to a Michaelmas tenancy in this county. I now leave the subject for the consideration of the Chamber, and shall be happy to give any further explanation that may be required. The Chairman said Mr. Mousley was too unwell to attend. This was generally regretted. Mr. Harvey then read through the agreement, until lie came to the words — " and also reserving the exclusive right of shooting, sporting, fishing, and preserving game, rabbits (except as hereinafter mentioned), wild-fowl, and fish upon or in the said premises." He then said — The word rabbits is put in here, because in another clause, which you will see hereafter, clause 3 of the landlord's part, you will find that the tenants are allowed to destroy rabbits by ferreting, digging in the fields and hedgerows, from a certain date up to the first of March in every year. My own impression is that it should be from Michaelmas to the first of March. That would give ample time to destroy the rabbits, even if he is overrun by them. Of course, if the landlord sees a rabbit, and chooses to shoot i!, this clause does not prevent him from doing so. Mr. Lewis (Llwynfedwen) : It is of no earthly use to re- strict us ; we must destroy rabbits by hook and by nail, aB I may say. Mr. Harvey : I certainly think that every tenant ought to be allowed to destroy his rabbits. Mr. Lewis : He ought to be allowed to destroy them all the year round, or else he will never succeed in ridding him- self of them. Mr. J. L. PniLirrs : Why interfere between the tenant and the landlord about the time for killing rabbits ? Let us affirm the principle that the tenant ought to be allowed to kill them. Mr. Harvey : In making any agreement with a tenant, it is quite competent for a landlord to draw his pen through any condition which is unsuitable to the farm. Mr. J. L. Piiilipt's again urged the Chamber to leave the time for killing to the tenant and the landlord. Mr. Brodie (Ty'rdail) : I should like to say something about the game, if you will allow me. I do not pretend to THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 115 know what may be legally necessary to keep a bad tenant straight, and not be too severe on a good one ; but it strikes me, in looking over this agreement, that Mr. Harvey has had to deal with a slippery lot of tenants, or else he would not have produced a document so much in the landlord's interest. But I am not on that side, and I hope Mr. Harvey will not feel annoyed at me because my remarks lean to the other side, and perhaps hit him hard. The Chairman said every man was expected to speak freely ; it was his privilege to do so. Mr. Brodie : The farmers in this part of the country have reason to be thankful that so little game is preserved here ; but, as a chamber of agriculture, we should not pass over this remark in Mr. Harvey's agreement — that a landlord has a " right " to preserve game and rabbits. You see there is no limit to it ; and, if we can do nothing else, we ought to show our sympathy with our brother farmers up the country. Mr. Harvey : The landlord has the " right," " except as hereinafter mentioned." Mr. Brodie : Well, well; we will come to the rabbits agaiu. We know that in many districts in England game- preserving has become quite distressing ; and I see that the Scottish chamber is prepared to agitate for dropping hares from the game laws, as well as rabbits. You must know that the excessive preserving of game has done more to disturb the kindly feeling that should exist between landlord and tenant than anything else ; and I have no doubt that it has cost many members their seats at the late election. If you will allow me, I will give you an instance of the damage done by game and rabbits, which came under my inspection for a number of years : Au old gentleman let a farm at about £400 a year. The old man went the way of all living, and the property was left to a young man. Game-keepers and game-preserving be- came the order of the day. The tenant suffered heavily, and complained for years, and, when he took legal proceedings, the proprietor agreed to allow for damage done over ordinary damage. Valuers were appointed, and the award was upwards of £300 — half the rental. Now the proprietor winced, and a decree went forth against the game, and the next year the damage was under £100. That was unsatisfactory still, and at the end of the last year of the tenure the damage was under £20. I was one of the valuers appointed by the Court of Sessions for a great many years. Well, in course of time the farm was advertised. A young man from a distant part of the country took it ; and I believe there is a clause in the lease that the tenant shall have no compensation for damage done by game or rabbits, and things have gone on very much as be- fore. I am afraid we are not enlightened enough in this part of the country to offer any cure for this evil, for there is no question whatever that the game will continue to be controlled by private agreement according to the tastes of the owner, varying from a fair day's exercise for a good bag, to a fashion- able slaughter enough for a two-horse waggon load. It would appear to me very desirable if landlords could bring them- selves to give the tenant a right to kill hares and rabbits, that is the ground game, and then I hope that every tenant in Carmarthenshire would be proud to afford his landlord a fair day's sport. For my own part, I have nothing to complain of — I see an elephant about as often as I see a hare. The Chairman : I will read you a speech, made by Sir George Wombwell, on that subject. He is a very large lauded proprietor in Yorkshire. He says, " I may tell you that ground game, that is hares and rabbits, is a curse on many estates in this country, and so also in Scotland, and mainly the cause of half the bad farming we see in this and other counties. You must please bear in mind that I allude only to hares and rabbits ; for I feel quite sure that no tenant farmer would ever object to any quantity of partridges and pheasants, so long as his landlord kept down the ground game. I have asked my own tenants and many large tenant farmers in other counties if they objected to wing game, and they all told me that they did not. On the contrary, they like to see it, because it affords pleasure to their laudlord and his friends. Besides, game being on an estate, brings the land- lord amongst his tenants ; and on my own estates, I do not hesitate to say, that not one of my tenants would wilfully de- stroy a nest." He makes a distinction between the ground game, hares aud rabbits, and the birds. I do not think we have much to complain of as to hares in Wales ; but rabbits are vermin, aud terribly destructive, too, I can only say that in a field of barley that I had last year, the rabbits began at it when it was iust about an inch high, and they mowed it down, as if you had had it cut with a scythe. But the way I served them was this. I had all their holes tilled up, under all the hedges, with large stones, and then tarred them well. I also employed a man to watch their runs, and then I tarred all the runs, and I must say it kept them away most effectu- ally ; but my neighbours had them. Babbits are a dread- ful scourge. As far as I can understand the matter, if you can make the clause for the destruction of rabbits a little stricter, allowing tenants to kill them in every possible way, even by the gun within certain limits, it would be a good thing. Mr. Davies (Ystrad waiter) : Since the game question has been brought before us so forcibly, I must give an opinion upon it, which I believe every one is free to do at this meet- ing. The game laws, in my opinion, cannot he justified as between landlord and tenant. If the tenant signs an agree- ment which reserves the game, it is impossible that that can be an agreement of equity. Why ? If the landlord could mention a certain number of sheep to be kept on his farm, or a certain number of poultry which the tenant was obliged to keep, then it would be a fair bargain between the two ; but a bargain to keep an unlimited number could never be a fair bargain. If a man have agood landlord — as fortunately we have very little to complain of in this part of the country (I have nothing to complain of myself) — he may be quite willing to make any kind of agreement. Well, if a landlord chooses to preserve game without limit, and the tenant agrees, which lie is obliged to do as it were, for the law allows the landlord en- tire freedom in that respect, the laws then are the oppressive part of the transaction. The law is unjust, not the people who compact, and the law, in my opinion, must be. al- tered before justice can be done between landlord and tenant. You can never get a fair bargain while an unlimited number of game can be kept on a farm. Why, a landlord may keep a sufficient stock of game to devour the produce of a whole farm. To do justice between both par- ties, the agreement should be drawn as if the Law fancied both men to be the greatest rascals in the world. The Law ouo-ht to consider that the landlord is as great a rogue as the humblest tenant, and that both men want strictly looking after. Why, where the tenant signs an agreement ceding an unlimited number of game, the landlord could very easily ruin him, if he chose to do so. The game-laws are a great temp- tation to commit crime, and crime which the best agreement in the world will never prevent. I am dead against the game- laws. They are a temptation to many poor persons who are fond of sporting. A sportsman in England is considered the finest character in the world, if he is rich ; but if he is a poor sportsman, and has no land of his own to sport over, and yet has that vital feeling within him, that same intense love of sport, which a rich man has, if he indulges it, he commits a great' crime, a great offence against the laws. And look to what this crime of poaching leads : in England it. frequently leads to murder (Mr. Lewis, Llwynfedwen : " And in Wales too"). I speak my mind, as I suppose we are expected to do here. I speak against the game-laws, which, between a tenant and ids landlord, can never be just. The Chairman : The question is as to the agreement, and not as to the laws of this country. Mr. Davies : I have spoken my opinions on the game-laws. As far as the agreement is concerned, it ought to be such a one as would do justice to the greatest extent between land- lord and tenant ; and it ought not to recognise a law that operates unjustly between the parties. Mr. J. L. Philipps : I am not a sportsman ; but I should be sorry to be bound to allow my tenants or anybody else to have all the game on my estate. It is fair that a gentle- man should reserve the game, simply for the sake of sport ; but if the landlord kills the game to sell, and not for the pure love of sport, it is high time for the tenant to complain ; for keeping a large quantity of game to sell is, as it were, getting a large sum of money on the back of the tenant. A tenant should never object to reserve game for sport. We want to keep landlords at home, to spend their money amongst us. They having got their hunting, why not let them have their shooting ? No tenant should grudge that. Estates in Wales are not very large ; and, therefore, the game cannot be pre- served to any very excessive amount. K 2 116 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. After a little more conversation, Mr. J. L. Philipps moved that the word " rabbits" be struck out of the agreement. Mr. Lewis (Llwynfedwen) was inclined to secoud the proposal because rabbits were, absolutely, vermin. They ought to consider that rabbits were the property of the tenant entirely. He had no objection, of course, to a landlord killing a rabbit, if he could see one ; but anyone who knew anything of sporting kuew that there was very little game on a farm well stocked with rabbits. He was a sportsman, and would be sorry to see his own farm with- out game. As for partridges, his landlord's keeper could not find such a splendid preserve of them on all the Danyrallt estate as he found at Llwynfedwen. This last season he found seven or eight coveys of birds there, amounting, of course, to something like 100 birds, while on a neighbouring farm they could not get one covey. That showed that lie was a preserver, not a destroyer, of game. If they did not get tenants to pre- serve game they would never keep game in the country. As an ardent sportsman himself, he said they must destroy rab- bits, as vermiu, by hook and by nail, he did not care how. As long as rabbits were preserved on an estate a tenant could never farm well. It was then resolved that the clause read as follows : " And also reserving the exclusive right of shooting, fishing, and pre- serving game (except rabbits), wild-fowl and fish," &c. Mr. Brodie : I think quarterly payments would be decidedly objectionable. I have no patience for anything of that kind ; lor it appears to me to be taking a man for a rogue to start with. I have rented a good deal of land myself, and assisted others to rent a good deal more, and I never had it proposed. The law surely gives the landlord a sufficient advantage with- out that. I know a few years ago I sold a farmer in Pem- brokeshire five tons of guano, and before I could get the money he came to grief. Well, the landlord walked in and had his full rent ; his land got my guano, and I got 4s. 6d. in the pound. What greater advantage would one man ask over a fellow-creature than that ? Mr. Harvey : You were too eager to sell your manure. No agreement is ever drawn without a clause for payment of rent quarterly. [Mr. Brodie : Say in Pembrokeshire, please.] But you know it is not demanded quarterly. Mr. J. L, Philipps thought they should not ask the tenant to keep the premises in repair. The landlord should take upon himself to do the repairs to buildings, and then it was as much as they could expect the tenant to do to keep up the fences and other parts of the farm. Mr. Davies (Ystradwalter) agreed. They should simplify matters as much as possible, and let the landlord undertake repairs of premises, the rent being fixed on that condition. Let the tenant have as little as possible to do beside paying his rent. Let there be as little chance as possible for squabbling between landlord and tenant. It would be well for the land- lord to employ men to keep things in proper repair, and let the tenant pay the rent simply, excepting, of course, lie broke re- strictions as to ploughing up or cropping. Mr. Lewis (Llwynfedwen) opposed Mr. Fhilipps and Mr. Davies. Many repairs could be done by the tenant to a great advantage and greater than if done by the landlord. It would be too bad to have to send five or six miles for a mechanic to do a job on the farm, and charge the landlord two days for it, when the tenant himself could get it done in a few hours (Hear, hear). If the tenant were a tidy man, he could save the landlord in such cases as those." A stitcli in time saved nine." Mr. J. L. Philipps : You cannot take the small repairs on yourself, and leave the big ones. You must take the whole, or there would be disputes. It is a question of policy. Is it the best policy to let the landlord repair or the tenant ? Mr. Harvey said his experience of South Wales was that tinants repaired. It was founded on a good knowledge of human nature, that where a tenant repaired, he did it in good time, and effectually ; but when the landlord repaired, the ten- ant allowed it to go very far before lie called lor repairs ; thus the landlord had to pay twice as much as he would have paid had the tenant repaired himself. On the estates he was connected with, they acted on the principle that once premises were put in good repair, the tenants ought to keep them in repair. He did not know whether landlords kept the premise* in repair in this county, Such was not his experience Mr. J. L. Philipps said his experience differed from Mr. Harvey's. If small tenants were bound to repair, in nine cases out of ten they neglect the repairs. Whether the ten- ant could not afford it was another matter, but it was certain they neglected it grossly. Every tenant who had an eye to his own interest would see that the dwelling-house was kept in good repair. The clause said, " To keep the said messuage, together with all the fixtures and additions thereto, and all buildings, &c, in repair." He hoped they would not decide that all the outhouses should be repaired by the tenant. If they approved of the tenant repairing, by all means let them say so ; but let them not be blind to the fact that the tenant had alot to repair besides the out-buildings. Mr. Davies (Ystradwalter) said that Lord Camden sent round his men every year to see what repairs were wanted. The consequence was that the farms on that estate were in nice order. It was an advantage to an owner of large estates to keep men to do repairs. It was all very well to trust to tenants for repairs, but where one tenant would do it honestly, a dozen would not, although they were allowed materials to work with. When men appointed for the purpose went round regularly, they never found it necessary to spend more than a day or two on each farm. It might seem troublesome, but it was certainly to the landlord's advan- tage. Mr. J. L. Philipps proposed, and Mr. Davies (Ystrad- walter) seconded, that " the messuage aud outbuildings ought to be kept in repair by the landlord, the tenant keeping in proper order the gates, fences, watercourses, &c." This, it was held, would divide the burden : it did not bind any land- lord, of course, but it expressed the wish of the Chamber. Mr. Harvey said any resolution of that kind would lead to a rise of rent. Mr. Lewis (Llwynfedwen) said he should be very happy to pay an additional £20 a year for having his buildings kept in repair. Mr. Barker, in reply to Mr. Philipps, said that if the words " messuage," " outbuildings," &c, were left out of the tenant's covenant to repair, the repairs would go upon the landlord. Mr. J. L. Philipps' s motion was then put to the meeting, and it was resolved that the landlord ought to repair the mes- suage and outbuildings. Mr. Davies (Ystradwalter) : Somebody behind here asked if the landlord should keep the thatched roofs in repair. Mr. Harvey : Certainly not, because it is produced on the farm. In respect to the fourth tenant's clause, that the tenant consume all the green crops, hay, straw, and manure on the land, and cultivate in a husbandman-like manner, according to " the custom of the country," Mr. Brodie : I fancy there is one phrase which looks to me something like barbarism. That is, " custom of the country." Binding to custom of the country looks like bind- ing agriculture to stand still, and the farmer to barbarism. Mr. Harvey : " Except so far as is hereby varied." You ought to consider these words too. I cannot allow a man to take as many corn crops as he wishes. I bind him down to two, for instance. Mr. Brodie : If you bind him to the custom of the country, you bind him to barbarism almost. I do not like the phrase at all. Whth respect to clause 6 of the tenant's clause — " Not to have n tillage in any one year more than acres of the other or remaining lauds," Mr. Harvey said this covenant was to restrict the plough- ing up of pasture or arable land, and to lay down how many acres should be reserved for arable land. Mr. Davies (Ystradwalter) said the only objection to that was that it was assumed too much that the landlord was a farmer aud the tenant only a man working for him, and ac- cording to his orders. Mr. Harvey : We do not think that for an instant. Mr. Davies said they ought not to bind the tenant down to the same number of acres always. It ought to depend upon the tenant's judgment. They never could tie down a man with any enterprise at all in him, to work his farm according to his landlord's ideas. During a twenty-one years' lease there would he a great many variations. The Chairman : We are talking of a yearly tenancy. Mr. Harvey thought it was only fair that the landlord •ME FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 117 should have the same sort of protection against the indiscrimi- nate destruction of pasture. The seventh clause, binding' the tenant to two successive corn crops, called from Mr. Brodie the remark that it allowed plenty of latitude to the tenant, but that the land was pro- tected by other clauses. He also said, with regard to the tenant not being allowed to breast plough, pare, or born with- out written consent, that the practice was quite obsolete in AVales, and should not be mentioned in modern agriculture. A F arm i:u: I think not. Clause 9. — Not to carry away any "hay, straw, corn in straw, green crops, muck or manure," produced on the farm. Mr. Harvf.y said, in respect to this, that where a farmer lived near a town where there was a good market, for hay, he did not see why he should not be allowed to sell hay, provided he brought back an equivalent in manure. That could be al- tered at the pleasure of landlord and tenant. Mr. Brodie : This appears very hard after binding a tenant to pay rent quarterly and taxes without end, in the next breath to tell him " You shall only sell so and so." Mangolds, swedes, potatoes, and hay can often be sold much above con- suming value. One crop may fail, as this year ; why should the tenant not have the chance of selling another that in a measure makes up for the loss P Mr. Harvey : What would you propose to sell ? Mr. Brodie : Hay, for one thing. Mr. Harvey : What would you feed your cattle on ? Mr. Brodie : Twenty-five tons of hay will now fetch £100, the manure value of which would be very small indeed, and would not manure one acre. As for feeding cattle, you are not bound to keep them. The manure value of 25 tons of hay is small ; but see what the tenant loses by that. The Chairman : That clause only asks for a recompence in the shape of manure. Mr. Brodie : We cannot get that manure. The Chairman : Artificial manure. Mr. Brodie : As the clause stands now, it does not matter if the tenant brings 50 tons of manure ; he cannot sell any hay, nor even thatch, except for the manure value. Mr. Harvey : My impression is that no really good tenant would ever sell his hay or straw off his land. Mr. Jones (Derwydd) said it was hard that a gentleman in the country could not buy a load of hay from a farmer. The Chairman suggested that the tenant be allowed to sell hay, and bring in artificial manures. Mr. Bevan (Llanelly) : Or an equivalent in value, of some kind. Mr. J. L. Philipps said it could, perhaps, be arranged that the tenant should sell hay, and bring back to the farm a cer- tain per-centage of manure on the value of the hay. Mr. Harvey said 10 per cent, would be too small, and suggested 20 per cent. Clause 12 of the tenant's covenants : " To sow every year in all outgoing lands a sufficient quantity of clover and grass seeds such seeds in the last year to be sown in such fields as the landlord or incoming tenant may select and to be sown and harrowed without charge and the growth thereof not to be depastured by cattle or horses." Mr. Brodie : Why should the outgoing tenant work for nothing for the incoming tenant, more than for any other man ? At all events, the ingoing tenant should find the seed and sow. The Chairman : It is a simple matter. Mr. Harvey : Which would you rather do, sow for the incoming tenant, or allow him to come in and tear up your laud ? Mr. Brodie : They should find the seed and sow it. Mr. Harvey : Oh, the landlord should find the seed, certainly. The Chairman : It must be done or the land is under a disadvantage. Mr. Davies (Ystradwalter) : I took a farm some years ago. A 10-acre field had been sown by the outgoing tenant, and the landlord had paid for the seed. I had to plough the whole field up again. There may have been seed sown in the field, very cheaply, perhaps, but none of it came up ; and that I know to my loss. If the landlord were to buy seed, and give it to the incoming tenant, instead of to the outgoing tenant, it would be a better arrangement. Mr. Harvey said it was a mere matter of civility between the incoming and the outgoiug tenants. As a tenant, he would prefer doing it himself'. Some feeling having been shown on the question, whether the landlord should find the seeds, and some gentlemen think- ing the clause was ambiguously expressed, Mr. Barker suggested adding the words, " Such seeds in the last year to be provided by the landlord," which was agreed to. Clause 14 of the tenants' covenants : " To sell to the Landlord at a valuation to be made in the usual way all the hay the produce of the last year at a consuming- price and all the green crops lime unused and manure on the said premises at the expiration of the demise. And also all the corn in the straw the produce of the last year pro- vided that notice of the Landlord's desire to purchase such corn in the straw be given on or before the first of July in the same year provided also that if no such notice be given or if no agreement to purchase be entered into the Tenant shall be at liberty to imbarn and stack upon the said premises all such corn as aforesaid and to thrash out the same at his own expense leaving the straw gratis for the incoming Tenant pro- vided also that the whole of such corn must be thrashed out and removed on or before the 24-th December next after the expiration of the demise." Mr. Harvey said that was to do away with sales by auction. The Chairman thought the incoming tenant ought to pay for the straw at consuming prices, if the landlord did not purchase and the outgoing tenant thrashed. He ought also to have the use of the barn for three months. Mr. Harvey said the system would be no hardship, once it was commenced. Mr. Brodie : If a tenant got straw gratis when he entered a farm, it was no hardship for him to leave it there when he came away ; but, if he has increased the quantity, an allowauce ought to be made, or else you put a stopper on the improve- ment of the farm. It does not appear to me that this is a common clause. It looks like making a tenant give up his stock in trade uuder value, a thing you do not see in any other department of commerce. In fact, you may say he gives up a portion of his capital. Where a lease has been run, a tenant is always allowed to make the best of his last crop ; why not allow the outgoing tenant the same privilege ? The incoming tenant is always looked upon as the principal customer at a sale or valuation. I look upon this barning, stacking, thrash- ing, and giving the straw gratis, as a palpable absurdity. Tjhe tenant may be far enough away, and in harness ; his servants may be gone, horses and machinery gone ; and all this leaves the outgoing tenant far too much in the power of the incom- ing tenant. Mr. Harvey : What would you do with your corn at the expiration of your tenancy P Mr. Brodie : Sell it, straw and all. Mr. Lewis (Lhvynfedwen) agreed with Mr. Brodie that a farmer ought to be allowed to make the best of his last crop. Mr. J. L. Philipps said that as the tenant was bound to a succession of crops, according to the custom of the country, he ought to be allowed to sell his crops in the best market. . Mr. Evans (Alltycadno) suggested that they should bind the landlord to purchase, as well as the tenaut to sell. Mr. Harvey said the landlord could only buy hay and green crops at consuming prices. The corn and the straw could not be bought by the landlord without notice. Mr. Lewis (Llwvnfedwen) said farmers left their farms at Michaelmas, and if ''they left their corn straw behind them, on the old farm, what would their stock have ? because they might not get any straw in their new tenancy. The 14th clause ought to be struck out altogether. Mr. Jones said the landlord ought to be compelled to buy as well as the tenant to sell. Mr. J. L. PHiLiprs said that what the tenant had produced on the farm was his own, and they ought not to compel him to part with it at a disadvantage. No good tenant would leave a farm if he could help it. Mr. Harvey said he should be sorry if it went forth to the world that any Chamber of Agriculture had advocated selling the straw off a farm on the last day of a tenancy. He had imported his own experience into that agreement, and in arranging an agreement for one of the best farms in Pem- brokeshire, the tenant had preferred to thrash his own corn, 118 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. He had, therefore, in this agreement, provided for the tenant using the barn for marketing his com in the best manner. The great hardship here would be to take the initiative. Sup- pose a landlord were to put it in this way — " You have got 50 acres of straw this Michaelmas, what is it worth ? If I give you some consideration for it — an addition to your lease, or so — will you leave it to the nest incoming tenant ?" That plan might smooth over the initiation of the system. He begged the Chamber not to advocate anything retrograde. They might advance as much as they liked. Mr. Lewis (Llwynfedwen) was sorry to disagree with Mr. Harvey, but under the present Michaelmas holdings clause 14 would never stand, for under the operation of the clause what could the farmer keep his stock on, in his new farm. The clause would suit a Lady-day tenancy very well. He did not approve of carrying straw away, but under the present tenancy it was essential. Mr. Harvey, to meet the objection as to feeding winter cattle, suggested a compromise — that the tenant remove a portion of his straw. Mr. Harries (Penllwyni) said the clause was inapplicable to the present tenure and could never be carried out. He supposed that he received notice to quit ; he was obliged to sell everything to the landlord, or to thrash and leave the straw. He went to a new farm, from which the former tenant had taken everything ; consequently he had nothing to keep his stock with through the winter. They must go by the custom of the country as to the straw. He did not advocate selling straw, but allowing the tenant to remove it. The sys- tem was entirely inapplicable unless a change of tenure was effected. Mr. Evans (Allycadno) : It is assumed, wrongly, that this is the custom of the country. Mr. Harries : Exactly ; but you assume the existence of a thing that has no existence. The Chairman said that in Warwickshire the tenant, by the custom of the country, could not take away the straw, but was allowed three months to thrash it out ; and the in-coming tenant took it at a valuation. Mr. J. L. Philipps advocated striking the clause out, as the feeling was dead against leaving the straw. The Chairman said that as it was not a custom of the country the clause would be hard on the tenant. Mr. Davies (Ystradwalter) was against the removal of hay or anything that could be converted into manure ; but as the clause was inapplicable it ought to be struck out. It could never be carried out, and a clause that could not be carried out was of no avail. He would recommend it to be gradually introduced. Mr. Harvey : If you strike this out, what becomes of the incoming tenant P [" He brings them in with him."] No, he doesn't ; he sells them off. The 14th clause was then struck out. With respect to clause 15, section 3, " And also a proviso for re-entry, if any part of the said several rents shall be in arrear for 21 days, whether legally demanded or not, or if the tenant was a bankrupt," Mr. Brodte said : Is not that rather sharp practice P It appears to me very much like a trap for unsuspecting tenants. Mr. Harvey : It is very common, almost universal. Mr. Brodie : I hope it will stand Pembrokeshire. I have never seen it before. The Chairman said it was something like a re-entry on a lease. Mr. Harvey said the penalties put in an agreement were like the penal statutes of our country, to which no well-con- ducted citizen objected. In a lease or agreement they were a protection from bad tenants. Mr. Brodie said they should try to look upon tenant- farmers not as rogues, but as honest men. With respect to clause one of the landlord's covenant, " To insure the dwelling-house and farm-buildings in the sum of pounds at the least, and in case of destruction or damage of the same or any part thereof by fire, to build or repair the part or parts so destroyed or damaged without delay, the tenant carrying all necessary materials without charge," Mr, Brodie said : Insure by all means ; but a tenant from year to year, or the last year of a lease, certainly could not be expected, should a fire occur, to draw all the carriages to new tarm-buildings. Some proviso should be made for such a case. I have known the carriages to a new farm-house and buildings estimated at £1,000. Mr. J. L. Philipps said if the tenant set it on fire, or allowed the fire by neglect, he ought to pay the penalty. As to clause 3 of the landlord's covenants, permitting the tenant to kill rabbits, Mr. Brodie said : Allow me to mention one thing which has struck me in my short life — that is the very cruel, and I may say thoughtless practice "which some landlords perpetrate in allowing the rabbits to be the perquisite of keepers. It is a point which the agricultural world should give out a strong sound upon. I have known many such cases, where cruel wrong has been inflicted on striving, industrious tenants ; and we, as a Chamber of Agriculture, ought to mention it in some shape or other. I do not' mean to say keepers are worse than other men, but we know there are rogues among them ready to poison the master's ear against " grumbling tenants," and so forth. We never heard ef a keeper saying there was too much game. I fancy Mr. Harvey should draw up a clause to prevent it. Mr. J. L. Philipps objected to this (the fourth landlord's covenant) : " To Purchase of the Tenant on quitting at a valuation to be made in the usual way all the hay the produce of the last year at a consuming price and all the green crops lime unused, and manure on the said premises at the expiration of the demise and to pay or allow for lime spread upon or brought to bare fallows and for labour bestowed upon and for rent rates and taxes paid in respect of such fallows and also the cost price at the kiln of all lime from which one crop only shall have been taken and for the carriage of muck during the last year and for clover and grass seeds sown during the last year if the growth of such seeds have not been depastured by cattle or horses." There would be a difficulty about the quantity of lime, and the tenant ought to have the boon of an open market. Mr. Bevan (Llanelly) said an agreement was to protect a farmer in a case he was turned out of his farm ; to give him those advantages which he would enjoy under a lease. If they deprived him of this clause, they deprived him of exactly the protection which he sought by an agreement. If his manure, &c., was in the ground he could not get it out, and the landlord would have the future advantage of it. Mr. J. L. Phillips said every farmer knew that he could farm with a view to leaving in a given time, without actually running the farm out. They knew there were many fanners who went from farm to farm and run them out, and a capital thing they made of it. He set his face against that entirely. Mr. Brodie said the agents should take care of that. If they did not, of what use were they ? Mr. Harries (Penllwni) said tenants ought to have en- couragement and protection, and if they lost this clause they lost all. Nothing would discourage a man from improving his land so much as the fear of dismissal without recompense for outlay, which with this clause, would be safe. Mr. Jones (Derwydd) spoke in favour of the clause, also Mr. Harvey : and ultimately the clause was retained. The fifth landlord's covenant : " To allow annually for ten years one tenth part of the cost of efficient under-draining if done with the consent in writing of the landlord the first of such annual allowances to be made on the 29th September next after such draining shall have been completed if the tenant shall have satisfied the landlord that the works have been properly executed and that the entire sum claimed has actually been expended in the execution of such works pro- vided that during such period of ten years no increased rent shall be demanded by the landlord in respect of the lands which shall have been so drained as aforesaid provided also that if within such period of ten years the demise be deter- mined by either party giving notice to quit the remainder of the said allowances shall become payable at the expiration of the demise." Mr. Brodie : I think Mr. Harvey's proposal with regard to draining a very clumsy one. It has always appeared to me that draining, being a permanent improvement, should be done by the landlord ; and let the tenant pay interest, varying in amount, according to the value of the land and the haulage he may have had to perform. The tenant should not be allowed to do the work. Mr. Davies (Ystradwalter) : I quite agree with that. Mr. Brodie : There should be a strict surveillance over the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. L19 work. Tenants should be bound to attend to the outfall of drains. Mr. Harvey has got a number of clauses, but not one binding tenants to cut weeds before seeding time (laughter). Mr. Harvey has taken care that the tenant shall have no legal possession until the lease has been drawn out, and no doubt paid for (laughter). It is obvious that landlords cannot profit- ably occupy all their land themselves, some of them might i have a difficulty in getting the stocking as we poor farmers * have. We even hear grumblings at the balance-sheets of home I farms. Does it not then appear desirable that noblemen and gentlemen should have their land occupied by men of respect- I bility, with capital and skill, that they should be more anxious to have the right men than to have stringent covenants ? A gentleman might then live in harmony with and reign over a contented and happy tenantry. We often hear remarks on the want of " go-a-head" in agriculture, but such a document as this offers no inducement to men of capital to come forward, no stimulus to agriculture. There is no let live about it, in fact, it seems to shut every door against enterprise. How is a man with some thousands in his pocket to look at it P You can make a very good land agent with a long head, who can use the ribbons and whip well amongst a lot of tenantry, without a penny in his pocket. You may make a very good lawyer, sharp as a needle, and who can bite hard, without a stiver to rub on another (much laughter) ; but you can't make a farmer without money, with or without brains, he must have money, and if you want a good farmer, he must have money in both pockets, and brains to boot (laughter and cheers). Then why tamper and bind them up as if they were a lot of rogues, wishing to carry off the land altogether, as these covenants seem to do P Mr. Harvey differed from Mr. Brodie as to the scope of the agreement. He believed there was not a covenant to which a good farmer could object. His object had been to improve the systems obtaining, as to the termination of the tenancy, and to form au agreement which was fair to landlords and tenants. He believed that many improvements which be had suggested, although objected to would, on consideration, be carried out. He hoped the. discussion of the agreement would ultimately bring forth good fruit. Mr. Davies (Ystrad waiter) said that considering the wonderful variation of systems prevailing in the district, it would have been remarkable that if Mr. Harvey had succeeded in drawing up an agreement to suit all. Many landlords and tenants could do without an agreement, but where there was one, it should aim at being thoroughly fair on both sides. He proposed in cordial terms, a vote of thanks to Mr. Harvey for his kind exertions on behalf of the tenant farmers. Mr. Harries seconded the motion, which was carried unani- mously. This closed the discussion. CONVEYANCE OF MILK BY RAILWAY. FOOD COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTS. Mr. George Barham, managing director of the Express Country Milk Company, stated that Mr. Alexander Wood, deputy-chairman of the Great Western Railway Company, had expressed an opinion before the committee that it was desirable that the size of the cans in which milk is brought to London by railway should be reduced from a capacity of eight barn gallons to about one-fourth that size, with tight- fitting lids, after the fashion of the French cans ; also that the vessels should be completely filled, as to prevent disturbance of the narticles of the milk by motion in transit. He (Mr. Barham) thought it was not desirable to reduce the size of the cans to the extent suggested, if at all, because, he said, the present large cans could be rolled along the platform of a station quicker than small cans could be carried the same distance by hand, the latter being so short that it would be impossible to roll them on the bottom, as was done with those now in use, which are protected at the bottom by a stout iron rim. The shaking of the milk in the conveyance would not be greater in a large cau than in a small one, provided in both cases they were filled thoroughly full. His own opinion was, that if the milk were in a cool state before it was put into the cans, the shaking would have no prejudicial effect upon it. The great secret of getting the milk in good condition was in allowing it to cool sufficiently before being placed in the cans. A large quantity of milk arriving at night was left standing at the station till four a.m., when it was fetched for delivery. If the milk were put into the cans warm, and the lids were kept on all •-light, it would acquire a bad smell, and it would take two or three hours for that smell to pass off. Mr. Michael inquired to what extent milk was influenced, and caseine deposited by agitation in contact with air ? Mr. Baruam replied if the milk were packed at a tempe- rature of 50 degs. to 60 degs. Fahr., the particles would not be injured by the agitation. It was very difficult to make, butter with milk at that temperature. They might be all day over it. If the milk were packed at 70 degs. or 80 degs. Fahr., the agitation would tend to separate the butter, and to promote the deposit of caseine. If the temperature of the air were not higher than that of the milk, he thought no injury would be occasioned by the admission of the air to the milk "whilst it remained in the cans. Mr. Seymour Teulon suggested that, in addition to the space which the present size and form of the cans occupied unprofitably in the van, they could not be loaded and unloaded by one man. Mr. BarHaM said it required two men to lift the loaded cans into the van. There were always plenty of hands at the station to do such work ; smaller cans, no doubt, could be lifted by one person. That was the great difference between the two sizes. One man could lift an eight-gallon can out of the van, but could not lift it in alone. But there was always a porter to assist at all the stations, and the larger consignees in London generally had two men at the station. Mr. Miciiael suggested that great economy of space in the vans would be gained by the cans beidg made in the form of a parallelogram, instead of circular with a considerable taper towards the top, whereby a great deal of space was wasted. Mr. Barham replied the rectangular form might answer if the cans were of an easily portable size, hut they could not then he rolled along the platform, as were the cans at present in use, and they would he very much battered at the angles. Another objection to the parallelogram form would be the difficulty of keeping vessels perfectly sweet and clean. . The Chairman inquired whether the agitation of the milk in travelling destroyed the cream in the milk brought into London P Mr. Barham replied in his opinion the globules would not h°, destroyed, if the milk were put into the cans at a sufficiently low temperature. He considered milk ought never to be packed at a temperature of more than 60 degrees, and if that were observed the milk would come to London in perfectly- good condition. The Express Country Milk Company received milk for two years from Warehara, in Dorsetshire, a distance of 130 miles by rail and seven miles by road. It arrived in fine condition. He attributed this result to the chalky nature of the soil, and to the milk being thoroughly cooled before being packed. It was well known that the milk of cows fed off heavy, clayey land would not keep so long by several hours as that produced on a chalky soil. The agitation of the milk in travelling did not permit the obtaining of cream if it were required. The most favourable time for setting milk for cream was the moment after it came from the cow, or at about 90 degs. Fahr. Dairies in the country were not kept at that temperature, but it was seldom they were so low as 60 degs. Fahr. in the summer, and artificial heat was employed in the. winter to maintain that temperature. If the object were to prevent the globules of the milk heing destroyed by the shaking, that would be best effected by completely filling the cans. The cans at presennt in use cannot be so com- 120 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. pletely filled as to prevent agitation. The Express Country Milk Company received ten cans of milk from one dairy every day through the last summer, and there was not a particle of butter in them, though they travelled two miles by road to the station, forty-eight miles by rail to the metropolitan terminus, and three miles by van to the place of business. Some of the cans were only three parts full, and yet the cream was retained on the milk, although, from being cooled, it would take some hours longer for the cream to r^se. The best way of supplying cream in London would be t o have it sent in a separate state from the country, as was done to a certain extent at the present time, though on a comparatively small scale. Cream might be supplied in almost any quantity, daily if the demand were regular, but, as the demand was extremely irregular, beyond doubt there was occasional diffi- culty in obtaining it. The amount of cream which rose to the surface of the milk when set was rendered less by about 20 per cent, through travelling, that percentage being re- tained in the milk. He had never used the Devonshire method of getting cream, and he believed it had not been tried in London. The milk which was served in London in the morning would probably have been milked from four to eight hours previously ; that supplied in the afternoon was more recently milked. The system of twelve hours milking was generally adopted. The milk supplied to London in the early morning was milked during the night, say from seven p.m. to two a.m., the hour depending upon the time the last train at night or the early mail train called at the country station. The afternoon milk was milked from nine to eleven a.m., and was distributed between two and four o'clock p.m. When cream was sent in a separate state, it was packed solid in bottles prepared for the purpose, and kept cool by grass or cabbage leaves fastened round the bottles. Mr. Teulon inquired what was the average yield of cream, from milk of good quality, set as soon as it came from the can. Mr. Barham replied it would be about five gills per barn gallon of milk set (two imperial gallons) from cows fed on good pasture. The same milk in London would probably not yield more than a pint of cream, and would require a much longer time to rise to the surface, owiug to the cooling of the milk. Mr. Michael inquired to what use the milk was put Trom which the cream was taken. Mr Barham replied it was sold as skim milk, at 2d. per quart. In seme neighbourhoods there might be a demand for skim milk, but it was not generally the case in London, and it would require depots in the poorer neighbourhoods to do any- thing like a trade with it. The major portion of the skim or surplus milk was disposed of at a low price to biscuit bakers, who use it in their manufacture in a sour state, when it forms lactic acid. Looking to the fact of the readiness with which milk can be tested by the use of the lactometer and the cream tube combined, it was surprising to him that customers did not more generally test the article they were supplied with, although he believed there was no test by .which we could detect the water added by way of dilution from that which was in the milk naturally. He did not think feeding upon grains pro- duced an inferior quality of milk, but such food, being of a stimulating nature, might increase the quantity of milk. He knew it was the habit of some dairy keepers to drive their cows to water before milk, in order to increase the yield of milk. In reply to Mr. E. Wilson, Mr. Barham added that he did not think there would ever be a large demand for skim milk in London, even in the poorest districts. The very poor — particularly the Irish poor — were for the most part excellent judges of milk, and what little they bought they preferred to have good. In some neighbourhoods diluted milk was sold as new milk at 2^d. to 3d. per quart. Mr. Michael inquired whether Mr. Barham was able, as a rule, to equalise his supply and demand so as to have but little waste milk. Mr. Barham replied certainly not ; but it went to the bis- cuit bakers or the pigs. It was the object of the milk dealers to obtain such a customer for surplus milk at a low price, or else it would be all wasted. The Chairman inquired if it were the fact that there had been a considerable diminution in the number of London cow sheds since the late epidemic. Mr. Barham replied in the affirmative. The medical officers of health had reported so frequently of the uuhealthiness of localities where cows were kept, that magistrates would not grant any licences in particular districts. St. James and St. Clement Danes were two instances, and in other districts it was well known that no new licence would be granted, nor an old one renewed, except upon proof of cleanliness, space, &c. Many cowkeepers had had severe losses from disease, and were afraid to keep cows in London ; and the sheds formerly occu- pied in that way were employed as stables for other purposes. Some of the London cowkeepers had farms out of town, and sent their milk by railway. He was decidedly favourable to the entire abolition of cow sheds in London, although he be- lieved it was the opinion of some dealers that the presence of cows promoted their business. Mr. Michael, reverting to the subject of the cans, inquired whether Mr. Barham considered there was any great advan- tage in the large cans, with the exception of the facility for rolling them from place to place. Mr. Barham replied that the question of the return of the empty cans must be regarded, inasmuch as the railway compa- nies charged as much for a small can as for a large one. He thought the transit was facilitated by the use of the large cans. In respect of the effects produced upon the milk itself, he did not know that the large cans gave any advantage over small ones. If suitable arrangements were made for the conveyance of small cans, he thought the large ones might be dispensed with ; and in the event of milk being packed in a warm state, it might be advisable to send it in smaller bulks ; but, if it were cooler than the atmosphere, the larger the bulk the better. Mr. Michael remarked that, during the six cool months of the year, there would be no danger of the formation of lactic acid. Mr. Barham concurred in that, and added that the air which was admitted through the holes in the lid of the can was not always sufficient in hot ^weather to keep the milk sweet. He had not tried the experiment of hermetically seal- ing the cans when completely filled, and excluding all air, nor was he able to give an opinion on that point. At present fully half the milk that was sent to London in small quantities came in cans that were not full. The Parisian milk was generally acknowledged to keep longer than that supplied in London ; this had been attributed to its being hermetically closed while travelling ; but an old Parisian dairyman had let him into the real secret, and that was they mixed bi-carbonate of soda with their milk. Mr. E. Wilson incidentally remarked upon the general scarcity of cream at the tables of persons in London who lived in the most luxurious style. He thought there was no good reason for this. Visitors from London to the country re- garded cream as an artical wholly beyond their reach. Mr. Barham said if a daily supply were ordered by families, cream could be had in any quantity. It was owing to the un- certain nature of the demand that so little cream was sent to London. The retail price of four shillings per quart for cream made it about equal to that of a barn gallon of milk at the re- tail price, allowing eightpence for the skim milk. Mr. E. Wilson asked whether Mr. Barham had consi- dered the question of the different breeds of cows in reference to the quality of the milk when tested by the lactometer and cream tube. Mr. Barham replied that|he had done so to'some rextentt. I did not much affect the specific gravity of the milk, but it bore upon the percentage of cream, for example, the specific gra- vity of cream was less than that of milk, but the richer milk was in cream the larger quantity of the element caseine it contained, which, being heavier than either, the specific gra- vity of poor and rich milk was nearly the same. Mr. Michael remarked that the conclusion to be drawn was, that neither the lactometer nor the cream tube was a sa- tisfactory test of the quality of milk, but that it required scien- tific investigation beyond that. Mr. Barham said the standardpoint varied from 1,030 to 1,034 of specific gravity, and there should he at least eight per cent, of cream. Mr. Michael observed that it was easy to apparently in- crease that percentage by simple artificial means. Mr. Barham thought it would be too expensive, and people did not generally adulterate with ingredients more costly than the article to be adulterated. In the course of some general observations made by Mr. Barham, he stated his opinion that London was better sup- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 121 plied with milk now than it had been at any previous period in his recollection, although he thought it could be greatly im- proved by the total abolition of the London cowsheds and the use of properly-constructed railway vans for the conveyance of country milk. The London cowkeepers did not n* «, and pro- bably never did, study the quality of the milk their cows give. The retail dealer and distributor, in obtaining his daily sup- plies, made an arrangement to milk the cows hims.df, and to pay a certain sum per gallon — thus lie defeated ;vnv direct attempt at adulteration ; but as the cowkeeper's object was quantity not quality, he adopted every means of stimulating the secretion of milk in the animal, by the manner ot feeding and keeping it, and by those means deteriorated the quality aud wholesomeness of the article. Now, on the csntrary, three-fourths of the present supply was obtained from the farms of noblemen, gentlemen, and farmers of repute, who take pride in the breed and condition of their stock, and in the qua- lity of the milk their cows yield. Mr. Barham further said that the Express Country Milk Company, of which he is the manager, derive a large proportion of their supply from the home farms of the Earl of Macclesfield, at Shirburn Castle, Lord Monson, at Gatton [Park, and Lord Lytton, at Ivneb- worth. Referring to the necessity of improved railway vans being used in the transmission of milk to the metropolis, Mr. Bak- UAM said that, in their present mode of conveyance, the rail- way companies were open to grave rebuke. Notwithstanding they charged 13 per cent, on the prime cost of the article for carriage, their manner of conveying it was simply abomina- ble, not to say offensive. It is frequently put into the guard's van, and baskets of fish, water-cress, and other material placed upon it, which were permitted to drain and drip through the perforated top of the cans and mix with the milk. He related an instance within his own experience, of a leaky can or bottle containing naptha being placed ou a milk-can, which draining into the latter, totally spoilt seventy quarts of milk. He quoted other and similar instances of the neglect of railway com- panies as carriers of milk from country districts, notably, their custom of placing the cans in open trucks, exposing them in the summer time to the scorching rays of the sun attracted by the tin, and in the winter to heavy rains and snow, and at all times to the soot and coke drift from the furnace of the engine. Not unfrequently, continued Mr. Barham, the cans are placed in horse-boxes, from which horses have just been removed, and in the summer season the smell in these boxes is most offensive. —Journal of the Society of Arts.". AMERICAN VIEWS OF DEEP AND SHALLOW PLOUGHING. Dr. Trimble of Newark, N. J., recently read a paper before the New-York Farmers' Club, giving an account of the visit of a Committee of Observation to Salem County, N. J., some thirty miles south of Philadelphia. A principal object of the Committee was to examine the effects of shallow ploughing or cultivation, which lias been practised with great success in that region. In the course of their visit to a large number of farmers, they found but one .vho was in the practice of plough- ing as deep as six inches ; while many went down only four or five, and a few only two and a half or three inches. The visit was made after th v wheat was harvested ; but the corn crop, during a time of severe drought which then prevailed, was re- ported to be very luxuriant. Dr. Dickinson had a cornfield of thirty acres which was ploughed in the spring only three inches deep. The corn is reported to have been of "good size," the leaves not curled or rolling, but green down to the roots, and not apparently suffering from the dry weather. On examination nine-tenths of the roots were found within three inches of the surface, while a small portion went down as far as one foot. On the farm of Allan AVallace they found a fine example of improved cultivation, the entire products having been tripled since he obtained possession many years ago. His corn crop has averaged for years past from sixty-two to a hundred shelled bushels to the acre. He stated that he suc- ceeds better by ploughing rather under than over five inches, having tried both. On the land of Aaron Lippincott, the corn was stated to be of " most magnificent growth." He said he never succeeded well with corn until his hired man ploughed a field only four inches deep. The Committee visited the farm of Josiah Engle, who stated that on his shallow- ploughed ground (only three inches) the corn remained green and nourishing during the drought, while on much of that which was ploughed deeply the leaves rolled badly. Some years ago several farmers had tried subsoiling with no apparent benefit, and it had since been given up. David Petit subsoiled twenty acres for corn, leaving a strip a rod wide ; the corn on that rod was the best. On the farm of Elisha Bassett, who ploughs only five inches deep, large crops of potatoes had been raised ; in one case 700 bushels from two acres. If the expe- riment of ploughing at different depths has been fully and fairly- tried, the subsoil in this district of country is obviously of a very peculiar character, not often found elsewhere. No one can supposethat corn could remain unaffected in severe drought if planted on impervious stone flagging with, only three or four inches of rich earth. The leaves of a dense crop of corn ten feet high, as some of the preceding are reported to have been, would pump off and dissipate the moisture so fast as to be severely affected in a single day. It is obvious, therefore, beyond dispute, that this subsoil was so porous as to admit water from below in large quantities to maintain the greenness and freshness of such a mass of vegetable growth. This is further proved by the fact that subsoiling, which usually opens the soil below and makes it like a sponge, was of no apparent benefit. This subsoil also appears to be more sterile than the top soil — proved by the fact that, when thrown up, it lessened the crop. But we are not informed how it could, have ope- rated in rendering the whole drier, as indicated by the rolling of the leaves on the deeper ploughed portions only ; nor why subsoiling, which merely loosens, but does not throw up the subsoil, should make the corn less than on the strip not thus treated. If there is no mistake, there must have been some facts not understood and omitted. There is no question that the corn crop will succeed well on soils so shallow that they would fail to give success to some other crops. Some of our older readers may remember the large products obtained many years ago by Earl Stimson of Saratoga County, who ploughed only four inches deep, and yet obtained, in one instance, over a hundred shelled bushels to the, acre. It is a common practice with good farmers to invert sod for corn to only a moderate depth, so that the young plants may obtain at once the benefit of the decaying vegetable mould. It may be also true that the growth is accelerated by keeping most of the roots rather near the surface, wdiere, according to experiments with the thermometer, the temperature of the soil is higher in summer than a foot or more below. Is not this particular point worthy of further and careful experiment ? With regard to the gene- ral subject of deep and shallow cultivation, no invariable and unconditional rule can be given. We might as well ask a phy- sician for some one medicine that would cure all diseases. If the subsoil is porous, like that which we suppose to exist in Salem County, N. J., admitting moisture from below as freely as if broken up by subsoiling, this operation would of course he needless. If the subsoil is permanently sterile, it may not be best ever to plough deep, but some subsoils, sterile at first, become fertile and enriching by a few years' exposure to the action of the air. Has any of the Salem County soil been gradually deepened in this way ? If, on the other hand, the subsoil is hard and impervious, like a flag stone, a result partly from its natural coudition, and partly from the long continued tread of the plough-horses in the bottom of the furrows, it is of great importance that this crust be broken up by the subsoil plough. It is obvious that no such subsoil as this exists in the region described in Dr. Trimble's report, which is certainly an exception to the common rule. There is still another condition where the subsoil contains largely the elements of fertility. An extensive farmer said to us that he would be glad to have six inches of his top soil entirely removed — for he found that his wheat was much better where the under soil was thrown up by ditching. By deepening the ploughing the crops had been largely increased. If the hardness of the subsoil renders the deep ploughing difficult, the intermixture of the two is facili- tated by first using the subsoil plough. All these and other conditions should be carefully studied before adopting exten- sively, or rejecting any of the different modes of management connected with deep or shallow tillage. 122 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE AUSTRALIAN COMMISSION ON DISEASES IN WHEAT. The great mass of printed ,'paper before us will disappoint those who expect from it a cure for red rust or any other disease in cereals. It will perplex most of those who apply to it for an intelligible account of what red rust really is. It will not even he completely satisfactory to the third and most mo- derate class of readers, who limit their demands to a consistant theory of how red rust was so exceptionally severe in its ravages last season. Those who have all along viewed the Commis- sion and its operations with scepticism will find here few or no irrisistihle arguments for their conversion. If they will cynically compare the amount of time and type and paper expended on the inquiry with its practical conclusions the latter may be easily made to kick the beam. Nevertheless, the policy of disparagement may be carried to excess. In all fair- ness we are bound to admit that if the Commission have not thoroughly satisfied us as to the main points, they have given us a vast quantity of subsidiaiy information which may faci- litate future inquiries on the subject. If the evidence be contradictory in various respects, and the recommendations of the Commission rather hypothetical, it is a step gained to know all the possible contradictions and hypotheses. It would bave been unreasonable to expect broad daylight from a Com- mittee composed chiefly of amateurs, while the sarcitis of the Old World are still groping in the dim twilight. The vague- ness and dubiety of the proceedings, as a whole, are as yet in- herent in their subject matter. When mycology itself gives an uncertain sound, viceregal and legislative authority can force no entrance into the arcana of Nature. But it may point out to us the door, aud acquaint us with some of the in- numerable means, practical and theoretical, by which thought- ful men are endeavouring to force the lock. To the question, " Can you tell us a remedy for red rust ?" the Commission have only given in another form the answer they received from Mr. Walter Thompson — " I wish I could." But they have collected a large amount of raw material for the private stu- dent. They have brought together all the rival theories of the Liebig school, the Adelaide school, and the Smithfield school. They have set Dr. Muecke side by side with Mr. Scoular, and Dr. Scomburgk cheek-by-jowl with Mr. Cossins. They have employed Mr. Walter Thompson to confirm the chemical ob- servations of Mr. Ey, and Mr. Todd to illustrate by meteoro- logy the weather-wisdom of Mr. Martin. They have given due prominence to the fungus without ignoring exudation. The analysis of soils, the pickling of seed wheat, and the newest fashions in ploughing have been severally and collectively con- sidered. Sural gossip has been recorded along with the re- sult of special scientific experiments. The dogmas of the doc- tors have been tempered with an infusion of popular fancies. Elaborate statistical tables have been sent from the Telegraph department to confound personal reminiscences of the rainfall. Everything lias been done that is necessary to prove every- body's theory to his own satisfaction, and the man who has no theory of his own is made welcome to whichever he likes best. The Commissioners themselves have been from begin- ning to end most commendably free from bias. Their distrust of preconceived notions has been carried so far that tiny did not even venture to profess any previous knowledge of a man like Dr. Muecke. We desire to start fair with the Commis- sion, and must admit, first of all, that they have undergone a very large amount of labour. They held eighteen dis- tinct sittings, extending from the 31st of December, 1867, to the 19th of May, 1868. They orally examined fourteen witnesses, some of them atgre at length.*';. We do not recollect at present the exact number of thousands of circulars they distriduted through the colony. Be- sides these, they opened various special correspondences with scientific men. Dr. Schomburgk was honoured with a large share of their attention, and the experiments he carried out under their superintendence form the most interesting, as it may afterwards prove the most valuable part of their pro- ceedings. They obtained analyses and reports of various kinds from most of the local chemists. Mr. Todd laid his de- partment under general contribution for them. Dr. Mueller, of Melbourne, expounded tin law very learnedly as to the mycological bearings of the case. The Agricultural Society readily opened their archives to ithe Commission, and pre- sented them, besides, with copies of the famous prize essays of 1866. The report, therefore, may plead, as an excuse for its plethoric dimensions, that it combines with the recent inquiry the results of all preceding investigations. It is, in short, a consolidation of our current knowledge as to diseases in cereals. The report, which occupies half a dozen pages, may be passed over with a reminder that it has already appeared in our columns. It is followed by the evidence of the fourteen oral witnesses — forty pages long. But botli these are trifles com- pared with the appendix — an eighty-page labyrinth of small type and bristling figures. It opens with Dr. Schomburgk's reports on the experiments instituted at the Botanic Garden on behali of the Commission. Next come the reports and analyses of the chemists, Dr. Mueller's letter, and the report of the Sub-committee of the Agricultural Society on Diseases in Wheat. On this solid foundation eight-aud-twenty pages of rainfall statistics have been piled up by Mr. Todd. And for the crown of the edifice we have forty-five pages more of answers to the farmers' circulars. These have been classified under general heads : The Description of Soil, Mode of Culti- vation, Description of Seed, and Miscellaneous Remarks. A ■ note has been appended by the Chairman, which condenses into very small space the general conclusions arrived at. They are as follows : 1, That the rust was noticed about the time that the wheat came into ear, in the form of small red spots on the flag, gradually extending to the stalk, and from thence to the ear. 2. That warm showery weather favoured the disease ; and 3. That manured and highly-cultivated lands have this year suffered most. After the above explanation it will be superfluous to inform our readers that a full digest of the evidence would over-burden our columns, and possibly also their minds. We propose simply to make such extracts as will best illustrate what additional knowledge lias been gained on the most essential points of the inquiry. It would be im- possible to take the witnesses separately, or even the written documents, and to reproduce them in a condensed form. Even if this could be done, it might not be the most effective method of ascertaining the general results. The chairman's report shows how wide a range was given to the investigation, and its multiplicity of details is repeated in the evidence of almost every witness. In perusing the latter one cannot suppress the wisli that a little more attention had been paid to the Parliamentary rule of talking about one thing at a time. Bed rust, black rust, smut and takeall, seed wheat, flour of sulphur, subsoils, stubble-burning, and fungi, seem tcr have danced before the eyes of the Commission like evil spirits in a nightmare. Before a witness has finished his diagnosis of the disease, he is started off at a tangent by some commissioner impatient to learn its cause. While lie is floundering in that metaphysical morass, another takes pity upon him and asks his opinion about the kind of seed which has best resisted the disease, or the district which has escaped most easily. In order to save our readers from similar confusion, our extracts will be arranged so as to distinguish the various fundamental objects of the inquiry. The first series will relate exclusively to red rust and its manifestations. Wheat-infecting Eungi.— As an introduction to the practical observations of our local farmers and chemists, the subjoined letter from Dr. Mueller, dated Melbourne, February loth, deserves precedence. It presents in a condensed form the latest discoveries of science with regard to wheat-infecting fungi : "Two uredinous fungi more especially infest the wheat, Puccinia graminis, and Puccinia straminis, which in certain stages of development represent the. Uredo linearis and the Aeciiium bcrberidis, regarded formerly as distinct fungi. These in their mode of development pass through several stages. The most destructive of these two, Puccinia rjraminis, or the striped rust, appears early in the summer, in small THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 123 oblong spots, which arc apt to flow in lines together. They arise from a mycelium which ramifies in the cellular tissue beneath the epidermis of the cereal, and thus serves the nutri- tion of the fungus on the expense of the affected plant. In advancing to its first stage of fructification the epidermis bursts and oval red-brown stalked spores, now designated summer spores, or uredo spores, protrude : the spores seceding from their stalks, and new stalked spores being produced in suc- cession, again to be washed away by rain, or to be wafted away by the air, or to be carried about by insects. These particular kinds of spores have the power of immediate germination, and retain it for some, weeks. They may germinate in a moist medium within a few hours, cacli spore pushing forth an elon- gated cell, which, root-like, penetrates into any one of the stomata of the epidermis, and ramifies in the cellular tissue beneath, to form a new mycelium. Ripe spores, of the original kind, are produced from the new mycellium so formed in com- paratively a few days. But after a rapid succession of the form of reproduction the fungus passes into another stage. Towards autumn a second kind of spores, now distinguished as autumnal spores, or teleuta spores, are at first promiscuously developed with the summer spores, but subsequently autumnal spores only ; and as their colour is darker, the red-brown of the rust fungus verges by the gradual prevalence of the autumnal spores into a darker colour — into almost black. These autumnal spores are distinguished by greater size, are generally in a pair, one above the other, terminating the stalk without seceding from it ; they are also . characterised by stronger cell-walls. These autumnal spores do not germinate before the next spring in cold climes. In spring each of these two telento spores send forth an articulated stalk-like pro- tomycclium, from each joint of which stalked sporidia arise, the ripening sporidia breaking from their stalks, while the mycelium t perishes. These sporidia are much smaller than the spores, and also far more tender. The first growth of the uredo state of the fungus may not be on wheat, as the spores may seize on many kinds of grasses, and from them in successive develop- ment may only attack the crop. Hence the imperative neces- sity of clearing, as far as possible, any growth of weeds and natural grasses at and around the corn-fields ; a necessity which, to every rational farmer, also for other reasons, is obvious. Maize, millet, English rye-grass, and also French rye-gra3S (Arrhenathenmi elatius) are not generally attacked by the rust fungus of wheat. Raised on strips of land these will form an additional safeguard. Stubbles, I might add, should be carefully burnt, and farm-yard manure destined for a wheat-field be previously well decomposed. The summer spores of Pucciiiia graminis may form conspicuous rootlets or mycelium cells in two or three hours. They ripen a harvest of spores in about eight days. If the before-mentioued sporidia fall on the cereals or other grasses, on which the summer and autumn spores delight to luxuriate, they die off speedily, and if plants for which they rely for their subsistence could be com- pletely extirpated, the cycles of development of the particular rust fungus would be disrupted, and immediate contact locally prevented, though still the field may be subject to the influx of fungus spores from the distance. Unfortunately, one single plant of wheat, it has been calculated, may produce several hundred thousand autumnal spores, of which each early in the next culture season may multiply into three or four sporidia. The Pucciiiia holds its winter quarter copiously on some of the native grasses. Very common is also the Pucciiiia straminis, or the spotted rust in wheat. It forms smaller spots, not so readily flowing together into streaks. The summer spores, or uredo spores, are globular, not oval or pear shaped. The pow- dery masses of these spores are more red. The autumnal spores do not burst through the epidermal integument, but remain buried beneath, not even swelling the epidermis. In their aggregate they appear finally as minute opaque black spots. The stalk of the spores is shorter than in Pucciiiia graminis. This particular fungus is also a parasite on all cereals except maise and millet. It occurs likewise on many fodder and wild grasses. Its development is still somewhat more rapid than that of Pnccinia graminis. The plants on which its autumnal spores germinate, as well as its acidia, are as yet entirely un- known ; for neither these autumnal spores germinate on cereals. Pucciiiia straminis is not limited to a few months for pro- ducing its summer spores, but germinates the uredo spores throughout the year in continued succession. In cpnclusion, it is scarcely necessary to remark that it was well known already fo the ancient Greeks and Romans, and has ever since been confirmed, that a very wet season will call extensively forth the latent germs of the rust fungi ; but the elements of the disease, and certain other conditions predisposing for its development, must exist to render it widely destructive. The most limited observations will impress us with the fact that not all soils and positions are affected alike, that not all fields worked and manured differently suffer alike, that not all varieties of our principal cereals are succumbing alike. The climatic influences we cannot bring under our control ; but we may patiently trace out through microscopic anatomy and biology, and through chemical science, many of the collateral unfortunate conditions on which, irrespective of a wet season, the real de- vastations of rust depend, and the measures which in tillage should be adopted to lessen or perhaps avoid the destruction." Meteorological Conditions of the Giiowtii of Last Year's Wheat Crop. — Previous to the appointment of the Commission, the most generally received opinion of the cause of red rust was, that it depended on certain unfavourable con- ditions of the atmosphere. The Commission obtained from Mr. Todd the most complete data for testing that opinion. From the prefatory report which accompanied the tables we make the subjoined extracts : " Last year the rainfall in Sep- tember, at Adelaide — 3,157 inches — was more than 80 per cent, above the average — 1.747 inches — after ten years (1858- 67), and was only exceeded four times during the previous twenty-nine years — viz., 4.64 inches in 1840, 3.19 in 1848, 3.453 in 1853, and 3.413 in 1855. With this heavy rainfall in September we had, especially south of Kapunda, an extraordi- narily wet October, the fall in Adelaide being unprecedented going as far back as 1839 — the date Mr. Kingston's valuable tables commence — the nearest approach being 3.108 inches in 1863, and 2.690 in 1866, the harvest following being in each case the best during the past ten years, yielding an average of 14 and 14j bushels to the acre. In both those years the crops in the hills were, I believe, much affected with rust, though comparatively free on the plains. But, in considering the condition favourable to the development of fungi, regard must be had not only to the actual quantity of rain, but also to the character of the weather generally, the humidity and temperature, alternations of warm sunshine and showers, &c. Now, in 1863 and 1866, we had barely an average rainfall in September ; while last year it was, as we have seen, more than SO per cent, above the average on the plains, and very heavy on the hills, about seven inches falling at Mount Lofty and Mount Barker. In the former year (1863) the rainfall was small for the first three weeks in October, and heavy in the last week, with showery, temperate weather well into Novem- ber. The temperature was moderate ; and there were no hot winds, except for a few hours on October 25, until November 21, when the temperature rose to 99 degrees ; the wind, how- ever, soon veering to the S.W., with a sharp squall and very little rain- The two hottest days in October — viz., the 22nd and 25th— on which the temperature was 91 degrees and 90 degrees respectively, were clouded. In October, 1866, the 16th was the first hot day of the season, with a dry atmo- sphere, 0.2 inch of rain falling the following day. The 30th and 31st were also exceedingly hot, terminating with a magni- ficent display of lightning, but only a few drops of rain. This season, October was a cool, wet month, with copious dews at night, alternating with warm sunshine. Our first hot wea- ther was on the 21st and 23rd, when the temperature rose to 87 degrees and 94 degrees respectively, with violent thunder- storms between, the weather being very close and sultry, and a very great deposition of moisture at night. Then came a few days of changeable weather, succeeded by hot winds on the 29th, and November 1st, with lightning. From this date the weather was seasonable and very fine till the middle of November, when we had two hot days — November 14th and 15th — the maximum temperature being 93.6 degrees and 96.8 degrees, followed by heavy rains, and heat on 20th, 21st, 26th, 27th, and 28th. I have called attention to these dates as the most probable period when the greatest damage was sustained by our crops, whilst the fact that the heat this season was in all cases preceded or followed by heavy rains and unusual hu- midity will, [ think, account for the rapid spread of the rust, especially where the wheat was thickest and most luxuriant. If heat and moisture are conditions necessary for the develop- ment (/. but I have a statement to make that I think will aid you in your inquiries. When the red rust showed itself so very bad — I have a family growing up, and I thought it very important that my sons should see this disease for themselves as well as myself, for I look on it as a national calamity — so I brought my boys down to Adelaide, aud we examined the crops, and we could not find anything worthy of being called a wheat crop. Then we returned, and I said, now, my sons, we will go north, and see if we can find any wheat, and if so, will try to find out what makes the difference. We went north for 20 miles, and then for the first time we found a light crop, but with good grain. At this time they had commenced harvest, and I thought it very strange after having travelled so far north, without finding auy wheat, all of a sudden to come to a crop. We had hitherto found the soil impregnated more or less with limestone, or lime, and occasionally with quartz, vary- ing from dust to pieces the size of eggs. Wheu we came to the crop of wheat, I said, " Now, what produces this differ- ence ?" Well, we found that the stones had changed from limestone and quartz to ironstone, aud where we found the ironstone without any of the others, we found wheat, and where we found no stones at all in the soil we found the grain very nearly as bad as previously. It appears to me the iron- stone had the effect, by some means, of producing a crop of wheat. I wish to call your particular attention to this ; either that it left the soil open, and so allowed the surplus water to percolate — but if so, why would not other stones produce the same effect — or would it any way influence the growth of the wheat and the action of the atmosphere ? I must leave that to you to find out. I know the difference in the stone did produce a difference in the crop by some means. We con- sidered the soil itself was very similar to the other ; but we could not help noticing the difference in the stone. I have since made it my business to see the man to whom the land belongs, and he informed me that he has no limestone iu his land, and he bought stone to build his house from his neigh- bours. I can show you a sample of that wheat. [Produced sample.] By the Chairman : What condition was the flag in ? — There was less flag apparently than where the wheat was diseased. Where it is diseased the flag adheres to the straw, and where ■ it is not it drops off. It was the first wheat I could find north of Adelaide. Afterwards, in passing along in the neighbour- hood of Stockport, we found similar stone to that where we found the wheat ; but there we found the limestone also or quartz, and where there is a bed of rock it has formed a con- glomerate, and there was no place where the crop was worse than there. It is worth a little to consider this, and what would produce the same effect if we were again visited with red rust. These are the facts I wish to lay before you. At Redbanks I did not minutely examine the soil, and whether there is any difference in the stone there I cannot say. — Ade- laide Observer. 128 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE PARIS AND HAVRE EXHIBITION Although France now pays considerable attention to engineering operations and agricultural implements, and her metal foundries and engineering workshops are rapidly increasing, yet we still supply her farmers and engineers with a large amount of agricultural machinery and en- gines. Taking the latest year for which we have complete returns (1867), we find that our exports of machinery, mill-works, and steam engines to France reached about half a million in value, made up as follows : Agricultural implements, £12,000 ; agricultural ma- chinery, £28,000 ; steam engines and locomotives, £58,700 ; other descriptions of machinery, £419,000. Looking at this commerce we have profitably carried on now for some years with our neighbours, it is interesting to notice what progress they are making in the manufac- ture of agricultural implements and machinery. The two recent international exhibitions held in France — at Paris in 1867, and at Havre in 1868 — brought to- gether goodly collections of their agricultural implements and machinery from which a fair opinion may be formed of their progress ; and although we do not purpose here to pass in review all that were exhibited, a superficial survey may not be without interest to our English farmers and machine-makers. The great exhibition at Paris was visited by many, and the accounts published gave even those who did not visit it some general idea of the implements and machines shown. That we held our own there in all that represents excellence of quality, utility, and comparative cheapness is well known. But the recently published French jury reports enable us to ascertain what is their view of the relative importance of the national productions in this department of com- petition. The reports written by Frenchmen are, as might be expected, somewhat partial, and they are exceedingly brief and curt, where they might have been just and honest in awarding praise to foreign makers. The Havre exhibi- tion was much less known than that of Paris, but, held in the leading town of the rich agricultural district of Nor- mandy, the large collection of French agricultural ma- chines and implements shown is necessarily interesting. The notice of these by M. Barral, editor of the Journal d' Agriculture, in the Jury Reports just issued, is far more specific, detailed, aud interesting than that written by M. Boitel, inspector-general of agriculture, for the Paris jury reports. Ploughs of some kind are in use in almost all countries of the world, but, unfortunately, wretched implements, consisting of a simple share of iron for cutting the surface without turning over a good furrow slice, are those most generally employed. England, France, Bel- gium, Prussia, Austria, Sweden, and the United States, however, showed excellent examples of ploughs at Paris in 1867. English-made ploughs there (as the French admit in their official reports) carried off the palm for perfection and regularity of work, but they claim the merit for efficient service in deep ploughing for a French plough — the " Revolution" of Valleraud. Another French plough, much in esteem in the central parts of France, is that of Bonnet, which is used in madder cultivation and beet-root crops, after an ordinary plough, for bringing up further portions of the subsoil to the surface, so as the better to apply manure. To England it is admitted belongs the merit of invent- ing and applying successfully steam power to the plough, and the north of France, it is expected, will shortly en- deavour to re-place animal power by the same useful servant. The French machinists showed at Paris some very good specimens of rollers. The numerous seed-drills exhibited by various nations, especially by England and France, is a sign of the improvements in agriculture ; for it is only in rich and highly cultivated land that sowing in line can be applied. Of late years this system has made great progress in France in the districts where beet-root is grown for sugar making. The French jurors admit that England is superior in the manufacture of powerful thrashing-machines, which perform the most work, and of the best kind. France offers good imitations of some of these machines on a small scale, of two or four-horse ; they are solid, well- made, and by their low price are brought within the reach of the small cultivator. But the grain thrashed out by machine is not always so clean as could be wished, it is mixed with foreign seeds and other impurities, the varying weight and size of which render the separation more or less difficult. To clean the grain for sale or for sowing, it has to be passed through the winnowing and sorting machines. And in the construction of these France certainly stands high in the scale. The machines for sorting and separating grain, and especially that shown by Josse at Paris and Havre deserve special mention. Among other advantages this does away with the necessity for hand-picking the grain, a troublesome and difficult task, which places growers and corn-dealers at the mercy of a class of professional grain cleaners. At the Havre Exhibition, in the agricultural annexe, there were about forty or fifty exhibitors, who made a very creditable display of agricultural implements and machines. One of the largest exhibitors was M. Gan- neron, civil engineer, of Paris. The number of ploughs shown was small, having regard to the importance of this implement of husbandry. Among those shown by M. Ganneron was a good, cheap, strong-made plough, that could be worked by two horses, suitable for France and some other foreign countries. There was also another strong made plough exhibited by Faure, suited for heavy laud, which could be used either as a ridge or subsoil- plough. M. Moureau-Chaumier sent to Havre the same fine collection of grubbing and ridging ploughs, weeding-hoes, aud harrows, adapted to vine culture, which he showed at Billancourt in 1867, and for which he received the gold medal. Only one seed-drill was shown, and though much in- ferior to the best English drills it answers for ordinary purposes in countries where the appliances for preparing the soil are insufficient, as is frequently the case in France and the colonies. M. Gerard, of Vierzon, exhibited two fine portable thrashing-machines worked by steam, and well suited for large French farms. They are capable of performing a great amount of work, and require only a maximum of six-horse power. This machine is so constructed as to well beat out the grain, leaving as little as possible in the straw. The shaker is on the ordinary English system, that is to say, oscillating boxes, with oppo- site movements, which effectually separate all the grain still held in the ear. The cleaning is very complete, pre- senting no complication, the grain being turned out fit THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 129 for market, perfectly winnowed. M. Del, of Vieizon, showed a machine of the same class, which is equal iu effect to the best large thrashing-machine. Messrs, Hesme, Causa, and Co., of Pontoise, showed a stationary thrashing-machine on the system most gene- rally employed for the medium-sized farms in the environs of Paris. It will not thrash more thau 55 to 80 bushels per day, but it cleans the grain well, and does not break the straw. The beater has sixteen wooden Hails, bound with small iron bands, and a special arrangement of counterpoises allows thrashing to proceed without danger, even after the accidental breaking of one or more of these flails. The beating floor is open and formed of chan- nelled iron plates. It is spontaneously moveable on springs, if any obstacle presents itself, instead of fractur- ing as in fixed floors, or bruising the straw and the grain. It is a machine specially applicable for the district round Paris. Mr. Gautreau, of Dourdan, exhibited locomotive thrash- ing-machines, of which one with direct gear was especially noticeable. It is much employed in the neighbourhood ot Paris, for letting out in the localities where many small cultivators are found, and it is very convenient for small farmers. Mr. .Corroy showed two winnowing machines of ex- cellent manufacture, which have a high reputation in the north and east of Prance. They are well and solidly made, and present no complication, notwithstanding the perfection of work which they can perform. The millstones shown at Havre were interesting, owing to the diversity of their origin and the various uses for which they are iuteuded. They form an important article of French export, in the form of simple squares or blocks, or in made-up or compound millstones. The first group of millstone quarries is found in the Basin of Paris, in an argillaceous stratum, the most recent of the lacustrine calcareous group of the lower tertiary forma- tion. It is found over a space extending from west to east between Vernon and the hills of Reims, aud from north to south from Fontaiuebleau to Laon. It covers thus the greater portiou of four departments — Seine et Oise, Seine et Marne, Aisne, and Marnc. Millstone silex is here found in irregular beds and in thick blocks of all sizes. The central part of this millstone formation is precisely beueath the village of La Perte-sous-Jouarre, celebrated all over the world for }he exceptional quality of its stones for flour grinding. The stones of La Ferte are divided into many varieties, but all have a hard and close grain, not breaking under the hammer, and abounding in fissures and cells, which form natural lines of cleavage. The most esteemed are of a bluish colour, mixed with milky white, the pores be- iug partially filled with reddish coloured sand. Large blocks of uniform grain are rare, hence |each millstone has to be formed of several pieces, adjusted round a centrepiece of special quality. Many of the exhibitors sell a thousand millstones annually, aud they are shipped to the United States aud all parts of the world. Certain basins, amongst others those of Eperuon and Ferte-Bentard, contain varieties of stones resembling in some respects those of Ferte- sous- Jouarre, and from which millstones can be made well adapted for grinding the grain of the south of France and Spain. These varieties of stone can be profitably used in conjunction with the superior millstones of Ferte-sous-Jouarre. There were about a dozen exhibitors of millstones of various kinds and qualities, some intended for wheat, barley, or maize, others for crushing kaolin, burnt bones for animal black, &c. Hammers, tempered-steel chisels, and other tools for resetting aud repairing millstones were shown, and also two machines adapted for the same purpose ; one, the old and well-known one of M, Touaillon, of Paris, which is rather a perfected tool for an experienced work- man than a machine properly so called; the other, the invention of M. Charles Golay, is a practical machine. The hammer and chisel were formerly the only tools em- ployed for the repairing of millstones. Small grooves were hollowed by a succession of light blows. In Golay's machine the stone is furrowed by a diamond point ad- justed at the circumference of a small steel disc, to which is communicated a rapid rotatory movement, by which furrows are cut in the stone excessively close to each other. Rapid and good work, without splintering, is thus obtained. On the continent, and especially in some of the colonies, a mill for grinding flour is of great im- portance ; the four essential qualities being : 1st, The production in a given time of a sufficient quantity of flour or meal ; 2nd, as small a motive power as possible ; 3rd, to be easily manageable as regards working and repairs ; and, 4th, above all, cheapness of price. Some very fair samples of rural mills were exhibited. The specimens of straw and root cutters were by no means remarkable ; and the screw-presses, for oil-pressing, cider and wine making, are not of very great interest in this country. With the exception of one English exhibi- tor, the French machiue aud implement makers had the field to themselves at Havre, aud carried off, greatly to their satisfaction iu this class, four diplomas of honour, fifteen gold, twenty-two silver, and seventeen bronze medals, besides twenty honourable mentions. These were not, however, all for implements or machines, but in- cluded manures, fly-traps, rat-traps, insect-killing pow- ders, aud other small affairs. There is one special pecu- liarity iu the French competitions, and that is the man- ner in which they parade the annual amount of the busi- ness they do. A small concern has but little chance with the juries against a firm showing enormous trade figures. What opportunity there is for testing these statements we know not. One house, for instance, states that it sells mill- stones to the amount of £20,000 annually, another tells us it has sold ten thousand winnowing machines iu twenty- five years ; a third, that it has sold seven thousand presses, &c. We may infer however, from all that we have seen and heard, that we have little yet to fear in foreign competi- tion from our French neighbours, while there is still a good market open for English-made machinery, notwith- standing the adverse duties against which we have to contend. AGRICULTURAL TALK IN SUSSEX.— At the Horsham cattle show|dinuer, Col. Bartelott said he would say a word on a subject which with many he knew was not very popular, but it had been carried out to a certain extent, and which he believed was worth carrying out to its full extent, or it was not worth doing at all — he meant the subject of agri- cultural statistics. For several years returns had been given, and bis firm belief was that the only object of the Government in getting those returns was to know the amount of food there was for the people of this country. It was not for the pur- pose of prying into any man's affairs, and those who looked at the matter in a proper light would see that a perfect return should be rendered, and lie appealed to them to render it. If they could suggest any better means of getting these returns they should give the information to their members, who would speak ou their behalf in the House. On the subject of local taxation he observed that it was on the increase, and they knew it was a very easy thing to shift taxation on the land, and legis- lation had gone very much in that way lately. Look at the police rate ! True, they got one-fourth of the cost of the police from the Government, but they had to pay three-fourths them- selves, and it was a question whether they got enough from the Government, because the police force was for the benefit of the whole community, and should be paid for by the com- munity generally, and not by any special branch of it. Then 130 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. again, the lunatic asylum was paid for out of the county rate> and so were the militia stores. These were matters in which the country was deeply concerned, and he thought it was but fair that some of this expense should come from the consoli- dated fund. He had mentioned these things because, as a body of agriculturists, they should have their careful attention. One question they were told they would have to deal with during the present session was the question of the education of our humbler neighbours. It was a serious question, because in thecountry they were not situated like they were in towns. There was a wild bill on the subject brought in last session by a Professor who ought to haveknown better — a wild compul- sory bill, that everybody was to go to school, and that parents and masters were to be liable to penalties if they did not. How was it possible for such a scheme to be carried out ? They had in the country parishes of fourteen and fifteen thousand acres, iind how could a child be sent every day six or seven miles to school ? But, as he had before observed, a great deal might be done by the poor by letting their children have an educa- tion fitted to the position in life in which they were placed, and by doing so they would be doing good for themselves and the community at large. Suppose they put the age of a child to earn money at ten, how could it be supposed that a mau who had a large family could keep that child at school and forego the money he would otherwise earn ? That was a thing to be considered. Education was a great thing, but that education should be in accordance with t]ie position iu which they found themselves placed. THE BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF HEREFORD CATTLE. At the meeting of the Brecon Chamber of Agriculture, Major Conway Lloyd in the chair, Mr. T. Duckham read a paper on this subject, in which he said the Herefords have been severely tried in competition with all other breeds of this kingdom for several generations past, and although in the main they have during that lengthened period been princi- pally in the bauds of the fcmint-iaxmem of this side of the kingdom, by whom they have been regarded as their rent- payers, yet they have maintained a position of which their breeders may well be proud, when placed beside animals of other breeds in competition for showyard honours. This was particularly the case during the past month at the great national fat shows, and the result of that best of all tests, the weighing-machine, which was brought into use for the first time at the Agricultural Hall by the Smithfield Club has set those who claimed for the Shorthorn earlier maturity and greater weight to seriously think how they could account for the fact revealed by the scales, viz., that the average weight of the Hereford steers and oxen exceeded that of any other breed exhibited. At length the following novel reason was assigned : " We have such a demand for our bulls that the best calves are kept for that purpose whilst the best of other breeds are made steers of !" More fallacious reasoning than this can scarcely be conceived. Yet it served to satisfy those who overlooked the fact that was obvious to other observers, viz., that their massive cylindrical frames evenly covered witli good flesh on low legs displayed an amount of constitution which few of their competitors possessed, and in which none surpassed them. But it is from that fact they command the attention of the different breeders of cattle over an extended area of the United Kingdom, and in many foreign lands. Thus they are now to be found in Scotland, Ireland, Canada, America, Jamaica, and Australia. And that they have dis^ tinguished themselves as meat producers, when selected for practical trials in the feeding stalls or on the pasture, we have it on record that they have invariably produced a greater quan- tity of animal food from a given quantity of vegetable than those of any other breed. At the same time it must be re- membered that the utmost care, skill, and attention is requisite to be exercised by their breeders in order that they may con- tinue to merit that attention which their good qualities have hitherto commanded. Therefore it is of the greatest import- ance that in the selection of our breeding animals strict and sound judgment should be displayed, so that their character, form, and quality may be retained, inasmuch as without charac- ter they would lose much of that which attracts the eye. Without form they would not possess that constitution and aptitude to fatten which has hitherto distinguished them, and without quality they would fail to command that top figure which we all like when our animals are ready for the shambles. It becomes obvious, then, that care and atten- tion are absolutely necessary in the selection of our breeding animals, particularly of the bull, inasmuch as the influence of the sire upon the progeny is usually more than that of the dam. As regards the several points of perfection in form, a mellow hide, well covered with soft glossy hair, a moderate short head and wide forehead, from which the horns of the bull should spring in a straight line, whilst those of the cow have usually a wave and a slight upward tendency ; a straight outline, a full, deep chest, sloping shoulder, good springing rib, so that no hollow remain between the outside of the shoulder and the rib ; a deep flank, small bone, and the whole carcase well and evenly covered with firm flesh, yielding with a pleasant elasticity to the touch, are essential qualifications. I consider that too close an affinity of blood should be care- fully guarded against; for although I am fully aware that breeding in and in has been in many instances attended by very marked and successful results, yet, as a rule, I feel it is best to be guarded against, and for this simple reason. I be- lieve that our beautiful race of animals have been greatly im- proved by the care, skill, and attention which have for gene- rations past been paid to the subject by gentlemen who made it their careful study and fixed their distinctive characters by the adoption of that consanguinity which I now say should be avoided. I also believe that perfection can only be attained in a direct line once ; and as the tendency of nature is ever to revert, a continued adoption of that course would prove pro- ductive of degeneration, resulting in delicacy of constitution and lightness of flesh ; further, there are few families that have not some weak points in connection with them which a change of blood may tend to correct, whereas the opposite course would probably perpetuate it for several generations. Besides, should any constitutional weakness or disease exist, that weakness or disease is much more likely to be propagated than any good qualities they may possess; therefore I consider the utmost care, skill, and close observation are essentially re- quisite to be exercised iu the selection of our breeding animals. Having made the selection of both male and female, the next thing to be considered is their management, and upon the first point under this head depends much of the breeder's future success, viz., at what age they should be used for breeding purposes ; and I cannot help flunking that much injury is frequently done to valuable animals by adopting too early a period, inasmuch as by doing so a most powerful exhaust- ing influence is brought to bear prematurely upon the ner- vous and vascular systems, which too frequently results in the animal proving sterile or being given to cast. In my opinion no bull should be used before he is eighteen mouths old, and no heifer should calve before she is three years old. I am fully aware that they are frequently in each gender used to propagate their species much earlier ; but I believe that in the case of the bull it has an injurious effect upon his form and checks his growth ; and in the case of the heifer the effect is much more 'injurious. The next point for consideration is, at what period of the year should they be brought into existence to ensure future success ? And here I think we must look to Nature's laws to guide us in our decision ; for, howsoever great our advances in science may be, it must surely be admitted that, in a matter in which we are so dependent upon Nature, science should only be used to elucidate and assist in her work, and that therefore we should not endeavour to make Nature subservient to our scientific knowledge. If this idea is the correct one, the next which arises is, when does Nature fix upon as the time for parturition iu the cow ? Have they their season of oestus, similar to horses, sheep, and other animals, both wild and do- mesticated? My opinion is they have, and in that opinion I am borne out by the following information kindly supplied to THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 131 mc by Mr. Michie, game and park keeper at Clullmgham Tark, under whose care the celebrated herd of white cattle, belonging to the Earl of Tankervillc, are kept, and which is, I believe, the only herd of cattle in the kingdom in a wild or semi-wild state ; be says : " March, April, and August have been the fa- vourite months, still cows have calved in every month ;" and I have had similar information supplied me by several kind friends possessing extensive herds in Australia. Thus it ap- pears that March and April are the principal months, but Nature has her freaks, and in an animal which adds so greatly to our domestic comforts as the cow does all the year round it is wisely ordained by Him who cannot err that it should be so more frequently with the cow than some of our other domes- ticated animals. Yet it by no means follows that it is to our advantage to .divert Nature from her proper track in order to gratify our own ideas or to meet the errors of some of our agricultural societies, the rules of which were formed (I speak advisedly) without due regard to the practical effect they would produce with the breeders. The bull being the animal of the greatest influence in every herd, I will in each case suppose the offspring to be a bull-calf. First, then, as regards summer or early autumn calving, which has been practically forced upon breeders who aspire to Eoyal and other distin- guished show-yard honours. I have before shown it to be in- judicious to have heifers calve before they arrive at a proper age, aud I simply refer to this now from the fact that I know many good breeders who put them to breed very young, and give them extra time before they are in-calf again. In my opinion they should calve at a mature age, and go on breeding as fast as they will after. Upon this point my experience is that they will under such management grow into much finer animals, and their first produce will most probably equal I the subsequent produce; besides there will be no necessity to give extra time after the first calf, therefore a little time may fairly be gained year by year with a good breeder. Under the first system I propose fixing the month of September as the period at which the heifer should drop her first calf. In order to do this she must be put to bull about December, when both bull and heifer are being kept upon dry and artificial food. Upon the arrival of spring she is turned into the pastures, there to partake of those young and succu- lent grasses which are so calculated to develop her milking properties ; but those properties not having been called into action, she converts that food into fat, to the injury of her lactic secretions, and oftentimes to the danger of her own life when the day of parturition has arrived, even supposing she lias escaped abortion, which has been greatly hazarded by her being heavy in calf at a period when the continued torments of flies have driven her wildly about tfce pastures. Having calved, the puny offspring shows that it is an animal born out of due season, and, if reared, he must be treated as a hothouse plant until the following spring. When that period has arrived, he will have attained a size and age, at which he will prove troublesome to be set at large. Thus an animal, upon which so much of the breeder's future success is dependent, is, by the unnatural season at which he was calved, to a great extent deprived of the genial rays of the sun and the invigorating and refresliing breeze of the atmosphere, the fond caresses of ( its dam, and the free exercise of the body ; all of which, I shall presently endeavour to show you, are essentially requi- site to him in early life. Added to these evils, if entended for the show-yard, he must be fed upon the best and most stimu- lating food possible, and too frequently even the very light of heaven is shut out from him, on account of the knowledge of darkness favouring obesity. As regards the cow, she must be kept through the winter upon good, and therefore expensive food, or no milk can be expected from her ; and should she continue to breed, which is too frequently not the case, the danger attending her next calving will be greatly increased from the fact that during the spring and summer she has been partaking of the young, juicy, succulent grasses ; and as there is a less call upon the food she consumes in raising her own superstructure than during the past year, she lays on more fat, and her milking properties, if she has any (which is too rarely the case, when for several generations nature has been driven out of her own course), being more fully developed, a greater risk is incurred at calving and a more imminent hazard of puer- peral fever is the result. This brings ine to the second system ; and, upon the principle of gaining a little time annually, I will suppose the heifer intended to calve iu autumn should he nut with the bull about the end of March. Here, again, both bull and heifer have been kept on dry dietary, and, although there is not the same chance of puerperal fever with cows calving late in the autumn, yet they, too, have been partaking of a summer's grass without yielding any beneficial return, and must, like the former cows, be kept well upon expensive diet during the winter, to be again comparatively valueless the following summer. I say comparatively valueless, inasmuch as the natural tendency of the cow to produce milk is of course greatest immediately after calving ; but the circumstances under which she has been kept so many months check rather than favour its production, and the lacteal organs have necessarily become much less ac- tive before she has the chance of obtaining that succulent, food which is more favourable for the production of milk ; this being so, that food is used by the animal for the laying on of fat, instead of yielding milk, The calf, too, like the former, must he another hot-house plant, i. c, he must be house-fed, and subject to similar unnatural treatment at a period when the foundation of the constitution should be substantially laid. But is it so laid ? I feel I shall be able to show you it is not ; for although as far as human foresight can aid in the selection, and although every care is taken by breeders of first-class stock to secure animals in which are apparently developed the points most essential for a sound constitution ; yet how frequently do we hear of cows and heifers in our best herds becoming sterile, or being given to cast, or becoming early barren, and that they have lost the valuable milking properties of their predecessors ! — that the bulls have no generative powers, and therefore, after being reared at a great expense, are of no further value than for the butcher ! And is this to be wondered at under a system so physiologically wrong ? Bather would it not be cause for wonder if it were not so, when animals have been so treated year by year, generation after generation. Dr. Hitchman has thus kindly written me : " I stand pledged to your first aphorism — the more natural laws are studied and aided by science, the greater will be the success. The early part of March is the time in which it is best to have the calf drop. I believe abor- tion in high-bred stock to be the result of many errors, all of which, however, are summed up in the words, ' too much stimu- lating food, too little>xercise, too much warmth, and too great disregard to the milking functions and all it entails.' Autumn is the very worst time a cow can calve in, except, perhaps, it be November. It is bad for the cow and for the calf ; and the latter is never so well equipped by constitutional power to battle with all the evils which the cold and damp of our winter and late spring engender. It is remarkable that societies and in- dividuals should so long close their eyes against the teachings of fact." I will now pioceed to consider the advantages at- tending the period wliich is more in accordance with natures's laws. °The heifer, to calve in April or May, will have to be with the bull in July or early in August, at a period when both ani- mals have been partaking of young and succulent vegetation, wliich Professor Tanner says is so "favourable to breeding." Being in calf, she can be kept in a most inexpensive way during the winter; as spring advances, andas the dayof parturition draws near.her food shonld be improved, and sheshouldbe allowed daily a fewhours iuthe pastures. The young rich juicy grasses will then purify her blood and develope her milking-properties. At nights she should be placed in a roomy and well- ventilated building, some week or so before calving. Under such treat- ment her udder and milk-veins will become distended to the utmost ; yet no anxious fears need be entertained respecting her, as her condition will be that of a healthy breeding animal, and the calf, when it makes its appearance, may fairly be ex- pected to be a fine one, with plenty of Nature's food provided for its wants. After a few days the heifer should be turned into the pastures, where she will find that food best calculated to meet her wants, and at a time when her natural tendency to produce milk is most active. After a few weeks the calf will have gained sufficient streugth to take all the milk the dam provides, and he then can be turned into the pastures with her, where he will require no further care than that which she will bestow upon him until weaning-time arrives, when he should be placed in a cot with a yard to run in at his pleasure ; and as far as my experience enables me to form an opinion, this is both the cheapest and most healthy way in which a bull can be reared. I have said he will require no further care than that which his dam can bestow upon him. Now let us con- sider what that care will be, and its effects. In early morn she freely yields him his natural meal, which warms his stomach, 132 THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. and prepares it for the feed of grass which lie will presently take; and whilst he is enjoying his first meal, her rough tongue will he busily employed in washing him from top to toe. No por- tion of his little body will escape her maternal attention. By this means not only is his skin thoroughly cleansed, but it is stimulated by the rough action of the tongue, and a lively circulation of blood throughout the whole body is thereby pro- moted, as also a luxuriant growth of good hair, which is much desired by all breeders. His meal heing ended, he runs and skips about in playful mirth ; and thus his vital organs, as well as his every muscle, are brought into healthy action, and the foundation of a robust constitution is early laid. During each succeeding winter the cow will be inexpensively kept in the strawyard, and whether taken to the pail for dairy-use, or the offspring be continued to be reared at her foot, she will be yielding a good return for the rich grasses she daily consumes. This brings me to the ecomical bearing of the subject. I have particularly noticed and physiologically accounted for the fact that in each of the first cases (i.e., of both summer and autumn calving) there is great difficulty aud uncertainty in obtaining calves, that the systems adopted arc calculated to impair the constitution of the animals, that no profitahle return will be yielded from the cows during the best months of the year for dairy-purposes, and that in each case the cows must be well fed during the winter months upon expensive food, or they can- not be expected to yield milk ; whereas in the case of spring calving, impregnation takes place at a period of the year most favourable for breeding. The time of parturition is most favourable for the economical rearing and the constitutional development of the young animal ; it is the period best adapted to promote the milking functions of the cow, and when she has ceased to yield milk, she can he economically kept in the strawyard until the time approaches for her to calve again. This latter saving 1 consider equal to 20 per cent, of the hay consumed by the whole herd, to say nothing of a large (juantity of roots, or other food favourable to the production of milk, as I estimate a milch cow, with her autumn calf, will eat quite as much hay from October until May as the two rears of young cattle ; consequently, either an increased number of calves can be bred, and less of that expensive aud precarious work, haymaking (more land being grazed) ; or, under other management, the steers and draught cows usually sold by the breeders to the graziers in a poor state could be fed out for the butcher. These are, I think, important poiuts, calling for the most serious con- sideration ; aud if I am right in my views, they clearly show that the economical bearing is vastly in favour of the spring calving. The general management of the herd will greatly depend upon situation aud climate, and also whether the practice pursued is for dairy or for meat. The necessity of cows in calf being treated gently by those in charge of them should be strictly enjoined, and on no account should dogs be used in driving them. I fear much evil frequently arises in this way, as a nervous excitement is created at a period when quietude is essentially requisite to ensure success. As regards the milking properties of cows, I believe they can be greatly improved or lessened according to management, at the same time my opinion is that an animal yielding an excessive quantity of milk does so at the sacrifice of flesh. To obtain a race or breed of cattle that will give a fair amount of milk, and, when put up to feed, will rapidly lay on fat, must ever form a subject for the grave consideration of the English farmer. I have frequently heard a stigma cast upon the Herefords that they are bad milkers, that " they do not yield sufficient to rear their own calves." But I have yet to learn that this is more generally the case with the Hereford cows than with those of other breeds where early maturity, flesh, aud aptitude to fatten have been the sole objects in view for several generations; and as I have often heard the same stigma cast upon the " Improved Shorthorns" and the "Deyons," it goes far to confirm my opinion, viz., that the milking properties of cows can be greatly improved or lessened according to management ; thus it is that where the breeder's attention has been wholly turned to the production of flesh to the utter disregard of milk, he has succeeded at the sacrifice of the latter. On the milking properties of the Herefords, Mr. James, of Mappo^der, Blandford, Dorset, has written me that his herd of Herefords has been established 30 years ; that Hereford dairies are becoming very general in that county ; and adds, " In proof that they are good for milk with us, I let 100 cows to dairy people, and if I buy one of any other breed to fill up a deficiency, the dairyman always grumbles, and would rather have one of ray own-bred heifers." Mr. Olver, renhallow, Cornwall, says •. " Hereford cows are generally said to be bad milkers. That is contrary to my experience, and I feel persuaded that when such is the case it does not arise from any constitutional defect, but rather from mismanagement in rearing, or a deficiency of the constituents essential to the production of milk in their food ;" aud adds: "My cow, ' Patience,' bred by Mr. J. Y. Cooke, Moreton House, Hereford, has yielded 14?lbs. of butter per week, and ' Blossom,' bred by the late Mr. Longmore, Buckton, Salop, gave 22 quarts of milk, yielding 2| lbs. of butter, per day." As regards the haud-reariug of calves, Mr. James says : " My system is to let the cows at so much per year to a dairyman, finding him in land and making the hay — the calves being reared by hand with skim milk and linseed tea until three months old, when I take to them, and allow a quarter's rent of the cow for the calf of that age, they are then turned into the pas- ture ; and that gentleman assured me that the beautiful pair of yearling heifers, winners of a first-prize at the Hereford meeting of the Bath and West of England Society in 1865, were reared in this manner, and so was Mr. Read's Theora, winner of a first royal prize at Battersea ; my bull Commo- dore (2472), winner of two first royal and numerous other first prizes, was hand-reared after a week old in consequence of his dam having taken foot and mouth disease ; therefore it by no means follows that the hand-rearing of calves cannot be successfully carried out and early maturity obtained. But there is a great amount of care and attention requisite in car- rying out the system ; aud, unless both are bestowed, great losses will inevitably follow from scour, husk, blackleg, &c, and the growth of the auinials will be greatly retarded. When the day of parturition arrives, attention should be given ; but unnecessary interference should be carefully avoided, as more injury is done by a too anxious meddling than other causes. At the same time there are occasions when assistance shonld and must be given, as unnatural presentation will occasionally oc- cur, and then the exercise of the utmost care aud skill is requi- site : the most common of these is, perhaps, the breech pre- sentation, of which I have never had but two cases; the first of those the cow managed herself whilst my man was coming to tell me of her ; the second I successfully managed by plac- ing a ligament round the breech of the calf, and in each case both dam and offspring did well. In all cases of awkward parturition the use of Day and Hewitt's black oils I have found attended with good results. A careful eye should be given to the cow the day after calving ; and, should her eyes present a glassy appearance, »nd a dryness of the nose, an aperient drench should immediately be given — half-a-pound of Epsom salts, a little ginger, sulphur, and nitre, in two quarts of warm water or thin gruel — for you may be sure there is too much fever existing, and unless checked it will have the effect of injuring her milk, if not followed by milk fever. Where the calves are hand-reared, some advocate their immediate re- moval from their dams. That is, I think, a cruel system, and in many other respects wrong. In the first place, the medicinal properties of the milk and the rough action of the cow's tongue are each as beneficial to the health of the calf as the medici- nal nature of the fluid with which the calf is invested is to its dam. After removal, the calf should have a supply of pure, warm new milk, three times per diem, commencing at four quarts per diem, and increasing the quantity with its age up to seven quarts; when too long a period is allowed to elapse between its meals, the food is taken too eagerly, and conse- quently it passes undigested, and thus scour is promoted. At the end of the month, the new milk may be reduced in quan- tity, aud skim milk substituted, and with increasing size the further substitute of a mucilage of Irish moss. Two pints of linseed meal aud one of wheat flour boiled in five quarts of water, and then mixed with the mucilage, will be found a va- luable feed. I have seen much evil arise from an excessive quan- tity of skiin milk being given at a time and at irregular inter- vals. Those tender animals, when hand-reared, require a small (juantity of food at a meal and often, aud to be kept with clean warm beds, plenty of light aud ventilation. Classification of cattle according to age and sex is highly desirable both in the pastures aud the fold yard. As a rule, I think, a cow having had three calves should be turned off to feed, inasmuch as THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 133 each year she is kept beyond that period she will become of less value iu the eyes of the grazier and butcher, and, as we may fairly calculate upon an average number of each sex being produced, there would be one-third of the heifers to draft annually to be fed with them ; for howsoever skilfully they may be bred, and howsoever correct the law of breeding may be that like begets like it rarely happens that there are not some in a rear inferior to others. When turned to grass in spring I send them out full of food, and prefer a rather scanty herbage for a few days, and only allow them to be out for a short period for the first day, increasing the time daily. By this lit lie precautionary measure 1 escape any sickness arising from overfeeding or disarrangement of the body from too sudden a change of diet. The calves intended for steers should he made so from six to eight weeks old, and howsoever they may be reared, the object in view with them should never he lost sight of, i. e., they should be. kept in a good thriving condition and never allowed to sink in llesh, as they will lose more iu one week under bad treatment than they will regain in two ; therefore, should a scarcity of food at any time arise, oilcake should be resorted to as a substitute. A little cake given them early in the morning upon the pastures will be well bestowed alike for the improvement of the animal and the herbage of the succeeding year. The removal of the herd from the pastures by night should not be too long delayed in the autumn, particularly in low damp situation, where the early hoar frosts are liable to create abortion with the cows and quarter-evil with the calves. They will all appreciate the comfort of a dry lair during the night and dry food in the morning, even if it be simply wheat straw to pick over. And here I cannot help making a remark respecting the rough treatment to which much of the young stock is too frequently subjected, their owners considering they can " rough it" and that almost any kind of food will do for them, regardless of the fact that iu inclement weather a large proportion of the food of the animal is consnmed in maintaing the heat of the body, and thus after being well cared for during the first six or more mouths of their lives, probably at the cow's foot, and the next six months upon luxuriant pastures, when winter approaches they are to be seen eating a scanty meal of frosted turnips, or shivering under the nearest hedge after having done so, and thus they rapidly lose condition, and the next summer's grass is consumed in restoring it. Rock salt should be freely supplied to the whole of the herd, wherever they may be situated, whether in the pastures, the foldyards, or feeding stalls ; and a supply of clay or charcoal iu the mangers will not be without its use as an anti-acid. That successful breeder and feeder of polled Angus cattle, Mr. McCombie, of Tillyfour, Aberdeenshire, has kindly written me that his practice is to allow the calves to run with their dams from six to ten months (he does not hand-rear any) ; that when his cattle have not a full bite of grass lie gives the feeding animals oilcakes on the pas- tures, and he always gives his calves from l£lb. to 2|lbs. per day of oilcake during their first winter ; that he draws a strong cord through the dew-lap as a preventive for blackleg, and under that treatment he has never lost any from that fatal com- plaint. He generally gives his feeding animals about -ilbs. of cake and the same of crushed oats or barley per diem during the last six or eight weeks ; and adds, " I most distinctly con- sider that all cattle intended to be reared, more especially calves, ought to be kept in the open yards, with plenty of shel- ter to protect them from the inclemency of the weather, and plenty of dry litter. No doubt whatever their confinement is against all natural laws, and must be very prejudicial to the constitution. Cattle that have been confined iu the stalls or enclosed yards lose condition at grass for at least two months, whilst those from the open yards improve the very day they are put out. What more proof is required ?" Mr. Lumsden, of Auchrey House, Aberdeenshire, whose herd I had the plea- sure of seeing a few years ago when his feeding cattle were eating oatstraw and turnips, informed me that he adopted a similar practice to Mr. M'Combie, i. e., in giving his young cattle oilcake, but he does not use the seton in dewlap, and that he commences a month earlier with the cake, &c. ; that he usually fed out his Hereford steers for the London market at two years to two years and three months old, varying from 1) to 10 cwt. each ; he does not give them any hay. Upon this point I can only say I wish the oatstraw and turnips iu my part of the kingdom would produce a similar result. In Scotland the oats are cut in a much greener state than we cut them, and placed in small ricks ; they are not harvested so long. These facts, I think, have something to do with the nutritive properties of the straw. Respecting the general health : when a dryness of the hair over the shoulders and withers is displayed, I consider it indicates an inactivity of the liver, and a little medicine is sure to be attended with a good result. My remedy is 8 oz. of Epsom salts, 3 oz. sulphur, -£ oz. nitre, \ oz. giuger, in two quarts of warm water, given iu the morning upon an empty stomach. A few days subsequently, 2 oz. of common salt, 2 oz. sulphur, 1 oz. gentian, 1 oz. ani- seed, and some fenugreek mixed with the food. These reme- dies have at all times had the desired effect, and the little ex- pense and trouble are amply repaid in the proper digestion and assimilation of food, to say nothing of their escaping an attack of yellows, or, iu other words, yellow jaundice, which is too apt to follow neglect, in this respect. Of epidemics, I am thankful to say, I have had very little experience ; but after the Royal Agricultural Society of England's meeting at Bat- tersea, foot and mouth disease raged throughout my county, and about a third of mine sickened. I immediately removed the healthy from the unhealthy, and administered the above drench, and no more fell ill. Upon the breaking out of that direful malady, the cattle-plague, in the country, from the belief that prevention is better than cure, and also feeling that the better the state of the blood the greater chance of saving animals attacked, T gave the same drench, aud occasionally gave the powders. I wish here to be dis- tinctly understood that I can by no means endorse some of the opinions set forth in the press, to the effect that the arti- ficial and unnatural treatment which some of the herds of this kingdom are subjected to, was the cause of the outbreak of that great national calamity ; for howsoever strongly I may and do feel respecting the errors of that unnatural treatment, I can see no analogy been the two, and can only consider that those opinions were advanced in order to divert the public mind from the real source of the introduction, and 1 think that the almost total absence of the disease from our best herds forms the best answer that can be supplied to such falla- cious opinions. Before I pass from the subject of epidemics, I cannot help expressing my firm conviction that the import- ance of the adoption of precautionary measures for the judi- cious guarding of our herds and ilocks from the ravages of in- fectious and contagious diseases should be impressed upon the Legislature, that the farmers of the kingdom, and not only the farmers but the consumers of meat also, should raise their united voices in demanding water-side markets, with abattoirs attached, for the sale and slaughter of imported fat animals, quarantine for imported store stock, and for our home trade a wisely devised measure providing for sanitary regulations, in- spection of cowsheds, lairs, and markets, railway-trucks and pens, together with a contagious disease prevention bill, pro- hibiting the removal of auimals whilst suffering with any such disease. The free importation of foreign stock has hitherto been a great national evil ; the adoption of well-devised regu- lations will convert it into a great blessing. I cannot leave the question of health of the herd without making some re- marks upon the subject of water, as it is, I believe, highly essential that au ample supply of pure water should be at the command of every animal. But how rarely is this the case at the buildings and yards in which they are kept during win- ter ? Rather is it not too generally the case that a pond on a lower elevation than the yards, receiving the wash from the uuspouted buildings, after passing through the manure, forms the only supply ? To that reservoir of " brown stout" they are usually driven twice a day, where, after several hours of thirst, they frequently drink an excessive quantity, which is demonstrated by the staring coat, the arched back, and shiver- ing state of the animal. Such liquid can scarcely be con- sidered healthy for the animals compelled to drink it ; and, be- yond any question, it forms a most fruitful source of typhoid, not only to those who live near and are engaged at the home- steads where it is situated, but also to those who pass near it. The food for fattening stock should, I think, oe occasionally changed. My system is an allowance of best quality linseed- cake, from two to four pounds, given the first thing in the morning. This is followed by three feeds during the day of hay, chaff, meal, and pulped roots, and a little hay in the rack at right. It will be observed 1 do not give the excessive quantities of cake we have sometimes heard of, as my belief is 134 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. that no animal can derive the full amount of benefit it is cal culated to produce when supplied beyond the assimilating powers of the animal, and that, therefore, when extremes are resorted to, much valuable matter passes into the manure, which, I think, should be turned to better account. I like to reduce all com to a fine meal, and mix it with the chaff and pulped roots some twelve hours before using, when a slight saccharine fermentation will take place. Under this arrangement I consider the digestive organs of the animal will derive the full benefit of the flood it partakes of. At the same time I am of opinion that an occasional change of the kinds of corn and also the manner of giving the roots will be attended with advantage. That animals, like our- selves, are fond of a change may readily be conceived by the eager manner in which they will frequently eat their litter when fresli. The year 1864 was one of great trial to the stock owner : the short supply of hay and failing crop of roots ren- dered it impossible to carry out my usual system of winter feed- ing, but the prospect of a high price for beef and the certain low price for corn induced me to substitute straw-chaff for hay-chaff, and, in the absence of roots, to make linseed tea, which was applied boiling hot upon the chaff, with a little salt, and the meal added thereto. This with a little hay in the rack by night constituted their feed. I applied the linseed tea boil- ing hot, as I considered it would soften the straw and render it mure digestible, and I never saw my steers and cows feed faster than they did under that system. Two-years-eight- monlhs-old steers went out at £30 ; and the last I sold was only two years and three months, and he sold for £28. I have for several years past used large quantities of straw-chaff and pulped roots with my store cattle ; and the experiment of that winter proved to me that much more meat can be made than is usually the case by economising that coarse food (straw), and making it the vehicle of conveying the more nutritious and fat- forming diet. Much has been said and written respecting the feeding properties of malt and sprouted barley. I have tried both, and am fully convinced of the value of each as an aux- iliary, but not the base for fattening animals. I cannot close my remarks without expressing the opinion that we must look forward to covered homesteads to aid in the production of meat. I believe they are calculated to greatly economise food — which means keep more stock — to greatly enrich the soil of the farm by a vastly improved quality of manure compared with that of the wetted and washed straw of the open yards, surrounded by unspouted buildings ; therefore I anticipate much national benefits from their general adoption. But their construction must be upon a good principle, i.e., they should be lofty and well ventilated, open on the one end to the south-east, so that when the sun shines the animals may benefit by its genial rays. There are, I know, many who object to the system, and con- sider that their use will make the animals delicate and subject to disease ; but I cannot help flunking that the old fashioned cow-houses, where frequently seven or eight or more animals are tied across the building, and only three feet in width al- lowed for each animal, with some six or eight feet in height, under a hay-loft, and no further provision for light or ventila- tion than that supplied through the crevices of a badly-made and ill-fitting door, must be much more trying to the constitu- tion when they are turned into the yard, after being confined in sucli a place the whole night. The discussion which followed was but brief and of little mo- ment ; while we have been compelled to strike out certain extracts from other writers that were given in the opening paper. THE LABOUR QUESTION IN IRELAND IN 1868. At the usual monthly meeting of the Athy Farmers' Club Mr. Ixobertson read the following paper on The Labour Question : — The subject of the paper which I have undertaken to read before you, is, at the present time, of more than ordinary importance. I may, without exaggeration, call it the para- mount social question of the day. I do not by any means expect, in the compass of a short paper, nor do I feel myself eompeteut to undertake the task therein, of exhausting such a subject. I merely propose, with your kind indulgence, to briug the question before you in some of its prominent bear- ings, with the view of having these discussed, and your opinion as a club of practical men practically expressed thereon. The normal condition of man may be said to be to toil for the means of daily existence, and to labour con- tinuously for support. " In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground," was the Divine sentence pronounced upon Adam on his expulsion from Eden ; and in all ages this sentence has been, and at the present day is, in full force upon his descendants. There is this comfort to be had, however, from the contemplation of such a condi- tion of life — that wherever it has been accepted as a duty, and humbly submitted to as a law, whether in individuals, classes, or nations, there we see amelioration of human existence, followed by prosperity ; there we see accumulations of wealth, with all the various comforts of life which wealth can obtain. Wherever, in short, we see submission to the Divine will in this respect we see the advance and spread of civilization — a desire for education and the cultivation of the human intellect ; and finally, as the natural result of all this, we see gradually a higher scale of humanity reached to, and concurrently with this elevation an extension of a belief in the higher phases of Christianity ; while, on the other hand, wherever is seen, in individuals, classes, or nations, an evasion of this sentence, and efforts systematically made to live in idleness, or as parasites on industry, there is concurrently to be witnessed in thess instances, in a less or greater degree, abnormal, and therefore generally the very reverse of satisfactory conditions ot human existence. From every point of view, in fact, and however fashionable and plausible the rejection -of this law in such instances may be, the individual and the class which try to live without the necessity to toil are neither more nor less than stipendiaries upon labour, and the race or nation which refuses to " eat bread in the sweat of its face" is invariably found to be either anarchical in disposition and retrogressive in civilization, or altogether sunk in moral depravity, hopeless poverty, ignorance, and crime. From earliest times until the present century the condition of the working man may be said to have been throughout the world, synonymous with serfdom or slavery, and the industrious classes hopelessly under the heel of despotic power. From this position, at once so false, so undeserved, and, therefore, so unjust with respect to industry, the first healthy symptoms of material improvement may be said to have commenced with the cessa- tion of the great French war, and the conclusion of terms of peace in 1815, from which period until the present day feudalism and autocratic power, so long the bane of industry, the evils of the world, and the enemies of everything in the way of social progress, have been gradually giving way to the more legitimate influences of trade and commerce, and the rights and privileges of the working classes connected with these been as gradually acquiring in the world instead the importance, position and power which they undoubtedly ought to hold. Everywhere the " horny-fisted sons of toil" have been gradually, but surely, educating, and emancipating them- selves, and at the present day the " great unwashed" are, in these countries, of great intelligence, and a power in the state, which no one can even affect either to underrate or despise. The other extreme from serfdom and slavery — an extreme perhaps natural under circumstances of newly- acquired power — has indeed been reached in too many instances unfortunately, and capital and labour most im- properly and injudiciously placed in opposition to each other, although evidently to all neutral on-lookers those two ought to be linked together indissolubly in the bonds of mutual interest and social progress. But everything human is con- nected less or more with imperfection, and as time moves on, as the corrective of experience is applied, and as enlighten- ment and education spread more and more, we may expect to see sounder economic views taken, and those great THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 135 and unalienable interests of capital and labour better united, and the necessity of the one to the prosperity and existence of the other better understood. I now come, gentlemen, to that part of my subject wliich is of more especial interest to ourselves — namely, the present condition of Irish agricultural labour. Until the famine of 1S47 and succeeding years the case of the farm labourer in Ireland was, without exaggeration, hopeless indeed. His chance of regular employment was, as a rule, uncertain — his wages, when employed, were of the smallest — his food to breakfast, dinner, aud supper, the potato — his physical powers inadequate — his education wholly neglected — his housing and clothing most wretched; aud altogether, any hopes of pros- perity or advancement in life were to him mythical and without a chance of being ever in any one shape whatever realised. Then came the. potato famine, and all the harrowing scenes attendant upon it, which I need not recapitulate here. Suflice it that America, the workhouse, aud the grave were the facili- ties afforded, and the chances given for escape in many thou- sands of instances ; and for years the Irish labourer who had or could obtain the meaus of flying, iled from the scenes of his youth for refuge to a foreign land. The natural consequences followed : the young aud the energetic emigrated, and when a new condition of things began to arise — when again agricul- ture began to right itself, aud a demand for labour anew to spring up, the employer found his supplies not only greatly lessened, but to a great extent composed of the demoralized from the effects of the famine, aud the refuse, so to speak, of former times. Tliis brings me to the social position in which we are at present, and here, gentlemen, I would with your permission digress a little, for the purpose of laying down correct premises, and also of reminding you, and not only you who now hear me, but those who may through the press be- come the readers of my remarks, that in this country, with the exception of some portions of the north, there is no form of industry in existence worth the calling such, but that of agriculture. The landlord therefore, the clergy, the learned professions otherwise, the press, the banking interests, the country shopkeeper, the railway interests, the labourer, and the pauper alike hang either directly or indirectly by the cul- tivator, aud in one shape or another derive their incomes from the produce, whether in crop or in stock, which by his exer- tions, aided by his capital and skill, is annually extracted from the soil. And of all these, the most necessary to the culti- vator in turn is the labourer. Indeed, I may say that, with- out his assistance, the business of farming could not be suc- cessfully carried on. The labourer, therefore, may be said to form the basis of our social state — his labour the source of all our national wealth, and in the aggregate to be a power upon which, in point of good conduct, persevering industry, and willingness to toil, the happiness, comfort, and prosperity of every class and interest depend. How evident, then, it is that all arc vitally and equally interested — first, in the national prosperity of the cultivator ; and secondly, in seeing that the labourer whom he cannot do without is the moral, intelli- gent, comfortably situated, and well inclined assistant which he requires ; aud having by anticipation placed the labourer in a position to enable him to elevate himself in the social scale, and made him as comfortable otherwise as circumstances will allow. Burns, the Scottish poet, has in immortal verse inimitably described the feelings with which he ought to be possessed : " Is there for honest poverty That hangs his head and a' that ! The coward slave we pass him by— We dare be poor for a' that ! 1'or a' that, and a' that, Our toils obscure and a' that ! The rauk is but the guinea stamp — The man's the gold for a' that '. What though on homely fare we dine, Wear frtese so gray and a' that '. Give fools their silks and knaves their wine, A man's a man for a' that ! For a' that, and a' that, Their tiusel show and a' that ! The honest man, though e'r so poor, Is king o' men for a' that." I shall now proceed to consider— 1, What is said to be the present character and abilities of our agricultural labourer ; 2, What his employer has done for him in the way of training and general treatment ; 3, What the state and clergy have done for him in regard to education and moral teaching; 1, What the landlord, who profits so largely by the labourer, has done for him in return, in the way of housing him ; and in conclusion, I shall give some data to enable you all to judge as to whether the labourer you have of necessity to employ is cheap or dear at the wages he presently receives, and the re- turn in labour which he gives. What is said to be tue Present Character and Abilities or our Agicultural Labourer ? — He is very generally accused of being an idler, of being wilfully negli- gent and careless, of being disobedient and inattentive, aud of being ready on any opportunity favourable to himself to break tlirough an engagement formed with his employer. An Ameri- can gentleman recently described our labourers in America to me, " as giving very little trouble when first engaged, but be- fore six months were expired, as, by their altered conduct, in- terfering seriously inalmost every conceivable way with the com- fort of their employers. By-and-by they would do everthiug only in a way to please themselves — seemingly as if it were both their interest and study to put the wrong end of their work foremost, and by so doing keep up perpetual discord and confusion." On my inquiring as to the end of all this, my informant stated it to be " dismissal," when he added, " the dismissed then charges his late employer with having grie- vously wronged him, and in some way or other, which he does not explain, of having, in the dispensing with his ser- vices, interfered materially with his rights." All this is, I think, too sweeping in its nature ; for, as you all know, there are many among our labourers who form quite an exception to the above, admitting at the same time that, unfortunately, there are numbers to whom the American's description will less or more apply. I think even then there are circum- stances of extenuation with which he should be credited. I think further, that there are reasons which may be added why the labourer is not in many cases the steady, well-intentioned man he ought to be : 1. He is generally uneducated. 2. His ordinary treatment is sometimes on the part of his employer of an arbitrary and uncalled-for nature. 3. He is in many cases old enough to remember the famine years and the hardships wliich his order then underwent. 4. His employment is often uncertain. 5. He has heard of the higher wages of England, Scotland, and America, without having heard at same time of the harder labour to be given in those countries in return, and the higher rates for board and lodging wliich it is uecessary to pay. 6. He has friends or relatives already either in the United States or the colonies ; he has read their glow- ing, often inflated accounts of their prospects there, and he is, therefore, unsettled as to whether to remain at home or emi- grate to join his acquaintances in the lands of freedom, as he is made to believe these are. 7. He is preseutly in the transi- tion period from living upon a potato diet to that of bread and animal food ; and finally, there is less or more of a scarcity of his order, his wages are consequently rising, and his ser- vices more and more in demand. He, therefore, feels more independent, more self-important, and, as the natural result of such a change from his past condition and experience, feels apt in too many cases to go to extremes in Iris opposition to the views and wishes of his employer. It is, in short, one of the phases of the present day in which we see capital and la- bour, with their various interests, stupidly, and principally from ignorance, in opposition to each other. In respect to natural abilities, our labourers rank high enough. Their weak points seem rather to be a want of perseverance, want of economy, and want of conscientiousness in the due perform- ance of their duties. There is thus a difficulty in getting from them value for the wages they receive. In almost every case, where, say, ten labourers are kept constantly employed upon a farm, it may, without exaggeration, be said that one hour per diem of each man is misspent in one shape or another, and only nine hours' labour in each case given, instead of ten. Accordingly, there are ten hours of one man lost upon the day, aud the serious loss of one matCs labour throughout the year. And when to this is added a similar shortcoming in the working of the farm horses, the loss altogether makes, to a great extent, the difference betwixt profitable and unprofit- able tillage ; for, where horses are not made to do the proper amount of labour, the farmer is reduced to one of two ex- 136 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ^remities. Either lie must go to the expense of keeping more horses and incur the extra loss which the keep of extra horses and labourers will entail upon him, or he must either see his work undone at the proper period, or half executed, and bear the ruinous loss as best he may in either case. The undoubted tendency of such a condition of things is, first, to injure very surely and materially the interests of the labourer himself, by lessening the demand for his services, and so preventing his rate of wages from rising as it otherwise would ; and secondly, such a state of matters is from every point of view a direct hindrance, not only to agricultural improvement and pros- perity, but to the rise of the country and its gradual advance in social wealth and comfort. What his employer has done for. the labourer in the way of training and general treatment. — it must be confessed, I fear, that in the matter of training — that is, in practically teaching him how to handle his tools, how to economise, and how to be punctual, careful, and methodical in the discharge of all his various duties, the employer generally has neither been competent nor even done all he might. How, then, can we expect to have skilled or valuable labourers where no thorough training has ever been given or received ? As soon might we expect to see thorough capability in the blacksmith or carpenter who had taken up his trade by chance ! Neither is the general treatment of the farm labourer what it ought to be. How many hire him by fits and starts merely, coaxing him to labour when the weather is good or the days are long, and harshly and unceremoniously turning him adrift when the reverse conditions of uncertain weather or short days come round ? There is, in short, very generally throughout the country a want of system in the management of labour ; and in my humble opinion until half yearly terms of engagement are instituted, and the necessary staff of labourers is thus engaged, and thenceforth for the six months kept regularly employed upon the farm, no reform of the many evils arising from the giving of intermittent and irregular employment need be looked for. The labourer will naturally continue under the present system sceptical of the good intentions of the employer towardshim ; he need, therefore, never be expected to take the proper interest in either forwarding or executing carefully the work given him to do ; and knowing, or believing, that his employer is selfishly disposed towards him, he (the labourer) will at all times feel inclined and be ready to repay him in his own coin ; and, finally, if his employers would study to avoid as much as possible attending unnecessary fairs, race and hunt meetings and similar gatherings, thus remaining more upon their farms, and so giving more regular attention to the daily routine of cultivation, the very best effect upon the labourers in the way of teaching them habits of regularity, steady perseverance, and practical usefulness, might be anticipated and looked for. They would be in this way made more valuable servants, be consequently entitled to higher wages, which, in turn, would enable them to live more comfortably, and, in short, tend essentially to make them more contented, and less likely to change from one employer to another. What the state and clergy have done eor the labourer in regard to education and moral teach- ING.— We have been something more than a quarter of a century under the present national system of education, and whatever may have been its merits in its earlier years, it is now pretty certain that it requires to be radically changed. The scale of remuneration to its teachers is most inadequate : the properly qualified men are therefore not attracted to the office, and when attracted in any case, have no inducement to exert themselves beyond mediocrity. There is the further blunder connected with the system, namely, that secular aud religious teaching — the one the duty of the state, and the other the duty of the parent and clergyman, are confounded together, when they should have been kept perfectly distinct and taught as separate systems. What, in my humble opinion, is wanted to make education generally effective, and enable the employer to get the intelligent workman readily, which in these days of scientific farming he requires, is compulsory attendance of all children at our national schools, up to, say, twelve years of age ; the teaching therein of nothing but secular instruction, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic, and the doubling at least of the present salaries of school- masters, and thereby securing not only a better educated, but more efficient supply and choice of teachers. Nothing, in my humble opinion, that could be conceived of would be so likely to raise Ireland farther and farther in the scale of civilization and make her labouring people, more especially, more valuable to themselves and others than general compulsory education, as indicated above. And, if anything might be suggested in addition, it would be that the clergy of all denominations should endeavour more and more to instil into the people in their childhood more correct principles and conscientious ideas. The cultivator especially, upon whose exertions, skill, and capital, as seen above, the comfort and income of all classes in the community so much depend, has a perfect right to &sk and expect from both state and clergy that the intellectual and moral training of the childhood of the present day should be radically improved, and so as that those whom he must employ in after life should be, as far as possible, as already stated, the intelligent, conscientious, and willing instruments which he requires ; for if, as is undoubtedly the case, the pursuits of agriculturists and stockmen are at the present day rendered comparatively unrcmunerative, and not only so, but more precarious and annoying, for want of better secular and moral education in their labourers, it is sufficiently plain that in the common interest they have a perfect right to ask such a condition of things should be reformed. The old adage, in short, holds true iu regard to the labourer, equally with its generally acknowledged truth in respect to other classes : — " 'Tis education forms the common mind, Just as the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined." The longer and more perfectly, in fact, a people is educated, the higher in point of intellect and the more civilized as a race does it become. Aud so the man descended from several generations of educated parents must, according to well under- stood natural laws, be not only naturally of a higher order of his species, aud therefore hereditarily much easier to educate, but when educated, be more likely to discharge, properly the manifold duties of life than the unfortunate who has had no such descent, aud no personal education even to counter- balance, in less or greater degree, those disadvantages naturally pertaining to his birth. What the landlord, avho profits so largely by the labourer, has done for him in return, in the way of housing him. — The answer here must of necessity be — absolutely nothing ! The Poor-law under which we live lays down the principles that the poor have the first claim upon the land for support, or, iu other words, the dictum that the people of a country have an absolute right to live in the land of their birth ; and notwithstanding this, what is, or what could be, worse than the present coudition of the Irish labourer in his hovel of mud. Even this, in too many cases, has been begrudged to him, and the policy of late years has been, in too many quarters, to deprive him, wherever possible, of even these wretched places of abode ; and to such an unreasonable pitch has this been carried, that those who till the soil, and so maintain the landlord from the produce, are now in many cases not only put to the greatest inconvenience aud increased ex- pense in getting sufficient labour to enable them to have their farms cultivated as they ought, but find the labourer more in- tractable and more difficult to control than he otherwise would be, because of the harsh treatment in the matter of housing which either he or his order have received. If we are to pro- gress as a nation, all this must be radically changed. If the cultivator is to support the landlord as hitherto, he must have the landlord's assistance in return in properly housing the labourer, whom neither can live without. I would lay down the rule for your consideration, that on every hundred acres of tillage land two comfortable cottages should be erected, and that these in every case should form part and parcel of the necessary housing on the farm, and be under the farmer's con- trol. The double fear of lodgers aud an increase in the poor's rate, which have hitherto been the principal barriers in the way of the building of better and increased accommodation for the farm-labourer should in future be either held in abeyance, or the fancied danger provided against in some other way. It is unfair, irrational, unreasonable, and it will not do much longer to guard againt these, in most cases, purely imaginary contingencies at the sole expense and inconvenience of the occupying tenant ; neither should the entire cost of the erection of farm-labourers' cottages be put upon the cultivator, as is threatened, but should either be a landlord's outlay altogether THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 137 — a payment of a just debt, so to speak, long since due — or at most rented at no more than half the value to the tenant. I urge this view, principally because it is unquestionably a landlord's duty to build the proper cottage-accommodation for every labourer necessary to the etfective cultivation of his es- tate. The public and his own private interests alike demand this ; but there is another equally cogent view to take. Not only is it the landlord's duty and interest to do this — uot only would its fulfilment greatly convenience the tcnaut-cultivator, but the proper housing of the working-man, and the showing a consideration for him and his interests to this extent, would tend much to make him more comfortable, more healthy, and, therefore, better incliued and more contented with his lot in life. Nor would the improvement in the labourer's position be anything beyond what is justly due to him. Surely, in the generally-admitted improvement of the times we live in he is entitled to his share, and the policy may well be called a wise one which would do everything iu reason to raise him in the social scale. Nothing can by possibility be more incongruous, or, in short, a greater proof that we live at present under un- just and unequal laws than to see one class in the community living in affluence, and iu the enjoyment of comforts of every kind, while those whose labour it is which produces the means from whence these comforts are derived are living in ignorance in hovels, and next door, so to speak, to misery and desperation. The one condition may well be compared to a loaded mine, over which it may, with equal truth, be said the other con- ditions—the noble and the rich — are constantly sleeping, with- out being certain of the moment, to speak iu metaphor, when the train below may be tired, and all above hurled into irre- trievable disorder and confusion! I have already said, and I repeat it here, that the propertied classes are those most in- terested in seeing the " sons of toil" educated, in seeing them * properly housed, and in thus seeing them so situated as that in all their family relations the common rules of decency can at all times be observed. Hear what a writer in a recent number of the North British Agriculturist says upon this all-important subject : " Not only is there a scarcity of houses," he says, " for married servants in suitable situations for their employment, but there is also a lamentable deficiency in the accommodation as to amount and kind. In most cases there are not the number of separate apart- ments which are necessary for the proper observance of decency and propriety. If a family should only con- sist of parents, with a boy and girl half-grown up, there ought to be three bed apartments, which is very seldom to be found ; the consequence is that at that early stage in life the sense of propriety, delicacy, and purity of mind which children ought to be taught is most lamentably a-wauting, and in after life manifests itself in ruinous immorality. Also, indeed, without this accommodation no individual member of a family can comfortably enjoy that intercourse with lleaven which it is their duty to seek after, and their highest privilege to enjoy. But if the accommodation is deficient, the quality of it is often much worse, and anything but calculated to have a refining and elevating elfect upon the minds and manners of the occu- pants. If men are compelled to live and sleep in places little better than pig-sties, there can only be swinish habits and practices expected ; and when such are once formed they are not very easily got rid of, even under greatly improved and altered circumstances. But there can be no doubt that im- proved cottages, coupled with a more liberal education, will ultimately prevail, and the cottager raised to that position in sociality which he ought to and might occupy. The circum- stances of his lot being to labour and earn his daily bread by the " sweat of his brow" does not prevent him from attaining as high a sense of morality, delicacy, propriety, refinement, and purity of mind as any class in the land ; and there is no- thing iu the nature of their employment to prevent the la- bouring class being as truly, in the highest sense, ladies and gentlemen as any other in the community." This writer then goes on to tell how the Duke of Richmond has commenced to build double cottages over his extensive property — each double cottage containing most ample accommodation for two fami- lies, in which each family has a large kitchen, three bed-rooms, scullery, &c, all of a good and substantial nature — for which his Grace charges each family no more than £2 10s. rent per annum. This seems to me to be something like what, in justice to all parties, is wanted in this country. For this the press of every shade of political opinion, and the clergy of every denomination, should agitate unceasingly. With general and efficient education ami proper housing, the farm labourer, more especially, would very quickly become a much more re- liable and willing assistant to his employer than at present. And until the State and the landlord perform their respective duties as they ought, in these respects, the Irish cultivator need never expect to be able to get out of the troublesome and unsatisfactory groove, with respect to labour, in which lie is obliged to move at present. I shall now wind up by giving you some data to enable you to judge as to whether the la- bourer you have of necessity to employ is cheap or dear at the wages he presently receives, and the return in labour which he gives. We, as cultivators, have been often enough told of the low wages paid by us to our farm labourers, and as often have we heard of, and many here have paid, the high wages given to farm servants in Scotland ; but I have never yet seen in print, on proper authority, for so far as I can re- collect, a comparative statement of the different rates given in Ireland and Scotland. Having had in view to read this paper before you, and believing in the great importance at the pre- sent time of being able to lay the Scotch rates and returns in labour before you, I have made inquiries through a friend, on whose veracity I can rely, and his statement is to the follow- ing effect : He farms on the five-course rotation, a turnip soil, similar in almost every respect in texture, &c, to the soils of this immediate neighbourhood. Each shift or division con- tains twenty-six statute, or sixteen and one-half Irish acres, and one of these divisions of 26 statute acres he has annually in green crops, which are nearly all turnips. For his extent of tillage, comprising, besides green crops, 26 acres lea oats and 26 acres of barley or oats after green crops, he keeps from 3 to 4 farm horses, 12 dairy cows, 12 cattle rising one-year- old, 12 rising two-years-old, and 12 rising to be three years of age, which Litter are fattening for sale towards the end of May. All these cattle are constantly tied up in stalls, and house-fed with turnips and straw throughout the winter — the fattening portion from 1st October until the above mentioned time of sale, when they usually fetch from £32 to £34 each, and the store stock from 1st November until grass is a full bite in May. The manual staif upon the farm are two ploughmen and one cattleman for the year, at £23, £20, and £21 respectively, with board and lodging. One boy is hired at Whit Sunday for the six months following, whose wages are £3 10s. with board and lodging also, and whose duties are to drive in and out the dairy cows morning and evening, and thereafter do any daily jobbing on the farm. The cattleman's duties consist in feed- ing the forty-eight beasts on the farm throughout the winter, aud pulling the turnips they require, and during summer and harvest he has general farming labour to perform. Four stout women are employed for about eight days annually to hoe turnips, for which they receive each one shilling per day, with- out board ; and for harvest work, one mower and two lifters or binders are engaged, at £4, £3 5s., and £3 5s. respectively, with board and lodging. Thus the total mauual labour re- quired annually on the farm is as follows : Two ploughmen £43 0 0 One cattleman 24 0 0 One boy, six months 3 10 0 Four women for eight days, hoeing, turnips at Is. each per day 1 12 0 Three harvest men, at £4, £3 5s., and £3 5s. re- spectively 10 10 0 Board and lodging for the above, at Is. each per diem 70 3 6 Total £152 15 6 The above expenses arc at the rates of £9 5s. 2d. per Irish acre on the green crops annually grown, and £1 16s. lid. for every acre on the farm. I now give you a statement of ex- penses annually incurred upon a farm in this country, on which, in point of accuracy, you may also rely. On this farm there are annually cultivated eighteen Irish acres green crops, the most part of which are also turnips. The staff required is 8 men and from 5 to 6 horses for the year ; eight women six weeks hoeing and cleaning turnips, and three extra hands for six weeks in harvest. I take the eight annual men, for wages, board, and lodging, at £27 each a year, £216 ; eight women, six weeks hoeing turnips, at Is. each per day, £14 8s. ; three men iu harvest, at Is. 6d. each per day, with food 138 THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. for six weeks, £14 8s. ; expense of pulling turnips, £4 ; ex- pense of keeping two horses throughout the year, £50 — Total, .i'SOS 16s. Which expenses are at the rates of £16 12s. per Irish acre of green crops annually cultivated, and £3 6s. 4d. each for ninety acres under tillage. These comparative state- ments show the green crop expenses in Scotland to he less per Irish acre than in this country by £7 6s. 10d., and the ex- penses per Irish acre over the amount under the whole rotation of the farm to be less per Irish acre than on this side of the channel by £1 9s. od. The above, I think, shows conclusively that low-priced labour is not cheap labour, and that it would be better to have the Irish labourer better educated, both se- cularly and morally, better housed, better fed, and better paid ; provided by such treatment he could be got to earn it all by greater attention, greater docility, and more diligence in the discharge of his duties towards his employer in return. Iu corroboration of the above, permit me to give you an extract from the recently-published Beport of the Agricultural Em- ployment Commission, which shows the difference in cost be- tween labour in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire and that of Northumberland, in England : " In the two midland coun- ties referred to, the cost of labour is upwards of 7s. per statute acre," say the Commissioners, " greater than in the north, while at the same time tire labourer in the south is infinitely worse off. The explanation is simple. The Northumbrian hind is well paid and well nourished ; he is consequently men- tally and physically superior to the southern labourer, and is able to do more work. The farmer in the north therefore needs fewer labourers, and the landlord has there to build fewer cottages. Eor instance, on a farm of 400 acres in Bed- fordshire the income arising from employment in agriculture amounts to £603 annually, to be divided among fourteen families, and giving about £43 to each ; whereas on a similar farm in Northumberland the income amounts to £183, to be divided among eight families, and giving £60 to each." With all this evidence before you, the conclusion to be inevitably come to is, in the first place, as I have already said, that un- derpaid labour is the most costly of any, and that this com- modity is dearer in Ireland by from 50 to 80 per cent, than in either Scotland or the north of England ; and in the second place, that in this state of matters lies the main reason why tillage farming in this country is so much decried, why the employment of the working man is so much avoided, and therefore why the general cultivation of the country is so much behind. And in order to raise a discussion among you on the general question, I beg to lay down the following views as remedies : 1. That the labourer requires better practical training from his employer. 2. That a system of hiring by half-yearly engagements is preferable to the present irregular method, and that in every case of hiring certificates as to character from the former employers of the person hiring should be required. 3. That the good and the iudifferent la- bourer should not be placed on an equality in respect to wages, as in a great measure is the case at present ; but that there should be a scale of payments introduced whereby the highly recommended men would receive more than the second class, and the second class more than the third, &c. 4. That com- pulsory secular education is necessary to give the farmer at all times a sufficiently intelligent class of men, and that it is the duty of the State to inaugurate such a system, to be supported partly by local rates, and partly by national aid. 5. That the labourer requires to receive a better moral training and sounder religious education from his clergyman than at present. And, 6. That it is an imperative duty upon, as it is the interest of the landlord to in all cases build on every farm the proper cottage accommodation for the labourer, on the scale of two cottages to every one hundred acres cultivated on the system of what is called alternate husbandry. Chairman : Mr. Bobertson dwells on the education of the labourer. That is a very important matter for consideration. The farm labourer, as well as learning to do his work well, should also learn to read and write. I think many labourers in this country are very deficient in the education which they receive, so much so that they are unable to perform the sim- plest of the duties which they undertake. Mr. O'Neill : I am glad Mr. Robertson spoke so strongly on that branch of his subject which deals with the house ac- commodation and the cottages for the farm labourer. In that they are more deficient than in anything else. The bad ac- commodation, or bad housing, with which they are provided Mr. Bobertson says, has a demoralising effect upon the people, and no doubt it has. 1 am very glad he has spoken so strongly on the subject ; and when it is published in the papers it will call the attention of the landed proprietors to the matter. It is to the landed proprietors the labourers must look for help in that way, and not to the tenant farmers. The tenant farmers should not be made to provide cottages for labourers on any estate. The poor have the first, the primary claim on the land ; and if it is through their labour the landlord gets the riches out of his land, the landlord in turn should be the man to build the labourer a house to live in. Mr. Anderson said that in Scotland, as in Ireland, there were a great many cases where the labourers were unprovided with dwellings, and also where houses were pulled dowu, thus making the people flock into the towns and villages, where the labourer lost, after a short time, any little knowledge of agri- culture which he had, and their mode^ of living made them dislike going back to the country again, and making them unfit to work on farms. By this means the man and his family, when he has one, all dislike the country ; the food they receive in towns is different, and the entire mode of living. As regards the reference made to Scotland by Mr. Bobertson concerning the expense of labourers, he could confirm every word. He had brothers and uncles farming in Scotland ; and still, after all that had been said of Ireland, he himself could always manage to work in this country with half the number of hands which they require. And again, when he was in Scotland he could manage with as few hands as he required here. Mr. O'Neill : That is because you train up good men, and your Irish labourers are also good workmen. Mr. Anderson: I cannot account for it that way; for I often send over good labourers to my brothers iu Scotland. Mr. Duthie : Then they must want a leader. Mr. Morrin : Mr. Bobertson's paper, in every particular, is an excellent one, and when published will do a great deal of good. In no way can the country be improved more than by building cottages for the labouring population. Mr. Anderson : If people were as active in building as they are in pulling down, this country would be different. The Bev. Mr. Bagot said some people failed in their object by building too handsome cottages ; and he mentioned that a committee of the Royal Dublin Society appointed to consider proposals for the plan of a labourer's cottage on the property of the Marquis of Abercorn had twenty-five different plans laid before them. Not a single one of these was approved of, being too expensive to carry out. The committee advertised for new designs, and there has been a design approved of, according to which a good double cottage can be erected for £137. Ou the matter of education he could not agree with all that Mr. Robertson had said. Compulsory education would be a very great interference with the liberty of the subject. It would be a very hard law to compel the labourer or the small tenant- farmer to take away his children up to twelve years of age, to educate them. That is the point which the people would never agree upon. The establishment of infant schools throughout the country would meet the purpose effectually ; but compulsory education, he considered, would be a great inter- ference with the liberty of the subject. As regards the cot- tages built by the Duke of Richmond, he got a very fair per- centage in the rent on his outlay. Mr. Anderson : Yes ; at that rate the landlord would have the expenditure back again after 21 years, and the house will be his own. Mr. Robertson -. That is the system I am afraid will prevail. Mr. Morrin : I know of my own personal knowledge a case where a tenant-farmer offered to build a few cottages for his labourers, but the landlord would not let him. Mr. Robertson : Quite so. The landlord wishes to retain power over the cottage, so that the farm-labourer will be his tenant, instead of being tenant to the employer. Mr. O'Neill : Through the present system the farmer cannot get the labourer when he wants him ; and when he comes into the town for five or six men, they will take no in- terest in serving their employer, beyond doing their day's work. The Rev. Mr. Bagot said the only remedy for that was by not only giving them cottages, but also a small plot of ground attached. That was how they could root the peasant to the soil, and make them attached to their employers. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 139 Mr. ROBERTSON : I Would have no objection to sec that tried. The labourer, if he discharges his duties faithfully, can have little time to cultivate even a small plot of laud for him- self. Mr. Dokan : Surely he, could easily cultivate a rood for himself, and yet work faithfully for his employer. Mr. DOUGLAS said time did not permit him to say all that he wished to say upon Mr. Robertson's paper, so that he would propose that the further consideration of it should be postponed till that day week, in order that he might have a full opportunity of putting forward several objections to what he had heard since he came into the room. This course, was agreed so, and another day was fixed upou for the further consideration of Mr. Robertson's paper. A vote of thanks having been passed to Mr. Robertson, the proceedings terminated. THE ADULTERATION OF SEEDS The Sub-committee of the Royal Horticultural Society say in their second report, as just issued : The crop of many of the. seeds which form the staple of the seedmau's business is always uncertain and precarious in this country. A single night's frost at a critical period may destroy the whole of the crops of turnip, mangold, cauliflower, or cabbage-seed, ex- posed to it. The seedsman thus can never calculate on the supply of the coming year. It may be a failure ; and he most properly provides against this by laying in a large stock when the crop is abundant and good. But what is lie to do with the large stock so laid up in the case of a sequence of two or three good years ? He uses it up by mixing the product of the different years together. By-and-by a bad year comes, but, by the seedmau's precautions and forethought, a sufficient over- supply from previous years remains in stock, and the country is not unprovided. Prom such occasional intermixture there is a natural and easy descent to a constant lowering of the average. Troublesome questions are put if the seed is found better or worse one year than an other. So it comes to be thought that it would be more easy for the seedsman, and less troublesome for the customer, if it were kept always at about the same average, and the price correspondingly lowered ; and so the system of regular manipulation and tampering with the quality is introduced. The next stage of introducing killed seed instead of old dead seed is still more easy. It is obviously much more to the customer's advantage, if the average is to be towered, that it should be done by the intermixture of clean fresh-killed seed, rather than of old musty seed, full of the spores of fungi and the eggs of insects. So regarded, the in- troduction of killed seed is a boon to the buyer instead of an injury. There is, indeed, another point of view from which to look at it. The old dead seed betrays its presence ; the killed seed does not : and so the purchaser is deprived of that means of testing the quality of the article he purchases. Everything is thus thrown upon the honesty of the dealer. He fixes the price, he regulates the quality, and the purchaser is kept in the dark, and has no check upon either. This is a temptation beyond what the average frailty of human nature ought in fairness to be exposed. It is not to be supposed that the existing system could have reached its present magnitude through the separate and independent action of individuals ; it is the combined action of the trade which has done it. At what time it commenced your committee have not learned ; but it is no modern device. Most of the present members of the seed-trade have succeeded to it as to a fatal heritage, and they have found themselves constrained to conform to the traditional custom of the trade, or run the risk of sacrificing important and well-established businesses to the ruin of them- selves and their families. The combined action of the trade, which has consolidated the system, has been exerted through a trade's club, or association, something in the nature of a trade's-union, which, as in other businesses, the London wholesale seedsmen have established among themselves. One of the chief functions of the associaton is, as your committee are informed, the regulation of prices and the determination, by mutual consultation and advice, what kinds of seeds should have their average lowered, and to what extent it should be done. Supported by the countenance of their fellows, and animated by a belief that by their foresight and superintendence they are regulating the supply and demand of the kingdom, and preserving the country from the dire consequences of an occasional famine in some of the most important articles of food, it is not surprising that the seedsmen should have lent themselves to a practice which, in addition to these good qualities, had the recommendation of being at the same time soeasily adapted to their own advantage. Accordingly thepractice has taken root so firmly, and lamified in so many directions, that it now penetrates every branch of the business. Of its extent no stronger evidence can be giveu than the regular^ quotation in certain of the seed trade lists of the prices of " nett seed," and " trio," or " 000" — " nett seed," meaning good seed which has not been adulterated or mixed, and " trio," or " 000," meaning seed whose vitality has been killed for the purpose of mjxing with good seed. It must not be supposed, however, that there are no exceptions to the universality of the practice ; the results of your commit- tee's inquiries, confirmed, as they have been, by the trials re- corded in last report, enable them to speak to the contrary. From these, were it their cue to do so, they could name the few houses which proceed on a different system, and which are struggling single-handed against the overwhelming pre- ponderance of those ,who do not. But to do so would be by implication to reflect on others ; and as the object of the coun- cil in this inquiry is entirely of an impersonal nature — to redress a public grievance and not to attack individuals— they feel bound to retrain from mentioning names^on either side, even when the mention would be laudatory. Of the compli- cation and difficulty of doing away with the system, an idea may be formed from some of the following facts. Instead of purchasing their seeds from growers in the market, wholesale seedsmen find it necessary to enter into a sort of quasi- partuership, or joint adventure, with the growers. They sup- ply them with the seeds they want grown, and receive the product from them after harvest at certain previously fixed, or proportionally arranged prices. In no other way (of growing by a third party) could they make sure that the seeds they purchase were of the kind they wanted, the seeds of many dif- ferent species, and especially of varieties, being undistinguish- able. Unless they knew that the produce of any particular field was to be their own, they would neither have the right nor the interest to examine it while growing, to make sure of its kind. As may be supposed, the bargains with these growers vary infinitely ; sometimes the seedsman is the owner of the soil, and the grower his tenant; and leases or bargains for growing seeds, extending over many years, have been entered into on the faith of the continuance of the present system of conducting the seed business. Again, one apology for the present system is, that under it the seedsman keeps the price much more equable from year to year than it would otherwise be. He charges always more nearly the same price, trustiug to the average of years and prices equalizing things in the course of a number of years, lour committee do not think that this uniformity of price is any advantage to the purchasers, but a great disadvantage, if ob- tained, as it is, at the cost of variation in the quality of the seeds. But the fact being that, whether an advantage or not, the seedsmen have been to a certain extent acting upon it, it is plain that injury might be inflicted upon them if the system were suddenly put a stop to. If, for example, a seedsman is now in the midst of a course of years, of which the first half, which is past, lias been bad, a sudden change would deprive him of the chance of restoring things during the remainder of his cycle of years, which, as the first half had been disad- vantageous, he might reasonably expect to be good. It is plain, also, that arrangements made in dependence on the con- tinuance of the present system cannot stop merely at the actual bargains between the dealer and grower ; a multitude of en- gagements, sales, and purchases in advance, more or less aris- 140 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ing out of the same state of things, are all in dependence. Even the discharge of the servants employed in the mere me- chanical operations of mixing the seeds would of itself occa- sion much distress, if any change leading to it were carried out suddenly and without ample premonition. Too much cau- tion, therefore, cannot be used in dealing with a matter affecting so many and such important interests, and where the consequences of any error would be so grave. At the same lime matters cannot be allowed to remain as they arc ; and your committee's first idea was, that the seedsmen themselves should undertake their own deliverance. They believe that these gentlemen are themselves thoroughly in earnest in thei-i desire to get rid of the present system ; nay more, they believe that the more respectable members of the trade take no advan- tage from it, that their profits are not greater than those of other similar branches of industry, and that pecuniarily they would be gainers by the abolition of the system, and the substitution of a higher price for a better quality of seeds. But it is to be feared that they are so hedged in by the engagements and bar- gains that they have made, that it is very doubtful if they would be able to shake themselves free from its trammels by any elforts of their own. And even although they could, and were, by a unanimous resolution of the trade, to renounce all mixing of seeds thenceforward, the public would not benefit ; on the contrary, they would be losers, for, instead of having the system conducted, as at present, by men of respectability, who at least aimed at providing a constant supply, the public would find their places supplied by a lower and more unscru- pulous class, who would have no object but fleecing the public as rapidly and filling their own pockets as full as they could. Any effort for good must, therefore, not be limited to the volun- tary abstinence of individuals, but must be compulsory and of universal application. It may be said that if, notwithstanding the unfavourable appearances arising from their erroneous sys- tem, the seedsmen do really conduct their business so fairly and honestly and with such attention to the welfare of the public, why should any change be made at all ? Why not allow matters to remain as they arc ? If all did so, and all would continue to do so, and no further lowering of the ave- rages would be practised by the retail seedsmen and small dealers, the public might be content to allow matters to re- main as they are ; but it is patent and notorious to all that the reverse of all this is the case. Not even all the wholesale seedsmen are content with the lowness of average fixed by their own association (see the results of the trials in last report) ; and the average of the stock of the small country dealers who have been supplied with seed filtered through two or three retail hands must be correspondingly bad. But, more than this, your committee learn from a reliable source that some of the growers themselves have begun to lower the average before it leaves their hands. It can scarcely be denied that this is a fraud suggested by the example of the seedsmen themselves. The practices they hare taught them they exe- cute ; and it shall go hard, but they will better the instruction. The half-educated husbandman will be slow to appreciate the difference between an admixture of lifeless seed by themselves and one by their employer, or to believe that what is fraud on their part is only estimable precaution on that of the others. Nor until the seedsman distinctly warns his customer that he is not selling " net seed" will the public generally admit the distinction. No doubt the grower undertakes to deliver, and receives the agreed-on price for, " net seed," whereas the seeds- man only charges his customers for seed of a lower average a price corresponding to its quality. If a purchaser demanded " net seed" he would have to pay more for it. But the public know nothing of such distinctions. They have never heard of " net seed" or " trio ;" and hi purchasing seed they na- turally suppose that they are getting the best the dealer can give them. There is no objection to the dealer, if he chooses, having half-a-dozen different averages at half-a- dozen different prices, as a grocer sells half-a-dozen different kinds of tea, or a wine-merchant vintages ;, but they should be stated to be so. This may seem a digression, but it is not irrelevant ; for the equivocal system which the trade have so long practised will render an extra openness for a long time necessary to recover the confidence of the public. Your com- mittee are of opinion, therefore, that something more than good resolutions on the part of the trade is absolutely essen- tial ; what that should be is the difficulty. Various suggestions have been made to your committee; but they have fouudno one plat adequate to meet the evil. An application to the Board of Trade for the appointment of a Government inspector has been suggested by some ; either trials of seed at the request of dealers themselves or unknown to them, and the publication of the results has been recommended by others ; and the passing of an Act of Parliament to render it penal to adulterate or to mix killed seeds with good seeds, is the specific of a considerable number of men whose opinion is entitled to respect ; hut your committee have been unable to sec that anyone of these steps would of itself be sufficient to meet the end : probably a com binatiou, or rather a selection, of them might, especially if supported by genuine and sincere exertions on the part of the trade itself. I'or actual adulteration (as of cloverseed)' an Act seems indispensable. No one will object to this ; but your committee think it should also extend to the use of killed seed for mixing. No Act, indeed, that could be expected to pass would directly reach the use of old naturally dead seed for this purpose, but it might indirectly ; for if the uscof killed wer e prevented, the actual supply of old dead seed would not be sufficient to do much harm ; and even if it were used, its appear- ance would betray its presence, aud put the purchaser on is guard. There are other points which can only be reached by introducing more generally a system of actual trials previous to purchases ; aud to this your committee think every effort should be directed. In some districts, it appears that farmers and growers are now getting into the way of taking their half- dried grass-seed to the kiln to be dried. Whether it gets a roasting or a gentle heating merely sufficient for the purpose is, as business is now conducted, a matter of no great un- importance either to the kiln-owner or his customer. It may be sold as good seed, or, if found out, will, at least, do for " trio." But if " trio " were abolished, and trials were general, the farmer would soon find his roasted seed left on his hands. If this happened once or twice, the process would either be made safe or abandoned. It is not easy to undertstand how any one who has to use considerable quantities of seed should ever dispense with this precaution. It may be that they suppose that the trouble of testing is greater than it really is, or that experience has shown the ex- periment to be useless, as, from the general adoption of the same average, no better quality is to be had in one shop than another. If the latter be the cause of the neglect of this self- evident precaution, it must soon cease to be a reason ; for, as soon as the public know that the quality of the seed sold has hitherto been matter of regulation, they will evince a preference for those tradesmen who do not adopt that practice — and, of course, the demand for such will produce its natural conse- quence— a supply. It will then become essential for the public to know whether those who profess to have abandoned the old system have really done so or not ; and the only effectual way of ascertaining this is to test their seeds. It can scarcely be doubted that if the public were once alive to the importance of this, and if, at the same time, some simple aud easy plan of testing the vitality of seeds were made genarally known, testing would become general, and a most salutary change in the man- agement of the seed business be effected. Your Committee have had under their consideration the various modes of testing seeds which are known to them ; aud that which they feel in- clined to recommend as on the whole the easiest, cleanliest, least troublesome, and most likely to be acceptable to the general public, is the placing of the seeds between folds of moist flannel and keeping them in the temperature of a sitting- room or kitchen for a few days. This, of course, is not equal to Nature's own test — actual growth in the earth . It may not answer for all seeds : but it answers perfectly for most kinds ; aud any seed that gives a good return under it may be de- pended on as certain not to give a worse result when actually sown. An idea of its efficiency may be gathered from a trial of it made by one of your Committee upon 100 seeds of one of the sorts whose average of good seed had in previous trialr been found to be 75. The simple method recommended gave 25 seeds germinating on the third day, 23 on the fourth, 16 on the fifth, 9 on the sixth, and 3 on the seventh — total 76 ; but whatever plan the Council think most suitable for general use, your Committee recommend that that plan should be made as widely known and its practice be as strongly inculcated as possible. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 141 THE BEGINNING OF THE END. It is creditable to the collective wisdom of the country that auy reference in Parliament to our national pastimes is very sure to be received with respect. To any think- ing man, the good policy of keeping the recreations of a people to healthy channels will be at once apparent. The actual importance, indeed, of field-sport and personal prowess has ever been recognized. The fondest epithet that Homer could find for his hero was when he charac- terized him as a "horse-breaker;" and winning a race at the Olympic games was a triumph of which a poet would make as much as he might of a victory achieved by one General over another. Nor has this spirit died out in modern times. More than one prime-minister has owned to an ambition that went on winning the Derby ; an M.F.H. is often a man of far higher social position than au M.P. ; while no-one receives more continual en- couragement to keep up his practice than a good shot. And yet, at this moment, our English sports are in a bad way. The injury that the present system of racing is inflicting on man and horse is everywhere apparent. Gentlemen, of a very necessity, are committing their characters to the care of usurers and black-legs ; and horses, still the best in the world with only fair play, are worn out long before they reach their prime or mature strength. Perhaps the very strongest proof of such demoralization is the course, that sportsmen themselves are about to take. Sir Joseph Hawley, acknowledged to be one of the best judges of racing and the owner of the best race-horse of his time, has just given notice that he shall move, at the next meeting of the Jockey Club : 1st, That no two-year-old shall run earlier in the year than July 1. 2nd, That no two-year-old shall start for any handicap ; and a horse running in contraven- tion of this or the preceding rule will thenceforth be dis- qualified for running at any meeting where the rules of the Jockey Club are in force. 3rd, That, in future, no money shall be added from the funds of the Jockey Club to any race for which two-year-olds may be entered. 4th, That if two or more two-year-olds run a dead-heat, they shall not be allowed to run again ; but the prize shall be equally divided between or among them. As Admiral Rous, a yet higher authority, has long held the same opinions as to the pernicious effects of early two-year- old racing, there is now a hope of this suicidal system being materially modified ; as that under such wholesome reform some good, sound four and five-year-olds may be once again seen on a course. Still, for the best even, the Turf should be but indirect in its influence : whereas the uses of fox-hunting are more tangible, and fox-hunting is fast going out of fashion. By the close of the season, there are rumours already of two or three establishmentswhich threaten tobe utterly broken up. Not that there is any want of proper management. Not but that people enjoy hunting as much, and that more people hunt than ever, but simply from there being nothing to hunt. Never has the case been brought more clearly home than by Mr. Booth, whose speech we gave in our columns a fortnight since. And Mr. Booth i9 not only a fox-hunter, not merely a Master of Hounds, but one of a dis- tinguished family of agriculturists. And this was what he said at a meeting called to determine what was to be done with the Bedale pack: "The scarcity of foxes was be- coming so great as to make it a question whether they could go on with the hounds with any prospect of success at present. That portion of the country lying west of Lccming-lanc, and bounded on the north by the river Swale, and on the south by the road leading from Leeming- laue station to Mashain, was certainly in a very bad state as regarded foxes. In addition to this, the owners of pro- perty about Hipswell, Brough, and Hauxwell complained very much of the destruction of foxes in that part of the country. The next estate on which there was a scarcity was that of the Marquis of Ailesbury, at Jcrveaux, and also at Tanfield. He (Mr. Booth) believed there had only been one fox fouud on that estate during the last three seasons. In the summer he saw the marquis, and he promised that in future foxes should be preserved, and that with that view he should give his gamekeepers strict orders respecting them. There had, indeed, been three foxes found at Tanfield, on the marquis' estate, but these were thi-ee out of nine turned down by Mr. Hutton, at Aldborough. There was also Constable Burton, where, last season, they found one fox, but nothing this year. At Hornby they found, last season, one fox : they drew it a fewr days ago, and found only a three-legged one. Complaints had also been made of Hutton-moor, on the estate of Earl de Grey. They tried it last season, and found one dead fox. This season they had not been al- lowed to try it, as it had not yet been shot over." Again, at a meeting held at Ollertou on Monday last, a letter was read from Mr. Harvey Bay ley sending in his resignation as Master of the Itufford Hounds, his chief reason for doing so being that the foxes were not preserved. "Whereupon thanks were passed to Mr. Bayley for having " fully and honourably acquitted himself;" and then it was resolved that " this old-established hunt" be broken up, and the hounds sold. The famous Billesdon Coplow cover in the Quorn country is now commonly drawn blank; and a resolution has just been past by the com- mittee calling attention to the growing scarcity of foxes in this celebrated hunting country. Still further, Lord Ashburnham has instructed his solicitor to give notice to the Master, servants, and subscribers to the East Sussex Hounds that they will be prosecuted for trespass if found hereafter on any of his lordship's lands. Is it necessary for us to give any reason for this la- mentable state of things ? — for a Journal, whose editor, according to an old Suffolk Subscriber, has a " mania against game," to say that game is the sole root of the evil? The three-legged fox at Hornby and Lord de Grey's dead fox at Hutton, the blotting out of the Ruf- ford and the notice to quit in Sussex, all tell out the same sad story. At Hutton, only last week, a day's shooting came to this account : 1,250 pheasants, 703 hares, 34 rabbits, 6 partridges, 2 snipes, and 1 woodcock ; a total of 1,996. Twelve hundred pheasants, seven hundred hares, in a day, and one dead fox in a season. " O monstrous ! but one half-pennyworth of bread to this intolerable deal of sack!" Thenjusttwentyyears since an observant sportsman foreshadowed what was coming in Nottinghamshire, even in the days of that keen hand, Captain Percy Williams : " Game, especially hares, are as thick as autumn leaves in the Vale of Vallombrosa : fat phea- sants, too, reared under a Bantam hen, and fed on barley, like chickens in a poultry yard, have brought in their train envy, hatred, and malice — have dispossessed the fox and demoralized the country." What will our Suffolk Subscriber say to this ? How now as to the " mania which is tiring your readers," and onr "uncalled for remarks" on Mr. Corrance, the 142 THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. Farmers' Member for a game-ridden county like Suffolk. Look only to theloug speech which the honourable gentleman delivered at Ipswich the other day, and that appeared in our paper of last week. In this address he touched upon every conceivable abuse but that which is doing more actual harm and creating more ill-will in the rural dis- tricts than the proportionate good that would come from the concession of all his other points put together. Verily, as we have said, the leading sports of this country are in a bad way. On the turf, though, there is some chance of amendment, but battne-shooting is eating up fox- hunting, and selfish arrogauce driving out and warning off the most healthy amusement in all its phases that this country docs, and which no other country cau boast of. Still there is something left at the bottom of Pandora's box. Field sport, we have said, has always been treated with respect by the House of Commons ; and at the meetiug at Ollerton, the only man in the room who held up his hand for the continuance of the Eufford Hounds was Mr. Denisou, the Speaker, who, according to the Master, " has been the mainspring of keeping them going so long." The indolence, the exclnsiveness, and the refined cruelties of the Nobles have foreboded the fate of many an empire, and it will be a bad sign when men like our Suffolk farmer and his Chambers rather shirk than en- counter the evils now spreading so rapidly, and which are as inimical to true sport as they are to kindly feeling and good farming. Very recently we had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Leigh's hounds at Silsoe, when they began by drawing the pleasure grounds at Wrest, gardens so beautifully laid out and kept up that many a Master might hesitate before he put his pack into them. But no sooner were they in than a fox was found ; no sooner was one killed than another was away. There might have been half-a-dozen a-foot at the same time. And yet the shooting at Wrest is good, while the owner moreover is a noble lady, who may not personally take much interest in fox-hunting. But Lady Cowper lias possibly been taught to feel how much good she may do, at the sacrifice of a fancy duck or a sitting hen. And so she welcomes the limit, and her neighbours and tenants, and that great middle-class get a day's amusement for which they will all be all the better, and nobody the worse. Our Suffolk Subscriber, and some others as well, will be kind enough to see how strong a line we are trying to draw between sport anj game; between that which encom-ages good feeling aU(j good fellowship, and that which breeds, iu the w0rds of the old sportsman, " Envy, hatred, and malice." — Mark Lane Krpress. THE HEAVY RAIN-PALL. The subject of compensation in regard to the seasons and meteorological phenomena is one that baffles all the calculations of those who profess to know something about it, and who, according to their own account, have paid attention to it for many years. A few months since, the laud was parched with thirst, and burnt up with heat ; and there was a loud outcry for rain, and not without reason ; for not only were the crops of grain and roots languishing for want of it, but the cattle in many places, and even the human population, were short of water, the wells, springs, aud ponds being dried up. The cattle had to be occasionally driven four or five miles to water ; aud the water for domestic purposes was supplied at so much a pailful. The country folks were but ill prepared for such a state of things. How, indeed, should they? It is not twice in a century that in our temperate climate we are called to ex- perience the weather of the tropics, which, in the last summer, visited us with such severity. At the close of harvest, the weather changed, and gentle showers re- novated and refreshed the face of the country ; when many of the farmers endeavoured successfully to remedy the effects of the drought by sowing turnip, rape, and other forage plants. But they did this with fear and trembling ; for all the weather-wisdom of the country, and all the meteorological knowledge of the sages pointed to a hard and early winter as the compensating alternative for the extra heat of the past summer. It is true, we have not yet got beyond the reach of a " hard frost ;" but we have at least got over one-third of the winter with only a gentle touch of the northern tyrant ; and the farmers have had the satisfaction of finding their very late forage crops growing up to Christmas-day, with scarcely an hour's intermission. Indeed, the heat had penetrated deeply into the soil ; and the consequence has been that the light frosts we have had were not able to counteract the vital force that was acting below the surface upon vegetation, which has con- tinued to flourish up to the present time; and thus a supply of food for young cattle, at least, and sheep is provided for the spring ; while at present the pastures have also continued to throw out a bite of grass, which has supplied the same stock with food. Latterly, however, it will be said that we have been receiving compensation for the drought if not for the heat of last summer. The abundance of rain that has fallen the last two or three weeks makes up for its absence iu the last summer. These heavy rain-falls have uo more, in our opinion, to do with the want of rain at that period than with the meteorology of next summer. Rain accumulates from the exhalations of the ocean, a proof of which we have in the fact that most of this comes with southern and westerly winds, which bring the wateiy vapours from the Atlantic. Why is Ireland, why are Cornwall and Devonshire subject to rain nine out of the twelve months of the year, if it is not because the westerly winds prevail in those countries ? The heavy rains we have had recently have therefore nothing whatever to do with the drought of the preceding summer, although ac- cording to some of our meteorologists these came as a compensating process to restore the balance in atmospheric phenomena. We must, however, look with different eyes upon the effects of the down-pour of rain upon many districts of the country ; in fact, upon all the low-lying lands on the borders of rivers, and especially on those of Lincolnshire, where whole districts containing many thousands of acres have been submerged to the depth of many feet, while fears are entertained that the banks of the rivers and cut- tings will not be strong enough to stand against the pres- sure of the waters, which would still further aggravate the evil by flooding the whole country of the Fens. At present hundreds of acres of wheat are under water, aud this it continues long upon them the young plants will be destroyed. Fortunately the Fen farmers have, in steam power, a resource their predecessors did not know of; and by its aid and that of the modern hydraulic pumps, more water can be raised and carried off in an hour than was formerly disposed of in twenty-four hours, and even that depending upon another fickle agent, the wind. There is a lesson — which we have frequently repeated — THE FAEMER'S MAGAZTNE. 143 to he learned from these occasional floodings of the land, but of which botli landlords and tenants are very slow to estimate the importance. We refer to the question of arterial drainage, which has been so successfully carried out in Ireland, and partially so in Englaud. We allude, in the latter case, to the drainage of the Nene, which, for want of commencing at the mouth next the sea instead of up the stream, has not fulfilled to the desired extent the expectations of the projectors. But this partial failure ought rather to afford an example whereby to avoid such errors than as a prohibition to such works. Even with this fault or deficiency thelate Mr. Fusey declared that thecli'ect of the drainage on the first flood was sufficient to repay the whole expense of the works which amounted to .€30,000, two-thirds of which was paid to millowuers and mill occupiers. The Government has done its duty towards the accomplishment of the work of arterial drain- age, by passing a General Drainage Act by which the expen- sive necessity of obtaining private acts, which cost more or fewer thousands, according to the opposition that arose, is now removed. Notwithstanding, however, the half-way advance of the Government, the rivers throughout the country arc still encumbered with mills, dams, shoals, angular, and other obstructions, to the hindrance of the proper discharge of the water, which in a heavy and con- tinuous rain, pours over the adjacent lands. Millions of acres thus become submerged, and millions more remain undrained, because the owners cannot obtain a sufficient fall for the main drains on account of the high level kept up by such obstructions in the rivers. We do not hesitate to say, that the benefit the high lands adjacent to rivers would derive from arterial drainage would more than pay the value of all the mills that would be cleared away, independent of that which the low lands would receive and which are more palpably injured by their con- tinuance. In Ireland, the Valley of the Shannon was subjected to arterial drainage at an expense of £2 17s. 6d. per acre, which upon an average, was calculated to pay 13 per cent, to the owners. Some of the lands thus laid dry had never paid any rent, but these subsequently let readily at more than 20s. per acre. One man, indeed, had held this land so long without paying rent as to give him a claim to it as freehold. The success of such attempts ought to stimulate the owners of lands thus liable to floods to institute mea- sures for freeing, or at least partially relieving them from such evils. Drainage, in fact, whether laud or arterial, is one of the most important questions of the day, and must force itself more and more upon the public attention. Let it be understood, that on a large portion of the country, laud-drainage cannot be fully effected without arterial drainage ; and that for this work an act has been passed that facilitates the undertaking and lessens the ex- pense to an indefinite amount. Drought can scarcely to any extent be provided against, and it occurs with us not more than twice in a century to the extent of last sum- mer in severity. But laud Hoods are of yearly occur- rence, and their effects may be mitigated, if not wholly prevented, by measures which, if expensive, will doubly repay the outlay. THE CHARACTER OF FARMYARD MANURE, The operations of farm husbandry succeed each other in endless variety throughout the year, each calling for the exercise of judgment and discretion, and as years roll by improvements are from time to time introduced and become established. Mauy are the helps rendered to the cultivator of the soil from sources entirely independent of the land he occupies ; but none of these supersede the necessity for a judicious use of his own resources. In the extended employment of the artificial manures, now so largely required upon every farm, there is a temptation to disregard the ordinary farmyard manure, by reason of the facility with which any deficiency can thus be supplied. Each, however, have their legitimate claims ; and each are worthy of careful attention. Valuable as artificial manures undoubtedly are, they should never be allowed to divert the farmer from bestowing upon the manure of the farm that care and good management which are so essential for its being produced of the best and richest character, and applied to the land in its most productive condition. The relation in which these sources of fertility stand to each other upon every well-managed farm is clearly this — that whilst every effort is used to produce as much good dung as the system of farming and the nature of the soil will permit, these supplies can almost always be supplemented by the addition of artificial manures with economy and advantage. As a general rule, the more abundant the supply of farmyard manure may be, the less necessity there will be for the purchase of artificial fertilisers supplying similar constituents. We must not, however, fall into the error of supposing that because both are manures and both increase the fertility of the land therefore they can be substituted for each other. It really resolves itself back into an inquiry as to their respective composition; and it is only so far as they contain the same materials that they can replace each other. The composition of farmyard manure is exceedingly complex, and varies to a degree seldom fully appreciated. The mode of farming, the class of stock kept on the land, their snpplies of food, and the careful preservation of the manure, each and all .give to the composition of this manure a marvellous variety. This influence becomes the more striking, when we remember that a ton of good farmyard manure contains only about half a hundred- weight of pure fertilising ingredients. It is true that the farmer is dealing with a ton of manure, but any in- jury or loss of quality strikes at the value of the half- hundredweight of fertilising matter, which is the vital con- stituent of the manure, and that by which its value is prac- tically determined. The value of this half-hundredweight of fertilising is worth more than the price we usually assign even to good manure, and the materials could not be pur- chased at the same cost. The lesson which this fact is calculated to teach us is, not to undervalue the farmyard manure because it is a bulky representative of so small a quantity of fertilising matter, but to guard it more jea- lously, and to improve it more carefully, since its valuable constituents are so easily decreased. There are various wavs by which the vitality of such manure may be removed ; but the improved management of late years has done much to reduce these losses. The two most productive sources of loss are the injudicious rotting down of the dung-heap and the waste of the liquid running from the heap. Each of these losses may be readily controlled ; the latter of course is evident, and may be readily avoided — but the former demands especial care and attention. In some districts very great care is bestowed upon making the dung-heap aud in its general management, A bottom of road scrapings, or simil.t 144 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. waste, forms the first layer, and upon this the manure is heaped and pressed down by the carts going over the heap, and finally it is thrown into shape, some earth put against the sides for a certain depth, and a further quantity sprinkled on the top. A heap thus constructed, if it can be kept sufficiently moist to regulate the fermentation and yet uot so moist as to cause drainage, is in as good a con- dition for the rotting of the manure as it well can be in a heap. To regulate the fomentation, so as to avoid a loss o the ammouiacal constituents, there must be a sufficient supply of moisture in the heap. When the moisture is properly maintained, such manure gradually becomes darker in colour, and the ammonia combines with the organic acids formed, aud thus ceases to be easily volati- lised. When the heap is kept too dry the fermentation goes on, but in a different form, and the ammonia formed passes freely into the air when the heap is turned over or carted upon the laud. This entails a very serious loss. It is, however, quite possible under good management so to regulate the fermentation of a heap of farmyard ma- nure as to render it well rotten without any material loss of its fertilising ingredients ; but it rarely receives that attention, and consequently the fermentation of dung in the heap is now generally considered a source of loss. This fact in a great measure explains the rapidly ex- tending practice of spreading the dung upon the land whilst in a comparatively fresh condition, and then ploughing it under the soil with as little delay as pos- sible. TTnder this system the land becomes the custodian of the manure, and recent research has shown that this duty is far more perfectly discharged than we were dis- posed to believe at one time. On certain soils it would without doubt be very impolitic to leave the manure free to be washed by the passage of water through the soil ; but these are very exceptional cases. As a general rule, it will be found that when manure is ploughed into the ground it is as safe as it can be, and frequently very much more secure than under the ordinary system of manage- ment. During the winter mouths, as the manure is re- moved, so it may be spread on the laud and ploughed in ; and it will be found that when the cross-ploughing in the spring takes place, the manure becomes very fully incorpo- rated with the soil, and under the most favourable condi- tions for promoting the fertility of the land. This system of spreading the manure on the laud before it has gone through the usual stages of fermentation, not only commends itself on the ground of economy in its management and the labour required to be expended upon it, but also on the fact of its becoming more mellow in its character and less harsh in its action upon the young rootlets. In the ordinary course of management, where the manure is carefully rotted down in the heap, it usually remains there until the spring tillages are nearly com- pleted, and it is then distributed over the ground or be- tween the ridges, and covered over shortly before the seed is sown. It will be evident that such manure, valuable as it may be as a fertiliser-, cannot be as serviceable to the growing crop as it would have been had it been tho- roughly intermixed with the soil. Those who have tried both systems arc most ready to acknowledge the superior advantages resulting from manure being thoroughly in- termixed with the soil. In this way its fertilising is stimulating to growth without being rank and iilmost re- pulsive to the young rootlets. If, therefore, we have not the inducement of economy of labour and the safety of the manure to encourage the practice, we have in the more beneficial influence of the manure used a very strong in- ducement to plough as much dung as possible into the laud during the early winter months, feeling assured that we shall thereby enrich the laud more fully than by any other system of management. The variable character of farm-yard manure may be traced to a variety of causes, but it is perfectly clear that the description of stock kept upon a farm, and the mode of feeding, will materially affect its character. We may isolate the flock of sheep because they have little connec- tion with the farmyard ; but we may, with advautage, notice the influence exerted by the horses, cattle, and pigs upon the character of the manure produced. We may, however, premise our remarks, by stating that there is no reason why the same food used for either class should yield manure of very different character, whether that food were consumed by a horse, a bullock, or a pig. The character of the food given, however, has a very im- portant influence upon the manure, and it will be found, upon inquiry, that the chief difference in the composition of the excrements of these animals depends very much more upon the mode of feeding than upon the class of animal consuming it. The variation in the [composition of the manures has approximate limits in each case, because ani- mals of each class have a somewhat similar class of food, and hence we find special points of character general in each description of manure. The 3iianure of horses is usually termed hot, and has a disposition to ferment very rapidly. That from cattle is generally much cooler, and with less tendency to ferment ; whilst the manure of pigs is rank and powerful, but rather more disposed to ferment. The mode of feeding horses at once indicates the cause for their manure possessing this well-known cha- racter. Their dietary is usually good, consisting chiefly of hay aud corn, with such a quantity of water only as is necessary to keep them comfortably free from thirst. As a rule, and especially with those used for quick work, their food is given in moderate bulk, aud of high feeding character. 1'or this reason the quantity of manure pro- duced is not large, but the streugth is great. The food used is highly nutritious and well adapted for keeping the body in good working order. All active exercise, and every expenditure of strength, wears the muscles thus brought into play, and causes a waste of those parts ; and the waste portions so thrown off from the body pass away in the excrement. To restore this waste we supply the system with food containing the materials from which the tissues can be restored. With a liberal supply of food, not only is' the actual loss supplied, but increased strength is given to the part so brought into play. It is in this way that, whilst labour wears away the muscles which are actively engaged, and they are for a time weak- ened, yet, in the sequel we find that they gaiu a consi- derable increase of strength. Thus, whilst the body is strengthened by the food given, the manure is enriched by the waste matter of the body. The manure of hard- working horses is therefore richer in ammouiacal pro- ducts than those which lead an idle life, other circum- stances being equal. Under a good system of feeding the food supplied is of a similar composition to the waste of the body. Hay, beans, and oats each contain large quantities of strong nutritive matter exactly adapted for this purpose — food rich in nitrogenised matter. If the process of digestion were to proceed in a regular manner, and the food were thus fully employed in the body, no portion of this mat- ter would go into the manure without being first used in the body; but, from the imperfect preparation of such food, and from various other causes, practically there is a waste of food as well as a waste of the body, aud the manure is enriched accordingly with much valuable ui- trogenized matter. This matter has a powerful ten- dency to pass into a fermentation and form ammonia, and thus, when horse-dung is permitted to do so, it soon be- comes very hot, and wastes its strength by throwing off ammonia in such quantities as really to affect those around THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 145 by the strength of the fumes. The ammonia so lost is one of the most valuable fertilizing ingredients in the ma- nure, and should on no consideration be allowed to waste. The manure of horses contains large quantities of it, and unless care is taken mucb of it is lost. The food of cattle is of a more bulky cbaracter, less nutritious, and more succulent. As ruminating animals these conditions are necessary. The change in the com- position of the food is quite sufficient to account for the manure being so different in its character. The qualities which the dung of horses possess in excess ai-e here some- what deficient, and hence, by allowing of an admixture of the mauure, the otherwise rapid fermentation of the one is moderated by the coldness of the other, and thus the slow and imperfect fermentation of the latter is advanta- geously overcome. In this way a sufficiently active fer- mentation is induced without its assuming that wasteful character we have already referred to. The manure of pigs is somewhat intermediate between that of cattle and horses, and may be most advantageously used intermixed with them. The peculiar raukness of this dung renders it desirable not to use it alone ; for, al- though an admixture of earthy matter with it robs it of this feature, still its fermentation will be less perfectly carried out, and the fertilizing qualities will be less fully developed. This is more especially the case when pigs are being fattened, and consequently arc getting abun- dant supplies of strong food. But whatever may be the] natural character of the ex- crement of any animal, it must possess special qualities which are entirely dependent upon its mode of feeding. The manure of an ordinary dairy cow varies in a marked degree from that of a well-fed fat bullock ; and so, in like manner, is there a striking difference between the manure of the yonng and growing colt from that of the horse in regular work. The supplies of food vary, and the food is drawn upon in different degrees for its various ingre- dients. The growing colt would abstract the phosphates coutained in the food for the increase of his own bony structure, and any nitrogeuised matter would be readily laid hold of for muscular growth, and the actual waste of nutritive matter would usually be reduced to a minimum. The dairy-cow would use the food with a somewhat simi- lar urgency, as the milk and young calf both claim these supplies. The fat bullock, having had a long-continued course of good feeding, draws less fully upon the food ; there is an easy contentment pervading the entire system, and thus the absorbents do not take up the nutritive and fattening qualities as perfectly as they otherwise might have done, and hence the manure is so much the richer. As a matter of policy, it is clear that the more perfectly all nutriment is made use of by the animal, and the poorer the manure is produced, the better for the stock-master, because in the animal this nutriment is in its legiti- mate place. It is perfectly clear that, in those animals which are young and growing, there is an urgency of de- maud for nourishment, and for all the elements of growth, which no mature animal possesses except wheu in a breed- ing condition. It follows, of necessity, therefore, that the manure will, in such cases, be very fully deprived of much fertilizing matter which would have remained in it if the same food had been consumed byr any older animals. A careful consideration of these circumstances will be valu- able in considering what fertilizing matter is likely to be deficient in the manure of auy farm, aud what materials should be purchased to supply this deficiency, so as thereby to bring up the composition of the farm-yard dung to a full standard of quality. VAGRANCY. In accordance with the invitation issued, by Mr. John Harvey, chairman of the Bedfordshire Court of Quarter Ses- sions, a meeting of magistrates and other gentlemen of the county, was held at Bedford Shire Hall. The object sought to be attained was the adoption of some recommendations which would have the eifect, if carried out, of diminishing to some appreciable extent the great evil of vagrancy uuder which the eounty, in common with most parts of the country, is sutfering. Mr. Harvey took the chair. The Chairman iu opening the proceedings said, there were two great schemes of dealing with vagrants, which had been tried already with more or less success. One was the system of Mr. Baker, adopted iu Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, iu which way-tick*ets were the principal feature. By means of these tickets a bona fide traveller from one place to auother was enabled to set off a twenty miles' walk in a direct route towards his destination against the ordinary labour test ; and a walk of ten miles, under the same condition, exempted a man from half the labour-task ordinarily exacted as a return for the receipt of relief. The other scheme was that which had been tried in the counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland, and which seemed to have been productive of more beneficial re- sults than Mr. Baker's system. This scheme approximated closely, in fact, to that which was carried out in France. In Cumberland the magistrates had given orders to the police to arrest every person who had offended against the Vagrant Acts. The justices inquired into the particulars of every case, and when they found rhe'accaaed guilty, they inflicted a uniformly severe penalty. In those instances, however, in which the apprehended persons were proved to be really travelling from one place to another in search of work, the Bench in discharging them not unfrequeutly helped them on their journey, by allowing them a little assistance from a special fund which the magistrates had induced persons, who bad been in the habit of giving indiscri- minate alms, to contribute for the purpose. The result of that system was so favourable, that within one year there was in the two counties a decrease of no less 6,935 in the number of tramps and vagrants, a result which seemed to be much more successful than that of Mr. Baker's system. The Cumber- land and Westmoreland scheme seemed to have diminished the number of vagrants; Mr. Baker's, on the other hand, seemed to have decreased the extent of almsgiving. The ques- tion, therefore, for the consideration of the meeting would be whether they could not make out a system from a com- bination of the salient features of both these schemes ; and iu order to facilitate the discussion he had prepared two sets of draft resolutions which might, possibly, form the basis of the recommendations to be arrived at by the meeting. One set of these had reference to local action ; the other to the action which the meeting might think it advisable to memorialise the Poor Law Board to adopt. In fact, the subject divided itself into two branches ; one was the arrangement which could be carried out in our own eounty, the other comprised the sug- gestions)which the meeting could make to the Poor Law Board for the general management of tramps throughout England and Wales. Of course the meetiug might hit upon a system which would have the effect of driving tramps out of Bedfordshire, but unless other counties adopted some equally effective system, the evil would not be generally diminished, although it might be reduced to a minimum, or even suppressed, in certain localities. The Chairman concluded by reading the draft of the recom- mendations which he had embodied in resolutions as follows : — Piesolved — That this meeting recommend: 1. That it is desirable that a uuiform system of treatment of tramps be adopted throughout the county. 2. That the dietary and labour scale proposed by the Poor Law Board be adopted. 3. That the police be appoiuted inspectors of vagrants in each division, 4. That Mr. Baker's system of way-tickets be adopted. M 146 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 5. That the Justices be requested to consider whether they adopt the system of enforcing the Vagrants Acts as is now done in Cumberland and Westmoreland with great success. 6. That this meeting will do all in their power to discourage indiscriminate almsgiving. 1 (second series). That this meeting recommend that the Poor Law Board should make a compulsory order for the uniform treatment of tramps throughout England and Wales. 2. That the relief of vagrants should be transferred alto- gether from the Board of Guardians to the Police. 3. That adequate accommodation, on the separate system, should be provided for them at the police stations. 4. That the expense should be defrayed partly out of the County Rate and partly out of Consolidated Fund. After a short discussion the first resolution, as to uniformity of treatment, was carried unanimously. The resolution 2, as to dietary, was adopted, all but unani- mously. The third resolution was carried unanimously. On Resolution 4 being, after some discussion, put from the chair, it was carried unanimously, one gentleman expressing his opinion that no relaxation of labour should be made unless the twenty miles were walked. At a subsequent period of the meeting the Chairman handed to Colonel Higgins a letter which he had just received from Mr. Baker, in which that gentleman met the objection that the Gloucestershire plan of relief to wayfarers would " encou- rage persons to tramp habitually :" " The question "is, Will any be found who will walk twenty miles a day in a straight line, for a week together, on sixteen ounces of bread, when they can get little by begging ? If any such be found, our plan fails in proportion to their number. My own belief is that a man really in search of work, and with hope (whether ill or well-founded) of getting it, may go from Manchester to Bir- mingham, and thence to Bristol, and, if he fail to find it, may struggle back to his home in Manchester, but will then rather go into the workhouse than travel further in that way, and rather work at Is. per diem than go into the workhouse. Per contra, the idle, true vagabond would have an intense hatred of walking twenty miles a day straight along the road, getting his sixteen ounces of bread in a room by Mmself at night, and getting little or nothing by begging. Our ticket system does much to decrease giving. The beggar of course says that he is seeking work ; the begged-of may doubt it, but cannot dis- prove it. If true, it is hard to expend half of every day's strength in stone-breaking, and so to keep him twice as long- on his road. Many a one begged of will rather give 6d. to get a night's lodging; and let the beggar do a full day's march, than have him detained at the workhouse to do a task. With our tickets, the beggar is robbed of his grievauce. He has nothing to complain of ; yet the condition of walking twenty miles straight along the road, getting nothing by begging, is intolerable." On Resolution 5, The Chairman requested Colonel Higgins to read the fol- lowing communication : " Chief Constable's Office, Carlisle, Dec. 28, 1868. " Dear Sir,— In reply to your communication dated the 24th instant, I have the honour to inform you that, in all cases where tramps and vagrants are found committing any offence in these counties against the Act 5 George IV., cap: 83, they are apprehended by the police and conveyed before a magistrate. In cases where it may appear that the tramps charged with the offence of begging are travelling from one part of the country to the other in search of work or for any legitimate purpose, the magistrates discharge the prisoners ; and the police have instructions to assist in endeavouring to satisfactorily find out whether the statements made by the tramps in such cases are correct ; and if they are, the parti- culars are at once reported to the nearest magistrate, and the prisoners are discharged. The police make no exception in apprehending ; for I don't think it would be the right course to leave the discretion iu their hands. The course we adopt is to apprehend all who act in contravention of the law, and then report to the magistrate before whom the prisoners are taken all the facts and circumstances that may operate in the prisoner's favour, as well as those that may tell against them. " There is a great difficulty in the point you mention — in being able to discriminate between the idle professional men- dicant and the honest man, who may be driven by necessity to travel for some lawful purpose from one part of the country to the other in search of work, or otherwise ; but I am glad to say that in no one instance has any complaint been made that such persons have been apprehended by the police of these counties. " I have always thought that this difficulty might be very easily met if some general and uniform rale could be established requiring persons, compelled by necessity to travel in search of work, or for other legitimate purposes, to procure a certificate from the head of the police of the start- ing place, setting forth the particulars, and route to destination, and that such a certificate should be a protection against being apprehended by the police, while it should guarantee certain relief at appointed places along the route. " T have the honour to be, dear sir, " Always very faithfully yours, "J. W. Dunn, " Chief constable of the counties of Cumberland and Westmorland. " To John Harvey, Esq., " Chairman of Quarter Sessions, " Ickwell Bury, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire." On the motion of Col. Higgins the Chairman was un- animously requested to read the above letter to the next Court of Quarter Sessions. ■ The adoption of a subsequent resolution pledged the meet- ng to do all in their power to discourage indiscriminate alms- giving. After further discussion the second set of recommendations were severally carried unanimously, the special attention of Mr. Hastings Russell, in his capacity of M.P. for the county, being invited to the subjects brought before the meeting. The proceedings were brought to a close by the passing of a vote of thanks to the Chairman, for the great labour which he had taken. THE GROWTH OF SWEDES WITH ARTIFICIAL MANURES. The following is the report of the judge, Mr. J. B. Spear- ing, in awarding the special premium of £25, given by the Right Hon. T. Sotheron Estcourt, through the Chippenham Agricultural Association, for the best five acres of swedes, grown with artificial manures only : — In presenting a report of the result of the experiments made by the different competitors for this premium, I cannot but regret that the almost total failure of the root crops has so limited the competition that, to a great extent, the design of Mr. Estcourt in so liberally giving such a handsome premium has not been so fully and generally carried out, as if the ex- tremely'dry and hot summer had not acted prejudicially to the growth of roots upon every description of soil. And it is also to he regretted that the effort of the committee to postpone the competition for the premium till another year was not success- ful, as mauy of those who had entered their roots were com- pelled to withdraw from loss of the crop, and those who com- peted do not show much more than half a crop. When the result of the different experiments are considered, it will, never- theless, I believe, be proved to the general satisfaction, that a great amount of benefit is to be derived from the proper appliy cation of artificial manure, and this will be found from the results shown by the annexed tables, to be more particularl- the case in regard to light and thin stone brash soils ; it will be THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 147 seen that soils of this description have grown a larger amount of weight per acre than those of a loamy and sandy nature ; this may, in a measure, be accounted for by their not having suffered so severely fioin the ravages of grub ; but, even sup„ posing this to be admitted, the fact still remains that the thin stone brash soils will bear but a very poor crop ol roots, of a dry summer, without the aid of artificial manure. In most in- stances the crop was best where the previous corn was taken after grass, and this is a point well worthy the consideration of those who are largely interested in the growth of roots, and it is also a matter which, I believe, applies more especially to the lighter description of soil. In one or two instances where no artificial was used, the swedes were growing more gross appa- rently ; and the smaller roots stronger where no artificial wras used, but the bulbs were not nearly so large. This may proba- bly be accounted for by the smaller roots having to extend themselves farther for support, and also from their not having had sufficient nourishment to force them in the dry weather : this remark will apply particularly to No. 4 in annexed table. The manures from which the heaviest crops have been grown are those of Proctor, Matthews, and Long, in the order named. It will also be noticed that the experiments made have fully proved the great utility of the water drill ; the advantages to be derived from its use in such a season as the last can hardly be estimated. The use of salt in No. 2 was I have reason to bslieve, very advantageous. The heaviest crop of swedes, it will be seen, was grown with 5 cwt. of Proctor's superphos- phate of lime, drilled with water, on a light stone brash piece of laud. In estimating the quantities, I weighed two poles on each of the two acres on either side of the centre acre, and also two poles in every centre acre, with the exception of No. 8, where I estimate the whole acre at 56 lbs. In adopting this plan with all competitors I believe a very fair conclusion has been arrived at. No better means of proving the advantage of the use of artificial manure could be devised than in the case of No. 8, where there is a field of 20 acres, with a very good crop of roots for the season, with the exception of the unma- nured acre, clearly demonstrating the futility of endeavouring to grow swedes in such a season as the last, on that particular soil, without artificial aid. With regard to No. 5, I cannot account for the greater amount of weight upon the centre acre, unless it is from the plant being thin, and also from the soil having a large admixture of sand ; and the result in No. 2 would seem to strengthen this opinion, and to lead to the con- clusion that artificial manure, or at any rate, the particular kind used, does not act very beneficially in a dry summer on a sandy soil. The greatest difference between the manured and un- manured portions will be found, with the exception of No. 8, in No. 6, a piece of roots remarkably good and growing for the season. The crops generally were thiu on the ground ; this was more apparent in Nos. 1, 3, 5, 9, and these, more especially, suffered from the ravages of the grub. In awarding the premium to No. 4, 1 have taken into account the weight of the whole 5 acres, and, to some extent, the weight of the siugle acre. The next in merit, with regard to the four manured acres, is No. 6, where the roots were in bet- ter proof than No. 4, but the unmanured acre was not nearly so good, neither was it equal to the similar one in No. 2, which accounts for the gross weight there being heavier than No. 6. The reason of the unmanured acre in No. 2 being heavier may be partly accounted for by the land not having been in cultivation for a very great number of years. The whole of the land on which the roots were grown was clean, and generally free from weeds ; the expense of hoeing had varied from 10s. to 14s. per acre, and there evidently ap- peared to be a desire on the part of all the exhibitors to carry out, in the best possible manner, the intentions of the donor of the premium. In drawing this report to a conclusion, those who may have been inclined to doubt the value of artifi- cial manures in a dry summer, could not have failed to have their doubt removed. The great advantage of the water drill has been also proved ; and I am inclined also to believe, from the experiments, that ashes are not beneficial in a dry summer. The results obtained by the experiments, although lessened in importance from the facts I have before stated, must certainly tend to prove how much, especially the light land farmer, has to depend for a crop of roots upon a judicious outlay of his capital to remunerate him for his trouble. The quantity of manure to be used is a question which must depend on the nature and condition of the soil, but my opinion is, that from 4 to 5 cwt. may he used with advantage in most instances. I beg to acknowledge the unvarying courtesy and uniform desire to afford information rendered me by every competitor, and also to express my regret that circumstances prevented some one more able than myself from reporting the results of the several experiments. William Shearing, Land Agent. Winchester, Nov. Zlstt 1868. No. 1.— Me. JOHN SMITH, BYNOLL. Previous Cropping. Soil. Quantity of Manure per acre, cost, and application. Quantity of Seed per Acre, and date of Sowing. Estimated weight per acre, and difference between manured & unmanured portions. Total Weight on 5 acres. Remarks. Lot. 1 Wheat after Vetches Lot. 2 Loam with Chalk Subsoil 3 cwt. of Baker's Special Manure per acre. 24s. per acre. Drilled. Without Manure 2 lbs. of Purple Top Swede, Drilled May 14th. tn. cwt. lbs. 9 0 0 5 10 48 tn. cwt. lbs. Difference 3 9 64 39 9 64 The plant thin, the roots a fair size; more green and more small roots where no manure; in spots had suffered from blight and mildew. Lot 1. Oats Lot 2. Light Down Land No. 2.— Mb. THOMAS BROWN, Juitiob, HORTON. 3 cwt. of Long's Special Manure, drilled. 3 cwt. of salt, and 10 bush- els of ashes broadcast. 26s. per acre. Without Manure 2£lbs.ofHall'i Imperial, Drilled May 14th. Difference. tn. cwt. lbs. 10 17 66 7 0 80 tn. cwt. lbs, 60 10 0 No. 3.— Mr. ROBERT J. BUTLER, BREMHILL. Lotl. Lot 2. Barley after Wheat Sand.... 4 cwt. of Robbins, Lane and Pinniger's Special Manure, and 10 bushels of ashes, drilled. 32s. per acre. Without Manure 3 lbs. of Sutton's Champion Swede, June 2nd. Difference tn. cwt. lbs 7 13 44 tn. cwt. lbs, 37 0 fiO The plant pretty good, and the roots fair in quality; the unmanured acre showed plainly, al- though, with one excep- tion, the largest quantity on unmanured acre. A very thin plant, and the roots veiy much eaten by grub; a very slight difference between the manured and unmanured portions. W 3 148 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. No. 4.— Mb. EDMUND MILES, STANTON. Lot 2, Lot! Lot 2. Lot 1. Lot 2 Lot 1 Lot 2. Wheat Thin i after stone Clover Brash 6 cwt. of Proctors's Super- phosphate of Lime, drilled with water. 35s. per acre. Without Manure , 2 lbs. of Skirving's Swede Seed drilled per acre, June 1st. tn. cwt. lbs. 11 17 66 tn. cwt. lbs. No. Difference 5 17 56 53 -Mb. GEORGE KINGTON, GRITTLETON. Wheat after Clover Mixture of Sand and I Brash 4 cwt. of Proctor's Super- phosphate of Lime, drilled with water. 28s. per acre. Without Manure 2 lbs. of Skirving's ieed per acre, drilled May 27th. tn. cwt. lbs. tn. cwt. lbs. 8 16 58 I Difference 1 3 59 45 No. 6.— Mb. WILLIAM GALE, GRICKSTONE. Wheat after Old Ley Stone Brash 4 cwt. of Matthew's Turnip Manure, sown broadcast ; 3 cwt. of Superphosphate of Lime, driled, with 300 gallons of water per acre. 51s. 6d. per acre. Without Manure 3 lbs. of Skirving's Seed per acre, drilled June 3rd. tn. cwt. lbs. i tn. cwt. lbs, i Difference 7 16 No. 7— Mb. HENRY WEEKS, COLERNE. 47 12 16 A. very good piece of roots for the season ; a very fair plant, showing a much greater difference when pulled up, between the manured and unman- ured portions, than would be supposed when walking over them ; in some places affeGted with blight and mildew. The roots were thin here, and much eaten by grub ; the unmanured portion was heavier than the manured ; this partly arises from one portion sown with manure being very thin in plant. A very good piece of Swedes, andin good proof, free from blight ; a very great difference between the centre acre and other portions, although a good plant on the whole 5 acres. Wheat after Clover Stone Brash 5 cwt. of Bryant's Super- phosphate of Lime, drilled with water. 37s. 6d. per acre. Without Manure 2 lbs. of Skirving's Swede, drilled June 1st. tn. cwt. lbs, 10 7 56 6 17 96 tn. cwt. lbs., A very fair piece of Swedes ; very growing, but rather thin in plant. Difference 4 9 72 47 7 96 No. 8.— Mb. WILLIAM WEBB, THICKWOOD, COLERNE. Lot 1. Oats after Wheat Thin StOUQ Brash Lot 2. 2 cwt. of Proctor's Super- phosphate of Lime, drilled : 5 cwt. Turnip Manure, broadcast. 54s. per acre. Without Manure , 2 lbs. of Sutton's Champion Swede, drilled May 20th. tn. cwt. lbs. 9 17 16 0 0 66 Difference 9 16 72 No. 9.— Mb. JOHN BAKER, ALLINGTON. Lot 1. Lot 2. Wheat after Clover Stone Brash 4 cwt. of Superphosphate of Lime, drilled, and 1 cwt. sown broadcast, drilled with water. 32s. 6d. per acre. Without Manure 2 lbs. of Sutton's Giant Tankard Swede, drilled May 16th. Difference . tn. cwt. lbs, 4 15 0 4 3 24 tn. cwt. lbs, 40 9 8 tn. cwt. lbs 40 7 96 The plant on the 4 acres was rather thin, but on the centre acre there were hardly any roots at all, so that estimating the whole acre at 561bs., I am rather over than under the weight. The plant thin; the roots a pretty good size, but injured by grub. Weight per icre No. with manure. tn. cwt. lbs. 1 9 0 0 2 10 17 56 3 7 3 44 4 11 17 56 *5 8 16 58 6 11 1 88 7 10 7 56 8 9 17 16 9 8 18 24 Weight per acre, without manure. tn. cwt. lbs. 10 48 0 80 6 108 0 0 0 5 5 0 17 96 0 66 15 0 Difference in weight between manured and unmanured portions. tn. cwt. lbs. 9 64 16 88 6 17 a It! -18 56 69 72 72 21 Total Cost of Weight of Artificial of Manure 5 acres. per acre. tn. cwt. lbs. j £ s. d. 39 9 64 60 10 0 37 0 60 53 10 0 45 11 8 47 12 16 47 7 40 9 40 7 96 96 14 0 16 0 1 12 0 1 15 0 18 0 2 11 6 1 17 6 2 14 0 1 12 6 Cost of Artificial Manure per Ton of Roots. £ s. d. 0 2 8 0 2 4| 0 4 6 0 2 114 0 3 2 0 4 6i 0 3 71 0 6 5| 0 3 7 Cost of Extra Weight per Ton. £ s. 0 6 0 6 1 4 0 5 0 6 0 8 0 5 0 6 d. 10J Si Hi Names of Exhibitors. Mr. John Smith. Mr. Thomas Brown, juu. Mr. R. J. Butler. Mr. Edmund Miles. Mr. George Kington. Mr. Wm. Gale. Mr. Henry Weeks. Mr. William Webb. Mr. John Baker. * The Weight here was 1 ton, 3 cwt., 59 lbs. heavier without Manure. Weight of 2 Poles Weight of 2 Poles No. on one side Unmanured Acre. Without Manure. on other side Unmanured acre. Names of Exhibitors. 1 268 lbs. 166 lbs. 236 lbs. Mr. John Smith, Bynoll. 2 298 „ 197 „ 311 „ Mr. Thomas Brown, junior, Horton. 3 234 „ 179 „ 193 „ Mr. Robert J. Butler, Bremhill. 4 320 „ 168 „ 335 „ Mr. Edmund Miles, Stanton. 5 241 „ 287 „ 253 „ Mr. George Kington, Grittleton. 6 322 ,, 91 „ 299 „ Mr. William Gale, Grickstone. 7 329 „ 165 „ 252 „ Mr. Henry Weeks, Colerne. 8 302 „ * „ 250 „ Mr. William Webb, Thickwood, Cpleme. 290 )t 133 „ 209 „ Mr, John Baker, Arlington, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 149 HIGHLAND AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND. The January monthly meeting of the directors of this society was held in their Chambers, 3, George IV. Bridge, Edinburgh. The Duke of Buceleuch and Queensberry, K.G., President, in the chair. Mr. F. N. Menzies reported that the following noblemen and gentlemen, proposed for election at the general meeting of the society on the 20th instant to till the vacancies in the list of office-bearers, had all agreed to act. Vice-l'residents : Most Noble the Marquis of Tweeddale, K.T. ; the llight Hon. R. C. Nisbet Hamilton. Extraordinary Directors : Sir Wil- liam Baillie, of Polkeiumet, Bart. ; Patrick Dudgeon, of Car- gen ; llobert Dundas, of Aniiston ; John Stirling, of Kippen- davie. Ordinary Directors : Sir George Warrender, of Loch- end, Bart. ; Robert Binnie, Setou Mains, Longniddry ; John Dickson, Saughtou Mains, Edinburgh ; Thomas A. Hog, of Newliston, Kirkliston ; James Ewen Newton, Linbank House, Lanark ; John Wilson, Professor of Agriculture, University of Edinburgh ; Alexander Young, Keir Mains, Dunblane. The Duke of Buccleucii expressed his willingness to con- tinue in office for auother year, so as to complete the period specified iu the charter, but as a great desire had been evinced by many members that the range of the choice of president should be widened, and as a strong feeling existed in favour of the Marquis of Tweeddale being elected to the office of presi- dent, it appeared to his Grace, that this would be a fit oppor- tunity to nominate his lordship. Owing to the general show being held in Edinburgh this year, his Grace thought it would be a proper compliment to ask the Marquis to take the presi- dent's chair when the show took place in his immediate district. In accordance with his Grace's desire, it was agreed that the Marquis of Tweeddale should be transferred from the list of vice-presidents to the presidentship of the society. Sir William Stirling-Maxwell then moved that the Earl of Dalkeith should be appointed vice-president in room of the Marquis. The list as amended will be submitted to the general meeting for confirmation. Mr. Kenneth Mackenzie, C.A., the Society's auditor, laid on the table abstracts of the accounts for 1867-68, along with a state of the funds at the close of the financial year on 30th November last. The accounts were signed, in terms of the bye-laws, by two members of the Finance Committee and by the auditor. The following programme of business for the general meet- ing was agreed to : Election of office-bearers, election of mem- bers, accounts for 1867-68, thanks to be voted to local authori- ties connected with Aberdeen Show 1868, arrangements for Edinburgh Show 1869 to be reported, requisition from Dum- fries district for show in 1870, district competitions in 1868 and grants for 1869 ; vote by Government to Chair of Agri- culture ; proceedings of the chemical department ; premiums awarded in 1868 and offered in 1869 for essays and reports ; and contents of No. & (fourth series) of the Society's Trans- actions. The following notice of motion by Mr. Mylne, Niddrie Mains, for the general meeting was read : " That the Society support the Edinburgh Christmas Club with a vote of £100 per annum, and otherwise patronise it with a grant of medals, &c." A letter from Mr. Lyall, Old Montrose, supporting the motion, was read by the Secretary ; and after various members had expressed their opinion, Mr. Elliot, Laigbwood, pro- posed, and Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, Bart., seconded, the following resolution : " That the sum of £50 be granted for the year 1869 to the Edinburgh Christmas Club as being the metropolitan fat stock show of Scotland. This sum to be at the disposal of the club, and not given in special prizes by the society." On a vote being taken, Mr. Elliot's motion was carried, and it was agreed to transmit it to the general meeting, Mr. Mylne giving notice that he would probably propose an amendment. The names of candidates for admission as members were reported and approved 'of, and the secretary stated that as I there would be a meeting of directors previous to the general meeting, he could receive names of candidates up to the morn- ing of the 20th, in terms of the bye-laws. The report of the meeting of members, held at Edinburgh on the 9th of December, was submitted ; and with reference to the remarks which were then made in regard to the overfed state of bulls and other stock exhibited at the general shows of the society, the following new rule was recommended, and the secretary was instructed to insert it in the general regulations for the Edinburgh show : — "Breeding stock must not be shown in an improper state of fatness, and the judges will be pro- hibited from awarding premiums to overfed animals." Mr. P. N. Menzies reported that he had attended a meeting at Dumfries on the 16th December, when the list of classes of stock, as fixed by the committee on general shows, and agreed to by the directors, had been submitted and approved of, subject to certain altera- tions and additions suggested for the consideration of the directors. These suggestions were yesterday adopted by the board, and the list as adjusted will be brought up along with the requisition from the district, for the sanction of the general meeting. Various subjects for which premiums were offered in 1868 were deleted from the list, and the following were added : Reports : On the farming customs and covenants of leases formerly in use in the various districts or counties of Scotland ; on the various modes of striking the fiars prices throughout the different counties of Scotland ; on the cheapest, speediest, and most convenient mode of covering the grain crops in har- vest ; on improved methods of transporting dead meat for dis- tances that may occupy from twenty-four to forty-eight hours, so that it may arrive in the least injured condition ; on im- provements in the vessels used for transporting milk from country districts to the neighbouring towns ; on the advantages of a system of contract entered iuto by stockowners and veterinary surgeons ; on the comparative advantages in point of economy, as well as durability, of home-grown timber, as compared with foreign, for general out-door estate work ; on the effects of the very dry season of 1868 on trees and shrubs in different soils, situations, and elevations ; on the results ob- tained by experience of seedlings of conifers, being the produce of trees grown in Britain, as compared with plants obtained from foreign ripened seed. A correspondence between Bailie Stott, Mr. Marwick, and the Secretary in regard to renewed application to the Board of Trade for a chartered Veterinary College for Scotland, was read to the board, but the directors considered it inexpedient to move in the matter at present. The following communication from Mr. Henry Stephens, the author of " The Book of the Parm," was read:— " Redbrae Cottage, 9th Dec, 1868. " Gentlemen, — Allow me to direct your serious attention to a subject which materially affects the interests of the farmer and of the community. The subject I refer to is the propaga- tion and establishment of good and sound varieties of the potato from the seed. A very successful instance I will take the liberty of bringing under your notice. Mr. William Patterson, of Dundee, was initiated in the art of gardening by his father, who for many years supplied vegetables to the inhabitants of that thriving town. He commenced business on his own ac- count in the fruit-trade, and has the best fruit-shop iu Dundee. At the period of the potato failure, observation and reflection impressed his mind strongly that decay in the constitution of the potato plant, occasioned by a forced culture of long con- tinuance, and the incessant employment of the tuber itself as the means of reproduction of the crop, were the superinducing causes of the disease. Such a conclusion was doubtless a rational one. With this conclusion strongly entertained, Mr. Patterson endeavoured to procure everywhere samples of the soundest potatoes, in order to obtain there- from seed from the apples, as also seed imported direct from South America. Thus provided, after much toil, waste of 150 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. time, and expenditure of money, he has succeeded in producing some excellent varieties of potatoes in a course of twenty years of unwearied perseverance and anxiety. We ail are sensible of what the dif- ficulty must have been of selecting the best out of the hundreds of varieties of tubers which are produced but from a few seeds of the potato plant, the numbers of years required ere the selected plants produce such a size of tuber as can be presented at table, and a still further course of years ere those tubers can adequately supply the. markets of the country with the favourite potato. It is, therefore, not sur- prising that, attaining even success, Mr. Patterson has incurred heavy pecuniary loss, as well as loss of time, which might, perhaps, have been otherwise more profitably employed. Having no land of his own, he had to rent land, to pay for manures and hired labour, and to wait for years before he had a chance for remuneration from his experiments. I am fur- nished with a detail of many of these experiments, and with numerous testimonials from all quarters of the kingdom in regard to the prolificacy and superior quality of the potatoes which Mr. Patterson has thus produced. Having a knowledge of these facts, his friends in Forfarshire have resolved upon bestowing upon Mr. Patterson some recompense for his patri- otic exertions, as I understand the Earl of Dalhousie has headed a subscription with £50. The gold [medal would be a gracious mark of the society's approval of his efforts, and by the society thus giving encouragement to the movement, the country generally might more readily be induced to support it. " I have the honour to be, gentlemen, " Your obedient and faithful servant, (Signed) "Henry Stephens. " To the Directors of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland." The secretary was instructed to inform Mr. Stephens that Mr. Patterson should transmit a report on the subject, when, if approved, the gold medal may be awarded. On the application by Sir Alexauder Bannerman of Crim- monmogate, it was resolved to offer the medium silver medal to local associations or individuals who, at their own expense, establish premiums for cottages or gardens. The annual value of each cottage, with the ground occupied in the parish by a competitor, must not exceed £15 ; and premiums to the amount of £2 must be awarded for each medal claimed. THE WORCESTERSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. A meeting has been held in Worcester, to consider the best means of extending the influence of the Worcestershire Agri- cultural Society. The Mayor of Worcester, Mr. F. Woodward, presided. The Secretary read a report of the sub-committee to the committee of the Worcestershire Agricultural Society, an ex- tract from which will best explain the new scheme : " The sub-committee are of opinion that the want of interest in and attendance at the Society's show have arisen from three causes — the lack of exhibition in connection with the show proper, of interest to the general public, and the fact that the show has been year after year at the same city in a most unsuitable place. They recommend therefore — Firstly, that flower and poultry shows be held in conjunction with the annual exhibi- tion of stock and implements ; secondly, that the annual ex- hibition shall henceforth be migratory, the place of meeting to be dependent on the amount of guarantee subscribed by the locality. And as a matter of detail, that a good band be en- gaged ; that the time of exhibition be increased from one to two or three days, depending on the amount of support de- rived from the guarantee ; that the show this year be held either during the last week in August or during the week suc- ceeding the musical festival. The committee are of opinion that it is desirable to hold the first show under the proposed arrangements in the most suitable place in the vicinity of the city of Worcester ; the site to be fixed by a committee ap- pointed for that purpose at the general meeting; that the agricultural show itself be made more attractive by offering additional premiums for hunting and riding horses, and the introduction of jumping and other public trials for horses ; that a public dinner be held on the ground on the first day, to which ladies be invited." The expenses consequent upon the proposed attractions were — Agricultural show, £1,105; the poultry show, £200 ; and the flower show, £150 ; and the committee expected to realize more than that sum by receipts. Mr. W. E. Dowdeswell, M.P., said there could not be the least doubt that the shows of the present Society for some years past had been anything but what the agriculturists of the county had a right to expect they would be, and that every- body hoped they would be. The subject was first mooted at the agricultural show in 1867, and was most strongly urged at the annual dinner last autumn. The suggestions then thrown out were mooted by one of the most energetic members of the acting committee, and the result was the appointment of a snb-committee, whose report had just been read. Some per- sons were incliued to think that in these matters the com- mittee were going much too far, and there was an equal num- ber who were inclined to believe that it was much better to let the Society remain as it was at present. First of all, with re- gard to leaving the Society in its present position. He thought that the meeting would be astonished to hear that unless in- creased subscriptions were received, and unless there was a very much larger attendance in the showyard than there had ever yet been, they could not hold a show during the ensuing year on the present system. The fact was, that had it not been for the curse of the cattle plague, which, however, was a blessing in this case, the Society would have been bankrupt two years ago, the Society having, in fact, lived upon these sub- scriptions which were paid up in those years that the Society did not hold any show. Therefore, they had not to consider whether or not they would go in upon their present basis — that was impossible. They must either do away with any- thing like an Agricultural Society in the county, or endeavour to form one which shall reflect credit upon the district. He believed that they were not mistaken in supposing that if they made their show more attractive than it had been, on a plan si- milar to that at Gloucestershire and Warwickshire, they might expect very much greater support than they had ever yet had. He believed that if oncetheymade the Society popular with the gene- ral public they would find that subscriptions would flow in from many quarters from whencetheygotnothingat present. The argu- ment was urged to him on Saturday that they must not forget the original object of the Society in providing these extra attrac- tions. He quite admitted that ; but he replied that the origi- nal object of the Society was not forgotten. They proposed to devote £500 in premiums of the Society's money, and as much more by private donations as gentlemen might be in- duced to give to agricultural classes proper, and only £200 towards the poultry and flower show. It was for the meeting to consider whether they should not adopt that scheme. It was merely a suggestion thrown out by the sub-committee to consider the most likely manner to carry on a society in any manner in this county. With regard to the second recom- mendation of the committee, which did not appear as a sub- stantive resolution, the question of whether or no the Society be made migratory, he thought that must depend entirely up- on whether or not particular localities were inclined to suffi- ciently support the Society to induce it to visit their neigh- bourhood. Before an agricultural society undertook to hold a show in any particular district it must receive a guarantee that its interests should not suffer by its so doiug. If the resolu- tions proposed for adoption were carried out, the Society would always be glad to visit towns where there was anything like a liberal offer held out. Referring to the question of the Gua- rantee Fund the hon. gentleman said he feared he must have contributed in some degree Ito increase the mystification on that subject. At present the Society received £270 a-year in annual subscriptions, and about £150 as premiums for its agricultural show ; and the sub-committee had put down in their estimate £600, instead of £500, as the amount they were likely to receive. They further asked those that were present and their friends to put down their names towards THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 151 the guarantee fund. He firmly believed that if they got a suffi- cient number of guarantors, the burden would be almost no- minal, even supposing the exlribition should not be a success. In Gloucestershire, last year, the Guarantee Fund amounted to something like £1,150 ; their expenses were £2,000 ; and they were enabled to clear £450, and call upon the guarantors for nothing. What he wanted to impress upon them was that they were asked to put down their names as guarantors for a sum not exceeding £10 ; they would not be called upon for anything iu the shape of premiums or prizes ; but it was only iu the event of the Society being out of pocket with regard to the fencing and the other expenses that they would be called upon to put their hands into their pockets. Mr. Raxdell asked if the sub-committee had included in their calculations any stun to be paid by the towns which the society visited? Mi. Dowdeswell replied : In considering the Warwick- shire aud Gloucestershire schemes the committee found that they had a local guarantee fund ; the management of the finances was left in different hands. The sub-committee had acted upon a scheme concocted out of the two. In Gloucester- shire there was a guarantee committee, which took the whole of the receipts, and before doing so paid over to the Agricul- tural Society the sum of £300. The sub-committee proposed that the Agricultural Society should take the whole of the re- ceipts, and ask the towns for no subscriptions whatever except the guarantee. Earl Dudley moved the first resolution : " That, consider- ing the want of interest taken in the affairs and exhibitions of the Agricultural Society as at piesent constituted, it is desira- ble to remodel the same on a plan similar to that in force in the counties of Gloucester and AVarwick, where it has been at- tended with results more satisfactory to the interests both of town and country." Mr. C. Randell seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. Mr. R. P. Amphlett, Q.C., M.P., proposed : " That in order to render the annual exhibition of stock and implements more attractive to the general public, it is desirable to hold on the same days as the Society's show, and within the same en- closure flower and poultry shows ; aud that there should be a public trial of hunters and other horses." Mr. James Webb seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. Earl Beauciiajip thought something might be said for the past of the Society. They had met there that day to inaugu- rate a new regime, but he thought in so doing they must not be unmindful of what the society had done in past times. Some men achieved greatness for themselves; others had greatness thrust upon them. Originally, the Worcestershire Agricultural Society was established only for this district. There were other societies in the county as well, and this was no more than one of those local bodies. With one exception, Tenbury, all those societies had died out, and circumstances had forced upon the Worcestershire Society a much larger sphere than had been at first designed. From various causes the society had remained where it was ; but still he took leave to say that although the shows for the last few years, held iu the cattle market at Worcester, had been unattractive, the Society had not been without its uses to the agricultural community. Those who thought it had not been useful were taking a very perfunctory view of the work which the Society had done. When he saw the great improvement which had taken place iu Agriculture in Worcestershire, he could not but believe that some portion of that improvement was due to the Society. He thought now that the time would come when they ought to extend the Society, and embrace those objects which the sub-committee had put before the meeting so ably. So long as the Society offered only small prizes, however, it was absurd to suppose that they would at- tract breeders from a distance. They must increase their prizes. Without wishing to dictate to the committee, his lordship said if, after full consideration, Madresfield should be found to be " in the vicinity of Worcester," his grounds and gardens should be freely open to the Society. His lordship proposed : " That the Society's show for the year 1869 shall be held iu the most convenient ground that can be obtained in the vicinity of the city of Worcester." Mr. John Parker seconded the motion, which was carried. Lord Lyttelton proposed : " That it is advisable to form a guarantee fund, limited to £10, to be applied only toward de- fraying any deficiency that may arise through bad weather or other cause ; and a general committee be formed, which shall be subdivided into three committees, to whom shall be en- trusted the management of the flower show, poultry show, and finance, consisting of the following gentlemen, who are hereby empowered to make such arrangements as may be necessary to carry out the foregoing resolutions, and to solicit annual sub- scriptions." Mr. Josiah Stallard seconded the motion, which was unani- mously agreed to. His Royal Highness the Due d'Aumale proposed a vote of thanks to the Mayor, which was seconded by Mr. H. Allsopp, and briefly acknowledged. THE ESSEX AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. The annual meeting of the members of this society was held at Chelmsford; Sir Charles C. Smith, Bart., the President, in the chair. The Secretary read the report of the committee, which was agreed to. Mr. Papillon proposed that Mr. Gurdon-Rebow, M.P., should be the president of the association for the ensuing year. Mr. Badhaji seconded the motion, which was agreed to unanimously. Sir Charles C. Smith then vacated the chair in favour of Mr. Rebow, M.P. Col. Bmse, M.P., proposed a vote of thanks to Sir Charles Smith, for the manner in which he had carried out the duties of president during that period. Mr. D. Sewell seconded the proposition, which was carried by acclamation. Sir C. C. Smith returned thanks. The committee, selected half from the northern and half from the southern division of the county, were then re-elected, the names of Mr. P. O. Papillon, and Mr. Jas. Stallibrass being substituted for those of Mr. W. P. Boghurst and Mr. T.C.C. Marsh. Mr. A. HJEMPSON, pursuant to notice, brought forward his motion for altering rule 7, and extending the area of the society to occupiers or owners of property within ten miles of the county. At present rule 7 ran thus ;— " That no member be entitled to compete for any prize whatever, unless his sub- scription be paid up previous to the day of exhibition. That the competition for prizes be strictly confined to members of the society, and that no member be allowed to compete for any prize offered who is not actually a resident, or occupier, or owner of property in the county of Essex ; all non-resident competitors being either the bond fide owners or occupiers of not less than one hundred acres of land in the county, except in the case of such special prizes as the committee may hereafter determine shall be open to all England." This rule confined the competition for a great many of their prizes entirely to the county, and the alteration he proposed was that they should take the county and ten miles round. He remarked that tliis plan had been adopted by the Cambridgeshire Society, and in reply to an inquiry as to how they determined the ten miles boundary, the Secretary to the Cambridgeshire Society sent him the following letter : — "Cambridge, Dec. 1st, 1868. " Dear Sir, — I have much pleasure in explaining to you that we ascertain the limits of this society by measure (on the ordnance or any other map of authority) in a direct line from the county boundary to the given place to be reached. I think you will find this mode the best, as it would not admit of two opinions as to the actual distance. With regard to the two rivers you mention as intervening between Essex and two of the adjoining counties, I would venture to suggest that the area 152 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. be increased, if it is thought desirable to embrace any points be- yond the rivers, rather than adopt any exceptional mode of ad- measurement. I shall be happy to furnish you with any further information, and beg to remain, " Yours truly, " A. Hempsou, Esq." " S. Holben. After contending that the ten miles' boundary could be easily ascertained, he remarked that he should very much like to see the society thrown entirely open (Mr. Papillon : Hear, hear), but there was a strong feeling against that amongst some of the members, and he had therefore proposed a ten mile exten- sion, so that they might retain their position as a county society, and at the same time increase the competition, which he considered was very much needed. The principal objection to throwing open the prizes was that while in Essex they gave really good and substantial prizes, other counties merely gave premiums. In the neighbouring county of Suffolk they would mix up the bipeds and the quadrupeds, and their prizes had hitherto been very small. To this objection he had no present answer ; but he believed the society would be strengthened by the adoption of his motion, because although they had capital competition in some of their classes, others were very poor in- deed. In the class for cart stallions there were only two entries, and the second prize was withheld for want of merit ; three- year-old cart fillies, one entry ; yearling fillies, two entries by one exhibitor, second prize withheld for want of merit ; plough- horses, two entries ; nags and cattle well competed for ; South- down rams, one entry for two prizes ; short-woolled rams, two entries, two prizes ; Cotswold, three entries by one exhibitor ; long-woolled rams, two entries by one exhibitor ; Oxford or Shropshire rams, three entries, one exhibitor ; shearling South- down rams, three entries, one exhibitor ; shearling Oxford or Shropshire rams, three cutries, one exhibitor ; shearling long- woolled rams, five entries, two exhibitors ; shearling long- woolled ewes, one entry, two prizes ; ewes and lambs, two entries, two prizes ; fat short-woolled wethers, two entries, one exhibitor, two prizes ; fat long-woolled wethers, two prizes, no entry. It appeared that they wanted some fresh ground to draw increased competition, more particularly for sheep. By confining the society to the county they shut out a large dis- trict which really belonged to it, and in this way he had always considered they were great losers. Let them take, for instance, the neighbourhood of Colchester. There was a large tract of country on the north side of the Stour, which belonged to Essex more than to Suffolk ; the farmers there attended their Essex markets, and mixed up with them in every way, and yet they shut them out from competing at their show. The county court judge (Mr. W. Gurdon), for instance, was an amateur farmer, and had some good animals ; but because he lived the other side of Cattawade-bridge he was not allowed to exhibit at their show. He thought by adopting the ten miles' exten- sion they should embrace all those natural connexions, and that they should get a better competition and a better show. If the meeting preferred opening the society altogether they could do so ; but, at any rate, he should like the ten miles' extension tried, to sse what the result would be. Mr. Pertwee seconded Mr. Hempson's motion, remarking that he belived the proposed alteration would be the means of improving the competition in many of the classes which had hitherto been but poorly represented. He did not agree with entirely opening the Society, as it could not then be called an Essex Society, but he was in favour of a ten-mile extension. Mr. Papillon rose to move, as an amendment, that Rule 7 be so altered as to throw the Society entirely open, and was proceeding to enforce several arguments in support of his pro- position, when he was stopped by The Chairman, who pointed out that according to Rule 12 he (Mr. Papillon) was out of Court. Mr. Thompson was of opinion that they must either throw the Society open or keep as they were at present. Colonel Brise said there had always been a strong feeling on the committee against opening the Society to all England, or to the Eastern Counties, as was once proposed. If the time had arrived for extending the area of the Society, he considered Mr. Hempson's proposition was a most practical one, for they ought not to open the Society except by degrees. The objec- tion, however, he had to the motion, was, that as Essex so closely adjoined the county of Middlesex— the London end of it — that unless the latter were specially excluded, the horse. dealers and the aristocrats of the West-end would have the privilege of exhibiting at their annual shows, and he could not see how that would tend to improve Agriculture or the breed of horses in Essex in particular. As he could not move an amend- ment he would suggest that Mr. Hempson should alter his mo- tion so as to exclude Middlesex. Mr. Badham supported the motion, as being a step in the right direction, and strongly advocated the entire opening of the Society. Sir C. C. Smith said he had all along seen the objection taken by Col. Brise as to the county of Middlesex, but lie thought if they compelled all non-resident exhibitors to be bona fide owners or occupiers of a hundred acres of land, all difficulties on that score would be obviated. Mr. Pertwee thought that Col. Brise's objection was pro- vided against by the rule as it stood. Mr. Papillon moved that the motion be postponed till the next annual meeting, when, he suggested, the larger subject of throwing the society entirely open might be discussed. Mr. Badham said he would second the motion. Mr. Hempson wanted his proposal to have a trial this year, especially as their show was to be held at Colchester, and they should then be able to draw in a number of competitors who would otherwise be disqualified. Mr. Papillon said he would withdraw his motion. After some further discussion Mr. Hempson's motion was negatived by a large majority. Mr. Papillon handed to the secretary a notice of his intention to propose the following rule in substitution for rule 7, at the next annual meeting : " That the competition for prizes be confined to members of the society ; that the society's general prize-list be open to general competition without any restriction as to the place of residence ; but that no member be entitled to compete for any prize whatever unless his subsenptiou be paid up previous to the day of exhibition." Mr. Badham, pursuant to notice, proposed the following resolution : " That all subscribers shall be considered members until they give notice to the secretary, in writing, of their in- tention to withdraw, and such notice shall be given on or before the first day of January in each year.1' Mr. Thompson seconded the motion, which was agreed to. The following new members were elected : Rev. C. F. Norman, Manningtree, and Mr. L. A. Majendie, Castle He- dingham (Vice-Presidents) ; Mr. John Lay, Colchester ; and Mr. W. S. Richardson, Lay er-de- la-Hay. The meeting then broke up. ESSEX CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. A meeting of the Council was held at Chelmsford : Sir T. B. "Western, Bart., President for the year, in the chair. On the motion of Mr. Gardiner, seconded by Mr. Hemp- son, it was decided to have a paid Secretary, at a salary of £25 a-year and travelling expenses ; and that Mr. E. H. Bentall, who up to the present had acted as one of the Honorary Secretaries, should be appointed to the office ; and this was agreed to. The Chairman proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Branwhite and Mr. Bentall for their past services as Honorary Secretaries, which was unanimously adopted. Mr. Branwhite having acknowledged the compliment, advocated an alteration of the Rule fixing the Member's sub- scription at five shillings per annum, and suggested that it should be " not less than five shillings," so that gentlemen of position might, if they pleased, pay more. This suggestion was strongly opposed by Colonel Brise, the Chairman, and Mr. Hempson, and the feeling of the meeting being so decidedly against it, it was allowed to drop. The Council then proceeded to select a subject for discussion at the next general meeting of the Chamber. After some con- versation, the subject decided upon was that of " Local Taxation," which Mr. Papillon promised to introduce, the meeting being fixed for Saturday, the 6th of .February, at Colchester. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 153 PRESENTATION TO MR. JOHN BEASLEY Mr. John Beasley has occupied the position of land-agent to Earl Spencer's estate, for forty-three years, and to that of Lord Overstone for upwards of thirty years, and the tenants of the two properties were desirous of expressing, in a marked and substantial manner, the respect and esteem in which they held him. The tcnauts of Earl Spencer determined to present Mr. Beasley with a portrait of himself, and Mr. Wells was selected to paint it. The painting is a faithful likeness, the. artist having admirably succeeded in catching the expression of the sitter's features. It is life-size, and nearly full length. The tenants of Lord Overstone selected for presentation a col- lection of plate. The chief piece is a silver epergue with nine branches, which form a handsome candelabra. Sur- mounting the base of the epergne are a horse, a cow, and a sheep, beautifully executed in frosted silver. The inscription on the base, is as follows : " Presented to John Beasley, Esq., By the Tenants of the Rt. Hon. Lord Overstone, As a mark of their respect and esteem, and in grateful ackowledgment of the kind consideration they have received from him during the long period of July, 18G8." his agency. Mr. Beaslcy's crest and coat-of-arms arc engraved on the other side of the base. The epergne was accompanied by a venison dish and cover, and six table dish-covers, on each of which was inscribed the crest and coat-of-arms, around which was a taste- fully engraved design, whose most prominent feature con- sisted of cars of wheat. The presentation took place at a dinuer held at the George Hotel. Mr. A. H. Thursby, of Wormleighton, occupied the chair, the vice-chair being filled by Mr. Boyer, of Sywell. Mr. Beasley sat on the right of the chairman. Mr. John Beasley, in acknowledgement, said : A land agent is one of those creatures who may do a great amount of mischief and prevent a great amount of good being done, but the good he does must mainly depend on his employers. I think I may say — I won't say it has been my good fortuue, for f jrtune is a word I don't admit into my vocabulary — but it has been my lot to serve more good masters than it has fallen to the lot of any one. man to serve. I will not refer to those good men who have passed away, although it would be in accordance with my sympathies to do so, but I know that their memories are engraved on your hearts as on mine, in characters of gratitude, affection, and respect. But I say advisedly, and without fear of contradiction, that two large and important estates are committed to my management, under two of the best landlords and two of the best masters in England. If it were not so I should not be standing here as the re- cipient of your generosity. Whatever good I might have wished to have done, I could not have done without their en- tire concurrence ; and without that I should have been in the position of a man with his hands fast tied and bound. You must all know that I could not of my own free will have as- sisted you in the draining of your laud — the forerunner of all other improvements ; I could not have improved your farm- houses, and enabled you to fulfil the first of domestic duties— that of making your own homes as happy as possible ; I could not have improved your farmyards — that great assistant to good farming ; I could not have built cottages for your la- bourers, thereby, as I trust, improving their physical, moral, aud religious position; and I could not have built schools for those who cannot provide for the education of their own children. All these are great aud costly works ; and, although I doubt not they will pay in the long run ten- fold, yet they cannot be done without great present sacrifices, even by those who have the largest incomes. I am sure you will, therefore, join mc in saying " Honour to whom honour is due ;" and, depend upon it, you cannot set too great a value on those high-minded noblemen who understand and carry out the duties, as well as enjoy the privileges, of their exalted position. To possess their confidence and the confidence of their tenants, to believe that I have given satis- faction to both parties, is all the reward for which I have ever sought, and is full compensation for the toil, labour, aud anxiety of many years. But, gentlemen, I feel sure that many of you have, with me, of late listened to and read speeches in which men of my standing have been alluded to as having outlived their times — though I don't know what that means. We are told that we do not understand the position and requirements of the tenant farmer of the present day ; that they want more freedom, more liberty of action ; that the law between landlord and tenant has become obsolete ; that it wants revising at once, that the landlord should not have the first claim on a farm for rent, because the having it makes him more careless of the capital of the tenant, and if not understanding their arguments be taken as a criterion I must acknowledge I have got into my second childhood. I am per- fectly at a loss to conceive what liberty you require that you do not already possess. I know there are many links which form the chain that binds you to your landlord, to your farms, and your homes, but I am under a great mistake if you think any of them are fetters. On the contrary, I feel that every year adds a link of confidence and good-feeling. I am not against Reforms, but I am old enough to know that there may be Reforms with- out improvements, and though it may be said that old men get prejudiced, I am sufficiently prejudiced to "let well alone." There was a time when I thought there should be a tenant- right for the whole country, but my experience has taught me it is impossible. The custom of a district has become the law of that district ; it is perfectly understood, and I very greatly doubt whether you would find a better. What is it the tenant farmer requires? It is perfect confidence. If you have got that, you have got a lever of great power, and if you have not got that, I don't care what you have got in lieu of it, it will prove but a broken reed. As to the landlord having the first claim on a farm for rent, I certainly don't care whether it is the first or last. It would make no difference to me. I never took a guarantee or security from a tenant for his rent, and, as far as my memory goes, I only lost rent from a tenant once in my life. Last September I completed all the receipts of rents it was my duty to collect, and very soon afterwards I made up my books, making up my rents. They consisted of sums varying from 10s. to £1,500 or £1,600. At the end of the half-year I had only one arrear, and that was 10s. Now, if I had had any arrear of impor- tance I should not have alluded to this subject ; for I should not have liked to have set you guessing whether it was Joseph Green, John White, or George Brown, or who wasj the unfortunate wight. But at the end of a year, which was not one of the greatest prosperity, that was the state of my rest-roll. These rents are paid by a body of tenantry with whom I am very proud to be connected, and though they all hold their farms, with one exception, from year to year, I will venture to say those farms have been improved, within the last few years, equal to any farms in the nite Kingdom. 154 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE CORN TRADE. ANNUAL STATEMENT. Never before has it fallen to our lot to so easily describe the general character of the year 1868. It opened and continued uninterruptedly seasonable, with the exception of a want of moisture for the Spring crops, roots, and grasses, most of which suffered severely, more from the long continuance of drought than from excessive heat. On the continent of Europe the seasons were not so uniformly fine, for there, drought, extreme heat, and rains came untimely, and con- sequently we hear in some countries complaints about their Spring corn, roots, and grasses, while iu others of injury to their crops at harvest time. These remarks apply equally to the Northern States of America. During the first half of the year corn importers had a most prosperous trade, but siuce then prices of wheat had almost continuously receded, thereby entailing considerable losses, which, however, with few exceptions, have been much distributed, and thus prices have fallen 25 to 30 per cent, without panic, or such seriously disastrous results as on some former occasions. The seed wheat was well got in, and notwithstanding the large quantity of rain the last two months, we hear of few complaints as to the appearance of the young plant, the land having been in a condition to absorb more than an average rainfall. The total importation of grain and flour into the United Kingdom last year was about 66,722,000 cwts. against 65,500,000 cwts. in 1867. The total estimated value, in the abseuce of complete Government return, we set at about £39,000,000 against £41,364,134 in 1867. The number of grain cargoes on passages to the United Kingdom from the South of Europe and America, &c, according to Mr. Dornbusch's latest accounts, is 566, against 521 at the corresponding date in the previous year, viz., of wheat 302 against 423, of barley 109 against 39, and of maize 98 against only 6. Wheat. — The last crop, although not so enormous as that of 1863, will be classed among the largest and finest grown in this country in the present century, for there was a large breadth sown, a great yield in quantity to the acre, and an enormous weight to the bushel ; in addition to which, none was injured at harvest time. We hear of no weights under 62 lbs. per bushel, a large proportion 63 lbs. to 64 lbs. and for three months after harvest much up to 66 lbs, to 67 lbs. After making allowance for the late damp weather, we set the average weight for the Kingdom at fully 63^ lbs., or about If per cent., equal to nearly 400,000 average qrs. in over- weight ; while in 1867 we estimated a deficiency of 3 per cent. The produce per acre is very bulky, especially in Lincolnshire and parts of Kent, in which counties we know in two instances of the extraordinary growth of ten qrs. to the acre. We think about 36 bushels per acre, or 28 per cent, over an average may be taken as the average growth of the Kingdom against about 25 bushels the previous year, and 28 on an average of seasons, and taking our average annual growth at 14 million qrs., we have nearly 2J- million qrs. excess quantity ; thus making a total surplus in weight and measure of about three million qrs. In addition to this excess, it must be borne in mind that our last crop gives but little " Tailings," and the skin of the wheat heing particularly thin, a larger quantity of flour is manufactured from a quarter of wheat than usual. Now, taking our population at fully 30 million souls, our flour consumption equal to 22 million qrs. wheat, our average wheat production at 14 million qrs., and that of 1868 at nearly 17 millions, it would seem to require a foreign im- portation of little over 5 million qrs. wheat and flour to meet our actual wants up to next harvest. On the other hand, having begun upon the last crop a month earlier than usual, we must deduct, say, 1,200,000 qrs., and whereas the deliveries of English wheat since 1st August were fully three-fourths new, against usually one-half, we must again account for about 1,400,000 qrs.— say, together 2,600,000 in 5 months, so that we have already got rid of all excess of production. Then, as there is hardly any old wheat in farmers' hands, we have to make allowance for extra demand upon the last crop for the remaining 8 months ; and, lastly, the consumption of wheat (particularly of revitts) since harvest as cattle and pig food, and for starch and malt, has also been considerable. Upon the whole, supposing the next harvest to be collected at about an average date, our farmers will then again have but small stocks on hand, and we think we can bear up against a foreign supply at the rate of 7 to 8 million qrs. per annum up to 1st September next, without reducing present prices. Our foreign arrivals of wheat and flour since 1st August were equal to more than 3 million qrs., which is at the rate of 7| million qrs. for the cereal year. France secured a full average crop in quan- tity, but the weight, condition, and quality were not uniformly satisfactory. Her stocks at harvest were, like all her neigh- bours', at a dangerously low point ; and while importations into her southern ports are not likely to be more than usual, we do not look to any exportation of consequence from her northern ports. Italy had a small crop. Spain and Portugal decidedly very deficient ; particularly the former, to which many cargoes have been sent, and considerable shipments would follow, were it not for the disturbed political and mone- tary state of that country. Hungary was far less fortunate than in the previous year, and prices there have been too high to allow shipments of any amount to meet our currencies. On the Danube the crops were good in quantity, but, with the ex- ception of round Galatz, were injured by rains at about harvest-time ; and this remark applies to certain districts in North and South Russia, where, however, in other parts, especially at the sea coast and along the Don, the crops are said to be fine in quality and condition, while the quantity is mostly under average. Stocks in all these ports are so low that we must look to only small shipments at the opening of the next shipping season. American accounts as to the last crops have been, as is often the case, so exaggerated, first one way, then another, that it is extremely difficult to find a basis. We believe, however, it will turn out that the winter wheat was really short in quantity, and the spring not much beyond an average, the quality of both being excellent. California and Chili had considerably beyond an average, with good quality. Australia will soon be upon a new crop, which is expected to be very productive ; and in the meantime prices there have fallen to about a parity with our own. Importations into the United Kingdom amounted to about 32,730,000 cwts., against 34,645,569 in 1867. Of the 1,207,000 qrs. imported into London, we received 40.05 per cent, from Russia ; 32.66 from North German States ; 0.15 from France ; 12.54 from America and Canada. The year opened with an imperial weekly average prices of 67s. lOd. against 60s. 2d. in 1867, and closed with 50s. 7d. ; the highest was 74s. 7d. on 9th May, and lowest 49s. 5d. on 19th December. The annual aggregate average was about 63s. 9d., against 64s. 5d. in 1867, and 49s. lid. in 1866. Barley. — In consequence of the high value of Wheat and the excellent condition of the land in the autumn of '67 to receive the seed wheat, there was fully 5 per cent, less than the usual breadth of land left for Barley in the spring of last year. The yield varied from 2 to 7i qrs. per acre, according to the soil and position of the fields, and we think the quantity per acre was certainly under an average. The weights on poor and hot soils were very light, down to 491bs., but the general runs were heavy, say 551bs. to 561bs., while in some instances the extraordinary weights 581bs. to 601bs. per bushel have been delivered. Nearly the entire crop was of excellent malting quality, although rather " steely." In the West of England a small portion was caught by rain at harvest, and being very ripe at the time, it quickly became half malted in the fields. It is worthy of remark that fine English 56 barley has made 54s. per qr. at the same time that fine 651bs. red wheat was sold at 50s., also that a few thousand qrs. have been exported to America for brewing purposes, the crop in that country having failed. In Scotland the crop was rather THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 155 under average in breadth of land sown and in quantity to the acre, but the quality and weight were satisfactory. France, has sent us some good and comparatively cheap malting qualities. Germany has supplied us with little. Denmark aud Sweden had small crops, the quality of which was good, but their home demand has been so large as to have left but little for shipment, of which hardly any has come to Londou. The Danube had very small crops of light weights, and in som districts badly secured at harvest. The Black and Azoff Seas had likewise less than average quantities, but the qualities, weights aud condition were more satisfactory. The importa- tion into the United Kingdom in the past year was about 7,508,000 cwts. against 5,083,721 cwts. iu 1867. Iuto Londou we received 472,000 qrs., of which Russia sent 21.19 per cent. ; Denmark, 2.53 ; German States, 6.61 ; France, 19.96 ; Turkish Dominions, 19. OS. 1S08 opened with an imperial weekly average price of lis. 4d., and closed with •10s. Id. The highest was 47s. 3d. on 21st November, the lowest 35s. 8d. on 25th July. The annual aggregate average was about -12s. lid. against 40s. the previous year. Oats. — In England there was about an average breadth sown. The dryness of the season caused the straw to be very short, while we hear of a growth of as much as 10 aud 12 qrs. to the acre ou favoured spots ; we are also told of hill districts where there was so little on the land that farmers fed off what there was. Upon the whole we should say the entire crop was not over half an average. The weights were equally various, some samples, however, have been up to 481bs. per bushel. Scotland had considerably less than an average well harvested, but of extremes in weight, say from 441bs. down to 381bs. Ireland had a fair crop in quantity aud quality. Sweden and Denmark secured decidedly small crops, probably half au average, but the weights and condition were good Holland, along the Dutch and German coast, in Courland and in parts of .Russia, the crops were under average, the weights light, and by last accounts from Petersburg and -Riga, prices there f.o.b. are as high as what the goods would bring here cost and freight for first open water shipments. Importations into the United Kingdom were about 8,202,000 cwts. against 9,407,136 in 1867. Into Londou we received 2,070,000 qrs. of which Russia sent 52.26 per cent., Sweden 19.85, Denmark 3.93, Holland 5.05, German States 6.48, and America and Cauada 2.64. The year opened with an imperial weekly average price of 25s. 10d., against 24s. 2d. in 1867, and closed with 26s. 2d. ; the highest was 31s. 4d., on 25th July, and the lowest 25s. 5d., on 11th January. The annual aggregate average was about 28s. Id., against 26s. the previous year. Beans and Peas. — The former we have to report as the worst of all our grain crops this season. The Mazagan, which are sown iu the spring, failed to such an extent as to be only one-eighth to one-third of an average, and the winter-sown were not more than one-half to two-thirds of a crop. Peas were about one-half a crop. In both cases the quality and condition tine. The importation of beans into the United Kingdom was about 2,653,457 cwts., against 1,982,615 in 1867; into London 91,707 qrs., against 81,151 in 1867. The importa- tion of peas was about 1,127,570 cwts., against 1,586,129 iu 1867 ; into London 58,236 qrs., against 108,746 qrs. in 1867. Maize. — This grain, which is always planted late in spring, and the last harvested, was less effected by drought than was expected ; and the crops throughout the South of Europe were a full average in quantity, and of tine quality and condition. In America great fears were at one time expressed as to in- jury from excessive heat, then from continued rains ; but we believe the " happy medium" to be nearer the truth, and at present we look upou the crop of that country as rather over average ; but the condition having suffered from rain, it may be later than usual before farmers send forward their supplies ; and in this we are confirmed by last accounts, which show a delivery into New York from 1st May to 15th December, 1808, of 14,000,000 bushels, against 13,000,000, 21,000,000, and 15,000,000 for like periods in the previous years. The importation into the United Kingdom was about" 11,297 858 cwts., against 8,540,429 in 1807, and 14,322,000 in 1800— the largest on record since 1847. Into London we received 314,598 qrs., against 180,000 in 1867. Flour. — As is frequently the case when our wheat-crop is bountiful, the flour, although very sweet and of good colour, is deficient in strength, thereby requiring a full admixture of Russian or some other strong wheat, in order that bakers may turn out their usual number of loaves of bread to the sack of flour. The high relative value of bran, pollard, &c, for feeding-purposes has enabled millers to stem the tide against bad times, which, we understand, they have complained of since last harvest, flour not having sold at its proportionate value to wheat. The quality of the French sent here since harvest has been weak and inferior in colour, while that from America has been strong and good. We do not look to much supply from either of these countries for some time to come, but it is pos- sible America may send us a fair quantity next summer, and in the meantime we are likely to get some shipments from Aus- tralia. Importations into the United Kingdom amounted to about 3,054,868 cwts., against 3,592,969 in 1867 ; in London we received about 400,000 cwts., against 725,885 the previous year, of which France sent 2 per cent., America and Canada 43.50, Austrian States 8.25, and Australia 17.75. By the kind assistance of the public docks, railways, and private granary-keepers, we are again enabled to give the stocks at this port at the close of last year. In the case of flour we cannot give the exact weight, as it is landed in packages of various weights : Wheat 208,980 qrs., barley 48,453 qrs., oats 331,411 qrs., rye 6,020 qrs., maize 11,003 qrs., beans 6,839 qrs., peas 12,615 qrs., tares 4,183 qrs. — total 030,104 qrs. Of flour the stocks were 27,337 barrels 21,4S8 sacks foreign, and 5,000 sacks English. The stocks at the principal London railway depots were : Wheat 9,022 qrs., barley 9,954 qrs., oats 1,613 qrs., rye 32 qrs., beans 1,391 qrs., peas 1,407 qrs., tares 59 qrs., flour 47,544 sacks. Hokne, Son, & Mac Lnnes. London, Jan, 5. TRADE OF THE PORT OF HULL, ANNUAL REVIEW FOR THE YEAR 1808. Although the year just closed has not been characterised by the gloom aud depression prevalent during the two previous years, their effect on trade generally has uot entirely disap- peared, the low rate of bank discount notwithstanding. Trade, however, is in a sound state, and the usual consumptive de- mand for our productions is gradually reappearing. With reference to the business of this port the increase of dock ton- nage shows its improving condition, and with the completion of the Doncaster Railway, and the opening of the West Dock, a still greater increase of trade may be confidently anticipated; 1808. Total tonnage upou which dock dues were received 1,450,353 Number of vessels reported inwards on foreign voyages 3^51 Tonnage of ditto 1,013,070 Steam vessels in the foreign trade 197 Tonnage of ditto , 107,687 Wheat. — The year has been one of great excitement in the wheat trade, the defective harvest of the previous year, the heavy rains in the spring, and the remarkable drought that succeeded, from which it was feared the growing crops would materially suffer, all added to the interest of the trade during the year, in the course of which prices varied largely. This year's crop turned out much beyond the most sanguine expec- tations, the yield iu many cases averaging 651bs. per bushel, aud the quality such as to allow our millers to use it without any admixture of old wheat. The year opened with English white at 74s. to 7Ss., and red at 08s. to 70s. An advance took place early in January — white wheat 77s. to 82s., and red 73s. to 77s. These prices continued until about, the middle of February, when there was a fall of Is. to 2s. per qr., but by the close of that month the advance first noted had been re- established. During March there was very little fluctuation, one week prices receding about Is., but the next recovering 156 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. hat loss. The same remark applies equally to the following six weeks, but about the middle of May there was a full of about 3s. per (jr., English white wheat being then quoted at 72s. to 75s. per qr., and red at 66s. to 70s. The best qualities of foreign grain were held for about the same money. In the first week in June there was a still further decline in price of about -is. per qr. About this time, owing to the discouraging reports as to the prospects of the growing wheat crop, prices became a little firmer, but millers held back as much as pos- sible, and about the middle of July the quotations for wheat were lower than at any time during the previous eighteen mouths, viz., 64s. to 67s. per qr. for English white, 60s. to 63s. for red, and fits, to 68s. for the best qualities of foreign. By the first week in August there had been a decline of 5s. to 6s. per qr., the quotation then being — English old while, 58s. to 63s. ; new, 6Us. to 65s. ; old red, 54s. to 56s. ; new, 55s. to 58s. In the following week there was an advance on these prices of Is. to 2s. per qr., but this advance did not hold more than a week, for the very nest market there was a decline of 2s. per qr. These prices prevailed until the beginning of No- vember, when there was a further decline of 2s., and the quo- tations in the middle of that month were — English white, 56s. to 58s. ; red, 50s. to 52s. ; best quality of foreign, 57s. to 60s. The month closed with a reduction on these prices of 2s. per qr. This reduction was recovered a fortnight ago, and the year closes with English white at 54s. to 56s. per qr. ; red, 48s. to 50s. ; and good foreign about the same rates. Foreign wheat followed these variations closely, the transactions in which, except during the spring, were trilling, closing the year with white Baltic at 54s. to 56s. ; extra, 57s. to 58s. ; mixed, 50s. to 52s. ; red, 49s to 50s. ; extra, 51s., 4S01bs. The im- ports into the United Kingdom of wheat and flour will be about 11,000,000 qrs., against 9,091,593 in 1867, and 6,712,258 in 1866. The average price of English wheat will this year he about 57s. 5d. per qr., against 64s. 5d. in 1867 ; 49s. lid. in 1S66, 41s. lOd. in 1865, and 40s. 2d. in 1864. The import is 415,730 qrs., against 433,287 qrs. in 1867 ; and the stock on hand, the lowest we have had for many years, 55,000 qrs. Barley. — The arrivals from abroad have this year been nearly double those of last year, of which about two-thirds have been of the last crop, and chiefly of malting quality ; our own crop, though of fine quality, having turned out very defi- cient in quantity, in consequence of the unusually protracted drought extending almost uninterrupted from seed till harvest- time, which latter period was an unusually early one this year. The supplies of malting barley have principally been drawn from the German Oderbruck and Saal districts, and from Den- mark ; whilst the Black Sea and Russian Baltic ports princi- pally have furnished the grinding qualities. Prices remained remarkably steady from the beginning of the year till the end of May ; a slight decline then took place, at which they ranged till harvest-time, when they again improved, and are now almost on a par with those ruling at the end of last year for foreign, but rather higher for English. Our quotations are, fine English malting 48s. to 50s., two-rowed Danish 42s. to 44s., Chevalier ditto 45s. to 4Ss., and Russian grinding 37s. to 38s. per 4481bs. Our stocks are considerably larger, say 30,000 qrs. now (one-half of which is only grinding quality) against 4,000 last year. Oats. — Our supplies this year are hardly above one-half of last, and the greatest deficiency has occurred in those from Sweden, where, as in Denmark as well as in this country, the yield of last crop has been very poor. Prices have been almost stationary, with the exception of a slight rise during the sum- mer mouths, in the height of the drought ; and we close the year almost as we began it, viz., 27s. 6d. to 29s. 6d. for Eng- lish, and 29s. to 30s. for Swedish and Danish, all per 3361bs. Our stocks have rather accumulated, and are now 16,000 qrs., against only 5,000 qrs. last year. Peas. — The foreign arrivals of this article have been com- paratively large, but owing to a short home crop prices have been tolerably well maintained, having very gradually declined about 5s. per qr. from the beginning to the end of the year, and the present quotation for white Baltic feeders is 42s. 6d. to 43s. per 5041bs. Our stocks are 6,000 qrs., against 1,200 qrs. last year. Beans. — Our supplies from abroad have been rather in ex- cess of last year. Prices gave way Is. to 2s. per qr. in July, September, and are now exactly as they were at the com- mencement of the year, viz., 47s. to 48s. per 5041bs. for middling. Stocks are 3,000 qrs., against 5,000 qrs. last year. Linseed. — The business in this important branch of the trade of the port has this year attained to gigantic propor- tions, the import from direct ports being thirty-five per cent, in excess of the previous year. Qrs. Our direct import has been 805,562 London and Liverpool 25,000 Stock— December, 1867, in all hands . . . 96,000 Total supply 926,562 Deduct present stock 230,000 Showing actual consumption 696,562 Against ditto in 1867 ... 567,804 Being an increase of consumption of ... 128,758 The import into Grimsby is 52,320 qrs., against 46,000 qrs. in 1867. The bulk of this supply has been received from St. Peters- burg, beiug 431,992 qrs., against 278,024 qrs. in 1867. This liberal import is in a great measure the result of the extensive network of railways now in rapid course of construction in the Russian Empire, and wc may therefore rely upon an equal, if not a larger quantity being brought down to the sea-hoard in the coming season, the crop iu most of the linseed producing districts being reported a full average both as to quality and yield. The year opened with a comparatively small stock on hand, but with an excess afloat by sail, and this excess was greatly increased by the unusually large shipments from the Black Sea by steamships, a large portion of which was sent here, having the effect not only of checking the expected rise in price during the early months, but of producing the reverse result, and under the combined influence of abundant supplies and a dull cake trade, prices were barely sustained, 65s. for Black Sea and 62s. 6d. fine Petersburg were the quotations at the close of 1867, with little business passing, and these were the nominal rates during January. In the second week iu February prices gave way Is. to 2s., continuing their slow downward course to the first week in June, when Black Sea was worth 58s. 6d., and fine Petersburg ex-ship 55s. The early winter months of the year were remarkable for the mild- ness of the temperature, being followed by a spring which pro- mise d the farmer a large supply of food for his stock, and during the winter and spring, up to the end of May, linseed- cake was in the most limited demand. June set in hot and dry, pastures failed, and in the short space of one week the whole aspect of the linseed trade was transformed — the con- tinued and intense drought set all the mills at work, and on the 19th June our quotations were Black Sea 62s., fine Petersburg 60s. This excitement cooled down by the end of June, prices giving way Is. to Is. 6d. per qr., under the pressure of large arrivals, recovering the loss by the second week in July, and remaining firm for the next three weeks. The import to the end of August was about 180,000 qrs. in advance of 1867, with immense arrivals weekly, it being also ascertained by this time that the quantity to be shipped at Petersburg would be at least 100,000 qrs. more than was expected at the opening of the navigation ; thus, under the influence of large arrivals and expectancies, the market again gave way, gradually yielding- week by week to the demands of consumers, making the quoted prices for the end of the year 56s. for Black Sea, and 53s. for fine Petersburg. The stock in all hands is estimated at 230,000 qrs , against 96,000 qrs. last year. The quantity afloat from India is 186,601 qrs., against 147,778 qrs. in 1867, and from the Black Sea 105, 000 qrs., against 75,000 qrs. Linseed Oil. — The year closed with prices, spot 34s. 6d. to 35s., January-March 35s. 9d., March-June, with a fair de- mand for the time of the year. At the close of the month spot oil had receded, in consequence of speculative sales, but forward oil maintained its value ; the same occurred in Feb- ruary and March, hut by the end of April prices had further receded to 33s. spot, at 34s. for forward. By the end of May the demand slackened, and 31s. 6d. was the value for imme- diate delivery, and 32s. to 32s. 6d. June-October. With June commenced the dryest season we have experienced for many ^ ears, and a demand for cake having sent in, prices fell, with ccasional rallying, toward the end of July, to 30s. 3d. spot, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 157 with a slow demand for forward delivery. This state of things continued with little variation to the close of September, when the value for spot and forward were the same, viz., 30s. Cd. spot and six months. By the end of October t lie prices fell to 29s. spot, at .'50s. for next six mouths. The make of oil being- large, prices continued to decline in spite of a fair home and a large export demand (viz., 15,000 tons against 0,635 tons last year) to 27s. spot, 28s. Gd. first four months, and 30s. April- June, nominal, at which the season closes. Linseed Cakes. — There has been a good demand for cakes during the entire year, and although the supply has becu most abundant prices have ruled exceedingly high. At the com- mencement of the year Hull-made cakes were quoted at £10 to £12 10s. per ton, whilst foreign varied from £9 10s. to £11 5s. During the first month prices gave way a little, and at the close of January Hull-made cakes were quoted at £9 to £11 15s. per ton. About the middle of February there was an increased demaud, and in consequence prices advanced about 5s. per tou. A month later the demand fell off, and holders again accepted £9 to £11 15s. for town-made cakes. About the middle of May the demand rather fell off, and prices re- ceded, Hull-made being quoted at £8 10s. to £11 per ton. A month later cakes were much more inquired for, especially for forward delivery, but crushers asked high prices, and but little business was transacted. An advance of 10s. to 20s. per ton was, howeverr, established for present delivery, and the pros- pects, owing to the dry weather, were such that for forward delivery there were no sellers at any price. At the end of June Hull-made cakes were quoted at £10 to £12 per ton, and a month late:- the quotation was as high as £12 10s. Prices remained almost stationary until about the middle of Septem- ber, when the demand having somewhat abated crushers ac- cepted a reduction of 5s. to 10s. a ton, but in the beginning of October prices recovered what had been lost in the previous month, and by the end of October a further advance of 5s. per ton was established. Not only was this advance maintained, but in the middle of November there was a further increase of 5s. per ton, Hull-made cakes being quoted at £10 10s. to £12 15s. Rapeseed and Rubenseed. — The import this ye&r is 12S.566 qrs., against 110,527 qrs. in 1S67, and 122,251 qrs. in 18GC. German Rubseu was worth about 56s. in the begin- ning of the year, Odessa seed 35s. to 36s., Danubian 58s. to 60s. on the spot. Business was dull during January and February, and prices almost nominal. In the beginning of March some few transactions took place at 56s. to 56s. 6d., c.f.i. guaranteed, but prices fell during the next two months, and by the eud of April, in consequence of the favourable ap- pearance of the growing crop, Rubsen was offered at 50s. at the shipping ports. Crushers holding off, prices further re- ceded to 46s., c.f i., which was accepted for August shipment. The new crop turned out favourable as regards quality, but not so large in quantity as was expected. Shippers advancing their demands, little busiuess was done for some time, and 50s. to 51s. was the quotation for July, August, and September, but during October offers were made at 51s. 6d., c.f.i., and business was effected at Is. less. Towards the close of the year the price for German rubsen advanced, and 57s. to 58s. was paid. We close this year with prices rather easier, not- withstanding a better demand for oil and high prices paid for cake. Odessa seed varied little in value during the year, 31s. to 33s. having been paid, whilst Danubian seed (of which little reached us) 56s. was the value. The stock on hand is 10,000 qrs., against 20,000 qrs. in all hands the year previous. Rape Oil. — The year opened with the prices of brown oil at 35s. naked, and refined in casks 39s. per cwt. These prices were fully maintained for the first four months, but towards the close of May receded to 32s. for brown, with few buyers. At 31s. 6d. considerable business was done during Juue, July, and August, but prices fell iu the beginning of September to 28s. for brown and 32s. for refined, with a very slow demand. Towards the close of the month these low figures attracted buyers, and Is. to 2s. more were paid. A further advauce took place in November, when 32s. was paid for brown, and 35s. 6d. for refined, but the advance was lost towards the close of the year, when we quote 30s. brown and 33s. 6d. to 34s. refined, with a fair demand. Rape Cakes. — In the spring there was a fair demand for feeding cakes, at prices varying from £5 15s. to £6 5s. For manure cakes the business done was limited at £4 10s, As the summer came on contracts were entered into at £5 5s. for fine green rubsen cakes to the end of the year. In June, in consequence of the drought, prices advanced, and contracts were made at £6 to £7. The retail price has varied from £7 to 18, and at present is from £7 15s. to £8. For manure cakes as high as £0 10s. has been paid. Cottonseed. — The import this year is 27,468 tons (the largest proportion of which came to hand the first six months) against 23,107 tons in 1867, and 31,380 tons in 1866. The year opened with very short stocks, and sellers of the new crop at £9 5s. monthly delivery. The first arrival took place in January on crushers' account. For coast cargoes £9 15s. was demanded, advancing to £10 10s. in February, which was also the value on the spot, being the highest point reached during the year. The new seed arriving freely prices receded 10s. during the next two months, aud in May, in consequence of the nnrernuuerative prices of produce, declined to £9 5s. on the spot, and £9 coasting cargoes. With the dry season that followed, and the consequent demand for cake, the price again advanced in Juue to £10 and £10 5s., which was the value for the next three months in all positions. In the end of Sep- tember, cargoes at ports of call offered at £9 10s. to £9 15s. tale quale, some of which found purchasers. The supply during October being small, prices rose, to £10 to £10 5s. on the spot, losing the advance towards the close of the year, when old seed, ex-warehouse, offered at £9, and new, per steamer, £9 10s., and per sailing vessel £9 per ton. Cottonseed Oil. — The value at the commencement of the year was 29s. crude, naked, aud 35s. Gd. refined in Medi- terranean casks, and 35s. for forward delivery, with a fair de- mand, advancing in the end of January to 30s. 6d. and 37s. respectively, and in February to 34s. and 40s., the highest prices realised during the year, but at which little business resulted. A good Mediterranean demand arose in March and April, and considerable transactions took place at prices vary- ing from 32s. to 32s. 6d. for crude, and 38s. refined, receding to 28s, Gd. and 35s. in the end of May, but recovering iu June, from a renewed demand, to 30s. and 36s., which prices con- tinued with little variation during July, August, and Septem- ber, declining to 28s. and 34s. in the end of that month and all October, after which a large make with a slow demand gradu- ally reduced prices to their present figure, viz., 22s. to 24s. crude, aud 29s. to 30s. refined, at which rates we close year. Cottonseed Cakes. — The year opened with a good demaud at £6 10s. spot, aud £6 5s. delivery, February, April. In the expectation of a short supply of seed, crushers advanced their prices to £6 15s., and declined contract sales. The new crop coming iu freely, prices declined during the next four months to £6 spot and forward, with a very limited demand. Iu June the appearance of the drought brought buyers forward, and considerable busiuess was done at £5 15s. to £5 17s. Gd., crushers again declining forward business. Prices rapidly advanced during the month, and at the close £G 10s. was paid, some crushers holding out for £7. In July and August the value rose to £7 5s., £7 10s., and £7 15s., receding in Septem- ber to £7- Crushers having contracted largely and being be- hiud-hand in their deliveries, advanced their demands for im- mediate delivery, and £7 15s. was paid during October, and £8 5s. in November, which is about the present value. OliveOil. — The import for 1868 has been 4,204tuns, against 5,870 tuns in 1867, 6,945 tuns in 1866, and 7,555 tuns in 1865. Iuconsequenceof great scarcity at all shipping ports, arising from three successive failures of crops, prices ruled excessively high until near the end of the year, opening at £71 for Gallipoli, and reaching £74 in March, the highest price attained for a quarter of a century — until November the price gradually de- clined to £70, and towards the end of that month the market at length began to show the effect of lower quotations from abroad, and the certainty of more abundant supplies being shortly available. The closing price may be quoted £62. The stocks are only 63 tuns against 228 tuns at the close of 1867, and 180 tuns in 18G6. Hemp. — The trade in this article has been of the most lan- guid kind throughout the entire year ; and although our re- turus show a falling oft' iu the import to the extent of 2,300 tons, yet with fair stocks now in warehouse there appears to be little prospect of any advance in prices. The Russian dealers seem persistently to ignore the fact of Italian and other fibres being increasingly supplied to this country on cheaper terms than Baltic hemp. It is pretty evident too, that the eagerness 158 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. with winch some English houses in past years have entered the Russian market during the autumn, and contracted for forward deliveries, lias to some extent prevented the legitimate effects of supply and demand from fairly operating on this side. The total import into Hull for the past year is 5,959 tons, viz., 3,728 tons from Petersburg ; 3,032 tons from Riga ; and 196 tons sundry ; against 8,262 tons in 1867, aud 5,075 tons in 1866. We quote the present price of clean hemp £39 10s. to £40 10s. per ton. Cattle Bones. — Import only about two-thirds of last year. The price opened at £5 10s., and gradually reached £6 2s. 6d. at the close of the season, after which it again declined to £5 10s., but since, iu consequence of extremely limited arrivals, the price lias gradually advanced, and the value may now be quoted at £6 7s. 6d. Guano. — The arrivals this year are 11,962 tons against 15,103 tons the year previous, but the stock on hand being considerable, made up for the short import. There has been a good demand during the year, notwithstanding the small ad- vance in price, consequent upon the Spanish difficulty. Tar. — The import from all sources this year amounts to 12,406 barrels, viz., from Finland and Swedish ports 10,394, and from Archangel 2,012 barrels. Prices in our market ruled pretty steady during the early months of this year, but declined (with so much old stock on hand through slackness of trade) as the year advanced, to 14s. to 14s. 6d. per barrel. Imports being rather large in August, the price fell to 13s. 6d. From that period up to the end of November prices took a sudden turn upwards, say to 17s. 6d., and even 18s. 6d. per barrel was paid — the usual late imports not taking place, very high prices offering in London tempted several cargoes there. Since the month of October our imports have been almost nil, neverthe- less the market closes flat. Our stock is much smaller than for many years past, being about 2,850 barrels against 8,300 31st December, 1867. Turpentine Spirits. — Our market continues to be libe- rally supplied with French, principally from Bordeaux. Prices have ruled steady during the year, say from 28s. to 30s. on the spot. Very large imports of American into London, Liver- pool, and Bristol have taken place, causing more remunerative prices to the distiller quite impossible — reduced imports later on tended to advance prices a little, in November the price reached 31s. to 31s. 6d. The market is again flat, and the year closes with 29s. to 29s. 6d. as its nearest value. No direct imports of American spirits or crude turpentine of any moment into Hull the past year. The quantity of spirits from foreign ports during 186S is about 407 tons. Rosin. — We are still well supplied with this article, mostly from Bordeaux, there being no direct imports from America during the year. Common qualities are worth on the spot 5s. 9d. to 6s. 6d., good 7s. to 8s. 6d., finest pale for soapers use 10s. to 14s. Quantity imported during the year about 561 tons. Timber and Deals. — The importation of sawn woods, viz., deals, battens, and boards, has been considerably in excess of last year, the increase being principally of the lower descrip- tions from Norway and Sweden. The consumption has been satisfactory; but for the reason above named, prices have con- tinued low throughout the year, and are lower now than at the commencement of the year. Of the finer qualities from St. Petersburgh, &c., the stocks are small, and these descriptions are better to sell. Balk Timber. — The import has been about the same as last year, but in consequence of there being no railway or other large works going on, the consumption has not been satisfactory. Coals. — The exports this year have increased about 18,000 tons, viz., in 1867 156,924 tons against 174,900 tons in 1868. There is little or no alteration iu the description of coal ex- ported, as the bulk of it is second quality or West Riding" Good hard steam coal from the Barnslcy district can be sent down for export, but does not meet with that demand it merits on account of price ; what does come to market at present is nearly all consumed by the steamers. Shipping. — Sailing vessels have again experienced a year of dull freights. From Quebec to Hull or Grimsby 80s. was the opening rate. Miramichi 73s. and 72s. Later 28s. tim- ber, 80s. deals, was paid from Dalhousie to Hull, and 70s. St. John's N.B., to Hull or London, with the option of Liverpool at 75s. From Vefsen to West Hartlepool business was done early at 40s. From Gothenburg to West Hartlepool at 21s. and 20s., Wisbech 31s. 6d., Hull 26s. 3d. Sundswall freights opened at 45s. West Hartlepool, and receded to 42s. 6d., Her- nosand 42s. 6d., Stronsund 53s. 9d. Uleaborg and Hull 55s. waspaii. Gene and Hull 41s. 6d. Hudickswall 45s. From Cronstadt the first charters were made at 41s. Hull, which rate receded to 42s. 6d., West Hartlepool 38s. Wyburg aud Hull 46s. 6d. aud 47s. 6d., West Hartlepool 42s. 6d., closing as low as 42s. 6d. Hull. Riga and Hull or Grimsby 47s. 6d. was paid early ; later 41s. 6d. West Hartlepool was accepted. Narva and Hull 47s. 6d. Archangel and Gloucester 85s. For steam tonnage the freights homewards from Cronstadt, &c., have been flatter than usual during the past year. At the commencement of the Petersburgh season a good business was done at 4s. 6d. to 4s. 9d. rye to Antwerp, Schiedam, Rotter- dam, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Havre, &c. ; 40s. flax Dundee ; but when these freights were taken up, chartering became dull at Is. 9d. and Is. 6d. linseed, Cronstadt to Hull, recovering towards the end of June to 2s. 3d., and in July aud the beginning of August at 2s. 6d, per qr. Towards the end of August 2s. was again current. In September 2s. 6d. and October 3s. For the last voyages, instead of a higher rate than ordinary being paid to compensate for the late season, many steamers had to shift ports to Danzig and load wheat home at 3s. 9d., 3s. 6d., and even less per qr. Hull, January 1. P. Bruce. THE CHEESE TRADE OF 1868. The opening of the year was marked by considerable dulness for nearly all descriptions of cheese. It was, however, a little relieved towards the close of the month by an active demand for Cheshire, that article being relatively cheaper than other sorts ; Dutch cheese was especially dear ; while American ruled from 56s. to 58s. for superior qualities, with only a limited de- mand. Really fine English cheese (which throughout the year has been scarce) was found in request, and the trade generally assumed a brisker aspect, till, in March, owing to the limited arrivals, American cheese advanced to 62s., cheap Cheshire meanwhile finding ready buyers. Cheshire cheese at this period rather increased in stock, especially the middling qualities ; and as higher prices were required for these, they were not readily sold, the chief demand runuing upon really fine cheese, or on the very cheap descriptions. About the be- ginning of April American cheese sold freely, and 66s. was realized for fine factory dairies. As the summer approached, there was a relapse to almost total dubiess of the trade, except for really fine Cheshire and Cheddar ; American cheese was in slow demand, and prices went down in proportion. Very warm weather distinguished the months of May and Junej and Hip promise of a very large make both at home and abroad, com- bined with the difficulty of keeping cheese in good condition, tended to make buyers rather indifferent, and their purchases were only just commensurate with their current wants. The stock of fine American, however, was now reduced to a smalt compass, and 66s. was made for firm cheese of pure flavour and fine quality. New cheese began to arrive early from the States, but not in large quantities, prices ranging from 30s. to 60s. The extreme heat of the weather continued to make buyers cautious, though fears now began to be entertained that the long continuance of drought would considerably reduce the make of cheese, and old cheese, if firm, was rapidly cleared from the market, while further on towards autumn the inquiry increased for all descriptions, at improved prices — American cheese, even with tolerably large arrivals, bringing from 56s. to 64s. per cwt. It has since become evident that the early promise of large supplies from America will not be realized, and that the make in some of our own dairy districts has been under the usual average. Really fine Cheshire cheese would bring to-day 80s. to 86s. ; Cheddar, 84s. to 88s. ; Scotch Cheddar, 68s. to 72s. ; Swedish, 60s, to 66s. ; Am>"rioa». 7»* THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 159 to 7-is. These quotations have reference only to cheese of the first class : other sorts are nominal in price. ♦Stocks of all de- scriptions, however, are limited. We have to remark in general that cheese of tine quality and pure flavour is increasingly sought after, and that no reduction in price can substitute other descriptions for it. Much of the American cheese has this season proved defective in flavour, owing principally to the hot weather which prevailed at the time of its manufacture. This applies also in a great degree to West Country aud other cheese. Scotch cheese has now beeu brought to a point which places it beside Cheddar in general appreciation, except such dairies, perhaps, as the very highest Sweden, which does great credit to the dairymen of Scotland. We quite anticipate that with more experience and skilful effort, an article will be produced there which will take a good rank in this market. Every year is lessening- old prepossessions and breaking down prejudices as to the country in which cheese is made, con- sumers appreciating it more and more for what it is than from whence it comes ; and we (rust that as quality is now the standard of judgment, increased pains will be taken in our own dairy districts to make cheese such as will be appreciated for real merits We subjoin the arrivals of American cheese for 1S6S, as compared with those of 1S67 : The year ending December 31st, 1867 „ „ December 31st, 186S 935,512 boxes. 940,921 „ Showing an increase of ... 5,412 „ In conclusion, we would express the hope that a year marked by such changes and chequered by so many calamities as that just passed away may have given place to one of improved trade aud national prosperity. — Corderoy's Cheese Circular, MANURES, &c. LIVERPOOL PRICES CURRENT. A.vnual Report. The special feature of commercial operations daring the past year may be briefly termed as conspicuously prudential. This will not surprise, when we recall the losses which were experienced by importers, speculators, and investors in ge- neral securities in the four previous years. All have been careful, and the majority most judicious. There has been an average and therefore satisfactory consumption of the chief articles of import during each quarter. Nitrate or Soda. — In our annual report for the year 1867 we ventured to express this opinion respecting the course of prices during the spring months of 186S — viz., that " there is every probability of an advance during the ensuing three months (February to April) ; and we advise our friends not to delay their purchases." That expectation was more than realised ; for such was the eagerness of the agriculturists to purchase, they advanced the prices fully 2s. 6d. — viz., to 14s. per cwt. The market during the summer declined to lis. 3d. ; but in August the small stock aud the moderate quantity afloat attracted the attention of speculators, manufac- turers, and dealers, who purchased extensively of afloat cargoes, fixing the price on the 12th September at 12s. 3d. for Liverpool arrival ; but on thel4th a startling change occurred in values, consequent on telegrams announcing a succession of earthquakes in Peru in the previous month. This caused an unusually active demand for two days ; and prices were ad- vanced to 14s. 9d. to 15s. on the spot. In November the price declined to 14s. 3d., but afterwards improved. To-day's quotations are 15s. to 15s. 3d. on the spot, 14s. 9d. for early Liverpool arrival, and 14s. 9d. for United Kingdom. With reference to the probable values dunng January and Feb- ruary, we shall venture to submit a few facts, though minute statistics are frequently unwelcome. The shipments from the several ports in South America were : To 31st October, 1S66, 77,960 tons ; to 31st October, 1867, 98,000 tons. Yet, not- withstanding these increased shipments to Europe, &c., values advanced to 14s. Now the shipments to the 31st October, 1868, were 68,000 tons, showing a reduction of 30 per cent. This deficiency in the supply introduces an important point — an interesting question — viz., What will be the probable price in the same month of 1869 ? If, with a shipment of 98,000 tons, it touched 14s., surely, with a shipment of 68,000 tons, it is reasonable to expect a higher range than 14s. 6d. Not more than an average, shipment can occur in December, parti- cularly as a telegram received last week announces that a virulent fever had broken out at the Nitrate ports, and would importantly retard shipments. A few words respecting the consumption. To the chemical and agricultural outlets we shall confine ourselves — to these two only — and disregard the others, which are too trivial to merit serious consideration. Anterior and present data justify these inferences, that 16s. (judging by the advance in fertilisers, and the position of the grazing and arable interests in Europe) will not curtail the agricultural demand, and most certainly 20s, will not stop the '■lipmieal demand Guano. — The imports have been from the Chinchas, Bom- bay (K. M. Crust), Mexillone's and Baker's Island, the latter supplying phosphatic qualities. Other localities, whence it was formerly sent, have either been exhausted or subsequently proved to be of a quality too inferior to pay for transport. Afloat cargoes of phosphatic have been wanted during the past three months for the Continent. We do not apprehend that the advanced limit affixed by the Peruvian Government will curtail consumption, as it is coincident with a general advance in other fertilisers ; and the past two years clearly show that the most skilful and prudent agriculturists will pay high prices for fertilisers, rather than forego the use of them. The price of River Plate Bone Ash at the beginning of the year was £4 10s. It advanced to £4 15s., and remained at that for some weeks. Within the last few months, owing to the continued high freights at the shipping ports, the value has slowly advanced. The prices to-day are £5 on the spot, and £5 7s. 6d. to £5 10s. for afloat cargoes for United Kingdom, and which are extremely scarce and in request. The supplies are expected to be very moderate for the next few months. Import, 4,000 tons of bone-ash and 9,900 tons of cattle-bones. Linseed Oil Cakes. — There were no important changes in values during the first six months ; but the drought which prevailed last summer produced a marked enhancement in prices during the autumn. The supplies of foreign have been almost entirely from the United States, which have beeu un- usually extensive ; indeed, the productive powers of that country in this as in other articles seem illimitable. The import of decorticated Cottonseed Cake has been small, at which we are surprised, inasmuch as £7 10s. laid down here was satisfactory in previous years to the importers. This deficient supply we can only account for on the supposi- tion that it was more profitable to send the seed to Europe than to retain it for conversion into cake. The import of all kinds of oilcakes was equal to about 158,000 bags. Tallow. — In the early months of the year the fluctuations of the market were trivial and unimportant. The price in April was 45s. for first P.Y.C., but immediately receded to 43s. 6d., which was the lowest point for the last three months account. Subsequently, speculative operations were entered into by a small section of the manufacturers ; and the price advanced to 45s., which was attained in August. Even in the face of an obvious and alarming deficiency of the home and Continental supplies, yet speculators evinced only a slight desire to operate for a rise ; but in September and October the deliveries were so unusually large as to alarm those who had hitherto been sceptical and distrustful as to the alleged deficiency in the European production, and prices rapidly ad- vanced to 52s. 6d. early in November, which was the highest point of the year. Within the last few weeks there has been a declining market, and the spot price in London is 48s. 6d. per cwt. The import from the River Plate is equal to 47,570 pipes, and from North America 10,260 hhds, Hvsrfoolf ■! • i SewQxa ft Cn 160 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE LEATHER TRADE. ANNUAL REPORT. The leather trade has progressed favourably during the past year. A gradual improvement in the home consumption has taken place, and, at the same time, there has been a very con- siderable increase in the export of leather and of boots and shoes. The two combined have given great firmness to our market, which, it is satisfactory to state, has been entirely un- influenced by speculative excitement. The demand, for the most part, has been rather in advance of supplies, and a gra- dual improvement has taken place of more than 10 per cent, in the prices of nearly all light descriptions. These remarks, however, do not apply to heavy sole leather, which has met a very limited sale, and has, so far as regards the best qualities of heavy foreign butts, receded in price by Id. per lb. The decrease in the consumption of this important product of our tail yards is to be attributed, in a great measure to the unu- sually long continuance of dry weather permitting the use of lighter and cheaper materials. There has, however, been a gradual rise in the prices of these substitutes, amounting, during the last fifteen months, to 25 per cent. ; and this, com- bined with the heavy rainfall of last month, will no doubt greatly tend to bring strong butts into favour again. The year now commenced gives every prospect of a continuance of the steady home demand which prevailed during the last ; whilst orders from the Continent of Europe and from America appear to be on the increase, and not only indicate that we are not likely to have prices reduced by heavy arrivals of foreign leather, but give additional stability to those now current. The increased import and great rise in the prices of Austra- lian and other light hides must have a further influence in this direction ; and, taken in conjunction with the present short supply of most descriptions of leather to our markets, tend to the conclusion that the upward movement in prices will continue. Sole Leather. — Towards the close of 18G7 there was an advance of from Id. to l|d. per lb. in the prices of light sole leather ; early in the last year a further advance of id. per lb. was established on light English butts, and of 0|d. on light foreign. Our present quotations show an advance, during the twelve months, of Id. per lb. on light crop hides, heavy re- maining stationary ; of lfd. on English butts of light and medium substance, whilst extra weights have found a rather uncertain sale without improvement in value. Heavy foreign butts have not met a brisk inquiry at any time : prices were weak when the year commenced, they receded ^d. per lb. in February, and another Okl. during the autumn ; out present rates are mostly Id. per lb. below those of last January. Stocks are very moderate, but the demand continues to be much more limited than it usually is at this season. English offal has been generally in request ; for some months past that of light substance has been much wanted ; prices, however, have not varied more than O.Vd. per lb., and our quotations are now the same as at the opening of last year. English shoul- ders have mostly been in short supply, and prime of light sub- stance are l£d. per lb. dearer than they were twelvemonths since. Foreign shoulders have been in small supply, and the demand inactive ; prices are unchanged. Foreign bellies have been largely required for exportation, and now realise an ad- vance of from 0\&. to O^d.per lb. Dressing Leather. — There has been an unusually good sale for dressing goods throughout the past year ; most de- scriptions have been constantly in short supply, but, during the autumn, the market became more bare of stock than has been known for many years, and this scarcity has continued to the present time. The year commenced with an active inquiry for common dressing hides, which then advanced Oid. per lb. ; in August a further rise of 0|d. per lb. took place ; and again in October there was a similar improvement, making together a rise of l|-d. per lb., on this article during the year. Best light hides rose l|d. per lb., in the same time ; those of about 351bs. average have not been in so much request, and only stand O^d. per lb. higher ; best heavy hides of 4Qlbs., and up- wards, commanded an advance of from O^d. to Id. per lb. Shaved hides of bark tannages went up OJd. per lb. in Febru- ary, and those of light weights Id. per lb. in May, and again in October there was a partial rise of O^d. per lb. ; we now find them range from Id. to l|d. above the prices of this time last year. Calf skins have met a steady, but not an unusually brisk demand ; the market was cleared of light averages in March, and again in December, for export to the United States ; middle weights, say from 401b. to 551b. per dozen, and best heavy 801bs. to 901bs. per dozen, have been in constant request for home consumption, and we find at the close of the year that there has been a general rise of Id. per lb. during its course. East India kips have varied but little in price, but the demand for them has increased, very light descriptions having been largely exported to America. English horse hides have come to hand in small parcels and found a ready sale at a general advance, amouuting to from Id. to l£d. duriug the twelvemonths. Spanish have not been in large supply and the demand has been quite of a limited character ; prices are unaltered. Basils began to recede in price in 1867, but, dur- ing the past year, the drop has been more considerable, amouut- ing to from 2d. to 3d. per lb. on the best descriptions. Curried Leather. — During January an extensive busi- ness was done in nearly all descriptions. Light kip butts of good quality, and prime kip grain have continued in request throughout the year, but for several months previous to August the general demand was comparatively inactive ; it then be- came brisk and continued so until the middle of November. We have to note au advance in the price of from 2d. to 3d. per lb on calf skins, both light and heavy. The supply of harness leather has much decreased in consequence of the im- proved value of hides suitable to the purpose. Scotch middl- ings are Id. per lb. dearer, and prime kip butts and grain shoulders and bellies command higher rates than were obtain- able at this time last year. Raw Goods. — The past year opened with an unusually small stock of hides in all the English ports, and in the first month some considerable sales had reduced the quantity to a lower point than for some time past. Early in the followiug month, in consequence of advices that cholera had broken out in the River Plate, the well worn cry of " short supplies" was again raised and so persistently repeated that some of the Liverpool buyers were induced in March to pay 7d. per lb. for River Plate, and G^d. for Rio Grandes ; being the highest prices paid for several years past ; but at these rates the sales were extremely limited, and in the following month a reduc- tion of O^d. per lb. was submitted to without however induc- ing much activity in business, and from this time a steady de- cline was experienced to the close of May, when River Plate heavy and light ox had receded to 6jd., and Rio Grandes to 5|d. per lb. Throughout the whole of the period referred to, a continental demand had relieved the market of most of the floating cargoes, and early in June some further purchases made on foreign account, advanced prices Ogd. per lb., but this reaction was only temporary, and in August the advance was completely lost, and from that date to the close of the year the market continued weak, and we now quote River Plate ox 6d. to 6^d., and Rio Grandes 5fd., being O^d. per lb. higher than at the close of 1807. The quantity of sole leather hides put into work during 1807 and 1S08, was less than in that of I860 What then is the reason that hides did not support the prices to which they were driven in March last, in spite of the large demand experienced from the continent for so mauy months ? For this, two causes may be indicated, first the excessive and long-continued drought of the past summer, which seriously iuterferred with the consumption of heavy sole leather ; but secondly, in the substitution of a machine-made shoe, manu- tured from cheap leather, which has now for sometime past taken the place of the heavier soles that used to be worn. This demand has had a marked influence in the value of light thin hides, all of which have been eagerly purchased at a considera- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 161 ble advance in price, at the same time that thick heavy hides have receded in value. What then is the prospect for our tan- ners of heavy sole leather in the present year? We think a more favourale one than in the past, because there is no doubt much of the surplus stock of this class must have been worked off, and with any revival in the demand, supplies will be found insufficient ; whilst the advance in the price of light and re- duction in that of heavy leather, will induce buyers to consume more of the latter. Then again, they commence the year with an ample stock of hides in warehouse, and every prospect that the new season will afford even a larger supply than the very ample one. of that now past, therefore lower rates may be con- fidently looked for, and although the tanner cannot sell without loss on the rates he paid last year, he may be able to replace his stock on such terms as to give him a fair return for his outlay. Letters from South America advise us that the sea- son had commenced, the cattle were in good condition, and the supply in all quarters very large ; so that we have but to re- iterate the advice given last year to our friends, that they should abstain from buying as long as possible, as the pros- pects are all in favour of lower prices, with a good stock in warehouse here, and large quantities in all the continental ports. The arrivals during December, were 8,180 ox and cow, and 2,083 salted horse hides from the River Plate, and the sales amount to 1,930 ox and cow hides, at a reduction of Ojd. per lb. on previous sales of cow hides. There were not any direct arrivals from Rio Grande, but 1,350 were received via the continent, and went into consumption, and the sales consist of 955 cow hides at 5^d. per lb. Stocks 24,405 salted River Plate, nil dry, and 6,521 salted, and 1,155 dry Rio Grande hides, against 100 River Plate and 1,037 Rio Grande hides in January, 1868. The total import of South American hides into England during 1868, was 6,686 dry, and 761,856 salted, against 15,839 dry, and 717,931 salted in 1867. Total stock 1,155 dry, and 172,215 salted, against nil dry, and 64,505 salted in January, 1868. Cape Hides. — Early in January an advance of O^d. per lb. was established for hides of both light and heavy averages, during the following months a further improvement took place, consequent on the high rates demanded for South American hides, and also because the leather made from Capes sold freely at comparatively better prices than that made from heavier hides, quotations were well supported throughout the greater part of the year, but during the past lew weeks there was less inclination to buy, and best heavy were sold at 6d. to 6jd., and best light 5|d., being a reduction of Ojd. to 0|d. per lb. from the highest point. During December 2,071 salted hides, kips, and skins were received, and 4,473 sold at 6d. to 6jd., best heavy 5^d. to 5£d., best light and seconds in proportion. Total import 39,236 hides, kips, and skins, against 36,339 in 1868. Stock 1,396, against 2,046 hides, &c. in January, 1868. Australian Hides.— During 1S67 there was a serious deficiency in the import of this class of hide, and in the past year this has been largely increased, so that the total receipts of ths past season have been little more than one-third the average of the four years ending December, 1866, and show an actual deficiency of 66,360 hides over the comparatively small quantity received in 1867. The principal cause for this great deficiency is no doubt to be found in the reduction of the number of cattle reared in Australia, the farmers having turned their attention to rearing sheep as the more profitable occupation, and the quantity of cattle is in consequence esti- mated at nearly three-quarters of a million less than a few years since. Prom the early part of the year there was a steady rise in the value of both heavy and light hides, till in October they reached the highest point, and were sold at 5|d. per lb., the lighter averages being most in request at this ex- treme price. From this there was a slight decline in the fol- lowing month, and during December the rates paid for light were extreme, whilst heavy were comparatively neglected, and 5fd. for best quality is now unwillingly paid. During De- cember 9,529 hides were received, and 8,577 sold at 5§d. to 5£d. for best heavy and light, and 4§d. to 5£d. for seconds, leaving 8,860 in stock, against 15,178 in January, 1868. Total imports of the year are 128,665, against 195,025 in 1867, or a deficiency of 66,300 hides on the import of 1867, and of no less than 167,486 hides on that of 1866. South American Horse Hides. — In the early part of the past year the supply of these goods was unusually small. and the demand proving active, an advance in price was es- tablished, best heavy being sold at 12s. 6d. each ; but from this there was a reaction, and from April to June our quota- tions were reduced about Is. per hide. In the following three months the supply proved so limited, that holders were enabled to enforce extreme rates, so that in August 13s. was paid for a parcel of 341bs. average. From this time there was a gradual decline, and in October the arrivals proving large, sales could not be effected, except at a considerable reduction, and from this to the close of the year, there has not been any recovery in price, and we now quote best Buenos Ayres lis. 6d., and lighter averages in proportion, but the stock in warehouse here is below an average. During December 2,083 salted hides were received, and 5,338 sold, leaving 3,095 in stock, against nil in January, 1868. The total imports into the United Kingdom are 247,981 hides, against 76,628 in 1867, and the total stocks are 77,830 against 7,258 hides in Jan., 1868. East India Hides. — Although the quantity of hides re- ceived into this port during the past year is rather less than in 1867, yet it is far in excess of previous years, whilst the quantity afloat is very considerable. On a review of the trade during 1868, we find that in the first five months there was a steady advance in the value of most classes, but from this point there was a reduction of Jd. per lb. to the end of September, and this fall was not recovered on any averages, except those of 51bs. and under, on which an advance was es- tablished of |d. to Id. per lb., and this improvement continued to the end of December, so that our quotations for small and calf are now Id. per lb. above the prices current in January last, whilst on other classes there is hardly any quotable alte- ration. Continental buyers have as usual taken a very large proportion of the kips offered, but the demand for the home trade continued dull during the greater part of the year ; lat- terly, however, there has been more animation caused by an export demand for the tanned article. In December 405,198 kips were received, and 249,246 sold, or forwarded on owners' account, without much variation in price, except for small and calf, which sold at an advance on the rates current in Novem- ber. The stock now here is 344,932, against 172,490 in Jan., 1868, and the total imports into the United Kingdom were 3,399,788, against 3,368,711 in 1867. Total stocks 365,932, against 187,490 in January, 1868. Oak Bark. — In January and February there was an active demand for both English and foreign bark at full prices ; but as the new season approached it was evident there would be an ample supply, and buyers only purchased for immediate re- quirements. This continued till May, when the price of new bark was fixed at £16 per load delivered in London, and at this rate large sales were effected ; but the crop proving large and demand less than an average, some considerable lots remained unsold. The trade continued dull to the end of August ; but from this time there was a better demand to the close of the, year. The supply of foreign oak bark to this port has been small, and most of it was sold for arrival : our quotations are reduced 5s. per ton from the prices current in January last. Mimosa Bark. — Although the total import of this article during 1868 shows a considerable reduction on that of the previous year, yet the quantity received into this port reached 5,884 tons, and this supply, combined with the abundance of other tanning material, has proved not only sufficient for the requirements of the trade, but leaves a heavy stock in ware- house at the close of the year. In February large sales were made, and prices advanced 20s. to 30s. per ton, and rates con- tinued firm during the next four months, in consequence of the very small quantity received. From July there were large arrivals, stocks accumulated, and to effect sales a reduction of 30s. per ton had to be submitted to. During the past month 307 tons were imported, and the sales amounted to 466, leaving 2,091 tons in stock, against 2,441 in January, 1868. Total imports into the United Kingdom 6,434 tons, against 8,173 in 1867. The total stocks 2,461 tons, against 2,441 in January, 1868. Gambier. — The year opened with a small stock, and fair de- mand at the prices then current ; but advices of small ship- ments induced a speculative inquiry, and in March and April an advance of 15s. per ton was paid on the spot, and still higher rates for floating parcels ; but this advance was only temporary, and in the following months there was a gradual decline to September, when parcels of good quality were sold at 17s. At N 162 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. about this price the demand continued steady for the next three months ; but in December holders showed more disposition to sell, and we now quote it at exactly the the same price as in January last, whilst the tendency is to still lower prices, in- fluenced by the large quantity afloat, and the heavy stock now in warehouse. Import in December 1,400. Deliveries 600 tons. The imports of the year into London amount to 12,700 tons, against 7,250 tons in 1867, and the stock is 4,200, against 1,450 tons in January, 1868. Total import into the United Kingdom 20,505, against 12,390 tous in 1867. Total stocks 7,227, against 2,837 tons in January, 1868. Millers' Bark Extract. — Throughout the year there was a large import of this article, and the total quantity re- ceived was upwards of 1,800 tons, representing about ten thousand tons of rough bark, and the importance of this to tanners generally is shown by the comparatively moderate price at which they have been able to obtain both Mimosa bark and gambier, compared with the rates paid in previous years. During December the whole of the stock in warehouse was cleared out, and the last shipment proving of superior quality has been sold, ex ship, at a considerable advance in price, though it is actually cheaper than the ordinary samples, because of its increased strength. Several parcels are now on the way, of all of which the quality is guaranteed. Valonia. — During the first eight months of the past year the value of both best and common Valonia gradually declined, till in October the supply of good samples proved inadequate, aud from that time to the close of the year there was a steady demand at 30s. per ton below the opening price of the year. For inferior qualities there has been very little inquiry, and at no time during the year could they have been sold in quantity, except at a considerable reduction on the nominal price. The stock now in warehouse consists almost solely of this descrip- tion, and there seems no prospect of a better demand, as buyers find that even at what is called a low price it is relatively dearer than the best. During December 53 tons arrived, and 176 tons were sold, leaving 1,137 tons in stock against 9S1 tons in January, 1868. Total import into London 4,764 against 5,368 tons in 1867. Market Hides. — The supply of hides into London was Lelow an average throughout the year, and it is most likely this deficiency will continue as long as the restrictions in force at the cattle market are continued. The result has been to drive away much of the cattle trade from this market, and proportionately reduce the number of hides offered. Through- out the year an active demand was experienced for hides of light average, and although at one time a slight reduction in price took place, the tendency has been constantly upwards, till at the close of the year we find this class fully 2s. per hide dearer than in January last. Heavy hides were not so much sought after, and although in the autumn months higher rates were paid, there has been a steady reduction since that time, and our quotations are now lower for heavy and medium ave- rages than at the corresponding period of last year. BOUTCHER, MORTIMORE, AND Co. London, Jan. 5. LINSEED, LINSEED CAKE, AND OIL TRADES. ANNUAL REPORT. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — In addressing you our 21st annual trade circular, we have very few new features to call your special attention to. We may remark, however, that the twelve mouths just passed assimilated closely to that of some prior years ; that is to say, a summer drought leading to anticipations of unusual cake trade and keeping prices inordinately high, taking into account the prospect of supply. The inevitablejreaction followed ; but' however, as consumers generally kept supplying themselves from hand to mouth, the result of the year's operations must have been profitable to the manufacturer. The supply, as we anticipated, has been without parallel, and the greater facili- ties of transit, both in Russia aud the East Indies, lead us to hope and expect an annually increasing quantity, to the great advantage of all concerned. Linseed. — The year opened with high prices, seed being scarce, and holders firm in their demands, but free arrivals of East India before the end of January, and a not over lively cake trade caused prices to decline 2s., and a further fall of 3s. occurred the following month. Values then continued pretty steady to the middle of May, at which time, with the prospect of early Black Sea shipmeuts, dull oil trade, and fine growing weather, prices rapidly receded a further 4s., and were nearly nominal even at this decline. The drought of June showed how short stocks were, for the unusual summer de- mand was sufficient to enable holders, almost immediately, to recover the previous rapid decline, and maintain prices until the middle of August, when the ample supplies, both present and prospective, were sufficient to reduce the price 2s. by the end of September. Since then there has been a gradual, but continuous decline, notwithstanding the great support given to the market by Continental purchases, and to-day's rates are lower than at aDy time during the past year, and 10s. to 12s. per qr. less than this day twelve months. The chief business done in forward seed was from the month of November, 1867, to February, and prices of Black Sea varied from 60s. to 62s. 6d., according to date of shipment ; early spring bills of lad- ing likewise realised 61s. to 62s. during March and April. The reports as to late crops are generally satisfactory. The south of Russia is expected again to send a large quantity, although probably not so large as the unprecedented supply of 186S. The north of Russia promises an equal quantity to last sea- son, and of good quality, and there is no reason to doubt an average import from the East Indies. During the last few weeks a speculative demand has existed for summer ship- ments, and some 40,000 qrs. Azov seed sold at 57s. 6d. to 57s. Monthly range of prices of Calcutta seed on " Association terms," cost, freight, insurance, and sound bags : 1868, Janu- ary, 68s. to 66s. ; February, 66s. to 63s. ; March, 63s. 9d. to 63s. ; April, 64s. to 63s. ; May, 62s. 6d. to 60s. ; June, 59s. to 63s. ; July, 63s. to 64s. 6d. ; August, 64s. to 62s. 6d.; September, 61s. 6d. to 61s. 9d. ; October, 61s. 6d. to 61s. ; November, 61s. to 60s. ; December, 59s. to 57s. Stocks in mills are larger than of late years, and some crushers are supplied to the end of the present working sea- son. The stock of seed in public warehouses here and afloat in the docks amounts to 55,000 qrs. ; at Liverpool there are 4,000 qrs., and at Hull there are 180,000 qrs., in addition to crushers' stocks, which are roughly estimated at 55,000 qrs. Afloat, there is about 380,000 qrs. ; consisting of 195,000 qrs. East Indies, 165,000 qrs. Black Sea, and about 20,000 qrs. Danubian, Mediterranean, Baltic, and sundries. Below are annexed the respective annual official returns of the aggregate imports into the United Kingdom. Qrs. Qrs. 1857 1,051,113 1863 1,104,578 1858 1,017,844 1864 1,434,973 1859 1,270,911 1865 1,435,414 1860 1,330,623 1866 1,158,736 1861 1,160,270 1867 1,095,360 1862 1,088,472 1868 will be about 1,550,000 At Liverpool, London, and Hull, the import has been largely in excess of last year, more especially into the latter port, where the increase amounts to 300,000 qrs. London has im- ported 416,000 qrs., consisting of 291,900 qrs. from East Indies, 93,200 qrs. from the Black Sea, 18,350 qrs. from the Baltic, 6,350 qrs. from Archangel, and the remainder from Mediterranean and sundry other ports. The re-export is very small, and scarcely exceeds 10,000 qrs. The aggregate im- port into the United Kingdom is made up of about 370,000 qrs. from Calcutta and Bombay, 485,000 qrs. from St. Peters- burg, 45,000 qrs. from Archangel, 70,000 qrs. from Riga (in- cluding 35,000 qrs. sowing seed), 80,000 qrs. from Merael THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 163 Konigsberg, Dantzic, Pillau, atid other lower Baltic ports, 475,000 qrs. from the Black Sea, and remainder, Mediterranean and sundries. The Black Sea cargoes coming to direct ports, and calliug at Falmouth for orders, consisted of about 568,000 qrs., which were discharged as follows: Hull, 200,700 qrs. ; London, 100,150 qrs. ; Grimsby, 46,800 qrs. j Ipswich, 26,150 qrs.; Boston, 19,350 qrs. ; Bristol, 18,600 qrs. ; Gloucester, 14,250 qrs. ; Lowestoft, 11,600 qrs. ; Yarmouth, 8,900 qrs. ; Liverpool, 7,000 qrs. ; Southampton, 4,050 qrs. ; Aberdeen, 2,600 qrs. ; Rochester, 2,550 qrs. ; Berwick, 2,500 qrs. ; Leith, 2,400 qrs. ; and Lynn, 1,300 qrs. 48,800 qrs. went to Holland, 35,350 qrs. to Belgium, and 4,500 qrs. to France ; and in additiou to which 75,000 qrs. went from sundry Black Sea ports direct to Belgian and to Dutch ports. The direct exports from the north of Russia to the continent have in- cluded 100,000 qrs. from Petersburg, 60,000 qrs. from Arch- angel, 50,000 qrs. from Riga, and about 80,000 qrs. Memel, Konigsberg, &c. ; also some 42,000 qrs. of sow ing seed from Rie;a. Linseed Oil was remarkably steady in value during the early months of the year, scarcely varying 5s. per ton during the first three months, and only 20s. to 25s. during April to June, at end of which month 32s. was the nearest value. The unusual summer make caused large supplies, and a decline of £2 per ton was the consequence ; but the hill enabled a large export trade to be done, and stocks did not accumulate. Since September the supply has been greater than even the large de- mand could take off, and at beginning of December as low as £26 was accepted ; a reaction of about 30s. per ton then occurred, but part of the rise was afterwards lost, although we have to-day a firm market at about 27s. 3d. on spot, and 2Ss. for January to March deliveries. Monthly Prices of Linseed Oil. — 1868 ; January, * £34 10s. ; February, £34 15s. ; March, £34 5s. to £33 10s. ; April, £34 to .£33 j May, £34 to £32 10s. ; June, £32 5s- to £32 ; July, £32 to £30 10s. ; August, £30 15s. to £31 15s. ; September, £31 10s. to £30 ; October, £30 to £29 10s. ; No- vember, £29 to £27 10s. ; December, £26 to £27 10s. The exportation during the past year will be found large as compared with 1867. It amounts to about 30,000 tons in 1868, against 37,000 tons in 1865 ; 20,000 tons in 1867, against 28,000 tons in 1864 ; 25,000 tons in 1866, against 20,000 tons in 1863. Linseed Cakes. — The exceptionally dry summer of 1868 caused an unprecedentedly large demand, and the home-make, has been on a much larger scale than in any previous year. The consumption during July and August alone, having been equal to that of ordinary winter mouths ; and the mills generally during the past year were at full work. Best town- made was quoted in January and February £12 per ton, but declined 5s. to 10s. per ton in March, and at about £11 10s. it remained steady till June. During July, £12 was again the price ; £12 10s. in August, and £12 10s. to £13 has since been the ruling quotation for this article, with such a de- mand, as has kept the mills constantly clear of stock. Of Foreign. — The import of all descriptions will be fouud very large — say 145,000 tons, or 25,000 tons in excess of 1867. As with English, the consumption has been great — best New York barrels in January were sold at £11 10s. to £11 15s., and bags £11 to £11 5s.; during February and March they declined 5s. per ton, and dropped a further 5s. to 10s. by end of May. In June £11 10s. to £11 15s. was again the price of barrels, and £11 5s. bags. In July they improved to £12 10s., and £12 respectively, and early in August 5s. more paid ; but towards the close of that month a fall of 10s. occurred. The value in September was £12 10s. for barrels, and £12 bags, and these continued about the current rates until December, when £12 was again accepted for barrels, and £11 15s. bags, and these are about the ruling market values to-day. Rapeseed has been a dragging sale throughout the year, notwithstanding that imports have been considerably short of the two previous years. The good continental crop, and stocks of seed held over in warehouse here, in addition to the large quantity of oil held in Paris, appear, however, to have more than compensated for the deficiency. Calcutta rapeseed was quoted about 50s. in January, and at close of that month ad- vanced to 51s. 6d., 53s. was the value in February, 52s. 6d. in March, after which it declined month by month to 46s., which was touched in September- In October and November a speculative, oil inquiry advanced the value to 51s., but the im- provement has since been lost, and 47s. to 48s. may be con- sidered the nominal price to-day. Rape Oil, except in the early months of last year, when it advanced £1 per ton on the opening quotations of £35 10s. in January for English brown, gradually declined, and it touched £30 10s. in November, since when it has rallied to £31 10s., which is the nearest value to-day. Rape Cakes, in sympathy with the demand for other oil- cakes, have been in large request throughout the year, and the price of East India seed-cakes has steadily improved from £4 15s. in January to £6 10s., which is to-day's quotation. Cotton Seed. — The import into the United Kingdom of this article. will be found about the same as that of 1867. The market opened at £9 for new seed ex steamer, and after- wards rapidly improvfd to £10 5s. by end of January, £10 7s. 6d. was the value in February, £10 2s. 6d. to £10 in March, after which it gradually declined to £9 5s., by end of May. June opened with prices still lower, but with a growing de- mand for all feeding stuff, the article advanced to £10 5s. by end of the month, and this value continued throughout July up to middle of August. After this, free arrivals sent the price down to £9 12s. 6d. during September and October, and in November £9 5s. to £9, was accepted for old seed. Arrivals of new seed at that time, by steamer, sold at £10 10s., and during December £9 7s. 6d. was accepted for similar quality. The free on board purchases of new seed at £7 17s. 6d. to £8 2s. 6d. have not resulted so profitably as appearances indicated at time of purchase. Cotton Oil has been of free sale throughout the year. ,Crude oil in January was £31 per ton, and advanced to £34 by March, since when, with temporary fluctuations, it has de- clined month by month to £25, which is the nearest value to- day of oil made from old-seed, and £26 from new. Cotton Cakes have been consumed largely, and since the beginning of 1868 have advanced 20s. to 25s. per ton. The value in January, of best makes, was £6 5s. to £6 10s., and they have gradually advanced since to £7 12s. 6d. to £7 15s., which is the quotation to day. Tallow was marked by few fluctuations until September, when a large speculative inquiry altered the course of the market, and a rise of 7s. per cwt. occurred in October, since when a steady decline has reduced the value 5s. per cwt. The quotation ol P.Y.C. iu January was 43s. 3d. to 43s. 9d., and it marked Is. lower in February, but recovered in March to 44s., and varied very little the following for months. In August 45s. was paid, September 45s. 6d. to 45s. 9d. In October it rapidly run up to 52s. 9d. on spot, and 55s. was paid for March deliveries. In November 52s. to 51s. 6d. was the value, and it dropped to 49s. early in December, and is to-day quiet at 47s. 3d. London, January 1. Edwards, Eastty & Co. THE LIVERPOOL WOOL TRADE. ANNUAL REPORT. The continued want of confidence which commerce generally has had to struggle with during the past year — and which must still be regarded as the natural consequence of the finan- cial convulsions of 1866 — has been much felt also by the Wool Trade. Notwithstanding that money has been obtainable on unusually easy terms, and an early and abundant harvest has tended greatly to cheapen the necessaries of life (circumstances which we are in the habit of looking upon as giving impetus to trade), there has been an entire absence of animation, as buyers, with ample supplies on the market and prices generally in their favour, have at no time during the past year shown any disposition to extend their purchases beyond actual or im- mediate requirements. The export demand for woollen manu- factures and yarns having been very steady, and that for the raw material, considerably in excess of the preceding year, the great inactivity in this important branch of trade must be N % 164 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. chiefly ascribed to the considerable falling off in the demand for home consumption. We are, however, happy to be able to report a slight improvement during the last six or eight weeks, and the prospects for the new year are consequently rather more encouraging. On reference to the Board of Trade Returns, issued to-day, for the eleven months ending the 30th November, we find that the Imports of Wool for that period exhibit a total of about thirteen millions of pounds over those of the eleven months in 1867 ; on Australian Wool alone the increase is about twenty- two millions, and on East India two millions, but there being a decrease in Cape of more than three millions, and in foreign wools of eight millions, the actual increase of the imports is reduced to thirteen millions of pounds as stated above. The Exports of Wool have, in the aggregate, been also much larger than in the previous year, exceeding it by about nine and a-half millions of pounds. Here again colonial wools claim the precedence, upwards of thirteen millions more having been exported. Domestic wools show no material increase, whilst in foreign there is a falling off of about four millions of pounds. From the above it would therefore appear that the quantity of Wool left for Home Consumption is about three and a-half millions of pounds more than it was in 1867 ; then, however, there was a falling off of as much as eighteen millions of pounds as compared with 1S66. On the other hand wc must not overlook that the yield of the last domestic clip was above average, and as in consequence of the very scanty hay and root crops more sheep than usual have had to be -slaughtered, a much larger quantity of skin wool has been made during the past year. The supply of wool consequently has proved fully adequate, but stocks on whole are by no means excessive. In the Exports of Woollen Yarns and Goods there is a slight decrease in value (£23,656,809 against £24,050,642 for the corresponding period of 1867), which is to be accounted for by prices having ranged lower during the past year, the quanti- ties exported having been in excess of those of the ten months list year. Australasian and Cape of Good HorE Wools have, as heretofore, been chiefly sold at the quarterly public sales in London. The imports of the former exhibit again a large in- crease (491,'J23 bales, against 4.12,611 bales in 1867) ; those of the latter only in the number of bales (141,589 bales, against 128,418 bales in 1867) ; whilst the weight is consider- ably less, owing to a larger quantity than usual having been sent in the washed or scoured state this year. The quantities brought forward (including withdrawals from former sales) are as follows:— From 27th Feb. to 27th March, 121,192 bales, of which 36,303 bales were Cape ; from 14th May to 27th June, 206,46S bales, of which 32,506 bales were Cape ; from 13th Aug. to 25th Sept., 208,223 bales, of which 29,308 bales were Cape ; from 26th Nov. to 21st Dec, 120,388 bales, of which 44,015 bales were Cape: in all, 656,271 bales, including 142,132 bales Cape. It is estimated that continental buyers have taken no less than 300,000 bales, more than half of which have gone to France alone. Although the condition and getting-up of very many flocks have been all that conld be de- sired, there has been also much of an inferior, defective, or faulty character and condition, and the great irregularity in the prices realised at the different sales is principally owing to large quantities of this description having been brought to the hammer. Prices, after some fluctuations, are on the whole rather lower than at this time last year. Spanish and Portugal. — The arrivals of the former, con- sisting as usual of ordinary unwashed and of black wools, have been larger than for some time past, but the demand has been only limited. Spanish Frontier as well as Oporto wools have been affected by the dulness that has prevailed for English Fleece, and have fluctuated in value with the latter. River Plate Wools have chiefly gone direct to Antwerp and Havre. The imports to this country are about the same as iu 1867, in which year, however, a larger portion came to this port in transitu for the continent. The demand has been fair, more particularly during the earlier part of the year, and before the large supplies of colonial wools entered into compe- tition with thein. Prices have generally ruled fully equal to and sometimes a little higher than those realized at Antwerp and Havre, and stocks here are now but within narrow com- pass. Cordova and Santiago met with fair request in the spring, but after the large clip of home growth was brought to market, they became more or les3 neglected, until quite re- cently, when they slightly participated iu the improvement that has taken place in domestic wools. Alpaca, which we quoted this time last year at 2s. 2d., steadily advanced until July, when it reached 3s. per lb. Since then, however, no sales have been effected, and although the arrivals amount to little more than half of what they were in 1867, stocks at present are very considerable. Peruvian has continued in very languid request throughout the whole twelvemonth, but prices have not undergone any great alteration, and stocks, owing to the immense falling off in the imports, are by no means excessive. Lima and Chili wools, in the finer qualities, have met with ready sale at current rates, the coarser have been somewhat slower to move. East India and Persian, the imports of which show a small increase over the previous year, have been offered (along with withdrawals from previous sales) at the quarterly public auctions held here as follows: — From 28th Januury to 1st February, 14,334 bales ; from 29th April to 2nd May, 12,524 bales; from 11th August to 15th August, 13,299 bales; from 27th October to 31st October and 5th November, 18,384 bales : in all, 58,541 bales, against 68,893 bales in 1867, and 79,414 bales in 1866. The tendency of prices, except at the April-May series, has been rather downwards, such classes of white and yellow as enter into competition with English wools having suffered most. At the October series a fair portion of white and also some grey East India was taken for export to America. Unwashed wools have come forward in much smaller quantities than in former years, and so have Persian, which have principally consisted of inferior and bastard de- scriptions.— The arrivals for our January series amount at pre- sent to 7,004 bales. Russia. — Donskoi wools have, as in the preceding year, again been largely exported to the United States, and we estimate the direct shipments from ports in the Black Sea at about 8,000 bales, and those from British ports, at about 4,000 bales, thus leaving but very little for consumption iu this country, and rendering prices very steady. Egyptj.au and other Meditertanean Wools have arrived in diminished quantities, and commanded ready sale, more especially during the last month or two, when considerable parcels of Angora, Smyrna, Syrian, &c.,were bought for export to America. Prices have been well maintained, and the better qualities ruled somewhat higher than at this time last year. North African Wools. — The imports into Liverppol are double what they were in 1867, no doubt owing to the fact that shippers have found this market answer better than Loudon. The demand has been fair for all kinds, but washed as well as unwashed Mogadore, more especially during the hist three months, have been in very good request, whilst stocks of them are now much reduced. Iceland has been principally sent to Hull, and the aggregate arrivals exhibit some increase ; prices have fluctuated some- what, and are now rather higher than twelve months ago. Some contracts made in spring " for arrival," however, were at rates above those ultimately realized. Mohair, of which the imports exceed very considerably those of 1867, has been in excellent demand throughout the year, and has gradually advanced from 2s. 5d. this time last year to 3s. 7d. per lb. for best quality at the present date ; whilst stocks are iu very moderate compass. Domestic Wools have more or less fluctuated iu value during the past year. In January and February prices re- mained pretty much the same as at the close of 1867 ; thence to the commencement of May, however, they gradually ad- vanced ; but at this period when there was every prospect of the new clip being both good and abundant, and buyers show- ing, therefore, less eagerness to purchase, they somewhat receded, and pretty well maintained the same range until the beginning of November, when a decided improvement both in demand and value manifested itself, and we now quote prices from 20 to 25 per cent, higher than at this time last year. — From the circumstance referred to above (viz., the considerable increase in the slaughter of sheep for want of keep), the great probability is that the next clip will prove comparatively light. Sheepskins from the River Plate districts have arrived at this port in diminished quantities (6,439 bales, against 8,783 bales in 1867). Home-pulled River Plate skin-wools having continued to increase in favour, sheepskins have been in steady demand at rates fully equal to those obtained for wools. Liverpool, Dee, Zlzt, R. W. Ronald & Sons.. THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. ig: THE TENURE OP LAND AND THE OVER PRESERVATION OF GAME. At the annual dinner of the Shropshire Chamber of Agri- culture at Shrewsbury, under the presidency of the Right Hon. Earl Granville, K.G., about 300 members of the chamber sat down — among those present being Earl Powis, General Herbert, M.P., Colonel Corbett, M.P.,Lord Ne\vport,M.F.,Mr.Ormsby Gore, M.P., Mr. J. Figgins, M.P., Mr. It. Jasper Moore, and t he Mayor of Shrewsbury. After the usual loyal toasts, Lord Granville, the President, said: it appeared to him that the work of these Chambers was ot three kinds. The first and perhaps the most difficult, would probably be the question dealing with the relation between the landlords and the tenants and those that worked for them — all those questions, in short, which might be comprised under the words tenure of land. In that county it was not, and, as far as he could remember, it never had been the practice to grant many leases. The system of leases was one, which, in other parts of the country, had been found compatible with the preservation of friendly relations between landlords and their tenants, and had, moreover, frequently tended to the promotion of a high state of cultivation of the land. But where it was not the practice to grant such leases, the question was not one of perfect simplicity, and in such a case it required consideration before deciding whether such a custom should be introduced, and, if so, what would be. the best method of gradually changing the existing system. There was another question eminently deserving the attention of Chambers of Agriculture, formed as they were of the most intelligent land- owners and tenants of the soil. There existed in the county many forms of annual letting — good, bad, and indifferent. Some might, on account of their excellence, furnish models to the country at large, while others were worthy of pre- servation in the British Museum, as showing how the interests of the tenant could be ignored without any cor- responding advantage accruing to the landlord. That was a subject upon which chambers of agriculture were eminently qualified to advise, to form, and guide public opinion, iustead of leaving it, as was now done, exclusively to literary men, shut up in their studies in our great towns. There was one other question which he rather hesitated to approach, as none of the county members had dropped within 100 miles of it. He feared lest he should be regarded as occupying the position of the fool who rushed in where angels feared to tread. It was the question of game (cheers). He was afraid that he must ask them not to be too hasty with their cheering, because he felt bound 1o admit that he did not ap- proach the question of game with as clear a con- science as did the honourable member for Shrewsbury. He had himself been a preserver of game, and was obliged to admit that in his frivolous old age he liked shooting very much, though he infinitely preferred hunting. He would go even further, and confess that he could not understand the ecstasies of those who believed that the pleasures of shooting consisted in the search for game. He certaiuly liked a little of it when he had his gun in his hand, and was partial to now and then firing off his weapon, however harmless or destruc- tive might be the result. He would go even further, and say that the excitement of shooting was often enhanced by meet- ing with certain little frisky skipping animals — animals that he hardly liked to name. A noble friend of his, whose quickness of shooting had not increased with age, was accustomed to say that nothing could be urged against the rabbit except that it was about three inches too short. Some present however might, he thought, look upon that interesting quadruped as having no fault but that of being 15, 16, or 17 inches too long. But he was bound to say that it had always appeared to him to be perfectly unjustifiable, for the sake of a few hours' amusement, to encourage the preservation of that animal to the destruction of plantations, and to the injury of the property of the tenant-farmer ; for this animal he was afraid, from certain peculiarities, with the exception^' a hard-working curate of the establishment, was perhaps the most prolific creature on the face of the earth. He was almost afraid they would have to act upon the principle of Beleiula est Carthago, for it was doubtful whether anything short of abso- lute destruction would keep the animal within proper bounds. Keeping fully in view the rights of property and the interests of the farmers themselves, he could uot conceive a body more fitted than was such a chamber of agriculture as theirs for arriving at some satisfactory form of leases or for creating a wholesome public opinion on the question of the over- preservation of game. He did not believe that any of those whom he was addressing desired the wholesale de- struction of game ; but they would, he hoped, be able to do something on the one point which probably excited more ill- feeling between owner and occupier than all other questions put together which had any connexion with the tenure of land. The question of local taxation had also been adverted to. He had no doubt, after hearing the observations of the county members, there could be no possible difficulty whatever in doing that which was right in principle, useful in detail, and which would relieve the majority. A plan might be agreed upon somewhat similar to that recommended by the House of Com- mons last year, and which might pass into law. A more diffi- cult question came next, the incidence of local taxation — not merely checking the expenditure. He could not conceive any- thing more disgraceful than some of the facts connected with the present state of local taxation. It would hardly be believed that if they asked a man who had paid attention to the subject what was the amount of local taxation raised in the coun- try he might answer that the enormous sum of £20,000,000 was raised in the course of the year , but as to being able to show one official document stating exactly what it was, or the loans raised upon it, such a thing could not be done. The tax- ation had increased and was increasing, and he was afraid it must he still further increased ; hut it was a question which demanded from the inhabitants both of towns and country the most minute and attentive consideration. He saw that the Chambers of Agriculture meant to go into a very large measure on the subject. They must allow him to give them a word of caution ; they must remember how largely the manufacturing interest was represented in the House of Commons, and go very carefully into the matter be- fore they decide what course to pursue. They should avoid laying down any fixed plan, and the more careful they were in being certain of the ground on which they trod in trying to effect the change, the more likely would they be to get their opinions entertained. He thought perhaps, that the rating of woods would be advisable, but they must not think the admission a very magnanimous one, because he did not possess 20 acres of that class of property. But he was largely interested in mines, and he was afraid he could not make out a strong case against their ex- clusion from taxation. But he thought they ought to discuss fully the question of rating stock-in-trade before they pressed such a point upon the attention of Parliament. The changes which were passing upon all classes of the community gave him bright hopes of the future of the country. Yet that was not a feeling shared by all. A few days before he had visited a friend and found him in the same state of black despair concerning the future welfare of the commonwealth in which he had left him 16 years since. But for himself he had noted the conditions of the country under one political party and under another ; he had marked her in seasons of adversity and suffering, and it appeared to him that Great Britain had been increasing in everything that constituted the true greatness of an empire. Wealth had greatly increased ; prejudices had either been softened or re- moved altogether ; and hostility between classes had passed away for ever. No section of the country had doue more than the landed interest. The surface of the country had changed in 'M years. Their island, or, as the Americans called it, that patch of garden, afforded more food in meat and grain to the teeming population which existed than any country in the world. The labouring man had undoubtedly risen, his wages were raised, his dwelling was being attended to more and more ; they were looking after his education, and he believed that all classes of agriculturists were in a more prosperous state than was ever known before, 166 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE PREVENTION OF THE CATTLE PLAGUE AND PLEUROPNEUMONIA. At the last meeting of the Cheshire Chamber of Agriculture, Sir P. de M. G. Egerton, Bart., M.P., in the chair, Mr. Broughton prepared the following resolution : " The members of the couucil to confer with the Premier or Govern- ment, and endeavour to get an Act of Parliament appointing a person or persons to sit as a court to hear claims, under the exemption clauses of the Cattle Diseases Prevention Act, in place of the local authority named in the Act." Mr. Jackson thought they were hardly in a position to dis- cuss this question. If the local authority had powers to delegate to independent parties, that would clearly meet the case without any act of Parliament. Until they ascertained that point he did not see how they could fully or fairly discuss the question. Mr. G. Slater believed the local authority had no power to delegate its power to commissioners. Mr. Broughton then suggested a modification of his reso- lution in these, terms : " That it is desirable an independent tribunal be appointed to try all questions, in lieu of the autho- rity named in the Act." The Chairman said that brought it before them in a tangible form. Mr. Slater said he approved of this move, and had had it in his mind something should be done, as it appeared that the Act was a little bit indefinite. He had no doubt it was practical to obtain the passing of an Act as suggested, because it did not interfere with the principles laid down, but confirmed them. Mr. Jackson then moved, and Mr. Goulbourne seconded, the resolution, which was passed. The following subject was introduced in a paper by Mr. J. Aston, of Brassey Green, Tarporley — " The most equitable mode to be adopted to prevent the spread of cattle plague and pleuvo-pneumonia," in the course of which Mr. Aston said : I can to some extent enter into the difficulties which Govern- ment officials belonging to the cattle department have to grap- ple with on this great question, and would properly appreciate the anxieties they have manifested to do justice to all classes of the community. They have adopted some very precaution- ary measures to preserve us from foreign contagion, but so long as animals from affected countries are received in their present form we shall be constantly liable to fresh outbreaks of those great epidemics which have committed such ravages in former times. It must be admitted that the Metropolitan Foreign Cattle Market Bill, so far as it relates to London, is a well digested measure, and however good the intentions of those members of Parliament may have been who otfered such strong objections to the passing of it during last session, I do not hesitate in saying they acted in contravention to the gene- ral welfare of the country and greatly need enlightenment on the origin and fearful nature of that disease which compelled them, about three years since, to pay nearly 30 per cent, more for beef and mutton than when we were free from the con- tagion. But partial legislation will not fully answer our pur- pose : what would be beneficial for the metropolis ought to be adopted at all convenient ports around the British coast, where buildings should be erected for the lairage and slaughtering of foreign fat stock, and suitable places and grounds provided for the quarrantine of store ones before they are allowed to mix up with home herds. The project might soon be started and easily accomplished by this highly distinguished and very wealty nation. Millions of money have been expended in constructing forts to preserve us from foreign invasion, and most assuredly we can spare a few pounds to protect our stocks from those fearful scourges which in about a quarter of a century cost the agriculturists of Great Britain and Ireland, on the lowest calculation, sixty millions. It is well known to all politicians that Governments in these days move to a very cansiderable extent in accordance with the pressure without ; let us therefore continue to educate ,and agitate until the great object sought shall be fully accomplished. We should not rest satisfied with merely talking and debating about the matter, but be resolved in adopting such measures that shall cause our voice to be heard and influence felt amongst the senators of this great country. There are Government officials appointed to represent those important interests which are sources of benefit and of wealth to the nation ; and as we have one of immense value at stake, a most strenuous and determinate effort ought to made to secure a Minister of Agriculture. This country is now free from the cattle plague, and but little of the pleuro-pneumonia is heard of, still there must be no re- laxation of effort in urging upon the legislature the absolute necessity of giving better protection to British stock-owners or soon another plague may come upon us and find us in a helpless condition to resist its mighty influence, committing as great ravages as at former periods. T now advance another step, and hastily glance at the most equitable mode which should be adopted amongst the owners of stock to prevent the spread of contagious diseases in local districts, and in doing so would ad- vocate the great importance of enforcing restrictive measures wherever an outbreak of such complaints occur that are of an infectious character. I have thought for some time past the first step Government should take to protect home herds from the contagious typhus and pleuro-pneumonia should be to block up all the avenues by which they have been introduced, for so long as our ports are open to receive cattle impregnated with the seeds of disease, any further legislative interference at home would be arbitrary and unjust. I have already ad- mitted the possibility of contagious diseases in their milder forms being spontaneous in this country, but do not believe they are of such a fatal and destructive character as those great epizootics that are generated in hot and unhealthy climates, and which at different periods have swept over the Continent of Europe and Great Britain with fearful rapidity. If the measures submitted for your consideration were adopted and enforced by the legislature with regard to the slaughtering of all foreign fat stock at the port of debarkation, and placing in quarantine for a reasonable length of time such that are intended for store purposes, it is my firm conviction the losses amongst home herds would greatly diminish, so that it would to a very considerable extent dispense with the necessity of enforcing restrictive measures in local districts ; still it is of the utmost importance we should always be prepared to stifle in its birth any spontaneous outbreak or foreign contagion which possibly might be brought into the country by unprincipled parties evading the laws at ports of landing. I consider the most equitable mode of preventing the spread of contagious diseases amongst home stock is to adopt the law of compensa- tion. It would be unreasonable and unjust to compel one party to suffer for the benefit of others without some con- sideration. At the last adjourned general meeting of this chamber, held in Crewe, I advanced one or two arguments against restriction without compensation, which to my own mind are satisfactory, and in regard to which it is not necessary for me now to repeat. It is possible for farmers having the pleuro, or some other contagious disease, to be placed in circumstances if put under restrictive measures so as not to be able to remove cattle for pasturing without driving along the highway, or coming in close contact with neighbouring stocks, consequently they would be under the necessity of feeding on the homestead at increased labour and expense during the disease, and for some time after the premises had been declared free. It would, therefore, be unreasonable to suppose they should submit to restrictive measures without receiving some remuneration for all the inconvenience occasioned thereby. If compensation is not granted to those put under restraint, the law no doubt would frequently be evaded, and the contagion be scattered in every direction, to the great injury of others. I cannot at present entertain the idea of a national rate being levied for the purpose of remunerating parties who may be losers of stock by contagious diseases for the future. If the legislature would adopt stringent and decisive measures to protect home herds from foreign contagion, I think farmers should be prompt in establishing county associations, which might be worked in unions or parishes chiefly by an unpaid agency (with the exception of expenses), and all cattle suf- fering from the pleuro, and other contagious diseases, should at once be slaughtered, and the owners compensated at the very least to two-thirds of their estimated value, and the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 167 premises be placed under quarantine six or eight weeks after the affection had disappeared. No doubt it would be found necessary for Government at the expense of the nation to ap- point a few competent gentlemen to inspect fairs and markets, and at times to enter on premises where diseases of an infec- tious nature were suspected of existing, and also to decide in all critical cases ; but in addition to these there would be required a good staff of local ones, or the law occasionally might be evaded, and our good intentions frustrated. We have unpaid hoards of guardians established throughout the country, and in a matter of such vast importance we are now considering most assuredly some confidential person could be found in eacli township to take the general surveillance of stock and insist upon the requirements of the law being properly carried out. After careful deliberation and thought I would not ask Government to compel other classes to pay for our agricultural losses. It was from a deep conviction we got the rinderpest from a foreign country, and that the legislature had no right to iuterfere with our cattle without some consideration, I advocated action being taken to recover some small amount from the exchequer towards the heavy losses experienced in this county previous to the compensation Act being passed. But if proper protection be obtained from those who have the management of public affairs, I would not attempt to saddle the various branches of trade and industry with any losses sustained by the agricultural community. In this paper I might have noticed the preventive mode of treatment for the contagious typhus and pleuro-pneumonia, as practised on the continent and in this country, and also the necessity of further improvements being effected on railways in the transit of home stock, but I was afraid of prolonging it to an unnecessary length. After reading what has been written by some eminent professors on isolation and inoculation for the former disease, I have arrived at the conclusion that it is the wisest and most economical plan wherever an outbreak takes place to slaughter all affected animals and those they have been in close contact with, allowing reasonable compensation to the owner. These decisive measures answered the best in this country at the commencement of the last century in the three counties to which I have already referred, and also in several of the continental nations where it was adopted. Some time before the cattle-plague reached this country in the year 1865, 1 had fully decided in case of it entering my stock to slaughter all and forward them to market ; but through having my attention diverted to preventive measures by homuepathic treatment, it then being credibly asserted as having answered in other counties, 1 neglected to carry the resolve into execution, and consequently lost nearly all ; but on the disease entering a lot of good heifers pasturing in the fields early in January, 1866, 1 slaughtered them, with the exception of the first attacked, which realized upwards of 100 guineas, and relieved me from much anxiety and trouble in nursing, and the expenses of burial. In case of a decided attack of pleuro I should not hesitate in having the animal killed and to inoculate the remainder of the stock, believing it to be the very best mode for preventing this disease that has yet been discovered." The Chairman said as part of the paper was an historical account of the disease, they had nothing to do with that. The first practical point was with reference to the foreign trade, and he did not see how they could improve upon the resolu- tion come to on that point at the last meeting. The second resolution passed at the Crewe meeting was that the wilful exposure upon any railway of any animal suffering from a con- tagious disease should be a punishable offence ; and the third resolution prohibited the removal of live stock from any home- stead where pleuro or foot-and-mouth disease existed, under a penalty. In the discussion upon that resolution Mr. Aston moved an amendment that it was not desirable to impose such restrictions unless accompanied by equitable compensation. Therefore his main argument was embodied in that amend- ment. The question of compensation was an important one : it was a thing which required careful consideration. He had given attention to the paper, but did not make out where the compensation was to come from. Mr. Aston thought it would not be fair to make a general rate, therefore he (Sir Philip) should be glad to know what fund or source compensation was to come from, Mr. Aston said he proposed, if Government would do their duty in slaughtering all foreign fat stock at the different ports of lauding and placing store ones in quarantine, farmers should form county associations, to be worked in unions or parishes by unpaid agency, except the expenses, and that compensation would in that sense be local, the farmers bearing their own losses. lie would not ask any one else to do it. Mr. G. Slater said, in reference to the importation of di- sease into this country, it had always struck hira they were acting at the wrong end of the question in trying to prevent the importation ot those animals into this country. Instead of doing that it would serve their purpose better to make pro- vision for the inspection of those animals before they are sent from those countries. Not long since he was in Holland, and saw great numbers of cattle brought from the interior and put upon the steamers to be sent direct to this country. So far as he could judge, no notice was taken as to whether they were healthy or not. If care could be taken that none were sent but such as were healthy, they would have less danger to fear from the importation of foreign cattle. These cattle were for a night or two tossed about on the German Ocean, and when landed in London they were not healthy. Men could not tell what was the matter with those, cattle, or whether they had pleuro or any other disease. It would be far better if those cattle could be inspected before they were put on board, and there would be no difficulty iu coming to a resolution about that. They could say they would not allow cattle to be landed in this country unless accompanied by a clean bill of health, and they might be allowed to appoint inspectors to see that nothing was sent from those coun- tries except in a healthy state. As regarded rinderpest they were already provided for, but in case of pleuro it was different ; there was no provision for compensation. He apprehended they could not make any provision for compensation except by Act of Parliament. They could not form any association in this country that would have en- tire effect unless they were compulsory. A great many persons would join the association, but a great many would not, and the effect would be neutralised in that particular. How far they could carry this he was hardly prepared to say, but he did say this, that any person whose cattle were suffering from rindergest certainly ought not to be allowed to take his cattle from his premises. It was quite clear that some of the re- strictions which had been imposed by the local authority where exceedingly annoying, and they tended rather to spread the disease than otherwise. He knew where cattle had been shut up within premises, and the owner was not allowed to turn them out of doors, while the doors of the premises opened upon some highway. He might name a case where ten or twelve cuttle were herded together, and the farmer was not al- lowed to open the doors till they were all dead, and then the doors were opened and they were dragged along a highway. With reference to pleuro, no farmer should remove cattle from place to place, spreading the disease. Resolutions passed upon this subject were perfectly right ; but the question of compen- sation, he apprehended, was the only question which seemed just now to be a difficult one. He thought they could not deal with this question, except by Act of Parliament, to compel all fanners to ensure their cattle, or join the association, for the purpose of obtaining mutual compensation. Mr. Broughton then proposed his resolution in the fol- lowing terms : " That our Council and Secretary put themselves in communication with the Central Chamber, to endeavour to get an Act of Parliament regulatiug the importation of foreign cattle and the removal of diseased home cattle." Mr. J. Jackson (Tattenhall) would second that resolution, as it met his own views. During last year he had the pleasure to be on a deputation (from the Farmers' Club) to the Duke of Marlborough, and he proposed this same subject to the Duke, who said he had considerable doubts on that question. He (the speaker) told him he did not believe two farmers in Eng- land would not be prepared to put themselves under preventive restrictions. The Duke said he would be glad to find that were the case, and he (Mr. Jackson) still very strongly and confi- dently asserted that he believed it would be found to be so. In virtue of that strong opinion, he mentioned to their secretary, at Over, on one occasion, what he had said, and a meeting was called at Crewe, at which the question was discussed, and re- solution were passed confirming his views, and dealing with the proposal in the way iu which they now proposed to deal with it. He was one of a deputation to London in December, and was invited by one of the members for Lincolnshire to a council meeting of the London Cattle Plague Association, and 168 fB.fi FARMER'S MAGAZINE. he there stated what his convictions were. They admitted that if the farmers in England were prepared to have restrictions upon their own stocks, then clearly there was a case made out why fo- reign stock should he put under similar restrictions. All those gentlemen seemed to think it was exceedingly desirahle that the home stock should be put under restrictions when diseased. The resolution was then put and carried unanimously. The next resolution introduced was, that in any future out- break of rinderpest the law should be assimilated to that of Ireland. Mr. G. Slater did not think they could do any better than that. If they had had that Act of Parliament they would have had little cattle plague in England : it would have been stamped out. The Chairman said it was assumed that a national rate would be fairer than a county rate, and this resolution merely suggested that legislation should be uniform. They heard a good deal about justice to Ireland, but they wanted a little justice to England. It was then resolved unanimously that with regard to the question of compensation for pleuro and other diseases (not rinderpest) it be referred to the council to consider the best mode of levying the same, the council to report to the next meeting. A PLEASANT AND PROFITABLE VISIT. One day in October last, while looking over the farm of an old friend and former neighbour, we were so much struck with the amount of stock on the farm, its good condition, the amount of food prepared for winter and spring consumption, the bulk of the stackyard as compared with the extent of land in stubble, and the general excellence of management, that we propose extending the notes taken on the spot. This farm being rather distant, we had not been able to visit it for some years, and would not even have done so on this occasion, but for an exceedingly pressing invitation to join in the festivities and hilarities of a harvest-home, to which our friend was treating his youug people. The farm contains exactly 150 statute acres, all arable, and worked on a five-course shift, which is, however, not rigidly adhered to, the grass portion being extended a year or broken up a season sooner, if from motives of convenience it may be found necessary to do so. It is that usual on most light land, and is simply an extension of the four-course shift — thus : 1st year, oats ; 2nd, green crops; 3rd, barley, with seeds; 4th, hay; 5th, grass. Wheat grown only occasionally, the soil being thin. Some of the higher fields are exceedingly light of surface, yet all are remarkably fertile, growing green crops well, and the grain crop being very productive of corn as well as of straw. The previous tenant was more of a careless than a bad farmer, having other occupations and sources of income. He was not forced to take out of it what he had an unmistakeable right to — a rather unusual thing with farmers — and consequently our friend the present tenant got it in excellent heart, taking one field with another. To give one instance of this. He broke up a field which had some few years before been very heavily dressed with ground bones, and sowed with Tartary oats, the crop from which made 21 bags of clean corn to the statute acre, each bag containing five bushels. This crop he repeated the second year with nearly the same results as to quantity, the yield of the two years making about £30 per acre — a large sum for the comparatively-light expenditure of two seeds, two rents, and two preparatory workings. We have said that the out-going tenant had farmed carelessly. We think that the fact of the bones which were put on the land being ploughed down so deeply, that the action of. the plough again brought them to the surface quite fresh, six years afterwards, proves it ; and, moreover, ex- plains the possibility of such a large quantity of corn being reaped, in two consecutive years, from land containing no portion of clay. Bones had been a favourite manure on this farm during the previous tenancy, the farmer being a bone-merchant, and having a bone-mill, with which he did a large trade with the surrounding agriculturists. Our first visit on arrival was paid to the green-crop, consisting of about 33 acres, in three fields — potatoes, mangolds, carrots, the different varieties of turnip, and a small piece of late tares ; now, however (on the 8th October), all cleared. The cleanliness of the whole was especially noticeable, more particularly when Ave find that four horses did the entire work of the farm, one of them being almost wholly employed taking milk to town, marketing, &c. The potato-crop was just lifted — a fair crop, with a large quantity of second growths, fair quality, and compara- tively little disease. We found mangolds a good crop; and the carrots, considering the dryness of the season, very good indeed. This was due more to their thickness in the ground, than to the large size of the roots, they being literally touching each other. The mangolds and carrots were grown in alternate rows — an excellent plan, as the foliage of the carrot not being so profuse as that of the other, a break is thus caused in the lines, and a larger circulation of air admitted amongst the roots, to the great benefit of the mangold-crop, which we proved on the spot by comparison. The carrots extended to only about H acres, while the mangolds occupied about five ; the roots of the latter, growing in alternate drills with the carrots, showing up much more vigorously, and weighing con- siderably more than where growing by themselves. The Swedish turnips were a remarkably even crop, there being scarcely a blank in the whole, but the bulbs were only moderate in size ; all were healthy, however, and growing, so that it is quite possible they have increased both in size and weight since. We are very strongly of opinion that during such seasons as the past it is a mis- take to lift the turnip-crop early ; as although not ap- parently increasing very much in bulk, the weight will be added to on at least till Christmas, when the weather is of a forcing nature, as has been exactly the case for the past three months. We found that the turnip break here had been manured in three different ways, and the divi- sions marked, so that the difference, if any, could be dis- tinctly seen. One side of a field had been dressed with farm-yard dung and superphosphate, the middle part with dung and bone-dust, and the remainder with bone-dust alone. The difference in any of the portions was not much, but still it could be distinctly traced, the dung and superphosphate part being decidedly the best crop. On another field there was a few acres of Aberdeens, both yellow and purple top ; which, singularly enough, were not half so good a crop as the swedes growing alongside of them, on exactly the same treatment. This we believe to be the case generally, and would lead to the supposition that the swede stands excessive drought much better than the yellow ; we have saen the latter a comparative failure in several fields, where the former alongside of them were excellent by comparison, and but little inferior to ordinary years. Finding that our friend had a decided leaning to and preference for bones mechanically reduced, rather than chemically, we asked the reason, and got for reply THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 169 that he found the puve bone to keep the land much longer thau the superphosphate, the succeeding crops, including the pasture, clearly showing the superiority of the one over the other. We unfortunately had not an oppor- tunity of judging the difference of the bone and super- phosphate on this year's seeds, as they were weaker than usual, and somewhat unpromising. He accounted for this in two ways — the dryness of the season, and having been rather late in sowing. From the fields we by and by dropped into the stack-yard, where we found the hands busy thatching the newly-built ricks, which were all on wooden stands, with a square bit of sheet iron on the top of each support, which excluded vermin as thoroughly as the most expensive iron pillars, with dished heads, could possibly do. Amongst the contents of the stock- yard were two ricks of hay, one of rye-grass, or first crop, the other old meadow, from a small field which had been irrigated. The first crop contained about 35 tons, and had been thrashed ; the seed we afterwards saw in the granary, cleaned, dried, and ready for the seed- mcrchaut, or neighbouring farmers, who sometimes clear him out of this commodity. We look upon the selling of the seed in this way as a great source of help to a working farmer, as it makes a large sum ; but it is useless to at- tempt saving seed, unless great care is taken with the after management, and there is proper facility for spread- ing it out thinly in the drying process. Our next visit was to the barn, where a real treat awaited us in the shape of a thrashing mill, driven by water ; such a neat affair, so carefully got up, and so complete in its details we have seldom or ever seen. It looked more like a model thau a machine which had to get through a large amount of work in the year ; winnowing machine and all attached. Its ordinary work for an hour is eight bags, rising however to ten if the straw is short, and the corn more than usually productive. What a treasure such a mill is on a farm, and what a saving of labour and ex- pense ! Yet how often does the water run past without being utilized ! The barn in this case was a most conve- nient one, the loads of corn being backed into the very edge of the platform on which the feeder stands, no pitch- ing being required. At the other end there was room for the straw of a large stack, and a door leading from it to the cow stalls, so that not a particle of waste ensued from exposure to the weather. The whole of the machinery was beautifully boarded in, the entire conveying an idea of snugness, efficiency, aud enterprise, highly gratifying to the agricultural mind, and exceedingly pleasing to those who viewed it for the first time. The communication from the straw-barn to the stalls led us to the cattle, and as it had now come on to rain rather hard, we were forced to observe, by actual experience, the immense convenience and saving effected both of labour and property by having plenty of house room. The cattle being the strong point in the management of this farm ; as, in fact, they ought to be on every arable farm, the source and very essence of success in all the other operations of husbandry. We paid particular attention to the modes of feeding and the manner in which the arrangements generally for the care and com- fort of the animals were carried out. The entire live stock consisted of 22 dairy cows ; few cast cows and young beasts, tied up to fatten ; a succession of young heifers, of different ages, of a good sort, coming on for the dairy ; and a few calves — 48 head of cattle in all — and four horses : not a pig or sheep, unless a couple of lambs, pets of the children. We found the cows just come in from the field, and in the act of being supplied with their evening meal, which consisted of grey-stone turnips given whole, the tops on, and no preparation or trouble gone to, further than knocking-off the tap-root and any adhering particles of earth before being thrown into the cart, On asking whether the swedes were pulped or sliced previous to use, the owner said not — that he gave everything as it grew, and would not use a slicing machine or pulper if he got either for nothing. He said that he considered the cattle filled themselves better wheu they got the roots whole : there was no loss of juice, and he thought even that they ate them with greater relish. We found every beast in the place eating whole turnips, even the very calve3, and sweet music to a farmers' ears they made while scooping them out. This method is the very opposite of what is now considered good practice, and we would not ourselves give a whole swede to any beast ; but we give the mode exactly as we found it carried out by an intelligent farmer of thirty years' experience, the possessor of a beautiful stock, that showed by their sleek and glistening sides how well the treatment they received agreed with them. There was one feature in connection with this stock which We con- sidered peculiar ; and certainly, although aimed at by many, success is seldom attained in this particular. Our friend told us that he keeps the whole of his live stock in- doors every night in the year, supplying them with food according to the season, and making a very large supply of the best manure. Of this we had ocular proof, as the yard was chokeful of rich farm- yard manure without the slightest admixture, all made during the summer. This was the first authentic instances we have ever met with of horses and cattle being so kept in and house-fed during the summer months, and have always looked upon it as very difficult of achievement. Here, however, it seemed to be thought but little of ; turnips, mangolds, tares (both summer and winter varieties), a small break of cabbage, clover, and a portion of irrigated grass being the crops used to keep up the succession. The only purchased food used is about 50s. worth weekly of brewers' grains during the winter, given principally to the newly-calved cows as a change, and to some extent a corrective from the effects of too large a quantity of cold roots. The farmer, however, recoups himself for this outlay by selling a portion of the turnips, which he can easily afford to do, and having a good market can realize in most years about £120 from this source alone, and yet have abundance for his own stock. From using straw for feeding while it lasts he is also enabled to sell more than half his hay, which is a material increase to the revenue derived from the farm. No butter is made, the entire season's produce being sold by contract as it comes from the cow, at an average of seven -pence a gallon. We have thus reviewed the leading points in the management of a man living by farming aud that only ; who lives respectably, educates his family well, and besides is adding to his capital. J. S. TESTIMONIAL TO MR. LOGGIN, OF THE MEL- PLAISH AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.— At a meeting in connection with this society, held at Beaminster, last mouth, the members took the opportunity of presenting a testimonial of esteem and regard to Mr. N. M. Loggin, who, for the last ten years, has fulfilled the duties of secretary of the association. A dinner took place, which was presided over by Mr. Joseph Gundry, of Bridport, Mr. John Pope ofSymonds- bury and Mr. W. Parminister, of Mclplaish Court, officiating as vice-chairmen. The gift consisted of a massive silver salver, beautifully chased and embossed with flowers. In the centre of the plate was engraved the family arms of Mr .Loggin, with the motto " Per Deum et Ferrum Obtinue," together with the following inscription : " Presented to Nicholas Mar- shall Loggin, Esq., by the members of the Melplaish Agricul- tural Society, as a testimonial of esteem and regard, and in appreciation of his valuable services as honorary secretary. December 17th, 1868." 170 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE LEICESTERSHIRE CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. PRESENTATION OF A TESTIMONIAL. Tlie annual general meeting of the Leicestershire Chamber of Agriculture was held at the 13ell ; Mr. T. Wright in the chair. The Hon. Secretary, Mr. T. Willsou, read the report. Lord Berners conceived that the great object of those societies was union, and that they ought to confine the measures they proposed for the present year simply to those objects which were most pressing, and which were most likely to be submitted to Parliament. In all cases he had observed that if they attempted too much at a time they were sure to get nothing. Looking at the last paragraph in the report, he perceived the following subjects would at an early period be submitted to the Chamber for discussion. First, there was a " National Poor-rate ;" and there he might remark that some alteration in the system of levying Poor-rate was one of the most important things connected with agriculture that could be brought before Parliament ; and in that they all ought to be united, if it were possible, to get the area of the rating ex- tended so that all descriptions of property should be brought to bear. The next subject was one of equal importance— the necessity of establishing waterside markets at the ports of de- barkation for foreign cattle and sheep, and to prevent tho removal of animals suffering from contagious diseases of any sort. The third subject was the Malt-tax ; and he ventured at the last meeting of the society in London to make a suggestion which he was now about to do — that the society should confine itself this year to those three subjects, on which he thought there could not be a difference of opinion in the whole agricul- tural community. He (Lord Beruers) did not approve of the resolution passed by that society in reference to County Financial Boards ; because lie was perfectly satisfied that it would lead to no good results ; as even Mr. Wyld, who was the first to introduce the measure some years ago, and who brought it before the Quarter Sessions, admitted that he did not conceive that there would be one farthing saved to the county, but said " There is the principle," and he pressed it upon the principle. He did not wish to say anything more upon that subject, than that so far as he him- self was concerned — and he thought he might say so far as every magistrate was concerned — when they saw the pleasant and agreeable manner in which the meetings of the Highway Board and other things were conducted, they would have great pleasure in meeting the farmers at their meetings. However, he did not think it advisable — it was a matter of opinion — to adopt Financial Boards. A great portion of the county ex- penses were regulated by Act of Parliament, and they could not go from them. The Act of Parliament provided that such and such things should be paid for, and at such a rate, and they could not alter those rates ; but they might press upon Government to have the payment of all those matters thrown upon all descriptions of property. He thought many of them might like to see the last return of the Poor Law Board, from which it appeared that in the year ending Lady-day, 1867, the payments for or towards county or police-rates amounted to £2,511,511; by overseers to Highway Boards, £595,099; constables' expenses and costs of proceedings before justices, £38,132 ; on account of the Registration Act, fees to clergymen and registrars' outlay for offices, books, and forms, £74,239 ; vaccination fees, £44,815 ; expenses allowed in respect of Par- liamentary or municipal registration and costs of jury lists, £39,637 ; making a total of £3,304,033, or upwards of one- third of the whole of the poor rates now levied expended for purposes unconnected with the relief of the poor. And beside the charges specified in the report there were some others paid out of the rate that were not discriminated ; such as the ex- penses incurred for sanitary purposes, providing burial grounds, and so on. A discussion ensued as to the propriety of excluding from the report the whole or some of the subjects suggested by the Council for the consideration of the Chamber ; and ultimately Lord Burners proposed 'that the whole of the subjects should be omitted with the exception of the three he had named ; which proposition was seconded by Mr. Pell. Mr. Fisher moved, as an amendment, that the whole clause containing the suggestions be omitted altogether, so as to leave the Chamber unfettered. Mr. W. Wright seconded Mr. Fisher's proposition. Mr. Pell also expressed his approval of the amendment, and Lord Berners having consented to withdraw his motion in favour of the proposition of Mr. Fisher, the latter was carried as a substantive motion. The report was then adopted on the motion of Mr. S. W. Clowes seconded by Mr. S. C. Pilgrim. It was then determined that the first subject which the Chamber should discuss should be "The Establishment of Water-side Markets at the ports of debarkation," and that the discussion should take place on the 6th February. Mr, Painter, having read the advertisement of the meeting, said he thought they were all aware that was not what he in- tended to do. He intended to have had a dinner, but circum- stances had so fallen out that he felt himself compelled to re- linquish that altogether, lie now claimed their indulgence while he said a word on the subject of their meeting, which was to present their secretary with some token of respect for the service which he had rendered, not only to the Chamber but to the agricultural interest generally. The idea first ori- ginated with Mr. Thomas Harrison just about twelve months since, who suggested they should get up a testimonial, aud it was supposed it might be presented in about a month from that time. He soon saw that that idea must be abandoned as impracticable, and determined to allow a longei time for the purpose. He received communications from the members of the Agricultural Society asking to join in the testimonial, whose assistance he was happy to accept. He then sent out books with the names of the subscribers from the Agricultural Society to the members of his committee, to whom he was greatly indebted for their kindness in receiving subscriptions. The list of subscribers numbered 122, so that during the year 186S he had been the servant of 122 masters. He could have hoped to have had more, as he certainly should have expected the object would have been more thoroughly responded to by the agricultural interest, by owners as well as occupiers. He must, however, beg to thank most heartily those who bad come forward liberally in this good cause. His servitude to them expired that day, and lie hoped he retired from it with credit to himself and satisfaction to them. The health of Mr. Willson having been cordially drunk, that gentleman becomingly responded. The testimonial consists of a time-piece in a handsome and artistic bronze design (which was awarded a prize at the Paris exhibition of 1862, and again at Paris last year), and two cor- responding candelabra, together with a purse containing the balance of the subscription. At the foot of the time-piece was a silver plate with the inscription, "Presented to Mr. Willson, of Knaptoft Hall, together with a purse of money, by the no- bility, clergy, gentry, and agricultural friends, for his unwearied exertions in the cause of agriculture generally. Leicester, Jan. 9, 1869." COUNTY FINANCIAL BOARDS. At the annual dinner of the Truro Agricultural Exchange, Mr. St. Aubyn, M.P., said : I should like to say one or two words with respect to our old friend's County Financial Boards, aud just let us consider the position in which we now stand with regard to that question as com- pared with the position in which we stood when we met together here twelve months ago. Perhaps 1 refer to it with particular propriety on the present occasion, because we are favoured with the presence of a gentleman who, I believe, was almost the first person to bring this subject before the public in the county of Cornwall. I refer to the Mayor of Truro — and I shall be glad to hear from him presently what he thinks of the present state of affairs with regard to it. This time last year there was no bill before the public, but shortly after the House of Commons met a bill was introduced by Mr. Wyld, who then represented Bodmin. It was a very long bill, and I cannot go into the details of it, but the result of it was that it was referred to a select committee of the House of Commons. Now, we know in the House of Commons what is THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 171 meant when a bill is referred to a select committee. It means that we shall not hear auythiug more of it for a year to come. This bill went upstairs, and it came down again, and Mr. Wyld told me it had been so altered that he did not know it again. The committee made their report, but they did not appear to have been particularly earnest about it, for the report was a vague and an extremely general one. They expressed as their opinion that it was right that on the finance committees the ratepayers should be asso- ciated with the magistrates, but they did not indicate how it was to be done. They said, whenever the magistrates met together for the purpose of voting money, the ratepayers' representative should be admitted as well, and that was really the whole of their recommendation, excepting that the magi- strates in Quarter Sessions should have the power to appoint the Clerk of the Peace. Sir William Gallway, the member for Thirsk, has now given notice of his intention to bring in a bill for the establishment of County Financial Boards, and Mr. C. S. Head and Mr. Edward Howes, members for Norfolk, have also given notice of similar intentions, and more than that, we have the high authority of the Prime Minister him- self, who, during his election tour in Lancashire, said he believed the time had arrived when the ratepayers should have a voice in spending their own money. From all these indications, then, you may be pretty sure that some legislation will be attempted, and probably carried, on the subject in the coming session of Parliament. But what I wish to point out to you is this, that all those measures, so far as we have seen them, and all those measures that are coming, so far as we know anything of the intentions of their authors, differ principally on one particular point, and that is as to the com- position of those Boards — that is to say, the proportion in which the representatives of the ratepayers and the magistrates shall stand one to another. I should be very sorry, and I know you would not expect me to pledge myself to every or any detail of any possible bill that might be brought forward in the House of Commons during the next session, but I hope my brother magistrates will not think I am saying anything very dreadful or destructive, or anything revolutionary, or that T am giving utterance to views which if carried into effect are likely to bring down the whole fabric of society about our ears, if I venture to express as my opinion that if we have those Finan- cial Boards at all it is better they should consist entirely of elected members. Why do I say this ? Is it because I am afraid to trust my brother magistrates — men of my own position — with the management of the county business, for fear of their possible extravagance ? Not so ; far from it. I have before now said, both in public and in private, that although we must have Financial Boards as a matter of principle, yet that I doubted very much — if the business of the county was carried on in an efficient manner — whether we should find greater economy than existed under present ma- nagement. Furthermore, I am of opinion that if all the mem- bers of those Boards are elected the ratepayers will find it to be their interest and advantage to send up as members to them men of the high character, position, and ability of many of our magistrates — and who have the inestimable advantage of having plenty of leisure time to devote to the discharge of those duties. Gentlemen, the reason I form this opinion is that if you are to have any elected members at all it is impossible, with any regard to consistency and principle, that it should be otherwise. What was at the bottom of the original demand for the formation of County Financial Boards ? Was it not that there should be no taxation without representation ? I believe, and, in fact, everybody believes it to be necessary that taxation and representation should go together, and if you elect any members at all to those Boards you admit that prin- ciple, and I say tthat if you admit that principle you have no right to limit the application of it in the way proposed. What right has any man or any body of men to say to the ratepayers of this country, " We think it right and proper you should have a voice in the spending your own money, but it shall not be your own voice ; you shall only have a half, or two-thirds, or three-fourths of a voice ; and you shall be associated with other members — members who have been appointed by another and an irresponsible authority, and whose votes shall have greater power than yours, and who on important occasions may, perhaps, outvote and upset the opinions of the re- presentatives of the ratepayers ?" Now, that is not my idea of carrying out fairly and fully the principle that taxation and re- presentation should go together ; and I will further say I do not think it will be the opinion of auy man w ho will give the subject five minutes' fair and impartial consideration. I would remind you that it is not the principle upon which the national finances arc conducted. It is not permitted for the House of Lords, which is an irresponsible authority, to have anything to say to a money bill in the House of Commons ; we have no a- ojjicio members, who are competent to vote on equal terras with the representatives of the people on the question of impos- ing taxes. THE SOUTH AFRICAN WOOL TRADE. Messrs. L. Lippert & Co.'s Bi-monthly Wool Report, dated Cape of Good Hope, Port Elizabeth, Nov. 28th, says: — Largerr quantities of our staple have come to hand during the past fortnight, and business, consequently, has been more active. The bulk consisted chiefly of fleece-washed wools of middling to good descriptions, which decidedly show an im- provement in get-up against similar wools hitherto received of the new clip, being better washed and not so yolky. Most of the grease wools brought forward have been of inferior quality ; any light parcels, however, have eagerly been bought up for washing purposes, at from 5d. to o^d. per lb. The supply of superior fleece-washed and grease wool is still very limited, and the few lots offered created keen competition. The latter descriptions, having been taken exclusively for the United States, for which several orders are in the market, commanded higher rates than either the London or the Continental mar- kets warrant. The scarcity of superior clips is attributable to the fact that many farmers, being reluctant to sell at the pre- sent rates, have postponed shearing until February-March, expecting then a better result. We, therefore, may look for- ward to a good supply of full-grown wools for the second season. Of superior scoureds very few lots have been offered , but the supply of bath-washed and up-country scoureds, was more plentiful, and a good many parcels changed hands. Freights by sailing vessels are unaltered, the rates being still Ojd. for grease, 0|d. for fleeeewashed, Ofd. per lb. for scoureds, to London. The mail steamer Saxon, however, has obtained Ofd. per lb. for washed wools, or 17s. 6d. per bale, at her op- tion. Exchange: Last rates — \\ per cent, discount for 90 days' sight, and | per cent, for 30 days' sight — have been maintained. There have no clearances since our last re- port. The mail-steamer Saxon will leave to-morrow, with about 950 bales of wool. Quotations of wool from November 16 to November 2S : — Good light to superior fleece-washed, 9£d. to 10^d. ; middling to good ditto, 8d. to 9d. ; scoureds, good to superior snow-white, Is. 3d. to Is. 4d. ; do. middling to good do., Is. 2d. to Is. 3d.; do. bathwashed, ll|d. to Is. 0|d. ; do. eold-water washed, 9d. to lid.; good to su- perior greasy, 5|d. to 5f d. ; middling to good do., 5d. to 5^d. ; heavy and faulty do., 4d. to 4f d. ; coarse and kempy do., 3d. to 3^.— Messrs. A. C. Stewart & Co.'s circular says ; The new clip is now coming in freely, and a larger quantity has been brought forward at our produce sales during the past month than for some time previously. The marxet continues much depressed, and prices of all de- criptions rule low, at current rates. There is tolerable eompe- ition, but buyers operate very cautiously, and, unless for an unexceptionally good parcel, show no disposition to advance. The result of the London November sales is anxiously looked for here. It is known that there would be an unusually large quantity of Cape wool offered. Prices show no alteration from last month's quotations. Scoured wool, snow white of superior quality, may be quoted at Is. 2d. to Is. 2Jd. per lb.; country scoured, lid. to Is. Id. ; fine fleece, washed, superior clips, light and clean, 9|d. to lO^d. ; middling, 8d. to 9d. ; heavy and badly got up, 7id. to 8d. per lb. Most of the grease wool brought forward has been heavy and of inferior quality, which is dull of sale even at low rates. Good light clips command attention at 5d. to 5^d. ; medium samples 4f d. to 5d. ; and heavy and sandy, 4*1. to 4£d. per ]b. No clear- ances since our last report. 172 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. BOROUGHBRIDGE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. At the dinner, Mr. A. S. Lawson, president, in the chair, and Mr. T. Scott in the vice-chair, In the course of the proceedings, Mr. Scott said that they had been blessed with a very fine autumn up to within the last few days ; but as winter had set in, the time would come when they would be put to their shifts in keeping their stock in a growing condition and a thriving state. Pulpers were more required, as there was a great scarcity of turnips ; and econo- mising roots might be effected by mixing with them a large quantity of chaff and straw, which this season was of a very superior quality, and nearly double in value to the produce of former years. The Rev. C. H. Sale proposed the healths of those gentle- men who had read papers for the instruction of the members during the past year. One gentleman present had read a very interesting paper on the rearing and feeding of poultry ; another good paper was on shepherding, in which some useful remarks were offered by the lecturer ; and a most valuable paper was upon the relations between landlord and tenant, in which the question of game was alluded to in a very fair and admi- rable manner, by the lecturer, Sir G. O. Wombwell, Bart. That lecture had been extensively published, and numerous newspapers had inserted that portion of it relating to game, which in one paper had formed the subject of its leading article. The good that lecture had produced was very great indeed, be- cause it did not come from an interested party, but from a landlord having considerable estates, belonging to the aristo- cratic circle, and being a sporting man. They could not over- rate the value of that lecture, for the giving of which they were most deeply indebted to the lion, baronet. WIGTON FARMERS' CLUB. At the recent annual dinner, Sir W. Lawson, M.P., the chairman, said he thought that native talent had taken the shine out of scientific men, so far as this club was concerned. Having referred to the excellent papers read by Mr. Win. Nor- man and Mr. Hayton, and others, Sir Wilfrid said all the dis- cussions they had had were very useful and satisfactory, and he hoped they were satisfactory to the public. They were en- gaged in searching after truth, in finding out what really are the defects with regard to agriculture, and how to snpply those defects. He believed their immediate object was search- ing after truth, still it was almost always one of the most difficult. The Rev. A. AsinvoRTii referred to the agricultural statis- tics for 1S6S published this week. The only decrease, accord- ing to the returns, had been in pigs, and how that occurred he did not know ; and he would not venture to go into things he aid not understand. Mr. H. Railton, in responding, said he thought he might answer the question as to the decrease of pigs. One reason was, that he could apply his stuff to a better purpose. Pota- toes being dear, he could get more for them than by giving them to the pigs : and corn being dear, he could get more for it than by giving it to the pigs ; consequently, he fed less pigs and bred less pigs also. Mr. Norman said : Whether farming was good or bad, landlords were at the bottom of it. They had Professor Col- man down, and he told them a good deal about the progress of Agriculture and the effect of machinery upon the progress of Agriculture ; but, in his opinion, the reason why Agriculture did not advance, as it ought to do, was on account of the un- just relations which existed between landlords and tenants. A good deal told them it was want of capital, some for want of leasea ; others told them it was want of education ; but he held with the writer of an article in the Economist the other day, that it was want of credit. Not want of credit at their banks, but want of credit on the part of landlords— want of common honesty. The question concerned not merely landlords and tenants, but every man, woman, and child in the community ; and until the tenant could Have security for his capital agri- culture would never advance. NORTHERN COUNTIES FAT SHOW CLUB. This, the first exhibition, was held at Inverness. Following the example of the Morayshire farmers, who have established a Christmas show at Torres, the proprietors and farmers in Inverness and Ross-shires have instituted this Club. The Judges were : For cattle and sheep — Messrs. Stodart, Muiryfold ; Macinally, Glasgow ; and Tiernan, Glasgow. For poultry, roots, &c. — Sir George Macpherson Grant ; Messrs. Clark, Fochabers Station ; Morrison, Elgin ; and Fraser, Bal- loon of Culloden. The following is the prize list: CATTLE. Short-horn heifers, under three years old. — 1st, Wm. Brown, Moray ston, Petty. Polled oxen, under three years old. — 1st and 2nd, Wm. Brown. Polled oxen, under two years. — 1st and 2nd, John Hendric, Castleheather. Polled oxen, under four years, bred by exhibitor. — Wm. Brown. Polled heifers, under three years. — 1st and 2nd, Wm. Brown. Polled heifers, under three years, bred by exhibitor. — Silver medal, Wm. Brown. Highland oxen, under four years. — 1st. Murdo Mackenzie, Easter Moy ; 2nd, The Duke of Sutherland. Highland oxen, under four years, bred by exhibitor. — Silver medal, The Duke of Sutherland. Cross oxen, under three years. — 1st, D. and J. Fraser, flesh- ers, Inverness ; 2nd, Henry Sim, Ardullie ; 3rd, Murdo Mac- kenzie. Cross oxen, under two years. — 1st, Wm. Brown ; 2nd, D. G. Ross, Wester Lovat. Cross oxen, under four years, bred by exhibiter. — Silver medal, Alex. Mothesou of Ardross., M.P. Cross heifers, under three years. — 1st and 2nd, Alex. Matlie- son, M.P. Cross heifers, under two years. — Wm. Brown. Cross heifers, under four years, bred by exhibiter. — Silver medal, Alex. Matheson, M.P. Lots of not less than four of any breed, under three years. — 1st, Wm. Brown ; 2nd, Alex. Matheson, M.P. Heifers of any breed, under three years. — 1st, Win. Brown ; 2nd, Alex. Matheson, M.P. Fat ox of any age or breed. — D. and J. Fraser. Fat heifer of any age or breed. — Wm. Brown. Cow of any age or breed. — 1st, John Hamilton, Cautray- bruich ; 2nd, John Hendrie. For short-horned fat ox, of any age, £5 5s., given by the Inverness Fleshers. — John Mackessack, Cloves, Forres. For polled fat ox, of any age, £5 5s., given by the Inverness Hotel-keepers. — John Mackessack. For fat Highland ox, of any age, £5 5s., given by Macdougall and Co. — The Duke of Sutherland. For fat cross ox, of any age, £5 5s., given by Messrs. R. Carruthers and Sons. — Thomas Ross, Hillhead, Forres. Best fat animal in the yard. — A silver cup, valne£15, given by the Club, Thomas Ross. Highland Society's medal for best ox or bullock, any breed. — Thomas Ross. Highland Society's medal for best cow or heifer, any breed. Wm. Brown. SHEEP. Cheviot wedders, under four shears. — 1st, Donald Bain, In- verness ; 2nd, Robert Anderson of Lochdhu. Blackfaced wedders, under four shears. — 1st, Elliott and Co., fleshers, Inverness ; 2nd, J . B. Baillie of Leys. Wedders of any pure breed, under two shears. — Elliott and Co. Fat cross-bred wedders. — Henry Sim. Fat cross-bred ewes. — John Hendrie. Ewes or sheep of any breed, pens of five. — 1st, John Hen- drie (ewes) ; 2nd, George Middleton, Corntown (sheep). Highland Society's medal for the best pen of five sheep in showyard. — Henry Sim. PIGS. Pig not exceeding ten months. — 1st, Arthur Forbes of Cul- loden ; 2nd, W. Murray, chief constable, Inverness. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 17S Pigs not exceeding fifteen months. — 1st, John Hendrie; 2nd, The Master of Lovat. Fat pig of any age, — 1st, John Hendrie ; 2nd, Donald Maclennau, Muirtown. Highland Society's silver medal. — John Hendrie. THE LINCOLNSHIRE FARMERS' ASSO- CIATION. (LATE SOUTH LINCOLNSHIRE TILLAGE ASSOCIATION.) The first general meeting of the members of this society was held at Sleaford. The chair was taken by Mr. H. Smith, of Horbling, who congratulated the society on thesuecesswhichhad attended its efforts so far, and stated that according to the rules of the association, they were required to hold their annual meeting in the first week in January; but he thought it would be better only to go through the accounts at that meeting, and then adjourn it to the first Monday after the 10th of June, which would allow the present officers one whole year's man- agement. There was a question he wished to bring before them relative to the supply of manure. According to rule 9 of their association, all manures must be ordered by a certain date, and the question had been asked — " Do you really intend to supply us with any more manure after that date or not ?" In reply to this he might say that Mr. Toynbee had offered to supply any further quantity of manure required by the associa- tion, guaranteed to contain not less than 26 per cent, of solu- ble phosphate and in good condition, at £4 0s. 6d. per ton in bulk (being 2s. Gd. per ton more than his last contract) , pro- vided the orders were received not later than the 31st March next, and the. manure delivered not later than the 30th June next ; and he would therefore leave it to them to decide whether they wished to deviate from their rule in this matter, in order to accommodate some of the members who had not made their calculations, and consequently required more manure than they had ordered. If the meeting were adjourned as he had sug- gested, the next season would commence on the 10th of June, the anniversary of the establishment of the association. After considerable discussion, in which Messrs. W. Dudding, B. Tomlinson, Holmes, Casswell, Marshall, Thorpe, Akrill, and others took part, it was resolved that the Committee be em- powered to make a further contract with Mr. Toynbee on those terms, but that the present members of the association only should be entitled to the benefit thereof. An abstract of accounts, prepared by the secretary, showing the amount of money received and paid, and the quantity of manure delivered and ordered for future delivery, from the com- mencement of the association in June, last to this day, was then read and explained by the chairman, from which it appeared that there were 161 members, occupying altogether 57,106 acres, that the manure delivered and ordered for future de- livery was 1,799 tons, and that the net balance in favour of the association, after payment of all claims and expenses, was £170 lis. 8d. The chairman next remarked that a suggestion had been made to them to take into consideration the desirability of the society supplying its members with unadulterated oilcake, as well as manure. They had received a letter from Lord Keste- ven offering to give his support to their society, and advising them to consider this subject. It was well known that they were greatly deceived in oilcake, perhaps more so than in ma- nures. He (the chairman) had heard from good authority of some on analysis being found to contain as much as 60 per cent, of perfect rubbish. A circular of the Driffield & East Hiding Linseed cake Company was produced. This company had been established some time, and was found to answer well. If the society should come to the conclusion that it would be desirable to supply oil-cake to its members, it would be advisable to ad- vertise for a supply of pure linseed cake, subject to analysis, the same as they did for their manure. After some further dis- cussion a resolution was passed — " That the committee be re- quested to obtain information and make due inquiries as to the advisability of supplying genuine linseed cake to its members on the same principles on which it now supplies manure, and to report thereon to a general meeting of the members to be called by the committee when they think advisable." A fur- ther resolution was then carried adjourning the meetiug to Monday, the 14th Jimp next. SIR JOSEPH HAWLEY'S RESOLUTIONS. According to Weatherby's Calendar, a very orthodox publi- cation, the first race run in 1868 was run on the first of January, and this was won by a three year old ; but the first two-year old stakes was not decided until the 18th of February, when more than twenty animals of this age started for the Brock leaby, at Lincoln ; while, from the same work, we gather that the last race in which any two-y ear- olds took any part in 1867, was over Warwick, on the 22nd of November. In that same season, the hapless Lady Elizabeth began racing, on the 2nd of April, at Northampton, and finished at Newmarket, on the 11th of October, having started 13 times and won 12. This was a pretty good year's work for a two-year-old, or rather a life's work for many a famous horse. Eclipse never started until he was five years old, and scarcely ran more races through- out his career than this filly did in her first season. And yet there are people who talk of the deterioration of the English horse, and point in triumph to the weeds and cripples that are to be encountered. Fairly proved, the English thorough-bred horse was never so good, never so superior to all other breeds as he is at this moment ; but not one thorough-bred horse in a hundred ever has fair play, lie is foolishly forced for sale from I fie time he is a foal ; he is put into work long before his time, and he is worn out before he arrives at his mat tire strength. If our horses were only husbanded as of yore, they would carry weight and run a distance, and lose their own forefathers. But why, then, this cruel impolitic excess of two-year-old racing ? The answer is the old story over again. Gentlemen could not afford to keep studs if they had to wait longer than they do before their horses came into work, and, moreover, all the more valuable stakes are run for at two and three years old. Surely some very vigorous reform is not only necessary, but practicable here ! According to Admiral Rous : " The abolition of the two-year-old engagements in the spring would obviate the necessity for entering for two-year-old stakes on the 1st of January, and the postponement of the nominations until the 1st of March would have a beneficial result, as then there would be no inducement to try yearlings in the autumn. It is not very uncommon to try yearlings five or six times be- fore Christmas day. I bought a three-year-old, Villiers, by Bay Middleton, out of Olive, which had been tried seventeen times as a yearling before the 1st of January." And how would the Admiral set about a remedy ? He answers : " A cryiDg iniquity, which almost requires an interposition from Parliament, is the modern practice of commencing races on the 15th of February, and not ending the season Defore the 15th of November." It is eight years since the Admiral said so much, but, with the exception ot discontinuing yearling stakes, the Jockey Club has done little or nothing. The evil, as we have shown, is on the increase, for the racing season is still extend- ing, if, indeed, it ever actually ends. Not " almost," then, but Parliament must interfere with the view of curtailing these modern practices. The result of all this ivas of course inevitable. Horses used up before they ever reach their prime, cannot carry weight nor run a distance ; and so we have the T.Y.C. scrambles, the wrangling at the post, and the feather finishes. Can anything be more detrimental — anything more unsportsmanlike? People talk of " the bed of tulips" and " the prismatic hues of the rainbow" when the most experienced judges can scarcely distinguish one colour or horse from the other as they face you in a cluster, and some hitherto unknown bottled-up animal " lands the pot." Out upon the horrible cockney slang of these latter day sinners ! Compare an exhibition of this kind with the treat once to be enjoyed over a race between half a dozen good seasoned horses for the Ascot or Goodwood Cup. There are no good seasoned horses in these times, for, without going very closely through the record, we may say that almost every important all-aged race of the closing year, handicap or otherwise, has been won by a three-year-old : the Northamp- tonshire Stakes, the Chester Cup, the two Epsom Spring Han- dicaps, the two Newmarket Autumn Handicaps, the Ascot Cup, the Goodwood Cup, the Goodwood Stakes, and so forth. No- thing could be easier of enactment, or more wholesome in its influence, than tltat no two year old race should be run before the May-day, the time from which, until a comparatively recent period, a colt took his age as a two-year-old. — The Broadway for December, 1868, 174 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE REMOVAL OF CATTLE FROM THE METROPOLIS. By virtue of a special order of Council the clauses which affect the movement of cattle from the metropolis were sus- pended in favour of the animals exhibited at the late fat cattle show in the Agricultural Hall ; and at this distance of time it is tolerably safe to volunteer the statement that no injury has resulted from the passage of some hundred and twenty cattle across the prescribed boundary. It is necessary to allude to these circumstances in order to explain the conditions under which the concession was made, and the precautions which were taken to prevent untoward consequences, because there is a gradually growing conviction in the minds of persons inte- rested in the cattle trade, that the removal of a certain number of cattle from London into the country was an experiment of a preparatory character, intended, if successful, to pave the way for a total abolition of all restrictions upon the metropolitan cattle traffic. Without pretending to foresee what proceedings may hereafter be taken in respect of the movement of cattle in this conntry, we do not hesitate to assert that the special ar- rangements which were carried out at the Smithfield show had nothing to do with the general question of removal of restric- tions which at present confine cattle in the metropolis to a limited area. Indeed, the stringent regulations which were made the conditions of removal of cattle over the boundary line, in themselves sufficiently indicate that London is still esti- mated as an infected place. Cattle which had been fed in the metropolis were not allowed admittance to the show, all the animals which were admitted were examined on their entrance to the Hall, and after being kept there during the week of the show, were again examined before the certificate which autho- rised their removal from the metropolis was signed. The vans in which they were brought from the several railway stations were disinfected before being used, and again cleansed and dis- infected previous to their being required for the conveyance of the cattle either out of the metropolitan area, or to any railway station within the area. With such precautions, carried out as they were under proper supervision, no danger was to be apprehended. All such enforced measurers of precaution, however, are opposed to that feeling of independence, which is becoming so very characteristic of the people of the period ; and hence restrictions are not submitted to, and instructions are not complied with in a spirit of superabundant alacrity, nor without a reasonable amount of grumbling. These trifling drawbacks do not seriously impair the efficacy of the means employed, and the results are seen in the improved health of stock all over the couutry. Nothing can be more instructive than to compare the sanitary condition of cattle at the shows that have taken place since the cattle plague restrictions have been in force, with that which used to be commonly noticed wherever a large number of animals were collected together. Mouth and foot disease was reckoned to be one of the contin- gencies, and outbreaks of pleuro-pneumonia were by no means uncommon. Now, although both these, affections prevail in many parts in the country, one of them extensively in the metropolis, not a single case of either disease has been detected during the last two or three exhibitions of the Smithfield Club; and, it may be remarked, that the health of the stock at the Birmingham shows has been equally satisfactory. Much of this immunity is due, we are convinced, to the knowledge which farmers have acquired in the last year or two of the im- mense importance of a rigid adherence to hygienic rules. The cattle plague taught stock owners the precise significance of isolation as a means of combating contagious maladies. The advantages of the " stamping out system" in dealing with such affections as pleuro-pnenmonia, sheep pox, and cattle plague, are now so universally admitted, that we may fairly set aside auy apprehension of a serious spread of these diseases in the future, unless long continuance of security should lead ulti- mately to indifference and laxity. Routine and method are not in accordance with our national instincts ; on the contrary, we feel rather disposed on all convenient occasions to set rules at defiance ; but the benefits which are the direct consequences of a strict obedience to the laws of health are so manifest, that it is not difficult to understand the change which has come over the agricultural mind, and which prompts those who three years since violently opposed the imposing of prohibitions upon the movement of stock, to tolerate and even suggest the idea of j permanent legislation in reference to the cattle trade, English and foreign. It cannot be doubted, notwithstanding, that the state of the law in relation to cattle within the metropolis is entirely unsatisfactory to producers of home-bred stock, and also to purchasers. There is nothing to be gained by the at- tempt to disguise or underrate the fact, that animals will com- mand a better price when their movement is unrestricted, than when they can only be driven within a confined space. Many exhibitors found the advantage of the change which was made in respect of the cattle in the Agricultural Hall, and the salesmen, instead of having to wait to the last in their endeav- ours to dispose of the animals committed to their charge, found no difficulty in getting rid of them quickly, and at remunerative prices ; the extent of competition may be judged from the fact that nearly one-half of.the cattle exhibited were sold to butchers residing at a distance from the metropolis. Ou the other side, it must not be forgotten that London as a cattle market will always occupy an exceptional position as the great focus to which animals from all parts in various states of disease will converge, and, if permitted, afterwards radiate, to the great in- jury of healthy stock. But irrespective of cattle plague and foreign cattle, the prevention of the removal of cattle out of the metropolitan district should be maintained on sanitary grounds ; and there is great reason to fear that breeders of stock would hereafter regret the obtaining of the concession which they now so anxiously seek. The whole question oj cattle traffic is being agitated, and it may he expected that a measure embodying the views of the agricultural community will be introduced to the notice of Parliament at no distant date. It is impossible to predict what course the legislature may take, but it is to be hoped that no circumstances will arise to cause the removal of a very important safeguard to the stock of the country. — The Veterinarian for January. SENDING BAD MEAT TO THE LONDON MARKET. At the Guildhall Police-court, Mr. James Kinsley, a farmer of Longford, in Bedfordshire, was summoned for sending four quarters of beef to the London market for sale as human food, the same being diseased, unsound, unwholesome, and unfit for the food of man. Mr. Baylis prosecuted on behalf of the Commissioners of Sewers. It appeared from the evidence that the defendant had a cow which was taken ill, and his man not liking her appearance tried to rouse her up, but she laid down and would not get up. He then went and told the defendant that some thing was wrong with her, and the result was that he ordered the cow to be killed, dressed, and sent to Loudon for sale. Mr. James Newman, the inspector, and other officers of Newgate-market, proved that the meat was in a wet and flabby state, and totally unfit for human food. It had evidently been killed while it was suffering from disease, and near the point of death. Mr. Newman said it was lung disease, and any person conversant with meat must have seen that it was unfit for human food. Mr. Alderman Pinnis fined the defendant £20 and £5 5s. costs, or, in default of payment, one month's imprisonment. The fine and costs were paid. Another Case. — Imprisonment without a Pine. — Mr. Robert Phillip Dodd, a farmer, of Great Ryburgh, in Norfolk, occupying 700 acres of land, was summoned for sending four quarters of beef to the London market for sale, the same being diseased, unsound, unwholesome, and unfit for the food of man. Mr. Baylis prosecuted on behalf of the Commissioners of Sewers, and Mr. Albert Turner, of the firm of Sole and Turner of Aldermanbury, appeared for the defendant. The evidence, which was very lengthy, amounted to this, that Mr. Dodd's shepherd had his attention called to a cow which was lying in a field with her head under her. He and some men pulled it out, and then found she was dead. The shepherd told Mr. Dodd about it, and he sent for a butcher to dress it, and it was sent to the London market, for sale. The flesh was wet, stinking, and inflamed, and totally unfit for the food of man. Mr. Turner, for the defence, called the shepherd, who stated THE FABMER'S MAGAZINE. 175 that the animal was a milch cow, ami had been in Mr. Podd's possession since Slay last. She was in perfect health Up to the teoming that she died, and the cause of her death was that she had heen given some turnips, and they had " blown." her. He had purchased the head and tongue for half-a-crown, and lie and his family had lived on it until it was gone, and they had fe.lt no ill effects from it. The heart was cooked and eaten hy the yard' s-man and his family, and they had not heen made ill hy it. He also called Charles Smith, the butcher who dressed the carcase, and he stated that when he had nearly finished dressing it the defendant came in, and he told him it was not worth dressing. He told the yard's-man and the coachman that he was glad to earn what he could, hut the meat was not fit to send up to Loudon. Mr. Podd did not hear him say that. If he had hought it he could not have sold it to some of his customers, but there were some people who would have bought it. When the animal was cut open it was in a very had state, because the tripe bad been either burst from being " blown," or pricked with a knife, and thus the excrement from the tripe had run into the frame of the beast and made it stink. Except that the animal was " blown" from eating turnips, there was nothing the matter with it. The bursting of the tripe was the cause of the smell which was attached to the meat, and there was no getting it out of it. Mr. Alderman Finnis said this was one of those cases in which a fine ought not to be inflicted : for here was a man of position in the country, farming 700 acres of land, and of wealth, to whom a fine would be no punishment at all ; he therefore felt it to be his duty to send him to the House of Correction for one month. The Pali Mall Gazelle says in commenting on this case : " The practice of sending bad meat to the London markets has long been a favourite one with many farmers, but % events have lately occurred which are likely to alter their opinions on the subject. The countryman in London very often falls a prey to men of sharper wits than himself, and when he returns home it is naturally with a bad opinion of all of us who are obliged to live in so wicked a place. Even the farmers, who ought to know better, firmly believe that anything is good enough for Londoners to eat. Many of these men would not send diseased meat to their own local markets ; hut to their minds there is a mystery about people at a distance, and no harm in half poisoning people who are not your neighbours. This theory will be suddenly checked in rural parts hy the resolute conduct of the London aldermen. Several farmers have lately had to pay heavy fines, but on Tuesday one was sent to prisou. He was a man who occupies 700 acres of land in Norfolk, aud was convicted of despatching four quarters of beet unfit for human food to the London market. Alderman Finnis sent him to prison for a month, without allowing him the chance to pay a fine. It is to be hoped that the fate of this Norfolk farmer will pro- duce the desired result upon the agricultural mind." CATTLE DISEASES IN THE UNITED STATES. A meeting of the " Cattle Commissions' Committee," during the second week of December, at Springfield, Illinois, was at- tended by delegates from Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the province of Ontario. Hon. Lewis F. Allen, of New York State, was chosen to pre- side. The object of the meeting was the adoption of recom- mendations to be presented to the Legislatures of the several States for their action, involving the following leading mea- sures : — 1. The appointment of commissioners for five years, to report annually ; whose duty is to prevent the spread of dan- gerous diseases and protect the public from diseased meat ; with such assistants and legal powers as are necessary ; who are to give public notice of the existence of dangerous diseases, aud who may place diseased animals in quarantine, or, if neces- sary, kill them, the county or State in that case paying for them at a fair appraisal. 2. The commissioners or their assistants to have the power to inspect all cattle brought within the boundaries of the State, on foot or by any means of convey- ance, and to detain them so long as the inspection may re- quire ; to prevent the entry of any considered capable of dif- fusing disease ; to prohibit the progress of any train in which the animals it contains have not been supplied with food, water, ana rest within the twenty-four hours previous j to en- force rest and access to food and water, for twenty-four hours, for animals that have travelled that length of time ; and to in- spect the yards of railroad companies as to their accommoda- tions, and the cleanly and wholesome condition in which they are kept. Section 3 we copy at length : — " Sec. 3. Whereas, A malignant disease among cattfe, known as fever, has been widely disseminated by transit of trains and other sources to western cattle through the western and north-western Stales during the warm weather of the year, occasioning great loss to our farmers, possibly endangering the health of our citizens therein; " Resolved, That this convention earnestly recommend the enactment of stringent laws to prevent the transit through these States of Texas or Cherokee cattle from the first day of March to the last day of November inclusive. " Resolrcd, That the interests of the community require the enactment of laws making any person responsible for all damages that may result from the diffusion of any dangerous disease from animals in his ownership or possession." After some discussion the period named for the non-intro- duction of Texas cattle appears to have been changed so as to read from March 1 to November 1. The second of the resolu- tions, unless limited and guarded in some manner which has not been thus far explained, appears decidedly objectionable. But the recommendations, on the whole, embody a policy which should receive the hearty support of our legislatures, both on the subject of diseases themselves, and also with regard to the point— the more humane and proper treatment of stock in transit. TITHE COMMUTATION.— SEPTENNIAL AVERAGES. Sir, — As many of your readers may feel anxious to know the result of the corn averages for the seven years to Christ- mas, 1868, published in the London Gazelle of this evening, viz. : — Wheat Gs. 5^d. per imperial bushel. Barley 4s. 5^d. „ „ Oats 2s. lid. „ „ 1 beg to state for their information that each £100 of tithe rent-charge will for the year 1869 amount to £103 5s. 8jd., or nearly 2£ per cent, more than last year. The following shows the worth of £100 tithe rent-charge for the last seven years : — For the year 1863 £107 5 2 „ 1864 103 3 lOf „ „ 1865 98 15 10| „ 1866 97 7 9± „ 1867 98 13 3 „ 1868 100 13 8 „ 1869 103 5 8| The average value of £100 tithe rent-charge for the 33 years elapsed since the passing of the Tithe Commutation Act is £100 17s. 0|d. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, Montague Marriott, Editor of " Willich's Tithe Commutation Tables." 26, Monlpelier-square, S.W., Jan. 5. THE FARMERS' CLUB. • Subjects for Discussion in 1869. February 3. — Pauperism and Vagrancy. Proposed by Mr. J. Trask, Highleaze, Yeovil. March 1.— The Adulteration of Feeding Stuffs and Artificial Manures. Professor Voelcker, Salisbury-square, London, E.C. April 5. — The Systems of Local Rating in England, Scot- land, and Ireland. Mr. F. L. Dashwood, Kirtlington, Oxford- November 1. — Continental Fanns. Mr. J. Howard, M.P., Bedford. December 6. — The Common Form of Farm Agreement, as tending to the fullest development of Agriculture. Mr. R. H. Masfeu, Pendeford, Wolverhampton. The May subject has not yet been settled. 176 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. MOWERS AND REAPERS. The following Report is from the New York State Agri- cultural Society's Journal : — The exhibition of mowers and reapers was unusually large, and their general appearance, plan and workmanship, gave positive indications of the genins and skill that has been stimu- lated into activity, evidently by the recent trial at Auburn. It must be exceedingly gratifying to the friends of the Society to know that this trial lias produced so rich a harvest of suc- cess to both exhibitors and the farming public. It is gratify- ing also to know that the manufacturers of this class of ma- chines are recognising the same general ideas, and that their experience is rapidly leading them to an approximate equality of plan and operation. Among the novelties we mention the improvement introduced by Mr. Brown, foreman of the Buck- eye works of Poughkeepsie, which consists in a contrivance for making the raking from the platform automatic. The ope- rator may, by this arrangement, determine beforehand the size of the gavel, and by so setting the apparatus, the rake will work of itself without his assistance. This is effected by a system of ratchet wheels which are acted upon by latches that fall by their own gravity, and are lifted by cams placed in suitable positions ; in this way every third, fourth, fifth, or sixth arm of the reel will be a rake, and so regulate the size of the gavel. By this arrangement the rake roller is prevented from being caught and broken, as was often the case in the self- rake. The Hubbard mowing machine, for 1867, exhibited by M. G. Hubbard, Syracuse, presents a new feature in the attempt to supply a deficiency long felt ; that is, in making both wheels equable drivers in all cases of turning curves, &c. The driving wheels are free from all gearing whatever, and all the machinery is shut up in a square box in the centre of the machine, removed from the clogging action of dirt, grass, or straw. It is well known that in some situations, especially in low grounds, where the grass is thick and fine, a high speed of the knives is desirable ; while in other conditions a lower speed would answer the purpose. The new modification gives two degrees of speed, which can be changed by a simple motion of the operator ; it may be thrown out of gear, or into either of the different speeds very readily. All these condi- tions are attained by the action of a triple gear, working in a sun and planet attachment adjusted to it. One of the driving wheels may be turned forward, and the other backward, or both forward with different degrees of motion, yet both are equable drivers. Prominent among the machines entered at the trial at Auburn, 186G, was the Johnson self-rake. It had been in the field but two years, a small number only having been manufac- tured. At that trial its operations received general favour, and while its valuable points were noticed, its defects were faith- fully pointed out. The inventor wisely availed himself of the experience there obtained, and proceeded to perfect his ma- chine. The special improvements introduced since that trial are: — 1st. A screw-elevating shaft for raising and lowering the platform, to regulate the height of cut, in place of a lever and chain, used at that time. 2nd. The introduction of five rakes instead of four, which increase the reeling capacity, enabling it to work satisfactorily in high winds, and also enabling the operator to regulate the size of the gavels more perfectly. 3rd. The mechanism for regulating the size of the gavels has been simplified very much, one strong piece doing the work which formerly required six. 4th. The possibility of the rake- roller coming in contact with the end of the gate or switch is prevented, by making the gate or switch free to fly out. Before, the operator was obliged to throw the gate open and allow it to shut between the passings of the roller. 5th. The rake has been so arranged that it may be set to deliver the gavels auto- matically at every revolution. In uneven grain the size of the gavel is governed by the driver with his foot. 6th. In addi- tion to the screw-elevating shaft for raising and lowering the platform horizontally, the pole has been hinged to the main frame, aud a lever and ratchet cam introduced, for raising and lowering the height of the cut while passing along, and also tor giving the proper angle to the guards, both in standing and lodged grain ; thus, by the screw-elevating shaft, the ma- Phine is set tor the average of the field, and by this attachment the operator is enabled to vary the height of cut according to the height of the grain. The rake has been attached recently to a large number of the leading machines of the country, anil with uniform success. Cultivators.— Messrs. Fords & Howe, of Oneonta, N. Y., exhibited their two-horse cultivator, the same style of imple- ment which was awarded a gold medal at the Utica trial, 1867. Its weight has been reduced from four hundred and twenty-five pounds to two hundred and seventy-five pounds, and the price from 60 dols. to 50 dols. It is much simplified, and the adjust- ments are more easily and quickly made. Messrs. Bickford & Hoffman, of Macedon, N. Y., have a new device in their grain-sowing machine, which was on exhibition. It consists in throwing the distributors out of gear, and raising the tubes by one and the same motion ; so that the distribution of seed is certainly stopped before the elevation of the tubes. This is effected by auxiliary action of a rack and pinion at the ends of the roller, thus requiring much shorter rotation. Self-Binder. — T. F. Gordon & Co., Rochester, exhibited an automatic binder ; it was attached to a reaper of the usual general form. At the back of the cutter-bar was a square plat- form upon which the cut grain falls. At regular intervals a rake extends over and downward upon the platform, then draws the bundle up toward the binder which operates as follows : — An arm that carries a spool of wire upon it projects itself through the rake and around the bundle until the two ends of the binding wire meet and are twisted together, which forms the knot, after which the arm and rake resumes its place, and the bound bundle falls off upon the ground. It binds bundles of different sizes with the same facility. The process of binding is about the only work of the harvest field that has yet to be done by machinery, and it is hoped that this machine may prove a step towards its accomplishment. THE INDEPENDENT FARMER. BY W. W. F. Let sailors sing the windy deep, Let soldiers praise their armour, But in my heart this toast I'll keep, The Independent Farmer : When first the rose in robe of green Unfolds its crimson lining, And 'round his cottage porch is seen The honeysuckle twining, When the banks of bloom their sweetness yield, The bees that gather honey, He drives his team across the field, Where skies are soft and sunny. The blackbird clucks behind his plough, The quail pipes loud and clearly ; Yon orchard hides behind its bough The home he loves so dearly ; The grey old barns, whose doors enfold His ample store in measure, More rich than heaps of hoarded gold, A precious blessed treasure ; But yonder in the porch there stands His wife, the lovely charmer, The sweetest rose on all his lands : The Independent Farmer. To him the spring comes dancing gay, To him the summer blushes, The autumn smiles with yellow ray, His sleep old winter hushes ; He cares not how the world may move, No doubts or fears' confound him ; His little flock are linked in love, And household angels 'round him ; He trusts in God, and loves his wife, Nor grief nor ill may harm her, He's nature's nobleman in life — The Independent Farmer. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 177 THE PLOUGH IN AMERICA. The Hon. Horace Greeley lately read the following paper on Ploughing, before the Farmers' Club of the -American In- stitute : — Many controversies arise from imperfect definitions. The same words, the same phrases, convey ditl'erent ideas to the rival disputants. Let me begin, then, by making myself clearly understood. To save time, I will define by negation or exclusion as follows : — All soils do not require ploughing to the same depth ; because, 1, A large portion of the earth's surface should never be ploughed at all. No wet lands should he ploughed until thoroughly permanently drained. Plough- ing them while still wet, or certain to become so after rains, is throwing labour away. A very large area, consisting of swamps, marshes, bogs, fens, sea, lake, river and brook mar- gins, or intervales frequently submerged or sodden, should never be ploughed until drained or embanked. 2. Then a great proportion of the rocky hillsides or crests, which consist mainly of rocks thinly covered by and often protruding through the soil, should never be ploughed, but should be kept always in forest, from which timber is taken from time to time, hut never to such extent as to reveal its ruggedness. Westchester county alone has thousands of acres, now denuded and devoted to grazing, which should never have been cleared. Cutoff the timber, if you are not content with cutting out, but keep such rough laud always in wood. Its cultivation can never pay ; its grass is burnt up by a sultry week ; while stripping it of timber tends to render our springs and streams scanty and capricious. There is nothing worse in our rural economy than this uncovering of rocky steeps that ought for ever to remain timbered. 3. There are, moreover, lauds too sterile to be cul- tivated with profit, at least while so much good land lies idle and useless. These lands are often level enough, and not too stony ; but it will cost more to bring them to a proper state of fertility than they will then be worth. Some of these might he, and probably ought forthwith to be, sowed with nuts and tree-seed, and so covered with timber ; probably the plough might be advantageously used in the process ; hut it would be unwise to subject them to other culture for ages yet, if ever. 4*. Then there are lands which have a good, though shallow surface soil, but covering a poisonous subsoil, which must not he disturbed. Prof. Mapes found such a tract in West Jersey, where a stratum of sulphate of iron (copperas) lay hut eight inches below the surface. To plough into this, and mix it with the surface soil, arrested vegetation altogether. 5. And again, there are soils, mainly alluvial, at once so mellow and fertile that the roots of the cereals and most plants will per- meate and draw sustenance from them though they are never disturbed by the plough. I presume the annually-flooded in- tervale of the Nile is of this class. I judge that the valley south of Maysville, Cal., annually covered many feet deep by the turbid floods of the Yuba, Tolber, and American rivers, is much of the same. There are portions of the intervale of the Illinois where the muck is sixteen feet deep, very loose and rich. I was told in California that the grape, though it had to be watered sparingly during the first two summers, needed no irrigation thereafter in the valleys of that State, though they are dried up in summer to the depth of several feet. The roots strike down through the rich loam below till they find a moisture that they can appropriate and thrive upon. I judge that the valley of the Sacramento and its numerous tributaries is often bored to a depth of four or five feet. I have thus fully conceded that deep ploughing is not everywhere requisite. Now let me show where and why it is needed. 1. It has been abun- dantly demonstrated that the roots of plants are often found at a distance of several feet from the stem. Any of us may have seen that this is as true of Indian corn as of Canada thistles. With a microscope and due patience, the roots of wheat may be traced from four to six feet. Of course, these roots seek nourishment and find it. Nature, in the broad view, makes no abortive, at least no wanton effort. Roots wander in search of food not otherwise to be found. 2. Our subsoils are generally compact and repellaut. Wherever a ditcher would naturally use a pick, there few roots can make their way except very slowly and by wasting effort. Pew or no cereals or edible roots can feed and flourish on the penetration of such subsoils. And while our sands and looser gravels are more easily tra- versed, they seldom contain the plant-food whereof the roots are in search. They either remain uupenet rated, or the effort is unrewarded by any gain of nutrition to the plant, 3. Our summers and autumns are often persistently hot and dry. The continuously torrid suns, which this year destroyed half the later crops of Europe, are here encountered as often as every third year. Drought is one of the foremost causes of the failure of our crops. Our ancestors mainly migrated hither from the British Isles, from Holland, and the coasts of Northern and Western Europe, where humidity is the rule, protracted drought the exception. Sixteen inches of soil in oar climate is hardly equal, as an antidote to drought, to six inches in Ire- land and Holland. And yet the best farmers of those coun- tries agree in commending deeper ploughing. 4. What we advocate is not the burying of the vegetable mould or natural surface sod under several inches of cold lifeless clay, sand, or gravel. If the subsoil is not to be enriched, it may better re- main a subsoil. But that does not prove that it ought not to be lifted, stirred, aerated, pulverized. The right thing to do is to enrich as well as mellow and aerate the entire soil to the depth of fully eighteen inches, though twelve may answer as a beginning. Use a Michigan or a subsoil plough, if you will, and keep the various strata where nature placed them. But give your plants, like your cattle, a chance to reach food and drink at all times. Let down the bars that would keep them from the life-giving springs. 5. Plants look to the soil for (1) anchorage, (2) moisture, (3) most of their food. If they cannot find these more certainly in twelve to eighteen inches of soil than in six, then reason is a fool, mathematics a con- jectural science, and a farmer should prefer a balance in bank to his credit of COO dollars to one of 1,000 dollars. 6. We are told that the roots prefer to run near the surface, loving the warmth of the sun. Let them run there, then. We do not hinder them. Make the soil rich as well as deep, and let them run near the surface for warmth and descend for moisture, or both, as they shall see fit. We proffer them freedom of choice. If a wet season attracts them to the surface, a dry one must constrain them to dive for moisture. It is our duty so to provide that they may flourish however wayward the season. 7. I have a steephillside, which 1 choose to cultivate, the soil being warm and kind. Plough this six inches deep, and the first hard shower sweeps its soil by carl-loads into the brook below, where it is useless. Plough it twice as deep, and not a peck of soil will be flooded off in a lifetime. 8. In a wet sea- sou deep ploughing does, at the worst, no harm. In a dry season it doubles the crop. 9. Unless a small army is more effective than a laige one, an empty pocket-book better than a full one, a lean crop preferable to a large one, then ft deep soil must be more productive than a shallow one. LOCAL TAXATION. At an adjourned general meeting of the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture, Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., in the chair, The Secretary, read the resolution come to by the meeting held on the 12th September, which was as follows ; " That in opinion of this Chamber the present system of local taxation presses most unduly on real property, and there is no just reason why income from other sources should be prevented from contributing its proportion towards the maintenance of the poor and other local burdens." Mr. Grimmer said, although he was a great advocate for increasing the area of assessment, still he felt that it would be injudicious in them to make any alteration hastily and without due consideration of its effects. He moved, " That in the opinion of this Chamber the present system of local taxation imposes undue burdens upon real property, and that it would be highly desirable for the entire subject to be fully considered during the ensuing session by a Parliamentary Committee, with a view to some equitable adjustment." Mr. T. Brown seconded the motion. They all felt that personal as well as real property should bear its share of the rates for support of the poor. They could not see the justice of exempting the former. They were told that they were compensated in other ways : by duties imposed on personal property, which more than made up for their having to bear the whole burden of the poor. They, however, thought the contrary, and wished the matter to be tested. He did not think so large an alteration as was proposed could he 0 178 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. effected without the intervention of a Parliamentary Com- mittee. Mr. Everitt suggested that the Chamher ask one of the members for the county to bring the matter before Parliament, and to ask the members generally to give him their support, as it was to the interest of their constituents that it be carried. He was about to move a resolution requesting the county members to take the initiative, when The Chairman informed him that there were already four honourable members, Sir M. Lopes, Sir George Pergusson, Mr. Acland, and he believed also Mr. Corrance, who intended to bring the matter under the notice of Parliament, hut he could answer for himself and the other members for the county that they would give their support. Mr. Everitt suggested that the following words be added to the resolution : " And that members for the county be urged to support any motion that may be made in the House of Commons for an inquiry into the subject." The resolution, as amended, was put to the meeting and agreed to. Mr. Clowes said they should come to an understanding as to what their local burdens were, and then make those burdens national. Those who lived in towns went into the country and had the advantage of the good roads ; while those resident in the country, when they visited the town, received the beue- fit of the well-lighted streets. There was no parish so isolated but that its prosperity affected in some measure the condition of the whole country, and to the county of Devon the condi- tion of Norfolk was a matter of as much concern as the condi- tion of Devon was to the county of Norfolk. We lived in times when everything was considered in a national rather than in a local point of view, and a local burden was to be considered as a national burden. He advocated going in for a national measure, and not to deal with the question by coun- ties, which he said would be like cutting off the dog's tail by joints. He regarded the income-tax as the basis of assessment of all property. With respect to local administration, he be- lieved there were great errors connected with it, and especially when he saw gentlemen giving up their time to attend boards of guardians or magistrates' meetings, he came to the conclusion that their time must be valuless or there was something radi- cally wrong. They must value the results of that local ad- ministration, and he believed they would fiud that they should have the money collected nationally as well as administered in that way, instead of by the present process. He should no doubt be told that that would be a very expensive proceeding; but he would answer that if they were going to get all property to pay and not simply a part of property, they would be in a position to employ persons to carry out the project. He was perfectly convinced of the ability and good feeling of the gen- tlemen who gave their time in those duties, but there were times when they were not so economical iu carrying out mat- ters as he predicted would be the case under the proposed sys- tem. If they obtained that national system they might have a consolidation of union-houses, and they would not have any small ones as they now had where the establishment charges exceeded what was expended for the benefit of the poor. By a national system they would raise much more money and have a better system of assessment. The matter required a great deal of consideration, and he had no doubt that when intro- duced into the House of Commons they, the members, would obtain and lay before the country, in an intelligible manner, an amount of statistical information that would enable them to arrive at a correct conclusion. They must have a national ex- penditure, and one great item in the account must be economy. The Rev. J. L. Brereton was not assured that it was at all desirable to depart from the ancient system of parochia- lity. _ He very decidedly thought that that system of paro- chiality wanted revision and reformation. It was a remark- able fact that in this country, until quite recently, there was no machinery proposed by which the parish could be adjusted according to the changes in the population. He thought it was advisable that a boundary commission should be issued, having authority to propose the reconstruction of parishes, consolidating some and dividing others, which would enable them to arrive at a sound aud practical basis for the manage- ment of local taxation. There were about 1,500 parishes in England, which gave an average population of 1,300 ; per- haps that number was too small an estimate, but in a popula- |.on of 1,300, with a rateable value of between £0 and £7,000, were contained the elements of a great deal of useful common life, and it was to our national interest to retain that common life distributed throughout the country. lie trem- bled to hear of throwing the whole of the local administration of the country into one central administration, resting on the income-tax. There was much that required remedy, he ad- mitted; but we inherited from our ancestors an admirable institution, which other countries had often envied ; and when men gave their time gratuitously to the duties of the magis- tracy, or in the administration of the relief of the poor, they did so because the property they represented was valuable, and from a sense of what they owed to their neighbours. He should propose that a committee of the Chamber should be appointed to consider and investigate the question, by which means he believed a quantity of valuable contributions to- wards elucidating it would be obtained. The Chairman observed that the proposition would not be antagonistic to the other resolution. Although the mem- bers of the Chamber were convinced of the injustice com- plained of, he reminded them that the whole kingdom was not. He did not think that they had arrived at a period in that great question when they could produce any cut-and-dried remedy ; and he was therefore glad that the opinion of the meetisg was against the remedy intended to be proposed at the next meeting of the Central Chamber, and which was that they substitute for the present rate a national rate on the income-tax assessment. As the Earl of Kimberley had ob- served at a recent meeting, they had many exemptions, such as probate duty, succession duty, taxes on agricultural horses, &c. (A member said he paid succession duty). But they were quite ready and willing that all exemptions should be consi- dered, and when they were considered he was quite sure the verdict of the country would be greatly in their favour. He endorsed the observation that fell from Mr. Brereton, namely, that they must not be in too much of a hurry to get rid of local government. The old parish was unhappily too much abolished already ; but, having been abolished thus far, it had not been abolished far enough to make them enjoy the advan- tages of a more general system of taxation. The resolutions were adopted. LOCAL TAXATION. At the dinner of the Central Devon Chamber, at Newton, Sir Massey Lopes said it was not just and not fair that one description of property should be made to bear so many burdens. The effect of that was to divert capital from the land, and whenever they did that they did two things — they took away from the labour which to a great ex- tent would neutralise the pauperism of which they complained, and they very much checked the possible amount of pro- duce. Their object should be to get as much capital applied to the land as possible, because by that means they increased its producing power, and thereby benefited the whole community. It was for them to show a grievance, and for the Government to provide a remedy. He was prepared to show the grievance, and having his views as to the remedy, last session he very candidly stated what they were. He thought " half a loaf was better than no bread." Gentlemen who took a larger view of the question were perfectly correct, so far as the abstract prin- ciple of justice went, when they said that the whole of the rates should fall upon the community at large (Hear, hear). But he had his doubts as to whether they would succceed in getting that principle generally adopted. Therefore, he said, let them be moderate. He knew very well, too, that if they went for a national tax, there were great practical objections as to doing away with local management, and thus producing a want of economy. There was a great reason in that. But there were a great many things which came under the common charge of poor-rate which ought to come upon the county at large (cheers). There were, for instance, the lunacy charges, the police-rate, and the charges for the maintenance of justice, all of which were general burdens affecting the whole commu- nity, that had nothing specially to do with the locality, and were indeed in some instances beyond its control. There were also registration and vaccination, and why, he asked, should not a fundholder pay for vaccination sis well as an owner or THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 179 bccupier of land ? He was happy to see that many other gen- tlemen were going in the same direction as himself. Amongst others he was glad thai his friend Mr. Acland had a motion on the notice paper, and he (Sir Masscy) would render him every assistance in his power. Mr. Acland moved fur an inquiry by a select committee ; lie (Sir Massey) moved for a lloyal Com- mission, which he thought far preferable. A select committee would not be free from the taint of party, and its decision would not be looked upon with confidence by the agriculturists ; whereas a Royal Commission could include members of both Houses of Parliament and other gentlemen who had given at- tention to the subject, in 1850 there was a select committee of the House of Lords, who reported that the poor-rate ought to be assessed upon all descriptions of properly. Mr. A.CLAHD, M.l'., said Sir Massey Lopes had referred to the general question of local taxation, and had gone somewhat into detail. He (Mr. Acland) thought it better not to do so. Sir Massey had made a most telling, able, aud perspicuous speech in the House of Commons, and said that he had no remedy to suggest or no policy to propose. Sir Massey Lopes : I beg to say that I said precisely the same in the House of Commons upon that occasion as I said this evening. Mr. Acland observed that he had heard the speech, and had read it in Hansard, but did not recollect that. However, they were under the greatest obligation to the lion, baronet for giving them all those details. He did not, however, wish to enter into any competition with him in that respect, nor had his notice of motion in the House of Commons anything to do with the subject of which Sir Massey had given notice (Hear, hear). What he wanted to do was to have an inquiry as to whether the system at present in force diverted capital from lauds — whether there were causes at work iu England which tended to discourage the application of capital to land for the purpose of producing the greatest quantity of food for the benefit of the community. It was in effect his motion of the previous year which Mr. Sewell Read had seconded, and with which local taxation was only connected incidentally. The question was a most important one, and the inquiry was one into facts. It was needful that there should be every en- couragement for the adequate application of capital to land, and they needed in the first place to find out if any hindrances existed, and what they were, and then to apply a remedy. In investigating the question the relation between local and im- perial taxation would necessarily have to be inquired into, and also various points affecting local government — how many jurisdictions there were conflicting with each other, and in- volving unnecessary expenditure in keeping up staffs and estab- lishments. This was something different from au inquiry iuto the incidence of local taxation. He made this explanation simply because lie wished to clear himself from the imputation of having been trying to take the wind out of his honourable friend's sails (applause). He did not advise model leases, but lie thought that practical farmers, land-surveyors, and manure- merchants ought to be consulted about them rather than eminent counsel in London. They wanted something which would enable a man to farm well during the last few years of his term. The best farmed county in England was that of Lincoln, where they had no leases, and farmers made verbal agreements on yearly tenancies, with compensation- clauses. That left the landlord at liberty to get rid of a tenant, and protected the tenant in the application of his capital. What they wanted to do in regard to agriculture was to endeavour to adjust local and imperial taxation, and to simplify local govern- ment, and then they wanted to have a comprehensive and good system of road-regulation, and a system of water-management, in order that the rivers might be properly cired for, and no im- pediments thrown iu the way of drainage. THE LANDLORDS AND TAXATION. At a meeting of the Devon Chamber of Agriculture Mr. G. Stook.es read a paper on " What is the Position of the Laud- lord in Relation to Taxation ?" He said : It will be in the re- collection of some present that a few weeks since I read a short paper on the " Position of the Tenant Parmer in Rela- tion to Taxation/' and that on that occasion I argued that the ordinary rates an d taxes paid by the tenant were neither more nor less than the payment of rent in another form, and that so far as the tpnant farmer is concerned, the question with him should he the total amount to Ik: raised fur all purposes rather than the separate item of taxation. On the occasion just re- ferred to I was led to the conclusion that, iu the long run, the payment of such taxes as are chargeable on the holding of a tenant fanner is to him a minor aud not a chief consideration, inasmuch as the probable amount of taxes ought to be calcu- lated before the tender of the landlord's rent is made. And on the occasion above alluded to I further expressed the opinion that the question of taxation was mainly a landlord's ques- tion ; but in the discussion of the subject which I beg to bring before the Chamber to-day, namely, " What is the posi- tion of the landlord in relation to taxation ?" I beg so far to qualify the expression that taxation is a landlord's question as to say that neither is the landlord an aggrieved nor injured party until the taxation rises to an unfair or disproportionate sum in the pound as compared with what goes into his own pocket in the shape of reut. What I contend for is this : that there is a certain proportion, or interest, or reserved charge, due from all real property for the purposes of local taxation ; or, in other words, a poor-rate, which, to say the least, has not belonged to the landlord for many centuries, and to which, I contend, he is in no way entitled. As for instance, any person who has acquired real property at any time dunug the last three or four centuries, or perhaps for double that period, has acquired it subject to these liabilities. Suppose, for the sake of illustration, we take an estate that has been paying from £30 to £4<0 a year to the poor aud highway rates, and that the said estate is in the market for sale, such an estate could and would be purchased for about a thousand pounds less than it would be if subject to no such charge or liability. The ques- tion has been asked, why should not all property contribute equally towards the poor-rate ? I answer : It ought not, be- cause in the one case property has been acquired subject to certain charges, and has been acquired for less than its real value because of such charges ; and in the other case the property has been acquired subject to no such charge or lia- bility. ' The lion, member for East Devon, Sir L. Palk, has on several occasions called public attention to the question of ex- tending the area of taxation for the purpose of relieving the landed interest from a portion of their present liabilities ; but I think I am right in saying that the Haldon estates, and in- deed, the whole of the hon. baronet's property, has been ac- quired subject to the charges above alluded to ; and, I ask, where would be the justice of taking property which has been acquired subject to no charge of the nature referred to ? The effect of which would be, that it would put from fifty thousand pounds and upwards into Sir L. Palk's pocket, for which neither he nor his ancestors ever paid a single farthing, and which does not belong to him any more than it belongs to me. Why I introduce the hon. baronet's name on this occasion is simply because he has publicly called the attention of Cham- bers of Agriculture to this subject. The question has also been asked, why, in the event of a parent dividing and bequeathing a certain sum to two sons, and one son invests his fortune in the purchase of land, and the other invests his fortune in the purchase of funded stock, they should not equally contribute to the relief of the poor ? To which I reply, that this question rests upon a fallacy, inasmuch as in neither case is the sum in- vested charged with poor rate ; and I know that most men who have considerable sums of money to invest would prefer invest- ing the same iu the purchase of real property, with all its liability to taxation, rather than to invest the same in the funds, although subject to no such charges ; and, as a rule, a higher rate of interest is obtained from money invested in the purchase of real property than is obtainable from funded pro- perty. It is, I believe, a growing conviction with most observ- ing men that the poor-rate will continue to increase ; and sharing as I do in this opinion, I would venture to suggest to this Chamber of Agriculture, and through this Chamber to all kindred institutions, that the wisest and best course to adopt in bringing this matter before Parliament is, not to ask Parlia- ment to transfer the greater part of the rates or taxes payable from real property to personal property unconditionally, but honestly to admit that a certain proportion is first due from real property ; but that, inasmuch as many other charges be- sides the maintenance of the poor is now charged on the poor- rate*, we urge upon the Legislature the necessity of supple. 9 2 180 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. menting the poor-rate by grauts from the national treasury, or by extending the area of taxation. So far as Chambers of Ag- riculture, and individual speakers and writers on this subject, propose to ask Parliament to appoint a commission to inquire into and thoroughly investigate this matter, I am perfectly at one with them ; but when it is assumed that all property — per- sonal, as well as real — should be rated to the poor-rate upon equal terms, I entirely diii'er from such an opinion for the reasons already stated. I have no desire to prejudge the ques- tion, or express any opinion as to what amount in the pound would be fairly chargeable on real property before other kinds of property became liable. But Ifstrongly coutend that, seeing or considering that real property or many centuries has been acquired, or has been bought and sold subject to certain charges, and lias therefore been acquired or obtained for less than its real value, the reserved portion becomes national property, and the community at large have an undoubted interest in maintaining a claim upon the same. So much, gentlemen, for this part of the subject ; and if there is any point that has not been quite understood, I shall be happy to answer any question which may be proposed. But wheu I stood here a short time since 1 promised to bring before you certain statis- tics bearing upon that sum of expenditure, comprehended under the title or name of poor-rate, by which you will be able to judge whether, as agriculturists, we have a very strong cause of complaint. I will first lay before you a few figures from a report of a national character, and then give a lew details res- pecting our own (Newton Abbot) union. The report from which I take the following figures is the last that has been issued by the Poor Law Board. In the year ending 1S41 the poor-rate was 2s. and 4-10ths in the pound, not including highway rate. In the year ending Lady-day, 1SG6, the poor- rate, including highway rate, was only 2s. 5-10ths, or, in other words, l-10th of a penny, although including highway rate. In the next place I will lay before you a few facts and figures in relation to the Newton Abbot Union, showing the propor- tion of poor-rates paid by those parishes containing a town population as compared with the agricultural parishes ; but be- fore doing so I would remind you that, so far as any agitation has been commenced for the extension of the area of taxation, or the rating of personal as well as real property to the relief of the poor, such agitation has been confined to the agricultural class, and it has been at after-dinner speeches at agricultural meetings, at Chambers of Agriculture, and the individual ut- terances ollandownersand agriculturists, that the present mode of assessment for the relief of the poor has been denounced as an injustice, and with what reason I shall leave you to judge. The area of this union is about 118,000 acres, and the rateable value £295,583, and it comprises 39 parishes. Now, if we take the following five parishes, East Teignmouth, WestTeigu- mouth, St. Mary Church, Tormoham, and Wolborough, com- prising 0,914 acres only, these parishes, being less than a seven- teenth part of the acreage of the union, pay nearly half the rates. And if we take the parish of Tormoham alone the figures are still more striking. With an acreage less than a fifty-eighth part of the union, it pays nearly one-third of the rates. And uow, gentlemen, I will sum up very briefly what I have advanced on this question of taxation, as well on the former as on the present occasion. It is, first, that the occupier or tenant does not personally pay that form of taxation known as the poor-rate, any more than he pays the tithes or land tax personally, all outs being calculated in taking a farm, and rent given accordingly. Secondly, the landlord having acquired a given amount of real property, has acquired it at less than its full value, because of its being subject to certain charges, one of which charges is the poor rate, such landlords cannot in fair- ness demand that the said charges be shifted on to other kinds of property. Thirdly, seeing that many other items besides the maintenance of the poor have of late years been thrown upon the poor-rate, and that such rates are likely to increase, we therefore urge upon the Legislature the necessity of appointing either a commission or a committee of the House of Commons to investigate and determine to what extent real property is fairly a"d legitimately responsible in this matter, with a view of further supplementing the poor-rate from the national treasury, or of extending the area of taxation. , METHODS FOR PRESERVING MEAT.— The follow- ing offer issued, by the Argentine Government, has beea received through her Majesty's Minister at Buenos Ayres : (Decree.) "Buenos Ayres, Nov. 2, 1868. In pursuance of the authority given to the Executive power by the law of the National Congress of the 7th September to apply the sum of S,000 hard dollars to a prize to be given to the inventor or introducer of the system of preserving fresh meat best adapted in the judgment of the Executive power to it working on a great scale, the President of the Republic decrees that a term of six months is fixed, reckoned from this date, in order that those who shall consider themselves in a position to try for this prize may present their proposals within that time to the Ministry, to be examined in the way the Government may think fit." — (signed). " Sarmiento, DAEMATIUS Veleb Sarsheld." THE OVER-PRESERVATION OF GAME. At a meeting of the Penrith Farmers Club a few days since Mr. Eraser read a paper on this subject, in which he spoke from personal observation of the condition of certain fields of turnips he was called upon to examine and report upon in con- nection with the Agricultural Society in the district not far from Penrith. They were swarming with rabbits, and he was given to understand that the tenants had got notice to quit simply because of a misunderstanding with regard to the rabbits, and the farmer stated that the loss he sustained through these animals did not amount to less than £100 a year ; and in two other farms he was credibly informed that the tenants had lost nearly one-half of their crops through the rabbits. On a farm not a hundred miles from Southwaite station he had seen the damage done by rabbits, and the tenants were hardly allowed to look at them, much less to destroy them. lie had always found that where rabbits abound bad farming was the rule, and he was not surprised at the fact where landlords allowed the rabbits to become so numerous. In some of the best-managed farms he had seen in the Lothians of Scotland there was scarcely a rabbit to be found. He. next described some other farms iu Scotland that were overrun with rabbits, and added that he always found the best understanding to prevail between landlord and tenant where the tenant was allowed to destroy the rabbits, or the keepers were instructed to do so. He next gave an instance to show the rapidity with which the breed of rabbits increased, and said he had always found that an overstock of rabbits aud bad fences go together. Another objection was that sheep and cattle would not feed on land adjoining plantations where rabbits had their burrows. Over-preservation of ground game occasioned de- struction to crops and fences ; and, instead of there being good farming, ill feeling was engendered between landlord and tenant, and pasture-laud was rendered unfit for grazing pur- poses. He did not approve of leaving this matter to game- keepers. On one estate not far from where they were uow sitting, the gamekeeper caused his master to believe that the tenants were complaining unnecessarily about the rabbits, while at the same time he was doing all he could to increase the number, as may be gathered from the fact that in five years the gamekeeper cleared as much as £3,000 from the sale of rabbits alone. He disapproved of the system of landlords giving the rabbits as a perquisite to their gamekeepers, as in most in- stances they deceived their masters. The remedy he sug- gested was a very simple one. When a tenant went to take a farm, he should stipulate with the proprietors that the vermin (which the law termed hares and rabbits) were to be his pro- perty. If the landlord inserts a clause iu the lease (which is almost invariably the case) that the tenaut is bound to preserve all game, hares, and rabbits, for the use of the landlord and his friend, the tenant should refuse to sigu the document, unless the landlord drew his pen through the words hares and rabbits. This, however, could ouly be done by the combined actiou of the farmers. Since 18G3 his landlord in Dumfriesshire gave him permission not only to destroy rabbits, bnt also allowed him flic shooting over the whole estate, something like 1,500 acres, and he was not in the least troubled with rabbits. He would like to see all kinds of game the property of the farmers, and the game laws done away with, but he was not at present prepared to advocate such a measure. He would always like to have a fair stock of game upon his farm, for the amusemenf »f the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 181 proprietoi and his friends, but there was a difference between a reasonable and an unreasonable thing — between sport and whal may be called regular slaughter, or what is usually called battue shooting. There was no manly sport iu that; hut a fair head of game on an estate encouraged the landlord to go amongst his tenantry. He believed that the late elec- tions in Scotland were decided more by the game laws than by the Irish Church question, farmers in that country being determined to have the euls attending an over-preservation of ground game either mitigated or abolished. lie was told, w hen in that country, that Sir John Stirling Maxwell, late M.I', for Perthshire — the scholar, the historian, the states- man— losi his seat simply on account of his over-preservation of rabbits and hares. In the same way Major Walker was beaten in (lie neighbouring county of Dumfriesshire by a London alderman, who could scarcely so much as pronounce the name when Iia came down. Mr. Eraser concluded by moving the following resolution : " That in the opinion of this club, the over-preservation of ground game should at once be discontinued, as exerting a prejudicial influence on agriculture generally; and that far- mers should object to signing a lease in which hares and rabbits were reserved to the proprietor." THE GAME ABUSE IN HEREFORD- SHIRE. TO THE EDITOR 01' THE TALL MALL GAZETTE. S r a, — For some years past Dorsetshire, has acquired an unen- viable notoriety, on account of the supposed exceptionally hard lot of its agricultural labourers. Fortunately, or unfortunately, not every county can boast a vales surer so loud or so sure of an audience as " S. G. O.," but the clergy of many counties could tell of the constant struggles of their poor parishioners to keep body and soul together. Take the case of Herefordshire, for ex- ample, and especially the western side of the county. There the farm labourer's ordinary wages are nine shillings a-weck ; his ordinary home is two small rooms, through the thatched roof of which the rain drops on to the iloor, half mud and half broken stones , his daily food, dry bread and rough cider ; his normal condition one of ignorance and squalor. Much of this may doubtless be attributed to general causes, which operate more or less strongly in all purely agricultural districts. But in Herefordshire much is also due to its system of farm-letting and the extent to which game preserving is carried. In letting farms it is the custom of most landlords in the county to in- clude among the farm buildings the various cottages on the property. The result of this system is that the labourer is removed one degree farther from the person who has (or, at least, is supposed to have) the greatest interest in his well- beiug, and to be most responsible for his development. Any money which the farmer may be able to squeeze out of liis landlord he naturally expends upon farm buildings, which are of more immediate use and interest to him than his labourers' cottages. Thus these fall more and more into disrepair, whilst their tenants yearly adopt more closely the appearauce and habits of the animals they tend; and while still in the prime of life, worn out by want and disease, find their only rest in the workhouse or the churchyard. To the game-preserving land- owner such a condition of tilings is in every respect agreea- ble. His great — almost his only — object is to depopulate and afforest his neighbourhood, in order that his game may multi- ply undisturbed ; his chief ambition, to be able to surpass his neighbour iu his monthly battue. When one calls to mind that Herefordshire is another Black Country, where nearly every squire is a parson, this state of things is the more worthy of notice. Were the damage done to the farmer and his crops the sole argument against excessive game pre- serving, it would carry the condemnation of the practice ; but this is not so — careful as well as high farming is discouraged, and the community at large suffers ; land fail ly worth 28s. per acre is let at 22s , in order that the landlord's hares and pheasants may enjoy an undisputed right to devour and destroy the growing crops at their will. I am, sir, O. [Surely Mr. Duckhnm might find something for his Chamber to do over such an evil as this. — Editor F, MJ\\ FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL GOSSIP. Alter next year — that is, after 1870 — cultural prizes will be attached to the institution of the prize of honour. These cul- tural prizes will be divided into four categories as follows: First category, proprietors working their own estates, directly or indirectly, an object of art the value of £20 and a sum of £80, with £20 and medals for various farm workpeople. Se- cond category, farmers at fixed rents, in replacement of a farm prize (estates above 40 acres), a work of art of the value of £20 and a sum of £80, besides a sum of £20 and medals for various farm workpeople. Third category, proprietors work- ing several estates by means of metayers, a work of art of the value of £20 to the proprietor, and a sum of £80 for division among the metayers. Fourth category, metayers presenting themselves, with (lie consent of their proprietors, or farmers of estates above 10 acres and not exceeding 40 acres, a work of art of the value of £8 and a sum of £34), besides a sum of £8 and medals for various farm workpeople. A decree of Jan. 13, 18U9, maintains the old system of the prize of honour providing that a silver cup of the value of £110 should be awarded to the laureat in the above categories, who shall be, recognized as relative!) superior, and having presented for ex- hibition in his category an estate which has realized the most useful improvements and such as are best calculated to be offered as examples to others. According to another article of the decree gold and silver medals will continue to be awarded as hitherto for partial improvements. The arrange- ments which have been in force since 1865 as regards direc- tors of farm-schools are maintained by the fourth article ; and the fifth article determines the 12 departements in which the new measures shall receive their first applicatiou in 1S70. These departements are the Eure, the Mayenne, the Drome, the Pyrenees-Orientates, the Haute- Vienne, the Lot-et- Garonne, the Cher, the Nord, the Cote-d'Or, the Ardennes, Savoy, and the Pay-de-Donie. The French district State agricultural exhibitions for the current year will be held a month earlier than usual, in consequence of the approach ing general elections of deputies to the Corps Lcyislatif. Another good measure which preceded the arrangement of the district State agricultural exhibitions — and these, we should have noted, will be held this year at Aix, Angers, Gray, Lyons, Montauban, Moulius (first series), Beauvais, Chartres, Gap, Gueret, Nancy, and Poitiers (second series) — was the creation of a school of shepherds at the Haut-Tingry Imperial Sheep- fold, in the Pas-de-Calais. This last establishment has at- tached to it land to the amount of 3S0 acres, and possesses all the buildings required for the new undertaking. In accord- ance with a decision of the Minister of Agriculture, delivered on the proposition of the Director of Agriculture, the newschool will be established on the bases which regulate the existing farm schools of France, and will be open to all parts of the Empire. Its object will be to initiate young people into the good ma- nagement of flocks of sheep. The duration of their apprentice- ship will be two years. All the pupils will sleep in the estab- lishment ; and on their leaving the school, they will receive a certificate and £12 — a sum which will about represent the wages which they would have gained if they had been placed out as agricultural assistants. The staff of the new school will comprise a director (M. Dutertre), a chief shepherd, and a tutor whose duties will be to teach reading, writing, and account-keeping adapted to sheep-folds. M. Dutertree, the director of the new school, was educated at the schools of Alfort and Grignon ; he is director of the Haut-Tingrey sheep- fold, and assistant to the general inspection of agriculture. He has acquired some celebrity as a French sheep-breeder. The new school may be expected, in M. Dutertre's hands, to produce the best results. The Society of Agriculturists of France has taken definite offices at No. -13, Rue de Bac, Paris. As regurds Egyptian agriculture, we may note that the Nile has not yet reached the height at which it overflows and fertilizes the districts through which it Hows. x\. dearth, then, threatens Egypt as regards 186'J, and the Government has consented to post poue, if necessary until the following year or 1871, the collection of some of the taxes of 1809. The regency of Tunis docs not appear to be more favoured. M. Heuze has de- finitively quitted the Grignon school, where he had carried on for some time, and with considerable zeal, a course of agricultural instruction. It is understood that M. 182 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Elie abide, professor of rural economy, will succeed M. Heuz6 at Grignon, while the chair of M. Elifabide will be confided to M. Dubost, an old pupil of the Agronomic Institute of Ver- sailles and editor for some time past of the Chronic Agricole de Vain. The Imperial and Central Agricultural Society of France has appointed M. Eugene Marie, long the devoted secretary of its sittings, an associate ; the appointment was made by 39 votes to 2. One of the principal sheep-breeders of the French district, known as the Erie (M. Garnot, of Genouill) has announced his intention to hold a sale of rams and ewes of the Merino breed. Three French gentlemen, who had rendered more or less services to French agriculture, have just died, viz., the Comte de Gourcy, M. Maillebian, and M. Eesmolles. The Comte de Gourcy had devoted Uie greater part of his life to agricultural excursions iu France, England, Belgium, and Germany. He had seen and observed much and disseminated widely much good advice. M. Mallebian formerly an engineer-in-chief of bridges and roads, had become a cultivator in the departemeiit of the Let-et-Garonne. M. Desmolles, an agriculturist, at Langogne in the Lozcre, was a laureate of the first competition for prizes of honour in 1857, He figures in the first rank in a golden list which now com- prises 140 honoured names. In some parts of Italy, and espe- cially in the old Duchy of Modena, there have been great complaints of late of the ravages occasioned by an insect which a Treviso agricultural publication designates by the name of the Zabrus gibbus, and which — particularly on lands devoted previously to leguminous plants — has so maltreated the cereal crops that the yield will amount to little more than the seed. As regards the best means of destruction, some per- sons have recommended powdered sulphur, while others re- commend the watering of fields with oil of petroleum. CALENDAR OF AGRICULTURE. The ploughing of stubbles for fallows and of grass leys for lent crops, must be finished as soon as possible, in order that the exposure may benefit the clay soils, and that the furrows of leys may become consolidated, to prevent the introduction of drought, and to resist the action of the harrows, which must penetrate to the level depth of the upright narrow comb of earth that is cut by the point of the coulter and share, which is wholly reduced into a fine alluvium by the alternate goings of the harrow, filling the cavities of the furrows, and thus constituting the bed of the seeds, which very much depend for an early support on the quautity and quality of the finely reduced_ matrix of soil. The seeds must be largely bedded in a fine alluvium. If dry weather follow the ploughing of lands, the condition of pulverization is not so well obtained as when done before the spring droughts commence. During snows and frosts continue the operations of carting fuels, stones for drains, walls and roads, and the dung from the cattle-yards to the heaps in the fields. Thrash grains regularly by flail or by machinery, to afford fresh straws for the animals with chair's for steaming, and litter for the yards, stables, and cattle-houses. Litter the yards fre- quently, thinly, and evenly. Sell and deliver the grains as the produce is manufactured. Feed all animals as has been directed in the last months. The longer days will consume more food, which must be duly allowed. Give oil-cake to the cattle along with turnips, and oats and salt to the sheep. All turnips must be removed from the land during this month and stored at the homestead, as the land will be drawn by the early vegetation of South Britain. Green round turnips and swedes will form the succession of use for cattle and sheep, and for the ewes, as the lambing season will now begin to be active. Good shelter with ample and regular feeding with juicy food will support the mother, and she will rear the progeny. Poultry-houses and sheds must be kept clean and strewed with sand, and the animals regularly and amply fed with light grains and steamed potatoes mixed with meals. Chickens will appear during this month in warm climates, and will be much assisted by the floors of the houses being warmed by a hot-water pipe, as has been formerly ex- plained. This provision will be most amply re- warded by promoting the laying of eggs and the hatching of chickens almost throughout the year. The roosting poultry of the farm are natives of hot climates, and delight in the warmth of cottages, where the fireplace and smoke indulge the propen- sity— even the acquatic birds enjoy the warmth of a -p dry sunny bank on which to squat and bask. Store-pigs in the yard are fed with roots raw or steamed, light grains, and coarse meals. In the fattening sties, give warm food from steamed pota- toes mixed with meals of all grains, as oats, barley, peas, and beans, given twice a day ; and in the last month of fattening give one meal daily of raw grains now mentioned, for the purpose of imparting a firm- ness and whiteness to the flesh. During this month the foregoing four weeks and the coming time of the same length, the sale of fat pigs from the sties will be regular, and the places filled from the store with the freshest conditioned animals to be pushed forward. The fattening of the animals and the preparation to be fattened must be forwarded simulantaneously. Animals cannot be fattened by a single process of time and means, limited in space, in quantity, and quality , but by a regular process from birth upwards. Flood water-meadows ; lay manures on grass lands : composts and short dungs in this advanced period of the winter, when the time is shorter for decomposing before the grass rises — the early win- ter affords the proper time for rough strawy manures from the stables and yards. The straws are decom- posed by the rains and changes of winter, and at the same time protect the ground from the cold and shelter the plants, which may be chief benefit con- ferred by surface manuring. In dry weather bush- harrow and roll the surface, and pick off by hand all rubbish that would impede the scythe. Spread mole-hills and tufts of dung, and put all fences and gates into order. Dig hop grounds, open the hills, and apply strong manures, as rotted clung, brines, and oleaginous matters, composts of lime, and salt— all oily and saline substances do well. Dress the roots of the plants, and plant in beds the shoots that are cut off, to come on for sets. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 183 Plant all kinds of useful forest trees, as oak, elm and ash. Set osiers in beds and in rows on low damp grounds. Lay the beds dry by open dividing- drains, and dig the ground for one year before plant- ing. Cut underwoods and fell timber trees ; plash and repair old hedges, and plant new ones during moist weather. On dry soils under warm climates the sowing of grains will begin in the end of this month with early peas, aid in some cases with barley and oats. Peas arc thickly sown, not under four bushels to an acre, iu order to cover the ground with foliage to be locked by the tendrils, without which peas never are a thriving crop. Sow spring wheat on any fallows omitted in autumn, and also on the stiff loams that have been cleaned from root crops. Sow vegetables on the good lands of leys and stubbles in the earliest dry weather of the month, and seed thickly with not less than four bushels on acre, with a small mixture of oats or barley, to support the decumbent foliage of the legume. The earliest dry weather must be embraced to sow this plant to come early into use to maintain the regular succession of the green food CALENDAR OF GARDENING. Kitchen Garden. On dry soils under early climates, the returning suns of this month will introduce the sowing of spring crops of the first season on the fresh diggings of lands that have been manured in autumn or have been under root crops mid have been fertilized by that application. Dig the soils to a moderate depth, wheu the black and brown ochry colour of the ground will show the benefit that has been conferred by the manure that has lain and decomposed iu the land during winter, composed of animal and vege- table matters, than which nobetter article has yet been found for the purpose of fertilizing the ground. The weather at this early season may be variable and inconstant, with partial storms of rain, sleet, hail, and snow ; but fine intervals will intervene, affording opportunity for the sowing of peas, beans, carrots, onion and beet root, after spading and forking on autumn-prepared lands, as has been described during the months of that period of the year. Opinions may differ in the application of dung in the autumn or spring to the culture of root crops ; but a general conclusion directs that fresh dung in the spring tends to produce leaves and fibrous roots rather than fleshy bulbs or tubers, and that autumn manuring goes in the opposite direction. Peas and beans are ever most eligible ou lauds after a root crop with a light digging or forking, and planted on the fresh tilth in rows about one foot apart. Double rows of peas are not much approved, but single rows thickly sown. Early peas are known as Dillestone's Early, Carter's First Crop, Sutton's Ringleader, and Veitch's Early ; all nearly identical and the best for early cropping. An early bean is to be obtained in the "long pod" variety or in Dewar's Very Early, carrot in the French Horn, onion in Brown Globe, or any other true form of the white Spanish, parsnip iu the Student variety. All these kinds are succeeded in the future crops by taller varieties of steins and foliage. Sow twice or ofteiier, spring spinach, lettuce, sal- ads, and radish ; the latter in Wood's early variety and the, lettuce in Paris, and white cos variety. At the end of the month sow carrots, onions, leeks, and some cabbage ; the latter plant in the early York variety, and the leeks in the common sort. Sow a full crop of parsley, either beds or hedgings : it lasts for two years well, but anew sowing should always be made anually. Among the fancy plants that are occasionally raised in the old gardens and in the superior modern grounds, there may be mentioned, salsafy, borage, burnet, coriander, angelica, and chervil, all are sown late in the month, also the sweet herbs, as thyme, hyssop, marjoram, and savory. Prepare good loamy soils for garlick and shallots. Dig the land as early as possible and place in it a large quantity of well decomposed rich compost of last year's gathering, a preparation which will readily amalgamate with the soil. This is done if no lauds remain that are dunged in autumn. In the sowing of all spring crops the seeds should be com- mitted to the ground that is freshly moved, as com- binations are most readily formed when bodies are changing condition aud capacity in the mutual inter- change between atmospheric and terrestrial elements. Asparagus beds should be very particularly attended to. The Giant or Battersea variety only requires a proper bed and the adequate means to vie in bulk with any plants that are raised by market- gardeners and to show that there is ^nothing sur- prising in the accounts that are heard of the growths of that plaut. A degree of preparation for that purpose may be something like to the following des- cription, and as the crop is expected to be produced for twenty years, the preparation must be strong and generous for so long a time. Four double-row beds should be formed three yards wide, each with the rows twelve inches asunder on each bed. An alley between the beds and at each end will occupy an entire space of 17 or 18 feet, the length of the rows being arbitrary. The land must be deeply trenched, and if wet m the bottom must be thoroughly drained. A good soil in the upper and under strata may be employed in the whole bulk : if the quality be inferior, it is to be wholly removed, and replaced with a large bulk of fresh turfy loam, grassy aud earthy, aud well mixed with a third part of its bulk of well-rotted farm-yard dung of the very best quality. It may not be amiss to add a bushel of bone-dust or guano with some salt, chalk, and sulphate of ammonia. These last items are suited to the amateur or gentle- man-farmer ; the plain cultivator may not import such articles. The materials being duly bleuded and deposited, the beds will be found to stand high above the ground level, and may be left to settle till Lady- day. 184 THE FARMERS MAGAZINE. A similar preparation would be desirable for sea- kale, artichokes, and rhubarb ; all of these would remain richly fertile for several years. Fruit Department. Prune gooseberry and currant bushes, as the beds will be breaking, spurring but little, but always retaining a great supply of the best placed wood of the former. Currants require rigid spurring in order to produce the fruit in close clusters. Retain about six canes to each raspberry bush ; cut these back to the bud, just under the part where the cane takes a bend, then collect and tie them neatly at the summits. Mulch over the ground around the plants without digging, but remove the suckers. Prune any fruit trees, as espaliers on walls, pears, and apple trees, and all spur-bearing fruit trees. Strawberry beds and rows may now be planted. Deep fresh lands are essential, damp and warm. Keen's for an early prolific crop, Pines and the Queen's for mediums, and the delicious Eltons for the latest supply. Plowbr Garden. Sow annual seeds of the best sorts in pots or pans* in a good compost of earths and dung or leafy mould ; a gentle heat in a frame will be useful. The common hardier sorts are raised under a glass in the same way, as lupines, convolvulus, sweet-pea, venus navelwort and lookingglass, dwarf lychnis, and candy -tuft, &c, &c. In the open ground, worms, snails, and slugs too frequently destroy the plants as they emerge. If the weather be dry in the end of the month, a dressing of old dung of cattle or leaf soil may be spread over the flower beds and pointed into the soil. A more effectual way removes every bed a foot deep and tills the bed with light loam, leaf soil , or with heath mould ; all will be fresh and essential for this purpose. AGRICULTURAL REPORTS. GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT EOR JANUARY. The dampness of the weather which was the characters! ic of the earlier part of the month was a great drawback to the trade, and as a consequence much flatness then prevailed. The loss of grain incurred in thrashing, while the weather was so damp, induced many farmers to delay the operation until the return of a drier atmosphere, and the supplies of produce for- warded to market were therefore small. Millers, however, showed no disposition to buy freely, the condition of the pro- duce being very unsatisfactory, ancl unsuited to their purposes. The result was that prices declined to the extent of about 3s. per quarter. The recent frosts have, however, materially al- tered the aspect of the trade. The supplies brought forward have not increased ; but, on the other hand, the condition of the produce has materially improved, and millers have pur- chased to a larger extent. In prices there has been much more firmness, and an improvement of about 2s. per quarter from the lowest point of the month has been established, for the preseut season our imports are considerably beneath those of last season ; but such a result, when the heavy fall in prices ou this side is borne in mind, could only have been expected. Irom September 1 to the -3rd of Jauuary the imports of wheat into the United Kingdom amounted to 11,838,193 cwt., against 15,032,523 cwt. in the corresponding period in 1867-8, so that the decline in our foreign receipts has been to the extent of 3,194,330 cwt. Notwithstanding the small import of flour last season, the receipts since the 1st of September last show a very trifling increase. The total for the preseut season is 1,585,318 cwt., against 1,554,119 cwt. in 1867-8, being an increase of only 30,000 cwt. During the last few weeks, how- ever, larger supplies have been received, the importation in the weeks ending Jauuary 9, 16, and 23 being 281,472 cwt., against 163,424 cwt. in the same period last year. But while our imports of wheat have considerably diminished, and while those of flour show a very trifling increase as compared with last season, the reduction in the quantity of wheat purchased for export this season is very considerable. Prom September 1 to January 23 the total export of wheat from the United Kingdom was only 132,529 [cwt., while in the corresponding period in 1867-8 it amounted to 407,398 cwt. The reduction in the export, however, is by no means equivalent to the dimi- nution in our imports ; but the difference is more thau compen- sated by the very large yield of produce in this country last harvest: After reaching the enormous price of 58s. per quarter, the value of barley has recently declined ; but it is still a very dear commodity, and fine malting produce is worth as much as 56s. per quarter. Very moderate supplies of home-grown produce have been on sale ; but the quality has been very fine, and the makers of pale malt have had a good selection to choose from. Erom abroad the receipts have somewhat increased, and larger supplies of German barley have been ou sale than was atone time expected to be the case, owing to the shortness of the crop. Of French barley there have been fair supplies on offer, so that the aggregate supply brought forward has not been so greatly deficient. High prices have not, however, had the effect of attracting supplies from abroad sufficient to produce a much easier range of prices. Barley is now certain to continue dear for the remainder of the malting season ; but one result of the existing high prices may be looked upon as certain, viz., that the'cultivation this year will be very materially augmented. It is worthy of remark that the advance in the price of malt has not been equivalent to that in barley, and it is affirmed that but little, if any, profit is attached to producing it. Eine bar- ley is now worth about 54s. to 56s., and fine pale malt 76s. to 78s. per quarter. The difference is therefore only about equal to the duty of 22s. per quarter, and, consequently, no indication of a profit is apparent. The one^cause, probably ,'of the prevailing inequality, is to be found in the fact that the brewers are using large quantities of sugar in making their ales, and, consequently the demand for malt is more restricted. The stock of malt is considered to be rather above the average, in consequence of the diminished inquiry from the brewers. In the oat trade, the changes have been unimportant. At one period a slight reduction took place in prices, but it has since been recovered; and, at the close, the quotations show but little change from the commencement of the month. English beans have been in short supply, but with Egyptian qualities the market has been well supplied. The market has been quiet, but steady, without material alteration in prices. Canadian peas have been in large supply, and have met with a considerable inquiry, but at lower prices. English white peas have also declined in value. The flour trade has been very quiet, but, on the whole, the tone has been steady. The fluctuations in prices have been few, and Town-made flour has remained at 47s. per 2801bs. In Scotland, much quietness has pervaded the corn trade ; and the decline which took place in prices, during the earlier part of the month, has since been recovered. Barley is some- what lower in price, but the decline is unimportant. Oats have been firm iu value. Beans have supported previous quo- tations : peas, however are rather dull. The Irish markets have been quiet, but no changes of im - portance have taken place in prices. On the whole, the quotations have been tolerably steady. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 185 REVIEW OE THE CATTLE TRADE DURING THE PAST MONTH. In its leading features, the cattle, trade, during the past mouth, lias exhibited but little change of importance, com- pared with our previous report. The difficulty of obtaining iodder for winter consumption has not proved to he so great as was anticipated, owing to the heavy falls of rain which have visited all parts of the country, and have wrought a beneficial effect upon all grazing lands. Cattle, in consequence, bave been enabled to obtain a fair feed upon most pastures ; and the evils arising from a scarcity of food during the winter bave, in a great measure, been obviated. The receipts of beasts from our own grazing districts to the leading markets have been on a moderate scale; and in the quality of the stock an improvement has been apparent; nevertheless, very few choice breeds have been brought forward. From Scotland, the arrivals bave been good, both as to number and condition; but, the quality ot the Irish stock has been again inferior. As regards the trade, no change of importance has transpired. Choice breeds have met a fair sale, but inferior animals have been in limited request, and the quotations have given way 2d. per 81bs. The best Scots and crosses have sold at from 5s. Id. to 5s. 6d. per Slbs. There has been a further falling off in the arrivals of sheep from the Continent. The advent of cold weather has stimulated the dead meat trade, but the receipts of carcases bave not been sufficiently extensive to make up the deficiency in the arrivals of live stock. The total supplies exhibited, however, bave been fully equal in point of numbers to the corresponding period last year, owing to the liberal receipts from our own counties. The quality of the stock has shown no marked improvement, although the later arrivals have come to hand in somewhat better condition. The trade has been by no means active, but the quotations have been maintained. Some really choice Downs and half-breds have realised as much as 5s. 6d. to 5s. 8d. per 81bs. With calves the markets have been moderately supplied- Prime small animals have commanded full currencies, with a healthy trade ; otherwise the demand has been inactive. Moderate supplies of pigs have been offered. No change has taken place in their value, notwithstanding that the trade has ruled quiet. Prime small porkers have sold at from 4s. 8d. to 5s. per Slbs. The demand for hay has increased, and prices have risen. Meadow hay is now selling at from £1 5s. to £0, clover £4' 5s. to £0 10s., and straw £1 5s. to £1 15s. per load. Considerable inroads have also been made into the root crops, and the supply of turnips is rapidly diminishing. The cake trade has become rather less active, and the quo- tations have had a drooping tendency. The total supplies of stock exhibited in the Metropolitan Market have been as under : Head. Beasts 19,880 Sheep 94,830 Calves ... ... ... ... 054 Pigs 1,201 receipts of sheep a material falling-off has been apparent. The imports into London have been : Head. Leasts 4,000 Sheep 7.790 Calves 441 Piffa 4 Total 116,565 Comparison of Supplies. Jan. Leasts. Cows. Sheep. Calves. Pigs- 1S63 17,620 140 86,220 520 1,610 1867 18,150 110 82,100 756 1,508 1866 21,020 330 89,390 1,754 2,225 1865 20,609 370 73,714 1,095 2,370 L864 19,442 452 80,230 1,019 2,567 1863 20,455 450 83,422 1,037 2,456 1862 20,080 502 82,100 853 2,850 L861 17,612 505 75,240 677 2,000 1860 20,500 535 92,425 1,007 2,045 1859 19,805 304 90,620 921 2,400 1858 20,312 572 80,742 1,108 1,759 1857 19,947 355 81,200 1,071 2,355 1856 17,532 435 101,000 757 2,930 1855 19,717 500 1 Co, I Co 962 2,025 1854 19,087 510 95,080 887 2,279 The imports from abroad show a considerable increase in the case of beasts, compared with last year; but iu the Total 12,214 Imports at corresponding periods : Total in 1868 20,000 1867 24,084 1800 25.83S 1S05 10,952 1864 9,907 1803 11,893 1802 8,783 1861 2,708 I860 0,760 1859 9,264 1858 2,342 1857 ... .,. ... 4,633 1856 3,292 1855 1,102 1854 7,919 Prom our own grazing districts, as well as from Scotland and Ireland, the arrivals thus compare with the two previous years : Prom— 1869. 1868. 1807. 1866. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Norfolk, Suffolk, &c 5,184 7,000 6,900 6,900 Lincolnshire 1,850 800 1,500 5,290 Other parts of England ... 2,140 4,580 5,000 3,100 Scotland 2,376 1,804 1,292 2,850 Irelaud 903 700 25S 800 Comparison op Trices. Jan., 1S69. Jan., 1S6S. Jan., 1807- s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Beef from 3 4 lo 5 6 3 2 to 4 10 4 2 to 5 10 Mutton... 34 58 3 4 50 50 66 Veal 4 4 5 10 4 4 5 0 4 4 6 0 Pork 36 50 3442 3S48 The dead markets have been heavily supplied with town and country killed, and increased quantities have been received from the Continent. The trade, without being active, has been steady, and prices have ruled firm. Beef has sold at from 3s. to 4s. 8d. ; mutton, 3s. to 4s. 8d. ; veal, 3s. 6d. to 4s. lOd. ; and pork, 3s. 2d. to 4s. 8d. per Slbs. by the carcase. ISLE OP ELY. The winter months are rapidly passing away, but with very little winter weather. Perhaps there are very few subjects on which people are so wont to prophesy as on the weather, and probably there is no subject on which they could indulge that trleut with so little prospect of success. Some were bold enough to predict a severe winter as one of the consequences of the dry, hot summer ; and it must be very vexatious to them that the weather so obstinately refuses to verify their prognos- tications. 'Tis true, some 50 miles north of us a fall of a few inches of snow took place two or three weeks ago; but we were not privileged to enjoy the wintry aspect. December was a wet, although not a cold month, and J anuary has given us some heavy rains ; but they have been less frequent than during the last month. Panning work is in a great state of forward- ness, and it is extremely difficult to know bow profitably to employ either horses or men. A few days frost would be wel- comed by many, as it would enable them to cart manure upon the land, an operation they have been utterly incapable of per- forming hitherto. To clay-land farmers it would also be a boon, as the heavy rains must have saturated their stiff soils, and made them very tenacious and unyielding, and they require a good frost to pulverize them, and reduce them to a state of tilth fit to receive the spring seed. On the light lands people are already talking about sowing spring crops, aud the next month will not be long in, should the present open weather continue, ere they are busy depositing the seed. The wheats are growing well, but are not generally a thick plant. Com- plaints have been very numerous respecting the irregular vege- 186 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. tation of the seed, and various reasons have been assigned for it. The wheat last harvest was unusually line in quality, hut (here appears to have been something in the excessive heat of the season which injured in some measure its vegetative properties. The open mild winter lias done much to remedy the mischief, by causing a strong and vigorous growth of the plant, and thus in some degree to compensate for its thinness on the ground. The price of wheat has tended downwards gene- rally, and the brisker markets and better prices have lately been few and far between. Some quantities have gone into con- sumption for cattle feeding, ether artificial food having for the most part been dearer than wheat. The mildness of the season is helping farmers through the winter gloriously with their cattle and sheep, and prices for both fat and lean animals are tending upwards. — Jan. 15th. Your Fen Reporter. AGRICULTURAL INTELLIGENCE, FAIRS, &c. BANBURY FORTNIGHTLY FAIR.— There were a good many sheep and cattle, for which there was a good de- mand. Mutton brought from 4s. 8d. to 5s. 4d., and beef 5s. to 5s. 2d. per 81bs. BOSTON SHEEP MARKET.— A fair supply of fat sheep, and buyers being plentiful prices were higher than last week, 7|d. to 8d. per lb. being readily obtained. BRIDGNORTH FAIR was indifferently supplied with stock ; good fat cows were sold at once, the supply not being equal to the demand, they realized Sd. per lb. Sheep, too, sold well at from 7|d. to 8d. Pigs also sold at an advance from last fair. CHURCH STRETTON FAIR,— The supply of stock of all kinds was small. Fat cows were all disposed of at high rates ; but barrens and store stock, mostly low in condition, remained unsold. Pigs of all sorts very dear ; three months old stores 18s. to 22s. each. COUPAR ANGUS MONTHLY MARKET.— At the close very few lots were left unsold. Three stots sold at £20, two ditto at £20, two queys at £36 10s., six ditto at £18 with luckpenny back, three ditto at £18, and 4 ditto at £14 each with luckpenny back. ELGIN MONTHLY MARKET.— There was an average show of beasts, and a good attendance of dealers. Several good lots of fat met with a quick sale, at a slight advance over last market, Some few lots of store cattle were not much inquired after. Two queys sold at £11 10s. a- head ; three stots, £14 ; four stots and two queys, £21 ; three-year-olds, £27; two queys, £37 the pair; seven stots, rising three, £26 5s. a-head ; a similar lot, £24 ; three two-year-old stots, £21 15s. ; two queys, £21 each ; a quey, £15 : a bull, £34 ; and two two-year-old stots, £27 each. GLOUCESTER MONTHLY MARKET.— We had a good supply of all descriptions of fat stock, which sold at good prices. Beef made 7Jd. to 8d. per lb., and Mutton 7d. to 7A-d ; bacon Pigs 10s. per score, and Porkers 10s. 6d. to lis. There was a brisk demand, and a good clearance was elfected GRANTHAM FAT STOCK MARKET.— A short supply of both beasts and sheep ; trade very brisk, plenty of buyers being present. Beef 8s. to 8s. Gd., pork 8s. per stone ; mut- ton 7d. to 8d. per lb. KNARESBRO' FAIR.— There was a moderate show of Cattle, of inferior quality, at 8s. to 9s. per stone. Buyers were numerous, and all sold off. There was a large show of lean stock. There was a poor show of horses, the animals being mostly inferior, and trade slow. LINCOLN FAT STOCK MARKET.— A large supply of beasts and sheep, and a brisk demand. Best beef 8s. Gd. to 9s. per stone, best Mutton 8d. to 8^d. per lb. ST. AUSTELL MONTHLY MARKET.— There were a good many bullocks, but few buyers. Fat cattle from G3s. to 65s. per cwt., sheep 7d. to 7id. per lb. WHITCHURCH FAIR.— There was only a very meagre attendance, and little stock. In the pig market there was a better show, and business was pretty good. Beef fetched from 6£d. to 7d., pork 6£d. per lb. AVORCESTER FORTNIGHTLY MARKET.— There was a good attendance of graziers and butchers. The supplv, too, was liberal, and both Beef and Mutton must be quoted OJd. per lb. cheaper. Beef averaged 7^d. per II)., and Mutton I'd. Pigs 10s. 6d. to lis. Gd. per score. IRISH FAIRS. — Athlone: Beef w^as not in sufficient supply ; best Beef rate at about 7d. per lb. on foot ; secoud class Gd., and inferior, which was not much noticed, 4|d. to 5d. per lb. Store cattle in forward condition were briskly brought, and inferior beasts of that class were in very slow de- mand. Two-year-old bullocks £9 to £11 10s., yearlings £4 to £7, threc-ycar-old heifers £12 10s. to £14 10s. Springers and milkers were in good supply, and met a ready demand. Springer £10 to £15 10s., milchers £10 10s. to £15s. The sheep fair was extensive, and an improved tone was observa- ble. Best wethers 50s. to 56s. each, ewes 44s. to 50s., best wether mutton Gid. to 7d. per lb., ewe Gd. to G^d. There was an immense show of swine, which rated at very high prices. — Castlebridge : There was a brisk demand for stock of good quality. Beef from 50s. to 60s. per cwt. ; three-year-olds, £10 10s. to £14 each ; two-year-olds, £7 10s. to £10 _ 10s. ; yearlings, £4 10s. to £5 10s. ; new milch cows and springers, £9 10s. to £14 ; fat sheep, 35s. 6d. to 5Gs. each ; store sheep, 30s. to 38s. ; lambs, 20s. to 30s. ; fat pigs, 58s. Gd. to 60s. per cwt. ; stores, 56s. to 60s. ; bonhams, 20s. to 30s. each. — Dundalk : First-class beef was not very plentiful, but that exhibited was promptly bought up at 7d. per lb. ; second and third-class at Sd. and 5d. Only a few lots of sheep of second- rate quality were sold at 5d. per lb. Store cattle were a little slow in demand : one lot of weanlings brought £4 per head. Milch cows scarce and dear, some brought £16 each. Christopher Neary, Esq., sold a lot of heifers at 70s. a cwt. — Camlougii : Beef cows, £13 to £20 each ; springers, £10 to £17 ; milch cows, £9 to £12 10s. strippers, £7 10s, to £11 each. Young stock averaged for two-year- olds £7 10s. to £9, yearlings ,£4 10s. all round. The horse fair was fairly supplied, but chiefly of the farming class, the prices of which averaged £20 down. — Ktlgola: Good springers were disposed of at from £10 10s. to £22 10s. each for those near the calving. Cattle fit for the butcher sold at 60s. per cwt. for the best, and inferior at from 55s. 6d. per cwt. Mr. James Lord, of Graddam, near Cavan, sold a very splendid Durham bull, 4 years old, not very fat, for the Eng- lish market, for £38. Strippers and dry cattle for stores were in good demand, as well as yearling calves (off) and stirks, and and sold at from £3 5s. to £6 10s. a-piece. There were few or no sheep. There was a great number of excellent bacon pigs, which sold at high prices ; pork sold at from 55s. to G8s. per cwt. — Maguire's-bridge : Best beef sold at 65s. per cwt. ; second quality, 62s. per cwt. Three-year-old heifers, heifers, £22 ; three-year-old bullocks, £19. Best mutton 6|cl. per lb. ; best pork 57s. per cwt. Store pigs £3 each ; suckers and young pigs 18s. each. GLASGOW, (Wednesday last.) — The supply of cheese con- tinues good for the season, 2,420 having been laid down. A fair business done. About 25 tons sold, and prices in favour of sellers. Cheddars 58s. to 68s., Dunlop 56s. to 67s., skim- milk 26s. to 28s. SHREWSBURY CHEESE FAIR.— Cheese was in poor supply. Best dairies fetched from 65s. to 70s. and upwards, middle dairies from 55s. to 60s., skims from 40s. to 45s. per cwt. Butter, cheese, and bacon are in advance of last fair, especially cheese and butter. BANBURY HORSE SHOW.— This annual show, which took place on Monday last, was a very good one. The judges were Mr. Bennett, of Husband's Bosworth ; Mr. Kench, of Milverton ; Mr. Cartwright, of Wolverhampton ; and Mr. Reeves, of Swindon. The awards were as follow : A piece of plate, value £10, for the best cart-horse, above four years old — Mr. Thomes Berridge, Pimlico Farm, Tusmore, Bicester. A piece of plate, value £5, for the best cart-mare, above four years old — Mr. Caldicott, Hey ford. A piece of plate, value £5, for the best cart-colt, under four years old — Mr. John Wady, Warkworth. A piece of plate, value £5, for the best cart-filly, under four years old — Mr. Hawtin Checklpy, Wykhain. A piece of plate, value £5, for the best cart-colt or filly, under two years old — Mr. Thos. Aris, Adstone, Tow- cester. A piece of plate, value £10, for the best hunter, over six years old — Mr. G. Hitchcock, Hinton House. A piece of plate, value £10, for the best hunter, under six years old — Mr. E. Parsons, Walton Grounds. A piece of plate, value .1.3, for the best hackney, not exceeding 15 hands 1 inch high — Mr. W. Sewell, Thenford. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 187 REVIEW OE THE CORN TRADE DURING THE PAST MONTH. The first month of this year opened with a very unsatisfactory aspect, a large extent of country being submerged by successive floods. Frequent heavy rains for the first fortnight began to spread a ge- neral alarm as to the effects upon the growing wheat and fruit-trees, the former in many instances being rank and weak, and the fruit -buds pushing forward in dangerous haste ; but a welcome frost at length arrived, just in time to prevent extensive mischief. The waters have now happily subsided. The beaten soil will be pulverised for the plough and seedtime; and, though we may expect enough damage to the wheat to materially thin it, this may be rather beneficial than otherwise. We hear, in- deed, of an amateur farmer who, with only one bushel sown, says the aspect is over-luxuriant. What change, however, may be yet in store, human foresight fails to make known, and guessing is perfectly useless. We must leave it where it f ought to be left— in the hands of One who has controlled the seasons for nearly six thousand years, and during that time has never forgotten the best interests of man. As to prices, it has been quite a fluctuating month, leaving the balance about Is. against farmers. Europe as well as Eng- land was fearing as to the consequences of the mild, wet weather, which in some places had tem- porarily opened the ports ; but seasonable cold coming at last, and even with some intensity, we need not expect an earlier liberation than usual. We had anticipated the continuance of advanced rates, with some further improvement in spring, when the liberal use of wheat for cattle-feed might be expected to tell; and, but for the third Monday in Mark Lane, when our men of business, on short English supplies, seemed strangely terrified by a fog, we verily believe the whole course of the market would have been smooth and unvaried. As it was, the panic, or miller's ruse, disappeared on the following Monday, and brought matters to their former bearing. The country, suddenly taken aback, recovered itself also, as well as London, without, however, generally quoting the extreme decline. A large fleet off the coast also served to depress the trade ; but rapid sales of these final shipments have been made, at advancing rates, leaving little on hand to dispose of. We still hold to the opinion of better prices, which will be more or less certain as farmers show determination not to yield to market manoeuvres. The following rates were quoted recently at the several places named; White wheat at Paris 54s., red 52s. Gd., red in Belgium 5 Is. to 54s., white Zealand at Rot- terdam 44s. to 52s., red at Hamburgh 50s., white 53s., red at Danzig for spring shipment 53s. (cost, freight, and insurance included), white 5Gs., red at Cologne 42s , at Berlin 44s., at Pesth in Hungary 39s., Banat red at Romanshorn (Switzerland) 49s., soft at Algiers 52s., hard 43s., mixed wheat in Alexandria 41s. to 42s., white at San Francisco 51s., spring red at New York 43s., winter red 47s. per 480lbs, The first Monday in Mark Lane opened on small English supplies of wheat; but the foreigu arrivals were fair. The show of fresh samples during the morning, on the Essex and Kentish stands, was very scanty ; aud though part was in poor condition, from the humid state of the atmo- sphere, the bulk found a ready sale, at an advance of Is. to 2s. per qr. The foreign trade also parti- cipated in the improvement; and all descriptions sold at a rise of Is. per qr., the fresh demand still being for low Russian qualities and American spring sorts. Cargoes afloat also obtained an ad- vance of Is. per qr. The country markets during the week were all more or less influenced by the advices from London, some being firmer, others Is. dearer, but more noting the same advance of Is. to 2s. Among these were Spalding, Upping- ham, Sleaford, Newark, Gainsborough, Lynn, Rochester, and Rotherham ; others were up fully 2s., as Market Harborough, Melton Mowbray, Hull, Ipswich, and Sheffield; but Saturday's advices were not equally brisk. Edinburgh and Glasgow advanced Is. to 2s. per qr. In Ireland a general improvement was noted, but without the same activity of trade. The second Monday noted only small English supplies, with some decrease in those from abroad. The fresh samples exhibited on the Kentish and Essex stands were not numerous; but there was much less briskness in the demand, and millers were averse to buy, unless on the terras paid a fortnight back. This, factors would not consent to, so little business was done; but inferior parcels were certainly Is. per qr. cheaper. Foreign quali- ties experienced neglect, and to have made sales freely, it would have been necessary to take Is. per qr. less money. With only moderate arrivals off the coast, buyers were indisposed to act, waiting better supplies, which were known to be close at hand. The country trade this week certainly went back, both in activity and values. Firm markets were the exception — many accepted a decline of Is., and more were down Is. to 2s., as Boston, Lynn, Market Rasen, Sleaford, Melton Mowbray, Bristol, and most of the Saturday's markets. Liverpool was down 4d. to 5d. per cental for the week. Glasgow was dull, though nominally the same. Edinburgh was Is. to 2s. per qr. cheaper. Dublin, without altering quotations, found but little trade. On the third Monday, which was extremely foggy, there was a slight increase in both the Eng- lish and foreign supplies. The number of fresh samples from the near counties was limited ; but, added to those unsold during the previous week, there was a better show on the stands. The con- 188 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. dition being generally bad, and there being un- usually large arrivals off the coast, and the mild weather suggesting a possible early opening of the Baltic, there was almost a panic in the trade, much increased by the fog ; so that though factors were willing to accept a decline of 2s. to 3s. per qr., they made but very little way in the sale of English. The foreign trade was pervaded by the same de- pressing influence, and, though some holders were able to make sales of known parcels at Is. per qr. less money, most were ready to accept a decline of Is. to 2s. per qr. The number of cargoes off the coast influenced rates downwards to the extent of 2s. per qr. The wheat trade in the country this week did not fully respond to the London depres- sion. At some places like Birmingham there was little change. Several markets only gave way Is., as Boston, Bristol, Market Rasen, and Manchester. Others quoted the decline only Is. to 2s., as Barnsley, Barton, Sleaford, Spalding, Rotherham, Louth, and Gainsborough. But a few were down fully 2s. Liverpool quoted a decline of 4d. per cental on Tuesday; but recovered half this on Friday, London also being then improved. Edin- burgh gave way Is. to 2s., and Glasgow Is. perqr. Little was done at Dublin, where the decline was only Gd. per barrel. On the fourth Monday there were only moderate supplies, both English and foreign. The show of samples was rather improved from Essex and Kent, as well as the condition, and there was a much more cheerful tone about the trade, Is. advance on Monday's rates being steadily refused, so prices were eventually Is. to 2s. per qr. dearer ; but there was no great activity in sales. All sorts of foreign were very firm, and there was a retail trade, at Is. per qr. improvement. Floating cargoes went off very freely, recovering Is. to 2s. from the recent depression. The arrivals in the port of London for four weeks were 15,6lS qrs. English, 48,851 qrs. foreign, against 11,946 qrs. English, 88,294 qrs. foreign for the same period in 1868. The imports into the kingdom for four weeks ending January ](3th were 1,710,850 cwts. Wheat, 327,344 cwts. Flour. The London exports during the month were oniy 315 qrs. Wheat, 24 cwts. Flour. The London ave- rages commenced at 52s. 8d., and closed at 54s. Id. The general averages began at 50s. 7d., and ended at 52s. 3d. The Flour trade has little varied through the month, the top price of 47s. for town-made con- tinuing throughout; but Norfolks and other coun- try qualities were shaken down Is. per sack on the third Monday, when wheat was unduly depressed. In other respects, the dulncss or better demand varied with the state of the wheat trade. The im- ports into London for four weeks were 75,950 sacks English, 2,113 sacks 2,809 barrels foreign, against 74,819 sacks English, 7,175 sacks 17,323 barrels foreign in 1868, showing a great falling off in supplies from America. The arrivals of maize during the month, though not heavy, have been sufficient to depress the value Is. per qr., there being many cargoes off the coast, and large contracts made on this grain at low prices. As it is, however, cheaper than beans, peas, or even low barley we think it has about reached its lowest point. Good white could be procured at 36s. per qr. The imports into London for four weeks were 28,280 qrs., against 18,933 qrs. in 1S6S. The month commenced with great wildness in the malting barley trade, some fine having reached to 58s. per qr. ; but the next Monday evinced a reluctance to follow this movement, and on the third Monday it gave way 2s. on malting sorts and Is. on grinding, where it has rested with rather more firmness. The imports into London for four weeks were 17,823 qrs. British, 48,740 qrs. foreign, against J 2,338 qrs. British, 5,375 qrs. foreign for the same period in 1868, showing a large increase on foreign sorts. There seems no prospect of any advance on the malting sorts as it is getting late on the season, but we think grinding will continue dear, oats being so high. At the time barley was so rapidly advancing there was no corresponding movement in malt, holders of which were persuaded the extravagant rise would not stand, yet prices were quoted Is. higher; but on the third market it was 2s. down, making a real decline for the month of Is. per qr. The oat trade, with good foreign supplies and heavy stocks on hand, has but little varied. The first large arrival was on the third Monday, when the mildness of the weather suggested an early opening of the Baltic, and prices consequently gave way 6d., but the return of frost the next week about revived the decline. Good 40lb. Swedes were worth 30s., Russian 38lb. 2ss. Imports in four weeks into London 2,506 qrs. Euglish, 960 qrs. Scotch, 8,055 Irish, 117,664 foreign, against 17,886 qrs. English, 140 qrs. Scotch, 920 qrs. Irish, 8S,037 qrs. foreign in 1868. The stock in London at the commencement of the year was 347,074 qrs. Beans throughout the month were a dull trade from the mildness of the early part of the month, but when frost at last came it did not raise them. The foreign supplies having improved, their value has receded fully Is. per qr. The imports into London for four weeks were 2,040 qrs. English 12,598 qrs. foreign, against 3,713 qrs. English, 2,713 qrs. foreign in 186S. Peas have also been a dragging trade, and have lost one shilling also, but should the frost increase we may expect some advance on boilers. Imports into London for four weeks Euglish 1,246 qrs., foreign 766 qrs., against 1,690 qrs. English, 7,804 qrs. foreign in 1868. With good supplies of linseed this trade has been very quiet, the prices being scarcely sup- ported ; but the last market had some appearance of firmness both in seed and cake. Very little has been passing in the seed trade from the sodden state of the ground; but the busi- ness done in red cloverseed was at fully the previous prices, and tares have found more demand at former rates. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 189 CURRENT PRICES OF BRITISH GRAIN AND FLOUR IN MARK LANE. Shillings per Quarter. WHEAT, new, Essex and Kent, white 55to0l „ ,, red 49 53 Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire 49 BARLEY 37 to 40 Chevalier 48 Grinding 35 33 Distilling 41 MALT, Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk 69 extra 69 Kingston, Ware, and town- made 69 ,, 69 Brown 55 RYE 40 OATS, English, feed 28 to 34 Potato 32 Scotch, feed 00 Irish, feed, white 24 Ditto, black 23 BEANS, Mazagan ...41 Harrow 44 PEAS, white, boilers..43 00 Potato 00 27 Fine 28 26 Potato 28 43 Ticks 41 46 Pigeon 49 45Maple 45 to47Grey,new41 FLOUR, per'sack of 2801bs., Town, Households 42 Country, on shore 32 to 33 ,, 36 Norfolk and Suffolk, on shore 31 FOREIGN GRAIN. Shillings per Quarter. WHEAT, Dantzic, mixed 57 to 59 extra 58to62 Konigsberg 51 57 extra 56 59 Rostock 51 55 fine 56 58 Silesian, red 49 53 white.... 55 58 Poniera., Meckberg., and Uckermrk. ...red 49 51 Russian, hard, 44 to 48. ..St. Petersburg and Riga 45 48 Danish and Holstein, red 49 61 American 48 51 French, none Rhine and Belgium 00 00 Chilian, white 60... Californian 60 ... Australian 59 61 BARLEY, grinding 31 to 32. ...distilling and malting 36 41 OATS, Dutch, brewing and Polands 25 to 31 feed 24 27 Danish and Swedish, feed 26 to 28.... Stralsund... 26 28 Canada 25 to 26, Riga 26 to 27, Arch. 26 to 27, P'sbg. 27 29 TARES, new Spring, per qr 45 46 BEANS, Friesland and Uolstoin 41 47 Konigsberg 42 to 44. ..Egyptian 40 42 PEAS, feeding and maplo... 41 42. ..fine boilers 43 44 INDIAN CORN, white 35 37. ..yellow 35 36 FLOUR, per sack, French. .40 41. ..Spanish, p. sack 00 00 American, per brl 25 26. ..extra and d'ble.27 29 IMPERIAL AVERAGES. For the week ended Jan. 16, 1869. Wheat 70,452-J qrs. 52s. 8d. Barley 48,306| ,, 49s. Od. Oats 6,346^ ,, 25s. 9d. COMPARATIVE AVERAGES. WHEAT. Years. Qrs. s. d. 1865... 78,214^ ... 38 10 1866... 58.223.J- ... 45 7 1807... 60,505^ ... 62 3 1868... 52,478| ... 71 6 1869 ... 70,452; ... 52 8 BARLEY. Qrs. 75,763| , 67, 209 i 52,3034 71,205| 4S.306J 3. d. 28 9 32 10 44 5 42 1 49 0 OATS. Qrs. s. d. 9,855 9,406^ 9,175!; 8,7101 6.346J .19 1 ,22 10 .23 4 ,25 7 ,25 9 AVERAGE S For the last Six Weeks : 12, 1868 19, 1368 26, 1868 2, 1869 9, 1869 16, 1869 Aggregate of the above The same week in 1868... Dec. Dec. Dec. Jan. Jan. Jan. Wheat. s. d. 49 8 49 6 50 7 60 11 51 5 62 8 50 9 71 6 Barley. s. d. 45 15 46 ■17 ■18 19 46 11 42 1 Oats. s. d. FLUCTUATIONS in the AVERAGE PRICE of WHEAT. Pbicb. Dec. 12. Dec. 19. ^ec. 26. Jan. 2. 52s. 8d. 51s. 3d. SOs.lld. 60s. 7d. 49s. 8d. 49s. Cd. _-~J LONDON AVERAGES. Wheat 3424 qrs. 51s. Barley 950 ,, 48s. Oats — |i 00s. Id. 3d. Od. 84s. 22s. 30a. 38s. 60s. SEED MARKET. BRITISH SEEDS. Mustard, perbush., brown 12s. to 14s., white 10s.tol2s. Canary, per qr 64s. 72s. CLOVEKSKED.red 70s. 90s. Cobiandbh, per cwt 20s. 21s. Tabes, winter, now, per bushol 10s. 12s. Trefoil 22s. 24s. Ryegrass, per qr 28s. 30s. Linseed, perqr., sowing 60s. to63s., crushing 60s. 62s, Linseed Cakes, per ton £'12 10s. to £13 0s. Rapeseed, per qr 66s. 58s. Rape Cake, per ton £6 0s. to £6 10s. FOREIGN SEEDS. Coriander, per cwt 21s.to22s. Careaway ,, 36s. 38s. Cloverseed, red 56s. to76s., white 70s. Trefoil 20s. Ryegrass, per qr 26s. Hempseed, small 36s. per qr., Dutch 36s. Linseed, per qr., Baltic 56s. to 60s.. .Bombay 69s. Linseed Cakes, per ton £11 15s. to £12 10s Rapeseed, Dutch 58s. 59s. Rape Cake, per ten £6 0s.to£6 10s. HOP MARKET. BOROUGH, Monday, Jan. 25.- We have had a fair amount of business doing during the past week, and line des- criptions are exceedingly firm at recent quotations. Conti- nental reports are hardly so encouraging, trade being fiat and prices somewhat easier. New York advices to the 'Jtli hist, confirm the improvement in the Hop market " noticed in last report," which has beeu fully maintained by liberal purchases for home consumption, Mid and East Kent £2 10 £5 Weald of Kents 2 0 Sussex 2 0 Earnham 4- 0 Country 4 0 Bavarians 2 16 Belgians 2 2 Yearlings 3 0 IB 0 ... ... £8 8 3 5 ... .. 4 15 3 0 ... .. 4 4 5 0 ... .. 0 0 4 10 ... ..5 5 3 10 ... .. 4 10 2 10 ... ..3 0 3 10 ... ... 4 4 POTATO MARKETS. SOUTHWARK WATERSIDE. LONDON, Monday, Jan. 25 — During the past week, the arrivals have been moderate ; but still more than equal to the demand. The trade continues in a very languid state. The following are this day's quotations. Yorkshire Regents 70s. to 120s. per ton. Ditto Flukes 70s. to 140s. ,, Lincolnshire Regents 00s. to 90s. Dunbar and East Lothian ditto 70s. to 120s. ,', Perth, Forfar, and Fife Regents 60s. to 1 10s. „ Ditto, ditto, ditto Rocks 60s. to 75s. „ French and Belgian whites 40s. to 80s. „ BOROUGH AND SPITALFIELDS. LONDON, Monday, Jan. 25. — The supplies of Potatoes on sale at these markets are large, and more than equal to the demand. Business in all descriptions has beeu restricted, at about late rates. The import into London last week consisted of 130 tons 1,070 bags from Antwerp, 220 bags Boulogne, 213 bags 10 cases 443 sacks Calais, 2,026 sacks 417 tons Dunkirk, 3 bags Rotterdam, 4 bags Amsterdam, aud 12 bags from Ostend. English Regents 60s. to 130s. per ton. Flukes 80s. to 150s. „ Scotch Regents 60s. to 130s. „ Rocks 60s. to 80s. „ French 40s. to 80s. „ COUNTRY POTATO MARKETS.— Barnsley, (Satur- day last) : Regents 10s. Od. to lis. Od., and Rocks 9s. 6d. to 10s. 6d. per load ; retail Is. to Is. 2d. per peck. Doncastek, (Saturday last) ; A good supply, and a brisk sale at late prices. Malton, (Saturday last) : In consequence of the continuance ofopeu weather, potatoes show an easy market wholesale, trade ruling £4 per ton for rounds, and £4 10s. to £5 for flukes. Early sorts are reported to be much sprouted. MAN- CHESTER, (Saturday last) : Potatoes: Yorkshire 12s. to 21s., Scotch 7s. to 14s., Cheshire 7s. to 13s. per 252 lbs. York, 190 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. (Saturday last) : There was again apparently a much larger supply of potatoes than would meet with purchasers, and the quantity thus thrown on the market is due in some measure to the contents of the " pies" beginning to sprout rather pre- maturely, in consequence of the recent mild weather. Regents fetched about lis. per tub of 280 lbs. and 9d. to lis. per peck retail. COVENT GARDEN MARKET. LONDON, Saturday, Jan. 23. No change of any importance has taken place. Kent Cobs are still in request, and command a good price. Fruit and Vegetables are abundant, and prices barely kept up. Alnieira Grapes are exceedingly fine, and worth from 8s. to 10s. per 121b. American New Town Pippins of excellent quality fetch 50s. per cask ; Reinette de Bordeaux and Dieu Donne Apples from Bordeaux, realise from 12s. 6d. to 15s. per cask. Oranges are very plentiful. French Asparagus may be had at 15s. to 20s. per bundle. Very fine Onions from Bordeaux, at 12s. to 14s. the cwt. Potato trade is dull, except for best samples, of which there is a scanty supply in general, though there are large arrivals of kidney potatoes of fine quality from Belgium, realising 90s. per score bags of about 1 10 lb. each. Flowers chiefly consist of Primulas, Hyacinths, Tulips, Heaths, Mignonette, Poinsettias, and Cyclamens. FRUIT, s. d. s. d. B. d. s. d. Apples, 33 bushel 4 0 to 8 0 Melons, each 2 0 to i 0 Apricots, per doz 0 0 0 0 Nectarines,^ doz. ... 0 0 0 0 0 0 Oranges, new, %! 100 2 0 7 0 0 0 Peaches, "■$ dozen ... 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pears, "# dozen 4 0 8 0 0 0 Pine Apples, per lb. 6 0 8 0 6 0 Plums, per % sieve... 0 0 0 0 1 i Strawberries, |lb. 0 o 0 0 8 0 Walnuts, '■& bushel... 0 0 0 0 Cherries, *<$ lb 0 0 Currants, per Vi> sieve 0 0 Figs, *$ dozen 0 0 Gooseberries, %1 qrt. 0 0 Grapes, ^lb 3 G Kent Cobs, per lb 1 0 Lemons, ■$) 100 4 o VEGETABLES. Artichokes, per dozen 0 0 to 0 0 Mushrooms, Asparagus, per 100 0 0 Beans, Kid., ^j! Misiove 0 0 Beet, per dozen 1 0 Brocoli, per bundle ... 0 0 Cabbages, per dozen... 1 0 Carrots, per bunch ... 0 6 Cauliflowers, per doz. 0 0 Celery, per bundle ... 1 6 Cucumbers, each 1 0 Endive, ner doz 1 G GarlieJt Shallots, '431b. 0 8 Herbs, per bunch 0 2 Horseradish,^ bundle 3 0 Leeks, per bunch 0 2 Lettuces, per score ... 1 0 French, per doz 0 0 Mint.perbunch 0 6 potile 1 0 to 1 3 0 0 jMust.&C'ress,*(i?punn. 0 0 0 0 J Onions, %i bushel 6 0 Pickling, per quart 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 10 0 0 Parsley, per bunch Parsnips, per dozen... 0 0 0 0 Peas, per peck 0 0 0 0 Potatoes, York Re- gents.per ton 120 0 150 0 Flukes, per ton 120 0 1U0 0 Shaws.perton 120 0 180 0 Myatt's, per ton ... 0 0 0 0 Kidneys, per cwt 0 0 0 0 Radishes, per 12 bund. 0 0 0 0 Sea Kale, per punnet. 2 0 3 0 Spinach, per bushel ... 2 0 3 0 Tomatoes, per dozen 0 0 0 0 Turnips, per bunch... 0 2 0 4 PRICES of BUTTER, CHEESE, HAMS, &c. BUTTER, per cwt. : s. s. Friesland 140 to 111 Jersey 118 130 Feesh, per doz., 15s. Od. to 18s. Od. BACON: Wiltshire 76 80 Irish, green 68 74 CHEESE, per cwt. : s. s. Cheshire 50 to 74 Dble. Gloucester... 68 68 Cheddar 66 76 American 64 62 HAMS: York 100 110 Cumberland 100 110 Irish, new 100 100 HAY MARKETS. LONDON, Satebdat, Jan. SMITHFIELD.— A dull trade. CUMBERLAND.— A glow sale. WHITECHAPEL.— A moderate supply. MEADOW HAY.. CLOVER STRAW Smithfleld. s. d. s. d. 85 0 120 0 85 0 131 0 28 0 38 0 Cumberland. B. d. s. d. 84 0 12G 0 90 0 130 0 Whitechapel. s. d. s. d. 85 0 120 0 90 0 130 0 28 0 38 0 BIRMINGHAM, Monday, Jan. 18— Hay, old £6 7s. Od. to £G 12s. 6d. ; new, £6 5s. to £6 10s. per ton. Straw, 3.3. to 3s. 6d. per cwt. BRISTOL, Feiday, Jan. 22.— nay 100s. to 120s. per ton; clover, 100s. per ton; straw, 2s. to 2s. 5d. per dozen. WORCESTER, (Wednesday last.)— Hay, new, 95s. to 100s. ; old 110s. to 120s. Straw, 45s. to 50s. BARK AND TANNING MATERIALS. English, per load of 45 cwt. delivered in London 15 OtolG 5 Coppice 0 0 0 0 Dutch, per ton 5 0 6 0 Hambro' 50 e 0 Antwerp Tree G 0 6 5 Do. Coppice 6 10 6 15 French o 0 0 0 Mimosa Chopped 8 15 9 10 Do. Ground 8 10 11 10 Do, Long.,,,,,,, „, 8 0 9 0 LONDON, Satubday, Jan. 23. " S. £ Cork Tree, Barbary G Do. Sardinian 10 Valonia, Smyrna 15 Do. Camata 10 Do. Morea 13 Terra Japonica: — Gambler in bales 1G Ditto free cubes 23 Cutch, best Pegu ... 31 Divi Divi 11 Myrabolans 12 Sicily, §uinaeh,p,cwt. 21 OtoG 10 0 10 10 0 17 10 0 17 0 10 16 0 15 17 0 0 25 0 0 32 0 0 13 0 0 17 0 0 83 0 HIDE AND SKIN MARKETS. LONDON, Saiueday, Jan. 23. MARKET HIDES 5G to Gllbs 0 0 0 314 to 0 3Va 0 3% 0 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 3Vs 334 80 to 881bs 414 104toll21bs 0 s. d. g. d. Horse hides, each ... 9 G to 10 0 Calf skins, light 2 0 4 6 Full 7 0 0 0 Polled sheep 8 0 9 0 Half-breds 6 0 7 0 Downs 4 6 5 9 Shearlings 0 0 0 0 LDmbs 0 0 0 0 ENGLISH AVOOL MARKETS. CITY, Monday, Jan. 25. — For fine qualities the market is steady as regards values, but the business doing is not ex- tensive. Inferior and faulty descriptions command but little attention. Cubeent Pbicks of ENGLISH Wool. s. d. s. d. Fleeces — Southdown hoggets per lb, 1 3 tol 4 Half-bred ditto „ 14 15 Kent fleeces ,, 1 4J 1 5 Southdown ewes and wethers „ 1 2£ 1 3$ Leicester ditto ,, 13 1 3-J- Soets — Combing ■ ,, 10 1 6£ Clothing , 12 17 EDINBURGH WOOL SALES.— Bred and half-bred hogg 30s. to 41s., ditto ewe and wether 31s. to 35s., cross hogg 30s. Gd. to 32s. Cd., Cheviot hogg 31s. to 3Ss., ditto ewe and wether 28s. Gd. to 33s., laid Cheviot 21s. to 27s.; white High- land 13s. to 15s., and for washed up to 20s., laid Highland Ss. 6d. to lis. 6d. per 241bs. GLASGOW WOOL MARKET, (Saturday last.) — This market is still active, especially in the better classes of wool, which are in good demand, whilst inferior lots are totally neglected. Spinners have laid in large stocks, and from the inquiries made appear to be inclined only for very good clips, but these being now somewhat limited, holders are not in- clined to accept less than the rates of the previous week, which, in the business done, are still well maintained. — F. II. M'Cleod. GRANTON WOOL SALES.— Best class of half-bred hogg ranged from 44s. to 48s., half-bred ewe 33s. to 34s., Cheviot ewe and wether 30s. to 34s., unwashed Cheviot white 28s., unwashed Cheviot laid ISs. to 20s. 24s. was offered for laid unwashed Cheviot hogg after the sale. White Highland 13s. to 15s., laid Highland 9s. Gd. to lis., Iceland skin wool from 13s. to 20s.!6d., all per 241bs. LEEDS (English and Foreign) WOOL MARKETS, (Friday.) — The expectation of an increased demand and ad- vance in prices for English wool this month, which some per- sons strongly entertained, has not yet been realized, nor at present does it seem likely to be. There is too little life in some branches of the worsted trade to justify any marked ad- vance in English wool. For foreign and colonial wool there is not much demand, but prices are not lower. There are not a few complaints as to the general duluess of trade, and the recent failures are somewhat dispiriting. TAUNTON AVOOL MARKET.— Wool is rising in price, and merchants purchased cautiously, at the following rates : Notts wool 14rrd, to 15d. per lb., Dorset horn lGd., cross- bred 16d. PRICE CURRENT OF GUANO, &o. Peruvian Guano direct from the importers' stores, £12 )Gs.to£13 0s. per ton. Bones, £6 5s. to £6 10s. Ditto Crashed, £G 10s. per ton. Animal Charcoal (70 per cent. Phosphate) £5 per ton. Coprolite, Cambridge, whole £3, ground £3 lOs.per ton. Suffolk, whole £2 10s., ground £3. Gypsum, £1 10s. Superphosj .hates of Lime, £5 5s. to £G 5s. per ton. Sulphuric Acid, concentrated 1'815 Id. per lb., brown P712 (l%d. Blood Manure, £6 5s. to £7 10s. Dissolved Bones, £G 15s. per ton. Linseed Cakes, best American brl. £12 10s. to £13 0s., bag £12 to £12. 15s. English £12 to £13. Cotton Seed Cake, £8 0s. to £5 10s. per ton. E. Puesee, London Manure Company, 116, Fenchurch Street, E.C. Guano, Peruvian £12 17 Gto£13 0 0: Linseed Cake, per ton — Upper do. 7 0 0 Bone Ash 5 0 0 Nitr. of Soda, p. ct. 0 15 3 Linsd.Bomby.p.qr.S 0 0 Rapeseed, Guzerat 2 15 0 Cloverseed, N.Am, red, new per cwt. 2 6 0 0 00 Amer.,thin,bgs.£ll 10 0to£ll 15 0 0 0 0 English 13 0 0 0 15 9 Cotsd.Cake.decor.10 0 0 1« 5U 0 0 0 Niger 2 SO 0 0 0 2 17 0 Brimstone, 2d&3rd 7 10 0 7 12 6 Tallow, 1st P.Y.C. 2 9 0 0 0 0 2 12 0] ,, super. Norths 2 6 0 2 70 SAMUEL DOWNES and CO., General Brokers, No. 7, The Albany, Liverpool. Agricultural Chemical Works, Stowmarket, Suffolk. Prentice's Cereal Manure for Corn Crops per ton £8 0 0 Mangold Manure ,. 8 0 t Prentice's Turnip Manure , i? n Prentice's Superphosphate of Lime ,. 6 0 0 Printed by Rogerson and Tuxford, 2G5, Strand, London,W,C, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. FEBRUARY, 1869. CONTENTS. Plate L-HONEYCOMB; a Shorthorn Heifer; the property of the earl of HARDWICK, OF W1MPOLE, ROYSTON. Plate II —T HE E A Pv L. Description of the Plates ..... Progress of the Steam Plough. — By Cuthbeht W. Johnson, f.r.s. Our Meat Supplies for thk Ensuing Spring. — By a Practical Farmer The Herds of Great Britain: The Merton and Mr. Fowler's Hhrds How Sheep Pay ..... Potatoes as Food for Farm Stock The New Farm ..... Winter Feeding of Milch Cows The Cabbage as a Food for Stock The Model Agreement again .... A " Model" Agreement .... Conveyance of Milk by Railway: Food Committee of the Society of Arts American Views of Deep and Shallow Ploughing The Australian Commission on Diseases in Wheat The Paris and Havre Exhibition Agricultural Talk in Sussex . The Breeding and Management of Hereford Cattle , The Labour Question in Ireland in 1S68 The Adulteration of Seeds The Beginning of the End The Heavy Rain-fall . The Character of Farmyard Manure . Vagrancy .... The Growth of Swedes with Artificial Manures Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland: Monthly Meeting The Worcestershire Agricultural Society The Essex Agricultural Society Essex Chamber of Agriculture Presentation to Mr. John Beasley The Corn Trade : Annual Statement . Trade of the Port of Hull: Annual Review for the Year 1868 The Cheese Trade of 186S .... Manures, &c. : Liverpool Prices Current; Annual Report The Leather Trade : Annual Report . Linseed, Linseed Cake, and Oil Trades : Annual Report The Liverpool Wool Trade : Annual Report . The Tenure of Land and the Over Preservation of Game The Prevention of the Cattle-plague and Pleuro-pneumonia A Pleasant and Profitable Visit The Leicestershire Chamber of Agriculture: Presentation of a Testimonial County Financial Boards The South African Wool Trade Boroughbridge Agricultural Society . Wigton Farmers' Club Northern Counties Fat Show Club The Lincolnshire Farmers' Association Sir Joseph Hawley's Resolutions The Removal of Cattle from the Metropolis Sending Bad Meat to the London Market Cattle Diseases in the United States Tithe Commutation. — Septennial Averages The Farmers' Club. — Subjects for Discussion in 1809 Mowers and Reapers .... The Independent Farmer (poetry) The Plough in America Local Taxation The Landlords and Taxation. The Over-preservation of Game Calendar of Agriculture Agricultural Reports Review of the Corn Trade during the past Month Market Currencies, Imperial Averages, &c. page. 97 98 101 102 100 108 109 111 112 113 114 119 121 122 128 129 130 134 139 141 142 143 145 146 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 158 159 160 102 163 165 166 168 170 170 171 172 172 172 173 173 174 174 175 175 175 170 176 177 177, 178 179 180 182 184 187 189 ROGERSON & TUXFORD'S AGRICULTURAL WORKS PRICE ONE SHILLING EACH, Neatly Bound in Foolscap Octavo, EACH VOLUME CONTAINING from 130 to 190 PAGES OF LETTERPRESS, WBTInl Myi^liK©y§ QILILygTOAYJW KSOaAWINKSS ICEABDSOFS RURAL HASP-BOOKS. Neto ©iitttonB lixfbtiseo ano ©nlaraco WHEAT : ITS HISTORY, CHARAC- TERISTICS, CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, and NUTRITIVE PROPERTIES. By "The Old Norfolk Farmer," Author of " Agriculture, Ancient and Modern," Ac, &o. rpHE AGRICULTURIST'S WEATHER- i- GUIDE AND MANUAL OF METEOROLOGY. By Henry C. Creswick, Assistant Obsei*ver in the Mognotical and Meteorological Department of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, Autbi' %>i several papers on Meteorology. FLAX : ITS CULTIVATION AND PRE- PARATION, and BEST MODE OF CON- VERSION. — By James Ward, Author of " The World and its Workshops," &o. RURAL ARCHITECTURE : a SERIES OF DESIGNS FOR RURAL AND OTHER DWELLINGS. The Ground Plans, Elevations, and Specifications by James Sanderson, Burgh Engineers' Office, Liverpool. THE AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTOR: or, YOUNG FARMER'S CLASS BOOK.— By Edmund Murphy, A.B. DOMESTIC FOWL: THEIR NATURAL niSTORY, BREEDING, AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT. HORSES: THEIR VARIETIES, BREED- ING, AND MANAGEMENT.— Edited by M. M. Milburn. D OGS : THEIR ORIGIN AND VA- RIETIES. P IGS: THEIR ORIGIN AND VARIE- TIES. COWS AND DAIRY HUSBANDRY.— By M. M. Milburn, Author of "The Sheep," &c. The Dairy Department Revised by T. Horsfall. SHEEP AND SHEPHERDING : embrac- ing the History, Varieties, Rearing, Feeding, and General Management of Sheep ; 'with Treatises on Australian Sheep Farming, the Spanisb and Saxon Merinos, &c. By M. M. Milburn, Author of "The Cow," and various Agricultural Prize Essays. npiIE 1 IVE AND THE HONEY BEE. PESTS OF THE FARM. A New Edition By M. M. Milburn, Author of " The Sheep,", Ac, rpHE FLOWER GARDEiN.— By George J- Glenny, F.L.S., Author of "Properties of Flowers," &c. LAND DRAINAGE, EMBANKMENT, AND IRRIGATION.— By James Donald, Civil Engineer, Derby. SOILS AND MANURES, with INSTRUC- TIONS FOR THEIR IMPROVEMENT.— Bj John Donaldson, Government Land Drainage Sur. veyor. In the Press, in contdnuation of the same Series, THE IMPLEMENTS OF THE FARM. —By R. Scott Burn, O.E. THE POTATO: ITS HISTORY, CUL- TURE, AND NATIONAL IMPORTANCE.— By S: Copland. London : Honlston & Wright, 65, Paternoster Row ; Rogerson & Tuxford, 246, Strand, W.C Dublin : J. McGlashan, Upper Sackville Street. And all Booksellers. ROGERSON & TUXFORD,] [PRINTERS, 246, STRiKD THE MARK LANE EXPRESS AND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL IS THE LARGEST AND THE LEADING FARMERS' AND GRAZIERS' NEWSPAPER. PUBLISHED EVERY MONDAY EVENING IN TIME FOR POST. The object of the Proprietors of the MARK LANE EXPRESS has ever been, to render it in every way the most efficient organ of the Agricultural Class, to direct and diffuse practical and scientific information of all kinds relating to rural affairs, to be a medium for giving circulation to the Proceedings of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, he Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, the Royal Agricu tural Improvement Society of Ireland, and of every Agricultural Society and Fanners' Club in the Kingdom. 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In authenticity and extent of Market information, the MARK LANE EXPRESS stands unrivalled. A REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE (British and Foreign) fully explains the Causes which occasion the Rise or Fall in Prices, thus affording the Growers and Speculator some grounds for anticipating the stability or future tendency of Prices. The Latest Reports of the Corn, Cattle, Provision, Wool, Seed, Hop, Malt, and Commercial Markets, appear with the leading Country Fairs and Agricultural Meetings. Authentic Weekly Advices are received from all the Important Mwkets in the king- dom, our Colonial Possessions, as well as all parts of Europe and America. 265, STRAND, LONDON. Kingdom, price Sevenpence, or £1 10s. 4d. per annum. €$* Sim Statjlij ©rite %mMnt BEAUTIFULLY EMBELLISHED WITH HIGHLY FINISHED STEEL ENGRAVINGS PORTRAITS OF THE NOBILITY, ETC. Published Monthly — Price One Shilling. PUBLISHED BY ROGERSON & TUXFORD, 265, STRAND, LONDON, May be had of all Booksellers. NEW WORK BY THE AUTHOR OF " MANHOOD." Post Free from the Author, 12 stamps ; Sealed Ends, 16 stamps. DR. CURTIS'S MEDICAL GUIDE TO MARRIAGE : a Practical Treatise on its Physical and Personal Obligations. With instructions to the Married and Unmarried of both Sexes, for removing the special disqualifications and impediments which destroy the happiness of wedded life, founded on the result of a successful practice of 30 years. — By Dr. J. L. Curtis, M.D., 15, Albemarle Stbeet, Piccadilly, London, W. Also, by the same Author, a New and Revised Edition of MANHOOD : A MEDICAL ESSAY on the Causes and Cure of Premature Decline in Man ; the Treatment of Nervous Debility, Spermatorrhoea, Impotence, and those peculiar infirmities which result from youthful abuses, adult excesses, tropical climates and other causes; with Instructions for the Cure of Infection without Mercury, and its Prevention by the Author's Prescription (his infallible Lotion). REVIEWS OF THE WORK. " Manhood. — This is truly a valuable work, and should be in the hands of young and old." — Sunday Times, 23rd March, 1858. "The book under review is one calculated to warn and instruct the erring, without imparting one idea that can vitiate the mind not already tutored by the vices of which it treats." — Natal and Military Gazette, 1st Feb., 1856, " We feel no hesitation in saying that there is no member of society by whom the book will not be found use- ful, whether such person hold the relation of a Parent, Preceptor, or Clergyman" — Sun, Evening Paper, Manhood. — " Dr. Curtis has conferred a great boon by publishing this little work, in which is described the source of those diseases which produce decline in youth, or more frequently, premature old a<*e."— Daily Telegraph, March 27, 1856. London: Published by Allen, 11, Ave Maria Lane, Paternoster-row; and Mann, 39, Cornhill ; and sent free by Book Post from the Author or Publishers for 12 Postage Stamps, or in sealed envelopes, 20 Stamps, Consultations daily, from 10 to3 and 6 to 8, 15, Albemarle Street, Piccadilly, W. ©ntrer t|)e Ipatnmafle of an* l&ogal dFamtlg tfje sebetal Sobmtflns &tt Jttajestfi " Cije Queen," of <£reat iStttam, antt (ffiourts of Europe. and universally HELD IN HIGH ESTEEM. ROWLANDS' MACASSAR OIL Is universally known as the only article that really promotes the GEOWTH, RESTORES and PRESERVES the HUMAN HAIR. It prevents Hair from falling off or turning grey, strengthens weak HAIR, cleanses it from Scurf and Dandriff, and makes it BBAUTIFUILY SOFT, .'PUJLlftLfi, AHTI> CHLOSS1T. In tbe growth of the BEARD, WHISKERS, and MUSTACHIOS, it is unfailing in its stimulative operation. For CHILDREN it is especially recommended as forming the basis of a BEAUTIFUL HEAD OF HAIR ; while its introduction into the nursery of Royalty, and the numerous Testimonials constantly received of its efficacy, afford the best and surest proofs of its merits. WOUDERFVL BECOVEBY OF HAIR. " A striking instance of the power of scientific art to remedy the defects of nature has lately occurred in the case of a Mr. P. Balls, a gentleman residing at Wortham, in Norfolk, who, some years since, on returning from Harleston Market to Weybred, where he then resided, sustained so severe a fall from his horse, as to bring on an illness of several months' duration, during which period his hair continued to come off, till he became, to use his own terms, • as perfectly bald as if his head had been shaved ;' and the Rev. J. E. Daniel, then clergyman of the parish, offered him a wig as a substitute for his lost hair. Under these circum- stances he was lately induced to try the effect of Rowlands' Macassar Oil, and it is gratifying to add with the most happy results. As soon as part of a bottle was used the growth commenced, and he has now to boast of a very thick and luxuriant head of hair, which presents this peculiarity, that though prior to losing his hair it evinced no tendency to curl, the new growth is curly and strong. The fact speaks too strongly for itself to require observation." — Bell's Messenger. Price 3s. 6d., 7s. Family Bottles (equal to four small), 10s. 6d. ; and double that size, 21s. ROWLANDS' KAIYDOR, A1V ORIENTAL BOTANICAL PREPARATION, ' F@R MRfillPli»™@ AIM® ©HAIUnrD^flllRfl© rad @@Wyi2£Q©^] &M© §KNM.' This Royally-patronized and Ladies'-esteemed Specific exerts the most soothing, cooling, and purifying action on the Skin, eradicates Freckles, Tan, Pimples, Spots, Discoloration, and other Cutaneous Visitations, and renders TME SKIM SOFT, CLEaB, AID BLOO.VIIIG. During the heat and dust of Summer, the frost and bleak winds of Winter, and in cases of sunburn, stings of insects, or incidental inflammation, its virtues are universally acknowledged. — Price 4s. 6d. and 8s. 6d. per bottle. WHITE AND SOUND TEETH Are indispensable to PERSONAL ATTRACTION, and to health and longevity by the proper mastication of food, ROWLANDS' ODONTO, OR PEARL DENTIFRICE, Compounded of ORIENTAL INGREDIENTS is of inestimable value PRESERVING AID BEAUTIFYING THE TEETH, STRE^fGTHMOG T H £ OITMS, and in giving a PLEASING FRAGRANCE TO THE BREATH. It eradicates Tartar from the Teeth, removes spots of incipient decay, and polishes and preserves the enamel, to which it imparts a PEARL-LIKE WHITENESS. As the most efficient and fragrant aromatic purifier of the Breath, Teeth, and Gums ever known, ROWLANDS' ODONTO has, for a long series of years, occupied a distinguished place at the Toilets of the Sovereigns and the Nobility throughout Europe ; while the general demand for it at once announces the favour in which it is universally held. Price 2s. 9d. per Box. TO PREVENT These are small Articles as.tkey their IMPOSITION. Copies of the appear in Wrappers. Sold by A. ROWLAND & SONS, 20, Hatton Garden, London, and by Chemists and Perfumers. V Ask for " HOWIAIDS' " Articles. BQGERS9H & TUXFORP [PRINTERS, 265, STRANG No. 3, Vol. XXXV.] MARCH, 1869. Third Series. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, AND MONTHLY JOURNAL or THE AGRICULTURAL INTEREST. TO THE FARMERS OP THE UNITED KINGDOM. LONDON : PUBLISHED BY ROGERSON AND TUXFORD, 265, STRAND. PRICE TWO SHILLINGS. ROGERSON AND TUXFORD,] [PRINTERS, 265, STRAND. IMPORTANT TO FLOCKMASTERS. rp HOMAS BIGG, Agricultural and Veterinary J_ Chemist, by Appointment to His late Royal Highness The Prince Consort, K.G., Leicester House, Great Dover-street, Borough, London, begs to call the attention of Farmers and Graziers to his valuable SHEEP and LAMB DIPPING COM- POSITION, whi ch requires no Boiling, and may be used with Warm or Cold Vater, for effectually destroying the Tick, Lice, and all other insects injurious to the Flock, preventing the alarming attacks of Fly and Shab, and cleansing and purifying the Skin, thereby greatly improving the Wool, both in quantity and quality, and highly contributing to the general health of the animal. Prepared only by Thomas Bigg, Chemist, &c, at his Manufac- tory as above, and sold as follows, although any other quantity may be had, if required : — 41b. for 20 sheep, price, j ar included £0 61b. 80 8 1b. 40 10 1b. 50 20 1b. 100 30 1b. 150 40 1b. 200 50 1b. 250 60 1b. SOO 80 1b. 400 100 lb. 500 (cask and measure 0 10 included) Should any Plockmaster prefer boiling the Composition, it will be equally effective. MOST IMPORTANT CERTIFICATE. From Ma. Hekapath, the celebrated Analytical Chemist : — Bristol Laboratory, Old Park, Jauuary 18th, 1861. Sir, — I have submitted your Sheep-Dipping Composition to analysis, and find that the ingredients are well blended, and the mixture neutral. If it is used according to the directions given, 1 feel satisfied, that while it effectually destroys vermin, it will not injure the hair roots (or " yolk ") in the skin, the fleece, or the carcase. I think it deserves the numerous testimonials pub- lished: I am, Sir, yours respectfully, William Herapath, Sen., F.C.S., &c, &c, To Mr. Thomas Bigg, Professor of Chemistry. Leicester House, Great Dover-street, Borough. London, He would also especially call attention to his SPECIFIC, of LOTION, for the SCAB, or SHAB, which will be found a certain remedy for eradicating that loathsome and ruinous disorder in Sheep, and which may be safely used in all climates, and at all seasons of the year, and to all descriptions of sheep, even ewes in lamb. Price FIVE SHILLINGS per gallon— sufficient on an average for thirty Sheep (according to the virulence of the disease); also in wine quart bottles, Is. 3d. each. IMPORTANT TESTIMONIAL. "Scoulton, near Hingham, Norfolk, April 16th, 1855. " Dear Sir, — In answer to yours of the 4th inst, which would have been replied to before this had I been at home, I have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the efficacy of your in- valuable 'Specific for the cure of Scab in Sheep.' The 600 sheep were all dressed in August last with 84 gallons of the ' Non Poisonous Specific,' that was so highly recommended at the Liucoln Show, and by their own dresser, the best attention being paid ' o the flock by my shepherd after dressing according to instructions left ; but notwithstanding the Scab continued getting worse. Being determined ito have the Scab cured if possible I wrote to you for a supply of your Specific, which I received the following day ; and although the weather was most severe in February during the dressing, your Specific proved itself an invaluable remedy, for in three weeks the Sheep were quite cured ; and I am happy to say the young lambs are doing remarkably well at present. In conlusion, I believe it to be the safest and best remedy now in use. " I remain, dear Sir, your obedient servant, " For JOHN TINGEY, Esq., " To Mr. Thomas Bigg." " R. RENNE Y B3T Flockmasters would do well to beware of such prepara- tions as "Non-poisonous Compositions:" it is only necessary to appeal to their good common sense and judgment to be tho. roughly convinced, that no " Non-poisonous" article can poison or destroy insect vermin, particularly such as the Tick, Lice, and Scab Parasites — creatures so tenacious of life. Such advertised preparations must be wholly useless, or they are not what they are represented to be. Dipping Apparatu r ,. . .£ 14, £5, £4, & £8. THE ROYAL FARMERS' INSURANCE COMPANY, 3, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. CAPITAL. — Persons insured by this Company Lave the security of an extensive and wealthy proprietary, as well as an ample Capital always applicable to the payment of claims without delay. LIFE DEPARTMENT.— BONUS.— Insurers of the participating class will be entitled to four-fifths of the profits. FIRE DEPARTMENT,- 1st Class — Not Hazardous Is. 6d. per Cent. 2nd Class — Hazardous „ 2s. 6d. „ 3rd Class — Doubly Hazardous ,,, , 4s. 6d. „ BUILDINGS and MERCANTILE Property of every description in Public or Private Warehouses.— Distillers, Steam Engines, Goods in Boats or Canals, Ships in Port or Harbour, &c. &c, are Insured in this Office at moderate rates. SPECIAL RISKS.— At such rates as may be considered reasonable. NEW INSURANCES— No charge made for Policy or Stamp. FARMING STOCK.— 5s. per cent., with liberty to use a Steam Thrashing Machine without extra charge. Nearly FIVE MILLIONS Insured in this Office. LIGHTNING and GAS.— Losses by Fire occasioned by Lightning, and Losses by Explosion of Gas when used for Lighting Buildings will be allowed for. HAIL DEPARTMENT— (Crops and Glass.) Mod srafl?8 *° pr0tect partieS from Loss by the destruction of Growing Crops or Glass, by Hail, are granted on LOSSES.— Prompt, and liberal settlements. AGENTS WANTED. Apply to JOHN BEDDISH, Secretary and Actuary. X . ^ 11 T * l\i THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. MARCH, 1869. PLATE I. IMPROVED SUSSEX PIGS. THE PROPERTY OF MR. THOMAS CHAMBERLAYNE, OF CRANBURY PARK, WINCHESTER. This pen of pigs, at eight months and 25 days old, took the first prize of £10 as the hest pigs of any black breed not exceeding nine months old, and the Silver Cup of £20, as the best pen of pigs in any of the classes, at the last Smithfield Club Show ; where they were sold to Mr. Baxter of the Minories. Mr. Chamberlayne has been en- gaged for many years in improving his pigs ; but in doing so he has not confined himself to any I particular kind or county for a cross. They have consequently hitherto been shown as the " Cran- bury breed j" but the steward at this show, without any orders from his employer, described them as " Improved Sussex." For expeditious fattening, fine quality of meat, and smallness of bone, the pen was very commendable ; but, as we said at the time, they were very short of hair. PLATE II. MASTER M'GRATH. (For description of plate see page 206. J CHEESE DAIRIES. BY CUTHBERT W, JOHNSON, F.R.S. There is much yet to be more generally known in the making of cheese. That the amount produced in our island is far from being equal to the demand is shown by the foreign cheese we are importing, and this deficiency in the home-made supply is steadily increasing. In the year 1853 396,404 cwts. of cheese were imported, in 1860 the import had increased to 583,283 cwts., and in 1867 to 905,476 cwts. ; and although we export cheese, yet during the same period there had been little or no alteration in its extent. In 1858 we exported 32,650 cwts. ; in 1860, 28,700 cwts. ; and in 1867, 29,653 cwts. A3 relates to its quality a good deal has, during the last few years, been done in its improvement, not only in some of our own varieties but iu that with which other countries supply us ; still the general progress'made in the production of cheese has hardly been commensurate with the length of time that it has been made. Cheese, Old Series.] indeed, is mentioned in the oldest books in our possession — as by Homer, and by Job (x. 10). Its preparation would naturally soon follow the use of the milk of our domestic animals ; and milk was, by creative wisdom, supplied for their food before they could otherwise pro- vide for themselves. It may be of interest and profit to us if we take a few rapid glances at several recent valuable researches, both scientific and practical, on this subject. The chemical composition of the milk from which our cheese is procured, the various and varying substances which it contains, according to the requirements of the calf, marks most clearly the divine wisdom employed in its formation ; for let us not fail to note that it was essential that all the food of the young animal should be contaiued in milk — all the matters for its increasing flesh, fat, and bone— since from no other source is the supply p [Vol. LXV.— No. 3. 192 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. obtained by the calf. And, again, the calf at its birth requires that the milk should possess a laxitive quality ; this want, too, was foreseen and provided for : nothing, indeed, in God's works ever looks like chance, as we are sometimes gravely informed. Let us dwell briefly on these phenomena. Now, as I have on another occasion remarked, it is needful, for instance, that the dark-looking matters found in the intestines of the newly-born animal should be removed. To this end the first milk of the cow is found to possess aperient properties. Then again, the young calf needs at its birth milk of a better quality than when it has acquired a certain degree of strength. Now let the reader compare in the following table the different degrees of richness of 100 parts of the milk of a cow in a pasture, examined by Dr. Playfair, with that of a cow, analyzed by Boussingault, before the calf had been allowed to suck, and let him mark the far greater richness of the first milk of the cow : — Ordinary milk. First milk. Casein or cheese ... ... 4.0 ... 15.0 Butter 4.6 ... 2.6 Sugar of milk 3.8 ... 3.6 Ashes 0.6 ... 0.3 Water 87.0 ... 78.3 " Generally speaking," remarked Professor Voelcker, in one of his valuable lectures, "as is well known to practical men, the milk becomes poorer after the fourth or fifth calf. Climate affects the quality of milk in a re- markable degree. In moist and temperate seasons and localities we obtain a larger quantity, though generally a poorer description of milk, than in dry and warm countries. The quality of milk is thus affected by the temperature, and the amount of moisture in the atmos- phere. Something no doubt is also due to the greater amount of water which in wet seasons is present in the produce. That the general state of health aud condition of the animal has a marked influence on the quality of the milk, is so well known that it need hardly be men- tioned. The time at which the milk is taken is said to have also an effect on the quality ; but my results do not favour that general notion. Out of thirty-two samples of milk which I analyzed, taken in the morning and the evening of the same day, I found in eight cases the morning poorer than the evening milk, in four cases I found it richer, and in four I found no perceptible difference between the quality of the morning and that of the evening milk." It was Dr. Lyon Playfair who also some time since drew our attention to the composition of milk, its adaptation to the wants of the young animal, and the materials which it contains to supply every demand of the calf. As he told his hearers in one of his lectures on the rearing and feeding of cattle, the casein of milk is precisely the same in composition as animal flesh, and hence supplies the matter adapted for the growth of the body. Its butter and sugar are destined for the support of respiration and the consequent maintenance of animal heat. Butter is indeed a substance admirably suited for the purpose, for it yields much heat by its union with oxygen. Sugar, also, is well adapted for the support of respiration. The ashes or mineral portion of milk consists chiefly of common salt, and the phosphate of lime or earth of bones. In milk therefore, added Playfair, we find united all the conditions for the life of a young animal. Its rapid respiration, and the high tem- perature of its body, are supported by the butter and sugar of the milk. The casein furnishes matter for its growth, and the ashes the materials for the formation of the bones and the necessary constituents of the blood. In six varieties of new milk analyzed by Professor Voelcker, between August 7th and November 29th, 1860, he found in 100 parts ; from 83.90 to 90.70 parts. „ 7.62 1.79 „ „ 3.31 2.81 „ „ 4.46 4.04 „ „ 0.71 0.66 „ „ 16.10 9.30 „ Water Butter Casein Milk-sugar Mineral matter ... Per cent, of dry matters . . We have already seen that the calf requires, from some source, a supply of matters for the enlargement of its bones. Now that supply of bone materials (phosphate o'f lime, &c.) is provided in milk ; thus Haidlen found in 1,000 parts of the milk of a cow (Join: Soy. Ay. Soc, vol. xviii. p. 156). Water 873.00 Butter 30.00 Casein (cheese) 48.20 Milk-sugar 43.90 Phosphate of Lime 2.31 Magnesia ... ... ... ... .42 Iron 07 Chloride of Potassium 1.44 Soda 66 1000 Next let us inquire in what proportion these substances are found in different varities of cheese. Here again Professor Voelcker gives us the result of his laborious investigations (Farm. May., vol. li., p. 359). In old Cheshire, Stilton, and Cheddar cheese he found — Cheshire. Stilton. Cheddar. Water 32.59 ... 32.18 ... 30.32 Butter 32.51 ... 37.36 ... 35.53 Casein 26.06 ... 24.31 ... 28.18 Milk-sugar, lac. acid, and extractive matter ... 4.53 ... 2.22 ... 1.66 f Mineral matters 4.31 ... 3.93 ... 4.31 After giving the result of his examination of a variety of other excellent English cheese, he gives us the com- position of a rich skim-milk cheese, and that of a cheese made from milk skimmed at least three times. He found — Rich skim. Poor skim. Water 27.68 ... 45.39 Butter 30.80 ... 9.97 Casein 35.12 ... 33.12 * Milk-sugar, &c 1.46 ... 6.39 Mineral matters 4.94 ... 5.13 The non-success of many attempts to introduce cheese- making has arisen from a want of the proper appliances to ensure success. The ill construction, for instance, of proper dairy and cheese-rooms, and the means of regulat- ing their temperature, are great sources of failure. This portion of our inquiry some time since engaged the attention of the Royal Agricultural Society ; they invited the aid of those the best able to give information, they awarded a prize to Mr. Joseph Harding, of Marksbury, for his essay on this subject, and in that valuable paper he tells his readers very truly, after alluding to certain modern improvements in the making of cheese (Jour. Roy. Ay. Soc, N. S., vol. iv., p. 303)— " But with all our improvements hitherto we have omitted the most important. Our scientific knowledge and practical skill will fail to succeed in the absence of (1) a proper dairy, in which the milk can be kept sweet ; aud (2) a room to ripen the cheese. Throughout our dairy districts most of the farm-houses are old, having an old-fashioned dairy-room attached, or immediately under its roof, ill-ventilated, often damp and filled with impure air, and not unfrequently in close proximity to stables, piggeries, &c. It is a mistake to deposit so pure and delicate a material as milk in such places. The amount of loss annually sustained thereby is almost incredible ; many hundred tons of cheese, being in consequence thereof made of an inferior description, are sold at Id. to 2d. per lb. below the price which ought to be realised- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 193 whilst in hot and unfavourable seasons, such as wc occa- sionally get, many tons fall to pieces and perish. It is not, however, to defective accommodation alone that our large quantity of inferior cheese is due; a rather large share belongs to defective skill in the art of makiug cheese, which can no longer be sheltered under the old- fashioned plea ' that good cheese could never be made from such pastures.' Chemical researches, and unques- tionable practical experieuce, prove that good cheese may be made from all ordinary pasture-laud. A remedy for defective skill will, in the absence of prejudice, be found iu proper dairy accommodation, and a little instruction. The farmer cannot afford to make inferior cheese from whole milk, nor should such a loss be imposed on the commonwealth. The manufacturer of wares may make goods of ti rat aud second-class quality, aud from the latter he may realise the largest profit, but it is uot so with the farmer : the same milk from which he produces inferior cheese would as easily, and at the same expense, yield fine cheese, but with very different pecuniary results. As soon as milk leaves the cow, the progress towards de- composition in it commences, at a rate determinable by external influences — such as a healthy or an unhealthy atmosphere. If in our hot summer nights milk be de- posited in an usuitable room, or come iu contact with the effluvia arisiug from gutters or other noxious places, or if meat be hung in its vicinity, it will readily take the taint, and uot as some imagine throw it off in the whey, but retain it iu the curd to ripen with the cheese, wherein the flavour wdl not be mistaken. Our best cheese is made once a day ; and it is necessary that the milk should have lost its animal heat before the process of cheese- making commences. It is true this cooling may be hastened by plunging the vessel containing the milk into cold spring water, but it is far better that nature should perform her own work by reducing it to the required temperature, iu a dry, clean, open, and well-ventilated room during the night, when the morning's milk, possess- ing less auimal heat, may be added to it with safety, and the rennet be at once introduced. In order to ensure a liue cheese the milk must be perfectly sweet, that the operator may have entire control over it, and be enabled to mould the future cheese as her skill suggests. If the milk has by any means become acidified, though to so small an extent that litmus paper fails to represent the change, it will sometimes discover itself in some stage of the process, to the surprise of the dairy-maid, and will completely baffle her skill. It is, therefore, indispensable to the success of making cheese that proper accommoda- tion should be provided, on every dairy-farm, for keeping milk sweet for at least twelve hours, or from the evening's to the morning's milking. Our fathers appear to have had but one object in view, viz., shelter from the sun's rays ; but, however desirable a cool dairy may be, unless it be also thoroughly dry and sweet, milk will keep longer in a situation exposed to all the vicissitudes of the wea- ther in a higher temperature. If it were placed in the opeu field there would be little doubt of its keeping sweet through one of our worst summer nights, and I question if art can much improve upon the method which nature indicates. Still in the construction of our dairies superfluous means of ventilation, such as gratings placed uuder or between the windows, should be avoided, as it is difficult to keep them air-tight in cold weather ; but a sufficient number of windows properly arranged will be found advantageous." I can only here give a very considerable abridgment of Mr. Harding's valuable practical suggestions as to the construction, ventilation, and heating of the daily and cheese-rooms. The reader who is willing to profit by his advice will do well to ponder over his prize essay. He is no theorist, but tells Ms readers the results of his long and successful experience. He does not, it is true, describe his own cheese dairy, but that was not long since done by an able American (Mr. Willard), who, after having visited all the great cheese districts of England, observed when he was addressing a meeting of Ameri- can farmers at Utica {ltyorl of American Dairyman's Institution, 18C7, p. 39) : " The English dairyman has a cleaner and better flavoured milk than generally obtains with us. The milk- ing is performed with great nicety, in tin pails. At Mr. Harding's the milkers are not allowed to enter the milk- room ; the pails being emptied into a conductor at the window. The milk-rooms are perfect models of neatness. They have stoue-tloors, and the joints of the flagging are cemented together, so that no slops or decomposed milk can have an entrauce. They are situated in a cool airy place, and the walls are of stone or of hollow brick, thus rendering them cool aud of an even temperature. Every part is well ventilated, and out of the reach of disagree- able or foetid odours. The floor, the utensils, and cheese apparatus are kept as sweet and clean as the table and crockery of the most fastidious housewife." " The best position for a dairy, with cheese-room over it, is behind a dwelling-house which has a south aspect ; it should not be under the same roof, but be a detached and separate building, ljing longitudinally north and south, or it may be connected only on the south end with the boiler-house, having a communication with the dwell- ing. All outhouses, stables, piggeries, cow-houses, &c., should be as far distant from it as possible. The dairy- room should be capacious and lofty (10 feet in height), so that when furnished it may still appear roomy. The floor ought to be composed of cement or some kind of concrete, so as to be free from joints or cracks. It should be made to incline from all sides to an escape drain, covered by a patent sink -trap. Thus the room would be easily washed, speedily dried, and kept sweet and whole- some. Two or more good-sized windows should be placed in either side wall, not too high above the floor, nor opposite each other, and a similar one iu the end ; they should be set low, as it is the floor which chiefly needs ventilation. In the construction of the building containing the cheese-room regard shoidd be had to the use of non-conductor3 of heat in the roof, such as straw beneath the tiles, and having the tiles painted or other- wise whitened with some adhesive material. The walls should be continued a foot or two above the ceiling of the cheese-room. These precautions would do much towards the neutralising the intensity of the sum- mer heat. The windows should correspond both in position and structure with those of the dairy below. " Heat," continues Mr. Harding, " is not only the agent by which the whey is effectually separated from the curd in the process of cheese-making in the dairy, but without heat the cheese will not properly ripen in the cheese-room. As it is not usual to heat the daily, large quantities of cheese are produced in the later months of the year, from which the whey ha3 not been extracted iu the process of making ; the curd and whey consequently become amalgamated, ultimately forming a 1 pulpy' cheese which can never ripen though submitted to any degree of temperature : such cheese often proves a source of loss to the factor, and fails to give satisfaction to the consumer. The maintenance of a temperature of from 54 deg. to 64 deg., during the late cheese-making season in the dairy, would very much tend to remedy the evil of ' late made cheese.' The cheese-room must of necessity be heated. A Cheddar cheese, when removed from the press to the cheese-room, at three days old, con- tains a certain amount of moisture, but in a well made cheese this will readily evaporate in a proper temperature, and the cheese will ripen accordingly. If the tempera- p 2 194 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ture be low or damp, or both, the process of evaporation and ripening will be slow, and the moisture lodging in and about the rind of the cheese will cause it to be thick and white, and will damage the flavour. From observation we find that 20 cwt. of newly-made cheese will give out nearly two pounds of moisture per twenty-four hours ; it follows that the sooner the room is cleared of such mois- ture the better. When the temperature descends below 50 deg., evaporation should be promoted by the addition of artificial heat, so as to expel all damp and noxious vapours from the neighbourhood of the cheese, thus facilitating its ripening and leaving it as clean and rich looking as though it had arrived at maturity in the summer months. Various methods have been employed for heat- ing the cheese-room — steam, hot-air, but chiefly the stove — but all are now being superseded by hot water which is safer and more cleanly, and diffuses the heat more equably. In conclusion : whatever we do should be well done, therefore every description of cheese should be good of its kind. The finest can only be made frozn whole milk ; second quality, but good of its kind, may be made from milk with half the cream removed; and even skim cheese may be also good of its kind : but there is no necessity that the cheese of whole milk should be made inferior, and consequently vary in value, as it too often does, from 5s. to 15s. per cwt. To ensure success, every impediment should be removed, and every facility rendered. When the cheese-makers of Scotland laid aside the old Dunlop method of cheese-making, and adopted the Chedder method, they at once re-arranged their dairy and cheese- room to meet the requirements of the new system ; the result is that though they may not yet quite reach the standard of excellence of our best Somerset cheese, yet they surpass us in uniformity of quality. The Americans, who are also adopting the Cheddar system, spare no ex- pense in providing every necessary convenience, erecting suitable factories and cheese-rooms, and obtainiug scientific and practical information from every available source. Mr. X. A. Willard, in the summer of 1866, in his official report, after speaking in the most laudatory terms of our dairy management and cleanliness, says, ' as regards appliances for producing cheese, we are greatly in advance of the English' In the description of the dairy and cheese-room here given, I have had especial reference to the method employed in making Cheddar cheese, as being the most scientific yet simple, and involving the least possible labour, whilst the cheese is quoted the highest of any English cheese in London and other markets ; but the arrangement of the dairy and cheese-room, above des- cribed, is equally suited to all dairy purposes ; it is inex- pensive and simple, yet all that is required, enabling the best cheese-maker to produce a uniform dairy of cheese, and saving him from the mortification and loss now often inevitable. In such a dairy of 30 feet in length and 18 to 20 feet in width, the evening milk of 50 cows may be deposited in the cheese tub, and will keep sweet till the morning, as nature requires no other assistance than a dry room and thorough cleanliness. Another great advantage is that it obviates the necessity of Sabbath cheese -making, which is everywhere felt to be so objectionable." Such practical researches all tend in the right direc- tion— the improvement of the quality and quantity of our home-made cheese. It is very true that the amount of casein and of butter in milk varies with the herbage on which the cow is fed ; but still, there are few farms on which cheese may not be profitably made. It was after a long course of laborious examinations of cheese, and the milk from which it was produced, that Professor Voelcker arrived at these conclusions (Jour. Roy. Ag. Soc, vol. 22, p. 35). He remarked : " There are large differences in the amount of butter which is contained in different samples of milk. With proper care and skill in cheesemaking, nearly the whole of the butter becomes incorporated with the curd ; and as the market-price of cheese de- pends in a great measure, though not entirely, upon the proportion of butter which it contains, it is evident that the original quality of the milk must have a decided and direct influence on the quality as well as on the quantity of cheese which can be made from it. Although pre- cisely the same process may be adopted, and equal care and attention may be bestowed on the manufacture, it nevertheless happens that not only more but also a better quality is made in one dairy than in another from the same number of gallons of milk. The food upon which dairy-stock is kept unquestionably exercises a great in- fluence on the milk. It is, therefore, reasonable to ex- pect certain pastures to be naturally better adapted for the production of rich cheese than others. Thus, good old pasture not only produces richer milk than grass from irrigated meadows, but likewise a better quality of cheese, all other circumstances being equal in both cases. There is thus some reason in the almost universally received opinion that on some land good cheese can invariably be made, whilst on other laud no amount of skill or care can bring about a like result. But, at the same time, I be- lieve it is quite a mistake to think that good cheese can only be made in certain localities, and that the character of the pasture accounts entirely for the great differences found in the quality of this article. Good saleable, and even high-priced, cheese, I believe with Mr. Harding, can be made in any locality, whatever the character of the pasture may be, where an iudustrious and skilful hand, and an observaut and intelligent head, presides over the operation ; and, on the other hand, the best and richest milk, the produce of peculiarly favourable pastures, may be spoiled by a slovenly and ignorant dairymaid. But, inasmuch as the nature of the herbage, as is well known, affects the richness, and especially the flavour, of the milk, and the herbage is sweeter in one locality than in another, and at one time of the year than at another, it is not likely that the very finest-flavoured cheese should be made iudiscriminately on all land, and all the year round. Still, after every allowance has been made for these natural peculiarities, it is nevertheless true that the various pro- cesses which are adopted in different counties determine in a gretit measure the prevailing character of the pro- duce ; whilst the want or bestowal of care and attention in making cheese, whether it be on the Cheshire, Ched- dar, or any other plan, materially influences the quality of the produce." THE AUTUMN AND WINTER CULTURE OF LAND. BY A PRACTICAL FARMER. I use the word culture in its broadest acceptation, by which I include the management of land under cul- ture iu all its various processes — ploughing, trenching, *' smashing," " breast-digging," subsoiling, draining, raftering, and scarifying. Once for all, I would say that the foundation of all good culture is subsoil-draining. It must begin with thorough draining, or every operation is in the utmost danger of being lost or thrown away as THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 195 worse than useless. What injury is often done to a fer- tile soil by ploughing, or otherwise breaking it up in a wet eoudition! It is precisely in effect the first operation of the briekmakcr — he casts the clay and saturates it previous to kneading, the only difference being, that whilst the soil is saturated the foolish farmer will proceed to knead it by his absurd operation of culture. It may be said, in the outset, that it is impossible to conduct farming business in this country unless land at times is ploughed in a wet state. This seems plausible ; but I demur to such a conclusion. There are upon the average a sufficient number of dry days in which cultivation may satisfactorily proceed ; and were our cultivating powers as they ought to be, and ere long will be, no difficulty will lie in the way of working land when a proper state, and only in that proper state, to be worked. In the pre- sent age, with but few exceptions, land is worked by horses or oxen ; iu either case it is a very slow process, and to get through the work a loug time is required to perform it ; but with the new appliances worked by steam power, the farmer is rendered almost independent of time and seasons — he can choose his own time to commence opera- tions, and as his steam-horse does not tire, he is able to get through a large amount of work iu a short space of time. Thus he can wait till his land is in the best order for cultivation, and then effect it immediately. It may, however, with correct truth be said that we are not yet prepared for such a happy order or way of managing our lands : we must take things as they are. What, then, is now, or under existing circumstances, best to be done ? How are we best to cultivate our land in the autumn and winter ? The best general answer is to approximate your arrangement as nearly as possible to the advantages of steam cultivation : wait your time, and take every advantage of it : make long days with the teams : get all done you possibly can whilst the land is in right condi- tion, but never work it in a wet state. But to be more precise : I take it that all lands should be cleared of corn and stubble early in autumn : better, certainly, it is not to leave any stubble, but to mow all and clean all away at harvest-day. The land is then ready for any cultivating operations, and the sooner they are commenced the better. Tt prevents the ripening and seeding of many ground weeds, and the land is greatly benefited by the aeration of the autumn sun's rays and nightly dews. We will take first the operation of ploughing. Much diversity of opinion exists as to the best mode of ploughing in the autumn. One says " fleet" or shallow ploughing is best for barley lands and all light soils : auother says deep ploughing, when practicable, is best for anything and everything. It is no doubt best to bear in mind for what succeeding crop the ploughing is intended. If for a root crop I think it cau scarcely be ploughed too deep. It is customary in potato culture to plough the loamy soils adapted for this crop at a depth varying from seven to ten inches. If the laud is clean and well drained, no other ploughing, under ordinary care, is necessary before planting the seed. All that is requisite is to wait, or take advantage of the soil being in a dry state ; run over it a big harrow or a Bentall or similar scari- fier ; put in the ridge-plough, and commence ma- nuring and planting immediately upon the ridge sys- tem. No cheaper or better way can be devised It is equally advantageous for beans or peas ; but as they dou't require ridging, the harrowings, as for seeding, is only requisite. This preparatory ploughing then can be done either in autumn or winter, as may suit the con- venience of the farmer ; but by delay he loses all atmos- pheric influences. Trench ploughiug we take next, and on clay lands it is an admirable preparation for beans or for root crops. By trench ploughing, I mean the deep ploughing of the soil, and turning it up into as high ridges as can fairly be made. To do this effectually, two bouts are frequently necessary. In the spring, or when required for seeding or the root crop, the ridges will frequently be sufficiently pulverized by merely splitting them with the ridge or double-mouldboard plough, the winter's frosts having satisfactorily mollified them. In potato-cidture this simple process has has been found amply sufficient ; for although the surface of the ridge may be cloddy, it is easily worked down by subsequent harrowing and culture. I name this more particularly, because it is so customary to expend much more time and labour in preparation than is necessary. The great secret is to avoid working the soil when wet. The finest crops of beans are thus realized on the heaviest of our clays. " Smashing up" or " digging breast-ploughing" I take next. When cultivation by steam-power becomes general, it will be found that nearly all arable lands will be imme- diately " smashed or broken up" after the harvest is cleared off, chiefly for reasons given above. This " smashing up" is done either by "scarifiers" or "digging breasts." By them the soil is broken up at the required depth, and is thrown out iu every direction without being turned over, except very partially. In this way it is in the best state possible for attracting and imbibing atmos- pheric influences. The clay lands in dry hot weather harden into brick earth, so that nothing can live in them, and the mild soils are more readily broken down if re- quired for autumn seeding, or " bastard fallowing" in autumn, a highly-commendable course for foul lands. " Raftering" is a provincial term. It is the ploughing up one furrow and turning it upon the land next to it, or next under it, throughout the field, so that it appears in so many ridges. The drawback being, that one-half of the soil is unmoved, and lying under the upper-furrow, In the spring, or when required, these upper and under furrows are both turned over together, and, in that rough state, are readily worked and reduced to a thorough pul- verization. This system is somwhat popular in some of the south-western counties, and is chiefly confined to light soils of shallow depth, the chalky downs, and other shallow soils. In this way much atmospheric in- fluence is received by the soils, without rendering them too light or too open and dry, and liable to be burnt up in summer. Draining : This i3 one of the most important of modern operations in promoting effective cultivation. The main profit in farming in the present day consists iu obtaining extra produce : this can only be accomplished by extra management. To enable this to be carried out effectively, the land must be prepared for it by drainage, and that mainly by subsoil drainage. The autumn and win- ter is the most advantageous time to effect this profitably. On heavy and tenacious clays this is an expensive process, but it is amply remunerative. Tiles or pipes are best to be used ; but strong white thorn, deposited at from 30 to 36 inches in depth according to circumstances, will form a good permanent drain on these clays ; and this thorn is not to be despised upon porous subsoils, where pipes are likely to be landed up by earthy deposit. This drainage, I repeat, is all-importaut to permit the best operations of modern culture to be carried out with effect and profit. The mode of drainage in every locality is so well known that it would be altogether superfluous to attempt to de- scribe the process. The only ^remarks I would make upon it is, that in drainage economy might be more studied than it now is — that it is not absolutely necessary to put in drains so near each other as is generally done, particularly on mild soils. The water may not be so readily dr&wn off the first season or two as may be desired, but ere long it will find its way to every deep drain upon almost every kind of land, and shallow drains take off surface water. Should the economical course be insufficient, it is an easy process to put in extra cross-drains, and so complete the 196 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. drainage ; but if fewer drains will suffice, why it is not false economy. Farmers have been so long wedded to certain orders of management throughout the autumn and winter that it is almost impossible to drag them out of their course. Certaiu work is reserved for certain seasons. Many lands are left untouched in the autumn to permit the cartage of manure upon them during frosts in winter. This is a doubtful advantage, to say the least of it ; but is it not altogether wrong ? is it not a waste of manure ? Of what value is the manurial deposit if subsequent drench- iugs of snow or rain thoroughly saturate it ? There is no fermentation of the soil in such cases, nor is it enriched by this washed straw ey deposit to any extent. Manure to be most efficacious should be ploughed into a soil pre- pared to receive it, either by atmospheric influences or farm management ; nor should it be ploughed in long before the seeding takes place. It is unwise to make a convenience of any kind of management unless it will bear the test of thorough examination as to the results. It is only in extreme cases and suitable circumstances that winter mauurings can be profitably applied. These winter manurings may, and will, do some good; but far better to wait till spring and summer, and apply them for the benefit of the precise crop intended to be grown. There are many circumstances which arise in the course of every farmer's business to prevent the arable lands being broken up in autumn and winter. When such is the case, they should be carefully looked over, and the twitch, docks, and other rooted weeds be dug out. All the subsoil drains and other drainage should be closely attended to, so that no water is allowed to lie upon the lands. It is a very appropriate time to put in the sub- soil drains where required ; the cartage of materials of drainage is done with a minimum of damage. As it is so important to delay the culture of these lands omitted in the autumn till near spring, it is most desirable that all other work should be got on with, so as to leave the whole force of the farm at liberty to proceed with the culture and seeding of these lands as fast as possible. In this way nothing will be lost in waiting for a favourable season. THE FARMERS' FRIENDS AND FINANCIAL BOARDS. " We have reason to know that some Members of the present Government, with the Premier at their head, have long been giving their attention to the question of County Financial Boards, as that with their advent to office something is really likely to be done." It is five or six weeks since we stated thus much, and in the Royal Speech on Tuesday the following paragraph occurs : " A measure will be introduced for applying the principle of representation to the control of the County Rate by the establishment of Financial Boards for counties." It is probable that the Bill thus promised will be based on the Report of the Select Committee of last year, which runs thus : " 1st. That the Boards of Guardians in counties should elect representatives, who should be admitted to take part in and vote at all meetings of magistrates held in such counties for the consideration of questions of county expenditure. 2nd. That in cases where a Poor- Law Union is situated in more than one county, a repre- sentative may be elected in each county where there are at least six parishes or townships ; and that where there is a less number, the parishes or townships shoidd be added to the adjoining union for the purposes of election. 3rd. That Committees appointed for the purpose of manag- ing the finances of separate departments, shoidd consist of an equal number of magistrates and representatives, each body electing its own members of such committees." Nobody would seem to have been particularly satisfied either with the constitution of this said Committee or the result of its deliberations; but we will assume, as Her Majesty's Speech expresses it, that " the principle of representation" is embodied in the recommendations here quoted ; and this at least is something to go on. After, then, the number of years the agriculturists have been busy over this matter, they may surely be congratulated on at last having a place in the Parliamentary programme. It is very possible, indeed, that the Government may be induced to go even further than the Committee, if the Farmers' Friends in the House oidy do their duty ; and seldom have these honourable gentlemen enjoyed a greater opportunity. For the new blood, more particularly, the occasion offers an almost unparalleled opening. Throw- ing aside for the nonce all party feeling, they can go honestly with the Government in the effort to do some justice to a class in the State for which, so far, so little consideration has been evinced. Somehow or other, however, the promised measure does not seem to meet with quite that warm welcome which might have been anticipated. Mr. Corrance, in fact, the only Farmers' Friend who has hitherto delivered himself, was manifestly dissatisfied with all he had heard. Strangely enough, moreover, although he commenced by a somewhat pointed reference to the threatened financial reforms, he had not a word of thanks to offer for the suggested reform of County Finances. On the contrary, he entirely ignored this paragraph in the Speech, as apparently having no interest for him- self or his constituents, while he went on to say: " It must, he thought, be acknowledged that the agricul- tural community, consisting of landlords, tenants, and labourers, had not had its due share of that enlightened legislation by which the commercial classes had of late years so largely benefited. If such should continue to be the case, the result would be that their representatives woidd take their place in that House as an interest apart, in order that they might the better be able to fight their battles." Of course all this applies quite as much to a Conservative as a Liberal Government, and if Mr. Cor- rance will only turn to the Royal Speeches issued when his own Party was in power, he will pretty generally find that even less mention was made of "the agricultural community" than in the Address of which he now so earnestly complains. But, beyond this, cannot the Honourable Member for Suffolk see that the present Government is ready to fight one of the farmers' battles ? " Let me have some voice and share in the management of the funds to which I contribute so largely," has been the poor man's prayer for ever so long. And to this Mr. Gladstone responds on the very first opportunity after the Committee has concluded its labours, " You shall have a voice in the matter, as it is only fair and proper that you should." Providing always, that is, the farmer's own very par- ticular friends will let him. The Bill of lest session came from the other side of the House, and had Mr. Disraeli remained in office it is very doubtful whether any such paragraph as that on County Boards woidd have been admitted to Her Majesty's Speech. It would be affectation to attempt to conceal the fact that the country gentlemen are in their hearts very generally opposed to any share and share of management. The lead- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 197 ing members, indeed, of the Conservative side have openly avowed as much. Sir John Packington has declared that, " We all in our consciences know there is nothing to com- plain of in the internal management of the affairs of our counties; that there is no extravagance, no mismanagement, but merely the honest discharge by the gentlemen of England of the functions which the law imposes on them." Mr. Warner Henley has said with more bitterness of tone " they had hitherto managed their affairs very smoothly ;" and Sir Matthew Ridley has spoken to " the transaction of financial business in every county by a numerous body of gentlemen, who had performed this for a long period to the advantage and satisfaction of the public." In the House of Lords another eminent country gentleman, Lord Beruers, is known to be as inimical to the move- ment ; and although Lord Hardwicke asked on Thursday for the following' return, it is very problematical whether his Lordship did so with any idea of supporting the Government measure : " The amount of money raised in England and Wales by the magistrates in Quarter Session in the year 1868 ; showing the county or por- tion of a counly, the amount in the pound on the rateable property of each county, how the moneys so raised in each county were expended, with the amount under each head of expenditure." Still, as we have said, the introduction of the Bill will offer an extraordinary opportunity for those in earnest, and if the Central Chamber of Agricul- ture be in earnest, it must not suffer this to slip through its fingers iuto other hands, as it did the cattle- plague business. In the last report the Chamber con- gratulates itself on having originated, or at any rate, "revived the present manifestation of public opinion in favour of County Boards. " Let us take this as the first step ; while the second would be bringing in a Bill, which the Government has volunteered to do ; as the third step must be, of course, carrying this through. Let there be no mistake about it. The special business of the Chamber is to look to matters before Parliament, at the same time that it is not a political body. It recognizes neither Whig nor Tory — Conservative nor Radical. Here is a matter before Parliament over which the Chamber can arrange its forces ; and we are very willing to admit that it will have something to do. There are some very shifty people to deal with ; and the action of the Chamber will be re- garded with close attention, not to say suspicion. The first Chair-man of the Central Chamber recently seconded a resolution which went to affirm that the management of County .Finances was not a fit subject to be considered by the farmers of the county which he represents in Par- liament. The late Chairman, when in the House, was always promising to do something about Financial Boards, but never did anything ; and the present Chairman at only the beginning of this year was very resolute in con- tradicting a report that he was preparing any Bill on the subject. Yet further, the deputation that went up to Mr. Gladstone the other day was especially anxious that County Finance should never be mentioned, while Mr. Corrance, another leading member of the Chamber, would seem, as we have just shown, to by no means appreciate this piece of consideration for the agricul- turist on the part of her Majesty's Ministers. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. There can be no possible doubt but that a number of county members and country gentlemen who are not members of the Central Chamber will oppose the County Finance Bill. They will do so not merely because they are in opposition, but because their own feelings and opinions are against the establishment of such a principle. The point is how can their influence be counteracted ? Can they be talked over or soothed down ? Or can the M.P.s of the Central Chamber be set up against them ? Mr. Gladstone no doubt thinks, and thinks rightly, that in bringing in this Bill he is meeting the wishes and doing justice to the farmers. But if he sees that the farmers' representatives are lukewarm over the business he will become proportionately lukewarm himself; and we shall so obtain even a less share of " enlightened legislation." THE NEW FARM. Honour to the brave ! Honour to the benefactors of society ! Let me gratefully record the benefit I not long since derived from a fortunate scientific invention, for which I paid a few sovereigns, and which has repaid the investment amply from the comfort and security it has given to my mind. One bright morning last month I had been loitering, as is my wont, in my dressing-room, watching the timid hen pheasants that ran out to pick up the Indian corn strewn over-night for their maintenance, and having to tap the glass occasionally to warn off the peculative wood pigeons which, however pretty indivi- dually, one doesn't care to feed in a gang — hesitating more perhaps in dire anticipation of that ruthless torment which the razor inflicts upon the chin, however much you may have prepared it by soaking or adoption of other tousorial counsel, when the man-servant came running up to say that the lodge was on fire ! Eh ! my eye ! and this comes of living on a hill with an abundant river two hundred steep feet below along a wooded incline, but not a drop available for immediate use. " Where is that exstincteur ?" I ask. It was down stairs. It had never been unpacked. That undertaking had been continually postponed for the amusement of the next rainy day. AVell, as in his existing undress Mahomet could not go to the mountain the mountain must needs come to Mahomet, and so in the course of a few moments the man re-appeared, staggering under the weight of a huge package, most tidily packed in brown paper and carefully corded. Being, you must know, of a thrifty nature, and remem- bering Miss Edgeworth's striking anecdote of the success- ful archer who had stored a string in his pocket, I began deliberately to untie the several knots. But they were more securely tied than usual methinks, or I was invo- luntarily nervous. Anyhow, it ended in a Gordian severance by the razor that was lying open on the table, much, I remember, to my increased skin-torture when I came back from the open-air to the use of its riled -edge. Then the wrappings were hastily thrown off, and a gorgeously painted little metal barrel stood forth, with a number of tin cases packed about it, and a paper of printed directions prominently displayed, which I began at once to study, not knowing the proper mode of using the engine. Possibly my demeanour was puzzled as my progress was slow, when the man, who lived at the lodge, and whose wife and babe were possibly frying all this time, said, " Please, sir, I'd better go." " Very well ;" and go he did. Then in a few moments I had mastered the full purports of the directions, and had artistically emptied in the charges from the tin boxes, and filled the barrel itself with water (the number of cans it 198 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ock to till it quite astounded me, as much perhaps as you remember the boy mentioned in Tom Brown's School Days was at the endless profusion of feathers which were plucked from the duck he had appropriated and was preparing to roast, and had put it upside down ; then violently reversed it; then played it see-saw on the edge of the bath, when I became suddenly aware of a most diabolical savour pervading the apartment, and which I was assured must proceed from some orifice in this engine, although I was too prudent to apply Nature's investigator to ascertain the fact. So I simply screwed down the stopper several turns more, beyond the point of endurance I almost feared with each wrench of the key, and then, after some fewmoments more of aggravated agitation (strictly speaking, the preparation should have been com- pounded some hours), I hurried on my boating dress, and by dint of extraordinary efforts managed to struggle down stairs with it (to the great delight of my youthful pickles, who came out half-rigged to the top of the stairs to look on, and who saw more of fun than seriousness in the matter) and had it conveyed to the lodge. Exaggeration, I was glad to find. It was only the chimney that was on fire after all, but that might still be a serious matter. There was fat Melon on the roof, half-melted and vainly endeavouring to suppress the flames with a wet mat and such like, and there was his frightened assistant at the foot of the ladder by which he had ascended, in deadly terror lest his superior officer should be precipitated, by some extraordinary effort, upon his head and crush him, as he would undoubtedly have done, with the weight of a cider butt. There was the luckless tenant, all bewildered and smoke-begrimed, and in such a condition as his " missus" would certainly not approve of at breakfast- time. There was the goodnatured, half-blind, old village carpenter, ready to assist in any way he could, and his comfortable spouse offering recklessly the contents of their rain-water cistern, when we force our way in and find a furious fire burning yet in the grate, with the ter- rified builder of it looking hopelessly on. You had better get your baby out of the way and send Melon here. Intermediately we had put the barrel upon a chair, and quite nervously, according to the directions, I turned the cock gently, directing the fuse upon the grate. Splutter fizz went a discharge from the pipe, and darkened at once dimly drew back and disappeared the flame ; one shoot more and the blaze was extinct. " Now then, Melon, have you a good eye ? Mind that smoke : don't inhale it, and direct this pipe up the chimney." He did earnestly what he was told to do. " Dash my buttons, but that ere was a good shot !" he exclaimed, with the triumph of a hero, as a great fiery mass came tumbling down, having been disturbed by the violence of the dis- charge, and then being extinguished into darkness at once. " Look out for your eyes, Melon ! Now aim again." He did so, and started back, as another burning fragment came loosened down. Again and again, and the conflagration was extinct. Considering that the mixture had beeu made only a few moments it was really a wonderful performance. I shall keep the engine now always charged and ready. The theory of the effect is this : The mixture produces in the barrel a quantity of what is known in mines as the fatal fire-damp, so largely diluted with water as to be not injurious to human life, while every drop that touches flame extinguishes it. I had always before been puzzling myself how I could store a sufficiency of water to meet the contingencies of fire. No more anxiety on that score. Honour, too, to another device. Shorthorn breeders will remember my mentioning once a set of clever oil- sketches of my pet animals that were done for me by Mr. Edward Corbet. A few weeks since I was applied to from a distance for a young bull. I sent pedigree and pictures of sire and dam. The animal was purchased and gives most thorough satisfaction. How simple the process ! And now let me turn to the farm more strictly speaking. ,The lambing season has progressed most favourably as yet, owing, I think, to the ewes having been evenly fed throughout the winter. One of Jonas Webb's best sort had, however, a squeak for it as men say, the other clay. She was actually upon the barrow to be killed, and the butcher fetched, when the bailiff's heart failed him. His anxiety occasionally renders his measures too impetuous. His heart failed him. She was returned to the fold to " take her chance," and she gradually produced no less than four lambs ! No wonder she was distressed. A prize cow of mine two years ago produced three calves, which came alive to the birth, but two of which died during delivery. The third is now a nice thick young heifer ; her dam wasted for some months, and then died a mere skeleton. Of course it is a great time for the children. They have no end of pets now, between lambs and calves, and rabbits and canaries, and dormice and what not. A few weeks since the two youngsters had been absent for some hours, when they reappeared all covered with mud. They had found a wild rabbit's nest in a bank, had excavated it with their nails and a stick, and brought home four brown-furred babies, with their eyes still closed. These infants they managed to rear with a bottle and a " baby's tit," as the eldest tit informed me. How long they might have survived with fair care I cannot say. Un- happily two came to an untimely end soon, the one from repletion, the other from starving. The young feeder had given a dose of milk twice over to the same in- dividual, and so the two suffered ; another lived some days, perishing ultimately from too close confinement I was informed. The fourth would I think have survived all his ills and lived, if his owner had not been himself laid up in bed, when poor bunny got neglected. The Wye floods have been out and all over the meadow land again, covering the whole with a rich deposit of alluvial mud, and leaving a great salmon stranded, but interrupting the work of our drainers. One sunny after- noon I took the children all out in the boat to their great delight, and the bright water reflecting the sun it was warm almost as in summer time. What fun we had goina; across the fences, and even over one gate ! It was the more enjoyable that there was little or no stream in the outspread waters. Before I conclude, I owe it to myself to record the result of the post mortem examina- tion of a grand young boar just killed for the butcher, which won a prize at Leicester and several since, finish- ing up with a cup at Lord Tredegar's show. Having been fattened when quite young and then reduced, he had left from the period of his first obesity a "purse" of skin and blubber underneath him, which ignoramuses persisted in calling a rupture. We knew it was nothing of the sort, because we had stock of his. Besides, the V. S. of the Royal Agricultural Show found no objection to him, but lo and behold, at the Gloucester show a wise- acre appointed as judge actually disqualified him, owing to that formation, in spite of all representation upon the subject! Another V. S. should have beeu consulted. A decision of that sort should not be left to a common far- mer or bailiff, however pig-headed he may be. They have only to pronounce on the symmetry and quality of the animals set for their judgment. Pig-breeders knew better. At Leicester, one of the most eminent in Eng- land wanted to buy him from me for breeding, and dar- ing conversation remarked that he had seen many such cases. My indignation chokes me. Good bye ! Vigil. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 199 THE CHEMISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, At a meeting of the Devon Chamber of Agriculture, at Newton Abbott, Mr. J. W. Clarke, of the Castle College, Tor- quay, said : Chemical action, aided by increased demand for corn, is the motive power which has enabled agriculturists to develop the productions of the laud to the wondrous extent we sec in the l'Jlli century. Compare the agricultural condition of the country and the chemistry somewhat less than 200years ago with that of the present date. Macaulay tells us that we would not know one landscape in a hundred, or one building in 10,000, if we could see the England of 1(585 ; thousands of square miles, Ihcn moors and feus, are now cultivated and thickly populated ; manufacturing towns and seaports were then a feu straggling huts ; the population of Eugland was then 5, -200,000 souls. The greatest estates then little exceeded £20,000 per annum. The whole income of the Government was about £1,400,000 per annum. The taxation, in a time not exceeding two lives, has multiplied forty fold, and the public resources have proportionally increased. In 1685 the produce of the soil then far exceeded in value all other fruits of human industry ; the arable and pasture lands comprised about half of the kingdom, the remainder moor, forest, and feu. Many routes which then passed through barren tracts now pass through an endless succession of orchards, corn fields, &e. On the downs bustards strayed in troops of 50 or 60, and were hunted by greyhounds. The number of Enclosure Acts passed since George I. exceeds 4,000, enclosing an area of little less than 10,000 square miles. Iu 1696 the quantity of corn an- nually grown in the kingdom was less than 10,000,000 quar- ters ; the wheat less thau 2,000,000. The turnips had only just been introduced. During the winter months the gentry were restricted to using salt rlesh on account of the want of winter food for the cattle, which were killed when the cold began. In 1867-8 the produce in a deficient harvest was 40,000,000 qrs.— four fold that of 1697— and 8,000,000 qrs. were imported, including wheat to the value of £25,000,000, and 765,743 head of cattle, sheep, and pigs. This increased demand for food was called for by the increase in our manufac- tures, and development of mineral wealth. The tin mines of Cornwall in 1685 yielded 1,600 tons — one-third of present produce. Cornwall and Devon copper mines, then neglected, now yield 15,000 tons of copper value £1,500,000. At the Restoration salt was imported from France ; 700,000,000 lbs. are now sent annually to foreign countries. At the Revolu- tion 10,000 tons of iron were cast, now over 1,000,000. In the last year of Charles II. 350,000 tons coal were brought to the Thames ; now 7,000,000, and the whole annual produce is 70 millions. The increased demand for agricultural produce made land ten times more valuable. This increased demand for products of the soil has caused the connection between ag- riculture and chemistry to be investigated. Nine-tenths of paid capital are embarked in agriculture, and 1,000 million of men are dependent upon it for sustenance. In past ages chemists sought after elixirs of life, &c, instead of studying the objects of nature. The lecturer then touched on a few leading phenomena of nature, first noticing the chemistry of light. The three distinct principles of the sun's rays, viz. : heat, light, aud chemical power, or actinism, perform the most important part in the operations of nature. All natural objects, such as llowers and the feathers of birds, owe their colours to light and heat, which bid the germ of life lying dormant in the seed to burst forth, the egg of the insect awake and live, and melts the ice, &c. The most remarkable of the three principles is the actinic ray, which leaves its trace everywhere ; every object in the landscape is elfectcd by it, and undergoes a destructive change. These influences combined with water, carbonic acid gas, and oxygen of the air, disintegrate the granites and lime- stones of our hills, crumbling them to the dust. The whole mass of vegetable mould is a body of substances decomposing. The river which flows by Lustleigh Cleave was once an im- petuous torrent one-third of its present length, Becky Falls two or three miles nearer the sea than now, and the hills which we now see were then uuder the waves of the sea. In course of time the sea retired, leaving the deep valley behind covered with mineral soil, without any of the soft brown layer which now covers the soil, which is formed by layers of decayed plants which grew on the alluvium decomposed by water and oxygen. This is the history of the vegetable soil of all our valleys, and iu some measure the origin of our coals. In 1843 the principles of drainage were first expounded, aud in 1845 a machine triumphed over the hitherto great dillicnlty and cost of making drain tiles. Since then £30,000,000 lias been ex- pended in drainage alone. The chemical revolution then fol- lowed, and opportunity gave to the farmer the use of concen- trated portable manure. The use of hones liberally used on the wilds and heaths of Lincolnshire was the philosopher's stone which turned uncultivated tracts into fields of cultivated grain. Into 1835 nitrate of soda was introduced, and the first cargo of guano was consigned to a Mr. Myers of Liverpool. In 1811 the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, men- tioned guano as a curiosity. In 1840 Liebig suggested the addition of sulphuric acid and bone to increase its fertilizing properties, and soon the farmers learnt that in order to grow great root crops there was something to be added to their invaluable " muck." The Pampas of America and the Baltic ports of Russia and Germany were ransacked for boues, but still the supply was insufficient to meet the increased demand for artificials. The fossilized exu- viae and bones of the extinct world were found by geologists to be invaluable as manure. The vendor of artificial manures found that his fertilising stimulants were robbed of one-half their value on wet or ill-cultivated lands; he therefore eagerly advocated drainage and the preparation of the soil by the use of the best ploughs, harrows, and clod crushers. His custo- mers would have left had he not convinced them that the fault was in themselves, and not in the manure. A man soon grudged growing weeds with the fertility he had paid hard cash for, nor could a manure ^costing £14 or £15 per ton be refused the economy of a machine to distribute it carefully. By these improvements ten times more stock is fed on the land it maintained before. At every stage of progress an Eng- lish modern farm produces an enormous quantity of food for man on a limited surface. Upon the agriculturists' skill, under Providence, depends whether plenty or scarcity prevails in the land. My object will be met in giving the quality and value of the artificial manures which man is compelled to use. I will now lay down some rules how the farmer can render him- self independent of the chemist in detecting adulterations in manures, and lay down some definite rules by which any per- son can detect them. No one can deny the importance of some such knowledge, with the distinctive characters of diffe- rent manures which would lead to the detection of many cases of adulteration which now pass unnoticed, and as these occur most commonly in small purchases, when it is not thought ne- cessary to analyse, the loss falls most severely upon small farmers, who are least able to bear it. Persons frequently ex- amining manures become so familiar with the appearance of manures, that anything unusual creates suspicion, but even they may be misled, as the eye is a very fallacious guide, and adul- terators know but too well that it is easy to mislead those who rely upon it, and heuce it is necessary to use some simple tests to disclose what the unassisted senses fail to detect. A ma- nure is purchased because it contains food for plants, but much useless matter is contained iu a state of mixture which cannot be economically separated, or for the purpose of converting the useful matter into a marketable condition. Thus guano is bought principally for the ammonia and phosphates ; the other matters are of little or no importance, hut as they cannot be separated must he taken by the purchaser. Again, sulphate of ammonia is valuable for its ammonia ; the sulphuric acid it contains is useless, but it cannot be dispensed with, as it ren- ders the ammonia portable without loss. When the value of a manure is determined by only one of its constituents, as iu sulphate of ammonia, it is comparatively easy to determine whether they are genuine or not, but when they contain many such substances, which vary in their relative proportions, the difficulty becomes materially enhanced, and it is necessary to depend upon tests. Mrhen it is further added that many ma- nures contain naturally small quantities of adulterating sub- stances, we see that it is not always practicable to ascertain by the use of tests alone whether a , manure be genuine or not. 200 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. We know that all guanos contain sand, most of them common salt, and some sulphate and carbonate of lime, and these sub- stances are almost the only means which are used in adultera- ting this manure. The testing of manure requires judgment, besides mere mechanical testing. It depends in no small num- ber of cases upon the habit of observation. I shall commence with those which are most simple in composition, and proceed to the more'complex. I shall select as the first sulphate of am- monia, which presents no difficulties in testing. If the colour of the sulphate be pale, and be made up of distinctly crystalline fragments, it will be one favourable quality in the substance ; if it even be dark we need not infer that it is not genuine, al- though greater attention will be paid to the other points of the examination. If it be not uniform in colour, and contains white grains or lumps obviously different from the rest of tha mass, a few pieces should be taken out and -tasted, and some more reserved for further examination. Some of the sample should then be taken and spread upon blotting paper and covered with a saucer and left for some hours, if at the end of that time the blotting paper be wet the sample probably con- tains an excess of moisture. The next process consists in placing some of the sample in a shovel, or better, iu a small porcelain capsule and placing it over a clear fire till it ceases to give off fumes. If pure it will almost entirely volatilize and leave behind a very small quantity of sand or other fixed mat- ters. A genuine specimen of sulphate of ammonia contains from 91 to 97 per cent, of the pure salt, and rarely more than one per cent, of non-volatile matter, so that the residue ought to be very small. If the sample stand all these tests, it is probably genuiue. It must be noticed that tests do not enable us to distinguish the quality of a compound when it is genuine. For this purpose analysis is necessary, and its importance will be understood when it is known that a diminution of 1 per cent, in the quality of ammonia corresponds to a reduction in value of nearly 15s. per ton. Sulphate of ammonia is always adulterated by non-volatile substances, so the test by heating is a very valuable one. The next manure is NUrale of Soda, which contains salt in more or less quantity ; this substance is procured from Peru. Nitrate of soda is of crystalline substance, which precludes the use of many sub- stances in adulteration, as only common salt and sulphate of soda can be used in adulterating it. The dryness of nitrate of soda should first be attended to in the same manner as sulphate of ammonia. In appearance it is something like raw sugar, being composed of small grains which have a brownish but not too dark a colour. If two kinds of grain be distinguished, one whiter than the other, the presence of common salt as an adulteration may be suspected, especially if some of the white grains separated from the rest have a saline taste. The presence of common salt may be detected by means of a solution of nitrate of silver which immediately produces a curdy white deposit in any fluid containing it. But the mere appearance of this precipitate is no proof of the presence of salt. If auy use be made of it, it is by a peculiar mode founded on the great chemical principle that, when a sufficient quantity of nitrate of silver be added to commou salt, that substance is entirely decomposed — by reference to well known chemical laws that 29 grains of nitrate of silver decompose one grain of salt. Upon this principle a solution is made con- taining 290 grains of nitrate of silver in a pint of water and its strength is such that a fluid ounce of it will decompose exactly five grains of salt. Nitrate of soda when of good quality con- tains less than 5 per cent, of salt, so that if we take 100 grains of it dissolved in water a fluid ounce of the silver solution ought to decompose the whole of the salt it contains ; whereas, if more than 5 per cent., the excess above it will remain and be detected by a further addition oi nitrate of silver. The mode in which the experiment is performed is very simple ; 100 grains of the sample to be examined are dissolved in four ounces of warm water and put into a half- pint bottle ; the insoluble matter consisting of grains of sand should not exceed 1 per cent. A fluid ounce of nitrate of silver solution is then added and shaken violently and allowed to stand for some minutes, when the white curdy matter deposits and leaves the supernatant fluid nearly clear ; if so, a few drops more of nitrate of silver are added, and if the liquid remains clear the sample must have contained less than 5 per cent. But should it become muddy another ounce- measure of the nitrate of silver is then added, the bottle shaken, and the liquid allowed to stand and again tested with a few drops of nitrate ; and if it remain clear the sample contains more than 5 per cent, and less than 10 of salt; should it again give a precipitate, the same manipulations are gone through. Each ounce of nitrate of silver which had been used corresponds to 5 per cent, of salt. If, however, he find that less than 5 per cent, be present, probably the sample is inferior, and it should be carefully analysed. We now come to guano, in which we meet with increased difficulties ; there are two kinds of guano, Peruvian containing 16 • 5 per cent, ammonia and 25 of phosphate, and Saldanha Bay containing 15 per cent, of the former and 60 of the latter. Peruvian guano cannot be adulterated without producing such alterations as can be readily detected. Its colour should be pale ; if dark, it is probably damp ; and if it coheres into a mass when squeezed, this is still more probable. It should contain lumps which are of a paler colour and have a crystalline texture ; the absence of lumps is a suspicious circumstance, nevertheless the presence of them is no proof that the sample is genuine. A bushel measure should weigh 72 lbs., if it exceeds that, the sample is most probably adulterated. In Peruvian guano the moisture and organic matter make up two-thirds of the whole weight, and as these volatile at a red heat when burnt, it should have one-third of ash in weight. For this experiment a small cup or capsule is required. Twenty grains of the guano are weighed into it, and placed on a clear fire or gas for fifteen or twenty minutes, and is then removed, and the residue weighed, which should amount to seven grains ; if it exceeds eight the guano is adulterated. This test applies to Peruvian guano alone. Again, the residue should be white ; if reddish, like brickdust, the sample is either adulterated, or of an infeiior kind (this remark applies to all descriptions of guauo) . It is then shaken out into a wiue glass, and a tea- spoonful of muriatic acid (spirit of salt) is added ; if it effer- vesces, chalk (carbonate of lime) is present ; it has either been adulterated with that substance or is an inferior quality which contains it naturally. If it do not effervesce it should be put aside for an hour or two, and then a little more acid and water added. The whole should now be dissolved with the exception of a few grains of sand. If the guano stands all these tests it is most probably genuine. This analysis does not give the quality, as the guano may be worth from £7 to £10 a ton, if a phosphated guano, and from £12 to £15 if a Peruvian. The quality can only be determined by an accurate analysis. Peruvian guano, as far as my experience goes, is the only guano which is adulterated, because it is more commonly bought without analysis, and beeause the inferior guanos are often so low in quality as not to bear further deterioration. Por inferior guanos the only safety is in complete analyses. Still greater difficulties are met with in testing superphosphates, because we not only look for ammonia and phosphates in their ordinary condition, but also as soluble phosphates. Their complexity is indeed so great that no kind of testing can be considered satisfactory. It is impossible to give rules by which inferiority can be detected. The farmer is forced to bring his guano to the chemist, and he places in his hands one of the most difficult and tedious analyses in the range of chemistry. I will now bring my paper to an end, by an ob- servation bearing on the future of our country. The most superficial glance at the condition of Europe in these days assures us that in the struggle against serious odds any relaxa- tion of effort would be followed at first by diminution and then by annihilation of national prosperity, for in the destiny of nations, as in nature, as Goethe says, " There is neither rest nor pause, but ever movement and evolution, a curse still cleaving to standing still." Nothing but serious occupation with chemical, mathematical, and natural studies will defend any state from evils attending it on this side. Man can pro- duce no effect upon nature, can appropriate none of her powers, if he be not conversant with her laws, with general relations according to measure and number, and here, too, lies the power of popular intelligence. It rises and falls with tliis. Those nations which have remained behind in general manu- facturing activity, in the practical application of the mechanical arts and technical chemistry, in the transmission, growth, or manufacture of raw materials, nations among whom respect for such activity does not pervade all classes must inevitably fall from any prosperity they may have attained ; and this so much the more certainly and speedily as neighbouring states, instinct with powers of grateful renovation, in which science and the arts of industry co-operate, or lend each other assistance mutually, are seen pressing forward in the race, Mr, Clarke gave experiments in illustration of the subject. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 201 STAFFORDSHIRE CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. THE EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT OF THE CHILDREN OP AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. At a meeting of the Staffordshire Chamber of Agriculture, the Hon. Edward Stanhope, one of the Assistant-Commis- sioners to inquire into the general question of the state of education and employment amongst the children of the agri- cultural population, attended. The Earl of Harrowhy, the president, in the chair. Mr. Stanhope having stated his views, Mr. T. Neville said in that county young women were seldom employed in fields, but almost entirely as domestic servants. The women who worked on the farms were employed from about April and through the summer in weeding, haymaking, and such light work, and after harvest occasionally with the thrashing ma- chine, cutting turnips, and so on. In that way a woman would add 3s. or 4s. a week or more to the wages of her hus- band, and the homes of such industrious women were invari- ably the best. They got up early and prepared breakfast be- fore they went out ; they got home for an hour at dinner, and were able to return to prepare their husband's supper, their children being at school whilst they were at work. Women with small children did not as a rule go to field labour ; if they did they left their children in the care of a neighbour. His experience was that assisting with a thrashing machine was not objectionable work for a woman. They did not go early, the work was light, and he knew of no case of accident from their dresses. Mr. Neville proposed : " That it is not desira- ble that there should be any restrictions upon the employment of married women in agriculture." The Hon. and Rev. A. C. Talbot as a clergyman he could not disguise from himself that the employment of women with young children had a deteriorating effect upon the chil- dren, and he thought that mending and makiug clothes, and the preparation of the meals of the husband, the bread-earner, were in such cases so much neglected that nothing really went into the pocket as the result of such employment. In the case of women, however, without children, or whose children were grown up, he saw no reason why they should not assist in the bread earning of the family. He believed that the labour to which women were put was not unsuited to their strength, whilst it was most important to the farmer. Those who lived in the neighbourhood of a mining district knew the great diffi- culty of procuring labour. In his own parish, when a young man left the farmer's house he generally left the place, and he did not know how the places of the labourers who were getting old were to be filled up. He had a steam engine at work every day, and an elderly woman attended to it, fed the mill and the cutting machine, and did it better than any man in his employ, and her petticoats no more interfered than a man's smock frock. Mr. Talbot seconded the proposition of Mr. Neville. Mr. Brawn objected to the resolution being limited to married women. As a rule girls were employed in the houses, but it would be cruel to forbid any who were unsuited for do- mestic service getting their living in the fields. He proposed to'strike out the word " married," so as to make the resolution affirm that it was undesirable to interfere by legislation with the labour of women. Mr. R. H. Masfen took the same view. He employed three women, and paid them from £13 to £15 a-year ; and he wished to know how the loss of such earnings to the labourer was to be compensated P He quite agreed that it was undesirable for women with small children to go out to work, and did not think it often occurred. He would not prohibit the employ- ment of young single women in the fields. One of his work- men was a widower, and his daughter kept his house, and in the summer she got almost enough in two months or ten weeks to buy her clothes. Mr. Neville, with the assent of Mr. Talbot, amended his motion so as to make it of general application, adopting the following terms : " That there is nothing in the system of agri- culture as pursued in the county of Stafford which requires legislation for the restriction of female labour in agriculture, and that such legislation would be injurious to the employers of labour, and to the labouring classes." The resolution, as amended, was then unanimously agreed to. Mr. CaiuungtOiN Smith proposed li That no child shall be employed for day wages under ten years old, and that between ten and thirteen no child shall be employed for more than hall' the year, unless he or she shall have previously passed an edu- cational examination to the satisfaction of one of her Majesty's Inspectors." Mr. May thought the labour of children under eleven was of no value, except in bird tenting, dropping beans, and such like work. He proposed as an amendment " That no child should be employed under eleven, and after that age that no restriction should be imposed." Mr. T. Neville seconded the amendment, considering that by the age of eleven boys could obtain a satisfactory amount of instruction. If there were to be any restriction afterwards he would prefer that it should take the shape of a certificate of possessing a certain amount of instruction. Mr. C. Byrd said that last year he had five boys working for him, and one of them, who was eleven years old, drove all his harvest home. He drove three horses, and met a lady's carriage, and drew aside to allow it to pass, and she was so well pleased with him that she gave him a present. He paid that boy £!) 10s. for the year ; to another, fifteen years of age, he paid £13 18s. ; and to another, eleven years of age, he paid £8 16s. Boys drove the plough ; and he could not dispense with their labour for half the year. On a strong land farm like his they were wanted all the year. He had to plough with five horses, and sometimes with eight, and he wanted boys to drive. He had once a boy nine years of age to plough, who was now a policeman. Another boy was four years driving the plough, then he went to be apprenticed to the trade of a shoemaker, but after five years at that he returned to the farm, and now he was a stone and a-half heavier than when he left shoemaking. He knew another boy who did not go to work, his parents having been in a rather better position, and after robbing gardens and partridges' nests, he robbed another boy, and was now in a reformatory, and he thought that was the result of his being kept from work. Mr. Pare,, speaking of his experience of the population of the village of Alrewas, asked what was to be done to compel boys to go to school who did not go to work. He observed that of 157 children on the books of the National School at Alrewas only 54 were the children of agricultural labourers, the parents of the rest being small farmers, tradespeople, shopkeepers, and so on. The children who were running about the streets in rags were not those of steady agricultural la- bourers, but of a sort of jobbing people, who worked for one person and another, and did not continue in steady employment. Mr. Parr appeared to favour the necessity of adopting compul- sion to send children to school who were not at work. He stated that great mischief ensued from the sale of " klink," which was beer which had been returned to the Burton brewers, was worked over again and sold cheap, though it was strong. The Earl of Li cheield wished to point out two or three practical objections to the amendment and resolution. The one said no child was to be employed up to ten, and the other to eleven years ; but there was no guarantee, except by the alter- native presented by the resolution that a child might, after the age of ten, be employed continuously on passing a certain ex- amination, that the child before that age would go to school at all. The objection was still stronger in reference to the amend- ment, which raised the age to eleven years. In the neighbour- hood of towns, where the children of agricultural labourers were not.altogether dependent upon employment on farms, they might be employed under the half-time system, from the age of eight, in manufactories, while it was proposed not to allow of their employment on farms until ten or eleven. He had not heard of any proposal to repeal the factory Acts, and that 202 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. appeared to be an objection to forbidding the employment of children under ten or eleven, but the strongest objection was the first he had named, that there was no guarantee whatever of the child being either at work or at school before those ages. He was quite sure that it would be much better for them to be so employed, if at the same time they required that a certain portion of time should be spent at school ; and he believed that the only practicable way of securing anything like proper education for the children was to require a certain amount of attendance at school up to the age of thirteen, but if they de- sired to modify that system in any way they ought at least to provide that there should be some guarantee that the child should he at work or at school under the ages named. His lordship afterwards added that the resolution had an immense advantage over the amendment, because by making a certifi- cate of having passed an examination a condition of continuous employment, a very strong inducement was held out to parents to take care their children went to school regularly. Mr. Brawn said he did not approve of prohibiting the em- ployment of a boy before the age of eleven, which would be agaiust the interest of the parents. He asked how Mr. Byrd could have got aboy to take charge of three horses at that age if he had not begun to work earlier. The Chairman suggested that they might take the resolu- tion adopted two years ago, which forbade work under eight years, so as to make it run parallel with the provisions of the Factory Acts in towns, and then add to its terms that the hours of employment of all children between the ages of eight and thirteen shoi'ld be so regulated as to afford an opportunity for attendance at school for a certain portion of that time, with the proviso " unless before that age the child shall be able to pass a certain examination." That would give an alternative of passing an examination as a means of dispensing with the necessity of partial attendance at school. The Earl of Lichfield opposed this proposition on the ground that if a child passed such an examination as he could be reasonably expected to pass, say at nine years old, and from that time went to work full time, he would soon lose what in- struction he had gained. Mr. Stanhope thought it would be a great hardship on many poor families if their children could not be employed at all before eleven years of age. He also insisted that boys who worked continuously would soon lose all they had learnt up to an early age. The Hon. and Rev. A. C. Talbot strongly confirmed this view from his experience in examining children before conlir- mation. The girls generally retained some portion of the in- struction they had obtained at school, probably because they met with books and papers at the houses where they were ser- vants, but the boys appeared to forget all they had learnt at school. Mr. Talbot mentioned a case of the best boy in the parish school at Church Eaton, who was now the best labourer in the parish, and yet he was stonisbed to find that he could not now read the large printed name " Proctor and Ryland" on a bag of their artificial manure. Without continued at- tendance at school after ten he was satisfied that boys would forget what they were taught. It was for wiser heads than his to say how that was to be accomplished. The half-time system was, he thought, impracticable. They could not keep two waggoner's boys in the house where they now kept one, for one was bother enough. He feared the difficulty was an in- surmountable one. The Chairman said the difficulty was great. In answer to a suggestion that they should have night-schools, he observed that he thought it would be better to dispense with the after- noon-school, and let the master teach in the morning and the evening. He suggested that they might amend the resolution adopted two years ago, so as to read as follows : " That no child shall be employed for wages under eight years old. That between eight and eleven no child shall be employed without a certificate of a certain amount of attendance at school every year ; nor between eleven and thirteen without a certificate of having passed a certain examination." Mr. Smith adopted the amended form, and on its being put to the Chamber, it was carried without a dissentient, though only eleven held up their hands for it. AGRICULTURAL AND ARTERIAL DRAINAGE. At a meeting of the Institution of Surveyors, Mr. Grantham said: — As an inspector under the Land Drainage Act, 1861, having had a better opportunity of forming an acquaintance with the subject, perhaps, than most persons, I have found that the advantages of engineering works, particularly in some parts of England, are not appreciated as they ought to be, and I hope that the influence and intelligent spirit of the members will be exerted to recommend the adoption of the facilities offered by this act. The necessity for district systems of arterial drainage has, it is well known, arisen from the great increase of pipe drainage, and the better clearing and opening of ditches and drains of late years, thereby causing a more rapid and an increasing discharge of water from the uplands into the valleys, and overloading the rivers and streams, so flooding them more frequently, and to a larger extent, than was experienced in former times ; besides which, those valley lands being subject to floods, or the water con- stantly lying within a few inches of the surface, have their crops frequently destroyed, and are available as pastures for a much shorter period in each year than they really ought to be. The dilliculties that formerly arose, from the state of the law, in constituting any combined action to remove obstructions in rivers, to deepen, straighten, and improve them, and to form proper outfalls through the lands of hostile owners, or of those who were indifferent to the improvement of their own land, or unwilling to give facilities to others, have been, to some extent, removed by an alteration and extension of the powers of the old sewers laws. The number of cases under the act amounts to twenty-two, of which I have inspected twenty-one, and these districts comprise, in all, about 70,600 acres. Some of these have been carried out most successfully, and others are in progress, and some have not been commenced. The areas of each district vary from 591 to 1 1,259 acres. The cost of putting the powers of the act into operation has been on an average £50 in each case. The Loadou is a river rising in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, with a watershed of about 120 square miles. The district was formed under a Commission of Sewers in 1861, and the works, which are confined to the jurisdiction, were completed, as far as they could then be executed, in 1867. The commissioners, in order to inform those who are interested in the improvement, lately published a statement of their proceedings, with an account of the expenditure. The account shows the total expenditure ; but it should be remarked that the purchase of the water rights and compensations absorbed more than half of it. The Leadon flows into the western branch of the River Severn, about 1^ mile from Gloucester. There were formerly two mills upon it — one, the Over Mill, at the Severn ; aud the other, Rudford Mill, about 2^ miles above it — by which the water was penned back for upwards of five miles. The water-power of both mills was purchased by the commissioners, who were thus enabled to deepen, widen, and straighten the river where requisite ; and the effect has been to lower the water towards the outfall five feet, and at the upper end four feet. The jurisdiction of the commissioners, which includes a branch river in the parish of Tibberton, extends over about 1,400 acres. Erom the Severn to the archway under the Hereford and Gloucester Canal, which is 4^ miles, the work consisted for the greater part of a nesv cut, and the remainder in deepening and taking off bends only. Both sides of the new river, for a mile and a half in length up from the Severn, as well as aloug the bank parallel to the Severn, were em- banked, to keep out the tides and its flood-waters, and also to confine the floods of the Leadon itself, which flow down from the upper country about two days before those of the Severn arrive at the same point. From the Hereford aud Gloucester THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 20^ Canal through Tibberton parish, being about \\ mile, the brook was deepened and widened in places, and in others the banks were dressed off and the bushes cleared. From about the fourth mile on the main river it was deepened, cleared of bushes and weeds, and the banks dressed off for about two miles, making altogether nearly seven miles, the cost of which amounted to about £3,070, including superintendence. The remainder of the outlay was for obtaining the commission, raising money, office and legal expenses, &c. The money has been borrowed, and will be paid off in twenty-live years. The rate for the repayment of this and interest, together with the annual expense of clerk, varies from 9s. to lis. per acre, assessed upou the land according to the benefit conferred. Eor the first two years after completion of the main cuts for the river the repairing and clearing the bottom and sides cost only £10. The practical result has been that the Hoods caused by the Leadon itselt have not overflowed its new channel, aud the floods and tides of the Severn itself have been so confined within its own banks as to prevent them overflowing the adjoining laud, and their duration is very much reduced. The floods have never since injured the growing grass, nor carried it away when cut, as was formerly the case in about one year out of four The quality of the grass is very much improved, aud cattle and sheep can remain on the pastures nearly all the year. The under-drainage can be better carried out, and the river is as nearly as possible under the control of those who are interested in its proper action. To conclude the description of this work I cannot do better than quote a letter written to me by Mr. William P. Price, the Member for Gloucester, and chairman of the Leadon Commission, who lives in the neigh- bourhood, and has a large area of land within the jurisdiction : " November 29th, 1868. " The result of our Leadon drainage may be stated in a very few words. We can now drain effectually all the lower level, which we could not have done before ; and the floods are much fewer in number, and when they come do not hurt us, because they are off again directly. The drainage has done all I ever expected of it. It is difficult to speak of the commercial value. The rates may be taken to be about 7s. 6d. per acre, putting the rest for redemption of capital outlay. Is the improvement worth this 7s. 6d. to the tenant ? In the first place, I don't think any one of them denies it. But if they did, I should not believe them. In the second place, one hay crop saved in every four years would pay it for them ; and summer floods destroyed the crops at least once in four years. But, apart from this, we can now keep cattle in the land always, except during the very short duration of a flood, which we rarely experience now, except when the cattle are all in the folds. — W. P. Price." Note. — The average cost per acre which Mr. Price refers to is that which is charge- able to the tenant, being the interest, the landlord generally paying the difference, which is the redemption of capital outlay. The " Laud Drainage Act, 1861," has hitherto not been applied so extensively as might have been expected, considering the great scope of its powers, and the advantages which result from them if properly called into action. But the act requires amendment in some particulars, with the addition of provisions to make it more applicable to the purposes of agriculture, and that only. The old sewers laws are applicable, as far as they go, both to the drainage of towns and of agricultural districts ; for it was not contemplated when they were framed that any distinction between the two would have been neces- sary ; but, of late years, towns and populous districts have well-defined laws of their own, applied under the sanction of a department of the Government, by which the mode of pro- ceeding and method of rating are regulated, and other useful provisions arc exercised ; but the legislation for agricultural drainage purposes is surrouned by great difficulties and un- certainty ; in fact, well-defined provisions are required for many purposes, and the chief of these is the mode of rating, in which there exists much doubt and difficulty. In my experience of this question of rating I have met with a great variety in the practice and opinions of the several valuers with whom I have come iu contact ; one has adopted the poor-rate as the basis of the rate ; another an equal acreage rate ; aud one or two, a rate according to the benefit conferred. Cases of appeal at Quarter Sessions have been referred to me ; but I think there ought to be a special rule for this kind of rating. The only act which in any way refers to this question is the 4 and 5 Vict., cap. 45 (which was merely an amendment act of 3 and 4 Wm. IV., cap. 22), but in so indefinite a manner as to throw doubt upon it. The correct principle, in my opinion, is that it should be in proportion to the benefit conferred on the various lands by the works ; and in Ireland, where the question of drainage aud rating is uuclogged by sewer laws, the matter is better understood ; and at the time of the famine, in 1847, when large arterial works were carried out, they adopted such a system. There is another important question, aud that is the power and means of taking land for new works, or removing mills and obstructions in rivers ; but the regulations laid down in the law are most cumbersome and uncertain. There are many other matters, which it would be tedious to enumerate, each requiring amendment ; and I am in hopes that in the next session of Parliament, an inquiry will be instituted into all the laws relating to drainage, and that we shall have a well-defined and simple system of the law established expressly for agricultural, arterial, and outfall drainage. It would be very desirable to include, in any new act, provisions for irrigation and storage of water, so that they might be either conjoined with or separated from drainage districts ; and powers to charge either water rates or rents according to the system adopted. HOW TO REAR AND FEED STOCK WITHOUT TURNIPS. At a meeting of the East Riding Chamber of Agriculture Mr. W. Bainton (Beverley Parks), the Vice-President, said that, as the members were aware, it had been resolved to dis- cuss that day the following question, namely : " The best method of feeding and rearing stock without turnips during the winter season." He would tell them what course he had adopted. For a short time he had beeu using wheat for horses, and found that they were doing well upon it. There was a danger, however, iu the use of wheat, if not judiciously applied. A few years ago he lost one horse, and one or two others be- came affected in the feet, the cause of which he believed was that he had not used the wheat properly. From the present price of wheat, compared to other articles, it would, if applied, be found more economical than most other kinds of food. In sheep, where they had little grass lands and a few turnips, they might get over it better than where they had none. He had a few turnips, and he let them have turnips for one half of their food, and the other half was an equal mixture of cotton cake and linseed cake. If it was a tolerably open winter he had no doubt he would get it over with the mixture, and it would not be an expensive way of feeding them. There was another kind of food which he had not heard of before, and which he was informed some parties had been iu the habit of using, and that was palm-nut meal. He had been given to understand that it had been tried by a man in the employ of a gentleman in the neighbourhood for feeding pigs, and tested with barley meal. The pigs were weighed weekly, and it was found that they made most on palm-nut meal. Economy was the great thing for them to look at, and in all matters of experiments they should know what the different articles cost. Barley meal was Is. 4d. or Is. 6d. per stone, aud palm-nut meal anont Is. If palm-uut meal answered the same purpose as barley meal it would be a greater advantage, but if it answered better it would be a greater advantage still. The cost of the linseed cake aud cotton cake which he gave to his sheep cost him, per- haps, 4|d. per head per week. If he could keep them healthy on that with a few turnips and a little grass it was not a dear method of feeding them. In reply to a question, the Chairman said he could not tell exactly what quantity of wheat he gave to his horses. He had it steeped a day before. It was not a good thing to have it steeped long before, as it would not keep. Mr. George Holmes (V.S., Beverley) observed with res- pect to the feeding of stock that he had been in the habit of giving artificial food to certain kinds of horses that were wanted to be quickly fed up, and which, they were aware, it was de:i- 204 THE FAEMEIt'S MAGAZINE. rable should be done with as little expense as possible. His method was this. He had linseed cake ground very fine, and steeped in water for a whole day. After steeping he had it mixed with a quantity of fine chopped straw, if the straw was good, or wheat chaff. He had used wheat, but he took great care to boil it before using. He did not put the wheat into the copper till the water began to boil, and he would advise them not to put the wheat into the water till it had boiled. He would recommend a grate of either wood or iron being placed in the bottom of the copper. This prevented the wheat set- tling down to the bottom, and rendering it less liable for any part to be burnt or set. If they put it in the water cold and let all boil together it was sure to set to the bottom. After boiling he allowed it to simmer for two hours, and then let it remain in the copper, and used it when he wanted it. If they wished to preserve it for three or four days they must keep the air excluded from it, otherwise it would go sour. The plan he adopted was to have a closely fitting lid to the copper, and by thus excluding the air from it it could be kept sweet for a week. This could be more effectually done by throwing three or four sacks over the lid. He found that linseed mixed with wheat had a wonderful effect upon horses, and fed them quickly. He allowed each horse a quartern and a-half of wheat per day, mixed with so much linseed. Three cakes of linseed ground and put into a large tub containing from twenty-five to thirty gallons of water was enough for fifteen horses. This mixture, he observed, should be stirred up three or four times during the day with a shovel kept for the purpose, thus causing the liquid to be of a more thick or glutinous nature. After using the liquid for some time he was induced to try linseed and Indian corn. He bruised the Indian wheat and boiled it in the same way as English wheat. The improvement made by the horses on Indian wheat and linseed was marvellous. This mixture he used at the present time, and with it he gave wheat chaff or chopped straw, oat straw being the best. He had seen wheat given with injurious effect when given whole. He had seen it given in the manger, in the same way as other corn, and in horses that eat greedily at it it would produce swelling. Their stomachs became distended, and they died if relief could not he quickly obtained. He might here observe that the stomach of a horse was remarkably small, very little larger than that of the human being, so that it required great caution that no food should be given to that animal which had any tendency to swell or ferment. Wheat was not near by so beneficial given whole as when it was boiled or steeped. Some people, he was told, had tried boiled potatoes with grain, mixed with straw or chaff, and he was informed that it was much better for feeding quicklv than anything else. In his opinion, mixed food was the best for all kinds of stock, since it was much better to digest. The more digestive the food the better chance of feeding the stock. If farmers provided themselves with boilers, they would find a great saving in preparing this kind of food. A building erected for the purpose of boiling and mixing would well repay every man that had stock to feed. A great many holding sheep aud other cattle might be held on during the scarcity of turnips by this kind of feeding. Mr. D. Bradley (Etton) said he would state to them the little experience he had had in feeding stock with mixed food. He must first confess that he borrowed his ideas from Mr. Park, but what he used was rape cake. He had some beasts up from grass, and, having no turnips, and linseed cake being very expensive, he applied to his friends for advice, and amongst others to Mr. Park. That gentleman's suggestions he adopted, and he believed that a ton of rape cake, which could be obtained for £8 10s. per ton, if boiled, was equal to a ton of linseed cake raw. He had only tried one ton of it amongst his stock, and they had done wonderful on it. He added one quart of linseed to every boiling. With respect to sheep, he had adopted the same method as the chairman had followed out. He believed that boiled food was very beneficial to all kinds of stock. He mixed the cake when boiled with chopped straw, and always boiled one day what he wanted to use the next, He found that if kept more than one day it soured. His stock was doing remarkably well on it, and he was sorry that on ac- count of his boiler being required for other purposes he could not continue it. Mr. W. R. Park (Catwick) said that he had had a number of lambs penned up in a close fold in a stubble field, where they had been for seven weeks, and were fed entirely on what was carried to them. What he had given them was a mixture of rapeeake, Indian corn, and a small quantity of linseed. These ingredients he boiled together. It took about an hour to be- come a boil, and it was allowed to boil from twenty minutes to half an hour, when it formed into the consistency of a thick soup. The proportions of each were about two stones of rape- cake, one stone of Indian corn, aud two pounds of linseed. The soup, while boiling hot, was thrown upon cut straw, pre- viously spread upon an asphalted floor, and well mixed with about two stones of bran and a little salt, which, after being well worked about with a rake, were shovelled into a heap, where the cooking process still continued, which rendered the straw soft and palatable, and gave it something of the appear- ance of a warmed mash. A few shovelfuls of pulped cabbage were occasionally mixed with it. The object aimed at^ was to induce the animals to eat a great quantity of the straw. The mixture was carted to the lamb fold, aud given to them in troughs. The method of feeding them was not an expensive one ; the cost of the ingredients being about £8 a ton. Lambs eat about three-quarters of a pound per day each, and the cost per head for food would be about fourpence-halfpenuy per week. He would calculate the fuel and labour at three-half- pence per head more, and the total expenditure per head per week would not be more than sixpence to sixpence-halfpenny. He calculated nothing for the straw, for he did not think ;it was deteriorated iu value (as manure) for having passed through the stomachs of animals. His Lambs were in an im- proving state, healthy, and in fair store condition. He could only express his regret, that as green cattle food was now so scarce in the country, the Legislature should continue to im- pose a tax of 70 per cent, upon malt, which was one of the most digestible articles known. STEAM PLOUGHING BY THE HIGHWAY. At the Bedford Divisional Petty Session, George Cocking, farmer, Kempston, was charged, on the information of Alfred Benjamin Chibnall, farmer, of the same village, with having unlawfully erected a steam engine within twenty-five yards of the Bedford-road at Kempston. Complainant deposed that on the day mentioned in the summons he saw the engine within six yards of the low hedge skirting the highway, but that he did not see it at work on the same day. The engine had been standing there from the 27th ult. to the 10th inst., aud several horses had shied there. Wm. Houghton, labourer, deposed that on the 28th he saw the " engine" at work. It was a " steam plough." Did not see it at work on the 27th. It stood there with the sheet ilying up aud down, aud horses were frightened at it — so he was told. Mr. A. Stimson for the defence said : The defeudaut is charged with having erected a steam engine on the 27th, but there is no evidence before you that Mr. Cocking sent it there at all, or caused it to be erected. However, though that objection is fatal, I have no desire to take advantage of it, aud I am instructed to that effect by Messrs. Howard. I will simply go upon the question whether the defendant can be convicted for having it there, and beg to call your attention to an important Act of Parliament which has been overlooked by the gentleman who advised that this summons be taken out. Tbis summons must have been framed under the old Highway Act, according to which (sec. 70) " it shall not be lawful for any person to erect, or cause to be erected, auy steam engine . . . within the distance of 25 yards from any part of any carriageway or cartway, uuless such . . be within some house or building, or behind some wall or fence sufficiently to conceal or screen the same ... so that the same may not be dangerous to passengers or horses . . ." In the year 1861 an Act (24th and 25th Vict.) was passed, which recites that the use of locomotives was likely to become common on turnpikes, and provides for the transit of such, directing that in moving them from place to place there should be two men with them and that flags should THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 205 be used on the highway, for the safety of passengers, This is the first Act whim deals with this question at all; the first which recognizes locomotives. That Act was amended in the year 1865 by the 88th and 89th Vict,, which recites that— " Whereas by the 'Locomotives Acts, 1801,' certain provision was made for regulating the use of locomotives on turnpike and other roads, and it is expedient that further and fuller provision should be made for that object," It enacts rules for the manner of working locomotives on turnpike roads and highways, and then conies to the question before the Court. It says : " Any provision in any Act contained prohibiting, under penalty, the erection and use of any steam engine . . within the distance of 25 yards from any part of any turnpike road, highway, carriageway, or cartway, unless such strain engine, &c., be within some house or other building, or behind some wall, fence, or screen sutlicient to conceal or screen the same from such turnpike road, highway, See., shall not extend to prohibit the use of any locomotive steam engine for the purpose of ploughing within such distance of any such turn- pike road, sec., provided a person shall be stationed in the road, aud employed to signal the driver when it shall be necessary to stop, and to assist horses, and carriages drawn by horses, passing the same, and provided the driver of the engine do stop in proper time." Now, to convict under this, it must be alleged that on a particular day this same plough was used without having anybody there to signal and assist. That is why I wanted to get hold of somebody to speak as to the 87th. You must have evidence before you that somebody, on the 27th, passing by, saw the engine at work, and also that there was nobody there to assist and signal. The Magistrates' Clerk said : The only point' on which I must dift'er from Mr. Stimson is this, I think that the onus of showing that there was a person in charge rests with the defendant. Mr. Stimson : To enable them to convict, the magistrates must be satisfied, either from the absence of proof on one band, or from positive evidence on the other, that there was nobody in charge to signal and assist. I might contend that the onus is cast upon the complainant, for the Act says it shall not apply unless you do so and so. The complainant has not attempted — indeed there is not a scrap of evidence — to prove that there was nobody there on the 27th. I shall call the man who was in charge and also the man who drove the engine, the former of whom was expressly stationed there by his masters to carry out the provision of the Act as to signalling and assisting whenever horses were frightened. On the part of my clients (Messrs. Howard) I am anxious that we should not seem to be frightening horses in this way, and that when brought into Court we should not be thought to be desirous of escaping by a technical objection. We are anxious to meet the case on the broad grounds which I have laid before you. Mr. Pearse (the elerk) : There is another point. You are correct with regard to the repealing provisions as to the use ; but the recent Act does not expressly repeal the provisions of the Highway Act, which makes it illegal to erect such machines. Mr. Stimson : It would he rather absurd to make provision for their legal use if the erection of them were illegal. If the use is legal the erection is legal. Capt. Polhill-Turner : One follows from the other. Mr. Pearse : A text-book, which the profession regard as a good authority indeed, does not notice the repealing provisions cited by Mr. Stimson. I am not surprised, therefore, that Mr. Jessopp advised the summons to be takeu out. I think it is necessary in this case that some one should be called to show that a person was in charge. John Capon : I am in the employ of Messrs. Howard and have been lately employed in steam-ploughing on Mr. Cook- ing's field. I weut there on Tuesday, the 26th ult., the eugiue being a self-propelling locomotive, Or traction-engine, for the purpose of steam-ploughing. On the 27th I worked with it, Henry Home being the driver. I was employed to signal to the driver when passengers came along the road, aud whenever horses approached I signalled to stop the engine, such signal being always obeyed. The Chairman : Where were you then ? Witness : Inside the field, sir, but close to the fence, so that I was in a position to see along the road iu both directions, To Mr. Stimson •. One horse was frightened the first thing in the morning, and I went out and led it by. I was em- ployed there for that purpose. The Chairman : All the day P Witness : Yes, sir : I was employed to do so all that day. By the Justices' Clerk : The engine stopped working in the mOrning when the horse was frightened. Examination contiuued: I have been engaged for some years in this kind of work and iu other counties besides this, but. never have heard any complaints until now. Henry Home : I am employed by Messrs. Howard as en- gineer, and on the 27th ult. drove the engine in question. The last, witness was employed to signal to me from time to time when passengers came along the road, aud I always stopped the engine on such signal having been made. I have had considerable experience in driving engines of this kind, and have been through nearly all the counties of England acting in a similar capacity. To the Clerk to the Justices : I dare say horses are frightened by the engine even when it is not at work. Mr. Stimson : Probably by its peculiar appearance. I may state that since this complaint has been made the engine has been moved back, pending the decision of the Court. Mr. Pearse, having again read the section of 28th and 29th Vict., cited by Mr. Stimson, pointed out that the repeal- ing provisions extended only to the use of the engine, not to its erection. Mr. Stimson : If the use is legalized, the erection is legalized. After some further discussion the magistrates, Mr. Thorn- ton aud Captain Polhill Turner, retired for consultation, and were joined by Colonel W. 13. Higgins, who ordinarily pre- sides in this court. On their return Colonel Higgins said : My brother magis- trates have paid me the compliment of consulting me, and I am therefore bound to repeat the grounds on which I should offer my decision. There is no doubt that the defendant has infringed the Act of Parliament and would be liable to con- viction, because the Act of 1865, which was an improvement upon that of 1801, strictly lays down that in all cases where a steam-engine is at work within 25 yards of the road there shall be a man — a servant of the defendant — stationed on the road on purpose to give proper notice to the man conducting the engine in case of danger to the public approaching. In this case the man was not always on the road as he ought to have been. But when I come to consider, first of all, that this Act is of very recent enactment and very little known, and, secondly, when I go into the circumstance that on this particular occasion — all Acts of Parliament being passed for the protection of the public — the public were not - in danger, for a man was so placed as to give notice to pas- sengers, I feel bound to offer my advice to my brother magis- trates— that I do not recommend them to convict. I should give the benefit to the defendant, but at the same time I should wish to make it known, as the view of this Bench, that in all future cases that may come before us, when the Act is more known and understood, they will feel it their duty to convict. The present case is dismissed. Complainant : May I ask if the engine may stand any time there after being worked ? Mr. Pearse: If it frightens horses it hecomes a public nuisance, and, as such, can be dealt with. Complainant: That is what it was in this case. THE LOCAL TAXATION DEPUTATION TO THE PREMIER. — It has been pointed out to us as somewhat in- consistent that Mr. Trask, who spoke strongly against a national rate at the Farmers' Club, attended on the deputa- tion from the Chamber of Agriculture, when they went for national liability, a national exchequer, and so forth. But " there are rivers and rivers : there is a river in Monmouth, and there is a river in Macedon." So are there Trasks and Trasks. There are Trasks in Somersetshire and Trasks in Hampshire ; and of course the gentleman who did so well at the Club, did not come up again to commit himself to the secondly, thirdly, and fourthly of the Chamber. 206 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. PLATE II. MASTER M'GRATH, THE PROPERTY OF LORD LURGAN, AND WINNER Of THE WATERLOO CUP IN 1868 AND 1869. Master M'Grath was bred by Mr. James Galway, of Colligan Lodge, Dungarvan, Ireland. The following is his pedigree in full : Lady Sarah Dervock (Lord Lurgan) (Gardiner) St. Clair Erin (Douglas) Figaro (Fyson) Black Fly (Pridmore) King Cob (Daintree) Frederica (Fyson) Ion Kate Damon Daffodil Marquis (Webb) Kirtles (Webb) Rocket Stella Kouli Khan Knavery Lightfoot (Howie) Jenny Lind (Jones) Sam (B. Robinson) Empress (B. Robinson) Hilcoole Old Whisky Bennett's Rocket Easterby's Empress K H K O Scythian (Edleston) Syren (Lord Sefton) Fox Warwick Sadek Sanctity David (Long) Lady Watford (Willis) Motley (Jardine) Wantan (Wadham) Sam (Gibson) Toll wife (Jardine) Traveller Tippitywitchet 03 <1 King Cob Matilda Gillespie Senate (Lord Sefton) Coquette (Webb) Sadek Sanctity Kouli Khan Knavery Larriston (Sharpe) Consideration (Willis) Liddesdale (Sharpe) Hannah (Saunders) Bowhill Lady Seymour Buff Datlowdie Kentish Fire (Daintree) Linnet (Thomas) hLing Cob SCnab Easterby's Emperor Old Linnet Master M'Grath's dimensions are as follows : Head.— From tip of snout to jointing on the neck, 9£ in.; girth of head between eyes and ears, 14 in.; girth of snout, 7£in. ; distance between the eyes, 2iin. Neck. — Length from joining on of head to shoulders, 9 in.; girth round neck, 13| in. Back. — From neck to base of tail, 21 in. ; length of tail, 17 in. Intermediate Points. — Length of loin from junction of last rib to hip bone, 8 in.; length from hip bone to socket of thigh joint, 5 in. Fore Leg. — From base of two middle nails to fetlock joint, 2 in.; from fetlock joint to elbow joint, 12* in.; from elbow joint to top of shoulder blade, 12? in.; thick- ness of fore leg below the elbow, 6 in. Hind Leg. — FVom hock to stifle joint, 9f in.; from stifle to top of hip bone, 12 in.; girth of ham part of thigh, 14 in.; thickness of second thigh below stifle, 85 in. Body. — Girth round depth. of chest, 26^ in.; girth round the loins, 17iin. Weight. — 55 lbs. Master M'Grath was exactly two years old the day he commenced running for the Waterloo Cup in 1868. He is not what would be termed a handsome dog ; in fact, there is nothing very striking in his appearance, his head being plain, while his contour does not convey the idea of a flyer. He is much more remarkable for immense muscular power than symmetry, and a casual observer on first sight would not be struck by anything particular about the dog, but he will bear close inspection, and at the eud even the critic will be forced to admit that, whilst there is little to find fault with, there is a great deal to admire in his conformation. In addition to good feet and legs, he has beautifully-formed shoulders, average length of neck, good loins, rather short back — although, strange to say, he stands very long — and a particularly well- formed rib and round barrel. One noticeable point about him is his remarkably short and excessively fine tail. He is altogether rather undersized. Master M'Grath was reared by an orphan boy named Mickey M'Grath, and hence his name. He came out at Lurgan in October, 1867, and has never been beaten. He is, moreover, the first Irish dog that has wron the Waterloo Cup, and the first dog that has won it two years in succession since it has grown into the great stake which it now is. Master M'Grath has met and beaten all the best dogs of the day ; and is probably himself at all points the best greyhound that ever was slipped. He has terrific speed, great smartness in killing and turning, and very high courage. His noble owner, Lord Lurgan, has in every relation of life the respect and esteem of all with whom he comes in contact, and the favourite's second victory was followed by still greater congratulations than were offered to his Lordship last year from all classes and all parts. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 207 THE MANURE HEAP. Next to the supplying of the live stoek of the farm with food, there is probably no portion of the farmer's business in which so much interest is concentrated at the present season as the tilling of the manure pit. Every effort is made, or should be made, to add to its bulk ; and every man, whose heart is in his business, takes a laudable pride in noting its increase, calculating how much laud it is likely to cover, and descanting on its quality. This is exactly as it should be, manure playing such an important part in connection with the successful and profitable cul- tivation of the soil. From the moment a man becomes a fanner the collection of manure must be one of his leading ideas, and while his occupaucy lasts he cannot afford to lose sight of it for any lengthened period. Each season's profits become extended or circumscribed in a very great measure by the size of the previous year's dung-hill, which fact offers the most powerful inducement to collect it in as large quantity as the mode of husbandry which is being carried out will permit. The contents of the manure heap should consist principally of what is generally understood by the term farm-yard dung, being literally all the excrementitious and waste matter collected each day from stables, piggeries, and cattle-stalls. The quantity of refuse iu the form of dung depends not so much upon the number of animals kept, or the quantity of litter with which they may be provided, but altogether upon the quantity and quality of the food with which they are supplied. It is no use therefore expecting to accumulate a large heap of valuable manure, unless a correspondingly large quantity of food has been provided for house con- sumption, as without that it is vain to suppose that there could be anything worth while. One beast well fed will make as much as three sparingly supplied with food, and the quality vastly superior. While the former will require a daily renewal of the straw which forms its bed, and that too in considerable quantity, the latter, if liberally bedded down twice in each week, will require nothing more ; and the dung made is but a very poor and dry ma- terial, in comparison with the saponaceous mass formed by the mixture of straw with the excretia of the well-fed stock. There is thus a double encouragement to feed liberally — the quicker ripening of the animals and the greatly enhanced value of the manure. There is frequently more difficulty in procuring a sufficient supply of straw to serve as litter, and to last a large stock for the long period of six or seven months than there is in providing food for the same time. In the event of such a contingency occurring, a most rigid economy has to be enforced, and continued through the winter, to the great discomfort and positive detriment of the animals, and to the immense loss of bulk in the manure heap. It may be contended that in such a case what it lacks in quantity is counter-balanced by the extra quality, and so very probably it may ; but yet this does not answer the purpose of the farmer, as, under the ordinary conditions of application to the land, a considerable bulk is absolutely necessary to ensure equal distribution. The difficulty of purchasing straw to supplement that grown on the farm at a price which would pay to use it for litter and be converted into dung, ought to be a powerful inducement to every arable farmer to extend as much as possible the growth of corn, and by treating the land well, ensure as far as human effort and foresight can, the growth of heavy crops. Much lies in the farmer's power, as each year's exertions give him just all the greater facilities for doing more in the one that Ducceeds. Thus, the more manure he makes this season the more green crops he is enabled to grow, and well-manured green crop puts him not only in a position to increase his breadth next season, but prepares the land without further trouble for the growth of paying crops of corn. Each crop in this way, whether white or green, becomes a preparation for the other, the success of the one depending not perhaps altogether on that of the other, but undoubtedly so in a very great measure. An untoward season may very possibly, under the best management, seriously affect the success of a particular crop, a note-worthy instance of which we have in the root crop of 1868, but such an occurrence is fortunately only occasional, and can only be looked on as an exception to a very general rule. The dung of the different animals which compose the live stock of the farm presenting great diversity of character, it is of the utmost importance that a considerable amount of attention should be given to the thorough mixing of the different qualities of ingredients, as they are daily placed upon the dung-hill. If the cleanings of the dif- ferent stalls, stables, or sheds are thrown down on any spot that may for the moment appear most convenient and left there, without any further trouble being taken, it is obvious that there must be a great want of uniformity in the character of the whole mass, one part being cold iu its nature, and comparatively destitute of manurial constituents, another possessing these in excess, while a great portion may have evolved such a degree of heat as to become dry and comparatively worthless. In a large establishment it is excellent policy to depute one person to see to the proper management of the dung-heap, whose especial duty it will be for a portion of each day to see that horse-dung, the refuse matter of the feeding stalls, and the droppings of the younger and poorer-fed animals is all properly mixed, thus preventing excessive fermenta- tion, and equalising the character of the entire season's accumulation. "Where the dung-heap partakes of the na- ture of a foldyard, being of considerable extent, shedded round, and young cattle and pigs left at liberty to roam about to pick up whatever refuse particles of food that may have been thrown out from the stalls or stables, the mechanical action and abrasion of the more lengthy por- tions of straw becomes highly serviceable to the manure. By the treading of the animals the materials acquire consistency, fermentation is prevented, and thus there is neither loss of substance nor escape of ammonia, two most important considerations. When a yard of this sort is shedded, or has roofs of any sort abutting on it, shoots to carry off the rain-water should never be omitted, as ;n wet weather if these precautions have not been taken .* °- manure becomes deluged with water, and its most valuaole constituents carried off and irretrievably lost. When the manure-heap is so situated that it has not the benefit of the treading of the animals, the neces- sary amount of compression necessary to check fermenta- tion can be accomplished by drawing the carts containing the fresh dung regularly over the heap. If this is not done an excessive state of heat will be unavoidably evolved, to the great depreciation of its value as a manure and consequent pecuniary loss to its owner. By some agri- culturists, straw isestimatedata very low value as a manure, that, in fact, unless on certain heavy clays, on which it acts beneficially by virtue only of the mechanical influence which it exerts on the texture of these soils, it is com- paratively worthless. This feature in the character and 20S THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. action of straw when applied to such land, it is not at present our province to discuss, we have only to do with straw as an ingredient in the manure ; and as such we look upon it as simply invaluable. When saturated with the urine, .of which it imbibes a large quantity, it speedily becomes decomposed, and by admixture with the solid part of the manure, the ammonia is preserved and deterioration of the valuable and life-giving constituents of the manure prevented. When straw is abundant, and can, therefore be used without stint, the urine becomes almost completely absorbed, and being bulky enough to hold it in retention comparatively little will be found to escape. When found from the pressure of the carts, or other influence which has the same effect, that a portion of the valuable liquid is being squeezed out, it can be reabsorbed with rich earth, bog-mould, and other mate- rials of like nature, which being thrown on the heap, adds to its bulk, and at the same time becomes a manure of excellent quality. As a general rule there should be no earthy substances mixed with farm-yard dung other than just so much as is used to make a foundation for the heap, and to put round from time to time for the pur- pose of licking up the moisture that might otherwise escape. Although often done, too many mixtures have the effect of impoverishing the manure, and altering its character to such an extent as to give it more the appear- ance of compost than dung. Now, although this may, and often does, contain a considerable amount of fertilizing matter, and by the application of a large quantity per acre, good crops may be raised, there is yet such an im- mense amount of extra manual and horse-labour, in- volved by the carting out and in of these materials that it becomes exceedingly questionable whether it ultimately returns anything at all in the way of profit. When we take into consideration the fact that from twelve to eighteen tons of pure dung will grow as good a crop as can be obtained from double these weights when the quality has been reduced by admixture, we have proba- bly the strongest argument that could be adduced in favour of keeping the dung pure. With high wages to pay, and heavy charges of every kind on the farmer, any operation that entails a great deal of labour, without being corres- pondingly advantageous, must be rigidly avoided. It does not follow however, that bog-mould, rich headlands, and old banks of earth which may exist on a farm are not to be utilised. On the contrary, these materials can be made eminently useful, by being made into composts with quick-lime, forming excellent top-dressings for impover- ished pastures, or spread and worked iu near the surface on land intended for green crops. The saving of labour in this case is considerable, as whatever cartage is re- quired need only be done once, the compost heaps being formed where intended to be used. This mode of using these extraneous matters recommends itself very strongly on the score of economy ; and when, as we have said, it is worked in to the soil in preparation for green crop, the farm-yard dung can be put on lighter in proportion, and with better results than if a laborious process of mixing in the yards had been carried on during the winter. When a large proportion of earth is used in the making up of the heap, and that is put out in the drills, as it often is, surcharged with moisture, it very frequently cakes, and becomes a hard mass, almost impenetrable to the tender rootlets : the plants consequently make but a feeble and lingering growth, scarcely under ordinary con- ditions of soil and weather attaining that vigour of con- stitution and softness of habit so necessary for the production of a full crop. Small farmers, with but limited facilities for making manure, are most liable to fall into this mistake, and although they may accumulate a great heap of stuff by scraping and paring, there is frequently such a very small proportion of real dung in the mixture as to make it so valueless as to be scarcely worth the trouble of carting to the fields. Much has been said aud written from time to time about the immense advantages to be derived from having a roof over the manure-yard, so that the most valuable fertilizing properties which it contains may be prevented from being carried off by the rains of winter. It is obvious that very few farmeries will ever possess a covered-in manure pit, and that such a system must be the exception and not the rule ; and yet dung of excellent quality will still be made, and that without difficulty when the proper materials are used, and a very little trouble taken in hollowing-out the centre of the site of the heap, so as to retain its own juice, and by leading off the rain-water. It does not follow that because a dung-heap is covered over that the manure made under it must consequently be of the very best quality. Some of the most wretched stuff we have ever seen was out of a covered pit : so dry, sapless, and fire-fanged, that the men could scarcely stand long enough in the dust to get a load filled, and yet there was ample arrangements for conveying water into the cave, and a flexible tube for spreading it regularly over the surface. The theory of this manure pit was excellent, and the arrangements for order and cleanliness which it permitted all that could be desired, the yard being exca- vated, arched over, and trap-doors in convenient positions for throwing down the manure as it was cleared from the stables and stalls. An arch-way, by which the carts could be backed-in, completed the arrangement ; and neat and well the whole thing looked, and does look to this day ; but we think the want of compression fatal to the production of first-class manure in any such structure, besides the loss of bulk from violent heating, even although that should occur only in parts of the heap. No farmer can afford to lose sight of the necessity for delaying fermentation in his manure heap, until within a few weeks of the time when it is required for use, so that there may be no loss of substance, nor escape of the ammoniacal gases per- mitted. When a farm is opened up by good roads, the carting out of the manure can be conducted at every con- venient opportunity during the winter, and placed in the corners of those fields where it is intended to be applied. This greatly facilitates the spring operations, a large breadth of a field being got over with but little help in comparison when the manure is on the spot. Fermenta- tion is easily induced by turning and mixing the materials, every lump being carefully broken, and the drier portions of the mass spread thinly over those which are moister or richer looking. If uniformity of character has not been previously obtained, it can be managed now with the exercise of a very little attention on the part of those en- gaged in turning, and should on no account be neglected. A fortnight or so after this operation has been performed, putrefaction will have become so far advanced, as to per- mit of the manure being used, and if the cattle have been well fed, it will now be a dark and unctuous-looking com- pound, containing in an eminent degree all those elements which combine to sustain vegetable life. While the value of manure is universally acknowledged, it has never- theless to be admitted that its collection in large quantity is a most difficult matter — -that, in fact, above all other things, the supply is limited, and not even to be obtained in many situations by any expenditure of capital, however liberal. The farmer is thus in a great measure thrown on his own resources for the necessary supply of this in- dispensable material ; and if he goes about it with energy, and has sufficient capital to invest in the purchase of stock with which to make it, success is not only within the range of probability, but absolutely certain. Abund- ance of food to the various animals of the farm is the only source through which dung, rich in manurial con- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 209 stituents can be obtained, and the more nutritious its quality, the more abundant will be the elements of fertility restored to the land in the shape of manure. \Yheu the food is plentiful, and of as good quality as the farm will supply, the system does not absorb its nutritious pro- perties so fully, and hence a considerable portion of fer- tilizing matter, both phosphatic and nitrogenous, escapes from the body to again enter into new combinations, and become the basis of future crops. We avoid dwelling upon the enriching effect of oilcakes and other concen- trated foods of a like nature, as few farmers of limited means care about laying out much money on feeding sub- stances, from which they are not to be directly gainers, but must look to the manure to reimburse them for their increased expenditure. Portable manures suit the or- dinary farmer as a means of increasing his supply of farm- yard manure much better than feeding stuffs, as by their use he can grow such a large quantity of green crops for a year or two, as to lay the foundation for a regular and nearly sufficient supply of the more valuable and indis- pensable commodity in future years. In this light the portable fertilizers of the present day must be looked upon as an inestimable boon to the modern farmer, and those who have the means of purchasing them, and do not do so, certainly stand in their own light, as they neg- lect a prolific source of increase. This is more particularly the case with those manures which have bone for their base, and are consequently rich in phosphates, as their good effects are not confined to the crop to which they were immediately applied, but reach to several of those which follow. The immense and yearly-increasing de- mand for phosphatic rather than those ammoniacal fer- tilizers, which were formerly such favourites, shows that agriculturists as a body are fully alive to the value of superphosphate, or indeed any preparation of bone in the successful culture of most crops. The fact of their almost universally purchasing guano for the purpose of mixing with superphosphate at home, and so knowing what porportion of each they are using, and judg- ing for themselves as to the results shows a decided step in the right direction, and we may safely add, that the farmer can scarcely spend his money in a better way for his own advantage. To avoid risk however, portable manures should never be permitted to take precedence of farmyard-dung in the field, but should ever occupy a posi- tion subservient to the latter, that being its true place, and when kept there, there is no danger of injury from the permanent resources of the soil becoming exhausted or even trespassed on. Most farmers have it in then- power to make dung all through the year by following out the system of house-feeding in summer as well as in winter. Considering the beneficial results which are ob- tained from soiling it is surprising it is not more fol- lowed as the supply of food is just as easy to procure during the one season as the other, and probably of the two more so. When once a farmer has reduced house- feeding during the year to a perfect system he will be very unwiDing to give it up or permit any other arrange- ments to interfere with his preparations for providing the supplies of food necessary to keep up the succession. At first there will be more trouble in getting sufficient litter to serve for such a lengthened period, but as we have previously noticed, this difficulty disappears after a year or two's perseverance the system of summer-house feed- ing being of itself the fruitful source of a greatly in- creased supply. There will always be portions of food left by the cattle, which helps the bedding so far ; waste grass cut from the sides of roads, fences, or plantations, all serve to eke out the season, and when saturated with urine makes capital dung. The succulence of the sum- mer food tends largely to increase the urinary secretions, and decomposition being thus hastened the roughest materials are soon rotted and reduced to the condition suitable for application to the soil, J. S. BREEDING AND FEEDING SHEEP, A lecture was recently delivered to the members of the East Penwith Agricultural Exchange, Camborne, and subsequently at the St. Agnus Institution, by Mr. J. Sydney Davey, the largest and most enterprising agriculturist in the district, who said : According to your request, I have the honour of bringing be- fore you this evening a few remarks respecting sheep. I pro- pose to direct your attention to what appears to me the most economical method of breeding and feeding of sheep. The breeds of sheep cultivated in this country may be divided ac- cording to the character of the fleece, viz., into three classes, " long-wool," " intermediate," and " short wool." The long •wool comprise the Leicester, Border Leicester, Lincoln, Cots- wold, Romney Marsh, black-face Scotch, Exmoors, Dartmoor, South Hams, and the Bampton breeds, also the Herdwick. The intermediate class includes the Dorset, the Cheviots, and the Welsh : in addition we have the recently formed Oxford Down, a cross between the Hampshire Down and the Cots- wold, and the Hybrid from the Hampshire Down and the Leicester. The short wool comprise several very important breeds, as the Shropshire Down, Hampshire Down, South Down, Byeland and Shetland. It is probable that all sheep sprang from a common type, the great variety we see resulting from food and climate. It is most important that we select our sheep suitable to our soil and climate, and when we have decided on the breed we intend to produce, the next business is to get the same, without advising the outlay of extravagant sums, such as are often paid for particular families. I most strongly advise you to purchase well-bred stock, and not to pick up the first sheep that are offered for sale, without a knowledge of how they are bred. We run the risk, by such a practice, of starting our flock with a lot of mongrels. There is not the least doubt that we ought to be most particular in regard to blood ; for instance, if we have a pure-bred flock, we can cross the breed for ourselves if we wish it, and know what we are about ; but if we have a mongrel flock they will breed back, and we can never have an even crop of lambs : then we ask ourselves, How is this ? what is the reason my flock is not so good as Mr. So-and-so's, I treat them just the same as he does ? Well, we will now come to the point of decision, and my idea is this — that the Leicesters go under the same category as the Shorthorn cattle, viz., ^that they require rich land, good victuals, and dry climate, and at the same time they come to maturity early, and, when slaughtered, weigh well, but their "fat is fat" and "lean lean." The Oxford Down and cross-breds are, to a certain extent, similar to the Hereford cattle, viz., that they must have land of fair quality, and not too much wet. Then, again, 1 place the Downs with Devon cattle, viz., that you can keep three instead of two of the former breeds just mentioned on the same food, bnt they do not come to maturity so early. Some (especially the Shropshires) can stand a wet climate, will thrive well on a poorer soil, and, when fit for the butcher, will weigh well, having much internal fat ; the fat and lean mottled and intermixed. The next point is, which breed is most suitable for our county ? In the first place, I prefer short-wools to long-wools, for this reason — that our cli- mate being so humid, a long-wool sheep lags about with an im- mense quantity of water, and his coat is like a sponge ; and after hard rain you go into the field and see him stuck up in a corner with Iris coat parted in the middle like a woman's hair, and of course the wet penetrates to the skin, the poor animal gets a cold, a chill, inflammation, and dies. A short-wool Q 2 210 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. sheep does not care the least for wet weather, hut goes on feed- ing just the same, gives a shake and he is dry. I consider his coat like a " nigger's" head, only white wool instead of black, and no wet can touch, his skin ; probably if it did in the biped, it would not be much amiss. I will now tell you the treatment of my sheep. T can onty talk of what I have done, and not what I am going to do. I have certainly decided that short-wool sheep are more suitable to this county (Cornwall) than long-wools, and of the short-wool breeds I prefer the Shropshire Downs. The principal reasons leading to this choice are, first and foremost, the greater suitability to a damp climate ; their hardy, thriving, and prolific character ; heavier weight both of fleece and carcase, and equally valuable meat. They are, in my opinion, the best short-wool breed for a rent- paying farmer. Probably some of you know " Tywarnhayle Farm," and are aware that, 30 years since, it was a common, growing only heather. The quality of the soil, although grateful for improvement, is by no means first-rate, here there are 200 acres arable and 100 acres] grass, and I keep 200 breeding ewes. Now I am most particular in regard to blood, symmetry, character, and constitution. I draft every sheep myself, and those reserved for breeding are numbered from 1 consecutively up to 200, and as each sheep is numbered it is entered in the stock book, with her particular blood and cha- racter. We always know their blood by certain marks. All the ewes have a hole punched in the left ear, the wethers in the right ear, and the rams half a hole in the right ear ; when the ewes are drafted they receive a hole in the right ear, and according to their parentage they have small nicks on the top and bottom part of their ears signifying their blood. The rams are also marked in a similar manner. For 200 ewes I keep four rams, and put one ram to a (lock of 50. The rams are selected with a view to correct the defects in the flock, and the ewes are drawn accordingly ; the result is, if we have exercised good judgment, that we, every year, render our flock more even and matchy. I prefer for the rams not to have more than 50 ewes, as there is such a thing as overwork, hence the reason of weak lambs. If, however, we happen to hire a valuable ram he may do more work provided he is kept up, and the ewes stocked. The stocks consist of an upright frame with hinged top, the opening corresponding with the ewe's neck ; an alteration of the ground, being lowered on one side and raised on the other, provides for every sized sheep. As the ewes are served, their numbers are entered into the book so that the shepherd knows, when the yeaning time advances, what ewes to pick out to receive a little extra food and further attention. 1 prefer during the tupping season to change the ewes daily ; for instance, grass one day and rape another, &c, and by the change of food and the flush of blood they come in use earlier, and with more regularity. I put the rams with the ewes on the first of September, so as to get the crop of lambs in February. After all the ewes are served, they are put to- gether into one flock, and allowed to live on the stubbles and eat down stale grass up to Christmas. If any of the ewes seem to be in lower condition than the rest, they should be drafted and have a little better food, as it is a great item to have them regular in condition, especially for lambing. They are then removed to a grass-field by night, and allowed during the day to run behind the folded sheep, and have some pulped food twice a day. (The nature of this food I will explain when I describe the feeding sheep.) As the ewes drop their lambs in February, about a fortnight before their times are out they are brought to another grass-field near the home- stead, and there have some pulped food twice a day, with rock salt (which none of the stock on the farm are ever without, except pigs). This improved diet puts them in good heart, gives streugth, and flushes the milk. A small paddock, or " lambing-pen," of two acres, is provided, with a number of sheds six feet square ; the ewes are usually placed in their pens a few nights before they lamb, so as to get them accus- tomed to their new abode. The period of gestation is gene- rally uniform, and averages about 22 weeks. After lambing, which I leave entirely to nature, without using any artificial assistance unless in a case of very great need, as I think that " too many cooks spoil the broth," she is penned in her house with a small trough of pulped food, and a half-pound oilcake with a little bran and malt screenings daily. As soon as the ewe lias lambed, the shepherd trims any wool that may be around her teats, otherwise a young lamb is apt to make a mistake and suck the wool instead of the teat ; if it does happen to swallow any, it will immediately cause a stoppage, hence the death of the lamb. The lambs, when ten days old, have their tails amputated at the first joint : some gentlemen, probably, think that I am wrong in this, especially in so hu- mid a county ; very likely some may say that they like long tails for shelter, but as my lambs have their tails cut when so young, they are brought up in the way they should go, and with their short tails are always neat and clean. After the amputation of their tails, the ewes and lambs are then placed in a fresh grass-field, with a temporary lean-to shed from the hedge, for shelter in case of heavy rain. The ewes still have their half-pound of cake per day, from which the lambs benefit, and also the land ; as the lambs advance to eat the cake themselves, lamb hurdles are fixed in one corner of the field where they can reach the cake without the ewes. The ewes and lambs are then folded on rye-grass, and remain on grass, &c, until weaning time. I omitted to make a re- mark respecting my shepherd: I think that all good men ought to be encouraged, and I consider a good shepherd one of the most, if not the most important man a farmer can have on his farm, as he has so much capital entrusted to his care. My plan is this, viz., that if I keep 200 breeding ewes, and get 300 lambs, my shepherd receives £5 ; in fact, he gets one shil- ling for every lamb he rears above the number of ewes, up to weaning time ; and as ali operations, such as tailing, castra- tion, ear marking, &c, take place before the lambs are weaned, they are at the shepherd's risk, which makes him give further attention and have a greater interest. As soon as the lambs are weaned they are all bled in the nose, which I find very beneficial : they lick and swallow the blood, which acts as an aperient. They are then placed in sheds, with an allowance of cake, commencing with from two to four ounces a day, and gradually increasing the quantity as they grow. I think it preferable to amputate the lambs' tails at ten days old, ear-mark at two months, and castrate at three months, doing the operations by degrees, so as not to torture the poor animal too much at once, nor risk the loss of blood. The ewes, of course, after the lambs are weaned, are dried off, and milked down once now and then to keep back any hardness or inflammination of the udder ; they, the ewes, are allowed a fortnight or three weeks after weaning to recruit their strength before shearing time, when they are again drafted. The lambs, in the beginning of October, com- mence their winter career of folding on arable land and pulped food, consisting of turnips, straw, and a little hay chaff. I will now endeavour to explain to you the nature of the pulped food. In the first instance, we will take the reason of folding ; 1 find, and I dare say that several of my brother farmers have come to the same conclusion, that labour is a great item in our expenditure. Now every penny ought to be saved ! " Thrift" should be the farmer's watch-word, and economy the order of the day. In folding we have this ad- vantage, especially in the off-laud, instead of carting all our roots to the homestead to he consumed by beasts, and then carted back again in the shape of manure, which is a deal of manual and horse labour, we consume our crop where it grew, and, in order thereto, have a house of about ten feet long and six feet wide, on wheels which will lock under. This house, which costs about £15, contains one of Hornsby's pulpers, precedes the fold, and is removed daily, or every se- cond day, according to circumstances. The roots are pulled, say a month's stock at a time, topped, and placed in conve- nient heaps, covered with a little straw, and then re-covered with earth to keep them dry, leaving an air-hole at the top to allow any superfluous gas to escape. The heaps are placed in rows across the field so as to allow the fold to be shifted at convenient intervals. 1 prefer pulping to slicing, for the fol- lowing reasons : the roots are so intermixed with the chaff that the sheep cannot separate them, and must, therefore, consume a considerable quantity of chaff; hence we can feed with a much smaller quantity of roots, and make the animal eat a much larger quantity of chaff. The crop lasts longer, much more manure is left, and the object for which we grow the crop — viz., the enriching of the land — carried to the greatest advantage. It is well known that a ewe will consume, if al- lowed to feed ad libitum, at least a fourth part of its own live weight of turnips per diem — say nearly 301bs. of roots per day, of which 9-10ths are watei ; this food, during winter, is often very little above freezing point, and it follows that much heat will be ah'sorbied, and, consequently, food wasted, in THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 211 raising this volume of water to the temperature of the animal's body. By water within and often water without, the tempe- rature of the body must be greatly reduced, and we arc not surprised that with such an unscientific mode of feeding, the animal cannot maintain its condition ; therefore, as the order of the day is also that " time is money," we must not delay further, but take the common sense view and add the dry with the liquid, as in the pulping system. The method pursued is as follows : The sheep are folded according to sex ; the wethers and draft hoggs in one pen, and the hoggsforbreeding purposes adjoining, surrounded by netting, which is cheaper than hur- dles in this county. The house on wheels is drawn near the heaps of roots, as before mentioned, and for 300 folded sheep, two girls, one at 8d. and the other at 6d. per day, commence pulping the roots iu the morning and store it back with a layer of chaff (consisting of two-thirds straw and one-third hay), and then a layer of pulped roots with a little malt screenings intermixed : the next morning, when this food is required, instead of giving the sheep a cold, frosty turnip, iu a frosty morning, on an empty stomach, which is certainly con- trary to nature, they have their pulped food, with the juices of the formerly cold turnip absorbed by the naturally dry chaff ; and this mixture produces a suitable warm food for the animal, which is readily eaten, evidently with a relish. The sheep till their bellies quickly, lie down and rest con- tentedly. They are fed three times a day — viz., 7 a.m., 12 noon, and 5 o'clock, p.m., duriug the winter. The last season (we all know it was not the most favourable we have had), having had great difficulty in getting sheep up to weight, I had the pleasure of trying different quantities of artificial food. Well, 1 divided my wethers into two pens, all feeding on the same quantity and quality of pulped food. To one pen I gave § lb. each of artificial food per day, and to the other £ lb. per day. The former I had the gratification of selling at 15 months old, 24 lbs. per quarter, at G|d. per lb., without their coats ; or 52s. per head. The other lot, at the same time, which had § lb. of cake per day, came in at 31 lbs. per quar- ter ; which, at 6jd. per lb., would be G7s. per head. So it shows that the extra \ lb. of cake per day will pay well, not only by the increase of weight, but the saving of time and the addi- tion to the quality of the manure. It is now the fashion not to have very heavy mutton. My idea is to allow the feeding- sheep £ lb. of cake or artificial food per day, and sell them off iu March or April, at about 12 mouths old, without their coats, at 21 lbs. per quarter, or with their coats, according to choice, which can be easily accomplished, but of course it re- quires care and attention, the same as any other business. Probably some gentleman present will think this system a great bother and trouble, independently of the expense, as it lias not been much practised in Cornwall. We chiefly graze our sheep on grass, with a few turnips, and sell them off about Christmas, at from 20 to 22 lbs. per quarter ; therefore time aud manure, to a certain extent, are lost. We all know that it is a very important matter to get such suitable artificial food as will assimilate in the animal's stomach. If we give too much of one sort of food it causes a surfeit, and does more harm than good. The great secret iu feeding is the occasional change of food, and also cleanliness ; for instance, it has been found by experiment that Clbs. of good linseed-cake will produce lib. of flesh, and 8 lbs. of beau-meal will produce 1 lb. of tlesh ; but by a proper mixture of these two foods it will be seen that 1$ lb. of linseed-cake aud 2^ lbs. of bean-meal, well mixed, making 4 lbs., will produce 1 lb. of flesh ; and also, 2 £ lbs. of linseed-cake and a \ lb. of bean-meal, making 3 lbs., will pro- duce 1 lb. of flesh ; aud again, \ lb. of linseed-cake and 3j lbs. of bean-meal, making 3£ lbs., will produce 1 lb. of flesh ; hence you see the advantage of the mixture of the cake and bean- meal. I will now endeavour to give you the cost of the fold- ing on pulped food, charging the roots, labour, artificial food, and the hay and straw chaff. Iu the first place, we take the lambs at the market value, and commence our winter fold : Dr. To 300 lambs at 25s £375 0 0 „ Artificial food, | lb. a day for 180 days, at Id. a lb.— lis. 3d. a head 168 15 0 „ Labour — including one shepherd, two girls, and donkey and cart, at Is. Od. per head for six months ... ... 22 10 0 „ l.\-cwt. of hay chaff at £3 per ton — 4s. 6d. ahead 67 10 0 „ lj-cwt. of straw chaff at £1 per ton — Is. 6d. ahead 22 10 0 Balance for turnips £656 5 0 146 5 0 £802 10 0 Cr. By 300 sheer;, 21 lb. per quarter, at 6£d. a pound— 45s. 6d. 682 10 0 „ 300 fleeces at 8s 120 0 0 £802 10 0 Besides the advantage of the sheeps' manure to pay for the turnip crop — supposing we allow 12 lbs. per head daily, we have consumed 300 tons of roots, which have paid us, in- dependently of the manure, 9s. 9d. per ton ; we deduct 9d. per head, or per ton, for casualties, as sheep consume one ton per head in the six months, we have then 9s. per ton for our turnips. Could we have made as much by carting them to the homestead and taking back manures ? There is not the least doubt that if we studied a little more the mixture of foods, we should be thoroughly repaid for our labour. I think that the pulping system is especially valuable this season, owing to the scarcity of the root crops, and as we have had an unusually dry summer, we must not be surprised if we have a very wet and difficult winter to contend with, thereby requiring a liberal allowance of chaff to absorb the additional moisture of the roots, so as to prevent scour ; we ought, therefore, to be prepared in case of scour. If they have it, I am given to understand that a mixture of acorn meal, mixed with their food, is a sure cure. THE USE OF YOUNG MALE ANIMALS. Let us consider this by a brief illustration. Good authorities estimate that one ounce of semen requires and absorbs forty ounces of arterial blood for its production. If a yearling bull, for instance, be used with two cows per day, such use of him would probably cause the diversion of forty ounces of blood daily from its natural office or function of generally and equally nourishing every part of the entire physical structure, to supply the unnatural drain caused by the premature use of the organs of propagation. If an animal consumes three per cent, in food in proportion to his own weight, and seven-eighths of the food pass from the system in the form of dejections and excretions, not more than enough to form blood for natural nutrition and growth can naturally be supposed to be converted into blood for this purpose. Is it not a fair inference, then, and highly probable, that the abstraction of forty ounces of blood daily from the vital current of a young immature yearling animal, would divert half the nourishment derived from its day's supply of food from its natural purpose of nourishing his body, to the premature, and, to young animals, unnecessary, special work of propagation ? In the light of such facts how can it be supposed that year- ling bulls, or other //^mature young animals, can endure the diversion, by being used with only two to four animals of the other sex, aud sustain the loss of from forty to eighty ounces of blood daily, which necessarily follows their being so em- ployed from two to four times per day, for two or three days in a week ? Can any one rationally doubt that their growth is thus either diminished or suspended, according to the extent of their use or abuse at so immature a 6tage of their age and growtli ? That immature or growing animals have virile power does not prove that it is natural or proper to prematurely exercise it. This power is dependent upon, and in a manner grows out of, the maturity of the general muscular structure and that of the digestive and vascular systems. Virile power 212 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. canuot, then, be mature till the other parts and functions from which it is derived are matured. To use an animal for propa- gating before he is full grown, is, then, to use him^ranaturely, and develop one of his functions precociously at the expense and to the injury of his general nutrition, and to impede his advance towards maturity. Depending upon and growing out of the general structural parts and power, the exceptional, widely intermittent function of propagation, can not be fully developed till the time, or after, the general structure is full grown or completely formed. The exercise of the function of propagation is therefore always, and at all times — except the race should be likely to be lost for want of it — precocious and premature as to any growing animal, or till animals are full grown. To exercise a power merely because it happens to exist in a dormant or incipient state, is to abuse it. The human and animal brain are of the same nature, and derived from the same sources as the propagating power ; and, as is well known, do not mature till the bodily structure does, if so early. You cannot have a mature brain on a young growing body for many reasons, but particularly because all the force generated in the system is required to be generally distributed all through it, to support the general growing process. ]3oth brain work, on any scale, and the function of propagation, are special functions, requiring «»usual concentration of force or power ; and when exercised in either case it is at the expense and to the hindrance of the general and usual course of nutrition. This relative connection of the brain is the best analogy on this question, because the analogy depends upon the same powers and is drawn from the same source. It amounts therefore to collate- ral proof of the correctness of these views. Different classes of animals mature, or make their full growth, at different ages. The age at which a horse matures may be six years ; a sheep may complete its growth in three or four years, probably ; cattle stock probably require four to five years to attain full growth or maturity ; certain not less than four years. The natural function of the blood during this growing stage of their existence is that of adding to, and not subtracting from, their growth ; and that animals should not be employed to propagate till they are full grown, is shown by several facts. Growth involves a daily or continued increase of size and weight, which involves a gradual increase, according to size, in the consumption of food and the quantity of blood made from it ; but as the work of propagation reduces ths power to digest and form blood, and as all the blood young animals can make naturally is required and used in forming growth, it is clear that all young animals have their growth suspended if used to propagate. This shows that it is unnatural and injurious to use animals in propagating before they are full grown. On the other hand, when an animal is full grown and its size no longer increases, it consumes less food than while growing in size and weight ; and this because, instead of daily increas- ing in weight, it has only to maintain its mature size, without muscular or structural increase. But its power of digestion is not reduced nor impaired by its maturity of growth ; it has still the capacity to consume and digest as much food, and form as much blood, as when growing, if need be. That it does not do so regularly is because there is in its system no regular use or requirement for as much nourishing matter as the body, before maturity, absorbed in growing. The full grown animal ha6, then, an excess or reserve of digestive power, and power to form blood when emergency naturally may require. This re- serve power is a provision of nature for natural and special emergencies. The propagation and continuation of the species is a special emergency, arising after long periods of intermission, and full grown or mature animals, and. only such, are provided by nature with reserved power, adapted and evidently designed to be em- ployed on such infrequent natural occasions. On the contrary, as to this reserved power to digest or form blood, young ani- mals have no such reserved force. All the blood they make each day is daily required and used up as fast as it is made in adding to their general growth, and they eat more, according to weight, than full-grown animals, because they require more blood for general nutrition. They use blood as fast as they can make it, and have no reserve power, as full-grown animals have, to make more blood in a day than they consume in grow- ing in the same period of time. The marked distinction then between growing or immature and full-grown or mature ani- mals consist in this : — A growing animal has no surplus power to digest more food or make more blood than it daily employs in growth. It has no excess of power above what is consumed in the constant daily process of nutrition. On the other hand, from the day an animal has done growing, its power to digest and form blood begins to exceed its requirement of blood for the regular process of nutrition. This excess of reserved power remains during the vigorous stage of animal life ; and that this and cognate facts show the natural design that only mature animals are adapted to propagate their species, seems to be clearly indicated and established. — J. W.ChkB.s.i^inCoimtry Gentleman. CATTLE MARKETS AND FAIRS IN "WORCESTERSHIRE. At a meeting of the Worcestershire Chamber of Agricul- ture, Mr. George Whitaker the Chairman said the Town Council of Worcester had asked the opinion of that Chamber which were the best days .for holding fairs, and whether these lairs should be held on days that they had hitherto been held upon, as settled some thirty years ago, or whether they should be held on a Monday or Tuesday every fortnight. Since the formation of that Chamber, the Council had never been divided in opinion on any subject as it had been on this point, and therefore they were anxious to take the views of the farmers generally as to which would be most conducive to the interest of the agriculturists and of this town of Worcester. The Town Council of Worcester had decided not any longer to demand the Id. in the £ on stock sales, and it was clearly their duty and to their interest to do all they could to support the fairs in this city. What was proposed to do was to take the opinion of the meeting as to which were the best days for holding the fairs, and he would like to hear the opinion of any gentleman in the room. They had received two memorials signed by a great number of persons giving expression to different opinions on the matter, which the Se- cretary would read. Mr. Buck then read a memorial from the butchers, cattle dealers, and salesmen residing in Birmingham and neighbour- hood, stating that they considered the fortnightly market too much, and recommending that the market be held on a Mon- day, so as not to clash with the Birmingham market. This memorial was signed by upwards of a hundred, and the sender said that he could obtain five hundred more signatures if re- quired. The second memorial which Mr. Blick read was signed by over sixty butchers and other of this city, and they prayed that the fortnightly market should be continued. In answer to a question, Mr. Blick said the latter memorial was signed by butchers and dealers. (A voice : " And auctioneers I should think.") Mr. Lakin said he had given a great deal of attention to the question of the holding of the Worcester fairs and markets. On the occasion of the first establishment of the cattle market his father and himself took a great deal of interest in the matter. They then went to Birmingham to ascertain the feeling there, and they consulted from time to time with the farmers ; and they were decidedly of opinion — and he for one could see no reason to alter that opinion — that monthly fairs were the best. The monthly fairs had always been well attended by dealers and farmers, and he thought that the general feeling was that the monthly fair was a great deal the best, and there would always be a good supply of stock. He would be very sorry to see a difference of opinion about the question. There seemed to be a difference of opinion as to the day on which the fair should be held. Some thought Monday was the best, while some were in favour of Tuesday ; but, for his own part, he thought Monday would be best. He would propose that the market be held once a month, and that the old Saturday's market be continued. He did not propose to THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 21* interfere with the fair of the 19th September, for that was the best fair. He bad had to audit the cattle market accounts for the county, and the receipts were £60 or £70 on the 19th of September, whereas they were very much less on other occa- sions— in fact, the fair on that day produced ten times as much as on any other. His motion would be that the fair be held the first Monday in the month, except iu the month of Sep- tember, when it sliQuld be held on the 19th, and in the month of December, when it should be held on the second Monday. Mr. Rimell had great pleasure in seconding the motion. He considered they ought to support the Saturday market all they could, and he was also of opinion that cattle being brought to the city was a great deal of benelit to the citi- zens. There was nothing like having a good market on the Saturday, because then if the farmers had any money to spate they had time to spend it ; whereas, if it was a fortnightly market, the farmers only came into the city for a few hours and did not lay out any of their money. It was very requisite to keep up the Saturday market in cattle and corn, and they knew if they took off one of its branches it would injure the rest ; if they drove the cattle trade to Birmingham, which was now one of the largest cattle markets, the com would go as well. The farmers would take a sample of corn in their pocket and would not attend Worcester. He considered that it would be a very great injury to Worcester if they let their cattle trade go away. Mr. Guest said he had promised to propose an amendment to the resolution proposed by Mr. Lakin. With regard to the holding of the fairs, he was of opinion that it was a great convenience, and he had brought a memorial from all the butchers in Worcester, in which it was stated that it was a very great convenience to them to have two markets each month for the purchasing of fat stock. He also believed it to be, not only a great convenience to the butchers, but aiso a great advantage to the farmers, because, when they held fairs, the butchers not having a place to keep stock in for a month's supply, they were obliged to go to Tewkesbury and Gloucester to purchase stock, whereas with a fortnightly market they could purchase all they required. With regard to the day for holding the market, he thought Monday would be the best, and for this reason : The auction sales did not commence till eleven o'clock in the day, so that if they got their stock in the market by ten or eleven o'clock that was quite early enough, and therefore there would be no necessity to drive cattle on Sunday. If they held their market on a Monday there was no reason why the Birmingham butchers should not attend it. He proposed, " That this Chamber is of opinion that the ex- isting fairs, except that held on the 19th September, should be abolished, and in lieu thereof a market for the sale of cattle should be held on every alternate Monday." Mr. Walker begged to second the amendment. The fort- nightly market he felt was a great convenience to the small men — men with small capital, who otherwise had to go about the country buying fat stock, giving large prices, and not al- ways paying (laughter). Mr. J. Webb supported the amendment, and he did so for several reasons. The proposer of the original resolution went back to a time when it was quite a right thing to have one great fair in a month, but it would be going back if they re- verted to the old system. At Hereford they had a market every Wednesday, and at Tewkesbury they had a fortnightly fair. If they went back to the old system they would have butchers coming to their farms and buying fifteen sheep, taking five and leaving the other ten. He had spoken to Mr. Hollies, and he saw no difficulty in a fortnightly fair if it was held on a Monday. Mr. Hollies said, " Monday will do very well." With regard to what the seconder of the resolution had said, a fortnightly market would not interfere with the Saturday markets ; they did not wish to see that done away with. Mr. Rimell did not say anything in favour of a monthly fair. If they had the monthly fair he should send his stock to Tewkes- bury, where he would get a better average price. Mr. Nicholls : Hereford and Tewkesbury fairs are always held on market days. Mr, Hoetom said they must remember that when the old fairs were in force they had periodical sales in different places in the county, and he thought if they held a fortnightly market they could do away with those sales, which would be a great advantage to the Worcester market. If they brought their stock to Worcester once a fortnight they would get a better price, and the receipts of the Markets Committee would be greater. Sometimes the monthly markets were six weeks apart, and if they brought stock to a monthly market and prices were not good, knowing that they would have to keep it another six weeks, they let it go for what it would fetch, whereas he had no doubt that if they could bring it in again iu a fortnight they would keep it over till then, and so get an enhanced price, lie saw by the papers that at the last market one firm in the city sold stock of the value of £1,712, and he thought that anybody who had been to the two last markets would say they did not want for customers, not only local men, but up-couutrymen as well. Mr. Cobeey suggested that Mr. Guest should alter the resolution, so that the market should be held on the first and third Monday in every month ; and Mr. Guest adopted this suggestion. Mr. Cobley desired to impress upon the gentlemen present the very great importance of being unanimous, and not to have two parties, one advocating one day and another a different one, as the Town Council would not know how to serve them. He was in the habit of attending the Worcester fairs pretty regularly, and he bought and sold stock at them, and it appeared to him that the fortnightly market was very much more preferable to the old principle of holding a fair sometimes once a month and once in five weeks. Circumstances had very much changed since the time of the old fairs ; the population had increased, wealth had increased, and the demand fo: food had increased, the supply had increased, and it was highly necessary that they should increase the number of their markets also. The speaker was about to give his opinion respecting other matters connected with the market, when he was called to order by the Chair- man, who told him that the Council would consider any sug- gestion thrown out by Mr. Cobley, who then concluded by expressing the hope that the fortnightly fair would be adopted. Mr. Hudson wished to suggest that they should have one fair for store stock and another fair for fat stock; but the cries of " No, no," which greeted the speaker's observations, pre- vented them being heard. Mr. Lakin briefly replied, and the Chairman, after having requested those who did not belong to the Chamber not to vote, proceeded to take a show of hands ; but he not being able to get at the result it was decided to take the names. When this had been done the Chairman stated that there ap- peared to be 69 for the monthly fair and 48 for the fortnightly, which gave 21 majority in favour of the monthly. This decision would liave to be submitted to the Town Council for their con- sideration, and the Town Council would do as they thought best. (A voice : " I hope the Town Council will refuse to adopt it.") The Chairman afterwards moved, " That the discussions which have taken place during the last twelve months upon the subject of local taxation have confirmed the opinion already expressed by this Chamber i That the present system of rating is unequal and unjust, and demands the immediate attention of the Legislature." Mr. E. W. Knight, M.P., seconded the motion. The de- tails, he was of opinion, should be left to their representatives in Parliament, and they must send men to Parliament who would look after their interests. He did not say that they should inquire if they were Whigs or Tories, but if they would assist to turn out any Government who would not take up the subject. He considered that the counties were misrepresented unless they had members who would pledge themselves to vote for a vote of want of confidence in any Government that did not take up the subject. The county members sometimes pre- ferred their party to the farmers' interest, and they could not be called good county members. The motion was carried. Lord Lyttelton did not agree with the two resolutions that would be submitted to the Cential Chamber, and his im- pression was that it would be best to adopt the amendment which would be proposed, and so avoid going into any detail. His lordship then proposed the resolution, which was as fol- lows : — " That every effort should be made to give effect to the report of the Lords Committee on Poor Rates in the year 1850, ■ 214 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Lord Portman, chairman : ' That the relief of the poor is a national object towards which every description of property ou^ht justly to be called upon to contribute.' " Sir. Wiiitehair seconded the motion, and, in doing so, he said he considered the unequal way in which land was taxed was the ground-work of all their grievances. He gave in- stances that had come under his own observation in the Broms- grove Union, of six of thelargert manufacturers, whose works contributed the largest number of paupers in the Union, while together their works were assessed to the poor rate at £50. He contended that if the £330,000,000— the wealth of the country as calculated by the Income-tax — paid its just pro- portion, instead of their having to pay a 2s. poor rate they would only have to pay 6d. The resolution was carried. Mr. Varden moved, " That, having examined the resolu- tions and ameudment which are to be discussed at the Cen- tral Chamber of Agriculture this Chamber is of opinion that the amendment embodies the course of poMcy which should be pursued under present circumstances." Mr. Dorrell (Bishampton) seconded the motion, which was carried. ROAD MANAGEMENT, At the meeting of the Hexham Tamers' Club, Mr. R. Wallis, the new president, read the following paper : The measures necessary for affording the means of travel- ling with rapidity and safety, and transporting goods at low rates of carriage, form an essential part of the domestic arrangements of every people. Roads are, in point of fact, necessary ingredients, and the first change that every rude country must undergo in emerging from poverty and bar- barism. It is, therefore, one of the most important duties of a Government to enact such laws and provide such means as are requisite for the structure and maintenance of well-made roads throughout the territory under its authority. After giving protection to persons and property, a Government can bestow no greater benefit on a nation than the improvement of its roads and harbours. To establish perfect roads throughout a country is an object of no small importance as regards public economy. In proportion as roads are level and hard will there be a saving of horse-power, less food will be consumed, and fewer servants will be wanted. The expenses of travelling and the charge for the carriage of goods will be lower. Being fully impressed with the importance of the subject, I have ventured — I tear very imperfectly — to bring it before this meeting for its consideration and discussion. I propose, in the first place, to consider as briefly as I can the different modes of road-making that have been adopted by those who have had the management of roads ; and, secondly, to con- sider the different systems of legislation for the making and maintaining of roads. I will not touch upon the subject of railways, which have done so much for the trade and com- merce of this country, and in which this country has taken such a decided lead — indeed, railways are entirely of English birth — though certainly in many instances, from the enor- mous expense incurred in their construction, they have not been remunerative to the shareholders. Economy of time in a country like this is, unquestionably, of immense importance ; but the heavy expense (which is proved to be unavoidable in keeping the railways and the engines in repair, where great speed is the object) is a question not only for the shareholders, but for the public. With a less speed the expense of railway travelling would be reduced, according to the opinions of the best informed on the subject, to nearly one-half. Road Making. — 1. Paved roads : This mode of road making is only used in large towns, and in the neighbourhood of harbours, docks, and railways, where the traffic is very great, and heavy weights pass along the road. The first cost of a well-coustructed paved road is very large ; but it is cheaper in the end than roads made on any other principle, where the traffic is great and heavy. In making a paved road it is necessary to have a stratum, or layer of some sort of sub- stance, which will effectually cut off all communication be- tween the subsoil and the bottom of the paving stones. Where stones can be cheaply procured, a bed of it broken very small would perlectly answer the purpose, or well-sifted gravel ; and upon this, granite blocks of a rectangular shape, with joints made, exactly to fit close to each other, are closely packed, and the joints 'filled with quick lime. 2. Roads made with a foundation of pavement, and a surface of broken stones, upon the level bed preparad for the road material, a bottom course, or layer of large stoues, is to be set by hand, in the form of a close pavement. They are to be set on their broadest edges, lengthwise across the road. All the irregularities of the upper part of the said pavement are to be broken off with a hammer, and all the interstices are to be filled up with stone chips, wedged or packed by hand with a light hammer, so that when the whole pavement is finished there shall be, a convexity of four inches in the breadth of 15 feet from the centre. The middle, 18 feet of pavement, is to be coated with hard stones to the depth of six inches. Four of these six inches to be first put on, and worked in by the traffic along the road ; and after it has become firm and consolidated, the other two inches are to be put on. The hard stone should be broken so small that the largest piece will pass through a ring of two inches and a-half inside diameter. 3. Roads made with a foundation of rubble stones and a surface of broken stones. A useful road may he constructed by making a foundation with rubble stones, and laying broken upon them. The stones should be reduced, so as not to hare any of them more than four pounds in weight, and these should be laid in a regelar bed, to the depth of seven inches in the middle, and four inches at each side, supposing the road to be 30 feet in breadth. A coating of well-broken hard stones should then be laid on in the way directed when a pavement is used. 4. Roads made wholly of broken stones ; A road may be constructed, suitable for light carriages and little traffic, by forming a level bed on the natural soil, and putting upon it a body of broken stones of 12 inches in thickness in the middle and six inches at the sides. The stones should be laid on in successive layers, taking care to let each layer be well worked in and consolidated before another layer is laid on. Experience has fully estab- lished the unfitness of roads made on this plan in comparison with those made with a proper foundation. A road made on this plan will require for two or three years after it is consi- dered finished the expenditure of large sums of money in new material to bring it into anytliing like a consolidated state. Such a road will always run heavy, and readily break up in severe frosts. All roads, on whatever principle they are made, should be well supplied with longitudinal and cross drains. They should be as nearly as possible straight, smooth, hard, and in-elastic, with a convexity of six inches from the centre to the sides in twenty feet. The fences should be kept as low as possible, in order that they may not interrupt the rays of the sun and wind. Where stone is plentiful stone walls make the best road fencing, and next to them quickset hedges. Both in the making and repairing of roads the quality of the material should be of the first consideration. The hardest material should always be preferred. The best descriptions consist of basalt, granite, quartz, whinstone, and limestone. It should always be borne in mind that hard stones brought from a dis- tance are found by experience to be cheaper in the end than those of a softer nature, which may be got near the road at a much lower price. Legislation on Roads. — I will now proceed to the more important part of my subject — the legislation which has at different times been adopted on the making and repairing of roads in England. The ancient method employed to mend roads in England until after the restoration of King Charles II. was by a pound rate on the landholders of the respective counties, and by a supply of carts and horses by parishes for a limited number of days. But as the trade and wealth of England increased, the roads became wholly unlit for the traffic on them, and that led to the introduction of turnpike tolls, and boards of trustees for collecting tolls and superin- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 215 tending the roads. The first real attempt at legislation on roads undoubtedly occurred when the turnpike system was in- troduced. The first turnpike road was established by law in the year 1653, but the great roads of Eugland remained, in their ancient condition, even as late as 1752 and 1754. It was, indeed, not till alter the year 1760 that the roads of the kingdom partook of the general spirit of improvement. In the 14 years from that period to 1774, no less than 452 Turn- pike Acts were passed by Parliament. From that time a great number of Acts of Parliament for turnpike roads continued to be passed, as will appear from the following table : From 17S5 to 1792 302 Acts were passed „ 1792 „ 1800 341 „ 1S00 „ 1S09 419 In every year since 1809 Turnpike Acts progressively in- creased, till they extended to 23,000 miles. After the intro- duction of railways the progression was not only discontinued, but turnpikes began to retrograde, and at this present time they are in a most anomalous condition — a condition which requires the most serious consideration of the agricultural interest. The act of the Legislature in passing the Turnpike Acts was a perfectly just one, and one in every way judicious and right. Nothing could be more just than to make those who use the roads find the money for the. maintenance of them. The Legislature, by providing for the levying of tolls, and giving power to persons who were willing to come forward as subscribers, commissioners, and trustees, and to act together for the purpose of making new roads or improving old ones, adopted the wisest principle. Turnpikes owe their origin to private subscriptions of considerable amount, and certainly the chief inducement to subscribers was the Parliamentary power which was given to them for the management of the funds. It is to the turnpike system of management that Eng- land is indebted for her superiority over other countries with re- spect to roads. But, whether from defects in management or defects in legislation, they have not been remunerative to the subscribers. There is hardly a turnpiks road in the king- dom but what is in debt ; many of them can neither pay principle nor interest. It seems very hard to the subscribers,but it is gene- rally admitted, that they have no just claim on the public at large. It is argued that many of them have received compensation for their money by the improvement of their estates, and that the others stand in the same position as all creditors do who lend their money in speculations. This may be all very true, but the subscribers and trustees of turnpike roads have a grievance in the iniquitous system now pursued by Govern- ment. When an extension or renewal of a turnpike trust is sought for, they require the trustees to expunge all existing debt, and then in a short time they make the fact of a turn- pike road being out of debt the excuse of putting an end to the trust altogether, and throwing the burthen upon the dif- ferent parishes. Parish Roads : The roads commonly called parish roads in England, are generally in a very imperfect con- dition. This is owing chiefly to the law by which they are managed. Legislation on the highways of England, to be productive of any good, must be founded on a more enlarged view of the subject than at present attains. In the year 1835 an Act was passed, intituled " An Act to consolidate and amend the laws relating to highways in that part of Great Britain called England" (a and 6 William IV., c. 50), by which all other Acts relating to highways were repealed. The principal alterations introduced into the law affecting high- ways by this Act are as follows, viz. : 1st, The surveyor under the old law was virtually selected by the magistrates ; under this law he is chosen by the inhabitants in vestry assembled, at the same time as the overseers for the poor are appointed. He is chosen for one year. And in case the inhabitants fail to make such appointment, then the appointment may be made by the Justices in Special Sessions for the highways, either with or without a salary. 2nd, It provides for the uuion of parishes into districts, for the appointment of district surveyors. A district surveyor to have all the powers of an elected sur- veyor, except to make rules ; and lie cannot spend any moneys levied in any one of the united parishes, except for the use and benefit of that parish in which it is levied. 3rd, In large parishes, exceeding in population the number of 5,000, High- way Boards may be formed for all the purposes of this Act. They are authorised to appoint a collector, surveyor, clerk, and treasurer, and have all the powers and authority of a person nominated and elected as surveyor of a parish. 4th, The sur- veyor may inspect the rate-book for the relief of the poor, for the purpose of making a rate ; the rate to be made on the full annual value of the premises, and to include woods, mines, &c., Sec, which are not assessed to the poor. But no rate so levied and assessed shall exceed at any one time the sum of tenpence in the pound, or the sum of two shillings and six- pence, in the pound in the whole, in any one year, without the consent of four-fifths of the inhabitants of any parish con- tributing to the highway rate. This Act is still in force — it is not repealed ; but from the fact of it having been found totally inadequate for the maintenance and repairs of the highways, it has been supplemented by an Act, intituled " An Act for the Better Management of the Highways in England (29th July, 18G2), 25 and 26 of Victoria, c. 61 ;" and an Act, intituted "An Act to Amend the Act for the Better Management of the Highways in England" (29th July, 1864), 27 and 28 of Victoria, c. 101. The above-mentioned Acts shall be included under the short title of the " Highway Acts." The two last may be considered as one for our purpose. They are not compulsory. It is at the discretion of the Justices in Quarter Sessions assembled to put them in force or not. Any five Justices of a county may give notice that a proposal will be made to the Sessions " to divide the county, or some part thereof, into highway districts ; or to constitute the whole, or some part thereof, a highway district." If the Justices make a provisional order to form such districts, they must appoint some subsequent court of Quarter Sessions, to be holden within a period of six months, for taking into consideration the con- firmation of the provisional order by a final order. Upon the formation of a Highway District, the Highway Board shall consist of the waywardens, elected by the several parishes within the district, and of the Justices acting for the county, and residing within the district. The waywardens are to be elected in the same manner, and with the same provisions, as under the Act of 1835. The Highway Board of a district shall, at their first meeting, appoint a treasurer, clerk, district surveyor, and, if they think fit, an assistant-surveyor. If the Board neglect to appoint such officers, the Justices may in Quarter Sessions assembled, if they think fit, appoint a person to any of the said offices, and may fix the salary. The High- way Board may contract for the repairs of roads. They may borrow money to make improvements. The salaries of the officers appointed to each district, and any other expenses in- curred by any Highway Board for the common benefit of the several parishes of the district, shall be annually charged to a district fund. But the expenses of maintaining and keeping in repair the highways in each parish within the district shall be a separate charge in each. The mode of defraying the ex- penses of a Highway Board is by a precept to the overseers of the separate parishes, or where a parish or township does not maintain its own poor to the waywarden for the parish. No contributions to exceed tenpence in the pound, and the aggregate contributions not to exceed two shillings and six- pence in the pound in any one year, without the consent of tour-fifths of the ratepayers of the parish. The accounts of the Board are to be made up and audited every year, and a copy sent to the Secretary of State. There are hardly any provisions obtained in this Act which could not have been ob- tained under the Act of 1835. The chief difference is the making compulsory, after it is once adopted in a county, what was only optional in the Act of 1835. We certainly get rid of the annual appointment of surveyor, and we have provision for the auditing of the accounts ; we may contract for the repairs of the roads, and may borrow moneys for improve- ments ; but all the more obnoxious provisions of the old Act are retained. The number of waywardens to be chosen to form the Highway Board is too large — the separate rating in each parish is continued ; and the appoint- ment of only one surveyor, and one assistant-surveyor to each highway district, prevents the districts being made large enough to be economically managed ; as we have found to our cost in this county. The Act has been adopted in 36 counties, and I believe in no county has it so completely failed as it has done in this county. Our rates have been higher and our roads are in a worse condition than before the adoption of the Act. The great mistake we have made in this county is dividing it into too large districts. The Highway Boards are too large ; the separate rating of the parishes gives rise to petty jealousies among the waywardens— each individual looks 216 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. to his own parish, and strives as far as possible to keep down the rates, being satisfied with bad roads, and low rates, and it is impossible for one surveyor and one assistant-surveyor to manage such large districts. In all the other counties where the Act has been adopted, there are no highway districts at all approaching those of Northumberland in size. The average of the highway districts throughout the country does not exceed 200 miles, while in this county (before the sub- division of the districts was effected) the average was 578 miles. Prom information I have received from several friends in different parts of England, I find, where the districts are of moderate size, there is a marked improvement of the roads, but they all agree the system is worth extension. I conceive the chief objection to the Act is the great expense it entails in properly carrying out its provisions. Very soon all the roads throughout England will be under the provisions of this Act. Every year turnpike trusts are being discontinued, and the maintenance and repairs of the turnpike roads in future will be thrown upon the different parishes they pass through. The maintenance and repair of the turnpike roads throughout England amount to something like £1,500,000 ; a serious item, indeed, to be added to the already burthensome increase of the highway rates. It is most unjust that the whole burthen of maintaining and repairing the roads of the kingdom should be thrown entirely upon the agriculturists. It is a matter for their most serious consideration. The subject of local rates, which was so ably brought before this Club for discussion by Mr. C. G. Grey, at the November meeting, is still under the consideration of the sub-committee appointed for that purpose, and I trust that committee will not lose sight of this subject, but will give it their most serious consideration, and devise some plan of action whereby a change in the legislation relating to roads may be effected. We are all jealous of Government interference and centralization ; but, in my opinion, if there be one matter more than another that a Government should take entirely under its own care, it is the maintenance and repairs of the roads of the Kingdom. But in these times of retrenchment we can hardly expect any Government to take upon itself the responsibility of finding nearly three millions of money for such a purpose ; but I would suggest that we should seek an amendment in the present law, to enable a county or a division of a county to be formed into one highway district, under the management of a County Board, and subject to Government, control and supervision, half of the expenses of such board to be paid by an equal rate over the whole of the dis- trict, and the other half to be paid out of the Consolidated Fund. The Secretary and Mr. Jos. Lee expressed their opin- ions on road management, agreeing with what the Chairman said. Mr. Lee was of opinion that so long as the law con- tinued as at present our roads would never be in a proper state of repair. Mr. Grey said that most of them thought the primary cause of the state of the roads was the system under which the roads were made ; and no doubt that was one cause, but not the only cause. He thought the roads ought to be better even under the present system. There was something wrong in the management as well as in the legislation. The cost of making roads should be fairly and equitably distributed over the country, and over those who used the roads ; and they could not have that under the present system. As the turn- pike trusts fell out the grievance would become greater, for the whole maintenance of the roads would fall on the place the roads passed through, and would only tend to increase the hardslup they at present suffered from. PAUPERISM AND CRIME. It is proposed to establish an Industrial Employment Asso- ciation for the Prevention of Pauperism and Crime; to be incorporated under the Companies Act 1867. The prospectus gives the following " facts :" 1. Owing to the discontinuance of transportation 2,000 convicts are being annually discharged from our convict establishments, having means of subsistence so small that a very large per-centage of them return to the evil practices in which they have been trained and educated 2. Over 100,000 criminals are annually turned out of our gaols in a like condition, and unless employment can be found for them they must of necessity continue to prey upon the public. 3. But besides the released criminals there are at large in the metropolis upwards of 10,000 persons known to the police as " roughs," having no visible honest occupation. 4. There are calculated to be upwards of 100,000 children of both sexes in the streets of the metropolis, drifting into mendicancy and vagrancy, and thus feeding the great stream of crime. 5. It is an admitted fact that a large per-centage of the girls educated in some of the London workhouse schools lead lives of de- pravity, and many return with their offspring as paupers to the workhouses. 6. The mendicants of both sexes, frequenting during the day parts of the metropolis remote from their wretched nightly shelter, constitnte an organized body of the lowest class of destitutes. Count the money-cost of this state of things : 1. The criminal statistics for the year 1866 show the cost of crime to be from £7,000,000 to £8,000,000 per annum. 2. The poor-law statistics show an expenditure of upwards of £7,000,000 for the maintenance of paupers partially disabled from work by age, but capable to a considerable extent of productive labour and restoration to independence. 3. The statistics of charity (in the metropolis alone) show an expenditure of upwards of £7,000,000 in aid or relief of poverty, to a great extent pernicious, and tending to perpetuate the evils it is meant to remedy. The motto of this Association, there- fore, is " Waste Labour to Waste Land," the employment being limited to the soil and the handicrafts immediately connected with it. It is a revival of the suggestion of Home Colonies brought forward more than thirty-five years ago by that eminent social reformer Sir Rowland Hill, advocated by Mr. Francis Fuller in December 1867, and discussed at a meeting of the Social Science Association held on the 6th of February, 1868, on a communication from Mr. Thomas Webster on the industrial employment of the casual, destitute, and truant poor. Mr. Fuller's plan may be briefly described as follows : First. — To provide temporary homes in cities and towns for orphan and destitufe children until they can be removed into the country, there to be trained in habits of industry, with a view to place them ultimately in a position to earn an honest living by labour at sea or on shore. Secondly. — To establish farm and industrial schools in localities where labour may be brought to bear on unimproved or badly-cultivated lands, and to instruct and employ the young in such a way as to qualify them as skilled labourers to earn their own living on the farm, in the garden, or in trades connected therewith, either at home or in the colonies, such labour being greatly in demand and well paid. Thirdly. — To establish homes where young women may be trained in the various branches of household work, so as to be fitted for domestic servants at home and in the colonies. Fourthly. — To provide homes and employment for the criminal classes — who, up to the present time, have had little chance of escape from their criminal occupations, few of them having ever been taught to work ; and those who can work wanting characters by means of which to obtain regular employment — by housing and employing them in the formation or improvement of harbours and breakwaters ; in reclaiming lands from the sea, and similar works ; and by these means placing them in a position at once to earn and save money, and ultimately to get their own living by honest industry, at home or in the colonies. Fifthly. — To provide temporary em- ployment for the casual poor upon conditions not conflicting with the market for free labour. Sir William S. Wiseman, R.N., K.C.B., Belgrave Road S.W., has consented to act as Chairman, and General Cavenagh, York Terrace, Regent's Park, as Deputy Chair- man. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 217 THE TRANSIT OF CATTLE BY RAILWAY. At the quarterly meeting of the Edinburgh Chamber of Com- merce, Mr. Heid, of Granton, read the following paper in reference to the transit of cattle by railway : — Mr. Chairman and gen- tlemen, it a If ords me much pleasure to have this opportunity of expressing my views before the Chamber of Commerce on the present disgraceful mode of cattle transit by rail and steam- boat, and to the extreme sufferings to which animals are con- stantly exposed during transit. The subject is one of the ut- most importance to this country viewed from all points, and it is also a subject by no means new to most of you, but at the same time it is a subject which has, and will always affect in no small degree, the best interests of our common country. Before the soil could be cultivated, or the mechanical arts ad- vantageously practised, or the precious metals could become a source of gain, whilst men were few, little labour was required for the cultivation of the soil, therefore the rearing of sheep and cattle afforded the inhabitants a ready means of increas- ing their comforts, and in many countries laid the foundation of future wealth and prosperity. Inheriting by nature a patient and peaceful disposition, and before the use of artifi- cial food, they were possessed of a constitution much more hardy and capable of enduring the extremes of heat and cold, and roaming slowly on from place to place, with watchful eyes, ready to pick up every green blade on their path, and advan- tageously availed themselves of every opportunity when food and water were abundant to make a plentiful meal. But with the advancement of agriculture, the art and ingenuity of man have brought upon oxen and sheep throughout the civilized world innumerable miseries and sufferings, often depriving them of every necessary essential to life — even the pure air, in many instances, is denied them. From England's grassy plains and Scotland's heath-clad hills, where they wander quietly through the glens and dales, full of happiness and life, when all is rest and peace ; where the young lambs frisk about with glee, and leap from bank to bank — from these scenes, the natural habitation of our bovine race, where there is sel- dom any scarcity of food and water, [the sheep and cattle are taken to go through a process of slow torture in trucks or steamboat holds, until death releases them from their suf- ferings. Railway officials are alive to this fact, but from, I suppose, pecuniary interest, have turned a deaf ear to the moan- ings and lamentations of their innocent prisoners inside the trucks, exposed to every kind of weather — no food, no water, and no pity. No better experience could be got of their suffer- ings than the melancholy description of the recent wreck of the Hibernia ; but I will not say much on this touching subject, as I am satisfied that you are all well acquainted with the history of privations and sufferings to which a number of the passengers and crew were exposed, till the unnatural desire of an un- timely eud appeared to them welcome. To what better illus- tration can we compare the miseries to which trucked cattle are exposed than to shipwrecked crew when tossed upon the waves, suffering from the pangs ot thirst, with an intense de- sire for water ? In the insanity of the moment many of the un- happy beings drank from the salt sea, in which they shortly after found a watery grave. Water ! Pure, fresh water ! How can we estimate its value till put into some such position as I have described? Then, and not till then, can we estimate its value and blessing. As most of you, I daresay, know, I have for many years been doing all in my power to draw public attention to the griev- ous and cruel wrong the country has been perpetrat- ing ever since the transport of live stock has been principally accomplished by means of rail and steam-boat. In providing the animals with neither water, food, nor shelter during a period of, it may be, twenty, forty, sixty, or any other number of hours when ou the journey they are made to perform, and carried through the air at the rate of from twenty-five to thirty miles an hour ; at other times shunted into a siding for hours together, exhausted, bewildered, and half, if not wholly mad ; with fatigue, cold, thirst, and general misery, such con- duct is not only cruel ; it is a crime both against the laws of God and man ; and it is, besides, much against the welfare of any country to travel cattle without their comforts being in every possible way provided for, when such a necessary arrange- ment can be accomplished with little additional trouble or ex- pense to our modern carrying companies. If the watering, feeding, and ventilating waggons which I have invented were to be introduced as the ouly vehicle for the transit of stock, pleuro-pncumonia, and many other diseases which afflict our stock, would be rarely if ever heard of — the population and agricultural community would be saved from serious losses, and our butchers would be able to offer us more wholesome food, and at lower price. It is a wonder that any mode (sucli as the present) of conveying cattle should ever at first have been commenced, without means being provided whereby they could be watered and fed. Of course, it is well known to every one that the entire business of all animals intended for human food is to eat, drink, rest, and sleep, without intermis- sion. The first thing they do when rising from their lair — even in moist weather, when feeding on rich sweet grass — is to go to a watering-place and drink before beginning to eat ; and this, on the authority of ancient and modern agricultural writers, they do twelve times during the twenty-four hours. No wonder such lamentable results follow, when the animals are suddenly deprived 01 all the comforts of their existence, and sent away on a journey of sixty or seventy hours' dura- tion, confined in a close box, which no doubt, under present circumstances, has this good property, that, when the cattle become mad through thirst, they cannot by any means leave their place of confinement. While the poor beasts are at home, it is the constant study of the farmer to see not only that all their wants are supplied, but also the greatest care is practised that they should be kept in perfect health till they are fit for market. What follows, then ? They are taken out of the beautiful green fields, if the time of removal is sum- mer, and if winter, they are removed from a warm, well-venti" lated house, aud driven to the first railway station, panting from unusual exertion, reeking with perspiration from the difficulty of walking on the frozen, slippery road. They are in this state packed into open-sided trucks, shunted and knocked about. Whoever has travelled at all must have wit- nessed with horror such scenes, and every human being must feel for sucli needless sufferings. Eventually, they reach their journey's end in anything but a fit state for market. And here it is that so large a subject is opened up. Apart from the question of cruelty, there is the question of the health not only of the animals themselves, but also of those for whose food they are intended. The monstrous cruelty to animals confined for any length of time in trucks, and the great loss to the country, must be patent to any one who will take the trouble to inquire into it. Cattle or sheep arriving from a long journey, when taken from the foetid, dirty ship's hold, or from railway trucks, if there is a filthy pool in their way that can be swilled up, it is greedily drunk, and with apparent relish. This is the sort of preparation for the blood that is surging and boiling through the veins of animals that will shortly after be con- veyed as food to the stomachs of human beings. There cannot be a doubt that it is a stern necessity, which cannot be too strongly impressed upon the public, that our domestic animals feel cold, hunger, and thirst in all points as we do, and these should be attended to, whether the animals are making a journey by road, rail, or sea ; and if such a contemplation cannot be forced upon our carrying companies from motives of humanity, if not from profit, the legislature must be called upon to step in and make such a provision compulsory on all railway and steamboat companies. Professor J. B. Simonds, of the Privy Council, Loudon, writes me that " there ought not to be a second opinion among humane persons of the value of such a blessing as the introduction of your improved cattle- truck in lessening the hardships to which cattle carried by railway are now exposed." From what has now been said, I have no doubt that everyone present must both see and feel the necessity of a change in the modern manner of carrying 218 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. live animals, which have hitherto been conveyed in exactly the same manner, and with the same amount of care as is bestowed upon stones or iron. From my knowledge of the natural habits of animals in a healthy state, I am perfectly satisfied that a liberal supply of water should be given to them while confined in a steamboat or truck, once, at least, in every five hours. A draft bill has been proposed by the Chamber of Agriculture, whereby they propose to give water to animals when on a journey by rail or sea every ten hours. Now, no thought is required to tell our judgment that this would be a grave error. When I have already shown that cattle when pasturing on rich grass require to drink at least every two hours, how can they be satisfied or kept in health if they only receive a drink every ten hours ? If we would in this matter judge them more by ourselves, we would find that in our requirements on a journey to London, even while sitting at our ease in a first-class carriage, we are almost certain to partake of coffee, hitter beer, or some other liquid refresh- ment, two or three times during the journey. But not only in a humane point of view has the subjeet of transit of stock both great interest and importance to a commercial country such as ours. Leaving altogether out of sight the barbarous in- humanity practised in the present mode of conducting our extensive cattle traffic, and taking a purely economical view, we arrive very nearly at a true conclusion of its evils to our prosperity and trade, and also to the well-being of the entire population. This has been proved from facts which are clear and undeniable when the matter is investigated. The statistics of the Norfolk Insurance Company, as given by Mr. Finlay Dunn lately to the Scottish Chamber of Agriculture, show that the death-rate of cattle from pleuro-pneumonia alone ranged from 45J to 63| per cent, in 1863, and in 1864 to 35 per cent. ; under the restrictions of 1866 it fell down to 1 per cent., and never rose above that point until the unrestricted traffic was resumed about the end of 1867, when, during the first seven-and-a-half mouths of 1868, under the old system of cattle-transit, the death-rate reached 30 per cent. From this it is shown clearly where the loss to the country lies. Besides, we must take into consideration the large quantities of beef and mutton which are damaged from the knocking about the cattle receive while in trucks of the present construction, from the pressure of one animal upon another while being shunted, or going up and down inclines, when too many animals are packed together, so that really much meat is rendered unfit for human food from bruises received in this manner. And to meet this great loss which I have endeavoured to point out, we require to fall back for a supply from abroad, thereby causing large sums of money to be paid out of the country for a perishable article that could with careful management be obtained at home, as this country is perfectly capable of rear- ing and feeding as many animals as would supply the whole population, if all the departments of the business were care- fully managed. Not that I object in the least to bring foreign stock into this country from any fear of infection, if the animals are healthy when put on board, and properly and carefully attended to during the journey. To meet any expense that railway or steamboat companies would necessarily incur in effecting a change so greatly required, more money would require to be paid by the feeder and breeder for transport than is paid at present. And this, by the showing of an experienced London salesman, would be paid back to them a hundredfold. He says cattle worth from £30 to £40 are depreciated to the extent of £5 per head during the journey from the north of Scotland to London. And there can now be no doubt that the stoppage of the cattle traffic was a very serious loss to all railway companies, from the lower dividends, and iu some cases no dividends, which have since been paid by them, if it had no worse effect upon our trade, which is not yet wholly recovered from the depression experienced during the last two years. How could it be otherwise than hurtful and injurious to our trade suddenly to have thrown out of its legitimate channel by the stoppage of the cattle traffic the large sums paid to railway companies for the carrying of cattle ? But having the means in our own hands to prevent such another outbreak of incur- able cattle-plague, we should at once use them. As I do not wish to exhaust your patience, I will now draw to a con- clusion with a short extract from the " Story of the Truck :" " For my own part, though I am no philosopher, yet I hold to this, that whatever our reason proves to be wrong or defective, it at the same time enforces the duty of change and reform ; that no palpable evil is to be passively submitted to as incur- able. In such spectacles as dumb beasts imprisoned for days at a stretch in steamboat holds or railway trucks, no matter whether the season be scorching from a strong sun overhead, glaring like a ball of fire, or the keen-cutting frosty wind blowing strong, accompanied with hail, sleet, or rain, in- tensified in bitterness from the speed of the train, enough to freeze up the very marrow — all who dispassionately look at this matter must behold an enormous wrong, a terrific evil ; and in their heart of hearts cry out for a remedy to get such a wrong redressed. If railway companies were to be held responsible by law for the proper delivery of live stock in the same condition and value that they received them, a change in transit would soon be adopted ; but there is little prospect of such a boon till Government come forward with its strong arm to settle the matter. Every one remembers the erection of drinking fountains in our streets, and what an immense benefit has resulted from them to men, horses, cattle, and dogs ; and no doubt they have been the means of protecting great numbers of the canine race from hydrophobia." Mr. Eaebukn said he would propose a motion ou the subject of Mr. Rcid's paper at next meeting. The meeting then adjourned. THE TENURE OF LAND At the Monthly Meeting of the Dorchester Farmers' Club, Mr. J. G. Homer in the chair, Mr. Alfred Pope said : — The subject which I am permitted to bring before you, viz., that of " The Different Tenures of Agricultural Lands, and of the advantages and disadvantages attending the several modes of holding," is, I am sure, one of the greatest im- portance to all who possess any interest whatever in the soil of this couutry, and more especially to the tenant farmer whose means of subsistence may, in a large majority of cases, be said to depend on the facility and security afforded him of working the capital he possesses in connection with the land he holds as tenant. You are doubtless all aware that in this country, where, since the Conquest, all lands are said to be " holden" either of the Crown or of some great feudal lord (who would probably have derived his title through a grant from the Crown), many different tenures exist. Of these different tenures I think you will all agree with me, that that in " fee- simple" is by far the most advantageous to the owner ; but seeing that most of the gentlemen whom I now have the honour of addressing are, unfortunately, possessed of a much smaller interest in the lauds they occupy than that of the fee, I will pass over this most desirable mode of holding, together with other modes, such as in tail, gavel kind, for life, and the like, which you would probably find equally dry and uninterest- ing, and proceed at once to bring before your notice the two following modes of holding lauds, viz. : First, as tenant at rack rent, under a lease for a term of years ; and, second, as tenant at rack rent without such a lease, but holding simply from year to year, under a written or verbal agreement. And of these two modes I think I shall be able to show you that the former is attended with so many advantages, both to the landlord and to the tenant, and tends so very considerably to the progress of agriculture generally, that it is a matter of the greatest surprise that the. lease system has not been universally adopted. Now I am sure you will all agree with me when I say that when a man embarks a large amount of capital, it may be his all, in any business whatever, and in particular in a business like that of farming, which is attended with so mauy risks, he ought to have the greatest security afforded him that he will have an adequate return for the amount of capital he THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 210 invests, and a fair remuneration for the care, time, and labour expended by him in working such capital ; and 1 take it that it is as much the duty of the Landowner as of '.be land occupier to consider how this may be best elfectcd, for doubtless it is very much to bis advantage to have as his tenant a man of capital, who is capable of improving the land, and, by a judi- cious outlay, of making " two blades of grass grow where one only formerly existed." Such of you who in your travels have passed through those counties where the land is cut up into small farms, varying from 50 to 100, or sometimes to 150 acres in extent, occupied by men of small capital and limited educa- tion, who, like their fathers and grandfathers before thein, make more use of their hands than of their heads, and who mostly hold the lauds they occupy as yearly tenants, cannot have failed to notice the low state of cultivation iu which the lands iu such districts are invariably to be found, and to have compared the sickly crops, overrun with couch grass, the large tracts of laud remaining uudrained, the unnecessary number of broad loose fences, and the wastes remaining uncultivated, with the more flourishing crops, kept regularly cleansed and com- paratively free from couch, the well-drained acres, and the fine broad fields of the agricultural district where the farms are larger in extent and the tenants a better educated, more wealthy, and a better informed class of men, having a return guaranteed them for the capital they may expend in improve- ments in the shape of an interest for a term of years in the lands they cultivate. One will naturally ask, how can this striking contrast be accounted for ? Is it that the land in the former case is naturally less fertile, and the climate less genial than in the latter ? No, far from it; these are not the rea- sons. Take, for example, the lower parts of Somersetshire and Devonshire ; are the farms there in a higher state of cultiva- tion than those in Norfolk and Suffolk, and is the land less fertile and the climate less genial in the former than in the latter counties ? Better land one seldom sees, and a better climate (for England) one cannot find, than you get in our south-western counties ; but yet the state of cultivation of the land in such counties is in many cases sadly deficient. What, then, may I ask, is the reason ? Why, the occupiers iu the one case are nieu of education, energy, and capital, generally possessing more than an annual interest in the lands they cul- tivate ; whereas the occupiers in the other case are, with few exceptions, men holding at the will of their landlords, under from year to year agreements, small parcels of laud, encum- bered with numerous and broad fences, badly drained, and who are as a rule possessed of but little capital, or even should they be men of capital who have not the heart to expend any of their hard-gotten gains in the improvement of lands in which they have so small an interest, or in the purchase of modern agricultural machinery, but are content to go on in the same humble way as their fathers did before them, and instead of giving their children the advantage of a liberal education, so essential in these rapidly advancing times, are content to bring their sous up as they themselves were brought up, to hold the plough or use the spade. And what, may I ask, is at the very root of this evil ? Why the small inducement which such tenants have to do otherwise. From the very day he enters on his teuancy the tenant at will, for a tenant from year to year is but a tenant at will, is constantly preparing to quit, not knowing at what moment he may receive a notice from his landlord so to do. Thus he begins by over-cropping and ex- hausting the land, and doing so little to manuring, cleansing, and improving it, that eventually he beats himself, the land becomes so exhausted as to be unable to produce sufficient to give him a return for his small outlay and labour, his rent be- comes in arrear, and he is ultimately obliged to leave his farm, which the owner can only let again at a reduced rental. I do not say that this is always the case with yearly tenants. Cases must have come under the notice of each one of you where farms, although let from year to year, are well cultivated ; but good farming by yearly tenants, with limited means, and with so small an interest in the land, is, I say, as a rule, the excep- tion, and very seldom met with. A man, to do justice to the soil he cultivates, must, in this age of steam ploughs and agri- cultural machinery, be a man of capital, education, and judg- ment ; he must not he curbed in his actions, but must be en- abled to keep pace with the rapid progress which is from day to day taking place in the agriculture of this country ; he must have some security that the large amount of capital which it is essential for him to expend before he can get his farm properly stocked (and you all know the effect of having a farm insufficiently stocked), bis land iu a sufficiently high state of cultivation, and to keep it in that state, will someday be repaid him with interest, and with interest at such a rate as will compensate him for the labour, toil, anxiety, and risk to which he has been put ; and this can only be done by such an interest iu the laud on which be has invested his capital being secured to him as will enable him to receive back, in the shape of crops of increasing value, the money he has so expended. It is, undoubtedly, much to the landlord's benefit to have his estate well managed and thus generally improved, and, al- though uuder a lease he may not derive any immediate pecu- niary advantage from such improvements, yet he cannot ulti- mately fail to do so ; but under the lease system, in addition to his being thus ultimately benefited, he also derives an imme- diate pecuniary advantage, for lands let on lease invariably command a higher rental than lands let from year to year. In my own experience I have often found tenants willing to pay an additional rent of from £5 to £10 per cent, on having a lease granted them for a moderately long term ; for under a lease they are fully aware that they have more than an equivalent for such additional rent in the shape of security for judicious outlay, security of posses- sion, a sure reward for industry and enterprise, and a strong inducement to benefit themselves, and, consequently, their landlords, by improving the land, and making it more fruitful than if they were merely tenants from year to year, so that the laudlord is benefited by an additional income and an estate of increasing value, and the tenants secure larger profits than when they hold from year to year. I have ofien heard it argued that on the whole the lease system is more to the ad- vantage of the tenant than of the landlord, and that landlords have a dread of getting disagreeable and litigations tenants on their estates, who may be a source of great annoyance to them , or tenants who, either through being inexperienced or unwil- ling or incapable of expending the necessary amount of capital to keep the land fully stocked and in a high state of cultivation, might, and probably would, during a long term of years do material damage to the estate, or, in case of a succession of " bad" times, would be unable to pay their rents, and conse- quently the landlord would have the farm thrown upon his hands with a possible loss of rent. But surely neither of these cases need occur in this county, where every landowner knows that when he has a farm to let he need not go far from home to find many good and responsible men — men of education, position, and capital — who would be only too ready to become his tenants, and in very many cases the name alone would be a sufficient guarantee that the man in whom he places his con- fidence would not abuse it ; and where a landlord has, as in this county he undoubtedly possesses, the privilege of choosing from among so many respectable and responsible tenants, I can- not but think that he alone would be to blame were he to choose one whom he afterwards found to be unworthy of the confidence he bad reposed in him. Another objection that landlords often have to granting leases for long terms of years is that the tenant to whom the lease is granted, and who may himself give his landlord entire satisfaction, might die long be- fore the expiration of his lease, in which ease the landlord might, much to his annoyance, have the executors or adminis- trators of the deceased, who may be very different men to the late tenant, forced upon him as tenants for the remainder of the term. This objection, however, might easily be got over by inserting a provision in the lease by which the term might be determined within a reasonable time after the death of the tenant, so that if the landlord should object to his late tenant's personal representatives, or to the business being carried on for the benefit of his widow and children, should he have left any, he might after due notice, put an end to the term ; and al- most every lease contains a proviso against under-letting or assigning away, by the tenant, of the remainder of his term, without the consent of his landlord, so that the landlord would be protected against any such change during his tenant's life- time. A good deal has been said about tenants having confi- dence in their landlords, and that as yearly tenants they are just as secure from being turned out of their farms, so long as they pay their rents and cultivate the lands fairly, as if they farmed on lease. This may be, and I am sure that very sel- dom, in this county at least, has a tenant found cause to doubt his landlord's word. Happily amongst ns their word may, with hardly a single exception, be regarded as their bond ; and 220 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. also on the subject of " tenant right," which professes to give to the outgoing tenant a satisfactory equivalent for uiirecovered outlay. But which of you, may I ask, would be sufficiently reckless to lay out large sums of money in the improvement of property from which you stand ever so small a chance of being ousted at a year's notice, when it would take you many years to repay yonrself the capital so sunk out of the profits of the land ? The tenant right may to a certain extent be protection, but then it unnecessarily locks up the capital of the incoming tenant, and is far from satisfactory to either party, as the real value of the improvements executed by the outgoing tenant can seldom be so accurately ascertained as to fairly compensate him for his labour and capital expended, and the incoming tenant seldom thinks he gets an equivalent for the money he pays. (Since writing the above I have had my attention drawn to a pamphlet written by the late Mr. G. J. Wood, entitled, " Leases, Tenant Right, and Corn Rents," where, speaking from his great experience, he seems to have entertained a different opinion as to the desirability of a tenant right in lieu of a lease from that just expressed by myself, and the arguments he makes use of in support of his views are well worth your careful consideration.) Having thus brought before your notice the several advantages and disadvantages both to the landlord and tenant attending the lease system, I will, with the risk of trespassing too long upon your time, now endeavour to state as concisely as possible what covenants and provisions should be inserted in the lease, and also to mention some which, although often contained in leases, might, much to the advantage both of the landowner and the land-occupier, be omitted. And first I would say gene- rally that the object of the lease should be to give the tenant the greatest possible interest in and control over the land he occupies, so that he might be able to treat it and cultivate it with unfettered hands precisely as if it were his own, and to secure to the landlord the cultivation thereof in a good and husband-like manner during the whole continuance of the term. In order that both these objects may be effected the lease should be for a term of not less than 21, or 14 years at the least ; and I would suggest that stringent provisions should be introduced, compelling the tenant to farm as highly during the last two years of his tenancy as he did during the former part of it, and to leave the farm in a good state of cultivation at the end of the term ; for this continually preparing to quit, and having " a pull," as it is called, is most detrimental to ag- ricultural progress. The land having been once got into a high state of cultivation should not be allowed to go back whenever a tenant thinks fit to quit his farm, or his landlord to turn him out ; but some mode should be devised by which the outgoing tenant might receive full compensation for his unexhausted out- lay, without being obliged to " pull" his farm to pieces to ena- ble him to do so. The lease should contain a covenant by the tenant for payment of the rent — such rent to be graduating ac- cording to the varying price of corn — and proper clauses of distress in case of non-payment, a proviso for re-entry on the death, bankruptcy, or insolvency of the tenant, or on breach of any of the covenants contained in the lease, the usual hus- bandry clauses as to the course of cultivation, which should be regulated to a certain extent by the custom of the country; but these clauses should not be such as to deter the tenant from ex- ercising a fair discretion as to the course of cultivation he would pursue, and covenants not to convert pasture land into tillage, nor underlet nor assign away the term without the laudlerd's consent ; and I think that the lease might fairly contain a clause giving the landlord compensation for bad management. The landlord should covenant to keep the fanr buildings in good tenantable repair during the term, and to provide necessary and proper timber for repairing gates, posts, and fences, such latter repairs being done at the expense of the tenant ; for new gates, when required, I think it fair that the tenant should pay one half the cost and the landlord the other half. As regards thatching, I believe it is usual in this county for the tenant to provide reed, which is put on at the expense of the landlord. A source from which endless disputes between landlord and tenant have arisen, is with respect to the reserva- tion of the game. I think the landlord might fairly expect to have a right of sporting over his land (although, perhaps,' not the exclusive right), reserved to him ; and were landlords more generally to divide this right with their tenants I am sure that they would find, except, perhaps, on those estates where land- lords preserve highly and annually pay large sums to their tenants, by way of compensation, for damage done to their crops, that, instead of finding less game when they wanted a day's sport, they would find it much more plentiful, as the tenant, having au interest therein, it would be as much to his advantage as to that of his landlord to keep a fair amount of game on the farm, to which end he would become both his own and his landlord's keeper. If, however, the landlord re- serves to himself the exclusive right of sporting I think the tenant might fairly expect to have proper clauses inserted in the lease, protecting him against damage done to his crops by game and rabbits. I fear it would take me a long time to enu- merate the many provisions which are too often inserted in agricultural leases, which might, much to the benefit of both landlord and tenant, be left out. Some of these are covenants not to rent another farm, as to folding sheep on particular ground in wet and in dry weather, not to keep more than a cer- tain amount of stock at a time, not to plant potatoes, nor mow clover nor water meadow grasses, but to spring feed them, and all those covenants which are the remains of the old feudal system, but which are sometimes seen in modern leases, such as covenants to keep a dog for the landlord, to do a certain number of days' team work annually for him, to provide him with straw gratis, and the such like. The lease itself should be as concise and simple as possible, and the cost thereof should be borne equally by the landlord and tenant. I fear that I have brought this subject but very imperfectly before you. Much more might be said thereon, and doubtless many fresh points will be brought forward by the discussion which will now follow. Mr. R. Genge remarked that his experience in the matter of leases was nothing at all, for he was, unfortunately — or for- tunately— a t«nant at will. He must say, however, that he did not farm with any want of confidence ; happily, he had the utmost confidence in his landlord, and he trusted the good un- derstanding which had so long subsisted would not be disturbed. Still, if they regarded this subject from a business point of view, there could be no doubt that a lease was the correct thing, because life was uncertain, and the best of landlords and tenants must die. Although there were many good landlords in this county, under whom it would be quite safe to rent as long as they lived, yet it was a rule among some landlords that no widow should continue to hold a farm ; so that where there was no lease a proper system of tenant right was imperatively necessary. The rule of his landlord, and indeed of the family, had ever been that any relative who was considered eligible to succeed to the occupation was, upon the death of the tenant, almost invariably chosen. That, he thought, was a most ex- cellent principle, and could not fail to prove advantageous both to the landlord and the tenant. Mr. Pope had touched upon the question of repairs, and he (Mr. Genge) was glad to have this opportunity of correcting a report of his observations at the last meeting with regard to cottages. His expression was, that half the repairs should be done by the tenant, whereas he was represented in the report to have said the whole. If the tenant did half the repairs he had an additional interest in keeping everything in proper order, bearing in mind the truth of the old saying — " A stitch in time saves nine," He thought the most equitable plan was, for the landlord to provide the materials, and that the cost of labour be equally divided be- tween the landlord and tenant. There should be a clause in- serted in the lease, binding the outgoing tenant to put the farm in thorough repair before quitting it. With regard to agreements the common-sense rule was generally the correct one. The most simple rule of taking or quitting a farm was, for the tenant to quit as he entered — then no one could suffer any injary. The President (Mr. Homek) said the subject which had been so ably introduced by Mr. Pope was one of great interest to them as agriculturists, for the consideration as to whether or not a lease should be granted was important to anyone taking a farm. He had rented land under the same landlord for nearly 40 years, and, like Mr. Genge, he never had a lease or agreement of any kind. Having confidence, however, in his landlord, he fanned exactly as he should have done if he had been in possession of a lease. At the same time it was not the good fortnne of every man to rent under a landlord who never changed the tenancy, except from father to son and from son to some relative. The great principle that ought to be observed was undoubtedly that a certain tenure should be guaranteed. He felt quite sure a man would never farm so well — whether he had confidence in his landlord, or whether he possessed a THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 221 lease — if he laboured under an uncertainty with regard to his quitting. In short, no man would cultivate his laud well who expected either to be turned out or to have his rent increased every year. Therefore he could not but agree with the princi- ples which Mr. Pope had laid down with regard to leases. There might, perhaps, be a little difference of opinion on the matter of quitting consequent upon the death of a tenant. Mr. 1'ope contended that there should be a stipulation inserted in the lease to the etfect that the widow of a tenant should be al- lowed a certain period, before being obliged to quit, under trustees. He agreed with that principle, but one year was certainly not long enough. There ought to be more than a year given for the widow to quit a farm, because the husband might have cultivated the land highly, and without a tenant right (if there was no lease), the family would not in a single year be able to derive that compensation for the money ex- pended upon the farm to which they might be entitled. He thought a claim ought to be inserted in the lease allowing a term of at least two years in such an instance. Under the same head, with regard to leases, thero should be a tenant right, because if the farm had been cultivated in a proper way during the two years, the manures that were put into the soil in the last year to keep the farm in proper cultivation ought to be for the mcoming tenant or the landlord. With regard to quitting a farm Mr. Pope had said two years' notice was sufficient, but he (Mr. Homer) considered four years ought to be the minimum time. In the case of a lease, for say 14- or 21 years, the tenant might be allowed to farm his land how he pleased; but in the last four years some stipulation may be entered into with reference to the cropping. If it was a four- field system no tenant should be allowed to sow more than one- half of his farm during the last four years of his tenancy, be- cause the principle of farming was this — unless there was a lease a farm ought to be kept by a regular system, so that the incoming tenant might commence his term with the farm in the same state of cultivation as though his predecessor had continued his holding. Speaking of the system of corn rents, he did not think it would be practicable in the county of Dorset. He would rather have a fixed rental for the term. A corn rent would not affect the whole of a Dorset- shire farm, which comprised sheep, corn, and dairy combined. If they had a fixed rental for one portion, they must have it for the whole, and it was difficult so to arrange matters. He did not agree with corn rents unless the farm was purely arable ; if it were so they could have a fixed rent and pay according to the averages. They must remember that the general averages of the kingdom were not precisely the averages they obtained in the local market, and if they took the average of the returns for the price of com in the country they would be likely to have a higher rate than that at which they sold their corn. Therefore he did not think, generally speaking, a corn rent was applicable in this county, where most of the farms were of a mixed description. He agreed with the observations that had fallen from the vice-president with reference to repairs — viz., that there should be a joint interest existing in this respect between the landlord and tenant. But in cases where the expense of labour was divided the tenant ought to have equally as much right to order such repairs as might be necessary as the landlord. On his own farm he had always done so, as far as minor repairs were concerned; but, of course, when any extensive alterations were proposed, the landlord or his steward should be made cognisant of them. But in the matter of thatching and general repairs, when half the cost of labour was paid by the tenant, he ought to have power to order them without going to the landlord or his steward. As to the question of game, he was one of those lucky fellows who had the right of sporting, and he thought it was the tenant's own fault if he would take a game farm and be subject to the damages done by game without making due allowance in the rent. The great dispute which generally occurred, however, was as to the valuation of the damage thus incurred by the farmer, and no man could estimate such damage merely by looking over the crops. What he should strongly recommend would be that if a man took a game farm he should be careful not to pay too much rent for it. The great stipulation they should insist upon was for keeping down the rabbits, and the tenant ought to be allowed that right. He meant to say that rabbits ought to be the tenant's property and not the landlord's. If those vermin were kept down, the damage done by the birds would not be a source of great annoyance. Security on the part of the tenant and confidence in the landlord were the only principles on which good farming could be carried on. Mr. T. Lock said in taking his farm he began with a four> eight, and twelve years' lease, which he considered was no security at all. He was now a yearly tenant ; but if a man had confidence in his landlord all he then required was remuneration for unexhausted manures. In the last year or two of a man's holding he might spend money in guano, oil- cake, and other things, for which it was only reasonable that he should expect some compensation when he left the farm. Dr. Aldiudge did not think there could be a second opinion as to the desirability of having leases. We had excellent landlords in this county — men who would not take advantage of those who had no leases ; but, looking at it from a business point of view, a lease should be granted to every tenant. Suppose a man who had confidence in his landlord expended a considerable sum of money in the improvement of his farm ; the property might pass into a different ownership, and the new steward, like a new broom, which was proverbial for " sweeping clean," might say, " Oh ! this farm was Driginally let for £400 a-year, but, seeing the improved quality of the land, it is worth' more now." When the farmer took it £400 a-year might be the ultimatum value of it, but the steward might go around it and suggest lo the landlord the rent might be increased by a couple of hundred pounds a- year. At all events the tenant would be open to that risk, and it would be unwise for him to enter upon an extensive holding without a lease from his landlord. That was the only way to ensure the land bring well farmed, so as to benefit both the landlord and tenant. Mr. T. C. Saundeks remarked that in large holdings especially a long lease was much preferable to a yearly tenancy, and was more advantageous both to the landlord and tenant. He agreed with previous speakers in the principle they had advocated with regard to the division of the expense incurred in repairs, as it gave the tenant additional interest in seeing things kept in proper order. He could not fall in with the system suggested by the president that tenants should farm as they pleased during their term, with the exception of the last four years, because that was a longer time than in his opinion was necessary. He considered two years a fair period, as in one year it was impossible to get a larm in proper order. If they did not sow more than one-half the land to corn he considered two years would be sufficiently long notice. As Mr. Lock had said, they might as well have a yearly tenancy as such a one as that with which he commenced business. In the four, eight, and twelve years' lease there was no security to the tenant for the capital invested, nor to the laud- lord that the outgoing tenant should leave the farm in proper condition for his successor. Compensation ought to be made to the outgoing tenant if he left the farm in a cleaner state than that in which he fonnd it upon entry. Pie had seen it suggested in a paper recently that if the land given up to be sown down for seeds by the incoming tenant was left in a clean state, the outgoing tenant should receive the sum of 20s. or 25s. per acre, at the discretion of the valuer on either side. He thought that was not at all a bad idea, because it would be to the advantage both of the incoming as well as of the outgoing tenant. Mr. A. Pope briefly answered to the various remarks which had been passed upon his paper. It was the duty, he said, of every member of a society like this to bring forward subjects for discussion, because difficulties might arise, as in the present instance, in the way of getting practical subjects introduced. He perfectly agreed with all the president had said respecting the corn rental — that the rentals of farms in this county should not be regulated by a corn rental alone, but they should be regulated to some extent by the value of the whole agricultural produce, so that if that value was low in any one year the whole of the loss might not fall upon the tenant, but that the landlord might share some of the deficiency with him. On the other hand, if the whole of the produce was high, the landlord should share some of the benefits derived therefrom. With regard to repairs he thought they were pretty much agreed upon that point, except that he had said the landlord should do the " substantial" repairs, and that such other repairs as fences, posts, and gates should be done between the landlord and the tenant. He concluded by 222 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. acknowledging the patience and kindness with which the I seconded, a vote of thanks to Mr. Pope for his paper, and, company had listened to his paper. I the compliment having been duly accorded and acknowledged, The President then proposed, and Mr. J. P. Hodges j the proceedings terminated. THE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF MANURES. At the usual quarterly meeting of the members of the Ste- wartry Farmers' Club, it was arranged that the members should witness a few experiments in practical chemistry. Mr. M'Millan, Halket Leaths, accordingly gave illustrations, by showing different kinds of guano, superphosphate, phospho- guano, raw and burnt bones, bone-ash, bone-black or char, coproUtes, Sombrero gnauo, apatite, marie, carbonite of lime, protoxide of iron, sulphate of magnesia, and chloride of soda. He said he had only brought the part of the apparatus re- quired to test guano, bones, and superphosphates. He then brought forward two guanos, one of which was genuine and the other spurious. These, when shown to those present, could not be detected, one-half of the company fixing on the spurious sample as the genuine article. When tested for phosphate of lime the one was genuine, and the other did not contain a single grain of that ingre- dient. Mr. M'Millan afterwards showed those present the yellow stone he ground down in order to imitate the genuine guano. One of the superphosphates gave evidence of bi- phosphate of lime, and when the insoluble bone earth was dis- solved with a strong acid, filtered, and the regent applied, it contained a considerable quantity of soluble bone earth. The other sample when put to the same test gave nothing, as its base was simply oxide of calcium, with other worthless sub- stances, added to give it a similar appearance. He also showed the biphosphate of lime in the phospho-guano, and ex- plained the reason of its gettiug that name was that it con- tained more phosphoric acid than lime to neutralize it. A small quantity of bone-ash and bone-black was also dissolved, which showed abundance of phosphate of lime. Mr. M'Mill.v^ afterwards read the following paper: — Farmers generally put faith iu mauy of the statements made, but are too often like a dyspeptic patient, who knows that there is something wrong, and is willing to try anything ; and thus we run to the chemist, who advertises his fertilisers for all kinds of crops, as the invalid to the quack for pills for all diseases. Agriculturists leave far too much in the power of dealers to send them this or that sort of manure for this and that kind of crop, which, for anything the most of farmers know, may have only a different name. They then apply this stuff to all kinds of soils. To some it will be the proper thing; to others it will have very little effect. In this latter case the farmer blames chemistry and science, forgetting that the che- mist may know nothing of farming nor the practical applica- tion of manures. The chemist and farmer ought to work together in unity. Let the farmer say what he wants, and the chemists will prepare it for him. It is all right for manufacturers to make manures, but farmers should be able to judge for themselves — what, from the nature of the soil, and the crop intended to be grown, is really required, and order his manure accordingly. Why do we allow a manufacturer of manures to dictate to us and say, This is for cereals, that is for leguminous, and such is for crucifereous crops ? This certainly makes farming easy, and saves the bother of studying our profession, if it would only show a balance in the proper side of the ledger ; but, alas, ignorance is expensive. All soils commonly met with favours the growth of some particular crop. Thus cereals flourish where they find abundance of soluble silica, while turnips de- light, in a soil rich in potash ; and lime plants grow most luxuriantly in lime stone districts. It is thus that mineral constituents support the vitality of all plants — by an estab- lished law — and these must either be supplied from the soil, or from the manure ; and although a cereal is classed a silica plant, it would die whenever it produced its second leaf. If the soil was destitute of lime, and without phosphates and sulphates, it would never produce fruit. The term manure must therefore have a wide basis, as it embraces animal, vege- table, mineral, and saline substances. In the husbandry of the ancients, Theophrastus recommended the mixture of soils, such as sand with clay, or whatever earths contained different ingredients. As a mixture of this kind will supply what is wanting, and produce the same effect as manure, the fertilizers commonly met with are the excrements of animals, including man. It may be said that experience had taught farmers the value of these manures long before the application of chemistry to agriculture. But it remained for this science to discover the substances in these upon which their fertilizing properties depended. Pure night-soil contains a large quantity of vege- table and animal matters, with phosphates, carbonates, muri- ates, sulphates, and nitrogen. The nitrogen of this feces is capable of forming more than one-tenth of its entire weight of carbonate of ammonia. Various substances have been mixed with it, so as to destroy its unpleasant smell, and make it more portable. In some countries it is baked with clay into cakes, and sold under the names of poud- rette and taffo. If we suppose that every person annually voids one thousand pounds of urine, the solid matters in this quantity would amount to sixty-seven pounds weight, equal in fertilizing vdue to the same weight of genuine Peruvian guano. If the urine then of every small town of 2,000 inhabitants, like Castle-Douglas, was collected and applied to our fields, they would receive 134,000 lbs. of manure, which, at the present price of guano, would be worth over £600 sterling. Farmyard dung produced from the feces and urine of the horse, pig, and cow has held a high rank as a manure, because it adds to the general fertility of the land by returning to it a large portion of all the substances removed by cultivation. It is, therefore, the most complete and per- fect manure ; and there are no kinds of artificial manure, how- ever skilfully mixed and prepared, can surpass it in the num- ber and favourable arrangement of its constituents. Accom- panied with the peculiar mechanical condition in which these occur, such renders this manure the most potent of all fer- tilising agents. A slight inquiry into the nature of its com- position will show the unprecedented wasteful practices adopted in this county. Whenever vegetable matters become saturated with the droppings and urine of cattle, they are iu a favourable condition for fermentation — an action similar to the powerful effects of combustion, which breaks up organic substances, and if much heat is generated in this fermentation the nitrogen will escape in the form of ammonia. Again, the greater portion of its mineral ingredients by this process are rendered soluble, and if more water is allowed to fall on it when iu this state than it can soak up, these substances are swept away in a black stream. 518 grains alkaline salts, 78 grains organic matters, and 21 grains ammonia, have been found in an imperial gallon of this liquid. The arrangements of all farm-buildings should therefore be made subser- vient to the manure heap, so as not to allow the air to rob it of one part, and heavy rains to run away with other portions of its most essential materials. A ton of well-rotten and pro- perly husbanded farmyard manure ought to consist of 360 lbs. soluble and insoluble organic matters, 581bs. soluble and in- soluble silica, 81bs. insoluble phosphate of lime, 51bs. phos- phoric acid (which is equal to lllbs. soluble bone earth), 431bs. lime and magnesia, lllbs. potash, 41bs. of sulphates and chlo- rides, 321bs. carbonic acid, l,6921bs. water, with 131bs. nitro- gen. The medium value of these constituents, when cal- culated at the price that other fertilisers are generally sold at per ton, is — nitrogen, £74 ; ammonia, £60 ; bi-phos- phate of lime, £37 8s. 9£d. ; soluble bone earth, £24 ; insoluble phosphate of lime, £8 ; potash, £20 ; alkaline salts, £1 ; and organic matters, 10s. By this mode of valua- tion farmyard manure is worth 15s. Ojjd. sterling per ton. The dung of birds possesses the united virtue of having both the liquid and solid excretions of other animals. It therefore returns to plants a great number of those substances upon which they live. At Arragon, in Spain, it is sold at 4d. per pound to mature melons ; iu Palestine, during the siege of Samaria, the fourth part of a cab of pigeon's dung was sold for five pieces of silver. It is the droppings of sea-fowl that THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 223 constitutes guano, which more particularly interests us far- mers ; and it appears that those guanos which have been im- ported from Angamos and the Chiucha Islands have sufFered least from atmospheric action. The principal value of those guanos as fertilizers consists in the large percentage of nitrogen they contain — all their insoluble phosphates and other con- stituents arc only worth about £3 per ton. There are also guanos that have lost a considerable portion of their soluble ingredients. These are brought from lehaboa, Bolivia, Chili, and California. They vary in character very much, and of late have varied in value, from £11 to a little over £3 per ton. The guanos imported from Africa, Saldanha, and the West Iudiau Islands have lost nearly all their soluble substances by atmospheric action. Insoluble earthy phosphates are the prin- cipal ingredient upon which their value depends ; and some of these are so much deteriorated, either by the above cause or adulteration, that lately an article sold for guano was tested at Cirencester, when its value was found to be less than £1 per ton. The impression is that a system of adulteration is prac- tised somewhere, aud so well executed as to render detection impossible without a scientific examination. This evil can only he kept in check by the utmost vigilance on the part of the purchaser. The chief materials used for adulteration are a sort of yellow loam very similar in appearance to guano, saud, clay, gypsum, common salt, aud ground coprolites. These can be mixed in such proportions as to imitate the genuine article. Many farmers of late have had their guano delivered overboard the vessel as a safeguard agaiust adulteration. An extract, however, from a Liverpool paper is well calculated to blast our hopes in that direction : — " Four vessels recently sailed for guano stations ballasted with plaster of Paris. This sub- stance is inteuded for admixture with guano, and will enable the parties to deliver from the vessel a nice-looking and light- coloured article. Parties are very desirous of having it de- livered from the vessel, as they believe they obtain it pure. The favourite material for adulteration of guano at the present moment is umber, which is brought from Anglesea in large quantities. The rate of admixture, we are informed, is about 15 cwt. of umber to about 5 cwt. of Peruvian guano, from which an excelleut-looking article called African guano is manufactured." It is probable that Kircudbrightshire farmers have paid their share of a high premium for want of know- ledge to test their manures. The farmer who cannot test his manures is in a similar position with respect to superphosphates. These are manufactured by dissolving bones, bone-ash, apatite, ground coprolites, and other mineral phosphorites, with sul- phuric acid. Those made from raw bones contain sometimes only a small per-centage of soluble bone earth, but a portion of the nitrogen of their gelatine by this process is changed into sulphate of ammonia. Bone-ash, treated in this manner, generally yields a much larger per-centage of bi-posphate of lime. What is termed apatite is a rich mineral phosphorite. Sombrero and Maracabo guonos are imported as hard crusts. These two contain less lime than is required to neutralise their phosphoric acid. The insoluble portions of coprolites are con- sidered of little value, as some of these nodules hold in com- bination 40 per cent, of sand, clay, carbonate of lime, and oxide of iron. Any superphosphate containing from 30 to 35 soluble, with 12 to 15 per cent, of insoluble bone earth, may be safely taken as valuable ; but we should be constantly on our guard in case of adulteration, as samples have been found with not more than 10 per cent, of phosphates in all. If we were to ask a maker or dealer in these adulterated manures, " Who taught you the first rudiments of imposition ?" in all likelihood his auswer would be " The fanner." As an in- stance of our stupidity, I was told last spring by a manufac- turer of superphosphates, who made a high-class article, it contained nearly 50 per cent, of soluble and insoluble bone earth, but an agent of his could not sell it to farmers at a remunerative price. It therefore had to be diluted to 30 per cent, with a less valuable material. This adulteration pro- duced a profit of 30s. per ton. If these farmers had known chemistry they would have bought the good article, aud mixed it themselves with the same material, which is cheap, and re- tained that profit. A manure termed phospho-guano has of late years attracted considerable attention. Its composition is about 11 per cent, insoluble phosphate, with 17 per cent, biphosphate of lime, 1.32 phosphoric acid (which is equivalent to nearly 3 per cent, of soluble bone earth), 3.50 ammonia, with nearly 1 per cent, alkaline salts, and GO per cent, water, saud, organic matter, aud sulphate of lime. It would be vain for me to attempt a description of all those fertilizers that are sold under the appellation of concentrated manures, as their names are legion. They arc mixtures of various salts. Those used chiefly are nitrates, phosphates, sulphates, chlorides, and carbonates, with or without organic matters, silica, and water. These compounds are a thorough puzzle to the generality of farmers ; and no person can decipher them without some knowledge of the general laws of chemistry. For the benefit of those members of this club who may not understand the method of ascertaining the value of these manures, I will show them at any time from an analysis the quantity of each sub- stauce they return to the soil. When our want of knowledge of the means of testing, and the advantages which may be taken by the adulteration of manures, are taken into considera- tion, it is no wonder that farmers generally have held tena- ciously to raw crushed bones. Every lOOlbs. of these will return to the soil about 21|lbs. phosphoric acid, 301bs. lime and magnesia, 41bs. sulphuric acid and alkaline salts, with nearly 4lbs. nitrogen, and 40Mbs. organic matter and water. It thus appears that bones do not contain all the inorganic ingredieuts of turnips in sufficient proportion, and are only valuable iu so far as they give to the land abundance of in- soluble bone-earth and nitrogen ; although when first applied to virgin soils their influence was wonderful, but they are now inactive to develope a crop of swedes. Whether the cause of their inertness proceeds from the exhaustion of the acids which are stronger than phosphoric, or of the other necessary soluble mineral salts in our soils, would require another paper, and might be discussed at some future meeting. The ques- tion meantime is, How are we to remedy our deficiencies iu these matters ? I think it is requisite for us, iu the first place, to have a library of books in connection with practical agriculture and science, with a laboratory in which to test manures ; and, with a careful person, who thoroughly under- stands agricultural chemistry, could analyse our manures, and teach our young members manipulation and the laws by which alkalies aud acids combine to form neutral salts, this would soon give them an idea of the kinds of manures required for our different strata of soil. Then we should never purchase manure without a guaranteed analysis ; and, if it will not stand the test when delivered in Castle-Douglas, we have it in our power to return it free of expense. We have only to stand firm to accomplish our purpose. The unscrupulous may be expected to cavil ; but there are many respectable manure- dealers in this district who will be delighted to have their manures tested, as they would scorn to sell an article which was not genuine. I may state, in conclusion, that drilled hus- bandry for potato and turnip-crops was first introduced into the Stewartry about the year 1770, although many years passed before it was generally adopted iu Scotland. I there- fore trust that the present generation of Kirkcudbrightshire agriculturists have not lost the spirit that animated their pre- decessors, but will take the initiative, and be the first county in the South-West of Scotland to institute a scientific class- room, as it were, to train the young farmer into the principles of his business, as well as its practice ; so that by 1870 we may again take the lead in the higher departments of agricul- tural science. The address was listened to with the utmost attention, and at its conclusion was loudly applauded. Mr. Rain (Cuil) said it appeared to him that Mr. M'Millau was inclined to think that bones had not the same influence on new— or often cropped— old laud as they had on virgin soil. Was that the case ? Mr. M'Millan said it would require another paper to explain ttajit point thoroughly, but he had no hesitation in saying that bones were more inert now than they were formerly, in consequence of the exhaustion of some of the mineral salts in the soil. Mr. IIain said he could not explain it, but he knew they were always told they were improving their farming, while the bulk iu their stackyards was always decreasing. No doubt the last season was a very dry one, but he was old enough to recollect both dry and wet seasons, but never such a deficiency in crops. Mr. M-Millan said a turnip crop would rob the soil five or six times as much of some inorganic iucredients as a crop of corn. Mr. BlGGAB suggested that they should try to form an 224 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, association for the purpose of endeavouring to check the manures which they purchased. There was such an associa- sion in Cumberland. Mr. John Gordon (Culraven) thought they should get samples of manures from the members of the Club, and get them analysed. Mr. M'Millan suggested that a room should be obtained in Castle-Douglas, and fitted up for chemical analysis, and let all the members of the Club have an interest in it. Any of the manure agents in the Stewartry might have a manure to dispose of which would suit his soil, while it might act as poison on his neighbour's, He thought the first thing to make progress was to teach their young men how to analyse both manures and soils for themselves. After some remarks by Mr. Biggar, he moved " That a special meeting of the members of the Club be called for Monday the 1st day of March next, to consider a proposal to have samples of manure analysed by a professional chemist, to appoint a committee to make arrangement for collecting the samples from members of the Club only, to raise funds for this purpose, and to transact any other business which may be brought before the meeting." Mr. John Gordon (Culraven) seconded the motion, which was unanimously agreed to. DEEP CULTIVATION. At the dinner of the West Cumberland Farmers' Club, Mr. Clarke, of Barwickstead, the Chairman, opened a discussion on deep-laud culture. He said he had been long couvinced that deep cultivation was one of the main elements of suc- cessful farming. Near large towns they would find the market gardens absolutely teaming with the products of the earth, and that arose in great part from deep and effectual cultivation of the soil. It was his lot when in Edinburgh twelve months ago to meet the distinguished author of the " Book of the Farm," Mr. Stephens. Amongst other subjects of conver- sation was that of deep cultivation ; and he (the speaker) im- mediately afterwaids obtained Mr. Stephens's book on " The Yester Deep Land Culture," which is a detailed account of the method of cultivation that has been successfully practised for several years by the Marquis of Tweeddale at Yester. If there was a book in the English language which afforded informa- tion on deep-land culture, it was " The Yester Deep-land Cul- ture," and he would advise everyone to get it and read it for himself. Instead of giving the meeting his own crude notions he proposed to lay before them the matured opinions of one of the first agriculturists of the day. The Marquis of Tweed- dale had reduced deep land culture to a system, and to that system he proposed to direct the attention of the meeting. The Yester Farms are in East Lothian, and are three in num- ber. They are respectively 400, 500, and 750 feet above the level of the sea, so that the climate is not one of the best. The greater part of the soil on one farm (Yester Mains) was natu- rally a poor, thin, wet, moorish substance, resting on a still', retentive, sandy, clay subsoil. The soil of one-half of Broad- woodside Farm consisted of poor, stiff, sandy clay, and the other poor, stiff, tenacious clay. The subsoil was also of very poor, stiff clay. The soil of one part of Danskine Farm was poor, stiff, sandy clay, and the other poor, stiff, hard clay. The surface was generally from 5 to G inches deep. The subsoil was poor hungry clay, containing many stones. The greater part of Yester Mains, and the whole of Broadwoodside Farm has been thorough-drained and subsoil-trench ploughed. Danskine Farm has all been drained. Iu 1841 Broadwood- side was valued at 7s. and Danskine at 10s. per acre. His lordship invented the Tweeddale plough, which, with four horses yoked to it, was capable of ploughing 14 or 15 iuches deep. He next invented the Tweeddale subsoil trench plough, the peculiarity of which is that it loosens the subsoil without mixing it too abundantly with the surface soil. With these two implements, one following the other, he has carried his plough- ing operations to a depth of from 19 to 22 inches. He after- wards substituted for the Tweeddale plough an implement of easier draught, which can be yoked with cither two or three horses, and is capable of reaching a depth of 12 or 13 iuches, with a breadth of laud of equal extent. After referring to the thorough-draiuing and deep cultivation of the Yester farms, the hook goes ou to prove that the soil is thereby rendered drier and warmer, that there is less evaporation of moisture in- to the atmosphere, and that thereby moisture is supplied to the vegetation at a period when it would be otherwise wanting. If those benefits could be obtained at a reasonable outlay, it was obvious that deep cultivation was one of the most effective means of advancing the interests of agriculture, and iu suitable soils and situations should invariably be practised. As showing the infertile condition of Danskine tarm before thorough draining and deep cultivation, it was mentioned that wheat was attempted to be grown after bare fallow, but in some seasons it was not worth the cost of reap- ing. Turnips were only raised on the driest and best parts of a field, but neither they nor the pasture in the best seasons were fitted to fatten stock. Mr. Clarke then read extracts from Mr. Stephens' book to show the results that had been obtained from deep-laud culture. In 1854 (a year before the publication of the book) the second rotation was being pur- sued on Yester Mains. One field, with 13 loads of farmyard dung and 2^ cwt. of guano per acre, yielded 32| tons per acre of purple-top yellow turnips, rooted and shawed. Auother field (sandy clay soil and subsoil), was iu oats in 1848, and produced 37 bushels the acre. Iu 1853 (after subsoil trench ploughing and deep ploughing), it was in oats, and produced 0 1 { bushels per acre. Auother field, originally a stiff hard clay, was in oats, in an undraiued state, and gave 31| bushels per acre. After beiug thorough-drained, deep-ploughed, aud manured witli 180 cubic yards per acre of vegetable matter obtained from the bottom of a loch after the water had been drained off, the same field was iu wheat in 1852, and produced 41J bushels per acre, realising £12 18s. 9d. per acre. After mentioning other instances of increased fertility, Mr. Clarke referred his hearers for further information to the book itself, and concluded by maintaining that deep-land culture was pro- fitable to the farmer. Mr. B-. Jefferson (Preston Hows) said he hoped the Doc- tor and he would agree to differ with regard to deep culture. He had been an advocate for it since he commenced farming, but he had not found it that " universal good" he expected, lie had several fields at Preston Hows which he cultivated deeply, say to 11 or 12 inches, with four horses, and which he fancied for several years were not so fruitful as if he had worked them in the ordinary way. He believed that a great many of them ploughed the seed furrow too deep. He believed that iu ploughing for seed deep ploughing was not required ; they should have that for the furrow, aud do it in the autumn. The deep ploughing of his fields which he had referred to was done some ten or a dozen years ago. They had now regained their fruitfaluess, and were perhaps better than ever, though he could not tell, not having taken means to test them. Mr. Ross (Muucaster Castle) said it was very little use to tell a farmer what a Marquis or a retired professional gentle- man could do. Farming was a queerish plant, aud it would not do to transplant it. What would do for oue farm would not do for another. What, for example, would Mr. llitson, of Wasdalehead, do if he were taken to Tiptree Hall? The Chairman found that when he was in practice that, although all men and women were apparently much alike, yet they could not all swallow medicine alike — he had to consider them in detail, and prescribe oue tiling for one man and another thing for another. Mr. Jefferson's experience very much agreed with his (the speaker's). He was iu favour of deep stirring, but that, he maintained, was very different from deep cultivation. He thought the rich surface should not be mixed with the poor subsoil. The soil of the Carse of Gowrie was only about 4| inches thick, yet it gave enormous crops ; but if a farmer put his plough lower than the surface-soil he was certain to have a light crop. He thought the subsoil should be simply stirred up with the skeleton plough, and not inter- mixed with the surface-soil. Mr, Grainger. (Abbey Town), who attended as a deputa- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 225 tion from the Wigton Farmers' Club, said there were no doubt exceptions, but lie believed that, generally speaking, deep cul- tivation was profitable, and that farmers failed iu that more than in any other respect. lie differed from Mr. Stephens iu his statement that after deep ploughing a soil would require less manure. He believed that to derive any permauent bene- fit from deep cultivation a farmer should use an extraordinary quantity of mauure. As to the results derived from the Mar- quis of Tweeddale's operations, it should be remembered, that there was no balance-sheet produced. He should like to know, for example, what it cost to cover the clay soil of Dans- kine with black vegetable matter. That was an important question iu judging of the benefits alleged to have resulted. Mr. Stanley said that Mr. Stephens began his education as a farmer at Mr. Robertson's farm at Edeninouth, where he (Mr. Stanley) also endeavoured to obtain some knowledge of farming. The soil on the farm was three or four feet thick, and in other places still deeper. On that farm the mode adopted was this — the common plough went in front, and the subsoil plough, drawn by four horses, followed, turning over the soil from the bottom to the top. Mr. It. Jefferson : That is .what we call trench ploughing. Mr. TURNER remarked that the Chairman did not say at what time of the year the farms were subsoil trench-ploughed, lie was iu favour of keeping the good soil on the top. If you have a good soil, don't waste it. Mr. Hutchinson (Braystones) thought it was as well to keep the good stuff at the top. In his locality, at a depth of four or five inches, they came to what an old neighbour of his called "brown sugar," and he did not think that would be very useful on the top. He had no experience iu clay soils. Mr. Musgrave, having been called upon by the Chairman, was sorry the discussion had not yet advanced to the main point: they had failed to get auy information as to the cost of this deep-land culture. He believed that with an unlimited purse it would be possible to convert the solid rock into fruitful soil, but he also believed it would not be profitable to do so. Mr. Williamson believed in deep cultivation. After land had been thoroughly drained, he would bring up a small portion of the subsoil aunually in the autumn. He thought it injudicious to bring up a great mass of unfruitful subsoil at one time. Mr. Grainger expressed concurrence in Mr. Williamson's observations. Mr. Bouthwick reviewed what previous speakers had said, and remarked that, as the result of several years' practice, he believed the deeper soil was stirred the greater advantages were likely to accrue. Perhaps subsoiling could be done at from 7s. to 10s. an acre. Whether subsoiling paid or not, it would neither break nor eurieh a man. Mr. Rawlinson remarked that here they were a long way from Yester. Subsoiling clay soils might be beneficial ; but he did not think there was much clay soil hereabouts. The Chairman then replied : The gentlemen present seemed to have misunderstood the question. The question was, " Is deep land culture, properly, carefully, and judiciously carried out, iu proper soils, aud under proper circumstances, of ad- vantage to the farmer ?" Neither he nor Mr. Stephens ever said that gravelly soil or moorband pan should be turued up. Then, it had been remarked that he had never said when this subsoil and trench ploughing should be done. All should know the season when such work should be done. It was to be done in autumn after the crop had been got off the ground. The Chairman then put the question stated in the fore- going paragraph as an ^.ffinnative proposition, and it was car- ried, new. (lis. Mr. Gibbons (Burnfoot) impressed upon the meeting the fact that circumstances alter cases ; there were different soils and different climates, and as no doctor would treat all his patients alike, farms were not to be treated all in the same way. ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. Monthly Council, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 18G9. — Present: Mr. H. S. Thompson, trustee, in the chair ; Viscount Bridport, Lord Chesham, Lord Tre- degar, Lord Vernon, Sir Massey Lopes, Bart., M.P. ; Sir T. Western, Bart. ; Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Bram- ston, Mr. Cantrell, Colonel Challoner, Mr. Clive, M.P.; Mr. Davies, Mr. Drucc, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Hornsby, Mr. Hoskyns, Colonel Kingscote, M.P., Mr. Milward, Mr. Pain, Mr. Randell, Mr. Rigden, Mr. Shuttleworth, Mr. Torr, Mr. Webb, Major Wrilson, Mr. Jacob Wilson, Professor Siinonds, and Dr. Yoelcker. The Earl of Dunniore, Dunmore, Stirling, N.B., was elected a Governor of the Society. The following new members were elected : Allison, Robert Andrew, Scaleby Hall, Carlisle. Amos, James C, West Barnet Lodge, Herts. Atkinson, George, Morland Hall, renrith. Barnes, Thomas, Bunker's Hill, Carlisle. Bazley, Thomas Sebastian, Hatherop Castle, Fairford. Bibby, James Jenkinson, Hardwricke Grange, Shrewsbury. Biikett, Joseph, Foxton House, Penrith. Blackwall, John,jun., Oaklands, Llanrwst. Brown, Matthew, Scarbank, Longtown, Cumberland. Carter, George John, Tatton Dale, Knutsford, Cheshire. Clinton, J. H., 9, Whitehall Place, London, S.W. Coleman, Samuel, Willy Hall, Attleborongh, Norfolk. Corder, Edward, Writtle, Chelmsford. Cumpston, Joseph Hodgson, Barton Hall, Penrith. Doyle, John A., Plas Dulas, Abergele, Denbighshire. Edmonds, Giles, Eastleach, Lechdale, Elkins, John F., Yelvertoft, Rugby. Farley, Stephen J., 4, Windsor Crescent, Newcastle-ou-Tyne. Eraser, Henry N., Hay Close, Penrith. Gibbons, Thomas, Burnfoot, Longtown, Cumberland. Griffith, John Robert, Brynderwen, Llanrwst. Hampsou, John, Ullen Wood, Leckhampton, Cheltenham. Harding, John, Bicton House, Shrewsbury. Harrison, Anthony, Penrith. Hesketh, William, Plumpton Hall, Penrith. Lowther, William, M.P., 122, Park Street, London, W. Luttman-Johnson, John, Gosterwood Farm, Cluddingfold, Godalming, Surrey. Martin, George, Hubert's Bridge, Boston, Lincolnshire. Mellersh, T. G., 2, Southfield Villas, Cheltenham. Mucklow, Edward, Castlehead Grange, Lancashire. Musgiave, R. C, Edenhall, Penrith. Oliphant-Ferguson, G. II. II., Broadfield House, Carlisle. Parker, Thomas Holme, Warwick Hall, Carlisle. Robinson, Henry, Hough-on-the-Hill, Grantham. Simon, Thomas, Fern Hill, Market Drayton. Stanley, William, Ponsonby Hall, Whitehaven. Sterling, John, Bridekirk, Cockermouth. Tudge, William, Adforton, Leintwardine, Herefordshire. Tyndall, Frederick Thomas, The Hill, Edgbaston, Warwick. Varty, Thomas, Stag Stones, Penrith. Wilson, Edward, Hayes, Bromley, Kent. Finances. — Viscount Bridport presented the report, from which it appeared that the secretary's receipts during the past two months had been examined by the committee and by Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., the Society's ac- countants, and found correct. The balance in the hands of the bankers on January 31 was £1,837 17s. 4d. The balance-sheet for tlie quarter ended December 31, 1 868, K 2 226 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. and the statement of subscriptions and arrears, were laid upon the table ; the amount of arrears then due being £1,146. One hundred and eighty-two members had •riven notice during the past year of their withdrawal from the Society. The country meeting account of Leicester was laid before the Council. Journal. — Mr. Thompson (chairman) reported that at the request of the Committee, he had (during the Christmas vacation) opened the motto papers of the essays in Classes II. and IX., which were adjudged winners of the prizes of £20 and £25 respectively, in order that the names and addresses of authors might be printed, and the publication of the Journal not unneces- sarily delayed. The Committee recommended that ten- ders be invited by public advertisement for the supply of paper for the Journal, and also for the cost of printing, binding, stitching, &c. It was also recommended that the Committee be empowered to send some competent writer to inspect and report upon a few of the principal farms in difl'erent parts of England, with a view of pub- lishing the reports in the Journal; the number of farms to be inspected to be at present limited to eight, all occupied by tenant-farmers, and the special grant from the Couucil for that purpose not to exceed £100, as the Committee anticipate being able to meet the remainder of the cost by the saving in prizes for essays, communicated articles, and other Journal expenses. It was announced that the judges had awarded the prize of £20, in Class II., " On the Management of Grass Land," to the essay bearing the motto, " Give liberally, so that you may reap abuudautly," which was written by Mr. Clement Cadle, of Gloucester ; and the prize of £25 in Class IX., " On the Rise and Progress of the Devon Breed of Cattle," to the essay bearing the motto " Spero," which was written by Mr. John Tanner Davy, of Rose Ash, South Molton, Devon. It was also recommended that the publication of these awards should be accompauied by that of the award of the prize of £30 in Class I., " On the Farming of Middlesex," to the Rev. J. C. Clutterbuek, for his essay bearing the motto " Rus in urbe," of which decision no report had been published. — This report was adopted. House. — Viscount Bridport, Chairman, reported that the Committee recommended the consideration of the question of obtaining additional committee-rooms on the north side of the house, as they can be provided at a mo- derate cost ; and that the Committee be empowered to lay before the Council a plan and estimate to be furnished by Mr. Fowler. This report was adopted. General Manchester Committee. — Mr. D. R. Davies reported that the Secretary of the Manchester Local Committee having called the attention of the Com- mittee to the subject, it had been agreed to recommend the Couucil to appoint a Special Committee to consider whether any and what privileges at the Society's shows shall be placed at the disposal of Local Committees. A discussion then ensued, in which Mr. Torr, Major Wilson, Colonel Challoner, Mr. Randell, Lord Chesham, Colonel Kingscote, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Cantrell, Mr. Milward, Mr. Jacob Wilson, and Mr. Da- vies took part. Ultimately the recommendation was withdrawn, Mr. Davies adopting the suggestion of several members of Council, and giving notice of his intention to bring forward a resolution on the subject at the next Council meeting. Showyard Contract Committee. — Mr. Randell, chairman, presented the following report : — In accordance with the resolution adopted at the November meeting, your Committee have to lay before the Council a statement of the cost of showyard works at Leicester. This is all that was asked for, but as your Committee believe that the object of the proposition was to enable the Council to compare the cost of the showyard works now with the amount formerly paid, we give also the amount for the Wor- cester show — Worcester, from its situation, appearing more fitly to bear comparison with Leicester than auy other meeting. The cost of the Leicester showyard was ... £4,378 18 11 The cost of the Worcester showyard was ... £4,382 11 11 Add to this the works at Leicester which were in excess of those at Worcester, after deduct- ing those which at Worcester were in excess of Leicester 1,083 2 5 Cost of Leicester as above That is, the Leicester showyard cost £5,465 14 4 ... 4,378 18 11 ... £1,086 15 5 less than it would have done under the old arrangement ; in other words, if the showyard works at Worcester had been of the same extent as Leicester, the cost of the former would have been £1,080 15s. 5d. more than was expended upon the latter, and this without crediting anything to Leicester for the improved character of the buildings and works there, the additional measurements only being charged. Of the amount thus saved £321 18s. Id. is upon the permanent buildings, and we think it right that the Council should be informed as to the effect of purchasing, instead of hiring, as formerly, these buildings. The amount paid at Worcester for the hire of these buildings was £598 9 6 And that, on the same scale of charge, the addi- tional buildings would have cost 116 0 0 £714 9 6 Whereas at Leicester the whole cost was ... 392 11 5 Showing a difference in favour of the present arrangement of ... ... ... ... 321 18 1 — after paying the cost of railway transit, repairs, re-erecting, and insurance, and charging 10 per cent, upon capital em- ployed. The surveyor's report had been considered, and certain suggestions were recommended to the Couucil. This report was adopted. Committee of Selection. — Mr. Thompson, chair- man, reported the following recommendations of the Committee :— (1) That Sir T. Hesketh, Bart., M.P., of Rufford Hall, Lancashire, be proposed to the Council, in accordance with the resolution of the last meeting of the Committee, to fill the vacancy caused by the election of the Duke of Richmond, K.G., as Vice-President; and (2), That Mr. Thomas Statter, of Stand Hall, White- field, Manchester, be elected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. Clare Sevvell Read, M.P. Sir T. Hesketh having been proposed by Mr. Thompson, and seconded by Lord Bridport, was then unanimously elected a member of Council ; and Mr. T. Statter having been proposed by Mr. Torr and seconded by Mr. Milward, was also unanimously elected a member of Couucil. It was resolved, on the motion of Mr. Torr, to repeat the advertisement announcing the intention of the Council to hold the country meeting of 1870 at some place in the counties of Berks, Bucks, Hants, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, or Sussex. A letter from Mr. Walter Farthing, of Stowey Court, Bridgwater, was read ; and it was resolved that his heifer, born July 1, 18G6, is eligible to compete for the Society's prizes in Class 61, of Devon heifers not exceed- ing three years old. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 22 THE CENTRAL FARMERS' CLUB. PAUPERISM AND VAGRANCY. The first meeting of the Farmers' Chili for discussion took place on Monday evening, Feb. l,at the Club house, Salisbury- square, Mr. R. J. Newton, of Campsficld, Woodstock, the chairman for the present year, presiding. The subject appointed for discussion was " Pauperism and Vagrancy," the introducer being Mr. J. Tra.SK, of llighleaze, Yeovil. The Ch.virm.vn, who on presenting himself in that capacity for the first time was greeted with cheers, said — Gentlemen, this being the first meeting of the year, and it being also the first occasion on which I could have the honour of occupying the chair, I will, with your permission, make a few remarks before the duties of the evening commence. In beiug elected chairman of this Club I have, I feel, been chosen to fill a very honourable position, and at the same time a very responsible one (Hear, hear) ; aud I would express a hope that I may rely on receiving the support of the members of the Club to assist me, as far as they are able, in discharging the duties of my office (Cheers). I can assure you, gentlemen, that I esteem it a great privilege to preside over this Club, compris- es ing as it does gentlemen of education, gentlemen of practical, thoughtful minds, gentlemen of business habits and occupations. Such being the case, so far as regards keeping the course of the discussion on the various subjects that may be introduced to the consideration of the members of the Club smooth and har- monious, T think my duties as chairman will be light. Let me here advert to the fact that there are rules drawn up to guide us in our discussions. I do so in order that the new members may make themselves acquainted with those rules before taking part in any discussion ; and I am quite sure that the older members will continue to be guided by those rules as they ever have been whilst making any remarks. I need scarcely say that it is most desirable, aud indeed most im- portant, that the different subjects brought forward should be thoroughly, fairly, and temperately discussed, as it is only in that way that sound conclusions can be arrived at and practical truths elicited from the subjects considered (Hear, hear). In calling your attention to the list of subjects placed on the card for discussion — the list is, I may remark, not quite complete, though, I believe, the blank has been filled up to- day— I will take it upon myself to say that these subjects are well worthy of the consideration of the members of this club, and looking at the names attached to them, I have no hesitation in predicting that they will be handled in an able and practical manner, and will prove both interesting and instructive. The subject fixed for this evening does not present itself under a very auspicious title, that title being " Pauperism and Vagrancy." Notwithstanding that, however, it is, I believe, well worthy of the attention of the Club, My position as vice-chairman of a Board of Guardians in the neighbourhood in which I live — Woodstock — has forced upon my attention the fact that the wave of pauperism and vagrancy is spreading fast and wide, and I can assure you that the guardians of that union are most desirous of knowing whether any, and if so what, means can be devised, not merely to prevent that wave from extending, but if possible to throw it back into the ordinary channel. I have here some notes showing the actual numbers of vagrants, paupers, and so on, but not wishiug to anticipate the statement of the gentleman who is going to introduce the subject, and having already engrossed a considerable portion of your time, I will at once call upon Mr. Trask (cheers). Mr. Trask said : Mr. Chairman aud Gentlemen — In intro- ducing the great and vital question that is appointed for our consideration this evening, and which at this moment is pro- bably exciting greater public attention than any other subject, I feel that I have undertaken a most difficult task, and one of unusual gravity ; nor has the vast number of diverse views that have been recently put forward, with the object of solving the problem of how the terrible and increasing evil of pauperism is to be met, lessened my difficulty. Under these circumstances I am sure your kind indulgence will be readily accorded to me. It will not, however, be possible iu the limits of a paper of this kind to notice even the greater part of the suggestions that have been made, and I have therefore consi- dered it necessary to confine myself to a consideration of those matters which, either by legislation or in administration, appears to me to demand the most urgent attention. No practical advantage would be gained by giving a number of statistics to show how rapidly pauperism is increasing : they have been repeatedly given of late, and I shall, therefore, only state what the actual amount of pauperism now is with which we have to deal. I find that the total number of paupers of all classes in England and Wales on the 1st of January, 1868, was l,0i0,103 ; and at Michaelm ., 1868, it was 65 per cent, more than at Michaelmas, 1867, and 10 per cent, more than at Michaelmas, 1866 ; and the increase has been general through- out the kingdom. It is difficult to fully comprehend the state of things which these figures indicate : take, for instance, the borough of Tamworth, which sends two members to the House of Commons, and has a population of 10,192, according to the last census, it will take 102 such boroughs to furnish men, women, and children enough to equal the number of our paupers south of the Tweed ; or if we take another parlia- mentary borough— that of Richmond— we shall require the total number of its inhabitants to be multiplied just 203 times before we arrive at a number equal to the paupers of England and Wales ! I think, then, that no one need be surprised, when we are told by an eminent Cabinet Minister that " This is the great problem which is now before us. It is not one for statesmen only ; it is not one for preachers of the Gospel only ; it is one for every man in the nation to attempt to solve." What I understand by solving this problem, is to apply such remedies as will, as far as possible, lead to a permanent miti- gation of the evil ; for no one supposes that pauperism can be entirely eradicated — it will always exist, more or less, in a great community. In proceeding then to consider the best means of permanently mitigating this great evil, it should be borne in mind that we have to deal with different classes of paupers, that require totally different treatment ; and in order to discuss the question with any practical advantage, it is absolutely 228 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. necessary to treat of each class separately. I shall therefore take that course, and point out where I consider the existing system has failed, and what steps should be taken to remedy it. I shall also show in what way I think the general condi- tion of the working-classes might be improved. The class of paupers that I shall first refer to are those within the workhouse. Dr. Stallard has recently stated that "Almost the only persons fouud in workhouses are the aged and infirm." This, however, is not the case, for by far the largest class of inmates are children under the age of sixteen, and I have long since felt, after several years' close observation, that no part of our Poor-law system has failed nearly as much as in the case of these children. Asa rule they are taught to read, write, and cipher very fairly ; but as for a knowledge of any industrial occupations to enable them to get a living, to make themselves useful members of society, they are wofully deficient. When we consider that we have nearly G0,000 children in the work- houses, and of these probably more than two-thirds are or- phans or deserted by their parents, it will at once be seen how important it is that these children should be brought up in such a manner as will enable them to get a honest living in the world, and not to look upon a state of pauperism and a home in the workhouse to be naturally theirs, as I fear many of them do now. At the Sherborne Agricultural meeting, a short time since, Professor Buckman is reported to have spoken on this subject as follows : "As a member of a board of guardians, he had been very much struck lately with a very important question. He found that the children in our work- houses were being brought up for nothing else but paupers. He hoped that something would be done to take them out of that category. He was not prepared to suggest any scheme. But they had been told lately that foreigners were supplying their navy, and that they were enlisting foreigners for the army. He did not see why their pauper children should not be sent to some central school, to be supported by all the unions in the country, where they might be educated so a3 to enable them to follow some useful occupation. He had been thinking of the matter for a considerable time. To bring up children merely as paupers was highly discreditable to the nation. That was an agricultural question, and one which they would do well to consider." The first step that I think it is 'necessary to take, in order to bring up these children satisfactorily, is to remove them from all workhouse contami- nation ; no doubt an improvement might be made where they are, but the expense of bringing them up in a proper manner in workhouses would be cuormous, and the result almost cer- tain to be unsatisfactory. Even in salaries alone, in small work- house schools the cost is now from £2 to £i for each child, while at Birmingham, where there are nearly 600 children taught, the total salaries of the teachers and industrial in- structors amount to about 7s. per head. But the greater saving, in having the children brought up in institutions ex- pressly adapted for them, apart from the workhouse, would be felt through their being taught the means of permanently keeping themselves after leaving the institution, and not to become a source of further increasing the pauperism of the country. It is not necessary that I should detail what occu- pations, in my opinion, would be the best for these children to learn; but those that would keep them farthest from the pauper class would evidently be the best, and in such a mer- cantile country as this, a considerable number should be brought up to the naval services. Of course there are diffi- culties to overcome in establishing district training institutions. In the first place, it can scarcely be expected that guardians will consent to an expenditure from the poor-rates for the erection of educational buildings. The relief of the distressed and the maintenance of those who are destitute, are properly borne by the real property of the country, and charges for educational purposes by the common fund ; and if separate institutions are to be built for the proper training of the children who are now kept in the poisonous atmosphere of the workhouse, the charge for building them should be borne by the National Exchequer, and the cost of the maintenance of the children only should be defrayed from the poor-rates. I have noticed that one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Union Schools, in his last report to the Poor-law Board, states that, " As the result of twenty years' experience the great difficulty in the education of pauper children is the imperfect education of many of those above them, and on whom they must depend. The consequence is, that although education is seldom openly opposed, it is often thwarted and impeded indirectly, and great indifference is constantly mani- fested to the whole subject." I am bound to say that my own experience entirely bears out this statement ; as a rule, the guardians have utterly failed in the management of work- house children. I have received a large number of letters from different workhouses in reference to this subject, but I shall only give the substance of two or three of them. Prom one union the master states, " That the boys of this establish- ment are not taught any industrial occupations, being too young; school instruction is all they receive. The girls are employed in scrubbing their own bed-rooms, and occasionally at knitting and sewing." The master of another workhouse says : " The only industrial occupation of the children of this house con- sists of knitting and needle-work, both of which are done in school, and about six or seven of the elder girls are employed in scrubbing their rooms, &c. One or two of the boys are employed in cleaning boots and shoes and knives and forks, &c. This is about the sum total of the industrial training of this establishment." I find on referring to the last report of the Poor-Law Board that there were ninety-four children attending school in these two workhouses, and this is larger than the average number attending workhouse schools. I may mention that greater difficulty is found in teaching boys industrial occupations thau the girls ; in the larger workhouses there arc greater advantages. In the Bath workhouse there are 105 boys at present in school, and fifty- one of them are learning either shoe-making, tailoring, gar- dening, or baking ; but even here it is pretty certain that they cannot be made proficient in these occupations, as the guardi- ans, as a matter of course, let them go out as soon as they can get persons to take them. Unless a trade is properly learnt, it is of very little use. But it seems they have been very successful at Bath in managing twelve acres of land which they have there . It is cultivated by four men, whose ages average 75 years, with 15 boys, and for the year ending Lady- day 1868 the debtor and creditor account, furnished to 7ne by the master, show3 a credit balance of £339 13s. 5d., being a profit to the Union of just £27 10s. per acre ; but in this account of course nothing is reckoned for labour.* What can be done by the establishment of industrial schools apart from the workhouse, is shown uy what has been done at Brighton. * Yet during the past Christmas, when a gentleman offered to give an entertainment gratuitously for the amusement of the children in the Bath workhouse, the guardians refused to allow it by a majority of three ; the proposer of this motion (who is THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 229 The industrial schools arc there situated three miles from the towu, and the following is a quotation from the chaplain's letter which is given in the last report of the Boor-Law Board ; lie says that : " The character and history of the Brighton work- house children for many years is frightful to think of. I can remember as many as forty-four persons, inmates at the same time of the able-bodied ward, male and female, all brought up in the workhouse schools, most of them thieves aud prostitutes. Thank God there is an end of this or anything approaching it. Of fifty girls wc have sent out I only know of one fallen ; of about the same number of boys, the great majority are justifying the hopes of their teachers and the expectation of the promoters of this important charity. In Brighton at least society has shaken off a great scandal, and the ratepayers of the parish a heavy burden. Here, for the future pauper schools will no longer be the nursery of pauperism." It is because I feel that the generality of our workhouse schools are the " nurseries of pauperism" that I have gone so far into this very serious part of the question. I think the Govern- ment would do well to consider the advisability of building a few industrial schools, aud placing the oldest of the orphans and deserted children from the workhouses into them in the first instance, with a view to the commencement of a different system altogether. As regards the condition of the sick and infirm paupers in our workhouses, although so much com- plaint has been made, I do not think that generally their treat- ment is such that any great exception can be fairly taken to it. They are under the care of a properly qualified medical officer, and he has the power to order any dietary or other necessaries they may require; and, upon the whole, I believe their condition to be better than that of the poorer classes in their own homes. Indeed, it frequently happens that infirm people are sent to the work- house, because their wants are not properly attended to at home. I come now to the most difficult part of the question, upon which so much diversity of opinion has been expressed — namely, How are we to treat the great class of our " able- bodied" paupers ? I find that on the 1st January, 1868, there were -126,910 outdoor paupers, classed as able-bodied, and 50,239 indoor, making a total of 477,169 of this class. This really docs seem to indicate an appalling state of things ; but if we examine this class of paupers closely, we shall, 1 think, be somewhat reassured. Out of the 426,910 outdoor paupers, 269,956 were children, 114,091 were females (mostly widows, with children dependent on them), and the remaining 42,893 were adult males. Now I have ascertained the cause of the able-bodied classes applying for relief in the Yeovil Union ; and oiit of 623 paupers so classed, only 54 were men ; and of these only 44 had wives living with them, widows with families being the principal recipients of relief. But widows with children dependent on them can scarcely be looked upon as sufficiently able-bodied to support themselves and their families without assistance ; and the same might be said of widowers who have a number of young children to maintain. Out of these 44 men with wives, 30 were relieved in conse- quence of their own sickness, aud the remainder on account of sickness in their families. Such a state of things as regards this class I do not consider affords any proof that we have, generally, an excessive supply of labour. The only adult male very appropriately named Green), with those who supported him, beiug clearly unable " to discriminate between the inno- cent, the helpless, and the temporary pauper, and the confirmed vagrant and the hopeless idler." paupers that can, even nominally, be considered able-bodied, arc those in the workhouses ; and on the 1st January, 1868, they numbered 10,954 ; but, In reality, even these are not able-bodied, for they are mostly afflicted with a very serious complaint — that of laziucss, and, whatever demand there may be for labour, hard work and such persons will never agree, aud they may just as well remain in the workhouse, for all the good they would be out of it. As for making the work- house the resort for " decent" able-bodied persons, as recom- mended by Dr. Stallard, I think that is the very thing to guard against, as arc several other of that gentleman's recommendations. One of the primary causes which leads to the pauperism of able-bodied persons, is the lowncss of wages. As regards the rate of wages, Adam Smith says that " a man must always live by his work and his wages must at least be sufficient to maintain him." And he shows that " they must even upon most occasions lie somewhrt more." I feel quite certain that we have no class oi labourers whose wages, as a rule, are not more than sufficient to maintain them ; but whatever they are above this would naturally be governed by the supply of and demand for labour. But in this case the natural order of things is not allowed to prevail in this country. Trades' unions, for instance, impose this as a condition upon em- ployers, that they shall not take more than a prescribed number of apprentices. The consequence is that employment in these trades is debarred to the great body of the labouring classes, in fact these trades' unionists combine for the purpose of protecting themselves against open and fair competition, aud, iu this unjustifiable manner, raising their own wages at the expense of the rest of their fellow labourers. I cannot conceive a more detestable kind of protection than tliis, and let us hope that the result of the inquiry by the trades' union commissioners will at least induce Parliament to make such provisions for the benefit of the whole of the labouring classes as will give them the advantage of a free labour market. That which is being the most persistently advocated, however, as a panacea for pauperism and the lowness of wages is emigration. But on this point I think that what Lord Stanley said at Lynn the other day should be borne in mind, namely, that something might be done by the " judicious encouragement of emigration." If it is not carried out judiciously, I thiuk it would do more harm than good. I am acquainted with two large parishes, thelands of wlfichadjoin: out of a population of 3,136 iu one of them there are 159 paupers, being about one in twenty ; but out of the popula- tion of 2,423 in the other parish, there are 250 paupers, being, in proportion, more than double the average number of paupers throughout the kingdom ! 1 have endeavoured to ascertain the cause of this excessive amount of pauperism in this parish, and T have no doubt but that it is, to some extent, to be attributed to a redundancy of labour in this particular- place, aud judicious emigration in such cases as this would doubtless be very beneficial. But if it is encouraged every- where indiscriminately, the best and most enterprising of our labourers would, in all probability, leave the country ; and from places where labour is by no means too abundant, and our highest pauperised places would consequently remain much as at present, if not worse. The letting off the purest water leaves that which remains the more polluted. But emigration — whatever might be its immediate effect — is, after all, only a temporary expedient ; the same causes will again lead to the same results, and if, as Mr. Bright said at Edinburgh, " the 230 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. whole fabric is rotten," emigration would prove a very in- efficient remedy for so deeply seated an evil. Nor do I think it will be found, when trade again revives, that there will he generally a greater supply of labour than the demand, aud it is of the highest importance that our manufacturers should he enabled to meet, promptly, every demand that may be made upon them. The largest claim for relief, and, consequently, that which makes the greatest inroad on the pockets of the ratepayers, is caused by that great class of persons who become paupers through sickness and infirmity. As a rule the labour- ing classes do not provide anything before hand, and whatever happeus to prevent them from following their ordinary occupations, causes them to become paupers immediately. I stated before that I had no doubt but that the wages of all classes of labourers were more than sufficient for their mainten- ance. But Lord Stanley said, very truly, in his speech to the electors of Lynn, that he thought there was " among all of us more improvidence in money-matters than exists among cor- responding classes in the rest of Europe ; and where improvi- dence exists, pauperism will never be far distant." It should be borne iu mind, however, that our lowest class of labourers, who are the principal source of our pauperism, have not the opportunities nor the encouragements to habits of frugality and providence that all other classes possess. We have our old national and the new post-office savings' banks, with advantages afforded for investing in Government annuities, &c., with numerous other institutions, all suitable and well adapted for the classes only immediately above that of which I m now speaking. This lower class has, consequently, formed inimense numbers of " friendly societies" in different parts of the country, to which they largely subscribe. In almost every considerable parish one of these institutions is to be found. But it has been shown over and over again, and particularly by Mr. Charles Howard, who read a very able paper on the subject the year before last, that it is the rare exception to find a society of this kind established upon such principles as will afford the greatest amount of help to its members for the con- tributions they pay, as it might be made to do. T believe that it would be found on inquiry that more help in sickness, to- gether with a pension in old age, could be secured for about the same contributions that are often paid to the existing socie- ties ; and for young members even less, as in most instances a man at 20 and 40 years of age now pay the same amount of contribution to his club. In a village containing a little over 600 inhabitants is a club of about 130 members, and the ordi- nary contributions amounted in five years to £775, and £120 more was raised for the expenses of the annual meetings. During the same period they paid their sick members £175, and for deaths £112. The remainder of the capital was then distributed, and that sum generally amounts to about £450 ; but this is of very little good to the members ; in many cases it is mortgaged a year or two beforehand to the village shop- keepers, who don't forget to charge an exorbitant price for the articles sold to repay them for the accommodation. In other instances a week or fortnight's debauch succeeds the " break- ing of the club." I have not, however, referred to this club in particular because I think it worse than the average ; I know that it is better, far better, than many ; but I mentioned it to show what a great advantage would accrue to the labouring- classes themselves if all such clubs were uniformly established on the best principles, and the funds remaining after paying the sick members were reserved for old-age pay. In a very (ew instances a club on such principles has been established, and it has entirely superseded the old ones ; but local effort is ineffectual in overcoming universally the prejudices of the members of existing societies. Parliament, however, could deal far more authoritatively with the whole subject. A care- ful inquiry should he made as to the best principles on which a national institution should be established, to afford support in sickness and in old age ; and I feel certain that the benefits of an institution of this kind might be brought within the reach of the whole of the labouring-classes. Let the question be taken up in a generous spirit, and if some assistance should be found necessary, it would not cost the State a very large sum to provide medical attendance free, which would lessen the amount of the contribution, and, iu having some control over the medical officers, a great advantage would be gained, as they should be held responsible for any imposition. Managers might be appointed as in savings' banks, and the monthly or quarterly returns of the district clubs would afford a check on each other. In this way the state of sickness might be as- certained, which of itself would be of very great value, and at present we have no reliable data by which it can be known. That there is a great want of such an institution no one can doubt. The Registrar of Friendly Societies, in his last report, gives a list of ten burial societies which had 4S6,612 members, and their gross receipts for the year amounted to £94,323, and the expenses of management to £36,301 ! Surely some- thing vastly better than anything they have at present might be placed within the reach of the labouring classes, and in some such way as this : " the man of poverty and suffering," as Mr. Bright has said, "should be touched and should be reached." If this were done, the same rule that is now so advantageously observed by railway companies might be very generally adopted by all employers of labour, and that is to employ none who will not subscribe to their provident institu- tion. There is another matter that has probably more in- fluence on the extent of pauperism than is generally supposed ; but I shall say but a few words on it, as it is a very delicate subject. About three weeks since I was on a visiting com- mittee to our pauper Lunatic Asylum, and we found it very full, as most of these institutions are ; but I was much struck with the large number of lunatics who were married. You are doubtless aware that in many parts of Europe persons are not allowed to marry who have not a fair prospect of main- taining a family. AVithout going so far as this, however, I think it is worthy of consideration whether the persons who, from any chronic, physical, or mental disability, are unable even to support themselves, should be allowed to marry. I do not refer to this thinking it is desirable to keep down what is called the " surplus population," as I have yet to learn that there is such a surplus ; but I think it is a question that should not be lost sight of. I am not one of those who think that the poor-laws are to be wholly condemned because of the present increase of pauperism. I believe the principles on which those laws are based to be sound, and it should not be forgotten that they were framed to meet a great and terrible evil; and not only have these laws'to meet "single-handed" this evil, but their effects are often neutralized by the inju- dicious manner in which charity is frequently bestowed. We have been recently told, but without satisfactory proof, that the sum of £8,500,000 is annually raised for the relief of dis- tress in this metropolis. Assuming 15s. a week to be sufficient to maintain a family of five persons, this sum will keep wholly in idleness about 1,100,000 ! I think therefore that most per- sons will endorse the exclamation of the Earl of Shaftesbury THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 231 that " the only wonder is that the whole population is not pauperised." But I do not believe that, even in this mighty metropolis, there can he more than 200,000 destitute persons that require relief, and £1,500,000 would be quite enough to properly support them. If such vast sums cau be raised and bestowed in charity in London, I wonder that the poor-rates arc not entirely abolished here, and the American voluntary system adopted instead. Out of £8,500,000, this could be very well done, and with some millions to spare, par- ticularly if honorary " fathers" enough can be found to relieve those only who need it according to the Elberfeld system. I am not sufficiently acquainted with this system to say if it can be practically adopted with advantage here ; but, whether it can or not, one thing is quite certain — that in the metropolis a field sullicieutly wide can be found to give the Elberfeld, or any other system, a trial; and an improvement must be sadly needed. Be- fore leaving the subject of pauperism, I wisli to allude to an alte- ration that I think may be made with advantage in the present mode of granting relief. The guardians have power to grant relief by way of loan, but the magistrate's clerk's fees, and the clumsy mode provided for recovering it, has rendered this va- luable provision of the law a dead letter. Guardians ought to be enabled to recover relief granted as a loan, with little trou- ble and no expense. If this were the case, those persons who earu good wages should be obliged to repay the amount which may be lent to them as temporary relief ; such persons would then be taught to rely more on themselves, and not be en- couraged to throw themselves on " the parish," as a matter of course, in consequence of every little ailment. The present cry is give, give, give, to an ever-increasing army of applicants, and the more we give, the more we may give. In considering the second part of the subject on the card, I think it will be at once conceded that vagrancy has increased to such an extent, that some radical change in the mode of dealing with it is im- peratively called for. There can be no doubt but that the class of persons who habitually use the vagrant wards of our workhouses are, not going to, or from, different places in search of work ; they evade it, and do not pursue any honest mode of getting a living ; yet they are provided with a supper, a breakfast, and a night's lodging at the expense of the rate- payers, and by imposition through the rest of the day — prin- cipally on the poorer classes — they manage to live as well, if not better, than an industrious labourer. It is quite certain that, if the regulations in force are not an encouragement to this mode of getting a living, they have utterly failed to check it. The Poor Law Board have recently issued a circular, with a view to the adoption of a uniform system in the treatment of vagrants throughout the country, and certain regulations are laid down for this purpose ; one of these recommends the guardians to " provide separate accommodation for each indi- vidual ;" but I submit that it is neither just or expedient to apply any portion of the rates that are raised for the relief of the poor in providing food and lodgings for persons who, to avoid work, are continually roaming through the country in idleness. It is further recommended in the circular of the Poor Law Board that, " some member of the police force" should be employed as assistant-relieving officer for vagrants, for they say that " the professional tramp will be compara- tively unwilling to confront such an officer." For the past year, we have, in the Yeovil Union, employed the superin- tendant of police as relieving officer for vagrants, but we don't find that they are at all unwilling to confront that officer, even in the presence of several members of the force ; and they have smashed the windows of the station two or three different times during the year. I think that vagrants are very much rougher customers than the Poor Law Board are aware of; and I do not believe that the regulations they have proposed, although an improvement upon the present system, will at all prove an effectual remedy for the, evil. Every sort of treat- ment seems to have been tried by the guardians of the Mac- clesfield Union, and they have given the result of their expe- rience in a circular, which they have just scut to the Toor Law Board ; they state " that the number of vagrants relieved in this union have increased from 3S7 in the year 1S60 to 5,785 in 1868. The guardians have tried many plaus of dealing with tramps, in the vain attempt to reduce their numbers. They have refused to admit any able-bodied men or women without children. At other times all comers have been admitted, a bed in the tramp ward, without food either night or morning, except in rare cases, has been the only allowance. Then, the cold bath, with a thorough scrubbing has been insisted upon, supper, and a bed in the tramp ward, with stone breaking in the morning, and porridge for breakfast. In all cases the ad- mission has been by an order of the police, obtained from the police office ; at some periods the greatest strictness and the most careful examination of each case has been formally made, and at other times every request has been indiscriminately granted. Many have been taken before the magistrates for refusing to work, for wilful damage, and for tearing their clothes. The result is that no system, be it humane or strictly harsh and severe, produces an effectual check to the evil of vagrancy." And they say further that " in no union can such experience have been better gained than in this, where the able operatives have been compelled from time to time, by periodical depressions in the silk trade, to travel long distances in search of work, and the guardians venture to say that in no case has one of them been seen in a tramp ward, whatever may have been the length of his journey, if his sole object lias been to work." The guardians of the Macclesfield Union have therefore come to the unanimous conclusion " that it is in all respects wiser, and certainly more humane, to put an end to vagraucy at once," and I entirely agree with them. I certainly do not sec why the ratepayers should be obliged to provide facilities for persons to pursue the profession of va- grancy any more than for those who pursue the calling of a pickpocket : the latter generally preys upon those who can afford to lose, and the former upon those who cannot. Both modes of living, I need hardly say, are equally dishonest. Those who would gain most by the suppression of vagrancy are the really deserving, as they will rather submit to any hardship almost than associate with the regular tramp. The superintendant of police at Yeovil declares that there is not one out of thirty who applies to him for an order for the vagrant ward who is really deserving. I am come to the con- clusion, therefore, that the Poor Law ought not to recognise the vagrant as a person entitled to any relief whilst he is able, and continues to pursue such a mode of life, and the proper mode of dealing with such persons, I think, is to adopt uni- versally the course which has been put in force with success in the counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland. The police there have had orders to arrest every one who offends against the vagrancy law, and when they have been found guilty, the justices have inflicted a severe penalty. The re- sult has been that in these two counties there has been a de- crease in one year of nearly 7,000 in the number of tramps and vagrants ; and the chief constable states that in no one 232 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. instance has any complaint been made that the honest man, who may be driven by necessity to travel for some lawful pur- pose, has been apprehended by the police of these counties. If the vagrant acts are not found sufficiently stringent they should be made so, and should be strictly put in force through- out the country. There is an extraordinary anomaly in the law that bears somewhat upon this question that I wish to call attention to. By the Towns Police Clauses Act 1S47, which is in force in nearly all the principal towns, a penalty of 40s. is imposed, or imprisonment for fourteen days, on any person using any profane or -obscene language in the streets ; but in the country any person may use the most filthy and disgusting language that he can think of with impunity ! a liberty which vagrants avail themselves of most readily ; why there should be this difference, however, in the law between town and country, I am at a loss to conceive. I am afraid that I have now brought the length of this paper beyond the usual limits, but the subject is one of those that is influenced by many different matters, upon all of which a great deal might be said, and it is quite certain that the pauperism of this country is so deeply seated in the lower classes of society, that it is not by one or two measures of amelioration only that a permanent and satisfactory solution can be arrived at. The Eight Hon. the President of the Poor-Law Board told his constituents recently that " those who ask for impossibili- ties do much to make impossible that which might otherwise be possible." I hope and believe that I have not recommended for consideration anything that is impossible ; my object has been to avoid doing so, but whether I have succeeded or not I must leave others to judge. In this, however, I think we . shall all agree that the time has arrived when the attention of the Government and of Parliament should be earnestly directed to those social measures that refer to the welfare, not of the poorer classes only, but of all classes in the country ; measures that have been so long needed and so long neg- lected. The Rev. J. Congreve (The Rectory, Tooting) said he had long bestowed close attention on this question, and had had considerable experience in connection with it. Being the rector of a suburban parish in the vicinity of London, he was a member of the Board of Guardians of the Union, and had a good deal to do with tie district pauper-schools. Such being his experience and position, he must say that pauperism seemed to him to be assuming a gigantic and appalling aspect. He would not, indeed, waste the time by proving the evil — they all knew it. The evil being confessed, almost everybody seemed anxious that something should be done to remedy it, but what that something was to be nobody appeared to know. Among the remedies which had been suggested were emigration, the redemption of waste lands, better dwellings for the poor, im- proved education^ a national rate, the abolition of the law of settlement, and legislation against drunkenness. These were specimens of the hobbies ridden by different persons. He (Mr. Congreve) had no hobby whatever to ride. Those who rode hobbies were no doubt most charming people to meet (laughter) : one always learnt something from them, and the pub- lic were on the whole enormous gainers by them. But though hobby riders were very pleasant persons to meet they were very bad post-boys — they never drove steadily home (laughter). He would try and sketch a brief outline of what was really wanted. The first thing they wanted was less talk and more business. Talk was very well if followed by action, but with- out that it was positively mischievous. During the last three months a great deal had been said in the newspapers about the £7,000,000 distributed annually in Loudon in some form of charity. What was this but holding up the carcass to the eagles all over England ? Everybody who wanted to live in idleness naturally asked themselves why they should not have their share, and that feeling tended to increase the amount of pauperism. The first want of England in regard to this matter was a man — a man with brains which lie could bring to bear on this gigantic evil, and who would be able to sift the various nostrums which were offered, and such a man having been found, public opinion should support him in applying an effectual remedy. In the next place, the country wanted, he submitted, a national rate. The evil was a national one, and every kind of property ought to contribute. (" No.") With a national rate should be coupled the abolition of the law of settlement. The two must go together, and combined they would be attended with manifold advantages. He would mention two advantages. In the first place, the burden of supporting the poor of this country would fall more justly and equably. He could testify J-hat in London many a small struggling tradesman would thus be saved from the gulf of pauperism, numbers of persons of that class now being weighed down by the unjust operation of the poor rates. At the same time there would be in Loudon — he did not know whether or not it would be so in the rural districts — an enormous amount of money saved in the collection of rates. Again, they wanted improved administration. He could not conceive anything more painful than the position in which Boards of Guardians were placed at that moment. The very fact that many of them were being constantly snubbed, reprobated, denied, by a Central Poor Law Board, showed that the thing was wrong in principle and wrong in constitu- tion. If Boards of Guardians really required so much over- looking from a Central Board it would be better to overlook them 'altogether. So far as his experience went there was plenty of justice, rightmindedness, aud honesty in Boards of Guardians. They were attacked on points upon which they ought not to be attacked, and not attacked on points upon which they ought to be (laughter). Nothing, he repeated, could be more painful than the position which Boards of Guardians occupied at that moment, aud he for one was not surprised that country gentlemen shrank from joining their number. Perhaps instead of voluntary Boards of Guardians it would be well to have trained official responsible persons entrusted with the administration of the poor law in a given district. The criminal law was administered by judges in a manner which commanded the confidence of the country, and year by year its administration in one department was being taken out of the hands of the great unpaid and transferred to those of stipendiary magistrates. The poor law was not inferior in importance to the criminal law, and he saw no reason why it should not be administered by trained official and responsible men, ill whom the public would repose entire confidence. As regarded emigration it was not to be supposed that the colonies would consent to receive confirmed paupers hut he could not believe that some means might not be found to make labour flow where it was wanted. As regarded waste lands lie had observed with his own eyes that they could not only be reclaimed but reclaimed economically and remunera- tively to the owner, and he could not understand why, with a little organization, the waste lands of this country should not be brought to contribute towards the payment in the first instance and the support in the second of the increasing THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 233 population. As regarded education, he thought great efforts should he directed to the providing a really good education, partly industrial and partly hook education. On this point he must remark that they especially needed at the present time an education which would teach the rich people of this country that the more they gave indiscriminately for the gratification of their kindly feelings, the more they con- tributed towards the evil uuder which society was suffering. If the public generally would not give a penny to vagrants there would soon he no vagrants to ask for a penny. The public had the remedy for vagrancy in their own hands, and they had only to apply it. Mr. W. Eve (Union Court, City) said he knew it was cus- tomary in that Club to compliment gentlemen who introduced a subject ; but on the present occasion he could do so with the greatest sincerity. On ouc point alluded to by Mr. Trask he must join issue with him, he meant marriage. He thought marriage ought to be promoted, and although there were evils attending large families, still as a ride marriage promoted hap- piness, and the absence of it led to worse evils, As regarded the system in Germany, to which Mr. Trask alluded, he thought that admirable as that system was, it required the application of too much time and labour on the part of the so-called " fathers" ever to be generally adopted in this country. He did not agree with the last speaker as to the advantages to be expected from a national rate. He was an advocate for a uniform sys- tem of rating iu the metropolis, the burden of rates being at present very unequal ; but he believed that a national rate would lead to improvident administration, and increase the evils of pauperism. The comparison drawn between the case of the criminal law and that of the poor law did not appear to be just. Iu the former case there was a certain law kuown to all the judges to be administered, while iu the latter the law could only be administered properly by those who possessed a local knowledge. With regard to charity, he begged to say that he never gave away a penny indiscriminately, though he hoped he was not uncharitable. Business had lately taken him a good deal to a considerable town iu the south of England, and he must say, that although there was great destitu- tion there, inquiry had convinced him that it arose in a great measure from the improvident habits of the poor (Hear, hear). There was one thing which he thought lay at the root of the epiestion under discussion, namely, education. Educa- tion should be made efficient, and also, iu his opinion, com- pulsory, and nothing, he thought, would tend more to do away with pauperism and vagrancy than efficient compulsory educa- tion, and the stopping of indiscriminate charity. Mr. G. Sjiytuies (Marlow Lodge, Lcintwardiue) said, as an old poor-law guardian, he well knew how terribly vagrancy had lately increased and how it had set all elForts to diminish it at defiauce. He had always been of opinion that the only way to reduce the uuinber of vagrants was to deal harslily with them ; but lie felt satisfied that under the present system public opiuiou would uot allow that to he done, because people were afraid that in dealing harshly with the bad man — the rfeal vagrant — they might occasionally deal hardly by the de- serving man (Hear, hear). Therefore, he thought the proper way of beginning was to take care that the genuine traveller, the man who was really looking for work, was properly taken care of ; and after that had been done, suitable measures might be carried out to meet the case of confirmed vagrants. As to merely setting vagrants to work, or washing them, or anything of that kind, it had failed over and over again. They all knew that the number of thieves of this country were very much swollen, directly and indirectly, from the vagrants, and iu that way, as well as in the form of vagrancy itself, great loss was infiicted on the country. For the diminution of vagrancy, he could not help thinking there was a great deal iu the system lately in- troduced by Mr. Baker iu Gloucestershire— that of giving a man a ticket, which carried him on to his destination, and ensured his being properly taken care of on the way ; and if the public knew that that object was secured, they would, he believed, consent to harsh measures being applied to the vagrant (Hear, hear). He quite agreed with Mr. Trask, that the best mode of dealing with pauperism with a view to its diminution was to begin with the children. All experienced guardians knew that the children of paupers generally became paupers themselves, though he quite agreed with Mr. Trask, that that was in many cases owiug to the bad education which they received. Although the union with which he (Mr. Smythies) was connected was but small, and there were not a great mauy children in it, industrial training had been carried out to a considerable extent. The girls were taught cooking and needle work ; the boys were taught gardeuiug, or at all events digging, while those who showed any talent were instructed in shoe-making or tailoring. The result was that for boys or girls over 13 years of age there was found immediate employ- ment ; they were got off immediately, and it was very rarely that one of them came back. The cost of this industrial training was not heavy, and the money was well expended. He thought labourers should be encouraged to join good sound benefit societies, with a view to keeping clown pauperism, especially young men in the receipt of good wages, and if a man began putting money in a society while he was young he would find it easy to continue paying afterwards. Again, he thought that instead of conferring on the able-bodied labourer in time of pressure a gift, it would be much better to make a loan. He knew that under the old system the overseers never tried to get money back again, but he saw no reason why under the new regulations a clerk who was paid a liberal salary should not endeavour to obtain the return of any money so ad- vanced. It was far less degrading to a man to borrow money than to receive it as a gift. When a man once began to re- ceive money as a gift he hardly ever rose from the position of a pauper. The Ciia.ie.maji said it might not be generally kuown that they had a poor-law inspector with them that evening, Mr. Corbett. With the permission of the meeting he would call upon that gentleman to give them the benefit of his observa- tion and experience. Mr. Uvedale Corbett said he was sure they must all feel deeply indebted to the geutleman who had introduced the sub- ject. Rarely had he heard a paper read at a meeting of that kind which was so full of practical suggestions or sound useful information. He differed, however, from Mr. Trask on one or two points. In the first place he differed from him with re- gard to the total failure, as that gentleman considered it to be, of the education given to pauper children. He did not mean to say that that education was all he could wish it to be ; but having inspected for a year or two the schools in six counties around London — viz., Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxford- shire, Surrey, Sussex, and Kent, and having afterwards in- spected those of Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire, comprising an immense number of unions, he must say that the majority of the schools connected with the workhouses were admirably conducted, the children in the counties near 234 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. London generally turning out as well as those in the northern. He was quite aware that it was generally very desirable to separate the children from their parents more than was usually done. However painful might he the fact, it was undoubtedly true that the mothers in workhouses were often found to be the worst advisers of their children (Hear, hear). They must, however, be contented with doing what was practicable. Had the Government some time ago persisted in establishing com- pulsory district schools, that would, he felt sure, have created quite a rebellion among the Boards of Guardians throughout the country (Hear, hear). In his own county (Shropshire) there was a school district on the separate system which had done an immense amouut of good by combining industrial with ordinary school-training ; the separate metropolitan industrial aud dis- trict schools had also proved most successful ; but he thought it would be most uuwise to ask the legislature to pass a com- pulsory measure applicable to the rural districts throughout the country. In his opinion it would be much better to leave the matter to the good sense of the Boards of Guardians and other gentlemen who took an interest in it. Where separate schools for the poor could be established, it was an excellent tiling for the district, and in the metropolis and large towns it was essential they should be so separated, but not in the coun- try unions, where land was generally cheap, and they might be effectually detached from the workhouse, as at Maidstone, where an excellent workhouse school was combined with a separate industrial training establishment. The thing could easily be- managed, wherever there was a sufficient number of children aud plenty of land. Efficient officers for training purposes could of course be obtained in large schools at comparatively little co3t. Even in many workhouse schools, there might be a military band, with a baud instructor — an arrangement which had proved one of the best outlets for children ; while, if suffi- cient ground were attached to the workhouse, they might, at all events, be taught to delve and dig and to employ their hands and feet usefully. He had invariably recommended guardians to provide some industrial employment for children — digging for boys, and sewing for girls. As regarded bands, he might re- mark that where a brass band could not be formed there might, at all events, be a drum and fife band— a kind of band which had proved most beneficial in its influence. The de- mand for boys belonging to the metropolitan union schools for the army and navy was very great indeed, lie should like some of the gentlemen whom he was addressing to go down to Limehouse, and see how well what he was recommending ope- rated there. The Peltham Industrial Training School, where there was a military band as well as training for the navy, had proved a most useful establishment. In short, it was hardly possible to have too much industrial training. He must just allude to one branch of industrial training which had been very much neglected. Before he left the Lancashire district the Liverpool guardians established a separate training school for domestic service, where the elder girls received the sort of training required for such employment. It was remark- able that previously to that very few girls had learnt what a whole day's work was ; but they were then occupied the whole day by turns in cooking, needlework, and laundry work, and such training proved, he believed, exceedingly useful. As regarded emigration, the benefits to be derived from it depended on a judicious use of it. Great benefit had resulted from what was done by the East Eud Emigration Society ; and it was, he thought, best to leave emigration to societies of that kind, which paid special attention to the subject, aud were in com- munication with the colonial authorities. He entirely agreed witli Mr. Smythies and other speakers that it was desirable to give encouragement to genuine provident societies. They all knew that much of the destitution which prevailed was caused by improvidence ; and the more guardians went amongst the poor themselves instead of leaving everything to officers the more would they be able to promote provident habits. As re- garded the mode of giving relief, he thought it should be ad- ministered by an efficient staff of officers, who would administer the law strictly and yet humanely, and if adequate relief was given in cases of proved destitution there would be no necessity for the benevolent intervention of strangers. Mr. A. Crosskill (Beverley) said he should like to import a little variety into the discussion. They had heard the subject discussed by gentlemen who were thoroughly acquainted with it, by members of boards of guardians, and by a learned in- spector. He was in a positiou quite different from that of auy of those gentlemen, inasmuch as the subject was comparatively new to him, and except that he had poor-rates to pay he had no practical acquaintance with the working of the Poor-laws. He wished to represent what he might call the outside view of the case, which in his opinion was not unimportant. A great deal had been said about the interposition of Parliament in this matter. They had among them various members of Par- liament— in fact, the members of that Club were constantly getting into Parliament — (laughter) ; and among them was an ex-chairman of that Club, who had stated over and over again, and they all knew had stated truly, that the House of Commons would not interfere in such matters unless it were supported by a powerful public opinion outside (Hear, hear). Mr. Read had often reminded them of that fact. He (Mr. Crosskill) had been surprised to hear it stated that evening that there was an enormous increase of pauperism. They all knew that the last two or three years formed an exceptional period as regarded the stagnation of trade, and he should like to know whether, taking a review of the last ten or twenty years, there had in reality been such a great increase of pauperism, in comparison with the increase of population, as one might be led to expect from listening to the introduc- tion of the subject (" No ! no !") That might be the case, but he was quite sure that the bulk of the people of this coun- try unacquainted with the administration of the Poor-law were not aware of it ; and if public opinion was to be brought to bear on the subject, the public must be correctly informed. As regarded the paper which had been read, he entirely concurred in the praise which had been expressed ; but he thought Mr. Trask exaggerated the influence of the restrictions imposed by trades' unions, in connection with the increase of pauperism. In his opinion, those restrictions did not produce much effect upon the trade of the country generally. They might affect some trades more than others, but he believed the restrictions imposed by trades' unions had not much to do with the in- crease of pauperism. As regarded benefit clubs, he thought too much importance could hardly be attached to them. Mr. Trask was perfectly correct in what he said about inaccurate and unsound tables having led societies to grief. He stated that in many cases persons entering a society at 40 years of age paid just the same as persons entering at 20. [A Voice : "That is the rule."] In the Manchester societies that ques- tion had been thoroughly investigated, and in all the societies formed lately, and in all the old ones which were still pros- pering, the payments had been so arranged that all the members might fairly expect to receive what they subscribed THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 235 to obtain. Iu the manufacturing districts generally in the North of England the evil referred to by Mr. Trask had been remedied. [A Voice : " Not in the rural districts."] Well, he hoped the improvement would soon extend to those dis- tricts, and the fact would be recoguiscd that persons over 10 years of age were more likely to sutler from siekuess than persons who were only about 20 (Hear, hear), lie thought that sick-clubs, properly conducted, afforded one of the best means of keeping down pauperism, so far as able-bodied men were concerned ; and, in his opinion, employers could in no other way so benefit their labourers as by inducing them to join such societies. It would, he believed, be found on exami- nation that the men who subscribed to such clubs, and made a provision for old age, were the best and most useful of their class. He entirely concurred in what had been said about the mischievous effects of indiscriminate charity. But men did harm, not only by indiscriminate charity during their life, but also by bequeathing money in charity when they came to die (Hear, hear). He lived in a town where great mischief had arisen from that source, the result generally being that doles were made to some of the very worst characters in the place, who got drunk with the money (Hear, hear). On this point he would call attention to a speech which was delivered by Mr. Gladstone in the House of Commons, when the ques- tion under discussion was whether charities should be taxed. That speech contained a clear exposition of the evils of the class of charities to which he alluded, and as regarded gentle- men who entertained any doubt on the subject, he felt that he could not do better than recommend them to read what Mr. Gladstone said. Mr. Cii.uu.es Howard (Biddeuhara, Bedford) said he was sorry to find that his friend Mr. Crosskill did not appear at all aware of the increase of pauperism in the country (Hear, hear). Had he been a tenant farmer, like himself, he must have been made aware of it long since ; but, like many others of his class, he was very sensibly relieved by persons be- longing to other interests. Mr. Crosskill was no doubt driving a most prosperous trade, and making many thousands a-year, yet he (Mr. C. Howard) probably paid far more in the shape of poor-rate than his friend did. Mr. Crosskill was, however, the prime minister of the concern — he had nothing to do with financial matters (laughter). Doubtless the time was coming when the pockets of such gentlemen would be touched a littte more than they had been lately (laughter). Mr. Trask, iu his excellent paper, had referred to unions, in which he said children were not properly employed. He (Mr. C. Howard) thought that those cases were exceptions to the rule, and that iu most unions children were well employed. In his own — Bedford Union — girls were properly trained, and readily ob- tained situations, the boys being sought after as apprentices by the tradesmen of the district, to whom a small premium was given. Mr. S. Sidney (Islington) was glad to hear from Mr. Howard such an account of the schools in Bedfordshire, especially as he knew that there were many large schools where the children had been educated to be paupers. What had been said that evening would at all events tend to cut off that source of pau- perism. With regard to vagabondism, he thought they were all agreed that vagrants must no longer be treated as objects of charity, but as criminal persons. Vagrancy should, in fact, be regarded as a question of police. In this country, however, they were placed in considerable difficulty iu that respect. The police could not ask travellers for their papers, as they do in France. Public opinion was at present very delicate on that point ; but he did trust that that delicacy would soon disap- pear, and that criminal vagrants would be placed in the hands of the police. As regarded pauperism, he thought a broad line should be drawn between the pauperism that existed in this great metropolis, which was quite a thing by itself, and the pauperism that existed iu the rural districts. In London for the last hundred years everything had been done that could be done to encourage pauperism. Those present who lived iu or near a village knew something about the character of the regular labourers, or the kind of people whom they employed; but in Loudon that was far from being the case. So long as a man abstained from applying for parochial relief, employers knew nothing about him, and one result of this state of things was, that a very large number of persons systematically lived on charity. To this he might add that there were a good many persons of various religions competing with each other for converts, and many people by going first to the ltitualists, then to the Low Churchmen, and then to the Roman Catholics, made a very excellent living. It was within his own know- ledge that some clever rascals habitually subsisted on charity, removing, with a clear calculation, from place to place. For example, in the vicinity of St. Mary-le-Strand there were so many local charities that persons took lodgings on purpose to live upon them (laughter). As the pauperism of Loudon affected the country, he might be excused for remarking that until there was a large diminution in the number of the guardians in the Metropolis there could be no hope of a diminution of Metropolitan pauperism. One of the great writers in English literature, who had himself been a plough- boy, said that if they wanted to improve the condition of the agricultural labourer, they must not merely teach him to be honest, but see that his belly was filled ; and that not from charity, but from wages. At the present time a considerable portion of the agricultural labourers did look to charity, in some form or other ; and until those who were brought up on a false system were succeeded by a generation who were taught to look to their wages alone, at all times and at every period of life, as their means of support, there would be no remedy for the evils complained of. During the long war at the commencement of the present century agricultural labourers were pauperised by the heavy weight of taxation, looking to parish relief to eke out their wages, and they had not yet emerged from that state of things. Mr. IJved.vle Corbett said the last speech had reminded him of one thing which he forgot to mention. There had of late been a great deal of indiscriminate abuse of the Boards of Guardians; but he must say that he did not consider it deserved that abuse. He had always found Boards of Guardians anxious to do their duty according to their knowledge, and he thought it would be an evil day for England when the country gentle- men and farmers in the rural districts, the manufacturers in the manufacturing districts, and the tradesmen in the great cities and towns were called on to resign their duty as regarded the administration of the poor-law into the hands of paid officials (Hear, hear). If persons who possessed local know- ledge could not be got to take any interest in the matter, pauperism would be increased tenfold. Mr. Thorn hill (Chairman of the Woodstock Board of Guardians) said vagrancy was attributable partly no doubt to indiscriminate charity, but partly also to the vagrant tastes of a large portion of the human race ; and if they wanted to 236 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, check it, they must not merely try to induce the charitahle to button up their breeches-pocket, but also endeavour to make the trade of the vagrant disagreeable to those who followed it (Hear, hear). Perhaps there was no better way of arresting indiscriminate charity than to convince the public that there was a universal system throughout the country under which every man who was really destitute could obtain relief. That brought him to the present state of the law of settlement and removability. The system had, as they all knew, been gradually undergoing a change for some years past, and now no man was removable if he had lived in the "Union for a year. Supposing the law of settlement and removability to be abolished altogether, there would be two distinct classes of paupers to be dealt with. They might deal with the resident paupers as they did now ; but the class of vagrants must clearly be dealt with in a different manner. The one class might be called the resident, the other the non-resident paupers. Dealing with the resident paupers as they did now, how were they to deal with the vagrant ? His opinion was that, instead of giving him a night's lodging, they should re- ceive him for not less than fourteen days, during which he should be kept steadily at work every day under regular task- masters, and live separately from the other paupers. If at the end of the fourteen days he had earned enough to provide himself with clothes, or the means of travelling by railway, and wished to leave, the money might be so applied for such purposes ; but if, on the other hand, he said at the expiration of the fortnight that he had nowhere to go, and wished to remain, he might be. allowed to stay on the same conditions as before, for a further period, and his case should afterwards be brought before the Board. That was treatment which would not be injurious to the man who really desired to cam an honest living (Hear, hear). Il such a man, after his probation, wished to try his chance in another part of the country, the Board of Guardians might give him what was called under Mr. Baker's system a ticket-of-way, and he would then have a night's lodging at any workhouse to which he came on the specified route, as he would now. If a man who had been relieved for fourteen days in the manner he had sug- gested should be found within six or eight months acting as a vagrant, let him be sent to prisou, any act of begging being treated as vagrancy. Thus they might convince the public that there was one universal system of relief throughout the country, under which no one could starve, while at the same time relief would bo administered in a form which would be unpalatable to the true vagrant. Mr. C. Cadle (Gloucester) said he wished to call attention to one point which he thought had been overlooked — namely, the connection of small beer-houses with pauperism and vagrancy. That was an evil which in many parts of the country was felt severely, and he thought such facilities should not be given for opening fresh ones, and those already open should be more under control. Mr. Jancey (Hereford) said, as an old member of the Hereford Board of Guardians, he felt great interest in this question. As regarded the education of children in work- houses, lie did not think children generally were as little cared for as Mr. Trask seemed to suppose. In the work- house with which he was connected there were 120 children, for whom industrial training was provided as well as was practicable. Shoemaking and tailoring were both taught, and, there being about 24 sacks of flour per week consumed, a considerable number of children were employed in the bakery. There were also eight or nine acres of land, on which boys were employed in garden-cultivation and taught to make themselves useful, as far as it could be done. In that union the guardians found no difficulty in placing out children. The boys were in demand very early, and persons would readily take them as apprentices without any premium. In most instances, the boys who had been trained in the manner he had described turned out very well. In his opinion, it was the duty of the guardians to take care that both boys and girls were well trained and instructed, and thus to place them in a position to get a living in after years ; and he also considered them bound to see that the aged and infirm were properly attended to, and the sick provided with necessary attendance and comforts. As regarded the evil of vagrancy, he must say that the attempts hitherto made to check it had proved unsuc- cessful. Before coming to London he made some inquiries as regarded his own district, the result of which lie would lay before the club. During 1S07, the number of vagrants re- lieved at the Hereford workhouse was 2,195, while last year the number rose to 3,370. [A Member : What is the popu- lation ?] The population embraced in the union was about 30,000. The guardians there had adopted the system of tickets recommended by Mr. Baker. That system was a very good one, but he feared that it would be of little use unless it were adopted and carried out generally (Hear, hear). He could not help expressing the pleasure with which he heard the remarks of Mr. Corbett respecting the conduct of boards of guardians (Hear, hear). He knew that it was the fashion to abuse them : they were abused for spending too much money — they were abused for not spending enough ; but, so far as he could judge, the guardians generally performed their duty honestly and faithfully (Hear, hear). Mr. J. Marriage (Grassmere, Mitcham) thought that in the consideration of this subject some attention ought to be paid to the state of the dwellings of the poor. Old cottages were constantly going to decay, many of them being scarcely habitable, and very little was being done towards the substitu- tion for them of improved dwellings in the country districts. The labourer therefore was driven to reside in the outskirts of towns and villages two or three miles from his work. lie lived in a district in Surrey where many labouring men had to pay four, five, and in some cases even seven shil- lings a week for a cottage. This of course compelled two or three families to live together, and they all knew how detrimental that arrangement was to the morals of the poor. Under such circumstances the poor were under great tempta- tion to frequent public-houses, and this also was very detri- mental to their morals, and prevented frugal habits. The evils of the present public-house system cropped up so thickly around them that they ought not to be ignored in a discussion on pauperism. He considered the licensing system altogether wrong. Beer ought to be made, if he might so express his meauing, a more come-atable commodity, and the poor man should not be compelled to pay fivepence a quart at a public- house for what under a different system he ought to obtain at his own home for twopence (Hear, hear). Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., said at that late hour of the evening he would not trouble them with many remarks. It was very seldom indeed that he had had it in his power to praise any acts of the Poor-law Board, but he must say that he hoped gentle- men present, coming from a great number of counties in England, who were interested in the administration of the Poor-law, would give the circular recently issued by the Poor- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 337 law Board with regard to vagrants their serious, careful, and favourable attention (Hear, hear). Although they might not he able to do everything that was sketched out in that circular, they certainly might do a great deal. In the first place they might endeavour to make the administration of the law as re- garded vagrants uniform throughout the country, and so esta- blish one uniform system of treatment. Surely the proper man to inspect vagrants before they received an order for a night's lodging was the policeman rather than a relieving- ollicer, or, as might he the case, a porter of the union. The policeman could, by searching a vagrant, ascertain whether or not he had any property about him. There were some other recommendations of the Foor-law Board which, in his opinion, guardians should endeavour to carry ont. As to separate cells, they would not he disliked by the man who was honestly looking for work. It was only the professional vagrant who would dislike them. Such per- sons wished to be always among companions like them- selves, and there was nothing which they hated more than separation from their fellows and soap and water (laugh- ter). As regarded the education of children, as Mr. Eve put that education, surely they had had illustrations enough how they might educate a child in book learning only without any good result. It had been supposed that iguorance and pau- perism were inseparable. Why, in these days they had edu- cated paupers. Experience had shown that boys and girls might be well educated in union schools, and yet if they were not trained in some industrial pursuits lapse into pauperism. And, then, as to wages, it had been supposed that the wages paid in agricultural districts engendered pauperism. If they could make labourers frugal, if they could make them pru- dent, if they could give them forethought, there would not be half as much pauperism as there was. Let him give a prac- tical illustration, for one fact was worth a hundred opinions. A short time ago lie had on his farm two lads, about eighteen years of age, who earned in a twelvemonth about £35 each. For some offence which they committed he was compelled to discharge them, and in a fortnight after they had not a shilling (Hear, hear). They did not belong to any club, and there they were, after having earned thirteen or fourteen shillings a week during the whole year, perfectly destitute at the end of a fortnight. He entirely coucuired in the opinion that one great source of pauperism was indiscriminate charity ; but there was another cause, and that was the sentimental twaddle talked in this country by persons who would have workhouses turned into palaces and gaols into comfortable residences (Hear, hear). It would be.impossible to administer parochial relief honestly to the ratepayer, and at the same time humanely to the deserving pauper, unless they all did their utmost to arrest the advancing tide of able-bodied pauperism and va- grancy which was rolling over the country (Hear, hear). Mr. J. K. Fowler (the Frebendal Farm, Aylesbury) said he was very much struck with what was said by Mr. Cross- kill respecting the evils of the numerous small local charities. He had himself found that the first step towards pauperism was the reception by the poor of those wretched little trumpery chari- ties, and he thought that if they could be made available in assisting good local clubs for the benefit of the poor, so as to constitute a nucleus for their small savings that would produce a great practical effect as regarded the diminution of pauperism. With respect to vagrancy, he looked upon a vagrant with as much horror as Harry the Eighth did. Mr. Froude, the his- toriau, said that in the reign of that monarch the " sturdy and valiant beggar," when first caught in that character, had an ear slit ; if caught a second time, he had his other ear slit, and got a good flogging ; but if caught a third time he was hanged ; the king contending that confirmed vagrants, being useless and mischievous members of society, ought to be put out of the way. In these days such forcible measures would, of course, not he tolerated by public opinion; but something should be done to arrest the spread of vagrancy. The Chairman in winding up the discussion said, although it had been protracted to a considerable length, he was sure none of them regretted that. The subject had proved, as anti- cipated, a very interesting one, and he ventured to say, that it was now ripe for the consideration of Parliament. It was re- marked by the introducer of the subject, and others who followed had also stated, that pauperism and vagrancy had, during the last few years, greatly increased. There could be no doubt that such was the case ; but on the other hand, he did not think he had heard any practical remedy suggested for that increase. Mr. Trask observed, that in some unions with which he was acquainted, children, while they were taught to read and write, had no industrial training. Hew a- happy to say that in the union with which he himself was connected industrial training, at all events the handling of the spade, the pick, and 'm on, was made more prominent than instruction in reading and writing. The guardians took care, indeed, that the children were taught to read, write, and cipher, but they did not lose sight of the great importance of industrial training. Mr. Crosskill seemed to doubt whether the increase of pauperism and vagrancy was in excess of the increase of population. Now lie (the Chairman) was con- nected with an agricultural union containing, according to the last returns, a population of 14,23G — a population which had been about stationary for some years — and he was sorry to say that both pauperism and vagrancy had increased to a considera- ble extent in that union. There were something like 59 per cent, more inmates in the house now than there were two years ago. There might, perhaps, be some exceptional reasons to account for that increase in his own union (Hear, hear). During the last two years provisions had been dearer than they were before, and to this he might add that the failure of the root crop had caused a great reduction in the amount of labour required to attend to the number of sheep that were kept. Mr. Trask then replied. Adverting to the remarks of Mr. Corbett, he repeated that he thought Union schools were working unsatisfactorily, as a rule, and said on that part of the subject he saw no reason for modifying the expressions in his paper. As regarded Mr. CrosskilTs doubt as to the in- crease of pauperism relatively to that of population, he said he had purposely avoided statistics, but he felt certain that the fact was as he had represented it. After the passing of the Bill of 1S34, the rate of pauperism began to descend ; it was now again in the ascending scale, and unless soon checked it would probably rise up again to the proportions which it assumed prior to the period he had just mentioned. With regard to the question of a national rate which had been re- ferred to, I will only say that I think it is of the highest im- portance that the area of taxation should not be extended beyond the area of administration. On the motion of Mr. J. Howard, M.P., seconded by Mr. T. Congreve, a vote of thanks was given to Mr. Trask for his introduction. Mr. Trask moved a vote of thanks to the Chairman, and the adoption of this by acclamation terminated the proceed- ings. FOXES F. BABBITS.— This subject has been selected for discussion at the May meeting of the Farmers' Club, when the question will be opened by Mr, Henry Corbet, 238 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. UNIFORMITY OF WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND COINS. At the annual meeting of the Kincardineshire Farmers' Association, held at Laurencekirk, Mr. Largie, Halkerton Mains, in the chair, Mr. Taylor, Cushnie, read the following- paper : You are aware that great diversity of weights aud measures, and consequent inconvenience, exists throughout the couutry, and has led to much discussion as to au efficient and effective remedy. I hold in my hand three bills which have been intro- duced iuto the House of Commons within the last few years, to establish the metric system of weights aud measures. I hope you will allow me to make a few remarks on this impor- tant subject. The want of a uniform system was felt in Eng- land more thau six hundred years ago. When the barons ex- torted from King John (1215) Magna Cliarta, the great foun- dation of English liberty, the Charter said there shall be only one standard of weight and one standard of measure through- out the land ; and to render this regulation possible to carry out, standards of weight and measure were ordered to be con- structed, and copies thereof sent to all parts of the kingdom. If these standards. were ever made, they were lost, for copies were never sent to country districts ; and then came a very natural consequence, every town and every village began to make standards for themselves. "Then began the confusion, worse confounded, that has reigned in the national measures ever since." In Scotland, too, Kings and Parliaments took up the question of uniformity of weights and measures. The third Parliament of James I., 1424, made a law that standards of weights aud measures " should be made and used by all buyers and sellers throughout the realm." Iu the reign of James IV., 1504, an equalisation of weights aud measures was commanded to be observed throughout the realm to the most remote isles ; but the same diversity and confusion still continued. The late Dr. Young collected as many names of various weights aud measures as would have filled a small dictionary, aud the general progress of the nation was not at that time improving to the matter. In 1S23, it was stated by Dr. Kelly in his examination before the House of Lords " that there had been upwards of two hundred laws enacted without success in favour of conformity, and five hundred various mea- sures in defiance of those laws." There had been two old ex- chequer standards, but they had dropped out of sight ; and when their habitation was at length revisited in 1S35, to see the foundation on which the Government of Kiug William was then legislating, Mr. Baily reports of the then single standard left, " that it was impossible to speak of it with too much derision and contempt. A common kitchen poker filed at the end in the rudest manner by the most bungling work- nan would make as good a standard." " It had been broken asunder," he a rites, " and the two pieces have been dove- tailed together, but so badly that the joint is nearly as loose as a pair of tongs. The fracture had occurred beyond the memory or knowledge of any of the offices of Exchequer, and yet tili within the last ten years copies of this measure had been circulated all over Europe and America, with a parchment document accompanying them (charged with a stamp that cost £3 10s., exclusive of official fees), certifying that they are true copies of the English Standard." During the many centuries since the granting of Magna Charta, and the solemn promise contained in it that there should be uniformity of weights and measures over the kingdom ; and since the Kings and Parliaments of Scotland legislated to the same effect, wc have been ruled by kings, dukes, prelates, barons, knights, and esquires ; and yet no uniformity was ever enforced. More progress towards uniformity has been made during the last seventy years, since the voice of the people over Europe has become powerful, thau in the previous six centuries. In 1798 men of science from different countries held their first meeting in Paris on the question of uuifonnity of weights and mea- sures. Seventy years after, the International Conference for the adoption of a uniform system of weights, measures, aud coins, at its sitting on June 21, 1867, reports that France, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Papal States, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Mexico, Chili, Brazil, New Granada, aud other South American republics have adopted the metric system in a com- plete manner, and rendered the use of it obligatory. The countries which have adopted it partially are Prussia, Sweden, Denmark, Baden, Bavaria, and Austria. Iu Germany, accord- ing to information given by German members of the Com- mittee (of Conference), public opinion is strongly inclined to- wards the unification of the system of weights and measures by the introduction of the metric system. Delegates from the United States of America attended the Conference, and have been negotiating preparatory to adopting the same system. Russia is hanging back, to see what England will do ; and England is advancing cautiously but surely towards the com- plete adoption of the metric system. In Great Britain, the Act of 1861 has rendered the metric system legal ; aud an- other Bill rendering it obligatory was carrisd during last session, on its second reading iu the House of Commons, by 217 to 65, but was withdrawn at the request of the then Vice- President of the Board of Trade, on the ground that a Standards Commission had been appointed, but the report was not likely to be given in for another year. This Commission was issued on 18th Feb., 1S68, and is now conducting its in- quiries under the presidency of Lord Halifax. Iu 1774 the idea of an invariable and universal uuit of lineal measure ma- nifested itself; and the idea of Wren and Huygens to employ the pendulum for that purpose was renewed, but it failed. In 1790 a Committee of the House of Commons was appointed for the purpose of considering the matter ; but that Committee suspended its operations, and nothing resulted from its ap- pointment. Again, in 1814, another Committee was ap- pointed, without any result ; but in 1818 a Commission was appointed to consider how far it might be practicable to establish a more uniform system of weights and measures. Sir George Clerk brought iu a Bill in furtherance of the recommendation of the Commission. That was iu 1822 ; but that bill did not pass. In 1823 the same Bill passed the House of Commons, but did uot pass the House of Lords. In 182-1, however, the Bill passed into law ; that is the Act of 5 Geo. IV., and came into operation 1st Jan. 1826, abolishing the old standards, and establishing the present Imperial standards. "This Act was not found sufficient to secure uniformity of weights and measures, principally because it did not render it illegal to use the weights and measures which were then in use throughout the kingdom, and did not make it compulsory in all cases to use the Imperial measure and weight ; and therefore the former weights and measures continued to be used throughout the kingdom." Two other Acts were in consequence passed, first 4 aud 5 Will. IV., and soon after 5 and 6 William IV. " The first of these abolished all local and customary measures, &c. ; but the main purpose of the Act was to secure uniformity, and to abolish the use of those local weights which so perplexed commence at that time. Imperial standards had been deposited in the House of Commons in 1825, but were lost in the great fire which destroyed both Houses of Parliament, 15th October, 1834. A Commission was appointed to restore the same, which reported in 1S42, but still uniformity was not enforced, and had not been done to the present time." So much for Parliamentary deliberations and enactments. The Professor of Commercial Law in King's College, London, Mr. Leone Levi, says, the Universal Exhibitions have shown that much yet remains to be done to facilitate international relations ; aud that amongst the great desiderata none is more wanting than one common system of weights, measures, and coins. At the International Exhibition of 1851, this was clearly visible ; and at its close, the Society for Encourage- ment of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce of Loudon, represented to the Government that " it might be of use to inquire whether, by arrangement with neighbouring nations, some steps may not be taken which may tend eventually to an adoption of a uniform system throughout the world." At the Universal Exhibition held in Paris in 1855, the jurymen aad THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 230 commissioners of different counties, about 200 in number, signed a declaration to the eQ'ect that one of the best methods for advancing industry would be the adoption of one universal system of weights and measures. At the International Exhi- bition in London in 186*, the same want was expressed in the reports of jurymen of different classes. Other international and scientific assemblies recently held have expressed the same want. The International Statistical Congress, at its meetings in Brussels iu 1853, Paris 1855, Vienna 1857, London 1860, and Berlin 1863, found great difficulty in the diversity of units by which various social and eco- nomical facts are stated in the statistics of different countries. Scientific societies like the British Association and the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, have expressed their opinion that great advantage would accrue to science from uniformity in scientific communications. Lastly, a Special International Association was formed at the close of the Paris Exhibition, with a view to obtain the universal adoption of one decimal system of measures, weights, and coins. And Mr. Graves, M.P. for Liverpool, stated iu his speech on the second reading of the bill to render the metric system compulsory in Great Britain and Ireland, that countries with 200,000,000 of population and £230,000,000 of trade had already adopted it. Mr. Dickson, a Scotsman, who has been a manufacturer in Prance for 26 years, and employs 1,000 hands, says in evidence : " I think the metrical system is one of the greatest blessings ever given to France ;" aud is of opinion that England should make some sacrifice to meet those countries which have adopted the metric system. The Hon. Mr. Sherman, chair- man of the Pinance Committee of the United States of America, says : " Iu England many persons of influence and different chambers of commerce are earnestly in favour of the proposed change iu their coinage. The change is so slight with them that an enlightened self-interest will soon induce them to make it, especially if we make the greater change in our coinage. The tendency of the age is to break down all restrictions upon all social and commercial intercourse. Na- tions are now as much akin to each other as provinces were of old. I trust that the Industrial Commission will enable the world to compute the value of all productions by the same standard, to measure by the same yard, and weigh by the same scales." In the report of the International Conference on Weights aud Measures, it is stated that iu agriculture there are acres of different dimensions ; there are about twenty different bushels used as measures of capacity. The want of simplicity and uniformity of system of weights and measures in Great Britain is therefore most manifest. Mr. Pellows, merchant in Wolverhampton, states in evidence that there are 44 different measures of land, 6-1 for wheat, 14 for oats, 16 for barley, 12 for butter, 10 for potatoes, 2 for pork, 4 for flour, 10 for coals, 10 for wool and flax, 6 for straw, &c. Professor Levi stated that " the mass of the English people accustomed to the national system, manifested but little interest in a reform which was opposed to the tendencies neces- sarily conservative of the people and the Government; but that with enlightened men it was different. The Chambers of Commerce, the British Association, and the International Decimal Association, seconded with all their efforts the adoption of the metric system." But although the great Conservative bulk of agricultural England may be im- movable, that is no reason why the Liberalism of Scotland should not endeavour to move Government to take a more decided part in the International Conferences, so as to be able to take advantage of the concessions other countries seem willing to make at the present time, so as to save our penny as the hundredth part of the gold unit, and, if practicable, the sovereign. Mr. Buggies, the American delegate, says : " It is demanded, in the name of the United States, that France, in a spirit of wise liberality, should contribute, as she may easily do, to the great work of practical unification, by adding to her existing coins the piece of 25 francs. This piece will circu- late side by side, and in all places in a perfect equality, with the half-eagle of America and the sovereign of Great Britain." Mr. Ruggles made the important statement at the conference that the United States were prepared to recoin the whole of their gold, with the view of remodelling their system upon the basis of the Convention of 1865, establishing the metric system. In the discussion in the House of Commons it was stated that, as a means towards au end, the International Con- ference advise the nations wishing to adopt its report " to pre- scribe the study of the metric system iu all schools, and to exact the knowledge of it in all public competitions — to in- troduce its exclusive use in the Post-office, iu the Custom- house, in public works, and other branches of the Administra- tion." Sir Rowland Hill says, in evidence, that " the difference between foreign and British weights leads to great perplexity in the Post-office." The two English delegates, the Master of the Mint aud Mr. Rivers Wilson, in their report to the Lords of the Treasury, say : " We expressed disinclination to indi- cate any fixed period within which the English Government would be able to announce a final decision on so difficult and momentous a question. We could only desire that a suffi- ciently long delay should be named to admit of Parliament having au opportunity of discussing aud giving an opinion upon the subject." Prince Napoleon, President of the Inter- national Conference for the adoption of a uniform system of weights, measures, and coins, said in his opening address : " We have to enlighten aud draw public opinion, this true sovereign of the modern world, so that it may influence your respective Governments, aud give them the necessary will to surmount the difficulties for obtaining a better system." You will see by what I have said that nearly all the countries of Europe and North and South America have adopted, or are about to adopt, the metric system of weights and measures, and that England is moving cautiously but steadily in the same di- rection. With the certainty that an entirely new, but uniform system of weights and measures will be made obligatory in a few years, it would be foolish to speak of enforcing the present imperial standards. The more manly aud enlightened way would be for every individual to set about mastering the new system, so as to be ready to act upon it when, in a few years, ic becomes the law of the land. It will thus be seen that a great social revolution is impending over us — and one which will affect the whole population, from the soverign to the pauper. Everything we eat, drink, and wear must be weighed, measured, and paid for by the new system ; also all the vast commercial and monetary transactions of the country must be regulated by the same system, which has already been adopted by nearly all the States of Europe and America. Ever since the Act of 1864, rendering the metric system permissive, Government should have seen that it was taught in all schools along with the present system. This was done in Holland and Belgium more than 40 years ago, and the people iu both countries were prepared for it, when it became compulsory. During the last five years, the Press too ought to have been urging on the people the necessity of edu- cating themselves, aud preparing for the great change which may become compulsory at the end of the ensuing session. Instead of this, the Press has been profoundly silent, and the mass of the people are unconscious that such a perplexing revolution is impending over them, and which is only tempo- rarily suspended until Lord Halifax and the ftoyal Commis- sioners give in their report. The Chairman, in thanking Mr. Taylor for his paper, said that he himself felt the time was come when such a system should be inaugurated iu this country. On account of the different measures in existence, they never knew what measure the purchaser was buying by, until inquiry was made, and even in the taking of land the first question asked by the offerer was whether the acres stated were Scotch or imperial. Civi- lized as we were in this country to a certain extent, that civilization ought now to be extended to the weights and measures. He had no hesitation in agreeing to Mr. Taylor's proposal for a committee to watch over this matter ; aud if they could bring any pressure to bear upon Government to make such a measure obligatory, the sooner it was used the better. He (the chairman) pointed out that, in dealing with foreign exchanges, it would not only save a great deal of trouble to shipowners and shipmasters, but be much more satisfactory. Mr. Taylor moved that a committee be appointed to con- sider whether efforts should not be made to get the metric system taught iu all schools simultaneously with the old system ; and whether it would not be advisable to memorialize Government to take a more decided part in the International Conference, so as to save our penny, and perhaps our sovereign, in the new currency that mill circulate over the civilized world. The following committee was then appointed: Messrs. Taylor (convener), Largie, Mitchell (Burnton), Alexander, Kinnear, and Durie. S 240 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. CENTRAL CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE, The Council met on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at the Salisbury Hotel, Salisbury Square, Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., presiding. The vacancies occcasioned in the Council by the retire- ment of Mr. Holland and Mr. Smyth having been filled up by the election of the Rev. E. Smythies and Mr. Daniel Long, Mr. George Tomline, M.P. for Great Grimsby, was elected vice-chairman for the year, as Mr. Wells, M.P. for Peter- borough, who was appointed to the office at the annual meet- ing in December, declined for the present to undertake its duties. It was also resolved that the whole of the elected Council, together with the chairman and vice-chairman, should form the business committee: five of them to be a quorum. The Chairman said that, in taking the chair on this occa- sion, he felt that his responsibilities were very great, and he looked for kind indulgence and a warm and generous support ; because, without receiving that, he should be unable satisfactorily to manage the business of the Society. He was sure they must be perfectly satisfied with the pro- gress they had made in the course of the past year. He reminded them, however, that the growth of Chambers of Agriculture had been singularly rapid, and that it was quite possible that, like some overgrown children, they might at first prove a little irregular in their manners and customs (Hear, hear). To guard against this result, therefore, and for the orderly conduct of business, he had drawn up a few rules for their government, which he now begged to submit to the meeting for approval. The suggested rules having been read and approved, they were ordered to form a portion of the bye-laws. Mr. H. Genge Andrews (Somersetshire) then rose to move the resolution on the subject of poor-rates, of which he had given notice, and said that it did not then stand in pre- cisely the same terms as that which had been circulated in the agenda paper. In committee it had undergone a process which he could only compare to that which was said to have been inflicted upon the man who had two wives, one of whom objected to his grey hairs, and the other to his black, and so between them plucked them all out. But he hoped that the modification adopted would at least secure unanimity in the Chamber ; for if there was one thing he desired more than another it was the avoidance of anything in the shape of a division of opinion. The resolution in its amended form was as follows : " That the income-tax affords an economical means of raising from all income a contribution to the poor-rate, which may be placed to a separate account in the national ex- chequer to the credit of the Poor-Law Commissioners. That this resolution is without prejudice to any better mode of re- moving that unjust incidence of the poor-rate which was affirmed by resolutions of the Council on May 3rd, 1868, but suggests a means of redress tvorthy of careful examination, should her Majesty be graciously pleased to grant the Royal Commission of Inquiry for which Sir Massey Lopes has given notice of motion." It was well known, he observed, that pre- vious to the Act 43rd Elizabeth, no legal charge was placed upon any kind of property for the relief of the poor ; but that famous Act made use of three comprehensive words in direct- ing the parish officers what they were to do when the legal charge was first created. These words were " every in- habitant" and " ability" — that the churchwardens and over- seers should tax every inhabitant of every parish according to his ability, and he could not conceive of words more com- prehensive than the words " every inhabitant" of every parish. This statute was still the legal ground of the present charge upon property for the poor-rate, and was now in as full force as when it was first enacted. Eor a long period after its pass- ing, the churchwardens and overseers did their best to include all the " ability" they could find within their several parishes. But as regarded agricultural parishes, the majority of them were small, and within their boundaries there was very little of what was known as profits of trade, professional incomes, or personal property that they could take cognisance of. It was consequently of no importance whether the trade of a parish was assessed or not. And when they came to the towns, it appeared that the parish officers, being generally tradesmen and men engaged in business, felt no strong desire to euforce the Act, but moderated its action as best they could — that, he thought, accounted to some extent for much of the Act falling into desuetude for a consider- able period down to the days of Lord Mansfield. In the report of the Lords' Committee which sat in 1850, it was stated that Lord Mansfield decided rather against the liability of stock-in-trade and other personality to be rated ; but no grounds were set forth as those on which he founded his decision. He gathered, however, from the evidence of the late Sir G. C. Lewis before that committee, that he considered Lord Mansfield rested his opinion upon the difficulties of assessing stock in trade, and not upon the ques- tion of liability. Subsequently, there were other legal deci- sions ; and, so far as he could gather from the evidence in the Lords' report, the weight of those decisions down to the time of Mr. Justice Littledale was enfirely in favour of inter- preting the Act of Elizabeth to iuclude persoual, as well as real, property. He came now to the year 1850, when a com- mittee of the Lords was appointed to inquire into the system of parochial assessment in that day. The Union Charge- ability Act did not then exist ; and, if he construed the evi- dence aright, the whole stress of Sir G. C. Lewis's argumeut was laid on the difficulty of assessing in parishes stock-in- trade and other personal property, the poor rate being, in his view, a parochial charge. Since, however, through the Union Chargeability Act, which converted it into a union rate, the circumstances under which Sir G. Lewis gave his opinion had been greatly altered ; and if Sir George were alive now, there could be no doubt that he would have considerably qualified the opinion which he gave in 1850. But from that time to the present year the question had remained stationary. The Lords' committee reported, in their sixth resolution, that " the relief of the poor is a national object, towards which every description of property ought justly to be called upon to con- tribute, and that the Act of Elizabeth, chap. 3, contemplated such contribution according to the ability of every inhabitant." Thus they declared that, under the Act of Elizabeth, the charge for the poor did morally and legally rest on " the ability of every inhabitant." Some time ago, Lord Portman, in Dorsetshire, contended that the " ability " was that of the parish, and not of the " inhabitant ;" but this seemed like a distinction without a difference. If there were one thing clearer than another, it was that the " ability" of the parish must be made up of the " ability" of the persons constituting the parish. It came, therefore, pretty much to the same thing in the end ; for, if the Act had said " ability of the parish," it would have included every in- dividual as much as if the words " every inhabitant" had been used. Last year the Chamber affirmed the principle contained in the Lords' Report ; and the resolution he now proposed simply went to point out the mode of effecting the object they had iu view. He assumed, for the sake of argument, that the liability, legally as well as morally, was admitted; and in praof of that, he referred to the annual Exemption Act which had been passed by the House of Commons ever since the year 1840. If the question of legality were in doubt, why had Parliament, annually passed this Act ? If they had intended, when they begau to pass such an Act, to say that personal pro- perty was exempt, they had the power of doing so ; but they did not exercise it. They merely staved off from year to year a question which they did not like to meet ; and he contended that, imagining the House of Commons in the present session not to renew the Exemption Act, there was a vast amount of personal property in every union ; and the union-rate was now-a-days substituted for the parish-rate, that might be taken and assessed to the poor-rate by the legal force of decisions of Courts of Law. Having thus glanced at the state of the law to this date, he would now explain the plan which the Somer- setshire Chamber had circulated among the differeut local chambers and the members of the central body, It was simply THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 241 this— that, if no better could be found, the mode by which the Government reached personal property for the purposes of the Consolidated Pund afforded the means by which to reach the same description of property for the poor-rate — that was, if the relief of the poor was, as he held that it was, an Imperial object and an Imperial duty. If it were au Imperial object, and the duty of every individual to contribute accord- ing to his ability, he could see no objection whatever to the employment of the machinery which the Government had used lor upwards of twenty years to assess and collect the income-tax. In saying this he did not mean to assert that the machinery was perfect, or that it required no modification ; he merely pointed at it, for want of better, as beiug simple and inexpensive. His plan would be this : that down to a certain point, not the point of exemption which now existed for the Iucome-tax ; but down to such a point as Parliament might determine upon, all income should be assessed for contribution to poor-rate. There was a point below which they could not take income as a basis of assess- ment, but still there was the easiest possible mode of justly bringing in the higher classes of labourers to contribute their quota to the relief of the poor, without taxing them so heavily as they were now. And it should be borne in mind that they could not expect so large a question as this to take hold of the towns unless it could be shown that any change proposed would benefit and not injure them. The principle upon which the farmer's capital was now assessed to the Income-tax was to take half his rent — an arbitrary line which avoided the necessity of his defining what his profits were. Some per- sons were under the impression that, because he was assessed at only half his rent he was only paying half the rate per pound that the owner paid ; but the fact was that he paid pre- cisely the same as the owner, though his profits were taken at half the rental and the assessment of the owner on the whole iucome. Now, take the case of a ten pound renter in Lon- don, where he understood the poor-rate varied at the present time from 13s. to 6d. in the pound. , Supposing the tenant was now assessed at only 3s. in the pound he would be paying on his net rental of £10 the sum of 30s. a-year. If the plan lie (Mr. Andrews) advocated were adopted, and the rates averaged so low as 6d. in the pound, as he anticipated they would do, the £10 house would pay only 5s. instead of 30s. a-year. And such an argument as that, he thought, would not fail to have its influence on the minds of mechanics. A great mistake had been made in treating the poor-rate as a burden peculiar to land. The 5gu res showed that it fell more upon house property ; for whereas the laud and tithes assessed amounted to about £54,000,000, the house property assessed came to £65,000,000, a sum greatly in excess of the other. He had authority for stating that the house in which they were then assembled was assessed at £1,600 a-year, and that the poor-rates varied from 3s. 4d. to 4s. in the pound. Tak- ing 3s. 6d. in the pound which would be rather under than over the average, and the total poor-rate paid upon the rental would be about £240 per annum. Now, would the proprietors of the house be injured by the imposition of the charge he proposed to create ? Supposing for the sake of argument, that the poor-rate were thereby reduced to 6d. in the pound ; that would come to £40 instead of £240 a year. He had not the slightest idea of what the income available for dividend amounted to ; but taking it at £1,600, the same amount as the rent, 1,600 sixpences would be a very different thing from 1,600 three-and-sixpences, or a total of £240 a year. True the house would be rated under Schedule A at 6d., and the profits on the capital invested in the concern at another 6d., which would come to Is. in the whole. They would therefore have to pay £80 instead of £240 a year. 'What then was good for that house would be good for everything similarly circumstanced, and an argument which applied to the City of London was equally applicable to every city and town in the kingdom. As a great principle, he affirmed that interest could not be made out of capital without the employment of labour. Whether they built a house or a ship, or manufac- tured furniture or aught else, the labourer must have the first pull out of it ; and he believed that under the present system of poor-rate assessment there was a vast amount of capital em- ploying labour which contributed nothing whatever to the relief of the poor. According to the appendix to the last annual report of the Poor-law Board, the agricultural com- munity were credited with only from 15 to. 30 per. cent, of the entire quantify of labour employed in England and Wales. If that were the case, surely it could not be right to throw the whole burden of the relief of the poor, and criminal and other matters, upon that portion of tho property of the kingdom the capital of which employed no more than that per-centage of the labour of the country. It was urged that the capital en- gaged in trade and commerce, or invested in a variety of ways other than the cultivation of the land, was different from capital embarked in farming ; but, for his part, he could not see any difference whatever so far as the capital was con- cerned. One objection to the income-tax assessment was that it reached incomes derived from the exercise of skill and in- dustry as well as from the capital employed. Now he had heard many commercial and other gentlemen interested largely in personal property admit that it was wrong to exempt from the charge realized capital employed in trade, manufactures, and commerce ; but, whilst admitting this, they objected to being assessed beyond that point. Let them test the value of this objection. If he took three bags, and put into one £100 received for rent, into another £100 received from the funds, and into the third £100, the profits say of a joint-stock bank, surely each of these separate hundreds represented annual income, each was as good as the other, and there could be no wrong done in each purse contributing just as much as might be required as its quota of the relief of the poor for that year. It was annual income not stock in trade, that he proposed to tax, and the charge for the relief of the poor was annual. One objection raised to the proposal was the period during which the poor rate had been borne by real property ; but he could not see the force of the argument, that because they had been unjustly taxed for a certain number of years therefore the system should be continued. If there were any- thing in the argument to be derived from lapse of time it was rather in favour of what he did not ask for, and that was compensation for past injury, whereas the measure of the redress he required was only the measure of the injury they were now sustaining. Another objection upon which great stress was laid was the danger of centralization and inter- ference with local management. Under the new Poor Law of 1834, the Poor Law Board had the most absolute control over every Act of the Boards of Guardians, and it was well known that the orders and directions issued by the Central Board since 1834 had been numberless and had had to be obeyed. Having already, therefore, a centralized power, if under the change he proposed any improvement were necessary in the local arm of the Poor Law Board, what difficulty was there in Parliament increasing the number ot persous at the Boards of Guardians, and even sending an unemployed commissioner down occasionally to sit at the Boards and see whether there was any tendency on their part to go beyond the directions that emanated from the central power ? But he would go further than tills, he would not touch for one moment the existing local admintration, either of the Boards of Guardians or the proposed admission of the ratepayers to county financial boards. Still, if Parliament or the Poor Law Board saw any need for altering the constitution of the Boards of Guardians, they could do it at any time. As to the argument that the local management would be extravagant or wasteful in consequence of having to administer money supplied from Imperial sources ; that, therefore, the guardians would not have the same inducement to practice economy as they had when the money came direct from the ratepayer, one of the important points in the change he proposed was that under an income-tax assessment the rate would rest upon the owner, upon whom all future increase would fall ; and if the ex officio guardians, and the chairman and vice-chairman, attended the board and did their duty, they would find that they had a heavier responsibility upon them with regard to the future increase, and were more deeply interested in keeping down the expenditure than they were at present. Tradesmen and other inhabitants of towns also would have to pay more because they would be assessed on their incomes as well as for the places in which they carried on their business, they too would be more interested in promoting economy than they were now. But he did not entertain so low an opinion of the class of persons who composed the Boards of Guardians as to believe that they would go mad, and raise the price of labour to themselves by giving relief indiscriminately or improperly. Parliament, the Poor- law Board, and. the poor themselves had all an interest ia the 3 S 242 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. enlargement of the area of rating. Step by step Parliament had been extending the area of the common fund. In London an order had been recently sent out for levying £140,000 of common fund for buildings ; and they might rely upon it that if they would strike at the root of pauperism there must be an extended common fund upon a much broader basis than ever they had yet had. As time pressed, he would only refer to one other point, and that was the reason why this oppres- sive impost of the poor-rate had crept on to the extent it had done. He had mentioned that it was in 1840 that the House of Commons passed the first annual Exemption Act, and they had done this and renewed it from year to year, because they could not face the difficulty presented by the legal decisions which were coming upon them, one after another, to the effect that stock-in-trade and other personal property were liable. Another even more powerful cause, perhaps, was this. For a very long time the possession of office had been a bone of contention between the two sections, Whig and Tory, into which the landed-interest was divided ; and there was no use in mincing matters, neither of these parties had ever yet been able to retain the Government for any lengthened period with- out being careful not to offend the commercial, the moneyed, and the manufacturing interests. Consequently they had always staved off this question by the passing of an annual Exemption Act. He mentioned this because he saw that Lord Granville had recently, in a speech delivered in Shropshire, been warning his hearers to be cautious in reference to the matter, and stated that at the present day the commercial, manufacturing, and moneyed interests had greater power than ever in the House of Commons. That he (Mr. Andrews) took to mean that the Government dreaded dealing with the ques- tion ; but he himself looked at it entirely separate from all party or political consideration whatever. He was content to rest his case upon the simple fact that the Act of Elizabeth rendered liable to poor-rate every man's income, according to his ability, and that the continued exemption of £200,000,000 of annual income from the charge was a wrong and an in- justice (cheers). Mr. T. Duckham (Herefordshire) seconded the resolution, and speaking in support of the extension of the area for poor- law purposes, observed that during the last quarter of a century not only had the Union Chargeability Act come into operation, but the liabilities of parishes and unions had been vastly ex- tended for the relief of the poor. In the course of the last 30 years the population of England and Wales had increased 48 per cent., whilst the poor-rate had increased 70 per cent. Now, in a country which boas'ed of its ever-increasing wealth it did seem monstrously strauge that the poor should go on thus aug- menting in so much greater a ratio than the general population. Thirty years ago the alien had no claim upon the poor-rate ; but wherever he happened to be, there he had to beg his bread, or die of hunger. Now the laws of England recognised the existence of poverty, wherever it was found within our shores, and it was a glorious thing that it did so ; but at the same time that they acknowledged and provided for the relief of poverty, an extension of the area of assessment ought to have been adopted. A large and increasing mass of vagrancy still existed and it bore heavily upon the ratepayer. In addition there was the introduction of the practice of vaccination: there were likewise registration fees, and numerous other extra burdens in which personal property was certainly as much interested as real property. Moreover, the law could not be enforced in many instances. For example, the public journals stated that upwards of 800 persons had been lately summoned in the Metropolis alone as poor-rate defaulters, and that not less than one-half that number had been legally ex- cused on the ground of their poverty. Now, if the rate were levied upon incomes down to a certain point, not below that at which a man was able to earn a maintenance, for no man should be called upon to contribute to the relief of the poor unless he had vissible and sufficient means to do it, no such legal excuse would be necessary. The present system of rat- ing also bore oppressively upon the struggling tradesman and the young and enterprising man just entering into business. There was yet another hardship. During the recent cotton famine in Lancashire the occupiers of the great mills through- out the district being deprived of the staple of their industry shut up their works and turned the key in the door, and the artizans were turned adrift to depend upou the rates or on the public charity. The burden fell so heavily upon the rates that public charity had to be appealed to, and it made a noble response. But if at that time the area of the assessment had been extended to personal property the pressure would have been so light as to be scarcely felt. In short, there was no doubt that the whole system of local taxation imperatively called for a rigid investigation both in respect of the area over which it was assessed and of the mode in which it was levied. Mr. G. Smytiiiks (Herefordshire) complimented the ten- ant farmers upon their " patriotism" in entering into this movement, seeing that the rates were now levied upon their landlords and the owners of real property. In effect, they were declaring that this was not fair, and proclaiming their wish to have their stock and personal property rated, as it did not now pay anything. He did not deny that the move- ment was a good one, but he cautioned tenant farmers against supposing that they would gain anything by it. They might at first derive benefit from a reduction of the rates on real property ; but in the course of a few years the burden which now entirely devolved upon owners of land would fall upou themselves in the shape of taxation upou their stock. Sir G. Jenkinsom, M.P., would not then enter into any lengthened details in support of the motion : he thought he should be better serving the cause by advocating it and ad- ducing details in his place in Parliament. He wished, how- ever, to call particular attention to one point which was not sufficiently impressed upon the public mind, and that was the great increase in the burdens levied under the old Act of Elizabeth. Going back a little more than a hundred years, he found that for the years 1748, 1749, and 1750, the average sum levied as poor-rates was £730,000 a-year only ; that in 1783, '84, and '85 it had risen to £2,167,000 ; in 1803 to £5,348,000; in 1823 to £6,833,000; and in 1833 to £8,338,000. In the following year the new Poor-law was enacted, and in 1837 the amount levied was £5,186,000; in 1847, £7,817,000, and now between £10,000,000 and £11,000,000, the mainte- nance of the militia, county police, county gaols, and county lunatic asylums, and all sorts of charges besides being added to the poor-rate and imposed upon the unfortunate rate-payers. It was, in his opinion, the duty of the legislature to take into its consideration whether, as the area of real property had not increased, and could not increase in the very nature of things, whilst the charges upou it had increased so enormously, the expenditure caused to the ratepayer was not really more than he ought to be called upon to bear. Not only could the ex- penditure not be diminished, but it went on increasing year by year; the next question, therefore, to be considered was, how the area on which the expenditure was levied could be enlarged so as to include the whole of the property of the nation ; and in dealing with the question of an income-tax, it should be recollected that at present the ratepayers not only paid these enormous rates, amountiug in many districts to several shillings in the pound, but the national charge of In- come-tax for national expenditure, whilst the fundholder aud owner of personal property, though paying the Income-tax, never contributed a sixpence towards the national burden of poor-rate and other so-called local charges, but which were really as much national as local. There was the case of Mr. Crawshay, for instance, who died a year or two ago, possessed of some £800,000 in the public funds, yielding him upwards of £24,000 a-year. Was not a man who held that property as much interested in all the objects for which a poor-rate was levied, as represented by the militia, the police, gaols, and the machinery for the repression of crime, as the man who was simply a householder or a landowner? He protested then against the doctrine that because a man derived his income from the funds he was to be exempted from charges which were really national and not local. One point which had escaped notice that day, as illustrating the injustice of the existing system, was the fact that men discharged on a sudden in hun- dreds from a mine, a manufactory, or Government works, were at once thrown for their maintenance upon the surrounding district. A case of this sort had occurred in his own neigh- bourhood, where about two hundred men were suddenly dis- charged in consequence of the bad weather. They had been brought into the locality in the interest of some firm or in- dividual ; but, at a moment's notice, they were all sent adrift, and those who could not get work were thrown for their sup- port on the ratepayers of the district. Such was the result, too, when the Government discharged their workmen ; and it THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 243 seemed to hira that where a number of men were brought into a particular district for the benefit of the country, and after- wards discharged also for the benefit of the country, it was too bard on (he ratepayers of that district to be called upon to maintain them, in addition to paying the ordinary rates and national burdens of the country. The objection that the tradesman ought not to be assessed in respect of the profits of his trade was easily disposed of; for the burden it would im- pose would be represented by pence, whilst he would be re- lieved in the rates of shillings : in other words, if the rates were distributed equally over the wealth of the country in the shape of a separate schedule for the income-tax, the trades- man must be benefited ; for instead of shillings he would only have to contribute pence. With regard to local manage- ment, he saw no necessity for interfering with the existing machinery, than which he thought no better could be devised. He hoped the resolution would be passed — that it would have the intiuence of convincing the Government that the time had arrived when the national burdens must be more equitably ad- justed, and that the result of the deliberations of Parliament on the subject would be the speedy relief of the ratepayer from the burden of the charge which was now so unjustly saddled upon him. Mr. R.vndell (Lincolnshire), who coutended that as the poor belonged to the nation their support must be the nation's charge, said that on this foundation he took his stand, with the belief that the position was impregnable, despite the ma- chinations and intrigues of a dying and dishonoured expe- diency. In matters of taxation, we had been so accustomed to an artificial state of things as to regard as something strange and out of the way the enforcement of abstract principles of right. Common sense, however, would come to the rescue. He held, therefore, that in providing for the poor, whose sup- port was a continual legacy left us from one generation to another, the few should not be doing duty for the many. He maintained that all should bear their fair share of a common burden, and that income from aDy and every source should be made available for the help of those who could not help them- selves. But in saying, tax income from all sources in the service of the poor-rate, he had no idea of sending Govern- ment valuers into the homestead of the farmer, or the shop and warehouse of the tradesman and manufacturer, for the purpose of taxing the materials of income. It was to income purely, whether it arose from the public funds, land, houses, professional pursuits, banking, or trading, that he looked for just and reasonable aid in providing for what he regarded as the nation's charge, the maintenance of the nation's poor. Hence, they were not bound to take the present income tax as their rule of action ; for there was no reason why incomes under £100 a-year should be exempt from liability to the con- tribution ; but for the sake of the widow and the labourer, and to avoid adding to pauperising influences, he would spare £20 of income. In plain terms, he would tax incomes from £50 upwards, but in cases of £50 a-year he would leave £20 a-year free of poor-rate. Further, he considered they would be justified in calling upon the Government to pay out of the Consolidated Fund the total amount of the fixed charges in connection with the working of the poor-law, provided that could be done without entailing hardship upon Scotland or Ire- land. Such suggestions as these would, perhaps, be understood and^admitted by a majority of the ratepayers ; but they might lay it down as an axiom that, so long as they had a good case in hand; it was neither necessary nor desirable to busy them- selves with fine-spun details of a remedial nature. And here he would ask why national rating could not be made to blend harmoniously with local administration ? Why could not the income of the country be specially taxed for the relief of the poor, the separate and distinct fund so raised to be. in the keeping of the Poor Law Board, and to be drawn upon by county boards, each county board distributing to the various unions in the county the respective sums required for poor-rate purposes ? He was strongly in favour of an arrangement of that sort, and he hoped that under no circumstances would local manage- ment be superseded. Moreover, he would spread the joint operation of the Poor Law Board and of the ratepayers over counties rather than over unions, with the view of securing the advantages which must ensue from bringing the guardians and other representatives of the ratepayers into close commu- nication. Not only might they advocate with earnestness and propriety the assessment of all incomes for the exigencies of the poor, but they must as a necessary sequence put in a plea for the poor-law fund being henceforth devoted to its own ob- jects. Let the poor-rate be a rate for the poor, and nothing else. When, in accordance with the dictates of simple justice, all classes of society should be found linked together in support of the nation's burdens, all paying their quota in discharge of the nation's liabilities, they might look for that happy state of things under which public funds, levied in equity, would be disbursed with wisdom. Mr. llandell then moved as intro- ductory to the motion of Mr. Andrews : " That in the opinion of this Chamber, the unequal pressure of the poor-rate, as at present imposed, is a grievance which renders necessary the early and most serious attention of Parliament, that the main- tenance of the poor is a national liability to which income from every source should contribute, and that in the disbursement of a poor-rate levied in accordance with the principle here enunciated local administration should be recognized and gua- ranteed." The motion having been seconded, Captain Cii.vigie (North Biding of Yorkshire) expressed his approval of the resolution proposed by Mr. Andrews, al- though be might not agree in all that had been advanced by that gentleman iu its favour. It was hardly possible at that moment to get at what was true poor-rate. The rates which came under that category amounted iu all to some £11,000,000, of which upwards of £1,000,000 had no relation whatever to the relief of the poor. What he would do then was to pull to pieces this artificial fabric called the poor-rate, and examine every portion of it. The poor-rate should stand by itself, and not be mixed up with other things. One remedy was a classi- fication of the burdens which were, now binding them hand and foot. These might be roughly divided into three classes. The first were the rates for the relief of the poor, the main- tenance of lunatics, vaccination, and so forth. The next were, the rates for the administration of justice, county militia, county gaols, and police, which had nothing whatever to do with poor-rates, though collected under that name. And the third were local burdens, properly so called, such as borough and improvement rates, lighting, drainage, and highways, some of which were levied as poor-rates, and some not. There being three distinct classes of rates, he held that there should be three different ways of dealing with them, and that the poor-rate should be treated as a national obligation on grounds alike of justice and expediency. Mr. Beach, M.P., had no doubt that the original iutention of the legislature was that personal property should contribute its fair share towards local burdens, but owing to the greater facility which existed for taxing real property, personal pro- perty had been exempted from bearing its due proportion. At that time the amount of personality was small, but now it was of enormous dimensions. In Scotland the law was very different from that in England There they recognised the principle that every man should contribute according to his " ability ;" but the question was how far they had been suc- cessful in carrying it into effect, and therefore to what extent the Chamber could recommend a particular plan for the con- sideration of the legislature. Now, he understood that extreme difficulty had been experienced in Scotland in the endeavour to tax personal property, and that in the majority of parishes they had not been able to do without a most inquisitorial investigation of every man's means. Did not that show that, if every species of property was to be embraced, no means could be devised which were so equitable, just, and easy as an income tax ? For under that tax there was no investigation of the means of a man. His income was taxed at its source, and no one but the Commissioners and the persons collecting it had any knowledge of its specific source or of the amount charged upon. He thought, therefore, that the income tax assessment afforded the best means that had yet been sug- gested. But it would be very difficult to urge this upon the Legislature if it were likely to be productive of injustice to- wards any class of the community. For example, there was the case, of the professional man : if his contribution under a tax levied with the income tax were larger than at present, it would be very difficult to impose it upon him ; but if it could be shown that the amount he would have to contribute were less than that which he now paid under the head of rates, such an argument would be a good one in support of the proposal. And that, he believed, could be easily done. The fact that poor rates were different now from what they were formerly 244 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. had been alluded to ; but that was a question which would open up a far larger inquiry than was contemplated by the resolu- tion. They had only to show, as he believed they could, that the poor rate and some other local taxes were really a national burden, and that the intention of the Legislature was that every species of property should contribute to that national burden, and he felt certain that Parliament would meet their case with candour and fairness. Mr. Pell, M.P., dwelt upon the injustice involved in the fact that a considerable proportion of local taxation coming under the term poor-rate was in no respect at the disposal of the ratepayers, and urged this as an argument in favour of ex- tending the area of assessment. Moreover, he found an addi- tional argument in the failure of the administration of the poor-law, as evidenced by the necessity which existed in periods of distress for its being supplemented by the efforts of charity. There was no doubt a feeling widely prevailed throughout the kingdom that people did not do what they ought by the poor ; and in the metropolis it found expression in gifts of large sums of money with the single object of aiding the poor-rates. What he wished was, that in place of this impulsive, inter- mittent, and therefore injurious form of contributing to the poor-rates, the charitable and benevolent classes should admit their liability in the first instance, and pay the vast sums of money they now raised to a common fund, to be created under legislative sanction, whereby enormous relief would accrue to the heavily-burdened ratepayer. With regard to the way in which the poor-rate affected the occupiers of land, taking his annual profits as the income-tax assessors estimated them on a farm of 700 acres at £560, upon that income he paid £110 a-year, on the average, under the common heading of poor-rate. The capital he had invested in the farm might be from £5,000 to £6,000 ; and if he removed this capital into another business he might positively make double his present income out of it, and yet not pay so much to the poor-rate as he did now. So far, then, as to the occupier of land. He had also had some experience of the operation of the poor-rate in London. A year or two ago, when there was such a fearful paroxysm of distress in the eastern districts of the capital, it was his fate to assist in the distribution of relief to the poor, and whilst doing so he had become acquainted with cases like the follow- ing. He had seen men coming with broken vessels of all kinds to receive food at the hands of the charitable. As they retired again, he made a point of questioning them with refer- ence to their condition, and the answer given by one man was a sample of a vast number of others. " Sir, at this moment I owe 23s. of poor-rates to the parish officers of St. George's in the East." Could anything be more paradoxical, ridiculous, or uujust than to attempt to tax a man for the relief of — whom? Himself ! Surely, then, there was fair ground for inviting the owners of property in the large towns to aid in the movement initiated by the Chambers of Agriculture for effecting a change in the law. For although he spoke as a farmer, he was con- vinced that, unless the sympathies of the middle and lower classes in the towns were enlisted, they would not succeed in carrying the resolution to anything like a satisfactory result. Mr. Brawn (Staffordshire), commenting upon the un- just action of the poor-rate, and urging the imperative neces- sity of a change, stated that in the union in which he resided, and which was a great manufacturing centre, the rates borne by the agricultural portion of the community were equal to an income-tax of 7s. 6d. or 8s. in the pound. Mr. D. Long (Gloucestersliire) remarked that the question which presented itself to his mind was simply this : He looked upon pauperism, crime, and lunacy as in the nature of na- tional calamities, and upon roads and police as national ne- cessities ; and it was for these objects that the poor-rate was ostensibly levied. Ought, then, these national calamities and necessities to be provided for out of the whole income of the country, represented by £316,000,000, or by the real property of the country, represented by only £93,000,000 P In other words, ought the £93,000,000 to be taxed 12£ per cent., or 2s. 6d. in the pound, or the entire income of the country, at 6d. or 8d. in the pound? As a matter of justice, the charge ought certainly to be placed on income. They had been told that real property had been purchased and inherited, subject to this burden ; but it should be remembered that the exclu- sive privileges it formerly enjoyed under the corn-law, and its exemption from probate-duty, had ceased, by the abolition of the former, and the imposition of a succession-duty. Mr. C. M. Caldecott (Warwickshire) pointed out the un- fairness of making the police a charge on the land. The duty of the constables was to protect persons, and personal as well as real property ; yet the whole expense was borne by realty. In Warwickshire the county-rate amounted to 4|d. in the pound, of which not less than l|d. went to the police. Mr. Hick (West Riding of Yorkshire) had been deputed to come up and oppose the motion of Mr. Andrews as it origi- nally stood ; but he was prepared to give it Lis support in the amended form in which it was being considered by the Chamber. Mr. Wiiitaker (Worcestershire) made a similar declara- tion, and expressed the hope that members of Parliament con- nected with chambers of agriculture would resist every at- tempt to put an additional charge upon the county-rates until an inquiry had been made with the view of ascertaining whether the complaints of the agricultural community, as to local taxation were well founded. Mr. Darke (Newbury) observed, that he had been taxing his brains to discover what amount of poor-rate was absolutely levied on the tenant-farmer, but it appeared to him that most of the speakers had been looking at the question solely from the landlord's point of view (Hear, hear, and " No, no") He himself was of the opinion that the question was a landlord's question, and that, therefore, the landlords themselves should take it up more generally and earnestly than they had done. He believed that any reduction in the amount of taxation which was effected by the adoption of the proposal before the Chamber would, in a very few years, be met by a corresponding increase of rent. In fact, it would come to this, that Sche- dule B was contributiug to the relief of Schedule A. Mr. Gurney (Cornwall), in considering the question whether the income-tax could be used for the purpose of equal- ising local taxation, had come to the conclusion that it might, though not wholly. He contended that poor-rate was in all aspects a police-rate. It was first 'established with a view to the suppression of vagrancy ; and then for putting the poor to work in order to prevent their becoming vagrants and plun- derers. In short, it was a rate for the protection of property, and therefore all property should contribute towards it. It was not a landlord and. tenant question, but simply, was it fair as between man and man that one class of property alone should 'contribute to the police-rate of the country? and in his opinion, it was not. How, then, could they get from the country its fair proportion of the charge, and, at the same time, preserve local care and management ? Where there was a will there was a way. It was easy, by means of Parlia- mentary returns, to dissect what portion of the income of the country paid poor-rate and what paid none. And surely there would be nothing improper in saying to those who paid no poor-rate, " You will please, gentlemen, to pay a little extra income-tax." They might then put a small income-tax upon that section of property down to, say, £50 a-year, which did not at present pay poor-rate. Por this purpose, they had the machinery for the income-tax already in existence. Then fourpence in the pound might be paid over to the unions out of the Consolidated Pund " in aid " of the local rate, and the administration be safely left with the present local authorities. If there were any mismanagement — lavish expenditure on the one hand, or niggardliness on the other — they would have to bear the brunt of it. Mr. Hodsoll (West Trent), replying to the observations of Mr. Darke, showed that the question was one which peculiarly affected tenants, and was not confined exclusively to landlords. Mr. Grimmer (Norfolk) took the same line of argument ; and Mr. Webb (Worcestershire) remarked that, even if it were a landlord's question, the duty of the tenant farmers was equally clear respecting it. Mr. Smith (Essex) was of opinion that the more they kept class interests out of view the greater would be the influence of the Chambers on the Legislature and the country. He also recommended that the question should not be unneces- sarily encumbered with details. Mr. Nield (Lancashire) noticing an observation which had fallen from Mr. Duckham relative to the action of the mill- owners in the manufacturing districts during the late cotton famine, said that if there were one feature ol that terrible time which stood out more conspicuously than another, it was the benevolence displayed and the sacrifices made by the cotton THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 245 aristocracy of Lancashire. Reference had been made in the course of the discussion to the necessity of carrying the boroughs with them in the present movement, and he could take upon himself to assure them that the question had excited, and was continuing quietly to excite, very great in- terest at Manchester. On Saturday last attention was called by one of the Manchester papers to the resolution of Mr. Andrews. Having ([noted the resolution, the writer said : " This is the agricultural view of the question ; what do our commercial men say to it ? Whatever our commercial men may say or not say, the whole country will be deeply indebted to the Clumber of Agriculture for ventilating this most import- ant question." Such was the spirit in which the county of Lancaster regarded the discussion in the Chamber, and he ventured to say that no county more deeply felt the absolute necessity of bringing about a change in the administration of the poor-law and local taxation. Mr. Pigott (Shropshire), combated the objection that the substitution of a national for a local rate for the relief of the poor would lead to extravagance aud indirectly encourage pauperism. He himself had entertained that objection strongly ; but reflection convinced him that there was no foundation for it, and that it was really nothing more than the spectre of the old buried poor-law. As this objection was likely to be put prominently forward when the question reached the House of Commons, he trusted that members of Parliament would be prepared to answer it. If the cause were just, as he held that it was, it was certain to prevail, for what was the history of the last thirty years of legislation but the record of a series of triumphs in the face of im- mense opposition ? On this particular question not only were the agricultural body themselves united, but they would find support iu the large army of reserve composed of the house- holders who had recently been admitted to so vast a share of political power. The present system of local taxation pressed upon that class of the community harder than upon any other, though ninety-nine out of every hundred of them, perhaps, were as yet ignorant of the evils under which they suffered. Mr. Duckhaji explained that in referring to the cotton famine he meant to argue that an extended area of taxation would have lightened the burden which the crisis had pro- duced, and which fell so heavily upon the manufacturing districts. Mr. Bennett (North Cheshire) urged that as the question was not one that affected agriculture alone, but embraced the larger subject of what were the best and most economical as well as equitable means of raising taxation, it would be wise to consult and if possible enlist the support of the Chambers of Commerce in the manufacturing districts. He hoped, therefore, that copies of the resolution and proceedings of this Chamber would be forwarded to those institutions with that object in view. The Chairman : Prior to calling on Mr. Andrews to reply aud close the discussion, remarked with respect to a national rate being disbursed by local authorities, that if the worst came to the worst, any extravagauce on the part of those authorities might be checked by the appointment of a Govern- ment officer to act as chairman of the union and see that there was no waste. Of course he did not wish that such an officer should be appointed, but he would greatly prefer it to the continuance of the present iniquitous system. As to the re- lative bearing of the subject as between landlords and tenants, suppose for a moment that it was all for the advantage of the landlords ; surely it was no less the duty of the tenant-far- mers to take up the matter. Their's was a Chamber of Agri- culture. They represented both landlords and tenants ; and if they did not help the landlords when aggrieved, they could not expect the landlords to help them in their distress. But for his part he had uever yet known a burden taken off land- lords that was not participated in to some extent by tenants. With regard, however, to the gradual increase of those local rates, he begged to tell them that it had nothing whatever to do with the landlords. It was only four years ago that he entered upon his farm, and already he was paying £5 per cent, more rates than he expected to do at that time. As a tenant, therefore, he complained, and justly so of this grievance. Although the day of victory might not be far off, it would not come to-morrow. They must brace themselves up for a long, and it might be a hard fight ; but as they had such a good cause he was quite sure they would gain the victory. In the meantime what must they do? That which several speakers had urged upon them. They must take care that nothing more was added to their rates, whether it was in the shape of election expenses, an education rate, or the cost of the turnpikes. A.s long as only one-third of the property of the kingdom contributed to these rates he would say, resist them to the death (loud cheers). Nevertheless, if they could by any possibility remove the present exemption of real pro- perty, namely, mines, woods, and game by all means let them ereep on in that direction, for it was only just and right that these things should be made to contribute (Hear, hear). Mr. Andrews then briefly replied upon the discussion ; after which the resolution, with Mr. Randell's introduction prefixed thereto, was put aud agreed to unanimously amid cheers. It was further resolved, on the motion of Capt. Craigie, that a deputation from the chambers be organised to lay before the Premier their feeling of the necessity for an inquiry by a Royal Commission into the amount and incidence of local taxation, it being understood that the interview should be sought on some day prior to Sir M. Lopes moving the appoint- ment of a Committee of the House of Commons. Mr. Jasper More proposed that a deputation from the chambers wait upon the President of the Board of Trade to urge the desirability of a separate Government department for agriculture ; also to wait upon the Home Secretary with a request that he would bring in a Bill for the establishment of County Financial Boards. In making this proposal Mr. More stated that the previous day he saw the President of the Board of Trade on the subject, and that the right honourable gentleman observed that agriculturists had as great a claim to be heard as any other class of Her Majesty's suhjects ; but, of course, he was not then prepared to say whether he could as- sent to the measure suggested. That must depend upon the ar- guments which were adduced in its support. What that deputa- tion would have to do, therefore, was to satisfy Mr. Bright that there were sufficient subjects to give employment to such a department, and to justify the creation of an Under-Secretary - ship of Agriculture, to be filled by some such person as their excellent chairman Mr. Read (Hear, hear) . Mr. Andrews concurred with Mr. More that it would be desirable to have a gentleman like the Chairman at the head of a department of agriculture ; but it must be obvious that the gentleman placed at the head of such a department would always take the colour of the Ministry of the day; and if they happened to entertain different views from those of the agriculturists, or to be opposed to what the latter considered their interests, they would find in him a ready tool for carrying out their own objects. Especially should he (Mr. Andrews) feel reluctant to go as one of a deputation to the present President of the Board of Trade (oh !) . No doubt Mr. Bright would receive them with courtesy, and give them a polite answer ; but his general feelings with regard to the large com- munity represented, as these were made known through many of his speeches, would remain unaltered (Hear, hear, and Oh !) Mr. Randell seconded the motion, believing that a posi- tive recognition on the part of the Government was due to the agricultural interest, due to an enterprise the prosperity of which was intimately bound up with the well-being of the nation at large, and due to the men whose stake in the coun- try was represented by some hundreds of millions sterling (cheers). It was rather late in the day for those who were outside to tender the advice " first creep, then go :" it was high time that agriculturists should make up their minds to secure by all legitimate means that status to which their numbers, influence, and character entitled them. Looking at the large interests involved, and having regard to the good which in the natural order of things must result from the Government, identifying itself with agriculture equally with commerce he held that no straight-laced questions about " £ s. d." should be raised, but that all concerned should be prepared to aid in carrying out the plan as a sound investment and a wise economy (Hear, hear). Mr. Knight, M.P., said he had sat in the House of Com- mons for twenty-eight years, and all that time had never seen any Government, whig or tory, that would honestly take up what the agriculturists considered their cause ; because the minority of the population and the wealth of the country was so much more largely represented by the borough members in Parliament. In pressing such a measure as that now pro- 246 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. posed, involving as it did a charge upon general instead of local taxation, they might depend upon having every Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Home Secretary against them. Mr. Jasper More, in fact, was askiug the Chamber to strengthen the hands of the enemy by appoint- ing a Minister with £2,000 a year, and a large staff under him, to get up evidence against them to carry out the views of any Government that might be opposed to them. At present their position was this. They were represented in the House of Commons by the chairman and vice-chairman of the Cen- tral Chamber of Agriculture, and a considerable number of county Members, and upon them they should place their re- liance. It appeared to him that to appoint a Minister of Ag- riculture would simply be to counteract what they themselves might do, and that indeed would be his whole business. Mr Duckham observed that the importance of having some oflicial authority to communicate with had long been recog- nized by the agriculturists of the kingdom, and particularly was that the case during the late cattle-plague (Hear, hear). At the same time he felt that any deputation would have very greatly-increased influence if the desirability or otherwise of a distinct department of the Government were fiist thoroughly discussed by the local Chambers, and if they could go to the President of the Board of Trade, backed up with the support of the 16,000 members which those institutions comprised. With reference to the remarks made by Mr. Knight and Mr. Andrews, he thought that to hold because a Minis- ter entertained different opinions from themselves upon party and political subjects he must be supposed to have no sympa- thy with agriculturists, was simply absurd (Hear, hear). He moved therefore, as an amendment, that the question be placed upon the agenda paper for the next meeting of the Chamber in March, and that the local Chambers be invited to discuss it in the interval. Mr. Whitaker was inclined to think that the agricultural voice could be better heard without incurring the expense of a separate department of the Government, and, so far as the question of rating was concerned, did not helieve that it would be forwarded in any respect by the creation of a Minister of Agriculture. Mr. Hodsoll seconded Mr. Duckham's amendment, being of opinion that to say in the year 1869 there was no necessity for the agricultural interest to have a Minister to represent them at head-quarters, was neither more nor less than a libel upon them. Sir G. Jenkinson, M.P., admitted that he was at one time the advocate of a Minister of Agriculture, but seeing the enor- mous strides which the agricultural chambers were making, and the influence they were likely to exercise over the legisla- ture, he believed that the best coHrse for them to take was to look after their own interests. Indeed, he did not consider that any Minister of Agriculture would be favourable to the agricultural interest. Mr. Beach, M.P., suggested that, if the Chamber deter- mined that the creation of a Minister of Agriculture was de- sirable, action thereon should be immediate. The question was whether the interests of agriculture had not outgrown the Board of Trade ; he thought they had, and should there- fore be glad to see Mr. More's proposal adopted. Mr. Meyer supported the motion, and Mr. Jancy spoke in favour of delay. Capt. Craigie expressed himself ready to discuss the ques- tion at once, it having been already put on the agenda paper and sent out to the provincial chambers. The meeting was therefore in a position to consider it. But in doing that they must make up their minds as to the sort of department they wanted. His own idea was favourable to the appointment of a chief commissioner under the Board of Trade, who should be a permanent officer, with the necessary staff at his com- mand. The Chairman believed nine chambers out of ten had not yet discussed the subject, and for that reason that it would be premature for the central body to take it up then . Mr. J. More observed that, so far as he could gather from the President of the Board of Trade, the objection as to salary was the last point that would have weight with him. Mr. Andrews explained that he did not oppose the motion because he differed from Mr. Bright in politics. He believed that that gentleman was an honestcr politician than many others, and in what he had said he meant to convey no reflec- tion upon him. After some further discussion Mr. More consented to with- draw his motion, and Mr. Duckham's amendment was allowed to pass. A vote of thanks to the Chairman terminated the pro- ceedings. LOCAL TAXATION. At an adjourned meeting of the Devonshire Chamber of Agriculture, at Exeter, Earl Eortescue in the chair, the So- mersetshire Chamber solicited co-operation by the Devou- sliire Chamber appointing a deputation to support a resolu- tion of the Central Chamber in favour of a common fund being raised through the income-tax assessment for a national poor-rate. Mr. Grifein expressed his doubts as to the practicability of a national rate. In his opinion the area of administration was large enough. A revision of local taxation was needed — for between 1837 and 1867 the local burdens had been more than doubled — but he was decidedly opposed to a national rate. He for one did not think that the taxing of the towns Mould exempt land. Funded property, he took it, should be rated. Mr. Elias Ward could not fall in with the proposition of the Somerset Chamber, which was in fact too radical. With- in the past 25 years a number of charges had been thrown upon the poor-rate, which ought not to have been put there. These additional charges acted as a tax |upon production, and were a bar to the cultivation of the land, and tended to check improvement. The matter of the poor rate ought certainly to be brought before the Legislature. Why should the occupiers of real property be saddled exclusively with their present bur- dens ? All property, real or personal, should bear a share of the burdens. He proposed, " That in the opinion of this meeting the subject of local taxation is one which requires re- vision with the view of enlarging the area of contributions, so that all property, whether personal or real, may contribute t airly towards the object now provided for by local rates." Rev. W. H. Karslake had no objection to the resolution, but the Chamber had previously passed one precisely similar to it. The Secretary (Mr. Brutton Eord) read the resolution previously passed, which was somewhat like that now pro- posed by Mr. Ward. Mr. Holley seconded Mr. Ward's resolution. Rev. W. H. Karslake thought it was unnecessary for the Chamber to enter into the details, which might be left to the House of Commons. He contended for local supervision as of the most essential importance. He pointed out the additions to the poor rate which had been made within the last fifty years. The police rates, he observed, had been increased, and were now very heavy, whereas formerly the preservation of the peace was, comparatively speaking, carried on gratuitously. He did not see why the maintenance of the force should be charged upon the county instead of the country. Local taxa- tion in this respect might be easily relieved. Central super- vision in this matter might be desirable. He held that a force would be better managed by a department in London than in the county. There were the charges of vaccination and regis- tration, which might be transferred to the imperial treasury. The expense of roads and bridges ought not to he limited to the parishes in which they were situated. The cost of mi litia stores, too, should be borne by the country instead of the county. Mr. Ward referred to the provision of the Legislature that certain parochial officers should receive superannuations— which he did not at all fall in with. Mr, Venn spoke strongly against acceding to the request of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 247 the Somerset Chamber. He moved the following resolution : " That this Chamber, while recognizing Hie necessity for a revision in the incidence of local taxation, ns previously re- corded by a resolution on Hi minutes, yet ig not prepared to comply with the request of the Somerset Chamber to appoint a deputation to support the resolution of the Central Chamber in favour of a common fund being raised through the income tax assessment for a national poor rate, at the same time they desire to thank them for their communication, and to assure tlicm of their earnest sense of the necessity of united action, and also their interest in bringing about the desired result.'' Mr. Ward withdrew his resolution. Mr. Wade believed that the real question was whether all personal property should be rated ; he would point out that personal property was one thing, and personal income another. Some of the largest incomes in the country were enjoyed by persons who had scarcely any personal property at all. The term personal property would, therefore, first of all have to be defined. In every respect the question was one of the most difficult that could be conceived. He did not agree with the Somerset Chamber, which overlooked the fact that whilst the Act of Elizabeth provided that everybody should be rated ac- cording to ability, that ability was judged by their fixed pro- perty which was visible. There might have been other incomes than those arising from land at the time the Act was passed, for what they knew to the contrary. It was quite clear, too, that it was the occupier and not the owner who was rated. The agricultural land simply under schedule A amounted to 55 millions ; but the actual amount of property charged under the schedule, which included also railways and canals and house property, was something like 155 millions. Land, there- fore, was only about one-third. In the other two-thirds was comprised house property, which of itself was unproductive, and the income to keep up which must bo derived from the trades and professions under other schedules. Therefore in- directly these incomes were charged and chargeable to local burdens, because the person owning them con- tributed according to the house he lived in. Kail- ways and canals were also productive, because connected with commerce ; and they likewise contributed to the present taxes. He believed there was something like 10 to 20 millions of real property exempt, and he held that everything of a beneficial fixed character ought to bear its fair proportion, and that woodlands, plantations, mines, and game ought to be rated, with machinery of a fixed character, When, however, they came to the question of charging stock- in-trade, he would call their attention to the report of the Poor-Law Committee published in 1843. It appeared therein that the stock-in-trade was rated in the West and South of England, not in the North ; and it became a question how far those facts had operated in driving trade to the North. He asked them to be cautious before they entered upon that matter and interfered with trade. If by impost they drove trade away from their shores by taxing that which could be removed it would be a bitter thing for England. The actual poor-rate instead of increasing in amount had rather decreased, whilst the property that produced it was capable of increase. With regard to those other charges which had been added to it the case was different ; and they should, retaining local super- vision over local objects, moderate their demands with respect to the more general charges, and seek to be very materially supplemented from the imperial funds. Stock-in-trade was, however, a very difficult question to touch. Were they pre- pared to have agricultural stock rated also ? lleferring to the question of turnpike trusts, Mr. Wade said that many roads had been made rather for imperial than local objects, for the purpose of keeping open the avenues of public traffic. They had, therefore, a direct claim upon the national exchequer. One point of considerable importance was this— that whilst the railways had diverted the traffic which used to flow over the turnpike roads, the Government received yearly half a million or so from the duties on railway passengers. There- fore there were funds which would be properly applicable to a Government contribution towards the maintenance of those roads. Mr. Acland, M.P., had given notice of a motion in the House of Commons, and some rather strong remarks in refer- ence to that notice had been made in certain quarters. How- ever, he was not in the least humour for fighting now ; he had already experienced enough of that. There were two main reasons why Parliament should deal with local taxation. In the first place the impediments to national improvement which arose from a sentiment of inequality in this matter of taxa- tion were productive of the most serious inconvenience to the country. He held that inquiry should take, place in order that the grounds of that sentiment of injustice should be ascer- tained, and its cause removed — by working out the details — if it were practicable to do so. In the second place the position taken up by these Chambers of Agriculture changed the pros- pects of legislation on these matters. Instead of the agricul- turists being a quiescent body, content with a kindly inter- change of feeling between landlord and tenant, they were now claiming throughout the whole country in seventy centres to take their part in legislation. As he had previously said, the time had come for grappling with this question. On this ground he had last year moved in the House of Commons for a committee. He did not wish to enter into rivalry with others in this matter, but he did not think that he ought to be told that he was following in the wake of other persons who made speeches two or three months after he had explained in a letter, addressed to the president of this Chamber, on the 25th of April, that the incidence of local taxation was one of the most urgent questions requiring to be handled by a re- sponsible branch of the Government. He (Mr. Acland)' assigned this as one main reason for the motion he made in the last Session for an Agricultural Department. He had taken a line of his own and meant to stick to his line. He hoped to learn much from the discussions of the Chamber, and to gain from them assistance. The motion which he now had upon the notice paper of the House of Commons con- tained a more distinct reference to the incidence of local taxation than his motion of last session. His main object was a reform of the whole system of local government. The subject was one of great magnitude, and the only way to get effectual legislation in these matters was, he thought, to entrust them to some responsible department of the Government. In order to get Parliament to do anything for them, the agricul- turists must themselves think. It was not enough to pass general resolutions setting forth some obvious grievance. Practically, Parliament could do very little except give final shape to the thought and wisdom of the country. If that were true years ago it was much more true now. The first thing to be done was to inquire fairly into the nature of their grievances. The various statements which he had heard on this subject of taxation did not quite agree. There were questions in connection with it which required very close investigation ; some were questions of fact — some, of the principles of political economy. In the first place they were frequently told that the rates had increased, and some thought that the rates for the relief of the poor had increased. (Mr. Kennaway : It is so in London.) Yes (said Mr. Acland) in London no doubt, and also in Lancashire, but was it generally true in Devonshire ? Well he did not think it was, to any great extent, the case ; at all events it was a matter which required closely looking into — in what sense was it true that the rates were increasing ? Then, he thought, it was important to compare and discriminate between rural, urban, and sub- urban parishes. Also to inquire into the practical working of the Union Assessment Act — whether it was universally true that the country parishes suffered from it. (The collector at Broadclist said — " We are better off than before.") He could understand why gentlemen who had not a sufficient number of cottages on their estates should be clamorous. Well, all these things should be dragged out into daylight. There was another question. When the rates had increased, had the rents, he should like to know, decreased ? (Mr. Hamlyn : Very often.) Well, if so it should be brought out. There were cases where, concurrently with the increase of rates, there had been a large increase of rent. He wanted to know, further, whether local taxation fell generally upon the occupier or only under certain circumstances and for a limited period ; would occupiers not being also owners be permanently benefited by the transfer of local taxation from the landed interest ? (No). He had seen much of tenant farmers lately, and he believed they were well able to judge of the extent of their interest in this question. Well, these were questions which he wished to be investigated, and he hoped no one would doubt that in saying this he was actuated by a sincere desire for the interests of agriculture. The main point they wanted to get at was this— were there causes connected with 248 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. local taxation and local government which tended to discou- rage the application of capital to the production of food and the employment of the agricultural labourer ? That was the real question to be considered. It was a question in which not only landowners and farmers, but the whole nation had a deep interest. Were there causes at work which prevented landlords from improving their estates, which prevented gentlemen farming their own estates, from draining their land, &c; were there causes which prevented the tenant farmer at the nd of his lease from farming as well as he could ? The in- vestigation of these subjects would lead to serious inquiries. They involved the whole land law of England — the questions of distress for rent, notice at sis months, and game. Re- garding the latter, an objection to rate game would be that it would be rating stock-in-trade (laughter). Game was now a matter of capital and artificial food. It might be said that game ought to be left to private arrangement between landlord and the tenant ; but if the tenant's rent were reduced because of the game on the land, then the ratepayers had a cause of complaint against the landlord. Thus this question of rating for the consideration of Parliament was one of detail and not of abstract principles. In Scotland " one-half of the assess- ment may be imposed upon the owners, and the other half upon the tenants or occupants of all lands and heritages within the parish. The plan was very similar to our mode of rating, but it included the owner as well as the occupier." Now he (Mr. Acland) did not pretend to say that he had made up his mind on that subject ; but it was a fair question whether the owner as well as the occupier ought not to be rated. Cer- tainly, for permament works, the owner ought to share the charge, and the whole burden should not be borne by the oc- cupier. The old principle of the law of Scotland was the rating, of " means and substance," which was nearly the same as rating stock-in-trade and personal property. But the Par- liamentary report said that the system had broken down. Out of 625 assessed parishes 499 had voluntarily repudiated the mode of rating means and substance in five years after 1845. Against the scheme of the Somerset Chamber — which was an association of ratepayers — he need say but little. They had invited the Chamber to a distinct and definite course. They had not, however, found a friend in that room in favour of a national assessment to the poor-rate. Mr. Genge Andrews, one of the leading members of that Association, was a very able man ; he had shown great energy and ability, but from what he (Mr. Acland) had heard from friends in Somersetshire, he doubted whether Mr. Andrews had all the following which might be supposed from the public attention which his documeuts received. The following was an extract from the letter sent by the Somerset Chamber : " If we are in earnest in presenting our appeal to Parliament against the continuance of this unjust privilege and impolitic exemption, by which more than two-thirds of the annual in- come of the owners of property profit at the expense of the owners of the other third, the mode of redress, as well as the grounds of appeal, should be discussed before Parliament meets, and, if possible, agreed upon." Well, at all events that meant business, although he believed the Somerset Chamber might have made a mistake in the particular plan which they had set forth. The important point was inquiry and search- ing discussion of details. There were three directions in which a remedy might be sought, assuming that they had fully in- quired into the precise nature of the grievance. They might in the first place alter the mode of assessment, and attempt to sweep into the rate the personal property of people who lived in small houses, and did not contribute largely. One plan for this object was recommended by the Scotch Board of Super- vision— rating dwelling-houses at what was called 100 per cent., shops at 75, manufactories at 50, and agricultural land at 35. The practical effect of this was that the occupier of a dwelling-house paid considerably more than the occupier of a manufactory or agricultural land. But it appeared to lie still doubtful whether this plan worked successfully. The second course was to take certain charges off the laud, such as those for the lunatics, the prisons, the police, vaccination, and militia. That plan had been put forward by Sir Massey Lopes at Exboume and at Newton, and also by the Rev. Mr. Kars- lake to-day. The principle of relieving real property generally of certain charges of an imperial character had the advantage of being distinct and definite. They must bear in mind, how- ever, that the whole of the county expenditure, apart from the poor rates, was only 4d. in the pound, which was only a small part of what they had to deal with, and a very small portion of what people seemed to think would be taken off. The main burdens were the maintenance of the poor and the maintenance of the roads. Let it not be imagined that the rates were going to be reduced from 2s. in the pound to 6d. If the whole of the county expenditure were transferred to the Consolidated Fund it would not reduce the rates to 6d. The third plan was to make contributions from the imperial exchequer. That plan had already been acted upon to a certain extent by legislation in connection with the poor. He quite agreed that if they could safely move in that direction they ought to do so. If they could contribute from the national exchequer in aid of local expenditure without na- tional injury and financial discomfiture, it was right that they should do so. But it was a dangerous matter, since want of local control and local responsibility always resulted in want of economy. It was needful therefore that local supervision should be thoroughly maintained. They should earnestly in- quire and represent the result of their inquires to Parliament. The Somerset Chamber called attention to a certain admission of Sir George Lewis, who said : " I am quite prepared to ad- mit that unless it can be shown that there is some especial reason in favour of a local tax, limited to real property, it is more fair and equitable to defray the expenditure out of a national tax, which should comprehend all species of property." But the Somerset Chamber forgot to go right to the pith of the matter — they overlooked the parenthesis. Sir George Lewis went on to say : " There are certain subjects in which unquestionably local management is preferable to national management, and the advantages of local management as compared with national management may be so great as to outweigh the inconveniences arising from the exclusive in- cidence of the tax upon real property. The relief of the poor appears to me to furnish one very remarkable example of that state of things, particularly the current relief of destitution as it arises in each parish. If the poor in each parish of the kingdom were relieved by the treasury, the necessary conse- quence of that mode of relief would be that each parish or union would vie with every other parish or union in obtain- ing the largest possible amount of relief. The operation of this relief was shown upon a large scale in Ireland during the potato famine. But it cannot be doubted that such a system would lead to an enormous increase of the burden of main- taining the poor, and that it would ultimately impose upon all the local inhabitants a much larger sum in the shape of national taxation than they would otherwise pay in the shape of poor rates. Moreover, it would lead to a most extensive demoralization of the working classes — it would go very far to disorganize society, and to disturb all those relations between the working and the other classes of society, upon which internal peace and good order rest." He (Mr. A.) hoped they should not hear so much in future of the admissions of Sir G. Lewis without hearing the emphatic qualification. Lord Malmesbury, who had also set forth a plan, promised to reduce the rates to 5d. in the pound — a penny below the sum fixed by the gallant gentleman opposite him, Captain Tanner Davy. But his lordship's plan seemed to be only a rather hazy form of national assessment, and not to have had much weight with the Lords' Committee. In conclusion, lie would say let them earnestly endeavour to give the matter the fullest inquiry. He advised the chamber not to leave the matter to Parliament alone. It may be said by the Government, " If we grant a committee, the subject will perhaps be hung up a couple of years." The Government may be disposed to take up the subject at once, and a com • mittee may be superfluous. But, whatever Parliament did, he really implored the chambers of agriculture to go into the matter in a searching manner, and to get out all the facts of the ease. Let them bear in mind that the system of local taxation could not be separated from the system of imperial taxation. Out of 75 millions of taxes, something like 40 millions were paid by the consumers of a few articles in general use, who would lie interested in agitation tor direct taxation. But when agitators called for direct taxation to be put upon the land, the answer was, " The laud is the poor man's best friend." All classes were now interested in the general prosperity of the country, and taxation, local and imperial, must be considered as a whole. Let them remember likewise that local taxation was immediately connected with THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 249 local government. Mr. Acland referred shortly to the com- plication of the various jurisdictions in local affairs. Inci- dentally the hon. member referred to the justice of the com- plaint made by Mr. T.Wills, the vice-president of the Newton dinner recently held, that the yeomanry were practically an un- represented class in the country. In the establishment of financial boards he thought that landowners generally, and not the magistracy alone, should be fairly represented together with the ratepayers. Mr. Acland suggested to the council the appointment of a small committee to inquire and watch and collect facts and witnesses. Mr. Venn's resolution was then adopted unanimously. LOCAL TAXATION. At a meeting of the members of the East Suffolk Chamber of Agriculture at Ipswich, Mr. T. Hawkins, Beutlcy, the Y,ice- Presulent, in the Chair, Mr. F. S. Corrance, M.l'., said if fchey had a national rate, those who raised it must have the spending of it, and he foresaw a job of appalling magnitude. The poor-rate now amounted to scveii millions a year, dis- pensed locally by local boards and officers. The result of a national rate would be the withdrawal of local supervision and control, and this would lead to increased expenditure, and he could conceive the national exchequer becoming bankrupt as the result. The alternative was, he supposed, for the rate to be raised locally upon the principle of an income-tax, and on this point he reminded them that incomes under £100 a year were exempt, and asked whether they were prepared to say that exemption should cease ? He did not hesitate to say if they took the income-tax basis they would raise such a cry against them as would entirely destroy their chance. As far as he could judge, the only alternative was to extend the system of government allowances in aid of the rates which al- ready partially existed. They should impose the rate upon all on whom it could be legally made, and upon whose property it could under existing statutes be properly levied, and supple- ment it by a grant from the imperial exchequer, which grant he was inclined to put at one-third. They must not fight this as an isolated interest. Here at that Chamber he pointed out to them that it was to their special advantage to inquire into this, but he did not by any means by so doing exclude from consideration all those large interests which ought to join them in this great fight. It ought not to be introduced as an agricultural question — nothing could be more fatal. Mr. Ac- land had put a notice on the paper for the consideration of the case as an agricultural matter, but he (Mr. Corrance) would propose an amendment, for the motion would do positive in- jury, by making them seem to be one isolated class, seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of the rest of the community. He brought forward this subject last year, and he could not see why it should be taken up by any other member except Sir Massey Lopes, who had introduced it previously to himself, and had the right now if he pleased ; and if Sir Massey would widen his area, he would give his support, otherwise he con- fessed he saw with some regret that a question so great and momentous to them, and so important in its results, should be reduced to a mere question to be taken up by gentlemen who sought to retain their seats. The Chairman read the resolutions which had been for- warded by the Somersetshire Chamber. Mr. Corrance moved as an amendment to these— " That it is not expedient to raise a national rate through the machinery of the income tax. " That it is not expedient to raise a national rate " Mr. W. Boby seconded the amendment. Mr. J. A. Hempson said it appeared they all felt a grievance, hut he thought it required a great deal more dis- cussion by those better versed in the particulars which would guide a decision as to what could be the remedy than he was, and he agreed with Mr. Henniker-Major that an inquiry was desirable. If they adopted Mr. Corrance's suggestion that part of the local rates should be paid from the consolidated fund they would contribute both locally and generally. Mr. Corrance illustrated his meaning by assuming the required amount to be 6d. in the pound ; in that case 4d. would be raised by rate and the amount which 2d. in the pound would represent paid from the consolidated fund and con- sequently spread over the whole country. Mr. H. Biddell said there was a subject which was a very prominent one at most Chambers of Agriculture and Farmers' Clubs — that of the rating of game, and he should like to hear the opinion of both their representatives as to the possi- bility of rating game. He knew an instance where a farm was offered to be let for £200 a year, the landlord reserving the right of preserving game. The tenant offered to pay £400 without the rabbits, but the game was reserved and the farm let for £200, so that he contended there was an annual value of £200 which was never rated at all. He should like to hear an expression of opinion on that point, for he did not think that chamber was one to shirk it, nor would the two hon. members. As to the rating of railways, a line ran through the parish, part of which he occupied, which paid but very little more than the land was worth to feed, before the line was made. If they took the profits of the Great Eastern Company no doubt they were rated at quite as much as they ought, in fairness, to pay, but he knew if a farmer were to lay out money on his premises and make them look better his assessment would be put up, and why should not a railway that had been made at an expense of £10,000 a mile ? He understood, however, from Mr. Corrance that only the profit realised in the parish was rated, and if so no doubt all the profit was made not at Playford but at the stations. On the question of rating woodlands it was often said that it was difficult to ascertain the annual profit of a slow growth of timber, but why not rate woodlands on what the land woidd fetch under some other crop ? Mr. Corrance, with reference to the question of the rating of game, said it had often struck him where a clear deduction was made from the rent on account of any reserved rights of the landlord, he did not care of what sort, the landlord re- ceiving a clear advantage or profit, in that respect the landlord had no right to claim exemption, and he suggested to Mr. C. S. Head a clause that in future assessment committees should be instructed to ascertain the actual lettable value, irrespective of any right or reservation on the part of the land- lord. Rating game itself was attended with immense diffi- culty, because in the first place it was not profitable property. They were obliged to show in any case an annual profit. Mr. H. Bibdell : If I ought to be exonerated from paying on what is unprofitable, I am afraid I have paid a good deal too much in my life (laughter). Mr. Corrance said, as a game-preserver he should be de- lighted to show his balance-sheet, and if there were any possible profit to contribute to the rate. In regard to the timber-trees, they must remember that a property could not be rated commimibus annis, but they must assess the profit in the particular year. Mr. Henniker-Major agreed with Mr. Corrance that where there was any deduction on land, that deduction ought to be taken into consideration, and also that there was no Erofit on game. But all these subjects the more convinced im of the necessity for inquiry. Mr. Corrance's resolutions were then carried. The following resolutions, also proposed by Mr. Corrance, were then agreed to :— 1st. That the present incidence of local taxation is opposed to the letter and spirit of all previous precedent and former enactments. 2nd. That it falls in undue proportion upon land, and the interests dependent upon it. 3rd. That the readjustment upon equitable principles ought to meet with the immediate attention of the Legislature. 4th. That in cases where property cannot be made subject to a rate, a partial remedy may be found by the extension of Government allowance to local institutions. 250 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. HIGHLAND AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND. The general meeting of the Highland and Agricultural So- ciety was held in the society's hall, Edinburgh. There was a large attendance of members, with the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, K.G., President of the society, in the chair. Mr. F. N. Menzies, the secretary, then read the list of office-bearers proposed to be elected, and the Duke of Buc- cleuch retired from the chair, which was taken by the Marquis of Tweeddale, the new President. Sir W. Gibson-Craig moved a vote of thanks to his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch for the services he had rendered to the society while he had been President. No man in the king- dom, with the exception of the present chairman, had done so much for the agriculture of Scotland as the Duke of Buccleuch; and in one respect the Duke holds a place superior not only to the noble Marquis, but to any one in the country ; because no estate has been so thoroughly improved as that of the Duke of Buccleuch, and certainly there is no estate in which such enor- mous sums have been spent for the improvement of agricul- ture. Somewhere about eighty new members were elected Sir William Gibson-Craig laid on the table the accounts of the society for 1867-68, which have already been published. Admiral Sir William HorE Johnstone gave in the report of the Argyll Naval Fund. Lie stated that the interest on the £3,000 heritable security amounted to £116 17s. 10d.; the interest on £2,200 debenture bonds, £94 Is. lOd. ; that the allowance to five recipients was £200 — leaving a balance in the Royal Bank at 30th November, 1868, of £260 17s. 4d. Sir William referred to the advantages derived from the fund, and said he thought that the parents of the young men who bene- fited by it ought to hold dear the memory of the noble Duke of Argyll, who founded such an excellent scheme. The report was adopted. Mr. Kinlocii, yr. of Gilmerton,.had to state, for the infor- mation of the meeting, that the last general show of the society, held at Aberdeen, in August last, was a successful one, although it cost them something like £450. He was much pleased to hear the opinion of the noble Duke, the late president, about it. The exhibition of stock in those classes in which his Grace took part was acknowledged to be first- rate. He regretted that he could not say that the exhibition in all the other classes was equally successful. For instance, the exhibition of thoroughbred horses was a complete and wretched failure. The exhibition of this class of stock at Kelso was bad enough, but at Aberdeen it was ten times worse. He hoped that hereafter the directors would not allow local pressure to cause them to offer prizes for stock which they themselves did not approve of. The exhibition of Clydes- dale horses and Ayrshire cattle was not such as they were ac- customed to see at the shows of the society ; but there were special reasons for that in the refusal of the railway compa- nies to make certain concessions in their regulations for the conveyance of stock. He then alluded to the opposition show held in Glasgow by those gentlemen who did not send their stock, owing to the failure to make a suitable arrange- ment with the railway companies. These gentlemen would have met with the sympathy of the members of the society ; but what did they do ? At the last moment, they organised an opposition show in Glasgow, to be held on the same day as the society's show. He could only wish that these exhibitors had heard the remarks that were made in the show-yard at Aberdeen in regard to their conduct. When they read in the newspapers of the following day that " the show on Tuesday in Glasgow was the most successful of the kind that has been held," they knew that the animals so exhibited were the ani- mals that should have been standing in the empty stalls at Aberdeen. He supposed, however, that bygones must be bygones. He was glad to state that, owing to the kind ser- vices of Mr. Stirling, of Kippendavie, he had good hopes that the railway companies would make some concessions previous to the Edinburgh show. He trusted they would be able to announce that horses and bulls would be carried free on their return journey in horse-boxes ; and also that all stock might be conveyed to and from the show in special cattle trains. That, he knew, did not fully meet the demands of the requisi- tionists in the south-western districts ; but he hoped they would give the directors credit for having gone carefully into the matter. He might say that it was the unanimous opinion of the directors that it would be unreasonable to ask anything more of the railway companies. In connexion with the show at Aberdeen, he felt bound, on the part of the directors, to apologize to those gentlemen who were kind enough to act as their judges for the entertainment that was given them. The entertainment was not such as the society had a right to ex- pect in what was considered to be a first-class hotel. He com- plained of the public dinner, and said they could have got in any small market town at a 3s. 6d. ordinary such a dinner as was served to them at the contract price of half-a-guiuea a- head. The fact was that he and Mr. Menzies had so much to do in the show-yard, that they could not look after that mat- ter properly ; and he hoped that the directors would arrange that the duty should be discharged by others who wrould be able to give attention to it, and see that their guests were properly attended to. Mr. Kinlocii, yr. of Gilmerton, stated that the arrange- ments for the general show at Edinburgh this year were in a satisfactory state of advancement. The premium-list and regulations were on the table for approval, and the prizes offered amounted to nearly £1,500, irrespective of the value of the medals which might be awarded for extra stock and for the first-prize animals at former shows. The Lord Provost and the magistrates and council had consented to allow the show to be held in the West Meadow Park, the society agreeing to relieve the city of all loss of rent or otherwise which may be sustained, restoring the ground to a proper state for grazing after the show, and fencing the trees in such a way as to pre- vent their being injured. In 1859, the city of Edinburgh con- tributed £100 towards the general expenses of the show that year, and it was expected that the authorities would not be less liberal on the present occasion. The counties connected with the show — Edinburgh, Haddington, and Linlithgow — had all agreed to a voluntary assessment according to rental. He had only to add further that the directors had thought it ex- pedient to fix the days of the show for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, instead of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The show would accordingly take place on the 28th, 29th, and 30th of July. Mr. John Clafperton said he understood that the in- habitants of the south side had a decided objection to the show being held in the meadows. He believed that the citizens of Edinburgh would meet the magistrates on the subject, and probably it would not be right in them to be confident that they would get the meadows. He thought it would be un- manly in him not to sound that note of warning. Mr. Duncan M'Laren, M.P., said that though he was no party to raising any difficulties in this matter, lie knew a good deal about the merits of the subject ; and he would have the directors to consider that legal difficulties might prevent the possibility of their having a show in the meadows. He had something to do in getting the Act of Parliament passed for having a public park in Edinburgh, to be supported by local rate. The town-conncil were then, in 1844, the absolute owners of the meadows ; but at that time, in virtue of the Act of Parliament to which he had referred, the meadows were leased as a public park to the commissioners of police, who were authorised to levy a local rate for maintaining that park. They had levied that local rate for the last fourteen years, and had spent many thousand pounds upon the park ; and his belief was that if any ratepayer thought it worth his while to try the question, any single ratepayer would defy both the Highland Society and the town-council, and prevent the cattle- show being held in the meadows. The very idea of a cattle- show was that there should be an enclosed park, from which the public should be excluded. Sir William Gibson-Craig said that the only interest which the Highland Society had in this matter was that they THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 251 should be informed as soon as possible whether they were to have the Meadows or not for their show. The power of grant- ing the park lay with the Magistrates and Council, and they could not say anything upon that question, lie might re- mark, however, that there was some idea that having the show in a park tended to improve the grass. Mr. Ha.ndvside said that he had the liouour of being a Magistrate and a member of the Town Council wheu it was resolved to grant the Meadows for the show. They had no difficulty in granting the park ; but he must say that the legal objection referred to by Mr. M'Laren was not mooted. He did not suppose that any Town Councillor dreamt of it. He hardly thought that any inhabitant of Edinburgh would put himself in what he considered would be the very false position of otfering any opposition to the show being held in the Mea- dows. He thought it would be doing great injustice to Edin- burgh as a city, and to the decision of the Magistrates wheu they made this grant, if any one acted in that manner. He never heard that there was any leeling of opposition until he heard Mr. Clapperton's remarks. He could see no good ground for complaining of the show being held in a public park, and he sincerely trusted for the honour of the city that there would be no opposition. Professor Rankine said that perhaps it might be worth while to state that the last two shows, held iu Glasgow and Aberdeen, were both held in public parks. Mr. Kinlocii reported, in reference to the show of 1870, that a requisition had been received from the district of Dum- fries— consisting of Dumfriesshire, the Stewarty of Kirkcud- bright, and Wigtownshire — asking the directors to hold the show at Dumfries. That request had been favourably enter- tained, and he had been instructed to submit the following resolution for the approval of this meeting: "That this meet- ing approves of the general show of the Society being held at Dumfries in 1S70, and authorises the directors to make the necessary arrangements. The resolution was adopted. Mr. Campbell Swinton, of Kimmerghame, reported that during the past year local shows of stock for premiums given by the Society had taken place in fourteen districts, irrespec- tive of the intermediate competitions held tor premiums given by district associations, and that a sum of about £25U had been awarded, besides a number of medals for the same classes of stock. There had also been awarded 2 medium gold medals for cheese exhibited at the Kilmarnock Show in October last ; 123 medium silver medals at fifty-four different exhibitions for best male and best female animals, best fat-stock, best-managed farms, green crops, best-managed dairy and dairy produce, best collection of seeds and roots, &c. ; 167 medals to the winners of the first prizes at as many ploughing matches ; and 21 medals, besides sums of money, for the best-kept cottages and cottage gardens in twelve districts. Mr. Swinton then stated that the directors had been for some time engaged in adjust- ing the lists for 1869, and that it had been arranged, with the approval of the general meeting, to give the following grants : Ten districts for cattle at £25, and a silver medal each ; two for stallions, at £25 each ; two for entire colts, at £10 each '. six for sheep, at £19, and a silver medal each ; one for swine, at £10, and a silver medal ; two for dairy produce, at £10, and two silver medals each ; four gold and eight silver medals for dairy produce, to be competed for at the Kilmarnock Show- in October next ; the usual number of medium silver medals to the various districts which have applied for grants, as well as silver medals at the intermediate shows of stock ; plough medals on the former conditions, as well as the cottage premiums. In regard to the latter, he stated that the directors had opened a door so as to admit crofters paying £15 of rent and under to compete for a medal, on condition that individual proprietors or local associations give £2 in prizes for each medal claimed. He concluded by reporting that it had been resolved upon by the directors to propose to the general meet- ing to vote the sum of £50 for the year 1869 to the Edin- burgh Christmas Club, as being the Metropolitan Fat Stock Show of Scotland. Mr. Pagan, Innergeldie, proposed that the grant to the Edinburgh Christmas Club should be increased from £50 to £100. He thought that £50 was too small a pittance to be given by a great Society like this. Mr. Campbell Swinton said that this matter met with the most attentive and careful consideration on the part of the directors, and he hoped that the resolution at which they had arrived would be adopted. The report was unanimously adopted. Mr. Lawson, of liorthwick Hall, reported that the arrange- ment agreed to by the general meeting in January last, in regard to the endowment of the Chair of Agriculture in the Edinburgh University, had been fully carried out. He stated that the agreement was that the sum of £150 per annum should be given by the society for ten years, on the condition that Government gave an equal or a greater sum ; and that it had beeu reported at the half-yearly meeting of the society in June last that the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury had agreed to include £150 in the Estimates. The vote had since passed, and the first half-year's allowance had now been paid both by Government and the society. The report was approved of. Mr. Gillon, of Wallhouse, convener of the veterinary committee, reported that up to the present time the attempts to get an independent royal charter for a veterinary college had failed ; but they did not mean to give up the contest. It would be renewed on the first opportunity. They must have a royal charter for Scotland, and the sooner they could do it the better. Mr. Gillon proceeded to report that the society continued to take a lively interest in all that concerned the welfare of the veterinary college. On the 2nd of November last he attended the opening of the college, and listened witli pleasure to a most excellent address delivered by Dr. Dalzell to the students. He was happy to notice the very numerous attendance, and he could not help remarking that they were a very superior class of young men. Professor Anderson reported the proceedings connected with the chemical department. In the course of his remarks, he said that he had arranged for the experiments for the pre- sent season, which were likeley to be of a very important kind. They were but on a small scale, but such as would go over the whole rotation. He had been afraid that, owing to the drought, the experiments wonld have been a failure ; but he was glad that they had turned out well up to this time. Iu regard to the work of the laboratory, he believed that the number of analyses had exceeded that of any previous year. He had been successful in detecting some important cases of adultera- tion, so that farmers had been able to recover from the sellers a considerable sum of money. Mr. Harvey (Whittinghame Mains) thought that this sub- ject was connected with the most important department of the Highland Society. It was all the mors important, particularly in a year like this, when roots had been so very meagre. He had been reading Dr. Voelcker's account of the chemical de- partment of the English Society, in which that gentleman said that the extent of adulteration had this year been altogether beyond precedent. An instance was given of pigs killed through having been fed on cakes containing such poisonous stuff as castor-oil beans, and the still more poisonous curcus beau. In more than one case bearing the press stamp " pure" the cake had been adulterated to a very great extent. He thought that the chemical department of the Highland Society might be made still more useful by perhaps appointing a com- mittee to take steps to stop, as far as was in their power, that abominable system of adulteration. They, as agriculturists, knew what was good land, and what was very bad, but few of them knew what their animals fed upon, or what fertilizers to put into the land. He wished to bring the matter under the attention of the directors, so that they might take it into con- sideration ; and also that possibly it might be connected witli the Chair of Agriculture, so that the young farmers might be able to analyse these things for themselves. He made this proposal in sincerity, for the use of his brother-farmers, well knowing the very large sum that was annually paid for special manures and feeding-stuff. Professor Anderson said he would be glad to join in any additional precautions so as to enable the Society better to de- tect adulteration ; but he thought that if the Society took a more active part in the matter, it would be attended with difficulties. It was at one time proposed that the Society should publish the names of the adulterators ; but he was afraid that in many cases it would be an unsafe and uuad- visable course for the Society. He did not say that the ques- tion of adulteration was in so satisfactory a state as they could wish it to be, but he thought there was less adulteration than there was some years ago. He was quite sure that the 252 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. number of inferior manures in the market was smaller than formerly. Premiums for Reports on the Science and Practice or Agriculture. Professor Balfour reported that the following premiums had been awarded for reports since the General Meeting in June : — 1. £15 to James Black, Courant Office, Elgiu, for a report on the Agriculture of Aberdeenshire and Banffshire. 2. The Gold Medal or £10 to George Armatage, M.R.C.V.S. (late Professor of Anatomy and Physiology, Glasgow), Leighton Buzzard, Beds, for a report on Pleuro- pneumonia. 3. The Gold Medal or £10 to William Brown, junior, Ed- derstone, Peebles, for a report on the Best Construction of Byres, Sheds, and Courts for Cattle, with a view to Sanitary Arrangements. 4. The Gold Medal or £10 to George Menzies, Trentham, Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, for a report on the Conditions which should Regulate the Carriage of Stock by Railway or by Sea, as well as its Transit by Road. 5. The Medium Gold Medal to Robert Hutchinson of Carlowrie, Kirkliston, for a report on the Profitable Extension of the Poultry Department in a Mixed Parm in Scotland. C. The Silver Medal to the author of a Report ot Experi- ments and Improvements on Wire Pencing, bearing the motto — " Good Fences are Good Shepherds." Dr. Balfour also stated that the followiug premiums would be offered in 1869 :— Agriculture of East-Lothian £30 Agriculture in Inverness-shire ... ... ... ... 30 Farming Customs and Covenants of Leases formerly in use in Scotland 20 Various Modes of Striking the Fiars Prices in Scotland... 10 Manures Produced by Different Kinds of Feeding ... 20 Manures made with and without Cover ... ... ... 20 Applying Manure to the Stubble in Autumn or in the Drills in Spring 20 Cheapest, Speediest, and Most Convenient Mode of Cover- ing the Grain Crops in Harvest ... ... ... 10 Improved Varieties of Agricultural Plants ... ... 10 Comparative Productiveness of Potatoes ... ... ... 10 Comparative Productiveness of Turnips .. . ... ... 10 Cultivation of Cabbage as a Field Crop ... ... ... 10 Vegetable Productions of India, China, and America ... 10 Best Modes of Housing Fattening Cattle ... ... 20 Different Descriptions of Food for Stock... ... ... 20 The Duties of the Veterinary Surgeon in Examining Horses as to Soundness ... ... ... ... 10 Disinfecting Agents for Stock for Preventing Attacks of Cattle Plague 20 Dipping, Pouring, and Smearing Sheep ... ... ... 20 Advantages of a System of Contract entered into between Stockowners and Veterinary Surgeons ... ... 5 Improved Methods of Transporting Butcher-Meat for Distances that may occupy from 24 to 48 hours ... 5 Improvements in the Vessels used for Transporting Milk from Country Districts ... ... ... ... 5 Rural Economy Abroad Susceptible of being introduced into Scotland ... ... ... ... ... ... 10 General Improvement of Estates by Proprietors... ... 10 Reclamation of Waste Land by Tillage by Proprietor or Tenant, £10, £5, and Silver Medal Improvement of Natural Pasture without Tillage, £10 and Silver Medal. Invention or Improvement of Implements of Husbandry 50 Dr. Balfour stated that since last general meeting the following premiums have been awarded for reports lodged in competition under this department : 1. The gold medal or £10 to C. Y. Michie, forester, Cullen House, Cullen, Banffshire, for a report on the Formation and Management of Young Plantations. 2. The medium gold medal or £5 to John E. Brown, Wass, Oswaldkirk, Yorkshire, for a report on the American and Canadian Forest Trees adapted for Cultivation in Great Britain. 8. The silver medal to Robert Hutchison, of Carlowrie, Kirkliston, for a report on Forest Trees of recent introduction ittto §QQt!aud. 4. The silver medal to the author of a report on Planting on Exposed or Barren Tracts, marked " Onward." Professor Balfour further reported that the following sub- jects have been proposed for the current year : Extensive planting by proprietors £10 General management of plantations 10 Planting on exposed or on barren tracts 10 Value for eeonomical purposes of Corsican fir 5 Forest trees of recent introduction 5 Advantages of using home-grown timber as compared with foreign 5 Effects of the very dry season of 1868 on trees and shrubs 5 Results of seedlings of conifers, the produce of trees grown in Britain, as compared with plants from foreign seed 5 Mr. Irvine, of Drum, said the next number of the " Trans- actions," being No. 4 of the Fourth Series, would be pub- lished in February. A vote of thanks to the Chairman terminated the pro- ceedings. The monthly meeting of the directors of this society was held in the Chambers, George IV. Bridge, Edinburgh ; the Marquis of Tweedale, K.T., president, iu the chair. Mr. F. N. Menzies, the Secretary, submitted commuuica- cations ftom Sir Alexander C. R. Gibson-Maitland, Bart., M.P., and Mr. M'Lagan, of Pumpherston, M.P., accepting the appointment of extraordinary directors ; and from Mr. Dudgeon, of Cargen, agreeing to act as chairman of the com- mittee on Premiums for Reports on the Science and Practice of Agriculture. A letter was read from Mr. Marwick, dated 27th January, communicating to the board a resolution of the Town Council of Edinburgh to contribute £100 towards the expenses of the Society's show to be held this year in the West Meadow Park, Edinburgh. The Secretary was instructed to attend a meeting of rail- way managers to be held at the Clearing-House, London, on Wednesday the 10th current, with the view of getting some modification made on the rules at present in force as to the the conveyance of stock to and from the general shows of the Society. Proofs of the Premium Book and list of members for 1869 were laid on the table. The Secretary stated that the copies of the latter had been sent for revisal to members in every county in Scotland ; and that he had inserted an ad- vertisement in the papers of last week requesting members who had changed their residences to send him their new addresses. The standing committees for the current year were arranged as follows : 1. Argyll Naval Fund. — Admiral Sir William J. Hope Johnstone, K.C.B., convener ; Vice-Admiral William Ramsay, C.B. ; Messrs. Walker, of Bowland, Graham Binny, W.S ; and Hew Crichton, S.S.C. 2. Chemistry. — Professor Anderson, Glasgow, convener ; Sir Thomas Buchan Hepburn, of Smeaton, Bart. ; Professors Allman, Balfour, and Wilson, Edinburgh ; Messrs. Stephens, Redbrae ; Russell, Pilmuir ; Harvey, Whittingham Mains ; Melvin, Bonnington ; Goodlet, Bolshan ; Fark, Stoneyhill ; Hope, Fentonbarns ; Gray, Southfield ; Dickson, Saughtou Mains ; and Binnie, Seton Mains. 3. Cottages. — Messrs. Maxwell Tnglis, of Logan Bank, convener ; Ord Mackenzie, of Dolphinton ; Campbell Swinton, of Kimmerghame ; Trotter, Bilston Lodge. 4. District Shows. — Mr. Campbell Swinton, of Kim- merghame, convener ; Sir Thomas Buchan Hepburn, of Smea- ton, Bart. ; Messrs. Newton, of Castlandhill ; Stirling, of Kippendavie ; Walker, of Bowland ; M'Dougal, Granton Mains ; Young, Keir Mains ; Mylne, Niddrie Mains. 5. Finance. — Mr. Murray, of Dollerie, convener; Right Hon. Sir William Gibson-Craig, of Riccarton, Bart. ; Messrs. Stirling, of Kippendavie ; Crichton, S.S.C. ; Hog, of Newlis- ton ; Trotter, Bilston Lodge ; Kenneth Mackenzie, C.A. 6. General Shows. — Mr. Kinloch, yr., of Gilinerton, convener ; Sir James Gardiner Baird, of Saughtou - hall, Bart. ; Professor Macquorn, Rankine, Glasgow ; Professor Wilson ; Messrs. Gibson, Woolmet ; Harvey, Whit- tingham Mains; Curror, Couustgii; Campbell SjyiutQD, of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 253 Kimmerghame ; Prentice, of Strathore ; Gray, Soutlifield ; Hope, Fentonbarns ; Walker, of Bowland ; Mylne, Niddrie Mains ; M'Dougal, Granton Mains ; Trotter, Bilston Lodge ; Young, Keir Mains ; and Dickson, Saughton Mains. 7. Hall and Chambers. — Mr. Ord Mackenzie of Dol- phinton, convener; Sir James Gardiner Baird of Saughton- hall, Bart. ; Messrs. Murray of Dollerie ; Walker of Bowland ; Heddle of Melsetter ; and Graham Binny, W.S. 8. Law. — Messrs. Graham Binny, W.S., convener; Ord Mackenzie of Dolphinton, Walker of Bowland. 9. Machinery. — Mr. Gibson, Woolmet, convener ; Sir Thos. Buchan Hepburn of Smeaton, Bart. ; Professor Mac- quom Raukiue, Glasgow ; Hope, Fentonbarns ; Stephens, Redbrae ; Sadler, Ferrygate ; Wilson, Wester Cowden ; Park, Stoneyhill ; Russell, Pilmuir ; Mylne, Niddrie Mains ; Henderson, Lougniddry. 10. Monthly Meetings. — Sir Thomas Buchan Hepburn, Bart., convener ; Messrs. Graham Binny, W.S. ; Gray, South- field ; Park, Stoneyhill ; Stephens, Redbrae ; Campbell Swiuton of Kininierghame. 11. Premiums for Reports on the Science and Practice of Agriculture. — Mr. Dudgeon of Cargen, convener ; Professors Anderson, Glasgow ; Balfour, Allman, and Wilson, Edinburgh ; Messrs. Irvine of Drum, Hutchison of Carlowrie, Gibson, Woolmet — and all the directors. 12. Premiums for Reports on Woods and Planta- tions.— Professor Balfour, Edinburgh, convener ; Messrs. Irvine of Drum, Dudgeon of Cargen, Newton of Castland- hill, Hutchison of Carlowrie, Lawson of Borthwickball. 13. Publications. — Mr. Irvine of Drum, convener ; Professor Balfour, Edinburgh ; Messrs. Stephens, Redbrae ; Russell, Pilmuir ; Heddle of Melsetter, Walker of Bowland, Newton of Castlandhill. 14. Veterinary Department. — Mr. Gillon of Wall- house, convener ; Sir Alexander C. Ramsay Gibson Maitland of Barnton, Bart., M.P. ; Professors Balfour, Allman, and Anderson ; Messrs. Campbell Swiuton of Kimmerghame ; Walker of Bowland ; Kinloch, yr. of Gilmerton ; Stephens, Redbrae ; Gibson, Woolmet ; Hope, Fentonbarns ; Gray, Soutlifield ; Wilson, Wester Cowden ; Mylne, Niddrie Mains ; M'Dougal, Granton Mains. The president, vice-presidents, treasurer, and honorary secretary are members ex officio of all committees. The Secretary read a minute of meetingof Committee onField Experiments, held on 27th January, in which it was stated that the experiments with turnips last year, on the large scale had proved unsatisfactory, owing to the extreme drought in summer ; that, in consequence of this, it had been suggested that a second set of experiments should be begun, commencing with turnips, to extend, like the first, over a four-years' rotation ; and that the experiments commenced last year should be con- tinued, the crop in the rotation this year being barley. The minute also bore that the Committee recommended that the second, or new, set of experiments should, if sanctioned by the Directors, be limited to four, or one-half the number of the first set. The minute was approved of. Dr. Anderson reported that the experiments with turnips on the small scale had extended over a period of three years ; and it was agreed that potatoes should now take their place. Mr. Menzies reported that the first monthly meeting of the Society for the season would be held in the Society's Hall on Wednesday, 24th February, at two o'clock, when Mr. Melvin, Bonnington, would deliver a lecture on the origin of soils, with special reference to those of New Zealand, and an account of the district from which they are taken. The Secretary laid on the table the agricultural returns of Great Britain for 1868, with abstract returns for the United Kingdom, British possessions, and foreign countries, lately presented by Government. He also submitted essays on the Irrigation of Land by the Application of Sea-water, and on the Reclamation of Tidal Shore Land, sent to the Society by the author, Mr. William Reid, Dublin. Mr. F. N. Menzies read the following memorial : " Memo- rial of the Scottish Meteorological Society to the Directors of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland. The council of the Scottish Meteorological Society begs leave very re- spectfully to memorialise the directors of the Highland and Agri- cultural Society with reference to the progress made by the Meteorological Society since the Highland and Agricultural So- ciety kindly agreed to contribute £5 annually towards its funds. In the earlier years of the society's existence the expense of conducting its business was much lighter than it has now be- come, because at that time the work of the society was to a great extent necessarily confined to the collecting of facts. In the year 1859 papers began to appear from time to time in the society's proceedings, illustrative of different points in the climate of Scotland. In these papers particular promi- nence has been given to questions affecting agriculture. The following may be mentioned as a few of the questions which have been discussed, and to which approximate answers have been given : — 1. The mean temperature, of the different districts of the country for each month and for the year. 2. The mean temperature of the days and of the nights separately, in which discussion the importance of day tempe- ratures in relation to the ripening of cereals, has been pointed out and illustrated by the weather and crops of different years. 3. The temperature required in our Scottish climate for the ripening of wheat and barley has been ascertained ; and those districts have been indicated where, on account of the low temperature, the cultivation of cereals must be attended with considerable risk. 4. The extreme temperatures likely to occur in different localities have been ascertained far each week in the year, including, specially, the likelihood of the occurrence of frost and the high temperatures which are necessary for the successful growth and ripening of the crops at the critical periods of the year. 5. The rainfall, cloud, and sunshine have been similarly in- quired into. From these discussions more accurate informa- tion may now be had regarding the crops each district is best suited to produce. G. The weather which has prevailed in seasons that were remarkable for crops either unusually large or unusually defective has been particularly examined, and a beginning has thus been made towards forming an early and trustworthy estimate of the productiveness of the coming harvest. 7. The subject of underground temperature has oc- cupied a considerable space of the society's attention, and some important results have been arrived at regarding the extent to which keen frosts and other extreme temperatures penetrate different soils. Observations have been made on the effect of drainage on the temperature of the soil, from which it has been shown that the temperature of hill pasture and arable land is raised by drainage; that drainage protects the soil more effectually from the effects of sudden falls of tempera- ture and of protracted colds ; and that drained land receives more benefit during the continuance of high temperature than undrained laud. The observations also show that much yet remains to be done with regard to the difficult question of drainage. 8. Great labour has been bestowed in the examina- tion of weather changes and prognostics, by which there is reason to believe that much has been done in the way of dispelling absurd and crude notions prevalent on this im- portant subject, and something towards forming juster opinions, which future investigation may be expected still further to develop and improve. Other important ele- ments of climate in its bearing on agriculture remain to be examined, and it is most desirable that several of the results and conclusions already deduced should be tested by observations which have been collected by the society since these results were published in its proceedings. One of the most important of these inquiries would be the preparing and publishing of twelve charts, showing, by isotherical lines, the mean temperature of the British Islands for each month. While the observations are the more valuable as they accumu- late, the discussion of them becomes the more tedious and la- borious. On this account, the society cannot with the limited funds at its disposal discuss them with the fulness and prompti- tude which is desirable. The agricultural societies of the United States, of France, Denmark, and some other countries have done a good deal in the way of establishing meteorological stations in their respective countries, and of drawing out and printing the result in their publications. This work can only be done at a considerable expense to these societies. In Scot- land the whole of such work is done by the Scottish Meteoro- logical Society. While the annual subscription of £5 hitherto paid by the Highland and Agricultural Society is gratefully acknowledged to have been of great service in promoting the prosecution of the object of the Meteorological Society, the council trusts that the directors may be pleased, on considera- 254 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. tion of the matters above set forth, to graut some increase of the annual subscription heretofore paid towards enabling the council to follow out the work above indicated, in the success- ful prosecution of which both societies are so much interested. It may be mentioned as an interesting fact, in illustration of the kindredness in so far of the objects prosecuted by the two societies, that fully 300 noblemen and gentlemen, including tenant-farmers, are members of both. (Signed) A. Keith Johnston, Hon. Secretary, Edinburgh, 15th January, 1869." The board resolved to increase the annual subscription to the Meteorological Society to £20. On a representation by the secretary, it was agreed to sub- scribe £5 annually to the funds of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. THE LABOUR QUESTION IN IRELAND IN 1868. The discussion upon the paper read by Mr. Robertson, at the Athy Farmers' Club, which appeared in our last, took place on the 5th Jan., Mr. W. R. Bulwerin the chair. The Chairman remarked that before they entered on the discussion of the important subject which had brought them together, it might be well to lay down a few rules for their guidance, as there were a good many gentlemen who would probably take part in it. Only one member, he hoped, would speak at a time, and he ought to limit himself to ten minutes, and confine himself strictly to the subject before the meeting, otherwise they would get into an interminable discussion. Mr. Douglas might observe that he had read the paper very carefully over, and he felt bound to state that, in his opinion, it was a most admirable paper, and was calculated to do a great deal of good. On the whole, he acknowledged Mr. Robertson was correct in most of the statements which he made, and he was very glad the subject had fallen into his hands, as he knew of no one who was better able to quit him- self in a more masterly manner than he was ; at the same time there were some statements and views advanced in that paper that he, for one, could not agree with. In the first place, he thought that all comparisons between the state of the labour- market in Ireland and the state of the labour-market in Scot- land were fallacious. He used the word fallacious advisedly. The two countries had been placed in such ditferent circum- stances that any comparisons drawn between them in this i-espect were of very little value — a fact which he would clearly demonstrate when he came to refer to statistics. There was not, he supposed, a geutleraan in that room but knew that statistics were a dangerous thing to meddle with. To use a familiar saying, they were like a two-edged sword, which cut both ways. Now, if they looked at the agricultural statistics of Ireland and Scotlaud, and compared one with the other, lie ventured to say they would arrive at a result that they were hardly prepared for. It had been stated that they had not enough agricultural labourers in Ireland ; but he maintained that if there were enough in Scotland, then they had more than a quarter of a million too many in Ireland. He found, by a reference to the Scotch statistics, that the number of agricul- tural labourers given as in Scotland in the year 1861 was 378,609. While emigration might have reduced the number of agricultural labourers in Ireland, let it be remembered that there was also an emigration going on in Scotland. In Ire- land, in the same year, the number of agricultural labourers was set down as 988,929. The acreage of tillage in Scotland, including grass and clover, was 2,032,075 acres, while in Ireland it was 3,S01,667 acres. Here was a fact to which he wished to call their particular attention. They could easily come at the number of labourers that ought to be in Ireland, in proportion to the acreage and tillage which was being car- ried on in Scotland, by a simple rule of three — for instance, as 2,032,075 acres were to 378,609 labourers, so are 3,801,667 acres to 708,313 labourers. If there were enough agricultural labourers in Scotland, then there were 280,616 too many in Irelaud. What was the result of this state of things ? AVhy, that these men crowd into the towns. The farmers call on them when they want them in the spring and harvest, and the rest of the year they are left to do the best they can for them- selves. The irresistible conclusion which he felt impelled to draw from those facts was that the agricultural population of Ireland was still in an abnormal condition, and until some- thing was done to remedy this state of things they would hardly be in a position to improve the condition of the labourer. It was said that when they came to build cottages for them, this great desideratum would be brought about. There were a quarter of a million of agricultural labourers too many iu the country, for whom they were going to build cot- tages. If they were going to build cottages for those required only to till the land, had any gentleman present any concep- tion of the money that would be needed for that purpose ? He would give them some idea of it. In the first place, here was the great diillculty to be met with at the outset. There were a great many holdings in Ireland. The number of holdings over 30 acres in Ireland in 1866 was 158,79-1. Now, what size of holdings would they propose to begin to build a cottage on ? Would they begin to build on a holding of five, ten, fifteen, twenty, or a hundred acres ? Suppose they built one cottage on every holding of over 30 acres, at a cost, say, of £60 each, and they would not put up one cheaper, they at once laid out the respectable sum of £9,527,640. If they build a cottage on every holding in Irelaud, the number of which in 1866 was 597,628, they would lay out the rather impracticable sum of £35,857,680. Where was all this money to come from ? At the end of 1S67, the aggregate amount of private balances in all the banks in Ireland was £19,211,242, so that to build only one cottage in every holding in Ireland it would take nearly twice as much money as there was in the country. The question he would like to put was this — Where were they going to build the cottages ? — on what class of holdings were they going to build them ? Mr. Doran replied that Mr. Robertson's proposition was simply to build two cottages on every holding of 200 acres. They might build one on every fifty acre holding. Mr. Douglas said if they were to build on every holding of fifty acres, they would require to lay out £8,000,000. For his own part, he would be most anxious to see good, comfort- able cottages built for the agricultural labourer ; but when they came to deal with the whole matter on a large scale, the thing would be found impracticable. It would have to be the work of time. It was well known that in Scotland they were as badly off for cottages as they were in Ireland. In the Low- lands as many as four, five, and eight men were to be found pigged together, living in a worse state than was the case in any Irish cabin. So far as the bothy system was concerned, they were in a far worse state than was the case here. In England 10 per cent, of the population were engaged in agri- culture, in Scotland 12, while the percentage in Ireland was 18. This was where the case broke down when they com- pared Scotland with Ireland. The Rev. Mr. Bagot : What year is that for ? Mr. Douglas : Last year. He was quoting from Thorn's statistics, published in June. As he understood the paper, Mr. Robertson took the state of Scotland as the type of what ought to be the condition of Ireland. Now, what appeared to be the great difficulty in comparing Ireland with Scotland was, that here they had a large surplus population. They had men in Ireland who had no other profession than simply that of agricultural labourers. There was not a Scotchman in the room, he was sure, but knew that in Scotlaud it was the great ambition of the agricultural labourer to raise his children out of the position of agricultural labourers ; for there was no- thing more common than to find persons of that class, having three or four sons, giving every one of them a trade or pro- fession. That, he was aware, was the ambition of the agricul- tural labourers in the district to which he belonged. There was not the same facility in Ireland at all for agricultural la- bourers giving their boys a trade or profession. They could not look at the agricultural question, and dissever it from the other great social questions that were wound up with it. Suppose that here a man has a large family. What was to THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 255 be done with tliem ? They must either keep them oil at re- duced wages, or give them some trade or profession, which could not be got in Ireland. With regard to the question of education, it was all very will for Mr. Robertson, or any other gentleman, to solve the difficulty by giving a higher standard of education to the agricultural population. He would rejoice, as would every right-minded person, to see them better educated ; but if they began in that way they would only injure the agricultural labourers ; because if they were better educated, like the Scotch agricultural labourers, they would, if possible, make all their sons tradesmen. The moment that education opens the eyes of the parents, they wish to raise themselves in the social scale — from that moment their ambition is roused, and they desire their children to be no longer labourers, but something else. But until they had something beside agricul- ture to depend upon, what were they to do with them ? They would not remain in the position of agricultural labourers. In that case they would have to deal with the whole social state of Ireland — in other words, they must have manufactures established to absorb the surplus population. He feared there was not much iu the remarks which had fallen from him. It was all very well to say that they should be better educated, better fed, better housed, and that they should have this, that, and the other ; but his own impression was, that the progress of the agricultural labourer would just keep pace with the general progress of the country. Ireland generally must get into a better condition and a higher social position before that could be brought about ; for they could not raise one class of the community without raising the other. There must, he re- peated, be a general improvement in the whole state of society in Ireland before they could have any permanent improvement iu the condition of the agricultural labourers. If they at- tempted to deal with one class without reference to other classes, they would signally fail. Unfortunately, the agricul- tural labourer has often been unfairly treated, but had not the farmers themselves a good deal to do with that ? Personally, he had witnessed a great deal of cruelty and hardship sustained by the agricultural labourers at the hands of the farmers. And if the agricultural labourers were to be raised, it would not be amiss if the farmers themselves were raised in the social scale, and induced to act up to a higher standard. Mr. Reeves said he had been thinking, since Mr. Douglas had made some remarks about the expense of erecting labourers' cottages, and the duty which devolved on farmers iu reference thereto, that it was most extraordinary that some of the most honest and well-conducted men in the community were to be found in plain, common, thatched mud cabins. They were, he believed, as useful members of society as any in Europe. There was another thing which he apprehended both Mr. Robertson and Mr. Douglas forgot, and that was the history of this country. He was afraid they never read the history of this country. It was a miracle that the agricultural labourers of this country were as good as they are. They must be extraordinarily well meaning to be so well-conducted as they are. Mr. Butler : The only part of Mr. Robertson's proposi- tions to which I had time to give any attention was his sixth resolution, to which I attach considerable importance. I find myself entirely, and almost as a matter of course, disagreeing with him on the subject of that resolution, which, if pressed, I will move an amendment to. First of all, I should be sorry that we should, as a body of farmers, commence passing reso- lutions as to what " constitutes the imperative duties of land- lords," because I think Mr. Robertson has laid down rather stringent rules for any landlord to adopt. He proposes that the landlord should build, at his own expense, but for his tenant's advantage, cottages for the workmen of the latter, to be handed over at, at most, half their annual value to the fanner to let to his workmen on his own terms, or at their full value, so that the landlord is not only to assist the tenant to pay Ids workmen, but also to place the latter entirely uuder the control of, and at the mercy and subject to the caprice of, his master. To all this I object. I am a free-trader : I am for free- trade, not only in corn and provisions, but also for free-trade in land, money, labour, and thought. T think that the late emigration from this country and the subsequent scarceness and dearness of good labour, which the farmer has to contend with here, is the result of free-trade in labour ; and I do not think a return to protection, in the shape of the old system of subtenancies, is the legitimate way to remedy it. The labourer has found out that there are better timers, and higher wages, and more room in America, and the farmer here must compete for the labourer with the Yankee employer, always remem- bering that he starts with the advantages on his side of the desire of the Irish labourer to stay at home, if he can ; besides all this, I do not think the Irish workman desires to be the serf of the farmer. My experience in several different counties leads me to believe that the height of his ambition in that way is to be a small tenant himself ; to be recognized by the landlord as his tenant, and so to be independent of his master, and free to work with whom lie pleases, subject to the contract which he choses to make himself for his time with any of the neigh- bouring farmers ; and I think this is the best way to teach him independence, and I do not desire to see him coerced to educate his children, or forced to live in serfdom, or handed over bound hand and foot to his master ; but, on the contrary, I advocate the landlord building proper cottages on his estate for workmen, and letting them direct to men of good character to select their own masters ; but I do not propose this measure as an amendment to the resolution, because I think we are altogether out of order in resolving on the duties of landlords — their interest will probably soon point out their duties in this respect to them ; but I would point out to some gentle- men whose remarks I have read, the cause of the objections of landlords to have cottages built on their estates. I have read in the Leinster Express that this is the wrong end of the question to begin resolving about ; but the cause of this re- luctance on their part is the same cause which was so fruitful in years now happily passed in producing evictions and in levelling cabins — the cause which drove the poor into the towns to make them discontented and ready victims of Fenianism ; and that cause, a small clause in our present poor law which fixes the chargeability of the poor locally on the small electoral division where they have resided for a few years together, is a fair subject for a resolution of any public body. Your first step, I would respectfully suggest, towards inducing landlords to build cottages for labourers is to get rid of this local rating and establish union rating — make the landlords understand that they must support the poor resident in the towns ; that they cannot get rid of their chargeability by driving them into the towns ; and that they will not increase that liability by bringing them to reside on their estates ; and then probably you will find workmen's cottages rapidly spring up like magic through the country ; but while you make the landlord pay half the expense of the pauperism incidental to all the families of workmen brought upon his estate, and relieve him from that liability while they reside in the town a short distance off, you will not find it so easy to induce him to discharge that debt which Mr. Robertson says he has owed so long to some- body, or to present cottages to his tenant farmers at half-price. To quote Mr. Robertson's own words, I think it is " unfair, irrational, and unreasonable" to expect such sacrifices from landlords, while they have a surplus of candidates for their farms on their own terms. And I propose, as an amendment to Mr. Robertson's sixth resolution—" That it is desirable to establish union rating in Ireland, instead of the present system of electoral division chargeability, with a view of inducing land- lords to build proper labourers' cottages on their estates, and thereby afford encouragement to the creation of an inde- pendent, rustic, working peasantry." For these reasons I am strongly opposed to the sixth resolution. Mr. Rob£RTSON : My resolution does not run counter to yours at all. The Rev. Mr. Bagot : You are only adding a rider to it. . Mr. Butler : As I understand the resolution, the cottages are to be built by the landlord for the benefit of the tenant. We all know that most landlords and their agents are opposed to union rating. The Chairman : Pardon me, but I think you are travelling out of the question. Mr. Duncan desired to make one or two observations. As he took it, he thought that the resolutions which were passed there from time to time all went to this end — to consider, and, if possible, to advance, the agricultural interests of this country. In all their discussions he was sure they would bear in mind that this was the great ground-work and basis of their operations. Such other matters as bore on that object were incidental to this end, and, therefore, he did not com «• with Mr. Butler's statements. If they were to consider agri- T 256 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. culture and the agricultural interests of this country— and it was incumbent on all to spread abroad a knowledge of this important branch of industry — they must look at the relation in which every section of the community stood to each other. For instance, they could not think of advancing the interest of the agricultural labourer without seeing .whether the land- lord did his duty, no more than they could neglect considering whether the tenant farmers fulfilled their duty, or whether the labourers on their part acquitted themselves of the obligations imposed on them. It was a want of apprehending that identi- fication of interests which had led to the contests and to tho errors of the past. He held it to be a principle that every one connected with land was identified and bound up with its interests, and it was only as society recognized the great prin- ciple of " doing unto others as you would they should do unto you," that they could expect to succeed in benefiting each other. As he understood Mr. Robertson's propositions, he meant that they should improve the condition of the labouring classes of tliis country, and raise them to a letter position in the social scale ; first, by obtaining for them an increase in their wages in some shape or form ; not dealing with them as with children having no will or understanding of their own ; improving their condition, not as an act of charity, but as a matter of duty and of right. He suggested the mode by which that could be brought about, by proposing that their house accommodation should be improved — that the wages which they received should be proportioned to their ability as workmen, and that of necessity was a most important matter. The intelligent and skilled labourer would be benefited thereby. A man having a knowledge of farming, and its duties and work, would enable a farmer to take that individual and say, " I will pay you a certain sum for a certain amount of work." For his own part, he greatly admired the proposition of Mr. Robertson, which drew a distinction between the man who knew something and the man who was a mere machine, and knew nothing. The true principle in all those matters, re- gardless of what might be proposed in Parliament or in Far- mers' Clubs, was, that they would never get on satisfactorily without recognising the claims and interests of every man around them, in the business in which each was engaged. They should also impart a knowledge of what was for the in- terest of the labouring classes. It was with an eye to that, he supposed, Mr. Robertson asked them to direct their attention to the education of his children, which would enable the la- bourer to put away his ignorance. However, under all the circumstances, he was of opinion that the matter was not at all sufficiently ripe to pass a positive resolution in reference thereto. Mr. Douglas observed that he wholly disagreed with both Mr. Robertson and Mr. Duncan, that they should make a dif- ference as to the amount of wages to be paid labourers. In his opinion, if such a system were adopted, the effect would be to discourage bad workmen. At that moment he did not remember such a course being pursued in reference to agricul- tural labourers, but he was aware that it had failed in other branches of industry. If they had ten or twelve labourers in their employment, and that they began to cut and carve their wages, merely because one was a better workman than another, they would create a vast amount of disaffection amongst them. With regard to the education question, he thought the national schools of the country had done a vast amount of good ; but yet the teacher should be better paid, and have a higher stand- ard of education. The Rev. Mr. Bagot was of opinion that the education of the labourer had been misdirected. He thought that the na- tional schools, instead of teaching the rudiments of Latin or music, and other branches of a like nature, ought to apply themselves to imparting more useful knowledge, and he con- ceived the system of education might be changed. No doubt it was desirable to teach geography and such like, but when they taught a labourer to read and write well, if he had an in- clination, he could forward himself in the other branches of science. On the other hand, there was no doubt that much that should be taught was left untaught. For the female por- tion of the community it was very necessary and highly de- sirable that washing clothes, the business of the laundry, baking, and other things should be carried on in the work- houses, in the national and other schools, and thus make good household servants, and good, thrifty wives for labourers ; be- cause, after all, much of the comfort of a labourer depended upon his wife's economy and thrift in domestic matters. In- stead of admiring gaudy ribbons and dresses, they should learn to dress plainer and more suitably to their rank in life ; so that if this part of their education was instilled into them when young, it would have a most salutary effect in benefiting them- selves and their families. The education of the labourer was, he thought, misdirected, though some persons maintained the necessity of what was called over-educating them, and of im- parting to them the higher branches of science. Now, with regard to the housing of the labourer, surely no one would con- tend for a moment that the labourers of this country were well housed, or that a better class of cottages was not required to be provided for them ? Some months ago he was in North- amptonshire, when he took the opportunity of ascertaining for himself how the labourers were accommodated in this respect, and in one particular holding which he visited he asked a far- mer how his labourers were provided for. The farmer in question showed him his out-offices, his stables, his piggeries ; how his cows, his horses, and his pigs were taken care of, the arrangements in reference to which were certainly first-rate. He then said to him, " Show me the houses you have for your farm labourer ;" which he did, and, undoubtedly, nothing could be better than the cottages which had been built on the hold- ing for this class of persons. They were all that could be de- sired— clean, comfortable, well ventilated, and provided with every requisite to render them healthy and convenient for the occupants. Now, in Ireland, it was too often the case to find landed proprietors laying out too much money in the erection of sheds, stables, piggeries, and such like ; to devote a good deal of time anil labour to stall-feeding ; but what did they do for the labourer ? They found that his cows, his horses, and his pigs were well housed, but the exception, unfortunately, was that the unfortunate labourer was left to do the best he could for himself. Was not a labourer's cottage as necessary a part of a holding as a piggery ? and was it not a thing that could not be done without. No person ought to let a farm holding unless there were proper labourers' cottages on it, as well as other buildings and out-offices. Labourers' cottages, he considered, were just as necessary an appendage to a farm as anything else that was required by a tenant. They might be divided in opinion as to the number of cottages which should be erected on each holding ; but when they came to detail, that was a matter which could be easily settled. He did not think that Mr. Robertson laid down the scale at too high a standard in saying that there ought to be two cottages for every 200 acres of tillage. Then the question was, whether or not the landlord was bound to provide these cottages for his tenant ? He maintained that it was a necessary part of the farm, and if they were not on the land, then they should be included in the arrangement entered into between the landlord and the tenant, when the latter was entering into possession. There is, and had been, a great effort made to build la- bourers' cottages all over the country, and the late Lord Lieu- tenant, who took a deep interest in this, as well as every mat- ter affecting Ireland, contributed a valuable prize, to be offered through the Royal Agricultural Society, for the best plan for labourers' cottages. In the first instance, it was found that the plans sent in would entail too much expense, and they were accordingly rejected. However, a plan had been since ap- proved of, and any one could now get it at the Royal Agricul- tural Society's office in Dublin. Mr. Butler : What is the cost of building each cottage? The Rev. Mr. Bagot : The double cottage is £137. Mr. Reeves : A good mud cottage, well thatched, would hold a century. The Rev. Mr. Bagot : Well, I do not think any farmer would like to see a mud cabin on his holding. He had con- tended for a long time, but he could get few to agree with him, that the walls of all cottages might be made of cob. It was wonderful the difference which it made. Cob walls, built on a brick or stone foundation, with a slated roof, would make a splendid cottage, which they could have for £15 cheaper than if it was built of stone. In conclusion, he expressed a hope that the paper, and the discussion on it, would do a great deal of good. Mr. Duncan said if he understood the tendency of the dis- cussion aright, it had for its object the raising of the agricultu- ral labourer from his present state of degradation. If he comprehended Mr. Robertson's proposition, it was to increase the wages, better educate, and improve the mental powers of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 257 the labouring mail, by which lie would be enabled to keep pace with the improved order of things. That would, of necessity, demand payment according to the ability and skill of the work- man. Mr. Douglas desired it to be clearly understood that he was not advocating a low scale of wages, or for keeping down the standard of the working man. So far as he was personally concerned, he would like to see the labourer better paid and better fed ; but to do that, all classes of society must be raised, as the could not separate one portion of the fabric from another. Mr. Anderson said Mr. Douglas seemed to tbiuk that wheu they engaged men, they should pay them all the same wages, regardless of the superiority of oue workman over an- other. Iu his opinion, at' armer should, if possible, have a staff of men all the year round, and not be depending on going into the next town to look for them at any time he required assist- ance. Of course, during the harvest, or the busy part of the year, he might require some help ; but then, during the rest of the year he should have his own staff. In reference to the re- marks which had fallen from Mr. Butler, that gentleman, he believed, had pointed out the real cause of the present diffi- culty, and that was with regard to the rating on electoral di- visions. If it was union rating, those difficulties would not exist, so that he did not think they ought to have any difficulty iu expressing an opinion on that point. Mr. Butler seemed to convey that landed proprietors should build cottages, and have them under their owu control. Now, that would lead to in- terminable annoyance and heart burnings, and would make matters far worse than they were at present ; because if the labourer was independent of the farmer, he would leave him on the first occasion on which he required his services. The far- mer should have the same power over the cottage of the la- bourer as he had over other portions of the buildings on his holdiugs. Unless they had that power, the farmer could not depend on getting those men when he wanted them. As to the expense that would be incurred in erecting cottages on holdings, he did not think they need be alarmed, as Mr. Douglas seemed to be, that they would swamp all the banks in Ireland. Cottages, he believed, could be built as they were wanted, without affecting the banks. Mr. Douglas : They are coming gradually into the coun- try ; but it will be a great many years before you have the number that Mr. Robertson speaks of. Mr. Anderson said he believed cottages could be raised on simple and easy terms. Let the tenant draw and supply the materials for the walls, and the proprietor pay the expense of the mason work and the slates and roofing, and the whole thing was arranged. Mr. O'Neill adverted to some figures in the paper, in refer- ence to the number of women employed in hoeing turnips in Scotland, as compared with the number employed in Ireland under similar circumstances, which he conceived to be a mis- take. Mr. Robertson explained that those were extra hands. Replying generally to the observations which had fallen from the different speakers, he said he did not know that he should say much, inasmuch as he did not anticipate, when he wrote his pa- per, that it would have met with such unanimity. He was ex- ceedingly gratified that it had met with such general approbation which was more than he had expected. So far as the discussion had gone, he saw no reason why he should retract a single word it contained. With regard to cottages, on which the discus- sion mainly turned, there was one point of which he wished he had brought out more prominently in his paper. He referred to the building of cottages, and leaving them in the hands of the landlord. Such an arrangement as that would never work, because they were already tormented enough without hav- ing a stupid independence set up on the part of the labourer. There was no doubt that if a landlord were to build a certain number of cottages, and that the labourers became the land- lord's tenants, they would become intractable, and on the first opportunity would go off and take employment elsewhere. In that case there would be no end to the difficulty and an- noyance of the tenant running to the landlord to complain of the labourer, when the matter would eventually be brought into a court of justice. If they were to be built at all they should be handed over to the tenant, who ought to be held ac- countable for them. The Chairman called the attention of the Town Commis- sioners, through their late chairman, Mr. Duncan, to the re- cent Act of Parliament for improving labourers' dwellings in towns. He also pointed out how valueless for the purpose of comparing the cost of labour in Scotland and Ireland were the figures adduced by Mr. Robertson. In the course of his observations he said : With regard to cob or concrete walls, they can be built for 5s. a perch in frames, wrhile stone work in this district costs 7s. per perch. Good walls can also be made of mud. There are some cottages with mud walls to be seen at Geashill, in the King's County ; they are roofed with slates, and dashed, and are, to all appearance, as comfortable as any labourer can wish to inhabit. A mud wall 106 feet long, 0 feet high, and 2 feet thick, on a stone foundation a foot high, can be built for £4. Houses built of mud walls 9 feet high, and roofed with slates, are common in Australia. Mr. Robertson explained that his comparison of expenses on the Scotch and Irish farms was founded on cases where the labourers were fed by the farmer as well as paid. Votes of thanks were passed to Mr. Robertson, for his paper, and to Mr. Bulwer for his conduct iu the chair, when the meeting separated. NORFOLK HUNTING SONG. [The following was recently written and sung by a Norfolk yeoman at a dinner in the county.] My Lord, although right well I know but little voice I boast— You shan't wait long, I'll sing a song in honour of the toast. It seems you will not let me off, no matter what I say, So I'll do my best to please you in a quiet sort of way. My friends, we've had the pleasure now, whilst sitting round this board, To drink to Mr. Hamond, and to Melton's Noble Lord ; And the hunting men of Norfolk in a pretty mess would be, If it were not for their kindness and their liberality. To any sporting character 'tis really quite a treat To see the hounds and horses and the servants at the meet. Oh would 1 were a Tennyson ! I would their praises sing, And tell of all the ecstacies that do from hunting spring. To give the covert owners some advice I shall presume : It were well if they would follow in the wake of Mr. Lombe, For it matters not how often we may meet at Bawdeswell Bell, We always find the animal at home and treated well. I wish, don't you ? the great battue were out of fashiou quite, And we had the game-preservers with us in the foremost flight ; And if for want of shooting they were driven rather hard, They could always have a day's battue in any poultry-yard. Don't tell me of shooting pheasants tame as barn-door hens and cocks, But give me a little spinney, that will always hold a fox ; And I really think the clamour at the fox is most absurd, For whenever he can find a rat, he'll scorn to touch a bird. A farmer's view I'll now give you : they wish the hounds good luck, And won't grumble if they chance to lose a chicken or a duck ; And though you ride across their wheat, you're welcome, if you please, To call and taste the home-brewed beer or bit of bread-and- cheese. Give us good runs, confound your guns, hurrah for scarlet coats — Between ourselves, the hunting will improve the price of oats — And if perhaps you make some gaps, Yoick ! over there ! who cares P Amongst the stubbs we'll nurse the cubs in preference to hares# So here's success to hunting, in Norfolk may it thrive ; May both our masters long be spared to keep the game alive ! I hope both packs may flourish well, I do upon my soul, And should a pain or care remain, we'll drown it in a howl. T 2 258 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE SEWAGE SCHEMES SO FAR. The seasons would appear more and more inclined to come in cycles. There are so many months or weeks of heat or drought, and then so many more of rain and flood. In turn, it is still possible that we may yet have a hard frost, and, in the interim, the country is seri- ously surcharged with water. Noticeably enough, how- ever, the questions of the day do not turn so much upon efficient drainage and the due control of our rivers aud watercourses as might have been expected. On the con- trary, there is a very manifest disposition to ensure a greater supply of liquid to the land. The spring, or time " of growth is approaching, aud the manure of the farm is again the leading agricultural subject. Is it not strange that one of the most abundant sources of fertiliz- ing matter should have been so long neglected — that the house-waste of London, which used to be imperfectly removed, with immense labour, by horse and cart a few miles outwards to the market-gardens, should not, now that it is in a form to carry itself, be greedily appro- priated ?" So says the Gardener's Chronicle; and certainly this is not the first occasion on which the same question has been hazarded of late. Then again, says the Engineer, still of course playing upon the same string •. " A grave error indulged iu by farmers, and one which it will not be long ere they acknowledge, is that the only difference between the present and future me- thods of manuring land consists in the substitution of one fertilizer for another. This is a serious mistake. The one is a simple and primitive mode, capable of design and execution by any common farm-labourer ; the other is an accurately and carefully-planned project, requiring, from first to last, a high degree of professional skill and technical knowledge and ability. Thus it is that in the few instances where the agriculturist has been his own engineer, his attempted utilization of sewage lias even- tuated a miserable failure, greatly to his own surprise and chagrin, and also to the detriment of the principle whioh he tried to put into execution." Even further than this, when Mr. Mechi spoke, in November last, at the Farmers' Club, to the undeveloped power of British agriculture, he cited Mr. Morton, who "hasjust informed us that some of the sewaged land of Barking that, last year, produced 40 tons of rye-grass per acre (equal to 16 tons of bay), has this dry year yielded 43 tons of mangel per acre. Is not this sufficient evidence of profit? Many of our great estates will require a remodelling on a scale of arrangement suited to the modern require- ments of steam-cultivators and sewage-irrigation. It would pay well." These last few words, as we take it, give the very point to the argument, the more particularly if, for the moment, we take the liberty to transpose them. Would it pay well ? Of course, through all ages there has been nothing so common, or so smart or so easy, as to abuse the farmer for not doing those things which he ought to have done. And the Gardener's Chronicle accordingly finds it strange that such abundant sources should so long have been neglected ; while The Engineer dwells on the grave errors of the agriculturist, and Mr. Mechi, if not quite so sanguine as he has expressed him- self over this business, still insists on the paramount duty of landowners, who " have the matter in their own hands." But, unfortunately, we have heard of those so many tons of rye-grass an acre before, and the " profit" that comes of them ; and is there more actual proof now than there was ten or twelve years since, when Mr. Telfer and Mr. Kennedy flourished ? There is really a necessity for re- viving our reminiscences of these undertakings, for even Myre Hill was never so written up as the Lodge Farm is and has been. The Journals of the Royal Agricultural Society and the West of England Society have devoted essays to the story of its wondrous works. A Times Commissioner has proclaimed his approval in the largest type, and the very genius of the poet would seem to have been kindled within the breast of the visitor to Barking : " While it is being disseminate 1 uniformly through the substance of the soil, the sun is shining on a transforma- tion scene above more beautiful than any known to pan- tomime. Leaves are spreading upwards, roots are swelling outwards, characteristic forms are being built up, charac- teristic juices, essences, aromas, are being secreted. Grass, wurzel, cabbages, strawberries, potatoes, wheat, oats, rye, &c, are hastening onwards towards maturity more rapidly than is known under any other plan of cultivation." Is not this a delightful picture of pastoral life ? Wi^h the leaves spreading, and the roots swelling, and the " cha- racteristic" essences and aromas, and the strawberries, the wurzels, with the inconceivable et csetcra, as the sew- age is being disseminated by swains and shepherdesses in very pink silk stockings and very smart hats, who break out gleefully iuto a chorus of " How brightly, brightly breaks the morning I" And in the midst of all this rural felicity in [rushes a terribly crusty curmudgeon, one Farmer Smith from the Croydon Club, at the sight of whom the shepherdesses fly off with a prolonged shriek, the leaves cease spreading, the roots are contract- ing, and the " characteristic" aromas alone linger about the scene : " He was sorry to think the scheme that was referred to with such a flourish in the Times would be- come a failure, as he believed no good result would come of it notwithstanding all that had been said in its favour. From what he had heard, he believed those connected with it were not in a very pleasing position." Of course if Mr. Smith can be contradicted, he will be, but for our own part we are inclined to consider all the wonderful tales of this Lodge Farm as of the wildest, and we must have more " facts" thau the mere growth of tons of grass or crops of cauliflowers before we " shall break the neck of that vis inertia which seems to bind the agriculturist, even more thau other men, to established ways of carrying on his operations. They must at length convince us all that the existing waste of the sewage of our towns is an im- mense stupidity." This is certainly a complimentary way of putting it, but had it not been for this vis inertia, had his stupidity been only immense enough to have induced him to believe and act upon the fables so industriously put about as to the value of sewage, the farmer would have been a ruined man over and over again, any time you please during the last ten or twenty years. But, according to Mr. Mechi there is " sufficient evi- dence of profit," and only " let our great estates be re- modelled on a scale of arrangement suited to the modern requirements of sewage, irrigation, &c, and it would pay well." Does Mr. Mechi happen to know anything of Lord Essex's sewage farm at Watford ? Here some two hundred acres of land had been remodlled to suit the modern requirements of sewage irrigation, and indeed we are not quite sure but that Mr. Mechi himself was con- sulted as to the scale of arrangements. Certain enough it is that no expense was spared, the outlay, it is said, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 250 reaching to some thousands of pounds. With the sewage, then, very available for use, and with, we will assume, the best engineering ability engaged to direct its application, the experiment has already come to conclusion. Lord Essex has given up his farm, and let it to his steward, a man who of course has had every opportunity of observing the advantages of the system, and who takes to the land on the distinct understanding that he is not to be expected to make any use of the sewage ! There should, surely, be another scene in the pantomime, where the thunder roars and the clouds travel, and when, at a crack of harlequin's baton, the pipes burst, the tank over- flows, and the " characteristic" aromas come out stronger than ever. Tableau — Mr. Mechi puts up his umbrella. A FOREIGN CATTLE MARKET. A meeting of the Leicestershire Chamber of Agriculture was held in February, for the purpose of considering the desirability of establishing a waterside market for the sale and slaughter of foreign cattle, and of placing restrictions on the movement of cattle affected with contagious diseases. Mr. A. Pell, M.P. (chairman), said he had been informed by a leading member that a bill was prepared which had the full concurrence of the Home Cattle Defence Association, in London, and that was of a nature that he believed would meet the wishes of the farming interest generally. If that bill ex- pressed their views, they might rest assured he would give it all the support he could. The old ground of debate, he had no doubt, would be raised again, whether or no restrictions would be more readily and more effectually put upon the foreign cattle trade by means of Orders of Council, or by legislation. He had no hesitation as to which was the best plan to pursue. He thought legislation would be best; — general legislation, which would affect not only the metro- politan cattle market, but every port where cattle were landed. They could understand what that meant. They understood that foreign animals, wherever landed, should be under the same restrictions, and, what was of equal importance, that mixtures of cattle from abroad with home cattle would be prevented. The bill of last year fell to the ground on a very material question, Who was to find the means ? And it was certainly a question whether any capitalists would have lent money upon the tolls of that market, so as to enable a com- pany to build and open it; The same objection existed now ; and the question was whether they should not apply for some- tliing less expensive— whether it would not be posrible to get a bill through Parliament which would enact that there should be no mixture whatever of foreign and home animals, that if a store animal came into England it should be subject to a short quarantine, and a fat animal should be killed with- out being moved inland. The importers of cattle from abroad might say that they were interfering with the laws of free trade, that they were preventing them importing cattle, and putting their trade under such conditions that it must retire to the narrowest limits. He did not think that would necessarily follow. Was it not possible that there should be certain of the old slaughter-houses in London and other parts, set apart for the reception and slaughtering of these cattle ? They had in the east of London made very large slaughtering establishments very near the river, which might be appropriated to such a purpose, so as to keep the foreign animals out of what had been for the last two or three years the natural market of English cattle, namely, Islington. All the objections that had been raised against the change of market, or having a fresh market at the waterside, were urged against the removal of the market from old Smithfield to Islington, and by very much the same class of people — the Corporation of the City of London. And as those objections were set aside, he did not see but they might get over the difficulties in the way of dealing with foreign cattle. The question of expense had also been raised in the House of Commons. It was asked whether it would not be a more expensive thing to make a market for foreign beasts, than to bring them to Islington. There certainly would be fresh expense incurred in the creating of a market, and the immediate consequence would be to add a new cost to the sale of foreign cattle ; but the general result might be an enormous saving. Let them once get the cattle-disease intro- duced into the breeding counties, or the centre of England, and the expense of expelling that would bear no proportion whatever to the expense that would be incurred by opening and forming a foreign market. But even setting that on one side, he believed at present, what with railroad expense, and landing and moving, the expense upon a foreign beast from the time it left the ship's side till it got to Islington was about lis. (Mr. Harrison thought not so much as that.) The statement he quoted from was one made by Mr. Read last year. The amount seemed large, and much would be saved under the proposed arrangement. What he wanted was, to get as far as possible the opinion of practical men interested in the preservation of English stock. He suggested for their consideration this resolution : " That this Chamber considers it desirable to establish a separate market for the sale and slaughter of foreign cattle in the metropolis, and that it is considered essential that all foreign sheep and pigs should be placed on the same footing as foreign cattle, and that the same regulations should apply to all other ports of landing in the United Kingdom." Mr. W. Wright expressed his concurrence in the reso- lution. Mr. Harrison remarked that at present in Islington Mar- ket the English graziers were most unfairly used, and he hoped that the time had arrived when the ridiculous system they were under now would be done away with. Tlie present re- strictions were perfectly ridiculous, as well as useless. It was perfectly well known in the metropolitan market there were hundreds and thousands of sheep sent from the very places that foreign cattle arrived at ; and if the cattle-plague was rife abroad, and some of those cattle were diseased, they had the same chances of the cattle-plague coming all over the country that they had before. As long as this lasted, it was a clear misunderstanding of the system that was come to for their protection. The feeling was now that they were entitled to have a separate market, where English cattle could go free. It seemed perfectly absurd upon the face of it, that they should send their cattle all through the country, and the moment they got to London they were as foreign cattle. The foreigners said they need not send their cattle there ; but it was very hard upon them if they could not have the benefit of that important market. And it seemed harder yet, that if they took their cattle to that market they were not able to make the best of them, because the regulations amounted to a compulsory sale. He was told, by a person connected with the metropolitan market, that they took no notice of the regulations, but that cattle were removed notwithstanding. Orders were got to move cattle, but who could tell what cattle were moved ? They ought to go for a separate market, and to be satisfied with no- thing else. As to foreigners, he believed it would be the greatest possible boon to them. Under the present regula- tions foreign sheep were not allowed to go into the metropo- litan market, but were sold in holes and corners, which was a great disadvantage, that would be put an end to by the estab- lishment of a separate market. To say it was a hardship to have to kill these cattle was nonsense, as was shown by the quantity of dead meat sent continually from Scotland, which was much further than three or four miles. They should have some protection from the cattle-plague, which he understood was always rife abroad. They did not wish to prohibit the importation of foreign cattle, but they should be slaughtered at the ports on their arrival. At Brighton foreign cattle were landed, and killed close to the place, and it was a great boon to the people. After some further discussion, in which Messrs. T. Wright, Grant, Simpkin, and R. Skeffington took part, the resolution was passed. Mr. Wilson proposed " That English cattle, horses, and 260 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. sheep, suffering from pleuro-pneunionia, glanders, scab, foot- and-mouth complaint, or small-pox, shall not be allowed to enter any fair or market, or be removed along the highways or railroads, and that all persons knowingly moving animals suf- fering under such diseases shall be liable to a fine," Mr. Nuttali, seconded the resolution. Mr. Simpkin proposed that the foot-and-mouth complaint should be left out of the resolution. — Seconded by Mr. Har- rison. On the resolution being put to the meeting, it was negatived by a large majority, and the amendment was carried. THE MARKETING OF CHEESE. At the January Meeting of the American Dairymen's Asso- ciation, at Utica, the following paper was read by Mr. John M. Webb, of New York city : — The Cheese Market of 1868.— The season just closing has been unprecedented in character, and in marked contrast to the ones immediately preceding it. Last year, at this time, we had to report to you a dull and declining market, with full stocks of cheese on both sides the Atlantic ; this year, stocks are everywhere light, and the market wears a firm and healthy aspect. Last year one of your most prominent speakers ex- pressed his fears that you were on the high-road to over-pro- duction, and consequently ruinously-low prices ; to-day, in looking back on the closing season, you must confess that prices have at least been fairly sustained, and you know better than I can tell you whether your cheese-houses are incumbered with any extent of surplus or unsaleable stock. A brief review of the current season will enable us to account for this changed position of affairs. Last season wound up badly, with heavy stocks left over both of American and English cheese. Holders of the latter, with a keen recollection of their disastrous expe- rience of the previous year, were determined to clear out before the hot weather should set in. Dealers in American had no option but to drop their prices in correspondence to the decline in English cheese, and hence it was that some rather heavy purchases made in New York during the months of February and March resulted in a smart loss to the over-sanguine ship- pers. The trade in England, occupied in the disposal of these heavy stocks of old cheese, were much less eager than usual for early shipments of the make from this side the Atlantic. In a certain sense this was well, for your fodder cheese last spring was not only short in quantity, but for the most part very poor in quality. It was not till we were fairly working on the grass cheese that we had any active English demand. From that time out we had a flowing trade, which continued until the English dealer and the English consumer alike began to get a surfeit of that strong-flavoured, loosely- made, bad- keeping quality, which was the universal characteris- tic of your July-make of cheese, This inferior quality was doubtless largely owing to the intensely-hot weather then pre- vailing ; but whatever the cause your very serious attention should be directed to the discovery of a remedy, for not one single dairy, as far as my personal experience and pretty full inquiries extended— not one single dairy stood the test of that most trying month. Even those dairies of which I spoke last year — dairies that for a series of years have been always and uniformly excellent— did not hold their own last July, but proved in the matter of flavour and feeding-qualities, to be no better than the great majority of your State factories. Thus, about the beginning of September, the markets of London and Liverpool were full of badly-made, strong-flavoured cheese, of which both dealers and consumers were heartily sick, and there was a general outcry for some rich, closely-made, clean- flavoured cheese at any price. Let us now see in what posi- tion was the English farmer for supplying this demand. Up to the middle of June the season in England was most tavourable for dairying, and the make of cheese there was, perhaps, the largest ever known. Then came a drought, unpre- cedented for seventy of duration . Under its blighting influence the make of cheese had fallen to one-half of an average by the middle of July. When, toward the latter part of August, the longed-for rain did at length come to the rescue, the pastures recovered with unexpected rapidity, and from the middle of September to November 1 there was a fair, but not an average make of cheese of good quality, which will probably be brought to market about February or March next— some very sharp frosts closed-up cheese-making by November 11. To recapitu- late. 'Up to the middle of June we had a very large make in England ; by the middle of July it had shrunk to one-half an average ; by the middle of September it had recovered, and to the 1st of November was fair in quantity and good in quality. The decrease in the make was, however, by no means the only consequence of the unexampled heat and dryness. Not only was the quantity short, but the quality was worse than had been seen for many years, and added to this was the unfortu- nate circumstance that very much of the early make which I have described as being both abundant and good was spoiled on the farmer's shelves by the excessive heat. Hence a clean- flavoured dairy of English cheese was very hard to find — in fact, really choice quality was never so scarce — and of course for his diminished make, inferior though it may be, the farmer naturally expected an increased price. You will thus see that the English makers were in no position to satisfy that demand for fine-flavoured cheese which was so eager and so general. We had no resource but to see what the American dairy-men could do for us, and I am happy to say that we did not turn to them in vain. Your August and September make of cheese proved to be of unusually-fine quality. I am only repeating the opinion of those best qualified by experience and observa- tion to judge on this point when I tell you that never since the factory system was inaugurated has there been so large a selec- tion of fine and almost faultless American cheese as was pre- sented in your August and September make. Not only did most of the standard favourites regain their character and re- sume the position they had lost in July, but the general quality of the make in all parts of the State was vastly improved ; dairies of hitherto only second-class reputation turned out cheese that in poine of style, solidity, and flavour was second to none. When this fine quality which I have been describing first reached the Engtish market, its superiority was at once recognised, and considerably enhanced prices were conceded for it, but the keenness of the first demand once satisfied, the dealers strenuously resisted any further immediate advance. The result has been a quiet, but firm and gradually-rising mar- ket ever since. While acknowledging the quality of much of the American to be equal to the best, and better than the bulk of the English cheese this season, it is with great reluctance that our English buyers pay anything like a full value for the former. It is, however, a great point gained that they admit the superiority of the American make, and that its recognition is being surely, even if slowly, forced upon the consumers of Great Britain. With little or no cheese left back in the coun- try, and with a greatly-reduced though rapidly-diminishing stock in New York City, the season of 1868-69 promises to wind-up with a complete exhaustion of stocks both here and in England. Hence the prospect of the new season is highly encouraging, and your enegies should be bent not only in the direction of increased production, but to keeping up that pro- duction to the very highest standard of quality. In this way only can you maintain the healthy position you have gained for the product of your factories. A grear orator has said that " the price of liberty is eternal vigilance." In these days of competition and advancement no less a price must be paid by those who would excel, or even keep their place in ranks of business, whether mercantile or manufacturing. I have but little to tell you of other cheese-making coun- tries. The quality of the Canadian cheese in the early part of the season was very disappointing. There was a great deal too much harsh, dry, and over-scalded cheese, and where a dairy showed quality it was too frequently accompanied by a most objectionable flavour. But in August and September our Canadian neighbours, like yourselves, made some really fine cheese. The proportion of this sort was not so large perhaps as in your State, but the improvement was very marked, and the cheese, being nicely coloured, is rapidly growing in favour with English consumers. Perhaps no country in Europe suffered more from the effects of last summer's drought than did Holland, but at the same time uo country recovered so quickly from those effects. Of course THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 261 the make of Dutch cheese is short, but less so thau could have been expected. The increasing demand from France has done nearly as much as the short make to stimulate prices in Holland to an extreme pitch ; added to which, the quality, like that of the production of other cheese-making countries this season, was very much below an average. Scotland suffered far less from the drought than did either England or Holland. There was a fair, though by no means a full, make of cheese in that country. The consumption has been mainly on their own make to almost the entire exclusion of the American article from the Scottish market. The shipments from New York to Glasgow, and the purchases in Liverpool for that city, have been unu- sually small. From Sweden no progress is reported in their cheese making experiment. Their product, while showing much quality, and a beautiful style of curd, is characterized by a rank, strong flavour. But so important is this new branch of industry in the opinion of the Swedish Government that they have sent a deputation to visit the best cheese-making dis- tricts iu England, and study the methods there in use, with the view of remedying, if possible, this great defect of flavour. The competition for the favour of the English cheese- con- sumer virtually lies between the products of the English farmer and that of your factories. Iu this connection I have a word or two to say on the subject of colour. It is often asked, cannot we do away with the system of colouring, which adds nothing to the flavour or keeping qualities of the cheese — is even iu some instances a positive drawback to both, and, above all, is a source of considerable trouble and expense to the manu- facturer ? It has even been said that if none of you coloured your dairies the English public must perforce consume your white cheese ! This would be a very cogent argument if you had exclusive command of the English market; but in your present active competition with the English farmer, the carry- ing out of any such policy would place you at an almost fatal disadvantage. During my recent visit to the old country I made particular inquiry into this question of colour, and found that the area of consumption for dead white cheese was a com- paratively limited one. I found less general disposition to insist on a very high colour ; but some colour is indispensable for all, except one or two districts. The experience of ray London friends is that their customers make less objections to a light shade of colour than formerly ; but they express their deliberate opinion that any attempt to force uncoloured Ame- rican on that market would at once drive the consumption on to the coloured English cheese, and reinstate it in the position from which you are so rapidly displacing it. Is the end to be gained worth this hazard ? That the supply of (^coloured cheese may very easily be overdone, has been conclusively proved quite recently on the Liverpool market, where, within the last three months, I have seen white dairies of otherwise faultless character entirely neglected, while coloured were in eager demand at a premium of from f c. to 1 c. per lb. The colour that finds acceptance with the largest number of Eng- lish buyers seems to be a bright straw colour. In telling you all this I have no personal end to gain that in any way runs counter to your interests. The more saleable your cheese in the Eng- lish market the better for us all. It is no light matter to educate the taste of English consumers in the matter of any article of food. This difficulty we. have experienced to the full during our endeavours to secure for American cheese that re- cognition to which its intrinsic excellence so fully entitles it. Those endeavours were materially aided by the alacrity with which you adapted your manufacture to English usage in the matter of shape, size, and, not least, of colour. By thus con- forming to English prepossessions (prejudices, if you choose to call them so), you have insured a larger demand and much better prices for your cheese ; and, strong as is your hold on that market, believe me, you are not yet sufficiently masters of the position to dictate or run counter to the requirements of your largest and best customers. It may be well here to call your attention to the extraordinary rapidity with which the colour has faded out of this season's cheese. The annatto is not altogether at fault, as the same deterioration of colour has been observed in dairies using various kinds of annatto. The cheese coloured by the liquid, imported from England, has, perhaps, stood better than any other, but still has not retained its colour as in ordinary seasons. Not being a practical cheese maker, I cannot say which of the different reasons that have been suggested to account for this is the true one, but it is a point well worth your very serious consideration. Another matter to which I must advert is that in some factories there has been placed in the centre of the cheese a quantity of stale curd, apparently left over from the previous day's make. The most vigilant inspection frequently fails to detect this previous to shipment, but, of course, it is revealed whenever the cheeses arc cut up on the counter of the retailer. This practice cannot be too strongly condemned ; not only is it slovenly, not only is it a fraud on the buyer of the cheese, but it is fatal to the character of the dairy. Sooner or later it must come to light, and then, you may be sure, a very black mark is made against such a factory by those who have had anything to do with the buying, shipping, or selling of it. A little care and judgment in filling your hoops would put a stop to all such complaints in future. If necessary, it would be better to make a few very small rather than spoil several full-sized cheeses. Complaints have also been made of some dairies, otherwise fair, presenting a mottled appearance, as if the curds from different vats had been carelessly mixed together. Shortly after the factory system was fairly started in this State, I ventured to predict that its manifest advantages would enable you in course of time to produce an article fully equal to the very finest English cheese ; but some of my English friends were scarcely inclined to be as sanguine as I was in this matter. While from the first there have been a few factory dairies and occasional drafts of others, that have come very nearly, if not quite, up to the highest English standard, it was not till the August and September make of the present season was reached that we were able to show the English dealers any considerable quantity of American cheese, that in point of quality, make, and flavour, could not be beaten by any country in the world. During my visit to London last October I went through a care- fully-selected stock of over 10,000 boxes of New York State cheese, with one of the largest and most experienced cheese- fsctors in the South of England. The inspection was close and critical. When it was concluded, T asked two questions. The first was: "How do these cheeses compare w ith the English make of the current season ?" Said this most competent authority : " The season has been so unfavourable that I don't think I could get 50 tons of equal quality iu all the South of England." I then asked : " How does the stock we have just been looking through compare with the best English cheese of an average season ?" The reply was : " They are just as good, and I did not think it possible to get together so many fine American cheeses." This is high praise, and the character and position of the speaker adds very much to the value of his testimony. I regret to have in any way to qualify it, but I am here to tell the whole truth. Indeed, the only claim I have on your atten- tion is that, without fear or favour, I endeavour to represent things to you as they really are. Much of this cheese that we. examined in the month of October has been disposed of, and given great satisfaction to the consumers. Several of the dairies, those apparently most likely to keep well, have been held over, and I regret to say that the latest advices from Lou- don report many of them to have faded in colour, and become strong and rank in flavour. The result of the closing season then, as regards quality, would seem to be, that during two or three months you have made a larger quantity of finer quality than you ever made before, but also that the cheesf lacks keeping qualities. Still yon have made a great step in advance, which should stimulate you to zealous and intelligent efforts in the same direction. I can honestly comprehend and heartily congratulate you on the position you have gained, but mucli yet remains to be accomplished. Your endeavour must be to make superfine cheese, not only in one or two months, but from the beginning to the end of the season, and so to make it that it will retain its good qualities for a reasonable length of time. This is no easy task, especially in a climate of such extreme and sudden changes ; but from what you have accom- plished in the past, I am very sanguine of the improvement you will make in the future. The problem thus presented for your solution is undoubtedly one oi great difficulty, but it has been well said that " difficulty is only the measure of resistance to be overcome by superior force." In this age and in this country superior force is only another name for superior intel- ligence. Following Mr. Webb's paper, Gov. Seymour spoke of the importance of developing a home market for cheese. He said cheese is much cheaper and more nourishing than meat, and should be substituted for the far more general use of fat pork. At the conclusion of Gov. Seymour's remarks a resolution was carried, suggesting to the Government to make cheese a regular article in the army and navy rations. 282 THE EAEMEB'S MAGA21KE. SOMETHING LIKE A EESOLUTION. " That in the opinion of this Chamber, the unequal pressure of the poor-rate as at present imposed, is a grievance which renders necessary the early and most serious attention of Parliament, that the maintenance of the poor is a national liability to which income from every source should contribute, and that in the disburse- ment of a poor-rate levied in accordance with the prin- ciple here enunciated local administration should be recognized and guaranteed; and that the income-tax affords an economical means of raising from all income a contribution to the poor-rate, which may be placed to a separate account in the national exchequer to the credit of the Poor-Law Commissioners. That this resolution is without prejudice to any better mode of removing that unjust incidence of the poor-rate which was affirmed by resolutions of the Council on May 3rd, 1868, but sug- gests a means of redress worthy of careful examination, should her Majesty be graciously pleased to grant the Royal Commission of Inquiry for which Sir Massey Lopes has given notice of motion ; and that a deputation from the Chambers be organised to lay before the Premier their feeling of the necessity for an inquiry by a Royal Commission into the amount and incidence of local taxa- tion on some day prior to Sir Massey Lopes moving the appointment of a Committee of the House of Commons." That is it. That is the clear and concise resolution at which the Chamber of Agriculture arrived at its meeting on Tuesday, after having previously taken the opinion of the country upon the subject. And of course everybody was satisfied. Mr. Andrews, indeed, who takes credit for the proposal, and who moved it accordingly, said that " In committee this had undergone a process which he could only compare to that which was said to have been inflicted upon the man who had two wives, one of whom objected to his grey hairs, and the other to his black, and so between them plucked them all out." But it may be as well to see what the country had already done over all there is left of this much-mutilated motion. At a meet- ing, then, of the Suffolk Chamber, Mr. Corrance, a leading member of the Central Chamber, moved, as an amendment to Mr. Andrews' resolutions, that " it is not expedient to raise a national rate through the machinery of the income-tax ; and that it is not expedient to raise a national rate." And this amendment was carried. At a meeting of the Devonshire Chamber, at Exeter, Mr. Venn moved, " That this Chamber, while recognising the necessity for a revision in the incidence of local taxation, yet is not prepared to comply with the request of the Somerset Chamber to appoint a deputation to support the resolution of the Central Chamber in favour of a common fund being raised through the income-tax assessment for a national poor-rate." And this motion was carried. At Norwich, with Mr. Sewell Read in the chair, it was moved and carried that " the present system of local taxation imposes undue burthens upon real property, and that it would be very desirable that the whole subject should be fully considered by a Parliamentary Committee, with a view to some equitable adjust- ment." At the Newbury Farmers' Club on Thursday the members came to much the same conclusion : " That this Club is of opinion that it is very desirable that a Royal Commission should be appointed to inquire into the whole subject of local taxation." These resolutions are taken from reports which have appeared in our own columns during the last two or three weeks, as there may be others that we have not seen. The Central Chamber, moreover, had two other propositions officially before it. One running thus, " The Central Council of the Chambers of Agri- culture confirms the subjoined resolutions, passed on May 5, 1868, but considers it premature to advocate any par- ticular remedy for the unequal incidence of the poor-rate before the whole subject has been submitted to a Parlia- mentary inquiry. Resolutions passed by the Council on May 5, 1868 : 1. That the taxation now levied under the name of poor-rate, to the extent of £10,000,000 annually, bears unjustly upon income arising from real property. 2. That the exemption from the rate of income arising from personal property is unjust, and therefore requires the early and serious consideration of Parliament;" the other, that " The Central Council resolves to press upon the Legislature the necessity of a full and impartial inquiry into the unjust incidence of local taxation ; but, while recording its opinion that either by means of assess- ing the entire national income or otherwise, personal pro- perty ought to bear its fair share of that national obliga- tion— the relief of the poor — the Council considers it premature to decide on the details of any particular remedy until the whole subject has been submitted to Parliamentary inquiry." And thus armed, or rather, we should say, thus warned, the Council proceeds to pass a resolution, which, as a fine specimen of rigmarole, has rarely been equalled. Would the reader be kind enough to go through it again ? Is it not lucid and impressive, and altogether satisfactory ? And will it not tell and carry weight with it when Mr. Read, in his capacity as Chairman, proceeds to read it with all due emphasis to the Prime Mi- nister? Surely, any man of common observation may see with half-an-eye that the country is not agreed to the course to be adopted, that the farmers are not agreed, and that the very Chambers are not agreed. And yet the unfortunate Council sits up half the night bothering its brains in framing an impossible resolution, that shall please everybody and accomplish everything. And now that it is framed and passed what will they do with it ? Is it to be expected that Sir Massey Lopes when moving for his Commission dare ever dwell over such support as this ? The probability is the rather that it will be taken up and torn to tatters by some sarcastic member of the Government — by no means a difficult task. You require local administration and a national exchequer ; and you believe that by shifting the poor rates to incomes, the burdens of agriculture will be materially relieved. But are you quite sure that you are unanimous as to what you want, and do you quite see your way out of the difficulty ? Of course they are not unani- mous, and they do not exactly as yet seem to see the right road, or why should this formidable resolution be asso- ciated with the mystic phrase, " without prejudice to any better mode" ? The first thing a Minister does with a deputation or Reform society is to endeavour to pit its own opinions one against the other. This is always a trump card, but here the Chamber of Agriculture has played it for him. "We want a national exchequer," says the Cen- tral Chamher. " We don't want a national exchequer," say3 Suffolk, and Norfolk, and Devon, and so on. No, Norfolk did not say so much as this direct negative would imply ; but Norfolk passed by far the most sensible resolution which we have yet seen, viz., " that it is THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 263 very desirable that the whole subject should be con- sidered by a Parliamentary Committee." And why could not Mr. Swell Read and his Norfolk supporters have held to this when they came up to towu ? A resolution to mean anything should be like a run with hounds, a modern comedy or a big battle — short, sharp, and de- cisive. Whereas this luckless concoction runs here and there, without prejudice and with prejudice to the whole business. We really believe that it is calculated to do far more harm than good as promising only to perplex any one and every one who hears it, and we would earnestly impress upon the Coun- cil the good policy of never mentioning it when they go up to Mr. Gladstone. And yet how well Mr. Randell's rider opens : " That the unequal pressure of the poor-rate as at present imposed is a grievance which renders neces- saiy the early and most serious attention of Parliament." I Precisely so ; and why not have stopped here, or then | have gone on to ask for the Royal Commission ? Instead of this, Mr. Andrews' resolutions, encountering more op- position the more they are considered, have been thrust down the throat of the Council, not of the country, in ' their present misshapen form. A very muddle of ver- biage, that is evidently not satisfactory to Mr. Andrews himself, as surely not to anybody else. With Mr. Sewell Read at the helm we had hoped for better things. For some time past the Council of the Central Chamber of Agriculture has shown a lack of administrative ability that would be ludicrous if it were not lamentable. That weary almost purposeless meeting in December is now pointed by the famous resolution of February, that says so much and mean so little. The Oracle at Delphi was renowned for the ambiguity of phrase in which its advice was offered ; still this was always neatly put, whereas nothing can be more cumber- some or clumsy than the hazy utterances of these modern soothsayers. But then the Chamber prides itself upon passing resolutions. A village choir having vainly essayed four or five times in succession to start a psalm tune in something like harmony, the old clerk at length felt called upon to interfere ; and so, holding up his fore-finger impressively, he exclaimed, with a certain irony of tone, " There you'd letter drap it !" THE ACTUAL PROFIT FROM SEWAGE AT BARKING. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — You will remember an old saying that, " You may lead a horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink." In my former note I said, facts were to be had for asking ; and in reply to your reiterated demand for " facts, facts," I beg to forward you a copy of my Re- port on this farm, published last September. I am quite ready to give you any opportunity you may desire of investigating those " facts" on the farm, and also sa- tisfying yourself as to many other existing facts of a like nature. I am, sir, your obedient servant, Henry W. Petre. Lodge Farm, Barking, Feb. 10, 1869. [In fairness we give Mr. Petre's Report in full ; but Mr. J. C. Morton's " Agricultural Experience of 300,000 tons," also forwarded, we had the pleasure of noticing some time since. — Ed.] j REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE METROPOLIS SEWAGE AND ESSEX RECLAMA- TION COMPANY, FOR THE YEAR ENDING AUG. 31, 1868. By the Hon. Henry W. Petre. The operations on Lodge Farm, both as regards the ordi- nary cultivation and experiments with sewage irrigation, hav- ing been during the past year 'placed under my superintend- ence, I have now to report the various results. One-fourth of the farm (from 50 to 58 acres) has been during the last two years devoted to growing Italian rye-grass, with a somewhat less favourable result this season, as regards the weight of the crops, than last year. It is necessary, however, to state that whilst the area of grass cut this seasou was five acres less than last year, and the quantity of sewage applied to the whole farm up to the 20th June this season was 20i,000 tons, producing 892 tons of grass, in addition to other produce, the 279,000 tons applied to grass alone last year yielded up to the same date 769 tons only ; this proportionate increase, however, has not been sustained, owing in a great measure to the following j circumstances : — Of the 55 acres of grass cut last year, only 15 acres had been previously cut ; whereas of the 50 acres cut during this season, the whole, excepting 5J acres, had been cut during last year to the utmost extent, and in consequence of this a large quantity of the grass plants died out during last July, and the grass cut from 20th June to 1st September has been 917 tons less this season than last. It is satisfac- tory, however, to be able to state that the value of sewage- grown grass, both for horses and cattle, is beginning to be generally appreciated. Last year there was much difficulty in disposing of the surplus grass ; this season I have been una- ble to supply the demand. Large quantities have been disposed of to the cow-keepers in London, and Messrs. Pickford and Co., the well-known carriers, have for many weeks received a regular supply at their stables, and pronounce it an excellent horse fodder. The results of the last two years at Lodge Farm seem decidedly to indicate that the Italian rye-grass under sewage is most profitably cultivated by being cut for one year only. It may be necessary, in order to obtain the earliest crop in the spring, not to sow later than August, which would ne- cessitate a cutting before winter ; but for the later crops the only difference between sowing in October or March is, that the autumn sowing gives a larger crop for the first cutting ; but that advantage must be balanced against the results of an intermediate crop. In illustration, I may state that a plot sown 25th of October was cut ou the 20th of May and 11th of June, giving eight tons to the acre each time ; whilst a plot sown 2nd of March gave only four tous to the acre on the 19th May, but over eight tons on 11th June. In comparing the quantity of grass cut this season witli that of last year, surprise may be expressed that the quantity this season is uot greater, considering the warmth of the weather. No doubt the quantity has been much reduced by the dying out of the two-year-old plants, but at the same time I am inclined to think that a moderate quantity of sewage in a damp season, like last year, will produce proportionally more grass than a much larger quantity in such an excep- tional season as the present. It may be well to state with reference to the unusual dryness of the season, and consequent capacity of the land to receive a Tery large quantity of sewage, that my object has been to use such a quantity of sewage as could be profitably applied to the crops, considering the sew- age as an article of commerce ; and, whilst I have no doubt that if it had been necessary a very largely increased quantity of sewage could have been thoroughly deodorised, it is doubt- ful whether in the exhausted state of the grass plants a pro- portionate increase of grass could have been obtained. In addition to feeding from fifty to sixty milking cows entirely on sewage-grown grass with most satisfactory results, two young steers have been fed exclusively on that grass from 18th May. On 7th August their respective live weights had risen from 1\ cwt. to 9i cwt., and from 6 cwt. to 7i cwt. I now pro- 264 THE EABMEB'S MAGAZINE. pose to detail the results of an experiment that has excited much interest. A field of twelve acres of poor gravel that was in wheat last year was sown in the following manner : 4J acres were sown with wheat early in November, 2 acres of red wheat, and 2§ acres of white rough chaff ; 2^ acres were sown in October with winter oats, 4 acres were sown in October with rye ; 2 acres were planted with cabbage in October, which was taken off in March, and mangold sown in their place. This wheat was twice flooded with sewage (in March and in April), 450 to 500 tons to the acre being applied in the two dress- ings. This crop was cut in the second week of July, and was thrashed in the field, producing 5| quarters to the acre, weigh- ing 631bs. to the bushel ; three loads of straw to the acre. The white wheat was sold at Mark-lane by Messrs. James and Sons on the 27th July at 60s. per qr., the exceptional price of the day being 62s. The red wheat was sold by the same firm on 3rd August at 54s. per qr., the market having fallen con- siderably during the interval. The winter oate were three times flooded in March and April over the whole, and over a part in June — in all about 500 tons to the acre. These oats were cut in July, thrashed in the field, yielding eight qrs. to the acre, with three loads of straw per acre, and were valued on 3rd August at 27s. per qr. The rye was flooded twice (in March and in April) — in all with about 450 to 500 tons per acre ; was cut in July, and thrashed in the field, yielding six qrs. to the acre, with three loads of straw, and was sold at Mark-lane on 27th July at 40s. per qr., weighing 57ilbs. to the bushel. The mangold, following the cabbage adjoining the last crop, has been sewaged three times, and the crop is now estimated at 20 tons per acre. It is unnecessary to expa- tiate upon these results, as it is difficult to imagine anything more conclusive as to the value of sewage as a manure for cereals, although it has hitherto been the almost universally received opinion that town sewage is not applicable to cereal crops (see the 3rd Report of the Royal Commission on Sewage of Towns, 1865). It may be urged that in such an unusually dry season it is natural to expect that good results would fol- low irrigation with town sewage, but it must be remembered that although the quality of these crops, in common with those of the whole country, was improved by the lengthened fine weather, the soil is a dry, burning gravel, and no sewage was applied to either wheat or rye after the month of April, up to which time there was the ordinary amount of wet weather, without any unusual heat. I am inclined to think that the nature of the season is of less consequence than the proper choice of the time for the application of the sewage to the crop, which must be regulated by circumstances ; I should say in the case of wheat never alter the formation of the ear is commenced ; the same care is not, however, apparently necessary with oats if attention is paid to prevent their being laid. Before leaving these experiments I will refer to what is almost the crop of another year. As soon as the oats and rye were removed, the land (being so hard no plough could touch it) was flooded with sewage, ploughed up, and sown with white turnips. Within the week, without any rain, the turnips were up, and they now present, in spite of the attacks of the fly, the ap- pearance of a good early crop, calculated to be worth £10 per acre before the end of September.* The results of the three- acre piece of black oats after cabbage on a poor gravel are equally satisfactory. These oats were sown in the end of March, were flooded with sewage in May and in June — in all 400 tons to the acre ; were thrashed in the field on July 26th, and produced six qrs. to the acre, valued on 3rd August at 26s. per qr. A plot of rye grass was sown in September, 1866, from which was cut 58 tous of grass to the acre during the spring and summer of 1867. This plot was ploughed up, and sown with black oats in the end of February of this year. No sewage whatever was directly applied to this crop, but from its position it may be said to have stolen a certain quantity, as the land around it was flooded, and one of the channels passed through it. These oats were thrashed in the field on 26th J uly, and yielded 8 qrs. totheacie, valued on 3rd Aug. at 26s. per qr. I will now describe the not less interesting, but smaller experi- ments, tried in what is called the experimental field of the farm. A piece of ground, one-third of an acre, was sown on 26th March with canary-seed, was flooded in April, and produced 12 bushels of seed. A plot of half an acre was sown with linseed, or flax, in April, was pulled in July, and yielded 8 * Sold since 31st August at £11 per acre. bushels. An acre of parsnips, sown in February, was flooded twice with sewage, and is calculated in the end of August to be worth £35 per acre. A piece of potatoes, consisting of ESTS OF THE FARM. A New Edition By M. M. Milburn, Author of " The Sheep,", Ac LAND DRAINAGE, EMBANKMENT, AND IRRIGATION.— By James Donald, Civil Engineer, Derby. SOILS AND MANURES, with INSTRUC- TIONS FOR THEIR IMPROVEMENT.— By John Donaldson, Government Land Drainage Sur- veyor. In the Press, in continuation of the same Series, THE POTATO: ITS HISTORY, CUL- TURE, AND NATIONAL IMPORTANCE.— By S: Copland. London : Honlston & Wright, 65, Paternoster Row ; Rogerson & Tuxford, 246, Strand, W.C Dublin : J. McQlashan, Uppe* Sackville Street. And all Booksellers. ROCJERSON k TUXFORD,] [PRINTERS, 246, STRi NIX THE MAM LANE EXPRESS AND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL IS THE LARGEST AND THE LEADING FARMERS' AND GRAZIERS' NEWSPAPER. PUBLISHED EVERY MONEAY EVENING IN TIME FOR POST. 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With instructions to the Married and Unmarried of both Sexes, for removing the special disqualifications and impediments which destroy the happiness of wedded life, founded on the result of a successful practice of 30 years. — By Dr. J. L. Curtis, M.D., 15, Albemarle Stbeet, Piccadilly, London, W. Also, by the same Author, a New and Revised Edition of MANHOOD : A MEDICAL ESSAY on the Causes and Cure of Premature Decline in Man ; the Treatment of Nervous Debility, Spermatorrhoea, Impotence, and those peculiar infirmities which result from youthful abuses, adult excesses, tropical climates and other causes ; with Instructions for the Cure of Infection without Mercury, and its Prevention by the Author's Prescription (his infallible Lotion). REVIEWS OF THE WORK. u Manhood. — This is truly a valuable work, and should be in the hands of young and old."— Sunday Times, 23rd March, 1858. 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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, AND MONTHLY JOURNAL OP TEE AGRICULTURAL INTEREST. 23rtiicatefc TO THE FARMERS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. LONDON : PUBLISHED BYROGERSON AND TUXFORD, 265, STRAND. PRICE TWO SHILLINGS. ROGERSON AND TUXPORD,] [PRINTERS, 265, STRAND. IMPORTANT TO FLOCKMASTERS. THOMAS BIGG, Agricultural and Veterinary Chemist, by Appointment to His late Royal Highness The Prince Consort, K.G., Leicester House, Great DoTer-street, Borough, London, begs to call the attention of Farmers and Graziers to his valuable SHEEP and LAMB DIPPING COM- POSITION, whj ch requires no Boiling, and may be used with Warm or Cold Vater, for effectually destroying the Tick, Lice, and all other insects injurious to the Flock, preventing the alarming attacks of Fly and Shab, and cleansing and purifying the Skin, thereby greatly improving the Wool, both in quantity and quality, and highly contributing to the general health of the animal. Prepared only by Thomas Bigg, Chemist, &c, at his Manufac- tory as above, and sold as follows, although any other quantity may be had, if required : — 41b. for 20 sheep, price, j ar included £0 61b. SO 8 lb. 40 10 lb. 50 20 1b. 100 80 1b. 150 40 1b. 200 SO lb. 250 60 lb. 300 80 1b. 400 100 lb. 500 (cask and measure included) 0 10 0 15 1 17 2 5 Should any Flockmaster prefer boiling the Composition, it will be equally effective. MOST IMPORTANT CERTIFICATE. From Mb. Herapath, the celebrated Analytical Chemitt: — Bristol Laboratory, Old Park, Jauuary 18th, 1861. Sir, — I have submitted your Sheep-Dipping Composition to analysis, and find that the ingredients are well blended, and the mixture neutral. If it is used according to the directions given, I feel satisfied, that while it effectually destroys vermin, it will not injure the hair roots (or " yolk ") in the skin, the fleece, or the carcase. I think it deserves the numerous testimonials pub- lished; I am, Sir, yours respectfully, William Hbrapath, Sen., F.C.8., &c, &c, To Mr. Thomas Bigg, Professor of Chemistry. Leicester House, Great Dover-street, Borough. London, He would also especially call attention to his SPECIFIC, of LOTION, for the SCAB, or SHAB, which will be found a certain remedy for eradicating that loathsome and ruinous disorder in Sheep, and which may be safoly used in all climates, and at all seasons of the year, and to all descriptions of sheep, even ewee in lamb. Price FIVE SHILLINGS per gallon— sufficient on an average for thirty Sheep (according to the virulence of the disease); also in wine quart bottles, Is. 3d. each. IMPORTANT TESTIMONIAL. "Scoulton, near Hingham, Norfolk, April 16th, 1855. " Dear Sir, — In answer to yours of the 4th inst, which would have been replied to before this had I been at home, I have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the efficacy of your in- valuable ' Specific for the cure of Scab in Sheep.' The 600 sheep were all dressed in August last with 84 gallons of the ' Non Poisonous Specific,' that was so highly recommended at the Lincoln Show, and by their own dresser, the best attention being paid topped-up water courses and drains, that either I had made a very foolish bar- gain, or that my landlord was behaving most injuriously? Why it would act upon one's life as a slow poison, and all for tiie sake of not more, as [a rule, than half-a-dozen day's pas- time for the lessor. But there is one thing I should never mind doing, I should never object to having, and indeed I like to have game enough for pleasant sporting, and if the landlord, in parting with his land, would say — protect yourself, but I must come when I like and enjoy my sport, most willingly, most gladly would I acquiesce. But, perhaps I am in ad- vance of the general opinion on this point, at all events I am so in the opinion of laudlords, for many will reserve game when letting their farms ; in some cases compensation is promised, but how often that is a cause for dispute ! A claim is made — a valuation takes place — the so-called compensation is paid, and the landlord is generally offended. He thinks possibly he has cause for offence. Sometimes he is offended at even a mild intimation of damage. I know a case where a complaint was made of injury done, it was denied by the game- keeper, and a polite intimation was given that if the tenant did not like the farm he might leave it ! Now this is no fancy case, neither is it an isolated case. I think it is a proof how this idea of compensation fails ; and see the hardship. A farm taken, capital liberally invested in land taking years to be re-capitalised, then comes damage by game which prevents 294 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. that recouping of capital, and instead of compensation being- given for loss, the tenant is told he may leave — yes, leave in- vested capital in another man's hands, for another man's profit who has injured you and yours. On the other hand, I am happy to say, this is not always the case, but the reverse. A complaint, not long since, was made that rabbits were doing an injury ; by the next post an authority came to kill rabbits until further notice. Now there was liberality, a highininded- ness, a fearlessness of gamekeepers worthy of imitation. I do not condemn gamekeepers as a body, some are respectable, some the reverse, but, I am certain the known dislike of a keeper to allow any one excepting the owner and his friends to kill game, and especially rabbits, has a great influence, a latent in- fluence, whether owned or not, or whether even known or no, on his master in not allowing them to be destroyed by the tenants. Then, again, farmers are aggrieved because game kept by them is systematically sold (a game preserver would doubtless tell us how much it cost him and what a pecuniary loss it is), still the fact remains that, for the most part, it feeds on the tenants' crops, and it is injurious to their feelings to know that that which has been kept week after week at their expense, and of which they dare not touch a feather, is shot by hundreds or thousands and sent to market. Mr. Corbet in his excellent pamphlet, read in 1860 before the Farmers' Club, says, after condemning the sale of game as rather derogatory to gentlemen, " I never see one of those hospitable notices, ' Trespassers will be prosecuted, and dogs will be destroyed,' but I fancy the signboard reads strangely incomplete. Surely it should go on to say that ' Parties can be accommodated on moderate terms, on application at the lodge. A large stock always kept on hand ; and orders executed with punctuality and despatch. N.B. — The trade supplied.' " Now, seriously, I know not what an excess of game is to be done with, ex- cepting sold ; but then the excess ought not to be kept, it is that of which farmers complain, and to protest against which this paper is being read. I say again, the over-preservation of game is become a serious evil, and I am only too happy to make my best effort, however feeble, to assist in its removal. In passing on from this part of the subject I will throw out, for the consideration of both parties, a practical suggestion, and it is this — That it shall be considered unjust and un- handsome conduct on the part of any landlord to let his shooting without first offering it to his tenants at a fair and reasonable price ; and that where the landlord retains the shooting for his own use, rabbits shall in no case be reserved ; tenants to have a joint right to kill hares ; winged game to be reserved to the landlord. I will now give two or three examples of the effect of game preserving on the labouring-classes. From Mr. Corbet's paper, I find that in England alone there were in 1843, 4,270 convictions for poaching, whilst in 1859 there were only 2,608 the United Kingdom through. The kind- ness of friends has enabled me to obtain the number of game convictions in Gloucestershire for 1868, excepting those in the petty sessional division of Newent, and the total number of those I have received is 180. How many Newent would contribute to increase that amount I cannot say. Now the average acreage of the 40 English counties is 814,614 acres, whilst the acreage of Gloucestershire is 805,102 acres, being thus a little below the average. Supposing, then, that the convictions for poaching in this county to be an average, the total number is certainly wonderfully increased since 1859, for we should have more than 7,200 convictions for England alone ; and indeed this is fully borne out by a statement I saw in a letter in the Bell's Weekly Messenger, that there were 10,000 game convictions in 1868. There is no doubt that where there is most game there is most poaching, and from this statement we may reasonably conclude that as poaching has increased so also has game-preserving, and that to an extraordinary degree. If it is argued that since the Act of 1862, more poachers have been convicted through the power of interference given to the police, I answer that such may have been the case in 1863, but that five years surely must be a sufficient time to have checked the numbers, and if the Act was good for anything we ought to have fewer. I do not be- lieve that poachers are generally caught, for the other day I asked a gentleman who lives in a petty sessional division where there were only two convictions for poaching in the year 1868, if he were much troubled with hares, and he said, " No ; for as soon as one is seen it is caught up." So that although we have to help pay the police tor the assistance they give to gamekeepers, they neither stop the poaching nor catch the poachers. I am informed, on good authority, that in districts abounding with game there are always to be found men in small towns who make a regular business of poaching, who do no work excepting on particular occasions ; they are assisted by and connected with others from such places as Birming- ham, Worcester, or the like, and it is a fact that from time to time young men are beguiled into their society. Even as early as the age of 13, a bright, active lad left his widowed mother's home, and became a reckless, daring poacher, and in a few years had been convicted six or seven times. Another young man who had joined was convicted twelve or thirteen times ; and three other young men, who there was every reason to believe would have been respectable, also joined and were ruined for life. Such an example as this is a sad instance of the fearful effect of game-preserving on the agricultural labourer. I am also informed that drunkenness is the usual accompaniment of poaching. The poachers meet at public- houses to divide their gains, and consult on future plans ; whilst the worst homes — homes that would sadden the hardest heart — are theirs too ; the wives and children half-starved, frequently penniless, the houses barren of furniture, and their clothes in rags. Such, as described to me by an eye-witness — not a mere philanthropist, nor a man of easily wrought feeling, but a steady and experienced man— is the poacher's home. Oh, if that rich man who can afford such sums for his fort- night's shooting, would see for himself, and so know the misery and degradation occasioned by his particular hobby — without which knowledge he may give liberally, be charitable and kind, and think he is doing a vast amount of good — he would recoil with alarm from gratifying it ; he would join me in my conviction that rather than do so he should allow his surplus money to be sunk in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean ; better still, that he should emulate Mr. Peabody, and improve the homes of the working man, or in some other way endeavour to promote the interests of his country. I must mention one other grievance before I conclude. It is this : I do tliink that a wrong is often felt in the punishment given for certain con- victions in poaching. I think that the confidence and kindly feeling which should exist between different classes is rudely broken, and when injustice is, felt, even where strict justice, as by law established, has been really done, it is taken up by the class feeling it and resented accordingly. I will give an in- stance or two of what I mean. A hare was caught by a keeper, and put in a wire which he saw set near a gap in a wall leading through a small plantation to a field of barley, which was being mown by three men who had never been known to poach. On their way through this plantation they saw the hare and took it up. A conviction followed, and they were fined £2 each, which they paid. Now that may have been a legal sentence, but no one would ever make those men or their friends believe that it was a just one. It was not known at all that they set the wire, and think of what £2 is to a labouring man ! Again, a very similar case was reported in the papers the other day, where a man was fined 10s. and costs because he picked up a hare which had been caught in a wire by the side of a footpath which took him to some stalls, at which he had daily to feed cattle. No proof existed that he had set the wire, it was only suspected. Now I am a great advocate for punishment to follow offence, for the ultimate good of the individual offending, but it should be in propor- tion to the offence ; and really, although too much scope must not be given to the feeling, there would be with most people an involuntary one to stoop and take up a hare in the cases I have mentioned. I have endeavoured throughout this paper to avoid expressing opinions upon any points without bringing proofs in support of those opinions, and I think I am justified in saying that I have proved every part of my proposition. If game-preserving landlords can explain away all the evils I have dwelt on, or can prove the existence of so much good as to compensate for them, it is for them to do so. If they say that they give employment to watchers, helpers, and dog- servers, as was much insisted on (so I see by Mr. Corbet's paper) when the Game-Law Committee of the House sat in 1844 or 1845, 1 would answer that, whether for the country, the farmer, or the labourer, those men would have been about as profitably and less mischievously employed if they were engaged in chopping smoke. I have not spoken of many points which might be urged against preserving — such, for instance, aa ratepayers having to support poachers in gaols. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 295 and their wives and families in the union — but I hope the fact of my speaking as I have, at the risk of offending some, who, thinking differently to me, may not be able to believe that all I have said was necessary, is a proof of my conviction of the absolute necessity for doing so, tor I would not lightly lose, and I cannot afford to lose, the good opinion of any one. But at the same time, when I know the loss to the country by the over-preservation of game, the depressing influence, the substantial loss, the continual worry, the lost comforts, the hurried school-days of children, the misunderstandings occa- sioned by it to the farmer, together with the general bad effect it has upon the labourer, I have thought it my duty, and have willingly come forward to read a paper upon it ; aud I say further that I trust the subject will be agitated in every county, and that ere long game-preserving to an injurious extent will be a thing of the past. Upon the conclusion of Mr. Edmonds's paper, which was exceedingly well received, the Chairman read a resolution embodying Mr. Edmonds's views. Mr. Snowsell (Ampney Knoll) said: Some few months back we had a meeting or two of tenant-farmers on this ques- tion, and we came to the decision of advocating that winged game should be placed on the same footing as property ; hares and rabbits to belong to the farmer on whose land they are bred and maintained. We likewise gent the following petition to Sir Michael Hicks Beach and Mr. Holford, our county members ; also one to Captain Bathurst, M.P. for this borough, and Sir George Jenkinson, who was at that time seeking the suffrages of the North Wilts constituency, asking them to advocate our wishes : "To Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bart., M.P., Williamstrip Park. " We, the undersigned, tenant-farmers of your division, beg to bring before your attention the question of the Game Laws, and their operation as regards the tenant-farmer, as the most vital subject affecting our interest. What we desire to see is that winged game may be made property ; hares and rabbits to belong to the farmer on whose land they are bred and main- tained. We feel couvinced that if you will kindly take the matter up for us, the result of your powerful advocacy will be the amelioration of the unjust law." We received a most kind and courteous letter from Sir Michael, which I will read : " Secretary of State Home Department, Nov. 4, 1868. " Dear Sir, — I have received a letter signed by yourself and other tenant-farmers, electors of East Gloucestershire, on the question of the Game Laws. The matter is hardly one that can be disposed of in a letter, but I expect to be in Cirencester on Priday evening, and at home in a few days after that, and I should be very glad to see any of you on the subject, as I quite think it is one on which legislation is needed. No doubt the matter would be rendered much simpler than at present if winged game were made property, and other game left without any direct protection by law. But I must remind you that in that event the laws against trespass must be made very much more stringent than at present, mainly in order to protect the occupier of the land, for otherwise, under the present mild penalties for trespass, you would have very many persons coming on your land after the hares and rabbits, the killing of which alone would not then render them subject to any penalty. Much damage would be done to fences and crops in this way, and it would be very easy for persons to kill a sufficient num- ber of hares and rabbits to repay them over and over again for any penalty they could now incur for trespassing. I think the most practical proposal on the subject was made in a bill brought in last year by Mr. C. S. Bead, and which I sup- ported ; but it was brought in too late in the season to have any chance of passing. It provided that all land should be rated at its real value, irrespective of any deductions allowed by the landlord to the tenant on account of an extra quantity of game. Thus, if a landlord allowed his tenant £100 a year out of a rent of £500 on account of damage done by game, so that the tenant really only paid a rent of £400, at present the farm would only be rateable at £400 ; but by this proposal it would be rated at the whole £500. I think this would both benefit the other ratepayers and discourage over-preserving. I remain, yours faithfully, M. E, Hicks Beach." Prom Mr. llolford we had no reply, nor from Captain Bath- hurst, but the reply from Sir George I will give you in length ; " Eastwood Park, Berkeley, Nov. 7, 1868. " Gentlemen, — I regret that my continued absence in North Wilts, and the work I have to do there, has prevented me from sooner replying to your letter of October 29. T cordially con- cur in the opinion expressed by you, and set forth in the paragraph you have sent me. I have, many years ago, pub- licly and in writing, urged the alteration of the present Game Laws, because I believe they lead to crime, and they fail to effect the purpose for which in years gone by they were enacted. I am sure that if winged game were treated as poultry, and if hares and rabbits were not mentioned as game, and above all if poachers were treated as thieves and tres- passers, it would be better for all parties, and tend to remedy much of the present evil. You are welcome to make any use you please of this reply of mine, and, wishing you all success in your endeavours to redress the evil complained of, I remain, gentlemen, yours faithfully, George S. Je^kinso^i." You will see from this that we have two county members of undoubted standing and influence who say that the time is come when an alteration of the game laws is required. I should like also to state that a few tenant-farmers met Sir Michael by his desire, and we asked him, as being the only representative the tenant-farmers of this neighbourhood could look up to, and as occupying the first position in the county, to set an example to the landowners and gentry of this district by allowing the tenants on his estate to destroy the rabbits and course the hares, and I think 1 am stating the truth when I say that Sir Michael has done so. And I am sure you will agree with me when I say that if the generous conduct of Sir Michael should be followed up by the landowners and gentry of this neighbourhood, they would never have cause to regret this step. Generally speaking, the farmer is a true lover of sport, and the proof of it is seen most weeks in this hunt, where if you want a sure find, as a rule, is it not in the tenant- farmers' covers? and I am sure they would not abuse the trust reposed in them. As regards the letting of game on estates, I would ask you one question— Which has the most at stake in the parish, the tenant-farmer who takes his farm on a lease, and spends hundreds — aye, and thousands — in the improvement of that land, or the party who takes the manor, and spends a mere nothing on it, without it is m rearing and protecting the very evils the tenant farmer com- plains of and loses by ? And we put it to the landowners aud gentry of the whole country to answer this question satisfacto- rily to themselves, bearing in mind that few farms are now let at game rents. Is it right, is it just, I might almost ask is it honest, after letting the land to us tenants, to let the sporting to other parties without having a clause entered in that agree- ment that all damage done to the farmer by keeping an exces- sive stock of game shall be paid for ? As it is, the tenant has not the satisfaction of knowing that the game he is obliged to keep goes to the landlord, but to strangers whose interest so clanhes with his that, so long as it exists (I am speaking of where a super-abundance of game is kept), there never can lie that satisfactory feeling that should be between landlords and those tenants whose wish is to improve their farms for the benefit of themselves, aud of course ultimately their landlords and the whole country. And I contend that that man who keeps improving his land so as to make it more productive, year by year, is a benefactor to his country ; and 1 would ask who can do so where there is so large a quantity of game kept P I am sorry to say that I know by experience what damage rab- bits especially are capable of doing. Granted that most land- owners reserve the right of game on their estates, and that the tenant takes his farm witli that reservation, the view we take of that agreement is this — that a sufficient stock of game shall be kept on the farm for sport, and sport only, not for pounds, shillings, and pence. Every tenant farmer, I am sure, is will- ing and would he pleased to keep a sufficient stock of game for the sport aud amusement of his landlord and friends, but what we object to, and will continue so to do, is what is termed " battue" shooting, where the bag is counted by hundreds and by thousands. I do not know the exact meaning of the word " battue," but in my opinion its meaning is butchery, certainly not sport ; consequently being killed in such numbers they are sent to the game dealers, and made a market of after toeing 296 THE FABMEB/S MAGAZINE. maintained at the farmers' expense (loud cheers). Of course I am only alluding to ground game. The view we take of the relation of landlord and tenant is a commercial one. The landlord cannot live without the tenant, nor the tenant with- out the landlord ; and the higher aud consequently more ex- pensive farming is carried on, the more hitter will be the com- plaining against the over-stocking of ground game. Either the landlord mu.st give up over-preserving, or the tenant must give up investing so much capital in the improvement of laud. We respectfully yet earnestly call on our landlords to do that which is right by us, as they would like to be done by, sup- posing our positions were reversed ; and so protect our interests that the farmer may grow such crops as to enable him as far as lies in his power to reduce the price of the 41b. loaf to the beucfit of the million (cheers) Earl Granville, in his truly ex- cellent speech at the Shropshire Chamber of Agriculture, said, " There was one question he almost feared to approach, as none of the county members came within a hundred miles of it. He referred to the Game Question." We are happy to know we have one bright exception in one of our worthy members ; and we would ask at what distance our other worthy member re- presents this question, as his silence places the matter in doubt (Hear, hear, and cheers). It is not only a tenant farmer's question, but a national one. We do not wish this to be a one-sided question, but to be advocated on all sides. For many years we have heard of exceptional legislation. This excep- tional legislation has mostly been for the benefit of the manu- facturing interest, and the dwellers in towns. We now ask for an act of justice — that the laws relating to game maybe so altered that the farmer shall be able to bear them. Let it not be said that the farmer has no means of making his voice heard in Parliament when he asks for simple justice. I defy auy one to say that this is not a most bitter grievance, and we confidently appeal to all parties to help in rendering for us what we feel called upon to ask for (cheers). In conclusion I beg to say that the thanks of every tenant farmer are due to Sir Michael Hicks Beach, and his conduct cannot be too highly appreciated for the respect he lias paid them through his own tenants, by showing the whole country that he for one can trust the tenant farmer with a share of the sport on his own farm. Mr. R. Ellett said, as he understood Mr. Edmonds, that gentleman's meaning was, that if the landlord did not occupy the sporting, the shooting should be first offered to the tenant. Mr. Edmonds thought the real matter was that public opinion must be loud in this way, it must be considered dis- honourable on the part of a landlord to injure his tenant. Professor Wrigiitson wished to know if the game was un- reservedly to be offered to the tenant. Mr. Edmonds said the landlord should let it to the tenant, and no one else. Mr. Smith said the landlords should offer it to the tenant. Mr. R. A. Iles did not see what good an alteration in the laws would be, except showiug the opinion of Parliament that hares and rabbits were things which did an immense amount of damage, and consequently should be destroyed. It struck him that no tenant — he never heard of one — would object to keep a fair stock of partridges, pheasants, hares, and rabbits, for the landlord to come himself and shoot, but what the tenant did object to, was for the landlord to let his manor to a stranger, who had no interest in the tenant, and who knew nothing of the estate more than the game he got. There was another ease, where the landlord preserved game to that enor- mous degree as to cause distress to a certain extent amongst the labourers, encouraging poachers, and causing ill-feeling between the landlord aud tenant. It was not sport, they might as well go and shoot barn-door fowls. The way in which good could be done, was by the great body of landlords seeing and appreciating the large amount of damage the game did and the amount of ill-feeling it produced, and until then he did not think it would be removed. Professor Wrigiitson, from what he had understood of the motion, thought he should be compelled to propose an amend- ment. As he understood it, the landlord in offering the game to the tenant, only offered a portion of it and not the whole. The Chairman explained that the landlord offered the whole of the game according to the resolution, then if it was declined, he offered it to somebody else. Professor Wrishtson would like once more to call the attention of the meeting to the powerlessness of the tenant in the case of his accepting a farm and finding it overstocked with game. Land was comparatively in so few bauds — there might be said to be a kind of monopoly in the case of land — there- fore if one tenant would not take a farm, there was always another ready to do so. Then a tenant could not easily con- vert himself into a tradesman or professional man, so that he thought the argument was overstrained when it was said that a tenant taking a farm overstocked with game did so upon equal terms with the landlord who let it to him. If the facts they had heard from Mr. Edmonds that day were taken up by the farmers in a similar manner, he believed the question would rest in the hands of the farmers, but not in isolated hands. To speak of a man as a fool for takiug a farm overstocked with game was an absurdity. They knew that a certain amount of crop was damaged or destroyed by game preservation, and could tell the damage to agriculture thereby caused. They knew that agriculture had been improving and advancing during the last few years, and many improvements had been introduced into it that could not be taken advantage of under the present system of game preservation. It was not only the actual de- struction, but it was the prevention of fanners from investing capital, and from using the inventions given to the farmer during the last few years. He believed there was no one thing which checked agriculture so much as the over-preservation of game. Mr. Smith (Bibury) said that their legislation appeared to have power to prevent the destruction of grouse by the use of poison, and ought it not to have power to give the tenant a right to destroy rabbits, the worst of all vermin on the land. Mr. Edmonds had gone much more fully into the matter than he had expected, and he sincerely thanked him, and hoped all he had said would go forth to the world. Hunting was a fine old English sport, but if battue shooting was to be kept up hunting must go down. Battue shooting was destroying hunt- ing. He had in his hands papers to show that no less than three packs had been given up from the excess of game. That was the case, and it would be the case all over the country i f game was to be made a marketable property. There were many in that room, he knew, that had taken their farms when game was at a low head, but directly they had got their leases signed, the game had risen to a frightful extent. What argu- ment could a tenant make to stand against such as that ? There were many that he could see suffering in the same way. They wanted sport ; he should like all meu to have sport, but battue shooting was not sport ; they might as well go into a farm yard and blaze away until their gun was red hot, and have the game brought to the muzzle of the gun. Sport required exercise, exercise that would recruit the health. Killing one head in a sportsmanlike manner was better than ten brace brought to the muzzle of the gun. He should like all English- men to have sport, and the finest sport they could have was hunting, and the next might be shooting, but let them go and take exercise for it. The farmers were the connecting links between the landlords and the labourers, and as long as they kept all classes united nothing could hurt them, but disunite them and there was no power in either class if separated from the others. They had all a duty to perform, to give an account of the talents put in their hands. The soil was theirs, and the soil was to feed the population, and if they did not use it for that a curse lay at their doors for that talent put in their hands. Mr. Edward Bowi.it said he highly approved of the resolu- tion just put from the chair, yet he did not wish it to go forth to the world that the tenants wanted to entirely destroy the game. He did not believe there was a tenant who would not wish to see a portion on his farm sufficient, to afford rational sport for the landlord, but what they wanted was confidence between the landlord and the tenant. The great evil, he thought, was the keepers, who at all times and at all hours were watching their opportunities to trap the labourers ; and if the landlords would do away with the expense of those keepers, and entrust the preservation of the game to the tenants, it would be far better. He quite agreed with Mr. Smith tha* battue shooting — he did not know from whence it came, whether from France or not — was not sport, and the sooner it was done away with the better. Mr. Ellett said as regarded Mr. Edmonds's paper as he understood it, it was not a casein which legislation was neces- sary, or in which it could be useful. That was his opinion, and he believed it would be the conclusion at which the Chamber would arrive, for there appeared to be some mis- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 297 apprehension in their minds as to legislation on that subject. No legislation whatever was needed, tor rabbits were no more protected by the law than rats. The game laws were directed not against the farmer but the poacher, and the question how could they best bring about a remedy tor the evil, which re- sulted from the over-preservation of game, he submitted, was not an alteration of the law, but the true remedy was to be found in the furtherance of a healthy public opinion, which would lead landowners to see, as the great majority of them saw already, that it should not be for the sport of any parti- cular section, but for the well-being of the commonwealth that game should be preserved. When they looked at the enormous evils arising from the over- preservation of game, how- ever painful it may be, be thought they would agree it was not the rule but the exception. It appeared to him that the legitimate object of discussion would be to make those in- stances disgraceful in public opinion, and as soon as that was the case tbey would have a remedy better than any which legislation could devise. He thought it desirable to put the issue before them, and ask them to consider calmly the nature of the resolution proposed. He distinctly opposed the resolu- tion that any alteration in the law was required, although he did support the spirit of the resolution proposed by Mr. Ed- monds, that the over-preservation of game was injurious and certain remedies were necessary. He did not go to the length with him that that Chamber should pledge itself to any par- ticular remedy. Game laws and the laws relating to the pre- servation of game were old laws, which would not be altered in a day. Very much discussion and agitation would take place before it was attained, and the way for them to attain it was for them to be moderate in their demands ; and he would urge a chamber like that to be cautious, aud not pledge them- selves as to what a particular remedy should be. He moved an amendment to the effect of the foregoing remarks. Mr. Anderson, as the only land agent in that room, was sorry for it, at the same time he was very free to give his opinions, because he had the honour of acting for a gentleman whose dealings and practice were so well known with regard to game. It had been said that it was desirable the tenant should have the killing or preserving of game upon his lands, and that it should be understood when they were let to him. Well that system had been maintained for many years on Earl Bathurst's estate, and not only that, but without the tenant's paying for it, and therefore he (the speaker) thought himself free to make a few remarks. It appeared to him that the subject under consideration was not to be hastily decided, and they must make great allowance for the feelings of landlords as well as tenants, and it would be a most disastrous thing if, from any resolution hastily made in Chambers of that sort, a bad feeling were engendered between landlord and tenant. The best way in his opinion was to recommend the Central Chamber of Agriculture to fully discuss the subject and make the best provision for its ventilation, and they might depend that the good they were then seeking would be effected in that way by the force of public opinion. But if they made hasty and condemnatory resolutions in matters in which landlords had as good a voice as tenants, they might feel some annoy- ance, and he thought it would not work well. There could be no doubt about the justice of the remarks made by Mr. Ed- monds, and the nuisance of over-preserving was something extraordinary. He therefore had much pleasure in seconding the amendment of Mr. Ellett. Mr. Bowly saw nothing condemnatory in the resolution. If the landlord had game why not let it to the tenant ? He did not object to Mr. Ellett's motion, he would support it, but he could not see anything condemnatory in the re- solution. Mr. Edmonds thought it would perhaps be best to with- draw his resolution. The liev. T. Maurice did not quite agree with Mr. Ellett that no good could be done by legislation. He did not think it would be in vain to make some alteration in the game laws. He would not make a proposition, but he would suggest one or two points which he thought would be very serviceable if altered. Hares and rabbits, the latter especially, should be taken out of the category altogether, and it might be useful that those parties who chose to keep a great stock of those animals should be liable to an action at law, liable for the damage they did, whether to their own tenants or not. Again he thought it only fair when game was. let or reserved by the landlord for his own use, it should be assessed to the rates like other property (Hear, hear). The tenant would give more for the land if he bad the game, and if the property was divided he could not sec why one should not he assessed as well as the other. He did not wish to propose a resolution, but he did not tliiuk they ought altogether to ignore the idea that good might be gained by legislation, because Mr. Edmonds had shown that excessive preservation of game was contrary to public policy ; should there be any laws to protect that which was injurious to public policy ? Certainly protect a man in his property, but beyoud that no laws contrary to public policy ought to be. Mr. Smith (Bibury) had stated some time ago that all game ought to be rated. It ought to be rated to the poor and the county rates also. There was another thing — he did not see that their police ought to keep game for gentlemen where they were eating up their produce. In one field of his he had 1000 rabbits feeding on 30 acres. Now if they counted one hun- dred for a score they might make a fair calculation. Those rabbits were depriving him of the keep of five score sheep. They had four times as much game upon their place as when Mr. Button lived there — the owner : and that was how it was often. It ought to be rated to the county and poor rates. Sir Michael Beach had said in his letter there were two sides to the question, and he hoped there would be a good number of landlords there. Now there were a great many tenant far- mers, but the landlords were deficient — he did not know whether it was because they did not waut to face them or not. He only wished his brother farmers would join the Chamber of Agriculture ; they would then be united with the Central Chamber. When the farmers were in a body, the great land- lords could not stand against them long, in his opinion. He thought himself that it was all the better that Chambers should consist of tenant farmers more than landlords. The landlords rode roughshod over them too much now, and they wanted a little bit of it their own way. The Chairman would be glad to make a few observations if it were not out of place. He was particularly pleased that Mr. Maurice considered that Chamber a place for the expres- sion of a very definite opinion, because game was one of those vague subjects which outsiders like himself — not tenant far- mers— had the greatest difficulty in seeing how a remedy was to be applied. It appeared to him that no more practical resolution was ever put into the hands of a chairman than that he held. He should be very sorry himself if the amend- ment were carried, aud therefore he certainly hoped the reso- lution would not be withdrawn. Professor Wrightson would be happy to second it. But it did not touch the question of over-stocking game when the landlord wished to keep it in his own hands. He should suggest the addition of a few more words. Mr. Warner understood that the landlord was first to offer the game to the tenant ; but supposing the tenant was a sleepy sort of man, and did not care to take it, and said, " No, sir, I shall decline it," then the landlord was entitled to offer his shooting to any gentleman from the south or north, to come down for a month aud stock game. There was that risk. The Chairman said that Mr. Warner's question was as if a drowning man were offered a rope and refused it. What was to be the next remedy ? (Laughter and uproarious applause). Mr. Warner, joining in the laughter, said that was an ingenious way of putting it, but if their friend did not teach sounder logic than that at the College, he would not give much for the future understanding of the gentlemen educated there (laughter). He only asked the question why it would not be in the power of a landlord to offer his shooting to any gentleman who came from the north or south ; and supposing he preserved game to any extent he would be as badly off as under the present condition of things. He could not see how the present contingency was to be avoided. Mr. Anderson said the motion that the landlord should be bound to offer his game to his tenant, was a thing so opposed to freedom of action that, with all due submission to the meet- ing, he did not think landlords would acquiesce in. They should be influenced by the effect of general opinion, but not by resolutions binding them to a particular course. They must look at both sides. The stringent spirit of this motion might be applied in another way ; for example, suppose the tenant had got a particularly good lot of horses, and wished 208 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. to sell them, would he like, to be bound to offer them in the first place to his landlord ? After some conversation the following resolution was unani- mously adopted : — " That this Chamber is of opinion that the over-preservation of game is productive of great injustice to the occupiers of land, and of serious injury to the common- wealth, and that it is desirable that the subject be brought prominently before the public, with a view to the promotion of a better state of opinion thereon, and of obtaining snch remedies as may appear best calculated to effect a removal of the evils complained of, and further, that those remedies should comprise the following points, viz., that where a land- lord lets the right of shooting, it should, in the first instance, be offered to the tenant of the land ; and where the landlord reserves the right, such reservation should in no case extend to rabbits, and as to hares, that the landlord and tenant should have a joint right of shooting, the winged game only being exclusively reserved to the landlord." THE FERTILITY OF PASTURE LAND. BY A NORTHERN FARMER. While the periodical application of manure to every field under cultivation in more or less quantity — accord- ing to the means of the occupier, or the facility he has for obtaining it — is universally admitted to be one of the indispensable requirements of modern husbandry, it is surprising how little interest is too frequently taken iu supplying the fields that are in permauent pasture with any kind or amount of nourishment, other than that they receive from the droppings of the cattle which find a living on their surface. That such fields are peculiarly grateful for kind treatment iu the shape of a dressing rich in the elements of plant nutrition, there cannot be the shadow of a doubt, observation and experience both prov- ing it. Coming into immediate and intimate connection with the roots of the plants, which the application is in- tended to nourish, the good effects of top-dressings be- come at once visible, and are speedily availed of by the farmer in a tangible form. While it must ever be re- garded as bad husbandry to curtail the land under green crops of its proper share of dung for the purpose of dress- ing a portion of the pastures with the manure so kept off, there are yet so many ways of collecting materials for this pm-pose without interfering with the ordinary course of cropping, that it is quite within the power of most farmers to effect a very considerable improvement by this means. There are but few practical men who have not from time to time taken particular notice of the rich growth of grass on spots of a field where but a very slight covering of waste food has been permitted to re- main and become trodden in, even if that consisted merely of a little diy hay, tares, clover, and rye-grass, or any other food which may have been supplied to stock on the pastures, there to be consumed at whatever season. In some districts farmers are in the habit of throwing hay to a portion of their cattle on the open field, and the principal argument adduced by them in favour of the practice is the immense good to the pastures which is the result of feeding cattle in this manner. Moss is de- stroyed, inferior grasses eradicated, the useful and valuable forage plants encouraged, and the pastures per- manently improved by the waste food and greatly in- creased and enriched exeretia of the animals. Although this mode of bringing live-stock through the winter months is scarcely consistent with advanced ideas of good farming, yet it caunot be questioned that there is a strik- ing improvement on the fields so treated, when the food has been liberally supplied. The large crop of hay that can be secured from even inferior pastures after having been so fed, shows most convincingly the powerful effect exercised by fertilising matter when brought into such immediate connection with the plants as is obtained by surface application. Although by no means looking upon this mode of improving pasture-land as suitable for gene- ral adoption, seeing that it is both troublesome and ex- pensive, and a comfortless way of passing the winter for the poor beasts, which in general do better on the same amount of food when they have the shelter of a house in addition, yet at the same time we consider it difficult to cite a case which more prominently shows the advantages of the system we now propose to discuss. We have said cattle will in general do better in sheds or feeding-stalls during the winter than they will be in the open field, finding it absolutely necessary so to qualify the statement, as there are situations where they will do quite as well, and even at times better. We last March saw fifteen three-year-old bullocks sold to the butcher for £18 each, which had not been in a house for the entire winter, having been fed in the mode which we have described : plenty of hay and a portion of turnips having been given to them daily on the grass. The glossiness of their skins, the elegance and sprightliness of their movements, and excellence of condition would scarcely convey the idea of cold and discomfort iu their winter quarters, but quite the contrary. It is only fair to say that the fields to which they had access were exceptionally well-sheltered, there being a high wall round two sides, and a thick screen of planting skirted the remainder. Those cattle were wintered in this way solely for want of room, their owner having had an unusually large stock at the time, so that it was but an experiment, and as it turned out a successful one. It is not in winter alone that a farmer has the opportunity of improving his pastures by carrying food to the stock which occupy them, as the summer season suits admirably for this purpose, bulky food being easily obtained iu regular succession to carry them on. Whatever the food used, by spreading it regularly over the field, until every corner has been visited, the improve- ment is equalized, and the herbage over the whole surface sweetened and invigorated. It is a delusion to suppose that stock can be made the means of improving poor pasture to a perceptible extent by being placed thereon to extract a living simply from what they themselves can gather, both land and animals being alike starved. In the case of sheep, a little extra greenness will be noticed, if they have any little thing at all to eat in the way of grass ; but unless food is conveyed to them the improve- ment will be only apparent, or will at best have but a very evanescent existence. Bulky food grown on the farm may be made the source of much profit when used on the pastures either with sheep or cattle ; and should it not be convenient to grow suitable crops for this purpose in sufficient quantity, the farmer can still fall back upon concentrated foods, and benefit his land vastly by a judicious expenditure of capital on the various substances in the form of cake or meal, which can be made available for this purpose. We find many scientific reasons adduced by some agricultural writers to show that dairy stock must of necessity impoverish the pastures on which they feed, and that therefore instead of improving, the amount of food grown must be yearly decreasing. It is THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ohvious that where no kind of food is supplied but that which the cattle collect ou the pastures there must be deterioration, the soil being robbed of its phosphates in exact proportion to the amount of produce obtained. This tendency to deteriorate can, however, be completely prevented by a partial system of house-feeding being carried on during the summer months — that is to say, a morning and evening feed supplied to every cow will so enrich and improve the character of the manure she makes as to thoroughly make up for what she otherwise abstracts from the soil. Oilcake is seldom given to dairy stock while on the grass, succulent home- grown food being more suitable for keeping up the now of milk ; but when cake is giveu to feeding stock on grass, the standard of the pasture becomes greatly raised, and will in a few years tiuish much heavier animals than it could previously, or fatten stock that formerly it could keep in but little more than store condition. A familiar example of the important results obtainable from the house-feeding of dairy cattle in the improvement of the pasture on which they feed, is to be found on the fields occupied by farmers who spend large sums in graius and wash ; their conti- guity to a brewery or distillery euabliug them to have a scarcely ever-ceasing supply. The soil becomes at last so impregnated with the rich mauurial deposit, that growth goes on almost uninterruptedly, the grass being green and succulent every day in the year, and the animals iu noble condition. We look upon the success attained by feeders of this sort, the high rents which they often pay, the money they accumulate, and the improvement they effect on the land which they hold as a most power- ful argument in favour of every stock-holder making an effort to improve his pastures by a liberal system of hand- feeding, the crops for which being so easily grown ; all that is required being a little extra attention and exertion in the beginning. Those fanners who live convenient to large towns, or what is nearly as good, to a landing quay, when water carriage is available, or a railway station to which manure can be inexpensively brought, are the most constant and extensive followers of the system of improv- ing pasture land by top-dressing. The refuse matter of which they can, under these cirenmstanees, avail them- selves, is for the most part in such a state of comminu- tion when it reaches them, as to eminently adapt it for spreading on grass ; the first rain washing the finer parti- cles well into the roots. Even if left on the surface for some time previous to the occurrence of rain, the mate- rials of which it is composed suffer no perceptible di- minution of bulk or loss of manurial property, from such exposure. From 35 to 50 loads of this manure to the acre, according to quality, applied immediately after the removal of the hay crop, makes an excellent dressing, and is a most valuable aid to the after-growth. Applied at this time, it is also highly beneficial for the protection it affords from the rays of the sun, which are often highly injurious, and injure the roots of the grasses and closers to a serious extent when sudenly exposed to their scorching influence by the severance of the crop. Spread over a poor pasture iu January and February in sufficient quantity to give the surface a fair covering, au earlier, closer, and more vigorous growth is induced, audthe year's produce, whether it may be meadowed or pastured, surprisingly increased. In retired inland districts town manure cannot possibly be procured, the heavy cartage making it much too expensive to lay on in any quantity ; and the farmer must fall back, in a great measure, on the resources of his farm, if he is desirous of improving his pastures by top-dressing. Well-rotted farm-yard dung forms an excellent material for this purpose ; and possessing more of the constituents of plant-life than street or town manure, and being altogether of a more substantial na- ture, au application of this sort is more lasting, and the herbage is more succulent. The demand for this manure is so incessant for the growth of green crop, that it be- comes an exceedingly difficult matter to save a portion of it for spreading on the pastures, and any farmer desiring to do so extensively must of necessity raise at least a part of his year's green crop with portable manures ; so as to have it within his power to reserve sufficient for the breadth of grass intended to be gone over. There is no other way of managing to secure a supply of home-made manure open to the farmer, who depends solely on what grows on his own land, than this, and if he follows it out he must be prepared to eat off his turnips with sheep, they receiving at the same time cake and corn in abund- ance ; so as to keep up the stamina of the soil, to the same standard of fertility that it would possess if treated with duug in the usual way. Clover is most grateful for a thin covering of well rotted dung, which can be applied either in spring, if the land is dry enough to permit the carts to go on it without injury, or otherwise in autumn ; when it is of great use not only in nourishing, but giving shelter to the plants, by which means they are prevented in a severe season from dying out. On the removal of the corn, the young clovers are much beuefitcd by being eaten partially down with the young sheep, corn and cake being given in troughs ; and the field gone regularly over, so that every part shall be benefited. The pressure of the animals imparts a certain amount of solidity which is highly serviceable to the young plants by fixing them in th.e soil ; and thereby in a great measure ensuring their permanency ; while from the richness of the droppings they are refreshed and invigorated. Lime is a most valu- able constituent in the soil ; and enters largely into the composition of most plants. Used for grass it is especially useful, in whatever form or however applied, its sweet- ening effects being speedily visible by the rich greenness which it imparts to the sward. All crude matters present iu the soil are reduced by its influence, and rendered use- ful for plant food ; and for this quality alone lime recom- mends itself to the agriculturist as an eminently useful and serviceable agent. In the form of compost, lime is best suited for spreading on grass-land, having, when mixed up with the other materials which form the com- post, been deprived of its causticity, it cannot injure ; but is, on the contrary, always beneficial. In forming composts of this kind, if the earth used is of good quality, a proportion of four of the earth to one of the hme as it comes in the form of cinders or shells from the kiln will make a useful top-dressing for a worn out pasture, and if, after becoming matured by lay- ing for some time, it is further enriched by the ad- dition of a portion of well-rotted dung, it becomes especially valuable. The cleanings of ponds, road-scrap- ings, fresh earth dug out from headlands, old banks, when such exist on a farm, all make excellent materials for mixing with quick lime, and are in fact the only available local substances of any consequence within reach of the farmer. Earth from a field, the organic constituents of which have been exhausted by repeated croppings, ought never to be used in compost, as it is not of the slightest use, and no beneficial result can accrue from its applica- tion, except what may Arise from the presence of the lime. It often happens when a field is laid down to grass that a portion of it will not be as sweet as it might be, and is in consequence rejected by the cattle, which will leave this quite rough, while the sweeter parts of the field will be eaten close. A dressing of lime compost will prove invaluable iu a case of this sort when spread on the inferior parts of the pasture, which are easily dis- tinguished by their whiteness, and the rough tufts left by the cattle. Iu a few months the character of the herbage over the whole field will be equalised, all will be eateu 300 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. alike bare, and both in appearance and usefulness there will be a very great improvement. During broken wea- ther, when but little ean be done in the open field, the hands of a farm can be very profitably engaged in gather- ing together the materials for composts, and it is really astonishing when this object is kept constantly in view, how large a quantity of valuable fertilising matter can be thus collected. Unlike farm-yard manure, the bulk of a compost heap is in no danger of lessening or losing in quality by remaining in the heap for any length of time, on the contrary, the mellowness which is the result of age, is an improvement to a compost heap. It is a good sign of a farmer to have a heap of this sort on different points of his farm, of which he can avail himself as occa- sion may require ; he must be a pushing man, else he would not have them, and the possession and use of a large quantity of fertilising material, in whatever form, will make him a prosperous man, if the land he farms is at all fertile and not overburdened. Guano, nitrate of soda, and other portable manures were much more used as top-dressings for grass a few years ago than now. Undoubtedly their application forced a large growth of grass, but the evanescent nature of the influence exerted by ammoniacal fertilisers has caused a considerable amount of caution on the part of rent-paying farmers as to how they expend their capital on them, and many men have given up their use for grass who formerly spent large sums annually for this purpose. It not unfrequently happens from peculiarities of the season that there will be scarcely any visible improvement in the portion of the field gone over at considerable expense ; the crop of hay on the undressed part, which for satisfaction's sake should always be left, being quite as good. Bones or other dressings rich in phosphates are preferable, if only for the reason that if they happen to be a partial, or even total failure the first season, from excessive dryness, or any other injurious influence, they may eventually, from their more staying nature, reimburse the farmer for his outlay in years to come. A liberal application of bones mechanically reduced is a most effect- ive renovator of partially exhausted pasture, and from its permanency justly entitles the owner of the soil to come forward and help the tenant by paying a portion of the expense, unless the lease is long enough to give him protection. To ensure a good crop of clover, hay, and grass, there is no method so certain as treating the land well when under green crop ; a slight dressing of lime and a fair allowance of dung according to the quality of the soil, and the eradication of all perennial weeds being absolute necessities. Good treatment of this sort, together with sowing a selection of the best and most useful grass-seeds, will seldom fail to bring success. When good pasturage is more the object of the farmer than large periodical crops of corn, on account of his holding a heavy stock, it is of importance to lay down with the first white crop after being manured, so that the clovers and grasses shall have the full benefit of the manures. It is quite possible that a field may be very liberally treated iu preparation for the root crops, and yet before being laid down to grass may be in a very weak state for their reception by the repetition of corn ; nay, in fact, exhausted, and the poor appearance of many newly laid down fields can only be accounted for in this way. Few errors of management rob the farmer so severely as that of laying land down to pasture in poor condition, as rent, taxes aud expenses of every kind keep accumulating with scarcely a vestige of return, the animals placed on it having enough to do in. keeping themselves alive let alone leaving a profit. High or very light land under even the best manurial conditions, aud good land when only in moderate coudition, suit admir- ably to be laid down to grass without a white crop at all, forming a richer, earlier, and much thicker sward, when not shaded by the corn, and making up a considerable portion of the money value of the latter, by the large amount of feeding which it yields in the autumn of the year on which it was sown. SCOTCH VERSUS ENGLISH CHEDDARS. A CHALLENGE TO SOMERSETSHIRE. A public meeting of the farmers, dairymen, and others of the Rliius District of Wigtownshire, interested in the manu- facture and sale of cheese, was held recently. The meeting was convened for the purpose of taking into consideration the propriety of challenging Somersetshire to a cheese competition, and to arrange the necessary preliminaries should such a step be approved of. There was a large attendance of the leading farmers and dairymen of the district. Colonel M'Douall, who was called to the chair, said, it was his decided opinion that the cheese made in this county had never yet been placed in its proper position, especially in the London market, where they were sold under the invidious name of Scotch cheddars, aud consequently always brought a lower price than the Somerset cheddars, although he believed that in many cases they were really as good in quality as the latter. This was fully proved by the fact that a number of cheese factors in England were iu the practice of purchasing cheddars made in this county on their own account, and then re-selling them in the London market under the name of English cheddars, obtaining in this way the market price of Somersets. Mr. Alexander. M'Adam moved the following resolution: — " That this meeting, representing the cheese manufacturers of Galloway, agree to give a challenge to the dairy farmers of Somersetshire to compete with a given number of cheese from 20 dairies for the sum of £200 — the said competition to take place in the month of October of the present year." Mr. John M'Mastek. (Culhom Mains) seconded the reso- lution, which was unanimously adopted. Mr. Cowan moved the following resolution : — " That the dairy farmers and dairymen of Kirkcudbrightshire be in- vited to join this county in giving the challenge to Somerset." A committee was appointed to raise the necessary amount of money required, should the challenge be accepted by the far- mers of Somerset. Mr. G. Symington next moved — " That Provost Guthrie, as secretary of the Rhins of Galloway Agricultural Society, be requested, in name of the cheese manufacturers of Galloway, to challenge those of Somerset through the secretary of the Farmers' Club of that county." Mr. John Ralston (Milmaiu) seconded the motion, which was also heartily adopted. Before separating, a subscription list was produced, and sent round amongst the gentlemen present. Col. M'Douall headed the list witli £20, and other subscriptions were added, which brought the amount up to £76 13s. ere the proceedings termi- nated. Other lists are now being sent out to the different parishes, and there can be no doubt that the required amount lor enabling the committee to forward the challenge to Somer- set will be fully subscribed in the course of a few days. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 301 STEAM CULTIVATION. At the February meeting of the Midland Farmers' Club, Mr. James Howard, M.P., the well-known implement maker, read the following paper : George Stephenson once remarked that the great strength of Britain lay in her coal fields. It is not improbable that this product of the bowels of the earth may become not only the strength of Britain, but the strength eventually of British agriculture. To steam and the steam- engine more than to any other causes this country owes its great wealth, its manufacturing greatness, and consequently the means of supporting its teeming population. Before the discovery of the steam-engine, the population and wealth of England had been almost at a stand-still for 200 years. The invention of James Watt opened up such an infinite variety of new channels, both in manufactures and commerce, that our country entered upon a new career of progress, which by successive applications of the same mighty agent has been constantly accelerated, so that in a period of eight years the population has increased four-fold, and its wealth ten-fold, per- haps twenty-fold. Although the question of tilling land bysteam- power had engaged the attention of scientific and sanguine minds ever since the discovery of that wonderful prime-mover, it was not until the successful and general introduction of the portable engine and thrashing machine in our rick-yards and homesteads that the practical farmers of England manifested an interest in the subject. As soon as they became familiar- ised with the quick process and profitable results of thrashing their crops by steam-power, no wonder the desire was awakened to avoid the slow and costly process of horse tillage, and to avail themselves of the same power in field operations. The interest in this subject has grown year by year. Nearly all doubts as to the profitable employment of steam-power in tillage have been removed, and the great question with the public now is — which of the various systems is the right one? At the Carlisle meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society, in 1855, the late lamented John Fowler, two or three others, and myself, went to spend a day at Derwentwater. I remember, as our boat was drifting along the surface of the lake, he said to me, laughingly, " Well, Howard, we are really going to com- mence ploughing by steam in earnest. A farmer from Buck- inghamshire ordered from me yesterday a set of my draining ap- paratus to work a plough." Some sis months after this I was invited by our old friend, Mr. Smith, to go to Woolston and see his steam-cultivator at work. I at once perceived we were not far from a great revolution in farm practice, and from that period to the present much of my thought and time have been given to the subject, feeling convinced that the general adoption of steam tillage was a mere matter of time. The two great questions to be solved were — 1st. How to apply the power of the engine to the best advantage. 2nd. The best form of implement to yoke to that power. At the commencement there were not only many difficulties of a mechanical nature to be overcome, but also a vast amount of prejudice to contend with. Farmers had become so accustomed to have their land turned over in neat regular slices, that the idea of a rude, rough, deep smashing was regarded as a retrograde movement. At the same time, the public mind had been so much impressed with the idea of rotatory cultivation, which notion had been greatly fostered by the ingenious and interesting writings of Mr. Wren Hoskyns, that for many years all attempts at steam tillage by any other mode was regarded with comparative in- difference, and it was not until vast sums of money had been spent in proving the thorough inutility and impractibility of engines moving over the surface of the soil that many of our engineers, as well as the public, settled down to the conviction that haulage by a wire rope was the true solution of the pro- blem. It was clearly deduced from the experiments of Mr. Romaine, Mr. Usher, Mr. Boydell, and others that the mov- ing of their engines over the land absorbed so much of the power that but little remained to exert upon the tillage imple- ment. There were also difficulties on hilly fields, where steam power was even more economical, than on flat land ; further, the impossibility of moving at all when the soil became wet or greasy on the surface. I do not deem it necessary or desirable on this occasion to dwell further upon the early history of steam cultivation. Those who may feel an interest in this branch of the subject I would refer to a paper I had the hon- our of reading before the London Farmer's Club in March , 1862, and to a lecture recently delivered before the Society of Engineers by Mr. Baldwin Latham, and which is fully reported in the engineeing journals, and Cuthbert Johnson's paper on the " Steam Plough," in this week's Mark Lane Express. As I have just stated, the wire rope system has become generally recognised as the one upon which depends the successful work- ing of the steam plough. You have in the drawings before you the various modes of applying steam power to tillage by means of ropes. Before I commence a description of these diagrams, I would remark that at the commencement of ray experience in steam-ploughing, I was greatly disheartened by the early failure of the first rope ; and, but for the introduction of steel wire instead of iron in their manufacture, I believe we should have been as far off as ever from solving the problem of the economical tillage of the soil. I have since then broken up thousands of acres, and from our accounts I find that the cost for rope amounts to a fraction over 7d. per acre. As a large portion has been what I may describe rough or pioneer work, and a much higher quality of steel is now used, I believe that the item may be put down at something like 4d. per acre. I would here observe that light ropes wear longer than heavy ones, the abrasion being much less, and owing to their greater pliability they sustain less damage from coiling, and being passed round the pulleys, to say nothing of the smaller expen- diture of power in keeping in motion a light rope as compared to a heavy one. Besides, a light rope made of a high quality of steel, is far more durable than a heavy rope made of in- ferior steel. In noticing the different systems of apply- ing the power to steam-hauled implements, I would observe that each of the methods has its advantages as well as its disadvaantges, and that no one system is applicable to the varied requirements and circumstances of the far- mer. I will commence with the largest apparatus, No. 1, in which you have two engines drawing two implements simulta- neously. With this apparatus something like 40, 50, and in a long summer's day even 60 acres may be broken up at a cost per acre which I will state to you presently ; but then the total cost of a complete apparatus of the kind, with a full complement of implements, cannot be estimated at less than £1,800, and very few farmers have sufficient land in their own hands to permit of such an outlay. Supposing even a farmer to have 1,000 acres to till in the year, the interest and maintenance, calculated at 15 per cent, per annum, wonld amount to 5s. 5d. per acre. The use of this class of apparatus, therefore, is al- most exclusively confined to public companies, or those who buy engines to let on hire. I am not about to burden you with many elaborate statistics or calculations, but the cost per acre with this apparatus I arrive at in the following way :— Cost of a pair of 14-horse power engine, with a £ s. d. full complement of implements, such as hploughs, arrows, cultivators, water carts, &c.,&c i.800 ° ° Daily working cost, calculated upon 200 work- ing day 8 in the year, at 15 per cent Fuel, one ton, delivered on the ground, say Two engine-drivers at 5s. a-day Two ploughmen at 2s. 6d. a-day Two rope-porter boys at Is. 3d. a-day Two water carts, horses, and lads Oil, tallow, and cotton waste Wear and tear of shares and wearing parts of implements £4 2 6 Taking 40 acres as a day's work the cost would be 2s. Id. per acre ; but it must be remembered that this is based upon the engines being at work daily throughout two-thirds of the year, Y 1 7 0 1 0 0 0 10 0 0 5 0 0 2 0 0 10 0 0 3 0 0 5 0 302 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. and at 40 acres a-day 8,000 acres would have to be operated upon, and I have not allowed for the depreciation in the value of the machinery. On the other hand, I have not allowed any- thing the engines might earn by thrashing, grinding, or drain- ing during the winter months. Upon the latter operation I shall have a word or two to say presently. The second plan (No. 2) is a similar arrangement of an engine on each head- land, with a siugle implement hauled backwards and forwards between the two, one engine remaining idle whilst the other is in action. By this arrangement, not much more than half the amount of work can be done as with the " twin" or " double- double" system, and, without troubling you with a lot of figures, the cost may be put down at about 3s. 3d. per acre. The cost of such an apparatus is about £1,500 ; ana the same remarks will in a great measure apply to this system as the one already alluded to. I never could bring my mind to rest satisfied with the double-engine system until both engines were kept con- tinuously at work. In the first arrangement I have spoken of, this is done in a very simple manner, requiring only an extra rope and winding drum on each engine, with, of course, a second implement and ploughman. In plan No. 3 you have Mr. Fowler's well-known plan of a clip arum engine on one headland, and a travelling disc anchor on the opposite one. The cost of this apparatus is about £900 (see Fowler's cata- logue, pp. 25, 27), a single implement being hauled between the engine and anchor. As regards the cost of working by this apparatus, there are abundant materials for the calcu- lation in the voluminous report of the Royal Agricultural Society's Commissioners, and a large number of farmers have borne testimony to its efficiency and economy. In Plan No. 4 you have the well-known stationary, or as it is called, " roundabout" system. The cost of this apparatus, including a 10-horse power portable engine, is £520. Daily working cost, calculated upon 100 working days in the year, at 15 per cent „ £0 15 8 Labour, five men and two boys „ 0 14 0 Water carting , 0 5 0 Coals, half ton 0 10 0 Oil, &c 0 10 Wear-and-tear of shares, &c 0 2 6 Cost of shifting tackle — say, twioe-a-week, at 7s. 6d,=15s. per day , ,.,„ 0 2 6 From this sum I deduct the maintenance of, and interest upon, the engine, assuming that for other purposes a portable engine is indispen- sable upon such a farm 10 8 0 7 10 £2 2 10 Taking eight acres as an average day's work, it brings the cost per acre of cultivation upon this system to something like 5s. 4d. I am aware that many who have adopted the " round- about" system bring the cost to much less ; but then their coals are taken at a smaller cost, the water-carting is saved by setting down the engine near a pond, and they make no charges for removals or shiftings. Although a direct pull upon the implement is mechanically more correct, the " stationary engine" or " round-about" system is not without its advan- tages, amongst which may be enumerated the convenience of having your fuel and water brought to one point, and the greater elasticity of the tackle ; when an obstacle is met with by the plough, the anchors draw or yield by the concussion, and thus a serious breakage is often prevented, which is not so where the pull is direct, as in this case there is no yielding. The poaching of the headlands in coal and water-carting, and by the passage of the engine is also avoided. The headlands can also be more readily broken up, and the crossing of the fields in the spring, that were broken up in the autumn, is attended with no difficulty; and, lastly, the smaller cost and greater simplicity of the machinery, which farm labourers are capable of managing, are no light recommendations. I believe that if a farmer has a moderate-sized occupation, of, say, from 500 to 600 acres, and it lies tolerably well together, so that he has not long distances to move his apparatus, he would do better to purchase one of the various stationary-engine apparatus before the public than to invest in the more costly form of machinery— particularly if it be his intention to cultivate only bis own land, I do not think it ever answers the purpose of a farmer to let out his apparatus, however profitable it may be to those who make a trade of letting. This expression of opinion that the less costly form of apparatus can be economi- cally adopted on farms of a moderate size, is confirmed not only by the results and awards of the late trials of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, at Leicester, but by the re- ports of the Commissioners of the Royal Agricultural Society of England of their visits to the farms of a large number of practical agriculturists in various parts of England, who have for years cultivated their land successfully by this method. In plan No. 5, you have a diagram of a combination of the " round-about " and direct systems. In this arrangement, which wc have been very successfully working on our own farm for some time past, you have a single engine, with a winding drum upon it at each end. At the opposite side you have two ordinary anchors, the engine and anchors being shifted forward as the work proceeds, the engine moving itself. In the event of the land being too soft for the engine to move along the headland, or when cultivating very hilly or difficult-shaped fields, the engine may be stationed as shown on plan 5, and. worked on the " round-about system. This form of engine has also the further advantage that two neighbours possessing one eacli may join together, and during the autumn months work their engines on the "twin" or "double double" system, and when the work is over the same engines may be used for the ordinary work of the farm. It will be observed that the cylinders and fly wheel, &c.,in this form of engine are placed below the boiler, the object being to get rid of the oscillation when in work, which occurs with engines having the cylinders on the top of the boiler, and to remove a cause of danger when engines are travelling on the road by concealing the moving parts, which when exposed are calculated to frighten horses meeting them. Although more expensive I prefer double cylinder engines, as they work more steadily, are stopped and started more easily, and, what is of more consequence when moving, less strain is thrown upon the gearing. I stated at the outset of my paper that the two great questions to be solved were— 1st. How to apply the power of the engine to the best advantage. 2nd. The best form of implement to yoke to that power. Having disposed of the first question, we now come to the consideration of the second. Judging from the applica- tion of steam power to other purposes, mechanics and others were naturally led to believe that a rotatory motiou was the cor- rect principle on which to construct an implement for dealiug with the comminution of the soil, and this idea was strengthened by the writings of the gentleman I have before alluded to, the author of " Talpa." But if the question is examined minutely it will be seen that a rotatory implement for break- ing up the soil is wrong in principle. At every revolution of the tines or shares the hard surface or the crust of the land has to be broken through, causing a constant and unnecessary waste of power, and wherever the resistance at the points become greater than the driving power, which is frequently the case when the implement meets with hard and difficult spots, the rotation ceases. Some years ago Mr. Sainuelson brought out a very clever digging machine, to be worked by horse power. He was very sanguine of success. I told him at the time, when he was so full of hope, that the implement would never be exhibited at three Royal Agricultural meetings in succession ; that its only chance of success was its being yoked to a steam engine, and I invited him to bring it down to Bedford, and we would experiment with it. He accepted the invitation, and we were not long in convincing him that a rectilinear cultivator produced far better results than his rotating implement, with less than half the expenditure of power ; since which experiment we have heard nothing of the rotating implement, so much written up at the time, and also by the Times. Mr. Wren Hoskyns stated that the objects to be attained by steam tillage were, " comminution, aeration, and inversion" — in plain terms, I should say the economical question to be solved is this : How to break up and loosen the greatest weight of soil with the smallest amount of power. Though the ancient form of plough, arranged and adapted for haulage by steam, may be, and is undoubtedly, useful for the turning over laud under certain circumstances, it has, in nine cases out of ten, to give way to its more modern and less graceful rival, the steam cultivator, or " smasher." The latter implement is at once more expeditious, requires less skilful handling, and, if used at the proper season, produces better THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 303 results than the plough. Such au implement is never- theless almost useless when used by horse-power ; and this, for two reasons, that a great depth is unattainable, and the slow pace of the horse leaves the land in a very different and less shattered condition than is produced by the deeply-set and quickly-moving steam imple- ment. Whenever steam-power is introduced upon a farm deeper tillage is invariably, or, at all events, ought to be the result. If the soil be inverted by the plough the farmer has to contend with a much larger crop of weeds than if broken up by the cultivator. This fact was brought forcibly under my notice some ten years ago, through having broken up a piece of land after roots intended for barley ; part of it was steam ploughed, and the other portion steam cultivated. I was much surprised, in the spring, to find that on the ploughed portion charlock and scratch-burr came up as though it had been thickly sown, whilst the cultivated portion was comparatively free. The fact is, the cultivator lets down the seeds of the an- nuals deeper into the soil, whilst the ploughing, in inverting the deeply-moved soils, brings the seeds to the surface, and thus causes them to germinate. One of the most efficient and satis- factory implements which can be attached to a steam appara- tus is the barrow. After a field has been broken up it can be crossed by the steam-harrow at about three times the rate at which it has been cultivated. The depth of penetration and the effect of the steam-harrow is as superior to that of the common drag-harrow as the steam-cultivator is to that of the horse- scarifier. Another implement, the use of which by steam ap- paratus might be most beneficially extended, is the mole- draining plough. On hundreds of farms in this country be- longing to owners who cannot afford the cost, or do not see the advantage of under-draining, the tenants might at a very small cost, by the use of such a drainage plough, relieve their land of stagnant water. I have seen in Herefordshire a draining- plongh yoked to the steam-engine perform very rapid and effi- cient underdrainage. Perhaps it will not be uninteresting to the meeting if I briefly describe the practice adopted upon my own farms in the use of the steam -cultivator. The land upon the Britannia Farms, consisting of about 600 acres, is thus de- scribed in the Royal Agricultural Society's report : — " The ex- tent of arable is 415 acres, all heavy Jand. The ' Hoo' farm presents a deep staple 10 to 14 inches in thickness upon homo- genous clay ; yet, before steam culture was practised, there were but few inches of staple soil. The difference on digging in a field and upon the headland edge, where the deep work has not reached, being remarkable — the raw, tenaceous, gaulty tlay having been obviously changed by cultivation into a brown unctuous earth, at once perceptibly better to the feel. Although the old high-backed lands have been everywhere levelled over a four-feet deep drainage, the whole of the fields are declared to drain well in the wettest of seasons ; and we found nothing like sloppiness or sponginess, though we en- tered almost every field in wretchedly wet weather." I may observe that, although many of our fields are very hilly, and although I have no open furrows or water-gutters, I have never yet seen any water stand upon the surface. If such land be broken up deep enough, and furrows are avoided, the water will sink into the ground where it falls, and not run down and flood the lower portion. In June or July I break up the clover or grass "layers, making a bastard fallow of them ; this is no new practice. It has been pursued by the best farmers of strong land in the county of Bedford for very many years. In addition to the advantage of cleaning the land, it is estimated that it adds at least eight bushels an acre to the produce. The next work for the steam-cultivator is found as soon as ever a field is cleared at harvest. The staff of men is at once ready to commence operations ; my great object being to break up as much land before the end of September as possible. To this end we make long hours, for there really is no hard work for the men employed. I used to grudge the loss of time occa- sioned by fetching the engine from the field to do the neces- sary thrashing, and consequently had a second engine for the work of the homestead. I would recommend those who think of embarking in steam-cultivation not to part with their old engines if they happen to have one — for engines are not like horses — they do not want feeding except when at work. T keep the steam-cultivator going every day, weather permitting, until the whole of the stubbles are broken up. Any that then require crossing are next dealt with. After this the tackle is packed up until the spring, for I believe that in short days and wet weather, apart from the unfitness of the soil for till- age operations, the employment of steam ceases to be econo- mical. The land intended for roots is, after wheat seeding, trenched up into ridges, or bouts, 27 inches wide. This is done by horses. A pair or three horses ridgiug about three acres a day, I find is more economical than employing steam-power. An objection has been raised to this plan on the ground that the treading of the horses is injurious, but I hold that tread- ing a deeply moved tilth is a very different matter to putting three or four horses in a line up a furrow. With such a team something like two or three hundred thousand hoof tracks per acre batter down the hard subsoil and render it all but impervious. In the case of ridging, the horses walk upon a tilth, and the winter frosts obliterate any injurious effect. If the treading of a tilth be so injurious as some would repre- sent, woe be to the farmer whose fields join a favourite fox covert, as many of mine do. In some seasons, when from wet weather I have been late with my work, instead of using the cultivator, I have used a combined ridging and subsoil plough, the ridging plough throwing up the soil 9 inches deep in bouts of 27 inches wide, and the subsoil tine penetrating and loosen- ing the open furrow some six or seven inches deeper. This is a capital operation, and I prefer the work to that made either by the cultivator or plough, if it has to be done late in the year. As soon as weather permits the dung or artificial manure is put on, and the ridges split. In the spring, before sowing the mangold or other seed, a set of harrows are sent along the line of the ridges to destroy the weeds, exposing a fresh surface, whilst the winter moisture is retained. After the seed is sown, the double-breast ploughs are used to make up or mould the ridges. In some seasons, when rain has washed down the tilths intended for beans, I have ridged them in the same way as though in the form for roots. I like this plan, for a large surface is exposed throughout the winter to the action of the atmosphere, and the land is ready to work sooner in the spring, once or twice harrowing being all the preparation required for the drill. I formerly paid my men by the acre, and I think if well looked after this is the proper plan ; but having so many visitors to witness our operations, and in consequence so many hindrances and shiftings of im- plements, I have been obliged to abandon the system of piece- work, but I would advise farmers to pay their men either by the acre, or to pay them a small bonus for every acre culti- vated, and thus give them an interest in the work. One of the chief, if not the greatest advantage of the application of steam power to the cultivation of the soil is increased depth of tillage. Many who have gone to the expense of purchasing a steam cultivator, from overlooking this fact, have not only failed to derive any advantage from its use, but have lowered steam tillage in the estimation of their neighbours — their great object being to get over a great breadth. The working of an implement by steam power at 5 inches deep will not render the land more productive than if drawn at the same depth by horse power —of course, excepting the treading of the subsoil previously alluded to, for the " pan" caused by the practice pursued for generations is not broken up by such shallow cul- tivation. To increase the fertility, especially of our strong soils, the cultivation must not only be deep, but the owner of steam power must not be content with one deep stirring — it must be continuous. I may say, in my own case, that the effect of continuous deep tillage, every year attaining to a greater depth, has been to increase the produce fully one- third per acre. Last year I visited several very large farms in France, on which the cultivation of beet-root for sugar was extensively carried on. I was astonished at the depth to which the land intended for this crop was cultivated. I found upon them huge ploughs drawn by twelve and even sixteen oxen, turning over the soil at twenty inches to two feet deep. The produce was very great, and the depth was necessary in order to retain sufficient moisture throughout their hot dry summer. We cannot in this little island of ours extend the area of cultivation as is done in America, but we can increase the productive powers by deeper and more thorough tillage. I calculate by the judicious use of a steam plough upon a farm of 600 acres of strong land the following results may be ob- tained. Assume that a farmer occupies 500 acres of strong land, 400 of which are under the plough. Question 1. — How should the land be cropped, giving the proportion of each crop ? Answer. —Strong land, cropped on the eight-course system : (1) Roots Y 2 304 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. or fallow ; (2) barley ; (3) clover ; (4) wheat ; (5) beans ; (6) wheat ; (7) tares or other summer feed, cabbages, rape, &c. ; (8) wheat, coming to roots again. 150 acres of wheat, 50 acres of barley : one year's course of cereals. 50 acres of roots, 50 acres of clover, 50 acres of beans, 50 acres of summer and autumn feed : Sheep feed and preparation for cereals next year. Question 2.— What portion would have to be tilled an- nually ? Answer. — 350 acres to be tilled annually, assuming that clover to take root and stand. Question 3. — What number of horses would have to be kept to do the work without the aid of steam, and what number with the aid of steam ? Answer. — Without the aid of steam sixteen or eighteen horses, according to the state of the farm — being quite clean or rather foul. With the aid of steam, ten horses quite sufficient if the homestead is comparatively central ; twelve horses if the farm is wide. Question 4. — Assume that eight bushels more corn can be grown per acre by steam power. Answer. — Wheat, average price 6s. per bushel, increase of £2 8s. per acre ; total on the 350 acres, £360. Barley, increase on the 50 acres at 5s. per bushel, £100. Question 5. — Assume that one-fifth more root crops and green crops, inclusive of tares and grasses, can be grown, state the annual worth. Answer. — I do not think that the use of steam power exerts any noticeable difference in the growth of tares and grasses. But the roots, in consequence of the deep stirring, would generally be worth from 30s. to 40s. per acre more, being from £75 to £100 on the 50 acres increased value. Question 6. — The saving to the farms in the keep of the horses. Answer. — Keep of six horses saved, at £25 each, £150. Question 1. — How should the land be cropped uuder the four- course system, giving the proportion of each crop on a farm, 400 acres of which are under the plough ? Answer. — (1) roots and tares ; (2) barley ; (3) clover and beans ; (4) wheat ; 100 acres of roots and green crops ; 100 acres of barley and spring wheat ; 100 acres of clover and beans, being 50 acres of each, so that the clover comes only once in eight years ; 100 acres of wheat. Question 2. — What portion would have to be tilled an- nually ? Answer. — 350 acres to be tilled annually, assuming the clover to take root and stand. The 100 acres for roots and green crops would probably require during the year going over several times by either steam or horse power. Question 3. — What number of horses would have to be kept to do theVork without the aid of steam, and what number with the aid of the steam power? Answer. — Without the aid aid of steam, 18 or 20 horses would be required, according to the state of the farm, being quite clean or rather foul. With the aid of steam, 10 or 12 horses quite sufficient. Question 4. — Assume that eight bushels more corn can be grown per acre by steam power. Answer. — Wheat, average price, 6s. per bushel, being £2 8s. for the eight bushels per acre ; total on the 100 acres of wheat, £240. Barley, average price, 5s. per bushel, being £2 for the eight bushels per acre ; total increase on the 100 acres, £200. Question 5. — Assume that one-fifth more root crops and green crops, inclusive of tares and grasses, can be. grown, state the annual worth. Answer. — The roots, in consequence of the deep stirring, would be about 5 tons more per acre, which, at 6s. per ton, would be 30s. per acre, and which, on the 70 acres, leaving 30 acres of land for green crops, would be £105 in- creased value on the roots. Question 6. — The saving to the farms in the keep of the horses. Answer. — Keep of eight horses saved, at £25 each, £200. In adopting this view of the subject I am confirmed by Mr. J. A. Clarke, who, writing on the Royal Agricultural Society's Report on Steam Cultivation, remarks : " There is consider- able amount of evidence as to the superior economy of steam, as compared with horse-power cultivation, and there is almost universal testimony to the greater expedition of steam, and the increased power it gives the farmer of getting on properly with his work. There is likewise a great deal ol evidence as to the increase of yield. Those who read this report carefully must often come upon some very startling remarks of that kind. Eight bushels an acre as the increase of wheat is spoken of in several cases. In most cases, too, there is a large addition with green crops ; roots, moreover, having been grown with steam-cultivation where none could be obtained before." In the middle of the last century, an advertisement in Walker's Birmingham Newspaper, April 12, 1742, informed the public that " the Lichfield and Birmingham stage-coach set out this morning (Monday) from the Rose Inn, at Holborn Bridge, London, and will be at the house of Mr. Francis Cox, the Angel, and lien and Chickens, in the high town of Bir- mingham, on Wednesday next, to dinner." Three days from Birmingham ! Now three hours. Great as has been the ad- vance in the mode of travelling, it may yet be equalled in agriculture by the use of steam-power. Instead of one acre a-day being turned over by a team, it is not improbable that the farmer may be enabled by this giant power to break up 100 acres in the same time. The fact is, in farming as well as in other pursuits, " Time is money," and those who would in cultivation obtain the greatest results with the utmost cer- tainty and at the least cost, must avail themselves of the " iron sinews of the never-tiring steam-engine." Mr. J. King (Olton), proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Howard for the excellent paper he had read. It had afforded him more pleasure — and he believed he might say the same of every gentleman in the room — than any paper which had been read before the society. They all knew that under the plan of ploughing with horses they had a pan under the footways which the roots could not get through, but by the adoption of the steam-plough that difficulty was obviated. He had no doubt that steam-cultivation would go on, but with these would be a diminution of small farms. During his experience- three farms had been put into one, and he had no doubt that in a short time the same process would be repeated ; and then farmers would be men of importance, and those who had not money enough to become farmers would have to become bailiffs, or something else. Mr. Joiin Lowe seconded the motion. He was satisfied that all of them, whether engaged in manufactures or in agricultural pursuits, must of necessity derive mos valuable information from the perusal of that paper. There lay beneath the subject of steam-cultivation, a subject which the Club had before time discussed, and from which he hoped that ere long fruit would result. It occurred to his ndmit hat before farmers could be expected to invest their capital in expensive im- plements of the character that had been described, it was of the utmost importance that the farmer who had courage to purchase and ability to work such implements, should and ought to have a more permanent holding in the farm he is entrusted to farm. Was it likely that farmers would incur the expense of the most inexpensive implements — £500, for the purpose of what ? — of improving another man's property, and enabling the owner of that land, when the process of ploughing and steam cultivation had been accomplished by the tenant, of adding to the value of that farm perhaps two or three shillings per acre per annum ? Was it likely that farmers should be expected to invest their money in imple- ments of that description while the tenures were in such a precarious position that they might be called upon to leave at six months' notice ? That was a great question, and one that must be settled ere long, and one of the means of obtaining that settlement he thought would be by having the interests of agriculture more completely represented in the House of Commons ; and further, not only represented in the House of Commons, but something more — there should be a Board of Agriculture in connection with the Administration, wherein the interests of farmers should be represented. Mr. Howard, as they well knew, had been connected with the production of implements all his life, and he was one of the largest manu- facturers of ploughs, an implement that would be superseded by steam cultivation, therefore they were bound to give him credit for disinterestedness. Mr. Howard had been lately elected a member of the Commons House of Parliament, and he had no doubt that Mr. Howard would prove a honest representative of the agricultural interest, and he hoped that ere long the farmers would have other representatives — (A voice : " We want them") — for he believed that the interests of agriculture had not been fairly represented in Parliament according to the amount of capital engaged in agricultural pursuits. Before the changes which were foreshadowed in Mr. Howard's paper could take place it was necessary that a certain amount of education must be imparted to the agricul- tural population to prepare them for the alteration. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 30£ Mr. B&EW8KBB said although he quite agreed with what Mr. Lowe had said as to the iusecurity of tenure, still they should not stand still uutil the defects of the present system were remedied, hut should do what they could in reference to the extension of steam cultivation. The dilliculty the farmer had to contend with was the great expense of machinery, if he had a good one. Mr. Howard had told them the expense of steam-ploughing, but he had spoken chiefly of large farms ; hut they knew that the great bulk of farms were not large. Where there was one farm of 500 acres in extent, there were at least forty or fifty that would not average 300 acres, and that was the great difficulty. The company with which lie was connected comprised ten members, and of course they could not do without horses, and therefore they used steam- power as an auxiliary. Formerly he kept nine horses on 200 acres of plough land, and at the present time he kept six. They had rules drawn up for the management of the plough, and one of the members undertook the management, so that there was no difficulty in that matter. When one member had had the machinery a certain number of days it was sent to the next door. He thought steam cultivation was a great help to the farmer, but he had no desire to see the plough superseded. As to the cost, lie did not agree with Mr. Howard. The com- pany with which he was connected had two engines, and they charged 15s. per acre, which had enabled them to pay interest at the rate of 15 per cent. Of course, as they were moving about from place to place they naturally lost some time. He had used the steam power for twelve months, and he found that it worked satisfactorily ; but whether there had been an improvement in the general yield, as Mr. Howard had stated, he could not say, but he hoped it would be found to be the case. Mr. G. A. May said he felt diffident in saying anything on a question with which he was not fully acquainted, but so far as he understood the subject he had a feeling that steam power was the correct mode of cultivation. He had not sufficient experience himself in the matter to say how much less it would cost. He had used steam-power for six years. He had hired it for five years out of the six, and during the past twelve months he had become a purchaser of a set of tackle. He could not say, however, that he had grown eight bushels per acre more since he had used steam-power. He had no doubt, however, that the land had remained drier during the past wet season, in consequence of steam cultivation, than would have been the case if the land had been subjected to the treading of horses in ploughing. He thought they should adopt the use of steam powrer wherever they could. As to the round- about system, he thought it troublous and necessitated the loss of much time in getting ready. As to some of the advan- tages of steam cultivation, the ease with which the water ran through the land was most important. He did not understand from Mr. Howard when he put the farmyard manure on the land, although he explained when he put Messrs. Proctor and Ryland's artificial manures. Mr. Howard : In autumn. If we have some farmyard manure made early in the year, it would be put on the stubble before it was broken up. Mr. Mat then asked when the ridging would be done ? Mr. Howard said it would be done in favourable weather. Mr. Ma? said that so far as regarded deep cultivation, his experience was that it should not be done at once, but that it was better to do it gradually, increasing the depth, say about one inch a-year. Mr. R. Fowler considered the direct action was far supe- rior to a compound action, and steam cultivation was superior to ploughing. There were two important features among the advantages they derived from steam cultivation — the means of stirring up the soil to a greater depth than they could do with horses ; and the obviating the pan caused by the tread of the horses. He should like to know whether Mr. May had used the plough or the cultivator ? Mr. May- : Both. The Chairman thought they had arrived at the agricultu- ral history of this kingdom, when the advantage of steam cul- tivation was not at all doubted or disputed. He had adopted the system himself for many years. He was the owner of some 600 acres of strong land, which came into his possession six or seven years ago. Without knowing Mr. Howard, he at- tended many agricultural shows in various parts of England, with the object of finding the best method of steam cultivation. He spent some months in the search, and after undergoing some trouble and exercising some patience, he saw a system which he thought was thoroughly applicable to his laud, and that was Mr. Howard's. He bought a set of tackle, which he had used for some years. At first he had an eight-horse en- gine of Clayton and Co., but he had replaced that with a four- tceu-horse, and during the past autumn he had cultivated 250 acres. Without wishing to detract from Mr. Fowler's direct action system, he must say that for holdings of moderate size the round-about system is the best. He had used the round-about system for six or seven years, and before he adopted the system of steam-cultivation he had eighteen horses on the farm, but since he had adopted the system of steam- cultivation he had only kept eight horses and two nags. His land was perfectly drained, and when the plough lias finished its work the land is almost level, all being steam-cultivated, and yet any one might have walked over it during the late weather, and they would have found it sound and dry. He thought the system of having plough land in furrows was not a correct system. He was not prepared to go into calculation as to the cost. When he first commenced the system of steam- cultivation he was satisfied that he was in the right way. The farm was his own, and he did not keep any account of the cost. He could only say that if lie had to go into the field again for a new implement, he should go and purchase from his friend Mr. Howard. As regards ploughing or cultivation, his own impression was that smashing was the right system. He tried the plough last year to break up a piece of seeds in July, and they did about two-and-a-half acres a day ; but he thought if they had used the cultivator they would have done five acres a day, without stoppages. He was satisfied that the plough was inferior to the cultivator, as the latter rendered the land more clean than the plough. With regard to the in- crease in produce he could endorse what Mr. Fowler had said, for he believed his increase was greater. The motion was then put and carried. Mr. Howard briefly expressed his thanks. Mr. G. A. May was elected president for the ensuing year, and Mr. W. Brewster vice-president. BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND SOCIETY AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES ASSOCIATION. A meeting of the Council of this Society was held on Feb. 23, at Yeovil. The chair was taken by Sir J. T. B. Duckworth, Bart. There were also present : Viscount Sid- mouth, the Hon. and Rev. J. T. Boscawen ; Messrs. James D. Allen, H. G. Andrews, R. Brent, Thomas Danger, R. Davy, John Daw, H. Fooks, C. Gordon, J. Gray, H. P. Jones, J. E. Knollys, J. Lush, H. A. F. Luttrell, R. May, E. F. Mills, Rev. T. Philpotts, W. R. Scott, J. C. Moore Stevens, W. Thompson, H. 'Williams, H. Spackman (Official Superintendent), and J. Goodwin (Secretary and Editor). Southampton Meeting, 1869. — On the recommendation of the Contracts Committee, the tender of Mr. W. Gibbs, confectioner, Above Bar, Southampton, and Mr. Henry Hine, brewer and wine merchant, Marland-place, Southampton, for the supply of refreshments in the Show Yard, in May and June next, was accepted. TnE Journal, it was reported by the Editor, is all in type, but unavoidably delayed for a short time, by the necessity of perfecting some official documents relating to the Southern Counties Association recently amalgamated with the Bath and West of England Society. It is fully expected that by the middle of the month of March it will have been distributed. Southampton Meeting. — Local Prizes. — A list of prizes offered by the Southampton Local Committee was pro- visionally accepted by the Council, for Jersey, Guernsey, and Channel Islands Cattle ; Hampshire Down sheep classified according to a new and special arrangement ; and forest ponies. The Council also, in deference to the views expressed in a letter from the hon. sec. to the Royal Jersey Agricultural Society, resolved to give a bonus of £10 to the owner of the best animal exhibited in the classes for heifers, of the Channel Island breeds.not exceeding 2£ year6 old on the 1st of June next. New Members. — Mrs. Malcolm, Beechwood, Totton, Hants ; H. Humfrey, Kingstone Farm, Shrivenham ; Captain Wiltshire, Marlborough-buildings, Bath ; H. J. Dart, Beech House, Ringwood ; C. Combes, Tisbury, Salisbury. 306 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE "GOODENOUGH" METHOD OF SHOEING HORSES. In 1860, Mr. Goodenough, an American gentleman (well known in this country by his association with Mr. Jlarey), invented and patented a horse shoe which is said to have suc- ceeded in securing all necessary protection to the hoof of the horse, and in removing, or reducing to a minimum, the bad effects of earlier methods of horse shoeing. The principle laid down by Mr. Goodenough is that the shoe should resemble, and preserve as far as possible, the natural shape of the hoof of which it is a continuation. The unshod horse has the under surface of his foot on a generally level plane, the frog and the whole margin of the hoof in contact with the ground, and the surface of the sole, between the frog and the margin, somewhat raised by its own concavity. The Goodenough shoe is made precisely to follow the outline of the hoof for which it is intended, and to reach exactly to the bars, never projecting at all beyond the heel. Its upper surface is perfectly plane and true ; its under surface is gene- rally concave from the outer to the inner margin, the outer margin having, however, a narrow flat bearing upon the ground, and this bearing is interrupted by portions of the margin being cut away, so as to leave a central toe calk, and two smaller calks on either side. The elevation of these calks is inconsiderable, and their general level is the same, so that they may be compared to a series of short claws on the under surface of the shoe. In the notches, or spaces between the calks, the nail-holes are bored and counter-sunk, so that the nail-head are completely buried in the shoe. For frost, shoes are made in whidi the calks have no flat bearing, but are brought up to a feather edge. The inner margin of the shoe is thin, 30 that its outline passes insensibly into that of the sole, and presents no projections by which stones or snow can be retained. The method of preparing the foot and of applying the shoe is as follows : In the first place, a shoe which precisely fits the outline of the hoof is selected from the stock. If a proper fit cannot be found, any slight alteration is made by a few blows on the cold iron, or, if heating be necessary, the shoe is made cold again before it is applied, and care is taken that it remains perfectly level and true. The farrier then prepares the hoof by cutting or rasping away the surface of that portion of the crust on which the iron will rest, leaving the centre of the sole and the frog and bars untouched. Having given what he judges to be a true level to this marginal seating for the shoe, the shoe is applied cold, and the hoof is rasped again and again until horn and iron come into perfect contact in every part. As a guide to the use of the rasp, the surface of the shoe is ruddled, so that any portions of horn not touched by it remain uncoloured. The adjustment being correct, the shoe is nailed on in the ordinary way, and the process is complete. When the shoes are put on for the first time, it will often happen that the frog, dwarfed and deformed by previous ill- treatment, does not reach the gronnd at once, and for some hours , or even for a day or two, the horse may experience the same kind of inconvenience that would be felt by a man who was taken oat of very high- heeled boots, to which he was accustomed, and made to walk on level soles. But a very short time restores the muscles of the leg to their natural equilibrium, and relieves the latter discomfort, while, after a few shoeings, the frog reaches the ground fairly and fully, forming an elastic wedge which gives the horse a con- scious and safe foothold upon every surface. The sole also grows somewhat within the circle of the shoe and forms a shoulder by which the firmness and security of the latter are greatly increased, so that fewer and smaller nails are re- quired. At first, too, it is necessary to have a considerable thickness of iron, in order to supply the place of the horn usually removed by the excessive cutting of the ordinary farrier ; but when the hoof has grown to its natural propor- tions, smaller and lighter shoes will be sufficient. Mr. Goodenough' s system has only very lately been intro- duced into this country, and the arrangements for its general application are not yet complete. It has been in use for two months upon 200 horses belonging to the London General Omnibus Company, and employed in drawing those Chelsea omnibuses that stand at the Chelsea end of their journey. It has quite recently been tried upon a few horses in the Royal stables. A number of horses belonging to the London General Omni- bus Company, some that had been shod for two months on the Goodenough system, and some shod in the old method with high heel calks, were brought together for inspection. Of the latter horses, all stood resting one hind foot, or first one and then the other. Of the former, all, without exception, stood still and quietly on all four feet at once, without a sign of rest- lessness or discomfort. A hind shoe with heel calks, that had been worn for some little time, was removed, and a new Good- enough shoe to fit the same foot was selected. The Good- enough shoe was lighter by l^lb. than the one removed to make way for it. At omnibus pace, a horse lifts each hoof about six inches, and takes, with all four about 60 steps in a minute. A set of Goodenough shoes would, therefore, save this particular horse, every hour, the labour required to lift a ton weight to the height of one foot. A fine old white horse, condemned by his owners as hopelessly lame, useless, and worn out, was bought by Messrs. Robinson and Cottam, the manu- facturers in England of the Goodenough shoe, for £3. With no other treatment than the shoeing, he speedily and perfectly recovered, and now trots cheerfully along with a ton and a half behind him, or stands quietly on all four feet when at rest. Another somewhat similar purchase by the same gentleman, a horse with one forehoof completely split, has recovered in a manner no less remarkable. Mr. Goodenough claims for his system the negative merit that the shoe, being applied cold, does not injure and weaken the horn by burning, as in the common method. He claims the positive merits that " it prevents slipping, overreaching, and interfering, cutting, or picking up stones, balling snow or mud, contracted feet, corns, sand cracks, thrush, springing of the knees, shrinking of the shoulders. It also prevents the nails striking the ground while the foot is sensitive from shoe- ing. A horse will draw with it a greater weight and travel further." From careful examination of the method, and, so far as they are yet to be seen in this country, of the results of its employment, we are of opinion that these claims are scarcely, if at all, overstated, and that Mr. Goodenough will confer the greatest benefits alike upon horses and upon those who own or use them. Another advantage of the system is one that will be greatly felt in the hunting field. The hoof, having its natural form and surface preserved, draws out of clay or mud without the suction by which so many ordinary shoes are loosened, and so much extra labour is entailed upon the horse. It has been calculated that this suction may be nearly lib. per lift to each foot, in addition to the weight of the shoe ; and its total amount at the end of a day's work would be such as to seem scarcely credible. The Goodenough shoe is produced, and has all along been made by machinery in America, and Messrs. Robinson and Cottam, the engineers, of Cannon-street and Battersea, who have undertaken to make the shoes for this country, found it necessary to follow the American example. Mr. Cottam, how- ever, designed original machines of his own, and a plant con- sisting of five parts will be able to turn out 8,000 pairs of shoes in a week. Iron is sent from the North in long strait bars, rolled to the general outline of the shoe, with the interrupted margin for the calks, and the hollows for the nail heads. These bars contain, in width, the material for two shoes. The first machine cuts the bars into lengths ; the second punches the nail-holes at the proper degree of obliquity, so that the nails cannot be driven into any sensitive part of the foot ; the third splits the lengths so as to separate each into the two shoes that it is intended to form. The separate portions are then heated, bent round a kind of mould to the proper shape, and lastly, pressed to the required level. The size of the shoe is determined by the length of the bar, the shape by that of the mould round which it is bent. In the bending machine this THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 307 mould can be changed at pleasure, and Messrs. Kobinsom and Cottam will eventually have a sufficient number of moulds to enable them to fit any hoof. At present they have only the more common sizes and forms, and hence it is sometimes ne- cessary to alter the shape of a shoe upon the anvil. But the ultimate results will be that the factory at Battersea will be- come a gigantic ready-made shoe shop for horses, and that any horse will be fitted there by sending a caste or tracing of the outlines of his hoof. The work of the farrier will need no forge, and will, indeed, be so much simplified that in large stables it will probably be desirable to have a groom instructed, and to make the renewal of the shoes a portion of the ordinary routine of the establishment.— Times, THE TAX ON MALT OR BEERP At a meeting of the llungerford Farmers' Club, Mr. J. A. WILLIAMS, the chairman, read the following paper on "The Present Season, as Illustrative of the Fallacy of Taxing the Raw Material of Beer." The repeal of the malt tax is a subject that has been argued over aud over again in all the counties of England, till it has been laid completely threadbare and exhausted ; still the in- justice is allowed lo remain. It has worn out several "Anti- Malt Tax Associations," and we seem to be no nearer the de- sired result than we were forty years ago, when the duty was taken off beer and retained on the raw material — malt. If there ever was a blunder made in the House of Commons it was surely done when they untaxed the manufactured article of beer, and retained it on the raw material. The argument has ever been with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Government, that they could not spare the revenue it produced, and Mr. Gladstone has shown to several deputations that have waited on him when Chancellor of the Exchequer, that it was out of the question the malt tax being wholly repealed while the spirit duty produced the large sum of £13,000,000. There are a great many practical men, aud many members of the House of Commons, come to this same conclusion with Mr. Gladstone ; but they are still of opinion that although the revenue should be extracted from beer as well as spirits, it should be taken from the manufactured article, and not from the raw material. I am one of those who hold this opinion. I have belonged to all the associations for the repeal of the malt tax ; I have attended nearly all the deputations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and I am satisfied that any fur- ther attempt in that direction will be only a waste of time and money. What is to be done, then ? Are we to wait quietly, aud groan under the injustice that will he perpetuated on the British farmer if he remains silent ? Are we longer to be fettered in our business by Anti-Free Trade measures, when we are made to compete with all the world ? I trust not. The remedy is an easy one to the Government, attained without loss ; nay, with positive gain. Let them do as they have done in all other articles (hops in particular), untax the raw mate- rial, and we shall cease to complain ; a great and crying injus- tice will be removed from us, and the public will be consider- able gainers. It was about two years since that I had the pleasure of reading a paper at this club " On the benefits that would accrue from the Repeal of the Malt Tax." In that paper I argued the utter uselessness of any further attempts to obtain a total abolition of the duty, and suggested that the Govern- ment should lay a tax on the barrel of beer manufactured by the brewers, and make the private brewer take out a licence to brew, according to the quantity he consumed ; and then free the article of malt from any tax whatever, so that the farmers and public at large might use it for any purpose they chose. Had this been done, and the duty put upon the manufactured article (as common sense would direct), the farmers in the West of England would not have the oppor- tunity they now have of brewing without paying any duty whatever. This brings me to the subject we are met together to discuss — viz., "The present season illustrative of the fallacy of taxing the raw material of beer." We (all of us who are farmers) know but too well the apparent utter destruction that took place with every swathe of barley that was cut when the first rain came after the splendid dry weather we had for the wheat harvest ; the ground was so hot that when the rain came it steamed like an oven, and in 24 hours after, the whole of the barley that was cut was grown out, and in 48 hours was rooted into the ground. There was scarcely a corn that was not self-made malt, and to all appearances the loss to the farmer seemed to be almost ruinous. However, a kind Providence sent us another term of dry weather, and those farmers who had patience enough carried this grown barley in excellent condition. But there was a further loss : on examin- ing the barley that was ripe and standing, it was found that a very large proportion of that also was grown out, and would be unfit for malting purposes, consequently we had a variety of prices — as high as 54s. for the best that took no rain, from 33s. to 38s. for those that were just sprouted but still a good weight, whilst there was a roaring trade for what we thought would be useless except for cattle at a price varying from 30s. to 34s. per qr. I myself have sold the middle-class, 10 score net for grinding at 34s., whilst I have known several instances of the rooted barley, which you might have tied up a con- siderable bunch in a string, very little over 8 score per sack, sold at 33s. and 33s. 6d. per qr. It was a very good thing to find such a trade for each an article, but the question arises, Where did it go to, and to what purpose was it used P A great deal of it I have been told went to London ; what purpose it was used for I cannot say ; but as we know, and the Inland Revenue officers know also, that the majority of the beer manufactured under their supervision is adulterated with to- bacco, salt, ginger, treacle, quassia, linseed, gentian, sugar, coculus indicus, capsicum, wormwood, copperas, &c. I think this grown barley would be a far better article for adulteration than the drugs I have enumerated. But, be this as it may, we are certain of one thing — that we farmers in the West of Eng- land are brewing it, and that it makes a very good article, quite good enough for our general consumption. Now, I have no wish to do anything in a clandestine way, as read- ing this paper is sufficient proof; therefore, I will state the reason why I consider we have a perfect right to brew our own produce without, in the least degree, infringing the excise laws. I was once in conversation with Professor Voelcker, at the Farmers' Club in London, when he asked me if I was aware that if I brewed a sack of malt and a sack of barley together, I should get as much saccharine matter as if I brewed two sacks of malt, that this was accomplished by the law of affinity, that the starch in the barley became sugar when brought in con- nexion with the malt. I have often brewed in this way, and I know several others who have done the same, considering that if we cannot get the malt-tax repealed, if we can reduce it in any legitimate way we ought to do so, and I have made sufficiently good beer in this manner to answer my purpose, and there is no law to prevent my brewing from barley. But the present season with us in the West of England is one that will be long remembered as producing an article of barley adapted for brewing purposes, such as we never had before ! It is no act of our own, we have infringed no excise laws ! And yet we have our barley, when thrashed, containing a sufficient amount of sugar to make good beer of itself, without any ad- mixture of malt. For myself I chose to put a small quantity for the sake of principle, as recommended by Br. Voelcker, and then again I chose to kiln-dry mine, having a small kiln for my farm operations, and here I am not infringing the excise laws, and I will show you why. When the rain came in the har- vest I had got a quantity of wheat ricks that were not thatched, and there is not one of them but has a considerable quantity grown out and damaged, and, consequently, unsaleable to the miller. On thrashing a rick I take seven or eight sacks in the roof and dry it on my little kiln for grinding for the pigs, it would neither grind nor keep a fortnight without this opera- tion, and where is the law that can prevent my doing it P _ I do the same with the barley. I have dried a large quantity this winter that I could not grind till I had done it, and again I say where is the law that can authorise the excise officer to trespass on my premises and put an utter stop to my business P On the same principle I go to this heap for barley to brew with, and it is no fault of mine that it is better 308 THE FAKMEE/S MAGAZINE. adapted for brewing purpose than we ever bad it before. I am quite aware that the excise has put a veto on its being dried in any licensed malthouse, but that is a totally different thing, it may there come in conjunction with barley that has been steeped, we have done nothing of this j and unless there is an Act of Parliament anticipating such a state of things as we have this year, I am fully satisfied we have a perfect right to use our own produce as we like. This I think is sufficient to show the fallacy of taxing the raw material of beer. If the duty were placed on the quantity of beer manufactured, the drugs I have mentioned that are used for adulteration would bear the same amount of duty as the malt, and consequently would not be used at all ; and if the farmer was compelled to take out a licence to brew, it would make no difference to the Government whether he brewed from malt or barley, and it is to be hoped that her Majesty's ministers will see it in this light, and make the necessary alteration. I shall here make a short quotation from the paper I read before you some two years since, in order to contrast the two systems, and show the difference to the farmer and the Government in the present year : " For my own part, I should never brew with the duty on beer, being satisfied that with pure malt and hops no one could make so good an article, at a price, as the brewer who made it in large quantities ; but as the farmers generally might do so, a certificate to brew, varying from £2 to £30, according to his occupation (which could be proved by the poor-rate book) would be amply sufficient in lieu of the Malt Tax. The general public could be dealt with in the same manner where they were inclined to brew at home, and a heavy fine could be exacted from those who dared to brew without a licence. I am not going to turn Chancellor of the Exchequer, or suggest what amount of duty should be paid per barrel. I simply assert there would be no more difficulty in granting licences to brew, than there would in supplying licences to shoot, or keep dogs ; the farmers, we all know, are large consumers of beer by their workmen, and as a matter of course those who occupy the most land consume the most beer, and the poor-rate could settle the amount of licence duty each should pay ; but I am satisfied to a very great extent that the brewers would have the trade, the farmers and the public would pay the duty through them." It will be seen from this quotation, that from a rough guess I stated the amounts of the certificates to vary from £2 to £30. I will now go more into detail in this respect, and show what I believe would be about an average consumption of beer on farms of different sizes. I will take a farm of 400 acres, the rateable value on the poor- rate book being £400. The quantity of malt used on such a sized farm would be about 8 quarters per annum, the duty on this would be, at 21s. 8d. per quarter, £8 13s. 4d. ; but the Government, by untaxing the malt, and consequently saving the expense of surveying the malt-houses, would do well to charge a certificate of £6 or 30s. per 100 acres. A scale, then, based on this principle would run thus : £ £ s. 100 rateable value (and all less soms) licence ... 2 0 200 3 0 300 4 10 400 6 0 500 7 10 1000 15 0 2000 30 0 Thus it will be seen that this scale exactly corresponds with the amount quoted above that I roughly guessed at in my last paper. Now, contrast the difference to the Government on a farm of £1,000 annual value. The licence to brew would be £15; but this season, if the farmer chooses, he can avoid the malt-duty altogether by brewing his damaged barley, and this simply on account of the blunder the House of Commons per- petuates by keeping the duty on the raw material. I cannot avoid noticing (though I have often done so before) the in- justice done to the farmer who pays tythe and corn rents, by the artificial price returned on the article of barley. Taking the thirty-three years together since the Tythe Commutation Act passed, for every £100 estimated he has paid £100 17s. O^d., consequently the man who pays £200 per annum tythe as es- timated, has paid over and above that sum £56 3s. 4Jd., and this I believe to be wholly caused by the returns on the article of barley not being a natural one. If you look at the returns for the six weeks since the 1st of January this year you will find them as follows ; January 2nd ... 47s. 2d. January 23rd ... 49s. 7d. „ 9th ... 48s. Id. 30th ... 48s. lOd. 16th ... 49s. Od. February 6th ... 47s. lOd. making an aggregate of 48s. 5d. per qr. Taking again the average of the last six weeks of the past year, they are as follows : November 21st... 47s. 3d. December 12th ... 45s. 9d. 28th... 47s. Od. „ 19th... 45s. 3d. December 5th... 46s. 3d. 26th... 46s. Id. aking an aggregate of 46s. 3d. per qr. Taking the aggre- gates of 48s. 5d. and 46s. 3d., we have 47s. 4d. as the aggregate average of barley for the last twelve weeks, or nearly one quarter of the year. Now fancy the large amount of damaged barley throughout the West of England, and how proverbially thin a great many of the bright samples are, and contrast the prices you have received with this average of 47s. 4d., you will have to pay your tythe on, and say if it is not full time that such an injustice as this, caused by taxing a raw material, should be done away with when the Government and the public would gain by the exchange. It is very evident that only the best samples for malting get returned, let the Government transfer the duty to the manufactured article, and this anomaly would cease, and I hope and trust that petitions will be got up throughout the kingdom in its favour, and I think we should do well to set the example. I will not go into any argument respecting the many uses to which malt might be applied, if it was untaxed, but will conclude this paper with a copy of a letter from Mr. Isaac Seaman to the Editor of the Mark Lane Express, in that paper of December 14th, 1868. " Sir, — Herewith I enclose you copies of correspondence between the Board of Inland Revenue and myself, which I beg to offer for insertion in your journal. " Large flocks of early lambing ewes are kept in the neigh- bourhood, and, from the scarcity of all green crops, the breeder is necessarily anxious to know from what source he is to ob- tain food for them. 1864 and 1865 were similar seasons. Non-dried malt or sprouted grain was then used to great ad- vantage for feeding ewes and lambs. " Many farmers in this neighbourhood have lately applied to the Board for permission to germinate grain for their flocks, and have been refused. One gentleman who made application has a flock of about 400 early lambing ewes, and from the dry- ness of the season not a root or any other green crop is to be found upon the farm. About 300 hoggets were being fatted upon this farm with germinated rivets wheat, but the excise have stopped the preparation, and now they are at keeping as stores. " From dearness of all kinds of artificial food, and loss of the root crop, I doubt not but many other graziers will adopt the same plan, and during next spring and summer, as in 1865, meat will be found to have risen, as observed by the limes, to 'famine price.' " I am, sir, your obedient servant, " Saffron Walden, Dec. 8, 1868." " Isaac Seaman. The letter of Mr. Seaman, to the Board of Inland Revenue will, if quoted in extenso, 7nake my paper too long for your patience. Suffice it to say, he explained in a lucid manner the want of roots and the shortness of food for cattle, the great cost to the farmer of feeding his stock, do it how he may, and the advantage he would derive from being allowed to germi- nate his corn for feeding-purposes, and this is the reply he had from the Board. [Copy of reply.] "Sir, — The Board having considered your letter of the 30th ult., I am desired to acquaint you that they are of opinion that a compliance with the suggestions contained therein would in- volve a risk to the revenue which would be greater than they would be justified in incurring, and that they are unable to give effect to your wishes. " I am, sir, your obedient servant, Wm, Corbett. " Inland Revenue, Somerset House, London, W.C., Nov. 28.'' " Tell it not in Gath," publish it not in this would-be Free- trade England, that a British farmer was fatting 300 hoggets on germinated rivets wheat, but the excise stopped the pro- ceedings, and now they are keeping as stores, and this because the blunder has been made of taxing the " raw material." Surely Mr. Bright, the great apostle of free trade, was right the other day at the dinner of the Fishmongers' Company, when he said " that England was not a free-trade country." And if the price of mutton should rise to Is. per lb., let the Government lay the flattering unction to their souls that their Inland Revenue Office have assisted to bring it about. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 309 DAIRY-FARMING At the quarterly meeting of the Ayrshire Farmers' Cluh at Ayr, Mr. Cunniughame, Chapelton, President of the Cluh, in the chair, Mr. Stevenson read the following paper : This subject is one of peculiar interest to agriculturists of this county, for our generally heavy soils and moist atmosphere make it a district specially suitable for dairy-purposes. Of course, in my treat- ment of this subject you will not expect me to attempt any- thing like a scientific disquisition, but be content with some matter-of-fact observations. As farmers, we should not be careless in our management, thinking only of what will look best ; our chief regard must be as to what will pay best. To this practical end my remarks on dairy-farming will be directed. The subject is obviously so wide that it would be out of place to try to take up all the topics which it embraces, and I shall confine myself, therefore, to two principal points, viz., the food of the cattle and the manufacture of the dairy- produce. In the department of food too great care cannot be bestowed. Experience, without any aid from science, teaches us that within certain limits the milk is determined, not only as to quantiy, but also quality, by the nature of the food. As to the summer-time, auxiliary food, such as bean-meal and other feeding-stuffs, may be given with advantage ; but the staple article of diet is grass, and to secure that in rich abun- dance should be our endeavour. Over-stocking is a frequent but serious error. Cows may give as good a return in mid- summer on moderate as on rougher grass, but they are sure to fall sadly off as the season advances. Besides, a too-heavy stock seriously hinders the natural growth of the pasture, for by cropping it close the roots of the plants are exposed to the free action of the elements, the loss arising from which in a summer like the last would be incalculable. In my view, therefore, the greatest amount of grass and the fullest yield of dairy-produce are secured by such moderate stocking as affords abundant provision for the cattle all the season, so long as the weather permits of their being out. And now the im- portant question presents itself — How can we raise the land to the highest grass-producing power? Of recent years, it ap- pears to me that a great blunder has been committed in the general adoption of the green-crop system. Not that I would object to the system in itself, for I believe that along with the introduction of draining and the use of artificial manures, it has done more to develope the agricultural resources of our coun- try than perhaps anything else. Whole districts, formerly little worth, have been entirely changed, and instead of being only able to support moor-fowl and a very limited stock, are now bearing magnificent crops, or clothed with luxuriant pas- tures. At the same time, however, I believe that the system of green-cropping is altogether unsuitable for, and in no quarter has been less succesful than on the heavy soils of Ayrshire. In a dry summer a good crop can be raised ; but in a wet season, of which there are many, the working of the land in a proper state is next to impossible, and too frequently results in not only a failure of crop, but in souring and permanently injuring the soil, and unfitting it for raising grass or anything else. Happily there is now a growing conviction of this, and a consequent abandonment of the system ; but I believe that in many places its operation has, in every way, greatly deteriorated the pasture, and years of another plan must pass before it is restored to its old point of excellence. In addition to the indirect damage it did the grass by injuring the soil, the green cropping system robbed it directly by using up all the available manure of the farm ; the pastures consequently were neglected. Now, there is nothing connected with our management that will give a more sure re- turn than generous topdressing, which proximity to large towns will facilitate, and which, so far in every case, the abandonment of green cropping will provide for. I would only add a sentence to modify my stricture on green cropping. I would be in favour of a few acres of roots on the lightest of the land — and on most farms there is a proportion of compara- 'tively light land ; for these would be most useful for the win- tering of the cattle, and by favourable opportunities for their cultivation being embraced, might be raised without injuring the soil and without any extra expense. On the whole, the best system for our heavy land seems to be the eighth shift, which is adopted by many, consisting of two white crops, a hay crop, and five-years' grass. This course may appear to many old-fashioned and ill in keeping with our advanced agriculture; still, growing experience confirms us in the belief that in follow- ing thus far the rotation of our forefathers we are acting most for our own profit. It produces as much fodder as is needed for wintering, while the unreduced state in which the land is laid down, and its long rest of five years, constitutes a con- dition for good pasture. To obtain a good braird of grass seeds, and so a good sward afterwards, my experience leads me to think that the stubble land should not be ploughed too early. Perhaps the latter end of February and beginning of March is the best time. This, however, may depend a little on the nature of the soil, and other circumstances. I would also recommend that the seeds be sown immediately after the oats or other crop is harrowed in, because at that time there is ge- nerally the moistnre in the ground which is necessary to bring them away at once. As I have already stated, there should be as plentiful topdressiigs of the pastures as can be attained. The best time for their application is in the months of August, Septemler, and October. Seme are in the habit of top- dressing the laud with solid manure before they break it up ; but except where beans are to be sown, I would approve rather of applying a mixture of bones and guano, and retaining the solid manure for the young grass. I would be in favour of a slight topdressing of lime, if applied soon after the hay crop is off. This would not only induce the growth of the finer grasses, but on being broken up the land would yield a crop firm in straw and heavy in grain. Where milk is pro- duced and young cattle are reared, chemistry would point to bones as a first-class topdressing ; but they have been frequently used in my locality without any apparent re- sult. I believe, however, if genuine dissolved bones are applied, they will be sure to give satisfaction. There can be no doubt that such treatment will soon tell favourably on the grass, and then, in turn, the crops will be correspond- ingly improved. Passing from grass, the chief dairy food for summer, we go on to consider the best milk-producing treat- ment for the winter. Of first importance is the building ; it should be roomy, well-ventilated, and kept at a temperature of 60 degs. Were it much colder, part of the food would be consumed to keep up the natural heat of the animal, which would otherwise go towards the secretion of milk. In the matter of foddering, as mnch straw should be given as the cattle can consume, but waste should be guarded against. When not eaten, it is indeed converted into manure ; but, in that case, there is great loss. Straw and hay are far more valuable when given as food than as reduced to dung ; and therefore economy requires as great care in their use as of any other feeding stuff. Straw in plenty, with the addition of a few roots, is sufficient to keep young or other cattle in con- dition, but artificial means are required to induce a full flow of milk. Cut straw or chaff, steamed or boiled, along with sundry milk-producing mixtures, are accordingly given twice, or, perhaps better, three times a day, and in as large quantity as can be readily taken, as all ruminants require to have the stomach filled before they will lie down and quietly ruminate. Great caution must be exercised against over-feeding ; for, where surfeit is induced, it is difficult to restore the appetite, and often serious injury, for a season at least, results to the animals concerned. With respect to the best feeding-stuffs, great diversity of opinion and practice prevails; Where a large quantity of milk simply is wished, succulent food which contains a large proportion of water, as brewers' and distillers' grains is used. A like liquified result could be obtained by the addition of water to good rich milk ; but, by this way, the dairyman's conscience might not be so easy. Milk which will produce much butter must be stimulated by other means. Turnips are an excellent help : recklessly applied, however, they will yield that atrociously acrid and all but uneatable butter with which the market is so full in the closing year. 310 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. But all disagreeable taste may be prevented by putting a little saltpetre into the warm milk, and by giving the foddering of turnips immediately after the milking of the cows. But passing this, which our narrowed green-cropping renders less important, common practice has hitherto given a first place to bean-meal and bran. Bran is particularly suitable for using along with bean-meal, as it is slightly laxative, and is cor- rective of evil tendencies arising from large consumption of bean-meal. Of late years, oilcake and rapecake have been greatly recommended ; and, from the large percentage of oil which they contained, theorists give them a first place as feeding stuffs for producing milk rich in butter. They are nearly identical in composition, but the oil of each belongs to a different class. The oil of linseed belongs to the " setting " class, while that of rapecake belongs to the " unctuous," and, on analysis, corresponds exactly with the oil of butter of fair quality. According to theory, then, this should be the best adapted for butter-producing purposes, and it has the recom- mendation of being a third lower in price than linseed-cake. They are both objected to by many on account of their pro- ducing butter soft and oily ; and rapecake is doubly objected to on account of its imparting to the butter a disagreeable flavour. By boiling or steaming it, however, the unpleasant flavour which would otherwise be given is prevented. I have read of cases where, in addition to a mixture of equal proportions of bean-meal and bran, as much as five pounds per day of steamed rapecake was given to each cow, and the result was a yield of butter which commanded a penny a pound more than the or- dinary market-price. Formerly I was in the habit of using, with satisfactory results, a mixture of beanmeal and bran, com- posed of two parts of the former to one of the latter. Lately, however, I have added two pounds of rapecake per day to each cow, which has increased the volume of milk, and also the quantity of butter, without in any way impairing its quality. I can, therefore, recommend the use of this feeding stuff in small quantity, not only for its butter-producing properties, but also for its beneficial effect on the health of the auimal it- self. The opinion now is very generally entertained among practical men that a mixed food is more economical than the use of any one food alone. The composition of different kinds of food is unlike ; therefore, a mixture of several kinds is more likely to supply all that the animal wants, at less cost and with less waste, than when anyone is given alone. The second point I meant to touch on was, the manufacture of the dairy produce, but I will do little more than notice it. This is of equal importance to the matter of food, which regulates the character of the produce. The very act of milking is im- portant. It should take place at least twice a-day, at regular intervals, and above all with thorough experienced hands. When the milk is not taken quickly and fully, the volume will soon be sadly lessened, and to prevent this possibility, the habit of "aftering" by a trustworthy or interested person should be followed. Those who can sell the milk as it comes from the cow have certainly the easiest, aid probably the most remunerative, method of disposing of it. Since the railways have intersected our land, those far removed from large cities can thus dispose of their milk about as well as those in their near neighbourhood. It is plain, howerer, that in summer the immediate use of not a tithe of the actual milk of the country can be secured, and as for the winter, when possibly this might be brought about, butter-making is far more profitable, as the milk in winter will produce nearly twice as much butter as in summer, and the butter-milk may be readily sold to ad- vantage, while the butter itself commands a very high price. We regard, therefore, the direct disposal of the milk as open to but a few, and its manufacture into butter or cheese alone remains for the many. The method of cheese-making has been brought before the public so well of late that it would be superfluous in me to attempt any remarks on the subject. Suffice it to say that the Cheddar system is most simple, suited to every pasture, and productive of cheese of the greatest uniformity and first quality. Great praise is due to our county association for its exertions in introducing the system, and also for the stimulus to its improvement which it pre- sents in distributing such substantial premiums at the annual ex- hibitions. With respect to butter manufacture, I will only make a few passing remarks. The process is substantially the same in the hands of all, and it dates so far back that now it should have reached a very high degree of perfection. Still it is a no- torious fact that there is a great deal of very rancid butter pro- duced. This may result, as we have hinted, so far from care- less feeding ; but perhaps in greater measure from the un- skilful handling of the milk. In many cases it may be caused by inattention to cleanliness. Certainly, where cleanliness is neglected, a taint will be communicated to the milk, which will vitiate the butter produced. Some churn the whole milk, others churn only the cream. I believe with the same man- agement the best butter is produced from the whole milk. In some districts the cream is churned sweet. In Ayrshire, how- ever, both milk and cream are generally soured. This greatly facilitates the process of churning, making it merely a me- chanical operation. The butter is also superior to that pro- duced from sweet cream. Milk contains the principal in- gredients requisite for the vinous fermentation — viz., sugar and a protein compound, soluble albumen. This last is con- verted into a ferment by the influence of the oxygen of the atmosphere, which slowly converts the sugar of milk into lactic acid, or, in other words, sours it. This change should take place soon. It is easily attained in summer ; but in winter the temperature is often so low, that it has to be brought about by artificial means. Unless this is done, according to Dr. Lyon Playfair, another action takes place, which is called putrefactive fermentation, caused by the action of the oxygen of the atmosphere on the caseine of the milk. It is impossible to make good butter from milk undergoing this change. When putrefaction has commenced, it is impossible to arrest it. It is consequently imparted to the butter by the small quantity of caseine remaining in it, and which cannot wholly be extracted. Such butter soon becomes rancid even in win- ter. When the whole milk is properly soured, it should be churned at a temperature of about 60 degs., and butter should be formed in little more than an hour. The temperature can be regulated by the addition of either hot or cold water when the churn is in motion. The butter when taken off should be washed in cold water as long as it imparts any colour to it, when it may be put up for the market. If the whole milk is properly soured and churned at a right temperature, it will keep sweet for a month, or even six weeks in some cases. I have heard of cream being churned for hours before butter was produced. In such cases, according to some, the addition of a little cold water would hasten the process. The com- parative profit arising from the two methods of butter and cheese manufacture is worthy of remark. The expense in- curred is, I believe, much the same in both, and the average money return obtained over a term of years will be also very much the same. It is a fact, however, that the cheese and butter elements in milk vary according to the season and feed- ing ; and, in keeping with this, I consider that cheese-making for the first months of the grass, and butter-making for the rest of the year, is in itself .the most profitable method, and additionally so, from this farther circumstance, that the butter- milk is far better for feeding pigs than whey, or it may in winter be sold for a long time at a very high rate. Mr. Wallace (Kirklandholm), while he admitted that he had been connected with dairy management as long as he had been a farmer, yet he could not say he had much information to add to that contained in the valuable -paper they had just heard read. But they must at the same time remember that there were many of them placed in different circumstances, and they must suit their dairy management to their circumstances. There were, however, some points Mr. Stevenson had men- tioned which it would be well to think over. First of all, Mr. Stevenson began with the subject of feeding of dairy stock, and much of the success of farming depended upon that. They had already heard a good deal that day about the sort of cattle they should keep. So far as he understood the matter, he did not think the farmers of Ayrshire are improving their stock. They are bringing in a smaller kind of cattle, and some of the points being brought out were not those of the best milk-producing animals. A cow must have different points of excellence from any other animal. In a good horse they liked the parts closely compacted, and the animal well knit ; but it should be the opposite of this in a good cow. In many districts it used not to be thought profitable to keep heavy cattle, but now he was afraid they were going in al- together another way. Many would bear him out, and in that was the proof of the thing, that to pay a high rent, as they had all to pay now, that the cattle which got prizes at the shows were not the kind they would like to keep as stock on their farms. In fact, looking back upon the prize-takers of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 311 former years, lie did not think they presented a good example of success as farmers, and that itself was an argument against the stock now being brought forward. Starting, however, with a good cow, the question was what was the best thing to give it ; and, perhaps, as Mr. Stevenson said, the best kind of good suitable food for a cow was good pasture. That was one point they should bear in mind, and they should always have plenty of it. Indeed, he thought they generally failed in this. They talked about that as about other tilings, and they agreed that it was right, but they did not on that account carry it out into practice. A great many farmers starved their cattle in the fields, and it was injurious to the cattle, for it was only reasonable to suppose that if a cow only got three-fourths of the necessary food, and it was required to build up flesh and bones, they gave little produce ; but if they gave the other fourth necessary, they might expect that it would go to the production of milk, which was a very important matter. They should study to keep their cattle in the house in spring till once there was a good bite. They might be obliged to put them on young grass, but if there was old grass the cows should be put upon it just till the young comes forward ; and when it was eaten off they might have the old grass to fall hack upon. If any one would make the experiment he would find that a field of good pasture would yield more milk with a small stock than it would do if they were to put a large stock on it and over-pasture it. He had heard of a knowing dealer who, when good wives complained to him of their cows not giving so much as they ought, recommended them to sell a cow or two. That many thought a strange way of raising the produce, but in his opinion it was the best way. They might not always have that command of grass they would like, but he thought it most necessary in order to get their cattle to give the greatest possible quantity of milk, that they should be entirely confined to pasture. He had, no doubt, had difficulties in the matter, but house- feeding was not a profitable way. There were many arguments against it, and if cattle depended upon such food they might be sure they had bare pastures, and they would see the cows standing slouching in corners with their backs up waiting till they got into the house. He thought their feeding should be confined as much as possible to the pasture, and should be continued as long as the weather was suitable for having the cows out. They could not fail to remark that whenever they began to feed cows in a house they would de- pend upon house-feeding. Rather than have that he would keep fewer cows, and have a good bite of grass for them to fall back upon in the end of the year. So far as he could manage it he studied to keep house-feeding from the cows as long as possible at the end of the year, for he thought they were subject to cold and all kinds of diseases when they were standing about in corners, depending upon house-feeding. In- deed, whenever he found his cows beginning to ask in he let them in, though it should be mid-day, rather than have them standing waiting. He agreed with Mr. Stevenson that rape- cake was a good thing to give to cows : besides it was much cheaper than other feeding stuffs. He thought it was advan- tageous in any circumstances, and cattle, if they got fewer turnips, would be all the better and more easily brought into good condition. The system, however, which he had been speaking of might not apply in all quarters, and that in the paper that they had just heard read might do very well in the part of the country where Mr. Stevenson resides. He was not in favour of forcing cattle, though circumstances forced tbem to it, but he believed that cattle kept till near the calv- ing in what was called hard condition would be more healthy, and give as much produce in spring as those fed through the winter. Mr. Reid (Clune) said there was one point in it in refer- ence to the washing of butter, about which he had one re- mark to make. They never allowed water to be used at all in his (Mr. Reid's) dairy ; when the butter was just about to gather they might syne a jug-full of water in it, but that was all the water used. They beat it, however, as long as there was the least appearance of butter-milk in it. The feeding of the cows was the same as in his system, giving beanmeal and bran the whole winter. About two-thirds beanmeal and about one- third bran mixed with rape-cake. They also used a little saltpetre, and fed the cows twice a day with boiled meat, and once at mid-day with raw turnips. Mr. Brown (Ardnel) said the feeding of cattle was a very important subject, and it was a great mistake to overburden pasture by putting too many cows upon it. He had seen when cattle were troubled by flics, and running about, that they did more damage to the pasture than by eating it. He had been in the habit of pasturing one field at a time, and he had seen a ield after it had been eaten lie for eight days and they would know no difference in it ; but after it had lain for two or three weeks, it would grow as much in one week as it would otherwise grow in double the time. The grass grew quicker because it was not hurt or injured, and when cattle went into it they had good fresh pasture, audit wasniuchcleanerthan when trodden down. As to the management of butter, he perfectly agreed with Mr. Stevenson, and he could not see that any harm arose from washing it. He knew many who just beat the butter-milk out of it, but if the butter was a little soft, as it might be in the summer by getting a little fire, or it was wanner than it should be, they could not churn it too much. Mr. Stevenson said GO degrees was a good heat for churning it, but they often could not get it at that, and they \iere much the better of good pure spring water to wash it in; it parted the milk much better. Mr. Reid : Our opinion is that water takes away the rich- ness of the butter, and it does not keep so well. That is our experience. Mr. Brown : We have never experienced that. Mr. White (East Raws) agreed with Mr. Stevenson, that they should have an abundant supply of pasture for the whole year, but there was something difficult in getting that, espe- cially during the months of September, October, and Novem- ber. This difficulty might be obviated by top-dressing the pasture, and retaining as much as supply the cows without touching the part topdressed. It would grow, and they would have it to fall back upon at the end of the year, when it is very serviceable. This had been his experience; but to do that they must have a light stock. He differed from Mr. Ste- venson as to the application of solid manure to grass ; he would rather save the manure for the crops, and topdress the pasture with bones and guano, for he thought the ploughing in of manure had a better effect upon land, and they got more good of the manure. The pasture also would be stronger with bones and guano than solid manure. With regard to the feed- ing of cattle, he concurred with Mr. Stevenson ; and he thought a little more of the artificial foods than was used would be beneficial ; and in some districts where they were far from the supply of manure for lands, if they used more of these stuffs they would have a supply of manure, for it was an indirect way of supplying manure for the soil. They might also help them- selves by raising feeding stuffs — succulent roots, tares, &c. — to supply cattle with when the grass becomes scarce. Cabbages are a very good thing for producing milk, and where they can be well grown are a very profitable crop. They require a con- siderable amount of manure, but in good seasons they are very useful, and cattle generally are very fond of them. In some districts tares were sown to preserve the milking qualities of the animals during September and October, but he had little experience of them. Mr. Montgokerie (Lessnessock) said, with regard to the use of farmyard mannre,while some put it on lea, though that was per- haps the best plan, there were some lands where it was answer- able not to have the manure put on, but it was ploughed in with a light furrow early in the year, and then in the spring months again it was ploughed in with a good.furrow. In that way the manurial qualities were all kept, and it mixed up better with the soil ; whereas, if put on the lea in the autumn months there were often heavy falls of rain, audit washed away a great quantity of the best portion of the manure. He thought they would have a much better chance of getting a good biaird of grass in that way. It would be better to apply bone manures and other such manures to grass. Then a meadow was a great accession to a dairy farm. If liberally topdressed, a great quantity of grass could be grown, and it was well known that meadow hay was richer in quality than turnips or straw. By cutting the meadow hay and mixing it with a little artificial stuff— rape, or something of that kind — stock would be better brought through the winter than by turnips. On many dairy farms it was an error having turnips at all, for the manure that should go to the rest of the land was often applied to them, and the rest of the land was robbed in a sense. As to the most useful way of disposing of the dairy produce— whether by making cheese, butter, or milk,he would be in favour of making 312 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. cheese, but of course if they went too much in one way there would be a counteraction. He might state, however, that he knew a farmer, in Maybole parish, who bought his neighbour's milk at the same price as he got for it in Glasgow, made it into cheese, and still had a profit. Mr. Stevenson said milk sold as it came from the cow was most profitable ; but that seemed to be an argument against such an assertion. He was in favour of some portion of the farm being laid down in per- manent pasture, so that the young stock could get a good bite in the spring. Mr. Stevenson (Hillhonse) said dairy produce was the great staple commodity of Ayrshire fanning, and would con- tinue so while the demand for milk and the consumption of cheese and butter continued on the scale that they did at pre- sent. As their markets, however, were open to all countries, and supplies were coming in from many places where the price of land was merely nominal, they required to keep their eyes and ears open, and to strive to maintain the superiority of their dairy produce, if they wished the present prices to be maintained. Mere theory unsupported by experiments farm- ers had learned to distrust ; but they were bound to consider the advantages and disadvantages of any new system, and if the former appeared to predominate to give it a fair trial ; for if a short cut to fortune sometimes led men astray, no one ever arrived at distinction by slavishly following the beaten track. He concurred in the system of dairy management re- commended by Mr. Stevenson. Green-cropping was advanta- geous for light lands ; but the system of taking two cereal crops, and sowing down with grass seeds for pasture, was the best adapted for the heavy soils and clay lands of Ayrshire. Green-cropped land at a distance might seem to be luxuriant and green ; but upon close inspection the herbage was found to be scanty and thin ; and, although the grass came earliest in spring, it had not the same durability, and did not produce that thick close sward of grass so essential to the success of dairy-farming. There was much diversity of opinion and practice as to the application of farmyard manure in dairy cultivation. As farmyard dung was the great mainstay of the farmer, the attention of both practical and scientific men should be directed to ascertain how it should be kept to secure its full strength. Great carelessness was manifested in this matter by many farmers, and much loss occasioned thereby. He approved of having covered sheds, as enabling them to regulate the moisture and heat, and to preserve the dungheap in the state best fitted to promote fermentation. Mr. Steven- son added some remarks on the benefits arising from farmers having a knowledge of agricultural chemistry, and then went on to speak of the importance in dairy management of having a proper breed of cows. More attention should be paid to the milking qualities than was generally clone. A fine head and horns, a fine shape and appearance, and a well-set vessel were of importance ; but if the cows were deficient in the quantity and quality of the milk they produced, a considerable daily loss would be sustained. Mr. Murdoch (Holehouse) observed, that no mention had been made in Mr. Stevenson's paner of the accommodation necessary to carry on cheese-making, because on many farms the accommodation for either of them was very insufficient. He could not give the per-centage in his own district, but he was certain there was not a greater proportion than 5 per cent, of them who had first-class accommodation. He thought it was a little inconsistent in the Ayrshire Association to offer large prizes for cheese-making, while the members were not placed in a position where they could compete on fair terms with the dairymen of other counties. Year by year, as in- ventions were made, farmers were providing themselves with new implements to do certain work better than before, and they had to keep themselves in these. He thought it was not asking too much to expect that landlords would provide better accommodation for dairy farmiug, especially when better me- thods of cheese-making had been introduced. He hardly agreed with Mr. Stevenson as to green cropping, for while he had no doubt the system proposed would produce rough pas- tuie, it might be such pasture as cows would uot like to eat. A crop of turnips, too, tended to increase the fertility of the land, and in the shaws and rotten turnips which were always left— and rotten turnips were becoming more numerous year by year — they had a great deal of organic matter which they profited by. Mr. Gejijiell (Wyllieland) said with regard to dairy ma- nagement, and especially the accommodation referred to by the last speaker, it was notoriously deficient in this county. He went in for cheese-making, even though it might not be the most profitable mode of dairy farming. Butter might do well for a time, but it might not at another. In making cheese there was so much of a sameness that an experienced maker with proper accommodation and implements could not fail to produce a uniform kane of cheese that was likely to command in this country a very fair price. If not so remu- nerative as making butter or selling milk, it was a more inde- pendent way of living and more agreeable to his feelings. Mr. Steele (Burnhead) : He could not agree with the gen- tleman who had followed Mr. Stevenson (Mr. Wallace) in refer- ence to the breed of cattle. He seemed to think the cattle were degenerating, but there had been large cows and small ones ever since he (Mr. Steele) remembered. It was much owing to where a farmer was placed his having cows brought out to the full size. They had prizes given for milk cows, and it was complained that the breed was too small ; but he would maintain distinctly that he would keep four of these small cows as well as any man would keep five large ones. He would feed them on the same quantity of produce, he would have a greater quantity of milk from them, and when they brought these small cows to the shambles they would have more weight from them. He might be wrong, but that was his opinion regarding the comparative merits of large and small cattle. He was not afraid to put his cows out early in the season, even though he had to give them some artificial feeding along with the grass. He believed they were less liable to disease in this way than when taken at once from the fodder and put on ;i full bite of grass. Mr. Wallace replied that he did not object to the cattle getting out early, but he said keep them till they get their full grass. They should not be allowed to come out till the grass came up. If there were many cows they kept the grass down, and it was down all the year, and that was what he ob- jected to. Mr. Murdoch (Kerspark) was fond of letting cattle get a good rough bite at all times, and he was corroborated in that opinion by an individual who had commenced farming at 20, and continued it till he was 80. The gentleman he spoke of went to see a friend at Kilmarnock, who has a dairy of 24t cows. After they went out and looked at the cows in the field, his friend said : " I find I stand in need of £30, and I wish you could oblige me." " I think," said my friend, " you might oblige yourself." " How could I do that?" he replied. " Well, I think if you were to sell two of your cows you would find your produce nothing deteriorated, and you would have the money in your own hands ; your grass is far too bare." " Well, I never thought of that," was the reply. For the first two or three weeks after the two cows were sold there was a deficiency, but the produce came up till it equalled what it had been before the two cows were sold. He (Mr. Murdoch) con- curred in the remarks that had been made as to the want of accommodation for the management of dairy-produce. That, to his knowledge, was greatly wanted in Ayrshire, at least in his neighbourhood. They found much better accommodation in Wigtownshire, and he had seen a dairy at Kirkcolm where they had the whole apparatus for heating — boilers, and every- thing necessary. They can run the milk from one part of the dairy to another, and they even run the whey to the pig-house outside. Mr. It. M. Cunninghame (Shields) did think Mr. Steven- son's paper embraced all the points that were necessary for successful dairy-farming. If he were to touch upon any point, it would be in connection with the bringing-up of stock and enlarging the size of cattle, and that was more his object than anything else. He did not keep a large dairy, but he reared calves for fatting-purposes. Sometimes they had not a sufficient number, and they had to get a few from their neighbours. These sometimes turned out to be very good, and sometimes the reverse, just as they happened to be from a good male animal, for it depends more upon the male than the female the getting of an animal that will grow well. He gave a large proportion of milk for the first two months to these calves, and gradually took off the full milk and introduced them to skim- milk and oilcake. Last summer, he must say, he never had a better lot of calves ; each throve better than another, and they never were more healthy, and they were in the house the whole summer. He had not pasture to put them out on, and just THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 313 cut what grass he could get about the ditches, and gave it them with a pound of oilcake every day, dissolved in milk or water. To this day they were doing well and thriving, show- ing that the treatment they had received had been good, and lie meant to continue that system as heretofore. He was some- what opposed to Mr. Steele's remarks about the size of cows, for he had himself been looking about the showyards, and all the cattle-dealers he came in contact witli admitted that Ayrshire stock had mucli deteriorated. There were some parishes that used to produce good strong animals where they could not now get a good-sized strong cow. What farmers wanted now were cows that would pay. Rents were rising, taxes were increasing, manures and feeding stuffs were rising, everything was rising, and if they were to meet their engagements they must devise some means of increasing the produce from their farms, it did not matter whether it was in grain, cheese, butter, or what it was. What they wanted now in this country, where so many cattle were bred — for he had been looking into the agricultural re- turns, and Ayrshire stood second in the list as having the greatest number of cattle, and rearing the most, and seeing they did so much in that way, they should be improving rather than degenerating in their class of cattle — what they wanted now was a good cow and a strong cow that would pay well for five or six years. Some people told them that a small cow would give as mucli produce as a large cow, and would con- sume a less quantity of food. He denied that, and instanced the case of the prizes offered by the Duke of Athole for the cows giving the most milk, in proof of this. He put it to them if any of the animals gaining prizes at the shows in Ayr had competed successfully for those prizes. Many of these large cows would give as much milk at one yield as those little cows would give at three yields. What they wanted was a cow that would serve them six or seven years, and then lay on 25 or 30 tron stones of beef on her. That is the thing to pay. Mr. Baird, the president of the agricultural association, had been offering a prize for the largest milk cows ; but this proposal got little encouragement from the farmers of the county ; but it was to be hoped that farmers would by-and-bye get their eyes opened to what was the best and most useful class of stock. It was a universal remark that the cows which gain prizes are so very small, and he believed these small ani- mals were much more addicted to disease than those of stronger constitutions. There was this other thing, too, if they could rear as much stock as they could feed in the county it would prevent them going to other markets, where they ran the risk of getting animals affected with pleuro and other diseases. The cattle were driven about the country and got bad usage, and were ill-fed and watered, so that they seldom made their escape from disease of one kind or another. Within them- selves Ayrshire farmers had the power of preventing that very much, if they would only breed a better class of stock that would milk well and would feed well. Mr. Stevenson, in reply to the remark made by Mr. Murdoch, of Holkhouse, did not think of making any remarks on the accommodation for d&iries, when a prize essay on the subject so recently appeared in the public prints. The great importance of good accommodation was recognized by all, and, perhaps, if it were thought necessary, at some future meeting the subject might be discussed by itself. He thought perhaps he had erred in entitling his subject " Dairy Farm- ing." It might have been better if he had entitled it " The feeding of dairy cattle and the manufacture of dairy produce." Mr. Young (Kilhenzie) said there had been some little difference of opinion, but that must be expected so long as they occupied different soils and different climates. The gentlemen from the higher districts of the county were in fa- vour of two white crops being raised from land that had been in pasture, but he was afraid that for farmers nearer the shore it would not suit their land, and there would be a difficulty in keeping it clean. High clay lands were not so liable to be come covered with weeds, as lighter lands near the sea. He was surprised that some gentlemen had not alluded to the de- sirability of having superior stock on the farms. It appeared to him of great importance that they should keep first-rate bulls, and thereby improve the breed of their cattle. It was the general opinion that stock took more after the male than the female, and, that being so, they should pay more attention to the class of bulla they got on their farms. THE DUTCHMAN'S HEN, OR FEMALE PERVERSITY. " If she will, she will — you may depend on't ; And if she won't, she won't — and there's an end on't." Once with au honest Dutchman walking, About his troubles he was talking — The most of which seemed to arise From friends' and wife's perversities. When he took breath, his pipe to fill, I ventured to suggest, that will Was oft the cause of human ill ; That life wos full of self-denials, And every man had his own trials. " 'Tis not the will," he quick replied, " But it's the won't by which I'm tried. When people will, I'm always glad : 'Tis only when they won't I'm mad ! Contrary folks, like mine old hen, Who laid a dozen eggs, and then, Instead of sitting down to hatch, Runs off into mine garden patch ! I goes and catches her and brings her, And back on to her nest I flings her ; And then I snaps her on the head, And tells her, ' Sit there, you old jade ! ' But sit she won't, for all I say, She's up again and runs away. Then I was mad, as mad as fire, But once again I thought I'd try her, So after her I soon makes chase, And brings her back to the old place, And then I snaps her a great deal, And does my best to make her feel That she must do as she was bid ; But not a bit of it she did. She was the most contrariest bird Of which I ever saw or heard. Before I'd turn my back again, Was running off, that cursed hen. Thinks I, I'm now a 'used up' man, T must adopt some other plan. I'll fix her now, for, if I don't, My will is conquered by her won't ! So then I goes and gets some blocks, And with them makes a little box ; And takes some straw, the very best, And makes the nicest kind of nest ; Then in the nest the eggs I place, And feel a smile upon my face As I thinks now at last I've got her, When in the little box I've sot her ; For to this little box I did Consider I must have a lid, So that she could'nt get away ; But in it, till she hatched must stay. And then again, once more I chased her, And catched, and in the box I placed her. Again I snaps her on the head, Until I fear she might be dead ; And then, when I had made her sit down, Immediately I claps the lid on. And now, thinks I, I've got her fast, She'll have to do her work at last. No longer shall I stand the brunt Of this old lien's confounded won't ! So I goes in and tells my folks, And then I takes my pipe and smokes, And walks about and feels so good That 'wouldn't' yields at length to 'would, And as so oft I'd snapped the hen, I takes some ' schnapps' myself, and then 1 thought I'd see how the old crettur Was getting on where I had set her ; The lid the box so nicely fits on I gently raised — dunder and blitzen ! (Give me more schapps, and fill the cup !) There she was sitting— standing up ! " *Kmcforbocfor Magazine, 314 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE FEN COUNTRY. The following description is from Mr. Gilbert Murray's prize essay "On the Farming of Huntingdonshire." Mr. Wells is now one of the members for Peterborough :— The great modern improver of fen-lands in this county is Mr. W. Wells, of Holme Wood House, who owns upwards of 8,000 acres, chiefly consisting of fen, and whose drainage operations in connexion with the once celebrated Mere of Whittlesea have had the effect, as described in the 21st vol. of the Journal of this Society, of " blotting out from the map of England one of its largest inland sheets of water, converting its bed into the site of thriving farms, and reclaiming the sur- rounding peat bog." Camden, writing in the seventeenth century, describes the Mere as " that clear lake so full of fish, called Whittlesmere, six miles long and three broad, in a moorish country ;" but Parkinson, in his " General View of the Agriculture of the County," drawn up for the consideration of the Board of Agriculture, and published in 1811, says that Whittlesea and the other Meres were then " so much filled up with mud, and growu up with aquatic matter, that they were of but very little value as fisheries, either to the proprietors or the public." Indeed, when taken in hand by Mr. Wells, the Mere was principally noted for the large flocks of wild-fowl which frequented its sedgy bogs, and was dreaded by the scanty population inhabiting its borders from the pestilential vapours generated and discharged from its stagnant waters. According, however, to Mr. Wells, in a paper contributed by him to a former volume of this Journal, " Whittlesea Mere, in its ancieut state, comprised 1,600 acres, but at the time when the works for its draining were commenced, the ordinary water-acreage had diminished to little more than 1,000 acres. Around the shores a margin of silty deposit had heen formed, which, though often dry, was liable to submersion upon the slightest rise of the water in the Mere. Beyond this margin of silt, which varied in breadth from 50 to 500 yards, and was valuable for the excellent reeds it grew, there extended, espe- cially towards the south and west, where the level of the sur- rounding land was lowest, a large tract of peat-moss, which, though generally free from water during summer, was con- stantly flooded in winter. On the north and east sides the level of the surrounding land was higher — sufficiently high indeed to be cultivated by the aid of wind-mills, and approaching more nearly to the borders of the Mere, left less room for either the inner circle of silty reed-shoal, or the outer circle of peat-moss. In addition to the area contained in the Mere, the reed-shoals, and the peat-bog, there was much adjoining low- land, more or less under cultivation, which would naturally be included in any scheme for the draining of the water and waste land on which they bordered." Various schemes for the drain- age of the district had been from time to time propounded, and among others Parkinson, in his General Survey, furnished a plan and detailed particulars " of a new river to be made about 20 feet wide and 4 deep, which by carrying the Nene and other waters into the 40 feet river would drain the greatest part of the Mere itself." Sir John Rennie, on the other hand, proposed to effect the drainage by means of the Nene, but various considerations ultimately led to the selection of the Ouse as the grand outlet for the waters. As it was impossible to obtain a natural drainage for the Mere and adjacent lands, it was not until after the passing of the Middle Level Act of 1844, and the construction or enlargement of the great marsh- land cut and other principal drains, that the work, now so happily completed, was deemed practicable. In the summer of 1851, however, says Mr. Wells, it was felt " that the moment for emptying the lake had arrived, and accordingly a point nearest to one of the exterior rivers having been chosen, the bank was cut through, and the long pent-up waters allowed free passage to the sea." To keep the bed of the Mere free from water, more especially during the winter months, it was deemed necessary to erect a set of Appold's centrifugal pumps, worked by an engine of 25-horse power, and estimated to raise 16,000 gallons a minute, with a 6-foot lift ; and fortunate indeed was it for the spirited projector of the works that such provision had been made, for after great labour and expense had been incurred in the en- deavour to adapt this newly-acquired tract of land to agricultural purposes, on the 12th of November, 1852, the waters of the outer rivers, increased in volume by the heavy rain, effected a breach in the newly-formed banks, and in a few hours " Whittlesea Mere was itself again." Nothing daunted by this untoward event, Mr. Wells took immediate steps for repairing the breach, improving and strengthening the banks in defective parts, and again expelling the water from its ancient bed. How the work was effected may be best stated in Mr. Wells's own words : " It was reckoned that 1,000 acres were covered again with water to a depth of 2 feet 6 inches, and that if the pump could raise 20,000 gallons a minute it would take twenty-three days incessant pumping to clear off that amount. This calculation proved correct, and in little more than three weeks the land, but certainly not terra firma, was again everywhere visible. The banks having been repaired and fortified, the work of reclamation, and preparing for the cultivation of the soil, was actively resumed. The completion of the main dyke, leading from a point in the high land, not very far from the present Ilolme Station, 3^ miles long, and averaging thirty feet in width, was an arduous undertaking, owing to the treacherous nature of the bed of the Mere, through which, for nearly two miles of its length, it passed. Prequent slips occurred, and continued to occur long after its first completion. Prom the main dyke a number of smaller dykes branched off, passed through the silty bed of the Mere, penetrated into the surrounding bog, and tapping it in all directions, brought a never-ending flow of water to be dis- charged by the engine. The effect of this network of drains was quickly visible. The bed of the Mere was soon covered with innumerable cracks aud fissures, deep and wide, so as to make it a matter of no small difficulty to walk along the surface, while iu the surrounding bog the principal effect was the speedy consolidation of its crust, which by the end of the first summer afforded, even in those places which had been long impassable, as safe and firm a footing for a man, as it now does throughout almost its whole extent for a horse." Since the memorable breach above recorded no further irruption of any serious importance has taken place : the steam pump effectually maintains the drainage of from 3,500 to 4,000 acres of fen land. After the stagnant water had been re- moved, and the land levelled so as to admit of horse -cultiva- tion, the great obstacle in the way of growing corn was the want of consistency in the soil ; under the influence of the frosts of winter and the dry winds of March, it became so light that a high Mind frequently wafted several inches of it away into the nearest ditch, either cairying the infant wheat plants away with it, or leaving them to linger out a short existence with their tender rootlets exposed to all the vicissitudes of climate. To remedy this defect, Mr. Wells determined to cover the surface of the peat with a coating of clay. In ordinary cases the surface-dressing of peat with clay is per- formed without any great expense or difficulty, as a sufficient quantity of clay is found underlying the peat at such a depth only as to admit of its being easily raised. Here, however, the circumstances were totally different. The underlying ctay was at too great a depth to render the ordinary mode of pro- ceeding at all consistent with economy. The resources of Mr. Wells were, however, equal to the occasion. On the higher level of his park, at a distance of about \\ mile, clay was to be had in sufficient quantity for all purposes, if only the cost of carriage permitted its use. Mr. Wells met the difficulty by at once causing a tramway to be constructed, and over this rail- way in miniature the fertilising material was carried by truck after truck till the whole surface of the Mere was covered to the depth of from 2| to 6 inches,* at a cost per acre of from £15 to £16. But even this large expenditure has proved a profitable investment of capital, as land formerly worth * A medium dressing of from 3£ to 4 inches deep is generally considered sufficient. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 815 scarcely one shilling per acre, and yet subject to a drainage rate of six shillings, is now let at from 20s. to 30s. This, however, was not the only advantage obtaiued, for in the course of the operations necessary for the acquisition of a sufficient quantity of clay for fertilising purposes, by the removal of the high ridge of laud in the centre of the park, the view from the mansion was greatly extended, and several new and pleasing features in the landscape were opened up. Nothing is more striking than the contrast between the appearance of the reclaimed laud and a small tract adjoining, which Mr. Wells has allowed to remaiu in its original state, in order to show the nature and extent of the improvements effected. The reclaimed land, unlike its sterile neighbour, is capable of producing good crops of roots which are eaten off by sheep ; the appearance of the rick-yard when the writer visited the spot in the winter of 1866-7, amply testified to the extent and excellency of the cereals ; and the clayed land was occupied by promising seed layers. Mr. Wells cultivates two farms of about 300 acres each, 70* acres of the 600 being upland pasture. The Home Farm of 332 acres is worked on the four-course system. Steam-cultivation is extensively practised ; Mr. Crosbie, Mr. Wells's manager, asserting that the cost of cultivation is only 4s. per acre, while he considers the work both more cheaply and infinitely better done than that effected by the use of horses. At Michaelmas, 1866, the second farm was taken in hand, of which not more than a sixth part will at present admit of steam- cultivation, the rest of the land being full of large trees of from 10 to 40 feet in length, and from 6 to 18 inches in circumference, the remains of a submerged forest. Many of the trees are in a good state of preservation ; the largest specimens being principally oak, the smaller kinds red willow and other varieties. The removal of these trees costs a consi- derable sum per acre. The plan Mr. Wells adopts, the first time of cultivating, is to plough each field deeply by horse- power, so as to find as many trees as possible, and remove them, in order that steam-cultivation may be used for all sub- sequent operations, even to drilling and harrowing in the seed corn. The necessary implements for these operations are now in course of construction. It must here be observed, how- ever, that deep ploughing is objectionable on the clayed land until after, in the course of three or four years, the clay has become thoroughly incorporated with the soil, and under these circumstances recourse is had to the cultivator, which can be worked at the season most suitable to produce required re- sults, and with marked benefit to the ultimate crop. Mr. Wells has erected commodious and excellent homesteads on some of the newly reclaimed farms, but their construction was attended with great cost, as all the buildings had to be sup- ported on piles; and even this has not proved satisfactory, for although the highest ground has been invariably selected for the sites, yet owing to the general subsidence of the surround- ing district the water level lias been in several cases reduced below that of the foundation, and where this has occurred the heads of the piles have decayed, causing the buildings to di- verge from the perpendicular, and rendering it necessary, in some instances, to renew the piles at a great outlay. On the estate are also some very neat labourers' cottager, constructed of wood, the walls being formed of feather-edged boards nailed to strong posts, and well plastered and finished inside, while the roofs are carefully and substantially tiled. They are pro- nounced by the inmates to be most comfortable. A dim idea may be formed of the nature of the soil and the difficulties to be encountered in conducting improvements, from the fact that during the period, of nineteen years the land has subsided 7 feet 3 inches. THE CURSE OF CENTRALISATION. Mr. James Tra.sk, of Highlease, near Yeovil, has lately read before the Farmers' Club, in London, what we are told, and have not the slightest doubt, was a very able paper on Pauperism. Mr. Trask is naturally opposed to the craze of certain hair-brained enthusiasts who are " running up and down the land" proclaiming the blessings of increased centrali- sation in the form of a National Poor Rate. That means, of course, the transference of the little that is left of local control over the rates to the hands of the Government through the in- strumentality of stranger officials — tied and bound with red tape, independent of all local responsibility, naturally beyond the influence of local sympathies, and the mere rate-masters of those whose duty it would be to passively provide the funds. The " argument" for this unconstitutional and tyrannical change is based upon the assertion that the land is over rated, and that uncertain and intangible property ought to bear the same rate of burden as that solid and unfailing source of income which was originally granted to its holders on the express con- dition that it should provide lor all the costs of the state, of the poor, and of the national religion. It is true that modern " legislation," the main object of which is to provide situations, at the public expense, for the lazy sons, nephews, and depend- ants of huxtering " legislators," has contrived to entangle all sorts of charges in the maze of a so-called Poor-rate — each step in that direction depriving the payers of less and less control over its expenditure — as experienced with regard to the police, to the highways, and to even the relief of the poor which, at enormous and useless expense, is vouchsafed in hole-and-corner Boards whence the public, as a rule, are rigorously excluded. And so, the result having at last told upon that most sensitive element of Great British nature, the pocket, a restless impa- tience of something wrong has resulted in the preposterous movement for that extension of centralisation and the complete subversion of local management which a National Poor Bate would of course involve. To put the capping-stone to the suicidal farce, the inquisitorial Income Tax, above all things in the world, is presented to an enamoured public as the basis of this blessed National Rate ! It is too true that Englishmen, deteriorated by the trading spirit, deprived of their rightful share as individuals in the management of public affairs which prevailed for a thousand years, and, moreover, neglectful of the study of the constitutional history of their country — seem in- clined to submit to anything — the Factory Acts and similar degrading feats of office-providing law-quackery affording ample illustration thereof. It is, therefore, refreshing to find that all common sense, and all love of the liberty for which our forefathers made such tremendous sacrifices, are not yet dead. And thus we are glad to hear that Mr. Trask has made no light impression upon a very large and intelligent body of his brother farmers, and that the farmers' own paper — the Mark Lane Ex- press— supports that gentleman's views. "We hope that the question will be pushed much further — that" the curse of cen- tralisation will by and by work its own cure, or have a cure worked for it — and that the move will be to de-centralise — to simplify poor-law management — to let parishes do their own work on that ancient, tried, and constitutional principle which prevailed through all the centuries when England was really great and ere " the ravishing of the poor" became a genteel profession. " Amid the disheartenments he will encounter," says Mr. Toulmin Smith, with whose writings every patriotic Englishman ought to be familiar — the worker in this cause " must not forget that ' albeit [quoting Lord Chief Justice Coke] sometime by act of parliament, sometime by invention and wit of man, some points of the Common Law [involving the full principle of self-government as opposed to centralisa- tion] have been altered or diverted from their due course, yet, in the revolution of time, the same, as the safest and faithful- lest bulwark and safety of the common weal, have been, with great applause, for avoiding of many mischiefs, restored again.' * * * The question is — whether the mass of mankind are but unreasoning animals, to be dictated to and drilled, or whether man is a creature ' but a little lower than the angels,' and whose high nature can only truly be developed — but is able to be developed — by every inducement being held out to independent thought and self-reliance — whether there is a right divine in any Few to think for, manage, and govern the Many, or whether the Many are able to think for, manage, and govern themselves, and have it as their highest and noblest birthright and inheritance— their right, duty, and responsibility —to do this."— Pulmaifs Weekly News, 310 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. BEET- ROOT SUGAR. A meeting of the West Suffolk Chamber of Agriculture was held at Bury St. Edmund's for the purpose of receiving further information as to the experiment made in connection with the growth of sugar-beet at Lavenham. Mr. F. M. Wilson presided. Mr. Duncan said he believed the first attempt made to manufacture sugar from beet-root in this country was made at Maldon, Essex, about 1828. The manufactory established at Maldon was well managed, but it could not be carried on on account of the duty. The scheme was again tried at Chelms- ford, and more recently near Dublin ; the information col- lected in Ireland at this time clearly proved the possibility of successfully carrying on the manufacture in Ireland, although the prejudice against the use of beet-root sugar at that time was so strong that it would have been difficult to find a mar- ket for the produce. The import of beet-sugar into this coun- try up to 1860 was very small ; now we received large sup- plies, and no difficulty was experienced in selling it. The cultivation of sugar-beet on the continent was steadily extend- ing ; last year France had an increase of 10 per cent, on the acreage. The amount of beet-sugar grown on the con- tinent during the last two seasons was equal to a yearly average of 030,000 tons, nearly equal in value to £14,500,000. Last year the Island of Cuba had a crop of over 700,000 tons, but this immense production there was reason to believe would soon be seriously interferred with by the abolition of slavery. There could not, therefore, be a more opportune time for commencing the cultivation of beet-sugar than the present. A large farmer from Germany had given his opinion that the land at Lavenham was quite suitable for beet cultiva- tion ; all that was required was deep cultivation, the cost of labour, coal, rent, taxes, &c, not being more than on the con- tinent. He was assured that sugar-beet did not exhaust the land like mangold, if well cultivated; the farmers in the north of France now grew wheat and beet alternately, and they all affirmed that they never got better crops of wheat than at present. If you took two roots, one of moderate size, which had been carefully cultivated, and the other a large forced root, you would find the per-centage of water in the large root very high, the per-centage of sugar small, and the per-centage of mineral matters, commonly called " ash," high. In fact, it would be noticed that if there was a large per-centage of water there was invariably a large proportion of ash. The ash came from the soil and the sugar from the air. If, therefore, we could take a crop off the land which contained but little ash, it must be a benefit to the soil. To make good sugar he wished for roots with a minimum of ash. If an analysis of large roots were more generally known it would make farmers in pro- ducing food for their cattle look more to the quality than, as at present, to the, quantity. If they could get a crop of beet — say 15 tons per acre — containing 16 per cent, of solid matter, it would be a far better result than a crop of beet of 30 tons per acre containing only 8 per cent, of solid matter. The cost of cultivating an acre of sugar-beet at Lavenham, including all expenses for rent, taxes, and delivery, amounted to from £10 to £11 per acre, and he believed an average crop of 16 to 17 tons per acre might be expected. The price he was now paying was 20s. per ton at Lavenham, but owing to railway carriage being so high he could not give more than 17s. per ton at Bury St. Edmund's. A few montlr. since he could have bought beet for next season free on board at Dun- kirk at 16s. per ton. Of course a great deal depended upon the amount of saccharine matter in valuing beet. Two roots grown side by side and of the same appearance often varied 5 per cent, in their composition ; he hoped, however, to arrive at an average value when he had got a little more experience. Few farmers on the continent would agree to grow sugar-beet unless they were permitted to receive back the pulp ; it was generally sold at about 12s. to 16s. per ton; last year 20s. per ton was paid in some cases. It generally contained 20 to 25 per cent, of solid matter, as manufactured in France, Holland, and Belgium by the hydraulic-press system. The pulp at Lavenham, owing to the drought in the summer and the very late period at which the manufacture was commenced, was too good a specimen — it contained nearly 30 per cent, of solid matter. In Germany it was usual to give cattle which were being prepared for the butcher 60 to 701bs. of pulp, 31bs. of oilcake, 41b. of bran, and 51bs. of hay. Pulp was not con- sidered suitable for horses or dairy cows, as it had a tendency to make dairy cattle too fat ; and, although it did not spoil the milk, it was apt to flavour the butter. Sheep were very often fed on pulp, and one great advantage pulp had over roots was the fact that it could be kept for two years. The usual plan adopted for keeping it was to dig a trench in the ground, fill it quite full of pulp well rammed down, the whole being then covered with a layer of straw and earth. Although pulp thus kept became acid its feeding qualities were not affected ; in fact, new pulp was not considered good, the old pulp, owing to the acid which it contained, being much more soluble in the stomach of the animal eating it. He believed it would be very advantageous to start sugar factories in villages. The work should commence in October and finish in January. The amount spent in wages would run from £50 to £200 per week, according to the size of the factory. The factories would give full employment to many persons when the days were short and when ordinary work was scarce. A great deal had been said and written about the proper soil and the manures suitable for sugar-beet, and how it should be cultivated. Here a point arose which was not likely to be thought of, viz., how the duty was to be charged. In Germany and Austria the duty was payable on the roots ; in France on the sugar ; in Belgium, Holland, and, as yet, in England on the juice. If the Germans could by any possible means increase the quantity of sugar it was a great gain. Instead, therefore, of applying manure to the best they generally manured wheat and took a small crop ten or twelve tons per acre — off after wheat. This enabled them to get a crop very rich in sugar ; and, of course, such a crop would be worth more than 20s. per ton ; in fact, 26s. 6d. would be about the comparative value. In France, Holland, and Belgium manure was applied in the autumn, and although the roots were not so rich, yet it was there considered the best plan, and the plan which he should advise should be adopted in England. He believed that to try to force roots too much was a mistake, and to dwarf roots too much was also a mistake. To produce good beet the land must be cultivated deep. In Germany the land was ploughed to the depth of 18 inches ; if the roots rose above the surface, they were always poor in sugar, and difficult to work. Dr. Voelcker stated that this was the case with the common mangold, as well as with the sugar-beet. Repeated hoeing increased the sugar ; but whenever the leaves were fully developed, the hoeing must be stopped. The roots should be pulled when they were ripe ; if the leaves began to grow a second time, the roots lost in sugar. He (Mr. Duncan) had himself noticed this very plainly last season. He planted a quantity of seed, and early in August the roots looked well, and tasted very sweet ; a little later all the leaves were eaten off by caterpillars ; and after they had finished, rain came on, and when the roots were pulled, they were found so poor that they were not worth working. When the roots were lifted in October, the top should be carefully cut off; if it were left, the roots were sure to bud in the clump, and then the sugar went. The roots ought to be keep cool and well ventilated in the clump. As regards the process of making sugar from the beet, the plan which he had adopted at Lavenham of merely making a thick syrup, would simplify the process very much. It would also take less capital to carry on the manufacture, and he believed that it would give a much better and more economical result. If, after a few years' experience, the cul- tivation of beet and manufacture of sugar should prove profit- able, he had no doubt that English farmers would club toge- ther as on the Cdntinent, agree to grow roots, and subscribe the capital required for working them up. In Germany and Austria some of the farms were so large that farming, sugar- making, and distilling were all carried on together. The ave- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 317 rage of the roots grown at Lavenham gave 9^ per cent, of sugar. A quantity of roots grown iu Scotland, and which lie had dealt with, gave 9j per cent., and some grown at the Lodge Farm, Barking, yielded 13 per cent. The average amount of sugar contained in the French roots was 9 or 10 per cent. In Germany as much as 10 or 12 per cent, of pure white sugar was obtained ; the duty was paid on the roots, and growers tried by every possible means to increase the weight of sugar. It w;is found that roots weighing about 31bs. each were those which would take the most sugar olf the land. We now got about 50,000 tons of raw sugar and 20,000 tons of refiued sugar from Franco, about 10 per cent, of our entire consumption. In France there were now 4-50 sugar factories in operation. About 16 or IS tons per acre he con- sidered a good average crop of sugar-beet. Any quantity could be grown in Fiance at 16s. per ton, and it had been a question with him whether he should not put on a steamer from France to London to bring beet-root to the works in tho neighbourhood of the metropolis, and whether by doing this he should not secure a better result than he did at present. When roots were delivered covered with mud the loss ranged from 5 to 10 per cent. He believed that if the land treated w;is well cultivated, sugar-beet would stand drought better than any other root, because it went down so low. Mr. HITCHCOCK said the best crop of sugar-beet secured in Laveuhoui this year was grown by Mr. Hawkins ; it was 20 tons per acre. But for the continuous drought of the pas; summer the Lavenham grower of beet would have had larger crops than they actually obtained. He (Mr. Hitchcock) grew in one field sugar-beet side by side with ordinary beet, and the yield of sugar-beet per acre was quite as large as ordinary beet. With proper care and attention, he believed a larger quantity of sugar-beet might be growii per acre than Mr. Duncan had led the meeting to suppose. In every country on the conti- nent, wherever the experiment was tried, it went on in an in- creasing scale every year. A Belgian capitalist had visited Lavenham, and had expressed himself quite ready to erect an- other factory. He (Mr. Hitchcock) believed that in four or five years these sugar factories would be dotted over the whole country. With the abolition of slavery (which seemed proba- ble in Cuba), cane-grown sugar would be dearer, just as the abolition of slavery in the United States had made cotton 30 per cent, dearer. The gentleman from Belgium said, on a 1,200 acre farm, sugar-beet cropping was alternated with wheat and barley, 000 acres being sown with heel, 300 acres with wheat, and 300 acres with barley. The yield of sugar- beet last year at Lavenham ranged from 12^ tons to 20 tons per acre. Mr. Duncan said, in the north of Frauce growers of sugar- beet used enormous quantities of farmyard manure, and then in the spring they put in some guano. If you gave cattle a good deal of saccharine matter, it must have a good effect, since sugar made fat. Mr. W. Biddei.l considered that the general aspect of the case was favourable, and that there was a good prospect of growing from 15 to 20 tons per acre. He believed that in future sugar-beet would be grown very largely round Laven- ham. The sugar-beet root crop would come at a time when it would be very handy to set right banking balances. A Member observed that possibly ordinary beet might pay the grower as well as sugar beet. Mr. Duncan said this could not be the case. Mr. Caird, Mr. Morton, and other gentlemen whom he had consulted on the subject, valued the ordinary beet at 7s. 6d. to 8s. per ton. Since the cultivation of sugar-beet was commenced in the north of France, the laud in that part of the French empire had been nearly doubled in value. He expected to have 4,000 tons of roots offered him at his Lavenham works this year, and he wanted 6,000 tons. The Chairman said he was sure the chamber would wish him to convey to Mr. Duncan its thanks for the information which he had afforded. Mr. Duncan expressed his acknowledgments, and the pro? ceedings terminated. WAGES IN WORCESTERSHIRE. At a meeting of the Worcestershire Chamber of Agriculture, Mr. Norman, one of the Assistant Commissioners on the Em- ployment of Women and Children in Agriculture, said : From what he had learnt in this county the wages of agricultural labourers were 10s. per week — sometimes 9s., and sometimes lis. ; but in most cases this was supplemented by an allowance of cider, the value of which amounted to about 2s. per week, so this made the total amount 12s. per week— 10s. in money aud 2s. in cider. It just came to this : that of the total earn- ings of 12s., 2s., or one-fifth — (Voices : " Not so much," and "yes.") He was asking for information, and from what he had been told, the cider amounted to two or three quarts per day in winter and five or six in summer. (A voice : " A gal- lon, more like.") The information he had received was that its value averaged 2s. per week throughout the year. He characterised this as a great piece of extravagance, and said that supposing a man in a higher class of life receiving £600 a-year spent £100 on drink for himself, it would be thought most unpardonable extravagance ; but these labourers did it every day of their lives. Mr. Varden said that if there were any legislative restric- tions on the employment of women and children it would be fatal to his district. He "cultivated a large lot of land with fruit, and the picking of that fruit was in every respect wo- men and children's work. He had about 7 to 7^ tons of cur- rants picked per day, and gave employment to about 300 women and children, and if he could not employ women and children he would be obliged to give up his trade. He pointed out that they could not get men to do this work, as it depended very much on the weather, and if men did it they would have to be engaged a week or fortnight before they were wanted. He maintained that the employment he gave to women was very beneficial to their health. The average earnings of a family during the fruit season was about £5, and that sum was very generally spent in providing winter clothing. He thought if Mr. Norman inquired he would find that some 3,000 acres of land was used for the cultivation of fruit in this county, and if they could not employ the children they would have to get women from distant districts, and they were apt then to obtain bad characters. He suggested that some clause should be pro- vided in any Act passed to exempt fruit picking from restrictions. Mr. James Webb said : With the exception of harvest- time, he only employed on his farm of 800 acres six or seven women, and he paid 10 per cent, more than they did in Here- fordshire. If there were any restrictions his land would have to go out of cultivation, for he could not attempt to go on with- out employing women. Mr. Russon inquired where it was that the commissioner found the labourers were only getting 9s. a week. Mr. Norma.n replied at Bransford. Mr. Wit. Essex said he did not believe a farmer in his neighbourhood paid so little. Mr. Webb said that in his district there were none under 10s., and till three months since there was not a man under lis. He thought 13s. was the average. Mr. Russon said he did not think it ought to go forth that they were paying such low wages. It was not possible that a man could live on 9s. He paid none of his labourers less than 12s. He thought Mr. Norman had stated too low an amount of wages. Mr. Smithin said he began at 16s., and went down to 10s. Mr. Norman, in reply to Mr. Russon, said that gentlemen did pay 12s., but he was bound to say that his was the only neighbourhood where they paid so much. Mr. Whiteuair pointed out that the farm labourer obtained a great many perquisites in addition to his stated earnings. He had men living in two cottages of his, the one got £1 Is. in a manufactory, and the other was a farm labourer and was supposed to get lis. a week, but the farm labourer was quite 2s. a week better off than the other in every respect. Mr. Shipway stated that 13s. was the average wages paid in the south-west portion of the county. It was decided that the Worcester Chamber oppose the pro- posal for a separate Government Department of Agriculture, 318 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE OX ON THE RAIL. After the cattle are placed in the trucks, and the doors closed on them, nothing more is done until the doors are opened again at their journey's end. They are never offered either food or water by the way, and the only change in the monotony of their journey consists of the stoppages and shuntings at the various stations along their route ; indeed, it may with truth be said that the fact of the occupants of these trucks being alive is not to be discovered from the treatment they receive from the rail- way company, but are shunted backwards and forwards, and left standing often for hours together without either shelter or shade just as so much coal. A.nd when it is considered that cattle are often carried along in this manner for two, and even three days, it is not surprising that the results are anything but satisfactory ; but perhaps it will be better to glance at these in detail. The first evil of this system which strikes an observer is the overcrowding of the trucks. This, however, is not an evil of the sy-tem itself, but arises fiom the greed and narrowmindedness of certain stockowners, who in this way try to lessen the expense of transit per head. The remedy for it seems simple enough — viz., that the railway company should only allow the official number (supposing these to be properly gauged) to be put into each truck ; or a rate per head might be substituted for the usual mode of charging. Indeed, the latter mode would be a decided improvement for other con- siderations beside this. If such a plan of charging were adopted, the disadvantage under which single animals — or any number of animals less than a full truck load — at present suffer from the proportionally higher rates they are charged would be obviated ; while the railway company would not lose, being compensated by the fares of the numbers carried in excess of the proper truck numbers, thus equalising the fares of all — in, fact, approximating the system of fares for cattle to the system applied to passengers. The next evils to be noticed are, the shaking and knocking about the animals sustain from the jolt- ing of the trucks, and from the concussions of stopping and starting, much increased by the frequent shuntings. It may be impossible to carry on railway traffic without these shunt- ings, still a great deal may be done to mitigate the evils of them ; and we recommend — first, that cattle trucks be con- structed with spring buffers, similar to those supplied to pas- senger carriages and to horse boxes, instead of the usual box- spring buffer of trucks ; secondly, that screw couplings be used instead of the ordinary chain couplings, and that these he tightened up in the same manner as in passenger trains. In this manner the vibration of travelling, and the concussions of stopping and starting, would be immensely reduced, and the comfort of the animals thereby greatly enhanced. This will be fully appreciated if the difference between the starting or stopping of a passenger and of a goods train be observed ; and considering how trifling, comparatively, the expense involved would be, it is surprising that this has not been done long ago. If, in addition to these improvements, a rule was made that stock trucks were always tobeplaced next the guard's van so as to have the least possible amount of shunting, these evils would be reduced to the minimum. Another evil is, the great and grievous delays which are constantly befalling stock in transit. These nearly all happen at a "junction," and are caused by the necessity for splitting up the train to allow different parts of it to go in different directions. Many of these delays are caused by sheer carelessness and neglect, but, for the most part, they are incidental to the present system. As a general rule, railway companies try to run their goods trains as punctually as passenger trains, with, of course, more time for the distance ; but, practically, the delays are so numerous and uncertain, that the time a goods train will take over a certain distance can scarcely be calculated, especially where it has to pass over the lines of different companies. For this evil remedies are difficult in proportion as railway companies are difficult to bring under pressure. If they could be influenced, there is little doubt that the transit of stock might be greatly hastened by a little management ; but unless the matter is a very glaring one they are difficult to reach, and we would rather propose a legislative enactment, such as that a train (princi- pally for the accommodation of stock), regulated as to time, shall be run each way every day, and with suitable penalties for shortcomings. Until stock traffic is separated from ordinary goods traffic, so as to be freed from the delays incidental to the latter, we fear there will be little amendment in this matter ; but considering the large development of the cattle trade of the country, it does not seem that one train per day each way would be too much to ask for it. There are several minor evils of this system, such as the damage the animals sometimes inflict on each other, but they require little notice, and we therefore proceed to what may be truly called the great evils of this mode of transit — viz., exposure, hunger, and thirst. All three are caused by the form of the truck in which the animals are carried. These trucks are generally of two forms, the simplest having the sides and ends boarded up to four feet from the floor, with two or three rails covered round the top ; the others have in addition the ends carried up to the top, and a light roof over them. In the oppn trucks it needs little argu- ment to prove that the animals suffer extremely from cold ; one look at them after a night journey in winter will convince the most sceptical, and even in summer it is too much for them. In the covered trucks they are much more comfortable, but still they suffer from the tremendous draught that rushes through the open sides of these trucks during transit. As a remedy for the evil of exposure, we propose taking the ordi- nary form of truck as a model, to have the two ends boarded up to the top, the upper half of the sides to have movable louvre boards, which admit of being regulated according to the necessities of ventilation, and that may be turned either way to suit the direction in which the truck is moving, the lower half of the sides to be boarded, and along the top, which must have a roof, a ventilator with louvre openings, thus placing the whole ventilation of the truck under complete control, and mitigating very perceptibly the evils of exposure, which in general terms may be stated as the loss of condition and inflam- matory colds. The questions of food and water come next, and are unfortunately more difficult to deal with. There always will be a class, probably, which can pretty well dispense with these requisites, such as are not to be in the trucks longer than eight or ten hours, and fat stock perhaps a little longer; still the great bulk of stock do require attention very urgently in these matters. So far as we are aware, there are no statistics in existence showiug the loss of weight which stock snffer during a railway journey, or the colds, inflammations, and other ills engendered by its pri- vations ; yet it is a fact patent to all who have observed the consequences of the present system, that these evils do attend all transit by rail more or less, and especially when the jour- ney exceeds twenty-four hours. If any one be in doubt, let him take an animal and keep him in a house for one, two, or three days without food or water, and observe the effects there ; and if to these be added the exposure of a railway truck in all kinds of weather, we believe the result will prove irresistibly that food and water are absolute necessaries in railway transit. The truck presently used has no accommodation for the supply of these ; and it seems practically impossible to take the animals out of them, from time to time, to feed and water them. The only thing, therefore, that can be attempted, is to fit up the trucks in some way for this purpose, and the following is sub- mitted as feasible, viz., that the trucks be made one foot three inches higher (admissible), aud that a rack, made of iron rods, be run along each side of the truck ; the roof over it being made in the form of a door, to open, when required, for filling it. This would not interfere with the accommodation of the cattle at all, and would at once provide for the supply of hay to them as often as required, while it would be so simple and inexpensive that it could hardly be objected to, either on the score of cost or difficulty of construction. But, supposing the rack fixed, some arrangement must be made for its regular sup- ply. This might be done in the following way : — Let the railway companies provide a supply of hay at all their large stations, and make it compulsory to supply the animals at least once within every six or seven hours, with a certain weight of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 319 hay per beast, and for which tliey are to be allowed a fair charge. Let this department be put under a responsible ofli- cial, who will order a supply when necessary, see it given, and grant a receipt which would accompany the slock, showing What the animals had got, and when, and for which the owner would pay at their journey's end. We have no doubt that railway companies would find contractors ready to undertake such a department as this, as readily as they find them to un- dertake their refreshment rooms. In regard to the supply of water the difficulty is groat. It is hardly possible to supply it satisfactorily inside the trucks, from the inconvenience the ne- cessary trough would cause, and from the ditficulty of filling them, and therefore the following method of supplying the animals with water from the outside is submitted. Let the upper half of the sides of the truck be made in the form of doors, to open outwards. These being opened, there would be nothing to prevent the cattle stretching their heads out and drinking from a trough alongside. The trough for this pur- lin ie would be raised to a suitable, height on a wall or pillars, and placed on both sides of a siding for the purpose, and of a length to suit the average length of the trains. The trough might be kept always full of water, and would enable a train of cattle to be watered in little more time than was required to op-m and shut the doors. The expense of such a system might be alleged against it, but there does not appear to be any great practical ditficulty in the way, aud as these watering places would ouly be required at the large stations, the cost could not possibly overbalance the immense benefit to be derived by the stock. — From a prize report on the Transit of Slock, in the new part of the Transactions of the Highland Society, SMITHFIELD CLUB. At a meeting of the Council held March 2nd, 1869, pre- sent : The Duke of Marlborough, President, in the chair ; Lord Bridport, Messrs. S. Druce, C. Howard, T. Twitchell, II. Overman, J. S. Turner, J. Painter, II. Aylmer, J. Baldwin, J. Clayden, Josh. Druce, J. B. Downing, B. Hornsby, R. Leeds, E. TV. Moore, J. T. Senior, H.Thurwall, andBrandreth Gibbs (Hon. Sec). The minutes of the last Council meeting were read and con- firmed. The Stewards of live stock presented the following reports, which were received and adopted, and ordered to be published in the proceedings of this day's meeting, viz., the protest entered by Mr. W. Smith, of Higher Hoopern, Exeter, against the entry No. 43 of Mr. R. Burton, of Broadclyst, Devon : " We have given the above protest our most earnest and careful consideration. We examined several witnesses in Lon- don, since which one of our number (Mr. Duckham) has visited Broadclyst, to inspect the private herd or breeding books of Mr. Burtou, and to make further inquiries which we deemed necessary. After the fullest investigation we have ar- rived at the conclusion that Mr. Smith's objection must be dismissed. (Signed) Dec. 21, 1868. Charles Howard, Thomas Duckham, John Painter, Thomas Twitchell, Henry Overman, J. S. Turner. Agricultural Hall, March 2nd, 1869." On the investigation of the ages of the following animals, Nos. 47, 82, 212 : " We consider that Mr. Wortley has failed to prove the cor- rectness of his certificate as to animal No. 47, and we would advise Mr. Wortley for the future to prosecute more rigid in- quiries as to the ages of his auimals. We received a letter only this morning from the breeder of the animal of a most conclusive character, and regret that he should have seen fit to give such tardy information. It is to the following effect ; ' Whitton, March 1st, 1869. ' Sir, — In reply to yours of the 23rd, I find the steer, No, 47, shown by Mr. Wortley was not the one I sold Mr. Towers, and that I gave the certificate. Eor, I have seen Mr. Towers, the dealer, who tells me his wife in error asked for age of steer he purchased of me. I believe the steer shown was bred by my- self; but Mr. Towers got him through another party, and his wife was not aware of that when she wrote me for certifi- cate. I have written Mr. Duckham, and should have written you earlier, but was sometime before I could meet with the dealer. I am, yours respectfully, (signed) Edward Taylor. B. Gibbs, Esq.' " Class 11, No. 82. We consider Mr. Morley has furnished evidence proving the correctness of his certificate. " Class 32, No. 212. We consider Mr. Durant has also proved to our satisfaction the correctness of his certificate. (Signed) Charles Howard, Thomas Twitchell, John Painter, J. S. Turner, Henry Overman." The following were duly elected stewards of live stock for the ensuing three years, in place of the two who retire by rota- tion, viz., Mr. J. N. Beasley, of Chapel Brampton, Northamp- ton ; Mr, W. B, Canning, of Elston Hill, Devizes, Mr. Joseph Druce and Mr. Robert Leeds were duly re- elected stewards of implements for the present year. The Council revised the prize-sheet for the present year, and made the Mowing alterations, viz. : In the Devon, Hereford, and Shorthorn divisions, the class for 2 years 6 months old steers, the second prize to be increased to £15 ; and third prize to be added, £10. in Sussex division, a third prize of £5 to be added in the class for 3 years old steers. In the Irish cattle division the following to be the wordiug : " The Irish breed of cattle ;" " All animals in these classes must be bred in Ireland." In the divisions for Hampshire or Wiltshire sheep, and also the division for Oxfordshire, new classes for old sheep to be established with the following prizes, viz. : Fat wether sheep, 2 years old (above 23 and under 35 months), to the exhibitor of the best pen of three, first prize, £15 ; to the breeder of the same, a silver medal ; to the exhibitor of the second best, second prize, £5. In the division for Ryeland, Cheviot, Dorset, &c, a third prize of £5 to be added. It was resolved to offer a piece of plate, value £100, for " the best beast in the yard,' including Extra Stock. Also a piece of plate, value £50, for " the best pen of sheep in the yard ;" and a piece of plate, value £10, for " the best single sheep in Extra Stock." In the Extra Stock Shortwools not Southdowns two silver medals to be offered, viz., one for " the best wether" and one for " the best ewe." It was resolved that in place of the disqualification of pigs being final, when the state of the dentition is not satisfactory, the last clause of rule 21 shall be as follows : " If the dentition shall indicate that the age of any of the pigs has been incor- rectly returned in the certificate, the stewards shall call upon the exhibitor to prove to their satisfaction the correctness of his certificate." It was resolved that the fee to be paid by non-members for the privilege of exhibiting be two guineas instead of one as heretofore. The Council determined that the date of the shows be regu- lated by the same rule as heretofore, and this will therefore commence Dec. 6th next. It was resolved that the Judges' Selection Committee shall consist of the President and the Steward of Live Stock. It was resolved to recommend to the general meeting that the date of the Council meeting, which is now fixed by the bye-laws to be held in March, shall be altered to Eebruary. The Implement Committee was re-appointed with the same power as heretofore. The Honorary Secretary was requested to communicate with the Agricultural Hall Company in reference to the ac- commodation in the new pig hall, aud also as to the sheep and pig pens. The subject to be then referred to the Committee appointed at the last Council to confer with the Agricultural Hall Company thereon. The thanks of the meeting were voted to the Duke of Marl- borough, President, and also to Lord Bridport, who took the chair on his Grace leaving, for their conduct in the chair, Z 2 820 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. A meeting of the Central Chamber of Agriculture was held ou Tuesday, March 2, at the Salisbury Hotel. The chair was taken at eleven o'clock by Mr. C. S. Read, M.P. After the transaction of some formal business, The Chairman observed that the subject of which notice had been given for April was, " The Best Substitute for the Malt Tax ;" but on the previous evening the Business Com- mittee thought that another topic should take its place — namely, " The Endowed Schools Bill." They also thought that the special subjects for May should be Mr. Goschen's measure for creating a common basis of value for assessments and the Government bill to establish County Financial Boards. These arrangements were formally approved. The Chairman said that with regard to local taxation, on the Friday before the meeting of Parliament a deputation waited upon the right hon. gentleman after very short notice. They were received with marked courtesy and attention, and a pro- mise was given that the Government would thoroughly consider their case. The meeting was aware that the subject was fully discussed the previous week in the House of Commons ; and that, although the Government did not accede to their request by granting a Commission of Inquiry, tht'.y did more — they promised to be the Commission themselves, and intimated that they would very speedily legislate on the subject. The meeting then proceeded to the first subject on the agenda paper — viz., " To consider what steps shall be taken with re- gard to the proposal for a deputation to the President of the Board of Trade on the subject of a separate Government Department for Agriculture." Mr. Jasper More only considered it due to the importance of the agricultural body, and of the subjects which the Chambers had discussed, that the agriculture of this kingdom should be recognised by our Government, as that of foreign countries was by theirs, leaving for after-consideration what precise subjects should be suggested to Mr. Bright as fitting ones to be dealt with by a separate department. He concluded by moviug the following resolution : " T-his Chamber considers it desirable that there should be a separate Government depart- ment for Food and Agriculture, presided over by a permanent secretary." Sir Herbert Croft, M.P., in seconding the resolution, said the Herefordshire Chamber, of which he was President, had passed a resolution in favour of this object. He himself entirely concurred iu it, and if a deputation were appointed, would be happy to form part of it. Mr. Darwin (West Biding Chamber) said that chamber also passed, on the previous Friday, a resolution strongly in favour of the establishment of a Government depart- ment, in which the interests of agriculture would receive special attention. He had since received a letter from the chairman of that chamber, dwelling ou the difference between asking for an entirely separate department, and a portion of an existing department, which should be specially devoted to the consideration of agricultural matters. He also alluded to the great difficulty which there was in regard to interviews with various Government departments. They all knew that they had to go in some cases to the Board of Trade, in others to the Home Office, and in others, again, to the Poor Law Board ; and great inconvenience arose from that separation of questions connected with the land and agriculture. Mr. Neville Grenville, M.P., hoped the Chamber would consider what was likely to be the effect of adding another Circumlocution Office to the Government departments, another minister to the already-abundant list. In his opinion, it would be a great disadvantage. He thought they ought not to look for assistance from an Agricultural Minister who would probably be appointed to his office because it was a convenient one for some Government official to hold, and not on account of any special knowledge of agricultural subjects. The inconvenience of their having a Minister of Agriculture to do work for them which they could do very well for them- selves was so self-evident, that he would not take up the time of the meeting further by arguing the point. But he hoped the meeting would allow him to read part of a letter written by an hon. friend of his — Mr. Tomline, member for Grimsby — on this question. That gentleman, in a letter addressed to the Shropshire Chamber of Agriculture, after alluding to other subjects which had been discussed, went on to say : " Now, as a last resource, we have proposals for a Government department, pretending to do for you the work which you are learning to do so well for yourselves. This is the most dangerous step of all. It is attractive, and holds out to active men the prospect of salaries and places. Yet it is useless. A secret board can do nothing but grant favours. You ask for none — you expect none : you are not powerful enough to obtain any. It main- tains mystery. Your desire is publicity : not only for your own satisfaction but for that of other classes iu towns, who will gradually become your friends as they find out that you are working for them. Instead of a new board, I hope to see our Chambers striving to do away with the Board of Trade. The statistics it collects are better collected by the Customs : commercial treaties, which are contrary to the principles of free-trade, are better managed by the Foreign Office. The new business it creates for itself — railway inspection, watching the wind and weather, inspecting lime-juice and oysters, em- ploying attorneys to give their opinion on shipwrecks — is better let alone. These useless duties are established to mutiply places and salaries. Secret boards strike at the power and independence of Parliament. They have their favourites — listen to their prayers ; introduce, and, by the discipline of party, carry measures which are sought by single classes. Parliament cannot resist. Hence, in a great measure, arises the extravagant expenditure which has become a danger. You are united to reform and diminish rates : may I venture to hint that it is within your duty also to reform and diminish taxation, and ask you not to assent too readily to the formation of new departments, which will have neither the power nor the wish to act for you so well as you do for yourselves ?" He (Mr. N. Grenville) quite concurred in Mr. Tomline's views ou this subject, and had no hesitation in pronouncing the scheme for the appointment of a new Agricultural Depart- ment, with a new Agricultural Minister at its head, a gigantic job (laughter). The Chairman said the resolution concluded with the words, " presided over by a permanent secretary." Did Mr. More wish for a Minister of Agriculture ? Mr. Jasper More said he did not desire anything of the kind (Hear, hear). What he contemplated was the appoint- ment of another secretary connected with the Board of Trade (Hear, hear). Some time ago a bill was brought before the House of Commons for the purpose of substituting an under- secretary of the Board of Trade for the vice-president. At that period it struck him that what the Chamber of Agricul- ture should ask for was that there should be two under- secretaries of the Board of Trade, one representing trade and the other agriculture. He thought the desired advantages might be secured, even without having an under-secretary to represent agriculture in the House of Commons ; but, at the same time, he did not believe it would be difficult to obtain a salary for an under-secretary. The Chairman remarked that an under-secretary could not be a permanent secretary. Mr. Jasper More said unfortunately he was unable to attend the meeting held the previous evening, and conse- quently did not draw up the resolution now submitted. Major Wilson said he was not authorised to express the opinion of the West Suffolk Chamber on this question ; but while attending a meeting of it last week he took the oppor- tunity of introducing this subject, which was not the subject appointed for consideration, aud, although no resolution was passed with regard to it, he believed the meeting entirely con- curred in the opposition he expressed to the establishment of a separate Government Department of Agriculture. The ob- jections to such a step appeared to him very forcible. He objected in Mo to the expense when he could see no advantage to be gained, For his part he did not think the agricultural THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 321 interest wanted nursing and fostering. If it had only fair play, it would be quite prepared to go alone (Hear, hear). Mr. MASEEH thought the first question to be considered was, Were the agricultural body satisfied with the manner in which their grievances were now dealt with by the legislature ? (Hear, hear); and, supposing they were not satisfied, the second question was, What was the most desirable way of bringing those grievances prominently before the public ? As regarded Jhe opinion of the West Suffolk Chamber, he thought Major Wilson was mistaken in his inference (Hear, hear). Mr. HATCH (West Kent) said this question was fully dis- cussed at the last meeting of the West Kent Chamber, Maid- stone, and a resolution was passed by a narrow majority in favour of the appointment of a Parliamentary secretary to be attached to the Board of Trade. Not concurring in that resolution himself, of course he could not offer any arguments m support of it. Mr. Whittaker said the Worcestershire Chamber, which he represented, had passed a resolution to the effect that it thought the appointment of au additional Government official for agriculture would be no good ; and he had not read a single argument in favour of it, except that there was a difficulty in getting information by going from one office to another, and that if there were but one office agriculturists would obtain there all the information they required. One grievance which they had urged, namely, that with respect to rating, was going to be attended to by the Government, and in his opinion it was not desirable that agriculturists should be clamouring for a number of things that were not essential. He was one of those who did not wish them to make themselves troublesome (Hear, hear). If they would only combine properly they would, no doubt, be fairly heard ; they were now in the right way for being heard, and he believed they would obtain more support in the House of Commons by moderation and a judi- cious course of action than by continual agitation. He thought that question should be postponed to some future period, especially as a vast number of Chambers had not yet dis- cussed it. Mr. Jabez Turner (Peterborough Chamber) said this question was discussed in his Chamber in the previous week, and a decided opinion seemed to be entertained that the appointment of a Minister of Agriculture was very desirable. But considerable difference of opinion was manifested in the discussion as to whether the office should be permanent or merely parliamentary. It was remarked by a member of Parliament, who belonged to the Chamber, that no Govern- ment would allow anyone to be a minister of agriculture except as a member of the Government. That view seemed to him correct, and for his own part he saw great difficulty in carrying the question at present to a successful issue. He was a member of the deputation which recently waited on the Prime Minister, and he must say that a more efficient Minister of Agriculture he should not wish to see than the right hon. gentleman showed himself on that occasion (cheers). They were advancing rapidly and with steady strides ; let them be careful not to disgust the Government by perpetually pressing upon them for new appointments (Hear, hear). Mr. Aclaxp, M.P., wished to allude to a motion which he was to introduce in the House of Commons that evening, viz., to move for a Select Committee to inquire into the action with reference to Agriculture of various public authorities, with a view to consider the expediency of recommending that some one department be made responsible for dealing with ad- ministrative and legislative questions affecting Agriculture. Not being a member of the Chamber, he had come there by invitation, for the purpese of learning the opinions of men who were well qualified to pronounce as to the requirements of the great interest with which they were connected. His friend on his left (Mr. Neville Grenville), who always amused the meetings which he addressed, commenced by making assertions which were not exactly supported by subsequent arguments. He said there were sufficient Ministers already, the whole question for consideration being whether there were sufficient or not. He went on to say that if any person were appointed Minister of Agriculture it would be because that would be a convenience to himself, adding a quotation from a very witty performance of Mr. Tomline in support of that view. As he (Mr. Acland) understood the matter, the question was not whether agricultural business should engage the attention of Parliament, or the attention of the responsible advisers of the Crown, for that it must do to some extent already, but in what way a proper degree of attention could be best secured. If any business was to be done properly it must be somebody's business and not everybody's ; and the business of Parliament was not conducted by a number of private members getting up and proposing measures which they thought desirable but by the Government listening to statements of what the country required, observing the attempts made by individuals to initiate legislation and ventilate particular subjects, and, after having collected and weighed the opinions expressed in Parliament and the country, embodying them in some Bill which eventually became law. That was the ordinary machinery of legislation, and he should be only affronting gentlemen of practical knowledge by assuming that they thought legislative business could be done in any other way (Hear, hear). The question, then, was whether the existing machinery for transacting agricultural business was in that complete and finished form or not. During the prevalence of the cattle-plague it struck him that there was an utter dis- organization of the Government departments in reference to agriculture. Agriculturists were at that period, as they all knew, driven about from pillar to post, and there was the greatest difficulty in securing what they deemed requisite for their protection, the truth being that there was no one Govern- ment department whose business it was to attend to the matter (Hear, hear). By his motion that evening he should ask Parliament, through a committee or in some other way, to inquire into the action which was now going on, or rather not going on in reference to agriculture. He might be asked what he meant by the expression " public authorities." There were public authorities in London— public authorities all over the country. There were magistrates sitting in petty and in quarter sessions, highway authorities, sewage commissioners, and various other bodies — all interfering, more or less, with the business of agriculture ; while, on the other hand, if any change were required, or any representations had to be made, there were three or four different departments to be applied to, the principal ones being the Privy Council Office, the Home Office, and the Board of Trade. Agriculturists had a light to demand that agriculture should not be hitched on, as it were, to something else, and no one could say that in that respect the existing state of things was a proper one. About £120,000 a-year was, it appeared, paid in some lorm or other by the State in connection with agriculture, and the mode in which it was expended was by no means satisfactory ; 70,000 a-year was paid in various ways, in salaries. There was an Enclosure Commission sitting in St. James's-square ; the Chief Commissioner being Mr. Darby, who was a most honourable and useful public servant ; and he was not at all 'convinced that such a commission was required for the duties to be performed. The more, in fact, the matter was examined into, the more clearly would be seen the necessity of trying to secure in that quarter, as in others, a better combination of economy with efficiency. It was time to put au end to a system in which agriculture was made subor- dinate to other subjects (Hear, hear). There should be a sepa- rate office, well looked after, and comprising a trained staff of men, whose special business it would be to attend to agricultu- ral questions. He had not proposed that there should be a Mi- nister of Agriculture, and he did not propose that now. That was not at all necessary. The bulk of the business of the different public departments was managed by men of whom the country knew very little, and to whom it owed a debt of gratitude, which was very seldom discharged (Hear, hear). Some of the ablest men in the land were thus rendering most valuable ser- vice to the public on very moderate salaries, and what agricul- ture needed was such a public servant, specially charged with matters of interest to it. They did not so much require a new department as a better distribution of business, and constant re- presentation in Parliament by some responsible person belong- ing to the Government. Mr. Albert Pell, M.P., would like to know what subjects Mr. Acland would have referred to the department which he wish to be created. Mr. ACLAND did not, think it desirable to enter into that question at length on that occasion, but he understood that the Council had made considerable progress with a list of the subjects requiring special attention. Mr. Randall (Lincolnshire) did not see how the organiza- tion of the Chambers could be complete until it was linked 322 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. with a Government department in which agriculture would be distinctly recognised, and which would be the exponent of its requirements. He deprecated the ascribing sinister motives to any one in connection with this proposal (Hear, hear). Little progress could be made if they moved in an atmosphere of distrust (Hear, hear). Prejudice, jealousy, and feudalism were relics of a bygone age, he hoped they would not be found in the deliberations of that Chamber (Hear, hear). Party politics were quite foreign to their object, and he hoped they would be studiously kept out of sight (Hear, hear). The proposed department of agriculture should be established on a basis broad indeed, but sharply defined, and the office should not be entangled or mixed up with the multifarious duties of other departments. In short, those who belonged to the de- partment should understand the business to be managed, and devote all their time and attention to it. He would add that, at the first annual meeting of the Chamber a motion similar to the present one was considered, and unanimously agreed to. Mr. T. Duckham -(Herefordshire) said one subject which had not yet been touched upon was, the unsatisfactory man- ner in which the corn averages were taken. It was a disgrace to the country that the law by which a large portion of the payments were regulated was systematically evaded (Hear, hear). They all knew that corn purchased in agricultural dis- tricts was removed by rail or water and then sold to large pur- chasers, who regularly made returns in which the cost of transit and the factors' profits were added to the original low price, which was not taken into consideration at all (Hear, hear). If there were a Government department for agricul- ture such an anomaly could not exist (Hear, hear). Again, if agricultural statistics were to be of any value they must be published immediately after harvest, and not in the succeeding January or February, when the productions of the soil had to a great extent passed into consumption. As regarded the cattle plague, all who had suffered from it must be aware what difficulty there was at the time in communicating with the Government, how deputation after deputation was politely bowed out of different departments, and how hopeless almost was the attempt to obtain a remedy for the evil which pre- vailed. The experience gained at that period afforded ample proof that the present arrangements were not sufficient for the interests of agriculture. Mr. Lemon said on the previous Saturday the Norfolk Chamber unanimously passed a resolution in favour of a Go- vernment department for agriculture, and as the representa- tive of that Chamber he must say he could not understand how the business of agriculturists was to be carried on pro- perly, unless they had a separate department to appeal to (cheers). Commerce had long had that advantage, and he knew not why agriculture should be placed in an inferior po- sition. Mr. J. S. Gardiner ("West Kent) said his Chamber had recently passed unanimously the following resolution : " That it would be an advantage to the national welfare to introduce into the Board of Trade a distinct and separate department, to be styled ' The Department of Agriculture.' " In his opinion the agriculturists ought to have a separate department for their benefit, and were, sufficiently numerous and powerful to secure one. _ With such a department, they might get many matters affecting them laid before the Cabinet to which it was now impossible to secure its attention. Mr. Genge Andrews (Somersetshire) agreed with preced- ing speakers that agriculture deserved as much attention from the Government as commerce. But if there were a Minister of Agriculture, his mind would probably take its colour from the Cabinet to which he belonged, and hence he thought it would be much wiser to strengthen the organisation of the Chambers than to demand the appointment of a Minister. Let that organisation be extended until it embraced every parish in the country, and they would then have a much stronger power to act upon Parliament than any Ministry of Agriculture. As to statistics he thought they might be se- cured quite as effectually through clerks at the Board of Trade as in the manner now proposed. The Chairman said, before calling upon Mr. More to reply, he would make one or two remarks. In the first place, lie would say that they did not want, and they should never ask too much (Hear, hear). His own opinion was that they did not want, and did not wish for a Minister (Hear, hear) If they had a Parliamentary representative, they must have a man who would be a thorough-going party-man (Hear, hear), while they desired particularly to divest their case of all party politics whatever (cheers). Moreover, they would constantly have a man who would either be sjoing out or coming in, and who after he had learnt his business would perhaps be ex- cluded from office for the rest of his natural life (Hear, hear). But, on the other hand, he certainly did think that they needed a special department of Government presided over by a permanent Secretary. One gentleman had said that they did not want government interference. Let them mark this — they were sure to have government interference. Parliament would bye and bye make them furnish statistics if they did not give them voluntarily. They would be constantly interfered with more or less, and the question was whether it would not be best to be open, generous, and candid — whether it was de- sirable to try and keep in the dark what would be useful to the nation at large (Hear, hear). As to the expense, he ap- prehended there would be no increase of expense whatever in doing what was contemplated. He believed that if there were a revision of the different departments, there would be a con- siderable saving, and he did think it was necessary to form as it were out of various departments one special department— if they pleased a department of the Board of Trade — which would be devoted exclusively to agricultural and rural subjects. As regarded the proposition for a deputation, he would sug- gest to Mr. More that that should be postponed till the first question had been disposed of. Mr. Jasper More then replied : He had not anticipated, he said, that his proposal would meet with such opposition, having supposed that what occurred in connection with the cattle plague had virtually settled the question, so far as that chamber was concerned. In every other country agriculture was specially represented in the government, and why should the agriculture of England remain in an exceptional position ? He wished to guard himself against the imputation of ever having proposed anything so absurd as the appointment of a Minister of Agriculture, and he should feel obliged to those whom he addressed if they would never use the word " minister" in connection with his proposal (Hear, hear). He had never contemplated anything more than the appointment of an under Secretary. As regarded the proposed deputation, he thought the mere fact of a deputation waiting on the President of the Board of Trade, would make a favour- able impression on the mind of the public generally, and con- vince them of the growing importance of the interests of agriculture. Sir M. Lopes, M.P., said, while he felt strongly that a separate department for agriculture was desirable, he thought it most undesirable that agriculture should be represented by a member of the Government. He thought such representa- tion would be worse than nothing. The Chairman observed that a permanent secretary would not be parliamentary one. Mr. Acland, M.P., repeated that all he desired was that, what was now scattered over several departments should be concentrated in one. Sir H. Croft, M.P., as the seconder of the resolution thought the necessities of the case would be met by having a public officer to preside over a department formed to deal solely with agricultural and rural subjects, Such an officer should, of course, not be a party man ; but, if supposing there were a permanent secretary presiding over an agricultural depart- ment, lie could see no objection to the departmenl being repre- sented in the House of Commons by the President of the Board of Trade. Mr. Green, M.P., believed they were all agreed in the main as to the object. (Hear, hear). Mr. J. B. Brandram said, he should like to move the following as an amendment : " That all business connected with agriculture, now transacted by different govern- mental departments, should be combined under one department." Mr. Gurney (Cornwall) said, it seemed to him very difficult to understand the position of the question (Hear, hear). So far, however, as he could gather the feeling of the meeting, if it were simply proposed that there should be a separate de- partment of the Board of Trade devoted especially to agricul- ture, the decision arrived at would be almost unanimous (Hear, hear). Mr. Wren Horkyns thought that what agriculture re- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 32^ quired was an officer holding a similar position to that one held by Mr. Maegregor and Mr. Porter, who materially as- sisted Sir llobert Peel in preparing' his great financial and commercial measures. He supposed their offices to have been those of under-secretaries or chief clerk, and the appoiument of a similar officer for agriculture would, he believed, prove very valuable to it. Mr. Acland, M.P., said, there were at present three branches of the Board of Trade, including a railway branch and a marine branch, and he apprehended that, what was de- sired by the majority of the gentlemen who had spoken on that occasion was the establishment of a fourth branch, with a fourth person presiding over it, who would not be called a secretary, but a chief clerk, or something of that kind, and who would be under a responsible minister. That he pre- sumed was what they wanted (Hear, hear). Mr. Neville Grenyille, M.P., observed that it was an enormous change to come down from asking for a Govern- ment department to asking for a chief clerk. For such a pur- pose he hardly thought any resolution at all was necessary. Mr. Albert Pell, M.P., said, before the resolution was put, he would suggest the substitution for " agriculture" of " rural affairs," which would include land, rivers, and many other things. Mr. Clay seconded the amendment, which was at once ne- gatived On the motion of Sir Massey Lopes, M.P., seconded by Mr. Daniel Long, it was resolved not to insert the word " food." Mr. Paget, M.P., proposed the words " a permanent officer, but without a seat inParliament;" but the proposal was not agreed to The resolution of Mr. Jasper More was then passed unani- mously in the following amended form : " This Chamber con- siders it desirable that there should be a separate Government department for agriculture, presided over by a permanent officer." Mr. Jasper More then moved that a deputation should wait upon the President of the Board of Trade to lay before him the views of the Council on the question just decided, and in- timated that he had mentioned the matter to Mr. Bright, who replied that he would be most happy to receive a deputation from the Chamber and to hear its views. Sir Herbert Croft, M.P., seconded the motion. After some conversation, it was determined to postpone the question of appointing a deputation till the meeting in April. The meeting then proceeded to consider legislation with re- ference to the establishment of safety markets for imported animals, and the regulation of the trade and traffic in home- bred animals for the prevention of contagious diseases. Mr. Duckham moved the following series of resolutions : " This Chamber considers that a Consolidated Act, ap- plicable to the United Kingdom for the sanitary regulations of the home trade and traffic in animals, and for the establish- ment of safeguards against the introduction of foreign diseases, is indispensable for preventing enormous losses of live stock by contagious and infectious diseases." " This Chamber cousiders that strict regulations should be imposed as to the accommodation, feeding, watering, and security from infection of auimals on transit by ship or rail- way ; that it should be made penal to remove by road, rail- way, or water, or to exhibit in any fair, market, or public sale animals suffering from cattle plague, pleuro-pneumonia, sheep- pox, foot-and-mouth complaint, scab, farcy, or glanders ; and that all fairs, markets, or public sales should be subject to efficient inspection." " This Chamber considers that owners of animals suffering from contagious or infected disease should be required to give immediate notice of the existence of such disease to an au- thority appointed for the purpose ; and that it should be made illegal to remove animals for a specified period from any in- fected farm or premises." " This Chamber considers that the introduction of foreign diseases can be prevented only by slaughter or by quarantine of imported animals at the place of debarkation ; and that for the accommodation of importers and the interest of the public licensed markets with lairs and abattoirs attached should lie provided at the seaports where animals from foreign countries are landed." Mr. DucKHAM commenced by observing that in his opinion it was the duty of the Government to study the health and contentment of the nation by taking care as far as possible that wholesome food was provided for consumption, and at the. minimum cost, and there could be no security for that so long as contagious diseases were allowed to devastate our herds and flocks. He was speaking there to practical agricul- turists, who were familiar with the subject ; but a very large proportion of the public had no idea of the extent of the ravages of different diseases during the last quarter of a cen- tury. There were unfortunately no reliable statistics for the kingdom, but Professor Afmitage gave the followingas the most recently published, in a Parliamentary paper from Scotland for the. year 18G0, and this showed that the mortality from con- tagious diseases amounted to 4.89, or nearly 5 per cent. It was believed that losses were of equal extent throughout the kingdom during that year, and if that were the case they were represented by the enormous sum of £3,805,939, or nearly four millions sterling. The number of cattle imported that year was 104,509, their estimated value being £836,552. Thus the losses sustained in the home herds more than quad- rupled the value of the importations. Professor M'Call esti- mated the losses sustained in Glasgow from cattle plague at £8,957 10s., as one year's experience ; from 17 years' experi- ence of foot and mouth disease, £7,314 ; from pleuro-pneu- monia, £54,677. The speaker here referred to statistical statements published in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, containing returns of the imported animals for several years, and remarked chat from those returns it appeared that as diseases swept sway the home stock of the country there had been an increased amount of importations from abroad. It was, he said, evidently the interest, not only of the con- sumer but of the commercial portion of the community, that their herds and flocks should be properly protected. The im- portation of so large an amount of animal food from abroad could not but tell injuriously upon commerce, and this could not be avoided while the present system continued. In Cheshire the cattle-plague had proved almost ruinous to the rate-payers, and that was an illustration of the necessity of extending the area of compensation lor losses far beyond the bounds at present. He thought it was most important that a wise and comprehensive measure relating to this subject should be prepared by the Government, and that for the sake of the public as well as of the agricultural interest it should be brought into operation as soon as possible. Mr. TnoMAS Bjgby (Cheshire), in seconding the resolution, said : Last spring, before the Central Chamber of Agriculture was established, the farmers of his county met together in very large numbers, and passed a resolution to the effect that it was desirable that foreign animals should not be admitted into this county except on condition that they should be slaughtered at the port of entry and previously subjected to quarantine for a specified period, and further, that as regarded pleuro-pneu- monia, the exposure of any infected animal on any highway, boat, or market should subject the owner to fine or imprisonment. The sad results of rinder- pest were notorious ; but the ravages of pleuro-pneumonia were also very serious, and required stringent measures of precaution. Mr. Brandram (Hertfordshire) said the chamber of his county had recently passed the following resolution: " That this chamber, whilst it repudiates most emphatically every wish to protect home stock from competition with fo- reign stock, is of opinion that in the interest of the consumers as well as the producers, it is of the greatest importance not only that safety markets should be established for imported animals, but that sanitary regulations should be made for the trade and traffic in home-bred animals, so as to prevent the spread of pleuro-pneumonia, scab, smallpox, and other dis- CH.S6S. Mr. Maseen (Staffordshire) said they had often been told that the agriculturists were very anxious to have restrictions imposed upon others, but very unwilling to be placed in a similar position themselves. The resolution before the Chamber was opposed to that view. It dealt with the transit of home stock, and was a satisfactory answer to those who accused the agricultural body of wishing for legislation for their own especial benefit (Hear, hear). On the previous Saturday the following resolution was passed by the Staffordshire chamber: " That it is of the utmost importance both to the producers and to the consumers of animal food that waterside safety 324 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. markets should be established for the sale and slaughter of all imported fat stock, aud that store stock should be subjected to quarantine ; that owners of home cattle, sheep, or pigs, suffer- ing from contagious diseases, should be required to give imme- diate notice of the existence of such diseases to an inspector or other officer appointed for such purpose ; that the removal alive of any animal from infected premises should be strictly prohibited, except by written authority from a duly qualified inspector, endorsed by a magistrate; that no diseased animals, or others which have been in contact with them, should be exposed in any public place ; that all trucks used for the con- veyance of live stock should be thoroughly cleansed and dis- infected ; and that any breach of the above regulations should be punished with fine or imprisonment." Mr. A. Pell, M.P., considered it a most valuable feature of this resolution that it was proposed that future legislation should be made as general as possible, and include Ireland. In the committee on the Metropolitan Foreign Cattle Market Bill of last session, Mr. Cullen, an important witness con- nected with the Irish cattle trade, stated that under the exist- ing regulations foreign cattle landed at Dublin were subse- quently removed to places in the interior, where they mixed with Irish store cattle, and that there was no Order in Council which prevented store cattle which had been placed in that position from being brought over to England (Hear, hear). Sir George Jenkinson, M.P., objected to that part of the resolutions which would require a man to publish his own misfortunes. He also thought it would be hard to make a farmer condemn, as it were, all his cattle and sheep. The Chairman observed that the question was whether or not there was to be complete isolation in cases of disease (Hear, hear). Mr. Findlay Dunn objected to the use of the word " in- fectious" in the first resolution, remarking that it was in- cluded in " contagious" and had fallen into disuse among scientific men. Sir G. Jenkinson, M.P., moved as an amendment to the second resolution, with the view as he stated, of getting rid of the third, which would then be uunecessary, the addition to the word "glanders" of the following: "Within so many days of such animals having had any such disease ," adding that the carrying out of his proposal might save many farmers from great humiliation. Mr. Brawn thought the effect of Sir George Jenkinson's proposal would be entirely to defeat the object of the reso- lution. There could be no object in concealment, except to get rid of the stock, and the only means of avoiding in the future what had caused so much loss in the past was that the owner of the stock should give notice to a duly-qualified in- spector, or some other person appointed for the purpose, of the existence of disease upon his farm. Mr. JosEni Smith (Essex) thought farcy was not an infectious disease. Mr. Findlay Dunn concurred in this opinion, observing that during the hard work of the season a large proportion of the cab and omnibus horses of London were scarcely ever free from farcy budds. If farcy were inserted in the resolution, mange certainly ought to be so as well. A desultory discussion on the questions thus raised resulted in votes in favour of the retention of the word " infectious" in the first resolution, in the omission of the word " farcy," and in the refusal of the meeting to insert " mange" when proposed by Mr. Findlay Dunn. The first resolution having beeu adopted without any altera- tion, the second was ultimately passed in the following amended form : " This Chamber considers that strict regulations should be imposed as to the accommodation, feeding, watering, and se- curity from contagion of animals on transit by ship, public road or highway, and railway ; that it shall be made penal to remove by road, railway, or water, or to exhibit in any fair, market, or public sale animals suffering from cattle plague, pleuro-pneumonia, sheep-pox, foot-and-mouth complaint, scab, or glanders ; and that all fairs, markets, or public sales should be subject to efficient inspection." The third resolution was adopted in the form in which it was proposed, with the exception of the substitution at the end of " place" for " farm." On the fourth resolution, relating to the introduction of diseases by foreign cattle, Mr. Fisher (East Biding of Yorkshire) alluded to the great losses which had arisen from cattle-plague in his own district through the importations of foreign stock at Hull. Having paid great attention to the cattle imported there he had often noticed the foul state in which they were landed, some of them being then in such a condition, owing to the poisonous state of the air which they had breathed on the journey, that it re- quired three or four men to prop them up. He felt very strongly that unless some such resolution as that under consi- deration was carried out there would be no security against foreign disease (Hear, hear). Mr. Findlay Dunn remarked that if there were a separate market for foreign cattle anywhere on the banks of the Thames, the same salesmen and butchers, having the same carts and dogs, would attend both that market and the home market in Copenhagen-fields, and all who knew anything about such contagious diseases as rinderpest and pleuro-pneumonia would agree with him that if the same people went backwards and forwards between the two different markets there would be great risk of the transference of foreign diseases from the one market to the other. If, therefore, there was to be a separate foreign market, in order to prevent disease from extending throughout the kingdom, the metropolitan market must con- tinue to be closed. The Chairman remarked that the resolution did not say anything about that. Mr. F. Dunn : But judging from the remarks of the last speaker he presumed the intention was that all cattle brought to the banks of the Thames should be slaughtered there, and in his opinion the Chamber should avoid committing itself to a policy which might not be approved by the whole body of agriculturists or promote the interest of the public. Mr. Genge Andrews said the last speaker seemed en- tirely oblivious of what had passed heretofore in the Chamber with regard to cattle plague. Last year they adopted a resolution to the effect that the only hope of shutting out that disease lay in providing for the sale and slaughter at the waterside of all foreign stock. That he took to be the drift of all their action in regard to this matter (Hear, hear). Surely there must be less danger when animals were slaugh- tered at the waterside than when the owners were allowed to send them to Copenhagen Fields ; and he could not, therefore, see any point in Mr. Dunn's argument. The Chairman said that argument was in effect the old tale, that there could be no absolute security against the spread of disease. If the principle of that objection were carried out in all cases, men would have to exclude doctors from the hospitals, and turn all the fever patients out (Hear, hear, and laughter) . The resolution was then adopted without amendment. On the motion of Sir Herbert Croft, M.P., seconded by Sir G. Jenkinson, M.P., a vote of thanks was accorded to the Chairman, and with this acknowledgment the sitting terminated. THE BUSINESS OF CHAMBERS OF AGRICULTURE. The following letter has been addressed by Lord Mount Edgcumbe to Mr. Henry Tresawna : " Villa Bcaulieu, Cannes, Feb. 26, 18G9. Dear Sir, — As the first year of the Cornwall Chamber of Agriculture is drawing to a close, and with it my term of pre- sidency, I must write you a few lines in relinquishing that office. The interest and weight attached to the resolutions of Chambers of Agriculture so obviously depend on their being discussed and adopted at full assemblies of their members, that I have seen with much regret how far the attendance both of farmers and landowners has hitherto fallen short of what might have been expected, and, though I am the last who can find fault with others, this makes me regret all the more my own absence. I believe, however, I need hardly explain that it has been altogether unavoidable ; and I hope this is generally known to the members — not that they have suffered by it, for the chair has been occupied by a gentleman much better qualified to fill it — but still a president who is never seen is an objectionable anomaly, and for this reason, even if they were TJL1JLJ FARMERS MAGAZINE. willing to rc-clcct rac, I should decline the honour. I shall always, however, take a deep interest in the welfare of the Chamber, and in the subjects discussed at its meetings. You once invited me to write my opinion on one of these — the formation of financial boards — but I preferred not doing so in a busty letter, without knowing more, by personal contact, of the feelings on which the demand was founded. My own belief is, that in our county, as in most others, there has been little cause for complaint in the way the magistrates have ad- ministered the funds, but as one of their number I fully recog- nise as just the desire of the ratepayers generally to have a share in the control over the finances. I think, however, that the magistrates ex-officio have a right tobe represented at the boards, both from their interest in the objects to which the funds arc ap- plied, and from the ownership of theproperty which has ultimately to bear the burden. I believe that boards constructed without a due representation of the magistrates would be liable, through supposed economy, to cause a loss to the county of efficient public servants, in departments where efficiency is the best economy, and I say this not forgetting the circumstances uuder which an opposite error lately excited irritation in the minds of many who have since perhaps regretted the consequences as deeply as I do myself. There is one important subject — the Revision of Local Taxation, with a view to the burden being shared by the national funds — which needs further Parliamentary investiga- tion before any other opinion can safely be offered than that there is a manifest injustice in the fact of owners and occu- piers of laud and houses being exclusively charged with the cost of many institutions with which they have no more ne- cessary connexion than the rest of the community. As to rating of mines and woods, I have expressed my opinion in favour of both. With regard to the former, I apprehend that miners and agriculturists are agreed as to the reasonableness of confining the standard of assessment to the amount of the lord's royalties. In another debateable point — Game — a distinguished member of the present Government, in an amusing speech at a recent agricultural meeting, apologized for his rashness in touching upon so dangerous a subject. Yet be did not venture beyond rabbits. As to those troublesome animals, a paragraph in the papers the other day announced that the vexed question had at last been solved by a gentleman in Wales, who had de- clared his intention henceforth to afford his tenants facilities for destroying all rabbits, only by such means as should not destroy other game. All I can say is that I have adopted that course for many years, but as regards other game, though always ready to raise my voice emphatically against the fashion of excessive game rearing, as in every way bad, I think it would be an unfortunate thing if landlords aud tenants should ever so far disagree about it, as to make its preservation an impossi- bility. 1 trust on these aud other questions connected with the relations of landlords and tenants, witli legislative enact- ments affecting agricultural interests generally, with the ad- vancement of agriculture as a science, and last, though not least, with the education and improved condition of the culti- vators of the soil, the discussions of the Cornwall Chamber will bear a useful and influential part, which, I may repeat, can only be the case if its meetings are fully attended ; and begging that its members will accept through you my thanks for having allowed my name to appear as their first president, I remain, yours faithfully, Mount Edgcumbe. THE IMPORTATION OF FOREIGN CATTLE. The Right Hon. W. E. Eorster, M.P., Vice-President of the Council, received on Friday, March 5, a deputation in- troduced by Mr. T. Bazley, M.P., and Mr. W. C. Charley, M.P. Mr. Ormiston said that the object of the deputation was to point out the serious loss and inconvenience that arose from the present restrictions ou the importation of foreign cattle, the trade having diminished about 80 per cent, in Newcastle during the last three years. The loss was a serious one to the community at large, inasmuch as they were deprived of the competition with English cattle, aud poor people had to pay a very high price for their meat. The deputation asked the Government to assist in removing the restrictions. Since the removal of restrictions upon the importation of sheep at New- castle, the results had been most beneficial to the town. Mr. J. W. S. Young stated that there was no instance in his knowledge of a diseased ox or cow having been imported from Hamburg to Hartlepool. The slaughter of cattle at the port of debarkation was a serious inconvenience, and caused the butchers to limit their importations. As an instance of the injury to the trade, the importation of sheep in Hartle- pool was, in 1866 4S,000 head, and in 1868 only 20,000. On the removal of the restrictions on Feb. 26, the importation in- creased from 10 or 20 a day to 873 on that day alone. He suggested that cattle should be allowed to be sent inland after being inspected by a veterinary surgeon. Mr. W. Morrison, M.P., said that at Plymouth a large quantity of cattle were imported from France, Spain, and Por- tugal, where no diseased cattle were found ; but no distinction was made between the Spanish cattle and cattle from infected districts. The cattle were required to undergo twelve hours' quarantine, and when the cattle ships arrived oil market-day (the markets being held twice a week) a delay of three days took place. Mr. Clay, M.P., stated that Hull was the inlet and outlet for a large, manufacturing district, but owing to the cattle re- striction it was impossible to supply the district sufficiently, and the Hull market was subject to an occasional glut of foreign cattle, rendering the trade so precarious that foreign exporters hardly cared to carry it on. He hoped that the Go- vernment would so remove these restrictions as to permit cattle to be sent inland without beiug slaughtered. Mr. Headla.it, M.P., said that the importation of cattle in that town had fallen from 6,000 in 1866, to 1,000 in 1868, and the price of meat was so high as to be beyond the reach of working men. Mr. Greaves said he was a butcher, from Manchester, and that it was of the highest importance that cattle should be sent there alive, and slaughtered afterwards. During the summer months, it was very difficult to supply Manchester with dead meat ; and the offal was always lost — a serious question for the poorer classes in that locality. Mr. Glover represented the Hull Chamber of Commerce, and read a series of resolutions for the removal of restrictions passed at a meeting of persons interested in the cattle trade. Mr. Forster promised to give the matter his most serious consideration, but pointed out that the Legislature had to con. sider interests of a very conflicting character in meeting this question. He could well understand the disadvantages under which the foreign cattle trade laboured, and was about to bring in a bill that evening on the subject, which the deputation would be enabled to read. 326 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. Monthly Council, Wednesday, March 3. — Present : Mr. H. S. Thompson (trustee) in the chair, Viscount Bridport, Lord Chesham, Lord Kesteven, Lord Walsine;- ham, Hon. H. G. Liddell, M.P., Mr. Acland, M.P., Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Barnett, Mr. Barthropp, Mr. Booth, Mr. Bowley, Mr. Bramston, Mr. Cantrell, Colonel Challoner, Mr. Clive, M.P., Mr. Davies, Mr. Druce, Mr. Edmonds Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Holland, Mr. Hornsby, Mr. Hoskyns, Mr. Millward, Mr. Pain, Mr. Ransome, Mr. Statter, Mr. Torr, Mr. Turner, Mr. Wells, M.P., Major Wilson, Mr. Jacob Wilson, Professor Simonds, and Dr. Voelcker. The following new members were elected ; Allen, George, Knightly Hall, Eccleshall, Staffordshire. Aveland, Lord, Normanton Park, Oakham. Bartram, William, Harrogate, Yorkshire. Bland, Henry Wainwright, Barlow, Chesterfield. Brady, W. Hollingshed, Chestergate, Stockport. Brierley, C. William, Rhodes House, Middleton. Brown, Pereira, Glentworth Hall, Lincoln. Cannon, Joseph C, Oxford. Dalzell, John, Stainburn Hall, Workington. Dobbs, Samuel P., Huntley, Gloucester. Gadsby, Alfred, 10, Crane-court, London, E.C. Graham, James, Parcelstown, Westlinton, Carlisle. Greenfield, George, Belle Eau Park, Ollerton. Groucock, Charles, Stanfield Hall, Wymondham. Haig, George E., Goodworth Clatford, Andover. Hart, John, Strangeways, Manchester. Hill, John, Crookes House, Newent. Hunt, George, Evesham. Ingledew, John, Sewborweus, Peurith. Jenkinson, Francis Marston, Stafford. Johnson, Daniel J., Kensall-green, Harrow-road, Middlesex. Knight, Edward, Smallrise, Sandon, Stone, Staffordshire. Laurie, Reginald N., Pax Hill Park, Cuckfield. Leech, George, Hunden Great Lodge, Haverhill. Loveridge, Charles, Ivetsey Bank, Penkridge. Lucas, Rev. C. H., The Rectory, Edith Weston, Stamford. M'Gregor, John, Acton Weaverham, Northwich. Mitchell, J. Jackson, Wigton. Monckton, Frederick, Hadlow, Tonbridge. Nelson, Thomas, Catgill Hall, Egremont, Cumberland. Nicks, William, Greville House, Gloucester. O'Neil, William, Athy, Kildare. Purdon, Edward, Bachelor's Walk, Dublin. Rogers, Henry, Wolgarstone, Penkridge. Rogers, Thomas, Coxall, Brampton Brian, Staffordshire. Roth well, W. Talbot, Foxholes, EM, Lancaster. Simpkin, Joseph, Narborough, Leicester. Simpson, Samuel, 33, South King-street, Manchester. Smith, Henry, Eaton Constantine, Wellington, Salop. Spedding, John J., Greta Bank, Keswick. Strickland, George, Low Abbey, Kirkby Thore, Penrith. Thornton, John, 15, Langham-place, Loudon, W. Tomlinson, Bruce, Asgarby, Sleaford. Valpy, Richard, Heathlands, Wimbledon, Surrey. Wall, Thomas, The Ford, Droitwich. Wartnaby, Mrs., Market Harborough. Welchman, Thomas, Malshanger Farm, Basingstoke. Wigram, John, Harlow, Essex. Wilkinson, S. VV., Apsley Cottage, Stockport. Wood, James, Haigh, Wigau. Finances. — Lord Bridport (Chairman) presented the report, from which it appeared that the Secretary's re- ceipts during the past month had been examined by the Committee, and by Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., the Society's accountants, and were found correct. The balance in the hands of the bankers on February 28 was £1,993 18s. 5d. The deed of security given by the Secretary and his sureties had been received duly signed, and ordered to be placed in the custody of the London and Westminster Bank. — This report was adopted. Journal. — Mr. Thompson (Chairman) reported that Messrs. Clowes and Son having agreed to accept a reduc- tion in the price of printing, paper, and other expenses connected with the publication of the Journal, whereby a saving will be effected fully as great as the Committee anticipated from advertising for public tenders, the Com- mittee recommend the Council to accept this offer. In pursuance of the authority given them by the Council, the Committee had settled the plan to be pursued in in- specting the selected farms, and had made the requisite arrangements with Mr. H. H. Dixon, both for visiting the farms and preparing the reports for publication in the Journal. In accordance with a suggestion of Mr. Willson, of Knaptoft Hall, Rugby, the Committee recommend that in the first number of the Journal of every year those members of the Council who retire by rotation in the following May shall be indicated by an asterisk being placed against their names. With regard to Essay prizes, it was reported that in Class IV., " On the Domestic Economy of the Agricultural Labourer," the judges have recommended that the prize be withheld. — This report was adopted. House. — Viscouut Bridport (Chairman) reported that the Committee had consulted Mr. Fowler, the architect, with reference to alterations in order to obtain additional rooms for the use of committees ; and that as the cost will not exceed £75, according to the plan submitted, the expenditure of that sum for the purpose was now recom- mended.— This report was adopted. Chemical. — Mr. Wells (Chairman) reported that the following papers had been contributed by Dr. Voelcker to Part 2 of the Journal for 1868, viz.: 1. On the Composition and Nutritive Value of Tri- folium striatum — a new kind of Clover. 2. On the Causes of the Benefits of Clover as a preparatory crop for Wheat. 3. The Annual Chemical Report. It was also stated that the forthcoming number of the Journal will contain Dr. Voelcker's report (now in type) on Field Experiments on Cloverseeds and per- manent pasture ; and that Dr. Voelcker had reported that experiments on drainage-waters from fields in various states of cultivation as regards manure are now in progress. The committee recommended that Dr. Voelcker be re- quested to investigate the subject of the admixture of night-soil and dried earth, with the view of ascertaining its value to agriculturists. It was also recommended that the usual annual grant for investigations be awarded to Dr. Voelcker. In conclusion the committee expressed their regret that the lectures delivered in former years had been discontinued. This report was ultimately adopted after a discussion, in the course of which Colonel Chalfoner regretted that no particular day had been fixed for the lectures. Mr. Wilson stated that it had been found that farmers would not attend. Mr. Thompson remarked that although every possible scheme had been tried, the result was always the same — bad attendance. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 327 It was then proposed by Lord Bridport, seconded by Colonel Challoucr, aud carried unanimously, " That Dr. Voelcker be invited to lecture on the general results of his investigations dating the past year, on some day here- after to be named by the chemical committee." .Manchester Meeting. — Lord Bridport presented the report, and stated that the committee recommend the formation of a sub -committee to take into considera- tion the question of refreshments, to draw up forms of tender and of advertisements, and to instruct the Secre- tary to issue those advertisements, inviting tenders — the committee to consist of Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Can- trell, Colonel Challoner, Mr. Davics, Mr. Statter, Mr. Torr, and Mr. Whitworth. It was also recommended that the contractor be instructed to provide a floored and waterproof marquee, to be erected in the showyard, for the accommodation of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales (President). A list of additional prizes, proposed to be given by local tenant-farmers for additional descrip- tions of stock having been laid before this committee by the Secretary of the local committee, it was recommended that this proposal be declined, as being inconsistent with the rules and objects of the Society. It was recom- mended that the name of Sir Thomas Hesketh, Bart., M.P., be added to the list of this committee. With re- ference to the question of placing the local committee in a position to offer some privilege or compliment to the subscribers to its local fuud, to its executive, or other- wise, it was recommended that the Council place at the disposal of the local committee — (1) 500 non transfer- able weekly tickets, and (2) 250 non-trausferable tickets for distribution on the second day of the show. — This re- port was adopted. Show-yard Contract. — Mr. Milward reported that the Committee recommended that the tent usually erected for the general meetings in the show-yard be put up at the commencement of the show, so as to be available for the use of the members of the Society during the week ; and that it be furnished with a table, chairs, and writing ma- terials. The Committee, having considered a series of suggestions, made by Mr. Willson, of Knaptoft Hall, Rugby, recommended that the regulations of the Society be enforced at the entrance-gates, and that wire-netting be provided to protect the cheese and butter exhibited from injury by visitors. — This report was adopted. The question of the supply of chaii'3 for the use of the Council and officers of the Society, and of those to be let for hire to the public, having been investigated by the Committee, the facts were reported to the Council, and on the motion of Mr. Milward, seconded by Mr. Thomp- son, it was unanimously resolved that the contractor be the only person allowed to let chairs in the show-yard, on his undertaking to supply not less than 1,000 chairs, at a charge of Id. each time a chair is used, or 6d. for a day- ticket. Agricultural Education. — Mr. Holland (Chair- man) reported that the arrangements for the Society's examinations were proceeding satisfactorily, but that the Committee recommend the commencement of the exami- nation on Tuesday, April 13th, instead of Monday, the 12th, in order to allow of candidates from a distance reaching London on Monday instead of Saturday. This report was adopted, after a conversation, in the course of wmich Mr. Acland expressed doubts whether the results obtained were proportionate to the expenditure entailed. Mr. Holland stated that the whole of the grant was not spent last year, and not necessarily spent without an equi- valent result ; and Mr. Thompson mentioned his desire to have the question of future examinations discussed in the latter part of the year. It was also announced that the following gcutleinen had consented to act as examiners at the ensuing examiuatiou in April : — Agriculture : Mr. It. Vallentine, of Burcott Lodge, Leighton-Buzzard. Chemistry: Drs. Voelcker and Liveing. Botany: Pro- fessor Bentlcy. Geology : Professor Morris. Land- Surveying and Mechanics: Professor Twisden and Mr. Amos. Book-keeping : Messrs. Quilter and Ball. Printing Awards. — Mr. B. T. Brandreth Gibbs (Chairman) reported the recommendation of the Com- mittee that Messrs. Gadsby and Arnold be allotted space in the showyard to put up — at their own expense — a printing press for the purpose of printing the implement and stock awards, and such notices aud other work as the Society may wish them to undertake during the show- week, provided that Messrs. Gadsby and Arnold's tender be satisfactory to the Committee with regard to price, Announcement of the death of Sir J. V. B. Johnstone, Bart., M.P., having been made, notice was given that the election of a Governor to fill the vacancy thus created in the list of Vice-Presidents would take place at the next monthly Council. On the motion of Mr. Torr, it was resolved that the Stock Prizes Committee be authorised to prepare a new list of judges, in the manner they may deem best, after communication with the leading county agricultural societies. A letter was read from Mr. Horton, of Harnage Grange, Shropshire, requesting the Council to receive a deputation of the Shropshire and other sheep -breeders, to present a memorial on the subject of inspection of wool and shearing, and it was resolved to receive and consider the memorial, but to decline an interview with the deputation. It was proposed by Mr. Wells, M.P., Senior Steward, seconded by Mr. C. Barnett, and carried unanimously, that Mr. Jacob Wilson be elected Junior Steward of Live Stock. It was then proposed by Mr. Torr, seconded by Mr. D. R. Davies, and carried unanimously, that Mr. Wren Hoskyns be nominated as Steward Elect of Imple- ments. On the motion of Mr. Torr, it wa3 resolved that the Stewards of Departments at Manchester be authorised to obtain the assistance of any other Members ot Council, as temporary Stewards, whenever required. A letter was read from M. Fleury, Consul-General of France, announcing the formation of the " Societe des Agriculteurs de Prance," under the presidency of M. Drouyn de Lhuys, and inviting members of the Society to join it as foreign members. A letter was read from the Secretary of the Society of Arts, stating that a number of articles, especially milk- cans, had been sent in to compete for certain prizes of- fered by its Council, and were now on view at John- street, Adelphi; those members of the Royal Agricul- tural Society who are interested in the conveyance of milk, or who have special knowledge of the subject, were particularly invited to inspect the collection. 328 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE CENTRAL FARMERS' CLUB. THE ADULTERATION OP FEEDING-STUFFS AND ARTIFICIAL MANURES. The second monthly meeting of the Club took place on Monday, March 1st, at the Club-house, Salisbury-square, the chairman of the year, Mr. R. J. Newton, of Campsfield, Woodstock, presiding. The subject for the evening, "The Adulteration of Feeding-stuffs and Artificial Manures," was in- troduced by Professor Voelcker. The Chairman, in opening the meeting said, he need hardly say that the subject for discussion was one which deeply concerned the purchasers of feeding-stuffs and artificial ma- nures. It concerned also first-class manufacturers of those ar- ticles, and indirectly, and in a much smaller degree, the whole community. He was quite convinced that it was a proper question for the Farmers' Club to deal with ; but at the same time, as chairman of the meeting, he must beg to say, that it was a subject that should be discussed guardedly and tem- perately. He did not mean that there should be any feelings of delicacy as to denouncing the practice of adulterating feed- ing-stuffs and manures ; on the contrary, the practice could not be too strongly condemned (cheers). His idea, however, was, that the subject should be spoken to in general terms, and, to his mind, it was not desirable that the names of the manu- facturers should be mentioned during the discussion. To do so either favourably or unfavourably would be invidious, and the Club had better keep clear of the danger, by avoiding it. From the very heading of the subject upon the card, it must be at the outset accepted as undisputed, that there was adulteration in the compounds named, and it remained to be seen, whether it did not exist to a considerable extent. He hoped, therefore, that the result of the discussion would be to point out to what extent the manufacturers of feeding-stuffs and artificial ma- nures were to blame, and whether they were in any way en- couraged, perhaps unknowingly by other parties. His own apinion was, that manufacturers were not entirely to blame for the adulteration, but that other parties were to blame, as he had hinted, unknowingly. He alluded to the class of purchasers who went to market with a determination to buy under the fair market value of the goods if they possibly could (Hear, hear). Such persons were not satisfied unless they could get £11 oilcake at £10, and £7 superphosphate at £5. This system there could be no question encouraged adulteration to a large extent ; and so long as this class of under-buyers went to market, so long would there be goods there specially manufactured of an in- ferior quality. The subject was a very broad one ; but there Was comfort in knowing that purchasers, both of feeding-stuffs and manures, had a safeguard within their reach — they could apply to firms of well-known repute as manufacturers of genuine goods ; and if at any time they felt doubt as to the quality of what they purchased, the aid of science could be called in at a trifling cost. The question was to be introduced by a gentleman whose scientific acquirementswere of world-wide fame, and he (the Chairman) would take this occasion to state his opinion, which he was sure would be concurred in by the entire meeting — that the farmers of England were much in- debted to Dr. Voelcker for his intelligent and practical application of his scientific knowledge to the furtherance of agriculture in this country (cheers). Professor Voelcker said : Happily for me, but un- fortunately for the agricultural community, the subject which I have the honour of introducing for discussion to-night is so full of material that I need not go in search of any extraneous matter to fill up the hour usually allotted to the opener of our meetings. It is patent to all who have given any attention to the subject that both feeding materials and artificial manures are adulterated to an enormous extent, and though it be quite true, as the Chairman has observed, that fraudulent dealing with unprincipled men is encouraged in a measure by a certain class of agriculturists who will beat down the honest manufacturer to a price at which it is impossible to furnish a genuine article ; it is, nevertheless, a fact that high-priced feeding materials and manures are liable to be much adulterated. As I shall confine myself strictly to the ques- tion on the programme, you will not expect me to speak on the relative merits of the different feeding materials or of the application of the various artificial manures now in use in this country : on these topics I have had the privilege of ad- dressing you on a former occasion, and my aim now will be to point out to you in what manner some of the chief feeding materials are adulterated, and how the adulterations can be detected. I shall refer afterwards to the adulterations of artificial manures, and point out in general terms their com- position ; and, lastly, I shall endeavour to throw out a few hints which I trust may be useful to intending purchasers of the articles of which I shall have to speak. Let me direct your attention, in the first place, to the characteristic pro- perties of some of the principal feeding-cakes, and to some of the chief commercial products with which they are often adulterated. I need hardly say that one of the very best safeguards against imposition is a thorough ac- quaintance with the character and properties of the materials witli which you have to deal, for unless you are acquainted with the properties of the genuine article, you are not likely to re- cognize with much facility any spurious or injurious substance which may either carelessly or fraudulently be mixed with your feeding-cakes. Beginning, then, with the most impor- tant of all purchased feeding stuffs — linseed-cake — let me point out briefly its characteristic properties. Good linseed-cake should have an agreeable taste ; it should have no mouldy appearance, and when mixed in the proportion of 100 grains to 4 ounces of water, it should form a thick jelly, which one might almost taste with pleasure. I always think the perfec - tion of linseed-cake is that you could wish to be a cow in order to be able thoroughly to relish it (laughter). A bad cake has never a good taste, never makes a jelly if you mix the powdered liuseed-cake in the proportions just indi- cated. I have here specimens of both good and bad linseed- cakes. Here is one which mixed as I have shown produces a thick jelly like that I now hold before you. Here is another specimen which requires no microscope to show that it is adul- terated. No chemist is required to help you, all you want is THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 329 a decent pair of eyes and a sufficient amount of common sense, aud thea you will be able to convince yourself that the cake is frightfully mixed with foreign materials, and the predominant feeling in your mind will be utter wonder that there are agriculturists to be found to buy such rubbish. Mixed with water in the same proportion which I have employed in the case of the genuine article, a bad cake does nut give a good jelly, but a thin unwholesome look- ing liquid. Pure linseed-cake should be made with pure seed — not only good genuine seed, but pure seed. You will ask me at once what is the difference between genuine aud pure. If you know something of the ins and outs of the crushing trade you will at once understand the difference, but as many of you live in the couutry, aud only know the cake as it is sent to you in its manufactured state I may be pardoned per- haps if I explain it before I proceed further. Pure linseed contains nothing but the seed of that name. I here produce a sample of pure linseed. Of course I cannot vouch that it is wholly and absolutely pure, but the amount of foreign seeds does not generally rise higher than live or six per cent. Prac- tically that is pure liuseed. Linseeds in this country vary very much in quality, and it is held to be an excuse for the manufacture of impure cake that the makers cannot always obtain the genuine seed. But no such excuse should be allowed. Most of the foreign seeds found in liuseed are smaller, aud can be readily removed by sifting, and the maker of linseed-cake who is determined to use a pure article can do so with really very little trouble. The seeds which are sifted out from the linseed as it is imported are fre- quently again mixed with fresh portions of linseed which goes back under some assumed name, perhaps as Tilsit, Peters- burgs, &c. I have heard of seeds sifted out of the siftings being carried out to sea, where a ship comes alongside and an interchange is made of this seed which has more than its proper share of weed seeds. The cake made from this kind of material is made to a large extent at Hull. You may observe that many of the cakes sold as genuine linseed are really genuine bad cakes (a laugh). I have examined many and have here a specimen where it is very difficult to find any liuseed at all. The sample in this bottle contains more than 80 per cent, of foreign seeds or siftings. These siftiugs let me add are not by any means valueless, for they fetch a fair price iu the market as they may be pressed into cake, which is sold under the name of siftings-cake to makers who regularly deal in mixed feeding-cakes. In buying linseed, then, you ought to be careful that you get a guarantee that the cake is pure, and not merely genuine. I have here several parcels which would be called genuine which are very bad indeed, because they contain too much of the foreign seeds, some of which are not merely indifferent as feeding substances, but downright poisonous and injurious (Hear, hear). The farmer in buying these cakes runs considerable risk of doing positive injury to his stock, and for this reason I would strongly recommend you to use a pure Unseed, and give encouragement to those companies or private firms who make nothing but pure linseed-cake. I am happy to say there are at the present time some mills in which nothing but pure cake is made — I wish I could say there are a good many ; but I know only some eight or ten, and not more I think in all the country. If it be remembered that in Hull there are at least 40 oil-mills, and if it be borne in mind that I have had excelleut opportunities of forming a fair estimate of the proportions of pure and mixed cake makers, you will all agree with me it is a matter of deep regret to have to arrive at the conclusion at which I have arrived, viz., that there are scarcely 10 per cenc. of the oil-mills of England that turn out a pure article (Hear, hear). One remark I must make that may be useful to you ; it is that hard cakes though they re- quire a little manipulation on the part of the farmer sometimes are the very best cakes that can be obtained. I have here one which I had some time ago the pleasure of analysing for one of the members of our club : it is, as you see, extremely hard, but examination proved that it was also extremely nutritious aud pure. It is made of a genuine linseed, which comes from Hungary. The cake is very dry, and requires to be broken up fine aud soaked in water before it should be given to stock. After all, this hardness is a positive advantage, for it preserves the cake, and protects it against the pernicious influences of our damp atmosphere. In a moderately well ventilated barn this kind of cake can be kept for years and years without deteriora- tion. Some of the softer cakes very rapidly become mouldy ; aud I need hardly say that mouldiness spoils the cake, and to such an extent that some follow the practice of mixing the spoiled cake again with a little fresh linseed or bran, and then sending it out as mixed, or professedly bran cakes. Many of the bran cakes have the germs of fungi in them ; and if you put them in damp places the natural consequence is rapid mouldiuess, aud great injury to the stock fed upon it. The cake I hold in my hand is one of the soft kind ; the mouldiuess is apparent in the centre, probably because several cakes have evidently been heaped together. If you want to keep your cake well, it is desirable to put it in a barn edgeways so that a current of air may pass through it, or else the cake is soon spoiled. I have upon the table various kinds of adul- terated cake, which you may examine at your leisure, but I shall not have sufficient time to refer to all of them ; I must content myself by speaking of the ordinary adul- terations. Here you have a cake which is adulterated, not with one, but with a variety of things, with cotton cake, with bran cake, and earthnut cake, and cocoa- nut cake The following substances are frequently used in the manufacture of mixed cakes : Palm nut, oat dust and barley dust (in other words the refuse of the manufacture of the oat- meal and pearl barley), rice dust (obtained in gleaning rice for the market, and generally known as rice-meal), beech-nut cake, hempseed and the cake manufactured from it, and locust beans. There is another ingredient which has but lately come under my notice, and that is indigo seed. I have a specimen of cake made from that. I should not have discovered the presence of indigo seed in oilcake but for the fact that the seed pressed into cake had been sent to me by a manufacturer, with an inquiry whether it might be safely mixed with feeding cakes (laughter). I believe this indigo seed is not poisonous, but it has a very dis- agreeable taste, and possesses very littlenutritiousvalue. Iought perhaps here to say that most of these adulterating materials are harmless in themselves, while some of them, like locust beans, possess an undoubted feeding value. The proportion of sugar in the carob bean is very large ; locust beans have con- siderable feeding qualities, and also bran, which is a good ma- terial in its place. Still, in comparison with good linseed cake, these things do not possess what we might designate a high- feeding value, because they contain more of the woody fibre than liuseed, while the proportion of oil in pure linseed cake is considerable, and much greater than in bran. Although bran is a useful food in its way, I would strongly recommend you to make your own mixture at home. In that case you 330 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. can mix pure linseed cake, and bran in the propor- tions which experience tells you will best suit your stock. But whilst many of these adulterating materials are comparatively harmless, or, in a few cases, even nutri- tious, there are some, on the other hand, which are highly poisonous. Not long ago there was a case tried in the Court of Common Pleas where an importer of cake claimed heavy damages for having been supplied by a Bombay house with cake which, to all appearance, was a first-rate article, full of oil, and fine in every respect. The cake was sold in England ; and it was not long before it was found out that it was doing considerable harm to the cattle that had been feeding upon it ; and I am not sure whether some of the stock did not die [A voice : "Yes, they did"]. Well, upon ex- amining the cake, I found castor-oil beans in it. An ordinary analysis would not have brought this fact to light ; but a strict microscopic examination left no doubt whatever that a considerable quantity of castor-oil beans had been mixed with the Indian linseed. Another material I found last winter for the first time in linseed cake was still more poisonous. It was a bean —a specimen of which I will pass round to yon — known as the curcas bean. A single bean is quite enough to make a man very sick, for it is very drastic in its effects ; it comes from the Cape de Verde Islands. This kind of cake is made, I be- lieve, chiefly at Bristol, and can only be used for manuring purposes. The smallest admixture in feeding cake renders the whole poisonous. Now, for a few observations on rapecake. It should be made from good clean rapeseed, that is to say, from seed which does not contain, like some of the Indian rapeseed, quantities of wild mustard. Some of the Indian rape seed is so full of this that the cake, when it gets into the stomachs of the cattle, becomes so pungent that it blisters the intestinal canal, and, of course, causes serious injury, if it does not kill them. The only descriptions of rapecake which is safe to use is the French or German green cake. I should not like to say that mustard is purposely mixed with rapeseed, because it is known that they grow together in the fields in India, where the agriculturists do not weed so care- fully as we are in the habit of doing, and where the wild mustard spreads with wonderful rapidity upon ill-managed farms. It often happens that the seeds from which Indian rapecake is made is so largely contaminated with mustard that, on mixing the powdered cake with water, you get a paste which you might use with your beef without doing yourselves much injury (laughter). I have a specimen of cake here which even now smells and tastes palpably of mustard. Never forget that there are ready means of detecting this kind of adulteration. All you have to do is to pound the cake into coarse powder, and mix it with water. Leave it to stand for twenty-four hours be- fore you examine it ; for it is well to remember that the pungent oil of mustard does not exist ready formed in the seed, but is produced by a certain fermentation in the in- gredients of which the cake is made. Cotton-cake requires our attention next. There are two kinds, and neither of them is much adulterated, although occasionally both are sold to the farmer of a very inferior quality. Decorticated cake is made of the cotton-seed.after the shell is carefully removed. I have here some really excellent specimens of decorticated cotton-cake. When pure, it is of a bright yellow colour, and tastes as sweet as a nut. Indeed, I do not see why we should not call it a nut since it is the kernel of the cotton-seed. When stale, the cake alters its colour, becomes darker, and is very apt to get mouldy in damp localities. Here is a specimen which I have labelled poison- ous to cattle when mouldy. In its pure state it is not so, but mouldiness developes a poisonous fungus. Ordinary cotton- cake, which is made from the whole seed should be well ground in the mill, and the husk should be reduced to as fine a powder as possible. Coarse-ground seed becomes injurious by being indigestible. Occasionally an extra quantity of the husk is added to the ordinary whole-seed cotton-cake, which then becomes, as a matter of course, inferior in feeding qua- lity. It is difficult to recognize this species of adulteration by ordinary inspection ; but chemical analysis will discover it. From a table of comparative statistics, which I have prepared here, you perceive that there is a great difference in the feed- ing quality of the whole-seed cotton-cake. The amount of husk is nearly 48 to 50 per cent, of the whole cake, and I be- lieve, at its present price of from £8 to £8 10s. per ton, it is the dearest cake you can possibly buy. I would not recom- mend the use of cotton-cake when the price rises above £7 per ton (Hear, hear). I must now hasten on to the second division of my subject — the adulteration of artificial manures. If the loss which the farmer sustains by buying inferior feed- ing materials is to be lamented, the loss which he incurs by the use of adulterated manures is much more to be deplored, because the injury clone by the application of adulterated or inferior manures is not at once perceptible, and many a man goes on for a long time without being aware of the real cause of the small crop at which he wonders, and repines. There- fore am I very anxious to be much more severe on the dealers in adulterated guanos, or very grossly adulterated manures of other kinds. In a certain measure, as our chairman ob- served, the farmer can protect himself in buying feeding mate- rials, but he has not the same facility of protection in the pur- chase of artifical manures. You cannot by any inspection re- cognise whether guano is adulterated or not. I defy even an adept in guano to tell me whether this specimen before me is genuine or otherwise it is so like the genuine article. Che- mical skill is required to effect a detection, but chemical skill can do it. Hence, it is that these fraudulent transactions are so much more common and extensive than the dealings in adulterated feeding materials can possibly be. There are, how- ever, one or two things which it may be useful for you to re- member, in as much as they will enable you to detect pure Pe- ruvian guano from the adulterated kinds. The best Peruvian guano always has a lighter specific gravity than adulterated kinds. If you weigh a bushel of the genuine stuff you will find its weight per bushel does not exceed 691bs. It is usually from 681bs. to 691bs. per bushel, that is to say, a bushel measure filled, and struck off. Adulterated guano always weighs more. This surely is a simple way of testing the value of guano. Another equally simple way is to burn a small quantity. If you have the appliances to do it by careful weight, take 100 grains. Should the guano be genuine it will leave one-third of its weight in ash, which is perfectly white; in other words, 66 grains will burn away, and 3-i will remain in the form I have stated. If the guano be adulterated it will leave perhapsmorethan one-half of its weight in ash, and the ash will invariably be coloured, since the earthy matters wliich arc usually employed contain oxide of iron, and that compound causes the ash to be of a brownish or yellow-brown colour. Genuine Peruvian guano yields — or perhaps I ought to say yielded — from 17 to 19 per cent, of ammonia. At the present time, how- ever, you must be satisfied if you can get 16 per cent. I very much fear the supply of guano will come to an end THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 331 within 110 very remote period, for certainly the average cargoes Rre not so good as they were some eight or teu years ago. This is why I say you must be satisfied if iu the best Govern- ment Peruvian guano you can get 16 pev cent, of ammonia ; whereas formerly it was by no means uncommon to get 18 and 19 per cent., and I have had samples indeed which re- vealed 20 per cent. The materials that are mixed with guano are gypsum, chalk, and certain yellowish loams which abound in the mouths of the Mersey, Liverpool being one of the chief dep6ts of mixed guanos (laughter, and Hear, hear). Liver- pool, indeed, is famous iu one respect for the mixing of guanos, iu the same way us Hull is famous for the mixing of feeding- cakes ; neither of them can be said to enjoy an enviable noto- riety (cheers). Let me here add a word of warning while speaking of Peruvian guano : Never buy guano which is offered at auction. Follow my advice ; ask no questions, but when anybody offers guano by auction have nothing to do with it. If you do, blame yourselves if you are taken in (Hear, hear). I have never yet seen geuuine Peruvian guano sold in such a way in small lots to the consumer. Will you aho permit me to make anothor remark, by way of caution ? Never put dependence upon any analysis of mine, or that of an equally respectable chemist— for I suppose at the Farmers' Club I may venture so to describe myself (cheers). Remember the analysis only proves the composition of the sample which was submitted to me at the time ; it offers no guarantee that what you get shall be the same. These analyses, I am sorry to say, are frequently made for mere gain ; they enable the unprincipled dealer to sell spurious articles to ignorant men. It frequently happens that when guanos are offered for sale an analysis is shown with them of a highly recommendatory character, whereas the bulk which is sold to the unwary pur- chaser is totally different from the sample which was sub- mitted to the analyst's hands. Within the last few weeks I have had no less than four distinct cases of the grossest fraud of this description brought under my notice, in which guanos have been sold by action — and I fear in one case I have been unwittingly the instrument of inducing farmers to buy adulte- rated compounds. A sample was sent to me, and analyzed according to request, and I know positively it was afterwards mixed with a large quantity of yellow sandy loam, and sold by auction as genuine material on the strength of my analysis. It was sold at prices varying from £7 to £9 per ton, and yet it was not worth more than from £2 to £3. Is it likely that so valuable a material as Peruvian guano can be sold at a price considerably lower than what you would give were you to buy a whole cargo? Notwithstanding this, purchased it was when of- fered for sale ; and the surprising thing is that farmers will per- sist in buying guano (as they think) at £9 or £10, or sometimes at a lower rate per ton, than that (Hear, hear) . Nitrate of soda I fear this year will be very frequently mixed with common salt, because the high price of the former offers a strong in- ducement to unprincipled persons to use the latter. Only the day before yesterday a person came into my laboratory with a sample of nitrate of soda. He complained of its high price, and said "What are we to do this year? Farmers won't pay more than £15. We are obliged, you see, to mix common salt with it, or we should not be able to sell any." I give you these words as I received them, and without any comment of my own (cheers). Sulphate of ammonia is another valuable manure which is occasionally adulterated, the chief adulter- ating principles being sulphate of magnesia or epsom salts, sulphate of soda or Glauber salt, Duriug last week I had several samples adulterated with these things. Bone-dust is not often adulterated, unless you buy it in a very fine powder, and then you run the risk of getting gypsum mixed with it, or you may possibly get with it vegetable ivory, which re- sembles fine bone-dust very closely. Prom a mauurial point of view this is not worth anything ; but it is good as an adulter- ating principle, and the button manufacturers of Birmingham will not take less than £2 10s. or £3 a ton for it. Dissolved bones and superphosphates are sold in the markets at high prices, and the prices which you ought to give for this de- scription of artificial manures should be regulated entirely by their quality. You cannot fix one uniform price for super- phoshates; everything depends upon the composition. You cannot look into the composition of the sample which is shown to you. I am often amazed by men who look very knowingly as they smell and look at superphosphates as if they could smell out the per-centage of a soluble phosphate or of ammonia which they contain (laughter). In a fixed or com- bined condition ammonia has no smell ; there is only one way of determining the value of superphosphate, and that is by analysis. I have placed over the Chairman's head a diagram, which repre- sents the composition of various kinds of superphosphates. Th constituents which chiefly regulate the value of this description of fertilizing agent are — soluble phosphate, insoluble phos- phate, and nitrogen, or ammonia. The more you have of soluble phosphate and bone phosphate and of nitrogen the better the class of artificial manure, and of course the more you will have to pay for it. There are some mixed artificial manures, the names of which do not exactly indicate their true character. For instance, there are a good many kinds of manure sold under the name of blood manures. A3 a fact, there is very little blood used in the manufacture of manures. Where is all the blood to come from that would make all the manures sold under the name P Some of the manures, never- theless, are very good — not on account of the blood, but other good things of which they are made. Whilst some refuse materials as blood, or even woollen refuse, are useful iu furnishing nitrogen to the growing plant with sufficient readiness, there are others which do not de- compose, and which are only added with the view of deceiv- ing both the consumer and the chemist who advises him. There is a description of nitrogenous manure which contains a good deal of leather (laughter). People say " There is no- thing like leather." I say leather is out of place in manure, even after it is steamed and subject to the action of sulphuric acid. Leather is still leather, do what you will with it. And now to sum up briefly the various points upon which I have spoken in detail during the course of this address, and to throw out a few suggestions which may be useful to intending purchasers of artificial feeding stuffs or manures. In buying linseed-cakes get a guarantee from the dealer that it is pure, and be not satisfied with a guarantee of its being merely genuine. If you have any doubt of the genuineness of the cake, send a sample for examination to a competent chemist. Those of you who are members of the Royal Agricultural Society can be informed by myself at a mere nominal fee. I would advise you not to encourage the manufacture of mixed cakes at all. Become your own mixers : buy the raw mate- rials, and make your mixtures as you please. You don't want to get a mixed cotton and linseed and earth-nut cake. If you buy earth-nut cake of good quality, you will find it very use- ful. Buy the cakes separate, and mix them with bean meal, or a certain proportion of bran, which you will find answer ex- 332 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. tremely well. In buying guano it suffices to have the guarantee of the dealer that the article is Peruvian Government guano of the best quality. You require no analysis— the guarantee is sufficient. In buying nitrate of soda, buy according to the percentage of pure nitrate ; in good samples you should get from 94 to 95 per cent. Sulphate of ammonia buy according to the percentage of ammonia ; in good commercial samples you ought to get from 22 to 24 per cent. A guarantee that bone-dust is genuine will be quite sufficient. In buying super- phosphates the first thing you have to do is to make up your mind as to what you want. Do you require mineral super- phosphate or bone manure ? According to your requirements let the guarantee be shaped. Mineral superphosphates are useful when your land is in first-rate order ; when it is not too light, or has been manured previously in autumn, they are very useful, and in buying them all you require is to have the per- centage of soluble phosphate guaranteed. If you on the other hand buy bone manures, you not only require the per- centage of soluble phosphates guaranteed, but also that of the insoluble phosphates, and, moreover, a distinct understanding that the insoluble phosphates are present really as bone, and not in the shape of coprolite powder, Estramadura phos- phate, or any other description of mineral phosphate. May I add a few remarks upon the advantages or disadvantages of those associations which have lately sprung up in several quarters, and which under proper guidance may prove ex- tremely useful to the agricultural community? In some localities manure associations have been established — associa- tions of farmers who buy artificial manures in considerable quantities, and then supply their members at wholesale prices with the manure, which is guaranteed in the first place to be of a certain strength and quality. Much good may be done by this co-operative system, provided you exercise sufficient supervision over those who supply your con- tracts. A manufacturer who guarantees to supply a ma- nure association of farmers with superphosphates contain- ing 24 or 25 per cent, of soluble phosphate may have the best intentions of fulfilling his contracts literally, but may not always be able to do it. It is not, therefore, superfluous for me to caution those who are supplied from these associa- tions with superphosphate of guaranteed strength to take care that they get from their own officers what they are sup- posed to obtain. I cannot see how it is possible to secure to the individual consumer that he gets the real article if the manure is delivered to him in small quantities. The manufacturer should deliver it in bulk at one time ; or if it be delivered at different times, with each delivery a fair sample should be drawn from the bulk and afterwards tested. If small parcels are sent direct from the manure works to the individual farmers I can- not see how you can control the quality of the article. I would therefore urge every caution in managing these manure associations, else the very object you have, in view, namely, self-protection, may be defeated altogether (cheers). The learned Professor, after thanking the meeting for the kind hearing they had given him, resumed his seat amidst ap- plause. Mr. E. Purser, jun. (Fenchurch-street),said he had listened with much interest to the able address with which the Club had been favoured, being one of the unfortunate class of manure-manufacturers wfio had been described by the Pro- fessor. He fully endorsed what had been said as to sale by auction of guanos. He himself knew of two sales within three weeks, The supposed guano was sent from one of the ' eastern to one of the southern counties, and sold by auction there, upon the plea that there was so much of the material in the eastern counties that this was their only way of dis- posing of it (laughter). As a manufacturer he insisted that farmers had the remedy against such tricks in their own hands. The buyers of guano had a very sure guarantee if they got it direct from any of the good dealers, they would be ready to show them the dock weights, which were really guarantees of the highest kind : there was the ships' name, and it was entered by Thompson, Bonar, & Co., the agents of the Peruvian Government, forming altogether as strong a guarantee as a man could wish with regard to anything he bought. The same remarks would hold good with regard to nitrate of soda. The co-operative societies which had been described, where large consumers clubbed together and took large quan- tities of manure, might be productive of much good ; but it must not be expected that the manure manufacturer was to deliver tiny parcels up and down all the lines in the kingdom at wholesale rates : that really was the province of the respect- able dealer. The firm to which he belonged was applied to only the other day to contract for a small quantity of manure to be delivered upwards of 150 miles from London, in quantities of two tons, and they were required to give an analysis or guarantee for every two tons. Could anyone defend this as a reasonable request ? All the large manufacturers, he was sure, would be but too happy to fulfil these requirements with large quantities, but wheu small parcels were sent about the country there was no knowing to what treatment the manure might not be subjected by other persons, leading as it often did to fraud and annoyance. In purchasing superphosphate of lime the agriculturist must look, in all mineral samples to solubility ; but he fancied it would be a good plan if soluble phosphates were sold at so much per unit on all the soluble material it contained (Hear, hear). This would be a simple and sure plan. He had great faith in science, of course, but the Professor would pardon him for saying that chemical analyses sometimes differed. He had seen samples drawn from the same bulk sent to different chemists — both clever men iu their several spheres — and great difference was found in their analyses. This was especially common with bone-ash ; once he saw a difference of from 4 to 6 per cent, in two analyses. This was an unfortunate, not to say hard thing, both for the consumer and dealer. If chemists could agree upon some particular method of calculating soluble phos- phates a great many mistakes would be saved (Hear, hear.) Mr. L. A. Coussmaker (Westwood, Guildford) said the farmers ought to be much obliged to the Professor for endeavouring to open their eyes to the tricks practised upon them. Perhaps, however, they were not more exposed to adulteration than the rest of the public, for there was no article sold to the public as to which unprincipled men were not ready to imitate and undersell. His advice to farmers, if they wished to escape being victimised, was to have as little as possible to do with the articles. It was very hard that they should buy an article not merely of less feeding value than they expected, but a compound in many cases actually detrimental to the health of their stock. Let them look around and see whether there were not other substances they could use in- stead of oilcake. He knew perfectly well the convenience of cake, and, indeed had no doubt that on the whole there was no better feeding article than good linseed-cake, and that where sheep had fed off a turnip crop a better crop of corn was pro- duced afterwards. It was essential, however, to have pure linseed, THE FARMERS MAGAZINE. 333 and the question arose whether instead of an inferior article they would not do better to try whether other substauces, such as beans aud split peas, might not be utilised as a protection against these adulterations, which would not exist in beans aud peas of their own cultivation, lie would not give that (snapping his finger) for artificial manures (laughter). He never valued them in the least, and never understood altogether what they were (laughter). Guano was not what could be strictly called an artificial manure, any more than the dung from their pigeon and hen houses. The things made to imitate guano were artificial enough surely, and nothing more than " a flash in the pan." He spoke guardedly when he said that these compounds for the raising of corn crops were good for no- thing. He himself was a clay-land farmer and not a sheep man, but to produce a good crop of turnips he did not deny their use, and much good to the after crop might be gained by feeding off with cake. But applied to corn crops these arti- ficial manures were the worst things the farmer could use. If he had a farm to let aud knew that the tenant who applied was a man who sold his straw and used in its place arti- ficial manures for corn, he would not let him in. These manures beggared the farm and called upon the land to do more than it naturally could do; they were only stimulants, which took everything out of the land, and left nothing be- hind. The year before last was a very bad one, and the corn in hi6 part of the country was very defective, being much blighted. Now, he himself never used artificial manures, aud he got a fair crop, which he truly believed was to be accounted for by the absence of what others used. On the other hand, the men who used artificial manures the year before last had their corn and straw the. most blighted of any in the neighbourhood. He could vouch for the success of the plan he adopted. He had a siding on his farm, where he was fortunate enough to be able to buy London duug at 6s. 6d. or 6s. 7d. per ton, which was cheaper than he could make it on his own farm. As he had the opportunity of buying it he very much preferred the natural to the artificial article (Hear, hear) . Professor Voelcker had done good service to agricul- ture in calling attention to these adulterations, and he (the speaker) hoped what had beeu said would put artificial manures somewhat out of fashion. Mr. W. Harper (Bury, Lancashire) asked several questions of the lecturer. What was the relative value of pure linseed as compared with linseed-cake? Some of them could occa- sionally grow small quantities of linseed, and it was a question whether they could not make linseed soup for their cattle, as preferable to selling it to the manufacturer, and buying his adulterated product. Leather manure had been referred to. In some portions of the country there were vast quantities of chippings known in the trade as leather dust. Could this be utilised to any extent as manure ? Bone-meal was being ex- tensively used just now, aud he should like to know the rela- tive value of bones merely ground and bone-meal treated with acids. Mr. J. A. Williams (Baydon, Hungerford) endorsed every word that had been uttered by Mr. Coussmaker as to the superior value of real and natural manures. The difficulty was to get a sufficient quantity. We were not all so fortunately situated as Mr. Coussmaker, who could get the London and Aldershot manures so as to make them profitable, which could hardly be the case if, after being deposited out of the trucks, they had to be carted 7 or ] 0 miles before they could be put upon the arable land. It was then that the question of artificial ma- nures came to be entertaiued. For two or three seas6ns past he had used them. He occupied strong laud, and two or three years ago wc had just such a miserable winter as the present. It was so wet that, upon a piece of strong land where he was feeding oft* some swedes, although he was compelled to eat the swedes, he dared not pen the sheep at night upon them, but had to place them upon some straw in a coruer of the field. The land was therefore entirely robbed of the manure, which the swedes should have returned to it. In the difficulty in which he was placed he purchased artificial manure as the only resource. The only thing in dealing with these compounds was to make sure they traded with honest men, whose charac- ters were at stake. The manufacturer with whom he dealt was one of this class, and the manure was of such a character that the barley crop exceeded by one-third that which had been manured by the sheep. For two successive years he was successful ; but when he applied the manure the past year the results were not so gratifying. It was a dry- season, and the question was whether the manure was of an inferior character, or whether the change of season was at the bottom of the failure. At any rate, be the reason what it might, he did not get a 'ixpeuee return for his outlay. He had a question to put to the learned Professor. If he had not mistaken him, Frofessor Voelcker said " that the only un- soluble manure of any value the second year was bones." He was of opinion the larger the boue dust, ill reason, the less could it be adulterated ; and although not so soluble as smaller dubt, still as long as it could be found in the land it was good manure. He wished to ask if such was the case. Professor Voelcker nodded assent. Mr. J. Ta ask (Northington, Uauts), as a large arable farmer of some 1,300 or 1,400 acres, was of necessity a Large consumer of linseed-cake, and all stutfs of that kind. He was astonished that Professor Voelcker had not touched upon the question of American linseed-cake, for so far as he could judge the Americans could beat us in the manufac- ture. As a large consumer, he of course, liked to buy in the cheapest markets, and his experience was that he could buy Americau cakes in July aud August which would keep a much longer time than ours. The Professor said that Hungarian cakes could be got so as to be used profitably, but they should be bought so as to pay for the manipulation. He was inclined to think that cakes became mouldy, not because of the place in which they were kept, but because of the compounds them- selves. The admixture of bran was a particular reason why the cakes would not keep. He was not competent to follow the lecturer in his theory of the probable exhaustion of the supply of guano, but if 16 per cent, of ammonia was all that it contained, it had better be left alone at its present high price. The preparation of artificial manures had a good deal to do with their real value. He himself purchased from several manufacturers, and from some of them he got the ma- nure in remarkably large lumps. He often questioned whether that had not some effect upon the efficacy of the manure upon the crops. The Chairman said the Professor had once more entitled himself to the hearty thanks of the Club. He had done them ■rood by pointing out shoals for the purchasers of artificial manures to avoid. He regretted to have heard the statement that only 10 per cent, of the manure aud feeding-stuff manu- facturers were genuine makers. That was a sorry proportion considering the number of manufacturers there were in this country. As to the use Qf leather for manure, it fell to his A A 334 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, lot to live near a town, Woodstock, where the skins were pre- pared for making gloves, and it was the habit of holders of allotments to buy the leather trimmings, or dust, taken from the skins before they were sent off. This was looked upon as the best manure that could be got for the growth of potatoes aud cabbages. He himself on one occasion used leather dust with very good results upon a swede crop. A Voice : Were the trimmings tanned or untanned ? The Chairman : They were untanned, as prepared for the glove trade (Hear, hear). A Voice : Then it is not leather. Mr. R. Leamon (Whitwell, Reephani) said he was both a tanner and farmer, and did not think we could speak of leather- dust as fit for agricultural purposes. He had Jiimself used refuse which came from the green hides, but he never ven- tured to use a pound of leather-dust either for the purpose of raising corn or turnips. Professor Voelckjee in reply, quite agreed with the last speaker about the leather-dust ; tanned hides were of no use, but the refuse of the green skins might be used with advan- tage. He must give an unsatisfactory answer to the question as to the relative value of linseed and linseed- cake. If a man had linseed in small quantities and knew how to feed it econo- mically, well and good ; it was the cheapest way to dispose of it ; but linseed-oil fetched a high price as a manufactured article. It was more to the advantage of the farmer, provided he could get pure cake, to use it instead of pure linseed. Bone- dust wa3 a most efficacious manure, especially if prepared by steam, which enabled the bone to be reduced to a fine powder and deprived of the fat, which, from an agricultural point of view, was worth nothing. Bone-dust heated with acid was more efficacious than bone-dust pure and simple, in however fine a condition it might be applied to the land. In reply to Mr. Williams, no doubt season had much to do with the effects of artificial manure, but it was by no means an un- common occurrence for manufacturers to supply good articles for two or even three years, and then on the strength of their good name, drop down to an inferior manure. He (the Pro- fessor) was not aware that the American cakes were so much a-head of ours ; his impression was that we could make it here as good as anywhere. A great point in favour of Ameri- can makers was that they paid great attention to the proper drying of their cakes before they shipped them, especially the barrel cakes. There was nothing inherent in bran to cause mouldiness. He had kept a piece of bran-cake for several years in a dry place, and it was not mouldy. He had no hesitation in saying that the proper preparation of manures materially affected their efficacy ; many a good manure was spolied by improper preparation, and sometimes inferior ones by proper preparation were made to do good service (cheers). The Chairman stated that a deputation was about to wait upon the Government to apply for an act of Parliament to prevent the adulteration of agricultural seeds. It was hoped to make it a punishable offence. A vote of thanks was given to the lecturer, and with a similar compliment to the chairman the proceedings terminated. THE CONDITION OP THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURER. A meeting took place at the Society of Arts to consider the question of establishing a society for the improvement of the condition of the agricultural labourer by the migration of surplus labour from over-populated districts, the building and improvement of cottages, education, and sanitary reform. Lord Bucie presided. The Chairman quoted authorities to show that in olden times the agricultural labourer was better off than he is now. Prom Froude's history he found that the labourer received in the time of Elizabeth wages equal to twenty shillings a-week. Lord Lioheield agreed that the question ought to be dis- cussed ; but so many societies had been established for little better object than that of paying salaries to their officers, that he was not very much disposed to join any more. Reverting to the meeting which took place on this question in London last year, he held that education is required in order to make the labourer worth better wages. Instead of a society, he thought that a committee of twelve or twenty gentlemen who would work would be more useful, and he would be ready to join such a committee. The Rev. Canon Girdlestone took a similar view with respect to the proposed society. He believed that migration carefully managed may effect a great improvement in the labourer's life, but education is necessary for elevating his per- manent condition, He had sent a great many labourers from one part of the country to another, and had found that those from Bevon to Yorksliire, though weakly at first, and unable to compete with the native labourers, were after six months' beef able to hold their own. He favoured the suggestion for a com- mittee, and would have a paid secretary to promote emi- gration. Mr. Benton said there are mauy plans in the Iuclosure Office, St. James's-square, for the building of cottages at £100 to £150 each. After some remarks by Mr. Albert Pell, Mr. Bent, and Mr. Beech, Mr. C. S. Read remarked that by migration the agricultural labourer may get more pay, but he is required to do more work, and better work. Mr. Holland said he saw no necessity for calling the pro- posed society into existence. Improvements were being rapidly made, a more highly-educated class were engaging in agricul- ture, and by force of example he believed the labourer will be improved too. He should, therefore, move " that at present there is no necessity for calling the proposed society into existence." Mr. Wells seconded the motion of Mr. Holland , and, on a show of hands, it was carried, and the proposal for the forma- tion of a society was therefore negativedt THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 335 WILL BEET-ROOT FOR SUGAR PAY? BY AN AGRICULTURAL TRAVELLER. The cultivation of beet-root for sugar in the United Kingdom, which has so often before been discussed aud attempted, is once more under trial. Mr. J. Newmauu, in a letter to the daily papers, states that 2,400 to 3,000 acre9 will be planted this spring, in England alone, with the Silesian beet-root, producing on an average season from 54,000 to 68,000 tons of beet-root, or from 3, GOO to 4,400 tons of raw sugar. Should, however (he adds), the present movement amongst the Irish farmers to grow this year the beet-root in large quantities be carried out, these quantities will easily be trebled. It is nearly a year ago since Mr. W. A. Gibbs brought the subject of the cultivation of beet-root and its manu- facture into sugar in the United Kingdom, before the members of the Society of Arts, in a carefully -prepared paper, whieh led to much important discussion and met with no little opposition from practical men. Many essays have been made in this direction, but all have been lamentably unsuccessful. But it is urged, in reply, by far the greater number of these attempts were undertaken without any requisite knowledge of the details of growth or manufacture, and with a totally inadequate capital. In some cases the laud was unsuitable, the supply of roots uncertain and fluctuating, the percentage of sugar obtained absurdly small, and so badly ^manufactured as to be bitter and unsaleable ; other shortcomings and blunders were also descibed. Is it possible here to compete successfully in sugar pro- duction with the tropical colonies, or even with Europe, where both land and labour are cheaper ? In both Europe aud the colonies sugar production is rapidly increasing, insomuch that even Europe sends us refined beet sugar. Does the suggestion to grow beet-root crops and get the products at onerous risks, and create new and expensive manufactories afford temptation to the capital of willing agriculturists ? Is it wise, as was asked some time since, to call the attention of agriculturists, tenant-farmers, and others to the subject without warning them that if they suoceed in making sugar they will then have to pay 12s. duty on each cwt. ? This is on all saccharine matters, in- cluding the low sugars, which are useless except for dis- tillatiou, aud this involves a permit duty, excise, surveys of premises, vessels, and apparatus, with necessary conse- quences of permits, visits, and duties to pay, and severe risks of penalties connected with the production, storing, and sale of spirits; and if the bye-products are to be wasted there is even less chance of profitably competing with foreign production. Mr. J. Newmauu states that, " however rich the Silesian beet-root is in yielding sugar, the process of distilling from it spirits is not remunerative. Numerous attempts have resulted in total failures. Spirits, however, are made with perfect success from beet-root molasses." Mr. Simmonds stated lately, before the Society of Arts, that the beet-root sugar manufacture on the Continent has now made such enormous strides that nearly one million tons are probably made annually in the different States. In the manufacture two residues remain — the expressed root or sugar-pulp'and the molasses. The first constitutes hard, solid cakes, possessing considerable nu- tritive properties : it is therefore used with much advan- tage, along with other food, in feeding cattle. The molasses was formerly given to pigs or used for making a soluble colouring matter, its value not having been appre- ciated as it deserved. It is now, however, generally applied as the raw material for the distillation of al- cohol. When mixed with water slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid and submitted to fermentation, the molasses will yield a fair amount of spirit, the unpleasant flavour of which has now been much modified. It is now largely used, like potato spirit, to adulterate brandy. In the watery liquid remaining in the stills are fouud all the salts originally contained in the juice of the beet- root, and experieuce has shown that it repays, with the cost attending the evaporation of the water, to recover these salts of potash aud soda in a dry form. A Government commissioner of France, well observes : " All the world knows that the low products of the sugar-cane (molasses, &c.) have a more considerable value than those of the beet-root, for this simple reason, that the one is eatable and the other can only be of service for distillation." The very gentleman who is willing to buy roots of the farmers says sugar is an article that requires to be looked at from a great many points of view, and without con- siderable knowledge and experience one is very apt to be misled. One system may suit France, and another system totally different may be suitable in Germany. In France, Holland, and Belgium they do not extract all the sugar, as they do not consider it worth the extra cost, so they only press the pulp once. The Germans get more sugar, but it contains more salts. If sugar can scarcely be made at a profit in tropical countries, with all the advantages of climate, virgin soil, and cheap labour, how is it possible that it can be pro- duced here with dear land and dear labour and a variable climate. The growth aud manufacture must be com- bined and carried on on the spot to render the manufac- ture profitable, by using the residuary products; and can this be carried on on any commensurate scale with those on the continent, where long experience, great chemical knowledge, and protective duties have largely aided progress? Those who are anxious to try their 'prentice hand on sugar production and manufacture will find that in Jamaica and other West India islands or some of the Central American States they can obtain land almost free, with, in the West Indies, in many instances, all the existing machinery and plant existing, no vicissitudes of climate, and a plant with a much larger percentage of sugar. Many an owner of West Indian property will be but too glad to hand over his estate for a merely nominal consideration, certainly far below the rental of suitable land for beet-root culture in this country. The circumstances are very different with us to those of Germany, Russia, Belgium, Austria, and other countries without colonies who have fostered sugar production, so as to be to some extent independent of foreign supplies. We have in the East and West Indies, in Mauritius, in Natal, and even in Australia, sugar-producing countries of enormous extent, and capable at remunerative prices of supplying the world at large. Far better, therefore, do we consider it to turn attention to pasture and root crops, to produce that beef and mutton on which we so much depend, aud those cereals and fertile plants which are certain crops for the farmers. A A 2 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE NEW FARM. I have just returned from a walk by the river side. It is a favourite ramble of ours, because of the freshness that we fall in with, as well as that we obtain therefrom a charming view of "home sweet home" nestling amidst the trees that crown the steep overhanging bank. No matter what time of the day we go down, there is always novelty, but especially when the sun sets behind the ruins of an old adjoining castle, casting a glow upon the sky and lower landscape, it is delightful to wander there. Just now my steps led me to a point which a grand old heron daily visits. I found there a profusion of emptied fresh-water mussels, and another plump salmon, who had missed stays in the receding flood and been left ashore. The effect of last summer's heat has been beneficial there. A wide extent of gravel, the grey tint of which har- monised beautifully with the grass and water, got plenti- fully seeded, and is now a bed of young trefoil and clover. I could not traverse the whole owing to the depth of soft rich mud that the floods have left upon it. In returning by a circuit over the meadow, I was surprised by the num- ber of partridge pairs that I disturbed, arranging about the " marriage lines" I expect. There ought to be an abundance of birds next season. I am always glad when many are left, they do so much good in picking up grubs over the fallows. Some silly farmers are already begin- ning to persecute and poison the rooks, forgetting the infinite service they did in devouring the cockchafer by myriads in grub shape and full uniform last season. But some selfish, shortsighted beings there is no per- suading. Although most heavily stocked I shall have a large heap of mangold wurzel to sell, for the late turnips and stubble sowu rye-grass yield a vast amount of keep. The grass seed turned out better than I expected I must allow. The water-meadow that we made this winter has done wonders for the ewes and lambs, with which I am glad to say we have done extremely well, having lots of couples, and in one case a living trio of ewe lambs, and from a Cotswold too, which is wonderful we consider. Of the four that were born of one mother only two sur- vive. We have only lost one ewe as yet. It is good to see that there is an annual show and sale of yearling Shorthorn bulls projected at Bingley Hall. I am quite sure, however, that it would be much better if it were not for what I consider the unreasonable condition that every animal must be put up at 20 guineas without reserve. They call it a parallel case to putting a ram up at 5 guineas. At thirty guineas it might be, but not twenty. One of the most celebrated breeders endorses my opinion in a letter received this morning. He says : " I quite agree with you about the Birmingham prize list, aud cannot see how any one would like to risk a good animal there, much as the £50 prize deserves a good one." I cannot lay hands on my Dublin show regulations, but I scarcely think that they can have the same rule ; they may, but I doubt it. The show is at least a good move. I hope heartily that it will answer, but for myself I shall prefer to run my risk as a buyer rather than as a breeder uuder existing circumstances. The subject of dentition again ! not in this instance porcine, nor involving an indignant protest from insulted exhibitors, and a universal condemnation of professional pretension, but a matter more immediately concerning the human species. I was yesterday just halfway into a post-pranditf nap (we had dined early as it was a special half-holiday, and the chicks were to have a drive), when the rustling garment of a little maiden disturbed me, not- withstanding that her coy diffidence caused a stealthy approach. After some general remarks, by which obvi- ously like a parent partridge, she assumed to throw me off the scent of her intending anything, she asked me to advance her half-a-crown on the security of what think you ? Why, a loose tooth ! They get that amount paid on the extraction of certain difficult fangs, and I find now that she has been patiently working to loosen three, which she values at six shillings, for some days past. As her object was to go shares with a wealthier sister in the purchase of a present for their governess, after due admonition I advanced the cash, with which she iustantly made oft*. I hear that Mademoiselle is delighted to-day, but I notice further, there are no operations going on for the undermining of the tooth. Here she trips just along the passage, and I must change the subject, for she is sure to peep over my shoulder unless I stay my pen for a game of romps, which I have not time to indulge in. We have just been sending off in great state a fat little Shetland pony, which has educated two families to my certain knowledge, and is said to be verging on thirty years of age. He is hopelessly broken-winded, but gal- loped after the hounds with a youngster on him the other day with great gusto. We have auother of a larger sort coming on, and in consequence a little friend has got an unexpected present. A companion of his, au old pet mare, heavy iu foal, met with an accident yesterday, that might have proved fatal to herself or foal, or both. The youngsters had driven the lot into a corner, confined by wire fencing, with a view to get an extempore ride each, whereupon this unhappy mare, fearing more than the ponies did, tried but unsuccessfully to leap the wire, chesting one of the uprights, aud peeling off a piece of skin some niue inches square. Happening to pass just afterwards I saw her with apparently a clot of gore hang- ing from her neck. Having had her caught, the wound for- tunately proved not deep, so I sewed up the rag of skin, after washing the bare surface with calendula aud water, and to-day she seems to be going on well. She was a rare racer in her time, and I don't want to lose her yet, although her colts differ much, and breeding does not pay. We had some precious calves born the other morning, which gave some trouble in the delivery. One cow is positively fit for the butcher, and yet they have been feeding all the winter only on a mixture of chaff more than half straw, with sufficient pulped mangold to moisten it, and a few handfuls of bran strewn upon the feed. Tt has just happened to me casually to overhear a dis- cussiou carried on between Mamma aud one of the young men as to the food supplied to the rabbits, iu the course of which, after dilating upon the various qualities of the several kinds of food they obtain, iu answer to an inquiry, he gravely informed her that it would not do to give them wheat, because it would " button them up" at once. Mamma was clearly puzzled by such a plain ex- pression for the binding property of this grain, and I left her to his enlightenment, being sufficiently amused by the native eloqueuce of my son. Yesterday there was great grief throughout the nursery iu consequence of a pet ferret having been accideutly shot by the man-servant, who took them out into the woods,and shot the pooranimal as it came hurrying out after a rabbit that had bolted. They bad nursed it from its infancy, and it was certainly THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 337 a very pretty sight to see it with its back arched playfully juiupiug and skipping and squeaking. The last thing 1 saw of it was just before they started on the fatal expedi- tion, wheu a youugster, whose province it was to cany him in a green baize bag, took him out for me to admire, and started him caracoling across the scrvauts'-hall-floor. They have already arranged to have " his nephew" from a neighbour's coachman, so I hope that there will be no great intermission in the extermination of the bunnies, especially as I have been indulging in a young plantation, which I have no desire at all that they should invade. I have caught two ideas lately from your columns — the one being the making all the rain fall from the roofs pass through a box filter laden with gravel and charcoal, put to intersect the delivery-pipe into the reservoir. I have hitherto been used to throw charcoal into the reservoir itself occasionally, as well as to filter its contents before use. I wonder we never thought of so simple an expedient before. The other idea, which my man, who is just engaged in brewing, won't credit, is that a bag of malt and a bag of barley yield as good liquor as two bags of malt would. 1 only hope so. I shall try the experi- ment on a small scale. " Blow me, if I'd try a hogsyed fust," was old Melon's commentary : he having been engaged to assist in the carrying down of the brew. I wish some one would tell me a simple plan of hauling up hay three hundred yards along slopes inclining at about forty decrees, where the use of carts and waggous is difficult, there being no roadway cut, so as to save one's sending it more than a mile around the bottom of the hill, and then winding up the mail road. I have bethought me that something like a sledge with a deep cradle on it might do. I should be so thankful for a practical hint from some experienced mountaineer. A capital dodge for going down hill quick yourself I can tell you: Cut a bunch of rushes ; grasp the points, and sit upon the root ends ; lift your legs, and down the grassy incline you shoot like lightning. So the "Welsh shepherds descend steep places. But it is easier to descend than to climb, metaphorically or otherwise. Vigil. POULTRY FOR THE FARMER. AVe are not amongst those who believe that the profits of poultry -keeping can be made to form a very important addition to the income of the fanner — at least in this country. Those who maintain the opposite opinion, and cite the great value of the eggs imported from the Conti- nent in support of their view, ignore altogether the most essential facts bearing on the matter. Everyone who has any experience in poultry-keeping knows that a very large number of poultry cannot be kept together, on any plan hitherto suggested, without serious losses from disease arising from overcrowding. No more fowls can be kept in the homestead of a farm of 2,000 or 3,000 acres than can be reared around the dwelling of the holder of 30 or 40 acres. To the small farmers of France the cash arising from the sale of 300 chickens may be an amount of sonic importance ; to the larger English farmers such ;i sum is comparatively insignificant. The production of eggs and poultry is the essential cha- racteristic of the small holders of Ireland, France, and Belgium ; but to the larger occupiers of this country, poultry is only to be regarded as a " bye-product." Never- theless, it is rare to sec a homestead without fowls, and consequently it is desirable to know which are the best va- rieties, and what the best method of keeping them. We may put fancy, and merely ornamental, breeds out of consideration, although it is quite true that many farmers lose their advantages for the purpose of rearing very good exhibition-birds, which they send to the shows and sell for most remunerative prices; but this is no more legitimately to be considered as farming than the rearing of toy-terriers or greyhounds would be. Looking at the matter in a more practical point of view, we have first to consider whether eggs or chickens for the table are the chief consideration. If eggs, and eggs alone, are the great desideratum, some of the non-sitting varieties — or, as they used to be called, " everlasting layers" — maybe kept, as Hamburghs, Polish, or Spanish ; but each have their drawbacks. The Hamburghs, of which the spangled or Yorkshire fowls arc far superior in hardihood to the pencilled or Hutch breeds, lay but small, though numerous eggs, fly like pheasants, and arc, from their small size and blue legs, of but slight value as yielding chickens for sale. The Polish are not hardy, and their feathered crests interfere with their sight, so that they are apt to get injured by the cattle. The Spanish are very leggy, and make but poor market- fowls. As hardy and abundant egg-producers, that are at the same time fair-sized rapid-growing table-chickens, the French breed known as the Iloudans are to be recommended. They are mottled with black and white, have small crests, five toes, and nearly white shanks ; but they are not quite as large as first-class table- fowl should be. Like the Hamburghs, they are non-sitters. The other French table-breeds, the La Flecke and the Crevc Coeur, have black legs, against which there is an absurd prejudice in this country, and therefore chickens do not sell so well ; consequently, for large, first-class table-fowl, we must go to the grey Dorking, or some of the crosses bred from it. There is no better fowl for the table than a well-fed Dork- ing ; but the breed has its disadvantages. Dorkings are not remarkably good layers, and on wet cold soils and bleak aspects are certainly delicate, the young chickens especially. These two drawbacks may be removed by judicious crossing with other breeds. For mere table fowls, we should not hesitate to cross the Dorking with the Houdan ; but for large size, hardy birds of rapid growth, and early maturity, there is nothing better than the cross of the Dorking and Brahma. Some time since, prizes were offered by a well-known judge at Chelmsford and other poultry shows for the best couple of dead chickens shown, after being picked and trussed. In almost all cases these prizes have been won by birds bred between what are called light Brahma cocks and large coloured Dorking hens. It may be urged that such a cross would be likely to give the yellow skin and fat so much objected to by the poulterers ; but such is not necessarily the case. By careful selection of brood-stock, using only the white- legged birds, a large useful breed of table-fowl may be worked up from this cross. As a corroboration of our opinion, we may quote the following from a recent num- ber of the Toronto Globe : " You can breed chickens to what colour and shape you please. Colour, size, and form can be produced with great rapidity. The writer had some light Brahmas ; they had the yellow legs, skin, aud fat of that breed of fowls. A friend wished to get a run for a Djrking hen, aud I, took her. Some of her 338 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. eggs, whilst she was running with the Brahma Pootra cock, were hatched, aud the produce showed a thorough mixture of blood ; but one of the chickens turned after the Brahmas, with the exception of clean white le°-s. The chick was a hen, and was so handsome that she was kept, and put with the true Brahma. Her chickens were apparently true Brahmas, but some had white legs These were selected, bred from, and finally the whole flock were true Brahmas in every other respect but that they had white smooth legs, white skin, and white fat They even produced the dark eggs of the Brahma. In three years, by selection, the entire flock were bred all to one colour, and a handsomer lot of fowls were never seen. They were good layers, throve well, produced eggs at from five to six months old, were very full of feathers, and stood the frost well, were large, and fattened well, so that the chicks at six months were so nearly full-grown as to lay on fat all over, and were delicious eating. Dur- ing the last year they were kept, fifty chickens were pro- duced from different hens, all so like each other that they could not be distinguished apart." In our own case, if large, hardy table-fowls were re- quired, we would rather work in more Dorking blood, aiming at the short shank and plump breast of that breed, and adding to it the hardihood and early prolificacy of the Brahma. It may be objected that, according to the general belief, only first crosses of two distinct breeds are useful. With poultry our own experience is cer- tainly strongly opposed to this theory. We have now some cross-bred birds, in which the Brahma, Dorking, and Polish blood has been intermingled for four or five generations, and as table-fowls and abundant layers they are unsurpassed by any breeds with which we are ac- quainted. THE YEAR 18 6 9. The following letter is from the pen of M. Joigneaux, of les Chroniques de I 'Agriculture et de P Horticulture : As we cannot boast of the past, in speaking of the year 1869, it is well to ask ourselves what it will be. We buried 1868 in water and mud — a circumstance much to be deplored, as ordinarily it augurs no good. What we gained in fuel is lost in other ways ; and it is therefore necessary for us to be on our guard. That the natural meadows have gained somewhat by the winter rains is possible, and even probable. The water over- flowed, and drifted slime ; but it also invaded the corn-fields, robbing the autumn cereals of their stock of manure, and car- rying it away to turf-lands. Thus, though fodder will profit by the rains, all field-plants, such as wheat, winter barley, colza, rape, and the young artificial meadows, will suffer loss. In general, vegetables sleep during winter ; and the frost preserves almost intact the manure put into the ground at sowing-time, which reappears in spring to nourish the plants till fully developed. Now this winter the plants have not rested: their sap has been incessantly circulating. Conse- quently, their spring stock of manures has been encroached upon. Besides this, part of the manure has been dislodged by the rains, carried into the trenches, and driven down into the earth, beyond reach of the roots. The land is therefore impoverished. The food which the farmers destined for autumn is not to be found in sufficient quantities, part having been eaten to no profit, part carried by the rains no one knows where, while what remains is of little account. Under these circumstances, it is necessary to consider how we can best replace the food already taken from our field- plants. We advise our cultivators to supply themselves with wood-ashes, fowls'-dung, night-soil, soot, guano, pulverised manures of good quality, &c., and spread them all over the lands at the end of February or the beginning of March. Of course, this supplementary manure must necessarily increase the nett cost of products ; but that is better than having no crops at all. The experiment must be tried on a comparatively small scale. Let the farmer manure a certain portion of the middle or side of fields which have received no extra nourishment, note iu figures the expense, estimate the crop upon the surface treated according to our directions, then value the crop upon an equal surface left to its own resources ; and the result will prove the truth of our assertions. We pledge ourselves to give publicity to the results that may be submitted to us, whether or not they accord with our views. For more than twenty years we have pointed out the ill effects of wet winters, and the necessity of replacing in spring the manure exhausted in November, December, and January. Complaints are continually reaching us from the North of France that the January rains ruin the farmers. If that be true, it is time to seek out a remedy. In reply to one of our letters on this subject, M. Lemaire, formerly veterinary surgeon at Artois, says : " There is to me the most conclusive evidence that the dearth of 1846-1847 was owing to the abundant rains in the two previous years ; and my conviction was formed in this way : In the course of the daily rounds which, as a veterinary surgeon, I made amongst various parishes during the dry summer of 1846, I heard some old millers, whom I considered superstitious and dotards, repeat often, ' Water high, wheat dear.' Or else in 1847, when it seemed to me that water was less abund- ant, the millers said to me, ' Water low, wheat cheap.' Our mill-owners, like all proprietors of ponds, assured me that the water never was higher than in 1 846, and very rarely lower than in 1847. ' But,' said I, ' do you know beforehand when the water will rise ?' ' Yes, certainly,' was their reply : ' whenever we have long-continued, heavy rains, we are sure, twelve or fourteen months after, to have too much water in the mill, and too little corn to grind.' This reply happily put me in the right path. I gathered from it that the small return of cereals and other pro- ducts in 1846 was not owing merely to the summer drought, but rather to the previous abundant rains, because the water slowly infiltrated into the permeable soils, carrying away most of their soluble fertilizing principles, and, by combining the different parts of tenacious soils, disposed them to adhere together very firmly during the droughts ; and in proportion as the water evaporated, the earth cracked in certain parts, while, iu others, it contracted, cut the plants at the collar of the roots, and so completely imprisoned what manure remained in the soil that the radicales could not reach it. On the other hand, after frosts, which divide the soil, and enlarge the intermolecular spaces, through the increase of the volume of water when it congeals, the roots easily suck up the fertilizing principles. "Light lands, particularly, are like filters, through which the rain-water easily traverses, exhausting them by lixiviation, carrying away most of the soluble nutritive properties. This assertion appears to me incontestable ; for it is well known that in the wet, impermeable lands of the British Isles, the water which runs into covered trenches is bad, and repugnant to animals when it comes from a soil recently manured. " Thus, in the district of Arras, the abundance of streams and scarcity of food proceed from the same cause — long-continued rains. It must not, however, be supposed that the water which irrigated the earth aud plants contained poisons, or principles destructive to vegetation, because it was rain ivater. " Assuredly, ' all streams do not yield water the year after much rain. There are differences, owing to the declivity of the basins, the permeability and thickness of the geological beds, and extent of the subterranean passages the water has to traverse ; but the principle appears to me capable of gene- ralization— that is, the exhausting action that continued and abundant rains exercise, first, upon soils, then upon vegetable productions, and lastly, upon the abundance and price of food. If it affects trees whose long roots push their way perpen* THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 339 dieularly aud horizontally through the earth, it must neces- sarily exert more power over plants whose roots do not ex- tend far. " It is not my intentiou, in this article, to enumerate specially the various losses brought on the cultivator by rains, as re- gards labour, sowing, destruction of the plants, harvest, &c. : that must be left for their own observation. " Our millers, many of whom have never been beyond their owu province, know when to predict a scarcity better than some of our most learned economists, they having learnt the lesson from their ancestors." This letter, by M. Lemaire, was published in "La Re- forme," about the year 1850, but it will not be less of a no- velty to the readers of the present time. THE LABOURER IN ENGLAND AND IN AUSTRALIA. Dirt, we are frequently told, is only a good thing in a wrong place. The same may be said of nearly all our pauperism. It is a bad thing in our purely agricultural counties, where the poor labourers with their low wages and large families have neither the money, nor the strength, nor the spirit, nor the knowledge to go where they are more wanted, and where their labour will fetch two or three times as much as it does now. Pauperism is a bad thing in the metropolis, where shipbuilding, docks, and twenty other under- takings all stop at once, and the workpeople are left stranded far away from their old connexions, and nobody wanting them here. All over this country most of the pauperism is only a good thing in a wrong place. If anybody will give his attention to it, he will find that most of the persons, old or young, male or female, subsisting on weekly pittances out of doors or on a dietary within have plenty of work iu them, and the will to work too, but they are not wanted enough to get a maintenance by their work, even with good intentions. More- over it is a lamentable fact, which we cannot shut our eyes to, that one of the most commou results of continued distress is an increasing want of resource, and even dread of enterprise. Many a labouring family rots where it is, rather than try its fortune elsewhere. Here then is the occasion for one of those services which wealth, education, intelligence, and spirit can render to the working poor. Good people can set them on their legs, open their eyes, quicken their hearing, tell them where they are wanted, and how they are to get there. At this moment there is idle labour in this metropolis enough to tound and maintain a considerable colony, if it could be only transplanted to the right spot. Such is the very valuable and timely moral of the letter from Melbourne in our columns. The Melbourne racecourse, on the Cnp Day, our correspondent describes as the annual gathering and "the microcosm of Australian society, from the almost tropical Queensland to the Ultima Thule of New Zealand. From his account of the scene it is a good imitation of our own Derby Day. What he had in his mind, however, was to trace Old England in the vast multitude seated on the hillside commanding the racecourse. Perhaps, for the sake of a good home sensation, he would have liked to see an unmis- takeable labourer from our southern or western counties, with his bent form and spare frame, and the marks of premature old age on his wan cheeks. Perhaps he would have liked to see an artisan he could imagine straight from Bethual Green. But nothing of the sort was to be seen. The tens of thousands covering the hill must, most of them, have come from the old country, and must, most of them, remember the constant privations and frequent straits of a working-man's life, whether in town or iu country. Most of them must remember the sort of food, the sort of drink, the clothing, the allowance of fuel and other comforts, to which a large family must be reduced on the ordinary wages of an English labourer in by no means the worst districts. Yet there they were — stout, healthy, robust, and even high-coloured — looking not so much labourers as small farmers, which most of them had, indeed, grown into. An agricultural labourer there rapidly develops into a farmer, an artisan into a master, and a carpenter or a bricklayer into a contractor. In fact, it rests entirely with a man himself what he will be. The regular wages are so good, the allowances so considerable, and the opportunities of employment for women and children so numerous, that a man can easily lay by half his earnings, and save money for some small business of his own, That, of course, constitutes one of the great difficulties of Australian life, for good servants are there very scarce, and able to command their own terms. In fact, as the expression is, there are, there, two masters after one man, instead of two men after one master. All this was apparent to the eye on the racecourse of Melbourne. It is not a state of things to everybody's taste. For a man with money, rank, or position, there is no place like England ; no place where he can get so much for his money, such service, such personal attendance, such abundance of skilled and unskilled labour, such means of doing everything he wants to do, and of getting everything he wants to get. This is the very paradise of a rich man, of a peer, or of a dignitary. But it is not the paradise of a poor man. At least, if it be admitted that the state of things at home is a good school for the teaching of some social aud political virtues, it cannot be denied that labour and poverty are subjected to an excessive competition. The general condition and the general opportunities of the working poor, especially in the rural districts, have not risen in proportion to the general increase of wealth. There is a sentimental school which preaches to the labourer that he had best stay at home, and that with such blessings as a parish church, parish clergyman, and, perhaps also a squire, he had better be content with bread, cabbage, and an occasional mouthful of bacon, instead of perilling his manners and his faith in a bustling colony. Experience, however, so as it has time and some scope for a reasonable induction, does not show the decided superiority of home life to colonial. It rather establishes that something like competence, and even inde- pendence, are as wholesome for a working man as we all of us know them to be for his betters. Here, then, is an opening for any people who want to do good work of a special and also of an enduring character. At present we are feeding hundreds of thousands of people for doing nothing at all, and there cannot be the least doubt that, commercially, London pauperism is a better speculation than agricultural labour. The cost of a pauper is enormous, and it i's not too much to say that every industrious working man in England carries a pauper on his back. But the process is interminable, and always becoming worse. Every week thousands of ratepayers are changed into rate devourers, and taken from the strength of the country to be added to its burden. The evil is greatly aggravated by the precarious and temporary character of much employment in this country. It always is so in a rich and luxurious condition of society. Building, gardening, trenching, brick-making, road-making, and many other occupations depend much on the season and the weather, and still more on the fluctuations of prosperity and credit. At one time many great public and private works are pressing for completion ; at another time there is nothing to be done, and the discharged labourers have no regular employment to fall back upon. There is an obvious con- venience in the possession of a vast industrial army, ready for any work, and chargeable on the public when its work is no longer wanted. We owe the greatest monuments of ancient Rome to her multitude of her captives and slaves. But the interest of the population itself is here somewhat at variance with the interest of the State in its less popular sense. For the people themselves, it is better that many of them should be transplanted to some region where they can work more for them- selves, and depend for employment more on the regular course of nature, than on the caprices of wealth or the vicissitudes of trade.— Times. 340 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE COMPARATIVE PROFITS OF DIFFERENT CROPS. At the monthly meeting of the Lavenham Farmers' Club the following paper was read by Mr. W. Biddell, of Hawstead Hall, Bury St. Edmund's :— The subject which I have undertaken to bring forward this evening is one that, had I given much thought to beforehand, I should not have selected, as I have found it much more difficult to deal with than I anticipated. Both the out-goings and receipts will, to a very great degree, rest on estimate rather than fact, hence not unlikely my calculations may contain many errors, and, if so, I hope the practical gentlemen of this club will correct them. The chief reason I had in selecting it for discussion was the remarks made at this club to the effect that if we obtained from £15 to £20 per acre for sugar-beet still th«s growing of them would be unprofitable. My ideas being somewhat different, I shall conclude this paper by insti- tuting a comparison between the profits of this crop and others. I am quite aware that in discussing profits I am going into a somewhat delicate question, but being fully impressed that farmers' profits are nearly always much overrated, the endea- vouring to throw light upon the subject can do no harm. As the most simple way of placing the subject before you I shall take the case of a 400 acre farm of good heavy land, farmed in the somewhat old-fashioned and now generally condemned plan, but which in its balance-sheet is frequently as successful as the modern and more showy farming, under which there is ho doubt a laudable pride in producing large crops of corn and meat, very often at an expense which is not followed by an adequate return. Large crops incur large outlays. The re- ceipts are large, but the heavy bills for oilcake and other feed- ing stuffs, with those forthe more direct manures, must se- riously diminish them. With the present object it will proba- bly matter but little whether our calculations are founded upon high or low farming. As they are most easily made under the latter I shall adhere to it — assuming that the farm dresses itself, that is, that neither manure 'nor feeding stuffs are pur- chased and consumed upon it and that no extra crops are in- dulged in. Of the 400 acres we may assume 80 are pasture, the remaining 320 acres being arable ; deducting 30 acres for waste we have 300 acres net arable land, that is, 75 acres in each shift. The wheat crop being generally assumed to be the most profitable, I will take that first : — Wheat Crop. £ s. d. 75 acres, at 8 coombs per acre,. 600 coombs, and including dross at 23s. 6d. per coomb 705 0 0 Straw and chaff at 30s 112 10 0 Deductions per Acre. £ s. d. 817 10 Annual charges — Rent, 30s. ; tithe, 7s. ; rates, 3s. Gd. ; drainage and fences, 5s.; superintendence, 3s.; interest on capital, 10s. ; in all about 58s. Gd. on gross acre, or 62s. netacre „ 3 2 0 Seed— 7 pecks 0 11 0 Ploughing on an average 1£ times at 9s 0 11 3 Drilling, harrowing, rolling, water-fur- rowing, &c 0 7 6 Manure, 10 loads per acre, at 5s 2 10 0 Hoeing and cleaning 0 0 0 Harvesting, including horse labour, thatching, straw, &c 0 18 0 Thrashing and marketing at Is. 6d. ... 0 12 0 Total expense per acre 8 17 9 75 acres at £8 17s. 9d 066 11 Apparent profit 150 18 We have now one of the most difficult elements to deal with and that is the depreciation of the land in consequence of the growth of this wheat. The allowance must be made, not on the basis of its effects the immediate year following, but how far it is depreciated to the farmer who may have the land for the next four or five years ; deducting it as equal to 31s. per acre, we have £150 18s. 9d., less £116 5s., leaving the clear profit of this crop at £34 13s. 9d. Baiiley Crop. £ s. d. 75 acres nett at 10 coombs per acre, 750 coombs at 17s. per coomb, including dross 637 10 0 And for straw and chaff at 30s 112 10 0 Deductions per Acre. £ s. d. 750 0 0 Annual charges as for wheat 3 2 0 Barley seed — 9 pecks 0 10 0 1 j ploughing on an average at 9s 0 11 3 Drilling, harrowing, and rolling 0 6 0 Cleaning 0 5 0 Harvesting and thatching 0 18 0 Thrashing and marketing 0 15 0 Total expense per acre 6 7 3 75 acres at £6 7s. 3d 477 3 9 Apparent profit 272 16 3 There can be no doubt that land after being cropped with a white straw crop like barley, and unmanured for, is left in a very depreciated state, and 50s. per acre will not probably be found too much to deduct for this 187 10 0 Leaving a clear profit of 85 6 3 Layer. 30 acres — 10 acres fed at 45s 22 10 0 12 acres red clover, 1st and 2nd crop 72 0 0 8 acres seeds, including straw, average £9 10s 76 0 0 Deductions per acre. 170 10 0 Annual charges as before, 62s. ; seed- ing, 14s. (including failures) 114 0 0 Manuring 12 acres with 10 loads at 5s. 30 0 0 Making 12 acres into stover, thatching, &c, at 14s 8 8 0 Cost of harvesting and marketing 8 acres of seeds at 35s 14 0 0 166 8 0 Apparent gain 4 2 0 Add for improved condition of land 30 acres at 35s. 52 10 0 Leaving a profit of 56 12 0 45 acres beans and peas, 8 coombs per acre at 17s.6d 315 0 0 Strawat30s 67 10 0 Deductions per acre. 3S2 10 0 Annual charge as before 3 2 0 Seed— 3 bushels 0 13 0 Ploughing \\ times at 9s 0 11 3 Cleaning 0 9 0 Harvesting, &c 0 16 0 Thrashing and marketing 0 10 0 6 13^ 45acresat £6 Is. 3d. per acre 272 16 3 Manuring 35 acres at 10 loads, 350 loads at 4s. (rawmanure) 70 0 0 342 10 3 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 311 Apparcut profit , 39 13 9 Add for improved condition of laud at 25s 5G 5 0 Leaving a profit of 95 18 9 Fallow Shut. 90 acres beet at £7 HO 0 0 10 „ swedes at £5 50 0 0 15 „ white turnips to be fed oil' at 50s 37 10 0 10 „ coleseed or mustard at 20s. 10 0 0 20 „ tares and green food at 70s 70 0 0 307 10 0 Deductions per acre. Annual charges as before at 62s 232 10 0 45 acres ploughed for roots equal to 4 times 1 l(i 0 Odd tillage 0 10 0 Seed 0 3 0 Cleaning and hoeing 0 10 0 Manuring, 15 loads at 5s 3 15 0 6 14 0 45 acres at £6 14s. per acre 301 10 0 Harvesting, clamping, &c, 30 acres roots at 17s.6d 26 5 0 Seed for 15 acres tares, £20 ; tillage, £12 ; and part manured at 50s 37 10 0 5 acres rye grass, seed and sowing at 10s 2 10 0 600 5 0 Apparent loss 292 15 0 Deduct for improved state of land 52s. 6d. per* acre, £196 17s. 6d. from £292 15s. leaves £95 17s. 6d. loss. In instituting a comparison between the profits of growing common mangold and sugar-beet I do not think we shall be at all favouring the case of the latter by assuming that we can grow two-thirds of the weight oi those that we do of the common beets. Taking the average weight per acre of our mangold (when cleaned) to be 24 tons, we then should calculate the sugar-beet at 16 tons, which at £1 per ton, will give £16 per acre. The consuming value of our beet 1 take to be £7 per acre — I do not at all think that in an average of years we make more than this — to it must be added something for the benefit in mannre-making we derive from consuming them on the farm : this gain would be fairly met by adding 35s. per acre, and 7s. for value of tops — alike in both cases. We have then £9 2s. as their total value per acre, their cost as shown being £10 13s. Gd. leaving a loss of £1 lis. Gd. The poiut then we now arrive at is how much more expen- sive is the sugar-beet to grow and convert into money than the common beet. What I have termed the annual changes, also the seeding and manuring, will be the same, £10 13s. 6d. Additional cost of hoeing and singling, the plants having to be left thicker, say 4s. per acre. The additional trouble and cost in taking up and cleaning is quite balanced by the additional labour and cartage of the 8 tons more grown of the common sort thau of these. Add for additional length of cartage, say two miles at 2s. 9d- per ton on the 16 tons, £2 4s. ; making a total cost of £13 Is. 6d. Value of the crop, including tops, 7s., £16 7s.; leaving a net profit, £3 5s. 6d., against a loss of 31s. 6d. in growing other beet ; making a total balance of £4 17s. 6d. in favour of growing sugar-beet ; in neither case do I take into consideration the improved state that the land may be left in. If I compared the retp.ni with that of the bean crop the balance would be still more in favour of the sugar-beet. I trust that I may not have been altogether unsuccessful in showing two things, viz., that our corn crops are not so profita- ble as they appear to be, and [that sugar-beet-growing may not be so bad a spec, after all. My remarks on them are of course founded ;>pon a very limited experience, but I am very strongly persuaded that if on 100-acre farms, situate within three miles or so of a factory, the farmers were to grow some 5 or 10 acres (so in proportion on large farms) the crop would be found profitable. FARM AGREEMENTS. At the last meeting of the Kingscote Agricultural Society, Mr. H. S. Hayward in the chair, the following lecture was delivered by Mr. Henry Holborow, of Willsley, Tetbury : — Iu considering this important subject the first point that strikes the mind is, the relative advantage of long leases and of yearly agreements : I say " lony leases," because short ones are worse than nothing. Whilst some contend that leases are the only proper method of giving security and confidence to the tenant fanner in spending his capital on another person's property.; others contend that eompensathiy agreements, by which the landlord undertakes to pay for all unexhausted improvements, are the most preferable. Much may doubtlets be said on both sides : the advocates ol leases pointiug with confidence to those districts of England and Scotland where leases are the rule as being the best-farmed parts of the two countries ; and those preferring yearly occupations, coupled with proper agreements, contending that they leave the farmer free to relinquish a farm which may prove to be a ruinous speculation if he were bound to keep it ; as tending to destroy that reciprocal good feeling that ought to exist between land- lord and tenant ; and also, that the termination of a lease is always looked upon as a fair excuse for a rise of rent. It is not my intention, however, to go furl her into this particular part of the argument than to say that the landlord ought to give the tenant a reasonable security for his capital ; that he will do wisely to endeavour to establish his confidence, and in every respect to make him feel at home in his occupation ; for a fceliug of discontent or insecurity will always act as a death- blow to improved farming — " from baud to mouth" will be the principle and the practice. Before leaving this part of the subject I will venture to remark iu favour of confidence under yearly agreements, and as an example, that if you start from the neighbourhood of Marshfield and travel thence to this place (a distance of 20 miles), or even further along the table- land of the Cotswold Hills, you will find a district as well farmed and as well stocked as almost any you can go into ; and why ? Simply because of the confidence existing — and which onght always to exist — between the tenants and their landlords. Our society is a local one, and, although as a rule, we like to discuss subjects of general interest in connexion with agriculture, yet it becomes us sometimes to look at them iu that particular respect that concerns ourselves most ; thus, I purpose to address myself to the subject in question, because it is well known that, as a rule, the landlords of this district — iu the vale as well as on the hills — object to give leases ; and it must also be remembered that agreements must be made to suit the particular character of the soil, system of fanning, as well as customs of the neighbourhood. To draw- up an agreement, such as would be of general application, would be a task indeed ! — almost an impossibility, iu conse- quence of the variety of the soil, and the equally great variety of circumstances ; but an attempt of this sort was thought to be about to be made some few years back iu Stallordsliire, when a reward of £50 was offered for the best form of agree- ment for a yearly tenancy commencing at Ladyday, all England being invited to compete ; and it was hoped and expected by many that the object was, and the result would be, that such a comprehensive form of agreement would be pro- duced that anybody and everybody would be able to gather something new and substantial from it, and also be able to extract from it just so much as might be suitable to their par- ticular case. The result, however, proved that local circum- stances and local customs were alone in contemplation, and everything not coming within their range was discarded, whilst the form of agreement to which the prize was given showed nothing new, nothing of general application, and nothing calling for especial notice ; in fact, the bare customs of this district are better for the tenant farmer than it. Could 342 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. such a comprehensive ami general form of agreement as I have hinted at be got up it would be a capital tiling, and I do not see why it should not be accomplished. If it were done, and well authenticated, it would make manifest to the landowners some of their "duties" as well as their "rights," and may prove an important spur to agricultural improvement. In drawing up an agreement three things should be aimed at in the wording, viz., clearness, conciseness, and yet the expressing of everything necessary. The laywer's old-fashioned rigmarole of "the said moreover howsoever nevertheless notwithstanding" might be altogether dispensed with, and plain, common-sense English put in its place ; but, at the same time, it is indis- pensably necessary that everything should be mentioned, especially with regard to what the tenant is to be paid for on quitting, as everything left out is supposed to be intentionally omitted ; it is better to say nothing on this head than to mention only a part, which is so often done, to the injury of the unsuspecting tenant. My own experience has been — and I have had a great many agreements in my hands — that the largest half of the existing farm agreements are either so much waste paper, or something worse. The fact is, they are put into the hands of an attorney to be prepared, and he, not understanding the business, goes and copies some old thing that has happened to come into his hands, and the tenant, fancying the matter to be more of a form than anything else, signs it without further consideration, and thus the matter stands till quitting-time arrives, when the poor tenant has to stand by his foolish bargain made in ignorance. I would especially advise all tenant farmers, if they do not understand the proposed agreement themselves, not to sign it before taking the advice of an experienced valuer. But, then, the agree- ment itself : — what should it be ? What should be its prin- ciples, its scope, its aim ? Here's the rub. It should be a clearly-defined bargain between the landlord and the tenant, and its motto should be " Fear not to do justly." Its scope and aim may be considered under three heads, like every preacher's sermon. 1st. Protection to the landlord against encroachment or spoil on the part of the tenant ; 2ndly. Full scope to the tenant in the exhibition of his skill in cropping and management, coupled with a reasonable security for the outlay of his capital in improving the farm ; 3rdly. Whilst giving fair compensation to the tenant for all unexhausted capital left in the land by him on quitting, to avoid as much as possible the entailing too heavy a valuation, which may have the effect of crippling the resources of the new comer. In carrying out the first proposition the chief aim will be to prevent an unscrupulous tenant practising the exhaustive system of cross-cropping ; this may be done by limiting the number of acres to be sown to corn on an average of any two successive years, and also by further limiting his power to take a crop for seeding of any kind beyond a specified number of acres over and above the quantity of corn ; but the old- fashioned practice of laying down a rule, or course, of cropping is to be deprecated, as tying the hands of the enterprising and skilful tenant by putting him in "leading strings." The second proposition is of great importance, because the tenant's living depends upon his success as a farmer, while the landlord's income from rent is a comparative certainty. He should, therefore, be left quite free to manage according to his own judgment, to exercise his own skill in the management of his crops, and encouragee to increase as much as possible the fertility of the soil by a fair security for repayment of unex- hausted capital left therein in case of quitting ; whilst the landlord should not forget that he has the power in his own hands to turn out a bad tenant when lie may think proper. The third proposition is, to my own mind, the most difficult to accomplish. My own experience as a valuer, for 25 years and upwards, is that the bad farmer is a/fays paid too much, whilst the good farmer is frequently paid too little, on quitting ; and how to remedy this anomaly is a very difficult question. However, in this district, the foundation of successful farming, on arable laud, is a good crop of roots grown and fed thereon, the full cost of raising which the tenant is and ought to be paid on leaving ; but the system of paying back rents, or of allowing the tenant the full value of the away -going crop of wheat, is objectionable, as it is virtually locking up so much of the new-comer's capital during the whole time of His tenancy. As to allowing for artificial manures used, and corn and cake consumed on the premises for two or three years back, I can- not, as a rule, recommend it ; for it is open to so much abuse, so much room for dispute, and to entail such a heavy valuation on the new coiner, that it is advisable not to agree to it exsept under special circumstances. The good fanner will be sure to make use of these things, because it pays him to do so, which ought to be enough ; and the unscrupulous one would only take advantage of the privilege to run up a bill which he well knew his successor would have to pay. Let the good farmer be paid for his unexhausted capital left in the soil so far as can reasonably be done, but if you carry it too far you create an encumbrance on the land, and thus destroy all the advantage to the landlord of having a good tenant, whom he may, perhaps, have sought to encourage. To attempt to lay down such a rule as would compel a man to farm well would be altogether a useless task ; and the good farmer only asks for fair play, which the good landlord will be always ready to concede, whilst the exacting landlord had better be left to farm his land liimself, and thus pocket the rent and all the tenant's profit too that he can get. Much more might be said on the subject of farm agreements, but I have cut it somewhat short because I have given a form of agreement, drawn up by myself, which I think applicable to this district, and containing everything necessary as a rule, and which may be added to, or amended, to meet particular cases. I will read it, and then if you think proper we can discuss the several clauses. But I would first remark that I have made it necessary to give a full year's notice to quit, as I think no man ought to be liable to be turned out at six months' notice, as the landlord might take the fit in his head, and thus be turned adrift to do as he can without a fair opportunity of getting into another farm, or of otherwise arranging his matters to the best advantage to himself. I have also omitted all reference to game preserving, because I feel that no farmer's club ought to give countenance to the practice by even supposing the thing possible where fair play and good farming are in question. Confide rede agens. Clause 1st.— An Agreement made and entered into this day of , 1869, between A, of , in the county of , of the one part, and B, of , in the county of , of the other part, witnesseth,that the said A agrees to let, and the said B agrees to take, the farm- house, lands, and premises specified in the schedule hereto annexed, and situate in the parish of , in the county of , and called or known by the name of farm, containing acres, more or less, for the term of one year, commencing on the 25th day of March, 1869, and so on from year to year, until one of the said parties shall deliver to the other one year's notice to quit in writing ; at the yearly rent of , payable half-yearly, by two equal in- stalments. 2nd. — Also the several additional rents following, that is t° say, twenty pounds for every acre of meadow or pasture land which the tenant shall break up or convert into tillage without a written consent from the landlord or his agent previously obtained ; ten pounds for every timber tree which the tenant shall fell, top, or wilfully damage — except such ash and other trees as have been usually lopped or topped ; five pounds for every acre of arable land which the tenant shall, on an average of any two following years, sow with white straw corn over and above acres, or over and 'above acres from which he shall take a crop for seeding of any kind — sanfoin always excepted. (Clover may also be excepted in some cases.) 3rd. — Reserving to the landlord and his agents ingress, egress, and regress, at all reasonable times, into and upon the said lands and premises. Also excepting and reserving to the landlord all mines, minerals, quarries, and beds of stone, with full power to search for, work, and carry away the same respectively ; also all timber, saplings, and other trees, with full power to fell aud carry away the same : the tenant being fully indemnified by the landlord for all damages caused by any of the above-named operations. 4th. — Tenant to pay all rates and taxes, except the land-tax and landlord's property-tax. 5th. — Landlord will put into good repair the dwelling-house aud all the buildings, aud will keep the same in repair, except in cases of damage occasioned by or through the neglect or default of the tenant, his servants, or any member of his family. Gth. — Landlord will put into good repair all the artificial pools, and the tenant shall keep and leave the same ia THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 343 repair by being allowed, by the landlord, one-half the cost of such repairs. 7th. — Landlord will put into good repair all the gates, gate- posts, and stiles, and the tenant shall keep and leave the same in repair, by being found, by the landlord, good and suitable sawn timber and half the cost of the paint as may be required for such repairs. 8 th. — Landlord will put into Rood repair all the hedges, ditches, water-courses, walls, and other fences, and the tenant shall keep and leave the same in repair, and not remove or alter the same without the previous consent of the landlord. 9th. — Tenant will do all the hauling, and find all the straw required in the execution and completion of any repairs done by the landlord, by being paid for the straw at the rate of one pound sterling per ton weight. 10th. — Tenant not to underlet or assign any part of the pre- mises without the previous consent of the landlord or his agent in writing. 11th. — Tenant to consume on the premises all the hay, straw, turnips, swedes, mangold-wurtzel, and other vegetables used for feeding cattle or sheep, and not to sell off any part thereof respectively — excepting wheat straw, which he shall be allowed to sell by his laying out the whole of the money for which it is sold in artificial or other manures, to be brought back on to the premises in lieu thereof — or leave the same, on quitting, for the use of the landlord or his in- coming tenant, by being jiaid for the same at a consuming price. 12th. — The tenant shall, in the spring-time of the last year of his tenancy, and at a suitable time, in proper, husbandlike manner, sow good clover and grass seeds in and amongst the spring corn, then coming in due course and rotation for " young seeds," and the landlord or in-coming tenant shall pay the full cost of such seed, together with all labour and expenses connected therewith, as the valuers, hereafter mentioned, shall think fair. 13th. — The tenant shall, in the last year of his tenancy, at the usual and proper season, do all the ploughing, harrowing, scarifying, rolling, cleaning, fallowing, wheat sowing, winter rye and winter vetch sowing, dung hauling, or other work or labour which may be necessary to be done on any of the lands or premises up to the first day in February in such last year — the landlord or his in-coming tenant having the power to direct as to the quantity of wheat, rye, or vetches to be sown per acre, the number of acres respectively, and to find the seed if he shall think proper. And the landlord or in-coming tenant shall pay the out-going tenant, to be fixed by valuation, for all such ploughing, harrowing, sowing, and the like, as well as for all other work or labour, of whatever kind, as shall have been executed by him during the last year of the tenancy, being such as the landlord or in-coming tenant will have to reap the benefit of, provided the same be done in a good and husbandlike manner. 14th. — The landlord, or his incoming tenant, to have power to enter on the first day of February in the last year of this tenancy into and upon the yard and stable room for horses; also into the several yards and courts, for the purpose of collecting and hauling away the dung that may be remaining therein ; also upou such lands as have been sown to turnips or other roots, and which, by consumption of the crop, shall then be free for cultivation ; also upon all lands on which corn or pulse shall have been grown in the last year ; and upon the 23th day of March upou all the remaining parts of the land and premises. * loth. — Tenants shall not feed any of the " young seeds" after the loth day of October in the last year of this tenancy. 16th. — Tenant, at the termination of this tenancy, shall leave on the premises all the hay and straw remaining unconsumed, stacked and carefully preserved, and the landlord or in- coming tenant shall take to the same at a "spending" value, to be fixed by valuation. 17th. — Landlord or in-coming tenant shall pay the out-going tenant, to be fixed by valuation, for all sanfoin left growing on the said lands and premises, as well as for all horse and manual labour, artificial manures, and other expenses he may have incurred in preparing any fallows or raising any turnip or other root or green crop (excepting the cost of the seed) grown and fed on the lauds and premises during the last year of this tenancy ; but if any part thereof shall have been hauled oil the lands where grown and consumed in the yards and sheds, then in such cases the valuers, to be ap- pointed as hereinafter mentioned, shall have power to make such deduction from the cost of raising such crop as they may think proper. 18th. — Landlord shall pay the out-going tenant, to be fixed by valuation, for all permanent improvements done by him, with the landlord's consent, in the way of building, draining, or other works ; but the valuers, in estimating the same, shall make due allowance for the time that has elapsed since such works were done, the condition in which they are left, as well as the necessity for the same, and the judicious manner (or otherwise) in which they shall have been executed. 19th. — The said parties hereto do agree that, throughout this agreement, the term "landlord" shall be understood to mean the said A, and the term " tenant" shall be understood to mean the said 13 ; and further, that they will well and truly perform toward each other the covenants herein contained, binding themselves, their executors, and administrators by these presents ; and it is moreover hereby agreed that the valuation to be made under this agreement, together with all doubts, differences, and disputes that may arise between the said parties, respecting the construction of this agree- ment, either during this tenancy or after its termination, or as to the condition of the farm, or the mode in which it is farmed, or as to any compensation or remuneration to be made under the provisions hereof, or any other matter or thing arising out of this agreement, or the relation between the parties, shall be referred to the arbitration and valuation of two indifferent persons, one to be chosen by each party, with power to choose an umpire ; and his or their decision shall "be final and binding on both parties. In witness whereof the said parties have hereto set their hands and seals the day and year above written. Mr. J. C. Bengougii said he felt much interested in the subject which they had to discuss ; but it had been brought before them by Mr. Holborow in such a fair and practical manner that little room was left for discussion. He agreed with nearly all that had been said. Laws were only made that the dishonest might be punished, and the more concise agree- ments were the better they were understood, and the less liable they were to be broken. The greatest part of the farm agree- ments made by lawyers were nothing better than so much waste paper. As a landlord he should not object to granting leases if his tenants were anxious for them, but he did not think they were. He would not consider them any more binding than a yearly tenancy. He looked upon the tenant by the year as entitled to the farm for his life at the rent he had taken it at, and his son to have it, but he would have an opportunity of making a new agreement with the son. He did not think good farming — the well-being of landlord and tenant — depended so much on leases or yearly agreements as on the confidence which the oue had in the other. He believed it was farmers' own faults if they took farms at too high rents or on bad agreements ; it was only for them to combine together and say they would not have farms unless under certain agreements. [A Voice: " There never was such a thing as combination amongst farmers, and never will be."] Mr. Bengough then went on commenting on the several heads. His belief was that the agreement was a fair one, and that the practical carrying of it out would prove satisfactory. The Chairman, Mr. D. Holborow, Mr. G. Robinson, Mr* B. Drew, Mr. Peter, and others followed ; after which the following resolution was put and carried almost unanimously : " That this meeting is of opinion that long lerses are preferable to yearly tenancies, and that in all cases the tenant should be remunerated for his unexhausted capital left in the soil on quitting, as far as can reasonably be done." Votes of thanks were passed to Mr. H. Holborow for his paper, and to Mr, Hayward for presiding. THE OX ON THE RAIL.— We omitted to give else- where in our extract from the Highland Society's Journal, on " The Transit of Stock," the name of the author, Mr. George Menzies, of Trent-ham, near Stoke-upon-Trent. Beyond this excellent essay, there are a number of other good papers ; and it is clear enough that however the prize-system may answer with the English Journal, it tells well in eliciting many really prize communications from Scotch agriculturists. m THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ARTIFICIAL MANURES AND THE NECESSITY FOR ANALYSIS. At a meeting of the Newbury Earmers' Club, Mr. Everett in the chair, Mr. J. R. Evans read a paper, in the course of which he said: Several practical men have recently told me — as I am sure I find iu my own case — that although they endeavour to keep as much stock as possible, all or nearly all the farm-yard dung goes for the various corn crops, and there is little, if any, left for the root crops. Again, if some first-rate managers do make enough farm-yard dung for their roots, I contend that the liberal use of genuine artificial manure as well will start the young turnip plant much more vigorously, make it able to out-grow its numerous enemies, and bring it up to the hoe much more quickly than otherwise would be the case, and then it wiil be able to make use of the dung to carry it on to maturity. Well, I daresay many will say " We perfectly agree with you, we are quite aware of all this, and all we have to do is to go into the market and buy as much artificial manure as we require, which we can do without the least difficulty." So you can, and far too easily, as most fresh comers into any market will be able to testify from the way in which they are so kindly solicited by those gentlemen who take such a deep interest in the farmers growing fabulous crops — the manure agents — one of whom has you by the button almost every two steps yon take, and begs you to allow him the pleasure of sending you a manure for this, that, or the other crop, which is certain to be everything you require, will double your return, and, if it does not succeed, you shall have it for nothing, and a lot more rigmarole far easier to imagine than to describe. A case in point is given in the Mark Lmie Express of Eebruary the 8th, and is as follows : " At the Ashford County Court, on Mon- day last, an action was brought by a manure dealer residing at Bermoudsey, London, to recover the value of manure sold. Mr. Skinner, farmer, of Bethersden, bought of a ' pill doctor,' named Warren, who travels for the plaintiff, half a ton of manure, warranted real Peruvian guano, price £13 per ton. The defendant's story was that Warren not only warranted the manure to be best Peruvian guano, but undertook not to charge for it if it did no good on the land. When the manure arrived, it was found not like the sample ; the defendant, how- ever, sowed all but one bag on a piece of wheat, and where it was sown the wheat was worse than where none was put. Mr. Stoker, a neighbour, also bought a quantity of the same guano, with exactly the same result. The defendant produced samples of the guano purchased, which he had had analysed, and which was found to be nothing but a mixture of sand, sawdust, and other worthless compounds. The plaintiff denied this in Mo. The judge said the defendant should have sent back the manure instead of using it, and gave judgment to the full amount, with costs." You see then, gentlemen, some of the dangers to which the buyer is exposed. With regard to the buying of known dealers, I think that is a very good thing, but I do not think it sufficient. Take superphosphate of lime, an artificial manure which is, I should decidedly say, used far more than any other iu the growth of roots. Dr. Voelcker, a man whom I think has done as much or more for the farmer than any chemist of the present day, and who has most kindly answered several inquiries of mine on the subject, says : ,; Phosphate of lime is extremely useful for root crops. It is required by all agricultural produce, but experience has showu it is most beneficially applied to root crops. My time, will not permit me to assign the reasons why phosphate of lime when applied to the soil iu a proper state is especially useful to roots ; but I appeal to the general experience of practical farmers, and content myself with saying rather dog- matically, that phosphate of lime is a special manure for root crops." And further, the Br. says the proportion of phosphate of lime in farmyard manure is but small. So you see there is a very strong case in favour of using superphosphate as a manure. Well, with regard to buying superphosphate of lime, one of our members, Mr. Harding, who was formerly a member of the Blandford Fanner's Club (which Club has for some years past been in the habit of having samples of manure carefully analysed), has kindly lent me copies of several analyses formerly made for that club, and there I find that the esti- mated values of the different superphosphates vary very con- siderably indeed. In one case, eight different samples varied in value from only £ 1 12s. Od. up to £8 17s. lOd. per ton. Iu another, seven samples varied from £4 12s. 6d. up to £7 5s. per ton. In another, six samples varied from £4 us. up to £8 4s. per ton ; and in this case some compound, sold I have no doubt at a good price, was found to be only worth £2 per ton. I must explain : these prices I have quoted are not those at which the manures were sold, but the worth of the fertilizing ingredients contained in the manures, as estimated by the chemist, according to their commercial value. Most of these manures were from makers of very high standing. I gather from these examples that there is a considerable difference in the value of manures made by different makers ; that the dearest is not necessarily the best ; and that the lowest priced often proves really the highest to the buyer. I find that those superphosphates are most valuable which contain the highest per-centage of soluble phosphates, of insoluble phosphates in the form of bone, and nitrogen equal to ammonia. Insoluble phosphate in the shape of coprolite powder or mineral phos- phate, is of no more use to the farmer than sand or any other insoluble matter. A really valuable superphosphate should be rich in soluble phosphate, and contain some ammonia. A manufacturer who merely guarantees that his superphosphate is genuine, gives in reality no guarantee whatever. What we want to know is the proportion in which the ingredients I have just mentioned occur. AVith some manure manufac- turers, it is the practice to throw into superphosphate made almost entirely from mineral phosphate some bits of bone, and thereby to convey to purchasers the impression that the ma- nure is made from bone dust. Dr. A'oelcker says : " A fair superphosphate should contain from 20 to 24- per cent, of solu- ble phosphate, and from 5 to 10 per cent, of insoluble bone phosphate." Professor Sibson, who has also most kindly answered my inquiries on this subject, says : "That as regards the quality of superphosphates, they are more often badly made than adulterated, although it comes to much the same thing to the buyer. A good mineral superphosphate should con- tain about 25 per cent, of soluble phosphate, and, at most, from G to 7 per cent, insoluble, or, if a bone superphosphate, it should have 21 to 22 per cent, soluble phosphate, about 10 per cent, insoluble, and 1 per cent, of ammouia. Some bad samples we often find with more insoluble phosphates than soluble, or very little of either." I am afraid, gentlemen, I am wearying you, and will endeavour soon to come to an end ; but I hope I have said enough to show you that it would be very much better for the farmer were analysis the rule, instead of being, as it now is, the exception. Some makers are in the habit of showing you a printed analysis of their superphos- phate, with the name of some well-known chemist attached, but with no date to it. This is, I think, unsatisfactory, as one analysis will in this way be printed year after year, when there certainly should be a fresh analysis every year. Some, Iknowr, advocate farmers making their own superphosphate, and say that by so doing you do know what you have got. In answer to this, I would quote Professor Sibson, who says : " Although it is sometimes said that the manufacturer's profit would be saved by the farmer buying the raw materials of manures, and having them mixed by his men as opportunity offers, it is found practically at the present time that manures of the best quality, both chemical and mechanical, can be bought for less than farmers would have to pay for their unmanufactured in- gredients." This must needs be the case if we recollect that the manufacturer buys his material in large quantities, gene- rally by hundreds of tons, and at times when the command of capital (without which he cannot succeed) offers special ad- vantages, and frequently also makes the sulphuric acid he uses. Hence the practice of dissolving bones, formerly com- mon amongst farmers, is almost discontinued, as it is found not to pay. With regard to Peruvian guano, if genuine, I think all will admit it to be a very valuable and necessary ma- nure, and I believe it to be one of the cheapest, if not the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 345 cheapest, source of ammonia we have. Dr. Voelcker says : " Peruvian guano is, I am sorry to say, as much adulterated this year as auy at the present time. I have three samples of Peruvian guano in my laboratory, two of which are greatly, and 1 think fraudulently, adulterated, and the third is of an inferior character." lie also says, "There are man who gua- rantee Peruvian guano as imported by Gibbs, but sell you an inferior article, and yet give you no ground to lodge an action for damages." The fact is, every year cargoes of guano dam- aged by sea-water are imported by Messrs. Gibbs, and sold by auction as D. or D.D. guano, i.e., damaged or double-damaged. A party, therefore, who merely guarantees Peiuvian guano as imported by Gibbs, may sell you damaged guano; and it is therefore, necessary that you should get a written guarantee in which the guano is warranted geuuine. Peruvian, tirst quality, as imported by Messrs. Gibbs, Professor Sibson says, too, that many cargoes of Peruvian guano are of inferior quality, although genuine, that is, as imported. Some persons think that if the guauo has a very strong and disagreeable smell, it is all right, and this is due to the preseuce of ammonia ; but Dr. Voelcker says guano contains scarcely any free ammonia. People run wild with the idea that everything that smells is ammonia ; they talk of ammonia and carbonic acid, and think that they have done a great service by introducing chemistry to the notice of the practical farmer. So you see this idea is quite erroneous. Geuuine Peruviau guano weighs from 681bs. to 721bs. per bushel ; whilst adulterated guano weighs considerably more, no cheap material having been dis- covered with which guano can be readily adulterated without increasing its specific gravity. In the case of Peruvian guano too, then, I say it is very much better for the buyer to have an analysis. As to the other numerous compounds aud special manures with high sounding title, I certainly have no faith in them, although, of course, every one must judge according to his own experience with respect to them. Prom all I can find in works on agricultural chemistry, nitrogen and phos- phoric acid are the chief ingredients which we require to apply to the soil, the former for corn aud grass, and the latter for roots ; of course I do not speak exclusively in either case. In most average soils the mineral constituents for the food of plants are found in almost inexhaustible quantities, and when absent can be more advantageously obtained in some other form than by paying high prices for them in the shape of artificial manures. I have not noticed nitrate of soda, as its present price almost puts its use out of the question. In con- clusion, 1 must just mention how they mauage things in Lin- colnshire, and I only wish we could do something of the same sort here. There is a report in the Mark Lane Express of January the 18th of a society called " The Lincolnshire Partners' Association." This society consists of 101 members, farming 57,106 acres of laud. It has for its object the supply- ing its members with thoroughly good superphosphates, at the lowest price at which it is possible to obtain it. It appears that they throw open their orders to tender, subject to analysis, and since June last, the manure delivered aud ordered for delivery amounts to l,7lJ'J tous. The present contractor had offered any further quantity that might be required, guaran- teed to contain not less than 26 per cent, soluble phosphate, and in good condition, at Jti 0s. Od. per ton, being 2s. Cd. per ton more than his last contract. This, gentlemen, is well worthy of our consideration, aud I think our club would be doing great good if it could in auy measure tread in the steps of the Lincolnshire Association. In the first place, I would above all advocate that we endeavour to establish some regular system of aualysis with regard to the artificial manures used by the members of our club ; aud secoudly that it would be much to our advantage if we could order our superphosphate in the bulk instead of in the small quantities which each individual requires. I will only add that those who think that good crops can he secured by merely using guauo or superphosphate, or nitrate of soda, or auy other artificial manure, without adopting other means as well, will find themselves grievously disappointed, and that the mechanical condition and proper pulverization of the soil is especially necessary, in order to reap benefit from the use of any artificial manure. Mr. Isaac much approved of the suggestion ihat the club thould undertake to secure an aualysis of the manures pur- chased by its members— all manufacturers of position would hail such a step as relieving the market of men who only foisted upon it a worthless article, The plan of farmers making their own manure he condemned as beiug less profit- able, and the article manufactured less valuable. He would ask how superphosphates could be sold at £+ odd a ton, when boues could not be bought under JL7 a ton. lie added also that (he plan of selling damaged guano was discontinued. The large makers had declined takiug the contract to supply the Lincolnshire farmers, but he had no hesitation in saying that any respectable manufacturer could supply the article they were now gettiug upon the same terms. Mr. \Vf,\ nvouTii agreed that the cheapest manure was not always the most economical, and, as an agriculturist, consum- ing something like £20U worth of manure in a year, he would be glad to join a combination that would supply him with as good stair at say £20 less. Mr. Darke complimented Mr. Evans on having read the most practical paper which had been given in those rooms. He asked them to consider how little they were able to com- bine together for the benefit of themselves and the public, and attributed it to the fact that their club did not number a fair proportion of the farmers who attended the market. Before he committed himself to the approval of the scheme for ordering their manures in the bulk, he would like to know upon what principle the combination would be formed, and the manner in which it would be doled out. Mr. Taljiek approved of the analysis suggestion, and said that he learnt upon high authority that if guano weighed more than 731bs. to the bushel, it was mixed with earth, and if it floated they might conclude that it was mixed with sawdust. Mr. Harding, as a late member of the Blandford Club, spoke of the good results which had followed the introduction of the analytical movement. He deprecated any combination to buy manure, as driving out of the market respectable agents. The Chairman having complimented Mr. Evans on his paper, aud Mr. Isaac for his speech, stated that it was possible to buy superphosphate at £1 0s. Od., the price named — not boue superphosphates, he admitted ; but coprolite superphosphates. Mr. Evans having replied to questions, and stated that his principal object was to induce them to do something to secure an analysis of their manures, A discussion then followed on the advisability of having an analytical chemist attached to the club, and but for the fact of uo notice having been given previously, a motion to this effect would have been made. It was, however, decided that another meeting should be held to consider this question, and a full attendance of the members to consider this really im- portant matter was strongly urged. The proceeding's closed with the usual votes of thanks. HOW TO KILL MICE AND HATS.— There are many modes of trapping mice and rats, but the best of them are seldom effectual to clear a place of these vermin. Having frequently been pestered with mice and rats, we have been compelled to search for cheap and effectual means of destroy- ing them, and have found carbonate of baryta the surest and swiftest poison available. It must, however, be used with great caution, as it may be the means of destroying birds, poultry, dogs, cats, and other animals not included in the same condemnation as the rats and mice. It is a dry, white, tasteless powder, not adapted to mingle with any liquid, but may be beaten up with the flesh of a raw bloater, or with good dripping and oatmeal, so as to make a tasty and a deadly paste, portions of which may be thrust into the holes and runs of the vermin, or placed under broken flower-pots in such a way that small game can find it, but cats and dogs can be kept aloof. In places where cats abound so as to become a nuisance, they may be reduced very speedily by the prepara- tion of a bloater with a smearing cf the powder ; split the fish, and rub the powder into the moist meat with a piece of clean stick, and place it where only cats, rats, and mice are likely to find it. In using this deadly poison, be careful every morning to look for the baits that were put down the night before, and burn what remains of them ; for rarely will any surviving vermin eat what has been mauled about by those that have feasted on it, and gone to their doom,^— Gardener's Mnqazine. 34(5 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. MANURES. Mr. E. I. J. Browell, analytical chemist, read a paper before the Hexham Farmers' Club on " Manures." Captain Nichol- son occupied the chair. Mr. Browell said : Plants, in common language, may be said to consist of an organic and an inorganic portion. If we take any plant, be it a tree or the smallest herb, be it wheat, hay, or turnip, and burn this until all is burnt which will burn, we shall find that everything has disappeared excepting a small quantity of whitish ash. The quantity of ash varies in different plants ; but it is always a small proportion of the entire weight of the plant. In the seeds, as in wheat, oats, peas, beans, &c, it is seldom much over three per cent, by weight ; in hay, about five or six per cent. ; in turnips and other roots, little more than five per cent. ; and this small quantity of ash is all which the plant has obtained from the soil, or at all events it is all that it is necessary it should ob- tain from the soil. The whole of the 90 or 95 per cent, which has disappeared could be obtained from the atmosphere to which it has returned. The ash then is what is called the in- organic portion of the plant, and that which has disappeared is what is called the organic portion. This ash, or inorganic part, varies in quantity in different plants, and it varies in its chemical composition also very much in different plants ; but as a rule the quantity of ash in the same kind of plant, al- though taken from different kinds of soil and from different localities, does not vary much, and the chemical composition of the ash from different specimens of the same plant grown at different times and places, varies very little indeed ; so much is this the case, that the plants of the farm have been classified, according to the chief constituents of their ash, into lime plants, or those in whose ash lime predominates ; silica plants, or those in which silica predominates ; and potash plants, or those in which potash predominates. I do not wish to tire you by too much chemistry, which, although so important, and interesting too, when you become a little initiated into it, is apt to appear rather dry and difficult to remember in the case of those who have not paid some attention to it previously. I will not therefore say anything more as to the nature and composition of the different plant ashes, but will endeavour just now to show their bearing on practical manuring. Now, most soils contain all the substances which plants require for their growth ; but it is only in very favoured cases where the soil contains them in sufficient abundance to produce the dif- ferent kinds of crops rapidly enough, and in large enough quantity to pay without some assistance in the shape of manure. There are soils so naturally fertile in some parts of Europe and in America that good crops can be grown for a series of years without any manure whatever; but it is only a question of time — the day is certain to come when they will be exhausted, and will refuse to produce until restored to a state of fertility by manure in some form. Inordinary soils a few crops so far exhaust their fertility, that they cease to produce remunerative crops. Suppose that we have a mode- rately rich soil in pretty fair heart and condition. Suppose we grow on this a crop of turnips, which we carry off the land, and after this, without any further manure of any kind, a crop of wheat, and of clover and seeds, and then oats. So far as the inorganic matters are con- cerned, we can tell exactly what has been taken away by the crops, and what is therefore necessary to restore the soil to the same state of fertility that it was in before. We know by analysis what is the composition of the ash of the crops, and we know, or can easily ascertain, what weight of each of the crops was taken away ; it then becomes a very simple calcu- lation to show what is required. This so far as the inorganic part is concerned, which, as we saw, is much the smallest pro- portion of the plant ; but although it is perfectly true that the plant can obtain all else that it requires from the atmosphere, it is not always desirable to leave it entirely to this resource, as in some cases it ''is required that the growth shall be more rapid than this supply would afford. Suppose we want to grow some forage crop, such as Italian rye-grass, here we want a great bulk grown as rapidly as possible, If the soil does not already contain a large quantity of organic matter, animal or vegetable, for the supply of the organic materials, it is desira- ble that we should give it a supply of these in the form of or- ganic manure, either vegetable or animal — generally a combi- nation of the two, as in the case of farm-yard manure, com- posed of litter and the excrements of the animals. Farm-yard manure of course supplies not only the organic constituents, but also the inorganic matters which are required ; it is a com- plete manure supplying everthing required by farm crops, and in a form in which it can readily be made available for the plants. Now, it follows that the position we are in is this — that al- though in most fertile soils we could grow our farm crops just as they are, we could not in this way grow them sufficiently good to pay, for we have always to bear in mind that in pro- ducing a crop a great many of the items of expense are as great for a bad crop as a good one ; therefore to incur all the cost of rent, rates, tillage, and seed, and to lose the chance of a good crop by not manuring sufficiently, is like the proverbial folly of " spoiling the ship for a ha'porth of tar." The prob- lem we have to solve, then, is how can we most effectively sup- ply to the soil the materials of which we deprive it, or which it requires to produce abundant crops? If ordinary farms, under ordinary farming, supplied as much home-made manure as would keep them up to the mark or bring them up to the mark as the case might be, there would be an end of the diffi- culty, but we all know that this is far from being the case ; in the present day when, from the development of rival sources of supply, prices are often very low for what we have to sell, and the cost of labour has so seriously increased, it behoves us to grow the largest crops we possibly can. To do this we must in- crease the fertility of our fields, and to accomplish this we must increase our supply of manure. How is this to be done ? There are various methods of doing this, and it depends on a variety of circumstances which is the best in particular cases. But I have no hesitation in placing first the increasing of both the quantity and quality of our farm-yard manure, by keeping and feeding a greater quantity of stock. There can be no question that in the majority of cases much greater num- bers might be kept than is at present done. Where we cannot grow a large quantity of turnips they might often be made to go much further than they do; instead of giving almost unlimited quantities of turnips, and cut into great lumps or slices, they might serve twice or some- time thrice as many beasts if they were cut very small, or pulped and mixed with chopped straw. And much greater liberality might be shown than is usually done in the supply of crushed grain or meal, and oil cake or such like food ; under such an improved system, as no doubt most here would testify, the cattle would feed faster and more economically, and the improvement in the quantity, and especially in the quality of the dunghill, would soon speak for itself in the crops. I believe that a larger consumption of the various kinds of cake on a farm will pay, even when they are as dear as at the present time. Calculations have been made of the money value of the manure resulting from the consumption of many of the articles of food in use for cattle — I will mention a few. Thus, for a ton of linseed cake con- sumed by your cattle you will get back in the manure some- thing like £4 12s. ; linseed cake, £4 12s., present price £12 ; linseed, £3 13s. ; rape cake, £4 18s., present price £7 15s. ; beans, £3 13s. 6d., present price £10 10s. ; peas, £3 2s. Gd. ; oats, £1 14s. 6d., present price £10 15s. ; wheat, £1 13s., present price £11 10s. ; Indian corn, £1 lis. 6d. ; barley, £1 9s. 6d. ; hay, £1 5s. ; oat straw, 13s. 6d. ; wheat straw, 12s. 6d. ; barley straw, 10s. 6d. ; swedes and other turnips, 4s. Now these calculations are probably sufficiently accurate to be taken as a guide in an inquiry like the present, and I think they ought to go a long way in satisfying us of the economy of using rich food for our stock. Even on farms where from the nature of the soil only a small acreage of turnips or even none at all can be profitably grown, there is a large quantify of straw produced, aud there is nothing to prexeut young cattle being wintered in courts, where they will thrive very THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 347 Well ou straw, water, and cake. For this purpose it is not at all necessary to use the expensive linseed cake ; rape and the other cheaper cakes answering perfectly well, and being quite as valuable for the manure. Young cattle done in this way come out in the spring in an excellent state to go on to the grass. Another method of increasing the stock of manure by means of cattle, which mav be carried out on most farms, is that of summer soiling on clover, tares, or other green crop, cut and brought home to the courts or boxes. The cattle fed with these and oil cake fatten well, aud produce a lot of first- rate manure, which will come in at a very useful time for the autumn manuring of the fallows ; if too late for this, it will be ready to plough into the stubbles — a plan which has much to recommend it, and which no doubt would be much more followed if the supply of rough manure were available. There can be no doubt of the excellent effects, on all but very light, sandy soils, of having the rough manure ploughed in to decompose in the soil, instead of losing its carbonic acid and ammonia in the dunghill. I would just make a remark here as to the treatment of the manure when made on the farm. There is no great loss by allowing the manure to lie for a length of time in the dunghill or in the yards ; still less when in the boxes where it has been made ; as experi- ment has shown that very little, if any, of the ammonia is lost during fermentation, so long as it is kept from being washed by rain ; but this is an important con- sideration ; for, the ammonia being easily dissolved, there is a serious loss when the manure is exposed to rain, and the drainage from it allowed to be lost ; for hereby much of the ammonia may be carried away ; and you must remember that ammonia is the constituent you have to pay most money for when you buy any artificial manure contain- ing it. There is no great loss either, if you cart your farm- yard manure ont into the fields, and it has to lie either in heaps or spread on the land for some time ; for, as the great risk of loss to a manure-heap is by washing, it is obvious that, if rain comes when it is lying in the field, anything washed out will be saved by the soil. Where climate and soil admit of it, the plan of eating the crops on the laud with sheep confined by hurdles, cake being given with the green food, is an excellent and profitable one, here all the expense of carting the crop off and the manure on to the land being saved. I need scarcely apologise for these passing remarks on feeding, as they bear so closely on the subject of manure, being in fact, from our present point of view, indirect ma- nuring, and in my opinion, in the generality of cases, the most scientifically and economically correct. Where farms are situated near to towns or near a railway, they can gene- rally obtain large quantities of scavenger and ash-pit manure ; but, owing to the domestic and sanitary arrangements which have become common of late years, this manure has been de- prived of much of its most valuable portion ; and one some- times almost doubts whether it be worth the cost of carriage. I will just here remark that I hope we see the commencement of a change which will stop the enormous waste of valuable manure in the sewage of towns, whereby a material is made to flow into our rivers to be not only wasted, but in many cases to become a nuisance and source of disease, which, if collected, would probably be worth each year more than the amount raised by the income-tax. I will just say a few words on lime as a manure, before I pass on to consider what are usually called artificial manures. Lime is, in the first place, a manure in the direct meaning of the word, as it is a constituent of the ash of all plants, aud in some cases to a notable extent, as, for example, in the case of peas, beans, potatoes, and clover. All plants, therefore, require that some lime shall be present in the soil ; but most cultivated soils contain lime in quantity probably sufficient for the requirements of most plants, or, at all events, to such an extent that we cannot imagine that the striking effects often resulting from an application of lime to the soil can be due to the quantity of it which the roots take up. Its most important action is, doubtless, an indirect one ; and this is the explanationof it. Amongstthesubstancesrequired by plants, are the alkalies, potash, and soda. Most clays contain these in appreciable quantity ; but they are combined in such a state that water won't dissolve them, and the roots of the plants can only get a slow supply of them : they are com- bined with silica; Well, when quick-lime is added to a soil, it exerts an action on the clay, which decomposes these compounds, and sets at liberty, so to speak, these alkalies; so that the roots of the- plants can at once ap- propriate them. In doing this, it also, to a certain extent, renders soluble the silica with which they were combined; and silica is required by all plants, especially by the straw_ of the different kinds of grain, and by the grasses. In effecting this decomposition, lime alters to some extent the mechanical condition of the soil, rendering it lighter and more friable. This, then, is the explanation of the beneficial effect of the ap- plication of lime to clay soils. Its beneficial action on soils containing a large quantity of vegetable or peaty matter is mainly owing to its decomposing the vegetable matter, and liberating ammonia and carbouic acid, which are quickly ap- propriated by the plants. Lime, then, is chiefly useful not as aiding to the riches of the soil, but in putting into circulation what is already contained in it. I will now endeavour, very briefly, to bring before you what appears to me to be the most important points in connection with what are generally meant by artificial manures. Now, although the list of substances which plants must obtain from the soil, in order to grow, is a long one (including potash, soda' lime, magnesia, oxide of iron, 'silicic acid or silica, phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid, and chlo- rine), most of tbem are tolerably abundant, and there are only a few which we usually require to provide. From this point of view phosphoric acid is the most important, being constantly found as a constituent of plants, and especially so in the seeds of the various species ; for example, the grain of wheat con- tains 40 per cent, of it. No plant can thrive where it is ab- sent or not present in sufficient quantity, and especially can no plant mature its seed without a sufficient supply of it. The usual and only economical form in which it can be applied is in the form of phosphate of lime ; and the sources for this are bones or bone-ash, the different kinds of guano, and the superphos- phates. Potash is another* constituent which is constantly found in plants in considerable quantity, both in the grain and in the straw, and notably in turnips, potatoes, and cab- bages. It is not, however, very often given to the soil, ex- cepting in the case of farm-yard manure and guano. Many experiments have been made, and the direct addition to the soil of some of the compounds of potash, such as sulphate or muriate, have been found to produce marked effects on certain crops ; but the high price of these materials prevents their being much used. The only constituent of plants which is much applied in the form of special manures is nitrogen. This is not found in the ash of plants, it is found in the or- ganic part, or that which disappears in burning. It is usually supplied in Peruvian guano, which contains it in the form of ammonia or some compound capable of yielding ammo- nia ; in nitrate of soda, where it exists in the form of nitric acid united with soda; or as sulphate of ammonia, where it exists as ammonia united to sulphuric acid ; it is a constant constituent also of all animal manures, and to its presence is owing in a great degree their value. Now, it follows that the money value to the farmer of such manures as the different kinds of guano depends on the proportion they contain of phosphoric acid or phosphates of ammonia, or other com- pounds of nitrogen, and, to some extent, the quantity of potash — the value of superphosphates on the quantity of phos- phates they contain, or, in other words, the quantity of phos- phoric acid ; but besides this, as superphosphates are made by partially rendering soluble the phosphate of lime in bones, bone-ash, or some of the natural mineral phosphates of lime by means of sulphuric acid, it is an important point to know to what extent this process has been carried, or, in other words, what is the percentage of soluble phosphates, as the phosphates or phosphoric acid in a soluble form are much more easily taken up by the plants, and are therefore much more valuable. Sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda, and such like materials being definite chemical compounds, don't vary in composition. All that has to be regarded in their case is therefore to know what percentage of the pure salt they contain. Bones depend for their value on the quantity of phosphoric acid and nitrogen which they contain. Besides these manures, which may mostly be classed as phosphatic or nitrogenous, there are a few others not unfrequently used, as, for example, common salt and gypsum, or sulphate of lime. Both these are useful in certam cases — the former, mixed with other materials, as a top-dressing, especially for wheat, fre- quently has a beneficial effect ; the latter is perhaps most marked in its effects when applied as a top-dressing on clover. The mode in which common salt acts is not so easily explained 348 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. as that of the other manures we have mentioned. The bene- ficial effects of sulphate of lime or gypsum on clover is partly explainable by the fact of the large proportion of lime found in its ash, and which the gypsum would supply. There are many other materials which are valuable, but which are only occasionally met with — refuse materials from manufacturing operations of various kinds, as, for example, all kinds of ani- mal matters ; any material containing a considerable quantity of phosphoric acid, or capable of yielding ammonia, is sure to be valuable. Now, these manures of which we have just been speaking, depending for their value on the proportion they contain of a few special constituents, and their cost being con- siderable, it is very important that the farmer shall obtain them genuine and of good quality ; for there may be two sam- ples differing little in their external appearance, and which may yet differ very much in their value. The question then presents itself, How is the purchaser to protect himself, aud to ensure his getting a good article ? An answer often given to this query is — Deal with a respectable manufacturer, whose character is a guarantee for the article he will supply to you. Now, tin's is very good advice ; but I think something more than this is required. The only way in which we can judge with certainty of the quality of a manure is by having a chemical analysis of it. Now, as an analysis will cost from 20s. to £2 or £3, according to its nature, it is not likely that a purchaser of two or three tons woidd go to this expense ; but I think that a plan — which might easily be carried out in a club like yours — would be for as many of you as might choose to agree on the quan- tity they would require of, say superphosphate, some time be- fore the season when it was required ; and then, supposing that twenty farmers amongst them required fifty or a hundred tons, a bargain might be made with some manufacturer to supply it of a certain standard and at a certain price — i. e., being of a certain composition, containing a certain per- centage of soluble aud insoluble phosphates and nitrogen or ammonia : then samples should be taken of the bulk supplied by some one agreed to by both buyer and seller ; the sample so taken to be analysed by a competent chemist, so as to know if it were of the standard agreed for. You would thus have a certainty that you had got what you bargained for ; aud the cost, when divided, would not on fifty tons amount to more than between Is. and 2s. per ton, as one analysis could, of course, serve for the whole of the 50 or 100 tons. Another advantage of this plan would be that, if you went to a manu- facturer with a large order like this, you would find him willing to supply you at a lower price than if you were order- ing only two or three tons. Most manufacturers and their agents, in soliciting orders, show you au analysis of their manure by some chemist of repute. Well, how much wiser are four out of five fanners, when they read this ? Do they know what it means? We canuot all be chemists, so as to understand and judge fully of these things ; but, by adopting my plan, you would go to your analytical chemist, and have such-like points explained to you sufficiently for your purpose. This sugges- tion applies with most force to the purchase of the various kinds of superphosphates. There is not so much variation in the quality of Peruvian guano, bones, bone-ash, or nitrate of soda, though I think it would be worth while to apply the same arrangement to them. Now comes the question, To what extent is it desirable to use these manures, and which of them ? The extent must depend partly on what the farmer can afford, ou the state of his land, and his stock of home- made manure ; but I think he will find that it will generally pay him to expeud from 30s. to 60s., or even more, per acre in this way on his turnip and potato Crop, and from 20s. to 30s. on his clover, wheat, aud barley-crops, to be applied in the shape of top-dressings in spriug. The question, What materials to use ? is a much wider one. We have seen that so-called artificial manures are divided into phosphatic and nitrogenous, or a combination of the two. The phosphatic comprises some kinds of guanos, boue-ash, and those super- phosphates not containing nitrogen. The nitrogenous com- prise nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia ; while Peru- vian guano, bones (raw), and superphosphates, containing nitrogen, combine these Two classes to some extent in one. Now, although nitrogen or ammonia is undoubtedly food for plants, we may, I think, with a certain licence of language, describe the nitrogenous manures as stimulants, and the phosphatic as more stable and more, beneficial to the soil. In practice, I should generally prefer a mixture of the two kinds as being most likely to ensure success. Climate and other local circumstances, no doubt, have a good deal to do with this question. It has been said — and 1 believe with much truth — that the further north you come the more you require ammoniacal or nitrogenous manures ; that whereas, in the southern parts of England, with their long warm season, you may grow root crops with superphosphate only, you must, to produce an equal effect in the north, use a manure contain- ing considerably more ammonia. As to what mixtures or kiuds of artificial manures should be used for eacli crop, numbers of experiments have been made, and the results published in the various agricultural journals, which those who wish can see and study for themselves. I believe, how- ever, that iu the case of turnips we will not be far wrong in using a mixture of equal parts of good superphosphate and Peruvian guano, and an excellent addition to this is some crushed bones. If the superphosphate you use contains much ammonia, you may use more of it and less Peruvian guano. Such a mixture will cost about 8s. or 9s. per cwt., and from 4 to 6 cwt. of this, with a fair allowance of farmyard manure, should be considered a pretty good allowauce per acre. I would use the same mixture for potatoes. Now, there is a little more uncertainty, perhaps, as to what is best to do in the matter of top dressings, for they depend much more on the nature of the season for their effect ; if the season be showery they produce much more effect thau if it be dry. As a rule, it is the nitrogenous or ammoniacal manures which are most suitable for top dressings. Nitrate of soda is perhaps the most used, and it seldom fails in its effect on both grasses aud cereals. It is, however, one of the most expensive materials, seldom costing less than £13 per ton j and experi- ment has shown that it produces nearly or quite as good an effect ou grain crops when mixed with common salt to the extent of one-half its weight, or even an equal weight, and this is, of course, a great saving in price, common salt only costing about 20s. per ton ; but experiment has also shown that Peruvian guano, used as a top dressing, produces almost, if not quite, as much effect as nitrate of soda ; and as it is less of a mere stimulant, and is more beneficial to the soil, I generally prefer to use some of it with the nitrate. I think a useful mixture for top dressings is equal parts of Peruvian guano, nitrate of soda, and common salt, at a cost of about 8s. or 10s. per cwt. ; and from 2 to 4 cwt. of this mixture would be a fair quantity to use. There is another mode of applying artificial manures, which T found very beneficial on strong land, and that is to sow 2 or 3 cwt. of superphosphate per acre with the seed on the fallows. I have this autumn added crushed bones to the superphosphate." IRISH AGRICULTURE. At the late meeting of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland, Mr. Monseli,, M.P., said, more than a hundred and thirty years ago Dean Swift denounced the dimi- nution of tillage, and the increase of rude grass farming in Ire- land. Where the plough, he said, has no work, one family can do the business of fifty, and you may send away the other forty- nine, an admirable piece of husbandry ; never known or prac- tised by the wisest nations, who erroneously thought people to be the riches of a country. Our agricultural statistics show for the last twenty years a marked tendency towards the pro- duction of more cattle aud less corn ; and this increased num- ber of cattle has been fed, not to any extent by an increased quantity oi green crops, but by turning land from tillage into permanent pasture. The anticipations of those who predicted that the repeal of the corn laws would be followed by a dimi* nution of the average price of corn have uot been fulfilled ; TIIE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 349 but a great increase in the price of meat has altered the rela- tive prices of meat and of com. No one, therefore, can won- der or lament that our farmers should attempt to accommodate their production to this altered state of prices. I need not point out that green crops are essential to the successful pro- duction of meat. They arc absolutely essential for the rearing, the feeding, and the furnishing of stock. In Ireland a scarcity of winter feeding may at any time produce disastrous results. The English aud Scotch dealers fear to buy in times of dearth, and the scarcity of winter food in Ireland is rendered doubly scarce by the increased number of cattle, from this cause left on the farmers' hands during the winter. We have had more than one hay famine within the last few years, and at this present moment, though the unusual mildness of the winter has mitigated our danger, we are in anything but a satisfactory state. Messrs. Ganly, Sons, and I'arkcr, in an instructive cir- cular, sounded the note of alarm during the autumn. " To our agricultural friends in Ireland," they said, " we beg to otrer our advice for the coming winter and spring as regards their cattle feeding. Supposing that English and Scotch farmers were pre- pared to feed the usual number of which they relieve us every autumn, it is quite clear that we should have but a scanty supply of hay and straw to keep up our usual succession of younger animals." Messrs. Ganly then pointed out how, with the high price of hay in England, the usual safety valve of export could not work ; and had it not been for the unusual softness of the winter, theit apprehensions would have been fulfilled. There is but one way of averting the recurrence of this danger. Without a proper rotation of crops it is impossi- ble securely to provide winter food for cattle, and, by means of such rotation, not only would corn crops increase, but we should feed many more cattle than we do under our present rude system, and feed them better. This is clearly shown by a comparison of the agricultural statistics of Ireland with those of Scotland. The causes I have aliuded to as intluencing the production of cereals affected the one country just as much as the other. It appears from authentic statistics that the only crop which has decreased in Scotland is Wheat. In all other crops there has been an important increase, and there has been a net increase of acreage under crops of 44,453 acres. In Ire- land, upon the other hand, all crops have decreased — 701,135 acres have gone out of cultivation in eleven years. Turning to the live stock, we find that the superior system of farming in Scotland has permitted the large increase of live stock, amounting to 1,445,398, concurrently with the increased breadth of crops already mentioned ; while in Ireland, where 701,135 acres have been turned into pasture land, we have only a net increase of 1,040,705, and of this only 15,946 were cattle. Each fresh head of cattle turns three quarters of an acre from cultivation into pasture. Had our crops in 1S68 preserved the same proportion to those of eleven years ago as has beeu maintained in Scotland, we should have new ; — Wheat, 278,734 acres ; barley, 237,579 do. ; oats, 2,1S8,443 do. ; potatoes, 1,299,713 '.do. ; turnips, 367,173 do.— total, 4,471,642; instead of which we have, wheat, 286,790 acres; barley, 188,252 do. ; oats, 1,699,919 do. j potatoes, 1,025,949 do. ; turnips, 326,454— total, 3,527,364 ; difference, 944,278 acres. So that the Scotch system of farming would have kept in cultivation 944,278 acres converted under the Irish system into pasture, even supposing the increase of live stock to be no greater in Scotland. Last year, happily, a change for the bet- ter took place. The extent under crops in 1868 appears from the Registrar-General's returns to have been 87,633 acres greater than the acreage of 1867. An important portion of this consisted, of course, of bog and w-aste lands reclaimed, but nearly 60,000 acres consist of pasture land converted back to tillage. This change was probably occasioned by the high prices of cereal produce. I am afraid that, as it was accom- panied by a decrease of land under turnips to the extent of more than 15,000 acres, it affords no indication of progress towards the high farming system of preparing stock for the market. I have dwelt at some length on this subject, for it is impossible, in my opinion, to over-rate its importance. I do not go so far as the eminent professor at Belfast, who has declared his opinion that Ireland will go out of cultivation ; but it is clear to me that unless this course be arrested, unless — which ob- viously will require a large expenditure on farm buildings, on permanent improvements, and on cultivation — higher farming take the place of rude cattle-feeding, onr cattle may increase, though not at the ratio they would under a better system, but our population will diminish, as it has been steadily diminishing for the last twenty years ; and let no one take comfort to him- self at this prospect, by the expectation that those who remain will be better oil'. The most miserable portion of the agricultu- ral population is to be fouud in our grazing districts. The three great classes— landlords, farmers, and labourers — are bound together by links almost too minute to be discerned, but which yet no human power can sever. A. pernicious system of agriculture, founded on narrow and selfish views, hiding the future behind the coarse veil of the present, re-acts with terrible force upon the class above, particularly in the case of light soils, but it condemns the labouring man to idleness, to ignorance, to the absence of hope. In the last century, when our population was less than three millions, it made that population a dead weight instead of a source of wealth and power ; now it will leave little prospect to our labouring classes of satisfying the aspirations which increased education produces, through the legitimate channels of industry. I have taken some pains to ascertain the condition of the population of the city of Limerick, the centre of a rich grazing district. In the old town the poor live generally in large, decaying, cotticred houses— a single family rarely occupying more than one room, aud sometimes three or four families living together in the same room. There is seldom more than one bed for a family, and this bed consists frequently of straw, with an old quilt or blanket, to which are added at night the day garments of the family. The furniture is made up of an iron pot, a few old saucepans, a rickety table, and one or two old chairs or stools — very often there is neither table nor chair. These dismal rooms are exposed day aud night to cold, wind, and rain. In the hearth there is seldom more fire than is necessary to keep the seed for meal time. It is quite common to meet in those rooms grown persons who are unable to go out for days and weeks on account of want of clothes. When the minister of religion goes to visit the dying, he is often, when he requires a table, obliged to use his hat as a substitute. These are painful facts. Upon this picture, however habit may dull its impression on our minds, every foreigner that comes amongst us looks with horror and astonishment. It is quite true that Ireland during the last twenty years has become more wealthy — her diminished population have generally become better clothed, better housed, and better fed than they were twenty years ago. Education has made remarkable progress. Habits of local self-govern- ment have been acquired ; but the light that comes from this improvement, from education, from habits of self-government, shows more clearly the dark spots that remain. Our people can compare their condition with that of their respective classes in other civilised countries ; they find themselves still at the bottom of the ladder of civilisation. To acquiesce in this position, to be contented with the lowest place, however admirable in individuals, would be base and cowardly in a nation. There is no use in trying either to delude ourselves or to delude others. Still the bone and sinew of our popula- tion are leaving our shores ; still there are more persons amongst us than in any other country in Europe upon whom from their cradles to their graves no ray of hope ever dawns. That rude cattle-farming against which Swift directed Ins sarcasms is increasing from year to year. Turnips and other green crops decrease whilst cattle increase. We have but one flourishing manufacture, and that is confined to a corner of the north. Land sells for little more than twenty years' purchase— much about the same rate it sold for in the days of Arthur Young. Within the last two years there has been something very near a famine in three western unions. Nine months ago the Lord Lieutenant might have written, as Lord Comwallis wrote : " The country is quiet, but on an invasion, with prospects of success, the ill disposition of the Irish would show itself in hostility and outrage." Nine months ago an Irish orator might have said as Grattan said, "What you trample upon in Europe will sting you in America." The Habeas Corpus Act has been again for the fifth time since the Union suspended. Can we wonder that Ireland is not looked upon as a desirable field for investment ? Does not the language of those, be they statesmen or economists, who cry : " Let well — very well — alone," jar against our reason ? Am I exaggerating ? Are these dark colours the reflection of my imagination ? You know well that one truth does not exclude another that is distinct from it ; and that however long, aud however fast Ireland has been improving, all that S B 850 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. improvement leaves her a sad and painful contrast to the rest of the United Kingdom and of Europe. Why is this so ? What are the obstacles to our more rapid progress ? This certainly is no barren speculation. It touches our conscience as well as our hearts. The answer most popular on the other side of the Channel is that we are Celts, and that the Celtic race wants those qualities necessary to industry ; that it has flash, but no steadiness ; that we have not the depth and perseverance of the Saxon. Yet it is certain that the Irish people are not more Celtic than the people in many thriving parts of England, and that amongst the most Celtic portion of the English manufacturing industry has made rapid progress. The whole- sale massacre of the Britons by the Saxons is now acknow- ledged to be a myth. Although Saxon took the place often of Celtic chiefs, the mass of the population in nearly one half of England remained Celtic after the Saxon invasion ; and in Northumberland and Yorkshire a large proportion of the names signed in the reign of Henry II. to charters and deeds were Celtic. Some of the counties of Jreland, e.g., Tipperary, that are considered to exhibit most of those faults attributed to the Celtic race, are the least Celtic in what is popularly believed to be the Celtic part of Ireland. Recent investigations prove that the laws and institutions of the ancient Irish were not merely analagous to, but nearly identical with, those called Anglo-Saxon. But even if we accepted the popular notion that the Irish are a Celtic people, does it follow that they are therefore incapable of plodding industry ? The Celtic parts of England, as I have said, are thriving and industrious. The valley of the Clyde has a large Celtic population ; it is also the valley of the successful manufactures. In Belgium it is Celtic Leige and the valley of the Meuse in which the greatest industrial activity is visible. Those who believe the Irish race to be incapable of industrial progress have only to look across the Atlantic to America and Canada, or to see what Mrs. Chisholm described to me as the thriving industry of the Irish in Australia. In those countries, particularly in the United States, the first generation of emigrants are often unskilled in labour, and not sufficiently educated, but their children, who share there with the native born American an atmosphere of industrial activity and skill from their childhood, are second to none in industrial success. The remainder of Mr. Monsell's address related to the condition of manufactures in Ireland, to the education qf the people, their criminal and pauper statis- tics, and to a variety of othf-P topics, THE EFFECTS OF SUPERPHOSPHATE ON TURNIP AND BARLEY CROPS. Sir, — At the last anniversary of the Herts Agricultural Society I was reminded of the difficulty of introducing a prac- tical agricultural questiou at such a meeting. It was allotted to me to propose the toast of " The Herts Agricultural So- ciety ;" and I availed myself of the opportunity to invite the attention of my brother-farmers to the exhausting effects of the turnip crop, when raised by superphosphate, as shown by succeeding crops of corn, compared with crops of corn grown after turnips without any manure. The remarks I wished to submit to the meeting were founded on experiments in three rotations of crops, of turnips, barley, clover, and wheat, made in the years from 1848 to 1859, both inclusive. The parti- culars were entered in my commonplace-book, copied from the Mark Lane Express. I unfortunately omitted to enter the quan- tity of superphosphate, but feel confident it was not less than four cwt. per acre. As the farmers of my own county refused to give me a fair hearing, you will oblige me by inserting the following statement in your valuable paper P The turnips in the experiments were all drawn off the land ; but, as that is not customary with farmers generally, I look at the experi- ment from an agricultural point of view, and treat the question accordingly. The average weight of the three crops of turnips grown without any manure, in the rotations of 1848, 1852, and 1856, was four tons per acre, followed by crops of barley in 1849, 1853, and 1857, averaging 41£ bushels per acre. The average weight of the three crops of turnips grown in the same years with superphosphate was 13^ tons per acre, followed by crops of barley averaging 30£ bushels per acre. I estimate the value of the turnip crop, to be consumed on the land, at 6s. per ton — a standard of value derived from various articles in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, con- tributed by agricultural chemists and other scientific and practical men, and also from the selling price of a good crop of swedes on the land, as I have not found that I could make above £5 per acre of a crop of swedes, of twenty tons per acre, to be consumed on the land, nor have I found, taking one year with another, that I could buy store sheep to pay above £5 per acre for consuming twenty tons of swedes, after shepherding and other expenses were paid. I take the aver- age price of barley at 36s. per qr., which is, I think, the average of the last four years. If my calculation on these data be correct, there would be a loss of 9s. per acre on the turnip and barley crops in each rotation where superphosphate was used for the turnips. Is it not strange, then, that so many farmers depend almost en- tirely on superphosphate for their turnip crop ? If the esti- mate I have formed is erroneous, I should be glad to be cor- rected : if it is right, it is high time for those who depend chiefly on superphosphate for turnips to consider if there may not be found some other mode of providing sheep-food, with- out deteriorating the land so much for corn crops as is shown in the annexed account : Dr. £ s. d. Turnip crops without manure .„ ... 0 0 0 Cr. By 4 tons turnips per acre, at 6s. per ton ... 1 4 0 41| bushels of barley per acre, at 36s. per qr. ... 9 6 9 1 ton of straw, chaff, and cavings ... ... 1 10 0 Manure from 4 tons of swedes consumed on the land, being one-third of their feeding value ... 0 8 0 Total value per acre of turnips and barley ..£12 8 9 Dr. Turnip crops, with 4 cwt. superphosphate ... 1 8 0 Cr. By \Z\ tons, at 6s. per ton ... ... 4 1 0 3O5 bushels barley per acre, at 36s. per qr. ... 6 17 3 15 cwt. of straw, &c. ... ... ... 1 2 6 Manure from \2>\ tons of turnips consumed on the land, being one- third their value ... ...17 0 Total value per acre of turnips and barley ..£13 7 9 Deduct cost of superphosphate (4 cwt., at 7s.) ...18 0 Nett value of turnips and barley ..£11 19 9 It will be seen by this statement that the nett value of the turnip and barley crops, where superphosphate was used for the turnips, were 9s. per acre less than the value of the two crops where no manure was used for the turnips. As this was not the experiment of one trial only, but of three rota- tions, it may be taken as a fair result. But a question will doubtless arise respecting the results in the other two crops iu the rotation — namely, clover and wheat. There being no data given, I must leave these for speculation. Some may assume that the crop of barley (41£ bushels per acre), where no manure was used, must have taken so much more out of the land than the 30^ bushels of barley that followed the turnips, where superphosphate was used, that there must be less virtue left in the land for clover and wheat in the former case than the latter. Others may say that, as the 13£ tons of turnips, where superphosphate was used, exhausted the land so much as to diminish the succeeding crop of barley one-fourth, compared with the crop of barley where no manure was applied for turnips, the effect of that exhaustion would in some degree affect the clover and wheat crops following in rotation. I should be inclined to favour the latter opinion. Preferring to deal with facts rather than assumptions, I will leave the consideration of the subject to my brother- farmers, and subscribe myself, Respectfully yours, Bit chin, Wm. HAINWORTH, THE FARMER'S MAOAZTNF 351 THE WOOLS OF SOUTH AMERICA-SHEEP FARMING IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. Although the increasing production of wool in various countries is telling somewhat adversely upon prices, yet the demand is great for the factories of Europe and America. The depression in prices will tell upon our Australian sheep owners, but they must he prepared for competition, and, like the kindred great textile interest cotton, prices of the raw material will fluctuate with im- ports and probable supplies. It may be well, however, that the sheep farmers of Australia should have some precise uotion of the formidable competition they have iu South America for wool supplies. Looking at the rapid growth of their own wool production, and the high prices they have hitherto commanded, they have been led to over-rate their own importance, and* to think little of foreign competition, assured also that they had little to fear from any great wool production iu Europe or the United States. A careful examination of the past and present supplies of wool iu the States of South America shows indisputably that an enormous and continuous advance is making there, and that there is even much improvement in breeding and in the quality of the wool. The South American Republics, at the recent Paris and Havre International Exhibitions, made admirable displays of their raw materials and carried off the highest medals for these. A spirit of greater energy seems on foot there, and immigration, capital, and perseverance are attended with remarkable results. The imports of South American wool into Havre were respectively 35,257 bales in 1865, 45,468 in 1866, and 69,532 in 1867 ; we have not yet last year's returns before us. The imports consist chiefly of River Plate wools, merinos, crosses, and the long common wool of the unimproved sheep. The wools shown at the Exhibitions were, however, but a poor indication of the immense production which leaves those States for Europe. The export of wool from thence now exceeds the combined shipments from all our Australasian and African colonies, making in amount about 230,000,000 pounds. This wool is, as already stated, the produce of pure merinos, crosses, and the native sheep of the interior provinces, in fact, from sheep fed on the plains and the mountains. These last are raised on the slopes and valleys of the sierras of Cordova and San Louis, which constitute the central portion of the Argentine Confedera- tion, appearing like a great island between the grassy portion of the Pampas and the dry and saline plain lying between this district and the Andes. On the chain of the Andes in the high valleys and on the slopes known under the local name of " Puno," they are also raised. Everywhere the rearing of sheep is advantageously carried on in the fertile plains of the Pampas, provinces of Buenos Ayres, Santo Fe, and Cordova, in the grassy prairies of Entre Rios, and the excellent pastures which cover the small hills of the Banda Oriental. As early as the middle of the Sixteenth Cen- tury sheep were introduced into South America by the Spaniards, chiefly into Tucuman and Paraguay. Although these animals had probably much of the me- rino type, transported to a different soil and climate, with little care bestowed on them, they degenerated. When cattle breeding subsequently received a larger share of attention on the plains, sheep-farming was given up, and in the provinces of Buenos Ayres, Santo Fe, and Entre Rios sheep were left to themselves, and yet throve almost in the midst of deserts. Their flesh was disdained as food, aud Azara tells us that the carcases were left to perish on the soil, merely to obtain their bones for burning into phosphate of lime. The native Indians were alike indifferent to them, preferring to chase the guanaco for its skin instead of using sheep's wool. In later years a greater degree of attention began to be given to sheep for their wool ; but the sheep having de- generated, the animals become small, and the wool coarse, efforts were made to improve the breed. In 1 824, under the administration of Rivadavia, 100 Spanish merinos and 100 English Southdowns were intro- duced. In 1826 further importations were made, accom- panied by European shepherds. English and German breeders set an example to the Argentines themselves, and select farms began to be established for the raising of the improved European breeds. In 1836 the Negretti type was introduced ; after that Saxon and Silesian rams, and the improved Rambouillet merinos, and thus sheep in- dustry became firmly established in La Plata. Owing, however, to political disturbances, little progress was made in a commercial point of view. In 1830 the export of wool was only 944 bales, in 1844 it had risen to 3,577 bales, and in 1850 to 17,069 bales. In 1860 the quan- tity reached 38,482 bales, notwithstanding an epidemic disease which prevailed. The South American bale3 are large, averaging about 8001bs. or more. In 1866 the shipments were over 150,000 bales, exclusive of 20,701 bales of sheep-skins, amounting to over 4 millions, which had been killed for local consumption. The unusually rainy season had improved the condition of the soil, the flocks were exceedingly healthy, and the quality of the fleeces was fine. Nearly all the wool is shipped in an unwashed state ; owing to the scarcity of labourers, and to a general deficiency of water : except in the immediate neighbourhood of the rivers, it would not repay the sheep farmers to send their wool washed. Buenos Ayres wool, as compared to that of other countries, suffers under no slight disadvantage on account of the prevalence on the Argentine pastures of a small seed of the wild clover, called "carretilla," which sticks in the fleeces of the sheep, and from which it is with difficulty eradicated. The ma- chinery used in England for cleaning wool is not adapted to cope with this drawback ; and that is one of the chief reasons why, comparatively speaking, so little Bueno9 Ayres wool finds a place in the English market. A large amount of it, however, finds its way into England, im- ported from other countries and made up in yarn. Besides the large production of wool in the Argentine Confedera- tion, of which we have just spoken, must also be placed that of the adjoining republic of Uruguay, which, though less extensive in territory than its neighbour, is not less remarkable for its immense production of cattle and sheep. The export of wool from the single port of Monte Video, which was in 1860 but 6,500 bales, had risen in 1867 to about 40,000 bales. The total export of wool from the countries of the River Plate are not less now than 100,000 tons, and the progress made in the last ten years, it will be seen, is prodigious. Some quantity of wool is aho ex- ported from Chili, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, and other States. The United States, Belgium, and Prance are the three countries to which the wool of the River Plate princi- pally goes. In J866 Antwerp received 73,000 bales, B B 2 352 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. and in 1867 90,000 bales. The increasing demand for wool in Belgium is shown by the total imports last year being double what they were in 1866, the factories of Venders using them largely. In France these wools go principally to Elbeuf. In the last six years the quan- tity of South America wool used in this factory has risen from 4,000 to 25,000 bales, and is increasing daily. In a report made to the President of the Industrial Society of Elbeuf on the wools of the Plata, and the reasons for their extensive employment in the factory, it is stated : " The Spanish wools formerly almost exclusively employed have been abandoned ; that of France greatly improved, by intelligent crosses carried on for half a century, is excel- lent for stuffs of an intermediate quality. The wools of Russia can be employed for the same uses as French wools. The fine wools of Germany are superior to all others for the best kinds of cloth, but too dear, and hence cannot be used except for fashionable goods. The Hungarian wools stand nearly in the same category. The excellent Australian wools are taken for the most part by the trade in England. It was found advantageous to con- fine attention almost exclusively to the wools of the River Plate, the general quality of which equals that of many other countries, while the price is much lower." Of the two qualities coming from this quarter, the Buenos Ayres wools are more fine and soft, preserving the qualities introduced by the German merino or negretti breed, the rams of which are principally used by the Buenos Ayres breeders. The wool is much used for fine fabrics, and is also in demand for the manufactures of Normandy. The Monte Video wools are more used for mixing, where short staples are required to be supported by a strong wool. A small quantity of Cordova wool comes from the interior country bordering on the Andes, which are washed and cleaned to diminish their weight. The wool is long and fine, but nevertheless strong. It proceeds from the flocks descended from those introduced in the sixteenth century, but which have been modified by locality and climate. When we consider the great number of sheep in our pastoral colonies, which, according to the official re- turns lately published, are 10,000,000 in South Africa, and 43,500,000 in all Australia and New Zealand, we cannot but feel surprised how largely these figures are exceeded by the sheep in the South American States. Climate, soil, and vast extent of pasturage, with long at- tention and progress have done much for Australian sheep farming ; but it would seem as if our colonies are being outstripped in the race of production (at least as regards quantity) by their South American rivals. The finer quality and better preparation of the Australian wool may compensate in some degree by the higher prices ob- tained. Sheep farming, which for many years has been one of the chief occupations in the province of Buenos Ayres is now rapidly extending through the province of Santa Fe, where there arc now about half a million sheep. In a commercial point of view, both as regards the Government revenue and private enterprise, sheep farming is daily advancing before the beef and hide-preparing business of the "saladeros." A statement officially fur- nished to the British consul a few years ago by Mr. John Greenavvay, of Buenos Ayres, shows the profit to be rea- lised from sheep tending, with rented land, in the pro- vince of Entre Rios. Making allowance for casualties, this calculation proves a nett profit of nearly £8,000 in five years, whilst the original stock of 5,260 sheep and rains increases to 21,500. The progressive figures and details are too long to be cited here. The Argentine Republic, owiug to the greater cheapness of land and stock, as compared with these in Australia, New Zealand, and the Cape of Good Hope, holds out certain advantages to settlers possessed of small capital. Three of the Riverain Provinces of the country — Buenos Ayres, Entre Rios, and Santa Fe — are those that are most frequented by foreigners. Not only does a greater security of property and a smaller risk of civil commo- tions exist in them, but they are provided also with better means of communication. The rich lands in the province of Cordova are, however, daily attracting attention aud rising in value. The wool of Cordova, on account of its superior quality, is coming to be highly appreciated in Europe. In 1856 Cordova exported little more than 12,000 arrobas of wool ; in 1863 its produce amounted to 36,000 arrobas of 251bs. each ; and now, probably, double this amount is exported. The Province of Buenos Ayres, from its proximity to the great market of the Republic and the emporium of its commerce, ranks first in importance for the invest- ment of capital. The superior quality of its pastures tends to the production of a finer class of sheep, which yield a greater weight of wool, and there is moreover a constant demand at good prices for wethers and other produce of the farm. But the land in that province (and its price has been doubled within the last eight years) is considerably dearer than that in all the other provinces. Public lands there are divided into four different classes, and vary in price from 3s. to 10s. the acre, according to situation. Land is usually sold in the country by the league or nine square miles, aud contains about 6,000 acres, and the sheep runs in the Republic are generally known by the name of " camps." In the Province of Buenos Ayres a league of good land will hold from 20,000 to 30,000 sheep, and land of an inferior quality from 15,000 to 20,000. The camps as a rule, are well supplied with water, which can usually be obtained by sinking wells at depths vary- ing from 25 to 50 feet. The average price of sheep here is 6s. The Province of Entre Rios may be said to contain a colony of English gentlemen, who, within the last four or live years have settled on lauds the property of Don Mateo Garcia, which extend over an area of up- wards of 600 miles, and are situated near the town of Gualeguaychu, on the south-eastern extremity of the province. Some of these lauds have been sold at the rate of 4s. 3d. per acre, but the greater portion have been leased for a term of six years, for sums of from £30, £50, and £80 per annum for one square league of about 6,000 acres. The average price of land at present in Entre Rios is from Is. to 2s. the acre ; but the value is rising, and will probably reach to as high as £3,000 the square league, or 10s. the acre. The price of sheep here aver- ages from 3s. to 14s., according to class and time of year, but 10s. may be considered the price of a good sheep, whose wool would fetch 7d. a pound. The Province of Santa Fe, from its geographical position, from the existence of a railway in it, aud from the comparative cheapness of its land offers very great advantages to the settler, and many English gentlemen have already purchased considerable portions of laud in it. There is a tract of excellent grazing laud extending over an area of 400 square miles, which is unoccupied, and can be obtained at the rate of £250 the square league, which is equal to 9d. the acre. Mr. Ford, the British Secretary of Legation at Buenos Ayres, in a recent official report gave some details show- ing that a net profit of 53 per cent, could be realized at the end of eight years by the investment by two or three persons of a capital of £15,600 in land and sheep, and in addition an annual interest at the rate of 9 per cent, be made on the money during the intermediate years. This capital would purchase 20,000 sheep, 32,000 acres of laud, and the necessary buildings, carts, utensils, cattle, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 353 horses, and shepherds. The stock of sheep he estimates would have increased to 60,0(10, more or less, in the eight years, and the animals killed, or which had died, at 46,000, would produce for their skins Is. each. The average clip of wool he takes at three pounds to the sheep, and makes the quantity of wool in the eight years 876,0001bs., at 6d., which, 'added to the value of the sheep-skins of dead animals, makes a total of £24,200, giving a profit over all expenses, as carefully set out by him, of £11,080. The land and stock on hand would sell, he considers, for a surplus profit over cost-price of £8,300, making the 53 per cent, stated as increase on capital, while the balance of profits gives 9 per cent, on capital. The notion formerly held that the republic of Uruguay is better suited to the breeding of sheep than the districts on the other side of the River Plate continues to gain ground, and numerous new sheep-farms are being estab- lished. Many Englishmen are importing sheep aud setting up establishments, which give excellent returns so long as the couutry is at peace. Being more undulating, less exposed to inundations and to drought, and the pasture excellent, experience has shown that it is better suited to sheep than the neighbouring province of Buenos Ayres. The details furnished in the official Exhibition cata- logues of some of the large sheep raising farms of this republic are interesting, and all of them carried off medals for the quality of their wools. The estancia or farm of Messrs. Mailman and Co., situated in the de- partment of Mercedes, has 60,000 sheep on it, and the clip of 1866 produced 124,0001bs. of wool, which was all sold at the port of Havre at 2s. to 2s. 6d. per pound. This wool also received a medal at the London Exhibition in 1862. The sheep farm of Messrs. Wendlcstadt and Co. was established in 1858, on the borders of the Uruguay river, in the department of Paysandu, it numbers 54,000 sheep. These produced in 1866 167,000 pounds of wool, which sold at Antwerp for Is. 8d. to 2s. a pound. This establishment was founded specially with the object of breeding improved sheep for sale. It always has a large proportion of select animals, and of pure breeds ; 10,000 have been sold in the last eight years. The electoral, Rambouillet and Negretti breeds are those kept for selling and crossing. The estate of Mr. Theodore Eels, situated in the department of Colonia, has 20,000 sheep, and their wool maintains the highest price of any in the country, and was rewarded with a diploma of honour at the Havre Exhibition, all being sent to that port for sale. The estancia of Los Altos, Pudidos department of Sau Jose, belonging to Messrs. Drabble, Brothers, aud Co., consists of 40,000 English acres of line grazing land, and for the last twelve years has proved one of the most flourishing sheep farms in the River Plate. On the 1st January, 1867, the total couut of sheep was 52,585. The sales since the commencement have been 62,502, making a total of 115,087. If we deduct the original stock placed there in 1854, 7,868, there is an increase of 107,219 in about eleven years. The quantity of wool re- ceived since the commencement has been l,038,8541bs., partly washed and partly uuwashed. The clip of 1866 was 207,5001bs., and was delivered for an American manufacturer free on board at 10£d- per lb., including locks and bellies. Samples were shown of nine ram- breeding flocks of the Negretti, Rambouillet, and Merino breeds ; 19 general flocks, and 3 of the Leicester and other crosses. The sheep average all round 5Hbs. to the fleece, the highest average of ewe fleeces being 7 to 91bs., the lowest about 4lbs. ; ram fleeces up to 201bs., all the growth of one year. Weight of ewes alive up to 1901bs., of rams 2201bs. Pastoral occupations are carried on with success in the great plains which extend over the territory of Paraguay, but this branch of industry has not been pushed to the same extent as in Uruguay and the Argentine Confedera- tion. Unfortunately the war which has continued so long has materially checked any progress in this di- rection. In Brazil, notwithstanding some attempts to improve the breeds of the domestic animals, not much has yet been done. The raising of sheep of improved breeds is likely to prosper extremely in the provinces of Parana, San Pedro, and Rio Grande do Sud ; and fair wool has been for some years exported from thence. Chili and Peru give some attention to sheep farming. Of Bolivia we have no details as to number of sheep, but the fertile vallies and plains present marvels of vege- tation, and thousands of sheep, lamas, and vicugnas are supported. In Costa Rica a great many sheep are raised on the pastures of the higher ranges, but the breeding of cattle and horses is chiefly attended to. The hasty summary thus taken of sheep farming in South America, from official sources, may not be without interest to readers in Great Britain and Europe. THE CATTLE PLAGUE RATE FOR CHESHIRE. A deputation of members of Parliament aud municipal au- thorities from Cheshire waited on the Prime Minister, to submit a statement showing the injustice of recent legislation with regard to the payment of compensation for cattle cora- pulsorily slaughtered under the Cattle Disease Prevention Act, and to ask that the uniform rate provided for in the law passed at the time of the plague for Ireland should be adopted in this country. The right hon gentleman was addressed by Mr. E. C. Eger- ton, M.P., Lord Grosvenor, Mr. May (clerk of the Macclesfield Board of Guardians), Mr. J. B. Smith, M.P., Mr. 1). Chad- wick, M.P., and others. Mr. Gladstone said in answer : With respect to the Act of 1866 I should not like to make any independent suggestion until I have consulted my colleagues connected with the de- partments that had to deal with that measure. Lord Grosve- nor felt it useless in 1866 to go forward with your proposal without the support of the Government of the day. This is, no doubt, a most grievous and afflicting case, and there are few persons more capable of sympathising with you than myself, having an interest on the borders of Cheshire, where we were similarly afflicted. I am afraid it will be a hard matter for Cheshire and some other counties to get over. The case is no doubt a most grievous one ; but I should be very sanguine if I hoped that you could induce the Legislature, with or without our support, to do what you ask, for I think the support of the Government would have very little influence indeed upon a question of this kind, aud Parliament would almost naturally say that the time to influence its judgment was when practical legislation was before it. I am afraid you overrate the in- fluence of the Government. We must look to Parliament, and it is difficult to induce Parliament to retrace its steps as you desire. I think you can hardly believe you can iuduce them to apply retrospectively the Irish principle. I do not deny that the Government of 1866 were hasty in passing the act you refer to, but I cannot admit, as you ask me, that they acted unjustly. I feel the hardship of your case ; but the case of Ireland is very different. There the Government authorities direct the whole machinery in an action which is uniform throughout the country ; where the action and authority here, are local, and you would find every stepi contested if you at- tempted to do as is done in Ireland. In fact it would be ab- surd on my part to undertake on my own responsibility a step in which I could not feel a perfect confidence* Ci to oo 525 « <=> 3 VI w Hi | -^ I I x>x> be bo be bo bJD c Deal © © ! - — CO • S > h. 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He him- self would manifestly seem to prefer such a position, and to select his channels of communication accordingly. He writes a letter to The Times, or he delivers an address at a meeting of some Society, whose aim and interests are at best but indirectly identified with Agriculture. The consequence of this is, that Mr. Caird has it all very much his own way. The Times, to be sure, reaches almost everybody ; but while Mr. Mechi or " A Com- mercial Traveller" may reckon with some safety on seeing his letter in support inserted, any practical man who may venture to correct the statements advanced stands by no means an equal chance of a hearing. This must be patent enough to many of our readers and writers who have been at the pains of engaging themselves on so unprofitable a task. At the open meeting the chance of any useful inquiry or close commentary is even worse. Beyond Mr. Bailey Denton there is by this time scarcely anyone who cares for flourishing his agriculture at the Society of Arts ; and Mr. Caird, with more discretion, has put himself under the wing of the Statistical Society. His appearance here is coming to be expected as something of " an Annual," when, by the aid of statistics, he is enabled to review the progress of agriculture, and to indulge in that somewhat arbitrary criticism by which he was originally distin- guished. The result, however, is very much the same as that already intimated. From the comparative igno- rance of his audience the debate thus raised has but little importance or animation, and at the meeting on Tuesday Mr. Caird himself was the first to " regret that the dis- cussion had wandered from the subject." But if a man will persist in speaking French in the company of Dutch- men, he must hardly be surprised if he be not understood, or if his audience lack the power to sustain any very lively conversation. Not but that Mr. Caird himself is vivacious, or, as we had nearly said, entertaining. Like Mr. Gladstone, when Chancellor of the Exchequer, he may have very literally " lisped in numbers," as he can indisputably be very eloquent over figures. Under the cloak, indeed, as we have said, of statistics, he launches much suggestive matter, and the actual returns furnish to our thinking about the least interesting feature of a paper which is given in full in another page. There are sundry col- lateral issues raised in a spirit very characteristic of Mr. Caird ; and when we say that his prognostications of last spring as to the price and supply of wheat trace their fulfilment to an almost unprecedently good harvest, we may congratulate him upon having reaped more than he could have reckoned on, and so pro- ceed to that which may afford more profitable subject for consideration. When Mr. Caird commenced public life, as the farmer of Baldoon he offered the agriculture of Scotland as the example to England. He has now changed the venue ; and if his statistical summary of the year 'sixty-eight have any very particular point it is that Ireland is the best cul- tivated country of the United Kingdom. In Ireland there is less land in fallow, but the course adopted is still less exhaustive to the soil, and the result " places the agricul- tural system of Ireland, as an ameliorating and reproduc- tive self-supporting system, far above that of England and Scotland." And Mr. Caird calls this " very startling," an expression with which few will be inclined to quarrel. He draws a line against anything like very small farms or mere cotter-holdings ; but nevertheless the tone of the argument apears to run in favour of what may be termed very mo- derately sized farms. In England and Wales a very small occupation which can be worked by a man and his family is coming to be looked upon as an almost invincible bar to improvement. The tenant, or even owner, as in parts of Devonshire, lacks alike the power and intelligence — that is, the capital and education — necessary to progress. He grows poor crops at a minimum outlay of labour and means ; nevertheless even in England Mr. Caird's figures all serve to show the small occupation as of the greater national, if not indeed individual advantage : " The large-farm sys- tem produces nearly twice the proportion of corn and half the proportion of green crops and grass. In other words, it is doubly dependent on the price of corn as compared with the small-farm system, which relies to a far greater extent on its dairy produce, its fat cattle, its vegetables, and its hay. The result is, that the latter pays one-third more rent or surplus for the use of the land, and a higher rate of wages to the labourer." This sounds something like a "very startling" contradiction to all we have been Baying and doing of kte. The large farm would, as a rule, be associated with large capital, with the ability to do the best by the land and to pay the most for it. But according to Mr. Caird it is not so. The small farmer pays a higher rent and higher wages. And here we join issue. It is difficult to understand or admit that the tenantry of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, famous for their large occupations, pay a lower rate of wage than others who do not hold a third or a fourth of their acreage. We do not, however, profess to see quite how these conclusions are arrived at, for Mr. Caird him- self says the returns afford no guide as to the condition of the agricultural labourer, although he goes on to de- clare that " he indeed is now the only class of the com- munity who has no representative. In Ireland he has, directly in many cases, by his vote as a small farmer, and indirectly through his church, which brings the aggregate feeling of the people to bear upon their Parliamentary representatives. By one means or another they do make themselves heard in Parliament. But so little is known of the English agricultural labourer, that when his actual condition is set forth in the report of a Royal Commis- sion, the public are struck with astonishment, and even the landowners are surprised to find a state of things at their doors which many of them little suspected." It will be observed that Mr. Caird, consistently enough, pipes all to the same tune. In Ireland not only is the farming better but the case of the labourer is better. There the working-mau can make himself heard, while here no one has a word to offer on his behalf; but of course, on this point, the lecturer was at once set right by Mr. Sewell Read, about the only practical man in the room, and who demonstrated with sufficient force how continually the condition of the labourer had engaged the attention of the employer. This, in fact, is but one of those ad eaptandnm statements which would go down with the general public, or an audience taking its tone from such a man as Canon Girdle- stone ; whereas there has been no question so often be- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 3G1 fore the Farmers' Club as the condition of the labourer, and the annals of the local clubs wonld speak to the same effect. The public may be " struck" and the landlords may be "surprised," but the English fanner has evinced no want of care for his men, and here, as Mr. Caird tells us, he is clearly talking without his tigures. There are difficulties, no doubt, in the way of amelioration ; but in the town, the mill, and the manufactory have not these also to be coutended against ? and it is simply unfair to say, or infer, that the employer of agri- cultural labour has shown less care for his people than the cotton lord or the tradesman. If, however, Ireland be superior to England, alike in its system of cultivation and the condition of its people, " there can be no doubt but that circumstances of soil and position " have much to do with this gratifying state of things. There they show eighty per cent, in green crops and grass, because they have a proverbially moist, humid climate, whereas wheat never so nourishes as under a dry summer sun. "The state of agriculture," says Mr. Caird, "must be low indeed where it is possible to be car- ried on with an average produce of ten or twelve bushels of wheat an acre. The costs and profits of cultivation must be at the very minimum to yield any surplus for rent, and the condition of the cultivator must be a hard one." It strikes us that of the wheat which is grown in Ireland much may be produced under something like these circumstauccs ; but, then, the farmer has his butter, his cattle, vegetables, and hay, to help him to pay the higher rents and higher wages consequent on the course of cultivation which " circumstances" have induced him to adopt. Mr. Caird's paper is well worthy of attentive perusal, lie possesses a remarkable ability in " concentrating" his figures and facts, aud iu putting these before his audience in a tangible shape. But it is for this very reason that we are the more inclined to quarrel with the particular class of company to which he chose to address himself. Amongst men more generally able to folio sv him there must have been a most serviceable discussion over some of the several points advanced, although very possibly this might have gone to correct rather than to confirm Mr. Caird's own impressions and conclusions. THE AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS OP 1868. Mr. J.vmes C.vird read the following paper at a meeting of the Statistical Society, ou Tuesday, March 16: Having been in- vited by the Council to continue the subject cf the agricultural statistics of the Uuited Kingdom, on which I read a paper iu March last year, I propose first, to consider the. result of the estimates then offered of the previous crop, the probable yield of the last crop (1868), and the great public advantage which followed the early announcement contained in the summary of the returns. It will be remembered that I then offered an es- timate of the result of the bad wheat crop of 1867, in which, after making deductions for the diminished consumption caused by high prices, I computed the foreign supply required within the harvest year at 9,600,000 qrs. The actual receipts have been 9,609,000 qrs., between August, 1867, and August, 1868, the date at which the new crop was ready. But the harvest was a very early one, and the condition of the corn so good that it was available for immediate use. The harvest year, as generally and properly understood, and within which it is very desirable that the statistical tables should be framed, is from 1st of September to 1st of September. Between these dates last year the total imports of wheat and flour were 9,293,000 qrs. On either basis it will appear that my estimate was not very wide of the mark, though it was severely handled at the time, and figures were put forth to show that consider- ably less than two million quarters was all we could possibly receive between that time aud harvest. The price, which had begun to droop, was thus again strengthened, and maintained during April, May, and part of June, when the final fall began, and steadily continued till the beginning of September, by which time the drop from the highest point had reached 20s. a qr. But iu the meantime the pressure on the poor, as was fully shown by the statistics of out-door relief, was unneces- sarily prolonged, while it was found that the foreign supply, which had been represented to have been exhausted by the enormous imports of the first six months of the harvest year, continued with very little diminution to its close. Instead of the 1,000,000 or 2,000,000 qrs., which was the utmost we were led to expect from all sources, we actually received 4,500,000 qrs. in the second half of the harvest year. The economy in the use of bread caused by the high price of last year has proved very close to ihe estimate I ventured to put forth. It will, perhaps, be remembered that I assumed every 10 per cent, of additional price ou the crop would diminish the consump- tion by 1 per cent. ; aud as bread had risen 50 per cent., I reckoned the saving at 5 per eent., or a little over 1,000,000 qrs. on the total consumption. The actual saving is showu by the following figures ; Average annual consumption since Qrs. Qrs. 1862, inclusive of seed 20,800,000 Seed, 2^ bushels per acre 1,100,000 Foreign wheat imported 9,300,000 Home crop, 9,700,000 qrs. of 59 lb. quality, equal to 61 lb. quality 9,380,000 — — 19,780,000 Saving by economy in the use of bread 1,020,000 This bears out the opiuion of eminent statisticians, that the consumption of bread is very constant — that whatever the price may be, everything must be given up before bread ; for the very severe pinch of an increase of price of fully one- half, diminished the use of it by only l-20th. The bountiful harvest of 1868, and the splendid condition in which it was saved rendering it fit for immediate consumption, was a great relief to the country after the pinching caused by two bad harvests and diminished trade. If there had been only the greater acreable produce to rely on much would have been gained ; but a great deal more than that was revealed by the publication of a summary of the agricultural returns on Sept. 19. The beneficent season had added 2,000,000 qrs. to the produce of an average crop, while the increased acreage under wheat swelled that addition by 1,200,000 qrs. more. Nor was this all; for the fine and heavy sample will improve the yield aud quality of the flour by 2 or 3 lb. a bushel, or equal to l-25th part of the total produce. The contrast between the yield of the two last harvests, 1867 and 1868, is shown iu a very striking manner when all the figures are placed together. Year. Acres under Wheat. Quality. Weight per bushel. Total produce at 4881bs. per qr. 1867 1868 3,640,000 3,951,000 591b. 631b. 9,380,000 qrs. 16,436,000 qrs. Increase in 1868 7,056,000 qrs. Here is a difference in a single year, exceeding four months', or oue-third, of the total consumption. The home crop will give us within 5,100,000 qrs, of our average con- 563 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. sumption • and if to that we add one month, in consequence of the unusually early harvest, and reckon on 13 months' consumption before the next harvest may be available, we shall need 6,800,000 qrs. of foreign wheat and flour. In the six months since September last we have imported about two- thirds of that quantity, so that, even if imports should for the current six months materially decrease, we are likely to receive quite enough to carry us on with moderate prices till next harvest. The price is a question of great delicacy, though of first importance. In the course of the year 1868 the highest average Gazette price was in May, 73s. 8d., and the lowest in December, 50s. Id. : the difference, 23s. 7d. There is thus a fall of one-third from the highest point, which corresponds in most remarkable exactness with the increased produce of 1868 over 1867. So far as our own crop is concerned, the con- sumer would thus appear to have got the full benefit of the good wheat harvest. Till next harvest the price will very much depend on the rate of foreign im- ports. These come to us not so much in relation to price in this country as to the productiveness of the harvest abroad. A scarcity here, and high prices, will draw the surplus corn from every quarter of the globe to us, but it will not cease to flow when the source of supply is abundant, however low the price may fall in this country. It is an axiom in political economy that no article can remain long below the cost of production. But that cost is very different in different coun- tries. In this country the cost of producing wheat may be taken at the maximum. In other countries where rent, rates, or wages are greatly lower than ours, and especially where, as in Southern Russia and the valley of the Mississippi, there are boundless tracts of most fertile soil, they can con- tinue to produce wheat at prices which would entail loss on the grower in England. Moreover the vast machinery of pro- duction, once set in motion, will maintain its momentum for a considerable period after the stimulus has been withdrawn. Thus in 1860, in consequence of two deficient harvests, the price rose 10s. a quarter, and the imports increased one-third over those of 1859. They continued to swell in volume until 1863, the year of abundance, when the price fell 10s. a quar- ter. The imports did not then decline in the same propor- tion ; indeed, but for the disturbance of the American trade, caused by the war, there would have been no decline. And if we exclude America for that reason, and limit ourselves to Russia and Germany, which between them have furnished us with 40 per cent, of our imports since the Crimean war, I find that during 1863, 1864, and 1865, when the average price varied between 40s. and 44s., the imports continued at much the same rate as in the two preceding years, when the price was 55s. A very productive harvest in France will exercise an immediate influence on prices in this country. Not only does her demand for foreign corn cease, but from the small average yield and the vast acreage under wheat a slight in- crease in the produce tells quickly up. Last year I computed an increase of one bushel on the acre in France at upwards of 2,000,000 qrs. If her increase has been in anything like the same ratio as ours, France will have a large surplus for ex- port, probably quite enough to meet any decline caused by the deficient crop in Southern Russia. The effect of free trade in corn has been to lower the price of wheat in this country, not- withstanding the increase of the population and consequent increased consumption. The average price of the 20 years preceding 1848 was 5fs. 4d., and of the 20 years of free trade, 52s. 3d. But if the disturbing influences of the cessation of supplies from Russia during the Crimean war, and from America during the later years and since the close of the American war, be eliminated, the average price of the last 20 years would have stood 10s. lower than that of the 20 years preceding free trade. This is a fact of great importance when we come to consider the increasing population of the country, and the means we have of meeting their annually growing demands upon our resources. The popular estimate of the wheat annually consumed by each person of the community in England used to be 8 bushels. In 1850 1 ventured to ques- tion that opinion. My estimates then showed that it did not probably exceed 6 bushels. Mr. Lawes has lately entered on an investigation of this subject, the first part of which he has embodied in a very able paper in the last number of the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal. He divides the last 16 years into two periods of 8 years each, and the results of his estimates are embraced in the following summary ; Estimated Consumption of WtfBi* pBr He"ad pIb ANJTtTM1. During the last 16 years. England and Wales. Scot- land. Great Britain. Ireland. United King- dom. First eight \ Second eight 7 Bush. 5.9 6.3 Bush. 4.2 4.2 Bush. 6.7 6.0 Bush. 2.7 3.3 Bush. 6.1 5.5 Average of ) whole period) 6.1 4.2 5.9 3.0 5.3 Converting these figures iuto pounds it appears that during the first eight years each person consumed at the rate of 311 lbs. of wheat, and during the last period, 335 lbs. But the proportions in which that was afforded by foreign supply had also altered from 79 lbs. per head in the first, to 134 lbs. in the second. Here two very important results are shown ; first, that the people are able to buy, and do consume more bread ; and second, that we must depend wholly on foreign countries for the increased supply necessary to meet the growing con- sumption. An immense impetus seems to have been given to consumption by the general increase of wages consequent on the Crimean wa"r and the Indian mutiny, and the great exer- tions put forth by this country on these occasions. The foreign imports of wheat, which up to 1860 had not exceeded an annual average of 4,500,000 qrs., then rose to 10,000,000, and during the last eight years have maintained an annual average of 8,000,000 qrs. But we have not only to provide for an in- creased consumption by each individual, but for an annual in- crease of 240,000 in the population. This, at 5£ bushels per head, is 165,000 qrs. at the same rate of progress. In 10 years that will have swollen to nearly 2,000,000 qrs., and in ten years more to 4,000,000. This would indicate the need of a gradual rise in our foreign imports in 10 years, from the present average of 8,000,000 qrs. a year to 10,000,000, and in 20 years to 12,000,000 qrs. a-year. In one generation more, say 30 years hence, the imports will at this rate be more than the home growth, if that should remain at its present point. Our past experience of the readiness with which the volume of foreign wheat has increased with the demand would lead to the conclusion that we need entertain no apprehension on that score. Wheat, which forms the great staple of the food of civilized man outside the tropics, occupies of all cereals the widest region suited to its cultivation. California pro- mises us next year more than 2,000,000 qrs. And when we consider the extent of rich countries within the wheat region which are scarcely begun to be tapped by the railway system, we must feel that we are yet far from having reached the limit at which a moderate rate of price will bring us sufficient sup- plies. The natural tendency of the gradually falling price of wheat in this country since 1848 has been to diminish the breadth of our own wheat. And the force of that tendency, in spite of the great increase of gold, shows the steadiness of its operation. There has been a yearly increase of consumers, with an increased power and capacity to obtain bread, an in- creasing ratio in the supply of gold, the representative of its money value; and yet, in spite of all that, the price has declined, and the average breadth of wheat grown in the United Kingdom has diminished. But the figures in the statistical returns show how quickly the price of wheat affects the home supply. The two fine crops of 1863 and 1864 reduced the average price to little more than 40s., and the breadth sown immediately declined. In 1867 the price had risen to 64s., and in one year there was an addition of 300,000 acres to our breadth of wheat. I have already in a previous paper shown that the rate of increased productive- ness of the land under wheat is very slow. From that source, therefore, there is little hope of any material increase in our home produce, in the face of larger foreign supplies at low prices. When the price of wheat falls below 50s., the farmer begins to turn his attention to other crops. The value of barley has been rising in nearly the same proportion as that of wheat has declined in recent years, and oats have also fully maintained their price. While the farmer, in these, and in the increasing value of his live stock and its produce, will be obliged to compensate himself against the steady decline in the value of wheat, the people— that vast and increasing body of con.? THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 363 Sinners— have the prospect of abundant supplies of bread at a moderate price, from the yearly extension of the means of foreign transport. Having thus endeavoured to discuss the main question answered by the agricultural returns — viz., in how far the home crop is available for the national supply of bread — I proceed to extract from the returns certain other points affecting our food and clothing. Beyond a slight in- crease in the breadth of potatoes, and a nearly similar decrease in barley, and the large increase of wheat already referred to, there has been no material change in the general crops of the country during the last two years. The table showiug the per-ceutage proportions of com and green crop in each divi- sion of the United Kingdom is very interesting. In round numbers, it appears that England supplies nine-tenths of the home-grown wheat, Scotland and Ireland together only one- tenth ; and the increased breadth, sown under the stimulus of the high prices of the past year in England, is equal to the whole acreage under wheat in Ireland. England produces more than three-fourths of all the barley grown in the British Islands, nearly all the beans aud peas, and one-third of the oats. Ireland grows one-half more oats than Scotland, and two-thirds of the entire potato crop of the United Kingdom. The three kingdoms, as compared with France and Prussia, grew the following proportions of acres of corn to their re- spective populations : England 1 acre for every 2f persons, Scotland 1 „ „ 2£ „ Ireland 1 „ „ 2| „ France 1 „ „ 1 „ Prussia 1 „ „ 1 „ And of potatoes- England grows... 1 acre for every 62 persons. Scotland „ 1 „ „ 20 „ France „ 1 „ „ 12 „ Ireland „ 1 „ „ 5 „ Prussia „ 1 „ „ 5 „ With regard to live stock, these countries stand in the follow- ing proportions — Cattle. Sheep. England. ...1 for every 5 persons...l for every 1 of population. Scotland....l „ 3 „ ...2 „ 1 „ Ireland 1 „ 1J „ ...1 „ 1 France 1 „ 2f „ ...1 „ 1 „ Pr"ssia 1 „ 3 „ ...1 „ 1 „ Of all these countries Ireland has thus the largest proportion of cattle, and Scotland the largest of sheep. The entire loss sustained by the cattle plague up to October, 18G7, when it had quite ceased, was 190,000 head. The increase in the two years, since the disease began to decline, exceeds 500,000, so that the effects of that calamity, so far as the national supply of food is concerned, have been fully recovered. The in- crease of sheep has been very rapid, the joint effect of high price of mutton and the panic which in some counties fol- lowed the cattle plague, and led to a substitution of sheep. Total increase of the year has been 1,790,000. The sheep stock of the United Kingdom is upwards of 35,000,000, which is almost the same in number as that of the Australian colo- nies and Tasmania, according to the latest returns. The total number of sheep in the United Kingdom and the whole of the British colonies cannot now be much under 100,000,000. The import of continental wool is on the decline, while that of colonial is largely increasing. At the late rate of progress, our vast woollen industry in this country will ere long be suffi- ciently supplied by the home and colonial produce. Whilst the increase of sheep at home has been rapid aud great, there has been a very large decrease in the supply of foreign sheep. These, which in a single year, 1865, had risen from 496,000 to 914,000, began to decline in 1867, and fell back very greatly in 1868. This was caused in some measure by the restrict- ions imposed on the import of sheep by the Privy Council Orders, but was partly also due to the considerable fall in the price of mutton during 1868, arising from the large supply of sheep forced into the home market by the prospect of a dearth in the green crops. But the Agricultural Returns have re- vealed to us the gratifying fact, in relation to this important branch of the national food, that there is an immense elasticity in the production and supply of sheep, both at home and abroad, and that may be largely and quickly increased by a moderate rise in price. The foreign supply of butter and cheese has continued very steady during the last eight years* It made a sudden rise in 1861, and had nearly doubled itself in 1862, but from that year the average supply has not materi- ally altered. As the prices of these articles are still highly remunerative to the home producer, there is every inducement to him to develop yet further that branch of agricultural in- dustry, on which the small and middle-class farmers are chiefly engaged. The returns afford some indication of the results of large corn farms as compared with the more mixed hus- bandry and interests of small or moderate-sized farms. I have taken ten of the largest farm counties in Kngland, and compared them with ten of the smallest farm counties, the total area in both cases being nearly equal.* The table on the wall shows the figures in detail, but the general results may be broadly summarised thus. The large farm system produces nearly twice the proportion of corn and half the proportion of green crops and grass. In other words, it is doubly de- pendent on the price of corn as compared with the small farm system, which relies to a far greater extent on its dairy pro- duce, its fat cattle, its vegetables, aud its hay. The result is, that the latter pays one-third more rent or surplus for the use of the land, and a higher rate of wages to the la- bourer. There can be no doubt that circumstances of soil and position are the chief cause of the distinctive modes of husban- dry which have continued to characterise different counties, notwithstanding the obvious change in the relative values of agricultural produce. The average price of wheat is not so high now as it was 100 years ago. Barley and oats have risen 40 per cent., and animal produce more than 100 per cent, in that time. But wheat maintains its prominence on the heavier soils, where a bare fallow is still found the most perfect and econo- mical preparation for that crop ; aud in the eastern, south- midland, and southern counties, where a dry climate and somewhat thin soil is less favourable to cattle feeding and grass. It is worthy of notice that in everyone of the ten counties where the large 'farm system prevails the chalk formation pre- dominates, and there is no coal ; while in all the ten counties of the smaller farm system coal is present, and there is no chalk. The extent of land in England under bare fallow every year is nearly 800,000 acres, which is more than one-tenth of the whole breadth of corn. The proportion in Scotland is about a twentieth, and in Ireland less than the nineteenth part. In France and Prussia an extent equal to one-third of all the cereals is annually left to lie fallow. This undoubtedly indicates the great prevalence of a poor and low state of hus- bandry in these countries, due in a large degree also to the dryness of the spring and summer climates. But of the three kingdoms it is very remarkable that Ireland should stand so pre-eminently above the others in her comparative freedom from the direct loss occasioned by the necessity of leaving the land to lie fallow, which cannot be wholly accounted for by the comparatively small proportion of clay soils in that coun- try. There is a much greater similarity than will be gene- rally imagined in the agriculture of England and Scotland, and a distinctive principle of difference between them and Ire- land in a very important point. This will be clearly seen by the proportions of the whole area of the three countries, ex- clusive of heath and mountain land, thus divided : England has in corn and potatoes 33 per cent., in green crops and grass 66 per cent. Scotland has in corn and potatoes 33 per cent., in green crops and grass 66 per cent. Ireland has in corn and potatoes 20 per cent., in green crops and grass 80 per cent. The agricnlture of England and Scotland seems thus alike in its painciple of one-third exhaustive and two- thirds restorative crops, while that of Ireland lias only one- fifth exhaustive to four-fifths restorative. I have included potatoes in the exhaustive crops, so that Ireland, which has by far the largest proportion in potatoes, suffers some disadvan- tage by this mode of comparison. But the result is very- startling, as it places the agricultural system of Ireland, as an ameliorating and reproductive self-supporting system, far above that of England and Scotland. To this I will return. But as some illustration of the effect of this exhaustive system of corn husbandry as compared with its proportion of the resto- * The number of occupiers does not correspond with the number of farmers shown, by the census returns of 1861. This may arise from several occupations being sometimes in the possession of the same farmer, but the difference will not affect this comparison, as it applies to both classes of counties, 364 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. rative greeu crops and grass, the following figures gathered from the returns are deserving notice : I,, , (.Percentage of| A i Percentage ol . "_„ Av< corn and potatoes. green crop, fallow, and grass. England Prussia . . Prance ... 33 45 54 55 46 erage pro. duce of wheat per acre. Bushels. 28 17 14 This would seem clearly to show that deterioration rapidly follows the loss of a due halance between the exhaustive and restorative crops, where there are no extraneous means of supplying the loss. The state of agriculture in Prance is of much importance to the consumer of bread in this country. In some recent years she has contributed one-third of our whole foreign supply of wheat, considerably more than the entire produce of Scotland and Ireland. A good crop in France, therefore, at once tells on our prices, whilst a failure brings her large population into competition with us in the general market of the world. She has a vast breadth annually under wheat, but the yield is very small. This has been attributed, and would appear partly due, to the poverty and want of skill of her small occupiers ; and many arguments have been founded upon it against the small farm system and the minute subdivision of laud. But it has often struck me in passing through that part of Prance which lies between us and Paris that the general cultivation of the land and the appearance of the growing crops was quite equal to our own, and the very low average rate of the yield of wheat, officially stated, seemed to me therefore unaccountable. The explana- tion has been alforded to me by the distinguished French economist, M. Dc Lavergne, in the following letter, dated 25th February last : " The official returns give a mean yield of 14£ hectolitres per hectare, the actual yield being more above than below the estimate. Eight departemeuts, Le Nord, l'Oise, l'Aisne, Somme, Seiue-et-Oise, Seiue-et-Marue, Seiue, and Eure-et-Loire, have a yield equal to the English average ; but the 45 departements which form the southern part of the territory, do not yield more than 10 hectolitres to the hectare. This feeble yield is caused in many of the departements by bad cultivation, and in ths South by the dryness of the climate in spring. The statistical returns also show 5,148,000 hectares of fallow, which is in fact the third of the surface sown with cereals." There is no help for that part of the country which surfers from great dryness of spring climate, but there would seem much room for improvement in the yield of wheat over the remainder, which comprises probably more than one- half of the surface of France. As increasing importers and consumers we are nearly as much interested in that improve- ment as the French people themselves. The state of agricul- ture must be low, indeed, where it is possible to be carried on with an average produce of 10 to 12 bushels of wheat an acre. The costs and profits of cultivation must be at the very minimum to yield any surplus for rent, aud the condition of the cultivator must be a hard one. He has other sources, no doubt, which may help him — his vines aud oil, but in the nature of things it is impossible that he can get any profit from his wheat crop, until by such a change of system as will increase its yield. Towards this object the French Government have for some years been unremitting in their attention by contributing largely from the public resources to improve the internal communication of the country and facilitate the interchange of products. The increase of a few bushels an acre over so large a surface as one-half the wheat crop in France, would give her a regular surplus for exportation. It was my intention to have instituted a comparison between the large farm system of England, aud the small farm system of Ireland, and I had prepared detailed statements of groups of counties in the two countries for the purpose ; but there are too many elements of estimate or conjecture to warrant their publication as a statistical deductiou. If we confine our attention to Ireland alone, some remarkable anomalies present themselves. The province with the highest valuation — Leinster, at 20s. an acre— has the smallest population on the sguare mile of land under the plough ; while Couuaught, with a valuation of 6s. 8d. an acre — the lowest of the four provinces, has the largest population in proportion to its arable iand. The poorest part of the country is thus also the most populous. But that does not seem to arise from an excess of small farms, for Leinster has a larger proportion of holdings under five acres than Connaught. A great reduction took place in the number of small holdings in Ireland during the years of the potato famine — 1845 to 1850, but since 1850 there has been very little alteration. The comparison one constantly meets with is between the years 1841 and 1861, the small farms being stated to have fallen in that t>me one-half in number, and the larger sized increased in an equal ratio. But that has not been progressive. It had all taken place before 1851, aud there has been no marked change in this direction during the last eighteen years. In 1867 the number of holdings was 607,000, divided thus : 307,000 farmers holding farms of 15 acres and under, and 300,000 farmers of 15 acres and upwards. But the first-class or small farmers hold not more than one-eight of the cultivated laud, the second-class or larger farmers holding seven-eighths of the whole. We have already seen that the counties in England where the system of moderate-sized farms prevail give the largest surplus as rent, and the highest remuneration to the labourer. They have the smallest proportion of corn, aud the highest of cattle and of dairy stock. They have a greater rainfall, a deeper soil, and are more productive of grass and green crops. Now, if we exclude from consideration for a moment the 307,000 small farmers, that is exactly the state of Ireland. Her climate aud soil are very favourable to green crops and grass and to dairy farming, and she has the further great advantage, which I have already shown, of having the smallest proportion of such land as it is necessary to lay fallow ; and her system shows the largest proportion in the three kingdoms of re- storative to exhaustive crops. Her only disadvantage as an agricultural country is the occasional visitation of seasons of too much raiu. That has several times imperilled the wheat crop. But the wheat crop is less than one-tenth of the cereals of Ireland, aud her agriculture is but little dependent upon it. Oats are her chief reliance as a corn crop, and from flax she derives an annual return of between two and three millions sterling — an article which may be said to be now unknown to the agriculture of England and Scotland. If we sum all up, we find that, as compared with the sister kingdoms, Ireland has on the whole a more productive soil, aud her produce is chiefly of that kind which in the last twenty years has risen most in value. I am very much disposed to think that the seven-eighths of Ireland which are in the hands of the larger farmers yield a greater produce per cultivated acre than the average of England and Scotland. I am not in a position to submit this to any accurate test of proof, but this is the im- pression left on my mind — the result of a careful investigation of the question. But the position of the 307,000 small farmers who occupy the remaining eighth of Ireland is probably very different. It is among that body that real distress is found, though the class of larger farmers, not much separated from them, have helped to swell the general complaint. Experience has shown that it is only in climates and upon soils the most favourable that an entire dependence for his subsistence can be placed by the cultivator of a few acres of land. Even in Belgium, where circumstances are favourable, the small culti- vator has but a hard lot of poverty and toil. He thrives where, in addition to his land, himself and his family find regular em- ployment in some other industry. It is the same with the English peasant. A man who has regular employment at wages finds an immense advantage in a good garden allotment beside his cottage, and this is vastly increased when that cottage is on the farm, away from the temptation of the beer- shop, and where, as part of his wages, he receives the keep of a cow. This is the system in the Border counties, where agri- culture is in the most prosperous state, and the agricultural labourer the best fed aud clothed, the most educated and intelligent of his class in any part of the three kingdoms. But the Irish farmer of a few acres of inferior land must be in a position of chronic distress. The witnesses most favourable to him examined before Mr. Maguire's Committee in 1865 held, that 15 to 20 acres and upwards was the least extent on which a man with his family could be expected to thrive. On land of good quality, and near a large population, a much smaller extent might no doubt be fouud sufficient. But taking the land of Ireland as THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 365 it is, and the circumstances of the country and its mode of agriculture, there is a general consent of the. most competent judges in that country that farms below 15 or 20 acres are too small to afford a due return for the entire labour of a man and his family. It would, therefore, follow that 130,000 of the small (aimers, with their families, are as many as the remaining eighth of the surface of Ireland can profitably main- tain as farmers, and that there will then remain a surplus of 170,000 and their families. These figures represent the whole number of holdings ; but several holdings are believed to be in many eases in the hands of one farmer, and the total num- ber of occupiers is therefore reckoned by Lord Dufferiu not to exceed 441,000, If that be so, the surplus to be otherwise provided for will not exceed 100,000. That seems no impos- sible achievement. A wise measure for settling the long- agitated question of the tenure of land will give a great im- petus to improved agriculture, and the consequent demand for labour will rapidly absorb that surplus. It is, after all, little more than one additional family for every 160 acres of culti- vated land. I have no doubt that the legislature which shall pass the great measure of pacification for Ireland, which is now uuder its consideration, will in due time complete the work by a just land law, which will give greater security to the employment of capital in the cultivation of the land, and call into action that surplus labour, without which its latent fertility cannot be fully developed. But though the state of the Irish peasant has been more forced upon public attention, the condition of the agricultural labourer in England is very far from satisfactory. The agricultural returns afford no guide to its consideration. He indeed is now the only class of the community who has uo representative. In Ireland he has, directly in many cases by his vote as a small farmer, and indi- rectly through his church, which brings the aggregate feeling of the people to bear upon their Parliamentary representatives. By one means or another they do make themselves heard in Parliament. But so little is known of the English agri- cultural labourer, that when his actual condition is set forth in the report of a Royal Commission, the public are struck with astonishment, and even the landowners are surprised to find a state of things at their doors which many of them little suspected. The condition of the labourers' dwellings is in some counties deplorable. It is not my province, however, on this occasion to enter further on that subject. I attempted to introduce a clause in the last Census Act, in 1860, which would have thrown much light on the state of our cottage accommodation, but it was rejected in the English bill. It was adopted, however, in the Scotch census, and has shown that one-third of the population of Scotland lived, each family, in houses of one room only, another third in houses of two rooms ; two-thirds of the whole of the people being thus found to be lodged in a manner in- compatible with comfort and decency as now understood. The same returns in the nest census will show the progress that has been made in the ten years ; and the public advantage of this will, I trust, lead to the adoption of a similar system in the next English census. In the same year I moved lor re- turns of the wages of agricultural labourers in England and Wales, which was subsequently followed for Scotland and Ire- laud. Upon these returns Mr. Purdy read to this Society an able and interesting paper in 1861. These form very important brandies of the statistics of agriculture, and though it is not necessary that they should be included in the annual returns, I trust their importance will not be overlooked in the prepara- tion of the next Census Act. It has been found in Ireland, and is the case to a less extent in some parts of England, that it is not so much the low rate of wages as the irregularity of employment which depresses the condition of the agricultural labourers. That is mitigated by emigration from the agricul- tural to the mining and manufacturing districts, or to foreign countries. Mere farming will not take up profitably the natural increase of population in a thickly-peopled country like ours, and the purely agricultural districts in each of the three countries are constantly parting with their surplus. The proportion between the producers and consumers of food is thus undergoing a marked change. In 1831, 28 per cent, of the population of England and Wales was occupied in the business of agriculture. In 1841, it was 22 percent. In 1851, it had fallen to 16 per ceut., not so much from an actual decrease of the numbers employed in agriculture as from the far greater proportional increase of trade. In 1861, the pro- portion was 10 per cent., and then not only had the propor- tion diminished, but the actual numbers had decreased by nearly one-fifth. It is a very remarkable fact that, in the course of a single generation, the proportion of the people of England employed in, and dependent on agriculture, had diminished from a third to a tenth. The only means of arresting this is by providing better-paid and more regular employment in country work, and thus diminishing the temptation of the higher wages of the mines, the factory, and the towns. Last year I touched on this subject, and men- tioned the intention of trying the beet-root sugar growth and manufacture in this country. The experiment was made in Suffolk, and with so much promise of success, that in the same locality this season a sufficient breadth of beet will be planted to keep an extensive sugar factory in full work lor the four slack months from October to February. The matter, then, will be beyond experiment, for if it proves, as is antici- pated, the suitability of our climate and soil to the profitable production of sugar-beet, it will be the dawn of a new agri- cultural industry, which may rapidly he developed, to the great benefit both of England and Ireland. The possible magnitude of the result will be readily appreciated by the fact that in this country the consumption of sugar is equal to nearly one-third of all the sugar annually produced in the tropics and ou the continent, and that any disturbance which would seriously alter the state of property or labour in Cuba, must give au immense stimulus to the demand for beetroot sugar, and the reduction of price which will follow the " free breakfast table" promised to us by Mr. Bright, as one of the early results of economy in our public expenditure, will rapidly augment that demand. In a national point of view the introduction of a new manufacture connected with agri- culture, such as beetroot sugar, will both enlarge the field of remunerative labour in the country and provide an absolute addition to agricultural produce and wealth. For the pulp after the sugar is extracted has lost little of its value as cattle food, and therefore the substitution of sugar-beet for some of the present cattle crops will displace to a very small extent the means of feeding cattle. And even that will soon be made good by the more generous farming which the profits of sugar growing will enable the farmer to practise on the other crops of his farm. I have here a specimen of the first English- grown sugar, not a mere experiment, but produced as a matter of business. I find, from a French paper sent to me this morning, that the northern departements of France now pro- duce about 200,000 tons of sugar a year, or nearly two-thirds of the sugar consumed in France. We use twice as much sugar in this country as the French do, and its consumption is always increasing. At a reduction of price equal to the present duty that increase would rapidly extend. I may be over sanguine on the subject, but I should not be greatly surprised if in ten years hence many thousand acres in the United Kingdom should be profitably employed in the production of home-grown sugar. The last topic ou which I will touch is one of omission. The returns of live stock do not include horses, the most interesting and, individually, the most valuable of all. As every man knows the number of his horses, the return can be given without occasioning a particle of trouble, and I hope therefore that the schedule for the present year will include a column for horses. In conclusion, I think it will be generally admitted that the agricultural returns have proved most useful and most instructive, and considering the ever increasing demands of our population on the resources of agriculture, I trust that nothing will be permitted to interfere with their continuance, and with that greater development which further experience may render it desirable to introduce. Mr. Sewell Read, M.P., advocated the value of agricul- tural statistics on general grounds, and expressed a desire that their collection and publication should be continued, though, as farmers are not speculators, they may have no special agri- cultural serviceableness. With regard to the estimate which Mr. Caird had given of our proportional dependence on the foreigner for meat, his (Mr. Read's) belief was that our im- ported supply did not exceed one-twetieth of our consumption. He denied that agriculturists were indifferent to the condition of the agricultural labourer, this having been a subject which had been oftener than any other discussed by farmers' clubs and chambers of agriculture. Dr. Gilbert referred to the methods by which his estimate C O THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. of the annual consumption of wheat had been arrived at, and to the conclusions at which he had arrived. The poorer the people, the greater their consumption of wheat. Mr. Glover dwelt on the very partial degree in which alone such estimates as had been discussed could with any safety be used to regulate the proceedings of either importers or commercial men. The Rev. Canon Girdle stone spoke to the condition of the agricultural labourer, contrasting his case in the northern counties with what he found to be the state of things in the south. Mr. CuNNlNGnAM supported this view by facts within his own knowledge from observations he had made in the Midland Counties. Mr. Dudley Baxter supported Mr. Read in his estimate of the amount of imported meat as compared witli that of home-grown produce. The Chairman (Mr. Newmarch) said : It was not their business to speculate in corn ; nor were they responsible for inferences that may be drawn from these facts. But what they were responsible for, was the accuracy of their statements. He was sorry to find there was so much difference of opinion on the consumption of wheat. There ought to be Governmen- tal inquiry into the truth of this subject, and he hoped, with the advice and assistance of Mr. Caird, this would yet be un- dertaken. There were differences, too, on the influence of large and small farms as regards labour and rent, and he thought it highly desirable that some one should go through different counties to gather information on the relations of rent, wages, and produce. As regarded the condition of the labourer, he thought when the Rev. Canon Girdlestone entered into ge- neralities, and found fault with classes, he travelled out of the province of this Society. The remedy for the present evils would be found in giving children and youths more of a techni- cal education, and less of a theological and literary one. Mr. Caird, in reply, regretted that the discussion had wan- dered from his subject. He was prepared to maintain the cor- rectness of his last year's figures regarding the proportions of foreign and home meat supplies, and believed that he had rather erred on the side of under statement as to the former. His table of large and small farms was made out without any other consideration than to exhibit the results which followed the respective systems, and to give a full statement of the cir- cumstances which influenced those results. He had endea- voured to open up, and to throw what light he could on large questions affecting the progress of agriculture and the future supply of food; and he trusted that the labour he had be- stowed on the subject might bear useful fruit. BOTLEY EASTER STOCK SHOW. On Monday.March 15,the annual exhibition of stock was held at Botley, with a very satisfactory result. The show of fat beasts was rather small, but comprized some animals of merit ; while the lambs was very good, though small. The sheep were remarkable for quality, and the judges experienced some dif- ficulty in awarding the prizes for tegs. The horned ewes formed a capital class, comprising some of the best ever seen at this show. The judges were Messrs. J. Stubbs, Slade, and Lane, and the following was the award of PRIZES. For the ten best fat lambs (excepting Downs), fed in the open field and no restriction as to feeding, £5, given by the County Members, Mr. G. Gray, Titchfield. For the ten second best, £2, given by Capt. Gordon, Manor House, Hamble, Mr. C. H. Gater. For the ten best fat Dowu lambs, fallen since Dec. 1st, 1867, £3, given by Mr. W. Stride, Redbridge, Mr. Hooper. For the ten second-best, £2, given by Messrs. Pink and Arnold, Mr. W. Warner. For the ten best fat wether sheep of any age, £4, Mr. Hooper. For the ten best fat two-tooth wether sheep, £2, given by Mr. W. B. Gater, Fareham, Mr. J. Warner. For the ten best fat ewes, £3, given Mr. C. H. Gater, Wesi End, Mr. H. Leggatt. For the ten second-best, £2, given by Messrs. Perkin and Sons, Southampton, Mr. Hooper. For the ten best fat horned ewes, each having yeaned and fattened a lamb the same season, and fed in the open field, £2, given by Mr. C. H. Best, Mr. Hooper. For the ten second- best £1, Mr. Gray. For the best fat Down ewes, each having yeaned and fattened a lamb since Dec. 1st, 1867, £2, given by Messrs. Spooner aud Bailey, Eling, Mr. W.Warner. For the ten secoud-best, £1, given by Mr. Thomas Warner, Botley, Mr. Hooper. For the ten best Fat Wether Tegs, £3, given by Messrs. Dixon and Cardus, Northam, Mr. Hooper ; for the ten second- best, £2, given by Mr. W. C. Humphrys, Elm Lodge, Burs- ledon, Mr. James Warner. For the best Boar, £2, given by Mr. W. Warner, Botley, Mr. Brown. For the best Sow,£l, Mr. Holdaway. For the heft Fat Ox or Steer, £5, given by Mr. T. Cham- berlayne, Cranbury Park, Mr. Gray ; for the second-best, £2, Mr. Warner. For the best Fat Steer, calved since Jan. 1st, 1867, £2, Mr. Warner. For the best Fat Heifer, over three years old, £3, given by Mr. Stuart Macnaghten, Bitterne Manor, Mr. C. H. Gatet. For the best Fat Heifer, calved since Jan. 1st, 1867, £2, given by Mr. C. H. Gater, Mr. T. Warner. THE SCOTCH GAME BILLS. Mr. M'Combie, who, as the only Scotch tenant farmer in the House, charges himself with the duty of looking after the interests of all the tenant farmers of Scotland, has pronounced au utter condemnation of the bill brought in by the member for Haddington. And, now that the text of the bill is before us, we see that the condemnation is deserved. It would be impossible to accept such a measure as Lord Elcho's as a set- tlement of the question of the game laws. It does not touch, in any effectual way, the chief bone of contention. Under this bill, hares would continue to be regarded as game, just as they are at present. The sole concession to the tenant is that it shall be lawful to him, when the right of killing hares has not been specially reserved to the proprietors by the lease, to kill them himself, or by one person whom he may appoint for the purpose, and that he may do this without taking out a licence or paying assessed taxes. There is a clause, however, of more importance, and in a better direction. It provides that a tenant shall be entitled to recover compensation for any damages he may sustain in consequence of game being unduly encouraged during the currency of his lease. At present, the tenant has such' a power, but the object of this clause appears to be to make it more generally operative than it is by restrict- ing the trial of questions of compensation to the Sheriff's Court, so that the aggrieved farmer may not be frightened from going to law with his landlord by the prospect of indefinitely large expenses incurred in the Court of Session. It is provided that there shall be no appeal to the Supreme Courts except in regard to findings in law — a door, however, which may be found wide enough in any case that may arise to permit of the tenant being dragged through it into the Court of Session. Mr. M'Lagan's bill is more satisfactory than Lord Elcho's in this respect, that it provides that hares shall cease to be regarded as game. Here, however, is the weakness of all Game Law Bills — it does not, and cannot, prevent the landlord from tying up the tenant as effectually as he may do at present from destroying the hares on his farm. In the impossibility of accomplishing this, the chief interest of a bill to amend the Game Laws must consist in the opportunity which it gives to the tenant of obtaining damages for excess of game, or, in other words, for breach of contract on the part of the landlord. On this point, as well as in the general declaration that hares shall not be regarded as game, Mr. M'Lagan's bill is preferable to Lord Elcho's. Its machinery may not be perfect, but simplicity is aimed at. Appeals to the Supreme Courts are shut out absolutely, and it is provided that the proceedings in the Sheriff Court shall be of the simplest character, consistently with allowing the Judge to ascertain accurately the facts. The tenant's application to the Sheriff is to be " made by summary petition, setting forth the terms of the lease, and the particulars of the damage com- plained of, and praying for a valuation and for payment of the amount." Parties may be heard on the petition, and no other evidence is to be admissable except the report _of a valuator, whom the Sheriff is to appoint. — Dundee Courier. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 367 SHORN SHEEP IN THE CATTLE - MARKET. A deputation of the members of the Council of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has waited upon the Markets Committee at Guildhall for the pnrpose of laying before them the evils of exposing sheep, shorn of their wool, to the inclemency of the cold weather in the Metropolitan Cut tip-market. Mr. Alderman Causton having introduced the deputation, Mr. F. D. Mocatta, said that of late years very many sheep were sent to the Metropolitan Cattle- market for sale shorn of their wool, and there was no pro- vision made to shelter them from the cold. There was no bye- law made by the Corporation to prevent the practice of send- ing shorn sheep to market, and in consequence, the Society had been compelled to take proceedings against salesmen and graziers who had exposed the animals in that way. At Leicester and other large cattle-markets bye-laws were in existence which prohibited the exposure of shorn sheep during lour, and in some instances five, of the coldest months of the. year, and the object of the deputation was to obtain similar provisions in the management of the Metropolitan Cattle- market. Mr. Thomas Phipps Austin and several other mem- bers of the deputation warmly supported Mr. Moccata's views. Mr. Coilam, secretary to the Society, read the opinions of Professor Spooner and other eminent veterinarians on the practice, and quoted the evidence given by Mr. Tegg, a veterinary surgeon to the Markets Committee, in a prosecu- tion instituted by the Society at Clerkenwell Police-court some time ago, all of which proved that, not only did the sheep suffer much pain, but that the meat was deteriorated, and the profits of the butcher lessened. He had recently visited Leeds and Wakefield, where the leading butchers had informed him that they could pick out from a number of carcases all those that had been exposed to the cold weather after being shorn of their wool, by appearances which were well-known in the trade, and that in consequence they had discontinued the purchase of sheep that had been so exposed. He begged to thank the Markets Committee for the great assistance rendered by them in the appointment of officers at the cattle-market to prevent cruelty to animals. Mr. Game, butcher, a member of the committee, said that every practical man would endorse the statements made on that occasion, and that the practice was so reprehensible, that no efforts ought to be spared for its suppression. Mr. Bannister, another member of the committee, and also a butcher, said that he had often deplored the great suffering caused to the sheep by that custom, which was kept up for the small advan- tage obtained by the graziers of 2d. per lb. in the value of the wool taken off during life. That advantage was more than lost by the evils produced on the flesh of the animals. He would strongly urge the Markets Committee to take decided measures for the suppression of those evils. Mr. Sewell, the chairman of the committee, thanked the deputation for bring- ing the subject under their notice, and assured them that the committee felt equally with them the importance of the sub- ject, and would do their utmost to prevent a continuance of the practice. The deputation then thanked the committee for their courtesy, and retired. The Yorkshire Gazette says : " A movement has been begun in the agricultural parts of Yorkshire, for the purpose of bringing under the consideration of Parliament the inhuman treatment of fat sheep intended for market, by shearing them days before slaughter, for the sake of the extra profit on " live" wool. Partners themselves do not do this to any extent, but since the introduction of railways, a class of middle-men or jobbers has sprung up, who purchase for the distant markets — Leeds, Bradford, Salford, &c. — and after depriving the sheep of their wool, drive them to a railway- station, and in ordinary trucks convey them to their destina- tion, when they are exposed in the markets, and probably not killed till the fourth day after shearing. In the present year clipped sheep were so treated in February. Memorials are in course of signature in the towns, for presentation to Mr. C. Sykes, M.P. (East Riding), the introducer of the Sea Birds' Bill, setting forth the cruelty inflicted on sheep by early shearing, and asking for the introduction of a Bill into Parliament to render sheep-shearing illegal before the 1st of May, except in the case of fat sheep for immediate slaughter. CATTLE PLAGUE LEGISLATION. At a recent meeting of the East Suffolk Chamber of Agri- culture, at Ipswich, to discuss the general subject of cattle plague legislation, the chair was occupied by Mr. Thomas Hawkins, of Bentley, who introduced the subject and referred to the nature of the cattle plague and pleuro-pneumonia and traced their effects. He contended that neither the Govern- ment nor the Royal Agricultural Society bestirred themselves as they ought. He thought the farmers ought to be as vigilant as ever. They did not want, as Mr. Milner Gibson said, to re- vive any protection, but they wanted to prevent other interests sacrificing their property in the way the cattle plague had done. There ought to be some law against the importation of cattle that were known to be diseased. He could not help thinking that some well-regulated system of landing and market would be better for all parties. When the last Bill was brought in Mr. Goshen said it was an insurrection on the part of the agri- cultural interest against bearing their just share of the bur- dens. He (Mr. Hawkins) did not know why the late Govern- ment abandoned their Bill with a majority of 130. What; would Mr. Cobden have done with a majority like that upon free trade ? What would he have done with even a majority of one ? He would have carried free trade a great deal sooner than he did. Here was the Tory Government who turned tail upon the measure with a majority of 130 in their favour. What were they now to expect with Mr. Bright in the Board of Trade Office ? (loud laughter.) Did they think he would do anything of that kind ? Mr. Hawkins said he wished to give our local members credit for doing their utmost in endeavour- ing to pass the late Government Bill. Mr. R. L. Everett said he thought they were all of one mind upon the subject. He saw that Lord Robert Montagu was going to re-introduce his bill, and he would move that a petition be presented from that Chamber to the House of Commons supporting the bill. He did not know whether the members for Ipswich would not support them, as well as the Corporation of Ipswich. Mr. Herman Biddell said their simple object was to keep out foreign contagion, and not foreign meat. He thought the only remedy for that would be a waterside market. The Chairman had alluded to the 130 majority upon which the late Government turned their backs. That was 120 more than he had ever heard before (laughter). He always thought it was admitted the late Government were in a minority, and they held office under sufferance (laughter). Those who stopped that bill from passing were Mr. Ayrton (that great advocate for the continuance of the malt-tax, and anything else for the injury of the farmers) and a few London bullock merchants. If the cattle-plague again visited these shores, he did hope there would be some better understanding as to who was responsible for the animals slaughtered. Mr. Everett said the object of the bill upon the table in the room was to establish a waterside market. Mr. Hempson : And to confirm all previous Acts relating to diseases in cattle and for other purposes. The Chairman said there could be no doubt it would be advisable to have another meeting to discuss the subject, and the resolution he was about to propose was in very general terms. He then moved the following resolution : " That im- perial legislation, irrespective of Orders in Council, is indis- pensable to prevent a recurrence of the late disastrous and ruinous disease from the importation of cattle and sheep." Mr. Hempson seconded the resolution, which was then car- ried unanimously. Mr. Everett withdrew his proposition with reference to the petition, thinking it would be time enough to do that when the bill got a little further into the House. THE SMITHFIELD CLUB SHOW.— In consequence of the Hereford steer to whi«h the first prize was awarded in class 6 at the last Smithfield Club Show having been dis- qualified, the prizes will be paid as follows : first prize, £20, to R. Shirley, Bancott Munslow, Church Stretton, Salop, with silver medal to the breeder, Mr. Shirley ; second prize, £10, to her Majesty the Queen. C 0 2 368 THE FARMER'S MAGAZTNE. THE FORMATION OF WATER- MEADOWS. The overabundant supply of water which has fallen upon our grass land during the present winter is almost suffi- cient to deter one from giving even a passing considera- tion to the practice of irrigation. We do so, however, because the essential differences between a wet meadow and well-watered land are now more than usually striking. There is clearly something independent of the quantity of water which each may receive to which we have to look for an explanation of the differences which are so observable even in a season like the present, when the fall of rain has been unusually heavy. The first essential for the formation of a good water- meadow is a facility for giving the land a coating of water without such water becoming stagnant. During the winter months, when vegetation'is slumbering, we may cover grass land with water and allow it to remain so covered for a considerable length of time without serious injury, and if such water has distributed over the surface of the ground a soft deposit of earthy matter its action will probably be beneficial. Thus we occasionally find that a covering of water, even when that water assumes a stagnant condition is productive of good results. If, however, such a supply of water should happen to be de- layed until the spring - growth has commenced, then its injurious influence becomes more evident, the growing herbage is sensitive to such treatment, and if it be long submerged, we have distinct evidence in the sickly yellow leaf. So long as the grass is slumbering and inactive little injury *results, but the same course of treatment during the period of growth produces an un- healthy result. It is a peculiarity of well irrigated land that whilst the land is covered by water such water is kept in motion. Any departure from this rule soon shows itself by the condition of growth observable in the land. Thus we can readily detect upon irrigated land those parts, which instead of being well watered are wet. The accomplishment of this result is clearly dependent upon two conditions of the soil, and of these we naturally take in the first place the passage of water through the soil. A strong and retentive soil is, for this reason, un- suited for a water-meadow. The soil must be light, friable, and porous, otherwise it soon becomes charged with water, and even if the surface be not covered, still the roots are surrounded by stagnant water and quickly suffer in consequence. We need only to examine the soils of our best water-meadows to be fully satisfied upon this point. Indeed, if we consider for a moment the healthy action of water upon the roots of vegetation we shall soon be satisfied that this cannot fail to be the case. The principal use of water to a plant is that of a carrier of nourishment, an agency whereby food is carried into the circulation of the plant and there made use of for the purposes of vegetable growth. For the healthy discharge of this duty such water must not only contain food for the plant, but it must have air intermixed with it, for this is necessary for the plant's growth. Water which percolates through the soil is intermixed with air and carries a supply of it wherever it travels, but let that water become stagnant, and the air it contains is quickly exhausted, consequently it becomes not only valueless, but positively injurious. When the water in the soil percolates gently through its particles, the roots of the grass have the advantage "of fresh supplies of food, instead of struggling to extract nourishment from water which has already been well -nigh exhausted. This becomes the more important when we are dealing with a supply of food which is present in very minute proportions. It is well known that many streams of water which are remarkable for their fertilizing pro- perties owe much of their influence to the presence of chemical ingredients in such a diluted condition that they are almost beyond detection, even by most delicate analysis. This* does not appear to diminish the advan- tages such water possesses for the encouragement of growth, for with the greatest perfection the valuable in- gredients are laid hold of by the roots of the grass as the water gently passes through the soil. It is also a very remarkable circumstance, which is well worthy of notice, that when from the absence of vegetable growth the roots of the herbage fail to arrest this nourishment, the soil takes up this duty, separating the fertilizing matter, storing it up until the season of growth returns, and ths activity of vegetable life again becomes manifest. Thus we have a thoroughly preservative agency in the soil, but to bring it into action the water must not be stagnant, but pass freely through the soil. The best instances we have of irrigation are to be found upon sandy soils or sandy loams. These soils were in many instances of very little value, and in some cases almost worthless, and yet they have been much enriched by irri- gation. This is not due to any natural fertility which has been developed by cultivation, but may rather be traced to the fact that their porosity admits of the free passage of water through the soil, carrying with it fertilizing matters which the growing plant could arrest, and which the soil to a great extent secured, if the valuable materials by any means evaded the active search of the roots. As the age of a water-meadow increases, so as a rule does the depth of rich absorptive soil increase ; and this fact is well ob- served in some of the old meadows of Hampshire, Wilt- shire, Gloucestershire, and Devon. In some instances these date from a very early period iu the history of this country ; and here we find that whilst preserving much of their original character as porous soils, they have accu- mulated during several centuries very considerable quan- tities of fertilizing matter, and as a natural consequence they produce a quality of herbage very much superior to others of more modern date. The same circumstance is observable in some of the first-used of modern water-mea- dows. Take, for example, the long celebrated Clipstone water-meadows, which were made out of a rabbit-warren in 1820 ; and here we find a gradually -increasing depth of rich soil, producing not only as abundantly as ever, but with a marked improvement in the quality of the herbage, especially in those portions where the management is good. Here again we may undoubtedly trace the beneficial action of the irrigation to the fact that the soil is of a porous nature, permitting the water to pass through it with freedom as soon as it has been deprived of its nutri- tious properties. Where this porous character is pos- sessed by laud to a limited extent only, it must be assisted by artificial drainage. The distribution of the water is also very much assisted by what may be considered the second essential of a good water-meadow — the form of the surface. This must be considered as subsidiary to the former, inasmuch as we may accept it as an established rule that this even and regular distribution over the surface should be carried out just in that manner which will best allow of the water passing into the laud. Experience has clearly proved that the water should pass over the surface so far only as it is necessary-for its distribution, and after this point has been gained, the more freely it passes through the soil, the better is the effect produced. NEW METHOD OF CULTIVATING POTATOES.— The Staats-Anzeiger gives us some particulars of the new method of cultivating the potato, discovered by Guhlich^ THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 369 of Piuneberg, in Holstein, and which, it is said, lias given surprising results where it has been employed. The leading features of this new mode of culture are: 1. Turning up the soil to a considerable depth ; 2. Choosing as seed large, sound, and many-eyed potatoes ; 3. Leaving each seed potato a space of 12 square feet ; 4. Laying the seed potato with the budding side down. By a report laid before the last meeting of the Frankfort Agricultural Society we learn the result of experiments in potato-growing made last year. In one morgen (two-thirds of an acre) which was planted with eight metzen seed, and where each seed potato was left twelve square feet, the produce was 108 scheffels (German bushels). Another morgen of land, planted with twelve metzen, and where each . seed potato had a space of nine square feet, yielded 88 scheffels. A third morgen was planted with one scheffel seed, each potato being left six square feet, and the produce was 78 scheffels. The average crop obtained from 7 to 8 scheffels on the same land was 50 to 60 scheffels. The advantages of Guhlieh's system then consist of: 1. A saving of 6 to 7 scheffels per morgen of seed; and 2, an increase of from 25 to 100 per cent, in the produce. — North German Correspondent, March 17. THE DISEASES OF ANIMALS, AND THEIR PREVENTION. Mr. Finl.yy Dun read a paper at the Banbury Chamber of Agriculture on this subject, concluding with the following re- commendations :— 1. — That Government should introduce into Parliament a Bill consolidating the various acts and orders at present in ex- istence, and which are likely to prove serviceable in preserving the health of animals. 2. — That efforts should be made to mitigate, to stamp out, and prevent the reintroduction of such contagious diseases as glanders and mange in horses ; rinderpest, pleuro-pneumonia, and mouth and foot diseases amongst cattle, and small-pox and scab in sheep. 3. — That the development and spread of contagious dis- orders should be prevented in Great Britain and Ii eland, by isolation of sick animals, by disinfection, by inspection, and, if necessary, by slaughter of infected animals. 4. — That, to guard against the, introduction of contagious diseases from abroad, foreign stock should only be permitted to enter the United Kingdom at licensed ports, and should be admitted only when coming from countries certified to be clean, and after careful inspection. 5. — That foreign fat stock should be killed in licensed slaughter-houses, at or near the port of debarkation, within a week after landing, whilst stores be obliged to perform at least 28 days' quarantine, under inspection, in licensed pre- mises. 6. — Provision should further be made for the safe and expe- ditious transit of animals, alike by ship and rail. Vessels should be properly constructed for cattle transit ; a certain cubic space should be guaranteed for each description of stock, and due arrangements made for proper ventilation. Railway trucks should be made with some protecting covering from sun and rain, aud spring buffers might be supplied. When con- fined to trucks or boxes, or on board ship, it ought to be im- perative that all animals should be supplied with water once during every twelve hours of their confinement. Food should be given at least once every twenty-four hours. THE GOVERNMENT CATTLE DISEASES BILL.— At the dinner of theBotley Farmers' Club Mr. W. C. Spooner, well known as a judge of stock, and the Secretary of the Club, said — He could not help thinking that in one matter there was a little misconception, and that people were too much accus- tomed to follow their friends — if their friends went one way they must go too. lie thought that was wrong. Though it. was right that at certain times members should support their party, there were subjects that were above party, and had nothing to do with it. One of the two subjects which had been alluded to that day was the risk they underwent of having con- tagious diseases brought into this country, and he could not help thinking that there was a misconception upon it, some gentlemen fancying that the great agricultural party must inevitably all think alike. They might all desire that the ultimate result should be attained of keeping out the disease, but they might disagree as to the means of doing it (Hear). He was sorry to see that a large party had made a great mistake in fancying that the only way in which the disease could be kept out was by having certain foreign mar- kets. Such a measure would destroy the trade of neighbour- ing towns. Still, if that was the only means by which it could be accomplished, let the interests of the few be. made subser- vient to the interests of the many ; but they, who in their club had debated the subject over and over again, were of opinion that the disease could be kept out of the country with perfect security and safety without having recourse to foreign cattle markets for destroying the cattle. He thought they had a right to tell their members not to make this a party question, for in his opinion the ministerial measure on the whole was a good one, and wanted to be strengthened ; and in Ins view the energies of their members would be much better spent in endeavouring to improve the bill than in trying to substitute another measure for it. In order to render them secure from the introduction of the cattle disease into this country, there ought to be a short quarantine for all animals. It was impossible to submit animals to a proper examination in one moment just as they landed, and they should undergo a short quarantine for three or four days, and then be submitted to a second examination, after which, if it proved satisfactory, they might with perfect safety be sent to any part of England. If they had that, aud the additional precaution of animals not being allowed to come out of London alive, every end would be answered. London was not the proper place, to have a cattle-market for the whole kingdom. The large, over-burdened, and over-populated metropolis should have a market of its own, and that was all it required. If they could secure a short quarantine, two examinations — as the cattle landed and before they were sent away — and the privilege of purchasing and slaughtering on the spot as many as the butchers pleased, and these were embodied in the Government Bill, they might consider them- selves secure. SALE OF MESSRS. CRUICKSHANK'S SHORTHORNS, AT SITTYTON, ABER- DEEN, BY MR. MITCHELL. This nowannual sale took place on Thursday, March 18,when yearling bulls and 35 yearling heifers were offered. The total amount realized was 2,591 guineas, at an average of £38 5s. for the bulls, and £24 10s. for the heifers. These prices did not reach those of last year, when the male animals made 44 guineas all round, and the heifers £30. Amongst the best prices on Thursday were George Peabody (Sir W. Forbes), 71 gs. ; Kinsman (Mr. Beedie), 58 gs. ; Windsor Castle (Mr. Geikie), 50 gs. ; Lord Neville (Mr. Eraslie), 50 gs.; Breast- plate (Mr. Durno), 50 gs.; Chief Baron (Dr. Will), 47 gs. ; Lord Forth (Mr. Longraore), 47 gs.; Julius C;csar (Mr. Marr), 46 gs. ; Orthodox (Mr. M. Graham), 45 gs.; and Bridesman (Mr. Maitland) 45 gs. Of the heifers Vanity (Mr. M. Graham) made 38 gs. ; Lady Sally (Mr. Scott), 35 gs. ; Butteriy (Mr. Ritchie), 34 gs. ; Julia (Mr.Lawson), 33 gs. ; and Goldfinch (Mr. Morrison) 32 gs. ; with Jewess (Mr- Wilson), Amelia (Mr. Cooper), and Golden Wreath (Mr. Marr) reaching to30gs. each. George Peabody and Vanity- are both by Forth, and the stock chiefly by Forth, Champion, Allan, and Lord Byron. The attendance was reckoned at over 600 visitors. 370 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. SECOND SALE OF MR. STILES RICH'S SHORTHORNS, AT DIDMARTON. BY MR. H. STRAFFORD. It was a bright sharp morning as a party of us left the Tetbury Road Station in an open drag, to attend the dis- persion of the second portion of this distinguished herd. We had twelve miles to drive, but the way was pleasantly beguiled by the recital of hunting stories connected with the surrounding walled enclosures, where " the Duke" seems to reign paramount as the Highland chieftain of fifty years ago. On our arrival I betook myself to a care- ful inspection of the animals, my notes of which I sub- join at your request, in the hope that they may be as useful to other Shorthorn breeders as I have found my similar private records of former sales prove to myself. It would help us much if we had a reliable description of every animal of celebrity, in addition to the pedigree, to study . Both form and pedigree the young breeder should aim at obtaining. One never buys a bull or a ram without, if possible, comparing the points of his parents. The portion left to be sold this day was certainly not up to the excellence of those sold in October. In this regard my opinion was backed by many competent to decide ; still they were very good. Mr. Rich has succeeded admirably in producing a herd in which a certain type of formation was clearly discernible throughout. The Florentias you might pick out at a glance, did you meet them, in the mixed assemblage of a fair. So, too, the Ursulas ; both of which tribes came into this breeder's hands " almost as a gift," from the late estimable Lord Ducie, to whose memory Mr. Strafford paid a deserved compli- ment. Sideways, in the distance, upou their pasture, the body of almost every individual of this herd gave you the idea of a long rectangular parallelogram, so level were they along the back, so straight along the belly, so square down the dewlap and thigh. They might have been ruled, they were so true ; but the parallelogram was not cubic when you came up to them, as Royal prize animals are expected to be. There was a somewhat general in- clination to narrowness in front, and a degree of fiat- sidedness which, was owing, no doubt, to Mr. Rich's penchant for milk, the drain of which is not often com- patible with width over the crops and a table back — points again of superlative importance in the showyard. The udders were wonderful — one, that of lot 3, a monstrosity. They had great wealth of soft hair and depth of flesh. They were, as I observed before, a glorious foundation for young breeders to work at in the use of the more fashion- able " terribly bred" bulls. They gave one the idea of a Gloucestershire milking cow brought to perfection in form, so far as could be without trenching upon the claims of the dairy, while intended to fatten in no time for the butcher. Not bred by Mr. Rich, and therefore allowing of being quoted by way of contrast, there was a stylish " Wild Eyes" cow — low, lengthy, with a splendid touch, exquisitely fine bone, broad-fronted, flat-horned, but pos- sessed of no udder at all. You could scarcely feel that she had teats. She had never bred, however. But to follow the line of my notes. Lot 1 (Florentia 3rd) one had abund- ance of time to study, not only as she stood tied up in the strawyard, but as she grandly showed herself to best ad- vantage in the ring, being introduced some minutes before the appointed hour of business arrived. She was a thick, deep, roomy level animal, with a large udder, a good rib, and square dewlap. Her defect was her head and horns, which reminded one rather of the old Craven cow than the modern improved Shorthorn. Her leg bone, too, was coarse. She was a mixture of Towneley, Booth, and Bates blood, going back through Lord Spencer to Mason, Colling, and Charge. I mention all this, because at the cheap figure of 60 gs. she fell to the lot of Mr. Fowler, who has the scent of a truffle dog for excellencies under the surface, and who, no doubt, will some day produce from her a tribe that shall combine the useful with the ornamental in the highest possible degree, as he has al- ready done for us in the poultry line. Lot 2 had a flat rib, but looked altogether a first-class dairy Gloucester- shire cow. Lot 3, exhibiting about two bushels of udder, from which the milk dripped as her scampish young calf kept bothering her out of her life, while he larked and galloped, twisting every way with his tail on end, far too fast for his mother to follow with any comfort to herself. She was very gentle-looking, had a nice head, and was all over a beaiitiful specimen of a milking cow. Lot 4 was a deep milker, exhibiting great delicacy of bone and general quality ; had a nice kind'head, and looked also perfection in a daily point of view. She was slighly high in the tail, a fault of which there were only three distinct instances during the day's sale. Lot 5, somewhat cushioned, had a nice head and excellent back, notwithstanding a slightly defective rib. She did not show so well as a milker. And now came a cow of celebrity, Waterloo 32ud, whose dam was sold last October for 270 gs. She made 360 gs. from Lord Fitzhardinge in a very few minutes. She was a very long and very deep cow, broad over the crops, rather light in the thigh, with a beautiful coat. She was a trifle "throaty," or she would have been a model of elegance. She was also highish at the tail. She was altogether a very nice cow, being of course — as the most high-bred females — somewhat superior to the production of milk, although she had calved only at the end of January. Lot 7 had little especially to recommend her. Lot 8 was the sweetest cow yet, and exhibited in fulness the excellencies of the Florentias — of kindly aspect, thick-fleshed, square dewlap, good udder. Lot 9 was very level, and broad over the crops and back, illustrating our theory, as she appeared never to have had a calf. Lot 10 had the defect of a sloping dewlap, and was in- ferior to the others in front. Lot 11 exhibited consider- able style — had a nice horn, good bosom, but was defective behind, and slightly hollow-backed. Lot 12 was grand as beautiful, beautiful as grand, and had the loveliest possible rich mossy coat. "Who says 300? 100 to start." And now some real life was infused into the bid- ding. Mr. Foster, who had hitherto been quietly look- ing on, and pleasantly commenting on the proceedings, all at once showed an indication of Border fire in his eye. He was egged on certainly by a Scotch gentleman before him, with a " Hoot-awa'-moa" gesture. Mr. Drewry stood by too, with massive front, proudly snuffling the air of battle. Then at once the stern spirit awoke in the breast of the North countryman, and he went lifting this grand animal in style as bold as a mosstrooper of old might have done, but in a dili'erent seuse of the word, until directly she fell into his possession at 205 guineas, being a wayward breeder too. Lot 13 was an ordinary cow. Then came lot 14, Wild Eyes 25 th, with a nose such as her tribe is prone to ex- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 371 liibit, as blaek as an ink-pot, but with such a broad curly brow and full eye, with beautifully hue bouc aud a foreleg shaped as that of a thoroughbred horse shoidd be, a grand springing rib, but alas ! uo teals (bat wc could sec. She has never bred cither. In Lord Dunmore's possession wc hope she may turn out fruitful. She was a present, as a calf, from .Mr. Harvey to Mrs. Rich. There was a general impression that neither her black uosc nor her white colour woidd have gone against her had she been a breeder : so much for fashion ! Lot 15, a long good milk- ing cow . Lot 111, also such, but exhibiting a rare back. Lot 17 had great depth, a springing rib, and a nice head aud front. Lot 18, of an old-fashioued colour, and by no means so taking as her half-sister, lot 12. Lot 19, ordinary. Lot 20, a square pretty heifer, somewhat short by comparison with others, broad-browed : a doubt- lid breeding. Lot 21, long, roomy, but leggy, having promise as a milker. Lot 22, a long good heifer, having much the appearance of Perfiuue, bought by Lady Pigot, at Col. Towueley's sale, only not so finished in form. Lot 23, ordinary. Lot 24 excited considerable competi- tion. She was plain in front, aud slightly high behind, but had a rare back and barrel. Lot 26 was a " perfect love," loug and deep in frame, a rich roan, with a marvel- lous touch, a kind head, flat horn, aud being altogether in style the most thorough specimen of a fashionable short- horn of those bred by Mr. Rich himself: unhappily, she will not breed. She had only a couple of teats, or rather nipples, but she held herself and moved like a queen. Lot 27 had a good back, but was otherwise coin- monish. Lots 28 and 29 were level, but nothing particular. Lot 30 stood and handled well, otherwise ordinary. Lot 31, ordinary. Of the heifer calves Mr. Poster bought the best, in our opinion, in lot 37. Then came on the bulls. The Second Duke of Colling- ham is a wonder. Such a gentleman all over ! rather light aud uarrowish over the crops he is otherwise grand ; possesses quite a Bates' head and horn ; the square quarter and deep fleshy thigh too. He holds himself proudly, lifting his crested neck. The point of his shoulder and his hip-bone are' well packed. He has rather the appearance of having been girthed too tightly as a young one, if one may so express oneself, and that is really his only defect to my eye. His calves, too, look as if they had suffered from the surcingle. I was told, by a good judge, that the calves of 7th Duke of York have the same defect as youngsters, but outgrow it. " Five hundred," from Lord Fitzhardinge ; the first bid. " Pive hundred in two places," smilingly remarked the auctioneer. "Another hundred," shot iu the Lord of Berkeley, sharp as the click of a gunlock. "Another fifty," from Lord Dunmore. " I've done," from Lord Fitzhardinge, incisively, more to himself than the public. A pause. " Six hundred and fifty, and the glass runs." " Is it against me ?" asked Lord Dunmore, with a startled look, as he turned, having been sitting back to the rostrum. The auctioneer smiled at his fear and answered " No." Then the sands ran out and the bull became his lordship's property at what really after all may be a cheap price, considering his marvellous promise. There were some who fancied the next bull, Third Duke of "Waterloo, even more than the Second Duke of Collingham. With a bold front he was excellent along his back ; but was slightly high at the tail, a weakness shared by his sister, the 360-guinea (lot 6). He had not the elegant look the Duke of Collingham possesses. Lot 4 of the bulls was level and deep, but was disfigured by his horns growing back like the ears of a restive horse, and which gave him a savage look, which we scarcely think he deserves. Lot 5 was wonderfully good, the second half of him, bat light by comparison in front. There was nothing much to remark of the others. They were all useful but nothing extraordinary. Thus concluded the dispersion of a herd wonderful for the uniformity of its type, and that an excellent oue, considering that it has been Mr. Rich's aim to meet the requirements both of butcher and dairyman. He sold his Herd Bonk ; but wc don't believe it can last and sincerely hope it won't. So clever a man must begin agaiu, as so many do, who sell off. Cows Atfu Heifers Florentia 3rd Mulberry Ursula 13th Palmyra Queen of Tyre Waterloo 32nd Chaplet 11th Florentia 8th Ursnlal7th Florentia 9th Sterope Carolina 5th Ketura 5th Wild Eyes 25th Ursula 19th Peri Persiani Carohna 6th Guelder Rose 3rd Ketura 6th Fairy Belle Florentia 12th Barberry ..., Ursula 21st Florentia 13th Ursula 22nd Ursula 27th Pearl of Peru Florentia 18th Maid of Tyre Florentia 21st Florentia 22ad /... Cranberry Ursula 30th Ursula 31st Storm Queen Peruvian Queen Florentia 24th Ketura 7th Rose of Tyre Bulls. 2nd Duke of Collingham 3rd Duke of Waterloo Grand Sultan Imperial Duke of York 4th Duke of Waterloo Duke of Flamborough... Duke of Kirklevington.. Imperial Gloucester .... Perseus Prince Paul Earl of Verulam Paris Duke Frederick Earl of St. Lawrence... F'itzwalter Not entered Calved. Nov Feb., Jan., Feb., May, Feb., July, Oct., Nov., Nov.j Dec, Jan., April June, June, Oct., Oct., Dec, Jan., Feb., Mar., Mar., Mar., May, April, Oct., Sept., Sept., Nov., Dec, May, June, Aug., Sept., Sept., Sept., Sept., Oct., Oct., Dec, ,1860 1861 1862 1862 1862 1864 1864 1864 1864 1864 1S64 1865 ,1865 1865 1865 1865 1865 1865 1S66 1866 1866 1866 1866 1866 1866 1866 1867 1867 1867 1867 1868 1868 1868 1868 1868 1868 1868 1868 1868 1868 Purchaser. Oct., 1866 Nov., 1866 Nov., 1867 Dec, 1867 April, 1868 Jan., 1868 May, 1868 Aug., 1868 Sept., 1868 Do. Do. Do. Dec, 1868 Do. Do Mar. Mr. Fowler Capt. Baring Mr. T. Arkle Capt de Winton .. Mr. Larkings Lord Fitzhardinge Mr. T. Arkle .. Mr. Larkings . Rev. E.T.Williams Capt. Blathweyt... Mr. Thayer Mr. Forster Mr. Neame Lord Dunmore ... Mr. Foster Mr. Monsell Mr. Foster Mr.Winnell Mr. Gould Mr. Allen Mr. F'orster Mr. Larkings Capt. de Winton... Sir John Rolt Mr. Fawcett Mr. Edwards Mr. Fawcett Lord Fitzhardinge Lord Skelmersdale Lord Fitzhardinge Capt. de Winton Lord Dunmore . Mr. Forster Col. Kingscote . Lord Fitzhardinge Capt. Gunter .. Mr. Forster Mr. Forster Mr. Forster Mr. Rouse Price. 1869 Lord Lord Dunmore Mr Larkings ... Mr. Bird Mr. Gould Mr. Sisman Mr. B. Jenkins Mr. Larkings .. Mr. Bengough.. Mr. Neale Mr. Webb Mr. Strickland.. Mr. Sisman Mr. Bennett ... Mr. Hobbs Mr. Bes Fitzhardinge 60 37 33 55 45 360 34 120 50 55 44 205 38 41 100 37 100 80 37 31 76 43 56 60 93 37 42 45 33 61 27 35 30 60 20 27 29 78 25 55 650 140 62 31 52 71 105 20 44 13 25 27 21 50 21 11 Total, £4,034 ; average, £72 Os. 8d. ; average for cows and heifers, £65 lis. 5d. ; average for bulls, £88 0s. 4d. At the autumn sale the general average was £69 4s. ; the cows making £73 lis. 3d. all round, the bulls £48 3s. lid. The whole herd thus realizes £8,045. • 372 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. CALENDAR OF AGRICULTURE. Finish the sowing of oats, if any remains from last month. Sow barley at the rate of two to three bushels an acre, on the fresh tilth of one ploughing of lands that have carried an oat crop, or turnips and potatoes. Cover the seed by three or four tines of harrowing, and roll the land across, to receive the grass seeds. Sow lucerne, at the rate of I2lbs. to 20lbs. an acre, on a rich plot of land that has been treated for the purpose, near to the homestead, to afford an early green food of the farm. Roll the ground heavily, and topdre6s frequently and richly. The growths of the plant must be cut and used in the young and tender condition, as the stems in age become strong and woody, and unpalatable to animals. The tender condition for early green food is the only recommendation of lucerne, with the frequent cuttings the plant affords. In all other respects the comparison with red clover is not up- held. Sow flax on the best turnip lands, after a well- managed crop of that root. But this plant is only fitted for cottier farming, and disappears from before an enlightened agriculture. Sow grass seeds on wheat and barley lands with the broadcast machine, drawn by one horse and directed by a man. The performance is done at the rate of thirty to forty acres daily, in a manner very superior to hand-sowing in the distribution, and being level and low to the ground, beneath the disturbance from wind. The surface of winter wheat-lands will in many cases be rough and stale. Harrow it before sowing the seeds, and again after sowing ; and roll with a weight. Sow grass seeds on the rolled surface of barley lands, and cover with two tines of the light harrows. Topdress the young grains and clovers with J auxiliary and artificial manures, as rapedust, malt coombs, salt, nitre, and saltpetre, and nitrate of soda. Such substances tend more to produce straw than grains. Sow vetches in a large extent by the middle of the month, or in twice in the first and second weeks, being the chief sowing to secure a large supply of that most valuable green food in the hottest period of the summer. The present month is the chief time of seeding for that purpose. Sow thickly, at four bushels an acre, with a mixture of oats or barley. Get ready as speedily as possible the green-crop lands; and in the end of the month plant beet root on drills well dunged, and 28 inches apart. The seeds may be steeped in weak solutions, apd dried with hot lime. Plant potatoes in drills 30 inches apart, and dunged with farmyard manure in a half-putrescent state. Use strong sets of tubers, newly cut, very moist manure, and in a large quantity. Cover the drills quickly, and roll them down. Spread hot cinders of lime on the land before being drilled. Plough the land, when the cinders will be dissolved, and spread warm and moist exhalations from the caloric that is evolved by the cinders, which will prove very beneficial to vegetation by raising the temperature of the ground. Shut up all hay and grass lands, as clovers, meadows, and irrigated grounds. Early-sown crops will now require both horse and hand- hoeing, as wheat, barley, beans, peas, lucerne, and carrots, if ready. Paring and burning of waste lands will now be done vigorously. Burn the turfs moderately into a black, torrefied mass, to contain the most car- bonaceous matter. The paring may be done in winter, aud the burning in the spring, in dry wea- ther. It is by far the best method yet known of bringing into cultivation all lands that contain much fibrous, inert, and ligneous matter. Burn, for application by the drill, the rough, earthy, and vegetable substances found on road- sides and ditch-banks, also mossy and all combus- tible matters. If only half-burnt, the broadcast use is very largely beneficial. Rye and watered meadows, winter barley and vetches, will now be ready for soiling cattle in the yards, and for being consumed on the ground by ewes and lambs. The food is best used by being cut and placed in racks, which are regularly moved over the ground. Fold the sheep nightly on the cleared space, allowing in the fold two square yards to each animal, and two nights in one place. All bare grounds and inferior grass lands may be much improved by folding sheep on the surface. The lambing season will now draw to a close. When the juicy food of roots is deficient for ewes and lambs, use oats and bruised oilcake mixed, and a portion of salt. Remove the stronger lambs to the pasture fields. Attend to the milch cows and the suckling. Give the cows an ample feeding of juicy food, na- tural or prepared, and to the calves as much milk as they can take. When being weaned, at the end of sixteen weeks, place in the racks in the calf- pens, young and tender vetches, bruised cakes, bean and barley meals boiled, and linseed jellies, a lump of chalk and of rock-salt to lick. The latter substance will quicken the action of the di- gestive organs ; and the former will correct the crude acidities of the stomach . The last remaining fatting bullocks will be sold during this month. Use oilcake in finishing off the animals. The most backward in condition must go to grass. The season of curing bacon being over, all pigs on hand must go on for summer stores, and come in for early winter fattening. The earliest fat lambs will now come in for sale. During wet weather carry all the dung from the cattle-yards to the heap in the fields ; and litter the yards afresh for the summer soiling of cattle and horses. Prepare, by ploughing, harrowing, and rolling, the fallow lands for green crops, keeping forward the portions to be first sown with swedes early in THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 373 next month, with common turnips in succession. Begin to plough, at convenience, clay lands for wheat fallow. This month will rear the most numerous and most vigorous hatchings of poultry, from the medium temperature of the weather being favour- able to the young condition of animal life. Feed the grown animals with light grains and with po- tatoes boiled or steamed, and mixed with meals, placed in troughs under a shelter shed, and given in a moderately warm condition, in one meal daily. Keep all houses clean and warm. Supply clear water; and give the young chicks meals baked into crumbs, to lead on to stronger food. Separate apartments for each kind of animals are indis- pensable, for poultry to thrive. CALENDAR OP GARDENING. Kitchen Garden; Asparagus, in the Giant or Battersea plant, will now be soon rising, and must be cut, so as to avoid injuring the crowns either by too rigid excision or by uselessly wounding the adjoining shoots. To remedy the miserable mistake made by the people of taste and fashion, who now get only an inch of insipid stuff at the top of a long stick of packwax, and to cause the substitution of > real good " grass," six inches of which shall be j high in colour, full in flavour, and tender in its | whole length, we have ventured in a previous column to describe, and now again allude to, a \ method of making a rich and deep bed. It remains only to say that the ground, being settled, is to be divided by 12 or by 15-inch wide alleys into so J many beds, about 36 inches wide, as the ground will admit. These are to be raised about four inches above the alleys by earth shovelled off the latter. The surface being then drilled to a perfect fineness, two drills are drawn an inch and a-half or two inches deep, one foot from the edge, on each side, and as much apart. The best asparagus-seed is to be sown two or three inches apart, along the course of the drills, and immediately firmly covered with light earth. As the plants rise, they are now and then thinned out, to stand at first three inches apart, then six inches. Guano-water, very weak, will promote growth and strength. Such seed- lings, when thinned to one foot asunder, and properly managed, will produce plants as strong and durable as if two-year-old plants were pur- chased. Should that plan, however, be preferred, the fine earth ought to be raked off to the alleys, four inches level depth. The line then being stretched, the plants are to be placed by it, the root being opened, spread flat, and extending every way, over which, the crowns being retained in the centre, upright, the earth is to be evenly spread, and pressed carefully down. A good watering from the rose finishes the operation. Seakale beds, being prepared much in the same way, are to be sown with sound seed by the line, three seeds in a small circle of six inches diameter, two inches deep, and the circles two feet apart. The rows may be single, at four-feet distances, or, if double, two feet asunder, to form a bed. For the above-mentioned plants the ground cannot be too turfy or too clear of stones ; and if manured in half the bulk of the whole earth, so much the better, as the plants require a high encouragement. Potatoes, in the main and second crops, should be soon planted. All seed tubers should be imma- ture. If planted whole, success is more certain, though two-eyed tubers bear well. Peas are sown, in the second early 6orts, as the Scimitar, a profuse bearer, and the Prussian, and the later new varieties, as Veitch's Perfection, Ne Plus Ultra, Abergavenny Marrow, and Waterloo Victoria Marrow. But many varieties are nearly identical, differing only in name. Beans, in the broad sorts of Early Longpod and Mackie's Monarch, are sown, and in succes- sion at any period of the month. In the third week sow kidney beans as the first crop, in a warm and dry soil, or rather in boxes under glass, to be transplanted when the true leaves become strong. In the latter case sow early ; in the former, about the 15th. As the kidney crop often fails, with much disappointment, and its leaves are often destroyed by slugs and snails, the loss will be saved by sowing " three" in a pot, in the end of March or early in April. When three or four inches high, if turned out into shallow trenches of pretty rich soil a few inches apart, the plants will thrive remarkably well. The same may be said of runners : they require watering in dry weather. An ounce of very pure and rich guano, stirred up in two gallons of water, and given in the extent of half-a-pint to each of the three plants, is found to act well on the health and verdure of transplanted beans. The application transfers to the soil small and extremely diluted portions of phosphate of ammonia and of lime, urate of ammonia, common salt, sulphate of potassa, and some valuable animal matter. True guano, if carefully applied, is a capital enricher of old and poor stable dung, horse droppings, and leafy composts. Artichokes. — The Purple Globe suckers, if well rooted, are planted on prepared beds, choosing showery weather. Lettuces are sown twice during the month, in Cos '< varieties, the most modern, Pari3 White, Brown's Hull, and Can't Run to Seed. These are new names, of the most approved kinds. Radish, in the French Breakfast and Wood's early varieties, are sown during the month ; and small salading twice or thrice. Cabbage and savoy will afford main crops and I successions, and when sown early and late in the month, the former in the varieties of Early York, Hill's Dwarf, and Enfield Market. Kale. — Dwarf Green Curled and Cottagers'. Broccoli, for Winter and Spring. — Early White, Winter White, Williams's Alexandra. Brusaells Sprouts.— Tall, Roseberry, and Dwarf 374 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. are plained early in the month, on rich grounds, with spinach and onions, the last in the Silver variety, very thickly, for early drawing, and with leeks for bulbing, in the Spanish sorts of Brown Globe or White Lisbon. Sow carrots (James's Scarlet and Intermediate), parsnip (the Student), red beet (the Dewar's Very Early, and the Paul's Superb Crimson). Sow nasturtiums and aromatic parsley. Celery, in the Crystal White and the Matchless, is sown, and also the White and Hardy Red, on gently warm, leafy beds. Transplant cabbage, cauliflower, and celery from the seedbeds, to become stocky, in intermediate beds. Lettuces may run to seed. Transplant seakale, and upon beds of very rich soil fix some plants, and of celery, to become stocky. Dress all the beds with hoe and rake. Earth up and stick peas, and attend to neat order. Fruit Department. Strawberry beds or rows, newly planted, must be well watered in dry weather. Grafting is often done very successfully early in the month, and in the evening, unless the weather be humid. Flower Garden. Attend to annuals in pots. Thin out seedlings. Sow the annuals for summer, as a main stock or as a succession for those in March. Propagate the herbaceous tribes by slippings or rooted off- sets. Weed, hoe, and rake, removing flower-stalks by scissors. The sowings and plantings of this month are the most numerous and important of the whole year, and require a most careful attention and performance. AGRICULTURAL REPORTS GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT TOR MARCH. Notwithstanding the mild weather experienced during the first two months of the current year, March set in cold, and has fully kept up its reputation. The equinoctial gales have been lesss severe perhaps than usual, but the past has been the only really cold month we have had this season. The change has had the most favourable effect on vegetation, checking its too early maturity, and preventing the weakening of the plants. Wheat has thriven well under the ordeal, and now looks un- commonly healthy. Although the weather during January and February was so unseasonably warm and forcing to vege- tation, it cannot be said that the wheat plant is more forward than usual at this period of the year. Of course it is too early to judge of the prospects of the plant at the present time, but we can at least affirm that there is nothing to discourage in the present condition of affairs. With regard to the course of the trade during the past month, there has been very little animation in the market. The former half of the month was characterized by the most unprecedented dulness, and neither factors nor millers showed any disposition to give way. The decline, however, taking all things into consideration, was inevitable, and at last a fall of about is. per quarter was submitted to. In the present con- dition of the trade, and looking at the enormous quantity of produce to come forward from America — where the accumu- lation of all descriptions of grain is without precedent — we think farmers were wise in giving way. On the other hand, we would bid them consider before they hastily make any fur- ther concession. The Continent has been heavily drawn upon, the exports not having been interrupted even by the winter, and we cannot expect further extensive supplies from that quarter. Although, too, the shipments from America will probably be very heavy during the next few months, we must bear in mind the fact that the quotations there are scarcely remunerative when compared with prices here, notwithstand- ing the recent decline, that the rates of freight are still high, and that the New York money market is subject to violent and long-continued panics. Importers will, therefore, exer- cise much caution and will not endeavour to undersell the market. At the same time we have somewhat anticipated our own supplies, from the fact that our harvest was reaped one mouth earlier than usual ; we have, therefore, to provide for one month's extra consumption before we can draw upon the new crop. One point which we must not omit in our calculations is the fact that as prices recede the consumption increases, and this will probably check any further downward movement in wheat for the present. We notice, too, that farmers are disinclined to part with their produce on the comparatively low terms now current, the deliveries having decreased considerably. Spring corn of most descriptions has tended downwards in value, owing to the fact that the warm weather experienced throughout the winter has lengthened out supplies, and has greatly diminished the demand for feeding stuffs. The course o*f the trade has therefore been exactly the contrary to what was anticipated. Beans and peas have gradually receded until they have touched a very low point, and even now they are higher in value in comparison with maize. Barley, however, after having declined considerably, has shown a reaction, and the general tendency of prices is now decidedly in favour of sellers. Flour has ruled very inactive at drooping currencies. Town marks had been reduced 4s. per 2801bs., while foreign and country descriptions are proportionately lower. On the continent there has been very little doing in wheat on English account, but some considerable shipments of spring corn have taken place from time to time. Prices have been on the decline throughout the month. The large accu- mulations of produce in America and the declining quotations on this side' have caused holders there to give way, and a considerable fall has taken place in the value of both wheat and flour. Some extensive shipments had been made to England ; but the export demand cannot be considered to have been extensive. The wool trade has again become dull. Notwithstanding the anomalous position of the cotton trade and the restricted demand for cotton goods, there has been no improvement in the inquiry for woollen manufactures. The public sales of colonial wool opened witli a steady appearance at about the rates current at the close of the last series. As soon as the general inferiority of the produce became known prices began to recede, and at the close were l£d. to 2d. per lb. below the average of last sales. As it was expected that about 450,000 bales will be offered at the next two ensuing series, and no im- provement in the quotations is likely to take place, holders became anxious sellers, and produce that has beeu on hand as far back as May last year was forced upon the market. In many cases the decline has reached 3d., and even 4d. per lb., but the average fall may be taken at l£d. to 2d. on all qualities. The markets have been liberally supplied with potatoes, in the quality of which some improvement has been noticeable. The supplies having been in excess of the demand, the trade has ruled dull at depressed quotations. Good and tine samples of English have realised from 100s. to 140s. per ton. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 375 A seasonable quantity of hay and straw have been on offer in the metropolitan markets. The warm weather has disap- pointed the expectation of an active demand, and prices have been on the decline. We now quote meadow hay £4 to £5 15s., clover £4 10s. to £6 10s., straw £1 10s. to ill 16s. per load. The hop trade has continued in the same dull, inanimate state which has characterised it for some time past. At one time there was a good inquiry for American descriptions, which, being of good quality and offered at low prices, induced purhasers to operate. All English hops, however, have beeu neglected. The Scotch and Irish markets have been somewhat scantily supplied with all descriptions of produce, and the trade gene- rally has been of a retail character. Prices have, as a rule, de- clined, in sympathy with the movement in the London market. The exports to England, however, have been only moderate. REVIEW OE THE CATTLE TRADE DURING THE FAST MONTH. As regards beasts, the cattle trade during the past month has presented no feature of importance. The receipts from our own grazing districts have been only moderate ; but the imports from abroad have been on a full average scale. The good supply of grass in the pastures has tended to improve the quality of the stock, and some good serviceable animals have been forwarded to market ; but at the same time, really prime stock has continued the exception. From Scotland, however, we have received a moderate supply of beasts of fair average weight ; but the Irish arrivals have come to hand in miserable condition. During the earlier part of the month the beef trade was heavy, and prices declined 2d. per 81bs. Subsequently more animation prevailed, and the reduction was recovered,, the quotations, returning to their former level. The top price for the best Scots and crosses has been 5s. 8d. per Slbs. The removal of the restrictions compelling the slaughter of foreign sheep at place of debarkation has caused foreign graziers to forward their stock with more freedom, and the imports consequently show a considerable increase, upwards of 40,000 head having been received. The demand for them has been very heavy, and prices have receded from 6d. to 8d. per Slbs. on the month. The heavy arrival from abroad has naturally weakened the market for English sheep. Prime Downs and half-breds have declined 2d. per Slbs. ; but in inferior descriptions the fall has been more marked. The extreme quotation for the best breeds during the earlier part of the month was 6s. Sd. ; but 6s. 6d. subsequently became the top quotation. The lamb season has opened with a fair show for the time of year. The trade has been dull. The best Down lambs have realized 7s. 2d., and in some few exceptional cases 7s. 4d. per Slbs. ; but Isle of Wight breeds have been difficult to sell at 7s. per 81bs. Prime small calves have been in request at full quotations ; otherwise the inquiry has been heavy. In the pig trade nothing of interest has transpired. Business has been restricted at about late rates. The imports of foreign stock into London during the month were : Head. Beasts 10,806 Sheep and Lambs 41,393 Calves 874 Pigs 310 Total 53,383 huports at corresponding periods : Total in 1868 12,337 1867 34,700 „ 186t> 51,869 1865 25,719 1864 18,104 „ 1863 15,644 „ 1862 6,259 1861 9,091 The total supplies brought forward were : Head. Beasts 18,950 Sheep and Lambs 132,910 Calves 1,165 Pigs 525 Total , 153,550 March. Comparison or Supplies. Beasts 1868 20,380 1867 14,160 1866 15,511 1865 22,400 1864 21,500 1863 18,653 1S62 18,200 1861 18,500 1860 18,160 1859 16,810 1858 17,821 IS57 17,315 1856 22,623 Cows. 160 130 60 577 512 501 500 530 495 612 476 490 470 Sheep and Lambs 127,260 95,600 117,550 86,752 91,890 88,560 83,040 85,270 93,409 94,775 74,410 74,880 100,700 Calves. Pigs. 1,146 1,100 1,075 1,142 1,218 935 881 700 853 695 704 1,118 797 2,270 1,800 2,205 3,015 2,690 2,432 2,810 2,410 2,042 2,890 1,915 2,230 2,140 March, 1866. Beef from...., 3 Mutton 4 Veal 4 Pork 3 The annexed table shows the bullock arrivals from our own grazing districts, as well as the receipts from Scotland and Ireland : March. March. From— 1868. 1869. Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Cambridgeshire 9,100 4,806 Other parts of England 2,620 2,800 Scotland 2,224 815 Ireland 720 474 Beasts have sold at from 3s. 4d. to 5s. 8d. ; sheep, 3s. 4d. to 6s. 8d. ; lambs, 6s. to 7s. 4d. ; calves, 4s. 8d. to 6s. 2d. ; aud pigs, 3s. Sd. to 5s. 2d. per Slbs., to sink the offal. Comparison of Prices March, 1865. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. 6 to 54 34 to 52 6 6 8 3 10 6 2 6 5 8 4 4 5 6 6 4 10 3 2 4 4 March, 1867. March, 1868. s. d. s. d. s. d s. d. Beeffrom 3 4 to 5 2 3 4 to 5 0 Mutton 3 10 62 3854 Veal 4 6 5 6 4 2 to 5 4 Pork 38 42 3442 At the Metropolitan Dead Meat Market there has been a good supply. The beef trade has been steady, and prices generally have been supported ; but for mutton the inquiry has been heavy. Beef has sold at from 3s. 4d. to 4s. 10d., mutton 3s. to 5s. 2d., veal 4s. 4d. to 5s. 4d., and pork 4s. to as. 2d. per Slbs. by the carcase. AGRICULTURAL INTELLIGENCE, FAIRS, &c. BOSTON SHEEP MARKET.— Only a small supply of fat sheep, which realized 7£d. per lb. clipped, and 9d. in the wool. The trade in hoggs was remarkably slow, and prices 2s. or 3s. a head lower than last week. BROMYARD FAIR.— There was but a short supply of beef, which sold at 7d. to Sd., mutton (in wool) Sd. to 9d. per lb. Of cows, calves, store heifers, and sheep there was a large supply, with few buyers, in consequence of shortness of keep. There were few pigs, and prices were higher. CHESTER FAIR. — There was an average supply of milk cows, realising from £14 to £16, and good barrens from £10 to £11. Business was slack, and the same may be said of the sheep market ; £1 each was asked for in-lamb ewes and 35s. for Clun sheep. Pigs sold well at late rates ; 22s. and 23s. was asked for young pigs, but buyers were not numerous. DONCASTER FAT STOCK MARKET.— The market was largely supplied with both beef and mutton ; but, though there was a fair attendance, farmers and dealers held out for extreme prices, and butchers' necessities not being pressing a dull inanimate trade resulted, more particularly as regards mutton. What beef was sold made high prices — viz., from 9s. to 10s. per stone, and in some instances as much as 10s. 2d. Clipped sheep made 7id. per lb., this being the top price. Hoggs (in wool) 10d., and shearling sheep (in wool) 9d. to 9£d. per lb. Pen lambs were on offer at 40s. each. MORETON GREAT MARKET was by far the largest held here since the year began. There was a decline in the price of bullocks, as also cows and calves. There was more than an ordinary quantity of sheep and lambs ; sales dull, at lower rates; 3/6 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE DURING THE PAST MONTH. The month of March has heen much more sea- sonable than January or February. Almost as soon as it set in, the weather became cold and frosty ; and though we have had more rain than was wanted, from the previously sodden state of the land, there have been but few floods. During the dry time, field labour was actively proceeded with, and a large breadth of spring corn has now been got in favourably. But, as we expected, the hitherto favourable aspect of the young wheat has at last met with a check, not so much from the cold as the repetition of wet when a dry bottom was wanted for its health, and in many places it has already assumed a sickly hue with much diminution of the flag. How it will fare with a sudden loss of its vigour, is doubtful at the best ; but already there are forebodings as to the crop of 1869. Yet, in times past, a poor looking piece of wheat in May has recovered in June, and it seems too early to conclude that a failure is before us. One thing is certain, that its growth, which was dangerously forward, is checked; and the fruit trees have, in many instances, been saved by the set in of the cold, while we hear that none but the very earliest have been hurt. The present evil that has befallen the trade is a reduction in English wheat of 3s. to 4s. per qr. in the course of the month, without any immediate prospect of re- covery, unless foreign arrivals fall off, and un- favourable advices increase. Thefallseemed sudden in London, but it was preceded by a fortnight's stagnation there, with advices from the country week after week of a moderate reduction, which was quite suggestive enough to town millers to bide their time. This they did successfully, and the question now is, whether we are to have a reaction. Some firmness has already appeared, but the state of foreign markets will have to do much with the future, as there is every prospect that America will send plenty when the western canals are open, and New York receives its ex- pected stores. In Europe markets are not so readily operated on. Germany gives way very grudgingly, as well as Hungary and Russia ; while France, which of late set the example of low rates to England, has within the last week changed her advices throughout the kingdom, though the rise is not important. Belgium has done the same ; and at Danzic, whence we get our finest qualities, holders, not being overstocked or receiving large supplies, have arrived at the conclusion that rates have seen their lowest. Should English farmers hold their hands the same may happen here as with our neighbours. The following rates were recently quoted at the several places named : White wheat at Paris 52s., red to 49s. ; wheat at Courtrai 51s., at Liege 50s. 6d., at Louvain 52., Brussels 51s., white Zealand at Rotterdam 49s. 6d., yellow Meck- lenburg at Hambro 47s., Marks 46s., Pomeranian at the outports 48s., red wheat at Cologne 42s., white and high mixed at Danzig 53s. (cost, freight, and insurance included), red at Stettin 48s. f. o. b., prime red wheat at Romanshorn 47s., white wheat at San Francisco 50s. (freight included to Liverpool), spring wheat at Chicago 34s. 6d., per 480 lbs., at Montreal 38s. per do.> No. 1 spring wheat at New York 43s. 6d., per 480 lbs., No. 2 41s. per do. The first Monday in Mark Lane had a moderate supply of home-grown wheat ; but the fcreign arrivals were fair. The morning opened with but a poor exhibition of samples from Kent and Essex, though the sharp winds had made some improvement in the condition. The business done was, however, very limited, millers being but care- less buyers, and the small show made factors equally indifferent about forcing sales, so some was held over at the close of the market for the previous rates. Foreign wheat was also in very little request, but no disposition was evinced to press business ; so prices were nominally unaltered. No change took place in floating cargoes. The country markets this week exceeded the London reports in dulness, with a positive decline in some instances. Is. reduction was noted in Birming- ham, Ipswich, Bristol, Gloucester, Melton Mow- bray, Newark, Leeds, &c. ; while Hull, Stockton, Wakefield, Thirsk, and several more places were down Is. to 2s. Saturday's markets generally reported Is. decline. Liverpool was down 3d. to 4d. per cental for the week. Fine wheat at Edin- burgh being scarce was no cheaper, but inferior sorts were Is. to 2s. per qr. easier. At Glasgow there was dulness without quotable change. The Dublin trade was in so stagnant a state that prices could only be called nominal. On the second Monday both the home and foreign supplies were improved. The morning's show from Kent and Essex was limited; but millers still hung off, evidently looking for a decline, which factors, rather than submit to, again held over most of their samples. The foreign trade was decidedly Is. in favour of buyers for all but certain descriptions of Russia, which found a retail demand at the previous currency. Though but few arrivals were reported off the coast, there was such indisposition to buy, that sellers were obliged to give way Is. to 2s. per qr. Again the country advices were worse than those of London, and a decline of Is. per qr. was predominant, while Hull, Baruesby, Rochester, Newark, and Manchester, were down Is. to 2s. Bourne, Bris- tol, Gloucester, Sheffield, and some other places, being down fully 2s. per qr. The week's decline at Liverpool was 4d. per cental. Glasgow this week was down Is. to 2s., and Edinburgh Is. per qr. Dublin only gave way 3d. per barrel, but with very little done at the decline. On the third Monday the English supply was limited, but foreign arrivals were good. The show THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 377 of fresh samples on the Essex and Kentish stands was small ; but, with those left over, there was a fair quantity offering for sale. A reduction being twice noted in the country, while London only reported a stoppage in trade, gave millers this morning a decided advantage, and there was no parrying the thrust now made at the London market. Factors therefore yielding to the necessity of the time, were obliged to make a reduction of 3s. to 4s. per qr., and by this the fortnight's decline in the country was rather exceeded. Business then resumed its ordinary activity, and a fair clearance was finally made of the English wheat. The foreign trade, which had partially yielded before, farther gave way to the extent of Is. to 2s., and then only a moderate business was effected, with very limited arrivals off" the coast: Is. reduction was readily acceded to. The country reports of this week did not follow suit, as they had previously set the example to London. Indeed they varied considerably ; for while some, apparently under the influence of panic, gave way heavily, say to fully 3s., there were a few that reported some improvement, while many were reduced only Is. Edinburgh and Glasgow both noted a' very heavy trade, but not much decline. Dublin, as though surprised by London reports, only stopped doing business. On the fourth Monday both English and foreign arrivals were somewhat increased. The show, however, of fresh samples from Kent and Essex was the smallest since harvest, as if the reduction of the previous week had determined farmers rather to hold and take their chances, than submit to such rates. Factors hoped therefore for a re- action, and were generally asking Is. per qr. more ; but though this was refused, rather more money was paid in some instances, on the part of necessitous buyers, and some factors would not sell without it. The foreign trade was firmer, the large reduction having brought a corresponding attendance to market, but generally only little was done, and that at the previous rates. Floating cargoes were scarce, but still neglected. Liver- pool on Tuesday evinced an upward tendency, and through the week many markets reported a moderate improvement. The arrivals in London for four weeks were as follows : English wheat 29,265 qrs., foreign 67,232 qrs., against 17,670 qrs. English, 114,791 qrs. foreign in 1868. The London averages commenced at 53s. 7d., and closed at 5ls. The general averages began at 50s. 3d., and ended at 48s. lOd. The London exports were only 101 cwts. Flour. The importations for the kingdom for four weeks ending March 13th were 2,390,626 cwts. Wheat, 344,766 cwts. Flour, against 2,363,506 cwts. Wheat, 251,730 cwts. Fiour, for the same period last year. The flour trade all through the month has been drooping, but with colder weather, there has been less pressure to sell. Yet in order to make sales, it has been necessary to concede Is. to 2s. per sack both on English and foreign, and fully Is. per barrel ; while town millers lowered the top price on the 15th 4s. per sack, bringing it down to 43s., since which time there has been no change. A little while ago, the French markets were falling so continually that free shipments to England vyere becoming probable, but during the last fortnight there has been a revival of the trade in Paris, at higher rates. The imports into London for four weeks were 81,559 sacks English, 15,032 sacks 8,101 barrels foreign, against 79,322 sacks country, 21,825 sacks 3,700 barrels foreign for the same period in 1868. At New York the rates were declining in expectation of large supplies from the west, and Canada also was cheaper. So on the opening of the canal there may be large imports from these countries. Though the arrivals of maize have been little more than half what they were last month, prices have further given way Is. per qr., with but a dull trade. The imports in four weeks were 24,504 qrs., against 15,177 qrs. into London last year. The imports of English barley have been moderate, but the foreign arrivals still very free, though not half what they were in February. There has, therefore, been no reduction in English malting qualities ; and though at the commence- ment of the (month foreign grinding gave way 6d., it has now nearly recovered the decline, being#now actually the cheapest grain on the market after having been the dearest, useful sorts being only saleable at 25s. that lately were worth fully 33s. ; and the chance seems that there will be some rally in these sorts, as already in consequence of the great reduction there has been an export of 8,235 qrs. from London. The receipts in four weeks were 10,552 qrs. British, 74,796 qrs. foreign, against 9,225 qrs. British, 38,880 qrs. foreign last year. The supplies of foreign oats have continued good but not heavy, the contributions from our own coast and Ireland remaining small. Prices have been gradually declining every market but the last, making the total reduction about 2s. The cheaper rates of foreign barley have had much to do with this reduction ; and as our own resources this season are poor, should foreign arrivals become reduced, we may see some reaction in this grain. The imports into London for four weeks were 3,224 qrs. English, 230 qrs. Scotch, 7,022 qrs. Irish, 124,930 qrs. foreign, against 21,230 qrs. English, 79 qrs. Scotch, 526 qrs. Irish, 104,922 qrs. foreign in 1868. English beans have only been in moderate supply and foreign imports not heavy, but prices have been forced down by the relative cheapness of maize and barley, so that there has been a reduction of 3s. to 4s. in the course of the month ; but with a short crop we think about the lowest point has been reached. The imports into London for four weeks were 1,686 qrs. English, 6,552 qrs. foreign, against 2,799 qrs. English, 10,096 qrs. foreign in 1868. White peas have been sadly depressed, falling about Is. per qr. every market, making a reduction of about 4s., good foreign being offered at 38s. ; and though a demand for seed caused a temporary raise in duns, they have given way till not worth over 408. The imports into London for four weeks were 797 qrs. English, 3,119 qrs. foreign, against 310 qrs. English, 550 qrs. foreign in 1868. Linseed, with moderate supplies, has fallen fully 378 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. but since the cold weather, cakes have Is. per qr. sold well. The cloverseed trade, which ought to be at its height, is only just commencing, at less than was lately paid for speculation, the demand being unaccountably limited. Tares have been moderately in demand, at about former rates. Mustardseed has kept its advance. CURRENT PRICES OF BRITISH GRAIN AND FLOUR IN MARK LANE. Shilling's per Quarter. WHEAT, new, Essex and Kent, white 49to53 „ „ red 45 48 Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire 44 BARLEY 35 to 38 Chevalier 45 Grinding 31 34 Distilling 41 MALT, Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk 69 extra 67 Kingston, Ware, and town-made 69 „ 66 Brown 62 RYE. OATS, English, feed 26 to 32 Potato. Scotch, feed 00 Irish, feed, white 22 Ditto, black 21 BEANS, Mazagan ...35 Harrow 38 PEAS, white, boilers..37 00 Potato 25 Fine.... 25 Potato. 36 Ticks.. 40 Pigeon 39Maple 45 to 46 Grey, new39 FLOUR, per sack of 2801bs., Town, Households 38 Country, on shore 31 to 32 „ 35 Norfolk and Suffolk, on shore 30 FOREIGN GRAIN. Shillings per Quarter. WHEAT, Dantzic, mixed 52 to 54 extra 65to57 Konigsberg 50 52 extra 63 65 Rostock 60 61 fine 54 Silesian, red 46 60 white.... 52 Pomera., Meckberg., and Uckermrk. ...red 47 Russian, hard, 42 to 46... St. Petersburg and Riga 44 Danish and Holstein, red 47 49 American 46 French, none Rhine and Belgium 00 Chilian, white 57... Californian 57 ... Australian 66 BARLEY, grinding 22 to 25. ...distilling and malting 30 OATS, Dutch, brewing and Polands 23 to 28 feed 21 Danish and Swedish, feed 23 to 26.... Stralsund... 24 Canada 22 to 24, Riga 23 to 25, Arch. 23 to 25, P'sbg. 25 TARES, new Spring, per qr. ...small 45 47 ... large 55 BEANS, Friesland and Holstein 36 Konigsberg 34 to 36.. .Egyptian 35 PEAS, feeding and maple.. .38 40. ..fine boilers 37 INDIAN CORN, white 31 .32.. .yellow 30 FLOUR, per sack, French. .36 37.. .Spanish, p. sack 00 American, per brl 23 24...extraand d'ble.25 31 COMPARATIVE AVERAGES. WHEAT. BARLEY. OATS. Years. Qrs. s. d. Qrs. s. d. Qrs. s. d, 1865... 71,992| ... 38 4 32,8634 .. 28 8 8.162J...21 1 1866... C6,512| ... 45 3 36,877| .. 36 6 6,5524 ... 24 1 1867... 60,781£ ... 59 9 23,342! .. 40 5 6,911* ...24 8 1868... 40,8961 ... 72 6 29,327| .. 43 4 11,336-4 ... 26 9 1869... 53,220| ... 47 9 25,189 .. 45 0 3,707| ... 27 3 AVERAGE S Fob the last Six Weeks: Feb. 13, 1869 , Feb. 20, 1869 Feb. 27, 1869 March 6, 1869 Marchl3, 1869 March 20, 1869 Aggregate of the above The same week in 1868... Wheat. Barley. s. d. s. d. 50 9 47 9 50 3 47 0 49 7 46 2 49 4 46 0 48 10 45 6 47 9 45 0 49 5 46 3 72 5 43 4 Oats. 8. d. 28 1 27 4 28 6 28 2 27 10 27 3 27 10 BRITISH SEEDS. Mu8TABD,perbush., brown 15s. to 17s., white 15s.tol8s. CiKABT.per qr 62s. 68s. CLOVEBSEED.red « 74s. 100s. Cobiandeb, per cwt 20s. 21s. Tabes, winter, new, per bushel 10s. 12s. Tbeeoil 21s. 22s. Ryegrass, per qr 28s. 30s. Linseed, per qr., sowing 66s. to68s., crushing 60s. 62s, Linseed Cakes, per ton £12 0s. to £12 5s. Rapeseed, per qr 60s. 62s. Raph Cakb, per ton £6 10s. to £7 0s. FOREIGN SEEDS. Cobiandeb, per cwt 21s.to22s. Caebawat ,, 37s. 38s. Clovbbsbbd, red 64e. to74s., white... 70s. 88s. £3 15 ■tin £7 7 3 10 4 10 S 10 3 15 4 5 6 0 4 0 5 0 2 10 3 10 2 10 3 0 2 10 3 10 2 16 3 10 HOP MARKET Mid and East Kent £2 10 £3 15 Weald of Kents 2 0 Sussex 2 0 Farnhain 3 10 Country 3 10 Bavarians 2 0 Belgians 2 0 Yearlings 2 0 Americans 2 5 POTATO MARKETS. SOUTHWARK WATERSIDE. Yorkshire Flukes 60s. to 120s. per ton. DittoRegents 60s.tol00s. „ Lincolnshire Regents 60s. to 100s. „ Dunbar and East Lothian ditto 60s. to 120s. „ Perth, Forfar, and Fife Regents 60s. to 100s. „ Ditto, ditto, ditto Rocks 60s. to 70s. „ French and Belgian whites 40s. to 60s. „ BOROUGH AND SPITALFIELDS. English Regents 60s. to 110s. per ton. Flukes 60s. to 130s. „ Scotch .Regents 60s. to 130s. „ Rocks 60s. to 80s. „ French 40s. to 70s. „ COUNTRY POTATO MARKETS, (Saturday last.)— Doncasteii : Our market was fairly supplied with potatoes, and no alteration in value took place. Rocks 6s. to 6d. to 7s., regents 9s. 6d. to 10s., seedlings 7s. to 8s. per load. — Man- chester : New potatoes, Maltese 3s. 6d. to 4s. per 211bs. ; old ditto, Yorkshire 12s. to 20s., Scotch 7s. to 12s„ Cheshire 6s. to 12s. per 2521bs. — Malton : Potatoes are a flat trade on the bad weather, but dealers yet buy wholesale at £3 19s. to. £4 per ton. Inquiry exists for seed, dealers taking winter sorts at £3 to £3 10s. per ton, and earlies 5s. to 6s. per bush. Planting at a standstill. — York : This market still continues to be very fairly supplied, but the demand did not seem to be active. There was little variation in the prices, the average being about 9s. per 2801bs. and 8d. per peck retail. As the period for planting ashtops is drawing to a close, very few were offering, the price asked being 5s. per bush. PRICES of BUTTER, CHEESE, HAMS, &c. BUTTER, per cwt. : 8. Dorset newl36tol40 Friesland 122 124 Jersey 114 124 Fbesh, per doz., 16s. Od. to 17s. Od. BACON : Wiltshire. 82 86 Irish, green 74 78 CHEESE, per cwt. : Cheshire 66 to 74 Dble. Gloucester... 68 68 Cheddar 66 76 American 64 62 HAMS: York 100 110 Cumberland 100 110 Irish, new 100 106 CORK BUTTER EXCHANGE, (Friday last.) — Ordi- nary : first quality 140s. to 137s., second quality 140s. to 137s., third quality 115s. to 112s., fourth quality 91s. to 88s. per cwt. Mild cured : third quality 121s. to 118s. ; thirds, fourths, fifths, and sixths of kegs 4s. per cwt. less. Currency : ordinary Butter, 10s. per cwt. less, sponged butter 2s. do. POULTRY, &c, MARKETS.— Turkeys 4s. to 8s., Geese 4s. to 7s., Ducks Is. 6d. to 3s. 6d., Surrey Fowls 3s. to 6s., Barndoor Fowls Is. 6d. to 3s. 6d., tame rabbits Is. 3d. to Is. 9d., pigeons 6d. to 9d., hares 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d., wild ducks 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. each. English Eggs 7s. per 120. ENGLISH WOOL MARKET. CUBBBNT PBICES OF ENGLISH WOOL. Fleeces— Southdown hogs per lb. Half-bred ditto „ Kent fleeces „ Southdown ewes and wethers ... „ Leicester ditto „ Sobts— Clothing, picklock „ Prime „ Choice „ Super ,, Combing, wether mat ,, Picklock ,, Common „ Hog matching ,, Picklock matching „ Super ditto ,, s a. 8 d. 1 3 ,0 1 4 1 5 1 ti 1 M 1 5 1 a* 1 H 1 3 1 3* 1 6 1 7 1 3.1 1 H 1 3 1 4 1 2 1 3 1 6 1 H 1 2-' 1 Si 1 0 1 i 1 6 1 64 1 2-.' 1 n 1 0 1 1 Printed by Rogerson and Tuxford, 265, Strand, London, W. C. THE FARMER'S'. MAGAZINE. APRIL, 1369. CONTENTS. Plate I. — A DEVON STEER; the best of his breed at the midland counties SHOW, AND THE BEST OF HIS CLASS AT THE SMITHFIKLD CLUB SHOW, DECEMBER, 1868. Plate II. — E LY; a thorough-bred stallion: the property of mr. w. s. cartwright, OF NEWPORT, MONMOUTHSHIRE. PAGE. . 285 . 286 . 289 . 29S , 300 . 301 . 305 . 306 . 307 . 309 . 313 . 314 . 315 . 316 . 317 . 318 . 319 . 320 . 324 . 325 . 326 Description of the Plates ..... The Substitute for Clover.— By Cuthbert W Johnson, f.r.r. The over-preservation of Ground Game The Fertility of Pasture Land. — By a Northern Farmer Scotch norms English Cheddars : A Challenge to Somersetshire Steam Cultivation ...... Bath and West of England Society and Southern Counties Association The "Goodenough" Method of Shoeing Horses The Tax on Malt or Beer ? . Dairy-Farming .... The Dutchman's Hen ; or, Female Perversity (poetry The Improvement of the Fen Country The Curse of Centralisation Beet-root Sugar Wages in Worcestershire The Ox on the Rail . Smithfield Club : Council Meeting The Chamber of Agriculture. The Business of Chambers of Agriculture The Importation of Foreign Cattle . Royal Agricultural Society of England : Monthly Council The Central Farmers' Club: The Adulteration of Feeding-stuffs and Arti- ficial Manures . ....... 328 The Condition of the Agricultural Labourer .... 334 Will Beet-root for Sugar Pay ? — By an Agricultural Traveller . . 335 The New Farm . ... . . . . .336 Poultry for the Farmer ....... 337 The Year 1869 . • • • • • • . 33S The Labourer in England and in Australia ..... 339 The Comparative Profits of Different Crops .... 340 Farm Agreements ........ 341 Artificial Manures and the Necessity for Analysis .... 344 How to Kill Mice and Rats ....... 345 Manures ......... 346 Irish Agriculture ........ 348 The Effects of Superphosphate on Turnip and Barley Crops . . . 350 The Wools of South America — Sheep Farming in the Southern States . 351 The Cattle Plague Rate for Cheshire ..... 353 Stallions for the Season 1869 . . . ... . 354 Mr. Caird as an Agricultural Authority ..... 360 The Agricultural Statistics of 1868 ...... 361 Botley Easter Stock Show ....... 366 The Scotch Game Bills ....... 366 Shorn Sheep in the Cattle Market ...... 367 Cattle-plague Legislation ....... 367 The Formation of Water Meadows ...... 368 The Diseases of Animals, and their Prevention .... 369 The Government Cattle Diseases Bills ..... 369 Sale of Messrs. Cruickshank's Shorthorns, at Sittyton, Aberdeen, by Mr. Mitchell ........ 369 Second Sale of Mr. Stiles Rich's Shorthorns, at Didmarton, by Mr. H. Strafford ........ 370 Calendar of Agriculture ....... 372 Calendar of Gardening ....... 373 Agricultural Reports ....... 374 Agricultural Intelligence, Fairs, &c . . . . . . 375 Review of the Corn Trade during the past Month .... 376 Market Currencies, Imperial Averages, &c. .... 378 EMULATION, in whatever pursuit, where general utility is the ohject kept in view, is one of the immutable privileges of Genius ; but it requires no slight degree of perspicuous attention to distinguish Originality from Imitation, and the exercise of Caution becomes of more than usual importance, where the effect of a remedial application (both as regards health and personal appearance), is the subject of consideration; these observations are imperatively called for from A. Rowland & Sons, of London, whose successful introduction of several articles of acknowledged and standard excellence for the Toilet has given rise to fertility of imitation, perfectly unprecedented : they would have deemed observation unnecessary were temporary deceptions unaccompanied by permanently injurious effects — it is with reference to Rowland's Kalydor for the Complexion, that the Public are particularly interested in the present remarks. This preparation eminently balsamic, restorative, and invigorating ; — the result of scientific botanical research, and equally celebrated for safety in application, as for unfailing efficacy in removing all Impurities and Discolorations of the Shin, has its " Spurious Imitations of the most deleterious character," containing mineral astringents utterly ruinous to the Complexion, and, by their repellant action endangering health, which render it indispensably necessary to see that the words " Rowlands' Kalydor " are on the wrapper, with the signature in red ink, "A. Rowland fy Sons." Of the numerous compounds constantly announced for promoting the growth or repro- duction of the Human Hair, few survive, even in name, beyond a very limited period ; whilst Rowland's Macassar Oil, with a reputation unparalleled, is still on the increase in public estimation. The unprecedented success of this discovery, either in preserving the hair in its original strength and beauty, or restoring it when lost, is universally known and appre- ciated, and is certified by numerous testimonials and by the highest authorities. It has obtained the patronage of Royalty, not only of our .own Court, but those of the whole of Europe. From its exquisite purity and delicacy, it is admirably adapted for the hair of children, even of the most tender age, and is in constant use in the nursery of Royalty, and by the families of the Nobility and Aristocracy. It is alike suited for either sex ; and, whether employed to embellish the tresses of female beauty, or to add to the attractions of manlv grace, will be found an indispensable auxiliary to the toilet both of ladies and gentlemen. How often do we find the human face divine disfigured by neglecting the chiefest of its ornaments, and the breath made disagreeable to companions by non-attention to the Teeth ! Though perfect in their structure and composition, to keep them in a pure and healthy state requires some little trouble ; and if those who are blessed with well-formed teeth knew how soon decay steals into the mouth, making unsightly what otherwise are delightful to admire, and designating unhealthiness by the impurity of the breath, they would spare no expense to chase away these fatal blemishes. But although most ladies are careful, and even particular in these delicate matters, yet few are sufficiently aware of the imperative necessity of avoiding all noxious and mineral substances of an acrid nature, and of which the greater part of the cheap tooth-powders and pastes of the present day are composed. It is highly satisfactory to point out Messrs. Rowlands' Odonto, or Pearl Dentifrice, as a preparation free from all injurious elements, and eminently calculated to embellish and preserve the dental structure, to impart a grateful fragrance to the breath, and to embellish and perpetuate the graces of the mouth.— Court Journal. THE MARK LANE EXPRESS AND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL IS THE LARGEST AND THE LEADING FARMERS' AND GRAZIERS' NEWSPAPER. PUBLISHED EVERY MONDAY EVENING IN TIME FOR POST. The object of the Proprietors of the MARK LANE EXPRESS has ever been, to render it in every way the most efficient organ of the Agricultural Class, to direct and diffuse practical and scientific information of all k'nds relating to rural affairs, to be a medium for giving circulation to the Proceedings of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, he Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, the Royal Agricu tural Improvement Society ui Ireland, and of every Agricultural Society and Farmers' Club in the Kingdom. All political and party discussions are care- fully avoided, except such as are purely Agricultural; since its establishment, twenty-sixyears since, this course has been steadily adhered to, and the result has been, the accession of a numerous and rapidly-increasing list of Subscribers, comprising the most influential Agriculturists lnthe kingdom. In times when the position of the Tenant Farmers has been one of great difficulty, the MARK LANE EXPRESS has ever been directed to the advocacy and support of the rights op thb Tbkaht Fakmbks. In stating this, it is not intended to lose sight of that noble principle which the great Lord Leicester 60 successfully followed ; viz., that liberal conduct toward* the Tenant will ever be found to be the most beneficial to the Landlord. THE MALT TAX.— This is the only Farmer's Paper in London which advocates the .Repeal op thb Malt Tax. In authenticity and extent of Market information, the MARK LANE EXPRESSstands unrivalled. A REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE (British and Foreign) fully explains the Causes which occasion the Rise or Fall in Prices, thus affording the Growers and Speculator some grounds for anticipating the stability or future tendency of Prices. The Latest Reports of the Corn, Cattle, Provisiou, Wool, Seed, Hop, Malt, and Commercial Markets, appear with the leading Country Fairs and Agricultural Meetings. Authentic Weekly Advices are received from all the Important Markets in the king- dom, our Colonial Possessions, as well as all parts of Europe and America. ROGERSON & TUXFORD, 2G5, STRAND, LONDON. May be had of all Booksellers and Newsmen throughout the Kingdom, price Sevenpence, or £1 10s. 4d. per annum, NEW WORK BY THE AUTHOR OF " MANHOOD." Post Free from the Author, 12 stamps ; Sealed Ends, 16 stamps. DR. CURTIS'S MEDICAL GUIDE TO MARRIAGE : a Practical Treatise on its Physical and Personal Obligations. With instructions to the Married and Unmarried of both Sexes, for removing the special disqualifications and impediments which destroy the happiness of wedded life, founded on the result of a successful practice of 30 years.— By Dr. J. L. Curtis, M.D., 15, Albemarle Stbbet, Piccadilly, London, W. Also, by the same Author, a New and Revised Edition of MANHOOD : A MEDICAL ESSAY on the Causes and Cure of Premature Decline in Man ; the Treatment of Nervous Debility, Spermatorrhoea, Impotence, and those peculiar infirmities which result from youthful abuses, adult excesses, tropical climates and other causes ; with Instructions for the Cure of Infection without Mercury, and its Prevention by the Author's Prescription (his infallible Lotion). REVIEWS OF THE WORK. " Manhood. — This is truly a valuable work, and should be in the hands of young and old."— Sunday Times, 23rd March, 1858. "The book under review is one calculated to warn and instruct the erring, without imparting one idea that can vitiate the mind not already tutored by the vices of which it treats."— Nov a I and Military Gazette. 1st Feb., 1856, " We feel no hesitation in saying that there is no member of society by whom the book will not be found use- ful, whether such person hold the relation of a Parent, Preceptob, or Clergyman"— Sun, Evening Paper, Manhood.—" Dr. Curtis has conferred a great boon by publishing this little work, in which is described the source of those diseases which produce decline in youth, or more frequently, premature old age." — Daily Telegraph, March 27, 1856. London: Published by Allen, 11, Ave Maria Lane, Paternoster-row; and Mann, 39, Cornhill ; and sent free by Book Post from the Author or Publishers for 12 Postage Stamps, or in sealed envelopes, 20 Stamps. Consultations daily, 'from 10 to3 and 6 to 8, 15, Albemarle Street, Piccadilly, W. BIPHOSPHATED MJltUVIAUT OUAHO. REES & CO., in directing the attention of Farmers to their " BIPHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO," desire to point out the advantages that this Ma- nure possesses more fully than the short Prospectus issued at the beginning of the year gave space for. It has always beeu felt that the use of Peruvian Guano alone must be limited to those cases in which an abundance of real nourish- ment for the plant, or " food," in the shape of soluble Phos- phates and Alkaline Salts, already exists in the soil, and it is therefore chiefly applied as a top-dressing for grain, as a sti- mulant to enable plants readily to assimilate the nourish- ment previously provided for them, generally Superphos- phate added during the previous year to the root crop, or otherwise. The " BIPHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO" is compounded to meet the objections to which the above plan is open, viz., first, the accidental loss of Phosphates, or their removal beyond the reach of the plant by excessive moisture ; secondly, by the conversion of soluble into insoluble Phosphate of Lime, by the lime and other bases in the soil, which undoubtedly occurs on long continued contact; and thirdly, the consequent unknown, and probably improper relation existing between the stimulating and the nourishing portions of the compounds formed on the addition of the Guano in the spring. In the " BIPHOSPHATED PERU- VIAN GUANO" the proper relative proportions between the Ammoniacal Salts and the Phosphates of Lime and the Alkalies are determined beforehand, and the mixture abso- lutely, it is believed, represents the requirements of the grow- ing plant, whilst the combination is such that it may, with almost equal advantage, be applied to the land as a top- dressing, or in any other way, and is equally — in varying quantities— applicable to arable or pasture lands. REES & CO. desire to point out the very serious mistake sometimes committed by Farmers, who have endeavoured to supply a want most have felt for such a manure as this, viz., the mix- ing of Suporphosphate of Lime with Guano. A very small amount of chemical knowledge will show how wasteful a process this is, the fact being that a large part of the Salts of Ammonia in the Guano is employed, immediately the mix- ture is made, in rendering insoluble the Phosphate of Lime which it has been the Manufacturer's business, at consider- able cost, to render soluble. The practice, therefore, cannot be too strongly condemned. The want, however, of a proper mixture is met in a way in which the Farmer cannot meet it for himself, in the supply of this very valuable Manure— the "BIPHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO." The finest Peruvian Government Guano only is used as its basis, and after due preparation, with this is associated the large pro- portion of soluble Phosphates and Alkaline Salts, indicated in the analyses. Great consideration and the results of long experience have guided them in its manufacture, whilst low- ness of price, in relation to its value, has been a principal element in the calculations. Appended are the opinions of the best authorities in Agricultural Chemistry in confirma- tion of their statements, and they confidently offer " BI- PHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO" to Agriculturists as a manure of the very highest class. For top-dressing 'for 'Grain Crops they recommend 3cwt. to 4 cwt. per acre. For drilling for Root Crops 4 „ 6 „ For Grass Land, for which it is admirably adapted 3 „ 4 „ , REES & CO., 32, King William Street, London-bridge, 20th February, 1869. BIPHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO. The following are the results which I obtained in a careful analysis of the sample of Rees' Biphosphated Pebctian Gcano, sent to me last week for examination :— Moisture 16,36 'Organic Matter, Salts of Ammonia and Water of Combination , 32.37 Biphosphate of Lime „ 12J87 Equal to Tribasic or Bone-phosphat e of Lime ... 20.16 Insoluble Phosphates ... Oxalate of Lime Sulphate of Lime t Alkaline Salts and Magnosia Ins.olu.bi0 Silicious Matter 2.69 4.76 21.62 6.24 3.09 100.00 * Containing Nitrogen ... ... 6.17 Equal to Ammonia 7.49 tContaining Potash (K.O.) ... 2.82 The preceding analytical results show that the sample of prepared Guano sent to me for examination is a very valuable Artificial Manure, which, there is no doubt, will give great satisfaction as a general Manure for most crops, if it can be sold at a reasonable price. Practically speaking, the whole of the Phosphates in the Manure are rendered soluble, and tlio greater part of tho Ammoniacal constituents of Peruvian Guano m its natural state havo been transformed into non- volatile and readily available Sulphate ot Ammonia. Unlike most artificial Manures, the prepared Guano which you sent p\.^i "8* m.y°u will notice, an appreciable quantity of ti, It *,™ •_an?ta"_ which materia Uy adds to the value of *£? nSSSwL con|ulc1, lt a very good Manure for grass land nd cereal crops. For root crops it may, in my opinion, with advantage be diluted with an equal weight of a cheap Mine- ral Superphosphate. . (Signed) AUGUSTUS VOELCKER. 11, Salisbury-square, Fleet-street, Feb. 23rd, 1869. REES' BIPHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO. I have examined a sample of the above manure. It is a well-made article, in good condition for use, and containing according to my analysis, 6.88 per cent, of Ammonia, and 24.85 per cent, of Phosphate of Lime, of which 21.51 per cent. is soluble in water. Combining as this Mauro does the quali- ties of Peruvian Guano and Superphosphate of Lime, I have no doubt that it will be used with excellent effect both on corn and green crops. (Signed) J. THOMAS WAY. 9, Russell-road, Kensington, Feb. 20th, 1869. I have carefully examined this sample of Messrs. Rees & Co.'s Biphosphated Pebutian Guamo sent to me, and find it to contain— Water ic.60 Organic Matter and Ammoniacal Salts 31.28 Biphosphate of Limo , ... 11.84 Equal to Soluble Phosphates 18.55 Insoluble Phosphates 1.65 Sulphate of Limo 33.08 Alkaline Salts 2.45 Sand 3.20 100.00 Nitrogen 6.61 Equal to Ammonia 6.69 I consider this to be an excellent and well-manufactured Manure; it is in a very high state of division, the Phosphates are almost entirely in the soluble form, and their quantity is well proportioned to that of the Ammonia. I have no hesita- tion in giving it as my opinion that it is well adapted for general use on the farm, and will bo found to give satisfactory results. (Signed) THOMAS ANDERSON. 15, Shuttle-street, Glasgow, Feb. 18th, 1869. Having made a careful analysis, as hero appended, of a sample of Biphosphated Pebuvian Guano manufactured by Messrs. Rees & Co., I find it contains almost 244 por cent, of total Phosphates, of which 21$ per cent, are in the soluble condition, and as much as 7 per cent, of Ammonia, dorived from Peruvian Guano ; I therefore consider this a very con- centrated and superior Manure, and from the excellent pro- portions of its principal constituents and their complete in- corporation, should prefer it even to Peruvian Guano as a general high-class fertilizer, as it is equally suitable for all root crops, as well as cereals, and may, in my opinion, be relied upon for giving the most satisfactory results in the field. (Signed) ALFRED SIBSON, F.C.S. Moisture 12.80 ♦Nitrogenized Organic Matter and Salts of Ammonia 32.08 Biphosphate of Limo 13.84' Equal to Bone Earth made Soluble Insoluble Phosphates Sulphate of Lime Alkaline Salts Insoluble Matter ... 21.60 ... 2.83 ... 28.79 ... 6.20 ... 3.46 100,00 Containing Nitrogen 6.78 Equal to Ammonia 7.02 11, Eaton-terrace, St. John's Wood, London, Feb., 1869. BIPHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO. I have analysod a samplo of this Manure manufactured by Messrs. Rees & Co., and find the following to be its compo- sition : — Moisture 14.37 ♦Organic Matter and Salts of Ammonia 33.00 Biphosphate of Lime 13.80 Equal to Neutral Phosphate made Soluble ... 21.64 Insoluble Phosphates Sulphate of Lime Alkaline Salts Insoluble Matter 100.00 •'Containing Nitrogen 6.76 Equal to Ammonia 6.99 This Manure is unquestionably of the very highest class. The large per-centage of Ammonia, accompanied as it is with 214 per cent, of Soluble Phosphate of Lime, and more than 6 per cent, of Alkaline Salts, leaves no room to doubt that its application to both cereal and root crops, as well as I land, will be attended with very great advantage. _____ (Signed) G. H. OGSTON. 22, Mincing-lane, London, 20th Feb., 1869. BIPHOSPHATED PERUVIAN GUANO. — „„. iVJ ,wl t.upS u may, in my opinion, with HlP_iOl3F_lATJ_iJ r_-ttu v_~u>i uuaiw. REES & CO., 32, KING WILLIAM STREET, LONDON BRIDGE. FIRST-CJUABS AGENTS WANTED FOR SEYERAL DISTRICTS. No. 5, Vol. XXXV.] MAY, 1869. Thi*» Srrie*. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE AND MONTHLY JOURNAL OT THE AGRICULTURAL INTEREST. TO THE FARMERS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. LONDON : PUBLISHED BYROGERSON AND TUXFORD, 265, STRAND. PRICE TWO SHILLINGS. ROGERSON AND TUXFORD,] [PRINTERS, 265, STRAND. IMPORTANT TO FLOCKMASTERS. THOMAS BIGG, Agricultural and Veterinary Chemist, by Appointment to His late Royal Highness The Prince Consort, K.G., Leicester House, Great Dover-street, Borough London, begs to call the attention of Farmers and Graziers' to his valuable SHEEP and LAMB DIPPING COM- POSITION, which requires ao Boiling, and may be used with Warm or Cold Vater, for effectually destroying the Tick, Lice, and all other insects injurious to the Flock, preventing the alarming attacks of Fly and Shab, and cleansing and purifying the Skin, thereby greatly improving the Wool, both in quantity and quality, and highly contributing to the general health of the animal. Prepared only by Thomas Bigg, Chemist, &c, at his Manufac- tory as above, and sold as follows, although any other quantity may be had, if required :— 41b. for 20 sheep, price, jar included £0 2 0 61b. 30 „ „ „ 0 8 0 8 lb. 40 „ „ „ 0 4 0 10 lb. 50 „ „ „ 0 5 0 20 lb. 100 ,, ,, (cask and measure 0 10 0 30 lb. 150 ,, „ included) 0 15 0 40 1b. 200 „ „ „ ...... 10 0 501b. 250 „ „ „ 18 6 60 1b. 800 „ „ „ 17 6 80 1b. 400 „ „ „ 1 17 6 1001b. 500 „ „ „ 2 6 0 Should any Flockmaster prefer boiling the Composition, it will be equally effective. MOST IMPORTANT CERTIFICATE. From Mb. Herapath, the celebrated Analytical ChemiU : — Bristol Laboratory, Old Park, Jauuary 18th, 1861. Sir, — I have submitted your Sheep-Dipping Composition to analysis, and find that the ingredients are well blended, and the mixture neutral. If it is used according to the directions given, 1 feel satisfied, that while it effectually destroys vermin, it will not injure the hair roots (or " yolk ") in the skin, the fleece, or the carcase. I think it deserves the numerous testimonials pub- lished; I am, Sir, yours respectfully, Wilijam Herapath, Sen., F.C.S., &c, &c, To Mr, Thomas Bigg, Professor of Chemistry. Leicester House, Great Dover-street, Borough, London, He would also especially call attention to his SPECIFIC, of LOTION, for the SCAB, or SHAB, which will be found a certain remedy for eradicating that loathsome and ruinous disorder in Sheep, and which may be safely used in all climates, and at all seasons of the year, and to all descriptions of sheep, even ewes in lamb. Price FIVE SHILLINGS per gallon— sufficient on an average for thirty Sheep (according to the virulence of the disease); also in wine quart bottles, Is. 3d. each. IMPORTANT TESTIMONIAL. "Scoulton, near Hingham, Norfolk, April 16th, 1855. " Dear Sir, — In answer to yours of the 4th inst, which would have been replied to before this had I been at home, I have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the efficacy of your in- valuable 'Specific for the cure of Scab in Sheep.' The 600 sheep were all dressed in August last with 84 gallons of the ' Non Poisonous Specific,' that was so highly recommended at the Lincoln Show, and by their own dresser, the best attention being paid to the flock by my shepherd after dressing according to instructions left; but notwithstanding the Scab continued getting worse. Being determined jto have the Scab cured if possible I wrote to you for a supply of your Specific, which I received the following day ; and although the weather was most severe in February during the dressing, your Specific proved itself an invaluable remedy, for in three weeks the Sheep were quite cured; and I am happy to say the young lambs are doing remarkably well at present. In conlusion, I believe it to be the safest and best remedy now in use. " I remain, dear Sir, your obedient servant, " For JOHN TINGEY, Esq., " To Mr. Thomas Bigg." " R. RENNE Y B^f" Flockmasters would do well to beware of such prepara- tions as "Non-poisonous Compositions:" it is only necessary to appeal to their good common sense and judgment to be tho- roughly convinced, that no " Non-poisonous" article can poison or destroy insect vermin, particularly such as the Tick, Lice, and Scab Parasites — creatures so tenacious of life. Such advertised preparations must be wholly useless, or they are not what they are represented to be. Dipping Apparatus ,.»,..£ 14, £6, £4, & £8. HAIL STORMS. - CROPS INSURED BY AGAINST AT MODERATE RATES. SEEDS and GLASS are also insured. FIRE Insurances at rates as low as other well established offices. LIFE Assurances of any description at equitable rates. Four-fifths of the profits divided every Fifth Year. LOSSES. — Prompt and liberal settlement of claims. Further particulars may be had at the Chief Office, or of the Agents. JOHN REDDISH, Secretary and Actuary. — \ ■At' THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. MAY, 1809. PLATE I. LONK WETHERS; THE PROPERTY OF MR. JONATHAN PEEL, OF KNOWLMERE MANOR, CLITHERO, AND THE FIRST PRIZE PEN AT THE SMITHFIELB CLUB SHOW, 1868. On the extensive range of wild and lofty moun- tains whose watershed for many miles forms the boundary of the counties of York and Lancaster, on the numerous spars and off-shoots also of the central chain, Lonk sheep have flourished, accord- ing to popular tradition, from time immemorial. However this may be, the time is not known when Lonks were not. All trace of their origin has long been entirely lost, but this breed of sheep would certainly appear to take rank among the oldest in the kingdom. Hardy and prolific, the Lonk must necessarily be, or, in the never- ending struggle for existence, and the frequent battle for bare life on those high bleak hills, the race must long ago have been utterly extingui- shed. The success of Mr. Peel's flock is simply the result of careful breeding upon native pastures improved by drainage and cultivation, used in con- juction with the old unreclaimed moor. By these means the frame of the Lonk has gained in size and symmetry, his fleece in weight and quality of wool, while his flesh still retains that juiciness and flavour for which it has ever been locally famed, and the animal remains as hardy and prolific as of old. Any attempt to enumerate here the prizes gained by this flock since it first made its way into the show-yard is impossible. It may suffice to mention that in the summer of 1868 at seven shows, amongst which were those of the North Lancashire and the Yorkshire Agricultural Societies, it swept the board in every class for which the breed was eligible, winning every prize offered for both sexes and all ages. Mr. Peel's flock has also been uniformly suc- cessful whenever exhibited, at the York, Liver- pool, and Smithfield fat shows. The pen whose portraits are here given won the first prize offered by the Smithfield Club for greyfaced mountain sheep in December, 1S68, and on leaving home weighed together 727 lbs., averaging 242 lbs. each live weight, or 40 lbs. per quarter dead weight to the butcher. PLATE II. RUNNING A BYE. So far master Rough would seem to have all the fun to himself, but the gentleman taking the rails looks vastly like Time the Avenger, in the shape of a much-outraged keeper. However, if all the new Game Bills get their will of us, there shall presently be no more harm in killing a rabbit Old Series.] than a rat, or any other " destructive" creature. Mr. Weekes has been best known hitherto by his studies of sheep, and other such renderings from rural life ; while we hear that his present subject will have a place in the new home of the Royal Academy. D D [Vol. LXV.— No. 5. 380 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. CLOVER DRESSINGS, BY CUTHBEET "W. JOHNSON, P.B.S, The varying results obtained by the application of the same fertilizer to different soils have been bitherto too little regarded. To this remark, the dressings bestowed upon the clover crop do not afford an exception. It is very true that ou most soils a mixture of ammoniacal salts with phosphate of lime has very generally been a successful manure for the grasses ; but, then, other dressings, which have so well succeeded on particular lauds, have produced little or no beneficial result when bestowed ou soils of a different description. The recent researches, therefore, of Professor Voelcker upon this important question are of very considerable value, and will well repay the careful study of my readers. His report of these elaborate prac- tical inquiries, carried on, under his direction, in several districts of our island, and on widely different soils, will be found in the last number of the Jour. Roy. Jg. Soc. (vol. v., n.s., p. 73). The kind of manures which yield the best results by their continued yearly application to the natural grasses growing on a rather heavy loam, with a red clay subsoil resting on chalk, in the park at Rothamstead, was, some time since, ascertained by Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert ; and it may be useful if we refer to the results they ob- tained before we examine the more recent facts ascertained by the Professor. They observe {ibid, vols. xix. and xx.) : " la these trials, which were carried on in the years 1856, 1857, and 185S, the plan adopted was to apply a number of different combinations of manuring sub- stances, each, year after year, to the same plot of land. And, in order to provide proper standards of comparison, two plots were left continuously unmanured, and another portion was annually manured with farmyard manure. The land selected comprised about six acres of the park at Rothamstead, and it had been under permanent grass for certainly more than a centuiy. The land is somewhat heavy loam, with a red clay subsoil resting upon chalk, and is very well naturally drained ; the area selected is perfectly level ; and no fresh seed of any hind has been sown, either within the period of the experiments or for many years previously. Early in 1856 nine plots, of half-an-acre each, were measured off for artificial ma- nuring ; two plots of a quarter of an acre each to be left unmanured, and two other plots of a quarter of an acre each to be manured annually with farmyard dung. In 1858 four other plots of one-sixth of an acre were appro- priated to trials with nitrate of soda. The result upon the produce of hay by the fourteen different applications will be found in the following table, which gives the manures applied, and the average produce of hay per acre during three years, in tons and hundredweights. The manures were applied broadcast from the middle of Feb- ruary to the 31st of March ; the nitrate of soda in April ; the farmyard dung and sawdust in the previous November or December : — Ton. Cwt. 1. Unmanured 1 3 2. Unmanured (duplicate plot at the further end of the series) 1 4 3. 2,000 lbs. sawdust 1 0 4. 200 lbs. each sulphate and muriate ammonia (good samples of the salts so named in commerce) 1 15 5. 2,000 lbs. sawdust and 200 lbs. each sulphate and muriate ammonia 1 15 G. 275 lbs. nitrate of soda (one year) 1 11 7. 550 lbs. nitrate of soda (equal in mtrogeu to the ammonia salts of plot 4 (one year) 1 11 8. Mixed mineral manure, composed of super-"" phosphate of lime : 200 lbs. bone ash 150 lbs. sulphuric acid \- 3 300 lbs. sulphate of potash 200 lbs. sulphate of soda 100 lbs. sulphate of magnesia , 9. Mixed mineral manure, as plot 8, aud 2,000 lbs. sawdust 1 15 10. Mixed mineral manure, as plot 8, and 200 lbs. each sulphate and muriate ammonia 2 19 11. Mixed mineral manure, as plot 8, 200 lbs. each sulphate and muriate ammonia, and 2,000 lbs. sawdust 2 18 12. Mixed mineral manure, as plot 8, 200 lbs. each sulphate and muriate ammonia, and 2,000 lbs. cut wheat-straw 2 14 13. Mixed mineral manure, as plot 8, and 400 lbs. each sulphate and muriate ammonia 3 3 14. Mixed mineral manure, as plot 8, and 275 lbs. nitrate of soda (one year) 1 17 15. Mixed mineral manure, as plot 8, and 550 lbs. nitrate of soda, equal in nitrogen to the am- moniacal salts of plot 4, 10, &c. (one year)... 2 10 16. 14 tous farmyard dung 2 0 17. 14 tous farmyard dung, and 100 lbs. each sul- phate and muriate ammonia 2 8 The more practical conclusions to which Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert arrive from the result of their trials they thus state : " In order that the more temporary, or more rapidly acting means of increasing the produce of meadow land, may have the full effect, the more per- manent means of amelioration that may be required — such as draining, marling, liming, and the like — must not be neglected. The application of bones is not recom- mended for general adoption. They appear to be chiefly adapted to the exhausted pastures of certain localities, and not to be generally applicable to meadow land which is mown for hay. The hay crop is a great exhauster of the mineral constituents of the soil ; and these, owing to the high price of salts of potash, cannot, with profit, be fully restored in artificial manures. The return of the mineral constituents is better accomplished by means of farm-yard manure, stable dung, night soil, and the like: which at the same time, bring on to the laud a more or less considerable quantity of available nitrogeu. The best artificial manures for grass laud are Peruvian guano, which is rich in phosphates as well as nitrogen; and THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 381 nitrate of soda, and sulphate of ammonia, which are rich in nitrogen, but contain, of course, no phosphates. Pe- ruvian guano, when used alone, may be employed at the rate of from 1£ to 2$ cwt. per acre ; nitrate of soda alone, or sulphate (or muriate) of ammonia, at the rate of 1^ to 2 cwts. per acre. The salts of ammonia are, however, relatively too expensive to be employed largely with profit ; aud both ammoniacal salts and nitrate of soda are more advantageously used in combination with guano. A very generally useful top-dressing for the hay crop may be made of three parts Peruvian guano, one part nitrate of soda, and one part sulphate of ammonia. Of this mixture, 2 to 2£ cwts. per acre may be employed. "With this ap- plied annually, and the application of 10 to 12 tons per acre of poor rotten dung once every four or five years, a good crop of hay may be taken off every year, without injury to the land. The best time of sowing the ' artifi- cial' manures is generally in January ; and it should at auv rate be seldom postponed beyond February." In all such top-dressings of grass, a practical remark of Mr. J. Dixon, of Ashley, in Cheshire, at the conclusion of his prize essay on the manuring of grass lands (ib., vol. xix., p. 218), is well worthy of our observation. He observes, " I occupy two farms about twenty miles distant from each other, one about 100 feet above the sea level, the other at an altitude of 400 feet. I have also had the superintendence and direction of important improvements on grass lands lying at an altitude of 600 feet ; and I find, from observation and experience, that every description of manure — even lime and marl — are much less lasting on high lands than on lands situated at lower altitudes, the difference beginning to be perceptible at an elevation of 250 to 300 feet." The result of applying the salts of potash to various soils was one of the important objects of the Professor's researches. The general presence of potash in our culti- vated crops, and the slight effect hitherto remarked by adding this alkali to our soils, is a result little to have been expected. Indeed, the field of research relating to the application of all our fertilisers, is very far from being exhausted. And no one will be more ready to acknow- ledge this truth than those who have laboured the hardest in the examination. Thus Professor Voelcker (and there is no one to whom the agriculturist is more indebted for most valuable labours) observes {ib., vol. v., n.s., p. 74) : " Great as has been the progress during the last ten years with regard to the theory and practice of manuring, an extensive field for inquiry is still left open to the man of science as well to the advanced agriculturist; and much pains-taking labour will have to be expended by both before our knowledge of the action of fertilising matters aud oar practice of manuring become thoroughly satisfactory. " The conditions under which ammonia, lime, or phos- phates act beneficially upon vegetation, are far better un- derstood than those under which nitrates or salts of potash may be applied to the land with advantage. For this reason I instituted during the last five or six years nume- rous field experiments, with the special view of affording to the practical farmer the means of judging for himself when he might with advantage employ potash-manures or nitrate of soda. " In 1864 and 1865 my experiments were tried chiefly on light sandy soils, and having found potash efficacious when used in the shape of muriate or sulphate of potash, and still more so when applied to the land in conjunction with superphosphate of lime, I was anxious to ascertain whether the same beneficial effects which resulted from the use of potash salts and phosphates on light soils would also manifest themselves on clay land. In 1866 I consequently experimented upon heavy land with pre. nUely the name manures which in previous years had given me a more or less favourable result on sandy soils ; but although several sets of experiments were tried in various parts of the country, no benefit whatever resulted from the application of salts of potash on heavy land either to roots or to clover seeds. " It is useless to record in detail all the failures, or rather negative results, which were obtained with potash manures on soils containing a considerable proportion of clay. I may, however, mention in particular that, at my sugges- tion, Mr. Robert Vallentine, of Burcott Lodge, Leighton Buzzard, applied salts of potash upon potatoes, mangolds, swedes, and clover, five years in succession, without ex- periencing the slightest advantage from them, whether they were applied early or late in the season. Some of the experimental fields at Burcott Lodge Farm were de- cidedly stiff and retentive, in consequence of their con- taining much clay ; others were of a more friable charac- ter and poorer in clay ; but in neither case did potash do do any good. It is evident, therefore, that either these soils contained naturally a sufficient amount of available potash to meet all the requirements of the different crops experimented upon, or that by good management enough potash was restored to the land in the ordinary course of manuring and good farming to render the artificial supply of potash superfluous. This must not be supposed to be an exceptional case, for, as already mentioned, I have not as yet met with a single instance in which potash salts produced any good effect on arable clay land. " Field experiments, in order to be practically useful, should always be tried for a succession of years under as great a variety of conditions as regards soil, time and mode of application, and crops, as possible. It is further desirable to employ the same fertilizing substances or their mixtures from year to year. "The failures which I experienced on heavy laud with potash-manures in 1866 induced me to experiment during the last two seasons chiefly on light land, and the object of the present paper is to record the results of experi- ments on cloverseeds aud permanent pasture, which, under,- my direction, were carried out with praiseworthy zeal by several of my agricultural friends, in whose skill and care in making field experiments I have every reason to place full confidence. " The land upon which the following field-experiments on cloverseeds were tried in 1867, at Escrick Park Farm, in Yorkshire, by Messrs. Coleman and Hull, grew barley in the preceding year. The usual mixture of clovers and Italian rye-grass was sown with the barley. The seeds came up well, and the plant was tolerably good aud uniform on the piece selected for the experiments. Ap- parently the selected piece of land was uniform in depth and in its general character. It was divided into eleven equal and adjoining plots of l-20th of an acre each. The eleven plots were treated as follows, as regards manure : — Plots. Name of Manure. ^T.^wAbs!' 1 Nitrate of Soda 0 4 0 2 Sulphate of Ammonia ... ... 0 4 0 3 Mineral Superphosphate 0 4 0 4 Common Salt... ... ... ... 0 4 0 5 No Manure ... ... ... ... — 6 Muriate of Potash 0 4 0 7 Sulphate of Potash 0 4 0 8 Sulphate of Lime ... 10 0 C Mineral Superphosphate ... ... 0 4 0 9 \ and (.Nitrate of Soda 0 4 0 (" Mineral Superphosphate 0 4 0 10 \ and (.Muriate of Potash .., 0 4 0 11 No Manure .,, ., — " The artificial manures were sown by hand on the 11th of April ; the clover was cut on the 12th of June for the » D 2 382 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. fir9t time, and a second cutting was obtained August 24th, 1867. The produce of each plot was carefully weighed on the same day, and as soon as cut, when the results incor- porated in the following table were obtained : — m Manures used. Produce per Acre. ~o First Second Total. Ph Cutting. Cutting, a 43 a 43 a -2 :2 fe £ =2 s £ OSS 1 Nitrate of Soda 8 10 28 2 1 28 10 12 56 2 Sulphate of Ammonia ... 10 10 0 2 8 4 12 18 4 3 Mineral Superphosphate 5 12 56 2 11 68 8 4 12 4 Common Salt 5 12 96 2 11 28 8 4 12 5 No Manure 5 9 72 2 15 80 8 5 40 6 Muriate of Potash 6 8 84 3 7 56 9 16 28 7 Sulphate of Potash 5 7 10 2 11 28 7 18 44 8 Sulphate of Lime 4 9 12 2 10 60 6 19 72 9 Min'l. Superphosphate ~i and Nitrate of Soda ) 10 17 96 2 0 0 12 17 90 10 Min'l. Superphosphate ) andMuriateof P'tash ) 9 0 0 4 15 40 13 15 40 11 No Manure 6 3 4 2 15 40 8 18 44 Here, then, the use of the salts of potash on the mixed clover and rye-grass was very successful. The next im- portant question which naturally suggested itself was as to the chemical composition of the soil, and particularly the amount of potash it contained. This did not escape the Professor's attention. He observes {ibid., p. 78) : " We owe to Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert a series of most valuable and instructive field experiments on the influence of different fertilizing matters on the quantity and quality of the produce of permanent pastures. The changes which several of the fertilizers employed by Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert produced in the character of the herbage of several of their experimental plots are so instructive, that for some years past I have made it a point to pay a visit to ltothamsted Park at the time when the grass-crop is in the height of perfection. Having frequently seen with my own eyes in what a remarkable degree the growth of true grasses, especially the coarser kinds, is encouraged by nitrogenous fertilizers, and having also noticed the changes which a mixture of salts of potash and superphosphate produces on permanent pasture in the relative proportions of legumi- nous plants and true grasses, I was quite prepared for similar changes in the produce of the Escrick experiments. But the differences in the quality of the produce of some of the experimental plots at Escrick Park were more striking than any which I had previously witnessed at Rothamsted Park or anywhere else. " The Italian ryegrass on plot 9 I fouud at harvest-time, as Mr. Hull truly observes, so exceedingly coarse that it appeared scarcely better than good oat-straw, and very few clover-plants could be seen. Again, the effect which muriate of potash, and, in a still higher degree, a mixture of muriate of potash and superphosphate, produced on the clover-plant was truly magical. " I never before witnessed anything so striking and instructive as these experiments on artificial grasses. There must, of course, be a good reason why in this in- stance the quality as well as the quantity of the grass- crop were so much more powerfully affected by the dif- ferent manures than I found to be the case in other ex- perimental trials. We know that the character of the soil materially affects the quality and the weight of the crops we raise upon different classes of soil. It" is, there- fore, natural to connect the remarkable results obtained in the Escrick Park experiments with the peculiar cha- racter of the soil on the experimental field. I have, therefore, taken care to obtain a fair average sample from the field on which the grass experiments were tried ; and after drying the sample at 212 degs. Fahr., I submitted it to a careful analysis, according to which the com- position of the soil of the field at Escrick, on which the experiments upon clovcrseeds were tried, may be repre- sented as follows : — Organic matter and loss on heating .. 4-28 Oxide of iron ... -61 Alumina ... ... 2-16 Carbonate of lime ... -39 Sulphate of lime Carbonate of magnesia ... ... -25 ... -23 Potash ... -14 Soda ... -05 Phosphoric acid ... ... -08 Insoluble siliceous matter ( sand) ... 9181 100-00 " Even a superficial inspection of this analysis will show at once that this is an extremely poor and very light sandy soil. Mr. Coleman, moreover, informs me that the field from which this soil was taken had been badly farmed, and that it was, in consequence, in a poor agricultural condition. " It will be noticed that this soil is remarkably poor in available potash, and I may add, in almost all the more valuable fertilizing constituents found in good soils. The total amount of oxide of iron and alumina was not quite 3 per cent., and of lime there was not a half per cent. On the other hand, it abounds in silica, for, on examina- tion, I found the 92 per cent, of siliceous matter which enter into the composition of this soil to consist almost entirely of pure fine-grained quartz sand. " I need hardly say that a soil containing 92 per cent, of sand and very little clay, and a still smaller proportion of the more valuable soil-constituents has to be regarded as extremely poor. Such soils are readily exhausted by cropping ; and though they will yield fair crops when liberally supplied with manure, they are naturally very unproductive. " The extreme poverty of this soil iu available potash at once intelligibly explains the benefits which both the clover-seeds and the Italian ryegrass derived from the application of muriate of potash, and presents us with a good illustration of the utility of chemical analysis and the aid of the chemist, of which the practical farmer may occasionally avail himself with advantage. The analysis clearly points out a deficiency of potash and also of phos- phoric acid ; and hence the employment of potash manures on land of that description may be recommended with confidence. The composition of laud, like that of the soil of the experimental field, moreover shows that lime or clay-marl may be applied to it with advantage, and that it is impossible to grow any good roots, or barley, or wheat, or clover, on laud of that character without giving it a liberal dressing of phosphoric manures. Moreover, the loose and porous nature of the soil, and the want of a fair proportion of clay in it, clearly indicate the neces- sity of manuring it but very moderately with ammoniacal or nitrogenous manures ; for as the proportion of available mineral constituents which enter into the composition of the ashes of our usual farm crops is but small, and the solubility of these matters in water is greatly facilitated by ammoniacal salts, such poor soils are all the more rapidly exhausted when the crops grown upon them are too liberally manured with fertilizers rich in nitrogenous matters, or in salts of ammonia." Amid several other valuable conclusions to which, from the result of these experiments, the Professor directs our attention, he remarks that " we may learn from these experiments that nitrate of soda alone, or even in con- junction with superphosphate, should not be used a9 a topdressing for artificial grasses on very poor sandy soils, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 383 like the soil of the experimental field, inasmuch as nitrates hasten the exhaustion of the potash naturally present iu such soils in very small proportions. Indeed, nitrate of soda, and, in a minor degree, ammoniacal salts, are the worst artificial manures that can be used uuder such circumstances. It may further be observed that no just estimate can be formed of the real value of a special manure, if no account be taken of the condition in which the land is left after the crop has been removed from it. This is not the first time that I have noticed this tendency of nitrate of soda to produce rapid exhaustion of naturally poor soils; audi would therefore strongly recommend farmers to abstain from the employment of it as a top- dressing for grass or corn crops, which are intended to be grown on naturally poor sandy soils." All such carefully-conducted experiments can hardly be valued too highly ; for they not only add to the culti- vator's stock of knowledge, but serve to caution us against rapid conclusions. It is indeed too common a belief that because the use of certain saline manures is productive of profit on certain soils, that they ought to be valuable additions to lands of a widely different com- position. There is, let us ever bear in mind, only one royal road to truth in these inquiries, viz., experiment — the patient asking questions of Dame Nature. It is very true that the chemical composition of our soils and plants very often directs our attention to the queries we ought to put ; but still the agriculturist must ask those ques- tions ; and, moreover, he must not be content with the reply he receives to a single experimental enquiry, but he must repeat his interrogations over and over again, and then he may well rest assured that Dame Nature will answer truthfully — will tell us what is most to our profit, although she may probably never vouchsafe to let U3 comprehend the great mysteries with which vegetable life is encircled. THE LAND TENURE DIFFICULTY IN IRELAND. There are some things with which the world would seem well content to do nothing more than talk about ; as especially prominent amongst such conversational topics is that of the tenure of land in Ireland. So sure as each revolving Session comes round, so sure is there to be a lengthy debate or two over this established grievance, and so, most assuredly, is nothing more to come of it. An energetic Opposition will overthrow the Irish Church at a sitting ; but when, with this same Party in power, an opportunity is afforded for making a clean sweep of it, aud of thoroughly re-organizing the sister kingdom, an in- evitable hesitation at once displays itself. Nevertheless, any one who fairly faces the case must see that the set- tlement of the religious difficulty is at best, so far as the tranquillity of the country be concerned, only half a measure after all. The tone, indeed, of the discussion in the Lords the other evening went to show that the disturbance and discontent so generally apparent in the agrarian districts were in little or no way attributable to religious views or contingencies. An Irish farmer, as we are assured, is quite as willing to hold uuder a Protes- tant as uuder a Roman Catholic landlord, and any irrup- tion that may arise, any outrage that may be committed, is to be traced almost entirely to the man's misapprehen- sion of his proper rights and privileges as an occupier. The whole business is, in fact, one of misapprehension. From, in the outset, the tenant having been called upon to do so much, and from the laudlord having been able to do so little, an almost inexplicable complication has come about — a system that defies disentanglement, and which should accordingly be boldly cut through, and some more simple means of action substituted in its stead. At such a crisis this would appear to be the mo- ment of all others for the Government to interfere with some clear and decisive scheme of adjustment. With almost ev.-ry other incentive to do so, with, at Lord Spencer said only last week, the Irish quite ready to ap- preciate the usis of the best breeds of stock and the best kinds of machinery, with an anxiety to advance there is this obstacle still in the way. Uncertainty proverbially impedes energy, aud such uncertainty is the great bar to any general improvement in the agriculture of Ireland. Either class alike holds back its hand; and as the Govern- ment holds back quite as resolutely, there comes of any movement for reform nothiug more than what the old women call " a good long talk." And this talk, moreover, is but little better than it has been. The great fact, of course, in the relations so far between landlord and tenant in Ireland has been a peculiar understanding which has led up to fixity of tenure. The owner of the soil, having no capital of his own, has given it over to another on the condition that so long as he performs certain acts and pays certain rents he shall not be dispossessed. Of this practice Lord Grey gave a very forcible example in his speech on Tuesday evening : " A great many years ago there was a gentleman who was interested in the reclamation of waste land in Ireland, and had done a great deal in this way himself, and had encouraged his tenants to do a great deal more. He let a quantity of land of this description, which in its then state was utterly worthless, to a number of tenants on an agreement, as he alleged, that for a certain number of years they should pay a nominal rent, but that, after the expiration of that term, a higher rent should be required ; that rent was to be gradually increased, and was to repre- sent ultimately the fair value of the lands ; and, on the other hand, the tenants who were to reclaim this land would be allowed facilities for getting lime and other things for the purposes of these improvements. The im- provements were carried on. A great deal of land, from being utterly worthless, was made fertile and productive, but the gentleman by whom the arrangement was made died. I believe a great many of his tenants died also, and the time came when the new owner of the property asked to have an increased rent from the occupiers of the land. They, on their part, said that the increased value of the laud was entirely due to their labour ; they de- clined to pay a higher rent, and there were also disputes with regard to the terms on which they were to have lime." Could anything promise to lead to a worse state of things than this ? And yet after such a fashion has a great deal of the land been held and worked. And then, above all, perhaps the very worst result of such system is that it is taken as something of precedent for our future guidance. Lord Grey himself is strongly of opinion that it is impos- sible to establish any custom of allowances for unexhausted improvements, and he maintains his argument in this wise : " In many cases the works called improvements for which compensation is claimed are not improvements in the land at all. One of the most ordinary improve- ments for which compensation is claimed is a house which may be built on a farm far too small to support it. Is that an improvement which can be looked upon as advantageous to the landlord ? Very much the re- 384 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. verse. It is, oil the contrary, a deterioration to his property. It increases the difficulties in the way of gradually consolidating the property, so that those who occupy will have a chance of obtaining a reasonable living; and yet it is sought to compel the landlord, against whose wish this house may have been built, to pay the value of such an improvement, although he might much prefer being without it. Such a proposal is opposed, in my opinion, to all our notions of equity." This is keeping Ireland to the Irish with a vengeance ! But let us, on the other hand, go into the best farmed dis- tricts in England — to Yorkshire and Lincolnshire — where the tenants have the largest holdings and the most money, and talk to them of the occupiers building houses as part of their business. They would simply laugh in our faces. The tenant should no more be expected to build than the landlord should to plough ; and when Lord Grey even speaks of such things as improvements, he only shows how such misapprehension still exists, as how thoroughly such practices — the inevitable consequences of an impoverished gentry — require to be uprooted. Here in England, when we went into the question of landlord and tenant, it was decided that the buildings were the duty of the former, and that the tenant should never set about such work without permission ; as that if the owner refused to take these at a valuation " the tenant's pri- vilege of removal with respect to fixtures, set up for trading purposes, should be extended to those erected for agricultural purposes." Thus Lord Grey's difficulty is at once done away with. If the buildings are improvements, but if the landlord should decline to take them as such, the tenant may remove them ; although building a house, big or little, should certainly not, either in England or Ireland, come within the employment of the tenant's capital. The outlay of his means should be devoted to more temporary uses ; agencies such as are continually passing through the soil, and even efficient drainage, is properly the land- lord's business. When Lord Grey argues after the style he does, he only goes to show how such misapprehension still exists in his own mind as to the actual character of agri- cultural improvements and the terms upon which they should be taken into account : " Before compensation can be claimed it ought to be shown that the improvement has not already been paid for by the landlord. But when you come to look back over a tenancy of 20 or 30 years' standing, there is nothing more difficult than to prove that this is the case, and we know from expe- rience that the most preposterous claims on the part of tenants for improvements have been put forward at the end of long leases." Confining the tenant to his own proper vocation, and not calling on him to perform landlord's duties, there are few improvements but which would wear themselves out in a few years — in the course of which period it is acknowledged that the tenant would have ample time to repay himself ; so that at the end of the longest lease, where compensation covenants are always serviceable, it would never be neces- sary to " look back " more than two or three years, in- stead of " twenty or thirty." The plain truth is that nothing can work better than the Tenant-Right principle in England, and nothing worse than what is called Tenant-Right in Ireland. As we have had to show over and over again, there is the greatest possible difference in the nature of these two claims j the one goes to secure the tenant his oapital, the other, to encroach essentially on the rights of the land- lord. And yet considerable misapprehension continues to exist even on this side of the Channel. In an address delivered only the other day in one of our westward coun- ties on farm-tenure, the lecturer declared that "the tenant-farmer will not lay out a large capital without security of possession ;" or not without, as it seems he intended to imply, a long lease, although precisely the contrary is the fact. Nowhere is more money laid out on the land by the tenants, and nowhere have such vast improvements been effected as in Lincolnshire, where the farmers have no security of possession, but merely security of capital. They hold under annual tenancies, often without agreements, but fortified by the com- pensation Custom or Tenant-Right of the district. Lord Grey would give no man any claim to compensation with- out he could show an agreement to that effect ; but it is obvious enough that it would be wholesome and just to recognize the principle of fairly compensating a tenant for that he had sown, but of which he was denied an opportunity of reaping, even if he could show no contract. It is here that Custom of Country acts so advantageously, and tends so directly to establish improvement. It is sufficiently manifest that the system of land tenure in Ireland demands some very vigorous and prompt reform. In effectiug this it will be far better to sweep away at once such usages and customs as gradually sprang from a needy state of circumstances. No real amend- ment can be established so long as the tenant is expected to do landlord work, or while we have to travel back "twenty or thirty years," as Lord Grey says, "to calculate all that has been done in that time." Such a state of things cannot but lead to coufusion and dissatisfaction, and it will be well before treating with the tenant to ascertain how capable or incapable the landlord is of maintaining his position, and of performing the duties of his station. One of the Irish Tenure Bills went so far as to authorise the tenant's borrowing money on the land wherewith to effect landlord's improvements ! But this is beginning at the wrong end, THE NEW FARM. '• ' Come home to die !' It's so very sad, isn't it, papa P" says a little plaintive voice beside me, disturbing one from reverie. " Here we found her close beside the front- door, just where we used to feed her : poor little dear," she continued, stroking the glossy smooth plumage (it was a hen pheasant). Just our luck! just the luck of everyone ; but another illustration of Moore's senti- ment : " Oh ! ever thus from childhood's hour I've seen my fondest hopes decay : * * # * # * But when it came to know me well And love me, it was sure to die." Of the whole batch, two hens only had survived the perils of puss and fowling-piece, and would even up to the period of their decease run up at call to feed out of our hands; Strange was it, that one day having a friend here who kept firing under each bird as it x'ose, at last he knocked one over. The shot met her as she stooped in her flight. She was, in fact, of this precious pair that had wandered into the wild wood to a kettle-drum probably with her acquaintance, and on the sound of the firing made for home, unluckily in a lowered direction. And now the last is gone ! This one was wont to consort with the bantams, and I had hoped for a cross. Alackaday ! THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 385 but how came she io die thus without mark of shot, or spot of blood upon her beauteous plumage ? Her uuder-beak was broken, and the top one partly split. Could she have got into a trap that old Melon has for a pestilent rabbit in those laurels? No, the trap was unsprung. We then decided that someone must have hit her with a stone, and so the little ones retire, and the subject drops. I take a walk ; I watch the thrashing machine beat out a fine sample of wheat that I fear will still be diffi- cult to sell. Suddenly, as I look on, the recollection oc- curs that on Monday last we were in search of this above- mentioned rabbit, and disturbed a hen pheasant that was seen to Uy right full against the upper storey of the house, and then wheel back into the bushes, these very bushes whence she crept out to die in the sunshine. Poor thing 1 she must have perished from the shock, for her craw is full of peas. So we will hope that it was not the pet hen after all. I hear that, fortunately to-day, this rabbit hath met its deserved fate. Singularly enough, we have al- ways been free from rats : whether they don't like the ex- posure of our situation or not I don't know, but so it is. I was horrified, then, to hear yesterday that a huge fellow had been seen under the lodge, regaling himself upon the pheasants' Indian corn. Very shortly I saw him laid out upon the brewhouse-window sill, having been caught about the waist, by a trap of Mr. Melon's. Surmising too that as hares are now found in couples, so, too, might rats be ; he set the trap again last night. This morning it was missing. In amazement, with his assistant and the man-servant, he tracked it through * the bushes. " It's one of the long tailed uus," says the servant. "Bound to be," echoes Mr. Melon. " Here he be," shouts the assistant-gardener in advance. " Stop, then, a moment ;" shouts Melon, panting with the exertion of struggling through the bushes. " Kill him, Melon;" shouts the man-servant, waiting outside with his gun cocked. " That I will ; I'll hit un," eagerly threatens Mr. Melon. " Gosh, it be oars !" suddenly he exclaims, as he nears the spot, in an altered tone. " Never mind, hit un ;" shouts the man-servant, who is a wag ; mimicking his expression. " Eh ! but what'll the auld ooman say ? give it now, this chance ;" so saying, he slackens the trap and out darts away the affrighted animal. " But if him come again, by jabbers, I'll kill un." " Gosh, him did jump though ;" him knowed him'll never have another chance," he said, relating the cir- cumstance to me ; stooping his fat form, and half covering his mouth, in an agony of suppressed titter as he spoke, his sense of the fun of it overcoming speech. I have not remembered since to ask him whether the rescued valuable took home scars or not, and whether he got better or worse off with his life's partner himself. He was up and away before me, watering his plants in the porch this morning ; and as for his day time, I am afraid to approach ; he is so pleasant — so wondrous plea- sant— with his " Please, can't we have some peat hauled noways ?" or some gravel, or some salt, or some pea-stick3, or some other aggravating article, considering that we farm and want the horses. Now, even the wisest will sometimes go wrong, as the old Eton Latin Grammar duly cautions us. In his anxiety to force on the young fry, my shepherd (usually most cautions) went and penned the lot upon some sprouted turnips, straight from grass, without having sub- jected them to a novitiate. We have been so lucky with the sheep that it was quite vexations to hear of the death of a ewe, " found on her back." He might as well have given the regular old senseless answer " had a pain." Riding by that part of the farm I saw the reason at once. Why he did such an imprudent thing I don't know— wool-gathering I can only conclude. Referring to wool, I wish it would run up. We have managed to get saddled from one cause or another with three years' clip, beautiful lustrous fleeces too. Few things delight me so much as to contemplate the clothing of a pet ewe that one has reared through so many genera- tions. " In the days when wc were curly" will be re- membered as an expression of the Ex-premier's (mean- ing "the days when we were young, a long time ago"), which his own collection of glossy spirals probably put into his head. I never fail to recal it when I inspect my flock. It was a shrewd remark of a writer's in your journal lately, that the long-woolled sheep suffer more from rain than the short woolly sort, whose fleeces might be described as of an African type. I notice quite a broad band down the backs of the former kind, as care- fully divided as any dandy's locks, and where the pitiless storm can pelt in with disastrous effect. But on second thought may not this strip of skin become inured to the action of the elements as the pericranium of the Christ's Hospital youngster does? Thisbrings me to another puzzle. How is it that birds escape the evils of influenza, a chill, and so forth, flying hotly arouud and about and then just settling on an exposed branch in mid-air for their nocturnal slumbers ? I suppose they can close and open their plumage like Venetian blinds at will. I wish I wore feathers — or rather I wish the children did ! how much cheaper and more satisfactory it would be for us fond parents ! and if they woidd only perch to sleep instead of requiring new rooms to be furnished that would be better still, and if they would go under the bushes and nestle quietly on a rainy day why that would be best of all. I am in the way of being reminded to- day. The youngsters are just indulging in an exclamation on finding only one side of their toast done. " Her sweetheart is dead," they explain to me. But what I am reminded of is the high art of a clever groom I once had from a hunting establishment, who, though capable of any- thing in the way of turning out a horse, became gradually too indolent to attend to his duties. He went from me to the service of an old dowager in Cheltenham, where his idleness culminated in his using thought and pains to clean only one side of the horse and carriage — viz., that which was next the door on driving up. Another illustration of abused intelligence ! Chicks again ; how they do interrupt one ! this time to announce the fact of a robin having actually made a nest, and laid five eggs, in a neighbour's garden-house. Wondrous fact, setting forth the precocity of the season ; but to take a philosophical and thoughtful view of the subject — will this here robin after the first brood is hatched consider herself a widow and set out her weed-ornamentation for a second catch ? or will she impose upon Squire Robin the maintenance of a second lot ? Some gentleman reports in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society that he never found his stock do so well as upon chaff, three parts straw to one of hay, suffi- ciently moistened with pulped wurzel and left to warm in a heap. It has answered famously on our farm this win- ter ; and I 3hall follow up the plan even when there is an abundance of fodder. In fact, when that is the case, it is difficult to keep one's men from so stuffing the racks that the animals get gorged and saucy, and a large quan- tity of the food is wasted. A little often supplied so as to be well digested is, of course, the secret of successful fattening. Having by a division of common land come into an accession of meadow, we have been taking measures for its improvement. There being one portion covered with rushes, and where the hay crop was always stunted, of course it wa3 decided that this should be drained. VBQ THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Often as I had walked it over, it was not uutil the leader of an experienced gang pointed the fact out that I noticed the existence of a cup-like hollow there. When the cutting tapped it, water ran freely, but fortunately no springs were found. It was merely the soak of the win- ter floods which could not get away. The expenditure of a very few sovereigns thoroughly corrected the evil. Being upou this subject, however, I was lately struck by the statement of a little farmer — a shrewd industrious man — who has a small holding under a Welsh mountain, one portion of which is intersected by brooks that makes the adjoining laud almost a swamp. I recommended him to drain it, having an abundance of stone near at hand, and then to dress it with burnt clay pared off the abound- ing hillocks, ragged corners, and hedgerows. He had thought of doing so he said, but hesitated as there was no field in the neighbourhood to compare with it in the yield of milk and butter that his cows afforded when pasturing there ; although he allowed that he had fre- quently lost young stock upon it, of course not knowing why except that they had "had pain." (They had pro- bably died of neglected " red-water.") Between the bramble-bushes, sedge-rushes, and moss there were cer- tainly nice patches of Dutch clover and trefoil, with much succulent grass, and bird's-foot along the ditches, but I am puzzled to account for the field's excellence in a dairy point of view, unless the extra moisture in the herbage can be credited with it, or that the long mosses are partially consumed in the bite, and have some hitherto unacknowledged virtue, such as the reindeer moss of Lap- land (Lichen rangiferinusj has in the production of delicious butter. A curious accident has happened to a foal some three days old, which, owing to the severity of the weather, was kept with its mother in one of the yards. It was strong and lively over night, but was found stone-dead in the morning, with its dam standing over it. From some cause or other it had sprung and struck its forehead full against a post, killing itself upon the spot. It is the very mare that had so narrow an escape over the wire fence. The children are of course greatly cut up, but I am not very sorry myself, seeing how young horses accumulate, to be after all so unsaleable. It is a good excuse, too, to issue the death-warrant of the dam, which, an excellent mare in her time, is long since past work. One of the boys employed to watch one of the wheat- fields has had, I find, great trouble in keeping away the rooks. On hearing this I walked the piece, and, at the root of several yellowish plants, found wire-worms. No wonder our friends were so pertinacious. The moles, too, had scented their prey, for I found no less than five traps set for them, which I at once sprung. We ought rather to be thankful that nature's remedy is so promptly applied upon the appearance of disease in a crop. Poor old Melon is in a terrible state of mind. His son, whom he educated as a gardener, obtained a good place lately where he was in sole charge. He was sent with a cart to fetch some articles which his master had purchased at a neighbouring sale. It was a bitterly cold day, and chill struck deep iuto him. He lies in most ex- cruciating agony from an attack of rheumatic gout. If, instead of riding, as lads are so prone to do, lightly clad, he had used his legs, he might have been saved this torture. I have a report of the delicious crooning of the turtle dove having been heard in the woods a few days since ; but I doubt it. It is rather soon for the arrival of the dear little stranger. The bailiff just uow made a remark to me which has often occurred to me before ; " I wonder some one doesn't sow charlock ; for the minute the sheep get a new pen they pitch into it before the turnips." One field of swedes came up so slowly that it was doubtful whether they were worth thinning. I ordered the operation to be gone through with, however, as it had been begun, and, thanks to the mild winter we have had, there came up a fair quantity of small bulbs, which have been of great service to us. Some of the young charlock escaped the hoe, and last month raised a flourishing top amidst the swede rows. I was sorry that any had been hoed off at all ; for the sheep clearly preferred them to the swedes, as the fly is said to do when they are in their infant stage. Thankful are we that the late sudden inclement weather hath taken its departure. For the last fewr days it was impossible to believe that we had been sunning ourselves but a week gone by so pleasantly the day through upon the open lawn slopes. The poor willow that looked so lovely in the fresh fulness of its pendent foliage got its tresses nipped by that treacherous onslaught of keen frost, and old Melon predicts its having had a squeak for life itself. AVhat a variety of disaster the agriculturist has got to struggle against ! Here now is corn down with a run : and will it go further I wonder ? And we must thrash for straw ; and six of our best lambs have perished in the course of a couple of days — some, I think, from the shep- herd's incautiously introducing them too suddenly into an exuberance of youug grass, and one at least from being sanded up, as a pony of ours was two years ago. The Wye flood leaves a deposit of sand upon the adjacent herbage, which has a deleterious, if not a deadly, effect upon all stock that grazes it before it has been well washed with rain. One of the little girl's pet lambs was found dead, too, in that hot weather ; from apoplexy, I suspect, or " braxy," as the Scotch shepherds name a disease, the symptoms of which are similar. Of course I was obliged to look out for a lamb to replace the pet. I had not long to consider whither I should bend my steps, for the little ones themselves, observing a dead ewe upon the hill above my farm, at once ascertained the further fact that there was an orphan behind. On my riding up, however, to propose to purchase, I found that the owners had found a foster mother for the infant. Close adjoining lives one of my men, who has been long laid up with the effects of a bad cold, or rheumatism in the blood, as the doctor tells him, from cider-drinking. His father feeds a few mountain sheep upon the hill-side. This last winter he told me a number of them died, and now a fatality has arisen amongst the lambs of the survivors. Of course I was anxious to know why. He explained that the effect of the late excessive heat was to drive the ticks off the ewes on to their offspring, on which they crowded in such numbers as to weakeuthem excessively, if not deprive them wholly of life. " They suck their vitals out," the man said. Besides which, in biting to relieve the torture of their limbs they manage to swallow locks of wool, which is fatal in itself. He said he had the skin of one at home which had been literally eaten through by these pests. I was in- credulous, and so he fetched it. I never saw such a sight. Although it had been stripped nearly a week, there were the parasites, weakly crawling about as thick as currants in a school Sunday dumpling. Ugh ! it makes one shud- der to recal them. Of course the dams had never been dipped during the autumn. Such a prudential process had never entered the head of the fatalist owner. This morning I stepped down to see how they got on with the thrashing of a wheat-rick. I found an Eton boy there, armed with a saloon pistol, and attended by a retriever, on the watch for rats. One he had shot as it dived about in its endeavours to escape through an ad- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 387 joining pool. I was called away to inspect the young bulls, which were starting for their promenade, and my attention was asked to the back of one, a favourite. It was literally one mass of inflamed bumps. I had his back fomented at once, and the herdsman then extracted over thirty huge gad-fly grubs from the poor creature's hide. No wonder he was ticklish to handle. Some of them had festered. The other calves seem all to have escaped. I don't know whether the fly has a taste for pedigree, for this was out- and-out the most transceudeutly ancestral of the lot. From the window, I have just watched through a glass the drawing of the salmon-nets below — for this turn without fruit. The river is so turbid, however, that it is probable a large catch may blunder into the meshes before night. I saw a man catch a fine fellow out in a coracle one day lately when the south wind blew softly. He used only a short rod, about the length of two pea-sticks, to the handle of which was attached an inflated bladder. He kept paddling himself leisurely about towards the tail of a strong current, and casting across it until a fish struck. He then threw the rod into the water, and it was drawn down by the victim, ever and anon reappearing when the man paddled up to it and played it so long as he dare, throwing it off again as the strain became dangerously great. Thus, after a while, a fine fifteen-pound fish was made to drown himself, and was then drawn up in triumph upon a strip of sand. We were all down to look on. There was very little Latin done that day. I see that in Scotland there is a raid being made upon the "pigeons and crows." The former right well deserve it, and the latter too should be kept ♦ within bounds by shooting ; but to poison them is cruel as well as indiscriminate in its effects. You cannot per- suade the ordinary farmer of the good they do in keeping down the dar or chaffer-beetle, an unchecked multitude of which in France not long since committed such devasta- tion as one has only heard of before a cloud of locusts. I was told the other day of a man who had found his own Chanticleer dead upon his field. How it happened, perhaps, he won't tell. It is astonishing how that piece of wheat has freshened from what I mentioned in my last, that a boy had vainly attempted to keep the rooks away, and into which the moles worked. I let them do their worst ; and that worst I now find to be an excellent service. And so the Birmingham sale of yearling bulls resulted in a shuffle. We will hope now that the footing upon which it was established will be altered. The fifty pound prize is sure to attract exhibitors. To compel, as has been attempted, a sale " without reserve," at 20 guineas, must keep all good animals away. It gives the buyer an unfair advantage. I have been unlucky lately in haviug a large fall of bull calves. I thought I had learut a secret to ensure heifers, but don't find it answer this year, although it appeared to do so last season. The nomenclature of our young ones has been occupy- ing our spare thoughts, one audacious fellow having a certain head-up-time-of-the-regency air about him I am tempted to designate " Fraudulent Bankrupt" if onecould but pack up the two words, German-like, into one. He has quite the manner and the gesture those vagabonds indulge in. I wish the old trees would abstain from falling. They involve so much expense in cutting up into logs for par- lour use ; and then when they do get burnt the effect they produce individually is so transitory, just a " kiss me quick and go" sort of flame, and a few thimblefulls of ash. Men talk, and with reason, of wood-ash being so excellent an ingredient in manure, but bless me, where cau it come from in sufficient quantity ? What a differ- ence it makes if one can only abstain from feeding down the pasture intended for hay after February 2nd, or even the end of the last year if possible. A neighbour told me the other day that he never shuts up his meadows until April 1st. I am glad that I did not adopt that line of policy myself this year. We shall have a great portion to mow the next month, and what an advantage that will be iu case, as is predicted, we have this summer again the terrific drought of last year. What famous stuff lucerne is ! We are cutting it nearly a foot high now for the stable ; the vetches being not nearly ready. I have come decidedly to the opinion that it should be sown in drills, although many advocate its being put in broadcast. It is so troublesome to weed it when sown after the latter plan. This soil suits it. The gypsum in the red marl, which makes the well-water so disagreeably hard, is favourable to the growth of this plant. I hope Mr. Bowly, who has been so spirited a partner of Mr. Kich's, will have a good sale to-day. He has given 500 guineas for another bull, from Captain Gunter, it is rumoured. Vigil. AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY At the Wigton Farmer's Club Dr. Augustus Voelcker said he presumed that in an uncivilized country chemistry — agricultural chemistry — would be of very little use, and that a pair of stroug hands would go a good deal further than the most accurate knowledge of agricultural chemistry. In a country like Queensland it would be out of place to give a lecture on chemistry ; but in a civilized country it was not out of place, for there the necessity became more apparent. The subject he was about to speak upou to-day was one in which he had been engaged for the last twenty years ; and he trusted that the observations which he had to bring before them to- day, and the remarks he might make, would not be altogether unprofitable to those present. He was glad that no name had been given to the lecture, because, confining himself to a sub- ject bearing upon agriculture, he would have to speak for an hour or so on that alone ; and he was afraid that in lecturing on one particular subject he would have to use such vocabu- lary as his hearers would not care about listening to. What he had to say to them to-day he wished to say in plain Eng- lish ; and he would try to enable them to give to their children such instruction as many of them now up in years had not had the means of ascertaining. Chemistry was an eminently pracj tical science. It bears on arts, manufactures, and agriculture. It is not difficult to make a selection to show that chemistry has been useful to the practical farmer, if we bear in mind that the peculiar features of all chemical investigation is to inquire into the difference between one kind of matter and another. Chemistry not only takes notice between one kind of matter and another, but shows the material relation between each other. Whether it regarded the atmosphere, or the plant which the farmer raised upon the soil, or whether it was the animal food which they were composed of, and what became of all these matters afterwards, chemistry took notice of. It was upon the chemistry of the soil, upon the chemistry of the land, upon the chemistry of the food, that he wished to give them some illustrations, showing the benelits which chemistry has conferred upon agriculture. first, with regard to chemical matter respecting the soil. There was a variety of soil which they saw around them, and which was the result of different mixtures. AH soils might be said to consist chiefly of vege- table matter, lime, clay, and sand. If any of these four, which were in themselves compounds of various minerals, predomi- 388 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. nates in the soil, we call it sandy soil or clay soil, or after the material with which it is most composed of. The lecturer here referred his audience to the diagrams which he had hung upon the walls ; and after pointing to the various quantities of matter forming the soils in question, he proceeded to speak of errors which farmers often made in putting lime upon their land. He believed they were very much in the habit of liming their land here ; but very frequently lime was applied to land which never required it, because the land contained plenty in itself; while, on the other hand, land which required lime often went without it. He would recommend farm-yard ma- nure in preference to lime ; but he might here observe that it would be a waste of farm-yard manure to put it on land that was deficient in lime, for the soil would not hold it unless the lime was there ; and he would impress upon them to ascertain whether the land wanted lime previous to spreading the ma- nure. Sometimes the land looked as if it wanted liming, and if so, then they must ascertain whether the land had lime in it or not. They could find out very minutely when poison had been administered to individuals, and the comparison was something similar. He then proceeded to point out to them the means by which they could ascertain for themselves whe- ther their land wanted liming or not. Some years ago, he analyzed all the fields of the Royal Agricultural College, and he found lime on one field amounting to 30 per cent. ; on the next to the amount of 4< per cent. ; and in the next field — the one in which his laboratory was fixed — he scarcely found any, and over which he had road-scrapings spread. After dwelling at further length upon the land requiring lime, the learned gentleman proceeded to speak of an investigation which he had made some years ago in the case of sterility in the soil, aud which they would find referred to in the lloyal Agricultural Report. The causes of sterility were various : sometimes the land was barren ; sometimes the soil was composed too much of one particular kind ; at other times there was something wanting. If the laud had too much clay, and that clay was impregnated by any organic matter, it became very expensive work to till such land. Sometimes they might have land where the surface soil was' too thin, and then the land would be also unproductive, inasmuch as it rested altogether on a sub-surface or subsoil, and if there was a heavy bed of it the land was unprofitable. He then referred to sulphate of iron and other minerals which were common to clay soils ; and in speaking of many soils which were unprofitable at present, but which, with a little management might be turned to profit, urged upon his hearers the necessity of working a reform in such soils, and not leaving them to chance. He was acquainted with a gentleman in Holland, who had bought an estate which is now very profitable, but which was at one time anything but so. The gentleman sent him some of the soil to analyze, which he did, aud returned it to the gentleman, informing him at the same time that it ought to grow anything. Some time after that, he received a letter from the gentleman stating that it would grow nothing but weeds. The reason was there had been something in the soil which had been overlooked, but when removed the soil was found to be most profitable. In speaking of the poisons which land was sometimes subject to, he said that it was not merely enough to analyze the soil, but to find what w as best for the soil through analysis. The lecturer again referred to his diagrams, and proceeded to speak of land which was unproductive on account of the salt which the soil contained. Some time ago he had to analyze some soils which were poisoned by salt. The sea had broken in, and for years they had been poisoned ; not that salt was poi- son, but because the soil contained it in such quantities as to be injurious to vegetation. And in putting salt on land, he thought that any quantity above i cwts. per acre was too much. Not more than 25 years ago, their ideas respecting vegetable productions were very weak and erroneous. And great gratitude was due to Professor Leibig in giving the death blow to the old system. He then proceeded to speak of the singular aud strange inconsistency which had existed for cen- turies in the management of the land ; and spoke at great length of the effects the various acids had upon it. Professor Leibig, he said, had shown that there were certain acids which were absolutely necessary for the very existence of the plant. An accurate knowledge of the atmosphere common to various soils had also an intimate bearing on the system of managing ; for it was plain that if they ascertained what the plants re- quired, they would know how to treat them. Formerly the farmer contented himself by putting muck upon his laud ; and if he had plenty of farm-yard manure, he would not use a par- ticle of artificial manure. He then entered into a minute description of the mineral matters contained in the soil ; and the best system of applying farm-yard manure to different soils. He condemned the way in which many farmers laid the manure in heaps, and recommended the spreading of it as soon as taken on to the land, aud to never mind the ploughing-in. If the rain fell, or there were heavy dews, then the parts where the heaps were distributed reaped the sole advantage, whereas, by spreading it instantly, the whole was benefited alike. Che- mistry, as regards artificial manures, had been of very great use in agriculture, both in England and various parts of the world. Chemistry might be useful at the present time, for if the farmer had to fortify himself with a knowledge of it he would be able to protect liimself against fraud in the purchase of artificial manures. They knew that all artificial manures were not what they professed to be. Some were excellent, it was true ; but there were others just as bad. There were ma- nures sold at prices which they well knew could not be genuine. He then pointed out to them the manner in which the testing of these artificial manures might be done very simply, in such a manner that a farmer might purchase tons of it and at the same time ascertain its real value within a few shillings. Lastly, with respect to the food raised from the land, chemistry had also been useful to agriculture ; and enabled the feeders of stock to get on their animals more rapidly than their fore- fathers were capable of doing. Chemistry had shown in what materials there was sugar, starch, and other flesh-forming substances. Young stock, he said, ought to be fed with flesh- forming matters, as it also helped to form the muscles. Lin- seed cake was very suitable for young cattle. Indian corn given to horses made them sleek but lazy. Indian corn and beans were very good for pigs. Ou the qualities of cotton cake for feeding purposes he spoke at great length, and pointed out the remuneration to be derived from the manure. The green cake of Germany and France he recommended as haviug least mustard in it. In conclusion he thanked the gentlemen •present for the very kind manner in which they had received him, and for the great attention bestowed upon his lecture. Dr. Voelcker said lie should be glad to answer any ques- tions that might be asked. Mr. Poster asked if Dr. Voelcker would recommend the manure from box-fed cattle, that had been collected in the byre for some weeks, to be taken direct on to the land. Dr. Voelckek said that it was best to lead it direct from the byre on to the land. Mr. Poster said that with respect to analyzing the artificial food, he was in the habit of analyzing all that he bought. Some time ago he bought a quantity of cotton cake, and his steward afterwards purchased some cotton-seed cake at a much cheaper rate. He sent samples of the two to Dr. Voelcker to be analyzed, aud found that that which cost the least money was the dearer of the two by £4 per ton. THE PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE. At the quarterly meeting of the Dalrymple Farmers' Club, Mr. Kay (Torr), the Chairman, aunour.ced the subject of dis- cussion, which was, " Has agriculture progressed in these fifty years ; and, if so, whether landlords or tenants have done most io promote and carry on these improvements." Mr. Campbell (Low Milton) said the system of agricul- ture had changed, but whether it had improved or not, was another question. If the system now pursued is an improve- ment, the land will be more valuable, and would be better. Now, that in some instances is the case, but in others it is not. The changed system of agriculture on some lands has done harm rather than good, but there has been a great change of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 389 agriculture iu other departments. For instance, in regard to the accommodation and convenience of dwelling-houses and farm-steadings, there has been a remarkable improvement ; there could be no doubt of that. Forty or fifty years ago, the farmer of considerable means, if he had a-but-and-a-ben and a good thack house closed aboon, considered it a luxury; and though it might not be very close in the joints. In the pre- sent day, farmers would not like that very well. In the matter of farm offices, the improvement had been even greater, be- cause the byres had very rough causeway, and the kye were bound with thrummles at stakes, and there was not such a thing as a trevis. They were then in danger of breaking their legs in going out and in to fodder the cattle, the byres were so roughly causewayed. They all knew what the byres were like now ; there a great many improvements had been effected. They had plenty of room to feed the cattle without the least trouble, and the cattle were much more com- fortably housed besides. There was another thing in agri- riculture which was, no doubt, a very great improve- ment. Forty and fifty years ago the fences were in a deplorable condition compared with what they are now. The farms were a great deal sweeter looking to the eye, and the fences afforded a good deal of shelter. It was said that the fences sheltered vermin, but they also sheltered the birds, which they were glad to feed at any rate. In stormy weather they were also a shelter to cattle. There was also a great improvement in the working of land by means of imple- ments to what they had twenty years ago. Look what fine grubbers they had now for preparing the land for green crops. Then look at the shearing machines, harrows, and ploughs, on which there was no doubt a great improvement. For these, however, mechanics were as much to be thanked as the farmers were. Then there was draining. That was a thing that staggered.him a good deal. His opinion was that there was a great deal of land had been drained to which the draining did no good but harm. In his own experience, he had drained land in the last farm he left, which would have been — at least he had seen it to be — a great deal better und rained ; and his successor would find that when he came to plough it. It was now far worse to plough ; and to think of putting it into green crop after it had been drained, that was almost an impossibility. He had conversed with many men who were all of his opinion. For instance, a farmer in the parish of Stair had told him that on his farm two acres kept a cow perfectly well before it was drained, and now that it has been drained and green cropped it took two acres and a-half, and it took two kye to have the same produce as before. The farmer attributed that to the green cropping of the clay laud. Auother farmer in the parish of Ochiltree had told him the same. A seed merchant had also told him that the seed was much better langsyne than it is now, and was better yet when grown on undrained laud. Men who never green cropped or drained their land lived in easy circumstances and were making money ; while men who had drained and green cropped their lands had found out that the system did not do so well, and were harder up than the others. He knew farmers in the neighbourhood of Dalrymple whose farms were taken at a rental of over £100 to £150, and they were drained. The interest raised the rent to £1G0, and the tenants were beat out of them. New tenants came, and the lands were taken at £110 or £115, as they would give no more for them. He knew one farm in the neighbourhood of Dalrymple where the farmer lived for more than two 19-year leases, and never drained a foot of his land ; but another far- mer came, and said he would pay 10 per cent, more rent, and would pay interest if the landlord would pay for the draining of it and put up a new steading. The landlord had done that, and the rent was raised 25 per cent., but the man was beat out of it, and now it was let at a lower rent to a new ten- ant, who would not make his own out of it yet, and all that was a great loss to the landlord. Then the system of work- ing the land was entirely changed, and he was afraid it was changed to the worse. The five years' shift was deteriorating the land a great deal. If they cleaned land, well manured it, and laid it down, and let it lie for three, four, or five years, Nature would clothe it with a fine covering of vegetable matter in the course of that time, and then it would be ready to produce a crop, no matter what kind of crop it might be they put upon it. With regard to the produce of the laud now from what it was forty years ago, he thought the land produced forty years ago, when it was not drained, as much as it does in its improved condition. He knew farms that yielded £8 per Scotch acre on an average in 1825, but the crops it now produced would not be more than three bolls per acre. Now, in regard to who had been at the expense of these im- provements, he would give the landlords credit for all they were entitled to. The farmer went and said he wanted a farm, and what improvements he thought were needed ; the laird said what rent lie wanted — he said, " If you give me so much rent, I am agreeable to lay out the money." Now, would they consider that the farmer or the laird was entitled to credit for that ? The Chairman : It depends on who is to pay for the im- provements. If the laird is paid G£ per cent., I think the farmer pays for the improvement. Mr. Campbell : Well, you and I differ there. The farmer says, " I will give you so much rent if you do so and so." The laird does so ; and surely he is entitled to interest. The fanner makes his calculation whether the farm is worth that before he offers for it ; and it was his opinion if the farmer offers for a farm, and says he will give so much rent, and so much additional, if the landlord spent so much money upon it, it was part and parcel of the laird's rent, and it was the laird's money with which the improvement is carried out. The same took place in regard to houses. My opinion is that farming has not progressed to the same extent that may appear upon a cursory observation, and that, if you look into it, the land is not more valuable now than it was forty years ago, and that the acreable produce was not so much if they took off the expense of producing the crop. Thirty or forty years ago it would have been nothing strange to see a farmer getting seven or eight or nine bolls per Scotch acre ; and all the land would be getting would be a pickle lime upon the lea, and they would be taking three crops, and the three would be almost as good as the first. They would have ryegrass, perhaps 300 stones an acre — that being nothing uncommon ; and then they would lay it down and let it lie for six or eight years, and then it was quite ready to begin again. That was the system they wrought ou then, and in his opinion the land was as valuable then as now. It had also been the opinion of men who had studied the question more than he had done. Mr. Campbell quoted from " Simpson's History of Scotland " to show that, while notice was taken of the progress of commerce and manufactures 'in this country, not one word was said about agriculture. Therefore, his opinion was, that Simpson thought agriculture had made no advance. Mr. Murdoch : Perhaps it was merely his omission. Mr. Campbell repeated that in his opinion land was more valuable forty or forty years ago than it was now. Mr. Axston said he had no doubt that agriculture had progressed during the last forty or fifty years ; for it would be curious indeed if it were found to be at a stand-still. A great deal of waste land had been reclaimed, and there was a great saving of labour in the working of the land, though the mechanic of course was entitled to the credit for that. If agriculture had not progressed, they must blame the landlords, for when the landlord let his land he tied farmers down to a certain system of farming, which, in his opinion, was deterio- rating the value of the laud. If farmers would only, as a class, be independent, they had the landlords more in their power than the landlords had them ; and if they were really independent they would spurn to sign a tack unless it was as much to their own mind as the landlord's. No landlord would bind a tenant to overcrop his farm. He denied, in answer to a question, that the farms in Dalrymple parish were twice the rent they used to be, but admitted that there was much land cultivated now that had not formerly been, but they saw rip- and-fur marks on land that is not cultivated now, but is lying uncultivated, and is paying better than when it was cultivated. Did they put more of their land into grass, it would pay them much better. Artificial manures were all very good, but they were not an improvement to the land. However, under the present system of managing farms they could not get on well without them. He knew farms where men paid a higher rent and made money on them, before there was a drain in them. The Chairman said it seemed to be the unanimous opinion that agriculture had progressed during the period under dis- cussion, and that farmers were equally entitled, with their landlords, with credit for such advancement. 390 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE CULTIVATION" OF GREEN CROPS, The following paper was read by Mr. D. J. Riokdan at a meeting of the Cork Farmers' Club : A subject ot the most vital importance to all who live by the produce of the soil is the growth and cultivation of green crops in such a manner as will produce the greatest possible amount of fodder from a given quantity of land, and with the smallest amount of labour and money expended in the pro- duction thereof. I will not presume to say, in the presence of so many more experienced farmers than I am, that the system I advocate is the best ; but it will, at least, have the charm of novelty to recommend it to many of you. It will also provoke discussion, and elicit the opinions of many well known and successful agriculturists, which cannot fail to be of service to those who frequently look for information from the discussions of this club. The reading of this paper will bear an additional importance from the fact that this club had its origin at a time when the stock farmers of the county of Cork were reduced to the greatest straits to procure food for their cattle, and were compelled to pay fabulous prices to obtain artificial food to maintain them. A number of farmers met together to devise some means that would render them, in a measure, independent of those artificial aids (which swallowed up too great a portion of the money made on the farm), and having met, they formed this club, and agreed, after due deliberation, that the best way to remedy the evil of which they complained was to grow a sufficiency of green crops on each farm in order to maintain the stock upon it. And my task shall be to point out the simplest and best way, in my humble opinion, to raise those crops. The usual course with all good farmers in preparing a field for roots is to plough as early as possible after harvest, with a good deep furrow, and let it remain so during winter, to be improved and pulverised by the action of the air and frost, and then in spring to harrow, cross plough, and harrow again ; to grub, another harrowing, rolling, and, if it be a weedy or stiff field, perhaps to plough or grub again ; then to open drills, cart out the manure, and close the drills before it is ready for seed. Now, gentlemen, I beg to call your attention particularly to the great amount of labour which I have mentioned, and which each of you must expend on the field you intend for mangels, carrots or turnips. You have, in every case, three, and often four ploughings, a grubbing, four or five harrowings, and often two rollings before it is properly prepared. I shall now lay before you the system which I have followed for some years, and with considerable advantage to myself, and you can draw a comparison between both. As soon as opportunity offers in the autumn, I cart out the manure to the field intended for roots — whether it be lea or stubble I treat it in the same way — lay your manure (not in a heap by the ditch side, to be scorched by the autumn sun, or washed away by the winter rain, but lay it) evenly in rows on the field, as you are accustomed to do when preparing for lazy-beds. Before you spread it, make a furrow with your plough where you intend to have the middle of your land ; set a man to throw the sods away, so that the centre of your ridge will not be higher than the rest of the field — it will look well, and can be better prepared. The unevenly ploughed ridges we sometimes see full of high banks and hollows that the harrow can never touch, and whatever you set there grows badly. You have next to spread the manure ; having done so, bring your two ploughs — an ordinary bawn plough, and a skeleton or furrow plough (the furrow plough following in the wake of the other) — and loosen the soil at least 13 or 14 inches deep ; the deeper you go, the better for all the crops which follow. Now, bear in mind that you do not bring up the subsoil — you only loosen it, and let it remain below ; the very fact of loosening the under stratum will repay you amply the first crop, and in every succeeding one of the rotation. If the manure be fresh or long, direct a man to keep it from accumu- lating on the coulter, and insist on having it all well covered under the sod. I have said to commence as early in autumn as you can. You may continue to manure a piece whenever it is convenient up to the middle of January or the first of February, for mangels or carrots, and much later for turnips ; but if not manured before the first week in February I would prefer ploughing the land in autumn, and giving it the benefit of the winter's frost, and plough in the manure as directed in February, March, April, or May. I have done so with the same good results in both cases. Now, having your field manured you may rest content, having no more to do in it until April, when the time for planting carrots and mangels has arrived. The middle of April is a very good time. Send your harrows and harrow in every direction. You will be agreeably surprised how soft and mellow you will find the land. Make the surface as fine as possible ; if at all lumpy, roll. If the land be foul with couch or other weeds, I would strongly advise to use the grubber to bring them to the top, and pick all off and make a clean, level surface. For carrots, which should be first put in, I would advise to grub deeply and well, or plough and make drills two feet apart. I prefer drills for carrots ; it is much easier to manage them in the earlier stages of their growth. And a very good plan is to put a little white turnip seed in with them. They are of quick growth and define the line. So that you can hoe the weeds as soon as they appear. The turnips can be pulled when the carrots are fit to thin. About 7 lbs. will sow the statute acre. Your next care will be the mangels. Get your corn drill, if it be a five feet one, remove all the hoes except two, which you will divide equally. This will make your line 30 inches apart. Less than that I do not approve of, for you require sufficient room to keep the scuffler going incessantly between them. Make your lines perfectly straight — it is of great advantage in the flat cultivation ; if they be zigzag, the scufller will be very apt to cut off the angles and deprive you of many a good plant. The description I would recommend is the red globe. It is the largest and weightiest grower, and keeps well until June ; 8 or 9 lbs. will set the acre. I would strongly recommend in the culture of all sorts of green crops to use a little artificial manure. It will amply repay you ; it forces the young plant into active vegetation before it derives much benefit from the farmyard manure, and it is of the utmost importance to force on an early growth. For we must always bear in mind that the weeds never relax their industry, and woe to your crop if you once allow them to get ahead of it. The manner in which I apply the artificials is thus : For each hundred of Peruvian or phospho guano that I apply (I C have used both, and find no material difference between them) I add double the quantity of salt, and apply it exactly in the cut made by the machine in depositing the seed, a man or woman following immediately after with a measured quantity for every line. There is a very correct table in Purdon's almanac, one of which every farmer ought to have. That will direct anyone how to apply his artificials according to the quantity he wishes to put on. The general impression is that in applying guano to any crop on the surface, unless you have rain immediately afterwards it is quite useless. I have found that the mixture of salt with the guano preserves all its qualities intact for a considerable time, even though rain should not fall for some weeks, as you are all aware occurred last year, and my roots were as good as usual, with much less farm-yard manure than I used at other times. Having now got in your seed — which I presume is of the best description, for it is a foolish economy to be looking for cheap seeds; and your best course in this most important matter will be to deal with a respectable seedsman, who has a character to lose, and will not willingly give you bad seeds — as soon as you can perceive the young plant, set the scufller to work. You will require a trained man and horse for this purpose. If you have not such, send a boy to lead the horse carefully between the lines. Do not go too close the first time, so as to avoid throwing any earth on the young plant, and use the hoe while the weeds are yet in their infancy. Let nothing be seen but what you intend for your crop. The thinnings form a very important element in the production of a good yield, and require the greatest care and attention. Commence singling as soon as the plants are about two inches high. If you wait any longer THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 391 you will injure your crop. Single your carrots from six to nine inches apart, according to the state and quality of your land ; mangels from twelve to sixteen inches, and I would prefer using the hoe to the hand ; it is much better done, if your labourers are skilful enough to do so. You have now only to keep your drill grubber aud scutller frequently at work, and dig deeply between the lines, until the leaves grow so high and wide as to cover in the space between. The management and cultivation of the turnip crop is just the same as that for mangels, so it is quite unnecessary for me to repeat it here. But a great difficulty arises from the fre- quent ravages of the fly, and wc have heard of many remedies supposed to prevent its attacks. I have very little faith in many of those nostrums. But I will recommend a simple remedy which I have successfully tried for some years. Three pounds of seed are quite sufficient for an acre. My remedy is, instead of 31bs. put in 8 or 9. A matter of 4s. or 5s. is but a trifle in the produce of an acre if it secure you exemption from the attacks of the fly. I shall now compare my system with that which is the common practice amongst farmers. In the system which I recommend, you have only two ploughings, thorough harrowing — in very rare instances, a grubbing and a light rolling — to make an even surface. In the other, or gene- ral mode, you have four ploughings, two thorough harrowings, frequently a grubbing, and often two rollings. The difference is very striking. You have also, what is vastly more import- ant, your manure decomposing in the soil instead of blowing off steam in a dunghill, until it has dwindled away to one-third its original bulk, not to mind the double cost of drawing to and from and trimming up of said dunghill. You have also the great profit and pleasure of being ready when the proper season comes to put in your seeds, which will greatly increase your chances of a good crop ; and the very uncertain nature of the seasons has rendered it a necessity upon us to wait for the time, and not be running after it. Gentlemen, I have only k given you my own experience, and the crops which I have grown are, I think, a sufficient proof of the excellence of the method which I recommend for your adoption ; and there are gentlemen present here to-day who have visited my fields, and who can bear testimony to the truth of what I state ; aud there is one gentleman present who has adopted this system at my recommendation. He holds an inferior and elevated farm, notwithstanding which he grows as heavy root "crops as any farmer in the county of Cork. If you require any further proof of the extraordinary crops raised by this system of hus- bandry, I would advise you to pay a visit to the farm of Mr. Jennings, at Glasheen, and you will come back asto- nished and improved. Or let me refer you to the roots ex- hibited by Mr. Rice, of Wilton, at the last show held by this club, twelve of which weighed considerably over three hundredweight, and one of which weighed over 401bs. I think it will not be out of place for me to state to you the manuer in which the nine acre field of Mr. Rice's was tilled, which yielded the wonderful amount of 70 tons per statute acre. It was an old lea, not tilled for GO or 70 years. He broke up a portion of it — about four acres — in the usual way, and made drills of it. The other five acres, at the suggestion of a few friends whose advice he asked, he managed on the flat system, and the result was at least a third more per acre ou the flat cultivation than on that which was tilled on the raised drill system. Having dwelt at some length on the means of sup- plying an abundance of food for your stock during the winter months, 1 shall now endeavour to show how you can provide an abundant supply for the summer. The first available crop for soiling will be rye, when your roots are consumed. The stubble you intend for swedes or white-fleshed turnips will be the proper place for it. It will be off in sufficient time for either. Manure it, if possible, with farm yard manure; ever so little will have an extraordinary effect in bringing it in ear- lier, and amazingly increasing the quantity ; besides, your tur- nips succeeding will not require so much manure if it be ap- plied to the previous crop. The very same treatment applies to crimson clover, which will be fit for use immediately after the rye, and is a very valuable crop. I may here remark that it will be a loss of time and money to plant either of those crops in a worn-out field, without the application of manure, farm-yard or artificial. The first cutting of Italian ray-grass or clover will likewise come on before the vetches are fit for use. There is generally a great quantity of valuable liquid manure going waste on almost every farm, which would have a wonderful effect if applied to your Italian or clover after each cutting. I will also advise you to set a patch of winter vetches, to be also manured in the same manner as the rye and trifolium. By a judicious management of the above-named crops you will always have a sufficiency of food for your cattle all the year round. The high price of wash and grains, or any other artificial food, or the difficulty of procuring them, will give you very little trouble, for you will not require them. You can support a greater number of cattle in excellent condi- tion, aud worth considerably more money than half-starved animals. Your laud will be getting richer and cleaner, and consequently will leave you more profit for all the toil and labour expended upon it. In conclusion, I beg to draw atten- tion to the many difficulties that strew the path of the Irish farmer, aud in a manner debar him from using that skill and labour which he is willing and able to employ in the enrich- ment and improvement of his native soil. For how can a tenant without a lease improve ? for I hold it is impossible to farm well without improving. The farmer who does improve his land without a lease places himself in a position of a man who puts all the money he is possessed of in his pockets, and goes in amongst a gang of thieves and shows them his gold : you know what occurs to him. He is very soon deprived of his money. So also does the landlord step in and rob the tenant without a lease who improves of his honest labour and money, by pocketing an increased rent to which he has no just right, except what adverse laws, framed entirely for his bene- fit, have given him. I would say, theu, remove those barriers ; take away those unjust laws that are a drag chain about the necks of Irishmen. Give us the interest to which we have an undoubted right in our own native soil, and Irish farmers will prove that they are not unworthy of the interest which it is the duty of a wise legislature to take in their welfare — they will prove that they can keep their place in the race of im- provement. Peace and plenty will prevail, and old Ireland, under the fostering care of a just administration, will become, not the birthplace of never-ending political strifes and dissen- sions, but a happy and prosperous nation. The discussion ou the subject was postponed to the next meeting. TURNIP SEED, AND THE RAVAGES OF THE FLY. At the Weulock Fanners' Club, Mr. E. Roden, of Benthall, lead a paper, in which he said ; It may not be irrelevant to our purpose if we take a retrospective glance at the progress which the turnip crop has made since its introduction to this country from Hanover in the year 1716. The gardeners who grew vegetables for the London markets were the first to turn their attention to this most valuable esculent. A few of the principal farmers of England devoted a small portion of their arable land to its cultivation, some a quarter, some a half, and some one acre. It gradually grew more into notice as its value became better known ; but we hear but little of its general culti- vation until about the year 1742, when many of the farmers of this country became aware of its value and importance as an arti- cle of food for fat and store cattle during the winter month«. JS'ow the great and general ambition of farmers is to occupy large farms ; the more they possess, the greater consequence they think themselves of; but one acre of laud properly man- aged will produce more than double by improper cultivation. Were farmers to occupy no more ground than their capitals would admit of cultivating in a masterly manner, they would soon be convinced of the great advantages arising therefrom. They would have no reason to complain of scanty crops which are generally occasioned by some imprudent management ; such as applying manures at improper seasons, or not adapted for the soil, or not sufficiently pulverising the ground, or the suc- cession of impoverishing, without the intervention ofamelio- 392 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. rating, crops, or the treacling of corn after it is sown by fre- quent harrowings and rolling, to make the surface fine and even, when, at the same time, the under stratum is, for want of being sufficientlyploughed, and by the treading of the horses, so hardened as to entirely destroy the seed they tread upon (particularly in wet or stiff soils) or prevent the roots from extending themselves in search of food. Vegetables cannot, any more than animals, attain their growth and strength with- out sufficient nourishment. I do not mean to insinuate that all soils are capable of producing crops equally luxurious. I only wish to be understood that there is no land of any sort whatever, which has a sufficient depth of mould for ploughing, but what may be rendered fertile by pru- dent cultivation and the application of proper manures, and, in proportion to their natural richness, be managed so as to pro- duce profitable and even luxurious crops of some species of vegetables ; and that, by bad conduct, good soils oftentimes produce but scanty crops, when the blame is too frequently im- puted to their natural poverty. Daily observation couviuces me that the best of soils, when they are not properly pulve- rized, or sufficiently ploughed and harrowed, will produce very scanty crops ; but let thorn have an extra ploughing, more par- ticularly stiff lands, and it amply repays the farmer for the extra labour. Whereas were farmers to occupy no more land than they can cultivate in a masterly, instead of a slovenly, manner, they would very soon enjoy the great advantages and profits arising from such conduct. But to return more imme- diately to our subject were we left it — a century back. One great drawback at that and subsequent dates to a more exten- sive growth of this most valuable root was the serious inroad which it made in the manure heap, and which could not be done without detriment to other parts of the farm. A substitute, as a fertilizer, was now wanted to carry out this much-desired object. Iu the year 1839 Peruvian guano was first imported into this country, that article being a most powerful fertilizer, and one so easy in its application, the desired means seemed at once obtained, and being so portable its use greatly economised lime, as well as leaving a considerable portion of the farm-yard manure for other crops. Then draining on a most extensive scale was commenced on nearly every farm in the country ; large Government grants of money, with an easy mode of re- payment, were offered to all who wished to avail themselves of it ; and drains were made from 2it. to 6ft. in depth, and from six to sixteen yards iu breadth ; and here permit me to make a remark on this subject, that in the opinion of some men expen- sive draining hp« so far interfered witti the laws of nature as to prevent the ground from retaining sufficient moisture to maintain — certainly not to promote — a vigorous vegetation during a three months' drought in summer, to wit the general failure of our hay and turnip crops during the last summer. But to return to our subject. The ingenuity aud skill of the mechanic were brought to assist in this great work of resuscitation. Implements were invented for the more easy cultivation of the soil. Companies were formed and erections built for the manufacture of a cheap and efficient manure ready for the farmers' hand. All these concomitants, iu conjunction with his own indomitable perseverance and in- dustry, has brought the English farmer to a comparative state of prosperity. We will now approach a little nearer the sub- ject proposed for our evening's consideration. It has always been my opinion that every poison has its peculiar antidote ; and for every disease, either in the animal or vegetable king- dom, there is a remedy and a means of cure. The gentlemen of the faculty have discovered names and palliatives, if not cures, for every disease the animal system is subject to ; and it is or should be the bounden duty and interest of every farmer (whose business it is to provide food for the country iu which he lives) to discover the most efficient means of prevention and cure for every disease to which the crops aud the animals his farm produces are liable. We may, I think, consider the cul- tivation of the turnip the basis of good farming in this country, and, if successful, every other crop in rotation is generally good. The preparation of the land for the seed is very labo- rious and expensive, which must be followed by a copious sup- ply of good manure, and unremitting attention after uthe seed is sown, if good results are to follow. But no sooner does this important plant appear above the surface of the ground than it is surrounded with innumerable enemies preving upon its very vitals almost to aunihilatiou : first, the fly, then the caterpil- lar, and the anbury. These enemies are known to roost farmers, but we scarcely ever hear of any one trying a remedy against their attacks. A gentleman many years ago tried the following experiments : On May 11th, he says, " 1 sowed early Dutch turnip seed on a bed in my kitchen garden, in drills 12 inches distant from each other, and nearly two inches deep. This bed had been manured with rotten dung the year previous, and afterwards planted with cabbages. The soil was a stiff loam, and the seed was steeped and mixed with sundries, as under, six hours before sowing, and each drill marked with stakes : No. 1. — Seed without any preparation. (Inferior.) No. 2. — Dry seed mixed with soot. (Third best.) No. 3. — Steeped in Barton draining. (Inferior.) No. 4. — Water out of dunghill. (Second best.) No. 5. — Steeped in stale human urine. (Very few plants appeared.) No. 6. — Lime and Barton draining. (No vegetation.) No. 7. — Steeped seed, with soot and water. (Second best.) No. 8. — Ditto, soot, and Barton draining. (Second best.) No. 9. — Ditto, and elder leaf juice. (Third best,) No. 10. — Ditto, elder leaf juice, and Barton draining. (Second best.) No. 11. — Soot spread over the covered drills. (Third best.) No. 12.— Lime ditto ditto. (Third best.) No. 13. — Seed mixed with slacked lime. (Very few plants appeared.) No. 14. — Soot scattered over, then covered. (Third best.) No. 15. — Lime ditto ditto. (Very few plants appeared.) No. 16. — Elder bush drawn over the plants. (Inferior.) No. 17. — Seed steeped for 6 hours in hair oil 1 Superior to No. 18. — Ditto in linseed oil J any others. The linseed oil was taken out of a bottle that had contained oil of turpentine for painters' use. The fly appeared on each ex- periment, but did no real injury to No. 17, which grew so luxu- riously as to produce rough leaves several days prior to the most flourishing of the others, and so continued to maturity. The leaves of No. 17, in particular, appeared to be fat, and twice as thick and strong as any other, except No. 18, which was very little inferior, owing, probably, to the small mixture of oil of turpentine that remained in the bottle. On the 20th of June, in the same year, I drilled queen Norfolk turnip seed, nearly two inches deep at one foot distance in the rows, on beds 8ft. 3in. long, and two feet wide. The soil is a stiff, uonia- nured loam, iu the corner of a field, fronting the south. It had been winter and summer fallowed to the time of sowing. Weight of the seed, half a drachm to each bed, mixed or steeped with sundry articles, as follows, in order to endeavour to as- certain the most effectual remedy for preventing the fly destroy- ing the plants. All the different experiments were mixed with a pint of sifted earth, immediately drilled, and marked with stakes, as follows : Mixed with soot 1 oz. Soaper's ashes, &c, ditto Wood ashes Pounded gunpowder Brimstone ditto Slaked lime ditto Soot and train oil ...ditto Soaper's ashes ditto "Wood ashes ditto Gunpowder ditto Brimstone Slaked lime ditto Soot and linseed oil Soaper's ashes and oil ditto Wood ashes and oil J oz. Gunpowder ditto Brimstone ditto Slaked lime ditto Brimstone and saltpetre, well incorporated. No. 20. Brimstone and J oz. of linseed oil. 21. Ditto and ditto train oil. 22. Brimstone and Barton draining. 23. Linseed oil. 24. Train oil. 25. Soot sowed over the bed. 26. Soaper's ashes sowed over ditto. 27. Wood ashes sowed over. 28. Slaked lime ditto. 29. Linseed oil, and the covered drills scattered over with soot when the plants began to appear on the surface of the ground. 30. Train oil. The seed was steeped or mixed six hours in each ingredient, and the oil strained through a fine sieve. On the 17th of July I particularly examined all the beds. None had entirely escaped the fly. The least injury was done to Nos. 30, 29, 24, and 23, which grew so luxuriant as to pro- duce rough leaves several days prior to the most flourishing of any of the other numbers, by which they were better enabled to withstand the fly's attack. The linseed oil was the same as that used iu the first experiment ; its effect was inferior to that THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 393 of train oil, which I impute to the drying properties of the tur- pentine. The leaves of the seeds steeped in the oils alone were of a much darker green, appeared twice as fat or thick, and the plants were a considerable degree larger than any of the others, and in point of luxuriance they stand as under. Accordingly, I presume that the smell of the soot must be disagreeable to the fly. As Nos, 30 and 29 remained the longest without being attacked, although the injury they did to 30, 29, 24, aud 23 were scarcely perceptible, and did not at all impede their growth, Nos. 30, 29, 24, and 23, were far superior to all others. Nos. 3, 5, 11, 17, 22, 25, 26, 27, 7, 13, and 19, were more luxurious than any of the remaining numbers. On the 8th, 19th, 31st of July, and 14th of August, I made several other experiments with turnip seed, barley, wheat, peas, and beans, steeped 6, 12, 10, 24 hours, and so loug as 10 days, the seeds were sown broadcast, and drilled. In every experiment with turnip seed I observed that what was steeped in the oil a less time than 24 hours, and immediately sown with sifted earth, vegetated much better than the seed that had been longer steeped ; that steeped for 10 days vegetated less than the seed sown without any pre- paration. I found that oil in every experiment proved injurious to barley, wheat, peas, and beans, and that the grain sown in its natural state vegetated best." From the foregoing experi- ments we may, I think, safely conclude that the seed steeped in oil was preferable to any of the others, nor do I think that it is at all a matter of importance as to a few hours steeping. If the seed becomes well saturated with oil it will achieve two important objects, viz., the destruction of any insects or para- sites that may be upon the seed, and also accelerate the growth of the plant out of the reach of its first enemy. But what can be done to ward otf the attacks of that most formidable foe that proved so destructive to our turnip crops last summer after the fly had left ? Several times during the dry weather of last year my pigs got among the potatoes and turnips. They rooted up both, but ate neither. They were searching after the arch enemy, the brown maggot or caterpillar, which they devoured with great avidity ; but this method of cure was but little bet- ter than the disease itself, from the quantity of turnips which they rooted up. I feel deeply convinced myself that farmers will have to use a larger quantity of lime on their ploughed lands than they have been in the habit of using for the last 20 years ; lime being a powerful destroyer of insect life, and a most active agent in resuscitating the dying energies of a dor- mant soil. And now, lastly, permit me to make one other allusion to this important subject. Consider that, in the United Kingdom, two millions and a half acres of land are devoted to the exclusive cultivation of the turnip crop, and that whilst its failure inflicts ruinous loss upon the farmer, it is at the same time a wide spread calamity to the country. Mr. Meredith had for the last seven years striven to grow turnips, but had not been very successful. He had certainly not been idle, and there had been no want of manure ; but still from some cause or other he had not been fortunate. His opinion was that it was advisable to get the seed in early — by the middle of April — aud he thought then the plants would escape the fly. On strong soil farms, such as his was, it re- quired au enormous amount of energy to grow turnips. Mr. Roden asked what would become of the young plant in May frosts if the seed were sown as early as suggested by Mr. Meredith P Mr. Meredith thought the frosts would not hurt the plant at all. Mr. Roden said he very much doubted if they could get the land ready by April. Mr. Acton considered that the period between the 12th and 30th of May was the best time for sowing the seed. He sowed his seed merely dry. Mr. Charles Wadlow had sown seed one day and the plaut came up aud escaped the fly, whilst in another portion of the same field, sown a little later, with equally good seed and as good a bed, the fly took every plant. Mr. John Instone said his practice was to get the ground as fine as he could, and to put plenty of manure under it, and he thought nothing better could be done. Mr. Travers said he was an advocate for deep ploughing, a good seed bed, and plenty of manure. On strong laud he was of opinion that there was no better implement than the plough. He thought there was a good deal of force in the suggestions of Mr. Roden, and he should adopt them this year. Mr. E. Davies, jun., thought it was better to put the manure in the ridge than to put it on the land in the autumn. He saw at the Royal Agricultural Society's Show at Chester a machine for destroying the fly. He had seen the plan of sending the roll over the plants tried. Mr. Ainsworth said he was rather unfortunately situated as to turnip growing, for if his plants escaped the fly they were eaten up by rabbits. The Chairman (Mr. Evan Davies, of Patton) said : Mr. Roden had not at all entered into the history or habits of the turnip beetle, or attempted to show any connexion between the seed, the embryo, and the insect, whereby a steeping of the seed might be beneficial for its des- truction. Some years ago this was the impression, and seed was advertised as having been steeped in brine, and the attack of the fly prevented. A Doctor Pearson, having submitted a lot of seed to the test of the microscope, discovered on several of the seeds white spots, and at once jumped to the conclusion that these spots were the eggs of the future fly ; but the Doctor, being a cautious man, tested the accuracy of the microscope by a practical illustration. He sowed part of the seeds with the white spots in the open ground, and part in a flower-pot, which he covered with a bell glass to prevent the ingress of enemies from without. As soon as the turnips were up in the open ground, there the fly was devouring away ; but on referring to the bell glass, there the plants '".ere growing unmolested by the dreaded enemy, so the white spots were not the eggs of the fly, but are accounted for more rationally. The seed grower, after thrashing his seed, placed it out to dry, and as earth, air, and water are teeming with life, there is no doubt some of these insect tribes prowling about traversed these seed, and being unprovided with water closets, left the white spots be- hind them. But it is to the laborious researches of Mr. H . Le Keux that we are indebted for a correct insight into the economy and habit of the turnip beetle. Having secured seve- ral of these insects, he found that they paired from April to September, and when the rough leaf of the turnip appeared the female commenced laying her eggs, confined to one egg per day, by piercing the under side of the leaf. These were hatched in about ten days, when they begin to eat the fleshy part of the leaf, and are full fed in about six days, when they eat their way out, and burrow under-ground in Ihe chrysalis state, in which they remain about a fortnight, when they emerge a perfect beetle, ready to fulfil the laws of nature. Without close observation the workings of these minute cater- pillars in the leaf can hardly be detected, as when full grown they are not more than the l-16th of au inch long, and about the size of sewing thread. I will not weary you by pursuing this subject further. It is a most interesting paper from which I have quoted, and well worth the attention of all who wish to get an insight into the history of this little pest to the turnip crop. Now it is evident from the researches of Mr. H. Le Keux that no steeping of the seed can have any effect in destroying the fly. The question then arises, What steps should be taken to secure the crop against these active enemies ? Mr. Roden has satisfactorily shown us that by steep- ing the seed in oil the vegetating powers are greatly increased ; but I fear this is impracticable. The seed soaked in oil, or any such glutinous substance, would, I should think, be unfit to pass through the drill with any degree of regularity. Cer- tainly, everything should be done to facilitate a rapid growth of the young plants ; and since the introduction of artificial manure there is very much more in our power than hereto- fore. But without a well-prepared seed bed, manure will be of little avail, aud the system which artificial manure has ori- ginated is, in my opinion, the very system to insure a failure of the crop, at least in any but very light land. I mean the sys- tem of sowing the seed on one ridging ; for it must be evident that, unless the soil is reduced to an impalpable mass, the one ridge system is nothing more or less than accumulating all the clods on the surface just under where the seed is deposited, and it is quite impossible that the tender rootlets of the young plants, except in very favourable seasons, can make much pro- gress in such a seed bed as to defy the attacks of the fly. Mr. Davies mentioned other means of preventing the destruction of the crop. Repeated horsehoeings he found very effective as burying the fly for awhile, during which period the plant was developing into the rough leaf. He had tried the experiment, too, of making a fire of rubbish on the side of the field ; and he thought that a serviceable plan, 394 Mr. R. C.Biakeway mentioned that whilst fishing on the Ciun last May he noticed a field of turnips, part of which had been rolled. He felt interested in the experiment, and made inquiries, and he ascertained that that portion of the field which was rolled produced a good crop, whilst the fly took the whole of the plants on the portion which had not been rolled- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Mr. Roden in reply, said ! He was of opiuiou that they had carried draining to an extreme — that they had over- drained ; and that it would be better if they had drains some thirty inches deop, instead of some fivp Qf six feet, as they were made. PURE" LINSEED CAKE COMPANY A meeting of the Lincolnshire Farmers' Association was held at Sleaford, for the purpose of further discussing the desirability of establishing a Limited Liability Company for the manufacture of pure linseed cake. Mr. H. Smith, who was called to the chair, said it was known to them all that a committee of this association had been appointed for the purpose of obtaining all the information that could possibly be gained on the subject of the farmers providing pure linseed cake, and that at a meeting held in that room on the 22nd ult. such committee had imparted to the members the result of their enquiries. It was however thought then that the subject required further ventilation, and that the owners and occupiers of land generally should be in- vited to attend a public meeting that the question might be fully discussed, aud accordingly the present meeting had been called. The committee were satisfied that the farmers could not protect themselves in the matter of linseed case in the same way as they could with artificial manures, because it was impossible to analyse the former, as might be done with the latter, and that the only course left open for them was to make linseed cake for themselves. In that case they would have to form a Limited Liability Company, and they were called to- gether that afternoon to give their opinion whether it was desirable to do so. Every inquiry had been made that the committee could think of for their information, aud the con- clusion had been come to that Boston would be the best place for their manufactory, in consequence of the saving in car- riage of seed from the ship, and the exportation of oil after crushing. Any inland town would be under great disadvan- tages in this respect, and would add to the cost of the seed. Capt. Parker said he considered the object of the meeting to be of the greatest importance, and was glad to see so many landowners present. The greatest praise was due to Mr. Little for the active part he had taken iu the movement, and if the subject of manures had not had his chemical and scientific knowledge brought to bear upon it, it was possible this ques- tion would never have been thought of. They had now good manure at less price than formerly, and they could be sure of it, becaase of analysation ; but, unfortunately, they had not this protection in cake, for the chemist could not give that minute aud accurate information as in manures ; and although the farmer might buy diamond cake marked A, or diamond B, he had no protection against fraud, whether he gave a high or low price for it, and he believed the only way before them was to follow the example of the Driffield Company, and they would be satisfied with the results. At the request of the committee he had communicated with Mr. Chaplin, and that gentleman would willingly give the project his best support if he could see it was required by the farmer, although he had consulted some of his friends or advisers, and they had in- formed him that they could procure pure linseed cake, but whether it was made at home or abroad he was unable to say. Mr. Chaplin could not attend that meetiug, yet, if a company was formed, it should have his best support. Mr. W. Little read a paper setting forth the desirability of establishing a Company for making pure linseed cake, and showing advantages to be derived therefrom. Mr. W. Dudding read a lengthy statement showing the benefits to be derived from an amalgamation with the Driffield Company, instead of forming a new one, which would take a considerable time to be initiated into all the matters of detail connected with the business, and whose outlay must neces- sarily be exceedingly great before any use could be made of the required plant. Mr. J. T. Marston thought it high time for them to move in this matter, and make cake for themselves. They had no occasion to go to Driffield for what they could make at home, and lie would point out his opinion with respect to the site proposed, as he thought he had no occasion to go to Boston, when they could be equally well accommodated at Sleaford. Boston had no pretensions to claim the benefit of being close to the sea. They all knew too well the state of the outfall — how difficult, uncertain, and expensive was the navigation ; in- deed so imperfect was it that every Black Sea seed-ship had to be emptied " afloat." The importance of having the manufac- tory as nearly as possible in the centre of consumption could not be too fully recognized. Driffield was some miles further from Hull than Sleaford from Boston, yet the promoters there did not build their mill at Hull, notwithstanding the many advantages Hull possessed over such a port as Boston, and perpaps both for production and consumption Sleaford was quite equal to Driffield. Mr. Marston advocated the claims of Sleaford against Boston as the proper site for the mill. He wished to take a fair and honest view of the advan- tages and disadvantages of each : and he firmly be- lieved, all things considered, the advantages were with Sleaford, and that Boston was entirely unfitted for their object. Suppose cake made at Sleaford, it was ready on the very spot it was required by the chief consumers in the neighbourhood. They had rail east and west to supply the Cliffrow from Houington and the great consumers of Lincoln Heath, aud when they got the Bourn line they would supply Billingborough aud that important and neglected district ; and in passing he ought to notice to their southern neighbours that this mill would doubtless be a new inducement to complete their line of railway. An important point in favour of Slea- ford was that laud adjoining the canal could be obtained from the Marquis of Bristol and others. Mr. Simpson would sell his mill and connection, and so do away with local oppo- sition ; or there was already a newly-built first-class corn- mill with sidings to the rail, granaries, aud lifting gear all complete, suitable in every respect for the purpose, all ready at a day's notice, fit for next season — Messrs. Kirk and Parry's mill he alluded to. He had called upon the owners to ask their views, and they had authorised him to say, " That pro- vided this scheme is bona fide, and that good men are placed at the head, they will subscribe every shilling of the value of their mill iu shares, the farmers putting in the cake- presses." If they were in earnest as to their intentions to adopt this scheme, they would by this arrangement have only to raise a little more than working capital, a very im- portant fact. Lord Kesteven had thought it his duty to attend there that day, as he had ventured to throw out a suggestion on the subject of pure linseed-cake on being requested to support their association for obtaining unadulterated manures. The question they had to decide was whether they should form a company : if so, enter their names for so many shares, and if sufficient were taken to carry out the work he thought they would accomplish their object. The shares should not be too high in amount. Let the feeling be universal for carrying on the project, and say at once whether they wish to take 1, 2, 50, or 100 shares, and they would succeed. The Chairman briefly put it to the meeting, and asked for a show of hands in favour of forming the company. This was responded to unanimously. A show of hands was then invited against the scheme, but there was no response. The chairman then said the capital required was £30,000 which would be made up of 3,000 £10-shares. A further discussion then ensued on the proposed site, Messrs. Marston and Sharpe speaking in favour of Sleaford, and Messrs. Little, Sills, and Wise in favour of Boston, but nothing definite was then settled. Shares to the amount of £5,000 were taken in the room, and the meeting broke up. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 305 NEW VARIETIES OF THE POTATO. The following is the report of Mr. Wm. Paterson, Dundee, on the propagation of new and superior varieties of potatoes, for which lie has received the gold medal of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland : I, forty years ago, had the management and superintendence of the grouuds of my late father, who uot only grew a large breadth of potatoes in the field, but was the most extensive cultivator of fruits and vegetables, from the commonest to the finest sorts, in this neighbourhood. At that time my attention was specially directed to the potato plant. It struck me (more especially in regard to the earlier varieties) that decay and weakening of constitution was discernible even then. These finer varieties we grew in warm borders. I observed that they very rapidly degenerated, and ultimately became quite worthless ; this I attributed to repeated planting from the same stock, without an infusion of new blood. So strongly did this impress me, that I had a firm conviction that unless new methods of pro- pagating the plant were resorted to, it would soon altogether disappear, to the incalculable loss of the country at large. Tfear after year I observed that all varieties, both in garden and field, continued to degenerate, aud get weaker in the con- stitution. Every preventive aud restorative I could conceive Ptried, in order to regenerate the plant, but with little satis- faction. I then formed an opinion, from which I have never deviated or had cause to depart from, that the potato plant was only designed to serve its generation, the same as in animal life, and that without a constant and successive renewal from the plum or apple of potato it was quite possible that this most valuable esculent might be lost altogether. Before I arriving at this conviction, I planted year after year all the varieties I could obtain from the coldest and warmest countries, used all the manures I could think of, tried by different pro- cesses of planting and lifting, by preparing the ground and seed, to arrive at some satisfactory result. During the growing season I have microscopically examined the growth of the plant at all its stages, and I have remained in the field in the month of July (the growing season), and observed the disease overtake the plant with virulence during sultry weather, having the appearance of rust in the sprout in some cases, and in other cases in the plaut. The black spot appeared on the leaf as if burned by a drop of vitriol, the other side of the leaf affected became quite mouldy, in the course of twenty- four hours the fungi appeared, which I considered a secondary cause. The potatoes I had brought from Archangel I planted with gas ammonia, &c, which caused them to grow much stronger than any of the other sorts. The potatoes being brought from a cold climate I considered that they would re- sist the disease better than any of our home varieties ; but, to my dismay, they were the first to become affected, and rendered almost useless. When Dr. Johnson was commissioned by our Government to inquire into the cause of the epidemic, and to find, if possible, an antidote, he, along with Sir John Richard- son, called upon me at the time of finishing my experiment with the Archangel potatoes, and were much struck with the result of it. As Dr. Johnson stated, he had not seen disease that season before, and he had been over England and Ireland before coming to me. Various aud extensive experiments were made at that time by me and other scientific gentlemen in order to attain the end in view. As to the cause, many con- jectures were put forth, but no data could ever be arrived at to arrest its progress. Dr. Johnson was of opinion that the blight was caused by an insect, others that it was owing to fungi. My own conviction regarding the potato blight is that there is no direct cure for it, but that it is entirely owing to atmospheric action in the plant, it having the seed of disease within itself, and that it will be always more or less subject to it. From this time (viz., 1853) I determined on carrying out my original idea of raising and improving seedling varieties from the plum or apple of vigorous and healthy tubers. The initial difficulty was very great. Potatoes in this country had almost ceased to flower, and at considerable expense I imported them from England, the Cape of Good Hope, Australia, America, and Calcutta, from which, as well as from our standard kinds, I selected the healthiest tubers, and planted them in a field of newly-takeu in land, with reed manure, by the side of a stream, where the atmosphere was damp. All produced flowers, and most of them apples. The experiment was successful, and from the seed or apple then produced those new and improved varieties which 1 have now given out to the public, and which are acknowledged to be, at home and abroad, of so much benefit to the community. I now beg leave to lay before your Honours the method adopted by me in obtaining and pre- paring the seed from the plum or apple, which was as follows : When the apple was ripe I gathered and stored them in boxes until the plums in a manner became decayed, then bruised them among water, and filtered through a fine sieve, so as lo allow the seed to be separated from the pulp. I again had the seed put through a finer sieve, so as to leave it as clean as possible. I then had it dried on a cloth in a dry atmosphere, and kept it safely over the winter. I then had it sown in March, 1S5-4, among properly-prepared mould, in small boxes placed in a greenhouse. After the seed brairded, so that I could distinguish the most healthy plants, I picked them out in the month of May, and replanted them in an early border in a garden manured with vegetable mould. I paid every at- tention until lifting time, when I found most of the tubers not larger than peas. I then placed them in small flower-pots, and clamped them up, keeping the produce of each plant sepa- rate, in a well-sheltered garden, so as to secure them from frost. In March, 1855, I again replanted the tubers con- tained in each pot in separate rows in a garden a little more exposed than where I had them the former year, and at lifting time I found them of various sizes, the largest not bigger (except the early red kidney) than good seed size. But I could now more easily distinguish the different varieties, and I placed the produce of each kind in separate boxes, and had them clamped up again in the ordinary way for the winter. In March, 1856, 1 planted the contents of each box (cutting the large tubers in two) in a well-sheltered field on the farm of Dronly, near Dundee, still keeping each variety separate. At lifting time two of the varieties had almost attained marketable size ; but still sound data cannot be ascertained until after years of continuous cultivation. My aim was to discover new varieties of plants possessing constitutions vigorous enough to enable them to combat successfully both atmospheric and insectivorous adversaries. In regard to many of the varieties cultivated by me, and which were found to he magnificent croppers, and of surpassing quality, my hopes were frustrated. After years of time, and after great expenditure, outlay, and trouble, they had to be disbanded on account of weakness of constitution, being unable to withstand the ravages of disease. In 1800 I had about 100 tons, from which I selected as many varieties out of the stock as I thought I could undertake to cultivate and give out true to name. I threw the remainder all together, and botli sold and gifted them to English and Scotch growers, in hopes that some good varieties would be selected from them, as many of them were of handsome form, both oval and round-shaped, containing an extraordinary amount of farinous matter, and flesh as white as milk. I am satisfied this has been the case, from the appearance of a great mauy varieties of altogether new kinds in the country besides my own named sorts. From 1860 to 1863 (the stock at this time having increased to about 1,000 tons) I planted them on various farms in Forfarshire and Perthshire. In this year we gave out about twenty distinct varieties, oval and round- shaped, also sixteen distinct varieties of kidneys, all of which I have found to be heavy croppers, good quality, fine form, rough skinned, and all of strong constitution, yielding, in many cases, from twelve to twenty tons per acre, and 20 per cent, farina, against 12 per cent, of the recent kind, which was tested by Messrs. Scheibler and Sous, Cello, seedsmen to the King of Hanover. My Victoria, which keeps in perfect order for the table for twelve months, was the richest in farina. I planted one field (strong clay soil) on the farm of Kinnaird, Carse of Gowrie. At lifting time, when my Victorias, Blues, and Reds were driven off the field, they looked like well- E E 396 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. dressed London ware, weight per acre nearly double that of the other sorts, and no disease amongst them; while the Rocks, late and early Regents, were quite black in the carts, and half-gone with original disease. These varieties, along with many of the other sorts, have withstood the disease equally well up to the present year, which many growers have testified. I can refer to Mr. Sturrock, farmer, Burnhead, Auchter-house ; Mr. Bell, farmer, Leoch ; and many others who grew the varieties referred to last year, and found them handsome large tubers, heavy crop, and almost entirely free from second growth, while Rocks and Regents under the same cultivation were almost worthless in many cases for human food by reason of second growth. From reports we have had from every quarter at home and abroad (of which we send you a few), there can be no doubt of the superiority of the new varieties, and of the incalculable value they have proved to the community at large. When it is borne in mind that each variety has to be kept entirely separate, and thus continued for years, it will give some idea of the vast amount of care, trouble, aud expense to which the cultivator exposes himself ere he is enabled to judge of the success or want of success of his experiment even in regard to any single variety ; and when these varieties are very numerous, as was the case in my expe- riment, your Honourable body may very well conceive that the trouble and anxiety I entailed upon myself was (compara- tively speaking) enormous. Still, regardless of cost, the benefit to society has been attained at very considerable pecuniary loss to myself — I might say, in fact, almost ruinous. Should my system of propagation be carried out hereafter, I would recommend that it be done by Government, or some public body, as it is an expedient far too costly for an individual in ordinary circumstances, even although potato-plums are now to he had in almost any district from my seedlings. BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND SOCIETY AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES ASSOCIATION. A meeting of the Council of this Society was held on March 30, at Yeovil. Sir J. T. B. Duckworth, bart., in the chair. There were also present : — The Hon. and Rev. J. Townshend Boscawen, Messrs. T. D. Acland, M.P., H. Genge Andrews, Robert Brent, R. H. Bush, J. Tanner Davy, R. R. M. Daw, Henry Fookes, John Fry, Charles Gordon, John Gray, Jona- than Gray, Joseph Lush, Henry St. John Made, Samuel Pit- man, W. Rigden, J. S.Turner, J. C. Moore Stevens, H. Wil- liams, and J. Goodwin (Secretary aud Editor). The Society's Journal. — Mr. Acland, M.P., as chairman of the Journal Committee, laid on the table a copy of Vol. XVI., concluding the series commencing with the extension of the Society's operations in 1852 ; and it was ordered that with the part of the Journal containing the report of the first united Annual Meeting of the Bath and West of Englaud Society and Southern Counties Association (now amalgamated) a new or third series shall be commenced. Meetings or Council. — Sir J. T. B. Duckworth, hart., as chairman of the committee appointed to consider whether the number of Council Meetings may not with advantage be re- duced, brought up a report recommending that the ordinary Meetings of Council be reduced to four annually, in addition to those held during the week of the Exhibition, such meetings to be adjourned when thought desirable, and special meetings to be convened when ordered by the President. Sir John moved that the report be received and adopted, considering that if fewer meetings were held there would be a larger and more uniform attendance of members, and that the business of the Society would be transacted with greater precision and regu- larity. Mr. C. Gordon having seconded the motion, it was op- posed by Mr. Jonathan Gray, Mr. Pitman, and others, who urged the desirability of postponing the consideration of the subject until after the Southampton Meeting, aud who proposed an amendment to that effect. On the amendment being put to the meeting the votes pro. and con. were equal, whereupon the Chairman gave his casting vote against it. On the motion for the adoption of the report being put, it was declared to be passed by a majority of one ; but on the suggestion of Mr. Acland, M.P., the alteration of the bye-laws necessary to give effect to the foregoing resolution was deferred till the meeting at Southampton. A letter from the Secretary of the Royal Agricultural Society, asking the Society to recommend a number of eligible persons to act as Judges, was referred to the Judges' Selection Committee. Mr. G. S. Poole having tendered his resignation as Chair- man of the Finance Committee, a resolution was passed ex- pressing the very great regret of the Council at the step which Mr. Poole had thought right to take, and appointing Mr. Herbert Williams as his successor. The Meeting or 1870. — A letter was read from the Local Secretaries at Taunton, to Mr. R. G. Badcock, containing the following copy of a resolution passed by the Local Committee, on Monday, March 29th ; " That Mr. Robert Badcock be re- quested to inform the Bath aud West of Euglaud Society and Southern Counties Association, at their meeting to-morrow, that the subscription list of the Local Committee, formed for the purpose of promoting a Meeting of the Society for the year 1870, at Taunton, amounts to nearly £1,500, and that the Committee have no doubt of farther contributions ; also that the Local Committee desire to be informed of the latest time at which the Society is open to receive a further communication from the Local Committee on the subject of such invitation." To this communication the secretary was directed to reply that if at the Council Meeting on the 26th of April the Local Com- mittee are prepared to give a written assurance that the So- ciety's requirements will be complied with, the Conucil will be most happy to make arrangements accordingly. An application from the Earl of Portsmouth, as President of the Hants Friendly Society, in favour of the Members being admitted to the Southampton Show Yard, on one clay, at a reduced rate of charge, was reluctantly refused by the Council, as they have already been compelled to refuse several similar applications from other associations. Southampton Meeting. — The programme for the forth- coming meeting was brought upland provisionally adopted. The Stock Prize Sheet, for which the entries close on the 12th inst., places Devon, Short-Horn, Hereford, and Sussex Cattle on the same footing : there being the same number of classes, with prizes of the same amount for each breed. The Sheep classes include Southdowns, Hampshire Downs, Leicesters, Cotswolds, Shropshires, Oxfordshire Downs, Somerset aud Dorset Horns, Exmoors and other mountain sheep. Special Local Prizes are offered for Forest Horses ; and there are also prizes offered by the Society and the Southampton Local Com- mittee for Channel Islands Cattle, of which a large show is ex- pected. The time for entering poultry has been extended to the 8th of May. The Show will open^ on Monday morning, May 31st, at 10 o'clock, when the open judging of cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, aud poultry, will commence and be continued till the awards are made iu the several classes. The Arts Depart- ment will open at 10 o'clock ; and the Horticultural Tent, under the superintendence of the Rev. T. Phillpotts and the Hon. and Rev. J. T. Boscaweu, Stewards, and the Rev. Dr. Carey, Hon. local Steward, will open at 1 o'clock. A military band will be in attendance, and the yard will close at 6 p.m. On Tuesday the yard will open at 9 o'clock. On Wednesday the yard will open at 9 ; and the competition of Shoeing Smiths at portable forges in the yard will commence at 10 o'clock. The annual meeting of members will take place iu the Council Tent at 12 o'clock (noon) on Wednesday. On Thursday aud Friday, the shilling days, the yard will open at 9 a.m. for the exhibition of Stock, Poultry, Implements, Works of Art, and the Horticultural Tent, and a military baud, as on the other days, will be in attendance. New Members. — Governor: Lord Rivers, Rushmore Lodge, Ludwick, Salisbury ; Annual Members : Mr. W. E. Fitt, Littleton, Winchester ; Mr. G. Chappel, Keynsham, near Bristol ; Mr. A. Andrews, 14, Above Bar, Southampton ; Mr. J. Wheeler, Long Compton, Shipston-ou-Stour ; Messrs, Hetherington aud Moore, Alton, Hants, THE FABMEB'S MAGAZINE, 397 THE GAME LAWS IN SCOTLAND. A public meeting of merchants, farmers, and tenant in the city and county of Aberdeen was held in the hall of the Mechanics' Institution, Aberdeen. There was a very large attendance. On the motion of Mr. J. W. Barclay, Mr. M'Conibie, Miltown of Kemnay, was called to the chair. The Cu.viRMAX, after thanking the meeting for being asked to preside, and expressing congratulation for the good attend- ance, which was a manifestation of interest, not only on the part of those occupying land, but on the part of citizens, and the community generally, went on to say that this was not a class question. They did not wish to regard or to treat it as a class question. They regarded it as a question in which the whole of the community were interested. The interests of the labouring man were not less real than that of the occupiers of the soil, and the soil of the country should be laid under such conditions as would permit, and not obstruct or hinder the development of its resources to the utmost possible measure that could be developed under the application both of adequate- skill and capital. Iu these days both were requisite. The questions that they were to consider to-day seemed to him, and he believed to the majority, if not all of them, to have a tendency to obstruct the proper development of the resources of the land for the benefit of the whole community. In the first place, their attention would be directed to the Game Laws, and he need not say to such a meeting as that, that their tendency was of that nature. Every one who cultivated land, every one who had kept his eyes open in the country during a considerable number of years, had had too manifest proofs of that fact. A substantial relief, and protection or means of protection to the crops of the occupier, had been felt to be a main requirement in the law reforms. That they needed, and that they expected now under the present Parliament to secure. He did not expect himself that it would be without a struggle. lie believed that nothing of value, nothing that they should look to as being permanent in this country, if the different classes had, or supposed they had, different interests, could be secured without a struggle. But they were not of those who, having put their hand to the plough, were ready to turn back. He thought that their duty now, and their duty for the future, would be to hold what they had obtained, and to press towards the securing of what they felt not only to be their own just rights, but the just rights of the whole com- munity. They were all aware, he thought, that there were at present three Game Bills before Parliament. There was Lord Elcho's Bill, which he regretted, and he believed most of them would .regret, as, if it were passed iuto law, it would be a measure that would afford no relief at all. He did not know but that it might place them in a worse position than they were in at present. Then there was Mr. Maclagan's Bill, which promised very considerable relief, and which he had lately considered to produce as much as could be proposed — with no hope of being carried, perhaps, for several years. But unexpectedly to many of them — he believed to all of them — a third Bill was introduced into the House of Commons the other day. That Bill appeared to him, embodying as it did the resolution that was adopted here some four years ago —a resolution which then brought upon them not a little obloquy, as interfering in a most undue way with the rights of property — that resolution, namely, that all game-preserving clauses in leases should be regarded as illegal, or treated as null and void was substantially embodied. Although some of their friends differed from him, and differed from what he thought had been just shown to be the feeling of the great majority of this meeting on that point, his reading of the Bill was that that was its purport, and that would be its effect, namely, to allow the farmer or occupier, by himself, or by any- one whom he might appoint, to kill hares on his farm. It also embodied the proviso in regard to over-game preserving, namely, that, by a summary process before the Sheriff, redress might be obtained for destruction from neighbour- ing proprietors. It was a very unfortunate thing, no doubt, that there should be these three competing measures, and especially that the two latter should be competing in the House of Com- mons, considering what a struggle they had to get one good measure passed through, and being so, he thought probably it would be their decision to-day to support Mr. Loch's Bill. The leading principle of that bill he had already indicated. It was that it was against the public good that there should be special preservation of game on agricultural lands ; and that being so, against the public good, no special agreements in leases should hold in that respect— tiiat they should be treated as null and void after the passing of this Act. Now, no doubt in the House, and through the country, the old cry would be raised that this was interfering in an improper way with the rights of property. But he should cite a very high authority speaking the other day on such questions — a distinguished member of the Scotch aristocracy — which seemed to settle the question as regards the relations of the landlord on the one hand, and the occupier on the other hand. Iu moving for a committee to inquire into the law of hypothec, Lord Airlie, amongst other observations, was deprecating very much that law — for the measure was now before the House of Commons — yet said, "We are in a position to make our own terms." Now, he thought that acknowledgment quite sufficed to justify what they demanded, and what, as it appeared to him, Mr. Loch's Bill conceded. And he challenged any one to say that Lord Airlie's dictum was not distinctly in accordance with fact, as the landlords in this country were only a comparatively limited number of the community, and considering that by far the majority of the population of this country were employed in other industries than that of cultivating the soil, there was such a demand for the produce of the soil, and such a com- petition for the occupancy and cultivation of the soil, that these territorial owners could not possibly but be in the posi- tion to make their own terms. And thus an individual occu-» pier, when his lease expired, had just this alternative — to sub- mit to these terms, or leave. That was the true state of the case, and he held that the occupiers of land were neither open to any reproach on that ground, nor open to the charge of moving for a law that interfered either with the true principles of political economy or what was sound justice ; and therefore he thought they were entitled, on that ground, to support Mr. Loch's Bill. They asked for no exceptional legislation : they only asked to be freed from what were exceptional and inju- rious laws in favour of a small minority of the population of this country — a small but most important section, he would admit, but not a section that was entitled, or that had any reason or any need, to claim to have its special privileges or to have its position fenced up by exceptional and exclusive laws which tended to obstruct the development of the resources of the land to which the whole body of the people looked pri- marily for their means of subsistence, and which were by no means as yet developed to any such extent as they might be, were the field free and open to them. He would just in a word refer to the other question which was to be brought before them, and which these remarks connected iu his mind with the game-laws. Now these exceptional laws hung toge- ther, and they would have to go probably together— or at any rate they must go before they were in a proper position in this country— in the position in which they ought to be in regard to land economy. The question just was whether it was the pleasure and profit of the many, or the benefit of the few, that ought to rule — a question which was propounded by the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer in the House of Commons the other evening in a different relation. A much older and higher authority had settled it as regards land three thousand years ago. " The profit of the earth," says the wise man, " is for all." They only wished it might be thrown open to all, and that no exceptional laws might obstruct their deriving that advantage which they ought to derive, and which they were entitled to obtain. Before calling on Mr. Barclay to move the first resolution, he said he had just had handed to him by Mr. M'Combie, M.P., a letter from the representative of East Aber- deenshire, Mr. Eordyce, which he wished read to the meeting. The following is the letter : " London, 22nd March, 1869. " My Dear Sir, — I regret to find that I shall be unable to attend the public meeting at Aberdeen on the 26th instant, for m b 2 398 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. consideration of the subjects of Game and Hypothec. In the present position of the former question, nothing, in my opin- ion, is of greater importance than united action on the part of those whose views are in geueral accord, with the object of inducing Government, by a reasonable hope of success, to take up the subject and introduce a satisfactory measure, or to sup- port one or other of the bills now before Parliament. As you are aware, these bills are introduced by private members, and, there is good reason to believe, will all fail by reason of the want of Government support. I am, myself, naturally par- tial to the plan embodied in the bill of which I have a share in the promotion, and which proposes to reduce hares and rabbits to the category of vermin. Under this bill, poachers would still remain liable to all the penalties imposed, by the Day and Night Trespass Acts, if armed with any instrument calculated to destroy game, while, at the same time, stringent preserving clauses would be rendered practically inoperative. At the same time, should the bill of Mr. Loch command the general acceptance of the occupiers of land in Scotland, and appear to have any chance of passing this Parliament, it shall have my support, approving, as 1 do, of its leading principle, while objecting to a more stringent law of trespass. With re- gard to hypothec, until the report of the Select Committee recently appointed in the House of Lords, I fear no legislation can be expected, but I trust Mr. Carnegie will press his bill to a division in the House of Commons. I would only fur- ther suggest whether or not it would be desirable, with the view of securing that unity of action which is so important, to send a deputation to represent the views of the meeting at the coming discussion in the Chamber of Agriculture. — Believe me, yours truly, Wm. Din wall Foudyce." Mr. Barclay, in moving the first resolution, said : Before addressing myself more particularly to the subject of the reso- lution which I am to submit for your approval, I think I ought to congratulate Aberdeenshire on the rapid accession of ad- herents to the views on the Game Laws Aberdeen was the first publicly to enunciate. We stood alone when four years ago we unanimously resolved that the restriction on hares aud rabbits was contrary to the public good, and that therefore contracts with this object ought to be declared illegal ; and now a bill embodying the same principle has been introduced into Parliament, endorsed by the members for the counties of Sutherland, Fife, and Perth. It is very evident that this re- sult has been brought about by the action taken by farmers at he recent election, and in no small degree by this county in returning at a former election Mr. Fordyce, and again at the last general election Mr. M'Corabie, a tenant-farmer — show- ing thereby that they are in earnest in their determination to obtain redress of their grievance, and the abolition of these unjust and one-sided laws. The success our efforts have gained is the best encouragement for us to persevere. We shall attain our object as soon as we can convince the public generally of the justice of our case, and this is the object of our meeting here to-day. Whoever gives these Game Laws a candid and impartial consideration cannot fail to be convinced that they exercise a most pernicious influence both on the social and material welfare of the country. For their etfect on our social condition, we have unfortunately only to refer to the Mony- musk estate, where what may be called a state of social war- fare exists between those who ought to live together in the closest bonds of mutual fellowship and good-will. On that estate the tenants, goaded to despair by ruin staring them in the face in consequence of the ravages of hares and rabbits, took up arms in their own defence, and we rejoice to believe with great success. All honour to the courageous spirit which stimulated them to dare all, rather than succumb under unjust oppression. Neither is the case of Monymusk a solitary one. The same state of matters exists, only not to such a degree, over the country. I know a farmer in Berwickshire who took a farm there under the express understanding that hares and rabbits were to be kept down. But, notwithstanding this, the hares and rabbits soon increased to such an extent as to threaten the complete destruction of his crops. As a last resource, he erected nearly a mile of wire-netting round the fields most attacked, but shortly after found that the net- ting was systematically broken down, there was no reason to doubt, by the_ gamekeepers of the landholder. Gentlemen, such a state of matters is a disgrace to any civilized nation, and, I believe, is without parallel in any other country in Eu- rope. But, gentlemen, we have looked at the game question hitherto very much as if it were merely a farmers' question, in which the rest of the country was not interested. Such is by no means the case. The public are fully as deeply in- terested. Such is by no means the case. The public are full/ as deeply interested in these Game Laws and the land policy of which they form part, as the Mariners themselves. The mate- rial evils arising from game are twofold— there is loss caused by the consuming and destroying crops ; but far greater is the loss to the country by preventing the development of agri- culture and the reclamation of waste lands. No farmer will embark in high farming, which means simply a large expendi- ture in the endeavour to raise the maximum crops from the soil, if the crops he hoped to raise are to be destroyed by game. I am unwilling to commit myself to general statements, but speaking from my own experience, and the carefully-considered opinion of farmers whose judgment may be relied on, I believe that if farmers had the same freedom in the cultivation of the soil, and the same right to reap the full return for the capital and industry which the manufacurer has in the conduct of his business, that the soil of this country might he made to produce 50 per cent, more food than it does at present. Now, the annual produce of the United Kingdom, at a mode- rate estimate, amounts to no less than 150 millions sterling, and if the views I have expressed are correct, we should have an addition of 75 millions sterling to the wealth of this nation. Consider for a moment the vast field which the employment of such a sum would open up, not only for unskilled but all kinds of labour, and the enormous difference to the finances of the country if, instead of importing 50 millions sterling of food, we produced that food at home. We speak of the apathy of the Spanish Government in neglecting to develop the great mine- ral wealth of that country ; but here we have at our own doors a mine of agricultural wealth, which our farmers are eager and able to open up, if our defective social system would only permit them. But the country not only suffers from the non-development of the arable land. The Game Laws and the land policy, of which they form part, prevents the reclamation of waste lands, and are ever turning pastoral aud partly arable lauds into waste for the purposes of sport. Few of us, I be- lieve, are aware of the extent to which this policy has been carried, even at our own doors in Aberdeenshire, and one or two illustrations of the general practice may bring the effects home to us. Well, in one comparatively small district, above Braemar, the late Mr. M'Combie, father of our representative, used to summer 800 or 900 head of cattle and 300 sheep. The whole of that district has been given up to deer, and for many years. 1 may state the case of another glen on Deeside, con- verted into a deer forest only in comparatively recent years. To aceomplish this object, thirty families were dispossessed. The glen formerly supported, on an average, 6,000 sheep in summer and 1,500 in winter — on an average, 4,500 sheep and 300 to <±00 cattle. The glen yields now, I believe, fifty to sixty head of deer annually ; so that we find that to produce a pair of red deer it costs the country 50 sheep, four cattle, and a human family has to be dispossessed to make way for them. Surely this is dear sport, and if there are those who cau afford to pay such an exorbitant price for it, facts prove that the nation cannot. I understand that the process of depopulation is going on at present in Caithness on a property purchased lately by the Duke of Portland, where the straths are being de- populated to make way for the red deer. Witli such facts be- fore us, is it surprising that the price of food should increase, that our poor rates should steadily augment, or that the country is becoming more and more dependent on the foreigner for its supply of the staff of life ? Last year we depended to the extent of one-third of the food of the nation on the foreign supply, a proportion which seems to me perilous to the inde- pendence of the nation, and a state of matters deserving of the most serious consideration of our statesmen. It requires no prophet to predict that if our towns' populations continue to increase, and the area of cultivation decrease, or fail to main- tain a proportionate increase, that we must become year by year more dependent on the supply of food from abroad, aud that some day, after a succession of general bad harvests, we may waken up to the horrors of a national famine. I should have been anxious to enter further into detail on various of these points on which I have only touched, but I hope I have said sufficient to attract attention to this subject, and to justify your approval of the resolution which I now submit, namely : "That the Game Laws, as forming part of a bad policy, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 399 which obstructs the development of agriculture, and the re- clamation of waste lands, thereby limiting the production and increasing the cost of food, are contrary "to the general in- terests of the nation." Mr. Douglas (Buchaam, Strathdou), in seconding the reso- lution proposed by Mr. Barclay, said he concurred thoroughly in what Mr. Barclay had said as to the baneful effects of the Game Laws in preventing the proper development of the agri- cultural resources of our soil ; but there was another view of the question which he held to be of very great importance, and which Mr. Barclay had alluded to — namely, the food supplies of our country, lie had prepared a series of tables, formed on the basis of Morton's Encyclopedia, as the result of experiments in 1845. The statistics which he quoted went to show that the reariug of sheep was far more profitable in every way to the preservation of rabbits and hares. Estimat- ing that there was one hare for every five acres of arable land at an average, the total loss to the country by their preserva- tion would amount to 1,351,050 lbs. of butcher meat, and in money £50,262 a year. Another kind of game from which the couutry suffered very considerably was the grouse. The grouse shootings in the country prevented the burning of the heath, and turning the hills to profitable advantage for the grazing of sheep. He considered that at present the hills of Aberdeenshire would keep about 60,000 black-faced sheep. He found there were 68,000 or odd sheep in the country, and he believed that 60,000 of them grazed for seven or eight months in the year on the hills. If liberty were given to burn the heath, he believed he was within the mark when he said that they would keep 30,000 more sheep in the year. Calculating upon that, and taking as an estimate the very low average of 301bs. for each sheep, and taking into accouut the wool, he found that the total loss by their grouse shooting was 190,000 lbs. of meat and £8,440 a year. He believed that on the conditions he had indicated, farmers would almost give as much additional rent for the grazing as the proprie- tors at the present time realized for the grouse shooting ; so that, supposing the change he had indicated to take place, it would be no loss in a pecuniary point of view to the pro- prietor, while to the country at large it would be a very great gain. Then, as to the deer forests, he believed that by main- taining these the country lost by venison equal to 295,988 lbs. of butcher meat, or in money £17,601. These were his reasons for believing that they ought to use every constitu- tional means in their power for the total and entire abolition of the Game Laws. Two or three objections were often brought against the abolition of the Game Laws. One was that they would encourage poaching. That he did not at all agree with. It was only since these laws were so much more enforced that poachers had increased so much ; and he referred them to the records of the justices of the peace in proof of his statement. Anather objection was started against the abolition of the Game Laws — namely, that the tenant's crops and fences would be entirely destroyed by people going across their parks. He did not believe in that. Per- haps the tenants might have some little cause to complain, but so soon as the game were put down the poachers would cease. He had had himself the honour of being a tenant on Lord Aberdeen's property in Braemar, and he could say that he never knew what the Game Laws meant, lie never suf- fered one-half of what he had done upon a strictly game- protected property. And he could say that he never heard of a professional poacher on Lord Aberdeen's lands on Braemar, and he never knew of a conviction under the Game Laws. Another fact that he could state from experience was that he never knew a single one of Lord Aberdeen's friends who had to sojourn for a time who complained for want of sport. A third objection was that the abolition of the Game Laws would interfere with the rights of property. Many of the game-protecting proprietors in the Highlands would, if the Game Laws were abolished, have the value of their pro- perty reduced, thus interfering with private property. Now, he maintained, if the legislature by these enactments raised the value to a fictitious amount, it was right that it should be re- duced ; nay, more, if it were known that the right had been abused to the injury of the people, it was the business of the legislature to interfere. The resolution, having been moved and seconded, was form- ally put to the meeting and unanimously agreed to. Mr. Skinner (Leslie), in moving the second resolution, expressed his great pleasure in seeing so many friends pre- sent. It was surely a question of the people and not of the land occupier about which they had met. They loved their native soil, and were justified in wishing it prosperity. They were glad to think that they were becoming one people ; land occu- piers and consumers of every class were certainly one people. They asked their universal aid in the cause in which they now appeared. No doubt one reason why the price of food was so high was the destruction of the crops by game. It would be traversing the same ground for him to say that they injured their turnips, that was well known ; they injured their grain crops, that was well known ; they trespassed on their pastures, thus rendering them of little value. He concluded by pro- posing the following resolution : " That the Game Law Bill introduced into Parliament by Mr. Loch recognises in prin- ciple the rights of the people in the cultivation of the land for the production of food, and being at the. same time the only bill now before Parliament which will practically afford relief to agriculture, ought to be supported by the public generally ; that this meeting resolve to petition Parliament in support ot the bill, and that copies of these resolutions be transmitted to all the members of Parliament for Scotland." Mr. M'Combie, M.P., said : I have much pleasure in availing myself of tlm opportunity of stating what Mr. Por- dyce and myself have done in London in carrying out your views on the Game and other laws in which you are specially interested. Shortly after the meeting of Parliament we had an interview with the Lord Advocate, at which we brought before him distinctly the views of our constituents on the Game Laws, and assured him that nothing would satisfy us, except hares aud rabbits were dropped from the game list. I am sorry to say we could get no promise from him that the Government would support such a measure. I may mention here — and I am sure you will be glad to know — that Mr. Pordyce and my- self arc acting together with the greatest cordiality, and that I have had the greatest satisfaction in co-operating with him in endeavouring to promote, as we both are anxious to do, the interests of our constituents. I make it a rule to let no op- portunity pass of bringing the views of my constituents under the attention of members with whom I come in contact. We can depend upon the support of the burgh members on the Game Laws. I have met a great number of them, aud find them unanimous on this subject. We had a meeting of the Scotch members, which was largely attended. The meeting was private ; but I may state that the views of Aberdeenshire were supported by my colleague, and I told them that our only fault to Mr. Maclagan's Bill was that it did not go far enough. I was much disappointed to find that the opinions expressed by several county members differed very materially from what I thought might have been expected. At that time Mr. Loch had not brought forward his Bill. I supported Mr. Maclagan's Bill as a step in the right direction ; but I con- sider that Mr. Loch's Bill goes much further along with us, and I shall therefore give it my best support. The Lord Ad- vocate has spoken to me of a measure for awarding compensa- tion for game damages ; but I considered his proposals quite impracticable. Mr. Carnegie's Hypothec Bill I shall of course support, but am sorry to say there are no great hopes of its being carried this session. I have, along with Mr. Pordyce, paid much attention to the Cattle Diseases Bill ; and I had a long interview with Mr. Porster some days before his Bill was printed. I likewise sent him a letter embodying my views on this subject. By the reception my views got, I was in hopes he might make an alteration in his Bill. He stated that he would give my suggestions his best consideration, and submit them to Earl de Grey. I was disappointed to find, when the Bill was printed, that he had not embodied all my views ; but I understand my suggestions are left over for discussion in Committee. I may state briefly that the amendments I sug- gested were much akin to those expressed at the meeting of the Rinderpest Association last week. The Government ap- pears by no means anxious to push on the Bill. After hear- ing the views of members not practically acquainted with the subject, I found it would be of great service to obtain returns as to the relative quantities of dead meat and live stock sent to London ; and 1 obtained, with some difficulty, order for the returns, which you will, no doubt, have seen in the news- papers. These returns, I expect, will be of great service in showing that no inconvenience to the producer, and no addi- 400 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. tional cost to the consumer, will result from the slaughter of animals at the port of debarkation. My colleague and myself had interviews* with Mr. Eorster in the beginning of this week, at which we laid before him the resolutions of the meeting of the Rinderpest Association held on Eriday last. On Wednesday Mr. Eorster, after considering these amend- ments, replied to the effect that he had no particular objec- tion to any of them ; but they would have to be settled in Committee ; but this did not refer to the slaughtering of fo- reign cattle at the ports of debarkation. As to the removal and restrictions on movement of home cattle out of London, he expected that, on the passing of the Bill, the authorities in London would fit up a market, &c, out of London, for the reception and slaughter of foreign animals, and that all home cattle sent to this new market would be dealt with as foreign cattle; and the London market would be open unrestrictedly to home cattle sent there. We shall see that these amendments are brought forward in Committee. We learned from Lord R. Montagu that he purposes moving in Committee clause8 providing for the slaughter of foreign auimals ; and it will be better this proposition should come from him. I trust that this brief account of the action T have taken on the measures specially aifecting you will meet your approval ; and I hope the endeavours of my colleague and myself may be attended with success in aiding the procuring of a Cattle Rill, which may be considered to meet the requirements of the country in this important matter. 1 have had many interviews with the Marquis of Lorn, Mr. Parker, the member for Perthshire, as to the duty on shepherds' dogs. This tax. affects a great number of my constituents in the upper districts of West Aberdeenshire. We had an interview with Mr. Lowe, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as to this question ; aud Mr. Parker has promised to use his influence with Mr. Gladstone for promoting that object. A vote of thanks was then passed to Mr. M'Coinbie, for his conduct in the chair. FOOT ROT IN SHEEP. BY JOHN POTTIE. I have already drawn attention to the fault of writers clubbing under this heading a variety of disorders common to the feet of sheep, thus misleading the man forced to persevere in the treatment of his own flocks. No attempt has been made to distinguish one ill from another. The defect in this sort of classification will be apparent if we but call to mind the multiplicity of parts that go to make up a foot. Eirst comes the skin, studded with glands, perceptible only by the microscope, glands that produce abundantly the lubricating yolk, the hair, and the wool. Between the skin that lines the parts between the digits, or hoof, we have a very extraordinary glandular structure, which opens out in front and pours through the little round hole an abundance of lubricating oil, which lessens the friction occasioned by the movements of the digits one against the other. Lying between and nuder the lower part of the skin and the upper part of the hoof there is what is called the secretory band. Erom this band the hoof is made. It is a band of glands, though in some sense they re- semble the other glands of skin — yet their vast numbers here give the place a distinct character for vascularity and tender- ness, being more liable to be affected by outer agents than other parts. Between the horny hoof and the bones of the foot we have a very delicate structure — the laminae, those thin red leaves with edge out, studded over the foot bones ; then come the bones and their joints, and the bands that bind them together, the tendons that move the joints, and the oil bags that lubricate the joints. You will at once understand now how the foot of the sheep may become the seat of a great va- riety of different diseases, rendering the success of a single remedy almost, if not altogether, hopeless. There are certain forms of disease, and certain diseases themselves, much more common in some localities than others. Not only so, but there are certain kinds of sheep and certain seasons governed by the same tendencies to disease ; all this helps to simplify matters, and should make a special form of remedial measures sufficient for special localities. Gentlemen so situated may limit their medicine chests to a very few drugs ; it is neverthe- less essentially necessary for all to become acquainted with every form of disease to which the parts are liable, so that chould any exceptional run of disease occur, it may be de- tected and met in the proper way. The most simple and common form of lameness is caused by the tender parts of the feet being scalded during undue exposure in long rains ; T have seen the hands of men affected in the same way during a sudden change of rain weather — the skin ceases to be moist, gets dry and uncomfortable, all the more so if the hands are wet occasionally with the rain that falls. The skin of the sheep's feet get into the same tender state — dry and uncom- fortable— and the most tender part cracks and chafes, and lameness often ensues, indeed some of the flock may not get over it for weeks — generally, however, the great majority re- cover in a few days after the' cessation of the rains. It is by no means a formidable disease, but very troublesome, and often interferes with the fattening of a flock, not so much in direct loss of flesh as the arrest that is given by it to the gradual de- velopment of carcase. In Australia it is most prevalent in the Darling Downs. If the sheep are made to stand in turpentine and oil for half-an-hour, all is generally set right immediately, aud this is easily accomplished by the formation of a pen, boxed six inches up, two inches of the fluid being poured in ; you can thus in a short time foot-dip a thousand sheep ; the time taken depends on the size of bath ; one-tenth of turps to one of oil is sufficient : indeed, I am convinced that if this plan were adopted before the day of rain the tender parts of feet would become coated, and thus render the scalding effects of the rain impossible. Some have, for an explanation of the cause, sought to find certain irritating elements in the air brought down by the rain. Others again believe that it is the combination of rain and soil which gives forth an irritating agent — but sheep only, which by habit and locality thus have their feet made tender are liable to be acted on : that is to say, sheep accustomed to move on the downy lawns, where no de- mand is made of nature for a tougher protection. Where nature has omitted this casing it may be supplied artificially in the manner suggested. Many persons care little about this temporary lameness, carcase not being a question of import- ance yet with them, and the effects on the wool not very per- ceptible. But supposing the day has already arrived when, through the influence of a lucrative market, great care of the bulk of the carcase is induced, then the losing of two pounds of mutton off each sheep in flocks numbering 20,000, when mutton is worth 3d. per lb., will prove equivalent to a loss of at least £500, and will make men thoughtful. The damage done and the loss entailed by showers is greater in this respect than a casual thinker might he inclined to believe : it only be- comes alarming taken in the aggregate. There is another form of lameness produced by wet downs of a much more troublesome nature, and this consists in the over-growth of horn. Some have confined the growth to that small rim running round the outer edge of the sole. This, they say, grows rapidly, is thin and soft, and folds over on the tender part of the sole, ultimately pressing with force sufficient to set up inflammation of the sole and foot. That this is so no one will doubt, hut that it is the only cause of foot rot, as alleged by the late Professor Dick, can no longer be believed. The fact is that the whole horny hoof developes simultaneously, and hence we have not only the rim of the sole, hut at the same time elongation of the toes, and contraction resulting therefrom : indeed it will he found on close examination that the contraction is much more untractable and unmanageable than the other. It is virtually when these conditions occur in unison, that the most dreadful sequel follows. Howrever, we are bound to look at them as occurring independently of each other, for they do so occur, and may be so treated. Let us then look first at the over-growth of born and soles, then at the contraction, and then at the inflammatory state of the gland. — Journal of Agricultural Society of New South Wales. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 401 OLD GRASS LANDS OR NEW? There is much speculation afloat concerning this matter — a mutter that may be readily decided, not in favour of the one to the exclusion of the other. Of this there can he no doubt, that each mode is best in certain cases. Who would break up the rich grass lands of Kentucky, or those of England, some of which have been in pasture a century? It would be con- sidered sacrilege to break up these. It is not done, and the grasses afforded by them are of the densest, richest character, affording the best quality, as well as large quantities of milk. Here is the famous Cheddar made, and the best butter. The " green fields" of England are renowned. It is on account, not of breaking up the soil, but keeping it in continuous sward. So iu Kentucky, in the celebrated " blue grass" region, and so, to a greater or less extent, in the renowned dairy region of Central New York. Iu Herkimer the grasses are native — that is, those in the dairy districts north of the Mohawk. This, the black Utiea slate and a limestone favour. These fields are very green and fine in J one, and are also early in the spring. They form a mat in their roots for their protection in winter, and of course the finest of pasture is afforded by them. Here there is some clay, and in some parts considerable, and this affords a sweet food for the grasses, and favours their growth. The one great advantage permanent grasses have, is the con- dition in which they keep the soil in reference to the effect which frequent working has upon clay : not necessarily, but as we find it, for ploughing, working clay soil is equivalent to hurting instead of benefiting it, so bad is our practice. Now, land lying in sod for many years, recovers, partially at least, from this effect. The frosts ameliorate it, and the elements generally have a good effect upon it. It "lies still," which means it is improving, regaining, for nature is ever tending to repair where a wrong has been done her. A thick, natural coat of sweet, succulent grasses should, of course, not be dis- turbed, whether as meadow or pasture. We have probably all noticed the dence growth of the grass cut in our yards, or on the old bleaching-grounds, where for years and years there has been nothing but the grass, dusted by the road (an advantage), and originally getting perhaps the debris of old buildings, the lime, dust and washings from old timbers, and the many accu- mulations which it is known (and not known) to have received. All these, and others, make these old yards a nest of grass- roots, that it would do your heart good to break up and put into grain. Here corn could be grown (as we know of mea- dows and pastures of but eight to ten years' standing, and without manure), that would be unsurpassed by perhaps any other laud in the vicinity. Well, here are equally good grasses, perfectly dense and matted, and yielding enormously in amount, and of good quality. It would be well to break up such sod, and appropriate its benefit for years ; but would it be better than to continue the stout and certain yield of grass yearly ? Perhaps. We do not know, as we have never tried nor observed it accurately. But such grasses, it is probable, cannot be improved, if equalled, in any other way. Therefore, if the perfection of a grass crop will permit of the occupancy of the best soil (as no one will deny), then such sods should not be disturbed. In Italy eight to ten tons of hay are harvested from an acre yearly. This is done by fre- quent cutting and manure. Could we adopt that plan here with the same success, nothing more would be wanted. And why not, at least to some extent P It needs but the pains to be taken — cutting often, six to eight times a-year,and followed by a surface application of some kind, usually in the liquid form, to give it immediate effect, and an uninterrupted growth, the roots strengthened and multiplied, and in a condition to take at once what is offered. We have not tried this. We see no reason why it should not succeed. Some of our lawns are cut often, and we see the effect — a persistent, increasing green, the roots strengthened by the cutting. If now top- dressings, in the form of either liquid or dust, be given, what hinders an increased growth and density, and the point arrived at, which prevails in Europe ? So much for permanent native grasses. They must be native, of course, if continued long — native originally as well as by virtue of long standing. No one will dispute the propriety of continuing this course, the atmosphere all the while adding to the land, while land gives in return the sweetest of grasses, and all without the labour of tilling. Here is butter made that commands leading prices; cheese and milk the same. Here is your soil, with the wealth of a Croesus, to be used at any time, for grain or for clover, or permitted to remain as it is. This is certainly one of the best investments in farming. If you do not believe it, go to Ken- tucky, to our dairy regions — anywhere where such lands are found, and attempt to purchase them. Can we say as much for the success on the other hand? There are lands which will not yield what we have stated- A dry, meagre soil is of this kind. Grasses would " run out" here. Weeds and barren- ness would occupy it. Here a crop or two of grass, especially of clover, may be grown. This may be done, and must be done, by the exercise of judgment and the adaptations of means. Our hold here is upon the surface, to enrich the top- soil, and little, comparatively, will do it. A little manure, well-rotted, or compost, worked into the soil at harrowing, will answer all the purpose, providing the soil is not too barren. This will start the crop, especially if favoured with wheat or barley, or some seed-favouring grain, or, perhaps, no grain at all, as is often done in some parts of the country. The oat possibly may be trusted, as the yield is not ex- pected to be a heavy, a choking one. But we prefer barley or wheat. In such a case there will be a fair crop of grain, and a good catch of the seeding. The barley or the wheat early removed, there will be a chance for the grass to grow, and with the application of top-dressings of plas- ter, bone dust, ashes, &c, there is no reason why a good crop or two of grass may not be raised. This certainly has been done in innumerable cases, and is being done constantly. With still further dressings, say of manure, guano, fee., the yield may be extended, but not, as in the case of the more moist aud rich soil, " natural for grasses." Still, benefit may be derived ; and it is probably the best to do so as an alterna- tion of crops, the pasture mostly being in low lands, and where there is more moisture. For sucli lands, hill lands may, by this means, be improved where other means may be wanting. The mode, therefore, is itself made a benefit. If we can thus vise means to benefit, why nothing better can be desired, hi such case, breaking up and seeding to grass is certainly an ad- mirable way ; it is to be encouraged, just as, on the other hand, we are to encourage the growth of permanent pastures. The two thus go hand in hand, each in its place. Each is proper ; each is to be recommended. It is not recommended, cannot be, to attempt permanent grasses on dry and compara- tively worthless knolls. The grains and fruits are adapted to these mainly ; and a sod can only be a preparation for these, and possibly to modify and renew the soil, as the manures and the rotting turfs, particularly unfermented manures, have the means of changing the minerals of the soil and devoting it to plant food. We need, therefore, a regeneration, or, more pro- perly, a " progression" of the soil ; and this treatment of turf is the means, and if also made a benefit in itself, as we have stat ed, all the better. Shall we then lay our hills and dry soils to grass — the dry knolls especially, considered almost worthless ? And if we can do this — nay, if it is evident that we should do it (for a year or two) — why may we not treat all other soils (except the " permanent" iu-grass) in the same way ? Certainly we can, and should. And it is being done — is the chief means in many parts of improving the soil. We have demonstrated this thing repeatedly and thoroughly on all soils, on the driest knolls, with effect. Of course there is not the same success on such land as on the more moist and rich soils, but a great advantage is gained. We have, there- fore, to take the land as we find it, and treat it accordingly. There is no getting away from this. But there is land be- tween the two extremes. What are we to do with this ? Do either ; that is our answer. Do what you think best : either will prosper ; though we think — and iu this (the point that occasions dispute) we can hardly be mistaken — the safe side is the best, and that is, not in the attempt at a permanent sod, as it will not succeed fully ; will thin out, and require too much aid, with not always the success that is wished, though good crops — the very best — more abundant (a year or two) than in the permanent meadows — may be obtained.— F.^G. in American Country Gentleman. 402 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE NEW NUMBER. Many a man will readily sit down to write a letter who would almost shudder at the idea of preparing an essay, or a magazine artiele. And this perhaps is more especially the case with agriculturists. Not but that they are now frequently educated quite up to the standard of their fellow- citizens ; but their avocations necessarily lead them away from the study, as the regular pen-and-ink farmer is rarely a good one. The secret of how to draw the practical man out is well illustrated in the new number of the lloyal Agricultural Society's Journal, in which the actual prac- tice of agriculture is mainly confined to one paper. Pro- fessor Voelcker speaks to experiments on cloverseed and permanent pasture ; Professor Tanner writes as to the influence of climate and hereditary character on sheep ; while the Rev. J. C. Clutterbuck opens with a prize report upon the farming of Middlesex, and Mr. Evershed occu- pies precisely one hundred pages of the Part with a for- midable treatise on variation in the price and supply of wheat. Captain Davy, to be sure, gives, appropriately enough, as editor of the Devon Herd Book, a brief but rather bare history of the breed. Mr. Everitt supplies a letter, for it is little more, on a succession of green crops, and Mr: Hutchinson, from the North, dwells on the cultivation of conifers: and other forest trees, a subject that the same writer has also just taken up in the Highland Society's Journal. If we say, further, that Professor Voelcker makes his customary chemical report, and that the veterinary professors, as usual, have nothing to say, we have all but exhausted the contents of, with one exception, a singularly uninteresting issue. Por this, of course, there is nobody to blame. During the last year or so the work has been in a state of transi- tion, from which, as the property of a public body, it has naturally suffered more than if its care had been the bu- siness of any individual publisher. With Mr. Jenkyns, the new editor, only installed at Christmas ; with Mr. Thompson engaged elsewhere in contesting a county, and with Mr. Goodwin at Bath, just saddled with a double debt of his own to pay, the "Royal" Journal has, no question, had extraordinary difficulties to contend against. In the iuterim, however, Mr. J. C. Morton has been doing editor's work here ; and his paper will afford an admirable example for Mr Jenkyns, of whose lack of practical knowledge so much has been made by disinterested commentators and frothy outsiders. This article is entitled, " Some of the Agricultural Lessons of 1868;" and Mr. Morton, having set a theme, goes round in due time to collect the papers of bis pupils. Thus, he proposes, in the first instance, the companion subjects of land-drainage and steam-tillage. In so dry a season is there any difference, as regards produc- tiveness, between drained and undrained land? And, has deeply-stirred steam-cultivated land suffered, more or less, than others from the drought ? These questions are famously timed, followed, as they are, by others on the best means of providing green food for stock, and any alterations in cropping consequent on the failure of the young clovers. Now, from any one of these very sug- gestive and very seasonable topics, it is quite possible that some one might have been selected to write a very useful essay ; as, with the time to spare, Mr. Morton might himself have taken one of these in charge. He has preferred, however, to um-avel the Gordian knot after a much more simple fashion. As a matter of precise fact, "The Agricultural Lessons of 1868, by J. C. Morton," are not by J. C. Morton ; but they are no less the valuable on that account. Having becomingly shaped his several queries, he proceeds to forward these to certain well-known agricultural authorities. Thus, Mr. Smith, of "Woolston ; Mr. Paget, of Riddiugton ; Mr. Coleman, late of Woburn ; the Messrs. Howard, of the Britannia Farm ; Mr. Clare Sewell Read ; Mr. Hudson, of Castle- acre ; Mr. Jonas, of Ickleton ; Mr. Charles Howard, of Biddenham ; Mr. Rowley, of Rawthorne ; Captain Dash- wood ; Mr. Ruston, of Aylesby ; Mr. Sowerby, in North Lincolnshire ; Mr. Savidge, of Sarsden ; Mr. Moore, for Lord Radnor ; Mr. Dods, of Anick ; and Mr. Randell, of Chadbury, appear to have been amongst the best authori- ties to whom all or certain of these subjects were sent. And the result — the way in which this intention has been responded to — shows a very decided success. The Agricultural Lessons, indeed furnish the saving clause of the number. They will be read and got oif by heart, while that terribly long story, on the price and supply of wheat remains uncut, on the principle of what to take and what to avoid. Not, though, that this is by any means the first occasion on which such an experiment has been tried, if it has seldom been so satisfactorily worked. A man, for example, will set him- self to write an essay on a subject of which he personally knows little or nothing whatever, so that he has to com- mence by collecting all the information he can. Affect- ing an often ludicrous air of familiarity and long expe- rience, he proceeds to use this matter as his own ; care- fully dropping the names of his correspondents, and put- ting their pithy remarks into his own roundabout and rather questionable English. Such a system as this scarcely answers with anybody. The public see through the sham in a moment, while the actual authors or authorities of the treatise thus concocted scarcely recognise their own sayings and doings after the ill-treatment they have re- ceived. Mr. Morton, with a commendable abnegation of self, suffers his authorities to speak for themselves. The letters look to have been printed very much as they were written ; and we give a specimen of these in another column, although such replies as those of Mr. Jonas and Mr. Randell are too lengthy to be given in full and too good to be abbreviated. The tone and style are almost gene- rally to be commended. The writers go at once to the point without anv attempt at preface or flourish, and, what is more, without caring to make any advertisement out of that they have to say. In one respect Mr. Morton was particularly fortunate in carrying out his idea ; not, though, that this in any way detracts from the credit to which he is entitled for making the most of circumstances. The year 1868 was an altogether exceptional one, as some of its seasons were almost without precedent in the memory of man. And it was from these that Mr. Morton took his texts. The consequences of the long drought cropped up in many ways, and it was from sitch contingencies that so much could be said. It might happen that in some years many a farmer would have no story to tell ; but the progress of Agriculture was put upon its trial in 'sixty-eight, and nothing could be better conceived than that evidence should be at once called to show what deep drainage or deep cultivation was reallyworth. When one sees how much has here been accomplished, one turns to former numbers of the Royal Society's Journal with only the greater as- tonishment at all that has not been done. Is it so im- possible, for instance, to draw out the stewards and THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 403 judges of the July Meetings ? Would they be so obsti- nately inclined to reticence if they had always been suf- fered to speak for themselves P The fact is that the names of the real authorities have been too often sup- pressed in order, as it would seem, to preserve "the unities " of some precious report, although against this plan, we feci some satisfaction in saying that, we have ever continued to protest. The farmer is never so strong, never of so much ser- vice to himself aud his fellows as when he speaks for himself. We care not whether it be in a public journal, or at a public meeting, but nothing is so impolitic as to attempt to smother him up under the wing of somebody else. It is this that has made the discussions of our Fanners' Clubs so trustworthy and especially valuable. These proceedings really represent the opinions of the class they arc assumed to ; whereas a too common habit is to overlay him and his with very great people or some other people, so that he loses all identity and has to answer for he knows not what. Mr. Morton, we say, has given us an admirable illustration of all that may be done under different treatment ; and Mr. Jenkyns, with the intro- ductions his position will enable him to command, may make the most of Mr. Morton's example. HOW FARM STOCK HAS BEEN KEPT. The following letters are taken from the new number of the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal: — " The year 1864 was one of more gloomy prospects as regards the wintering of our flocks and herds than the present, for then we had neither swedes nor turnips (except a few on the stubbles for spring feed), and but very few mangolds. We had, however, about 2^ acres of cow cabbages, which proved of great value ; we began to use them in November, when the cattle were brought into the yards. The hearts were cut through a turnip-cutter and then mixed with hay chaff which had been scalded with boiling linseed tea at the rate of about a gallon per head ; an allowance of barley and pea meal was then equally spread over the heap ; and the whole was well mixed up and let remain two or three hours, after which it was served to the fatting cattle at the rate of a bushel basketful to each beast, enough being mixed at once to last all day. After the best of the cabbages were consumed we began the mangolds, which were pulped and mixed in the same way. Each beast had about fifty pounds per day, or less than half the usual allowance. For the store cattle we adopted the following plan : we had a quantity of rough potatoes which were boiled with some linseed, and, after being mashed up, the soup was thrown over chaff, three parts of straw and one of hay ; some malt-dust was also strewn over the heap to season it, and a few brewers' grains. The whole was then well mixed up and thrown into a heap and served out three times a day. I never saw the beasts do better than they did that year. For the fatting sheep we had clover-hay chaff with grains and an allowance of ground corn all mixed well together and served to them fresh three times a day. The store sheep had half hay and half straw-chaff mixed with grains and a little malt-dust. The ewes had a plentiful supply of good hay up till within a week of lambing, when, in ad- dition, they had half a cart-load of mangolds daily amongst 180, which was increased to a whole load as they got used to them. We had several acres of rape, stubble turnips, and rye, for early spring feed, and these we found very useful for the ewes after lambing. The above is as nearly as possible the plan of feeding which we adopted in a year of even shorter supplies than the present one, aud we shall adopt it again this year so far as we find it necessary." — Mr. Cobban (Lord Ducie's Agent), Gloucestershire. " As to what sheep remain, we live in hopes the young turnips will yet come to something ; should they fail us, our breeding ewes must be kept upon grass land and get corn and cake ; feeding sheep must be limited in the quantity of turnips, and supplemented largely with the cheapest feeding stuffs we can buy ; and I do not think anything is better than linseed and cotton-cake. No doubt large numbers of sheep will keep coming to market in a half fat state ; as has been the case for some time. This must trespass on our future supplies, for should other counties have made away with their young sheep as we have, we must feel the want of them next spring." — Mr. Sowerbt, Aylesby, Lincoln. " Our plan has been to dispose of everything we could possibly get fit for slaughtering. Fat beasts were forced through the autumn and are all cleared out — the same with the sheep ; and the wether lambs, which could not be sold as stores without great loss, arc now (December) beiug regularly drafted for butcher, aud are paying pretty well for their keep. We hope to clear out in a month ready for lambing time. We preferred forcing them all through the season to having them on hand this winter. In doing this we have mixed various descriptions of corn (beans, peas, barley, oats) and cake. For store stock we propose using straw and hay, cut into chaff, with a few mangold-wurzel. Ewes will be done as usual ; as we have a good stock of mangold-wurzel. We give them a little hay now whilst running on the grass lands. They come gradually to mangold-wurzel, witli a little care, just before aud after lambing. We cannot economise straw as food so much as we should like, as we require so much litter— at the same time wc are not very partial to its extensive use, unless roots and other feeding stuffs can be given with it." — Mr. Mooke (Lord Radnor's Agent), Farringdou. " As I am lumbered up with a lot of sheep that I can hardly give away, much less sell, I have already commenced keeping them in yards in lieu of bullocks. They will go out every day for a run on the pastures, or for a bite of what few roots and green crop there may be, and to keep their feet right ; and will be fed in the yards with chaff, cake (half linseed and half rape), acorns, corn, and pollard. I fill my barns with chaff-cutting, f ths oat-straw and the rest hay, well treading it together and salting (he whole mass. The chaff wonderfully softens and sweetens by this treatment, and even young sheep eat it readily. I shall not be able to graze a bullock after Christmas, but must buy in 40 or 50 young steers for the few marshes I have ; and they will be fed on straw, chaff, and cake. I have about 15 acres of mangolds that may produce half the usual weight, and these are all the roots I have that are worth removing from the land. These will be pulped and given to the stock that need them most, care being taken to reserve a few for the ewes and lambs in the spring." — Mr. Sewell Read, M.P., Norfolk. " The hay remaining from the great crop of 1867, added to the two-thirds of a crop of this year, and the excellent quality of the straw, removes anxiety as to the supply of dry fodder. The weight of the straw was large, and we cut it for bedding, which economises its use. Mangold being an average crop, and cabbage 25 tons to the acre (two-thirds of a crop), and the common turnips being about half the value of a crop of swedes, I do not very much fear the whiter, [and I have my usual quantity of stock. Feeding cakes being so dear I have purchased a quantity of very good wheat at £11 5s. per ton, on which I know that cattle will feed and milk as well as on any other food." — Mr. Paget, Ruddington, Nottingham. " Our cattle will have hay and straw chopped up together and mixed with grains, large quantities of w hich are fetched from Burton-on-Trent by our farmers at 6d. per bushel, and found by them to be cheaper than anything else this season, on account of the quantity there is for the money. It is not a question with many of making up the deficiency in the root crop, but of finding a substitute wholly for it, as on many farms not a root is to be seen. Straw, also, is so short, that I do not know where the quantity of stuff required for cattle food is to be found. In this district we have much g«ass land, and with this open weather, and the fact of the land having produced so little in the summer, stock are now living almost 404 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. entirely upon the land, with but little assistance. Sheep, from the failure of roots, will be much more difficult to keep than cattle. Some years ago I wintered 200 hoggets upon arable land without any turnips, and managed to keep them alive, hut I should he very sorry to repeat the experiment. The straw must all be consumed, and it wants reducing to a pulp, as chaff is not tine enough or digestible enough for stock to take in such large quantities as will have to be given this season ; and when large quantities of straw are used boiled linseed, or other things that are not of an astringent nature, should be used, or young stock particularly will suffer." — Mr. J. Coleman, Park Nook, Derby. " It must be remembered that the straw this season is quite as good, or better than meadow hay is some years. The cattle consume the straw, chaff, and cavings most readily. I am using very little hay. The straw-chaff is cut short, damped and mixed with bran, palm nut meal, a little of friend Thorley's cake being added as required. Upon this I am glad to say my herd is looking well. The season, too, is helping us very much ; it is all that can be desired. I know some who have scarcely any animals in the yards as yet, they are still (December) on the grasses." — Mr. Charles Howard, Biddenham, Beds. " Perhaps in no season did the cattle consume the straw more greedily, particularly the straw of wheat. I am using one bushel of grated mangold mixed with finely cut chaff to every four beasts per day, with a liberal supply of rape and cotton cake ; the animals have also a little whole straw to browse over before it is used for bedding. If you can afford hay, it is no matter how you prepare it; hut if straw only is used, by all means cut it as fine as possible : it would pay to have it sifted. I must conclude by stating I use aud prefer good linseed cake for all young stock."— Mr. Savidge, Sars- den, Oxon. " For my feeding cattle I hope to have five stones of turnips per head per diem, which, with straw ad libitum, aud G lbs. of Bubsen cake, and when finishing a few lbs. of linseed cake, should fatten them. The Bubsen has been benefited by the hot summer, and is of so good a quality (where pure) that the cattle are eating it greedily I don't believe in cooking ; I tried it for several years, but have long ago given it up, and now give all food raw, and am satisfied the cattle do better at less cost. My cows, however, receiving straw ad libitum, get 3 lbs. of Bubsen in the morning, go out on fine days for a few hours, and in the evening have a warm mash of chaff and 3 lbs. of meal from light com and Bubsen cake, with boiling water poured over it. Por cows milking, I believe the warm mashes a benefit. My store cattle have straw and 3 lbs. of Bubsen cake, on which they do well ; indeed, even when I have abundance of turnip I never give my store cattle any, as they do much better on the Bubsen cake alone. My feeding hoggets are at present folded on turnips, in the usual way, with £lb. of linseed cake each. Next week I shall put them on cut turnips, limiting their supply, aud continuing the cake to them, with a rack full of cut straw in the field. They will get as many turnips as they can cat in the forenoon, and their cake at afternoon. My ewe hoggets will have the same turnips and a little (4 lb. of) Bubsen cake. My breeding ewes will go on the old grass fields, and have \ lb. cotton and \ lb. Bubsen cake, if the latter is to be had ; if not, they shall have a little more cotton-cake, and a smaller allowance of linseed- cake instead of the Bubsen, which is in such demand that it can scarcely be had even at £8 per ton." — Mr. Dods, Auick, Hexham. THE SPRING SHOW OP SHORTHORNS IN BINGLEY HALL, BIRMINGHAM. The notion of a spring show of Shorthorns is by no means a novel one. The exhibition, in fact, of yearlings more particularly, has become so established a success in Dublin, as to have frequently suggested the carrying out of a similar meeting in London. It remained, however, with Birmingham to take the initiative on this side of the Chan- nel, and the experiment, as tried so far, is cer- tainly not discouraging. The entries were numerous, aud these would probably have been still greater had longer notice been given of the intention. Many a man had not made his choice things quite "up" at so early a period, and even a higldy-bred Shorthorn requires some preparation previous to encountering the Judge's eye. As it was, a strong proportion of the young bulls were in merely store condition, as they would be none the wrorsc bargains for that reason. And there was a very full attendance of breeders and fancyers quite willing to suite themselves with " a bargain," if anything but inclined to run up to the hundreds on hundreds, which will still occasionally distinguish Mr. Strafford's disposal of a fashionable tribe or herd. There was, of course, no particular tribe or blood to be seen in Biugley Hall, but rather a very curi- ous collection of all sorts, of which " good, bad, and in- different" would supply the most apposite description. It would be hard, indeed, if a customer could not find something to his mind ; at any rate at a price, for the average ruled low, and the sale, so far as any excellence be concerned, was but a matter of secondary considera- tion. Of the thirty^six bulls, exceeding twelve and not exceeding twenty-one months old, which formed the first-class, only one of those actually sold, really made much money ; such of the others as did change hands, oscillating pretty generally between twenties and thirties, with here and there an exception, that often went to query the bona fides of the biddings. But the auction was altogether something of a mistake aud something more of a sham ; and if it be continued this will have to be put under very different conduct. The show proper, on the contrary, was far more creditable ; and these said thirty-six yearlings included some already well-known animals. Thus, the first prize, who fairly placed himself, is Mr. Poljambe's Knight of the Whistle, that was the best calf at the new Lincoln- shire Society's meeting at Grantham and the third in his class at the Wetherby Show of the Yorkshire Society ; as rarely has there been more market improvement in the interim. The Knight of the "Whistle was but a plainish calf, whereas he is now growing into a handsome bull, of a rich roan colour, with a good masculine head, backed by size aud substance, with plenty of style, and a capital wealthy touch, lie was shown rather big, but he walked away with a gay active carriage, and, best of tests, never looked better than when out. There could be no doubt as to his place, and the blue riband was fastened on to his head-collar long before anything else was decided. But Mr. Poljambe had another of hi8 Knights in the Hall, and, so far, a yet more famous animal. This is Knight of the Bath, the first prize Boyal calf of last season, and that has never been shown since. He here took third prize, but those who declared against him at Leicester would see no just cause now to recall their word, and wc confess to liking him less the more wc see of him. At the great national meeting it will be remembered Mr. Foljambe also took the second prize for bull calves with Knight of the Cresent, in due course pronounced to be the best of all the bulls at Wetherby, aud now ready for work at home at Osberton ; while Knight of the Thistle, the best yearling at Wetherby, has been let to Messrs. Dudding, of Panton. These are the only four sons of the Knight of the Garter that were out last year ; and ably THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 405 indeed have they sustained their sire's repute. The second-best bull at Birmingham — and he was as certainly second as the other was fust — was Prince Leopold, bred by Mr. Caltlcy of Stearsby, by whom he was exhibited at Wcthcrby, where be took second prize for yearlings, beating Knight of the Whistle, and when he changed hands for about the same sum, we believe, which was now offered for him at the hammer. We spoke of Leopold then and there as "a particularly nice young bull;" and he has gone on capitally since, growing, spread- ing, and dropping to his les ; beginning with a hand- some head, having a rich, thick coat, and being altogether very long and straight in his frame. The next-best or highly-commended bull at Birmingham had also the honour of receiving a similar compli- ment at Leicester. This is Mr. Fawkes1 (of Farnley) Lord Montgomery, and a very taking young bull he is, long, low, and deep, full of quality, and with a pedigree equal to anything ; as, in fact, a tine combina- tion of blood and substance, and only falling away a little in his quarter, or he might have run the prize animals yet closer. It was well understood that the stock sent from Faruley would be actually sold, and this was the first genuine deal of any significance that occurred. The tone of the ring seemed entirely changed, and instead of the secretary, who was put on as auctioneer, hanging and dwelling and reiterating buying-in biddings, it was wholesome to notice how smartly the business went up to 72 gs., when Lord Montgomery was knocked down to Mr. AVilliam Trethewy, who takes his lordship back with him to Truro. Another high-commendation, but by no means of equal merit, although a " likely" growing young bull, was Mr. Wakefield's Catton, a second prize last '» season in Staffordshire and Derbyshire, and now appraised at 56 gs. ; while Mr. George Game was commended for Prince of Airdrie, a big plain white of some quality, for which Mr. Blackwell was good enough to give 51 guineas, although, as it subsequently transpired, this gentleman has very handsomely permitted Mr. Game to " have his own again," and the Prince goes back to Churchill Heath. Of room Mr. Buzziugton now has no lack, So he kindly consented to taking him back. Mr. Strattou's entries were only moderate, but one was commended, and Lord Braybrooke is to be con- gratulated on getting out of Lord Claro Burdelt, if he succeeded in doing so, " at any price." No one would give the reserve of 20 gs. for anything of Mr. Whit- worth's ; Mr. Woodward's best at 37 gs. was light, steery, and lathy ; and Mr. Sheldon's Warwickshire short of hair and slack in his back. There were others still worse, for some of which the hapless owners were quite content to wave the 20 gs. limit, and take whatever they could get. The price list, not always to be taken for what it seems to be worth, will speak to the merits of these ; the exception being a fairish sizeable bull of Mr. Cheney's, that on being commended was run up to 61 guineas, and two very good handsome young bulls of Lord Beauchamp's, with the one not noticed by the judges making the most money, in the proportion of 58 to 42. But there was no rising herd that made its mark so strongly in Bingley Hall as that of Lord Beauchamp ; and like Knight of the Whistle the bull-calf Achieve- ment won all the way. He was so smart and blood-like, so straight and elegant, so square in his outline, and so good in his paces, that, despite a certain lack of sub- stance, the judges could not get away from him ; al- though they here took more time over it. The hammer, however, duly confirmed this at the top price of the lot, booked to Mr. Sergeant at 60 guineas. At a month younger Mr. Pawlett's Harold, the second prize, and a very good calf all through, has more size aud thick- ness, as well as a longer pedigree, but he only made 43 guineas to Mr. Bell. Mr. Edward Lythall, being handy home had quite a crop of young things in the entry, if he did not send them all, but the sample was a very creditable one, iucludiug a third prize, and two commendations, with a fourth, Sir Peter, almost equal to the others, aud not so out in his shoulders as Normanby, otherwise a very neat one with capital hair ; a point also in favour of Lord Waterford, who with a line top and a good mover is split up behind. Mr. Foljambc's commended white is [merely a baby ; Lord Braybrooke's Nestor of a nice colour aud quality, and Mr. George Game's Pan with some promise about him. Mr. Pulley, however, does not so far seem to be doing much with the Shorthorns in Herefordshire, nor docs Sir E. Ii. Phillips make any great head with the nicks he is trying in the Weston herd. Still, taken as a lot, the calves made a good class of another thirty-six or so that took a deal of judging. Beyond these two classes proper there w as an extra-stock class of cows and heifers, which reached to twenty en- tries, and that brought iuto competition cows of eight or nine years old, with calves of as many months. These the judges soon drafted down to four, having also be- stowed a well-merited commendation on Mr. Pawlett's deep, compact heifer, Young Jewell ; and Mr. Atherton's Cherry Princess could ultimately get no further, for al- though very fine forward she was stopped by a bad short quarter. A step higher went Mr. Butler's great, useful, ragged-hipped, really milch cow, a very genuine exhibi- tion from the herd that honestly earned her high com- mendation ; and then the judges, who had done and gone very well together, resolutely agreed to differ. Mr. Doig took for his choice Mr. George Game's roan cow Lady Lucy, shown very fat, but again in calf ; and which, be- yond a high commendation at the Leicester Royal took four prizes during last summer, at Banbury, Warwick, Glou- cester, and Chipping Norton. Against this dowager Mr. Sandy pitted Mr. Eoljambe's Elora, the Reserve, as highly commended heifer at Leicester, and the first prize at Wetherby — " a capital, stylish roan, with well-laid shoul- ders, and a line of beauty running along her." And Flora has gone on, though she did not show well out at Birmingham, poking rather in her walk, and look- ing to stand down hill, from, as it is said, being not quite right in her feet. Still the public polled a strong majority in her favour ; but neither Judge beiug willing to give way Mr. John Claydeu was called in as referee, and his decision, very quickly arrived at, put another first to Mr. Foljambe. In fact, as it came out, Mr. Doig had been regarding Flora* as two years instead of one year off, and so objected to her want of size, or otherwise it is probable he would not have held out so long. There was a companion lot of bulls of all ages in extra stock, but with no prizss offered, and consequently no opinion passed by the judges. But far away the first here was Mr. Burdett's Blair Athol, bred by Mr. Gra- ham, of Yardley, and a fine, lengthy, rich-coloured ani- mal, full of masculine character and of really grand type. We did not stay to see him come into the ring, but with shoulders so beautifully laid Blair Athol, like his name- sake, should be bound to move. He was shown, more- over, in nothing beyond good useful condition, or " all in the rough" as some would have it, and he was no doubt one of the best bulls in the yard. Mr. Robinson, of Burton, sent a two-year-old, very good in his quarters ; and there were some yearlings that, whatever be their merits, might as well have been in their own 406 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. class, as at any rate they would have been offered earlier in the day ; and this, as we take it, should be something of a consideration, where the thing is clearly intended to be as much or more of a sale than a show. Not that this intention is by any means matured. The first and, of course, the chief of the conditions of sale ran thus : " The animals to be put up at not more than twenty guineas, and the highest bidder to be the buyer." Or, as this was further explained in au advertisement inviting the attendance of the public : " The whole of the animals exhibited will be offered for sale by auction, the same day, without any further reserve than entering them at not more than twenty guineas each." It is not quite so clear but that people who came with a view of purchasing and who did bid on this understanding, or exhibitors who com- plied with these conditions, have good grounds for some- thing more than a protest. Buyers not observing the rules were duly warned that " without further notice they would be snbject to have their lots re-sold," — " the deposit mouey forfeited,"—" the deficiency made good," and so forth. But we search in vain for any similar pains and penalties to be enforced against exhi- bitors who should break through the regulations. Tf the 20 gs. limit were really meant to have any effect, it should have been coupled with a clause declaring that any exhibitor who was proved to have employed any person to bid for him after the animal was put up should be disqualified from taking a prize, or what in the world are the words "without any further reserve" intended to imply? Our correspondent "Vigil" would not enter any of his young bulls, because he was simple enough to believe what he read, and so would not risk losing any of his stock at 20 gs. each. "Whereas, these conditions seemed, in point of fact, to be mere sound, and nothing more — that a man might listen to or not, just as he chose. Or, at any rate, this is the conclusion we have arrived at, in giving the list of prices and the names of the purchasers, as, in its way, something of a curiosity. The first prize yearling bull was knocked down for 95 gs., and the buyer's name announced as Mr. Radley, who, however, had by no means done yet, for he gave the top prize of 150 gs. for the Cup heifer, Mr. Foljambe's Flora ; and within half-an- hour of Mr. Radley having purchased Knight of the Whis- tle, we found an American gentleman trying to get the bull's price, not from Mr. Radley, but from Mr. Foljambe's herdsman ! The general impression was that all these animals would return to Osberton ; but we shall be only too happy to afford Mr. Radley the opportunity of cor- recting this, as for stating that he was really bidding on his own account. Squire Buzzington managed this kind of business more cleverly : For, when Mr. Hookey had heard from a sailior That pleuro-pneumonia was rife in Australia, Again, Mr. Buzzington kindly came forward, And offered to keep her without saying more word. As further — In addition to this, Mr. Gamon, I find, Who went in for Damson, behaved most unkind, For he rued of his bargain, and left her behind. While, as regards the crack bull, It was clear Magnum Bonum, if then sent to Paris, Might prove Parvum Bonum to poor Mr. Harice ; Mr. Buzzington, therefore, consenting, he tarries. It would be idle to pursue this matter further ; but if a sale of any character is to be associated with the show, the " without further reserve " absurdity must be alto- gether abandoned. Let exhibitors have the option of putting their stock up if they so desire, but let no man be forced into a sale at such an upset price, as, if duly ob- served, could only go to make a bad show. PRIZE LIST. SHORTHORNS. Judges. — R. Doig, Lillston Dayrell, Bucks. W. Sandy, Holme Pierrepoint, Notts. Bulls exceeding twelve and not exceeding twenty-one months old. First prize of £50, G. S. Foljambe, Osberton Hall, Work- sop (Knight of the Whistle). Second of £15, Messrs. Crawshaw and Blakeley, Headlield, Dewsbury (Prince Leopold). Third of £5, G. S. Foljambe (Knight of the Bath). Highly commended : F. H. Fawkes, Farnley Hall, Otley (Lord Montgomery) ; and W. T. Wakefield, Fletchampstead, Coventry (Catton). Commended : Geo. Game, Churchill Heath, Chipping Norton (Prince of Airdrie) ; Lord Beauchamp, Madresfield Court, Worcester (Factotum) ; R. Stratton, Burderop, Swin- don (Absolom) ; and E. H. Cheney, Gaddesby Hall, Melton Mowbray (Lord Napier). Bull Calves exceediug six and not exceeding twelve months old. First prize of £20, Lord Beauchamp (Achievement). Second of £10, T. E. Pawlett, Beeston, Sandy (Harold). Third of £5, E. Lythall, Radford Hall, Leamington (Nor- man by). Commended : E. Lythall (Lord Waterford) ; E. Lythall (Cotherstone) ; Lord Beauchamp (Heir Royal) ; and G. S. Foljambe (White Lion). EXTRA STOCK. COWS AND HEIFERS. A Silver Cup, value 10 gs., to G. S. Foljambe (Flora — heifer). Highly commended : G. Game (Lady Lucy — cow) ; and W. Butler, Badminton (Badminton Gem — cow). Commended : T. Atherton, Chapel House, Speke, Liverpool (Cherry Princess — heifer) ; and T. E. Pawlett (Young Jewel — heifer). LIST OF PRICES. SHORTHORN YEARLING BULLS. Mr. Thomas Bell's (Brockton, Eccleshall) Duke of Edinburgh, white. — Mr. G. Snowden, Hull, 25 gs. Mr. W. Nevett's (Yorton, Middle, Salop) Roan Duke, roan. — . Mr. G. Snowden, 30 gs. Mr. W. Nevett's Roan Knight, roan. — Mr. G. Snowden, 27 gs. Mr. G. S. Foljambe's (Osberton Hall, Worksop) Knight of the Whistle, roan. — Mr. Radley, Firbeck, Yorkshire, 95 gs. Mr. R. Stratton's (Burderop, Swindon) Salthrop Lad, roan. — Mr. Mann, Chesterton, 26 gs. Messrs. Crawshaw and Blakeley's (Headfield, Dewsbury) Prince Leopold, roan. — Messrs. F. and H. Brett, Not- tingham, 100 gs. Lord Braybrooke's (Audley End, Saffron Walden) Lord Claro Burdett, roan. — Mr. Thorpe, Nuneaton, 32 gs. Mr. Wm. Woodward's (Hardwick, Tewkesbury) Diogenes, roan. — Mr. Brown, lpstone, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, 37 gs. Mr. F. A. Fawkes's (Farnley Hall, Otley) Lord Montgomery, roan. — Mr. W. Trethewy, Cornwall, 72 gs. Mr. G. Game's (Churchill Heath, Chipping Norton, Oxon) Prince of Airdrie, white. — Mr. Blackwell, Matlock, 51 gs. Mr. J. Webb's (Spring Hill, Fladbury) Third Count Cavour, roan. — Mr. Davis, Market Drayton, 2igs. Mr. G. S. Foljambe's Knight of the Bath, roan. — Mr. Mellows, High Melton, Doncaster, 80 gs. Rev. R. B. Kenuard's (Marmhull, Blandford) Lord Stanley 2nd, red. — Mr. Williams, Cornwall, 29 gs. Messrs. Thomas Game and Son's (Broadmoor, near North- leach) North Star, red. — Mr. J. Newbold, near Coventry, 80 gs. Mr. E. Wortley's (Ridlington) King William, roan. — Lieut.- Col. Inge, Thorpe Constantine, 30 gs. Mr. W. C. Firmstone's (Rockingham Hall, Hagley) Lord North, roan. — Mr. Neville, Haselor Hall, Lichfield, 30 gs. Mr. Joseph Whitworth's (Stancliffe Hall, Matlock Bath) Gari- baldi 5th, roau. — No bidding. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 407 Mr. Joseph Whitworth's Garibaldi 6th, red. — No bidding. Mr. Win. Woodward's Bucephalus, roan.: — Mr. Guilding, Mai- Tern, 34 gs. Rev. R. B. Kennard's Third Duke of Montrose, roan. — Mr. Harris, Coventry, 26 gs. Mr. Henry J. Sheldon's (Brailes House, Shipton-on-Stour) Earl of Warwickshire, roan. — Mr. Birdett, Pytchley, 36 gs. Messrs. F. and H. Brett's (Burton Joyce, Nottingham) Al- liance 3rd, roan. — Mr. Thomas, 16 gs. Mr. T. G. Curtler's (Bevere, Worcester) Viscount Worcester, roan. — No bidding. Earl Beauchamp's Factotum, roan. — Mr. Orton, Soleshill, 42 gs. Mr. William T. Wakefield's (Fletchampstead, Coventry) Catton, roan. — Mr. B. II. Alien, The Priory, Hereford- shire, 56 gs. Mr. R. Stratton's Cyclops, roan. — R. Benyon, Esq., M.P., Englefield House, Reading, 30 gs. Mr. R. Stratton's Absolam, roan. — Mr. Corhetl, Dumbleton, 41 gs. Mr. W. Woodward's Lord Ward, roau. — Mr. Watson, Worces- ter, 29 gs. Mr. G. Game's Jovian, roau. — Mr. Elkington, Northfield, Worcestershire, 31 gs. Mr. T. G. Curtler's Loyalty, red. — No bidding. Mr. Frederick Lythall's (The Spittal Farm, Banbury) Simon, roan. — Mr. Lawley, Sudbury, 28 gs. Messrs. Thomas Game and Son's Primate, red. — Mr. Alcock, 30 gs. Mr. E. H. Cheney's (Gaddesby Hall, Melton Mowbray) Lord Napier, roan. — Mr. Fair, Lytham, 61 gs. Earl Beauchamp's Will-o'-the-Wisp, roau. — Mr. Smithen, Dumbleton, 58 gs. Mr. T. G. Curtler's Brutus, red. — No bidding. Mr. James Webb's Richard the 2nd, red and white. — No bidding. BULL CALVES. Mr. T. G. Curtler's Rubens, red. — No bidding. Mr. F. H. Fawkes's Master Gladstone, roan. — Mr. W. Masfen, Norton Caiues, Cannock, 23 gs. Earl Beauchamp's Achievement, red, — Mr. Sargent, Rod- right, 60 gs. Mr. T. Nash's (Fcatherstone, near Wolverhampton) Oliver, red. — No bidding. Mr. C. W. Goode's (Chipping Norton, Oxon) Rufus, red. — No bidding. Mr. F. H. Fawkes's Lord Bluebeard, roan. — Mr. Parkes, Cheshire, 37 gs. Mr. Thomas Athertou's (Chapel House, Speke, Liverpool) Cherry Prince 3rd, white. — No bidding. Earl Beauchamp's Lord of the Manor, red. — Mr. Smithin, Dumbleton, 37 gs. Mr. T. G. Curtler's Lord of Bevere, red. — Mr. Trethewy, Cornwall, 26 gs. Earl Beachamp's King of the May, roan. — Mr. Bearcroft, Droitwitch, 36 gs. Mr. Joseph Pulley (Lower Eaton, Herefordshire) Charles 1st, roan.— Mr. Hart, 27 gs. Messrs. F. and H. Brett's Earl of Nottingham, roan. — No bidding. Mr. Joseph Pulley's Royal Oxford, red. — Colonel Pearson, 21 gs. Mr. E. H. Cheney's Telemachus, roan. — Mr. Whitford, Corn- wall, 46 gs. Mr. Thos. E. Pawlett's (Beeston, Sandy, Beds.) Harold, red and white. — Mr. Bell, Rhyl, 43 gs. Sir G. R. Philips's, Bart. (Weston Park, Shipston-on-Stour) Beppo, roan. — No bidding. Mr. Edmund Lythall's (Radford Hall, Leamington) Lord Waterford, roan. — Mr. Staveley, Dotterill Park, Driffield, 37 gs. Earl Beauchamp's Heir Royal, roan. — Mr. Tomes, Stratford- on-Avon, 30 gs. Mr. Joseph Whitworth's Garibaldi the 8th, red. — No bidding. Mr. George Game's (near Northleach, Gloucestershire), Patron, roan. — Mr. Pippitt, Alcester, 28 gs. Mr. E. Wortley's Sylvanus, roan. — Mr. Trevor Yates, 31 gs. Mr. George Game's Pan, roan. — Mr. J, Staveley, Dotterell Park, Driffield, 61 gs. Messrs. James and Edword Tindall's (Knapton Hall, Ril- lington, York) Cramond, white. — Mr. Lester, Walford, 25 gs. Mr. Edmund Lythall's Sir Peter, roan. — W. Orme Foster Esq., M.P., 36 gs. Mr. Edmund Lythall's Normanby, roan. — Mr. Price, Down- ton, Salop, 38 gs. Mr. Joseph Pulley's Prince of Wales, roan. — Mr. Gregory 28 gs. r. W. Woodward's Lycurgus, light roau. — Mr. Chambers Milcote, 31 gs. Rev. R. B. Kennard's Oxford Prince, roan. — Mr. Thornton, Waterloo Place, London, 31 gs. Mr. Joseph Pulley's Marquis, roan.— Mr. Bedley, Bloxwich, Staffordshire, 22 gs. Sir G. R. Philip's Gulliver, red. — No bidding. Mr. Joseph Noble Beasley's (Brampton, Northampton) Joker, roan. — No bidding. Mr. Edmund Lythall's Cotherstone, roan. — Mr. Nash, Feather- stone, Wolverhampton, 44 gs. Lord Braybrooke's Nestor, roau.— Mr. Staveley, Dotterill Park, Driffield, 33 gs. Mr. W. H. Kidson's (Saredon, Wolverhampton) Wonderful, white. — No bidding. Mr. G. S. Foljambe's White Lion, white.— Mr. W. Ashton 43 gs. EXTRA STOCK. COWS AND HEIFERS. Mr. Fredk. Lythall's Princess, red.— No bidding. Mr. Wm. Butler's (Badminton, Wilts) Badminton Lass, red and white. — Mr. Peters, Woodchester, 30 gs. Mr. Wm. Butler's Badminton Gem, roan. — Mr. Lythall, Ban- bury, 38 gs. Rev. George Gilbert's (Claxton, Norwich) Madam Hardy, white. — No bidding. Mr. George Game's Beatrice, roan.— Mr. Harding, Swansea 47 gs. Mr. George Game's Donna Inez, red and white. — Mr. Hard- ing, Swansea, 42 gs. Mr. Thomas E. Pawlett's May Queen, roan. — Mr. Parkes, Cheshire, 31 gs. Mr. Geo. Game's Lady Lucy, roan.— Mr. Upson, Rivenhall, Essex, 52 gs. Mr. Thomas Robinson's (Burton-on-Trent) Aunt Sally red Mr. Nevett, Harmer Hill, Salop, 31 gs. Mr. Jamps Webb's Annette, roan. — Mr. Workman, Evesham, 35 gs. Rev. George Gilbert's Virginal, white. — No bidding. Mr. William Henry Kidson's Delight of Patshull, roan.— Mr. Nash, 37 gs. Mr. Thos. Athertou's Cherry Princess 3rd, white. — Mr. Ash- bourne, Liverpool, 52 gs. Mr. Thomas E. Pawlett's Young Jewel, roau. — Mr. Ford 42 gs. Mr. Thomas E. Pawlett's Damask, red. — Mr. Woodroffe, Loughborough, 32 gs. Mr. G. S. Foljambe's Flora, roan. — Mr. Radley Firbeck 150 gs. Mr. T. E. Pawlett's Venus, red and white. — Mr. Lees, War- wick, 20 gs. Mr. Wm. Butler's heifer calf, red and white. — Mr. Carrall 22 gs. Mr. W. Butler's heifer calf, roan.— Mr. Guest, Broadwas 23 gs. BULLS. Mr. John Henry Lees' (Bacon's End, Coleshil], Birmingham) Saracen 2nd, red roau.— Mr. Hunt, Birmingham, 41 gs. Mr. Thos. Burdett's (Pytchley, Kettering) Blair Atliol, roan.— Mr. Smith, Worcester, 46 gs. Mr. Thomas Robinson's Royal Master Butterfly 4th, roan.— Mr. Upton, Alrewas, Staffordshire, 42 gs. Mr. Thomas Robinson's Garibaldi 4th, roan. — Mr. Upson Rivenhall, 46 gs. Mr. Wm. Solomon Woodroffe's (Normanton-on-Soar, Lough- borough) Wharfdale Excelsior, white. — Mr. 'Manton Saltby, Birmingham, 29 gs. Mr, Thomas Nash's Lord Charles, roan,— Mr.' Cooper, 40 gs, 408 THE FAEITEE'S MAGAZINE, Messrs. F. and H. Brett's (Burton Joyce, Nottingham) Lenten Lancaster, roan. — Mr. Lear, 27 gs. Mr Thomas Bell's Colonel Merewether, red. — Mr. Eardley, Mr. Geo. Game's Second Duke of Devonshire, red. — Mr. R. Hewer, Sarsden, 35 gs. Mr. Whl Nevett's Lord Waterloo, red and white. — Mr. Horton, Tanworth, S Mr. William I\ even's Hero, red and white. — Mr. Saseby, King's Norton, 21 gs. Mr. James Webb's Windsor, roan. — Mr. Beman, Adlestrop. Mr. Wm" Nevett's Lord Wellington, red. — No bidding. Messrs. Thomas Game and Son's Monarch, red and white. — Mr. Winterton, Snowford, 2S gs. Mr. Geo. Game's Nil Desperandum, red. — Mr. Reynolds, Gloucestershire, 27 gs. Mr. Thomas Bell's Duke of Sugnal, roaa. — Mr. Guest, Broad- was. - Mr. C. W. Goode's Fugleman, roan. — Mr. Bliss, Weston Underwood, Bucks, 21 gs. Mr. Thomas Hands' tCanley. Coventry) Lord Lavender 3rd, roan. — Mr. Bodington, Leamington, . Mr. Hands' Lord Lavender 4th, roan. — No bidding. Mr. J. M. Grundy's (Drayton. Nuneaton) Crest of the Wave, roan. — No bidding. Mr. William Woodward's Damon, red and white. — Mr. Hart, 30 gs. Mr. J. M. Grundy's Medallion, roan. — No bidding. Mr. William Woodward's Lepidus, red. — Mr. Allday, Moreton- in-the-Marsh, 31 gs. Mr. Joseph Whitworth's Garibaldi 7th, red and white. — No bidding. Messrs. Thomas Game and Son's Pickwick, roan. — Mr. Beale, Brocklehurst, Rugby, 4G gs. Mr. S. C. Pilgrim's (The Outwoods, Hinckley) Gloucester, roan. — Mr. Brooke, Sutton, 23 gs. Mr. Samuel C. Pilgrim's Progress, red. — Mr. Kingsley, 21 gs. Mr. Henry J. Meakin's ^Shobnall Grange, Burton-on-Trent) Emperor, red and white. — No bidding. Mr. T. Robiiisou's Royal Master Butterfly 9th, roan.— Mr. Parr, Shropshire, 2 Mr. G. S. Foljambe's Chorister, roan. — No bidding. Mr. Thomas Robinson's Roval Master Butterilv 10th, roan. — Mr. L Mr. Henry J. Meakin's Woodman, white. — No bidding. Mr. Thomas Robinson's Royal Master Butterfly 11th, red roan. — No bidding. Mr. Henry J. Meakin's The Duke of Cumberland 2nd, red. — No bidding. Mr. Henry J. Meakin's Hero, roan. — No bidding. Mr. T. Harris's Stony Lane, Bromsgrove) The Earl, roan. — Mr. S>\innerton, 2 Mr. E. Wortley's Lord Famham, roan. — Mr. R. Hewer, Sarsden, 1 ' _ Mr. Thomas Bell's Earl of Pershore, dark roan. — Mr. Dickens, 11 gs. Mr. William T. Wakeneld's (Fletchampstead Hall, Coventry) Sir Sam, roan. — No bidding. Mr. Thos. G. Curtler's Bellman, red and wliite. — Mr. Wadev, 11 ?s. -ALE OF THE KIXGSFOET HEED OF SHOETHOEXS, By Mr. Johx Thokxtox, or Laxgham Place, Loxdox. The sale of Mr. Chaloner's herd of shorthorns took place at Kingsfort, county Meath, Ireland, on the last Tuesday in March. Mr. Chaloner has been long and favourably known as a successful breeder, and between him and Mr. Barnes, of Westland, the locality soon became the principal nursery of the Booth shorthorn blood in Ireland. In ls57 Mr. Chaloner entered the arena, now more than a quarter of a century since, and in 16-13 achieved his first prize, In 1S60 he sold all off except three— Bonny Lass and two heifers of the "Sylph" tribe, which were so well known as prize-takers in Ireland, the herd realizing an average of over 80 guineas. Mr. Chaloner then began again with selections from the English herds of "W arlaby, Aylesby, Bahraham, and Farnley, and from the Irish Moycashel herd, from which the stock disposed of last week are descended. Mr. Chaloner used none but the finest and purest Warlaby bulls, giving his whole at- tention to, and sparing no cost in improving and develop- ing the best points in his favourites. The second herd was therefore of first-class character, evidence of which was to be seen on the luncheon-table in a splendid salver, in which were imbedded about sixteen silver medals and a gold one in the centre, won by Mr. Chaloner; who was also often a successful competitor for cups, which, however, from the terms of competition — to be won three times in succession — did not remain per- manently with him. This will be the more readily understood when it is saidd that his bull, Sove- reign (out of Tillage Rose, bred by Mr. Torr, of Aylesby, by Royal Sovereign), won the Townley 150 guinea plate as a yearling in 1S6", at the spring meeting of the Royal Dublin Society, but had to yield it up, at the meeting of the same Society in 186S, to Lady Kg Charles Le Beau ; although Sovereign won at the same meeting the Railway 150 guineas Challenge Cup, and is now entered for the cup, as well as for the Town Plate, at the ensuing meeting in Dublin. The Booth sires used at Kin£sfort since I860 include British Flag (19351), Ravenspur (2062S), Royal Sover 2 . - 2), and Xing Richard, by Commander- in-Chief (21451 1, the latter being the second prize bull in his class at Plymouth Royal Meeting, 1SG5, and first at the Leicester Royal, 1S6S. The herd now disposed of numbering 54, were in good fair condition, without any attempt at pampering; while they handled well, and were covered with an abundance of soft, woolly hair. The sale attracted the attendance of the greater number of shorthorn breeders in Ireland, and some of the best in England; while America was represented by the Honourable Mr. Cochrane, from Canada, and Mr. Gibson, from New York, both of whom bid the highest figures. Amongst the English visitors were Messrs. C. Booth, Warlaby ; W. Torr, Aylesby ; Jas. How, Hunts j Black- well, Derbyshire; R. Jefferson, Cumberland; Barker, Hertfordshire; Fawks, St. Bees, Cumberland; Fer- guson, Cumberland, and Little, Cambridgeshire. The Irish visitors were so numerous as to preclude the possi- bility of obtaining all their names. Amongst them were Messrs. Smith, Islandmore, Limerick ; J. Farrel, Moy- nalty House, Meath ; H. M. Richardson, Rosfed ; Littleboy, representative of Major Barton, Straffan, Kil- dare ; Reynell, Kill man ; Davidson, representative of Loftus Bland, Blandsfort ; Stawell Garnett, Williams- town, Meath ; Samuel Garnett, Arch-hall, Meath ; Naper, Lotlgherew. Meath ; Bolton, The Island, Wexford ; Rev. Mr. Dundas; Pollock, Mounstainstown ; Darley, Wing- field; Sir Wm. Barrington, Bart., Croker Barrington; Colonel Leslie, Glaslough; Orme, Owenmore, Mayo ; Murrav. representative of Earl Fitzwilliam, Coolattin Park, Wicklow ; Battersby, Meath: Tynte, Tynte Park, Wicklow ; Keetinsr Cabra, Meath ; Featherstonhaush, Meath; R. C. Wade, Clonebreny, Meath; Killett, Meath; Honourable Bowes Deley, T. Connolly, M.P., Castletown, Kildare ; John Madden, Montgo- mery, Tyrone; Cannon, Meath; Major Nugent, Lord Bangor. " Castleward ; Franks, Monntrath; O'Reilly, Meath • P. R. Kearney, Milltown, Meath ; Thomas Gar- rard, Boyue Hill, Meath ; Mervyn Pratt, Cabra Castle. Cavan. After a lunch Mr. Thornton commenced with a business-like address, and then proceeded to take the bid- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 409 dings, handling the sand-glass very satisfactorily. The names of the animals and purchasers, with the prices made, are as under : Lot. Purchaser. 'rice. Cows amj Heifers. 1. Lady Pigot 20 2. Village Rose Mr. R. Jefferson, Cumberland Mr. 11. Black well, Derbyshire lion. Mr. Cochrane, Canada... Mr. T. Connolly, M.P., Castle- town 40 3. Bagatelle 4. British Maid 5. Wellingtonia 55 80 41 100 4(i 40 9. Victoria Alberta ... 10. Rosalea Mr. B. J. Smith, Islandmore... 37 52 11. Victoria 3Sth 51 12. Lady Selina Sale ... 13. Rose of Castile 55 45 fin 16. Fair Maid of Hope 150 40 17. Red Breast 30 Mr. Tynte Tynle Park 135 32 20, Waterloo Belle 34 31. White Lady 31 22. Waterloo Rose 70 60 24. Victoria 39th ... Mr. E.J. Smith 39 23 36. Red Leaf Mr. E.J. Smith "7 Mr. E. J. Smith 27 28. Flower Belle fifi 29. British Girl Mr.Fawks,St.Bees,Cuniberland Mr. O'Reilly 71 30. Lady Alice 30 Mr. E. J. Smith 24 32. Fair Maid of Meath 100 33. Maid of the West... 84. British Bride Mr. Little, Cambridgeshire ... 15 35 35. Village Belle Mr. P. J. Kearney, Milltown... Dead 25 37. Daisy Wreath 3S. Madalina 21 Colonel Leslie, Glaslough Not sold ,935 3s. Average, £52 5s. Not sold Mr. Thos. Gerrard, Boyne Ilil! 37 39. Lady Harriette Total, cows, £] Bl'LIS. 60 42. Star 52 43. Rorv O'More Mr. Orme, Owenmore, Mayo... Mr. R. C. Wade, Clonebrany... Mr. E. J.Smith Mr.Flood, Farnley,Co.Kilkenu\ Mr. Mervyn Pratt, Cabra Kingscourt Mr. Doran, Meath 40 69 44 46. The Earl 47. Bryan O'Lynn , . 83 40 50 ■ 28 50. Robin 12 12 Not sold Mr. Mervvn Pratt 11 Mr. Mervyn Pratt 7 55. Kells Total, bulls, £ Dead 313 ISs. Average, £11 lGs. The subjoined is from the introduction to the catalogue : Among the animals selected since 1860 were members of Mr II. Booth's Anna and Isabella families originally from Studley, the Kirklevington Waterloo, and celebrated Flower tribes, from Mr. Torr at Aylesby, as well as the " Sylph" tribe, so well known as prize winuers in Ireland, and as Charmers and Sweethearts in England ; the " Victoria" tribe, bred for many years by Mr. Holmes at Moycashel ; and the " Wharfdale" tribe, whose descendants have so recently distinguished themselves in the prize ring. THE AGRICULTURE OF IRELAND. MR. CAIRO AND HIS DEDUCTIONS. In our last number, when calling attention to Mr. Caird's statistical paper, wc dwelt upon the extraordinary con- clusions to which that gentleman had arrived as to the superiority of Irish farming and the general advantages of small holdings. A Correspondent of The Daily News, of Saturday last, who signs himself " PLOUGH SHAKE," states in the outset that he was present at the inciting, when, "in the discussion which followed, both the subject and Mr. Caird's observations did not receive the thorough handling which thoy deserved, partly because the time was short, and partly be- cause several who took part in the discussion did not appear to be practical agriculturists." Since then "Plough Share" says he has had an opportunity of further studying Mr. Caird's address, as given in full in The Mark Lane Express, and upon this he writes a long letter, from which we have only space to give the following more pertinent points : " It is remarkable that the Irish returns have never condescended in any way to separate the acreage of meadow from that of clover, &c., under rotation, and to this day, when people speak of the land under the plough in Ireland (for example, Lord Mayo's famous speech on Irish questions last session) they quite unwittingly quote the figures belonging to ' under crops of all kinds,' which in- clude in them an undoubtedly large acreage of 'meadow.' What the Irish acreage of meadow and extent of hill pastures amount to can only be guessed ; but I am not going to guess more than 1 can help, simply because I do not wish to form conclusions which I have no good reason to believe are as true as can be found. No doubt the hill pastures extend to several millions of acres, and the meadow to more than a million ; but my present purpose is served in trying to show that they are of so much importance as to make Mr. Caird's statement of ' the agricultural system of Ireland as an amelio- rating and reproductive self-supporting system, far above that of England and Scotland,' a statement at present quite un- tenable, and that a ' distinctive principle of difference between them and Ireland in a very important point,' and to the great advantage of Ireland, has at present no reality beyond the pen, ink, and paper of Mr. Caird." And, further, " I find that of the acreage under the plough England has three-fifths under exhaustive crops against two-fifths under restorative ; Scotland live-elevenths under exhaustive against six-elevenths under restorative ; and Ireland three-fourths under exhaustive against but one-fourth under restorative crops; or, in other words, the land under the plough in Ireland during twelve years receives only three restorative crops, while that in Eng. land receives about five, and that in Scotland receives about seven during the same period. Scotland thus, as every farmer would expect, stands pre-eminent, and so it ever will, as long as it pursues its systems of mixed husbandry and of leases, and England and Ireland remain as they are. Were tho Scotch systems of husbandry and of leases to be adopted with the rich grazing lands of England, and, still better, with the wide emerald green of Ireland, a grazing farm would become as surely and as justly a thing of the past as the four-horse coach. But a very large part of the ' land under the plough' in Ireland does not stand even so well as I have put it in ge- neral, for when I examine the details of the statistics, there can be no doubt, deducting always my estimate of meadow, that on holdings of between 5 and 15 acres, 85 per cent, is under ' exhausive' crops every year; on those between 15 and 30 acres, S2 per cent. ; on those between 30 and 50 acres, 77 per cent. ; and those between 50 and 100 acres, 72 per cent. The holdings above 100 acres do not hold above one-fifth of the laud under the plough ; in fact, judging from their proportion of meadow and clover combined, say about 50 per cent, of the land under crops of all kinds, I believe their land under the plough is a good deal less than one-fifth of the whole. When I find also that the extent under oats in the Jbur classes of it ■JO 1 holdings above mentioned is 41, 40, 39, and 33 per cent, re- spectively, and under potatoes 31, 26, 22, and 18 percent, re- spectively, there is far too much proof irom the statistics, as well as from personal acquaintance, that a considerable extent of land is under oats one year, and potatoes the next — in other words, under these two ' exhaustive' crops continually. Look- ing at this state of things, either in whole or in part, can we call it an/ ameliorating' system, a • reproductive self-support- 410 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ing' system ? Why, sir, it is deplorable, most deplorable ; and if Scotland, or, for example, its county of Aberdeen, were to become enamoured of this ' ameliorating and reproductive self-supporting system, which Mr. Caird has discovered in Ireland, the county would soon be half depopulated, and never more would a black ' baron' be seen in the Agricultural- hall. I sincerely hope that Mr. Caird, when he weighs what I thus bring under his notice, and which I venture to call corrections of his statements, will, for the sake of the farming interest in Great Britain, see good reason to reconsider his views on the state of agriculture in Ireland. I entirely agree with him in the view that a wise measure for settling the question of tenure of land will lead to improved agriculture, and to a demand for labour which will rapidly cause the very small holdings to dis- appear. More than a year ago, when writing on the Irish land question, I spoke pretty much to the same etfect, as fol- lows : 'One word upon the class of holdings under fif- teen acres. It will be observed that these possess about one-fifth of the area under crops, and one-eleventh of the grazing land; yet, forsooth ! some people not only harp, but actually rave, on the absurdity of legislation for Ireland on ac- count of the existence of this class, and altogether ignore the requirements of the classes above fifteen acres, which possess about four-fifths of the land under crops, and ten-elevenths of the grazing land. Place the occupiers of the latter in the position of being able to make improvements and employ la- bour, and the former will steadily disappear without compul- sion.' " THE GOVERNMENT CATTLE DISEASES BILL, A meeting of the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture was held at Norwich, Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., in the chair. The principal subject for discussion was the Contagious Diseases in Animals Bill, introduced by Mr. Forster, on behalf of the Government. Mr. England said, he thought a Cattle Disease Bill of any kind was a necessnry evil, for it must be an evil that any re- striction should be put upon the transport and sale of such an important article of food as meat. With the experience of the cattle plague before our eyes, it would be acknowledged, however, that such a bill was a necessary evil, as steps must be taken to secure us hereafter irom the recurrence of such a ca- lamity. It was argued by some that it was inexpedient to legislate to prevent at the recurrence of what took place only at long intervals, but those who argued so could hardly have reflected upon the danger we incurred of receiving stock from the most remote parts of Europe by railway and steamboat, while the transport of cattle by railway and steam- boat must be admitted to be likely to engender disease. It should be also remembered that 190,000 head of cattle fell victims to the rinderpest in 1865 and 1866. The cattle plague had, he considered, taught us a salutary lesson, as it had shown that by care and proper regulations we could extirpate the disease and all other cattle diseases from the country ; for while regulations were in force for stamping out the rinderpest we did not suffer from those other fell diseases which had in- flicted such great injuries — viz., the foot-and-mouth disease and pleuro-pneumonia. With regard to the bill now pending, he thought that the inspection of cattle at markets and fairs was not sufficiently urged and insisted upon. He thought also that owners of stock upon whose farms dis- ease broke out, ought to be required to immediately give information of the fact. He thought also that, as a general principle farmers were called to ask that foreigners should be subject to the same restrictions as they would be themselves, in regard to the movement of cattle. Mr. England moved as a resolution, " That a petition be presented to Parliament from this Chamber in favour of the general principles of the Cattle Diseases Bill ; but the Chamber considers that more stringent regulations are necessary to prevent the introduction of contagious and infectious diseases through the importation of foreign cattle." Mr. Winearls seconded the resolution, and observed that as we had now a tolerably clean bill of health we ought to be all the more anxious to prevent a re-introduction of disease. He quite agreed with Mr. England, that more stringent measures' should be taken with regard to foreign cattle. He maintained that a quarantine of twelve hours was insufficient, and he suggested that separate markets for foreign cattle should be established at the ports of debarcation and that foreign animals should be slaughtered within a certain radius of those markets ; also that a separate market for foreign animals should be established in the metropolis. The Chairman suggested that the words " foreign stock" should be substituted for " foreign cattle" in the resolution. Dr. Dalrymple, M.P. for Bath, warned the Chamber against making the bill so stringent that it would be impossible to pass it. There were a number of gentlemen on the Go- vernment benches who did not trouble much about the agri- cultural interest, and the Members for such ports as Hull and Newcastle would oppose stringent restrictions which they would consider destructive to the interests of their particular localities. He supported the feeding and watering of cattle in transit by railway as a matter of humanity. We regard to pleuro-pueumonia, it was doubtful whether it should be placed in the same category with rinderpest, as he believed it some- times developed itself spontaneously in an animal which had not been in contact with others. Mr. T. Brown complained that the bill was compulsory as regards home cattle, and not compulsory as regards foreign cattle. As for pleuro-pueumonia, it was more likely to spring up through contagion than otherwise. The Chairman said he thought the bill was a one-sided measure as it at present stood. He thought both foreign and English graziers should be put in the same boat as regards their stock, and should be treated exactly alike. With regard to pleuro-pneumonia, it was not proposed in the bill to treat it as rinderpest — there was no slaughter enforced with regard to pleuro-pueumonia, but there was simply a provision for removing cattle affected with it from a farm. He (Mr. Read) thought this was quite right and necessary. He was astonished to hear Dr. Dalrymple say that pleuro- pneumonia could arise spontaneously ; but he supposed that Dr. Dalrymple would not contend that pleuro was not a highly-contagious disorder when it did spring up, and that cattle should be separated from it, the expense of the machinery for carrying out the bill would be almost nil. It seemed, however, perfectly monstrous to subject English farmers to the provisions of the bill, and to leave the foreigner to the whims and caprices of the Privy Council. The bill un- fortunately did not make feeding and watering of cattle in transit by railway compulsory upon railway companies, al- though it said they might provide such accommodation, and charge the owners of the cattle carried with the expense. The Great Eastern would never do anything if it could help it. The resolution was adopted, as was also the petition pro- posed to Parliament. Mr. H. S. Grimmer moved : " That there being in the pre- sent state of the national finances no prospect of any surplus available for the remission of taxation the chamber would strongly urge that some other means should be adopted for providing the amount now raised by the malt-tax, which is a most unjust and unfair impost upon the producer of barley." The Chairman remarked that when the subject of the malt- tax had been introduced into the House of Commons no appli- cation had been made for a total and unconditional repeal ; it had simply been said that when the Chancellor of the Exche- quer had any surplus at his disposal the question of the malt- tax demanded serious consideration; but even when put in this mild form, the House of Commons had by considerable majorities refused to endorse the resolution. The feeling of the Chamber, in a short discussion wlftch took place, appeared to be opposed to the substitution of a beer-tax for the malt-tax. The resolution was adopted and the Chamber adjourned. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 411 ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. Monthly Council, — Wednesday, April 7, 1809. — "Present — Lord Walsingham, Vice-President, in the chair; Viscount Bridpott, Lord Chesham, Lord Kesteveu, Lord Tredegar, the llou. II. G. Liddell, M.P. ; Sir T. Hesketh, Bart., M.P. j Sir Massey Lopes, Bart., M.P. ; Sir A. Macdouald, Bart. ; Sir II. Vane, Bart., Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Barnett, Mr. Bowly, Mr. Bramston, Mr. Cantrell, Colonel Challouer, Mr. Davies, Mr. Deut, M.P. ; Mr. Druce, Mr. Edmonds, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Hassall, Mr. Horusby, Mr. Hoskyns, M.P. ; Mr. ltandell, Mr. R. C. Ransome, Mr. Rigden, Mr. Stone, Mr. Statter, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Torr, Mr. Webb, Mr. Wells, M.P. ; Pro- fessor Wilson, aud Dr. Voeleker. Sir Harcourt Johustone, Bart., M.P,, was elected a Governor. The following new members were elected : Agate, Alfred, Horsham. Armstrong, Thomas John, 5, Hawthorn Terrace, Newcastle- on-Tyne. Balstone, 11. K., Hale Carr, Altrincham, Cheshire. Banmgardte, Edmund C, Grove Bridge, Hellingley, Hurst Green. Bowling, Rogei, Forton, Garstang, Lancashire. Charlesworth, John B., Hatfield Hall, Wakefield. Cheetham, Henry, Wollaton, near Nottingham. Cooke, John, Mill Moor, Macefeu, Malpas, Cheshire. Dunn, John, Fernhill Villa, Mar :et Drayton, Salop. Eastwood, George, Healy Hall, Burnley, Lancaster. Elwes, Hugh W. H., StawePark, Bungay, Suffolk. Freeman, Frederick, Speekwell, Woburn, Beds. Greatorex, Frederick, Queen's Brewery, Manchester. Guilding, Richard, Malvern Wells, Worcestershire. Hathorn, Alexander, Smeathalls, near Ferrybridge, Yorkshire. Hesseltine, William, Beaumont Cote, Barton-ou-Humber, Lincoln. Hills, Alfred, Penkridge. Hills, William Arthur, Hammerwich, Lichfield, Staffordshire. Howard, Samuel, Dairy House Farm, Dunham Massey, Al- trincham, Cheshire. Ikiu, Edward, Moat House Farm, Wem, Salop. Ingledew, William, Sceugh Farm, Penrith, Cumberland. Jones, Arthur Owen, Marwood Hill, Barnstaple, Devon. Learmouth, Thomas Q., Park Hall, Linlithgow, N.B. Leigh, Egerton, Jodrell Hall, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire. Morley, Henry Hope, Craven Lodge, Stamford Hill. Middlesex. Muirhead, Thomas, 20, Victoria Street, Manchester. Oxley, John Stewart, Fen Place, Worth, Sussex. Peto, Lawrence James, 17, Esplanade, Lowestoft, Suffolk. Piatt, John, Belle Vue, Wem, Salop. Prevost, Lieut.-Colouel, Charles, Wellclose, Brockworth, Gloucester. Ridley, Matthew White, M.P., Blagdon, Cramlington, North- umberland. Roy, Robert Henry, Walden Hall, Saffron Waldeu. Russell, Joseph, Manor House, Bewbush, Lower Beediu°\ Sussex. Sandy, Thomas G., Burnley. Skelmersdale, Lord, Lathoru House, Ormskirk, Lancaster. Staples-Browne, Frederick J., Glen Lodge, Maidenhead. Stocks, Charles, Cheadle, near Manchester. Storey, George, Brunshawe House, Burnley, Lancaster. Tanner, Richard, Frodesley, Donington, Salop. Thompson, William, Parkend, Workington, Cumberland. Walker, Matthew, Stockley Park, Burton-on-Trent, Staffs. Finances. — Mr Bramston presented the report, from which it appeared that the Secretary's receipts during the past month had been examined, and were found correct. The balance in the hands of the bankers on March 31 was £2,038 lis. 6d., £3,000 remaining on deposit at in- terest, The balance-sheet for the quarter ended March 31, 1809, and the statement of subscriptions and arrears were laid on the table, the amount of arrears due being £900. JouuvAr,. —Mr. Thompson (Chairman) reported : (1). That the new number of the Journal was on the tabic. The delay in its publication on this aud several previous occasions had caused much annoyance to the Committee, and they therefore reported that Mr. Jenkins was pre- pared to undertake that the Journal shall in future be published at the right time — namely, by the end of the months of February aud August, provided it be distinctly understood to be the wish of the Council that such pub- lication shall take place without waiting for any of the reports of the judges at the country meetings, which may not have been sent to the editor in time for publication at the end of August (2.) A letter having been re- ceived from the Duke of Northumberland, K.G., offering a short paper for ihe Journal on the use of the steam- plough on his estates, the Committee recommended that his Grace's offer be accepted with thanks. (3.) M. Fleury, French Consul-General in England, having writ ten to request that the " Socicte des Agriculteurs de France," recently established in Paris, may be affiliated to this Society, and exchange publications with it, the Committee recommended, without giving at present any opinion on the request for affiliation, that an. interchange of publica- tions between the two Societies be established. (4.) The Committee recommended that a prize of £25 be offered for the best essay on any agricultural subject, the essays to be sent in by October 1st, 1869. This report was adopted after some conversation. Mr. Wells, M.P., ask- ing, on the first subject, whether the judges clearly un- derstood in all cases that a report is required of them, Mr. Bowly testifying to the delay consequent on the judges' reports not being duly sent in, and Mr. Deut, M.P., insisting that the irregularity in the appearance of the Society's publications was a discredit to it, and showed a lack of business-like management of its affairs. Mr. Thompson then stated that, in view of the probability of the Society's educational grant heing discontinued, and in order to encourage young and rising agriculturists, and to obtain useful and interesting matter for the Journal, he wished to suggest the establishment of two travelling scholarships of £100 each, one for British and the other for foreigu agriculture, so that, if considered desirable, the matter might be referred to a special committee. Mr. Dent, M.P., while admitting the desirability of obtaining matter for the Journal without having recourse to prize essays, more especially reports on the agriculture of different districts, would prefer experienced persous instead of young men. The Hon. Mr. Liddell, M.P., asked how the qualifications of the candidates would be ascertained, aud also whether it would not be possible to combine Mr. Thompson's idea with the award of the prize of £25 already sanctioned, increasing the amount if necessary. Mr. Wells, M.P., objected to the time at which this proposal had been brought forward, as being based on the assumption that the education grant would come to an end ; and would, therefore, prefer to have the subject postponed for a year, although he regarded the proposals, especially Mr. Dent's, as worthy of consideration. Lord Keste\ en thought that £100 would go a very little way, as the pupil would have to learn ; and, as little dependence conld be placed on his conclusions, no practical result whold ensue. As the 412 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. Council could not come to a decision at once, he would prefer the report of a special committee. The Chairman suggested that the Journal Committee should reconsider the matter. Mr. Kandell stated that as a series of reports on farms had been commenced, he would like to see the result before proceeding further, and hoped that the matter would be deferred. Mr. Thompson, in reply, observed that his object was to have the matter discussed, and that he objected to its being referred to so small a committee as the Journal Committee. His proposal, if adopted, would take the place of special prizes, and would be an extension of the inspection scheme. The qualifica- tions of candidates would be ascertained by finding out what they had already done, and by their own writing. Ultimately, on the suggestion of the Chairman, both Mr. Thompson and Mr. Dent gave notice of their intention to bring forward a motion on the subject at the next monthly Council. General Manchestee. — Lord Walsingham pre- sented the report of the Committee, which contained the following recommendations: (1) That the Society pro- vide fittings for two striking-clocks in the body of the show-yard, in addition to one at the entrance, the clocks to be supplied gratis ; and (2), that the Manchester Local Committee be relieved from their undertaking to remove the toll-gates between Manchester and the show- yard. It was also announced that the show of fox- hounds and hunters leaping will be under the patronage of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, President of the Society. This report was adopted. Mr. Torr then brought forward a suggestion that a Council meeting should be held every day during the show, at one o'clock ; that the Council be composed of the stewards of live stock and of imple- ments, the honorary director, and such other members of the Council as may be specially nominated for the pur- pose ; but that the functions of this Council should in no way interfere with the authority and duties of the stewards and the honorary director. A discussion having ensued, in which Colonel Challoner, Mr. Bowly, Mr. Dent, M.P., and Mr. Brandreth Gibbs took part, expressing themselves as more or less favourable to the plan, it was finally arranged, at the suggestion of Mr. Dent, that Mr. Torr should give notice of his intention to move a resolu- tion on the subject at the next monthly Council. Notice was accordingly given. Chemical.— Mr. Wells, M.P. (Chairman), reported the recommendation of the Committee that Monday, May 10, at 2 o'clock, be fixed on for Dr. Voelcker's lecture on his chemical investigations during the past year. This re- port was adopted. Education.— Mr. Wells, M.P., reported that 21 gen- tlemen had entered their names as candidates for the Society's educational prizes j he announced that the ex- amination would commence on Tuesday, April 18, and gave a general description of the scheme proposed to be followed. This report was adopted. Selection. — Mr. Dent, M.P., presented the report, in which the Committee remmended that his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, K.G., should be elected a Vice-President, in the place of the late Sir J. V. B. Johnstone, Bart., M.P. It was also recommended that his Highness the Pasha of Egypt be elected an honorary member of the Society, and that a bound copy of the Society's Journal up to the pre- sent time be forwarded for his acceptance ; also, that M. Drouyn de L'huys, President, and M. Lecouteux, Secre- tary of the " Societe des Agriculteurs de France," be elected honorary members of the Society. This report having been adopted, it was proposed by Mr. Dent, M.P., seconded by Mr. Thompson, and carried unanimously, that his Grace the Duke of Devonshire be elected a Vice- President in the place of the late Sir J. V, B, Johnstone, Bart., M.P. On the motion of Mr. Dent, M.P., it was unanimously resolved that his Highness the Pasha of Egypt be elected an honorary member of the Society, and that a bound copy of the Society's Journal up to the present time be forwarded for his acceptance, in recogni- tion of his generous aid to British agriculture, his interest in its progress, and his courtesy to the Society. On the motion of Mr. Thompson, his Excellency M. Drouyn de L'huy3 and M. Lecouteux were unanimously elected hono- rary members of the Society, the mover of the resolution observing that the former gentleman was already very well known to members of the Society, and that the latter was recognised as the leading man amongst French agriculturists, and as the promoter of the " Societe des Agriculteurs de France." A memorial was received from the Corporation of Oxford, inviting the Society to hold its country meeting for 1870 in that city. On the motion of Mr. Torr this memorial was referred to an inspection committee, con- sisting of his Grace the Duke of Richmond, K.G., Sir A. K. Macdonald, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. D. R. Davies, and Mr. C. Randell. The following memorials were received on the subject of inspection of wool and shearing : " To the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of Eng- land.— We, the undersigned, being exhibitors and breeders, and interested in the welfare of Shropshire sheep, beg respect- fully to represent to your honourable Council, that we consider the means at present adopted by the Royal Agricultural Society of inspecting the wool, and disqualifying sheep, by private parties, whose names are not published as inspectors, are most objectionable, as being at variance with the rules of the Society, subversive of the privileges and powers that should alone be exercised by the judges, and a system which fails fairly to prevent the evil it is intended to remedy, by its having been known to permit the competition of animals which could not have been fairly shorn, and having disqualified others which could have been proved to have been shorn in con- formity with the rules of the Society. Under these circum- stances, we beg to memorialize your honourable Council to abolish the inspection by private parties, and to invest the judges with full power to decide upon the eligibility of the animals for competition, and to act as they may think fit." " We, the undersigned, breeders of Oxfordshire sheep (whilst admitting that it is desirable all sheep exhibited should be bare shorn after the 1st April, are thoroughly convinced that uo system of inspection will ensure it), hereby respectfully submit that it is necessary to abolish the restrictions now in force, believing that the judges will much more effectually condemn unfair practices than any system of inspection can do." " We, the undersigned breeders of long-woolled sheep, desire respectfully to represent to your honourable Council, that the present regulations for the inspection of shearing have utterly failed ; the undersigned would be strongly in favour of sheep for exhibition at the Royal Agricultural Society's meetings being shorn bare on or after April 1, if such a regulation could be carried out ; but, being unable to conceive any, and believing that no means can be suggested which would accom- plish so desirable an object, they respectfully urge that it would be advisable to abolish all restrictions on the shearing of sheep." " We, the undersigned breeders of sheep, residing in the county of Norfolk, desire respectfully to represent to your Council that the present regulations for the inspection of shearing have utterly failed ; the undersigned would be strongly in favour of sheep for exhibition at the Society's annual summer meetings being shorn bare on or after the 1st day of April, if such a regulation could be carried out ; but being unable to conceive any means, and believing that no means can be suggested whereby so desirable an end could be attained, earnestly urge upon the Council the advisability of abolishing all restrictions whatever upon the shearing of sheep." A letter on the same subject from Mr. Beale Brown was then read, urging the Council to continue the inspection. Mr. Randell stated his conviction that the feeling against THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 413 the continuation of the inspection was by no means general, and quoted from several communications to that effect which had been received by him. He moved : " That the Secretary inform those gentlemen who have for- warded memorials on the subject of the inspection of shearing, that the S3me have been considered by the Council. The ground of objection seems to be that such inspection is made by private parties whose names are not published,' and it is asked, not that inspection shall be abandoned, but that the duty of performing it shall devolve upon the judges. " The Council cannot admit that there has been any con- cealment of the names of the inspectors, as they appeared with the names of the judges on the Plymouth and Bury St. Ed- mund's award lists, and it was known to the exhibitors that the same gentlemen were employed at Leicester ; the omission of the names at this meeting was, therefore, certainly not in- tentional. " The Council cannot believe that it would be agreeable to the judges to have the additional duty imposed upon them which the memorialists ask for, or that it would be as efficiently performed by them as by persons specially appointed for the purpose. " The object which the Council had in requiring that all sheep exhibited should have been fairly shorn was to prevent deception, and they know that this object has been attained to a great extent, though they are sorry to find, from the state- ment in the memorials, not absolutely. They hope the time is not distant when all exhibitors will find that it is as dis- honourable to certify falsely as to shearing as it would be in respect of age or ownership. Inspection may then be aban- doned, but until then it must continue, and the Council will be glad to receive and consider any suggestions having for their object the making such inspection more effectual. Mean- time, disqualifications by inspectors of shearing must be re- garded as final." Mr. Itigden, as a large breeder and constant exhibitor for many years, expressed his opinion that the shearing had much improved since the establishment of the sys- tem of inspection : he stated that he had no fear of his sheep being disqualified by the inspectors, and avowed his belief that a continuation of the inspection will in time do away with unfair shearing. He seconded Mr. Randell's motion, that the above reply be sent to the memorialists. Lord Chesham suggested that if any sheep belonging to an exhibitor were disqualified, the whole of those, the pro- perty of the same owner, should share the same fate. Mr. Davies remarked that, having been a steward of live stock for two years, he believed the continuance of the inspec- tion to be highly desirable, and that his inquiries amongst eminent agriculturists led to the same conclusion. Mr. Randell's motion, having been put by the Chairman, was carried unanimously. It was suggested by Mr. Bowly, proposed by Mr. Randell, seconded by Mr. Edmonds, and carried unanimously, that a third inspector of wool and shearing be appointed. On the motion of Mr. Ransome it was resolved that the principal county agricultural societies, and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, should be requested to nominate judges of machinery, the nominations to be sent in by April 30. At the request of the secretary of the Society of Arts, and on the motion of Sir A. K. Maedonald, seconded by Mr. Davies, Dr. Voelcker was unanimously nominated by the Council as a judge of the milk-cans and milk-vans sent to compete for the prizes offered by that Society. THE CENTRAL FARMERS' CLUB. THE SYSTEMS OF LOCAL RATING IN ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND. The monthly meeting of the Farmers' Club took place on Monday evening, April 5, at the Club-house, Salisbury-square, Mr. R. J . Newton in the chair. The subject fixed for con- sideration was introduced by Mr. F. L. Dashwood, Kirtlington, Oxfordshire, being " The Systems of Local Rating in England, Scotland, and Ireland." The Chaieman, in opening the proceedings, said he need scarcely remark that the subject for discussion that evening was one well worthy of the consideration and attention of the members of that club (Hear, hear). It was also a very broad subject, and he thought the time had arrived when it should be thoroughly ventilated. He was glad to be able to say that it was already occupying the attention of the Right Hon. Mr. Goschen, the President of the Poor Law Board. It was also exciting the interest of the rate-payers of that great metro- polis, and he doubted not of the rate-payers generally of Great Britain (Hear, hear). This was not to be wondered at, con- sidering that the demands made on the property of this country, which formed the basis on which the collection of rates rested, were so vastly increasing. At the first discussion of the Club this year it was clearly proved that the pauperism and vagrancy of England were rapidly augmenting, and he believed the case was the same with regard to county and police expenses. As to pauper lunatics, not only wa? there an increase of their numbers, and of the expense of maintaining them, but the erection of proper establishments for them to occupy had absorbed a very large amount of public money. Again, in addition to the roads of this couutry which were known as the common highways, there were in many parts of England turnpike roads which were not supported by the funds raised by means of toils, and a part of the expense of maintaining them was thrown on the parishes through which they actually run. He knew parishes in his own district which were thus called upon to contribute to the extent of £20 per mile. While the expense was borne by an unfortunate parisli through which the road passed, a neighbouring parish, which used the road to quite as great an extent, because the road did not actually touch it, escaped. There coidd be no doubt that in addition to these charges they would soon be called upon to contribute to a rate in aid for education. It might be right that the education of the country should be provided for ; but with the increasing charges upon land to which he had alluded, and with the prospect of others staring them in the face, it might surely be said that the time had arrived when the entire system of rating in this country should be thoroughly reconsidered and revised. He would not detain them any longer, but would at once call upon Mr. Dashwood to introduce a subject to which he had, he believed, paid great attention (cheers). Mr. F. L. Dashwood said : Mr. Chairman and gentlemen— The subject I wish to introduce to your attention this evening is the system of " Local Rating in England, Scotland, and Ire- land." I had hoped to have induced Mr. James Howard, M.P. for Bedford, to bring this very important question before you, but it being out of his power I venture to take upon myself to state some facts which I hope may be of use ift 3? F 2 414 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. throwing- light upon the question of rates, a question in which many besides myself feel a deep interest. I cannot but think that few persons are aware of the ditfereuce that exists in the modes of rating in the three divisions of our country. I do not enter into the detail of the machinery for assessments, valuations, collections, &c., I only give the points that appear to me to be the most important for the object I have in view, namely, to see what we in England can learn worth adoption.so that our whole system of rating may be improved and work more harmoniously, and to the advantage of all classes. In England : now a church-rate is not compulsory ; no edu- cation rate. The county-rate (which includes three-fourths of the expenses of the police) is paid by the occupiers, but they have no voice as to the expenditure, which is managed by the magistrates at quarter sessions, but directed and controlled by the State. The poor's-rate (under which head most rates are collected) is paid by the occupiers, the expenditure controlled by a board of guardians, composed of occupiers and magis- trates ex-officio. The highway-rate, similar to the poor-rate (if under a highway board), except that the expenditure is confined to individual parishes, and does not yet extend to the district of the highway board. The compounding for rates is allowed in many parishes, for occupations under a certain rental, but not in boroughs since the last Reform Bill. In Scotland : the charges for the churches, clergymen's houses, and for chools are paid by the owners. The county-rate (which includes three-fourths of the expenses of the police, and con- trolled by the State, as in England) is all paid by the owners and managed by those of over £100 a year in land, and of over £250 a year in house property. The poor's-rate is paid half by the owners and half by the occupiers, and managed by owners of over £20 a-year, and an elected board. Union rating has not yet been adopted. The highway-rate : the system varies in the different counties, but as an instance I will quote Kirkcudbrightshire, where the owners pay half for repairs, aud pay i.11 for new work, and the occupiers pay half for repairs ouly. The district is managed by a Board, which is composed of owners over £100 a-year and an elected member from every parish. The charge and expenditure are on the district and not on the parish. The turnpikes have been abolished in this and in many other counties, as recom- mended by the committee on Scotch roads in 1858. No com- pounding for rates ; but occupiers of £4 and under, aud of tenements let for less than twelve months, need not be placed on the rate-book (this does not apply to boroughs since the last Reform Bill) ; but the owners may recover half of the rate from their occupiers. In Ireland : no church-rate. Three- fourths, if not all, the charge for education, and all for the police are paid by the State. The couuty-rate (this includes the roads, after having passed through the Presentment Sessions) is paid by the occupiers and is controlled at the assizes by the grand jury, composed almost entirely of . magistrates. The poor's-rate is first paid by the occupiers, but half of it is re- paid them by the owners at rent-day. The expenditure is controlled by magistrates and elected guardians at Union Boards, as in England : there is not as yet union rating. The highway-rate is paid by the occupiers, and controlled by a Board of rate-payers and magistrates at Presentment Sessions. The proceedings of these Boards have all to be passed with the county-rate by the grand jury at the assizes. No com- pounding for rates : owners pay all rates for holdings under £4 a-year in counties. I do not know that I can point out to your notice any other very important facts as to the rating of these three countries. I will now attempt to show you by an example how great is the difference that exists between them. We will take 2s. Gd. in the pound as being the amount of all the rates, aud we will assume each rate to be in each of the three countries of the same proportion — say, poor's- rate Is. 3d., highway-rate Od., county-rate Gd. — total, 2s. Gd. The result would be, that in England the owner pays (directly) nil. The occupier pays the whole — namely, 2s. Gd. In Ireland the owner pays half the poor's-rate, 7id. ; the occupier half the poor's-rate, 7%&., and all the county and highway-rates, Is. 3d. — makiugatotalof Is. 10£d. In Scotland the owner pays half the poor's-rate, 7jd. ; half the highway-rate, 4£d. ; all the couuty-rate, Gd. — making a total of Is. Gd. The occu- pier half the poor's-rate, 7|d. ; half the highway-rate, 5£d. — making a total of Is. Mark the important difference— the owner in England paying (directly) nil, but in Scotland Is. Gd. The occupier in England paying 2s. Gd., in Scotland only Is. We cannot now be astonished that we hear so little, if any, real grumbling as to the rates in Scotland — somewhat more in Ireland — and so much in England. No wonder that in Eng- land owners have not had brought home to them the necessity of taking their proper share in the administration of work in which they are really so largely interested. On comparing the systems of rating, it appears to me that England is now under the worst and Scotland, as a whole, on the best system. But the important difference I wish specially to point out, and to urge on your attention is the system of half-rating as adopted and carried out in Ireland as to the poor-rate. This I believe to be the key-note to all our troubles in matters connected with rating. This system of half-rating has been found to work so well in Ireland as to the poor-rate, that there is now a bill before Parliament for the same system to be extended to the county rate, which rate includes, as I stated before, the high- ways. Ought not the following to be the machinery of all rating, namely — That all rates should be paid half by the owner and half by the occupier ; the occupier first paying the whole of the rate, he being empowered to deduct half the amount from his rent, as was done in England with the cattle- plague rate ; the expenditure of all rates to be controlled by both owner aud occupier, the lasting interest of the owner being considered as well as the temporary interests of the oc- cupier, somewhat as is now done as to the number of votes in vestry ? The owners having to make an entry of the half- yearly deductions for rates in their rent-rolls, would have this expenditure brought to their notice, which is not the case under the present system, and they would see that their lasting interests were provided for. I have seen the rent-roll of an Irish landowner, with its column of deductions for poor rates, aud an agent of English estates would allow that such a sum- mary would be a most instructive lesson to any owner. The occupiers knowiug that half the rates would be returned to them, and that in case of any fresh rate being imposed they would only have to bear half the burden, would not be in- clined to oppose any useful improvement ; and this would lead to both parties working together in a more advantageous manner to themselves aud to all classes than at present. Many may urge, why alter a system which satisfies the owners of property aud the public generally ? and, as to the occupiers, they agree to cer- tain terms when entering on their tenancies, so they have no cause to complain. In answer, I urge that I am not advo- cating the interest of either party, the owner or the occupier, the lasting or the temporary interests ; I am only advocating measures for the good of all classes in the country. I ask, Do we find the present system to work well ? and, if not, What is the reason ? and Can it be improved ? As many may wish to know what have been my chances of gaining experience on such subjects, I may state I am, aud I have been for several years, a large employer of labour, both as a tenant-farmer oc- cupying upwards of 1,000 acres of land, chiefly arable, and also assisting largely in estate management ; and I have for years taken great interest in the welfare and improvement of our labouring population. I have also been a Poor-Law guardian, and, as a magistrate, a guardian ex officio ; conse- quently I hope I may be considered to have had good oppor- tunities for observing not ouly the good and bad points of our machinery and management, but also the ideas of all classes connected with such management, &c, and I have felt more and more disheartened as I have observed how hopeless is the real improvement of the agricultural labourer under the dis- advantages of the present system ; and I am strongly convinced that the half-rating would be of the greatest use to our country — indeed, that without it our rating will never be on a pro- per basis, or get the support of all classes, or be well regulated. Our present system is most faulty. The owners of property, with their lasting interests, and on whom really fall, in the average of years, all these charges, both in country and town, are by the present legislation, causing indirect payment, allowed, or rather made to leave their interests and duties to their tenants, aud are thus practically shut out from the management of the poor and highway rates (which in my union and district, m Oxfordshire, are as four-fifths to the one-fifth for the county rate, managed by owners) . The owners are often magistrates, and as such can attend the Board of Guardians and of High- ways in the district in which they reside, and one-third of the members of assessment committees may be composed of magis- trates ex officio ; but as these owners do not pay directly any of these charges on their property (except for laud in baud THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 41* or for cottages), tlie importance of such matters is not brought to their notice, neither do they, when they attend at their re- spective boards (which is, comparatively speaking, seldom, or, at all events not for a continued period), carry that weight their lasting interests represent, in fact, they are looked on as interlopers, which the law has practically made them ; and thus, through the non-payment of the rates, both the highest and lowest classes are excluded from taking interest in and sharing in this work. The occupiers, on whom, as ratepayers, the bu- siness really devolves, as a rule, do their best, for which they often get abuse instead of eo-operation. Having only tempo- rary interests their management is necessarily rather parsimo- nious than economical, and they naturally oppose as long as possible any change that may increase the annual charge, as they know all expenditure for a future benefit will fall directly on themselves ; as, for instance, in such cases as the Union Bating and Highway District Bills (we well know the opposi- tion this Bill met with), and may shortly be the case with an education bill. I will now endeavour to show what I believe to be the unsatisfactory results of our system of rating in Eng- land. There exists n« system of primary education worthy of a name. Great complaints as to the increase of the rates, and as to the occupiers having no voice in the expenditure of the county rate ; and great fears as to the expenses of the high- ways and of the turnpike roads being made district charges. From the Poor Law Annual Reports of last year I find we have, say oue pauper in every 20 of the population, whilst in Scot- laud there is one, say in 36, whereas in Ireland one only in 85. In our purely agricultural districts one pauper in every 11 of population. In my own county (Oxfordshire), in one union, January 1, 1868, one pauper in 11 of the population, and similar cases can be found in other districts of England, at the same date in one union in Sussex, one in 10. How can such a po- pulation be otherwise than demoralised ? We must allow that Ireland has only had a poor law comparatively of late years ; but through the education, arising partly from the half-rating, the Irish landowner will invariably be found more cognisant of his duties in this liue than the English landowner — at least this is the experience of myself and others. Does not blame rest with the system that causes such ignorance ? It speaks for itself, that it must be the system that is at fault, as we all know that many of our owners of property would be ready to join in such work if they felt called on to do so. Theoretically, a poor-law cannot well be defended ; but prac- tically in a rich country it is a most useful institution, and the poor-law is not to blame for the abuses we hear of, but the faulty system, and the consequent lax administration which has led to such abuses. We have all read of the great complaints as to the management of the rates in general in London. The Times of the 1st of February, 1869, states, the sum ex- pended in out-door relief has increased within the last nine years about 130 per cent., and in a leading article of May 29th, 1868, it is stated, "But a man may live for many years In the parish, and be in its best society, without any knowledge whatever of the parochial administration." I trust some one acquainted with the working of the London Boards will be able to explain the cause ; but from inquiries I have made I un- derstand the owners of property are rarely, if ever, represented (either personally or by their agents), and thus fail to look after their interests and duties from the same cause as in the country — namely, that they do not pay directly ; and the large employers of labour and professional men, as a matter of course, cannot give up their time to rueh a small matter as the question of the rates on their Individual holdings, consequently the management must lapse to a less interested class, or to those who undertake these disagreeable offices for other reasons. Can we expect persons to take onerous duties on themselves unless they feel interested through their property at stake ? How many of such, or of their representative*, with practical experience, are on the metropolitan Boards ? In support of my assertions, I must now draw your attention to the Report from the Select Committee on Poor's-rate Assessment, printed by order of the House of Commons, 28th June, 1868. In it Mr. Lambert, Inspector of Auditors for the Poor-law Board, speaks favourably of the ha If- rating system of Ireland and of Scotland, and his evidence is very interesting on many points of detail. The evidence describing the ill effects of the law of compounding (in some cases rendering the permanent interests of the landlords inaccessible to taxation) is most useful; and specially interesting is the evidence of Mr. Wrigley of Oldham, Mr. Jeffery of Liverpool, and of Mr. Chapman of Stockport, as to the good effects arising from small occupiers paying the rates. I should recommend any one taking up this subject to read this report. I coufess that since reading it I feel strongly that all compounding ought to be abolished in the country as well as in boroughs, so as to get all classes to take interest iu the manageme t of the rates, and that the half-rating should be made the basis — the occupier, as in Ireland, being respon- sible for the rate in the first instance — the half being recouped him at the payment of his rent. This ma- chinery appears for many reasons to he better than the Scotch, in which the owner is directly responsible and does not pay through his tenant, (but I understand that in practice it is very often paid through the tenant,) and would much facilitate the collection of rates, which with the small occupiers who may have to pay them is found so difficult under the present system ; also lead to better management on the part of the more listless occupiers (the retaining of the receipt-papers to obtain the repayment of the half is a good schooling in itself), and without doubt would diminish pauperism (see Mr. Jeffcry's evidence), and with an education rate would doubtless lead to the smaller ratepayers taking greater interest in the education of their children, which interest, uniting with the more extended views of the larger ratepayers and owners of property, would render easier this one of great difficulties of the present time. In the report from the Committee of the House of Lords, in session of 1850, Sir George Cornewall Lewis speaks well of the half-rating in Scotlaud. Question put : " Might it not produce a very useful result if the owner of property, from being directly charged with the rates, were induced to take more personal interest and interference in the management of parochial affairs ?" Answer : " In England owners can vote at the election of guardians, but I believe the law in Scotland gives the owners a more direct interference in the expenditure of the rates. A great portion of the rates is imposed upon the owners directly, and they have a share in the management of the rates." Question : " How does it work there ? Answer : " I believe it works extremely well." Before terminating I must refer you to a discussion at this Farmers' Club in Nov., 1864-. This will show that this point has been already mentioned at this club, and I extract the words of Mr. J. Cressingham : " He thought the basis of county rating required some modification ; at present the whole burden fell upon the occupiers, and the vt ideuing of the basis of charge would, in his opinion, lead to a more econo- mical and equitable expenditure. The burden should he divided more or less between the occupier and the owner of property. Some years ago, it having been determined to add to a county prison in Kent, the owners were, if he recollected rightly, assessed to the amount of 2s. 6d. in the pound, and the occupiers to the amount of Is. 6d. That appeared to him an equitable arrangement, and he thought that in order to secure a better system in the country generally owners should be made partly liable for charges which now pressed on occu- piers alone." I must also add extracts from a paper on local rating, read by Mr. Charles Grey, of Dilston, in Northumber- land, at a meeting of the Fanners' Club at Hexham, the ac- count of which appeared in the Mark Lane Express of Dee. 21, 186S, but, being in the supplement, I am afraid it escaped the notice of many. Mr. Grey, who for some years had the management of large estates iu Ireland, states : " This club is aware that I have already advocated the equal division of rates between landlord and tenant— that the tenant should pay them in the first instance and be empowered to deduct half the amount from his rent. We have a precedent for this in the pavment of poor rates iu Ireland and other local rates in Scot- land, where the plan works successfully. In support of the justice of this proposition uumberless instances could be brought forward in this county w.iere the rates on farms during the present leases have risen considerably, very much from causes over which the ratepayers had no control — such as county rate, contributions to turnpikes, &e. I think, there- fore, that landowners should partly share in the tluctuation of local rates, as they are equally interested in the prosperity and peace of the district, and iu the condition of its highways." At the same meeting, Mr. J. M. llidley stated: "The Scotch system worked uncommonly well — the landlord paid half the rates, and the tenant the remaining half." Mr. J. Drydon stated: "The rates should be paid both by the 416 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. landlord and the tenant." I think any one who read the whole report of that meeting at Hexham will allow it to be a useful guide to us. In conclusion, as to the real origin of my taking up this subject and bringing it before you, I must be allowed to repeat that I have for years been inte- rested in the improvement of our labouring population, and especially of that class the agricultural labourer, whose state we cannot consider to be satisfactory and for which state we connected with the country receive great blame when I do not consider we deserve it. As a large employer of labour I find no difficulty in getting work done, and well done ; and good farming much improves the quality of the labour and the con- dition of the labourer. I have for years watched our system of education, also the benevolent and well-intentioned assist- ance usually given by clothing, coal, and other charitable clubs, and all such supposed encouragers of provident habits, and I still find that asja class, the agricultural labourer, though improved as to condition, does not improve in his habits of providence and forethought as might be desired. And I ask, docs not this unsatisfactory state mainly result from the faults of the system which I have been explaining, aggravated by our badly administered Poor-Law, and by the well-intentioned charitable societies, all tending, by keeping the supply of labour greater than the regular demand for it, to the lowering of wnges and to the demoralization of the class ? -Is it not a fact that our best labourers are to be found where there is the least of such artificial and benevolent assistance ; in fact, where the people have mostly to rely on their own exertions ? I am far from being against charity to individuals when personally known (and there will always be plenty of such cases), but I am against any such organised plans as tend to lower a class in their own self respect. I need scarcely point out to you that the main blot in our poor-law management is the great abuse made of out-door relief, which resolves itself in many instances to relief in aid of wages. In Ireland the number of out-door paupers is less than one third of the in-door (in the last Irish l'oor-Law report it is stated that Dr. Edward Smith and other scientific authorities have established the fact that, the Irish farm labourer is better fed than his repre- sentatives in England) [f] whilst in our agricultural districts there are about eight times as many more out- door paupers than in-door ; and the out-door expenditure amounts in similar districts to about one-third of that of all our rates. Many can well remember the evils of the old system, altered in 1834., and in many cases we can trace its evil effects in families at the present time. Are we not, notwithstanding our experience, and with our superior advantages, drifting back to similar evils under our present out-door relief system ? As long as this system prevails to the extent it does, especially in our agricultural districts, I am afraid the labouring classes will never be able to emancipate themselves from this state of dependence. I have such faith in their good sense that I am confident that, had it not been for the temptation afforded by this easily- obtained Poor-law relief, they would long since have placed their benefit clubs on a sound ' footing. Do not the attempts hitherto made by them for such provision prove their wishes to be in favour of independence ? and I believe the system of dividing the rates between owner and tenant, and the results arising from it (among which I must specially mention an im- proved system of education), would lead to the elevation of the agricultural labouring class, which has hitherto been cut off from the duties of citizenship. Mr. Goschen's Bill, empowering the tenantsof occupations for a term less than a quarterto deduct their rates from the landlords.will beof great use, and if followed up, as I trust it will be.bya Bill for the half-payment of all rates on all occupations for a longer term than a quarter of a year, I should strongly recommend all owners of property to extend their tenancies of even small holdings to a term longer than a quarter, so that their tenants should be, conjointly witli them- selves, the medium of payment, as they would then find them more careful, and both parties would be mutually in- terested in these matters. As a matter of account, the owners would then find in their rent-roll books all deductions for rates on these small holdings entered under the proper heads, instead of, as at present, generally so distributed in the gene- ral account, that neither owners nor their agents even have any real knowledge of what the different charges for rates amount to ; and an owner would then easily be able to learn what the rates on the whole of his property amounted to yearly, as these facts would be brought to his notice after every audit day. Landlords who at present take no interest in the charges paid by their tenants would probably be startled to find their property is taxed as follows ; If at 2s. 6d. in the £ the yearly charge on £100 rateable value is £12 10s. ; ditto on £1,000 ditto £125. The half rate would be £62 10s. The average of all rates in England and Wales is 3s. 4d. in the £, and 4d. paid by the State. At this 3s. 4d. in the £ the yearly charge on £100 rateable value would be £16 13s. 4d, ditto on £1,000 ditto £166 13s. 4«t., the half rate would be £83 6s. 8d. As to national rating, which some persons advocate, I think its objections are well met in the report of the committee of the House of Lords in 1850. I myself feel very antagonistic to the centralization which would result. Whether in case of a primary education rate being imposed on property it might be advisable for the State to alleviate the owners of property to an equal amount, applied either to- wards the highway or poor's-rates, admits of consideration. My experience is in favour of a small subsidy from the State, which leads to the Government Inspector's recommendations being listened to by the local boards (do we not now require this in our poor-law management ?) these recommendations are generally very useful, as they result from the experience collected by the head office from all parts of the country. On referring to the papers read before this Club I find that union rating — that useful measure passed in 1865 — was advocated by this Club as far back as 1850. I trust, should you think well of the half-rating system, it may not take so long a period before legislation grants it to us. I have found much diffi- culty in collecting these facts, the details of payment not only of the rates, but also of other charges and of the allowances from the State, varying in the three countries — the Poor-Law Reports also being drawn up in different forms — but I believe I am accurate as to the principal points useful for the discis- sion of this subject, and trusting you will excuse my short- comings, I now leave it in your hands. Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., said he did not know that they would all concur entirely and in every particular in what had fallen from Mr. Dashwood, but he was sure they must all feel that he had been singularly true to his text, and that although the subject might be made, as the chairman remarked, a very wide one, yet he had very properly confined it. The subject on the card being "The Systems of Local Rating in England, Scot- land, and Ireland," it was necessary that the remarks made should be as far as possible restricted to that question, and Mr. Dashwood had put before them very clearly and ably the diffe- rent kinds of machinery which were in operation in the three countries. Into the question whether it were right that only one-third of the property of this country should be subject to the burden of local taxation, that gentleman had very properly abstained from entering. He (Mr. Read) entirely agreed with him as regarded the theory which he advanced ; and if they were beginning a new system they would all no doubt approve of the adoption of what he advocated, namely, the division of rates between the owners and the occupiers of lands and houses. They must all feel that the more people were in- terested in the payment, or rather the administration of rates, the more likely it was that they would be properly adminis- tered (Hear, hear) ; and he had always objected to the com- pounding, simply because it tended to deprive the poor man of all interest in economising the rates. Under the system which was established in this country landlords also were practically excluded from all share in the administration. They were, indeed, ex-ofiicio guardians, but, as Mr. Dashwood remarked, they attended very irregularly, and he might add that they were often looked upon as interferers, because on the occasions when they did attend there was generally some little question of patronage or salary to be settled (Hear, hear). In some respects the system of administering the poor-law in Scot- land was preferable to their own, but the system of collection there seemed to him radically wrong. Why should the parish officers have the double trouble of going first to the occupier and then to the owner ? Here it would often be very difficult to find the owner or to seize his goods, because no one would perhaps know where he resided. That part of the Scotch sys- tem which divided the collection of rates did not appear to him worthy of their imitation. Having expressed his concurrence in Mr. Dashwood's view, that the owner and occupier should share in the payment of rates, he must point out something which seemed to him a great bar to the improvement of the condition of the agricultural labourers. He was surprised to, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 417 hoar the figures given with regard to the amount of pauperism in Scotland, because the other day he heard Mr. M'Laren, member for Edinburgh, state in the Ilouse of Commons that in Scotland one man in every ten was receiving parochial re- lief, lie had no doubt that Mr. Dashwood was substantially right and Mr. M'Laren, therefore wrong ; but, be that as it might, it should be remembered that the Scotch had not had their poor-law more than five-and-twenty years, and that the effect of the law had been to increase pauperism to a frightful extent, so that, as was remarked in the debate on the subject in the Ilouse of Commons, whereas formerly every effort was made by Scotch labourers to keep off the poor-rate, now there was a general scramble to get upon it. And, really, when they came to consider how little practical difference there was between the position of a poor man who had been frugal all his days and that of another who had always been intemperate and improvident, as regarded the amount received from the club or the poor-rate, they co\ild hardly help feeling how small was the substantial advantage on the side of prudence and forethought. It was well kuown that a lazy sick labourer with a wife, aud four children might obtain 10s. a week from the Guardiaus and the parish doctor, while another man who had subscribed regularly to a benefit club could under similar circumstances get hardly as much. As he had before re- marked, if they were beginning again they would no doubt be all in favour of adopting the principle advocated by Mr. Dashwood ; but there were so many difficulties attend- ing the anplication of a new principle in an old country, that he feared it would be some time before that principle would be carried into effect. He, for one, however, hoped to see it carried out, and he thought the able papers which they had heard read would tend to hasten that change. Just one remark with regard to the question of education. If he thought the system of dividing the payment of rates between the owner and the occupier would tend to bring on an education rate, that would be with him a reason for not liking it, because, although he was not satisfied with the present quality of education in the rural districts, and thought it might be very much im- proved, still he could not bring himself to believe that what was wanted was an education rate, seeing that if they had an edu- cation rate they must have compulsory attendance at school, and simply secular education (Hear, hear). One word, in couclusion, about Ireland. What a happy people the Irish must be (laughter) ! England had one pauper.for every twenty inhabitants, and Ireland only one in 85 (renewed laughter) ! The details of pauperism would show, no doubt, that out-door relief had terribly pauperised this country. In Ireland only one-third of the recipients of relief were out-door paupers, while in England the proportion was seven-eighths. He should really begin to think that Ireland was a terrestial pa- radise (laughter). The other day it was stated at a statisti- cal meeting, that Ireland produced a great deal more per acre than England. That might be one reason why the amount of pauperism in Ireland was so comparatively small, and there certainly were many blessings there which the Irish people seemed singularly slow to appreciate (laughter). Mr. J. A. Nockolds (Bishop's Stortford) said, as a land agent, representing in some degree the owners of landed property, he thought that if they were made liable more or less for the payment of rates which were now paid entirely by the tenants, that would tend to the better control of the poor-law system, and the better expenditure of the rates, be- cause, as a rule, landlords had more time on their hands than tenants, to whom a loss of time was, in fact, a loss of in- come (Hear, hear). If he had let a farm for £300 a year, and the owner of that farm were made liable for £25 a-year in rates, the next time the farm was to let he should certainly ask £325 a-year for it (Hear, hear) ; but at the same time he thought advantage in the shape of greater control and in- creased efficiency would arise from making landlords pay a por- tion of the rates. As regarded education, while concurring in the necessity for it, he thought it should not be confined to scholastic instruction (Hear, hear). In that matter many persons began at the wrong end ; what was wanted was training rather than what is ordinarily understood by the word " education." Mr. A. Pell, M.P., wished to say a few words on one or two points in the discussion, in which he was himself concerned. With regard to the systems of rating in Scotland and Ire- land he was as ignorant as any man well could be ; but with the English system of rating he was, unfortunately, too well acquaiuted, having suffered under it, not only in the country, but also in the eastern part of London. As respected England, the question of rating might be divided into two parts; first, that which now affected them, being in actual operation ; se- condly, that part which was likely to effect them in future, for he did not think the ratepayers had yet endured all the incon- veniencies which the system involved (Hear, hear). One thing which had struck him with regard to the present sys- tem of rating in England was, that there was considerable ob- scurity thrown over the whole collection of the rates. He would, as Mr. Read had very properly done, entirely avoid en- tering into the grievance, that only a small portion of the ca- pital of this country was charged on account of what was a matter of universal application or necessity — a very large sub- ject, which might be discussed at another time. But with re- spect to the three or four rates which were collected under the present system, he would ask, How were they presented to them? In one small badly-written document, which was brought to them generally immediately after breakfast or before dinner — at a time which the collector seemed to hit off with such exceeding nicety, that he had hardly ever failed to succeed in finding him (Mr. Pell) at home (laughter), there was pre- sented a small docket called the poor-rate receipt, comprising different charges which were not stated separately. In the county where he resided he rented two farms in the same union. One was situated in what was called a close parish be- fore the law was altered, the other in a very open parish, in the neighbourhood of Northampton, a parish which was burdened with a very high rate. He was told that when the system of union rating had come into operation, he wound find that while he lost a great deal in the one parish he. would gain a great deal in the other. He had hoped that such would be the case, but it was very difficult to find out whether it was so or not. There was, perhaps, a shilling rate in one parish, and a tenpenny one in the other. If he asked the collector how it happened that the rates were so nearly alike, the reply was, that there was a highway rate, or something of that kind, to account for it, and that if he went to Harborough or North- ampton he would see the percept ; on another occasion there was a police rate to increase the amount. Instead of this mixture of different rates under the common term " poor rate," the several sources of expense should each be placed un- der a separate head, so that they would at once see that there was 6d. for poor rate, 2d. for highway rate, Id. for county pur- poses, and so on. That would attract attention to the details of expenditure, and would tend to the economical administra- tion of what was collected. Let him now allude for a moment to an important question of detail connected with the highway rates. As the law stood at present, all turnpike roads were highways, and if a trust became insolvent, or if from some other cause a turnpike road ceased to be managed by the trust, t:;e burden, cost, and management was thrown on the parish through which the road passed. He gathered from conversations which he had had with gentlemen who ought to knew better, that there was an idea abroad that when a turnpike trust became insol- vent, or the charge of maintaining a road was, under the com- mon law of the land, thrown on real property, the cost of re- pairs devolved on the District Highway Board. That was not the case, on the contrary, the burden fell entirely on the parish through which the jroad ran (Hear, hear) . An Act passed last session, called The Turnpike Acts Continuance Act, 1868, which would have been better entitled " The Turnpike Acts Discon- tinuance Bill," had at the end of it a schedule, which described exactly the trusts which were no longer to be maintained, or which were to fall in at certain periods. In consequence of the present system of collection there was in a county which he represented, one parish, where under the operation of that act the rates would be about 2s. 4d. in the pound, and it was impossible for anyone who was not a member of the Board of Guardians to tell what were the sources of the increase. As regarded Ireland, what he supposed was true, that in that coun- try only one in 85 of the population was a pauper. If that were the case Ireland might be designated " Paradise Re- gained ;" but he must confess that he should rather have thought the figures were the other way, and that only one in 85 did not want relief on account of poverty. He fully en- dorsed Mr. Read's opinion with regard to the advantage of personal payment of rates. That was most important as ameans of calling the attention of the poor who paid rates to the fact 418 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. of au increase, and not merely to the fact, but to the causes (Hear, hear). Mr. J. K. Fowler (the Prebendal Farm, Aylesbury) said, with regard to ona point mentioned by Mr. Head, lie thought the advantage of making occupiers among the poorer classes interested in the rates was well worthy of consideration, lie lived in a borough, which, he might almost say, was a county, where every ratepaying householder was now a voter; and those present would be surprised to hear the remarks made by poor men, perhaps in the position of agricultural labourers, who had now to pay rates. Such persons now began to talk on the subject among each other, and sometimes they said to masters : " So and so is on the rates, and he cau do as good a day's work as I can" (Hear, hear, and laughter). It was not till very lately that language of that kind had been heard, and the use of it was a matter of considerable importance. For the first time poor men were beginning to feel that they had to put their hands in their pockets and assist in supporting those who were in the receipt of parochial relief (Hear, hear). As regarded land- lords he was sorry to say that the Vale of Aylesbury, rich and fertile as it was supposed to be, suffered more from absenteeism than even Ireland. They hardly knew, indeed, where to find a resident landlord. In one case they had to go to Liverpool to find the landlord, in another to Oxfordshire ; and this state of things made it the more necessary that the tenants should combine in the most effectual manner to control the expenditure. In a recent discussion lie took occasion to allude to local charities in connection with a question of the increase of pau- perism. Having had his attention again directed to that subject, he must say that he believed those charities were a very fertile source of pauperism. They might rely upon it that the receipt of a little bread-money was one of the first steps iu the direction of parochial relief. Persons who received assistance of that kind came to regard it as a right, and in that way the rates had been increased to an enormous extent. It was a great point gained to have got the labourer to pay rates, for he thus became a sort of watcher over loafers and idle fellows, who would not work if they could possibly help it. Mr. W. Eve (Union Court, Old Bond-street) was sorry that on one important point he felt compelled to dissent from the opinion of preceding speakers. Having moved a good deal among the poorer classes, he was strongly opposed to their paying rates, greatly preferring the compounding system. His first reason was that the poor man always knew what to provide for when he had merely a fixed rent to pay, but would never exactly know or provide for the amount of the rates ; while a second reason was, that among the poor changes of occupa- tion were so frequent that either the parish must lose a large proportion of the rates if the payment were left to the occu- pier or great injustice would be done to many who were re- quired to pay. A third reason was, that it would be the duty of Boards of Guardians to enforce the payment of rates against the poor, and that that would place them in a most invidious position, especially as some of them would perhaps be the employers of those who were called upon to pay. When the landlord was required to pay the rates the question whether or not there should be a remissiou or reduction of rent was very simple, as he generally knew whether his tenant could pay or not. Mr. T. Congreve (Peter Hall, Brinklow, Coventry) must remind Mr. Eve that it was not the Boards of Guardians but the magistrates who had to enforce the payment of rates (Hear, hear). The overseers were the persons who moved iu the matter when rates were in arrear, and the question whether payment should be enforced was one for magisterial decision. He thought very great benefit was likely to arise from the discussion of the subject so ably introduced by Mr. Dashwood. Especially did he agree with him that it would be a very good thing if owners of property were to a certain extent made liable for rates. They all knew that the owners of landed property iu England knew nothing about rates. If they had a farm let at live or six hundred a year the rates might in- crease continually, as lie was sorry to say had been generally the case of late years, and yet they might remain entirely ignorant of this matter. He (Mr. Congreve) lived in what Mr. Pell called a close parish. That parish was depopulated many years ago for the simple purpose of keeping down the rates. It was now thrown on the union charges, and the rates had more than doubled, his present landlord being perhaps quite unaware, of that fact. He thought the suggested pay- ment of half the rates by the owner would be a very great improvement on the present system, as it would tend to give him an insight into the expenditure, and to dispose him to en- deavour to check it. Another important point was that all the ratepayers should have a voice in the expenditure of the county rates (Hear, hear). As regarded the poor-rates, they were represented through the guardians. In the expenditure of the county they had as yet no voice whatever. They had claimed it, they had petitioned for it, but as yet they had not got it. Some years ago they urged their claims upon Sir John Pakington, but they were laughed at by him as they had been by others ; he hoped, however, that through the exertions of Mr. Sewell lleid and other gentlemen in Parliament, the ob- ject would ere long he secured. Mr. Eve rose and expressed his regret that he had mis- stated the jurisdiction. He was aware he should have said overseers, not guardians. > Mr. Hurst (Bedford) thought that the payment of half the rates by landlords would not be an unmixed good, as it would probably induce them to attend more frequently the meetings of Boards of Guardians, where, as experience showed, their influence was not always usefully exercised and where too many persons always followed their lead. Mr. J. Bradsiiaw (Knole, Guildford) wished to allude to what had been said with regaid to the form of the rating papers that were sent out. For nine years he was Chairman of a Board of Guardians, and in that capacity be became strongly convinced that it was desirable to issue the papers with a distinct statement of the several charges — giving the county- rate, poor-rate, and highway-rate separately ; but lie was opposed by other members of the Board. Although he urged that that was the way in which the thing was invariably done in Lancashire, the Board, witli whom the matter rested, refused to make the change which he proposed. As regarded the duties and practice of ex-officio guardians he was himself a delinquent, having seldom attended the Board meetings in that capacity. But, although an officio -member might not attend regularly, yet his presence on special occasions might be valuable. Mr. H. CheffINS (Easton Manor, Dunmow) said he had seen in his own district illustrations of the difficulties which overseers must have in collecting rates from the poor. In that district there were about 1,500 allotments, aud what he had witnessed convinced him that in all such cases at least the rates ought to be paid by the landlord. Such were the diffi- culties, that it was found that the overseers would rather pay the rates for the allotments out of their own pockets than go about in all directions in search of the occupiers, many of whom he believed lived out of the parish, and at the request of the overseers the Landlord adopted the compounding system. Mr. G. Smyth ies (Marlow Lodge, Leintwardine) wished to say a word on the system of compounding which had now become a national question. He differed from Mr. Read and some other speakers, who advocated the payment of rates by the poor man. Theoretically they were no doubt quite right, but practically their principles could not not be carried out. In boroughs where the compounding system was in operation until lately, very great hardship had arisen from the collection of rates from the poor ; and in many boroughs hardly a week elapsed without a great many persons being summoned before a magistrate, and distraints put upon their goods on account of rates. Only a few days ago a very large deputation came from Birmingham to represent the very great hardships which had been suffered by poor people, owing to that cause, and the very great difficulty which there was in collecting rates among such persons. He must say that he thought the adoption of a system of half-rating would prove very beneficial by directing the attention of landlords to the expenditure for the poor ; and he believed many a landlord who now took no interest in the matter would make an effort to attend the board meetings in order to see that the rates were properly expended. The great increase of pauperism of late years was a national disgrace. Besides being a great loss to employers, it was most de- moralising to the labouring population (Hear, hear). Mr. J. Tra.SK (Northington, Hants) said that as a member of two boards of guardians, and chairman of one highway board, he had had some experience in connection with this subject. As regarded the half-rating system, and the ad- vantages expected from it, he must remark that tenant-farmers THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 419 well represented, in his opinion, the, common sense of the country, well understood the requirements of labourers, aud were well fitted to be entruted with the administration of re- lief; while, on the other hand, however well educated a land- lord might be, that could not give him the common sense needed to deal with such cases (laughter). With regard to the classifying of the rates, he might observe that in one of the unions with which he was connected the county rates, the poor rates, aud highway rates were stated in the contribution orders sent to overseers separately, while in the other they were given in the lump ; and he really did not think the division made much difference. With respect to county financial boards,he dare say that along with the tenant-farmers on a board there would be a great many landowners ; and, though it was of course quite right that the ratepayers should be represented, perhaps the result would be that the tenant-farmers would be swamped, as it were, by the magistrates. Although he was in favour of the establishment of county financial boards, he did not believe they would do as much good as some persons seem to expect. There ought certainly to be some great alteration in the pre- sent system of local rating generally ; and as regarded the comparative merits of the systems of England, Scotland, and Ireland, he believed that their own system was the worst. Mr. T. Duckham (Baysham Court, Ross) must confess that he was disappointed at the course the discussion had taken, lie knew something about the system of rating in Ireland, and he certainly preferred it to that which prevailed in England. In England, if a landlord determined to preserve a quantity of game, the land devoted to that purpose was immediately re- leased from the burden of local taxation, and the value of the surrounding land proportionately diminished by the increased pressure upon it, while the poor of the district were demoralised. There were those in England who said that land could only be rated at what it would let for (cries of " Question") ; but in many cases the anuual value was decreased greatly through the preservation of game. Iu Ireland the state of things was different. Valuers had to take into account the geological formation of the country (laughter), the distance of markets, and what the land was capable of producing with fair cultivation. He really thought that was a much more equita- ble system than the oue which prevailed here. In fact, the present system in England was no system at all. The rating did not bear any fair proportion to the investment of capital, for whilst the poor man was rated upon 7 or 8 per cent, for his cottage, the wealthy only paid upon 1 or perhaps 3 per cent, for his mansion. Mr. W. Gardner (Bekesbourne, Canterbury) said, no one had endeavoured to explain the difference between the amount of pauperism in England and in Ireland. There must be some cause for it, aud it might be that the guardians in England were much more tender-hearted than those in Ireland (laugh- ter). Having been an English guardian for many years, he felt certaiu that a vast number of those who received out-door relief iu his neighbourhood, would have ceased to receive it if the house test had been offered, lie knew some unions, in which the amount of pauperism had been greatly diminished iu that way, aud he was quite sure that one great source of increased pauperism was the facility with which so many persons ob- tained out-door relief. Mr. J. Tueadwei.l (Upper Wiuchendon, Aylesbury) fully concurred in what had fallen from the last speaker. Some time ago he had occasion to examine the accounts of a union, of which he had been a member of the Board of Guardians for some years, and to compare them with the accounts of neigh- bouring unions, and he fouud that where the amount of out- door relief was greatest iu proportion to the in-door relief, it was also'greatest in proportion to the population. He knew it was a hard task for men to steel their hearts agaiust tales of sufferings which came before them ; but unless out-door relief were carefnlly checked, pauperism could not but increase to a serious extent. In the Aylesbury Union the Board of Guar- dians had found that the more rate-payers there were the more easy it was to obtain useful information with regard to the re- cipients of out-door relief, and to expunge names from the relief list. In that point of view it was a great advantage to have so many of the lower classes subjected to the payment of rates. Mr. C. Cadle (Gloucester) had hoped to hear something about the rating allowances in different unions, the present system being, iu his opinion, very unequal. He wat then entering into a comparison between the rating of farmers, clergymen, and others, when the Chairman observed that he was not adhering to the question, the comparison intended iu the statement of the subject being between the i-ystems of rating in England, Scotland, aud Ireland, and not the burden of the rates as between individuals. As regarded the payment of half the rates by the landlord, he thought there would be great difficulty in carrying that out. It would, he thought, resolve itself into this — that the tenant would have to pay under agreemeut. Moreover, it would be very unfair to tenants or landlords who were under existing agreements, un- less they were superseded. He thought the only means of getting landlords to pay a share of the burden was the esta- blishment of a national rate, or the adoption of the income-tax as a basis of assessment. Mr. II. NlELD (Lancashire) said the remark just made by the Chairman would prevent him from entering into the question of assessment, although that was, of course the basis of all rating, and although, iu consequence of the vague ideas which prevailed on the subject in his own county and his owu union, he had hoped to hear from members of the first Farmers' Club in the world what they considered assessment ought to be. That, however, might form the sub- ject of another discussion (Hear, hear). Ilis friends at home would be glad to read I he remarks of Mr. Head and Mr. Pell, and to learn that, in their opinion, the more the poor as well as the rich were interested in the rates, the better chance there was of diminished expenditure. As regarded the form of the rating papers, he thought that, considering that, of every shilling levied, not more than 7d. was for the poor, the sepa- ration of the charges was very desirable. The Chairman, in summing up the discussion, said he wished to offer his personal thauks to Mr. Dashwood for the intelligent and practical manner in which he opened the dis- cussion. He could not but think that a great deal of good was likely to arise from it, especially as the question had been presented in quite a new light. He agreed with Mr. Hash- wood that it would be extremely advantageous to get as many persons as possible rated personally. That would tend to the closest supervision ; for when parties had to pay rates, they acted, very properly, as a check to unjust claims on the part of others. He thought the principle of rating landlords was a sound one. Some speakers seemed to consider it imprac- ticable to get landlords to pay. All he could say in reference to that question was that, at the time when the cattle-plague was devastating their herds, landlords who had to contribute their share of the burden arising from the loss, exercised a very active supervision, watchiug the expenses, and helping to keep them down as far as possible; aud he could not but think that the payment by them of part of the permanent local rates would produce a similar effect. He quite agreed with Mr. Tell as to the injustice of making the entire burden of the maintenance of turnpike-roads fall on the parishes through which they passed, so that neighbouring parishes, which abutted on the roads, and used them perhaps quite as much as the others, contributed nothing. There were parishes iu his own district which contributed £20 a mile under those circumstances. Mr. Dashwood in reply, stated that from the last annual report of the Scotch Poor-Law Board, he was satisfied that Mr. M'Laren, M.P., was mistaken as to 1 in i) of the popula- tion of Scotland being a pauper. Erom this report it appears that Scotlaud, though less pauperised than England, is much in want of a greater check on the out-door relief cases. It appears that there is not as yet a sufficiency of union houses, and does not the parochial system require to be extended to that of unions as in England ? As to the observations about a rate for primary education not being requisite — any educa- tion by rate being necessarily compulsory — and the present system not demanding radical chauge because capable of improvement — Mr. Dashwood stated the rate would be com- pulsory, but the attendance need not be so : the latter, he be- lieved, was what we generally implied when compulsory education was mentioned. Any one who has watched for several years the working of our present system in country parishes, must admit that it is most faulty and unsuccessful, as it really depeuds generally on either the clergyman or the chief landowner, and a system thus depending on one person must often fail, as all classes neither take interest nor share responsibility. How this may be avoided is stated in the paper 420 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. read, namely, that by the half-rating plan all classes would be paying directly towards the rate, and consequently take in- terest in its management; and in his opinion the present system, being on a basis that does not enlist the interest of all classes, cannot be really improved. Mr. Dashwood asked whether the Scotch system, where the owners pay so largely towards education, and the Irish where the State pays nearly all for education, are not still deficient in that active assistance which would come from all classes being interested in the matter. He was glad to find from several speakers how im- portant they consider it that (he small occupiers should pay rates, and how they have alreadyexperienced the useful effectsin some boroughs where the agricultural labourers have lately had to pay their rates. As to the remarks about out-door relief in Kent leading to great imposition and to bad results, the same is generally to be found. The reason why the proportion of pauperism is so small in Ireland is, that so few are allowed the option of receiving out-door relief. In January, 1857, there were only 910 out-door paupers for the whole of Ireland. The result was only 1 pauper in 115 of the population ; since it has become easier to obtain out-door relief, 1 in 85. Had the results of our system of out-door relief in England been in any way satisfactory, it might be as well for Ireland to imi- tate us ; but from the experience in this country had Ireland not better adhere as closely as possible to the allowing of out- door relief but in special cases, and only at present copy from us the Union Chargeability Bill of 1865, for which some parts of Ireland have already applied ? As to emigration being one of the causes of Ireland being less pauperised than England, there cannot be a doubt that the checking of out- door relief diminishes the pauperism and increase of popula- tion ; but is it not more to the welfare and credit of a country that her population should become useful citizens abroad thau be retained at home a demoralized and demoralizing class, bringing discredit on the country ? As many have remarked as to the compounding for and the payment of rates by small occupiers, these points are fully gone into in the Report of the Committee on Assessment, June, 1868, and referred to in the paper read. There is also a very useful article on pauper- ism in the British Quarterly Review of this month, April, and the Irish Annual Poor-Law Report is very well drawn up : its returns showing the number of persons receiving in and out- door relief in each union are very instructive. Mr. Congreve, after remarking that he believed the main reason why the proportion of paupers was less in Ireland than in England was, that the Irish exported their paupers to this country, where boards of guardians were obliged to relieve them, proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Dashwood for his able in- troduction of the subject. This having been seconded by Mr. Thompson and agreed to, the proceedings terminated. TABLE OF RATING IN THE THREE COUNTRIES. Description oe Ram. Church Education.. England. Scotland. Not Compulsory None Poor's. — Is supplemented by i Paid by occupier ; managed the State for medical at- by an elected board corn- tendance, and for schools in union-houses. Highway Police County. — This includes bridges, police (except in Ireland), gaols, expenses of criminals (the latter sup- plemented by the State), lunatic asylums, &c. The expenses of lunatics are repaid by unions in Eng- land and by parishes in Scotland and Ireland. Compounding tor Rates. posed of elected guardians and magistrates ex-officio. Paid by Owners Paid by Owners Paid half by the owners and half by the occupiers ; managed by owners of £20 a-year and above, and an elected board. Paid -by the occupiers, and managed by boards com- posed as the boards of guardians — that is where the new highway system has been adopted. The charge and expenditure is on the parish, not on the district. Different counties have different sys- tems. Take Kirkcudbrightshire, owners pay half for repairs (and all for new work), occupiers pay the other half ; managed by a dis- trict board, which is composed of owners over £100 a-year and an elected member from every parish. The charge and expenditure are on the district, not on the parish. Merged in county rate ; paid Merged in county-rate, paid by the by the occupiers, and sup- 1 owners only, and supplemented by plemented by the State to I the State to the amount of one- the amount of one-fourth. ■ fourth. ! Paid by occupiers, but ma- Paid by owners and managed by the naged solely by the magis- : owners of over £100 a-year ; con- trates, but much controlled trolled by the State as in England, by the State. Ireland. Not allowed in Boroughs , . . No compounding, but occupiers of £1 and under, and of tenements let for less than twelve months need not be placed on the rate book (except in boroughs), but the owner may recover half of rate from the occupier. None. Paid by the State. The whole is first paid by the occupier, and he is em- powered to deduct half the amount from the rent ; managed by a board com- posed of elected guardians and magistrates ex-officio. Paid by occupiers, and con- trolled by a board of rate- payers and magistrates, and passed by the grand jury with the county rate. Paid by the State. Paid by the occupiers ; the expenses of highways and of police-stations, &c. being added ; the whole is ma- naged by the grand jury at assizes, which jury is al- most entirely composed of magistrates. No compounding ; the owners pay the rates for £4* and under in counties. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 421 DEPUTATION TO THE PRIVY COUNCIL. THE GOVERNMENT CATTLE DISEASES BILL. On Tuesday, April 6, a deputation from the Club had an interview with Mr. Forster, M.P., Vice-President of the Council, at the Privy Council Office, Downing Street, at noon, to lay before the department their views in reference to the Government Bill. The deputation was introduced by Mr. James Howard, M.P. Mr. Howard, said — Sir, I have the pleasure to intro- duce a deputation from the London or Central Farmers' Club, which has been in existence for many years, and is com- posed of leading farmers belonging to various counties in Eng- land, who come to London monthly to discuss questions of in- terest and importance to agriculture. I may state for your information that this is more essentially a tenant-farmers' association than perhaps any other agricultural association or society in England, inasmuch as the landlord element in the Club is almostentirely absent,orat allevents'onlypresentin about the same degree as the tenant-farmer element is present iu the House of Commons. I mention that merely that you may know the practical character of the members of the Club and of this deputation. The deputation, sir, does not come before you with any hostile feelings towards the measure which you have introduced in Parliament ; on the contrary, they see in it much that is wise and good. I feel, and I believe the mem- bers of the Club generally feel, that the Government has acted wisely in bringing in a measure of consolidation (Hear, hear). We also think you have acted wisely in introducing clauses dealing with other diseases besides rinderpest, whether they be of home growth or of foreign production. Whilst, how- ever, approving of some of the leading provions of your Bill, the deputation desire to point out some particulars in which it seems to them insufneientto guard the flocks and herds of England against disease arising from imported animals. And in doing so, sir, they wish emphatically to deny what has been asserted, that they are actuated by a desire to return to the principles of protection. They entirely repudiate that (Hear, hear). They say, and I believe with good cause, that the attacks made upon them both in the House of Commons and out of it, on the ground that they desire a return to protection, are founded on a gross calumny (Hear, hear). Since the repeal of the corn-laws, so far as I am aware, not a single public meeting has beeu held, not a single petition has been presented to the House of Commons in favour of a return to the principles of protection in any shape whatever. The members of this club, and I believe the farmers of England generally, have not only accepted the principles of free-trade, but have cheerfully accepted them (Hear, hear) ; and their only desire is that the principles of free-trade may be fully carried out so far as they relate to the business in which they are engaged. In March last year a deputation from this club waited upon his Grace the Duke of Marlborough and Lord Robert Montagu on this subject ; and at the interview which took place they pre- sented a memorial containing two recommendations, which I will now read. Those recommendations were as follows ; " The establishment of a separate market for foreign stock would, in the opinion of your memorialists, materially increase the sup- ply of stock to the metropolis, and is the only means by which the stock of this country can be defended from the impor- tations of cattle-plague and other foreign diseases." And, "That, as the remarkable and universal improvement in the health of the stock of the United Kingdom is dis- tinctly to be traced to the restriction in the movement of stock, in consequence of tho cattle-plague, it is desirable that permanent regulations for the sale and transit of our home stock should also engage the attention of Parliraent." The Committee of the Club met yesterday, and reconsidered the question, and in reviewing all the circumstances of the case, and what has since transpired, they felt that the course thus recommended to his Grace the Duke of Marlborough was one which they should now most respectfully urge upon your attention, and which they should ask you to adopt in the Bill now before the House. I am aware that much has been said by interested parties as to the establishment of a foreigu cattle market diminishing the supply. Now I think on examination that will be found to be altogether untenable ground. I have yet to learn, and I am sure, sir, you will agree with me on this point, that to increase facilities to provide greater accom- modation, and to diminish the expense of conducting a trade, is the way to cripple or reduce the dimensions of that trade. I conceive that if a waterside market were provided for this great metropolis, animals were landed at the wharf, and ade- quate accommodation were furnished, that would be an addi- tional inducement to foreigners to send a larger supply. I have no doubt, sir, you are aware that at present for every foreign animal landed in London, in addition to the cost of carriage the owner is put to a charge of something like lis. 9d. per head in incidental expenses. Most of these expenses would be reduced were the animals landed imported in a healthy condition. However, I think the main objection to the Bill is the uncertainty which would exist under it in the minds of foreign producers, and all persons connected with the foreign cattle trade (Hear, hear). Establish a uniform system for all concerned ; let the ports of debarkation be named in the Bill ; let it be widely known that there is every accommo- dation for the reception and slaughter of cattle ; and let it be known that cattle will be slaughtered at the [ports where they are landed ; and I believe not only would the supply not be diminished, but there would be au increased and a more uni- form supply than there is at present. I will only make one other observation, and it is this, that people who are unac- quainted with the cattle plague can have no idea of the treat- ment to which animals imported from abroad are subjected. I am sure, sir, that if you could afford time to visit one of the wharves to see animals landed, and observe the reeking dread- ful state in which they are after they have been exposed to rough weather, and have been kept for days together in a hold almost air-tight, yon would not wonder that the farmers of England entertain such fears that diseases may spread among their cattle. Having made these observations I will now call upon the Chairman of the Club, Mr. R. J. New- ton, of Campsfield, Oxon. Mr. Newtox said : In appearing before you, sir, as a depu- tation from the Farmers' Club upon the Cattle Diseases Bill, we wiuh to impress upon you that we desire to consider the subject in a commercial point of view, and we beg of you to divest yourself of the feeling (if you entertain any such feeling) that we come here with the wish of protecting our animals, or with the view of increasing their value to ourselves, to the prejudice of the consumers, by increasing the price of meat to them. We totally repudiate this idea. Before going further into the subject, we, as representating the Farmers' Club, beg to thank you for your exertions in embodying and consoli- dating into one bill the numerous Acts of Parliament and Orders of Privy Council now iu force for regulating the trade in foreigu and home cattle ; and we beg to congratulate you upon the success attending your efforts. We think the clauses in the bill to regulate the treatment of home cattle somewhat stringent and imperative. We also think the clauses giving powers to the Privy Council with respect to forsign cattle 422 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. might be somewhat more imperative and not quite so per- missive ; but we are fully aware how necessary it is for the Privy Council to have considerable discretionary power to regulate so important a trade. If the owners of home stock are to be subject to such strict orders and regulations in case the cattle-plague should reappear amongst us, we feel that we are entitled to ask that every possible care and every possible step shall be taken to prevent the re-introduction of cattle- plague and other diseases into this country by the importation of foreign animals. We look upon the establishment of a separate cattle market and slaughter-houses for foreign stock at the ports of dcbarcation, more especially for London, as the only safe means of securing this most desirable end. In- deed, we look upon this step as the key-stone of the whole system of the prevention of the re-introduction of the cattle- plague and other diseases into this country (Hear, hear). Mr. J. K. Fowler, said : Coming as I do from the district of Aylesbury, which suffered as much as almost any part of England from cattle-plague — 13aron Rothschild's herd and many others in the vicinity having been almost entirely de- stroyed— I need scarcely say that I view with the greatest alarm the possibility of the cattle-plague being again dissemi- nated in this country. In my district we are fully convinced that the only effectual measure of prevention is the establish- ment of waterside markets for the reception and slaughter of foreign cattle. I am aware that it has been objected that there are certain districts of Europe in which cattle-plague does not exist — for instance, Spain and Portugal. Perhaps you may not be aware, sir, how very small a number of cattle arrive from those two countries. I believe that since last Juue — that is to say, during a period of about nine months — not more than 1,100 animals from Spain and Portugal have reached the port of Southampton ; and, supposing the slaughter of foreign cattle were made imperative, there would surely be very little difficulty in sending the cattle slaughtered at Southampton to London, especially as it appears to he so eisy to send dead meat from Aberdeen to London. As regards the interest of the port of London, it seems to me very im- portant that foreign stock should be kept quite separate from English. Previous to the outbreak of cattle-plague a con- siderable trade was carried on between this country and the Continent through the export from England of male animals intended for the improvement of the continental breeds. That was entirely put a stop to in consequence of foreign govern- ments persisting in treating England as an infected country. Mr. F orster : Do they still keep up those restrictions ? Mr. Howard : There is no trade of that kind. Mr. Forster : But surely foreign Governments have not maintained the restrictions. Mr. Fowler : They did so till a few months' ago ; but there has, I believe, recently been some ?lteration. Mr, Forster : You know the Hutch said we sent them the cattle disease (laughter). Mr. Fowler : This point appears to me a most important one ; for any one who goes into a foreign market and observes the class of animals which are introduced from abroad into this country must be struck with the great difference in appear- ance and character between foreign and Enelisn herds. Now, sir, we wish to impress on you the necessity of having foreign cattle markets quite distinct from our own ; and I feel sure that, however large a body of officials may be kept up, if this bill passes in its present shape, or without some fresh order, the result will be prejudicial to the interest both of producers and consumers. Let me further, sir, call your attention to a recommendation contained in the Report of a Committee, which was signed by Lord Speucer, Lord Cranbourne, and the Right Hon. Robert Lowe, on the the 5th of February, 18CG. It is as follows : " There is in fact but one class of precautions likely to be effectual, viz., to restrict importation absolutely, except in case of stress of weather, to a certain number of ports, where proper accommodation could be provided ; to cause all fat cattle to be slaughtered at the ports, where proper accommodation could be provided — to cause all fat cattle to be slaughtered at the ports, and all store cattle to undergo a period of quarantine." Mr. Forster : That is in the 2nd Report. Mr. Fowler : Yes, sir. I wish to allude for a moment to what Mr. Howard so ably put before you with regard to the horrors of the middle passage. I believe that if you had pro- perly arranged ports and markets for the reception of foreign cattle, foreigners and Englishmen would, as a matter of business, secure constant supplies of meat from the continent. With the increased facilities offered the trade might be ex- pected to increase, and arrangements would no doubt be made for the distribution of the foreign supplies in different parts of the kingdom. Mr. G. Smytiiies: The county which I represent, namely, Herefordshire, is a breeding county, and it is the universal opinion there that the only effectual means of keeping out cattle plague is to establish separate markets. We should be prepared to submit to almost any inconvenience as regards our own stock, if we could but see separate markets established for foreign stock. In clauses 30 and 5-t foot-and-mouth dis- ease is in effect treated like other contagious diseases : it is classed with pleuro-pnenmonia. Mr. Forster : I think you will find, on examination, that that is not the case. Mr. Smytiiies : Clause 30 speaks of the diseases which are to be taken cognisance of by an inspector ; and Clause 5-1 seems, I think, to imply that foot-and-mouth disease is to be treated in the same way as the other disease which I men- tioned. Mr. Forster : The difference is this : In the case of pleuro- pneumonia a district is to be declared infected ; but the 6th schedule, which is at the end of the bill, and is applicable to the case, makes a great distinction between the treatment of pleuro-pnenmonia and that of some other diseases. When a i istrict is infected with pleuro-pnenmonia, it thereby comes under the operations of the Bill ; but foot-and-mouth disease docs not place it in that position. Mr. Smytiiies : I think that distinction might be made plainer. Mr. Forster : I think the matter is plain already ; but if it be not, it can easily be made so in committee. Mr. Smytiiies: Again, it appears to me that there ought to be some authority given to railway companies to water and feed animals. Mr. Forster : Authority is given. Perhaps what you mean is, that it should be made compulsory. Mr. Smytiiies : I think there ought to be some power given. Mr. Forster : If you refer to the clause, you will find that that is precisely what it does. By Clause 61, we give railway companies authority to make charges. We give the greatest possible power in the matter. We give power to make the charge ; and we make the animals a lien, both as against the man who delivers the animal to the railway officials, and the man who takes it from them. Further than that it is impos- sible to go, without compelling railway authorities to provide food and water. Mr. Smytiiies : Perhaps that might be done, after a certain number of miles. Mr. Forster: Well, the difficulty is that we might be asked to define the way in which the thing should be done. It was because an effort was made to detiue that, that the previous attempt at legislation failed. That, however, is also a question of detail for the committee ; and I have no doubt that, when we get into committee on the Bill, we shall have the advice of practical men to aid our efforts. Mr. Smytiiies : As regards railway companies, I think they would have no difficulty in dealing with the matter, if they were told that they must do so. Mr. Forster : Yes ; but that cannot be done without providing for penal consequences in case of neglect, and, when these are proposed, we shall be asked to define how the thing is to be carried out. It is there, that the practical difficulty arises. Mr. Smytiiies : The most important thing for us is to have separate markets established, which would secure us as far as possible, against foreign diseases, which would create a certain trade, which we tenant farmers believe to be of great importance, not only to us, but to consumers. It is no object to us to have permanent high prices ; that is a question for landlords ; but we want to avoid uncertainty of prices, and we think that if it were merely left to the Privy Council to stop or cheek the importation of foreign cattle, that would tend to create uncertainty. Mr. Forster : I am afraid it is out of our power to create certainty of price. Mr. Smytiiies : What I object to is any unnecessary inter- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 4-2S ference with the cattle trade. It* those who are interested knew what foreign trade to expect, they would act accordingly. I have no doubt that if what we desire were carried out, the trade would arrange itself in a steady manner ; so that on the average there would be a certain number of beasts imported ; whereas, so long as there is so much uncertainty, persons will not know how to act. Let me add that, as a breeder, I think t he owners of animals which have lung disease ought to give notice of it, instead of the thing beiug left to the in- spector. Mr. Forster : That, again, is a matter of detail. I may, however, remark that one does not like proposing enactments without feeling iiuite sure that they would be obeyed. It is very difficult to make a man criminate himself. Iu one of the Orders there is a power which might be used it necessary. Mr. Smythies : We think that sheep-pox ought to be classed with pleuro-pneumonia. Mr. Forster : I think the regulations with regard to that are very strong indeed. If you look at clause 31, you will find that to a considerable extent it is placed in the same position as cattle-plague. Our notion was that it was desirable to legislate in the strongest possible way for cattle-plague, taking sheep-pox and pleuro-pueuraonia next, and then the other diseases. Mr. Smythies : I shall be happy, sir, to leave the matter in your hands, only impressing upon you that we think nothing will secure us except separate markets. Mr. John Thomas said : This subject has been so very ably handled by Mr. Howard and other gentlemen that I feel that very little is left for me to say, except that I know there is a very strong feeling in Bedfordshire, and other counties of which I know something, iu favour of having all foreign beasts slaughtered at the port of landing. It is, 1 believe, the opin- ion of many of us that we are now suffering from high prices which are in a great degree attributable to the cattle-plague, and this is a question which is interesting to the consumer as well as the producer. I have some friends living on the borders of Cheshire, aud who have not yet recovered from de- vastations which they suffered in their herds in 1866. One of them had about 90 dairy cows, and was very particular in their management. On visiting him last October, I was astonished to find that he had then only 36 cows, and some of these were Irish and others Scotch, nearly all his own stock having died or been slaughtered. I hope the Government will do their best to secure separate markets for foreign animals, and further to provide that all such animals shall be slaughtered at the port of landing, because if we get cattle-plague in this country again as we had it before no importation can make up for it. I am sure that what English farmers want is a fair field and no favour (Hear, hear). Mr. J. Howard, M.P : We have abstained, sir, from going into details because we know that you have to receive at least two other deputations on this subject. Let me, however, here mention one fact which has just come to our knowledge, namely, that 2-to beasts have been killed this year at one wharf in the port of London on accouut of their having foot- and-mouth disease. Mr. Forster : Which wharf is that ? Mr. Howard : Brown's wharf, where 245 beasts have been to killed within six week's owing to that cause. I call attention that fact because of course those animals might have come in contact with English animals belonging to various districts. Mr. Forster : Now gentlemen, I must state in the first place, that the Lord President, Earl de Grey, is sorry that be cannot have the pleasure of meeting you to-day: He is only just come up from the country, and a cabinet meeting, which is fixed for one o'clock, renders it impossible for him to be present. I am glad myself to have the opportunity of meeting so many gentlemen of practical knowledge, whose interests are very much affected by the Bill in question, and who are so well able to answer inquiries, and to give information with re- gard to details. I need scarcely remind you that I can only be the means of conveying your views on this subject to the go- vernment. It is not in my power to promise any alterations, or iu any way to commit my colleagues ; I can only be the me- dium of communicating to them what you say on this occa- sion. Before noticing the remarks which have been made with regard to the establishment of a separate market for foreign animals and the slaughtering of them at the ports of debarkation, which are the two principal questions raised, I wish to ask the gentlemen present how they view the existing condition of things in the metropolis. Are you unanimous in your opiuiou about that ? Is the general feeling of the farmers whom you represent one of dislike to the cordon which is now drawn round London to prevent any cattle that come into the metropolis from going out of it alive? I ask these questions because it is important that before going into a debate on other points we should know the real opinion of agriculturists on that one. I have had the matter represented to me in different ways. Mr. J. Howard, M.P., having observed that Mr. Leeds, being one of the largest feeders of cattle in Norfolk, was a suitable person to auswerthe Right Hon. gentleman's questions, Mr. 11. Leeds said : I can only say, sir, that when there is an over supply iu the London market I suffered a loss of two or three pounds per bullock, assuming the animals to be worth about £30 a piece. Formerly bullocks sent to London used to be sent afterwards to Brightou and other places in the south of England, and this prevented us from being at the mercy of the London butchers. Our position is very different now that our bullocks must be sold iu London whatever may liappen to be the price. Mr. Forster : Then I understand that the practical incon- venience which you experience is that you are obliged to try and send up to London just the amount of supply that is called for by the demand of the day, and that if you over do the thing you suffer loss. Mr. J. Howard, M.P. : I think, sir, what Mr. Leeds means is this ; that if English beasts sent to the Metropolitan market were allowed to be afterwards sent to the country, the circumstance of there being an over-supply would not affect the pockets of farmers as the present arraugenent does. If there were a separate foreign market there could be no objection to beasts, sent to the Metropolitan market, going anywhere. I think that is what you mean, Mr. Leeds ? Mr. Leeds: Yes. Mr. Forster : You mean that if you send 100 cattle to London and the demand only takes' 80 at the price fixed by you, it is a very awkward thing for you that the surplus cat- tle must remain in London and be immediately sold. Mr. Leeds : Yes. Mr. Forster : I suppose there can be very little doubt that the argument used by Mr. Howard and other gentlemen, to the effect that the killing of foreign cattle at the Port of London prevents the spread of disease, applies to home cattle. People tell me, and I suppose with some truth, that the present cordon round London has caused freedom from disease, arising not only from infected foreign cattle, but also from infected' home cattle. I can well understand that where an enormous number of cattle are collected for sale, if a man has an animal that is diseased he naturally sends it there, and if it be pre- vented from going back, such a prohibition is, both as regards home and foreign stock, a preventive of disease. I only wanted to know how far the security of the disease tells in the minds of farmers against the practical inconvenience of not being able to get their cattle back from London. Mr. Leeds : With regard to foot-and-mouth disease, I may ob serve that I was formerly a great sufferer from it, but that since the cessation of the movement of cattle brought to London, 1 have suffered little or nothing Before the cattle plague my losses for foot-and-mouth disease amounted to above £200 a year. The loss in bullocks from that cause, if they kept a month, is from £1 to £2 a head. At the same time, I must say that the' losses of graziers, in consequence of not being able to remove their beasts from London, are very great. Mr. AVillson : As a Leicestershire farmer, I can bear wit- ness that since the metropolitan regulations were put in force we have taken at least one-third less. In consequence of Brighton and other towns in the south not being able to get beasts from London, we have been obliged to send beasts 1o the south by the Great Western Railway, aud the journey has often occupied from Monday to Thursday. Mr. Forster : There is not, I suppose, a great deal of dead meat sent from Leicestershire to London ? Mr. Wielson : Yes, there is ; we send a large supply of the best parts. Not only do we sustain a loss of from £2 to £3 per head on many live beasts sent to London, but we con- tend that the consumer does not derive any benefit from that We shall look upon your bill, sir, with a great deal of alarm unless you insert the clauses suggested by Mr, Howard, With 424 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. regard to foot-and-mouth disease, we think your clauses are rather too stringent. It is provided that if any beast be found travelling along a road with foot-and-mouth disease, it may be stopped and killed. Mr. Leeds : Many animals are supposed to have foot-and- mouth disease when they have nothing of the kind. Mr. Forster : The clause is as follows — " If any person exposes for sale in a market or fair, or other public place where animals are commonly exposed for sale, or sends or causes to be carried on a railway, or on a canal, river, or other inland navigation, or on a coasting vessel, or carries, leads, or drives, or causes to be carried, led, or driven on a highway or thoroughfare, any animal (including a horses) affected with a contagious or infectious disease, he shall be deemed guilty of an offence against this Act " — I suppose you don't object to that ? — " unless he shows to the satisfaction of the justices before whom he is charged that he did not know of the same being so affected, and that he could not with reasonable diligence have obtained such knowledge." That would guard against an outbreak of disease ; and I don't think you could hope to have much check on disease if persons were allowed to place animals in public conveyances, on public roads, or on railway sidings when they knew them to be infected. Mr. Leeds : I think you ought to bear in mind, sir, that there is this year a very short supply of beasts in London, owing to the failure of the root crop. If there had been the usual supply of beasts from Norfolk, our losses would have been tre- mendons. Mr. Forster : I am well aware that the drought of last year has made the period an exceptional one. Mr. Leeds : You have to consider what would be the pro- bable effect of increasing the supply of home cattle sent to Lon- don a thousand per week, as may be the case next year. Mr. Forster : Well, gentlemen, with regard to the two most important points on which you have expressed your opinion, namely, the establishment of separate foreign markets, and the slaughtering of all imported animals at the place of lauding, I need not tell you that the question is surrounded on all sides with difficulties. Your interests and many others are affected, and I want you to look at the Bill, and see whe- ther you could expect the Government to do very much more than it does. We do look forward to the establishment of se- perate markets. You will observe in clauses 22 to 27 that a separate market is looked forward to. I have been in nego- tiation with the city authorities, and at the present time I have good reason to believe they will establish a separate market. Now, how much further is it possible for the Government to go ? It is of no use putting down on paper that there must be separate markets, unless you say how they are to be made. And then you come to the enoimous difficulty — a difficulty which has not yet been met at all — which caused the Bill of last year to fail, and which has caused Lord Robert Montagu's Bill of this year to fail. I say it is of no use deciding that there shall be separate markets, unless you provide for its being made. On the one hand I don't think you would get Parlia- ment to make separate markets out of the general taxes of the country, and on the other it would be considered very arbi- trary to force towns to rate themselves for such a purpose. Mr. J. Howard, M.P. : Allow me to observe, sir, that I think the feelings of the members of our Club are centred on London. Mr. Forster : Very well, then, as regards London, I really think you must feel that the Government are by their Bill meeting your views almost as much as they could be met. We look forward to a separate market, and liigherto the city autho- rities have given us reason to conclude that they will provide a separate market. On the other hand they would have opposed vehemently such a measure as that brought forward by Lord Robert Montagu, which rather followed the Bill of last year, because it over-rode their monopoly. That is their chief rea- son. You may object that we do not provide that all the cat- tle that came from abroad shall go to the separate market. Well, now, don't you think I am not going into the question, whether or not what you desire is right or wrong ? Don't you think you are in advance of public opinion in what you ask for? We find that at the present moment Spanish and Portuguese cattle are proclaimed to be safe. They are ad- mitted not only into the port of Southampton, but into other ports in the West of England. I think it is conceded that Banish and Swedish cattle might also be safely admitted. Mr. Read said last year that they might be admitted provided things did not become more dangerous than they seemed then. Then, again, with regard to France, which was so successful iu her efforts to keep off cattle-plague (I believe the only danger in her case aros'e from a gazelle sent to Bor- deaux). I think it would be difficult to persuade the House of Commons that there is any danger of cattle- plague coming from France. Well, then, if there is not to be a positive rule that all foreign cattle are to be killed at the port of debarkation, it there is to be any discretion allowed, I put it to you whether in this ease the discretion is not likely to be exercised with caution and safety to your in- terests. I know it is said that it would be better to impose restrictions with regard to that discretion. I think that il any restrictions were to be placed on that discretion that would be a great advantage personally to the Lord President and myself. This is a very awkward case for the exercise of a discretion ; it is a sort of power for the exercise of which no one can expect to obtain any kind of credit. If the cattle- plague were again to break out it would no doubt be said that we were to blame for it. You have in this an assurance that if we do err it will certainly be on the side of caution ; whereas on the other hand, if you make written conditions fencing round our discretion, then people in our situation will be satisfied if they abide by the clauses, and if anytliing wrong happens afterwards they will say, Well, we did what you told us to do. I think, therefore, the question narrows itself to this : Could you, looking at the matter from your point of view, get public opinion to go with you in advocating the killing of every beast at the port of debarkation ? If not you must give some discretion, and if you do that I don't think you could give it in a much better way than it is done by the Bill. I repeat that we look forward in the Bill to the estab- lishment of separate markets. While we do not compel Lon- don or any other place to provide separate markets because we really do not know how to do it, we make it as likely as possible that it should be done by clauses which subject parties to inconvenience until it is done. At the same time we give local authorities power to obtain land for this purpose, and to recoup themselves for the outlay by means of tolls. As re- gards the most important port — London — we have reason to believe that a separate market will be provided. Mr. Fowler : As to London we should be pleased to learn that the foreign market is not merely to be a separate market, but a river-side market. Mr. Forster : You mean, I suppose, that it is not to be part of the present market P Mr. Fowler: Yes. Mr. Forster : Well, I have no hesitation in saying that I believe it is the opinion of the Government, I can certainly speak for myself, that the mere putting a separate market alongside the present market would not be carrying out our view at all (Hear, hear). There would be an amount of danger in that which, I think, could not be satisfactory (Hear, hear). Mr. Leeds : I hope, sir, you will impress on the Govern- ment the necessity of relieving bullocks from the prohibition which at present confines them to London after they have been sent to the metropolitan market (Hear, hear). Mr. J. Howard, M.P. : The one thing is contingent on the other. With regard to Spanish beasts I would remark that a large number of them arrive with foot-and-mouth disease. Mr. Forster: Well, all the restrictions must apply to them directly they get here. If Spanish beasts were found subject to any disease the owners would be obliged to have them slaughtered. Mr.TREADWELL (Bucks) : Would the compensation clauses apply to foreign beasts landed in London ? Mr. Forster : That is an important question, and I am not now prepared to answer it. The Right Hon. gentleman having spent a minute or two in glancing over the Bill con- tinued : I really cannot answer the question at once. The point is one of very great importance, and ought to be raised iu the committee on the Bill. There are a great many things that will require consideration, but I have no doubt there will be gentlemen — Mr. Corbet, wbo is, I am glad to see, present, and others — who will be able to communicate with us on matters of detail (Hear, hear). The deputation then retired. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. CENTRAL CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. A meeting of the Council of the Central Chamber of Agriculture, was held at the Salisbury Hotel, Salisbury-square, on Tuesday, April 6, under the presidency of Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., the chairman of the year. Mr. jAsrER More, refering to the question of a separate government Department of Agriculture, and the discussion raised in the House of Commons thereon by Mr. Acland, sug- gested as Mr. Bright had stated that the Home Secretary was engaged iu considering the possibility of effecting some internal changes iu his department, with a view to meeting the wishes of agriculturists, the discussion on the proposal for a deputation to the Board of Trade had better be again postponed. Iu the meantime, the matter need not be lost sight of, and a deputation might still go up, in the event of a re-arrangement at the Home-office not taking place ; or not being such as to give satisfaction. In bringing forward this question his only object had been to induce the government, of whatever party, to pay more respect to the agricultural interest ; for he had noticed, in travelling abroad, that almost every foreign country recognised agriculture in some department or other ; in some places by a minister of trade and agriculture ; and in others, by a minister of agriculture and public works. He had never contemplated, however, asking for a Minister of Agriculture in this country ; and he feared that his motion had been prejudiced by means of the Chamber treating it as if he did. The Chairman remarked that Mr. More had exercised a wise discretion in postponing the subject for the present ; and the meeting passed to the next notice on the agenda paper. In allusion to the proposal for a Committee of the Chambers to " conduct the agitation" upou local taxation, the Chairman said, it was the opinion of the Business Committee that it had better be referred to a sub-committee. He, therefore, moved that a sub-committee be appointed, to consist of Sir Massey Lopes, Sir G. Jenkinson, Capt. Craigie, Mr. Genge Andrews, Mr Jasper More, Mr. T. Rigby, Mr. D. Long, and Mr. Varden ; to consider the subject and report at the next Coun- cil meeting. Sir M. Lopes, M.P., seconded the motion, and said it was absolutely necessary that the Council should keep this matter moving. Up to the present time they had made considerable progress, and he thought they might congratulate themselves upou the fact that the Prime Minister had given a promise that something should be done, and that leading statesmen on each side of the House of Commons had admitted that a grievance existed which was indefensible, and that a remedy ought to be found. By meaus of a committee a useful report might be prepared, and measures suggested for enlightening public opinion upon the subject ; for the urban population were not aware of the extent of the grievance to which they themselves were subjected. The rural districts were quite alive to it ; but they wanted the assistance not only of the county but of the borough members, and the only means of securing that was by creating an agitation in the towns. In these days nothing was done without agitation ; and, if the matter were allowed to go to sleep, they would make no progress what- ever. It was not desirable, perhaps, to propose auy particular measure, but rather to leave that an open question, aud when the Government brought forward a scheme to consider and discuss it upon its details. Sir G. Jenkinson, M.P., believed that if the Chamber could obtain full information from the principal towns with regard to the nature and extent of the various charges upon the poor rate, it would materially assist the movement. He had placed a motion upon the notice-paper of the House of Commons to ask the Prime Minister whether he would grant an inquiry ; but, since doing so, Mr. Rathbone, the Liberal member for Liverpool, had requested him to postpone it, in order that he, as representative of one of the largest mercantile towns, might take the initiative in the matter. At Trowbridge, in the county he (Sir G. Jenkinson) represented, the rates were 4s. in the pound, and at Devizes they were still higher ; and he was certain that, once the ratepayers of the towns could be made to see that it was for their interest to support the move- ment which the Chambers of Agriculture had set on foot on the question of local taxation, the cause would be immensely strengthened. The motion for the appointment of a sub-committee was then agreed to. Mr. T. Horley, jun. (Warwick) proposed a series of resolutions on the Cattle Diseases Bill, and pointed out the hardship with which the bill in its present shape was likely to inflict upon the producers of beef and mutton in this country. When the cattle - plague lately existed nere, the only steps which were recommended by the Privy Council were that quarantine should be strictly enforced, and imported animal slaughtered at the port of land- ing ; and for stamping out the disease there was no doubt that the present bill was a good one, but unfortunately it did nothing to prevent the introduction or spread of disease, though he believed that the agricultural interest would readily submit to severe restrictions upon the home traffic in cattle provided the necessary safeguards were adopted against the introduction of disease by the foreigner. The resolutions were as follows : 1. That regulations for the proper accommodation and water- ing of animals in transit by ship or railway should be made compulsory. 2. That owners of animals suffering from con- tagious or infectious disease should be required to give imme- diate notice of the existence of such disease to an authority appointed for the purpose. 3. That clauses 30 and 54 should be so amended 'as to give less arbitrary powers to in- spectors. 4. That the slaughter of cattle which have been in contact with plague-stricken cattle should be made compulsory. 5. That sheep-pox should be dealt with in the same way as cattle-plague. 6. That for carrying out the purposes of the act every local authority should appoint a committee consisting of equal numbers of magistrates and ratepayers. 7. That the slaughter, quarantine,or sufficient inspection of imported animals at the places of debarcation, should be made compulsory, and not left to the uncertain operation of orders of the Privy Council. 8. That separate markets for the reception, sale, and slaughter of such animals should be established by statutory enactment at all places where foreign animals are landed. 9. That the provisions of the bill should embrace the whole of the United Kingdom. 10. That unless the foregoing regulations with regard to foreign animals be embodied in the bill, it should meet with the determined opposition of the chambers. 11. That a deputation be appointed to lay these views before the Vice-President of the Privy Council. The resolutions were seconded by Captain Craigie, who said that the various chambers of agriculture were determined not to recognise any bill which did not deal stringently with the evil at its source, in the manner laid down by the resolu- tions. By way of explanation, he mentioned that the notice referred to in the second resolution should be compulsory in- stead of permissive, as in the Bill. The 30th and 54th clauses of the measure seemed to give undue authority to the inspector. By the former, his evidence was to be taken as conclusive in any court of justice ; and by the latter he would have power to blow up any barn or other place that he might deem to be infected. These were powers of too arbitrary a character to remain in any man's hands ; and he should much prefer seeing them in the hands of the local authorities. Again, the slaughter of cattle should be made, compulsory in- stead of permissive. The 6th resolution, relating to the ap- pointment of a committee, adopted as a precedent what was done in Scotland ; and there was no reason for drawing a dis- tinction between the two countries. There would be two elements represented — the magistrates and the ratepayers — and this would impart confidence to the public mind. Altogether, it appeared to be the opinion of those with whom he had con- versed that, without such provisions as those which were con- tained in the resolutions, the bill would be worthless ; while with them, it would receive the hearty approval of the chambers. The Chairman, alluding to the first resolution, said that, under the bill, the watering of cattle carried by rail was quit 420 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. optional, though the railway compauy might recover from the owners of stock the expense incurred in feeding and watering. It was thought advisable that the watering should be made compulsory ; but the question of feeding, being a much more uncertain matter, was omitted. On the other hand, it was necessary that the regulations to be provided for the accom- modation of animals in railway-trucks and in the holds of ships should be compulsory. Gen. P. Heiusert, M.P., observed that the railways had suggested a difficulty in carrying out regulations- for watering, unless beyond certain distances. It the obligation to water were made compulsory, a minimum distance must he fixed upon. Sir G. Jenkinsost, M.P. : The difficulty might to a great extent be obviated by the yards from which cattle were shipped or removed to the rail being supplied with water- troughs. The Chairman's opinion was that water-troughs should be provided in every lair, and that when cattle stopped at a junction on their transit, there should be means of watering them in the trucks. The first resolution was then adopted. On the second resolution : The Chairman said that by the Bill the inspector was to find out the existence of disease for himself ; and the committee thought it would make the duty of that official far more pleasant if owners were required to give him " immediate" notice when any of their stock were infected with a contagious disease. At the time of the cattle- plague the thing worked thus : A man having discovered that his stock was affected at once emptied his yard or cow-house, and then, when all the mischief had been done, gave notice to the inspector. Although, to require the owner to give " immediate" notice might be hard upon him, it would be still harder upon his neighbour if he were the means of trans- mitting disease ; and therefore he should give immediate notice to the inspector. Mr. J. Brawn said the Bill directed that the inspector should proceed upon information ; but in all probability lie would never receive information until mischief had been done. If watch was to be kept over the different flocks and herds which were constantly being sold and resold throughout the country, a perfect army of inspectors would have to be main- tained. The only safe way, then, of guarding against danger was to compel the owner to give notice to the inspector of the existence of any infectious or contagious disease on his pre- mises, lie knew there, were many farmers who apprehended that this arrangement would prove vexatious, aud cause them a good deal of annoyance ; but he believed they took that view upon the mistaken assumption that it would be a com- mon occurrence, whereas he thought if the provisions con- tained in the resolutions were embodied in an Act of Parlia- ment that the diseases of cattle in this country would he something like exterminated. The effect of the resolutions enforced during the late outbreak had convinced him upon that head. We had been suffering losses from various kinds of contagious aud infectious diseases for SO years before ; but the restrictions which were adopted on the appearance of the cattle-plague were the means of reducing those diseases to a minimum : there was very little loss afterwards ; and he be- lieved that little annoyance, or none worth speaking of, would arise from compelling the owners to give notice to the in- spector, of diseases amongst their cattle, instead of removing the animals at night in a surreptitious way. Colonel Uuggles Brise, M.P., would like to know what was understood by infectious or contagious diseases, and have some explanation as to the penal consequences of the omission by the owner to give immediate notice to the inspector. Mr. Corrance, M.P., deemed it inexpedient to define too strictly the class of infectious diseases. The terms of the resolution were necessarily general, whilst throwing responsi- bility on the owners, which after all was what was required. As to the legal means of enforcing notice, that was a matter which had better be left in the hands of Parliament. The resolution as it stood, though vague, was sufficient to meet the case. The Chairman : The 6th section of the Bill defined what were termed contagious or infectious diseases, and added to these any other diseases that the Privy Council might declare to be infectious. Mr, Wade would support the resolution upon the under- standing that it would not interfere with the duly of the inspector. The Chairman : It would he simply an assistance to him. Mr. NtELD admitted the desirability of all possible care being taken to guard against disease ; but he did not wish to jump from the frying-pan into the fire. And having known something of what an inspector's duties were, he felt that, unless his powers were pretty clearly defined, serious injury might be inflicted upon the most conscientious farmers. The necessity of giving immediate notice was tantamount to ignor- ing the right of private judgment in the farmer. He could not more effectually condemn his own property than by giving such a notice. The cause for alarm might vanish in a day or two, yet the injury to his live btock endure for some lime to come. The Chairman : If the notice were not " immediate," it would be of no use whatever. The resolution was subsequently agreed to. On the 3rd resolution, the Chairman stated that the 30th clause of the Bill enacted that the certificate of the inspector should be conclusive evidence in courts of justice and elsewhere as to the matter certified. If that meant simply that the cer- tificate should compel the owner to obey his orders, then it was only right that it should be retained ; but if, on the con- trary, it meant that the ipse dixit of the inspector was to be the law in all cases, it ought to be struck out ; but this was an interpretation of the clause, which he did not think many gentlemen would defend. The 54th clause provided that an inspector might seize any diseased animals, together with any litter, pen, truck, horse-box ; in fact, anything in the world, not being a ship, aud destroy the same. This was certainly giving a most tyrannical power to an individual ; and the resolution, therefore, proposed that both clauses should be amended, so as to create less arbitrary powers. Mr. Backhouse, M.P., suggested that the inspector should be a duly qualified veterinary surgeon ; and Mr. Neild advo- cated the adoption of an appeal against the decision of the inspector. Mr. Acland, M.P., cautioned the Chamber agaiut com- mitting itself to the idea that because a man was a veterinary surgeon therefore he must be a competent sanitary officer. Mr. A. Psll, M.P., considered that the selection of the in- spector might be safely left in the hands of the Committee, who, it was proposed by a subsequent resolution, should consist of an equal number of magistrates and practical men ; and Sir G. Jenkinson, M.P., reminded the meeting of the con- flicting opinions of veterinary surgeons as to the cattle plague during its late outbreak, especially in the well-known case of some beasts belonging to Baron Rothschild. Mr. Duckham having pointed out that Clause 32 in the bill provided that where there was any doubt a "duly qualified person" should be called in to assist the Committee, the third resolution was agreed to, as were also the two next succeeding ones. The sixth resolution elicited some discussion with regard to the constitution of the local committees. The Chairman stated that, according to the bill, it was left with the justices in the general or quarter sessions to appoint this body, if they thought fit, and that it should be composed either wholly of magistrates, or half magistrates and half ratepayers. Col. PiUGGLES Brise, M.P., saw a difficulty in selecting half magistrates in many districts, and contended that, whether magistrates or ratepayers, the committee should comprise the ablest men in the district. Mr. G. Gregory, M.P., recommended that it shou'd be a standing committee appointed by the Quarter Sessions, to be summoned by the Clerk of the Peace, or other officer, imme- diately upon any disease breaking out. Captain Craigie explained that the resolution followed the Scotch precedent. If it were good for Scotland to have one half magistrates and one-half ratepayers, it was equally good for England. Mr. Corrance, M.P., urged that the proposal went to fore- stall the measure which they were looking forward to for the creation of county financial boards. As the mere expression of an opinion, however, there was no harm in adopting the resolution, though it would be very inconvenient to introduce such a provision into the bill. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 427 Mr. Acland, M.P., concurred in this view, •iiul said that in constituting boards on which landowners and practical farmers were to act together, it would be a mistake to suppose that magistrates were co-extensive with landowners, for there were many of the latter who were not magistrates, yet as fanning their own land were deeply interested in this question. He did not object to the representation of the ratepayers, but to the assumption that the magistrates represented the land- owners. Mr. Pell, M.}\, supported the resolution, ou the ground that it was desirable to interest the owners of stock as much as possible in the discovery of disease. Captain Craicie thought that the word " ratepayers" would include both owners and occupiers of land. Mr. Trask proposed to omit the words " equal numbers" from the resolution. Earl Grosven'or, M.P., observed that whether the words were retained or left out the ratepayers would certainly be put upon the committees, and cited the example of the Cheshire Committees during the cattle plague visitatiou in proof. Major Parker, M.P., desired to see magistrates and rate- payers on an equality in the committees ; for on sucli ques- tions as would come before them, they must be chiefly indebted to the practical farmer for his opinion ; and if the ratepayers weie not fully represented the proceedings of the committee would lose much of their weight aud authority. Mr. Aclani), M.P., remarked that an important point was to compel the Quarter Sessions to act. For being anxious to have a joint committee appointed under the Act of Parliament for a district of North Devon and West Somerset, which had interests in common, he succeeded in carrying agaiust the Chairman of Quarter Sessions, that good old farmer's friend, Sir William Miles, the appointment of a committee ; but it turned out that the committee were never allowed to meet. What they wanted, then, was to make the magistrates appoint a committee, and next to get the committee to act. Ultimately the resolution was altered by striking out the words " equal numbers," and, so amended, was adopted. The 7th resolution, relating to quarantine and slaughter, was passed without comment. To the 8th resolution, respecting separate markets, Sir G. Jenkinson, M.P., moved to add. " That every facility and encouragement by legislation and otherwise should be given to the carrying of dead meat and to the more complete de- velopment of that trade. The Secretary stated that on the previous day Mr. Forster said .he was of opinion that it was impossible to include this in the present bill. Mr. Corrance, M.P., confessed that he was under great apprehensions lest the Privy Council should in the exercise of their discretion exempt the metropolis, which, after all, was the main feature of the whole case, although he had heard from a member of the Government that some of the authorities were prepared to carry out the system of separate markets. He did not attach any great weight to the statement of Mr. Headlam, that all the large towns in the North objected to that system, and that as reverting to protection it would receive the utmost opposition ; but it was not encouraging, and he recommended that the Chamber should deliver its opinion on the point, and adopt a specific resolution upon the subject of a separate market for the metropolis. Mr. G. Andrews was of opinion that we should never ha\e separate markets for the sale and slaughter of cattle at out- ports until the cattle-plague got well established in the country once more. His conviction really was that that was the only chance ; and if we could not induce the Government to include in the bill efficient arrangements for the sale and slaughter of foreign cattle in separate markets at the ports of debarcatiou, the bill would be the greatest nuisance the country could have. The whole scope of the bill seemed to him to be directed to the regulation by most expensive measures of the whole of the trade in cattle. He had not the slightest faith in the inspection of markets, for he had seen it attempted and fail during the late outbreak of cattle-plague. The class of men who must be appointed as inspectors, for there were no others to be had, were the veterinary surgeons resident in the country towns, and it would be a very expensive arrangement to obtain from them anything like an adequate practical in- spection of the markets and the home cattle trade. The bill, hi fact, put the cart before the horse, inasmuch as it attempted to control by the most stringent regulations the home trade, and left it in the power of the Privy Council to do anything or nothing with regard to the foreign trade. What did the Privy Council do before, when the. cattle-plftgue was amongst us? Why, they took no effective measures until the slaughter from disease had reached 10,0U0 head weekly ! Yes, it took that number to set them going. The regulations proposed by the bill as to the foreign cattle trade left only two courses open. One was to stop entirely all importations, and that they took power to do. The other was to establish what was called " adequate inspection ;" but he believed it to be utterly im- possible to establish any system of inspection that had the slightest chance of shutting out the cattle-plague whenever it- prevailed in any country from which we drew our supplies ; aud the only other course therefore would be to stop importa- tions altogether. This being so, he appealed to the Chamber as practical men, whether it was probable that the Privy Council, whoever they might lie, would not hesitate long before adopting such stringent action as that. If they did not, they would be without any arrangements at the ports or regulations for the markets — all of which must be a question of time : perhaps it would be two or three years before they could be completed. As a meaus of preventing the introduction of dis- ease, then, he regarded the bill in its present shape as utterly inadequate aud useless. Moreover, nothing had been said about the cost of the home inspection aud the fund upon which it was to fall. Like everything else, he presumed that it would have to be borne by the poor-rate. Sir J. ELrniNSTONE, M.P., stated that, as member for Portsmouth, it had come to his knowledge that a large amount of opposition would be neutralized by excepting from the operation of the Bill animals which came from countries which were never affected by the cattle plague — he alluded to Spain, Portugal, aud Prance — and placing them under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council, leaving the Bill to apply to those coun- tries which were in connection with the line of the Ukraine and other places, where the disease usually had its habitat. In Prance and the Peninsula the cattle plague was entirely un- known. In the former country it could not exist without timely notice being given of its appearance, and he thought the Bill would derive support from animals being allowed to enter from Prance, Spain, and Portugal at the ports of Liver- pool, Bristol, Plymouth, Southampton, aud Portsmouth. Lord Berbers pronounced the 7th and 8th resolutions the most important of the whole series. The others, no doubt, would do great good if introduced into the Bill ; but these two contained the main principles, which he desired to see carried out. lleferring to the threat of " determined opposition" in the 10th clause, the noble lord said he should be sorry if these words were retained ; because he was satisfied that much ad- vantage would arise from the Bill if it became law, aud it would then be far easier to effect alterations by a short Bill than to carry an entirely new measure if this were rejected. Mr. T. Duckiiam, replying to the observations of Sir J. Elphinstone on imports from Prance and Spain, mentioned that it was only in the preceding week that a cargo of cattle, numbering between 300 aud 400 head, arrived in the port of Loudon from oue of these countries, and that 91 of the lot had to be slaughtered without being removed from the wharf, in consequence of their being affected by the foot-and-mouth dis- ease. Mr. jAsrER More had no doubt that the Bill would pass in some way or other, aud what the Chamber had to do was to get the best terms it could. The point alluded to by Sir J. Elphinstone was one that ought to be considered by the House of Commons, and if the hou. gentleman raised the question there, he did not see how the members of the late Government could object to it, inasmuch that their Bill of last year permitted free and unrestricted importations from several countries in Europe. Sir M. Lopes, M.P., living in the neighbourhood of Ply- mouth, was able to state that nearly all the cattle imported there came from Prance aud the Peuinsula, and that no disease accompanied them. He believed, however, that pleuro- pneumonia was bred ou board ship, and from the manner in which cattle were stowed in vessels that the disease was pro- pagated in that way. Colonel Corbett, M.l\, pointed out that Lord Robert Montagu's Bill empowered the Privy Couueil to make certain exemptions. In that way they would uot always have the 428 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. danger-signal flying, but only when the danger was approach- ing. Mr. Whitaker had observed a desire on the part of the Chamber to pass the most stringent regulations for the home cattle trade, and he himself did not care how great was the stringency, provided only that justice was done with the foreign also. It appeared to him therefore that they were entitled to the support of the Government and the public in asking for a safeguard against the importation of disease, and that the only way in which this could be secured was by hav- ing separate markets for the slaughter of fat and an efficient system of quarantine for store cattle. Under the existing re- gulations, the local districts had to bear the burden of the whole of the expense of stamping out a disease that was in- troduced by means of the cattle imported as food for the people. It was necessary that foreign cattle should come here — he did not object to that. The more that entered, the cheaper was the price of food, and better therefore for the public, and not much worse for the farmer. But it would be all the worse for the farmer if, after disease had been so im- ported, he was called upon to pay for the process of stamping it out. Entertaining these views, he suggested that words might be added to the resolution, setting forth that compensa- tion for the slaughter of diseased auimals should be defrayed from general taxation, and not from local rates. The Chairman : That might do all very well as a distinct resolution, but it had no connection with the question of se- parate markets. Eventually, and after some further discussion, the 8th re- solution was agreed to, with a simple verbal alteration, which substituted or for and before " slaughter." The 9th resolution, declaring that the provisions of the Bill ought to embrace the whole of the United Kingdom, was opposed by Earl Grosvenor and Sir G. Jenkinson, and supported by Mr. A. Pell, Mr. Wade, Colonel Corbett, and Mr. Duckham, but the Chamber decided on striking it out by a considerable majority. On the 10th resolution,-Sir G. Jenkinson, M.P., said that Lord Berners, before leaving the room, had stated that he quite agreed with him, that the Chamber should not threaten what they could not perform. If the resolution were carried in its present shape, it would be like holding one's fist in the face of a man who was stronger than one's self. Whatever was done in Parliament must be by persuasion rather than threat. "He proposed, therefore, as an amendment, "That unless the foregoing regulations with regard to foreign animals be embodied in the Bill, it would not be sufficient to prevent ef- fectually the reimportation of disease ; it would, therefore, wholly fail to satisfy the reasonable views of the Central Chamber, and the other Chambers of Agriculture throughout the country, who would consequently feel bound to oppose the Bill, as being unfairly oppressive and restrictive in its enact- ments respecting the home producer of cattle." The amendment having been seconded by Mr. G. Brawn, Captain Craigie contended that, in using the phrase " de- termined opposition" in the resolution, the Chamber could perform all they threatened ; that was to say, they could op- pose and protest against the Bill, although they might not be able to prevent its passing. Mr. Backhouse, M.P., preferred omitting the resolution altogether, but was willing to vote for the amendment. As a member of the House of Commons he held himself at liberty to act according to the best of his judgment and discretion, without any reference whatever to what might have passed in this Chamber ; whilst he was most anxious at the same time to protect the farmer against the importation of disease. More- over, he had to meet the cry that the Chamber was endeavour- ing to return to the old protective system for their cattle, and so obtaining higher prices from the consumer. This he knew to be a false cry, and that agriculturists were only anxious to have due protection from the introduction of disease, which indeed was their just right; but in considering this question they must be content with what they could fairly obtain, even though it might not be all they wished. To this end " party " ought to be left entirely out of view. The opposition to be met with was a strong one, and they might rely upon it that the House of Commons, whilst granting them reasonable and fair terms, would only do that which would be most satisfac- tory to and in the interests of the community at large. He should deeply regret, then, if the Chamber passed any resolu- tion that bore the aspect of a threat to the House of Commons. Mr. Vaughan recommended that the resolution should be struck out, and that the Chamber should place their trust in the goodness of their cause, rather than in the use of idle and mischievous threats. The Chairman did not hesitate to say that if the provisions with regard to foreign stock were not made compulsory he would rather go without any bill at all. He would simply have a continuance of the existing orders, and then, after another outbreak of the cattle-plague, they might perhaps get a good bill. As a Chamber of Agriculture, however, he be- lieved not only that they were right in declaring their " deter- mined opposition," but that they were strong enough in the House to throw out the bill. True, they might not be strong enough to carry any other ; but remembering what a mere handful of determined men on the other side were able to do with the bill of last year, he did not see why a handfull of equally determined men on this side might not do the same with the present measure. Consequently he gave his support to the resolution as it stood. Mr. Wade thought if they went to a Government, of what- ever party, with a strong case, well supported by facts, they would be certain to be listened to. He objected, therefore, to the words " determined opposition" in the resolution, and counselled moderation both in action and in words. Mr. A. Pell, M.P., regarded the resolution in the light of an expression of opinion on the part of the Chamber. Mr. Smythies remarked that he had just been with a depu- tation from the Central Farmers' Club to the Privy Council office, where they had had an interview with the Vice-President (Mr. W. E. Forster), who had stated that the Government would gladly give separate markets if they knew how to do it ; but that that was the difficulty. They hoped, however, to induce the City of London to commence with a separate market, and that afterwards other ports would follow the example. That being the nature of the right hon. gentleman's answer, the resolution uuder consideration was certainly much too strongly expressed. The discussion was continued by Mr. Whittaker, Mr. T. Horley, Col. Ruggles Brise, Mr, Neild, Mr. D. Long, Major Parker, Mr. W. Lipscombe, and Mr. Ford, and ended by the amendment of Sir G. Jenkinson being negatived, and the reso- lution adopted in its original form. Mr. T. Rigby moved, and Mr. Richards seconded a resolution to the effect that the sixth section of the Bill should be so amended as to enforce the slaughter of all cattle affected with pleuro-pneumonia on the premises in which they were suf- fering, instead of allowing them to be removed therefrom alive. The amendment was opposed by the Chairman, and nega- tived, on the ground that it would be putting a fresh yoke upon the neck of the farmer to compel him to slaughter his cattle in that manner, for by the schedule of the bill animals suffering from pleuro-pneumonia were allowed to be removed " for the purposes of slaughter." A motion proposed by Sir G. Jenkinson, and seconded by Mr. Wade, that every facility and encouragement by legis- lation and otherwise ought to be given to the carrying of dead meat, and the more complete development of that trade, was then agreed to ; but its adoption elicited from the Chairman the question, " What will you do with it now you have got it P" Mr. Willson : Sir George will have to explain to Mr. Forster how he proposes to enforce it. Mr. Duckham : Legislation on the subject is altogether out of the question. It is purely a matter for the railway companies, and a reduction of fares can only be the result of competition. On the motion of Mr. Whittaker, seconded by Mr. Rigby, a resolution was also carried unanimously to the effect that compensation for slaughtered animals shquld be defrayed, as in Ireland, from the general taxation, or at least a moiety of that compensation should be defrayed from the Imperial revenue. Mr. Brawn called attention to the fifty-second clause of the Bill, which provided that where a fresh case of pleuro- pneumonia had not occurred for ten days in any field, stable,cow- house, or other premises, the local authorities should determine and declare that the rules relating to pleuro-pneumonia should cease to operate in relation thereto. In his judgment ten days were not sufficient, and it would be dangerous to adopt such a clause, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 429 The Chairman : That was a matter of detail ; but it was, no doubt, ridiculous to talk about a quarantine of ten days only. Mr. Willsom concurred hi Mr. Brawn's opinion, and Mr. A. Pell pronounced the clause a foolish one, and its retention in the Bill impossible. A final resolution, appointing a deputation to wait upon and lay the viows of the Chamber before the Vice-President of the Privy Council, was then agreed to. Mr. Jasper Moke gave notice that at the next meeting of the Chamber in May, he should submit the following resolu- tion: "That, considering the oppressive operation of the Excise restrictions upon the manufacture of malt and no barley, the loss to consumers occasioned by the cumulative in- cidence of the malt-duty, and the consequent discouragement of the production of sound wholesome beer and of the growth of barley, tliis Chamber supports the recommendation of the House of Commons Select Committee, and is of opinion that, until the amount of the malt-duty can be spared from the revenue, considerable benefit would ensue from a repeal of the tax on malt, and a transference of the impost to beer." A vote of thanks to the Chairman terminated the proceedings. THE GOVERNMENT CATTLE DISEASES BILL. On Tuesday, April 6, a deputation from the Chamber of Agriculture had an interview with Mr. Forster at the Privy Council Office, to lay before Mm the resolutions which had just been passed, and state their views in reference to the Government Bill for the regulation of the Cattle Trade. Mr. C. S. Bead, M.P., said: Mr. Porster, I have the pleasure of introducing to you a deputation from the Central Chamber of Agriculture. We have held a large and an im- portant meeting this morning, and we, as you are aware, re- present not simply one society, but we are almost all of us delegated members of provincial chambers of agriculture, who, having considered and discussed the Contagious Diseases (Animals) No. 2 Bill, have been empowered by these different bodies to come up here and express our opinions to you thereon. The resolutions of the Central Chamber, which have already been submitted to you in a printed form, have undergone some slight emendations ; and I may also inform you for your satisfaction that we have arranged that no mem- bers of Parliament shall speak upon the present occasion, because they will have ample opportunities of doing that in a different place. Without further comment, then, I will call upon a few gentlemen to express to you our views ; and first I beg to introduce Mr. Randell, of Lincolnshire. Mr. Randall : Sir — We believe that the cause which we advocate is in itself so strong and just as to entitle it to com- mand the favourable attention of the Legislature. I have- also to remark that the taunt which has been thrown out against us to the effect that by this movement we are aiming at a return to the old days of Protection is utterly without foundation ; and, cleared from all factitious surroundings, the object of our errand here to-day means neither more nor less than free trade and healthy stock, to be secured so far as human instrumentality can secure anything by means of sani- tary regulations brought to bear upon the introduction of animals, both home-bred and foreign, into the markets of this country. Long and constant experience has proved the abso- lute necessity of interference on the part of the Government in the transit by water, road, and rail, for were Mr. Martin's Act to recognize all the cases that come within its scope, the magistrates here, there, and everywhere, paid and unpaid, would need to be employed incessantly day and night ; and I beg, in the name of the chairman, to direct your attention to Resolutions 7 and 8 of the series, which we consider to be altogether indispensable. Permit me to add, sir, that what- ever may be enacted should be compulsory. Capt. Ceagie (North Riding of Yorkshire) : In supporting the resolutions which have been submitted to you, I shall con- fine my remarks to only one or two of them. Before doing so, however, I think it right to express the general opinion at which we have arrived, namely, that no legislation on this subject can be accepted by the Chambers of Agriculture which does not embody the provisions of a stringent character men- tioned in the 7th and 8th resolutions ; and what we desire to impress npon you is our decided conviction that no measure would be efficient without those provisions. In considering the details of the Bill and suggesting amendments, we would respectfully submit to your notice that regulations for the proper accommodation and watering of animals in transit by ship or railway should be made compulsory. That is the first of our resolutions ; for we believe that a great deal of disease is generated on board ship, where the accommodation is so limited and in such a state that it cannot but induce disease in the animals which are exposed to its deleterious in- fluences. On the ground of humanity, as well as on account of the value of the animals themselves, we think that these regulations should be enforced whenever they are carried long journeys, whether by sea in vessels or on land in railway trucks. Another point to which I would ask you to direct your atten- tion is that dealt with in clauses 30 and 5& of the Bill. These relate especially to the powers with which it is proposed to vest the inspectors, and which in the opinion of our Chamber are much more arbitrary than they need be. With regard to clause 30, it is the general feeling that to receive the inspector's certificate as conclusive evidence in any court of justice gives it stronger and greater weight than ought to attach to it. In like manner we are of opinion, as regards clause 5-4, that the power of destruction vested in the inspector is larger than ought to be exercised by him without the order of the local authorities. He is there empowered to destroy, or cause to be destroyed, any place or thing in which any diseased or infected animal has been, except a vessel — a provision so wide that it may include even a barn or stable, which under such circum- stances might be destroyed by the sole order of the inspector. To these points it is my duty to direct your attention. There are others with respect to which we have to suggest amend- ments in the Bill ; but these I leave to the gentlemen who will come after me. I may add, however, that all other amend- ments would be inoperative unless the recommendations con- tained in the 7th and 8th resolutions receive the favourable consideration of the Government and Parliament. Mr. T. Rigby (Cheshire) : The points to which I have to speak are chiefly those connected with the clauses in the Bill affecting compensation for slaughtered animals ; and, as re- presenting a county which suffered so greatly from the last visitation of cattle-plague, and which must still suffer for more than thirty years to come in bearing the burden of the rates required to pay back something like £270,000, which the Government were good enough to lend us on that account, perhaps the opinion of the inhabitants of Cheshire may be of some little value. We are grateful to see that the compensa- tion-clauses in the Bill of the Government are somewhat of an amendment upon those of the measure of 18G6, inasmuch as the rate in aid may be levied upon counties adjoining those which may be visited by the cattle-plague or other contagious disease, when the rate has attained a certain amount in the £. So far, that is a little advantage. Mr. Foestek : You refer to the bill of 1867 ; and the pre- sent bill takes up the provisions in that. Mr. Rigby : At all events, we are glad to see that this is done ; but we think that, if the bill is carried without any pro- hibition on the slaughter of foreign stock, from the introduc- tion of which we chiefly dread disease again arriving on our shores, it would really be no more than a matter of simple justice that we should have a national rate. On the other hand, if you should see fit to alter the clauses of the Bill, and provide something like arbitrary and sufficient restrictions on the importation of foreign cattle, then the agriculturists of Cheshire would be willing to accept the provisions in the Bill as sufficient for their purposes. The farmers of Cheshire — and in saying this I believe I speak the sentiments of the farmers throughout the country — do not wish to saddle our losses upon other portions of the community. Only give us a o 8 430 THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. the reasonable protection which we consider we have a right to ask against the introduction of foreign diseases ; and we shall be quite willing to bear our own burdens, either in the way you propose by the Bill, or even, if that be necessary, by a poll-tax upon our cattle. I beg to suggest, then, that, when the Bill comes to be considered in Committee, you will make the tax a national one, to be borne by ah interests throughout the country, in case you allow the free importation of foreign stock, without sufficient protection against the introduction of disease ; or, giving us that protection, let the clauses of the Bill remain as they stand. Mr. Duckham: I am sure I express the sentiments of the vast majority of farmers when I say that there is no desire on their part to throw the slightest obstacle in the way of the Government, wheu they are attempting to ensure that food shall be provided for the people at as cheap a rate as possible. That was the object of the free- trade measures, but it is obvious that unless some security is provided against our herds and flocks) being infected by im- ported disease, free trade instead of being a blessing must be a very great curse to the country. Feeling this, we would urge upon you, sir, the necessity of providing markets, with abat- toirs attached to them, for the sale and slaughter of imported animals, combined with a reasonable amount of quarantine, as safeguards for our home stock. We are perfectly willing to submit to the regulations proposed with regard to the home trade, nay, we are desirous that such regulations should exist ; but we feel that unless some stringent and judicious measures with respect to foreign cattle are carried out at the water-side, we shall have to contend with a subtle enemy, spreading broad- cast among our herds and flocks diseases which will sweep them away and cause a great increase of local taxation. As regards the responsibility thrown by the Bill on the Privy Council in reference to the importation of diseases, it seems to me that it is a responsibility without liability. The liability is thrown on the rate-payers without their obtaining power to prevent the introduction and dissemination of disease. We know from the weekly returns of the number of animals slaughtered at the water-side, particularly as regards the metropolis, that contagious diseases are being constantly in- troduced on our shores. Only last week nearly one hundred foreign animals were slaughtered in consequence of their being infected with virulent contagious diseases, and considering how during the voyage foreign animals are brought in contact with other animals in which the disease is in a state of incubation, we think no inspection aflords the slightest possible guarantee for the soundness of any animal which is brought to this coun- try. Hence we believe the only real safeguard that we can have is the existence of a water-side market for the sale and slaughter of all animals that are imported. It was urged last session, and it has been urged again this session, that there are certain foreign countries which are free from disease, for ex- ample, Spain and Portugal. But only a very small proportion of the imported animals come from those countries ; the bulk of them come from other countries. That foot-and-mouth disease is a disease of serious national consequence is obvious to every stock breeder who is acquainted with its history. Although not so fatal in its results as cattle-plague or pleuro- pneumonia, it greatly depreciates the value of animals affected, and reduces them to a state from which they may never entirely recover. As regards the Orders which may be issued by the Privy Council under the Bill, I think such an arrangement tends to create an uncertainty with respect to the cattle trade which it is always desirable to avoid. One of the strongest argu- ments urged in favour of the repeal of the corn-laws was the uncertainty that arose from the liability of the ports to be thrown open, aud the consequent lowering of prices to the ruin of corn merchants. If iu consequence of the introduction of one cargo an order of the Privy Council were to prohibit any further importation, that might cause great loss to the shippers of stock and tend to create incon- veuient fluctuations iu the price of meat. That the visitations of such contagious diseases as we have to contend against have a very depressing effect on the breeding of stock in this king- dom I can assert with the utmost confidence. Mr. Read : We will not trouble you, sir, with any more speeches, but if there are any questions which you wish to put bearing on the resolutions which have been submitted to you, we ■shall be happy to answer them. Mr. Forster i I must first tell you, gentlemen, that I have been requested by Lord de Grey to say that he is very sorry that he canuot meet you, and no doubt you would have much preferred seeing the President of the Council instead of a person who occupies a subordinate position. His lordship would certainly have been here but that a Cabinet Council which met at one o'clock and is not yet over. Now I need not remind you, gentlemen, that it is not in my power to commit the Government. I don't suppose that if the Presi- dent had been here he would have ventured to do that ; and it is, of course, very important that no change should be made without the fullest previous consideration. I shall, however, be very glad to convey your opinions to the President and the Government, in order that they may have the advantage of knowing what they are in dealing with the matter. There are one or two questions which I should like to put to the gentlemen present in connection with the resolutions. As regards resolution No. 1, which says " That regulations for the proper accommodation and watering of animals in transit by ship or railway should be made compulsory," I have no hesita- tion in saying — and I believe the feeling of other members of the Government is similar to my own — that I am very conscious of the evil to the consumer and the owner, and also the great cruelty of the present state of the arrangements with regard to railways, and I am afraid with regard to ships also ; but the difficulty of making it compulsory upon carriers to supply food and water, or proper accommodation, is that if we make it compulsory we must define the way iu which it is to be done. [A voice : " Yes."] Well, that is not so very easy, and I am informed that it was found by our predecessors to be a very great difficulty in connection with the Bill which they tried to carry. I cannot help thinking, however, that the clause which we have introduced into the Bill will be found effectual, because although we do not make it compul- sory on railway companies we leave them without the excuse if they fail to provide what is necessary, by enabling them to enforce payment. However, if you have any amendment to suggest we shall be happy to consider it. With regard to the second resolution, I would merely say that it would be useful for our guidance to learn whether it is the unanimous con- viction of this important deputation, representing such a large constituency, that it would be acceptable to farmers to require that owners of animals shall be required to give notice of their being infected with disease. No doubt that would be an advantage, but our feeliug has been that in England great difficulty would be involved in an enactment requiring a man to criminate himself? Can you speak positively as to the general feelings on the subject ? Mr. Read : We have had a large meeting to-day, aud the resolution on this point was carried unanimously. We don't say that the thing is palatable, but we think it necessary. ■Sir G. Jenkinson : May I venture to remark that while we consider it necessary that this regulation should be carried out, we also think that it should be accompanied with what is provided for in resolutions seven and eight, relating to the slaughter of foreign animals, and the establishment of sepa- rate markets for them ? Mr. Forster : Clauses 38 and 54 seem to bear on that point ; but the matter must be left for future consideration. As regards resolution 5, viz., " That sheep-pox thould be dealt with in the same way as cattle-plague," I want to know whether you wish it to be dealt with in the same way as regards slaughter and compensation ? Mr. Read : In every way. Mr. Duckham : Except as regards the pedigree. Mr. Porster : Yon think that sheep-pox should be dealt with iu precisely the same way as cattle-plague P Mr. Duckham : Yes. Mr. Forster : As regards what was said by the gentleman from Cheshire, I suppose that did not point to retrospective compensation, but had reference to the future? Mr. Rigbv : I spoke simply of the future. I might have made out a strong case of injury in connection with the last bill. Mr. Forster : The last resolution refers to the carrying of dead meat by railway. What do you mean by increased facilities ? Sir G. Jenkinson : The 7th and 8th resolutions would render it necessary that there should be some change in the mode of carrying dead meat ; and we think that any influence which the Government could exercise should be exercised in THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 431 the way of encouraging greater facilities for conveyance than at present exist. I believe the increased charge for conveying dead meat by railway, as compared with the live bullock, is in many cases so great as to be almost prohibitory ; and I appre- hend Unit if facilities were afforded for the carriage of dead meal that would be a great advantage. Mr. Forster : Well, I iuterpret the word "facilities" as meaning that railway companies should have a lower tariff. It is a very important question which has been mooted. I should be glad to see the dead meat tariff lowered ; but I think the ouly way in which the thing can be done by law is by making a fresh tariff. Mr. A. PJELL, M.T. : There is, I think, another way in which the object can be promoted, namely, by taking care that carriages shall be provided for the conveyance of meat. Mr. Forster : Is not that a matter of arrangement between railway companies and their customers ? Mr. Fell : How is the packing of dead meat to be pro- vided for ? Mr. Forster : That may either be done by way of arrange- ment between railway companies and their customers, or by way of legislative enactment ; and a legislative enactment seems to imply a fresh tariff for dead meat. I need not remiud you that however important that question may be, it is outside the present Bill. Well, now we come to the two im- portant questions involved in resolutions 7 and 8. Resolution 8 says : " That separate markets for the reception, sale, or slaughter of such animals should be established by statutory enactment at all places where foreign animals are landed." Have you made up your minds, or are you able to suggest, in what way such markets should be established? Mr. C. S. Read : Do you mean with regard to the two se- parate markets ? Mr. Forster : It is one thing to say that you would like to have a separate market, and another to say how it is to be obtained. Do you mean to say that these separate markets \ should be made at the cost of the public, or of the trade, or of the rate-payers ? Mr. Read : To all parties who wish to import, the Privy Council should, I think, be empowered to say, " There must be a separate market before we can permit any importation." Mr. Forster: That brings us at once to the difficulty which was found to be such a great one last year. I think there would be very great difficulty involved in any Govern- ment saying to the authorities of the Port of London, " We will not let foreign animals come in unless you make a sepa- rate market," because the foreign market for cattle is too im- portant to the trade of London be treated in that way. No Government, I think, would undertake to put the screw upon London, and say, " If you won't have a separate market you shall not have any foreign meat," Mr. Corrance, M.P. : May I ask, sir, whether that was » the conclusion drawn by the Government from the debate of last year ? Mr. Forster : I think it was very much felt that inasmuch as London is so very much dependent for its food supply on foreign cattle, no Government would incur the consequences of saying to the authorities of Loudon, " If you don't make a separate market this food shall not come in." The whole question is fenced round with difficulties, and I want you to see the difficulties which would attend the carrying out of your views. It is not sufficient to say that there shall be a separate market — whether we ought to say it as a matter of justice is a question into which I will not now enter — but it is neces- sary to show how it can be secured. With regard to any other place than London that might be said, beoause no other place is so dependent as London on foreign importations ; but I put it to you whether the Government could saj that in reference to the Metropolis. It is possible that the City authorities might say, " Well, take the consequences of your Order." Mr. Corrance, M.P. : I think that when there was a ma- jority of 100 last year that consequence was not apprehended. We were opposed last year on very different grounds, and the issue turned at last on the question who was to construct the market. Mr. Forster : Exactly ; and I want you to tell me who is to construct the market. Sir G. Jenkinson : My idea is that the proper persons to construct the market are the importers, who would in fact have to pay for it. Mr. Fowler: I want, sir, to interpret the resolution in this sense, that wc thiuk the Government should have compulsory power to ensure the construction of a separate market for the Port of London. Sir G. Jenkixso- : And to say that no cattle shall be im- ported except under certain restrictions. Mr. Forster ; Then your point is this : that the Govern- ment should stop the import of cattle unless a market is pro- vided. I want you to see the difficulty of that. Mr. FrsiiER: Don't you think that difficulty would be got rid of, sir, if there were a new outbreak of cattle-plague P Mr. Forster : The difficulty lies here. You suggest that we should take power to order the authorities of the port of London to provide aseparate market. Supposingthe authori- ties were to say, " We do not choose to make that market," do you think any Government could stop the importation of an enormous quantity of food into London during; that state of tilings ? Mr. Read : The case of London is somewhat exceptional ; but why could you not say to the authorities, " If you do not construct a separate market, somebody else will" ? Mr. Forster : Then comes the question, who the " some- body else" is to be. I was in hopes that at your meeting to-day you would have considered that question. Sir G. Jenkixson : Don't you think that as water finds its level, so the foreign cattle trade would do the same ? Mr. Forster : But this is not like the case of water finding its level: the question is, who is to construct a separate market. Mr. Duckiiaii : I think that, by drawing a cordon round London, you have necessitated the construction of a separate market. Mr. Fotster : Do you think that a stimulus to the authori- ties of Loudon to construct the market ? Mr. Duckuam: I think that by making the Islington market a market for foreign stock, you will shut out the home trade. By the present state of tilings you have given the but- chers of London a monopoly as against the graziers. One day there is a bad market, and the cattle must be sold, because they cannot be removed ; another day there is a better market, and this is filled by a rush of cattle from the country. The consequence is a fluctuation of prices which is most injurious to the producer. The Islington market is thus becoming of less and less importance as a criterion of value. It used to be a sort of index to the value of meat, and the agricultural papers held up the prices there as a guide for the kingdom ; but very little is thought of it iu that light now ; and if the present sys- tem continues, I mean that of drawing a cordon round London, it will either compel the authorities to provide a separate mar- ket for foreign cattle, or will drive the whole of the trade away. Mr. Forster : Do I understand you to say that the effect of the present cordon round London is to diminish the arrivals of home cattle in Loudon ? I have heard different opinions expressed by agriculturists as to the result of the present re- strictions ; and I wish to know whether you are unanimous in disliking the present cordon. Iuconvenient as that cordon may be, there is this advantage in it, that not only as regards foreign cattle, but also as regards home cattle the risk of dis- ease is diminished. I want to know whether, taking that into account, there is a very strong feeling against the cordon. Mr. Duckuam : There is a very strong feeling against the cordon ; but there is a also a feeling that it should exist till wc have a separate market. Mr. Forster : On looking at Resolution 7, relating to qua- rantine and slaughter, I find that you do not say distinctly that in your opiuion every foreign animal should be slaughtered at the port of landing ( A. voice : " Every animal which is not a store animal). Then the resolution is to be interpreted as meaning that all fat cattle should be slaughtered ? (A voice : " Yes.") Allow me to ask, being new as it were to the trade, why is a distinction drawn between store aud fat cattle ? Is it merely that the convenience of the buyer is considered, or is it supposed that there is greater danger from fat than from s'ore cattle ? Sir G. Jenkihson : The reason is, that if it were ordered that all cattle should be slaughtered, store cattle could not come in to aid the producer. Mr. Forster : Oh, you wish to secure that for the producer. How long a quarantine do you wish to provide for ? 432 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Mr. Read : We would rather leave that, sir, to the veteri- nary authorities in your office. Mr. Forster : Then you think that store cattle would come in uner quarantine ? Mr. Read : We think that cows would. Speaking of agri- culturists generally, I don't think they would like to have a large quantity of foreign store stock ; but if there are gentle- men who would wi^h to have them, it may be as well to pro- vide for their case. Mr. Forster : Iu Scotland, it appears, there is a strong de- sire to have a separate market for store and fat cattle. I don't know how by law we are to distinguish between the two. Everyone of you knows what he wants ; but how are we to effect the object ? Sir G. Jenkinson : By making the foreign consignee de- clare that certain animals are not intended for slaughter. Mr. Forster : I think you would find that some agricul- turists strongly objecting to quarantine. I am told that qua- rantine to be really effectual as a protection against cattle plague, amounts to prohibition. Sir G. Jenkiisson : But we would take the consequences for the sake of safety. Mr. Forster : Then practically what you mean to say, by the 7th resolution, is that all foreign cattle ought to be killed at the port of landing. Mr. Read : I think that if you had quarantine 28 days you would fiud that after the trade had established itself cows would be imported. Mr. Forsier (to clerk of the Privy Council) : What is the quarantine at Southampton? The Clerk : Twenty-eight days. Mr. Forster : We have before us this fact, that at South- ampton there is a 28 days' quarantine, and no one objects to it. Well, gentlemen, I don't know that I ought to detain you any longer. Let me say that I shall be very happy to convey to the Government your views. We feel that question is very difficult ; we have many interests to consider, and we cannot help thinking, though I do not suppose you will agree with ns, that we have gone as far to meet the views of the different interests as the present state of public opinion would warrant. A remark has been made to the effect that foreign cattle are not subjected to the same restrictions as home cattle. The fact is, they are subjected to the. same restriction, and to a great deal more. Directly they land they come under the same re- strictions as regards disease as all other cattle. We do take power in the Bill to carry out your views, and so far as the discretion of the Privy Council relates to countries which can be considered, suspected everything that you wish for will be done. We desire that all fat cattle brought to the port of London should be slaughtered there, and that a separate market should be provided. We say that all foreign cattle brought from any suspected country should be slaughtered at the port of London. We give powers for providing a separate market at that port, and as I stated in my speech in the House of Commons, we have reason to believe that a separate market will be made ; and I very much doubt whether public opinion would warrant our going any further. You may say that you do not like any discretion to be vested in the Privy Council. As a member of the Privy Council said, I most heartily wish we had no discre- tion. Never was there a case of men obtaining a power more disagreeable to themselves. Such a discretion is a thing for which we can get no credit, and may get a great deal of dis- credit. One gentleman has remarked that we shall have re- sponsibility without liability. The responsibility which we should have, if the cattle plague broke out again, whether we were to blame for it or not, would be considered very serious ; and hence I feel sure that as regards the exercise of our dis- cretion we were more likely always to err on the side of cau- tion than otherwise. On the other hand, to say that the cattle of such countries as Spain and Portugal should not be let in, would, I think, be goirg further than public opinion would warrant at the present time. I feel, however, gentlemen, that I have no right to take up your time by setting up my opinion against yours. Mr. Rigby : As regards Cheshire, I would just remark that under the Act of 18(36 power was given to local authorities to remit the payment of rates in the case of those who had lost cattle before the Act was passed. It was a discretionary power. Mr. Forster intimated that that power was continued, adding, that as regarded the compensation clauses, the present Government had, to the best of his knowledge, merely followed the existing law. Mr. Read : I have to thank you, sir, for the courtesy with which you have received us, [and also for the great care and trouble which you have manifested in consolidating the ex- isting regulations into one Bill. We thank you still more for the kindness with which you have tried to ascertain our views, which we hope you will not consider altogether one-sided or unreasonable. The deputation then withdrew. THE LANDLORD ELEMENT IN THE CENTRAL CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. Upon the formation of Chambers of Agriculture it was ex- pected that these associations would prove of great practical benefit by directing the attention of the public, and especially the attention of the members of the Legislature, to the inju- rious operations of certain laws and customs which were known to operate as hindrances to the progress of agriculture. That the Chambers have not hitherto realised the expectations of those who took an interest in their establishment has been owing to the limited support they have received from men en- gaged in practical agriculture. In England, in most of the Chambers the landlords have acquired possession in a great de- gree of their management, and nearly all the views put for- ward by these Chambers have been expounded by landlords, most of whom had previously been in the habit of taking part at County meetings in the discussion of the questions relating to the so-called interests of agriculture. Their overruling in- fluence has been frequently apparent in the proceedings of the Chambers, and in none more so than in the councils of the Central Chamber. Hitherto there have been no distinct in- dications that this institution intends to consider those laws which directly affect the interests of tenant occupiers. Re- cently we pointed out this in commenting upon the action taken by the Central Chamber in reference to the attempt to induce her Majesty's Ministers to undertake an inquiry into the operation of the poor-rates, in the expectation that the National Exchequer would provide the fund necessary to meet the local rates. One of the most active members of the Central Chamber has written complaining of the remarks we made at the time. Mr. Duckham, taking exception to what he con- siders incorrect in the quotation which was extracted by the editor of the Mark Lane Express from our article, regarding the composition of the Central Chamber, is within certain limits numerically right, but as in reference to the number of rent-paying farmers, he is essentially wrong. He " can only reckon 35 out of the 158 members as belonging to the landlord class." We presume he restricts the term landlord to the owner of several thousand acres. If he had classed the mem- bers into two divisions, land-owners and tenant-farmers, the figures might have been reversed. Mr. Duckham refers to the representative members of the Local Chambers being " an ever-chaugiug element" in the Council of the Central Chamber. It is so in more senses than one, but as regards the class from which the deputies are chosen there have been few changes, the landlord element being chiefly the one preferred from which to choose representative members for taking part in the deliberations of the Central Chamber. Moreover, the associa- tion is only familiarly known to the general public by the members who have taken prominent parts in the discussion of questions, and in the deputations to Her Majesty's Government. Whatever may be the numerical strength of the tenant-farmers in the Central Chamber as representing the views of the Local Chambers, practically the number of members attending and THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 433 taking part in the proceedings of the Central Chamber are principally landowners; these, judging from the divisional lists, are extremely limited. It is not, however, by the social or professional position of the members of an Association that it is judged of by the public. The reports of the proceedings, by furnishing information as to the subjects brought forward to be discussed, and the general tone of these discussions, indi- cate the objects sought to be attained, directly or indirectly, by that association. Notwithstanding anything said to the contrary, the public have, in the reports of the proceedings of the Central Chamber, uncontrovertible evidence of its predi- lection for special topics other than tenants' questions bearing directly upon the occupation of land. The picture of the Chamber so elaborately painted by Mr. Duckham, brings out no fact which disproves what we stated when writing upon the action taken by the Council of the Central Chamber in reference to the question of poor-rates and the formation of a department of agriculture in connexion with the Board of Trade. Our strictures were, however, intended to be generally applicable to the whole bypast proceedings of the Central Chamber. What member can point to a single discussion in that Chamber in reference to the damage caused by the un- justifiable preservation of game, the amount of injury thereby sustained by so many farmers, and the demoralisation of the rural labouring population arising out of and directly con- nected with the administration of the game laws and game preservation in England ? Not one ! This, of all other questions is pre-eminently a tenant-farmers' question, and they know it ; yet, notwithstanding this, the game law question, from a fear of the consequences of discussing a subject which is so unpalatable to landlords, has been kept in abeyance, with the intention on the part of the Council to bring it forward at what they deem will be a more convenient season. The im- por tance of the game question has been virtually admitted by the Council of the Central Chamber, but no action has been taken. Any attempt to bring the game laws before the members would induce landlords to look with suspicion on those who moved in it, while many farmers would be afraid to give expression to their opinions on the subject. Under these circumstances, it may have been deemed more judicious on the part of the Council to take up what they say are more pressing subjects — subjects more immediately affecting the pockets of occupiers of land than the game grievances, which some say are confined to certain localities. When the Chamber becomes thoroughly established, it is expected that it will be in a position to defy augury, so that members may look fearlessly at the consequences when giving expression to their opinions. Surely the time lias now arrived. A member of the House of Commons has given notice of a motion on the subject of the English game laws, while there are. three bills before Parlia- ment to amend the Scottish game statutes. Two of the local Chambers in England, the Cirencester and Swindon Chambers, have discussed the subject, and agreed to resolutions. Yet the Central Chamber treats the question as if it were of minor importance. This conduct of the Central Chamber presents an unfavourable contrast to the Scottish Chamber, which, upon its being formed, at once took up the question of the game laws and game preservation — the members considering it the most pressing of all questions aifecting the interests of the occupiers of the soil and the future development of Scottish agriculture. — North British Agriculturist. THE GAME BILLS FOR SCOTLAND. ' At a meeting of the Scottish Chamber of Agriculture in Edinburgh, Mr. John Clay, President, Mr. Hope (Fentonbarns) moved that the Chamber peti- tion in favour of Mr. M'Lagan's bill. He said that, in the first place, they proposed to modify the game laws in the inte- rest of both the farmers and the public — to take hares and rabbits out of the game list ; to enable the farmer to obtain compensation more readily, in the event of any question about damage, in the Sheriff Courts ; and to abolish cumulative pe- nalties, which sometimes were used very cruelly against poach- ers. He would ask if the Chamber were now prepared to yield any one of these points ? He trusted ithey would neither ask more nor accept less. Mr. M'Lagan's bill contained nothing but the resolutions arrived at by the Chamber. He did not think Lord Elcho's bill gave anything more, or took anything from them that the present law allowed. He could not under- stand the object of the bill at all. However, he need not waste more time in throwing water on a drowned mouse ; but, pro- ceeding to Mr. Loch's bill, he would observe that the distin- guishing part of that bill was the clause containing the permis- sion to kill hares or rabbits, any lease or contract to the con- trary notwithstanding. That he considered a sort of immoral clause. He did not think it was the duty of the Legislature to override private bargains in jany way, unless these bargains were made for immoral purposes. To endeavour to abolish laws that protected hares and rabbits was quite a different thing from going to the Legislature and asking protection from the bargains they themselves had made. The manly course to pursue was to ask that these animals should be taken out of the game list — not to ask for any protection at all. He had read the discussion that lately took place in Aberdeenshire, and he was sorry at the result of that discussion. The farmers in the north were generally considered long-headed, cool men, but they must have gone very rashly to work, and must not have considered the position in which they were placing them- selves. He (Mr. Hope) had no personal interest in the game question. He had never suffered from game, but lie had taken up the matter simply to aid others, and to attempt to mitigate the cruel penalties for law-made crimes which poor men were often doomed to on account of the over-preservation of game. Wild animals were wild animals, and it was impossible to per- suade men that hares and rabbits were property in the same sense that other animals are (applause). Mr. Goodlet (Bolshan), seconded the motion. Mr. Scot Skirving said he intended to propose a motion not entirely in favour of either of the bills which had been dis- cussed, but embodying in great measure the sentiments uttered by the chairman. He had read with the utmost astonishment a number of letters which had been written on this subject in various newspapers, and he had heard with equal surprise and regret the hard terms that had been applied to the bill by the gentlemen who had already spokeu — gentlemen who, in a quiet tone of voice, had uttered words that should make the blood curdle if they were true. He was prepared to say that there was uot one word of truth in them. He had seen it stated that any farmer who adopted Mr. Loch's bill would be a black- guard, while another statement was that he would be either a knave or a fool. If he (Mr. Skirving) was not wrong, his friend Mr. Hope had used words of a similar kind. Mr. Hope. — No, no. Mr. Skirving.— But who were the blackguards that pro- posed this ? He supposed they formed the large majority of this Chamber. The proposal embodied the unanimous opinion of the farmers of Aberdeenshire, of Ross-shire, and of Perth- shire. They were the blackguards, and even the gentleman whose name was on the back of Mr. M'Lagan's bill was one of those great blackguards. At that moment the name of Mr. Eordyce stood on the back of Mr. M'Lagan's bill, and yet he had written to his constituents to say that although naturally in favour of the bill, with his name on the back of it, at the same time, should Mr. Loch's bill command the general accept- ance of the occupiers of land in Scotland, and should it appear to have any chance of passing, it would have his support — " approving as I do, of its leading principle"— which was, of course, the principle called blackguardism. Then there was another gentleman — Sir Robert Mr. Shepherd, Glegbornie— We are hearing a great deal of blackguardism. Would Mr. Skirving read the passage in which it is stated that any one adopting JVLr. Loch's bill is called a blackguard ? Mr. Skirving, said; The terrible outcry against break- ing contracts had surprised him very much, Had it been made 434 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. a year or two ago, it would not have been so very wonderful ; but he would draw their attention to what was going on with regard to agreements just now, to show that neither as re- gards nations, nor companies, nor individuals, was a contract absolutely binding in cases where it was thought that, for the good of the many, it should be broken. In the sphere of inter- national law it was held to be a monstrous wrong to do away with the corn laws while existing leases lasted, because land had become of so much value that both landlord and tenant should be compensated ; but that was all swept away to the winds. Again, a year ago, surely the preservation of the Irish Church stood upon a broader basis than the preservation of hares — surely it was more venerable in its antiquity — surely it was supported by stronger interests. This was entirely and only an illustration ; he merely wanted to show that nearly a million people were interested in it, and that many had a money interest in it — particularly the ['patrons — yet it had passed away like a dream and like the baseless fabric of a vision. And yet they were to tell him that no contracts were to be broken ! On the principle which had been applied in the previous cases, the game clauses in a lease were obsolete, even though they had been drawn up but yesterday. The question came to be — Is this a fair contract between man and man ? Do they meet on equal terms ? Why, in some eases the con- tract was as fair to the farmer as a contract would be to a horse, if they put a bit in its mouth and pulled the curb tight when it resisted (" Hear, hear," and laughter.) Could it be said that a lease was fairly made when the applicant was a man in middle life, with a large family, perhaps, and when the factor met him and said — " These game clauses have been in our leases for a hundred years, but we have never put them in force?" It might be the case that the noble landlord had never given cause of complaint, but another might succeed under whom the game might be doubled, and the farmer pre- vented from killing the hares. Therefore, he thought they ought not to make so much account of the game clauses in those leases, which were not entered into on equal terms by the two parties, and which were not for the good of the pub- lic. Let those clauses be treated as bets were treated ; they might make their bet, but the law would not enforce payment of it. Mr. Skirving proceeded to argue that if Mr. M' Lagan's bill passed, there must be a new trespass law, so stringent as to interfere with the whole pleasures and privileges of the peo- ple ; and he (Mr. Skirving) would rather see the hares tram- pled out than that a decent man and his wife were not to take a walk across a grass field on a Sunday afternoon. He agreed with the previous speakers that Lord Elcho's bill had little to recommend it. He begged to move — " That this meeting beg to tender their thanks to Mr. M'Lagan, and also to Mr. Loch, for their efforts to redress the grievance caused by the over- production of hares in many places in Scotland. That in the opinion of this meeting Clause No. 6 of Mr. M'Lagan's bill and also Clause No. 4 of Mr. Loch's bill are unnecessary, and might be withdrawn. That both gentlemen are respectfully requested to merge their bills into one, upon the principle of Mr. M'Lagan foregoing bis provision as to dropping hares from the statute-book, and adopting Clause No. 3 of Mr. Loch's bill, which provides for occupants of land having power to destroy rabbits and hares, notwithstanding provisions in leases to the contrary. Provided that a tenant holding his farm under an existing lease shall, before availing himself of the privilege conferred by this clause, be bound to tender to the lessor the value of the same, to be paid by the tenant in like manner as his agricultural rent, and, failing the acceptance of the same at a just value by the said lessor, then the tenant shall have power to present a petition to the Sheriff, who shall appoint a valuator to value the said privilege, whose valuation shall be binding on both lessor and tenant during the remaining cur- rency of the existing lease. Farther, that a petition embody- ing these views be prepared and forwarded to Mr. M'Lagan for presentation to the House of Commons." Mr. Drysdale, yr. (Kilrie), seconded this motion. Mr. Betiiune of Blebo said he hoped the farmers of Scot- land would do what they could to get Mr. M'Lagan's bill car- ried. Let them, on the back of that, work for the carrying of Mr. Carnegie's bill for the abolitic a of the law of hypothec, and he believed the results would be to establish an infinitely better understanding between landlords and tenants — they would, in fact, have a much happier Scotland. Mr. T. M. Nicoll, Littleton, Kirriemuir, said Mr. M'Lagan's bill was really the bill of the Scottish Chamber of Agriculture, and he hoped they would support it. Mr. Rougiiead, Haddington, and Mr. Shepherd, Gleg- hornie, supported the motion for approving of Mr. M'Lagan s bill. For Mr. Hope's motion 20 For Mr. Skirving's motion 13 Majority for Mr. Hope's motion — 7 It was therefore resolved to petition in favour of Mr. M'Lagan's bill. THE ADULTERATION SEED BILL A special meeting of the Lincolnshire Chamber of Agricul- ture was held in Lincoln, for the purpose of discussing the subject of Adulteration of Seeds, and the provisions of the Adulteration Seed Bill now before Parliament. Abont twenty members were present. Mr. Charles Sharpe said, I have been induced by several members and friends interested in the matter to bring under your notice the adulteration of seeds aud the provisions of the Bill now before Parliament to prevent it. I will briefly state the grievances which have long been complained of in the colu mns of the leading agricultural aud horticultural journals. They are these : large quantities of rubsen or German rape seed, and in- ferior samples of English rape, are killed by a process of steam- ing aud kiln drying, for the purpose of mixing with English- grown turnip seed. Seeds of the cheaper kinds of brassicas are prepared in a like manner for adulterating the seed of those varieties which have a higher value. Trefoil, a cheap and inferior kind of clover, is killed and dyed for mixing with red clover and cowgrass, and inferior old samples of clover seeds are coloured aud dyed for the adulteration of seeds of a much higher value — this process of colouring or dyeing ge- nerally destroying to a great extent the germinating power of the seed so treated. There are other minor cases which might be mentioned, but these constitute the principal evils com- plained of. These statements have frequently been publicly made without receiving any contradiction, and in the absence of denial we have a right to assume that in the main they are correct. I am, therefore, saved the trouble of proof, and will add nothing to these often-stated accusations. I think this is quite sufficient to show that the promoters of the Bill are jus- tified in the steps they considered were necessary to be taken in order to put an end to this evil system. Now, to carry out this system of adulteration, there exists in London and other places several manufactories for the preparation of seed for adulteration, their sole business being to kill and colour seed. The Bill proposes to inflict a penalty upon any person engaged in the business of preparing seed for adulteration ; and the pro- moters of the Bill anticipate that this clause alone will do much to prevent the practice complained of. Penalties are also im- posed upon anyone knowingly or purposely selling seeds mixed with killed or dyed seeds. The Bill is very simple and very short, being confined to dealing with the fraudulent practices in the trade. It has been said the Bill does not go far enough, and should also deal with old seed, and I will take this opportunity of replying to such remarks. There would be great difficulty in applying the Bill so as to prevent the sale of old seeds, for it is impossible to say at what age seed may be considered unfit for use for sowing, so much depends upon the season in which they are harvested, as in some years with a fine harvest the seeds then saved will, when kept over one or two years, be as good as and even superior to the new seed of several succeed- ing seasons. In our changeable climate, too, the harvesting of seed must always be considered precarious, and therefore it often occurs that the crop of a year harvested in fine con- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 4:15 ditiou and quality has to supply the demand of following y8ara of inferior quality or quantity. It was thus considered advisable in framing the Bill to leave out all reference to this, as interfering too much with the freedom necessary to conduct the seed business. The law already provides a remedy for any injury inflicted upon the public by the sale of old seed of had growth, and we are supported also in coming to this conclusion by the opinion of the Committee of the Council of Horti- culture in their report upon the Adulteration of Seeds, sec. 13, 14. They say, " Actual adulteration is entitled to no merey. It is a deliberate and intentional fraud, in the suppression of which the trade is as much interested as the general public, and ought to be suppressed by the strong hand of the law in the same way as any other fraud. It is different with the selling of old seed. The seeds produced in different years, like different vintages, vary in their quality, and in the power of retaining their vitality. It thus sometimes happens that two years old seed is better than one year old. There is thus a special difficulty in dealing with it." If this Bill should be- come law, and the use of killed seed be done away with, the consumption of good seed will not be interfered with as is now the case, and large stocks in consequence will be prevented from accumulating. Old seeds betray their presence : killed or coloured seeds do not, except to those accustomed to the trade. It is satisfactory that no opposition is offered to the Bill : in fact it would be strange to find any opposition or any objections raised against it. The only persons who can put forward any plea of injury sustained are those engaged in the killing and colouring of seed. As to the former, I do not know what they may turn their hands to next ; but the latter, who have attained to such perfection in imitating and even surpassing nature, may perhaps be found competing success- fully for the prizes given next year by the Royal Academy. This Bill having been called for by loud public complaints, is supported by all the respectable seedsmen throughout the United Kingdom, who feel they are unequal to the task of putting down a system that is no modern invention, but be- queathed to them by traditional customs long established, and 1 trust the measure will also receive the earnest support of the Chambers of Agriculture throughout the country. The adul- teration of seeds exposes the honest dealer to the most unfair competition, and is highly injurious to the consumer and the country at large. Killed seed committed to the ground of course yields no return for the outlay, being quite without re- sult, and is so much sheer waste and loss to the nation. It is difficult to estimate the loss, but I venture to assert 40,000 to 50,000 bushels of prepared seed is annually used for mixing with turnip seed, besides the hundreds of tons of clover seeds wasted for a like purpose. I hope I have said enough to show you that this is a great public question, and that there are strong reasons why the Bill to which I have called your atten- tion should be supported by this and every other Chamber of Agriculture throughout the country (applause). Mr. Welby, M.P., said he attended this meeting to hear their opinions on the Bill, and also with the view of obtaining further information in support of it, which might be useful to him in answering objections or criticisms, as he had charge of the Bill, in conjunction with other members of Parliament, and should have much pleasure in doing what he could for it, because he believed the evil complained of was of a very seri- ous character, and very detrimental to the interests of the agricultural community ; and also that it could not be effec- tually checked without the assistance of Parliament (Hear, hear). One objection which might be brought against the Bill, was that it would be creating a new offence, or that it was moving in a direction which was almost sure to fail or be inoperative. Mr. Bright in fact took that view only a few weeks ago. But as to its being a new offence, that was not strictly correct, as the evil practices against which the Bill was directed might now be made the subject of an aetion at law ; that, however, was so expensive and doubtful, that the victim generally chose rather to submit in silence than resort to law. As to the act being inoperative, all they could say in answer to that was that they hoped for the best, and his own opinion was that it would have a good and practical effect, and even already a check had been given to the practices complained of in anticipation, and that check would be much greater if the Bill became law. Even if the difficulty of proof were so great that no convictions took place under the. Act, it yet might do good ; and as every large wholesale house had proof rooms for testing seed, and could ascertain whether the seed they sent out were genuine or not, they could not say they sold bad seed innocently, and if it was brought home to them they must abide the consequences. As to the retailers they would be liable to be called before the niagestrates, and the proof of their innocence must be left with themselves. He was happy to say that Mr. Head would actively support the Bill, and that it had met with very general support in the House (cheers). Mr. Bramley, as a large seed-consumer, could testify to the truth of the allegation that a large quantity of seed came to the farmer in a greatly-adulterated condition, and that he suf- fered great loss thereby, not only in the loss of his crops, but in the expense of obtaining them ; fo.- if he bought seed which ought to grow 80 per cent., and it only grew 50 or 60, the loss he suffered might be imagined. He had heard it stated when the matter had been spoken of by some farmers that this movement was not a genuine affair, but that it had been originated by the seedsmen, who found themselves in- jured by a practice which no longer served their purpose, and who now asked the farmers' assistance to stop it. This view of the matter did not, however, affect him, for he averred that it was a bond fide movement, and that they, as farmers, having due regard to their own interests, were bound to support it, for if the measure passed it would have a beneficial effect, not only on the trade but on the farming community generally (Hear, hear). Under this Bill magistrates would have sum- mary jurisdiction, which was inexpensive compared with the only redress now obtainable, and which was surrounded with other difficulties. Farmers, too, were interested in the question, because adulteration of seeds was so difficult to detect, and, therefore, if any Bill could be devised to stop adulteration, it would be to their advantage. Mr. Bramley, after some furtber remarks of similar purport, moved the following re- solutions : " That this Courcil being fully convinced that the adultera- tion of seeds is carried on to a great extent, and that such adulteration is detrimental to the agricultural interest, recom- mends that the Bill now before Parliament entitled ' Au Act for preventing the Adulteration of Seeds,' be supported by the Central Chamber of Agriculture and by the agricultural com- munity at large." " That a copy of the foregoing resolution, together with a request to support the above Bill, be forwarded to the Central Chamber of Agriculture, and also to all the members of Par- liament connected with this county." " That Mr. Charles Sharpe, of Sleaford, be sent by this Council as a special delegate to the Central Chamber of Agri- culture, to bring before its notice the provisions of the Bill." Mr. Sills seconded the resolutions ; and Mr. Dring, in speak- ing to the subject, thanked Mr. Charles Sharpe for the trouble he had taken in this matter. Mr. Welby observed that the operation of the Bill was not limited to turnip and clover seeds, but extended to all sorts of seed. Yet it was only a partial measure after all, not affect- ing old seeds, which were a great nuisance but difficult to legislate upon. As to this being a genuine movement, Mr. Sharpe had acted most straightforward in this matter, having seen him upon the subject first before the general election and again after, and he had worked with great energy for the success of the movement, and those who had the conduct of it meant to carry it through, if possible, and he should be dis- appointed if they did not succeed. Mr. Ra_ndall considered that as the Bill was iutended to abolish a great wrong and a daring fraud, it became a farmers' Bill, and was most worthy of their support, as they were in- terested in it. The resolutions were then put and carried. Mr. Trotter moved and Mr. Epton seconded a vote of thanks to Mr. Charles Sharpe for his exertions, which was carried by acclamation, and this brought the meeting to a close. 436 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. THE FLUKE: WHAT IT IS, AND WHY IT IS. The fluke — so called in these colonies, from the shape of the insect which occupies the liver of the diseased sheep — is the rot of England, and the maladie clu brebis, or sheep disease, of France. For many years its ravages were as destructive as any of the cattle-plagues which have lately visited the various countries of Europe. In many districts sheep could only be fattened, as they were invariably attacked by the rot, which ran its course in about six months, but which, in its early stages, did not prevent the sheep from fattening, or rather increased its propensity to do so. But, these stages once passed, the disease rapidly developed itself. The. animals fell off, became emaciated, worn out, and died. Fortunately, owing to improvements in the management of the land in some countries, and the assistance of science in others, these wholesale devastations no longer exist. The rot is confined to new districts. Even there, it is less virulent and more manageable than it was. This improvement has been gradual in Great Britain and Ireland, dating as far back as the time when the rich pastures began to be drained, and the nursery of the fluke insect destroyed. In France and ou the Continent, where, from want of capital, the nature of land-tenure, and a comparative backwardness in the art of agriculture, draining has not been much attended to, the pre- ventive has been dietary ; and this owes its origin to the exceptionally-destructive season of 1827, when iu Les Landes alone 50,000 sheep were swept off in one year. This aroused the attention of the French government. The most scientific physiologists and best anatomists in France and Germany had their attention directed to it. From their labours we may date an accurate knowledge of the disease and its preventives. " But," say the sheep-farmers, " we know too well what it is. We have not been obliged to linstock some of our best land with- out finding that out." True. We all know what it is in its last stage. When the disease has become developed in the sheep, when the fluke-shaped insects, from which it derives its name, have become matured, there is no mistake as to what they are, or where they are. But this is only one, the last and worst form of the insect. It was not without an extreme expendi- ture of patience, time, and the first intellects of France and Germany, without many failures and unsuccessful experiments, that the history of the fluke from the egg to the insect was discovered. But, by intense patience, this was at last found out ; and a curious history it is. The fluke belongs to the class of insects which are called " entozoon," or those living inside other animals. But it is not, properly speaking, bred in the sheep. Like the young of the butterfly and the beetle, it undergoes one, if not more, changes before it becomes fit to be developed into the fluke in the body of the animal. These changes take place in the bodies of other insects on the land, not in the sheep. Passing over preliminary inquiries, it was our object to discover the eggs of the insect itself. These were found in countless millions floating in the fluid of the bag containing flukes, in the liver, so minute that it required powerful microscopes to discover them, and of which a million would not fill a teaspoon. The presumption was that these propagated the disease by being voided and swallowed by other sheep, for it was long known that the disease was in the pasture, and not contagious. In consequence large doses of them were given to healthy sheep, a portion of which were kept up and another depastured as usual. Of those kept up not one took the rot. Of those depastured ou therottengroundnotone escaped. Here was an unexpected hitch. But not to go into details, the result of long and unwearied research was that the eggs either attached themselves to, or were swallowed by, various freshwater insects abounding in the sodden pastures, some themselves so small as to be invisible to the naked eye, that they underwent their first change if not more, and that these being swallowed in by the sheep with the grass, they got into the circulation, and reaching the liver became developed into the perfect fluke in its ducts. From that stage its progress is easily followed. The sheep-owner and the butcher know as well as, or better than, any one else its shape, and where it is ; how by stimulating the liver, it for a time makes the sheep fatten quicker than a sound sheep that this stimulus increasing, the bile is forced in too large quantities into the blood, and that consequently flesh and fat get a yellowish tinge ; that, by degrees the fluke destroys the liver itself, the sheep pines and dies. Having at some length showed what the fluke is, the next thing is to tell why it is. This resolves itself into two considerations — first, the state of the sheep's constitution, which fits it to develop the fluke ; second, the nature of the pasture which causes that state, and supplies the infant fluke with its proper subsistence, enabling it to become a well-grown insect in the sheep. Now the " why" of the fluke is our forcing the sheep into an unnatural condition of existence. Its natural habit is undulating hilly land, dry, breezy, with good, tolerably light soil, and plentiful, but not too abundant or succulent pasture. Indeed, as far as the health of the sheep is concerned, the dry and airy nature of the run is of more consequence than the richness of the pasturage. It takes more to keep them ; but, within certain limits, the sheep, as regards health, are not only none the worse, but all the better. Happy the stockowner who has a good large run of such land. He need dread neither fluke nor any other of the ills which sheep are heir to. Were all our land so, this notice need never be written. Unfortunately it is not ; and hence, to occupy other and the greater part of the couutry, we force the sheep to live in a condition more or less unnatural, as it departs more or less from the quality of land we have described. Now, to make what we are going to say intelligible we must premise a little physiology, or what it is that makes up the nature of sheep as well as other animals, and remind our readers of a few facts so common that they have probably never been thought worth thinking of. A sheep, then, is composed, like the rest of us, of a great deal of water, fat, flesh, blood, skin, and bone. And he has besides these a valuable fleece of wool. These are formed (among other things) of what is our present concern — carbon, or charcoal, iron, lime, soda, potash, phosphorus, and notably in the sheep sulphur. Twenty pounds of wool contain one pound of sulphur. Then as to what we have not thought about because so common, but which only required to be noticed to be acknowledged. No- thing can come of nothing. So that all we have enumerated must be got by the sheep out of the grass ; and by the grass out of the ground. If they are not in the grass the sheep can- not get them. If they are not in the soil the grass cannot get them. The grass finds them in one form in the ground, and changes them into another, which the sheep is again able to change into the elements of its own body. But not only must the elements be in the ground and in the grass, but they must exist iu that form that the grass can take them out of the soil and make them fit for the sheep. They must be soluble, that is, capable of being made liquid both for the grass and the beast. Between the elements of a lump of wood and a lump of sugar there is very little difference, merely a little water. Without any other final addition the chyme can change the one into the other. A very strong stomach can partially do so, as in those countries where in time of scarcity bark is mixed with flour to make bread. It is rather an unnatural task to put the stomach to ; but it is the every day work of nature. The hard and woody green apple is mellowed into the sweet ripe one ; the woody fibre of the first is changed into sugar in the second. Still, the great difference in point of nutriment is that one is valuable and the other not. Why we have dwelt on this will be seen afterwards. But not only must the ele- ments of nutrition exist, and that in a soluble condition, but there must be the power in both plant and animal to digest and assimilate to make them part of themselves. A good strong healthy animal, with plenty of good air and exercise, will thrive on (that is, digest and assimilate) strong coarse food, on which a delicate one confined in bad air would starve. Change about, and if the last is not too far gone you change the results. Well, a healthy sheep eats the healthy grass. His strong healthy stomach easily digests it — that is, reduces it to a condition when that portion of it which is soluble can become part of himself, while the rest is evacuated. After THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 437 one or two changes it enters the blood, ami becomes part of it- The blood is forced into the heart, out of the heart, through the arteries, and into the lungs. Here it comes into contact with the oxygen of the air we breathe. The iron it contains is oxygenated, or rusted, just as a piece of iron is in the open air. Like that it changes to red, only brighter, and is sent by the action of the heart and arteries through every portion of the body, conveying to each other that which it requires to nourish and supply the loss which is taking place every moment of our lives : and having done this, the veins take'up the work, collect all the blood together again, and with it the worn-out parti- cles— the waste of our bodies, bring it back to the heart, whence it is again driven through the lungs, again oxygenated, and seut with fresh additions from the food to run its course. Every time the pulse beats there is a pump in and a pump out. In all this there is a three-fold action. The blood is supplied with additions from the food; it gives nourishment to thebody ; it collects the waste. It has to get rid of this last ; let it accu- mulate, and it poisons the animal. It does so by evacuation, by perspiration through the skin, and by having a portion in the lungs — that is, by combining it with oxygen, and giving it off in the breath. What has all this to do with the fluke ? Wait awhile, and we shall see ; only remember it. All we have described goes on in every animal, more or less perfectly. The moment it ceases the animal ceases to live. If it goes on perfectly the animal is healthy, strong, and thrives ; imper- fectly, it is more or less weak, unhealthy, and falls off. It must have the materials and be able to use them. Now, as respects our present inquiry, the great essentials in which a flukey sheep is wanting are iron, soda, oxygen, and sulphur. Look at a sheep far gone, and then you will see it best. There is a listless look about him. Look in the corner of his eye, it is pale. Probably the white looks yellow, and the pale or yel- low, not red. Shear his wool, you do not see the fine clear florid skin of the healthy sheep. His breath is not easily drawn, and is offensive : and his wool has not the feel which all who arc accustomed to it know so well, but which no one can describe. The blood too, tastes less salt than that of a healthy sheep, and is a little bitter. What does all this tell ? That the blood has not enough iron in it, that the iron has not been properly oxygenated or brought into contact with good air in the lungs, that there is a want of soda and of sul- phur, and that the waste of the body is not thrown off. Now all this exists in a great degree in the flukey sheep ; but it existed in a less degree in the animal before it became so while on the pastures which cause it. These consist in whole or in part of land where the ground is sodden with wet, either on or immediately below the surface, where the water stagnates and in summer dries up. This is just the kind of land which sup- plies a fit nest for the fluke, and puts the sheep in the condi- tion for the fluke, to thrive in it. The fluke, like all other parasites, whether its scale be itch, or mange, likes best au ani- mal that is not in good health. Were we to go into all the why and the .vherefore, this short notice would stretch into a pamphlet. Much, then, as it would be desirable to show why, the reader must take the facts for granted, though very many, on considering what are the conditions required for per- fect health, and the state of the laud on which they are com- pelled to graze, will see for themselves that these conditions are more or less wanting, and why. But so far they must be content to know that on such land there is the fluke, and that the sheep, by a low type of like, is prepared for the fluke. Of course it is not meant that if sheep in the best health are fed over flukey ground, and then removed to the best, they will not be attacked. Some of them will to a certainty. But the disease is comparatively mild, and as the sheep can always be got rapidly into good condition for the butcher they need not be sacrificed. However, as a preventive, all which have to run the risk should be treated as has been found the best. — The Australian Mercury, SOUTH AMERICAN WOOLS. [TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH.] Since the cotton crisis produced by the American war, the consumption and fabrication of woollen stuffs have considerably increased in the manufactories of Europe as well as the new world ; but the production of the raw material also increased, and such enormous quantities were brought to market, that in spite of the rapid fabrication and great demand, wool remained stationary in price, if it did not become lower. For a long time it was believed that the rapid increase of flocks in Australia was the principal cause of this state ; but now Australia her- self finds a formidable "competitor in Southern America where the sheep are constantly improving both as regards number and the quality of the fleece. In fact, the republic of South Ame- rica exhibited at Paris and Havre some remarkable specimens which carried off the first prizes of their series. In the port of Havre alone, the importations of wool from South America rose In 1865 to 35,257 bales. „ 1866 to 45,468 „ „ 1867 to 65,532 „ We failed in getting the statistics of 1868. These importations consist of La Plata wools, merino, half bred wools, and the long wools of the common kind. The lat- ter were the produce of sheep raised on the side of the moun- tains, and in the vallies of the Sierra de Cordova and San Luis, which, placed in the centre of the Argentine Republic, are like an island, surrounded on one side by the pampas and on the other by the arid plains, which extend to the foot of the Andes. They also raise sheep in the high vallies of the Andes, as well as upon the mountain sides called Puno, and it has been found successful wherever it has been tried. In the middle of the sixteenth century the Spaniards intro- duced sheep into South America, particularly in Tucuman and Paraguay. These animals, which no doubt sprang from the merino race, when transported into another country, under another climate, and besides, badly cared for, very soon de- generated. When the people took to raising cattle they completely neg lected sheep ; in Buenos Ayres Santa-Fe, and Entre-Rios they were left to themselves, nevertheless they prospered as it were in the desert. Their flesh was not eaten", and Azara tells us they were allowed to rot on the soil simply with a view to ob- taining phosphate of lime by burning their bones. The In- dians preferred hunting the guanaco for the sake of its skin to using the fleece of the sheep. Latterly they have turned their attention to sheep, with a view to obtaining wool ; but the animals having degenerated were small, the wool was coarse, and they therefore tried to improve the race. In 1824 under the administration of Rivadavia, a hundred Spanish merinoes, and a hundred English Southdowns were in- troduced. In 1826 there was afresh importation, accompanied by Earopean shepherds. Some English and German shep- herds set the example, and were established in model farms for the raising of more perfect races of European sheep. In 1836 the introduction of the Negretti type was followed soon after by an importation of Silesian and Saxon rams, then some merinoes from Rambouillet. From that time the raising of sheep was established in La Plata ; but political dissensions hindered the commerce from developing. In 1830 the exporta- tion only rose to 944 bales ; in lS44it was 3,577 ; in 1850 it rose to 17,069 bales. Li 1S60, in spite of the ravages of a ter- rible distemper, it rose to 38,482 bales. A South American bale weighs on an average 362 kilog. In 1806 the number of bales shipped at the different ports was 150,000, besides 20,701 bales of sheep skins (being more than 4 millions of skins.) An unusual .quantity of rain had improved the soil, the flocks were in good health, and consequently the quality of the fleeces was fine. The wool is rarely washed when put on board ; hand labour being scarce, and water even more so. Except in the neigh- bourhood of rivers, the farmers find it does not pay to wash it. In Buenos Ayres the wools are rather inferior to those of other countries, owing to the pasturage there, it being infested 438 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. with a kind of wild clover, called " carrefilla," the seeds of which get into the fleece, from whence it is extremely difficult to remove it. The English sheep shearers not having received orders lo clean the wool, very little from Buenos Ayres appears on the London market, except that considerable quantities are presented there under the form of yarn sent from foreign nations. Uruguay also produces great quantities of cattle and sheep. The exportations of wool from the port of Monte Video alone, which in 1860 was only 6,500 bales, had in 18G6 increased to 40,000, while at La Plata it is now not less than 100,000 tons. Chili, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, and other states also export a certain quantity of wool. La Plata exports wool chiefly to the United States, France, and Belgium. Antwerp received 73,000 bales in 1866, and 90,000 in 1867. The importations into Belgium in 1868 being double what they were in 1867 showed that wool was in great request there ; the berviers fabrics particularly so. In Prance these wools are much used, at Elbeuf, where in the last six years the consumption has risen from 4,000 to 25,000 bales, and is increasing daily. A report addressed to the president of the Industrial Society at Elbeuf, speaking of La Plata wools and their use in the manufactories of that locality, says: "We have abandoned the Spanish wools which we formerly used exclusively for French wools, the latter having improved so much the last 50 years by cross-breeding, are excellent for medium qualities. Russian wools may also be employed for the same purpose. German wools are better for fine cloths, but the high price of them prevents their being used commonly. Hungarian wools rank among the same class. The English market monopolizes nearly all the good Australian wools, consequently our atten- tion has been turned to La Plata, which produces wool equnl to that of many other countries at a lower price." The wool from Buenos Ayres is the best of two qualities sent to us from South America ; it is finer and softer, possessing some of the qualities of the German or Negretti types. It is used for fine woollen stuffs, and is also in demand for Nor- mandy fabrics. Monte Video wools are chiefly used for mixing when required to give body to short wools. There comes from Cordova, at the foot of the Andes, a small quantity ol wool washed and separated (in order to diminish the weight) ; it is long, fine, and strong. The flocks that fur- nish it are descended from the sheep introduced in the sixteenth century ; but the breed has been modified by the different con- ditions of soil aud climate. E. ClIERU. FAEM SERVANTS' COTTAGES The Duke of Richmond has inaugurated a scheme for pro- viding house-accommodation for farm servants, which deserves more than a passing notice from those interested in agricul- ture and in the amelioration of the social condition of the farm labourer. The scheme, provides for the building of cottages on all the farms of his wide domains iu the north, on a principle mutually advantageous to all interests, and calcu- lated ultimately to influence greatly the character of the rural population. As the scope of the Duke of Richmond's scheme is only imperfectly understood in the Huntly district, where the first of the cottages have been built, and is, as yet, un- known in the other districts, we have been at some pains to lay the facts before our readers, who will find them very well worthy of consideration. The Duke of Richmond and the officials on his estates have, we believe, in choosing a scheme of this nature, had in view a remedy for the complaints so prevalent in recent years of farmers having to take an inferior class of servants from towns and villages, of the separation of servants from their families, and the evils consequent thereon, which are patent to every one who has paid the least atten- tion to the subject. The first requisite was to provide such accommodation as would enable a servant, with his wife and growing-up lads and girls, to have separate apartments ; and this involved the provision of a house with three bed-rooms. The cost of a house of this capacity, however, would be such as to preclude the possibility of a servant being able to pay its full value in rent. The only alternative, then, was to fix the rent of the cottage at such a figure as the servant could be reasonably expected to pay, the proprietor looking for the full remuneration of his money outlay in the realization of the far-off interest of an improved moral tone in the labouring class of a future, generation. The interests of humanity, of social and material progress, render it necessary that the means of family life and comfort be within the reach of farm servants ; and the Duke of Richmond has accepted the dictum that it is the duty of those benefiting by the labour of the farm servant to place these within his reach, in so far as he cannot provide them for himself, irrespective of the question whether the mere building of the houses will be a directly remunerative money transaction. The success of the scheme will, of course, depend upon the readiness with which the tenantry come forward and co-operate with their proprietor. The conditions upon which the cottages are given seem to be very acceptable to the tenants and, we believe, have been accepted in most cases where they have been offered. In substance, they are these : The proprietor desires to have the co-operation of the tenant in building a double cottage upon the farm, to accommodate two families. The tenant gives a site, with an eighth of an acre of garden ground attached to each occupancy free of rent, and performs the carriage of all materials. The proprietor does the rest, providing the neces- sary timber from the woods at Gordon Castle. When the cot- tage is completed, it is handed over to the tenant to be upheld in reasonable repair, and for the use only of married servants upon the. farm. Th? annual rent of the double cottage is £5, or £3 10s. a year from each family. In no case is the tenant allowed to charge his servant more money for the house than he pays himself. It is also stipulated that, in finding occu- pants for the houses, the tenant is expected to have regard to their moral character ; while the proprietor reserves the right of demanding the removal of any occupant who may in- fringe the regulations of the estate, or whose conduct is known to be habitually irregular. In the event of a married man without family occupying a cottage, he may, on a written per- mission from the factor on the estate, to be renewed annually, receive a boarder or lodger into the house. The tenant is held responsible for the carrying out of these conditions, the re- strictions obviously being with the view of making the occu- pancy of the cottages an object of ambition among the best class of servants, and to insure freedom from overcrowding of families into single apartments. These conditions were first proffered to the largest tenant in the Huntly district of the Richmond estates, viz., Mr. Grant, Drumdelgie, a gentleman whose efforts for the instruction and comfort of the class whom he so largely employs have long been favourably known. Mr. Grant accepted the terms, and a specimen cottage has been built on his farm, and is now occupied by two servants and their families. This cottage we have visited, and, through the courtesy of Mr. Grant, were facilitated iu laying these facts before our readers. Since its completion, other three cottages have also been sanctioned, and arc in course of completion in the Huntly district. One of these is on the farm of Mr. Turn- bull, at Smithstown ; another on the farm of Mr. Mennie, at Brawlandknowes, and the third on the farm of Mr. Milne, Corse of Kinnoir. Arrangements have also been made, we be- lieve, for the erection of similar cottages during the coining season, on the farms of Mr. Baillie, Mains of Rhynie ; Mrs. M'William, Bucharn; and Mr. Wilson, Milton of Noth. Each year three new cottages will be built, the tenants having the offer of them by turn, according to the size of their farms. When the tenants are all gone over in this way, facilities will be given to those who wish to extend the system for having additional cottages erected. Doubtless, every tenant on the estate will have at least one of the double cottages on his farm. The cottages are, we believe, after a plan suggested by Mr. Balmer, Gordon Castle, the work being carried out by Mr. Todd, Pitglassie. The specimen building at Drum- delgie is situated by the road leading to the farm, about four TUB FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 430 hundred yards from the steading. The site was chosen be- cause of its proximity to a large spring' of very tine water, and dykes dividing the fields on either side of the road, so that when other three cottages, are built, as is intended, they will be uniform, and each occupy the angle of a large field. The exterior of the double cottage preseuts a length of fifty-five feet; breadth, twenty feet ; side-walls, nine feet high, with au additional height from eaves to apex of the gable of eleven feet. The masonry is of granite, of which there is plenty on the farm, and the outer walls of a uniform thickness of two feet. A wall of masonry divides the building in the centre, the fire-places being in this wall, and the chimneys rising from the centre of the roof. The building, standing on a hill side, the doors of the cottages have been placed iu the centre of the upper wall, while the windows have been formed on the lower side, so as to afford a view of the open valley aud a wide stretch of country ; though in the other cottages the outer doors will be placed on either side of the house, to suit the position of the site. On the low floor of each cottage, there are three apartments — uamely, a kitchen, occupying the whole width of the house, sixteen and a-half feet by eleven aud a-half feet ; a scullery, six feet by nine feet ; and a bed-room, ten feet by nine feet. The entrance door is three feet wide, and there is a small entrance lobby of the same width, communicating on one side with the scullery, aud on the other side with the kitchen. In the lobby, there is also a pantry. From the kitchen, communication is had to the bed-room, through a passage representing the width of the doorway, and having on either side two presses, one with shelving, aud the other for hanging clothes. The staircase is also entered from the kitchen, and is carried over the top of the last mentioned pantries, being three feet in width. The kitchen and scullery are neatly plastered on the walls, and floored with Caithness pavement. The kitchen has two cupboards, one on either side of the fire-place, and the scul- lery is fitted up with a sink for washing aud letting off water. All parts of the house, except the kitchen and scullery, are lathed and plastered, aud floored with wood. On the upper flat, opposite the head of the staircase, there is a large press ; on one side, a bed-room, eleven feet square, with a storm window aud fire-place, and on the other side a bed-room, nine feet by eleven feet, lighted from the gable. The cottages are excellently lighted, each apartineDt having a window three feet by five feet, and the staircase a roof- light. The roof is covered with Welsh slates. Externally and internally, there is a total absence of ornamentation. At a convenient distance from the cottages, there is to be a small out-house for each occupant. The cottages, with the quarter acre of land for gardens, are to be enclosed with a stone wall. The total cost of this double cottage is close upon £200, exclusive of carriage of materials by the tenant, which of course would vary in each case. It is calculated that the average cost to the proprietor of the cottages in course of completion, and which may be constructed in future, will not exceed £200. The money return to the proprietor, as we have shown, is not more than £5, or 2\ per cent, per annum. The question naturally arises whether the indirect good done by these cottages is sufficient to warrant this outlay, besides the services giveu by the tenant, on an unproductive suhject ? So far as experience has been obtained of the effects of the cottage system, strong opinions are entertained that, in time, the benefits of this scheme will show themselves to be exactly what is desired by those who take the proper measures for giving it effect. One immediate result will be the removal of the complaint that the farm labourer requires to be elevated, and that there is no opportunity for a well-disposed farm labourer to settle in a place with the hope of bringing up a family under the influence of his own example and training. The condition of a competent farm servaut, who may be lucky enough to find a situation on a farm with one of these cottages, will be better than that of any unskilled labourer living in a town or village. On a very moderate computation, the in- come of such a farm servaut at the present time is equivalent to a regular money payment of fourteen shillings per week during the whole year. While this income is guaranteed, he would only pay fifty shillings a year for a house with prac- tically five apartments, and be subject to no taxation for it. It is well known that the Duke of Richmond pays the poor- rates for the tenants of all small holdings on his estates, and under any circumstances taxes due upon these cot- tages will not fall to the occupants to pay. No such ad- vantages as these present themselves to a labourer taking up his abode iu any country town or village, and on any farms where they are offered the farmer will have compen- sation for the part he takes in providing them by the stability and trustworthiness of the servants. Of course, it will be taken for granted that the occupier of almost every large farm would prefer some married servants of tried character, who would continue in his service for a lengthened period, to a batch of unmarried men, who might be boarded a little cheaper, but who would give in their notice to quit at the end of every half-year. In connection with this subject, we may also notice that the Duke of Richmond has shown his interest in the well-being of the agricultural servants previous to the starting of this scheme for the building of cottages. Some years ago, Mr. Grant, of Drumdelgie, aud Mr. Bruce, the en- terprising breeder of Shorthorn cattle on the adjoining farm of Broadland, made, we believe, overtures to the proprietor on the subject of sleeping apartments for their servants. The proposal was, instead of having a huge general dormitory, to convert a loft into apartments for the accommodation of two men each. When the matter was submitted to the Duke of llichmond, he not only signified his approval of the arrange- ment, but suggested that die bedrooms should be constructed for a single occupant, to accomplish which he would give the necessary material required for the alteration. Mr. Grant and Mr. Bruce adopted the suggestion, which has been at- tended with the best results, and affords a very good model for accommodating a large number of servants. On Drum- delgie there are ten of these sleeping apartments, each ten feet by seven-and-a-half feet, and lighted by windows in the roof. Each room is furnished with a bed, a table and chair, clothes-pins, &c, and has ample room for the servant's be- longings. At the end of the row of rooms, one apartment is fitted up with wash-hand basins, and water is introduced. The servants have their meals in a general kitchen. Their bedrooms are cleaned, and aired during the day ; and in the evening the men may either remain together in the kitchen or retire to their own apartments, where they have complete pri- vacy.— Banffshire Journal. A NEW METHOD OF BREAD-MAKING.—" Baron Liebig has just made some important researches on a new me- thod of brer d-making. He remarks on the stationary character of this art, which remains to the present day much in the state in which it was thousands of years ago. He dwells upon the sanitary importance of the mineral constituents of gram, and the necessity of a sufficiently abundant supply of them iu bread. These are best found in certain kinds of black and brown bread, which are, therefore, more wholesome than the while bread that is nevertheless preferred by most people (especially by the lower orders) on account of its better appearance and superior palatablenesss. The problem has hence arisen, how to provide a beautiful white bread which shall contain all) he essential mineral constituents of black bread. These mineral constituents (phosphate of potash, lime, magnesia, and iron) are introduced into the bread by the use of the baking-powder invented by Professor Horsford, of Cambridge, in North Ame- rica. This baking-powder consists of two powders, the one acid, the other alkaline. The acid powder is phosphoric acid in combination with lime and magnesia ; the alkaline powder is bicarbonate of soda. Two measures, made of tinned iron, the larger one for the acid powder, and the smaller one for the alkali, are employed. When bread is required to be made, everj pound of flour is mixed with a measure of the acid powder and a measure of the alkali powder, and sufficient water added to make dough, which is presently made into loaves and baked. In one aud a-half to two hours bread may be made by this process. The chemical change which takes place will be easily intelligible ; carbonic acid is generated, and phosphate of the alkali is formed at the same time. The essential feature in Horsford's invention is the economical getting of phosphoric acid in the shape of a dry white powder. This is done by taking bones, burniug them, aud then treating the well-burnt bone-earth (which consists of phosphate of lime and magnesia) with a certain quantity of sulphuric acid, so as to remove two- 440 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. thirds of the lime, and leave a soluble superphosphate of lime. The sulphate of lime which results from the action of the sul- phuric acid is separated from the rest by nitration and the so- lution subsequently concentrated by evaporation, and when it becomes very concentrated, mixed with a certain quantity of flour, and dried up. The mixture of flour with the jsuperphos- phate admits of being reduced to the finest powder, and con- stitutes the acid powder just referred to. It will be observed that the alkali-powder contains soda, whereas potash is required in order to furnish the right kind of mineral salts. Liebig pro- poses to rectify this defect by using a certain quantity of chlo'- ride of potassium along with the alkali. Chloride of potassium is now tolerably cheap, owing to the finding of immense quan- tities of it at Strassfurt. Baron Liebig, in order, as he says, to avoid being bothered, has appointed Herr Ziramer, of Man- heim, and Herr Marquart, of Bonn, his agents for his new baking-powder, and those interested may, if they like, get it from them."— British Medical Journal, THE POTATO TRADE IN FRANCE. We believe that the French people were the last nation in Europe who adopted the potato as a common article of food. It had been introduced to their notice so early as the year 1588 by L'Eclure of Arras, and four years after by Gasparin Bauhin, by whose efforts it was adopted in Switzerland, Suabia, in the neighbourhood of Lyons, the Vosgian mountains, &c. But such was the prejudice excited against it, that it made no progress in France. A report was raised that it caused the leprosy, and that as belonging to the Solatium family of plants it contained the most active of all poisons, the question there- fore of its cultivation was set at rest, and remained in abey- ance for upwards of a century. In 1713 an attempt was made by some of the landed proprietors to cultivate it on a large scale ; but whether the prejudice still operated, or some un- known cause intervened, is not ascertained : the attempt proved unsuccessful, although the peasants of the Appenines had long substituted it for rye or wheaten bread, and other countries of Europe employed it in fattening cattle. It remained thus unknown generally in France until about the year 1780, when a cultivator of the name of Parmentier, being convinced, from observation in other countries, of the absurdity of the preju- dice against the plant, resolved at all hazards to make an effort to promote its cultivation in his native country. He obtained land on the plains of the Sablon and Grenoble, and planted them with the potato on a very extended scale. A clamour was raised against him, and he was compelled to obtain a guard of soldiers to protect the fields by day ; but the guard being withdrawn at night, the tubers were stolen by the pea- sants, who very soon began to change their opinions respecting it. His efforts therefore were crowned with success ; for not- withstanding the pilfering drawback, the sixty acres he planted without any manure, the root being new to the soil, yielded a large return of tubers, which from that time rose in the public estimation and consumption. In 1785, when a partial famine prevailed in France, in consequence of a failure of the crops of wheat and rye, the potato was found an excellent substitute, so far as it was cultivated ; and " in the years 1795, 1806, and 1817," says a writer in the Dictionnaire, " it saved France from the horrors of famine, and has now taken its position amongst the most healthful, palatable, and certain aliments for both rich and poor," and such it has remained ever since ; and, as we shall presently show, not only are the French people themselves plentifully supplied with it, but large quantities are now exported to England and other Eu- ropean states, and some are sent even to the United States of America. Although the tuber was first introduced as an article of food to the French people by D'Eon de Celly, Bishop of Apt in the South of France, Parmentier, who per- severed so long and so successfully in its cultivation in the face of an opposition powerful enough to daunt any man of common calibre of mind, must ever be considered as a public benefactor to the French nation. It is one of the valuable characteristics of the potato, that it will grow and flourish where cereal plants cannot be culti- vated successfully. In Iceland, for instance, where the climate is so severe and the summers so short that even barley cannot be grown to maturity, the potato yields abundant crops. In Norway the tubers are reduced to a pulp, and then mixed with flour for making bread. In India, notwithstanding the heat of the climate, it is fast taking the place of rice in the support b— and, I may add, the estimation— of the people, who find it more supporting than rice, which has hitherto been the almost exclusive food of the lower classes. The progress this root has made in the agricultural economy of France is very great. In the year 1815 its cultivation extended to 560,000 hectares, or 1,382,500 acres, which produced 21,597,945 hectolitres, or 1,856,883 tons. In 1840 it had reached 100,000,000 hec- tolitres, or 8,597,500 tons. Soon after this the potato disease intervened to check the cultivation, and it fell off materially for some years. In 1857 the French cultivators, finding that the disease had become modified in its extent and effects, re- sumed its cultivation ; and in 1867 the oroduct had readied 150,000,000 hectolitres, or 12,896,250 tons, while the breadth of laud occupied by it was 1,400,000 hectares, or 3,851,680 acres. Of this large quantity there have been exported 115,727,313 kilogrammes, or 113,660 tons, distributed as follows : Kilos. Tons. England 66,735,084 65,543 Belgium 27,725,467 27,230 Switzerland 2,446,951 2,403 Algeria 6,433,055 6,318 Other countries 12,386,756 12,165 Fractions 1 115,727,313 113,660 Marseilles has taken the lead in the export trade. In 1857 the quantity exported from that port was only 1,759,996 kilo- grammes, or 1,729 tons; in 1868 the exports from thence amounted to 10,850,644 kilos., or 10,657 tons. They were distributed as follows: Kilos. Tons. Algeria 6,311,035 6,198 Turkey 1,376,326 1,351 Egypt 1,252,195 1,229 Spain . Greece Italy Malta and Gibraltar . Rio de la Plata United States Russia — Black Sea . West Coast of Africa. Roman States Other countries 517,118 507 344,202 338 280,930 275 163,716 160 252,579 247 66,815 65 59,870 58 53,900 52 40,^05 32 131,656 129 10,850,644 10,648 Fractions 9 10,657 The account from which the foregoing particulars are taken wind up their remarks by observing that " it is evident that during these last seasons of deficient harvests, not only has the potato rendered essential service to the populations of the interior of the country, but it has become an important object of commerce, which must be advantageous to the na- tional agriculture." We add, that the value of the exports of potatoes in 1867 was 5,780,448 francs, or nearly £231,258 sterling. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 441 THE BEET SUGAR QUESTION. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — " An Agricultural Traveller" asks, " How is it possible that beet sugar can stand the competition with that from the cane in the West India colonies and other tropical countries ?" One would have supposed that the fact of the enormous extension of the manufacture in all the coun- tries of the Continent — especially in France, where, after in the first instance, it was encouraged by a heavy differential duty on colonial sugar, that duty has been gradually reduced until they both stand in that respect on a par. However, having gone on a previous occasion rather closely into this subject, and as it is now exciting a good deal of attention in this country, I will, with your leave, endeavour to show that not only can sugar of superior quality be made from the beet in Europe, but that in point of cheapness it can compete suc- cessfully with any of the tropical countries, whether in the West Idines or in the East. To begin, then, at the beginning, I would observe that, al- though the sugar-cane contains 18 per cent, of saccharine matter, it is impossible to extract more than half that quantity, for the following reasons. First, a portion of it is ripe sugar in a granulated state, which no pressure can extract ; and se- condly, that the cane itself is of so solid and stubborn a na- ture that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to apply an equal pressure to it, so as that every part is acted upon by the upright presses that are used. Consequently a large propor- tion of the saccharine is always left in the megass or refuse, which is invariably burnt as the cheapest fuel that can be used in the manufacture. Formerly the machinery and processes employed by the West India planters were of a very inefficient character, but improvements have been forced upon them by the beet sugar competition, and they now obtain as mucli sugar generally as the European manufacturers. Five or six per cent, used to be about the maximum ; but I believe that some of the planters now obtain as much as what I have stated, namely, 9 per cent, of sugar and molasses. The impossibility of reducing the cane to anything like the pulpy state of the beet-root necessarily prevents a larger extraction. In the next place, the labour-question is a very serious one in the colonies. Not only is that article generally dear, but the necessity of employing a double staff at crop time, to be able to cut and press the cane while it is in the best state, and to boil the juice at once, in order to prevent its becoming acid, increases the expense of the manufacture ; and such is the condition of the West Indies since the abolition of slavery that all the efforts of the planters have failed to obtain them a supply of labour that is cheap, and at the same time, efficient. If the caue is allowed to get too ripe — which it soon does in those hot climates — the saccharine hardens, and cannot be ex- tracted by the press. And if the juice is not boiled down as soon as it is expressed, it turns acid, and will not then crys- tallise. The planter, therefore, has to pay high ^for labour during crop time ; at the close of which the average cost of all the West Indian produce of sugar is stated at 21s. 3d. per cwt. To this we must add the freight to Europe, £4 per ton, and brokerage, insurance, landing, &c, £3 per ton, which makes the cost 28s. 3d. per cwt. Then there is a loss of 15 per cent, on sugar and 20 per cent, on molasses, by drainage on the voyage, with now and then the fermenting and bursting of a cask in the hold, all which waste gets mixed with the hilge-water, and is pumped overboard : and this loss is largely increased if the sugar, &c, remains long in the warehouses. Taking all these losses into account, and adding them to the first cost, I shall not be far from the mark by estimating the entire at 31s. per cwt. Add to this the time occupied in the voyage to Europe, and the many casualties to which a cargo of sugar is liable that cannot be covered by an insurance policy, and it is not difficult to account for the general poverty of the West India planters. Let us now compare the charges upon beet sugar with those on the cane sugar. In the first place the manufacture is con- ducted at the very seat of the consumption, so that, if sold at home, the expense of freight, insurance, &c, is not incurred. Nor is the haste with which the cane sugar must be manipu- lated necessary. The beetroot being taken up, may be stored, and the manufacture extended over four or five months, and that at a period when other agricultural work is slack ; so that field labour is not interfered with, and plenty of hands can be obtained at a reasonable price. Then the beetroot, al- though it contains not more than from 12 to 14 per cent, of saccharine, by being reduced to a pulp will yield quite as much as the cane, being amenable to the hydraulic press, which leaves but little of the saccharine matter in the megass. The average product of sugar is one ton to fifteen tons of roots. If we estimate these at 18s. per ton, which is a high average, the cost of the sugar in the raw material will be 13s. 4d. per cwt., or £13 6s. 8d. per ton. To this must be added labour and other expenses of manufacture, say £9 per ton ; insurance, brokerage, &c, 40s. per ton. This brings the average cost at the factory to £24 10s. per ton, or 24s. 6d. per cwt., in round numbers. The estimate of one ton of sugar to 15 tons of beet- root, allows not quite seven per cent, of produce. I believe that this is rather below the present rate at the Continental factories, great improvements having been made both in the cultivation of the root so as to increase the production of sac- charine, and in the more effectual extraction and manipula- tion of the juice. In France most of the sugar produced is refined, and made from the juide direct instead of from the raw sugar, as was formerly the practice. So much is the manufacture expedited by the improved methods, that the juice expressed in the morning may be converted into refined or loaf sugar in a few hours. With regard to the duty, your correspondent is under a mis- take in stating it at 14s., being now the same as colonial sugar, namely, from 6s. to 10s. 6d. per cwt., according to quality. In France it is 42f. per 100 kilos. (2201bs.) or 16s. 8d. per cwt. Yours, &c, An Old Norfolk Farmer. March 20/h, 1869. DEATH OF THE EARL OF RADNOR.— The decease of this venerable nobleman took place on Friday, April 9, at his seat at Coleshill, near Highworth, in Berkshire. The late Earl was born in 1779, and was, consequently, in his ninetieth year. He succeeded to the title in 1828. His first wife, whom he married in 1800, was Lady Catherine Phelham Clinton, only daughter of Henry, Earl of Lincoln, who died four years after. By this marriage the Earl of Radnor had one daugh- ter Catherine, born in 1801. His lordship's second wife (1814) was Judith Anne, second daughter of Sir Henry Paulet St. John Mildmay, who died in 1857. By this marriage there were two sons and two daughters. The deceased peer is suc- ceeded by his eldest son, Jacob, Viscount Folkestone, who was born in 1815, and who is married to Lady Mary Grim- stone, daughter of "the first Earl of Verulam. Lord Radnor was a distinguished agriculturist, and famous alike for his Shorthorn cattle, Southdown sheep, and white pigs. Only the year before last he took the Smithfield Club Cup for the best cow or heifer, and another cup for the best pen of pigs. The home estate under the direction of the active agent, Mr. More, is quite a model of good farming, while the schools and cottages about Coleshill speak equally to the care of the la- bourer. The present Earl has evinced no great taste for agri- culture, although very fond of rural sports. 442 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE SHEEP SHEARING PROTESTS. The great advertisement of agriculture is still the national meeting in July. Whether we be implement manufacturers, Shorlhorn fanciers, or ram-breeders, ex- hibitors or visitors, buyers or sellers, there is no other such au occasion for learning a lesson or making an im- pression. A man may not perhaps purchase the prize bull right off, there and then, nor so instantaneously adopt the disinterested suggestion of some zealous agent as to his providing himself with a set of steam-tackle ; but the good fruit follows hereafter, and the lloyal show, be it remembered, is in the best sense of the phrase something of a world's fair. They are not neigh- bours only, who come to suit themselves, but mingled with the crowd are foreigners " in commission," cousins from the Colonies, and more distant relatives from the States. To such the prize-list is simply a guide-book ; they rely alike upon its integrity and authority ; and if we wish to do justice to ourselves we must continue to look very jealously to the foundation upon which this annual decla- ration is disseminated. The temptation is, of course, something in proportion to the eminence to be achieved, and from time to time abuses have sprung up that it may be a matter of some difficulty to amend, but which still must be resolutely encountered. Amongst the latest of these scandals is the fashion of showing a sheep. He is now so trimmed and tricked out, that a dowager Duchess without her teeth, her wig, her bust, or her bustle coidd be in not much worse case than a Shropshire ram, or an " other long-wool" who has been deprived of the services of his valet and hair-dresser. So crying an evil had this gradu- ally become that the Council felt called upon to interfere. We need go back no further than to Worcester in 1863 to prove how greatly some amendment in the system was required. Never were the Shropshire sheen so badly judged as at that meeting, and ucver previously had there been more discreditable or alas ! more successful efforts to deceive the judges. The condition of many of the uewr variety of Oxford Downs, again, was really infamous, from, as we wrote at the time, " the shameful way in which many of the sheep were exhibited ; the abuse being heightened by some of the worst cases winning the best prizes." Of course nothing could possibly tend to put the Royal Agricultural Society of England iuto worse repute than such a state of things as this, and some sort of a remedy became an absolute necessity. Sheep-shearing inspectors were accordingly appointed on the same principle as veterinary inspectors ; their busi- ness being to see that the animals entered were in a proper state to come before the judges ; that present appearances warranted the conclusion that they had been fairly shorn at the time appointed, and that the symmetry of a sheep was not made to depeud altogether on the cut of his coat. And, naturally euough, sundry disqualifications have followed. It is difficult for people to get all at once out of a bad habit, or until, may be, they have suffered some- thiug for iudulgiug in such tricks. There can, however, be no question but that the regulation has had generally a wholesome effect, as that a prize sheep has now a character far better " warranted" than before this plan of inspection was originated. In its action, moreover, it is very noticeable that three kinds or breeds have been tabooed as the chief offenders. Thus at Leicester in one class almost every other entry of Shropshire rams was tbvowu out ; the Oxfords have also endured martyrdom, while many of the leading (lock-masters ou the Cotswolds have been very shy of exhibiting since so trying an ordeal was established. On the other hand we rarely hear of a Southdown or Leicester being condemned, and hence we come to conclude that these mal-practices must be mainly confined if not to certain districts, at least to certain varieties. The experiment, however, would still seem not to have been successful, for at the last Council Meeting of the Royal Society a memorial was put in which went to say that " the means at present adopted of inspecting the wool, and disqualifying sheep, by private parties, whose names are not published as inspectors, are most objection- able, as being at variance with the rules of the Society, subversive of the privileges aud power that should alone be exercised by the judges, and a system which fails fairly to prevent the evil it is intended to remedy." This argu- ment in the outset is not altogether correct, for so far from the sheep-shearing inspectors being private parties whose names are not published, we can only say that we published their names with the list of judges on the Mon- day of the Leicester Meeting, which had only opened on the Thursday, so that the secret could not have been very well kept. The sheep inspectors at the Royal Show of 1868 were Mr. II. Bone, of Ringwood, Hants, and Mr. J. II. Workman, of Rydon, Worcester. Then, again, " this power of inspection should aloue be exercised by the judges," but what have the judges themselves to say to this somewhat ar- bitrary declaration ? For our own part, we cannot see any reason against sheep being inspected more than we can against horses being examined, and so re- lieving the judges of a duty which we must maintain is not fairly within their province. In any case, before this memorial be acted upon, let the opinions of the judges of all sorts of sheep for the last few years be obtained, aud then the Council will have something to go on. We are the more induced to suggest this course from finding that this said memorial emanated from certain Shropshire breeders, to whom no doubt " the present means " must be "most objectionable," remembering how many of these sheep were cast at Leicester. Still it is right to say the movement has been taken up in other parts : on the Cotswolds, in Oxfordshire, and by some of the Norfolk breeders. Indeed in Norfolk they have got up a memorial of their own which represents that " the present regulations for the inspection of sheep have utterly failed;" aud that it being quite impossible to carry out any regulation for having sheep shorn bare in April, "they earnestly urge upon the Council the ad- visability of abolishing all restrictions whatever on the shearing of sheep." The weak point of this argument we have already dwelt upon. The means may be "most objectionable" and the regulations may have "utterly failed ;" but we gather so much on the authority only of certain breeders of Shropshires, Oxfords, and Cotswolds — the very sorts of sheep to whom the plan of inspec- tion has been most obnoxious. We should be yet very loath to say that these breeds cannot afford to show barely shorn ; but we may give the opinion of a most eminent breeder of one of these suffering races, who has assured us, since these memorials have been put about, that it is impossible for any man who has his sheep fairly shorn to exhibit with much chance of success, unless some strong check be maintained against this undeniable abuse. THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. 443 There may be a martyr occasionally, but in publishing the petition it would be as well to give the names of all who have signed it. There were Shropshircs at Worces- ter, with wool of two or three years' growth about them, and the Shropshire men themselves turned their backs upon tbe awards in disgust. The duties of judges are onerous enough already, without saddling them with this further responsibility — unless in- deed they wish for it ; but this, we repeat, it would be as well to ascertain. It is almost idle to urge that be- cause a mistake may occasionally have occurred we should open the door again to trickery and deceit — practices which must in the end tell against the breeders themselves as equally against the fair fame of our national Agricul- tural Society. Any mistake, as it strikes us, has been made the most of ; but the greatest mistake we can fall into is to attempt to pass off a fluffy, foully-smeared handful of emptiness as a prize leg of mutton ! SUMMER GRAZING. BY' A PRACTICAL FARMER. As the season comes round, it is by no means out of place to revert to this subject. The past winter has been almost unexampled for its mildness and dry character. The pas- tures aud turnips continued to grow throughout, and many fields sown after the early harvest produced truly useful crops ; some were really good average crops of excellent quality. This has had a great influence upon the price of farm stock, particularly sheep. In the autumn no one knew what to do with them ; they were positively unsale- able. Fiue healthy lambs, seven months old, might be purchased at from 10s. to 12s. each, which are now worth 443. to 4Ss. each. Cattle did not so fully partake of this depression, as the straw and other foods were not so scarce as turnips, &c. The late cold weather has, how- ever, greatly retarded their sale for summer grazing. Sheep have been brought forward in large numbers, and, considering the paucity of keeping throughout the summer and the early winter, are shown in fair average condition. Prices are no doubt in favour of the grazier, and if nothing unforeseen occurs he may fairly anticipate a profitable summer. The scab in sheep was never more general in some districts thau of late, probably owing to the favourable winter for the breeding and propaga- tion of the insect Acarl, which produces the scab. Surely, the stringent measures about to be enforced will in a great degree eradicate the cause, and free us from this old and tiresome pest. I have said that a profitable grazing summer may be anticipated. The first cause, or hope, of this arises from the ability of graziers to lay in their grazing lands, owing to the prolonged feeding or holding out of the turnip crop. All good grazing lands ought to be devoid of stock from about Candlemas to the time of stocking. It gives time for all the various grasses of which a pasture is composed to put forth their early spring shoots, aud that without tramp- ling, or being nipped off in their earlier stages of growth, which at this season is of far higher importance than is generally supposed. In the summer this cropping off is of very little consequence — it is soon remedied ; but in the early aud probably cold spring it very materially retards the progress of the young grasses. It is then that every grass plant is preparing its tillers, or side- shoots, which so thickens the pasturage aud improves the herbage in no slight degree. Otherwise, the strong coarse growing grasses obtain precedence, and the pasture throughout the summer consists mainly of these coarser grasses, instead of the profitable intermingling of all, which adds much to the nutritive value of the whole. Cattle grazing can only be profitably carried out upon the best grazing lands without artificial aids. On these lands they will thrive satisfactorily upon grass alone. The grazing of store cattle, cows, young cattle, and calves, I shall uot especially allude tn, more than to say that everv grazier will promote his best interests by his continuous and persevering attention to keep them in thriving con- dition. Calves, in real truth, ought not to be field- grazed at all : they ought to be kept in cool, shadv hovels or byres, and have their food brought to them as required. Sheep grazing is if possible of greater interest and im- portance than cattle grazing. The grazier has two chances of profit from sheep, in the production of wool and mutton. It is to his interest to attempt to promote the growth of the wool and at the same time to cause the sheep to make mutton. In order to the production and improvement of wool the sheep must be kept clean and free from any cutaneous affection ; for this purpose every sheep should either be dipped or dressed with mercu- rial ointment annually, to clean the skin from ticks or any struggling acari or red lice. This cleanliness tends greatly to the well-doing of the sheep, and the more artificial food and satisfactory grazing the sheep re- ceives the more it adds value and weight to the wool. The modern system of grazing, or rather fattening sheep for market is one of the greatest improvements in modern agriculture ; it has added wonderfully to the nation's wealth and sustenance. Within the writer's memory, and taking his immediate district, it was not customary to fatten sheep at a less age than from 36 to 42 months, consequently they were grazed three years. The wool just about paid for the grazing, and the sheep attained considerable weights, but the numbers got off to market was less by four-fifths thau at the present time. Then from three to five sheep was considered a " good stock- ing" per acre, the same sheep being grazed for three years ; now it is customary to " put on" from eight to sixteen sheep of sixteen months per acre, aud these are annually fatted off, so that in fact about 36 sheep are now fatted where formerly only from seven to nine were quitted. The wool, being hogget wool, is of equal value per fleece with the fleeces of the big old sheep of former days, and the size attained by the young modern sheep may well nigh compete with the three-years old of former days. The course pursued by modern sheep-graziers consists of careful selection of the forwardest animals for the best sheep pastures, where they are liberally supplied with other food. As they become well fatted they are sent to market and others are selected to succeed them. The prices obtained for these young sheep are much higher in proportion to the heavy sheep of former days, and the quality of their mutton superior. The compara- tive weights would be as from 201bs. to 261bs. per quar- ter, to 301ba. to 351bs. per quarter for the large or old sheep . II II 444 THE FABMEB'S MAGAZINE. THE BOYAL DUBLIN SOCIETY. THE SPRING SHOW. The Dublin Society, according to its charter, was the guiding star in all agricultural improvements from its commencement in 1731 till 1800, when the Irish Farming Society was established, under the patronage of the Dublin Society ; and the latter handed over its trust to the former, which at once went vigorously to work, en- couraged the manufacture of improved implements and machinery, introduced the most improved breeds of cattle, sheep, and pigs, and held annual shows in Ballinasloe and Smithtield, Dublin, till 1828, when the government of that day lopped on" the annual grant, and the Farming Society died out. Its dissolution was found so inimical to the farming interests of Ireland that the Royal Dublin Society, on the suggestion of the then Marquis of Down- shire, resolved to resume its functions, and hold annual shows of breeding stock in the spring of each year ; and in 1831, three years after the breaking-up of the Irish Farming Society, it held its first show ; since wheu, it has flourished beyond expectations, and become one of the most valuable institutions of the country. The fact of its being a great mart for the sale of Shorthorns at- tracted the attention of some of the best breeders in England and Scotland, who exhibited year after year many of their best Shorthorns, as well as sheep and pigs, for which they got a ready sale at remuneraive prices. On Tuesday, April 13, and the three following days, the Royal Society accordingly held its thirty-ninth spring show of breeding cattle, at Leiustcr House, Kildare-street. The judges in the several classes commenced their duties at seven o'clock on the opening morning ; and, after the awards were completed, the public were admitted. During the afternoon, the Viceregal party and suite accompanied H.R.H. Prince Arthur to the show, where they were enthusiastically received. The show of Shorthorns was a very good one, as the spring shows of the Royal Dublin Society have been in this respect for several years past ; but this is considered to far exceed any of the previous meetings for merit. The first section contained no less than 124 yearling bulls, which were of such general excellence that the judges commended the whole class, as well as selecting eight for high commendations. After a very considerable time spent in examination, Mr. Bolton, The Island, near Gorey, was awarded the first honours for Woodsman, by Grey Gauntlet (19908), who has the broadest and most level back from end to end that we have ever seen for an animal of his age, a good head, broad and full chest, capital crops, well sprung ribs, with his outline very sym- metrical throughout. The second place fell to Mr. J. E. Smith, of Islanmore, Limerick, for Governor, by Lictor (24333), a fine dark roan, well topped, with good crops, ribs, and ends, and of excellent quality. Thenext in point of merit was Mr. Barnes' red Abercorn, by Royal Duke (25014), a level, upstanding bull, with capital hair, well ribbed, good back, and very thrifty-looking. Mr. Smith, the owner of the second prize in this section, comes in as fourth on the list for Sol, also by Lictor, a very sub- stantial bull, with good shapes, and that promise to rival hereafter the second prize, Governor. The high com- mendations were Major Barton's Flag of Straffan, Mr. Chaloner's Prince Charlie, Mr. Meadows' Colonel Frank, Mr. Drummond Dunlop's Ajax, Mr. Archdall's Belmore, Sir R. Paul's Masthead, Mr. Lambart's The King, and Mr. Bolton's William Gladstone. There were 26 entries in the section for two-year-old bulls, Mr. Meadows, Thornville, Wexford, leading off with Charlie, the prize yearling, at the Londonderry Royal last year, by First Fiddle (19749), a good red in colour, as well as very stylish (as all Mr. Meadows' Short- horns arc), with capital crops, great substance, excellent hair, and quality. Mr. Moff'ett, of Beslyhyland, came in for second honours, with Wide Awake by White Chief- tain (21096), a roan of great substance, good action, and altogether a very taking animal ; while the third place fell to Mr. M. H. Franks, Westfield, for Lord-Lieutenant, from the Wilstead, or Ballywater herd, and a very smart level bull, with line over and under lines, good ends, flank, and middle, as of superior quality, and good pro- mise. Mr. Archdall, Crocknacrieve, takes the high commendation for The General by Prince of Ling (22617), a very serviceable bull. In the section for bulls of any age over two, there were 22 entries, and here Mr. Chaloner heads the list of winners with his famous bull Sovereign by Royal Sovereign (22802) ; who also takes both the Towneley 150-guiuea Plate and the Railway 150-guinea Cup, as the best of all. And a splendid specimen of a Shorthorn he is, with a fine head, crest, crops, and back, well-sprung ribs, level throughout, and of remarka- bly good quality. Sovereign commenced his career as a yearling, at the Royal Dublin, in 1867, when he took the first place in his class, and the Towneley 150-guinea Challenge Plate, as the best animal in the yard, of any breed, sex, or age ; he was first also last year at the Dublin Spring Meeting, Lady Pigot's Charles le Bean taking the Towneley Plate from him; although he won the Railway Cup , as the best bull over two, and under five years old, so that he is now the winner of the Towne- ley Plate twice, but not in succession, and the winner of the Railway Cup twice'in succession. Unexpectedly, but we think justly, Mr. Cosby, of Stradbally Hall, Queen's Couuty, comes in second, with Ravenswood, which was second as a calf at the Kilkenny Royal, in 1863 ; first, and Gauly Cup, at the Royal Dublin Spring Meeting, in 1864, second at the same anuual meeting, in 1865; se- cond at the Irish Royal, held in Dublin, in 1866; first at the Dublin Spring Meeting, in 1867 ; and now again, second. He is six years old, and still a fine servicable bull ; while Major Hamilton, Brown Hall, is placed third for Lord Francis by Duke of Montrose (21599), an up- standing bull, of much quality, but although often shown, he was never placed before, and he must be a good one when he takes precedence oi Mr. Smith's Lictor, the winner previously of several first prizes, and an animal of great depth, quality and usefulness. Of yearling Shorthorn heifers there were 13 entries, and that these were of prime quality may be in- ferred from their coming from the herds of such famous breeders as Mr. Jones, Mullinsbro' ; Mr. Cosby, Stradbally Hall; Earl Fitzwilliam, Coollatin Park ; Sir R. Paul, Ballygtan ; G. Lambart, Bean Park; Mr. Bolton, The Island; Mr. J. G. Grove, Castlegrove ; Mr. Meadows, Thornville ; and Lady Pigot, Branches Park. Mr. Meadows came in first for Fanny the Twenty-fifth, by Agamemnon (23278), a gem of the purest water, of great substance, very broad and level, with a sweet head, a beautiful bosom, and excel- lent hair and touch, Mr, Cosby is a capital second with THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 445 Kate the Fifth, hy Reveller, a sweet neat heifer of much promise : while the third was Sir Roht. Paul's Olivia, by the prize bull Doctor Collins, possessing much sweetness and symmetry, and a broad and level back, with fine ribs and euds. Mr. Cosby has also the fourth place with another of the Kate tribe ; and a high commenda- tion goes to Lady Pigot for Victoria Quinta, by Ravens- hope (22681), a very sweet heifer of line quality. The excelleuce of the lot she had to contend against, with all her tine points, is a sufficient proof of the value of the stock to be found now in Ireland. Again, his Excel- lency the Lord Lieutenant had over two or three young things from his herd at Althorp, but these made no mark. A simple commendation fell to the lot of Mr. Jones's Harmony, by Lord Nelson (22178). In the two-year-old section there were six entries, Mr. Bolton's white heifer, Woodbine the Fifth, most deservedly comes in first, as she is a grand heifer with a splendid bosom, and a good back, is well ribbed up, and is ot very superior quality. The second is Sir Robert Paul's Bonny Lass. She presents a very symmetrical profile, with capital ends and middle, and handles kindly. Of three-year-old heifers there were five entries, Mr. J. G. Grove, Castlegrove, one of the best breeders in the country, taking the lead with his grand Chemisette, un- questionably the queen of the show-yard. Chemisette, by British Crown, was the prize two-year-old heifer at the Londonderry Royal last year, and her dam, Ciboulette, the prize cow at the same meeting, so that Chemisette still holds her own, and is likely to be a formidable com- petitor against all comers, for she is good at most points, of great substance, and fine quality ; and it is said Mr. Grove has refused £500 for her. Mr. James Smith, Little Moyle, Carlow, was second with Miss Matilda, who occupied the same position at the spring meeting last year ; a heifer of fine proportions, with substance and quality, and likely to produce, if suitably mated, some stock that will do great credit to her owner, a tenant farmer. As is the geueral rule, the Herefords are not brought for- ward at Irish shows in any numbers or strength. This is to be regretted, for their size, substance, and use, would render them an acquisition on the rich pastures of Ireland, as well as iu the stalls. At the show, now under review, the prizes offered for bulls are but silver medals, with a money prize to be competed for by the three sections, backed by silver medals for heifers, and a money prize for a cow. It is thus scarcely to be wondered at if the Herefords main- tain but a poor front in Ireland ; and that but few have the pluck to exhibit any of them at Irish shows. Never- theless, there are one or two breeders who do still exhibit them from time to time. At this meeting, Mr. Pollock, Mountainstown, Meath, had a yearliug bull ; Mr. Kearney, Milltown House, same couuty, a two-year-old bull, both getting medals ; while there were three aged bulls, Mr. Kearney getting the medal ; with two yearling heifers, Mr Tuile's Sonna taking the medal, and Mr Kearney had a two-year-old heifer and two cows which, as a matter of course, received the honours of their classes. The polled Angus, a most useful and thrifty breed on light and high land, were also few from a like cause. Mr. "W. Owen, Blesinton, who well knows their value, takes all the honours but that for two-year-old heifers, which went to Sir J. S. Robinson. Che Devons, which were wont to form such an important class at former shows, have dwindled down to a single yearling bull. Of native breeds of neat cattle, it may be said there are none iu Ireland now, saving the Kerries, Shorthorns and their crosses having takeu possession of the soil and the energies of the Irish farmer. It is within the range of possibility that the Kerry will soon follow, as the best of them are annually drafted off to England as fancy stock, Still, they put in a respectable appearance at the spring meetings; and at this show there were five bulls and twenty-five cows and heifers, Mr. D. Bayley taking the prize for bulls, and Mr. James Brady those for heifers and cows. The Ayrshires have disappeared altogether, though they are numerous in the dairy districts of Ire- land ; but farmers will not incur the expense of showing them for a chance medal. There were few good Alder- neys, but chiefly entered by residents iu the vicinity of Dublin. Of fat cattle there were about forty-two ; and, as might be expected at this season, they were in prime con- dition. Seven pens contained all the fat sheep, which were also of prime quality. The show of breeding pigs was but small, iu comparison to those at former shows ; although the few exhibited were well bred. The show of poultry in all their best varieties, fancy fowls, and pigeons was larger by far than usual, number- ing nearly 300 pens ; but the Hon. Miss Pennant, Penryn Castle, was the only exhibitor who had the courage to cross over from England. JUDGES. Shorthorns. E. Bowley, Siddington, Cirencester. G. Drewry, Hclker Hall, Newton-in-Cartmel. A. Mitchell, Alloa, N.B. Mixed Breeds. J. Borthwick, Prospect, Carrickfergns. G. Hewson, Listowell. T. Rogers, Coxall, Brampton Bryan, Hereford. Fat Stock. H. Green, Court Hill, Dunboyne. II. Shepard, Oatlands, Wicklow. W. Wilson, Liverpool. Fat Sheep. D. Kerr, Edenderry. G. Purdon, Lisnabin. Breeding a xd Fat Pigs. N. M. Archdall, Euniskillen. J. Borthwick, Carrickfergus. A. Warburton, Kill, Naas. Poultrt. A. Comyns, Glenageary, Kingstown. E. Hewitt, Eden Cottage, Birmingham. W. G. Merry, Blesinton. The sales were numerous, and averaged, it is said> good prices, but these are rarely made public. Of the yearling bulls, Mr. Bolton sold his first prize bull, Woods- man, for 150 guineas, to Mr. A. Bole, Park-place, Long- ford ; Mr. E. J. Smith, the second prize bull, Governor, to the Rev. Mr. Moutray, Favour Royal, for 100 gs.; and his fourth prize, Sol, to Mr. Walton, Limerick, for 80 gs. Mr. Low, Kilshane, Tipperary, sold Nicholas, to Mr. D'Esterre, Limerick; Mr. Meadows, Thornvill, Wex- ford, sold Chasseur to Mr. Naper, Laughcrew ; his General Frank, to Mr. Baldwin, principal of the National Model Farm, Glassuevin ; and his highly-commended bull, Colonel Frank, to Mr. Cosby, Stradbally Hall; Mr. Drummond Dunlop, his highly-commended bull, Ajax, to the Earl of Erne, Crom Castle ; and Mr. Grove, Castle Grove, sold Chief Justice to Earl Fitzwilliam. Amongst two-year-old Bulls, Mr. Bilton sold Woodranger, the third prize bull, to the Hon. H. Massey ; Mr. Reynell, Killu- can, The Knight of Kildare, to Lord Clonbrock ; Mr. Franks, Mocantreth, Lord Lieutenant, to the Duke of Manchester ; Earl Fitzwilliam, Ivanhoe, to Mr. Lee Nor- man ; Mr. Moffett, his second prize bull, Wide Awake, to Mr. Mullany, Boyle ; and Major Hamilton, the third prize in the aged bull section, Lord Francis, to the Hon. King Harman. The sales did not close till late on Friday evening, and it was quite impossible to obtain more names of buyers so late j but since then it appears that Mr, H H 2 446 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Cooke sold Knight to Colonel Bunbury, and Hoods- grove, to Sir A. E. Bellingham. Amongst the buyers are the names of Lord Gough, Lord Caledon, Sir James Power, and Colonel llaleigh, Chichester. About 130 breeding besides fat stock animals changed hand through the firm of Ganly and Co., and Mr. Gavin Law, and other salemasters were very busy. Fat beef bought by the Dublin and Belfast butchers and exporters brought 70s. to 80s. percwt., and fat sheep went up to £4 10s. a head. The show of implements and machines was a very good one ; but owing to the appropriation of Leinster Lawn as a pleasure-ground, the range of this department was and will be henceforth more limited. There is now no room to show the machinery in action ; and, as a ne- cessary consequence, the show was separated, and occupied three distinct localities : First, in the Shelburn yard, now covered in with a glass roof; second, in the Court yard, in front of Leinster House ; and third, on premises called " Clare-lane." Still, many English and Scotch manufacturing houses, in spite of such difficulties, put in an appearance. Amongst the English firms were Howard, Bedford ; llansomc, Ipswich; Samuel- son, Banbury ; The Beading Iron-works ; Homsby, Grantham ; Nicholson, Newark ; Boby, Bury St. Ed- mund's ; Burgess and Key, London ; Bristol Wag- gon-works ; Garrett, Saxmundham ; Picksley and Sims, Manchester ; Ashby and Jeft'ery, Stamford ; and Le Butt, Bury St. Edmund's. Of Scotch manu- facturers there were Main and Co., Glasgow ; Brigham and Bickertou, Berwick-on-Tweed ; and Youug, Ayr. Of Irish manufacturers there were McKcuzie, Dublin ; Curtis and Sons, Dublin ; Ritchie, Ardee ; Eawcett, Killnean ; Smith and Willstood, Dublin ; Mahony, Blarney ; Dick- son, Dublin ; Scott, Dublin ; Edmondson, Dublin ; Morgan, Dublin ; Scriven, Dublin ; Graham, Dublin ; Paul and Vincent, Dublin ; O'Neill, Athy ; Kennan, Dublin ; Booth, Dublin ; Maguire, Dublin ; Bowles, Dublin : Bates, Gorey ; with numerous artificial manure manufacturers and vendors. The Lord-Lieutenant presided at the meeting for the announcement of the prizes held in the evening- in the theatre of the Society, when he said : I have not very lately had the advantage of seeing one of the Royal Agricultural Shows in England, but I have been at many shows of stock in Eng- land, and I have rarely seen such a fine collection of stock as I have seen iu your yard during the last two days. I was chal- lenged, when I last had the honour of occupying this chair, by my friend the secretary ; and I, perhaps rather rashly for my- self, accepted that challenge, and said that I would undertake to show some stock here at the Show. I cannot say that I repent having accepted that challenge, though I am afraid my stock cut a poor figure in comparison with many that I saw in the yard. I hope that in some respects they did not do dis- honour to a name that once was high in the Shorthorn way in England. I will not be discouraged, but I hope in the au- tumn to have another trial against the Irish breeders— not this time in cattle, but I hope to be able to show an English horse, and I really think that in this instance I shall not so easily meet with defeat. Now, with regard to this Show, I may be allowed to say that I think it is one of very great excellence. I think it a very remarkable thing to see such a lage number of young stock brought together as was brought together of that class which has been more than once alluded to, and in such an excellent manner, by Lord Talbot — I mean the stock of young bulls. I think it a very remarkable thing to see 124 animals iu the class of yearling bulls brought together, all of the highest breed of Shorthorns. I cannot conceive any better method of encouraging the breeding of stock in this country than to bring together, at this time of the year, this number of young animals, to enable the farmers of every part of the country to select stock from which they are to breed their cattle; and not only that, but to be able, at the same time, to fill their eye with the best form of cattle that can be brought from any part of the country. I believe that to be of the very greatest possible importance. Now, it has been said that those who give very high prices for cattle are doing a very ridiculous thing ; but I venture to say the money they thus lay out is well laid out, for, though they may give prices which never bring a return to them, they have the satisfaction of feeling that by getting the best stock together they are improving the breed of cattle throughout the country ; and what we want is to get, as I think Mr. Maunsell described it, the best possible form, the highest de- gree of excellence. We want early maturity in our cattle. We want on the compactest form to get the best meat, with animals that do not require pampering or very high feeding. I believe that those who have studied the breed of cattle have done much to eifect this object. A friend of mine in Glouces- tershire told me a few years ago that he had given a fabulous price for one or two animals. I visited his yard, and I know his wife laughed at him, pointing out to me what she called " the golden calf " — an animal he had given five or six hun- dred guineas for when a few weeks old ; but I remember his telling me that all the farmers in the neighbourhood came to him with their cows on the ground of economy, because they got more for their calves than for any other breed. Now, I venture to say that in this yard no one ever saw two finer ani- mals than the two bulls, one of which has been alluded to to- night. I know that I have seldom seen two better specimens of Shorthorns than those of Mr. Challoner and Mr. Cosby. These two bulls showed all the symmetry of form that could be expected in animals, and the quality of the flesh I believe to be very excellent indeed. With regard to other stock, there were some very remarkable specimens, one of which in par- ticular— the heifer, Lady Matilda — I was happy to see be- longed to a gentleman who, I believe, is a tenant-farmer in this country. I may congratulate that gentleman — from the county of Carlow, if I mistake not — on having produced so very fine an animal, which is able to compete with our best herds that come from England to this country. Another ani- mal was introduced to me, before almost unknown to me — ■ certainly, in its perfection, unknown to me, although I have seen a great deal of stock iu England — and that was of the Kerry breed, which I venture to say was one of the neatest and best-looking animals of that class of its size that was ever shown in this country. I allude to an ani- mal belonging to a lady, Miss Barrington. I hope she may rival that distinguished breeder of Shorthorns who has been already alluded to to-night, Lady Pigot. Now, whatever may be the difference of opinion with regard to pasturage or arable land, there can be no question of the great importance of obtaining the very best stock that can be procured for the country. It is satisfactory to anyone who is a Shorthorn man, and who belongs — if I may style myself so — to a Shorthorn family, to see how that stock has taken root in this country. It seems to have made a most happy cross with the native breed of this country, and I know full well the value to Ireland which this stock ought to be ; for a few years ago, when the cattle plague raged so much in England, all the great graziers in my own neighbourhood, and in the different counties of England, got their stock from Ireland. I have a considerable number every summer, and I know very well that the only year my farming was at all successful was the year when I bought 80 Shorthorns from Ireland. Do not let it be supposed that I got them very cheap, for I remember complaining very mucli to my bailiff when he came over that he had given a great deal too much money for those Short- horns ; but the quality of the animals was so good, and the improvement produced by the change of climate so great, that, I may say, that was the only year my farming was successful. But, in connection witli that, I would point to one or two more geueral matters which T think deserves attention. One of these is the great importance of securing proper measures against the spread of contagion among the cattle of the coun- try. When we have seen such valuable stock during the last two days in this yard, we know of how great importance it is to prevent the spreading of any contagion among those cattle. During the cattle plague,|through what I believe was the great wisdom of the Government, tills country had an almost com- plete immunity from that distressing calamity. But, at the same time, it is well to consider — and nobody can consider this subject so well as the Dublin Society — whether there may not be improvements with regard to the laws which regulate contagious diseases among cattle. In England at this time very considerable attention is being paid to tin's subject. The THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 447 Bill that is being1 introduced into Parliament docs not affect Ireland, but 1 think it behoves those who represent Ireland to look into the matter, and say whether improved regulations may not be made on this subject in this country. Much de- pends on the care that the owners of the cattle take of them; but I think a great deal can be done by just and proper regu- lations respecting them. Now, it is a very curious fact that, when the cattle plague restrictions — which were exceedingly strict, and much complained of in England — were enforced for some months, there was almost a complete disappearance of some of the diseases among cattle that formerly had attracted attention. I believe that pleuro-pneumonia, which all formers know is most destructive to the value and lives of their cattle, disappeared after those strict regulations had been enforced in England. 1 mention this to show the great importance of having proper regulations with regard to cattle in this country. I purpose — I am doing it now — looking into the subject; but I believe a society like the Dublin Society would do very good work in advising those who are responsible on this matter. Now, there is one thing of great importance witli regard to this, and to which 1 would like particularly to draw your at- tention, and that is the regulation made with regard to the transit of cattle. I believe it is of the highest importance that the railroad trucks, in the first instance, should be kept com- pletely clean ; that they should be properly disinfected, and that the lairs or stand in which cattle stand before they are placed on board ship should be properly inspected, cleansed, and disinfected ; that proper food and water should be given to the cattle during their transit ; and that, finally, the steam- boats which convey them should be under proper regulations, and should be managed in a proper way. Neglect of these important points may do an immense deal of mischief in gene- rating and spreading disease in this country. I believe it is of the utmost importance for a breeding country like Ireland, which exports a large number of cattle, that they should look carefully into these matters, and put their shoulders to the v wheel and see whether the regulations are sufficient to prevent abuse in these matters. Though sometimes restrictions may be irksome, yet if the idea were abroad iu England that we were spreading disease through the cattle from this country, the trade of this country would go down very much. I am happy to be able to say, from information I have got, that there never was a time when the cattle of this country were in a healthier condition ; but I think it is much better to look into the matter while we are in that happy condition than to wait till the evil arises. Nowr, I will touch but briefly on another matter, which I consider of great importance with re- gard to the live stock of this country. I observe that in Ire- laud there is no veterinary college. Now, I believe that it is of the greatest importance to the interests of those who have live stock in this country that there should be a competent body of men able to advise the owners of stock witli regard to the health of their cattle, and not only that, but able at a mo- ment of difficulty to assist the Government in their endeavours to investigate disease and to put down any contagion that may be existing. There can be no doubt that there are many able veteriuary surgeons in this country, many who come from the veterinary schools of England and Scotland; but I think that it would be of great advantage to this country if there were a veterinary college or some veterinary department under another body established in this couutry ; for there is no doubt if those who have a turn to enter this profession know that they have to go across to England and Scotland they may be prevented irom doing so, and thus a field of useful work is thus closed to many Irishmen. Now, I often regret that there is not more sympathy and union between what are commonly called the medical and veterinary sciences. I believe if there were more union between the medical and veterinary bodies there would be great mutual advantage. I believe that not only would the veterinary science gain immense advantage from the knowledge and experience of the higher profession, but I believe that great benefit would be derived to the medical science by being able to make experiments on animals. I remember well when I had the honour of being on the Cattle-plague Commission, that we carried out several ex- periments with regard to the diseases of cattle. We had several distinguished medical gentlemen on the Commission, and, with their consent, we intrusted to the otficers of the Commission the execution of several experiments on animals. Many curious experiments were made with regard to disin- fection, with regard to i oculation with disease, and with regard to particular remedies ; and I believe very important discoveries were not only made for veterinary science, but also, I believe, for the treatment of the human raoe. Now, I will not point out — it would not be my place to do so — how this could be obtained, but I believe it would be of great advantage to this country that a good veterinary college, or some depart- ment in that lino, should be formed in Ireland. There are only one or two other matters to which I should like to refer. The Show was not only occupied with cattle but with two other important departments. There was a poultry show, to which Mr. Wade has alluded, and there was also an implement show. With regard to the poultry show I was much interested in the remarks which he made. It is interesting to know that the poultry are so useful an element in the business of the small farmers and cottagers of this country. I believe that the number of poultry has very largely increased of late years. I think it has nearly doubled within the last twenty years, and I know by statistics that within the last ten years the number of poultry in this country amount to over ten millions of money. That is a very large sum, and it is, no doubt, a very im- portant branch of the wealth of this country. I notice that in the report they are all valued at 6d. a- piece. I do not like to give out many secrets from the accounts of my household, but I must say that I think I pay very highly for fowls. When I was looking at this I in- quired what was paid for the larger kind of chickens, and I found that the price was 7s. for the larger chickens and half-a- crown for ordinary ones. I think, therefore, that the trade in poultry should be certainly encouraged as a means of great wealth to this country (applause) . We cannot attach too much importance to the encouragement of implements in this couutry. When I have been amusing myself every now and then in different parts of the country I have had opportunities of seeing the manner in which the agriculturists of Meath and Kildare carry out their tillage, and I have been very much struck everywhere I have been by seeing the ploughing con- ducted on the highest principles of English agriculture. I have seen grass lands being first ploughed up, and I have seen other lands that have been ploughed up, and I have always noticed that the ploughs which ploughed those lands were of the latest patterns that I always see at the agricultural meet- ings in England. Now, I, perhaps, may be allowed to attri- bute this excellence — for I believe it is a great excellence ; if you use the best plough there is no doubt it is a great economy of labour and skill — I may attribute some of that excellence to the work of this society, in showing in this town the latest im- provements among the implements, and encouraging the formers to get the best " tools for their work." I noticed to- day what I conceived to be an important machine for dealing with flax, which I see is a very important branch of the agri- culture of this country. I noticed the great increase that has been made within the last few years. 1 think within the last six years the numbers of those employed in dealing with flax in this country have risen from 20,000 to 60,000 ; and it is a remarkable thing with regard to that that out of the number of persons employed in this country — which I think is 67,000 — 60,000 are employed in trades connected with flax. Any- thing that encourages a manufacture so important as this, and cheapens the labour required in it, must be of- very great im- portance, and it was, therefore, with great interest that I no- ticed the machine which I refer to in the yard to-day. LOCAL TAXA'lION.— The Penrith Farmers' Club petitions to this effect : " That great inequality exists in assessing and levying local rates, and that very much property of a local description, and of acknowledged ability, not now rated, ought to be rated ; and that woodlands, game, shipping, lead mines, iron mines, and other personal property within a parish, ought to be assessed to the poor and other local rates. And that such inequality and exemption operates very unfairly and un- justly upon the agricultural community. That with a view to an equitable adjustment of local burthens, your petitioners are of opinion that Parliament ought to institute a tho- rough inquiry into the present system and incidence of local taxation." 448 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. HIGHLAND AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND. On Wednesday, March 24, the monthly meeting of the Highland and Agricultural Society was held in the Society's hall, George IV. Bridge. The Marquis of Tweeddale, K.T., president of the Society, opened a discussion on " The com- parative advantages and cost of steam and horse power or hand labour," by reading the following paper : At a meeting of the Directors of the Highland and Agricultural Society, held on 3rd March, 18G9, it was resolved, on the suggestion of the Special Committee on Steam Cultivation, that before that committee should give in their report, a discussion should take place to-day on the comparative advantages and cost of steam and horse-power or hand labour. 1st, With reference to the working of land in a high state of cultivation ; and 2nd, With reference to improvable land. And I have to express the wish of the Directors, that gentlemen who take an interest in this important subject will address the meeting, and give us the benefit of their knowledge and experience. I have been asked to make some observations on the advantage to be gained by the deeper cultivation of the soil, and to state my experience of the different methods of deep ploughing I have tried on the farms in my own occupation. The operations of deep ploughing at Yester have already been so fully described by Mr. Stephens in his book, entitled, " Yester Deep Land Culture," published in 1855, that I think it unnecessary to do more than to refer to them generally. I have in my own hands upwards of 1,700 acres of land, consisting of the farms of Yestermains, Broadwoodside, Dauskiue, and Newhall, situated in the upper^district of East-Lothian, and from 350 to 700 feet above sea level. The land, before it was drained and improved, consisted principally of a naturally poor soil of a moorish nature, resting on a subsoil of sandy clay, containing moorland pan in considerable quantity, impervious to water, the surface soil seldom exceeding from 5 to 8 inches in depth (in many cases less), and in its natural condition not suitable for growing turnips. The first operation was to tile-drain the land thoroughly. On Yestermains and Broadwoodside this was done between twenty and thirty years ago. During the drain- age operations, I was led to observe that although the water was in a great measure removed from the soil, yet the drainage would not be perfect until the subsoil between the drains was broken up so as to allow the water to reach the drains more rapidly and the air to circulate in the soil ; and as I had been in the habit of spreading the bottom soil of the drains across the surface of the ridges, and had observed the great change which took place in the subsoil from its exposure to sun and air, I commenced about twenty years ago to plough and sub- soil the land to a depth of 20 inches, the operations being performed by a plough drawn by four horses, taking a furrow 15 inches deep, which was followed by a subsoil plough with four horses, breaking up an additional depth of 5 inches. I found that the plough in common use in East-Lothian, from its mould-board being concave, was not adapted for deep ploughing, as it could not, without great exertion on the part of the plough- man, be kept deep enough in the soil ; and also that it in- verted the furrow slice, so that the whole subsoil was brought to the surface. The implements used by me in deep ploughing were of my own contrivance, the mould-board of the plough being convex, and so constructed as not to invert the furrow slice, as in ordinary ploughing, but merely to turn it on its side or edge, and to break it as much as possible — in this way a com- paratively small portion of the subsoil is brought to the surface, and yet a thorough mixing of the soil and subsoil is effected. The deep ploughing was first commenced with the stubble fur- row, but afterwards in ploughing lea, in order to give the horses a firmer hold of the ground with their feet. The action of the subsoil plough is merely to stir the subsoil in the bottom of the furrow, and in doing so, a little of the surface soil gets mixed with it and assists to keep it open. The cost of this ploughing, as stated by Mr. Stephens, is £2 13s. per imperial acre, which in- cludes 5s. per acre for removing stones. I carried out this deep stirring of the soil in one rotation of five years, without regard to the expense of it, as I was desirous to set at rest the question as to whether such an operation was beneficial or last- ing in its effects. I tried teams of oxen of the best description yoked in the plough, but I found they were too slow, and the shape of their feet unfits them from walking on the pulverised soil. They soon tired, and could not work. I also tried steam- power, consisting of two engines of 14-horse power, one on each headland, dragging the plough backward and forward between them ; but the quantity of set-fast stones and other obstacles with which the plough came in contact in the land subjected the machinery to constant injury, and the expense and delay caused by the repair of these breakages were very great, and could not be avoided, as any contrivance to disen- gage the power of steam from the machinery when it met an obstacle, that was then known, had proved a failure. With horses I had no difficulty, as they iusinctively stopped when the plough met with an obstacle; and as I would not allow the ploughman to urge the horses to exert themselves, there were few or no breakages. I have now had twenty years' experience of the effects of this deep ploughing. I was told at the time I was engaged in that operation that I was destroying the land by mix- ing too much of (he subsoil with the surface soil, that in a year or two the subsoil would return to its natural state. Any one who knew the state of my farms before I commenced these opera- tions, and who now sees the excellent crops of turnips, grain, and grass grown on them, and the comparatively early period of the year in which the grain ripens, and the cattle and sheep go into the fat market with what they did formerly, will bear witness to the great improvement that has been effected ; and instead of the subsoil which had been stirred running together again, it has been found to have changed its colour and cha- racter altogether, and to resemble very much the surface soil. So much is this the case that the stubble furrow can now be ploughed from twelve to thirteen inches deep witli two horses, and it has not been found necessary to repeat the operation of subsoiliug. In the course of these operations of deep-ploughing and subsoiliug considerable numbers of stones were found in the laud, and some of them boulders of large size. These had all to be removed by hand labour at a cost of about 5s. or 6s. an acre. They have been used for build- ings, and in improving the roads on the farms. Having been frequently told that the operation of deep ploughing and sub- soifing, costing £2 13s. an acre, was beyond what a tenant of a farm would probably undertake, and that it should be done at the landlord's expense, I have, during the last five years, been making experiments on deep ploughing in a modified form on the farm of Newhall, which came into my possession recently, and has since been thoroughly tile-drained. It had never been ploughed more than 7 or 8 inches deep. I have, with three horses yoked abreast in the plough, ploughed this farm from 12 to 14 inches deep, and have dispensed with the subsoiliug. This has been done without increasing the work- ing strength on the farm or interfering with the regular work of the rotation ; and as the cost, as I shall afterwards show you, is £1 2s. 3£d. per acre, including the expense of remov- ing stones, I am satisfied that objections on the score of ex- pense will not be made to it. In March 1S68 T took a field of about 25 imperial acres into my own hand. This field had never been previously ploughed more than 7 or 8 inches deep. It had been tile-drained during the previous winter. I was desirous to have this field ploughed on my modified plan from 12 to 14 inches deep, and as it seemed to me to be a suitable field for the trial of a steam-driven implement, and as steam cultivation had not taken hold in Scotland as in England, I desired to satisfy farmers, by giving them proof of the work- ing of steam and horse-power, so that they might judge of their comparative value ; I therefore invited the owners of steam-ploughs to send their tackle to the field, stating that I would send my horses and ploughs to work alongside of them, so that a comparison could be made between the work done by horses and steam-power. My invitation was not accepted, so I ploughed the field with my horses, having previously asked a number of well-known agriculturists to examine the work while in progress, and to state their opinion thereon. I showed THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. U9 these gentlemen the workiugof a 4-horsc plough, a 3-Uovse plough, and a 2-horse plough. They drew up a report ou the work they had seen, which appeared iu the newspapers at the time, but I should like to read you some extracts from it : — They say, " We found in operation on the Held one plough w ttb tour horses, six ploughs with three horses, and five ploughs with two horses yoked to them. The 4-horse plough turned a furrow 14 inches deep and 14 inches wide ; the horses were yoked two abreast, the leading pair by a soam chain to the bridle of the plough.. ..The 3-horse plough turned a furrow 13 inches deep by 13 inches wide ; the horses were yoked abreast, two going on the land, and one in the furrow. The 2-horse plough turned a furrow 12 inches deep by 12 inches wide.. ..We did not test the draught of the various ploughs, hut the horses were working freely and easily in all of them, and did not seem op- pressed with the work in auy way. We observed this parti- cularly iu the 3-horse plough, and recommended the Marquis to yoke three horses to each of the ' Yestcr' ploughs, as in our opinion the most economical application of the horse- power for the depth of furrow. His Lordship concurred with us, and three horses were accordingly yoked in each of the ploughs. The measurements of the depth of furrow are made upon the solid unturned soil. The laud contained some boul- der stones, which were removed by labourers following the ploughs. None of the stones were very large, nor were they in greater quantity than is usually found iu the soil in this district. An exact account of the time occupied in ploughing the field of 25 imperial acres has been kept by Lord Tweed- dale's overseer, and it is equivalent to 54 days of a pair of horses workiug eight hours a day. Lord Tweeddale calculated that the actual cost of a pair of horses, including the ploughman's wages, is one shilling per hour ; the expense of ploughing an imperial acre 13 inches deep is therefore 17s. 3|d. We have to record our entire satisfaction with the work done, and of the great improvement effected by this deep stir- ring of the soil. The ploughs are exceedingly well adapted for the purpose, their peculiar construction allowing a deep furrow to be turned without bringing too great a quan- tity of subsoil to the surface." This report was very satisfactory to me, and it fully bore out my own opinion that three horses yoked abreast was the best way of ap- plying their power. I have not yet had much time to ob- serve the effects of this modified system of deep plough- ing ou Newhall; but, so far as I cau judge, if will answer the end in view. The farm was completely worked out when I took it in hand ; as an example of this, the out-going tenant had a 14-acre field of grass during the last year of his posses- sion, and he put a mare and foal to graze on it. No other animals were put iu the field ; aud before the season was over, owing to the scarcity of grass, he had to remove them to an- other field. This field was drained, and then ploughed from 12 to 14 inches deep ; and with an application of guano and dissolved bones, of the value of £2 13s. Gd. per acre, grew an excellent crop of turnips ; and last year, when in young grass, carried four sheep per acre for the most of the season. I have left a field of Newhall in the state in which I got the farm, so that any one visiting it may judge for himself of the effects of deep cultivation. From the remarks which I have now made it will be seen that the cost of breaking up, ploughing, and subsoiling land to the depth of 20 inches is, per imperial acre, £2 8s., and for removing stones 5s. — in all, £2 13s. ; and for breaking up aud ploughing (for the first time) 13 inches deep, the cost per imperial acre is 17s. 3|d., and for re- moving stones 5s. — in all, £1 2s. 3|d. The question then comes to be whether these operations could have been more economically effected by steam than by horse- power. The presence of boulder stones in the soil is, in my opinion, an insuperable bar to the use of steam-power for breaking-up or deep ploughing for the first time land such as I have been describing. In my opinion it is essentially neces- sary that all obstructions be removed from the soil before it can be properly and economically ploughed by steam-power ; and a re-arrangement of thefences on many farms will also be required. After the land has been deep ploughed and the stones re- moved, as 1 have described, my practice has been to plough the stubble not less than from 12 to 14 inches deep (measured on the solid, and which is equivalent to from 16 to 18 inches on the turned land) ouce in each rotation, in preparation for the turnip crop. Formerly the practice was to plough the stubble iu autumn from 7 to 8 inches deep, and iu spring to cross plough it about the same depth, and it frequently required oue or two furrows, besides the number of harrowings and rollings, before a sufficient mould could be got for sowing the turnips. My experience of the deep ploughing is, that when the land is ordinarily clean no further ploughing; is necessary ; all that is required in spring being a turn of the grubber harrow to level the surface, and a double turn of the common harrows to bring to the surface any weeds before making up the turnip drills. The seed furrows for the grain crops are not ploughed deeper than is necessary to cover the seed. The increased depth of soil now in cultivation enables the roots of the wheat and clover to get a firm hold of the ground beyond the reach of frost, and they are not thrown out of the ground in spring, as they were formerly. Whether this subsequent deep ploughing could be done cheaper by steam-power than hy horses I am unable to say ; but I hope the committee, from the information they have collected and may yet receive, will be able to settle this point. I have only to say that my experience leads me to believe that steam-power means speed, aud that the more rapid cultivation of the land can only be effected when it is thoroughly pulveiized for that purpose. I have had an account kept of the time occupied by a pair of horses in ploughing an imperial acre 12 by 14 inches deep, which had been previously deep ploughed and the stones removed, and I find it to be twelve hours, and the cost 12s. per acre. I prefer yoking three horses in the plough, as I find it easier for the horses, and that the work is better done, although it costs 14s. 5d. an acre. I will now give you my calculation of the cost of keeping a pair of farm horses for one year : Man's wages, &c £40 0 0 Oats, 31 quarters, at 25s 38 15 0 Hay for sixteen weeks, at one stone each horse per day — 14 stones per week, at Is. per stone of 221bs 11 4 0 Straw for twenty-eight weeks, at one stoue each horse per day — 14 stones per week, at 4d. per stone of 23 lbs 6 10 8 Straw for litter compensated by manure 0 0 0 Grass and tares for eight weeks, at Is. 6d. per day for two horses 4 4 0 Blacksmith 4 5 0 Joiner 1 10 0 Saddler 15 0 Cost of pair of horses £90 0 0 Depreciation in value, 7 per cent.... £0 6 0 Interest of capital, 4 per cent. ... 3 12 0 Cost of implements, harness, &c., for a pair of horses £60 0 0 9 18 0 Depreciation iu value, 6 per cent.... £3 12 0 Interest of capital, 4 per cent. ... 3 8 0 6 0 0 Sundries, including veterinary surgeon, medicine, bran for mashes, &c 18 4 £125 0 0 My horses work, on an average, 277 days in the year, and the average length of day is nine hours ; the pair, therefore, cost me within a small fraction of 9s. per working day, or Is. per hour. I have been told that this deep ploughing would soon deteriorate my horses from over-exertion, and predispose them to disease. This I have not found to be the case, or that they were injured by the work in any way. If the horses are properly yoked and driven by a ploughman who under- stands his work, aud if the number in the plough is regulated by the nature of the soil to be ploughed, the work is littlcj if at all, more severe than ordinary ploughing. I have en- deavoured to bring under your notiee the causes which induced me to undertake the different operations which I have de- scribed on farms which have been cultivated under my own direction. The means employed in carrying them out have been given in detail, as well as the success which has at- tended the system I have followed. I trust that they may prove worthy of imitation by my neighbours on such soil and climate as they may think adapted for the undertaking, and that the fruit arising from their industry may tend to increase 450 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the produce of the laud, aud equally benefit the cultivator aud the cousumer- (Applause.) Mr. GEOH.GE HorE (Fenton Barns) said : I have no inten- tion of discussing, except in an incidental way, the compara- tive advantages and cost of steam and horse power with re- ference to the working of land ; and still less of comparing the merits of the various systems of steam cultivation now in use. I simply wish to state to yon, as clearly and briefly as I can, my own practical experience in steam cultivation, and will leave you to drawr your own inferences from the facts that 1 propose to lay before you. In beptember 1863 I obtained from the Messrs. Howard of Bedford a set of their steam cultivating apparatus, a cultivator and a harrow, and a ten- horse-power engine made by Clayton and Shuttleworth of Lincoln. I can honestly say I have had no reason to regret making that purchase, though I have lately changed Howards' cultivator for Fowler's grubber, and have also added to my stock a Fowler's four-share balance plough. Messrs. Howards' cultivator stirred even stubble land most efficiently, and suf- fered nothing from coming in contact with stones, so that I never had to complain of breakages ; while the quantity of land-fast stones that I have had to remove is immense. 1 may mention that from one single field the stones, when broken for the road, have measured about 200 cubic yards. However, Fowler's grubber covers more ground, and consequently does more work without being heavier in draught than Howards', but it is only suitable for land that has been previously ploughed or stirred. Again, from the wheels of Fowler's being much larger and broader than Howards', and as they only run on the unworked soil, the depth is more easily regulated, and no wheel-marks are left on the stirred earth. Ou land that has been ploughed to the depth of 10 inches, Fowler's grubber can easily be made to stir it from 2 to 3 inches deeper, without any undue strain on the engine or rope, while Howards', at that depth, had, on some soils, a strong tendency to bury itself altogether in the land. After some years' use of the cultivator, during which 1 ploughed nothing but lea, and that was done with horses, and having also got quit of stones, or nearly so, I began to doubt whether I was right iu having the soil so seldom completely turned over. I therefore got one of Fowler's 4-share balance-ploughs, which, besides ploughing stubble, enables me to plough lea, aud likewise land after a turnip crop, when I prefer having it done so. By taking off the mould- boards from this plough, it turns up the soil and throws it on edge, which is called digging. This plan has certainly several advantages over ordinary ploughing. When done immediately after harvest, the soil does not run together from the effects of the weather, which stiff lands are apt to do, when ploughed early. It also exposes the largest possible surface to the atmosphere and to the effects of frost, but it does not destroy grasses or weeds in such an effectual manner as close and compact ploughing does. Unless the steam- harrow is used in spring on land that has been dug, it is found very rough for horses walking over ; but when it has been done in time, the soil is easily reduced to a fine mellow state. This digging is very popular with my neighbours who have steam-power, but I have found it suitable only when practised early in autumn or before winter. The usual furrow we make on stubble land is about 10 inches in depth, and ou lea and land after a turnip crop 8 inches is the rule. I may state the extent of land ploughed and grubbed annually is somewhat above 500 imperial acres. From accurate notes taken since last harvest I find that from that date we have ploughed 294 imperial acres in 54 days, but in which are included 5^ days for 11 changes from different fields. Though it commonly takes only from 3^ to 6 hours for change, fixing the action, getting out the ropes and the steam up again, I have calcu- lated half a day for each change. By dividing the 204 acres by the 54 days required for ploughing, then it gives very close to 5|- imperial acres as the work done daily. I must say, I felt rather disappointed when I discovered this result, as on a square field of upwards ol 40 imperial acres ploughed imme- diately after harvest, the time taken was only five days, which gives 8 imperial acres daily. When we came to small fields with corners, aud in the short winter days of from seven to eight working hours, the extent of ground gone over was much reduced. Iu the general average there is also included a 26-acre field of very stiff clay, where we had to use only three ploughshares instead of four to obtain the required depth of 10 inches ; the time taken to it was 6-^ days, which gives only 4 acres daily. We have also grubbed since harvest 104 imperial acres, the time taken, including 2| days for five changes, being altogether 15 days, or at the rate ol 7 imperial acres daily. Here a 10-acre field again diminished the aver- age amount of work done, as 2£ days were taken for it. We have also used the steam-harrow, going over 40 acres twice in three days. Before turnips are sown another 100 acres must be grubbed, for which we may again add fifteen days, though, as the days are longer, the fields large, and the soil dry, I am confident it will be done in shorter time. From the above we have 294 imperial acres ploughed in 54 days, or say 5£ acres daily. ]w "« grubbed in 15 days ") ? M 100 „ (to be) „ in lo days ) J 40 „ harrowed twice in 3£ days 12 acres daily. 538 imperial acres in 87i days. In regard to the cost it is naturally divided into, first — The interest on capital invested, and the tear and wear of machinery and implements ; and, secondly — The average amount of daily expenditure. In regard to the first, it must to some extent be matter of opinion. At all events, even if the amount of interest was satisfactorily settled the cost of the amount must vary according to the number of days the machinery is em- ployed, and the greater or lesser number of acres over which it is thrown. In calculating this I will not take exactly my own outlay, as I have only a portable engine which requires two pairs of horses for about an hour or an hour-and-a-half at eacli change, and for which I have allowed already in charging half a day for every such change If I were to make any change in my ma- chinery, it would be to substitute a locomotive engine in place of the portable one, as then no horses would be required to move the engine and windlass ; and in place of having to empty the water out of the boiler at each change, the steam would always be up, and ready at once to recommence work. I understand a 10-horse locomotive engine, with all the necessary apparatus, can be got for £700. On this sum, I consider that for interest on capital, and for tear and wear, 12 per cent, will be found to be ample ; indeed, taking my own experience, I think this above the mark, but assuming it to be 12, that sum would amount to £84 per annum. Again, as the wire rope wears faster than the other parts of the machinery, I have no objections to add sixpence per acre for all work done. On say 520 acres this comes to £13, which falls to be added to the £S4, making in all £97. If this sum is divided by 87^, the number of days the steam tackle has been at work during the year, it gives £1 2s. 2d. for each day. To this falls to be added the second item, viz., the average amount of daily ex- penditure, which can be easily and accurately ascertained. With me it stands thus : £0 13 4 0 2 6 0 5 0 0 13 £1 2 1 12 2 .. £2 4 3 Five men and two boys' daily wages One boy and horse half time, for water, &c. Coals, including carriage, ^ ton Oil Making the daily expenditure Interest, and wear and tear daily ... Thus the cost of each day's work comes to I have already shown the average daily work in ploughing is 5| imperial acres, and the cost is thus 8s. 0£d. per imperial acre. Grubbing 7 acres daily comes to 6s. 4d. per acre. It will be observed that the work done is not much more than could be accomplished by two pairs of horses constantly era- ployed throughout the year. I have put away two pairs of horses, having now nine pairs in place of eleven, and I never feel the want of them ; indeed, I sometimes think I might put away another pair, having this great advantage at the im- portant periods of seed-time in autumn and spring, and when preparing land for the potato and turnip crops, viz., the pos- session of an implement that can do the work of six pairs of horses, to say nothing of the superior quality of the work it does. Ever since I got steam power and by means of it, every acre of my farm has been cultivated to a wish, and every crop also has been sown in good time, which all practical men know. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 451 to be of great importance in a pecuniary point of view. [ adopted, commends itself to me, first, by being so much cheaper Again, having all the corn ami grass land without to begin with than any of the others ; and, secondly, it leaves the vestige of a furrow, increases the crops, renders the land more suitable for the use of reaping-machines, and adds not a little to the beauty of a farm. The double engine and other systems of steam cultivation have their own peculiar advan- tages, but the fixed engine, and round about mode I have narrow headlands, and never poaches them, as the engine is frequently placed in the adjoining field to the one being culti- vated, and is never moved from the gateway or spot where first placed. A discussion of some length followed. PEOPLE WHO REPRESENT THEMSELVES Reform is reaching even the House of Lords. The Peers are in want of something more to do, and of more people to do it. Life members, as men of business, are to be introduced to that august assembly, and already one or two amusing debates have taken place over the proposi- tion. Very noticeable amongst the speakers has been Lord Salisbury, who has gone altogether to admit the principle : " The House only partially represents the great classes who possess the wealth and power of the country. AVe belong too much to one class, and with re- spect to a large number of questions we are all too much of one mind," There is, it appears, a plentiful supply of soldiers and sailors, and so forth, in the I pper House, but " it is undoubtedly true that, for one reason or another, those classes whose wealth and power depend on commerce and mercantile industry do not find their repre- sentation in this House so large as those whose wealth and power depcad upon the agricultural interest and landed property." There is something really refreshing in the startling novelty embodied in this statement. The agri- cultural interest, then, is after all simply over-represented in the State ! Commerce and Merchandise have actually no fair chance against so strong a majority " much of one mind." Through " lapse of time," and other causes, the original constitution of the Lords has been changed, and now lauded property aud the agricultural interest carry all before them. 0, sua si bona nurint, Ayricolce ! The farmers can have had very little notion how well they are taken care of. Lord Salisbury's complaint, however, as to this embar- rassment of riches is worthy of some closer exami- nation. .Do the landlords of the House of Lords, as re- presenting landed property and agricultural iuterests, mainly confine this duty to representing themselves, or, do they extend it to their tenantry, the practical agricul- turists of the kingdom ? Lor our own part, had we been asked the question, we might have answered offhand, that the farmers were represented by Mr. Sewell Read, Mr. James Howard, Mr. MeCombie, and Mr. McLaren, in the Commons, but that they had no voice whatever in the Lords. To be sure there are, and have been noble Lords, like the late Lord Feversham, Lord Berners, aud Lord Hardwicke, who have shown themselves to be fond of farming, but who have distinguished themselves in this way rather out of the House than in it. Still, certainly the most remarkable rural measure that we can call to mind of late years as having received the especial approval of the Lords is the Gamekeeper Police Act, which was carried under the countenance of Lord Berners, a past President of the Royal Agricultural Society and of the Smithfield Club, and may accordingly be regarded in some degree as affecting the agricultural interest. It is very doubtful, though, whether that said interest was quite of one mind over the matter, or whether, if there had been really more representation, there would not have been more antagonism. And Lord Salisbury's argument is that " we want, if possible, more representation of diverse views, and more antagonism." To arrive at this end, wc must be by no means content with "pitchforking" commercial meu ; but if Agriculture is also to benefit by " diverse views," we must look to such creations as the Earl of Tillyfour and the Marquis of Salisbury — Square. For we are coming more and more to acknowledge the home-truth that farmers, to do " any good," must repre- sent themselves. The very mention, indeed, of one of these new titles serves sufficiently to point the fact. The Chamber of Agriculture, which chose to make its head- quarters in Salisbury Square, is, as every one must sec who thinks for himself, gradually working on, not to the attainment of its high aim, but to unmistakeable failure. And why ? Simply, but surely, because it is over-ridden by Lords aud landlords. Because the tenant-farmer is here coming to be swamped and his voice drowned. Because the whole thing has been worked of late as the tool of aspiring country gentlemen, who wish to get before the public, and so into Parliament. Let the looker-on only turn to that meeting in Council of a fortnight since, and note how seldom the farmer had an opportunity of offering his opinion. Mr. Jasper More- said, Sir Massey Lopes said, Sir George Jenkinson said, General Herbert said, and Sir George Jenkinson said again. Then Colonel Brise said, Mr. Corrance said, Mr. Backhouse M.P. said, Mr. Acland said, Mr. Pell said, and Sir George Jenkinson said again. Mr. Gregory, M.P., Mr. Corrance, Colonel Brise, Lord Grosvenor, Major Parker, Sir George Jenkinson, Sir J. Elphinstone, Lord Berners, Colonel Corbett, and Mr. Jasper More continued to ring the changes, varied here and there with something from the Chairman, or something more from the irrepressible Mr. Duckham. On the interview with Mr. Forster it was still the same. Three or four tenant- farmers had been selected to give their views on the sub- ject, but Sir George Jenkinson kindly undertook to sus- tain the chief part of the conversation, and the practical men were still elbowed out. And so they will be. What brought the Agricultural Dinner into disuse and ridicule but the plan of let- ting the landlords have all the talk to themselves, and of turning the discussion away from subjects which should be faced to seemly platitudes or electioneering purposes ? We have only to remember the grand announcement with which the Chamber was started, and then trace its feeble timid course, to mark the ener- vating influence that is wearing its use away. It is " headed" at all points by this unwholesome patronage. The Chamber dare not take up really great questions ; or if it should, it follows rather than leads, and is continually put out of countenance by its own " friends." Mr. Neville- Grenville, M.P., goes about the couutry denouncing any movement in favour of a Minister of Agriculture, although he is quite willing to have the farmers stirred up to a proper appreciation of their grievances by the means of paid agitators ! None, perhaps, feel more forcibly the evils attendant on excessive game preservation than Mr. Sewell Read or Mr. Duckham, as none would speak more readily to such abuses elsewhere — at a meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society or of the Fanners' Club. But in 452 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. their Chamber their tongues are tied. And why ? because the Chamber is overlaid by the landlords. Because as soon as hares and rabbits are mentioned here the Lords and landlords will light shy, and the farmers' friends, like Mr. Pell and Mr. Corrance, shut up. But with three or four Game Bills before Parliament, is it not a mockery to treat us still to the cuckoo cry about the object for which the Chamber was formed : " to watch over all measures affecting the agricultural interests both in and out of Par- liament, and to take such action thereon as may seem de- sirable for the benefit of agriculture" ? Action, forsooth ! that mainly develops itself by passing over all that the local Chambers have been doing in this way. Let it, though, be admitted that the representa- tives of Agriculture require educating up to their duties, and that the Chamber of Agriculture may in this way be of some service. But what has it done ? Is there a man beyond Mr. Sewell Read, whose position was established before he hampered him- self with the Central Chamber, who ha3 made any mark from such a connection ? Have Mr. Pell and Mr. Corrance done more, so far, than coquette with the great questions of the cause ? or has Sir George Jenkinson, another especially active member of the Chamber, been particularly successful in his advocacy of agricultural claims? During the present session there have been two debates over two Cattle-Plague Bills, and on each of these occasions Sir George spoke to a continual chorus of Divide ! Divide ! and other such complimentary expres- sions. And this was perhaps a matter of all others upon which an agricultural member should command a hearing. If a series of tedious discussions and still more tedious resolves — if a painfully apparent effort neither to commit nor to offend anybody — if such tactics as these could com- mand success, the Central Chamber of Agriculture would be in a fair way of nourishing. But this feeble policy has not altogether answered ; for never have we heard the movement condemned so strongly as we did during the last sitting. As one of the best farmers from one of the best-farmed counties in England said on that first Tuesday in April : " It is just a landlord's job, and, as I really believe, is doing us more harm than good." THE DIFFERENT METHODS OF PROCURING AND MAINTAINING THE LABOURERS FOR THE FARM. At the quarterly dinner of the Boroughbridge Agricultural Association, Mr. C.\lder gave a lecture on this subject, when be said : Iu the cultivation of laud there are three distinct parties concerned, each connected with, and in a great measure dependent on the other for their comfort, well-being and hap- piness— namely, the owner, the occupier, and the labourer. It is witli the condition of the latter that I shall endeavour to deal, and have chosen for my subject " The different methods of procuring and maintaining the labourers requisite in culti- vating a farm." During the past few years nearly every de- scription of trade, science, and industry has made great progress in improvement ; and I am glad to say that agricul- ture, if it has not kept pace with the times, has at all events made rapid strides in the march of civilization, and has now accorded to it a status and position iu the commercial and in- dustrial sciences which it never before attained. Not very loug ago it was generally supposed that anyone, if he had strength to hold a plough, or fill a dung-cart, would make a good enough farmer ; and farming, as a business, was conducted in a some- what primitive fashion. Times have changed very much, how- ever ; a different aud better-educated class of men have become tenants and occupiers of laud, and skill, capital, and knowledge have been called into requisition. With increased rents and increased production, there came, as a natural consequence, a different and superior style of liviug ; farmers ceased to work themselves, as of old, their sons were sent to college, and their daughters to boarding-schools, and a hunting-horse aud a piano took the place of the plough and the churn. This altered state of things iu the condition of the occupier of course affected the condition of the servants, aud a change in their mode of maintenance became indispensable. Before touching on this position of my subject, I purpose to take up the first mentioned — namely, the different methods of obtaining farm- servants, and which, as far as I know, are confined to three in number — private engagements, statute fairs or hiring markets, and register offices. The two first are old and original institutions ; the latter quite a modern innovation. The en- gagement in private is of so simple a nature that very little can be said of it, and consists merely of a farmer engaging a servant, whose character and abilities are known to him, or re-engaging oue already in his employment, without the inter- vention of the hiring fair or registry office. The convenience and advantages of this mode are apparent, and if it could be universally adopted, would be productive of a great saving of time and trouble, and benefical to all concerned. Unfortu- nately servants will not always remain with masters, and masters are sometimes compelled to part with servants ; and when this mutual want arises, aud an opportunity of privately engaging does not occur, both are obliged to fall back on one of the other two methods of obtaining their respective re- quirements. I arm-servants, male and female, desirous of en- gaging, throng the principal street of the town where the tarings are held, and the masters are obliged to do the same, and select the servants they want as much by appearance as anything else. The master has secured for one year the services of a man of whom he knows next to nothing ; and the servant getting a master, of whose temper and disposition he is ignorant but by hearsay. In engaging a foreman, or man who is expected to have charge of the others, more care is taken and inquiry made as to his ability to sow, build stacks, and other- wise lead the work. Of farms where the ploughmen arc young unmarried men the foreman is generally married, occu- pies a cottage and small garden, keeps a pig, and has other perquisites in right of his position. To the female servant in search of a master there is, or ought to be, something repug- nant and distasteful in this public parading of themselves and market-like system of engaging ; and the hiring of female servants in this way has fallen much into disuse, and I think very properly so. There are many grave objections to hiring fairs, and we must all have seen and deeply deplored the sad exhibitions of drunkenness and ribaldry that are too often the inevitable concomitants of the market-day. Towards even- ing, many, too many, of those attending it are under the in- fluence of drink ; wild with the unusual excitement of the day, which instead of being one of quiet aud rational enjoy- ment, is more frequently an excuse for dissipation and ex- travagance. It is unnecessary to particularise or dwell further on the immorality and sad results that follow in the wake of the hiring fair. We cannot, however, shut our eyes to them ; and I think that every one will rejoice that a great deal of what every right-minded person must regret has of late years disappeared. We have to thank the facilities of locomotion afforded by the railways, and the stern punctuality and inevit- able departure of the train ; the commendable efforts to pro- vide warm, comfortable dinners, or tea aud coffee, iu place of deleterious liquors, and I am glad to say a more sensible and enlightened view of things on the part of servants themselves, for the partial, and I trust at no very distant day, the complete suppression of all that we, and more especially they them- selves, can regret. Notwithstanding its many drawbacks and admitted fauKs, the hiring market has a firm hold on public opinion, and is still the favourite system both on account of the antiquity of its institution and the attraction it holds out for a holiday in town, and I believe that it will be a very difficult matter indeed to substitute any other that will be re- garded with the same favour or be universally adopted. We T£E FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 453 come now to the remaining mode of communication between master ami servant — register offices — which, as every one knows, are places where, on payment of a small charge, the name, age, and capabilities of servants, together with the wages expected, are entered by the person keeping the office, and who makes known to inquirers on either side the parties likely to suit each other. A reference is at the same time given to present or former employer, and both parties have an opportunity of satisfying themselves of each other's antecedents, ami of the advisability of making an engage- ment. This method of meeting with what each wants has been found to work admirably in town, and is now in fact almost generally adopted, and I see no reason why it should not succeed equally well in the case of farm servants. To the really good servant of known respectability it offers many advantages, and for females particularly. I have no hesitation in recommending the register office as the most suitable mode of engagement. From all I can learn, register offices for farm servants have not succeeded so well or met with the support which I think they really deserve, and as long as those desiring employment decline to take advantage of them, employers, however auxions to do so, are compelled to go where the former are to be met with, and until they as a body refuse, to engage servants without a written recommendation or reference to former employers, they cannot hope to change or amend the present mode of procedure. Of the three modes of obtaining the labourers requisite for cultivating a farm, which I have attempted to describe, I am of opinion that where practicable the private engagement is the best, and mutually most advantageous. I should next recommend the register office, where such exist, and characterise the hiring or statute fair as a neces- sary evil. I will, as in duty bound, give the females the precedence, and, presuming that the duties and remuneration of the strictly house-servants are very much alike, differing of course with the style in which her employer lives, take up the additional or extra female labour required in the cultivation of a farm. Before doing so, however, I must say that in the case of dairy farms, or where a large number of calves are annually reared, the nature and amount of work devolving on the women of the house is different from and much greater than on a farm where cows are not kept, and that the posi- tion of such last is very much the same as the house-servants in town. At certain seasons of the year, especially during summer and harvest, an additional supply of labour is required to carry out hay-making, turnip-hoeing, cleaning the land, and cutting down and securing the grain crops. Much of this sort of work can be done as well, if not better, by women than men, and at much less expense ; and in some seasons, when hay-making and turnip-thinning come simultaneously, an ade- quate supply of labour is sometimes a matter of considerable difficulty. In districts near a town, or where there are vil- lages, this is generally easily obtained ; but in thinly-populated districts, and on farms where cottage accommodation is scanty, the large arable farmer frequently experiences some trouble. Where female workers can be obtained from a neighbouring village, it seems to me to be the most convenient and suitable system for all parties — the workers bringing their own food and going to their own homes at night. Wages for women working in the fields in this way have considerably advanced, and I think with great justice, during the last twenty years. Then 9d. per day of ten hours during summer, and 7d. or 8d. per day for the winter mouths, was the customary wages ; and if we consider the nature of the work women were then called on to perform, every one will admit that female field-labourers were miserably underpaid, and that they are fully entitled to the advance now generally given — namely, Is. per day during summer and lOd. during winter. The primitive days of farm- ing, when masters and servants lived at the same table and very nearly as one family, having disappeared, we find that the ploughmen and other servants on a farm are generally kept in the following different ways : Married men having a cottage each, a small patch of ground for a garden, liberty to keep a pig, and sundry other perquisites in the shape of coals lead, &c. ; unmarried men, who are boarded in the kitchen and sleep in a room or loft above the stable ; and, lastly, young men kept on what is called the " bothy " system. I think there can be little doubt that, where liberal cottage accommodation has been provided, there can be no better method of maintaining the ploughmau than the first mentioned ; there is naturally a much greater inducement to form settled habits and a disinclination to change, and a more thorough interest in his duties, and more complete identification with his employer's concerns. Heady employment is besides provided for the rising members of the family as soon as they are able to work, and the system is, I think, found mutually advantageous. Having described at some length the " bothy " system of providing for farm- servants, as it existed in Scotland twenty years ago, a system which he looked upon as one of the worst, the lecturer said : Thanks to the interest taken by many kind and liberal pro- prietors, much has been done to improve the condition of the unmarried ploughman — better dwellings, containing separate living and sleeping accommodation, have been provided ; in many instances night schools and classes have been estab- lished ; newspapers and magazines supplied ; and a commend- able desire for instruction and improvement fostered and en- couraged. That such praiseworthy efforts may be crowned with the success they deserve is, I am sure, the heartfelt wish of us all. Thellev. R. D. Owen thought that statute fairs might be done away with ; and if they were looked upon as a necessary evil, he trusted that they would receive such a stab that they would never recover from it. If it were really necessary to continue statute fairs, the abuses connected with them might be removed, including all the drunkenness, revelry, and immo- rality. At statute fairs, farm servants were selected from their stature and general appearance ; and no inquiries were made, generally speaking, into their characters — a system which tended to the injury of the master and also the servant. Inquiry into previous character was the exception — not the rule — at statute fairs ; and he thoroughly agreed with Mr. Calder, that private engagements were the best ; that register offices ranked next ; and he thought that the hiring of farm servants might stop with these two modes of engaging them, without resorting to the statute fairs. He disapproved of females working in the field, except at the hay and corn har- vest, as when married women worked at out-door labour they neglected their homes, and lost the proper oversight over their children ; and their husbands, finding home uncom- fortable, went to the public-house for the comfort denied to them at their own dwellings. He enforced the importance of good and convenient cottages being provided for farm labourers. Mr. Bainbkidge did not agree with Mr. Owen as to female labour, as in his district the females who worked in the fields had their houses neat and tidy ; and on the Sunday they turned out in a respectable manner. In going from house to house, they would find that the tidiest and healthiest children were in the homes of mothers who were industrious in out- door labour. He believed that the rural labouring population of Yorkshire would bear a favourable comparison with any other portion of the kingdom. At the same time, he was ready to admit that it would be desirable if the labouring population in the country had better education and better moral training in early life. There was, however, he was glad to say, a great improvement gradually taking place in this respect. The cottages in that neighbourhood were pretty comfortable ; but what was wanted was better cottages, built near where the labourers had to work, more regard to domestic convenience, and improved drainage. As Henry IV. of France had said that he should like to see every peasant in his dominions have, a fowl for dinner on the Sunday, so he (Mr. Bainbridge) would be glad if every farm labourer had a twenty-stone pig at Christmas. Mr. Jacob Smith said he did not see how farmers could do without statute fairs ; and he thought, upon the whole, the system had worked wonderfully well. In no district were there more respectable farm servants than in that district, and the Borough bridge hirings were most orderly and regular. There might be some few exceptions in this respect at statute fairs; but, as he had said, the system answered its purpose. He rarely, if ever, engaged a farm servant without a character ; but he flattered himself he could tell a good servant when he saw him, without inquring into character. He considered it was easy to see whether a servant was inclined to be saucy or obedient ; and a sluggard and an ignorant, stupid fellow could be at once^ distinguished from an intelligent and industrious servant. For his own part, he should never be agreeable to doing away with statute hirings ; and although Mr. Owen's theory might appear reasonable and right, yet it would not work well. He employed a good deal of farm labour ; and 454 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. he must say that lie always found the wife who went out to farm-work had the cleanest house and the tidiest children. The woman who remained at home had her house in the worst condition. The evils which Mr. Calder had pointed out in his lecture did not belong to this district. At this day, farm labourers did not stay and settle down in their places, as they used to do ; and this he considered an evil, as " a rolling stone did not gather moss "; but with respect to farm lads, a change did them good, as they saw different ways of farming, and gained knowledge and experience. Farming men, however, on getting married, ought to settle down and occupy comfort- able cottages, as then they would have no wish to change and roam about the country. The Rev. C. H. Sale said the mode in which Mr. Smith conducted his farm and provided for his servants was excep- tionally favourable to statute hirings, but in his opinion these statute fairs were an evil, and he agreed with Mr. Owen in his observations. He considered that married labour was better than single, and more beneficial and satisfactory to the farmer, as farm servants kept in the house were very expensive. It was better for the interests of the farm labourer that his wife should remain at home and attend to her household duties, because in his judgment there was a greater waste — a greater moral waste — by the woman leaving her home to work than was at all compensated for by the wages she obtained by her labour. No doubt there were strong inducements to women to go out to work. There was the immediate pressure perhaps of want of money, and the temptation to obtain what was required was too great to be resisted. About the hirings they were talking of, something he thought might be done to miti- gate the evils associated with them, for it could not be dis- puted that there were great evils connected with them. If statute fairs were deemed a necessity, let farmers endeavour to check the drunkenness, revelries, and immoralities which took place when they were held, evils which in too many cases undermined the happiness of female servants especially, and which proved a bitter cup to them through life. Let there be room at least provided for the accommodation of female ser- vants, at which they could be hired. Mr. Appleyard was of opinion that statute fairs were not that great evil which had been represented. They were only held once a year, and although there might be sometimes a little irregularity, yet upon the whole there was nothing seriously to complain of. At the statute fairs servants came out for a day's pleasure, and if these hirings were done away with farm servants would enjoy themselves some way else, and they would conduct themselves as before. Mr. Bennett said, as regarded statute fairs, that what would suit one locality would not be applicable to another. He was glad to hear that in that district there was so many good farm servants to be had, as in the district where he formerly lived well conducted and clever servants were hard to meet with. Mr. Bainbridge said the railways had lessened the evils complained of. The trains started at a certain time, and farm servants were obliged to go home, and in this respect there was a great improvement to what was the case formerly. He thought that farmers could not altogether do without statute hiring. Mr. Scarborough was in favour of statute hirings, con- sidering that they ought to make the best of them and im- prove them. He did not see how these fairs could be benefi- cially done away with. Mr. Harland said he. thought it necessary to have female labour upon a farm, and he was of opinion that the most ener- getic and industrious women so employed kept their houses in the best order. He enforced the necessity of improved cottages for farm labourers, their wives and families, considering that cottages ought not to have less than three bed rooms. He did not like house servants. The Chairman, Mr. A. S. Lawsou, proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Calder for his address. THE CULTIVATION OF BEET-ROOT. At the meeting of the Lavenham Farmers' Club, Mr. T. P. Hitchcock, the Chairman, said he was sorry to say that Mr. Duncan was not able to be present, being detained by illness in London — an absence they must all reget. Mr. Hawkins said : It is plain that many of the practical rules held in esteem by the majority of the agricultural world are not compatible with the views of science. For example, two white straw crops in succession, or any manner of ex- hausting the soil, is held to be bad farming, and frequently pro- hibited in leases. Now, the business of the farmer is to ob- tain all he can from the soil, and the more rapidly and tho- roughly he does it the more food is produced, and the better he understands his employment. Formerly, when the action of the soil upon the crop was not understood, and when some unknown power was attributed to it, which required rest, or when plants were supposed to give forth excretions poisonous to plants of their own species, such prohibitions might be to- lerated; but now that the action of the soil upon the plant is known, it would appear that prohibitions of cropping and com- pulsory rotation of crops are inexpedient. It is uot taking too much out of the land that is to be avoided, but it is the put- ting plenty in that must he insisted upon; and if a farmer wishes he may grow wheat or other crops every year upon the same field successively, as easily as he eats his dinner every day from the same plate. As the cultivation of the root has not been so fully related, I will venture a few remarks upon it. So far as my experience has gone, my usual plan of growing beet-root has been after a wheat crop, that crop having been previously dressed with about 12 loads per acre of good farm- yard manure, upon the young clover-layer, fed through the summer with sheep, cousuming £lb. linseed-cake each per day. Should any manure remain after manuring the young clovers in the autumn, and the other portion ofland for wheat not previously manured, it cannot be better applied at that season than for the root crop of the following spring, care being first taken, should there present any appearance of couch-grass, to employ a man and boy to fork and pick it off the land If the land is clean I rarely plough more than once for mangolds, and as early as I can after harvest, having the work performed soundly and well, varying from five to eight iuches deep, as the soil admits. I do not consider subsoil ploughing is very advantageous for our common beet, as I am inclined to believe that it receives its nutriment more from the surface than the subsoil. I usually apply in the spring, if I have manured with farm-yard manure in the autumn, 2 cwt. of guano and 2 cwt. of salt per acre ; if not, 3 to 4 cwt. of each, harrowing the land after with the duck-foot harrow twice over. I strike up the furrows with a double plough and roll the land down after, the drill following with Sibs. of seed per acre upon the flat, completing the operation with five rows on the 3-yard stetchat one time, the rows being 21 inches apart. As soon as the plants make their appearance, the laud being in as fine a tilth as for bar- ley, I immediately make use of the horse-hoe, the young weeds being more easily destroyed than when allowed to make strong rootlets. When the plants are grown sufficiently large to set out, the sooner the operation is performedthe better, care being taken to leave the single plants where convenient; but to rea- lize a heavy crop a full plant is indispensable — from 100 to 120 plants to the rod. I have not gone into the full expense, as perhaps I ought to have done, to know the exact cost per acre, but I consider that to grow a good crop of beet it would cost £9, including rent, rates, tithes, insurance, manure, &C, and I think this will apply as well to the sugar-beet as to the other. I consider that the growth of sugar-beet is widely different to that of the common beet, and I believe if we are to grow it successfully some arrangement must be made in the district for the use of a subsoil plough. I have not the slightest doubt that it would give an increased weight of ten tons per acre, if well arid properly doue. In attempting sub- soil ploughing, with one plough following another, the land gets very much stamped, and the season would not always permit this being done, although last year was a very favour- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 45£ able one. It is indispensable to get a good depth of tilth. I am not at all in a position to say which is the best manure to apply for sugar-beet, but I have obtained the opinion of a gentleman who sells the seed. I wrote to Mr. Sutton, of Reading, about it, and lie recommends guano ; and I must think that it is the best artificial manure to employ when we can go to our friend, Mr. Hitchcock, and know that we have it genuine ; I say with confidence that I never sowed guano that I did not reap benefit from it, and I stick to it in prefer- ence to any other manure, because it has served me well. In the preparation for the sugar-beet a good coat of farmyard manure is a good thing, and acts remarkably well ; however much manure we use there is no crop which repays it so well as the root crop. I usually mix salt with my guano for common beet, but I am informed that it is very prejudicial to the production of sugar. This is a new thing to us, and in time we may find the very thing which is most suitable to the growth of sugar-beet. But now, gentlemen, there are several objections which have been raised to the growth of this beet. (Hear, hear), first there is that of the landlords, which I am much astonished at. To me it is about the last objection in the world that could be raised, for I believe there are many land- lords who are most desirous of promoting the welfare of their tenants, and who would do all they could for their benefit, and these could not be against the growth of sugar-beet. Then .'as to growing sugar-beet in preference to beans and peas. Here is the factory which Mr. Duncan has erected, and as people have now so ready a market for their beet surely they will grow it in preference to a crop which pays so badly as beans and peas. I know that during the ten years I have grown them on my farm I have not averaged six coombs per acre, whereas I can grovv twenty tons of beet. The only thing is to get the lands well prepared in the autumn ; I never plough my land in the spring, for if I do, I never get a crop, while I never fail if I get my lands prepared in the autumn. We all know, too, that [our land is left clearer from roots than from corn, that I am positive of, and I know from experience that I can grow better wheat after beet than after beans and peas. The best wheat crop I ever grew in my life was grown after beet ; and if wheat will do well after common beet, it will after sugar-beet, and if you can get 30 ton3 per acre you can afford to put on a little dressing. I believe that if a landlord has a good tenant he will let him do as he likes in this, if he farms fairly, aud it is to the interest of the tenant to keep his farm in good order, and not to worry his landlord with " I won't do this" or " I won't do that" (Hear), I am convinced that as far as the value of the crops is con- cerned, sugar-beet will pay infinitely better than beans or peas. We have a certain market for the beet : Mr. Duncan says he will give us a pound a ton for it, and if I can't grow thirty tons an acre this year I will try till I do. Some gentlemen who grew it last year had small crops, but there were smaller of other beet, and no turnips, and therefore I think it held its own as well as other roots. A gentleman present at our last meeting seemed to consider that the growth of sugar-beet was almost the wildest thing we could take in hand just then ; he fancied that we were going to grow sugar-beet without making any return for it. Last year I grew six acres and sent them to Mr. Duncan, with the exception of three loads I re- served for seed, but I brought back seventy tons of pulp and mangold tops, and I don't think that I have done my landlord any very great injury. I always, too, use guano for my root crops, and never a day passes the year through that I am not consuming oilcake for either sheep or bullocks. As to the pulp, the cattle are very fond of it. 1 was doubtful whether they would eat it or not ; but I had three cows in the yard, and I told my man to try them with pulp. The next day I was going through the yard, and I asked them how they ate it. He said he gave them nine bushels, aud they ate it all up (laughter). I told him that would not do, but it shows how fond they are of it. Sheep also like it ; and I have consumed all mine, and should be thankful for some more. The only animals that objected to it were some 14 or 15 calves I had ; everything else ate it remarkably well, and we may congratu- late ourselves that there is something in return from the fac- tory that is useful to us. When dried the pulp will keep for any length of time ; it is like a biscuit, and apparently very nice for stock. I think a better arrangement might be made with regard to the trimmings ; the beet might be trimmed on the farm. It does not make any difference to Mr. Duncan, but it does to us, having to cart them four miles or so. I have spoken to Mr. Duncan on the subject, and he says he will fall in with any arrangement of that kind, and I shall adopt it another year. I shall grow 30 acres next year, and grow them as well as I can. I will now leave the matter in your hands, thanking you for the manner in which you have heard me (applause). Mr. Biddell : Did you plough more than once for the beet you grew this year ? Mr. Hawkins : Only once. The land was prepered for peas ; the manure, 12 loads, was put on in the autumn, and ploughed before Christmas. As my clover leyer failed, 1 put sugar-beet on this, and I put on in the spring a hundredweight of guauo, and another of salt. Mr. Biddkll: How do you put the seed in ? Mr. Hawkins : Sow it broadcast, and harrow it in with four horses. In answer to further questions, Mr. Hawkins said that at the time he took his roots up his son cleaned half-a-hundred- weight of them and put them on one side. When he (Mr. Hawkins) delivered his roots to Mr. Duncan in January, the half-hundred was weighed again, and it was 5 lbs. short, or about 10 per cent.— what Mr. Duncan allowed them if they clamped their beet. Mr. Pish said he agreed with what Mr. Hawkins had said, and thought he had brought the subject before them in a very satisfactory manner. If Mr. Hawkins could grow 21 tons per acre without any special effort, and with such a year as the last had been, he certainly would grow -12 tons per acre with a good season. He thought they might double or treble their profits of last year, and he was not speaking without having something to go upon. The weight of the roots should be from 3 to 41bs. But what was the average weight of Mr. Haw- kins's roots ?— 1 Jibs. Well, let him double the weight of these roots ; let each weigh 81bs., and the thing was done at once. Some people imagined that to grow these roots to perfection sunny skies were required. There never was a greater fallacy. Instead of having more sugar last season than they would have in an ordinary one, he behaved they had less. Still they had done very well ; they had grown more sugar — he did not know whether it was due to their superior cultivation, better style, or greater skill — than had ever been grown in France or Bel- gium, and as much as had ever been in Russia. Many of them looked blank when they were told that the roots must not weigh more than 41bs, but many of them did not come up to a quarter of that, and the average of their roots was only about a pound. Now, would they tell him that they could not make that one pound into three ? They might look with cer- tainty for a minimum crop of 30 tons, instead of an average crop of 1G tons, which was what Mr. Biddell allowed, and which even then was the best crop they could grow — better than wheat or barley, while beans and peas were nowhere, and mangold a dead loss on each acre. If they made their roots average 31bs. they were safe for 30 tons per acre, and might go to 40 if they liked. Suppose Mr. Edgar— with whose crops he was much deceived, for the tops were so big that the roots ought to have been bigger— had averaged 31bs. weight for his roots, instead of having 14 tons he would have had 42 ; Mr. Muraford, their vice-president, who had told him that he in- tended to grow double or even treble as much this year as last, would have had 40 tons ; and Mr. Hustler, who expected to get the cup, but did not — (laughter) — would have had 37 tons. He should like to know why Mr. Biddell, a gentleman whom he highly respected, and who knew a very great deal about farming matters, should tie them down to 10 tons per acre. Could they not grow four or six of these sugar-beet to one mon- ster mangold ? Instead of being 30 inches apart they might be 18 by 9, and four or five plants might be grown instead of one common beet ; if they only weighed 31bs. each they might have as great a weight of sugar-beet as ever was grown of mangold for the sugar beet was more easily grown. The ge- neral percentage of sugar in roots sent from Lavenham was 9£ per cent., but in some of the larger roots it amounted to nearly 13 per cent. With reference to cultivation, he thought the manure ought to be got on the land as soon as possible in the autumn, as strong rank manure, applied late in spring would, lie thought, be likely to injure the percentage of sugar, and if they had seen the analysis of Mr. Duncan they would see the importance of studying how best to develop the sugar. Sup- pose they grew mangolds ; with these they fatted bullocks, and 456 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. when they had fatted their bullocks, they took them down to Bury, and made of them just about the price of one acre of sugar-beet— £30. An acre of sugar-beet, too, only cost ^9, according to Mr. Hawkins ; Mr. Biddell said it cost ^'10 or £11, but if they took it at £12, then they had £18 profit, or even if they put the cost at £15, they netted another £15 clear. Looking at this, he himself had had serious thoughts of taking land and growing this sugar-beet, and if he could get 50 acres near to Lavenham he thought he should make his fortune (laughter). He quite agreed with what Mr. Haw- kins had said about deep cultivation. He was quite surprised at the way in which farmers scratched the land ; while they were so anxious to add a piece of land to their farms they neglected to dig down for it. A root must have fresh soil, and it mattered not a hair's breadth whether it found it on the surface or went down for it. Every inch they went down they obtained an additional 100 tons per acre of soil for the plant. Let them turn up the soil gradually, increasing the depth, and they would at last get a grand tilth for their crops. If they gave the root from 12 to 18 inches of soil, it would go down of itself, and would require no earthing up. In conclusion, he would remind them that the beet must be buried in order to secrete sugar. The great chemical change which produced the sugar could not be carried on in the light. (Mr. Fish sat down amidst loud applause.) Mr. Biddell said he met a Belgian gentleman a short time ago, and he told him that they could not reckon upon more than 10 or 20 tons on the average. Plants must have air, as well as room in the earth, and if they stood too thick they would not grow. If Mr. Fish's argument were carried out, he (Mr. Biddell) might expect a double crop if he put in ten pecks of seed instead of five, and it might also be argued that rad- ishes would weigh more than beet because they stood thicker. Manuring well in the autumn has been recommended, and he was not sure that that was not right as regarded the beet- root, but he thought they lost the benefit of it afterwards, for the. manure passed off with the water into the drains. It had been assumed that the plant would not find its way down unless the land were broken up. He (Mr. Biddell) had had drains stopped up at a depth of three feet by beet-root. He had tried subsoiling repeatedly, breaking the land up with a plough without a breast, and he had not seen the benefit of it yet. Mr. Fish : How deep did you go ? Mr. Biddell said about a foot. His experience in sub- soiling was that it did not answer. He was trying it again this year, and if it did not answer then he should be of opinion that it would not answer anywhere. He should have been inclined to agree with Mr. Fish as to thick planting, if he had not known that thick crops were not better than others ; but he should try the plan, Mr. Vince said, as a neighbour, he had notioed that Mr. Hawkins did less in ploughing than anyone else, yet he had grown such big beet that he grumbled about the cost of getting them up (laughter). Mr. Edgar thought very little was known about the matter at all. Mr. Hawkins farmed for something else, and grew sugar-beet, whilst he (Mr. Edgar) never expected a crop and got one — (laughter) — and Mr. Hustler expected the cup and never got it (laughter). It seemed at present all a game of chance. Mr. Husler, in answer to a call from the Chairman, said he thought the season had a good beal to do with his beet failing, for the land on which it was grown was the lightest on his farm. The Chairman said Mr. Duncan limited the beet to 4 lbs., but in Holland there was no limit at all, and the people at the factory took them all, though they did not like them heavy, as they did not contain so much saccharine matter as the lighter ones. He had lately met a farmer of 1,000 acres, who had more experience than many of them, for he grew a crop of beet some years ago for distillery, and said he was so satis- fied with it that if he were within four miles of the factory, he would grow 200 acres for Mr. Duncan. They had a double purpose in growing these beet : they wanted to grow as much as they could, and they wanted to keep their land as clean as possible, and this could be done best when they had a good distance between the plants. He did not think they ought to be closer than six on the stetch, as then they could clean the land easily. Mr. Fisu said the following was the number of plants to the acre grown by different gentlemen : Mr. Hawkins, 32,000 ; Mr. Hitchcock, 36,000 ; Mr. Edgar, 34,000 ; Mr. Mumford, 22,000; and Mr. Hustler, 22,000. He did not advocate growing the plants closer, but would keep them as they are, and make them heavier. He thought they did not need to grow them thicker than 18 by 9. If he lived nearer to Mr. Biddell he would accept his offer, and would engage to grow 30 tons per acre. Votes of thanks to Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Fish concluded the meeting. THE SHEEP-SHEARING INSPECTORS. [Copy of a letter addressed to the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society.] Salperton Park, Andoversford, Gloucestershire, March 23rd. My Lords and Gentlemen, — A petition has been brought to me asking me to sign it, praying that no restriction should be put upon shearing sheep. I refused doing so, and I hope you will all do the same. Perhaps you may deem my opinion of some little value when I say I am one of your oldest sub- scribers, and one of the largest agriculturists, farming about 3,000 acres; and having taken all prizes in horses,and about 120 in sheep. I am sure the public will be disappointed if you allow sheep to be sculptured again. Why not run hand-in- hand with the sister-society, the Bath and West of England, and there can be no fraud if (as I always do) two respectable farmers see the sheep when shorn, and can testify it is done fairly, not leaving it on to fill defects. Again, I do hope you will not select judges from the district ; it has been greatly abused ; friends and relations are sure to have a bias. Owners of stock, now you have open judging, should not be admitted into the yard while their stock is being judged. I believe there are not wanted cases where owners have rushed in and touched their stock, that favourite judges might know them, and act accordingly. Agaiu what can you do about over- feeding? The late Lord Ducie, who knew well what he was about, tried to disqualify over-feeding, and it was a rule, I re- collect, at the Windsor Show. I insisted upon my horses being fed, so that their points might be seen, and I was only laughed at. Animals fatter than Christmas bullocks took all the prizes, and, as usual, the wretched tape decided the prize. I thought my old servant would have destroyed himself; but the next year I assisted him in spoiling all, and I took three or four prizes with some of the same animals, and others very inferior. They were a mass of fat, and no point could he seen, and from that day over-feeding has increased, and the chemist's shop is ransacked for stimulating drugs. Why not lay down the points of animals for judgment — say, good head, neck, bosom, especially behind the blade, where most sheep are bad, well-turned rib, straight back, broad hips and loins, good bell- formed rump, and especially good leg of mutton and coat ? Nowr no mortal man can see any point but the head, and it is measure ! measure ! measure ! with the judges. I once in my life saw what I call good judging, and then I sent a ram from the field with the ewes, unwashed, to a show, and the judges would award them the prize, though a bag of bones, in prefer- ence to inferior though fatted animals. Do take these matters into your serious consideration. Believe me your obedient servant, T. Beale Brown. There are some of the best judges of stock in the world in Ireland, and the awards generally give more satisfaction there than here. Why not have some of them ? TO TLTE EDITOR OF THE MARK-LANE EXPRESS. Sir, — In your short leading article last Monday on the subject of sheep-sheariug inspectors, you state that the breeders who signed the memorials presented to the Council of the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 457 R.A.S. " have unwittingly furnished a most unfavourable ad- vertisement for their Hocks," and that " the names of all who signed should he published, or otherwiso many a Shropshire, Oxford Down, or Norfolk flockmaster may be unfairly assumed to have gone with so impolitic and so unprofitable an agita- tion." I hereby avow that I am the author of the memorial presented by the breeders of sheep residing in the county of Norfolk. I may, or may not, have thereby " unwittingly furnished a most unfavourable advertisement for my Hock ;" assuredly I have not sought, nor will I seek, an indirect ad- vertisement for any Hock, whether favourable or "unfavour- able." I have reason to believe that not one of those who signed the Norfolk memorial would object to his name being " published ;" and I beg to inform you that such memorial was signed by many of the leading agriculturists and largest breeders of sheep in the county. I am inclined to think that our agitation has been neither " impolitic " nor " unprofitable ;" but that, on the contrary, it has "succeeded to a great extent." I and those who signed the Norfolk memorial desire that in- spection, if continued, should be made " effectual ;" and we believe the " agitation " has stirred the Council to endeavour to make inspection " effectual ;" that it has not been so I unhesitatingly assert, and am prepared to prove. I am, sir, your obedient servant, Marham, Bownkam, April 15. T. Brown. N.B. Perhaps without undue egotism I may say, with Mr. Rigden, " I have no fear of my sheep being disqualified by the inspector." [Why does not Mr. Brown give all the names of the Norfolk breeders who signed the memorial ? — Ed. M.L.EJ] TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE EXPRESS. Sir, — May I be allowed through the medium of your paper to suggest to the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, that sheep be taken to the place of exhibition in their wool, and shorn in the presence of the judges, and that the fleece be exhibited and a prize offered for the best quality, as well as for the animal ? It is evident from the manner in which sheep are clipped into shape, that breeders and exhibitors are not ignorant of the form that indicates constitution and early maturity, and if they have not studied nature's laws sufficiently to enable them to produce it, they ought to have more respect for themselves than to practise deception. Nemo. THE CATTLE LOSSES IN CHESHIRE. A third deputation waited upon Mr. Porster, on Tuesday, April 6, from several boroughs in Cheshire and Lancashire, for the most part, where the rinderpest raged with the greatest virulence and fatality. Mr. lladfield, and other members of Parliament accompanied the deputation. Their object was to press upon the Minister the injustice of obliging boroughs to pay the compensation for the animals slaughtered under the cattle-plague orders, while exempting those places that have quarter sessions of their own. In support of this view, Mr. J. B. Smith, Stockport, said that all the boroughs which were saddled with the expense of com- pensation for the cattle-plague were dissatisfied, and that their opinion is, that those who profit by it — namely, those who had sound cattle — should pay the compensation. A poll-tax should be laid on all the cattle in the country. He calculated that the owners of cattle had profited £20,000,000 by the rise in price, while the boroughs had had to hear the loss. — The Mayor of Salford read a resolution to the effect that the compensa- tion ought to be raised by a poll-tax. — To this Mr. Porster replied that " the resolution would oblige the Government to alter their whole Bill, and they would have to include Ireland." — Mr. Pociiin rejoined that Ireland reaps the advantages, and ought to bear part of the cost. Cheshire had paid in compensation £278,000. Indeed, that county might almost be pauperised by the conditions of this Bill. A contribution of Is. per head would meet the loss of five per cent, of cattle, while the farmers would reap the advautage of the increase in price. — Colonel Akroyd and others having spoken, Mr, Porster said the object of the Government in bringing forward their Bill was, first, to put the regulations iu better form, and secondly, to extend the Act to other diseases than cattle plague. They took the existing provisions, and therefore did not alter the compensation clauses. He urged them therefore to see Mr. Gladstone, or to present a memorial, laying specially before him that this was an interference with municipal government, and secondly that the clause formed no part of the original Bill. At the same time he expressed bis strong belief that the necessity for compensation to so great an extent will not again arise. The deputation agreed to the suggestion to represent the matter to Mr. Gladstone. THE VALUATION OP PROPERTY BILL.— At a meet- ing of the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture on Saturday, April 3, this subject was Introduced by Sir Willoughby Jones, who said he was not prepared to give the bill either an unqualified condemnation or an unqualified approval. He thought it might be advantageously modified in committee. In endea- vouring to secure perfection iu rating, we might expend a very large sum without much advantage being derived from the outlay. At present the taxes paid by real property were paid by three different assessments. That relating to taxes paid into the Imperial exchequer was furnished by the surveyor of taxes ; the county and police rates were paid under an Act of Parliament, under which a committee of magistrates delegated from each petty sessional division drew upon assessment. The highway rate, the poor rate, Sc, were paid on an aggregate valuation of the parishes concerned. The system might seem involved, but he believed it worked pretty fairly ; at the same time it was far from being perfection. The bill now before the Chamber was brought in to remedy the defects now existing, and it set out that in no case should the gross annual value assigned to a property be less than the rent paid. The bill proposed also that the old assessment committees should form a Valuation Board, which was to draw up a scale of deductions, which was to be impera- tive upon every assessment committee in a county. Every person was to make a return of his rent to the surveyor of taxes, who was to send the return to the assessment committee. So far so good, but the Act then seemed to become unnecessarily stringent as the operations of the Valuation Board were to be repeated ah initio every three years. This would iuvolve very great labour and expense, and he thought every five or six years would be sufficient. He thought also it was a mistake to give a right of appeal to the county court judge of each county, instead of to the chairman of quar- ter sessious as at present. He thought, however, that by eliminating certain objectionable clauses from the measure it might be made a workable Bill, as it would establish assess- ments on a single basis instead of three as at present. Mr. C. Hardy supported the Bill, the fundamental princi pie of which he considered was the taking the annnal rent paid as the value of an estate, lie thought the Bill would help the national revenue by increasing the amount raised by the house- tax, and by the income-tax under Schedule A. He also thought that the proposed system of appeal to the county court judge would secure cheap justice. He accordingly moved that the Chamber should petition in favour of the bill. Mr. Taylor said he would second the motiou, although he believed that the bill had been drawn np by persons not practically ac- quainted with the subject. Reut had always been assumed to be a basis of value, but unions had refused to recognize the principle in all cases. With respect to the proposed right of appeal to a county-court judge, the best judgment be had ever heard on the law of rating had been delivered by the county- court judge of Suffolk. Mr. 11. S. Grimmer said he had not heard anything to convince him that there was any pressing necessity for the bill. He would move, as an amendment, "That this Chamber approves of the general principle of the Valua- tion of Property Bill, for providing a single basis for the whole rating of a county ; but the Chamber considers that many of the details require modification, as they will entail a large and unnecessary amount of labour and expense." Mr. Leamon seconded the amendment, and Mr. Taylor said it would meet his yiews. Mr. Hardy had left the meeting, The amend- ment was put, and carried. 458 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. REVIEWS. THE JOURNAL OF THE BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND SOCIETY FOR 18G8. Vol. XVI. Kidgway, Piccadilly. " This volume completes the series which was commenced on the extension of the Society in 1852. It is proposed to commence a third series with the Report of the iirst united meeting of the Bath and West of England Society and Southern Counties Association ; the Journal henceforth to be published half-yearly." That is to say, henceforth two Parts instead of one will be brought out during the year, while, judging from the present number, a greater mistake than any such alteration could scarcely have been committed. If as an annual the Journal has become 60 weak, it would certainly promise not to improve from coming out at shorter intervals, the more espe- cially as there would appear to be an equal lack of funds and subjects. The contents would seem to be mainly made up of show reports and extracts, the best article in the number being Mr. Whitley's essay on the temperature of the sea, a re-print from the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal, " revised and illustrated. Then there are " long, dull, and old" stories about the stock and imp'ements exhibited in June last at Falmouth ; a good letter, but nothing more, from Colonel Luttrell on mangold culture ; with two or three useful papers by Mr. Joseph Harding, Professor Brown, V.S., Professor Buckman, and Mr. Robert Hunt on Dairy rooms, Foot Rot, and Geology in Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset. The re- mainder is pretty much "leather and prunella," and the editor will certainly have to look up the Southern Counties to keep his two Parts going. With, however, the somewhat limited means at his command, the probability is that instead of one good number there will be two indiiferent distributions. THE BOOK OF THE LANDED ESTATE. By R. E. Brow^t, Factor and Estate Agent, Wass, Yorkshire. Black- wood, Edinburgh and London. 18G9. The author in an early stage of his work says, " the lauded property of this country is not generally well managed ; that a greater proportion of it is undrained and wet ; that nearly all of it is cultivated on too shallow a principle ; that irom constant cropping on the shallow surface soil, it becomes foul and unfit lor the rearing of healthy plants and ani- mals These are facts which everywhere speak for themselves, and cannot be denied ; and the question naturally arises, Who is to blame for this ? My answer is, The blame rests with the proprietors themselves. "The remedy for this is to be found in the heirs to landed property subjecting themselves to an agricultural education. 1st, by availing themselves of the advantages offered by such insti- tutions as the Royal College at Cirencester, where scientific and artistic agriculture is taught ; and 2nd, by spending two or three years in a home farm, or with an intelligent and advanced farmer, so as to become acquainted with the practical part of the profession. Such a training as this would qualify him for discharging the duties devolving upon him as a pro- prietor with advantage both to himself and his tenants. Un- fortunately the majority of landowners when they succeed to the property are completely ignorant of the requirements of rural life, into which they are at once pluuged ; and, as a matter of course, they entrust the entire management of their landed property to an agent or factor, generally a solicitor, whose principal object will be to exact as large an income from it as possible, and expending as little as will suffice to keep things together." All this is theoretical enough ; while Mr. Brown goes on to speak of four classes of estate agents : " 1st, those who are mere theorists in the profession, and have not had a thorough training for it ; 2nd, those who have had practical training on the farm only, and are without sufficient general education ; 3rd, members of the legal profession ; and 4-th, those who have had both a practical and a theoretical education, specially designed to fit them for the business of a land-agent." He counts himself as one of the last class, and considers this, as a general rule, the only one from which estate agents should be appointed, as most likely to succeed ; on the argument, no doubt, that there is nothing like leather. " I have, generally speaking, little hope of the improvement of an estate when I see it managed by one who is merely a member of the legal profession, and nothing else ; for, in most cases, he is more disposed to draw money from it, than to lay out any on it. As a rule, agents of this class are unfit, from their habits and education, to act as successful improvers and managers of landed property." This is well pur, and the author insists with more force on the estate-agent being expressly trained for his pro- fession, both theoretically and practically, and thus qualified to be " the great promoter of agricultural improvements on the estate under his charge." But the prosperity of a landed estate depends as much on the class of tenants as on the character of the landlord and the qualification of the agent. Not only is an adequate capital necessary, but still farther, that its owner should possess botli knowledge and skill for the proper management of the land. Money is absolutely necessary for the improvement in the condition of land ; but at the same time, without intelligence to direct its expenditure, even money would fail to effect such a large improvement as that we witness in different parts of the country. A training and education are therefore as necessary for the farmer as the agent, to initiate him into the practical application of every kind of improvement necessary. With respect to the capital a tenant ought to possess, the author considers it should be equivalent to £10 per acre as the minimum, and as much more as he can command. He says that " men without capital are extremely apt to become the highest bidders for such farms as are thrown open to public competition." This is specially the case in Scotland, where the landlord is doubly protected by the laws of Sequestra- tion aud Hypothec, by virtue of which he can pounce upon any tenants to whom he has extended credit for rent, and sweep off the whole propei ty on the farm, leaving nil for the other creditors. The size of farms, the author considers, should not be less than 300 acres to be remunerative ; as much more as the tenant can raise capital enough to stock it. Mr. Brown very properly deprecates the plan of tying a tenant down to a rigid course of cropping as injurious to both parties. " Why should not farmers be allowed to deal with their lands as market gardeners deal with theirs? These grow whatever crops they think will pay, always keeping the land clean, and full of manure. Restrictions as to cropping are only necessary when the tenants are poor, ignorant, and unskilful." A form of a lease is given in the work in common use in Scotland, some of the clauses of which, especially one relating to game, are very objectionable. The one specified gives all the right over the game to the landlord, depriving the tenant of the smallest interference with it, how- ever numerous ; and of the right of any remuneration for damage sustained. He is, in fact, bound to keep at his own expense any head of game his landlord thinks proper, and to see his crops destroyed without any redress whatever ; his only business in the matter being to watch over its preservation, to find out and denounce poachers. The game, too, is let to persons having no interest in the property except to have as large a head of game as he can raise, so as to make the hiring as good a commercial speculation ns possible. In the execution of such leases there are two parties, a knave and a fool ; aud we leave them to settle between them which epithet belongs to each. "It requires two," says our author, "to make a bargain ;" and we scarcely know which is guilty of the greater injustice, the landlord who insists on such a clause, or the tenant who submits to it. They equally stand in their own light in the matter. We cannot, however, be surprised at the fondness of the Scottish landlords for game, when the com- mercial value of it is taken into account. Thus the shooting on the Aboyon Estate which formerly let for £80, now fetches £1,000. The Glenengwhart shootings were let in 1835for £100; they now fetch £2,000, and so on. Truly game, like everything else, is rising in value ; but what of the tenants on such estates? THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. 459 With one taste more of its quality we must leave the Book of Landed Estates to its fortunes. " Many thiuk that it is superfluous to talk of ever bringing the great proportion of our waste lands into such a state as to make them of much more use to the people than they are at present. This, however, is an error, as has been tested sufficiently in several districts. It is a matter of very great importance to us as a nation, to consider the best ways and means of improving our waste lands, so as they may assist in supplying food for the use of a gradually increasing population. It must be a ques- tion of vast import to all thinking people, when we consider that in Great Britain (with Ireland) there are upwards of 30 millions of people depending upon the produce of the land for their support, and that nearly 7 millions of men are kept in employment by agriculture The population of Great Britain in 1818 was 20 millions, thus showing that it is in- creasing fast. To get a supply of food we have to depend a great deal on supplies from other countries It would be a great advantage if we could make the British soil support the British people." REAL BUSINESS AT THE KINCARDINESHIRE FARMERS' ASSOCIATION. A general meeting of the members of this Association was held at Laurence-kirk, Mr. Geo. Largce, Mains of Haulkerton, President of the Association, in the chair. There was a good attendance. The Chairman intimated that the meeting had been called to consider the Game Bills, Mr. Carnegie's Hypothec Bill, and the road question. He (the Chairman) had had many- documents from their member, Mr. Nicol, who had always been very attentive, informing him of what was going on in Parliament. The Committee of the Association had already petitioned in favour of Mr. Loch's Bill, and so far as he (the Chairman) was concerned, he did not see that the Association could take any other action. Parties in different parts of the country, and the Chambers as well, had petitioned in favour of Mr. M'Lagan's Bill, but the Committee came to the conclusion that Mr. Loch's was best. Mr. Barclay, Hallgreen, differed from the view taken by the Chairman and the Committee, and thought Mr. Loch's Bill such an extraordinary one that there was no possibility of its becoming law. It did away with all arrangements between landlord and tenant that at present existed, and that was a position that farmers should not take up, but, on the contrary, fulfil their bargains as far as they had gone. Mr. Durie, Dalladies, took a similar view, remarking that were the Law of Hypothec abolished the outcry against game would not be so great. Mr. Alexander, Bent, stated that at the Chamber nothing was brought forward to convince him that there was anything ridiculously wrong in Mr. Loch's Bill. There was one clause in the Bill that Mr. Loch had brought in that should be with- drawn, viz., that any neighbouring proprietor or tenant who had excess of game was subject to prosecution before the Sheriff for any damage that may be done. He had observed that Mr. Loch was prepared to withdraw that clause, and was prepared to go the length of Mr. Scott Skirving, who suggested to the Chamber to do away with the absurdity of the bargains which Mr. Barclay had complained of. They all knew that many legislative enactments interfered with some interest or other, and instanced the Corn Laws. They all knew the excessive competition for land — that men of straw started up and would sign any condition, and it was, therefore, absolutely necessary that the Legislature should interfere and stop men from signing conditions, not only to destroy their own interests, but also that of the whole community. They saw that crops were destroyed to that extent in certain quarters by the over- preservation of game. Mr. Taylor: Captain Ross says no (laughter). Mr. Alexander : I saw his letter to-day. He thought that farmers might be one-sided enough — and might, perhaps, admit that they were — but the community at large had a right to take up the question, and see that their food was not destroyed by the over preservation of game (applause). Mr. Barclay's idea, he thought, ought to be set aside. Mr. Scott Skirving, they must also remember, was a rabid Tory. Altogether, he (Mr. Alexander) thought the Association should not stultify themselves by coming to a different conclusion from that of the Committee. Mr. Taylor thought the more discussion they had on the question the more strength they would gain. Clause three had been objected to in Forfarshire and in other parts of the country; and he himself thought that in the mere phraseology of the clause there was an objection, but this could be easily remedied, It was said that this clause was meant for farmers who, after making such covenants, wanted to shirk them. Now, that could be easily amended by a motion which he made so long ago as 1865 ; and even now he would move that it be an instruction to the Committee to forward the following motion to Mr. Nicol, who would communicate with Mr. Loch, and endeavour to get the clause altered, as follows : " That all contracts having for their object the preservation of hares and rabbits shall be declared to be illegal ; and that it be illegal for those letting land to suspend or set aside by any condition, covenant, or agreement, the tenant's statutory right given by Mr. Loch's Bill ; that cumulative penalties and conviction on the evidence of one witness be abolished." That would render it illegal for farmers to enter into such leases. This motion was agreed to. The Chairman said that the Committee had neither petitioned for nor against Mr. Carnegie's Hypothec Bill, though they had had the matter under discussion. The result of the discussion was that the meeting were of opinion that it was no use persevering with Mr. Carnegie's Bill so long as he included urban hypothec, and at the request of the meeting, he (the Chairman) had corresponded with their member, Mr. Nicol, who had represented to Mr. Carnegie the utter impossibility of carrying the Bill in its present form. Mr. Durie proposed that the steps taken by the Committee be approved of, remarking that were it attempted to carry the Bill in its present form, a great number of the burghs would go against it. The law of hypothec was as bad in burghs as in counties, but its effects were not so disastrous in the former as in the latter. He also added that a petition should be drawn up embodying the feeling of the meeting, which petition, after signature by the Chairman, should be trans- mitted to their member for presentation to the House of Commons. This was unanimously agreed to. The Road Question had been previously left over with the Committee, and the meeting agreed to leave it again with the Committee to watch over any measures that might be introduced on the question. Mr. Taylor moved that the meeting adopt the following resolution on the subject of the landlord's income-tax : " That the provision intimated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that tenants shall in January next, and in every succeeding year, pay the landlords' income-tax in advance, is impolitic, unjust, and unnecessary, inasmuch as it will extort a loan of upwards of £2,000,000 from an already rack-rented tenantry, will cause the small tenant, who is himself not liable for income-tax, to pay that of his landlord in advance, will be the cause of much more trouble and expense in collecting than if paid directly by the landlord, and that it is the decided opinion of this meeting that every man should pay his own taxes." Mr. Mitchell (Burnton) seconded, and it was unani- mously agreed to. Mr. Taylor introduced the following resolutions on the subject of education, which he proposed for the adoption of the Association : — 1. That the tenant-farmers of Kincardineshire and of the country generally cannot look with indifference on a great measure like that introduced into the House of Lords by the Duke of Argyll for the consolidation of the parochial and denominational schools of Scotland into one great national system for the education of the people ; that this meeting, while regarding many of its provisions with approbation, con- sider there are others which require amendment. I I 460 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 2. Central Board.— That the rate-payers, being directly taxed for the support of the system of national education by the Duke of Argyll's Bill, ana having the greatest interest in the efficient management of the schools, ought to be repre- sented in the Central Board by at least two members, and both should continue to be members for three years, but should not go out of office together. 3. Committees of Central Board. — That by section 11 power is given to the Central Board to appoint any two or more of their number as a Committee ; such Committees should never consist of fewer than three members for the transaction of business, and a quorum of the Board should be five instead of three. 4. That by section 24 power is given to the School Com- mittee to fix the salary ; but, if good teaching is to be secured, the minimum should be fixed at £50, and Government should pay retiring allowances. 5. That section 20 authorises two or more School Com- mittees to unite aud employ itinerant teachers of special sub- jects, which may be very suitable for Highland parishes, but in the Lowlands power should be given for two or more ad- joining rural parishes to establish grammar schools, as inter- mediate between the parish school and the university, and where young men may be fitted for agricultural, mechanical, and commercial pursuits. 6. That as the superior education of skilled artisans on the Continent is telling prejudicially on the manufactures of this couutry, it is absolutely necessary that technical education be placed within the reach of the working classes, so as to keep this couutry abreast of the competition of the world, and for this purpose provision should be made for technical education in the National Schools. 7. That as every person in any way engaged in the trade of this country must often feel inconvenience from the great diversity of weights and measures which still prevails, it is desirable that some uniform system should be enforced for regulating the internal trade ; and, if possible, such system should be of international application, as nearly all the nations on the Continent, the States of South and Central America have already adopted the metric system, the United States are in course of adopting it, our own Legislature has legalised aud made it permissive since 1864; and therefore this country cannot afford long to stand aloof from the rest of the civilised world in the matter of international uniformity of weights, measures, and coins. Therefore, our Legislature should make the teaching of that system imperative in all National Schools. 8. That in the election of School Committees in parishes, and in order to prevent local or sectarian influence, the votes of ratepayers should be given by ballot. 9. That in the event of bankruptcy of any ratepayer, the assessment ought not to have any preference over private debts. 10. That the old parochial school endowment belongs to the people, and when any parochial school is to be given over to the new national system, the schoolmaster's salary should be capitalised at the value of land, or at twenty-five years' pur- chase, in the way that is proposed to be done with church property in Ireland, and the interest of capital applied to pay the salary of the parochial school, hut to be under the manage- ment of the School Committee. Mr. Alexander seconded the adoption of Mr. Taylor's resolutions, which was unanimously adopted. Mr. Alexander introduced and explained the provisions of the Adulteration of Seeds Bill, and then proposed that the meeting support it, with this exception, that the prosecutions recommended be made before the Sheriff or some stipendiary Magistrate, instead of before Justices of the Peace. Mr. Smith (Moathills) seconded, and the meeting resolved accordingly. The Chairman read from a letter which he had received from Mr. Dyce Nicol, who had had several meetings with Lord R. Montagu and Messrs. Dodson and Foster with reference to the Cattle Diseases Bill, and his belief that there was every probability that they would carry their point for getting sepa- rate markets for foreigu cattle. Under these circumstances the meeting declined to enter on the consideration of the Bill. The Chairman also read from Mr. Nicol's letter a clause that the Lord Advocate had not yet introduced his Road Bill, but was quite prepared to give the tenant fanners full representation at the District Boards. Mr. Taylor explained that the tenant farmers in Kincar- dineshire were different from other tenant farmers, and that this was well known to Mr. Nicol. They had no wish to be disfranchised, and therefore he proposed that the Committee be instructed to communicate with Mr. Nicol on the matter mentioned in his letter, and get him to support the privilege they already enjoyed — that tenant farmers paying £300 of rent have a seat at these Boards. Mr. Neilson (West Mather) seconded, and this was unani- mously agreed to. THE CENTRAL CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. Mr. Charles Dickens in one of his prefaces to the Pickwick Papers is good enough to remark that as the pages were written, there was a decided change for the better in the character of Mr. Pickwick, lie observed, what we all have felt, that the peculiarities and oddities of a man who has any- thing whimsical about him generally impress us at first, and it is not until we are better acquainted with such a person that we know the better part of him. We have been curiously and sometimes anxiously waiting to know the better part of the Central Chamber and its executive. We were impressed by their whims, eccentricities, and oddities when first they asked for public notice, but as yet we have waited in vain for the knowledge of their better part. Mr. Dickens must really have had some foreknowledge of the Central Chamber thirty years before it came into existence. Mr. Pick- wick undertook to drive, and Mr. Winkle to ride, and they both did it after a fashion of their own, or rather after the fashion of the officials of the Central Chamber. Mr. Winkle, instead of shooting at the pigeon and killing the crow, shot at the crow and wounded the pigeon, which was a great pity. The Central Chamber have been doing nothing else. Ipswich added to the romance of Mr. Pickwick's eventful life, and the same town has influenced the tone and existence of the Central Chamber. Mr. Samuel Weller, when he stepped out of the frying-pan, walked gen- tly and comfortably into the fire — a performance beautifully executed by the Council of the Central Chamber at each of their meetings. Mr. Pell, assisted by a select committee, arranged the affairs of Mr. Weller, senior ; and, by the strangest of all strange coincidences, the Central Chamber has its Mr. Pell, its Mr. Weller, its select committee, and its fat boy. There remains but one point of dissimilarity at this moment between the Pick- wickians and the Central Chamber — the Pickwick Club was finally dissolved aud everything concluded to the satisfaction of everybody. No one solitary resolution of the Central Chamber has given satisfaction to auyone — notevento the proposers them- selves. Time, however, may enable us topronounce a benediction on the final dissolution of the Pickwickian Club in Salisbury- square. The " sources of the ponds at Hampstead" and the " Theory of Tittlebats" were subjects of profound interest to the Pickwickians. The Central Chamber has not risen higher. Aiming at being an institution of a national character, it has hitherto been a local chamber, assisted by other local chambers in turn, when local hobbies had to be written and local pop- guns discharged. The meetings of the Associated Cham- bers of Commerce may not be models of perfection, but had the Associated Chambers of Agriculture only in part imitated those well-conducted assemblies, the Central Chamber would not have been, as it is, a remarkable specimen of ill- contrivance and bad regulation. The Royal Agricultural Society, the Sinithfield Club, and the Mark Lane Express, were better doing the work in which the Council of the Chamber have THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 461 of late been meddling. When real work had to be done of a Parliamentary nature, the organization of the Central Chamber entirely failed, and a meeting was held in the tea-room of the House of Commons, which was attended by three members of Parliament, who, representing agricultural interests, had to confer upon the clauses in Mr. Porster's bill relating to the importation of cattle. This was a fortnight ago, and just before then sundry deputations from the Central Chamber made a great fuss and displayed an amount of inconsistency that must have destroyed the small share of in- fluence they might have had upon any department of the pre- sent Government. We know very well that influential mem- bers of the local chambers have come away from the Central Chamber annoyed at its frivolities and rudeness. It cannot be denied that, if well managed, the Central Chamber might become of much value to landowners and farmers, and of much service to the Government. There however appears to be no desire on the part of the conductors that it should prove valu- able or useful to any one outside the petty ring of persons who manage its affairs, and who are at once actors, scene-shifters, spectators, and applauders of their own performances. Judging from reports of provincial meetings of chambers, we are glad to see almost everywhere such meetings are better arranged and conducted than are the meetings in Salisbury-square. Surely, if this be so, it behoves those who assume to be the organs of the local chambers to manage their business in London at least as well as it is managed in the country. Not only at the meetings, but in the intervals between them, should there be some slight show of administrative capacity. Unless some considerable change for the better is made soon, an important schism may be expected, and the Central Chamber may find itself standing alone and repudiated by the most influential chambers out of London.— The Macclesfield Courier. WHARFEDALE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. The seventy-first annual show of this society was held at Otley, and was a most successful exhibition. The chief points of excellence were horses and cattle, and the large and superior show of young horses was particularly noticeable. The first prizes for best roadster and cob were again won by Mr. Henry Mason and Mr. Henry Crossley respectively, with the same animals who obtained similar honours last year. The show of cattle was greatly in advance of last year's, and this notwithstanding the conspicuous absence of several well- known breeders who are usually exhibitors. In Shorthorns particularly there was a large number of entries, and some excellent beasts. Among the gentlemen-exhibitors, Mr. Pison's and Mr. Hudson's stocks were specially good. In sheep, Mr. T. H. Hutchinson, of Manor Hall, Catterick, took the chief prizes, but there were many fine pens of sheep from other quarters. Leicesters and lonk sheep were both first-class. The best lonk tups were those of Mr. J. M. Green, of Keighley, which won the first and second prizes in their class. The sheep generally excelled last year's show. The pigs were perhaps hardly equal to the previous year, but here again were many excellent specimens. Mr. Duckering, from Lincolnshire, and Mr. Hatton, of Addingham, had some fine animals. PRIZE LIST. SHORT HORNED CATTLE. Gentlemen's Premiums. — Bulls. Best one year old, a silver medal or £3, W. Pison and Co., Greenholme. Best two years old or upwards, a silver medal or £3, W. Pison and Co. Cows. Best one year old, a silver medal or £3, R. J. Hudson, Burley-in-Wharfedale Best two years old, a silver medal or £3, W. M. Spence, Weston. Best three years old or aged, a silver medal or £3, John Greenwood, Swarelifi'e Hall, Ripley. Farmers' Premiums. — Bulls. Best one year old, £3, Crawshaw and Blakeley, Dewsbury ; 2nd, £1, Mieah Lamb, Cayley Farm, Otley. Best two years old or upwards, silver cup or £3, William Linton, Sheriff Hutton, York ; 2nd, £2, Jno. Renton, Parnley. Best bull calf under twelve months, £1 10s., Thomas Wall, Addingham; 2nd, 10s., Andrew Kelvington, Helperby. Cows. Best one year old, £3, Crawshaw Blakeley ; 2nd, T. H. Hutchinson, Manor House, Catterick. Best two years old, £3, J. T. Robinson, Leckby Palace, Thirsk. Best three years old or aged, silver cup or £3, William Lin- ton, Sherriff Hutton ; 2nd, £1, T. H. Hutchinson, Catterick. Best heifer calf, under twelve months, £1 10s., J. T. Ro- binson, Leckby Palace, Thirsk; 2nd, 10s., John Renton, Parnley, Otley. Best cow of any age for dairy purposes, £2, J. T. Robin- son- Thirsk ; 2nd, £1, R. J. Hudson, Moorville, Burley-in- Wharfedale. HORSES.— Stallions. Blood stallion, J. H. Wright, Rigton ; roadster, Godfrey Long, Spofforth ; draught or agricultural purposes, James Porshaw, Burley-in-Wharfedale. Geldings, Colts, and Pillies. Hack, under 15 hands, any age, H. Crossley, Halifax ; 2nd, P. Clarkson, Leeds. Gelding or filly, foaled in or before 18G5, roadster, H. Mason, Cottingley ; 2nd, T. Poster, Otley. Gelding or filly, foaled in or before 1865, for coaching, J. Johnson, Arthington ; 2nd, J. Garnett, Otley. Gelding or filly, foaled in 1866, roadster, T. Dales, Wetherby ; 2nd, W. Dawson and Sons, Otley. Gelding or filly foaled in 1867, for coaching, H. Pawcett, Old Bramhope; 2nd, W. Downes, Carlton. Gelding foaled in 1866, for draught, J. Dury, Ripley. Filly foaled in 1866, for draught, 1st and 2nd, John Robin- son, Laister Dyke. Gelding o rfilly, foaled in 1S67, hunter, B. Nicholson, Gar- forth ; 2nd, J. T.' Robinson, Thirsk. Gelding or filly, foaled in 1867, roadster, W. Stead, Cleck- heaton ; 2nd, E. Marsden, Birstwith. Gelding or filly, foaled in 1867, for coaching, D. Walker, Wetherby ; 2nd, John Renton, Parnley. Gelding, foaled in 1867, for draught, J. Robinson ; 2nd, M. Issott, Weeton. Filly, foaled in 1867, for draught, J. Wood, Leeds ; 2nd, T, Green, Keighlev. Colt or filly, foaled in 1868, for draught, T/Wood, Calverley Bridge ; 2nd, R. W. Eddison, Leeds. Colt or filly, foaled in 1868, roadster, E. and W. Pawson, Burley-in-Wharfedale ; 2nd, C. Pickard, Otley. Colt or filly, foaled in 1868, for coaching, Mrs. Mark Maw- son, Eccup ; 2nd, J. T. Robinson. Colt or filly, foaled in 186S, by Young Thumper, R. W. Eddison ; 2nd, W. Barrett, Leeds. Colt, foaled in 1868, by Great Warwick, T. Greenwood. Filly, foaled in 1868, by Ditto, T. Greenwood. Brood Mares. Brood mare, roadster, B. Nicholson : 2nd, J. Clarke, Leeds. Brood mare for draught or agricultural purposes, E. and W. Pawson ; 2nd, R. W. Eddison. Cart-horses and Mares. Cart-horse or mare of any age, Crawshaw and Blakeley, Dewsbury ; 2nd, W. Whitaker and Co., Bradford. Ponies. Pony of any age, not exceediug 13 hands, J. Bailiffe, jun., Leeds ; 2nd, H. Cautley, Bramley. Pony of any age, not exceeding 1-i hands, J. Pickard, Brad- ford ; 2nd, J. Deighton, Otley. HUNTERS. Best hunter of any age, a silver cup, value £10 10s., George William Appleyard, Angram Hall, Easingwold. Best leaper, a silver cup, value £5 6s., Brady Nicholson, Stivrton Grane-e, Garforth. J*2 462 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Best leaping pony, not exceeding 14 hands, £2, Mr. M. Andrew, Dewsbury. SHEEP. Best ram of any age, £2, T. H. Hutchinson ; 2nd, 10s., Micah Lamb. Best shearling ram, £2, Win. Laycock, Woodville, Keigh- ley ; 2nd, 10s., T. H Hutchinson. Best tup hogg, £2, and 2nd, 10s., T. H. Hutchinson. Best pen of three giramers, £1 10s., and 2nd, 10s., T. H. Hutchinson. Best pen of three ewes and lambs, £2, T. II. Hutchin- son ; 2nd, 10s., John Greenwood, Swarcliffe Hall, Ripley. Best lonk ram, any age, £1 10s., and 2nd, 10s., Joseph M. Green, Keighley. PIGS. Best boar^ large breed, £1 10s., R. E. Duckering and Son, Kirton Lindsey, Lincolnshire ; 2nd, 10s., Wilson Lister, Armley. Best boar, small breed, £1 10s., J. and W. Sagar, Lister Hills ; 2nd, 10s., Wm. Hatton, Addingham. Best boar, middle breed, £1 10s., Sam. Appleby, Armley ; 2nd, 10s., J. and W. Sagar. Best sow, large breed, £1 10s., J. B. Britton, Hunslet ; 2nd, 10s., Wilson Lister. Best sow, small breed, £1 10s., W. Hatton ; 2nd, 10s., R. E. Duckering and Son. Best sow, middle breed, £1 10s., R. E. Duckering and Son; 2nd, 10s.; Wm. Parker, Golden Lion, Bradford. PIGS NOT EXCEEDING NINE MONTHS OLD. Best boar, large breed, 15s., Wilson Lister ; 2nd, 5s., J. W. Reeday, Keighley. Best boar, small breed, 15s., Thomas Philip, Skipton ; 2nd, 5s., J. and W. Sagar. Best boar, middle breed, 15s., Tillotson Wilson, Farnhill, near Leeds ; 2nd, 5s., J. and W. Sagar. Best sow, large breed, 15s., J. and W. Sagar. Best sow, small breed, 15s., John Crabtree, Shipley ; 2nd, 5s., J. and W. Sagar. Best sow, middle breed, 15s., J. C. Alderson, Manningham ; 2nd, 5s., Wm. Bentley, Fairweather Green, Bradford. SALE OF MR. BOWLY'S SHORTHORNS, AT SIDDINGTON, CIRENCESTER, By Mr. H. Stratford. As a judge in the showyard, as a member of the R.A.S.E. Council, and as Chairman at a Shorthorn lunch, Mr. Bowly is well known. In his own country, and es- pecially across country, he is, if anything, even more popu- lar. When his last draught sale of an entire family took place four years ago, at an average of £40 18s. 6d. for 38 head, his sale ring was well tilled, but this time it was crowded four and five deep, aud all the waggons as well. The Shorthorn herd dates back to the " dark ages" of the breed ; when he bought from the Rev. Henry Berry, Mr. Stokes, and Mr. Tucker, prices were at a low ebb. In thirty years a great change has taken place ; at the first starting he would use a bull of his own, or join Mr. Wood- ward in one, or get another from Earl Ducie, sending his own bull produce in the meantime to Cirencester market for twenty or five-aud-twenty guineas a piece. In 1857 he gave 120 guineas for Fourth Duke of Oxford, the Ducie sale had given a fillip to the blood, and up it went. Old Fourth Duke was used a long time, and in his latter days sojourned at Waltou-on the- Hill and Wetherby, and the Wetherby letting ended in a hiring upon Mr. Bowly's part of Seventh Duke of York, who went for a couple of years, and was afterwards bought outright, in conjunction with Mr. Rich, for 500 gs. The produce bulls then went higher, sending to the market ceased, and he could get 30 to 40 gs. at home for year- lings, and even more for good ones, whilst a calf would go off at 15 or 20 gs. Females however increased, and it ended in a sale, as we have said. Still the female por- tion of the herd multiplied, and another sale last Thursday was the result. The cow and heifer portion of the cata- logue comprised the Musical aud Violet tribes and three Siddingtons. The former has been in his possession for twenty years, and came to him from Mr. Tucker, who got it from Mr. Burgess, of Cotgrave, Notts. The Violets trace back direct to Charles Collings' Selina of the alloy blood, and it was curious to observe how animals desceuded originally from stock that sold for hundreds in 1810 went now at a trifle over tens. The Siddington had the great advantage of fashion, and a Bates pedigree entirely. The auctioneer started them at 200 gs. a piece, and the biddings ran along merrily and quickly up another hundred or two as will be seen below. Taking the stock collectively, it was a lot of fine auimals with good hair and ribs, nice udders, and de- ficient girths ; while the cows and heifers were brought out in most excellent condition. The day was one of those bright cheerful spring days, when all nature seems bursting into life ; and the cattle seemed to enjoy it, for they came out in great bloom. The cows had been pastured out in a meadow behind the buildings, and were a lot of massive good animals ; some, hoAvever, of the oldest lacked hair. Until the seventh lot entered, there was no spirit in the sale. The cows having newly calved evidently made much difference, as those that were in calf, especially to a Duke bull, weut off well. One of the lots, Musical 6th, a cow with an immense middle aud spare girth, yet heavy in calf to Capt. Gunter's Second Duke of Claro, who had been in service, went at 86 gs., was bought by Mr. Foster for Mr. Geo. Moore. The 9th also was an elegant animal, hairy aud well formed, of a light roan colour. Siddington 4th was a really good heifer, four months in calf to Second Duke of Collingham, with a fine Bates- like head. She reached 300 gs. in no time, Mr. Foster bidding 380, when Lord Dunmorc closed it with 400. It was a difficult question as to which was thebetter of the two, she or Musical 12th, which Lord Fitzhardinge, losing the Siddington, got at 100 gs. The 6th Siddington was not quite so handsome, but growing, and seemed rather dear ; as also her companion Musical 14th, her sire being Seventh Duke of Vork, and her dam also by this bull. She looked vigorous and was playful in the ring, which pro- bably helped up her price to 105 gs. The Violets, as a tribe, were not good, seeming to want development, and they were principally white. The Bulls taken as a whole were useful, but not first-class. Mr. Harvey's Lord Wild Eyes 5th, a bull of substance and much style, excited the most languid compe- tition. Mr. Bowly stated he would give considerably over 100 guineas, only he had no use for him ; still, every effort could not get him beyond the 110 guineas, aud it was said in the course of selling him that 300 guineas had been asked. A Gloucestershire farmer bid 100 guineas for him ; but not one would bid so high for one of JNIr. Bowly's own bulls. A dairyman standing by the ring-side mentioned that he had used a Walton bull ■ but he didn't like him, as the breed was apt to be too THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 463 thin through the heart, a point that might be improved in Mr. Bowly's bulls. We subjoin prices and buyers names with the result of the sale in figures. One of the sights at the sale was the new bull-calf that >l r, Bowly has just given 500 gs. for to Gapt. Gunter; he is a good animal with some very good points and others that might be improved, as all animals have. The man that brought him down also brought the news of Fourth Duke of Thorndale's (17,750) death — a pure Bates, and one of the best bulls in the country ; he was found dead in his box on Tuesday last. It also transpired that Col. Kingscote's white American heifer, Countess of Oxford, had had a dark roan CO, and Mr. Rich's Kirklevington XII., that has recently passed into Lord Dunmore's possession, had got a red C.C. The proceedings were very satisfactory, for, as Mr. Bowly said at the lunch, he acted up to : "I never bought in an animal in my life and I never will. I feel that I should be guilty of a great crime if I put any sort of protection upon an animal. If he wants protection, get rid of him : he isn't worth owning. Shorthorn breeding can only be carried on with great liberality and on the highest principles of honour." COWS AND HEIFERS. Sorgstress, 12 years (Captn. de Winton) ; 40 gs. Rose of Oxford, 8 years (W. J. Edmonds) ; 37 gs. Chorus, 8 years (C. Hobbs) ; 40 gs. Geyser, 7 years (Bourne) ; 34 gs. Harpsichord, 7 years (Lawrence) ; 50 gs. Rose of Oxford 2nd, G years (Lord Duninore) ; 41 gs. Siddington, 5 years (Lord Dunmore) ; 260 gs. Musical 2nd, 5 years (C. Hobbs) ; 50 gs. Musical 3rd, 4 years (Lord Fitzhardinge) ; 68 gs. Musical 5tb, 4 years (Walker) ; 38 gs. Musical 6th, 3^ years (G. Moore) ; 86 gs. Musical 8th, 3 years (Lord Bolton) ; 62 gs. Musical 9th, 3 years (Lord Dunmore) ; 75 gs. Musical 10th, 3 years ; dead. Siddington 4th, 2 years (Lor ' Dunmore) ; 400 gs. Musical 11th, 2 years (Lord /itzhardinge) ; 70 gs. Violet, 2 years (Lord Dunmore) ; 50 gs. Musical 12th, 2 years (Lord Fitzhardinge) ; 100 gs. Violet 2nd, 21 months (Lord Fitzhardinge) ; 35 gs. Musical 13th, 13 months (J. P. Foster) ; 80 gs. Siddington 6th, 13 mouths (Lord Dunmore) ; 370 gs. Musical 14th, 8 months (Lord Fitzhardinge) ; 105 gs. Violet 3rd, 12 months (Mace) ; 41 gs. Violet 4th, 11 months (Mace) ; 51 gs. Musical 15th, 3 months (J. P. Foster) ; 36 gs. Violet 5th, 1 week (Lord Dunmore) ; 18 gs. BULLS. Baron Wetherby 15th, 2 years (Faulkner) ; 42 gs. Western Duke 2nd, 15 months (Cook) ; 36 gs. Western Duke 3rd, 14 months (Allan) ; 46 gs. Baron Wetherby 18th, 13 months (Pegler) ; 38 gs. Baron Wetherby 20th, 11 months (W. Game) ; 36 gs. Baron Wetherby 21st, 11 months (Knowles) ; 61 gs. Baron Wetherby 22na, 8 months (Mutlow) ; 41 gs. Lord Dawpool, 5 months (Hawkins) ; 27 gs. Baron Wetherby 23rd, 3 months (Moore) ; 20 gs. Baron Wetherby 24th, 2 months (Mace) ; 30 gs. Lord Maidstone, 3 months (Moore) ; 42 gs. Fitz-Walton, \\ month (Arkell) ; 23 gs. Fitz-Wetherby, \\ month (Houseman) ; 15 gs. Lord Waterloo, | month (Lord Powerscourt) ; 10 gs. Lord Wild Eyes 5th, 2| months (Lord Fitzhardinge) ; 110 gs. summary : 25 cows averaged £93 19s. Id. = £2,348 17s. Od. 14 bulls averaged £35 0s. 6d. = £490 7s. Od. Total— 39 averaged £72 16s. = £2,839 4s. Od. 3 Siddingtons averaged £360 10s., 21 Musicals £55 15s., 10 Violets £37 13s. 10d., 5 odd bulls £42. HOW THE HARES AND RABBITS MUST GO. The third Bill, the " Game Laws Amendment (Scotland) Bill," bears the names of Messrs. M'Lagan, Fordyce, and Orr Ewing, all county members, the last being usually classed as a Conservative. Moreover, it is in substance identical with one which was last year endorsed by Sir W. Stirling Maxwell, then the Conservative member for Perthshire. But it is really the suggestion of the Chamber of Agriculture (Scotch), and has lately received the renewed approval of that body, besides being adopted at several farmers' meetings. Its basis is that hares and rabbits should be excluded henceforth from the list of game and the protection of the game-laws. Besides this it abrogates, like the last-mentioned Bill, the jurisdiction of the justices in all game-law cases. It declares that no man shall be tried twice for the same offence under different Acts, and it gives the tenant a summary claim for damages arising through increase of game on the farm. To this measure it is obvious that no objection of principle can lie. It interferes in no way with existing bargains ; it only repeals in part the game-laws, and what the Legislature has enacted it may, of course, at any time repeal. Neither does it introduce strife between the parties to the bargains, for if hares diminish the landlord cannot reasonably blame the tenant, who has no more power than himself to preserve what the law no longer gives the means of preserving. Doubtless, the diminution in the numbers of this species of animal will be speedily effected by poachers (if they can longer be called so), and it is idle for the advocates of the measure to blink this necessary result. But there are two facts worth noting. Hares and rabbits will be reduced by poaching just to the point at which poaching ceases to be profitable, and then poaching will, as a trade, or as an avocation involving any serious loss of time, die out. This is proved by the existing experience of many large estates, where there is no preserving of game at all, where, in fact, the game-laws are to all practical purposes as if they never were enacted, but where game is by tio means extinct, but exists in sufficient quantities to give fair sport to the fair sportsman. The second fact is that the proposed change in the law applies only to the most destructive, and at the same t me, consider- ing ea^e of capture, the most profitable animals to the poacher, and still leaves partridges, pheasants, and grouse under the protection of the laws. Now, if sportsmen cannot be satisfied to compromise for the preservation of winged game by abandoning ground game to the wrath of the farmers, they must be prepared to fight for the extravagant privileges of a very small order against the plain demands of justice and the good sense of the whole people. The allega- tion has been made that if the game laws are in any degree modified, the farmers will suffer so much from trespassers that they will demand a stringent trespass Act. The idea is preposterous. Larks are not game, nor are plovers' eggs, yet both are delicacies which bring a high price. But who ever heard a farmer complain of the damage done by persons snaring larks or seeking for plovers' nests ? The fact is, they are not preserved, and therefore they are not inordinately nu- merous, and by consequence there are no bands of men hunt- ing alter them. They just afford an occasional remuneration to a few persons who do not do a tenth of the damage in a whole year that is inflicted in five minutes by a single run with foxhounds over a field of young wheat, or even by the landlord, with his friends, keepers, aud dogs, beating a turnip- field in early autumn. Tt is not the game laws that secure our lands from trespass : they create trespass by creating the occasion and temptation. After all, our unreasonable game- preservers are happily a minority even among landlords. They have done enough of mischief by pushing to extrava- gance the execution of laws which were never intended to sanction their monstrous pretensions. They have now brought about the reaction, beginning in Scotland, but sure 464 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. to extend to England, which demands the abolition of laws they have perverted. We counsel them to yield to the first demand. At present the Scottish farmers are ready to com- promise with thera for the abandonment of hares and rabbits. .But, if this is resisted, the great towns are sure to take the question up, and to ask why we keep in force laws which breed poachers as well as pheasants, and fill our gaols as cer- tainly as our preserves. The wiser Conservatives in Scotland see the demand to be inevitable ; and their English brethren will be very foolish if they reject the present Sybilline offer. — Pall Mall Gaxede. THE ASSESSMENT FOR POOR RATES. The select committee appointed to inquire into the assess- ment and collection of poor rates and other local taxes in England and Wales have made their report. The conclusions at which the committee have arrived are that every local au- thority entitled to raise any money by means of local rates should make a requisition on the overseer or other proper officer for the whole amount required to be paid, so far as the same can be estimated for the period of one year, commencing at a fixed period. That such requisition should be delivered to the overseer, or such other officer, a reasonable time before the commencement of the year, to enable him to make a rate at that time ; and should state the amount which may be re- quired for the several purposes, if more than one, for which rates are authorised by law to be made. That the overseer should, on the receipt of all the requisitions made on him for the year, make one consolidated rate sufficient to satisfy all such requisitions. But when all property described in the rate-book is not liable to be rated uniformly for the purposes of all such requisitions, such entries shall be made in the rate-book as may be necessary to show such difference in the rate. That the rate should be payable by not less than four equal quarterly payments, and be collected and enforced ac- cordingly. That where the rate exceeds Is. in the pound, the person in the occupation of any tenement let at a rent payable oftener than quarterly, may elect to pay the rate by monthly instalments. That in addition to the rate-book now prescribed, a book to be called the " Instalment Rate Book," shall be provided in a form to be prescribed by law, in which the name of each occupier electing to pay monthly the amount of the rate, the amount of each instalment, and the time when pay- able, shall be entered. That when any necessity shall arise during the year for any rate above the estimated annual charge, a special rate shall be made, and be collected with the next following payment. That a demand note should be left with each ratepayer, on the rate being made, stating the amount of the requisitions, the rate in the pound for each purpose, and the period for which the rate is made, the rateable value of the premises, the amount of the rate thereon, and of each payment. That the overseer should be empowered at any time after a rate has been allowed, to amend the rate-book, with the sanction of the justice, by omitting the name of any person unduly in- serted, or inserting the name of any person unduly omitted. That where any premises, being vacant at the time of making the rate, shall become occupied before the next rate shall be made, or any change shall take place in the occupation during the year, the overseer shall make a supplemental rate in re- spect of such occupation. That paid collectors be employed where necessary to collect the rate, for such remuneration, by way of salary or commission, as the local authority making the requisition shall consent to allow out of the amount thereof. That the overseer and collecting officer should pay over the rate as collected, and account for the same and arrears thereof, at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed by law, and the same should be enforced by a summary proceed- ing before two justices of the peace. That every change in the ownership and occupation of the premises should be re- ported by the collecting officer to the overseer, and every in crease in the value of the premises should be reported to the assessment committee. That the commissioners for the assess- ment of local taxes should deliver yearly to the overseer, or other proper officer, a schedule of the taxes to be collected irom ratepayers in the parish (except the assessments of the special commissioners of the income tax) . That the collecting officer should collect, account for, and pay over the taxes ac- cording to such directions as they may receive from the Board of Inland Revenue, on being allowed such percentage thereon as may be allowed for the collection of taxes. In the event of any loss arising from the insolvency of a person liable for both rates and taxes, or from the embezzlement of a collector, the priority of claim on the part of the Crown on the available fund should be preserved, subject to which the loss should be borne rateably out of the several requisitions for which the consolidated rate was imposed. That the owner should be rated in the following cases : A, where the tenement is let furnished ; B, where the tenement is let in apartments ; but the occupier should be permitted to claim to be rated, and be rated in manner prescribed by the existing law. The owner should be deemed to be any person receiving or claiming the rent of any tenement, or receiving the same for the use of any corporation aggregate, or of any public company, or of any landlord or lessor, who shall be under disability ; or for the use of any person who shall not be actually resident within twenty miles from the parish in which the tenement is situate. That the power of excusing persons from the payment of rates should be transferred to the board of guardians, and any allowance of exemption from rates on the ground of poverty should be considered as out-door relief. That the board of guardians, before hearing any application of an occupier for excusal, shall give notice to the owner of the tenement occupied of the time and place appointed for hearing the application. That the owner of every tenement, the occupier of which has been excused payment of rate on the ground of poverty, shall be liable to two-thirds of the rate That where premises are let for shorter periods than a year, the assessments should be carefully revised, so that in fixing the gross estimated rental under the Assessment Acts proper deductions should be made from the enhanced rent charged by the owner to cover the risk and cost of so dealing with his property. That when the owner is compelled to pay any portion of the rate contrary to his agreement with the occupier, he shall be entitled to re- cover the same by distress, or action from the occupier, and when the occupier shall be compelled to pay the rates con- trary to his agreement with the owner, he shall be entitled to deduct the same from his rent, or to recover the same, as well as damages, for any distress he may have suffered by action from the owner. That so much of any public or local act as relates to compositions for rates for public purposes, should be repealed. THE FUTURE MAINTENANCE OF HIGHWAYS. THE At a Meeting of the Herefordshire Chamber of Agriculture, Mr. Apperley opened a discussion on this subject, during which a variety of opinions were expressed, and the feeling anything but unanimous as to the course to be adopted. Ultimately, Mr. F. W. Herbert moved the adjournment of the discussion until the next meeting, and was supported by Mr. Duckham. Mr. Haywood and Mr. Vaughan strongly opposed adjournment, the former contending that there was no object whatever to be gained by such a course, the question having been well discussed at the present and former meetings. At this time there was not a dozen members present, and the meeting hesitated as to the course to take. Mr. VAUGHAN described the discussion as a mere reitera- tion of what had taken place two years ago, when it was a foregone conclusion that turnpikes must be abolished, and, having pertinently addressed himself to the present position of the question, concluded by moving a series of resolutions to the following effect : " 1. That Government be requested to bring in a measure for the total abolition of turnpike-gates . 2. That the future repair of turnpike roads be borne, with that of the other parish roads, by each highway board, by a district rate, and that the same be assisted by a grant from the consolidated fund. 3. That the debt of any trust be met by a rate upon the owners of property." Mr. Haywood seconded the amendment of Mr. Vaughan. A division took place, and the amendment was carried by a majority of three or four, there being some nine or ten members left to arrive at a conclusion. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 465 THE REMOVAL OF UNMARKED CATTLE. At the Clerkeuwell Police-court, on April 21st, James Le Neve, of Norfolk-villas, Hungerford-road ; and Smith Case and Benjamin Brightley, drovers in his employ, were sum- moned, by order of the Board of Trade, for having infringed the new Orders in Council by driving cattle into the Metro- politan Cattle Market without having a licence from the Com- missioners of Police of the metropolis ; and, further, for re- moving 15 bullocks from the same market without having such cattle marked by clipping the hair off the ends of their tails. From the evidence of Henry Woolston, gatekeeper at the Metropolitan Cattle Market, it appeared that on the 1st of March, between the hours of two and three in the morning, the defendant Smith Case went to him and produced four papers for the admission into the market of 135 beasts, which were consigned to Mr. Le Neve, and in which he was de- scribed as the owner. One of the papers, No. 7,S93, for 15 beasts, was found to be out of date ; and Woolston told Case so, and said that it was only intended to be in force from the 24th to the 26th of February. The 25th of February was a market day, and the pass was inteuded for the admission to the market on that day ; and not on the following Monday, when Case presented it. When Case had driven in some of the beasts he was told that he would not be allowed to bring in the 15 for which the pass had expired. Case said he should bring them in, and chance it ; and that, if witness wanted to know anything more about it, he was to speak to his governor, meaning Mr. Le Neve. Shortly afterwards Case drove up 50 beasts, and when it was ascertained that among them were the 15 for which there was no pass, everything was done by the witness Woolston and a police-constable to prevent them from entering the market, but without avail. Case then said that as soon as he could separate the fifteen he would send them out of the market, and in about an hour afterwards the defendant Bright-ley brought out fifteen beasts. Neither of them had the hair cut off their tails, nor were they marked in any distinctive manner. When Brightley was spoken to about the beasts, he said that Case had sent him out with them, but there was no evidence adduced to show that Mr. Le Neve had either ordered the beasts to be taken into the market or to be brought out. Mr. Le Neve said that he knew nothing about the beasts being taken into or out from the market, as he was in bed at the time of the occurrence. The order which had been re- fused by the officer had never been used. There was no diffi- culty about the matter, for he could have gone to the police- station opposite the market and have obtained a fresh pass. The cattle not being sold was the reason why they were not marked and the hair cut off their tails. The hair being cut off the tails would denote that the beasts were sold. Case said that he thought the order he produced would do, and the other defendant said that he acted under the orders of Case. Mr. Ellison said Le Neve and Brightley would be dismissed on the payment of the costs. As for Case, he had rendered himself liable to a penalty of £5 per head for each animal. It was plain that that defendant was determined to take the cattle into the market from the remark that he made — viz., that he should chance it. He should order him to pay a fine of £15, being £1 per head. Mr. Ricketts, solicitor, applied for a reduction of the fine, as the defendant was only a drover and a poor man. The effect of ordering him to pay such a large sum would be to cause him to lose his licence. Mr. Ellison said he thought the master ought to pay the fine. Ultimately he reduced the fine to £5 ; but on being pressed by Mr. Ricketts he adjourned the case to consult with Mr. Cooke, as these cases were likely to be frequently brought before this Court. THE EDUCATION OF THE AGRICULTURAL CLASSES. — At a meeting of the Hampshire Chamber of Agriculture at Andover, Mr. Joseph Parsons, of Abbott's Ann, introduced this subject in a well-considered address, concluding with the subjoined not very telling resolution (adopted) : " That in any measure of education which may be adopted for the benefit of the poor in rural districts, whilst mental instruction is not neglected, it is essential that prominence be given to such moral and practical training as shall fit them for the duties of after life." CHEMICO-AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ULSTER. Inferior and Adulterated Manures. — Dr. Hodges has reported that since the meeting of the council on the 16th of last month, two samples of guano had been examined by him of a very inferior description. It was important that farmers should be cautioned that at present quantities of guano were offered for sale which closely resembled genuine Peruvian guano in colour, smell, and general appearance, and for which they were asked to pay £10 or £11 per ton, but which was seldom worth more than from £4 or £5 per ton. One of the samples which was examined was forwarded by a Belfast house to which it had been sent by a purchaser. The other sample was from Londonderry. The Belfast sample on the 100 parts consisted of — Moisture 10.00 Organic matters 19.90 Phosphates 34.15 Carbonate of lime 29.15 * Alkaline salts 4.80 Sand „ 2.00 100.00 *Phosphorous acid in alkaline salts equal to 1.5 phosphate of lime. It contained no ammonia, which is the most costly con- stituent in genuine guano, and was not worth moie than £3 15s. per ton. The sample from Derry was apparently a genuine article, and resembled Kooria Moria guano. It was a rich phosphatic manure, but contained only about half per cent, of ammonia. Its estimated value was £4 3s. per ton. SIR GEORGE JENKINSON'S DESTINY.— As nature abhors a vacuum, so political nature appears to abhor — not bores — but a House of Commons without bores. The shadow of Mr. Darby Griffith no sooner passed from that assembly than Sir George Jenkinson — newly-elected member for North Wilts, and who, in July, 1865, if we remember rightly, not only contested the county unsuccessfully, but distinguished himself by a hot dispute with another honourable candidate concerning the show of plate on his side-board — felt inspired with the. honourable ambition to succeed, and, it may be, even (proud thought !) surpass him. He is in a fair way to succeed. He evidently aims at asking two needless questions every night, and repeating them as often as may be, in slightly altered forms, till they become a sort of catechetical Opposition chant. Then he never fails in a great debate to trickle on in his clear, shallow, monotonous voice through at least one hour or more of the dinner-time. As he has just the sort of voice you can't listen to and can't help hearing, his prospects of really eclipsing Mr. Darby Griffith seem very good. That great destiny itself may not seem to all our readers a brilliant one, but it is pleasant to see any one form a really accurate conception of the scope of his own powers. — The Spectator. THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN AGRICULTURE.— At a meeting of the Herefordshire Chamber of Agriculture, called to meet Deputy-Com- missioner Norman, and discuss this question, the fol- lowing resolutions were arrived at : " That children under ten years of age are so unequal to the labour required of them by the farmer that their employment is quite exceptional." And, " That in the opinion of this Chamber there is no legislative interference required for the regulation of the employment of women, young persons, and children in agri- culture in this part of the kingdom." 468 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. AGRICULTURAL REPORTS GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR APRIL. On the whole, the past month has been very favourable to the development of the wheat plant. It is now well above ground and looking strong and healthy, if indeed the vegeta- tion be not too luxuriant. Not that the plant is forward for the time of year. It was undoubtedly forward at the close of February, but the cold winds of March greatly retarded the plant, and at the close of that month it was rather backward. Some complaints were theu heard of discolouration, and much apprehension existed in consequence. This discolouration, however, may be a bad sign or a good one as the case may be. It may arise from an accumulation of water under the ground, which is bad ; or it may be the result of frosts, which at certain seasons of the year is productive of good. In the present instance the latter was evidently the cause of the loss URAL ARCHITECTURE : a SERIES XV OF DESIGNS FOR RURAL AND OTHER DWELLINGS. The Ground Plans, Elevations, and Specifications by James Sanderson, Burgh Engineers' Office, Liverpool. THE AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTOR: or, YOUNG FARMER'S CLASS BOOK.— By Edmund Murphy, A.B. DOMESTIC FOWL: THEIR NATURAL HISTORY, BREEDING, AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT. THE FLOWER GARDEN.— By George Glenny, F.L.S., Author of "Properties of Flowers," &c. HORSES: THEIR VARIETIES, BREED- ING, AND MANAGEMENT.— Edited by M. M. Mllburn. D OGS : THEIR ORIGIN AND VA- RIETIES. HGS: THEIR ORIGIN AND VARIE- TIES. COWS AND DAIRY HUSBANDRY.— By M. M. Milburn, Author of " The Sheep," &c. The Dairy Department Revised by T. Horsfall. SHEEP AND SHEPHERDING : embrac- ing the History, Varieties, Rearing, Feeding, and General Management of Sheep ; with Treatises on Australian Sheep Farming, the Spanish and Saxon Merinos, &c. By M. M. Milburn, Author of " The Cow," and various Agricultural Prize Essays. I^HE HIVE AND THE - BEE. HONEY XIV. JESTS OF THE FARM. A New Edition. By M. M. Milburn, Author of " The Sheep,", &c. xv. LAND DRAINAGE, EMBANKMENT, AND IRRIGATION.— By James Donald, Civil Engineer, Derby. SOILS AND MANURES, with INSTRUC- TI THE IMPLEMENTS OF THE FARM —By R. Scott Burn, C.E. IONS FOR THEIR IMPROVEMENT.— By John Donaldson, Government Land Drainage Sur- veyor. In the Press, in continuation of the same Series, rpHE POTATO: ITS HISTORY, CUL- X TURE, AND NATIONAL IMPORTANCE.— By S: Copland. London : Honlston & Wright, 65, Paternoster Row ; Rogerson & Tnxford, 246, Strand, W.C. Dublin : J. McGlashan, Upper Sackville Street. And all Booksellers. ROGERSON & TUXFORD,] [PRINTERS, 246, STRA^C. THE MARK LANE EXPRESS AN AGRZCULTURAL JOURNAL IS THE LARGEST AND THE LEADING FARMERS' AND GRAZIERS' NEWSPAPER. PUBLISHED EVERY MONDAY EVENING IN TIME FOR POST. The object of the Proprietors of the MARK LANE EXPRESS has ever been, to render it in every way the most efficient organ of the .Agricultural Class, to direct and diffuse practical and scientific information of all kinds relating to rural affairs, to be a medium for giving circulation to the Proceedings of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, he Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland,, the Royal Agricu tural Improvement Society of Ireland, and of every Agricultural Society and Farmers' Club in the Kingdom. All political and party discussions are care- fully avoided, except such as are purely A?ricul tural; since its establishment, twenty-sixyears since, this course has been steadily adhered to, and the result has been, the accession of a numerous and rapidly-increasing list of Subscribers, comprising the most influential Agriculturists lnthe kingdom. In times when the position of the Tenant Farmers has been one of great difficulty, the MARK LANE EXPRESS has ever been directed to the advocacy and support of the rights of the Tbhant Farmers. In stating this, it in not intended to lose ROGERSON & TUXEORD, May be had of all Booksellers and Newsmen throughout the sight of that noble principle which the great Lord Leicester go successfully followed ; viz., that liberal conduct towards the Tenant will ever be found to be the most beneficial to the Landlord. THE MALT TAX.— This is the only Farmer's Paper in London which advocates the Repeal op the Malt Tax. In authenticity and extent of Market information, the MARK LANE EXPRESS stands unrivalled. A REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE (British and Foreign) fully explains the Causes which occasion the Rise or Fall in Prices, thus affording the Growers and Speculator some grounds for anticipating the stability or future tendency of Prices. The Latest Reports of the Corn, Cattle, Provision, Wool, Seed Hop, Malt, and Commercial Markets, appear with the leading Country Fairs and Agricultural Meetings. Authentic Weekly Advices are received from all the Important Markets in the king- dom, our Colonial Possessions, as well as all parts of Europe and America, 265, STRAND, LONDON. Kingdom, price Sevenpence, or £1 10s. 4d. per annum. In one thick vol., the Thirteenth Edition, price 16s., MODERN DOMESTIC MEDICINE. Describing the Symptoms, Causes, and correct Treatment of Diseases, with a large Collection of approved Prescriptions, &c. Forming a Comprehensive Medical Guide for the Clergy, Families, Emigrants &c By T. J. Graham, M.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. ' ' " Popular works have been published by several medical practitioners— but none of them equal those by Dr. Graham." — Medical Circular. " Far excelling every publication of its class." — British Standard. London : Published by Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. Sold by all Booksellers. NEW WORK BY THE AUTHOR OF « MANHOOD." DPost Free from the Author, 12 stamps ; Sealed Ends, 16 stamps. R. CURTIS'S MEDICAL GUIDE TO MARRIAGE : a Practical Treatise on its Physical and Personal Obligations. With instructions to the Married and Unmarried of both Sexes, for removing the special disqualifications and impediments which destroy the happiness of wedded life, founded on the result of a successful practice of 30 vears.— By Dr. J. L. Curtis, M.D., 15, Albemarle Stseet, Piccadilly, London, W. Also, by the same Author, a New and Revised Edition of fyTANHOOD : A MEDICAL ESSAY on the Causes and Cure of Premature Decline in -LfX Man ; the Treatment of Nervous Debility, Spermatorrhoea, Impotence, and those peculiar infirmities which result from youthful abuses, adult excesses, tropical climates and other causes; with Instructiona for the Cure of Infection without Mercury, and its Prevention by the Author's Prescription (his infallible Lotion) REVIEWS OF THE WORK. ' Manhood.— This is truly a valuable work, and should be in the hands of young and old."~Sunday The book under review is one calculated to warn and instruct the erring, without imparting one idea that ia?T?Ti!tiato ihe mind not already stored by the vices of which it treats."— Naval and Military Gazette l8t r6u.j J out), ' " We f<[el no hesitation in saying that there is no member of society by whom the book will not be found use- tvjtW t a 8ucnPerson hold th« relation of a Parent, Preceptor, or Clergyman"— Sun Evening Paper Manhood.—" Dr. Curtis has conferred a great boon by publishing this little work, in which is described ^«t/rS%r«Jt8MarcSr27^%W856h Pr°dUC6 ^^ *" ^"^ " ""^ frequently' Prematu™ old age."- f .S" 'i.PBb^ed by A1'len' n' Ave Maria Lane» Pateraostewow ; and Mann, 39, Cornhill; and sent free by Book Post from the Author or Publishers for 12 Postage Stamps, or in sealed enveloped 30 StamoS Consultations daily, from 10 to3 and 6 to 8, 15, Albemarle Street, Piccadilly, W. ' P o* J. OO £ < P p3 o PR CO P3 i— i M CQ o W H CO OQ P3 kphh O »— i m o P3 w CO £> ri 2 S fx< Glue 2 707 Dissolved bone-ash 5 70) Glue 2 707 Dissolved bones 5 87) Glue 2 707 Bolivian guano 3 24) Glue 2 70 16 9£ Dissolved coprolites 5 70 13 5§ Dissolved bone-ash 5 70 14 9 Bolivian guano 3 24 16 0£ Sal ammoniac 1 105 17 11 Sal ammoniac 1 1057 Bolivian guano 3 24) ' 10 10 10 10 111 m 10* 1057 87> 105 7 70 ; 105 1 70 J Tons. 18 Cwt. 3 17 10 IS 10£ 18| 141 Sal ammoniac 1 Dissolved bones 5 Sal ammoniac 1 Dissolved bone-ash 5 Sal ammoniac 1 Dissolved coprolites 5 12 tons of dung 3 cwts. of guano , Having thus traced several of the recent researches upon the turnip plant from its seed, followed it into its many cultivated varieties, seen how the produce of these varies, and having examined its mineral constituents, and the fertilizers by which its growth is promoted, let us consider what an excellent practical agriculturist has ascertained, as to the best mode of storing the bulbs when they are fully grown; on this head not long since, in his Prize Essay {Jour. Roy. Ag. Soc, vol. 25, p. 358), our friend Mr. George Jonas has given us, as the results of his practical experience, derived from the management of about 700 acres of roots, grown annually under his superintendence, the following suggestions. As he well remarks, "The chief points to be observed for ensuring success in storing are, first, to select fine and dry weather for the operation, and never, under any cir- cumstances, to cart or store any which are the least frost- bitten ; to cover up and keep them dry when carted, but never so closely covered as to prevent the escape of any slight heat arising from the heaps and clamps when first stored ; to be exceedingly watchful in the spring, as soon as vegetation commences, to uncover the top or ridges of the stored roots, so as to allow the escape of any heat arising from their sprouting. The general time for be- ginning this work is the middle or latter part of October, and it is not generally completed till the latter part of November, or in some mild seasons until the beginning of December. Pine weather not only ensures the safety of the crop, but allows of the roots being laid in larger heaps, and in great measure protects the land from the injury caused by carting. On heavy lands, Dl suited for sheep, the whole of the turnip crop is drawn for stall-feeding ; but on light sheep farms, the general and best plan is to remove about one-fourth or one-fifth, according to the crop, taking five rows and leaving fifteen or twenty, or doubling these nnmbers. By this means the whole of the land is folded regularly, and turnips enough for the cattle are procured without exhausting the land. The turnips required for immediate consumption in the yards should be drawn off, well cleaned and topped, then carted and stored in houses or sheds about the latter part of October. If the sheds be open, they should be covered with straw to protect them from frost. All the turnips that are to be consumed in the yards should be carried home and secured before the frost sets in ; therefore, where there is not sufficient shed room, they may be kept very well in large heaps, on the south side of walls or buildings, care being taken in the latter case that there is troughing to protect the heap from the dripping eaves. The base wall is formed by two rows of hurdles, set about three feet apart, the space between them being well stuffed with barley straw or some short pulse to keep out the frost. The turnips are laid up to the top of the hurdles and piled up against the wall, the heap being covered with a thick coat of straw." In taking these retrospective glances upon the recent efforts to improve the value of the turnip plant the reader will not regard them merely for what their authors have accomplished. He will also remember that all these valuable examinations direct our attention to great, and far from exhausted, fields of research; to only very partially examined phenomena, which will in all reasonable certainty long continue to excite our attention, andamplyreward us for the labour we bestow in the inquiry. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 479 THE WOOLSTON SYSTEM OF STEAM CULTIVATION It was at just about this season of tie year that Mr. Alderman Mechi, with that open-handed hospitality for which the citizens of London are so proverbial, was wont to issue his general invitation — Tiptree Hall farm is now on view — the young wheats are looking famously, aud so forth. This was, of course, altogether irrespective of that high holiday in July, when people invaded the place by hundreds ; whereas keen observers might perhaps learn more by running down previously, in little parties of two or three. If we remember aright, they could go whenever they chose to do so, for Tiptree Hall was but another name for Liberty Hall, with a hearty welcome insured, and somebody ever in waiting to show you round. And now, just at this very same period, with everything only longing for a little sun to burst torth into brightness and look its best, the owner of another model farm slams his door in our faces, as witness this adver- tisement : " I respectfully inform the public that I will not show my farm, and explain my system of steam cul- tivation, for nothing again. Hereafter, I will charge five guineas a lesson — that is, for a walk over my farm, and an explanation of my system — to all, excepting the press, and I will have three days' notice at least. — (Signed), William Smith, Woolston, Bietehley Station, May 12, 1869." For our part we are rather inclined to regret this determination. And we speak with some experience; for we have been over Woolston with one of the most practical deputations which was ever arranged for such a visit. This was for the Farmers' Club ; and, within a month or two afterwards, the Chairman of the Club stated, at one of the meetings, that " they had walked over the farm and found the system pursued to be most efficacious ; for he, for one, never saw land better broken up in his life." Mr. Owen Wallis, another mem- ber of the deputation, " was happy to have that oppor- tunity of saying a few words with regard to the very satisfactory character of that visit. He was quite sure all who accepted Mr. Smith's invitation would agree with him in stating that they saw a most interesting and a well-cultivated farm. They saw land cultivated by steam- power which he, for one, should have thought altogether impracticable for such cultivation. The soil was, in some parts, of a stubborn aud tenacious character, and there was a great irregularity of surface ; yet the work of the steam-cultivator was done in a most satisfactory manner. The land had evidently been deeply cultivated and well- ridged, and the crops cultivated were in every respect as good, he believed, as aay that had been seen on land of the same description. He was now speaking of Mr. Smith's clay land, and his strong soil. Upon his better description of soil, which exhibited all the charac- teristics of garden farming, the cultivation was very deep ; indeed, he never saw any so deep : he never saw land so friable, and with so beautiful a tilth for the reception of any class of plants which it might be thought desirable to grow." And, again, Mr. Thomas, of Bletsoe, " as one of the deputation who paid a visit to Woolston, was not merely pleased, but astonished at the beautiful manner in which Mr. Smith's heavy clay land was laid out. He had no doubt but, upon clay lands, steam cultivation would be a considerable advantage to farmers, whether practical or amateur. He could corroborate all that Mr. Wallis said with regard to Mr. Smith's farm. The superiority of the land, compared with other land in the neighbourhood, was very marked indeed ; and that was saying a great deal." Let us bear in mind that all this was said just nine years since, long before the merits of deep cultiva- tion and a beautiful tilth were so generally acknow- ledged, or at any rate acted on. But this visit was attended with a still more practical compliment to the then comparatively novel system inspected. Every one of the members of the Club we have quoted — and they all "spoke with authority"— very shortly afterwards, as we believe, had applied steam power to the cultivation of his own farm. Hence, then, Woolston itself was about the best advertisement for the Woolston system; as at this very moment the Messrs. Howard can use no more forcible argument or inducement with a customer than a drive up from the works to the Britannia farms. Unfortunately, however, Mr. William Smith is not in the trade. He is an enthusiast, a man of genius, and hence it has possibly come about that other people may have been reaping the greater reward. To no man does the advent of steam cultivation owe so much, as rarely indeed have energy and determination been more successfully employed in developing an object. But Mr. Smith as a genius is eccentric, intolerant of control, and impatient of correction. It has so happened that he has refused to swim with many of the tides that lead on to fortune. He has broken with and denounced the Royal Agricultural Society of England. He has thrown his hat high in the air, and ridiculed the judges when they hesitated to award him the first prize. He has quarrelled with the manufacturers of his implements, and denounced the Mark Lane Express for declining the in- sertion of some of the more intemperate of his letters. As a consequence he has been put again very much to his own resources, and the greatest of these resources, the finest proof he can offer, is his own farm. When we have men like the leading members of the Farmers' Club speaking as they did of Woolston, and when we know how well merited these good words were, we can only repeat our regret at hearing of the determination, in common parlance, to " shut up the shop." For it will come very much to this. Few people in these days will care to pay a fee of five guineas for a walk over a steam cultivated farm, when the report of the Royal Agricultural Society's Commissioners is simply a guide to some scores of such farm3 that may now be readily seen for the asking. Not that in saying this that we would attempt to deny any of the credit due to Mr. Smith, for the immediate effect which must follow from the excellence of hi3 notion is that it will be adopted by others. As with Mr. Owen Wallis and Mr. Thomas, of Bletsoe, the example has not been thrown away, and Woolston has long since become merely a matter of multiplication. Under these circumstances a charge of five guineas is virtually a warning to keep off the premises, and Mr. Smith, as we have said, loses the advantage of his best advertisement. It is easy enough to understand that for want of tact, or temper or commercial habits Mr. Smith has not had his deserts, as that where others have made fortunes he himself has realised comparatively nothing. But this is an old story, and the country which Columbus discovered took its title from somebody who followed him. Mr. Smith at any rate, enjoys his title undisputed, if nothing more, 480 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. but our wish would be to see bis rights more directly recoguised. As a practical farmer he has done much for farmers, and blotting out his amusing vanities and irasci- bilities we would ask if he be not worthy of their thanks? Bearing in mind only these weaknesses of his former col- league, we think it was Mr. James Howard, who with very questionable tasterecently termed Mr. Smith "asilly man ;" while on the other hand we cannot but consider him a very able man, and perhaps after all more sinned against than sinning. When at a dinner in Aylesbury Mr. Disraeli in a better spirit referred to their neighbour at Woolston, as a man the Buckinghamshire farmers should be proud of, the room took it up with a cheer in testimony of his worth. When the deputation returned to the Farmers' Club each member told of his visit iu terms that are of themselves something of a testimonial. But we should wish to see this feeling more generally evinced. Almost unfortunately Mr. Smith received very early in his career a small present of plate from his imme- diate friends and neighbours, as this no doubt has stood in the way of anything more. Seeing the " base uses" to which they are frequently turned, it is not often that we should propose to start a testimonial to a man ; but if there be an exception, we would make it here. To any other class, indeed, it would be scarcely necessary to suggest so much. Let the five guineas in- spection fee be abandoned, for it is altogether a mis- take, and likely ouly to tell against Mr. Smith's own interests ; but on the other hand, let Agriculture, for whom he has done so much at so much cost of means and brains, offer a zealous servant something really worthy of his labours and acceptance. He is certainly a man who has done much, if perhaps " a silly man" who has done more for others than for himself. THE COMPOSITION OF THE SOIL AND THE REQUIREMENTS CF CROPS. The composition of our soils is exceedingly variable, and has a very important influence upon their productive powers. The growing plant is fixed iu a definite locality : if the supplies of food exist iu the soil and atmosphere, it has certain essentials of growth at its command. If on the other hand some of the materials which are required for the plant's growth are absent from the soil, it cannot ilourish, it may not even be able to continue its growth. To illustrate this fact, how frequently do we find certain plants gradually disappearing from cultivated land when those soils are no longer able to support them. Pointiug in the same direction is the oft observed experiment of sowing wood ashes or superphosphate upon grass land. To find a fragment of clover plant upon some grass land is well nigh impossible ; and yet the application of matter in which the seeds of clover cannot exist produces a strong growth of clover. If it proves anything, it proves that the seeds of the clover, or some worn out representatives of the plant, must have been in the soil unable to find the supplies they needed to make a vigorous growth ; but no sooner are these added to the land than they burst into a luxuriance of growth. It does not, however, need much evidence to show the important relationship existing between the composition of the soil, and the requirements of the crops we cultivate. It is true that it is a question which requires the skill of a scientific chemist to answer; but it also needs the ability of a practical farmer to bring these views into a position of usefulness. Each may therefore approach the inquiry with feelings of mutual respect, and contribute their res- pective shares to the promotion of a common cause. Now one of the curious facts which we observe iu an investiga- tion of the chemical composition of soils is, that their general constituents are very similar, and that their chief differences exist iu those constituents which are usually present only iu minute proportions. One of the most important ingredients in the soil is phosphoric acid ; rarely, if ever, does this exist in the richest soil at the rate of one-half per cent., or 1 in 200 ; much more usual is it to find it in fair quality land in the proportion of 1 in 1,000 parts, and even less. This will serve to indicate the importance of kcepiug up the supplies of those valua- ble materials which plants require for their successful growth. It has frequently been asked, Can these bodies replace each other or discharge the duties of an absentee ? If soda be present, and the plant is seeking for potash, can the soda take its place ? Within certain narrow limits these variations do take place, but the unhealthy growth of the plant gives evidence of the substitution. There is an abseuce of that luxuriance of growth which we like to see, and the plant looks sickly. If the plant be weakly, it probably yields to the adverse circumstances of the case, especially if any other constituent is also deficient. When there is a vigour of growth in the plant it will fre- quently struggle through ; but not without giving indica- tions by an unhealthy growth. Thus we have evidence when the land is becoming tired of a crop, as we are so apt to describe it, and it plainly shows that we must either grow some other crop, or add to the land some fertiliser which will restore the deficiency there existing. There is one very important consideration in connection with these deficiencies which should ever be borne in mind. It is the weakest link in a chain which is the measure of its strength ; one link may be able to support a ton, but if another link iu the chain can ouly support apouud, that alone indicates the strength of the chain. Wc may have a soil rich in all the elements of nutrition except one; but if a erop is to be grown which requires this material the additional fertility goes for nothing. So far as this individual crop is concerned the deficiency regulates the yield. Under such circumstances, we say, the land is un- fit for, or tired of such a crop, and yet it is capable of producing luxuriant crops of other plants. When our ac- quaintance with the chemical composition of soils, and the requirements of our respective crops is more perfect, we shall probably be able to indicate the missing link, and economically render the chain perfect. An investigation of the composition of soil shows to us that, whilst a limited portion of the soil is available for vegetable growth, it contains vast stores of fertility which are in a dormant condition. These have been re- cognised respectively as the active and dormant ingredi- ents of our soils. Their composition is usually very simi- lar, except in cases of bad management, when the land has been exhausted, in which cases it is the more valua- ble portion of the active ingredients which have been re- moved. Happily, bad farming can only rob the land of this portion. There is always a larger store remaining to reward the skilful and industrious cultivator. It may, however, be interesting to notice how this dormant por- tion of the soil assumes its active condition, and becomes available for the support of vegetable life. The same at- mosphei ic agencies which co-operated to produce soil from THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 481 the face of the hard rock again pursue their work of change upon the minute fragments of dormant soil. The peue- trating moisture, the changes of temperature, and the deep- searchiug carbonic acid, soak into, burst and attack the fragments of inactive soil, and the quiet but persistent at- tack is fiually successful ; for that which was useless to vegetable life becomes more aud more soluble in water, and passes into the circulation with case and rapidity. The industry of man, however, is necessary to bring these influences to bear. The various tillage operations assist iu exposing fresh material to be acted upon, and break up iu some degree the soil which has been partially prepared. _ The passage of water into and through the soil carries with it a supply of air and carbonic acid ready for engaging iu the work of chemical change. Thus our usual tillage operations have a very important influence in bringing into active action that valuable dormant mat- ter of the soil which we must re-vivify if we would pro- mote luxuriant cultivation. At one time much was anticipated from the analysis of soils, and it was anticipated that we should thus be able to indicate with accuracy in what respects the natural deficiencies of a soil could be replaced ; and a correspond- ing feeling of disappointment has been felt that this result has not been realised. It is, however, useless to expect too much ; there are limits within which the chemical examination of soils has already doue very great service in this respect, and it will doubtless accomplish even greater results when that energy is thrown into it which it merits. The spirit of research iu this department of science has been torpid for some years past, and no one would hail with greater satisfaction than ourselves the commencement of some investigations connected with the science of agriculture worthy of the day in which we live — the interests which are involved therein, and the abun- dant means at command. That there is ample scope for such research cannot be denied, for the range of agricul- tural practice is great ; but when we have to record the actual results of scientific research in relation to agricul- tural practice, it is but a very unsatisfactory report we can render. Most cheerfully would we tell of progress if we could justly do so ; but whilst the farmers of this country more than ever stand in need of every assistauce that science can render, we will encourage the hope that a long aud dreary blank will shortly be relieved by some use- ful investigation calculated to coufer a wide-spread benefit. GENERAL MEETING OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. The half-yearly general meeting of this Society took place on Saturday, May 22, in Hanover-square ; Sir Archibald Macdonald in the chair. The attendance was very small. The first business transacted was the election of members of the Council. The house-list was adopted, including the names of two new members — viz., Mr. llobert Leeds, of Castleacre, Brandon, Norfolk, and Sir W. White Ridley, M.i\ Mr. Dent, M.P., said he had great pleasure, in the absence of any other senior member of the Couucil, in proposing that his Grace the Duke of Devonshire be elected President for the ensuing year. They were goiug next year to Oxford, the place where the Society's first meeting was held, aud a great seat of learning ; and he proposed the Duke of Devonshire not only as being an enlightened agriculturist, and as taking very great interest iu the affairs of that Society, but as having himself fulfilled a most distinguished university career. Iu selecting for the office of President one of the first mathematicians and scholars that Cambridge had ever produced, they would be doing what he trusted Oxford would regard as one of the highest complimeuts that could be paid to it. Not only, there- fore, on account of his grace's distinguished services to agri- culture, but also on other accounts, he felt the greatest plea- sure in proposing the Duke of Devonshire as President for the ensuing year. Sir Walter Stirling said he was happy to second that motion. Concerned as they were in the cultivation of the ground, it was desirable that the most cultivated individual should be selected for the office of President ; and he was sure he was saying nothing but what was in accordance with fact when he applied that remark to the Duke of Devonshire. The motion was then adopted. The trustees and vice-presidents having been afterwards re-elected, Mr. Jenkins, the Secretary, read the following REPORT OF THE COUNCIL. Since the General Meeting in December, 4 governors aud 48 members have died, the name of 1 governor has been transferred to the list of members, and the names of 212 mem- bers have been removed from the list ; 2 governors and 104 members have been elected, so that the Society now consists of 75 life governors, 73 annual governors, 1,417 life members, 3,864 annual members, aud 17 honorary members, making a total of 5,440, being a decrease of 15 names, as compared with this time last year. His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, K.G., has been elected a vice-president in the room of the late Sir J. V. 13. Johnstone, Bart., M.P. ; and Sir Thomas Hesketh, Bart., M.P., of Ruffbrd Hall, Lancashire, and Thomas Statter, Esq., of Stand Hall, Whitefield, Manchester, have been elected members of the Council to fill the vacancies caused by the re- signation of Clare SewellRead, Esq., M.P., and the election of His Grace the Duke of Richmond, E.G., as a vice-president. The half-yearly statement of accounts to the 31st of December, 1868, has been examined and certified by the auditors and ac- countants of the Society. This statement has been published in the last number of the Journal, together with the Leicester Country Meeting accounts, and a balance-sheet for the whole year 1868. The funded capital of the Society still remains £16,027 19s. 7d. in the New Three per Cents., the sum of £3,000 lies on deposit with the Society's bankers, and the cash balance in their hands on the 1st inst., was £4,235. His Highness the Pasha of Egypt has been unanimously elected an honorary member of the Society, in recognition of his generous aid to British agriculture, and his interest in its progress. His Excellency M. Drouyn de L'huys aud M. Edouard Lecouteux, the first president and secretary of the " Socicte des Agriculteurs de Prance," have also been unani- mously elected honorary members of the Society. The Society resolved last year to hold its country meeting for 1870 at some town in the division comprising Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and Sussex. A me- morial having been received from the corporation of Oxford, aud the arrangements made by the au- thorities appearing to meet the requirements of the Society, the Council have to announce that the country nieet- iug for 1870 will be held at Oxford. After inviting nomina- tions from members of the Society, and after correspondence with the principal county agricultural societies, new lists of judges of stock aud of implements have been prepared. Me- morials signed by several breeders of Oxfordshire, Shropshire, and loug-woolled sheep, requesting the Council to abolish the system of inspection, as well as all restrictions on the shearing of sheep, have been received. A full reply has been given to the statements in the memorials, aud the Council have en- deavoured to render inspection more thorough and efficient by appointing au additional inspector. The country meeting to be held at Manchester, under the presidency of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, E.G., from the 19th to the 24th of July, promises to be unusually attractive. The Society's show-yards for implements and live stock will contain upwards of 00 acres. The entries for implements and ma- chinery, S;c., which closed on the 1st instant, show that this 482 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. department will be even more extensive than the large display of last year, and it may confidently be expected that the show of live stock will be on an equally large scale. A schedule of prizes to the amount of £4,120 has been issued for live stock and implements. The local committee have also announced their intention of holding a show of hounds aud an exhibition of leaping of hunters; and tbe Royal Horticultural Society will hold a flower-show adjacent to the Society's yard. The Society already possesses in its Journal valuable reports on the agri- culture of most of the English counties. Several years, how- ever, have elapsed since many of these reports were written, and the Council feel sure that in the more advanced state of agricultural practice and science, there is still much of in- terest to record in different localities. They have therefore thought it advisable to obtain more detailed information as to the management of particular districts, and for this purpose special farms have been selected, to which gentlemen deputed from the Council have recently paid visits. In the next num- ber of the Journal it is intended that ample reports of these farms shall appear ; and it is hoped that these reports will not only record anything peculiar in the system pursued upon the farms themselves, but will also contain much useful practical information and prove interesting to the general readers of the Journal. The examinations for the Society's educational prizes and certificates were held on the 13th of April and fol- lowing days, when IS candidates, out of 21 who had entered, presented themselves for examination in the several subjects. According to the scheme authorized by the Council, a candi- date, in order to obtain a certificate, was required to satisfy the examiners in practical agriculture and in book-keeping, as well as in one of the two following subjects, viz. : in me- chanics as applicable to agriculture or in land surveying ; and to enable him to take a place in the first class he was also re- quired to pass in chemistry. Candidates had also the option of offering themselves for examination in one or more of the following subjects, viz.: Botany, geology, and veterinary science ; and those who passed in any one or more of them had the marks thus obtained placed to their credit in the general classification. In the examination of this year 200 marks were allotted to agriculture, mechanics, chemistry, and book keeping respectively ; and 100 each to laud-surveying, veterinary science, geology, and botany ; the pass number beiug one-half the number of marks allotted in the essential subjects. Successful candidates have been placed in two classes, in each of which they have been arranged in order of merit ; and they have been rewarded as follows : To each of those placed in either of the classes an appropriate certificate has been granted, specifying the subjects in which he has passed; the two candidates who have obtained first-class certificates have been made life-members of the Society, aud two prizes, of £30 and £20 respectively, have been awarded to them for aggregate merit. Prizes have been awarded to those candidates who showed the greatest knowledge of each individual subject of examination, irrespective of his place in the general classification. The result of the examinations this year has been most satisfactory, and has enabled the examiners, in conjunction with the education committee, to make the following classification and awards of prizes : I1RST CLASS. John J. Harle, Haydon," Bridge, C. G. Roberts, Hazlemere, ) These gentlemen become life members of the Society ; and, in addition, the former receives a prize of £30 and the latter one of £20. SECOND CLASS. A. R. Wallis, India, ^ Edwin Fox, Finchley, H. Rivington, f insbury Sqr., G. Skipworth, Caistor, J G. R, Glendinning, Mid Lothian, Edinburgh University. James Fowler, Durham, ~) G. Y. Wall, Durham, s Royal Agricultural College. L. W. Olive, Cheltenham, J It is to the Council a matter of congratulation that, with one exception, all the gentlemen who have obtained certificates in- tend to be either farmers or land agents. The prizes offered to those candidates who should show ■ Royal Agricultural College. Royal Agricultural College. the highest merit in each subject have been awarded as follows : In Agriculture £10 to J. J. Harle. Mechanics £10 to C. J. Roberts. Chemistry £10 to H. Rivington. Botany £10 to H. Rivington. Veterinary Science £10 to A. R. Wallis. Book-keeping £5 to G. Y. Wall. Land Surveying £5 to James Fowler. Geology £5 to H. Rivington. Colonel Towneley moved the adoption of the report. Mr. Lloyd seconded the motion. Mr. Dent, M.P., said he could not but regret that there were so few members present. The affairs of the Society were frequently discussed, and, as it struck him, not in a very frieDdly spirit, by writers in agricultural journals and others; and it was a most unfortunate thing that at the half-yearly meetings of the Society, when reports were presented, they had not the advantage of the presence of those and other gen- tlemen to criticise and comment upon what had taken place, to show the Council their shortcomings, and when they thought it right to do so to assist them with advice. He would venture to make one or two remarks on certain matters which were mentioned in the report which had just been read. In the first place, he thought they must all very much regret that Mr. Sewell Read felt that his parliamentary and other duties necessitated his retirement from the Council. As a practical agriculturist, and as representing the tenant farmers, especially in Parliament, where he had attained a good stand- ing, both on account of his high character and on account of his intelligence and ability, Mr. Read was a valuable member of the Council, and his retirement from it now was deeply to be regretted. He now passed to what was said in the report respecting the Journal. They had in the Journal already very valuable reports, and a great deal of useful informa- tion connected with agriculture in different English counties. Since those reports were written, however, a great deal had been done, and great progress had been made ; and it appeared to the Journal committee that, instead of offering prizes for agricultural essays, it would be far better to devote a certain sum every year to reports written or compiled by practical men on particular farms in particular localities. Eight farms had been selected for the present year, all showing peculiarities of cultivation in different districts. To some of those farms certain members of the Council had kindly accompanied the Secretary ; they had now nearly all been visited, and he be- lieved the next number of the Journal would contain most interesting reports upon them. It should be clearly under- stood that these farms were selected not because they were considered the best in the district, or with any idea of writing up particular farms, but in order to find out the peculiarities of each agricultural district ; how different climatic influences acted upon the agriculture of the northof England, the south, the midlaud, or the west ; the differences between a dairy farm and a purely feeding farm ; and where there was anything peculiar or striking in management. He trusted the members of the Society would find all such matters recorded, and be enabled to obtain hints for the better management of their own farms, and, further, that those reports would be found to possess great interest for the readers of the Journal aud the agricultural public generally. There were two motions before the Council which had been referred to a Committee — one emanating from Mr. Thompson and the other from himself — the object of both being the further carrying out of what he had just mentioned. Mr. Thompson had suggested the institution of a system of travelling scholarships, like those of the Universities — that young men who had shown agricultural ability should be sent into particular districts to prepare reports, and that if found satisfactory those reports should be inserted in the Journal ; it being hoped that by that means the Council would obtain valuable papers for the Journal, and at the same time add to the agricultural education of the writers. He (Mr. Dent) had, on the other hand, ventured to propose that they should seek out practised men — men with a greater knowledge of agri- culture, and that the visits should not be confined entirely to Eugland ; but that, following the example of the late Mr. Curwen, they should obtain papers on Irish agriculture, Scotch agriculture, and even the agriculture of Belgium and other foreign countries. He could not but think that if such papers THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 483 were written by thoroughly practical men, men conversant with agriculture and men of the world, they would prove very in- teresting and valuable sources of information. Take, for in- stance, the case of Ireland at the present moment. Without touching on the politics of Ireland, he would ask What subject could be more interesting than its agriculture. ? They all heard what a wonderful advance had been made in the material prosperity of Ireland; and they might judge for thenselves, from the Irish stock which came to the English fairs and which was seen grazing in his own part of the country and in the midland counties, what a great improvement had taken place in the breeding stock of Ireland. It was very difficult to get from Irishmen anything like an accurate account of what was going on in Ireland. He frequently conversed on that subject with Irish members of Parliament, and countrymen of theirs with whom he was acquainted, and he certainly found it very difficult to elicit from them facts. But among the agricultu- rists of England there were cool and clear-headed men who, if they were to spend a month or six weeks in Ireland, looking at matters from an English point of view, would no doubt be able to write for the Journal most valuable papers on Irish agricul- ture. One of the most valuable papers that he ever read was one that appeared in the Journal on farming in the Lothiaus. At the present moment, he believed, steam cultivation was being carried on to a considerable extent in that part of the kingdom, and he should like a good man to go there and tell them what steam cultivation was doing iu that district. These questions had, as he had already intimated, been referred to a Select Committee of the Council, and he should have been glad to hear a friendly discussion upon them on that occasion, and thus learn the opiuion of members of the Society. A few words with regard to education. There could be no doubt that the examination this year was, as was stated in the Report, a very satisfactory one ; probably it was the most satisfactory one they had yet had. The worst of the matter was, that when they looked over the list they found that, with one exception, all the first and second class prizemen were educated at the same place. He should like to see the field from which can- didates were taken widely extended. He believed, too, he was not wrong in saying that one of the prizemen was of the comparatively mature age of twenty-eight or thirty, and he scarcely thought that they ought to give education prizes to men of that age, men who had regularly gone into the business and practice of agriculture. It was matter for consideration whether these examinations should be carried on another year, and if so whether some limit ought not to be put on the age of those who were to take part in them. Another ques- tion was whether it was necessary to give money prizes to all the successful candidates ; whether the gold medal of the Society for the first class and the silver one for the second, with a certificate might not be a sufficient inducement to gentlemen to come up for examination. These were points which mast be discussed by the Council or by committees of the Council, and it was very desirable that the Council should know somethiug as to the opinion of the outer world. Again, that day was the time for the election of additional members of the Council. He had a very strong feeling that they did not get anything like enough new blood. He had, indeed, frequently urged that it ought to be made a rule that half the list should retire every year and not be re-eligible. It had been objected that _ if that were the case they must ballot for members to retire, and that the result might be that the Society would lose some of the most useful and valuable members of the Council. No doubt that might be the case, but he thought there were as good fish in the sea as were ever caught, and he could not help thinking that they ought if possible to do something to obtain a greater number of new men. It had been frequently suggested that a circular should be sent to every member of the Society ; but that would cost £25 a year, and he thought they would hardly be justified in incurring such an expense. Moreover the charter stood in the way of this object. That document said that the members of the Council should be eligible for re-election, and unless it were altered the rule which he would like to see in operation could not be adopted. To meddle with the charter seemed to many members danger- ous and unadvisable, while others thought that some improve- ments were desirable. Whether or not it were desirable to apply for an alteration iu the charter was a question for the Council carefully to consider and the members to determine. In con- clusion, he must repeat what he said at the commencement, that he regretted there were so few members present to discuss questions upon which the Council would be glad to have ad- vice and assistance. The report was then adopted. On the motion of Mr. Thompson, seconded by Sir H. Vane, a vote of thanks was given to the auditors. On the motion of Sir H. Vane, seconded by Col. Towneley, thanks were voted to the chairman ; and the meeting sepa- rated. THE INSECTS OF THE FARM. At a meeting of the Maidstone Farmers' Club Mr. T. Bridgland, jun., chairman, drew attention to the claims of the Royal Partners' Benevolent Institution, a society which he regretted was insufficiently known and supported in this country. He mentioned a case where a farmer in this county was a candidate for the benefits of the institution, and said he hoped that he would be successful and obtain the £40 a-year which the society granted. Mr. Mercer, of Hunton, had made an excellent collector, but should he, from increasing age, resign, they had in view a gentleman who he was sure would most energetically perform the duties. At the present there was unfortunately no organization in the county, but he trusted to bring the matter before the club on a future occa- sion, when some steps might be taken in the matter. Professor Buckman then delivered his lecture, "Insect Enemies of the Parm," which he said might at the first glance appear to be a subject somewhat circumscribed, but he was quite sure that upon a little consideration'they would see that after all it was a subject of very wide extent. If they took a single crop like wheat, they would find it was subject to attack by insects of various kinds from the first moment it was put into the ground till the corn was ripened ; indeed they would attack it in the stack, in the granary, and even when it was converted into flour. If they went further, and made some paste, and left it exposed for a few days, they would find it alive with insect life. So they would see they had a subject to deal with that it would be almost impossible to exhaust in one evening's lecture. One of the erroneous impressions that were entertained with regard to insects was that hard winters were prejudicial to insect life. Nothing could be a greater mistake. It was customary, when there came a fine summer after a severe winter, for people to say how astonishing it was that there should be so many insects. A hard winter was really a preserver of insects unless they did something to destroy them, while a mild winter exposed them to the attacks of their enemies. The insects which attacked our com were natives of our country, and they seemed to know, when they assumed their caterpillar state, and had to provide for the winter, what sort of winter was going to happen, and they went into the ground a greater or less depth, according to circumstances. If we had a hard winter the insects were bound up by the frost, or covered up by the snow for six or eight weeks at a time, and the starlings and rooks and plovers, their natural enemies, were starving by hun- dreds. It was quite true that when the weather became more mild the birds would eat more for the time, and so destroy a larger number, but they never made up for the lost time. One of the best and readiest methods for keeping under insect life was winter ploughing. This enabled the birds to get at the grubs, exposing the insects, and admitting the frost. Another excellent plan was to put the manure on the land previous to the winter ploughing, or as soon as the corn was in the rick. If the manure should be in the green state it left the land much more hollow, and therefore much more open to the ac- 484 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. tion of rain and damp, which was much more prejudicial to insect life than even frost and cold, and at the same time the insects were much more exposed to the birds. As to the question of birds with regard to insects, he would venture to say a few words on the vexed question, whether birds do good to a farm or do mischief. From the conclusions which he had arrived at, he was quite convinced that there were some birds which did principally good. It was true that the rook aud the starling might occasionally do a little harm to crops in the field, and the thrush and blackbird in the garden, but they also did a great deal of good. He had shot rooks under al- most all circumstances, in order to ascertain this fact. Even when he had caught them in the act of stea'ing corn while he had found some corn in the crop and in the gizzard, lie had never found them without those grubs that had been so prominent in their attacks upon the crops. There was, for instance, the larvte of the moth, which would destroy any root crop in an incredible short space of time if it were not for the rooks. Therefore, with regard to the rooks, lie adopted the plan of keeping everything as quiet as he could, in order that they should not be disturbed in their search for food of this kind. When he told them that he found in three rows of 300 yards some 850 of these larvae, they would at once come to the conclusion that in a large field there might be some hundreds of thousands of these grubs, and their destruction was something enormous. He must call their attention more especially to the insects which came under the term of blight. They should be hearing more of the blight, perhaps, in a few days. It was conceived by some that these insect blights came from some distant country, but there was every reason to believe that their ordinary blights were pro- duced by insects brought up round about them. They migrated, it was true, from one field to another, and perhaps from one parish to another ; but their migrations were not very exten- sive, and, as a rule, they came no very great distances. There were circumstances under which insects propagated to an enormous extent, sometimes simply because their enemies were injured, or their eggs hatched under favourable conditions, and they were led to think that it was hardly po: sible that they could be produced at home, and they called them blights come from some distant country to blast the prospects of the hus- bandman. When they became more acquainted with the laws connected with their development they would be better able to cope with them than they were at present. One great difficulty in coping with them was their minuteness. They were so small that few could discern what they were about with the naked eye, and they were considered by some to be after all very pigmy enemies. From their multitudes, however, they did more mischief than larger creatures could possibly do. Professor Buckman then drew attention to three distinct forms of insect life which attacked the wheat crops. There were the beetles, the flies (two and four winged), and the moths. Taking first the beetles which were known by their horny wings, lie said the common cockchafer which was so abundant now in France, was a large creature, and it could be seen what it was doing. Their larvae were most mischievous, and this was not surprising when they found four generations of this insect in the ground at once. He had known people pay 3d. a quart for collecting these insects, and they had made pretty good wages. They were omniverous and attacked almost anything. The larva: would eat the wheat below the grouud. It was an insect of the most mischievous character. The ordinary beetles had also a larva; state, and it was in this state that they did such mischief. Many of them would cat vegetables. In the perfect state many of them did little harm. There was one that ate down the pea lobes, aud would be found very general in almost every part of the country — the little weevil. He had had a crop of peas entirely destroyed by it, but he attributed it very much to the carelessness of the gardener ; because they could easily manage them by a little soot sprinkled over them on a damp morning. This would cause them to go somewhere else. They were more difficult to get rid of when they attacked the peas in the field, which they did often before they were aware of it. In 1S65 he was made aware of their coming to attack his peas by one of them alighting on his whiskers while going over the farm. This insect did the mischief while in a perfect state ; and it was highly mischievous. The cockchafer too was not only mis- chievous in its larvse state, hut in its maturity it would strip whole trees ; and nothing seemed to come amiss to it, although it had a preference for the softer kinds of leaves. In this country we had not such a number as to do much injury to our corn fields, but on the continent they destroyed a wheat crop just as readily as a mass of locusts would do. It was on this account that our continental neighbours were so anxious to import birds to eat the larva; ; and he believed that if possible rookeries would be established in France in a few years' time, to a greater extent than they had ever been known. They knew when the rook was doing mischief, aud they could easily appoint people to prevent them, but he viewed them as of as much importance as farm labourers, but like the labourers they required looking after, for the best of them would be doing mischief occasionally, if they were not checked. The wireworm was the larvre of a beetle called the click beetle from its making a peculiar noise. They all knew of the ravages of the wireworm, and how on going over their farms they would find stalks looking yellow, which would break off leaving the roots only. Farmers sometimes imagined that this appearance was occasioned by birds taking the seed wheat away from the sprouting corn ; but this was a fallacy. The only remedies to keep these insects down were those he had alluded to — winter ploughing, so that the birds could get at the eggs. The little wagtail would destroy thousands. He also found rolling a great advantage, as the plant would then frequently send forth new roots, and start more vigorously. A little top-dressing with manure was also oftentimes a great advantage. When the wireworm had eaten out the whole of the heart of the plant there was, of course, no remedy. Were it not for the wireworm they would not require to sow nearly so much seed as they now did, but now it oftentimes took every other plant. He had scarcely ever found a crop of wheat without having some wire-worms in it. The beetles laid their eggs in the stubble towards the end of the season, and if these stubbles were dressed with manure aud then turned up with the plough they would almost all be exposed to the birds, and in that way he knew from experience a very great number of them got destroyed. A number of other beetles were then described, and the lecturer specially referred to the weevil, some species of which had been intro- duced in foreign corn, and he suggested that foreign corn should be weighed before being purchased, as it was sometimes eaten hollow by insects. The flies which attack the wheat crop were then glanced at, especially the saw fly, the larvse of which ate away the stem, which fell down as if it were over- weighted. Amongst the four winged flies there were perhaps none more destructive than the wheat midges. They were not much larger than a gnat. It produced, as they all knew, a little worm, and it was perhaps, one of the smallest larva; with which they had to deal. Its whole life, seemed to be devoted to eating out the pistils of the wheat, without which the seed- ing could not take place, aud when these insects were abund- ant they might be sure they would have a small quantity of corn. There was another wheat midge which attacked the leaves and the stems of the plants, and of course when the leaves, which were the lungs of the plant, were destroyed, it was never perfected. A similar insect to this, though of a brown colour, was very mischievous in America. It would be found in the rick, and great numbers would be found in the refuse after thrashing and sifting the corn. This refuse should be burnt to get rid of the insect. The aphis, sometimes at- tacked the wheat, and with whose character, as hop-growers, they were in all probability too well acquainted. The Dart tribe of moths attacked the swedes, and in thrashing the wheat from a field of thirty acres on one occasion he found four sacks of the dung of this moth. They would sometimes get into the granaries and do much mischief. The best plan was to move the corn about as much as possible. The smut in wheat was a vegetable blight produced by a small fungus ; and there were the effects of another form of insect life, which was some- times taken for this. It was a minute kind of worm which was known as anguhi, from its appearance to a minute snake. He had now brought before them the principal kind of in- sects from which their crops were liable to be attacked. After all, it was in their grub state that they did the most mischief, when they were just beneath the ground. There was no remedy better, where the roots of the wheat had been at all disturbed by insects, than the implement he had mentioned ; and he preferred a combination of the Crosskill and the Cam- bridge roller, which well pulverised the soil, and re-planted the roots which had been disturbed. A great number of the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 435 creatures, too, were crushed and killed by the process. He was quite convinced, too, that whenever dung was used, it was never thoroughly digestible by the plants until it was fully incorporated with the soil ; but not only did they accomplish this. They must remember that there was no more fruitful source of presenting our plants with insects than in carrying them in the manure, as it was also the fruitful source of weeds. By winter cultivation, the seeds of weeds and insects were destroyed by birds. He had even found 1,500 seeds of one of the most mischievous of their weeds (the common fat hen) iu the gizzard of one of those creatures. Birds did a great deal of mischief in some senses ; but they were appointed by nature for the purpose of keeping down insect life, which, hut for them, would increase to au extraordinary extent ; and, with regard to insectivorous birds, they ought to be extremely cau- tious how they permitted their destruction. It necessitated the study of the natural history of those creatures, so that they might know when to take them or leave them alone. He also thought that a farmer's education should not be considered as complete until he knew something of the numerous insects by which he was surrounded. The lecture was illustrated by specimens of the insects described, and by drawings and rough sketches made at the time. Mr. Chambers said the lecturer made some observations respecting wheat which was injured by an insect that seemed to him to perforate the stem just under the soil, iu consequeuce of which the stem became yellow, and if they lifted it, the stem came out very readily. He knew some oats that were in the same condition ; and could Professor Buckman tell them any remedy which could stop it now, as the crop* was pining away, and getting worse every day ? With regard to the killing of insects by small birds, was it well to make larger fields, destroying the hedgerows, and thus drive away the small birds ? Would birds come as well iuto large fields as they would small ones ? Would it not be better to leave their fields at fifteen or twenty acres, instead of making thein into fields of two hundred acres ? Mr. CHITTENDEN said tint they had had an abundance of a small black beetle which caused great devastation. Could the lecturer tell them how long-lived it was — whether it would soon take its departure, or were they to have it all the summer ? Mr. Sionham said he had the grub in his pea as well as in his bean-crop ; but he had just put the roll over them, and found that they were greatly benefited. He wished to ask whether, in land contiguous to chalky soil and down-land, si- milar to what they had in the " backbone of Kent," they would be more liable to wireworm ? Mr. Pdmett remarked that the whitethorn hedges were just now hatching a small caterpillar iu large numbers ; and he asked if it would confine itself to the hedges, or would it at- tack the crops before the season was over ? Professor Buckman, iu reply, said, with regard to the wireworm, if his own crop had been attacked by it in a way he did not admire, be gave it a good rolling ; but if that did not have the desired effect, he had it hoed, which completely balded the wireworm, for as soon as the ground was hoed they were exposed to the birds. Respecting the enlarging of their fields, his opinion was that fifty-acre fields were not too large for the small birds to operate upon. If they had small fields, with hedgerows, they were a breediug-place for insects. He had got his own farm into fifty-acre pieces, by which he had obtained a great deal more laud, and did not have a lot of little corners ; and as far as the birds were concerned, he did not find that fifty-acre fields were too large. He must say that the greatest enemies to the small birds were the boys, who robbed their nests. There were also sparrow-clubs, and the members did not confine themselves to sparrows. The weevil did attack the beans, but not so much as it did peas ; and if they were to approach the rows cautiously, they would see them fall down, and on being picked up they would not move a limb, but feigned death remarkably well ; and in that way, he supposed, they ol'teu escaped being killed by the birds. The best plan for their extirpation, lie found, was to take some powder or dust of auy kind, and throw over the plants when the dew was on them. If they bothered them, and moved the soil about continually, the insects would soon move off. They did net live long, but deposited their eggs, and then died off in the winter ; but some few of them might happen to live through. Each family laid about 150 eggs ; and if their enemies did not destroy them, there would be a great quantity of them. There was one thing they must not confound with the wireworm, and that was the larva of the daddy-longlegs ; and he then explained the difference between the two. He. then, iu auswer to one of the previous ques- tions, said that iu cold, stiff soil there was a large number ot insects. He found that higher fanning was more liable to have a larger amount of attacks ; but, with the higher knowledge of farming, there ought also to be a higher knowledge of insect- life. He must himself confess that there was not enough known of insects ; and the further they got into the field of inquiry that was opeu to them, the farmers would find it much more to their interest. The caterpillars in the whitethorn hedges were not those that had affected their crops, but kept to the hedges, aud sometimes ate them so much that they did not recover it for five or six years. With regard to the vibrio, it was not a defect in vegetation, but the ravages of an insect. In answer to Mr. Stouham's question, he said that land of the kind very often was the breeding-place of insects, which afterwards ravaged their crops. A vote of thanks to Professor Buckman was then moved by the Chairman, and carried ; and, it having been acknowledged by the Professor, the meeting terminated. FARMING IN THE WEST OF IRELAND. MR. ALLAN POLLOK'S SYSTEM OP HUSBANDRY. Whilst attending at the monster sale which took place on Mr. Pollok's estate in the county Roscommon, I took advantage of the opportunity of familiarising myself with the prevailing system of cultivation pursued in the province of Connaught, and more especially on the farms situated on the Pollok property. Passing from Dublin in a westerly direction, via the Midland line of railway, to the city of Tribes, the observer is presented with all descriptions of tillage, ranging from high farming to the most abortive attempts at husbandry. Iu the proximity of Dublin, where naturally fertile soils abound, and where a judicious system of farm management has been care- fully carried out, the aspect of the fields and the promise in yields of cereal and grass crops appear to be full of hopefulness. The beautifully circumstanced fields, so neatly sheltered with hawthorn hedges, and so well provided with water for supplying the herds of cattle, horses, and sheep here and there to be seen browsing within their mearings. The dai'-y farms extending in this direction, and lying contiguous to the line of railway, present many features to commend, and little to condemn. As a rule the soil is rich in both organic and inorganic substances. A uniform state of fertility is maintained by studiously returning to the soil, in the shape of applying stable manure, top- dressiug, or artificial fertilizers, an equivalent, if not more, of those substances extracted from it either by the grazing of the cattle, the removal of a hay crop, or those other crops produced iu the ordinary system of cultivation. In many parts of the district a four- course shift is usually pursued, but the prevailing system seems to be that of allowing the land to remain in permanent pasture for years, and, when the growth of moss chokes the production of the natural herbage, to plough up the fields so infested, crop it with lea oats laid down with artificial grasses and then allow the land to return to its grass-producing capabilities again. In other districts less favourably suited to natural meadow land or heavy grazing tendencies, the custom usually pursued is, first year, grain on the lea ; 2nd year, a manured root crop, principally potatoes, cabbages, or turnips ; 3rd year, grain with grass seeds ; and 4th, meadow, which, according to the constitution of the soil, may be allowed to continue in this state for one or more years. 486 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Within a radius of say six or eight miles of Dublin, no system of husbaudry pays so well as that of growing vege- tables for the supply of the local market and the export trade. The high prices which vegetables of all descriptions command now, and for some time past, in the market have induced many extensive proprietors to abandon their accustomed course of management and adopt that of market gardening. There may be some risks, which no doubt there are ; nevertheless, the anticipations of a speedy return of capital and the certainty of having a market for successive crops are considerations too tempting not to insure for the system a wide field of patronage. Green soiling, especially winter vetches and watered Italian rye-grass, is to be seen here in profusion, and large supplies of both are being daily drafted into the Dublin markets. Winter- sown wheat, spring oats, and early-planted potatoes exhibit an unusually healthy, forward, and prolific appearance. The breadth of surface devoted to the growth of the potato plant seems to have been excessive. The planting of the later varieties is still in active progress. Mangold cultivation is rather limited, and the same remark, but on a more modified scale, would apply to turnip culture also. Owing to the high rent paid for the lands in this district, the occupiers pursue that system which entails the least outlay and ensures the maximum return for the capital invested. Leaving Leinster behind, and crossiug over the river Shan- non, the traveller will find himself launched into the province of Connaugbt, when in feudal times it was fashionable to be transported thereinto. On the mind of the stranger, impres- sions more or less hostile and unfavourable become immediately contracted. Outskirts of the great bog of Allan, the circuitous route of the river Shannon, with its numerous lakes, rivulets, and islands, the inundating tendency of the river Suck, and the humid nature of the climate, all combine to render an acquaintance with the western province more or less inodorous. In many parts along the route, the highly fertile valleys, the beautifully-wooded demesnes, the pictural landscapes, which present themselves, as well as the luxuriance of the herbage, tend to relieve the monotony of observation very materially. The composition of the soil is most variable, ranging from the brown bog, or shag, to the most stubborn rocky soil, and from rich alluvial deposits to pure argilaceous soils. As regards the system of management pursued, it must be admitted that the tenantry attempt only the mode of management which ensures the wherewithal to pay the rent, and house and feed the family. Nowhere, except in very few instances, has there been anything like rofary or systematic cropping adopted. The feeding of cattle, their pasturage, sale, and reproduction, is the accustomed routine. Both soil and climate suit the extension of the grazing principle admirably. The humidity of the atmosphere in Connaugbt would render the growth of cereals unprofitable, whilst at the same time it might tend to promote the growth of root crops, hay and grass most materially. This being the fact, it is not to be wondered at, to use the words of a late Viceroy, " that portions of Ireland are destined to become the fruitful mother of flocks and herds." Wherever the peasantry in the west attempt arable husbandry, the mode in which they carry it out, and the sppliances with which they possess themselves for practising any sort of an approved system, are simply ludicrous. No doubt they ought to understand potato cultivation, vet the lazy bed system, which they universally adopt, with zigzag furrows, uneven beds, and disproportioned widths, seems to be everywhere erroneously understood, and as disadvantageous^ practised The want of skilled labourers, or, indeed, labourers of any sort, seems to operate as a great drawback in this directiou. Since the migrating bands of workmen in Connaugbt ex- perienced the getting of more remunerating employment in England, they invariably flock thither when their services at home are the more needed. Already the several lines of rail- way from the west are drafting to the Irish capital the bone and sinew of the Connaught people of both sexes, and from thence they proceed to Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, or other seaport towns across the Channel, where remunerative employment is certain to be obtained, and where they remain until the gathering in of the harvest is completed. This drain from the otherwise available labour of this portion of Ireland leaves the employment of the residue of the helpless portion remaining at home at " par," and as may be naturally pre- sumed from their inability to take part in farm work, their employment becomes more and more a matter of necessity than otherwise. The hereditary disposition on the part of the Irish peasantry to grow a potato crop is significantly charac- teristic of the people in the west of Ireland. Being passion- ately fond of this favourite esculent, every stratagem is resorted to with a view to its growth being effected. Considering the monomania there seems to exist for its production, the wonder is that its cultivation is so sadly understood. We observed, even in the town parks along our journey, the extent which the absurd system of spreading the manure on the surface of the beds some days ere its covering could be effected, and thus allowing its very substance to escape, either by being too volatile, or being evaporated by the sun's rays. As already stated, the cultivation of the land is only a secondary consideration with the occupiers of Connaught. They much prefer the production of beef and mutton as being less expensive to produce and more certain in its results. The labour list is always light on a Saturday evening, and if a good fair should happen the farmer has his stock ready cut and dry for a purchaser, either for the execution of home or foreign orders. The climate of the country inclines very much iu favour of stock keeping and rearing to that of alternate hus- bandry and arable farming. That the system pays the far- mer best is the truest criterion whereby to estimate the extent to which it has found favour with the owners of the soil. Amongst the wonderful curiosities which attract the atten- tion of those curious, anxious to ascertain the generalities of the system of management pursued in Connaught, we cannot help mentioning in particular the modus operandi pursued by Mr. Allan Pollok, on his extensive holdings in the counties of Galway and Roscommon, both adjoining each other, and situ- ated iu the above province. These wide- spread districts of country were, prior to Mr. Pollok's ownership, farmed on the cottier system of management. The holdings are compara- tively small, averaging about 30 or 40 acres each. The soil was of a very wretched description, being wet, badly fenced, and the cultivation crude, imperfect, and erroneous. Isolated patches of potatoes, with a little oats and meadow constituted the habitual mode of management pursued, and which by rea- son of its antiquity became inherited from sire to son. The very worst and most uncooth implement of tillage prevailed, and the character of the farm-horses and general class of cattle bore a corresponding degree of indifferent quality also. The people, however, rested content with the nature of the husbandry pursued, as well as the appliances available to utilize the treasures of the badly cultivated soil. Those who eschewed the system of cropping themselves had recourse to the ruinous system of "con acre," or the feeding of half-starved cattle for supplying the country fairs. The humid climate of the country seemed to have agreed best with the fleecy flocks, and circumstances led to the fair of Ballinasloe being regarded as the great emporium where the flock-masters of the United Kingdom resorted with a view of supplying their requirements in the sheep line. The horned- cattle of the district, although not very fashionable as regards either blood or lineage, are nevertheless constitutionally hardy, and when fed off on better classes of soils paid for their pur- chase admirably. Immediately on the estates coming iuto Mr. Pollok's pos- session, his first object was directed to effecting a thorough drainage of the laud, the levelling of old fences, consolidating farms, amalgamating the small fields and holdings, and the tumbling down of the innumerable mud-wall and other cabins situated on the property. A vast deal of uphill work stared him in the face, but knowing the extent of the resources at his command Mr. Pollock caused the work of permanent im- provement, almost amounting to a transformation, to be car- ried out with almost magical rapidity. Prejudice to an incon- ceivable amount beset his labours, and years rolled on before it became dispelled. There was no doubt a deal of extermin- ation all over the couutry. This, however, became a matter of necessity in view of the system which Mr. Pollok had chalked out for himself to adopt. The owners of the several holdings were fairly compensated for relinquishing all claims to their wretched holdings, and those who desired to avail themselves of the opportunity of labouring the land, found ample and remunerative work on the estates ; others emigrated to foreign countries with a view of bettering their condition, whilst no few remained at home, and after their little means became exhausted were obliged to seek refuge in the union workhouse, where they became permanent paupers on the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 487 uuiou. Melancholy tales aud tragedies have been unsparingly related in connection with the Pollok system of land manage- ment in Ireland. Time, however, combated these prejudices, and by degrees the antipathies smouldered away. In the reclamation of the laud, capital must have been ex- pended with unsparing hand. How sufficient capital could be commanded to meet all the outlays incidental to drainage, building, fencing, road-making, aud the numerous other works therewith connected, would appear sufficient to puzzle the most redoubtable political ecouomist. The thorough drainage of upwards of 30,000 Irish acres of land, its fencing into im- mense fields either of square or parallelogram proportions, as well as the making of suitable roads through the. several farms and walling them in with round boulders, excavated from the bowels of the fields duriug the process of sub-soiling or deep cultivation, must have been an expensive process, not to speak of the enormous sums required in building the leviathan farm- steadings, mills, and workshops scattered over the property. After the drainage — land and arterial — being accomplished, and the land being subsequently subjected to the operations of the sub-soiler, the plough, the harrow, the grubber, and the hoe, the land so reclaimed was sub-divided into large farms, varying in size from 1,500 to 3,000 acres each. On these, suitable farm-steadings, with a residence and convenient offices, were erected. Steam-engines provided for expediting and facilitating labour, and other necessary appliances for the working of land, made available, regardless of expense. Some of those farm-steadings are so very extensive that they are lighted with gas manufactured on the premises ; the alleys in the byres so large and extensive that all feeding stuffs have to be carted into the sheds, and deposited here and there so as to facilitate the feeding of the stock. These byres aroused such curiosity that they were visited, amongst others, by no less noted a personage than the Emperor of the French. The cattle here are cliiefly crosses from shorthorn bulls with native cows, pure West Highland oxen, Herefords, and Durham cattle. They are of immense size, are speedily fattened, and eagerly purchased by Dublin, London, Belfast, Edinburgh, and Glasgow victuallers ; they command the highest market price, and this is not to be wondered at in view of the nutritious feeding, with which they are supplied in ad libitum quantities. Many of those h»ge animals are never allowed out of doors from the period of their being calved up to their purchase by the butcher ; they are housed up and fed in large stone- walled boxes, and there allowed to remain till their obese pro- portions admit of no further stage of development. The cattle ted thus by Mr. Pollok have been noted all over the cattle shows of the United Kingdom, where they have been in- variably the champions of the yard. For the winter feeding of the store cattle immense quantities of turnips, cabbages, hay, oats, linseed-cake, cargoes of which are imported direct, mangolds, &c, are always available. Great faith has been attached to cabbages as a feeding condiment. For the pro- duction of green crops immense quantities of farmyard manure has been manufactured, but the supply would fall far short of the requirements of the farms were it not for the cargoes of Peruvian guano directly imported by Mr. Pollok to aid in stimulating the growth of the crops and in promoting the fertility of the farm. The soil and climate are specially adapted for green-crop cultivation. The maximum returns of produce are realized, and the extent of land annually pre- pared for green-crop culture is measured, with a view of meeting the consumption in the byres. The oats grown on the farm arc consumed by the cattle, horses, and sheep. There is a local market for the wheat crop, created by Mr. Pollok himself, who has erected large mills for its grinding, and the i growers of this sort of grain in the adjacent country get the full market value of the corn. This will act as a repository in which feeding stuff for the people is procured. The country is admirably suited for sheep pasturage. The class of sheep usually kept are the long-woolled, Roscommon sheep, crossed with border Leicester rams. The progeny is very prolific, and the animals are of large proportions, yielding heavy fleeces, and when fattened sell at about lOd. per lb. All the produce grown on the farms is consumed ou the premises, thus a market is created within its own resources, obviating the cartage to distant markets, aud the restoration of the pro- duce sold by the purchase, of other substitutes. Thus it will be perceived that all the produce partakes of the very significant feature of being obliged toj walk out of the farm instead of being conveyed, as in the ordinary way, by artificial means. This is what may be fairly termed high farming, and few would be disposed to credit the fact, that it is practised to such an extent in the province of Connaught. The appliances for tillage purposes ar e of the most comprehensive, varied, and costly description. There is no implement recognised in modern farming that is not to be found employed in the work- ing of those farms. The farm-horses are chiefly Clydesdale, Suffolk Punch, with occasional useful crosses with the Irish breed. The animals are of immense power, strength, and perfectly docile. No in- considerable number are required to meet the nature and ex- tent of the farming operations. They are well-fed, well- harnessed, and well cared for. Mr. Pollok having thus reclaimed nearly all his estates in the West of Ireland, has now contemplated on letting a num- ber of the farms to tenants, and in order to make room for the incoming of those who have rented the Cregg's portion of the estate, he caused to be sold off by public auction, last week, the entire of his own stock and plant on that portion of the property. Whether the expensive system he has pursued has proved remunerative is known only to Mr. Pollok himself. We should desire to get a peep at his balance-sheet. THE NEW FARM. What a pleasant thing is success ! I suppose the feel- ing is pretty much the same under all circumstances. Probably the breeder who has just sold a calf for five hundred guineas, or the Prime Minister who has just carried a pet Bill through the House in its entirety, feels no more elated than I did a few moments since as I sat down to an 11 o'clock breakfast — toast, tea, eggs, cold boiled beef, and a glass of ale, after watching for soma interested hours the disestablishment of weedlings through the instrumentality of Garrett's most excelleut horse-hoe. Faith ! don't it cut out right well ; and with not the less gusto apparently wheu it swerves so as to catch a good sweep of a wheat row. It is a new implement here- abouts, and the men were sadly prejudiced against it. At first there were many difficulties in its management ; but at last, by dint of perseverance (that thief of time !), we managed to get on pretty well. And all I wish now is to be able to take a short jump forward, and see the effect of this treatment upon the crop ; only T would stipulate for returning to the present point of time again : the days are so delicious now, with sweet songs of birds on every side, and the fragrant buds and flowers daily breaking. The bad potatoes I planted last year are beginning to appear above the surface. They are very strong, my man reports. I am desirous of seeing what gaps there are, and shall not be disappointed if they are many, be- cause 1 did not manage to do that which I hold to be only fair by the experiment. Instead of having a piece ploughed ready into which just to transport the ques- tionable characters as the main crop is being raised, they were allowed to be some time in a heap, and then were planted, after a slight touch of frost. It was not at all what I intended, but we were temporarily overworked. A friend, who acted on my hint, had his set in due time. I hear of his having been exploring with a fork, being alarmed at their protracted non-appearance above ground. He found the subterranean shoots very strong, I believe. Last year my experience was that the autumn planted pota- toes were later in appearing on the face of the ground, but ripened earlier. I have consequently counselled 488 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. patience. We are all on the qui rive, there being an unusual number of special prizes advertised at our local show by the various artificial manure-makers for the hest display of roots grown after a dressing of their admirable "spe- cial," the society itself giving for the best roots, regard- less of whence came the dressing. There is certainly benefit in these prizes for competition. For a month or more I have had sawdust under my animals, which, after saturation, has been stored in a spare barn, and will be drilled in with Swede-seed between a strip of saturated ashes on the one side, and a strip of superphosphated soil on the other. A dressing of sawdust wet with liquid- manure has certainly freed an old pasture of its mossy growth. How or why I cannot say, but I think that, mixed with our sandy loams, it may prove a convenient vehicle for moisture, arresting and retaining it throughout the dry seasons we so much dread in this district. We have a good-sized mangold-wurzel heap left yet. The stock seems to do better than ever upon it now. The ryegrass and trifolium sown upon the wheat-stubble which I had harrowed several ways, and the seed thus brushed in has been twice fed down, and is now well advanced for cut- ting ; after which I shall expect a tidy show of the green- topped hybrid turnip. I think it right to mention this, because the grass-seed at first disappointed us, and I was forward to blame the sellers who had advertised this plan. We are very unlucky in the hatching of geese — about forty eggs and only seven goslings, or gulls, as the country-people call them in this neighbourhood. I was afraid that the nests might have been made of hay — a material which conduces much to the rotting of eggs during the mysterious process of incubation. Hut no, I ascertained that there had been straw strewn in the vi- cinity of their huts. They had had, moreover, a free run of the orchards and stackyard. They had plenty to choose from, if they had only used their heads ; but that, of course, they didn't do, being geese. They were no better than servants in that respect, whose non-thinking habit, by the way, one would not so much deplore, if, on the other hand, they never took airs. .lust before this welcome rain arrived our tank ran short, and we had to try a number of places, all without success, with the Abyssinian tube for water. At last luckily we struck an accumulation if not a spriug in a sand-bed, and as our good fortune would have it, in the corner of a large cattle shed, where it is especially wauted, within fifteen yards too of the tank, and, above all, under cover ; so 1 hat a succession of hands can work it to ad- vantage when it is too wet above head to be abroad. Our water-cresses have been so abundant — so sharp — and all the more delicious that we grew them ourselves. The only fault is that the spriug being in a hollow, it is a regular sun-trap, the bright mirror attracting the rays of that lu- minary so as to force up the shoots to a fearful height ; so much so that anyone unacquainted with the private history of this pool would be afraid to chew the lanky vegetable. I have just been informed that where they grow them re- gularly in beds for the London market, they take up the plants and cut the roots back well in early spring, then replanting them bodily. I had this bit of information with a present of brown cress roots from Berkshire yes- terday. But then these overgrown, out at the elbow, short-kilted specimens of my own, they come of a brown sort to begin with. I planted them quite brown. Their first offspriug were of a quadroon complexion, their next a paler sort, aud so on until they have at last attained that delicate tint which is reckoned dangerous to live near on a drawing-room paper. How confinement tames ! Else how am I to account for a thoroughbred mare so given to bucking that ive were obliged to throw her out of work a year ago, being mounted the other day by the cowboy (without my know- ledge in the first instance) aud ridden without attempt at mischief all across green fields and under orchard boughs. She must be longing for a ticket-of-leave, and trying to impose upon her keeper. A year ago she finished up, having thrown everyone else I don't know how often, by depositing myself upon my side ou a low wall, and in- juring my rib. I had mounted her, after some idle time, in the stable yard, where I had no room to fight her, and endeavouring to get off, got helped, and more forsooth, viz., physical damage in that quarter where our helpmates originally sprung. From that day she had been in a box. I have now given the lad carte blanche to break his head, and further encouraged him by the promise of five shillings if he bring her tame for our post-luncheon canters again. Ah ! there nowr ! How jolly it is to hear the cock phea- sant crow so comfortingly to his patient spouse upon her nest a "courage, madame, courage," then flapping his wings in triumphant anticipation of the numerous brood he is soon to superintend ! We look out at the window, and there the luxurious rascal is close by, and he sees us, and just hides his gorgeous head behind a plant, so we won't disturb him. We have a snow-white pair shut up for laying ; but as yet we have not been successful in ob- taining any eggs. I hear Old Melon's voice shouting objurgation to the children. The fact is, there run the little girls with their pet lambs just along the standard roses, nipping the leaves too frequently for his patience. In the place of the lamb that died I managed to obtain a mountaineer — black with white ears and a white tip to its tail, more like a kitten than a young sheep. It was frightened aud troublesome at first : it has now come to ( " take its bottle beautiful" I am informed, and will follow its owner, if chaperoned by the elder born Southdown pet. Braxy has ceased to trouble my flock after their removal to shorter grass ou an old pasture, but I hear of numerous losses about the neighbourhood. Vigil. THE ROYAL FARMERS' INSURANCE COMPANY. The annual meeting of the shareholders took place at the Whittingtou Club Rooms, Arundel-street, on the 4th of May, Alfred Denison, Esq., the Chairman of the Board of Directors, presiding. The Secretary read the Directors' report and the accounts of the past year, which showed a highly-satisfactory state of the progress of the office, notwithstanding the fact that, owing to the un- usually heavy losses on agricultural produce, £166 1 Is. 3d. had been paid in discharge of claims and expenses for every £100 received for that class of insurance. The insurances on other descriptions of property against loss by fire aud on growing crops by hail storms were shown to have beeu more than ordinarily profitable, and thus enough had been gained to pay the proposed dividend aud bonus, and to increase the previously large surplus reserve. Reference was made to a recent valuation of the Life liabilities, and a declaration of a bonus in favour of life policies of the participating class. The retiring Directors were re-elected, and Mr. Glutton was appointed in place of Mr. Waters. The Chairman adverted to the fact that if the rate for farming stock had been eight shillings and fourpeuee, instead of five shillings per cent., no profit would have been derived from it, and expressed his regret that so many fires were caused by negligence, particularly from want of personal superintendence while steam thrashing machines were being used, from the stacking of new hay near old ricks, from the profuse use of lucifer matches, aud from smoking of tobacco. These losses, he observed, though immediately paid for by Insurance Offices, must ultimately fall on the farmers, as the rates of insurances were necessarily increased from time to time, jf those previously paid were found insufficient, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 480 THE USE OF BOTANY TO THE AGRICULTURIST. At the usual monthly meeting of the Dorchester Farmers' Cluh, G. Homer (president) in the chair, Mr. Rowe said : My subject is that of " The Use of Botany to the Agri- culturist, with a brief description of some of the plants which prove poisonous to animals." Botany is that division of science which imparts to us a knowledge of the various plants which we find. It is divided into two separate and tolerably distinct branches — namely, systematical and vege- table physiology — the first of which teaches us the names, uses, history, and classification of plants ; the second the manner in which the various organs of plants are formed, the purposes for which they have been destined, the manner in which they act and are influenced by natural causes. System- atical botany enables us to recognize the various plants em- ployed in agriculture as well as those that come under the notice of persons generally : this is a part with which most people are familiar. The classification of these various plants has, moreover, this value — it shows the natural relation which one species bears to another, the limits within which a certain class of experiments must be necessarily confined, and the probable fitness for food of new plants recommended to the use of the fanner. Vegetable physiology is the part of botany with which agriculturists should make themselves thoroughly acquainted ; there is scarcely an operation iu the art of agriculture which does not depend upon a knowledge of the phenomena which are explained by vegetable physiology, and no man can possibly understand the principles on which he acts unless he has made himself master of its fundamental laws. All the great improvements in the preparation of land for cropping were proposed in the first instance by vegetable physiologists, or depend essentially upon the laws which they have explained. Applied iu the first instance to gardening, tested there, and from there gradually extending themselves to the field, where their true origin has been forgotten, and men no longer remember how their improved practices came to be thought of. Draining is an example of this, its beneficial effects depending on circumstances with which physiologists have long been familiar ; the improvement of the race of plants, the augmentation of their productive powers, tiie pre- servation of their purity of breed, the modes of manuring them and the manner of its application ; the destruction of weeds, the management of timber, aud innumerable other opera- tions which come under our notice are all wholly influenced by laws which cannot possibly be understood correctly with- out a knowledge of this particular branch of the science of botany. Persons practising agriculture upon scientific prin- ciples know to a great extent why, iu some seasons, plants will grow, while in others they will not, and the conditions under which the most perlect formation of plants take place. These are all most important subjects of consideration with those who study agriculture philosophically, or to those who would wish to introduce improvements in the ordinary farming operations. Although accident has led to many discoveries in science, yet had science been consulted such discoveries would have been long anticipated. In no country has the reason of things been more looked to than in Great Britain, and nowhere have the gardens and farms been brought to so high a state of richness and fertility, often in the face of an uncertain climate and an ungrateful soil. The division of the science of botany to which I wish to draw your attention more particularly is that of the systematic — that which teaches us the nature of the many plants that come under our notice daily, and espe- cially of those which, when partaken of by animals, are dele- terious in their effects. Found, as many of these plants are, growing in full luxuriance in our own immediate neighbour- hood, continually coming uuder our notice, and within reach of most animals, is it not a wonder that cases of vegetable poisoning do not more frequently occur ? The effects of poison- ing in the lower animals are not of so awful a nature as in our fellow-creatures, but occasionally a whole flock of sheep and many other animals have died from eating these plants, and, as a consequence, caused very great pecuniary loss to the owners. But by a wise provision ot nature there is a peculiar instinct implanted in animals which lead them as a rule to avoid those plants which are detrimental to their health ; but when animals become, as they ofteu do, depraved in their ap- petites, or their systems become deranged, or in cases of ex- treme hunger, then it is that they partake of these plants, aud suffer accordingly. When these cases occur the necessity for prompt and energetic measures being adopted is so urgent, and their almost fatal nature, that the object to be kept in view is not that of how to cure the disease, but how to prevent it. Again difficulties beset us in the veterinary profession which do not exist in the medical in cases of poisoniug. The horse cannot vomit, the ox or sheep very rarely do, and vomiting cannot be produced in those animals by an emetic, and therefore we have to depend for success on the operation of antidotes and purgatives — medicines which in most cases are slow iu their operation. But with the human prac- titioner his chances of success are greater, for if he be called in before the poison has impregnated the system he can, in many cases, relieve the stomach of its contents, by the exhibition of an emetic. The first plant to which I shall allude is the Couiurn maculalum, common hemlock, or, as more generally called in this county, the wild parsnip, from the re- semblance of its root to that of the garden parsnip. The word conium is derived from a Greek word, signifying a cone or top, from the fact of its producing in animals, when partaken of too largely, a giddy or whirling sensation similar to the motion of that toy. By the specimen you will at once recognise it to be a very common plant, and one which will not require much description. It is a biennial, found growing in most of the temperate parts of Europe and Asia, aud in considerable abun- dance in ditches and waste places in this county. It attains a height of from two to five feet, flowers in June and July, and ripens its fruit in August and September. The whole of the plant possesses a very peculiar, strong, foetid, and mouse-like odour. All parts of the plant possess active poisonous proper- ties, but the leaves only are used in medicine. As a medicinal agent it is not much used by us, but it is frequently prescribed by the physician. As a poisonous agent it acts powerfully on both man and animals, and even plants themselves are not ex- empt from its deleterious influence. Numerous cases are re- corded of its poisonous effect on man. But its action pepends greatly on the nature of the season and the climate in which the plant grows. Thus it is a more virulent poison in Greece, Italy, and Spain than in England aud Russia ; and we are told that the Russian peasant eats it with impunity after it has been boiled in several waters. According to Linneeus and other writers it is not poisonous to sheep, and that horses have been known at times to eat considerable quantities of it without suffering any inconvenience ; but to cows and to all the carnivora it is especially poisonous. It is very difficult to reconcile the many conflicting statements which are made with regard to its action on animals, but I think I am justified iu stating that it is a most dangerous plant, and that in cases where very severe results have not followed its being eaten it has been influenced by the age of the plant aud the season at which it was ga- thered. And a rule that applies to most of the common wild umlellifera is that those which occupy the most moist situa- tions are the most poisouous. Many very interesting accounts come to us of the poisonous influence of this plant. In one case 25 dairy cows were turned into a field to consume the rough grass. The field consisted of a marshy piece of ground surrounded by a brook, which after any quantity of rain fell overflowed its banks. The herbage consisted of coarse grass of all kinds, and with it the common hemlock, of which these animals freely partook. The symptoms exhibited were as follows : AVhen first seen three of them were seemingly life- less; pulse was with difficulty found extremely feeble, and beating not more than half as rapidly as iu health ; breathing not altered ; legs extremely cold ; eyes closed, aud when the eyelids were raised the pupil was mucli dilated and not suscep- tible to the influence of light ; the brain was powerfully affected, and all the animals were iu a coraotose or sleepy cqb- 490 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. dition, the neck and head extended, and on lifting them up they fell to the ground as if the animal was dead. But its effects are various. In other cases it produces giddiness, wandering of the animals, convulsive motions of the hind legs, and stupor. In others of a milder nature the animal suddenly becomes lame of one leg, puts only the heel of the foot of the affected limb to the ground, with the toes pointed upwards, seemingly due to paralysis of the flexor muscles. If such cases ever occur to you, I advise the immediate exhi- bition of a large dose of salts, followed up by stimulants, such as brandy ; but do not bleed. In contradiction to a statement I made just now there is a case reported in which 48 sheep were poisoned with this plant in about 15 mouths, but the evidence not being very conclusive I have not given it much attention. Cicuta virosa : Water hemlock or cowbane. This is considered as one of the most poisonous, and it is one of the most common plants found growing in Great Britain, and one to which I wish particularly to draw your attention. It is found growing in wet and damp situations, ditches, ponds, &c. Its smooth striated somewhat pinkish-coloured stem attains a height of from three to four feet, and its flowers, which are of a greenish- white colour, appear in July and August. All parts of the plant possess active properties, and its effects are more virulent in spring than at any other time of the year. There are many conflicting statements as to the properties of this plant in different conditions. Many hold the opinion that its effects are not felt when in its dried state. But from cases that have come under my notice at different times I believe that when eaten by animals in large quantities with their hay they do suffer from it, although in a much more modified form. The water meadows in the occu- pation of Mrs. Pattison, of Wrackleford House ; of Mr. Smith, of Bradford ; and also I believe of Mr. Chick, of Stratton, abound with this plant, espe- cially those of Mrs. Pattison, who has lost a great number of cattle by their having eaten it. When large quantities of the plant have been partaken of, death ensues in a very few hours. The symptoms are a swollen ap- pearance of the head, the eyes protruding from their sockets, obscurity of vision, vertigo, a staggering walk, respiration very rapid and laboured, tetanic contraction of the muscles of the jaws, followed by furious delirium and death. Horses, pigs, and sheep graze on it with impunity. In most cases death ensues before any remedies can be adopted ; but should there be any time to treat give at once some powerful saline purgative, bleed to the extent of four or five quarts, and apply some very active stimulant over the head and along the spine, which treatment must be followed up by gentle aperients and stimulants and restoratives until all giddiness disappears. Colchicum aittitmnale, or meadow saffron. I am sorry that I cannot lay an illustration before you of this plant, or a green specimen, as the season is scarcely yet sufficiently advanced to procure one. It grows in all parts of England — Fordington Mead, Alton, and almost all damp places abound with it. The leaves, which appear in the spring, are united three together with the capsules between them ; they are smooth, obtuse, keeled, and of a dark-green colour. The flowers appear in autumn without the leaves, and are of a bright purple colour, with a long white radical tube. The root or cormus, which is much used in medicine, arrives at perfection in June and July. Many cases of poisoning by this plant have at various times occurred, especially in Somersetshire, where it is very plentiful ; the symptoms are loss of appetite, suspension of rumination, eyes sunk in their orbits, pupilary opening en- larged, coat staring, body cold, pulse imperceptible, violent purging, grinding of the teeth, moaning, intense abdominal pain, and loss of power of locomotion. Treatmeut in some cases has been successful. Repeated doses of linseed-oil and tincture opium with large quantities of linseed-gruel as a de- mulcent. Solanum dulcamara — woody nightshade, or bitter- sweet, so ealled from the flavour of the herb when chewed. From the illustration I am enabled to lay before you, you will at once recognize it as a plant very commouly found in this county, as also in all parts of England. It is one of the most beautiful of our native plants ; grows in woods and moist places, flowers in June and July, and ripens its fruit in August. It is most poisonous when the blossoms are about to be pro- duced, and the cases of poisoning that come under our notice occur at this time of the year. Many cases of poisoning by this plant have occurred. When first seen the animal lias a wild, staring, and vacant look ; copious discharge of frothy saliva from the mouth, breathing very heavy, pulse so weak as to be almost imperceptible; the animal soon begins to reel and stagger about ; this is followed by complete paralysis of the extremities, and unconsciousness. When the bowels are acted on by purgatives the evacuations aie very loose, and become tinged with blood ; these cases very seldom recover. If at any time, gentlemen, you can trace the disease to the eating of this particular plant, give some linseed oil, and rub a quantity of turpentine on the back. Anon maculatum, or cuckoo-pint (point) : This is an exceedingly common plant, and fortu- nately for stock-owners its acrimonious taste prevents its being more commonly eaten by animals. It is fouud growing under hedges and in shady places, and it is remarkable, as I said before, for its acrimony and the singular structure of its fruc- tification. Many children have died from the effects ot this plant, but cases of animals having been poisoned by it are rather rare. Mr. Sepper, of Aylesbury, has had cases come under his notice which clearly demonstrate the poisonous nature of this plant. The symptoms are gradual in their ap- proach : we first get loss of appetite, diminished quantity of milk, staring coat, accompanied with tremors and ultimately death. In others we get, in addition to the above symptoms, tumefaction of one leg, extending throughout its whole length. If these cases are taken at once and treated, the exhibition of an active purgative, say Hlb. of salts, has brought about re- covery without the use of any other medicines. The offal of animals dying in this disease, when given to pigs or dogs, speedily produces death. Heleborus niger, black helleboro, or Christmas rose — so called from its flowers appearing about Christmas — is chiefly cultivated in England as an ornament to our gardens, but is not much grown in this part of the country, although occasionally met with. It is a powerfully irri- tant poison, and all parts of it possess active properties. Ani- mals are very fond of it and eat it ravenously, owing to the > sweet taste it possesses. The effects it produces are nausea and intense inflammation of the stomach. The root of this plant has been largely employed in many parts of England as an agent to produce suppuration in cows ; it is also used as a seton, the fresh root being inserted in an opening made in the dewlap. In cases of an outbreak, pleuro-pneumonia and in many other instances fatal results have followed from its use as a preventive, owing to the amount of irritation produced, which extends all over the body. When taken internally it produces purging, staggering, weakness, and paralysis of the hinder extremities, followed by insensibility and death. In one case, where a quantity of the fresh roots were thrown into a farmyard where some animals were being fed on dry food, they all freely ate of it : two animals died, one within eight hours and the other in about twelve hours, in great agony, from the acrid nature of this poison. Hellebores fcelidus, or bear's-foot, is an evergreen perennial plant growing in many parts of England on the pastures, hedgerows, and on the borders of thickets, and most plentifully found on a chalky soil. This plant is also known as the oxheel, and is often used by quacks for the expulsion of worms from the intestinal canal. Its stem rises about from one to two feet high, bearing numerous leaves of a dark glossy green colour. It blossoms in February and March, the flowers being cup- shaped, of a greenish colour, with the inner edges of the sepals tinged with purple. The whole plant, as its name implies, has an extremely foetid smell. The leaves, when dried, possess purgative properties of a powerful and virulent character. A gentleman trying to get his horse in condition gave him three pints of the chopped leaves of this plant, and death ensued in a few hours. Owing to its extremely foetid nature it is seldom eaten by animals ; but a year or two since a flock of sheep died from the effects of this poison. A deep snow covered the ground, and, this being the only herbage appearing above the surface, they all ate of it freely. It pro- duces intense inflammation of the stomach and bowels, with diarrhoea, the evacuations being tinged with blood. The only thing to administer would be oleaginous purgatives, with linseed or oatmeal gruel as demulcents. Rhododendron erysanlhis : I have not a specimen, as I know you are all so familiar with the name and appearance of this most splendid shrub, which now rivals the rose itself in both pro- minence of position and brilliancy of effect in our shrubberies and gardens. Its name is derived from rhodon, a rose, and dendron, a tree ; or rose-tree, At Moreton there is a drive of THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. 491 more than a mile in length bordered on each side by these beautiful shrubs. It is an evergreen introduced into this couutry from Asia Minor, in 1793 ; it thrives best on a sandy soil, or peat, and attains a height of from four to fifteen feet ; its flowers are of a purple colour, and are arranged in clusters at the end of the branches j it blooms from May to July. Its effects as a poison are very powerful, especially upon sheep. Calves also suffer through eatiug it. It is a narcotic poison, and the symptoms are somewhat similar to those of all other narcotics. In calves we get frequent vomiting of saliva, mixed with the leaves of the plant ; a peculiar staggering gait ; the animal will reel a few yards, then rush forward with their legs widely extended in an eccentric way, and then suddenly fall ; bowels costive, with grinding of teeth (a symptom in the sheep and ox always indicative of pain) ; breathing slower than usual. In oue case twelve rams were put into a yard in which some rhododendrons had been thrown. They all ate of them freely, and in a very short time four died. The symptoms shown were loss of appetite, grating of teeth, ears drooping, frequent choking cough, frothing at mouth, attempts to vomit, staggering gait, followed by inability to stand. Mr. E. Spooner, of Southampton, a gentleman with whom you are all acquainted, in which out of a flock of 100 sheep, which were fattening upon corn and cake in a large park, many were suddenly taken ill, and several flied in a few hours, twenty more were killed, the rest recovered through the administration of oil and salts. On making an examination of the park it was discovered that a large rhododendron tree had been ex- tensively cropped by the sheep, and on making post-mortem examinations of those that died large quantities of the plants were found in the stomachs in a partly masticated condition, thus showing the poisonous nature of the plant. I shall briefly allude to the poisonous nature of the Ta.rus b nccate, or yew. This shrub has caused murh loss to the owners of stock at different times, and it is one of the most frequent to which our attention has been called. It generally takes place from the cuttings of the trees having fallen or been deposited in the field where the animals are pastured. The symptoms of poisoning by yew are obscure, and its diagnosis will generally be a matter of difficulty. When first found the animal is generally shivering, the paunch is distended with food, pulse weak and tremulous, and in the latter stages imperceptible, together with a dull and stupid appearance ; in the latter stages all symptoms cease, and the animal drops without a struggle. It will be seen, by the remarks that I have made on the various poisouous plants, that the symptoms shown in one case very much resemble those shown in another. There is in all, the brain more or less affected, the digestive apparatus dis- arranged, and the cerebro spinal system partially or wholly deprived of its functions. The treatment must in all be ne- cessarily of the simplest character ; the poisonous agent must be expelled by purgatives, and the debility and shock to the system which follows must be combated by the use of stimu- lants and demulcents. In conclusion I shall allude to a plant, the Aconitum napellus, or monkshood, of which I have an illustration by me. It is much cultivated as an ornament to our gardens, and, owing to the careless manner in which it is allowed to propagate its roots among those of the horse- radish, fatal consequences have frequently arisen, owing to the roots having been mistaken for those of the latter plant. I have a specimen of a root here which you will say is not at all like that of the horse-radish ; but when freshly dug, and when the roots are straight and well developed, they may be easily mistaken by a casual observer. My object in bringing this before you, although rather foreign to my subject, is that you may exercise great caution in its cultivation. The Chairji.oj thought that they were not only interested but instructed, for Mr. Rowe had not only given them illus- trations of the disease but he had supplied them with a remedy. No doubt there were some gentlemen present who would like to make some remarks on Mr. Howe's paper. He had no doubt, if there were any present who understood the facts of the plants, they would give their experience. Mr. It. Genge was very sorry he could not enlarge upon the subject Mr. Rowe had brought before them. The uses of botany could not be denied — in fact, it was a most interesting study. One great good they might all derive from the lecture was to endeavour as much as they possibly could to destroy the plants he had brought before their notice. He was well acquainted with the plants with but one or two exceptions. Bear's-foot he did not know. He was not aware that rhodo- dendron was so poisonous a plant. Arum macu/atitm, from its disagreeable taste, was not often partaken of; but hemlock grew on his farm, and he should use all the means he could in destroying it. He considered it very kind on the part of Mr. Rowe in telling them what remedies to use, but it would re- quire all their discretion to say when an animal was poisoned. Iu his own experience he was not aware that he had had sheep or cattle that had eaten poison. It was quite unneces- sary for him to say it was a very important paper, and one that had been lost sight of. Plants were a very fruitful source of the disease that existed amongst their cattle. No doubt there was a cause for each disease that was presented to the notice of all agriculturists, and it was easily attributable to atmospheric influences, and no doubt in many cases to some vegetable poison, or partaking of putrid water containing vegetable poison. They had been allowed in many instances to drink offensive water, and diseases had, he thought, been brought on in that way. Dr. Aldkidge felt satisfied that a large amount of the disease they met with in cattle were attributable, in the greater number of instances, to the sources Mr. Rowe had spoken of. In some cases cattle when hungry — when they had been for some time kept without food — were placed into fields where these poisouous plants existed, and being hungry were not very particular, and consequently partook of these plants and destroyed their health. Although active disease was not always produced, yet the plants were all the while acting in- sidiously upon them. A great deal of the disease among cattle might be clearly traced to such causes that had been brought forward — the partaking of poisonous plants. Cattle could not take in these plants to any'great extent, because they did not exist to any great extent, but still small doses would produce similar effects, although the results might not be fatal. Such attacks reduced the animal's condition, and resulted in a seri- ous loss to the owner, and he felt, therefore, that it was a most important paper that had been read to them, and that it • had enlightened them upon the subject. He thought that in the time to come agriculturists would have more information on these matters ; he thought it well that they should get some knowledge of the character of these plants, and get rid of them.. Diseases of course must be the result of some cause or other. We did not inherit disease ; it was brought on from causes. It was not ordained by the Almighty that we should be diseased — that we should die from disease. If was no doubt the result of some bad habit at least in the biped. They could not condemn the quadruped ; they were much more managable than the biped. But the animal had not the wear- and-tear of mental anxiety. However, he thought it a most important thing that they should use all the means in their power to prevent disease — prevention was better than cure, so that it was a great thing to prevent disease that it might not become developed. It was very necessary that animals should have pure air and good water, and be kept from all noxious and hurtful plants. If that were done the amount of disease would be lessened, and the injury generally to the nation would be also lessened. He 'was sure he felt very grateful to Mr. Rowe for the kind way he had brought this subject before them, and for illustrating it so well as he had done. There were, notwithstanding, many other plants of a poisonous na- ture growing in water meadows and also in pasture land, but he had 'brought under their notice the most important of these plants, and he should, as he felt it to be his duty, do all he could in destroying them. Mr. Genge then asked: To what extent does Mr. Rowe consider the flesh of beasts slaughtered in the first stages of poisoning would be impaired ? Mr. T. Lock quite agreed with the doctor that prevention was better than cure, and also with Mr. Rowe, who had told them that many cases were occasioned by cattle being driven through hunger to partake of these plants. He was satisfied that the instinct of animals was such that they would not par- take of such food until they were driven to it ; and what it was necessary for them to do was to prevent them from being so driven. Mr. T. C. Saunders was much pleased with the instructive lecture he had heard, and thanked Mr. Rowe for looking into the subject. They must see that the use of botany to agricul- turists was very useful in making them acquainted with these plants. It was evident cattle suffered from disease, which L L 2 492 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. might be attributed to bad water or to poisonous plants, or to causes which they did not understand. But he thought that they should, having a knowledge of sources of disease, do all in their power to destroy the plants that had been spoken of by Mr. Rowe. He was not aware that the rhododendron was a poisonous plant. He did not think the stock would touch the plant very often, and, when they did, not to any great ex- tent. Mr. Rowe, in reply, said that,vhen cattle could get to the Christmas rose, they generally ate it, because it had such a sweet taste ; and in the North of England cattle were very often poisoned by it. It was very difficult to tell when the disease was due to the action of plants ; and if they had any doubt as to the existence of these plants, if they could find that the plant had been cropped, it was quite conclusive. Mr. Geuge had asked a question as to how far ilesli of cattle killed in the first stage of poisoning is impaired. As to that question, he would say much would depend upon the nature of the plant ; but no doubt many were killed before the poison had become thoroughly impregnated in the system ; and be- fore the flesh was eaten it was cooked, and therefore the effect was destroyed. With regard to the rhododendron, he was quite aware that it was not generally known to be a poisonous plant ; but it was so, and especially to sheep. Mrs. Pattison had had fourteen cows die in as many years from eating this plant. His uncle, too, had known cases to occur. He did not know whether Mr. Chick had had any loss from it. Mr. Chick : No, I have not. A vote of thanks to the lecturer terminated the pro- ceedings. THE MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP. At a meeting of the Maidstone Farmers' Club, Mr. Watek- man opened for discussion, " The Breeding and Management of Sheep." One of the first questions they had to consider was, what soil they had. Almost all kinds of land in this neighbourhood were adapted to sheep-feeding and breeding. For the latter, dry land was of course preferable. It was of the utmost importance that the quality of the laud should be considered. The number of the flock would of course depend entirely upon the size of the farm. Some people kept on their land three sheep in winter, when it would really carry but two without any feeding. If they were about to stock poor land, he would say that they ought not to go to rich laud to buy their sheep. If they bought sheep from Romney Marsh, and brought them on to the uplands, they would certainly lose in condition, for it was quite useless to try to keep ten-stone sheep on poor soil, when eight stone was all they could keep them up to (Hear, hear). In selecting sheep, they ought to have a certain proportion ; and to begin with, he thought they required rather more than one-third ewe-tegs, one-third one- lamb ewes, and nearly one-third two-lamb. He knew that it was the custom of some to breed from three-lamb ewes, but from the experience he had had, he knew that such required a great deal more keeping up. After an ewe had had three lambs, she ought to be fatted and sold. His opinion was that many people lambed too early : they got their lambs before the grass came, instead of getting their grass before their lambs: By this means, they got the lambs " sticky," and could not get them to move all the summer. He thought it was very wrong to lamb too early, unless they had plenty of food, such as turnips, to give their ewes. For a breeding flock, he thought they ought not to lamb before the end of March or the beginning of April. If they wanted a good lot of lambs they ouglit to see their ewes well fed about a month before the ram was put to them. They would get more lambs if the ewes were in good condition at that time. He did not agree with the principle of keeping their ewes too fat all the winter, for if they were too fat at the [time of lambing they would have a very great loss. This applied more to Romney Marsh than it did to this district. They had not a great deal to do from the autumn until the spring. He would say with regard to the selection of the parents that he should always put a light-wooled ram with heavy-woolled ewes, so as to secure an even flock, and render the salesman's duties less difficult. He (Mr. Waterman) knew an old grazier in Romney Marsh who never used rams over two years old. Sometimes in lambing they found a lot of crippled lambs ; this often resulted from breeding in-and-in. He thought a breeder ought not to have too high an opinion of his own flock, but that he should go round and occasionally make a selection from others. The next operation was that of shearing. Some began to shear very early, while others put it off very late. In Romney Marsh they usually began to shear in June ; and at the autumn sales they got more, and very much better, wool than if they left it till later, and the animal was very much more sheltered the next winter. If they left it to July, the hot weather came, and they lost a few animals from cuts and pricks from the shears, but they scarcely lost any when shorn in June, IU considered that the iambs ought to be weaned at the latter end of July or the beginning of August, and that then they should be fed with corn. If they were not fed early, the lambs would be doing badly in October, and possibly one-third to one-half would die. Some people were foolish enough not to begin to feed their lambs until they were about half-dead. Mr. Waterman then referred to the fly in sheep, and said the best remedy he knew was, \ of an ounce of white arsenic, 5 of an ounce of potash, ^ lb. of soft soap, and three tablespoonfuls of spirits of tar, mixed with five quarts of boiling water. If that were properly rubbed in it would nearly kill all the maggots, and, if repeated in a day or two, quite cure the sheep, and leave the wool and skin healthy. , - There were other diseases of sheep, such as the foot-rot and scab. Foot-rot had been said to be not catching, but it had been settled that it was. He knew of an instance where every attempt had been made to cure the disease, but without avail ; and he believed that there really was no cure. If it once got into a flock, the only thing was to kill off the sheep, and get a fresh flock altogether. The scab was said to prevail ex- tensively in Romney Marsh at the present time ; and it was contagious, something like the itch. With regard to feeding, he should leave that question to gentlemen who had had a little more experience. He had tried last year to some extent, and had gone a little wrong. He had given cotton- cake and oilcake ; and through giving cotton-cake a little too freely, he had found that the wool came out, and lie had con- sequently been obliged to send a portion into the market. With regard to the rot, he had had some experience of it. His father, when at Tenterden, had some sheep attacked. The symptoms where a whiteness around the eyes and jaws, and a tendency on the part of the animals to lay their heads out straight upon the ground as if they were too heavy. There seemed to be an opinion existing that the disease was here- ditary ; and if the mothers had it, the lambs would be sure to be similarly diseased ; but he did not think that that neces- sarily followed, for he had seen a new flock raised from ani- mals which had suffered from the disease, and the produce had been quite free. He believed the disease arose entirely from illowing sheep to feed upon wet land, by which they got into their system anirnalcuke which led to the disease. He did not know that he could throw out any more hints. He did not come there in any sense as a lecturer, but merely wished to throw out ideas which he trusted would he followed up, and that they might have a very pleasant discussion. Mr. Lovett said the subject so ably introduced was in reality of more importance to those who resided in the Romney Marsh district than to those who lived in the uplands. He could endorse every word said by Mr. Waterman, and par- ticularly with regard to the necessity of careful selection in breeding, as some of the animals sent to the market were a disgrace to those who raised them. With regard to the foot- rot, he thought it was a peculiar disease bred in them. Mote Park, which he now occupied, it was supposed was subject to the disease; but through changing the ewes, he was happy to say that now there was not a single sheep in the park affected. He expected, from what he had heard, that it would be left in the park, and that his ewes would not only have it, but the lambs', He had, however, selected rams from a well-known, flock THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 493 which was not affected, with the disease, and the result was that he was entirely free from it. Mr. Lovett then described his treatment for the fly, which wras to use fly powder, and then soon after shearing to dip all his ewes and all his lambs. With regard to fording, he did not know much about that, as he had been used to put his sheep in llomuey Marsh, where, as they knew, they did not require much artificial food ; but he thought it was much better done by means of corn and cake. Mr. Jeremiah Paine said he did not know of a more suc- cessful manager of sheep than Mr. Stonham, and the Club, he was sure, would be glad of his experience. Mr. Stonham said the first observation he would make would be with regard to the cotton cake. He had given cotton cake to sheep ad libitum, without auy loosening of the wool following. There had been a disposition in sheep to lose their wool this year. The ground had been so parched with the sum- mer heat, that lie thought it had set up an inflammatory action which had resulted in a dropping of the wool. The next thing was the remark upon the necessity of careful selection. That, he thought, was a very valuable observation. It had been the fashion lately to attempt to lengthen the staple to make the fleece heavier, but that, in his opinion, was a mis- take. The question had been discussed at a meeting of the Central Farmers' Club, by Professor Voelcker, some three or four years since, and he tried to prove that the expense was very inadequate to the remuneration obtained. They all knew that a sheep with a nice fine fleece had a better touch, and the quality of the meat was better than if obtained from a coarse- woolled sheep. One matter Mr. Waterman adverted to which was a moot point just now. He said be sure not to stick to your own flock. He (Mr. Stonham) was not quite sure of the soundness of that advice. He thought if they had not got a good flock, the soouer they went somewhere else the better ; but he was not quite certain whether breeding in-and-in, under certain circumstances, was not the best course to pursue. If they looked to the Herd Book they would find that the finest specimens of Booth and Bates blood was obtained by incestuous intercourse ; and if they went to the Racing Calendar, they would find that the most celebrated horses were the result of a connection so close that delicacy forbade to mention it. If, therefore, they found that certain animals had good stamina and every requisite, he thought breeding in-and- in the best course to pursue ; but he was free to confess that it required the greatest judgment. The " fly" was a very trouble- some matter, but he was happy to say he had discovered a way to keep pretty clear of it. It was that of keeping them well sprinkled with a powder supplied by Mr. Plomley, of Rye. There was a large demand for it in the Marshes, and where sheep had been short-clipped, and had received a few cuts, it was very effectual. He generally used a watering-pot, and well-sprinkled them, and out of 500, he had not had ten to fail. Mr. T. Hayes said with regard to the foot-rot, he thought it was catching, and that it was curable, and he gave an in- stance. With regard to the scab, that was very much worse, and more difficult to get rid of. Mr. Marshall, of Watering- bury, many years back, managed some land down at Yalding for Mrs. Miller. The sheep there got the scab, and he sold them, and got fresh ; but he could never get rid of it, and it was imagined that the sheep rau up to the gateways and bars, and so the disease was transmitted. Mr. Beeves said gentlemen had told them they had been successful in curing disease, but they did not say what were their remedies. Mr. Lovett said he had dipped his sheep, but he did not say what in. Mr. Hayes said he had found a cure for foot rot, but he did not tell them what it was. Mr. Lovett said he used Bigg's sheep dipping composition. Mr. Chittenden said with regard to the principle of breeding in-and-in, his plan was this : He was not a flock- master ; he had only a small flock, but he believed those who had large ones had a sufficient variety of blood to be enabled to keep to it. He believed the Messrs. Ellmau, of Lewes, always bred from their own flock. As was the general prac- tice, he preferred himself to follow the custom of getting fresh blood. Mr. Waterman said that he considered the proper time for lambs to be dropped was the end of March or the beginning of April. In the grazing districts there was plenty of grass for them then, but on ordinary farms there was a store of roots for use. He thought the hints thrown out with regard to the lly particularly useful. This year he had used a strong solution of Bigg's composition with good effect. He considered that lambs as a rule ought to have troughs to run to as early as possible — even while sucking their mothers. He always began early ; never later than Septem- ber—(A Member : June is better). He first gave them some pollards. The plan he usually adopted was to feed them off at a year old. If he did not succeed in getting them by March or April good enough for the butcher, they were always good enough to get a good customer. He thought it was the best plan for those who kept sheep to feed quick, and that those who penned sheep between wattles, unless they fed them, threw away an excellent opportunity. He knew that that system did "not pay at once, but it fertilized the land and got the ground into good condition. Iu Romuey Marsh there was no necessity for such a course ; they did not want it. To feed quick and to feed abundantly was, he thought, one great axiom of sheep farming. He (Mr. Chittenden) began to feed rather before Michaelmas. He then gave bran, then a little Indian corn, and then fine cake from a ^lb. to Jib. In No- vember, when he put them in the wattles, they were very glad to take fib. of artificial stimulant, and then they went on to lib., and this month he had increased it to lHb. What they would make of them the beginning of May would show them. Mr. F. Plomley said he agreed with Mr. Hayes that the foot-rot was curable, and he believed it was as easily curable as any disease they had to do with. He did not think it was hereditary, it arose from turning sheep out on wet pastures when the horn became soft and turned. The best treatment he considered was a preparation of tar or creosote or carbolic- acid. He should not like it to go forth from that club that foot-rot was hereditary and incurable. Mr. Harris said it would be recollected that Professor Brown said that food-rot was not contagious. After the lecture he determined to try it himself, and he put some wether tegs in a fold with some sheep that had the foot- rot. They never caught the disease, and he was rather inclined to agree with Professor Brown, although lie believed the Professor had since altered his opinion. However, he could not produce foot-rot among his sheep, aud they were to- gether five months. Mr. Stonham said he considered a great deal of what was called foot-rot was some other disease. What he called foot- rot, was when the animal was in extreme agony, and the foot was swollen from the knee down to the pastern. There was no doubt genuine foot-rot existed at one time in Mote Park. He (Mr. Stonham) had cured the disease. It was only by using the knife very freely, and using butter of antimony diluted iu spirits of tar. But he re-echoed the advice given by Mr. Waterman and Mr. Lovett not to attempt to cure the disease, but to at once get rid of the animals. The pain and horror of the process was something fearful, aud the loss to the animal was great. He had no hesitation in saying that if a sheep weighed eight stone, it would take two stone out of it. He believed that the disease arose from their having fast growing weather sometimes in October, and the sun not having much power, the pastures were wet for a fortnight or three weeks together. Irritation then set in. When he found this was the case he removed the sheep into the hop ground, and the appearances at once went away. Ma. T. Hayes gave a very amusing instance of the neces- sity for careful selection for breeding purposes, and showed that defects were hereditary. The Chairman said he should like to hear a little more about their experience in feeding sheep, and particularly lambs. He thought they ought to feed with cake as soon as they could eat, and keep on till they were ready to kill. Mr. Wood said his plan had been to keep his lambs on for two years. He quite endorsed what Mr. Chittenden had said, for he believed entirely in the continued feeding of sheep. He thought they ought to begin feeding and to keep on, for it paid iu two ways — an improvement in the character of the sheep and an effectual improvement of the land. He began to feed as Mr. Chittenden did, in September ; but not too freely at first, and kept increasing the food by degrees. When they were twelve or fifteen months, he gave a quarter-of-a-pouud of cake a-day, and increased it to half, three-quarters, and then one-and-a-quarter by March and April, when they were tolerably good weight. He had fatted off sheep this year, and 494. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. at two years old he had obtained 68s. a-piece — not a very bad price. He did not feed with artificial food till November, the ewes being fed with the lambs. His neighbour, Mr. Pack's plan was to feed his lambs directly, and he had obtained as much as 63s. for his lambs when they were only a twelvemonth old. That was a very clear proof, as the Chairman said, that such a system was the most profitable. That had been done by Mr. Pack two or three years in succession. His plan was to cross his sheep with a Cotswold ram and a Kent ewe, and an excel- lent sheep was the result, and he (Mr. Wood) had produced some very beautiful sheep that way. The Chairman said he had a number of lambs under a twelvemonth old, for which he had obtained 51s., and if he had commenced to feed them three months earlier, he should have realized 60s. to 65s. Mr. Henry Paine had done some astonishing things in that way three or four years ago, and he should be glad to have his experiences. Mr, Henry Paine said he fed the lambs with the ewes with mangel and turnips, and then he gave them jlb.of cake a-day, and clover hay as much as they would eat. He kept on until March with \ lb., then lib., and perhaps a little more. He then finished them off and sent them into the market, and made what he could of them. At the latter end of April or the beginning of May he had made 90s. of them. Mr. Lovett said he considered that it was as beneficial to feed on pasture as on arable land. They fed on hay and beans in Romney Marsh to a considerable extent. The Chairman moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Waterman. The vote was seconded by Mr. Stonham. Mr. Waterman, in reply, said he was very happy to hear that the foot-rot had been eradicated from Mote Park, for it was not pleasant to hold a sale, as he had done, and get com- paratively no one to buy. He was very much obliged for the vote of thanks which had been passed, and if he had contri- buted anything to the interest of the club, as a young member he was most gratified. THE TEXAN CATTLE DISEASE, In t lie report of the delegates appointed by the Board of Agriculture of the Province of Ontario, to examine into the causes, nature, and extent of the cattle-plague existing in some of the Western States, they state that they visited the stock- yards and some of the slaughter-houses of Chicago on the 20th August. At that time there were no cases of the plague in the cattle-yards, in which there were very few cattle. A large herd of Texan cattle were grazing on the quarantine grounds — an enclosure of some eighty acres — where they had been placed by order of Dr. Rauch, as a precautionary mea- sure, and to prevent a repetition of the mischief done by former herds when turned out to graze on the commons around the city. The committee were informed that more than 100 cows belonging to persons living in Chicago had died of the plague, which they contracted from Texan herds which had been allowed to pasture on the commons west and south of the Chicago and Fort Wayne Railway. Those cattle had not crossed the track of that railway ; and therefore the disease had been confined to cattle within the limits named. It was stated that some fifty Texan cattle had also died of the plague. Dr. Rauch took the committee to two extensive slaughter-houses, where Texas and other cattle are killed. Dr. Rauch had instituted a very strict system of inspection, in consequence of which it was almost impossible for diseased meat to reach the market. Not only was there close scrutiny at the stock-yards, but there was a critical examination of every animal after being slaughtered. This course was impe- ratively necessary, from the large quantities of unsound meat which had been sold. It was stated that, in the course of three weeks, at least 2,000 diseased cattle had been killed and sold for beef in Chicago. Who can tell how much disease was the result ? On the 21st the committee proceeded to Champaign, a town 128 miles south of Chicago, where the plague had been raging with great violence. An old resident and extensive stock-feeder rated the deaths at over 5,000 in Champaign county. The committee then visited Urbana, where the disease had nearly expended its force for want of material : nearly all the cattle had died. While in Urbana, they were informed that there was a diseased herd some two miles south of that place, which they inspected. It belonged to a Mr. Shelton, and afforded remarkable evidence of the virulent character of the disease. This herd had never grazed where Texan cattle had pastured. On the 16th of June a herd of those cattle had passed along the road in front of Mr. Slielton's farm. A short time afterwards another herd of Texas cattle were brought to pasture on the prairie two miles east of Mr. Slielton's farm. One morning they stampeded, and ran along the road referred to. They were rapidly driven back, and had no contact with Mr. S.'s cattle, which were always kept in his pasture. They were, however, daily driven along the road to water, and the exact distance travelled by them on the road was 120 yards. They were watered from a well, within an inclosure, to which the Texan cattle had no access. Mr. Slielton's cattle contracted the disease from simply passing 120 yards along a road over which a Texas herd had gone. There was one very remarkable case in this herd, namely, that of a calf which had not been driven along the road in question for a month after the Texas cattle had passed, and it showed symptoms of the disease on the 17th of August. The disease first appeared in Mr. Slielton's herd in the second week of August, or nearly nine weeks after the Texan cattle had passed. Many of the Texas herd had died at their herding ground, and they exhibited the same symptoms of disease as native cattle. From Urbana, the committee proceeded to Tolono, nine miles south of Champaign. There they found that the disease had expended itself, as nearly all the cattle were dead. This place was a point of special interest, as there was said to be a case there which clearly demonstrated that a common board fence between Texas and native cattle was all that was necessary to protect the latter from the disease. But in the town of Tolono lives a Mr. Larmon. His cows are fenced within his lot, and have been watered from a well three times a day. His cows were divided from the open prairie and the Texas and native cattle by a common board fence only ; yet it was said he had neither lost an animal nor have they been in any way affected. He said " that the statement was correct up to a certain time, but that a few days before one of his cows had taken the disease and died, and that he had, that morning, left the other for dead." The committee went to see the cow, and found her still alive, but in the last stages of the disease. She was quite phrenetic — a stage of the disease often immediately preceding death. Next day she died. Mr. Lock, of Y armouth, Ontario, lives a few miles from Tolono, where he had his valuable herd of Devons. He has lost all of them by the plague. A short time before its appearance among native cattle he had a sale of the portion of the herd ; they also took the plague and died. The coun- ties of Champaign, Kankakee, McLean, Sangamon, and Ver- million, some of the best aud most extensive stock-raising and breeding counties in Illinois, have been visited by this terrible scourge. In 1865, the actual number of cattle in those counties was 152,452, representing value to the extent of 1,862,155 dols. It is said that 150,000 died. From Tolono, the committee proceeded to Springfield, to confer witli the members of the State Agricultural Board. Mr. Reynolds, the secretary of the Board, had just returned from Abilene, Kansas, which place he had visited in company with a committee appointed to make investigation as to the state of disease there. One of the chief objects of the visit of Mr. Reynolds and his colleagues to Abilene was to test the truth of the " Live Oak Theory " as to the cause of the disease. That theory has been stated very confidently by several authorities, and, among them, by one who ranks high in the veterinary profession. It seems that the " Live Oak " grows only in Southern Texas ; and it was alleged that the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 495 cattle from that part of the State alone had the power of communicating Texan fever. It was also stated that cattle which came from Texas, hy way of Ahilene, were sound, and could not contaminate others. The Southern Texas cattle were brought into Illinois, via New Orleans and Red River, Arkansas and the Mississippi, to Cairo, and thence by the Illinois Central Railway to the various points along the line. Unfortunately for this theory, the disease exists at Abileue ; and there it showed the same symptoms as elsewhere, and it presented the same exacerbations. So far as the committee could ascertain the disease first ap- peared at Cairo, the southern terminus of the Illinois Central Railway, about the beginning of June. It appeared subse- quently at various points along the line, and at Tolono, a small town at the point of intersection of the Toledo, Wabash, and Western Railway with the Illinois Central, on the 20th July. It was stated that between that date and the 1st of August 235 cows died. Between that time and the visit of your committee, several hundred cattle died — in fact, there was scarcely a hoof left in the neighbourhood. Texan cattle had been discharged from the cars, until popular feeling be- came so strong that its continuance was not permitted. It was estimated that some 15,000 head of cattle had been de- livered at Tolono alone ; they carried the seeds of disease and deatb wherever they went. In other parts of Illinois and Indiana similar debarkations had been going on for several weeks. The disease has been known in Missouri and Kansas for a number of years, and its desolations were well nigh complete. In many instances as high as 90 per cent, of the cattle at- tacked died. At first the people of those States were unwilling to believe that the Texan cattle were the cause of the disease, but in 1853 the people of Missouri were convinced of it, and f the result was that a law was passed prohibiting the intro- duction of cattle from Texas into that State from the 1st of April to the 1st of November. A similar law has prevailed in Kansas for some years. The Board of Agriculture for Missouri (Transactions for 1866) state : " Western States have been severely censured in some quarters for passing laws to prevent the introduction of this disease, attributing to us selfish motives — namely, the pre- vention of the competition of Southern cattle in our markets. It will be seen by a reference to the opinions already given of farmers of South-west Missouri — a locality that has suffered probably more than any other— that the Texas cattle shall he prevented from being brought into the State during the wami season, when the disease is readily communicated, but to he allowed unrestricted passage during the cold weather, when the disease is not so readily communicated." In giving their own opinion, the board adds : " As before remarked, the sub- ject has become one of urgent importance, and the legislature will be called upon to enact laws in the premises which will protect the interests of the State and the welfare of its in- habitants. A law entirely prohibitory, we think, will be the only effectual method of keeping the disease out of the State. If Southern cattle are allowed to be driven into or through the State at all, it will be almost impossible to prevent more or less loss of our stock from the pestilence which they carry. Again, we think they should be kept out of our markets as a sanitary measure. It can scarcely be possible — certainly it is not probable — that cattle carrying infection of so virulent a cha- racter can constitute wholesome human food. Who would knowingly eat the beef of cattle with such pestiferous breath as these Texas cattle seem to have ? It can be no favour to the consumers of beef to have that article cheapened in the market by the introduction of an article of such very doubtful, not to say positively injurious character. We should keep out Texas cattle on the same principle that we would the small- pox or the cholera. They are pestilential. Who could com- plain, or who would suffer from such a law ? Chiefly, it would be the drovers and speculators in this stock, who care more for filling their own pockets than for the losses of others, or the health of the community." THE CULTIVATION OF THE SUGAR BEET. Sir, — In reading the account of the meeting of the Laven- ham Farmers' Club in your magazine of last month, there appears to be a considerable difference of opinion on some of the subjects connected with the cultivation of the sugar-beet, which, as the speakers are all practical agriculturists, may either perplex, or lead others astray, one way or the other, according to the degree of faith reposed in their judgment. I am, therefore, induced to send you some extracts on the subject from foreign publications, consisting of the opinions, practice, and experiments of men who have had large experience in the sugar-beet culture, and whose judgment is consequently worthy of attention. It is, indeed, no small advantage, now that the manufacture has been fairly launched in the United Kingdom, to have the sixty years' experience of the continental growers and manufacturers, which has been purchased by them at an immense cost, whether in bounties on the sugar produced and the beet grown, or in the experiments instituted by them. They have now sur- mounted every difficulty, and have established as an insti- tution a new source of profitable industry, of which one of the most eminent Trench agriculturists and economists wrote as follows : " The admirable discovery of sugar in the beet-root is, in our national economy, one of those rare and fortunate revolutions of the value of which contemporaries are sometimes not aware, but to which posterity will eventually assign a place amongst our greatest agricultural and commer- cial sources of wealth." (Matthieu de Dombasle.) The general practice in the cultivation of the sugar-beet on the continent — say in Trance — is to sow it after wheat or other cereal crop ; but it is not unusual to take another crop of wheat after beet : and it has been found that such a crop is frequently better than that which preceded the beet. Some- times when the land is " in good heart," beet is sown two years in succession ; in other cases, where a crop of clover, or rape, or poppy (the latter being extensively cultivated in France) has failed. But, whichever plan is adopted, the land must be manured and ploughed as early as possible after: harvest — certainly before winter sets in, so that both the manure may become rotten and incorporated with the soil, and the soil itself may have the ameliorating influence of the frost, with the value of which every farmer is acquainted. There is a difference of opinion amongst the farmers attending the Lavenham meeting respectiug deep and shallow ploughing, at which I am somewhat surprised, because the question has been so much discussed of late years ; and experience has so strongly decided in favour of deep culture, if property performed, as to settle the subject. I would recom- mend those who are opposed to deep culture to procure, to read attentively, Stephen's tract on the practice on the Yester estate of the Marquis of Tvveeddale, in Scotland, which, I think, would stagger, if not overcome, their objections. The following experiment, however, on deep ploughing, extracted from the "Journal d' Agriculture Pratique," was made by the director of the experimental farm of Eastern Russia, in which district there are extensive beet-sugar works companies. The experiment was made in 1868, and was as follows: In a field of 60 hectares (about 148 acres), two plots of ground were marked out, each containing 6 hectares (or 14- a. 3 r. 10 p.). One of these, marked A in the account, was ploughed to the depth of 25 centi- metres, or 9 inches ; the other, marked B, was also ploughed, first, 9 inches ; then, in the same furrow, 5 inches more ; and lastly, it was stirred, without turning over, to the further depth of 7 inches ; in all, 21 inches. Both plots were, in other respects, manured and treated in the same way, and then sown with sugar-beet. Tho results were as follows : A, ploughed 9 inches deep, produced 82 measures of roots. B, ploughed and stirred, 21 inches, do. 190 do. The proportions of saccharine matter contained in A was 11.15 per cent., and in B, 15.22 per cent. I am not aware what the " measure " in Russia contains ; • but if we supposed it to be one ton, which will answer the 496 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. purpose, the difference in the produce of the two plots in sugar will be as follows : Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. From A, in 82 tons, at 11.15 percent.... 9 0 2 4 From B, in 190 tons, at 13.22 do. ... 28 18 1 12 This extraordinary result is attested by the signature of the superintendent of the establishment, M. L. Grandeau. The usual time of sowing is the latter end of April or the beginning of May, or as soon as the land is dry and somewhat warmed by the sun ; and the earliest-sown plants are always the best, and the richest in saccharine matter. The light and chalky lands are generally sown first, because they are sooner dry, and the plants have more time to strike downward, and thus escape the strong heats of summer, which, on a light soil, would be very iujurious to them. The cultivation of the mangold wurzel is so well understood in Eugland, and that of the sugar-beet is so analogous to it, that it would appear superfluous to go into detail of it. Every farmer knows the importance of keeping down the weeds after sowing, and of having the land as well pulverized as possible before it. There is a question, however, which it is necessary to refer to, as a good deal in respect to the crop may depend upon it. This is, whether it is preferable to sow the plants in the usual way, or to sow them on a seed-bed under cover, at an early period, and transplant them in May, by which means the crop would be the sooner ready for raising, and the plant would also be more easily preserved from the insects, to whose attacks they are liable iu the field when in the first stage of their ex- istence. Besides which, it will allow a longer time to prepare the soil, and get it into a pulverized state, which is no small matter. With the help, too, of the cultivator and the harrow, the first growth of weeds may be utterly destroyed before the plants are put in. Another advantage of planting is that there are no breaches in the rows, if the work is properly performed, and a moist time is chosen for it. I was a good deal struck on seeing an agricultural friend of mine's plan of planting cab- bages in a dry time. A water-cart was constantly at work, backwards and forwards, in the field, for the use of the planters, who gave every plant half-a-pint of water. This operation was performed witli the greatest ease, and at a very small expense, the water-carts being under the care of boys. That the beet- root might be planted with great advantage in the same way, and afterwards, if necessary, also watered in a dry time, is clear enough. Planting, instead of sowing, is not a very expensive operation, if persons are employed who are accustomed to the work. Some of the market-gardeners will put in twelve or fourteen thousand plants in a day, which with cabbages amounts to nearly an acre. Beet-root plants would be set closer ; if at 18 by 9 inches, as is proposed by some persons, it would require about 3S,720 plants ; but as women and boys could soon perform the work, the expense would not be great, compared with the increased weight of the crop, and its safety in other respects. Thirty-eight thousand seven hundred and twenty roots at 31bs. each would give a produce of 51f tons ; and upwards of 100 tons have been raised by one of the Ger- man growers, whose name I forget, and cannot lay my hand on the book iu which it is inserted ; but the calculation can be easily made if you fix the distance between the roots each way. Thus there are 43,500 square feet in an acre, and multiply this by 144, the number of inches in the square foot, and you obtain 0,272,640 inches. If you plant at the distance of 18 by 9 inches=162 inches ; then divide the large number by it, which gives 38,720 as the number of plants required. If you multiply this by three, the supposed weight of the bulb, you get 116,160 lbs. weight (or 51 J tons) per acre. Of course it is out of the question to expect that such a crop can always be raised in the ordinary way of farming, or on a large scale ; but that far larger crops can be raised here than are obtained on an average iu France or Germany, is indisputable ; and I have not a doubt that planting instead of sowing, if properly executed, will increase both the weight of the crop and the proportion of saccharine it contains — at least this has been the case where it has been tried on the Continent. Mr. Hitchcock, I see, grew 36,000 plants to the acre, and, if the season had been favourable instead of the contrary, he would probably have had them average 3 lbs. each at least, which would have given him 48 tons per acre. Does any farmer know of a cereal crop that on the average would pay him better than this at 20s. per ton ? or is it possible that the largest crop of roots that ever was grown, and employed in fattening cattle or sheep, can realize such a sum per acre ? With respect to manures employed on the Continent, the farmyard dung is used as far as it goes ; and I suspect that the quantity of this is generally insufficient to produce any- thing like a full crop. But where artificial manure is used the case is otherwise. I have now before me several series of experiments, which would occupy too much space to add them to this long letter. I shall therefore select one, because it is the most explicit as to the nature of the manures used, being conducted by M. Chavee Leroy, manager of the experimental farm at Clermont-les-Fermes, and treated precisely on the principles laid down by M. Ville : fc*>co 11 co 05 I ■* «^'l« «3 U3 © CO U> t, 50 O 'SpcJ OH ED X! eq sai CM en CO 1 1 © CM d u o Sow CO © m CM o CO © s Pi 2oo CM o CM © CM © o a -? a ■* © irl © pi Sou> Or-HH r^ © r~ a CM CM © \< — *— \- ' ^ CO o u 3 . 't^cor-^t^aot^t^coaoi>.coaot^t>»*1'cot^i>.©''*©iftt>. 9} COIOtCmN =,©te ! S'.s "^ S •- "3 5^ i 02 Zi GO £ fc GO CO £ o o See' J» 'A • CD 'A • 9 ' 3 'A <" If !*!! J*.a -Si S| R,d p gP.s P o^ o5o>-3 =" aP-lcO*- £Ai02'-" bC^GQPn1" OtncMv.O:0c^lcwOc3flv-^O s^oooSoomcigoois t§ a » o t| c. a> o ■§ P -£ u © a 3 £ .TS -13 c3 3 .tJ • - £ c3 O) S -13 3 COCOlZSZGOGOlZjZiGO^QZIZSGO ^3 Pn ££ £ The results of these experiments will not appear very grand, but it must be borne in mind that the year 1868 was one of the most trying on record for root-crops of all kinds, so that the products can only be considered as exhibiting the propor- tions that may be expected from the different mixtures of the chemical substances. It will be observed that no saliue manures are used, with the exception of the farmyard dung, it being found that the employment of salt in any form reduces the proportion of saccharine in the roots. This was pointed out by Mr. Duncan at the meeting at which he attended and proposed the enterprize to the Suffolk farmers. With regard to seed, it will be advisable — in the first in- stance, at least — for the farmers to procure it from the Con- tinent, in order to obtain it pure. Afterwards the growers can raise it themselves, if they wish to do so. There are several varieties of the sugar-beet — as the white Silesian, the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 497 Javnc ovoide (or yellow egg-shaped), the Colld vert, &c. The drill is now generally used in putting in the seed. They have one in France for the purpose of sowing beet-root, which costs £6 (1501.), and the seed is deposited from an inch to au inch- aud-a-half (3 to 5 centimetres) in the soil. The distance of IS inches hetween the rows is necessary to allow the free use of the hoe, whether horse or hand power. " Sow early, give little space between the plants, in rich ground deeply tilled ; that is the way to have beet-root showing small at the neck, but long and good, and the proper weight and density of saccharine." Yours, &c., April 27. The Old Norfolk Farmer. NATURAL GRASSES. The following paper was read by Mr. M'Candless before the Kilkenny Farmers' Club : The Irish farmers have a capital considerably in excess of forty millions sterling invested in farm animals, which are mainly dependent upon our grass lauds for their support. The export of these animals, and of their produce, forms the principal source of wealth in the couutry, and, consequently, the increase or decrease of that wealth will be in proportion to the increase or decrease in the number of these animals, and upon the quantity and quality of their produce. The increase in the number of farm animals we can support, as well as the quantity and quality of their produce, depends to a very great extent upon the skilful crop- ping of our grass lands. There can, therefore, be no second opinion that a thorough knowledge of grasses and their culti- vation is a matter of the first importance to the Irish farmer. This being so, and considering that the soil and climate of Ireland are eminently suited to the growth of grasses, it might be reasonably expected that the pasture and meadow lands of the country would present examples of the results of superior skill, combined with unrivalled natural advantages. That such is not the case, however, cannot be denied. It is true that Ire- land can boast of some pastures equal to auy in the world ; such as those of Meath and Westmeath ; but they are isolated instances, for which we are indebted to the bountiful hand of Nature, aided only to a very slight extent, by that of the hus- bandman. In reference to our ordinary grass lands, all writers, capable of forming a reliable estimate of their produce, agree in stating, that in value it is little more than half of what it should be. If this be true, and for my own part I am con- vinced that it is, the annual loss to the country must be some- thing enormous. It is a loss which directly affects every member of this Club, and it therefore behoves us carefully to inquire from what sources it arises. It appears to me that these sources may be summed up under the following heads : First, a deficiency of knowledge with reference to the proper- ties, habits of growth, and requirements of the different species of grasses found in cultivation ; and, as a consequence, un- suitable selections. Second, a careless and unskilful method of cultivation. Third — in the case of meadow lands — the practice of leaving the grass uncut till too ripe, combined with unskilful management during the process of saving. Within the limits of a paper such as this, it is impossible to discuss fully each of these sources of loss. I shall therefore confine myself to the first — hoping that on a future occasion some other member will favour us with his experience upon the two remaining heads. In dealing with the subject I shall en- deavour to avoid as far as possible the use of technical or botanical phrases, and keep it strictly within the limits of prac- tical every-day farming. We are told that the first step towards improvement is to be convinced of our errors ; and also, that we are on the road to the acquisition of knowledge when we feel that we stand in need of it. Let us follow the dictates of these axioms, and first inquire if our knowledge of the different species and genera of grasses is as deficient as it is generally represented to be. If we compare it with that generally possessed of any other class of farm crops, we will find that it is so. For instance — every farmer in the country can tell you the kind of grain best suited to the soil he cultivates. He can tell you whether oats, wheat, or barley, is most profitable ; and, which, weight for weight, is the most valuable, either in the market or for home consumption. He can dilate upon their habits of growth, the mode of cultivation they each re- quire, and he can even enlighten you upon the comparative value of their straw for feeding purposes. Ask him for cor- responding information with reference to any three species of grasses, and in nine cases out of ten, you will find he is completely non-plussed. Ask him what kind of soil is respectively suited for the growth of cocksfoot, fescues, or florin grass ? Which contains the most nutritive matter for cattle ? At what sea- son of the year are they each in the greatest perfection ? and I repeat, for his own interest, and for that of the country, that you will too frequently find him unable to inform you. We may even carry this contrast between the knowledge possessed of cereals and grasses still further ; for many, who have a keen appreciation of the loss arising from allowing their grain crops to become over-ripe before harvesting, seem to consult their own convenience only, in determining the stage of ripe- ness at which their grasses should be cut. Or if in a flax- growing district ; you may see the farmers keenly alive to the importance, even of a day, in pulling their flax ; lest the fibre may be injured, while they take little, save the weather, into consideration in determining upon the time the scythe or mowing machine should be set to work. Again, if we com- pare the scrutiny often exercised in the purchase of other seeds, with the carelessness too frequently displa\red in the selection of grasses, we see another instance of the apathy there exists with reference to these valuable crops. An apathy which it seems to me may be, to some extent, accounted for from the natural verdure of the country, which, even un- aided by the husbandman, will produce herbage of some sort that we are too much in the habit of looking upon as pasture or meadow. It may be still further accounted for from the fact that grasses are for the most part grown for home consump- tion, whereas other crops, such as cereals, flax, and potatoes, are grown for sale. In the latter case, the well-trained eye of the buyer will detect mismanagement and pay us according, which forces us to consider what treatment of these crops he most appreciates ; while in the former case, our farm animals are the purchasers, and, although they too will pay us exactly in proportion to the value of the produce with which we sup- ply them, they have not the same means of informing us that more skill on our part would have increased the value of that produce, and would have enabled them to pay a higher price for it. Be this as it may, one thing is certain, that our know- ledge of the different properties, habits, and requirements of grasses, is more deficient than that which we possess of auy other class of farm crops, and yet there is not less difference between the properties, habits of growth, and requirements of many genera of the grasses we cultivate, than there is between oats, wheat, aud barley, which I need hardly observe belong to the same natural order as the grasses. It is quite true that social habits, if I may so speak, are common among many of the species and genera of our grasses ; and that many of them are adapted to a wide range of soil and climate ; but it is equally true that many of them have habits and requirements peculiar to themselves, and will only flourish under certain conditions of soil, climate, aud situation. Like all other plants they have their likes and dislikes, or as the poet, Dryden, beautifully expresses it: " Not every plant on every soil will grow ; The sallow loves the water ground, and low ; The marshes, alders : Nature seems to ordain The rocky cliff for the wild ash's reign." Their different habits, however, are not more marked than their different properties as feeding materials. Some (and, indeed, nrany of these are too frequently found in our meadows and pastures) are almost worthless in this respect. I need hardly observe, in this age of concentrated feeding stuffs, that bulk or weight in any feeding material does not necessarily imply a proportionate amount of nourishment for the animal by which it is consumed. It is quite possible for a pound weight of one kind of feeding material to afford an animal as much nourishment as fifty pounds of another ; and in no case, 498 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. amongst the different members of any class of our farm crops, is this more true than amongst our natural grasses. We may have two fields of land, equally good, and of equal extent, and the one, if stocked with superior grasses, may afford the ani- mals grazing upon it three or four times the amount of nourishment which the other will, if stocked with grasses of an unsuitable or inferior description. Before proceeding far- ther, it may be well to inquire, what properties constitute a good grass ? To my mind, these properties are — that it should contain a high percentage of nutritive matter, be palatable to cattle, a fast grower, recover easily after being cropped or mown, produce a plentiful supply of succulent root leaves which should continue in full vigour for a considerable portion of the year, and lastly, that it should be easily extir- pated when necessary. A grass that does not combine at least three or four of these propeities should not be permitted to occupy even a medium soil. In many cases where the soil, climate, or situation are unsuitable to the better description of grasses, we must be contented with those of less pretensions ; but we should, in every case, persist in stocking our fields with the best varieties they will produce. It may be well now to glance at the considerations which should guide us in determining what kind of grasses should be selected for any particular field. We must, for instance, be guided by the natural description of the soil, by its artificial condition at the time, and by its situation. We must consider whether it be clayey, gravelly, sandy, or peaty, whether it be a naturally dry or wet soil, whether it has been drained or not, whether the surface soil is deep or shallow, and whether the subsoil be good or had. Next, we must take into consideration its present condition as regards manures, and, finally, whether it be in an exposed or sheltered situation. These are conditions which, if carefully considered, will, together with a knowledge of the habits and requirements of the various grasses in cultivation, enable us to stock that field with the best grasses it will pro- duce, and to avoid those that are not likely to succeed upon it. But it does not follow that these are the only points we should take into consideration. We must look, for instance, to the objects we have in view when laying it down. If it is only required for one year's meadow, or one year's meadow and one year's grazing, the grasses we select may be very dif- ferent from those we must select if it be intended for per- manent pasture. If, again, it be intended for sheep pasture, our selection should be different from that we would fix upon were it intended for bullocks or dairy cattle. Another point neces- sary to be borne in mind is, that different grasses frequently produce their herbage at different periods of the year ; and, as a regular supply of herbage is of much consequence, we should take care to select kinds that will come into full vigour in regular succession. There are few practical farmers who have not at one time or another noticed fields which at a particular period of the year are abundantly supplied with herbage, and continue so for a few weeks, but which, prior to and after that period, are com- paratively naked. This chiefly arises from the land being stocked with grasses of the same species, or with different species having similar habits as regards their herbage. It may also be noticed that some fields when sown with several grasses, will be found to carry them all for a year or so, but that some kinds, although naturally permanent, will, after a short time, die out. This would appear to be chiefly owing to the subsoil, into which the deeper rooted varieties penetrate in the course of the second year, not being wholesome. The land will therefore only continue to produce those varieties which are surface feeders. From what I have now stated it will be seen, that to enable anyone to make a suitable selection of grasses for his farm, he must not only be well acquainted with the nature of his soil and subsoil, but must also take carefully into consideration the properties and habits of growth of the different grasses in cultivation. To acquire that knowledge, we must not only employ careful observation on our own part, but avail ourselves of the experience of prac- tical and scientific men, who have devoted time and attention to the subject. From these sources and from my own experi- ence, I have prepared a concise description of the principal grasses in cultivation, which I trust may prove useful to any who have not hitherto given the subject the attention it de- serves. To avoid as far as possible lengthy descriptive par- ticulars, I have collected specimens of such grasses as I could conveniently obtain. The first I shall notice is the well known and valuable species, Italian rye grass {Lolium italictm), for which we are indebted to the eminent seedsmen, Messrs. Law- son and Sons, of Edinburgh, who, in conjunction with Mr. Thompson, of Banchory, introduced it to these islands from Italy, in the year 1833. It is easily distinguished from Perennial rye grass, by the awns. It possesses a fair nutritive value ; is much relished by cattle ; is a fast grower, heavy cropper, well furnished with herbage, which it shows early in the spring, and sustains well throughout the summer ; re- covers easily after the scythe, is suited to a wide range of soils and climate ; is fibrous-rooted, and easily eradicated. It is eminently suited to alternate husbandry, aud should form a portion of every selection of grasses, even for permanent pas- ture, as it gives a crop the first year, which tew of our per- manent grasses will do, and afterwards gives place to the more permanent kinds. It is, however, a gross feeder, and is only to be seen in its greatest perfection on land in a high state of cultivation, or where irrigated with liquid manure ; and in point of duration can only be considered at most a biennial, as unless it be permitted to shed its seed, it cannot be de- pended upon for a third year. In point of duration it appears to me that a good deal depends upon the crops from which the seed is saved. Saving it from the first year's growth, for a number of years in succession, gradually developes a tendency to shorter duration, and vice versa. It is found to contain the greatest amount of nutritive matter at the period of flowering, which is usually in the months of May and June, and should never be permitted to pass that stage, when in- tended for hay. It may be sown alone upon good land, at any time from March till September. I have seen it sown on the 5th March, and by irrigation with liquid manure, produce two good cuttings the same year. On some of the Model Farms in Ireland, it has been sown for the last fifteen years after early potatoes, in the months of August and September ; in which case it gives very early cuttings the following spring. It is also frequently sowrn after the corn crop has been removed, a practice which is resorted to by some, where the graiu has lodged and injured the grasses sown in the spring. This practice is also preferred by many farmers, as it gives an opportunity of cleansing the stubble land before sow- ing the grass. Perennial Rye-grass {Lolium perenne). — This is a kindred species to the Italian. Some botanists assert that Italiau is only a variety of it. Be this as it may, the distinction is sufficiently marked in an agricultural point of view. As compared with the Italian, it is more nutritive, bulk for bulk, somewhat more permanent ; not so tall nor so fast a grower or heavy a feeder ; flowers later in the season ; is not so broad in the foliage, and covers the ground better. In other respects it is so like the Italian that its description would only be a re- petition of that already given. There are several varieties of this grass in cultivation, each possessing, or claiming to possess, merits peculiar to itself. The principal improvements at- tempted in these varieties are, that of developing a tendency to greater permanency and the production of better root foliage. Some claim to have shortened its usual period of duration, and by so doing, to have developed a quicker growth and heavier yield per acre. The former are denominated perennial, and the latter annual varieties. None of them, however, are of more than of two or three years' duration. The varieties most deserving of attention are Pacey's, in which the foliage is certainly much improved ; evergreen, which retains its verdure well throughout the year, aud is particularly hardy. Stickney's and Whitworth's varieties possess the property of early and late growth. The latter is most tenacious of life, so much so, that it often gives trouble to extirpate it. Cocksfoot {Bad 'His glomcrata). — This is another of our most valuable grasses, possessing a much higher per-centage of nutritive matter than its coarse appearance would indicate. It is much relished by cattle, and sheep are particularly fond of it. It is a permanent grass, when circumstances are favourable ; but when they are not so, or where it is eaten closely by sheep, it dies out after a few years. It is particularly suited for growing in shaded places ; hence, in the United States, where it is extensively grown, it is called Orchard grass. Its roots are fibrous ; but, as you will observe by the specimens before you, are particularly strong and penetrate to a considerable depth. It succeeds well on either light or heavy land, witli a porous subsoil ; but if the subsoil be sour or contain any matter mimical to it, it is certain to fail after the first year. It flowers THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 499 in Jime and July, and, unlike the rye-grasses, contains the greatest per-centage of nutritive matter when its seeds are ripe. Nevertheless, I always cut it when in llower, as, if allowed to ripen its seed, the culms become coarse any unpalatable. It is one of our heaviest croppers, and has of late been successfully introduced as a rotation grass, when the land is two or three years iu pasture or meadow. It recovers fast after mowing or cropping, and gives an abundant herbage. It grows from the level of the sea to high altitudes. Timothy or Catstail Grass (PMeum praiense) — another of our best grasses. It is named timothy grass from the fact of its heing first introduced to the State of Carolina by a Mr. Timothy Hanson, and is called catstail, from its re- semblance to the tail of that animal. It was introduced to these islands about a hundred years ago, and is extensively cultivated in the United States upon deep moist soils. I have also seen it do well on reclaimed bogs, strong clays, and flat bottom-land. It is adapted for irrigation ; but its growth need not be attempted upon light sandy or very porous soils. If it succeed on such soils, its roots become tuberous and bulb- ous. It is much relished by cattle, and in suitable soils is a permanent grass, which yields a heavy crop of meadow. It, like cocksfoot, possesses the property of affording its highest per-centage of nutritive matter when its seeds are ripe. Its seed is, therefore, cheap, as it can be saved without injury to the hay. It does not show much herbage till late in the spring, and flowers about the end of June or beginning of July. On soils suited to its growth it should form a portion of all mixtures for permanent pasture, and also for rotation cropping when two or three years' grass are taken. Rough-stalked Meadow Grass (Poa irivialis). — This is a perennial grass, of very considerable merit, distinguished by its habit of throwing out lateral shoots, or stolons, from the base of the culms, which iu moist weather, particularly iu spring and autumn, take root, and form a beautiful verdant sward, which is maintained through a considerable portion of the winter. It is well suited for damp soils and shaded places, and thrives vigorously under irrigation. As compared with smooth-stalked meadow grass, it is greatly superior in every respect, except that of producing early foliage. It flowers in June and July, makes good palatable hay, and is also relished as pasture grass. It is a grass deserving of more attention than it usually receives. Fiorin Grass (Agrostis slolonifera) . — We have many varieties of the genus to wlrch this grass belongs in cultiva- tion. They are well suited to the climate of Ireland, and suc- ceed best on moist peaty soils, where the stoloniferous habits of this species in particular enable it to maintain itself, in many cases to the exclusion of other sorts. It possesses a fair nutri- tive value, and is relished by cattle. It flowers in July, and is a valuable grass on reclaimed bog-lands. It can be propagated either by seed or by dividing the stolons, every knot of which will take root. Crested Dogstail (Cynosurns cristatus), called also " gold grass," and locally known as " tra/r/ieen," is a grass very generally found in our upland pastures. It produces a good root foliage, which is relished by sheep and cattle ; but its culms or seed stems are not eaten, hence they are found in the latter part of the year standing alone on the barest pastures, which gives the grass a worse name than it otherwise deserves. It is seldom sown by farmers, as on land suitable to it it is pretty sure to make its appearance ; but it is much sought after for lawns and pleasure-grounds, as it makes a close smooth sward. Fescues (Pestuca). — Of this genus, we have many species and varieties in cultivation. Time will not permit me to de- scribe them in detail. They are almost, without exception, valuable grasses, aud amongst them are found species suited for all soils, situations, and purposes. They usually flower about June and July, are much relished by cattle, and main- tain their verdure through the greater part of the year, are nearly all of a permanent nature, and of high nutritive value. Those most generally found in cultivation are " hard fescue," which succeeds best on naturally dry land, but will grow in a very wide range of soils and situations, is well suited for pas- ture, and particularly in ornamental parks, where its fine close foliage makes it a favourite. Sheep's Fescue.— A species never sown in alternate hus- bandry ; it is, however, a valuable grass on elevated sheep pas- tures, as it is much relished by sheep, but is not so productive, nor quite so nutritious, as the last species. Tall Fescue. — Produces a large quantity of herbage, grows best on low-lying moist meadows and tenacious clays, is rather coarse, but makes excellent hay if cut when in flower. Meadow Fescue. — An excellent species, found naturally in rich meadows. It is one of our best pasture grasses. When grown for hay, it should invariably be cut while in flower, as, if allowed to ripen its seed, its hay is only one- third the value of that saved from it when in flower. Meadow Foxtail ( Alopecurvs pndensis) . — Another good grass ; produces its foliage and flowers early in the spring, is better suited for pasture than for meadow, and likes a mode- rately moist soil, grows naturally in all good pastures, and is much relished by sheep, but does not come to maturity for two or three years after it is sown. I have now given a description (necessarily very brief) of the most valuable grasses in cultivation. Time will not per- mit me to refer to several second-class kinds, such as " sweet scented vernal grass," "yellow downey," and "tall oat grass," and such like, which, under certain circumstances, are of much importance in an agricultural point of view. I cannot, how- ever close my observations upon this point without reminding you that some species, unworthy of a place even in medium lands, are too frequently encouraged and cultivated upon good soil, from the mistaken idea that a grass which gives a weighty crop or plentiful herbage is necessarily a good one. This, I repeat, is an erroneous opinion ; and, although being a weighty cropper is a good recommendation, yet if a grass is not palatable, and nutritive in proportion to its bulk, it should only be considered as a weed. The grasses which f would be inclined to place in this class are " white grass," or " York- shire fog ;" brome grasses generally — fibrous-rooted ; tall oat- like grass, creeping soft grass, crouch grass, and such kinds, samples of which I have placed before you. At the request of several members I add a few tables of the kinds and quantities of grasses I would recommend uuder certain conditions. In doing so I must say I have little faith in any fixed rules upon this subject. The conditions of soil, climate, situation, and requirements, are so multifarious, that in a paper such as this it would be impossible to meet even a tithe of them ; and I have only to repeat what I have already stated, that no one but the man who is intimately acquainted with these condi- tions, is in a position to select the grasses for any particular field. Every farmer should make himself acquainted with the general principles of the subject, and select his grass accord- ingly. Thus, for instance, if he wish to lay down a field of strong clay-land to grass, he must consider what grasses are, by their habits of growth, &c., suited to that soil. If he re- quire the grass for one year's meadow only, he must select such as come to maturity in one year, and are at the same time suitable to the soil ; and if he require one year's meadow and one or two years' pasture, he must add to those others of a slower growth and more permanent nature, which will re- main in the soil for that period. These are instances of what I call the general principles of laying down land to grass, and I believe them to be a much surer guide than any dogmatic rules as to kinds and quantities, for even the quantity we sow per acre must vary with circumstances. For one year's lay, few mixtures will be found to exceed Italian or perennial rye grass, in the proportion of about 45 lbs. of the former, to 36 lbs. of the latter, or where circumstances render it advisa- ble, eight or ten pounds of red clover may be substituted for twenty pounds of the mixture. If the land be strong clay, and is intended to be left in pasture for one or two years after the meadow, a few pounds of timothy and cocksfoot should be introduced, in lieu of a corresponding quantity of the Italian ; also, white clover and trefoil, instead of a portion of the red clover. The mixture I would recommend in this case, is : Per. Rye-grass Italian do. Timothy Cocksfoot Red clover White do. Yellow do. lbs. 24 18 6 7 3 3 3 If it be intended for permanent pastures, a greater variety of 600 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the permanent grasses should be introduced, and still more of the Italian and perennial rye-grass dispensed with. The red clover may be thrown out, and its place supplied by an in- crease of the white and yellow varieties, or by introducing cow-grass and alsike, which would give a mixture, such as the following : lbs. Per. Rye-grass 12 Italian do 10 Cocksfoot ... ... ... ... ... 5 Timothy ... ... ... ... ... 5 Med. foxtail 5 llough-stalked meadow grass ... ... 4 Tall fescue ... ... ... ... ... 4 Meadow do. ... ... ... ... 4 Alsike clover ... ... ... ... 2 White do 4 Yellow do. ... ... ... ... ... 3 Cow-grass ... ... ... ... ... 3 If the pasture be intended for sheep, it will be necessary to throw out some of the coarser grasses, and increase the fescues ; or perhaps to introduce crested dogstail. A couple of pounds per acre of common field parsley is also to be re- commended in this case. On medium soils and where the soil is in fine tilth and good condition, the above quantities may be reduced ; and on light dry soils, hard and sheep's fescue should be selected instead of tall and meadow fescue ; crested dogstail instead of rough-stalked meadow-grass ; and red, or creeping fescue, instead of a portion of the timothy and cocksfoot; also birdsfoot trefoil instead of cow-grass. If the land be a reclaimed bog, or of a peaty nature, the fescues may be thrown out and fiorin grass introduced ; the rough- stalked meadow grass and timothy increased, and the cow grass and alsike substituted by an increase of the white clover and birdsfoot trefoil. For lawns and other places, where a fine close turf is an object, the coarser-growing species, such as cocksfoot, timothy, rough-stalked meadow grass, and tall fescue, should be avoided ; and crested dogstail, sweet-scented vernal grass, and the finer fescues, introduced in their stead. Permit me now to add a few words on the purchase of grass seeds. I will presume that the circumstances to which I have so often alluded have been carefully considered, and the kinds and quantities to be sown fixed upon. This being done, the order should be given to the seedsman sufficiently early in the season to enable him to procure the kinds required. If not, you may in some cases find that your account will set forth all the sorts you ordered, but you may fail to discover them in your field. In the second place, order the purest, cleanest, and weightiest seed, and above all things see that you get it. Our best means of judging in this case is to make ourselves ac- quainted with the appearance of the seed of the principal grasses, and also with their respective weights per bushel. For this purpose I add a table, giving the weight per bushel of good average seed of each kind ; and have procured samples of the seed of the principal kinds, which any one so disposed can now examine. For these samples I am indebted to the courtesy of the well-known seedsmen, Messrs. Thomas M'Kenzie and Son, of Dublin and Cork, a firm which de- servedly stands high in the estimation of Irish farmers. In the third place I would recommend that in grass seeds, as well as in every other seed we purchase, a certain number of the seeds should be struck before they are risked for a crop, as a failure is always a serious loss. lbs. lbs. Italian rye grass ... ... ... 16 to 18 Perennial do. (according to variety) ... 18 to 30 Cocksfoot 9 to 12 Timothy 44 Rough-stalked meadow grass .. ... 15 to 16 Fiorin 12 to 13 Crested dogstail 25 to 26 Hard fescue 9 to 10 Sheep do 13 to 14 Tall do 14 to 15 Meadow foxtail 5 to G Sweet-scented vernal ... ... ... 5 to 7 In conclusion, gentlemen, allow me to say, that what I have advanced in this paper is not put before you in any dictatorial spirit. I put it forward merely as a statement of my own views upon a subject of vast national importance. It is for you to criticise those views freely, subject them to the test of your own experience, and by so doing you will bring about that interchange of opinion for which our society was estab- lished. THICK SOWING OF GRASS SEED AND CLOVER. It is recommended usually to sow from half-a-bushel to three pecks of seed to the acre — this by the best farmers. Formerly half that amount was " seed thrown away" — thrown away to a good purpose ; but it was not so considered. " Heavy" seeding is now recommended. But what is heavy seeding ? It is, as we have said, half-a-bushel to three pecks. A bushel — who ever sows a bushel? The case is hardly on record. Yet, what will be said when two hushels are men- tioned P We know such an instance, not for a single field, or an acre, nor for a year, but as a practice, and on a large scale. Joel Champion, of Starkville, Herkimer Co., N. Y., has practised this for many years — say, eight to ten ; eight, I believe, is the number he told me. This is putting it on thick, it will be said, and so it is. Two bushels — half timothy, half clover — that, I believe, is the proportion. Land always is stocked here with clover and timothy, the proportion varying somewhat. This is done to have a crop of clover the first and second year, or pure clover the first, clover and timothy the next, making a fine crop for hay, usually considered the best. After that there is timothy alone, or a very little clover. A fewyeais of pasturage or meadow, dressed with plaster or manure — the manure never on pasture — the land is put to the plough again. There is usually a stiff sod and a good return. Mr. Champion "throws away seed," it is said, and said by everyone; and yet everyone is in high praise of Mr. C.'s pastures and meadows. " Such grass," so " stout," and so " thick," is in the mouth of all. In all my seeing, I have never seen clover so thick, so close, as a lot the present season, sown the past year, two bushels of seed to the acre. In the fall it was the densest and finest field within reach of the eye. It was that almost immediately when the crop, oats and barley, was removed ; and it grew thicker and denser, till the stubble was covered, and a cloud of green presented itself. It was permitted to grow so without feeding down ; no stock was allowed upon it — and in the spring early, before other grass appeared, the clover began to spring up. It had been pro- tected from the frost by its thick warm coat and the snow, and the first warmth of the spring started it forth. To see the multitudinous little sprouts, on a level, almost) as smooth as a floor, clean, clear and thick — it was a sight seldom if ever witnessed ; and all admired it — all were struck by the close stand of the clover. And so it grew, the densest thing in the neighbourhood, the finest, the handsomest, all clover, pure and perfect, for the best seed was used. Here were fifteen dollars to the acre thrown away, in part, it was said ; and there were ten or twelve acres — one hundred dollars lost in seed. And this is being practised almost yearly, or as often as occasion may require. Mr. C. is a dairyman, and well to do, so that he " can afford it." He has practised this thing, not that he wishes to " throw away his seed" — he is not that kind of man — but rather to harbour the pennies, the way he got an accumulation of them. This lot of clover, so thick that it could not well lodge, but leaned — leaned from bottom to top, a thick mass, yet not rotten, not hurt — this mass was cut at the earliest of cutting. It was difficult, however, to get it all. An ordinary or old mower on the premises could not do it, so a new one (a Clipper) was purchased, which did the work cleanly, and. a crop was gathered that it would do well for the incredulous in thick sow- ing to come and see. It was harvested ; and some of the hay THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 501 was fed to the stock iu the field, ou account of the shortness of pasture, and eaten greedily. It was cured — cured in the cock — taken in the second and the third day. At once a strong growth started up. Auother crop, almost equal to the first, succeeded, occupying the ground, not dwindling or spindling, hut a cloud of freshness and hloom. It could not he otherwise, notwithstanding the drought, as there were the stems, crowded. There was no chance for bare spots or spaces between the stems. It was a success — a success of thick seediug — securing two crops, the excess of which over ordinary crops would not fall short of paying the excess of seed sown. If the growth is continued the next year, when the timothy — of which little is seeu now — makes its appear- ance, aud iu equal abundance, there will be a profit on the large expense for the seed. The writer desired that the crop should be weighed ; but it could not be made " convenient," so the appearance alone had to decide. But, were there au iucrease each year for but two years of half-a-ton to the acre, the excess would be cancelled. The years following, if the growth still continued in the same proportion, there would he quite a nice gain. And in this light Mr. Champion views it. He is not afraid to put ou the seed. Precious stuff it is ; aud it takes away his hundreds and buries them. But he knows they'll appear again. He knows it by test — by a practice of halt'-a-score of years ; aud he will continue the practice. Mr. C. has this advantage : If a drought sets in at the time of seeding, or after, there will still he a " catch" : there at least always has been, as far as we have observed. Mr. C. never fails of a good stand of grass. He has clover each year, and clover aud timothy — and stout at that — shading the ground, and protecting it against the suu. Iu writing this article, the writer does not wish to be understood as advocating exactly two bushels of seed to the acre. He does, however, advocate — and he thanks no man to say to the contrary — that we are sowing our seed much too thin, even those that sow " heavy," and " spare not." We are afraid : we are handling precious stuff, aud we spare it ; we " make it do." We clip the profit : we spare that. Who of all our friends of the Cultivator ever knew of a man who sowed too thick ? What is his name ? and how much did he sow * Wherein was the loss, the par- ticular loss, of that man in that case of sowing ? Did the seed fail to come ? Perhaps (and a loss). Did it fail, when it came, to show thick, aud to continue and grow thick ? This, we think, will never be said of clover, which gets its strength from the atmosphere. On the other hand, how much do we hear of failure from too thin sowing ! This is the clamour, the yearly complaint, only less loud when the year proves favourable. Then there is fault to the true eye. But even the practised have yet to learn. Have they tried two bushels? Not they. Have they tried a quarter less? Not that. Even a bushel — a whole bushel — of grass and clover- seed has been too much. Has any one tried that ? No. We try only by small degrees. We learn hard. We are careful when the dear stuff is handled. Then let us try — try a little — an acre, half-an-acrc. Trial is the thing that advances the wheel.-— Cultivator and Country Gentleman (American) . WOOL WASHING. In a letter on the subject, addressed to a Victorian paper by Mr. S. Wilson, in reference to his operations, he says : On the Coree station, on the Billabong, where the creek can- not be relied on to run more than once in three years, I found it necessary to apply steam power to raise the water for spout- washing. A seveu-horse power engine, by Clayton, Shuttle- worth, and Co., and one of Appold's thirteen-inch centrifugal pumps, bought from Wilkie, Welch, and Co., raise water to a height of thirteen feet, sufficient to work four of my double- crescent spouts, made by Hughes aud Harvey. These spouts deliver about 3,300 gallons per minute in the aggregate. The engine is worked at from 551b. to 601b. pressure, and goes at from ninety to ninety-five revolutions per minute. I am aware that the work done is equal to thirteen (theoretical) horse power, hut this great amount of work is partly owing to the lessened friction from the water not being forced through any bends, but directly into the trough, to which the spouts are bolted. The pressure of the water in the jets is about six feet. The wash does sufficient to supply twenty-eight shearers. At the Yanko, a twelve-horse power engine and two thirteen-inch pumps work eight spouts, which wash for sixty-three shearers. The engine works at about 451bs. pressure, and makes about eighty-five revolutions per minute. The work is very well done, although with more experience it will, no doubt, be im- proved upon. The great difficulty is to keep the sheep clean after being washed, and get them shorn in that condition. Under favourable circumstances this can be effected, but iu general the tip of the wool is more, or less discoloured. On most Riverine stations the trefoil burrs are the great injury to the wool. Its value is no doubt lessened from ten to fifteen per cent, by these seeds. It is difficult, if not impossible, to prevent sheep from picking them up. The spouts have little or no effect in driving these out of the fleece. The best re- medy seems to be to fence off the worst places, aud use them for cattle or horses, or sheep when the burr is not ripened. The expense of doing so is the great difficulty with the present low prices for pastoral produce. As regards the construction of the wash, each race or division is 14? in. to 15 in. wide. The soak-pen is divided longitudinally into two, three, or four, ac- cording to the number of spouts or extent of work required. The sheep are thrown in at one end and come out in rotation, not being able to pass each other in the races. To Mr. McKnight is, I believe, due the credit of the invention of the i'arrdw race for soaking, as well as the introduction, of the pressure spout to general notice, as the most effective means of cleansing our great staple of production. I have adopted the double crescent jet in the new sheep-washes which I had constructed, and think them better than aoy I have seen as regards cost, efficiency, aud economy of labour. The con- verging form of the jet acts more effectively than the double vertical jet, from the former striking at right angles to the skin at the point of impact, which both of the latter cannot possibly do at the same time. There have been various other forms of jet tried this season. Wilkinson and Stock have produced a double vertical jet, which cau be cleansed out in- stantly, and which is well spoken of. Mr. Jervis, of North Brighton, has had jets made by Wright, which are very" effec- tive and neat in working, though somewhat costly. These have the defect of other double vertical jets above referred to. There are also double jets of a different form made by Wright' with gun-metal orifices, which discharge a very smooth sheet of water. The workmanship of these is excellent, but the price is high. Both these and Mr. Jervis's deliver two jets at the same angle as my double wooden jet, described last year. With an alteration in the angle of delivery, and a reduction in price, these jets would be perfection. I have this year tried a treble jet, being three sheets of water, eaeh three feet long and an eighth of an inch thick, delivered almost vertically, the two outer jets converging at an angle of about five degrees from the vertical. This was at first considered an improvement on the double crescent jet, but on a prolonged trial, working be- side the other, it was found to do scarcely as much work, aud to use fifty per cent, more water. There is, I believe, another double spout being made by Mr. Pritchard, C.E., which will deliver the water at the best angle, and allow greater facilities for seeing the sheep when is is being operated "upon. Regard- ing the shower previous to soaking, I find that it is of little or no use in the northern districts, at any rate where the soak- pen is large enough to keep the sheep in for six or seven mi- nutes. In breeds with much black tip possibly it may be of service. I have this season saved a considerable sum by ma- nufacturing soap, as required in one of the boilers at the wash. The tallow and caustic soda are put into a boiler in the proper proportions, which I ascertained by a number of experiments and boil till saponification takes place ; this is ascertained by seeing if the tallow be floating on the surface or combined with the alkali. The soap is made in such quantities as may be required for each day's work ; the soapy liquid is not boik'l 502 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. down till the soap is solidified by evaporation, but is run into the soak-pen as wanted. The lye of the wood-ashes has also been used with a noticeable effect. The glycerine which is liberated when saponification takes place has, I think, a con- siderable influence in giving that soft, silky feel which the wool from high-bred sheep spout-washed possesses in such a marked de°ree. The quantity of alkali and tallow to form a lye for the soak-pen should be regulated by experiment. Much depends on the nature of the water, whether hard or soft, also on the breed of sheep. The following was used with success : — ^lb. of caustic soda, lib. tallow, lib. soap. Also another lye, equally good, was Jib. caustic soda, 21bs. tallow. The above quantities were used to every hundred sheep, and were found by experiment to be the most suitable. I have found that a stronger lye than I recommended last season is necessary to do the work to perfection. The wool this season has at- tained to a much higher average standard of brightness than last year's clip. The number of sheep washed by each spout was not so many as I had estimated last season. About 400 wethers, or 500 ewes and lambs, to each spout, was found a full day's work. 1 do not think the washing could be done better than most of the sheep were washed here this season, but it is extremely difficult in the thinly-grassed country of the Wimmera to get sheep into the wool-shed perfectly clean. When 125,000 have to be brought to the same shed the ground gets denuded of grass, and sheep-feeding in the paddock will raise dust wherever they go, causing the surface of the fleece to get discoloured. The only remedy for this is early shearing, so as to have the work over before dust will rise ; but seasons are so variable, that immunity from dust cannot be relied on. Much may be done by good arrangement. A system of pad- docks diverging from the wash, into which sheep draw without being driven, merely by opening a gate, each of these con- nected with a shed paddock, so that the sheep have no driv- ing till wanted for shearing pets to lead the sheep through any difficult place, or into the shed — are of great service. A layer of grass or reeds where the ground is dirty or dusty, and watering the yards, will be found of service. A number of different entrances to the sheds should be provided, so that when one yard gets dirty or dusty a fresli one can be used. With all these conveniences, heavy rains, or a hot wind, will sometimes spoil a good day's shearing, so as almost to make one wish for the old style of work, when the damage done would not have been very noticeable. It is comparatively easy to wash the sheep snow-white, but to keep them clean till shorn is the problem to solve. English grasses will not grow without an amount of labour that could not at present be expended on Crown lauds. I have tried the experiment of scarifying the surface and sowing, but with little success. On the whole there is a great improvement in the clip this year as compared with last, but there is still something to strive for. If by breeding only from the best of our stock, and im- proving them by careful selection, and the use of the best blood, together with great care in preparing the clip for mar- ket, we can balance the fall in price that has taken place, we shall be well repaid for the trouble. And Victoria need not fear the competition of any other country in wool-growing, as far as the highest qualities of that article are concerned. Many of the squatters have only now entered upon a course of pro- gressive improvement in their flocks, which, if it had been sooner undertaken, would have greatly benefited themselves and the country. THE DISEASES OF STOCK. The Cattle Plague. — This disease still lurks in Lower Austria, which would seem to prove that the outbreak has been more severe than was at first admitted. Transylvania is said again to be free ; but Hungary remains infected to a very considerable extent. The disease also prevails very extensively in Roumauia. The Prussian Reichstag has passed a law con- solidating the various regulations of the different states form- ing the North German Confederation, to enable uniform and concentrated action to be promptly taken in the event of the disease being introduced from any of the surrounding countries. The want of a measure of this kind is said to have been the cause of the disease not being more quickly exterminated from Rhenish Bavaria in 1867. Slaughter and compensation are the leading provisions of the Act ; but in no case will com- pensation be granted should an animal succumb to the disease within ten days of its introduction into the country. Pleuro-pnetjmonia still continues to spread in the Lon- don dairies. It also prevails to a serious extent in many parts of the country, and, with a few exceptions, its virulence is unabated. Nothing short of stern legislation on the sub- ject, which practically will have the effect of isolating animals, can arrest the disease and save the country from continued loss from this fatal malady. The time has fortunately arrived in which we can see the end of the supineness which lias marked our dealings with this insidious foe during the long period of its existence here. The visitation of the cattle plague has taught us how rightly to deal with infectious diseases, and especially with such a one as pleuro-pneumonia. It is this knowledge which is now being turned to good ac- count. Small-pox oe Sheep. — It will be seen by the Parlia- mentary intelligence published in another part of our journal, that the small-pox of sheep has again been brought into the country ; but fortunately, owing to the vigilance which was exercised by the authorities, the diseased animals were at once detected, and every precaution was taken to prevent the spread of the malady. Indeed, the disease was stamped out almost as soon as it was introduced. Every one of the diseased sheep was killed and buried at the place of arrival, and all the ani- mals which had been exposed to infection were slaughtered and the carcases examined prior to being sent direct to the meat market. Their skins and all the pens and places which the animals had occupied were likewise cleansed and disin- fected. The sheep were of the Saxony- merino breed, and had travelled by rail to Antwerp, where a moiety of them (219) was shipped by " Maas" to London, the others being sent by the " Harwich" to Harwich. Both lots belonged to the same exporter, and both were found to be diseased. In the one lot, two of the sheep were in the papular stage, and one was found in which the crusts had fallen. In the other three or four the animals exhibited different stages of the disease. Besides the infected and diseased animals the " Maas" had on board 1,590 sheep, and the " Harwich" 132, and also 218 pigs. It will thus be seen that the amount of risk was very great, and much credit is due to the Government for the promptness and decision with which it acted in the matter. Hog Cholera. — The disease thus designated in America appears to be on the increase in the districts around New York. Very recently the affection manifested itself in a large drove while in transitu from Buffalo, and before steps could lie taken by the authorities several of the animals had been dis- posed of alive, and many others of the herd were found to be suffering from the disease ou a special examination being made. Hog cholera is allied to typhus of pigs, which disease was ably treated upon by Dr. Budd, in his lecture delivered a year or two since at the rooms of the Royal Agricultural So- ciety, and published in our journal at the time. The readers of the Veterinarian in America, of which we know there are several, will do good service to pathology by sending us a de- scription of hog cholera, especially a full account of the symptoms of the disease and the lesions which are observed in a post-mortem examination. — The Veterinarian for May. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 503 CEOWS AND WOOD PIGEONS. At a meeting of the Morayshire Farmer's Club, Mr. Robert Walker, of Altyre, who was in the chair, announced that the question for discussion was " What would members recom- mend as the most efficient means of reducing the number of crows aud wood pigeons in the county ?" Mr. Geddes (Orbliston) said : I believe it was the over- whelming increase in the number of crows that induced the Committee to adopt this as the question for discussion upon this occasion. The increase in the number of crows has been felt so much within the last sis months that we find it almost impossible to get on without a continued herding of them, which, of course, is a very expensive matter ; and, when there is more than one field to herd upon a farm, it literally compels the expense of keeping two men or boys to save the seed of the wheat crop. I know some fields — and, I am sorry to say, one of them is my own — that are thinned to such an extent that it will be a question at the close of the winter whether they are to be ploughed down in the spring, and sown with oats or bar- ley. That being the case, and seeing the increase of crows has been enormous in this county of late, of course it was the in- terest of the members of this Club, and they should make it their business to desire the proprietors in the county to put them down to a reasonable number. I believe that every one agrees that a reasonable number of crows are a necessity, not only for the killing of grub, but for many other things which I need not go into. The question comes to be, how is this re- duction to be gone about ? My own impression is that, as there are only a limited number of rookeries in the couuty, we ought, in the name of our Club, to request the various pro- prietors, upon whose grounds they exist, to give every facility for the killing of the birds and destruction of nests during the time of sitting, and during the period of incubation. It re- mains for others to suggest any other course, but it seems to me the simplest way is to ask proprietors to give permission to kill the crows, to do it ourselves, and to pay for it, either from the funds of the Club, or by a private subscription. I cannot see that any other means could be adopted, because we cannot go upon their grounds without permission. With regard to the wood pigeons, I know so little about them that I cannot suggest any plan further than that the landlords should kill them, or give permission to others to do so during the period of nesting. I do not, however, feel myself at all free to pro- pose any plan for getting rid of the pigeons : but, with respect to the crows, I do not see that we can have any better plan than that of asking the proprietors to destroy them, or to per- mit us to do so. Mr. Kay (Forres) said : The crows and pigeons were become a great evil and offence to nearly every farmer. Mr. Gregor (Wester Alves) said that, so far as wood- pigeons were concerned, the only way to reduce them was to breed squirrels. Since the squirrels came into the woods in his vicinity, there had not been one wood pigeon for a hundred that existed before. Mr. Martin (Keam) said : The way to proceed was to offer twopence a-headfor the birds, and so much for their eggs. Mr. Annand (Newton) thought there was more damage done by the pigeons than by the crows. They could want the former altogether, but not the latter. Mr. Mantach (Dundurcas) thought the crows did more good than evil. The only way to get them reduced was to go to their nesting places and destroy the nests. Captain Culbard believed wood-pigeons did a good deal of damage in the country, and if they would offer a small pre- mium for their nests and eggs, the boys would soon bring them. He was opposed to the introduction of squirrels be- cause they destroyed the wood. Mr. Lawson (Oldmill) thought that, if every proprietor would follow the example of the Earl of Fife, their object would be very simply effected. Every spring, when the young birds were beginning to get out upon the branches, a few friends were asked by his Lordship to come and shoot at the crows. His friend Bailie Culbard sometimes came, and they killed them by the thousand. The shooting was a very good amusement, and a very good way of keeping down the number of birds. The thinning of wood-pigeons was a more difficult matter. He did not see how it was possible to thin them, except by offering a premium for them. It was only occasionally one could get a shot at a wood-pigeon. A person going about shooting might get them occasionally ; whereas, if they went out pur- posely to shoot them, they might not get one. If the game- keepers were instructed, they could do most to keep them down. Mr. Garden (Grangegreen) had spoken to his own pro- prietor on this subject, as he had a large rookery on his pro- perty. He thought the farmers were all wrong in seeking to destroy the crows, but, if they desired it, he had no objection. Every spring, about the end of April or beginning of May, when the young birds took wing, there had been a number of people collected, and he believed thousands of the young crows had been killed. Still they seemed to increase. The old birds appeared never to die, so that it did not matter though the young ones were killed. He had never seen so many crows as this season. They required a person to watch every field, and, after all, the birds were doing a great deal of harm. At Gordonston, Brodie, and Newton, there were large rookeries, and he thought the only way of successfully reducing them was to kill the birds before they took wing. Wood-pigeons were much more difficult to destroy, as they could not be got near. Two years ago there was a severe winter, and they were then got easily at ; but, on an open season, it wa? different. The wood-pigeons breed in very retired places. There was a range of wood along the shore belonging to Moy, where they bred in thousands, and nobody went near them. Unless they got somebody to go to such places especially to kill them, they would not be able to make much difference on the numbers. He thought some nine or ten years ago the Club gave so much per head for wood-pigeons, and for their eggs, and at that time a great many were destroyed. Mr. Bose (Sheriffston) suggested that men should be em- ployed to take down the nests, which would be better than killing the birds on the wing. In his district, for one or two years, they adopted the plan of keeping people firing day and night upon the old birds, and driving them from their nests, aud at the end of two or three days there was not a young crow left alive. He did not know how they could destroy the wood- pigeons. Mr. Williamson (Shempsfou) said they suffered more in his district from crows than in any part of the county. Mr, Yool had had four men watching the whole season through, and he had been in something the same position. BeaUy it was becoming a very serious matter. At Gordonston, liberty had been given to shoot the crows. They had raised £15, with which there was no less than two thousand old and innumerable young crows shot; but he must say that, although the number killed was so great, he never knew any difference. He pro- posed it be remitted to the Committee of the Club to commu- nicate with the proprietors, and take steps for raising money to reduce the number of crows. Mr. Yool (Coulardbank) said there was no doubt the crows were an enormous nuisance, and created an enormous expense. He had had four boys steadily employed in watching his fields. Last year he had about fourteen acres he had sown with wheat to plough up in spring. When the wheat was coming through the ground, he had neglected to watch it for two days, and there had been so many crows at it that it was not worth any- thing. They might imagine that a few fields destroyed in this way, here and there throughout the country, came to be a seri- ous thing for the farmers. They should shoot down the old birds, and keep the hens off their nests for twelve hours or so at a time. Beally he could not see any difference in the num- ber after shooting. There was not much wheat grown upon the hillsides of the county, and in consequence the rooks came down to the lower parts of the country during winter, where they could get wheat to pick at. Not only were they a great nuisance in preying upon the wheat, but they were just as bad upon the potatoes, and they might be seen lifting barley and rye when it was brairding. Crows seemed to be very long 504 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. lived. One of our poets talks of the " many-wintered crow," and certainly they did seem to live to an enormous age, for they saw a great many old fellows with lumps below their bills. Though a few youug birds were killed down, they were bound to increase from the length of their age. lie did not think Mr. Lawson's plan would be effectual. It had been carried out and instead of the birds getting fewer, they increased. If, however, they pulled down the nests, the rooks would fly away. If they got people to pull down the nests that would be the most effectual plan. He did not think he had suffered much from wood-pigeons ; but, to the west of his place, there was damage done by the pigeons. The only way they could do with them was to shoot when they got the chance, and get the proprietors to instruct their keepers to kill them. He did not think, however, that wood-pigeons did so much damage as crows. Mr. Mackessaok (Ardgye) said it was quite evident, from the increase of crows during the last eight or ten years, that they were becoming a very serious evil. Mr. Yool said lie had had three or four boys watching his wheat, and he (Mr. Mac- kessack) had had the same for two or three years past on his places. Even with that care it was difficult to keep them from doing harm. The crows eat almost every kind of crop ; and, if there was snow, the stacks were attacked. If he had a field ripe a little earlier than his neighbours in harvest, it was im- possible to keep the crows from it. The potatoes aud turnips they destroyed immensely. The increase of crows during the past ten years had been in the ratio of about ten to one, Some of the proprietors in the county rather encouraged them ; and, unless they took steps for pulling down the nests during hatchiug time, they would not get clear of them. The Com- mittee of the Club should press upon those proprietors who have rookeries to destroy them, or, at any rate, to allow parties to go there at hatching time, and destroy the nests. If this was done for several years, no doubt there would be a very large decrease in their numbers. There were a lot of proprietors who had rookeries about their mansions, but he could not enter into the matter so minutely as to give par- ties' names. (Cries of " Name, name.") He could mention more than one name, but he did not think it advisable. Ihe Chairman was perfectly satisfied most of the proprie- tors in the county would give assistance to their tenants in getting rid of crows. He was afraid, however, they had more reason to guard against wood-pigeons than crows. The crows did some good, but the pigeons did none. At this season the pigeons went in packs, and might be shot in large numbers during the night. During the hatching season pigeona' nests were difficult to get at. From the hints that had fallen from the different members of the Club, he thought the conclusion arrived at was that steps ought to be taken to shoot down the crows and wood-pigeons to a very considerable extent ; that the proprietors of the county should be applied to for permis- sion to kill, and for their co-operation in killing ; that either the members of the Club should contribute individually, or that the Club should allocate a small sum to repay parties for their work in trying to eradicate this pest ; and that the matter should be remitted to the C'ommitte, to deal with as they best think fit. THE CULTIVATION OF THE POTATO At the last meeting of the Croydon Farmers' Club, Mr. Joi-.N Wood, the secretary, read a paper on " The past and present mode of cultivation of the potato, and how far the system is susceptible of general improvement." He said : " The importance of endeavouring to improve the culture of the potato plant we need not dwell upon. The increasing acieage in the "United Kingdom, France, and other countries of Europe, fully testify to the importance in which it is held by the com- munity, both as a vegetable and also as food for most kind of animals, as well as poultry. The quantity of acres grown in England, Scotland, and Wales exceed 500,000. Ireland more than 1,000,000. France above 3,000,000. The quantity im- ported also increases, 738,115 cwt. having been imported in '66, and 1,374,223 cwt. in '67. We have now been visited with the potato disease more or less in some parts of this king- dom for 25 years. The last summer was a very dry one, and the disease did not show itself much in the haulm, still the losses from the disease have in some parts of the south been se- rious, and would have been much worse if it had not been noticed in time to make use of them by feeding the cattle and pigs with them. I do not think that the potato has re- ceived the attention it deserves, and it appears to me, after reading several works written on the potato plant, and from the general mode of cultivation in the south of England, for the last 50 years, and indeed from my own mode of cultivation, it has tended much more to weaken its powers in resisting the attacks of the disease it lias been liable and subject to, than strengthen them. The potato is one of the most peculiar plants that we have ; as tender as a cucumber plant is against frost, and there are few plants, if any, so likely to degenerate by unfair and unnatural usage. We must all agree, I think, that it is gradually getting weaker. New sorts are continually being raised, but there is nothing lasting in many of them, they disappear, and another seedling for a time takes. Some of the new sorts seem to have little power to resist the disease. I will mention one that has been planted in this neighbour- hood, the Prince of Wales kidney, a nice potato, and a good cropper ; and although not more than seven or eight years old, it has little power to resist the disease, and is not likely to last long unless it can be improved by proper culture. It is im- possible to keep our best sorts longer, instead of every 15 to 20 years we must have something new. It is clear we have too many sorts, I have a book written by Mr, Gi W. Johnson, that names 150 sorts more than 20 years ago, and a very few of them, although there are many good ones, are now grown, and I think only one that is now named in our London market list, aud that is the Shaw. I was at the Smithfield Show this sea- sou, of the cattle, sheep, implements, aud roots, and in almost everything, even the agricultural roots, there seems an improve- ment, but in the potato there was an exception ; they were ge- nerally inferior, there being but two or three good-looking seed- lings with new names. Surely there must be something wrong in the management of the potato, and which I think will be found to be more in the mode of saving the seed or sets than from any other cause. Had there been half the pains taken for their improvement as there have been for most of the above- named, and we may include our cereals, &c, I believe they, in spite of the diseases they have been subject to, would have been much improved too. I will now enumerate some of the modes of mismangement that the potato has been subjected to in the South of England for, I think we may say, the last 50 years. I certainly must plead | guilty myself in several ways in bringing about that weak- I ness and want of power that I have spoken of. At the same [ time we must bear in mind that the last season or two has been bad for the growth of the potato, the last particularly so, and has no doubt been the worst for growing them of good quality that we have experienced for many years, from their growing out, and in two crops few really good ones are to be obtained. I have no doubt one of the greatest errors has been the planting the sets too small, which has always beeu practised by many, aud more so since the disease has so affected them. There has been great difficulty at times in getting good seed to plant, and many growers were obliged to plant what they could get, if they planted at all. Still there has been for many years a very general notion that a middling potato is as good as any to plant, and many that still hold to that opinion. But I would ask them if, in digging up the crop, they do not often come to a root where they are nearly or quite all middlings, and the cause is mostly from some de- fect or degeneracy in them: that is the cause of their being so. And if so, how can we expect anything but weakness to be the result from such a practice year after year, and which is so often done in the south, and many of them with their vital powers exhausted from being badly kept, by the shoots con- tinually weakening them before they are planted P I believe THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 505 that good crops of good potatoes cannot be grown for any length of time from small sets, and that good ware potatoes should be always planted, if they can be obtained, and which is one of the causes of the crops not being so good in the south as they arc in the north, and of our large growers for the London markets now almost all planting ware. That the soil and climate of the north is better suited for growing of the potato than the south there can be but little doubt, and I think it is very evident their mode of culture is also very superior to ours. I think it very questionable whether the potato of any sort or kind planted to produce seed should ever be cut ; whether the loss of power has not been owing in a great measure to that cause, and that our good sorts wear out soon. And also whether autumn planting, at any rate for seed, would not tend very much to strengthen them, and which I intend to treat upon, and also give some of the trials and results of several growers that I think are to be depended on, and whicli may be easily ascertained by growers, ou a small scale, without much labour or extra expense, and if generally practised would lead to the improvement of our crops, both in quantity and quality. There can be no doubt there are some sorts of potatoes that will degenerate sooner than others, such for instance as the smooth kidney potato and flukes, which should not be cut, although they often are, as they will not shoot with much strength but from the crown ; and there are but few growers but what have experienced the bad results of planting the ash-leave kidney late in the season, when the crown shoot has been, perhaps, two or three times broken off before planting them. If, then, these sorts degenerate quickly when cut, although generally planted whole, it seems reason- able to suppose that the round sorts, such as Shaws, Regents, &c, would last much longer if the seed were produced from the best, good, and sound, whole potatoes, and planted in the autumn, before) they had lost any of their strength and power. That some sorts of potatoes may be so managed, to last and grow good for many years, I can give you an instance in respect to the Shaw. An old farm labourer, that I knew for many years, always planted Shaws and no other sort, and never changed his seed for thirty years and upwards; and for the last twenty years of his life, in the same small garden, they were always good if other people's were. He took great pains in rogueing them when they were growing ; and if he saw any that lie thought were not looking right in the haulm, he used them for eating. He did not plant the large ones or the quite small ones, and always planted in the spring, and they continued good in quality. I will give the results of experiments on the potato crop with reference to the most profitable size of the sets, the influence of thick and thin planting, carried out in the years 1864; and 1865, by Mr. George Maw, member of the Royal Agricultural College atBenthall.near Brosely, in his prize essay of the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal. In his remarks as to the result of his experiments he says every increase in the size of the set from 1 oz. to 8 oz. in weight produces an increase in the crop much greater than the additional weight of the set planted. The net profit over and above the extra weight of the set in planting 4 oz. sets in lieu of 1 oz. sets, amounted on the whole series of experiments to between three and four tons per acre, and the further profit on the increase of the size of the sets from 4 oz. to 8 oz., averaged about five tons per acre — all the intermediate sets partaking proportionately of the increase. The advantages in favour of the large sets are more marked in the late thau the early varieties. Increasing the intervals at which the sets are planted, even of the largest size, in the rows to more than 12 inches, diminishes the crop, and the wider intervals induce no increase in the weight of the produce of the individual sets. Weight for weight, the cut sets produce as nearly as possible the same weight per acre as whole pota- toes ; but, for the reasons given above, the weight of the sets should not be reduced by subdivision. I will now give some remarks and trials published in Mr. George W. Johnson's " History of the Potato." He says that the first person who publicly advocated autumn planting, I think, was Mr. James Tindall, gardener to Mr. J. Errington, of Beaufort House, Durham. He says that he adopted the plan iu 1820, and published it in 1828. Mr. Johnson says it has been practised for some years on a few farms south of Perthshire with the desired effect of preserving, unimpaired, their vegetative pro- perties. The same practice is adopted by the natives of New Zealand. Mr. Allison, of Mearns, says that if whole potatoes be used for two or three years, and the crop be left in the ground, the disease will become extinct. Several gentlemen bear similar testimony from experiments tried in Ireland. Mr. Grey, of Dilston, one of the best and most enlightened farmers of the present day, has long practised autumn planting, and, from his repeated and accurate experience, states that it yields on the average one-third more than spring planting. In 1844-5 he made further experiments ou a large scale, and thus narrates the result : " In October last I prepared my laud, and planted my potatoes in drill rows, 30 inches in width, applying fold manure below the sets, but leaving three rows unplanted for each intermediate month between October and April in- clusive. Three rows were similarly dunged and planted in November, three at the end of December, three early in March, and the remainder in April. January and February were too severe to permit of planting. To produce 10 stone weight of potatoes there required to be taken up of the October-planted 30 yards, November 32, December 32, March 44, April 45." This demonstrates that a loss of power is sustained by allowing the seed to remain in the pits till spring. Mr. Grey adds that autumn planting was adopted, not suggested, by himself, for it was long before practised by other farmers in Cumberland, in Glendale, and on the Tweed. Another gardener in Devon finishes by saying, " Though our autumn planted crops are so abundant, we have none worth digging or taking up from those planted in spring." This was in a letter dated August, 1846. From some experiments made by Professor Lindley, rows 24 inches apart, and from six to seven inches deep, produced the most weight per acre. In field-culture of the potato the best mode of planting is to plough the earth into ridges, to place the sets in the drills thus formed, and then cover the sets by splitting the ridges with the plough, and thus forming other ridges over the sets. In the early spring these ridges may be har- rowed down ; and subsequently the hoe should keep the sur- face loose and free from weeds. Mr. Johnson, in speaking of the disease, says : " Does it arise from the almost universal practice of taking up the tubers as soon as the stems are dying or dead, and keeping those tubers out of the soil for four, five, or more months ? I am of opinion that this is the cause. The practice is universal. It is the practice throughout Europe, as it is in America, St. Helena, and the hill districts of Hin- dostan ; and in all those regions the disease prevails. It is not the practice in New Zealand ; and there the disease is un- known." And he gives the following advice : " 1 would ear- nestly impress upon every one to throw aside all prejudice upon this highly-important point, and not to prejudge with- out a trial. Let the directions here given be strictly fol- lowed, and I have no doubt that the potato murrain will be- come of trifling consequence just in proportion as planting in September and October becomes the general practice." Such a mass of evidence as is here gathered together, from every district of the British Islands, is above suspicion ; and he will do a service to his country who not only tries this easy re- medy himself, but sees that it is made known to and tried by his cottage neighbours. To all I say, Do not take it for granted one way or the other : it is easy to ask questions of Nature, by planting some potatoes next September. Her reply may be depended upon. There have been several reme- dies tried to check the disease ; but the most effectual remedy that I have practised and seen practised by others, as soon as the disease shows itself, has been placing the haulm on one side, and then putting a spit of earth from the alleys on to the top of the row. An over-abundance of water (if not the cause of the disease) is found, in most cases, greatly and rapidly to increase it, and, when the moisture is allowed to remain, will soon destroy the crop. If such is the case, the above process must naturally be the means of keeping the water from the tubers, as breaking up the alleys will cause the water to per- colate quickly through the soil, aud will, I believe, in the worst seasons, save the greatest portion of the crop. That it has had the desired effect in several cases, I have myself seen, where other plans have failed, as it not only tends to keep the tubers dry, but the water gets to the roots, where oftentimes it will do more good than harm. Many persons advocate planting the sets with the eyes upwards ; but I have found it quite a mistaken notion. If large cut sets are planted, the produce will be increased by placing them with the cut side upwards. I have tried it on acres, and am certain it is a good plan. I believe the effect produced by planting them so may be accounted for in this way ; The potato at once strikes M M 506 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. its roots into the soil ; ami the shoots coining up a distance from each other causes the tubers to be farther from each other too. Prom this cause, the crop will always prove more productive. The results of the trials of Mr. G. Maw in his prize essay as to width between the rows, does not agree with my own experience, or with the mode now adopted by the most extensive growers in the kingdom. If large sets are planted of some of our late potatoes, and Regents, I think 27 inches is quite near enough for the rows, with the sets one foot apart in the row, as the tops will grow stronger, and keep more upright, which, if we are visited with the disease, will stand a better chance than when planted closer, and pro- duce more ware, and will give a better chance of being kept clean, and will also be a saving of seed. I think we are in general too fond of change and new sorts that we often know nothing about. And as we knew there are sorts that best suit certain soils and climate, we should endeavour to con- tinue to grow such as we find to do best as long as we can ; and I do think we must all see that, with care and attention, some sorts may be kept a long time. I myself cannot see why many of our round potatoes should not last for fifty years, if planted into a colder soil and climate at times for change, which can generally be done near home. If when we get hold of a sort of potato, or anything else, that grows better with us than others, it is a good policy never to lose sight of them if we can avoid it, so long as they continue to do so. I hope I have quoted enough to convince the potato growers of the south that planting small sets is not only a loss to themselves, but that it must be to the consumers also. I therefore hope that the growers will try for themselves by planting larger sets, and saving their seed from whole ones for a time planted in the autumn ; and I believe that they will soon be convinced that they have been a long time at fault in their mode of cultivation of the potato. You may cut my paper to pieces, as much as you like, but I hope in future growers won't cut their potatoes. Mr. Flint, though not a large potato grower, was of opi- nion, after hearing Mr. Wood's paper, that the potato would be better, and grow a far better crop, if planted whole, and he thought this would do away with the disease. As to the time for planting, he could not give an opinion, for he never heard of any planted in the autumn, but he thought it must very much depend on the soil. If it was a wet, tenacious, and haavy clay, he did not think it would be preferable to so plant them ; but in the south of England, with a greater pro- portion of light lauds, it might be done to advantage. Mr. Brown (Coulsdon) was but a small grower, and came there to learn. He entirely disapproved the use of small potatoes for planting. He grew some once, but he found there was not half strength enough in them. If he got large sized ones, he cut them in half to plant, but many of medium size he planted whole. Many years ago he did plant a row or two in the autumn, and, if his recollection served him rightly, they were much sounder when they broke them up. He thought, however, it would not do to plaut in heavy wet lands. No doubt, the earth was a great sweetener and purifier of anything growing in it, for they found the lower part of a turnip always much sweeter than the top. In this country they could not grow flukes, but Shaws, regents, and rocks. These latter were good croppers, and fit to eat after Christ- mas, but they were not equal to the flavour of the fluke or the regent. Mr. Stables thanked Mr. Wood for his interesting paper ; but he thought he had made a very important omission in dealing with the subject, at which he was surprised. He came from a country where potatoes where grown rather largely, and their cultivation received much attention ; but in the South of England the matter did not receive the attention to which it was entitled. In his " silly countiy" the potato crop was as much looked after as wheat, many of the farmers growing a hundred acres or more. The omission to which he referred in the paper was that of manure, and the all absorbing question was what sort of manure to use. The average expenditure for manure for potatoes in his part of Scotland was from £10 to £15 an acre. Of course that was a large sum, but potato growing there was something like hop growing here ; it was neck or nothing — very profitable or a heavy loss. He quite agreed with Mr. Wood as to the suicidal policy of planting small seed. It seemed to him with this very much the same as with animals. What would their stock be worth if they were to take all the worst Shorthorns for breeding purposes and consume all the best ? They would find a great deterioration in a very few years. As to the system of planting in autumn, he did not agree with it. In many of the districts here the land was level, and the fatal difficulty to get over would be the fact of its being under water. Then, again, as to preparation. They could get small lots of land ready in September ; but, as they must be aware, they would not be able to get a fourth of their land ready by that time. The results of experiments, and the universal practice in his country, was to plant as early in the spring as they could, having had the land prepared in autumn, and the manure put on in the winter ; but by all means get their seed in before they begin to germinate. When they used to work the land in the spring the disease interfered with the crop, and at that time it was the practice to sprout the seed before planting. The sprouts were then rubbed oif ; consequently, the plant was weakened, and in the course of time this system was found not to do, and the present system succeeded. He agreed with Mr. Wood as to keeping the same kind of potato in the ground for ever. Mr. Wood : I did not say that. I said you might keep the same sort for fifty years by changing the ground a little. Mr. Stables said that fifty years was practically to them for ever. The system of his country was to change the sorts occa- sionally, and then to have the best sorts. He had known the custom with many farmers to have the best plants, and then cut them to prevent too many haulms. Iustead of that they would just cut the eyes out, and he believed the plan answered exceedingly well. Mr. Barling said before the disease made its appearance he was a potato planter to some extent, and he succeeded pretty well ; but siuce then he had not done much at it. With re- ference to what Mr. Wood had said about cutting the potatoes and planting, all he recollected was that he grew once an extra- ordinary crop, and his plan was to leave only two eyes to pre- vent too many shoots coming up. He grew this large crop on a piece of sainfoin. He had grown ordinary good crops before ; but in this case he had an extra quantity of dung at his dis- posal, and used it. He put on a part at the fall of the year, and an extra quantity in the spring, and he grew 17 tons an acre, which was double what he had ever grown-' before. He did not see the importance of autumn planting, except this — the eye of the plant got weakeued by growing out, and if they could keep the plant to the spring without sprouting they would gain all the advantages without the chance of their frosting or rotting in the ground. He thoroughly endorsed the remarks of Mr. Stables. Mr. Hough said he had had but little experience, but he was of Mr. Wood's opinion as to planting in the autumn, if they could keep clear of frost ; but if there came about eigh- teen inches of frost, how were they to get on then ? Mr. Wood : It has been done in Scotland, and manure put at the bottom, as well as top. Mr. Hough thought it would be quite applicable to some seasons ; but, he repeated, if there came an old-fashioned winter, how were they to get on then ? Mr. Wood : I don't think they would freeze ; the frost would not reach them. Mr. Hough thought they would freeze, especially in this part of the country. He knew they would on his farm. He thoroughly believed that the potato disease was a disease over which man had but little control. They might do a little towards its repression, but he did not think any ingenuity of man would overcome it. He had seen it in dry and wet seasons. He thought at first it was the wet or electricity which weakened the tubers, and was then followed by wet. But the last season refuted that idea, for the disease still ex- isted. A Member : To a very small extent. Mr. Hough : They were not diseased in the ground, but they grew bad by keeping. That was his experience. He spread them on a floor, picked out all the diseased ones, and then put them together for keeping ; but afterwards it turned out that half of them were bad. It was quite clear that it was from atmospheric influence that the disease came, and man's ingenuity, tax it as he may, would never ward it off. Mr. Moore attached much importance to the main idea of the paper, that they should look to the germination or em- bryotic power of the plant. It was but little understood in vegetable or animal life ; but if they studied the history of the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 507 world, they could not fail to seo that a great change was con- stantly going on, and that was attributable to the embryotic law. Their friend (Mr. Hough) had given the potato disease as a hopeless fuse. Very likely tliat was right, but it was not quite philosophic to say so until they tried their best again and again. In the cultivation of potatoes they had gone the opposite of what they should in the choice of seed. With their fruit they selected the best that could be got, and so in the cultivation of corn the best sorts were selected ; and if in this case they had gone the very reverse of what was right he should ask Mr. Hough to restrain his judgment until they had seen what could be done. The potato was so great and valuable an article of consumption that it would be a very great calamity to the country to allow it to die out. He felt very much as Mr. Hough did, when the disease came suddenly on, that it was something atmospherically which produced it all at once. He thought they should all struggle to do their best, by good management, to strive against the disease, and to keep this valuable root among us. Mr. Stables, in reply to Mr. Hough, said he believed the disease was principally caused by artificial manures and forcing. The same rule applied to the animal world. Among wild animals disease was but little known, but among domes- ticated animals it was rampant. He recollected ia many in- stances, on some of the best farms, they had more diseased potatoes, compared with those who farmed badly, so to speak. They bad no disease at all where they used very little manure, but at the same time experience taught them that a liberal use of manure paid well, and that the disease was regarded as a necessary evil. Mr. Hurles said he grew on a light soil and manured very well. He had his potatoes from Poole, and they were Regents. Recently they had come out without disease, but very small and almost sugary in flavour when boiled. He supposed this was owing to the extraordinary season of last year aud the year before as well, although these potatoes had not been grown on the same ground two consecutive years. He was thinking of planting flukes, and he would ask why plant them whole ? Mr. Wood : They won't come out well without. Mr. Hurles : But why plant them whole, and why not cut them ? I want to know why, and I came here for the reason. Mr. Stables said he could answer the question. It had been found by experience that the fluke potato would rot if cut. Mr. Gilbert said he always planted a very large potato and ploughed deep. Some people said large potatoes sent up too much haulm, but that was nothing. He put four horses to the plough instead of two. Referring to some specimen pota- toes on the table, he said he should fling the little ones to the pigs and the large-sized ones he would not cut. If they came a little too stout, send a boy along the furrows to pull up the little haulms. When he planted little potatoes he got nothing but little ones iu return, but he got big ones when he used them as seed, ploughed deep aud harrowed well after. He planted them about a foot apart, and 24 inches wide. Mr. Smith expressed his surprise that so little practical knowledge of the potato existed among those around him. He considered the potato in such high estimation, that he could assure them that on the previous night, though there were two meats on the table for supper, he could not eat any without his hot potato, and which was not put on. With regard to planting whole and cutting potatoes, the paper read had afforded them an enormous amount of information, lie had a tenant, a poor one, whose plan was to plant potatoes whole, and his reason tor doing so was, that when the potato was formed and the little potato was struck, he could go underneath aud take the old one, which was then as good as a new po- tato. With regard to the disease, it was well known to all potato growers that there ever had existed among potatoes the wet rot and the dry rot in wet and dry seasons. Bat he thought, as a means of preventing it, if they took their pota- toes up earlier, and he spoke practically, they would save a vast amount of disease ; and if, unfortunately, they should have disease, iustead of burying the potatoes in a heap, put them in a cellar or barn, and then if diseased potatoes were seen — though he had had none at all — look them over and take them out. As a matter of food for cattle, he knew that potatoes were very extensively given to cows by milkmen, buying the potatoes at uoniethiug like 30s. a tou, and giviug them to the animals whole. lie did not like to see them given in a dirty state, but for his o«n part lie liked his cow to have a potato as glean as hi* own. He boiled them, and when mixed with damp chopped hay they could not think how she enjoyed it. He spoke of this' because he had .seen farmers throw then- half-diseased and dirty potatoes to the pigs in the yard, ami the consequence was that the pigs got up to their hocks in mud and slush, lie was sure it would be a saving to give it them clean as they would for themselves, for the better it suited the stomach of the animal so much the better he thrived. He thought England possessed enormous advantage over other countries in her food-producing crops — in her grains, wheat, barley, and oats, aud the meals produced from them were better than any other in the world. With regard to her roots, she had turnips and, best of all, the potato. With these grains and meals, if properly looked to, they might bid defiance* to the world not only as food for man, but for cattle. Mr Wood, in reply, speaking of the wet and dry rot, said that the dry rot had been brought about by their own fault by cutting the potatoes and leaving them to get dry before plant- ing, for if put in dry they were sure to get the dry rot. He did not know how they were to get rid of the wet rot except, as stated in his paper, by management in saving the seed. They had wet rot this summer in the south, but not in the north. He knew one case in the south where some forty or fifty tons of potatoes were given to the cows because of it. It was quite clear, from experience, that the disease had been worse in the south than iu the north. With regard to autumu planting, he thought it might be done in most lands by ridging up some 27 inches, put the potato uear the bottom and then cover them up. He did not think there had been a winter for fifty years past that would freeze them when planted. Mr. Taylor (the chairman) said that he had friends in the north of England and south of Scotland who were large po- tato growers. He had observed their practice, and to the best of his recollection there seemed to he no mystery in the matter. As a rule they farmed good land suitable to potato cultivation, and their system was to cultivate it thoroughly, make the land clean, manure it heavily, aud trust to Provi- dence for the result, and in nine cases out of ten the results were satisfactory. The manure chiefly employed was farm- yard manure and guano, in what proportion he did not know, but he knew great expense was gone to, and great results were obtained. Mr. Wood mentioned that it was a pity and ob- jectionable that so many new sorts of potatoes should be in- troduced year after year, but it seemed to him that if these new sorts were good sorts he did not see why they should not have plenty of them. New varieties were introduced in wheat, oats, barley, aud peas, and were contmually succeeding each other ; and with regard to fruit cultivation, such as apples and pears, sorts which were productive 20 years ago could not be cultivated now in the same profitable manner, but other sorts take their places and were grown to advantage. This seemed to be the result of some law of nature which was continually progressive and introduced continually new varieties. Hethought Mr. Stable hit the point very well when he said that manure and management were of great importance in the growth of the po- tato. There could be no doubt of this, that, disease or no disease, the great object of the farmer is to produce a great crop, and that he could not do without he cultivated the land well and manured it heavily. Mr. Barling in his remarks coincided with this opinion. His system was a generous one. He manured his land heavily on one occasion and produced 17 tons to the acre. That corroborated Mr. Stables, and coincided with his (the chairman's) opinion. He coincided with Mr. Hough when he alluded to the various remedies which had been made for the potato disease. He recollected when the disease broke out in the south of Scotland. Some thought it was in the earth, some that it was in the air, some that it was caused by want of moisture, and others from too much moisture ; and some thought it could be cured by cutting off the haulms, aud others not. But he believed all these remedies turned out in the end to be of little value. So far as he could gather the opinion of men who had devoted years to potato cultivation, he believed there was as little known of the causes of the potato disease now as formerly. Mr. Moore, he thought, made some remarks very much to the purpose, and which lie thought might lead them in a right direction, M M 2 508 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. and suggest many points which might he well worthy of con- sideration, and might lead to a practical result. They had listened to Mr. Gilbert's remarks with deference, because he had always been a good practical farmer, and he was in favour of large seed as producing the best results. He told them so, and let them believe him and try, and he hoped their expe- rience would be the same as Mr. Gilbert's. He also advocated deep ploughing ; but on that point he knew there was a great difference of opinion among large growers — some holding that it should be very deep, others (and one large grower particu- larly, on whom he had his eye) said deep ploughing was not I necessary, but that a thorough pulverising of the soil only was necessary. In such a matter he thought every man must j judge for himself, according to the nature of his soil, the J season he has to deal with, and so forth, which was the best j plan. He believed with Mr. Smith as to the early rising of potatoes. Mr. Wood explained that he was not against getting new ! sorts of potatoes, but people must not run away from old sorts, if they were good. The proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to Mr. Wood, EOYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. Monthly Council: Wednesday, May 5, 1869. — Present : The Duke of Richmond, K.G., Vice-President, in the chair ; the Earl of Lichfield, the Earl of Powis, Viscount Bridport, Lord Chesham, Lord Kesteven, Lord Tredegar, Lord Vernon, Lord Walsingham, the Hon. H. G. Liddell, M.P. ; Sir E. C. Kerrison, Bart. ; Sir H. Vane, Bart., M.P. ; Mr. Acland, M.P. ; Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Barnett, Mr. Barthropp, Mr. Booth, Mr. Bowly, Mr. Bramston, Mr. Cantrell, Colonel Challoner, Mr. Clayden, Mr. Davies, Mr. Dent, M.P. ; Mr. Druce, Mr. Edmunds, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Holland, Mr. Hornsby, Mr. Hoskyns, M.P. ; Mr. Jonas, Colonel Kingscote, M.P. ; Mr. Lawes, Sir A. K. Macdonald, Bart. ; Mr. Milward, Mr. Pain, Mr. Randell, Mr. Rig- den, Mr. Sanday, Mr. Statter, Mr. Stone, Mr. Torr, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Turner, Mr. Webb, Mr. Wells, M.P. ; Major Wilson, Mr. Jacob Wilson, and Dr. Voelcker. The following members were elected : — Agnew, Charles Swain, Springfields, Eccles, Manchester. Agnew, Thomas, jun., Hopleigh, Eccles, Manchester. Agnew, William, Manchester. Beck, Edmund, Sandringham, King's Lynn. Blantern, George G., Hadnall, Shrewsbury. Bultitaft, Henry, Bedwellhay Grange, Ely. Bulwer, W. R., Randalstown, Co. Antrim. Chamberlin, W., Adderbury East, Banbury. Cholmley, Harry Walter, Newton Hall, Rillington. Cobb, John, Sheldwick, Faversham. Cosby, Robert G., Stradbally Hail, Queen's County. Cottingham, James, 4, St. James's Square, Manchester, Cousins, Richard, Whitehaven. Dacre, William, Irtlington Vicarage, Carlisle. Dann, Nicholas J., Elm Grove, St. Florence, Tenby. Davies, G. Reynolds, Mere Old Hall, Knutsford. Done, George T. S., Ebnal, Malpas. Ducie, Earl of, Tortworth Court, Wootton-under-Edge. Edmondson, Thomas G., Gresgarth Hall, Lancaster. Faulkner, William, Brocton, Chester. Firmstone, W. C, Rockingham Hall, Hagley, Stourbridge. Guy, Jchn Henry, Whitchurch, Aylesbury. Harbord, Collett, Sandwich, Kent. Harvey, George, Belton, Great Yarmouth. Hicks, Leonard EL, Paddock Lodge, Kentish Town, Middlesex. Hollis, Henry W., Keele, Newcastle, Staffordshire. Howard, C. J., Stockport, Cheshire. Larkman, Robert, Belton Hall, Yarmouth. Lewis, George, The Bank, Wortlienbury, Wrexham. Lewis, William, Shrewsbury. Meller, J. Galloway, Cornbrook, Manchester. Michell, E. W., jun., Inchmare, Fawley, Southampton. Moore, Robert, Rye Hill, Church Eaton, Stafford. Morgan, Thomas, Manchester. Mumford, J., Aubrey, Chilton Park Farm, Thame. Nicholson, Clement, Cheadle Hulme, Stockport. Paske-Jones, George, 3, Eustou Place, LearringtoD, Pears, John, Mere, Lincoln. Pearson, F. Fenwick, Storrs Hall, Lancaster. Pigott, William, Brigg, Lincoln. Robertson, James, 33, Queen Street, Whitehaven. Robertson, James, 22, Mary Street, Dublin. Singleton, Edward, Hallaton Grange, Hallaton, Uppingham. Smith, Joseph, Cable Street, Lancaster. Statter, Thomas, jun., Stand Hall, Whitefield, Manchester. Stilgoe, Zachariah W., Adderbury Grounds, Adderbury. Storey, Joseph, Lancaster. Swallow, William, Chapel Farm, Barton-on-Humber. Tanner, James M., King's Nympton Park, Chumleigh. Tattersall, William, St. Anthony's, Milnthorpe. Tunnicliffe, Edwin T., Bromley Hall, Eccleshall. Unite, John, 291, Edgware Road, Middlesex. Wainman, Benjamin, Castle Farm, Worksop. Webber, W. Downes, Kellyville, Athy, Queen's County. White, J. Baker, Street End House, Canterbury. White, Samuel, South Leverton, Retford. White, William, Babworth, Retford. Wilkins, R. U., Broadfield, Buntingford. Williams, Thomas, Albrightlee, Shrewsbury. Wood, Henry, Woolley House, Romsey. Yeomans, J. Haynes, Stretton Court, Hereford. Finances. — Viscount Bridport presented the report, from which it appeared that the Secretary's receipts during the past month had been examined, and were fouud correct. The balance in the hands of the bankers on April 30 was £4,235 17s., £3,000 remaining on de- posit at interest. The committee wished to bring the attention of the Council to the cases of those members who are in arrear of their subscriptions, they having been repeatedly written to by the secretary and solicitor of the Society without effect. The committee therefore recom- mend that legal proceedings be taken against the following members : James Ord, Newcastle ; Joseph Hodgson, Blyth, Northumberland ; David Kennedy, Oriental Club, W. ; Henry Stanton, Coleman-street, London ; Richard Hodgson, Chingford, Essex ; Edwin Williams, Lenastone, Ross ; H. W. Schneider, Lightburn House, Ulverston : John Hooker, OatlandPark, Walton- on-Thames ; Benjamiu Powis, Newnham, Tenbury. — This report was adopted, one vote only being given against it. House. — Lord Bridport, chairman, reported the loss of a clock by robbery, and the recommendation of the committee that in future the front door should be fur- nished with a latch and bell in communication with the clerk's office. — This report was adopted. Implement. — Col. Challoner, chairman, reported the recommendation of the committee that the secretary be instructed to inform Messrs. Ransome and Sims, iu answer to their inquiry, that the intention of the Council was to include in class 3 of the implement prize-sheet all hay collectors other than horse-rakes. Education*. — Mr. Holland, chairman, reported that the examinations for the Society's educational prizes, which were held on April 13, and three following days, had been conducted in accordance with the arrangements authorised by the Council. Out of 21 candidates who had entered for the examinations }8 were present, and THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 509 the reports of the examiners had enabled the committee to make the following classification and awards of prizes : — First Class. 1. John J. Harle, Haydon Bridge, Royal Agricultural College. 2. C. G. Roberts, Hazlemere, do. These gentlemen thus become life members of the Society, and in addition they each receive a prize for aggregate merit, the former of £30, and the latter of .€20. Second Class. 1. A. R. Wallis, India, Royal Agricultural College. 2. Edwin Fox, Finchley, do. 3. H. Rivington, Finsbury Square, do. 4. G. Skipworth, Caistor, do. 5. G. R. Gleudinning, Midlothian, Edinburgh University. 6. James Fowler, Durham, Royal Agricultural College. 7. G. Y. Wall, Durham, various schools. 8. L. W. Olive, Cheltenham, Royal Agricultural College. Each of these gentlemen, who have passed in either class, will receive an appropriate certificate. The following prizes have also been obtained by the candidates showing the greatest knowledge of individual subjects : — Agriculture — J. J. Harle, £10 ; Mechanics — C. G. Roberts, £10 ; Chemistry — H. Rivington, £10 ; Botany — H. Rivington, £10 ; Veterinary Science — A. R. Wallis, £10 ; Bookkeeping — G. Y. Wall, £5; Land Surveying — James Fowler, £5 ; Geology — H. Rivington, £5. The committee also reported that, with one exception, all the successful candidates intend to be either farmers or land-agents. This report was adopted, after a conversa- tion respecting a paragraph relating to the future educa- tional proceedings of the Council, which was ultimately withdrawn on the understanding that the subject would be fully discussed in November. Show yard Contracts. — Mr. Randell, chairman, re- ported the recommendations of the committee — (1). That the contractor be authorised to make available two ad- ditional ladies' cloak-rooms, at a cost not exceeding £30. (2). That a communication be made between the Society's 3howyard and that belonging to the Royal Horticultural Society, leading into the traction-engine yard ; and that a space of 60 feet by 30 feet, divided by a fence into two equal squares, be left between the two pairs of turnstiles, one of which is to be provided by the Royal Horticultural Society. (3). That the numbers of the implement-stands be newly painted. (-4). That the first payment of £1,000. to the Society's contractor he authorised, the surveyor having certified him to be entitled to that amount. (5). That the surveyor be authorised to have the necessary erections and fittings provided for two clocks in the show- yard and one at the entrance, and to have a tent properly fitted up for the use of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, K.g!, President. (6). That a turnstile entrance be placed at the approach to the showyard, near the Trafford Hotel, and that the offer of Mr. Norton to supply the Society with six registering turnstiles be accepted. Selection. — Mr. Thompson, chairman, presented the report of the committee, which recommended that the vacancy in the Council, caused by the election of the Duke of Devonshire, K.G., as a Vice-President, shall be filled up by the appointment of some gentleman resident in Kent, and that, in order to afford time for making the necessary inquiries, the election be postponed until the next monthly Council. It was also recommended that his Grace the Dnke of Devonshire, K.G., be invited to accept the office of President of the Society for the en- suing year. The committee also reported that their at- tention had been called to that portion of the charter which regslates the election of trustees and vice-presi- dents ; they submitted, for the consideration of the Coun- cil, the question whether the trustees and vice-president are permanently appointed, or whether it is necessary that they should be annually elected. This report having been adopted, it was unanimously resolved, on the motion of Mr. Thompson, to nominate his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, K.G., as President for the ensuing year. Some discussion having ensued ou the question of the permanency of the offices of trustees and vice-presidents, the whole question of the bye-laws of the Society was, ou the motion of Mr. Thompson, referred to the Com- mittee of Selection, with power to take the opinion of counsel. House List. — In conformity with the bye-laws, the Council arranged by ballot the following election -list, to be recommended by them for adoption at the ensuing general meeting on the 22nd inst. : Attendances (fhom the rising of the Bubt St. Edmund's Meeting, in 1867), to the Present Time. Karnes. Acland, Thomas Dyke, M.P., Spry- doncote, Exeter, Devon. Baldwin, John (elected Dec. 4, 1867), Luddington, Stratford - on - Avon, "Warwickshire. Barnett, Charles, Stratton Park, Big- gleswade, Beds. Cantrell, Charles S., Riding Court, Datchet, Bucks. Clayden, John, Littlebury, Saffron- Walden, Essex. Dent, John Dent, M.P., Ribston Hall, Wetherby, Yorkshire. Kingscote, Colonel, M.P., Kingscote, Wootton-under-Edge, Glo'stershire. Leeds, Robert, Castleacre, Brandon, Norfolk. Liddell, Hon. Henry George, M.P., Ravensworth Castle, Durham. Lopes, Sir Massey, Bart., M.P., Maris- tow, Roborough, Devon. Milward, Richard, Thurgarton Priory, Southwell, Notts. Pain, Thomas, Ugford Cottage, Salis- bury, Wilts. Ransome, Robert Charles (elected March 4, 1868), Bolton Hill, Ipswich, Suffolk. Ridley, Mr. M. White, M.P., Blagdgn, Cranilington, Northumberland. Rigden, William, Hove, Brighton, Sussex. Stone, Nathaniel Chamberlayne, Aylestone Hall, Leicestershire. Torr, William, Aylesby Manor, Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Turner, George, Bramford Speke, Exeter, Devon. Vane, Sir Henry Ralph, Bart., Hut- ton Hall, Penrith, Cumberland. Vernon, Lord, Sudbury, Derby. Webb, James, Spring Hill, Fladbury, Pershore, Worcestershire. Western, Sir Thomas Burch, Bart., M.P., Felix Hall, Kelvedon, Essex. Wilson, Major Fuller Maitland, Stow- langtoft Hall, Bury St. Edmund's, Suffolk. Wilson, Jacob, Woodhorn Manor, Morpeth, Northumberland. Wynn, Sir Watkin Williams, Bart., M.P., Wynstay, Ruabon, Denbigh- shire. I Com- niittLes. - § o O O IE o a 3 ° 30 4 37 38 30 67 25 6 ... 5 53 5 13 17 68 37 17 17 53 Country Meeting of 1870. — The report of the com- mittee appointed to inspect the site offered to the Society 510 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. by the Corporation of Oxford having been read, the ' Council were favoured by the attendance of the following- gentlemen as a deputation from that city, introduced by the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., Secretary of State for War, viz. : His Worship the Mayor of Oxford, the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, Vernon Ilarcourt, Esq., Q.C., M.P., Colonel North, M.P., Bernard Samuelson, Esq., M.P., C. Neate, Esq., Mr. Alderman Hughes, H. Middleton, Esq., and — Bliss, Esq. These gentle- men having answered satisfactorily the inquiries made by the Council, the chairmau informed them that the So- ciety's couutry meeting for the year 1870 would be held at Oxford, whereupon his Worship the Mayor conveyed to the Council the desire of the Corporation to do all in their power to render the meeting as successful as pos- sible." The draft of the report to be presented to the an- nual general meeting was discussed, amended, and autho- rized to be printed. The motions of which Mr. H. S. Thompson and Mr. J. Dent Dent, M.P., had severally given notice were, by mutual agreement, unanimously re- ferred to a special committee, consisting of the Right Hon. Lord Walsinaliam, Major-Gen. Viscount Bridport, Hon. H. Liddell, MP., D. R. Davies, Esq., Charles Randell, Esq., W. Torr, Esq., and the Journal Committee. On lie motion of Mr. Torr it was unanimously resolved that. t Council meeting shall be held every day during the Show at 1 o'clock. Samples of Flax grown in the vi- cinity of Buenos Ayres, and in the neighbouring republic of Uruguay, forwarded by the President of the " Sociedad Rural Argentina," were exhibited to the Council. Letters were read from the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, accompanying the prize-sheet for 1869 of the " Societe Agricole et Forestiere de Namnr ;" documents relating to fluctuations in the price of guano in New York, and a re- port on the Swiss Cattle Show, held at Langenthal last September. WHAT SCOTLAND IS DOING, AND WHAT ENGLAND IS NOT. It is now some years since — as they were wont to ex- plain away the plot in the fifth act of the old Comedies — it is some years since we were specially invited to attend upon a deputation of midland county farmers, who were goiug to ask " the other side " to help them out of a difficulty. It was understood that we were to meet Mr. Forster, now A'ice-President of the Council, but, rather to the astonishment of some of the visitors, Mr. Bright was also present at the interview. The grievance was, after all, something of an old story. These gentlemen — these Warwickshire, Staffordshire, and Shropshire tenants — were so over-run with, and so eaten up by, game that they did not know what to do. And so in their great trouble they did not apply to their own country squires, or conuty members, but they came up to town somewhat stealthily, to consult the Liberals, or " Radicals," as they would most probably have termed the Party when about home. And Mr. Bright, having heard out the sad tale, answered much after this fashion : " You want us to help you ; but don't you see that, in the first place, you must help yourselves. You must send men to Parliament who really will represent you, and then we may do some- thing for you." Or, as the right honourable gentleman told the story himself oidy the other evening in the House of Commons : " I said the question was in their own hands — that if they would make it a great question at all their county elections, they would be sufficiently nume- rous to insist on a change of the law, and direct attention to their interests on the part of the representatives of this country. I recommended them to start farmers' candidates in every county. County gentlemen are anxious to get into Parliament. They don't like oppo- sition, and don't much like the expense of contests. I argued with the farmers, and I think I showed them conclusively that if they would in every county bring forward a tenant-farmer — a man who was in favour of their rights and interests, who objected to the Game Laws, who insisted on it that when a farmer took a farm he should have undisputed control over all the animals living on it — if they did that, whatever his politics on other questions, I thought they would find he would receive very large support, and I believed a great number of the electors for the counties connected with the towns would be willing to give their support to such a candidate, and to help the farmers against what I conceived to be a very grievous injustice." And the deputation went away very sorrowful. They manifestly did not expect to be called upon to help themselves, but they rather expected somebody else to help them, and as they still did not know what to do, they went back again and did nothing at all. But the very practical moral of Mr. Bright's story is yet to come : " At this moment I see in Scotland that which I hoped twenty years ago, but which is only now coming about. In Scotland at the last election — I may appeal to every one who knows anything of the repre- sentation of that part of Great Britain whether it is not the fact that the Liberal candidates who offered them- selves not only on Liberal principles in politics, but on Liberal principles in regard to this particular question of game, had a very great advantage over their opponents ; and I venture to say that probably there is no Scotch member for any county who would feel himself safe to go back to his counstituency if he gave a vote in opposition to the proposition now before the House. Well, Scot- land leads in agriculture, and in all probability it will lead in the reformation of the laws which so much affect the interests of farmers." This is not altogether nice to listen to. The Euglish farmer is still behiud hand as usual, and Scotchmen will set him the example not only in advancing Agriculture but in maintaining or claiming his own rights. The Midland Counties' men and many others were under orders, as it were, to make no sign at the recent election, and the game business as now before Parliament is, as a matter of course, altogether a Scotch question. Nevertheless during the debate the other even- ing as to the injury effected by hares and rabbits, a few honourable gentlemen, supposed to be identified with the agricultural interest here in England, took part in the discussion. And what did they say against this plague of hares and rabbits ? Not a word. They spoke rather to the beneficial working of that infamous Police- Gamekeeper Act ; they did not see the way to any further progress at present, and so forth. Some further and yet more direct opportunity, however, has since been afforded of ascertaining how far the farmer is really represented in this way in the House of Commons. At the May Meeting of the Farmers' Club on a main point for con- sideration or condemnation was the damage done by rabbits ; and to this three M.P.'s spoke in turn, one after another. The special complaint of Mr. James Howard was that the preservation of rabbits led to poaching ; Sir George Jenkinson objected most strongly to too many rabbits, in the same way as he objected to too THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 511 much game of any kind ; and Mr. Sewell Read had evi- dently been shocked to hear somebody say in the House that " rabbits were not fit to eat." There is not very much to rely on in all this. If, as Mr. Howard says, "rabbits are an unmitigated evil," we should surely not be over-particular as to who takes them or kills them or clears them out ; and the rabbit-poacher may simply be employed to supply the balance of Nature, and keep down the vermin. Sir George Jenkinson would in reality seem to go much the same way: " If the Game Laws were to- tally abolished, and a reasonable Trespass Act made the law of the land — not a stringent law, but one that would prevent gangs of men from going into other people's plantations at night for egg-stealing or poaching — the difficulty would be in a great measure solved." What difficulty ? The farmers' difficulty is that of the over- preservation of game and vermin, whereas Sir George Jenkinson and Mr. Howard talk as if the great thing of all others to put down is poaching, the probable conse- quence of which would be that we should have more game and vermin than ever. Sir George Jenkinson, again, objects to too many rabbits, just as he does "to too much game of any kind ;" but this certainly is not the way in which the farmers have lodged their objec- tions. Winged game, even where ever so highly culti- vated, does comparatively little damage ; whereas rabbits, which are virtually not game, do immense in- jury wheresoever they exist. It is therefore not only unfair but impolitic to class the two together. No reasoning man would wish to deprive the country squire of his stock of partridges or even pheasants, but every one who knows anything of the subject would wish, with Lord Granville, to see the rabbits utterly extirpated. But not one of the honourable gentlemen who addressed their brother members of the Farmers' Club went so far as this ; not one of them held out the faintest hope that he would be ready to denounce the rabbits as vermin in his place in the House, and Mr. Sewell Read would ap- pear to have spoken with something of a feeling of irri- tation at the " hubbub" they are making over this matter in Scotland. It is much to be regretted, Mr. Sewell Read notwithstanding, that there has not been a deal more " hubbub" over this business in England, for " hubbub" is amongst the most direct of means for cor- recting such abuses. In plain truth, as we have had to say over and over again, while the Scotch farmer has made the most of his opportunity the Englishman has altogether neglected such an opening. That something will be done to remedy the hare and rabbit abomination over the border is certain enough ; but that anything will be done towards abolishing the abuse in England is as remote a chance as ever. If, however, any reformation should here also be proposed, this will be with no thanks to the English Members or eveu to the English farmers, but mainly from the movement originated in Scotland. As Mr. Jasper More well put it at the Club meeting : " The Scotch farmers were ably repre- sented, whilst the English farmers found no representation. Yet he had heard no county member found fault with by his constituency." At the demonstrations, indeed, which have recently been made at Cirencester, Swindon, or in London, urgent private affairs have either kept the county members out of the way, or if preseut they have been but slow to recognise the principle which the Legislature will eventually enforce — viz., that vermin shall be treated as vermin, and not protected nor reserved by any right of might as game. THE CENTRAL FARMERS' CLUB. FOXES VERSUS RABBITS. The monthly meeting of the Farmers' Club was held on Monday evening, May 3, at the Club House, Salisbury Square, Mr. R. J. Newton, the President, in the chair. It was the last meeting of the session ; and the paper upon Foxes versus Rabbits, stood in the name of Mr. Henry Corbet. There was a very large attendance. The Chairman, in opening the meeting, said the subject on the card was in the hands of a gentleman who was so thoroughly master of the subject that he felt he should best be consulting the wishes of the meeting by at once calling upon Mr. Corbet to read his paper. Mr. Corbet, who wras received with much cheering, read the following address : — Many a good sportsman as I hope to meet in this room, I think I can say that during the past season I have witnessed a scene altogether unparalleled. Within the last mouth or two I have seen a fox broken up here, in Salisbury-square. But there was, alas 1 none of that glorious excitement we associate with the finish: no thrilling Wlio-Whoop ! no triumphant reflection of well found and fairly killed. As I entered Dr. Yoclcker's house, on the other side of the Square, I nearly fell over a large hamper, in which fox and hound lay side by side with each other, while in the laboratory two of the Doctor's pupils were busy over the body of a rabbit. Surely, thought I to myself, such a theme as Foxes versus Rab- bits was never so pointedly illustrated. The assassin had been at his old work : the dead fox was found with the poisoned rabbit ; Lord Coventry lost a couple and a half of his hounds, and two keepers were discharged. It was a sad sight to watch these gentlemen dissecting the handsome young fox, as they tried for the deadly strych- nine with which the bait had been dosed, and one that hardened my heart for the " delicate" duty I had ac- cepted. And this is, perhaps, a delicate business to handle, but one that must be faced nevertheless. Indeed, such a topic as foxes and rabbits, or farmers and rabbits, is rarely introduced without some cautious person as- suming a very grave look, as he shakes his head and thinks aloud that "it will be a great mistake to interfere with or run down the rural sports of this country." And I think so, too ; but I must maintain in the outset that, by denouncing the excesses and abuses involved in my subject, we shall be doing everything to uphold, or I might almost say to save, the best and most wholesome of our national pastimes. If there be a sport peculiar to 612 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Englishmen, if there be a sport the practice of which is attended with good to all who come within its influence, this is fox-hunting ; and fox-hunting is at this moment in many districts iu diiliculties. Never has there been so much evil report abroad as during the last season. Not only have hounds been poisoned both in England and Ire- land, and foxes openly trapped, but meetings have been called, and countries of long standing almost abandoned. Masters have come to confess it is idle to draw certain quarters, and in others they are not permitted to do so. Noblemen have not hesitated to warn the hunters off ! as others have given notice that the hounds must not come until the covers have been shot through. There is a bad tone in all this, a terrible falling away from the great moral principle, if I may so express it, that so eminently distinguished the country gentlemen of some half a cen- tury sinoe. Who, in those days, would have thought of systematically killing foxes, or of giving orders to Masters of Hounds as to when they should or should not come ? But we are gradually habituating ourselves to evil ways and coming to ignore the immunity of the chase ; to encourage feelings of petty selfishness, and to commit acts of unsportsmanlike oppression. The life of a fox was once held to be sacred ; but now men of position, who sign themselves "J. P." and so forth, cooly write to the public journals asking why they should be expected to preserve foxes for people who do not preserve their pheasants ? ac- tually putting the life and value of one against the other ! The farmers, however, are, I am happy to say, amongst the first to denounce such conduct, and of this I will cite you a very remarkable instance. At a dinner given a few weeks back at Windsor, by what is termed " the London Division," who hunt with Her Majesty's staghounds, to the farmers whose land they ride over, Mr. E. Headington was called upon to reply for the farmers of Berkshire, and in doing so he took the opportunity of asking Geueral Seymour "to account for the scarcity of foxes in the royal forests. He did not know who was to blame for so many blank days, whether it was Prince Teck, Prince Christian, the Prince of Wales, or Her Majesty, but somebody was to blame, and he would like General Seymour to find out who it was." Remember this was said under the very shadow of Windsor Castle, and a more straight- forward question could not have been put, or, to a certain point, a more satisfactory answer have been given ; for the explanation proved Her Majesty to be a staunch fox- preserver. Major-Geueral Seymour said, " In answer to Mr. Headington's inquiries about the absence of foxes in the royal forests, that he was in a degree to blame for uot discharging keepers who had destroyed some, as he had special injunctions from Her Majesty to preserve them, and to instantly discharge any keeper who was found killing a single fox. In future, any keeper so transgressing would have his conge directly." General Seymour con- siders himself in some degree to blame, whereas he must he almost altogether to blame ; and if henceforth a royal keeper who kills a fox does not get his conge directly it is pretty clear whose turn it should he next to go ? What can General Seymour really say in his defenc for not having hitherto promptly observed and acted upon Her Majesty's injunctions in this matter ? However, after Mr. Headington's speech at Windsor, I do hope that no one here will ever hesitate to denounce any fox-killer in his own country. A yet more curious case, perhaps, is that of a can- didate for the division of a county, at the last election, who "thought it best to act in a fair and straightforward man- ner," and to give notice that, if things did not go on as they wished, they would " do their best to clear the country of foxes." This is after the manner of the spoiled child, who says, " if you don't make me King of the Castle, I '11 go and tell my mother, and then she won't let you play at all !" Our fathers and grandfathers would have breathed very hard over such threats ; and here, if you please, I will tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a worthy citizen, who, having made money by his business, thought that, by way of enjoying himself, he would go and live in the country, and teach the people how to farm. In due course, he bought a small estate accordingly, and, quite as much a matter of course, in due time the " Co." ran down to see his old partner. On the road, for this was a very long time ago, he quietly made some inquiry as to how the new proprietor was getting on. Coachee's answer was, everything that could be desired. He was such a nice gentleman — they did such a power of good — everybody was so fond of them, and so forth. And as Mr. Co. found all this quite correct, and his visit altoge- ther so pleasaut, he, in a few months, volunteered for an- other. He got his seat on the box again ; but Mr. Coachman scarcely seemed to recognize him : gave a half sulky touch to his hat, and pulled away at his cigar in silence. At last came the customary inquiry as to how they were getting on at the Priory, but with now a very different answer: " 0 don't ask me, sir; I'd rather not say anything about them, if you please," which, of course, only made Mr. Co. the more curious. What was up ? what had his old friend been doing? what was wrong? And, still, Mr. Coachman only shook his head, and looked graver than ever. " He hasn't taken to drinking, I hope?" " No, not he : I wish he had." " Well, he isn't screwing down the tenants ?" " Why, bless you, he's a reg'lar model landlord — pays what they likes, and when they likes." " And, he hasn't got to interfering in party politics ?" " No, no : he ain't such a fool as that, sir." " What is it, then ?" " What is it ! — why, he shot a fox ! shot a fox in broad daylight, on his own grounds ; and he's a lost man. His character's gone, sir. The gentlemen won't sit in the same room with him ; and the parson of the parish won't speak to him !" And this is the kind of feeling we want to see revived. When a man kills foxes, or even talks of killing them, he should be a lost man, and the parson of the parish shouldn't speak to him. Nowhere, moreover, should the legal ethic be more strictly enforced : " Qui shoots him per THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 513 dlita/f, shoots him per se." A gentleman who gives a half-and-half order to his keeper that he " shall expect them to find a fox here when they come," is a very shal- low hypocrite at best. He knows very well that the keeper will know very well what he means ; and the keeper is the greatest enemy the fox has. In a paper, which I read before the members of this Club, now nine years since, on the Over-preservation of Game, I said, " the rabbits are the keeper's perquisites ; that is, the vermin which do the farmers the greatest injury arc the animals, above all others, that the keeper has a direct interest in maintaining a stock of. The vermin which the law declares the tenant has a right to destroy as vermin, the landlord transfers as a right to his servant." And again, " there is no greater self-deception, no finer piece of humbug than a game-preserver allowing his keeper to sell the rabbits, and telling him at the same time not to destroy the foxes." By this arrangement, you sec the keeper comes into direct antagonism with the farmers and the foxes. The farmers hate the rabbits, and the foxes like them ; so that either way Mr. Plush may be deprived of some of his " rights," as of course the more rabbits the more money in his pocket. To the fox's credit be it re- corded that he would live very much on rabbits, rats, mice, and such like small game if they would only let him, al- though he may occasionally surprise a sitting pheasant or give chase to a leveret. But these stories are pretty sure to be made the most of ; for the fox in the country is, I may say, very much like the London cat, which runs off with the stray cigars, clears up the cold apple tart, and draws the corks of the bottled beer. So, if the old hens give over laying — the fox has frightened them ; if the bull has broken out of bounds — the fox left the gate open ; and if two or three sacks of kidney potatoes are unaccountably missing — of course the foxes had them. Nay, during one rather hard winter — if I remember right, it was in the Burton country — they got clean off one night with a couple twenty-score bacon hogs ! Even against such ravages as these shall I set off the good that foxes and fox-hunting establishments do in a district ? The business that follows and the produce that is sold is an argument that is fami- liar enough to you all, as one that has been well handled ere now, although by none more so than by Mr. War- burton, the poet-laureate of the cha9e : " Good farmers ! read, nor take amiss The moral which I draw from this ; Grieve not o'er gap or broken gate. ; The damage small, the profit great ; The love of sport to home brings down Your landlord from the smoky town, To dwell and spend his rents among The tenantry from whom they sprung. Though vainly, when he leads the chase, His willing steed urged on apace, When scent is good, and hounds are fleet, Though vainly then you shout, "'Ware wheat !" That steed, perchance, by you was bred, And yours the corn on which he's fed. Ah ! then restrain your rising ire, Nor rashly damn the Hunting Squire !" But I would go a step further than this. Nothing tends so much to a good understanding between landlord and tenant as these meetings in the field. It is here more than anywhere else that they really come to appreciate each other, and nowhere can the Squire more certainly or more agreeably learn the duties of his station. Besides, no thorough fox-hunter can be a bad man. I have been trying back through my memory, but I can hardly bring to mind a black sheep in a red coat ; while, on the other hand, what a goodly array could I give you of country-gentlemen who have been Masters of Hounds ! — the Graftous, the Spencers, the Yarboroughs, the Knightleys, the Lane Foxes, the Sykcs, the Drakes — Every one of us might name his own man, and that name be suggestive of liberal management and good fanning — of thriving tenants and considerate landlords. And now to turn to the more business-like phase of the question, though here again our off-hand critic settles the matter in a moment : " The thing lies in a nut-shell ; it is simply a matter of agreement. If a man chooses to sign away his right to the rabbits and hares, he does so with his eyes open" — and so on. Nothing could sound better than this, and nothing could "prove" worse. Let me assume that I am a young man from the country ; that I have been crammed with science at Cirencester, and with practice in Norfolk, that I have plenty of capital, intelligence, and " go" in me, and that I am on the look-out for a farm, for which I at length get the preference. I can have a lease or a tenant-right agree- ment ; I can do this and do that. But the right to the game and the rabbits will be reserved to the landlord. And to this of course, as a young man from the country who does not mean that they shall get over me, I decidedly say no ! I must make it a rule to reserve the game and rabbits to myself. And so, according to a careful mathematical calculation, it would be just about a hundred to one against my getting in to that farm, There may be an exception here and there ; but by strictly observing his rule, it is probable that Juvenis in search of a farm might write as big a book as Japhet in search of a father, or Caveat Emptor in search of a horse. If a man choose to sign away ! Why how can a man choose to do otherwise who really means to get to work ? Only look to our great agricultural authorities, and the example they offer us ! In the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society for the year 1868, one of the leadiug papers is a prize essay on the Farming Customs and Covenants of England. In this essay the author gives a model agree- ment, which he "considers as complete as any he has seen ;" and by this we find that the laudlord reserves "all game, hares, fish, and rabbits, and the right to him- self, friends, and servants to preserve, shoot, or otherwise kill or attend to the same." To be sure, by a subsequent clause, the tenant is graciously permitted " to destroy rab^ bits at any time by ferreting or digging ; but no dog to be used between the 1st day of April and the 1st day of Sep- tember." This is the proper thing to do, accordiug to the very latest dicta of the Royal Agricultural Society of Eng- land. Then in another of these precious model agreements, 514 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. as offered to the farmers of South Wales, all the exclusive rights of shooting with game and rabbits are to be the landlord's, although the tenant may kill rabbits up to the 1st of March, but not with a gun. The Royal Society says, you may kill rabbits occasionally, but not with a dog ; the Carmartheushireauthoritysays, but not with a gun ; and possibly according to some other model man, not with a walking stick— possibly by putting salt upon their tails, or smothering them with onions ! The very latest I have seen of these model agreements was one read down Glou- cestershire way, the framer of which gets very cleverly out of the game and rabbit difficulty, for he never mentions one or the other. The Journal of the Highland and Ag- ricultural Society of Scotland shows a still stronger dis- position to preserve the rabbit, for in the very last num- ber, as just issued, there is a prize paper by C. Y. Michie, Forester, on " Trees not liable to be de- stroyed by Rabbits," which opens after this fashion : " The destruction of forest-trees, shrubs, and hedges, &c, is so great, and iu most cases such an increasing evil, as to call serious attention to the subject. From the cir- cumstance of so much land being under cultivation, sum- mer food is thereby abundantly provided ; but when har- vest is over, and the turnip crops stored, or the fields occupied with shepherds and their dogs and flocks, rabbits and hares have no retreat but the plantation ; and hither they repair both for safety and food, and the plan- tation suffers in consequence. The destruction of forest- trees, shrubs, and hedges is much greater than appears to the cursory observer ; but it is a subject which those who can best speak upon seldom do, from reasons unnecessary to be explained." This is certainly about the coolest thing I think I ever saw offered to the readers of an agricultural organ. In summer, with so much land under cultivation, "abundant" food is provided for the rabbits ; but in the winter, when the harvest is iu and the turnips stored, rabbits and hares have nothing for it but to retreat to the plantations and feed ou the trees, shrubs, and hedges. What a shame it is that the farmer does not find "abundant" food for the poor things all the year round, instead of suffering them to destroy his landlord's shrubs ! I would suggest, however, to the Editor of the Highland Society's Journal that the subject is not yet exhausted, even after treating his subscribers to two articles on trees not liable to be destroyed by rabbits. AVould it not be as well to offer another premium for an essay on plants and roots, for varieties of wheat, oats, and turnips not liable to be destroyed by rabbits, and " the destruction of which is much greater than appears to the cursory observer?" But whatever the Scotch Society has been about, the Scotch farmers have been keenly alive to this monstrous evil, aud " Down with the Hares and Rabbits !" was the county cry at the last election in Scotland, as it shouldhavebeeninEngland; with, moreover, the immediate result that honourable gentlemen who represent county constituencies in Scotland liave come to see that they must take up this matter, as it is to be hoped county members in England may come to do-~say iu a few years time. Not but that this agitation has been opposed or answered, and by no less a man than Captain Horatio Ross, the famous rifle-shot. Captain Ross has written a long letter to The, Times, which, as most of you must have seen, I need not give here, but the point of which is very readily put. " If," says Captain Ross almost in so many words, " if Scotland is to maintain her old re- nown, if the lairds are to be respected and the people thriving and contented, you may do away with tenant- farmers as soon as you please, but you must on no account do away with hares and rabbits !" To hares in moderation there can be no very great objection. I myself have had many a pleasant day with the harriers, aud there are people who are said to be fond of coursing. But with the rabbits there can be no moderation ; for, as Lord Granville said in his capital speech at Shrewsbury, " it is doubtful whether any- thing short of absolute destruction can keep the animals within proper bounds, as it is, with the exception perhaps of a hard-working curate, the most prolific creature on the face of the earth." I could, indeed, give you figures and facts to show that, like the nails in the celebrated horse-shoe problem, the rabbit doubles himself over and over again in less than no time. But this is an old story. In the great days of the Roman Empire the inhabitants of a conquered country petitioned the Emperor to free them, not from the soldiers, the priests, or even the taxes, but from the rabbits. They could do nothing against them ; and really, as it seems to me, there are people even in these times who might petition to very much the same effect. An 1, then, as to the damage, I shall not take up the time of the members of this Club by telling them how much the rabbits consume or how much they spoil, how they poison and how they sour the land; but Mr. Sewell Read, a gentleman who now represents the farmers of England iu Parliament, declared a year or two since in his own game-riddeu county of Norfolk, that it was impossible to farm against hares and rabbits, and I hope soon to hear of his saying as much in "ano- ther place." Again, Sir George Wombwell, one of the best sportsmen we have, and who has just succeeded to the management of the York and Ainsty fox-hounds, consequent on that lamentable accident on the Ure, said, a few months back, iu an admirable address he delivered at the Boroughbridge Agricultural Society, on the rela- tions of landlord and tenant, " About twelve or fourteen years ago my estate was over-run with hares aud rabbits, and I saw directly that if T wanted to get the estate into good order these animals must be swept aWay from the face of it, so accordingly I had them killed down." That is the speech of a good landlord and a good country gen- tleman, as well, remember, as of a Master of Hounds. Perhaps you will be content with just one of the latest of these "fearful examples," and for this I turn again to the Societies' journals. The Manchester and Liverpool Agri- cultural Society also publishes its own annual number, in which, amongst other matter, very useful reports arc given THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 515 by the inspectors ou prize forma and prize crops, and here in the new Part I find it thu-s recorded : " To the tenant and occupier of not less than eightly acres, who shall have the best g-op of any variety of mangel wnrzel, not less than three acres, the prise of 15, awarded to Mr. Henry Ncild, of Worsley, near Manchester." And then follows the inspectors' report : "Claimant had 8J acres in mangels. The soil, subsoil, and cultivation same as for the swedes. Manured with 2o tons per acre of farmyard manure and 3 cwt. of guano, superphosphate of lime, and salt, 4lbs. of seed sown per acre, the first week In April. Three- fourths of this crop a regular full grown crop of fine bulbs. Would reach nearly 30 tons per acre. One-fourth of the crop near a plantation nearly all destroyed by rabbit9. One of the inspectors, who has seen much of rabbits in his time, and of the ill-feeling created by them between landlord, tenants, and gamekeepers, is much sur- prised that any gentleman will have a rabbit on his estate. Hedgehogs, weazels, polecats, and foxes, are gentlemen in comparison to rabbits, which are mere vermin, and ought to be kept nowhere but on tracts of poor sandy land, fenced round by nets. Weazels, polecats, foxes, owls, and hawks, are inteuded, by nature, to keep down rats, mice, and rabbits. But these are destroyed by gamekeepers. They also destroy the innocent hedge- hogs, which live entirely on grub3, worms, and snails. The above crop inspected October the 27th, 1868." Of course the fox is a gentleman — " one of Nature's gen- tlemen" I should call him, and one of the handsomest and truest-made gentlemen you will meet about. He may be a little wild, and do a little mischief at times, but we like him all the better for it — particularly when the old villain has got his head set straight away. And against him we are to pit the keeper and the rabbits ! The landlord reserves to himself the right to the game and the rabbits — and the rats. A really zealous agent, who means to do his duty by his employer, or the framer of a model agreement who is advertising for more business, should certainly take care to fill in — and the rats. If the country gentlemen are to be kept amongst us in the homes of their forefathers, and not driven out to try " French translation and Italian song," let the rats by all manner of means be as strictly preserved in our ricks as the rabbits in our fields ; for rat hunting, nine times in ten, is quite as good sport as rabbit shooting. As an old sportsman aud popular writer that I knew very well has said, <: Shooting in places where rabbits live, for the most part under ground, is the slowest of slow sports, aud ferreting to nets is mere butchery. To put the hand into a contrivance such a9 they boil cabbages in, and squeeze to death a soft little auimal is certainly not a recreation worthy of a sportsman, nor is rabbit shooting the sport of a gentleman anywhere, save in wild woodlands, or in such rural districts as disencumber it of all notions of onion-sauce." That same onion-sauce has a deal to answer for. Cer- tainly a rabbit smothered in onions is a dish which a aran may enjoy by way of novelty, like boiled tripe or salt-fish, say once or twice in a life-time, but he is about the nastiest thing in the world to keep on with, and we had by far better leave him to the foxes. Aud here I will leave him. The late Mr. Itobson when about to de- liver himself of somcthiug especially facetious, was wont to warn his audience that "this is not a comic song." With more cause I may say that this is not a paper treat- ing on the damage done by game generally, for I have already under the auspices of the Club gone into that matter at some length, and not, I hope, without some effect. My object here has the rather been to show that the preservation or reservation of the rabbit by the land- lord is inimical alike to good farming and good sport. The man who pays and over-pays his keeper with such per- quisites is committing an act not merely of injustice but of dishonesty ; and I do trust that you will all about his own neighbourhood continue to talk him over. The day, I believe, is not far distant when the Legislature will seek to more strictly enforce the principle as to rabbits not being game, but in the interim a deal may be done by talking about it. Many landlords have, to their honour, voluntarily given up their claim to these pests of the farm, now that they know the great iujury they cause, and others will have to follow so good a lead. The weak place, so far as England is concerned, is no doubt in the House of Commons ; as only look at the front "the Farmers' Friends" offered there the other night. Mr. Green spoke in the highest possible terms of that Police- Gamekeeper Act ; Mr. Newdegate mourned over the calumnies in circulation against game-preserving, and Colonel Brise said farmers were fond of sport. But not one of them denounced the hares and rabbits ; for, as Lord Granville says, " none of the county members come with- in a huudred miles of such a question, and he only feared lest he should be regarded as occupying the position of the fool who rushed in where angels feared to tread." But these angels will most assuredly have to try their footing here, or it will get very hot for them hereafter ; and when we find men like Lord Gran- ville himself and Sir George Wombwell speaking out so strongly, we may be well warranted in looking about for more like them. And, then, as to the fox-killer, show him up whenever you have a chance, as the Berkshire yeoman did the Gentleman-in-Waiting at Windsor, or cut him dead as the parson of the parish did ; for no man who assassinates a fox can be ever worth knowing. And bear in mind, while these little wretches, the rabbits, are multiplying exceedingly, foxes in certain parts are getting very scarce, and we hear rumours of countries like the llutford aud The Bedale being given over, as half a kennel of hounds in Dorsetshire lws just been sold simply from a want of foxes. Iudced, some of our national sports are in but a middling way. The Turf is getting more and more to be a matter of business, aud a bad business too ; there is a growing practice of making bets and books on boat races and cricket matches, and noblemen have turned higglers and dealers in pheasants and hares. Hut as a man can hardly make wagers or make money by 516 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. fox-hunting, let us try our best to keep one old English pastime amongst us pure and undented. We have scared the wolf from our woods and forests, we have banished the bustard from our plains, and the very grouse fly before the shepherd and his flock ; but it will be a bad day for this country when a fox can uo longer be routed from his lair, to " Die in the open, as a good'un should do I" (Loud cheers). Mr. Acton (Bagshot) said the question had been treated by Mr. Corbet with his usual talent, and there Avas no one who knew more about the relative merits of foxes and rabbits than he did, and he therefore would know well enough that in many parts of the country foxes could abso- lutely not exist without rabbits. A friend of his (Mr. Actou's) told him that he had a couple of litters of cubs in his garden, and that in consequence he was obliged to shoot rabbits and rooks to keep them from eating his pheasants and poultry. In Norfolk he had been told the rabbits did an immense deal of damage. The result was apparent in the fact that the landlord was yielding to the wishes of the farmer, and was every day making a difference in the way in which he was in the habit of regarding the matter. In many places at the present time great efforts were being made to kill off the rabbits. He, for one, held a very strong opinion that the rabbits must be kept down, while at the same time the foxes must be kept up. This was imperatively demanded, for gentlemen found they could not get the prices they used to for their estates if the foxes were not kept up. Mr. Corbet had given an instance of their losing their hounds in Dorsetshire. In the Isle of Purbeck fox-hunting had become perfectly ridiculous: the foxes went to earth to such an extent that they could not be hunted at all. It was true, no doubt, that foxes and rabbits lived together, but it was the duty of the landlord to oblige his tenants by killing every rabbit he could find — an example that was set by no less illustrious a personage than His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales (Hear, hear). Mr. Leeds (Wicken House, Castle Acre, Brandon) said the county of Norfolk where he came from had been alluded to both by the gentleman who had last spoken and by the author of the paper, and he rose to say that although in that county there were as many hares and rabbits as in any other counties in England, it would be very wrong to class all the inhabitants of it under one head. He could assure the members he had the pleasure of living under a noble lord who had for the last twenty years inserted in his leases a clause compelling every ten- ant on his estate to kill and keep down all vermin, and the first animals mentioned under that description were rats and rabbits (cheers). Lord Leicester was well known as a landowner, and there was no estate in the country where foxes were more strictly preserved, or so frequently found as on his. Although the noble lord never rode himself he was a most strict and successful preserver. Within a few miles of the place where he (Mr. Leeds) lived there was a very different state of things existing. We there came to an estate where a gentleman could go out and kill a thousand head of hares and rabbits before luncheon, and not only did he do that, but if a fox got into a net or up a tree, as it sometimes would in a fir copse, then it was destroyed. These were the two sides of the picture, and he mentioned them to sustain what he commenced by saying — the Club must not suppose all the Norfolk people were alike ; although he was glad to be able to add, there were many landlords like the noble lord whom he had mentioned who would not allow the property of their tenants to be eaten by these wretched vermin, as they were universally considered in his county (cheers). Mr. Wade (who though not a member was permitted by the Chairman to speak) said the great thing to com- plain of was not use but abuse. When gentlemen found it necessary to keep rabbits for the preservation and perquisites of the keeper, the matter became very detri- mental to the interests of the tenants and the neighbourhood where such a state of things existed. It was the servants of such landlords who habitually and ruthlessly destroyed the foxes. As one who enjoyed the open, healthy, noble old sport of fox-hunting, he for one protested against such a custom. A supply of foxes should be kept in order to maintain the national sport, which called forth the best stamina of both men and horses. He must say he cor- dially backed Mr. Corbet's assertion — he never knew a bad man who was a good fox-hunter. He had only further to say that when rabbits were preserved, or when hares were preserved — although he did not believe hares by themselves did much harm — but when they were preserved, so as to allow us to kill hundreds every day, they ceased to be game, and their pursuit ceased to be that good, honest, legitimate sport which Englishmen gloried in having (cheers). Mr. Gerard Barton (Fundenhall, Wymondham) said some little distinction had been drawn between pre- servers and non-preservers amongst landlords. His idea was that it would generally be found that the preservers of rabbits amongst landlords were those who did not farm themselves. On the other hand, where the landlord farmed his own land — as in the case of Lord Leicester — there was no ignorance as to the damage which rabbits caused, and he was consequently but too glad to get rid of them and to help his tenants to destroy them also. It always seemed to him that, after all, the tenant would be found to be the best gamekeeper (Hear, hear). If the landlord left the preservation of game in the tenants' hands, he believed he would get a much better day's sport than under the present system of keepers — not how- ever by the destruction of a thousand rabbits in a day's shooting, but by the prosecution of the genuine old- fashioned sport of which wc used to boast. He feared he could not altogether consider the hedgehog to be so harm- less an animal as the author of the paper seemed disposed to think. It was not so safe a customer as it had been represented to be, for it sometimes came into a henroost THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 517 and did considerable damage. He was once of a very different opinion, but had lately had too many clear proofs that a hedgehog was occasionally a carnivorous, as well as a graminivorous animal (laughter) . Mr. E. Edmunds (Rugby) thought also with a pre- vious speaker, that the question was really one of use and abuse. No man ia England liked to see a pack of hounds in full cry better than he did, but it seemed to be for- gotten that not the hounds and foxes, but the people who followed them were regarded as a great nuisance in many parts of the country (" No, no," and Hear, hear). He never killed a fox in his life, and would not allow one of his men to do so, although they bred within 150 yards of his own farmyard. He would not do so much to in- jure the sport of his neighbours. At the same time he thought that as this was a tenant-farmers' club it wa3 only fair that some one in the discussion should say a word for the tenant farmers who were in some parts much oppressed by fox-hunting ("No, no," and cheers). Per- sonally he thought there was no sport equal to it : it was so thoroughly old English, but the same thing could be said of it as of game preserving — it was abused. That was the point to which he wished to address himself. Let the gentlemen present turn their memories back some 20 or 30 years. Then the tenant farmers and their landlords hunted the foxes together, and had a perfect right to do so : they rode over one another's lands, and did so accord- ing to a kind of mutual bargain. How different things were now ! Supposing you lived in some central place within easy reach of London, or Birmingham, or Leam- ington, or Northampton, and supposing, as was often the case, within five miles of Rugby, a field of 500 or 600 assembled, and, as he had seen them do, went in a body over a wheat field in wet weather, or galloped over the peas just as they were coming through the ground — was that a very gratifying state of thing3 ? He could only assure the Club that the tenant farmers in his neigh- bourhood were beginning to ask themselves whether there was not such a thing as the abuse of fox-hunting (" Oh, oh"). He was quite aware he must be a bold man who in an assembly such as that of the Fanners' Club dared to get up and say anything against fox-hunting. Never- theless he repeated that the farmers were beginning to ask themselves whether they were to be called upon to find ground and crops for gentlemen to ride over in this fashion (cheers and cries of "Oh, oh"). Why should they ? The gentlemen who trooped down as he described from London and Birmingham, and who did so much mischief, had very likely no more land than the little lawn in front of their houses. How was the thing to be prevented ? In his own immediate neighbourhood they did not suffer any annoyance from game preserving. A writer in the Northampton Herald, in alluding to a memorial to Captain Thompson, begging him to recon- sider his decision, and to continue still to hunt the Pytchley, says : But, alas ! the petitioners will ever pray. Great changes have taken place since the days that Mr. George Payne and Mr. Osbaldeston limited this country. Then special trains did not bring crowds of hard riding gentlemen, and even ladies from Leamington, Coventry, and galloping cornets from Weedou, came over, and while it was one man's place to ride to hounds it required two to keep back the gallopers (laughter). It was all the same whether they chased a hare, a fox, or a red-herring (laughter). " That," concluded the writer, " that is the order now of a Pytchley Wednesday." He himself knew this to be no exaggeration, and he could say something of the bad effects of five or six huudred horsemen of this kind going over a field of spring corn (Hear, hear) . This was what he called fox-hunting carried to excess, and when it was so it was as bad as the over-preservation of game ("No, no"). He assured the Club, from his own personal knowledge and experience, the evil of the one was nearly as great as the evil of the other (" No, no"). It must of necessity be so. Remember it was not the sportsman who did the mischief. There was not an oc- cupier of land in his neighbourhood who cared about what was done in a legitimate way ; it was the people who came over from the towns who were at the bottom of all the mischief. Wherever they went you saw gaps, yards and yards wide, while there was a regular road right across the peas and beans just as if a troop of soldiers had been marching over. When this kind of thing was repeated twice a fortnight, it really became a very serious business for the farmers (cheers). Notwithstanding this, he did not bring it forward as a reason why fox-hunting should be altogether denounced or put down. In a pas- toral country very likely people might hunt and eDJoy their sport without doiug much harm, but in an arable country the sport required to be kept within proper limits. The old farmers' almanack told you that fox- hunting went out on the 1st of March, and ten years ago no one dreamt of sowing peas before that date. Now we found peas put in as soon as the ground would permit after the turn of the year — January and February. It followed naturally then that if fox-hunting were kept up to the end of April or beginning of May, immense damage must be done to the crops ("No, no," and cheers). If fox-hunting were to be kept up in arable districts, it should never be continued after the end of February. He quite agreed with what had been said as to the rabbits, but was very much afraid that where there was one Lord Leicester there were 20 landlords who held different opinions. Mr. H. Trethewy (Silsoe, Ampthill) said he could not hear fox-hunting decried without interposing with a few remarks (cheers). Mr. Edmunds : I did not decry fox-hunting. I dis- tinctly said I spoke of its abuse (Hear, hear). Mr. Teethewy (continuing) said no doubt a great deal had been said about use and abuse, but how the sport of fox-hunting was to be pursued without riding over some- body's land, he could not for the life of him make out (laughter). It was quite true that there might be excep- tional cases where meets happened within reach of London, when the state of things described by the last speaker was 518 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. experienced, and when crowds came. But who could draw the line, and decide who was to hunt and who was not? He did not agree cither that hunting spoiled the wheat crops. He remembered the first steeplechase in Here- fordshire many years ago, and a farmer who owned the land over which the race took place had a piece of wheat. He was paid £10 by the committee for going over it ; but the next year he came and said, " You may ride over my ground for nothing this time ; I thought last year you were going to do me a great deal of mischief, but when harvest came I saw no difference whatever." Similar results he had himself witnessed many times. When, however, it regarded spring crops, as the land became tender, he quite agreed with the remarks made ; but we should generally find that sporting men of the true type avoided those fields as much as possible. The question seemed to come to this, Was fox-hunting to be continued ? Whatever inconveniences and damages there might be in exceptional cases, he believed it was the feeling and wish of tenant-farmers generally throughout the couutry that fox-hunting should prosper (cheers). England was the only country where fox-hunting could be kept up at all. Where else could people be allowed to ride over the land of another as we did ? This proved the sport was in the strict and best sense of the word national, and it therefore had to do with the national feelings. It was not every man who could shoot, or who possessed the privilege of shooting over land where game was ; but every person who could ride a horse, and who conducted himself as a gentleman, had the privilege of riding to houuds ; and he hoped as long as he lived he should never see that long-standing privilege abolished (cheers). The Rev. E. Smithies (Hathern Rectory, Lough- borough) said he, for one, begged leave to express his hearty thanks to Mr. Edmunds for the manly, straight- forward way in which he had spoken of what must be a very unpopular mode of treating this subject. Probably no man could do a more unpopular thing than get up in a company of Englishmen, and say something which bore even indirectly against the sport of fox-hunting. There were many things which were popular and not true, and many that were true and not popular. As he had always been taught to uphold the truth, in preference to anything else he should on this occasion disregard the popular. Therefore he unhesitatingly followed in the wake of Mr. Edmunds. The question of rabbits, he be- lieved, was generally allowed to go by default. He never heard a landlord defend the preservation of rabbits ; but, on the contrary, they always professed their readiness to order their keepers to shoot them down. There were many counties where rabbits formed a very large item in the amount of every day's battue ; and where they were thus kept up, he strongly suspected there was more or less of a private understanding be- tween the proprietor and the head-keeper upon the sub- ject. The proprietor, in the presence of the tenants, said to the keeper, " You know you must keep down these rabbits. These gentlemen are complaining of their numbers ; aud I cannot have their crops destroyed. Keep down the rabbits." The keeper touched his hat, and said, of course, "Yes, my lord;" but he knew all the time that, when October came rouud, if there were not plenty of rabbits to make up a big head of game, he would be hauled over the coals quickly enough (laughter and cheers). From some of the gentlemen who kept up these battues, he had discovered who were partly to blame. The editors of sporting and semi-sporting papers, who published that My Lord This and Squire That, on such and such a day, killed so many head of game had much to answer for. He himself had heard gentlemen say, " Well, I am not going to be beaten by So-aud-so. If he publishes that he kills so many, I am bound to do the same." Now, if there was none of this nonsensical publication of game-bags, we should not have such an over-preservation of ground game (Hear, hear). He agreed with Mr. Edmunds as to fox-hunting. He (Mr. Smythies) occupied about 300 acres of land, a large por- tion of which ran under one of the best covers of the Quorn hounds. They often met at this cover : they found a fox three times out of four, and went away right across his farm. He had the pleasure, therefore, of seeing 400 or 600 persons ride across all the ploughed fields. It mattered not whether the crops were wheat, clover, or peas — away they went ; and he must say he stood by with very decided feelings as to this exhibition of the national sport of fox- hunting. No one had followed that sport more eagerly, or enjoyed it more than he had in his early life, and he had three boys now whom he was glad to mount on ponies, and see following the same hounds as the gentlemen who rode over his fields followed (laughter and cheers). He had twenty acres of grass on one side and twenty-five on the other, and between them was a large arable field of young wheat or may be clover, and across this three-fourths of the people went in a body. When he came to analyze the crowd, what were they? The country gentlemen, of whom we had heard such a pleasaut description from Mr. Corbet, where were they ? The reality hardly corresponded with the charming picture that was drawn : he did not find it was always the case that the country gentleman resided amongst his people and spent his fortune amongst them. The country gentlemen in his neighbourhood, who had a stake in the country, went over the grass. They were generally good sportsmen, aud kuew the advantage of saving their horses at the beginning of a long run, instead of going up to their hocks through a rough ploughcd-field. But the rich brewer from Melton, the cotton lord from Manchester, the cloth lord from Leeds, the iron lord from Wolverhampton — these were the men who did not care what injury they did to the farmers (cheers). What were these people to the farmers, or the farmers to them ? They did no good whatever in the country ; but, on the contrary, a vast deal of mischief. As to whether the crops were injured by being ridden over he was aware a great difference of opinion existed THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 519 upon the point ; but he suspected those who said there was uu mischief were occupiers of light laud, while those who held an opposite opinion spoke of an experience of heavy clay land. He could show them at this moment in two or three fields of wheat at least 10,000 prints of horse-hoofs caused by the kind of fox-hunting of which he complained, and he would almost go so far as to say he would oiler any gentleman who thought no injury was done by it a sovereign for every blade he would find in the foot-prints. If, however, it really was a good thing to have one's crops scuffled over in that way, he must say he would rather do the scuffling himself, and then he could do it regularly (cheers and laughter). But it was not a good thing, and he maintained boldly that it did infinite mis- chief and caused immense loss in every respect, without yielding any quid pro quo. As a clergyman he occupied a peculiar position, and when he heard the good which these hunting gentlemen did to the neighbourhood de- scribed so glowingly he was bound to dissent altogether from the statement. He had a large and poor parish, without a single gentleman of independent property in it, and if he asked these rich cotton lords and brewers for half-a-sovereign to enable him to educate the poor children of the parish they never so much as answered his letter (Hear, hear). He had never got a farthing from any one of them, although from the country gentlemen round about he was most largely and liberally sup- ported (cheers). If, however, it was true that no harm was done to the crops by being ridden over in this reckless fashion, the argument might be carried a little further. Suppose, instead of hunting a fox he took to hunting a butterfly, and in July or August rode for that purpose upon his best nag into these gentlemen's gardens and across their flower-beds, and when they ventured to remonstrate, he were to say the beds would really be benefited, the scarlet geraniums and the verbenas, although now broken to pieces and trampled into the earth, would really flower all the better for it, what would they say ? (laughter and cries of " Oh, oh"). He apprehended they would not exactly see eye to eye with him (Hear, hear, and laughter). Yet the case was quite analogous (Oh, oh). Formerly they had simply an assemblage of the landed proprietors and their tenants hunting together. They met early in the morning and galloped in company, killed their fox, rode home together squire aud farmer, landlord and tenant together, and the consequence was an excellent feeling was generated amongst all. That had now passed away, and the hunts were made up of all kinds of people who had no connection with the county, and who were now opposing the efforts of the agricultural community to obtain a better method of rating and taxa- tion (cheers). He, therefore, submitted, they were not the people to be considered with regard to the nation al sport of fox-hunting (cheers). Mr. T. Wilson (Knaptoft) said he happened to live upon one of the heavest clay farms in the midst of the most popular hunt in the kingdom, and in order to bear out what Mr, Edmunds had said, there were two fox covers on his farm, and he could only say he would give £20 for the last ten years to the gentleman who would pay for the damage that had been done to his farm. This was done by men from a distance, who did not care where they rode, or what they did. Instead of 150 people in the field as there used to be there were now 300 or 400, from the duke to the chimneysweep (laughter). He would repeat they abso- lutely were careless what they rode over. His experience was that more harm was done to the winter beans than to any other crop. No doubt there were two sides to this as to every other question, but the farmers upon heavy clay lands were beginning to see that if these troops of mis- cellaneous people weut over the farms twice a week or fortnight as the case might be, the harm would be almost incalculable (cheers). Mr. John Thomas (Bletsoe, Bedfordshire) said he had been a tenant-farmer and fox-hunter for many years, and farmed nearly 1,000 acres of land. As to the damage done by fox-hunting, he found that with regard to wheat in winter and the early months of the spring sometimes more good than harm was done, but late in the spring there was some damage, but it was often only slight. When you came to ride over beans and peas late in the spring of course there must be considerable in- jury ; that was inevitable. He was a great enemy to rabbits, and thought it impossible that a man could keep rabbits and stock too. Although he was a tenant-farmer he was happy to say that at this time he had two litters of cubs upon his farm, and if one of his labourers destroyed a single cub, he would be discharged at once (cheers). When the arrival of people from Lon- don and other large towns to hunt was spoken of in such strong terms, he must remind the Club that those gentle- men must have their sport as well as others. Why should they attempt to prevent them, or endeavour to confine the hunt to landlords and tenants ? (cheers). For himself, he never complained when his crops were ridden across ; he accepted it for the sake of the sport which was open to the enjoyment of all. The hunt went where they liked, according to custom, and necessarily there was a little loss following, but then in return they rode over other people's laud, and the thing was therefore pretty equal all round. As to keeping up a certain amount of rabbits, no doubt where'there were foxes a few rabbits should be kept ; the great mistake people made was keeping too many, and allowing game-keepers the privilege of having rabbits for their perquisites. Foxes lived upon hares as well as rabbits. Of this, however, there coidd be no doubt — something must be done if our national sport was to be kept up (cheers). Mr. C. Hall, jun. (Romford) said in Essex, where they had had some excellent sport, some of the landlords allowed the tenants at one time to be their keepers. Eventually, however, they differed, and the landlords hired keepers of their own, and now he would defy any one to find shooting either of hares, pheasants, or rabbits upon the estates, where it was once so excellent. Why 520 THE FAKMEK'S MAGAZINE. did not the landlords and tenants act in unity upon that co-operative system which was getting into fashion in manufacturing affairs ? "Why not have co-operation in growing game, and so exterminate the poacher? If that were done the tenant would know exactly the quantity of game, the landlord would then have his fair share of it, and there would he no need for keepers (cheers) . The rahbit did more mischief than could well be calculated, because it was not confined to the young crops, but extended to grass. Hares probably did not cause so much mischief. As foxes must live a few rabbits should be kept, and they would not do a great deal of harm. Passing from the rabbit question to that of hunt- ing, he was much amused to hear the rev. gentleman who had addressed the Club acknowledge that he had three sons who galloped over his neighbours' crops (laughter) . Could the rev. gentleman with much justice complain when he produced three-fold the very thing he denounced ? (cheers). In Essex, fox-hunting was really appreciated, and they had a tenant-farmer who had been made master of the South Essex hounds. There they had no objection to fields of 300 or 400 strong ; Londoners came down in considerable numbers and they subscribed very liberally, and if any damage was done, either by riding down crops or the eating of poultry by the foxes, ample recompense was given (hear, hear). A proper system of "capping" ought always to be adopted, because there were poor tenant-farmers who ought to be paid : in South Essex they were paid. The tenant-farmer to whom he had re- ferred farmed 6,000 acres of heavy land, yet he was master of the hounds. If the gentlemen who had been depreciating fox-hunting would only come down they should have some sport, should ride over the heavy land if they liked, and should see that there would be no dif- ference when harvest came round. It was impossible in May to talk about damaged wheat — harvest was the time to consider that, and if they waited till then they would find in almost all cases that the wheat which had been ridden over was not damaged in the least. He attended a hunt dinner the other day, and one of the speakers, a tenant-farmer, said that before foxes were preserved in his district they could not grow three quarters an acre ; after they had been preserved a short time they could now somehow grow fi»e quarters (laughter and cheers). Mr. L. A. Coussmakeii (Westwood, Guildford) wished to make a few observations, both as an old sportsman and a farmer. The tenant-farmers were the best friends of sporting ; but they by no means wished to see its abuse ; he believed the tenant-farmers of England to a man were in favour of honest and reasonable sport. Small damage there must be, but no good sportsman would do more than he could possibly avoid. The masters of hunts, de- pend upon it, did not wish so many people to come to the meets ; they were as great a nuisance to the masters as to the farmers, and they rode over the hounds as well as over the fields (cheers). It should not be forgotten that the landlord suffered by rabbits as well as the tenant-farmers, in consequence of the damage inflicted upon young plantations and underwoods. This damage was as great as that done in the field ("No, no "). He spoke as a farmer, and also as the owner of covers, and he could only say he had suffered a great deal from rabbits, and do what he would he could not get rid of them. Where there were many rabbits there would be very little other game. After all he was of opinion that country gentlemen residing fairly upon their property, and living on good terms with their neighbours, would seldom lack good sport (cheers). Mr. H. Neild (Worsley) said that as special reference had beeii made to the property upon which he lived, he felt bound to say that his landlord, Lord Ellesmere, was one of the highest type. He had been listening during the very interesting discussion of the evening for some practical observations that would tend to some tangible results. They had heard a good deal of individual ex- perience and theoretical pictures, but no lesson had been enunciated. One great point that should not be over- looked was, that if the landlords came more into company with their tenantry there would be a better feeling on this question, and tend to save landlords much of the cost, and tenants the annoyance of the present system of keepers, and result with much better sport in the field (cheers). Mr. Jasper Moiie (Salop) belonged to a county where there was a great deal of hunting, and which had made itself notorious in connection with the game-laws, and he had come with great satisfaction to hear Mr. Corbet read his paper, believing him to be one of the greatest authorities on behalf of both of the branches he had treated. As an intellectual and literary treat Mr. Corbet's paper could not he excelled (cheers), but the dis- cussion which had followed it had hardly taken so prac- tical a turn as might be expected from the admirable opening. They had heard the old laudation of fox- hunting, which Englishmen must expect to hear till Doomsday ; they had heard the old abuse of game pre- servation, which seemed to go on without any change ; but what they had not heard was a remedy for the latter abuse suggested. The members of the club who had taken part in the discussion had shown more readiness to speak against the abuse of fox-hunting than the abuse of game preservation. Mr. Corbet placed an intelligible question before the club (and it had not been answered), when he said that the real questiou with respect to the letting of farms was " Will you take the farm with the game, or not ? If you will not, it is a huudred to one whether you will get a farm anywhere." That being the state of the case, what legislative enactment could be made to put down the preservation of game upon farms ? (Hear, hear) . That was the question to which those who were immediately interested wanted a plain answer. When he had the honour of being in the House last Session Mr. C. S. Read was so kind as to associate his name with his own in connection with a Bill which proposed a small remedial measure — namely, the rating of game (cheers). That bill was a step in the right direction, and lie hoped to. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 521 see Mr. Head carry that bill as an instalment of that greater rating reformation which they were all trying to bring about. If they could be assured there was any reason to suppose that the English farmers would be animated by the spirit which animated the Scotch farmers in an agita- tion upon this subject there would be some hope of a remedy from the House of Commons. But what was the real state of things. The Scotch farmers the other night were ably represented in the debate which took place, whilst the English farmers found no representation. Yet he had heard no county member found fault with by his constituency for not speakiug upon that occasion. He (Mr. More) therefore wanted to know whether the farmers of England thought the question quite hopeless, or whether it was the fact, as many landlords said, that there was really no grievance in game preserving at all. What legislative remedy could we have to prevent farms being let with the game, supposing the tenant-farmers did not feel themselves strong enough to get up a strike upon the question ? (laughter). Unless some practical conclusion were arrived at we should have the old speeches at agri- cultural and hunt dinners, but nothing more (cheers). Mr. J. Howard, M.P., thought the members of a Fanners' Club must be unanimous in their opinion that the preservation of rabbits was an unmitigated evil. One view of the subject, however, had not been taken ; the preservation of rabbits more than any other creatures of the kind led to poaching. That view was forced upon his observation by a gentleman from one of the northern counties who took the management of an estate which actually swarmed with rabbits, and as it was in the neighbourhood of several manufacturing towns, armed gangs of poachers weut regularly upon the land to net the rabbits ; these men did not trouble themselves about the pheasants, but the rabbits there were so easily taken, and were so readily marketable that their presence led to more poaching than any other wild animal. As to the evil caused by fox-hunting that was quite a moot point. It was generally understood that in Leicestershire the "fields" were so numerous, and the riding con- ducted with so little judgment that the tenants suffered considerable damage. He himself had one of the most favourite fox covers in the county of Bedford, and the sportsmen visited it perhaps more frequently thpn any other in the county. He had watched narrowly the effect of riding over his cold clay ground, and must say he had never seen any damage inflicted upon his own land (cheers), but as to the other question he had never met with an intelligent farmer or landlord who regarded rabbits as anything else but an unmitigated evil, and as being unworthy anythiug but the name of vermin. Mr. Jasper More had propounded the question — What could be done by the legislature to solve the question of game as between landlord and tenant? He (Mr. Howard) did not consider that it was the province of the Govern- ment to interfere in such a private matter. There must always be two parties to an agreement, and with the spirit of enlightened opinion that was now growing up, and gaining ground, he hoped before long landlord and tenant would be able to manage a difference of this nature without any legislative interference. Although it was not the duty of the Government to meddle in such pure matters of detail, Government might take a step in the right direction by abolishing the Game Laws, and making game property, then it would rest for its preser- vation against any raids made upon it on the same laws as that which protected other descriptions of property. He had been often told there were difficulties in the way of making game property, because it was not easy of recognition (Hear, hear) ; but he did not think it was more difficult of recognition than wheat, peas, beans, or any other production raised upon the farm. The chief difficulty perhaps was that the game was upon one man's property to-day and another's to-morrow (Hear, hear). That was a point no doubt to be solved; but whatever might be advanced, it could not be said to be the property of the marauders who poached it (cheers). Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., said he rose to answer two statements made, one by Mr. Jasper More, and the other by Mr. Corbet. Mr. More had intimated that in the House of Commons the other night the farmers' friends were dumb, because no English members spoke upon the game question that occupied the attention of the House. Everybody must know that it was essentially a Scotch question, and it was taken up by a great many hon. members who knew nothing whatever about game, and he should think very little about land, else they would not have said that keeping a hare was as bad as keeping a Bengal tiger, or that rabbits were not fit to eat. The less the English members meddled with the Scotch the better they liked it, and the better the former would be off. When this question was before the House two or three years ago he ventured to suggest that it would be better if the laws of Scotland, as far as game was concerned., were made like those of England, which provided that in the absence of any agreement which reserved the game to the landlord, the law should be that it was the pro- perty of the tenant ; whereas the Scotch law said it should belong to the landlord. He simply made that suggestion in passing, but he got so many letters from Scotch gentlemen complaining to him for interfering in their affairs, that he very strongly determined to keep away from any Scotch game question for the future. Although there had been such a hubbub in Scotland about the game laws, it was made such a strong party question at the last election that there were no less than nine dif- ferent gentlemen bringing in bills totally different from each other, and then in the end referring them to a Select Committee, or a Royal Commission, proving conclusively that they were actually not agreed amongst themselves as to a remedy, notwithstanding that they grumbled, and very justly too, at the iniquities of the present game- laws. It was true that Mr. More and himself last year introduced a Bill for the rating of game ; and with refer- ence to that he would just explain (that it might not go N N 522 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. abroad tbat they were going to rate game per se) that the intention was that land should be valued at its full agricultural value, and not allow its assessment to be de- preciated by the quantity of game kept upon it. One word as to the general question under discussion : there could be no sport for the fox-hunter without some little damage ; if the thing were carried to excess there would be a great deal of damage ; and when game preservation was carried to an excess it did almost everybody con- cerned much harm. Against the admission, however, that slight damage must of necessity follow fox-hunting, must be set the fact that the sport afforded an immense amount of rational and healthy sport to a large number of persons- He had no doubt from what he had seen occasionally in the Midland Counties, that fox-hunting was there carried to an excess. Wherever fox-hunting existed a tolerably healthy and pleasant state of things was usually found to exist ; and wherever there was an over-preservation of ground game agriculture was depreciated, there was a bad feeling between landlord and tenant, and the whole country round was poverty-stricken in consequence (cheers). Sir George Jenkinson, M.P., also explained that he did not take part in the House of Commons' discussion because it was purely a Scotch question, although he very much wanted to answer a remarkable statement made by the hon. member for Leicester (Mr. P. A. Taylor), as to the relative merits of Bengal tigers aud hares (laughter). That statement was, "That he would rather see Bengal tigers on the land than hares, for tigers would only eat a few christians, whilst the hares would eat the food of christians." That was a very extraordinary statement to be made by a legislator iu his place in the House of Commons. The over-preservation of all game was unquestionably an evil ; no man held that opinion more strongly than he did, and he believed tbat was the general opinion held by English landlords. Equally decided was his opinion that more good was likely to result from the spread of educa- tion, and the growth of good mutual feeling between landlords and tenants than from any legislative inter- ference. Indeed, he could not see how it was possible to legislale so as to compel a particular sort of agreement upon the subject between two men. If public opinion would not force itself upon those who let land and those who took it, nothing in the shape of legislation would effect the desired remedy (Hear, hear). He objected most strongly to too many rabbits, in the same way as he objected to too much game of any kind. He could not agree with Mr. Howard as to the difficulty of making game property ; it was a thing very easy of recognition. If the game-laws were totally abolished, and a reasonable trespass act made the law of the land — not a stringent law, not a law to interfere with hunting or any reasonable recreation, but one that would prevent gangs of men from going into other people's plantations at night for egg stealing or poaching — the difficuly would be in a great measure solved (cheers). Mr. John Clayden (Littlebury, Saffron Walden) said the over-preservation of rabbits was most detrimental to farming in every way, aud could not be over estimated ; and he agreed with previous speakers that certain damages were no doubt done by fox-hunting, but he thought that it was often overrated. He was much surprised to hear the assertion of Mr. Jasper Moore, viz., that a landlord having a farm infested with rabbits to let, told the applicant that if he did not take it some one else was ready, whether the nuisance was abated or not. He was sorry to hear this was the case, but he did not know in what district ; he was happy to say it was not so in his neighbourhood, for there the landlords looked to the class of men they took as tenants, and although a landlord might obtain a tenant for a thoroughly game-eaten farm, still he would be of a different class altogether from one that would occupy a farm of a different character, and if these enquiries were made, the probability was the nuisance would be abated. Mr. Crosskill (Beverley) thought it was not felt amougst the county members in the House of Commons that the over-preservation of ground-game was an evil : every practical man must feel that it was an evil the removal of which was very desirable to ac- complish. Mr. Jasper More : I should like to state exactly the poiut at issue. I did not say that members of Parliament did not feel that the over-preservation of game was a grievance. I say that their general silence on the subject shows that they feel that game is not, as a rule, through- out England, over-preserved. The Chairman, in closing the discussion, said he was sure all would asree with him that the members of the Club were much indebted to Mr. Corbet for the practical manner in which he had introduced the subject which had occupied their attention. Mr. Corbet had clearly proved the advantage of preserving foxes, not only for the sakes of the owners of laud, but for the sport of many others, such as farmers. On the other hand, he hod clearly proved the destruction caused by the over-preser- vation of rabbits, as causing not only a great destruction of property in themselves, but because it increased the county expenses by the prosecution of persons caught killing and destroying one of the greatest curses of the country, and by the enforced maintenance of the wives and families of the men prosecuted during their incarcera- tion for doing what, in his (the Chairman's) mind, was a piece of public service. He was not himself a foxhunter, but thought great good did arise from the occupiers of land engaging in that sport ; for it afforded the means of providing a better market for well-bred horses, for the sale of corn aud hay to feed them, and for the employ- ment of a large number of men to look after them. Babbits were the worst nuisance the farmer occupying land near covers had to contend with ; and the injury done by fox-hunting bore no comparison with it (cheers). Mr. Corbet, in reply, asked to be allowed to repeat almost in one word the point of his paper. It was, that rabbits, either in the House of Commons, House of Lords, or in an agreement, should not in any way be ac- cepted as game. If a landlord said " Reserve the game," reserve it ; but on no account let him reserve the rabbits ; let them be treated as rats. Mr. Howard had said that rabbits encouraged poachers, but anything in excess did that ; and certainly the organised gangs of poachers, who made the pursuit a business, seldom went out with any idea of rabbit ferreting. He had flattered himself there was not a member of the Farmers' Club but would have a good word to say for the foxes and fox- hunting ; and he must say that he had listened with considerable disappointment to the attack made on this sport by three speakers, one of whom had declared that fox-hunting in excess did as much damage as game- preserving in excess, a statement which he (Mr. Corbet) did not for a moment believe could be substantiated, nor did he think the country would credit it. His mind, however, had been much relieved when he heard another of these opponents to sport liken the trespasses of fox- hunters to those committed by people breaking into gardens after butterflies (laughter). This might have gone down at some scientific or dilettanti society, but it would never do iu a company of farmers ; and he (Mr. Corbet) was quite sure that the speaker who made such a comparison could have no proper idea of the glorious spirit which characterized the chase in England. He would make no further answer to these attacks, but he hoped the authors of them would be answered by their THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 523 neighbours when they got home again. As to the other points raised on the more general question of game-preserving, there was scarcely one but that he had touched on iu the paper he had read some years since but that he had now guarded himself from merely repeatiug (cheers). On the proposition of Mr. T. Beddall, seconded by the Rev. E. Smythies, a hearty vote of thanks was carried to Mr. Corbet for his paper. A similar compliment was paid to the Chairman, who hoped, when he met the Club again after the summer recess, that ho should be able to congratulate the members upon continued health and good harvests (cheers), THE CENTRAL CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. The monthly meeting of the Council was held at the Salisbury Hotel, Salisbury-square, on Tuesday, May 4, Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., the president, in the chair. The Chairman had to make a few remarks upon the circular which he had caused to be sent out with regard to the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Bill. In the House of Commons the previous night that bill was recom- mitted, in order to its being reprinted with certain amend- ments which the Government had agreed should be inserted in the measure. And he was glad that, amongst other amend- ments, one for establishing a separate market for the sale and slaughter of stock in the metropolis would be conceded to them (Hear, hear). For this concession on the part of the Government the chamber ought to be most grateful ; but he hoped that he should not be considered as using any un- generous or offensive expression if he said that even now the danger was not passed, and that they must urge on members of Parliament the duty of watching and seeing that the promise was not made to them in the letter and broken in the spirit (Hear, hear). What he meant was, that it was quite possible to have a separate market which would be so small and incon- venient that no suspected cattle would be sent to it. This would defeat the end they had in view, for it would be at- tended only by a low class of butchers, and in all probability such a market would fail, for no cattle would enter it. What they wanted was a real good market at the waterside, to which all stock from the centre and east of Europe would come (Hear, hear). Another amendment to the bill was one allowing the Corporation of London to increase the tolls now levied at Islington market. At present 3jd. a head was paid for bullocks, and that was to be raised to 6d. The tolls on sheep were to be increased in about the same pro- portion. To this he for one should not object. Indeed he should be quite ready to concede it, provided they got a really good separate market ; but if it were only a small one, such as he had hinted at, and they could not effect a relaxation of the cordon which at present existed around the metropolis, their position would be even worse than it was before. Although, then, they had great cause to be thankful for what had been conceded by the Government, they must urge upon all their members of Parliament to be in their places when the bill came on for discussion, and endeavour to make it a reality and not a sham. In the event of the amendments of the Govern- ment not carrying out the desire of the Chamber, he had pre- pared and should propose one himself, which amounted to this : That all stock coming from countries where the cattle- plague or sheep-pox had existed, and cattle from all countries of transit through which such stock might pass, should go to the separate market. That would leave the cattle of Spain, Portugal, and Prance free to go — say to Southampton, Plymouth, aud Liverpool ; and the cattle from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway free to go— say to the ports of Hull, Newcastle, and Lcith. By this means he believed that all the reasonable requirements of the internal trade might be satisfied, and that the main bulk of the cattle would, as heretofore, come to London. To give an idea of the number of amend- ments to the bill that had been put on the paper, he might mention that they covered a space of not less than eight pages. They would see, therefore, that others as well as himself had been busy enough in trying to improve the measure. He hoped, however, that when the bill had been reprinted the. great majority of these amendments would disappear. He might add, that personally he had to thank Mr. Porster, the Vice-President of the Council, for his great courtesy, and particularly for the attention he had given to the amendments which he (Mr. Read) had proposed in behalf of the Chamber. To a great number of them he had acceded ; and although there were some which he did not exactly see his way clearly to the adoption of, he believed that if the House were in favour of them he would not on the part of the Government object to them. These embraced the first six of the resolutions which had been agreed to by this Chamber, and although he feared there would still be the battle for a real separate market to be fought in the House; he thought they might congratulate themselves on the kind way in which they had been met by the Government, and the prospect of ultimately having their desires carried into effect (cheers). Mr. Welby, M.P., said that as he had charge of the Bill for Preventing the Adulteration of Seeds, he had been requested by the Lincolnshire Chamber of Agriculture to communi- cate to this chamber that they had lately met and adopted the following resolution : " That this council being fully convinced that the adulteration of seeds is carried out to a great extent, and that such adulteration is detrimental to the agricultural in- terest, recommends that the Bill now before Parliament entitled an Act for Preventing the Adulteration of Seeds be supported by the Central Chamber of Agriculture and by the agricultural com- munity at large." They were all of them no doubt aware that there existed a vast amount of adulteration with seeds used both in agriculture and horticulture, and that this adulteration was not accidental, but willul. He was not going too far, he believed, when he said that the charge of wilful and deliberate adulteration had been made against the seed trade repeatedly, publicly, aud in the plainest possible language, and that it had been met either by entire silence, or if a denial had been given that it was of a very faint and qualified description. In short, he considered that it was virtually admitted by the seed trade that the custom of adulteration had become so deep-rooted and inveterate that it had got beyond the efforts of individuals to stem the tide, and that many persons, though sorely against their will and their conscientious convictions have felt them- selves compelled to give way to the current, from the natural desire not to injure their business and their families by setting themselves up against what appeared to be the opin- ion of the trade. At the same time he wished to say that in the seed trade as in others there might be honourable excep- tions. In fact, he had the best of reasons for saying that there were in the trade honest men, who, regardless of all conse- quences, sold to their customers only the articles they professed to sell. With this reservation the broad facts of the case were that one-third of the whole quantity of seed which farmers put into the ground was of a pernicious quality, or if not, at the best worthless rubbish. That rubbish might be classed under these three heads : Pirst, old seeds which had lost their vitality to a greater or less degree simply from having been kept too long. Second, killed seeds, of which the vitality or germinating power was lost by any process of steaming, scald- ing, kiln-drying, baking, fumigating or other artificial means. And third, dyed seeds, that was to say seeds made to bear a spurious appearance by colouring, dyeing, sulphur-smoking, or other artificial means. With regard to old seed, the Bill did not propose to deal with it at all, and that for obvious reasons. Not merely the different kinds of seeds, but even the same seeds in different years retained their vitality for a greater or less length of time ; and it would be impossible even for the wisdom of Parliament to draw the hard and distinct line at which the power of germination ceased ; and it would be equally difficult to define the period beyond which they might be kept. The case of killed seeds was entirely different. With them there must be wilful, deliberate, and intentional N N 2 524 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. fraud ; and it prevailed to such an extent that it had become notorious that there was a distinct branch of trade which ex- isted solely for the manipulation of seeds in this way. Swede turnip seed, the average wholesale value of which was 25s. to 30s. a bushel, was mixed with killed rape of the value, say of 8s. a bushel ; and white and yellow turnip or common turnip seed, value 20s. to 25s. a bushel, was mixed with German or Indian rubsen, value 7s. to 8s. a bushel. But to his mind the system of colouring was even worse than that of killing the seed ; the latter, though telling no tales, doing no harm. The purpose for which coloured seeds were most used was in adul- terating clover. Red cloverseed was mixed with trefoil, killed, and dyed pale yellow or purple, to suit the sample for which it was intended. Trefoil was now worth 16s. the cwt. Eug- glish red clover 80s. to 90s. the cwt. Very low priced foreign red clover was also dyed for the same purpose. Cheap brown and white clover was prepared with sulphur, which gave it a bright straw colour, resembling that of the finest quality with which it was mixed, and the process to a great extent destroyed the germinating power. Then there was cloverseed (Alsyke) : cheap white clover was dyed for the purpose of mixing with this seed. And the more expensive kiuds of cabbages, brocoli, cauliflowers, &c, were also adulterated with killed turnip and rapeseed, which in many cases was not one-twentieth of the value. These adulterations applied to almost every descrip- tion of seeds and vegetables grown by the farmer ; and it was to prevent and punish such offences that the provisions of the Bill were directed. The third clause of the measure made the killing or dyeing of seeds a penal offence ; the fourth and fifth made the selling or offering for sale, or the buying, importing, receiving, or having in the possession for the purposes of sale any killed or dyed seeds, did the like ; the fifth placed in the same category the selling as " neat seeds" any seeds with which killed or dyed seeds had been mixed ; and the sixth clause prescribed the penalty of £20 for the first offence and £50 for the second offence, upon conviction before two or more justices in the county, or a stipendiary magistrate in the me- tropolis, who would also be empowered to publish the name, occupation, place of abode, and place of business, and par- ticulars of the conviction, in the newspapers at the expense of the offender. An appeal, however, would be allowed to Quarter Sessions. A gentleman of high authority, Professor Buckman, had suggested that the measure would be inoperative unless Government inspectors were appointed to analyse seeds, and inquire into the matter. There might be some value iu the suggestion ; and he was extremely loath to set himself up against such an authority. At the same time, he was equally reluctant to accept it, because there would be the risk of pro- voking the opposition of the Board of Trade, which it was of the utmost importance that they should deprecate. The Pre- sident of the Board of Trade had intimated his dislike of such measures as that ; and it would be unwise, therefore, to saddle the bill with a provision of the sort. It was also worthy of consideration whether, at the present moment, they were pre- pared to pay such an official out of the county rate (Hear, hear). He did not himself think that the Bill would be in- operative. If it turned out to be so, it could only be for one of two reasons. The knowledge of its existence might alarm offenders, and thus put an end to their malpractices, which was perhaps the best solution of the difficulty ; or, on the other hand, purchasers might be apathetic, and neglect to avail themselves of its provisions (Hear, hear). It would be in the power of the farmer, by the application of a simple test, to ascertain whether the seed he bought germinated in a proper proportion or not ; and a chemist could inform him whether the deficiency in germination was due to natural or artificial causes. And if it appeared that it was due to the latter, there would be no difficulty in obtaining a conviction under the Act. Mr. Bead's name, with his own, was on the back of the bill ; and he thought they could not have a better guarantee for the sound and good intentiou with which it was brought forward. In conclusion, the lion, gentleman moved that a petition from the Chamber in favour of the Bill be signed by the Chairman, and presented to Parliament. Mr. C. Sharpe, in seconding the resolution, remarked that the bill could have no other than a beneficial effect upon the agricultural interest. As to the appointment of Government inspectors, as recommended by Professor Buckman, he did not think it was at all uecessarv ; for it would be the interest of seedsmen themselves to take care that they were not ex- posed to unfair competition, and it might be safely left in the hands of the public to see that adulteration was not practised to any great extent. The adulteration of seeds was a question that had occupied the atten- tion of the trade for many years. Forty years ago a Bill was promoted on the subject ; but it failed, through want of support. It was rather singular that last year, when the matter was again receiving the consideration of the wholesale houses, at the same time another distinct body was holding meetings, and appointing committees for its investigation (he alluded to the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society) ; and it so happened that the two bodies were moving in the same direction, without knowing anything about each other's plans. The result was that the seedsmen found out that of themselves they were quite unable to overcome the difficulties existing in the trade, and that the only course of proceeding was by means of a Bill in Parliament. The motion was agreed to unanimously. Mr. Neild (Manchester) then moved the following resolu- tion, prepared by the Business Committee : " Considering the oppressive operation of the Excise restrictions upon the manu- facture of malt and of beer, the loss to consumers occasioned by the cumulative incidence of the malt duty, and the consequent discouragement given to the production of sound and whole- some beer and to the growth of barley, this chamber supports the recommendation of the House of Commons' Select Com- mittee, and is of opinion that, until the amount of the malt duty can be spared from the revenue, considerable benefit would ensue from repealing the tax on malt and obtaining an equivalent in the least objectionable manner from beer." If he were to speak the sentiments of the agricultural community on this occasion, he should ask for a total repeal of the impost. Moreover, if Mr. Cobden, the apostle of free trade, had lived, he believed that ere this it would have been swept away (Hear, hear). At the passing of the measure abolishing the corn law it seemed to be a general understanding that the malt duty would be the next thing to go, and the fact was that the only ground upou which it was maintained was avowed to be the financial considerations connected with the revenue. But if they were to wait until there was a surplus in the Exchequer sufficient to justify repeal, he feared that they would have to wait till doomsday. Iu the manufacturing districts there was increasing sympathy with the farmer on this sub- ject, and that one of the boldest advocates for repeal was Mr. Pielden, a great cotton lord, who during his recent canvass of the division of the West Riding, which he now represented in Parliament, found that his opinions on the question were endorsed by the woollen manufacturers of Leeds, Bradford, and other places. There were so many ingredients mixed up in the manufacture of beer at the present moment that the malt duty did not fairly represent what would be the amount yielded by substituting a [beer tax. According to returns, however, a duty of 2d. per gallon upon beer would compensate for the whole £6,000,000 now derived from the malt tax ; and he thought it was not too much to say that in ten years that amount would be doubled, whilst the transfer of the tax from the malt-house to the brewery would operate fairly and justly towards producers and consumers and all parties concerned. Mr. W. Biddell (West Suffolk), in seconding the resolu- tion, said that the first effect of substituting a duty on beer would be to save from 7 to 8 per cent, in the process of malting at certain times of the year. The operation was frequently commenced in October and November, and mashing did not take place until the following July or August. During that period, therefore, the duty was accumulating and the interest on the capital employed going on. Allowance must also be made for bad debts ; and, putting these various items together, he had no doubt they would come to a charge of 7 or 8 per cent, arising from the action of the duty on the raw material. The proposed charge would also unfetter the maltster in carry- ing on his operations, and the farmer would be free to use his produce for feeding purposes. But, in his opinion, the chief argument in support of the alteration was, that it would get rid of the great inequalities in the assessment of the malt tax on the various kinds of barley (Hear, hear) ; for at pre- sent the main objection to the impost was the pressure with which it bore upon the secondary qualities, and which in- feriority was often the result of high farming (Hear, hear). By high farming' a much greater quantity was produced to the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. &5 acre, but it was not so good in quality ; aud so much did the malt tax interfere with it that in many cases a large crop was less profitable than a small one. This objection too would be removed. Another strong reason in favour of transferring the duty was the vast increase in the quantity of sugar used in the manufacture of beer, and which had rendered it more neces- sary than ever that the Inland Revenue otliccrs should exercise a strict surveillance on the breweries. This restriction, he thought, might be removed from the maltster. Some persons seemed to think there would be a difficulty ; but, in his opinion, it was one of those cases in which if there was a will there was also a way, and that it might be done without injuring or impairing the revenue (Hear, hear). In short, all he asked for was, that the brewer might be placed on the same footing as the distiller, by levying the duty upon the manufactured article, and not on the raw material. He hoped therefore that eventually they would be able to convince the Govern- ment of the propriety of the measure. Judging from what had passed when, some time ago, a deputation waited upon Mr. Gladstone, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, on the subject, he came to the conclusion that there was a latent idea in the mind of the right hon. gentleman that the proposal was worthy of his consideration, aud that was what all agricultural ques- tions had not received at his hands. He (Mr. Biddell) however entreated his brother farmers never to lose sight of ultimate total repeal ; and when the palmy days of a surplus returned — that was to say, a surplus produced not by forestalling the income of the next year, but a real, legitimate surplus, after income had met expenditure — he hoped they would put in a claim, not for total and immediate abolition, for there would never be a surplus adequate to that, but for a reduction say of 10 per cent, in the tax to begin with (cheers). Mr. W. Gardner (East Kent) considered it to be most important that there should be a tax on beer rather than upon malt or the raw material, barley. He had been a brewer of unmalted barley for some years, and had produced a very good article, and if he, as a private person, brewing in an old farm- house kitchen, and with the disadvantages which he must neces- sarily labour under, could do this, surely the brewers, with all the modern appliances, and the scienceof chemistry at their com- mand, could use barley most advantageously in an unmalted state. Of course, he did not use barley alone, without any malt what- ever. What he did was, to mix them in the proportion of three fourth-parts of barley to one fourth-part of malt ; aud Dr. Voelcker and other chemists would tell them that barley might be converted into malt in the mash-tub by the addition of a very small proportion of malt ; and the Erench chemists, Pay en and Persoy, stated that one part of malt was sufficient to convert nineteen parts of barley into saccharine in the mash-tub. If, then, good beer could be brewed from barley mixed with malt, there must be a considerable saving. In some instances the results he had attained had been better from barley than from malt. He had had a very poor return when brewing from malt alone ; and, had he not received in- structions from a brewer, when brewing from malt, he should have said it was attributable to his own bad management. The saccharine matter produced from malt alone, as shown by the saccharoraeter, was 701bs., in comparison with an average of 801bs., and iu one case as much as SGlbs., from barley. Moreover, inferior barleys might be used, even if somewhat sprouted. His beer, brewed from barley sprouted in the field, and not at home, was very good indeed. The results in a pe- cuniary point of view were these : He used six bushels of bar- ley to two bushels of malt. The barley, estimated at 5s. a bushel, cost £1 10s. ; the malt, at 8s. 6d. a bushel, 17s. ; and the two sums together amounted to £2 7s- The produce in beer was four barrels, the raw materials for which, therefore, cost about 12s. a barrel. On the other hand, if he used malt alone, at 68s. per qr., or 8s. 6d. a bushel, the cost would be 17s. a barrel. Consequently, there was a saving of 5s. a barrel in favour of the use of barley and malt mixed. With barley at 50s. and malt at 78s. a qr., the per-centage of saving would be 56 ; and with barley at 40s. and malt at 68s. a qr., there would be a saving of 70 per cent. That barley might be advantageously used in the manufacture of beer was dis- covered a few years ago ; and this was the reason that the Excise had introduced the use of rollers. If the tax on malt could be shifted to beer, he was certain that it would be bene- ficial to all parties concerned, whether producer, manufac- turer, or consumer, and add materially to the revenue (Hear) . Mr. R. H. Masten (Staffordshire), condemned the malt-tax as a great injustice, and advocated its abolition on the princi- ples of free trade. He had endeavoured to avail himself of Mr. Gladstone's Bill relating to the malting of barley for the feeding of cattle ; but the fact that it was fettered with the condition that the barley must be mixed with linseed or oil- cake rendered it useless in damp seasons. He should much prefer the substitution of a beer duty to the continuance of the malt-tax ; and one reason was that it would confer a boon upon the cottager classes by encouraging them to brew their own beer at home. Mr. Lett (North Yorkshire), drew attention to the fact that maize or Indian corn was being extensively introduced for malting purposes ; and he had been informed by an excise- officer that it made a better quality of malt than barley. Would it not be well, therefore, to wait awhile aud see how this worked, and not adopt a resolution on the sub- ject ? Sir G. Jenkinson, M.P., remarked that that did not in the least affect the question before the Chamber; for whether malt was made from barley or maize, it would be equally liable to the duty. Mr. Knigiit, M.P. said that during the quarter of a cen- tury that he had satin Parliament he had always voted against the malt-tax ; but he feared the movement had made no pro- gress all that time ; fo: the farmers as a class were by no means unanimous upon the subject. The Scotch, Irish, and Welsh farmers did not care about it, and the great bulk of the farmers of the North of England and the cattle-producing counties were indifferent to it. Some other counties and parts of coun- ties were unanimous against the tax, and had worked nobly for its abolition. It was quite certain that no grosser case of fiscal injustice could exist ; yet singular to say, the cause did not make progress. In this Chamber farmers had combined for purposes which would be advantageous to the agricultural community in general, and one subject which they took at heart was that of local taxation, a question respecting which the interest was universal (Hear, hear). Upon this they were prepared to make a great effort ; but he questioned much, if they were inclined to make a similar effort upon the question of the malt-tax (Expressions of dissent). Mr. Wade (Devonshire), was of opinion that the farmers had a real grievance in the malt-tax. It was no doubt a hard- ship on the growers of barley which had become discoloured or damaged, and which the tax prevented them from using on their farms. But he preferred allowing the farmer a drawback upon all malt consumed on his land to adopting the resolu- tion. Mr. Startin (Warwickshire), moved as an amendment the omission from the original resolution of the words " until the amount of the malt duty can be spared from the revenue." He thought it would be impossible to repeal the malt duty un- conditionally unless they were prepared to take off the wine and spirit duties at the same time ; but the transfer of the tax to beer was justified on the principles of political economy. He objected to the words he proposed to strike out on the ground that the science of political economy would not endorse them. The amendment was seconded by Mr. Eord (Warwickshire), and opposed by Sir G. Jenkinson, M.P., who, speaking in favour of beer tax, stated that he understood many large brewers did not object to brewing licences in lieu of the malt duty. What he recommended then, was, that they should press upon the Government to tax brew-houses and set free the farmer's corn. Mr. Webb (Worcestershire), supported the original motion, aud observed that a brewing licence would tax beer whether made from sugar or maize. Mr. Greene, M.P., as representing the Suffolk Chamber, said that although he was one of those unfortunate men, the great brewers, to whom allusion had been made that day, he had never voted in the House of Commons in favour of the malt tax, but bad always walked out of the House when the ques- tion had come forward. In his county the farmers were very much divided in opinion on the desirability of repealing the tax ; for whilst there were many points of great hardship about it, there was no doubt it had operated in favour of the growers of fine barley. And where it acted injuriously was in preventing the farmer from using sprouted barley as food for his cattle. One objection which lie entertained to repeal was 526 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. founded upon considerations connected with the revenue. True, it had been made a poor man's question ; but the poor man could brew at home now as well as if the malt duty were taken off, seeing that a bushel of malt only cost 6s. or 7s. If the duty were put upon beer, the Legislature would not allow brewing at home free of any tax, and if that were added to the cost where would be the advantage ? As to the excise re- strictions enhancing the price of beer, he could only say that they had been so far relaxed that they did not prejudicially affect the manufacture of the article. He had a lively recol- lection of the old beer duty, aud he believed that with the many kinds of beer now produced the difficulty of collecting the duty would be almost insurmountable. At the same time he felt that the farmer had a right to complain of the hardship of not being allowed to convert to many valuable uses an article which he grew upon his farm, and if he could see his way clearly to repeal, and there were a unanimous opinion among farmers themselves on the subject, he would gladly vote for the measure. Upon the whole he thought they would do well to give it further consideration before making it a great ques- tion, especially when there were other subjects which were of much more pressing importance to the agricultural interest generally. Mr. J.Eielden, M.P. (Yorkshire), declared that as to the evils of the malt-tax, or as to its " iniquity," and he used that word advisedly, no one who had studied the subject could have any doubt whatever, In the first place it was enormous in amount ; for Sir Eitzroy Kelly had shown that, whilst yielding ;£7,000,000 to the Exchequer, it really took £20,000,000 out of the pockets of the consumer. Heretofore they had always gone for total repeal, and over and over again they had been met with the statement that they would never have a revenue to allow of it ; that the repeal of the duty would only reduce the price of beer by one farthing a quart and that that would be inappreciable, and go into the pockets of the public brewers and not of the consumers. But it was a remarkable thing that the very men who talked thus and voted against repeal on that ground, proposed to take off £900,000 of duty upon the im- portation of foreign corn ; and he presumed that as they did so they imagined that it would relieve the consumers of wheat. It would be a mistake to treat the question as one that solely concerned farmers: he contended that the repeal of the tax would give relief to the whole labouring class of the kingdom. The arguments against the measure having had the effect of gaining over a vast number of persons who were either indifferent to, or ignorant of, the subject, he had arrived at the conclusion that the opponents of the tax would take stronger ground if they placed it upon the same footing as the hop duty in the shape of a brewing licence. Let him not be misunderstood. They must not for one moment think of going for a " beer- duty :" for the whole of the evidence of the officers of Excise given last year before the splect committee of the House of Commons went to show that that was impossible, and that the resistance of the Excise to the substitution of a beer duty would be so great that no Ministry, whether Liberal or Con- servative, would venture to entertain the question. A licence to brew was quite another matter, and the officers of Excise who were examined before the committee, though naturally unwilling to adopt a change which would involve the recasting of the machinery of collection, when pressed by Col. Bart- telot to say whether the difficulties in the way of such a licence were insurmountable, frankly admitted that they were not (Hear, hear). That was a very important point, and if they approached the House of Commons and the Chancellor of the Exchequer with such a proposition he was convinced they would do so with more power and a better chance of gaining in the end the remedy that they sought than by asking for total repeal (cheers) ; for they would rest upon the principle which free-traders had universally acknowledged — namely, that it was wrong to tax the raw material (cheers). Having studied the subject thoroughly, be believed it could not be disputed that, taking the price of barley on the average of a series of years, the malt-tax that went into the exchequer amounted to 70 per cent, upon it, and that the amount extracted from the consumer of beer was at least 140 per cent. This proved that the Government and the House of Commons, which refused to make a change, did so, not because they would lose so much revenue, for that it was proposed to give them ; but simply from a determination that the ratepayer should bear a burden which did not benefit the State, for the encouragement of a huge " monopoly :" he used that word notwithstanding the presence of Mr. Greene ; for he contended that the brewing trade was a huge monopoly (cheers), and the proof of that was the enormous fortunes that were made out of it (renewed cheers. A voice : " How about cotton ?" — a laugh, and " oh, oh !"). He had endea- voured to calculate what would be the effect of substituting a brewing licence for the malt duty, and he found that good beer, without the malt duty, could be brewed by the private brewer for l^d. a quart. It was given in evidence before the Committee, by Mr. Allsopp, that he could deliver beer cheaper than the consumer could brew it : therefore he could brew it at l^d. a quart (Hear, hear). That gentleman was also asked what was the cost of retailing it, and he replied 40 per cent. ; but he (Mr. Fielden) would take it at 100 per cent., that would be another l^d., and wrould make the total cost of the beer sold to the consumer and retailed over the counter at the public-house 2Jd. a quart. Then, there was the small duty of a halfpenny a quart, which, according to Mr. Milner Gibson, would go into the exchequer ; so that the price of a quart of beer sold over the counter would be 3d. instead of 6d., which it was now. Thus, taking Mr. Allsopp's calculation, by the substitution of brewers' licences for the malt tax the price of beer would be reduced one-half (Hear, hear). With regard to the effect of relieving cottage brewers from the ope- ration of the malt tax, they heard it said sometimes that the present was a " working-man's Parliament ;" and once it was got to admit that the brewer's licence was a better method of raising the revenue than the malt tax, was it likely, he asked, that " the working-man's parliament" would attempt to place it upon the man who brewed at home, and followed out a custom which tended to promote sobriety aud morality ? The last return that had been published, that to September 1866, was sufficient to illustrate liis argument. By that it appeared that the amount of malt which paid duty in that year was 52^ millions of bushels. And how much of that was used by the public brewers ? Fifty-one millions of bushels ! Only a million and a-half of bushels, therefore, were used by private brewers. Now, supposing the tax to be a halfpenny a quart, or 6s. a barrel, and to be raised by a brewer's licence instead of the malt duty ; moreover, making no allowance for increased consumption, though wheu the price had been reduced one-half the increase must be enormous, the loss to the revenue would be only about £200,000 (Hear, hear). Now if this case were fairly made out and fairly put before the House of Commons, no Government could long resist such an argument, because it would meet the objection so often put forward that the money could not be spared (Hear, hear). It would be seen that the revenue would not suffer — that, on the contrary, by adopting the plan suggested, the increased consumption would be so enormous, as probably to lead to a great increase of revenue from this source (Hear, hear). Kecurring to the subject of cottage brewing, he was desirous of encouraging habits of sobriety and morality among the working classes ; and he held that if the cottager could be induced to brew his beer at home, more would be done to pro- mote sobriety and morality than all the lectures on Teetotalism that had ever been delivered (cheers). He did not speak with- out experience on this part of the subject, because in the manufacturing districts — not in the centres of the large towns, but in the villages and the outskirts of large towns — there was an immense amount of cottage-brewing going on ; as for ex- ample in the neighbourhood of Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Bradford, and Todmorden. He had been at the trouble of collecting some statistics respecting the matter, and from these he found that of 9,000 families who were visited 76 per cent, brewed their own beer, and it was the result of his own per- sonal observation that the people who did so were, as a rule, the most sober, intelligent, and well-conducted of the popula- tion. As to levying a tax upon private brewing, he had no objection to its being borne by gentlemen who brewed at home ; but the amount would be so small in itself, and the trouble of collecting it would be so great that the Excise would give it up when they once came to see the matter in its true light (Hear, hear). Mr. Turner (West Kent) remarked that in his county the great bulk of the barley grown was a strong, good, and useful kind ; but as it was not quite A 1, it was not used for malting, and the Excise restrictions upon the farmers were in conse- quence felt to be a very great hardship. If the duty were re- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.! 527 pealed, that would conic into Immediate consumption as malt, because it was of a wholesome character though not of the finest description. In these days he supposed agriculturists must be thankful for small mercies. If, therefore, they could not succeed in accomplishing the greater object, he would suggest that farmers should be allowed to brew their owu beer from barley not saleable for malting purposes, which was the case with himself and many of his neighbours, and that he should receive a drawback for doing so. Mr. Corrance, M.P. (East Suffolk), said it was im- portant to consider how far the licence system would affect the working classes in the towns. For he looked upon it as essentially a poor man's question, and as a poor man's question it would sooner or later find its way into the House of Commons. Before troubling themselves, however, to devise a substitute for the tax, why not ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to do it by one of his conjuring tricks ? Look at the right hon. gentleman's startling budget ! There was a conjurer's trick ! It was thought there was a de- ficit of two or three millions ; and, lo aud behold, up started a surplus ! And what did he do with it ? With a portion of it he took off the shilling duty on foreign corn ; and this was a strong argument in favour of the case for the repeal of the malt-tax (Hear). For they had been threatened that if that tax were removed, they should lose the shilling duty on the importation of corn. That duty was now gone, aud he looked upon it as a step towards dealing with the malt-tax. He could not agree with Mr. Knight that, because the Cham- ber had other important subjects in hand, they should drop this. Let them rather bring all their claims before Parliament aud the Government, show that the agricultural community were burdened beyond their ability to bear, and never cease in their efforts to procure the remission of this most unfair im- post (Hear, hear). Capt. Craigie (Lincolnshire) noticed the omission by the previous speakers of all reference to the improved quality of beer which the proposed change in the duty might be expected to produce. At present there was no more deleterious com- pound than the beer sold in village public-houses ; and it could not be doubted that the cause of this was the excessive duty upon malt. The Chairman : Tt used to be said that two things were necessary conditions to the repeal of the malt-tax — a low price for barley, and a large surplus. At present the price of barley was high, and agriculturists did not feel the pressure of the tax when they had a small crop and high prices so much as when they grew a large crop and prices were low. With regard to a surplus revenue, it was certainly much easier to make one with a clever Chancellor of the Exchequer in office than the ordinary humdrum man of business ( Hear, and a laugh). He was sorry to observe that the Chamber, composed as it was of representatives of divers agricultural interests from all parts of the country, did not pull a little more together, that they had not left their prejudices behind them at home, and come prepared to assist one another in this impor- tant movement (Hear, hear). He was glad that there was no tax upon cider ; aud gentlemen from cider counties might, lie thought, be kind enough to help in re- moving the tax on malt (Hear, hear). If they considered what had been the effects of free trade, they would see that no class of the agricultural community had suffered so much as the growers of corn. He appealed to them, then, for their sympathy and aid ; and as there were many subjects iu which they were particularly interested, he engaged that the farmers of East Anglia, though not themselves especially concerned, would gladly give them their support (Hear, hear). Refer- ring to what Mr. Greene had stated with regard to the want of unanimity amongst the farmers in Suffolk on the question of the malt-tax, he ventured to say that, popular and respected as was the honourable gentleman, were he to canvass any county constituency in East Anglia, he would have as much chance of being returned to the House of Commons, if he did not pledge himself to vote for the repeal of the malt-tax, as he (the chairman) would have of being elected to repre- sent the City of London (Hear, hear, and laughter). To the question, how it was that use was not made of the advantages which were at the command of private brewers, he replied that it was for the simple reason that they did not know of the existence of these advantages. His own labourers, and almost all labourers in the eastern counties, brewed at harvest time ; and this year, he should, and lie hoped every other farmer would, take care that they were furnished not only with malt but with a precious good supply of barley. When, however, they began to brew from barley, he would undertake to say that the excise would soon step in and prevent them from doing so in the same manner as they had prevented the farmers from sprouting barley for their horses (Hear, hear). No doubt private brewers had certain advantages. In the first place, they did not pay the hop-duty, nor the extra duty on sugar. But they did not use sugar, for the simple reason that they did not know how ; aud they did not brew from grain because they did not know that they might. As intelli- gence spread, however, private brewing would become more general than some persons seemed to imagine. Why he had always endeavoured to get the malt-tax removed was to show working-men where the shoe really pinched. As long as the duty remained upon malt, it would be regarded as a tax upon the farmers ; but when it was placed upon beer, the artizans would know who really did pay the tax. Then, and then only, the farmers would have the working-men on their side ; and he believed that, if the working-classes helped in the matter, a Parliament elected by household suffrage, instead of passing budgets for the relief of the rich, would do something for the benefit of the poor (Hear, hear). The amendment was then withdrawn, and the original mo- tion agreed to nem. con. Sir Massey Lopes, M.P., presented the report of the sub- committee appointed by the Central Council on Tuesday, April 6th, to consider aud report upon the following pro- posals of Mr. H. Genge Andrews for a committee of the Chambers of Agriculture, to conduct the agitation upon the subject of local taxation, " That in the opinion of this Council the ratepayers in towns are deeply interested in the removal of the exemptions from the poor-rate assessment of upwards of £200,000,000 of income arising from personal property, but that no adequate means have yet been adopted for spreading among them correct information on this important question. That such information might be diffused by the employment of competent lecturers, and the circulation of suitable printed matter, if sufficient funds could be raised for the purpose. That a committee be formed, to consist of one representative from the Central Chamber, and one from each local Chamber ; sucli committee to be called the ' Poor-rate Assessment Com- mittee for England and Wales,' its special object the formation of a common fund by contributions from each Chamber, aud generally to conduct the agitation against the exemption from poor-rate of incomes arising from personal property. These resolutions carried, it will be moved ' That the secretary send a copy to each member of the councilor managing com- mittee of each local association, with a letter inviting them to appoint representatives to meet at the Salisbury Hotel, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, on the first Monday iu May, at which meeting the committee would organize itself by appointing a chairman, vice-chairman, and secretary, and proceed to discuss ulterior arrangements.' " Upon this the sub-committee in their report recommended — " 1. That concerted measures be adopted by the ratepayers of counties and the ratepayers of towns to remove or modify the present unequal pressure of local taxa- tion.— 2. That a committee be appointed by the Council, at its meeting on Tuesday, May 4th, to diffuse information on the subject of local taxation, by the circulation of printed matter, or by such other means as may seem desirable. — 3. That such committee be termed the ' Local Taxation Com- mittee,' and that it consist of members, five to be a quorum. — L That the Local Taxation Committee be composed of the following persons, appointed by the council on April 6th, namely, Sir Massey Lopes, M.P., Sir G. Jenkinson,M.P., Mr. Corrance, M.P., the Rev. F. C. M. Pigott, Mr. R. Jasper More, Captain P. Craigie, Mr. Genge Andrews, Mr. Richard Varden, Mr. Daniel Long ; and the following persons nomi- nated by deputed members from the Chambers, on Monday, May 3rd, namely, Mr. C. S. Read, M.P. (ex-officio, as chair- man of the Central Chamber), Col. Tomline, M.P., Mr. J. S. Gardner, Mr. Arthur Startin, Mr. J. Webb, Mr. T. Duckham, Mr. J. Stratton, Mr. T. Randell, Mr. J. H. Hodsall, Mr. W. Nevill, Mr. J. Bromley, Rev. C. W. Everett, with power to add to their number. — 5. That the Local Taxation Committee be empowered to make rules and regulations, to appoint officers, and to raise a special fund by contributions from the Chambers, or by private subscriptions, and that the committee report its 528 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. proceedings when called upon by the council.— 6. That the Local Taxation Committee be instructed to put itself in com- munication with Chambers of Agriculture, Farmers' Clubs, and all other bodies interested in the subject of local taxation, inviting them to appoint sub-committees of ratepayers to co- operate with the Local Taxation Committee. — 7. That it be an instruction to the Local Taxation Committee that its pub- lications should be designed to expose the injustice and in- equalities of the present poor-rate assessment, and of the incidence of other local burdens, and also to promote the dis- cussion of remedial measures ; but that the council will not be held responsible for any views or policy expressed in such publications, unless the same views or policy have been re- solved upon at the council meeting." The Secretary announced that the subscriptions already promised by various local Chambers amounted to £150. Mr. Pell, M.P., and Mr. T. Willson (Rugby) seconded the adoption of the report ; and a discussion followed, in winch Earl Fortescue, Lord Egerton, Sir M. Lopes, Mr. Duckham, Mr. Wade, and others bore a part. It served to elicit an explanation that the Chamber was in no way com- mitted to any particular scheme for remedying the evils com- plained of in the present mode of assessment, and that the idea of employing paid lecturers had been already abandoned. The motion was agreed to. Mr. T. Willson moved, and Mr. Genge Andrews seconded, the following resolution, prepared by the business committee : " That, while approving the priuciple of elective valuation boards, and a uniform table of deductions from gross value for obtaining a common basis of rateable value, as proposed by the Valuation of Property Bill, this Chamber is of opinion thai the operation of the Bill should be limited to local taxation ; that the clauses giving powers to the surveyor of taxes are objectionable ; that the final court of appeal should be not the county court, but the valuation board ; and that actual rent should not be fixed by the Act as the minimum of gross value." To this, Captain Craigie proposed, as an amendment : " That this Chamber approves of the object of the Valuation of Property Bill, in arriving at uniformity of Assessment ; but, in view of the opinions it has lately expressed as to the great injustice, on principle, of the present entire ratal system, it must withhold its support from any measure which provides merely for the perpetuation of that system by a costly and cumbersome machinery." The amendment was seconded by Mr. Webb, and supported by Mr. S. Stanhope and Mr. Biddell, and eventually carried by a considerable majority. In putting the question, the Chairman also expressed his concurrence in its principle, but doubted its policy. It seemed to say that, because they had something bad, they would take care not to make it better — that they would not allow it to be reformed, in order that it might appear more odious in the eyes of the community. Before separating, the Council agreed to hold a meeting in June to consider the County Financial Boards Bill, which is to be introduced in the House of Commons on the 11th instant, and the over-preservation of ground-game. The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the Chairman. THE VALUATION OF PROPERTY BILL The main provisions of this bill were discussed by the West Suffolk Chamber of Agriculture, at Bury St. Edmund's, on Wednesday, May 12, when Mr. Bartlett introduced the sub- ject, and submitted the following resolutions : — " That assessment on laud shall be made on its natural value, derived from its producing quality. " That assessment upon land beyond such natural value is a tax upon the stock-in-trade of the producer. " That rent is presumptive evidence of the value, and should not be departed from save where the occupier can prove it to be beyond the natural value ; or per contra, where the assess- ment committee or any person appealing can show it to be below its natural value. " That any persoii appealing against the assessment, where such assessment is up to rental, is bound to prove his ground of appeal. " That assessments made upon the natural value of the land will set at rest the question of game, as one value shall be rental ; and where such value is reduced by keeping game (Mich land being under lease), the excess of value so assessed shall be charged upon the owner until the expiration of the lease " That the prices of produce in making assessments shall be hose on which the tithe rent-charge is made." Mr. Bartlett explained that the resolution as to the game would apply to such land as was let to the tenants at an abate- ment of rent for the injury they suffered by die game ; and a very pretty infliction that was, he could tell them. It would be very unjust that the assessment of the land in such a case should fall upon the tenant when the game was preserved for the benefit of the landlord. Considerable discussion took place as to assessing laud at its natural value, and the difficulty seemed to be as to game. Mr. Huddleston objected to the Bill altogether, and other gentlemen approved of it as an endeavour to equalise the assessment. Mr. Paine proposed, as an amendment, " That instead of the natural value, the assessment of land should be made upon the rent." The value of laud, he said, is discovered between the landlord and the tenant, inasmuch as the one will exact all that he can, and the other pay as little as lie can. Mr. Sparke preferred the Assessment Committee to the machinery provided by the Bill. Mr. Bartlett's first resolution was defeated, and the amend- ment was not seconded. The President (Major F. M. Wilson), who an-ived when the discussion had reached this point, said he agreed with some of Mr. Bartlett's propositions most decidedly. One of these was the game question ; as to the rating of the land up to its full value, as if there was no game upon it, game did injury to the neighbouring proprietors, and Mr. Bartlett's pro- posal would probably solve the difficulty as to the rating of game. One other point in the Bill with which he did not agree was that as to the appeal to the County Court judge. The County Court judge was a lawyer of some standing, but hardly capable of forming an opinion as to the value of land. The Quarter Sessions or the Assessment Committee were better able to do that, therefore why go to the County Court ? The Chairman (Mr. Biddell) then read the second resolu- tion, which was seconded by Mr. Manfield, who observed that one of the most objectionable clauses of the Bill was that empowering the Surveyor of Taxes to enter an appeal, and to saddle the respondent with the costs. The resolution was carried unanimously. The third was next debated, and Mr. Bartlett pointed out how the Surveyor of Taxes might, by the powers of the Bill, take advautage of the fact that a high price was paid by one man for accommodation lauds, to assess another tenant, or the other tenant on the same estate, at the same rental paid for the accommodation of land. Mr. Sparke said he could not understand the term " natural value." Natural value would, he presumed, be with grass and weeds upon it. He preferred the term to which they were all used, " improved annual value." Further discussion ensued upon this resolution, in the course of which Mr. Huddleston repeated that the Bill was unne- cessary, and said he felt strongly inclined to vote entirely against it. Mr. Bartlett and other members of the Chamber, how- ever, pointed out that the Bill would probably become law, and it was to the interest of the Chamber to modify it as far as pos- sible. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 529 Iii the course of tlie discussion an amusing episode oc- curred in the production, as a case in point to show how pro- perty was sometimes valued, of the recent proceedings at Mil- denhall. Mr. Salmon introduced this matter apropos of a statement, that where there was bond fide rcut paid that was the best criterion of value. Of course the rent must be bona fide, and that was what he had contended in the Mildenhall cases. Was it possible to value land as the committee did at Mildenhall sitting in the Bell ? (laughter). He had heard that the gentlemen who preceded the last committee valued the parish from the top of the steeple with a telescope (renewed laughter). Mr. Salmon spoke highly of the Bill of 1837, which he contended had worked well. Mr. Bead on behalf of the Mildenhall Committee, repudiated the assertion that they had sat at a public-house. A general opinion was expressed by several members in fa- vour of allowing things to remain as they are. The Chairman pointed out that by taking rent as the basis of the value, greater hardships would be indicted than by the present system. In cases where land was let for more than it was worth, he would not pity those who gave such a rent ; but the worst of it was that their rent would be taken as the rule in assessing other people. Ultimately the President proposed the following amend- ment : — " That this Chamber considers it desirable that a uniform system of valuation should be provided in every county ; but condemns the. present Bill as unnecessary, and in many par- ticulars objectionable, especially as to the arbitrary powers it gives to the Surveyor of Taxes, aud the County Court being constituted the Court of Appeal. The Chamber objects to the alteration of the present system which is working satisfac- torily." Mr. Boldero secouded the resolution, and it was carried. The other resolutions were then withdrawn by Mr.B.utTLETT, and a vote of thanks having been passed to him, the meeting separated. THE LAW OF HYPOTHEC. We, the uudersigned, in view of the coming debate in the House of Commons on the Bill for Abolishing the Law of Hypothec, beg to bring under the notice of Members of the Legislature the following extract from a speech by Lord Elcho in defence of the law, and the answer thereto, in the form of a letter to his lordship, by Mr. James C. Cunningham, Merchant, Edinburgh. — Janie Melviu, farmer, Bouuington ; John H. Hope, farmer, South Elphinstone ; John Eorman, farmer, Duncrawhill ; A. Ainslie, farmer, Dodridge ; George Hope, farmer, Eentonbarns ; A. Howden, farmer, Lawhead ; J. Harper, farmer, Snawdou ; A. Tweedie, farmer, Coats ; J. Hyslop, farmer, Stobshield. The following is an abstract from the speech of Lord Elcho delivered at Haddington on the 26th November, 1868, copied from the Haddingtonshire Courier of November 27 : " There is another party whose interests are said to be mixed up with this question, and that is the merchant — the manure merchant (Hear, hear, and applause). I wish to say a word upon that. I utterly and entirely repudiate this argument. It is said with regard to the manure merchant that he should share and share alike with the landlord in the proceeds of the tenant's effects when the tenant unhappily becomes bankrupt. Now I utterly and entirely repudiate the justice of this argu- ment (hisses and uproar). I see that a distinguished tenant- farmer shakes his head (laughter). Let me give a reason. I will assume a case. I assume that a man dies, and he leaves three sons, to each of whom he gives £10,000. The first son, wishing security for his property, and for such enjoyment as land can give, invests his £10,000 in land, for which he re- ceives, according to the authority of Mr. Bright, 3 per cent. The second invests his money by lending it out to traders and baukers on security at 5 per. cent. The third son, who is of a speculative turn of mind, is not satisfied with the security at 3 per cent., or even 5 per cent., he becomes (great noise). Hear the argument (hissing) . I think you see what is coming, and you don't like it (laughter and hisses). The third son in- vests his money as a manure merchant, at profits varying from 5 to 15 per cent, (hisses, groans, aud cheers). I say, then, that those who are prudent should derive the benefit, and those who speculate should run the risk; and that there is no justice in putting it, as an abstract question of justice, that the man who speculates from 5 to 15 per cent, should be put on an equal footing with the man who invests his money for 3 per cent, (cheers and hisses). I therefore repudiate wholly the justice of the argument as to the manure merchant." (The patience of the audience at this point seemed rapidly giving way, and the interruption grew louder and louder.) TO THE BIGHT HON. LORD ELCHO. Edinburgh, 10th December, 1868. My Loud, — I read your speech on the nomination day at Haddington with great interest, and my attention was arrested by your remarks on the law of hypothec. As I am particu- larly interested in having this law abolished, and as your lord- ship brought into prominence the special branch of commerce in which I am engaged — namely, the portable manure trade — and placed the claims of those who follow this trade in oppo- sition to the rights of the owners of land, I trust your lordship will pardon me for addressing you on the subject. I feel your position to be so untenable, and the measure of justice you would mete out to me and others so scant, that I can only suppose your remarks on hypothec were made with- out that calm consideration which the subject demands. I can partly understand your position, as some years ago my own opinions were not unlike those of your lordship, as ex- pressed on the hustings; but a careful perusal of the evidence before the Commission on Hypothec convinced me of my error, and I now believe that the law is indefensible, and must soon be abolished. Your present opinions and mine are in direct opposition. Thus, you say the law is just and good ; I say it is unjust aud bad. You say the claim of the owners of the soil is all-in-all, and must be satisfied in full at all hazards ; I say the claim for rent is no greater and no less than the claim of any other member of the community. You illustrate your position by an assumed case — "A certain raau had three sons, A, B, and C, and when he died he left each £10,000 ; A buys land, which can only yield 3 per cent. ; B lends his on security at 5 per cent. ; C becomes a manure merchant, and gets from 5 to 15 per cent." Your argument is — because A only gets 3 per cent., that, in the event of his tenant becoming insolvent, he is justly entitled to he paid in full out of the bankrupt estate ; and that he who has supplied the manure for the improvement of the land, must stand back, and only get his share after A has got 20s. in the pound. In my opinion there is a fatal flaw in this argument, and it is this — Who compelled A to invest his money in land at 3 per cent. ; wras he not free to do as B did, or as C did ? Till you can show that A acted under compulsion, there can be no reason why A should, by law, have privileges and preferences over the bankrupt of his tenant greater than his butcher, his baker, or his manure merchant. A moment's calm reflection may convince your lordship of the justice of this view of the question ; and I hope, as you are again a member of the Imperial Parliament, and may shortly be called upon to legislate on this question, that you will take a more just view than that you expressed during the worry and excitement of a contested election — that you will see that the claim for rent ranks no higher than any other just claim on a bankrupt's estate, and that, therefore, the law is unjust and must be abolished. But I do not '.think your lordship put the |whole matter fairly before the electors of East-Lothian, as, though the case you put may occur, it does so very seldom. Will you allow me to state a case, which is not an assumed one, and unhap- pily not without parallel, in illustration of the practical work- ing of the law ? The owner of one of the largest estates in Scotland lets a farm to a man who never had half the capital 530 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. necessary to farm it. The laud is undrained, but the landlord will neither drain it himself norenable the tenantto get Govern- ment money to do so. The tenant must, therefore, not only stock the faim, but, out of his totally inadequate capital, drain it, as his only chance of success. He then gets into diffi- culties ; never pays a rent in full, goes on for some years accumulating debts, and leaving every year a large sum of ar- rears of rent due to the landlord. The cause of all this is evident. He has sunk all his capital in drains, which is a permanent improvement, and has left himself nothing for the proper daily work of the farm, and now he only struggles on in the hope that some extra good years would give him relief. But, unfortunately for himself and others, a few bad years come instead. The landlord or factor sees the case is hope- less, and, without warning, puts his legal rights under the law of hypothec into force, roups off the poor man's crop and stock, and not only takes payment in full of all rent to which he is by law entitled (while his creditors get Is. 6d. per £1), but also re-lets the farm at a rise of rent based upon those im- provements which have been made partly by the tenant's own capital, and partly by that of his other creditors. What does your lordship, as a legislator pledged to make just laws, say to this not assumed case ? Is the law still just and righteous; or is it unjust, and ought it to be abolished ? But I take still further objections to your lordship's assumed case. Are all investments in land limited to a return of 3 per cent., and do all manure merchants make 15 per cent. ? I leave out of view the 5 per cent, to 15 per cent., as your lordship puts it ; because if a manure merchant only makes 5 per cent., I presume your argument will fall to the ground. I hold that there are great prizes to be got in the land mar- ket, if due attention be paid to it, and I can give instances where immense profits have been made by purchasing land. I kuow a property in Mid-Lothian that will give a return from minerals iu twenty years greater than the whole purchase money ; and is it not a fact that the value of land has risen, and is still rising ? I can point to laud in East-Lothian, bought in 1779 for £4,000, and let a few years ago at £ 1,000 per annum ; to another portion sold in the same year for £17,000, and again sold in 1797 for £45,000, and which would not now be parted with for almost three times that sum. Is it fair, then, to argue that land only gives 3 per cent. ? And, on the other side, is a manure merchant sure of 15 per cent. ? I think no one acquainted with the subject will say so. How many have lost their all in the struggle ; and if those who remain do sometimes realise 15 per cent., will anyone say that a commerce which, to be successful must stretch to almost every country in the world, is overpaid with an occasional return of 15 per cent. ? Your lordship does not seem to be fully aware of the very important position the manure merchant and cake importer occupies in regard to the Scotch tenant-farmer. The rents now exacted by land- lords cannot be paid without his agency. The sum expended on cakes and manures by almost all good farmers is not less than one-half the rent, and often greater than the whole ; so that the man who supplies these manures and feeding stuffs, almost plays as important a part in enabling the tenant to produce the crop as the landlord himself. When a break- down takes place, why should they not share aud share alike ? I must further add I consider the hypothec law is the great barrier to the advancement of agriculture. Your lordship cannot know as I do the great deficiency of capital in the hands ot tenant-farmers as a class. Men who have large capital will not become farmers, because they have to offer for farms against men who, with little money, offer large rents, trusting to a few good years to help them ; and if disappointed in this, hope to get a reduction of rent from the laird. Thus men of capital are kept back, and the rents of neighbouring sitting tenants are unjustly raised, and so the onward progress of British agriculture is arrested. I have no hesitation iu saying that, if hypothec were abolished and the game laws modified, the agricultural pro- duce of this country would, I doubt not, in thirty years be increased from 30 to 40 per cent. I regret that my remarks have extended to so great a length ; but looking, as I have done, for many years on your lordship as one anxious to frame laws according to justice, I cannot refrain from giving you the results of my own reflections on the working of the law of hypothec. Trusting your lordship will pardon the liberty I have taken, I am, my lord, your obedient servant, James C. Cunningham, Manure Merchant. THE PURE LINSEED CAKE COMPANY. At Boston, the adjourned meeting of the promoters of this company was held in the corn Exchange. There was a numerous attendance of farmers aud graziers, Captain Smith, of Horbling, in the chair. He opened the proceedings by, calling upon the secretary to read over (lie list of subscribers from which it appeared that the total number of shares then taken was 694, representing £6,940 capital. The Chairman referred to the question of site for the manufactory, and said that from the statistics they had been able to collect, and the facts they had gathered, there could be no doubt that Boston offered advantages much greater than Sleaford. He believed these advantages were so great that, with a capital of £30,000, they would be able to make cake at Boston, convey it to Sleaford by rail, and undersell the opposition company projected there. Captain Parker said their aim should be to select for their site that place at which they would be able to get their seed into the mill and their oil on board ship at the least possible expense. There could be no doubt, therefore, that Boston was far preferable to Sleaford. The Driffield Company found that Id. per quarter on the cost of getting their seed into their mill made a difference of £440 a-year in their expendi- ture. The difference in the cost of delivering seed at Boston and Sleaford would be lid. per quarter ; and supposing they should crush as much as the Driffield Company, that would amount to £4,440 a-year — a handsome profit in itself. Mr. Little dwelt at some length on the state of the cake trade, and designated the practices which prevail therein as " inlamous, abominable, and disreputable." With regard to Hull, about which much had been said as the centre of the crushing trade, the system in vogue there was so " rascally bad" that he felt much inclined to substitute the vowel E for the one which formed part of its name (laughter). As a specimen of the abominable system of adulterations practised by crushers, he might state that he had that day been informed by a gentleman wlio had been iu the trade that mahogany sawdust was repeatedly offered them by the large furniture makers of Manchester and elsewhere. This and other facts which he had obtained fully justified the strong adjectives he had made use of in describing the present state of the trade, and from the evils of wliich they could deliver themselves only by becoming tbeir own makers. Referring to the ques- tion of site, he fully endorsed all that had been said in favour of Boston ; in every respect, it was preferable to Sleaford. Mr. J. C. Simonds said Mr. Little had talked a great deal of bosh (laughter). He had been imposed upon. They had no right to go about the country saying they could not obtain pure linseed cake ; they could, if they would pay the price for it. He was not opposed to their starting a co-operative com- pany ; for he believed they would help him in so doing to edu- cate the farmers to appreciate a pure article. Mr. W. Mawer (of Stickney), a small manufacturer, though approving of every effort to beget a desire for pure cake, did not approve of large concerns such as that contem- plated by this company ; the smaller the works, the easier they were managed. Mr. Dean (of Dowsby) said their difficulty lay in not being able to know good cake from bad, and therefore they felt that their only remedy was to make for themselves. In doing so, however, they did not wish to infringe on the privileges of the private manufacturers. The Chairman then called for a show of hands as to the desirability of establishing a company, when the expression of opinion was unanimous. Shares were taken in the room, which raised the capital subscribed from £6,940 to £7,580. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 531 ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. DR. VOELCKER'S CHEMICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN 18C8. On Monday, May 10th, a lecture was delivered by Dr. Voelcker, at Hanover Square, on his chemical investigations in 1S63. The chair was taken by Mr, Wells. M.P. for Peter- borough. Dr. Voelcker said : Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen — The course that we pursue on the present occasion differs somewhat from the usual practice when I have had the pleasure of ad- dressing you on subjects under examination. On this occasion I have to give you a resume of what has to a great extent already appeared in print. I do not know which is the better of the two plans — to give a lecture or two on matters uuder consideration, and not yet completed, or to complete a subject under investigation, to issue the result to the members for them to criticise, and then to invite them to come here and pull me to pieces ; this plan at any rate gives me an opportu- nity of replying to any objections which may be made to opinions or statements which 1 may have made in public. I am not at all sure whether the experiment which is to be tried this morning be or be not a good one. My chief object, however, to-day will be to give you an abstract of some results of investi- gations which have already been published in a great measure in the Journal of the Society. I am afraid that my papers share the fate of many others which appear in that publica- tion ; that is, that they are not read by the great majority of the agricultural community. I cannot, however, blame the farmers of England for not reading chemical papers ; for how can a man understand chemical language if he do not — as is the case with many of the older farmers, those who have passed the meridian of life — understand the chemical alphabet ? I trust that as time advances we shall succeed iu our efforts to extend scientific education. Eor my own part I am exceed- ingly anxious to lend every possible assistance in the extension of scientific knowledge, not only on ray own subject but in all branches of such knowledge. I am sure that no man will ever take up geology without being led to study chemistry also. A man cannot be a successful cultivator of botanical or of geolo- gical science without acquainting himself to some extent with chemistry ; and if farmers are acquainted in some degree with chemical science, I shall have the gratification of having my chemical papers which appear in the Journal more extensively read than they are at present. I do not, indeed, take the neglect to read them much to heart ; for I do not think that in the present condition of educational matters that is any great discredit to a man who writes in a tolerably decent style, as I trust I do, being tolerably intelligible and not too long- winded, which is sometimes an excuse, and it is a very reason- able one, with agriculturists for not reading scientific state- ments. I have no doubt that by-and-by papers like mine will be read. In the meantime I must do the best I can under the circumstances ; and I will now endeavour to give you, as briefly as possible, an account of the chief points which have occupied my attention during the last two seasons, and more particularly the season which has just ended. The chemical work with which I am entrusted by the Society divides itself chiefly into three branches. In the first place I am engaged in making numerous analyses for the private use of members. Mauy of the reports of chemical analyses which I send out are interesting in various respects ; but it is not possible always to communicate them to the public at large, as they refer to mat- ters in which discretion is required on the part of the chemical professor who is consulted ; while some analyses are interest- ing only to the individual who sends a substance for investiga- tion. I shall not, therefore, say much under this head, espe- cially as you will find some of the more generally-interesting details in the chemical report which appeared in the last part of the Journal. Before I pass on, however, to speak more strictly of the scientific investigations with which I am occu- pied, I would just observe that at the present time the work which I have in hand for members of the Society is very ex- tensive ; and I believe this is in a great measure owing to a lecture delivered by me a short time ago at the Central Ear- mers' Club, in which I pointed out the enormous extent to which adulteration in manures and in food is now being carried on. I may here state that during the last fortnight I have had before me no less than six different samples of nitrate of soda shamefully mixed with common salt. A hope which I ex- pressed at the Central Farmers' Club that the eyes of farmers generally would be opened to the extent to which this evil pre- vails, seems to have been fulfilled. At any rate I have received during the last fortnight no less than six samples of nitrate of soda adulterated with common salt, some to the extent of 75 per cent., others of 30, and others in a smaller degree. At the present time I have in the laboratory four samples of adul- terated guano, the analyses of which are not yet completed, and I have other cases of adulterated manures in hand, i mention this point not because I am over anxious to get ana- lyses to perform for members of the Society in my laboratory ; indeed, I may say that I here speak from a truly unselfish motive, because, so far as I am concerned personally, the smaller the number of analyses I have for members of the So- ciety the better I am off in pocket ; and I am afraid that if the number increases as it has done lately I shall be obliged to apply to the Chemical Committee for additional assistance. However, in such a matter one ought not to take a narrow view ; and, in- deed, I believe that the more useful a man tries to be the more successful he will be ultimately. I am therefore quite prepared occasionally to make analysis at a non-paying rate. But, leaving this first branch of the duties with which I am entrusted by the Society, I would observe that^the second por- tion of my chemical duties consists in instituting experiments throughout the country. "We have excellent machinery in operation for conducting experiments in various parts of the kingdom. I am happy to say that I have been connected for the period of 14 years with the Royal Agricultural College where, in the midst of a purely agricultural district, I have enjoyed much of country life, and received much encourage- ment in my professional labours ; and I can truly say that my sojourn in the country prepared me for greater and more ex- tended usefulness now that I am resident in London. Al- though thoroughly inured to town life, I have not given up my old love ; but, whenever I have an opportunity of doing so, I fly to the country, where I do everything I can to encourage field experiments ; and I may add, that if I can at any time be instrumental in aiding gentlemen who are members of this Society, or who may become members of it, I shall be most happy to lend them a helping hand in instituting field experi- ments. The third branch of my duty is connected with purely scientific laboratory experiments. But let me in the first place give you a brief account of some of the field experiments which have been carried on for a number of years chiefly by former pupils of mine, who are now members of a club which may be called the field club of the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester. That is a club in the proceedings of which I take great interest ; because, as I have intimated, it includes many of my former pupils, men who are rising in the agricul- tural world, and who are willing and qualified to make trust- worthy and useful practical field experiments. Now I would refer especially to a series of experiments of clover seeds and on clover, some of the results of which were published in the last part of the Journal. Without wearying you with many details, I would allude to a series of experiments carried out in the year 1867-68 at Escrie Park Home Earm, near York, by my friend and former colleague, Mr. Coleman. In all my field experiments, I may remark, the same manuring substances, or their mixtures, were employed in the several localities in which the experiments were tried. They were the following : — Nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, mineral superphos- phate, common salt, muriate of potash, sulphate of potash, and sulphate of lime. I am always careful to have two plots upon which no manure is used. In preceding years I tried these various substances on heavy soils ; one of the ob- jects which I had especially in view being to ascertain under what circumstances the artificial supply of potash was attended 532 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. with practical benefit to the farmer. Speaking generally, I may say, the result was not favourable to the artificial supply of potash on most of the heavy soils. In the majority of cases the increase of produce was not sufficiently striking to repay the greater portion of the outlay attending the purchase of potash manuie ; while in many instances I could see no beneficial effect whatever resulting from the application of potash manures to heavy land. Now if we look at the chemi- cal composition of clays of a better description, we shall find that most of them abound in silicate of potash, and under the decomposing influence of atmospheric action they readily yield soluble potash. Indeed, in some of the experiments, there- suits of which I published some time back in the Journal, on the effect of water passing through the soil, it appeared that some kinds of liquid manure — very dilute liquid manure, con- taining but little potash, in passing through clay soils, actually became charged with potash, the drainage waters possessing more potash than the liquid manure contained in its natural condition. This shows clearly that on certain clay soils the application of potash manure is not desirable. I here al- lude more especially to such soils as the excellent one — -'I use the word " excellent" in a purely chemical point of view — of Mr. Mechi's farm at Tiptree. Mr. Mechi had to deal with a very unproductive clay soil ; but as it is full of mineral matters, he fouud the more he worked his land the better became his crops. In his case there was actually more potash removed from the land by passing the tank liquid through the soil than was contained in that liquid itself. Here we have a ready explana- tion of the fact, that in good clay soils an artificial supply of potash is not attended with any benefit to the person using it. I have, therefore, been anxious during the last year or two to try experiments, mainly in light soils, and a capital opportunity was afforded for this purpose in the case of the extremely poor soil of the Home Farm, belonging to Lord Wenlock. I gave the analysis of this soil in the Journal. It there appears that that soil contained as much as 01.8 (that is nearly 92) per ceut. of quartz sand, an exceedingly small quantity of potash, a mere trace of phosphoric acid, and very little lime. That soil was ascertained to be poor in every description of mineral matter which is necessary to bring agricultural produce to perfection ; but I had the gratification of finding that on such a soil the supply of the mineral food required for the clover crop is attended with the most bene- ficial results. Incidentally I had occasion to make some ob- servations with respect to the utility of nitrogenous manures ; and I believe that such manures will prove very useful to the practical farmer who has frequently to deal with a variety of soils, and ought therefore to be in a position to judge what description of manure is best suited to particular classes of soils. Now, reverting to the experiments which were made at Escrie, I find that whilst common salt — that is chloride of sodium — bad no effect on the produce, muriate of potash, that is, the compound of chlorine with potassium materially in- creased it. Soda is frequently a mere accidental constituent, which, in the form of chloride of sodium, indirectly tends to in- troduce food into the vegetable organism, but which in its turn is eliminated from the ripe produce. I find that chloride of sodium circulates in many plants, but that it does not enter into the chemical composition of the perfected seed of the plant. In perfectly ripe wheat you will find no chloride of sodium ; in perfectly ripe beans and seeds, and many other plants, you find hardly any chloride of sodium ; while this sub- stance circulates very freely in the green plant, and is productive of very great advantage to the general condition of the vegeta- tion. The case is however different as regards potash. Potash enters into actual union with many parts of plants, and it is absolutely necessary to bring the plant to perfection. To show you the difference between the physiological effects of potash and soda in this respect, I would just mention that, whereas you can wash out chloride of sodium with water from a sub- stance like the root of the mangold, or the leaf of the beetroot, or the stalk of wheat, or from grasses, you cannot remove potash so as to show its presence simply by the mechanical process of washing ; you cannot prove its existence before you have incinerated the plant, destroyed its organic structure, and thus reobtained the potash in the ash. Tt has, in fact, entered into an organic combination, from which it cannot be removed by the mere mechanical process of washing. On one of the experimental plots of the Escrie Park I used mineral super. phosphate alone, and, to my astonishment, no effect whatever was produced by its application. This is an interesting result, seeming, as it does, to indicate that the great deficiency of potash, which is characteristic of the soil in that experimental field, entirely prevented the display of the usual functions which we know perfectly well superphosphate of lime dis- charges on land of a better character than that at Escrie. The superphosphate (or rather the phosphoric acid) in that manure did not act, simply because potash was not present to form part of the substance of the clover plant. You cau, I think, readily understand that. Place before a man all the dry food which tends to entice the appetite, and at the same time withhold from him drink, and you will find that he cannot assimilate the dry food. You may give him every description of dry food that can tempt him to eat, but if you keep from him for any long time that unimportant substance, as we are too apt to consider it — though it is, in fact, a most essential thing — water, he will ultimately perish. Potash is non- essential as regards many clay soils, because many clay soils contain abundance of potash ; but it is most essential on poor, sandy soils, because, generally speaking, these soils are very deficient in the necessary amount of potash which is required to bring clover crops, and I may also say root crops, to perfec- tion. The mixture of potash salts and superphosphate yielded the largest weight of clover and rye grass per acre which was obtained on any of the experimental plots. Further, it was astonishing to notice that not only was the weight of the first cutting larger in the case of this particular plot than on any of the others, but the second cutting also yielded a much larger quantity. Let me give you the actual figures as respects the produce on these particular plots. With no manure whatever the soil yielded per acre of fresh clover 8 tons 5 cwts. 40 lbs. ; mineral phosphates alone gave 8 tons 4 cwts. 12 lbs. Thus there was actually a rather smaller result ; but then you must make allowance for varia- tions of soil in the field, and avoid thinking too much of small differences of results. Practically speaking, the produce was the same in the ease of the plot manured with superphosphate as in that of the plot which had no manure. Mr. Clare Sewell Read, M.P. : What was the extent of the plots ? Dr. Voelcicer: Theextentwasl-20th of anacreineachcase, but the yield is calculated at so much per acre. Well, muriate of potash gave 9 tons 16 cwt. 28 lbs., while the mixture of superphosphate and muriate of potash gave 13 tous 15 cwt. 40 lbs., showing a great increase of produce above that of the uumanured portion of the field — that is, in the total amount of produce. This was distributed over two cuttings. The first cutting from mineral superphosphate and muriate of potash gave 9 tons ; the second cutting nearly 5 tons ; whereas the first cutting on the unraanured portion of the field gave 5 tons 9 cwts. 72 lbs., and the second one only 2 tons 15 cwts. 80 lbs. Thus, you will observe that, although through the application of manure a larger amount of produce was ob- tained, yet the agricultural condition of the land after the application of superphosphate and potash was better than it was when no manure whatever was applied. On the other hand, I find that nitrate of soda had an unmistakeable ten- dency to exhaust the soil of both the plots iu which it was used, the second cutting weighing less than that of the un- manured plot. It is true that the first cutting weighed rather more than that of the unmanured plot : but the second ac- tually weighed less, showing clearly that nitrate of soda has an exhausting effect, which tells badly on poor land, and that this effect is produced rapidly. From these experiments we may learn that nitrate of soda alone, or even in combination with superphosphate, should not be used as a top-dressing for artificial grasses on very poor sandy soils, not even with super- phosphate, because it does not supply the needful alkali potash. Indeed nitrate of soda, and, to a considerable extent at least, ammoniacal salts are the worst manures that can be used on poor soils. They tend rapidly to the complete ex- haustion of such soils, and do serious injury to the land, while they do not even benefit the tenant-farmer who may apply them for a season with the view of obtaining a very large produce. On very poor sandy soils not only do purely-nitrogenous manures rapidly exhaust the land, but the produce also becomes very inferior. My friend Mr. Coleman was so much struck with the appearance of a particular field that he asked me to go down and inspect it. I did go down, and I must say that THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 533 never in my life was I more struck with the aspect of a field which had been manured with these different fertilizing agents. On the land manured for clover with sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda there was not a plant of clover to be seen, and, quite contrary to my expectation, the true grasses, the Italian rye grass, etc., which should have been very luxuriant after the first cutting, were quite wanting. The land was, in fact, completely burnt up. I should have thought that the soil would stimulate the growtli of Italian rye grass, and that a second crop would grow luxuriantly ; but, contrary to my previous expectations, not even rye grass would grow — clearly showing that, although ammoniaeal mauures may be very useful for the production of grass and corn crops under many cireurnstauces, yet they are not useful when there is an insuffi- cient supply of mineral food in the land, and that the poorer the land is the more rapidly it becomes unproductive when salts of ammonia alone arc applied, even as regards those plants which in the ordinary course of farming are de- cidedly benefited by the use of ammoniaeal salts or nitrate of soda. In fact, the application of nitrogenous mauures in this case evidently tended to the complete exhaustion of the land. On the other hand, I vvas struck with the remarkable effects which potash applied in conjunction with phosphatic manures produced upon the clover plant. You could see to a line where the potash and superphosphate had been used. There the clover plant was growing luxuriantly and healthy, and keeping in check the Italian rye grass with which it had been sown. So much, then, with regard to these experiments. I will not detain you by referring to similar experiments which were made last sea- son. I will only observe that they fully confirm the results of the experiments of the preceding season, and at the same time show that in very dry seasons it is most desirable to apply saline mauures sparingly, and also to apply them early in the spring. Allow me to impress upon you that when you apply top-dressings to pasture, or to artificial grasses, or to cereal crops — wheat, oats, or even barley — you should apply them early in the spring, in order that the manure may have a chance of getting thoroughly distributed through the soil by being washed into it. I tried similar experiments on clover — a mixture of clover seeds of different kinds being sown with- out rye grass or any other grass seeds. The experiments in that ease were undertaken by Sir. Kimber (a former pupil of mine) on land which was naturally rather poor, but which had been done extremely well. The clover was sown in the preceding year with a barley crop coming after a good crop of swedes, being well manured with dung and drilled in with 3 cwt. per acre of superphosphate of lime, and fed off by sheep. In consequence of the applications of good dressings of farmyard manure, of the artificials used for the turnip crop, and of the feeding off the swedes by sheep, with corn being given to them at the same time, the soil seems to have been in ex- cellent agricultural condition. Neither nitrate of soda nor sulphate of ammonia produced any effect on the clover; and that appears to indicate either that the land must have been in an excellent agricultural condition, as I believe it was, or that the clover plant is not benefited by nitrogenous mauures. On this latter point we have no conclusive evidence. I have been extremely anxious to ascertain under what circumstances, if auy, ammoniaeal salts, or nitrogenous organic substances, or nitrates, benefit the leguminous tribes of plants. Some years ago I made some experiments which seemed to indicate that nitrogenous manures have no beneficial effect on the clover tribes, and probably none either on other leguminous plants. At any rate I could never see where sulphate of ammonia had been applied to clover, nor could I notice any beneficial result from the application of ammoniaeal salts to peas and beans ; whereas I could perceive minutely the effects of nitrogenous manures when they had been applied to wheat or barley, or auy of the graminaceous family of plants. I was anxious there- fore to ascertain whether nitrogenous manures have auy effect on clover. In the experiments which were conducted by Mr. Kimber, at Tabney Warren, near Abingdon, the nitrate of soda and the sulphate of ammonia had no beneficial effect whatever on the clover. At the present time the Scientific Committee of the Horticultural Society is engaged in making experiments ou special plants. Amongst these are several varieties of clover on which we intend to try the effect of ammoniaeal salts alone, and of various mixtures, and I hope the result will be to bring out some useful information on the subject. It is sometimes difficult to conduct experiments on a large scale witli sufficient scientific precision; I therefore strongly recommended the Committee of the Horticultural Society to institute some experiments in boxes. A number of boxes are now set out at Chiswick, aud I hope that ou a future occasion I shall be able to give you the results of the observations which we are mak- ing there with respect to the peculiar action of some special fertilizing agents, such as potash aud nitrate of soda. So much, then, with regard to the field investigations which occupied so much of my attention during the last season. In close connection with these field experiments I have under- taken to investigate the causes of the benefits which result from growing clover asapreparatory crop for wheat. It is well known to most practical farmers that if they can succeed in growing a good crop of clover they are almost certain to get a good paying crop of wheat. You see how all agricultural matters depend upon each other. If we can by chemical means enable the farmer, on land which otherwise would not grow clover, produce a good crop of clover, we shall thus place him in the very best position for afterwards obtaining paying crops of corn. I have come to the conclusion that the very best preparation, the very best manure, if you will allow me thus to express myself, is a good crop of clover. Now, at first sight nothing seems more contradictory than to say that you can remove a very large quantity of both mineral and organic food from the soil, aud yet make it more productive, as in the case of clover. Nevertheless it is a fact, that the larger the amount of mineral matter you remove in a crop of clover, and the larger the amount of nitrogen which is carried off in clover hay, the richer the land becomes. Now here is really a strange chemical anomaly which cannot be discarded, and invites our investigation ; and it is an inves- tigation which has occupied my attention, I may say, for more than 10 years. I first took it up in my leisure hours when I lived at Cirencester. In the paper which I published in the Journal last year, you will find analyses of clover roots and clover soils on the College Farm at Cirencester. Chemists are much in the same position as painters ; we cannot finish a work off hand at once ; we take up a thing and then leave it for a time. We then take it up again ; just as the op- portunity occurs to add to our experience, we take up new matter and make it the subject of investigation. Now this clover investigation lias very much interested me for a great number of years ; but only during the last season have I been able to bring it to anything like completion, so as thoroughly to explain the strange anomaly that is presented to us iu the growth of clover as a preparatory crop for wheat. The explanation is very simple, though puzzling when you know not the chemical points that are involved in the investi- gation. I canuot deny myself the gratification of showing t« you in a few figures that, in a thorough chemical point of view, clover is the most exhausting crop that you can possibly grow, whilst iu a thorough practical point of view it is the most restorative crop, and the best preparation for wheat that you can possibly grow. Now if we examine what is taken from the land iu the shape of clover we shall find that, assuming an acre of land to yield 4 tons of clover hay, these 4 tons of clover hay will remove 072 lb. of mineral constituents, and not less than 224 lb. of nitrogen, which is equal to 272 lb. of ammo- nia. Four tons of clover hay, the produce of 1 acre, must con- tain a large amount of nitrogen, and remove from the soil an enormous quantity of mineral matters abounding iu lime, pot- ash, and also much phosphoric acid. Now, comparing what is removed by a crop of wheat, we find that, in a clover crop, we remove fully three times as much of mineral matter, aud a great deal more, six times as much, I believe, of nitrogen, as we do in a crop of wheat. The total amount, to give the exact figures, of mineral matters removed in an average crop of wheat amounts to 1751b. an acre ; that is, taking in both the grain and the straw, the total amount of nitrogen removed iu the grain of wheat amounts to only 26.71b. per acre (not quite 271b.), and in the straw of wheat 19.21b. ; or in both together 461b. of nitrogen, which is only about oue-fifth of the nitrogen contained in the produce of an acre of clover. We should, therefore, naturally expect that clover, which re- moves so much more nitrogen from the soil, would be greatly benefited by the application of nitrogenous manures ; but the reverse is the case. Wheat, it is well known, is benefited by the application of nitrogenous matters ; but not clover. On the other hand, clover is benefited by mineral manures ; and at the same time it leaves the land even in a better condition mi THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. in this respect for the succeeding corn crop than it is without the intervention of clover. I believe a vast amount of mineral manure is brought within reach of the corn crop by growing clover. It is rendered available to the roots of the corn crop, while otherwise it would remain in a locked up condition in the soil, if no recourse were had to the introduction of the clover crop. Clover, by means of its long roots, penetrates a large mass of soil. It gathers up, so to speak, the phos- phoric acid and the potash which are disseminated throughout a large portion of the soil ; and when the land is ploughed the roots are left in the surface, and in decaying they leave in an available condition the mineral substances which the wheat plant requires to enable it to grow. Although in clover-hay these mineral matters are removed in great quantity, yet the store of mineral food that we have in 6 or 12 inches of soil is so great that it is utterly insignificant in comparison with what remaius ; in other words, the quantity of mineral matter which is rendered available and fit for use for the succeeding corn crop is very much larger than the quantity which is removed in the clover-hay. But the accumulation of nitrogen after the growth of clover in the soil is extremely large. Even when the clover crop is insignificant a large quantity of nitro- gen amounting to tons is accumulated in the surface soil, and the better the clover crop the greater is the accumulation of nitrogen. In one of my experiments I tried to determine the amount of nitrogen which is left in the portion of a field where the clover was, comparatively speaking, poor, and I found that on the brow of the hill in that field, for it had a considerable declivity, the clover was weak, the produce to an acre being 1 ton 11 cwt. 99 lbs. ; whilst at the bottom of the hill, where the clover was stronger, there being more soil, it was 2 tons 2 cwt. 61 lbs. Observe, too, that at the bottom of the field the wheat was always better. Now, it is in virtue, I believe, of this accumulation of nitrogen that the wheat grew so much more luxuriantly. I had another experiment tried two seasons ago upon land on which clover grew tolerably well. The experiments to which I refer were tried at Leighton Buzzard upou the farm of Mr. Robert Valentine. We had a capital field of clover, and I thought I should have a good op- portunity of ascertaining whether there was more nitrogen accumulated in the soil after the clover crop was cut twice, or whether more was accumulated when the clover was mown once, and then allowed to run to seed. At first sight you would think that the land was in a worse condition when the crop is grown for seed. We know, indeed, that this is generally the case ; but in the case of clover we have a remarkable ex- ception to this rule ; and I find, on looking into this matter, that, after growing clover for seed, a very much larger quantity of nitrogen remains in the surface soil, in the first six inches of soil as well as in the second six inches, than when the clover is mown twice. I have ascertained that when you feed off cloverby sheep, when it is still young, and everything is returned to it as it is removed from it, the land is in a worse condition than when you take off the clover hay. This is an anomaly. You say it is against all principle and against all reason. But when you see positive evidence in our fields, I think no scientific man has a right to say that it is against all reason and against all principle. It is certainly not against fact. All who are practically acquainted with the subject must have seen that wheat invariably grows less luxuriantly when you feed it off quite young, and that the best crop of wheat is produced when you grow clover for seed. I have repeatedly and repeatedly seen it. Now, if I had been always shut up in my laboratory, I should never have seen it or investigated it. I should have followed in the track of those scientific men who so frequently turn up their noses at anything they cannot un- derstand, or that they think unscientific. Therefore, the men who make the practical experiments must be wrong ; and they must be right. Now, I think this is a proceeding which cannot be commended. When we see a plain matter of fact our simple business is to investigate it carefully and conscien- tiously. Then we shall find frequently, as I have found in other departments of chemical investigations — I allude to my investigations in farmyard manure — that a practice which is at first sight contrary to all theory, at least with what we call theory, but not against true science, on being investigated is fouud to agree peifectly with the established observations of good agriculturists, and that there are really good causes which fully explain apparent anomalies which sometimes are very puz- zling. Referring to those clover investigations, I would just give you the total amount of nitrogen which I found in different layers of soil in the same field, and upon one half of which the clover was mown twice, and upon the second half of which the clover was mown only once, and then left for seed. The per- centage of nitrogen in the clover soil twice mowed for the first six inches amounted to "ltiS ; in the second six inches to "092 ; and in the third six inches to •064. Thus you see that it be- comes very much less the deeper you go down. The accumu- lation takes place chiefly in the surface soil, and I believe it is principally due to the dropping of the leaves. When we grow clover for seed those leaves continually drop and enrich the surface soil ; and if it be the case, which I think is likely, that the clover tribe of plants is satisfied with the ammonia which exists in the atmosphere, we can at once account for the accumulation of nitrogen in the soil. The clover plants take the nitrogen from the atmosphere, and manufacture it into their own substance, which, on decomposition of the clover roots and leaves, produces abundance of ammonia. In reality, the growing of clover is equivalent, to a great extent, to ma- nuring with Peruvian guano ; and in this paper of mine I show that you obtain a larger quantity of manure than in the largest dose of Peruvian guano which a farmer would ever think of applying ; that there is a larger amount of nitrogen accumulated in the first six or twelve inches of soil than there is in the heaviest dose of Peruvian guano that any person would think of using. On clover soil once mown and left for seed I found in the three layers of soil a larger per-centage of nitro- gen than where the clover was mown twice. In the first six inches it was "189, in the next six inches '134, and in the lowest six inches "089. Now the total quantity of nitrogen calculated per acre for 12 inches of soil amounted on the portion of the field mown twice for clover to 5,249|lb. ; whereas the total amount of nitrogen in 12 inches of soil on that portion of the field which was mown only once and then left to stand for seed was 8,126s lb-) thus producing an excess of nitrogen on an acre of soil 12 inches deep calculated as ammonia on the part of the field mown once, and then seeded, amounting to 3,592 lb. A very large quantity of nitrogen was accumulated when the clover was left for seed ; and the total amount of large clover roots was much greater in the part where the clover was grown for seed ; for the longer it is left in the soil the more the roots extend. In the different layers of the soil also in every in- stance more nitrogen was found where the clover was left for seed than where it was twice mown. There was, as just mentioned, upon one acre 3,5921b. moie ammo- nia in the land where the clover seed was grown than on the other portion where the clover was made entirely into hay. The chemical points brought forward in the course of this inquiry show plainly that mere specula- tions as to what can take place in the soil, and what cannot, do not much advance the true theory of certain agricultural practices. I would just mention that it is only by carefully in- vestigating subjects like the one under consideration that posi- tive proofs are given showing the correctness of intelligent ob- servers in the field. I have frequently been struck with the remarkably luxuriant appearance of wheat after a heavy crop of clover has been removed from the land. I at first doubted it : but at last I was obliged to confess that it invariably follows when you get a good crop of clover that you also get a good crop of wheat. An enormous amount of nitrogenous organic matter is left in the land after lhe removal of the clover crop, and this gradually decays and furnishes am- monia, which, at first, during the colder months of the year, is retained by the well-known absorbing properties which all good wheat-soils possess. An investigation which I have now in hand, however, shows me that the ammoniacal salts in the soil are rapidly transformed into nitrates. Gradually, the oxidation of the ammoniacal salts which are produced from the decomposition of the clover roots takes place, and nitrates are eliminated; but the benefit that we derive from the growth of clover is very much greater than the benefit that we can derive from the direct application of nitrate of soda, because if we use nitrate of soda, we must just hit upon the right point when it will be beneficial to the growing crop. If there is not sufficient rain or water to wash the nitrate of soda into the soil it does no good, but rather may do harm by burning up the land. If there is too much rain, it may pass into the drains. Nitrate of soda is not retained by the land — not even by clay soils. It passes through them as through a sieve ; therefore, it is the most THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. 535 precarious kind of manure that you can use. It is well if you can hit upon the right time ; and this you must find out for yourselves. By observation, you will find out the right time in the particular locality where you are placed. You may go wrong once, hut for a number of years you will gene- rally hit upon the right time. Speaking generally, I would say that about the middle of February, in most localities, is the right time for the application of nitrate of soda ; but, useful as nitrate of soda may be in some special cases, I think the less you use it on poor soils the better. I should like more indirectly to accumulate nitrogen on my land, and not go to any great expense in buying nitrate of soda when my land is in poor condition. It is well if you have very good land, hut under ordinary circumstances it is perhaps better not to rely upon this source of supply. Nitrate of soda may readily be washed out ; hut you will notice that the benefit that you ob- tain from clover-roots is that you have a continuous source from which nitrates can be produced. It does not matter if some of the nitrates pass away in the drain ; you have an enormous accumulation of decaying organic matter. The clover-roots and leaves are not all at once changed into am- monia ; but there is a gradual transformation of the organic matter, first, into ammouiacal salts, and a gradual change from ammoniacal salts into nitrates, and you have a complete series of chemical transformations which is highly conducive to the gradual development of the clover plant. Whereas, by using nitrate of soda, you run the risk of getting it washed away into your drains. Thus, there is more certainty of growing a good crop of wheat through the instrumentality of clover than through the direct supply of nitrate of soda. These, then, are the chief points which have been established, I believe, by my chemical experiments in the laboratory with respect to the chemical history of the clover crop. During the last season I have also been actively engaged in investigating the variatons in the amount of sugar in sugar-beet. There is a great desire at the present time to grow sugai-beet in this country, with the view of sup- plying the sugar manufacturer witli the raw material from which he is to make his sugar. In the course of the last season I examined nearly two hundred specimens of beetroot, some grown in Scotland, others grown in the south of England, some grown in the west of England, and others grown in the eastern counties ; and without wearying you by entering at length into the details of the results, I should like to say a few words on the growth of sugar-beet iu this country. I think that the cultivation of sugar-beet is at any rate a hopeful one. In the eastern coun- ties, where we have so much less rainfall, I believe there is a very good chance of growing beetroot successfully as a raw material for the manufacture of sugar. Not so in Ireland, or in the western part of England. The cultivation of beet-root, I need hardly say, is very much better understood on the continent than in this country. Perhaps I should rather say, the conditions favourable to the production of a large quantity of sugar in beetroot are better known on the continent than they are here. With respect to the practical cultivation of heetroot, there is very little mystery about it. You may grow heetroot just as you do mangold. Get your land in a good state of preparation ; let your seed be the true seed, white Si- lesian is the best ; get it early into the land, and keep it well stirred whilst growing. Plant rather more thickly than jou do with mangold. Perhaps from 12 to 18 inches will be a sufficient width between the rows, and avoid any excess of ni- trogenous manure. If possible, you should have got your land into good agricultural condition for the previous crop. In other words, do not manure directly for the beetroot crop, if you can possibly avoid it. Now, in these few words are really summed up the chief matters for the consideration of the agri- culturist. But there are some other points which deserve to be considered when you propose to introduce beetroot culture with the view of supplying the manufacturer of beetroot sugar with the raw material. For it is not every climate nor every description of soil which is calculated to pro- duce a large amount of sugar in beet. In some climates you would never get a large per-centage of sugar in beetroot, do what you like. In some soils also, unless they are in a first-rate state of preparation, you do not get a high per- centage of sugar. Let us, then, inquire what is the cli- mate most conducive to the development of sugar in beet- root, and what are the soils which are best calculated to produce much sugar in that crop. Now, the climate best suited for beetroot is that iu which you have a good deal of rain falling in the early period of the year, in the spring- months and in the early summer months, when the beet is in an active state of growth and of leaf development ; for you must lay the foundation of the apparatus by which the plant is to manufacture sugar. You must rapidly develope, first, the leaf organs of the beetroot, and it is essential for this that you should have sufficient rain. I make this observation because it is useful to remember it, for in considering the future ap- plication of sewage to the raising not only of beet-root, but of all root crops, I think there is a great future in store. People have an idea that they have nothing to do hut to irrigate, no matter when, and no matter in what quantities ; but we have yet to learn everything as regards the successful application of sewage. Now, I believe that when sewage is used on light land, or even on land with a moderate amount of clay in it, so as not to be too stiff — land that may be called a good loamy soil — on such laud we can irrigate with sewage with the greatest advantage for beetroot, for mangold, and, indeed, for all root crops, if we we apply the sewage iu large quantities at first in the earliest stages of growth, and then "withhold it. Our experience in the North of Germany is this, that the amount of sugar produced from an acre of land in beet can be calculated, within some limits of course, from the rainfall during the early summer mouths, and from the absence of rain during the succeeding months. We want a good deal of rain in the early summer months, and a dry autumn. Some people have an idea that we have not sufficient heat in England. It is not the want of heat that beats us ; it is the excess of moisture in the autumn. That is my only fear. If you could only secure a dry autumn, the climate of England would suit you beauti- fully for the culture of beet-root, for last year I analysed beet- roots which yielded as high a per-centage of sugar as any grown in France or Germany. Experiments upon roots sent from Holland and upon roots grown in the neighbourhood of Lavenhara, in Suffolk, showed that the English roots contained more sugar than the Dutch. They were grown for the use of sugar manufacturers ; and, speaking generally, we grew in England last year beet-roots which contained on an average 10 to 12 per cent, of sugar, which is as high a per-centage as you get in the beet-root "districts of France. In the North of Germany we grow rather more sugar, and there is a good reason for it, because we pay taxes not according to the per-centage of sugar which an acre produces, but according to the weight of the roots. It is, therefore, to the advan- tage of the sugar manufacturer to get as high a per-centage of sugar in his roots as he possibly can ; for he pays no more tax for a root that contains 15 per cent, of sugar than he does for a root that contains only 5 or 6 per cent, of sugar. This has in- duced the manufacturer of sugar to go very minutely into the circumstances which tend to raise the per-centage of sugar, and during the last three years a vast amount of useful information has been accumulating, through the works of agricultural chemists who have specially worked in this direction. In the North of Germany we can to a very great extent regulate the production of sugar in our root crops, by withholding certain kiuds of manures. I may mention them. For example, by withholding in agreat measure ammouiacalmanures, fresh farm- yard manure, guano and such like nitrogenous manures, and by putting upon the land superphosphate of lime or similar phos- phatic manures which promote early maturity, and produce a much larger per-centage of sugar in the roots than otherwise we should obtain. I look forward, then, with great hope to the cultivation of beetroot in this country being successful. I look forward with considerable hope also to the time which I believe is not far distant when a good use will be made of sewage. The great point is to apply it at the right time ; to apply it early, and then to withhold it when the ripening process begins. It is a remarkable fact that of all the roots which I examined during the past season, those which were grown at the Lodge Farm, Barking Creek, contained the highest per-centage of sugar ; one of them had as much as 13 per cent, of sugar. But to give you an idea of how variable the per-centage of sugar is in roots of different sizes, I may mention that I had another off the same farm which yielded only 6 per cent, of sugar. The weight of the root which produced 13 per cent, of sugar was 21b. 2£oz. ; whilst that which yielded 6 per cent, of sugar off the same farm weighed 4 lb., or double the other, Mr, Holland ; Was it of the same crop ? me THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Dr. Voelcker : No, not the same crop. It was a different variety also. But I am not sufficiently acquainted with par- ticulars to enable me to draw any general conclusions. I merely give you matters of fact. It is very difficult to make any general deductions when you are not acquainted with par- ticulars that have much influence ; but here we have the fact that the larger root grew less sugar. That, too, we know from our ordinary experience to be the case with man- golds. I have some curious examples which show the excess of water contained in large roots. Here is one analysis of a root which contained as much as 92 per cent, of water and only 2 per cent, of sugar. That root weighed lllbs. 6oz., and there the sugar disappeared to a great extent. Our endeavour must be, if we wish to grow beetroot for sup- plying sugar manufacturers with the raw material, to grow them close together, so as not to produce bulbs of too large a size. Perhaps we may succeed in growing from 15 to 18 tons an acre of beetroots rich in sugar. Of course it is a much smaller produce than that which we are in the habit of growing of mangold ; but the question is simply one of pounds, shillings, and pence, or which pays you best. Does it pay you better to grow a moderate weight of roots per acre, for which you get a higher price ? or does it pay you better to grow a heavy crop which possesses less nutritive properties, and it is not so valuable ? It is simply a question of expense, and it must be settled in the only way that it can be settled in a practical manner. The country, I think, is greatly indebted to Mr. Duncan for his enterprise and experiments at the present time in the manufacture of beet-root sugar in this country, aud the encouragement he has imparted to the growth of the root in Sullolk, where the soil is by no means a good soil. He will, I have no doubt, be instrumental, if not in growing sugar-beet as a permanent crop, in giving encouragement to an improved system of farming, aud stirring up the Suffolk agriculturists, who, like the agriculturists in most counties, evidently want a little stirring up now and then. Mr. Holland : Have you any particular period at which the roots should be housed in preference to another ? Is there not a time when a chauge takes place in the saccharine matter in the root ? Dr. Voelcker : Yes ; and that is a very important point. Beet-root should be gathered at the end of September before it is fully ripe. It ought not to be allowed to become over ripe. Now an indication of this is afforded by the appearance of the tops. When they begin to flag then you are to take them up. They ought .not to be left a day longer, but be taken up at once. Then the roots will keep. If you leave them longer in the soil to form a second crop of leaves, tha leaves are formed at the expense of the sugar in the root, and a serious injury is thereby done to the root itself, not only by the elimination of sugar which is transformed into the sub- stance of the second leaf, but also by setting the juices in the root in motion, so that the sugar which is in the root will not keep well ; in short, the root is in the condition of an over- ripe pear, from which the saccharine matter gradually dis- appears. It is, therefore, of the greatest importance to attend to the proper time for taking up beet-roots from the land. The Chairman : That applies to mangold as well. Dr. Voelcker : Yes, in great measure. It is a point which is not sufficiently considered, and it is one of the subjects which I have put down among my memoranda for investiga- tion ; that is, the time and the conditions of ripening for the production of sugar, for it resolves itself into that, and the means of recognising an abundant production of sugar in roots. Mr. S. Read, M.P. : Don't you think that the hot and dry autumn of last year was favourable to a large development of sugar in beet-root? Dr. Voelcker : I am rather inclined to think that last year was not a favourable season, because the roots which I have seen made a second growth ; and a confirmation of what I am saying is afforded in the practical experiments of Mr. Duncan. I find that from his roots which he has worked up into sugar already, for the whole operation has to be carried on very rapidly, he obtained no more than 8 per cent., though the pioper average should have been 11 per cent. It is quite a mistake, therefore, to suppose that last season was a good one, the fact being that it was one of the very worst for the manu- facture of sugar, because a second crop of leaf was formed, and a portion of the sugar was transformed into the substance of* the leaf, whilst the sugar that remained was in an active state of trausmutation. On that account it was an unfavourable season. Mr. Holland : With regard to clover, have you ever in your investigations taken into consideration the amount of root which belongs to the clover — that is, after being mown or fed off? Dr. Voelcker : No ; that I have not. Mr. Holland said his idea was, that feeding off might possibly kill a good deal of clover by the animals biting it too near the ground, and that consequently there would not be so much root left afterwards. In mowing, on the other hand, the scythe or the knife did not go so low to the ground, so that a great many of the young shoots would grow again, and there would be additional matter remaining in the ground. Dr. Voelcker believed that that was the case. Mr. Holland asked whether that was not likely to influence the succeeding wheat crop ? Dr. Voelcker replied in the affirmative, aud was induced to do so as the result of experiments made in the mowing and feeding off of clover produce. Referring to the experiments in hay-making he found that very much less produce was ob- tained by feeding sheep upon it during two-thirds of the year than by letting it grow to a certain height and then mowing it ; because, as the plant developed itself in the upward direction, there was a corresponding development in the down- ward direction. Even supposing that, where sheep were fed off it, the clover plant was not pulled up, less organic matter ac- cumulated than when the crop was allowed to grow a certain height, and then mown. Subsequently, and after a few remarks from Mr. W. Botley and the Hon. F. Charteris, Dr. Voelcker said he was not prepared to assert that potash, in the shape of potash salt, would be remunerative. He was rather inclined to think that the indirect supply of potash by the consumption of good cake, beans, and peas, would pay better than to apply potash in a direct manner as muriate of potash. There might be particular localities where the application of potash would answer. In the case of Lord Wenlock's farm for instance, it paid well, and he believed there were other localities also where its direct application would pay. Mr. Charteris inquired what was the cheapest form in which to apply it P Dr. Voelcker : As crude muriate of potash, worth about £4- a ton, and guaranteed to contain about 30 per cent, of mu- riate of potash. Mr. Charteris asked when it should be applied to the crop P Dr. Voelcker : Quite early in the spring ; in the begin- ning of February, or even in the autumn. Mr. S. Read, M.P. : Would the potash cure clover-sick land? In Norfolk they had almost ceased to grow clover, in consequence of its failing in the spring. Dr. Voelcker : In some particular instances it might per- haps act as a cure ; but he did not know much about clover sickness. The question why clover would grow upon some soils and not upou others was a complicated one. In some cases it would be due to the absence of phosphoric acid, potash, and lime. Wood ashes contained these three elements, and if applied in quantities produced a good crop of clover ; but if they had to be supplied by the means of purchased manures — mu- riate of potash, bones, aud marl — the cost would probaby be more than the value of the clover grown. Mr. Read said that on his farm in Norfolk, which varied from a stiff calcareous clay to quite a light sand, clover sick- ness was general. He did not think, therefore, that the quality of the soil had much to do with it. He had tried all sorts of manures and forms of cultivation. He had ploughed very deeply and very lightly ; he had experimented with a very free seed bed, and a very hard seed bed, and, notwithstanding he always got a good plant, it invariably fell off between February and April the following year. You don't think potash would help me ? I have never tried it. Dr. Voelcker : It is certainly worth a trial. The Secretary observed that Mr. Bamford had told him that, if barley were taken after wheat stubble, the land did not get clover sickness. The Chairman said that in his neighbourhood there were THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 537 clays and poor peaty soils, which nitrate of soda and nitro- genous manures would not benefit. Dr. Voelcker would not like to use nitrate of soda on peaty soils. The Chairman hoped the Professor would turn his atten- tion to clover sickness with a view to providing a remedy. It was an old subject ; but its importance to the wheat crop had invested it with additional interest. Mr. Read had great pleasure iu moving a vote of thanks to Professor Voelcker for his interesting, and to him (Mr. Read) most tantalising lecture. For whilst they were told of the great benefit derived to wheat from a good plant of clover, un- fortunately in Norfolk they could not grow clover at all. Still he felt much indebted to Dr. Voeleker for his lecture, and es- pecially that portion of it which related to the cultivation of beetroot, the introduction of which he trusted would be a god- send to the eastern counties. Mr. W. Botley having seconded the vote of thanks, The Chairman asked Dr. Voelcker, whether in Germany they ever used the sugar-beet root crop for feeding purposes, or always applied it to the manufacture of sugar ? Dr. Voelcker : Always for sugar-making purposes ; the pulp of beetroots remaining in the presses after extraction of the sugary juice, however, was largely used both in France and Germany, and with much benefit, as a feeding material. He should like to see the cultivation of beetroot tried in the pre- sent year on a pretty wide scale. The farmer would run no great risk ; for even if he could not dispose of the root to the sugar manufacturer, he would get a good feeding material. Speaking roughly, one ton of beeetroot ought to be worth fully a ton and a half of mangolds. They could not, therefore, go wrong in trying the experiment of growing beetroot. Mr. Botley : In Germany, too, a great quantity of spirit was distilled from beetroot sugar. Dr. Voelcker : Yes ; the distillation of spirit from beet- root was carried on to astonishing perfection there. The motion was then agreed to, and the compliment having been acknowledged by Dr. Voelcker, the meeting broke up. EOOT CROPS. There are few truths more generally acknowledged than the close connection which exists between the character of the seed sown and the crop to be grown therefrom. At the same time, it will be readily admitted that in the growth of our root crops this is not duly considered in the selection of seed. It appears almost contradictory to place these statements side by side ; but we do so advisedly, to represent in its full force a neglect which is very much too general. As each winter comes round, we hear of sad complaints of the root crop failing — the majority acknowledge that their crops do not stand exposure as they used to do. We have already shown that to a great extent this result may be traced to the early growth being over rapid and imperfect, in consequence of the high-pressure speed at which they are forced in their growth. We then took oc- casion to show that such rapidity of growth was unnecessary and impolitic, and that the best quality of roots for feeding- purposes and for keeping were those grown upon well- cultivated land, having the manure well distributed through the soil. The result of the system of training, as demonstrated, was calculated to produce heavy crops — firm and dense bulbs of high feeding character, and such as would best withstand exposure during the winter months. The system of cultivation has been shown to have very great influence in securing these results ; but the success can be materially promoted and in- sured by the selection of seed, grown with care and judgment. There are some growers of seed who pay very strict attention to the character of root selected and preserved for this purpose, and they merit our warm commendation. A very large pro- portion of our seed is in an exceedingly unsatisfactory manner. The seed of an over-forced root cannot have that constitutional vigour which is desirable for successful growth. The produce must have a tendency to an enfeebled growth. No doubt it is well calculated for making rapid growth ; but this is not the sole qualification which is desired. So long as the growth is firm, healthy, and nutritious, we need not com- plain of rapid growth ; but when quality is sacrificed for speed, the supposed advantage is of questionable benefit. The great difficulty we have to contend against is that which is experienced in keeping roots until the time they are most wanted. To attain this result, we say that not only must care be taken in adopting such a course of cultivation as shall encourage this result, but it must be supplemented by the use of seed calculated to promote this object. In the growth of seed for our root crops it is clear that we must exercise great care in the selection of bulbs, preserving the characteristic form which is considered desirable. All our root crops are improved varieties, and this improvement has been brought about by cultivation and selection. The improved form having been attained by selecting the best specimens, and get- ting seed from these, the habit of growth has been strengthened : thus we have arrived at very satisfactory results. There is, however, nothing permanent in these improved characters. Our root crops need nearly as much care to maintain their character as to produce the original improvement. When neglect is shown in selecting suitable roots, and growing seed only from these, there are sure signs of degeneracy soon evi- dent, giving us strong warning of further loss of character unless greater care be taken. When we consider the large extent to which seed for our root crops is grown without the slightest regard to the proper selection of roots, can it be any surprise that we have such continual evidence of degeneracy in the form of our bulbs ? It is not simply that we need a certain quantity of seed annually produced for the use of farmers, but we need a supply of good seed. Those who are growers of inferior seed are doing an amount of mischief to their brother-farmers far beyond anything they imagine. We would therefore urge all who may be inclined to grow seed, not only for their own sakes, but for the common interest of others of their own occupation, either to abstain from growing seed altogether, or else to grow for the future good seed. This cannot be done without careful selection and judi- cious management ; but, by this means, the growers will be doing good service, whereas now they are causing an incalculable amount of evil. There should be no mistake on one point as regards inferior seed when once it has been grown : some one is sure to be deceived by it. It may be sold as grown, it may be mixed with other seed and then sold, or it may be killed and then mixed with other seed and sold ; but sold it will be, and disappointment in some form or other must of necessity result. It can afford no real satisfaction to any farmer to know that by encouraging the growth of inferior seed he is for his own benefit sending out into the country seed which must occasion very severe loss. Par better would it be for him, if he grows seed, to take care that by a proper selection of the bulbs, by a judicious and temperate growth, and by general good management, he is sending out a seed that, go where it will, shall be no discredit to the grower, but shall do good service to the buyer. We recognise in relation to animal life that like produces like, whether it be in relation to form, constitution, or quality, but we sadly overlook the same facts in their influence upon vegetation. This does not alter the facts, there they remain to remind us by our failures, that we have brought upon ourselves loss and disappointment by an entire disregard of principles respecting the truth of which we do not entertain any doubt. We need not say one word to show the very great importance which the success or failure of the root crop exerts upon the farmer, but in the face of this we sadly neglect to adopt a prudent course in the choice of seed. We do not trace out its antecedents, and possibly it is purchased of those who know as little about it as the buyers. The time will come, and it cannot be long delayed, when seed will be purchased under some pledge as to its growth, and we are satisfied it will be a great blessing to the entire body of farmers to have this security. However good may be the quality of the land, or the general manage- ment adopted iu its cultivation, bad quality seed damages the entire result, and throws serious loss upon the cultivator.^- Sovth Australian. 0 0 538 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. "CONJURING TRICKS." " Certain items in Mr. Lowe's Budget bid fair to set us free from one of the lesser miseries of human life. He is not only going to make some of our taxes less, which is no small boon, but, what is a greater boon still, to sweeten not a little the manner of their collection. Hitherto the way in which taxes have been collected has been ingeniously contrived so as to give the largest pos- sible amount of ueedless trouble." So says The Satur- day Revieiv, but there are people who would appear by no means inclined to concur in this opinion, as conspi- cuous amongst such dissentients are certain eminent agri- culturists. At a recent meeting, for instance, Mr. Cor- rance spoke of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's " con- juring tricks," meaning thereby " the right honourable gentleman's startling budget;" as on the same occasion Mr. Sewell Read, referring to any surplus revenue, said " it was much easier to make one with a clever Chan- cellor of the Exchequer in office, than the ordinary hum- drum man of business." And at this of course there was a laugh. Noticeably enough, however, the honourable members for Suffolk and Norfolk while talking in this way were actually attempting a little hocus-pocus, or passing off a few conjuring tricks of their own ! They were proposing to repeal the Malt-tax — without repealing it. They were offering to relieve the country — without relieving it. They were going to give everybody more freedom of action by setting the exciseman upon him ; and they would encourage the working-man to brew his own beer by compelling him to take out a licence. If Mr. Lowe would give us less taxes and less annoyance, Messrs. Corrance and Read would simply conjure a tax into a duty, to be collected with " the largest possible amount of needless trouble." Let us look for a moment to the point they were advo- cating at that Salisbury Square meeting : " Considering the oppressive operation of the excise restrictions upon the manufacture of malt and beer, the loss to consumers occasioned by the cumulative incidence of the Malt duty, and the consequent discouragement given to the production of sound and wholesome beer and to the growth of barley, this Chamber supports the recommendation of the House of Commons' Select Committee, and is of opinion that until the amount of the Malt duty can be spared from therevenue, considerable benefit would ensue from repealing the tax on Malt and obtaining an equivalent in the least objectionable manner from beer." This is not very neatly nor clearly put, but then the Chamber is becoming somewhat famous for its roundabout resolutions and interminable discus- sions. However, on turning to the Report of the Select Committee we find that " there would be no difficulty in raising a tax from private brewers" — that " there could be no insurmountable difficulty in substituting a brewer's licence instead of the malt-tax" — and that consequently " the malt-tax might be repealed, provided some means for raising the same amount of revenue, if required, be substituted either in the shape of a brewer's licence or some other form." This certainly sounds quite as much like a conjuring trick as anything that Mr. Lowe has proposed to do. You take the tax off one minute in order that you may put it on again the next, exacting precisely " the same amount of revenue." It is not so easy at the first blush to see the advantage which would follow from this amusing bit of legerdemain ; but we will say that the farmer would then be at liberty to make use of his barley for any purpose and in any way he chose — save and except for brewing beer. This would be some- thing, but not much; for after all is said, malt as food for stock is little more than an alterative ; as, moreover, no sane man could ever expect to carry any change on the force of such a plea. The battle must be fought and won as a question of human rather than of cattle consumption, and here the benefit to accrue from the alteration is,vas Mr. Corrance would say, " startling." If " the same amount of revenue" is to be raised, and if the farmer is to pay no duty on the malt he employs in his business, the masses must necessarily pay more in the shape of a duty on beer than they would as a tax on malt. The brewer, it may be argued, would be more directly reached by a licence, but then the strong man will be very sure to shift his burden, and anyhow the benefit or difference, as we take it, would be infinitesimal. But how would the new plan work in another way ? There is of course nothing so desirable as that the labouring man should if possible brew his own beer, as beyond this being more wholesome, nothing would tend more to keep him away from that root of all evil the beer-shop. But then there is nothing the poor man feels so much as direct taxation, and so soon as he began to brew so soon would the excise be on to him for his licence ; or, at least, this seems to be what the Select Committee was driving at. Mr. Masfen, however, declared at the meeting of the Chamber that " a beer duty would confer a boon upon the cottager classes by encouraging them to brew their own beer at home." We believe, if the Report is to be followed, that it wouldhave precisely a contrary effect. This licensing business would not only press hardly on but " bother" many a working man ; moreover, an em- ployer will often give a labourer a bushel or two of malt, but would he as readily give him the price of a licence ? We doubt it very much. The new system, indeed, would threaten not merely to bother the labourer, but to become as obnoxious as possible to all classes. It is thus that Mr. Eorsey, the surveying general Examiner of excise, explained the way in which the two methods suggested would act : " Accord- ing to Sir Charles Pressly's plan, a man would have to give an account 13 months after he had commenced to brew. He would get his assessment paper in April or May, and then he would have to give an account of his brewings, commencing from the 31st of March, in the preceding year. That would work very badly, and we should have no check upon fraud by that way of charg- ing a licence duty on private persons. The man who has been examined here is a good sample of the agricultural labourer. If you called upon him to give returns going back 13 months, say to his April brewing, he could not do it. You could not raise the licence duty in that way. My plan would be, if we had a licence duty, that we' should charge a certain sum, say a duty equivalent to that on a sack of malt at the commence- ment, and give the person who applied for this licence an entry paper to enter his brewings as he made them, and at the end of the year he should return that paper, with a declaration to the truth of the entries. But then we could not protect the revenue from fraud, without giving the excise what we call the right of entry. " Could anything promise to work worse than this ? Is there anything which an Englishman, with his house for his castle, would submit to less readily ? As a matter of inquisitorial impertinence, the beer duty would beat the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 539 income-tax hollow. "How many hundreds a year do you manage to live upon ? and how many barrels of beer do you manage to drink ?" Mr. Lowe, with his "con- juring tricks," would at least round off the hard edges of our burdens " by the manner of their collection." He is one of the modern school of wizards, who at any rate amuses you while he puzzles you ; whereas those con- federate conjurors, Messrs. Corrance and Read, remind one the rather of the terrible necromancers of old, whose wont it was to frighten the people most consumedly, if they did nothing more. And they will do nothing more. Never, perhaps, was there a prospect which had about it so little promise of being ever carried out. The Malt-Tax repealers, in the first instance, went for the repeal of the Malt-Tax, and that only. They declined to name a substitute ; and they were wise in their generation, if we may judge by the latest intelligence from the Central Chamber of Agri- culture. That the present Government, or " a Poor Man's Parliament," would ever commit itself to such a pro- posal we do not for a moment believe ; as even further, we do not think that a Liberal Government has any in- tention to repeal the Malt-Tax. It has never given the ghost of a pledge to do so ; whereas this is one of the Conservative war cries; and if ever Repeal or reduction be achieved, it must be by means of a Con- servative Ministry. But then so strangely is the farmer represented, so eccentric are his tactics, that no sooner are his own " friends" in power than he becomes as silent as an oyster, or, if he does speak, as polite as a courtier. He would not wish to make any disturbance at present : he would rather wait. And he does wait, until Mr. Gladstone comes into office, when he duly presents himself and his grievance. Mr, Biddell fancies that the Premier has " a latent idea that the proposal was worthy of his consi- deration." Like Lord Burleigh's shake of the head there may be a great deal in Mr. Gladstone's latent ideas ; but we have a keen recollection of what he said, which was to this effect : " You do not seem to be very strongly represented in the House, nor to be quite agreed amongst yourselves, and I don't see any particular reason why I should do anything for you." This was the substance of the answer, and this is the way the battle of the Malt- tax is being fought. We pester those with our attentions who care nothing about us, while we rarely call upon those who by their promises and vows are bound to help us. COUNTY GOVERNMENT. Mr. Knatchbull-Hugesson brought into the House of Commons last month a small Bill, which is likely to be the beginning of a very great change. The county govern- ment is one of the most curious parts of England. No other country would probably endure that an arbitrary line — as that between town and county often now is — should totally change the species of government. But with us the town is governed in one way, and the county in the opposite way. The town is governed by a municipal council elected by the ratepayers, on a representative and almost democratic principle ; the county by "magistrates" appointed by the Crown — that is on a nominee and half-aristocratic principle. In old times, when counties were entirely feudal and towns were mostly anti- feudal, the distinction was natural and inevitable. But now, the difference between a small town and a large village is a difference only in law. In fact, they are the same kind of places inhabited by the same sort of people. There are large districts in our manufacturing counties which are almost con- tinuous villages. The " Boundary Commission" could not settle on any real principle where the " borough" began or where it ended. They were attempting to find in modern life a rigid, ancient distinction which had departed from that life- The old walled town, with moat and gates, was a distinct tiling from the old county with castles and hamlets, but there is no natural wall now. The one district fades off into the other. Again, not only is the original reason for a separate county government altogether at an end, but the old class of county rulers cannot now be found, or if they can, they are found buried in and almost absorbed by a newer class. Anyone who looks at the list of magistrates of a county will soon see that they are not an aristocratic body. After every election the requests to be made a county magistrate throng in upon the Secretary of the Treasury from everyone who has a house and three fields. In old times, when the county government was really in the hands of persons connected with its largest pro- perties and oldest families, it could be defended ; perhaps it was as good government as was then and there possible. At any rate, it was a natural form of government : it was vested in those whom the subjects much respected, and by whom in other things they were guided. But now that " magistrates" are mostly small men, trying to look larger by attaining a public function, a county is governed by persons whom it rather smiles at, and whom it seldom much respects. Mr. Hugesson's Bill is the beginning of the end of all this. It does not indeed abolish magistrates or hint at it. Nothing English begins so simply and boldly as that ; if it did, it would shock a hundred old traditions, and would fail. But it provides that all administrative authority shall be vested in a financial board, of which one in five shall be elected by the ratepayers, and that this Board shall have all the adminis- trative powers now vested in quarter sessions, and shall be responsible for the same administrative duties. This is really commencing an innovation which cannot stop at any but a very distant limit. Experience shows that if the repre- sentative element in any vigorous part of a political nation is admitted even into a corner of the Constitution, before long that element will absorb the whole Constitution. In the new county government the judicial functions of the chairman of a quarter sessions will, we hope, not last long. Those of petty sessions will perhaps last some time longer, be- cause there is an undoubted convenience in having a large supply of judges very diffused to whom we pay nothing. But we are not very sure whether, if the " clerk's fees" were duly examined, the system is so exceedingly cheap after all. Though the apparent judge is not paid, the real judge — the man who tells the magistrates what the law is — is well paid. Somehow or other it is made well worth the while of a good attorney to atteud in each county each one of the many courts of petty sessions, which he would not do for nothing ; and if that fund v/as well applied, it would very likely be enough to pay some good trained men to decide both really and avowedly. Where the " mushroom" class of magistrates prevails, the poor people would probably prefer this ; they are willing to bear much from the old gentry, but they cannot bear to be scolded by a person who only wants to make himself of importance by scolding them. The present bill is indeed but a small instal- ment of these great changes, but it is the thin end of a large wedge ; and we expect its effect to grow in importance year by year, as time goes on and old traditions wane. As it stands, it would be absurd if it could be final. If the county ought to have any representatives, those representatives should be enough to have a real effect, and one in five certainly is not enough. The reason given is that the elected members are sure to attend regularly, whereas, in fact, nominee members, as we know, do not. But there is not a very deep knowledge of quarter sessions shown in that answer. One of the worst points about it is its fluctuation. If there is nothing taking coming before the court none of the magistrates attend ; but if there is in the agenda paper a little matter of patronage, or a topic of county strife, almost every one will be present. Under the new Constitution, therefore, on uninteresting questions the elected members may be enough to be impor- tant, but on all interesting questions they are sure to be out-voted, We are not quite certain either as to the choice of 0 0 2 540 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the representatives by the boards of guardians. We are in- clined, though with doubt, to think that the ratepayers would choose better themselves. "Double election" takes the spirit out of the election ; and, though in a contested election many elements are bad, yet it is a stir, and a half-dead rural district is almost always better for any elemenl of life. "We doubt too if boards of guardians will choose exceedingly good representatives. They have very sound views about economy, but we are not sure that .they have very large ones about in- telligence. By the present bill, moreover, the magistrates are to be exclusive managers of the prisons, though that is cer- tainly an administrative business. The reason given is that municipal bodies in towns have not always managed prisons well, but we suspect that a very little research would show that magistrates in counties have not always managed them well either. The objection indeed goes to the heart of the bill. If the change will deteriorate the county government, why should it be made ? If the change will not deteriorate it, why should the powers of that government be restricted ? In truth, the central government should look to the discipline of all the gaols itself. Till lately, and perhaps still, the criminal classes nocked to one county because its gaol was nice, and from another because its gaol was strict. All should be the same throughout England, and even the new boards could not well establish a less effectual system of inspection than that of the visiting justices which we have now. Besides (as we pointed out in the debate) there will be a chronic quarrel between the magistrates who order what shall be done in the gaol, and the joint board who pays for what is ordered. The purseholders must give the direction or they will main- tain that everything is directed expensively. Ultimately, probably, the governing body of a county will be a com- paratively small body as in a city. They will then be able to meet constantly and to decide the many matters now in coun- ties deputed to cattle-plague committees, fishery committees, and so on. A county really needs as much a daily govern- ment as a city ; and if a constantly- meeting board be necessary for one, it must be wanted for the other also. — The Economist. AYRSHIRE AGRICULTURE — PAST AND PRESENT. At the dinner of the Ayrshire Agricultural Society, the chairman, Mr. James Baikd, said associations such as this were instituted for the purpose of instructing those engaged in agricultural pursuits how to raise from the soil the maximum of produce at the minimum of expense. That instruction was becoming more necessary every year. Wages were increasing daily, and as the wages increased the work diminished. If wages had increased 20 per cent., work had decreased 20 per cent., so that the cost of agricultural labour had increased 40 per cent. That had been overcome to some extent by the splendid implements, such as were ex- hibited in the showyard to-day. But for these, the cultivation of the soil would have cost nearly all that it produced. In his young days they had no such implements — nothing but the plough and harrows, the spade, the hoe, the flail, the sickle, aud the scythe. If they were to be reduced again to such a position, he believed the whole produce of the soil would be required to pay for the labour of working it. But, thanks to science, and to the energy and ingenuity of their machine and implement makers, they had been able to over- come that to a certain extent — to pay high wages, and at the same time to reduce the burdensomeness of the toil. They had now improvements in every department — improved ploughs and harrows of every shape and denomination, grubbers in- numerable, clodcrushers he did not know how many, drill ploughs and drill harrows, reaping machines, sowing machines, and thrashing machines. But for these machines, which re- duced the cost of labour to a miuimum, he did not believe they could get on at all. Dairy labour had been also greatly reduced by those excellent churning and cheese-making ma- chines, of which there were so many in the showyard to-day. The old-fashioned churn was a thing that required the greatest amount of labour to produce a result such as could now be brought about by a third of the labour. Every process of agri- culture in the labour department had been reduced in cost except ploughing ; and what was the reason of that ? He would scarcely be believed when he told them the amount of work done by a ploughman and a pair of horses in his young days. He had two men and two pair of horses in his eye just now that he had seen himself. They went to the barn, perhaps, about five o'clock in the morning, and thrashed a quarter of oats before breakfast. They then went out to plough after breakfast, and if it was stubble they ploughed a Scotch acre, or if lea, they ploughed three roods. What sort of "darg" did they get now ? A rood and a-half, or perhaps two roods, and without any thrashing in the morning. He would take it upon him to say that one ploughman then would do as much work as two of the best ploughmen now in Ayr- shire. Such was the way they managed the ploughing department. By means of those ploughing matches which were held now in almost every parish, the farmers had systematically reduced the amount of labour to be done in a given time. At one of the first ploughing-matches he ever saw, two of his father's ploughmen were engaged, and they both took prizes, and the rate at which they had to plough was half-an-acre Scotch in five hours and a quarter. Now they allowed them 18 hours to plough an acre. The horses were now better in quality and better fed, and the land in consequence of draining was more friable and easier ploughed, and yet they had added 80 per cent, to the time occupied in ploughing their land. So much for their management in the labour department. But he hoped that something would be done now, since he saw that implement and machine makers had turned their attention to the plough. A long time had been spent in trying to improve the steam-plough, but it did not seem to take in this quarter. He had seen some ploughs that day that he thought would be an improvement, and he trusted that ploughing would be as much reduced in cost as every other department of labour. He was sure it must be gratifying to all the members of this association to see such a splendid show of implements as they had had that day. These implements were increasing every year, and he thought they would go on until they would do their work without any manual labour at all. This showed that the association was performing its mission in reducing the cost of production. The last time he addressed them from this place he spoke of the advantage of giving premiums for the best-managed farm. This had not been done yet ; but they were still devoting their attention to the improvement of the breeds of all classes of stock ; and he thought they would see the next day perhaps the finest and best show of cattle that had ever been seen at Ayr. He had no doubt this show wrould furnish another proof of the usefulness of this association — its usefulness to every person in the community by aiding in the production of cheap bread and cheap beef. He thought if their show went on increasing and improving as it had done, they would be able to open their exhibition to the whole of Scotland, and in- stead of confining it to a small field they might go to the race- course, and if they could fill that large park they would rival the Highland Society itself. But although they had done a great deal in improving the breed of sheep, cattle, and pigs, there was a great deal to be done yet. They would still see a good many inferior cattle in their fields, but if they weut on as they were doing he believed there would be a steady improve- ment every year in their cows and sheep. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 541 SHEEP SHEARING. BY A PRACTICAL FARMER. The season for sheep shearing having come round, a few remarks and suggestions upon its best practice may not be inappropriate. It is very important to every flockmaster that his " pile of wool" shall be got up in the best way, and in the most cleanly and attractive manner. The sale of his year's wool is to every sheep- grazier one of the most anxious and watchful items of his business. It brings in annually a good round sum. It is made up in one bargain; is weighed up in a few hours, and the carriage, and the little trouble associated with the packing and delivery of the sheets make it one of the most pleasant and interesting days of a farmer's business. To secure a " good pile of wool" requires great care and attention throughout the year ou the part of the sheep-owner. In the early spring every sheep must be carefully " dagged," i. 53 SALE OF MR, DAVID AINSLIE'S SHORT- HORN HERD AND BORDER-LEICESTER FLOCK. AT C'OSTERTON, EDINBURGH ; BY MR. JOHN THORNTON, OF LANGHAM PLACE, LONDON. This sale took place on Tuesday, May 18th, and the follow- ing are the prices realized : COWS AND HEirERS. Gs. Florence (calved Feb., 1S61), by Ryedale ; Mr. Liddle... 24 Ceres (calved March, 1862), by Victor Royal ; Mr. Liddle 20 Queen of the East (calved May, 1862), by Star of the East; Mr. Brierly, Rochdale 41 Lady Favourite (calved June, 1861), by Duke ; the Duke of Buccleuch ... ... ... ... ... ... 42 Cherry Pie (calved June, 1862), by Roan Duke ; Mr. Liddle 28 Ferooza (calved Feb., 1863), by Knight Errant ; Sir W. Stirling of Keir 46 Brenada (calved May,1863),by Gay Monk ; Mr. C.Smith 47 Broom Girl (calved Oct., 1864), by DukeofTyne; Mr. Beattie ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 45 Fair Rosamond (calved Feb., 1867), by DukeofTyne; Mr. Nelson 36 Romping Girl (calved Jan., 1867), by Enoch Arden; Mr. A. B»thune 46 Young Cherry (calved Feb., 1867), by Enoch Arden ; Mr. Beattie ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 25 Midsummer (calved March, 1S67), by Duke of Tyne ; Mr. Brierly 70 Lily of the Nile (calved March, 1867), by Duke of Tyne ; Mr. Nelson 26 Henrietta (calved May, 1867), by Duke of Tyne ; Sir W. Stirling Maxwell, Keir 70 Wild Poppy (calved July, 1867), by Duke of Tyne ; Mr. Binnie, Seton ... ... ... ... ... ... 25 Buttercup (calved Feb., 1868), by Enoch Arden; Mr. Mikie, Aberdeenshire ... ... ... ... ... 35 Eagle's Queen (calved Nov., 1868), by Lord Eagle; Mr. Smith, Whittinghame ... ... ... ... ... 15 Lilly of the Vale (calved Nov., 1868), by Lord Eagle; Mr. Brierly 45 Eagle's Farewell (calved March, 1869), by Lord Eagle ; Sir. Godsman, New Deer 2l BULLS. Bonnie Dundee (calved June, 1867), by Duke of Tyne ; Mr. Wilkie 57 Lord of Yester (calved Jan., 1868), by Good Fitz ; Mr. J.Whyte 38 Revenge (calved Feb.,1868),by Dukeof Tyne ; Mr. Laurie 23 Ploughboy (calved June, 1868), by Asteroid ; Mr. Taylor 27 Scotsman (calved Oct., 1 868) , by Lord Eagle ; Mr. Dalglish 1 5 Herdsman (calvedNov.,1868), by LordEaglejMr.D.Butler 16 Gamecock (calvedDee., 1860), by Lord Eagle; Mr.Forman 14 Marksman (calved Feb., 1869), by Lord Eagle ; Mr. Wilson 9 SHEEP. The sheep sold well ; amongst these a shearling ram was bought for Sir William Stirling Maxwell at £50. There were also purchased for Sir William six gimmers, with six lambs at foot, at £10 5s. each. Sir W. J . Maxwell bought the six highest-priced gimmers at £10 os. each ; Mr. Lees gave 50 gs. for a two-shear ram; the first-prize shearling ram at Aberdeen last year, £21, went to Mr. J. Dickinson, Magdalen Hall ; and the old prize Inver- ness sheep £13 5s., Mr. Clark, who also gave £31 for a tup hogg. The Marquis of Tweeddale gave £8 12s. 6d. each for 6 ewes, £7 each for another lot, and £14 each for 6 ewe hoggs ; Mr. Smith, of Castle Mains, £10 5s. for 5 ewes, £7 10s. for 5 others, and £7 5s. for 5 gimmers; Mr. J. Smith, of Balmain, £9 each for 5 gimmers ; EarlFitzwilliam, Ireland, £5 2s. 6d. each for 5 ewe hoggs, and £21 for one tup hogg; Lord Polwarth £25 for a tup hogg, and the Duke of Buc- cleuch £19 for a tup hogg. Several were bought to go into Ireland, and some go into Ross-shire. SUMMARY. £ s. d. £ s. d. 19Cows 39 1 4 742 7 0 8Bulls 26 2 4 208 19 0 27 averaged 35 4 Extra stock and van 951 6 0 ... 151 0 0 Sheep. Average. Highest. Lowest. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. 105 Ewes 5 0 8. ..528 15 0...10 5 0...2 10 0 42 Gimmers .. 6 15 5. ..284 7 6. ..10 5 0...2 15 0 96 Hoggs 4 1 10. ..392 15 0...14 0 0...2 10 0 56 Tups 8 14 4.. .488 2 6. ..50 0 0...3 2 6 Fat Sheep and Southdowns, £229 10s. Total sale, £3,025 16s, SALE OF MR. ALLAN POLLOK'S FARM STOCK. The largest sale of cattle, sheep, and agricultural implements ever held in Ireland took place on Tuesday, May 5, on that por- tion of Mr. Pollok's estate situated near Creggs, in County Galway. This was occasioned in consequence of Mr. Pollok having let a number of the reclaimed farms on this portion of his estate to recently-approved tenants, and in order to effect a clearance of his own stock and plant on the property. It is now nearly twenty years since Mr. Pollok went over to Ireland, and purchased two extensive estates, one in County Roscom- mon and the other in County Galway. Both are nearly equal in extent, covering about 20,000 acres each. No sooner had he obtained possession of the property than he commenced operations on a most comprehensive scale. The levelling of old fences, amalgamation of fields, drainage, squaring of farms, erecting suitable farm steadings, levelling old homesteads, and the general transformation of the state of the two was carried out at a great outlay. Those who for generations past continued to inherit the small holdings on the properties were remunerated, according to their circumstances, in surrendering their claims to the patches of land which they occupied. Many of them emigrated to America, others remained at home and found profitable employment in the subsequent re- clamation of the land. The works of permanent improve- ment went on without intermission, until the entire area of upwards of 40,000 acres was brought within the action of the plough, the grubber, and the mower. Fields varying in size from 200 to 1,500 acres were squared off, walled in, and cultivated. The expense entailed by the works would appear to be incalculable. The most modern appliances for tillage, the best description of farm horses, and the choicest classes of cattle were speedily introduced. Gigantic byres and homesteads were built here and there over the property, and few miserable cabins for scattered labourers or herds allowed to remain in their original nothingness on the out- skirts of the farms. The work of reclamation having been accomplished, Mr. Pollok calculates upon adopting a differ- ent course of action to that heretofore pursued, and accord- ingly he advertised the farms in the leading prints in Ireland and the sister-countries. Several of the farms are now let at 45s. per acre. The Roscommon property represents one open tract of extensive fields more like prairie-land than arable fields. Its appearance is most imposing, and fully demonstrative of the suitability of the soil and climate of Connaught for feeding stock. The cattle sold on Tuesday last counted 10,000 sheep and lambs of various ages and breeds ; 800 head of homed cattle, including Shorthorn cows and bulls, with fat stock, and stores ; together with 70 farm horses, of great power, quick action, and general merit. The farming implements are of such extent and variety as to baffle all attempt at enumera- tion. They are the result of all that skill in husbandry and money which no unsparing hand could procure from the best prize-taking manufacturers in the United Kingdom. All the principal articles were not only of duplicate but manifold repetition, and comprised every implement known in modern farming, from the most costly steam tackle, down to the common slash-hook. The attendance of purchasers from all parts of the United P P 554 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Kingdom was unusually large. Special trains for the con- venience of purchasers were despatched on the principal lines of railways ; luncheon on the most elaborate scale was pro- vided for upwards of 3,000 people. The sale was conducted by the well known Dublin auctioneers, Gauly, Sons, and Parker. The following may be regarded as the principal quotations : Long-woolled ewes and lambs averaging 52s. each, hpgget ewes 35s., fat wedders 90s., fat ewes 70s. ; long-woolled rams, comprising one, two, and three-shear, from £5 to £10 each. Three-year-old heifers averaged about £14 per head ; two-year- old bullocks £13 10s., yearling bullocks «£9 to £11 ; Shorthorn dairy cows £25 to £35, fat cattle £26 each. The Shorthorn bulls represented the best and purest blood in the Herd Book. The pedigrees of many of the animals date back to twelve generations, and include the blood of Prince Andrew, Colling's son of Phenomenon by Punch, British Flag, Hawspur, Symmetry, Royal Charley, Orphan Boy, Homer, Royal Prince, Sir Francis, Union Jack, &c, &c. The two-year-old bulls sold for 32, 27, 30, and 25 guineas each. The yearlings from 23 to 28 gs. each. The farm-horses were speedily picked up at prices ranging from £66 to £20 per horse. The weather was beautifully fine, which tended considerably to enhance the sale. THE WATERINGBURY AND WICKEN SHORTHORN SALES. BY MR, STRAFFORD. The first week in May is generally an important one for the Shorthorn breeder. Two years since, the Preston Hall and Havering Park sales were held on the first and second of the month, and unprecedented averages resulted therefrom. This year, the month opened with a statement that 1,000 gs. had been given for a " Booth " cow ; and it transpired, on Wed- nesday last, that Mr. Gibson, on behalf of Mr. Samuel Camp- bell, of Oneida, president of the New York State Agricultural Society for the current year, beyond buying Jolly Queen, the second prize cow at the Leicester Royal Show, had concluded a purchase, the day previously, with Mr. T. C. Booth, of War- laby, for Bride of the Vale, a five-year-old cow for 1,000 gs. ; Merry Peal, a two-year-old heifer, for 500 gs.; and Royal Briton, a ten months bull-calf, for 500 gs. The cow and heifer were both in calf to Commander-in-Chief, and are two of the handsomest animals at Warlaby ; whilst Royal Briton is of the Strawberry line, which is in the possession of Mr. Booth only. It is the strain that has produced the most successful sires of late years, Lord of the Valley (14837), Raven- spur (20628), Royal Sovereign (22802), and others. This subject formed quite a topic of conversation among the visitors that filled the special South-Eastern train to Wateringbury, on Thursday morning. Messrs. F. Leney and Son have, during the past five years, what with private and public purchases, obtained so many first-class animals, that it was necessary to reduce the herd, fully 150 strong, in some way. Their suggestion was a sale of the yearlings and calves of both sexes, which Mr. Strafford undertook. Novel as this kind of sale may be to the English Shorthorn breeder, it is an established system with breeders of thorough-bred stock, as well as one practised with considerable success in Aberdeenshire and the north of Scot- land by Shorthorn men lor more than a quarter of a century. But there beef is the great production, and Shorthorn bulls find a ready sale for crossing purposes. Here, however, breeding, crossing, and grazing are not carried to such an extent ; and three out of the twenty-three bulls offered had to be passed over without a bid, whilst the competition for many of the other bulls was slow and heavy. The Sylph, or Charmer and Knightley, heifers were the attractive lots ; and several breeders went especially to see them sold. Luncheon took place at one o'clock in a huge tent erected in field beside the house, which overlooks the pleasant valley of the Medway. Lord Dunmore took the chair, supported by a dozen of the " upper ten" in the Shorthorn world. The speeches were exceedingly happy, and far beyond the generality of those given on such occasions. " In the loyal county of .7 ™ * d Dunmore proposed " The Queen," and afterwards Mr. Leney," in a few brief, clear, and well delivered phrases. When Mr. Leney had returned thanks, Mr. Bowly rose amid some cheers and said that he felt happy to find himself in such constitutional company, and more than a 100 miles from Cork. " We can't do without the House of Lords, and we won't do without them, therefore I call upon you to drink the health of the Noble Lord at the head of the table. In the short acquaintance I have had with him he reminds me of the late Lord Ducie, and he is determined to have a good herd. It was an easy thing to spend ten thousand pounds on the Derby, but he would find Shorthorns a better investment, or even in a limited liability company. There was no limit to good Shorthorns, they always had good customers — and his lordship has been a very good customer to me — and I feel as much in- terest in his herd as in my own, and every man wishes him success. I always endeavoured to breed Shorthorns opposite to myself, with big bodies and shortlegs, and a man that did that would not go far wrong." The Noble Lord's health was then drunk amidst much laughter aud cheers. The company soon afterwards filled the waggons and ring side ; a fat red yearling heifer entered the ring, and Mr. Strafford gave the usual conditions of sale and remarks upon the stock. Two bidders went in for the first lot at 30 gs., and she was knocked down at 39 gs., to Mr. Tait, for Her Majesty. The second lot, a pure Charmer heifer, with a cross of the Bate's bull, Fourth Duke of Thorndale, was put in at 100 gs., and at 150 the biddings ceased, the " glass" however aroused others, and she eventually fell to Mr. Foster's 200 guineas. The Hon. C. W. Fitzwilliam, Mr. Boyd, on the part of Mr. Macintosh, and Mr. Clayden being the chief opponents. There was no brisk competition for the next six lots, and lot 9, own sister in blood to lot 2 and a white, was soon up at 200 gs. Mr. Gibson, the 1,000 gs. American, bid 210 and Mr. Boyd 230, but Mr. Foster's 235 secured her for Mr. Geo. Moore of Whitehall ; the next, also a white heifer — by a Bates bull upon a pure Fawsley dam — went cheap enough at a 100 gs., in the shower of rain, to Mr. Gibson ; and a handsome rich roan heifer, full of hair and very symmetrical, of the Janetta tribe, that followed the last into the ring, made but half the money. Princess Royal, another white by Lord Oxford 2nd, out of Princess Alice, bought at her Majesty's sale, went at 82 gs. ; and Duchess, another Charmer full of Bates' bJaod, a red, very neat but rather small, brought forth many bidders, but Mr. Foster got her at 175 gs. for Mr. Moore. The last calf of the same blood and a nice roan went to the same pur- chaser for 83 gs. Amongst the purchasers was Major Staplyton, who is establishing a herd at Myton Hall, in York- shire. Grand Duke of Kent, a young roan bull-calf full of roan hair and good looking, but suffering from a swollen knee and a scour, entered the ring as the first of the bulls, though he was lotted 21. Mr. Leney had reserved the right to make a bid for him, but Mr. Foster removed that by offering 500 gs. for him at once on condition that he was delivered healthy in a month ; there was no advance upon this sum, and the calf was bought for Mr. Geo. Moore. The other bulls were high in condition, short of hair, and a few rather lame, and they excited only the most languid competition. Nearly a third of the lots were white, and most of the 46 head were got by either Knightley (21077),Lord Oxford 2nd (20215),Grand Duke 15th (21852), or 12th Duke of Thorndale ; the produce of this last bull looked somewhat thin and delicate. A few fine old cows were shown near the ring, and the general arrangements were efficiently carried out. The following are the HEIFERS. Garlaud 6th, red, calved July 5, 1867 ; by Knightley (22051), dam (Spring Flower) by Killie Crankie (18129), Mr. Tate, (Her Majesty's Steward), 39 gs. Twin Duchess 3rd, red and white, calved September 19, 1867 ; by Knightley (22051), dam (Twin Duchess) by 4th Duke of Thorndale (17759), Mr. Foster (Killow, Cumberland), 200 gs. Beauty 3rd, white, calved July 28, 1867; by Knightley (22051), dam (Beauty) by Prince Alfred 2nd (18580), Mr. Larking (for the Pasha of Egypt), 35 gs. May Duchess 2nd, white, calved Sept. 11, 1867 ; by Knightley (22051) dam (May Queen) by May Duke (13320), Mr. Arkcoll (Sussex), 47 gs. Blanche 9th, roan, calved Sept. 14, 1867 ; by Waterloo Duke (21077), dam (Blanchett) by Magistrate (13274), Major Stapleton (Yorkshire), 45 ga. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. SS5 Sultana 6th, red and white, calved Sept. 23, 1807 ; by Water- loo Duke (21077), dam (Sultana 2nd) by Man in the Moon (18320), Mr. Fileher, 40 gs. Flora 9th, red and white, calved Dec. 3, 1867 ; by Knightley (22051), dam (Flora 6th) by Clifford (21137), Mr. Larking, 38 gs. Kent Butterfly 3rd, roan, calved Jan. 18, 1S6S ; by Knightley (22051), dam (Kent Butterfly) by 2nd Duke of Kent (19620), Major Staplyton, 61 gs. Countess 2nd, white, calved Nov. 23, 1867 ; by Knightley (22051), dam (Chorus) by 4th Duke of Thomdale (17750), Mr. G. More, 235 gs. Lady Oxford, white, calved April 5, 186S j by Lord Oxford 2nd (20215), dam (Columbia) by Bull's Run (19368), Mr. Gibson (New York), 100 gs. Purity 2nd, rich roan, calved April 8, 1868 ; by Knightley (22051), dam (Paulina) by second Duke of Kent (19620), Mr. Larking, 51 gs. Jenny 14th, red and white, calved April 16, 186S ; by Knight- ley (22051), dam (Jenny 5th) by Tippo 2nd (23075), Mr. R. Russell (Wrotham), S8 gs. Jenny 15th, roan, calved April 16, 1868 ; by Knightley (22051), dam (Jenny 3rd) by Tippoo (23074), Mr. R. Rus- sell, 43 gs. Fawsley 8th, roan, calved May 31, 1868 ; by Knightley (22051), dam (Fawsley 6th) by Waterloo Duke (21077), Mr. Tate, 32 gs. Oxford Jenny, white, calved June 6, 1868 ; by Lord Oxford 2nd (20215), dam (Jenny 6th) by Tippoo 2nd (23075), Mr. R. Russell, 34 gs. Thorndale Blanche, white, calved Oct. 27, 1868 ; by 12th Duke of Thorndale (A), dam (Blanche 8th) by Clifford (21437), Mr. Perkins, 21 gs. Princess Royal, white, calved Oct. 2 ; by Lord Oxford 2nd (20215), dam (Princess Alice) by British Prince (14197), Mr. Foster, 82 gs. Thorndale Butterfly, rich roan, calved Aug. 11, 1868 ; by 12th Duke of Thorndale (A), dam (Kent B'fly 2nd) by Berring- ton Grand Duke (21274), Mr. Attenborough, 41 gs. Thorndale Jenny, roan, calved Sept. 11, 1868 ; by 12th Duke of Thorndale (A), dam (Jenny 12th) by Clifford (21437) Mr. Attenborough, 43 gs. Duchess, red, calved Nov. 1, 1868 ; by Grand Duke 15th (21852), dam (Countess) by Knightley Grand Duke (24268) Mr. Foster, 175 gs. Fawsley 9th, roan, calved Dec. 11, 1868 ; by Lord Oxford 2nd (20215), dam (Fawsley5th) by Tippoo 2nd (23075), Mr. Hall (Tunbridge),26gs. Flora Duchess, red, calved Dec. 12, 1868 , by Grand Duke 15th (21852), dam (Flora 4th) by Tippoo 2nd (23075), Mr. Musgrove, 30 gs. Rarity 3rd, roan, calved Jan. 12, 1869 ; by Costa (21487), dam (Ruby) by Lord of the Harem (16430), Mr. George Moore, 83 gs. BULLS. Sir Raiuald, roan, calved Dec. 10, 1867 ; by Knightley (22051), dam (Charming) by Mameluke (13289), Mr. Pur- kiss, 40 gs. Sir Walter, white, calved Dec. 21, 1867; by Knightley (22051), dam (Sweet Briei) by Mameluke (13289), Mr. Morris, 36 gs. Little John, red and white, calved Jan. 13, 1868 ; by Knight- ley (22051), dam (Fawsley 5th) by Tippoo 2nd (23075), Mr. R. Waterman (Yalding), 40 gs. Duke of Wellington, red and white, calved Jan. 20, 1868 ; by Waterloo Duke (21077), dam (Columbine) by Lord of the Harem (16130), Mr. Cottingham, 31 gs. Cherry Duke, roan, calved April 16, 1868 ; by Lord Oxford 2nd (20215), dam (Sabrina) by May Duke (13320), Mr. Tamendale, 35 gs. White Knight, white, calved July 7, 1868 ; by Knightley (22051), dam (Springflower) hy Killie Crankie (18129), Mr. Ashdown, 18 gs. Knightley Butterfly, rich roan, calved April 30, 1868 ; by Knightley (22051), dam (Miss Thornton) by Welcome Guest (15497), Mr. Tomkins, 47 gs. Waterloo, red and white, calved June 6, 1868 ; by Waterloo Duke (21077), dam (Jenny 8th) by Clifford (21437), Mr. Kemsley, 17 gs. Waterloo 2nd, roan, calved Oct, 1, 1868 ; by Waterloo Duke (21077), dam (Jenny 9th) by Clifford (21437), Mr. R. Russell, 25 gs. Favourite, rich roan, calved September 19, 1868 ; by Lord Oxford 2nd (20215), dam (Jenny 10th) by Waterloo Duke (21077), Mr. Sturgeon, Essex, 18 gs. Eclipse, roan, calved May 8, 1868 ; Knightley (22051), dam (Jenny 11th) by Clifford (21437), Mr. Cottingham, 24 gs. Duke of Kent, roan, calved September 15, 1868 ; by Lord Oxford 2nd (20215), dam (Twin Duchess) by 4th Dk. of Thorndale (17750), Mr. White, 66 gs. Grand Duke of Wateringbury, white, calved Oct. 30, 1868 ; by 15th Grand Duke (21852), dam (C'tess of Wat'gbury) by Ld. Tenterdeu (22222), Mr. G. Phillips, 35 gs. Duke of Sussex, white, calved October 6, 1868 ; by 15th Grand Duke (21852), dam (Purity) by Lord Wallace (24473), no offer. Rob Roy, white, calved October 20, 1868 ; by Patrician (24728), dam (Maryland) by Bull's Run (19368), no offer. Thorndale, white, calved November 20, 1868 ; by 12th Duke of Thorndale (A), dam (Sultana 3rd) by Clifford (21437), no offer. The Cardinal, red, calved December 7, 1868 ; by Knightley (22051), dam (Charming) by Mameluke (13289), Mr. Lythall, 44 gs. Grand Sultan, roan, calved January 25, 1869 ; by Lord Oxford 2nd (20215), dam (Sultan 2nd) by Man in the Moon (18320), Mr. Arkcoil, 12 gs. Thorndale Bates, red-and-white, calved Feb. 3, 1809 ; by 4th Duke of Thorndale (17750), dam (Levity) by Lord Thoresby (14856), Mr. R. Russell, 23 gs. Duke of Wateringbury 2nd, red-and-white, calved December 19,1868: by Duke of Wateringbury (23/99), dam (Flora 7th) by Clifford (21437) Mr. Arkcoil, 15 gs. Grand Duke of Kent, rich roan, calved December 23, 1868 ; by Lord Oxford 2nd (20215), dam (Grand Duchess 9th) by Grand Duke 3rd (16182), Mr. G. Moore, 500 gs. Baron Oxford 2nd, roan, calved February 3, 1869 ; by Lord Oxford 2nd (20215), dam (Columbine) by Lord of the Harem (16430), Mr. Arkcoil, 14 gs. Oxford Lad, red roan, calved March 1, 1869 ; by Lord Oxford 2nd (20215), dam (Twin Duchess 2nd) by 4th Duke of Thorndale (17750), Mr. Lythall, 45 gs. SUMMARY. £ s. d. £ 8. d. 23 Cows 70 5 2 1015 19 0 20Bulls 50 19 3 1139 5 0 43 averaged 64 1 6 ... 2755 4 £ 4 Sylph heifers averaged 18118 6 do. bulls 42 head, not including the 500 gs. calf, averaged 46 11 53 2 THE WICKEN SALE. The 5 minutes past 9 from Euston conveyed the majority of the company the next morning to Wicken Park, Lord Pen- rhyn's Northamptonshire estate. The herd, the larger part of which is reared at Penrhyn Castle, is of longer standing than that of Wateringbury ; and, for several years past, his Lordship has used high-class bulls. AVhen the herd was first started, Sir Charles Knightfey's Lovemore (10476) was pur- chased; then Mr. Booth's Vanguard (10994) was hired for a season. In 1859, Marmaduke (14897) was bought at Cobham Park sale for 350 gs., and, in a year or two, Duke of Geneva (19614), an American bull was purchased, on arrival in this country, for 600 gs. He was succeeded by Grand Duke 11th (21849), a 500 gs. bull, from Mr. Hegan, and Third Duke of Wharfdale (21619), the sire of Duchess 97th, sold last year for 1,000 gs., was hired from Capt. Guuter. Now, Cherry Duke, a magnificent young bull, bred at Penrhyn Castle, holds sway. At times, fashionably-bred cows were bought, and the character of the herd gradually raised. The first draught sale, consisting of a few bulls, took place in 1862, at a low average, under £20. In 1865 Mr. Carr officiated with 50 head, and made £37 16s. a piece of them ; while two years siuce, Mr. Strafford sold 55 head for £31 Is, j but, this year, not only pp2 556 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. was the blood of the stock more fashionable, but the previous averages were nearly doubled The Park is inconveniently situated for a sale, being seven miles distant from Wolverton station, and the conveyances limited ; still, a larger company than we have ever seen present at Wicken Park assembled, and the huge luncheon tent was crowded. His Lordship oc- cupied the chair, and near him sat Lords Dunmore, Kenlis, and Southampton, Col. Kingscote, Capt. Oliver, and many other influential breeders. Much of the stock was brought out in good condition, several of the animals were however rather poor and narrow, but the yearling heifers were particularly good. The older bulls, too, were excellent ; but the calves looked thin, the stock went off well at the following prices : HEIFERS. Duchess, 12 years old (Capt. de Winton), 37 gs. Grand Duchess, 11 years (T. Barber), 29 gs. Darlington 9th, 10 years (Capt. Oliver), 33 gs. Belinda, 9 years (J. P. Foster), 37 gs. Duchess of Lancaster 5th, 9 years (Johnston), 27 gs. Grand Duchess 2nd, 9 years (T. Barber), 28 gs. Butterwort, 9 years (Brown), 27 gs. Samphire, 8 years (Dodd), 32 gs. Violante's Butterfly, 7 years (Lord Kenlis), 55 gs. Darlington 11th, 6 years (C. Sturgeon), 22 gs. Darlington 12th, G years (H. J. Sheldon), 105 gs. Darlington 13th, 5 years (Dodd), 35 gs. Symmetry, 5 years (Lord Southampton), 45 gs. China Rose, 5 years (Lord Southampton), 43 gs. Grand Duchess 3rd, 4 years (Hon. C. W. Fitzwilliara), 105 gs. Grand Duchess 5th, 3 years (F. Leney), 105 gs. Darlington 14th, 3 years (B. Wainman), 73 gs. Duchess of Lancaster 9th, 3 years (J. M. Heathcote), 50 gs. Grand Duchess 6th, 3 years (J. P. Foster), 145 gs. Darlington 15th, 2£ years (Lord Kenlis), 120 gs. Rosebud, 2£ years (J. M. Heathcote), 50 gs. Sophy, 2| years, (J. M. Heathcote), 50 gs. Nancy, 2^ years (Major Stapylton), 63 gs. Destiny, 2 years, withdrawn. Bloom, 1J years (Lord Southampton), 33 gs. Duchess of Lancaster 10th, 2 years (J. Arabiu), 42 gs. Grand Duchess of Wales, 1| years, (Lord Duumore), 200 gs. Darlington 17th, 1§ years (Lord Kenlis), 120 gs. Roseleaf, lj years (Lord Southampton), 125 gs. Duchess of Lancaster 12th, 7 months (Musgrove), 30 gs. Bud, 7 months (Musgrove), 35 gs. Blush, 3 months (Lord Southampton), 21 gs. Seraph, 3 mouths (Brierley), 31 gs. Darlington 18th, 13 months (Lord Kenlis), 195 gs. Roseflower, 1J months (J. A. Mumford), 26 gs. BULLS. Queensbury, IS months old (J. M. Heathcote), 32 gs. Duke of Grafton 2nd, 23 months (J. M. Heathcote), 130 gs. Earl of Cleveland 2nd, 23 months (C. W. Holbech), 150 gs. Julius, 18 mouths (Capt. de Winton), 37 gs. Jason, 16 months (Blackgrove), 41 gs. Valiant, 14 mouths (Clark), 41 gs. Neptune, 15 months (Simonds), 35 gs. Sultan, 14 mouths (Lord Southampton), 43 gs. Earl of Darlington 2nd, 12 mouths (Smith), 45 gs. Julian, 12 months (Langley), 26 gs. Senator, 11 months (C. Harbidge), 32 gs. Snowdon, 10 months (Whitton), 16 gs. Earl of Darlington 3rd, 8 months (W. Biddell), 25 gs. Duke of Wellington, 8 months (W. Woodward), 50 gs. Grand Cross, 7 months, not offered. Wharfdale Wild Eyes, 7 months (It. Paxton), 31 gs. Gauntlet, 6 months (E. Crouch), 50 gs. Earl of Darlington 4th, 1 month (Langham), 18 gs. Victor, 1 month (Peaco), 20 gs. SUMMARY. 64cows £67 2 9 £2,282 14 LSbulls 47 19 0 863 2 52 averaged £60 10 0 £3,145 16 The Grand Duchesses were all descendants ol Mr. Bates. Wild Eyes tribe, with a Knightley and a Cherry cross in tliem — the eight averaged £91. The Darliugtons, full oi Bates ; blood and descended from Mr. Sainsbury's stock, realised £75 10s. each for eleven. GOVERNMENT MEASURES. THE UNIFORMITY OF RATING AND CATTLE DISEASES BILLS. At a meeting of the Peterborough District Chamber of Agriculture, held to consider Mr. Goschen's Bill for Uniformity of Rating, the following resolutions were carried : That the meeting is of opinion that the present manner of rating, as set forth in the Bill, is not consistent or just. That the meet- ing approves of a fixed table of deductions, as fixed by sche- dule 5, but objects to the other parts unless amended. That the deputation to the Valuation Board be increased to three. That the powers assigned in the Bill to the surveyor of taxes are too arbitrary, and would lead to great local expense. That as regards schedule 5, fen land that needs draining should have a larger deduction than 5 per cent., or that the foot note be made more comprehensive, aud including all public works necessary for draining." Mr. Turner, one of the delegates to the Central Chamber, read the resolutions passed at that Chamber relative to the " Contagious Diseases Animals' Bill," aud a circular was read, signed by the President of the Central Chamber, who, with Lord Robert Montagu, has been framing amendments on the Government Cattle Bill. He (the president) expected but little opposition to the alteration regarding native stock, but a most determined one as regarded the amendments for pro- viding separate markets for foreign cattle, without which he deemed the Bill would be well nigh valueless, and he called upou every subscriber to the Local Chambers to urge upon members of Parliment in his district the necessity of support- ing these amendments, which, if carried, would tend to increase rather than diminish the supply of foreign meat. Mr. AVells said he had voted for Mr. Forster's Bill in pre- ference to Lord Robert Montagu's, as he considered it a very good Bill, and one that gave greater security to the farmers. The resolutions passed at the Central Chamber met with his entire approbation, except the slaughtering of foreign cattle at the port of entry. He thought it would be time enough to slaughter them when the disease made its appearance. Lord Kesteven questioned the advisability of allowing the disease to enter the country before dealing with it. He spoke feelinglv, having suffered severely, and thought it very hazard- ous to allow the disease to enter the country. Mr. H. Little remarked that the disease did uot make its appearance for perhaps a fortnight after the animals had been in contact with diseased cattle. THE PROPOSED FOREIGN CATTLE MARKET. At a Meeting of the Essex Chamber of Agriculture at Chelmsford on May 3, Mr. John Clayden read a paper in which he said, the Government Bill failed in one of its most important objects — that of not confining fortign fat animals, on their arrival iu this country, to safety markets with proper slaughterhouses attached. The bill favoured the foreign pro- ducer aud importer to the prejudice of the home producer through not having a provision of that kind. Animals coming from where we know not, and having been iu contact with what we know not in their transport, ought to be so placed on their arrival that our own auimals were not likely to be decimated by imported disease. Not more than 5 per cent, of our food supply was imported, and surely it was importaut to preserve the 95 per ceut. Perfect isolation of foreign cattle was the only complete remedy ; and he recommended water- side markets, slaughterhouses, and quarantine pounds. He concluded by proposing the following resolution : — " That this meeting, having considered the Cattle Diseases Contagious (No. 2) Bill, while it approves in the fullest manner of the restrictions placed upou the removal of our home stock, while suft'ering iu any manner from disease, is of opiuion that no bill will be satisfactory that does not provide for the establishment of water-side markets with compulsory slaughterhouses for foreign fat Bnimals,and space for a sufficient time for quaran- tine upon store ones, as it considers that by these means alone the preservation and increase of our home animals will be de- veloped, and that constant supply of foreign stock arriving on THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 5o7 our shores, which will give to our teeming millions a good sup- ply of animal food at moderate prices." Mr. Nockolds seconded the resolution, and in the course of his speech he stated that Mr. Forster had expressed an opinion that the public at large would not agree with the proposal of the Chamber, but he (the speaker) did not agree with this, and thought the English people would rather prefer the proposed new system. He pointed out that the .River Conservancy scheme involved the expenditure of public money, and therefore the public would not object to pay the rates demanded by the public authorities for carrying out the proposed regulations in regard to the introduction of foreign cattle. Sir Thomas Western was iu favour of the water-side mar- kets and slaughter of cattle in accordance with the regulations suggested by Mr. Clayden. He noticed the opposition offered to the bill by the inhabitants of many of the large towus, who were afraid that they would be deprived of all adequate supply or.' food, and said that the government would have preferred that a bill dealing with the question should have been intro- duced by the Privy Council rather than by themselves. Mr. H. Pertwee (Danbury) expressed himself in support of the opinions expressed by the reader of the paper. Colonel Siiakespear was of opinion that the opposition of the large towns was chiefly owing to the fact that they did but imperfectly understand the question as consumers. They thought it was a farmers' question, whereas it was quite as much for the consideration of the consumer as for the pro- ducer. Mr. J. F. Butler concurred in the remarks expressed by the last speaker as to the fact that there was but an imperfect understanding of the question among the inhabitants of the large towns. He noticed the injurious effect which the recent cattle plague had had upon the consumer, and pointed out that it was to the interest of the latter as well as the producer to support the measure under consideration. Mr. Clayden's resolution having been carried it was agreed, on the motion of Mr. Robinson, that a copy of the same be sent to every member of parliament for the boroughs and county of Essex. This resolution having been adopted, the proceedings terminated with the usual vote of thanks to the chairman. (Not a word appears to have been said about the new City Market.) THE HEREFORDSHIRE AGRI- CULTURAL SOCIETY. An adjourned meeting of the Herefordshire Agricultural Society was held at Hereford ; the Rev. Archer Clive in the chair. Mr. Owen Fowler, the secretary explained that this was an adjourned meeting to receive communications from Ross, Leominster, and Ledbury, respecting the proposed amal- gamation of the different agricultural societies in the county. In accordance with the resolution passed at the last meeting, he had written to the several secretaries, and had had two re- plies— one from Ross and the other from Ledbury: from Leominster he had had no answer. The letters were then read, and that from Messrs. Masefield and Son, Ledbury, stated that those gentlemen considered an amalgamation of the agricultural societies of the county would be very desirable, and they would lay the matter before the committee of the Ledbury society. The letter from Mr. Morris, secretary to the Ross society, stated that at a special meeting of the committee, the subject of the amalgamation of the agricultural societies of the county was considered, and that the committee, after deliberating for some time, came to the conclusion that it would not be desirable to dissolve the local societies ; and they proposed that a deputation from the Ross society should be appointed to meet one from the Hereford society, with the object of making a proposal by which the latter society might be induced occasionally to hold their show in different parts of the county at certain intervals. The Secretary said what the meeting had now to decide was whether they would hold the show at Hereford as hereto- fore, and what prizes they would give. The Chairman proposed that the next show should be held in Hereford. Mr. Jancxy seconded the proposition, and it was carried nem cm. THE FARMERS AND FOX-HUNTING. At the hustings Mr. David Robertson appeared as " the farmers' friend," and in reference to the game question said that " the proprietors of Scotland had themselves to blame for the outcry that had been at present raised. . . . He sup- ported Mr. M' Lagan's bill, and would support a similar mea- sure if again introduced." In the House of Commons the same Mr. Robertson said the matter " must be left to the good feeling existing between landlord and tenant. With regard to rabbits, the difficulty was this— that if you gave them over to the tenants, they would probably employ rabbit-catchers, and then there would not be a fox left in the country. He did not mean to say that the people meant to kill the foxes ; but it required a very talented man to use a trap which should catch only what it was set to catch. Rabbit-catchers were a source of great misery to masters of hounds, and if the tenants got this power of killing rabbits unscientifically, hares and foxes would go as well." In other words, when before the electors, Mr. Robertson promised to support a bill which permits rab- bits and hares to be killed by any person, and in any manner ; and when in Parliament, he demurs to a farmer exercising even his present legal right to kill rabbits. The one speech wan to please the Berwickshire farmers, the other to frighten the English fox-hunting squires. This reference to foxes is curious in another respect. As an old and ardeut foxhunter, no one knows better than Mr. Robertson that game preserves are to- tally antagonistic to fox-hunting. He knows that it is in these game preserves that the covers are oftenest drawn " blank" and it is there where the greatest number of three- legged foxes are to be found. More than that, wherever rab- bits are numerous, gamekeepers always employ those identical professional trappers of whom Mr. Robertson is so much afraid when employed by farmers. It so happens, too, that in Scotland the majority of most hunting fields is composed of farmers, and there is not the slightest doubt that were the hare dealing business put an end to, and Mr. Loch's bill passed, fox-hunting, and also partridge-shooting, would be greatly im- proved.— Correspondent of North British Agricnlturist . FOXES VERSUS RABBITS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SCOTSMAN. Sir, — In the Game Law debate in the House of Commons, on Tuesday last, Mr. Robertson, member for Berwickshire, is reported to have said, " One thing was quite certain, that if they gave the tenants the right to kill the rabbits, very shortly they would not have a fox in the country." This appears to me to be a very grave aspersion — though, no doubt, unin- tentional on Mr. Robertson's part — on the sportsman-like qualities and character of our farmers. My experience leads to a very different conclusion, and I feel confident that my opinion will be endorsed by every hunting man, who, like myself, labours under the misfortune of having to seek his sport in a game-preserved country, when I say that for one fox killed by a farmer, ten or a dnzen may be credited to the gamekeeper. The fact is, that keepers have an innate anti- pathy to the fox—a feeling growing almost into a passion in the heart of a Highlander ; and they can hardly help taking a shot at one, even though they may have received strict orders to preserve them. This is, of course, worse where the bad habit prevails of giving the keeper the rabbits as part of his wages, or letting them to a rabbit-catcher. I am in a position to state, with some authority, that our farmers are not inimical to foxhunting ; and, as a proof, I may mention (and I do so with much pleasure, as it redounds to the credit of the men over whose lands I have hunted), that for the last twelve months my bill for damages, including loss of poultry, has amounted exactly to £1 7s. 6d.— that, too, iu a district which includes the whole of East Lothian, and a large part of Mid- Lothian, and which, I need hardly say, is as highly cultivated as any part of Great Britain. If fox-hunting can only be maintained by the preservation of rabbits, fond as I am of the sport, I do not hesitate to say it, too, must fall rather than that the relationship between landlord and tenant be allowed to continue in its present unsettled and unsatisfactory con- dition. I believe, however, that Mr. Robertson's fears are perfectly groundless : and, further, that it is for the interest of the sportsman that the grievance of the former with regard to hares and rabbits should be speedily and completely redressed. Gilmerton, Drew, May 13. I am, &c-, A KiNiOCH. 558 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE OVER-PRESERVATION OF GAME. At the dinner of the Brecon Chamber of Agriculture last month, Mr. Duckham said some portions of the agricultural press had taunted the Chamber with being afraid to entertain this subject ; but he felt it was a pressing one, and one of deep interest to the nation at large. In his opinion it was the abuse of everything which was bad. Property had its duties as well as its rights, and upon tlie abuse of those privileges it was that he expected to hear a fearless expression of opinion. For his own part he was at all times delighted to see his land- lord finding some game and shooting over his estate, and he thought that was the feeling generally entertained by the far- mers of England. This was a very different state of things to the over-preservation of game, which was becoming a great national evil, but the remedy was not so easy as some appeared to imagine. The renting of a farm was a private compact be- tween two individuals, and should be treated by them as a strictly commercial transaction. Thus, when the landlord in- sisted upon joining his tenant in stocking the land, the latter of course said he could pay the same amount of rent as though he had the full occupation ; and with regard to this the public could have no voice. But when it was argued that the rent shall rule the amount at which the property was to be rated, it became obvious that a gross injustice was com- mitted on the surrounding ratepayers. That over-preservation of game lowered the standard of the cultivation of the soil, lessened the produce by the destruction of the crops, spread distress and ruin around the once happy homes of many an English farmer, and tended to fill the gaols and workhouses with inmates, and thereby greatly increased the local burdens, was undoubted. He knew it was argued that those who took the land with the game reserved did it with their eyes open ; but it was only on his way there he met in the train an in- telligent farmer, who told him that he was compelled to leave his farm in consequence of its being so infested with vermin, called rabbits — that when he took the farm he was told they should not be allowed to injure hini, and in good faith he in- vested largely in artificial manures. He farmed his land as highly as he could, but alas ! his wheat crop was damaged to the estimated extent of £200. He applied for compensation ; £40 was allowed ; he remonstrated, and then he was told to be content or leave. Tims he was compelled for a time to quietly submit to a severe annual loss, or leave his invested capital in the soil for the benefit of others. These were serious matters, and he thought such worthy of consideration. THE WOOD-CHOPPER. All day long their bright axes ring, And the giant kings of the wood bow low ; And all day long they merrily sing, Keeping time to each sturdy blow. They swing their tools with a right good will, And the chips about them fly ; The sweat runs fast, but with chorus still Their hardy trade they ply. All day long ; and the snow-birds come Prom the sunny land of the spicy South, To greet them here in their forest home With answer to their songs uncouth. And the woodman greets the tiny birds That twitter about his feet ; And they cheer him on ; far better than words, Their chirpings, soft and sweet. All day long, 'neath the mossy limbs That stretch their bare, leafless arms to the sky, They labour on till the daylight dims And the winter day begins to die. Then the sounds of their steady labour cease, And their day of toil is through, As the stars look out in dreamy peace From the winter sky of blue. And homeward with tired steps they go ; The woodman's home is a home of rest ; For he finds at its hearth a ruddy glow, And ever a welcome of love expressed. Ah, home has ever a nameless charm ; Buf sweeter when it is won By tRe honest toil of the sturdy arm, With cheerful song from sun to sun ! DEATH OF MR. B. P. JOHNSON, Secretary of the New York. State Agricultural Society. Mr. B. P. Johnson died on the 12th April. Until failing health and frequent domestic afflictions had cast their shadow over his latter years, we had few more active and efficient labourers in the cause of improved agriculture, and none more earnest and sincere than Col. Johnson. There are few Ame- rican names more widely known and held in such general esteem in this department. Born, we believe, in Columbia County, in 1793, he was graduated at Union College, in or about the year 1813, and afterwards studied law, entering upon and continuing the practice of his profession for many years at Rome, Oneida Co., but uniting with it much attention to farming and rural affairs. He was greatly interested in promoting the cause of temperance at an early day ; and, be- fore his connexion with agricultural matters was as marked as it subsequently became, he had a wide acquaintance throughout the State, possessing then as alwrays a rare faculty of winning and retaining the attachment of those with whom he was brought in contact. It will be remembered that our State Agricultural Society dates its real existence as a working body from the reorganization effected under a new constitution in February 1841. From that day until his last Col. John- son's official connexion with its operations was almost con- tinuous. He was a vice-president in 1841, corresponding secretary in 1844 (the chief duties then devolving on the recording secretary), and president in 1845. In 1847 he was first chosen as working secretary, and came to this city to fill the post in which for the next twenty- two years he was to remain. Adding to a happy faculty for the easy performance of work in the midst of the bustle and confusion of a State fair, the no less important ability of selecting effective assistance and systematising the work to be done, it was a position for wlvch he was qualified iu an unusual degree — answering every question with readi- ness and good nature, greeting every new-comer with cordial pleasure, cognisant of every detail, but spending his own time where it would count to the best advantage of the whole. A ready speaker and writer, he was also a most entertaining companion in the social circle or in travel, a frequent attendant and speaker at the agricultural exhibitions of other States and of our own counties and towns, with a good wwd for all and only silence where the shortcomings of others were concerned. If not as eager as he might perhaps have been if younger, in seeking for the Society new tasks and efforts, he avoided the difficulties and mistakes likely to accompany them, and, as a whole, his administration of its affairs must be regarded as judiciously and scrupulously adapted to promote the objects for which it was organised. Conciliatory in bearing and averse to quarrels as he was, he could not be persuaded or driven from any position or decision properly taken, and was firm in the contest where right and reason was required. In 1851 he was a Commissioner from this country to the first Universal Exhibition at London, where his labours and influence were of great value in the American Department, and he also attended the succeeding Exhibition in 18G2, though taking a less active part than before. He was an honorary or corresponding member of several foreign societies, and indeed his labours met with recognition abroad quite as readily as at home. — Albany Cultivator.— [We, had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Johnson when in England, and can at least in some degree confirm this eulogium. — Editor F.M.~] THE LATE LORD FEVERSHAM.— The foundation stone of a monument to this nobleman's memory has been laid at the town of Helmsley, in "Yorkshire. The assemblage gathered together comprised the great bulk of the inhabitants of Helmsley, and numerous farmers and residents in the ad- joining towns of Malton, Pickering, Kirbymoorside, and the surrounding district. The form which the memorial has taken is a Gothic cross, embodying a canopy under which is to be placed a marble staute (by Mr. Noble, the sculptor) of the late lord. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 559 FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL GOSSIP. French viticultunsts — aud viticulturists are as impor- tant a class in France as agriculturists — remark with sa- tisfaction that the share of French wines in the general wine consumption of England continues to increase from year to year. In 1858 this share was only 8 per cent., and in 1859 it was still only 9 per cent. In 1860, however, it rose to 15 per cent., aud in 1861 to 20 per cent., while in 1865 it had further advanced to 21 per cent. In the last three years the proportion has been as follows : 1866, 25.66 per cent. ; 1867, 25.66 per cent. ; and 1868, 29.20 per cent. Comparing 1868 with 1859 we have thus an advance of 20 per cent., showing an average progress at the rate of 2 per cent, per annum for the last ten years. The wines of f ranee appear thus to he steadily entering more and more into English consumption, and to be gaining ground every year at the expense of Spain and Portu- gal.— The Governor-General has been adopting measures of late to secure the ingathering of the crops this season in Algeria. The following official note has been published on the subject in the Moniieur de VAlgerie : " The mayors of several com- munes have informed the Governor-General that applications have been made to them asking that the troops may he placed at the disposal of the colonists to assist them in their harvest work. The Governor-Geueral regrets that it will not be pos- sible to fully satisfy all the applications of this description. The greater part of the infantry troops have been placed for purposes of observation on the, limits of the Tell in order to assure the security of the country. These troops have during the last fortnight come to the aid of the native population, and have been very actively occupied in defending them against grasshoppers, which have been reported in rather considerable numbers at different points of the Tell district. The greatest efforts are being made to destroy the grasshoppers, and pre- vent their invading the Tell country ; and everything leads to the hope that these efforts will be crowned with success. The colonists must not, then, rely too much this year on the as- sistance of the military, which can only be afforded them to the utmost possible extent. They will do well to make their own arrangements beforehand, and to provide themselves with other labourers. The indigenous population — Arabs and Ka- byles — have been invited to come and work for the colonists at the period of the harvest ; and they have been informed that, by exception, no travelling-cards will be required from them. — At the last meeting of the Council of Administration of the Society of Agriculturists of France, the Council ad- mitted 104 new members — viz., 13 founder members, 83 or- dinary members, 5 delegate members, and 3 foreign members. Referring to certain congresses held contemporaneously with the official district State agricultural shows, the Council of Administration addressed its thanks to the President of the Society, who, assisted by the Secretary-General and several members of the Council, personally directed the proceedings of the Lyons Congress. Thanks were also voted to M. Ptobinet for a communication which he made as to the Agricultural Congress of Aix, in which he took part. The Council au- thorised the Bureau to strike medals, to he awarded in the name of the Society at the Beaune Exhibition of Wines to be held in November, and the presidency of which has been offered to M. Drouyn de Lhuys. The Comte d'Esterno, vice-president and reporter of a committee appointed to consider the ques- tion of Agricultural credit ; read a report which he had drawn up in the name of the committee ; the conclusions of the re- port will be submitted for consideration at the next general meeting of the society. The election of M. Drouyn de Lhuys and M. Lecouteux as honorary members of the Royal Agri- cultural Society of England was received with much pleasure by the Council, which fixed June 16 as the date of its next meeting. — The cattle shown at the official district agricultural exhibition just held at Chartres — whichwas supposed to repre- sent the departements of the Seine-Inferieure, the Eure, the Calvados, the Manche, the Orne, the Garthe, and the Eure-et- Loire— comprised pure Normans, pure Shorthorns, pro- ducts of crossings of Shorthorns with various breeds, and a fourth class embracing miscellaneous breeds. Altogether 112 representatives of the Norman Dreed competed for 30 prizes. The Normans appear to have sensibly changed of late years, and changed, too, for the better, having become thicker, fuller, more compact, less bony, and more fleshy. The question arises, whether this transformation of a more specially milking breed into a beast nearer the butcher's model is attributable to selection, or whether it is the consequence of crossings with Durham bulls. The Nor- man breeders do not willingly acknowledge the intervention of the latter ; and it is, then, to selection that we may attribute the improvements obtained. Some, however, incline to think that each of these influences has sustained a nearly equal share in the progress realised. The denial of Durham crossings which has been always very decided in a part of the Calvados, seems to have become much weaker in other parts of the dis- trict ; in several localities, indeed, far from rejecting or denying the intervention of Durhams, breeders begin to attribute to Durham blood all the credit of the im- provements obtained as regards a quicker and more abundant production of meat. It appears, in fact, to be shown pretty clearly that Durham bulls rapidly transform Hie Nor- man race into a very precocious butchers' hreed. The Nor- man race may thus become in a short time the competitor of the Charolaise breed, as it will be modified so as to greatly re- semble it. The producer of Charolaise beasts has resolutely devoted himself to the manufacture of meat, and he has arrived more or less directly at the desired result in proportion as he has resorted to crossings more or less actively. It will pro- bably be the same in Normandy ; the intervention or non- intervention of Durham bulls will hasten or delay the direct consummation. The merinos and half-hred merinos comprised 87 lots, embracing altogether 220 head. The producers of the half-bred merinos appear to have ahandoned to some slight extent wool, the principal and only product of the old merino ; and they have endeavoured to turn out an animal useful both as a wool-produc er and a meat-producer. Other breeders have retained all the old defects of the Merino, although it is pro- bable enough that the excellence of the breed as regards an abundant supply of wool might be made quite compatible with its yielding a larger amount of meat. Take him for all in all, the merino appears to be a favourite in the Beauce country, although he requires to be modified to meet the economic ne- cessities of the epoch. At the Chartres show Dishleys, South- downs, and Dishley-Merinos made, however, a good display, and were regarded with satisfaction by breeders and the public. In the pig classes there were 27 prizes, and these were com- peted for by 28 lots of indigenous breeds, 12 lots of foreign breeds, and eleven lots of crossings, &c. Pigs of the Norman breed appeared to great advantage among these classes. There was also a good show of poultry and implements at this Chartres show, of which we have perhaps now said enough. " GOOSE" WHEAT.— Some years since, a wild goose was shot in Washington territory, America, and a few grains of wheat were taken from its craw. Being very large and full, they were preserved and planted. The yield was found to be so great as to lead to its propagation, until this variety, which is known in the territory as the " goose wheat," has become a standard one iD that section of the country. Samples of this wheat were recently sent to the agricultural department at Washington. Upon examining the samples at the museum, of which there are some 2,000 varieties, the same wheat was found, being one of the samples sent from the Paris Exposition, and grown in Cuenca, in Spain. — Gardeners' Magazine. 580 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. CALENDAR OF AGRICULTURE. This month is the busiest season of sowing tur- nips over the United Kingdom. The land having been prepared for being sown by the repeated ploughings, harrowings, rollings, and picking by hand of weeds and stones, is now drilled into ridglets of about 2S inches in width, by one furrow or by a " bout" of the common plough, or the drills are opened by one furrow of the double mould- board plough. The more than half- rotted farm yard dung is spread evenly along the hollows, so as to cover the ground with no part bare. The ridglets are split by the plough and reversed over the dung, which must be completely covered by fresh soil of two furrows one from each side, on which the seed is immediately sown by a two-drill machine, drawn by one horse. On cloddy crumbling soils, the drills must be rolled by a pressure of 6 cwt. of cast-iron, which makes the cleanest work of all rollers ; the rolling crushes the clods, closes the surface against drought, and acts as a lock and key with regard to moisture. In dry seasons this rolling constitutes a valuable part of turnip farming on the soils now mentioned. On alluvial soils that are strictly confined to that denomination, as in the diluvial county of Norfolk, and in some parts of England, and over the whole extent of Scotland, which has no other soils than fresh water alluviums superimposed on the primitive rocks, the twice drilling of the land is not attended with any detriment with regard to moisture by the frequent exposure, as the soils are very finely comminuted, are close in the particles, and retain moisture very equably with caloric in a just proportion. But over the Southern half of England, the marina clays approach the surface and form soils of many modifications, along with chalks, gravels, and sands, green and ferruginous. On the lightest soils where clay is absent, the exposure of the land in the hottest season of the year, by twice drilling, dissipates the moisture, and warms the thiu stratum of soil beyond the sprout of vegetation. On the clayey mixtures of soils, where that ingredient is forward in the quantity, the working of the lands forms clods that are not easily reduced, passing between the lines of the harrow, and sinking be- neath the weight of the roll without being crushed. The drilling of these lands raises ridglets of clods wholly dried in the particle and impenetrable to vegetation. Under a scorching sun the turnip seed can scarcely germinate in such bed, and even the rolling of the drills does not much mend the matter. The lands being laid flat, gives the better chance of retaining moisture when the dung is spread on the surface in broadcast and ploughed under with one furrow. The seed is sown in rows of any width by double-drill machines, with two loug coulters to make ruts in the land. The common corn drill will perform the work by putting seed into the boxes at the distances that arc wished. The farm yard dung will be conveniently covered in the land and managed by the straws of litter being cut into short lengths, as has been frequently mentioned in our monthly observations. Auxiliary manures, as bones and guano, are sown by double-drill machines along the raised ridglets among the fresh soil over the flat ground, with loug coulters, to make ruls on the flat surface. This purpose will be very much promoted by raising a ridglet from one deep furrow of the common plough, which is deeply split by the coulter of the machine, depositing the seed in a fresh bed of soil, which is immediately rolled and pressed together. In all ca*es of flat sowing, the roll is an indispensable application. It is objected to flat sowing as compared with drilling', that it affords not the same convenience for scarrifying and working the intervals and for destroying the weeds. The hollow intervals of the raised ridglets do certainly afford a much greater convenience for that purpose, which is the most important in green crop farming, where it is properly executed. This advantage is counterbalanced by the more sheltered position enjoyed by the piauts on the flat surface from the effects of drought and from the better chance of obtaining the use of moisture. These advantages are seen to confer the superiority of flat sowing on the soils and under the climates of South Britain. Sow Swedish turnips till the middle of the month, and follow with green rounds, and lastly, sow the white globes. Turnip sowing should be mostly finished this month. Plough pared and burned lands en which the ashes are spread with a thiu furrow ; harrow it smooth by repeated harrowings. Sow the seed by hand, and cover by a single or double line of the light harrows. A rolling is often very necessary. If the lands be deep and loamy, the land is wrought into tilth, drilled, and sown. Plough the intervals of the drills ; horse and hand- hoe potatoes, beet, parsnips, and carrots. Plough potatoes deeply, especially on stiff soils, and break the drills well with the hand-hoe. Minute care adds much to the success of crops. Shear sheep, and mark by signs of distinction the different ages and conditions. Wean the lambs of the year, and place them on the best rastures. Put mares to the stallion regularly. Cut and destroy all weeds on pastures ; pull by hand all tall weeds among grain crops, and destroy the weeds on the sides of roads, ditches, and hedges. Hay harvest will commence in this month, in early seasons, and in forward climates. Clovers, sainfoins, and early meadows, will be cut, dried, and stacked, quickly as possible. The making of hay requires plenty of hands, kind treatment of the labourers, and much quickness in every operation. Allow 5 or 6 haymakers to each scythe or mower, besides the hands that may be required in the carrying process. In favourable weather hay may be stacked in 48 hours after being cut, where it has been properly managed by being alternately and repeatedly cocked and turned- In stacking hay, it is better to let it sink and con- solidate by its own weight, than to tread it into solidity, as is usually done. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 561 CALENDAR OF GARDENING. KITCHEN GARDEN. First and third weeks sow succession peas in the early sorts, as the Hotspur, Chaulton, and Cormack's Kent, with a few rows of the " tall marrow," of which the tall growers will bear for weeks. The new varieties are Dillistone's Early, Carter's First Crop, Sutton's Ring- leader, and Veitch's Early, wrhieh are all nearly identical aud the best for early cropping and to the end of that season. Peas sown late seldom escape mildew. Peas will succeed in the driest summers by the follow- ing treatment : Dig the ground deeply, manure with moist vegetable compost six inches under the seed-drills, and soak the soil over "that;" raise a three or four-inch ridge of fine earth, press it firm and even, make the drill three inches deep. Sow the seed, water it, return the covering earth and put it down with copious waterings in the lower grounds on each side of the ridge. This treatment will secure a crop of peas in any season of drought. Sow kidney beans and runners; for a succession, cabbages ; the small quick growers come in speedily for summer and autumn, with turnips for autumn. Carrots and onions to draw young or stand the winter with lettuces and small salads ; kidney beans twice and round spinach, every week or ten days. Fourth week sow again turnips, salads, and lettuce. Stick peas, earth up, and hoe between crops. Plant out cucumbers and vegetable marrow. Transplant cape brocoli about the middle of the month, cauliflower for August, making the ground rich with com- post, also transplant borecole, Scotch kale, savoy, and Brussels sprouts. Asparagus beds still yield, but should not be cut beyond the 10th. Beds and rows are mutilated by too close cutting. A shoot should always remain untouched to each crown. Scatter rich earth with droppings, over the beds, but avoid salt, for if a particle fall on a wet loaf it decomposes its tissue, and the plant dies ; better by far mix an. ounce or two with a bushel of compost, and let it thus be washed into the ground. Plant young lemonthyme, savory, sweet marjoram, basil, and also slips of lavender ; rosemary, rue, and other hardy sweet herbs in cool shady beds for subsequent transplantation. Cut the aromatic herbs for drying when they begin to show flower. Thin out onions by degrees for use, leaving the bulbing stock four to six inches asunder. If the weather be very dry, frequent light hoeings will prevent the surface from cracking, and also cause the attraction of moisture and bring on the plants. This result has been exemplified in dry seasons when whole beds of onions have been destroyed and others saved by the above treat- ment. FRUIT DEPARTMENT. Apples and pear espalier trees will have produced many young shoots : those ill-placed should be removed to the bottom, the others may be left for a month longer. Many persons foreshorten early and repent the operation: we prefer to wait till the summer growth be nearly at a close. Strawberry beds should be stringed on each side ; the twine fastened to short sticks, so as to support the entire variety of trusses. Water the beds daily, if possible, in very dry seasons : this is the only security ; and net over the ripening fruit if small birds, and particularly black- birds, abound. Cucumbers in frames must be always stopped at a fruit and receiving good laterals, which is a fixedrulc. FLOWER GARDEN. Raise tulip, hyacinth, narcissus, and other bulbs, dry them in the air, when the green parts change colour and become dry. Attend to the beds of geraniums and similar flowers, to keep all free from weeds, dead leaves, and every un- sightly object. Earwigs are best destroyed by pots with hay or tow in them, inverted upon sticks a foot or more high. Arrange greenhouse plants, now brought out, in neat order under some fence facing the north. Plunge azalias in a great border. Arrange flowering shrubs and also herbaceous plants in situations where the sizes may graduate from low ones in front to high ones at back. Attend to order in displaying the colours, wrhereever the collection is miscellaneous. Routine culture consists in hoeing, raking, cleaning, and sweeping walks and lawns, with the removal of litter to manure compost grounds, where the smallest particle of vegetabls matter, if deposited in a sunken excavation and watered as has been directed, will soon be converted into a most useful manure. The liquid manure tank must be constantly supplied with materials in earths and vegetables with which to absorb the urinary and soapy liquidsTrom the dwelling-house, that are preserved for the purpose of being regularly distributed over the earthy matters. The dry compost heaps must have a similar attention of receiving fine earths and the droppings of animals, all fine substances in the same state of reduction, the whole mixture being much benefited by the appli- cation of mild lime. Fruit trees, or standard trees of any kind that were planted in the spring, will require in many cases to be supplied with water during the last and the present months, which are often dry and scorching. A layer of turf, with a thick grassy herbage placed round the root of the trees, is very beneficial in retaining moisture and defending against drought ; and a thick layer of dung, as a covering, should be applied previous to the grassy turfs being placed. These two provisions, with frequent waterings in the proper times, will secure the growth of trees that are planted for special purposes. AGRICULTURAL REPORTS. GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR MAY. At the close of April the condition and prospects of the wheat plant were very favourable. A mild winter and a suc- cession of brilliant days had brought the plant rapidly forward, and it was consequently very early for the time of year. May , on the whole, has proved unfavourable to the development of the plant, the abundant rains, during the latter portion of the month, having caused a great accumulation of moisture, which has resulted in a serious loss of labour on many patches. At the same time the cold frosty nights have greatly retarded the growth, and appearances now are such as to justify the asser- tion that we cannot look for an early or extraordinary crop. There is no room so? or any serious apprehensions as to 562 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the quality of the yield, although complaints are current that there is a considerable run of straw, which may proportion- ately affect the ear. The damage done, however, is not ex- tensive, and only, in our opinion, such as a few days of brilliant weather would repair. The trade, as would naturally result from the above circum- stances, has shown more firmness throughout the month, al- though no material change can be reported in prices. Farmers have not shown any anxiety to realise, but on the other hand, the upward movement in the value of money has caused holders of imported produce to meet purchases more .freely. The stocks of foreign wheat accordingly show a considerable de- crease, and this fact, coupled with the great falling off in the imports, places the trade on a much stronger basis. Since the 1st of September the decrease in the imports, as compared with last year, is no less than 6,163,782 cwts., the figures being 20,051,203 cwts. against 26,344,985 cwts. in 1867-68. This decline may be expected to become greater as the season ad- vances, as the receipts at this period last year were extremely heavy. Wheat had then touched its highest point, being 30s. per quarter in excess of present rates, and speculators had has- tened to take advantage of the high prices then current. Now, however, continental rates are decidedly in excess of English prices, and shipments for the British markets are accordingly suspended. In America, too, the stocks of grain have been much depleted owing to the delay in the opening of the Erie Canal, and to the fact that the grain movement from the west had not commenced upon its usual scale. An important fea- ture with regard to the American trade is worthy of notice. " It has long been the habit of western farmers," says the Shipping and Mercantile Gazette, " to hold back their produce, before the close of the navigation, for the purpose of forcing up prices in the grain-consuming countries, and for a while the East submitted to the extortion. The course of events, however, has proved that this policy was not a wise one. Other produce was forthcoming from various quarters, which was more than sufficient to meet the comparatively limited de- mands of the winter, especially when prices were high ; while the opening of the navigation generally had a depressing effect upon values, it being well known that large supplies must come through the canals. This proceeding was carried to ex- cess during the past season. Not only was the produce re- tained in the States themselves, but the supplies sent forward fell into the hands of speculators, who stored them at various places on the line of transport. The results of this attempt to raise prices have been very disastrous to farmers and specu- lators alike in the States. The former will now obtain prices which will be barely remunerative considering the high rates paid for labour, while the latter will have to dispose of their ventures at a considerable loss." All circumstances considered, therefore, it is evident that our foreign supplies will be much less than last year, and farmers will do well to resist further concession until some more definite information is forthcoming in regard to the prospects of the growing crops. In consequence of the rather backward condition of the pastures there has been rather more activity in the trade for Spring corn, and there has also been less depression in the quotations. The advance which has been established how- ever, is by no means of an important character. The increase of firmness was more apparent in the early part of the month, and during the first fortnight grinding barley and oats realized an improvement of about Is. per qr. Towards the close of the month, however, under the influence of an increasing supply of grass in the pastures, and with the pros- pect of an abundant hay crop, buyers evinced more caution, and in several instances prices gave way. The net improve- ment in the value of Spring corn since the close of last month is therefore trifling, and as there is a good prospect of a more abundant field of Spring corn at the approaching harvest, the trade is for the present likely to remain dull. The hop plantations are looking well. The plant is now fairly up the poles, and the first tying has been completed. The cold weather, however, has had a prejudicial effect in some instances, the bine looking sickly and faded ; no material injury, however, has been done. There is every prospect of a good cut of grass, and should the weather prove favourable for getting it in, the quality will doubtless be good. At one time the growth was greatly checked by the frosty nights, hut towards the close of the month good progress was made. The Metropolitan markets have been moderately supplied with hay, and the trade has ruled fairly active at £4 10s. to £6 per load. REVIEW OF THE CATTLE TRADE DURING THE PAST MONTH. Pull average supplies of beasts have been on sale for the time of year ; but the fulness of the supply has been princi- pally owing to the liberalily with which stock has been forwarded from the Continent. Prom our own grazing districts the receipts latterly have exhibited a falling-off, both as regards number and condition. This has doubtless been caused by the high prices here current for some time past, which have offered sufficient inducement to graziers and feeders to forward their stock to market, and to dispose of the same at the current remunerative prices, rather than incur further expense at the prospect of securing a still greater profit by witlioldiug them. We hope shortly to see an entire change in the quality of the beasts. The late rains have had a very beneficial effect on the pastures and meadow lands, aud there is every prospect of a good hay crop. Grass is abun- dant, and cattle can now obtain a good feed on all lands. As regards trade, activity and heaviness have alternately pre- vailed. Nevertheless, the opening and closing quotations have been the same, aud the fluctuations in prices in the meantime have been only to the extent of 2d. per 81bs. The best Scots and crosses are now selling at 5s. 8d. to 5s. lOd. per 81bs. In consequence of heavy imports, nearly 50,000 head having come to hand, the show of sheep has been large. Some good serviceable animals have been included in the supply, but really choice breeds have been the exception. The demand on the whole has been inactive, and prices have given way. At one time the best Downs and half-breds realised 5s. lOd. to 6s., but at the close of the month the quotation had receded to 5s. 6d. to 5s. Sd. per 81bs. Lambs have been plentiful. At the commencement of the month, under the influence of a healthy inquiry, prices ranged from 6s. to 7s. 4d. per 81bs., but a heavy fall subsequently occurred, and the quotations relapsed to 5s. 6d. to 6s. 6d. per 81bs., the top figure being obtained only in quite exceptional transactions. Calves, the show of which has been moderate, have met a steady sale at full currencies. Prime small pigs have met a fair sale, otherwise the market has continued heavy. The total supplies of foreign stock imported into London during the month of May were : Head. Beasts 12,222 Sheep and Lambs 48,359 Calves 1,494 Pigs 2,257 Total ... 64,332 s at corresponding periods : Total in 1868 ... 24,627 ;j 1867 ... 53,485 , 1866 ... 43,930 1865 ... 40,729 IS 1864 ... 28,832 1863 ... 22,161 1862 ... 11,206 1861 ... 18,978 1860 ... 18,910 1859 ... 10,713 _ 1858 ... 6,703 1857 ... 7,243 1856 ... 3,556 » 1855 ... 7,103 The arrivals of beasts from our own grazing districts, as well as from Scotland and Ireland thus compared with the three previous years : May, May, May, May, From— 1869. 1868. 1867. 1866. Norfolk, Suffolk, &c. 4,530 9,200 7,460 4,620 Other parts of England 2,660 2,200 2,600 1,900 Scotland 662 554 950 774 Ireland 229 426 — 170 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 563 The total supplies of stock brought forward have been as follows : Head. Beasts 20,112 Sheep and Lambs 164,969 Calves 2,056 Pigs 671 Total 187,808 Comparison of Supplies. May. Beasts. Sheep. Calves. Pigs. 1868 17,610 176,000 2,192 1,350 1867 19,860 160,370 1,709 2,260 1866 16,275 125,490 695 2,195 1865 22,030 129,140 3,199 2,117 1864 23,240 122,210 2,062 3,080 1863 20,444 126,040 2,129 3,120 1862 19,273 132,450 1,527 3,022 1861 19,500 113,750 1,178 2,950 1860 19,040 124,580 2,059 2,920 1859 17,980 113,512 1,012 2,260 1858 18,722 115,386 1,671 2,760 1857 18,741 104,990 1,415 2,530 1856 18,722 119,640 1,260 2,545 1855 19,847 113,600 2,470 2,590 1854 20,831 124,824 2,146 2,435 Beasts have found buyers at from 3s. to 5s. lOd. ; sheep, 3s. to 6s. ; lambs, 5s. 8d. to 7s. 4d. ; calves, 4s. 6d. to 6s. 2d. ; and pigs, 3s. 6d. to 5s. 2d. per Slbs., to sink the offal. Comparison or Prices. May, 1865. May, 1866. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Beef from , 3 4 to 5 0 3 10 to 5 2 Mutton 42 6 4 4460 Lamb 68 78 6890 Veal 4252 5464 Pork 364 10 4050 May, 1867. May, 1868. s. d. s. d. s. d s. d. Beeffrom 3 4 to 5 2 3 2 to 5 2 Muttou 36 52 3 4 50 Lamb 6680 6474 Veal 4460 4 4 54 Pork 30 54 3444 At the Metropolitan Meat Market the supplies of meat have been good. The trade has been quiet on the whole, at our quotations. Beef from 3s. 4d. to 5s. 2d., mutton 3s. 4d. to 5s. 4d., lamb 5s. 6d. to 6s. 8d., veal 4s. 6d. to 5s. 8d., and pork 3s. 8d. to 5s. 6d. per 81bs. by the carcase. SOUTH LINCOLNSHIRE. We are just now visited (May 19th) with heavy thunder- showers, which have completely saturated our lands, and caused the suspension of fieldwork for the present. Fortunately the potatoes and mangolds are nearly all put iu, and these rains must cause them to grow, if grow they will — I say this not on account of the mangolds ; they will grow fast enough ; but there are grave doubts relative to the " potato-sets." There is no doubt but very many of the seed potatoes have been so in- jured by heat in the grave, and growth therein, that their vi- tality is destroyed. We have long looked for their appearance above-ground, but as yet they are very thin and irregular, and the majority of the crops are not yet seen. We shall not be long in suspense now, as these rains have penetrated to a con- siderable depth. We hear of many crops being already plouged up in the fens. Should this disaster be general in this district it will add greatly to the distress occasioned by the severe losses of last autumn. Through the winter, and up to the present time, the losses in the grave have been very serious. Thousands of tons have rotted down, and are only fit for ma- nure. We heard the other day of one farmer's grave, of near 500 yards in length, being in this condition. The wheat- plant has partially recovered its colour on the mild loams, but on the heavier soils it is still very yellow, and this superabun- dant moisture will keep it so. The spring is all in, and^most of the plant of oats and barley look well. Early-sowu peas and beans are also looking well , but the later- sown crops are suffering a little from fly, slugs, and snails. The season has hitherto been favourable for wheat-hoeing, and nearly all is finished iu a busiucss-likc way, the laud working satisfactorily. Some of the fallow lands cut a queer figure just now — the weeds are growing very fast, and it is out of the question to work them. The farmer's patience must be well exercised. We have had abundance of grass, and, upon the whole, the stock have done well. Just now it is so cold and wet that much injury is arising from colds and scouring, which a few sunny days will, we hope, correct. The price of store sheep has advanced considerably during the past six or eight weeks ; many are making nearly four times their value in October and November. Pat cattle arc selling at very high rates, but store cattle are the turn cheaper. We never knew so many half-bred sheep being grazed in this district as in the present season ; they have all along been much cheaper than long-wools, aud are nearly an big. The cross of the Cotswold rams and Southdown ewes are most approved, but by the half- bred ewe they are more difficult to quit. The season appears to be suitable for the setting of fruit. Gooseberries aud cur- rants are in great profusion. Early plums set very well, and now the apple and pear blossoms seem to be making a fair set. The trees, being very full of bloom indeed, look truly beautiful. Early peas and early potatoes belie their names this year, all are backward. Cabbages and such like esculents in abundance. POULTRY, &c, MARKETS.— Goslings 5s. to 9s., Duck- lings 2s. to 4s. 6d\, Surrey Fowls 5s. to 7s., Sussex Fowls 3s. to 4s. 6d., Boston and Essex 3s. to 4s. 6d., Irish Is. 6d. to 3s., tame rabbits Is. 6d., leverets 2s. to 5s. each. Eggs 6s. to 8s. per 120. PRICES of BUTTER, CHEESE, HAMS, Ac. BUTTER, per cwt. : a. s. Dorset 116 to 118 Friesland 100 104 Jersey 88 100 Fresh, perdoz., lis. 6d. to 14s. Od. BACON: Wiltshire. 82 86 Irish, green 74 78 CHEESE, per cwt. : s. s. Cheshire 64 to 80 Dble. Gloucester... 66 74 Cheddar 70 80 American 60 70 HAMS: York 100 110 Cumberland 100 110 Irish 100 106 CARMARTHEN BUTTER AND CHEESE MARKET, (Saturday last.) — The supply of Butter was small; prime quality met a quick sale at 100s. per cwt. Very little Cheese of any kind offering ; a few new sold at 25s. CORK BUTTER EXCHANGE, (Friday last.)— Ordin- ary. First quality 103s. to 100s., second do. 100s. to 97s., third do. 88s. to 85s., fourth do. 84s. to 81s., fifth do. 67s. to 64s., sixth do. 54s. to 51s. per cwt. Mild cured : First quality 108s. to 105s., second do. 103s. to 100s., third do. 98s. to 95s. per cwt. Thirds, fourths, fifths, and sixths of kegs 4s. per cwt less. Repacked and dairies 12s. Currency : Ordinary butter 10s. per cwt. less, mild-cured 10s. do., sponged butter 2s. do. BAKEWELL CHEESE FAIR.— A scarcity of Cheess, prices rangiug from 76s. to 80s. per cwt. GLASGOW, (Wednesday last.) — An increased supply of new Cheese ; old nearly exhausted. There were 1,270 Cheese laid down, and 1,036 sold. There are no fine old, and the quotations given are the prices asked by holders in the country. Old Cheddars 76s. to 78s., ditto new 60s. to 64s., old Dunlop 75s. to 77s., new ditto 58s. to 61s., skim-milk 26s. to 28s. POTATO MARKETS. SOUTHWARK WATERSIDE. Yorkshire Flukes 50s. to 120s. per ton. Ditto Regents 50s. to 100s. „ Lincolnshire Regents 50s. to 90s. „ Duubar and East Lothian Regents . 60s. to 120s. „ Perth, Forfar, and Fife Regents 50s. to 80s. „ Ditto, ditto, ditto Rock3 60s. to 70s. „ Ditto, ditto, ditto Reds 55s. to 60s. „ French and Belgian whites 35s. to 50s. „ BOROUGH AND SPITALFIELDS. English Regents 60s. to 110s. per ton. Flukes 60s. to 130s. „ Scotch Regents 60s. to 120s. „ Rocks' 45s. to 65s. „ French 35s. to 55s. „ 564 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. REVIEW OE THE CORN TRADE DURING THE PAST MONTH. The month of May this year must yield the palm to April, which was genial, and partly effaced the wintry coldness of March. The time has been principally cold and stormy, hail storms having visited many places, with London, and the quantity of rain has greatly exceeded the need of vegetation. Nature generally has had a check, and it begins to be feared this is the commencement of a thoroughly rough season. The wheat has made little growth, and in many places still looks yellow; the apple blossom has had a sad shaking, and the prospects of a crop are much diminished, and very many young shoots have been nipped severely by the night frosts which have prevailed. But the spring corn has been rather benefited by the frequent showers, and there is more hope cf a crop of oats. March, after all, may have been serviceable in keeping back the wheat plants, which previously had been advancing at so dangerous a pace that a general bloom seemed likely in May, and if that had been the case we could have had but little corn. And, as it is, the plants on the strong lands are generally so thick, that the chief promise is a great bulk of straw. We may, however, yet have a moderately propitious time and average yield ; but it seems unreasonable to expect anything more. The fine month of April so worked prices down, that we have now to report little change, the general averages showing a reduction of only lid. per qr., and those of London Is. 5d. per qr., which may have been caused by deteriorated condition rather than the 6tate of the markets. Some apprehension has been also entertained of the amount of rain in Europe, and the growth in France, as here, is so thick, that heavy showers might lay it when in bloom, and cause immense damage. There has therefore been a moderate rise at Paris, where the price, both of wheat and flour, about equals London rates : so all the intervening charges of shipment, duty, &c. would be lost to importers. In Belgium, too, the same fear has been felt, and also in Holland ; but in Northern Europe no fears are yet entertained for any grain but rye, though the rape plant has undoubtedly suffered generally. While we are thus in doubt, Southern countries are beginning their harvest, and the French colony of Algeria is in full swing, with the help of the military, and the prospect of a fair crop of unusually fine quality. At San Francisco, too, they expect another good yield. But as there are no great stocks anywhere, and the consumption of our own country and of Europe is so vast, one national failure in the crop of corn would put us sadly about, and the 30s. per qr. lost from the quotations of last year would speedily be recovered. Farmers 6eem to think so, and very light supplies have come to London lately; and they who are strong enough to continue holding, as they did in better times, may partly regain their former position. The following prices were recently quoted at the several places named : White wheat at Paris 51s., red to 48s. The best quality wheat at Brussels and Bruges 50s., at Liege 49s.; white Zealand at Maestricht, in Holland, 47s. 6d. ; at Rotter- dam 47s. ; Saale and Marks red wheat at Hambro' 46s., white 48s.; at Porrentruy, in Switzerland, 49s. ; at Berlin 4Ss., at Danzic 48s. to 49s., at Cologne 3Ss.; Banat wheat, at Trieste, 36s.; No. 2 spring wheat, at New York, 37s. 4d. ; white, at San Francisco, California. 41s.; at Chicago, No. 1, was quoted 30s. 3d. per 480 lbs. The first Monday in Mark Lane commenced on a small supply of English wheat, but there were heavy foreign arrivals. The show of samples during the morning on the Kentish and Essex stands being very limited, factors commenced by asking advanced terms ; but with plenty of foreign as a resource millers would give nothing over the previous Monday's rates. With large arrivals fiora San Francisco, as well as from other ports of Europe, business in foreign was very slack, and the tendency of prices rather downwards. With but a small number of cargoes afloat unsold, prices were without change. The dull feeling evinced on the previous week at several country markets still remained at some places, and many quoted Is. per 'qr. advance, as at Hull, Leeds, Wakefield, Newark, Sleaford, Bury St. Edmund's, and Glou- cester; while Birmingham, Barnsley, Stockton, and some other towns were up Is. to 2s. per qr. Liverpool gained 2d. to 3d. per cental in the week. Glasgow was 6d. to Is. per boll dearer, and Edin- burgh 6d. to Is. per qr. The gain on wheat at Belfast was 5s. per ton, but Dublin and several other Irish towns were only firm. On the second Monday there was again a limited supply of home growth, and a great falling off in foreign. Again factors, by more favourable ac- counts from the country, hoped to realise some improvement ; but were once more disappointed, though the show of samples on the Kentish and Essex stands was exceedingly small. The foreign trade was, however, rather better, and on certain qualities an occasional improvement of Is. per qr. was realized. Cargoes afloat were saleable, at Is. per qr. more money. The upward movement in the country was still more strongly marked. Several places advanced Is. to 2s., as Melton Mowbrav, Sleaford, and Rotherham ; and a rise of Is. was common, as reported at Ipswich, Bourn, Hull, St. Ives, Sheffield, Rochester, Market Rasen, Lynn, Bristol, and Wolverton. Still a few places were dull, and Birmingham noted a decline of Is. per qr. Liverpool only improved 3d. per cental on the Tuesday's market. Edinburgh advanced 6d. to Is. per qr., and Glasgow 6d. per boll. At Dublin a good consumptive demand was ex- perienced, at fully former quotations. On the third Monday there was a moderate arrival of English wheat, and very scanty supplies from foreign ports. The show of fresh samples on the Essex and Kentish stands was very insignifi- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 565 cant; but, with heavy weekly supplies of country flour, town millers were little disposed to buy freely. The sales made, therefore, were only at the previous Monday's rates, which were not paid very freely. The holidays seemed to affect the foreign trade, as there was very little demand either for fine or inferior qualities ; and had there been any forcing, less money must have been accepted. The floating trade was in cahn, with prices somewhat in buyer's favour. If any holi- day feeling had an influence in town, it seemed still stronger in the country, reports being univer- sally dull. Stockton and Melton Mowbray, as well as some other places, were down Is. to 2s. per qr. One shilling less was also accepted at Spald- 'ing, Oakham, and several other places ; but Bristol this week was an exception, prices there being up Is. per qr. ; and Wakefield was against buyers. Liverpool, after giving way Id. to 3d. per cental on Tuesday, nearly recovered the decline on Friday. Glasgow evinced a downward tendency, and Edin- burgh was decidedly Is. per qr. lower. Dublin found a slow sale, at the previous currency. On the fourth Monday the English supply of wheat was moderate, as well as that from abroad. The show of fresh samples from the near counties during the morning was the smallest since harvest; and factors, in consequence, were at first asking Is. over the previous Monday's rates; but this millers were resolved not to pay, and the trade closed rather dull, at unaltered piices. It was an exceedingly quiet day for foreign, there scarcely being any demand, the fine day no doubt giving greater disinclination to purchase ; and scarcely any country buyers were present to help the market. The imports into London for the four weeks were 22,573 qrs. English wheat, 61,071 qrs. fo- reign, against 14,590 qrs. English, 103,016 qrs. foreign, for the same time last year. The London averages commenced at 49s. 8d., and closed at 4Ss. 3d. The general average began at 45s. 5d., and finished at 44s. 6d. The London exports for the four weeks were only 50 qrs. The imports for the United Kingdom in the four weeks ending on May 15 were 1,784,957 cwt. wheat, 228,965 cwt. flour, against 2,804,059 cwt. wheat, 198,230 cwt. flour, in 1868. The flour trade during the four weeks has been very quiet ; and, while foreign imports have been light, the country supplies have been larger than usual. Prices have undergone little change, and the rates of country-made have ruled so low that they have seriously interfered with the town trade, and London millers have found it more their in- terest to buy than use their own mills, excepting for the finest qualities. Indeed, all through this exceptionally fine season, the quality of the wheat has been so good that but few inferior lots of flour have been sent to market; and, as prices in Paris rule higher relatively than in London, not much can now be expected thence. It remains to be seen whether the Western States of America can send in barrels in quantity to meet present rates ; but we incline to think speculators at New York will lessen English arrivals. The top price of town-made has stood at 43s. per sack, while good Norfolks were procurable at 30s., and French at 35s. to 36s., the latter being the price at Paris. The imports into London for the four weeks were 96,476 sacks English, 8,829 sacks 100 barrels fo- reign, against 60,129 sacks English, 13,730 sacks 3,988 barrels foreign, this time last year. The supply of maize for four weeks has been fair but not heavy ; yet, in anticipation of large arrivals from the Black Sea, prices have given way fully 2s. per qr. ; so that extra fine yellow could be bought at 28s., and useful qualities at 26s. This grain, therefore, has great influence in keep- ing down all spring corn, it being relatively cheaper than anything. !No imports can now be made to meet present rates, and we may, therefore, see some reaction. The arrivals for four weeks into London were 32,71 9 qrs., against 19,608 qrs. last year. The malting season being over, only a little busi- ness has been dune in fine barley, at about late prices ; while secondary foreign has given way 2s. per qr., and grinding sorts fully Is., without heavy supplies. The imports for four weeks were, 2,926 qrs. British, 9,823 qrs. foreign, against 943 qrs. British, 15,684 qrs. foreign, in 1868; exports 2,452 qrs. Malt being in sympathy with barley, has been dull, with prices nominal or rather lower. The oat trade has fluctuated with the arrivals during the four weeks. The first Monday, supply being large, it gave way 6d. to Is. : this was fully recovered through two short supplies immediately following ; but, on the last Monday, the market relapsed into languor, leaving prices about the same as at tho commencement. Our own stocks are short, and therefore, prices must depend on what comes from abroad; but we do not look for much till the Russian arrivals commence — 3S lbs. Russian are worth 24s. to 24s. 6d., and other sorts in proportion. The supplies for four weeks were, 1,817 qrs. English, 21 qrs. Scotch, 2,500 qrs. Irish, 93,231 qrs. foreign ; against, 2,158 qrs. English, 120 qrs. Scotch, l60qrs. Irish, 70,973 qrs. foreign, for the same period in 1868. London has exported 2,53S qrs. this month. The supply of English beans, though small, has been better than expected; and the arrivals of foreign, chiefly from Egypt, fair. Trade has been very dull, Indian corn being so cheap, and prices have lost about Is. per qr. The imports of home growth into London for four weeks were 2095 qrs., with 3,584 qrs. foreign, against 2,457 qrs. English, 960 qrs. foreign last year. Peas have come to hand moderately, and business has been slack, with prices much the same. The new crop is coming into blossom, and on the whole looks well ; as the rains will forward the setting and give strength to the plants. White have been occasionally taken for horse feed ; but as boilers, they have little in request. Hog peas have only kept their high rates from scarcity, as they are about the dearest grain on the market. The im- ports for four weeks into London were 335 qrs. English, 2,483 qrs. foreign, against 178 qrs. Eng- lish, 818 qrs. foreign, for the same period in 1868. It is wortny of note, that London has exported in four weeks, 10,152 qrs. of foreign rye, it being wanted abroad as cheap human food, while here it 566 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. is commonly ground for hogs. It has realized for this purpose from 31s. to 33s. per qr. The importations of linseed have been unusually small, but its high price, both in the form of seed and cake, has diminished its consumption for cat- tle. Rates have ruled much as they commenced. Imports in four weeks 4,449 qrs. against 16,487 qrs. this time last year. The seed season being over, the only business in cloverseed has been of a speculative kind, and for this purpose the low rates at which it was offering for consumption during the season have been exceeded ; say, 5s. per cwt. There has, however, b«en little doing of late. Tares are pretty well used up, and those left on hand must be sold as feeding stuff, or held over for next spring. CURRENT PRICES OP BRITISH GRAIN AND FLOUR IN MARK LANE. Shillings per Quarter. WHEAT, new, Essex and Kent, white 46to48 „ ,, red 43 44 Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire 42 BARLEY 30 to 33 Chevalier 43 Grinding 27 29 Distilling 36 MALT (nominal), Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk 65 Kingston„Ware,and town-made 65 Brown 51 RYE. OATS, English, feed 26 to 30 Potato. Scotch, feed 00 Irish, feed, white 20 Ditto, black 20 BEANS, Mazagan ...33 Harrow 37 PEAS, white, boilers..37 00 Potato 24 Pine... 23 Potato 34 Ticks., 39 Pigeon 41 39Maple 44 to 45 Grey, new39 FLOUR, per sack of 2801bs., Town, Households 38 Country.on shore 30 to 31 „ 31 Norfolk and Suffolk, on shore 29 IMPERIAL AVERAGES. For the week ended May 15, 1869. Wheat 67,818| qrs. 44s. 6d. Barley 2.267J „ 40s. Id. Oats 1,949 „ 26s. lid. COMPARATIVE AVERAGES. WHEAT. Years. Qrs. s. d. 1865... 88,0151 ... 41 8 1866... 69,166^ ... 46 1 1867... 54.356J ... 64 11 1868... 40,441! •.. 74 3 1869... 57,818! ... 44 6 BARLEY. Qrs. s. d. 8,181 ... 29 9 4,025| ■« 36 2 3,162! ... 38 11 2,570| ... 44 4 2,267| ... 40 1 OATS. Qrs. s. d. 3,359! ... 22 9 3,616! ... 26 2 3,128! ... 27 0 3,301! ... 28 8 1,949 ... 26 11 AVE RAGE S Foe the last Six Weeks : April 10, 1869 April 17, 1869 April 24, 1869 May 1, 1869 May 8, 1869 May 15, 1869 Aggregate of the above The same week in 1868 1 74 Wheat. s. d. 47 0 46 8 45 5 44 9 44 4 44 6 45 5 | 74 3 Barley. Oats. s. d. B. d. 44 6 26 5 44 6 27 7 43 6 26 9 42 2 26 11 40 2 26 9 40 1 26 11 42 6 26 11 44 4 28 8 BRITISH SEEDS. Mustabd, perbush., brown 16s. to 17s., white 15s.tol8s. CANABT,per qr 62s. 68s. Cloverseed, red 62s. 68s. Cobiandeh, per cwt 20s. 21s. Tabes, winter, new, per bushel 9s. 10s. Tbeeoil 20s. 21s. Ryegbass, per qr 26s. 28s. Linseed, per qr., sowing 70s. to 72s., crushing 60s. 62s, Linseed Cakes, per ton £11 5s. to £11 10a. Rapeseed, per qr 62s. 64s. Rape Cake, per ton £6 10s. to £7 0s. HOP MARKET. Weald of Kents 2 0 Sussex 2 0 Farnham 3 10 Country 3 10 Bavarians 2 0 Belgians 2 0 Yearlings 2 0 Americans .'. 2 5 £3 15 ... 3 10 .... .. 4 10 3 10 .... .. 3 15 4 5 .... ..6 0 4 0 .... ..5 0 2 10 .... .. 3 10 ..3 0 2 10 .... .. 3 10 2 16 .... .. 3 10 s. d. s. d. 3 tol ENGLISH WOOL MARKETS. CITY, Monday, May 24.— The further decline which has taken place in the value of Colonial produce has had a most depressing effect upon the market for English Wool, while the fact that a further large quantity of foreign Wool is expected for the next series forbids the hope of any improvement in the quotations. The trade has ruled very dull, and values have tended downwards, notwithstanding the comparatively small quantity of English Wool on hand. CUEBENT PSICES OF ENGLISH WOOL. Fleeces— Southdown hogs per lb. Half-bred ditto „ Kent fleeces „ Southdown ewes and wethers ... „ Leicester ditto „ Sobts— Clothing, picklock „ Prime ,, Choice „ Super Combing, wether mat „ Picklock ,, Common ,, Hog matching , ,, Picklock matching „ Super ditto PONTEFRACT WOOL MARKET, (Saturday last), our second show for the season there were about 150 sheets pitched. A fair attendance of buyers, but they were very careful in their purchases. The following may be quoted as the prices : All hogg 22s. to 23s., half-hogg and half-ewe 19s. to 20s., ewe 17s. to 18s. per 14ilbs. BRESLAU WOOL REPORT, May 20.— The feature of our trade has not undergone any material alteration, and transactions contiuued as limited as hitherto, amounting to only about 800 cwts., which were mostly composed of good middling descriptions, at from 65 to 75 thalers per cwt., Eng- lish and French commissioners being the buyers. Prizes have beeu generally iu favour of the buyers, as the drooping ten- dency at the current London sales, joined to the enormous quantity offered, had a very discouraging influence on the owners of old stocks. Trade in fresh wools had a better cha- racter, and a very large number of flocks, chiefly fine ones, has been purchased on the sheep's back at a reduction of only 2d. to 3d. per lb. compared to last June — fair quotations. The chief purchasers of the latter were home manufacturers and staplers, as well as some Rhenish, French, and English firms. — Grunbtjrg Brothers. PRICE CURRENT OF GUANO, &o. Peruvian Guano direct from the importers' stores, £12 15s. to £13 0s. per ton. Bones, £6 5s. to £6 10s. Ditto Crushed, £6 10s. per ton. Animal Charcoal (70 per cent. Phosphate) £5 per ton. Coprolite, Cambridge, whole £3, ground £3 10s. per ton. Suffolk, whole £2 10s., ground £3. Gypsum, £1 10s. Superphosphates of Lime, £5 5s. to £6 5s. per ton. Sulphuric Acid, concentrated 1'845 Id. per lb., brown 1-712 0%d. Blood Manure, £6 5s. to £7 10s. Dissolved Bones, £6 15s. per ton. Linseed Cakes, best American brl. £12 10s. to £13 0s., bag £12 to £12. 15s. English £12 to £13. Cotton Seed Cake, £8 0s. to £8 10s. per ton. E. Pubseb, London Manure Company, 116, Fenchurch Street, B.C. Guano, Peruvian £12 17 0 to£K 0 0 1 Linseed Cake, per ton- Do. Upper do. 7 0 0 Bone Ash 5 15 0 Nitr. of Soda, p. ct. 0 13 G Linsd.Bomby,p.qr.2 19 0 Rapeseed, Guzerat 2 18 0 Cloverseed, N.Am. red, new per cwt. 1 18 0 0 00 Amer.,thin,bgs.£9 17 6to£10 0 0 EngUsh 1110 0 0 00 0 13 9 Cotsd.Cake.decor. 7 15 0 8 0 0 3 0 OjNiger 2 8 0 0 00 3 0 0 Brimstone, 2d&3rd 7 0 0 7 10 0 TaUow, 1st P.Y.C. 2 5 6 0 0 0 2 0 0| ,, super. Norths 2 4 0 2 46 SAMUEL DOWNES and CO., General Brokers, No. 7, The Albany, Liverpool. END OF VOLUME LXV. Priuted by Rogersou and Tuxford, 265, Strand, London, W.C, Plate Plate THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. JUNE, 1869. CONTENTS. !• — L ORD WETHERBY: a prize shorthorn bull ; the proper MAJOR STAPYLTON, OF MYTON HALL, YORKSHIRE ANSTRUTHER THOMPSON, AND THE THE PROPERTY OF II. — I R I S, LATE THE PROPERTY OP MR. J CHAMPION PRIZE HUNTER IN 1868. Description of the Plates .... The Exhaustion of Potash .... The Turnip Plant. — By Cuthbert W Johnson, f.r.s. The Woolston System of Steam Cultivation . The Composition of the Soil and the Requirements of Crops Royal Agricultural Society of England : General Meeting Monthly Council Dr. Voelcker's Chemical Investigations in 1868 The Insects of the Farm Farming in the West of Ireland— Mr. Allan Pollok's System of Husban The New Farm .... The Royal Farmers' Insurance Company The use of Botany to the Agriculturist The Management of Sheep The Texan Cattle Disease The Cultivation of the Sugar-beet Natural Grasses .... Thick Sowing of Grass Seed and Clover Wool Washing .... The Diseases of Stock Crows and Wood Pigeons . . , The Cultivation of the Potato What Scotland is doing, and what England is not The Central Farmers' Club: Foxes versus Rabbits Central Chamber of Agriculture : Council Meeting The Valuation of Property Bill The Law of Hypothec The Pure Linseed Cake Company Root Crops .... "Conjuring Tricks" County Government . Ayrshire Agriculture — Past and Present Sheep-shearing. — By a Practical Farmer On the Potato The Physical Condition of Soils Agricultural Leases . Salt as a Manure for Wheat The Agricultural Labourers of Northumberland Sale of the Ridlington Shorthorns, by Mr. John Thornton Sale of Mr. David Ainslie's Shorthorn Herd and Border-Leicester Flock, by Mr. John Thornton, of London Sale of Mr. Allan Pollok's Farm Stock The Wateringbury and Wicken Shorthorn Sales, by Mr. H. Strafford Government Measures— The Uniformity of Rating and the Cattle Diseases Bills .... The Proposed Foreign Cattle Market Herefordshire Agricultutal Society . The Farmers and Fox-hunting Foxes versus Rabbits . The Over-preservation of Game The Wood-chopper (poetry') Death of Mr. B. P. Jonhson, Secretary of th Society .... Foreign Agricultural Gossip . Calendar of Agriculture Calendar of Gardening Agricultural Reports Review of the Corn Trade during the past Month Market Currencies, Imperial Averages, &c. page. 473, 474 475 e New York State Agricultural 476 479 480 481 508 531 483 485 487 488 459 492 494 495 497 500 501 502 503 504 510 511 523 528 529 530 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 547 548 552 553 553 554 556 556 557 557 557 558 558 558 559 560 561 561 564 566 ROGERSON & TTTXFORD'S AGRICULTURAL WORKS. PRICE ONE SHILLING EACH, Noatly Bound in Foolscap Octavo, EACH VOLUME CONTAINING from 130 to 190 PAGES OF LETTERPRESS, EICHARDSOFS RURAL HABD-BOOKS. Keto (Scitions fcvcbtsrti anrj (Enlargrt. WHEAT : ITS HISTORY, CHARAC- TERISTICS. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, and NUTRITIVE PROPERTIES. 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This series, which will be tisements, which are conspicuously printed, and inserted at of a very extended character, will be found of particular | the most reasonable rate, interest. Vol. LXYI., Imperial 8vo., Embossed Cloth, 480 pages, with highly-finished Illustrations of Parish Churches, price 6s. 6d. London : Published in weekly numbers, price l£d., and in monthly parts, price 9d., by S. EWTNS & SON, 9, Ave liana Lane; ROGERSON & TUXFORD, 265, Strand, W.C. ; and sold by all Booksellers. NEW WORK BY THE AUTHOR OF "MANHOOD." Post Free from the Author, 12 Stamps 5 Sealed Ends, 16 Stamp3. DR. CURTIS'S MEDICAL GUIDE TO MARRIAGE : a Practical Treatise on its Physical and Persoxal Obligations. With instructions to the Married and Unmarried of both Sexes, for removing the special disqualifications and impediments which destroy the happiness of wedded life, founded on the result of a successful practice of 30 years. — By Dr. J. L. CURTIS, M.D., 15, Albemarle Street, Piccadillt, Loxdox, W. 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