^7 ^'^■'\- WaU^y ^r vAi'^i' W.hM m "^" ■''^»f^r^^.QjB SJi '^Ai ^^^»:'.W^^ '^^A^^^'^. 2^«^ GifMMW& .A *•,'>/: THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. SECOND S£EI£S. VOLUME THE THIED. PEACTICE WITH SCIENCE. LONDON JOHN MUKKAY, ALBEMAELE STREET. 1867. These experments, it is true, are kot easy; still they are in the power of every thinking husbandman. he who accomplishes but one, of however limited application, and takes care to report it faithfully, advances the science, and, consequently, the practice op agriculture, and acquires thereby a right to the gratitude of his fellows, and of those who come after. to make many such is beyond the power op most individuals, and cannot be expected. the first cake of all societies foriied for the improvement op our science should be to prepare the forms of sdch experiments, and to distrrbute the execution of these among their members. Von Thaer, Principles of Agriculture. LONDON: PRIKTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, DUKE STREET, STAMFORD STREF.T, AND CHARING CROSS. CONTENTS OF YOL. III. Second Seeies. Statistics : — tag3 Vital Statistics for the year 1866 Meteorolofjy for the six months ending December 31, 1866 .. n Price of Provisions — Pauperism ditto .. vi Emigration for the six months ending December 31, 1866 .. vi Imports of Corn, &c. ditto ditto ..vii, viii British Wheat sold, and Average Prices viii, ix Statute Acres under Crops, Grass, &c.; Number of Cattle and Sheep ^^ Vital Statistics for the six months ending June 30, 1867 .. xi Increase of Population ; Emigration xii Meteorology ^^^^ Food, Prices — Importations of Grain s.vi Sales of British Wheat x.viii Prices of Corn, &c xviii Pauperism ^^ RETICLE ,,..., o- 1 ^^^^ I.— The Use, to the Farmer, of a Magnifymg-glass or Simple Microscope. By W. Kencely Bridgman, L.D.S., E.C.S., Eng. Prize Essay 1 n.— On the Changes which take place in the Field and in the Stack in Haymaking. By Dr. Augustus Voelcker .. .. ^^0 III.—Rinderpest Precautions and Remedies. By Henry H. Dixon 59 IV.— Rainfall, Water Supply, and Storage. By Professor Ansted. Paj.^; J J 65 Y. Field Experiments of Crude German Potash-salts and Common Salt on Mangolds, By Dr. Augustus Voelcker 86 VI.— Statistics of Live Stock and Dead Meat for Consumption in the Metropolis. By Robert Herbert .. •• 91 VII. Reports of the Committees appointed to investigate the present state of Steam Cultivation : — Report of the Inspection Committee No. 1 (Reed) .. .. 97 Report of the Inspection Committee No. 2 (Clarke) .. 198 Report of the Supplementary Committee (Coleman) .. 373 VIII.— Address of the President to the General Meeting, held W^ December 12, 1866 428 'y^ IX.— The Agriculture of Worcestershire, By Clement Cadle. ••— Prize Essay j^^ £>_ X. — Town Sewage 4*^^ XI— Affections of the Bladder amongst fattening Sheep and ^ Lambs. By W. E. Litt, M.R.C.V.S. .. : 495 CC XIT.— Field Experiments on Root-Crops. By Dr. Augustus Voelcker 500 "*^ XIII.— On the Rearing and Management of Poultry on an ordinary ^ Farm. By Mrs. F. Somerville. Prize Essay 520 XIV.— Feeding Turkeys, Geese, and Ducks for the London Market. By Henry H. Dixon ^32 XV.— Extracts from the Report on the Agricultural Exhibition at Aarhuus (Denmark). By John Wilson, Professor of Agri- culture in the University of Edinburgh 536 IV CONTENTS. ARTICLE PAGE XVI. — Results of Experiments on the Potato Crop with reference to tlie most profitable size of the sets ; the influence of thick and thin planting, &c., carried out in the years 18G4 and 1865 at Benthall, near Broseley. By George Maw, F.S.A., G.S., L.S., Member of the Eoyal Agricultural College. Prize Essay ., 552 XVII. — On the Improved Value of Scotch Sheep. By G. Murray . , 570 XVIII, — Statistics of Live Stock and Dead Meat for Consumption in the Metropolis, By Robert Herbert 57G XIX. — On the Composition and Nutritive Value of Anthyllis Vul- neraria (Lady's Fingers) as a Fodder Plant. By Dr. Augustus Voelcker 581 XX, — Remarks on the Implement Department at Bury. By Earl Cathcart, Senior Steward 584 XXI, — General Report on the Implement Show at Bury St. Edmund's. By John Coleman 591 XXII. — Report on the Exhibition of Live Stock at Bury St. Edmund's. By C. Randell, Senior Steward 624 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions : Some of the Causes which Produce Disarrangements of the Digestive Organs in Young Sheep. A Lecture, by Professor Simonds 635 The Relative Value and Manurial Properties of Purchased Food. A Lecture by Professor Voelcker 650 Reclamation of Land from the Sea. By S. Shellabear .. ., 659 Steam Cultivation 669 APPENDIX. PAGE List of Officers of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, 1867 i, xxxix Standing Committees for 1867 iii, xli Memoranda of Meetings, Payment of Subscription, &c v, xliv Report of the Council to the General Meeting, December 12, 1866 ; and May 22, 1867 vi, xlv Yearly Cash Account, from 1st January to December 31, 1866 .. xi Cash Accounts and Balance-sheets, from 1st July to Dec, 31, 1866 ; and from 1st January to 30th June, 1867 xii, xlviii Agricultural Education xiv Essays and Reports. — Awards for 1866. Prizes for 1868 .. xvii, Ixxviii Schedule of Prizes : Bury St. Edmunds Meeting, 1867 xviii Report of Education Committee I Show at Bury St. Edmund's, and Award of Prizes Iii Members' Chemical Analysis and Veterinary Privileges xxxvii, xxxviii, Ixxxi, Ixxxii DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER. The Binder is desired to colleit togetlier all the Appendix matter, with Koman nunipral folios, and p'.ace it at the ami of each volume of the Journal, excepting Titles and Contents, and Sti\tisties, &c., which are in all cases to be placed at the beyinnmg of tlie Volume: the lettering at the back to include a statement of the ]/ea»- as well as the volume; the first volume belonging to 1839-40, the second to 1811, the third to 1812, the fourth to 1843, and so on. In reprints of the Journal, all Appendix matter (and in one instance an Article in the body of tbe Journal), which at the time hud become obsolete, were omitted ; the Roman numeral folios, however (for convenience of reference) were reprinted without alteration in the Appendix matter retained. CONTENTS OF PART I., VOL. III. Second Seeies. Statistics : — tage Vital Statistics for the year 1866 Meteorology for the six months ending December 31, 1866 Price of Provisions — Pauperism ditto Emigration for the six months ending December 31, 1866 Imports of Corn, &c. ditto ditto British Wheat sold, and Average Prices viii, ix Statute Acres under Crops, Grass, &c.; Number of Cattle and Sheep ix I II VI VI VII, VIII ARTICLE PAGE I. — The Use, to the Farmer, of a Magnifying-glass or Simple Microscope. By W. Kencely Bridgman, L.D.S., E.CS., Eng. Prize Essay 1 II. — On the Changes which take place in the Field and in the Stack in Haymaking. By Dr. Augustus Voelcker .. .. 30 III. — Einderpest Precautions and Eemedies. By Henry H. Dixon 59 IV. — Eainfall, Water Supply, and Storage. By Professor Ansted. Part II 65 V. — Field Experiments of Crude German Potash-salts and Common Salt on Mangolds. By Dr. Augustus Voelcker .. ,. .. 86 VI. — Statistics of Live Stock and Dead Meat for Consumption in the Metropolis. By Eobert Herbert 91 VII. — Eeports of the Committees appointed to investigate the present state of Steam Cultivation : — Eeport of the Inspection Committee No. 1 (Reed).. .. 97 Eeport of the Inspection Committee No. 2 (Clarke) . . 198 Eeport of the Supplementary Committee (Coleman) .. 373 VIII.' — Address of the President to the General Meeting, held December 12, 1866 428 CONTENTS. APPENDIX. PAGE List of Officers of tlio Eoj'al Agricultural Society of England, 1SG7 . , i Standing Committees for 1867 iii Memoranda of Meetings, Tayment of Subscription, &c v Keport of the Council to the General Meeting, December 12, 186G .. vi Yearly Cash Account, from 1st January to December 31, 1866 .. .. xi Cash Account and Balance-sheet, from 1st July to Dec. 31, 1866 . . . . xii Agricultural Education xiv Essays and Eeports. — Awards for 1866 xvii Schedule of Prizes : Bury St. Edmunds Meeting, 1867 xviii Members' Chemical Analysis and Veterinary Privileges .. .. xxxvii, xxxviii DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER. The Binder is desired to collect together all the Appendix matter, with Roman numeral folios, and place it at the end of each voluTiie of the Journal, excepting Titles and Contents, and Statistics, &c., which are in all eases to be placed at the beginnini) of the Volume: the lettering at the back to include a statement of the yeaj* as well as the volume; the first volume belonging to 1839-40, the second to 1841, the third to 1842, the fourth to 1843, and so on. In reprints of the Journal, all Appendix matter (and in one instance an Article in the body of the Journal), which at the time had become obsolete, were omitted ; the Roman numeral folios, however (for convenience of reference) were reprinted without alteration in the Appendi.\ matter retained. VITAL STATISTICS ; METEOROLOGY ; IMPORTS OF GRAIN; QUANTITIES OF BRITISH WHEAT SOLI); PRICES OF FOOD; EMIGRATION; PAUPERISM; ACREAGE OF CROPS, GRASS, &c. ; NUMBERS OF CATTLE AND SHEEP. \_The facts are selected from the Beports of the Registrar-Gexeral ; the Meteor olocjical lleports of Mr. Glaisher ; the Returns of the Inspector- , General of Imports and Exports, and of the Board of Trade.] Population of the United Kingdom estimated to the middle of 1866 :— ^ifales 14,459,314 Females 15,476,090 Persons •• 29,935,404 Of the total number of persons England contained, 21,210,020; Scotland, 3,153,413; Ireland, 5,571,971. The recorded number of Emigrants from British and Irish ports in 1866 was 204,882, or 561 daily. Between the excess of births over deaths in the United Kingdom and the emigration from it, the difference was 390 daily. England. Births in 1S66. Annual Birth- rate to 1000 persons living (1866). Average Birth- rate to 1000 persons living (1856-65). First Quarter: Jan., Feb., March Second Quarter : April, May, June Third Quarter; July, Aug., Sept. Fourth Quarter : Oct., Nov., Dec. 196,737 192,459 178,982 185,010 37-76 36-44 35 '44 34-47 36-44 36*20 55'45 33-22 Year 753,188 35-53 34-82 Deaths in 1S66. Annual Death- rate to 1000 jiersoiis living (1860). Average Death- rate to 1000 persons living (1856-65). First Quarter : Jan., Feb., March Second Quarter: April, May, June Third Quarter : July, Aug., Sept. Fourth Quarter : Oct., Nov., Dec. 158,233 128,692 116,826 117,187 26-53 24-37 21-82 21-84 25-04 21-86 20*02 22-05 Year 500,938 23-64 22-24 VOL. in. — s. s. A C 11 ) In districts that comprise the chief towns the mortality was, 26-39. In districts comprising small towns and country parishes, 20-10. The eleven divisions may be thus arranged in the order of annual mortality : the deaths per 1000 were in the South-Eastem counties 19, Eastern counties 20, South-Midland counties 20, South- Western counties 20, North-Midland counties 21, West-Midland counties 22, Monmouthshire and Wales 23, Northei-n counties 24, Yorkshire 26, London 26, North- Western counties (Lancashire and Cheshire) 29. The Black country, as it is called, about Wolverhampton, may be cited amongst other proofs of the efficiency of hygienic measures. The cholera epidemics of 1849 and 1854 destroyed in five districts more than 3000 lives, while in the year 1866 the mortality from cholera has been inconsiderable. The water was formerly impure and could only be obtained with difficulty in a country covered with pits and works ; but good water having been brought from a distance, the popidation is reaping the advantages of the change. METEOEOLOGY. Third Quarter {July, August, September). The mean temperature of the air at Greenwich in the summer quarter was 58-9°, which is 1-1° below the average of the season in twenty-five years. Each of the three months, but particularly August, was cold. The rain- fall measured 7-9 inches, half of which occurred in September, when the amount exceeded the average by an inch and a half. The weather, which had been warm and fine at the close of the previous quarter, changed to cold at the beginning of July, and in every part of the country rain fell almost daily. From the 9th to the 17th was a period of heat, but from the 18th July to the 27th September the temperature was almost constantly low. Eain fell frequently all over the country in July, and in August seriously interrupted harvest work. In September the atmospheric pressure was always low, and in Guernsey and the west of England 8 or 9 inches of rain fell ; near the east coast 3 inches ; about London 4 inches. In the midland counties there were floods ; thousands of acres were under water, and much damage was done. In the three visitations of cholera in past years there was great atmospheric pressure, high temperature, narrow diurnal range owing chiefly to high night temperature, defect of rain, wind, and electricity; and in the last of those (1854) a remarkable blue mist was observed which pre- vailed night and day. In nearly all these particulars the meteoro- ( ni ) logical character of the present epidemic season is diiFerent from that of previous periods when cholera prevailed ; but the blue mist has been again visible ; it was first seen by Mr. Glaisher on 30th July, and by other observers in the preceding week. Since that time it has been generally present ; on some days no trace of it visible, and on other days seen for parts of a day only. It has extended from Aberdeen to the Isle of Wight, and was of the same tint of blue everywhere. This mist increased in intensity when viewed through a telescope ; usually no mist can be seen when thus viewed ; it increased in density during the fall of rain, though usually mist rises from rain. Its density did not decrease when the wind was blowing moderately strong ; it decreased when a gale was blowing, but increased again on its subsidence. Whatever may be its nature, the fact is very remarkable, that since the cholera period of 1854 this phenomenon has not been observed till the present time. Fourth Quarter (^October, November, .December'). The close of the autumnal quarter was distinguished by much rain and the want of sunshine, and by south-west winds which had long prevailed. In the first week of October the barometer rose, the wind changed to north-east, and the mean temperature for eleven days was 3° above the average. This was followed by a week of cold weather. From 19th October to the end of the quarter the temperature was in excess without any considerable interruption, except from 28th November to 2nd December, in which period the weather was cold. October closed with variable weather, sometimes with fog, at others with rain, and occasional white frosts at night. In the beginning of November barometric pressure exhibited great fluctua- tions ; snow fell in Scotland ; and throughout the month the weather was changeable. In December there was frequent rain, and there were very heavy gales from the south-west; but the month was unusually mild for the season. The last two months were favourable for agricultural operations. In November ploughing and sowing made great progress, except in Yorkshire and Lancashire, where about the middle of the month were extensive floods ; and at the end of the year the pastures were of a fresh green, and food for cattle was abundant. At Greenwich in each month the mean temperature was above the average. It was 51-3° in October, 44-3° in November, 42-9° in December; the mean of the quarter was 46-2°. Eain fell to the amount of 5'4° inches in the quarter, which is 1*7 inches below the average. 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CO OO o 00 CO OO 1866. Months. 3 3 a 9^4 , , Sclileswig, Holstein, and Lauenberg 254, 159 ,, Mecklenburg 647,685 ,, Hause Towns 486,069 ,, France 2,252,873 , , Turkey and Wallachia and Moldavia 5 74, 185 ,, Egypt 10,063 ,, United States 1,177,618 ,, British North America 306,765 ,, Other countries 1,114,480 Cwts. Total 20,962,963 8,937>i99 4,401,409 506.236 i87;938 733,571 878,912 3,473,130 528,433 33,831 635,239 8,789 2,831,642 23,156,329 Barley 7,818,404 Oats 7,714,230 Peas 783,135 Beans 958,362 Indian Corn, or Maize 7 > 096, 03 3 8,433,863 8,844,586 1,211,835 1)324,173 14,322,863 Wheatmeal and Flour from Hanse Towns ,. .. 247,796 ,, ,, France 3,044,823 ,, ,, United States .. .. 256,769 ,, ,, British North America 177,353 ,, ,, Other countries . . .. 177,730 347,012 3,640,320 280,792 40,650 663,506 Total i904,47J[ 4,972,280 ( VIII ) Quantities of Wheat, Barley, and Oats, Imported into the Ukited Kingdom in each of the last Six Months of the Year 1S6G. 1866. Wheat. Barley. Oats. Third Quarter. Seventh month (four weeks ending") July 28) I Eighth month (four weeks ending"! August 25 / Ninth month (five weeks ending"! September 29) j Fourth Quarter. Tenth montli (four weeks ending"! October 27) / Eleventh month (four weeks end-"! ing November 24) / Twelfth month (five weeks ending) (, December 29) / cwts. 2,102,486 1,600,337 1,452,152 i>438,i42 1,716,370 3,333,603 cwts. 370,616 353,978 547,076 715,981 889,723 1,580,348 cwts. 935, 6r6 1,489,129 880,349 522,932 518,084 813,773 Total in the half year 11,643,090 4,457,722 5,159,883 Note. — The average weights ^jer quarter of corn, as adopted in the office of the Inspector-General of Imports and Exports, are as follows : — For wheat, 48.5^ lbs., or 41 cwts. ; for barley, 400 lbs., or o| cwts. ; for oats, 0O8 lbs., or 2J cwts. Corn has been entered and charged with duty by iveicjid instead of measure since Sep- tember 1864. Quantities of British "Wheat Sold in the Towns from which Returns are received under the Act of the 27th and 28th Victoria, cap. 87 ; and their Average Prices ; in each of the last Six Months of the Years 1861-66. Seventh mouth Eighth month Ninth month ] (five weeks) J Tenth month .. Eleventh month Twelfth month ] (five weeks) J Wheat : Quaktities m Quarters. 1861. quarters. 159,152 208,400 455,324 427,435 345,028 359,246 1862. quorters. 165,720 138,810 264,410 273,000 265,160 315,599 1863. quarters. 162,817 187,011 390,308 333,609 325,209 472,876 1864. quarters. 257,510 264,939 322,292 311,169 302,446 399,358 1865. quarters. 222,961 201,953 318,893 304,054 295,652 391,941 1866. quarters. 127,836 19^,057 325,056 320,674 284,530 332,934 Wheat : Average Prices per Quarter. 1861. 1862. 1863. 1864. 1865. 1866. ,s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Seventh month 50 8 57 0 46 7 42 0 42 10 54 I Eighth month . . 50 8 57 8 46 2 43 7 43 3 50 7 Ninth month 1 (five weeks) / 54 7 56 I 44 6 42 0 44 0 49 0 Tenth month . . 56 10 49 5 40 10 38 9 41 10 52 4 Eleventh month 59 10 49 0 39 It 38 10 45 7 56 6 Twelfth month \ (five weeks) J 60 10 46 8 40 9 38 3 46 8 60 3 ( IX ) AvEBAGE Prices of British Wheat, Barley, and Oats per Quarter (imperial measure) as received from the Inspectors aud Officers of Excise according to the Act of 27th and 28th Victoria, cap. 87, in each of the last Twenty- six Weeks of the Year 1866. Week ending Wheat. Barley. Oats. Week ending Wheat. Barley. Oats. 8. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. July 7 .. .. 54 6 35 5 27 7 October 6 . . 52 2 41 4 23 I July 14 55 10 35 I 27 7 October 13 52 7 42 I 23 0 July 21 54 0 33 5 26 2 October 20 52 2 42 II 22 II July 28 52 0 35 10 27 I October 27 52 6 41 8 22 10 August 4 .. 51 r 32 II 25 3 November 3 54 9 43 10 23 7 August II .. 50 2 35 2 26 6 November 10 57 2 44 9 23 5 August 1 8 .. 50 2 34 9 26 6 ' November 1 7 56 7 45 3 23 6 August 25 .. 50 ID 33 8 26 6 November 24 57 6 45 6 23 9 September i 49 7 35 I 25 3 December i 60 0 45 10 25 5 September 8 47 3 36 I 25 2 December 8 61 7 46 2 24 3 September 15 47 c 37 I 24 8 December 15 60 3 45 7 24 5 September 22 49 8 37 ID 24 I December 22 59 5 44 4 25 II September 29 51 5 40 I 24 3 December 29 60 0 44 0 24 3 Average Prices per Quarter of British Corn in England and Wales in each of the Years 1863, 1864, 1865, and 1866. 1863. 1864. Wheat Barley Oats . . s. d. s. 44 9 ! 40 3i II I 30 21 3 20 1865. 5. d, 41 10 29 9 21 ID 1866. 5. d. 50 o 37 6 24 8 Statute Acres under Crops, Grass, &c. ; Numbers of Cattle and Sheep. Population in 1861. Area in Statute Acres. Acreage under all kinds of Crops, Bare Fallow, and Grass (1866). Estimated Ordinary Stock of Cattle (1866). Number of Sheep as returned in 1866. England .. Wales .. Scotland .. Ireland . . 18,954,444 1,111,780 3,062,294 5,798,967 32,59o.,397 4,734,486 19,639,377 20,322,641 22,261,833 2,284,674 4,158,360 15,549,796* 3,420,044 546,966 968,637 3,742,932 15,124,541 1,668,663 5,255,077 4,270,027 Hill pastures are excluded in Great Britain, included in Ireland. England Wales . Scotland Ireland . Wheat. Acres. 3,161,431 113,862 no, lOI 300,474 Barley or Bere. Acres. 1,877.387 146,323 213,619 152,777 Oats. Acres. 1,503,990 251,893 1,004,040 1,697,648 Eye. 50,570 2,452 7,055 7,753 Beans. Acres. 492,586 3,534 28,537 12,175 Peas. Acres. 314,206 3,010 3,188 2,606 Total of Com Crops. Acres. 7,400,170 521,074 1,366,540 2,173,433 In England wheat formed 42-7 per cent, of corn crops; barley 25'4, oats 20-3. In Wales the proportions were respectively 21-8j 28-1, 48-3; in Scotland S'l, 15-6, 73-5; in Ireland 13-8, 7-0, 78-1. A o VITAL STATISTICS: — POPULATION; BIETHS; DEATHS; EMIGEATION; METEOROLOGY; IMPORTATIONS OP GRAIN; SALES OF BRITISH WHEAT; PRICES OF CORN, &c.; AND PAUPERISM. \The facts are derived cldefly from the Eeports of the Registrar-General ; the Meteorological Heports of Mr. Glaisher; the Beturns of the Board OF Trade, and the Inspector-General of Imports and Exports.] Population of tlie United Kingdom, estimated to the middle of the 3'ear 18G7 (exclusive of islands in the British seas) : — Males 14,548,808 Females 15,608,431 Total 30,157,239 England. Scotland. Ireland. Males ., .. 10,365,688 1,496,329 2,686,791 Females.. .. 11,063,820 1,674,440 2,870,171 Total .. 21,429,508 3,170,769 5,556,962 ENGLAND AND WALES. Births and Deaths In the first six months of 1867. Births in Winter quarter (January, February, March), 195,455. Annual birth-rate to 100 living — Winter, 3-713 ; average,* 3-663. Births in Spring quarter (April, May, June), 199,649. Annual birth-rate to 100 living — Spring, 3-742; average,* 3-619. Deaths in Winter quarter (January, February, March), 134,254. Annual death-rate to 100 living — Winter, 2-551 ; average,* 2-551. Deaths in Spring quarter (April, May, June), 112,523. Annual death-rate to 100 living — Spring, 2-109 ; average,* 2-218. The mortality per cent, in the districts of England that comprise the Chief Towns was 2-732 in the winter quarter; while that of small towns and country parishes was 2-315. In the Spring the rate of mortality declined in the large towns to 2*119, and in the small towns and rural parts to 1-991. The returns in the Winter quarter were on the whole satisfactory. ' * The averages are dra-wn from the cori'esponding -winters or springs in ten years, 1857-66. VOL. III. — F. S. ^ A 4 C XII ) The marriages and the births were above the average numbers. The death-rate was exactly the average of the season, but lower than in any of the three previous winters. Had it not been for the intensely cold weather in January, which proved fatal to many old people, and for epidemics of whooping-cough, small-pox, and measles, the results would have been still more favourable. Cholera was only epidemic in Durham. Prices were high, and potatoes — ■ an esculent which possesses valuable antiscorbutic properties — were scarce. The Spring quarter was genial. The births exceeded the average number of the season, and the low mortality presented a striking contrast to that prevailing in the spring of 186G. Sanitary work was accelerated last year by the impending epidemic of Asiatic cholera, and the efforts then made appear to have borne fruit. The marriage-rate was below the average in the winter quarter, and reflected the prevailing depression of certain classes of industry. If care is not taken to ventilate the sewers thorouglily, the vola- tile matters by which typhoid fever and other zymotic diseases are propagated, must be communicated, by means of the house-drains, from one dwelling to another. But the chief security against a danger incidental to the existing system of town drainage lies in abundance of water, with sufficient fall to propel the whole body of refuse to a distance, and to disperse its gases in limitless space. Increase op Population, and Emigration. The excess of births over deaths in the Winter quarter was 61,201 ; in the Spring quarter 87,126, which latter number repre- sents an excess of 957 daily. Against this increase is put the loss by emigration. The number of emigrants in the former quarter from all ports in the United Kingdom where emigration officers are stationed, was 26,753, of whom about 8000 were English, 1200 Scotch, 14,000 Irish, 3000 foreigners. There went to the United States nearly 7000 English, 900 Scotch, 13,000 Irish. 2000 persons of various origin went to the Australian colonies; less than 100 to British North America. In the March quarter of the three years 1865-6-7, the total emigration was 27,513, 39,672, and 26,753. In the Spring quarter 73,571 emigrants, of whom 12,695 were foreigners, left British and Irish shores. Of 16,718 persons of English origin, 11,980 went to the United States, 2028 to British North America, 2142 to the Australian colonies, and 568 to other places. ( xni ) METEOEOLOGY. First Quarter (January, February, Marcli). The month of Januaiy opened with a severe frost, which continued at Greenwich till the 5th, and the defect of temperature was great, particularly on the 4th. The thermometer fell to zero at many places, and below that point at others. Snow fell frequently all over the country, and to such amount that traffic by road or railway was rendered difficult, and in some places was quite suspended. This severity of weather was succeeded by a sudden thaw, and by heavy gales of wind from the west and south-west. The snow was cleared away rapidly, and its sudden melting caused rivers to overflow their banks in many parts of the country. From January 6th to 10th the average excess of daily temperature above the average was 7°. On the 11th another period of frost set in and continued till January 2 2d, during which there were several very heavy falls of snow, especially in the northern parts of the kingdom. Cases were reported of persons who had perished in the snow. The average daily deficiency of tempe- rature on those twelve days was nearly 10°. On the morning of the 23d a sudden change took place ; the temperature was no less than 20° higher than that of the preceding day, and a period of warmth almost unprecedented for the season commenced, which lasted for thirty-five days. The average excess of temperature during this period was 7° daily ; and it is necessary to go back as far as 1779 for a period of higher temperature and of equally pro- longed duration. The melting of the snow and heavy falls of rain produced inundations which were extensive in some parts of York- shire and Lincolnshire. From February 27th to the end of March the weather, except on a few days, was cold and wintry ; snow and sleet were frequent all over the country. In the first three weeks of March the average daily defect of temperature at Greenwich was nearly 7°. January and March will be distinguished in meteorology for their severe frosts and snow-falls, February by its high tempe- rature, and the whole quarter by an unusual succession of heavy gales. In February the excess of rain and the floods impeded agri- cultural operations ; while in March vegetation was checked, and growing crops damaged by the protracted wintry character of the season. Second Quarter (April, May, June). At Greenwich the mean tempe- rature of the air in the shade was 53°-5 ; it was l°-3 above the average of 96 years. Of every month the temperature was above the average; but the variations were so unusually great as to seriously affect plants of every kind. April was unsettled, windy, rainy, ( XIV ) c3 f*-* S O to ■* ■"I- ^j- ^ r< o r< o o M != ^ b 1 b + b 1 b 1 & b + b b 1 b S§^ -^.St»< ■a .a i o 00 M (S ►A E rA rA o rA So »• 00 Tj- rA CTN sD ri r< w^ ^ag ro ■& rA O r* O »H O 0) C3 o o o O _c O O o O 1^ b o b b b b b + ?l o S^ 1 + 1 1 + + 1 It § C oo ON .2 j:; ? M VD 'i- M M M M r< rA rA rA S • • • • b b b o O b o o fc OJ S 00 VD >J^ O NO rA o 3 ja g o ^ V C^ ON o ON ^ JLi »J^ rA ■. 5 §N % a 1 o (s •J^ r< ^ o M c J. 0 M IH M ^ o vO b W ON ^ s M M M M M r< r< M So » ■<1- -t a^ rA vO M 00 VD P ® !3 -*j o WA w^ rA H o r» b O b .3 1 + 1 1 + 1 1 + o 5§S o Q g t~- O w^ M o O ^ O ^ 0^ o o b n ^ rA VA b VD a 'i- rA rA 'J- Tj- VA 'i- i"£ -4- •^ 0^ O rA M ON vn a. § g £ «> fe (5 %'^ ^ VA rA M o u b b b o 1 o 1 + 1 1 + + 1 + 5 0 \D >J^ ^ri Ov M -+ oo OO » V o ;:, n w^ vO o NO ON rA ON 1^ rv^ Tj- rA rA Nl- •J^ o vO o 1 + 1 b 1 o + b + T b + o^S So „; o •* rA Tt- M CO o rA i3 <1 .fcS>§ o o r^ b 0 ^ b b M 1 + 1 + + + + 5§S i M r> r-^ ON o 'i- M lA o o Tt- rj- r-~ 03 ON rA OO rA 1 ro ^ rA rA '^ KA WN VA CO 00 u H S5 O a 3 P U cS a O u a a < 4) a a a 1-5 fe C^ r^i ►-S ( XV ) ■ -.^ M ^ 0 0 $ -:t- 0 •a ^ 0 0 b !> ^ P "S £^ « 'I- ■^ w ^ ^r ^j^ >J^ w^^ 1 o l.i' 3 r< w >J^ ■s M M r-» 0 £ M f, H 0 o> 00 g w^ 0 VJ-V vn 0 is 3 tA P <-< '^ ;i r» r< FA a ','' o m ¥ r^ ^ a »^ '^ 00 ^ a w »^ ^ c^ H 1-1 HI M •A s H p o rfl S o" a c ■3 S 0 M 0 U2 o> Cv kA a .3 00 ■0 a i 'A *w> ^f 00 (S 00 M 00 m -I- w a 00 2 S ■3 -S u h%l< [» 0 rf C^ 0 OT r^ ■^ ri fl M 0 0 Th -^ C5 •*- ^ <) t^ r^ os|l l^ r^ ro <^ n rn s '^t- ■^ rt S m wa"3 Et _g M b 1-^ b a M b b b 1 lA b 1 a ^§a + 1 + M + + + 1 + c <§ _^ ?• g 00 (S m F1 ^-1 J r» 7^ 00 a rA i ^ 0 a M M ri 3 yo .s (s r< M 5 «£> c > E 0 1 + M 1 i "4- 1 VA 1 ^ + 1 p ^ •^ 0 ^, M 0 r-^ U^ r^ * 5 a & -r ^r\ & rA r^ r^ rA ^ s u^ "-V lA M-\ vAi w^ »J-\ fcA 3 6"0 tJ r^ rA , *; tog . 0 (3 M 0 )-( " ■5 1 •0 0 5 S=^ b 1 b + b 1 b 1 0 1 0 1 0 + 0 1 H ^ ^S. 0 M rt- CO CT> 00 m An c3 l_i r-^ M rA rr\ VO "S « 0^ 0 a C> 0 0^ J a ori >. 2 a* t; 5^^ >-r\ '-' 0 ri M r< '^ If 1 1 1 + 1 + * ca a ( 0 -t rl ro 0 ^ lA 0 s 00 00 00 00 00 " J 1867. Months. 03 a c C3 •-5 5 0 ri 0 05 < a s 1-5 1- !2 ( XVI ) rainy, and warmer than usual. May, after the first few days, brought us brilliant sunshine ; the heat of summer filled the air, and vegetation shot out luxuriantly. Then came a great change ; the sky grew cloudy, the weather cold, the nights frosty. The ground and the tender shoots of plants were frozen. Flowers were in blossom; the cuckoo, the swallow, and the nightingale had come ; but it was winter weather. The young shoots of holly, ivy, walnut, beech, and even oak, were injured in many places. Straw- berries and peas in flower were nipped ; potatoes were damaged. At the end of May and in the beginning of June came warmth and rain, followed by cooler days to the end of the month. The hay crop was excellent, and was stacked in good condition. No signs of the potato disease were visible. FOOD — PEICES. QtTANTiTiES of Wheat, Wheatmeal and Flour, Barley, Oats, Peas and Beans, Imported into the United Kingdom in each of the first Six Months of the Year 1867. 1867. Wheat. Wheatmeal and Flour. Barley. Oats. Peas. Beans. cwts. cwts. cwts. cwts. cwts. cwts. January .. 2,280,431 369,735 925,866 709,877 190,440 163,724 February 1,423,169 266,934 421,591 280,370 73,509 178,337 March 2,358,252 248,514 789,199 639,967 49,053 174,086 April 3,230,018 245,280 589,184 781,584 72,421 134,464 May . . 3,212,207 387,971 380,640 1,113,114 162,180 150,378 June 1,944,479 304,638 229,996 756,238 195*515 195,017 Total in) Six [ Months ) i4,448,55^J 1,823,072 3,336,476 4,281,150 743,118 996,006 Note. — The average weights per quarter of com, as adopted in the office of the Inspector-General of Imports and Exports, are as follows :— For wheat, 485J lbs., or 41 cwts. ; for barley, 400 lbs., or S| cwts. ; for oats, 308 lbs., or 2f cwts. Corn has been entered and charged with duty by weight instead of measure since Sep- tember 1864. ( XVII ) Quantities of Wheat, Barley, Oats, Peas, Beans, Indian Corn or Maize, Wheatmeal and Flour, Imported in the Six Months ended SOtli June in the three Years 18G5-6-7 ; also the Countries from which the Wheat and Wheatmeal were obtained. Wheat from — Eussia Denmark Prussia Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg Mecklenburg Hanse Towns Trance }. Turkey and Wallachia and Moldavia Egypt United States British North America Other countries Total Wheat Barley Oats Peas Beans Indian Corn, or Maize Wheatmeal and Flour from — Hanse Towns France United States British North America Other countries Total Wheatmeal and Flour 1865. 1866. cwts. 2,693,820 233,665 2,260,322 134,640 260,768 245 ,822 460,662 352,393 212,901 21,187 586,088 7,462,268 4,161,894 3,081,990 218,068 436,033 2,076,918 129,294 ,231,380 108,694 14,136 78,871 1,562,375 cwts. 3,649,398 148,615 1,663, 193 73,507 302,225 315,701 2,683,389 295,973 7,012 315 ,160 8,789 2,045,714 1867. 11,508,676 3,954,929 3,490,490 542,637 244,376 6,151,931 130,352 2,713,046 164,735 6,142 120,209 3,134,484 cwts. 5,147,296 305,412 3,532,054 83,599 498,343 432,281 418,793 1,338,159 48,505 1,071,512 87 1,572,515 14,448,556 . 3,336,476 4,281,150 743,118 996,006 4,563,553 238,053 882,613 106,272 6,584 589,550 J 1,823,072 The importation of wheat in the first six months of 1867 shows a considerable excess over the amounts imported in the corresponding periods of two preceding years, — that excess being 25 per cent, over 1866 ; 93 per cent, over 1865. Eussia continued to supply about a third of the whole; and Prussia, whence a much less quantity was received in the previous year in consequence of the war, supplied about a fourth of the total amount. From France the supply, which was large in 1866, has been lately inconsiderable; while that from the United States, though still comparatively small, has increased. Sixty per cent, of wheat imported in the last half- year came from the Russian and Prussian dominions. The principal supply of wheat-flour is from France ; and in the first half of the current year it was greatly diminished. For in the same period of 1865 French flour was 79 per cent, of the whole quantity; in that of 1866 it was 86 per cent. ; and this year only 48 per cent. The supply from some other countries increased. C xviii ) Quantities of British Wheat Sold in the Towns from which Returns are received under the Act of the 27th and 28th Victobia, cap. 87, and their Average Prices, in each of the first Six Months of the Years 1862-67. First month .. Second month Third month (five ■weeks) Fourth month . . Fifth month .. Sixth month (five weeks) Quantities in Quaktees. 1862. quarters. 220,266 242,229 277,410 173,174 185,356 208,042 1863, quarters. 262,923 239,882 281,405 243,552 267,587 302,897 1864. 1865. quarters. 344,930 306,713 350,974 285,286 284,601 333,201 quarters. 300,816 298,271 373,069 261,501 327,694 283,528 1866. quarters. 212,713 259,999 331,295 250,159 250,890 245,393 1867. quarters. 221,791 203 , 900 280,878 205,231 221,067 196,985 Av ERAGE PEICE. > PER Quarter. 1862. 1863. 1864. 1865. 1866. 1867. First month , . Second month,. Third month ) (five weeks) J Fourth mouth . . Fifth month ,. Sixth month ) (five weeks) j s. 61 60 59 58 58 54 d. 4 0 3 0 0 7 s. 47 47 45 45 46 46 d. 5 3 8 7 4 8 s. d. 40 7 40 b 40 I 40 0 39 2 39 8 s. d. 38 6 38 3 38 6 39 8 41 0 41 5 s. d. 45 10 45 7 45 4 44 10 46 3 48 3 8. d. 61 5 60 II 59 9 61 7 64 8 65 5 Average Prices of British Corn per Quarter (imperial measure) as received from the Inspectors and Officers of Excise according to the Act of 27th and 28th Victoria, cap, 87, in each of the first Twenty-six Weeks of the Year 1867. Week ending Wheat. Barley. Oat s. Week ending Wheat. Barley. Oats. s. d. s. d. S. d. s. d. 8. d. s. d. January 5 .. 60 2 43 6 24 2 April 6 61 2 39 7 23 9 January 12 .. 61 0 43 5 24 2 April 13 ,. 60 9 39 9 24 5 January 19 .. 62 3 44 5 23 4 April 20 .. 61 4 39 8 25 5 January 26 .. 62 2 45 9 24 5 April 27 ,. 62 II 39 I 25 6 February 2 .. 62 6 45 2 24 6 May 4 .. .. (>3 10 39 9 25 3 February 9 . . 6r 4 45 3 24 9 i May II 64 9 38 II 25 10 February 16 59 10 43 9 23 6 May 18 .. 64 II 38 II 27 0 February 23 59 II 43 4 24 3 ' May : -, (>5 3 37 10 26 2 March 2 59 8 42 4 24 8 Juue I .. .. 05 5 37 9 26 ID March 9 59 3 41 5 24 I June 8 , . . . 65 4 36 9 27 4 March 16 .. 59 4 41 5 24 9 June 15 65 9 36 2 27 8 Marcli 23 59 9 40 5 24 8 June 22 65 8 35 0 27 7 March 30 ,. 60 II 39 6 24 II June 29 64 10 35 3 28 0 Average of 1 ' Average of Winter > 60 7 43 I 24 4 Spring Quarter J 64 0 38 0 26 3 Quarter J ( XIX ) The Average Prices of Consols, of Wheat, of Meat, and of Potatoes; also the Average Number of Paupers relieved' on the last day of each Week ; and the Mean Temperature, in each of the Nine Quarters ending June 30th, 1867. Average Prices. Pauperism. Quarters euding Consols (for Money). AVheat per Quarter in England and Wales. Meat per lb. at Leadenhall and Newgate Markets (by the Carcase). Best Potatoes per Ton at Waterside Marine t, Southwark. Quarterly Average of the Nunibe'r of Paupers re- lieved on the JaU day of each week. Mean Tempe- rature. Beef. Mutton. In-door. Out-door. 1865 June 30 £. S. d. 40 6 4f(/.— 6f^. Mean ffrf. ^Id.—Hd. Mean "jld. 90s. — 115s. Mean 102s. bd. 125,846 776,016 0 56-2 Sept. 3Q 89^ 43 3 45^/. — "jd. Mean 5f J. GJrf— 8|v/. Mean -j^d. 65s. lOOS. Mean 85s. 117,172 719.589 62-5 Dec. 31 1866 88^ 44 10 Ald.-ld. Mean 5|cf. c,hd.—i\d. Mean 6|rf. 60s. — 90s. Mean 75 s. 129,036 725.259 46*0 Mar. 31 87 45 6 4jrf.-6frf. Mean c^^d. ^Id.-lld. Mean b^. 55s. — 90s. Mean 72s. bd. 139,546 759,402 41-2 June 30 86^5 46 6 Ald.—-]d. Mean 5|cf. Shd.—2,ld. Mean 70?. 60s. — 95s. Mean j-js.bd. 123,657 734.139 53-0 Sept. 30 881 51 0 5K-7H Mean bid. sU.—^d. Mean 6|rf. 75 s. 1 2 OS. Mean 97s. bd. 120,955 717.553 58-9 Dec, 31 1867 89I 56 8 Ald.—-]d. Mean 5^^. sid.-iu. Mean 6|(/. 85s.— 130S. Mean 107s. 5d. 133,979 734,312 46*2 Mar. 31 903- 60 7 4?^^.— 7J. Mean 5|tf. 5rf— 7H Mean 6Jrf. 115s. — 160S. Mean 1 3 7s. bd. 147,620 832,364 38-9 June 30 ^n 64 0 A^d.—Gld. Mean i^'^d. bld.-lld. Mean 6Jld. Mean ^^d. Aid.—7d. Mean 5^1:?. 90s. — lies. Mean loos. 1864 903 126,753 788,689 4'.d.—Gid. Mean ^^d. S'id.—-]d. Mean C^\d. 64s. — 86s. Mean 75s. 1865 m 127,589 758,199 Ahd.—'id. Mean c,'^d. iid.—'d^d. Mean -jd. 75s. lOlS. Mean 88s. 5(Z. 1866 891 129,534 73^^,35JC Aid. — -d. Mean 5f(Z. i^hl.— '6d. Mean 6ffi. 69s. IIOS. Mean 89s. 6cZ. PAUPERISM. The annual return of the number of paupers in England at the beginning of the year shows tliat on the 1st of January, 1867, the number was 963,200, being 1 in 21, or 4'8 per cent, of the actual po])ulatiou, and an increase of 38,387, or 4*2 per cent., over the number at the corresponding date in 1866. The details whicli follow do not absolutely agree with the above statement, owing to 810 paupers having been in receipt of both indoor and outdoor relief. The indoor ])aup(irs on t\w 1st of January, 1867, were 148,195 ; the outdoor 81.5,005. 201,511 were men, 411,136 women, 345,877 children ; 41(i,310 were able-bodied, 501,124 not able-bodied, 41,090 insane ; and 5027 vagrants. Of the able-bodied, 41,729 were men, and 11(;,579 wonuai ; and 258,002 children were relieved with tlieir parents classed among the able-bodied adults ; of the not able-bodied, 142,193 were men, 271,8(;4 women; 87,067 cliildren; and of the insane, 17,589 were men, 22,693 women, 808 children. The number of able-bodied adult paupers relieved was 158,308, an increase of 8988, or 6 per cent, over the number on tlie 1st of Januarj^ 1866. deceiving indoor relief there were 47,049 men, 46,276 women, 51,304 children, 3566 vagrants not otherwise classed ; or classing otherwise, 41,936 able-bodied, 92,176 not able- bodied, 10,517 insane, 3566 vagrants. JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. I, — The use, to the Farmer, of a Magnify ing-glass or Simple Microscope. By W. Kencely Bkidgman, L.D.S.,E.C.S., Eng. Prize Essay. UpwaEDS of five-and-thirty years' experience in the almost daily use of the microscope for investigating subjects of natural history leads me to speak with some degree of confidence as to the benefit that this instrument may confer upon the farmer, by enabling him first to enter into the minutiae of the wondrous contrivances ordained by the Creator to maintain life, health, and succession in organised beings, and next to turn that know- ledge to account, by seconding the more recondite operations of nature in those processes wherein his interests are most con- cerned. Through neglect of such a resource, bad or defective seed may cause the loss of a season's growth ; crops may be wasted by the ravages of disease, which might have been stayed had it been sooner detected ; while by its adoption adulteration in feeding-stuffs, manures, and various other sub- stances, may be brought to light, so that the farmer may be no longer at the mercy of the manufacturer or the dealer. He may also gain much insight into the mode and principles of vegetable growth, of inflorescence and fructification, upon which the quantity and quality of grain depends, and by watching the influence of manures and other substances upon plants, he may learn the right time and manner of applying them, as well as the appearances of disease in its incipient stage and subsequent development, together with the action of all such preparations as either check or eradicate it. All these observa- tions come within the province of the microscope, and they are essential to the full development of agriculture as a science. The magnifying-glass or microscope must not, however, be mistaken for other than it really is — that is only "a means to an end ; " for it teaches us nothing, it only affords us the power of examining objects too small for the naked eye, and thus VOL. III.— S. S. B 2 The Use of a Simple Microscope. places those that are wholly invisible, or but slightly visible in the ordinary way, on an equality with larger structures for the purpose of examination. For instance, if we mix together a handful of beans, peas, wheat, oats, or any other of the larger seeds, any ordinary observer could sort out the different kinds with the naked eye, but to name them correctly would require previous knowledge. But if we substitute for these the grains of three or four different kinds of starch or pollen, no human eye, if unaided, would be able to detect the difference between them, although under the microscope this case would prove quite as practicable as the former. As, however, the objects to be examined f/ecrease in size, so must the magnifying power be zwcreased in proportion ; hence a range of powers becomes requisite ; and as these magnifying glasses vary in description, a short account, with diagrams of some that would prove serviceable to the farmer, has been appended to this paper, together with some few hints to novices and students as to the selection of glasses, the preparation of objects, and the choice of books of reference. It must, however, be borne in mind, that there is no royal road to knowledge, and in this respect the use of the magnifying-glass is not an exception ; its successful appli- cation must he acquired by practice. One of the first subjects for which the farmer would probably seek the aid of the magnifying-glass would probably be the seed required for sowing. Every species of seed, and almost every variety of each species, will be found to possess some difference in appearance, either of colour, size, or external marking, that will at once give it a distinctive character. In numerous instances the external tracery upon the testa, or skin of the seed, furnishes not only a beautiful microscopic object, but a means of identification. Henbane, tobacco, poppies, anise, and carraway, will serve as good illustrations of this fact, while each of the different species of silene, or catch-fly, will exhibit not only a strong family likeness, but likewise sufficiently distinc- tive traits to at once determine it specifically. It is almost impos- sible to obtain a correct idea of these characteristics in any other Avay than by actual observation ; hence all the seeds vised by the farmer, as well as those of the common weeds, should be ren- dered familiar to him by examii^ation and study. Defects and impurities in samples of seed fall under two heads : — 1st. Genuine seed, but barren or unripened ; or, again, ex- traneous substances that will not grow, added to increase bulk. 2nd. Other kinds of seed capable of growth, the plants from which would be undesirable or injurious to the crops or land. The strongest plants being derived from fully developed and Tlie Use of a Simple Microscope. 3 well ripened seeds, it will be the first consideration that the bul/i. of the sample shall consist of such. The character of these will be at once caught by the eye, and singled out as a prominent feature. A small quantity being taken into the palm of the hand, and a magnify ing-glass, proportionate to the size of the seed, being used, a tolerably fair estimate may be made of the entire sample, and any extraneous substances that are not seed at once detected. For the larger seeds a common hand magnifier will be suffi- cient, but for the more minute a much greater magnifying power will be required, at least until the observer shall have become perfectly familiar with the objects ; it is a well known fact that the faculty of recognising minute objects turns in a great degree upon familiarity with them, so that upon intimate acquaint- ance even very minute objects are readily recognised at a mere glance with a common lens. Such an acquaintance, however, can only be gained by the use of higher magnifying powers, hence the compound microscope, to be hereafter described, which answers the purpose both for the low and high powers, becomes an essential requirement. In the case of "grass seeds," in which one or more varieties of trefoil are commonly combined with various species of grasses, properly so called, the use of the microscope is important, because much of that which is sold under this name, consists principally of the sweepings of the hay-loft, and consequently is not ripened seed ; and it is only by the aid of a microscope that this can be detected. The first step will be to get rid of the minute seeds* and other small objects by sifting. After this has been done the different kinds of trefoil will be readily made out, but the different species of grass, although varying in size and form, are not easily discriminated, although by prac- tice much may be done. To give a practical illustration of such use of the microscope : — To get at the seed of grass, in order to ascertain whether it be well ripened or not, it will be necessary first to get rid of the " outer husk or chafF-scale," which is the peculiar calyx of grasses and plants allied to them. To accomplish this it will be desirable to have them thoroughly dried by heat, so as to render the chaff brittle, it will then crumble away on being rubbed between the finger and thumb, and leave the seed clean and fit for examination. Damping the * A farmer in this neighbourhood sowed several acres with grass, and, to his vexation, the land became covered with the Lychnis Dioica, or Campion, which cost him considerable trouble and loss. He has since expended some twenty guineas in the purchase of a first class microscope, and affirms that this would not have happened if he had previously owned the microscope, adding that it " cer- tulnhj would never happen again." B 2 4 The Use of a Simple Microscope. seeds after they have thus been dried will sometimes render the plump ones more conspicuous. " Doctored " seed ranks as one of the impurities comprised Avithin the first division. When scalded seed has been mixed with choice varieties of turnip-seed, a practised eye will be able to detect thein on carefully examining the hilum or germ of the seed, which is killed by the treatment. In the case of over-year turnip seed that has been " renovated " in the oven, a similar examination will be likely to expose the deception. If trefoil seeds have been " oiled," or shaken in a greasy bag, dust \yill be found sticking to the surface (especially if a little dust be shaken over them), which is not the case when they possess only their own natural gloss. The bulk of the seed is made up of farina or starch, and gluten. The latter, when soaked in cold water, swells so that the grain may easily be crushed, or cut into thin slices, so as to show its internal structure. The quantity of starch-cells and their quality may thus be readily observed, and the quality of the grain or seed judged of by its richness in starch grains. The embryo, which lies at the depression called the scar, the spot at which growth commences, should be carefully examined, as seed that has begun to sprout from damp, and has then been checked, is wholly useless for sowing. The hilum or scar is the spot at which it is attached to the seedpod or recep- tacle, and where the nourishment enters it from the coverings or seed vessel. When the seed is fully ripened, it separates of itself, and a cicatrix is formed which offers a distinctive indica- tion that the seed has been matured. It is also at this spot that the moisture enters when the seed swells preparatory to growth, and also where the first sprouts of the future plant protrude. The state of this cicatrix, whether it be minute and perfect, or has been enlarged and^ shrivelled, are the points to be examined, and a comparison of good dry seed with some that has been sprouted and then dried, will show most clearly in Avhat this difference of appearance consists. With respect to " feeding-stuffs," it will be far more difficult to obtain satisfactory results than with seeds, because these substances being crushed or ground, the particles, altlwwjh admitting of recognition hy a practised ei/e, do not present so marked a difference. In the coarser kinds, the inagnifying lens may serve to detect well-known bodies, but the medium powers of the compound microscope will be needed in most cases. The material if solid, as oilcake, should be broken down into a coarse powder, and a portion examined both dry, as an opaque object, and in water, as a semi-transparent one. A piece of oil- cake broken small, and placed in a basin, should have a quantity The Use of a Simple Microscope. 5 of hot water poured upon it, which after a short time may be strained off, leaving- the husks and coarser parts for examination. The shining exterior of the flax seed will be conspicuous, and contrast greatly with the dull husk of the cotton-seed, while the farina of each may be learned by practice. Dr. Arthur Hill Hassall, in his work on ' Adulterations Detected,' observes that " the microscope is specially suited to the detection of organised structures or substances, and that by its means one kind of root, stem, or leaf may generally be distinguished from another, one kind of starch or flour from another, one kind of seed from another, and so on ... . The seeds even belonging to different species of the same genus may frequently be dis- tinguished from each other by the microscope, a point in some cases of very great importance." To show the importance of such discrimination, the following instance may be cited : " Some cattle were fed with rape-cake, and died with symptoms of inflam- mation of the stomach and bowels. Nothing of a poisonous nature could be detected on analysis, but it was suspected the cake might be adulterated with mustard husks, although even this point could not be clearly established by chemical research. Under these circumstances the cake was sent to the author (Dr. Hassall) for examination, who had but little difficulty in ascer- taining that it was adulterated with mustard seed, which, from the large quantity consumed, was doubtless the cause of the fatal inflammation. So great and manifest are the differences revealed by the microscope in different vegetable substances, that with ordinary care and some amount of preliminary knowledge, the discrimination becomes a matter of the greatest ease and the most absolute certainty." Manuees. The microscope will scarcely enable any inexperienced observer to learn much of the composition or quality of manure, although with practice much may undoubtedly be done. The inorganic bodies, such as sand and ashes, may readily be seen. Any organic substance, as sawdust, or other vegetable offal, may also be de- tected ; and if a portion be washed in a very small quantity of boiling water, and a drop or two of this solution then suffered to dry on a glass slide, the peculiar salt or salts may be learned by their form, as every particular salt, or combination of salts, has its specific configuration and arrangement, which by the aid of the polariscope will at once become apparent. A knowledge of the form and characters of these salts is, of course, implied in such an investigation. Blood, fish-offal, and other similar sub- stances may likewise be made out by careful manipulation. G Tlie Use of a Simple Microscope. The genuineness of guano may also be learned through the presence of certain flinty remains of organic bodies, which are peculiar to the different deposits. Straw of wheat, oats, grass, and many other vegetables, contain certain arrangements of flint in their substance that are left entire after all vegetable matter has become decomposed and washed away. These flinty and imperishable remains of vegetable organisms that have existed in the sea, and have either served directly as food for the pen- guins, or previously filled the stomachs of fishes and molluscs on which they have preyed, being deposited with the excrement which forms the guano beds, are the characteristic features of the best guanos. Says a late eminent Professor, "When examined microscopically, a great abundance of beautiful silicious skeletons of diatomacece are found amongst it ; and curiously enough, the best samples of guano contain the greatest number of these remains, which," says the late Professor Quekett, " were first detected by my late brother in 1845." * " Now when we con- sider," says the same writer," the vast amount of silica that must be removed from the soil with the straw of wheat, barley, oats, and other grasses, it must be evident that a supply of this substance ought to be restoi'ed to the soil to insure good crops ; hence it follows that the value of good guano as a manure may depend not entirely upon its ammonia, lime, and potash, but in a certain degree also upon the silica it contains." It is not improbable that the superiority of farmyard manure may depend very greatly upon the silica that the hay, corn, and straw contain, which is hut sparingly appropriated by the animal. It may also arise from a deficiency of silica that the straw of corn is often weak, and breaks down under the weight of the ear. The exterior surface of straw, canes, &c., derive their fine polish, as well as their strength, from a layer of flint, as may be proved by boiling them in nitric acid. For the process of obtaining these remains from guano, and the flint from the stalks and leaves of plants, &c,, the reader is referred to the valuable little work of Mr. Davies on the " pre- paring and mounting objects for the microscope," t which is a complete manual on the subject at a small cost. For an exami- nation of these silicious remains the J-inch or \ of an inch object-glass will be required, and a very accurate adjustment of the light must be obtained to bring out their very beautiful patterns in a satisfactory way. Of sand, loam, turf-ashes, and * Quekett's ' Histology,' vol. i. p. 59. t 'The Preparation and Mounting of Microscopic Objects,' pp. 151, by Thomas Davies. 8vo., 2s. 6d. Hardwicke. rhe Use of a Simple Microscope. 7 other such like additions, there will be little difficulty in detect- ing the presence, by a little practice.* Disease, as Affecting the Roots, Stems, or Leaves OF Plants. It may be considered a rare circumstance to find any one of these parts affected in any way by disease not arising from local injury, without at the same time the whole plant being out of health. We are apt to consider the pulling off a diseased leaf, or the cutting out a withered stem a sufficient remedial treat- ment, but were the rootlets to be examined microscopically it would soon be seen that something here too was wrong. It is an important question open for investigation whether all diseased formations in plants do not commence with an abnormal action at the tips of the rootlets, due to some change within the soil itself, such as undue dryness, sudden accession of a super- abundance of moisture, the application of stimulating manure, either too strong, or applied when the plant is not in a condition to receive it. The moral of this is that the moment anything may be seen to be going wrong, let the rootlets be at once care- fully examined, and a note made of the condition of the soil at the time, as to openness, compactness, or dryness, as also of the treatment which the land may have received just previous to the discovery. An admirable paper on the growth of the wheat plant, by the Hon. and Rev. Lord Sidney Godolphin Osborne, is published in the ' Transactions of the Micro- scopical Society for 1857,' in which this subject is very fully treated ; it is illustrated with drawings of the various parts of the roots and rootlets in their different states and stages, and is well worthy the careful attention of the agriculturist. The experiments were performed in many ways, the plants growing in various materials, and with different kinds of solid and fluid manures, under the higher powers of the microscope (from the ^ inch to the -i- inch), and the actual process of growth was thus witnessed, and its actions noted. "The general conclusion," observes the author, " at which I have aiTived is, that though what I call the epidermic plasm does absorb moisture from the soil — in fact, requires moisture to preserve its elasticity, com- bining in the formative matter it secretes some of the matters presented to it, in whatever medium it may grow — still the great * Mr. Norman, of Hull, •well known both as a naturalist and a merchant, \eho has especially studied diatomacese, ■writes, " A little experience will soon show, that whereas certain forms of diatomacea; are peculiar to the Peruvian, other species are only detected in the Bolivian ; while Ichaboe, Californian, Saldanah Bay, and Patagonian guanos contain forms which indicate their former habitats with unerring certainty." — P. H. F. . 8 The Use of a Simple Microscoj^c. sources of plant health and strength are obtained by means of the capsules or spongioles, the termini of every root and rootlet, and also by the absorbent cells ever found at the extremities of the numberless suckers ; for it is at these points that I find the cell-structure very greedily taking in whatever foreign matter 1 have succeeded in introducing into the media in which 1 have grown the plants. The action of anything placed in the medium in which plants grow which is injurious to them, is at once shown by its action upon their roots and lateral processes, the capsules losing many of the characteristics of healthy action. . . . There can be no doubt but that the plant requires not only certain chemical constituents to secure its health, but that these must be offered to it when growing in a medium, allowing the utmost freedom to the capsules of the roots, rootlets, and to the suckers I am satisfied a highly pulverised poor soil would grow better plants than a close, hard, tenacious soil, however fertilised." It is, then, to the terminal points of the roots and rootlets that the inquirer's attention must be directed, and for this pur- pose the microscope is invaluable, as affording at a cheap rate that information which obtained in the field on a large scale becomes a costly experiment.. The discovery of a patch of fungus upon the leaf or stem of a plant must not be taken for a cause of injury to the plant; it generally only indicates a want of vital action, and is the con- sequence of decaying organic matter. Fungi are rarely, if ever, found on healthy surfaces, but it is a law of nature that nothing stands still ; if a plant be growing freely and healthily, it holds its own, and no sporadic fungi find a location, but the moment vital action flags or ceases, either from decreased vital energy, or from local injury, a lower order of vegetation instantly com- mences to obtain a sway. Mildew generally shows itself after a season of active growth, followed by an inequality in the supply of moisture from the soil and from the atmosphere. In other words, when from drought but little moisture finds its way into the system through the medium of the roots, such amount being insufficient to maintain a full and active circulation icithin the plant, and when the vital action thus becomes sluggish, the dews and damp of the night air overbalance it, and the germination and growth of fungi then commences. Fungi are known to be rapidly developed during and imme- diately after a thunderstorm, owing, it is supposed, to the nitro- genous compounds formed in the air, as a result of these elec- trical discharges. Hence upon this hypothesis the application of a stimulus to the roots should take place whenever any exces- sive stimulus is being derived from the atmosphere. Growth The Use of a Simple Microscope. 9 accelerated by means of artificial stimulants should be gradually attained, and as gradually reduced, care being taken to maintain a healthy action during- the season of comparative rest, and to maintain an even balance of root action and atmospheric stimulus. The cell-structure of vegetable growth should be carefully studied, as the "cell" is the fundamental unit, by a repetition of which even the largest forms are constructed, and hence the life of the cell is the life of the plant, and death of a part may be followed by the death of the whole, unless a sufficient amount of reaction can be started. The " mycelium " of a fungus may sometimes be traced running through every part of a plant, and under these circum- stances the death of the plant invariably follows. It may some- times be traced only in the bark, or the epidermis, and then be of less consequence. In these investigations the higher powers of the microscope, as well as some acquaintance with the cha- racter and habits of the parasitic fungi are indispensable.* But the roughness or scabbiness of roots and stems is often caused by other than fungous growths ; it sometimes arises from injuries inflicted by the puncture or 'presence of insects — the larvae of flies and beetles ; at other times it may be produced by some injurious and irritating cause connected with the soil. A small transverse slice cut very thin by means of a sharp razor, and examined in water between two pieces of glass, will show the disposition of the cells both healthy and injured, and how far the latter extend, or are con- nected with the general structure. Transverse sections of the leaves taken through a diseased spot, and examined edgewise, show also to what extent the cells of a leaf may be affected by disease. The leaf itself is an important study, and requires some little amount of patient investigation to be thoroughly understood, but without this knowledge it is utterly impossible for any one to appreciate the exquisitely beautiful and delicate offices it has to perform, and the means by which its functions are carried on. StauCH-CELLS. — If a very thin slice from the interior of a healthy potato be placed between two pieces of glass, squeezed out, and then examined with a magnifying glass, there will be seen an infinite number of little oval shining bodies of many different sizes. These are starch-cells, and should form almost * A knowledge of these may be acquired by the aid of M. C. Cooke's ' Plain and Easy Guide to the Study of Microscopic Fungi.' 8vo., coloured figures, piiee G.S. Hardwicke. 10 The Use of a Simple Microscope. the entire bulk of tlie tuber, as may be seen from the following sketch, while the diagram by the side of it shows the condition Fig. 1. — Healthy Potato, showing starch in situ. Fig. 2.— Diseased Potato, showing absence of starch. of a diseased tuber in which the starch is wholly wanting, indi- cating the absence of the power of forming starch as one of the features of the disease. An examina- tion of the tuber at many different stages during the growth of the plant may lead to a better knowledge of the means of promoting healthy growth. The annexed figure shows a portion of diseased potato with the mycelium of a fungus permeating it in all directions. Starch in wheat differs from that of the potato in outward appearance, and is similarly liable to variation in quan- Fig. 3.— Diseased Potato, with fungns. tlty and quality. The following diagram (from Que- kett's ' Histology ') shows the relative sizes of different kinds of starch, and also a cell of rhubarb filled with starch-grains in situ. Wheat-starch is peculiar in having a number of large, and almost round cells interspersed with a great number of smaller ones of very different appearance, and some few intermediate in size. The large ones are flattened, but the smaller ones are somewhat globose or elongated. The granules of oat-starch are compressed like the larger granules of wheat-starch, but have a slight tendency to being angular, although they have no external markings. The starches of the dicotyledonous plants — such as beans, peas, vetches, &c. — have a peculiar character quite different from the preceding forms. Those of beans are large, Avith an indented outline, as if about to divide into three or more globular granules. Tlie Use of a Simple Microscope. 11 The starch of peas has the same general character as that of the bean, but is smaller, and has a deeper central furrow, from which the indentations appear to spring. Fig. i,—a. Wheat starch. &. Sago meal. c. Rice starch, d. Potato starch, e. Tous les mois. g. Khubarb cells, containing starch. From these characteristics it will be easy to determine whether wheaten flour has peas or beans ground up with it. A small portion moistened with water and spread thinly between two glasses is all the preparation needed. To obtain the starch from beans, peas, oats, maize, or millett, &c. &:c., these should be soaked in cold water until soft, and then a small portion scraped or sliced may be treated as above. Arrowroot, sago, tapioca, oatmeal, &;c., all afford characteristic forms of starch, and should be closely studied. Starch may also be obtained from numerous other sources among the roots and bulbs ordinarily grown for agricultural or domestic purposes, and as the value of all starch-forming growth necessarily depends upon the quantity and quality of the starch-cells produced, the influence exerted on this growth by various agencies is important. Textile FabeiCS. — In the investigation of textile materials the microscope has been found of incalculable advantage. " At a recent meeting of the Quekett Microscopical Club a paper was read on the application of the microscope to the discrimination of vegetable fibres, to point out what had been done, what re- mained to be accomplished, and to suggest the best mode of per- 12 The Use of a Simple Microscope. forming it. Altliough adulterations of food have been carefully investigated, adulterations or admixtures in fabrics, whether of animal or vegetable origin, have hitherto obtained but little attention. A et, it is urged, the subject is an important one, and well deserving systematic research. "All fibres employed for commercial purposes may be divided into four classes, two of which are animal — i.e. wool and silk — and two vegetable, which may be termed vascular."* The first representation is that of cotton (a), Fig. b.f The fibre of cotton is a cellular hair, which may be recognised by its forming a flat and slightly twisted band with apparently thickened edges. " Very important investigations on this subject have been com- menced in Manchester," and the question is asked " Are there really any distinguishable microscopic differences between Sea Island and Egyptian, New Orleans and African, or between Brazilian and Surat ? " Wool (b) has a peculiar structure, readily to be distinguished from all other animal and vegetable fibres, and differing slightly Fig. 5— a. Cotton, h. Wool. c. Silk. in its own varieties, as may be seen by reference to a paper on " Hairs." :j: To this peculiar scaly structure that wool possesses so * Ilardwicke's 'Science Gossip,' No. I. vol. ii. p. 10, 'a Monthly IMedium of Interchange and Gossip for Students and Lovers of Nature,' price 4d. This pub- lication contains much varied and trustworthy information, that would prove serviceable to the farmer. t To Dr. Forbes Watson we are indebted for the use of the blocks which illus- trate this part of the subject. X ' Science Gossip,' vol. i. p. 29. The Use of a Simple Microscope. 13 strongly, is due the property of " felting," and by tlie extent to which this character is developed in different hairs their value for the purpose is regulated. Thus, In the examination of wools, this feature should be noted, as well as the coarseness or fineness of the fibre, its length and density. The peculiar markings which characterize wool in all its varieties, afford a safeguard against the possible admixture of other materials. Important evidence as to the effects of various disorders due to keep, climate, or mismanagement, as also on the influence which special kinds of food, or even the various " sheep dips " exert upon the fleece may be confidently anticipated from such inves- tigations— results which will have an important bearing on the commercial value of \vool. Silk (c) is more uniform in character, and its several varieties are not readily, if at all, distinguishable. Flax. — Fig. 6 (a). "Vascular fibres are derived either from the inner bark (the liher) of the exogenous, or the vascular bundles of the leaves of endogenous plants. The most important of these Fig. G.— a. Flax. h. Juto. fibres is flax, obtained from the Limim iisitatissimuvi, or common flax plant. This possesses a variable market value, according to the climate or country of production. It is natural to inquire whether the microscope can detect differences between Irish and Belgian, or between Egyptian and Spanish flax." Jute (h) has now become an article of extensive use, and its fibre, which is an "adulterant" in extensive use, can always be readily detected. It has a rough outline, and is much more 14 The Use of a Simple Microscope. opaque tlian flax ; it lias no definite cross-markings, and the cells frequently terminate in a tongue-like shape. Fig. 1. — a. Chinese nettle, h. Neilgberry nettle, c. Bcdulec. Fig. 7 (Z»). Neilgherry nettle has been recommended as a substitute, or for admixture with wool. A comparison of the figures (5 h and 7 h) will prove that such an admixture could readily be detected. Fig. 8. — a. Baiiala. h. Ambarec. c. IMudar. The Use of a Simple Microscope. 15 Fig. 9. — a. Paissian hemp. 6. Himalayan hemp. c. Italian hemp. Hemp. — The true hemp, Cannabis sativa, is well known ; and Fig. 9 represents the microscopic appearance of three varieties : the Russian, Himalayan, and Italian. They are not unlike flax, except as to tlie transverse markings, which in hemp are usually defective, and, when present, less decided. It is difficult to dis- tinguish some fine samples of hemp from flax. ri„ 10 — Slum, Jitec Dunchec Jetee yields the Rajmahal bowstring-hemp, a fibre much valued for its tenacity. 16 The Use of a Simple Microscope. We come now to the second group of vascular fibres, namely, those afforded by endogenous plants, of which the most important is that afforded by the pine-apple. Under the microscope they Fig. 11.— a. Pine-apple. Z). New Zealand flax. c. Manilla hemp. have a somewhat opalescent, glass-like appearance, and are very refractive. New Zealand flax (Pho7'nmim tenax) has a peculiar flossy appearance under the microscope. Manilla hemp, the produce of a species of plantain, presents but little variation from other endogenous fibres, except by the presence of distinct cross-markings. Cocoa-nut coir and Ejoo (Fig.l2) are sufficiently distinct to render description unnecessary. It will be seen that the difference between cotton, wool, silk, cocoa-nut fibre, ejoo, jute, and flax, is of so marked a character as to be readily distinguishable even by the veriest tyro, but the diagrams representing Chinese nettle, Neilgherry nettle, bariala, and the hemps, show that the difference between them is less marked ; in such cases where the difference depends more on texture of the surface, tint, or degree of opacity, than on the outline and configuration of the object, illustrations will afford less assistance ; yet such distinctions are readily appre- ciable by the eye from the object itself under microscopic examination ; and hence it is that a careful examination of the objects themselves is absolutely essential for acquiring a sound knowledge of any particular subject. In the case of seeds, &c., where size, shape, and marking, always present the same appearances, there is little to confuse, The Use of a Simple Microscope. 17 bat where, as In the case of the above textile materials, no two pieces can be found sufficiently similar in outline to be mis- Fig. 12. — a. Cjcoa-nut coir. h. Ejoo. ^^ taken for each other, or where substances are broKen up Into irregularly formed masses, these require to be studied with regard to the general form and character of the masses ; as, for instance, whether they possess angular or rounded edges, or any particular direction for breaking up, or whether they are rough or smooth, dull or shining in the fracture, opaque or transparent. All or any one of these features may constitute the distinctive characters of a given substance, therefore particular attention should be directed to them ; and, when these have been determined, diagrams may be employed to assist the memory ; but it Is very desirable that the objects themselves should be preserved for future examina- tion and reference. The IMagnifytng Glass or Microscope. The construction of the magnifying glass, or microscope, varies according to the use for which it is intended ; but the essential part consists of a highly polished piece of very clear glass, termed *■' a lens," which has one or more curved surfaces ; an ordinary spectacle glass may be taken as the simplest form of a common magnifier of very low power : a sphei-e of glass, or of any other transparent substance, being the highest magnifier that can be obtained by one single piece. Thus, the more convex it is, the shorter Is its focus', or in other words, the closer must the object and the eye be placed, to obtain a distinct vision, and conse- quently the more the object is magnified. The perfection that has been of late years attained in the construction of the microscope VOL. III. — S. S. C 18 The Use of a Simple Microscojoe. lias been effected by using a number of different pieces of glass of different qualities combined together, so as to do away with imper- fections natural to a lens formed of one single piece of glass only. Lenses are mounted as common hand magnifiers, in tortoishell frames, folding up for the pocket. These contain from one to three glasses of different powers, so arranged as to be used singly or combined ; and a set. Fig 13, consisting of one-and-a-half inch, one inch, and half-inch focus, will be found very generally useful. In addition to its use as a hand magnifier, Messrs. Smith, Beck, and Beck provide a stand, by which it can be made into a simple, but very useful, single microscope, as shewn in the accompanying illustration taken from their catalosrue. Fig. 14. When a higher power is required in a single lens, the Stanhope and Coddington (so named after their inventors) are sometimes had recourse to, they are mounted in metal case for the waist- coat-pocket or watch- ffuard. The Use of a Simple JSIicroscope. 19 The disadvantage of small glasses of short focus is that they have to be held close to the eye, and the object close to the glass, Avhich causes a degree of strain to the eyes that is both disagreeable and dangerous to the eyesight. These, however, are now almost" wholly superseded by the com- pound microscope, wherein this defect is entirely overcome. A much greater additional advantage is also gained by substi- tuting the latter for the sim/le magnifier. When the utility of the magnifying-glass has been once found out, it almost in- variably leads to a craving for greater power, so as to obtain a still further enlargement and better view of the object under examination. The principle of the single glass does not admit of any very great increase of this magnifying power, while with the compound arrangement the limit of the enlargement is, as yet, scarcely known, and as now constructed, modern achro- matic instruments* are so contrived as to provide the highest as well as extremely low powers. Since the common hand lens can be of but very limited use to ihe farmer, and is wholly inadequate to most of the purposes for which he ought to apply it, and as the manufacture of more per- fect instruments has been brought to a great degree of perfection, at such comparatively small cost as to place them within the means of nearly every student, it has been deemed desirable to advert to their con- struction. With a simple magnifying lens the ob- ject itself is seen through the glass. Not so, however, with the compound micro- scope. A convex lens has the property of forming a picture of any object presented to it, at some specified distance on its op- posite side ; thus in the annexed diagram the picture B is so much larger than A, the object itself, as the distance is greater between B and C (the lens) than between A and C. In the compound microscope, it is not the object itself, but this greatly enlarged picture, B, that is seen, being again magnified by another single lens ; thus its twofold action of enlargement gives it a claim to be termed " com- Fig. i6. pound." * Instruments having their imperfections corrected, although more strictly ■' without colour." c 2 20 The Use of a Simple Microscope. The marginal figure shews how this effect is accomplished in the arrangement known as the " body" of the instrument. ^ The object, A, being properly placed, and I : , sufficient light thrown upon it, an enlarged I ,<^.3sHJ picture of it is seen at B. The large lens '^ '^ just below this picture is termed the field lens, because it regulates the rays of light forming the picture, while the topmost or eye-glass is merely a single magnifying lens, through Avhich the picture B is seen and further enlarged. The distance of B from the eye- glass is regulated by moving the object (A) nearer to, or farther from the lens, which is termed the "object glass" just above it. The lenses which are thus employed to produce the picture of the object, are mounted in combinations for each power, each set being contained in a separate brass fitting, which screws on at the lower end of the tube, and great care must be taken not to displace or get these soiled by the fingers. The quality of a microscope depends greatly upon the qua- lity of its object-glasses, and these are very often purchased separately — a series of two or three being generally required — a 1-inch and ^-inch where 2 only are used ; a 2-inch or 1^, a |.rd or i-inch, and a i or ^ where 3 ; and ith added where a higher power still is desired. The simple magnifier which is then used to enlarge the picture in the eye is termed the eye- piece, the form represented in the upper por- tion of Fig. 17, and again in Fig. 18, two or three sizes of which are generally supplied ^| |j=jr= -' with the best microscopes. The upper glass of L ; . L this must be carefully wiped whenever the in- strument is used, as dust, and damp from the eye tend to render it misty. All additional arrangements of a microscope are with a view to facilitate the proper placing and illuminating of the object to be seen, to- gether with the measurement of its length, breadth, and thickness. Different magnifying powers are obtained by changing the lower lens or object glass, a series of which is represented in Fig, 18, and also by substituting shorter, that is, Fig. IT. The Use of a Simple Mia'oscope. 21 liiglier mag-nifying eyepieces, two of which are also shown in the same figure. A cheap but strong and effective form of microscope has been introduced under the title of "Student's," and these are now sold by opticians at from 2 or 3 to 5 or 6 guineas. In most of these, strength and real usefulness has been more considered than high finish and unnecessary ornamentation, and for ordinary use they answer every purpose. A very ingeniously contrived " pocket" microscope has re- cently been introduced by Mr. Moginie, at Mr. C. Baker's, which is cheap as well as portalDle (Fig 19). The most valuable invention of modern times in relation to the microscope is the "Wenham Binocular" (Fig 20). The use of one eye only at a time (which the common microscope involved) was 22 The Use of a Simple Microscope. found to be injurious to the sight, because the eye 720^ used always suffered more or less from the stimulus of light not being applied to it in the same manner and degree as to its companion. In the Binocular, as its name im- plies, both eyes are used, and the former drawback is over- come. The beam of light going from the object A to the picture B is divided by a glass prism placed half way across it, into two portions, one of which goes on as formerly, but the other is diverted and sent up a second tube attached to the first tube, forming a V, and thus two pictures, one for each eye, are formed and both eyes are stimulated equally. (See Fig 20). Next in importance to the optical part, or magnifying- glasses, is the stand, or frame- work carrying the glasses, by means of which the objects to be examined are held and adjusted for vision. Strength, steadiness, and free movement are essen- tial. Freedom from tremor is absolutely indispensible, for upon this depends much of the comfort in observing, as well as the possibility of seeing at all, with the higher powers, any vibration tending to render the object indistinct. One of the most substantial, and most complete is the No. 1a, stand of Mr. T. Ross (Fig 21), which for excellence of work- manship and elaborate finish is scarcely equalled. It was ori- ginally devised with the espe- cial aim of attaining steadiness and freedom from tremor, which it most effectually accomplishes. This is a large and massive as well as an expensive instrument, but where it can Fig. 20. TJie Use of a Simple Microscope. 23 be afforded it is an undoubted luxury. Most of the best of the cheaper kinds of stands are after this model, and those on a Fig. 21. Fig. smaller scale supplied by Mr. Ross, at a far more moderate cost, are excellent in every respect. One point requiring attention is the position of the axis of sus- pension upon which the swinging part is balanced. I say " balanced" because a good instrument is so adjusted that whatever be the position to which it may be inclined, it has no Tendency to move, but retains its balance. This is a point which many makers have overlooked, who produce stands that, when inclined back, require support to prevent their toppling over : it should be especially looked to when a selection for purchase is being made. Useful instruments for ordinary purposes are now made with a smaller amount of work, and consequently at a far less cost, such is the Ql. Binocular of Mr. Baker, as represented above (Fig. 22). In this, good and substantial workmanship has been combined with a tolerably well arranged suspension. 24 TIlc Use of a Simple Microscope. Another form of clieap stand has been devised by Messrs. Smith, Beck, and Beck, and styled by them the Popular Micro- scope, which has special merits (Fig. 23). Extreme" steadiness is obtained by supporting the lower end in a socket, and porta- bility, by its folding up. Its price is moderate — that is, from 10/. to 15Z. or 20/., proportionate to the amount of apparatus supplied with it, all of which is of excellent workmanship. Another cheap, and very convenient, binocular and polarizing microscope, invented by Dr. Lawson, has been brought out by The Use of a Simple Microscope. 25 Mr. Collins, in which the contrivances for shifting the object- glasses and attaching the polarizing prism greatly facilitate use, and lessen the time and trouble generally taken up in attaching and changing glasses (Fig. 24). The peculiar eye-douche-like form of the caps of the eye-pieces, being of ivory, and forming a side screen to the eyes, is Avell worthy of being generally adopted. Many objects that are too delicate to exhibit their structure under ordi- nary light, become richly and beautifully coloured when seen with polarized light, and are then easily made out. Manv animal and vegetable substances are remarkable for this property, but most, if not all, forms of lime in its crystallized state are thus readily now detected. No instrument is considered complete without its po- larizing apparatus, and the facility with which this can be adjusted, in the pre- sent form, renders it a very desirable addition. There are many other makers of good instruments, but sufficient has been said to point out the chief merits of such instruments, in a graduated series ranging in price from the lowest to the highest and most elaborately finished, so as to suit the means or inclination of different persons,* All the better class of instruments are now so constructed, that by obtaining a n-ell-made stand in the first instance, which would be the most politic proceeding, any additional portions may be added at any time afterwards when required ; and by the adoption of a uni- versal screw, the object-glasses of all makers fit into any maker's instrument. With respect to object glasses but little has been said, as it is always desirable to obtain the advice of, or to leave the selection to, an experienced microscopist. It should, however, be observed Fig. 24. We are indebted to the various makers for the use of the blocks employed. 26 Tlie Use of a Simple Microscope. that loicness of cost does not imply cheapness, and should he one of the last things thought of in purchasing a microscope, as a certain amount of (jood loorkmanskij) is absolutely indispensable, and a stand lacking this, would after a very short time become useless. Hints to Students. When an instrument has been selected, the next step will be to learn how to use it. There is one thing which must be constantly borne in mind from the very first, which is never to touch the fjlasses ivith the jingers, nor to wipe them with anything hard or rough : they should be brushed with a dry cainel-hair pencil when dusty, but when they require to be wiped, this should be done with a piece of clean and very soft washleather, kept on purpose, and carefully wrapped up from dust when not in use. The use of the various pieces of apparatus will be best learned by obtaining a half-hour's instruction from an old hand. The method of observing must be gained by practice after the student has been put into the right way. It is a well known fact that persons not accustomed to observe minutely see nothing distinctly on first looking into a micro- scope— that is, although they may see the whole contour of the object presented, they take only a general view of it, and are not impressed with any special definite fact, such as could be referred to from memory afterwards, as a distinctive character- istic. There is the greatest difference possible between seeing and observing. Seeing is the rule, and observing the exception. Place a piece of lichen-covered stone or wood in the hands of a dozen different persons, and it is more than probable that not one of them, ten minutes afterwards, would be able to say whether it was red, blue, yellow, or green. Now, it is this habit of observing minutely and attentively, Avhether it be with the common eye-glass or with the highest powers of the microscope, that is the first step to be attained. Some particular feature should be looked for, such as external shape, roughness or smoothness of surface, colour or peculiarity in form of markings, &c., &c,, and afterwards the same features should be looked for in other kindred bodies, and the differences noted arid ivritten down if possible. By so comparing objects one with another, and looking out for minute and trifling differences of structure, the faculty of observing — of detecting slight distinctions and of taking in, almost at a single glance, all the leading features of an object — may be rapidly gained if set about in the right manner. When once it has become a habit, a solid foundation is laid for reliable results to be drawn from subsequent investigations. A careless and faulty The Use of a Simple Microscope. 27 habit has too often led to the propagation of erroneous statements, and the only safe way of learning is by a careful studi/ of objects themselves as the preliminary step, any reference to drawings or engravings being reserved for after comparison and verification. Always bring the object to be thus studied into the centre of the field of view. The best practice is to commence upon any common objects that may be met with, such as seeds, sand, table-salt, »Scc,, examining them separately at first, and then mixing them so as to obtain a view of several objects together. Portions of the flowers and leaves of plants afford an almost unceasing fund of instruction, whether in their healthy or diseased state. It is always desirable to obtain first Avith a low magnifier, a good general idea of the structure or composition of any object before submitting it to higher powers, and to increase the enlargement by degrees — using first an inch-and-a-half object- glass, then a two-thirds or half-inch, a quarter-inch, &;c., as required. To facilitate the changing of these object-glasses, and to prevent the loss of time that would arise from having to screw each one off and on separately each time a different power is required, a contrivance called a " double nose-piece " is very often had recourse to. This consists of two arms attached to the lower part of the body of the instrument, having one power attached to each end, and, being made to turn on its centre, either one may be brought into its place by merely causing the arms to describe one-half of a circle, and thus either power may be changed for the other in a few seconds. Treble and quad- ruple nose-pieces are also made, but are not so commonly used as that which carries two powers only, the lower power serving also to "find" the object for the higher one. It is important to have a microscope always ready for use at a moment's notice. Fig. 24 is shown as fixed down upon a board having a circular groove intended to admit the rim of a glass shade, which, together with a piece of wash-leather thrown over the eye-pieces, would be a sufficient protection from dust, and only require lifting off to leave the instrument fit for use. A wooden cover, or a bag made of glazed calico, might be adopted as an inferior substitute. The diseases of plants are so intimately associated with the laws of vegetable life that a superficial acquaintance with the ordinary external appearance of disease in either roots, stems, or leaves, cannot be of the slightest avail unless something be known of the principles of vegetable physiology — i.e. of the structure and function of the several parts of the plant in their " normal," or natural and healthy state. To acquire this know- 28 The Use of a Simple Microscope. ledge, diligent use of the compound microscope is indispensable, accompanied by some work on histology or vegetable physiology as a guide to the mode of investigation. Diseases are also supposed to be produced by fungi, such as mildew, rust, &c., but these growths are rather indicative of dis- ease elsewhere. When the normal condition of the cell struc- ture, of the root fibres, leaf-cells, and other parts of the plant are known, the mycelium of these fungi may be recognised and sometimes traced all through the structure. To comprehend the nature and arrangement of these fungous pests of vegetable life every part of the plant should be carefully examined for their presence. The structure of the leaves also bears a marked significance as to the mode of treatment plants ought to receive ; the hairs and glands upon their surface, the stomata on one or both sides, are all con- nected with the laboratory within the substance, and have their respective functions to perform, any cessation of which becomes the precursor of disease. Portions of the upper or under skin of the leaf may be stripped off with a sharp knife and placed wet between glasses so as to be ready for examination. The internal structure of the leaf is best seen by taking a very thin section by means of a razor across the thickness of the leaf, and thus getting an edgewise view of it and the hairs, &c., which are connected with it. Sections made with a sharp razor may be taken from all parts of the plant so as to afford a considerable amount of knowledge of its peculiar structure. Dry and hard seeds, such as peas and beans, «Scc., after being thoroughly softened in water, may likewise have thin slices shaved off in the same manner. For the method of preserving these and other substances the reader is referred to the before- mentioned manual of Mr. Davies on mounting, »S:c. All small seeds may be preserved in a very simple manner when required only for reference. Take a strip of any common card, or stiff paper, cut to 1 inch wide and 3 inches long, which is the standard size of microscopic object-slides. In the centre of this put a little thick gum, or thin flour-paste, and drop on it a heap of the clean dry seeds, and after a few minutes shake off all that are loose ; put aside till thoroughly dry, and, if preserved from dust and damp, they may be kept for years. A collection should be made of the seeds of all common weeds, but more especially of those that are particularly obnoxious or injurious to crops or pasture. All materials such as wool, hair, vegetable fibres, starch, pollen, very minute seeds, or dust of any kind, if required dry, may lie preserved between two pieces of glass fastened together by paper pasted upon them ; but these are more commonly first TJie Use of a Simple Microscope. 29 soaked in turpentine and then covered with Canada balsam, for the manner of doing which directions will be found in the ' Manual for Mounting,' &c. Specimens of various samples of linseed-cake, cotton-cake, rape-cake, &:c., after having been treated with hot water, should be put up either dry or in balsam, being at the same time very carefully labelled with date, name, and any particulars of manufacture, purchase, or effect in use, that may be connected with them. Samples of crushed seeds known to be unadulterated should be procured and preserved in the same way, as these afford the only reliable evidence of the respective characters of each, and will at once prove the presence of extraneous substances in manufactured cake. In the examination of seeds. Sic., and in the preparing sub- stances for examination under the microscope, it is mostly necessary to have the means of using the hands at the same time that the object is seen under a magnifying glass, and for this purpose the lens and holder. Fig. 14, may be used, but a con- venient form of stand called a dissecting microscope is provided on purpose, where every facility for manipulation has been studied. Dr. Lawson's Binocular Dissecting Microscope. The most recent and best contrivance is the above binocular dissecting microscope of Dr. Lavvson as made by Mr. Collins of Tichfield-street.* In this both eyes are used, which gives the object a more natural appearance, and, both hands being at liberty, objects may be separated from one another, and vegetable * See 'Science Gossip' for September 1, 1SG5, p. 201. so Changes v^Jdch take place in the Field substances pulled to pieces or cut up so as to obtain a clear insight into tbeir general formation. In putting up specimens for preservation some kind of mag- nifying glass is always needed. It is, however, in the preparing parts of objects, so as to be able to get a good view of the part required to be seen, that the dissecting stand is absolutely essen- tial ; for more perhaps depends upon the rightly displaying the object than in the after examination of it. Specimens of seeds and numerous other substances that would be found useful to the farmer for reference, may, for a very trifling sum, be purchased of the opticians, who are supplied b}" persons whose sole occupation consists in preparing and mount- ing objects for the microscope. These object -preparers will assuredly be ready to provide an ample supply of specimens to meet all the requirements of the farmer, should the microscope become generally resorted to, as it most probably will be at no A^ery distant day. II. — Oji the Changes luldcli take jilace in the Field and in the Stack in Haymaking. By Dr. Augustus Voelcker. If grass or clover could be made into hay without undergoing any change in composition, the hay, when made, would no doubt be found as valuable as the green food from which it was derived. Fi'om exposui'e to the broiling heat of the sun on a hot summer's day, cut grass or clover hardly lose anything else but water, neither do their constituents undergo material alterations if the grass is not much bruised, and the drying process takes place Avith sufficient rapidity. The green colour, sweet taste, and aromatic smell of well-made hay plainly show that such is the case, and that haymaking is not always or necessarily attended with serious loss of nutritive matter. I am aware, however, that many practical men maintain the opinion that grasses and clovers are less nutritious as hay than when consumed green : though this may be true as a matter of fact in nine cases out of ten, I conceive this is not a matter of necessity, but, f it were always practicable to resort to artificial means of desiccation, or to have under complete control the natural drying rocess in the field, no material loss would be experienced ; the green colour of grass Avould be preserved, nothing but water escape, and all the solid constituents remain behind in much the same state of combination in which they occur in the succulent produce of our grass-fields. No attempt has been made as yet to apply artificial drying and in tlie Stack in Haymaking, 31 processes to liaymaking on a large scale, and I question much Avhetlier, in ordinary' farm practice, it is worth while seriously to entertain suggestions for drying grass by artificial heat, dry currents of air, or the combined action of these two agents. The special question whether sewage grass grown in the im- mediate neighbourhood of large towns can be profitably made into hay by artificial means, remains yet to be solved. In ordinary farm practice haymaking, in a trying season like the last, will probably always be subject to more or less of waste in feeding substance ; it becomes us therefore to inquire how far the loss can be mitigated, if not avoided. To this end it will be useful to trace, somewhat in detail, the nature and extent of the injury which grass sustains in haymaking, since hitherto little has been done in this direction. Such losses are generally traceable : — 1. To prolonged showery weather after the grass has been cut, so that it ultimately gets wet and half-dried, and has to be moved frequently on the ground before it can be carted and stacked. 2. To bad management in the field, and subsequent heating in the stack. 3. To the mistake of cutting the produce either too early or too late in the season. Prognostications of the weather are, to say the least of them, very deceptive, and though the sun may be shining when the grass is cut, predictions as to the continuance of fine weather cannot be relied upon. Over one great cause of loss the farmer then has little or no control ; it is not so, however, with the two remaining causes ; though it is to be feared that injuries thus done to hay are too frequently put down altogether to bad weather. 1. — Unpropitious Weather during the Haymaking Season. Grass and clover, when ready to be cut down, contain a con- siderable quantity of sugar, gum, luucilage, albuminous and other soluble compounds, which are all liable to be washed away by heavy showers of rain. As long as grass is still quite fresh, rain falling upon it has little or no injurious effect, for fortunately a coating of waxy or fatty matter covers the epidermis, and wraps, so to speak, the whole vegetable matter in a waterproof mantle. Rain for this reason may fall for days on newly-cut grass without doing any injury to it ; but the case is very different if, by repeated turnings, the crop has become more or less bruised, and rain then descends upon the half-made hay : not only are sugar, gum, and other soluble matters then liable to be washed out, but the bruised state of the plants, admitting at least a partial diffusion of the various constituents through the 32 Changes irhich take place in the Field lacerated cell-walls, induces fermentation, whicli, if not checked at once, causes further loss. During the fermentation soluble albumen and sugar are destroyed — two of the most valuable elements of nutrition. In showery weather, grass recently cut should, for this reason, not be turned over more than is abso- lutely necessary, and under all circumstances it is desirable to handle the crop as lightly as possible, in order that it may not get much bruised. That the loss in our hay crop, under these circumstances, is at times great, scarcely admits of a doubt, and it is to be regretted that there are no experiments on record which exhibit in figures their exact amount. Instead of analytical results I am able, however, to give a practical illustration from the use of some clover hay which was made in very wet weather, in some experiments tried upon sheep. With a view of ascer- taining the practical feeding value of several articles of food, I supplied weighed quantities of different foods to six pens of Cotswold sheep, each containing four animals. To one of the pens nothing but this clover-hay, cut into chaff, was given. When first put up for experiment on the 9th November, the four sheep weighed respectively : — lbs. No. 1 96 „ 2 101 „ 3 99^ „ 4 93 Together .. .. 389^ During the first fortnight each sheep received 1 J lb. of clover- hay chaff per day, and care was taken to provide also fresh water. At the end of the fortnight the four sheep were put on the weigh-bridge, and then weighed : lbs. No. 1 95 » 2 100 „ 3 98^ » 4 9U Togetlicr .. .. 385 Finding that all four sheep had lost in weight I gave them, during the next fortnight, 2 lb. each per day. On the 7th of December they weighed : lbs. No. 1 94 „ 2 101 „ 3 98 „ 4 88 Together .. .. 381 and in the Stack in Haymaking. 33 Thus, notwithstanding the larger amount of food, the sheep had lost together 4 lbs. since the last weighing. Knowing that the clover-hay was made in wet weather, and long on the ground before it was carted and stacked, and having experimentally found a fair allowance insufficient to support the live weight of one sheep, I next gave them as much of the same hay as they would eat, and instead of cutting the clover into chaff as before, supplied it as taken from the stack. The food not consumed was weighed back each day, and found to consist mainly of the harder and less palatable stems of clover. From the 8th of December to the 14th, the four sheep ate 78|^ lbs. of clover; in the next week 79 lbs., and in the next 76 lbs. ; then 78|^ lbs. ; from the 4th of January to the 11th inclusive, they consumed 74 lbs., and in the following week 64^ lbs. ; then again 73^ lbs., then 63J lbs. ; and in the last experimental fortnight 76|- lbs. in one week, and 63 lbs. in the last. The periodical weighings of the four sheep are incorporated in the following: Table : — • Sheep. When put up for Experiment. Loss -. Nov. 9. Dec. 21. Jan. 4. Jan. 18. Feb. 1. Feb. 15. Gain +. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. No. 1 . . 96 95 93 94^ 95 96 .. „ 2 .. 101 100 100 102^ 105 105 + 4 „ 3 .. 99J 98 98 98i lUO 99 -01 „ 4 .. 93 89 85| m 87 87* -5i 389.1 382 376J 381 387 387J Total - 2 This experiment is interesting in two ways. It shows first the folly of supplying animals with bad hay alone, and proves secondly that clover-hay can get deteriorated by rain, long keeping and frequent turnings in the field, to such an extent that any amount which sheep will consume is barely sufficient to maintain their original weight. Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert have shown that sheep fed upon well-made hay alone, increase in weight. The experiment, it will be seen, was continued for a period of more than three months, and the weighings done by myself in person. These practical results illustrate more forcibly the serious injury to which clover is subject when made into hay under an unfavourable season, than any analytical data possibly can do. Having, however, made a partial analysis of the clover, I may as well point out its general composition. VOL. III. — S. S. D 34 Clianges which take place in the Field Composition of clover-hay injured by rain and badly made — Dried at 212° Fahr. Moisture .. .. 20-45 Nitrogenous organic matter .. 8-50 .... 10'69 Non-nitrogenous substances .. 64-27 .... 80-79 Mineral matter (asli) .. .. 6-78 .... 8*52 100-00 100-00 * Containing nitrogen .. .. 1*36 1*71 I regret that I did not determine at the time the percentage of woody fibre nor the amount of matters soluble in water. How- ever, the comparison of the preceding analysis with that of well- made clover-hay sufficiently indicates the very inferior character of the clover employed in the feeding experiments. On an average, good clover-hay contains : — Moisture 16-60 . ^Nitrogenous substances 15-81 Non-nitrogenous substances 60-00 Mineral matters (ash) 7-59 100-00 * Containing nitrogen 2-52 Although the percentage of nitrogen in food does not afford invariably the means of determining with anything like accuracy its relative feeding value, in the case of clover-hay a very low percentage of nitrogen always indicates inferior quality, for as the leaves and more succulent portions of clover are much richer in nitrogen than its hard stems, a small percentage of nitrogen shows that the more delicate, brittle, and more nutritious leaves have been wasted to a great extent in the process of haymaking. Compared with good clover-hay, the injured sample contained little more than half the amount of nitrogenous or flesh- forming matters, and was no doubt rich in indigestible woody fibre. 2. — Loss by lad Management in the Field, and subsequent Fer- mentation in the Stack. Although haymaking is a simple operation, yet experience and judgment is required to decide when to cut the grass, when to handle, and when to stack the hay. I have seen farmers spending labour in turning hay on over- cast days, on which a dew-point hygrometer showed the air to be nearly saturated with moisture, proving that evaporation could not possibly take place at the time, and rain might be expected at any moment. In such a state of the atmosphere it is not only and in the Stack in Haymaking. 35 useless, but positively injurious, to knock about lialf-made hay, for it tends to bruise it and to render it more liable to be attacked by the rain of which the barometer, or more decidedly the hygrometer, has given previous warning. Frequent turnings of half-made hay should be avoided, especially in the case of clover, when the finer and more nutritious parts, the small leaves, are particularly liable to be knocked off by clumsy handling. It is further well known that hay, when badly made in the field, loses subsequently in the stack both in weight and in quality ; but the nature of the changes which it undergoes when it heats or ferments in the stack are not so well understood ; it may, therefore, not be amiss to describe them as briefly as possible. Let me direct attention to a second analysis of good clover or meadow-hay, drawn up more in detail by Professor Way: — Average Composition of Clover-hay. Dried at 212° Fahr. Moisture 16-60 Fatty matters 3-18 .... 3-81 *Albumen and similar nitrogenous compounds) -,-qi iqop (flesh-forming matters) J io bi .... 1»-Jb Gum, sugar, mucilage and carbon hydrates readily j 04.4,9 4.-1 .97 convertible into sugar j "■ •'" ~ Indigestible woody fibre (cellulose) 22-47 .... 26-95 Mineral matter (ash) 7*52 .... 9-01 100-00 100-00 * Containing nitrogen ,. 2'53 .... 3'03 The preceding analysis represents the average of 75 varieties of clover, and a few other plants which are usually found amongst clover-seeds. Since these varieties differ much amongst them- selves, corresponding differences in composition must be looked for in clover-hay, according as one species or another prevailed in the field on which it grew ; the time of cutting will also much affect the result. The above figures, therefore, admit only of a general application. Clover-hay generally absorbs and retains a little more water than common meadow-hay under the same circum- stances, and when in good condition contains more sugar, gum, and analogous compounds than meadow-hay, from which, more- over, it is chiefly distinguished by a much larger proportion of nitrogenous or fleshforming matters. Taking the mean of twenty-five analyses of common meadow- hay, we obtain the following : — D 2 36 Chanyes icldch take place in the Field Average Cojnposition of Meadoic-Jiaf/. Dried at 212^ I'ubr. Moisture 14-Gl AVax and fatty matters 2-50 .... 2'99 *Albiimen and otlier nitrogenous compounds) q.aa q.qo (flesh-lbrming matters) j ' " ' ' Sugar, gum, starch and similar compounds (respi-) ,-. ,r.- 4Q-00 ratory substances) J Indigestible woody -tibre (cellulose) 27"16 .... ol'80 Mineral matter (ash) G-IG .... 7-24 100-00 100-00 * Containing nitrogen I*. 35 .... 1-58 Haj, whether produced from clover or natural grasses, evi- dently contains a good deal of ready formed sugar or soluble organic matter, having an analogous composition, and readily convertible under the influence of ferments, first into sugar and afterwards into alcohol and carbonic acid. These consti- tuents are essential elements in all liquids and moist substances capable of entering into fermentation. No less essential are albumen, gluten, and other nitrogenous compounds. Some of the nitrogenous matter in hay occurs in a soluble, some in a con- dition insoluble in water. Soluble albumen and all albuminous compounds exposed for a short time to air and moisture, are readily transformed into ferments, that is to say agents which play the same part as yeast in setting up fermentation in sugary coin- pounds. It appears that when a vegetable juice ferments, the admission of the air is necessary to the commencement of the change which then goes on, even if the air be afterwards excluded. Ferments almost invariably contain the germs of minute fungi, which become rapidly developed and multiplied in the measure in which the fermentation proceeds. Albuminous compounds that have been exposed for a short time to the influence of the air, as in ordinary ferments, are only capable of acting as indvicers of fermentation when in a state of decomposition. This explains satisfactorily why hay that has been subject to excessive fermen- tation generally is very innutritious, such a great loss of flesh- forming, as well as sugary constituents, being implied by fermentation. The most reasonable explanation of the fermentation of sugar has been given by Liebig. Ferments, the great German chemist says, being in a state of decomposition, have their constituent particles in a state of motion, and by communicating, mechani- cally, an impulse or motion to the particles of sugar, destroy the balance of affinities to which its existence is owing, and thus give rise to a new balance or equilibrium more stable under and in the Stack in Haymaking. 37 existing circumstances. The elementary particles of the sugar being disturbed in their previous arrangement, group themselves according to their individual affinities ; and while the carbon forms on one side, a compound containing all the hydrogen (alcohol) it yields, on the other a compound containing the greater part of the oxygen (carbonic acid). Alcoholic or vinous fermentation may thus be briefly de- . scribed as the breaking-up of sugar under the influence of ferments, and the reconstruction of the constituent elements of sugar into alcohol and carbonic acid. Another condition favourable to fermentation is an elevated temperature. If the thermometer ranges from 65° to 80° Fahr., fermentation proceeds with rapidity, whilst at a lower tempera- ture it goes on more slowly, and is stopped altogether at 32^ Fahr. In the absence of a sufficient amount of water many substances otherwise capable of entering into fermentation remain appa- rently unaltered for a long period. Too much or too little water is alike unfavourable to the process. If one part of sugar is dissolved in three or four parts of water, and yeast is added, and the sugary liquid then placed in a warm room, no fermentation takes place, although three of the essential conditions have been fulfilled. Such a solution will require to be diluted with about an equal weight of water, in order to set up active fermentation. On the other hand, sugar dissolved in, say 16 to 20 parts of water, after the addition of yeasts, either ferments but very slowly, or rapidly turns acid in a warm place. These facts have a direct bearing on the proper conservation of hay. As long as grass and clover are still quite fresh, the proportions of water to that of sugar in the green plant are too large to encourage fermentation ; the nitrogenous constituents in newly-cut grass, moreover, only become ferments after the vitality of the plant has been destroyed, and the vegetable cells and vessels have become ruptured by partial drying, and their contents have been mingled together. With the evaporation of water, and, to a certain extent, the more or less complete destruction of the living organisation of the plant, the conditions become more favourable for active fermentation. By degrees the drying crop arrives at a stage when the relative proportions of sugar and of the remaining moisture are most conducive to fermentation. Should the weather unfor- tunately turn showery at that stage of the haymaking process, and the air become saturated for many days and weeks together, the half-made hay often begins to ferment already in the field. When this takes place the hay loses in quality, and becomes much more liable to heat afterwards in the stack. If, on the contrary, fine and warm weather sets in, and evaporation pro- 38 Changes which take place in the Field ceeds with rapidity, the percentage of moisture soon sinks sufficiently low to prevent altogether, or greatly to retard, fermen- tation. The hay remains sweet, and shows far less tendency to heat in the stack, even if it actually contains more moisture than hay made in unfavourable weather. The more quickly the hay can be made in the field, and the less it gets bruised or loses colour there, the less likely it is to heat in the stack. However, much hay is injured when it is quickly made and in a fine season ; it looks to be ready before it is so. If dried ever so much or ever so carefully in the field, hay nevertheless heats to some extent in the stack. A slight fermen- tation, so far from being injurious, may be useful, for, as is well known, peculiar aromatic principles are thus generated, which certainly renders hay more palatable, and, it may be, more nutritious. As long as the green colour is retained, there is no danger of the hay losing in quality, but if the heat in the stack becomes so intense and continuous as to turn the hay decidedly brown, I have no hesitation in saying that considerable loss in feeding matter is incurred. Some feeders of stock prefer brown hay to green, and it cannot be denied that the former often has a more aromatic smell and a more savoury taste than the latter. Although brown hay is much relished by stock, I do not think it desirable to put up hay so wet that it will afterwards turn brown in the stack ; for, as I shall show presently, the sugar which is wasted when hay heats and turns brown in the stack, appears to me of greater value than the aromatic savoury substances which are generated by that process. Some years ago I had an opportunity of examining brown hay which had a peculiarly aromatic, quite fruity flavour. It tasted decidedly acid, and contained scarcely any sugar, but a good deal of mucilage, soluble brown humus-like compounds, with but a small proportion of soluble albuminous matters. On further examination I found the acid in the hay to be acetic acid. The hay was very brittle, dark brown, and an analysis gave the following results : — ', Composition of Brown Strongly-fermented Hay. General Compositiun. Dried at 212° Fabr Moisture . .. 18-33 Soluble organic matters . .. 14-81 18-13 Soluble mineral matters . .. 3-98 4-87 Insoluble organic substances . .. GO-29 73-82 Insoluble roineral substances . .. 2-59 3-18 100-00 100-00 and in the Stack in Haymaking. 39 Detailed Composition. J)ried at 212° Fahr. Moisture 18-33 Fatty matters 1-70 .... 2-08 *Soluble albuminous compounds .. .. 1*94 .... 2"37 Mucilage, gum, brown extractive matters) q.^. ii-qi and traces of sugar \ "^ ' ' " Acetic acid 1-93 .... 2-36 Digestible fibre 23-01 .... 28-19 flnsoluble albuminous compounds .. .. 8'75 .... 10*71 Indigestible woody-fibre (cellulose) .. .. 28-53 .... 34-93 Soluble mineral substances 3-98 .... 4-87 Insoluble mineral substances 2-59 .... 3-18 100-00 100-00 * Containing nitrogen -31 .... -38 t Containing nitrogen 1-40 .... 1-71 The occurrence of a considerable amount of acetic acid in this hav, and the all but complete absence of sugar, deserve a special notice. Vinegar-manufacturers are well acquainted with the fact that all sugary substances may be employed for the production of vinegar, and that in the so-called rapid vinegar process a dilute alcoholic liquid in the presence of a porous substance, such as wood-shavings or chopped straw, or under the influence of a ferment, is rapidly transformed into vinegar. Scientific chemists, moreover, have pointed out the relation which exists on the one hand between sugar and alcohol, and on the other between alcohol and acetic acid — the acid of vinegar — showing that the latter is formed by absorption of oxygen, in other words that acetic acid results from the oxidation of dilute alcohol. It is clear, therefore, that the acetic acid found in the heavier hay was pro- duced at the expense of the sugar present in unfermented or only slightly fermented hay. Subsequently I had an opportunity of examining a rick of clover-hay, which became so hot in the interior that it had to be disturbed. It had been made in a bad season, and was stacked when too moist. On removing the top-layers of the rick the vapours emanating from the heated hay were found to have a peculiar pungent irritating odour, which particularly affected the eyes. A chemist could not doubt for a moment that these irritating vapours were due to the volatile inflammable com- pound which has received the name of Aldehyd. The same pungent odour may be noticed in vinegar manufactories at a certain stage of the vinegar process, and it is well known that aldehyd is produced in abundance when weak alcoholic liquids are allowed to trickle slowly over wood-shavings kept loosely in perforated capacious vats freely admitting air. In this operation 40 Changes lohich take place in the Field a large surface is exposed to the air, and the alcohol transformed into aldehyd by oxidation. Alcohol consists of 4 equivalents of carbon, 6 of hydrogen, and 2 of oxygen, its composition conse- quently may be expressed by the formula C^ Hg Og. By taking up 2 equivalents of oxygen from the air alcohol becomes changed into aldehyd with the production of 2 equivalents of water. This simple change may be represented as follows : — ■ Ji^^^:}^ from^urAir. AMehycl^ Water. C, He O, + 2 0 = C, H, O2 + 2 H O Aldehyd thus differs from alcohol by containing 2 equivalents less of hydrogen. The principal interest with which aldehyd is invested arises from the facility with which it absorbs oxygen, in consequence of which it readily is transformed into acetic acid. The addition of 2 equivalents of oxygen to aldehyd is all that is required for this change, as will be seen from the following formula : — Aldeh}-d. 2 Oxygen. Acetic Acid. cTnTa + 20 = H o, c, h, d. This oxidation of aldehyd is accompanied with the evolution of much heat. If the supply of air be insufficient,'the acidifica- tion of dilute alcoholic liquids or substances capable of entering into alcoholic fermentation may become so imperfect that the alcohol is merely changed into aldehyd — a product intermediate between alcohol and acetic acid ; and as aldehyd is an extremely volatile substance, it may escape without becoming further oxidised into acetic acid. In the interior of a closely packed hay-rick in an active state of fermentation, in which the sugar is first converted into alcohol and carbonic acid, the supply of air is necessarily but limited, and hence it happened in the case before us that although the vapours of aldehyd emanating from the clover hay-rick were so overpowering as to render it unsafe for a man to stand on the rick, yet so little acetic acid was formed in the hay that I did not consider it worth while to determine the amount quantitatively. jNIy observations on the changes which badly-made hay under- goes in the stack show clearly that excessive fermentation destroys sugar, one of the most valuable constituents of hay, which passing first into alcoholic fermentation is finally lost, either in the shape of aldehyd or that of acetic acid, according as the supply of air is more or less copious. A glance at the following Table will show that the hay, as con- taining 38 per cent, of water, was far too wet for stacking. and in the Stack in Haymaking. 41 Composition of Strougly-fermented Clover-hai/. General Couipositk/n. Dried at 212° Fabr. 08-02 9-40 . .. 15-i7 .3-!)(J G-39 40-01 74-23 2-Gl 4-21 Moisture Soluble organic matters Soluble mineral matters Insoluble organic substances Insoluble mineral substances • 100-00 100-00 Dctulhd CumjiosUion. Water • 38-02 Fatty matters -90 .... 1-45 * Soluble albuminous compounds .. .. 1-88 .... 3'03 Gum, mucilage, brown extractive matters,) p..n m./^a 'i ,.,,, ^ ' '> o-Go .... 10 G'J and a little sugar ) Digestible fibre 15-55 .... 25-09 f Insoluble albuminous compounds .. .. 8-12 .... 13-11 Indigestible woody fibre (cellulose) .. .. 22-33 .... 3G-03 Soluble mineral matter 3-9G .... 6-39 Insoluble mineral matter 2-Gl .... 4-21 10000 100-00 * Containing nitrogen '30 .... '48 t Containing nitrogen I'SO .... 2-09 Apart from the large excess of water, the high percentage of indigestible woody fibre shows that this sample was of very inferior quality, and that the excessive fermentation to which it was subject in the rick destroyed much sugar as well as albumi- nous compounds. Bad as this hay was, it was by no means at its worst, for on further keeping in the stack it became reduced by degrees to a dark brown mass which crumbled under the fingers like snuff, and became only fit for the dunghill. It is well, therefore, to remember that highly-fermented hay, which has passed through the acetous acid fermentation, on pro- longed keeping in the rick undergoes a kind of slow combustion or eremacausis, in consequence of which compounds like those present in peat are formed, and much valuable feeding matter is entirely resolved into gaseous products. It is to be regretted that we possess no precise data, showing the actual loss in substance from a given weight of fresh grass. To supply this deficiency I purpose to put up next season a weighed quantity of well and badly made hay into a small rick to ascertain from time to time the actual loss which the whole rick sustains, and at the same time to determine by analysis, at the time of the periodical weighing, of what the loss in weight chiefly consists. 3. — Loss on cutting Grass and Clover either too early or too late in the Season. i Practical men are agreed that the best time to cut our hay- 42 ' Changes which take place in the Field crops is the period wlien the grasses or clovers have just done flowering, and the lower parts of the stems show signs of drying up. The precise date at which grass should be cut, of course, will vary according to climate, season, soil, and manures em- ployed ; neither is it possible to describe intelligibly the appear- ance of the crop when it thus attains maturity. However, hay- crops are frequently seen in the fields which might with advantage have been cut down a week or fortnight earlier, and occasionally others are gathered in too soon ; though a single week's differ- ence in the time of cutting may affect very materially both the quality and the quantity of the produce. With a view to obtaining some reliable data, calculated to throw light on the loss which farmers sometimes unconsciously sustain by beginning the hay- harvest either too early or too late, I tried a series of experiments, some years ago, at the Agricultural College, Cirencester, when a favourable opportunity presented itself in a remarkably even and good clover-field resting on the great oolite formation. The land was level and in a good agricultural condition, the clover was equally thick throughout the field, as far as could be judged by the eye, and grew luxuriantly. The analysis of the soil and subsoil gave the following results : — Composition of Experimental Clover-field. Surface Soil. Moisture (when analysed) 1*49 Organic matter and water of comLination .. 11-80 Oxides of iron and ahnuina 15*82 Carbonate of lime lO'oT Alcalies and magnesia -64 Insoluble silicious matter (clay) 59'S8 100-00 Clay-subsoil. Moisture (when analysed) 13-40 Oxides of iron and alumina 17-01 Carbonate of lime 7-05 Magnesia "60 Sulphate of lime '56 Potash and soda 1-06 Insoluble silicious matter (clay) GO'32 100-00 The analysis, I need hardly say, is not a complete one, and is merely given here in order to show that the clover grew on a good calcareous clay-soil, which was Avell suited for the crop. Part of the field where the growth was most even was set apart for experiment, and accurately divided into 12 plots, each measuring exactly 1 pole (16^ feet square). The clover on plot 1 was mown for the first time as early as and in the Stack in HaymaMng. 43 the 15th of April. A second cutting was made on the 28th of April, a third May 12th, the fourth May 26, the fifth June 10th, and the last June 30th. The whole produce of each cutting- was weighed at once in the field, and at the same time a fair average sample was taken in each instance for the determination of the amount of water, albuminous compounds, and mineral matters (ash). My object in beginning to mow the clover so early in the season was to ascertain incidentally whether eating off the young clover early in spring, as is sometimes the practice on the Cotteswold hills when spring food is scarce, was attended with loss in food or not. But for this object there would have been no use in mowing the clover so early in the season. On the 2nd plot, the first cutting was made on the 28th of April, and was followed by other cuttings on the same dates as those of plot 1. When Mo\v-^ Plot 3 was mown on May 12 May 2B June 10 June 30 Plot 4 May 26 June 10 June 30 Plot 5 J une 2 June 16 July 28 Plot 6 June 9 June 30 Plot 7 •• June 16 July 28 On plots 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 the clover was mown once, and on the following dates. Plot 8 June 23rd, plot 9 June 30th, plot 10 July 7th, plot 11 July 18, and on plot 12 July 28th. The experiments thus extended over a period of 3^ months, and the periodical weighings and analyses of the different mowings were made at intervals sufficiently numerous to bring out with certainty any marked differences which were likely to occur either in the quality or the quantity of the produce at different times of the year. The results of these experiments are incorporated in the fol- lowing Tables, showing the composition and weight of the produce of each plot. In the first Table the composition in two parts is given both of the fresh and dried clover at the 6 periods when it was mown. The second Table shows the actual weighings of the fresh produce of each plot, the amount of dry matter contained therein, and the chief food-constituents which compose the dry substance of clover. In the third Table the preceding tabulated results are calculated per acre, and in separate columns the amount of hay per acre is also given, assuming the latter to contain 16 "7 per cent, of mois- ture, which is a fair average proportion in dried good clover-hay. The percentage of moisture in clover-hay, I may observe in 44 Changes which take place in the Field passing, varies a good deal with the state of the atmosphere. In the same rick, I found one-year-old clover-hay to contain from 18*20 per cent, of moisture in the colder and damper months of the year, and only 14*15 per cent, in the drier months. Clover- hay, therefore, may be assumed to contain on an average about one-sixth of its weight of water. PLOT I. Table I. — Clover Experiments." a. Composition of Fresh Produce in 100 parts. Date of Mowikgs. First, April 15. Second, Third, April 2S. May 12. Fourth, May 26. Fifth, June 10. Sixth, June 30. Interval since former mowing , Moisture ''Albuminous compounds . . Non-nitrogenous substances Mineral matter (ash) lbs. 82 •as 2-68 13-00 2-07 2 weeks lbs. 80^10 4^25 13-18 2-47 2 weeks lbs. 82^20 3^94 11^.56 2-30 2 weeks lbs. 79*30 3-19 14^90 2^61 2 weeks lbs. 80-10 4^12 13-69 2-09 100^00 Containing nitrogen 100-00 100-00 •63 100-00 100-00 •51 •66 3 weeks lbs. 77-10 4-44 15-95 2-51 100-00 •71 h. Composition of Produce dried at 212° Fahr. *Nitrogenous substances Non-nitrogenous matters Mineral substances (ash) 15 12 21 31 22 12 15 37 73 27 66 28 64 96 72 03 11 61 12 41 12 92 12 60 20-69 68^8l 10-50 Containing nitrogen 100-00 2-42 100- uo 3-41 100^00 3-54 100-00 100-00 2-46 3^31 19-37 69-67 10-96 100-00 3-10 Table II.— (Weight in lbs. of Produce in Plot 1.) Date of Mowings. First, April 15. ' Second, April 2S. Third, May 12. Fourth, Fifth, May 26. June 10. Sixth, June 30. Total. Interval since former"! mowing / Fresh produce .. Produce dried at 212° F. Consisting of: — *Nitrogeijous substances Non- nitrogenous sub-' stances i Mineral matter (ash) * Containing nitrogen . . lbs. 281 5-05 •75 3^72 •58 -12 2 weeks lbs. 3i •69 •12 •49 •08 •02 2 weeks lbs. 18 3^20 •69 2-10 •41 •11 2 weeks lbs. 10 2-07 •31 1^50 •26 •05 2 weeks lbs. 9 1^79 •31 1^30 •18 •05 3 weeks lbs. 7 1-GO •25 1^18 •17 •04 lbs. 76 14-40 2-43 10^29 1-68 •3J and in the Stack in Haymakinf/. Table III. — Produce in lbs. of Plot 1, calculated per Acre. 45 Date of Mowings. First, Second, Third. Fourth, Fifth. Sixth, Total. April 15. April 28. May 12. May 26. June 10. June 30. Interval since former'l mowing j 1 lbs. 2 weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks 3 weeks lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. Fresh prodnce ,. .. 4560 560 2880 1600 1440 1120 / 12160 lbs, = \5t. 8 c. 64 lbs. Produce dried at 212^ F.' 808-0 Produce calculated as) hay, containing 16-7| 969'6 per cent, of moisture) 110-4 132-4 512-0 614-4 331-2 397-4 286-4 343-6 256-0 307-2 / 2304 lbs. = 1, I ton 64 lbs. I 2764-6 lbs.= I I t. 4 c. 76 lbs. *\itrogenous matters .. 120'0 19-2 110-4 49-6 49-6 40-0 / 388 • 8 lbs. = t 3 cwt. 52 lbs. Non-nitrogenous matters .59 5 * 2 78-4 .336-0 240-0 208-0 188-8 1 1646 -4 lbs. = 1 14 cwt. 78 lbs. Mineral matters (ash) , 92-8 12-8 65-6 41-6 28-8 27-2 r 268 -8 lbs. = \ 2 cwt. 44 lbs. * Containing nitrogen .. i 19-2 3-20 17-6 8-0 8-0 6-4 64-2 lbs. Cut as early as the 15tla of April, the clover, it will be seen, contained much more moisture than the cuttings on the 26th of May, 10th and 30th of June. The first mowing- also was poor in nitrogenous matter, and this poverty was due not merely to the greater amount of water, for the dry substance itself yielded only 2-42 per cent, of ni- trogen, whereas the dry produce on June the 10th contained 3'31 per cent., and that of the oOth of June 3-10 per cent, of nitrogen. By far the largest weight of clover was obtained at the first cutting, and comparatively little at the second ; in the following fortnight, fine and warm weather having set in, the clover again grew vigorously. Altogether plot 1 produced in the 6 mowings 5 tons 8 cwt. and 64 lbs. of fresh clover, or calculated as hay, 1 ton 11 cwt. 76 lbs. of clover-hay per acre. The 2nd plot yielded the results contained in the following Tables (see pp. 46, 47). In this plot — 1. The first mowing was much poorer in nitrogenous matters than all the succeeding cuttings. 2. The second mowing contained an unusually large amount of moisture. 1 must, however, explain that this arose in a great measure from a heavy dew which had fallen on the clover shortly before it was weisfhed in the field. 46 Changes which take place in the Field PLOT IT. Table I. — Clover Experiments. a. Composition of Fresh Produce in 100 parts. Date of Mo'wnfGS. First, April 23. Second, May 12. Third, May 26. Fourth, June 10. Fifth, June 30. Interyal since former mowing Composition of fresh produce Moisture *Nitrogenous substances . . Non-nitrogenous matters Mineral matters (ash) . . lbs. 80-80 2-88 14-41 1-91 2 weeks lbs. 86-30 2-69 9-29 1-72 Containing nitrogen 100-00 -46 100-00 4-3 2 weeks lbs. 79-80 3-86 13-73 2-61 100-00 -61 2 weeks lbs. 78-30 4-12 14-85 2-73 100-00 •66 2 weeks lbs. 77-10 4-31 15-75 2-84 100-00 -69 I. Composition of Produce dried at 212° Fahr. Composition of dry produce : — *Nitrogenous substances Non-nitrogenous matters Mineral substances (ash) 14-93 75-13 9-94 19-62 67-83 12-55 18-87 68-21 12-92 19-01 68-41 12-58 18-81 68-79 12-40 * Containing nitrogen 100-00 2-39 100-00 3- 14 100-00 3-02 100-00 3-04 100-00 3-01 Table II.— Produce of Plot 2 in lbs. Date op Mowings. First, April 28. Second, May 12. Third, May 26. Fourth, June 10. Fifth, June 30. Total. Interval since former! mowing J Weight of fresh produce Weight of produce dried^l dried at 212= Fahr. ../ 2 weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks lbs. 55 10-56 lbs. 9| 1-33 lbs. 12 2-42 lbs. 10 2-17 lbs. 8 1-83 lbs. 94f 18-31 Consisting of: — *Nitrogenous substances . . 1-56 •25 •44 -37 •31 2-93 Non - nitrogenous sub-"l stances / 7-96 -92 1-67 1-53 1-30 13-38 Mineral matters (ash) . . 1-04 •16 •31 •27 -22 2-00 * Containing nitrogen -25 •04 •07 •06 ■05 •47 and ill the Stack in Haymaking. 47 Table III. — Produce calculated per Acre in Plot Date op Mowings. TotaL First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, April 23. May 12. May 26. June 10. June ao. Fresh produce in lbs. . . lbs. 8800-0 lbs. 1560-0 lbs. 1920-0 lbs. 1600-0 lbs. 1280-0 /1 5,1 60 lbs. = \6t. 10 c. 80 lbs. /2929-61bs. = \1 t. 6 c. 16 lbs. Weight of dry produce inl lbs.(driedat212^Fahr.)/ 16S9-6 212-8 387-2 347-2 292-8 Produce calculated as hay 1 /3515-4lbs. = \1 t. 11 c. 43 lbs. (containing 16'7 per> cent, of water . . . . ) 202 7 -.5 255 - 3 464-6 416-6 •351-3 *Nitrogenous matters 249-6 40-0 70-4 59-2 49-6 468-8 lbs. Non-nitrogenous matters 127.3-6 147-2 267-2 244-8 208-0 r2140-8 lbs. = \l9cwts. 12 lbs. ^Mineral matters (ash) . . 166-4 2.j • 6 49-6 43-2 35-2 320 lbs. * Containing nitrogen 40-0 6-4 11-2 9-6 8-0 75 lbs. 3. The first mowing- made on the 28th of April yielded 55 lbs. of fresh, or lOj lbs. (in round numbers) of dried clover, whereas the first and second cuttings made on plot 1 with the same length of growth yielded only 32 lbs. of fresh, or 5f lbs. of dry clover. We have here a convincing proof of the disadvantage of feeding off clover by sheep too early in spring. The loss in food was considerable, and the young clover on plot 1, as proved by analysis, was in no wise superior in feeding quality to that of plot 2. 4. The yield was at the rate of 1 ton 2 cwt. and 16 lbs. more fresh clover, or nearly 7 cwt. more clover-hay per acre than on plot 1. The increase on plot 2 over 1 it will further be seen is entirely due to the much larger yield in the 1st mowing, for the suc- ceeding mowings showed but little difference. Looking at the composition of the fresh produce of plot 3 (see p. 48) it will be seen that the first moAving contained much more moisture than the three following, and that the 2nd mowing was unusually rich in dry matter. But comparing the composi- tion of the dried clover it will be seen that the four mowings had a remarkably uniform chemical constitution, more especially as regards the percentage of nitrogen in each. "^ The chief points of interest, however, are noticeable in the 2nd and 3rd Tables, showing the actual weight of each mowing. Comparing the produce with that of the preceding plot, cut for the first time a fortnight earlier, it will be noticed that the first mowing on plot 3 actually produced 4 lbs. more fresh clover 48 Changes lohich take place in the Field PLOT III. Table I. — Clover Experiments. It. Composition of Fresh Produce. Date of Mowings. First, May 12. Second, May 26. Third, June 10. Fourtb, June 30. Interval since former mowing . . Moisture *Nitrogeiious substances Non-uitrogenous substances Mineral matter (ash) llis. 81 -.30 2-87 14-24 1-59 2 weeks lbs. 73-30 4-12 19-39 3-19 2 weeks lbs. 77-70 3-56 16-04 2-70 3 weeks lbs. 77-00 3-56 16-76 2-68 * Containing nitrogen 100-00 -46 100-00 •66 lOO'OO -57 100-00 -57 h. Composition of Produce dried at 212° Fahr. *Nitrogenous substances Non-nitrogenous substances ]\Iineral matter (ash) - . . 15-37 76-13 8-50 15-44 72-62 11-94 15-94 71-96 12-10 15-4+ 72-0 11-65 * Containing nitrogen 100-00 -46 100-00 2--17 100-00 2' 55 100-UO 2-47 Table II. — Produce of Plot 3 in lbs. Date of MOWIKGS. First, Second, Third, Fourth, Total. May 12. May 26. June 10. June 30. Interval since formerj mowing / 2 weeks 2 weeks 3 weeks lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. Weight of fresh produce 98 4i IIJ 8 121i Weight of dry produce.. 18-32 1-17 2-50 1-84 23-83 Consisting of: — *Nitrogenous substances . . 2-81 •12 •37 -25 3-5r) Non-nitrogenous matters 13-96 •92 1-83 1-38 18^09 Mineral substances (ash) 1-55 -13 -30 •21 2-19 * Containing nitrogen ■45 •02 •06 •04 •57 Table 111. — Produce calculated per Acre in Plot 3. Fresh produce in lbs. .. 15,680 Weight of dry produce^ 093^.0 in lbs j " Produce calculated as hay j (containing 16-7 per) 3517-4 cent, of moisture) . . J ^"Nitrogenous matters . . 449 • 6 Non- nitrogenous sub-~l 2233 "6 stances j Mineral matters (ash) .. j 248-0 * Containing nitrogen .. j 72-0 1944Ulbs. = St. 13 c. 64 lbs. 3812-8 lbs. = 1 t. 14 c. 8 lbs. 4575 -3 lbs. = 2 t. 95 lbs. .'•)681bs. = 5 c. 8 lbs. •.2S94-4lbs. 1 t. 5 c. 94 lbs. 350-4 lbs. = 3 c. 14 lbs. 91-2 lbs. and in the Stack in Haymakinrj. 49 than all the mowings together on plot 2, or, in dry substance, almost exactly the same weight. The total yield of plot 3, calculated per acre, amounted to 8 tons 13 cwt. and 64 lbs. of fresh clover, which is 2 tons 2 cwt. and 96 lbs, more than the total produce per acre on plot 2. Calculated as hay, plot 3 gave 2 tons and 95 lbs., whereas the yield on plot 2, which was mown a fortnight earlier, was only 1 ton 11 cwt. 45 lbs. Besides the loss in weight which takes place when clover is grazed early in spring, or mown too soon, the inferior character of the first mowings on plots 1 and 2 has to be taken into account. Weight for weight, therefore, the produce of plot 3 was more valuable than that of plots 1 and 2. On comparing the weight of the clover reaped on plot 4 (pp. 50, 51) on the 26th of May with that of the two cuttings made on plot 3 on the 12th and 26th of May, we find a very large accumulation of organic matter has taken place by allowing the clover to grow a fortnight longer before mowing it. The fresh clover on plot 3, it will be seen, weighed 98 lbs. on the 12th of May, and 4|^ lbs. on the 26th of May, which is 102jlbs. together, whilst the first mowing on plot 4, made on the 26th of May, yielded 131 lbs. or 28j lbs. more. This increase in feeding materials is greater than the mere weights of the fresh produce indicate, for on looking at the composition of the first mowing of plot 3, it will be seen that the clover contained 81 J per cent, of water, whilst the clover cut on plot 4, a fortnight later, contained only 78/o per cent. ; when due allowance is made for both these differences, it will be found that the single mowing produced nearly one half more of solid food than the double one. During the fortnight which elapsed between the 12th and 26th of May, the clover appeared to come rapidly to perfection ; it was then in full flower, and looked remarkably vigorous. In this period the assimilation of carbon through the medium of the leaves or roots appears to be very great, for whilst sugar and other carbon-hydrates are at this time abundantly produced, little or no further accumulation of nitrogenous substances appears to take place. In the case before us the two mowings on plot 3 contained exactly as much nitrogen as the one mowing on plot 4. Calculated per acre we find in the clover of the 12th of May 72 lbs. of nitrogen, and in the second mowing on the 26th of May 3"2 lbs. of nitrogen, or 75'2 lbs. in all — the identical quantity of nitrogen which is contained in the much larger weight of clover obtained on plot 4, by cutting it only once on the 26th of May. At this stage of growth, as it seems, much carbon is assimilated by the plant for the production of sugar and other carbon-hydrates, which are serviceable in the animal VOL. III. — S. S. E 50 Changes which take place in the Field economy for the production of fat ; whilst the nitrogenous sub- stances previously taken up are diffused, and probably undergo greater elaboration. In both these respects the clover becomes much more nutritious and valuable at this time, in spite of its percentage in nitrogen being smaller. Indeed, rvithin certain limits, we may say that the amount of nitrogen in clover diminishes in the measure in which its nutri- tive value increases. We must, however, be careful how we apply this rule, for a small percentage of nitrogen may indicate alike the presence of much or of little sugar. In succulent, sweet-tasting, and really nutritious clover this percentage is small comparatively speaking, because the nitrogenous or albu- minous compounds in the plant are diffused through a large mass of carbon-hydrates or fat-producers, and in overripe, woody, insipid, and innutritions clover the percentage of nitrogen also is small, because such clover contains little sugar and much indigestible woody fibre or cellulose, which is a non-nitrogenous substance. The clover, on the 26th of May, as already mentioned, had just burst into full flower, and approached rapidly towards maturity. PLOT lY. Table I. — Clover Experiments. a. Composition of Fresh Produce in lbs. Date or Mowings. First, May 26. Second, June 10. Third, June 30. Interval since former mowing Composition of fresh produce : — Moisture *Nitrogenous substances.. Non-nitrogenous matters Mineral substances (ash) • Containing nitrogen Composition of dry produce : — *Nitrogenous substances Non-nitrogenous matters Mineral substances (ash) * Containing nitrogen lbs. 78-70 2 '25 17-24 1-81 2 weeks lbs. 71-00 5-56 20-56 2'88 100-00 •36 100-00 « weeks lbs. 77-01 4-19 14-92 3-88 100-00 •69 10 -.56 80-94 8-50 19-18 71-09 9-93 100-00 1-69 100-00 3-07 18-18 65-01 16-81 100-00 2-91 and in the Stack in HaymaMvg. 51 Table II. — Weight of Prochice in lbs. of Plot 4. Date of Mowikgs. First. May 26. Second, June 10. Third, June 30. Total. Interval since former mowing Weight of fresh produce . . Weight of dry produce Consisting of: — ^Nitrogenous substances Non-nitrogenous substances Mineral matter (ash) * Containing nitrogen ibs. 131 27-90 2-94 22^52 2^44 •47 2 weeks lbs. 3^ 1-01 •19 •72 •10 •03 3 weeks lbs. 14 3^22 •56 2" 12 •54 ,•09 lbs. 32^13 3-69 25-36 3'08 •59 Table III. — Produce, calculated per Acre, in lbs. Fresh produce in lbs. Weight of dry produce Produce calculated as hay (16^ per cent, of moisture) . . ^Nitrogenous substances . . Non-nitrogenous mattei'S . . Mineral substances (ash) . . * Containing nitrogen 20960 560 2240 446-4 lGl-6 515-2 :} .'isse-s 193-9 618-3 470-4 30-4 89-6 3G03-2 115-2 339-2 390-4 16-0 86 -4 75-2 4-8 U-i 23, 760 lbs. = lot. 12 c. 16_lbs. Jo 140 lbs. = 1^2 t. 5 c. 100 lbs. /6169lbs. = \2t. 15 0. 9 lbs. (59^04lbs. = \5c. 30 lbs. (4057 lbs. = \1 t. 16 c. 25 lbs. 492^8 lbs. = 4 c. 44 lbs. 94 lbs. Anxious to follow its fuller development with greater certainty, I determined to mow some of the remaining experimental plots from week to week during the month of July. Plot 5 consequently was mown for the first time on the 2nd of June (or one week after plot 4), then subsequently a fortnight afterwards, and again six weeks later, with the following results : — (pp. 52, 53). \ If we compare the composition of the produce of plot 4, mown on the 26th of May, with that of plot 5 mown on June 2nd, scarcely any differences will be seen. Both contain almost exactly the same amount of water, and both are also very equally rich in sugar and correspondingly poor in nitrogen. The results of my analysis from plot 5 satisfied me that the small percentage of nitrogen which I found in the produce of plot 4 (and of which I doubted the correctness until confirmed by repeated nitrogen- determinations) was not merely accidental ; the two together afford positive evidence that at the period when clover bursts into flower the assimilation of nitrogenous constituents appears E 2 " 52 Changes lohic/i take place in the Field to come to a standstill, whilst that of carbon-hydrates is pro- ceeding with g-reatly accelerated speed. Again it will be seen that plot 5 produced almost exactly the same weight of fresh and of dried clover which was yielded by plot 4, and thus it appeared that in the case before us a week's difference in the time of mowing had neither a beneficial nor an injurious effect. The total produce of plot 5 is somewhat greater than that of plot 4 ; this is due, it will be seen, to the circumstance that the last mowing on plot 5 was made a month later than that on plot 4. Considering that quite a month was thus allowed for further growth, the additional produce is very trifling, but no doubt the dry state of the weather in July, and the somewhat baked state of the land, checked the further growth of the plant. With the more matured condition of clover the percentage of water, it will be seen, fell considerably in the course of a single week ; nevertheless the weight of the fresh produce on plot 6 was greater than that on plot 5, and on plot 7 (pp. 54, 55) greater than on plot 6. The variable proportions of moisture in fresh clover, hoAvever, introduce an element of confusion, wherefore it is better to compare the weight of the perfectly dry produce obtained from PLOT V. Table I. — Clover Experiments. a. Composition of Fresh Produce in ll3S. Date of Mowings. First, June 2. Second, June 16. Third, July 28. Interval since former mowing .. ..^ .. Moisture *Nitrogenous substances Non-nitrogenous matters Mineral substances (ash) lbs. 78-80 2-06 17-51 1-63 2 weeks lbs. 69-20 4-50 23-11 3-19 6 weeks lbs. 69-20 2-50 25-81 2-49 100-00 -33 100-00 •72 100-00 -40 h. Composition of Produce dried at 212° Fahr. *Nitrogenous substances Non-nitrogenous matters Mineral substances (ash) 9-69 82-68 7-68 14-56 75-09 10-35 8-06 83-86 8-08 100-00 1-55 100-00 2-33 100-00 i-;9 and in the Stack in Haymahing. 53 Table II. — "Weight of Produce in lbs. of Plot 5. Date of JIowixgs. First, June 2. Second, June 16. Tbird, July 28. Total. Interval since former mowing . . Weight of fresh produce . . Weight of dry produce (dried'! at2120Fahr.) / Consisting of: — *Nitrogenous substances Non-nitrogenous substances Mineral matters (ash) * Containing nitrogen Vbs. 132 27-98 2-69 23-15 2-14 •43 2 weeks lbs. If •53 •06 •42 •05 •01 G weeks lbs 18 5-54 •44 4-66 •44 •07 lbs. 151| 34-05 3-19 28-23 2-63 •51 Table III. — Produce of Plot 5 calculated per Acre in lbs. Fresh produce in lbs. Weight of dry produce Produce calculated as hay (IC per cent, moisture) ^'Nitrogenous substances Non-nitrogenous matters . . Mineral substances (ash) . . * Containing nitrogen 21,120-0 280-0 2880 •O 4,476^8 84-8 886-4 } 5,372 •I 101-8 1063-6 430-4 9-6 70-4 3,704-0 67-2 745-6 342-4 1 8-0 70-4 G8-8 1-6 11-2 /24,280lbs. = \10t. 16 c. 88 lbs. (5448 lbs, = \2t. 8c. 72 lbs. ) 6537 lbs. = I2t. 18 c. 41 lbs. ('510^4lbs. = \4c. 62 lbs. r4516-8lbs. = \2 t. 36 lbs. (420-8 lbs. = 13 c. 84-8 lbs. from two mowings on plot 5, and with those from plots G and 7 at a single mowing. The total quantity of dry matter grown on one pole of land weighed 28"51 lbs. when the clover was mown on the 2nd of June, and a second time on June 16th. By allowing it to grow until the 9th of June 36-18 lbs. of dry substance was produced, and by giving it another week on the land, till the 16th of June, 39-36 lbs. of dry matter was obtained. These differences may not appear very great in themselves, yet they show that a single week's delay considerably affects the crop grown jjer acre. Between June 2nd and June 9th an increase of 1574 lbs. of solid feeding matter was obtained ; between June 2nd and June 16th the difference was 2185 lbs., showing plainly the impolicy of beginning the clover-hay harvest too early in the season. Deducting from the total weight of 54 Chaiiges which take place in the Field clover hay on plot 6 the quantity produced between the 9th and 30th of June — a quantity amounting to about 2\ cwt. — an acre of clover yielded 3 tons and 2 cwts. of good hay, containing 16'7 per cent, of moisture. On plot 7, where the crop was mown on the 16th of June, 3 tons 6i cwt. in round numbers of equally dry clover-hay was made. The further growth between the 16th of June and 28th of July was at the rate of exactly 1 ton of fresh clover, or about 7|- cwts. of hay per acre. Altogether the yield of plot 7, esti- mated as hay, came to 3 tons 13 cwts. and 100 lbs., which, it must be admitted, is a very good crop. Moreover, on plot 7 we have the largest accumulation of nitrogen. The nitrogen in the clover on the 16th of June here amounted to 113 iV lbs. calculated per acre — a larger quantity than was found at any of the other experimental mowings. According to the preceding results, the week in which the 16th of June fell appears to have been the most profitable period for beginning the hay-harvest. PLOTS VI. AND VII. Table I.— Clover Experiments. a. Composition of Fresh Produce in lbs. Plot 6. Date of Mowings. Plot 7. Date of Mowings. First, June 9. F Second, June 30. First, June 16. Second, July 28. Interval since former mowing Moisture *Nitrogenous substances Non-nitrogenous compounds Mineral matters (ash) lbs. 73-20 2-97 21-80 2-03 3 weeks lbs. 70-90 4-12 21-83 3-15 lbs. 74-10 2-94 21-08 1-88 6 weeks lbs. 69-50 3-25 24*38 2-87 * Containing nitrogen 100-00 -38 100-00 •66 100-00 100-00 ■47 bZ h. Composition of Clover dried at 212° Fahr. *Nitrogenous substances Non-nitrogenous substances Mineral matters (ash) 8-81 83-62 7-57 14-12 75-06 10-82 11-31 81-44 7-25 10-62 79-97 9-41 * Containing nitrogen 100-00 1-41 100-00 2-26 100-00 1-81 100-00 1-70 a»d in the Stack in Hcnfmaking. Table IL — ^Pixrrs 6 aud 7 (Weight of Produce in He.). 00 EfcJe «f M -=^1;^. Ttt^ secocii. T;:il Iz:. (dried a: 21: fahr.j; ill rrs 'ash) I Sirks- S^ks. 5s. 350 139* 152 14 Ois. 166 -36 18 1-30 -37 -43 39 •36 4-27 43-63 .3-19 •12 3-31 4 ■ ' *■ •--i 4-88 30-26 1-04 ' -31-30 32-07 3-43 25-50 2-73 -14,' 2'S7 2-85 •40 3-25 ■a! -« •53 ■71 -f7 ■:a Plots 6 aiid 7 calculated per Acre. Fresh produ.ce in lbs. Weight of diT produce Produce calcuJIated as) hay (16-7 per oent.> sKxistsre) .. ..) "Nitrogesioiis sabstances Non-mtrogenons sah-i stances ( Miseral matters (ash 2l,r>;<) 5,7»8-8 6,946-5 510-4 4,S41-6 4-36 -S 8I-« 720 208 ( 22.320 lbs. = \9t.l9c32Ibs./ / 5996-8 lbs. = I 1 2 1. 13 c 60 lbs./ ^24,320 6^7*6 ^49-6/^^1^*1 ">• = ] -*^ l3t.4c2Slbs./ ,/ 523 Ifcs. = I -\ 4c 81 lbs. J 1 } .^(...rsoosibs. = l'*^*i:2t.4cS0lbs. ^,.J,459lbs. = ~ ^4x. 10 lbs. 84-8 OS. 7,557*1 710-4 5,131-2 456-0 113-« 2240 I I 683-3 j 819« 70-4 , 548-8 i 64-0 1/26,560 lbs. = |\llt.l7c.l6lbs. ■;/69801hs. = t3t.2c -36 lbs. VS376 ' \3t.U u-a 69lhs. = 3cl0OlbsL 780-8 lbs. = 6 c 108-8 lbs. i5680lbs. = J2t. 10 c SO lbs- /520HB. = \4C 72lhs. JlSt-SBs. = llcilZ-SIbs. On iL.e remaining five experimental plots the clover was mown only once at the periods mentioned in the subjoined tabular statement of results : — f p. 56 ) In the first Table, which gives the composition of the five mowing's, we find, as mi^ht have been expected, that with the advancing season the clover became drier and drier. On the 16th of June the clover on plot 7 contained 74 per cent. of moisture, a week later that on plot 8 contained onlv 72i per cenL, and a fortnight later only 65-2 per cent In the week follow- ing the clover apparently gained a good deal of moisture, for on the 7th of Jtdv the percentag-e of moisture amounted to 68"7 per cent. This apparent increase, however, I believe was caused entirely by a heavv dew which lav on the clover when it was weighed in the field. At the next mowing we find only 64; per cent., and ten 56 Changes lohich take place in the Field PLOTS VIII. IX. X. XI. AND XII. Table I.— Clover Experiments. a. Composition of Fresh Produce in 100 jmrts. Plot 8. Mown Juno 23. Plot 9, Mown June 30. Plot 10. Mown July 7. Plot 11. Mown July 18. Plot 12. Mown July 28. Moisture *Nitrogenous substances Non-nitrogenous substances .. Mineral matters (ash) lbs. 72-50 2-56 22-81 2-13 lbs. 65-20 2-87 29-49 2-44 lbs. 68-70 2-50 26.59 2-21 lbs. 64-01 2-37 31-01 2-61 lbs. 50-80 3-00 43-27 2-93 * Containing nitrogen 100-00 •41: 100-00 -46 100-00 -40 100-00 -38 100-00 -48 h. Composition of Produce dried at 212° Fahr. *Nitrogenous substances . . Non-nitrogenous substances Mineral matters (ash) 9-31 82-95 7-74 8-25 84-74 7-01 7-94 85-00 7-OG 6-62 86-13 7-25 6-06 87-99 5-95 * Containing nitrogen 100-00 1-49 100-00 1-32 100-00 1-27 100-00 1-06 100-00 -97 Table II. — Plots 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, (Produce per Plot in lbs.). Plot 8. Mown June 23. Plot 9. Mown June 30. Plot 10. Mown July 7. Plot 11. Mown July IS. Plot 12. Mown July 28. Weight of fresh produce .. Weight of dried produce (driedl at 212^ Fahr.) / Consisting of: — *Nitrogenous substances . . Non-nitrogenous substances . . Mineral matters (ash) * Containing nitrogen lbs. 137 37-67 3-50 31-26 2-91 •56 lbs. 108 37-58 3-06 31-89 2-63 -49 lbs. 110 34-43 2-69 29-32 2-42 •43 lbs. 99 35-64 2-31 30-75 2-58 -37 lbs. 63 30-99 1-87 27-28 1-84 •30 Table III. — Plots 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, Produce in lbs., calculated per Acre. Fresh produce 21,920 17,280 17,600 15,840 10,080 Weight of dry produce (dried i at 212° Fahr.) ] 6,027-2 6,012-8 5,508-8 5,702-4 4,958-4 Produce calcuLated as hay (IG"? per cent, of moisture) . . 7, 2.32 -6 7,215-3 6,610-5 6,842-9 5,950 *Nitrogenous substances 560-0 489-6 430-4 369-6 299-2 Non-nitrogenous substances . . 5,001-6 5,102-4 4,691-2 4,920-0 4,364-8 Mineral matters (ash) 465-6 420-8 387-2 412-8 294-4 * Containing nitrn!::on 89-G 78-4 68-8 59-2 48-0 and in the Stack in Hayma]dn(/. 57 ten days later, at the last mowing, only 51 per cent, of moisture in round numbers. It is hardl}' necessary for me to say that the clover on plots 11 and 12 was far more advanced in maturity than is likely often to be the case in actual practice, and that on all the five plots it was more or less overripe. My intention, in preserving- these five additional plots for further experiments, was to ascertain to what extent and with what degree of rapidity clover loses in weight and in quality after it has arrived at per- fection for feeding purposes. It is interesting to notice the gradual diminution of the per- centage of nitrogenous matters in the five last mowings. On the ] (3th of June we found 11'31, in the dry produce, on the 23rd only 9'31, in the week following 8"25 ; and this sinks to 7*94: in another week, and on the 18th of July we get only 6'(J2 per cent., and ten days afterwards 6"06 per cent, of nitrogenous matter in the dry clover-hay. We have here a steady decrease of the percentage of nitrogen in the dry produce at each experimental period from the 16th of June to the 28th of July. Thus the perfectly dried clover-hay contained — Per Cent, of Nitrogen. On the IGthof Juue 1-81 „ 23rd „ 1-49 „ 30th „ 1-32 „ 7th of July 1-27 „ 18th „ l-OO „ 28th „ -97 This loss in nitrogenous matter appears to me to be chiefly due to the comparative small proportion of fine green leaves, and greater abundance of woody matter which is found in overripe clover-hay. At the same time I do not think the loss is entirely due to this cause, and the whole subject is well worthy a special investigation. It is extremely difficult to trace with precision the changes which nitrogenous matters undergo in the living plant, to determine their influence in the assimilation of atmos- pheric plant-food, or to account for their accumulation in plants at certain stages of their growth, and their diminution at others ; though much patient scientific labour has been bestowed on the investigation of the loss of nitrogenous matter which takes place in the growth of agricultural crops, much more is still to be done before we can trace with certainty losses like those which take place, as Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert have shown, in the growth of wheat. Looking at the Tables which give the weight of clover at the five last periods of mowing, we find less and less fresh oiover at each succeeding period. Mown on June 16th, 1 pole thus pro- duced 152 lbs. of fresh clover. 58 Changes ivhich take place in the Field On June 23 137 lbs. „ 30 108 July 7 no „ 18 99 „ 28 63 On the 7tli of June apparently more clover was mown than in the preceding week. But if we look at the amount of dry sub- stance in the clover on the 30th of June and on July 7th, we find 37^ lbs. in the former, and 3A^ lbs. in round numbers in the latter. The dry produce on the 18th of July was a little greater than on plot 11, mown eleven days previously. It must not be inferred from this that really more clover would have been obtained on the whole clover-field, if instead of mowing it on the 7th of July it had been allowed to grow until the 18th, for the whole tenor of the results of the experiments on plots 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 tends to show that the amount of dry clover decreased after the 16th of June from week to week. I am therefore disposed to conjecture that this exceptional result was due to the circumstance that the clover on plot 11 probably was a little thicker than on plot 10, or the land a little better. On the last plot (12) the decrease in the weight of clover is very marked, as well as the deterioration in the quality of the produce. The subjoined tabulated results afford additional proof to that already adduced, of the great deterioration of quality of clover which is allowed to become overripe in the field. The table gives the amount of soluble and insoluble matter, and as the amount of crude woody fibre (matters insoluble in water) indi- cates with tolerable accuracy the comparative amount of indiges- tible woody fibre in hay, the following results are not void of interest or partial utility : — Propohtion of Matters Soluble and Insoluble in Water in Clover-produce of Plots 5 to 12. 100 parts of Fresh Clover contained : Substances Substances Moisture. Soluble Insoluble iu Water. in Water. Plot 5 mown since June 2 .. . . .. 78-80 8-70 12-50 ,,6 ,, 9 .. . . .. 73-20 10-79 16-01 ,, 7 ,, 16 .. . . .. 74-10 10-00 15-90 ,,8 ,, 23 .. . . .. 72-50 9-10 18-40 ,,9 ,, 30 . .. 65-20 13-60 21-20 ,,10 ,, July 7 . .. I 68-70 10-90 20-40 ,, 11 ,, 18 .. . . .. 1 64-01 12-19 23-80 ,, l:i ,, 28 .. . . .. 1 50-80 14-40 34-80 I and in the Stack in Haymaking. 100 parts of Dried Clover contained : 59 Substances Substances Moisture. Soluble in Water. Insoluble in Water. Plot 5 mown since June 2 41-04 58-96 ,,6 9 40-30 59-70 ,, 7 16 38-61 61-39 ..8 23 33-09 66-91 >, 9 30 39-08 60-92 ,,10 July 7 34 -83 65-17 ,, 11 18 33-89 66-11 ,, 12 28 29-27 70-73 In comparing the preceding results with each other, it must be borne in inind that the clover at the later periods of mowing contained very much less water than at the earlier stages of growth, and that therefore the comparison ought to be made on the dry clover dried at 212°. There are one or two discrepancies in the results which I do not pretend to be able to explain ; for instance, the clover on the plot which was mown on the 30th of June contained 61 per cent, of crude woody fibre, and the plot which was mown on the 23rd of June about 7 per cent. more. Having obtained the anomalous result, I am bound honestly to state the result, and must not attempt to make corrections or shape the scheme so as to agree well with the rest. On the whole, however, it is clearly seen that by allowing clover-hay to get overripe it diminishes in quantity, and gets more woody and less nutritious the longer it is kept on the land. Laboratory, 11, Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, E.C. Februai^, 1867. III. — Rinderpest Precautions and Memedies. SiE, — The following are the Cattle Plague notes, which were made, according to your request, in the course of my last summer's ramble among English herds. First, then, as regards precautions against the disease. As soon as it broke out in Sussex, Mr. Dumbrell, of Ditchling, who had upwards of a hundred Alderneys in milk, commenced washing them all over every morning with a weak solution of chloride of lime before they were put out to graze ; the same disinfectant was kept standing in earthen vessels behind the stalls ; the feeding-troughs and the drains were CO Rinderpest Precautions and Remedies. also sluiced out with it daily ; and every cow was tarred just above the nostrils. This herd was in a position of no ordinary danger, as three owners of adjacent land were losing beasts, and the infected farms were only separated from Mr. DumbrelFs by ,1 hedge. A fourth herd was also suffering within a quarter of a mile. One of Mr. DumbrelFs shippons was bounded by the high road on one side and by a footpath on the other, but the cows were kept as private as possible, and no fat stock was l)rought on to the farm. These precautions were attended with complete success. Major Gunter's Wetherby farm was in a deeply-infected parish, and cattle were dying or being slaughtered almost daily, close up to the park gates, for months. Chloride of lime was used liberally, but the Major's main reliance was on the very strictest observance of the isolation principle. The Duchesses and the rest of the cattle were divided into several lots of two each, and placed in small sheds all over the six hundred acre occupation ; the yards attached to these sheds were netted round the bottom, so as to keep out dogs, hares, rabbits, and other " travellers." The herdsman and his assistants never went near any other cattle or person engaged about cattle on any pretence whatever ; and if the Major had been out hunting, or anywhere else in the country, he never entered the sheds until he had changed his clothes. One valuable bull was slaughtered after a slight accident, rather than run the risk of bringing a veterinary surgeon to attend upon him ; and when the butcher came for fat sheep they were driven out of the field for him Avhile he waited with his dog on the road. The Warlaby herd were in nearly as great peril, and had an equally happy escape. For six months the plague was Avithin 1^ miles of them, and nearly three hundred beasts went down cither by disease or pole-axe. The last outbreak was within 400 yards of the farm-buildings, and the fate of this great herd seemed to tremble in the balance. Vaccination and Macdougall's disinfectant were freely used, but Mr. Thomas Booth's main reliance was on burning tar in braziers at several points of the farm-yard. These fires were carefully looked to the last thing at night and the very first thing in the morning, and might have been smelt down wind for a couple of miles. So much for successful preventives — quantum valeant. Secondly, as to remedies. In the case of Mr. Davies, of Mere Old Hall, near Knutsford, preventive measures failed, simply, as he believes, because, when the grass came, he placed his cattle in the field for a short time daily, out of the influence of chlorine gas. In this belief he is confirmed by the experience of his near neighbour Lord Egerton of Tatton, whose milch cows and feeding- Rinderpest Precautions and Remedies. 61 stock were subjected to the same treatment, but never allowed to leave the shippons. Hence, in spite of a severe attack of the plague on several farms in the vicinity of the Tatton Home Farm, they all escaped, while some of the West Highland bullocks in the park went down. Chlorine gas was quite the fashion in Cheshire, and as farmers were very "jealous " of contagion, every rural policeman carried, at the suggestion of Professor Stone, a wooden kit with him, as well as a waterproof bag, for disinfect- ing his dress. The kit had four compartments for bottles of muriatic acid, chlorate of potash, Stockholm tar, and "soap and sundries." The two former generate chlorine gas by contact, and a iew drops of the tar poured upon some hot cinders will dis- infect boots or clogs when suspended on a poker within reach of its vapour. The inspection dress is made of strong calico and fashioned like a diver's, and it is fumigated and made ready for the next visit by putting it into the bag along with a perforated box in which chlorine gas has been generated and retained on pumice stone. Mr. Davies' shippon is at the junction of three roads leading to Chester, Warrington, and Knutsford, and in the centre of a district through which the plague wended the same fatal way that it did in the last century — commencing near Warrington and coming along the low ground. In the small township of Tabley alone 662 beasts died ; 41 were slaughtered, and only 20 per cent, were left. It skipped some farms and attacked others, and it would sometimes in its later stages take one cow and return to the same herd for another victim at the lapse of three weeks. Cleanliness was of no avail, and some of the very worst kept shippons escaped. Mr. Davies's precautionary efforts were unintermitting from the first. Every beast about the place was vaccinated ; hyposulphite of soda, beginning at 3 lbs. and so on to 5 lbs., was mixed for four or five months in 100 gallons of water ; and chlorine gas was used night and day in the shippon. Sawdust was substituted for straw, in consequence of its absorbing ih.e fceces better, and being so much more easily removed. The cattle were never more blooming than when they were turned out in the middle of May, for a few hours daily, into a field adjoining the shippon and abutting on the high road. There was no infected farm nearer than a mile, but at the end of three weeks an Alderney heifer was taken ill and died in 36 hours. She had no symptom of illness about her except a slight discharge from the vagina, and until the veterinary surgeon opened her, he thought she was ruptured. The bull by which she had been recently served was slaughtered immediately, but there was no arresting the evil, and in two days more nine or ten were down with it. Leonora, from Mr. Jolly's, was the first decided case, 62 Rinderpest Precautions and Remedies. as they found her one morning with her back up, her coat staring, and her head and ears drooping ; but Lady Best from the late Mr. Langston's, Minstrel from Holker, Heiress from Mr. Hales's, Cherry Empress from Mr. Logan's, and Water Girl from the late Mr. Anthony Maynard's, soon followed suit. They sickened for three or four days, and on the fourth there was a strong dis- charge from the nose, eyes, and vagina. They could neither lie nor stand ; their legs and heads were never still, and their moanings were sad to hear. They would become feverish, and then shiver like a man in the ague, and theix fceces were quite lax and costive by turns. As they were very valuable stock, and Cheshire was at its wit's-end in the hope of discovering some alleviation or remedy, the local committee consented to have them treated, but every- thing was useless except the iodine ointment, a compound of iodine, mercury, and lard, which was recommended by Mr. Lawson, veterinary surgeon of Manchester. His object was to set up a counter-irritation if possible, and the ointment rubbed twice or thrice a day on the chest gave apparent relief. When applied in the early stage it seemed their only chance, but unfortunately it was not thought of till some of the best had died. The climax was generally on the fourth day, and those which died often lingered on about three days more. One old cow of the Towneley blood fought on for upwards of a fortnight. When the turn for the better came, frequent doses of oatmeal-gruel were administered. Up to that point they could not be got to take anything, as their mouths were sore with inflammation, and they did not even notice water. Countess of Barrington and Surmise were never so ill as the others, but they wasted to skin and bone, and it took them and seven others (which had all been treated with iodine oint- ment) several weeks to recover their bloom. None of these nine survivors out of thirty-six were able to carry their calves, but slunk them, a perfect mass of putridity, after which they " came to hand " much quicker. Mr. Aylmer, of West Dereham, grounded his treatment entirely on the administration of chloroform. When the plague broke out on this gentleman's farm last April, sixteen store bullocks were immediately slaughtered ; and of his shorthorn herd, which numbered ninety head, five died before treatment, and six were not attacked ; while forty-one recovered, and thirty-eight died under chloroform treatment. On April 4th the disease showed itself by simultaneously attacking Easthorpe Rose in the home shippon, and then Easthorpe Lady in the fen (which is 11 miles distant) ; and, on the 11th, Henrietta was taken ill at the White House Farm, within 300 yards of Mr. Aylmer's residence. The herd, which its owner always regrets having turned into the Rinderpest Precautions and Remedies. 63 fields so early, was, like Mr. Davies's, of far too much value to be given up to tlie pole-axe without an effort, and hence, by the advice of Mr. Anthony Hamond, and with the ultimate sanction of the Privy Council and the assistance of Mr. Robert Overman, of Egmere, who had cured six by that agency already, Mr. Aylmer determined to try chloroform. " A friend in need is a friend indeed," and with very occasional absences, Mr. Over- man worked day and night at West Dereham for nearly two months. They commenced on the 12th, when five had gone down, and a staff of seventeen or eighteen men were soon in regular hospital work. The cattle were kept as warm as possible, and covered with sheets in their sheds — which were made still more snug by hanging curtains of sailcloth or sacking in front of them — and the disease was always allowed to develope itself in the mouth before the treatment began. They were also kept on as short commons as possible, and their mouths Avere examined the moment their appetites failed. Still there was no exact rule in the matter. Some were heavily smitten and full of mouth- symptoms when the appetite was good and the dew was on the nose. The fat cows were uniformly the worst cases ; and the one ear down, the drooping eyelid, and the nervous twitch of the head, were among the sure and certain symptoms of seizure. Some became quite mad with pain, and broke their horns and tore out their teeth with convulsive rushes at the manger ; when- ever the air lodged in the tissues, and the skin was swollen up some inches from the flesh, nothing could bring them round. It was found in practice that the chloroform acted best on an empty stomach, and that it could be applied too soon after the premonitory symptoms. A white steer, among others, which inhaled for seven days, and relapsed at the end of a fortnight, was certainly dealt with too soon. In fact, looking back upon the cases, both Mr. Aylmer and Mr. Overman believe, that with their present experience, they could have saved many more with half the quantity of chloroform. The bulls were as easy to chloroform as the cows, and they were onp and all cast and bound to prevent them breaking their horns. With some young bulls the chloroform acted too severely on the kidneys, and fatal inflammation of the bladder and urinary canal set in. After this, diuretics and alkaline solutions were used to neutralise the salts of the urine, and in two or three cases it had the desired effect. Full-grown beasts had an ounce of chloroform administered to them each time, calves a quarter of an ounce, and others in pro- portion to their age. A saturated handkerchief was simply put in a bag, which was hung close under the nostrils, and tied by 64 Rinderpest Precautions and Remedies. a string behind the poll. Five to seven minutes was generally sufficient to produce insensibility, and the cattle wei'e kept under the influence for periods of from half-an-hour to two hours. Seven or eight doses upon the average were generally found sufficient to effect a cure. Rosa Lee had seventy-four inhalations between April 19th and June 18th, and five others had from forty-eight to sixty. General Hopewell, which was hired from Mr. Thomas Booth at 200 gs. for the season, was a very anxious and curious case, as his general external symptoms were healthy but his mouth very bad. He was only ill three days, and had six inhalations, but his cure became hopeless, and he was killed on the fourth. Master Jolly fought hard for a month, but fifty- two inhalations only kept the disease under, and failed to cure him. The leading effect of the chloroform was to convert the breath of the cattle from a very foul into a perfectly pure state. Before the administration the stench from their fevered mouths was fearful, and in a few minutes the breath became " as sweet as a nut." The inflammation of the mouth also seemed very much subdued, and the blood-shot fiery eye, under its influence, gradually grew quite natural again. It appears to neutralise the poison in the system, while the suspended vitality gives the constitution rest and enables it to " spar for time." The fever usually returned in not less than twelve hours, and if it kept away for more than forty-eight they were generally safe, and ready for linseed tea, oatmeal gruel, and other stimulants. Still the disease was most treacherous. They would rise up, eat hay, and drink water after chloroform as if nothing had happened, and then, when every- thing seemed going on well, they would relapse and become as ill as ever. However, after all this care and anxiety, Mr, Aylmer found himself, before July, with a clean bill of health, and with upwards of 50 per cent, of those which had been treated, alive and well in their stalls. All of those which were in calf went their full time, and the calves showed no traces of the crisis through which the dams had passed. The treatment was originally suggested by Dr. Dickson, author of 'The Fallacies of the Faculty.' Such are the principal facts as to precautions and remedies which I gathered in the course of my tour, and I leave them without comment in your hands. Yours, &c., Henry H. Dixon. P, Frerk, Esq. ( 65 ) IV. — Rainfall, Water Supply, and Storage. By Prof. Ansted. Part II.* 11. — Natural Surface-Drainage. Of the water falling on the earth as rain part will before long be re-evaporated into the atmosphere, while part will run off in streams, and so ultimately enter the earth, and there be lost sight of, at least for a time. Since the history of the portion evaporated belongs rather to meteorology than to our present inquiry, it is enough to remark here that the proportion evaporated, though differing in different places, is generally at least 14 inches. It depends partly on the form of the ground, partly on the absorbent or non-absorbent character of the rock, and partly on the general climate of the country, but chiefly on the actual state of the atmosphere. With these observations, we may now endeavour to trace nature's provision for the circulation of water on the earth's surface. Almost all definite natural divisions of the land consist of a surface, partly mountainous or hilly, partly of plains lying between these elevated tracts, at some height above the sea, and partly of low flats near the sea-level. Each of these affects the natural drainage, and beyond a doubt, the principal details, if not the grand features of the land, are due to the action of water that has fallen on the surface as rain. In any country on the higher ground, and among the moun- tains if they exist, the rainfall will be heaviest, and the course of the rain down the steep slopes will be most rapid. The collected waters will form the head-waters of the principal streams. Thus, in England, the sources of some of the largest and most rapid rivers are to be found in the mountains of Wales. But in all countries it is chiefly to the hills and lower undula- tions that we must look for the minute history of the surface- drainage, and the position of the hills governs in effect the drainage of the country. In our own country the higher hills and mountains are on the western side of the island, and we have already seen that the rainfall is heaviest there. It is also an important fact that in England the gentle slopes of the hills, and the longer dis- tances from the hill tops to the sea, are everywhere rather to the east and south than to the west and north. This is favourable to the production of streams large in proportion to the area of the land. Thus the natural drainage is clearly defined. The water leaps down the mountain sides, and it runs briskly and rapidly * Continued from vol. ii., p. 79. ^ VOL. III. — S. S. F 66 Rainfall, Natural Drainage, down the steep slopes of the valleys, but as It gets lower and meets other stieams, and at length attains a more definite cha- racter, it becomes a deeper and steadier body, and moves with a more regulated pace until it reaches the lower plains. It then advances more slowly, and is more easily turned aside by impe- diments. It assumes a serpentine course, winding in and out, and depositing from time to time part of the load of mud, sand, and stone that has been brought into it by its numerous tributaries. Throughout its course it appears to follow exactly the undula- tions of the ground, but a careful search will show that this course is really governed by the geological structure of the country, and by the hardness or softness of rocks which are now out of sight, and covered with a great thickness of transported material. A knowledge of the laws that govern the natural surface- drainage of a country is very essential to the agriculturist in laying out a system of drainage that shall fall in with and not oppose nature. In some parts of England, as in the upper part of the valley of the Thames, the lower part of the valley of the Severn, the middle and lower parts of the Trent valley, and many of the streams in Lancashire and Yorkshire, the natural surface drainage is especially instructive and exhibits clear proof of the effect of weather, and the eroding action of running water. Some of the streams that run into the sea on the east coast, between the Norfolk coast and the Humber, exhibit remarkably well the results produced when water runs over perfectly level tracts. Many of our rivers have changed their channels considerably within the historic period. That proportion of the whole rainfall of a district that is carried by the streams to the sea must vary extremely. It varies, however, according to certain natural conditions, and admits of modifica- tion by the results of human labour and cultivation. It is calcu- lable in a limited district, and various estimates concerning it, more or less accurate, have been made in our own country and elsewhere. Thus in the west of Lancashire, with a somewhat heavy rainfall amounting to about 34^^ inches, and in a limited area of hard non-absorbent sandstone rock, with very little vege- tation, as much as 26 inches, or fully three-fourths of the total rainfall, has been collected into a reservoir placed to intercept and bring together all the natural channels of escape. This is the result of observations ranging over several years, and taken with great care, but it is no doubt an extreme example of maxi- mum drainage. In the case of river systems, where the whole of the land which would naturally fall towards the affluents of a river down to a certain point, is assumed as the drainage area, the pro- and Suhterraiiean Water Storage. 67 portion is far smaller. Thus the river Severn drains 3890 square statute miles of mountain, hilly, and plain country, before it passes Gloucester. At that point of its progress about twenty-three parts in a hundred, or rather less than one-fourth of the whole rainfall, passes down in the year. The river Thames at Staines has drained 3086 square statute miles of hill and plain, and wide valleys, and there discharges about thirty-three parts in a hundred, or one-third of the rainfall of the district. The river Seine was long- ago estimated by Arago to carry off about one-third of the rainfall, and as the country it drains is not unlike that of the Thames drainage area, the correspondence is striking and satis- factory. In all these cases the country is partly under cultivation, but much more so in the valley of the Thames and Seine than in that of the Severn. In other countries similar results have been obtained. Thus the Saone, a rapid stream draining much mountain and uncultivated land far from the sea, and joining the Rhone, discharges into that river nearly three-fifths of the esti- mated total rainfall of the drainage area, while the Tiber is believed to carry off as much as seven-tenths. The calculations however, with regard to these rivers, are of doubtful accuracy. In the case of the great river Mississippi and its numerous large feeders, it is believed, from tolerably certain data, that only one- fourth part of the total rainfall of the drainage area reaches the gulf of Mexico. Thus in a general way we may consider that from one-fourth to one-third part of the rain that falls runs along over the surface to the ocean. The result of human labour and cultivation on the natural drainage of a country is in all cases to increase the quantity of water carried off, and to carry off the water more quickly. By the clearing away of forest, and by all kinds of artificial drainage, both these results are obtained ; and such works, though they may at first seem simple agricultural improvements, have a marked influence on the climate and physical features of the country operated upon. When Fens, like those of the East of England or Holland, are laid dry by lifting the water, when straight cuts are made to relieve tortuous watercourses, when by deep drainage we actually bring back to the surface water that was already on its way into the rocks, the quantity of water that reaches the sea is increased, and this extra quantity is abstracted from that which would otherwise have entered the earth and circu- lated through it. There are no data by which we can judge of the exact difference, but in proportion as a district becomes drained it is certain that all the causes alluded to must act with increasing intensity, and may ultimately seriously interfere with the sub- terranean storage. Let us then, in the next place, consider this subject of storage a little more in detail. F 2 68 Rainfall, Natural Drainage, in. — Subtekranean'Water-storage. ^' That part of the rainfall which enters the earth, serves to supply and renew the natural and artificial spring's, modify the condition of strata, and to promote, or by its excess to injure, vegetation. The proportion of rainfall which enters the earth will depend not only on the nature of the soil and rock, the form of the ground, and the total rainfall, but on the mode in which rain falls. Where it falls in very heavy showers, there will be a large pro- portion carried off along the surface. Where rain is light and frequent, although the fall may be represented by a smaller number of inches, a larger quantity will soak into the strata. But although this is a general rule, it must also be remembered that during long droughts the earth becomes cracked, and that the cracks in time may become deep and then wide, and capable of receiving an enormous proportion of the first rains that fall. I have myself seen in the south of Spain marly sandstones, otherwise not very permeable, cracked so widely and deeply that they offered great impediments in getting across the country. Clays also are not unusually cracked in some parts of England to a depth of six or eight feet, or more, in an ordinary summer ; and in hot countries gorges are thus formed many yards deep, and so wide that a horse can hardly be got across them. It is at any rate evident that in all places, and under all circumstances, a large and important part of the rainfall must sometimes enter the earth. It is also clear that, Avhen there, it has no means of escape, except by subterranean channels or by filtration through the solid rock. But such filtration is not difficult. The peculiarly broken and cracked condition of hard limestones and other brittle rocks renders them capable of receiving very large quantities of water, while all the softer limestones are eminently porous and absorbent even in their solid mass. Hard rocks are always fissured, and often cavernous. Limestones abound with extensive open spaces, and in some cases these contain lakes ; in others large rivers run through them. The great caverns of Adelsberg in Carinthia, and Kentucky in North America, are examples of this ; and many others nearer home, on a smaller scale, as in Derbyshire, York- shire, Somersetshire, and South Wales, will suggest themselves to every reader. But sandstones of the harder kind are also fissured ; and granites invariably abound with joints, leading occasionally to open spaces, so that Avater can be reached and obtained from them by the ordinary operations of well-sinking. Mining- deve- lopes very clearly the peculiarities of all these rocks, and exhibits and Subterranean Water Storage. 69 tliem broken and cracked, and allowing water either to pass through them out of sight, or collect into pools and open spaces in the interior of the earth. It cannot be necessary to point out that the effect of a thorough system of artificial drainage in a large district must be to carry the rainfall beneath the surface both inore rapidly and more completely than would be the case otherwise — more rapidly because it is conveyed at once into straight watercourses, avoid- ing friction, and shortening distances ; and more completely because there is time allowed for considerable quantities to penetrate'far down in places where the natural absorbing surfaces of rock would act slowly. This is especially the case where the surface of a rock is covered by a thick coating of vegetable soil, because it must then be very liable to become choked. It requires only a very superficial examination of rocks to discover how fit they are to absorb water, and how it is that they have become so fit.* All rocks, without exception, that have been long exposed to the air have become weathered, and a part of this weathering consists in the production of innumerable cracks on the exposed surface. In very hard rocks these are often dependent on the presence of particular minerals or of veins of foreign material ; but in the hardest granite there is always some way in which moisture can enter, and once there its alternate expansion and contraction due to changing temperature, espe- cially near the point of greatest density of water (about 39^ F.), is sure to destroy the texture very rapidly. A few examples of the observed influence of weather on rocks of different kinds may be useful. I will give only some results of personal inves- tigation in various parts of the world. Of all rocks it might be supposed that the granites were those most able to resist weathering ; and no doubt some varieties do resist atmospheric action to a very great extent ; but all rocks of this kind consist of alternate veins of harder and softer material. Of some the harder is the largest in quantity. Such rocks are valuable for building, and are little affected by weather ; but even in such hard granites there is always a certain amount of change produced in time — the surface becomes rough, some of the crystals are decomposed, and plants find room for their small rootlets in the crevices thus formed. Many of the softer varieties show the results of weather much more clearly. In a quarry one inay often find that the recently cut face of the stone is discoloured to a depth * It must be remembered that all rocks withiu the earth were originally depo- sited with, and under water, aud have never since been deprived of this water completely. Throughout all changes that may have taken place in their compo- sition water has always been present. 70 Rainfall, Natural Drainage, of some feet or even yards. Wherever this discoloration 'has taken place, the rock is softer and contains more moisture, and the surface is full of crevices : here the work of destruction has begun. In the Channel Islands, remarkable for their excellent granite, there may be seen at least twenty feet of the stone on which part of the town of St, Peter Port, Guernsey, is built reduced to such a state that it can be dug out with a spade. In Jersey, behind St. Aubin's, there is a thickness of at least thirty feet of a kind of gravel, which is nothing more than the loosened crystals of the felspar and quartz of the granite decomposed by weathering, and quite disintegrated. Close by, the same rock juts out in isolated masses into the sea. In Alderney the centre of the island contains innumerable round boulders of granite entirely the result of decomposition ; and yet from these islands are obtained some of the hardest, toughest, and most enduring granites in common use. So again I remember seeing among the grand basaltic columns of the Giant's Causeway, in the North of Ireland, the roots of plants twined round the slices of six- sided columns ten or fifteen feet below any point exposed to the air. The rock itself seems indestructible, but the traces of decay are evident on close investigation. These are but a few instances out of many in which I have seen crystalline rock affected by weather to a great depth without any other cause than the pene- tration of moisture by absorption. 1 may safely say that I have never in any part of the world seen a natural or artificial face of granite or basalt exposed without finding evidence of the destroy- ing power of weather, acting always by aid of water penetrating within the mass. Besides destruction of this kind, the joints of granite frequently contain water, and sometimes yield it in large quantity from artesian wells. Sandstones of all kinds exhibit weathering, and water pene- trates them to great depths. The softer varieties of sandstone are easily cracked during even a short continuance of dry weather. When rain comes it fills these fissures, and penetrates yet more deeply. All sandstones are more or less porous, and in this way admit moisture. All are more or less distinctly bedded, and they generally allow water to pass along in the intervals between the beds. All, again, are more or less cracked and fissured at the surface. The chemical effect of water in dissolving and decomposing is less seen in sandstones than in granites, except when the sandstone is impure, and contains marl, calcareous cement, or a mixture of mica and felspar. In such cases the result is soon seen, and is often very great. On the whole, there are no rocks that admit water so slowly as pure crystalline sand- stones and quartzlte, and none that are more absorbent than soft, loose, rotten sands Avith which marl is intermixed. and Subterranean Water Storage. 71 The facility with which sandstones absorb water is illustrated by the quantity of water they contain both in their ordinary state and when saturated. Even granite always contains a certain percentage of water, and in the dry state is rarely without one and a half pint in every cubic foot. Sandstones, however — even those fit for building purposes — may contain half a gallon per cubic foot, and loose sands at least two gallons. When the water is present in any part of a rock, it readily diffuses itself owing to the force of capillary attraction ; but although the diffusion is rapid from a moist to a dry part of any rock, however close its texture, the rate at which a fluid collects in cavities from a stone not absolutely surcharged is extremely slow. This is especially the case with sandstones. Limestones contain very large quantities of water, not only in cavities underground, but in crevices of the rock, in spaces between strata, and in faults. Dry compact limestones contain half a gallon of water in every cubic foot. Bath stone contains at least a gallon, and some magnesian limestones one and a half gallon. Chalk is as absorbent as loose sand, and contains at least two gallons per cube foot when saturated. It is not easy to realise the magnitude of these quantities, although the results have been determined very accurately by calculation and experiment. If we limit our estimate to an area of the chalk downs 50 miles in length, 10 miles wide, and 300 feet thick, we shall find that the total annual rainfall on the surface (taken at 30 inches per annum) will amount to 225,750,000 gallons ; while the water contents of the rock, if only half satu- rated, would be more than 660,000,000 gallons, or nearly three years' total rainfall, and fully twelve years' average supply even if there were no loss by evaporation, and no circulation under- ground. It must be evident then that there is an unlimited power of absorption in such rocks ; and as water is distributed through them rapidly and thoroughly, they may be regarded as large receptacles partly filled, but in which the water is con- stantly in circulation, rising and falling according to the influence of past and present Aveather. The longest succession of the driest seasons can never exhaust them : the heaviest rains re- peated for years can never fill them. Other absorbent rocks exhibit the same general features in a different degree, and all assist in the general circulation, the water-level rising after rain, and sinking by evaporation during drought, so as never to leave the surface either absolutely wet or perfectly dry. And this is the case not only with chalk, which is itself absorbent in the strict sense of the word, but with hard, brittle limestones, that seem to admit water only by the cracks and fissures at their surface. I have noticed in the Ionian Islands 72 Rainfall, Natural Drainage, remarkable instances of this. On the steep flanks of a lofty moun- tain, in the middle of Cephalonia, there is an accumulation of loose, ans^ular fragments of limestone rock standing at the natural angle. On this heap there neither is nor can be an atom of soil. The rain when it falls is very heavy, and would carry down to the bottom any loose particles that might be conveyed thither by man or formed by nature : the rain itself also must sink at once to the bottom. On this heap of bare stones the vine not only grows but flourishes, and the grape ripens admirably. The rootlets twine round the stones, and they manage to extract from them and from the air all the nourishment they require. I have often seen crops on stony ground, but nowhere so marked an instance as this of the resources that exist in solid naked rock under favourable circumstances. It is only clays and similar tenacious rocks that do not freely admit of the passage of water. Even these admit it slowly and imperfectly, and they always contain moisture. The amount of the water contents varies according to weather, and the water is here also in circulation, though slowly. These tenacious rocks, however, greatly assist in the distribution and circulation of water in the earth in another way. Passing freely where the soil is open, water is checked in its course where the rock becomes compact and impermeable. As these alternations occur some- times in parallel and horizontal strata or layers, sometimes in strata inclined to the horizon, sometimes in vertical or nearly vertical planes, there is every possible variety of direction in the course taken by the water. This is a matter that cannot be even guessed at Avithout a knowledge of the geology of the district. With clays we must rank all such tenacious rocks as act in a similar manner, and shut off communication. Thus, various shales, slates, and marls are impermeable ; while others, even if partially permeable, act as impermeable rocks, and divert the course of underground waters. The former rank as clays, and the latter as grits or limestones, according as the sandy or cal- careous element preponderates. It is not only by their nature, composition, and texture that rocks and certain strata shut off water ; in many countries the rocks have been broken while being upheaved by mecha- nical pressure from below ; and when broken, part of a stratum has often been lifted up so as to occupy a position altogether different from the rest. An absorbent rock may thus, by dis- placement, be made to abut against a non-absorbent rock. A crack may be opened in a series of rocks down which water may be conveyed, or up which it may rise, according to the condition of adjacent rocks. Communication may also be thus made with the interior of the earth, and with places where some chemical and Siibterranean Water Storage. 73 action is going on, where water is heated or converted into steam, and whence jets of mineralized water may be forced upwards. Such conditions modify and complicate the phe- nomena, but they do not affect the general explanation. The disturbances that have resulted only in the tilting or partial lifting up of strata act in one way, and those disturbances that have broken and displaced them act in another, so far as water is concerned, but both help in the distribution and circulation of the water through the earth. So, again, the filling up of fissures caused by disturbances may entirely shut off whole districts from the passage of water, and cause the water to collect in certain strata to an unusual extent. This is a fact very familiar to all who have had to do with coal mining, where faults (as these disruptions of strata are called) are very common and systematic, and where very serious accidents have happened from breaking through them when they shut ofl' water from sur- rounding strata. On the other hand, they as frequently carry off as hold back water ; and in the broken coal-fields of England and Belgium they always play a very important part in the underground drainage. Those fractures of rock, that are technically called axes (anti- clinal or synclinal), also affect the underground passage of water. Their action may best be studied in the natural sections pre- sented in cliffs or railway cuttings. Such sections show the strata dipping away from or towards each other, and meeting at an angle. It is evident that if of such strata some are permeable and others impermeable, the water passing through the former will have a tendency to escape at the angle made by the rocks that have been thus broken while being lifted up. Practically, then, the effect of faults and axes will be to cany the water down to the permanent level of absolute saturation, and assist in this way in its general progress through the interior of the earth. Water thus passing into rocks from above, and passing also amongst them, cannot but be regarded as " circulating " in the earth's interior. Of such circulation evidence is offered by every natural and artificial spring, whether issuing from a hill side or rising from an artesian boring in a valley, and by the condition of rocks seen in quari'ies or reached in mines. It is owing to the presence of water in and amongst rocks, and in the fissures that are formed in them during and after elevation, that their various metamorphoses or changes of appearance can be produced. Pressure, together with the chemical action arising from heat, no doubt affects strata ; but the changes that have taken place involve not only the mechanical presence, but the chemical action of water, dissolving away many substances as it passes through a rock, and leaving behind many others. Even 74 Rainfall^ Natural Drainage^ when no change of mineral species is effected, there is frequently an atomic change in rocks, such as is shown in the rearrangement of the particles from mechanical aggregation to crystalline texture. For this water is necessary. The soft clay, moulded on some organic body — a cockle-shell or the fragment of a bone in an altered state — is thus found to afford important evidence of the condition of the earth's interior, and the movements that have taken place there. But it may be desirable to explain a little more fully the law of nature in reference to springs of water. The ordinary arrangement of rocks is that of stratification. They have been originally deposited horizontally with and from water, but they have since undergone great change. The water in fact has been partially got rid of, and the mud consolidated. They have also been thrust up from being below the sea to a position sometimes many thousands of feet above that level, and in the elevation some portions have been broken, and very large quantities have been pared away by water action. Thus limestones have become cavernous, sandstones are full of crevices, and the whole mass has been shut off into boxes, having very slow communication one with another. Thus, also, water entering a second time and from above, sinks down, penetrating every crevice, occupying every cavity, carried on from one box to another, or filling one before passing on to the next, running down hill whenever the strata admit it, often forced up hill when there is pressure behind and there are no other means of escape ; and, in a word, circu- lating among and through the strata, and the faults and joints produced in them, and while simply obeying its own laws, conveying the means of chemical change from one part of the earth to every other part, and from the surface to the greatest depth to which strata reach. In all strata there is at some depth, great or small, a surface of absolute saturation. If this surface be reached by a well or boring, or if it be intersected by a natural cliff or hillside, or by an artificial cutting, the water will escape, or can be brought to the surface by pumping. To this depth the rock will always absorb. Below it water will be yielded up. But it may, and often does happen, that long before reaching the depth below which the whole rock is saturated, there are extensive sheets of water kept back by impermeable strata. These also, when reached or intersected, yield water, but if penetrated, the water would pass downwards to the rocks below, and the wet rock become drained. There are thus sur- faces of partial saturation. By sinking to or below these surfaces extensive and important results have been effected, both in well- sinking and drainage. It is easy to see that two very different conditions of the water and Subterranean Water Storage. 75 are conceivable. It might remain at rest beneath the partial or absolute surface of saturation, having found its natural level, exposed to reduction only from evaporation taking place in the rock above it : it would then be in the condition of water in a tank. But it might circulate between two impermeable strata, and run between them from one point underground to another, and in this case it must act as if confined in a tube. In the former case, the strata above can never be absolutely dry, because if there be any M^ater whatever in an absorbent rock, a part at least is distributed through the mass. This I have myself proved by actual experiment in the case of chalk.* It is also clearly indicated by the vegetable growth that takes place on the surface of limestone, apparently quite dry during the whole of a perfectly rainless summer in hot countries. This also is a fact within my own personal experience. Whenever water is present in a rock, it is distributed through it, but there is more below than above. The distribution takes place by capillary action, and cannot be checked, but the reservoir is in the lower part of the rock. If then into such rock or rocks so situated, having even at great depth a surface of absolute saturation, we penetrate to such surface, we shall certainly reach water. This is the case of land sprinf/s, commonly so called. It differs mechanically from the case of Artesian springs. Although water percolates with a certain amount of freedom through rocks of all kinds, there must always be a great deal of friction in the operation, so that time is needed to effect the dis- tribution, even under the most favourable circumstances. Thus, in the case of land springs of the ordinary kind in sands and gravels, the effect of a single shower may perhaps be recognised within four-and-twenty hours. Where the gathering ground is larger, and the deposit thicker, a wet season may actually leave the springs lower than before, while a subsequent dry season may be followed or accompanied by an unusual flow of water. This must happen when the position of the surface of saturation is so far removed from immediate influence as to need months or a year or two to convey the water from the surface of the ground. But if absorbent or loose strata act as tubes or pipes, the water contained in them will be forced on by a pressure corre- sponding to that of a vertical column of water, equal in height to the depth from the surface of permanent wetness, or that at which the impermeable beds are entered, and where, therefore, the pipe condition begins. It will not be equal or nearly equal to" the full calculated result of such pressure, because of the friction, which greatly diminishes the force, but still the pressure * See Excerpt 'Minutes of Transactions of Soc. of Ci\il Engineers.' 76 Rainfall, Natural Drainage, may be sufficient to lift the water towards or above the actual surface from which it is pierced, or at which it is intersected, provided the level of such surface is sufficiently below that of the gathering ground. The wells bored through various rocks to reach absorbent and saturated strata at some depth lying between impermeable strata of any kind, are well known under the name Artesian, having been introduced into Europe during the middle ages in the province of Artois, in the north of France. Similar wells have, however, been known, and sunk from time immemorial in various parts of the East, and in the desert of Africa. It would at once be admitted that water is constantly in circulation if, wherever we sunk through permeable beds, we always found a surface below which everything was saturated — and if, whenever we penetrated impermeable beds, and reached absorbent beds below them, these latter always yielded a supply of water rising in the well or boring. But it is known that these results do not always follow, and, although generally the reason of failure in water-sinkings is that the surface of saturation is too deep to be available, or the impermeable beds too thick to be pierced, it is certain that the best expectations founded upon sound knowledge of strata have sometimes been disappointed. Such failures might induce the notion that the circulation of water was only partial, and confined to certain rocks ; and in one sense this is true, for the ready transmission of available quantities of water is no doubt so limited. Many rocks interrupt it, many distur- bances of rock interfere with it, and some rocks and disturb- ances have the effect of checking it altogether. But in addition to the perceptible and available circulation, here is another which is not less important, and is quite uni- versal. Clays and granites, and some other rocks, only allow of the free passage of water through cracks and fissures in their mass ; and they certainly prevent the flow of water when they come in the way and are unbroken. But amongst them water is always moving, though this kind of circulation is not to be measured and recognised by the eye. The best proof of it is found in the chemical changes constantly taking place in them, as in all other rocks that form the external crust of the earth. All, with- out a single exception, have been entirely modified since they were deposited, and always by the aid and in the presence of water. The changes are incessant though slow. Crystallisa- tion is one of these results, and no one who examines a crystallised fragment of shell, and compares it with a corre- sponding fragment of its recent analogue, can doubt the extent of the change. The external characters of the shell may be preserved without the smallest alteration ; but within, while and Suhterranean Water Storage. 77 the mineral carbonate of lime is the same, in one case the atoms are arranged with perfect symmetry to form a tran- sparent crystal, in the other they have been bound tog-ether by laws of structure and by the presence of life. This is only one example out of many. Change in all respects is the rule, and not the exception, in all those deposits originally made in water, and now forming part of the earth's crust. The laws of this change are among the discoveries that may be looked forward to with confidence, but at present they are imperfectly tmder- stood. Thus, then, it appears that water exists, and is in constant circulation through the earth ; that, of the rain that falls, a cer- tain proportion entering the various rocks and strata is em- ployed in helping this process. The operation goes on inces- santly. It is not easy, nor indeed always possible, to determine where these surfaces of partial or absolute saturation may be. In every district a knowledge not only of the surface, but of the structure of the earth is necessary. In England the geologically- coloured maps of the Ordnance Survey afford an easy and ready means of applying general geology to local peculiarities, and learning as nearly as possible where the subterranean water channels exist, how they may be exhausted, and whence they might be replenished. IV. — Effects of Clearing, Cultivation and Drainage ON Water Supply. Water supply, derived from the clouds, distributed by rain, and afterwards returned to the sea by the aid of streams or utilised by organic structures, depends on the lorm of the land, the extent of adjacent land, the vicinity to mountains or ocean, the form of the mountains, much more than on latitude and longitude. It is modified also by the state of cultivation of the land, the extent and nature of forest and other vegetation, and the rapidity with which the rain that falls runs off or is absorbed into the surface, as I have already pointed out. The greater part of the land of the temperate zones, as Avell as within the tropics, was formerly covered with dense forest wherever circumstances were favourable for vegetation. Many districts less favourably situated for such vegetation than Eng- land are still covered with timber, and there are many parts of the continent now absolutely bare where dense forests have existed not long ago. Besides historic proof of this, in many cases there is also the evidence of our senses seen in the innu- merable branches, trunks, and roots of trees, dug up in old turbaries, in boggy tracts on mountain sides, and at the mouths 78 Rainfall, Natural Drainage, of streams once the outlets of mountain valleys. In Greece the whole country was wooded in the time of Homer, and probably for centuries afterwards. There is abundant proof that the period of destruction, even on the Mediterranean shores, commenced less than 2000 years ago, and had hardly affected a very large area till within the last thousand years. These shores are now, to a very great extent, absolutely bare of vegetation of all kinds. In discussing the influence of man, not only on the destruc- tion and growth of trees and crops, but as exerted on climate, it is quite necessary to appeal to figures and definite state- ments, as we should otherwise be accused of exaggeration. In America, the most recently cleared of all countries, it is certain that in the year 1860 there was an area of some 250,000 square miles of country (160 millions of acres) under profitable cultivation, replacing the same or nearly the same area of primaeval forest land that existed there 300 years ago. The climate and rainfall of North America before the disforesting are very imperfectly known, but all the evidence that exists favours the conclusion that the rainfall has diminished, that the streams have become more rapid, and that the climate is warmer in summer and cooler in winter. Northern Europe was in a similar way a country of forests in the time of Caesar, although now there are no large forest tracts remaining. There also the climate has changed, the rainfall has diminished, and the air is drier than before. Wherever civilized man appears the forest disappears, and cultivation takes its place. Let us consider the result of this change in the various elements of climate as far as we have facts to guide us. There is good proof that hail and other storms depending on electrical causes have been far less frequent and severe where forests have been cut down. This has been noticed especially in the Alps, where much wood has been removed within a short time. Nor is this remarkable, for very important chemical changes are caused by vegetation, and when these, after proceeding without interruption over thousands of square miles for many centuries, are suddenly and abruptly terminated, the result cannot but be felt. A surface covered by forest is generally believed to absorb more carbonic acid and exhale more oxygen than meadows or fields. But forests act, not only indirectly, but directly and very manifestly, on temperature. During a large part of the year cultivated lands are bare, or nearly so ; forest lands never. And this of itself is a very important matter. If the power of cal- careous sand to retain heat be taken at 100, arable calcareous soil may be represented by 74'3, argillaceous soil at 68"4, and common garden earth somewhat less. Humus, such as is and Subterranean Water Storage. 79 obtained from decayed leaves, ranks however at 49 ; and the soil that is clothed with forest will thus radiate heat twice as rapidly as that which is uncultivated and naked. In Italy the removal of forest has introduced the scirocco, the effect of which is unfavourable to life of all kinds, and many of the crops have suffered thereby. Near Ravenna a pine forest, extending' for about 22 English miles, being cut down, the scirocco was introduced, but was got rid of when the wood was allowed to grow again. In other parts of Italy, where the wood was cut down during the time of the French republic, to enable the manufacture of iron to be carried on, the result was at once seen in an increased severity of climate, the maize no longer ripening. The forests have since been restored, and the climate is restored also. In Belgium favourable results have been obtained by the planting of trees on the right bank of the Scheldt, where large tracts of land, formerly waste, have been rendered fertile. The produce of the plains of Alsace, in the east of France, has suffered since the forests of the Vosges were removed ; and the centre and south of France has felt the influence of the mistral and other injurious winds only since the forests of the Cevennes have been removed. The cultivation of certain plants and trees has thus become difficult or impossible where it was once easy and natural ; and as this has taken place within the period of history, and has followed the disforesting in every case where observation has been made, there can be little doubt as to the cause. Although it is difficult to verify with precision the extent of these changes of climate where accurate and detailed observations are wanting, still the testimony of experience and the comparison of historic accounts point to such a change in Europe within the last thousand years. These conclusions are fully justified and con- firmed by such tabular statements as exist, and are not contra- dicted by any statements, either of fact or opinion. They tend to show that throughout the north temperate zone the summers are cooler, moister, and shorter than they were for- merly ; and that, on the other hand, the winters are milder, drier, and longer, than when forests covered a great part of the land, and cultivation was the exception, and not the rule. It is certain that the rivers and streams have also undergone change, and that where their course has not been interfered with, they are more irregular now than formerly, passing more frequently into torrents, becoming dried up more frequently, and carrying off more rapidly the heavy rains. The influence of forests on rain is well recognised within the tropics and wherever in temperate latitudes there are means of observation. In all wooded and undrained countries the atmo- sphere is permanently humid, the rain and dew fertilise the soil. 80 Rainfall^ Natural Drainage^ and the general result is similar to that produced by the vicinity of the ocean. On the other hand, extensive tracts without wood are always dry and parched. Spain is an example of a country that has suffered much from the removal of the forests that once covered it. It is possible now to travel across hundreds of miles of the peninsula without seeing a tree except in the hollows and deep narrow valleys through which the streams run. Trees now refuse to grow on these plains, and it would take many years of careful management to replace the great forests that were once so common. But with the first belt of wood the condition of the climate would no doubt begin to alter. It would certainly be impossible to replace the old forests under the present climate, but the old climate would perhaps be restored if the natural vegetation were allowed to become arborescent or if trees were cultivated. Examples of this may be seen in Scotland, where in several places trees have been planted with very marked and favourable results. Even more striking, however, is the case of Egypt, where at the close of the last and beginning of the pre- sent century rain was a very rare phenomenon, not falling some- times once in twelve months. Since that time Mehemet Ali and. Ibrahim Pacha have planted very freely, to the extent it is said of twenty millions of trees, consisting of olive, fig, cotton-wood, orange, acacia, and plane. Rain now falls, not only on the coast, but in the interior during all the winter months. Forests affect the supply of water to springs as well as induce a larger quantity of rain over a given surface. This arises from the protection they provide against evaporation, and the time thus afforded to the moisture to penetrate beneath the surface. In America cases are recorded where springs have greatly and steadily decreased after the clearing of land, and Mr. Marsh, in his recently published work on ' ?vlan and Nature,' states : — " I remember one case where a small mountain-spring, which disappeared soon after the clearing of the ground where it rose, was recovered, about ten or twelve years after, by simply allow- ing the bushes and young trees to grow up on a rocky knoll not more than half an acre in extent immediately above it, and has since continued to flow uninterruptedly." In South America, in the valley of Aragua, in Venezuela, there was a town founded in 1555 half a league from a lake, the surrounding country being then clothed with forest. The forests were cut down, and in the year 1800 there had been for 30 years a large population on the spot. It was then visited by Humboldt, Avho found the town about two miles further from the lake than it had been, owing to the diminution of the water supply. Twenty-two years later political events had caused the reduction and removal of the population, and the forest had grown once more. The and Subterranean Water Storage. 81 ■waters of the lake had ag;ain risen, and had covered large tracts of land formerly under cultivation. Many other examples arc on record of results of the same nature following immediately on the change from forest land to cultivation, or conversely from cultivation to a fresh growth of forest. And it is clear that some such result must follow. When the earth is bare it parts more rapidly with its heat, and evapora- tion from the surface is more complete than when it is clothed with forest. A larger quantity of the rain that falls is also then retained near the surface for any limited time and the evapora- tion that afterwards takes place is slower and lasts longer. But even the precipitation of moisture as rain is less regular. Where the ground is bare a soil is longer in being formed, more liable to be removed by torrents, and the streams that flow through it or convey its rainfall to the sea necessarily become more rapid. Beneath a forest a swamp is often formed by the natural accumulation of trunks of trees and other vegetation, Avhile on cultivated land such a result is almost impossible. On the other hand, the rapid flow of rivers is more apt to pro- duce a bar or other impediment at the contact with the sea. England has suffered less than other parts of Europe from un- reasonable disforesting because from its geographical position there is almost always a supply of moisture both in the atmo- sphere and from rain, but it seems certain that a difference has there also taken place. There has been a change of climate in every essential sense of the Avord — a change in the mean tempe- rature, annual, monthly, and daily — a reduction in the range of temperature — a change in the amount and distribution of rainfall — and a change also in the habits of the rivers and streams. Many of the smaller of these have been entirely lost and sAval- lowed up, and some are canalised or otherwise altered in volume. They have also undergone alteration in the condition of the freshets, and in the usual period and amount of the maximum and minimum discharge of their waters. The actual quantity of woodland that should be left in a given area to secure a fair climate must evidently depend on many circumstances. In France the extent of the forests in 1750 was estimated at about 40 millions of English acres, while in 1860 the area had been reduced to one-half, or 20 millions. It is now believed that the former was not too much, and that at present a great increase is necessary if the climate and rainfall are to remain unaltered. There is certainly far too little forest in most parts of the continent of Europe.* * See Marsh's ' Man and Nature/ p. 28 ; Ansted's 'Physical Geography,' ISfie, p. 421. VOL. III.— S. S. G 82 Rainfall, Natural Drainage, But, after all, disforesting is only the commencement of the change. Each kind of cultivation involves some peculiar result of its own, for as a country becomes thickly peopled nature is made to bend in various ways to human convenience. First, there is the general drainage of swamps and bogs to render the country healthy and habitable, and then follow improvements in the course of the streams to confine them within definite channels that shall run as quickly as possible to the sea. By thus de- creasing the distance run the erosive power of the streams is increased, and therefore the conveying power of the water, so that one of the results of the clearing of a mountain-side may be the extension of a coast-line towards the ocean. Another result may be, as in the case of the river Po, the gradual elevation of the bed of the stream till its waters are carried between banks at a level higher than that of the surrounding country. In like manner the drainage of shallow pools helps to increase the mechanical effect of streams, while artificial embankments limit and divert the action of the sea, recovering tracts of land subject to tidal overflow, and converting them ultimately into fields and gardens. It must be evident that the evaporation that once acted over almost the whole surface of the land is now reduced to the narrow courses of the streams except immediately after heavy rains, and that the quantity of rain absorbed into the earth must be much smaller now that the surface is dry than when it was permanently moist. In this way, therefore, two direct and important results of the introduction of civilized man are at once recognized. It is true that in each particular case the calculable difference may be small, but when the whole surface is affected it is impossible that it should not be important. One thing also leads to another. The diminution of mist arising from permanent moisture on the surface increases greatly the radiation from the surface, and therefore the evaporation. The quality of the soil is thus altered by mechanical treatment, and the moisture needed is more rapidly absorbed and utilised by miscellaneous crops than by forest-trees. In every way the cultivation of the soil has a tendency to modify the proportion of rainfall that passes into the earth. It tends to increase this proportion by inducing in summer a greater action both of the sun and air in drying, and therefore cracking the surface, and during cold weather by exposing the rock more fre- quently to alternate expansions and contractions. On the other hand, it tends to diminish the proportion by running the water more rapidly from the surface and leaving a smaller quantity to soak into the strata. These are direct results. Indirectly, culti- vation, even without drainage, by rendering the air more clear during fine weather, and by increasing both the hourly and daily and Subterranean Water Storage. 83 mean range of temperature, must affect the mean annual rainfall. Drainage necessarily assists this action. It not only clears the surface of moisture still more rapidly than before, but it even carries off much of the water that had actually entered the soil and was on its way to the rock. Thus drainage affects the springs as well as the rainfall, and doubles the result. And although it is true that the rainfall in England depends very largely on the physical conditions of the British islands— on the vicinity, not only of a great ocean, but of a great and warm current of water and moist air crossing that ocean — on the presence of a mountain chain of moderate elevation on the western side of the island — on the general form of the land — on the adjacent lands of the continent of Europe — and on many other facts — still neither the total amount nor the distribution can fail to be influenced by those important and powerful causes to which I have directed attention. An alteration of a fraction of an inch per annum in the mean rainfall, the addition of an inch in the summer fall counterbalanced by the reduction of an inch in that of the winter months — these ma}' seem trifling, but if persistent they effect a real change of climate, and one which will in time show itself in the vegetable and animal productions that flourish under it. V. — ECONOMISATION OF WaTER SuPPLY. The practical value to the agriculturist of all that has been said on the subject of rainfall and water storage, and the results of cultivation on water supply, can best be measured by the extent to which he may hope to make use of such knowledge, either by adapting his methods of cultivation so as to take advan- tage of the result of change, or by enabling him to produce a modified climate, availing himself of natural causes of change. Incidentally he may also learn in this way the means of utilising and economising the supply of rain that comes to him in the ordinary course of nature. I think it will be evident, from all that has been said under the last heading of this article, that where all forests have been removed over large districts a combination of tree-cultivation with ordinary crops is calculated to equalise its summer and winter climates, to increase the yield from springs, and to restore to some extent the former conditions of climate. At the same time it must be remembered that in many respects the climate of England has been ameliorated rather than injured by the alterations that have taken place ; and that with us there must always be so large a rainfall that there is not the same need for this modification as in other countries of Europe, where G 2 84 ". Rainfall, Natural Drainage, the air is always drier. It is in France and Spain, and more especially in Greece and the Levant, that the removal of the forests has been injurious. In North America also, and in many of our colonies, the first business of the settler has alwavs been to destroy the wood. It is probable that in many cases the destruction has been carried too far, and that the climate has suffered. On the other hand, there can be little doubt that cultivation and planting with European trees is likely to improve in a very marked manner the climate of Australia, and increase the rainfall. Thus the advantages of planting, though not unimportant even in England, where the land has been left absolutely bare, are much more likely to be felt in other countries than at home ; and the English farmer must look rather to the shelter given to Inrds and other incidental advantages than to alteration of climate, if land that has once been cleared should be brought again under forest. But if the increase of forest lands is neither probable nor per- haps desirable in the British islands, except, perhaps, in the High- lands of Scotland, there are many important agricultural operations going on that admit of modification to some extent, and that also have influence on climate and water-supply. At present it is usual to limit the operation of drainage to the construction and keeping in order of channels that shall carry off all surface- water as rapidly as possible to the sea. It may be doubted whether in many places, where the form of the country lends itself to such purposes, it would not be advisable to collect this drained water into reservoirs, at various levels, whence in dry seasons it might be made use of for irrigation, or for other pur- poses. There would thus be a double advantage gained ; for the presence of these reservoirs, if uncovered, would prevent the air from becoming so dry as it otherwise would, and might thus check the burning up of the soil and crops. A few acres, here and there, occupied by a reservoir, would not be without grent value, and might well be made more subservient to the orna- mentation of parks and pleasure-grounds than has hitherto been the case. A portion of the water that must otherwise be diverted would thus also sink into the earth, and increase the springs. It is evident that to be of any advantage these reservoirs should be numerous, and systematically placed. It is also evident that they can only be constructed in hilly or undulating districts. On the other hand, it must not be forgotten that standing-water in the autumn months is in many localities very unhealthy. There are no available artificial means at present known of modifying the distribution of rainfall and its total amount, except by altering the vegetation of a large extent of surface. The change of climate that has taken place already may, perhaps, be and Subterranean Water Storage. 85 almost entirely due to this cause and to drainage; and as clear- ing and draining must ever be the first operations of civilised men in a new country already covered witli forest, the change must begin at once, and go on uninterruptedly until a balance has been attained. We do not know whether this is yet the case in Western Europe. It may be considered certain that it is not the case in North America, and that the tendency therefore may still be to produce a more average climate in both cases. In the northern states of the Union, and in Canada, the climate is still excessive, and will probably always continue so. In our own country it probably never has been excessive in recent times, at any rate since the introduction of civilisation ; but it has been favourably modified, and may admit of improvement yet further, so far as it is improvement to equalise the temperature of summer and winter, and distribute the rainfall equally throughout the year. An extreme instance of such a climate may be found in some parts of New Zealand ; and by the removal of forests that country may some day resemble England even more than it does at present. Cosmical causes, or causes affecting the eartli as a planet, in its relation with the other planets of our solar system and the sun, may also have acted to some extent ; and if so, they may still act, and produce further changes quite independent of human agency ; but with these, or modifications of the surface arising from physical causes, we are not here concerned. We must, I think, assume that as drainage has only recently been carried out systematically over large areas of country ; as the modern style of cultivation and the removal of hedge-rows and trees wherever important farm-work is undertaken, is still imperfectly acted on ; and as high-farming is still limited, the progressive alteration of climate, whatever it has been, will not cease or be checked, but rather it will increase and become more manifest. We must look forward to the seasons running yet more into one another than they now do ; to the winters being more rarely extremely cold and the summers hot, and, perhaps, also to the rainfall diminishing by degrees, more or less per- ceptible. And this may be the case, although now and then old people may recognise and welcome a winter or a summer of the kind they remember to have been common when they were voung. It is not that each particular year will be more like the average, but that the seasons will, on the whole and generally, be more moderate. What is done is done ; but the effects, perhaps, are only beginning to manifest themselves ; and it behoves the agriculturist to prepare for the change, and to consider how, on the whole, he can best adapt himself and his culture to it. Crops that can best grow and ripen in our cool summers and doubtful autumns should take the place of those 86 Field Experiments of Crude German Potash-Salts that can endure sharp winter-cold, but need hot days in autumn. We have long given up the vine for profitable cultivation, and have ceased to expect grapes to ripen in an average summer ; but we retain some crops that are better adapted for drier climates, and hotter and more settled weather in August and September than England can make sure of. We must not in this, or in any matter, attempt to fight against Nature, though by a careful study of her operations we may modify and bend her course. It seems to me that this is the right lesson to be learnt, from the very important fact that the climate of England is probably undergoing a modification which may continue still further in the same direction. We could not now, even if it were desired, bring things back again to their former state, restore a former condition of vegetation, and cover the surface of the soil with the oaks and beeches of former times. We must adopt another and a very different system. Accepting the change, we must work to meet it ; and knowing the probable result of those plans that we find it convenient to adopt, we must prepare for a more average climate, and perhaps for a smaller rainfall, less water in the streams in dry summers, and generally a lower state of the springs. In some countries, where the supply of water is already insufficient, this might be difficult ; but with us there is no danger of permanent drought ; and we have only to make due use of that state of things which naturally belongs to or has been artificially produced in our country. V. — Field Experiinents of Criide German Potash-salts and Common Salt on Mangolds. By Dr. Augustus Voelcker. If the artificial supply of potash be attended with any bene- ficial results to vegetation, it is likely to produce a more marked effect on poor sandy soils, naturally deficient in potash than on good agricultural clays, in which this alcali may be presumed to occur in greater abundance. The discovery of vast mineral deposits of a variety of potash- salts in the salt-mines at Stassfurth, in Saxony, has placed within the reach of the farmer a cheap source of potash with which he may manure his fields, should experience prove such an application beneficial. There are at present several manu- factories in active operation at Stassfurth, producing chloride of potassium and sulphate of potash of various degrees of purity, the least expensive form being sold under the name of Crude German Potash-salts. These salts have been tried in Germany during the last three or four seasons, on a variety of crops, some- and Common Salt on Manrjolds. 87 times with apparently marked beneficial results, at others with- out producing- any decidedly favourable effect. These contra- dictor}' records of experience appeared to me to result probably from the great variation in the proportions of available potash Avhich we know to exist in soils of different characters. In order to put this supposition to a practical test, and, as I thought, to give the crude potash-salts the best chance of manifesting their fertilising powers, I induced my friend and former pupil, Mr. Kimber, of Tubney Warren, to undertake for me some experi- ments on a very light newly-reclaimed sandy soil. The crop experimented upon was long red mangolds. A sample of the crude potash-salts employed in the subjoined experiments analysed by me was found to have the following composition : — Composition of Crude Salts of Potash from Germany. Moisture 11-63 Orjianic matter -73 Oxide of irou "34: Sulphate of potash 24-03 Sulphate of magnesia 1-14 Chloride of magnesium 12-01 Chloride of sodium (common salt) 47-85 Sulphate of hme '78 Magnesia -52 Sand -97 100-00 It will be seen that beside chloride of magnesium these salts contain 24 per cent, of sulphate of potash, and nearly twice as much common salt. Having ascertained in the preceding year that common salt alone produced a very considerable increase in the mangold crop, grown on a light sandy soil very similar to that on which I intended to try potash-salts, I considered it very desirable to eliminate, if possible, the effects likely to be produced by the common salt in the crude German salts, of which it forms so large a proportion. Several experimental plots, therefore, were top-dressed with common salt, varying in quantity from 2 to 8 cwts. per acre ; and in order to get some insight into the natural variation in the agricultural capabilities of the experi- mental field, two plots, one at either end, and a third in the middle of the field, were left without any top-dressing. As very few fields have a properly uniform composition, or are in every part in precisely the same agricultural condition, the reservation of two, or rather three, such plots is essential for determining the limits of the variation in the natural productive 88 Field Experiments of Crude German Potash-Salts powers of the field without manure, in order to form a correct estimate of the value of the manures experimented on. The soil of the experimental field was a rather dark-coloured sand, about 1 foot in depth, and resting on a raw yellow sand. A portion of the soil was submitted to analysis, and the following results obtained : — Composition of Exjyeriinental Mangold Field at Talney Warren, Abingdon. Soil dried at 212° Fabr. Organic matter 5*88 Oxides of h'on and alumina 4'11 Carbonate of lime '62 Magnesia -22 Potasli and soda •14 Phosphoric acid '07 Sulphuric acid '04 Insoluble silicious matter (fine sand) and loss .. 88"92 100-00 This analysis shows that in this soil sand greatly preponderates, that lime is deficient, and but very little potash and soda exist. It appeared thus peculiarly well adapted for trials with potash- salts. The land on which the mangolds were grown was uncultivated until 1863, growing grasses of a rough, coarse kind, principally the hassock-grass {^Aira ccespitosa). The surface was pared and burned early in 1863, and the land drained. The greater part of the ashes were spread on the land, and oats sown in March, In 1864 another crop of oats was groAvn without manure. The land was then cultivated in the autumn and afterwards ploughed and subsoiled. It was then ridged up with farmyard dung and mangolds — long red, drilled on the 27th April last Avith 3 cwts. superphosphate per acre. The plants came up well ; and after they had been hoed and singled, common salt and salts of potash were applied separately in various quantities on the 1st July. On the 6th July there was a heavy fall of rain, and again on the 13th another soaking rain, Avhich I considered would Avash into the soil all the most soluble parts of the salts. The effect of the common salt was soon apparent. By the first week in August the eye could clearly detect different shades of colour in the leaves of the different plots, Avhich by the middle of the month became still more marked. The leaves of the mangolds dressed with salt had a decidedly lighter colour than the rest; those dressed with potash-salts were somewhat darker and less yellow in hue ; and where no top-dressing was and Common Salt on Manrjolds. 89 applied the leaves had a darker, more bluish-green colour, inclininG;' to purple. JVIr. Kimber writes to me : — " During three seasons I have observed that common salt applied to young growing mangold plants on this sandy soil has the effect of producing a greater development of leaf and a kinder growth of the bulb with less root. " When a soil is deficient in any one of its necessary consti- tuents, or when that which the growing plant requires in its cir- culation is not obtainable in sufficient quantities, a forked growth of the roots is generally the result. The difference in this respect of two heaps of mangolds placed side by side, one grown with salt, the other with none, is very marked. I have also observed that turnips grown here with salt have come up less rooty than the others without salt ; but the difference is not so great as in mangolds. " These remarks are not intended to apply generally and to all soils, they only relate to this particular soil and the last three seasons." Mr. Kimber made some notes on the 19th August, 1865, and as he was quite ignorant of the arrangements of the plots, his observations are of particular interest. Notes on Experimental Mangold Plots, made 10th August, 18G5. Plot 1. — iSTothing .. ., Leaves dark in colour, iDclining to a purple tint. Plot 2. — Salt, 6 cwts. .. The leaves four or five shades paler in colour than Plot 1, and having a more luxuriant appearance. Half as much again leaf and fav superior bulbs to Plot 1. Plot 3. — Potash, 3 cwts. .. Not cpiite as good as Plot 2. Leaves a shade darker. Plot 4. — Salt, 3 cwts. .. About as Plot 3. Leaves a shade paler. Plot 5. — Potash, 1 cwt. .. Not quite as good as Plot 4. Leaves a good shade darker. Plot G. — Nothing .. .. Not quite as good as Plot 5, and the leaves a shade darker. Plot 7. — Salt, 2 cwts. .. Much more leaf and two shades paler. Plot 8. — Potash, 2 cwts. . . About as Plot 7. Leaves a shade darker. Plot 9. — Salt, 4 cwts. .. More leaf than Plot 8, and a shade paler. Plot 10. — Potash, 4 cwts. .. About as Plot 9. A shade darker. Plot 11. — Salt, 8 cwts. , .. Very much larger in leaf and bulb than Plot 12, and three or four shades paler. About the same as Plot 10. . Plot 12.— Nothing .. .. The same as Plot 1. The roots were taken out of the ground, topped, cleaned, and weighed on the 10th November, 1865. The following Table shows the results that were obtained, the 90 Field Experiments of Crude German Potash-Salts, &,'€. arrangements of the different plots, and tlie quantity and kind of top-dressing employed : — Experiments with Crude Potash-Salts and Common Salt on Long Eed Mangolds at Tubney Warren, Abingdon. Plots of J- Acre. Top-dressing per Acre. Number of Roots per Plot. Produce per Plot. Produce per Acre. Increase over Plot 1. cwts. qrs. lbs. tons. No. 1 „ 2 „ 3 „ 4 -, 5 ., 6 ,. 7 „ 8 ., 9 „ 10 „ 11 „ 12 Nothing* Common salt, 2 cwts. .. Crude potash-salts, 3 cwts. Common salt, 3 cwts. . . Potash-salts, 1 cwt. Nothing* Common salt, 2 cwts. . . Potash-salts, 2 cwts. Common salt, 4 cwts. .. Potash-salts, 4 cwts. Common salt, 8 cwts. .. Nothing* 636 592 620 632 632 619 711 685 713 719 703 698 12 0 15 18 3 24 1 18 0 26 1 13 17 18 15 13 0 0 16 16 19 21 21 2 24 2 2 1 17 2 5 3 21 14 2 14 12 18 17 18 15 13 16 16 19 21 21 14 cwts. lbs. 2 76 19 32 8 24 4 72 7 36 0 0 14 32 10 40 8 4 10 100 18 84 11 68 tous. cwts. lbs, Nothing." 5 14 80 4 3 72 5 0 8 2 2 84 Nothing. 3 9 80 3 5 98 6 3 52 8 6 36 8 14 20 Nothing. * Average of 3 nothings . . tons. cwts. lbs. 13 4 64 The preceding experiments suggest the following remarks : — 1. The weights of the produce on the three plots not top- dressed with either common salt or potash-salts show variations amounting to 2 tons 9 cwts. per acre. Differences in the weight of the produce on other plots amounting to 2^ tons per acre, therefore have to be ascribed rather to the variable agricultural condition of the different plots of the experimental field than to the top-dressings used. 2. The results obtained on Plots 2 and 7 evidently show that such natural variations in the productive powers of the soil really existed in different parts of the same field. Plots 2 and 7 were both top-dressed at the rate of 2 cwts. of common salt per acre, whilst Plot 2 produced an increase of 5 tons 14 cwts. 80 lbs. over the average yield of the undressed plots. Plot 7 gave only an increase of 3 tons 9 cwts. 80 lbs., or 2 tons 5 cwts. less. Tlae limit of variations in the weight of the produce of Plots 2 and 7 it will be seen agrees closely with the difference in the weight of mangolds on the undressed Plots 1 and 12. 3. Making due allowance for the natural variation in the productive powers of different parts of the same field, common salt, it will be noticed in every instance, gave as good a result as an equal weight of the more expensive crude potash-salts. 4. It will further be seen that the larger doses of salt pro- duced a greater increase than the smaller. Thus 3 cwts. of salt Statistics of Live Stock and Dead Meat, Sfc. 91 per acre gave an increase of 5 tons 8 lbs. of clean mangolds, 4 cwts. an increase of G tons 3 cwts. 52 lbs., and 8 cwts. of common salt an inci-ease of 8 tons 14 cwts. 20 lbs. per acre. 5. As the crude potash-salts used in the preceding experi- ments contained twice as much common salt as sulphate of potash, and common salt gave as much increase as an equal weight of crude potash-salts, it is more than doubtful whether the potash in the latter had any share in increasing the crop on the plots dressed with crude potash-salts. (). The preceding experiments, it must be confessed, are rather calculated to demonstrate the utility of common salt as a top-dressing for mangolds, on light, sandy soils, than that of potash. It would, however, be rash to decide on the strength of a single series of experiments that the artificial supply of potash, unfavourable as it has proved to be in the case before us, is useless under all circumstances. I therefore wish to suspend my judgment on the practical utility of this and other cheap forms of supplying potash to the land until I shall be in posses- sion of more extensive and reliable practical evidence than at present. Lahoratory, 11, Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, E.G., February, 1867. VI. — Statistics of Live Stock and Dead Meat for Consumption in the Metropolis. By Kobert Herbert. The heavy losses occasioned by the Cattle-plague in 1866 produced a considerable falling-off in the supplies of English and Scotch beasts to the great Metropolitan Market during the last six months of that year. The total number brought forward, including the arrivals from abroad, amounted to only 148,320 head, against 181,400 in the corresponding period in 1865, being a deficiency of 33,080 head. But, since nearly two-thirds of the English beasts and nine-tenths of the supplies from Scotland came to hand in far better condition than in the previous season, the falling-ofF in the quantity of meat was trifling. Indeed, we believe that London was far better supplied with animal food than at any time since 1864. This may appear somewhat strange, considering that about 250,000 bullocks were carried off by disease in 1866, and that the importation of live stock from certain districts in Holland has been prohibited. But it may be observed, that the slaughtering of stock in various parts of England and Scotland, for consumption in the metropolis, has 92 Statistics oj' Live Stock and Dead Meat been greatly on the increase ; and that in the six months, about 100,000 tons of meat came to hand from various Continental ports. The dead-markets have, therefore, been fully supplied, and the upward movement in the value of live stock has been checked. Nevertheless, meat, with the exception of pork, is a dear commodity, and likely to continue so for several months. The average value of inferior beasts was 3s. &d. per 8 lbs., against 3s. 2d. in the same time in 1865. Middling stock sold at an average of 4s. 8fZ., or 2d. higher than in the previous years; but the value of prime meat — 5s. — was unaltered. The improved weight and quality of the beasts brought forward account for the slight rise in the price of inferior animals. The moderate im- portations of foreign-cured provisions have failed to have much influence upon the value of live stock in this country. Supplies of sheep have been unusually small — viz., 708,620 head, including the animals from abroad, against 890,160 head in the corresponding period in 1865, and 769,814 in 1864. Notwithstanding that most breeds appeared in good condition and of full average weight, the best Downs and half-breds were in good request. Long-woolled sheep were steady in value. At one period the best Downs Avere worth as much as 6s. ^^d. per 8 lbs. Calves came slowly to hand, the total number not exceeding 12,291 head ; prices have consequently been high both for English and foreign, the latter of which have formed the bulk of the supplies. The total numbers of stock exhibited in the six months were : — Head. Beasts 148,320 Sheep 708,620 Calves 12,2<)1 Pigs 17,480 In the six previous seasons, these were : — Total Supplies of Stock exldhited. Beasts. Cows. Sheep and Lambs. Calves. Pigs. I860 .. .. 145,420 3015 762,740 15,766 15,470 1861 .. .. 149,750 3187 774,260 12,441 20,116 1862 .. .. 159,450 3148 759,671 12,579 18,220 18G3 .. .. 168,232 3127 761,070 14,822 17,550 1864 ., .. 177,944 3221 769,814 17,967 19,306 1SG5 .. .. 181,400 2177 890,160 21,532 16,151 The supplies of pigs sent to this market fell off in 1866, although the number in England rapidly increased. The enor- mous quantities of pork disposed of in Newgate and Leadenhall for Consumj)tion in the Metropolis. 93 accounts for this as also for the fall in prices, which gave Avay quite 6fZ. per 8 lbs. The highest quotation did not exceed 4s. ^d. per 8 lbs. In the last six months of the following years, the supplies of English, Scotch, and Irish beasts were as under : — District Bullock Arrivals. Northern Districts. Eastern Districts. Other parts of England. Scotland. Ireland. 1860 .. .. 66,140 9500 20,500 1151 7,852 1861 .. .. 71,450 2500 9,700 4586 14,340 1862 .. .. 74,570 5050 19,C20 3307 14,820 1863 .. .. 66,510 3850 21,250 3213 11,280 1864 .. .. 60,350 8400 19,400 3625 7,079 1865 .. .. 52,270 1600 20,070 4512 5,011 1S66 .. .. 35,900 2700 16,340 1844 4,170 We here see the effects of the ravages committed by disease. The Northern districts furnished 16,370 head of beasts less than in 1865, The slight increase in the arrivals from Norfolk, Suffolk, &c., was chiefly composed of half- fat stock. The total imports of foreign stock into London only were con- fined to 378,180 head. In the corresponding period in 1865, that supply was 557,875 ; and in 1864, 362,709 head. This falling- off arose from the Orders in Council prohibiting the importations of stock from Holland. Those Orders have been somewhat relaxed ; still, there are certain districts in Holland proclaimed as infected with disease. Private letters have informed us that heavy losses were sustained by the Dutch graziers in 1866, and that, even now, disease is pretty general. The return on the following page shows the imports of foreign stock into London during the last six months of 1866. The supply from France was of full average condition. The Danish bullocks were remarkably healthy, whilst the arrivals from Spain and Portugal were composed of really good animals. The enormous demand for Spanish stock in France has prevented the arrival here of increased numbers. Imports at Corresponding Periods. Beasts. Sheep and Lambs. Calves. Pigs. 1865 .. .. 88,775 399,220 19,535 50,445 1864 .. .. 76,922 238,121 16,793 30,803 1863 .. .. 61,435 241,209 17,497 18,936 1862 .. ,. 57,356 250,140 19,610 17,279 1861 .. .. 59,049 266,249 19,715 25,919 1860 .. ., 59,817 243,804 19,594 21,510 94 Statistics of Live Stock and Dead Meat Imports of Foreign Stock into London during the last Six Months of 1866. From Beasts. Sheep. Lambs. Calves. Pigs. Aarhuus . . 9 11 Amsterdam 7 206 301 29 Antwerp , , 1,106 73,418 3,988 4,092 2,815 Boulogne . . 5,763 4,810 69 1,138 91 Bremen 5,816 2,622 7,916 170 13 Cadiz 1,746 Caen 2,758 89 ., 627 187 Calais , , 472 .. 823 179 Copenhagen 137 . , Deauville .. 2,239 266 88 17 Dieppe 2,956 2,137 2,037 46 Dordt 213 .. , , Dreux 529 22 .. Dunkirk . . 105 209 *101 Gerstemunde . . 946 1,958 5 Gothenburg 1,990 1,706 458 120 Hamburg .. 10,534 57,282 191 3,382 Harlingen .. 10,179 45,298 1,137 2,362 4,605 Havre 313 190 95 Honfleur . . 2,057 491 2 81 12 Kbnigsberg 50 ,. .. New Dieppe .. 29 2,723 ,. .. Oporto 1,289 .. .. Ostend .. ,. 706 2',317 31 2,165 80 Eotterdam ,. ., 7,705 Stettin .. .. 65 , , ^, Stockholm . . 77 119 , , St. Petersburg .. 897 .. .. Tonning . . 32,004 35,519 5,839 4 Tromville.. 8,367 210 78 Vigo 139 •• Total .. 92,839 232,262 19,283 14,544 19,252 Inferior beasts produced rather more money than In 1865, owing to their improved condition. Middling stock was like- wise dearer ; but prime animals' prices were about stationary. All breeds of sheep suffered a decline. Average Prices of Beef and Mutton. Beef.— Per 8 lbs. to sink the Offal. 1862. 1863. 1864. 1865. 1866. Inferior Middling Prime s. d. 3 2 4 0 4 10 s. d. 3 4 4 2 5 0 s. d. 3 6 4 6 5 6 s. d. 3 2 4 6 5 4 s. d. 3 6 4 8 5 4 for Consumption in the Metropolis. MuTTOx.— Per 8 lbs. to sink the Offal. 95 1862. 1863. 1864. 1865. 1866. Inferior Middling .. .. Prime s. d. 3 8 4 8 5 6 s. d. 4 0 5 0 5 10 s. d. 4 2 5 2 5 10 s. d. 4 6 5 6 G 8 s. d. 4 0 5 2 6 2 The supplies of rough fat having been good, prices have been moderately low. The latest quotation was 2s. S^fZ. per 8 lbs. Newgate and Leadenhall were heavily supplied with meat, but prices fluctuated considerably. The highest quotation for beef was 5s. 4(/., the lowest '6s. 2cl. per 81bs. ; mutton ranged from 3s. 2d. to 55. 4c?. ; veal, 4^. 4:d. to 5^. 8d. ; and pork, Ss. to 4^. Sd. per 8 lbs. by the carcase. The wool trade was in a depressed state, owing to the un- usually heavy importations from our colonies. The public sales passed off heavily, at Id. to 2d. per lb., and very few transactions took place on account of foreign houses. Apparently, Ave shall have an enormous import from our colonies this year, as we learn that the clip has turned out very large. The total quan- tities of wools, in bales, received from all sources in the last five years were : — Bales. 1862 567,668 1863 596,-326 1864 670,907 1865 685,634 1866 790,458 The value of English wool, at the close of 1865 and 1866, was as follows : — 1865. 1866. Fleeces : — s. d. s. d. s. d. s, d. Southdown hoggetts .... 1 9i to 1 10 1 6i to 1 7 Half-bred hogcretts 1 11^ to 2 0^ 1 Ih to 1 8i Kent fleeces 1 Hi to 2 Oi 17 to 1 8 Southdown ewes and wethers 1 82 to 1 9 1 4^ to 1 5? Leicester ditto 1 lOi to 2 0 1 6 to 1 7 Sorts : — Clothing and picklock .. ..110 to 1 11 1 7^ to 1 9 Prime and picklock 1 8 to 1 8^ 1 6 to 1 7 Choice 1 7 to 1 7i 1 5i to 1 6 Super 1 6 to 1 6i 1 4i to 1 5 Combing : — Wether matching 1 Hi to 2 0 18 to 1 8i Picklock 18 to 1 9i 1 5i to 1 6i Common 15 to 1 6 1 3^ to 1 4 Hop matching 2 0 to 2 Oi 1 lOi to 1 Hi Picklock matching 18 to 1 9i 17 to 1 7i Super ditto " 1 5 to 1 7 1 4i to 1 5 96 Statistics of Live Stock and Dead Meat, S^-c. The fall in 1866 was, no doubt, chiefly occasioned by the enormous influx of colonial wools, and the limited re-exports, because our shipments of woollen goods last year were on a most extensive scale, especially to the United States, the dealers in which country are now buying; large parcels of wool at the Cape of Good Hope, for direct shipment to New York. 4, Argyle Square, St. Pancras. EEPonTS. ( 97 ) REPORTS OF THE CO^ilMITTEES APPOINTED TO INVESTIGATE THE PEESENT STATE OF STEAM CULTIVATION. VII. — The Report of the Inspection Committee {No. 1) deputed by the Royal Agricultural Society of England to enquire into the Results of Steam Cultivation in the Counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Surrey, Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire. The following instructions were Issued by the Society, for the guidance of the three Inspection Committees. Each Committee will be furnished with : — 1. A list of the farms in the district assigned to it on which steam culti- vation has been adopted. 2. The replies received from the owners of steam apparatus to the schedule of questions addressed to them by the Society. 3. A list of the farms selected for inspection. Although the Inspection Com- mittees are not to consider themselves precluded from inspecting a farm which is not on their list, on being satisfied that there are sufficient reasons for doing so, it must be their object to limit themselves as nearly as possible to the number of days allotted to the districts assigned to them. In order the better to accomplish this they will be at liberty to omit inspecting any of the selected farms which, from information received, they may consider not to possess any especial interest, more particularly if distant from their main route. In either case they will be expected to report to Hanover Square their reasons for deviating from the prescribed list. In the exercise of this power the Inspection Committee are requested to keep prominently in mind that one of the main objects of the enquiry is to obtain a report of the results of the adoption of different systems of cultivation, and of different kinds of •steam apparatus, and tlieir power of adaptation to large or small farms, with any other points which they may consider deserving of notice. 4. The enquiry should be specially directed to the following particulars : — i. The depth and nature of the tillage, and its cost per acre, including the various items of expenditure for each kind of work. ii. The age of the machine and the amount paid annually for repairs : the nature of breakages and^their causes. iii. How far, by the adoption of steam cultivation, tlie drainage of strong lands has been assisted, and the cropping of the farm been VOL. III. — S. S. H 98 Ecport on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. cbangcd — more especially to ■what extent autumu cultivation Las increased the growth of green crops, and the productiveness of the soil. iv. The number of working days on which the engine power has been used for the purpjose of steam cultivation on or off the farm. V. The number of days on which it has been used for other purposes on or off the farm, the nature of the work done, daily cost and amount charged when let on hire, vi. The number of days lost by breakage and other causes. vii. In the case of steam-ploughs, &c., let out for hire, what loss of wages has occurred from the non-employment of the men, this being an item of expense against the apparatus, viii. The most economical mode of supplying water for steam culti- vation. ix. The best method of arranging and forming roads and headlands for steam cultivation. Co3i3iiTTEE Xo. 1 Consisted of: — 1. Mr. Howard Reed. 2. Mr. John Hemsley, of Slielton, Newark, Notts. 3. Mr. John Hickm, of Dunchurch, Rugby, Warwickshire. To the first-named gentleman was entrusted the duty of drawing up their Report. To THE President and Council of the R.A.S.E. Your Committee No. 1 completed their duties in 22 days, having in that period visited 36 farms. With one exception they were welcomed with the greatest cordiality, and every facility was given them for the prosecution of their enquiries. They have considered it desirable generally to furnish a short report of each visit ; to these reports they have appended a iew general conclusions drawn from what they have seen. The Reports will not follow the order in which the visits were made, but will be more conveniently distributed into three classes, one for Heavy-land farms, a second for Medium soils, and a third for Light-land farms. This arrangement, your Committee are aware, will break up the continuity of the narra- tive, but in as far as it will best subserve the practical objects of the cncjuiry they consider it preferable. Your Committee beg leave to prefix to the Reports a few remarks relative to the circumstances under which they made their inves- tigations, and the special difficulties which met them in the prosecution of their duties. Their labours commenced on the 3rd and terminated on the 27lh of September. Throughout Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 99 this period there was one clay only in which rain did not fall. It will be within your remembrance that the latter part of July and the whole of August had been similarly wet, and that the harvest everywhere was thrown backwards three or four weeks. The consequence was that nearly all those who received our visits were found to be either in the middle or towards the close of harvest, with nothing* to show in the shape of Autumn Cultivation either done or doing. Notwith- standinsr these discouraijements, it was considered advisable to go on. The rain was not allowed to interfere in the slightest degree with the plan laid down, and though in many cases it partially prevented the proper inspection of the farm, and in many more did totally prevent our seeing the steam tackle at work, it could not, of course, interfere with such collection of statistics and opinions, and such personal intercourse with the gentlemen visited as could be carried on under cover. For the purposes of this enquiry the season must be considered to have been singularly disadvantageous. Further disappointment was experienced by the general dearth of anything like accurate data relative to the amount of work done and the cost of doing it. A few instances were met with in which considerable attention had been given during the first or second year of steam tillage to drawing out a debtor and creditor statement ; but scarcely anywhere had this method been persevered in. Its discontinuance, however, was almost always attributed to the fact that purchasers having satisfied themselves of its economical value in the first or second year, had discontinued a practice which entailed a srreat deal of work without anv accom- panying advantage. To some readers it may appear to be a matter of small conse- quence that the steam tackle should be seen at work ; but in almost every case where it was so seen, it was discovered that the owners varied either the apparatus or the use of it, to suit their special circumstances. These special changes, to overcome special difficulties, are either overlooked in mere conversation or imperfectly understood if described ; being often confined to the mode of working, nothing but the observing eye detects them, and duly appreciates their worth. \ our Committee there- fore very much regret the loss of the opportunity, wherever it did not occur. It must be further remarked that the comparison instituted in this enquiry is only between Steam-cultivated farms. Of the adjacent farms nothing was seen beyond the glimpses of them afforded from the railway or the high road. A more extensive survey would perhaps have shown that neighbouring farmers H 2 100 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Eeed. were content to abide by the employment of horse power, because they could point to fields so cultivated which did not show to a disadvantage beside lands tilled by steam power. The superiority in either case depends, not upon the power itself, but upon the man who wields it, Mr. Kersey Cooper said during the visit of the Committee to him, " I have been over many steam-cultivated farms without perceiving any ad- vantage, and I have been over others where 1 have seen as many advantages as I can show myself. In a great many instances steam cultivation is not a profitable investment, not from any defect of power or mechanical construction or outlay, but because few take the advantage they should and might do from it ; here, as elsewhere, success is only obtained when one combines business habits with a knowledge of scientific principles." This remark entirely concurs with our experience, which goes to prove that it is the man, and not the apparatus, to which the results are mainly due. Much difference of opinion was encountered as to the cha- racter of the soil under consideration. Almost invariably it was represented as unusually heavy. For this reason one question asked was. How many horses do you use in ploughing one acre to a depth of G inches ? These answers corrected, where prac- ticable, by personal observations, enabled us to classify the farms according to the texture of the soil. The statements contained in each Report are simply the condensed results obtained from the questions put. Where the Committee venture to express their own opinions or to make a suggestion, their responsibility for the same has generally been made sufficiently clear. They have been careful to ascertain the price of manual labour, of horse power, and of coal, &c., in each district, as well as the various estimates of wear and tear, main- tenance, (S:c., and have avoided the intrusion of what are termed " received data," It has not been considered necessary in every case to carry out a calculation exhibiting the price per acre ; but such data have been furnished as will enable any reader to do this for himself. Section A. Heavy-Land Fakms. No, 1, Mr, W, T. Allen, Little Stambridge Hall, Rochford, Essex, September 4, This gentleman occupies 3000 acres of land, 500 acres being grass. That part of the land which is moderately stiff is around the house at Stambridge. The 1700 acres of heavy land is part of Wallasea Island, which contains in all 3000 acres. The soil of this island is a stiff blue clay. Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 101 warped bj the sea to a depth of from 7 to 10 inches. The section is as follows : — The steam-plough is useful Top soil 7 to 10 inches. Blue clay 10 to 15 feet. Beach 20 feet. 400 feet London Clay, through which artesian ■wells are sunk for good water. on the home farin ; it is indis- pensable on Wallasea, where horses cannot plough the re- quired depth. The land lies all or nearly so in stetches, 7 or 8 feet wide, watei'-furrowed. Some hesitating attempts have been made to lay it flat, and these having generally failed, a bar is put against progress in this direction. The fact is that the initial work of drainage remains to be done, as is often the case in Essex, owing to a conviction either that there is no fall, or that the clay will not permit of the descent of rain-water. The farm lies well for steam ; the fields are large^ and some have been made removal of fences. At home a good supply of water is obtained from ponds; in Wallasea from five artesian wells, which produce water of excellent quality. Great changes have been effected in the system of culture ; bare fallows every sixth year have been abandoned. Italian rye-grass or tares now take their place. These are mown for cattle soiled in the yards. Sheep are kept — not a breeding flock, but hoggets pur- chased in spring and sold before winter in store condition. Mr. Allen spoke very confidently of the increased bulk of his crops since the application of steam ; no special comparative instances were adduced ; but this opinion would, in Mr. Allen's case, be founded on accurate observation. He experiences just those difficulties which any one would expect to meet with who attempted to cultivate by steam a heavy-land farm not previously drained. In a wet time, of course, the hindrances due to rain are increased. The Apparatus was bought of Messrs. J. Fowler and Co. in 1862. It consisted of an einjine of 14-horse power, a A-fiirroto plouf/h, a cultivator, 800 yards of rope, anchor, and porters ; price 1000/. There is upon the farm another steam-engine of 8-horse power. Both are employed for thrashing, grinding, and other work. Repairs, Renewals, Wear and Tear. — The main expenses are 102 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Heed, on the engine, particularly tlie travelling' parts ; tlie drums have proved expensive. Since 1862, 750 yards of new rope have been bought, and the present rope, now in its fourth season, is about one-third worn. The total expenses for repairs for the year 1865 were 115?.; the average expenses since 1862, 100/. per annum. All is kept in good repair by a first-class engineer, who superin- tends the two engines and all the machinery. Work done. — During a day of ten hours, with plough or culti- vator, including removals, about 8 acres a day, 8 to 12 inches deep. Since hay-crop was harvested, to give the latest particulars, 1st July, 1866, 323 acres have been ploughed or cultivated. It is observable that but for steam not 20 acres would have been done. This land had been under rye, grass, &c. ; it is all well cleaned, and in fine tilth. ' Cost of Work. Manual and Horse-labour per day : — £. s. d. Engineer 0 30 Engine-driver .. .. .. .. .. .. 0 30 Ploughman .. .. 03 6 Anchormen 03 0 Water-cart, man and horse 0 5 0 3 boys 0 3 0 ■ •( \ 1 0 G 2(1. an acre per day is offered to the men as au inducement to work, say 0 14 The coals cost per day 0 10 4 Oil 0 0 8 Eemovals 0 0 7 0 11 7 Mr. Allen directed us to his computations of the expenses between June 13th, 1862, and 10th October, 1862. They were as follow : — £. s. c7. Labour of 3 men and 3 boys, 103 davs .. .. 86 18 2 53Hons of coal at 20s. per ton .'. .. .. 53 10 0 17 gallons of oil 3 80 1 horse 103 days carting water and coal .. .. 25 5 6 6 pairs of horses shifting from field to Held .. 3 0 0 10 dozen points 5 11 0 Skifes and porters 5 10 0 183 2 8 This account includes some repairs, but probably not the engineer. Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 103 In tliis time (103 days) were scarified and ploughed 5G2 acres, stoppages and removal included, — that is, about 5^ acres per day; much less than the performance in 18GG, after years of experience, and after all the land has been once deep worked. This comes to 6.9. Qd. an acre, to which may be added 6.v. od. an acre for wear and tear, maintenance, and interest on the whole prime cost of the tackle. The horses have not been reduced ; but much more work is done and more crops are taken. The tackle has worked abroad ; the charges have been 155. for culti- vating, and 20s. for ploughing. We saw it in operation. The engine looked somewhat worn. The plough, cultivator, and rope were in a good state, and the land lay in fine style. No. 2. Mr. C. C. Harvey, Foulness Island, South Essex, September 4. To gain this farm we passed through Paglesham from Stambridge, and took the ferry-boat down the Roach and Crouch rivers, over the ovster-beds, some three miles, to Mr. Harvey's landing-place. The island contains 5000 acres. On this space 600 people live in very primitive fashion. It seems scarcely credible that the post should take a week now to reach any point in England and Wales from London ; yet the letter which we forwarded to announce our visit only arrived the day before we made our appearance, and had certainly been six days on the road. The island has another approach from Southend by the Maplin sands, which are about to be flooded with the sewage of London. The culvert that is to bring it will cross the Roach near this farm, and will run across the island. The 2 feet of staple consists of a series of deposits, marine and fresh water, lying upon the London clay, which is found at a depth of about 40 feet, the intervening strata being sand, gravel, and blue clay. As with \Vallasea (No. 1), the London clay is pierced for good water in numerous places by Artesian wells, from 300 to 400 feet deep. INIr. Harvey's farm is so supplied. Two-thirds of the island belongs to Mr. Finch, a Rutlandshire squire. No permission is needed for grubbing hedgerows or felling timber, for the fields, which are large, are divided by ditches, and trees, if ever they did exist, now form a carboniferous deposit far below the chalk which underlies the London clay. Our acquaintance with the farm was made during our efforts to gain the house from the rivei'-bank through a pelting rain. The scene was dreary in the extreme ; it was one in which no heart, save that of a duck or a heron, could take pleasure. Our observa- tion tended to confirm what Mr. Harvey told us of the strength of the soil, namely, that three horses had quite enough to do in turning a furrow-slice 7 to S inches deep. Mr. Harvey does not agree with his neighbour, Mr. Allen, in the unprofitableness of 104 Re2)ort on Steam Cultivation. [Eeed. drainage-works; but an obstacle presents itself to deep drainage in the defective outfall which is regulated by the cill of the sluice in the river-bank, which is only 5 feet down. Drainage, how- ever, in Mr. Harvey's opinion, does not do away with the neces- sity for stitches and water-furrows. The course of ciopping in the neighbourhood is as follows : — clean fallow, mustard, wheat,, clover, wheat, beans, wheat. By means of steam Mr. Harvey now produces roots, and gets a tare-crop between the wheat- stubble and turnip-crop. The Apparatus, manufactured by Messrs. Fowler, was bought in the autumn of 1862. It consists of an engine of 14-horse power, double cylinder, traction, a 4-furrow plough, fitted as a cultivator, 800 yards of rope, an anchor, porters, «Scc. ; price 900^. Repairs, Reneivah, Wear and Tear. — During the first year the repairs are said to have been " frightful :" every conceivable acci- dent occurred ; never a day passed without a smash, or a breakage, or without serious delay. But Mr. Harvey stuck to the machine through all adverse circumstances, trained himself and his men to use it, and has outlived the jeers of those who are always ready to depreciate the efforts of men of progress. Breaks and delays are now never known. No account of repairs has been kept. We were presented with a rough estimate — 100/. in two years. The great loss has been with the travelling parts of the engine, especially the clip-drum. Rope in a soil which has no pebbles does not wear much. Of new rope only 250 yards have been, required. Work done, its Cost, and 3Iode of doing it. — During a day of ten hours about 8 or 9 acres are ploughed, not including stoppages or removals. The mode of preparing for the green and root crops is as follows : — wheat-stubble, broken up and crossed by steam,, horse-ploughed, sown with tares, tares fed off with sheep, tare- stubble scarified and ploughed 15 inches deep by steam. This produces a far better seed-bed for seeded mustard than can be gained by those who depend simply on horse-power, and allows of the extra crop. Work can be usually prosecuted from Maj^ till October. The apparatus was not bought for his own farm merely, but to work on neighbouring farms, like the thrashing-machines, of which he owns several. He lias been doing a little contract- ploughing, at 12^. an acre, 9 to 10 inches deep ; but is dis- appointed in the demand, even at this low rate. From what has been said it may fairly be supposed that enterprise is a rather rare quality on Foulness Island. Mr. Harvey expressed a desire for the 2-engine system, so that he might dispense v/ith the anchors, gain a direct pull on the implement, and move from Keed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 105 place to place with facility. Tlie followinc: is a copy of a paper, prepared by Mr. Harvey, to show what has been done since July, 1865: — August, 1865. — Steamed in 17 dnys 113 acres, or 7 acres ptr day, 10 to 12 inclies deep : 3 men, 5s. per day each ; 2 boys, 2s. per day ; Is. 10a'. extra divided amongst the company. Total manual-labour £2G 10 2 September and October, 1865. — Steamed 162 acres in 40 days, or 4 acres per day, same average depth as above : 1 man, 3s. C)(l. a day ; 2 men, 2.''. ; 2 boys, Is. GcZ. each; lOd. per acre extra distributed amongst the company. Total manual-labour £27 15 0 June, &c., 1866. — Steamed 151 acres in 36 days, or A\ acres per day : 1 man, 3s. 6'/. per day ; 2 men, 2s. ; 3 boys. Is. 2d. per day ; lid. per acre distri- buted amongst the company. Total manual-labour £26 14 5 Jul}^ 1866. — Steamed 100 acres in 25 days, or 4 acres per day : 1 man, 3s. 6'/.; 2 men, 2s.; 3 boys, l.s. 2.d. per day ; extra, lid. per acre. Total manual-labour £18 6 3 Coal, 11. per ton home ; consumption, 15 cwts. per day of 10 hours. The farm, which consists of 300 acres, though nearly all arable, is not of sufficient extent to employ so large an ap- paratus. Mr. Harvey laid particular stress on the value of copper fire- boxes and brass-tubes, such as those sent out with some of Ran- some's engines, particularly when the water is apt to leave a large deposit. He spoke of engines so fitted, which having been in con- stant work since 1857, without repairs in tube or fire-box, are now as good as they were the day they came from the Orwell Works. The difference in price between copper and iron in an engine of 7-horse power is 50/. When done with, the metal is still valuable. No. 3. The Right Hon. the Earl of Leicester, Holkham, Norfolk, September 11. In February, 1861, Lord Leicester purchased a set of tackle for a farm of 500 acres of land just reclaimed from the sea, which so late as 1857 was under water. The soil, like all alluvia, is without stones. About two-fifths of the area is a heavy blue clay thinning out to a sand on one side of the farm. The subsoil is clay. The rest is being clayed. Two horses plough 3 roods a day 6 to 7 inches deep. A great deal of preliminary work had to be done before the land was fit to receive horses. Creeks had to be filled up, hollows levelled, ditches cut dividing the area into square plots, roads constructed, and drains made. When this was done steam was applied. The fields are of such dimensions, 280 yards square,. 106 Report on Steam Caltivation. [Reed. that 600 yards of tlie rope exactly suits. They are uniformly cultivated from tlie roads. The under drainage is done at a depth of from 2 to 4 feet, 12 yards apart in clay, 24 in sand. Water is plentifully obtained on the land side of the old sea- bank, and is of good quality. Of this 500 acres, 260 acres only had been cultivated by steam up to December, 1862, when the bank broke, and the sea regained possession. Until March, 1864, nothing could be done. When the sea was again excluded, the land was long too wet to work. ^Since that date steam has been used to great advantage. The Apparatus was bought of Messrs. Fowler in 1861. It consists of an engine, bearing Kitson and Hewetson's name, of 12-horse power, double cylinder, traction, 600 yai'ds of rope, 1 4-furrowed plough, 1 cultivator, and a subsoiler. Price 885/. Repairs, Renewals, Wear and Tear. — We saAv the tackle at work. The 4-furrowed plough was carrying o furrows 9|^ inches deep, with 65 lbs. steam pressure. All was in a good state and carefully kept ; the slack rope Avell supported. The engine is cleaned out once in 6 weeks ; width of front travelling-wheels of engine 1 foot 4 inches ; of back wheels, 1 foot 10 inches. The bush of the clip-drum, being of cast-iron, has been twice renewed ; beyond this, there has been no considerable wear of the tackle. In this, as in some other engines which we in- spected, Ave considered that there was too small a space for dry steam. The engine is engaged about 170 days a year: 20 for thrashing, chaff-cutting, &c., and 150 for tillage on this and the Park Farm. Two years ago the whole apparatus was overhauled, refitted with all the recent improvements. Excluding these additions, not more than 100/. have been expended, apart from the rope, to which 600 yards Avere added since 1865. Work done, and 3Iode of doing it. — The rate during a day of 10 hours, including removals (which average 2 hours each, with 2 horses), is — Siibsoiling, 16 inches deep 2^] acres, Ploii!ilung, 9 ,, 5 „ Cultivating, 6-7 „ 10 „ There were 123 acres subsoiled before the Christmas of 1865 and 15 ploughed; during the spring and summer of 1866, 114 acres were subsoiled and 176 cultivated. Between the harvest of 1865 and that of 1866, 105 days' work were accomplished. In this period, however, there were 210 over hours paid for beyond the 10 constituting the ordinary day's labour. The apparatus is not much used in the Park Farm on account of IiEED.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 107 the clumps of trees standing in tlie midst of the fields. Here and there it has, however, been employed, and generally with the best results to drained land. One field was fetched up to a great depth with the digging breasts, so that the red gravelly subsoil was admixed with the staple, and so increased its fer- tility, that the barley, wheat, and clover crops have never since forgotten it. Cost of Worli. Manual and Horse-labonr per dn y : — £. s. (7. Engine-driver 0 2G Ploughman 02 0 3 porter- bo j^s 03 0 1 anchor-boy 0 1 G AVater-cart, boy and horse 0 4 6 0 13 6 Average labour payment extra 0 4 2 Coal .. ^ 0 5 10 Oil 0 10 14 6 N.B. — Men paid by the day Avith the following extra allowance per acre divided between the driver and ploughman equally : — for subsoiling, Is, Sd. ; ploughing, lOd. ; scarifying, M. Coal — " Gawber Hall," a hard coal, 17s. a ton, home ; consumption, 7 cwts. per day of 10 hours = 5s. lOd. The smith's work is done on the estate. We were received with great kindness by Mr. Shellabear, his Lordship's steward. No. 4. Mr. S. Linton, Long Stanton, Cambridgeshire, September 12. — Mr. Linton has the advantage of farming his own land. The farm, which consists of 500 acres, is generally heavy. The arable land, about 400 acres, is ploughed by 3 horses 5 to 6 inches deep with some difficulty. There are about 100 acres of a gravelly clay loam which will grow turnips. The farm has been drained from 30 to 32 inches deep, li rods apart. The fields, small in area, were thrown into high back lands when the farm Avas bought ; they have since been enlarged and the lands thrown down ; but owing to some difficulty in getting off the water, there is a disposition to return to ridge and furrow. The outfall it seems will not allow of deeper drains, but we were led to think that a little stroke of engineering would relieve the land of that which defeats the owner's present inten- tions. The fields are now from 12 to 90 acres in extent. The supply of water is plentiful. That which is drawn from the wells that have been sunk is not so good as that which is obtained from ponds. The number of horses has been reduced from 15 to 12, which is to 2 horses to each 66 acres. The situation 108 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Eeed, of the farm is such as to require more than usual horse-power. Ten carts are kept going in harvest, and the extra horses are wanted for the corn-mowing machine. Fallows, which were the rule, have been abandoned. The course of husbandry has been beans, wheat, varied with clover. Mr. Linton intends to grow wheat every other year on the same land. The beans and wheat system will have to fight with weeds, which may be kept down by steam power, provided the present signs of a water-logged farm are got rid of; but they certainly could not be by the appli- cation of horse-power vinder any circumstances, or by steam power unless the land is laid dry. JNIr, Linton could say little about increased crops. We were induced to think that deeper culture, rendered possible by deeper drainage, would allow of the production of roots to much larger extent, and possibly — inasmuch as this has been accomplished on land as heavy — the feeding of sheep. The Apparatus, Fowler's patent, was made in 1862 by Burrell. It consists of an engine of 14-horse power, double cylinder, an anchor, cultivator, rope-porters, 800 yards of rope ; price 875/. The engine does all the thrashing, chaff-cutting, and grinding of the farm. Repairs, Renewals, Hear and Tear. — No regular account kept. The engine is said to have required nothing except the draw- ing of the tubes. The greatest wear is reported to have been on the implements. The first rope was replaced without charge by a second, which has worn well and is in a very good state. Work done. — During a day of 10 hours, including removals, 8 to 9 acres with cultivator. In the autumn of 1865, 237 acres Avere broken up once, 8 to 9 inches deep. 50 acres have been done during the spring of 1866. Cost of Worli. Manual and Horse-laLour : — £. s. d. Engine-driver 030 Ploughman 030 3 anchor and porter-boys 0 4 6 1 boy and horse 05 0 0 15 G Coal 0 9 3 Oil 0 2 0 1 G 9 N.B. — Men paid only by the day ; paid for overtime in same proportion. Coal — "Hard," 15s. (jd. per ton home; consumption, l- cwts. per day. Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 109 Mr. Linton was Fig. P. We saw tlie apparatus, but not at work, kind enough to point out several ingenious improvements of his own. Amongst others may be noticed the wrought-iron cultivator- prong and share shown at P, and the method of setting the slack gear in motion inde- pendent of the steersman's weight. No. 5. Mr. Barton, Wood hurst, St. Ives, Huntingdonshire. Sept. 13. — Mr. Barton is a good specimen of a thoroughly practical man, who though not given to change or to new-fangled notions, embraced steain be- cause he saw in it the means of working a heavy-land farm to advantage. He is a cowkeeper, provides the London market with milk, so that it is a matter of importance to have abundance of green cropping. The land belongs to Mr. F. Annesley. It consists of 700 acres, 500 of which are arable-land of so stiff a texture that sometimes 6 horses are required to plough 6 inches deep. The under-drainage was commenced before steam was introduced. Half the farm is drained 4 feet deep. Experience has established the great worth of deep drainage followed up by deep cultivation. A great deal of the land is now ploughed on the flat. The subsoil is a gaulty clay. The average size of fields is 30 acres. The hedge-rows, which are kept low, are tolerably straight. The fields are undulating and devoid of timber. The 4-course system of cropping is observed : 1st. — Wheat. 2nd.- — ^Turnip- seed, tares, or peas. 3rd. — Barley, oats, and part wheat. 4th. — Two-thirds seeds and one-third beans. Red clover is taken once in 12 years. Dead fallows were dis- pensed with when steam was called in ; all now is in cropping. The land was formerly tilled by 27 horses, or 2 horses to 58 acres ; 20 are now kept. The water is good and abundant, save in dry Aveather, when it has to be fetched 2 miles. It is obtained from storage ponds supplied by drainage. The Apparatus was mainly bought of Messrs. Howard in 1862. It consists of an engine of 10-horse power, made by Messrs. Hornsby, and valued at 280/. They received in exchange for it an 8-horse power engine of their own make, and allowed 65/. for the old engine. £. The other meinbcrs were a cultivator, wiiullass, 1400 yai'ds) ^)/^^, of rope, &c. : — Price \ " Extras 20 10 Repairs, Renewals, Wear and Tear. — The repairs of the engine 110 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Eeed. are estimated at 30^. a year, of which only one-half is charged to cultivation, the engine being otherwise employed. The repairs are greatest on the rope and the snatch-blocks. In 1864, 800 yards of fresh rope were obtained of excellent quality, and last spring 800 yards more. Work done, and Mode of Working. — During day of 10 hours, first time over with 3 tines, removals included, 7 acres ; with 5 tines 10 acres, 6 inches being about the greatest depth — " quite deep enough." The steam pressure averages 53 lbs. ; the removals take 6 horses 4 hours. Notwithstanding the continuous rain since harvest, we found during our walk across the farm that fully 180 acres had been broken up after the crop. A consider- able portion of this had grown turnip-seed, and the apparatus was engaged upon it all the harvest. We visited no farm on which the tackle had been so efficiently used during the pre- ceding 3 months. The land so treated was lying in a fme rough state, and, like the reedy stubble, presented a very clean face. The engine was working when we saw it, and the tackle, with the exception of the cultivator, which was weak and strained, was in a fair state. Mr. Barton uses two snatch-blocks and anchors on each headland, and was about the first to do so. By this means he avoids stoppages. He has also introduced two small wheels in the framework of the snatch-block to facilitate its transport. To prepare for roots, the wheat-stubble is broken up by steam in the autumn, then manured and ploughed with horses. The remaining operations depend upon the state of the weather. A plough is " much wanted," so that the engine may be at work when the cultivator cannot be used. Cost of Work. — This is estimated by Mr. Barton at 65. an acre, besides interest and depreciation ; of this sum rope costs \s., and "other repairs" Is. per acre. An average year's work is about 400 acres of tillage. The first rope was bad, and cost Is. GcZ. per acre. The manual and horse labour costs — £. s. d. Engine-man 03 0 Windlass-man 0 3 0 Ploughman 012 2 anchor-men 0 34 3 hoys '^ ^ ^ Water-cart, boy and horse 0 3 2 0 15 10 Oil 0 10 Coal .. ..086 15 4 N.B.— The men -work now by the day. The first 2 years they worked by the piece, 2s. (jd. an acre divided amongst them, but they could not agree. Consumption of coal, per day of 10 hours, 10 cwts. = 7s. did. Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. Ill Mr. Barton thinks that the possession of 300 acres of such land as he farms would justify a man in attempting the use of steam. The horses he sold gave him more than 100^. towards his apparatus. Something more might be realised by the sale of implements displaced. He uses carts for harvest, and does not need more than 8 to secure it. The corn is stacked in the field. The live stock kept the year round consists of 500 head of sheep and 75 to 100 dairy cows. No. 6. The Duke of Manchester, Kimbolton, Hunts, Sept. 14. This farm consists of 700 acres — 210 arable, 490 pasture. Our time was unfortunately too limited to allow of a visit to the farm, which is some distance from the steward's office. At Kimbolton station, 3 miles distant from the Castle, there was no vehicle to be had to convey us, so that the time that we should have passed upon the farm we were obliged to spend in walking to it. The staple is a loam, the subsoil a loose and soapy clay con- taining chalk-stones. It is under-drained 3 feet deep, from 8 to 11 yards apart. The depth of the drain now being cut is 4 feet. The high ridges are gradually melting into the furrows, and the fields are fast being worked on the flat. The land is such as requires three horses to plough 3|^ roods a day 6 inches deep. Great improvement has been made in the size and figure of fields. The farm was partly taken out from forest land twenty or thirty years ago. The fields were then from 3 to 12 acres. They now average 25 acres ; the hedgerows are being straightened and divested of timber. His Grace, in thus remodelling his own farm, affords an earnest of what he is willing to allow, and anxious to see effected around him. He is beloved by his tenantry for his exceptional liberality. Anything like stringent covenants are unheard of. The tenants are chosen for their repu- tation as farmers, and then trusted to farm as they please, his Grace being quite convinced, that " if they farm for themselves, they will farm for him." A chivalric attachment to their land- lord consequently runs through the tenantry, in proof of which stands prominently out the dashing regiment of volunteer cavalry in Avhich they are proud to find a place. This feeling is nourished by various acts of considerateness ; for instance, the Duke has allowed his steam-tackle to go out now and then to break up a stubborn lot of land for a tenant with rather stubborn prejudices, and generally the result has been to educe a voluntary application for the tackle the following year. The 5-course of cropping used to be adopted ; the roots consumed partly off, partly on the land, but has given way since the introduction of steam to a course of 8 shifts — roots, oats, beans, wheat, clover, oats, beans, wheat. Clover could not be grown before deep tillage by steam. None of the land can be trodden with sheep 112 Report on Sleam Culiivation. [Reed. in the winter ; 25 acres of clover and 25 acres of roots are taken year by year, the clover-hay being consumed with the roots. The supply of water is plentiful, and the water good. When the steam-share or tine has well shattered the subsoil to a depth of 15 inches from the surface, the drainage is perceptibly improved. The texture of the land, too, is so changed that roots can now be grown where no roots were grown before, and half the root-crop is now fed on the land up to Januarv 1st, after wliich the sheep are removed. The Apparatus, bought in April, 1859, from Mr. Smith, consists of the two cultivators, windlass, rope, &c., price 200/., to which has been added a home-made 7-tine cultivator ; the previous engine of 7-horse power, bought in 1851, was exchanged 1863 for the present 10-horse power double-cylinder engine, valued at 300/., and made by Clayton and Shuttleworth, who allowed 50/. for the old one. The engine is employed nine months in the year thrashing, grinding, and sawing timber for the estate. Repairs, Reneivals, Wear and Tear. — The original rope, of 1400 yards, has been supplemented by 1000 yards ; 800 yards have been used up, and 1600 yards are therefore left, which are calculated to last two years longer. The old anchors and porters have been replaced by new and improved ones. The farm-bailifF, Mr. Wallis, estimates these expenses at 1/. per working day. He considers the repairs are less than in doing the same work with horses. A smith employed on the premises does the repairs. The breakages are principally caused by the tree-roots. Work done, and Mode of doing it. — The first operation, 5 acres per day, 12 inches deep; the second, 8 acres, 8 inches deep, removals being included in both cases. The following Table shows the number of days' work in each year. The average work per day is 6 acres : — • Year. D.ivs. Acres. 1859 ;]L .. .. 186 18G0 45 .. .. 270 1861 57 .. .. 342 1862 59 .. .. 345 1863 (new eiy'iiij) .. .. 47 .... 282 1864 47 .. .. 282 1865 56 .. .. 336 N.B. — A much larger amount of work would have been done had the npiiaratus comprised a plough, which is "much wanted." Cost of Work. — Formerly the Avork used to done by the day. Piece-work is esteemed much better. His Grace finds coal, Beed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 113 water, horses for removal and one for water-cart. The work is let to the engine-driver (who was formerly a team-drive.), the windlass-man, and the ploughman, who are paid os. an acre first time over, 2^. the second time over. The men find all manual labour, even for removals. In harvest-time they receive Is. extra. The general rate of wages in the district is from II5. to 125. The coal used, " Derby Hards," price IC5. a ton home ; con- sumption, 10 cwts. per day of 10 hours. These items thrown together shows the cost of a day's work to be — £. s. d. 6 J acres at 2s. 6r/. (average) 0 16 3 Boy, horses, water-cart 0 5 0. Coal, 10 cwts 0 8 0 Oil 0 0 9 Wear and tear and interest 10 0 2 10 0 The last item Mr. Wallis, in a subsequent communication, " con- siders excessive," resting his opinion in part on the fact that the eng-ine does three times as much of other work as of culti- vating. The horses are reduced by two. Six are now kept for the farm (two to 70 acres) and six for the estate. Those now re- maining have much easier work. Eight of the number are mares, which produce four or five foals ; they are turned off at foaling-time, and taken up for harvest. In comparing horse-labour with steam in the case of deep work, where many horses have to work together, there is no doubt about the advantage of the latter. The Marquess of Tweeddale's great plough, worked with twelve horses, got over about half an acre a day. The 7-horse pov\fer engine did 3 acres at the same depth with 50 to 60 lbs. steam-pressure. Mr. Wallis considers that farms of 400 acres would pay for steam-tackle. His experience at Kimbolton shows that not only is the yield of corn increased 4 bushels per acre, but that its market value is increased 2.?. a quarter. The staple is deeper and better mixed with subsoil, and produces a straw stout and upstanding. The root-crops are also better. Work is not only done with greater dispatch, but with greater certainty. It was once difficult to say when four teams would finish a 20-acre field ; but with steam the time of finishing can be stated within an hour. All correlative work is quickened, and the men had rather work with the tackle than with horses. The objections urged against the use of steam in this neigh- bourhood are mainly four in number : 1st, outlay of capital ; 2nd, the impossibility of reducing the number of horses ; 3rd, VOL. III. — S. S. I 114 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Eeed. the smallncss of enclosures ; and 4tli, the abundance of timber. As to the third and fourth objections, we refer to the report of Mr. Prout's estate improvements, which show the gain that woukl result to the landlord were he able and willing to remove the obstacles that now impede the use of the steam-plough. The second objection arises, in our opinion, out of an erroneous mode of looking at the question, as we have shown elsewhere. No. 7. Mr. George Armstrong, Graffham, St. Neots, Sep- tember 14. This farm, occupied by a spirited young man, come of a race of practical farmers, lies a few miles from Kimbolton, and is a portion of the Duke of Manchester's estate. It consists of two homesteads and 750 acres, 170 acres being grass. Mr. Armstrong has held it fourteen years. The soil may be termed a hungry clay on a clay subsoil, difficult and expensive to work, and enough to ruin any man who did not employ steam. The farm extends over an undu- lating hilly district, the buildings being at one corner of it. The hedges are low, divested of timber ; and the fields, well supplied with good pond-water for the engine, have been enlarged for steam, and now vary from 12 to 50 acres. The land is under-drained 3 feet deep, the drains being from 5 to 8 yards apart. The 4-course system cropping prevailing before the introduction of steam — namely, 1, dead fallow ; 2, barley ; 3, seeds or beans ; 4, wheat — has given way to a 5-course, barley being introduced after wheat, and roots substituted for dead fallow. The yield by this means is very much increased. The yield of wheat is now from 4|^ to 5 quarters, and roots can be fed on land which aforetime would not produce them. The land used to support 250 ewes ; we found there 700 sheep ; the stock of sheep, the year round, is 500. In place of 25 horses, there are now 16, or 2 to 72 acres, which is still a somewhat high proportion. But four of these are mares breeding every year ; and all are kept fresher and better at less cost. They used to have 1 peck of corn a day : " From May to September this year they had no corn at all." It may be affirmed that half the corn- bill for the remaining sixteen is saved. Carts are used in harvest. Mr. Armstrong feels assured that he could not have stood his ground on this farm without steam. We were very much pleased with the appearance of the farm. The abandonment of dead fallow, and the quick succession of crops, which might have favoured weeds, has not been allowed to do so. The Ajyjiaratns was bought of Mr. Smith in 1858. It consists of one 3 and one 5-tined cultivator, 1400 yards of rope, windlass, porters, extras, &C., 220/. ; an engine of 8-horse power, double cylinder, manufactured by Clayton and Shuttleworth, 250/. The Work done^ and Mode oficorking, — First time oA-er from Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 115 4 to G inches deep, including removals, about (5 acres ; and 8 acres the second time over, the same depth. About 200 acres of ground are broken up every year, and much of it is twice done. The apparatus is almost exclusively used in the autumn. Mr. Armstrong does not care about it before. " The moment after the corn is off we begin ; work all harvest from 5 o'clock till 8 P.M." Eighty acres were done since harvest, in spite of wet. The steam-pressure is seldom above 70 lbs. The mode of preparing for roots is as follows : the wheat-stubble having been manured is broken up at two operations in autumn, and in spring it is stirred once or twice. If Mr. King's experience were available here, one autumn operation would suffice. Cost of WorTi. £ s d Manual and horse labour per clay : — - . • Engine-driver 0 3 0 5 men, 2s 0 10 0 1 boy and horse 0 5 0 0 18 0 Coal 0 8 3 Oil 0 10 Total 1 7 3 = 3s. 103 (Z. per aero. N.B. — 3'^. an hour is paid for all hours beyond 101. Mr. Armstrong's estimate of the cost of cultivating an acre stands thus, interest being charged on three-fifths of the cost of the engine, and on all the tackle, and 400 acres being taken as a year's work : — s. d. Depreciation 10 per cent, on 3707. divided over 400 acres .. 1 10 Interest 5 per cent Oil Eepairs of engine and apparatus (30/.) 16 Maintenance of rope 18 5 11 Labour, coals, and oil 3 10 J Total cost per acre 9 9| Five ropes have been bought in all, the two first iron, the rest steel ; the last, bought in 1866, is expected to last till 1868. Breakages mostly occur in snatch-blocks. The tackle is in a good state. It has been let out, but has been so badly tieated that it is never to go again off the farm. The second year about 300 acres of contract-work was done, the two operations for II. an acre. The price was then raised to 1/. 10s. Mr. Topham, a near relative to Mr. Armstrong, occupying an I 2 116 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Eeed. adjoining' farm cultivated by steam, informed us that lie worked by tlie piece, and paid 2s. Qtd. per acre for 3-tine, and Is. Qd. for tlie 5-tine scarifier, including all expense incurred in re- jnovals, save the horse-power required. The coal used is termed " Hucknal Hard," price 14s. per ton at home ; consumption, 12 cwts. per day of 10^- hours. No. 8. Mr. Cranfield, Buckden, Hunts, September 17th, This fine farm of 1000 acres has not long been rescued by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners from the dominion of wood, scrub, and weed. Under their hands it was drained 4 feet deep 10 yards apart, bisected by a good main road, laid out in square fields, a new house and homesteads were built, and all was placed in the keeping of a spirited and intelligent man. The property then passed into the possession of the Bishop of Peter- borough. Fully 600 acres of the land is stiff and loamy — what is termed "woodland," with clay subsoil, intermixed with chalk stones. Three hoi'ses plough an acre, 6 inches deep, in 10 hours. The remaining 250 acres are easily ploughed with a pair of horses. The water is good. Part of the land drains into a large reservoir, and 5 wells have been sunk to supplement the natural pond-supply. Mr. Cranfield, although he sees no benefit from Steam Cultivation to drainage, confesses that he grows roots on land that never produced them formerly, and feeds them off too. He grows 150 acres of roots, and has never lost a crop on this stiff land since he has employed steam. That double the corn is grown, compared with the produce of the same area a few years ago, is not a result that can be attributed entirely to steam — the large head of stock, averaging 1000 sheep and 200 beasts, has something to do with it — and the expenditure of about 3000/, per annum in cake, corn, and artificial manure, is not an item that can be omitted from the calculation. The work on this farm is said to be never in arrear, " nothing is left to be done in the spring." The 4-course system of cropping' is generally observed in the district. Mr. Cranfield is impatient of this restriction, it being his opinion that those who have enterprise to farm up to the spirit of the time, making large outlay in artificial manures, feeding stuffs, and machinery, should farm with unshackled hands. It is not to be supposed, he says, that a man will lay down money in this manner if he is pre- vented from doing- as he likes. " One hundred acres of my land is in roots, one hundred and sixty in seeds, and the rest is corn. Putting what I do into the land I must and will farm as I please." He considers that a yearly tenancy and the 4-course system are antagonistic to steam culture. If the land becomes too strong to grow crops that will stand, some chanire of rotation must be introduced to tame it. Where a head Eeed.] licjjort on Steam Cultivation. 117 of stock as large as that of Mr. Cranfield is kept, the land must be in such a high condition as to render 2 white straws in succession the only safe course to be followed. The size of the farm was at first 570 acres ; horses were kept ; on the addition of the steam tackle 175 acres were bought, and still another 50 acres were subsequently put to the farm without adding to the horse power. A little later 201 acres were united to the fore- going, and 4 horses more were found necessary. ]Mr. Cranfield notes no difference in feeding or in work, does a great deal of scuffling with horses, which is heavy work. Harvest, he says, he could get through with 20 horses — he carries his crops on carts. The Apparatus was bought of Mr. Smith, in 1858, at the Chester Meeting. The engine of 10-horse power, double cylinder, portable, was made by Batlin, and bought in 1861. The first engine of 8-horse power was worked 3 years, and with the addition of 100/. was then exchanged for the present one. The culti- vator, windlass, rope, and porters, were bought second-hand for IGO/. Repairs, Renewals, Wear and Tear. — There have been 4 ropes. The first 2 were defective. The 4th is the best, it has lasted 2 seasons. The engine was repaired in March last, the tubes only were drawn, and the boiler patched. The cost is about 10/. a year, the half of which must be debited to thrashing, grinding, &c. The total wear and tear, exclusive of interest, upon the entire apparatus, is 4^. Qd. per acre. Work done and- Mode of doing it. — The first operation, 8 to 9 inches deep, removals included, 6 acres per day. About 230 acres (1st operation) are broken up by steam every year. This work is done in and after harvest. The preparation for roots is as follows : — the stubbles, having been manured, are broken up at one operation, 8 to 9 inches deep, in the autumn. When spring comes horses do the cross cultivation. The roots are generally grown with 2J cwts. of superphosphate and 1 of guano, but of no dung. The drill is used to put in wheat after beans, and barley after roots, Mr, Cranfield does not play with his appa- vatus. He uses it to break the neck of his work. He contents himself with doing merely the first operation, and leaves the second to be done by horses, under the strong conviction that they do this work much cheaper. The cross cultivation is inva- riably done by horse power. To v.ork the farm as he now does he would require 40 horses if unaided by steam. Were one-fourth of the farm a dead fallow every year, he would keep fewer horses ; but the fact is that he does much more than he did. The drill (Smith's) works admirably. lis Report on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. Cost of Worh Manual and liorse laLour : — £. s. d. 1 engine-mau 0 2 10 Plougliman 0 2 4 4 auclior-men 0 8 0 1 boy and horse 0 5 0 0 18 2 Coal 0 13 0 Oil 0 2 0 1 13 2 N.B,— The daily wage iu the neighbourhood is Is. 10c?. Coal — " Ilucknal Hard," ICs. per ton ; consumption, 16 cwts. i^er day of 10 hours. He considers that lie lias quite enougli land to employ a set of tackle fully. Were he to hire another farm he should certainly purchase another set. He thinks 400 acres of arable ^and suffi- cient to justify such a purchase. We found the tackle at work. Like the entire farm, it gave indications of being in careful hands. No. 9. Mr. E. Roberts, Berden Hall, near Bishop Stortford, Essex, September 19, 1866. This is again a good farm, on which steam cultivation appears to advantage. Things are well done, and farming is carried on for profit and to profit. In all there are 750 acres, 70 acres being pasture. Of the arable por- tion, 500 acres are such that 3 horses Avill barely plough an acre 5 inches deep. The land rests on the chalk. Over a large portion of this is stretched a layer of blue and white clay, and over this, with various depth and incline, lies a loamy staple, more or less partaking of the character of the stiff subsoil. This subsoil, being retentive of water, requires drainage, and has been drained to a depth of oO inches, the drains being 17 to 18 feet apart. Mr. Roberts considers that the results of steam are very perceptible in improved drainage. One part of the farm, about 250 acres, called the Potash Farm, belongs to Mr. Robert Gos- ling, well known in the financial world. Five hundred acres, called the Hall Farm, belong to Christ's Hospital. Mr. Roberts entered into occupation in 1852 ; he has since reclaimed 80 acres of woodland, at the expense to the landlord of about 20/. per acre. The labour account amounts annually to llOOZ. ; the rent to 1000/. ; tithes nearly 200/. ; and rates about 150/. The heavy land is farmed thus : — wheat, oats or barley, seeds, wheat, beans. The favourite rotation for the heavy land used to be wheat and beans alternately, with an occasional plain fallow. Since Heed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 119 the steam-plough has been used the summer fallow has been abandoned. The Potash Farm, which is most of it light land, is cropped upon the 4-course system. Mr. Roberts states that he has been able to dispense with 8 horses ; the number now kept being 14, which is equal to 2 horses to 96 acres. These remaining horses have been lightly worked, kept in better condition, and at less expense. The farm labour is also more advanced, and kept to the season. When the wheat sowing is going on the steam-plough is stirring the land intended for green crops. The work is better done, and the soil lies drier during the winter, is ready early in spring for seeding, and is surer of producing a root-crop. Of the crops generally, he remarks that they are increased ; also that the use of improved machinery necessitates the employment of more manual labour, and that of a superior quality. The water supply is plentiful and good. The fields have been much enlarged : they are now from 10 to 120 acres. The example here set may induce neighbouring landlords to give some encouragement to steam cultivation, or at least to allow some fences to be grubbed up. The Apparatus was bought of Messrs. Fowler in the autumn of 1860. The engine Avas one of the first six made by Kitson and Hewetson of Leeds. It is of 10-horse power, double cylinder, traction. A 4-furrow plough, 7-tine cultivator, 800 yards of rope, anchors and rope-porters, completed the set, at a cost of 780/. Repairs, Renewals, TFearatid Tear. — Mr. Roberts kindly furnished us with the following ample details, by which it Avill be seen, that while the repairs have been heav}^, much of the outlay has been due to the substitution of improvements which have followed closely one upon another. £. s. d. 1860. — First outlay for engine, plon.2;h, anchor ropes,|__,-, „ „ and porters \ Carriage of ditto ., 21 2 Q Man to instruct my own people .. .. .. 6 0 0 780 2 6 1861.— 500 yards of rope 32 5 0 New plough 97 0 0 New clip-drum 26 10 0 Carriage of new plough and clip-driun gear .. 7 4 8 Men's time and expenses from Leeds .. .. 30 13 6 7 dozen shares 4 18 0 Slades, breasts, skifes, &c 3 18 0 202 9 2 120 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Eeed. £. s. d. 18C2. — Carriage of anchor 45G 200 yards of rope 23 2 0 Changing anchor for full-sized une 15 0 0 Sundries 580 47 15 0 ISGS.—Xew cultivator, with extras 8G 2 3 Carriage of ditto 4 6 2 Ditto of other irons 2 19 0 "Widening wheels and addi]ig steerage .. .. 25 10 0 Pair of plough wheels 700 50 j^ards headland rope 3 5 0 250 yards steel rope 25 5 0 New clip-drum 15 0 0 New steam-gauge 3 10 0 Sundry irons for engine and plough, and lahour) jo -m r- c r T '? l o ; > 4o 10 7 01 man from Leeds j 216 8 0 1864.— 500 yards steel rope 52 10 0 Press pulleys for clip-drum 5 0 0 New pump 4 00 Skifes, and other parts for plough 12 11 0 Labour by men from Leeds repairing pump and) 09 a n other breakages j "^"^ Carriage of irons 0 0 1 106 14 7 1865. — New axle to hind-wheels of engine 6 10 0 Sundries 7 66 Ash-pan to engine 326 Plough-irons 480 Sundries for engine 5 11 0 Shares and points 11 8 6 Labour from Leeds, about 5 0 0 43 6 6 Summary. £. s. f?. I860.— First outlay 780 2 6 1861 „ ■" 202 9 2 1862 „ 47 15 G 1863 „ 21G 8 0 1864 „ 106 14 7 1865 „ 43 6 6 1396 16 3 Edwakd Egberts, Jun. Work clone, and Mode of doing it. — Ploughing (including removals, which occupy half a day, and engage 2 extra horses), from 5 to 6 acres per day, 6 to 9 inches deep ; cultivating, 8 to 12 acres, 10 inches deep. Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 121 For roots, the stubble is broken up in the autumn, dung'ed in the frost, ploughed by hoises in the spring'. If the weather permits, the land is deeply crossed and recrossed by steam. It is horse-ploughed with a \ery shallow furrow, to form a fine seed-bed ; the turnips are then drilled on the flat, with 2 cwts. of superphosphate. Cost of Work. Manual and liorse labour : average day's wage, Is. 8c?. : — • £. 8. d. Engine-driver 0 1 10 .. Is, a daj' extra. Ploughman 0 1 10 .. Cc/, a day „ Anchor and 3 porter-boys . . . . 0 4 3 Boy, car^ and horse 0 5 0 0 12 11 Coal 0 12 9 Oil 0 10 16 8 N.B. — Coal, "Langley Hard" and "Portland," 17s. per ton, home; con- sumption per day of 10 hours, 15 cwts. We inspected the tackle, which was not working. The engine had just journeyed back from Leeds, where it had been repaired and renovated, with the plough and cultivator, at an expense of 200/., including 40/. for carriage to and from Leeds. Over the engine a light iron awning has been thrown, to protect the works and shield the driver from sun and rain. No. 10. Mr. John Prout, Blount's Farm, Sawbridgeworth, Herts, September 20. Mr. Prout, a gentleman practically con- versant with farming in Cornwall and Canada, has afforded on this farm a valuable exemplification of what may be done towards rapid land improvement, either by the owner of the land or by the tenant, if protected by covenants calculated to foster enterprise. The tenant whose capital is just sufficient to conduct the ordinary processes of cultivation, cannot hope to do what Mr. Prout has done, it is only where the occupier has larger powers than these, that we catch a glimpse of the revolu- tion which might be wrought on the agricultural surface of our island. Mr. J. A. Clarke, who inspected this farm in November, 1865, has given so good a record of his visit, that we cannot but avail ourselves of it. " In the autumn of 1861, Mr. John Prout purchased two farms near Sawbridgeworth, Herts. The land, comprising 450 acres of clay and strong loam upon a subsoil of drift clay and cre- taceous gravel, was undrained, except in parts by shallow thorn drains — extremely foul with root weeds, and so out of condition 122 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. that the farewell wheat-crop of one outgoing- tenant is declared not to have exceeded 12 to 16 bushels per acre. Drainage, of course, was the fundamental process in the amelioration " The two holdings in one ring-fence numbered no fewer than 51 inclosures, averaging not quite i) acres each ; and what with meandering watercourses, and straggling fences of a wildly picturesque description, those innumerable boundaries were awkward for cultivation, wasteful of ground, injurious to cropping, and costly to keep in repair. By exchanges of plots with neigh- bouring owners, the outside fence was made rectilinear and symmetrical ; the bill, mattock, and spade, attacked the formid- able net-work of internal (' infernal ' our note-book seems to have written it) hedges ; the axe brought down the pride of scattered timber ; and the spade, pick, and earth-cart straightened watercourses, filled up old channels, and excavated clean-cut, direct, deep outfalls instead ; while five straight new roads were struck across the old medley of inclosures, dividing the whole farm into seven spacious plots of a generally quadrilateral figure. The work is now complete ; and Mr. Prout having kindly opened his bailiff's books to our inspection, Ave are enabled to state how much has been the cost of the whole. Of bushy hedge-row, a length of 514 chains (that is, nearly 6^ miles) was stocked, and the ditches alongside levelled in for an outlay of 155/. 12^. Now, observe how immediate is the profit to Mr. Prout as owner of the soil. The abolished fences having averaged 7 yards in breadth (measuring between the extreme limits of the plough on both sides), an addition has been made to the estate of no less than 16 acres, now lying in strips in all directions across the large fields, open to every operation of good tillage and manur- ing. The cost price of the land in 1861 was 35/. per acre, every item of expense included; and therefore the 16 acres gained represent a value of 560/. The hedge-roots were given to the labourers ; the brushwood was either buried in drains or used for burning ; but the 920 trees, consisting of pollards and inferior timber, came in for gates, gateposts, and other stuff, estimated as worth altogether about 42/. Here, then, we have a present return of no less than 602/. for an expenditure of 155/. 12.'?. during four years. . . . " This reclamation of waste ground by the simple demolition of useless fences, forms a striking example of safe and quick profit upon an easy outlay, sure to be imitated (one would think) over tens of thousands of acres. The earthwork of filling up old watercourses, cutting 130 chains' length of new ones, and levelling in a few moats, ponds, and waste places, cost 155/. 12^., reckoning 8s. per day for a pair of horses engaged in carting. The area of ground thus acquired is about 2^ acres, which, at Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 123 35?. an acre, leaves an outlay of 68?. 3*-. as the cost of the improved outfalls for the drainag^e of the whole farm. . . . The total outlay in four years was oil?. 5*-., and the return — l%h acres of land at o5?. — 647?. lO^'. ; add the wood, 42?., making a total of 689?. 10s. The expense of the new grass headland paths for the steam-ploughing engines does not materially alter these figures, for while 62 chains' length of new grass road bas been laid down, 74 chains' length of old road has been ploughed up and added to the arable ground. " This farm, once so foul, has been brought in four years into the cleanly condition of a well-kept garden, and during the last two years the whole has been ploughed and subsoiled 14 to 16 inches deep. When we visited it last November, the whole of this year's wheat seeding (223 acres) was finished, all the land for spring corn lay ready ploughed, and the land for roots was in the same forward state, requiring only the harrow and drill when sowing time should come, so that no heavy tillage of any description remained to be done until after the present harvest; and the perplexity of the manager was not, 'How shall I be able to get through the spring and summer work due to a large arable clay farm?' but, 'What new labour can I find to employ my men throughout the winter and spring ? ' The former occupiers are reported to have kept a score of horses at work in tilling but 5 inches deep. IMr. Prout has done all his work Avith 10 horses and a 14-horse-power Fowler engine ; and having entirely completed the reclamation, his intention is to reduce his force of horse-flesh to only five good animals, which will suffice to cart the corn into ricks beside the field roads ; they can manage this, because 8 horses led the last harvest up to the homestead. The amazing reduction in tillage expenditure from having a thoroughly clean farm, further appears from the fact that, in future, the engine, too, will have an easy time of it, as all its work will occupy only about a couple of months during the entire year. " That Mr. Prout has not spent a fortune in eradicating weeds and breaking up the soil to its present great depth of staple, is proved by the labour-book. The cost of hand-labour, including the wages of the steam-plough hands, the labour of stocking hedges, and of all the drainage, was for the first year 726?., for the second 1142?., the next 1020?., and for 1865 up to the present time, 880?. The ordinary expense of 10 horses need not be stated in figures ; but it is necessary to say what was the total cost of working the steam-plough. The hand-labour is included in the above amounts ; the water-cart horse Avas one of the ten, and is now one of the five. The coals, at 16s. to 17s. per ton, cost in 1861-2, 114?. ; in 1863, SQL ; in 1864-5, 165?. : altogether, 365?. Oil, 6cc., cost 34?. in the 4 years. Repairs 124 Report on Steam CuUivation. [Reed. and the addition of improvements in the maehinery cost 180^. in the 4 years. Interest and depreciation on 994^., the prime cost of the apparatus, inclusive of rope, saj at 12^ per cent, per annum, came to 47(3?. in the 4 years. Then we have the item of wire-rope worn out. The original 800 yards cost 84/. ; 450 yards, added in two years' time, cost 47?. 5s. ; and from personal inspection of this 1250 yards, we estimate the present value at one-third, or 43/. 155. ; thus leaving 87/. lO.s. as the total expense of rope consumed during the 4 years. The entire outlay for steam work then (besides the manual labour already included in the general account) is 1142/. 10s. in the 4 years. " Ten horses, in place of the engine, would have cost about the same ; but they would have made up only the old force of 20 horses, that kept the staple shallow and the crops foul. Twenty horses, in lieu of the engine, would have cost double the money ; but even if they could have cleaned the farm, it was utterly beyond their ability to deepen the 5-inch staple to treble its depth, and accomplish a light crumbly style of tillage, such as now enables the corn to be sown early in a pulverulent seed-bed, and green crops to grow where dead fallow reigned before. " That the steam-tillage has developed inherent fertility in the soil, appears from the fact that almost all the white-straw crop of 1864, and most of the roots too, together with 536 quarters of wheat, and about 300 tons of the straw of 1863, were sold off the farm. The sale took place by public auction; and the excellent character of the yield may be judged of from the prices made. Thus 147 acres of wheat, with the straw as staked out upon the land, sold for an average of 9/. Is. per acre ; 73 acres of barley, with the straw, sold for an average of 11. 19^. per acre ; and 29 acres of oats sold for an average of 6/. lis. per acre. " It is certainly not high manuring that has produced the good crops ; for Mr. Prout has not applied more than 640/. worth of any purchased manure during the whole four years. And that a consumption of sheep and cattle food has had little share in the business, is evident from the circumstance that, in 1863, Mr. Prout fattened only 58 oxen ; in 1864 he kept only a single cow ; and he never has farmed until the present season either a sheep or pig. The horses kept numbered but eight, as two of the ten previously stated to have been employed represent the average of teams hired. The head of stock on the farms in November con- sisted of 14 bullocks feeding in barns and houses, 1 cow and calf, and 8 horses, " Dr. Voelcker's analysis shows the soil to possess a practically inexhaustible fund of fertility, though apparently of very ordinary quality, like vast areas of similar land in Great Britain; and Mr. Prout might probably jiursue with advantage a garden Reed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 125 management almost independent of rotations, live-stock, and manuring. But his intended husl)andry will prudently embrace the sheep-feeding of a portion of the root-crop, with probably a purchase or stable-manure from London in return lor straw sold oF. This is one of the most surprising examples yet seen of the virtue of deep steam-tillage on a heavy soil, hitherto suf- fered to lie semi-utilised under a miserable, yet costly system of shallow culture by draft animals. But the immediate lesson from the case is the certainty of profit to landowners from clear- ing away those vermin-filled banks and bird-infestcnl scrub fences, which are now choking up thousands of fine farms, and obstructing the progress of the fructifying steam-drawn share," To this account, which our observations and enquiries completely confirm, there are a iew facts to add. The land is so stiff as to require three horses to plough 1 acre 5 inches deep. It is drained 3J feet deep, 10 to 11 yards apart, and is all laid flat. The hedgerows are all cleared away, and the open space is divided into blocks by five engine-roads — a main centre-road of gravel and four grass-roads — from which every bit of land can be cul- tivated. The cost of this clearance is seen from Mr. Clarke's sketch. The supply of water is mainly from two wells : other wells have been sunk at different points along the road, for the supply of the engine. The water leaves a chalky deposit, and necessitates the cleaning of the engine every fourteen days. It is difficult to say anything respecting the former course of hus- bandry, save that it brought but little grist to the mill. The present rotation of crops is trefoil fed off, oats, wheat, fallow (tares), wheat. This rotation has been followed since 1801, without manure, not even a flock of sheep, yet with increasing crops. All the land is under crop, be it observed, except a little where seeds grow ; the crops, roots, hay and all, straw included, are sold off. The stock is confined to eight horses and a few pigs. That the crops appear to increase is due to the fact that every fresh inch downwards opens to the penetratii:g rootlets fresh sources of fertility. This is a case of a grateful subsoil, whose resources have never before been drawn upon. At the last sale, which occurred immediately before harvest, 223 acres of wheat, 124 of barley, and 60 of oats had been sold as they stood for 3400/., to be harvested at the cost of the purchaser. The Apparatus was bought, October, 1861, of Messrs. Fowler. The engine, made by Kitson and Hewetson, is of 14-liorse power, double cylinder, traction, and is used also to thrash ; one 4-furrow plough, a 2-furrow subsoil plough, 7-tine cultivator, 800 yards of rope, a self-moving anchor, 20 rope-porters, and water-cart ; price lOGo?. Repairs, Renewals, Wear and Tear. — Rope, since 18G1, 780 126 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. yards ; cost of rope per annum, 22/. The heaviest repairs are on the 2 clip-drums. No exact account of repairs coald be given ; but we Avere led to believe that the whole annual expense, over a period of eight years, would not be more than 501. Work done, and Mode of doing it. — The following Table will give some idea of the amount of work done in 1864 and 1865. Since that time no account has been kept. Mr. Prout has given us a separate account for 1865, by which it is apparent that the result of 120 days' work is 879 acres done : — 18G4 and 1865. aass of Work. Width of Implement. Number of Acres. Depth in Inches. Days at AVorlt. Quantity per Day. Worldng Expenses each Day. Costs per Acre. ft. in. A. i:. r. £.■ s. d. £. s. 0.. Subsolling 1 10 280 U 15 82 3 2 3 1 14 0 0 9 8 Digging.. .. 2 6 193 10 11 38 5 0 12 1 14 0 0 6 8^ Ploughing .. 3 4 712 8 9 100 7 0 19 1 14 0 0 4 9i Cultivating .. 6 0 581 177.5 8 10 47 2G7 12 1 17 1 14 0 0 2 9 It is a noticeable fact that the proportion of work is less year by year as the farm advances toward a higher state of cultiva- tion. Thus the tackle was standing idle from Nov. 16, 1865, till August, 1866. All was in corn; there was nothing +0 do. One operation now, where there are no weeds, and the land is mellow, suffices to produce a better seed-bed than double the labour would have produced in 1861. In preparation for roots, the wheat-stubbles are broken up with plough and subsoiler from 12 to 14 inches, the top furrow being turned down 7 inches, the tines running down 7 inches lower, and stirring, but not invert- ing the bottom. This operation, which takes from 80 to 85 lbs. steam pressure, and is done at the rate of oj acres per day, is completed in November. In April this land is crossed with a cultivator to a depth of 10 inches, a harrow being attached. Cost of Worh Manual and horse labour : — Engine-driver 0 Plougliman Twage and allowance) .. .. 0 Ancliorman (wage and allowance) . . . . 0 Three porter-boys 0 Man and horse for water-cart 0 Expenses per Day. £. S. d. Coals and oil 0 15 1 14 0 i^ veragc daily wage, 2s. '^ N.B, — Extra pay to ploughman and anchorman, 2(?, an acre when d-furrow Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 127 ploughing, making their wages up to 3s. 2d. per day ; Id. an acre when cul- tivating; 4id. an acre when subsoiling. Coal, "Staveley Hard," 20s. per ton, home ; consumption, 12 cwts. per day. The present horse power amounts to 8, this being just 2 horses to 100 acres. Three of these are to be dispensed Avith ; but as the requirements of harvest, when they are felt, will neces- sitate G to make two sets, one must be bought just before it is wanted. The engine-driver is a competent mechanic from Messrs. Fowler's Works, who can shoe horses, for which object a smith's shop has been built. It is scarcely necessary to state that the course here pursued is exceptional, and must soon come to an end. Manure will soon be needed. When this time comes, Mr. Prout is prepared to maintain a flock of sheep, to grow plenty of roots for them, and to feed the roots off upon the land, heavy as it is. No. 11. Mr. Thurlow, Baynard's Park, Horsham, Sussex. This gentleman has recently purchased this beautifully Avooded estate, consisting of 2000 acres. A small portion of it has been let in small farms of ] 50 and 200 acres ; the, remainder, 1400 acres, are in the owner's own hands. Of this portion 900 acres are arable. The land had been much mismanaged, and was in an exceedingly poor and foul state. For picturesque beauty, nothing could be better than spreading tree, sprawling tangled hedgerow, and deeply-rutted lanes ; but for developing the wealth of the nation, this neighbourhood is sadly in arrear. A little light has been let into it lately by the construction of a railway which cuts through, and has a station on the estate, and looks astonishingly at variance with the water-logged soil, the rushes, and other evidences of England a hundred years ago; The sunlight is dealt out to the land through masses of Avood. It is intended that the fields, Avhich were of 3, 4, and 5 acres, should average 30 acres. In prosecuting this Avork, about 600 acres haA'e been reclaimed and rendered productive. The larger portion of the farm is heavy land ; and though a portion of it is on the green sandstone formation, 450 acres are so stiff as to require the work of four horses to turn half an acre a day 6 inches deep. Part only of the requisite drainage is done, varying in depth from 4 to 7 feet deep, and from 1 to 2 rods apart. The benefit of deeply breaking up drained land cannot be disputed. The 4-course system of husbandry is followed ; dead falloAvs are abandoned. Steam has substituted for dead falloAV, barley, seeds, wheat ; roots, barley or oats ; seeds, beans, or peas ; and Avheat. Drainage and deep culture have rendered much of the land capable of carrying sheep. A flock of Southdown CAves, selected from Rigdens and other good breeders, is being formed. Nothing but the boldest of measures will effect the cure here needed. Half-measures and 128 Fepoit on Steam Cultivation. [Eeed. timid counsels would, under such circumstances, be fatal to success ; while a large expenditure, if directed with vigilance and judgment, must give large results. The working horses charged to the farm number 16, or 2 to 112 acres. When the same amount of land was divided amongst several tenants, they ] 4 Cost of other tackle 250 0 0 3G1 13 4 Interest on 361Z. 13s. 4f/. at 5 per cent., 18/. Is. 9<^/., or, divided among 20 days, 16s. \d. per day. The account would then stand thus : — £. s. d. Daily working expenses 1 15 9 Wear and tear at 7s. per acre, twice cultivated.. 1 15 0 Interest at 5 per cent. 0 18 1 4 8 10 Or 17s. D(?. per acre, twice cultivated. 134 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Keed. No. 14. Mr. Chambers, Colkirk, Fakenbam, Norfolk, Sep- tember lltb. Arriving in the midst of heavy rain we were unable to make any acquaintance with tbe farm. Our visit was prompted chiefly by an expectation of seeing a set of tackle, the parts of which had either been invented by Mr. Chambers or adapted from other systems. In 1860 he adopted the round- about system of working. The Engine, single cylinder, 8-horse power, is of Messrs. Garrett's manufacture. The rope, 1400 yards, was bad, and has just been increased by 700 yards. The Windlass is home-made. Different from most windlasses, the speed can be checked without checking the engine. The Ploxujh is made by himself, mainly in wood, on the model of Howard's old balance 3-furrow plough, and is said to work well. The Cultivator is a converted " Bentall," with a seat for steers- man on the hales, and a turning bow like that described as used by Mr. Cooper. It has 5 legs armed with shares or points, with 2 cutting-wheels in front. A square harrow carrying 7 feet, with a seat for the rider, is also a feature. This iinplement by working at speed does its duty well, and gets over about 15 acres a day. Of Work done Mr. Chambers has no statistics. His culti- vator breaks up from 6 to 7 acres ; his plough ploughs from 5 to fj acres a day. £. s. d. Labour and water-carting come to 0 14 0 Coals 5s. 4fZ., oil 8cZ. .'J 0 6 0 Interest on capital, wear and tear 0 12 6 Eemovals 0 30 Total cost per day ... 1 15 6 s. d. s. d. 5 acres jioviglied, costs 4 0 per acre, or with interest, &c. 7 1 6 „ „ 3 4 „ „ 5 11 7 „ „ 2 10 „ „ 5 1 8 „ „ 2 6 „ „ 4 5 The outlay has, of course, been small upon the apparatus, and the engine has not sufficient power. The farm consists of 597 acres of arable land and 110 acres of pasture. Part of the arable has been recently broken up from grass, and so cropped as to require more than the average amount of horse labour. 20 horses are now kept; and as a reaper is kept at work, and the corn is carted to the homestead, Mr. Chambers considers that he requires that number in harvest with a hilly farm, and, perhaps, a wet season. Steam has brought no general increase to the turnip-crop, but much of the land had been previously subsoil-ploughed, and some acres even trench- ploughed by horses previously. The engine thrashes, grinds, IkEED.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 135 and cuts chaff for about 100 head of stock. The steam plough did special service last autumn by getting in 150 acres of wheat in good time. The number of horses kept appeared to us excessive, but in fairness we state the reasons alleged lor retaining them. No. 15. Mr. Alfred S. Ruston, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, Sept. 12. This holding consists of six farms of all sorts of soil, from a strong clay to a blowing dust, and what is termed a hot dust. In extent it comprises 9^0 acres, 800 being arable. For the most part the farm lies in " high land " and " low land." The low is fen-land. The steam-power is generally used on the high — that is to say, on about 160 acres, where the following system of cropping is observed : 1, barley ; 2, beans ; 3, wheat. The wheat-stubble here is broken up by steam in the autumn, worked again in the spring, after which barley is sown. The bean-land is broken up by steam and cleaned for wheat. The established rule is to steam three times in three years, and to plough with horses once. On some of the fen-lands steam is used every five years. The usual course of husbandry is as follows : — 1, fallow ; 2, oats ; 3, wheat ; 4, seeds ; 5, wheat. The object for which Mr. Ruston bought the tackle is fully accomplished. This object is, on his own high lands, to get a crop every year, a fallow being formerly given every fifth year, and he expects by his present mode of management to keep his land as clean as when fallowed once in five years. The results of the two first years defrayed the whole cost of the apparatus ; and now the land is as clean as it would have been under the old horse-system. A great deal of use of the apparatus has been made on the fen-land when nothing could be done on the high lands. Deep cultivation is here an invaluable process by mixing the clay and gravelly subsoil with the staple. Mr. Ruston has derived much advantage from turning up the soil with a plough purposely made for the work to a depth of 15 or 16 inches. This is only safe when the couch-grass is abolished. We found the finishing-stroke being given to the harvest. The crops generally fine. Mr. Ruston spoke of largely-increased yields since steam had been employed — fully one quarter an acre of barley and wheat. He has felt the advantage of despatch — steam has thus saved his barley-crop more than once : its use has frequently given him the benefit of the difference between putting the seed in well and badly. His horse-power was 26 ; it is now 20 — 2 horses to 80 acres. Mr. Ruston testifies also to the increased efficiency of the drainage effected by the intro- duction of steam. This we found to be no fancy ; for, notwith- standing the heavy and continuous rainfall, the fields felt firm and dry under foot. On some of his own land he takes corn- 136 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Beed. crops year by year successively, where formerly a system of bare fallow prevailed. No special preparation has been made for steam-cultivation save the enlargement of the fields, which were and still are small. The supply of water is convenient and plentiful : in quality it is hard, which is not usual with pond- water. One boy, sometimes with, sometimes without, a horse, suffices to convey it to the engine. The land in the neighbour- hood is for the most part in the hands of men who have taken no steps to encourage the use of steam-power. The Apparatus was bought November, 1862, of Messrs. Howard. It consists of an Engine, 10-liorse power, single cylinder, made by Enston of j £. s. d. Lincoln, which had been in use 3 or 4 years for general I ..;.-, ^ ^ farm-work. It is not let out, but thrashes from 500 to 600 1 acres of corn a-year, besides grinding, and tillage work, valuej 1 set of implements, windlass and rope (IGOO yards) , . . . 230 0 0 Deep plough 60 0 0 Side-harrow 3 10 0 Carriage and man to start the tackle 20 0 0 463 10 0 Repairs, Renewals, Wear and Tear. — The breakages have mostly arisen from the carelessness of boys. These, with wear and tear, have been very slight — principally in porters, wheels, and snatch-blocks, of which no exact account could be rendered. One rope has done all, and is now getting weak. Work done. — In spring, 7 acres a day of 10 hours ; in autumn, 8, 9, and 10 acres. Deep-ploughing, 2^ to 3 acres. Acres deeply I'loughed. Cultivated. 1862 84 1863 71 .. .. 247 1864 14 .. .. 219 1865 20 .. .. 338 1866 to Sept. 12 115 189 919 X.B. — Picmovals are ^laid for by the hour. They occupy from a half to a whole day ; 10 horses concerned in the removal. Cost of work. — Mujiual labour, 5 men and 4 boys : when work- ing by the day the ordinary payment is received, with \s. ^d. extra for engine-man, windlass-man, and ploughman ; when by the piece, they have 2s. (kl. per acre — working till 7 or 8 o'clock in the autumn. £. s. d. 7 acres at 2s. 6^7 0 17 C Coal — " Portland" and " Brindlcy Hards," 15s. per ton,) ^ _ „ home; ^ ton per dav ) Oil " 0 10 Total per day 16 0 Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 137 No, 16. Mr. F. Battcock, Hemingford, St, Ives, Hunts, Sept. 13tli, We found everything about Mr. Battcock indica- tive of sound sense and good practical farming. As in some other cases, so with him, steam is no plaything. If it could not be used profitably, it would soon be abandoned. Two farms united — one, Capt. Douglas's ; the other the property of the Rev. J. Linton — make an occupation of 970 acres. Of arable land there are 700 acres. The two farms extend 3 miles from end to end. One consists of 450 acres of heavy land, with blue clay subsoil, where 3 horses find ploughing 3 roods a day 6 inches deep to be stiff work ; the other consists of 450 acres of pair-horse land on a subsoil of gravel and yellow clay. The heavy land is drained 3 or 4 feet deep, the drains being from 10 to 11 yards apart. The fields are of a good size — 30, 40, 50 acres. There is still a great deal too much timber about, which the landlord objects to remove. A plentiful supply of water exists in the ponds, but in quality it is not good. Some difficulty is experienced on the heavy-land farm to procure water in dry seasons. Mr. Battcock has searched through 70 feet of blue clay and 50 feet of clay and limestone for Avater, but without success. The heavy-land farm was taken in 1854. One of the greatest advantages attending the introduction of steam, which took place in 1858, was, that the drainage, which had been undertaken earlier, began at once to act much better. This may be considered the key to every after improve- ment, tending as it does to increase the fertilizing power of every pound's weight of manure. It was soon found that the ridges could be turned down, and the crops grown on the flat. In 1861 so much improvement was experienced in the weight of the grain-crops as to make it politic to abandon the four-course, and to adopt the five-course system, which allows two white straws in succession. The landlord gave permission for this deviation from established custom. The tenant finds that though the 5-course gives less straw, it gives more corn ; in fact, to use his own expression, '■'Five crops pay better than four." The change entails less harvesting, and less trouble with the men, who always endeavour to shirk the heavy-laid crops of the 4-course system. The rotation is as follows : 450 acres are so divided into 5 plots of 90 acres each, that the land comprised in these plots lies together, and can be cultivated with the smallest amount of shiftings possible ; they are in beans and seeds, wheat, barley, oats, and roots. The land was strikingly clean, and the hedges, stacks, and general details all bespoke good manage- ment. The stock carried by the farm is 100 beasts and 1000 138 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. sheep all the year round. About 300 down breeding ewes are bought in every year and sold off fat. The lambs are carried forward and sold fat in the hogget stage. The 4-course husbandry is adopted on the light land, two green-crops being taken on the fallow-shift : this is only possible with steam. The horse-power has been reduced from 30 to 21. The proportion is now, there- fore, 2 horses to every 70 acres. The reduction might have been pursued until only 2 horses were left to every 92 acres had not Mr. Battcock desired to keep five or six good mares to bring a foal every year. These mares are turned out about May, and are brought up for harvest. Their help and the steam together so much eases the work falling to the other horses that " they require," Mr. Battcock said, "one-third less corn." The Apparatus was bought of Mr. Smith in 1856. It consists of the £. Engine, of 10-borse power, made hy Messrs. Eoby of Lincoln 260 2 cultivators, 5-tine and 3-tine, a windlass, driven by strap, 1 -|Q/^ since then a scarifier to take 6 feet, and 1400 yards of rope f And a drill, made by Butlin of Northampton 50 490 The windlass and 2 cultivators are of Smith's original model, and were found in a good state. The scarifier, to take 6 feet, was of the same shape, having two rows of tines and front disc-wheels. The engine, with 12|^-inch cylinder, and simple reversing-gear and steel fire-box, which he does not recommend, was in good repair. Repairs, Renewals, Wear and Tear. — The repairs are heaviest on cultivators, which is mainly due to the wheels. The wear and tear of rope is very slight. Two new ropes have been pur- chased. The first rope was very bad ; the next very good — it has lasted three seasons. The present rope is now two-thirds gone. The repairs of the engine over the whole period of ten years would be 100/. The present fire-box, a steel one, will last two years longer. The engine being employed in other farm- work, steam cultivation should only be debited with half the repairs incurred. IVork done, and Mode of doinp it. — During a day of 10 hours, removals (which occupy 2 hours) included, cultivating 6|^ acres ; scarifying, from 16 to 20 acres ; drilling (9 coulters 8 inches apart), 9 acres. In preparation for roots, the stubble is broken up with the 3-tine, and crossed with the 5-tine ; men are set on to throw out live couch-grass where it may remain ; the land is then manured and ploughed with horses, and sown. Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 130 Cod of Work. ^lanual and Horse-labour : — £. s. d. Engine-man 036 Windlass-man 030 Ploii2;hnian 016 2boys, 9f(! 0 16 2 anchor-men 04 0 Horse and boy 040 0 17 6 Coals 0 8 0 Oil ..010 16 6 X.C. — Daily wage in the neighbourhood, Is. 10c?. Experience has proved to Mr. Battcock that piecework by steam has cost double in repairs. Coal — "Langley hards," 15s. 9c?. per ton home; consumption, 11 ewts. per 10 hours. The straw of steam-drilled wheat is found to be much stronger than the other. The seed, being deposited upon a hard floor, flourishes better, grows with stouter straw, and less flag. Labourers at harvest generally evade such crops. Steam has made little way in the fens. The anchor of the lighter sets of tackle will not hold, and for the heavier the land is too rotten. Mr, Battcock is of opinion that no man estab- lished in business with less than 500 acres should embark in steam. A young man beginning might do so with 300 acres of ploughed land. The cases are different where a man has all to buy, and where he has to dispose of the power that has served him to make way for that which is to serve him better. A man already possessed of horses and implements would have to sacrifice 100/. in quitting them for steam. Had this gentleman to start again, he most emphatically stated that he would do so with the apparatus he now has in preference to any other ; and that he would never more attempt to farm without steam. Has long given up keeping separate accounts. Harvesting is done with carts. No. 17. Mr. Thomas Hammond, Penshurst, Tunbridge, Kent. This gentleman's farm consists of 540 acres, about half pasture and half arable, a stiff clay, and likely to benefit from deep culture. He has only entered upon it within the last twelve months ; but his case is remarkable, as he is one of a company, of twenty shareholders, which has been formed, one- half being farmers, to buy and work a set of Fowler's tackle. The Appaj-alus was bought Sept. 1865. It consists of Fowler's two engines of 11-horse power, double cylinder, traction, 800 yards of rope, a 1-furrow plough, a 7-tine cultivator ; cost 1573/. The engines are not fitted with the clip, but with winding- drums. 140 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. Repairs, Renewals, Wear and Tear : 6d. per acre for tines and shares ; 6d. per acre for wear of rope. No other repairs at present. JVork done, and Mode of doing it. — During a day of 10 hours, with steam-pressure from 60 lbs. to 80 lbs. per square inch, in- cluding removals ; ploughing 5 to 9 acres — in some cases 1 acre per hour, 10 inches deep ; digging more. Cultivating 10 to 16 acres 12 inches deep. 500 acres were broken up from Christmas 1865 to 30th June last. The time required to take up and set down and run a distance of a quarter of a mile is about one hour, no horses being needed. To prepare for roots, the system is to turn up the stubbles, in autumn, 10 inches deep, run the cultivator across in April, and then work with horses ; steam can also be used with great advan- tage to break up the turnip ground for barley in spring. Cost of Work. Manual and Horse-labour : — £. s. d. 2 eugiue-men 07 0 Ploughman 0 3 0 2 porter-boys 020 1 man and horse 0 5 0 0 17 0 Coals 0 19 0 Oil and grease 0 2 0 1 18 0 N.B. — The day is IO.t liours. Xo extra pay is given except for overtime. Coals—" Hard," 19s. per ton home ; consumption, 2 a ton to each engine. This set of tackle is sent out on hire, and does — s. s. Ploughing .. .. 10 inches deep at .. .. 15 to 20 per acre. Cultivating .... 12 „ .... 10 to 14 The fields in the neighbourhood vary from 9 to 30 acres. Just one-third more Avork is done in a given time where the fields are of 30 acres than where they are of 9 acres. It is discovered that a furrow from 350 to 400 yards can be ploughed with most economy. A double engine set of tackle might, in Mr. Ham- mond's opinion, work with advantage upon a GOO or an 800-acre farm. There are two thrashing-machines and portable mills belonging to the co mpany. Such an appliance could be well employed where the holding was in two farms, seeing that the two engines could be located at the several homesteads. The double set consumes, in the same space of time, about 35 per cent, more coal than the single set. Care has been taken to se lect good engine-drivers : one is a mechanic froin Fowler's Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 141 works ; one is an instructed farm -labourer. An engine-shed is being prepared. No dressing is used with the rope. This company has already experienced the difficulties that will besot most similar undertakings. The members all require the tackle at the same time. The preference is of course given to shareholders ; these are comparatively few — or at least the farmers amongst them are few — and the double set is rapid in its work. Amongst the landowners in the district there is a disposition to favour steam : they are ready to allow their tenantry to make the necessary improvements. It is, however, the cost of the tackle which restricts its application. This visit was made after such a tremendous rain that no attempt was made to see either the work done or the appa- ratus. No. 18. Mr. George Morgan, Ninfield, near Hastings, Sussex, September 24th. — This gentleman occupies his own land — 2(J0 acres — out of which 30 grow timber, and 20 are in grass, leaving 210 acres of arable, a loamy clay lying on a sand-rock subsoil very pervious to water. Only 70 acres have required drainage. In some portion the drains are laid 4 feet deep, 2 poles apart ; the rest is drained irregularly to catch springs. There is a good supply of water strongly impregnated with iron. The farm did lie in fields of 6 or 7 acres. The average size is now 20 acres. Much has been done on this farm since its purchase in 1861 to fit it for steam cultivation. The surface, however, is very hilly, and it is so intermixed with other holdings that straight fences are out of the question, unless adjoining landlords will agree to "give and take." Through the farm runs a public road. Mr. Morgan estimates that the apparatus has supplied the place of 5 horses during 3 years. At one and the same time a house and farm buildings had to be erected, and a foul farm to be made clean, which it certainly now is. It would have been " impossible " for him to have hauled the building materials, and done the work of the farm with less than 12 horses. When the haulage was being done, the farm work must have suffered neglect. He has had not more than 7 horses. The course of cropping pursued is as follows : 1, roots ; 2, barley or oats ; 3, seeds ; 4, wheat. The old system in Sussex was wheat, oats, and fallow and peas, where no beet. The crops are continually increasing — a fact which is due to a liberal supply of manure and good drainage, as well as to deep culture. The Apparatus Avas bought in the spring of 1861 of Messrs. Howard. It consists of a 10 - horse power double - cylinder portable Engine, bearing Clayton and Shuttleworth's name ; a 142 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. 5-tine Cultivator, windlass, ploug-h, and 1600 yards of steel- rope ; 525/. The engine drives the windlass with a strap. It is used also for thrashing sometimes, when Bury and Pollard's mill-sails can catch no wind for grinding and chaff-cutting. Repairs, Renewals, Wear and Tear. — The engine and tackle have cost about 20Z. at the yearly overhauling. Mr. Morgan calculates that if worked 100 days in the year, 20 per cent, on the prime cost would keep all in repair, and supply the means for a new set of tackle in 8 years. His would amount to a charge (taking half the price of the engine) of 75/. per annum, 2 ropes of 500 yards each (50/.) supplied since 1861. The rope and rope- porters have been the greatest expense. The in- clines are so frequent and sharp that the porters are cut through in astonishingly short time. Work done and Mode of doing it. — During a day of 9 hours 4 or 5 acres may be cultivated per day, 6, 7, 8, and 9 inches deep, which requires as great a strain as an engine will exert with 60 lbs. of steam. The work done in various fields from the 9th October, 1865, to the present date, is as follows : — a 16- acre field worked in October the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and November 6th. The tillage executed once, twice, and some parts three times, amounted to 40 acres ; which, divided by 7 days, gives 5f acres per day. The next was a field of 12 acres. The working days were the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 16th of November, 4 days to 12 acres (only once cultivated), or 3 acres per day. The apparatus worked during March, 1866, 10 days. 8 days in April were consumed in cultivating and harrowing SO acres, which gives 7 J acres a day. These facts are given, not to show the great use which was made of the ap- paratus, for less could scarcely have been done, but to show what really was done. Cost of Work. Manual and Horse-labonr : — £, s. d. Engine-driver 03 0 Ploughman 0 2 3 2 anchor-men 04 6 Windlass-men 02 3 2 boys 0 14 1 boy and horse 040 0 17 4 Coal and coke 0 10 6 Oil 0 1 0 1 8 10 N,B. — Men are paid for overtime od. an hour. Fuel — Coke and coal : coke, 17s. a ton ; coal, 25s, ; consumption, 8 cwts. per day of each. Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 143^ This whole district appeared to us to be sadly in arroar, little or no spirit being observable in landowners or their tenantry. Rent ranges from 10^. to ^Ibs. an acre, and yet we found that where the land was well farmed an average yield of wheat was 4 qrs. per acre. We were told of tenants being under covenant to reap their white-straw crops with a sickle. The rate of wages in this part of Sussex was during last year increased from 12s. to 13^. 6r/. per week — the hours being only from 7 till 5, with an hour for dinner. Their labour is poor in quality, and dear in price. No. 19. Mr. G. Palmer, Bengeo, Ware, Hertford, September 20th. We met with a hearty reception from Mr. Palmer, who has thrown into steam cultivation — as he appears to do into all he undertakes — an energy and enthusiasm which helps him to overcome obstacles that would daunt others. He occupies about 1000 acres, lying apart from his house in two farms ; one of 450 acres at Watton, 3 miles away, one at Bengeo of 550 acres. Of the total quantity 800 acres are arable. The heavy land is confined to the Watton farm, where 3 horses turn a furrow 6 inches deep at the rate of 3 roods daily. The soil there is a stiff clay. At Bengeo the soil is lighter — a gravel on wet clay. Mr. Palmer has rented the farms 28 years from Messrs. Parker and Smith. The Watton land is drained 4 feet deep 2 poles apart (the interval should be less). Water of good quality is plentifully supplied from ponds. The fields vary from 25 to 60 acres. The landlord has permitted his tenant to expend 200/. in stocking up hedgerows. The surface of the Bengeo farm is very undulating, and somewhat difficult to cultivate. The 4- course system of cropping is generally adopted in the district. This did not satisfy Mr. Palmer, who substituted for it the following : — barley, clover for sheep-feed, wheat, oats, turnips. This is followed on both farms. The Apparatus was bought in February, 1863. It consists of — £. An Engine, 10-horse power, double cylinder, portable, made)^q(^ by Messrs. Garrett ^'^^ A Cultivator, 1600 yards of rope, windlass, &c. (Howard's) 210 500 Extra porters, home-made, 25Z., 1 set of harrows, 25?. .. TO 550 Repairs, Renewals, Wear and Tear. — The Engine has not cost 5/. since it was purchased. The engineer, a thorough mechanic from Garrett's, looks ahead and detects weak places, bad joints, &c., before they lead to general mischief. Without such a man 144 Report on Steam Cultivation. [liEED. Mr. Palmer feels confident that his repairs would have been very heavy. He has a smith's shop of his own, where repairs are soon effected, and he would recommend no farmer to buy a set of tackle without having such a forge. Since 1865 there have been 2 engines of 10-horse power. He can work with either, but one is usually employed abroad for thrashing on adjoining farms. A new rope of 1600 yards has been purchased since 1863, which is now about half Avorn. The original wheels of the cultivator were soon used up : larger ones of wood made at home were supplied, which have worn much better. The implement has been strengthened in all its parts. There were no means of getting at the cost of repairs with any exactness. The apparatus being at work we inspected it. The engine we found in ex- cellent condition. It was driven at great speed, and the imple- ment kept the porter-boys on the full trot in the discharge of their duties — the pace was fully 5 miles an hour. The rope was carefully supported. We found a rope-porter with wooden roller in great esteem — also home-made. It is made at a triflina: expense. The wooden rollers are replaced as soon as worn by the wheelwright, and the wear of the rope is perceptibly reduced by their use. The iron rollers last no time under the pressure of the rope over the summits of the sharp inclines which here abound. We observed that the snatch-blocks were blocked up at either end of the implement's course to keep them more level with the implement. Mr, Palmer and his son had evidently given great attention to the working of the apparatus, and had mastered its details so thoroughly as to enable them to supply several deficiencies. Work done and Mode of doing it. — During a day of 10 hours with cidtivator, the first and second time over, inclusive of removals, 8 acres a day 6 or 7 inches deep ; with liarroxcs (harrows 10 feet by 6) once and twice over, 16 acres a day. In preparation for roots the stubble is broken up in autumn with one or two harrowings, which Avould be better omitted if the land is clean, followed by a cross stirring in the spring. Reed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 145 Cost of Worh. Manual and Hovse-Iabonr : — £. s. d. Enaineer 0 3 G Windlass-mau 020 2 anchor-men 0 4 6 Ploui;liniau 02 3 2poftei-boys 030 Boy, horse, &c 066 119 Coal (15cwts.) 0 12 0 Oil and grease 0 1 6 Total daily expenses .. .. 1 15 3 N.B. — Coal, 16s. per ton home ; consumption per 10 hours, 15 cwt^. =: 12s. Examples of work done abroad : — A 24-acre field cultivated once, harrowed twice = 72 acres, 5 days at 11. 16s. per day = 9Z. = 7s. O^rZ. per acre.*! \K 22-acre field cultivated twice, ^ three times = 55 acres in 6 days at^l?.'16s. per day = 10/. 16s. The number of horses kept on the Watton Farm before steam were 16, there are now 12 The number of horses kept on tlie Bengeo Farm before steam were 18, there are now 12 34 24 The reduction, therefore, amounts to 10, and leaves 2 horses to 66 acres of land — a very large disposable horse-power — which with the 10-horse power engine should be more than sufficient. For want of a plough, surplus horses are, clearly, kept to do what otherwise might be done by steam. The dis- tance of this farm from the house causes, of course, more outlay in this direction, Mr. Palmer is, however, perfectly satisfied with the result, and states that the corn-bill is now 200/. a year less than it used to be. He considers that if he had the Bengeo farm with 18 horses and the present engine it would be good policy for him to lay out 500/. in engine and tackle only to work 4 or 6 weeks after harvest, and lie idle all the rest of the year. 5/. per cent, on the 500/. ( == 25/.) would suffice to keep it in working order. Speaking of his own district, he considers the want of means on the part of the farmers a sufficient barrier to the application of steam. For the most part they have more land than their capital will cover. The landlords, too, are obstructive ; they are far too fond of game to allow the wide, sprawling, irregular hedgerows to be grubbed up. We listened to a strange tale about the combination of labourers to break up the machinery. But the spirit of the thwarted master rose with the difficulties that opposed him. Men were procured from a distance, to whom good wages were paid ; the work then went on in first-rate style ; for, seeing that he could do without them, his own people begged to be employed, and have since worked well. VOL. III. — S. S. L I-IO Report on Steam Cultivation. [Keeu. No. 20. Mr. J. L. King, Thorpe Hall, Scole, Norfolk, Sep- tember 10th. Mr. King-, being unavoidably absent, kindly pro- vided a substitute, who did the honours of his house, conducted us over the cleanly, well-managed farm, and gave us all the infor- m^ation in his possession. This gentleman, Mr. Bate of Sliimp- ling Place, Diss, having taken great pains to collect reliable data on the question of steam cultivation to lay before a neighbouring Farmers' Club, had watched the process conducted on Mr. King's farm with great closeness, and for one year had obtained a daily return of the work done, for the purpose of comparing the result with that obtained by Mr. Cooper and others. The farm consists of 660 acres — grass, 54 ; wood, 40 ; arable, 560, two-thirds heavy, one-third light and mixed. Three horses plough 3 roods a day, 6 inches deep, on the heavy land. The subsoil of the stiff land, which is drained 44 inches deep and 7 yards apart, is an adhesive brick-earth, mixed with stones ; that of the light land is a gravel. The farm has been 16 years in Mr. King's occupation and is farmed on the 4-course system. He hires the land of Mr. Holland of Bedham, near Saxmund- ham, who has granted permission to straighten fences, enlarge fields, &c., and something in this direction has been done. The fences are not irregular. The largest field was one of 19 aci'es, the smallest one of 6 acres. We were informed that great benefit had been derived through the drainage having been rendered more effective after the soil had been deeply broken up by steam : also from the larger area of root-crop obtainable, the heavier crops harvested, and the ability acquired by the land to carry sheep without injury. As to sheep, the advantage is felt on the heavy land being so soon ready to receive them after rain. It may also be mentioned that, while they are putting in barley in that district during March and part of April on the heavy land, it is of the utmost importance that the fallows should be forwarded at the same time ; and this, during his use of steam, Mr, King has been able to accomplish. The land which was in ridge and furrow now lies on the flat ; the stubbles over which we walked indicated heavy crops, and crops free from weeds. The turnips and mangolds were very fine ; and have generally been far more certain since steam has been employed, simply because the season has been caught and properly used. The failure of part or the whole of a root-crop is frequently due to the absence of the supplemental power of which Mr, King has availed himself. The number of horses was 20 ; it is now 15. This gives 2 horses to 75 acres arable — too many, as we ventured to remark. It was explained, however, that a new farm of 106 acres was in expect- ation, which would be worked with the same power as that now in operation. The teams, of course, have less work, and are main- Keed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 147 tained in as good condition at less cost : indeed a greater reduction has been thus effected than in the number of horses kept ; instead of 7 stones of meal per horse, he now gives 5. On inspecting the account of labour done, it will be seen that the possession of so many horses has proved a strong temptation to let the tackle rest. That only 217 acres were once cultivated between the autumn of 1865 and the spring of 1866, inclusive, is proof suffi- cient that steam had not often been got up. It was contended that the 300 acres of grain usually cut and stacked could not be harvested with less than 14 horses, which, in order that they may be in readiness, must have work found for them the rest of the year. We ii aintained that, provided the corn was stacked in the field and 1-horse carts used, 11 horses would suffice — 9 for as many carts, 1 for a horse-rake, and 1 for a water-cart. The habit is to use 7 carts and 2 waggons. It is difficult to discover the avowed impossibility of supplying any additional need when the need was felt, and then of reducing the power to its previous dimensions. When horses are kept, the prevailing feeling is that they must be employed ; it would not do to see the steam-engine puffing away, and the horses looking over the strawyard-gate at it, so the engine rests. But this course is frequently bad policy, for it would often prove better to spare the horses and work the engine. The addition of a plough to turn over the clover-leys would enable this gentleman to reduce his horse-power still further. Ml'. Bate is of opinion that none but the roundabout tackle and stationary engine is applicable to that part of the country. He spoke of many obstacles to the progress of steam-tillage, particularly on the heavy soils, the fields being very small, the boundaries irregular, and cumbered with trees, which struggle even into the fields, which vary in size from 3 to 12 acres. Yet they are bigger than they were thirty years ago. If steam culti- vation were more generally inti'oduced, he had little doubt that the landlords in this district would allow the removal of many of the trees, and of the unnecessary hedgerows. There seems now to be a disposition to make these fields larger, and to introduce steam. No special provision has been made for water, which is found in ponds and is of good quality. The Apparatus was bought of Messrs. Howard and Burrell in 1862. It consists of — An Engine of 12-horse power, double cylinder, traction,! £. s. d. made by Burrell, which is used in thrashing, abroad) 450 0 0 and at home, grinding and chaff-cutting ) A windlass, cultivator, snatch-blocks, porters, and 1600) r,oo 7 -iq yards of rope, made by Howard j "^ A Cultivator on Mr. Cooper's model, made by Burrell .. 35 0 0 721 7 10 L 2 148 Report on Steam Ctdtivation. [Eeed Bepairs, Renewals, Wear and Tear. — The repairs of the en(iinc have been very slight ; there is a good engine-shed, and a careful engineer, who keeps the engine in a very creditable state, and escapes breakages and wear which those ever incur who see what is amiss too late to remedy it without great cost. He is provided with a portable forge and vice. The mud-holes are cleaned weekly. The rope broke four times with kinks. It has been working four years, and will last the fifth. The frame of Howard's cultivator has been j)ulled out often by tree-roots. On Cooper's there has been no outlay. The windlass was in a good state ; all has been carefully used. The apparatus was not at work. Mr. Bate bestowed great praise on Cooper's cul- tivator. At the close of 1863 Mr. King made a careful computation of expenses, which was published. Before quoting from the statistics which were placed in our hands, we deemed it prudent to write, requesting to know whether his present coincided with "his past experience. He replied, " When I first commenced steam cultivation, I paid great attention to every part of the apparatus, and found that I must charge for engine, 10 per cent. ; rope, 20 per cent. ; windlass, snatch-blocks, &c., 5 per cent. ; and after four years' experience I do not consider that I have made an excessive charge for wear and tear." Mr. King's capital account shows how both wear and tear and interest are computed to fall upon the several parts of the apparatus : — Tear per Cent. . £. S. d. Engine .. .. Windlass .. G5 0 0 Double snatch-) ,„ n n blocks .. ../ ^- ^ " Cultivatoi- ..21 0 0 Porters .. .. 13 1.5 0 11 ditto .. .. 16 10 0 6 snatch-blocks 18 0 0 8 anchors ..10 0 0 Sundries .. .. 14 2 10 Kope £. s. d. 450 0 0 )128 5 0 \ A2 2 10 CO 0 0 ' 680 7 10 j Charge for \ Cbarge for ^^^?'''°'i I Interest Interest ralriiKted I P^r Cent. . calculated calcuiatea , Annum, per Annum. | *^ d. 22 10 0*j -11* \ 11 5 20 9 12 4 3 10 9 12 0 0 47 13 1 d. 0* 6 8 3 2 8 li 3 0 0 23 1 4i * One-half tlie wear and tear and interest of engine, the other half being charged to other work. Mr. Kersey Cooper has entered into a similar calculation. Ueed.] Report oil Steam CuUication. 149 The report of his experience will follow the present ; but, for purposes of direct comparison, we prefer here to insert a, similar extract from his capital account : — Cliarge for Wear and Wear and Interest per Cent. Interest Tear per Cent. Tear calculated calculated per Annum. per Annum. £. s. d. £. s. d. £. s. d. £. .-. - u ^ c Fi tn 'A >* 8 =s ;:[ tecs r;< i^ 0 ^ < Q 3q a 3'-3 ^ 5 "3 -a o 5s c 5 •2 W-c 0«^ t».=3 2 2* 2 9 2' 5 ■§ •§ 2 - 2' 2' 2 ° 2 2 £ '5 -2 o d T -= « d o o o = d c d "S' Q ■pfG '^Z 'Aioy -lad 1S03 o3Bj9Ay I ■*. •2'f I '8J3V •is'1 1S')3 agcJ3Ay •p-|6 'aaoy jad :)Sod aSBjBAy •poi ■«[ 'sjoy jod 1S03 oSB.iD.vy S* >n in in 'niom m «5 m ta 'n 'n \n tn ta >a tn m inin o o o m « m o >n m o m ^ ^S jijinirainininomin m vnininin>nin>nin in mm m mmmmicmmmiom O TT'^ ■^ ^'^^^*;r^^^i*^^ J m ci 1- 1-OC-. CO o 1- i-r. i-i-i--r. cr. 1- o ^to o •-= o 1-1-1, ;£ x » i-o Z!! 2 £1 ^ S ''' '^ S! '^ ri =0 ■»• 1-- — . ^j< o XI •— ' ^-« ci c* CO cj ^H I— « ^-< oi ci 00 r^ ^-« o o -♦<«". -fCi CO ro CO G-l Ci -—I CI Ci Ci I— I ^ -^ wo oi CI 6i c ■^ ■^ "-i 0» I— . Oi ^^ C o 2'^ ^ ;^ Eeed.] Report on Steam Cuiti ration. 157 and interest, 4GZ. 13*'. per annum. Assuming tliis to be fair, it will be found that horses would have done the work of the year 1804 (731 acres) at a cost of 5G0/. ; steam would have done it at a cost of 184/. 2s. lO^f/. Were every advantage to be pushed to the utmost, the comparison would be even more in favour of steam ; but we are contented with an approximation to the truth. Having reason to question the accuracy of our notes respecting tlie live stock, a note Avas forwarded to Mr. Cooper. Some extracts from his reply are here transcribed. " I find that 1 have increased the (quantity of my sheep stock, but the great advantage to me has been holding on, or buying more sheep in the spring of the year when farmers find a difficulty in holding hoggets on flock farms. By cultivating in the autumn 1 can do this. The green cropping before roots which I can thus obtain enables me to carry a much larger stock of sheep at that profitable period than I otherwise could do. I certainly grow more roots, more corn, and make more money from the land than I have ever done before, besides always being at the head instead of at the tail of my work. You may speak of the general advantages which are felt in every branch of the detail of my success from the application of steam power to the land, in doing the work wlien it ought to he done.'' He feels, in fact, that it improves the whole pace of a farm, deepens the interest of the men in their work, and impels them onward towards mental development. It may be remarked that although the price paid for labour is the same per acre, the earnings much depend on the depth of the operation and strength of the land, some days being high, the same with the consumption of coal and oil, the former varying from 1^ to 2h cvvts. per day. No. 22. Lord Leconfield, Petworth Park, Sussex, September 25. His Lordship's vehicle met us at the station, drove us through the beautifully-undulating park, where herds of deer were feeding under the protecting arm of stately beech-trees, to the farm which lies at the extremity of the woods which skirt the park. There we were met by his Lordship's bailiff, Mr. Smith. The shades of evening were descending, and we were prevented from forming so close an acquaintance with the operations at Petworth as could have been desired. That part of the farm over which we walked we found in a high state of culture. The fields, formerly small, are now enlarged, and are naturally well supplied with water. The 4-course system of cropping is observed. The land is drained 4 feet deep 2 rods apart. There are 700 acres — 500 acres of it are stiffish, requiring 2 horses to plough 3 roods 6 inches deep. Some will bear sheep feeding, some not. Considerable improvement is said to have taken place in the produce per acre, and in the texture of the clay staple, 158 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. whicli is due to drainage and deep culture. The fields are not well suited for steam culture, being very hilly, and the boulders near the surface. The statistics to be had were very few. His Lordship in 1861 bought a set of Fowler's tackle, later he bought a set of Howards', which was mainly for the use of his tenantry, who do not seem to avail themselves readily of the privi- lege. Mr. Smith expressed himself very strongly in favour of the round-about system on land so hilly as this. The difficulty in moving the heavy 14-horse power engine about he described as insuperable. Considering the steep inclines, the irregular fields, and the great boulders, he thought the fixed engine decidedly pre- ferable. The farms, too, in the neighbourhood are very small. Both sets of tackle include an engine ; one of 14-horse power, one of 10-horse power. Fowler's cost 1000/., Howards' cost 700/. in 1863, including one of Clayton and Shuttle worth's traction engines. The repairs, wear and tear of Fowler's are estimated roughly at 50/. a year. We had hoped to have received some particulars from another of his Lordship's agents who has charge of Howards' tackle, which is placed at the disposal of the tenantry, and which was said to have done more work than Fowler's. He has not, however, sent us the particulars up to the time of going to press. The work done with Howards' averages 5 acres per day with the plough, and 7 to 8 acres with the culti- vator, including removals, which consume half a day each, and the work of 6 or 8 horses. The cost of manual and horse labour, coals and oil, is 1/. 9a\ 2 p cart, boy and horse, 5s. ; 3 mpe iio'.-tor-bovs, os. Sd ) Coal, 1 ton " 0 15 G Oil 0 16 1 13 6 The 3 men have 4cZ. an acre extra divided amongst them for once ploughing and twice cultivating. The 4 boys have 2d. an acre extra for once ploughing and twice cultivating. The piece-work money, supposing the average day's work was 6 acres, would be 35., which, if added to 1/. 13s. 6d., will increase it to 11. 16s. 6d. This, then, Avill represent the expense of a day's work, without any charge for interest and maintenance, for which Mr. Cooper allows 20 per cent, upon the cost of the tackle. Wear and Tear from July 20 to JSiov. 18. £. s. d. 8 dozen shares, lis 4 8 0 21 clips, Is 110 2 pulleys, 2s 0 4 0 1 digging-breast 0 3 6 2 small rope-porters, 20s 2 00 5 rope eyes, 2s. 6r? 0 12 6 6 rope-porter wheels, 3s. 6(/ 1 1 0 1 new road clutch, 25s 15 0 Eepairing spindle in plough 0 6 0 Sharpening coulters (four times) 112 0 Incidental expenses 5 0 0 28 shiftings, with two horses, 5s 7 0 0 24 13 0 These repairs, effected during a period of 17 weeks, give 29s. Hid. a week. Mr. Cooper's elaborate statement of the work done, and the cost of doing it, which here follows, will command attention. Such details are much too scarce. In the first place we are directed to the year 1862. There we find the description of work, the nature of the soil on which it is done, the time occupied in doing it, and the worth of the work. The cost of the tackle, added to the expenses of working, are balanced at the end of each year, and the balance is carried forward. Thus, 631Z. 18s. lOd. is carried forward to the year 18G3, and 2G1/. 4s. Qd. to the year Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. is: 1864. The account stops Nov. 14, 1864; but it will be seen tlien that the balance to be carried to the account of 1865 would be 96Z. 2s. ' Date. Description. 1862. July 29 ,, 31 Aug. 5 ,, 11 ,, 13 ,, 20 ,, 23 ,, 26 ,, 29 Sept. 4 ,, 10 ,, 14 ,, 17 ,, 25 ,, 25 Oct. 4 ,, 17 ,, 23 Nov. 5 ,, 11 ,, 14 ,, 26 Dec. 4 Cost of Tackle Digging* Ditto .. . Cviltivating Digging .. . Ditto .. . Ditto* .. . Ditto .. . Ditto .. . Ditto .. . Cultivating Digging .. . Cultivating Digging .. . Ditto* .. . Ditto* .. . Ditto* .. . Ditto* .. . Ploughing Digging* Ploughing Ditto . . . Ditto . . . Ditto .. . Ditto .. . Horse water-cart . . Oil .. 24 shiftings, at 5s. . . 79 tons coal, at 14s. Carting coal, at 2s.\ per ton . . . . J Wearing parts and\ breakages . . . . J Incidental expenses Blacksmith's Bill ., For labour Deduct value of work Balance carried forward 15 25 44 16 12 24 12 30 12 48 15 24 43 22 12 29 17 60 20 15 15 30 26 12 Soil. Dcplli. Cost. 577 Stiff Clay Loam Clay .. Gravel .. Ditto . . Ditto . . Ditto .. Ditto .. Stiff Clay Stiff Stiff Clay Loam Ditto . . Stiff Loam Meadow Stiff Clay Ditto Gravel Stiff.. Gravel Stiff.. Gravel Ditto Ditto 7 9 7 7 6 6 10 10 8 10 9 9 9 Value of Work. £, s. d. 945 0 0 19 4 0 7 0 0 6 0 0 55 6 0 7 18 0 17 11 0 5 0 0 8 5 4 62 12 0 £. s. d. 18 0 0 25 0 0 22 0 0 16 0 0 12 0 0 20 0 0 12 0 0 30 0 0 16 5 0 24 0 0 15 0 0 12 0 0 43 0 0 22 0 0 11 0 0 36 5 0 20 0 0 52 10 0 20 0 0 9 7 6 15 0 0 22 10 0 19 0 0 9 0 0 1133 16 4 501 17 6 631 IS 10 501 17 6 N.B. — Odd measure is not put into this account, and the engine not credited for thrashing, chaff-cutting, and grinding. Work done for hire. 184 Repoi't on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. Date. Description. Acres. Soil. Depth. Cost. Value of Work. Inches. £. s. d. £. s. d. Balance brought forward | .. .. 631 18 10 1863. Feb. 2 Ploughing .. .. 9 Loam . . 9 , , 9 0 0 ,, n Ditto* 6 Grass-land 5 7 10 0 ,, 13 Cultivating 44 Gravel .. 10 .. 22 0 0 ,. 24 Ploughing 30 Ditto .. 10 .. 22 10 0 Mar. 2 Cultivating 26 Stiff Clay 6 13 0 0 ,, 5 Ploughing 13 Ditto . . 6 .. 9 15 0 ,, 7 Cultivating . . 24 Loam . . 10 7 4 0 ,, 12 Ploughing 30 Stiff-.. .. 9 22 10 0 ,, 24 Cultivating 9 Meadow 10 2 5 0 Apr. 18 Digging* .. .. 30 Stiff Clay 6 .. 20 0 0 May 1 Ditto* 19 Ditto . . 6 .. 15 0 0 ,. 8 Ditto* 26 Ditto ,. 6 18 15 0 ,, 23 Ditto* 6 Ditto . . 6 6 0 0 June 4 Digging* .. .. 14 Ditto .. 6 .. 14 0 0 ,. 24 Ditto* 13 Ditto . . 7 .. 13 0 0 July 14 Cultivating* .. 32 Ditto . . 7 .. 18 16 9 ,, 24 Ditto 60 Gravel .. 6 22 10 0 ,, 29 Ditto* 34 Stiff 6 20 10 0 Aug. 4 Ditto 30 Meadow 6 .. 15 0 0 ,, 10 Ditto 60 Medium 6 , , 30 0 0 ,, 17 Ditto 50 Stiff .. 7 .. 31 0 0 ,, 22 Ditto 32 Clay .. 7 22 0 0 ,, 29 Ditto 60 Gravel .. 10 ,. 30 0 0 Sept. 3 Digging 10 Ditto 9 10 0 0 ,, 5 Cultivating . . 24 Stiff Clay 8 .. 15 0 0 ,, 10 Digging 12 Gravel . . 9 12 0 0 , . 12 JCultivating and Har- \ rowing .. ../ 10 Ditto . . 9 5 0 0 ., 14 Digging* .. .. 15 Ditto .. 7 .. 11 5 0 ,, 17 JCultivating andHar-l \ rowing ; 20 Ditto . . 9 10 0 0 ,, 21 Ditto 70 Medium 7 .. 35 0 0 ,, 30 /Ploughing and Culti-'l \ vating* .. ../ 6 Light .. 8 •• 6 0 0 Oct. 8 Cultivating 27 Stiff 7 12 0 0 ,, 17 Ploughing 31 Stiff Clay 7 .. 23 5 0 ,, 24 Ditto 20 Gravel .. 7 : 12 0 0 ,, 28 Ditto 30 Ditto . . 8 18 0 0 Nov. 3 Ditto 30 Ditto . . 7 22 10 0 >, 11 Ditto 8 Ditto . . 6 6 0 0 ,, 13 Ditto 37 Ditto . . 6 ! 27 15 0 ,, 23 /Cultivating and } \ Ploughing .. ../ 17 Stiff.. .. 8 8 10 0 Dec. 17 Ploughing 30 Sand . . 10 22 10 0 ,, 22 Ditto 15 Stiff.. .. 7 15 0 0 ,, 26 Ditto* 10 Light .. 10 5 0 0 ,, 28 Ditto* 12 Ditto , . 10 7 4 0 ,, 31 Ditto rried over 8 Clay .. 7 6 0 0 Ca 1099 G31 18 10 ,681 14 9 N.B. — Odd measure not put in this account. En gine not credited for thrashing, chaff-cutt ing, and grinding. * Work done for hire. Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 185 Date. Description. 1863 — continued. Brought forward .. 96 tons coal, at 14s. Horse water-cart . . Labour Shifting 46 times, at 5s. Wearing parts and) breakages .. ../ Smith's Bill .. .. Extra expenses Oil Int.on63U. 18s.lOJ.,1 at 10 per cent, .. / Deduct value of work Depth. Cost. 1099 1099 Balance carried forward Cultivating Ploughing Ditto Digging* Ploughing* Cultivating Ditto* .. Ditto* .. Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Digging Ditto Ditto Ditto Ploughing [Cultivating and Har- !_ rowing Ditto Ploughing Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Cultivating* .. 12 20 17 7 60 44 60 60 16 24 18 16 62 76 30 20 10 30 15 32 Light . . Stiff Clay Gravel Stiff.. Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Gravel Ditto Stiff Clay Stiff Loam Stiff Clay Ditto Stiff Loam Stiff.. .. Ditto . . Ditto .. Gravel . . Stiff Loam Gravel . . 30 Loam Stiff Clay | Loam .. I Stiff Clay Ditto .. Ditto . . 10 Ditto 50 Stiff Loam; 1} 6 6 7 7 6 6 6 6 10 i. s. a. 631 18 10 67 4 0 33 16 0 90 12 0 11 10 0 17 11 0 10 0 0 6 0 0 11 4 8 63 2 9 Value of \V'oik. £. s. d. 681 14 9 942 19 14 3 9 681 14 9 681 261 4 6 4 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 17 0 0 4 14 6 72 9 2 30 8 4 30 0 0 8 0 0 12 0 0 9 0 0 8 0 0 30 0 0 38 0 0 15 0 0 20 0 0 10 0 0 22 10 0 15 0 0 24 0 0 15 0 0 7 10 0 6 10 0 9 0 0 27 0 0 6 0 0 7 10 0 25 0 0 Carried over 808 261 4 6 ' 497 12 0 N.B. — Odd measure not put in this account. Engine not credited for thrashing, chaff-cutting, and grinding. » Work done for hire. 186 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. Pate. Description. 1864 — con tinned. Brought forward . . Wearing parts and) breakages .. .. I Labour Shifting 33 times, at 5; Smith's Bill .. .. Incidental expenses Oil 60 tons coal and cart- ing, at 1 7s Horse-water-cart . . 500 yards steel rope Int. on 2611. 4s. 6d., at 10 per cent. 808 Deduct value of work Balance carried forward 808 Soil. Depth. Value of Woi k. Inches. £. s. d. 261 4 6 .57 11 9 82 19 0 8 5 0 10 0 0 6 5 0 9 2 6 51 0 0 25 4 0 56 0 0 26 2 3 593 14 0 497 12 0 96 2 0 £. s. (/. 497 12 0 497 12 0 N.B. — Odd measure not put in this account. Engine not credited for thrashing, chafiF-cutting, and grinding. The summary of the account for the three years is as follows : — Acres Worked. Expenses. Receipts. £. s. d. £. s. d. 1862 .. .. 577 .. .. 188 16 4 .. .. uOl 17 6 1863 .. .. 1099 .. .. 311 0 5 .... 681 14 0 1864 .. .. 808 .... 332 9 6 .... 497 12 0 2484 832 6 3 1681 6 No interest will be found charged against the outlay in 1862, because the apparatus Avas paid for by bills of long date. The work distinguished thus (*) was done for hire, Mr. Cooper finding neither coal, horse-labour, nor water. For work done at home, of course he has to find both. Yet with this difference he charges himself the same sum per acre as he does his customers. No. 31. Mr. W. L. Woods, of Chilgrove, near Chichester, and his father before him, have clothed an unattractive elevation with beauty. In the winter-season the climate is sufficiently severe to warrant the name. The house stands at an elevation of 280 ft. above the sea-level, and some parts of the farm are much higher. The farm is his own ; it consists of 345 acres of arable land and 50 of pasture. It may all be ploughed with 2 horses ; the sub- soil is chalk. In some parts the staple is a stiffish red soil, in Keed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 187 others a thin chalky soil, 5 inches deep, is found not good for turnips, but productive of wheat and oats. There are 2 courses of cropping : — 1st, the common 4-course crop ; 2ndly, 2 crops of swedes, turnips or rape ; wheat ; seeds ; oats ; or two years tur- nips, oats, seeds, and wheat. These variations are tried to adapt the cropping to the season. In such a situation wheat must be sown early. The fields vary from 15 to 17 acres. The storage of water, at such altitude, requires great attention, since the natural supply fails when it is most needed. Mr. Woods has spouted all his buildings, cottages, &;c,, and preserves In large tanks the greater part of the abundant rainfall of that neigh- bourhood. His arrangements, in this respect, have been very successful. The power at his disposal consists of 12 horses (4 bullocks were sold when the tackle was bought) and Smith's apparatus, bought in 1861. It consists of an Price. Engine oi 8 -horse power, with single cylinder and portable,! £. made by Butlin, the hind carriage being fitted with springs, [ 230 which greatly reduce the jar in travelling J Cultivators, 1400 yards rope, luindlass, porters, &c 250 480 The engine, which never quits the farm, is used about 36 days in a year to thrash, grind (when it works in a capital house), and about 10 days in the field, when it is worked up to 70 lbs, steam pressure. The apparatus has been well taken care of, and has cost little or nothing for repairs. The expenses on the engine cannot be put down at 5/. per annum. Work done. — The stubbles are not broken up till late ; they are then ploughed with horses. Steam is used in spring only to fallow for turnips, while the horses are engaged preparing for oats and spring-corn, during 10 days, in March and April. Removals included, which occupy 6 horses and 2 men a J day, the pace per day Is 8 acres with the 5-tIne cultivator: — Wear and tear Is estimated by Mr, Woods at 10^, per day. We thus estimate the entire cost in this case : — Per day. £. s. d, I The manual labour amounting to 19s., and the coal and) -i n a oil to 10s., make the total day's expense j 5 per cent, interest on 350?. (lOOZ. on engine) divided i -t -ir q amongst 10 days j Maintenance, 5 per cent, on 350?,, the work being light,) -i -rr a divided amongst 10 days ) 4 19 0 This gives 49/, 10;?. for 10 days' work. Many would be disposed to grumble at this result, and certainly the employment of steam 188 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. in this case reminds one of calling forth the ponderous energy of the steam-hammer to crack a nut ; but still Mr. Woods is satis- fied. If by laying out 50/. he is able to secure lOOZ., he is clearly in the right. Without steam in those 10 days, it -appears that no other power he could avail himself of would enable him to follow out the course of cropping decided to be best adapted to the situation. He gains a crop, and looks to this gain for reim- bursement. The average wage for day-labour is 2$. per day. The engine burns Newcastle coal, '21s. per ton at home. Consumption from 5 to 7 cwts, per 10 hours. No. 32. Mr. J. Lancashire, Micheldever, Hampshire. Catching an early train from Southampton on the morning of the 27th of September, we arrived to breakfast, and subsequently made a tour of the farm and saw Howard's apparatus doing some very good work. The farm contains 725 acres lying on the chalk over an undulating surface. On the uplands the depth of soil is about 3 inches, in the lowlands 3 feet. When Mr. Lancashire entered, five years since, it was exhausted of fertility and pos- sessed by weeds. The change wrought is due to the spirited investment of capital, in which steam has its share. Labour, for instance, costs 1/. per acre, while the annual outlay in arti- ficial manure, cake, and corn may be put down at a little over three rents. For bones and phosphates alone the expenditure is 500/. The owner. Lord Northbrook, allowed his tenant to en- large fields which now average 30 acres ; the hedgerows are low and denuded of timber. Something has been done to construct roads. The supply of water is scanty ; and, coming from the chalk, is so bad in quality that a wine-glassful of Le Franc's fluid is used each morning, which costs l^c?., and serves the day. The effect is surprising ; were it not for this remedy the wear in the boiler would entail heavy expense. The course of cropping is as follows : (1) roots, (2) wheat or barley, (3) seeds, (4) wheat. On wheat-stubble tares or trifolium are taken before roots, two crops in one year — a great point, much facilitated by the use of steam. On the inferior land he secures two root-crops, and takes wheat or oats seeded down. The seeds lie two years, and are then broken up for wheat or oats. Mr. Lancashire's great object is to get sheep-feed. A flock of GOO breeding ewes (with the female produce) gives an average of 800 mouths to be filled from the 725 acres, besides other stock. He farms also very much for the great Hay-market which he supplies with large quantities of sainfoin hay. For labour he is inconveniently situated. Mitcheldever is two miles distant. He has but eight cottages ; three of which, brick upon wood foundations, have been erected at his own expense. Reed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 189 The wages for ordinary labourers, 10s. a week, are high, consider- ing their indifferent character. The hours of labour, from 6 a.m. till 5'30. The employment of steam gives him advantages, for the best class of men crave the better wages connected with its use, and are stimulated to better pace. j\Ir. Lancashire very sen- sibly trains the men to the use of the engine ; he explains to them sectional drawings of the machinery, thoroughly indoc- trinates them into its principles, ensuring at the same time that they possess a competent knowledge of the combustion of fuel and the production and expansion of steam. Mr. Lancashire's experience indicates that the employment of steam tends to lengthen the labour-list. This ought not to sur- prise us if we bear in mind that the engine only " cuts out the work " of more thorough and frequent tillage, leaving the finish- ing touches to be done by the hands. Since these run short, he is obliged, like the American fanner, to resort to various implements. He owns 2 large corn-mowing and 3 grass-mowing machines. With the former, supported by 8 scythes, day by day he swept down 46 acres of corn, and was placed very advantageously in advance of several neighbours, who were caught by the heavy rains. To keep these machines thoroughly employed in their several seasons, 12 horses are needed. The entire stud consists of 14, that is 2 to each 100 acres. To have produced part only of the change he has done, " would," to use his own words, " have required 20 horses." The Apparatus was bought of Messrs. J. and F. Howard in 1861. The Engine, an 8-horse power double cylinder, was made by Messrs. Tuxford, and having been worked six years was pur- chased for 1 30Z. The new engine works up to 100 lbs. steam- pressure with as much safety as some engines with 45 lbs. This is due to extra stays, the advantages of which are not sufficiently known. A thick boiler-plate, unstayed, is of little advantage. If guaranteed to work to lOO lbs., an engine stands much longer than one of inferior strength. The Cultivator, windlass, 1400 yards of rope, porters, from Bedford, cost 240/. Repair, Renewals, Wear and Tear. — The engine : during the four first years repairs did not reach 5/. ; those incurred were due to frost. The slightness of the expense is attributed to the use of the fluid already mentioned. The repairs in 1865 were 5/. A stronger engine being required, the one of 8-horse power was valued at 130/., returned to the makers, who, on receipt of 170/. in addition, sent a 10-horse power engine extra stayed. " The engine does not cost 9^. a day to keep in repair and renew in 8 years. If I lay by 7^. a day. Air. Tuxford would be willing to renew it for the sum of the deposits so made, whenever it shall 190 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. be worn out." The former engine has been used for thrashing-, grinding, chaff-cutting, about 2 days each week for 30 weeks. The rope was supplied in additional quantities last autumn, and the present — 1865, 1866 — the price of which, diffused over the acres cultivated, shows the wear then to be just \s. del. per acre. Worli done and Mode of doing it. — The day's work of 10 hours, including removals : — -First time, breaking up 6 inches deep, average 5 acres ; second time, 6 or 7 acres. It is customary to break up the stubbles in harvest, manure, and sow tares to be early fed, and then broken up for turnips : — Cost of Worh Manual Lahour : — £. s. d. Engineer 02 6 Windlass-man 0 20 2 anclior-meu 038 Ploughman 0 18 2 porter lads 0 18 Boy, water-cart, horse 05 6 0 17 0 Coal and oil 0 7 3 Total daily expense 14 3 N.B, — The men receive 2c?. per day extra, and occasionally a quart of ale. " Ale goes further than money." Coal — " Shipley Hards," from Derbyshire. 18s. per ton home, consumption 7 cwt. The choice between a long rope and infrequent shiftings and a shorter rope and more frequent shiftings depends, in Mr. Lancashire's opinion, on the nature of the soil. If a sharp soil, very little rope should be out ; some advocate 2000 yards of rope — he does not. The old rope is used between the anchors on the headlands, with a sling (Fig. A). He has often seen old ropes coiled up doing nothing ; sometimes served out to act as the top-wire of fencing. He considers 500 acres of arable land the smallest quantity on which steam cultivation should be practised ; would advise no one to go into it without intending to pay thorough personal attention to the machinery. If left to men, it will be sure to be a failure. A The engine-man is a raw recruit. There is a smith's shop on Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 191 the premises, but no engine-slied ; the rope is dressed with tar and grease before being put away. No. 33. Mr. Redman, Abbotstone, Alresford, Hampshire, September 28th. This gentleman is known to have used Fowler's tackle for several years upon extremely heavy land near Swindon, in Wilts. Within the last two years he removed to the above farm, where he occupies 1100 acres upon the estate of Lord Ashburton, He has taken his steam tackle with him, which may be regarded as an indication that he values it and cannot part with it. He speaks strongly of the improvement effected in the drainage of the strong land lately relinquished, by deepened tillage ; but declined to admit any increase in yield. The main advantage, he says, consists in the expeditious manner in which the fallows are cleaned, which facilitates the sowing of a large breadth of corn. Of the whole area of his present occupation 750 acres ai'e arable, 50 are water-meadow, 50 dry-meadow, and 250 down-land. The staple is thin — of a red calcareous nature — upon chalk subsoil ; it needs no drainage, and is well supplied with water from the river Itchen. Two horses make easy work of a furrow 4 or 5 inches deep. The 4-course system of cropping prevails throughout the neighbourhood. Mr. Redman is proposing to change it to the following: 1, roots (swedes) ; 2, roots (rape or turnips) ; 3, wheat; 4, barley ; 5, seeds ; 6, oats. The horses kept are 15 — 2 to 100 arable acres. Without steam he must have had 20. Although possessed of steam, he is convinced that there exists no power so cheap on light land as a pair of horses ; but horses fail where expedition is wanted. The landlord has let the ad- joining mansion and park to a sportsman. The game harboured in the neighbouring preserves must prove a serious hindrance to anything like successful farming. The Engine was of 12-horse power, double-cylinder, traction. The Apparatus was bought in 1858, when Mr. Redman was farm- ing 450 acres of very strong land. An agreement being made with Mr. Fowler, who was a great friend and a native of the same place, that, as improvements were made, he should have them, these improvements are now embodied in the present tackle. Mr. Redman uses his own cultivator, which he considers superior to any yet brought out. We were prevented from seeing either it or the tackle, from their being at work some miles away. Repairs, Reneioals, Wear and Tear. — The repairs of the engine cost about 40Z. per annum, 30^. of which should be charged to steam-cultivation. The wear and tear on other parts of the apparatus is slight, except the rope, the shares, and the points, when the ground is much baked. 192 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. J'Vbrk done and Mode of doing it. — During a clay of 10 hours, removals included, the 4-furrow plough works from 5 to 8 acres 3 to 6 inches deep ; the cultivator 10 acres, 4 to 8 inches deep. He seldom uses the plough on his own land. From July, 1865, to the end of the year, he scarified at home 290 acres ; from January, 1866, to the day we arrived, he had scarified 319 acres and ploughed 50. About the same work has been done each year abroad for hire. To prepare 85 acres for roots this year he has broken up and crossed the stubbles from 6 to 7 inches deep, with a drag-harrow attached to the cultivator ; these are now perfectly clean. He will plough in winter by horse- power, and then putting steam again to work to draw the cultivator through the pulverised soil, will drill with artificial manure. Cost of Work Manual Work :— £. .s. d. Engine-man 0 3 6 Ploughman 030 2 porter-Loys 0 2 6 1 anchor-man 020 Boy, cart and horse 04 6 0 15 G Coals 0 12 0 Oil and grease 0 1 6 Total cost per day 19 0 N.B. — aSTo extra paj'ment to men, except for overtime. The ordinary daily wage for labourers in the neighbourhood is Is. Sr7. When not steaming the engine-man is paid 15.s. a Aveek. The "hard" coal is used; the cost per ton home is 22s. ; the consumption per day about 9 cwts. Mr. Redman considers a rope of 450 yards the proper length to be used with advantage to his own tackle. This (costing 45?.) should cultivate 1500 acres, which would bring the expense to l^d. per acre. He thinks, also, that 15 per cent, upon outlay will cover all contingencies, interest of outlay, and supply a new apparatus when required. In his opinion the occupation of a farm of 400 acres of heavy land would justify a man in the purchase of steam tackle as a profitable investment. He expe- riences no difficulty from flints on light soil except when the ground is very much baked. We did not consider it necessary to make a close inspection of a farm so recently brought under steam cultivation. Our tour comprised two or three other farms which did not present any features of special interest. Reed.] Report on Steam Cultivation, 193 Conclusion. Having thus afforded a somewhat minute sketch of our tour of inspection, we proceed to the statement of some general impres- sions or conclusions that seem to arise naturally from it. The main objects of the inquiry were twofold: first, to ascer- tain the actual results of the application of steam-power to tillage operations ; second, to discover the hindrances that check its further progress. Upon the medium and the heavy soils the benefits obtained are undeniable, A culture deeper than it is possible for horses to effect works a highly beneficial change in the texture of the soil, imparts additional efficiency to drainage works, augments the value of the manure applied, brings into operation certain latent properties of the soil, which much increases its fertility ; it also fits land, formerly unfit, for the growth of turnips, allows of their being fed off by sheep, the operations of the field are econo- mised, and the growth of all crops is stimulated. In nearly all the cases reported it will be seen that the expenses of cultivation are very much reduced, and yet that a larger amount of produce is said to have been realised. The reduction of expenditure is more susceptible of proof than increase of produce. As to the first, we had definite statements made to us ; as to the last wc can only report general impressions. There can, however, be no manner of doubt that a large increase is obtained where the bare fallow is abandoned, and a green crop is made to precede a turnip crop. The existence of these crops may be taken as evidence in favour of heavier crops of grain. Instances of this advanced mode of culture were not single, but general. Another very perceptible result, to which we have frequently directed attention, is the quickened pace. Not only are the operations in question themselves better done, quicker done, less expensively done, but all kindred and collateral movements have had imparted to them a speed and " whir " characteristic of steam ; men acquire the habit of doing the day's work in the day, and of not leaving it for the morrow. The day's labour, too, on a steam farm represents more work, with less distress to the physical frame of the labourer, and better remuneration. Steam is working a revolution, slightly manifested as yet, so that we can speak only of tendencies in farm practice, and in the cha- racter of the rural population ; they are being trained for the age of machinery in agriculture. Together with celerity t)f motion must be coupled accuracy, reliableness, promptitude. The results of well-directed machinery approach a certainty, which is no small advantage when one crop is made to succeed another with scarcely a day's interval. VOL. III. — S. S. O 194 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. Upon li2:hter land it has generally been considered that steam had no locxis standi whatever ; and its progress hitherto in such districts is apparently very small. It seems to have been assumed, as we consider somewhat hastily, that land ploughed easily by a pair of horses is no place for steam. Those light-land farmers, however, who have tried steam, even with the apparatus adapted to heavy land, have arrived at a different opinion. Deep culture, which relieves a wet soil in a rainy season, relieves a light burning soil in a dry season. Though a light soil may not be benefited by inversion, it generally is by deep stirring. Steam has been applied to light land hitherto under great dis- advantages. The first attempt of our steam-plough inventors was to win their laurels on stiff soil : the execution of the greater task comprehended a proof of power to do the less. No one knows what may be done on light land until experience has been gained in the use of implements expressly adapted to it. Some of the examples furnished show clearly enough the results obtained on light land, even with a heavy-land set of tackle, particularly No. 30. Since we went through Norfolk a double-engine set of Fowler's Winding Tackle has been at work upon six different farms with a 6-furrow plough and a 90-inch cultivator. Mr. Clare Sevvell Read, M.P., has given a detailed report of what has been done ; other reports have followed, all of which go far to show that steam is only awaiting the manufacture of the proper implements to be as great a help to the light-land as to the heavy-land farmers. With the double-engine set of tackle, too, the direct pull upon the implement which is always approaching the engine, enables the maker to try implements of even larger dimensions than those already in use. The independent method of removal is much in its favour, while the large undivided areas common in light- land districts enable it to work to the greatest economy. The hindrances are multiform. They lie principally with the landowners and the tenant-farmers themselves. There are bright exceptions to the rule ; but the rule speaks to the general indifference, as regards the introduction of steam, of those who own the land of this country. Some are such entire sportsmen as almost to ignore other considerations ; they there- fore insist on retaining the straggling hedgerow which may hide the hare, or the stubble that affords cover to the partridge. Stringent rules not unfrequently came under our notice which debar the tenants from mowing their corn crops, and from breaking up their stubbles until the autumn is too far advanced for the employment of steam : such restrictions seem to us most damaging to the progress of steam culture. Before steam can be as generally used for tillage as it is for Reed.] Report on Steam Culiivation. 195 thrashing-, the fields below 10 acres must be enlarged, and areas of 30 and 40 acres become more the rule than the exception. When it is learned that in the cultivation of small fields a ^ cwt. of coal is consumed per acre beyond the quantity co.isumed in large fields, and that, as in Mr. Bott's case (No. 12), 1 acre is lost per day as compared with the work done by Mr. Impey in larger fields, there will be natural hesitation to commence under such disadvantages. It may be objected that a blow is here aimed not only at the hedgerows, but at the timber, and that the timber is essential as a protection to the land, besides being a source of profit. This view of the question has not escaped us. We are far from desiring to denude the country of timber, but we think it is possible to remove it from a position where it is of small value and of great detriment, and so dispose of it as to be not only more ornamental, but better calculated to check the winds which sweep a country from known quarters. If the trees which obstruct progressive agriculture were banished from the hedge- rows and ornamental clumps, plantations and belts, adopted with judgment and taste, we conceive that all parties would be best served, and the eye of the lover of woodland beauty by no means offended. There are other hindrances, such as the want of a better system of tenant-right, leases with stringent covenants, and customs of the country, which may have been admirable when they were adopted, but are far from being adapted to the pre.sent times. Thus the 4-course system, though well calculated to raise an unproductive district to a fair state of productive- ness, is not adapted to a state of things in which men find it to their interest to invest 12/., 14/., or even 20/. an acre in their hired lands ; " the barley is sure to go down after the root-crop, and two white straw crops in succession are necessary." It is the absence of these favouring circumstances which tends at present to check the progress of steam. There are hindrances also on the part of the tenant-farmer ; foremost, as a rule, we are sorry to acknowledge, is the want of capital for the first outlay. Other obstacles, such as his pre- judices, his lack of mechanical knowledge, and his timidity, have nearly had their day ; for he has found himself shifting with the times and obliged to accommodate his notions to them. Having endeavoured briefly and generally to express our views on these two questions, we now propose to make a few practical observations on other matters. Our observations would lead us to advise no farmer to embark in steam-machinery who has so little knowledge of mechanical detail as to be obliged to depend entirely upon his labourers. He should, at least, know enough of the construction of an 02 196 Report on Steam Caltiixdion. [Reeu. engine to be able to drive it. But for this knowledge many of the most successful cases we have reported would, owing to the suspicion and antagonism of labourers, have proved complete failures. A trained mechanic is often a difficult person to manage, while an untrained labourer is dangerous. Piece-work in steam culture is not always to be recommended. Some farmers who have tried it say that the work is more quickly done, but that it loses in thoroughness, and there are more break- ages. For instance, Mr. Arnot (No. 29) considers that piece-work is " scamped." As to the several parts of the apparatus, Ave have observed too commonly in the engines a want of sufficient steam-space. Then the proper pace in driving is not sufficiently attended to. An engine-maker adapts all the parts for the performance of a certain number of revolutions per minute, and the nearer this normal speed is adhered to the more duty is got out of the engine ; therefore it is bad policy to make the number of revo- lutions irregular by too great stress of work — rather decrease the load, to keep up the speed. The greatest injury done to engines is not in ploughing, but in shifting ; the rapid reversing, so often most carelessly done, is that which most tries an engine. One point worthy of notice is the benefit derived from the use of Le Franc's liquid, an account of which is given in the report of Mr. Lancashire's farm (No. o2). The necessity of smith's-shops, engine-houses, and other conveniences, requires more attention. The question between the cultivator and the plough is not to be very easily settled. We have come to this conclusion, however, that a plough is a very valuable adjunct to a cultivator, enabling the engine much to enlarge the sphere of its action. There are seasons when a cultivator cannot be worked to advan- tage, but when a plough certainly can ; and the absence of a plough operates as an excuse for the keeping of more horses than are really required. We found among those farmers who have hitherto employed cultivators only, a general desire to have a plough in addition ; we also found that those farmers who have ploughs, used them. The ropes made during the last few years are of much im- proved quality, Mr. Arnot savs that ropes of 18G1-2 are twice as good as those of 1859. We subjoin information obtained from Messrs. Glass and Elliot, 23, Great George-street, West- minster, on this important subject. Their foreman states that improvements have been made of late in the machinery, rather than in the way of manufacturing the steel-wire ropes, and that their greater uniformity of temper and extra toughness has given them an increase in strength of more than one- third over those sent out in 1860. Eeed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 197 As plougli-ropes are subject to much friction, and the lar2:er the wire the more friction the rope will stand, the wires should be as lar2:e as the sheaves and drum will permit, and the latter should afford space enough to admit of the rope being made with four strands. Again, if very small sheaves and drum be used, the constant quick bending, in coiling off and on, will cause the rope to wear out much sooner than it would were the sheaves and drum of a larger size. The ropes in the greatest demand as being suitable for most kinds of ploughing are made of No. 15 gauge wire, with six wires in each strand, and four strands in the rope. The principal sizes used are as under : — Gauge. Average Breaking Strain of AVire in Cwts. Kope made \\\i\\ 6 Wires in Strand, and 6 Strands in the Eope. Rope made witli C Wires in Strand, and 5 Strands in the Rope. Rope made -nitb 6 Wires in Strand, and 4 Strands in the Piope. Circum- Breaking ference in Strain Inches. in Tons. Circum- ference in Inches. Breaking Strain in Tons. Circum- ference in Inches. Breaking Strain in Tons. 14 12 H 26 -'1 22A n 18 14-i- lOj 2| 23| 2| 19.^ i|i 16 15 9 2i 20 2 17 If 13^ loi 7 2i- 15J n 13 n \i)h 16 6 2 14^ if 12 u 10 The price of these ropes would be 755. per cwt., delivered carriage paid. The subject of " depreciation in value " of apparatus may be studied in the data furnished in the Reports of the steam culture of Mr. J. L. King, of Scole (No. 20), and others. As an illustration of the relative extent to which some farmers use their steam apparatus more than others, we give the number of acres to each pair of horses still kept in conjunction with steam in a variety of instances. Thus in our light-land section — Mr. Ellman has a pair of horses to each 70 acres; Mr. Lancashire, to 100 acres; Mr. Arnot, to 132 acres arable ; Mr. Smythe, to 100 acres ; and Mr. Woods, to 50 acres arable. On medium soil — Mr. J. L. King has a pair of horses to each 75 acres arable ; Mr. Greene, to 133 acres ; Mr. Palmer, to 66 acres ; Mr. Battcock, to 70 acres ; Mr. Ruston, to 80 acres ; Mr. Bott, to 84 acres ; and Mr. Cooper, to 90 acres. Mr. Cooper, before the steam cultivation came, had a pair to every 60 acres. 198 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. Our opinion is that the presence of a 10-horse power steam- engine on a farm ought to reduce the number of horses formerly kept to a pair for every 100 to 120 acres arable. Perhaps we can hardly limit the precise number of acres on which we should recommend the purchase of a steam apparatus, but our impression, from what we have seen, is that there should be 350 acres arable of heavy land, or 500 acres of lighter soil ; but some are guided by the employment they have for the engine at other work, Howard Reed, Secretary to the Committee. John J. Hemsley, Shelton, Neioark, Notts. John Hickin, Dunchurch, Rugby. Me. J. A. Clarke's Eeport. Report of the 2nd Inspection Committee deputed hy the Royal Agricultural Society of England to inquire into the Results of Steam Cultivation in the Cou7ities of Northumherlarid, York, Lincoln, Nottingham, Stafford, Salop, Flint, Montgomery, Wor- cester, Warivick, Gloucester, Somerset, Dorset, Wilts, Berks, Oxford, Bucks, Bedford, and Northampton. The experience of some 140 practical farmers upon an area of 66,000 acres arable, — consisting of holdings of all sizes, from less than 200 up to 2500 acres, and averaging 536 acres each ; em- bracing a great diversity of soils, and situated in the most varying climates, from the droughty east to the rainy west, from the chilly north to the sunny south ; an experience derived from four up to ten years' employment of all the different forms of apparatus now in use, under every system of working, and with every style of management ; an experience also, for the most part, investi- gated upon the spot by ten business men, whose names and repu- tation are staked upon the truthfulness and impartiality of their Reports, — ought to establish the success or demonstrate the failure of steam tillage in this kingdom. And the Society's munificent outlay upon the Inquiry will be sanctioned by results, if only a small percentage of its Members and of the proprietors and tenants of land still under horse culture shall be led by the mass of evidence concentrated in the three Reports to treat their fields as well as their produce by the power of the steam-engine. Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 199 As far as our part of the enterprise was concerned (that is, in visiting and reporting upon selected " steam-farms " in the nine- teen counties named above), we felt that every idea of a com- petitive nature was foreign to our purpose ; we travelled some thousands of miles by rail, by road, and on foot, not to draw comparisons between this " set of tackle " and that, but to witness and examine, on behalf of the Society's Council and Members, what steam tillage is actually doing for the farmer under a great variety of circumstances — to describe what we ourselves observed, to collect statistical information on which we considered that we could rely, and to note results communicated to us in good faith, leaving every reader to draw his own conclusions from the facts related, as to which particular piece of machinery (if any) will be best adapted to his own case. Still, if we properly appreciated what Ave saw, and were discreet in the use of our materials, we should be enabled to point out the respective advantages and deficiencies pertaining to the several "systems ;" to compare the " one-engine " and " two-engine " arrangements for different pur- poses, to offer an opinion upon the merits of individuals or joint- proprietorship of apparatus, and of contract-working and letting- out by private owners or companies ; and in general we should be in a position to say why it is that adopters of steam culture have been counted by a few hundreds, instead of being found scattered through the length and breadth of our country by thousands. To narrate the incidents of our many journeys through districts of widely-differing features in landscape and husbandry, would be only an abortive attempt at rendering dry details readable, besides absorbing too much space in the closely-packed pages of the Journal : therefore we plunge at once into facts and figures ; and the reader who has not the patience to wade through all, can content himself with making use of the " concluding references " at the end of each Section. We purposely avoid the perhaps too customary generalization of statistics in tabular forms, giving "aveiage" items of expense, "average" performance per day or year, " average " number of horses displaced, and so on. For certain purposes, wholesale deductions of this kind may be valu- able ; but our investigation has been essentially of a more retail character. We have sought to ascertain what steam tillage is doing upon each particular farm where we found it : the outlay, the working, the results may tell better or worse on that farm than on another ; but they concern that farm alone, and are accounted for, commented on, justified or condemned, by the special conditions and circumstances surrounding that particular case. The details of cost and profit, of suitability of the ma- chinery employed, of effects upon the soil and the cropping, will 200 Refort on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. be true of all similar farms under like management ; whereas general averages totalled up from a multiplicity of dissimilar farms under all sorts of circumstances, are true of no one instance, and are applicable only to an ideal case that does not exist. We prefer that each farmer's experience shall stand on its own merits and speak for itself: but, for the sake of symmetry and harmony ill our Report, the farms are classified, as far as practicable, according to the character of their soil, still further grouped according to climate, and subordinately arranged, pretty much according to the size of the occupation ; while joint-partnership in apparatus, and, again, the hiring system, are treated of in separate Sections. This plan of subdivision will enable the reader to select for perusal the story of that class of farms in which he may be most interested ; and, at the same time, a con- sultation of the "reference-tables" will assist in finding the various items of information scattered through the Report upon any special topic sought for. Repetition will be avoided by our explaining in this place the bases adopted in our several calculations. Working expenses for " manual labour," " coal," " oil," &c., are, of course, those given us in answers to the Society's Schedules of Queries, or were gathered by ourselves from the employers or their workmen. The value of " horse-labour," differing extremely according to management, ought strictly to be taken at what it actually costs in each case ; but as only an arbitrary value can be assigned to a large portion of horses' food, opinions varying so much that no two farmers reckon up the cost of their teams upon like data, we have deemed it sufficient for the use of this Report to take the averages furnished by the Society's own authorities on the sub- ject. Besides, our estimates of gain by displacement of draft animals do not profess to be exact, but to be near enough the mark for affording us general conclusions, Mr. J. Chalmers Morton, in his essay * On the Cost of Horse-power ' (Journal, vol. xix.), gives a tabular synopsis of the various particulars of keeping no fewer than 282 horses upon twenty-one farms ; the average being for food, 23/. ; blacksmiths', saddlers', farriers' bills, and depre- ciation (or maintenance of value unimpaired), 5/. 10s., or 28/. 10s. per horse ; to which are added, annual wear of imple- ments, 3/. 2^., and share of wages of team-men, 14/, 8*, ; making a total of 46/. as the yearly cost per horse. Mr. Frere's valua- tion, in his paper on ' The Present Aspect of Steam Culture ' (Jf)urnal, vol. xxi.), is 41/. per horse. Considering that, on the one hand, higher prices of corn and better wages now tend to raise these estimates, while, on the other hand, making the needful allowance foi' the worth of the horses' manure, Avill reduce them, perhaps we shall be very near the mark if we divide Clakke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 201 between tlie two, and assume the total average expense of a farm- horse to be 44/, a year. The cost of ox-labour is a matter of still greater diversity of opinion. Mr. Cowie, in his Essay ' On the Comparative Advan- tages of Horses and Oxen for Farm-vv'ork ' (Journal, vol. v.), estimates it at 17/. \0s. per year, — taking turnips at IO5. per ton ; however, he omits, on the one side of the account, the wages of the team-men, and, on the other, the yearly improvement (instead of deterioration) in tlie value of the animal. Mr. Ellman (quoted in Morton's 'Young's Farmers' Calendar,' 1862) cal- culates the keep of a team-bullock to be half that of a farm-horse. To be within the bounds of extreme moderation, we have charged 15/. as the total yearly cost of a working ox. "Interest upon capital invested," we put up at the usual figure of 5 per cent. The complicated and difficult items of "wear and tear," and " depreciation in value " of the machinery, we have ventured to treat in a somewhat new method. In the Society's Reports of Steam-Plough ' Trials,' the Judges were obliged to assume some arbitrary percentage upon first outlay before they could frame any comparative estimates of the cost of work done. Thus, in the earliest experimental trial at Boxted Lodge, in 1856, the steam-plough was debited with 15 per cent, for "interest and wear and tear," distributed over 1000 acres, "to be ploughed annually on a farm of 600 acres." At Salisbury, in 1857, no official calculation ^vas attempted. The Chester Judges, in 1858, charged both Ricketts' rotary digger and Fowler's plough with " interest 5 per cent., and wear and tear 15 per cent., on first cost, taking 200 as the number of working days per year," and dividing the yearly sum into so much per day : while they charged Howard's cultivator Avith 5 per cent, interest, and wear and tear 20 per cent. : a distinction not warranted by after experience, this same tackle being now at work in Huntingdon- shire, and having cost very little in repairs. At Warwick, in 1850, no estimates of expense were made. In the Canterbury trials of 1860, the Judges took the interest at 5 per cent., and wear and tear in all cases at 15 per cent., on cost price of apparatus, dividing the amount over 200 working days in a year. At Leeds, in 1861, interest was reckoned at 5 per cent., and wear and tear, in Fowler's case, at 12^ per cent., and for Howard's and for Kirby's apparatus 15 per cent, on the purchase-money, divided among 200 working days. The next calculations were made at Worcester in 1863, the interest being taken at 5 per cent,, and wear and tear at 12^ per cent, in all cases ; and apportioned upon 200 days in a year. And in the last trial at Newcastle in 1864, the Judges followed the same figures. Now, what will be the averag-e cost of a 202 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. steam cultivator for maintenance in a course of years can only be arrived at from the history of a great number of machines, extending over a protracted interval of time ; and ultimately, when steam cultivation is a quarter of a century older, we shall be able to say such and such an appaiatus has so many acres of work in it, just as railway managers can assign the total number of miles that a locomotive is expected to run. We have reflected, however, that the arbitrary and gratuitous allowances for "wear and tear " are separable into two distinct items — " repairs " and "depreciation" in value. Steam-ploughs have been in existence long enough to give us trustworthy data for the first ; and, there- fore, instead of endeavouring to get one general percentage for repairs, we state them at what they really are — whether con- sisting of the ordinary renewal of wearing parts (as rope, shares, pulleys, brasses), and parts consumed in working (as grate-bars, fire-boxes, &c.), or of replacements arising from accidental or other breakages — of course distinguishing between these and additions of improved parts, which are simply augmentations of the first cost of the machinery. There is left an uncertain item of gradual " depreciation " in value of the framework, &c., or those main parts of the apparatus which are not constantly main- tained at their original worth by renewals and replacements. And we have to ascertain what is the average length of life of a steam-plough. Where so much depends upon the amount and character of the work done, the intervals of rest (and rust), the quality of the water used, the care and intelligence of the engine- driver and workmen, and also upon the inherent difference between two engines turned out of the same workshop (says Mr. H. Evershed in his Essay ' On the Wear and Tear of Agricul- tural Steam-engines,' Journal, vol. xxiii.), it is impossible to fix upon any general percentage likely to be true in a majority of cases. Mr. R. Vallentine, in his paper on ' The Comparative Advantages of Fixed and Moveable Steam-Power ' (Journal, vol. xxiii,), does not attempt to separate repairs from deprecia- tion, but lumps them together in " cost of maintenance " at fully 20 per cent. ; which, however, he says, is too much if applied to the work of thrashing on one farm. Mr. Frere (Journal, vol. xxi.) does make the distinction, allowing, after all repairs are paid for, 10 per cent, for depreciation, besides 5 per cent, for interest. Mr. Turnill (quoted by Mr. Frere), from his experience with three portable thrashing-engines at continual contract-work, thinks that the engines will be unfit for use in 10 or 12 years, and that 10 to 12i per cent, should be set down for depreciation. Mr. Evershed, after stating the repairs of twenty portable engines, computes the depreciation in this way : — A ten-horse portable is purchased for 290/., what will it be worth in 10 years' time? Claeke,] Report on Steam Cultivation. 203 Let us say 50Z; thus there is 240Z. sunk. The annuity which this sum would buy for 10 years (calculated at 5 per cent.) is .31/. 2.9. ; to this annual item add 21. 10s., the yearly interest of the 50/. that the engine is worth at the end of the time, and you have altogether 33/. 13s. per annum as the combined interest and depreciation upon capital invested. This is equivalent to about 11 J per cent, on the original cost; or, in other words, if you put down 5 per cent, as " interest," there will remain 6J per cent, as " depreciation." However, the test of saleable value can hardly be applicable to the case. A ten-years'-old engine, that might sell for 50/., is worth far more than that to its owner, seeing that it is still capable of doing all his work ; and it would realize a much higher price if the purchaser were not uncertain about the real condition of a second-hand engine. There is no regular market- value for old engines, any more than there is for straw which a tenant is forbidden to sell. In the case of the latter article we are accustomed to distinguish between " commercial " and " con- suming " value: and we should apply the same principle to steam-power apparatus ; the question being, not " What could I sell a ' second-hand set ' for, when one day's use of it alone may have rendered it no longer ' new,' and has knocked off a fourth of its market value?" but "What is it worth to me; or, in other words, in what proportion is it a weaker and more hazardous machine than when it came fresh from the maker ? " In the earlier years of steam-ploughing perhaps it was fair to expect a machine to be antiquated in a few years' time by the rapid pro- gress of invention ; so that both Mr. J. Chalmers Morton, in his numerous and exhaustive reports of " steam-farms " (see a selec- tion from them in his ' Farmers' Calendar,' 21st edition, 1862), and Mr. J. Algernon Clarke, in his ' Five Years' Progress of Steam-Cultivation' (Journal, vol. xxiv., 1863), may have been justified in guessing at 10 per cent, per annum on first cost, for "depreciation" or "maintenance of value," besides the actual "repairs," and 5 per cent, for "interest." In this year 1867, however, the various forms of steam-tillage machinery are so thoroughly established that, so far from their being likely to be superseded and thrown aside as altogether worthless only ten years after their purchase, we may fairly reckon that they will last until worn out, or perhaps until piece-meal replacements of new working parts, new boiler-plates, new tubes, &c., may be considered as starting the apparatus new again, — the same in identity, yet completely renewed in substance, like the old lady's bellows or the Irishman's clasp-knife. That 10 per cent, is far too heavy a charge, appears from the very fact of there being sets of tackle manufactured ten years ago still working, and betraying no sign of being now on their last legs. We have seen apparatus 204 Rej)ort on Steam Cultivation. [Claekk. of this age, regularly and extensively employed, yet with frame- work, axles, drums, shell of the boiler, &c., &c., apparently little damaged, with many years' work still remaining before them, and little prospect of their being " out of fashion " for a long time to come. And we therefore consider ourselves warranted in adopting (what must of necessity be an arbitrary figure) 5 per cent, for "depreciation." But we do not calculate even this reduced percentage upon the Avhole of the original purchase- money. Wearing parts are bought with an engine, but they are iVom time to time restored perfectly new again under the expense of " repairs," renewal of rope, and so on ; so that there is abso- lutely no depreciation whatever in their value. Mr. J. Chalmers Morton (see ' Farmers' Calendar ') deducts the price of the rope, which is kept good in perpetuity by occasional purchases of new lengths, and then reckons " depreciation " upon the remaining portion of the original outlay. This we consider to be the right principle of procedure ; but, properly, it should be carried further. We ought to divide the various members of the appa- ratus into two classes ; (1) permanent parts, and (2) wearing and consuming parts ; the first including the immoveable framework, and all parts of the structure which are not subject to attrition or consumption in the act of working : as the shell of the boiler, framing, brackets, &c. ; while the second class comprises rope, shares, coulters, porter-wheels, pulleys, brasses, bushes, pitch- chains, toothed-wheels, cams, clutches, rubbing parts of the engine, together with grate-bars and fire-box, Interest 0 4 1| .... 0 5^ Total cost per day .. .. 1 IS 101 4 35 The total annual outlay, for 130 days' work, will amount to 252.^ 16.9. hd. But there is an error of excess in the calculation, arising- from the whole of the depreciation and interest due upon the engine being charged to steam cultivation ; whereas, this engine does all the thrashing of the farm, and the engine cost more than half of the purchase-money. A correction being made for this, would reduce the above totals probably 2s. per day, or nearly 3c?. per acre, making the entire yearly cost of steam cultivation, say 240/. Twenty-six horses were employed before " steam " was intro- duced, and 20 afterwards ; and reckoning the 6 horses at 44/. per horse, the annual saving is 264/. That is, the outgoings for tillage remain about as they were ; the Duke getting all the advantage of deeper and more expeditious cultivation without paying a penny extra for it. The effect of steam culture upon " strong land under drainage " (one point included in our "instructions") may be here treated in the same way as " the snakes of Lapland ;" the subject being foreign to the soil of Blenheim. The system of cropping has not been altered, nor has the acreage of root-crops been enlarged. The advantage, as far as regards increased production, is thus stated by Mr. Napier : — " the root crops have been considered better, by which other crops receive a corresponding benciit." Certainly, the Duke's swedes were the earliest, and, drilled wide and hoed-out wide, presented the biggest bulbs that we chanced to meet with in any English county. They had been " mag- nificently done ;" but at the date when we walked through them (September 15th) we could not say Avhether they would not be beaten in quality by other rather backward swedes in the neighbourhood. Tlie preparation for them was as follows : the land was steam " cultivated " and steam " crossed " in the autumn ; then in spring it received one light cultivation, followed by harrowings and ridging in the usual way. The * Includes wear and tear of rope at 4f?, to 6f?. per acre. Clakke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 225 manure was 15 tons per acre of "farm-yard," and 2^ cwt. of " superphosphate." No. 46. Mr. Miles Rodgett, of Sandford, Wareham, Dorset- shire, has reclaimed and. broken-up to tillage, out of gorse and. heather, between 400 and 500 acres of poor sandy and gravelly Heath, by a Howard 5-tined cultivator, and a set of " steam- harrows ;" the engine being a double-cylinder 10-horse power. With half a ton of coal, at 20,s. per ton, he cultivates 6 to 8 acres per day. His engine-driver has lo*., ploughman 145., windlass- man 125., his anchor-men 12^. each, four porter-boys 65. each per week. The engine is always set down where water is, and a boy to pump it costs 6'(/. a day. Removal occupies 4 horses for a day. The whole tackle cost 500/., in February, 1864 ; and aridging- plough and 400 yards of extra rope were added for 35?. Repairs in two years and a half amounted to 10/. for " points " worn out and porters broken. Mr. Rodgett works with 2000 yards of rope in use at once, and in 1865 reported that it had gone over about 4000 acres, and that it was " showing signs of weakness." The cost price of the rope, we suppose, would be about 90/., or 5^f/. per acre, a low rate attained by lightness of work iindfoiLr porter- boys. Division 4. — North. No. 47. Mr. Peter Stevenson, of Rainton, Ripon, Yorkshire, occupies 390 acres of arable and 50 of pasture, including three sorts of land ; about 60 acres being clay, while over the remainder of the farm, each field has several sorts of subsoil varying from strong loam to light sand, the geological basis being the new red sandstone. The heavy soil " 3 and 4-horse land," is ploughed flat in this neighbourhood, and, when underdrained, dries very well ; the lighter soil abounds with large boulders, which toss a steam-cultivator about " so that the men cannot ride," and occa- sionally the implement is tumbled upside down — a condition of ground and surface by no means favourable to steam-power husbandry. Years before steam culture arrived in this part, Mr. Stevenson had adopted the smashing-up of stubbles by horse-drawn " Ducie drags." In the autumn of 1857 he purchased a 9-horse portable engine of Hornsby and Sons, with a set of Woolston tackle made by Humphries, and a 3-tined " Smith " cultivator made by Howard. This implement, 27 inches wide, was afterwards enlarged to 30 inches wide, by placing the two outer tines outside the beams, so as to take in effect 3 feet breadth of work at once. The engine cost 275/. ; the tackle, cScc, 205/., or 480/. in all. The four-wheeled windlass has not cost 5^. in repairs ; the YOL. III. — S. S. Q 226 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. "turn-tables" (or snatch-blocks) have worn out about "a wheel" a-piece, and several rope-porters and an extra anchor have been added. But other repairs have been very trifling. The first rope, being of iron, was soon worn out ; Mr. Stevenson observing that working on stony land, in a time of frosty nights and sunny days, wore away the metal " like wet iron on a grindstone." This destruction of 1400 yards of iron rope, and the very nearly wearing-out of a steel one of the same length, represent the con- sumption of rope during the nine years' employment of the apparatus; but in this last autumn (of 1866) the tackle was not worked at all, or not until nearly Christmas, owing to the wet season. The farm lies tolerably level, and in fields of about 15 acres each, varying from 4 up to 27 acres ; and the average rate of performance is about 5 acres cultivated per day. They never work in wet weather, and have never been stopped by breakages. The hands engaged are five men and two boys, at 135. 6f/. per day ; and 6 to 8 cwts. of coal burned, costing lOs. to 12s. per ton. Where fields are contiguous, shifting is done by help of 2 or 3 horses, occupying l^^ to 2 hours, certainly more expeditious than we have found this business in many other cases. Mr. Stevenson sets his engine to thrash corn, cut chaff, and grind corn for horses and pigs. He keeps the same number of farm-horses as he did before adopting " steam," but then he has occupied 160 acres more land ; the reduc- tion on the old occupation would have been from 17 to 12, that is a saving of 5 horses. The steam-cultivator smashes up the stubbles in autumn for roots, breaks up stubbles for beans, breaks up part of the turnip-fold for barley, and also on the strong land bastard -fallows the 2-years' seeds in July in prepara- tion for wheat. On strong land, Mr. Stevenson, in one year, cured a piece of its beds of thistles, by a single deep smashing- up ; and on a piece of light sand with big boulder-stones, he has found no couch left after steam cultivating, and no increase of annuals. There has been a small increase in the acreage of root-crops, because they are now grown on some heavy pieces where they could not be profitably attempted before. And the weight of roots per acre is decidedly greater, besides the advantage of the land being much more easily kept clear of couch-grass. Mr. Stevenson will not say that his corn crops yield more and better in consequence of steam cultivation ; but he used to grow too much straw, and so now uses less guano, and gets a more regular and upstanding crop. He has just bought a second-hand set of Howard's tackle, not so much from a wish to improve upon the old set, as because of Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 227 the cheapness of the lot offered, the whole having been " met with " for little more than the cost of a new steel rope, which must have been procured for the old apparatus. In many light-land and other districts, now popularly supposed to be unadapted for steam tillage, we have no doubt that the machinery only requires a practical introduction, in order to win its way gradually in all directions. At least, this is the history of the rise and progress of steam-ploughing in many localities : analogous to that of the artificial manure trade in many quarters — a iew years ago boasting that their fertile soil did not need guano for corn-crops, or anything of the sort beyond "a little something to pop up the turnips into rough leaf out of the way of the fly," and yet gradually prevailed upon to experiment until (to our knowledge) those same districts now find agents in uncommonly good commissions. Still we are of opinion that really light lands, where large quantity per day, rather than quality of work, is the great point, are waiting for wider implements, or perhaps for more than one implement in work at once. We have seen farms (for instance, Mr. Edmonds' and others) where 20 to 25 acres of cultivating per day are done by a 14-horse engine ; this is at the rate of 120 to 150 acres in a week. The double-engine system might accom- plish much more ; but before the engines can put out their full power, they require implements taking a broader stripe at a stroke. Why cannot an 8 or even a 10-feet wide cultivator be made to work — jointed longitudinally, if you please, like a certain make of harrows, so as to keep close to an always waving surface? If a 6-feet implement can now till 20 or 25 acres in a day, a 10-feet implement might just as well compass 30 to 40 acres per day, 200 acres a week, in the great light-soil inclosures of some counties ! Obviously the double-engine arrangement alone can come into play for such wholesale seven-league-booted campaigning as this. The stationary-engine and windlass, shifted of necessity about once a day and losing a quarter of a day in the process, would Jose 6 or 7 acres every day, and be 30 to 40 acres behind- hand at the end of a week, with no outlay saved to make the cost per acre as low as that of the expeditious double-engine work. One great impediment to steam culture on light lands requires notice. Large farmers find that, where reaping-machines are employed, there is ample Avork in harvest for all the horses they now keep. Just at first there may be some to spare ; but when once carting has fully commenced, then, with the aid of one man and a boy, the reaper can be kept at work, and all the Q2 228 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. horses are employed. In Norfolk about tliree horses are kept to every hundred acres of light land, and on stifFer soils and small farms four horses to each hundred acres. And what with carting- corn, drag-raking, removing straw for stack bottoms and thatching, and carrying water, with most likely some horse- hoeing to be done as well, the light-land Norfolk farmer could not part with one-third of his horses, even if all the harvest were cut by hand, which is not at all desirable. But if a costly steam apparatus is to bring its full benefit to these farmers, it should displace a portion of their horse-flesh. This could hardly be done except by steam undertaking a part of the carriage labour ; and for anything we can tell it may some time be found practicable for the " double engines " to undertake a portion of the corn carting. Would it be practicable to manage this by setting the rows of shocks radially, pointing to one corner where the ricks are to stand ; placing one engine in that corner, the other engine at the far end of each row of shocks in turn, and hauling by the wire ropes some broad low trucks, " empties '' out, full ones coming " in," at the pace of five miles an hour ? However, this at present is, of course, mere "theory." Under existing circumstances, and when pi'oper implements are brought out, probably the hiring system is best adapted for the light-land farmer, who has seldom enough tillage work to fully employ a powerful set of steam tackle. For the sake of convenience to the reader, we bring under his eye, in a tabular form, a few items for comparison. (See next page.) Section II. — Heavy-Land Farms. Division 1. — East. No. 48, Mr. F. W. Bignell, of Loughton, Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, farms 222 acres, besides a considerable extent of old pasture ; the soil and subsoil a tenacious calcareous clay, of a most unkind quality, usually ploughed in the district in 8-inch by 5-inch furrows by four horses, and fallowed without a crop. His first season with a Woolston set of tackle was in 1858, an 8-horse engine being hired of a steam-thrashing neighbour at 205. per day, on the condition that Mr. Bignell should always have " first turn." This arrangement worked pretty well until last year, when the engine proprietor bought a set of cultivating tackle for himself, and Mr. Bignell had to get through one year as well as he could without steam-power — a new 10-horse single-cylinder engine having been now procured Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 229 ^ ^ ^ m eo j3 O O y ^^ >, f»i-? hM «!■* « -* Cl c> g • CO CI CO C« CO Is to m ^ ^ ,i< o O o 00 M o Tj< O o Cl o CI .2 1^ o -*^ CO Tt< ^ Cl ^ CI (—1 '■§ o o o o o d o o ^ o o CO o s o o 3 h -»-> -^ -^ -^-' ■♦-• ■*^ •g^ o -t -f 00 o o Tj* o 00 -o r- 3 '"' "^ c> >— o ^ CO 3J CO "^ CO CI ■"* ;zi <5 ^ g CO ■^ o "to c^ = S n: «« P to '-+? CO CO °-^l5 ; J- ; : ; un Cl : ^i"s^ o ■^ V. CJ O*^^ x: K^ . - . fl • ■ r^ ' a • a • a ■ 3 ■ a ' a • C3 .. ^ rt CS rt CS >, C3 n 1 o i-> 3 CI . o . o O _i; p a rt 3 c3 bo bC o a C3 - ^ a m rt rt " So "3 2 "35 o S ^ ;^ S 2 s' 5 O 5 ■"" p ■w O -d •§-3 X! a; 5 a P CO ^ g .-:i « S •_ 9r* Tctc fcj} '►5 3 -S " CO 03 TcEcs a CO .2P ^ m d o o O O "a ^ o o o o o O o 2^ o S!3 o o >o o o2 o 00 -»• o o O CO CJ5 ^1 CO CI o to CI *"* CI o ■* to 1^ CO •nuBj oqi JO -H >n o r^ 00 o o ^ CI CO -* in O t^ •0 v^ aoaawjo'jj CO CO CO CO C5 CO t Tf •* -* ^ •* ■n" ■* 230 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. for the present autumn work. The new system of tillage lias banished the bare fallow altogether, enabling turnips and swedes, and a few mangolds to be grown. One piece of turnips that we saw is but a moderate crop ; the swedes are exceedingly good, and remarkable for being the produce of such land. The fallow crops are clean, and only a few portions of foul ground appear on the farm. The rotation is (1) turnips, with vetches introduced in part ; (2) barley ; (3) seeds ; (4) wheat ; (5) barley or " pulse," — that is beans, peas, or both mixed. The tillage con- sists in smashing up the stubbles in autumn, and then, after the ground has laid for some time, without any raking, picking, and burning of couch, trenching up into yard-wide drills and ridges by a 4-horse double-mould board plough before Christmas. In spring a 3-tined grubber, drawn by four horses, is taken through (that is lengthwise along) each ridge — tearing down, without mixing up the outer coating of winter-pulverized earth with the raw inside. The ground is then worked by harrowing, (Sec, and farm-yard manure ridged-in in the ordinary manner at sowing time. The wheat stubble for barley or pulse is also broken up by the cultivator, and sometimes " crossed ;" and while part of the clover lea is ploughed for wheat by horses, part is smashed up for wheat, with very good results if done early. We were shown one field of wheat, part upon ploughed, part upon culti- vated land, the latter decidedly the better crop ; but then the comparison is not fair, because here the clover had been mown twice, whereas the inferior produce is after clover mown once and then grazed ; it being well known how the increased roots of clover that has twice sent up tall stalks and leaf will feed the succeeding corn. Occasionally Mr. Bignell has sown wheat broadcast, and then steam-tilled it in. Sheep eat off the turnips, swedes, and mangold, and their folds are smashed up for the barley seed-bed. Mr. Bignell does not approve the Woolston combined cultivator and drill for breaking-up and sowing at one operation. He is eloquent in favour of the Woolston cultivator, of keeping the weeds at top and killing them by a " crossing " after their first vegetation ; and he denounces turn-over ploughing, except for a few special purposes. Being a bit of a mechanic in taste, he has attached a couple of tines behind the " No. 3 " cultivator, so as to form at pleasure a 5-tine or 3-tine implement, and thus save the expense of having two separate frames, wheels, &c. The horse-cultivator we have mentioned, as tearing down the ridges in spring, is one of a pair that Mr. Bignell started when suddenly deprived of his engine. In form it is just like the Woolston 3-tiner, only smaller and lighter, 20 inches wide, so as to break up about two feet breadth at once. The peculiar Olaeke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 231 spud-shape of tlie shares, and their downward pointing, giving the greatest lift to the torn masses of earth, while the wheels in advance upon the unmoved ground bear the weight steadily and with the least friction, combine to make this " the best tool (says Mr, Bignell) ever invented for strong land." Obliged to put up with the absence of steam-power and the stronger grubber, he last year worked two of these implements, each drawn by four horses in length (so as to avoid treading down the broken-up clods), and working 7 inches deep at the rate of 2 acres a day. Horse cultivation like this was " only a little inferior " to steam cultivation. With an 8-horse engine a fair day's work has been 4^ to 5 acres with the 3-tined implement ; in extra long days 7 acres have sometimes been accomplished. When the extra two tines are added, of course, much more is done. The fields are from 20 to 30 acres in extent, and well shaped for steam culti- vation. Coals cost 14s. or 15^. per ton at the nearest station, four miles off, and the consumption has been 8 to 10 cwts. a day. Oil is put at \s., and water is carted by one horse, and a boy at ^d. a day. The apparatus is worked by six men and a boy — two men at 25. Qd. each ; four at 2s. each, and the lad at 10c?. per day. Removal, varying a little according to distance, takes about two hours' time, with 4 horses, the water-cart horse, and a carter in addition to the steam-cultivating hands. Mr. Bignell and his neighbour have done a good deal of work for hire — one finding tackle, the other the engine, and sharing the expenses and the proceeds. This has been upon several farms, the area varying every year, the average being perhaps from 1 to 200 acres. The rates charged have been lbs. an acre for " once over," and 255. for " twice over." The men, when not cultivating, work at the ordinary labours of the farm. The steam tillage on Mr. Bignell's own farm occupies 14 to 16 days after harvest, and occasionally 3 or 4 in the spring ; and this has been amply sufficient to enable him to dispense with 3 horses out of the 10 formerly kept, and yet be always forward with his work. Strictly speaking, 6 horses are now kept, with 2 colts bred on the farm and worked half-time alternately. The manual- labour bill, too, is not excessively heavy, amounting to less than 30s. an acre over the whole occupation — wages being commonly 12s. a week, in winter lis. a week, and "Wolverton" (the railway works in the vicinity) making labourers very inde- pendent. The apparatus cost 190/., 'and a new rope since, 60Z. ; and the repairs (of which no account is given) are less heavy now than formerly, owing to the better management which has come into practice. Among the general results, the drainage of this cold stiff clay 232 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. (wliicli has not been well clone in every part of the farm) is decidedly more effectual from the deep stirring- of the steam- cultivator. The old high-backed lands are levelled, and yet water does not stand anywhere, even in the present wet time. On the greater productiveness of his cropping generally, Mr. Bignell says, " I speak somewhat diffidently in replying to this question, having- introduced steam the second year of my occupation ; but, as far as I can gather from others, no previous occupier ever obtained so much produce as myself. Judging from my first year, I think the advantage of steam culture has been very con- siderable." No. 49. Mr. John S. Crawley, of Farley, Luton, Bedford- shire, works a set of Chandler and Oliver's tackle, substituted for Smith's — the peculiarity of the former consisting in the two winding-drums being hung upon the hind carriage-wheel axle- tree of the engine, one on each side of the boiler — the engine and windlass being thus combined. The cost of the 8-horse power engine, made by Robey and Co., with Smith's windlass, two cultivators, of 2 feet 4 inch and 5 feet 2 inch width respectively, was 590/.* Mr. Crawley has kept no distinct account of the repairs. He pays his engine-driver 2s. Qd. ; ploughmen, windlass-men, and two anchor-men. Is. lOd. each ; two porter-lads. Is. od. each ; and two boys 9d. each per day ; with Is. allowed for beer. Carting tiOO gallons of water costs 4^. ; oil b^d. per day ; and coal at 20^. a ton costs 8^. Sd. per day. As the engine helps to move itself, and there is no wind- lass, only two horses are required in shifting, and this takes a correspondingly shorter time than when a separate windlass has to be taken up, conveyed, and set down again in position ; the interval occupied here being about li hour. On a strong clay soil, resting on a chalk subsoil, and in tolerably level fields averaging 30 acres each, now that trees and supernumerary fences have been stocked-up, the average perform- ance is 5 acres per day with the small cultivator, or 7 acres with the larger one. On a farm of 300 acres arable, with about as much grass, Mr. Crawley has diminished his former number of 16 horses down to 12. His remarks upon the "results" are, that the drainage acts better, and the land is more porous, though it does not admit of roots being fed-off' in the winter. He has neither altered his old rotation nor enlarged his breadth of root-crop ; but he says, " the crops generally are more productive and of better quality, attributable partly to draining, and partly to steam cultivation." No. 50. Mr. John Horrell, of the Stevington Lodge Farm, * We have abandoned the use of the axle windlass, as we found it too much for one man to attend to both engine and windlass. — T. T. Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 233 near Bedford, succeeded Mr, Pike (who liere began steam culti- vation in the year 1857), and purchased his apparatus second-hand in 1863. This consisted of a 10-horse-power double- cylinder engine, with Howard's tackle ; the price not stated. After w^orking it three seasons, his testimony is that he has worn out about half a rope, and that the cost of repairs altogether averages 40/. per annum. In the autumn of 1863 he broke up 38 acres for barley, 5 or 6 inches deep, by the 3-tined cultivator, in six days, in- cluding three shifts. A bean-stubble was smashed up for wheat, 5 or 6 inches deep, 13 acres twice over, making 26 acres in four days. An average day's work is 6 acres, and a removal takes 3 hours with 4 horses. In 1865, the summer tillage consisted of 100 acres, done in 20 days — that is, an average of 5 acres per day, removals included. The depth of work with the 30-inch wide cultivator was 7 to 8 inches ; the autumn work was 127 acres in 25 days, at a depth of 4 to 5 inches. In both seasons a portion of the work was " crossing." Here we have 45 days' ■Nvork and 227 acres done in a year on a farm which includes 307 acres arable (besides 150 of grass) of peculiarly stiff stubborn clay soil upon a subsoil of blue gault, some of it on steep hill- sides, and lying in fields averaging 30 acres in size — some of them enlarged purposely for steam culture. The engine is occu- pied in thrashing, grinding, and chafF-cutting 98 days in a year, or more than double the time that it is engaged in cultivation. The average consumption of coal per day in 1865 was 12 cwts., at 18^, per ton ; of oil 3 pints, — say 12^. per day, or 2s. 5d. an acre for both. The wages of the 5 men and 2 boys come to about 13*. Qd. a day, and the water-cart 4^. a day — that is, 3^. Qd. per acre for both ; ordinary labourers' wages being lis. a week. Mr. Horrell gives his engine-man 1^., his windlass-man 4^., and. his anchor-men 2d. a day extra (when steam cultivating), with a bonus of Qd. per acre for beer among all the hands. The daily working expenses, adding say Id. per acre for removals, will be about 65. Qd. per acre. What is the charge due on the machinery we have not sufficient data for ascertaining ; though the 40/. for repairs is the most important item. The pecuniary experience of steam culture on this farm appears very similar to that of many others which we have more fully detailed. The tackle is now used solely upon the farm ; but has done contract-work at 21^. per acre, cultivating twice over, the farmer finding coal and water, and bringing the machinery home. Mr. Horrell does not consider this profitable, because of being set to desperately bad pieces. The engine is occasionally let out to thrash for other people, at a charge of 3s. per hour. Good public roads run alongside much of the land, and a grass- 234 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. ride, 13 feet in width, runs through most of the fields which do not abut on these roads. The water-supply is in ponds in most of the fields. Mr. Horrell has not been tenant here sufficiently long to say much about changes and augmentations of cropping. The drainage, he says, is certainly rendered more effective by the steam tillage ; but still the soil is too heavy for feeding off roots with sheep to advantage. Managing on the 4-course system, he keeps 10 horses, or 5 less than the farm employed prior to steam cultivation ; and in general he " is very well satisfied with the apparatus." No. 51. Messrs. James and Frederick Howard, Bedford. It is not necessary here to relate the history of Messrs. Howards' reclamation and remodelling of the Clapham Park and Green Farms, and their improvement of the Hoo Farm (all now classed together as " The Britannia Farms "), in the neighbourhood of Bedford. Clearing of forest-timber and under- wood, abolition of old boundaries, throwing field to field and planting new fences, the formation of direct hard-mettle roads in place of winding clay lanes or across newly-opened country, the deep underdrainage of heavy soil, the laying down of new grass and cleansing of old tillage-land, have all been executed here with an expedition and completeness which may well stand out as an example of what should be done, and how it should be done, to prepare an estate for the full development of steam cultivation. Ten miles of hedge-rows have vanished before an army of work- men, all stubbing by the piece ; and their removal has added just 10 acres to the area of Clapham Farm. Sound roadways enable the master-spirit of the tillage-work — the steam-engine — to peram- bulate where it will, uphill and down, in almost any weather, into any of the enclosures ; and when there, though it is stationary with a windlass while working, it cultivates fields of 10, 20, 30, and up to 55 J acres " at one setting down." The drainage of almost every field has been designed with a view to supply the engine, a pond or open tank at almost every site occupied by the engine during the tillage of the whole estate receiving the drain-water, retaining supplies at all seasons, and letting only the " overflow " pass away by the mains which ultimately conduct it to the Ouse. At the principal farmstead a reservoir has been excavated, which contains half a million gallons, the cost of digging being 50^. The extent of arable is 445 acres, all heavy land. The Hoo Farm presents a deep staple, 10 to 14 inches in thickness, upon homogeneous clay. Yet, before steam culture was practised, there were but a few inches of staple soil ; the difference, on digging in a field and upon the headland edge, where the deep work has not Claeke.] Report on Steam Cultivatioru 235 reached, being remarkable — tbe raw tenacious gaulty clay 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 4-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 entered almost every field in wretchedly wet weather. One set of tackle, of Messrs. Howards' own principle and manu- facture, with a 10-horse-power double-cylinder engine, performs the heavy tillage labour of these farms, and is now limited to this work alone, not being let out on hire ; while another portable engine is employed to do all the thrashing and other yard work. Thus the expenses of steam cultivation are not mixed up with those of any other operations ; and the cost of repairs, «Scc,, has been charged against the farms, on the same scale as they would be to a complete stranger, in order to make them a thorough test and example of the pecuniary as well as other aspects of the question. Mr. James Dickson, the farm-manager, has fur- nished us with the following " epitome " from his account books, giving the totals of three years' experience : — Acres. The extent cultivated by steam has been 2751 Cultivated for neighbours 300 Harrowed by steam, 535 acres, equivalent to cultivating (half) 267 In three years 3318 The expenses for rope, repairs, and renewal of wearing parts have amounted to 99Z. 15^. 55., or say 33Z. per annum. Divided by the acreage, it comes to Id. and a fraction per acre. Interest, at 5 per cent, per annum on the cost price of 540/., comes to 80Z. 2s. in the three years, or a fraction under ^d. per acre. Depreciation, at 5 per cent, per annum on the main portion of the engine and apparatus, but excluding rope and other wearing parts, say upon 440/., amounts to QQl. in the three years, or a fraction over 4|(/. per acre. The three items of repairs, interest, and depreciation, make a total of about Is. Qd. per acre. We must remark here, however, that any heavy repair, such as a new fire-box next year, would materially increase this very low average, derived from an experience of three years. To get at the total cost of any given operation, according to this statement, we have only to ascertain the daily working expenses and the number of acres done per day. Mr. Dickson gives them as follows : — 236 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Clarke. £. s. d. Engine-driver 028 Four labourers, at 2s. 3 J 09 0 Two porter-boys, at lOrf 018 One boy carrying water (no water-cart being used) 0 0 10 One day's manual labour 0 14 2 Coal (for 11 acres per day of 10 hours, a rate of workj to be mentioned presently), 15 cwts. at lis. per ton, > 0 13 0 with carriage, 2s. 6cZ J Oil, one penny per acre on 11 acres 0 0 11 Repairs and renewal of rope and wearing parts, at) ^ ^ ^ Id. per acre \ Total working expenses per day . . ., 1 14 6 Or 3s. \^d. per acre. Add — Interest, 6c?. per acre 05 6 Depreciation, at 5c?. per acre 0 4 7 Total outlay per day 2 4 7 Or a fraction over 4s. per acre. Mr. Dickson states that, on their very heavy clay soil, the culti- vator taking 3 feet breadth and smashing up the land 6 to 8 inches deep, and travelling at the pace of 3 miles an hour, requires a pressure of 80 lbs. in the double-cylinder 10-horse power engine. There is " regularly on the move " by the cultivator from 6 to 8 cwts of soil, the shares cutting 3 feet of width, while it is 4 feet from the foremost point to the heel of the hindermost share — the weight of soil in a square yard, 6 inches deep, being 4 cwts. 3 qrs. 14 lbs. At this width, depth, and length, the rate of per- formance for a full day of 12 hours is 11 acres. The ordinary average of Avork, we were informed, was 6 to 8 acres a day (we suppose including removals), from 6 to as much as 10 inches deep — the steam working at a pressure of 50 to 70 lbs., with a consumption of 9 to 13 cwts. of coal. The manager's statement refers to their highest speed, with a greater pressure and more fuel burnt. In his figures, too, he has forgotten the cost of re- movals, which must be allowed for, if we would get at an average instead of a full day's work. The shifting, we were told, is done by help of 7 horses (4 horses, except for great distances), and takes 2i hours. The engine, when uninterruptedly at Avork, has to be moved about twice a Aveek ; so that we may add say 2s. bd. a day to the total daily outlay, making 21. Is. per day. Dividing this by the lower average of 8 acres per day, the total cost of a first smashing up (Avithout including cross-cultivating or har- rowing) is Avithin a trifle of 6s. per acre. Undoubtedly, heavier repairs during the next three years will tend to raise these figures, which, as they are, certainly speak Avell in faAour of steam culti- Clakke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 237 vation. In fact, the cost is " a mere nothing" compared with the "value received;" the deep tillage of strong land is not accom- plished by horses for as little as twice the cost here incurred by steam. We saw the apparatus at work, deeply breaking up a stiff piece ■of bean stubble with excellent effect, though the rains had at that time (September loth) hindered most people wherever we went from Ijringing out their steam-cultivators at all.* We need not * 00 00 t3 00 ia^ o o o o o o o o o O O o 0) o o !0 in o CI ?1 c-l t ■* 00 C) CO (N m Tf CA s 1 CO CO o o rR a m CO -S^igo ■+( ■+( Tot Yearly ofSu Tilla • • • : • • "S "3 o o .J13 < -< '"^ "^ ■:s< .'« -S IH » CO . , , , H .^ ^ '^ to "* o CO O --^ ^ ^ _ o O 2 o o ?o o o o 00 o 00 n 1^ o t^ (N r* - r^ _o in o a ^ii in oo" CO in 00 t^ in CO 00 CO H(?i CI 11^ - • • ■ - • - • H^ fe p. «^^ CO CO e'a;S . . rC CO o . r--. o ^la m in U-i o gfc-§, 00 00 o o oo o o o O o -* o ■<^ O -f -i< K OH riS • • • • • "W a> • • • a ft • « « • a « UJ o ^ . , . . « n • • • • • T-i t£< • • • • • 1 u a a <1 J ^ 1 ,^' S5 c« 5 a rd 0) ^ ■^ s tt ts Is ."^ is t^ is .tn ff IS 1* Ft tt &= ^ s CO M o o a o C3 o a o o a o o a CO o -. >^ Cj >. i O eS bD CCJ >> C3 Cj ;^ ?s ^ CI] a 0) ^ S' y b 03 >! rt CS ^ ^ cc O CJ K u a U K 1-J u CO u o u a u U gl o o r^ m o o o o o >n in o o to dell (with his present reduced force of 16 horses) had paid some one else to come and do the steam tillage for him (the owner of the tackle finding everything), lie could have afforded to pay for this work not only the 168/. which it actually costs, but also 96Z. besides, without spending more in draft labour than he did before. That is, the 230 acres of steam tillage, though costing 14s. per acre to do, may be valued at 23.S. per acre, without increasing the old disbursements in Mr. Randell's ledger. As the case actually stands, our reckoning shows that the outlay for steam- work is 168/., and that the 96/. a year are into pocket ; or, in other words, the draft labour of the farm costs 96/. less than it formerly did. As a matter of fact, we believe that the economy is even more considerable, for Mr. Randell assured us that not only had the steam-engine spared him at least 6 horses, it had also lightened the labour of the remaining 16, so that he works them less severely than before, and consequently at less expense per head for maintenance. We should here remind the reader that the sum of 44/., adopted by us for the total yearly cost of a farm-horse is possibly greater (it may be less) than Mr. Randell would allow for his teams ; it is adopted throughout our calcula- tions, and is explained in the introductory part of our Report. It may be thought that we have not made out any very won- derful results from exchano^ins^ half-a-dozen horses for a steam- tackle. Well, we have been treating only of the direct money saving ; now comes the effect upon the farm produce, which, after all, is the great thing to be considered. Mr. Randell admits that his wheats are neither better nor worse than when the farm was entirely under horse culture, for they have averaged 40 bushels an acre for many years. His other produce is greatly increased, because he now grows a larger breadth of roots, more mangolds and cabbages, and a smaller acreage of tares ; and these crops are heavier in consequence of the preparation for all being completed earlier, and more of it done in dry weather, which " is all-im- portant," he says, " on such land." More food enables him to keep more live-stock, and necessarily the manual-labour bill has increased rather than diminished. More rye-grass also is now grown, in place of beans, &c., for the objection that it is a bad preparation for wlieat no longer holds good under steam culture ; being now smashed up early it has time to get a solid bottom, and the wheat-plant does not suffer as it would if the lea were ploughed. We saw a striking example of directly augmented yield from steam tillage in a field of mangolds — all treated alike Clarke.] Rejwrt on Steam Cultivation. 2(;9 as respects the number of operations, in the manure applied, and in the time of sowing — and the roots after "steam" were much better than those on the horse-ploughed part. This crop followed rye-grass, and the sward being hollow after the ploughing, the roots did badly, suffering from drought. "The grand thing in steam culture," said Mr. Randall, "is being able to take advantage of favourable weather for tillage, and more particularly in the autumn culture for roots and cab- bage." And the fact that the land is generally "stirred only once " for a green crop will account for the comparatively small amount of tillage requiring to be accomplished in the course of a year. This clay soil, it should be remembered, is not very prone to mat itself with couch, or so difficult to clean when foul, as some moist light lands are; it is principally subject to that noxious weed called the "onion twitch." A few of Mr. Randell's practical deductions are these — steam- grubbing is essentially a dry-weather operation, and though, in general, it is the fundamental process in his tillage management, he could make little use of it during the wet season of 186(3, and consequently recommends the turnover-plough as the implement to be resorted to in such a time. He likes the Woolston 3-tined cultivator better than the Bedford 3-tiner, because the former always works with a single tine preceding the other two, whereas the Bedford does this only one way — in every other journev the 2-tines go first, sometimes lifting the soil in one unbroken mass. But this backward -and -forward implement is admirable for crossing. He cultivates straight up as well as down very steep and lofty hills, as sidelong working would not do ; and he does this with ease, where horses were always obliged to plough down, and go up " empty." He does not trench-up land for winter, and has not tried the steam-drill. There has been no difficulty what- ever in moving the engine about. To get over a great breadth of ground in the most precious season, the men make 7 days in a week by working 2 hours extra every day. Mr. Randell once tried paying by the acre, but he lost by the experiment — the work was scamped. The drainage is rendered more effectual by the steam tillage ; Smith's grubber tearing up masses of clay much deeper than the tool is set. On one field, hollow in the middle, water used to lie for 24 hours after a heavy downfall ; but this has not been the case, since the engine broke up the ground below the old staple. More roots can be advantageously eaten by sheep on the land, because the preparation of autumn-culture gets them sooner ready for stocking; still, the ground does not bear treading in wet weather any better than before. Mr. Randell does not believe in parallel drains for clav land ; 270 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. he says, "Stick to your furrows," and if you must level ridg-es, take care to have tlie course of the drains duly marked on a plan. Where ridg-es are very high, it is an expensive process to flatten them, though Mr. Randell will not say that, in course of time, it may not answer. His own experience is, that laying a clay quite flat does not answer ; there must be some water-furrows. Where the land is "slightly arched" between the water-furrows, he can steam-g-rub for wheat, without needing to plough after- wards ; but he does not like to venture his wheat upon a surface perfectly horizontal. This testimony, it should be remarked, is applicable to a blue-lias clay in a locality having an average rainfall of probably 30 inches. In reference to some of the points we have just named, the folio wing^ letter from Mr. Randell (January 21st, 1867), is im- portant. He says : — " My practice, since I adopted steam cultivation, has been to manure the land intended i^or mangolds immediately after harvest; then smash it up, the rougher the better, by Smith's 3-tined cultivator. If an opportunity occurred of ploughing afterwards (by horses) during a frost, I have done so ; otherwise the land has had no ploughing ; it has been only scarified in the spring, to destroy surface weeds, first being looked over by men forking out all couch grass. Tliis has been all the preparation for mangolds, which have been then drilled on the flat with 1| cart-load of ashes from the sheep-sheds, mixed with 3 cwts. per acre of superiihosphate of lime. They have been afterwards top-dressed with 5 cwts. per acre of Peruvian guano, horse-hoed in. The treatment for cabbages has been the same, as far as manuring and smashing up the stubble-land. The plants are set by hand in October, as soon as the clods will fall to mould under a pair of harrows. " So far, as to clay land. I have some lighter land on which turnips and swedes are grown ; also on the flat, our climate not being moist enough for ridging. These crops follow tares or early cabbages, planted on wheat-stubble manured and ploughed (until last autumn) by horses. But having, last summer, purchased a 3-furrow Fowler's plough, this work was done last September by steam. Indeed, the last wet autumn quite changed my practice as to steam cultivation. In none of the nine previous years, during which I have used Smith's cultivator, have I had reason to think any other implement necessary ; but in the last wet season it was entirely useless. ' Smashing up' will only do when the land is dry enough to burst up in all forms ; if the tines cut, not burst, the soil only falls back to its original place, and the land becomes more wet and unkind for the operation. Without Fowler's plough I should not have moved an acre by steam last autumn ; with it, we got over 87 acres very satisfactorily, at the same cost per acre as it had been done in other years by Smith's cultivator. So I come to the conclusion that there is good in all ; Smith's for real hard work, Howard's for crossing Smith's work ; and Fowler's for doing that which they cannot do. I have them all. " I am, my dear Sir, faithfully yours, " C. Randell." No. 68. Mr. Peter Davis, of Bickmarsh Hall, near Alcester, Warwickshire. Three or four sets of the Bedford tackle are at work within a short radius of Honeybourne Station, in a dis- trict of stiff clay, high-backed lands, and ploughing by 4 horses Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 271 in a string'. A few miles north of that place, between Evesham and Alcester, Mr. Davis farms 730 acres arable (and 245 acres pasture) of poor blue-lias clay ; with beds of lias-limestone in a few of the fields, serving- as natural drains to the land. No steep hill- sides exist upon the farm, and the country is generally level ; yet it is customary to plough with 5 horses — Mr. Davis, however, using only four. The fields are of about 20 acres each, with sides straightened by the stocking-up of hedges and with but few trees. No changes have been made in roads. The " normal force " of horses on this farm would be 38 to 40, certainly not fewer than 36 ; the introduction of a steam-cultivator has enabled Mr. Davis to sell off fully half his teams, and to carry his tillage- work before him with only 18 horses. Perhaps a pair more would be advisable, as the land, though generally pretty clean, has a few " outsides " that would pay for a little extra working. Here, however, we have an extraordinary displacement of draft-animals, equivalent, at 44Z. per horse, to a saving of no less than 792/. a year (at the lowest number of horses formerly wanted), or 968Z. (at the highest number). Out of this, of course, have to be paid all the expenses of the steam tillage substituted. The extent cultivated or ploughed in a year is 360 acres, the depths of work being as follows : — In grubbing " bean-brushes" for wheat, 5 or 6 inches is not exceeded, Mr. Davis believing that deep stirring immediately before sowing is wrong ; but for fallow, and especially if early in the season, the tines are set in as deep as possible — namely, 7 to 9 inches. The ploughing for beans or mangold is done at a depth of 9 inches. We have not ascertained what Mr. Davis's steam-work actually costs him ; but even if we assign it the excessive sum of IO5. per acre, his total expenditure on steam culture will be less than half the lowest amount at which we put his saving in horseflesh. In 1863, Mr. Davis bought a 12-horse engine for 340/., and has a Howard tackle with 3-tined cultivator, costing 250/., to which is added a Fowler 2-furrow plough, costing 45/. He had started with a Woolston tackle, but broke the cultivator, and cracked off the flanges of the rope-drums by the pressure of the coils. The Bedford apparatus has stood well, and, though the " repairs " have not been serious — having been chiefly done by a blacksmith on the farm — the wear of rope has been enor- mous, a new rope having been required about every second year ; This will give some idea of the extraordinary tenacity of the clay, which, as already said, pulls 4 horses so hard in a common plough, that the country custom is to use five ; and the 12-horse engine, burning 12 cwts. of coal per day (at I65. per ton) ploughs or digs only 3^ acres a day, and cultivates 7 acres a day. Five men and 3 boys work the tackle, being paid 35. an acre for 272 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Clarke. cultivating^, and 5a-. 6fZ. an acre for ploughing or digging. Water, 700 gallons in a day, is carted by one horse and boy. Shil'ting occupies 8 horses for 4 hours ; that is, half-a-day, more or less, according to distance. The engine is used occasionally for thrashing, grinding, straw-cutting, 6cc. ; but no steam-work is done off the farm. In the absence of Mr. Davis, the son (as sound, intelligent, and business-like a young farmer as we have had the pleasure to pick up for some time) conducted us over the stubbles and fallows. The wheat-stubbles were wonderfully strong, and spoke well for some- thing else besides wide-drilling — here 11 and sometimes 12 inches between the rows. Deep-tillage, young Mr. Davis assured us, does answer well for the wheat-crop ; but then it must be done in July, or at any rate very early, and their tackle is kept busy throughout July, September, October, and November. Then the levelling of the old high-backed ridges he finds to be quite right ; only it must not be done at once, but gradually, by work- ing the steam-implements across ridge and furrow, so as in process of time to wear them horizontal. The drainage (thanks to steam cultivation) acts well on those fields which have already become perfectly flattened. The double-crop system is well- practised here : we saw beans in wide double rows, with very good turnips growing in the intervals. Root-crops are now grown to a considerable extent in place of dead-fallowing, and are consumed on the land by sheep. The chief alteration in the cropping has been the substitution of lucerne for clover, owing to the frequent failure of the plant. In Mr. Davis's case, we may sum up the resultant advantages of steam culture thus : — He saves very considerably (indeed, we should say, very largely) in his outgoings for tillage ; he greatly increases the acreage of root-crops ; and his grain-crops yield far better than before, — all being attributed by him to "steam cultivation and thorough drainage." In a letter, dated February 18th, 1867, Mr Davis says : — " I write to say that, since we finished cultivating in November, 138 acres have been 'ploughed for beans, peas, and mangolds, at a season of the year when none, except the roundabout system, is available. Now this, I consider, is a great object in a year like the last, when so much hindrance from wet weather occurred." No, 69. Mr. Benjamin Bomford, of Pitchill in Warwick- shire, near Evesham, Worcestershire, occupies 1200 acres, of which 900 are arable, geologically described as blue-lias clay, Avith layers of bluestone in some places, and a small portion con- sisting of conglomerate gravel. But there is a greater breadth of good heavy loam than of strong tenacious clay. The surface, level or gently undulating, is divided into large enclosures, Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 21'.\ averaging 20 to 40 acres each, Mr. Bomford having shaped them " with a view to steam ;" and, in one instance, ten little fields have been thrown into one. The farm is not overburdened with timber, and the greater part of the trees are profitable in a way undreamed of by farmers of many counties ; they bear orchard- fruit. Noticeable among these are the Pershore plum, which are sent to the manufacturing cities from the district of Pershore by thousands of bushels, of which apricot-jelly is made! There has been no necessity for laying out new roads for the steam-horse — or, rather, for the steam-team — as Mr. Bomford works a pair of engines. And, as for travelling his ponderous tackle about these clay-fields, there is no difficulty whatever in reasonable weather ; while he declares it a good thing that he cannot move his engines about in wet weather, as this keeps him from working when the land is not in a fit state. Opportunities have to be watched in a catching time ; for one of the engines had to be left in a field all one winter, and came out (literally, for it was not pulled out, being self-locomotive) in spring over the wheat. In February, 1864, Mr. Bomford procured a couple of 12-h()rse engines of Savory and Son, of Gloucester, constructed with a large shell-drum enclosing each boiler, on which the rope is wound in a single layer of coils, the two engines hauling the implement to and fro between them on the" usual "double- engine " system. The implements used are a Fowler 4- furrow plough, a Fowler 7-tined cultivator, and a Howard cultivator made especially for Mr. Bomford, 7 tines instead of 5 tines in width; and the character these several tools have gained for them- selves here is, that Fowler's cultivator is the best for breaking up whole ground ; and Howard's, while too heavy in draft for this purpose, is the best broad one for " crossing.'' The price of the machinery would be 12U0/., though, in this case, the bargain was partly " a clump for other tackle." No exact account of repairs has been kept ; but nothing very serious has occurred in break- age, and Mr. Bomford's own calculation is that the " wear and tear and repairs " will be covered by 1\ per cent., while 5 per cent, should be allowed for a renewal fund to buy a new set ; to which, we suppose, 5 per cent, more must be added for interest of capital invested. This makes 11^ per cent, on first cost, or 210Z. a year — a heavy sum ; but then the amount of work done has been great, for the tackle has been employed for 100 davs in a year. The daily working-charges are as follows: — Two engine-men, 65. ; one ploughman, 85. ; a water-cart man, 2s. Gd. ; and two strong lads, 3^. (kl, — the manual labour, well paid, amounting to 155, These hands, when not steaming, are at ordinary work on the farm. One horse draws the water when within reasonable distance of the supply, say 2s. Gd. per day. VOL. III. — S. S. T 274 Rej)ort on Steam Cultivation. [Clarke. The engines move themselves and all the apparatus w^ithout the aid of horses, all this occupying less than half an hour, when the next job lies near; so that there is no expense to be added for removals, which simply account for themselves by slightly diminishing the average daily quantity of work done. Oil costs 2s. ; and coal, 24 cwts., at \bs. a ton, costs 18s. a day. All these sums amount to 35s. per day, or, for 100 days, 175Z. a year. As the engines are used solely for cultivation, and have done only 10 acres for hire, we have to add the whole of the above-named 2101. for the machinery — making the total yearly cost of steam tillage, 385Z. ; and the total cost of a day's work, 3Z. 17s. What have we to post on the other page of the ledger ? Probably more horses are kept in this neighbourhood than need be ; 3, now frequently 4, horses plough a furrow 5 or at most 6 inches deep, but more are sometimes yoked, and always tandem ("at length "). But Mr. Bomford's engines have enabled him to sell off nearly 20 horses out of the 45 formerly worked ; and, never- theless, " the farm," he says, " is much better cultivated." At 44Z. each, the saving thus effected has been 880Z. a year ; subtract the total outlay for steam cultivation, namely 385?., and there remains a balance of 495/. a year (more than 10s. an acre over all the arable land) gained by the mere exchange of a part of the former horse-team for steam-machinery. Perhaps 44/. would not be Mr. Bomford's estimate, but he quite agrees that steam-power is the more economical. We have now to relate what may be classed among the " extraordinary things " met with on our inspection-tour ; al- though this double-engine tackle accomplishes as much work as 40 horses could do, in the course of one month's fine weather in September and October, Mr. Bomford is not satisfied with it ; and for that reason he intended (so he told us) — not to get rid of it, but — to buy another ; not in lieu of the present machinery, let it be understood, but a second " double-engine set," so that he may have two pairs of engines at work upon his farm at one and the same time I The reason is this : the present " set " is scarcely used till after harvest, when it is kept running every hour that may be possible ; but so palpable are the benefits of early tillage, that Mr. Bomford wants to get all his autumn ground broken up within a fortnight or three weeks, which the present " set " is unable to compass, and therefore he was buying another to help it. This example is such an illustrative commentary upon the worth of rapid cultivation on a strong soil, that we must follow it out a little more in detail, for the consideration of those persons who cannot see why higher prices should be afforded for steam than for horse work. What does Mr. Bomford's tillage now cost him per acre ? Of ploughing, he does 6 up to 10 acres a day Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 275 with ease, in large fields. A day's expenses (on his own esti- mate) we said, are 775., so that the ploughing costs from 7^. Qd. up to 13s. per acre. With the Fowler cultivator, the area per day, at a depth of 9 or 10 inches, is 8 up to 12 acres ; the former quantity in specially hard work, — which is, to " bursten-up" hard- baked ground in autumn. The cost ranges from 65. 6d. each. The water- cart lad has Gs. Qd. (bs. Gd., G. P.) ; making the manual labour 116-. Id. per day. The water-cart horse is put at 2s. Gd. (4s., G. P.) Moving takes two hours ; the engine self-travelling, but requiring a horse to steer, — an uncertain item, say Is. (id. upon each day's work. Coal, 8 cwts., at 14s. dd. per ton, costs say 6s. per day, and oil. Is. Thus the working expenses are 22s. Id. per day ; that is, 4s. 6d. an acre for the ploughing, and Is. 5d. an acre for the grubbing once over. To this we must add the expense due to the machinery. About 600 yards' length of rope are in use at once, and 260 acres of plough- ing, and 210 acres of scarifying and smashing up — making in all 470 acres of work per year — have worn out 1500 yards of rope in seven years ; that is, the cost of 1500 yards of rope (i.e., 150Z.) is chargeable upon say 3000 acres of work done ; or each yard of rope has been consumed upon about 2 acres of work, at a cost of about Is. per acre. The rope is now in very good condition, a portion of it having only lately arrived from Leeds. The " repairs " have been about 20/. a year ; or about lOd. per acre. Reckoning the interest and depreciation wholly upon the tillage-work, the interest at 5 per cent, on the prime cost, 750/., will be 37/. 10s. a year, or Is. Id. per acre ; and the depreciation, at 5 per cent, on say 640/., will be 32/., or Is. 4 CI C3 cS CI Si ;;; O O o C - CO Kg 3 CO O 7^ Ol CO CI CI CI HJ ill* . . O . , , ^S'fg ■•-+? 1^ X-, h1^ • • o t3 (M O o Ci o CI 05 ^ O o o 2 O ; : o o o ' 3 S" o CI CO CO o in^ o i^ ■? S.aJ IsJ • • • • • u CD 1^ o o o 00 O o o lO >n o o GO o ' in o (^ -f i '= S w -+ o o o o cx CI o c» ^^« '-' ^ '-' ■^ — ' '~' ^ ri — ' "a^ H 3 : o ■ 3 ^ • c^ ■a 'I r2 '5 0) "S "^ ^ 3 ^ ^ o o o o O o c => hS o t^ tn u* fi^ Mh li^ \^ pm a p^ — * ^ ■ ^ a fl a p3 rrt o >^ o ^ 'a ^^ : 3 o bo r-J Tl C3 Tl o 2 '^ t) C3 >> C3 fcD -< a K^ '^ C3X^ oa p 0) C3 p h t-^^ S ^3-^ in CJ S U ;> u CO > o o m ^ -* o o o O o o o o o fc ■^ t^ en o -f o CI o o o o y g o) CO -f in lO «i3 CO o »- <<<) '~' •^ •uuriji oiD JO ^ on o ^ ^ CI CO ■^ m o •o>i ooua.wjaa; '~ I- «^ 00 CO CO CO CO CO . 1 Clarke.] Report on (Steam Cultivation. 303 Division 4. — North. No. 87. Mr. William Bethel], of Rise Park, Hull, East Ridings of Yorkshire. Leaving Hull in a north-easterly direc- tion, the Hornsea road traverses a " marsh " flat of pasture and rich brown alluvial plough-land, and then, passing the town of Hedon on the right, enters upon the diluvial district of Holder- •ness, a slightly-undulating, strong loam, wheat and bean country ; both arable and grass land lying in ridges, but these neither verv wide nor high-backed. At the twelfth mile along this road we come to the stately mansion of Mr. Bethel], who has three farms, the home farm here, which is under steam cultivation, comprising 280 acres arable, with 170 of grass. The soil is a strong loam, witli a subsoil of strong drift-clay containing small pebbles, in some places with sand, in others gravel. Pair-horse ploughing is practised ; a day's work being about 3 roods, or sometimes an acre. The ploughmen, or " chaff-cutters," are, for the most part, young fellows lodged and boarded upon beef and bacon, and paid 8/. 10^., or 11/. each yearly wages; and, feeding and work- ing their teams from half-past 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning till 7 at night, in summer, these are cheaper men than the ordinary weekly labourers at 2s. Qd. a day. The farm has been prepared for steam tillage. It has a 4-feet deep pipe drainage at 9-yard intervals, and drains well though always ploughed in " broad work," that is, flat. The ditches have been filled in, and the pipe mains led into small tanks at tlie corners of the fields, each tank say 0 feet wide and 9 feet deep ; these being bricked, but not laid in cement, as the clay itself holds the water, and the surplus passes away through an overflow-pipe. When a field comes in for seeds, a pump is put up at the corner tank ; and this water always supplies the engine, either with the use of a cart or (if near) of a water-barrow. There are few hedge- row ti'ees, and the quicks are kept low. Our observation on wallving over the land was, that the stubbles were stout and good, and the Skirving swedes a magnificent crop ; and we instinctively complimented Northgraves, the bailiff, on being able to show one of the cleanest farms we had met witlr in the whole round of our travels ; in fact, the fields are so free from couch that even forking is not needed. Mr, Bethell has a 14-horse Fowler set, with plough and cultivator, and most of his steam work has been done with the latter implement. This breaks up wheat or bean stubble after harvest 9 or 10 inches deep ; the tilth then lies for a time, and in dry weather is cross-scarified by horses for the fallow crop. No cross-cultivating has been done by the steam-engine. A portion of the farm used to be bare-fallowed ; but now all is 304 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. cropped, and 30 or 40 acres more of roots n^ust tlierefore be placed to the credit of the steam-plough. The bailiff, who has been here eight years, and therefore ought to know, affirms that the three years of steam tillage have given a decided increase in the yield of coi'n, and this on a farm that was " well done " before the steam power came. And he bore witness to the fact of the land drying more quickly in consequence of the deeper cultivation. We did not ascertain the expenses of working the steam- plough ; but though wages here are high, coal is comparatively cheap, namely los. per ton. The former force of 14 horses has been reduced to 10, yet harvesting and carting-out manure are accomplished without delay, and these horses do estate work as well. Our details of this example may not be very full and complete, but the apparatus is evidently successful, and gives the pro- prietor satisfaction.* No. 88. Mr. Samuel Strickland, of Headley Hall, Tadcaster, West Riding of Yorkshire, occupies 300 acres arable, and 30 of grass, in a gently undulating limestone district, divided into moderate-sized inclosures ; the fields here varying from 14 to 40 acres each. The soil is a strong calcareous loam, " 3 or 4-horse ploughing," but does not all need underdrainage ; much of the farm has been drained, but Mr. Strickland says " the steam-plough is the best drainer." In 18G2 he purchased a second-hand 12-horse Fowler tackle, with 7-tined cultivator and 3-furrow plough, which had been in use only three months, and the cost price, by auction at Leam- ington, was 548/. ; repairs and getting home cost 64/. IGs., making the investment 012/. 16s. This year he has just had a heavy expenditure upon it, including a new fire-box, from using dirty water, and the repairs for four years amount to 118/. liSs. Of this, 20/. a year has been the cost of rope. Many cast-metal skifes have been broken by the stones ; but since steel skifes have been substituted, no fractures of this sort have occurred. They have never broken a rope, but " the first is quite worn out (1867), and a new one bought." Before the steam-plough came they used to work a 3-tined Bentall 2 or 3 inches deep, with 4 horses, getting over about 5 acres in a hard day's work. Now, the steam-cultivator will do as much as 20 acres in a long day, and at a depth of 10 to 12, or even 15 inches ; and the plough (Mr. Strickland does not like the " digging ") will do 4 acres a day, taking furrows 14 inches wide and 12 inches deep, occasionally 15 inches deep. The previous horse-ploughing used to be 4 to * I fiiid an increasing difficulty in obtaining efficient engine-men. — W, B. Clarke.] Report on iStcam Cultivation. .305 6 inches deep. With a soil that will permit of such profound culture as this, no wonder that Mr. Strickland wishes that his engine had been a "1-1" instead of a " 12-horse power." We noticed that this engine, like some others we have seen, is roofed over, as a protection from rain and sun. Coals are cheap here, " slack" being used, at as Ad. a ton, with 2s. 6d. more for leading home ; and the engine burns 1 cwt. an acre when cultivating, or 2 cwts. an acre when deep ploughing. Oil costs Is. od. a day; water has to be fetched a distance of 2 miles ; a couple of water-carts, however, more than supplying the engine. Indeed, all the watering of the live stock on this farm has to be done by this carriage, a deep well being required. The manual labour consists of two men at 2s. 4:d. each, and four at 2s. each — these hands being employed at other times on the farm. A shift generally takes 2 to 2h hours, but the anchorage (when mounted on its travelling-wheels) has been hauled up to the engine (by the rope) directly a field was finished, and both engine and anchorage placed in another held ready for work, with the exception of leading out the rope, in three-quarters of an hour. Two horses are always requisite for pulling out the rope. The farm is managed on a 7-course system. The wheat stubble is " cultivated-up" by steam, for the fallow-crop — which consists of swedes, Avithout white turnips or mangolds ; the rough work is allowed to lie all winter, and is then crossed in spring. This answers for cleaning the land, and there is certainly not much " wicks " now visible. The seeds are ploughed by horses, not very deeply, for wheat ;• after this comes the potato-crop, and when the tubers have been taken up the land is steam-cultivated for wheat. All the fields are worked or ploughed perfectly flat, and all the seed-beds are prepaved by the steam-engine, except that after seeds for wheat ; the area of work done in four years having been 813 acres cultivated 8 to 15 inches deep, and 278 acres ploughed from 12 to 15 inches deep — these measurements, of course, being stated on Mr. Strickland's autho- rity. The engine also thrashes all those Avell-built well-arranged ricks Avhich are here placed (for safety) diamond-wise, at 30 yards apart. The headlands are not worked by steam, because it would not answer to delay the tackle for the purpose. When doing the deep tillage, first time over, they were obliged to place a couple of 4-stone weights upon the implement besides the ploughman, to hold it down among the stones ; but the land now works with 20 lbs. less pressure of steam than was needed the first year. By steam cultivation Mr. Strickland has been enabled to grow a larger breadth of root-crop, and to take green crops every alter- VOL. III. — S. S. X 306 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. nate year. The land drains better ; lie never before got such fine tilths for turnips, and they can be fed-off with greater advantage. He says also that his grain-crops have been greatly more productive — " I think I can afford wheat and barley at 5s. per quarter less by steam than on the old system." Both Mr. Strickland and his son are extremely practical people, but as enthusiastic about steam-husbandry as they are over their young cart and other stallions ; in fact, the father said, " I am an old man, but 1 would give Lord Headley notice to quit if I might not or could not have a steam-plough." Readers may, in perusing our account of this farm, make allowance for this warmth of feeling ; but the following is Mr. Strickland's statement of his gain in the displacement of horse-flesh. He used to keep 14 farm-horses, now he has only 8 ; these teams, v/ith the help of two or three young ones in harvest, cart all the corn, do all the light tillage, lead-out manure for the potato-crop — the turnips (and sometimes the seeds) being only " artificialled " — and last year these 8 horses likewise carried the produce of 64 acres of potatoes to Leeds, 11 miles off, bringing back night-soil, or slack or coal from the pits. Before the steam-engine was introduced, although he had 14 horses, he was obliged to hire teams, or rather to have all this potato carriage done by contract, paying the men 10^. a ton ; so that in the mere delivery of one year's potato-crop to market he saves no less a sum than 200/. In addition to this, of course, there is the yearly saving from the banishment of 6 horses by the steam-engine, amounting to 264/., — making a total of 464/. a year, out of which has to be defrayed the cost of the average annual performance of about 273 acres of very deep tillage. No. 89. Mr. Henry Hawking, of Ellinthorpe, near Boro- bridge. North Riding of Yorkshire, occupies 225 acres of arable, and 115 acres of old pasture, under " Her Majesty," and has also about 190 acres arable on another farm, 7 or 8 miles away, at Tholthorpe, near Easingwold. A 14-horse Fowler "set" does some cultivating on the ofF-farm, after harvest, but is mainly employed at Ellinthorpe, doing all the heavy tillage here, so that the 225 acres may be considered as the farm under steam cultivation. About two-thirds of it consist of a loam, upon "a good strong" subsoil, having sand at a very considerable depth below — this heavy subsoil containing small nodules of stone ; in fact it is a drift deposit, and its surface undulates very slightly at a level, perhaps 10 or 20 feet higher than that of the horizontal warp clay of the Ure, which is a heavier soil, occupying the other third of the farm. Under-drainage at 5 feet depth, and 8 or 9-yard intervals, has only just been finished, a portion having been done each year : the land is ploughed quite flat, and drains Claeke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 307 better since it has been steam-ploughed : still, Mr. Hawking considers that steam tillage cannot be conveniently done upon land the first year after draining, as the wheels of the plough sink into the drains. The farm was entered upon in April, 1863, and in the three years 170 acres have been drained by Mr. Hawking solely at his own expense, the Crown neither paying for pipes nor labour ; this tedious but fundamental operation necessitating more horse-work, and less steam-work, than will be required in future years. Nevertheless, 8 horses and the engine together have done all the tillage and draft labour of the farm, excepting that, in extra busy times, team help has been borrowed from Tholthorpe, and paid back again. The force formerly kept was 12 horses. Mr. Hawking has thrown the fields together till they now average about 30 acres apiece, instead of 10 acres ; there used to be 47 fields, but now he has only 7 arable and 8 grass. This has been done purposely to facilitate steam culture, and the drains empty into small tanks in the field corners to supply the water-cart or hand-barrow. The 14-horse engine, anchorage, tackle, 4-furrow plough, and 7-tined cultivator, were bought second-hand in 1863; and in the four years have cost 230/., or 47/. per annum for repairs, occasioned by wear and by breakages. This experience tells against buying steam- machinery second-hand of a man whose business was steam-ploughing by contract ; but much of the damage arose from the employment of inexperienced hands in working the apparatus. From the same cause, too, the extent of work done in 1864 and in 1865 was much less than in 1866, when a better staff of fellows had been found ; in fact, these latter got over nearly double the quantity of ground per day. In 1865, 155 acres were cultivated in 24^^ days, or about 6i acres per day. Then 37 acres were ploughed in 10 days, or an average of of acres per day, two days of the time being lost by breakage of ropes. Of digging, 21 acres were done in 5 days, during which the rope was broken no less than eight times. Mr. Hawking's estimate of the daily expense is as follows : — £. s. d. Wages of 4 men aud 2 boys 0 14 10 Horse, carting about 1200 gallons of water from ponds) nop and wells, or from the field tanks J Oil 0 10 Coal, at 13.S. per ton, over 2 a ton 0 8 0 Repairs, &c 1 10 0 2 16 4 This account omits removals, which require 3 horses for 3 or X 2 308 Report, on Steam Cultivation. [Clat?ke. 4 hours (though it has been done in 2 hours), but it makes no allow- ance, on the other hand, for the use of the engine in thrashing the farm corn. And 60Z. a-year for "repairs, &c.," (i.e. 40 days work at 1/. lOi.) does not leave a margin for interest and depreciation, even on a low first-cost, when the 47/. for actual repairs and rope has been deducted. We do not think it worth while to estimate closely the total cost of work done with a second-hand tackle, because the value and condition of the apparatus at starting being unknown, the calculation would be no guide to Avhat might be experienced with new machinery ; but at the above figures the total cost of the cultivating was 85. lOd. ; of the ploughing, 15.S. per acre ; and of the digging, lo^. 2fZ. per acre. It must be remembered, however, that this ploughing was done 12 inches deep, and the digging 12 to 15 inches deep. In 1866, better men made greater economy in the work. For 10 days they cultivated 91 acres, or fully 9 acres a day, at no less a depth than 16 inches, the deepest work we have met with on any farm, excepting Mr. Wright's of Beal (see No. 94), at a cost of 65. 3c?. per acre. And in 4|^ days they ploughed, 6 inches deep, 26 acres, or about 6 acres a day, at 9^. A.d. per acre. Since then it has been found that an average day's work is about 5^ or 6 acres of ploughing or digging, or 10 to 12 acres of culti- vating. The great depth of Mr. Hawking's work demands a few words. We found the engine at work in a piece foul with " wicks " (for the outgoing tenant was good enough to leave a few playthings for the incomer to amuse himself Avith, not to mention one field on which a crop of seedling (!) docks came up so thickly that a man could scarcely set his foot down without treading on one of these friendly plants) ; it was making splendid work Avith the digger, a good 12 inches deep by the landside of the furrow, and at the rate of 7 acres a day. Mr. Hawking is not a bit nervous about burying the couch, which is of the rare old stringy sort, easily pulled out ; and other fields noAv extremely clean had been just as full of root-Aveed. The soil is A'ery deep, and as fertile as deep, and therefore very deep culture ansAvers Avell ; farmers here thinking that farmers in other parts of England Avho are content Avith 5 and 6-inch ploughing, must certainly be asleep. Mr. Hawking had a piece of seeds in 1863, all grazed and treated alike : part Avas steam-ploughed, 1 0 inches deep (the slices cut as Avide as they Avere deep, so that, Avhen turned one-fourth over, they lay square, flat side to flat side, and level on the top, missing the hollow spaces left under the slices in the customary " angle" ploughing) ; the other part of the field Avas horse-ploughed 5 inches, that is, just half the depth. All Avas sown Avith wheat; and in harA^est not only shoAved the steam- Clarke.] Report on Steam Caltivatwn. 309 ploughed wheat to be the best crop, but, on thrashing out, it yielded 12 bushels more corn per acre than that on the shallow- ploughed part. Mr. Hawking says, moreover, that the horse- ploughed part is better land than the other. Stranger still, the deep steam-work Avas done immediately before drilling, and the shallow work was done a month earlier. The course of cropping is alternate; but Her Majesty's tenants are bound by restrictive articles, so that they cannot produce as they would ; and Mr. Hawking is not therefore at liberty to vary his rotation, even though the steam-plough enabled him to do so. The steam-engine smashes up stubble for the root-crop, and tills part of the turnip-fold for barley. Part of this is followed by seeds ; part of the barley-stubble is steam-tilled for beans ; and the steam-engine makes the bean- stubble into a seed-bed for wheat. Of course, no man can say in the first four years occupation of his farm how far his crops are improved by steam tillage, but the crops have been considered very good, and Mr. Hawking's opinion is that the roots have been more benefited than the corn. We may add one or two notes that we made on the spot. Labourers here have 12.9. a week and house-rent, amounting alto- gether to about ] 55, a week, while young men are boarded and lodged, and paid a yearly wage. Mr, Hawking has contrived a reel, placed in a cart and made to revolve by spur-wheels from the cart-wheels, by which arrange- ment the rope is laid out or coiled up again for travelling, without wearing it by dragging along the ground. However, in its present form, this is too heavy a thing to be commonly used. Mr. Hawking, a very practical man and good manager, pro- nounces steam cultivation to be superior to all other systems upon well-drained land ; but he thinks the conclusion of experience is, that, on a farm having less than 500 acres of arable, it is not advisable to purchase an apparatus. He would like to " get rid of the anchor," which causes such a loss of time in shifting from one field to another. And to do this without an excessive outlay on a farm of this dimension (225 acres arable), it would be neces- sary for him to start either a Steam-Ploughing Company or to join in partnership with another farmer having an engine, so that the two engines could till together ; and when, not in the field, one engine could thrash and grind at the homestead, Avhile the other might travel with a thrashing-machine to contract jobs round the neighbourhood. No. 90. The Hon. Payan Dawnay, of Beningbrough Hall, York, has at present in his own hands about 1000 acres, in four farms lying apart, being "land run out by tenants." The arable is about " two-thirds more than pasture," chiefly strong soil, some 310 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Clakke. very heavy. Before steam-liusbandry was commenced, the fields were mostly enlarged by stubbing hedges, and on one farm they are of 15 and 19 acres each. "This country," writes the pro- prietor, " is as flat as my hand, and is now mostly diained ; but flat land does not dry so quickly as a rolling country. . . . Last August (1865) the engine grubbed (for I care not for ploughing) 20 acres of land that no plough with 3 horses ever could touch ; it is now (summer of 1866) in barley, and looks promising; the field never was wet all the last winter .... Two fields for the most part strong land, though not entirely so (the soil varying considerably), wei-e beautifully dry all the last wet winter. One of these fields is now in wheat, I think as good and as forward as any in the neighbourhood." This effective drying is attributed to the deep tillage of the cultivator. But he adds, " I fear that on such land we can never hope to feed off root-crops ; the ground is so flat that it would get puddled at the top with sheep in damp weather." Most of the fields have ponds, through which the main drain of the land runs ; and a horse and water-cart supply the engine with about 3^ tons of water per day from this source. With a 10- horse Fowler engine, and "one of the early made" grubbei's, about 1^ acres per day are broken up, coals being burnt at the rate of 15 cwts. in 10 hours, costing, at 10^. per ton. Is. 6d. ; oil, and cotton-waste for cleaning, cost Is. 3d. daily. The cost of labour was in 1866 — foreman, 14^. ; engine-driver, 155. ; other farm labourers, 12i'. each per week ; the engine- driver, Avhen not steam-cultivating, works a fixed engine for grinding, «Scc. ; and the other hands are farm-labourers. Three horses and six men shift the tackle. " The average time for fixing engine and tackle in the field ready for work is one hour after arrival in the field, 45 minutes to get up steam, and one hour to dismantle for removal." The apparatus was purchased two years ago, second-hand, and has cost about 700/., inclusive of repairs and additions. Thorough repair, lately executed, cost 300/. ; ropes had previously cost about 70/. In fact, the engine and tackle had done a great deal of work in the neighbourhood of Selby, and therefore wanted a great deal of renewing ; moreover, the former owner had laid it aside for some months, " and rust, &c., is prejudicial." Now it does nothing else but tillage work ; two of the farms having fixed engines which thrash, and one also drives a mill, pumps, cuts chaff, pulps turnips, and so on. The engine is not let for hire, but, at the date when the schedule of queries was filled up, was "grubbing (or smashing, I don't know which you call it), for a new tenant, a field that is an entire mass of couch and thistles, the former tenant having left the land in a disgraceful condition." Clakke.] Re'port on Steam Cultivation. 311 The course of cropping has not been altered ; the plan pursued being to keep seeds down for three years, and then alternate white corn and forage crops, — meaning beans and turnips. In reply to the question about number of horses, the schedule simply says : " A squire must always have more horses than a tenant- farmer, as he has so much estate work, as bricks, coals, &,c., to be carted." And respecting productiveness of crops, it says : "I can scarcely write anything here, except that one field was began to be ploughed by steam in '64 in the autumn ; when the men had done about 2 acres, the machinery, 6cc., came to shocking grief, and the rest of the field was ploughed by horse-ploughs, and sown with oats in the spring. But through all the growing time of 1865, the oats showed almost to an inch where the steam- plough had worked. We never made any difference in the stacking, so I cannot report the increase of corn and straw, but it doubtless was considerable." This gentleman's experience is one more caution against in- vesting in second-hand engines that have seen much service. But as we have already related, there ai'e cases (for instance, when a new tackle has had only a few months' wear) in which " the trade might do." No. 91. Mr. J. Wilson, of Woodhorn Manor, Morpeth, Northumberland. Eight miles east of Morpeth, and within half-a-mile of the rocks which beat back the waves of the German Ocean, is situated the village of Woodhorn, with its Manor House, the residence of Mr. Wilson. The farm, of 450 acres arable, and 250 acres grass, for the most part level, with low fences and not much wood, has a strong loam soil, with some portions of lighter loam, resting upon the clay of the coal measures, Avhich clay in some of the fields forms me staple soil. The very big, powerful horses here employed make pair- horse ploughing at 6 to 8 inches' depth ; fallow-ploughing, at 9 inches' depth, requiring a team of three. The inclosures on half the farm average 20 acres each ; on the rest, 10 to 15 acres each ; their angular and irregular shape being due in a great measure to the passing of three public roads through the farm. A projected railway, also, is laid out to cross this occupation, and when the work has been completed, the necessary squaring and straightening, as well as grubbing-up of fences, will be at once executed. The drainage has been done 4 feet deep, at 21 to 24 feet distances apart, and the old ridges were partly ploughed flat and levelled before the steam-engine came. The drains act well, and, with the exception of a vein of stiff clay land, the soil dries quickly after wet — a decided im- provement having been observed since the use of the steam-plough. We should add that the annual rain-fall here exceeds 30 inches. 312 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. In April, 1865, Mr. Wilson purchased a pair of Fowler 10-horse engines — each a single-cylinder, self-travelling engine, with rope-winding drum under the boiler — working a 4-furrow plough or digger, a balance-cultivator 5 feet wide, or a harrow taking 16 feet breadth at once. The prime cost of this "double set" was 1300/. This being only the second set of this pattern that had then been manufactured, it was not sent out quite perfect in every detail ; and, owing to the skifes being of cast-metal, many were fractured by the big stones. But now that steel skifes have been substituted, breakage does not occur — the stones being lifted up ; and difficulty with stones is not met with after the first deep tillage, during which they are worked and dug out by hand. The cost of these new pieces, and the petty repairs together, have amounted to about 25/., besides " additional" parts costing 30/. The ropes have been broken once or twice ; but they are in good order, and it is too early yet to say what either the consumption of rope or repairs of wearing parts will be. The daily working expenses are as follow : — coal is burned at the rate of 16 cwts. for the two engines, costing 35. 6f/. or 4.s'. a ton, at the pit, three miles off; or 5s. to hs. 6(/., delivered in the country style by one man driving two single-horse carts : say the fuel costs ?>s. Qd. per day. Oil, " 3 gills," costs Is. One horse fetches water from wells and ponds, or from several ditches which cross the farm — say at a cost of 4s. Labour is an expensive item ; and the fashion here is to keep for each labourer a cow on grass in summer, and on two loads of hay with straw ad libitum in winter, — this keep of a cow being considered worth 5s. a week of wages. Ordinary labourers, in fact, earn 15s. a week and a house to live in. The steam-hands are ordinary farm-labourers, excepting one engine- man, who came from Messrs. Fowler ; he is paid 3s. 6d. a day ; the other engine-man, 3s. a day ; the ploughman, 2s. 6d. ; the water-cart lad 2s., and a couple of porter-boys. Is. each ; and in addition the men have their houses rent-free. As the engines can " do everything for themselves," even to leading-out their own rope, they require for "removal" "no horses and no extra men ;" and they accomplish the operation in about 20 minutes, when the shift is from one field into another adjoining. But on the advantages of this despatch we shall have something to say presently. We should say here that all the steam-hands are " volunteers," — as, at first starting, the man set to the plough got unluckily pitched off the implement, turned over on his back, and hurt ; but now, so much interest is taken in the apparatus that even the boys have learned how to drive the engines, and though the Leeds man (we have no doubt) is a valuable fellow to have with the tackle, Mr. Wilson feels himself quite independent in the matter of labour, and could always man his machinery ClAEKE.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 313 efficiently. We found the ganj]^ all in " white duck" suits, caps and jackets, in regular engineer's fashion — which simple circum- stance appeared to tell much about elevation of farm -labourers from the old plough-tail drudgery, and the heavy phj/sique and slow mental apprehension inevitably connected with long slops, coarse corduroys, and lumbering high-lows. The performance of the tackle amounts to G up to 9 acres ploughed or dug, or 10 to 16 acres cultivated in a day of 10 hours. From September 14th, 1865, to November 17th, 1866, the work done was — Acres. Of digging, in .. 51 daj's of 10 hours each .. .. 394 „ cultivating, in 20 „ 253 „ harrowiug, in 12 „ 448 83 „ 1095 Thus an average day's work was — of digging, 7 '. acres ; of culti- vating, 12 > acres ; and of harrowing, 37 ', acres. For these 83 " days' work " steam was " got-up " on 127 days ; and much more Avork would have been done had it not been for the stones m.et with in this first year's breaking into the subsoil. Mr. Wilson's "home" buildings (where, by-the-by, we saw one of the best contrived and best appointed piggeries yet devised) having a fixed engine for thrashing, grinding, «Scc., he does not at present put the ploughing-engines to any but their tillage engagements ; but at an "off" farmstead he is going to have a fixed machine, which will be driven by one of the plough-engines. We may observe, in this place, that one reason why steam culture extends slowly in these northern latitudes, Avhere the price of fuel is so tempting, is because almost every barn has its steam-engine chimney of brick instead of iron — that is, fixed instead of portable engines everywhere abound ; and though in many quarters there has been no objection to oust the old Scotch thrashing-boxes, and put in grain-saving modern English ones, it is a very different matter to abolish the fixture- engine system altogether. Mr. Wilson's double-engine apparatus has done some work for neighbours ; that is, over 235 acres upon nine farms, since autumn, 1865. The charges are — for ploughing or digging, 10.s\ to 14^. per acre on light land, and 12.";. to 21^. on strong land ; and for cultivating once over, lO.y. to 12^. per acre on light, and 10^. to 15^. on strong land ; and for cultivating twice over, 16s. to 20s. per acre on light, and 20s. to 265. on strong land. The farmers find coal and water. On this contract-work the steam-hands have a " perquisite " — od. per acre to the " head engineer," and a '■'■ douceur" to each of the other men and boys. One result is, that a next-door neighbour has parted with 314 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. 3 horses, in consequence of being able to hire this machinery. Mr. Wilson himself has disposed of three " pairs ; " now keeping 12 horses, whereas 18 are the force due to his quantity of arable, according to the system of culture and usage of the locality. There has been no time yet for any proved augmentation of cropping, except that the acreage of roots has been at once enlarged, and that the yield of beans as well as roots is thought to be improved. The rotation has been mainly 4-course, partly a 5-course shift — (1) turnips; (2) wheat and barley; (3,) clover and beans ; and (4) oats ; a portion was always dead-fallowed before the engine appeared, but now all under crop ; and Mr. Wilson says, " I find I can grow turnips on land upon which they were never grown before." We were told that the swedes "we walked over were the only ones in the neighbourhood that had been but once sown, the flies having taken off the plant in all pieces that had not the depth of moist staple here provided by steam tillage. After harvest the wheat-stubble is steam-dug for beans, and the oat-stubble dug for the fallow crop — the work being 11 to 13 inches deep, this being regulated by the subsoil, some of the land being too close to the rock for the deepest work. After this, the engines go for a time to other people's farms. The majority of the turnips are carted off, some eaten on the land, and the seed-beds for wheat or barley are made by the balance-culti- vator or plough. The clover-lea of 1865 was horse-ploughed, but all steam-ploughed in 1866, except a small breadth which was dug. At the time of our visit (November 19th) a severe frost had set in, and Mr. Wilson's polite determination to show us the machinery in actual operation led to the snapping of a rope, from the excessive hardness of the ground, after only an acre or two had been ploughed. At any rate this accident gave us the oppor- tunity of watching a smart " splice," including 8 feet of rope unstranded and made right and tight again in a short half-hour. The rope is in very good trim, and we noticed that, contrary to the common practice with the single line of rope, or "double- engine " system, porters were used here at every 40 yards' distance. We noticed that while one of the engines coils its rope beautifully, the other occasionally suffers the rope to " cross " — the perfect adjustment of the very clever coiling mechanism being a difficult matter. The defectively-wound rope is visibly more worn than the other ; and the engineer said that while this has been broken twice, the other has been broken but once. This is a commen- tary on the coiling of rope upon itself. Mr. Wilson says that the harrow makes a magnificent seed-bed for corn or for turnips ; and, as an example of its use, favoured Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 315 us with the following fact : — " North Scatter-broom," a field of only 9 acres (and therefore in "short lengths") had been steam- dug in the autumn of 1865, and laid all winter. On the 8th of May, 1866, it was steam-cuhivated in five hours, between seven o'clock and noon ; the cultivator was then taken off and the harrow put to work crosswise (or, as the Norfolk men say, "over- wart"); the harrow traversed the whole piece, and then back again the same way, before nightfall. Thus the field had been cultivated and twice harrowed, making in all (9 + 18) 27 acres of steam tillage in one day. A horse-roller had followed before the second harrowing ; and there is no reason that we know of why a roller should not be attached to the harrow-frame — in fact, we did see an arrangement of this very kind, contrived by Mr. J. A. Williams at Baydon. Next day after this steam-cultivating and steam-harrowing, a light horse-roller and a horse-harrow were used, and the field drilled with swedes. In turnip-sowing time the steam-cultivator was kept going " about two days a-head," so as to keep in the moisture ; and the tilth was " like a garden," yet without the least danger of getting run together by a heavy fall of wet, because the pulverulent seed-bed was not a mass of dry clodlets and dust, but of already moist mould indisposed to cohere. The expedition illustrated in this case forms one of the chief arguments in favour of the 2-engine system. Such are the ease and celerity with which the engines take and fetch their imple- ments, pull out their ropes, and so on, that only 10 minutes were intermitted from actual work on that day in exchanging the cul- tivator for the harrow — this being done by one engine, while the other was simultaneously taking up its position and laying its rope for harrowing across the field. If a single engine and anchorage had been used, the shifting would have occupied so long that only a small part of the cross-harrowing could have been done, the turnip-sowing would have been delayed a day, and, had it been in a catching season, the critical time lost might have been indefinitely postponed by drenching rains. Shifting the apparatus from one field to another is done in this way : the plough goes its last journey Avithout trailing out the return rope behind it, consequently the engine at that end from which the plough is starting in its last furrow is at liberty to travel, which it immediately does, taking its rope coiled upon its drum, just as it left off hauling the implement ; and this engine, on arriving at the entrance of the next field where work is to be done, waits there till the second engine comes, bringing the plough with it. The rope of engine No. 1 is then hooked to the plough, and engine No. 2 marches across the field to its required position on the far headland, taking the plough with it, and simultaneously laying out the rope. 316 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. This independence is a grand point in the 2-engine system : the three men and the boys take their engines and whole apparatus where they like, without interrupting the other business of the farm for horses and men to shift them ; whereas the single-engine set, having its anchorage to mount on carriage-wheels and set down again, wants two or three horses and an extra man with them, for two or three hours, after about every three days' work. A roundabout "windlass" set, of course, is "in the same boat." And though the actual expense thus added upon each working day is not very considerable, the loss of time of the engine and the loss of time of the horses from perhaps most urgent tillage- work, frequently backward operations much more than for the quarter or half day which may be actually consumed in the removal. Every one will understand the disadvantage of breaking off two or three horses, which are indispensable to complete a field " set," as in wheat-seeding or manuring, for the hindrance so arising may involve days of delay in finishing a job if w^et should happen to fall. In actual work the 2-engine system wastes far less time than the single-engine system does. In fields of irregular figure, many a half-hour may be lost by the anchorage-system in shortening or adding to the rope, only a small surplus length being carried upon the plough ; but with two engines, no lengths have to be added or removed. When the implement is drawing near to the anchor the pace has to be slackened, for the sake of a cautious approach and giving opportunity for the signalling. With two engines there are no signals when all is right; the plough is pulled up to the engine at either end, and it is surprising with what dex- terity and neatness the stopping is done by men who have had practice. Thus Clayton, Mr. Wilson's engine-driver, who came from Messrs. Fowler, can drive for a whole day, drawing up the plough every time within 4 inches of the fly-wheel — a fineness of running done by smart movement of the reversing-gear lever. On the double-engine plan no time whatever is lost in firing, oiling, (Sec. When the plough is going out, the engine-driver has leisure for putting on the right quantity of coal and in a proper manner, he can rake and brighten his fire, he can oil, attend to the pump, fret-cock, &c., and look round to see that things are right ; and then when it is his engine's turn to pull, he has nothing to do but to watch the plough, in instant readiness for stoppage at a rock or a root, or the first show of a signal. On the contrary, the driver of a single engine has no time for properly firing, &C., if he keeps the requisite sharp look-out upon the implement, and he has to stop work occasionally in order to get things into trim. The " double " ensfines lose not a second in moving forward on Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 317 the headland, because the resting engine takes up a new position fi'hile the other is pulling. The single engine has to move forward at every bout when the implement has come to that end. This cannot be done while the plough is in motion ; and as moving forward before the plough starts puts the slack-rope in the plough- man's way, the usual plan is to set the plough in for a yard or two, stop it, put the road-gear in action, travel the engine forward, and then again start the plough on its journey out. Considering the loss of time, as well as occasional stoppages, and the slackening of speed in approaching the anchorage, we may fairly say that in farmer's practice the single engine takes half a minute, while the double engines take only a quarter of a minute in " turning at the ends." If we allow three minutes for each journey of the implement, the single engine is seen to waste one-seventh of the day, and the two engines only one-fourteenth of the day, " at the ends ;" that is, the double engines compress nearly one day's more work into a week. About every third day the single engine wastes say three hours in removal for half a mile distance ; the double engines waste only half an hour in effecting the same shift ; thus gaining 2^ hours twice a week, or another half a day in the week. The result is that, assuming the plough to move in both cases at the same pace, two engines will accomplish in f) days the same amount of work that one engine will do in 1^ days ; or, in other words, they will get over 75 acres, while the single engine is doing only 60 acres. Perhaps we shall not be far from the truth if we take this as a fair comparison between a 14-horse engine and anchorage " set," and a "double set "of two 12-horse engines; with either of the "sets" the implement would probably be hauled at about the same pace, yet the " double" would accomplish in the same time one-fourth more work than the "single" tackle. With the "two" engines the prime cost, and therefore the interest and depreciation per day, would be one-fourth more — thus amounting to only the same charge per acre as with the single engine. But there would be a saving in working expenses ; because the coal burned and the wages paid per day are about equal in the two cases, making the " double engine " performance one-fifth cheaper in coal and labour per acre. We are not surprised, then, to find that no purchaser of a " double " set has yet been known to go back to the " single" set of steam-ploughing tackle, though there are many instances of "single" sets being relinquished for "double "ones — an exchange by no means confined to men who contemplate letting out their machinery. (See farms Nos. G9 and 82.) Of course, the sum of money required will prevent the occupier of a small farm from 318 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Clarke. investing in such a costly " plant," unless he be prepared to under-^ take a great deal of work for other people. Mr. Wilson has accomplished the novel performance of ridge- and-furrow ploughing by steam-power. Horses "open furrows" at intervals where the "ridges" are to be: the 4-furrow plough is then taken twice along each side ; that is, it throws 8 furrows toward the " ridge " on one side, and then being turned " end for end," the implement throws 8 furrows toward the " ridge " on the other side, — thus forming a " land " or " stetch " of 16 furrows breadth. A horse-plough "makes up" the "balk and mole- furrow." This practice has been followed upon the turnip-fields this winter. Before passing on to another farm, we may here advert to another mode of working, likely (we should think) to supersede the "double-engine system," if not in the hands of farmers, at any rate in the hands of contract-men and companies, who are better able to manage elaborate arrangements of machinery. We have now in the field a method followed by Messrs. Howard, which may be called the " double-double " or the " half-way " system. This consists of two engines, and also two implements ; engine No. 1 pulling implement A one way, while engine No. 2 is pulling implement B the other way ; and then engine No. 1 pulling B back again while implement A is pulled back again by engine No. 2. But in order to avoid unhooking ropes and crossing work, the journeys are of only half length, both implements travelling from their respective engines to the middle of the field, where they meet, — but not quite in the same line, so that they can pass each other at a distance of about their own length, just enough to make the furrow-ends meet, instead of leaving a strip of uncut ground. The plan is promising, as will appear from a contrast very easily made in figures. Suppose that, on the old double-engine system, one implement, 7 feet wide, traverses from engine to engine in 200 seconds, and takes 10 seconds to turn ; that is, a stripe of land 7 feet broad and the whole length of the field, is cultivated in 210 seconds. Now take the same two engines in the same position, but with two implements meeting mid-way. There being two plys of rope instead of only one, we must reduce the width of each implement to say 6 feet, in order that the engine may be able to pull it at the same pace as in the former case; say then that two 6-feet wide implements travel at the same pace, — they will accomplish their half-way journey in 100 seconds. Then, as the engines have to shift forward on the headland while the implements are at the ends, a longer time will be wasted, say 20 seconds in " turning " at the end : that is, Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 319 the half-journey is accomplished in 120 seconds. But then, as there are two 6-feet implements simultaneously travelling, a stripe of land, 6 feet broad, has been cultivated the whole length of the field between the two engines. The comparison is this : — the double-engine system has tilled a foot breadth (of the whole length of the field) in every 30 seconds ; whereas the double implement and double-engine system has tilled a foot breadth (of the same length) in every 20 seconds. In other words, the new plan is capable of working as large an area in 2 hours as the old plan can do in 3 hours ; or, in other words again, you may henceforth get your 6 weeks' work of autumn-tillage finished in 4 weeks, — and for much less money ; because, while there is an additional ploughman, with a slight increase in the coal, oil, and water-bill, you have only two-thirds the number of days on which any expense at all has to be incurred. We believe that Messrs. Fowler also find no difficulty in working two implements at once by two engines with clip-drums, and " slack-gear " upon each implement. If so, this at once gets rid of the wear of rope too commonly occurring upon winding-drums, especially when the coiling is horizontal, that is, upon drums having vertical axes. The troublesome point about Messrs. Fowler's new arrangement is the liability of the ropes to be in the way of " turning the plough at the ends ; but this is obviated by keeping one engine "a little forward," and the other "a little backward," so as to hold off the " back rope " or return ply, from passing too closely to the implement. Messrs. Coleman and Morton's engines, with coiling-drums at the boiler side, would be well adapted for the " double-double " plan of working : they already drive two implements at once, meeting half-way, but with a single engine and anchorage. No. 92. Mr. S. Langdale, of High Espley, near Morpeth, Northumberland (a manufacturer of manures and chemical pro- ducts at Newcastle, as well as an agriculturist), occupies about 600 acres arable, and 300 of pasture in three farms, High Espley, Low Espley, and Newton Red House ; consisting of various descriptions of land, for the most part heavy, but with portions of light soil and gravel. Since August, 1864, he has worked a Howard tackle with 3-furrow plough, cultivator, ridging-furrow plough, and set of harrows, driven by a 10-horse engine. The prime cost, altogether, was about 800/. ; but no account has been kept of the repairs. In fields averaging about 20 acres apiece, the cultivator does 7 acres per day of 10 hours, and more in a long day, the depth of work 8 to 10 inches ; the plough turns over 5 acres a day. The ridging-body has been used with ad- mirable effect in trenching -up cultivated fallows for winter exposure ; and the harrows are spoken of as making a really 320 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Clarke. wonderful tilth for a seed-bed, owing to the depth pierced by the tines and the absence of horses' feet. Indeed, Ave consider that this steam-harrowing- is not taken advantage of by steam-plough farmers half as much as it should be. It is a great mistake to imagine that setting a powerful steam-engine to such a light- surface operation as harrowing commonly is, must be trifling with a huge force — somewhat like putting a Samson to tin- tacking down a carpet or hanging a lady's muslin curtain ; for, in reality, scarcely any work of a steam-tackle gives more satis- faction than the harrowing, both from the excellence of its performance and the great area got over per day, Mr. Langdale's 5 men cost 18s. each per week, and his 3 boys 6.S. each per week ; but though labour is dear, coal is cheap — the engine burning half a ton a day, at 7s. per ton, A removal is a heavy job, taking 9 horses about 2 hours, the roads being hilly, and the whole of the apparatus having to be moved at one shift from one farm to another. The engine does the "thrashing, grinding, and chopping " for all Mr. Langdale's farms ; and, at different times, the tackle has cultivated on six neighbouring farms, doing the work twice over for 21s. per acre. Mr. Langdale's brother, at Newton Red House, informed us that the land had been levelled before steam culture was intro- duced, and being well under-drained lies pretty dry, owing to the steam tillage leaving it so light. They have no dead-fallow ; always get turnips and potatoes, and have now been enabled by steam to considerably enlarge their breadth of roots. The crops, generally, have been more productive, and Mr. Langdale says, " I find manures to act better " : this being precisely accordant with the general experience that artificials give their greatest effect only in finely-worked mould, which cannot be obtained in perfection on strong land except by steam-driven implements. Mr. Langdale formerly employed 27 horses, which he has now reduced to 20, and these are kept at less expense per head. The tilling-machine is always at work during the proper season, except in wet or bad weather ; and its owner is warmlj- in its favour as an economiser of time and expense, a promoter of the growth of equable crops, and the means of making both clay -land and lighter-land farming remunerative. No. 93. The Right Honourable Lord Vernon, Widdrlngton Estate, Morpeth, Northumberland. The old castle ruin at Wid- drington contrasts oddly enough with a snug scientific covered- homestall hard by, and with another newly-introduced improve- ment— a gabled school-house wherein we witnessed a throng of village childi'en " saying lessons " to their mistress and her monitors ; and here, in full prospect of the distant Cheviots, gleaming white with a mantle of early snow, we could not Claeke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 321 help wondering if this tower had been a fortress of the hero in the ' Chevy Chase' of our childhood, — " For Widclrin2;ton my heart is woe, As one in doleful dumps, For when his legs were smitten off, He fought upon his stumps." But whatever the "pluck" of the then owner of this estate, a similar spirit of determined prosecution of an enterprise must be inherited by the present proprietor, who is carrying out great permanent improvements in a most unpromising country. The soil is generally strong, " sticky and mossy,'* upon a subsoil of strong blue clay, — in some parts yellow clay mixed with sand — but not naturally devoid of fertility, in fact, good wheat-land, when the proper mechanical conditions for wheat-growing are provided. Under-draining, good road-making, steam tillage, artificial manuring, and the erection of superior farm -buildings, have altered the aspect of "Houndalee" and "North Steads" farms, including 850 acres of arable; and "Brown's" and "Stamp's" farms are being taken into Lord Vernon's hands, to be put under the ameliorating influences of the steam-plough. This latter holding consists of a poor clay, ploughed two inches deep, in a deplorable condition, and miserably farmed for years, with the last wheat-crop apparently unlikely to yield enough seed for the next. All that we could admire there were the game-fov/ls, distributed in pairs about the farm, each cock and hen having a field and a "kennel" to themselves — this scattering being necessary to prevent continual "mains" and a rapid mutual massacre of the stock. Under-draining, laying better roads, throwing down fences, and so on, are the preliminary steps of the coming improvement, which will thus be extended over a total of 994 acres of arable and 187 pasture. The land, we should add, lies generally level, and for the most part, in fields averaging 25 acres each. The first essay here with steam cultivation was made with the "Newcastle prize" "twin-engine" set — that is, two 8-horse Fowler engines, with clip-drums, two plys of rope, and one implement, both engines working "in conjunction" or simulta- neously pulling, instead of alternately pulling and resting. This fd. each ; the men paying their own house-rent. These hands are ordinary farm-labourers, employed at other times on the farms or in the woods. They have found no trouble with the engines and apparatus. Coal, at 5*. 6(f. per ton on the farm, is burned at the rate of about 16 cwts. per day. Oil and tallow cost 25. In shifting, no horses or additional help are needed, and the engines have begun work in a field 1^ Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 323 mile from the last, within one hour and five minutes from leaving off work in the latter. Mr. Coates, the bailiff, informed us that from April 14th to October 18th, 1866, the work done was 210 acres of digging and ploughing in 29 days — i.e., 1^ acres per day ; 520 acres of cultivating in 48 days — i.e., nearly 11 acres per day ; and 391 acres harrowed in 25 days — i.e., over 15^ acres per day ; and this harrowing was done twice in a place, the harrow " overlapping half." The engines thrash, and have steam-cultivated 273 acres on 8 farms, at a charge of \0s. to 12s. per acre, though they will have plenty of work to do without being much let out. Lord Vernon kindly sent us an elaborate statistical summary of costs and quantities, of work done between March, 1865, and October, 1866 ; but as the 8-horse "twins" were engaged during an unspecified portion of the time, and as the hands employed for several months were "special" men, who did not work on the farm, and received their full wages whether they were steaming or not, the cal- culations would hardly present fair results. The totals, however, are 524^ acres of digging, 8 to 11 inches deep, in 101^ days, at a total cost of lbs. 2d. per acre; "repairs" being 42/. 75. ; and " interest on plant," 126/. 5^. Of ploughing, 7 to 10 inches deep, 194 acres were done in 30 days, at a total cost of 13^. 2d. per acre; "repairs" being 15/. 18^.; and " interest on plant," 39/. 17^. Of cultivating, 827 acres were done in 93^ days, at a total cost of 9^. od. per acre; "repairs" being 48/, 18^.; and " intei-est on plant," 127/. \0s. And of harrowing, 415 acres were done in 30 days, at a total cost of 5s. IfZ. per acre; "repairs" being 11/. 14s.; and "interest on plant," 34/. 4s. The grand totals are 1960|^ acres of steam tillage in 255 days (i.e., 7f acres per day) ; labour costing, 432/. 66'. M. ; coals, 71/. 19s. Qd. ; water, 15/. ; oil, 41/. 8s. 4rf. ; repairs, 118/. 18s. bd. ; incidentals, 9/. 16s. 3rf. ; interest on plant, 327/. 17s. 4^/. ; altogether, 1017/. 6s. Id., or 10s. M. per acre. Lord Vernon's agent, Mr. J. G. Grey, of Milfield, Wooler, has been at great pains to make out the figures ; but, as we have said, they cannot be a fair guide for the performances of the present 10-horse tackle in the labourers' hands. We learn from him that, from the 11th of June to the 1st of September in 1866, these latter men accomplished as follows : — 49 acres dug, 10 inches deep, in 7^ days ; 278 acres cultivated, 10 inches deep, in Z'l^ davs {i.e., 8|^ acres per day) ; and 232 acres harrowed in 17 days. For these 57 days of actual work, 12 days were lost by wet weather, 1 day in repairing, and 1 day in washing out the boilers. The total expenses upon 559 acres of steam tillage were, for labour, 63/. ^s. Qd. ; coals, 19/. 8s. (Jd. ; water, 11. 2s. 6d. ; oil, 61. 10s. 8d. ; repairs, 16/, 14s. ; interest on plant, 50/, Ss. 9d.; Y 2 324 Report on Steam Cultwation. [Clarke. total, lOo/. 10^. lie?. The total cost per acre being, for digging-, 8a'. 9<^Z. ; for cultivating, 65. 8fZ. ; and for double harrowing, 4^. 2d. Mr. Grey does not explain the basis of his estimated "repairs" and "interest on plant." The number of horses usually kept to work this sort of stiff land is a pair to every 12 acres of fallow ; and the farm being worked on the 4-course rotation, makes the normal force 2G horses : yet only 12 are now kept, and they lead to the homesteads the harvest of GOO acres, they sow 300 acres of winter corn, and have also been partly employed in carting materials for new buildings and in making new roads. In 1866 as much as 270 acres have been dead- fallowed, all steam-dug in winter, and steam-cultivated twice in spring and summer, some of it three times, to level the surface, ■ — for this stiff clay, when deeply worked, is found to drain well flat. We found a good blade of wheat coming up, upon the steam-tilled land, put in with 3 cwts. of guano per acre ; indeed, the only chance for these farms is in thus raising good corn crops, and ultimate profit will depend upon the market and the low cost of the cultivation. And as far as the latter is concerned, the banishment of 14 horses, and consequent saving of GlC'Z. a year, will go far towards paying for the steam-work and the artificial manure, which together are converting a few inches of sticky clay into a good staple of twice the former depth. In a few years this estate will present one of the finest examples of improvement mainly secured by steam cultivation. At the time of our inspection (November 19th) the engines were making first-rate work, in spite of the frost, digging 9 inches deep, with 3 furrows on the 4-furrow implement. VYe observed the facility with which the signalling is done by the engines Avhistling, without flags, and the drivers were not at all nervous about pulling up the plough within a foot of the bevel- wheels or the fly-wheel on the engines. No. 94. Mr. David Wright, of Beal, Northumberland (a farmer from over the Border), occupies 800 acres arable and 300 acres of old pasture, a stiff loam and retentive clay farm on the New Red sandstone, at the extreme north of the county, on the shore opposite Holy Island and within sight of Berwick. The land, with a few stones, but these very small, is ploughed 6 or 7 inches deep by pair-horse teams, at the rate of half an acre a day, 3 horses ploughing 9 or 10 inches deep. But these are very fine strong horses. Mr. Wright formerly kept 32, that used to eat " two stacks of hay as long as his barn," — that is, he had to mow for them 100 acres of meadow, but now he mows only 30 or 40 acres. He has parted with 4 (not venturing a greater reduction at present, as he grows 100 acres of potatoes, besides turnips, with no dead fallow, and pipes have yet to be carted for Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 325 the underdrainage not quite finished) ; and his 28 horses, no longer requiring to be so highly kept, are now fed on wheat- straw and bruised oats. We saw them in the best cart-horse stables we have met with, fitted with racks, and slab bottomed mangers, with ample air space overhead, and a 3-jards-wide walk behind the horse's tails. A Fowler plough having been tried here in 1862, led Mr. Wright to proceed vigorously with the work he had already begun, of preparing for steam tackle of his own, by clearing away fences and a few bits of old copse, full of vermin, striking out new roads, and making his fields to average 40 and 50 acres each, some of them being 80 acres in extent. And this he was enabled to effect, with the consent and co-operation of an ex- ceedingly good landlord, A Fowler 14-horse set, with anchorage, 4-furrovv plough, and 7-tined cultivator, was bought in July, 18G4, costing 950/, " Additions " have cost 30/, ; and repairs, partly from breakage, and partly from tear and wear, have amounted, in all, to about 20/. per annum. Two years of solid work have thus involved no " expense " of consequence, and none of the rope has yet been replaced, — they have had more trouble with the " eyes " of the rope than with anything else. This unusual economy in the wear of rope may be accounted for partly by its being of peculiarly hard steel (for vt^ire-ropes vary much in quality), and partly from the circumstance of its being in thoroughly business-like hands. For, seeing the tackle at Avork, we observed that the portering was extremely well done by 3 boys, the rope held completely off the ground and not care- lessly suffered to grind diagonally over the porter friction-rollers. The rope appeared to be nearly "half-worn," and this after 1500 acres of work, every bit of it deep and heavy tillage. We noticed that the hands (who are all ordinary farm -labourers, at other times employed in the common details of the farm), have arrived at such smartness of procedure, that the time lost in turning the plough was only 20 seconds at the anchor end, and oO seconds at the engine end, the driver firing and looking sharp round at the same time. The trouble which some parties have met with from the " slack-gear " on the implement, has not been found here, partly owing to the absence of land-fast stones, (indeed there are few stones of any kind,) which generally cause most of the mischief. Mr. Wright is quite satisfied with the single-engine system, as the slack-gear allows for variations of 20 or more yards' length of furrow in a field, without stopping to add or take off sections of rope, and the anchorage headland is scarcely injured. The engine headland, however, is in bad plight, and has to be ploughed up by a 3-horse team, when it is not a grass road or a hard metal road, as in the majority of cases it is on 326 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. this farm. The double-engine system woukl require twice the extent of these turf or other roads, and would spoil so many head- lands. However, this objection we believe is trifling-, in compa- rison with the time and expense saved in shifting, and the general celerity in working of the " double " system. Mr, Wright never works up a corner or a headland by steam ; and where a fence is very "angular," instead of parallel with the opposite side of the field, instead of running the anchor alongside it, he directs it " square " across the field, completing the remaining " gore " or angle, by horse labour. This course avoids hindrances and changes ; and straightforward continuous running is one great desideratum in steam-ploughing. Removal occupies four hours up to half a day, with a pair of horses and extra man. The engine-man has 3s. 6c?., the ploughman 3s., anchor-man 2s., three porter-boys Is. each per day ; and the boy and horse with water-cart may be put at 5s. The ponds and ditches are convenient for supply. About 16 cwts. of coal are consumed, at 10s. per ton, and oil costs Is. Qd. a day. The engine ploughs 8 to 10 inches deep, 7 acres per day; digs 12 inches deep, 5 acres per day; and grubs, at the great depth of 16 inches, 12 acres per day. This profound culture is paralleled by Mr. Hawking, near Borobridge (See No. 89), but in his case, the 14-horse engine manages 9 acres a day at 16 inches depth. Before he became a steam farmer, Mr. Wright never could put more than 12 horse-ploughs to work at one and the same time, and at 7 inches depth, they turned over 6 acres a day. He can work the same number of ploughs now, in a pressing season, while the engine is doing 7 acres, too ; so that, in effect, he has doubled his tilling power, or, in other words, double the extent of land is ploughed in a day. And the steam work is more equable in depth ; for though some of the ploughmen make good honest work, some of them always shirk their hard holding of the plough-handles, and ease their teams by scamping the tillage. After steam culture the land (under-drained 3 and 4 feet deep) dries better and sooner, though root-crops are never attempted to be fed off. Mr. Wright finds the digging to be " first-rate " for beans, the seed-tilth so soon coming into condition in spring, from the absence of horses' trampling, that the beans are got in earlier than they otherwise could be. Stubble is steam-dug in autumn or early winter, lies rough and open, and not pressed ; and in spring is found to dry " a whole fortnight " sooner than horse-ploughed land. The rough tilth is torn down by grubber- harrows worked by horses, immediately before drilling the beans. Mr. Wright considers that as much benefit is thus derived from the steam tackle as he gets in any other part of its performances ; Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 327 the earliness of sowing and the absence of " concealed horse-foot- prints " being so important. He thinks that the steam harrows woukl not be an improvement upon the horse grubber-harrow, from the difficulty of working the many porters in a single- engine set, upon land " so tossed about that it stops all the fox- hunters without calling out." We saw a piece of bean stubble steam -ploughed for wheat, splendidly done. The sowing is done broadcast with barrows, for here they are not much annoyed with " annuals." The potato land is also ploughed by steam for wheat. The preparation for turnips is to steam-dig in the autumn, and twice grub in the spring, the rest of the seed-bed being wrought by horses ; and, as an extraordinary advantage of possess- ing a doubled tillage force, Mr. Wright never has more than 2 acres prepared a-head of the turnip sowing, the seed thus going into as moist a mould as possible. His swedes are good ; but much of the plant missed ; the land tolerably clean. He has not had sufficient time to compare his produce before and after " steam ; " but says^ " one thing is very obvious, the crops are much easier kept clean, and that of itself should help them to yield more." He has not altered his rotation or enlarged his breadth of root-crops. The engine does nothing but tillage-work on this farm ; for it cannot be spared to visit other people's occupations, and a 10- horse portable, with a Clayton portable thrashing-machine, does all the thrashing at the main homestead and at an off barn, besides grinding, chaff-cutting, root-cutting, oat-bruising, sawing wood, and other occasional labour. Having reached a point so far north, we ventured to extend our tour, on the kind invitation of Mr. Hope, to see what steam culture is doing in the renowned district of East Lothian : for if tillage-husbandry so perfect and so economical as that of the best farmers there should be improveable by steam machinery, what a convincing proof this would be that second-rate farming is open to still greater benefit from that machinery. Within a few miles of Drem, in Haddingtonshire, five sets of steam-tackle are at work. We had not time to visit Mr. Walter Reid of Drem — whose apparatus is that of Messrs. Coleman and Morton, of Chelmsford, in which a headland engine with a couple of winding-drums works two one-way implements, these being always in work when going toward the engine, and returning toward the anchor backwards without working. It was reported to us as giving him satisfaction in every way. We were also obliged to pass by the Fowler " set " of Mr. Todd, of Castle Mains, Dirleton, near Drem. .')28 Report o)i Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. Mr. Hope met us at Drem Station, on Saturday morning, November 17tli, our first call being upon No. 1)5. Mr. Thomas Begbie, of Queenston Bank, Drem, Haddingtonshire, who has worked a 14-horse Fowler engine since 1862. His farm is on the trap rock ; the soil partly light, but portions making heavy pair-horse ploughing. He uses the 6-feet cultivator for autumn and spring tillage ; does all the heavy work for turnips, and prepares some of the seed-furrows for wheat, by the steam tackle. The main advantages found are in the greater expedition and the increased depth of the work, as compared with horse-ploughing and grubbing. Mr. Begbie considers that his root crops show a considerable augmentation of produce, though he has not tested steam against horse work in the same field. One palpable result has been attained — the displacement of one-fourth his former number of farm-horses. Our next call was upon No. 96. Mr. William Sadler, of Ferrygate, Dirleton, near Drem, Haddingtonshire. Eastward of Drem, and not far from the new " watering-place " of North Berwick, Mr. Sadler occupies 409 acres of arable mixed soil, lying in 50 and 60-acre fields, on a gentle rise of bleak un wooded country, which looks northward over the Avide Firth of Forth. A Fowler 10-horse engine Avas tried here in 1862, but, wanting in power, was changed for a 12-horse engine, which has done all the heavy work for roots, and also ploughed the land for wheat, barley, and other crops. And now the big boulder-stones have been got out, Mr. Sadler finds that he can accomplish his steam tillage for much less than the price that horse-work used to cost, and his former force of 14 horses has been reduced to 9 ; a fact from such a place and from such an authority as should tell more in favour of steam culture than a dozen reports from ordinary prac- titioners. We walked over some magnificent tilths, torn up 12 or 14 inches deep ; and when Mr. Sadler declared to us that not only was his tillage-expenditure so much less than formerly (and this, remember, under the best Lothian management of teams which has become proverbial for its exactness and rigid economy in every detail), his crops were also better, we could readily recognise the correctness of his judgment on this point ; for we never beheld more wonderful swedes and hybrid turnips than those which, in huge bulbs for hundreds of yards together along the rows, had just been pronounced by a local Society's official judges to weigh 30 to 36 terns per acre. Another important circumstance is that Mr. Sadler, feeling the loss of time involved in taking-up and setting-down the anchor, and the difficulty of the action of the " slack-gear " in fields not perfectly rectangular, has purchased a " double-engine Claeke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 329 set." Of course this tackle (which we believe has made a good beginning since Christmas) will do duty on several other farms besides Ferrygate. No. 97. Mr, George Hope, Fenton Barns, Drem, Hadding- tonshire, occupies 670 acres arable, with 2 only of old pas- ture; a medium loam-soil, in places more clayey. High-backed lands were at one time adhered to ; but in the early days of under-draining the farm was tile-drained at 2h feet depth, and flattened, and now it is always sufficiently dry. A Howard apparatus, with 10-horse engine, was purchased in September, 18G3, has done more than 1200 acres of tillage since that time, and, excepting the rope, appears as sound and good as ever, and has incurred no expense in repairs. All the work has been grub- bing,* and in consequence of this aid all operations are so forward in autumn and in spring, that Mr. Hope " wonders how he ever got on before." He has parted with three horses, and would be able to sell off more, if he had not so much carting of potatoes, besides a new farm, distant 2^- miles, at which many improve- ments are being made. He finds that he can do a 30-acre field at one setting down, and by simply turning the engine and windlass round, does GO acres from one position. All his steam-work is done with inferior coal, costing 10^. a ton with the cartage. Mr. Hope considers that he is well repaid for his investment by the deeper and better tillage, and by the winter-exposed land being sooner ready for sowing in spring. Then the yield of cropping is greater, from the fact of the crops being more equal. This is due to the more timely sowing ; instead of having some fields too early and others too late. Mr. Hope's root-crops are " a treat to see," and every square foot of ground wonderfully clean, the turnips growing up to the very stems of the quick hedges ; and there, instead of weeds and grass, rape shoots out from the hedge-bottoms. The hedges are cut once a year, and the bottoms dug every time a crop is put in. It was not part of our embassy, however, to make notes of Scottish husbandry ; we had simply to form an impression as to the value or uselessness of the steam-plough on farms where everything had been about perfection already ; and the impres- sion we brought away with us is, that the heavy investment of a steam-tackle is found to pay well even upon the neatest and best- managed occupations where first-class farming has been practised for generations. Particulars of Farms in the " North " Division : — * Since the visit of the Committee, Mr. Hope has purchased a Fowler's 4-furrow halance ploup;h, which he works with his Howard's apparatus, and finds lighter in draup:lit than the cultivator. He can now easily and certainly regulate the depth of the work-, this he formerly failed to attain where strong clay and sandy soils alternated in the same field. 330 Jteport on Steam Cultivation. [Clakke. . s sc'-gi •2<"i.S o^ *>i^ frll-i , Kl* — "*! Hl-tl -« • Hm § o S ^ ««< o\ M n (N CO »— ( CO Q\ i^ WSSg se s S2 "- o o »n S'hb/S ■ o CD • I^ lO r> r- • • • <£. S &< &i ^ • o o o\ A ° 2 p-l -* ^ ^ IS fe: ^ is fcs ^ • ^ o o O o o o o o fe U< tlH P^ fi< W li< tl4 p4 : : • : : t/3 * • fcfl ; * ; O a S o Tl a ^ o " C3 O C5 o t3 S o a 'o ^ rt • t/J . 'A fcO to bfl bCl >> bo s H P a >> ri a C o o o :S o in Cfi h^l M m HI O h-i M ■".2 o ^ m o o o -H o en "-2 00 o Ol o IC o Ol o o ^4 C-l CO (?« 1^ -f to o> 00 T(< •uuBj aqi JO t^ 00 05 o ,_ (M CO -)< in CO 1^ •ofi oanowjo^x 00 oo CO as CI O^ C5 O CS Clakke.] Report on Steam Cultivation, 331 Section III. — Partnership. Under this head we class examples of the joint-ownership of apparatus by two or more farmers, excluding partnerships and companies which merely "let out" or undertake work by con- tract. And we take, first, those cases in which two persons unite in the proprietorship and use of one set of tackle. No. 98. Mr. Newton, of Campsfield Farm, Kidlington, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, occupying over 500 acres arable, under the Duke of Marlborough, and No. 99. Mr. Thomas Taylor, of Shipton-on-Churwell, occu- pying the adjoining farm of 750 acres arable, are co-partners in a steam-plough tackle. This is one of Fowler's separate-windlass sets (on Eddington's principle), in which a 10-horse power Lin- coln portable is run bodily up (road-wheels included) on to the top of a carriage-frame, within which is a clip-drum driven by gear-work and an endless block-chain (in place of a belt) from a V-grooved rigger on the engine crank-shaft. Hauling the engine up incline-beams by means of the wire-rope and gearing of the windlass-frame, or again lowering it to the ground, takes half an hour : the whole affair, when the engine is mounted, being self- travelling. There is a self-travelling anchorage, with the rope and implement, porters, Sic., as in other Leeds tackle ; and removing the whole occupies four horses about two hours. The greater portion of the two farms consists of stone-brash land ; not very light, but loam containing such an admixture of lime and clay as to be sticky, never keeping plough mould- boards bright except when thoroughly dry, — or as it is termed here, " drought-rotten." It is heavyish pair-horse ploughing ; or, as a man expressed it in the forceful but unsmoothed Saxon of the locality, " turnin over an acre a day gives tew bosses a deuce of a buckin." A staple six inches deep, in some places deeper, lies directly upon the rock, — or rather, upon the thin " kale " stones or rubble (" brash "), which are brought up in plenty by the deep-searching tines of the cultivator. The con- sequence of this " breaking of the pan " is that water gets down much more quickly ; the drainage has been made perfect (though it is not the whole of the land that is well-drained). And again, as we should naturally expect, the horse implements work much more easily. The only steam implement used is the 7-tined balance cultivator; with which the 10-horse engine can do 12 acres a day, at 8 or 9-inch depth, — though it is to be noted that this depth was not attained the first year. As an average day's work, including removals, 9 acres will be near the mark ; a good long day's work is 10 to 12 acres, but occasionally a stoppage may occur, and only 4 acres may be done. The greatest area 332 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Clarke. cultivated in one clay was 15 acres, on Mr, Taylor's farm. The eno^ine burns about 10 cvvts. of coal per day, at 15s. per ton. The engine and windlass-man (for this extra hand is requisite with this form of apparatus), have Is. a day between them ; the anchorman and ploughman 2^. Qid. each ; and two porter-lads Is. 4:d. each. No exact account has been kept of the expenses and performances during the 4 years' employment of this appa- ratus ; but nothing very serious has been met with in repairs, and the most important item, wear of rope, is as follows : — • Messrs. Newton and Taylor have cultivated about 120U acres in the last 3 years : the rope, 3 years old, is still in good condition ; and yet this is very stony " grinding " land, and all the work has been first breaking-up, that is, the cultivator has done no crossing of already tilled ground. Absolute proof in figures was not adduced, but Mr. Newton declared his belief that the steam operations are of cheaper cost than horse work ; and he highly values the machine as an auxiliary helper-forward of the general tillage labour of the farm, as well as for numerous other direct and collateral benefits. Clearly, the already-mentioned easing of the passage of the horse implements through the soil and its loosened stones, is not the only gain ; for Mr. Newton has reduced his previous team from 19 down to 13 horses, and Mr. Taylor has dispensed with no fewer than 20 oxen. Here, then, we have G horses and 20 oxen displaced by a 10-horse-power steam-engine ; yet the work declared to be better, easier, and forwarder in season, — the apparatus being most of all prized, we were told, because of the power it conferred of "getting on with work." Yearly expense of draft oxen is such an indeterminate quantity that (as intimated in our Introduction) we can scarcely venture to fix a money value upon the saving here effected ; but if we may say 15Z. per bullock (of course including men, imple- ments, and every item of outlay), this, together with our assumed datum of 44/. per horse, will make the whole sum 564/., to be put on the credit side of the steam account. Judging by the partial details afforded, the "steam" working expenses, includ- ing labour, removal, water, oil, wear of rope, and petty repairs, can scarcely exceed 40.?. to 45^. per day, which, at 9 acres a day, will be under, or not exceeding, a crown per acre. The cost price of the apparatus, with two ropes, a new one and an old one, was 51G/. ; the engine, belonging to Mr. Taylor, may be put at 270/., or 780/. altogether. The interest at 5 per cent., on the whole, will be 39/. (J.s. a year. Deducting the value of rope and other wearing parts, we may reckon 5 per cent. " deprecia- tion " on say 650/., — that is 32/. 10.?. a year ; the two items amounting to 71/. Ws. This divided between 400 acres of work done in a year, gives os. Id. per acre ; the total cost per Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 333 acie thus coming to 85. Crf. And allowing for heavy re- pairs, Ave cannot see how the total outlay can exceed \0s. an acre, or 200Z. a year, — unless it bo through unusual breakages and queer accidents. Besides, we have made no allowance lor the use of the engine in thrashing ; and, though we did not make a note of this point, we believe that it is so employed for a con- siderable part of the year. Setting off this annual cost of steam tillage, against the saving by displacement of teams, we have a clear gain of (564/. — 200/.) oi'Al. per annum. This precisely agrees with what Mr. Newton affirmed to be his '^ impression " (for book-accounts, and a balance-sheet for comparison, have not been kept), that the steam work has been cheaper than the former horse work. It is : and our reckoning would lead to the conclusion that, after squaiing all its own working and other yearly expenses, the tackle is paying for itself over and over again about every two years. It is remai'kable that an apparatus of low capability, " culti- vating " onh', and doing the small proportion of but 400 acres a year upon a joint area of 1250 acres arable, should have been able to displace one-third of the old force of draft animals, — that one 10-horse portable should have proved its ability to make better tillage and bring heavier crops than could be got by the use of 6 horses and 20 bullocks. Readers will perceive that the nature of the farms has a good deal to do with it : the land is of such a medium character that autumn-cleaning and enough other work can be well done by a form of apparatus not so well adapted as the regular " Leeds set " for economizing motive-power ; so that the yearly sum sunk in interest and depre- ciation is not particularly heavy. Then further, the husbandry pursued under (what is still more important) a thoroughly busi- ness-like and energetic management of both teams and labourers, has enabled these farmers to part with a large percentage of their former, force of draft-animals, notwithstanding that much less steam work is done here than on many other farms where the engine ploughs and digs, besides grubbing : this example teaching that many followers of steam tillage retain more horses than they actually need. But particular attention should be directed to the circumstance here exemplified, — the difference between a banishment of draft-animals by a set of steam-tackle, and the same displacement (as here) hy only half a set. For had Mr. Newton and Mr. Taylor bought a "set" each, they could have sold off no more horses ; and just the same amount of yearly saving on each farm Avould have been counterbalanced by double the present burden of interest, &c., upon first invest- ment. The very favourable balance on the side of steam culture, in this case, has mainly resulted from the circumstance 334 Report on Steam Cultivation, [Claeke. of two large occupiers joining in an apparatus whicli, though of moderate first cost, was equal to their particular need, and powerful enough to do as effectual service on their light or medium soil, as more costly machinery on other land. Have we made our meaning plain ? The inference is, that, under such circumstances, the partnership of two farmers makes an extraordinary difference in the formidable matter of starting the steam -horse: only they must be careful to agree. Mr. Newton and his neighbour manage very well as yet, we believe, with only " a mutual understanding : " no bargain binding either of them to time, or acreage, or " first turn." Let us not be misunderstood as recommending " cultivating " alone, even on farms like these, or as implying that a more powerful and capable machine, ploughing and executing all the heavy tillage, would not have answered still better. The case is simply stated as it appeared to us ; and though very satisfactory as it stands, quite possibly it might be improved upon. At any rate, there are cases in which a " steam farm " of 530 or 750 acres arable cannot spare its tackle to do the work of a second farm of like size. Our observations upon the husbandry at Campsfield may be briefly written. The fields, of large dimensions, have boundaries convenient for steam culture, with little timber spoiling the neatly-kept fences. Mr. Newton farms on " the 4-course ; " and showed us one of the best " turnip breaks " seen in all our excursion, — the earliest-sown swedes a little damaged by fly, — the best field of swedes grown upon land horse-ploughed 7 inches deep, and dressed with superphosphate and leather-dust manure. Artificial manure is pretty heavily used here; for, as we are told, this sort of land " wants warming." We saw another grand piece of swedes, for which the seed-bed had been steam-tilled in the middle of March, from a wheat stubble ; the roots are grown with artificial, but no farmyard manure. For fallow-crops, how- ever, the usual plan is to smash up the wheat stubbles 7 or 8 inches deep, any time between harvest and the 1st of February. The turnip layers are horse-ploughed for barley. Fart of the seeds is horse-ploughed for wheat, and part steam-cultivated for wheat. This must be cautiously done ; for once, a piece of clover on Mr. Newton's farm, turn-over ploughed by steam for wheat (he says), looked like yielding 5 or 6 quarters per acre ; but just before ripening, all went down, and the produce was bad. The ploughing was too deep, and the bottom not firm : the depth should not have been more than 5 inches. The effects of the steam tillage are summed up thus: — " The land drains better ; the root-crops are better ; and, as a consecjuence, the barley, and indeed all the corn-crops, are better." This ground always is Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 335 a good winter layer for sheep ; but the deeper tillage has made it still better for them — drier instead of more spongy, as observed in some localities. In spite of the comparatively moderate area steam-worked in a year, and the great diminution in the force of horse-flesh (and ox-flesh) kept, we considered Campsfield Farm one of the cleanest and best-managed we have walked over, and the crops are plainly so good that the land would well bear " a little more doing at," and a 5-course rotation might be adopted with good results. No. 100. Mr. Samuel Druce, of Abbey Farm, Eynsham, and, No, 101, Mr. Joseph Druce, of Twelve-Acre Farm, Eynsham, Oxfordshire, are partners in a steam-cultivating apparatus, upon a joint-occupation of 700 acres arable, consisting of Oxford clay upon a subsoil of solid yellow clay (in which the drains lie), and a small proportion of more loamy land having a subsoil of boulder-gravel. The 4-course shift is the basis of the manage- ment, with a considerable portion of bare fallow. The old style of tillage, before the introduction of " steam," was ploughing 4 or 5 inches deep by 3-horse or ox teams. The force formerly kept was, on Mr. Joseph Druce's farm, 17 horses and 8 oxen, the latter consisting of two 3-ox teams, with a spare bullock to each ; and on Mr. Samuel Druce's farm, 12 horses and 4 oxen ; making a total of 29 horses and 12 oxen. " Steam as an adjunct " has effected such a reduction that Mr. Joseph now keeps 14 horses, and Mr. Samuel 9 horses, that is, 23 horses altogether, and no oxen at all. And this banishing of 6 horses and 12 oxen has been, probably, the largest advantage of steam cul- tivation here. A Smith's 4-wheeled windlass, a 3-tined and a 5-tined grubber, and, we believe, an 8-horse engine, were pur- chased in 1860; and the work done on Mr. Joseph Druce's farm has been about 150 acres in each year. We do not know how much steam-work has been done altogether. In the spring of 1863, 70 acres were grubbed a first time, 7 to 11 inches deep, and 70 acres a second time, in the space of 20 days, including five removals. The coal burned was 8 to 10 cwts. per day, at 14^. per ton ; the oil used was nearly a quart per day, costing 65, 6c?, a gallon ; and the 5 men and 3 boys employed cost 155. '2d. per day. This is all the record that has been pre- served of the expenses and performances : and we can say nothing as to repairs, beyond the fact that the present rope which we saw is about half worn through. The rate of work, we were informed, varies from 4 or 5 up to not more than 6 or 7 acres per day ; some of the ground being very tenacious, while in other places the implement " skims the rock " at 3 to 4 or 5 inches depth. Unfortunately, both the Mr. Druces were from home at the time of our visit, and we did not learn to what extent they 336 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. consider the apparatus valuable ; but the bailiff was evidently not in love with it. There has been a saving in the outlay for team- work amounting' (according to our assumed standards of 44/. per horse and 15/. per ox) to 444/. This is a great point, for the whole cost of steam cultivating probably does not exceed a fourth of this outlay. The effect of steam culture upon the land, the management, and the cropping, was not so striking as Ave have found it in some other cases; but still, the apparatus must have been a source of very considerable profit on these farms. That the simple forwarding of operations, and so on, must have been highly advantageous on such land as this, everybody will at once understand. However, steam cultivation on strong land greatly varies in degree. A steam-tackle delights you or not, like Uncle Tim's flute, " accordin' how you work it ; " and very probably, had Mr. Smith, of Woolston, this identical sort of clay, «S:c,, under hand, he would show his winter tilths all in 3-feet trenches, open to the atmosphere to an amazing depth, with tremendous crops sure to follow, and no fear whatever of spoil- ing the staple by picking the lock of the " unknown country " beneath. No. 102. Mr. William Bulstrode, of Mount Farm, Cookham Dean, near Maidenhead, Berkshire, — occupying 300 acres arable and GO of pasture, — is partner in a steam-tackle with a neighbour, Mr. J. M. Gurney, of Pinkneys Farm, Cookham, holding a farm of similar size. The surface undulates, being in some parts rather " hilly ; " and the fields range from 6 to 60 acres each, with no alterations of fences, or roads made for the accommodation of steam-power. A portion of the land consists of sharp gravel, part of loam on a chalk subsoil, and part of very stiff clay. In May, 1861, a Clayton and Sliuttleworth's 10-horse power double-cylinder portable engine was purchased, at a cost of 300/. ; with a Howard tackle, — including windlass, 1760 yards of steel rope, 5-tined cultivator, a set of drag-harrows, 10 extra porters, 4 extra snatch-blocks, and 4 extra anchors, — which cost 253/. 10s. Thus the whole investment was 553/. 10s. During the first two years the apparatus was let out on hire ; but this practice was abandoned, owing to the excessive wear and tear involved in travelling about, and in being put to the worst pieces of work that farmers had to do. Hence, the repairs have been greater than they would have been if the tillage of the two farms alone had been adhered to. In five years, the cost for re])airs to porters, snatch-blocks, windlass, engine, &c., amounted to 100/., or 20/. a year. The smaller repairs are executed by a smith and iron-founder at Maidenhead ; but duplicates of parts most liable to break are generally kept on hand, so that the acci- Cj.arkp:.] Report on Steam CuUivatiort. 337 dental hindrances to working have been merely nominal. The principal breakages which have occurred are these : — Bursting off windlass-drum flanges, and breaking the windlass-pinion cogs, which parts are now made stronger. Snatch-blocks, too, were at first broken through careless mismanagement, which hardly ever happens now : breaking of the rope sometimes occurs — depending partly upon the management and partly upon the quality of the rope. The destruction of rope is an item not easily determined. In February, 1864, a length of 1400 yards of new rope was purchased ; but 600 yards of the old were still kept in use, and are working now. It would appear that (1760 — 600) 1160 yards of rope were destroyed in the first thiee years. Of the total length purchased, namely, (17(30 -f 1400) 3160 yards, the remaining 2000 yards are still so good that Mr. Bulstrode does not expect to want any new rope for one or two years to come. Up to May, 1866 (that is, five years' work), 2137 acres had been cultivated, at an average depth of 8 inches, and greatest depth 13 inches, and 464 aci'es had been drag-harrowed ; and if we take 2 acres of this harrowing as work equivalent to one acre of the grubbing, the total acreage may be stated at 2369 acres. Upon this performance the wear of rope has been 1160 yards worn out, jAus a proportion of damage to the 2000 yards re- maining. If we may say, one-half the use of the 2000 yards is chargeable upon the five years' work, the 2369 acres of work will have consumed (1160 + 1000) 2160 yards of rope, which, costing 94/., makes the sum per acre about 9^fZ. However, Mr. Bulstrode says, " The wear and tear of rope, when I fii'st had it, was fearfully great, owing to the tackle being out on hire ; I therefore think that, for home work, and with proper care, a charge of (xl. per acre for rope will about cover the cost." Repairs (100/.) at lOf/. per acre, and rope at 6f/, to ^hd. per acre, will together amount to Ls-. 4f/. or 1^. 7if/. per acre. The engine being employed to do the larm thrashing, an allowance must be made in calculating interest and depreciation. Let us take interest at 5 per cent., on say 450/., and depreciation at 5 per cent., on say 350/. ; this Avill be, for the two items, in five years, 200/., or l.r/. Add interest and depreciation, 4U/. ; repairs, 2UZ. ; and rope (94/. for 5 years -f- 5) 18/. 16.s'., and we have the total annual outlay upon steam tillage, 151/. 5^. 6d. Mr. Bulstrode has reduced his teams from 13 to 8 horses ; the displacement of 5 horses, at 44/. each, saving 220/. a year. Mr. Bulstrode's neighbour (having worked the tackle only in autumn, at least not in spring) has sold off only 3 horses, so that the total annual saving in draft animals effected by the steam- tackle is 8 horses at 44/.; or 352/. The whole yearly outlay being 151/., the nett gain must be 201/. This is not a small gain, when we consider that it is saved not merely with the same tillage as before, but that the staple soil is now regularly worked to a depth of 8, instead of 5 inches. Mr. Bulstrode has not altered the course of cropping upon his farm, which includes one-fifth under roots ; but he reports a larger produce from steam cultivation, partly due to increased depth of tillage ; chiefly, however, to greater cleanliness of the ground. His practice generally is to stir land four times in preparation for a root- crop, and the farm is certainly in a tidy condition. A word or two must be said upon the partnership in the steam- apparatus. The arrangement is this : — all expenses for repairs are divided equally between the two partners; a certain sum is agreed to, to be charged daily for wear and tear (say at 20 per cent, per annum on prime cost), and whoever works the tackle the greater number of days is charged that sum multiplied by the difference in the number of days. Mr. Bulstrode has turned his mechanical taste to good account Z 2 S-lO Report oil Steam Caltivatiun. [Ci.AEKE. in expediting the action of his machinery. And his several ingenious appliances, though apparently small in themselves, so materially affect the results in the two important matters of " work done per day," and " cost of repairs per acre," that they are worthy the serious attention of all persons employing the stationary-engine system. Perceiving that a large percentage of time was lost every day in the mere delay of the implement at each end of the field, he devised the "patent snatch-block slings," which require no further description from us in this place than an intimation of their use and purpose. Instead of being knocked-off from one anchor, and, with difficulty to the anchor-man, hooked-on to the next, the patent pulley slides of its own accord along a strong iron bar to its place at the next anchor, and does this not while the implement is waiting at the end, but while the implement is in work on its way back again. In our account of Messrs. Howards' farm (No, 51) we record that only 7 or 8 seconds were observed by us to be spent between pulling-up the cultivator and starting it again, by help of these slings ; this was when worked by Messrs. Howards' skilful men, Mr, Bulstrode's labourers Ave timed to be from 9 to 12 seconds in " turning at the ends." Mr. Bulstrode has drawn up the following comparison between this and the practice with the old pulleys : — " 1st. Nine acres can be cultivated per day, where only 8 acres could be done previously ; Seconds. Say, the average time of traversing a iield is 2!] minutes 165 Average stoppage at the ends was 35 Total 200 The average stoppage when the sling is used is 10 seconds ; and the time saved at each end is 35 — 10 = 25 seconds. And as 25 : 200 : : 1 : 8, therefore |th of the whole time is saved. Or, in other words, 9 acres are done in the same time as 8 previously, " 2nd. The saving in labour in the cost of porter-men — no longer required to assist the anchor-men — may be fairly put at 2«. per day, " 3rd, The reduction in cost will amount to 40/. per annum on a farm of average size. In this way, if the previous cost of cultivating per day was 50^., the cost per day with the slings will be 485. The previous number of acres per day having been 8, the number of acres with the slings will be 9, Hence — The cost per acre, without slings, is ^-^ = G o The cost per acre, witli slings, is %f = 5 4 Saving per aero 0 11 Clakke.] Beport on Stemn Cultivation. .341 Say, saving Is. per acre, or 85. per clay. On a farm providing 100 days' work, or 800 acres of steam tillage in a year, the saving is 40/." We commend this little bit of arithmetic to occu})iers of small fields, and ask them how they can possibly get the full profit out of a steam-apparatus until their landlords enable them to grub-up the hedgerows now preventing the implement from making 400-yard-long instead of 200-yard-long furrows? For if it be so important to shorten the time spent in "turning," how much more important it must be to lessen the number of " turnings " required in a dav. Even Mr. Bulstrode's " 10 seconds" at the end are one-tenth of the time occupied by a journey of the implement; that is, out of 11 hours in the day, one whole hour is lost in making the tool ready for its actual work. Suppose, now, his average field to be doubled in length, stoppage at the ends would be only one-twentieth of the whole time, and. another half-hour's work, or nearly half an acre more, would be won in the day without the expenditure of another halfpenny in expenses. But, on the other hand, if the field were of half the length of Mr. Bulstrode's field, then the number of turnings would be double, the time wasted would be one-fifth, or more than two whole hours out of the day, with more than one acre less done per day ; or, in other words, the work would cost pro- bably a shilling or 1.9. Qd. per acre more. It is worthy of note that precisely the same operation upon the self-same soil may be made to cost 25. or 85. more in one case than another, from no other cause than having a short field instead of a long one, or from being dilatory- , instead of smart, in working the implement at both ends of its journey. Mr. Bulstrode found that he could not get the full benefit from his patent snatch-blocks on account of another hindrance — the delay Fig. 1. in reversins: the two drums on the windlass. This he overcame 342 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. by a remarkably simple expedient. The windlass has two lever- handles for turnings the eccentric " bushes " of the two rope-drums by which the raising "into gear "and lowering "out of gear" are effected ; and Mr. Bui strode wished to change the position of both drums simultaneously by a single movement instead of by first working one handle and then the other ; so he set up a light wooden gallows over the two handles (see Fig. 1), or, as he expresses it, he " balanced the drums." Thus, the windlass- man drops the drum A in the act of lifting the drum B; a chain running over two pulleys C and D, connecting the two handles E and F. The labour also is easier. After this, it was found that a few seconds might be gained at the implement ; for time was wasted in taking the steerage-handle off one end of the cultivator and pinning it securely upon the other end. This point had been already attended to by Messrs. Howard, and was remedied by the use of a double-hinged handle instead of the single moveable handle. One other occasional hindrance remained. When the steam was shut off, the recoil arising from the tension of the tight rope sometimes caused the pinion-shaft to run the reverse way for a few revolutions ; and it was not safe to throw the drum into gear while this was taking place. To meet this, Mr. Bulstrode gave the engine-driver a wooden lever, which he presses as a brake between the fly-wheel and the fire-box the instant he has turned off the steam. Thus, by a few simple contrivances, almost all the advantage is got out of the patent slings, and the delay from shifting snatch-blocks is absolutely nil, though hindrance at each end of the field, from other causes, still amounts to 10 seconds. Mr. Bulstrode's pulleys are mounted upon wooden boat-shaped sledges, instead of upon flat boards, in such a manner that, while combining the utmost strength and lightness, they ride over rough ground either to the right or the left, without loading themselves Avith earth. One point is worthy of attention in his construction of pulleys or snatch-blocks. E<-^€^ ~ ? A c n L ) --■ e-^->F 3 Fj>. 2. He always employs a bottom iron bar, B (see Fig. 2), as well as a top bar. A, because the wooden base-board is liable to decay and to fracture by accidents, and because he can thus make the Claeke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. ' 343 j)ulley " run true,'' even when the centre-pin^ C, is much loorn. For this object he always keeps a stock of pieces of ofas-piping-, of various lengths, shaped as in Fig. 3, which will slip over the upright pin, D (Fig. 2), selecting the size of the " stop " under the „. „ draft-iron, G, so that the draft-line, E F (between the arrows), Fig. 2, shall be ex- actly in a line with the middle of the rope pulley. Of course, the lower the sheave (or pulley) the shorter is the " stop " put on. If the draft-iron, G, be too low, the upper rim of the pulley will grind against the top bar, A ; and if it be too high, the lower edge will do so against the bottom bar, B ; and, in either case, the wear of the centre-pin, C, is increased and unequal, and the risk of overthrows and breakages greater. " This simple matter," says Mr. Bulstrode, "has saved pounds in snatch-blocks and in breakages." He does not use the Bedford " compensating " double snatch- blocks, but considers that the one thing still wanted is a compen- sating-brake, by which the power now lost in giving sufficient tension to the slack or tail rope could be added to the draft of the tight or pulling rope. He has designed one on an entirely different principle to the compensating-brake once brought out by Mr. Fowler, but has not yet got it sufficiently simple. No. 103. Mr. E. W. Browne, of Langton, near Wragby, Lin- colnshire, with Mr. W. Lacy, of Panton, and Mr, Christopher Robson, of Tupholme, are partners (the late Mr. Thomas Greet- ham, of Stainfield, was a fourth), in a " set " of two 14-horse Fowler engines. These cost 1496?,, and started in April, 1864. Mr. Browne's farm, of 430 acres arable and 163 grass, has a strong clay soil, with a blue clay subsoil, in fields averaging 30 acres in size ; but the 2400 acres arable, embraced in the four farms, includes a variety of soils, from some of the strongest clay in Lincolnshire to light sand. This one apparatus does all the heavy tillage of these four large and medium-sized farms, and also a considerable quantity of work for other people. In the very first year, between April and winter, it cultivated or ploughed 1620 acres, Mr, Browne has reduced his horses from 16 to 12 ; the other partners have also reduced their teams, but we do not know whether in like proportion : if so, the steam- tackle will have displaced on the four farms no fewer than 18 horses. The engines do 6 to 8 acres per day of ploughing, or 15 to 20 acres of cultivating (in long days more) per day, burning coals which cost 135. a ton, at a railway station half-a-dozen miles off; ^44 Report on Steam Cultivation. [CT;AT1KE. and the six hands employed (for the set is Avell manned) are paid 24^., 20^., 12^., and Is. each per week. When not cultivating, the men are employed on the several farms. We should add that the partners here have the advantage of first-class management, their machinery being under the care and enei'getic direction of Mr. J. Smith, of Alford-road, Louth, whom we shall presently refer to as a proprietor of apparatus working by contract. The regulations governing the joint use of the engines appear to be these : — At harvest-time the first partner who gets a stubble clear of corn is entitled to the first turn ; he is allowed to do 60 acres, which may be about three days' work, and then the engines are at liberty if wanted by another partner. The four farmers charge themselves 6.s\ per acre for cultivating and 95. for ploughing or digging, finding coal and water during work and on the journey away. Two outlying farms, belonging to two of the partners, 4 or 5 miles away from the nearest of the four farms, and nearly 20 miles from the furthest of these farms, are charged at the full tariff of prices, just as in general work done on con- tract. We have not learned the precise principle on which the fund raised from the four farms is apportioned for repairs, interest, and depreciation ; but this point will be considered in the report of our next case of co-operative working. No. 104. Mr. Richard Kay, of Forcett Valley Farm, near Stanwick, Darlington ; Mr. Samuel Rowlandson, of Newton Morrell, Darlington ; Mr. Luke Seymour, of Aldborough, Dar- lington ; and Mr. Smurthwait, of Holme House, Darlington ; all in the North Riding of Yorkshire, are partners in a " set" of Fowler's tackle, consisting of a 12-horse engine and anchorage, 4-furrow plough, and a 7-feet-wide cultivator, fitted with " points" of 4 to lOg inches breadth. Ten farmers had agreed to unite in the purchase ; but, upon consideration that too much time would be wasted in long journeys from one to another, and also that reduction of horses (one of the chief aims) would be in a great measure prevented when only a small share of work on each farm fell to the engine, the number of partners was reduced to four, occupying in the aggregate over 1200 acres arable and 500 grass. And there is no doubt that, while a special personal interest is taken in the well-being of the apparatus (each one of the four partners desiring to get the most he can out of it), this plan works far better than an association of many co-proprietors, among whom might be several who were inattentive to the details of their steam-operations. And we should say that, in general, tvtO partners would be more likely to work steam-tackle well. Clai^ke,] Report on Steam (Cultivation. ^45 The " rules" of tliis partnership are pretty much as foHow : — A capital of 1000/., to be raised in four shares of 250/, each ; no member to dispose of his share to any person not a shareholder without the consent of the shareholders, or having offered it to the company or to any member thereof. The committee of management to consist of all the members, three forming a quorum ; any dispute to be settled and become finally binding by a majority of the whole. All fair wear and tear to be borne by the funds of the company. Breakages of working parts (not framework, or engine) to be borne, one-half by the user and the other half by the company. Any dispute to be settled by the committee. Share-points to be found by each user. Oil to be found by the company, and placed under charge of the engineer. As to order of use and priority of claim, one week's work is allowed to each member or to his tenant ; the second employe is to fetch the apparatus from the first, the third from the second, and so on. If any intermediate members exchange turns, it must not prevent the tackle being used by the succeeding member in his due order. The first user to find coal and water for removal to the second, the second for the third, and so on. Four days of storm or stopping by breakage not to count as " use." Whichever member is ready first after harvest takes first turn, then the others in rotation, as settled when the partnership began. The engine- man, ploughman, and anchor-man are paid by the party they may be working for ; and in a slack time ea.ch farmer employs the man living nearest to him, at ordinary farm wages — full-pay being made up by the company. Each user of the tackle has to find his own water-cart men, horse and porter-lads. The whole machinery cost 885/. in February, 1862; and addi- tions, repairs, »Scc., for the first 1(J months, up to May, 1863, amounted to about 250/. more. Since that time two new ropes have been worn, costing 100/, ; and the breakages have been costly, from landfast stones ; by the substitution of steel for metal skifes, however, most of this loss has now been avoided. The repairs of engine and apparatus, petty repairs, renewal of rope, and cost of oil (that is, everything excepting coal, water, and labour), have amounted to these suras: — for the vear 1863-4, 228/, 4^. 8iyf/, ; for 1864-5, 106/. 7s. 2M ; for 1865-6, 202/, 18^. Id. But this latter includes a new lire-box, the old one having been fairly burned out. (A metal fire-box is considered to last only 4 or 5 years ; whereas a copper fire-box would probably last 10 or 12 years.) So that the expense of repairs is really lessening each year ; which is due, in great measure, to the fact of the big stones having been found by the first deep work, and now re- moved. The average outlay for repairs and renewals of parts has 346 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Clakke. been 179/. 35. Qd. per year, but will be much less for the future. Excluding the first year, the number of days' work done on the four farms is as follows: — May, 1863, to May, 1864, 157 days; May, 1864, to May, 1865, 12U days; May, 1865, to May, 1866, 112-2- days ; a total of 391 days ; or an average of 130 days in a year. It will be observed that this is a gradual decrease of time, and, upon the last year, a saving of 25 per cent, from the second. The time lost by stoppages from accidents or bad yveather has not been booked, the men going to farm-labour as soon as they cease yvorking. Ordinary labourers here have houses, coals led for them, potatoes, 6:c., making, with their yvages, about 18,s. per week. The steam-hands are paid thus : — engine-men, 23s. ; ploughmen, 18^. per vveek for the first year, 205. for the second year; and the anchor-men, I65. per week; the two porter-lads and water-leader, 9^. to ] 25. each. No gratuities are allowed ; and paying by the acre is objected to, seeing that the men would drive too fast, and this would not answer among so many land- fast stones. The leading of 350 to 400 gallons of water is done by one horse, the distance rarely exceeding 30 chains. The apparatus can be taken up and "re-set" in an adjoining field in two hours by help of 2 horses, but each man must know his business well to get it done in that time. Coal, costing 75. a ton at the pit, and with leading home, say 145. per ton, is burned at the rate of 8 to 10 cwts. per day, say 65. Qd. worth per day. The annual expenditure may be summed up thus : — £. s. d. Labour, 130 days x 14s. 8c? 30 fi 8 AVater-cart horse, 130 days X 2s. (jc? 10 .5 0 Eenioval-horses, 130 days X M 350 Coal, 130 days X 6s. G(/ 42 5 0 Repairs, renewals, rope, oil, &c., 130 days X 27s. i\ld. 179 3 fi Interest, 1000?., at 5 per cent. .. ". 50 0 0 Depreciation, say 800/., at 5 per cent 40 0 0 Total, 130 days, at 55s. 63c? 361 5 2 The engine is occasionally used for thrashing ; but no allow- ance is made for this in the above statement. Mr. Rowlandson, who has carefully kept all the accounts, and who has large expe- rience of mining machinery, agrees with us that, after full repairs are charged, 10 per cent, would be an excessive allowance for " depreciation." The immediate return from a yearly outlay of 361/. 55. appears in the saving of 12 to 15 horses on the four farms, — though one of the four partners has not yet reduced his team-force at all. The sum saved is thus 528/. to 660/. per annum ; and deducting Clarke,] Report on Steam Cultivation. 347 361/., the total cost attending^ the steam-machinery which has taken the place of the banished horses, we see that a balance of annual profit of 1G7/. to 29D/. has accrued to the partners. This being the case, to say nothing of im))roved cultivation and augmented produce (wliich will be referred to presently), it does not much matter whether any single operation may have cost more or less than ordinarj- horse tillage costs per acre : par- ticularly as this set of tackle declines all contract-work, because of the stones not yet cleared out of the land that might ask to be steam-tilled. However, the daily performance and cost per acre have been as follow : — On Mr. Rowlandson's farm of very strong loam, with variable subsoil, very full of landfast stones, the average ploughed or dug has only been 3 up to 7 acres a day, depending upon the length of the fields and the state of the weather ; 40 acres were dug 9 inches deep, and the tackle shifted in 10 days ; or 4 acres per day. At 55s. Id. per day, Mr. Row- landson's deep-ploughing and digging thus cost 85. to \?)s. 11^ by 2^ feet wide, and deep enough to receive the discharge of a 4-feet deep drainage, the cost being about 65. or 7^. each, a man being able to set two in a day. The tanks are valuable for showing if the drains run (and they have shown that the drains begin to act much quicker after steam than after horse culture), and for supplying water when the 9-inch outlet is temporarily stopped up for the purpose. A pump set in a cart is taken to any one of the tanks ; and for carrying the water, two common carts are employed, with a barrel upon a tressel foot in each. We found a couple of 14-horse Fowler engines at work upon a field of strong loam, which may be called " pair-horse " land, because Mr. Torr employs two horses in a plough ; but then his are teams " well greased for going." In reality, this is fair "3-horse land." The balance cultivator was doing tremendous work, heaving up huge slags, shattering and tossing them in all forms, at a depth of 9 to 11 inches, the implement travelling at a high speed, and labouring over hills and hollows like a ship at sea. The rate of performance was 18 acres per day ; and Mr. Torr paid only IO5. an acre for over a hundred acres grubbed 11 inches deep last spring. Two boys were working 6 rope- porters, and we observed that, on an average, only 15 seconds of time were lost at each end. The extraordinary handiness of the double-engine system was exemplified in the act of changing the cultivator for the digger. One engine advanced a little on the headland, so as to haul the cultivator upon the broken ground out of the way of the next implement ; it then backed along the headland to fetch the digger, and returned to its original position. The rope from the other engine was now too short to reach the digger, so the first engine rope was pulled out a few yards by 352 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Clakke. hand, and hooked to the far-engine rope, which was then pulled up by the first engine till it reached the digger. The work wanted squaring off, and by a succession of gradually shortening bouts, this " gore " was worked off to perfection. Mr. Torr has not yet materially reduced his number of horses ; but nevertheless expresses his great satisfaction with the hired assistance, that enables him to get on more quickly with his Avork at the best season, to accomplish " hard jobs " with ease, and execute a style of tillage Avith which no horse-work can be compared. This set of tackle belongs to Mr. J. Smith, of Louth, and has been Avorking since 1863, Avhile another set (in the same hands) had begun in 1862. These are " 14-horse engines" upon "12- horse boilers." Three men and two boys work the apparatus, but an extra hand is also employed to "relieve all through," so that the engines never stop all day. They are good, well-trained hands ; and no little nerve is required for driving so sharply and closely as they do hour after hour without accident. It is all day-work, seeing that piece-work Avould be too powerful a temptation to " scamping " the depth of tillage. The engineman and ploughman have 20^. a week each, the porter lads 12s. a week each, for 10 hours a day. But they make overtime, reckoning even to half an hour; and in spring and autumn they have sometimes worked the extreme hours of from 3 o'clock in the morning till 10 o'clock at night. For a few days, up to a Aveek of stoppage by bad Aveather, or other cause, they are paid full Avages, as in this short time they are sure to be cleaning out boilers, " putting on a washer, or something." There is, however, a " slack time." The engines generally make a start in March, February Aveather being very uncertain, and keep going till the middle of June. Then comes a slack time, until the last Aveek in July, Avhen Avork begins again, and holds right aAvay to Christmas. During the slack month in June and July the men are alloAved \s. each, and the boys 9f/. each per day ; in addition to Avhich they get plenty of work upon farms. At the Christmas stoppage the Avages stop too, until a fresh agreement is made Avith the hands for the next start in February or March. And during this Avinter A'acation, farm employment is found even more readily than in summer, such as draining strong land, marling on the Wolds, thrashing, and so on. Ordinary small repairs are done by blacksmiths, Avherever the engines may happen to be ; all important parts are obtained direct from Leeds. The employers find coal and Avater, coal at 16s. a ton, at home, being burned at the rate of 1^ up to 5 CAvts. per acre, according to the nature of the Avork ; and the bargain is that the farmers shall fill up the "tanks " or "tenders" Avith Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 353 coal and water before the engines leave, a tank full of water lasting four miles on the road. Mr. Smith began contract Avork as low as 8a\ per acre, finding his own coal, but soon experi- enced the folly of having made too low an estimate of his expenses. He now charges 9^. up to I65. an acre, — say an average of about 10.s'. 6f/. an acre, for different sorts of work, the fai'mer finding coal and water. To avoid loss, it is necessary to " charge enough " for " bad pieces." Engagements are made beforehand with several occupiers in succession, and punctuality is studied, so that rather than disap- point a customer who may be unwilling to wait beyond the appointed day, Mr. Smith leaves a field half done. If a number of farmers were to combine, oifering a certain total area, and so much land each, then he could engage to do only a stated quantity at once for any one man. And in that case, farm-horses might be sold off, because the farmer would be sure of being able to hire the apparatus. At present, the saving of horseflesh is confined to lighter work and cheaper maintenance, the un- certainty about getting any steam work forbidding an actual selling off of teams. And this is simply for want of an arrange- ment that might be easily entered into between half a score of farmers and the contractor. (^See " The North Lincolnshire Company " in Division 2.) Most of the tillage has been upon fair 3-horse land, and more than half of it in a heavy clay district. The 14-horse " set " has cultivated three acres per hour as an unusual feat, 2^ acres per hour with the "drag" being good work. Excessively long days are run in some seasons ; and once, in cultivating a light soil, the engines executed Avithin an acre of 70 acres in three fields setting down and taking up tackle six times in three days. Mr. Smith expresses himself satisfied with his business ; his employers do more and more work with the tackle every year; and, with good management, he considers that contract working will pay, even on light land. In fact, on the Wolds, where a couple of horses can plough IJ acre per day, he has done steam cultivating 5 inches deep, that was profitable. But then, Mr. Smith, formerly one of Messrs. Fowler's managers of show tackle, is reputed as one of the cleverest and most energetic machinemen in the country ; and, as he himself said to us, making the business pay is "just a question of management." The very simplest de- tails have to be watchfully superintended, and time most jealously husbanded. Each field has to be previously inspected, and the operations laid out according to its circumstances. Thus, if there is a hill, the rule is to begin across the bottom, for ploughing, turning the furrows downward ; but for cultivating begin across the top of the field, because of easier turnings at the ends. VOL. III. — s. S. 2 A 354 Report on Steam Cultivation. [ClakivE. Moreover, if, on a steep hill side, a wheel of tlie cultivator happens to get into the cultivated ground, it cannot be got out again into its proper track on the unbroken ground, if the work is begun across the bottom, instead of the top. Again, when a level field is to be " done and crossed " (if no other more im- portant consideration chance to interfere) always begin the short way first; this making the shortest journey of the engines over worked ground, when changing from one operation to the other and when leaving the field. But should the gateway happen to stand " midside " instead of at one corner, this rule must be violated. Where, of necessity, the distance between one job and another consumes much more time than is lost by the farmer employ- ing his own apparatus, it is only by judicious planning and incessant personal attention that sources of loss can be avoided ; and it is owing to Mr. Smith's care and forethought that he is able to report, " we have only been stuck fast once, and that was in an old filled-up ' stell ' in the marshes." * No. 106. We have the opinion of another first-rate manager and proprietor of contract apparatus, Mr. Henry Yates, of Abbey- street, Derby, that " 3-horse land" pays the letting man best: clay, without stone in it " pulls dead," — indeed, the engines find very great and unexpected differences in the mechanical " til- lage value " of soils, which horse teams merely pull through all the same. Until some new implements are biought out, the contract man cannot compete against 75. or %s. an acre horse- ploughing, though he can do the work wonderfully quicker and better : cultivating is the deepest, best, and most expeditious of steam work. The wear and tear being so much greater than in the case of tackle limited to a farm, the only chance for the letting-man is that the farmer shall be willing to pay for the accom- modation of having his work done when most required : and cer- tainly, the fact that horses would plough or cultivate at so many shillings per acre ought to be no test of what a job may be worth, when the farmer has no horses to spare for the operation just when it ought to be done. Unless handsome prices are earned during the autumn (when any " set " can always have more work than it can do) a man cannot stand against the slack season of May, June, and July ; except, indeed, he is lucky enough to be in a dead-fallow district, where a portion of summer tillage can be found for his engines. Thus, Mr. Yates has worked two " double " sets of Fowler's 10-horse tackle, for eighteen months together, every day when the weather was suitable. Employers of hired apparatus need to be reminded that the * Mr. Smith remarks that no engine ought to travel on the roads after dark, either with lights or without. Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 355 cost incurred by the steam-contractor in doings the work is a point with which they have really nothing whatever to do ; the main question for them is, what is the value of the tillage when done? And they must consider the various elements of value in the work : it is worth so much more than horse- work on account of its greater depth, its freedom from tramp- ling, its more effectual shattering and disintegration of the soil. It is also worth more, because of its celerity of execution, quite irrespective of its mechanical excellence : you willingly pay more per mile to travel by an " express " than by a " Gov." train, because time is an object with you ; and on the same principle, when saving of time, catching opportunities of fine weather, and general forwarding of operations, are all-important toward obtaining more even and better crops, an acre ploughed in one hour is worth far more to you than an acre ploughed in two hours. And to those who may find any difficulty in thus appreciating expedition in tillage, we commend Mr. Bomford's use of two double-engine sets {see No. 69), and again, the esti- mate offered in Mr. Randell's case (No. 67), where the steam culture costing him 145. an acre is shown to be in effect worth 235. an acre, from the saving of yearly expenses without taking into account any further advantages that he may reap in his augmented cropping. And his is by no means the only, perhaps not the most striking example of the gain by " promptitude and dispatch," which the old copy-book declares, "are the life and soul of business." No. 107. Mr. William Bellhouse, of Escrick, York, has let out a set of Fowler's " 10-horse " double-engine tackle since May, 1864. The prime cost, with 4-furrow plough, 7-tined cultivator, water- cart, and extias, was 1300Z. An exchange of engines in June, 1865, cost lOOZ. ; a harrow, since purchased, 50/. ; and other addi- tions, steel skifes, lamps, &c., about 20/. ; making the whole invest- ment, 1470/. The breakages and ordinary repairs have amounted to about 125/., and new ropes in February, 1865, 84/., altogether 209/. The engines consume 16 to 20 cwts. of coal per day ; oil costs about 25. ^d. per day, — for " some men will use twice as much as others." Only three men work the tackle ; rope- porters being considered no saving when the land is level and free from gravel. The wages are 14^. a week for each man all the year round, with Is. 6c?. per day extra when working the apparatus. During slack time the men are at liberty to pick up employment wherever they can. The fields worked upon a large number of farms vary from 7 up to 40 acres each, the average size about 12 or l4 acres. Little ploughing has been done ; of digging, the greatest quantity per day has been about 8 acres, the average about 5 acres, almost 2 a2 o^i] Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. always on clay land. Of cultivating, the greatest quantity done on light land has been IG acres a day, but generally on strong heavy soil, the average is 1 acre or less per hour. A removal is accomplished to an adjoining field in 15 or 20 minutes. Three men move the whole, Avithout assistance from horses, except that occasionally it is convenient to pull the rope across the field with a horse at starting. On the road " six men are required according to the new Act." The rates charged per acre are, for — Digging 16s. to 20s. in strong land. Cultivating .. .. 7s. to 14s., according to soil and condition. Harrowing .. .. About 5s. per acre, twice over. Mr. Bellhouse says, " During the first year, after 1 fully got to work, the tackle worked 200 days : under favourable circum- stances, I look for 150 or IGO days' work in a year ; but have come to the conclusion that, generally speaking, it is not advisable to attempt steam cultivation between the middle of November and the middle of the next March. Since 1 exchanged my engines, the most serious breakages have arisen from inattention or inexperience on the part of the men." As an example of the hazard attending contract steam- ploughing in some localities, we may mention that, a "set" had to quit the Holderness district of the East Riding, because of the " brack " water depositing salt in the boilers. These had to be cleaned out every day, a few pounds of salt being liable to damage them irretrievably. No. 108. Mr. C. Hill, of Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, North- amptonshire has managed one of Fowler's double-engine sets for three years, performing only contract work. The Committee did not see Mr. Hill, as he was at the time of our call working his apparatus, a dozen miles away ; but we learned that he has work enough for this pair of 12-horse engines, excepting for about three summer months in autumn, and could employ two or three sets of engines if he had them. There is no difficulty in finding work for the men during the vacation in the ploughing : they get employment upon different farms because labour is in great demand just at the season when the engines set them at liberty. But in the first year Mr. Hill allowed one shilling a day to each man when not engaged with the apparatus ; a tax for which there is now no necessity whatever. No. 109. The Earl of Ducie has three tenants on his property near Chipping Norton, who work steam-ploughs of their own ; but he keeps a "set" for the use of any other tenants on the Sarsden estate. The following particulars are given by Mr. Henry Andrew.s. the asrent, in his replies to the Society's schedule of ClaPvIvE.] Report on Steam Cultivation. •>')? queries: — The apparatus is a Fowler 14-horse engine, with 4-furrow plough and 7-tine(l cultivator, bought in 1863 for rather more than UOU/. It is worked upon level and hilly ground, in fields generally of 10 to 20 acres in area, some much larger, small fields having been united so as to make the inclosures of convenient size ; and the " access " to fields has been altered in some cases. The soils it has to work are those of the oolite and Oxford clay formations, of which it ploughs or digs (J acres a daj^ or cultivates 8 acres a day. The coal consumed is 12 cwts. a-day, at 9^^. per cwt., with a shilling's worth of oil. The water is obtained from wells and streams, and drawn in a water-barrel by one horse, at a cost of 4^. a day. A removal takes 7 horses and 7 men and boys, one hour to take up and another hour to set down. The hands are two men at 2^. each, one youth at Is. 6d., another youth at Is. 4(/., and a couple of boys at Is. each per day. These low wages for men working machinery are paid throughout the year ; and, when not engaged in cultivating, the steam-hands are employed in the woods and plantations — in draining, ditching, and general improvements on the estate. " The repairs," Mr. Andrews says, " may be taken at 5 per cent. ; some years con- siderably less, in others more." Delays from breakage have been a day or two at a time, sometimes even a week. The apparatus has been used 8J years, in which time " 2000 acres, 3 roods, 34 perches," have been ploughed, dug, grubbed, or scarified ; whereas 4000 acres could have been done, as the engine is not employed for thrashing, sawing, or any work beside land-tillage. If the tenantry were to fully avail themselves of this apparatus, they might dispense with a great many horses. Mr. Andrews says that the drainage of strong land has been rendered more effectual by the use of " steam ;" the acreage and particularly the weight per acre of root-crops have been increased, " the young plant in dry weather being much more certain than when prepared for by the ordinary method. The crops generally have evidently increased under steam cultivation : how much is to be attributed to this, or how much to the generally-improved method of farming, I am not prepared to say ; it is certain that both have contributed in producing the result. I think, however, that steam has the advantage of the two." The prices charged for work are no criterion whatever for the guidance of letters and hirers of steam-tackle ; they are purposely low, for the sake of getting steam-work patronised by the tenantry for their especial benefit. We believe that " the estate-engine " grubs at 66'. per acre, and 6^, per acre less for all over 100 acres. This "encouragement" of steam tillage at a sacrifice (for such prices will probably never pay for repairs, &c., of a travelling apparatus) was offered to carry out the exceedingly liberal viev/s 358 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Clarke. of the late Mr. Langston ; but it cannot be sound policy in the long run, and we suppose must put at a discount the letting-out " sets " owned by some of the tenantry and by other business-men in the locality.* No. 110. Mr. Thomas Colsey, agent to Lord Sudeley, lets out a Howard set of tackle (with one engine). In 1864 the Total number of days working was . . . . 98;t Days lost by bad weather 14 Days lost by breakage, about 24 And 40 days more were lost through lateness of season in com- mencing. When not steaming the hands are employed in general estate- work, such as repairing roads. As an index for hirers and proprietors of apparatus, we give the following " card " of prices charged : — TODDINGTON StEAM PLOUGHING AND CULTIVATING APPARATUS. The followmc] Terms are to he tahen only as a basis for the Charges of Hiring the Steam Apparatus. Ploughing. £. s. d. Stubble, 6 inches deep per acre 10 0 After green crop, ditto ,, 0 17 6 Stubble, 8 inches deep „ 15 0 After green crop, ditto „ 110 Stubble, 9 inches deep „ 1 10 0 After green crop, ditto „ 15 0 Cultivating. Breakmg-up Btuhhle, Seeds, &c. s. d. £. s. d. Six inches deep, once over .. ,. per acre 12 OK ..q ^ 2nd time over „ 7 Oj^ Seven inches deep, once over .. ,, ,, 13 OK ^ p 2nd time over „ 7 6^ ^ '^ Eight inches deep, once over .. .. ,, 14 6K o ^ 2nd time over „ 8 6j Nine inches deep, once over .. .. „ 16 0\-. „ p 2nd time over „ 10 6 j Ten inches deep, once over .. .. ,, 17 6K ^ a 2nd time over .. .. ,. .. „ 11 6) Breaking-up old pasture (in addition to the ahove charges), once over, 3s, ; second time. Is. Gd. Crossing Steam-ploughed Falloivs. s. d. £. s. d. Eight inches deep, once over .. .. per aero 11 ^^Ia -ir- p 2nd time over „ 6 GJ Nine inches deep, once over .. .. ,, 12 OK ,q „ 2nd time over „ 7 6J * It was Mr. Langston's wish that his estate should exhibit a large breadth of steam cultivation, with varied results on soil, crops, &c., as a guide to other agri- culturists—an iuceutive, or possibly a warning — and this without risk of loss to his tenants. — A. Olaeke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 359 Subsoiling below Plough-furrow. s. d. £. s. d. Four inches lielow furrow, once over., per acre 15 0), o g 2nd time over „ 8 6) The above prices will be charged for the working of ordinary clay lands ; they will vary with the condition and description of the soil, the amount of work required to be done, the size and shape of the fields, the convenience of coal and water supply, and other minor considerations. No field will be charged for as being less than 8 acres. All expenses are included in the price named. In consequence of the new engine being a traction engine the prices have been raised, but they include, in addition to the former charges, the expenses of removing the apparatus, for which purpose horses will no longer be required to be sent. April, 1865. Messrs. Howard's traction engine has the boiler placed trans- versely across a carriage-frame, so as to avoid fluctuations of the water-level in ascending or descending inclines ; and the steerage is accomplished bj a single wheel turning on a "transom" in front. It is fitted with two rope-drums, so that there is no separate windlass to be moved, set down, and so on ; and the consequent celerity with which the apparatus takes up its position for work effects a wonderful saving in time. Division 2. — Companies. No. 111. The Herefordshire Steam-cultivating Company Limi- ted (manager, Mr. John Phillips-Smith, of Hereford), which works two sets of Howard double-engine tackle, two cultivators, one 4-furrow plough, one set of steam-harrows, and four mole draining-ploughs ; and the North Lincolnshire Steam-cultivating Company (manager, Mr. Richard Toepffer, of Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire), and some other contract steam-tillage " concerns " we have not been able to visit. Concerning the operations of the Lincolnshire Company, Mr. Toepffer has obliged us with the following answers to inquiries : — "We have three sets of Fowler 'double-engine' 14-horse tackle. We can work, on an average, from the 1st of April until the 31st of October, that is seven months, in which period we calcu- late having about 120 full working days. During the five months from 1st November to 31st March all the hands are employed in our mill, manufacturing oilcake and compound corncake. We can find work in March, and almost all the winter through. Our work is very often of the very worst fields of the farms : but we have many customers who contract with us, for instance, in spring, for crossing most of their turnip- land ; in summer, to cultivate most of their summer-fallows ; and in autumn, to cultivate most of the stubble-fields. In several cases farmers have reduced their number of horses; in other :)()0 Beport on Steam Cultivation, [ClaiUvE. instances tliey have abstained from purchasing fresh horses, which, without the help of our steam-cultivators, they would have been compelled to do. We use, almost exclusively, the cultivator, because farmers like it best. We have also used the plough this year, but only to plough on the Wolds, turning over large seed-fields, 5 inches deep, for wheat — farmers, in these instances, being behindhand with their work. " Our plan is to arrange beforehand, in general terms, with a number of gentlemen in one vicinity, to do a certain amount of work in a season, and mostly finish off the work on one farm before going to another. Most of our work is on light land, on the Wolds and Cliff, in 20 to 50-acre fields. Our charges for cultivating vary from Is. to 15.s\ per acre — the farmer supplying coals and water. Strong land is often worked twice over, and in large fields averages 10s. per acre for each operation. " The system of hiring steam-ploughs on the double-engine principle is the only one that is adapted to bring steam cultiva- tion within the reach of small farmers. Where three, four, or more small occupiers in one locality agree to hire an apparatus, they can obtain it at the same cost as the larger farmers. " All our customers tell us that, as long as they can hire steam- cultivators at a reasonable charge, they will not buy tackle them- selves." No. 112. The Herefordshire Steam Cultivating, Thrashing, and General Implement Company (Limited), Capital 5000/., in 1000 Shares, began operations with the first pair of Howard's engines in 1865, and a second pair in October, 1865 : at the end of that year the Directors declared a 5 per cent, dividend, and laid by a surplus of 91?. toward a Reserve Fund. The Report for 186() is not yet published, but the manager informs us that they have made a larger profit than they realised the first year. They work the plough but little, the principal operations having been done by the cultivator, whether on loam and gravel soils, on sandstone shale, or stiff clay and marl, on lands where they have torn up immense quantities of rock fragments, or on deeper soils where the tillage has been 15 inches deep. The basis of the scale of prices is \s. per inch depth. The engines have given every satisfaction, in a desperately hilly country, and cost very little in repairs. Mr. Philip Smith has applied his engineering ability to carrying out some novel operations. Thus, a mole- plough is hauled by each engine, draining meadow-land 2 feet deep, at 4-yard intervals, the mole-plough being of 4^ inches diameter. The cost to the farmer is 1/. per acre : by previously ploughing a deep furrow, a correspondingly deep drainage is executed ; and the work is declared to answer exceedingly well. The advantage of this draining to the Company is that it provides Clakke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 361 " wet-weather " work for the apparatus and men, — hitherto a weak place in " the hiring system." Mr. Smith has also begun to subsoil hop-yards between the rows of polls, — a single tine on the cultivator going 2 feet deep with a share at bottom of 18 inches breadth. No. 113. On Wednesday, November 14th, we met by appoint- ment in Wakefield ten gentlemen connected with "The West Riding Steam Ploughing, Cultivating and (Thrashing Company, Limited," that is, nine directors and Mr. Charles Clay, the secretary ; and, cordially appreciating the importance of our undertaking, they responded with the utmost liberality of feeling to all our inquiries, and freely submitted their books to our scrutiny. The accounts are kept in the most exact and business- like style, properly audited, and we saw the banking-account, stating the amount of the " reserve fund." This, the earliest Company of the kind in the field, started and was "incorporated" in 1862, and its "Memorandum of Asso- ciation and Articles," consisting of 93 articles agreed to, form a model to be studied by persons wishing to form similar Companies. The capital is 3300/., in 11. shares, subscribed by 80 share- holders, and all " paid up " as far as shares have been issued. The first " set" that started in work was a double-engine 12-horse Fowler apparatus, with winding-drums, while another "set" of double 14-horse engines began in September, 1864. And the position of the finances may be stated in a iew words, as follows : — The gross earnings are about 900/. a year, of which about 200/. a year is for thrashing. The total payments, exclusive of great repairs and replacements, are about 600/. a year ; leaving a surplus of 300/. At the half-yearly meeting of the directors, held on August 2, 1866, a dividend of 5 per cent, was declared, say 150/. ; thus leaving 150/. more for the "reserve fund." In three years (besides paying the dividends) 350/. have been paid into this fund, and the banking-book, at the date of our visit, showed a floating balance of 120/. A modest dividend, of course, is preferable to mere solvency ; but on learning the history of the Company's transactions, under a pressure of unfavourable circumstances, we admitted that the fact of a dividend at all having been realised clearly proved the profitable nature of the undertaking itself. The machinery has had nearly every difficulty to contend with. Its employers have been, for the most part, small farmers ; it has worked for many men occupying under 100 acres each, even on 30 or 40-acre occupations. The inclosures are miserably small for steam cultivation, those worked in having averaged only 10 acres apiece ; and though the engines profess to undertake nothing "under 8 acres," they have ploughed G and even 4-acre fields. 3G2 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. charging- each as 8 acres. The fences, too, are crooked, and the shape of the fields often extremely awkward. Then, in travelling, they experience the difficulties of very narrow and bad roads ; and though coals are certainly cheap so near to the mines, labour is correspondingly dear. But worse than physical im- pediments have been the restrictions imposed by law. Owing to difficulties with the magistrates about the locomotion of the engines by daylight, one of the two "sets" had to be shut up altogether from December, 1864, to July, 1865. Into the full losses of the Company from this cause, including the after-disad- vantage of farmers losing confidence in the Company, (the element of uncertainty as to whether the tackle was procurable or not, leading men to make other arrangements for effecting their tillage,) we cannot now enter. It is enough to say that, the Act of Parliament passed for two years, permitting day- travelling (the only safe time), though imposing burdensome conditions upon the proprietors of engines, Avill expire in Sep- tember, and must be renewed if Steam-Ploughing Companies are to continue in existence, or, in other words, if small farms are to obtain the benefits of steam cultivation. With " amend- ments," too ; for if the " smoke-consuming " clauses of the present Act were to be put in force, the whole " hiring-system " would be at once done for. As an illustration of the excessive number of journeys and changes which these engines have been obliged to make in this part of Yorkshire, we may state that in 1864 they worked for 38 different farmers, going to many of these several times over ; and in 1865 they worked for 34 farmers. What was the work done? In the first half of 1865 (only one "set" able to be at work) the Company tilled 261-^- acres, and thrashed 1302 quarters of corn ; and in the latter half of that year (both " sets" in operation) they tilled 792 acres, and threshed 788^ quarters of corn. That is, 1053| acres of tillage, and 2090J quarters of thrashing were done for 34 farmers, and to do this, in many cases, the same farm was left and again revisited several times. In the first half of 1864 one "set" tilled 528^ acres, and thrashed 1523 quarters ; and in the latter half of that year (the second "set" starting in September) 887f acres were tilled, and 1886 quarters thrashed. Thus, 1416J acres and 3409 quarters of thrashing were done for 38 occupiers. The engines travelled 318 miles in getting to and from the field-work, or averaged only about A^ acres for each mile of road-work. And for the thrashing, the engines travelled no less a distance than 349 miles, getting less than 10 quarters of thrashing for each mile of journeying. As little as 10 quarters has been thrashed for one man. Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 363 In the first half of 1863, the first set of tackle did 680 acres of tillage, and travelled 61 miles to do 086 quarters of thrashing-. In the second half of 1863, that "set" did 638^^ acres of tillage, and travelled 182^ miles, its average performance being 6 to 8 acres of ploughing or digging, and 14 acres of cultivating per day. The work has been done on light as well as heavy land, and in some cases the cultivating has been 16 inches deep on a river-warp soil, for one of the Directors of the Company. The practice has been to finish up the work required at the time upon one farm, before engaging for any particular day with another farmer, and the engines have taken for next turn the nearest place without respect to priority of application ; and while they have sometimes passed by a little job altogether, they have occasionally caught a single field " on their way," for the sake of " getting coaled " on the journey. Thrashing is merely a resource when tillage-work is not immediately forthcoming. The "slack" seasons are just before harvest, and in "turnip time." It is optional with an employer whether he will have his work done by the acre, or hire the apparatus at 4?. 10s. per day. The foreman or engine-driver of each "set" "looks out for jobs," and has a number of "Diary" forms which he has to fill up, leaving a "duplicate" with each farmer he works for; these forms, when collected together, constituting the Company's " Day-book," and acting as a safeguard against dishonesty on the part of the men or of employers. Great praise is due to Mr. Charles Clay for the admirable manner in which every detail of organisation and arrangement has been prepared, and as a guide for managers of Companies yet in embryo, we print the West Riding " Diary" form, and card of prices on pp. 364, 365. Four men work each " set." The " foreman" has 15^. a week all the year round, and 10 per cent, upon the gross earnings of his apparatus, after deducting his own and the other men's wages. The other engineer has 20^. or 21^. a week ; the ploughman, 19^. ; the porter-man, I85. a week — a high wage, but he must be able to drive the engine if wanted. If more portering be required in a hilly field, the farmer finds the additional help. All four men get either 1^. ^d., or else meat and beer, from the employer, when they are at work. They are paid well, but then the hours are "from daylight to dark," and they get nothing for "over- time." In the longest slack season the ploughman and porter- man are paid off. The \s. 6 5 13 10 tion, &c j , , printing 115 0 , , management, &c. . . 50 0 0 ,, repairs and oil .. .. 65 15 9 ,, by dividend, at percent. 83 14 9 Balance 38 12 10 £372 15 10 noo Beport on Steam Cultivation. [Coleman, Liahilitles. None. AsseU. By balance brought down , , book debts to this date , , one pair driving-wheels"! and sundry wearing I parts paid for but notj £. s. d. 38 12 10 31 18 0 18 0 0 used £88 10 10 But the affairs of the Company do not stand as well as the balance-sheet and respectable dividend would suggest. One important item on the debtor side has been forgotten, viz. depre- ciation. We should have had a reserve-fund to provide for a new set of tackle when the present apparatus is worn out, as assuredly it will wear out in due course. Not less than 10/. per cent., on tackle knocked about so much, would suffice, and this would about swallow up dividend, balance, and book debts ; so that in reality the affairs of the Company at the end of their first year are square, with a small working balance to carry forward — a result which, considering the difficulties to be overcome, is satisfactory, and gives confidence for the future. Second Years Statement up to December 31, 1865. Capital Account. Dr. £. s. d. I Cr. £. s, d. To balance in band, Dec. 31, 1864 Is 0 11 ' ■^y Messrs. Howard's rope-\ n a r / porters J ' "* Balance 2 1 10 £5 2 9 ,, stove and pipe, &c., for"! , ,„ . "Working Account. To balance in hand Dec. 31, "| i. S. d. 1864 , , cash received for field | work up to Dec. 30, 18651 38 12 10 320 17 0 £359 9 10 Liahilities. None. By wages .. , , printing, &c. , , coals J , management, &c. . , , repairs, oil, &c. , , solicitors, &c. , , bank commission . , , dividend paid Balance Assets. 2 9 £. s. d. 134 3 6 50 0 0 43 8 3 3 19 2 2 1 7 85 10 0 33 9 7 £359 9 10 d. r>y balance brought down . . 33 9 7 , , book debts to this date 43 3 9 , , driving-wheels and sundry! wearing parts paid for > 20 0 0 but not used £96 13 4 Coleman.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 397 The accounts for 18G6 not having been audited, we are unable to present our readers with the exact results, but the following is a close approximation. Third Years Statement up to December 31, 1866. WoKKiNG Account. Dr. £. s. d. i Cr. i- s. d. To balance in hand Dec. 31,1 3., q - By wages, &c GO 0 0 1866 / ■ I ,, repairs, including newj g q 0 ,,cash received for fieldK.^ ^ „ [ sheets for engines ../ ■workuptoDec.31,1866/" j ,, pump and hose, water-j 7 q q cart / , , new tires and brass! bushes to fore-wheels> 22 0 0 of both engines .. .. ) ,, cultivator-tines .. .. 12 0 0 ,, oil, &c 16 0 0 ,, management .. .. 50 0 0 Balance .. .. 110 10 4 £283 10 4 I £283 10 4 Presuming that the above figures fairly represent the working account for 1866 (the account for wages appears to us small, considering the weather, and comparing it with the outlay in previous years — and we therefore think it must be under- estimated) we have, as the result of three years' work, the sum of 279Z. 15,?. Id. paid away partly in dividends, and as balance in hand, to put against depreciation, which at 10 per cent, amounts to about 482/. 12^. The financial operations of the Company have not, therefore, been hitherto successful. We are now stating the case at its worst : it is probable that the forth- coming accounts will show assets for book-debts, apparatus charged but not used, &c., and these items may reduce the sum to about 400Z. In pointing out these facts we have no wish to discourage the promoters of this really useful enterprise — diffi- culties at the start have now been overcome, and it is quite possible, with favourable seasons, to make up lost ground, and to yet show the public that a Steam Cultivation Company may, under good management, prove successful even under adverse conditions. It is encouraging to know that the prejudice against steam cultivation which was commonly felt by occupiers in the district, when the Company commenced operations, has entirely disappeared. During the first season the work was chiefly done for landed proprietors. At the present time about 60 names are on the books. Arriving in Whitchurch on a market-day, we were fortunate in being able to discuss the subject with some half score supporters of the Com- pany, only two of whom were shareholders, and the testimony 398 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Coleman. as to results was most satisfactory ; naturally tte most stub- born field in each occupation would be selected for the steam- plous^h, and the effects on drainage appear to have been very decided. In one case (strong land on a marl subsoil) the land though undrained had become very much drier, so much so that further drainage appeared unnecessary. With regard to cost, the general opinion was that the work could not have been done cheaper by horses, and there could be no comparison as to quality. All agree in considering the special value of steam culture is on the land intended for fallow-crops. The deep stirring 10 to 12 or 14 inches, once in a course, being sufficient to let in the air. Most of the occupations of arable, often under 100 acres, Avere too small to allow of a reduction in the horses kept, but the strain on them was much relieved, and the work forwarded. In one instance some 50 to 60 acres have been done annually; here 2 horses have been reduced. At the time of our visit work had not commenced, but orders were pouring in on every side, the promise of a favourable season. The arrangement as to work is simple and satis- factory: the country is mapped out into districts, according to roads, &c., and the occupation nearest Whitchurch is the first taken. The work generally extends from the beginning of February to end of May, and from early in September to beginning of December, and with fair weather 1000 acres ought to be worked during those periods. One occupier, a Mr. Raven- shaw, stated that steam culture enabled him to grow good crops of turnips where it was impossible before. Enough has been stated to prove that the Company is well established in the district, and that there is no fear of lack of custom ; it is grati- fying also to reflect that steam cultivation could only be brought to bear in these farms by means of such a company. No. 123. The Market Drayton Steam Cultivation Company, Limited. — The apparent success at Whitchurch stimulated the proprietors in the neighbourhood of Market Drayton to do like- wise ; accordingly a company was formed in the summer of 1865, for the purpose of working Howard's double-engines, Mr, A. Govver being appointed manager. The peculiarity in these engines consists in the boilers being placed at right angles to the travelling-frame ; the latter running on three wheels, the front one being in the centre, and each engine being furnished with a winding-drum at either end, to allow of roundabout or direct traction ; moreover, by this arrangement the novel plan of working two implements at the same time, but independently of each other, as shown at the last Smithfield Meeting, can be carried out. The tackle was purchased August 25th, 1865, or rather the first instalment arrived at that date, and the roundabout system was Coleman.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 399 employed that year. The amount of apparatus will be seen from the following list: — £. s. d. 2 engines, rope and cultivator 1302 10 0 1 plough, complete 84 0 0 Lamps, anchors, snatch-blocks, rope-porters, &c. .. 65 4 6 Water-cart, 21^., house on wheels, 45/. .. .. 66 0 0 Duplicates 72 10 8 1590 5 2 The advantage of being able to use either the direct or round- about systems is twofold. The latter can be set to work earlier in spring, when the headlands are not sufficiently dry to carry the engines, and in the event of an accident to one engine work need not stop entirely. A capital of 3000Z. in lOZ. shares was subscribed, of which 1700Z. has been called up. The soil is mostly strong, and the fields vary very much, and are not generally well adapted for steam. Up to the present time the joui-nal presents us with a melancholy chapter of accidents — principally in consequence of repeated breakings of the coiling- screws attached to, and working the windlasses, and the clutches connected with the road-gear ; and it is quite evident, from a careful study of the facts, that these portions of the apparatus were defective in construction. They are now materially altered and strengthened. Unfortunately the failure of last season has prejudiced the farmers against the apparatus, and a long period must elapse before such lee-way can be made up. The arrangements as to labour are very similar to those at Whitchurch. Mr. Gower thinks the engines would move better and not stick fast so much if running on four wheels instead of three. The boilers being transverse appear to advantage on hilly land. When the apparatus first started there was plenty of work to do ; but farmers got tired of waiting, and set to work with their horses, and last year the wet season together with the cattle plague much influenced the demand. No accounts have as yet been published ; but the following abstract conveys some idea of the present condition of the Market Drayton Steam Cul- tivation Company, Limited : — Working Account from September 1, 1865, to February 1, 1867. Cr. £. s. d. By wages 145 4 0 ,, oil and cotton-waste .. 14 13 0 ,, wearing parts .. ,, 10 0 0 ,, other repairs 22 15 6 , , coals 2 10 0 , , manager's salary, at 40/. "i „ , _ „ a year / , , sundries and carriage . . 15 0 ,, depreciation at 10 perl , .„ „ ,, cent., say .. .. ../^^° ^ ^ £406 7 6 £406 7 6 Dr. £. s. d. To cash for 346 acres culti-"l vated / ,, 96 acres ploughed .. 52 16 0 • 173 0 0 Balance representing loss 180 11 6 400 Report on ^tcam Cultivation. [Coleman. For the reasons touched on, we cannot consider this case as affording fair experience of steam cultivation by the aid of a Limited Liability Company. No. 124. Lord Hatherton's home-farm at Teddesley, near Stafford, contains 400 acres of light land, sand, gravel, and peat. He uses Smith's tackle driven by an 8-horse-power engine made by Massey of Newport. The apparatus was purchased in the spring of 1857, consequently it has been at work for 10 years. 2 cul- tivators, one with 3, the other 5 tines, are employed. 3 ropes have been supplied ; 1400 yards of iron-wire rope first sent soon wore out, as the friction from the sand and stones is consider- able. 2 steel ropes of 1000 yards each have been added, and, at the present time, the ropes are much worn, though equal, with care, to another year's work. The original cost of the appa- ratus is not known, but we may fairly estimate it at about 500Z. The land is level, the fields rectangular and generally large, varying from 15 to 50 acres. The water-supply particularly good, so much so that there is very little deposit in the tubes, and the circumstances are generally very favourable to success, the principal obstructions occurring from numerous trees which dot the surface of the arable land and cause considerable delay. Owing to the light nature of the soil, accidents are almost un- known, and wear and tear reduced to a minimum, which may be gathered from the fact that, after 10 years' use, the whole plant was valued last spring at over 200/. and, according to the figures which we append, it will be seen that the apparatus has already paid for itself. The 4-course rotation is adopted, and steam culture entirely confined to the fallow crop. The ordinary operations consist of a double grubbing in the autumn, first with the 3-tined implement, and afterwards, at right angles, with the wider tool. These operations are not generally very deep, the object being to remove the couch grass to which this land is very subject. The land is then hoi'se-ploughed and left for the Avinter. In spring it is twice worked with the larger implement, and before ridging receives a final and deeper stirring with the smaller cultivator. This gives us 500 acres as the average annual work. The quantity of work done per day of 10 hours, as well as we could judge, was 5 acres with the 3-tined and 7 acres with the 5-tined implement, and the cost, according to the subjoined statement (see Expenditure per Day on next page), varies from Is. lO^d. to bs. l\d. an acre. The annual cost of the steam cultivation amounts to about 167/., and we are informed that G horses have been taken off: assuming that the latter, with attendants, would average on this light land 45Z. per head, we have a balance of 103/. in favour of steam. This is a highly satisfactory result, as we have to credit Cole:m.vn'.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 401 the account with the great advantage of expedition in operations, and the greater certainty of the root-crop, attributable to the more moist condition of land cultivated instead of ploughed. This fact has been particularly noticeable. With regard to the wear of the rope it will be seen that the total cost amounts to 148/. ; supposing 5000 acres have been cultivated and the ropes are now worn out, the cost per acre has reached Id, — a taiv average result. Expenditure per Datj. , £. s. d. Labour (5 men and 2 boys) 0 14 G Water-cart " 0 4 0 Coals, 8 cwts. (at 7s. per ton and leadins;) .. .. 0 4 0 Oil " 0 0 Ih Wearand tearand interest, at 122 psr cent, on 350/.,*) ^ -.q oi calculated on 85 days ( ^ Eepairs and rope, 25?. per annumf 0 5 lOj 1 19 3i We inspected the farm and were much pleased with the general appearance of the land and the economical management apparent — confirmed by an inspection of the accounts which are very accurately kept. A fair rent is charged for the farm, and, as a rule, a good percentage has been realised upon the capital employed in its working. Owing to the wet avitumn, much less cultivation has been effected than usual. Still Mr, Wootton does not consider that a plough would be advantageous. The land runs naturally to couch grass, and ploughing it in would perpetuate instead of destroying it. Cultivation for barley after roots fed off is not practised, because ploughing the land by checking the weeds allows the crop to get so forward as to smother the weeds. Mr. Wootton considers the advantage of steam so manifest, that he would be quite willing to take the tackle at a valuation sup- posing he were about to become tenant of the farm, even if the proportion of arable land was only 300 acres, which he thinks the minimum for steam cultivation. No. 125. ^ We next visited Sinai Park Farm, near Burton-on- Trent, lately taken in hand by the Marquis of Anglesey, after a long period of wretched impoverishing treatment, Steam cultivation here goes on at the same time with, or is preceded by, works of permanent improvement, and the point of great importance is * 150Z. deducted for half the cost of engine employed in other work. The durability of Lord Hatherton's apparatus cannot be taken as a precedent, except under equally favourable circumstances, but even in this case our estimate of 7| per cent, for -wear and tear appears sufficiently close, as it leaves 125i. of the original outlay of 500Z. not yet paid off, but represented by stock valued at 200?, t Engine, lOZ. ; tackle, Zl. ; rope, \Ql. VOL. IIL — S. S. 2d 402 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Coleman. whether such outlay can be made to yield a fair interest. At the original rent of 22s. an acre, the tenant was ruined, and the land, not deficient in minerals but drowned with water, was reduced to beg-gary. The work of improvement consists in thorough drain- age, grubbing fences, clearing out water-courses choked up, fallowing 4 of the land, and erecting suitable buildings. The outlay will probably come to about 20Z. an acre. Now we consider that steam cultivation has had much to do with all this outlay, the existence of this power may have in this, as it certainly has in other instances, induced proprietors to take such cases in hand, and by vigorous treatment, rapidly to effect a metamorphosis which, under ordinary conditions, would have required years. No one can deny that the more rapidly the transition is made, provided the work is done economically, the sooner will a return be obtained. The farm contains nearly 300 acres, of which 1(55 acres are arable ; more, however, will be added. The soil is a strong drift-clay interspersed with boulders and limestone nodules ; the latter, which occur at some depth, are from the mountain limestone, the former, principally on the surface, are millstone grit, whilst the whole overlies the red marls of the new red sandstone, in which occasional beds of gypsum are found. In the original state the surface is extremely wet, although, in consequence of the stones, it drains well. The apparatus which was purchased in October, 1864, consists of a 14-horse-power traction-engine by Aveling and Porter, a very strong and well made machine, with Howard's windlass and cultivator and drag-harrows. Up to last spring the tackle worked on the home farm at Beaudesert. Since then it has been kept on to the Sinai farm, and did good service last summer in helping to fallow 124 out of 165 acres — doing work on the foul weedy surface which would have been simply impossible with horses. The apparatus does not require special comment; the windlass is driven by a crank shaft and universal joint, the patent sling snatch-blocks are used, and we saw a strong mole draining-plough for the grass land which might be used advantageously, but has not yet been tried. As no journal or separate accounts have been kept, it is difficult to arrive at a correct estimate of the cost of repairs. Porters and anchor sheafs seem most liable to breakage, and it appears to us that the latter are not sufficiently strong. We shall not be far out in charging the cultivating part with 20/,, and the engine with a like sum. The operations have been confined to fallows, and the cultivator has been used with 3 tines only. The first operation, 8 to 10 inches deep, averages 5 acres a day, the second time over about 6 acres. In the spring the land is stirred 3 and sometimes 4 times. Present Coleman,] Report on Steam Cultivation, 403 cost of wages is as follows : — 1 engineer, 3^. ; windlass-man and man with cultivator, 2s. 6rf. each ; 2 anchor-men, 25. 4f/. each ; 3 porter-boys, at Is. ; and a lad for water, Is. Sd. : total, 17s. 4c?., to which we may add 3s. for the horse. The fields average about 15 acres, and are rectangular, tolerably level, and well adapted for steam. The condition of the farm was so deplorable that any attempt at regular cropping last year was abandoned, and it was determined to work as much as possible of the filth to the surface, and, had the season been ordinarily fine, the result would have been a clean farm ; but, of course, success was only partial,— 124 acres were woi'ked all through summer, in many cases the operations being repeated 4 and 5 times. We may fairly assume that something approaching 500 acres were cultivated last year in about ItO days. We could not learn the exact cost of the apparatus, but believe it to be about 700/., and with these premises we make a calculation of the cost per day : — £. s. d. Wages find horse 10 4 Coals, 15 cwts. a day 0 9 0 Oil, 1 quart 0 13 Repairs 0 8 10^ Wear and tear and interest, at 12i per cent. .. 0 19 5;1 2 18 lOf This gives the cost for last year as 265Z. Qs. 7^d., or an average of 10s. 7d. an acre ; a high price it must be admitted, but probably as cheap, considering the quality of the operations, as horse-labour. No information could be obtained as to saving in horse-labour, simply because so many horses are kept for hauling drainage and building materials. 15 to 20 extra horses would have been needed last summer to attempt the working of 124 acres of fallows in the condition of those on the Sinai Farm. We walked over most of the land and inspected the drainage, which appears to answer well. We found the drained land much drier after steam culture than when worked with horses, and we are convinced that the first deep operation by steam is of great advantage to the drainage. Mr. Bestwick, the bailiff, proposes to pay the hands 4s. an acre for the future, instead of the day pay — this will cover all labour except water and coal carting. No. 12G. We next saw an example of light land at Mr. Wilson's, of Newlands, near Mansfield. This farm, comprising 1000 acres, of which 900 are arable, was part of Sherwood Forest, and has only been reclaimed from gorse and brushwood a few years. The soil is a mixture of sand and gravel resting on gravel. The surface is undulating, the fields mostly large, averaging 35 acres, 2 d2 404 Report on Steam Cultivation. [C^olemax. and generally well adapted for steam. The apparatus was obtained from Leeds, May, 1862 ; an agreement being entered into that, if at the expiration of a year Mr. Wilson was dis- satisfied with results, Messrs, Fowler would take it again, repaying Mr, Wilson for the outlay, less a fixed sum for hire ; finally the agreement was extended over a second year, the first year's experience not being satisfactory, and then Mr. Wilson, being convinced that steam could be economically used on light land, closed the bargain. These facts are noticed as evidence of a deliberate conclusion in favour of the use of steam on light land. The particulars of outlay are as follow : — £. s. 10-horse-power engine, 4-fun-ow plough, 7-tined cultivator,] anchor-ropes, porters, &c., carriage from Leeds, and men> 860 0 teaching use, ^c ) Additions : — £. ft. Presser 12 0 Drag 3 0 Bow on plough for ditto 2 0 Skim coulters 1 15 Stakes shod with iron instead of claw anchor .. 2 0 Alteration of disc anchor 10 21 15 To;al 881 15 The cost of repairs, including ropes, shares and points, porter- wheels, lScc,, during 4;^ years, equals 24 9Z., or 52/. per annum. 700 yards of new rope have been purchased. The following account of the number of days during which steam was employed for the last 2h years is valuable. steam Culture. Grmdjng. Sawing, or Ihrasning. Days. I )ays. From the harvest of 1864 to harvest of 1865 .. 86 .... 18 „ 1865 „ 1866 ..104 .... 24 „ . 1866 to January 1, 1867 .. 36 .... 42 226 84 This gives an average of 90 days per annum cultivating and ploughing, and 33^ days thrashing, &c. Unfortunately we have no record of the actual number of acres ploughed and cultivated during this time, and must, therefore, fall back upon Mr. Wilson's estimate of 4 acres ploughed and 9 acres cultivated ; and, supposing the time equally divided between the two operations, we have annually 180 acres ploughed and 415 cultivated. In addition to the ordinary wages (which amount to lis. lid. or 13.d. a day extra, which is sometimes varied by payment per acre for work done. This works satisfactorily, stimulating all the young men to become skilled labourers. — B. t The difference between this and the original cost is a deduction in engine for thrashing work. 424 Report on Steam Cultivation. [C'OTiEMAN. lOi". Ad. per acre appears to be the cost of ploughing and culti- vating, the proportion due to each not being ascertainable. Annual outlay for steam cultivation, 265/. 8^. 4fZ. It is difficult to arrive at the saving in horses, the work of the estate being mixed up with the farm. It is estimated that 12 horses are put down ; but, looking at the specimen of work in 1864 and 1865, this appears more by about one-third or one-half than the results justify : even if only 6 horses are put down, there has been no loss, and the effects on the crops are satisfactory. Conclusions. In endeavouring to arrive at conclusions, we avoid instituting comparisons as to the merits of different inventions — on this point our readers will judge for themselves — but we may point out the conditions most suitable for each. Where the farms are small, the arable land under 300 acres, the land hilly and the fields irregular, we believe the roundabout system will prove most practical and economical, whether the land be light or heavy. Where the land is level, the fields large, and we have an area suthcient to employ the machinery, say for 100 days per annum, direct traction offers advantages, in greater power and deeper woik, especially in the case of strong land, provided we have roads for the engine to move on. The difficulty of travelling on soft headlands, and the delays that arise therefrom, are serious obstacles with traction-engines. On large areas of light land great results might be anticipated from the double-engine system, since there would be no trouble with the engines and no diffi- culty about getting forward fast enough for the use of wide implements ; unfortunately our inspection did not afford any experience of double engines. Our general conclusion is, that success depends more upon management than upon the nature of the apparatus — good management will command success under adverse conditions, whereas no advantageous circumstances can compensate for want of intelligent supervision on the part of the proprietor, which should be based upon a thorough practical knowledge of steam machinery. There must be patience and a determination not to be overcome by the many difficulties Avhich novelty and ignorance give rise to. Granting, then, that the machinery is in good hands, and the conditions favour- able, the result will be a success — varying, of course, with the particular conditions in each case : this being so, we CoLE:\rAN.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 425 naturally enquire liow it is that steam culture has made comparatively so little progress. Want of accurate information may be one cause, deficiency of capital another, and possibly want of confidence in the security of tenure a third. And this brings us to another point, viz., the necessity for co-operation between landlord and tenant. Farms require more or less pre- paration for steam, fences should be taken up, and in some cases roads made. The latter work ought to be carried out by the landlord, and a fair interest paid by the tenant. Again, trees left in the arable fields present a serious obstruction, and unless landlords are prepared to assist tenants in such matters the latter may well hesitate to incur the large outlay required. In the majority of instances, we found the proprietors satisfied with results, and, having once experienced the advantages of steam over horse-power, unwilling to go back to the old system ; in one instance we have the incoming tenant taking the machinery at a valuation, entirely as a matter of choice, convinced that it would pay him well to do so. This is most important testimony, and is not weakened by the fact that we have a case of an opposite nature, since the peculiar circumstances perfectly justify the action of the incoming tenant. A point of great importance on strong land is the effect of steam cultivation on drainage and produce. With the excep- tion of Lord Zetland's farm where extraordinary horse culture had been adopted previous to the introduction of steam, and that of Mr. Pease, where steam had not been fairly tested, the evidence is favourable on both points, and we find as the result of experience that which we already anticipated theoretically, viz., that the increased depth of surface and the absence to pressure greatly increase the absorbing powers of the soil, and consequently assist the action of the drains. So long as we trample a hard pan a few inches beneath the surface, so long must we have surface-furrows and high-backed lands, in order that the rain-water, which cannot enter, may run off rather than lie stagnant on the surface rotting plant-life. We fail of exact evidence as to increased produce because farmers, as a body, will not, and indeed cannot, carry out accurate experiments. In many cases the increase has not been sufficiently marked to be visible to the eye, whilst in others from 4 to 8 bushels per acre is the estimated increase of corn-crops, and such a result would add materially to the profits on steam. The next point to be considered is the area on which steam can be profitably employed. We have seen one instance where good results were obtained on 138 acres, but the circumstances are too exceptional, and the general management too remarkable. 426 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Coleman, to allow of conclusions being drawn, so we think that 250 acres of strong arable land is the minimum quantity on which it would be wise to introduce steam culture, the engine still earning most of its money at other work ; in such a case we de- cidedly recommend the roundabout plan, with a cultivator and plough. On such a farm 10 horses would be reduced to 6 or 7, and the saving of 150/. to 200/. would go a good way towards paying the expenses. On light land a larger breadth would be desirable, say from 350 to 400 acres, and as the acreage is increased beyond these limits, the profit of the investment would be increased. Wear of rope will always prove a formidable source of outlay ; rather to our surprise we cannot discover any material difference in favour of direct traction in this respect ; in some cases, depending probably upon difference of soil, we find the advantage the other way; the limits appear to be from 6c?. to 'dd. an acre. A point of great importance to impress upon the novice is not to rack and strain the engine at starting by over- taxing its powers. Many people have an idea that the power of steam is really without limit, and that the proper thing to do is to go down several inches below the horse pan, and increase the depth at one operation, whereas better results will follow more gradual proceedings, and the wearing parts of the engine be kept right. When heavy work is required we must be content with a less quantity, and take off one of the ploughs or reduce the number of tines of the grubber. The speed of the engine should be uniform and tolerably great, and the power should be master of the work. One of the most important objects of this enquiry was to collect information relative to the success or failure of Steam- ploughing Companies, of which several have been established. We investigated the results in two cases, namely, at Whitchurch and Market Drayton ; the latter, for reasons detailed in the report, may be passed over, since the failure of the apparatus is enough to account for the result ; the Whitchurch Company affords an interesting case, from which we may venture to draw conclusions. It is not a success, nor is it a failure : the facts are not sufficiently encouraging to justify our recommending invest- ment under similar conditions, nor are they of such a damaging nature as to preclude the hope of success under more favourable circumstances. The district is principally devoted to dairying, the proportion of arable land is limited, the fields irregular, and often very small. The land to be worked by steam is most intractable, and the frequency of moves and the distances to be travelled are sad hindrances to progress. The management has been good, breakages not extravagant, yet during last year the Coleman,] Report on Steam Cultivation. 427 averacre work per day, includino: a large proportion of cultiva- tion, did not exceed 5 acres. Under more favourable conditions — large fields in an arable district — we should have had a different result ; and, under such circumstances, we believe Steam Cultivation Companies may work to a profit. John Coleman, Escrick, near York. John Thompson, Badminton, Chippenham. John Hemsley, Shelton, Newark. Geoege Turnbull, Horton, Belford, Northumberland. Mr. Turnbull was present throughout the whole inspection. Messrs. Thompson and Hemsley relieved each other. ( ^28 ) VIII. — Address of the President to the General Meeting, held December 12, 1866. The Eoyal Agricultural Society not having held a Country Meeting this year, the Council have lost their customary opportunity of meeting the members of the Society, and of manifesting, by the success of their show, the vitality of the Society and the steady progress of British agriculture. I therefore take this opportunity of making a few remarks on some of the topics which possess most interest for agriculturists at the present time, in the hope that other gentlemen may join in the discussion, and give the Meeting the benefit of their experience and their opinions on those subjects. I wish fii'st to mention that I shall only advert to those topics which possess a common interest for all our members, and shall avoid all such as may be likely to arouse feelings of antagonism and class interests. I press this point strongly, because some of these forbidden topics involve questions of great im2)ortance, and, as Chairman of the Journal Committee, I have frequently been urged to take steps to procure articles on such questions as leases, tenant right, preservation of game, &c. These and other similar questions are, no dovibt, deeply interesting to both landlords and tenants, and nothing can be more reasonable than that men who have a common interest in any subjects of this nature shoidd meet and discuss them ; should, if they think fit, write pamphlets and news- paper articles, and endeavour, as much as possible, to enlist public opinion in support of their particular views ; but when all is done landlord and tenant must in the future, as in the past, settle their mutual rights and privileges by individual negotiation and agree- ment; and in the great majority of cases such negotiations will assuredly end in land being let at its market value, such market value varying in some measure according to the security afforded to the tenant, that if he lays out his capital on land that is not his own ho will get it back with fair profit. Wliilst, however, admitting the full importance of this class of subjects, I do not hesitate to state that the consideration and discussion of them were not the objects for which this Society was founded. I am one of those who took an active, though a very subordinate part in its formation : I have been a member of the Council from that time to this, and I can safely say that the principal aim of the founders was to promote the improve- ment and development of those two great branches of industry known as stock and crop farming, upon which the jirosperity of both land- lords and tenants must ultimately depend, and in the prosecution of which landlords and tenants can heartily pull together. I must here guard myself against the supposition that I mean to exclude from the The Fresident's Addicts at General Mectiiuj. 429 list of subjects properly occupying tlic attention of this Society such questions as the education of the agricultural classes, the best con- struction of labourers' cottages, and many other kindred subjects. Nothing can be farther from my intention. These subjects were set forth in our charter, and naturally and properly occupy the attention of the Society at the present moment ; but improvements of all kinds, whether in education, or in farm buildings and cottages, require ample means, and I repeat, therefore, that the first great object of the formation of this Society was to increase as much as possible the amount of wealth to be extracted from the soil, leaving the apportion- ment of it between landlords, tenants, and labourers, to be settled between man and man at fitting time and place. Nor is the sphere of our operations thus defined either a narrow or an ignoble one. We may well be content to devote our energies to the production of the great staple products which must always form the main bulk of the food of man, and to produce this food in greater quantity and of better quality than heretofore is one of those highly gratifying results which, whilst improving the position of the iigriculturist himself, adds at the same time to the comfort and wellbeing of even the humblest classes of his countrymen. Having thus limited myself at the outset, I will first advert to that subject which has been one of absorbing interest during the whole of the past year — I mean the cattle -plague. At this time last year the Council of this Society were exerting themselves to bring the collective weight of this and other leading agricultural societies to bear in inducing the Government to adopt certain stringent regu- lations for preventing the movement of cattle generally, and for slaughtering promptly those attacked by the disease. The resolu- tions unanimously adopted by the Council with this view were, as nearly as may be, subsequently embodied in the " Cattle Diseases Pre- vention Act ; " and, looking at the immediate check given to the cattle- plague when that Act came into force, and its subsequent rapid and continuous decline, few persons are now found to question the sound- ness of the policy then pursued. The cattle-plague has now for a considerable period been brought into such narrow compass that we may reasonably hope soon to see it altogether extinguished ; and it seems to me important that, whilst its disastrous effects are still fresh in our memories, we should not allow our attention to be diverted from the true character and results of this calamity imtil such regula- tions be permanently adopted — be made, in fact, part of the law of the land — as may give us all the security against its recurrence which the nature of the case will admit of. The late attack of rinderjiest may be said to have lasted little more than a year, for though the first cases were observed at the end of June, 1865, it had not made any great progress before August of that year, and by the end of August, 430 The President's Address at General Meeting. 1866, the attacks of the disease had been reduced withiu very narrow limits. In point of duration, therefore, the great visitation of rinder- pest of the last century, which lasted from June, 1744, to 1757, or thereabouts, varied materially from this. But rinderpest, like other things, travels by railway in these days, and in little more than three months from its first appearance it had invaded more than half the counties of England and a large portion of Scotland. The number of diseased animals which have died or been killed amounted on the 24th of November last, to 209,332. No return of their value can yet be obtained, but taking the average value of 1864 head slaughtered in the West Eiding of Yorkshire, and applying that average to the whole number, we obtain a total of 2,690,000Z. This, however, does not represent the whole of our loss, as a considerable number died before the passing of the Cattle Diseases Prevention Act, whose deaths were not reported to the inspectors. Heavy losses were also incmi-ed by the forced sales and premature slaughter of yoimg animals in store condition, in consequence of the panic caused whenever the disease made its first appearance in a new neighbom-hood. On the whole I cannot rate the national loss caused by the cattle-plague at less than three millions sterling. It is mortifying to reflect that (humanly speaking) this great loss might have been in great measm-e prevented if we had not been too proud to profit by the experience of our own and other nations who had frequently had to battle with this terrible scourge, and who had uniformly come to the conclusion, after repeated attempts at cure, that immediate isolation and slaughter of all animals attacked by rinderpest was the only mode of escaping heavy loss. No doubt some will be found to dissent from my conviction, that this great loss might have been almost entirely prevented if om- existing machinery for stamping out cattle-plague had been set to work on its first outbreak. It will be difficult, however, to escape from this con- clusion if we compare the results of the " laissez-aller " and the "stamping-out" methods in the summers of 1865 and 1866. Com- pare, for instance, the month of July, 1865, with the month of Sep- tember, 1866. In the former month there were 79 fresh outbreaks of the disease ; in the latter there were 74. So that the number of new centres of infection created were in each of these months nearly the same. In the latter case, however, the stamping-out principle was applied to these new sources of infection, in the other they were left to increase and multiply. And what was the consequence ? Two months later the full efiect of these new outbreaks would be fully seen ; and we find in September, 1865, 954 fresh outbreaks, attacking 5200 animals; whilst in November, 1866, there were only 8 fresh outbreaks, attacking 16 animals. Why should not the 74 fresh out- breaks in September, 1866, have done as much mischief proportion- ately as the 79 in July, 1865 ? Some will say that the disease was The President's Address at General Meeting. 431 worn out, liacl become less intense or less contagious than it was a year before. This, bowever, is not the case, as tbrougbout tbe wbole of this visitation the nature and character of the attacks have been remarkably uniform, and in the very latest cases, the disease has shown itself just as contagious and just as fatal as at the first com- mencement. I have already shown that we, as a nation, have incurred a very heavy loss rather than admit that om- scientific means and appliances are as insufficient now to cure or even mitigate this disease as they were a century ago, in this country, or as they are in other countries up to the present day, but having paid so dearly for our experience, it would be totally inconsistent with the business-like and practical character of Englishmen if we did not take steps to profit by our past error, and to prevent our having to buy our experience over again at the same heavy cost. With this view the Council have within the last few days sought an interview with Her Majesty's Government, and stated our unanimous conviction that so far as the present attack of rinderpest is concerned, it would be highly impolitic to relax the restrictions which have proved so effective until a suffi- cient time shall have elapsed without the occurrence of a single case to afford a reasonable probability that the disease is extinct in Great Britain. With reference to the future, we also pointed out the im- portance of obtaining from Parliament, in a permanent form, the power to revive at any time when required the existing machinery. That this machinery is efficient for its purpose is proved by the fact that in any of the later outbreaks the disease has rarely extended beyond the farms where it fii'st appeared, unless from great apathy and negligence on the part of the local authorities. If the provisions of the Cattle Diseases Prevention Act are not renewed they will expire next June, or at the end of the then session of Parliament, and on any new outbreak of the disease Parliament would have to be called together, or, if then sitting, the tedious process of passing a Bill through both Houses would have to be incurred before any effective measures could be taken, and we should assuredly have again to pay dearly for our want of foresight. The third point, which the Council consider of equal, if not greater importance, than either of the two former, is that the importation of foreign cattle should be permanently placed on a safe footing. The whole character of this trade has been changed by the continued extension of railways on the continent of Europe, occurring as it has done simultaneously with a great increase in the price of cattle in the English markets. These two causes combined make it answer to the importer to bring cattle from much greater distances, and we can no longer consider Rotterdam and Hamburgh as the ports from which only Dutch or North German stock are brought here, but they have become the termini of a great 432 The President's Address at General Meetinfj. network of railways, at the other end of whicli He tlae great stei)pes of Eastern Europe, from whicli the rinderpest is rarely absent ; and we are placed in nearly as much danger as countries like Austria and Prussia, which, geographically, lie much nearer to the sources of infection, and which have only kept themselves free from most calamitous losses since they have adopted very stringent regulations as part of their permanent code, ready to be put into active operation at the shortest possible notice. The number of store cattle im- ported is so limited that it would not be difficult to establish an efiicioit system of quarantine for them, and there can be little doubt but that if it were once thoroughly understood, that in future all fat cattle must be slaughtered at the ports of disembarkation, arrange- ments would soon be made by which it could conveniently be carried out, and I am sanguine enough to believe that after a time it would be conducive to the interest of the importer, as it assuredly would be to that of the consmner. Let it be assumed that convenient slaughter- houses were constructed at the ports both of export and import. In winter, when tlie passage is rough and tedious, and the importers suff"er great losses by general deterioration and numerous deaths amongst their live cargoes, they would slaughter the cattle at Rotter- dam, Antwerp, Ostcnd, and other convenient ports, and during the winter months the meat could be brought over in capital condition. During the summer months, when fresh meat would not bear a sea voyage, the animals must be brought over alive, but at that time of year the passage loses half its terrors, and the cattle w^ould be slaughtered at Hull, Har^Adch, or the port of London. Even now fresh meat is becoming an article of daily importation, and from a return kindly furnished to me by the President of the Board of Trade, I learn that in the month of October last no less than three millions four himdred and twenty-eight thousand pounds of meat, salted and fresh, were imported, of which the greater portion var-, fresh mutton. The next question to which I shall allude is what has been termed the labour difficulty. All who are engaged in rm-al pursuits are aware that wages have risen very much during the last few years, and that not only has labour become a more costly item in farm exj^en- diture, but it is extremely difficult in many districts to obtain a suffi- ciency of the right sort of men. Some years ago it was very common to hear farmers severely blamed for not giving high enough wages to their labourers, and now it is equally common to hear the labourers found fault with for asking extravagantly high wages. In each case the complaints are equally unreasonable. A farmer who should from kindness of heart give much higher wages than his neighbours would soon find himself in the Gazette, and it would be equally unbusiness- like to expect that labourers should ask lower wages than they think they can obtain. Several causes have contributed to bring about the The President's Address at General Meeting. 433 present scarcity of labour iu particular districts, the most influential of which have been the rapid expansion of trade, the successive alterations which have been made in the law of parochial settlement, and, above all, the great increase in the facilities and cheapness of locomotion. The change, though gradual, has been progressive, and appears likely to be permanent, and it is an interesting question how best to deal with it. A noble lord at an agri- cultural dinner in one of the midland coimties, a few months ago, was so much impressed with the importance of the question as to suggest the possibility of applying the co-operative system to agricultural labour. Judging from the newspaper rejiort of his lordship's speech, he did not do more than throw out the idea with the view of eliciting discussion. It does not appear to me that the labourer could fairly be allowed to participate in the farmer's jDrofits in good seasons unless ho could also bear his share of the farmer's losses in bad ones, which he would clearly be unable to do ; but there is one mode in which the farmer might admit his labourers to be partners in his farm, which would, I think, go some way towards surmounting the present labour difficulty, and would, with little cost to the farmer, be of incalculable benefit to the labourer. The plan I would suggest is that the farmer should let to a certain number of his labourers sufiicient grass-land to enable each of them to keep a cow, and that these allotments should be the rewards of industry and sobriety. I have for some years watched the ojperation of two modes of carrying this out, one plan being to let to each man a separate field of two or thi'ee acres, which is much preferred by the men ; the other being to give up two fields of considerable size to a number of men, who use one in common as a summer pasture for their cows, and mow the other for hay, the separate holdings being marked out by a post at each corner. The latter method is suitable for large farms on which it might be difficult to find or to form a sufficiency of small fields for separate allotment. Both plans work well. The cost to the farmer is trifling, as the cottagers are always willing to pay a fair rent for the land. To labourers with families the advantage of keeping a cow can hardly be overrated, but I do not think it advisable to confine it to fathers of families, as a steady married man without children is thus enabled to save a little money, and becomes so much interested in his cow and his pig that the alehouse is no longer the chief source of attraction during his leisure hours. Those who are best acquainted with agricultural labourers will, I feel confident, bear me out in the assertion that a man who can ensure regular work, at fair wages, with sufficient laud to keep a cow and a pig, and obtain even a moderately good cottage among the friends and neighbours whom he has known from his childhood, will seldom bo found willing to exchange his VOL. III. — S. s. 2 F 434 The Presidents Address at General Meeting. position for tlic crowded courts .and alleys of the large towns, oven by the temptation of considerably higher money wages. The council have, during this year, devoted a good deal of time and attention to the organisation of a critical inquiry into the results of steam cultivation, followed up by an examination of selected farms in most of the counties of England. The high price of mutton and wool for several years has given such a stimulus to light-land farming, that the strong wheat lands have receded in public estimation, and are at present most in need of improvement. Yet Mr. Lawes has proved that even by the ordinary methods of cultivation, about two quarters of wheat per acre may be grown on strong land for twenty years in succession without manure; and Mr. Smith of Lois-Weedon, has carried this further, and shown that by a thorough disintegration of the soil, and repeated exposure of a fresh surface to the fertilising effects of the atmosphere, at least 4 quarters of wheat per acre may be calculated upon as the average produce of moderately good wheat land for an equally long period. The only drawback to this gratifying result consists in the heavy cost of cultivating the stiff clays. The steam- plough is the most likely agent to get over this difficulty, and the able men who are at present engaged in arranging the great mass of infor- mation they have collected on this subject will, we trust, be able in their reports to show us the extent to which the employment of steam machinery in the cultivation • of strong land has been commercially successful, and also to point oiit any special causes which have retarded its introduction and diminished its beneficial effects, whether arising from the imperfections of the machinery, or from improper modes of applying it. : - One of the most promising features in the agricultural prospects of the present day is the almost unlimited demand which exists for many of those products -which our soil and climate are specially adapted to produce in perfection. The western counties of Great Britain and Ireland are ■ peculiarly well fitted for the breeding and rearing of live stock, yet our constantly increasing imports show that the home supply is by no means equal to the demand. If our acute but misguided fellow-countrymen in Ireland would abandon their Fenian follies, and devote themselves heartily to the cultivation of green crops and the improvement of their pasture lands, they might ai:)propriate a large portion of the vast sums which are now expended in bringing live stock from the most distant parts of Europe. Even now there are more cattle in Ireland than in England, 3,493,000 against 3,307,000, and that number might with ease be very largely increased. Dairy produce, too, has for some years borne a very remunerating price, and need fear no competition from distant coun- tries. The effect of the cattle plague on the sujiply of milk to largo The President's Address at General Meeting. 435 towns is remarkably illustrated by the quantity of milk now conveyed by railway for the supply of the metropolis. The seven great railway companies, who principally conduct this trade, have kindly furnished mc with the following interesting particulars. One company says that the increase in the quantity carried in 18G6 above that in 1864 is 8G per cent. ; another company says their increase is 120 per cent. ; a third, 352 per cent. ; and the London and North-Western, and Brighton companies, state their increase at fifty and sixty fold respec- tively. There are now more than 220 stations sending milk to Lon- don, by passenger or special milk trains, from distances varying fi*om 7 to 190 miles, for a charge varying from a minimum of a halfpenny to a maximum of 2f?. per gallon for the whole distance. In the last three months, September, October, and November, 1866, which are the worst months in the year for the milk trade, no less than 1,652,000 gallons of milk have been brought into London by rail, showing that we should probably underrate the total quantity carried for the year 1866, if we stated it at 7,000,000 gallons. This is a remarkable instance of the rapidity with which so extensive a trade in an article which is difficult to move in large quantities, and which yet will not bear delay, has been transferred to new and distant localities, when circumstances required it. It is to be hoped that this large introduc- tion of good country milk will effect some improvement in the very unsuccessful mixture which has hitherto been sold under the name of London milk. The favourable prospects of which I have spoken are by no means confined to the western side of England. The drier climate of the eastern counties is specially adapted to the growth of first-rate barley, and the value of a little extra quality in the sample was never more plainly shown than in the present season. The landowners of the eastern counties, however, must pardon me for saying that they do not make full xise of their advantages. Barley growers will all tell you that they can only grow good barley on good land, but a large portion of the light sands have marl or clay in their immediate neighbourhood, and that marled sand will grow good barley is well known and extensively acted upon by many of the leading agriculturists in that district ; but there are still thousands of acres of poor weak sands with marl in their midst which, if liberally applied, would double the value of the land, and enable it to produce better barley than any yet imported from other countries. To watch for and promptly seize any opening for a profitable trade which the changing circumstances of the times may afford, and especially to turn thoroughly to account any peculiar advantages of soil, climate, or position, requires, however, not only the shrewd sagacity for which our farmers are dis- tinguished, but also a cultivated intellect, the result of a really good 2 F 2 436 The President's Address at General Meeting. education, wliicli, unfortunately, many of our farmers have not been able to obtain. In the endeavom-s which the Council have lately made to fix the attention of the agricultural world on this subject, they have naturally felt that the amount of funds which could be spared for this purpose were so small as to be utterly inadequate to provide the means of education for the most limited number of youths. They have, therefore, adopted the only course which seemed to be open to them, viz. : that of offering a few prizes of moderate amount for general comjjetition, in the hope that this jn-actical expres- sion of opinion on the part of the Eoyal Agricultural Society would, at any rate, draw attention to the question, and might be of some value as an indication of the kind of education which is most required for young farmers, and in which they are most deficient at present. By way of recapitulation, I wish, first, to urge strongly the imj)ortance of treating cattle-plague like a conflagration, and that it is as much a matter of ordinary prudence to keep up the machinery for stamping out the one as it is to keep fire-engines and firemen ready at a moment's notice to extinguish the other. Secondly, I hope to see the method I have suggested of dealing with our labourers generally adopted, and sujjplemented by others of a similar character, whereby we may give the men local interests, and the strongest pos- sible inducement to establish a kind of savings' bank in their own pig- sties and cow-houses, a step which is not unlikely to lead eventually to the savings' bank in the neighbouring town. But, at all events, this will increase the self-respect of the labourers themselves, and enable them to bring up their families in health and comfort. Thirdly, the educa- tion of the rising generation of farmers requires thoroughly over- hauling and adapting to the wants of the day. This movement has already begun in one or two counties ; but there are many deep- seated prejudices to be removed, and there is much vis iiierlice to be overcome before our middle-class education is brought uj) to the present high standard of English civilisation. Lastly, under the good providence of God, who has promised us a return of seed time and harvest so long as the world endures, the present prospects of English agriculture are highly encouraging. Our improved facilities of transport, both by sea and land, are continually giving us access to whole nations of new customers, and as long as our foreign trade continues to increase, so long will the consumj)tion of home-grown commodities by our labourers and artizans be such as to provide a remunerating demand for all the beef and the beer, the milk, butter, and cheese, which the combined practice and science of our farmers may enable us to supply. VOL. III. — S. S. 'J G GEOLOGICAL MAP OF WOECESTEESHIEE. Alluvium . . . . aI Inferior Oolite ••.By Lias CI New Ucd Sandstone . D I Coal Measures Old Red Sandstone . • F ,_ Silurian Cu ( 439 ) IX. — The Agriculture of Worcestershire. By Clement Cadle. Prize Essay. Numerous subjects present themselves for consideration in making- a report on the farming of Worcestershire. There is perhaps no county in England more varied in its produce and its soil. Hops, apples, pears, and plums are added to the usual crops, and the soil ranges from the stifFest clay to the sharpest sand. Farming, too, differs widely ; and I have there seen some of the best, and certainly much of the vv^orst, in my experience. The Geology of the County. The nature and arrangements of the rocks in Worcestershire have had an important influence on its farming. We find in close proximity some of the best and the worst land, the desirable physical and chemical combinations for agricultural purposes being obtained by a mingling of the various formations. The principal strata cropping out in the county, as taken in descending order, are the Post Tertiary, Liassic, Triassic, Carboniferous, Devonian, Silurian, and Primary. The Post Tertiary comprises the northern drifts and alluvium, the latter of which, being the debris of several formations, are generally most valuable to the agriculturist. The alluvial deposits by the river sides often produce very prime meadow, as on the banks of the Severn and Avon, where the stream runs sluggishly. In these places clay is deposited by each flood in sufficient quantity to mix with and improve the coarser sand, thus forming a combination suitable to the growth of the finer grasses, which is rarely found on or near the banks of rapid rivers. The Liassic embraces the inferior oolite and lias ; the former, in the neighbourhood of Broadway Hill, Brendon Hill, and the detached portion of the county near Blockley, being good healthy land for sheep, but without much more agricultural merit. The Lias comprises one of the most important districts in the county. It runs north-east from Tewkesbury to Cleave Prior, 2 G 2 440 The Agriculture of Worcestershire. and north-west from Broadway to Oddingley, including Bredon, Persliore, and Evesham, altogether about one-fourth of the county. Of this upwards of 1400 acres is very profitably cultivated as market gardens, growing plums, &c., in large quantities, while some of the remainder is stiff, unimprovable, and almost worth- less clay. Rather more than half the county is of the Triassic, or new red sandstone formation, the Keupar sandstone and new red marls running through the middle of it in a north-easterly direction, and comprising chiefly the districts of Worcester, Droitwich, Redd itch, and Upton-upon-Severn, where valuable land abounds, especially in the neighbourhood of Kempsey and Ombersley. This district produces apples, pears, and hops. The districts of Bromsgrove, Stourport, and Kidderminster are of the waterstone subdivision, or the upper soft red. Some portions are first-class sheep land, and in a high state of cultiva- tion, while others are very light. In the neighbourhood of Kidderminster it is a "blowing sand," covered for many acres with gorse. These sands are of the modern marine deposits, and are derived from the Straits which once separated England and Wales. The Carboniferous system comprises the coal and mountain limestone in the neighbourhood of Dudley, Bewdley, Pensax, and Rock. This is a poor soil and of little agricultural value. The Devonian, or old red sandstone, is found on the extreme north-west of the county, at Tenbury and its districts, where very large oak and larch and good hops are grown, and excellent cider made. Fine herds of Hereford cattle may here be seen. The Silurian comprises the Wenlock series, and is an unim- portant formation only cropping out in the neighbourhood of Malvern, Whitley, and a few other places. The same remark applies to the Sienites of the primary formation, which are prin- cipally found in the neighbourhood of Malvern. The Climate. The climate of Worcestershire is, from its moisture, favourable to the growth of roots, yet the rainfall does not hinder the perfect ripening of wheat ; it thus combines the advantages both of the Western and Eastern Counties, producing, where the soil is suitable, both roots and grain of first-class quality. Mr. Thomas Henry Davis of Orleton, near Worcester, who has kept an accurate register of the rainfall for the last 30 years, has favoured me with the results of his labours as follows : — Tlie Agriculture of JVorcestershire. 441 00 >n CO o o in 00 o o CO 00 o 00 o •-' o o <£> 00 00 05 •'1' 00 CN CN CO c< C^ ■^ o ■^< o\ as 00 I O ^ i-H CO c^ to J^ -p m -i< «^ ^^ *r (^ i~ X CO to -^ ■-1 in c< CI o\ (M >-| CI o CO CO o ■* CO ■* c) (M o\ Tj< 't o\ CO ^ I r-l CO ^ O (M ^ r- CO -H o — — CO O f-i GO »>• in o in o r^ S 00 o I IM l-H .-H 00 ^ ^ ^ J (^ ^ bfl ^ S3 O ^ Q 442 27*6 Agriculture of Worcestershire. Average Tempekatuke at Obleton, Woucestekshire, at 9 a.m. Months. 1861. 1862. 1863. 1864. 1865. January February March April May June July August September October November December o 31 -so 39-85 44' 13 45-37 54-04 60-75 61-30 63-26 56-55 53-36 38-81 37-76 o 37-93 40-49 41-80 48 • 92 55-77 57 - 56 59-83 59-97 55-45 51-58 35 - 65 42-54 o 39-41 41-43 43-44 49-74 54-21 58-75 62-01 62-11 55-08 50-80 45-52 43-15 o 34-06 35-63 40-39 49-14 57-24 58-87 62-16 60-43 57-31 50-72 40-87 30-53 o 33-31 35-04 37-85 52-35 55-94 63-90 64-21 60-50 61-79 .50-12 42-85 41-50 Totals . . . . 586-98 587-49 605-65 583-35 599-36 Yearly average 48-92 48-96 50-47 48-61 49-95 The thermometers were all made by Casella, of Hatton Gar- den, London, and tested at the Kevv Observatory, they are placed in a stand doubly louvre-boarded, and free from the influence of buildings. It will be seen by the above table that, except in the year 1862, the months of July and August reached the temperature of 60° in the shade, which is considered the requisite point for wheat to ripen to perfection. Oldee Eecoeds. There are not many records of the farming of the county. Perhaps the most interesting to agriculturists is in Dr. Nash's ' History of Worcestershire,' published in 1781, as showing that even at that time some people entertained enlightened views on many agricultural matters, but more esj)ecially on the improve- ment of grass land. Dr. Nash states : " The grass is managed better than the ploughed land, for the good farmer levels, drains, and dungs it, and finds by experience that manure pays better on grass than tillage. The uplands should not be mown more than once in three years, and should be manured when mown, as soon as the hay is carried." .This advice, if given at the present day, would accord with the dictates of science and experience. Speaking of turnips, $i.c., Dr. Nash recommends their growth for feeding cattle and sheep on the greensward, and says that, if managed in that way, they will keep twice as much stock. With reference to stall-feeding he says, " The cattle are fed in stalls where the ground is very wet, with turnips, grain, and oilcake ;" and further, that the dairyman finds no inconvenience from The Agriculture of Worcestershire. 443 giving his milking-cows some turnips ; but they should not be fed exclusively on either tops or bottoms — if they are, the flavour of the butter may be affected. He also accounts for there being few breeders of stock in the county by saying that the land is too good for breeding purposes. Some statistics of hops and inclosures are given ; and in speak- ing of the rent of the land Dr. Nash states : " The general rent of the pasture land is under 205., and the Severn, Avon, and Teme under SOs., at which some of them were valued at the time of Queen Elizabeth ; for in that day all the cattle, sheep, &c., had to be wintered in the vale, whereas they now grow crops on which to winter them on the hills." The rent of the arable land is not mentioned ; but Dr. Nash states, that let the land be ever so rich, the farmer generally takes two crops and a fallow, and never attempts more than three. He estimates the area of the county at 618,240 acres, and their value at 10^. per aci'e. In good years two or three tons of cherries were often sold before five o'clock on Saturday morning, large quantities being sent to Yorkshire and the manufacturing districts. In writing upon the cultivation of hops, he condemns it as injurious to both landlord and tenant ; as a few acres of hops swallow up the manure of a whole farm, oblige the landlord to give long credit for rent, and give the tenant a turn for gaming and traffic which frequently proves his ruin ; hops, he adds, were supposed to be introduced in the time of Henry VIII., and before that were imported from Flanders. He also quotes from the Earl of Northumberland's Household Book, " that in the year 1556 the family used for brewing 256 lbs. of hoppys, and that they cost 13^. Ad. per hundred." Mr. Noake, in his ' Notes and Queries of Worcestershire,' pub- lished in 1856, gives some interesting information. He states (page 98) : " That the authorities of Broadway petitioned in the seventeenth century to have the servants' wages rated according to statute," which he gives in full : — £. s. d. A bailiff receiving 400 An ordinary husbandman 2 10 0 A maidservant by the year 1 10 0 A labom-er, without meat and drinls, per day .. 0 0 7) • ,„5v,*.gj. „ with meat and drink, per day .. .. 0 0 3) „ witliout meat and drink, per day .. 0 0 ^ I j^ guijuner ,, witli meat and drink, per day ,. ..0 0 4) Mason and carpenter 010 If with meat and drink 006 He also states that the Worcestershire magistrates, when the plague amongst cattle broke out in 1747, ordered, 45. per week to 444 The Agriculture of Worcestershire. be paid at those turnpikes where it was thought necessary for a person to sit up at night and watch, that no horned stock passed through without showing proper certificates, with some other interesting facts about the cattle-plague, showing that when the authorities relaxed their vigilance it broke out afresh. In speak- ing of the old customs, he says it was customary for the farmers to finish wheat-sowing by Allontide eve ( Allhallows, November 1st), and further mentions the saying — At Michaelmas fair (2nd Oct.) The wheat should cover a hare. Aeea and Population. Worcestershire is bounded on the north by the manufacturing districts of Staffordshire, on the north-east and east by Warwick- shire, with its important manufacturing towns of Birmingham and Coventry ; on the south-east and south by Gloucestershire with its sheep, dairies, and ports ; on the west by Herefordshire, with its cattle, cider, hops, and timber, and on the north-west by Shropshire, with its sheep, cattle, and timber. It will thus be seen that many valuable commodities have to pass through the county to and from the manufacturing districts. Its area is, according to ' Kelly's Directory,' about 780 square miles, or 459,710 acres ; Avhile Dr. Nash, in his ' History of Worcestershire,' published in 1781, estimates it at 618,240 acres, at 10^. per acre. The acreage assessed to the county rate in 1865 is 455,013 acres, and the amount 1,146,2667. ; but this does not include the boroughs, and is, therefore, an approximation only. The gross estimated rental of property assessed for the poor-rate is about 1,457,196/., and the rateable value about 1,262,1317. The population, according to ' Kelly and Go's. Directory ' was, in 1831, 222,655; in 1841, 248,460; in 1851, 276,926; and in 1861, 307,397. Of these the mines employ 2000 per- sons ; hardware, 8000, of which 6000 are engaged in making nails, the rest needles, &c. ; irozi and steel, 1200 ; glass, 400 ; porcelain, 500 ; brick-making, 400 ; glove-making, 2000 ; car- pets, ] 500 ; woollen, lace, ribbon, &c., 2000 ; and all these manufactories have great influence on the agriculture of the county, more especially on the garden produce. It has navigable rivers, the Severn, the Avon, and the Stour. The Stour, which is converted into a canal, forms the con- necting link between its agricultural districts and the manu- facturing districts of Staffordshire. The Birmingham and Wor- cester Ganal, the Kington Ganal, and that to Droitwich, all afford facilities for the conveyance of agricultural produce. Water conveyance has, however, to a great extent been superseded by The Agriculture of Worcestershire. 445 the railways, with which the county is well furnished. The Mid- land Railway runs all through the centre of the county, and has thirteen stations within the limits ; the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton has eleven stations ; the Worcester and Hereford six stations ; the Tewkesbury and Malvern four stations ; the Ashchurch and Evesham two ; and the Severn Valley, Bewdley, and Tenbury six stations. Some of the stations are counted on two lines of railway. Thus the greater portion of the county has access to a railway within five or six miles, the value of much of the land being thereby increased by lOZ. to 12Z. per acre ; yet too many landowners, who would have done well to give the land for such a purpose, have met such enterprises with apathy, if not with active opposition. Live Stock. In the recent census the cattle in the county is thus enume- rated'— cows, 20,818 ; cattle under two years, 12,565 ; two years and upwards, 12,406; total cattle, 45,789. Worcestershire cannot be considered a breeding county, a large quantity of both cattle and sheep being brought into it for feeding and dairy purposes. The cattle may be divided into three classes, shorthorns, Herefords, and dairy cows. The shorthorn is not bred so extensively here as he should be, particularly in arable districts, for in my belief nothing will beat him for high feeding in the yards and on pre- pared food ; a great improvement has, however, taken place of late, and many very valuable herds are now in course of forma- tion. Perhaps the greatest improvement hitherto effected is from the use of a good shorthorn bull with the old dairy cows. Whilst the shorthorn gradually gains ground in arable districts, the Hereford becomes more highly valued amongst graziei's, being well adapted by his short legs and compact growth to get his own living by grazing, with less inconvenience to himself than the longer-legged shorthorn. Among the principal short- horn breeders are Lord Beauchamp ; Mr. Randell, of Chadbury, near Evesham ; Mr. William Woodward, of Bredon, near Tewkesbury; Mr. Jos. Woodward, Birlingham ; Mr. Guilding, of Brickbarns, near Malvern ; Mr. Harris, of Stony Lane, near Bromsgrove ; Mr. Curtler, Claines, Worcester; Mr, Wm. Willett, Bishampton ; Mr. James Webb, Fladbury; and Mr. F. Munn, Temple Langhern. The Herefords are the prevailing breed in the north-west, and are more or less distributed over the county, but there is room for great improvement in them. The prin- cipal breeders are Mr. H. Chattock, Solihull, near Birmingham ; Mr. E. J. Goldingham, Grimley, near Worcester ; Mr. S. C. Good, Aston Court, near Tenbury ; Mr. Walker, Knightwick ; 446 The Agriculture of Worcestershire. Mr. J. Prosser, Honeybourne Grounds ; Mr. Griffiths, Broad- way ; Mr. J. H. Whitehouse, Ipsley Court, near Redditcli ; Mr. C. Wickstead, Shakenhurst, near Bewdley ; Mr. B. Hall, Malvern Wells ; Mr. John Bullock, Guarlford Court, near Malvern ; and Mr. J. Smith, Shelsley Walsh, near Worcester ; the latter of whom is said to have one of the oldest herds of Herefords extant, noted for their mottled faces. Many parts of the county are famous for the butter and cheese produced. Mr. Ellis, of Longdon, has taken eight or ten prizes for cheese at the agri- cultural exhibitions in Worcestershire, and in Gloucestershire likewise — no slight distinction for a Worcestershire man. The increasing population of the county will be sure to keep up the price of cheese, butter,' and milk, and it therefore behoves every farmer to increase to the utmost this class of produce. Each dairy cow takes about three acres to keep her well all the year round. Great improvements may be made in the manu- facture of cheese by studying the scientific principles which regulate the separation of the curd, on which much valuable information may be obtained from Dr. Voelcker's researches. One of the common evils, no doubt, consists in pressing the curd into the vats before it is cold, thereby inducing a species of fermentation, exemplified in its heaving. This accounts for the length of time allowed in Cheshire, Somersetshire, and other cheese-producing counties. Sheep. Much of the lighter soils is peculiarly adapted for sheep, of which a large number are kept ; in other parts there are but few, and these are kept upon the meadows, being fed during the winter upon hay and roots ; other farmers winter them in the yards, which in some places answers very well, especially where burnt soil is used for the sheep to tread upon, as the straw in wet weather softens the horns of sheep's feet, and induces foot- rot. This may be avoided by good management, as by putting boards for them to stand upon to feed, and supplying a small quantit}^ of fresh straw every day. The system of using burnt soil for fattening sheep in yards is largely adopted by Mr. Randell, of Chadbury : by continually turning the burnt soil it is kept fresh for the sheep's feet, and absorbs their manure, making a very valuable compost for the land. The number of sheep kept in the county, according to the last census, is — under one year, 50,379 ; one year and upwards, 153,775 ; total 204,154. The Cotswold sheep appear to be making way upon the sands ; the Leicester is however the most important of the district breeds ; the Shropshire downs are also kept; but by far the greater number arc cross-breds of every variety. The principal ram breeders are The Agriculture of Worcestershire. 447 — Mr. Watkins, Ombersley, near Droitwich ; Mr. Harris, Stony Lane, near Bromsgrove ; Mr. Randell, Chadbury, near Evesham ; Mr. W. Willetts, Bisliampton, near Pershore ; Mr. Partington, Rouse Lench ; Mr. John Dale, steward to R, Berkley, Esq., near Spetchley ; Mr. Walker, of Malvern, with a few others. The high prices of wool and mutton, of late years, have given a great impetus to the breeding of sheep, and most valuable stock they are when at nine months old they can be made to realise The scarcity of keep during the winter of 1864 and 1865, consequent on the dry summers, led to great improvements in the management of sheep both in winter and summer ; an admixture of straw-chaff and corn with turnips, 80 or 90 per cent, of 'which is water, made the keep go farther, and did away with the waste of food expended in raising the cold water of the turnips to the heat of the body. Much more might be done in keeping sheep on the clay farms of this county by consuming the roots on the meadow-land, folding the sheep upon it in the same way as the light-land farmer would on his arable land, giving them a fresh pen every day ; and if roots are planted early and got off the land in September, a large breadth may be grown. The only objection is that it is robbing the arable land, but this will right itself by the increased crops of hay pro- duced, which will swell the manure heap in return. Mr. Crowther, of the Hoo Farm, near Kidderminster, has paid great attention to the management of sheep. He farms 600 or 700 acres of land, nearly all arable, and keeps a large number of sheep ; to these he gives food in pens, winter and summer, cutting the turnips in the winter and penning the sheep on the rye, clover, and rje-grass in the summer. This system he finds answer better than the old plan, in fact he follows out the Wilt- shire system of folding sheep. A gentleman near Stourport also informs me that he grows (in addition to a large quantity of roots for winter consumption) 400 to 500 tons of mangolds, storing them in long trenches about 2 feet deep in the ground and 12 feet wide, heaping them to a ridge and covering with a very thick thatch. These are generally thrown uncut to the sheep on the grass lands and seeds from April to July. He further remarks, " I am always condemning Italian rye- grass, and always planting it." He plants red clover only every eighth year, when he generally gets a fair crop. Horses. During the last ten or fifteen years great improvement has been effected in the farm horses ; on the whole they were quite 448 The Agriculture of Worcestershire. up to the average of otlier counties. It is a great drawback to heavy land farms that so many horses must be kept to work the land in proper season, eating the food which would be more profitably consumed by cattle or sheep. For this reason the wet-land farmer may with advantage rear young horses, and sell them off as they attain six years old. Pigs. The pigs have also undergone great improvement : compact well-grown pigs, that keep themselves in good condition, taking the place of the old raw-backed hogs, which had to be kept to be two years old before being fed out ; but there is nothing special to report on them that I am aware of. Pastuke Land. Dr. Nash, three-quarters of a century ago, mentions that the farmer found it pay him better to put his muck on the pasture than on the tillage, and to this view we shall again no doubt return. Meat, butter, and cheese will no doubt alvvajs maintain a paying price, and much of the meadow in the county being dairy and feeding land, it will gradually work itself right, for if, by dressing, two tons of hay can be grown instead of one, it necessarily follows that two beasts may be kept instead of one. Very much of the upland meadow is of inferior quality, and in many instances it is being converted into tillage, though this does not well suit the present time. It does not seem to answer well to lay land down to permanent pasture on some of the heavier soils, for after the artificial grasses die out, it takes years to get anything like a good turf. Perhaps one of the reasons of failure is that the work is not properly done. The meadows liable to be flooded, on the other hand, are gene- rally very good, especially those lying near the River Avon. Drainage on meadow land is only required for the removal of stagnant water, and sometimes harm is done by over draining. I think the deeper meadow land is drained the better, provided the drains draw, but after this has been effected many of the coarser and water grasses will be destroyed ; therefore it is necessary to give an ample seeding of permanent grass seeds, combined with a good dressing of bone or grass manure, not merely to supply every year a small quantity for the use of the then growing plant, but a liberal dressing of say half-a-ton per acre. This will so induce the growth of the fresh grasses and clover that another dressing will not be required for ten or twelve years. Lime may also be used with advantage on the Old and New Red Sandstone formations. The rental of the meadow land varies from 205. to 100s. The Agriculture of TForcestershire. 449 per acre, but there is not mucli let at the latter price, except as accommodation land. It is very unfortunate that so much of the land was laid to grass in ridges in this county, as this is a source of the greatest annoyance to the farmer of the present day, who wants to avail himself of mowing and haymaking machines, and horse-rakes, without which (at least the two last) a large quantity of hay can hardly be made in this day of scarcity of manual labour; great loss is annually sustained in this county from this cause, for I have observed that much of the hay, from want of more frequent moving, has been sunburnt and turned brown, having lost its valuable juices from too great exposure to the sun, in fact I am inclined to think that sun spoils more hay than the rain. As an illustration of the effect of the scarcity of labour, an amusing incident, to those not personally interested, occurred last summer on the borders, in an adjoining county, where mowers were so scarce that they not only had 5^. per acre for mowing, but insisted on being conveyed in a fly to their work. Messrs. Wheeler and Son, of Gloucester, who have devoted much attention to grasses, and have published a list of those suitable for each geological formation, give me the following as best adapted for renovating the old pastures of the Lias and New Jled Sandstone. Table 1. Table of Grasses to be used on the Upper Lias, Lower Lias, and Marlstoue, for renovatino; Old Pastures. On Light Soils. On IMedium Soils. Perennial Cow - grass (Trifolium pratense"! perenne) / Perennial White Clover (Trifolium repens) Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) Yellow Trefoil (Medicago lupulina) .. Lucerne (Medicago sativum) Yarrow (Achillea millefolia) Sheep's Parsley (Petroselinum sativum) Smooth Meadow-grass (Poa pratensis) Wood Meadow-grass 'Poa nemovalis) .. Timothy (Phleum pratense) Evergreen Rye (Lolium sempervirens) Pacey's Perennial Rye (Lolium Paceyanum) Meadow Foxtail f^Alopecurus pratensis) Golden Oat-grass (A vena flavescens) .. Meadow Fescue 'Festuca pratensis) Various-leaved Fescue (Festuca heterophylla Sweet Vernal (Anthoxanthum odoratum^ . . ozs. 0 8 0 0 lbs. ozs. On Heavy Soils. 2 8 3 0 2 0 0 To be used in proportion of 10 lbs. per acre. 450 The Agriculture of Worcestershire. Table 2. Table of Grasses to be used on New Eed Sandstone for renovating Old Pastures. On Light On Medium On Heavy Soils. So iis. ] Soils. lbs. ozs. lbs. ozs. lbs. ozs. Sweet Vernal (ABthoxanthum odoratum) . . 1 8 1 0 1 0 Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensisj 1 0 1 12 2 0 Timothy (Phleum pratense) 1 0 2 0 Smooth Meadow-grass (Poa pratensis) 2"8 1 8 2 0 Eoiigh Meadow-grass (Poa trivialis) . . 1 8 Cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) .. 2 0 3 0 Meadow Fescue (Festuca pratensis) 3 0 1 12 1 8 Hard Fescue (Festuca duriuscula) 3 0 1 12 2 0 Sheep's Parsley (Petroselinum sativum) 1 8 1 0 0 8 Perennial Rye (Lolium perenne) 8 0 7 8 7 0 Pacey's Rye (Lolium Paceyanum) 4 8 4 0 5 0 Alsike (Trifolium hybridum) 1 8 1 0 1 8 Perennial Cow-grass (Trifolium pratense "1 perenne) J 4 0 3 8 4 0 White Clover (Trifolium repens) 3 0 4 0 4 0 Yellow Trefoil (Medicago lupulina) . . 2 0 1 0 2 0 Lucerne (Medicago sativa) 1 0 0 s 0 8 Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) 0 8 0 4 0 4 Yarrow (Achillea millifolia) 0 12 0 S •• To be used in proportion of 12 lbs. per acre. Arable Land, Eotation, and Crops. This is rather a difficult subject to treat, as the land and systems are so intermixed that most farmers have systems of their own, more especially on the heavy soils, but on the lighter sheep lands, which are not so dependent on the seasons, more regularity is observed. A good deal of land lies in the high ridge, but deep drainage has led to a lowering of the ridge. At all events I have never seen what I have heard of as a boy, lands so round and horses so small that ploughmen could pass each other on either side the ridge without being aware of it. On the light soils they try to get rid of as many furrows as possible ; indeed one gentleman told me that he calculated every furrow he made lost him half a bushel of wheat. Messrs. Webb and Wintle, the drainage engineers at Evesham, inform me that in some instances on the heavy land (Lias) there has been an increase of 50 per cent, in the crop after draining. These lands should be broken up in autumn with the steam cul- tivator. The common estimate is that the cost of drainage upon the blue Lias clay is repaid in three years. The proportion of The Agriculture of Worcestershire. 451 the county drained is about two-thirds, but probably only one- third is done properly, about half of this being under loan and Government inspection. The favourite depth where the high-backed ridges exist is 3^ feet in the furrows, using 2-inch pipes ; but of course, where the lands are level a greater depth is attained. The light land is principally farmed on the four-course system, with the exception of sometimes taking wheat a second time instead of barley. Other farmers, who have their land clean and in good con- dition, adopt the five-course shift, or take turnips, wheat, barley, clover, wheat. This is a very satisfactory course, for, where high farming is followed combined with chafF-cutting and pulping, sufficient straw is not grown on the four-course system unless sheep are the principal stock kept. In the neighbourhood of Kidderminster, a portion of the turnip crop is sometimes displaced by potatoes, the growth of which is highly remunerative even for stock. I have been much surprised that more attention is not given to the growth of cabbage. With the exception of a few leading farmers, this plant is not cultivated to any extent in the county ; the largest field (about 20 acres) I have seen was Mr. Randell's, it was all planted with cabbage, besides some other portions of the farm. The scarcity of keep within the last two seasons has led to great increase in the growth of this plant, especially the early sorts, such as the Enfield, which should be planted in October that they may be ready for cutting in the following summer ; they are then very valuable for lambs and young stock, the sprouts yielding a second crop for folding on in September. On much of the heavy land the old fallowing system is still followed, after which wheat is planted, then beans, peas, Lent- grain, or clover ; then wheat, followed by fallow again. Others put half roots and half naked fallow, so as to fallow once in eight years ; but I am convinced that on the heaviest land the naked fallow maybe dispensed with by autumn cultivation, early planting of roots on the ridge, a free use of the grubber horse- hoe, and the removal of the roots in September, so that wheat may be planted before the 20th of October. On some farms the rotation has been to a great extent modified by the amelioration that has taken place in the land by clay- burning. This is especially valuable upon the Lias, both physi- cally and chemically. Mr. Randall, in 1844, thus described it in Vol. v., p. 118, of this Journal: — "The proper mode is to move the soil with a pick-axe, breaking it all the time as much as possible; it is 452 The Agriculture of Worcestersldre. then put lightly upon tlie fires with a shovel." The expense is from 3/. to 4/. per acre, as follows — 200 yards in a heap : — £. s. d, ' 100 yards per acre, laliour to burning, at 6 J 2 10 0 2 tons coal (slack), at 9.S 0 18 0 Wheeling and spreading a distance of 50 yards from the heap, and filling and spreading the remainder, 100 yards at l^cZ. 0 12 6 Total .. ..£406 By these means he doubled the crops formerly grown. In 1863 he writes further (Vol. xxiv., p. 540) : — " Twenty-two years' experience of the effects of burning clay-land have confirmed my first impression of the benefit to be derived from it ; and I may say with confidence that on such soils, apart from draining, I know of nothing by which so much good can be effected." He adds that he prefers wood faggots to coal, not only as being more economical, but because the soil is not burned so hard ; he also finds a greatly-increased quantity of sheep can thus be kept on the land. He also gives the following as a desirable system of rotation after the land has been so burnt : — 1st year : Wheat. 2nd : Half clover (mown), half mixed seeds (grazed). 3rd : Wheat. 4th : Half beans, half fallow crops, reversing the root and bean crops every four years. Some of the best farmers in the neighbourhood of Evesham, where the land is good and drained, grow a crop of Nonpareil cabbage, part of which is sold at market and the rest eaten off by lambs by the beginning of June. The land is then planted v/ith turnips, of which a heavy crop is obtained and eaten off by the middle of November, and a good plant of wheat is obtained by the middle of December. Several other variations in the rotations might be named, but they are known to most farmers, and such statements are difficult to follow ; suffice it to say, that from the high price of meat, the growth of roots, especially mangolds, is gradually increasing on the heavier soils. This county produces very fine wheat, some of which has weighed 68 lbs. to the imperial bushel. This crop requires to be planted very early on the heavy land. Barley is not generally grown, but some of very fine malting qualify is produced on the medium soils. An eminent brewer informs me that the best districts for barley are those of Bredon, Eckington, Severn Stoke, Ripple, Kempsey, Pershore, Wick, near Pershore, Hallow, Hanby, and Tlie Agriculture of Worcetser shire. 453 along under the range of the Malvern Hills on this side of the county, and that he bought one sample in 1864, and one in 1865, that weighed 61 lbs. per bushel. Beans, peas, &c., are largely grown, much of the heavy land being peculiarly suited for the former crop. Vetches are gene- rally grown for the horses, whilst some heavy-land farmers grow them also for soiling purposes. Clover is the most valuable crop the stock farmer can grow, and a large quantity is sown, but of late years it has lost stock to such an extent that it is beinp^ replaced by Italian rye-grass. Our cleverest men are apparently undecided whether this is due to want of potash or not. This I know, that where crop- pings of hedges have been burnt, the clover generally grows verv luxuriantly. Italian rye-grass is a very valuable crop on light land and on medium soils which are drained ; I have met Avith some splendid fields in the neighbourhood of Kidderminster, Bishampton, Pershore, and Rouse Lench ; also near Stourport. It is very important to secure imported seed. Root crops have made wonderful progress during the past twenty years, and this is attributable in great measure to the introduction of artificial manures. Many of the crops of mangolds grown in the county are very heavy ; indeed it is in places the most profitable crop grown. Root culture is the basis of all good farming, more especially if they are grown on the ridge, and the grubber horse-hoe used all through the summer, I have myself used it until the middle of September, and it is a first-rate preventive of mildew, which, like all blight,' does not attack a healthy plant, but those which come to a stand-still in growth, as is often the case with swedes when the land gets set firm between the rows, thus preventing the passage of air and moisture to the roots of the plants. Fakm Buildings. These are below the general average of other counties ; they are principally covered with Brosley-tiles, but too often with thatch or stone tiles ; many of the old buildings are very badly arranged, often having the house on the north or east side, and the buildings so placed for the cattle to be in sight from the windows, that the yards, sheds, &c., are exposed to all the cold winds. This arrangement may to some extent be accounted for by the outfall of the county being on the south side ; therefore much of the land faces the south too ; and in erecting buildings without studying the requirements of stock, the house gets placed on the upper side — the north — with the buildings below it. This want of convenient and warm buildings — not necessarily fine-looking VOL. III.— S. S. 2 H 454 The Agriculture of Worcestershire. and expensive structures — is a serious drawback to good farm- ing. The two principal points to be attended to are economy of labour in attending the stock, and economy of warmth. To meet the first requirement, there should be such a disposition of the various departments that the straw and food should go in at one side and pass continuously on until they go out at the other as manure, with no carrying to and fro, especially of so bulky an article as straw. The labour of one man saved for an hour per day during the six months when the stock are mostly at the homestead, repre- sents something like 60/. worth of buildings. As to economy of warmth, I venture to think that the same food that would keep four beasts in open foldyards exposed to cold winds would keep five in a well-protected yard with plenty of good sheds. I have seen such gross violation of these rules that I have been tempted to note them ; on the other hand, 1 have seen many very good homesteads replete with every convenience. The best conversion of inconvenient into suitable buildings I have met with was made by Mr. Randell at Chad bury. Amongst other improvements, he has erected a steam-engine, and con- verted the old circular shed formerly used as a horse-walk into a chafF-room : there is a loft over this, with an opening to the straw- barn ; in this loft the chaff is cut, and falls on to a riddle which sorts it into different lengths to suit the stock, each length falling into a different compartment at the centre of the old horse-walk : into these compartments a pipe conveys the waste steam from the engine, so that if the chaff is not quite sweet it can be rendered so, and can also be steamed regularly if preferred in that state. The farms being generally small, the erection of fixed steam- engines does not make much progress. On those farms where straw is very deficient it may be desirable that the cattle should be fed out in the yard instead of in the sheds, they have then dry beds in the sheds to go to and lie down upon after filling themselves. A great deal of unnecessary expense is often incurred in the erection of farm-buildings ; where the work is to be done with borrowed capital, the expense often deters the tenant from entertaining the question. In such cases the tenant should be called upon to pay 5 per cent., the landlord undertaking the rest of the charge for a loan ; these terms would often lead to the work being more economically executed. Good sheds for the stock are the principal requirement ; one good barn is suffi- cient ; and, where there are several, they should be converted to other uses, the making of beef and mutton being the grand objects to be kept in view. Upon sheep-land there are often far too many buildings. The Agriculture of Worcestersliire. 455 Fakm Implements. In Worcestershire less improvement has been made in farm implements than in many other counties. We still find the old wooden plough, harrows, &c., in use, whilst many farmers have not even risen to the horse-rake. Still, these are exceptional cases, for scarcity of labour affects this, in common with other parts of the kingdom, and many of the Worcestershire agriculturists have their mowing and reaping machines, hoi'se-rakes, Avheel- ploughs, &c., to say nothing of steam-cultivators. But we must not be too censorious with the farmer for not adopting every new implement brought into notice, when we see so many inven- tions only made public to be proved failures ; and it is not to be wondered at if a farmer, having burnt his fingers once or twice, be very careful not to purchase expensive articles until their value has been fully proved. One of the most important improvements that have taken place on light land is the wheel-plough. By it the land is more evenly ploughed and to a greater depth, the sod better turned in at the edge of the furrow, and consequently less couch-grass grown. The drill has almost entirely superseded the seed-lip. Chaff and turnip cutters and root-pulpers are in common use. The system of trials and prizes adopted by the Royal Society has done much to promote such improvement. What inde- pendent person has seen the interest shown at the Society's implement-trials but must confess that few farmers can return home from them without being better enabled to form a sound opinion for themselves as to the implements best suited to their own requirements, even if they may differ from the appointed judges in their decision. At the very least the farmer has this important advantage, that if the prize implement is not always that which will suit him best, the worthless ones are either at once rejected or their owners do not dare to compete publicly. Perhaps the most absurd custom that retains its hold in Wor- cestershire in the eyes of a stranger is the putting of four and often five horses with a man and a boy to plough with a wooden plough, having a wooden board ; but this plough has not yet been superseded by a better. Some of the soil (Lias) is of so tenacious a character that the furrow will not slip freely from iron ; still the practice of putting five horses in wet weather to plough some five inches deep must be condemned. Steam Cultivation. Steam cultivation does not appear to increase in favour with our farmers ; one cause of this is that the holdings are small, and 2 H 2 456 The Agriculture of Worcestershire. tlie cost of hiring^ comes too bigh, except just at a push after harvest : still in this respect the late Meeting of the Royal Agri- cultural Society promises to be a new epoch in the history of the county. JNIost gentlemen Avho visited the scene of the trials at Wadborough must remember the way ip which the soil was broken up ; 1, for one, thought that from the quantity of clay brought to the surface the field was ruined ; but Mr. Smithin informs me that although hitherto he has not grown any better crops, yet he does not think any injury has been done to the land, and probably in another year or so there will be an increase in the produce. Although a first-class farmer, Mr. Smithin does not himself cultivate by steam. The principal employers of steam-tackle are Mr. Randell, Chadbury, near Evesham ; Mr. Higginbotham, Pensax ; Mr. Alsopp, Hindlip ; Mr. Humphries, Pershore ; Messrs. Green and Co., Newtown, near Worcester ; and Mr. Bonford, Pitchill, near Evesham. The latter gentleman, who farms 800 acres of land, partly on the lias formation, and partly on the new red sandstone, has been one of the most energetic promoters of steam cultivation, using first the Woolston system, and latterly two engines with cylindrical drums surrounding their boilers, to work Fowler's plough, or Howard's cultivator. His aim is to combine stifle burning with thorough cultivation, and thus to grow two green crops instead of one, or, indeed, instead of a bare fallow. His proceedings are described at length in Mr. Morton's Almanack for 1865 ; this subject has been so thoroughly dis- cussed of late in this Journal, that this short notice may now suffice. Oechaeds. The orchards of Worcestershire form a pleasing contrast to the monotony of some counties, and although in many places they are neglected, yet the increasing demand for fruit in the manufac- turing districts tends to make these the most paying of crops, the orchard, when once planted and out of the reach of stock, causing very small annual expense. Such a scarcity of apples has never been known as during the winter of 1865 and 1866 : ordinary apples were then selling in Hereford in January at \d. each. Special attention should be paid to the cultivation of sorts that will keep till spring ; also to red apples, for which there is an increased demand. Most of the western side of Worcestershire is parti- cularly suited for the growth of apples, and even more so for that of pears ; but the pruning and dressing of the trees is too often greatly neglected. There are not so many young orchards being planted as we could wish to see. Many of the best orchards on the western side of the county The Agriculture of Worcestershire. 457 have been reared in hop-yards ; the plants are set in rows so as not to interfere with working the ground between the hops : when they are nursed into trees the hop-yard is done away with ; the land is then worked for a few years as tillage, and afcerwards laid to grass. Trees in orchards that have been worked as arable often do not bear as well if the land is laid to grass, but get covered with moss, principally from want of vigour to throw it off. When an orchard dies out it should not, as a rule, again be planted with the same kind of trees. The reproduction of apple- trees from the pip is hazardous, the produce being commonly a compound of the parent tree and the original crab ; hence seed- lings are mostly grafted with the kind required. Many people lay stress on the selection of those sorts which bear sweet fruit or those with a high specific gravity of juice; this, as far as my experience goes, is a great mistake. In the first place sweet sorts produce a cider which it is generally difficult to fine (this is especially the case with sweet pears), whilst those which produce cider of a high specific gravity give such a small quantity of it, and are generally such shy bearers, that they are not to be much recommended, although a few may be desirable for a mixture with other kinds. The system usually followed in planting out an orchard is to take some good stocks, the stems of which should be two inches in diameter : these are planted out in November or December, the field being first drained. The stocks should be planted in rows ten or twelve yards apart, so that which- ever way you look you may see up the rows ; they should be after- wards protected from cattle and sheep. They may then be grafted, as much care being taken in the selection of grafts from healthy trees as you would in the selection of a male animal for use in your flock.* The young graft must be protected from the winds and from stock, and should be trained to form a fine head. The degree of pruning to which trees are to be subjected depends on the quality of the fruit required. If you want size and maturity, keep the trees open and thin ; if quantity, then leave the branches thick. The planting and rearing of an orchard will cost from 6Z. to 121. per acre before the trees get to full bearing. No tree should be planted which is less than IJ inch in diameter, or of less height than will allow of its being grafted at least 6 feet from the ground ; if it is intended to graze cattle in the orchard the trees should be 7 feet high. A practice is gaining ground of whitewashing the bodies of * Having seen the beautiful wood in some of the dwarf apple-trees supplied to Anthony Bubb, Esq., of Witcombe Court, near Gloucester, by Mr, Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth, which have been grafted on Paradise stocks, we would suggest that it may be possible to get back many of the old sorts of fruit which are dying out, by regrafting on some of these stocks. 458 The Agriculture of Worcestershire. tlie trees and then putting a coating of tar all round them, about 6 inches in depth, at the height of 2 or 3 feet from the ground, with the design of keeping the insects from ascending the trees and thus preventing their being blighted. This black band upon the whitened body gives the trees a peculiar appearance ; I am unable to speak as to its effect, but those who use it seem to have great confidence in it. The making of cider and perry is an important branch of the farmer's business, especially on the western side of the county. But there, as in other cider districts, sufficient attention is not paid to keeping the fermentation down, as is usually done by racking and other processes. This is not difficult on the deep clays and loams having a good deep subsoil ; but on the lighter soils it requires great attention to produce a first-class cider, as the fruit on these soils naturally contains overmuch of malic acid, and probably of vegetable ferment likewise. Cider has usually been made in the old-fashioned circular mills, which have their advantages. These, however, are being gradually superseded by the double-roller mills, which are some- times taken from farm to farm. The greatest objection urged against them is, that this often leads to the fruit being ground too green and time not being allowed for the juice to absorb the flavour and other qualities from the rinds and kernels, whereas in the old circular mills the grinding is continued for two or three hours ; but where proper precautions are taken to let the fruit ripen well, and to keep the pulp for six hours after grinding, or till the morrow, before pressing it, a much better cider is pro- duced. For fuller details of its manufacture, I must refer the reader to my Essay in the ' Royal Agricultural Society's Journal,' Vol. xsv,, page 76, In the gardens near Evesham and Pershore large quantities of plums (damsons and damascenes) are grown, together with goose- berries and currants. The plums are largely used for dying cotton prints: they contain a peculiar acid, which particularly adapts them to this purpose. Hops. The Worcester hop district contained in 1861 (the last year in which any return was made for duty) 5869 acres, which was distributed as follows : — Acres. Gloucester • • 2 Hereford 36381 Wales (middle) 22^ Stourbridge 1184f Worcester IO2I5 Total 5869 The Agriculture of Worcestershire. 459 I estimate the subsequent increase at 20 per cent., including the hop-yards planted up to the present time, as the abolition of the hop duty has given a great impetus to planting. This would give a total at present of about 7000 acres. Fresh hop-yards are being planted on every side, and the demand for poles during the season of 1866 was very large. The duty paid in this district has varied in a very extraordinary manner: in 1823 only 4/. 3s, l\d. was paid; in 1840, 240?.; while in 1846 the sum reached 36,008/., and in 1857, 35,930?. ; but the duty is not a criterion of profits. The most profitable years are those when there is a failure in Kent and other districts, and a moderately good crop here. On the poorer class of farms hops are often injurious, in con- sequence of the whole stock of manure being expended on them : this inclines many landlords to forbid their growth ; but the evil, I think, may be avoided by compelling the tenant to dress the hops with artificial manure ; and this would be to his own advantage, for bone-manures do not stimulate the growth of the tender bine as much as ammoniacal-manure, and consequently the plant has more strength to withstand the blight and produces a better sample. The cost of planting a hop-yard is about 50/. per statute acre :* poling costs 3U/. to 40/., and the expense of cultivation is about 20/., besides kilns or oasthouses. Much difference of opinion exists as to the best system of planting, whether in rows or on the square : in the former the rows are 7 feet apart and the stocks 3 feet apart in the row ; a greater quantity can no doubt be grown on the land in this way. On the square system the stocks are planted 7 feet apart each way ; this is preferable where the land grows many weeds or requires much cultivation to pulverise the soil, as it admits of working both ways between the poles. In poling the hop-yard the great object is to set the poles in such a manner that their tops are equidistant from those in other rows. Two advantages are thereby gained : first, the sun-light is equally distributed, which is essential for a good sample (the most exposed growth being the best, and those inside the worst) ; and secondly, the bines are not so liable to tie each other together. The best hops are produced in the parishes of Lye, Alfrich, and Lulsley. An eminent hop-merchant informs me that the farmers should pay more attention to their kilns, drying, and picking, and says there is generally a want of kiln-room. He also says that the form of the kiln is not of so much importance as to have the hops * The local hop-acre is 1000 stocks, irrespective of area or distance. 460 The Agriculture of Worcestershire. a good way from the fire, to avoid all risk of burning, with plenty of head-room for the escape of the vapour, as, if the steam falls back upon the hops, it makes them of a dull colour. Another practice to be much condemned is the old system of beating and breaking the hops ; but this is gradually falling into disuse. The principal growers are Mr. Smith, of Wick ; Mr, Wood- ward, of Bredon ; Mr. Twinberrow, Knightwick ; Mr. Walker, Knightwick ; and Mr. Dix, Lulsley. Several attempts have been made to supersede hop-poles ; but the result is yet undetermined. Cocoanut-fibre has been tried Avith some amount of success ; but the likeliest plan is the use of galvanised wire, as patented by Mr. Farmer, Kyre Wood, near Tenbury. Mr, Farmer claims these advantages : — That the hops ripen earlier, are more equal in size, and of greater bulk ; that, clinging firmly to the wire, they are less injured by high winds; that they can be cut higher with less damage to the root ; that the yearly expenses of pitching, tyeing, and piling the poles is saved, " The essence of the invention consists in arranging ver- tical or nearly vertical wires between horizontal wires for the training and growing of hops," The following illustration shows this plan as commonly pursued : — At each end of every row of hops is placed a strong pole, similar to a telegraph pole, but stronger : these poles are sup- ported firmly by stays, with a similar but smaller pole at a distance The Ar/riculture of Worcestershire. 461 of about 60 yards in the rows. At tlie top of each pole is a horizontal cross-piece, from either end of which one horizontal wire (No. 1) is stretched to the cross-piece of the next pole. Near the bottom a third wire is stretched (No. 2) from pole to pole ; to these three horizontal wires other and nearly vertical wires are attached, their lower end being fastened to the lower horizontal wire, and the upper end alternately to one or other or the two upper horizontal wires. It is calculated that the poles and wires, being permanently fixed, will last at least twenty years, and the first cost is stated to be little, if at all, greater than that of a good poling. A royalty of 3/. per acre is charged, and the patentee will instruct and assist the grower. The cost of the above was stated to be 33?. per acre ; but as it has been found necessary to increase the size of some of the wires, it may extend up to 40Z. per acre. It is difficult to estimate exactly the comparative cost of poles or wires, much depending on the amount of annual repair which the wire will require within the twenty years it is supposed to last. Poles within the same period would require two renewals, viz., at the end of seven and fourteen years, costing each time for poles 28Z., creosoting '2.1. ; in all 90Z., apart from the question of the interest payable. When poles are used, there is the expense of hauling ; and they have to be sharpened and put up, besides being moved to work the land in the spring, which items involve a large annual ex- pense. There is this distinction between the wire and the pole, that if each be 13 feet long, it will take a longer bine to reach the top of the pole than to climb the wire. Authorities, however, are not agreed as to whether it is better for the hop to overtop its support or to have a longer prop ; and I have not made up my own mind on the subject. A third point to be considered is the tying : the bine clings so naturally to the wire, that when once started right it requires no more attention. In the question of picking I apprehend there would be very little difference as regards cost, from the crop being picked off the wires on a moveable frame ; but the wires have, in my opinion, an immense advantage, because, unlike the poles, they do not require the bines to be cut. This cutting, while the sap is up, must weaken and injure the root, and damage the following crops ; to this cause we may to a great extent attribute the want of so much manure to stimulate the plant and also the deterioration of the old hop-yards ; for we see no reason why, with proper management, a hop-yard should ever become exhausted. For some years many of the leading hop- growers have been aware of the injury done to the root by cutting the bine, and have consequently had them cut off as far from the ground as possible. It is also remarked that in those parts of the 462 The Agriculture of Worcestershire. hop-yard Avhere picking is commenced the roots are always weaker the next year, and this is attributed to the bleeding of the roots of the first bines cut whilst they have so much sap in them ; to obviate this as much as possible they do not commence picking two years together in the same part of the hop-yard. I have briefly given my impressions after seeing Mr. Farmer's system and talking the matter over with various persons ; but we must wait awhile before we can confidently say it is a success, for the bine on the iron wire may be affected by lightning, sharp frosts in May, or other circumstances, and this can only be tested by experience : still its promises are so important, that if I were a large hop-grower I should certainly try the system on a few acres. Occupancy. The holdings as a rule run from 200 acres to 250 acres, and yearly tenancies prevail, the times of entry are pretty evenly divided between Candlemas, Lady-day, and Michaelmas, the former probably being the least common. With the two former the tenant at leaving plants one-third or one-fourth the arable land with wheat, which he harvests, retaining a portion of the barns and granary for that purpose, but the straw belongs to the incomer. He also retains the house, yards, and buildings, and a boozy pasture till the 1st May, giving up a room in the house and stable room, for the incomer's men and horses to enter upon to work the land. With the Michaelmas entry there is no away-going wheat crop, the outgoer consumes his roots, hay, and straw, and retains the yards with a portion of the buildings and boozy pastures. He is also paid for work done on the tillages. The incomer plants the wheat. There is a custom in some places, by Avhich with the Candlemas and Lady-day takings the incomer takes a portion of the wheat crop without paying for it. If the wheat is planted after a fallow he only takes every third stock ; otherwise every other one, the outgoer having to cut it. These customs are very conflicting, and I hope to see them done away with, arrangements being made for the incomer to take the crops, &c., by valuation ; then it would matter little whether a spring or autumn taking prevailed. With clay land the latter is probably the better time ; but on sheep and turnip soils, the former is preferable, as so many of the roots must be consumed on the land. Whichever system may be adopted, I strongly recommend that a liberal payment be made to the tenant who leaves his farm in a good state. He should be paid for all the manure purchased in his last year (except nitrate of Tlie Acjriculture of Worcestershire. 463 soda), and for half the corn consumed by his stock. The great object to be sought is to get him to expend his money and cultivate his land as if he were going to keep it ; and that is the best agreement which makes it his interest to do so; for if he exhausts his farm, it costs the incomer double the money to get it into proper condition again. The land- lord also loses by his farm being in a poor and impoverished condition when he tries to let it to a new tenant, whilst if the outgoing tenant knows he is to be remunerated fairly for his expenditure, and also get a further benefit in his crop, he will be sure to avail himself of his chance ; the extra straw and the manure left will be for the benefit of the farm, as only the corn is sold off. The Laboueee. The labourer's condition is better in Worcestershire than in some of the adjoining counties ; indeed in some districts his condition and intelligence are quite superior ; this may be accounted for by his contact with his manufacturing brethren. His wages vary from 9^ to lis. per week, but they are swelled by perquisites and extras to 145. or 15^. The bailiff, carter, and shepherd have cottages rent-free. The system of task-work is gradually gaining ground, and we should be glad to see more done in this direction ; it stimu- lates the good labourer to do his utmost, whilst the slothful man must do a fair day's work to earn his wages, or suffer the penalty of indolence ; another advantage which is often lost sight of is, that when labourers are scarce, it leads to more work being done by each man, by his working overtime. The only drawback or disadvantage that I know of is, that the farmer himself must thoroughly understand the work to observe whether it is properly done, and to insist upon its being so done. This requires some firmness on his part. Another point of great importance to be here discussed, is the system of giving the labourer drink. This varies from two quarts of cider per day in the winter to three quarts in the summer, with four at harvest and hay-making time, and when extra labour is required. I have heard both sides of this question discussed, and I must confess that I see no good result likely to arise from the abolition of the existing system, unless the men voluntarily assent to it, or that all the beer-houses are shut up ; for I have seen numbers of instances, where the men, having received only money pay- ment, consider themselves entitled to spend the extra sum they obtain in drink ; this leads to their visiting the beer-house, where they spend a great deal more than they should, besides acquiring 464 The Agriculture of Worcestersliire. the evil habit of frequenting- those places. I should reduce the quantity and strength of the cider, for in years of plentiful fruit the scarcity of casks leads to the cider being made so strong that the men cannot drink the usual quantity without showing its effects. This, I think, is as much the fault of the farmers as the labourers, and it has been specially seen during the past year in contrast with four or five years before. The system of letting large allotments to the labourer I con- sider to be unwise ; for he cannot, as a rule, cultivate the land as it ought to be done, and serve his master properly, whilst competing with him by spade labour, and necessarily paying a higher rent ; as a rule, his allotment should not exceed a quarter of an acre ; this is sufficient to employ his odd time, and if he has more he must lose his wages by stopping at home to work it ; he then soon begins to select out fine days for this purpose, and those are the very days when the farmer is busy, thus an ill-feeling is engendered between master and servant, which would not otherwise arise. Great advancement has been made in the education of the labourer, but this might be further improved in a way which the farmers would cordially approve. We all admit that children should have their faculties exercised, by committing something each day to memory ; I would therefore suggest that books should be published specially for country schools, in which all the read- ing, spelling, &c., should bear upon subjects connected with the farm, so as to make the boy familiar with the names, make, and use of things which in after life he will have constantly to deal with. Such a boy, knowing all the different parts of implements, &c., would, when he leaves school, be of more value to a farmer than at present, for he would have learned more, and would take more interest in learning. The Labouretis' Cottages. In many parts of the county the cottages are built of brick and covered with tile, and have a nice garden and plenty of room ; but in others I have observed poor miserable huts, with a chimney built of stone and mud, the rest being timber, covered with thatch, with only one room up-stairs and one below, for all the family to live and sleep in, and I am sorry to say very many of this class are to be found. The cottages on the eastern side of the county, are to a great extent congregated in villages, as at Inkberrow, Bishampton, &c., but this often involves a long distance for the labourer to walk to and from his work ; sufficient cottage accommodation on every farm for the labourers required upon it is preferable. The Agriculture of Worcestershire. 465 Woods and Plantations. Perhaps ordinary coppice-wood, is the least profitahle use to which land is put; for if we value the land after it is cut at only 20/. per acre, with 2^. Gd. rates, 2s. Qd. tithes, and \s. per acre for woodward, to make up compound interest at only 3 per cent, for something like 15 years, each fall should produce 17/,, and only a very good coppice will average this sum. But when some good growing oak is produced, and stands thickly upon the ground, it pays very well. This is instanced in the old red sand- stone at Kyre and Bockleton, near Tenbury, where some splendid oaks may be seen. In the same neighbourhood I have met with the best plantation of larch I have seen in the county, the trees being from 80 to 100 feet high, and 1 measured one in a plantation, either begun or finished on the day his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales was born, that girthed 4 feet 10 inches at the height of one foot from the ground. These plan- tations are very valuable where they grow freely, but they require to be planted thickly, and to be judiciously thinned as they attain size. Another profitable plantation in the hop district is the ash- bed. These ai'e commonly planted in rows 4 feet apart each way, and when fit to make hop-poles, sometimes average four to each stool ; this as they are cut in seven or eight years is very remu- nerative, especially when they realise 205. per hundred, and produce 8000 or 10,000 per acre. The cost of planting an ash- bed is very moderate ; the young trees can be had at 355. per thousand, the labour of planting costs from 25^. to 305. per acre more. The following system is recommended to me by a gentleman who has paid considerable attention to the subject. If the land you propose to plant is wet, it should be ploughed up in ridges, and the ash planted on the top ; if not, the ash may be planted in rows, 6 feet apart, and 3 feet in the rows. Between these rows set a row of larch. When the ash has been planted two years, they should be cut within an inch of the ground, as if left they will take long to grow into one hop-pole, whereas if cut off after getting good root, they shoot out with such energy that you get some good poles in ten years. The larch having helped to nurse up the ash should now be cut, as they will be of good size for hop-poles, and command 55. per hundred more money than other poles, they will thus pay the expense of planting the ash-bed. In many of the hop districts alder, grown on the farm, is, as a matter of course, used for hop-poles ; but they are seldom bought if any other kind can be obtained without much hauling ; even when of home growth they are not desirable, as it will take two 466 The Agriculture of Worcestershire. or three to supply the place of one good ash -pole, for they soon decay. In a few places on the western border of the county these alder-poles are allowed to grow in clumps on the meadow-land, a system to be very much condemned, as the cattle bite off many of the shoots, thereby causing the growth of bad poles ; and they also cause injury to the meadow-land, which had much better be drained and converted to a more profitable purpose. If the alder is grown at all, it is much better to grow them in beds, where they can be kept well fenced from stock of all kinds. Many parts of the county produce very fine elm timber, which being a free growing tree, generally pays better than oak, though only realizing one-third the price. Chesnut is also a valuable wood, both for hop-poles and hur- dles. In sheep districts there is always a demand for these hurdles, for, though much lighter, they are as durable as oak : indeed some people affirm that chesnut will last longer, as the oak is felled with the sap in it. The chesnut must not be left to get too old. Young chesnut is also good for farm gates. In the neighbourhood of Bewdley there are immense forests of oak coppice. Here large quantities of charcoal are made, but the greater part of these forests is in Shropshire. Great injury is frequently caused to coppice-woods by allowing cattle and sheep to bite off the young shoots ; damage to the extent of many pounds may be done in a few minutes — great attention should therefore be paid to the fences. A great mistake is also committed in allowing ivy to grow upon timber ; however ornamental it may be, it occasions much injury to the timber. If wood is kept for coppice, many large oaks should not be allowed to remain, for nothing grows under them. One timber tree, three princes, six double stores, with plenty of smaller size, are enough to stand per acre. The fences in this county, as a rule, are good, more especially on the Lias, where the quick grows remarkably well ; on the good land many of the old fences have been removed, and new straight ones substituted. To give some idea of the rapidity of growth of the white thorn under favourable circumstances, I may state that I mea- sured the length of one summer's shoot in a hedge near Mr. Willet's, of Bishampton farm, which was 6 feet 3 inches. Taking the county through, there is an absence of the hedgerow timber which is such a hindrance to good farming in many places. Toion Sewage. 467 Kesults of late Meetings. Before the Royal Agricultural Society held its Show at Wor- cester the county was very backward, both with exhibitors and prize takers ; and furnished in 1861 only 43 members to the Society, but a list published since the Worcester meeting shows that the number is increased to 168. This is one of the indirect advantages that the Society gains by its peripatetic meetings. In conclusion, the writer tenders his thanks to those gentle- men who have so kindly favoured him with information on the different subjects discussed, trusting that any criticism he has penned may not offend. May we all see more improvement made during the next twenty years than has been effected during the last, great though it has been. X. — Toion Sewage. The Royal Commission on the "Sewage of Towns" has lately published its third Report, and the Journal of the Chemical Society has printed an article by Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert, embodying, in a popular form, the leading points involved in this subject. The same authors contributed to this Journal (1st Series, Vol. xxiv., p. 65) an article based on the second Report of the Commission, exhibiting many of the chief results obtained by the use of sewage on grass at Rugby in 1861, results which the later Reports confirm by the larger experience of sub- sequent seasons of remarkably diversified character. It is now proposed to give, in a somewhat condensed form, the substance of the communications made to the Chemical Society by Alessrs. Lawes and Gilbert. The problem is thus enunciated : How to dispose of the "excreta" of large populations in such a manner as to secure their collection and removal without nuisance or injury to health, together with their economical utilisation for the re- production of food. Hitherto, where utilisation has been most complete, comfort and health have been overlooked ; where removal from the dioellings has been most rapid and complete, other objects have been sacrificed. China and Japan are frequently cited as examples of " utili- sation," but their arrangements are such as to be quite irre- concilable with our modern notions of cleanliness, decency, comfort, and health. Belgium has also been referred to : " indeed, in one of the applications made only last year to the Metropolitan Board of 468 Toum Sewage. Works for the concession of tlie southern sewage of the Metro- polis it is stated that the excretal matters sell in Belgium for over 11. per person per annum." There is no doubt that in some parts of Belgium the solid, and a portion of the fluid excrements of the town populations are collected, as free as possible from extraneous water, in receptacles of more or less perfect construction, and periodically removed for application to the land, and that the land so fertilised is very productive. From observation and inquiry made in some of the towns in question, it may, however, be safely affirmed, that the practices adopted are attended with more nuisance and discomfort than would be permitted in this country ; that a considerable portion of the urine escapes, and that in no case did the town population realise a return which averaged 1 franc per head per annum. This estimate of money-value is confirmed by a Prussian Commission, which, after visiting Ghent, Ostend, and Antwerp, and likewise Hanover, Cologne, Metz, Carlsruhe, Strasburg, Basle, Lyons, Zurich, Munich, Nuremberg, Dresden, and Leipzig, made a report which shows not only that the house- holders seldom realised anything like a franc per head per annum, but that in most cases it cost them something for the removal. Nevertheless, the Commissioners, looking to the local cir- cumstances of Berlin, and to the results of the water-system in this country hitherto, recommend the use of such a barrel as two men can carry, placed at the bottom of a shaft leading from the closets, which, when removed, is covered with a close- fitting lid ; they anticipate little nuisance or discomfort, and little profit, but hope by these means to secure much valuable manure in an available form. In addition to this foreign evidence, it may be well to mention two attempts made in England to obviate the use of water, and thereby to procure a concentrated dry and portable manure. Perhaps the most noticeable attempt is that which has been made at Hyde, in Lancashire, a manufacturing town of more than 20,000 inhabitants. Some few years ago a company contracted to carry out here what they call the " Eureka system." They , provided boxes (supplied with some disinfecting or deodorising mixture, to be fitted in at the back of the closet) for nearly every house, leaving scarcely a water-closet in the place. The box, which is to be reserved strictly for its proper use, is exchanged for a fresh one after a certain number of days. When removed, it is covered with a closely-fitting lid, and so transported in a closed van to a manure manufactory close to the town. Here the matters are first Avell mixed, and then strained to remove Town Seicago. 469 ra^s, whicli are washed and sold for paper-making. More dis- infectant is then added, and the matter concentrated by distil- lation, the distilled water being sold to dyers and bleachers. The residue thus thickened is then mixed with coal-ashes, which are collected in the houses in casks left for the purpose, and are re-burnt in a reverberatory furnace, and finely ground before being thus used. It appeared to Dr. Gilbert, on visiting Hyde in 1863, that the mode of collection and preparation adopted was attended with very little unpleasant odour. The advocates of the system maintained that it had been successful in a sanitary point of view. As to this, however, some difference of opinion existed. The system is still in operation. It has encountered opposition in a legal shape ; but this " had reference not to the mode of collection, but to the conducting the manufacture so near the town." However, the manure manufactured is by no means satis- factory, for a sample analysed at Rothamsted contained only between one and two per cent, of ammonia. One more dry system calls for a notice — that of the Rev. Mr. Moule, already propounded in this Journal.* It professes that by the deposit on the faecal matter of dry and finely sifted clay (4 lbs. per head per day), it may be at once entirely deodorised, and in a few weeks so entirely disintegrated, that neither excreta nor paper can be detected in the mass, which looks like fine earth, and after resifting, may be re-used, until it has done service four times over. However available this system may be for sick rooms, detached houses, or even villages and small country towns, where the earth for preparation and absorption, and the land for utilisa- tion, are in close proximity to the closet, " we are certainly not so sanguine as the Rev. Mr. Moule, who seems to think that with the aid of Earth-closet Companies, his plan is as practi- cable for large towns as is the supply of water, gas, and coal at present, and much more so than the removal and utilisation of dilute town sewage." This rapid survey of the dry methods of utilisation may suffice ; they have this common drawback, that much of the urine (which is a very valuable part) escapes ; for little beyond that passed once a-day with the faeces is secured. Moreover, either the nuisance created is considerable, or the manure produced too bulky to pay for long transport. We therefore pass on to The Water System. Whatever be its short comings hitherto, this is the path of * See Series I., Vol. xxiv., p. 111. VOL. III. — S. S. 2 I 470 Toicn Sewacje. progress ; tliough scarcely more than a generation old, it lias already increased our domestic comfort, and our immunity from zymotic disease, as statistics abundantly show. If, so far, it has sacrificed the manure and injured our rivers, there is more hope for amendment in this inodern system than in that which the lapse of ages has failed to rectify. Practically, therefore, our problem assumes this shape — how shall we deal with dilute town sewage, the foul stream which flows through the under- ground veins and arteries of our great cities ? Portable Manuee made from Sewage. Many plans have been proposed for the separation of the valuable constituents from sewage-water. Some of these have succeeded in separating the whole of the insoluble or sedi- mentary matter, and even some small portion of the soluble con- stituents, leaving the fluid to a great extent, or at any rate tem- porarily, purified ; none have succeeded in either adequate or permanent purification, or in the separation of the more valuable manurial matters, and the production of a concentrated^ dry, easily transportable manure, which may be redistributed over the extended area to the variety of crops from which its ingredients were first derived ; moreover the great solubility of some of the more precious constituents precludes the hope of so desirable a consummation. We have therefore to dispose of the sewage in a dilute form, and these questions arise : — What is its composition and value ? What is the amount furnished by a given population ? To what soils and crops is it most applicable ? Composition and theoretic Value of Town Sewage, Widely different will be the estimates of value formed by theorists who overlook all but the fact that so much of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, &c., is to be found in sewage, and those of practical men who have tried to grapple with the unwieldy body in which these substances are diffused. For arriving at its average composition, two methods have been adopted. The first, by taking samples of sewage, determining its composition by analysis, and then adopting such estimates as were to be had, as to the amount of sewage available Avithin a given time. The second, by calculating the amount of faeces and urine (or their constituents) for a given population of different sexes and ages, with such adjustment for loss or for the addition of extraneous fertilisers as circumstances suggested. Toion Sewage. 471 About three-fourtlis of the theoretic money value of the con- stituents of sewage is due to the ammonia (or nitrogen reckoned as ammonia) which it contains. The relation of this ammonia to the other valuable constituents is nearly constant, consequently the same result is obtained by ascertaining and valuing the ammonia, and then increasing the value so fixed by one-third as by elaborate calculations, including all the constituents. It appears that ^d. per lb. of ammonia, or one farthing per ton of sewage for every grain of ammonia per gallon, would fairly represent the total value of the manure as tlius determined. After much hallucination, authorities have come pretty nearly to an understanding as to the average composition of London sewage. In the summer of 1863, Baron Liebig, adopting as the basis of his calculations an analysis of the Dorset Square sewage by Mr. Way, which showed nearly 18 grains of ammonia per gallon, estimated that (with such an addition of phosphate as he considered requisite to render the whole of the ammonia available) the constituents in 1 ton of sewage of that composition would be worth about Aid. Now, according to the estimate stated above, 18 grains of ammonia per gallon would indicate a value of 18 farthings, or A.^d. for the total constituents in 1 ton of the sewage. In January, 1865, Baron Liebig assumed the average sewage of the metropolis to contain only 7'2 (instead of IS) grains of ammonia per gallon ! and he estimated the value of the consti- tuents in 1 ton of such sewage to be rather over Ifrf. Our estimate would also give rather over 7 farthings, or Ifc?. In 1857, Messrs. Hofman and Witt concluded from their investigations that the average dry-ioeather sewage of the metro- polis contained about 8*2 grains of ammonia per gallon ; and taking into account the ammonia, organic matter, phosphoric acid, and potassa, valued one ton at about 2'lld., a sum almost iden- tical with that resulting from our theoretic estimate. The estimate of INIessrs. Hofmann and Witt, be it remarked, applied to the normal dry-weather sewage (about 158,000,000 tons per annum), yet it was adopted by Mr. Ellis in his appli- cation for the concession of the metropolitan sewage, as applying to the whole amount of dilute sewage (inclusive of rainfall and subsoil-water) 266,000,000 tons, and his calculations of profit to his company, and to the rate-payers were based on this erroneous assumption. Baron Liebig likewise based his estimates on the total sewage supply. The following Table indicates the remarkable fluctuations, according to circumstances, in the composition of London sewage, and the consequent danger of hasty generalisation. 2 I 2 472 Toicn Sewage. Table I. — Grains of Ammonia per Gallon in different samples of Metro- politan Sewage, and estimated Value of Constituents in 1 Ton. Authority. Time Name of Sewer. of Sampling. Ammonia per Gallon. Estimated Value per Ton. Way • Letheby ^ Barrett's Court Dorset Square The Fleet | London Bridge . . . . < Dowgate Dock . . . . < Iron Gate < Paul's Wharf .. ..{ Whitefriar's Dock . . ..I Custom House, West . . | Custom House, East Hambro' Wharf .. ..| Wool Quay • Tower Dock | Mean Savoy Street Day .. Day .. Noon . . Midnight Noon . . Midnight Noon . . Midnight Noon . . Midnight Noon , . Midnight Noon . . Midnight Noon . . Midnight Noon . . Midnight Noon .. Midnight Noon . . Midnight Noon . . Midnight 24 hours Grains. 41-28 17-96 5-15 8-50 6-69 8-10 10-03 3-43 8-13 6-20 12-01 3-13 5-35 3-41 6-25 8-17 7-28 15-01 7-69 5-69 6-95 5-00 10-02 7-15 d. 10| U 2 If 2 2i Of o li 3 Of li Of li 2 If 3f 2 U If u 2i If Hofmann and Witt 7-24 8-21 If 2t^ The sample analysed by Messrs. Hofmann and Witt was a mixture of equal portions, taken every hour during twenty-four hours of dry weather, and there is no doubt that that sample had better claim to represent the average dry-weather sewage of the metropolis, than any other that had up to that time been collected and examined. The variations in the composition of sewage are even more strikingly illustrated by the results obtained at Rugby, by the Royal Commission, from samples collected under the direction of Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert, and analysed in the laboratory of Mr. Way. The samples were thus collected : — About a quart was taken from a gauge-tank holding 3 or 4 tons, at intervals of about two hours, for several days together ; the quantity so accumulated was well mixed, and a sample of the mixture taken : ninety-three such mixed samples were analysed, the period of collecting ex- tending over thirty months, from April, 1861, to October, 1863, inclusive. Town Seicage. 473 Table II. — Showing the Hip;hcst, Lowest, and Average Amounts of Ammonia, and Total Solid Matter, in Mixed Samples of Kughy Sewage at different times. Grains per Gallon. lbs. per 1000 Tons. Total SoUd Matter. per Gallon. lbs.« per 1000 Tons. From Apr. to Oct., 1861 ..] From Nov. to Oct., 1862 .. j From Nov. to Oct., 1863 .. Highest Lowest Mean of 24 analyses Highest Lowest Mean of 34 analyses Highest Lowest Mean of 35 analyses 15-64 2-99 6-39 11-38 2-55 5-95 12-81 3-14 7-08 500-5 95-7 204-5 364-2 Sl-6 190-4 409-9 100-5 226-5 216' 37' 75' 129' 50' 80' 269' 62' 103' 6928 1203 2405 4138 1616 2570 8637 1989 3302 According- to our estimate, the value of the total constituents in 1 ton of sewage varied, from about ^d. to nearly 4^. Notwithstanding the very great differences here exhibited, it is still believed that the mean of so many determinations indicates approximately the average composition of the Rugby sewage during the period. The difference in the average concentration of the sewage of the different seasons is perfectly consistent with the character of the seasons themselves. Thus the season of 1861-2 was much the wettest; that of 1862-3 was much the driest, indeed extremely dry ; that of 1861 being intermediate in this respect, as well as in the strength of its sewage. The mean of the 93 analyses showed about 6^ grains of ammonia per gallon, indicating a total value of about l^d. per ton : but these samples had not been collected at exactly equal intervals ; to correct any error which might hence arise, the mean of each of the 31 months was first taken, and then the mean of the 31 means so obtained; this adjustment indicated about 7 instead of 6|^ grains per gallon. The average results of the 93 analyses further showed that the sewage contained about 87^ grains per gallon of total solid matter, of which about two-thirds was inorganic ; and one-third organic. About half of the total solid matter was in suspension, and half in solution : of the half in suspension about four-sevenths was inorganic and three-sevenths organic, and of the half in solution, about four-fifths inorganic, and one-fifth organic. Lastly, of the nitrogen reckoned as ammonia, about one-fourth was in suspen- sion, and three-fourths in solution. From all the information at command as to the population contributing to the sewers, the water-supply, the rainfall, and the drainage area, it was concluded that, on the average, there 474 Town Sewage. are about 60 tons of sewage per head per annum ; but that, as the period of the experiments was drier than usual, the amount probably then reached only about 55 or 56 tons. By reckoning the sewage at 60 tons per head per annum and the ammonia at 6|^ grains per gallon, or the sewage at 56 tons, and the ammonia at 7 grains, we arrive alike at 12^ lbs. of ammonia per head as the contribution made annually to the sewage by a mixed population. This was the estimate adopted in the Report of the Com- mission. Let us now turn to the other method of computation referred to, — that based upon an examination of the faeces and urine, or of the food of man. Table III. gives a very concise summary of the information we require. Table III. — Amount of Nitrogen reckoned as Ammonia, and estimated Value of Total Constituents, in Human Voidings, per Head per Annum. Ammonia. Value of Total Constituents. A. Adult Males ; Hofmann and' Witt, Urine Faeces Total lbs. 15-8 2-3 s. d. 10 Oi 1 8| 18-1 11 91 B. Adult Males ; Thudicbum. Urine 15-9 10 3J C. Average, both sexes and all ages ; Hofmann, Witt, and Thudichum. Urine Fseces Total 11-32 1-64 7 3 1 2f 12-96 8 5| D. Average, both sexes and all ages ; Lawes and Gilbert. [Food According to I Voidings ( Voidings Mean 12-2 12-6 12-7 [ 8 4 12-5 Toxcn Seioage. 475 (A.) To check their estimates founded on the analysis of the 24-hours' mixed sample of the Savoy Street sewage, Messrs. Hofmann and Witt applied to an estimate of the amount of urine daily voided by an adult the results of Berzelius' ana- lyses of urine : for the fa?ces they took the record of the average amount voided by the body-guard of the Grand Duke of Hesse Darmstadt (but allowing, as they said, a little more for " John Bull "), and the analyses of Way, Liebig, and Wesarg.. The result so obtained for adult males they took as applicable to a mixed population of both sexes and all ages, assuming that other matters reaching the sewers would probably make up the differ- ence— surely too libei'al an allowance for such " other matters." (B.) Some years later, in 1863, Dr. Thudichum, from much more comprehensive data, gave for the iirine alone of an adult male 15'9 lbs. of ammonia, an amount almost identical with that of Messrs. Hofmann and Witt. (C.) But Dr. Thudichum considered that two adult males would approximately represent 2"8 average persons, an adjust- ment which reduces the estimate of these two authorities to about 13 lbs. of ammonia, as shown in the Table. In 1854 Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert, basing their estimate on very comprehensive data relating both to the food and also to the urine and faeces voided by persons of all ages and both sexes, set the ammonia at 10 lbs., and its manurial value at Q)S. Sd. per head per annum. More recently, for the Sewage Commission, they revised their estimates, bringing more recent information into account. Section (D.) is the record of the results so obtained.* The estimate, " according to food," was deduced from 86 dietaries arranged in 15 classes according to sex, age, activity of mode of life, &c. From the result (12'2 lbs.) a deduction must be made for the nitrogen retained in the body and for loss in various ways. When the calculation was based on determinations or compu- tations of the amount of constituents voided by different classes, the result was 12'6 lbs., or, when of the amounts of fresh urine and faeces taken at average composition, 12"7 lbs. of ammonia per head per annum. * For nearly the whole, if not the whole, of the data upon which the new esti- mates are based, see On the Sewage of London, by J. B. Lawes, F.R.S., 'Journal of the Society of Arts,' March 9, 1855; The Composition of the Urine in Health and Disease, by E. A. Parkes, M.D., I860; On an Improved Mode of collecting Excre- mentitious Matter, loith a view to its Apjjlicafion to the benefit of Agriculture, &c., by J. L. W. Thudichum, M.D., F.C.S., 'Journal of the Society of Arts,' May 15, 1863; and On the Elimination of tfrea and Urinary Water, in relation to the period of the Day, Season, Exertion, Food, &c., &c., by Edward Smith, M.D., LL.B., F.IS.S., * Philosophical Transactions,' vol. cli. p. 747. 476 Town Sewage. It appeared, however, that evidence was more plentiful in regard to some divisions of the population than others, and a careful consideration of the character of the results obtained in these several divisions led to the conclusion, that though their former estimate (10 lbs.) was probably too low, 12 lbs, was too high ; and, due allowance being made for the fractional part of the excreta of horses, cows, dogs, and other animals, of the refuse of slaughter-houses, of soot, &c., that may reach the sewers, still not more than 12^ lbs. of ammonia would be contributed annually to the sewers from all sources, per head of mixed town population. It was admitted, however, that further investigations, upon the completion of the main drainage of the metropolis, were a great desideratum. Since the publication of the Report of the Commission, in March 1865, numerous gaugings and samplings of the sewage of the mid and high-level sewers north of the Thames have been undertaken, and many samples have been analysed by Mr, Way and Dr. Odling, The results of this inquiry have not yet been published ; but such information was communicated by Mr. Way as enabled Dr. Gilbert to state their general bearing upon this point.* From these new results it appears very probable that the dry- weather sewage averages only about two-thirds as much as was before supposed and assumed — that is to say 40, not 60 tons, per head per annum — but the average amount of ammonia therein very nearly approaches to the estimate of Messrs. Hof- mann and Witt (8*2 grains). The theoretical value of the constituents of sewage, or that assignable to them when constituting a dry and portable manure, is, as has been stated, obviously quite other than their realisable value when distributed through an enormous volume of water. Assuming that the latest evidence is the most trustworthy, it would seem that the earlier estimate of Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert (10 lbs, per annum of ammonia) is the more correct, that at Rugby too large a proportion of the rainfall had been estimated to reach the sewers, and that the corrections made by Lawes and Gilbert to meet the incompleteness of their records, as already pointed out, were well founded. Composition and Value of Metropolitan Sewage at different dilutions. To the dry-weather sewage very variable additions are made, according to rainfall, &c. ; while, in time of continuous rain or * Both Mr. Way and Mr. Cresy frankly admit, however, that there are still many open questions which materially affect the proper interpretation of the new gaugings. Toicn Sewage. 477 storm, some water passes at once into the Thames. The total amount issuing from the sewers averages somewhere about 80 tons, and pretty certainly not more than 100 tons per head per annum ; twice or twice and a half as much as the most recently estimated dry-weatlier flow. The dilution is of course increased, and the value of the contents diminished to the same extent as the bulk is aug- mented, as the following Table shows : — Table IV. — Amount and Value of Sewa:-re at different Dilutions. If 12^ lbs. Ammonia, If 10 lbs. Ammonia,' Dilutions supposed. per Head per Annum, from all per Head per Anuum, from all sources. sources. Per Head Per Heed Ammonia Estimated value Ammonia Estimated value per Annum. per Day. per Gallon. per Ton. per Gallon. per Ton. Tons. Gallons. Grains. Pence. Grains. Pence. 40 24i 9-77 2-44 7-81 2-00 60 36| 6-51 1 1-67 5-21 1-33 80 49 4-88 1-25 3-91 1-00 100 6U 3-91 1-00 3-13 0-80 80 tons of sewage to 12^ lbs. of ammonia would be equivalent to nearly 5 grains per gallon, value l'25d. for the constituents in 1 ton; or 100 tons, to less than 4 grains, value Id. Since we are now discussing the tlteoretical value of sewage, a comparison with Peruvian guano may be useful, both to give a definite idea of the extent of the dilution and to test our esti- mate of value. If we reckon 12i lbs. of ammonia and 40 tons of sewage per head per annum, 1000 tons of sewage will supply as much nitrogen, reckoned as ammonia, as 16^ cwt. of guano : — Ammonia. Guano. "With 60 tons of sewage, and 122 lbs., the equivalent is 11 cwt. "0 ,, ,, ,, 1^2 )l J, "3 >J 40 „ „ „ 10 „ „ 13^ „ 60 „ ,, „ 10 „ „ 8f „ 80 ,, ,, „ 10 ,, ,, Gl ,, Reckoning 12^ lbs. of ammonia, the yearly sewage of an average individual would represent | cwt. ; or reckoning only 10 lbs., only ^ cwt. of Peruvian guano. Guano is sold at about 13^. per cwt. The true realisable value of seicage can only be arrived at by a careful investigation and comparison of the results attained under favourable circumstances with judicious management. Crops to which Sewage is most applicable. Hitherto we have confined our attention to the amount of nitrogen in sewage, as bearing a nearly constant ratio to the 478 Toicn Sewage. other fertilisers in its composition. We now proceed to consider whether that composition is such as to suit the requirements of our crops ; or, more precisely, whether its phosphoric acid and potash — the most important incombustible constituents — are relatively deficient or in excess for cereal, pulse, or root crops. Table V. shows the proportion of phosphoric acid and potash to 100 of nitrogen in sewage, according to the mean of 10 analyses in the Rugby sewage. I* also shows, approximately, the average proportion of phosphoric acid and potash to nitrogen in various crops : — Table V. — Amount of Phosphoric Acid and Potassa to 100 K'itrogcn, in Sewage and in various Crops. Phosphoric Acid. Potassa. Kngby Sewage .. 27 42 In Com, Eoots, &c. In Straw, Leaves, &c. In Total Produce. In Com, Roots, &c. In Straw, Leaves, &c. In Total Produce. Meadow-hay 27 100 Clover-hay .. Wheat 48 . 42 23 46 28 108 52 57 Barley Oats 40 28 34 37 38 30 34 25 126 155 60 65 Beans 25 46 30 32 123 50 Mangolds .. 17 100 Swedes 27 16 21 82 44 63 Conamon Turnips 28 18 26 160 71 117 Potatoes 42 123 •• •• ~ It is obvious that since the phosphoric acid of sewage, like the nitrogen, will be derived almost exclusively from excreta and food-refuse, its proportion to the nitrogen will be tolerably uniform ; the amount of potash, on the other hand, will be con- siderably greater where the streets or roads are constructed of potassic minerals, such as granite. The Table shows that, according to the analyses referred to, the Rugby sewage contained 27 parts of phosphoric acid and 42 parts of potash, for 100 of nitrogen. Meadow-hay contains on the average almost exactly the same proportion of phosphoric acid to nitrogen as the sewage, but a much greater proportion of potash than the latter.* In the cereal grains the proportion of phosphoric acid to nitro- * According to Baron Liebig's estimates, hay contains 51 parts of phosphoric acid to 100 of nitrogen ; but having collated and averaged the results of numerous independent observers, we can see nothing to lead to the adoption of such a figure ; whilst direct determinations in a number of samples of each, showed in the Rugby sewaged grass 25, and in the unsewaged 32 parts. — [Note by Lawes and Gilbert.} Toicn Seivage. 479 gen is, on the other hand, higher than in sewage. Of potash, the proportion is lower in the (p-ain, the only part of the crop which is, as a rule, sold off the land. After a seasonable word of caution about drawing practical conclusions from what may, at first sight, appear the obvious indications of the figures in the Table, these conclusions are drawn : — That if sewage alone be applied constantly to meadow-land, potash would be more likely to fail than phosphoric acid; but for the ordinary crops of a rotation, the phosphoric acid would rather be in defect. In any case, the balance might easily be set right by supplies from other sources. The composition of the manurial constituents in sewage is, therefore, generally satisfactory. The difficulty lies in their extreme dilution, and consequently the great cost of distributing them 'over an area at all commensurate with that whence they were derived ; * and the necessity for a continuous outlet at all seasons, which cannot be afforded by crops which have to ripen — a difficulty aggravated by the fact that the supply is greatest in wet weather, when the land can least bear, or least requires it. The Practical Value op Sewage. This point will be illustrated by reference both to the results of direct experiment, and to the judgment of practical men, who have utilised sewage with a view to profit. The Rugby Experiments. — At Rugby two fields of meadow- land were experimented upon ; in each, one plot was left without sewage, one received sewage at the rate of 3000 tons, one at the rate of 6000 tons, and one at the rate of 9000 tons per acre per annum. The experiments were so conducted through three consecutive seasons, and Table VI. summarises the results obtained. (See following page.) The 5-acre field was much flatter than the other ; its soil and subsoil were much more porous. The mechanical and chemical examination of samples, taken to the depth of 9 inches, showed its soil to be much more stony, to retain much less water under equal external conditions, to contain much less organic matter, much less nitrogen, much less clay, and much more sand than that of the 10-acre field. It was, in fact, decidedly inferior in natural quality, and yielded, accordingly, considerably less * Mr. Eawlinson, one of the members of the Royal Sewage Commission, has given it as his opinion that it would cost more to distribute 500 tons of sewage per acre, by means of pipes, hydrants, and hose and jet, as would be requisite in the case of application to arable land and crops generally, than to apply .5000 tons per acre by means of open runs, as in the case of its application to grass. 480 Town Sewage. produce without manure. Notwithstanding this, it will be seen that it gave upon the whole more total produce per acre under the influence of sewage than did the naturally better soil of the 10-acre field ; and, it will be shown further on, that the sewage was in its case both more completely utilised and more com- pletely purified. Moreover, it appears that, by the application of sewage, a supply of green food was obtained much earlier and much later in the season, when it has a special value. Table VI. — Quantities of Sewage applied, and of Green Grass obtained, per Acre per Annum, in Experiments made at Eugby. Seasons 1861, 1862, and 1863. Plot 1. Unsewaged. Plot 2. 3000 Tons Sewage. Plot 3. 6000 Tons Sewage. Plot 4 9000 Tons Grass obtained. — Five-Acre Field. Tons. cwts. qi-s. Ills. Tons. cwls. qrs. lbs. Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. Tona. cwts. qrs. lbs. 1861 9 5 3 5 14 16 3 8 27 1 0 10 32 16 3 8 1862 8 3 1 10 27 18 0 18 34 10 0 19 32 9 2 22 1863 4 18 3 13 22 5 0 11 34 18 1 27 37 0 2 5 Average .. .. 7 9 1 9 21 13 1 12 32 3 1 0 34 2 1 12 Ten-Acre Field. 1861 1862 1863 8 16 8 18 0 15 10 0 25 0 3 19 15 27 25 16 3 2 11 0 20 5 1 8 22 32 30 15 2 12 2 1 14 11 2 12 26 31 34 13 3 12 12 1 20 19 1 21 Average .. .. 11 3 0 10 22 17 3 1 28 9 3 13 31 1 3 18 Averages : — The Tliree Years and both Fields. 1861, 2, and 3 9 60 24 22 52 7 30 62 6 32 12 0 15 Our attention must here be restricted to the general character of the results obtained, and the practical conclusions to which they seem to lead. With the exception of the cold, wet season of 1862, the greater the amount of sewage applied the larger was the produce ; still the increase in produce was not commensurate with the increase of sewage applied. To produce a maximum effect from a given amount of sewage, the doses must be comparatively small ; to produce the largest possible amount of produce per acre, 30,000, 40,000, 50,000 tons might often be applied with Town Sewage. 481 advantage ; but in that case the sewage would be very inade- quately utilised and purified. The Table leads to the following practical suggestion : that with an application of about 5000 tons of average sewage per acre per annum, applied pretty evenly throughout the year, taking the average of soils and seasons, an average of about 30 tons of grass might be expected. Assuming such a produce, and allowing 4/. per acre for rent or natural yield, d. The grass, if sold at 10s. per ton, would pay per ton of sewage 0*5 12s. Qd. „ ■ „ 0-7 ,, ,, los, „ „ O'J This would be the gross return from which the cost of the application of the sewage, other expenses of the crop, and the farmer's profit would have to be deducted, before anything was available as payment to the town. In comparison with the result here assumed it may be ob- served that in the neighbourhood of Croydon, where about 250 acres are laid down for sewage irrigation, and where there are probably more than 6000 tons of sewage annually available for each acre, from 25 to 30 tons of meadow grass, selling for from 20/. to 25/., are obtained per acre per annum ; and after deducting as before 4/. for rent, the gross return per ton of sewage employed is from 0'6d. to 0'8d. With a somewhat similar application to Italian rye-grass, 30 to 35 tons, selling for from 25/. to 30/., are obtained, yielding, after deduction for rent or natural produce, from O'^d. to Id. per ton of sewage employed. It will be observed that in these cases the selling price of the grass is 16^. or 175. per ton : but it is obvious that if sewage were extensively employed for the production of grass, its present price could not be maintained. A marked effect of liberal sewage irrigation (indeed of active manures generally) on the mixed herbage of grass land, is greatly to develope the Graminaceous plants, nearly to exclude the Leguminous, to reduce the prevalence of miscellaneous or weedy plants, but much to encourage individual species ; among the grasses the rough meadow grass, couch grass, rough cock's- foot, woolly soft grass, and perennial rye-grass are frequently very prevalent. But, sewaged produce being generally cut or grazed comparatively young, the tendency which the great luxu- riance of a few very free-growing grasses has to give a coarse and stemmy later growth is not an objection, as in the case of meadows left for hay. The chemical examination of the grass grown at Rugby, with and without sewage, showed that at the usual time of cutting 482 Toicn Sewage. tlie solid substance was less in the sewaged grass than in the unsewaged, and diminished as the season advanced, or the weather was ungenial. The nitrogenous substance was much greater in the solid matter of the sewaged than of the unsewaged grass, also greater as the season advanced, and after periods of cold and wet. The indigestible woody fibre bore about an equal proportion to the solid matter in the sewaged and the unsewaged pro- duce ; this proportion in each case diminished as the season advanced. It will be seen presently that when used as food, the fresh unsewaged grass was more productive of both meat and milk than the sewaged, but that a given weight of the solid substance of the sewaged grass was more productive than an equal weight of that unsewaged. When the grass was cut green and given alone to fattening oxen tied up under cover, the result was very unsatisfactory ; but when oilcake was given in addition, it did not fall far short of an average result, for oxen so fed under cover on a good mixed diet. It should here be mentioned that at Croydon, although the land there was more liberally irrigated than at Rugby, much more satisfactory feeding results have been obtained by fattening stock on the land. The practice there is to irrigate for three or four days and nights together, to repeat the treatment two or three times for each crop, and when the grass has got a sufficient head, to stop the application and turn the stock upon the land, where they remain until the grass is closely eaten down. They are then removed, the land is re-irrigated, and so on. At Rugby, when the grass (as much as they chose to eat) was given to milking cows, much better results were obtained. The unsewaged grass was then found to be more productive of milk and increase (but especially of milk) than an equal weight of fresh sewage grass, but for equal amounts of dry solid substance the sewaged grass had the advantage. The milk from the sewaged grass was slightly less rich — contained less casein, butter, sugar, and total solid matter, though more mineral matter ; when oilcake was given with the grass, whether sewaged or unsewaged, the richness of the milk was notably increased. The productive quality of the grass was very different in different seasons and at different periods of the same season, being very inferior in the wet and cold season of 1862, and generally towards the close of each season. A faithful record of the general results is given in the fol- lowincr Table : — Town Sewage. 483 Table VII. — Eesults obtained at Paip;by, with Cows fed on Uusewaged and Sewaged Grass, in 18G1, 18G2, and 1863. Plot 1. Unsewaged. Plot 2. 3000 Tons Sewage. Plot 3. 6000 Tons Sewage. Plot 4. 9000 Tons Sewage. Time each Acre (with Oilcake, if an y) would keep 1 Cow : — 1861— Grass (alone) 1862— Grass (with oilcake) 1863— Grass (| without, ^ withl oilcake) J Weeks. 19 42 22 Weeks. 41 63 48 Weeks. 59 73 67 Weeks. 69 72 73 Means . . 28 51 66 71 Milk from the produce of each Acre (exclusive of Oilcake,* if any) : — 1861— Grass (alone) 1862 — Grass (with oilcake; 1863— Grass (i without, h with"! oilcake) / ■% Gallons. 321 613 414 Gallons. 571 835 876 Gallons. 820 973 1207 Gallons. 961 958 1327 • Means . . 449 761 1000 1082 Value of Milk from the produce of each Acre (exclusive of Oilcake,* if any), at Qd. per gallon : — 1861— Grass (alone) 1862— Grass (with oilcake) 1863— Grass (| without, ^ with"! oilcake) t ../ £. s. d. 10 14 3 20 8 10 13 16 0 £. s. d. 19 0 6 27 16 10 29 3 9» £. s. d. 27 6 11 32 8 11 40 4 7 £. s. d. 32 0 10 31 18 10 44 4 4 Means 14 19 8 25 7 0 .33 6 10 36 1 4 Increased produce of Milk per 1000 tons Sewage applied (exclusive of Oilcake, if any) : — 1861 — Grass (alone) 1862 — Grass (with oilcake) 1863— Grass (J without, | withj oilcake) / •• Gallons. 180 74 154 Gallons. 178 60 132 Gallons. 151 38 101 Means . . 136 123 97 Increased value of Milk (at 8d. per gallon) per 1000 tons Sewage appUed (exclusive of Oilcake,* if any) : — 1861 — Grass (alone) 1862 — Grass (with oilcake) 1863 — Grass (| without, ^ with"! oilcake) j •• £. s. d. 5 19 10 2 9 4 5 2 7 £. s. d. 5 18 8 2 0 0 4 8 1 £. s. d. 5 0 11 1 5 7 3 7 7 Means . . 4 10 7 ' 4 2 3 3 4 8 * The value of the milk, " exclusive of oilcake," is reckoned by deducting the cost of the cake consumed, less the estimated value of the manure it yields, from the gross value inclusive of oilcake ; 484 Town Sewage. After a careful consideration of all the circumstances and details, it appears that the following practical conclusions may safely be deduced from these experiments : — 1. That by the use of sewag-e a very great increase (varying from two to three fold according to the season), may be obtained in food, milk, or value of the milk. 2. That a yet larger increase may be anticipated from the application of sewage systematically over large tracts of average or sandy land, than was obtained from these pastures of natu- rally good feeding quality, and consequent high natural yield. It is estimated that with 5000 tons of sewage judiciously applied to Italian rye-grass or meadow-land properly laid down to receive it, an average gross produce of not less, and perhaps more, than 1000 gallons of milk per acre per annum might be anticipated, Avhich, at ^d. per gallon, would represent a gross money return of 33Z. 65. 8f?. Or, to put the result in another way, it required, according to circumstances, the consumption of between 5 or 6 tons of grass for the production of 1 ton of milk ; and if we reckon 6 parts of grass for 1 of milk, and 30 tons of grass per acre, this would give a gross return in value of milk at ^d. per gallon, of some- thing over 37Z. per acre, or of about 25^. per ton, of grass consumed. Composition of the Drainage Water from Sewage Fields. But a further question arises : — would the sewage be suffi- ciently purified by such an application as 5000 tons per acre ? To determine this point samples of the drainage water were collected for analysis in each field simultaneously with those of the sewage, commencing in May, 1862, and ending in October, 1863. In all sixty-two partial analyses were thus made, to which a few others, much more detailed, were added in 1864. The result of the sixty-two analyses are summarised in Table VIII. (See following page.) It is seen that of matter in suspension in the sewage, nearly the whole, inorganic or organic, was retained by the soil, and of the little which the drainage-water contained, probably a con- siderable part was derived from the soil itself. Of matter in solution, on the other hand, the drainage-water contained much about the same amount, inorganic and organic, as the sewage ; though doubtless it had derived much of this also from the soil, the sewage giving up valuable fertilisers to the soil, and the fluid in its turn taking up substances from it. and tbe amount oi milk, "esclusiye of oilcake," by deducting from the gross an:o.int of milk with oilcake at the rate of one gallon for every id. of deductad value. Such estimates are, however, obviously only approximations to the truth. Town Sewage. 485 Table VIII. — Mean" Composition of the Rugby Sewage before application, and of tlie Drainage-water from the Irrigated Land, in the Seasons 1862 and 1863. Grains per Gallon. Five- Acre Field. Constituents Sewage. Ten-Acre Field. Drainage. Sewage. Drainage, The Two Fields. Sewage. Drainage. Season 1862 ; May — October, both inclusive. In suspension ["Inorganic I Organic .. Total {Inorganic S Total Total inorganic . . Total organic ' Total solid matter Ammonia j'lu suspension ' In solution Total 11 Samples. 25-67 14-G9 40-36 34-49 7-83 8 Samples. 1-81 1-40 3' 21 34-50 7-18 42-32 GO-16 22-52 41- 36-31 8-58 82-68 1-37 4-13 44*89 0-24 0-80 5-50 1-04 11 Samples. 24-89 17-14 11 Samples. 3-74 1-39 42-03 32-38 7*60 5-13 37-10 7-83 39-98 57-27 24-74 44-93 40-84 9-22 82-01 50-06 1-52 4-26 0-33 1-85 5-78 2-18 22 Samples. 25-28 15-92 19 Samples. 2-92 1-39 41-20 4-31 33-44 7-71 36-01 7-56 41-15 58-72 23-63 82-35 43-57 38-93 8-95 1-44 4-20 5-64 47-88 0-29 1-41 1-70 Season 1863 ; November, 1862— October, 1863, both inclusive. In suspension In solution ^Inorganic I Organic . . ( To"tal I' Inorganic Organic . . Total Totarinorganic .. Totarorganic Total solid matter 23 Samples. 39-41 27-35 21 Samples. 2-14 1-41 66-76 39-57 8-35 3-55 38-55 7-46 47-92 78-98 35-70 114-68 46-01 40-69 8-87 49-56 22 22 Samples. Samples. 34-93 j 3-93 25-99 3-29 60-92 38-77 8-30 7-22 41-35 7-98 47-o: 73-70 34-29 107-99 49-33 45-28 11-27 5G • 55 45 Samples. 37-22 26-69 63-91 39-18 8-32 47-50 76-40 35-01 111-41 43 Samples. 3-06 2-37 5-43 39-98 7-73 47-71 43-04 10-10 53-14 Ammonia . . rin suspension I In solution Total 2-08 5-83 0-15 0-69 1-98 0-31 5-69 1-85 2-03 5-76 7-91 0-84 7-67 2-16 7-79 0*23 1-28 1-51 VOL. III. — S. S. 2 K 486 Town Sewage. It is important to remark tliat tlie drainage from the more porous and less naturally fertile soil of the five-acre field (which, however, gave the largest increase for a given amount of sewage) contained less of almost every constituent enumerated than the more argillaceous and more naturally fertile soil of the more steeply sloping ten-acre field. The result is more particularly marked in the case of ammonia. This and other results of common experience tend to show that a soil which may contain a comparatively small proportion of clay, but which is thoroughly porous, is as a rule much better adapted for sewage irrigation, both as regards the utilisation and the purification of the sewage, than richer, stronger, but less permeable land. The next Table has reference to samples taken in another field at Rugby during very dry weather in the summer of 1864. The soil here was light and gravelly, the subsoil gravelly, but (as Table IX. shows) it had done the work of absorption as well, if not better than the other fields. (See following page.) It had been intended to take samples under various conditions of the weather ; but the continuous drought of 1864 prevented this being done. The plan of collection was to take of sewage about a gallon, and of drainage about half a gallon, eight or ten times during the ten or twelve working hours of the day ; at the end of the day, after well shaking, to take a gallon from such mixture, and to repeat this for six consecutive days until six gallons of each were obtained, when, after well shaking, a two- gallon sample of each was bottled off for the purpose of analysis. In judging of all these results it must be borne in mind that, except when the land is already saturated Avith water, a gallon of drainage will represent much more than a gallon of sewage, and its sewage-constituents must have been derived from more than a gallon of sewage. The non-retention of manurial matter by the soil is, therefore, less than might seem at first sight. As in the earlier analyses, so in these the quantity of matter in suspension in the drainage was very small, and being obviously in great part derived from the soil, it was not submitted to quantitative analysis. A considerable proportion of the phosphoric acid of the sewage was in suspension ; but there was none of it in suspension in the drainage. Of the inorganic constituents in solution, by far the larger pro- portion of those which are most likely to become deficient for a crop was retained by the soil. Thus smaller proportions of both the potash and the phosphoric acid passed off in the drainage than of any other constituents. Soda was also retained to a consider- able extent, magnesia in a less degree, and lime less still. Of lime. Town Sewaae, 487 Table IX. — Detailed Composition of Samples of the Kugby Sewage before application, and of the Drainage-water from the Irrigated Land, collected July, 1864. Gbaks pee Gallon. Collected July 6—11. Collected July 13—18. /Inorganic matter: — Sewage. Drainage. Sewage. Drainage. Oxide of iron and alumina . . 4-57 6-30 Lime 4-48 3-75 5 Magnesia 0-65 0-25 Carbonic acid 3-25 2-17 o Phosphoric acid 1-84 1-14 p Silica, sand, &c Total 31-60 39-30 46-39 52-91 Organic matter Total matter in suspension ^Inorganic matter : — 40-40 32-40 86-79 85-31 j Oxide of iron, &c Traces. 1-25 0-25 Lime 8-45 10-25 8-23 10-08 Magnesia 1-76 1-69 1-80 1-69 Soda(l) 5-46 0-38 5-24 2-30 Chloride of sodium (1) 6-82 9-73 8-53 9-21 ^ Chloride of potassium (1) 6-08 1-50 6-17 2-34 3 < Sulphuric acid 4-39 6-55 4-01 6-75 o 1-28 0-44 1-66 0-32 fl Carbonic acid 8 '83 6-18 7-42 7-01 >— I Silica Total 1-80 0-80 1-00 0-80 44-87 37-52 45-31 40-75 Organic matter \ Total matter in solution . . 11-20 7-80 10-00 7-05 56-07 45-32 55-31 47-80 Total inorganic matter .. 91-26 37-52 98-22 40-75 Total organic matter (2) 51-60 7-80 42-40 7-05 Total solid matter 142-86 45-32 140-62 47-80 jPotassa 3-84 0-94 3-90 1-48 (1) Containing jSoda 9-07 5-54 9-76 7-17 (Chlorine 7-03 6-61 8-10 6-70 '^{ rin suspension 2-92 2-42 .. *5 , . Iln solution .S Ammonia < 5-74 0-98 6-36 0-92 g\ Total 8-6G 0-98 8-78 0-92 a c?\ Nitric acid in solution = Ammonia .. •• (3)1-33 •- (4)1-41 (3) 4-227 Nitric acid = 1-096 Nitrogen = 1-331 Ammonia. (4) 4-483 ,, =:: 1-1G2 ,, = 1-411 ,, 2 K 2 488 Toion Sewage. lime, indeed, there was more in a gallon of drainage than of sewage : the like may be said of sulphuric acid. Lastly, of soluble silica a notable portion passed off in the drainage. Of organic matter in solution a very considerable quantity was found in the drainage-water, but of so different a character as to suggest the probability that it was derived from vegetable matter within the soil, rather than directly from the sewage, especially in periods of active vegetation. It is very important to remark that the drainage contained more nitrogen in the form of nitric acid than as ammonia, whereas the sewage scarcely contained an apprecialjle amount in that form ; that is to say, the soil had retained less nitrogen than would have been supposed if only the more partial analyses had been made. It appears, then, that the constituents of the most value had been most efficiently retained ; but nevertheless the sewage had neither been perfectly deprived of its manurial elements nor perfectly purified. There is, indeed, a limit to the power which a soil possesses of removing substances from solution, or of preventing those already absorbed from being dissolved in water passing through it, the result being dependent on the- physical and chemical character of the soil itself, and on the amount and composition of the fluid passing through it. Where the land is covered with luxuriant vegetation there will probably always be a certain amount of soluble organic matter derived from that source in the drainage-water. So far, however, as the nitrogen in the drainage exists in the form of nitric acid, it is a pretty satisfactory indication that the organic matter has to a great extent already passed the stage of deleterious putrescence. The arrangements at Rugby did not allow of the water drained from one portion of the land being passed over another ; but at Beddington, near Croydon, a great portion of the water does duty twice and sometimes three times, and it consequently passes from the land in a state of much greater purity than the Rugby drainage-water, as the following Table, framed from results com- municated by Mr. Latham (engineer to the Croydon Board of Health), will show. (See following page.) About the same amount of ammonia was found on the average in the seioage of Croydon as in that of Rugby ; but in the Croydon drainage the amount was extremely small. It is unfor- tunate that the quantity of nitric acid was not also determined ; but we are informed that it undoubtedly exists in some amount in the drainage from the Beddington meadows. Still, although formerly the Croydon Board had to meet numerous law-suits on account of the pollution of the river by the sewage, the fluid is Toum Setvafje. 489 now so far purified before being- discharged, as rather to attract the fish ; and those having the right of fishing in the river have found it worth while to fix gratings to prevent their going up the main outfall from the sewage-irrigated land. Table X . — Partial Analyses of the Croydon Sewage before application, of the Drainage-water from the Irrigated Land, and of the River Wandle, above and below the Drainage Outfall from the Irrigated Land. Grains per Gallon. Croydox. RivEE Wandle. COSSTITDEXTS. Sewage. Drainage. Above Drainau;o Outfali. Below Drainage Outfall. Inorganic matter Organic matter 48-30 52-20 23-40 2-40 18-56 1-44 20-16 2-08 Total solid matter Ammonia 100-50 6-70 25-80 0-21 20-00 0-18 22-24 0-18 Although further experience is still wanting to determine what amount of sewage can be safely applied to a given area under different conditions of soil, subsoil, &c., there can be no doubt that, when large quantities of sewage are applied to grass- land, the arrangements should be such as to allow of the drain- age-water being collected and re-used in such a manner as to insure as far as possible both complete utilisation and complete purification. EXPEEIENCE OF COMMON PRACTICE IN THE UTILISATION OF Sewage. Let us now turn from the results of experimental inquiry to those of practical experience in the utilisation of town sewage. The instance most frequently quoted is that of the neighbour- hood of Edinburgh, relating to which some particulars are given in the following Table : — Table XL — PiELATiN.a to the Sewage-irriga ted Meadows near Edinburgh, Names of Meadows. Imperial Acres under Irrigation. Approximate Population contributing to each Acre. Approximate Quantity of Sewage available for each Acre. Lochend, Spring Gardens, and! Craigentinny / Roseburn and Western Dairy . . Quarry Holes liroughton Burn The Grange 285 80 8 6- 161 337 112 562 1,666 302 Tons. 20,500 17,000 65,000 102,000 97,000 490 Town Sewage. These tabular statements are chiefly based upon direct in- formation, obtained in part from Mr. McPherson, the Edinburgh City Surveyor, and in part from the occupiers or managers of the respective meadows. It should, however, be explained that, as water-closets are not universal, and as the sewage is frequently allowed to pass unused, the record only shows approximately the total amounts available, whether used or wasted. Sewage has been applied to some portions of the land in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh for about 200 years, to a consider- able portion for more than 60, and to most of that now under irrigation for more than 30 years. In two instances arrange- ments have been made for raising the sewage, by pumping, an inconsiderable number of feet ; but the cost has been found too great to allow of a sufficient quantity being applied per acre, and hence the application in this way has been much limited, if not on some portions of the land entirely abandoned. The applica- tion is confined to meadow-land and Italian rye-grass, and the distribution is entirely by means of open runs. When Italian rye-grass is grown, the land is periodically broken up, and one or two other crops taken without sewage before laying down again to grass. The application to ordinary rotation crops on arable land forms no part of the system adopted. There is no doubt that at Edinburgh larger amounts of sewage are applied, and larger amounts of produce obtained per acre than anywhere else. But, on the other hand, there is not only very great waste of manurial constituents, but very imperfect purification of the sewage. Hence their results, however im- portant in some points of view, cannot be relied on as the foundation either of estimates of the practical value of sewage, or of safe conclusions as to the amount of sewage that can advan- tageously be applied per acre when the drainage has to be passed into a river, which may have to serve as the water-supply of other towns, instead of, as at Edinburgh, having an immediate outfall into the sea. It may be mentioned that generally four or five crops of grass are obtained per acre annually, amounting, according to circum- stances, to 30, 40, 50, 60, and even more tons per imperial acre, and selling for prices varying from 8Z. to over 40/. per acre, but averaging perhaps about 25/. These results are in themselves sufficiently striking, and well merit careful inquiry and con- sideration. Table XII. summarizes the results of the experience of the most important instances of sewage utilisation in other localities. Town Seicage, 491 Table XII. — Eelating to Scwagre-irriwation in various localities. Towns. Alnwick Carlisle Croydon Malvern Eugby Tavistock Watford Worthins; Population contributing. 6,500 22,000 16,000 4,000 6,700 6,000 4,000 7,000 Acres. Original. Reduced, 42 270 70 250 50 190 20 280 100 95 210 { 35 Crops, &c. Arable and grass ; abandoned Meadow-grass ; all grazed Meadow and rye-grass . . Grass Meadow and rye-grass . . Meadow ; chiefly grazed Grass Rye-grass — Summer Meado w-grass — Win ter Grass ; not yet at work :} Annual raymcnt to Towns. Nothing ? 300?. Nothing 50Z. Nothing 10/, Nothing At Alnwick, tlie late Duke of Northumberland put down machinery and piping for the distribution of the sewage of the town over about 270 acres of mixed arable and grass-land. After a very short time, the tenants, who had the free use of the sewage for the cost of its application, abandoned it altogether ; and the Bailiff of the District, who reports the failure, expresses his opinion strongly against the general applicability of sewage to arable land. At Carlisle, the sewage of only a portion of the town is utilised. It is deodorized by Mr, McDougall's disinfecting fluid, and raised by steam-power some 10 or 12 feet into an open cut, from which it is diverted for application to the land by moveable iron troughs. It is estimated that from 8000 to 9000 tons of sewage are applied per acre per annum. It is understood that little or nothing is realized by the town ; but that the tenant makes a considerable profit by sub-letting the sewage-irrigated land for grazing purposes. In the neighbourhood of Croydon, as already referred to, the sewage of nearly 20,000 persons is applied to about 250 acres of meadow and Italian rye-grass. It is calculated that more than 6000 tons of sewage are available for each acre, A considerable portion of the fluid is used two or three times over ; and it finally passes from the land very fairly purified. It is esti- mated that, after making deduction of 4Z, for rental, the gross return per ton of sewage applied is, at the present prices of the produce, with Italian rye-grass from f c?, to Id., and with meadow- grass from ^d. to ^d. The sewage is not applied in any sys- tematic manner to other crops, but it has been tried on a small scale to root-crops. An enlargement of the area of irrigation is contemplated, which will, if carried out, reduce the amount of 492 Toxim Sewage. fluid and excretal matters available per acre somewliat below tlie quantities above stated. About 12 years ago, arrangements were made for collecting the sewage of Rugby in a tank, from which it is pumped, by a 12-horse power engine, through iron pipes laid down for the dis- tribution over about 470 acres of mixed arable and grass-land. Up to last year 190 acres were held by Mr. James Archibald Campbell, but he has gradually limited the area of application, and during the last few years has abandoned the use of hose and jet, excepting occasionally on a small scale, and confined the application almost exclusively to from 12 to 20 acres of meadow and Italian rye-grass. The remainder of the land, amounting to about 280 acres, has passed through the hands of two tenants, both of whom are said to have sustained considerable loss. The last of the two had confined the application almost exclusively to about 100 acres of grass-land, and applied the sewage almost entirely by open runs. The whole is now in the hands of the landlord, Mr. G. H. Walker, who, it is understood, is contem- plating the abandonment of the use of steam-power, pipes, and hose and jet, and the application to a limited area by means of gravitation. The general result at Rugby is, then, that after about a dozen years of practical experience, with arrangements adapted for the application of small quantities of sewage per acre to arable as well as to grass-land and to all crops, the area has been greatly limited, the use to any other crops than meadow and Italian rye- grass become quite exceptional, and the application by means of steam-power, pipes, and hose and jet, will probably soon be entirely abandoned. It may be added that, at the time of the experi- ments of the Commission, the sewage, which was considerably stronger than that of the Metropolis, cost the tenants only about ^d. per ton at the hydrants in the fields ; yet, rather than incur the loss of using it at that cost, both were glad to get rid of it to the Commission, at rates which, though three times as high during the six summer as during the six winter months, averaged the year round scarcely, but very nearly. Id, per ton at the hydrants. Some years ago, the Earl of Essex laid down pipes for the application of the sewage of Watford, by pumping and hose and jet, to about 210 acres of mixed arable and grass land. The results which his Lordship obtained on the application of only 134 tons of sewage per acre to wheat have frequently been held to be conclusive proof of its applicability in small quantities per acre over large areas, to arable land, and to all crops. But in the evidence given by his Lordship before the Sewage Com- Toion Sewage. 493 mittee of 1862, he stated, very emphatically, that his great error had been the piping of too much land ; that he required 5000 tons per acre for 10 acres of rye-grass ; and that, applying the remainder to 35 acres of meadow, he had none to spare for wheat. In other words, although the abandonment of one acre of rye-grass would set free sewage enough for nearly 40 acres of wheat, if applied only at the rate which yielded the large gross return per ton of sewage so frequently quoted, yet his Lordship's practical experience had led him to prefer the appli- cation to the one acre of rye-grass rather than to the nearly 40 acres of wheat. Further, his Lordship gave it as his opinion that sewage would not be profitable to the farmer unless he could have it at from \d. to ft/, per ton. In reference to the application of sewage to corn crops, it may be stated that, in an experiment made by the Commission at Rugby, with oats, a very high gross money return per ton of sewage was also obtained. The experiment was made in the unusually productive season of 1863, and with sewage of about double the average strength of that of the Metropolis, applied during a period of very dry weather. The results were, there- fore, quite exceptional, and cannot be taken as affording any indication of what might be expected from the application of small quantities of sewage to corn crops generally, on different soils, and on the average of seasons. There carmot, indeed, be a doubt, that to obtain a maximum gross value of produce from a given amount of sewage, it should be applied in small quan- tities per acre, and in dry weather. But sewage is produced in large daily amount at all seasons, and must be disposed of as soon as it is produced. It must, therefore, be applied in winter, when of comparatively little value, as well as in summer, when of more, and it would frequently be quite inapplicable to arable land. Moreover, to obtain an increased gross money-return per ton of sewage by using it on a comprehensive scale lor corn and other ordinary rotation crops, would involve the extra cost of main distribution over a ten-fold, if not a twenty-fold area, and require the aid of pipes and hose and jet, instead of open runs. At Malvern and Tavistock the application of sewage to grass- land has now been carried on for some years, but at Worthing it has only very recently been commenced. From this short review of the experience of practical men who have undertaken the utilization of sewage with a view to profit, it appears that, wherever arrangements have been made for the application of small quantities over large areas, to corn and other rotation crops on arable land, and by means of pipes and hose and jet, the undertaking has either been entirely 494 Town Sewage. abandoned, or the area greatly limited, and the application con- fined almost exclusively to meadow and Italian rye-grass. On the other hand, the undertakings which have been the most successful from the agricultural point of view are those in which the arrangements have been adapted for the almost exclu- sive application to grass, and the application to other crops is only exceptional. Geneeal Pkactical Conclusions. The practical conclusions deduced from the whole inquiry may be briefly stated as follows : — 1. It is only by a liberal use of water that the refuse matters of large populations can be removed from their dwellings with- out nuisance and injury to health. 2. That the discharge of town sewage into rivers renders them unfit as a water supply to other towns, is destructive of their fish, causes deposits which injure their channels, gives rise to emanations which are injurious to health, is a great waste of manurial matter, and should not be permitted. 3. That the proper mode of both utilizing and purifying sewage is to apply it to land. 4. That, considering the great dilution of town sewage, its constant daily supply at all seasons, its greater amount in wet weather when the land can least bear, or least requires more water, and the cost of distribution, it is best fitted for applica- tion to grass, which alone can receive it the year round. It may, however, be occasionally applied with advantage to other crops within easy reach of the line or area laid down for the con- tinuous application to grass. 5. That, having regard both to urban and rural interests, an application of about 5000 tons of sewage per acre per annum, to meadow or Italian rye-grass, would probably, in the majority of cases, prove to be the most profitable mode of utilization, though the quantity would have to be reduced, provided ex- perience showed that the water was not sufficiently purified ; and it is pretty certain that the former would not pay fc?., and it is even very doubtful whether he could afford to pay \d. per ton, the year round, for sewage of the average strength of that of the Metropolis (excluding storm-water) delivered on his land. 6. That the direct result of the general application of town sewage to grass land vi^ould be an enormous increase in the pro- duction of milk, butter, cheese, and meat ; whilst, by the con- sumption of the grass, a large amount of solid manure, applicable to arable land and to crops generally, would be produced. Affections of the Bladder amongst fattening Sheep and Lambs. 495 7. That the cost or profit to a town of arrangements for the removal and utilization of its sewage must vary very greatly, according to its position, and to the character and levels of the land to be irrigated. Where the sewage can be conveyed by gravitation, and a sufficient tract of suitable land is available, the town may realise a profit ; but, under contrary conditions, it may have to submit to a pecuniary sacrifice to secure the necessary sanitary advantages. XI. — Affections of the Bladder amongst fattening Sheep and Lambs. By W. E. Litt, M'.R.C.V.S. Prize Essay. In asking myself, at the outset, " what are the peculiar affections of the bladder amongst fattening sheep and lambs, to which the Royal Agricultural Society wish to call particular attention ? " I confess to a feeling of some little difficulty. I have had very considerable experience in the diseases of sheep, and many opportunities of observation, and I know only of one such affection. It may be that other parts of the country furnish a different class of maladies to that over which my own practice has ranged — for such things are by no means uncommon amongst domestic animals — and that I have partially mistaken the intended subject. Whether this is so or not, however, is perhaps of little consequence, as the particular disease to which I allude is of sufficient importance to demand the most earnest attention of all who are interested in the pursuits of agriculture. If the urine of sheep during the process of fattening be subjected to the ordinary simple test of litmus paper, it will generally be found to afford some indications of the presence of an acid. This must be looked upon as altogether an abnormal condition of things, as, under ordinary circumstances, the urine of herbivorous animals will always be found to exhibit an alkaline reaction. The effect of high feeding, therefore, appears to be to assimilate in some measure this particular secretion to that of the carnivora. The exact nature and character of the acid in question is a matter which demands a greater amount of consideration at the hands of the chemist than it has hitherto received ; but, though differing somewhat in composition, it appears to bear a considerable analogy to that which is known to the physiologist as uric^ or lithic acid, and when it is present in excess, the urine, generally scanty under these circumstances, will always be found to deposit a sediment more or less abundant, and differing somewhat in character and appearance according 496 Affections of the Bladder to the exact nature of its base. For the most part, however, it may be said to consist of certain of the salts of soda, potass, or lime, with a greater or less admixture of what is known as the ammonia-magnesian phosphate, or triple salt. This peculiar morbid condition of the system is one to which all domestic animals are occasionally liable ; but it is so exceedingly common in fattening sheep and lambs, that its special consideration can scarcely fail to be a subject of considerable interest. The reasons why these sandy or gravelly deposits of the urine are more common and more serious in sheep than in other animals, will be sufficiently apparent when we consider the peculiar circumstances under which fattening sheep and lambs are placed. A high and stimulating system of feeding, with an abundance of saccharine roots, want of exercise, and often a total abstinence from water, are exactly the conditions likely to produce this tendency to lithic sediments in the urine ; and the peculiar anatomical construction of the urethra of the sheep is such, that deposits of a character which would pass away readily enough in other animals, soon begin to produce the most serious mischief in him. At the extreme point of the penis is a singular structure known as the " vermiform appen- dage," so called on account of its worm-like appearance ; and the urethral outlet is here so extremely small that the slightest calcareous deposit can with difficulty pass through it. When this lithic acid diathesis, so to speak, then is present, the urethra readily becomes choked up with the sediment, the urine is filtered through it only with the greatest difficulty, coming away merely drop by drop, and accompanied with much strain- ing and other manifestations of pain and suffering. If the obstruction is not speedily got rid of, these symptoms rapidly increase in severity, the bladder becomes inordinately distended, its membranes are inflamed, and great constitutional disturbance necessarily follows. The kidneys in turn participate in the inflammation, the blood becomes thoroughly saturated and poisoned with urine, which may be smelt in all the secretions and tissues of the body, and the animal soon sinks under so serious a complication of diseases. Occasionally, also, rupture of the bladder may be added to the list of evils ; but this I have found to be much more rare than might at first sight be expected ; when it does take place, however, I need scarcely add that death is the inevitable result. It will thus be seen that what are commonly spoken of as " affections of the bladder in fattening sheep and lambs," are confined almost exclusively to male animals, that is, to wethers and rams, and in reality are not in the first instance affections of the bladder at all ; the bladder is only affected, as it were second- amongst fattening Sheep and Lambs. 497 arily, by the mechanical impediment offered to the evacuation of its contents through the natural channel, and will, therefore, require but little of our attention in considering the best means of treatment for the evil in question. If I am right in the view I have here taken of the true nature of these affections — and I have had very many opportunities of investigating the subject — the treatment to be observed, whether preventive or curative, can scarcely be a matter of controversy. When the disease is found to prevail to any extent amongst a particular flock, attention must be immediately directed to the exciting causes, and these will for the most part be readily enough ascertained. As I have already hinted, the character of the diet, the absence of water, and the want of exercise, are the most probable causes. It is not easy, perhaps, to specify at all times the exact article of diet most in fault. Often, doubtless, it is rather a combination of several ingredients, than any one in particular, to which the mischief is attributable ; but, as far as my own observation goes, I am inclined to think that the saccharine roots, and j)articularhj mavgold-icurzel, are especially injurious, although it must be borne in mind that those articles of food in which starch is abundantly found, such, for example, as barley, wheat, and the like, are equally productive, under particular circumstances, of these sabulous deposits. So far as is practicable, therefore, the preventive treatment must always he initiated by such an alteration of the diet as icill exclude those articles ichich abound largely in saccharine and starchy matters, and an allowance of moderate exercise and free access to water loill do the rest. The effect of a regimen like this is most marked, and I have had many opportunities of observing and approving its beneficial results. The curative treatment of the disease is a more serious and difficult matter. Generally, it is true, when we are dealing with wethers alone, the most economical plan is to hand over the affected animal to the butcher at once, and to endeavour to arrest the further extension of the malady by the simple preventive means to which I have just pointed. Cases will often arise, however, where it is desirable to prolong the animal's life, and most especially is this the case in highly-bred rams, in which I have found the disease to be particularly fatal. As these animals often possess a value far, very far beyond what the butcher would give for them, their treatment is just as much a matter of interest and consideration to the farmer as that of either his horses or his cattle, and it is desirable, therefore, that I should enter somewhat at length into this most important division of the subject. An observant shepherd will first be made aware of the 498 Affections of the Bladder presence of tlie affection in question bj the usual symptoms of disease. The animal is dull and more or less off his feed, holding himself aloof from his fellows, and generally lying down. When roused or lifted up, the peculiar nature of his malady will become manifest at once by the painful efforts made to pass his urine. His breathing is quickened, and he strains almost constantly, whilst only a few drops are observed to come away. If the patient be now turned up on his rump, and the penis drawn out, it will generally be found that the urethra, or at least that portion of it comprised in the vermiform appendage, is choked up with the sediment of which I have already spoken. This sediment differs considerably in its character, varying from the appearance of very fine gravel to that of the finest sand. Until this is removed, it will be seen at once that there is little to be done in the Avay of remedy ; and the urethral termination is so very small that to remove it is often a matter of much diflficulty. When of the consistence of fine sand, however, a little patient manipulation will often be crowned with the required success. As there is commonly some local inflamma- tion of the neighbouring parts, it is always advisable to com- mence proceedings by fomentation with warm water ; after- wards gently pressing the urethra so as to force out the accumulated deposit. Having succeeded either wholly or par- tially in this, a little sweet oil may then be applied to the parts, and a dose of opening medicine administered. Either castor- oil or fine linseed-oil — in doses of 2 to 6 ounces according to the size and strength of the patient — are preferable to the ordinary saline aperients ; and where much constitutional disturbance is present, I always add to this dose from 8 to 16 grains of the extract of belladonna. On the following day the urethra must be again examined, and, if necessary, the proceeding already described may be repeated, the medicinal treatment being now made to consist of the free exhibition of some of the alkaline carbonates, and the best is, unquestionably, the carbonate of potass, as the salts of potass are for the most part perfectly soluble, and will readily pass off dissolved in the urine. Carbonate of potass may then be given in doses of half a dram to a dram, two or three times a day, dissolved in water, either alone, or in combi- nation with the belladonna or other febrifuge medicines, as may be found necessary. And here I would remark that, without proper regard to regimen, no treatment will be of much avail. Air, exercise, proper diet, and the free use of water, are of the utmost importance. Physicians tell us that the lithates are sometimes thrown down, not from undue acidity of the urine, but simply from that fluid not containing the due quantity of water to hold them in solution, and that in such cases a tumbler amongst fattening Sheep and Lambs. 499 of cold spring water, taken night and morning, will at once cause the cessation of this morbid symptom. This fact is important, and though too much reliance must not be placed on analogy with human medicine, I am satisfied, from practical observations, that water is a most valuable adjunct to other treatment in the removal of the disease in question, and where sheep refuse to drink it voluntarily their medicine should always be largely diluted with it. It is not always, however, that the removal of the sediment from the urethra can be so easily effected. On the contrary, it will frequently be found of such a character (gritty, and of the size of small seeds) that it cannot possibly be passed through the external opening. In such cases I have never hesitated to make an incision on the under surface of the urethra, as near the extremity as possible, generally, indeed, in the vermiform ap- pendage itself, large enough to allow this gravel to be pressed out. Sometimes, indeed, the simplest and most desirable mode of proceeding is to remove this structure altogether. In wethers there cannot be the slightest objection to so simple an operation at any time ; but in rams the case is somewhat different. It is generally believed that this peculiar appendage is intended by nature to perform some important function in the act of copula- tion, and that where it has been removed the ram is no longer capable of procreation. I am not fully prepared, at the present moment, either to endorse or contradict this opinion ; but I am assured by a distinguished sheep-breeder in this district, that the commonly received opinion on this subject is an erroneous one, and that he has had many lambs got by rams which had undergone the mutilation in question. At all events, the matter appears to be so far one of grave doubt that it is much to be desired that satis- factory experiments should be instituted with a view to settling the question. Be this as it may, however, I am satisfied that a longi- tudinal incision, such as I have just described, may be made into the organ without in any way impairing its supposed functions, and there need not, therefore, be any reason to hesitate in such a course of proceeding when the circumstances of the case appear to render it necessary. By such means, with frequent fomentations and careful manipulation, the obstruction may often be removed ; and a proper observance of the medicinal treatment already pointed out will complete the cure. It is only just to add, also, that cases will occasionally be met with in which these accumu- lations are so abundant, occupying not only the urethra, but also the bladder, ureters, and even the kidney itself, that no treat- ment can be of any service. Such cases may always be distin- guished by observing that little or no relief follows the removal of the deposit from the penal portion of the urethra, and from 500 Field Experiments on Root-Croj)s. the greater amount of constitutional disturbance wliicli marks their progress. Once satisfied that the extent of the mischief is such as to preclude all hope of remedy, the flockmaster must have recourse to the butcher's knife as soon as possible, as the whole system now rapidly becomes so thoroughly impregnated with urine, that the meat is no longer wholesome as food. Such is the brief history of a disease which has of late years prevailed very largely in this part of the country, and has there- lore come frequently under my observation. 1 have taken con- siderable interest in the subject, and given some attention to the causes, nature, and treatment of the malady ; and these remarks are simply the practical conclusions and deductions at which I have arrived. It would have been easy for me to have extended and amplified the views here expressed, but I have preferred to be as concise and practical as possible, believing that I should thus be better understood and appreciated by those who have the deepest interest in this matter. Such is unquestionably the par- ticular object of these papers, and I confess I am not without hope, therefore, that the sheep-farmer may find something of value and importance in what 1 have here written. Shrewsbm'y. XII. — Field Experiments on Root-Crops. By Dr. Augustus VOELCKEE. GeNEKAL ideas respecting the properties of manures, the chemical and physical character of fertile and sterile soils, the require- ments of plants, and the composition and uses of our crops, no doubt are useful in awakening and sustaining a spirit of inquiry amongst agriculturists. But, in addition to a sound knowledge of the rudiments of chemistry and physiology, a man must be acquainted with special facts before he can turn to profitable account any chemical or physiological knowledge which he may possess. It is no doubt useful to any person who is in the habit of spending money in purchased manures, to know the composi- tion of genuine and adulterated guano, or that of good and bad superphosphates ; for such knowledge will guard him against imposition, and enable him to buy the manures he requires of the best quality, and at a reasonable price. It is not enough, however, for him to be acquainted with the composition of the various artificial manures now sold in the market, if he wishes to apply his chemical knowledge to the best advantage. In order that he may do this, he must likewise know how, when, and in what quantities, guano, or superphosphate, or nitrate of soda, Field Experiments on Root-Crops. 501 etc., sliould be used; for what crops these fertilizers are more specially useful, and how the variable agricultural condition and chemical composition of our fields affects, practically, the efficiency of artifical manures. In short, the rational and profitable application of artificial manures necessitates a much more extended and special practical experience than a person need have who never uses any other than common farmyard- manure. A certain amount of chemical knowledge is thus indis- pensable to the modern farmer who wishes profitably to employ artificial manures on his land. Whilst no rational man will consider chemical knowledge in itself a substitute for the experience in the routine of farm work which a person must possess Avho farms for profit, it will be readily conceded that the rudiments of chemistry are very useful, if not indispensable, for the acquisition of a greater amount of practical experience than was required at a time when guano, bones, cScc,, were unknown to the agricultural world. Agricultural chemistry, useful as it is to the improving tenant farmer of the present day, is doubly valuable to persons willing to undertake field experiments with special manures. Systematic scientific instruction, such as is given, for instance, at Cirencester College, if it confers not that direct advantage upon the young farmers which some over-sanguine men anticipated, is calculated to improve wonderfully the powers of observation, so as to enable those who have enjoyed the benefit of a liberal education to perform agricultural experiments with that amount of pre- cision and foresight which cannot reasonably be expected from others. Many of my farming friends, with much good will, are always ready to begin any experiment which I may suggest to them ; but the difficulty I experience is that men totally unacquainted with the teachings of science are unable to surmount the unfore- seen difficulties that present themselves in all experimental inquiries ; consequently, many begin well, but never bring their effort to a successful issue. It affords me, therefore, particular pleasure to mention that, four years since, I succeeded in en- gaging the co-operation of a number of intelligent men, for the greater part former pupils of mine, in performing systematic field experiments. On a former occasion, I published the results of field experi- ments on clover-seeds, and also a short paper on the effect of potash-salts and common salt on mangolds. 1 have now the pleasure of laying before the Society short reports on similar experiments on swedes, mangolds, and potatoes, which were carried out under my direction in the years 1864, 1865, and 1866. According to a pre-arranged plan, the same artificial VOL. III. — S. S. 2 L 502 Field Experiments on Root- Crops. manures were sent to about a dozen men residing in different counties ; but their returns, I regret to say, in the great majority of instances recorded either complete failures, mainly due to the remarkable drought in the spring and early summer months of 18(34 and 18G5, or results void of all practical interest, from which no general principles could fairly be deduced. Desiring not to burden the reader with an account of these failures, I have selected for publication only such experiments as appeared to me to embody points of agricultural interest. Experiments on Swedes in 1864. The object of the following experiments was to ascertain whether the artificial supply of potash is characterised by any marked effect upon root-crops. Simple as this enquiry may appear at first sight, it is nevertheless beset with many difficulties, which have to be kept steadily in view in devising a plan of field experiments for its investigation. In the first place, experience has shown already that most soils in a fair agricultural condition neither require nor are in the least benefited by the exclusive supply of potash. Good clay soils, as a rule, contain abundant stores of potash to meet the wants of root-crops. On sandy soils, which are naturally deficient in that element, we meet at once with another difficulty, from the fact that other constituents entering largely into the composition of root-crops are generally but scantily represented ; and, for this reason, it cannot be expected that the application to such land of a manure which supplies only one essential plant-constituent will be attended with any marked effect. In devising a plan of field experiments care should be taken to make provision for any disturbing influences arising from the chemical nature of the experimental field, and the requirements of the crops under experiment. ^^The cheapest form in which potash can be put on the land is that of crude German potash-salts. A sample of these salts, which were employed in all the following experiments, on analysis was found to contain in 100 parts, — Moisture 11-63 Orajanic matter "73 Oxide of iron '34: Sulphate of potash 24-03 Sulphate of magnesia 1-14 Chloride of magnesium 12-01 Chloride of sodium (common salt) 47-85 Sulphate of lime '78 Magnesia '52 Sand -97 100-00 Field ETperiments on Root-Crops. 503 The chloride of sodium (common salt), which enters so largely into the composition of these salts, has in itself a decidedly- beneficial effect upon root-crops grown on light sandy soils ; it is therefore further necessary to eliminate, if possible, the effects likely to be produced by its action. To this end one portion of the experimental field was manured with common salt, and another portion with crude German potash-salts. After a good deal of consideration, I laid down the following scheme, having special reference to light soils : — No. 1. Farmyard-maniu-e, at the rate of 20 tons per acre. 2. Farmyard-manure, at the rate of 10 tons per acre, and 4 cwts. of dissolved bone-ash. 3. Dissolved bone-ash, at the rate of 4 cwts. per acre. 4. Unmanured. 5. Crude potash-salts, at the rate of 4 cwts. per acre. 6. Common salt, at the rate of 4 cwts. per acre. 7. Dissolved bone-ash, at the rate of 4 cwts., and crude potash-salts, at the rate of 4 cwts. per acre. 8. Dissolved bone-ash and common salt, each at the rate of 4 cwts. per acre. Each experimental plot was exactly one-twentieth of an acre. For root-crops this is a convenient and sufficiently large piece of ground for each experiment. Smaller plots I do not recom- mend, and patches of land measuring only the 100th part of an acre or less, in my opinion, are decidedly objectionable for field trials upon roots. It is to be regretted that in the preceding scheme only one plot was left unmanured. In more recent field trials three plots are left without any manure ; in this way an insight is obtained into the variations of the natural productive powers of different parts of the experimental field. The unmanured plots are best placed one right in the middle, and two at the ends of the experimental field. It will hardly be necessary to remind the reader that farmyard- manure contains all the mineral elements which are found in the ashes of swedes, and besides these mineral constituents, supplies ammoniacal salts, nitrogenous and carbonaceous matters to the land. Good farmyard-manure, that is to say, manure in which the urine of animals and the soluble matters of the excrements have been well preserved from being washed out by rain, &c., contains about a half per cent, of potash. The dressing of 20 tons per acre thus added to the land considerably more potash than the crude German potash, which contained only 24 per cent, of sulphate of potash. Even half that dressing of yard-manure, which in No. 2 was applied to the land in conjunction with 2 L 2 504 Field Experiments on Root-Crops. superphosphate of lime, contained more potash than the German salts on plot No. 5. 20 tons of dung^ is a heavy dressing per acre, and probably more than is enough to meet the requirements of the swede crop on the poorest soil. On some land such a heavy dose of dung, I have reason to sa}', might do harm to the roots, or, at any rate, not so much good as a more moderate manuring. On light land, however, like that on which the experiments were tried, no fear need be entertained that root-crops will be injured by too much manure. Still I thought it advisable to ascertain whether so large a dose of dung might have been too much for the roots, and therefore used on plot 2 only half the quantity of dung in conjunction with super- phosphate. In field experiments with special manures it is desirable to set aside at least two plots for trying the effects of a full and of a half dressing of good farmyard-manure. By comparing the produce of the unmanured plots with that of the plots dressed Avith a perfect manure like dung, a good idea of the agricultural con- dition of the land under trial may be obtained, the results showing to what extent its productive powers may be readily enhanced by particular manures. In previous experiments upon root-crops, I found the applica- tion of pui'ely mineral superphosphates more useful to roots than other more complex artifical manures. This I found especially to be the case when the land had been liberally treated before, and Avas in good heart. On naturally poor soils, or land out of condition, on the other hand, the addition of a moderate pro- portion of ammonia, say 2^ to o per cent., as well as of some common salt (5 to 8 per cent.) to a turnip-manure composed mainly of dissolved bone - material was attended with good success. In the experiments before us this has been kept in view. One of the experimental plots, it will be seen, was manured with a purely mineral superphosphate, another Avith a mixture of the same superphosphate and crude potash-salts, and a third Avith mineral superphosphate and salt. Trials Avith the crude German salts may be useful as a kind of confirmatory test, but neither their success nor their failure is conclusiA'e. The success may be due to the common salt which they contain, as experience has shoAvn that on light soils a moderate dressing of salt, in some seasons, giA'es a considerable increase. The non-efficacy of the crude potash- salts, on the other hand, does not clearly prove that it is super- fluous to apply potash, for the soil may be in a high state of cultivation, and contain abundant stores of plant food, or it may Field Experiments on Root-Crops. 505 be so poor in elements of fertility other than potash, that the latter, for this very reason, has not a fair chance to exercise a beneficial influence. These remarks will suffice to show how many obstacles have to be overcome in attempts to solve experimentally an apparently simple problem, and afford an insight into the reason which induced me to try the German salts side by side with common salt, superphosphate, farmyard-manure, and mixtures of super- phosphate with salt and potash. My friend, IVIr. Jacob Wilson, of Woodhorn Manor, Morpeth, kindly undertook to carry out the experiments, as stated above, on light but good sandy loam. The results he obtained are calculated in the following table to the acre : — Amount of Swedes, IiOOts, and Tops per Acre, grown at Woodhorn Manor, Morpeth, 1864. No. Per Acre. Tops. Farmyard-manure 20 tons Farmyard-manure 10 tons, and dis-j solved bone-ash 4 cwts / Dissolved bone-ash 4 cwts. No manure Crude German potash-salts 4 cwts. .. Common salt 4 cwts Dissolved bone-ash 4 cwts., and crude I potash-salts 4 cwts / Dissolved bone-ash 4 cwts., and com-\ mon salt 4 cwts j tons. cwts. stones, lbs. 22 3 6 5 tons. cwts. stones, lbs. 19 23 17 22 15 20 15 1 18 3 14 16 1 1 6 3 11 The preceding tabulated results exhibit some points of interest and a few curious anomalies. 1. In the first place, it will be seen that the unmanured portion of the experimental field produced a very fair crop of swedes. We may therefore infer that the land was in a good agricultural condition. 2. Notwithstanding its good condition, 4 cwts. of a purely mineral superphosphate gave an increase of rather more than 5 tons of roots per acre. This is the largest increase which was obtained from any of the plots, not excepting the one manured with 20 tons of dung per acre. Having found repeatedly in other experiments that on land in a high state of cultivation mineral superphosphate, rich in soluble phosphate of lime, pro- duced a better root-crop than a heavy dressing of dung, this result did not surprise me. 506 Field Experiments on Boot-Crops. 3. It is difficult, however, to understand why the addition of superphosphate to half the quantity of dung-, which was placed on plot 1, should reduce the crop as much as it did. There can be no doubt about the accuracy of the result, and it is therefore placed on record as an example of the curious and unexception- able anomalies which so frequently puzzle the experimenting agriculturist. 4. The crude potash-salts on plot 5, it will be seen, had a very good effect, for they gave an increase of 3 tons 5 cwts. of roots per acre. 5. Exactly the same increase was obtained when the potash salts were mixed with superphosphate. The addition of the latter, one would have thought, should increase the produce beyond what the salts used alone gave, but the result was other- wise. It appears, however, that superphosphate, when combined with ani/ of the other manures, produced a remarkable increase in the weight of the tops, which may have been prejudicial to the development of the bulbs, the ainount of available soluble fertilising matters in the mixture of dung and superphosphate, and in the mixture of potash-salts and superphosphate being excessive, and causing the roots to run too much to top. I have noticed before that soluble saline matters had this effect, though not in all seasons ; and it appears to me, therefore, advisable to apply readily soluble fertilising matters in moderate quantities to root-crops. 6. Common salt appears to have done rather harm than good in these experiments, for the salted plot gave 2 tons 3 cwts. 7 stones and 21 bs. less swedes than the portion of the field which received no manure whatever. 7. The addition of superphosphate to common salt had a much better effect than salt alone, but the increase in the crop was not equal to that obtained by potash salts and super- phosphate. Crude German potash-salts applied alone or in conjunction with superphosphate, had a decidedly better effect than common salt. The large increase produced by the German salts alone certainly speaks favourably for the use of potash manures for roots grown on light land, and encourages further trials on such land. Experiments on Swedes in 1865. The same plan of manuring as that laid down for 1864 was again adopted in 1865. The summer, however, was, if anything, even more unfavourable for the cultivation of root-crops than that of the preceding^year. The results then obtained cannot Field Experiments on Root-Crops. 507 therefore be relied upon as a good general guide ; indeed, my swede experiments turned out more or less complete failures ; I therefore give only one series, that tried by my friend Mr. Robert Vallentine, near Leighton Buzzard, on a light sandy soil, as an illustration of the difficulties with which the field experi- menter has to contend, and on account of the useful practical remarks which accompanied Mr. Vallentine's report : — " ExPEEiMEXTs witli ARTIFICIAL and Farmyard-Manures at Burcott Loige Farm, Bucks. Plots nn of an Acre each. jSTo. I Farmyard-manure 1 ton JFarmyard-manure \ ton ^ (Mineral superphosphate 22^ lbs.* . . . . / Mineral superphosphate 22^ lbs Nothing Crude salts of potash 22^ lbs Common salt 22 J lbs (Mineral superphosphate 22^ lbs "1 I Crude salts of potash 22 J lbs j ("Mineral superphosphate 22 j lbs. . . \Common salt 22^ lbs Produce. I'er Acre. Number of Koots per Plot. cwts. qrs. 13 1 tons. 13 cwts. 5 1077 14 0 14 0 1200 11 2 11 10 1240 10 0 10 0 1150 11 1 11 5 1250 13 2 13 10 1220 14 0 14 0 1300 13 0 13 0 1290 " The experiments were tried in the middle of a field of light sandy loam, to which no farmyard-manure had been applied for fourteen years. Each plot contained 3 rows of about 5 chains in length. Ridges were first formed, and then rolled down, so that the manure might not be placed too deep. The land was ridged, the manure and seed sown within the space of two hours, on the 17th of May, with Sutton's Swede ; elevation of field above the sea-level about 500 feet. The ground was moist when the seed was sown, and was rolled down almost immediately. No rain fell till nearly a fortnight afterwards, when, although the quantity was considerable, it fell so rapidly that a very large proportion ran off the land by the channels between the ridges which were formed down hill. After this there were but slight showers before the period of protracted drought set in, by which time all the turnips began to suffer from mildew, from which the crop never recovered. The crop was singled on June 30, when the plants were large. The most forward plants, when singled, were those after superphosphate alone, mixed super- phosphate and crude potash, and nothing; the potash and com- * Equivalent to 4 cwts. per acre. 508 Field Experiments on Root- Crops. mon salt lots most backward. Crop raised, and trimmed tops and roots on Oct. 11th. " The farmjard-manure applied was of a very inferior kind, little more than wet straw, all the best manure having: been pre- viously taken to other fields. Owing: to the dry weather this seemed to admit the drought into the land, and lessen the plant. The weather was also undoubtedly much too dry for the saline manures, although it appears strange that common salt alone produced a heavier crop than dung and several other lots. It is but right to state that one of the three rows devoted to the salt- experiment was missed in sowing the seed the first time, and was then sown a fortnight later than the other lots. Owing to the very dry weather, and the overshadowing power of the rows on either side, the late row was kept back : indeed it was not half as good as the general average; it was therefore not included in estimating the weight of the plot. The exclusion of this row, lest it might mislead, may however have led to error on the other hand, as the comparatively vacant space left by the late low allowed the others on each side to grow more freely. Out of all the root-crops sown, amounting to nearly 50 acres there was not a yard missed, except in this one experimental plot. This defect is to be regretted ; but in so peculiar a season it would in no case be advisable to attach much importance to any of the experiments. " On each side of the experimental plots bone-superphosphate was used as a manure for the general crop, which produced 16 tons per acre on one part, and on another part, some distance off, 22 tons per acre ; this was ascertained from a much larger extent of ground than the experimental plots. Strange to say, that part which grew the 22 tons per acre had never borne a good crop of either roots or corn until both lime and salt were applied about three years ago. Whether the soil was really deficient of lime or salt, or whether it was so filled with insects that plants could not thrive, there is no evidence at present to show." Mr. Vallentine's remarks will be read with interest ; they have forcibly convinced me of the advantage which individuals would gain by trying their hands at field experiments, and recording faithfully any general observations which they may have an opportunity of making in their ordinary course of farm practice. Experiments on Mangolds in 1865. The same fertilizers which were employed in the preceding experiments were tried upon a red cool clay soil by Mr. H. John Charlton, of Henfields, Bewdley, with the following results : — Field Experiments on Root- Crops. 509 Mangold Experiments at Hknfield, Bewdley. Plots 25 of an Acre, Manure per o'o of an Acre. Farmyard-manure 1 ton Farmyard-manure 5 ton, and dissolved bone-'' ash 22i lbs.* / Dissolved bone-ash 22i lbs. No manure Crude German potash-salts 22^ lbs Common salt 22 i lbs Dissolved bone-ash and crude potash-salts each 22§ lbs Dissolved bone-ash and common salt each) 22ilbs J Produce Produce per 20 of Acre. an per Acre. tons, cwts lbs. tons. cwts. 1 7 28 27 5 1 6 28 2G 5 1 6 0 26 0 0 14 28 14 5 0 IG 0 16 0 1 0 0 20 0 1 12 0 32 0 1 9 0 29 0 The manures and seed were sown towards the end of April. The highest produce was not equal to that of 2 J acres of adjoining mangolds, which were manured with IG tons of farmyard- manure and 4 cwts. of Proctor and Ryland's mangold manure, viz. nearly 35 tons per acre. It appears in these experiments ; — 1. That crude potash-salts applied alone gave an increase of not quite 2 tons per acre. 2. That salt alone had a better effect than crude potash-salts. 3. That the mixture of potash-salts and superphosphate pro- duced the largest increase of any of the experimental plots, amounting to 17 tons 15 cwts., and more than doubling the yield of the unmanured portion of the field. 4. That the addition of common salt to superphosphate had likewise a very good effect, but fell short by 3 tons per acre of the effect from potash-salts and superphosphate. On the whole, the application of crude potash-salts was successful, and it is worthy of notice that their mixture with superphosphate produced a considerably heavier yield than a large dressing of dung. The same mixture, according to my experience, is very useful upon clover seeds, as will be seen by a reference to my paper on clover experiments in last year's Journal. Field Experiments on Roots in 186G. The experiments which I have to report for 1866 were made on the farms of Mr. James Kimber, Mr. Robert Vallentine, and Mr. W. H. Hetherington. Mr. Kimber tried the crude potash-salts in two series of experi- * Equivalent to 4 cwts. per acre. 510 Field Experiments on Root-Crops. merits on swedes ; Mr. Vallentine on swedes, mangolds, and potatoes ; and Mr, Hetherington on potatoes. Kxperimeyits on Swedes at Mr. Kimbers Farm, Tuhney Wari'en, Ahingdon, in 1866. — The trial-field, a poor sandy soil, was cropped in 1862 with wheat, top-dressed with nitrate of soda after clover; in 1863, it grew swedes with dung and superphos- phate ; in 1864 barley ; and in 1865, peas without manure. No dung or artificials, except those mentioned in the experiments, were applied to the land after the pea-crop. The soil, as will be seen by the subjoined analysis, was such that potash might be supposed to have a good chance of exerting a beneficial influence on swedes : — This soil contained in 100 parts : — Moisture (when analysed) •82 Organic matter and water of combination . . 2*45 Oxides of iron and alumina 3'13 Lime 'li Phosphoric acid "04 Sulphuric acid '19 Magnesia and allcalies '47 Carbonic acid traces Insoluble silicious matter (sand) 92'99 100-23 The potash-salts and common salt were applied to the land broadcast before the seed was drilled, and the superphosphate and seed were drilled on the 26th of June. The crop, being a late one, was left on the land until the 27th of December, when the roots were taken up, cleaned, and weighed. The following results were obtained : — Pkoduce in Clean Swedes of Seven Experimental Plots of 5'g of an Acre each, at Tubney Warken, Abingdon. Superphosphate J Superphosphate and Common salt . . I Superphosphate and Crude potash-salts Is'o manure Common salt . . Crude potash-salts Superphosphate Quantity ol' Manure per Acre. cwts. 3 3 Produce Acre. per tons. cwts lbs. 8 3 64 9 4 32 9 17 96 3 0 80 2 8 84 3 14 12 9 19 12 Increase tons. cwts. lbs. 5 3 96 3 G4 6 1: IG 0 11 108 (decrease) 0 13 44 6 18 44 Field Experiments on Root- Crops. 511 We learn from the preceding experiments that whilst super- phosphate alone doubled the produce, crude potash-salts alone gave no appreciable increase. The addition of these salts to superphosphate increased as little the efficacy of the phosphatic manures as that of common salt. This possibly may be a case in point, of the potash failing because the soil was poor in elements of fertility other than potash, as stated in page 505. The roots on the plot dressed with salt weighed about 12 cwts. less per acre than those grown on the unmanured part of the field. This difference, however, falls within the range of the natural variations in the productive powers of adjoining strips of the same field. Indeed, the difference in the produce of plots 1 and 7, both manured with 3 cwts. of superphosphate, is much greater than the decrease on plot 5. The want of success here experienced with potash-salts and common salt is the more surprising, since common salts applied to mangolds grown on the same land in previous years con- siderably increased that crop. It may have arisen in part from the late date at which the swedes were sown, or yet more from the circumstance that the saline manures were sown broadcast just before drilling the seed, for Mr. Kimber informs me that they visibly checked the growth of the young plants. Where no superphosphate was applied, the young plants never got a fair start ; where it alone was applied, the crop was as good, if not better than where the addition of potash-salts or common salt was made. Since saline matters certainly check the growth of the turnip plant in its earliest stages of existence, even on land on which such manures might be beneficial, if applied under more favour- able conditions, two courses are open to us in their use : — either to make the application quite early in spring, say towards the end of February, or to delay it until the plants are singled, in a vigorously growing condition. The early application of salt will secure its general diffusion through a large mass of soil ; but, on the other hand, if the early spring months should be very wet, most of the salt undoubtedly would be washed away, for though all soils have the power, some in smaller, others in greater degree, to absorb and retain potash, ammonia, or phosphoric acid from soluble fertilising matters, they do not exert such a power on soda-salts, and allow consequently common salt to pass away with the drainage water. If the application of salt to root-crops be delayed until the plants are singled and in a vigorous state of growth, and little or no rain falls afterwards, the roots certainly will not be benefited by the salt; nevertheless, on the average of seasons I am inclined to think it the better plan to sow the salt broad- 512 Field Experiments on Root- Crops. cast between the drills when the plants are strong, say about the second hoeing. Mr. Kimber tried another set of experiments with swedes on a field which, in 18G5, grew wheat, with dung; was again dunged and planted in the autumn with green rye, Avhich was fed off by sheep in the spring of 1866 ; the land was then worked, and the swedes drilled with 3 cwts. of superphosphate. After the swedes were singled out, and strong, a portion of the most uniform part of the field was divided into six plots of l-20th of an acre each. To two of these plots crude potash-salts were applied on the 26th of July, to two common salt, and two plots were left without any saline manure. The following results were obtained : — ExpEPaMENTS on Swedes, after Green-Eye, made at Tueney Waeken, Abingdon, 1866. (All the Experimental Plots were manured with Superphosphate, at the rate of 3 cwts. per Acre.) Plots. Auxiliary Dressing. Quantity per Acre. Produce per Acre. Increase over A verage of Nothing Plots. Crude potash-salts None Common salt . . Crude potash-salts None Common salt .. tons. cwts. lbs. 12 16 28 11 19 32 13 4 32 12 10 20 12 10 20 13 17 76 tons. cwts. lbs. 0 11 58 0 19 62 0 5 50 (Average of 2 and 5.) 12 4 82 1 12 106 Taking into consideration the natural variations of the pro- ductive powers of the same field, we are forced to confess that in these experiments neither salt nor potash-salts increased the efficacy of the superphosphate results. Experiments ivith Crude German Potash-Salts at Burcott Lodge Farm (1866) on Mangolds. — The soil of the experimental field was a clay loam, which furnished, on analysis, the follow- ing results, after drying at 212*^ Fahr. : — Composition of Experimental Mangold Field. Organic matter and water of combination .. .. 4'49 Oxides of iron 8-08 Alumina 2'98 Phosphoric acid '24 Sulphuric acid •• *19 Carbonate of lime 1'19 Alcalies and magnesia 1'68 Insoluble silicious matter (chiefly clay) 81'15 100-00 Field Experiments on Hoot- Crops. 513 The field was in a good agricultural condition. With a view of testing the merits of these salts as an auxiliary manure for mangolds, a portion of a field was dressed with them on the 28th of February, at the rate of 4 cwts. per acre. The whole field was manured on May 12th Avith 15 tons of dung and 2^ cwts. of bone superphosphate in ridges. The mangold-seed was drilled on the same day. The soil was damp, and the seed on the potash plot germinated well, and came to a plant at the same time as on the land on either side. The young plants were singled out on July 2nd, 18 inches between plant and plant, and 28 inches between the rows. Soon after the young mangolds were singled, the leaves became slightly yellow. This appear- ance continued, and even increased, throughout the summer and autumn, until the crop was pulled up on November 8th. On the most clayey ground the potash mangolds suffered much in unhealthy scorched-looking leaves. The plants (750) on the potash plot (l-20th of an acre) were more numerous than where no potash was applied. This was caused by the accident of growth and singling out, and not by design. On another plot of l-20th of an acre only 660 mangolds were found. The produce in cleaned and trimmed mangolds per acre was: — without potash -salt, 21 tons; with 4 cwts. of potash-salts per acre, 20 tons 3 cwts. 18 lbs. The 750 mangold-bulbs grown with potash-salts averaged scarcely 3 lbs. each, the 660 above 3 lbs. each. There were some few rather large blanks on the non- potash part, and Mr. Vallen- tine estimated that about three tons more mangolds would have been grown there had the plant been equally good. Last summer was rather too wet, and not hot enough for mangolds ; this makes it appear that on clay soils in a good agricultural condition, the addition of potash-salts, and probably other readily soluble saline matters, to a good dressing of dung and superphosphate does more harm than good to mangolds. The yellow colour of the potash mangolds, and marked appear- ance of their leaves, evidently shows that the land contained too crreat an abundance of soluble saline matters. Experiments icith Crude Potash-Salts on Sioedish Turnips, at Burcott Lodge, Leifjhton Buzzard, 1866. — Crude German potash- salts were applied at the rate of 4 cwts. per acre, on February 28th, 1866, when the ground was in a fine state of Avinter pre- paration, having been twice ploughed, and deeply stirred when dry. The swede field was very similar in character to the mangold field, but not quite so clayey ; it contained but little lime. 514 Field Experiments on Root- Crops. Composition of the Experimental Swede Field. Soil dried ^ at 212° Fahr. Organic matter and water of combination ., .. 6'16 Oxide of iron 7*91 Alumina 2*61 Phosphoric acid '17 Sulphuric acid 'IS Carljonate of lime '51 Alcalies and magnesia 1'61 Insoluble silicious matter (chiefly clay) 80'87 100-00 The character of the field, which measured 18 acres, varied a good deal in different parts, and some difficulty was experienced in finding a uniform and level piece on which the experiments could be tried. The following sketch will render more in- telligible the remarks which Mr. Vallentine sent me with his report ; — Sketch of Experimental Swede Field — 18 Acres. North. West. DuEg and Artificials. Inferior Crop. E 15 Tons of Dung without Artificials. Artificials alone. (5 cwts. of Bone-super- phosphate per acre}. East. South. 45 lbs. of crude potash-salts were applied on February 28th to the space marked A, which measured 80 yards in length and 6 in breadth, or 1-lOth of an acre. A space 3 yards wide, and 80 yards long, was taken in the middle of the piece as l-20th of an acre, for ascertaining the weight of the crop, which was Field Experiments on Root- Crops. 515 taken up on the 24tli of November. The weight of clean roots was: — At A, witli potasli-salts, lOj cwts., or 10 tons 10 cwts. per acre. At B, without potash, 9 cwts., or 9 tons per acre. There was thus an increase of 30 cwts, per acre in favour of the potash-salts. It is, however, proper to state that the ground upon which the experiments were tried was very much injured during the course of preparation by drenching rains, which fell again and again at night, after it had been ploughed, and also after it had been scarified ; there was, however, no alternative but to sow the crop when the weather became dry, and make the experiments under very unfavourable circumstances. The space above the line C D is a stiff clay, and here the crop failed particularly. About 7 acres on the west side of the field was also very much injured by frequent rains happening to fall during the working of the land, and this, and this alone, appears to have spoiled the crop, irrespective of any particular system of manuring. On this space, 7 acres, about 15 tons of good rotten dung, and 2|- cwts. of bone superphosphate were used per acre ; the average weight of the crop was under 10 tons per acre, whilst the space marked E received dung alone, and produced fully double the weight of roots per acre, in consequence of the land having been worked during finer weather, and having been in excellent order when the seed was sown. The space F was also in a fine state of preparation, and pro- duced as much again as the 7-acre piece, although it had only a dressing of 5 cwts. of bone superphosphate per acre. The spaces A, B, C, D were first sown (May 22nd), and could not be hoed for nearly a month. E and F were sown on the 29th and oOth of May, and singled July 3rd. The experimental swedes sown on the 22nd of May were only ready for singling on July 31st. The fly attacked all the swedes most virulently on the badly pre- pared land ; there were scarcely a sufficient number of plants left for a crop, and some of these died away or became mere abortions after being singled. On the experimental plot (l-20th of an acre) there were 550 swedes of all sizes, weighing each about 2 lbs. on an average. On the part not manured with potash-salts there were also 550 plants. On both plots the swedes ranged from the weight of a few ounces each up to 8 lbs. 200 swedes averaged about 4 lbs. each, whilst the remaining 350 were only about a pound each. Large and small roots were mixed indiscriminately, irrespective of distance. Three swedes standing together, or 15 inches apart, weighed nearly 7 lbs. each ; other similar spaces contained mere nuts in size. Had the plants 516 Field Experiments on Root- Crops. been regular, and all weighed as mucli as the 200 best, the weight per acre would have been 28 tons ; and had every jard in length been equal to the best yard, the crop would have exceeded 40 tons per acre. It follows evidently from these experiments and observations that in considering the efficacy of potash-salts as a manure for swedes, not much reliance can be placed on the increase of 30 cwts. of roots per acre, which was obtained from the part of the field manured with these salts, for the condition of the land at the time of sowing swedes had a very much greater influence upon the crop than the manure applied. No manure can compensate for a bad preparation. Experimejits %cith Potash-Salts on Potatoes, made at Burcott Lodge Farm in 1866. — The land on which the experiments were tried was dunged in the previous winter. To a portion of the field crude potash-salts were applied on the 28th of February, at the rate of 4 cwts. per acre. The soil was a red sandy loam, Avith a fair admixture of clay, but containing very little lime. On analysis, it yielded the following results : — Dried at 212° Fahr Organic matter and water of combination .. .. 5' 58 Oxide of iron 15'74 Alumina 2*56 Phosplioric acid '19 Sulphuric acid '13 Carbonate of lime "50 Alcalies and magnesia '95 Insoluble silicious matter 74*35 100-00 The potatoes, York Regents, were planted on the 2nd of April, and were well up by the 25th of May. The crop was dug on September 14th, Produce: without potash-salts, 10 tons per acre ; with 4 cwts. of crude potash-salts, also 10 tons per acre. More than one-half of the potatoes were diseased, alike Avhen grown with or without potash. The only difference I could notice was in the somewhat lighter green colour of the potatoe-tops where potash-salts were applied. It is but right to state that the field on which the experiments were tried had been dunged two years previously, and had again received a good dressing of rotten dung for this crop ; it there- fore was evidently in too high an agricultural condition to give the potash-salts a fair chance of exerting any beneficial influence upon the potatoe-crop. Potatoe Experiments icith Diivcj and Artificials, made in 1866, at Carleton, Carlisle. — The last series of field experiments on which I have to report was carefully carried out by my friend Field Experijnents on Root- Crops. 517 and former pupil, Mr. J. Raillow Hetberlno^ton, of Carleton, near Carlisle ; they were tried on a piece of light land, which had formerly been a beech plantation, and had never grown any crop, except one of potatoes the year preceding the trials. In the autumn of 18G4, the roots of the trees were taken out, the land thoroughly drained, and afterwards trenched to a depth of 18 inches, and planted with potatoes in the spring of 18G5. The land was deeply ploughed in the autumn of 1865, then cleaned and prepared for the potatoe experiments. The crop was planted on the 23rd of April. The seed potatoes, "Rough Whites," were obtained from a noted potatoe - grower in the neighbourhood. They were planted 12 inches apart, and 33 inches between the drills. Each experimental plot was l-20th •of an acre. The artificial manures employed in the experiments were mixed with twice their weight of finely powdered soil, and the mixture was sown at twice, in order to ensure equal distri- bution. The dung used was of excellent quality, made by fat cattle, and twice turned. Table 1. — The Manures used in Potato Experiments at Carleton, Carlisle, in 1866. Plots. Name of Manure. Per Plot of r,'j7 of an Acre. Per Acre. 1 No maniire 2 Dissolved bone-ash 22 lbs. 4 cwts. 3 Good rotten dune; 1 ton 20 tons (Dissolved bone-ash 22 lbs. 4 cwts. 4 < and (Crude potash-salts 22 lbs. 4 cwts. 5 No manure 6 Crude potash-salts 22 lbs. 4 cwts. t Common salt 22 lbs. 4 cwts. [Dissolved bone-ash 22 lbs. 4 cwts. 8 < and (Common salt 22 lbs. 4 cwts. 9 Good rotten dung 1 tou 20 tons 10 No manure Last season was very unpropitious for potatoes, and Mr. Hetherington informs me that complaints were made all over the neighbourhood that the potatoes never seemed to germinate properly. The frost on the 30th of April and the 1st of May literally closed the ground up, and a subsequent frost, about three weeks later, destroyed every bit of top which had made its appearance. The roots were taken up in particularly dry weather during the first week in October, and no dirt was left on them which could affect the weight. The produce of each plot was carefully weighed, and the following results obtained : — VOL. III. — S. S. 2 M 518 Field Experiments on Root-Crops. Table 2. — Showing the amouut in lbs. of Large, Second, Small, and Diseased Potatoes obtained from each r}^ Acre Plot. Plot?. Name of Manure. Large. Second. Small. Diseased. Total. 1 No nianure .. lbs. 125 2351 287 328 201 282i 234i 349i 332i 218 lbs. 58i 103i 92i 103i 84i 75^ 81 85 IIU 89 lbs. 89 58 70 51^- 84 88i 66^ 79 133| 110^ lbs. 120 119 166|- 118^ 82i 42 24 21i 73| 17 lbs. 3925 2 3 Dissolved bone-ash Rotten duiis^ 516 616 4 5 Dissolved bone -ash and potash-salts No manure crude"! 601^ 452 6 7 8 Crude potash-salts Common salt Dissolved bone-ash and ; common\ salt j 488i 406 535 9 Rotten dung 651 10 434i In the next table, the preceding results have been calculated per acre : — Table 3. — Showing the Weight per Acre of Large, Second, Small, and Diseased Potatoes. Plots. Name of Manure. Large. Second. Small. Diseased. Total. tons cwts. qrs. lbs. cwts. qi"S lbs. cwts. qrg. lbs. tons cwts. qrs lbs. tons, cwts qrs. lbs. 1 No manure . . 1 2 1 8 10 1 22 15 3 16 1 1 1 20 3 10 0 10 2 Dissolved bone-ash 2 2 0 r> 18 1 2fi 10 1 ]2 1 1 1 0 4 12 0 16 3 Rotten dung . . 2 11 1 0 16 2 2 12 2 0 1 9 2 26 5 10 0 0 4 Dissolved bone-asli ^ and crude potash- I o 18 2 8 18 1 26 9 0 22 1 1 0 18 5 7 1 18 salts • . . . . j 5 No nianure . . . 1 15 3 Ifi 15 0 10 15 0 0 0 14 2 26 4 0 2 24 6 Crude potash-salts 2 10 1 22 13 1 26 15 3 6 0 7 '> 0 (! 7 0 26 7 Common salt . 2 1 3 14 14 1 24 11 3 14 0 4 1 4 3 12 2 0 8 Dissolved bone-ash \ and common salt ) 3 2 1 18 15 0 20 14 0 12 0 3 3 10 4 15 2 4 9 Rotten dung . . 2 19 1 14 19 3 18 3 3 10 0 13 0 14 5 16 1 0 10 No manure 1 18 3 20 15 3 16 19 ' 26 0 3 0 4 3 17 2 10 The produce on the three unmanured plots varied to some extent, as did also that on the two plots which received rotten dung-. The greatest variation in the unmanured plots amounts to 10 cwts. 2 qrs. and 14 lbs., and to 6 cwts. 1 qr. in the dunged plot, as will be more clearly seen in the following table: — Table 4.— Showing the Produce of each Manured and Unmanured Plot, the Average of the Unmanured Plots and that of Plots Dunged, and the Average Increase from Dung. Plots. Ko. 1. No. 5. No. 10. Average. Unmanured .. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 3 10 0 10 No. 3. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 4 0 2 24 No. 9. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 3 17 2 10 tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 3 19 1 18§ Manured with dung 5 10 0 0 5 10 10 •• 5 13 0 24 Increase by dung •• •• 1 13 3 5' Field Experiments on Root-Cropa. 519 The average produce of tlie unmanured plots tlius amounted to nearly 4 tons, and the dung, on an average, gave an increase of rather more than li ton per acre. Taking the exact average produce of the unmanured plots as a basis for calculation, we obtain the following increase or de- crease in each experiment : — Table 5. — Showing the Increase or Decrease in Potatoes on each Plot, calculated to the Acre, and Average of Increase or Decrease. Manure. Per Cent. Increase. Decrease. 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 Dissolved bone-ash Rotten dung , Dissolved bone-ash and crude potash-) salts / Crude potash-salts Common salt Dissolved bone-ash and common"! salt ] Rotten dung tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 0 12 2 2.5.1 1 10 2 9i 1 7 3 27^ 0 7 3 7i 0 7 1 16 (decrease) 0 16 0 131 1 16 3 91 20-9 44 •4 41-03 14-5 25-4 49-1 4-S On looking over the results of these potatoe experiments, the following points cannot fail to arrest the reader's attention : — 1. Foremost, he will notice that the heaviest crop was obtained by the use of good rotten dung. 2. But superphosphate and crude potash-salts, a purely mineral manuring, also gave a nearly equal increase. The mixture of superphosphate and crude potash-salts appeals to be specially useful for root-crops on light land. 3. The efficacy of superphosphate as a manure for potatoes on light land is not only enhanced by potash-salts, but also, though to a minor extent, by common salt. 4. It is remarkable that whilst the addition of salt to super- phosphate had a very beneficial effect, common salt alone slightly diminished the crop. 5. Potash-salts applied alone, though by no means the most desirable manure for potatoes, nevertheless had a better effect than common salt ; for whilst crude potash-salts gave an increase of nearly 8 cwts. per acre, common salt produced 7 cwts. and 44 lbs. less than the unmanured plots on an average. Perhaps it may appear strange that there were many more diseased potatoes on the first four plots than on the remaining six. This, however, I am informed, may be accounted for by the fact, that a small portion of the end of the first four plots was old land. On this old land, constituting about l-30th 2 M 2 520 The Bearing and Management of ]iart of the experimental plots, the potatoes were very much diseased. On the whole, the preceding experiments furnish practical evidence that the application of crude potash-salts in conjunc- tion with superphosphate materially benefits root-crops grown on light and poor soils, which we may suppose to be naturally deficient both in potash and available phosphoric acid. Laboratoi~y, 11, Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, July 1st, 1867. XIII. — On the Hearing and Management of Poultry on an ordinary Farm. By Mrs. F. Somerville. Peize Essay. Introduction. It is the writer's aim to make this Essay as plain and as brief as is possible when details are given, that it may be suitable to the requirements of a servant, or any one desirous to obtain a practical knowledge on the management of poultry ; since it is the fruit of long and careful experience, gained by daily prac- tice, it is not too much to hope that the same happy results that attended the labours of the writer may also requite those who may feel disposed to follow the advice herein laid down. It is intended to point out the best system with regard to the breeding, rearing, and general management of poultry, more than to dwell upon and describe minutely the different breeds of which so many works now treat. There are few creatures that conduce more to man's comfort than domestic poultry, whether he be in health or sickness ; and, considering how interesting and profitable is the occupation, it is astonishing how few young people there are who make poultry their study, or even bestow upon it the attention it would so well repay. What a lesson of industry, vigilance, patience, perse- verance, care, and affection, may be learned from the parent hen, that " gathereth her chickens under her wings " ! Geneeal Eemaeks. There is no doubt that poultry may be kept and managed so as to produce a profit on all farms where corn and potatoes, or even swede turnips are grown, as the light or inferior grain can- not be sent to market in a more profitable shape than as well-fed poultry ; but, like all other farming stock, it requires constant Poultry on an ordinary Farm. 521 care and attention ; and if you expect a full remuneration for your trouble, you must adopt a good system of management, and see that it is properly carried out in all points, from first to last. I do not think it would pay upon a small farm to keep a regular paid attendant ; that occupation must be united with other em- ployment, unless it is managed as a business, and first class poultry is bred and kept for exhibition, so that fancy prices can be obtained. Any sharp lad can, under proper directions and occasional supervision, look after and feed adult poultry, but to breed and rear successfully requires some experience. One would not think of trusting sitting birds or their young to youth ; they require watching closely to keep the different broods steadily thriving ; any check at this stage is a wasteful loss of time, and invites disease, whereas prevention is more important and more easily attainable than cure. The coops and sitting-house should be near the homestead, so that the farmer's wife, daughter, or at all events a confidential servant, may, with- out much loss of time, attend to those two principal points, thus getting a nice change from the sameness of indoor occupation. Common Fowls. Breeding. — Where there is defect, there is commonly a cause which may be traced out ; and such is the case with breeding poultry. One of the greatest hindrances to rearing is unskilful breeding. How frequently do we hear of large numbers of the young dying without any apparent cause ; but I generally find on inquiry into such cases that they have been bred from old birds and without an infusion of fresh blood in the stock for years ; or that pullets' eggs have been set ; in which case, should there be chickens, they are weak and delicate, and seldom attain perfection. I keep five pure breeds of the common fowls, viz. : — Grey Dorking, Brahmapootra, Game, Spanish, and Moonies, and breed all the year round. For stock fowls I select the very best birds of the different breeds and mate them according to age, and witli due regard to consanguinity : that is, of the same age, if twc years old ; or hens one year old, and cocks two ; or vice versa ; taking care that they are not too near akin, and that fresh blood be introduced, on one side at least, every two years, and never allowing more than five hens to one cock. My early and late chickens for table purposes are bred from the Grey Dorking hen by a Game cock, and the Brahmapootra hen by a Dorking cock, mated as aforesaid, which two crosses will answer the most san- guine expectations — the Brahma and Dorking especially — and those who do not care to keep a pure breed or wish to exhibit, cannot, I believe, select more valuable fowls : they are not to 522 Tlie Rearing and Mayiagement of be excelled as parents, layers, or sitters : their eggs are large, and the birds very good for the table, I have not the least diffi- culty in rearing chickens from any of the above-named breeds, and feel convinced that success depends upon the breeding and feeding. I find that the cross-breds stand the winter months better than the pure breds, and therefore prefer the former to the latter, because of the high prices they will command at that season of the year. The question is often asked. What kind of fowls will pay the best to keep? The answer depends entirely upon the purpose for which they are chiefly kept. If for laying, I prefer the Moonies, having had pullets of that breed which have laid for twelve months, not missing more than two days a week. They are a good-sized fowl, and are handsome withal ; but as table fowls, I should make choice of the Dorking or Game, or the cross-breeds, before alluded to. The Hatching or Sitting House. — To some persons it Avould appear quite absurd to think of setting hens where they have not been accustomed to lay : but " where there's a will there's a way." The sitting-house is really a most important apartment, necessary to ensure the successful hatching of poultry ; for how frequently do we see hens spoil their eggs by forsaking the nest when !^they are allowed to sit where they are hourly interrupted, and perhaps driven off their nests by other hens wishing to lay. To prevent all this, a separate apartment is required for sitting hens. It should be divided into compartments, of sufficient size to contain a nest for one hen, and so arranged that the hen can be secured on the nest by a lattice-door, allowing plenty of air ; or the following plan may be adopted. The nests (14 inches wide, 14 inches high, and 16 inches from front to back) may range in two tiers along the lower part of a house (8 or 10 feet by 6), each nest being provided with a loose wooden door, reaching within 3 inches of the top, so as to admit of ventilation at the same time that the hen is secured on the nest ; the door when closed is fitted into a groove at one end and fastened with a wooden button at the other ; each button fastens two doors, and each door is numbered with paint, the corresponding number being painted on xh.e facia of each nest. I never set less than three hens at one time, and that number may always be had broody in the course of a week or ten days by leaving a few spoilt eggs in the nests where the hens you wish to set are accustomed to lay. The broody hens should be managed thus : — During the day make as many nests as you require in the sitting-house, with clean, soft, bruised straw, underneath which, during the summer months only, place a green sod ; when evening arrives place the broody hens thereon, Poultry on an ordinary Farm. 523 and put under each hen three or four trial ejjo^s (which should be kept for the purpose marked with ink), taking care to handle the hens dextrously, placing' one hand underneath the breast, holding the legs in the other hand and carrying them upright ; otherwise have a convenient basket for the purpose. Feed the newly-set hens as usual with the others, and in all probability at the end of two days they will have taken to the nests ; in which case, when off feeding, on the third morning, place the eggs for sitting under each hen, and label each nest, naming the kind of eggs, and date when set. On the evening of the eighth day after setting take a lighted candle, and, holding the eggs up to the light, observe if they appear quite clear ; if so, they are sterile or addle, for the eggs containing birds will appear opaque. It may happen, should there be many addle eggs, that two of the hens will sit the remaining eggs of the three ; and one can be again set, with fresh eggs as before, and so on during the year. The sterile eggs should be marked as trial or nest eggs, or boiled as food for chickens, so that none need be wasted. As each sitting hen is now secured upon her nest, as many only at a time as may be most convenient can be let off to feed, which should be done early every morning inside the sitting-house with closed door, allowing them to remain off" the nests fifteen or twenty minutes, and taking care that each hen returns to the proper nest. Give water, with grain in its natural state, but not with soft food. During the summer months, or dry windy March, and about a week previous to hatching, take a little warm water, and, when the hens are off" their nests, sprinkle the eggs therewith : this will greatly assist nature in the process of hatching, as the eggs are often very dry in hot weather : this, as a rule, applies to all kinds of poultry. Feediny. — It is neither necessary nor desirable to go into the market for expensive feeding stuffs ; still, there are several kinds of food not grown upon the farm, which yet are cheap and useful in the rearing of young poultiy, or putting in condition birds intended for exhibition. One of the cheapest of these, if pro- perly prepared, is rice, it can be bought at \\d. per lb., or even less ; preference should be given to the small grain, or fine rice, which should be prepared in the following manner, viz. : — to 6 quarts of boiling water, add 2 lbs. of rice, and let boil for 10 or 15 minutes, according to the size of the grain, when suffi- ciently boiled, pour it into a hair sieve, and when cold, mix with as much oats or barley-meal, as will, when stirred lightly round with the hand, give it the appearance of small, well-dusted pills ; each grain being then separate, it will be very convenient ior, and is greedily devoured by young birds, and being very digestible, is an invaluable food for them. 524 The Rearing and Management of Another kind of food for young birds is prepared by boiling- two or three eggs until quite hard, afterwards chop fine, adding two or three handfuls of stale bread-crumbs ; mix Avell together, so that the one cannot be eaten -without the other. This maybe thought expensive food, but as the consumption by young birds is at first very small, I always consider a little extra keep is not thrown away on them ; you are forcing and growing birds that will repay you for all, and at no distant date. Another description of food is Indian and barley-meal, in equal quantities, slaked with boiling water or milk, and served cold ; it cannot be surpassed as food for small chickens, and answers admirably, given alternately with the rice and e^^ prepared as aforesaid. The youngest chickens I keep near the house, and feed very sparingly every two hours throughout the day, giving little or no -water, as I find over-drinking spoils the appetite and brings on indigestion, which generally terminates in death. As they grow and become strong, they should by degrees be put upon the same food as adults, and any that promise to make prize birds are then transported to a run specially kept for the purpose, to which of course a little extra feed is carried. The adult poultry I feed twice a day with light wheat, oats, or barley, given alternately with boiled potatoes, or turnips mashed up with ground oats or barleymeal, and I will guarantee this feed to keep them in good condition, and to produce plenty of eggs. Care should be taken in not supplving more food than is eaten, otherwise much may be wasted as is often the case, and I think if profit be looked for, more poultry should not be kept than can be conveniently and well cared for and fed with the produce of the farm, except as I have before mentioned, in reference to young birds or those intended for exhibition. • TUKKEYS Are not so troublesome and difficult to rear as is generally supposed, and taking into consideration the present prices, it is a question if any of our domestic poultry are more profitable; it is not uncommon for a pair of turkev hens to rear thirty young ones during the season, which at an average price of 12^. each, are worth 18/. There are several varieties, the two most useful and profitable being the Norfolk, or black, and the Cambridge, of metallic hue ; in size and beauty the latter is pre-eminent. Never keep either male or female for breeding purposes beyond four years, neither depend entirely upon year-old birds ; on a farm of ordi- nary size three hens and one cock will be found a sufficient number with other poultry. Take care to introduce fresh blood Poultry on an ordinary Farm. 525 in your stock occasionally from the best birds you can procure, and it is a wise precaution to keep on a young cock and a couple of hens as late into the season as may be convenient, for fear of loss or accident to your stock birds. Turkeys should be provided with an apartment to themselves, with perches, and fitted up on the ground-floor, with separate nests, so that each bird when sitting may be secured on her nest, otherwise on hearing the young at the time of hatching, they are apt to leave their own nests and interrupt each other, perhaps leaving some of the eggs to perish. As the laying season approaches place clean straw in their nests, Avith an e^^ by way of encouraging them to lay at home, as they are often inclined to lay astray, to the great danger of losing their eggs ; if the hen be seen seeking a nest, confine her in the place in Avhich you wish her to lay ; where the first egg is dropt there Avill she lay the remainder. If fed alike they will generally all be broody at or near the same time, should this not be the case the first broody hen must be detained, until the others are ready (that is, supposing you wish to have a second flock, as hereafter described), then place a green sod at the bottom of each nest, with plenty of clean, short straw thereon, and allow the hens a day or two to form and take to their nests. The time of incubation is four weeks, and the hen will sit seventeen of her own eggs, if it is not in- tended to add a few common hen eggs, at the expiration of the first week's sitting, which is often done, with a view to the chickens encoui'aging the young turkeys to feed at the first onset. The sitting hens will require food and water daily, for which purpose they should be allowed to come out of doors, as they Avill not remain off their nests for a long time, but it should be observed that they return to their proper nests ; about a week before hatching sprinkle the eggs with warm water, as directed in page 523, and on the actual arrival of that eventful period, ascertain by feeling under the hen whether the eggs are chipping or any birds out ; if so, after taking out the shells, if any, leave her undisturbed for the day. It sometimes happens that an egg being slightly damaged, it is requisite that a portion of the shell should be very carefully removed, to allow the escape of the little prisoner, which otherwise might perish. With these exceptions, the turkey, like all other birds, is best left alone. The birds being now all hatched, allow them to remain about a day and a night with the mother in the nest, and on the follow- ing morning, Aveather permitting, place the hen under a roomy coop, Avith boarded bottom, and selecting a dry and sheltered spot, turn out the young birds in front thereof, feeding them whilst small every tAvo hours Avith a little hard-boiled egg, alternately Avith rice, &c., as mentioned in pages 523, 524, not forgetting 526 TJie Rearing and Management of to give the mother a substantial meal ; after which she will soon gather the little ones under her wings. Should the weather be wet and cold, they must be kept under cover, and if confined beyond a week, a few onions, chives, dandelion, or dock-leaves must be chopped up and given Avith the egg ; but this is not necessary when the mother and young can have their full liberty in about a week after hatching, in which case they will select their own vegetables and forage for themselves better than they can be fed by hand. Give water in dry weather alter the young are a week old, but until they are three-weeks old do not allow it to remain by them after feeding. As they become strong feed four times, and by degrees come to three times a day with corn in the grain or other food. It is a critical time for young turkeys when the fleshy tubercles begin to appear on the head, generally termed striking the red, the birds being then about the size of a pigeon. The surest safe-guard is regular and wholesome food. I have known them to perish in a thunder- storm ; to avoid this, a temporary shed should be erected at the spot to which you wish them to resort, near which they should be regularly fed, and water placed for them to drink, it is astonishing how quickly they will then seek its shelter on the approach of a storm. If turkeys be fed as herein advised, they will be found in sufficient condition for the market, without con- fining them for the purpose of fattening, as is often done. I do not think it is desirable to aim at rearing two flocks in one year, but rather to use your best endeavours to raise one first-rate flock, the hens will then be in better condition for early work the following spring. The second hatch is generally very delicate, and subject to great mortality if the weather is at all unfavourable ; however, in some establishments it is almost imperative to have a supply of late hatched turkeys during Lent, and after the game season is over, in which case, and when the first flock is hatched, confine one hen (giving the whole of the young to the others) in a coop or other convenient place for several days, feeding her well ; afterwards set her at liberty, allowing the cock to accompany her, she will soon commence to lay again, and probably have her second flock hatched, and the birds will have attained strength ere the wet and cold weather sets in. They nearly always lay twice, and sometimes thrice during the season, and the desire to sit is very great ; but by confining them a short time and feeding them well, you may easily put them off, without resorting to the uncouth way of plunging in cold water as practised by some persons. There is no doubt that the rearing of turkeys is highly remu- nerative, and could be profitably extended if circumstances per- mitted ; but if the corn-fields and mowing-grass are near the Poultry on an ordinary Farm. 527 homestead, I sliould not advise keeping too many, as a difficulty may be experienced in preventing- their doing considerable damage to such crops, unless there be a conveniently situated pasture-field or plantation to -which they could be taught to resort. Lastly (though not least) take them to the best market, and do not allow the dealers the profit, to which you are so justly entitled, but sell by weight alive ; good birds will command a good price, which at the present time (February, 1867) is from lOc?. to \s. per lb. live weight. At Christmas last I sold a young cock turkey for 195. 2d., being 23 lbs. weight at 10c?. per lb.; the rest of the flock weighed, cocks 18 lbs. or 19 lbs., and hens 10 lbs. or 11 lbs. Geese, Geese, like turkeys, are one of our largest edible birds, and second to none in value, considering the very little trouble they give from first to last, their usefulness upon the table, and the luxurious down and feathers which they supply ; but a good sized pond, with a plentiful supply of water and good pasturage, are indispensable to make geese-keeping a paying business, for they are very large consumers. The Toulouse are the largest breed ; and as size is an object in the goose, care should be taken to select fine birds ; this breed seldom attains full maturity for breeding until three or even four years old. Let them have an outhouse to themselves, regularly supplied with clean straw, with which make nests, on the floor, as the laying season approaches, and partition the nests off, according to the number required. One gander will be suffi- cient for three or four geese. When arrived at maturity, they generally lay about twelve eggs each, which number they will sit. The eggs, for safety, should be collected daily and placed in bran, with the narrow end downwards, until the geese, by remaining on their nests, show their desire for sitting ; the eggs must then be placed under them, and the house so arranged that they can have free liberty of egress and ingress at all times of the day, as they will require food and water daily, to which they will help themselves, if a pasture-field and pond of water be near, and afterwards return to their nests; little attentioa is there- fore required whilst they are sitting, beyond keeping their nests undisturbed and protected from vermin. When, after four weeks, the time of hatching has arrived, in case any young birds are out, see that all shells are removed, for fear they may cap the other eggs, and thereby prevent their hatching. Allow the goslings to remain in the nest for a day and night, they will not require feeding during that time, but will gather strength ; and if the following morning be fine and 528 The Rearing and Management of sunshiny they can be moved at once upon a grass plot or other convenient place, where they will be safe, and supplied with an abundance of nice young grass, of which they will soon partake (this, their natural food, suits them much better than to be crammed with oatmeal pellets), not forgetting to place them some water in a shallow vessel, with which a little oatmeal may be mixed. If the weather is unfavourable, they must be confined in an outhouse, and plentifully supplied with nice green grass turfs and water. The pellets alluded to are made of oatmeal, formed into paste with cold water, and of convenient size to be swallowed by the goslings ; five or six are given at one feed for each bird ; but to cram fifty goslings three times a day for a fortnight will be found a long and tedious job, and in most farmhouses time cannot be afforded for the purpose, besides, it is really not requisite. The most critical time for young geese is about Midsummer ; if it is very dry weather, and the pasturage and Avater not plen- tiful, it is then desirable to give them a few oats night and morning to assist nature over this peculiar juncture, and help them on until the stubbles are ready for them, and when those are cleared they will be in nice condition for fattening, which is best done by making them up, in lots of ten or fifteen in number, according to the size of the place, supplying them with plenty of water and an unlimited quantity of oats for three weeks, giving them a clean bed of straw when required ; they will then be ready for the market. The day previous to killing turn them on the pond for the purpose of washing their feathers, and supply a bed of clean straw in the feeding-house before their return ; but take away all food and water, and let them fast until killed the next day, when they must be dressed for the market. The price of the bird in December, 1866, was, in some places, from lOd. to Is. per lb., small feathers 2^. 6d. per lb. It is unwise to sell green geese, on account of the loss in the feathers as well as the carcase, unless a fancy price is obtained for all together, but do not sell by weight at an ordinary price. There is not the slightest doubt geese pay well where there are proper conveniences for keeping them, but they must be well managed and kept out of the mowing-grass and corn-fields, or they will soon do damage to the amount of double their profit. Ducks. There are many varieties of ducks, but the two most profitable and best suited to the farmer generally are the Aylesbury, or white duck, with flesh-coloured bill, and the Rouen, which should be exactly like the mallard in feather, though much Poultry on an ordinary Farm. 529 larger in size. Both kinds are equally good, and gain great weight if properly bred and fed, and well supplied with water ; they will weigh 16 or 17 lbs, per couple at 8 months old. In breeding for the market, ducks are best hatched under a common hen, and kept off the pond, they thrive better without access thereto, and are fit for the table at 8 weeks old ; but those intended for store should have plenty of water, and be provided with a house, furnished occasionally with straw, and nests pre- pared, and if regularly fed they will become attached to their abode ; otherwise they are apt to ramble, especially if there is a brook near, in which case many eggs are lost. They com- mence to lay early in the spring if well fed, and, if not allowed to sit, continue to lay until autumn. It is very desirable to have a good supply of early and late broods, which always fetch a high price. There is very little trouble in rearing ducks, whether the eggs are set under the common hen as before men- tioned, or under the duck ; the time of incubation is one month. Let the ducklings when hatched have a good nesting for about twenty-four hours, afterwards clip off the down at the tail to prevent their being drabbled, then place them with the mother in a coop, and feed with coarse barley-meal, to which water is added, making the food quite sloppy ; afterwards give Indian meal and bran mixed up with buttermilk, so as to form a proper consistency, occasionally adding a few boiled potatoes by way of a change ; and, as I have before stated, they will be ready for the market in 8 weeks, which is the chief end to aim at, and get them into money as soon as possible. Early ducklings are generally sent to the market in the feathers, but if kept over 2 months old, it is better to dress them, on account of the feathers, which are nearly, if not quite as valuable as those of the goose ; and the duck, when dressed, is more convenient to the buyer, consequently, will command a better price. In a work of this kind it would be quite useless to enter into a description of the many existing varieties of fancy ducks, which are of no value to the generality of farmers, or where mixed poultry is kept, on account of the additional convenience, care, and attention required. Guinea Fowls Are a useful and handsome bird, and are in season during the months of February, March, and April ; they lay a great quan- tity of eggs during the summer, but, being of a wild nature, they generally lay astray, consequently their eggs are sometimes lost. Their flesh is of very gamelike flavour, and, coming in after the game-season, they are useful for the table ; their eggs 530 The Rearing and Management of are small, but fine flavoured, and always worth the same price as common hen-egg's, the price of the birds being- generally about 7.?. 6(f. per couple. It is the best way, in case of breeding, to set the eggs under the common hen, the time of incubation being one month. After hatching place the hen under a coop, around which fix a guard to prevent the young straying, as they are very wild ; they may have the same food as young turkeys (see p. 525). The coop, which should have a boarded bottom, will require to be moved to fresh ground every other day at least ; after the first week the young birds should be shut up within the coop, to avoid injury whilst being removed; they may have their liberty when three Aveeks old, but the mother should be kept in the coop a week longer. The young will by degrees become tame and good foragers, and little difficulty will be experienced in rearing them under this method ; but they are troublesome amongst other poultry, being regular attendants, however well fed, at the chickens' coops, besides being very quarrelsome, often driving the most spirited cocks before them, and perhaps injuring them in some way. From these remarks it may be inferred, according^ to circumstances, whether it is desirable to keep them, or not, upon an ordinary farm. 1 have made 8/. within a little, from one pair of birds during a season. As many males as females are required, as they always pair; the spotted variety is the . hardest, the white are very delicate birds. Pigeons. There being so little trouble with these birds, it is desirable to keep a few at most places ; they are always readily sold, and are in great demand when game is out of season and spring chickens are scarce. For breeding purposes they should not be kept too old ; a convenient way of denoting their age is to cut off a nail of the claw every year, and a good cote with separate nests should be provided, and kept scrupulously clean, and a plentiful supply of rock-salt afforded. For the table and profit, the Blue Rocks are pi-eferable to most other breeds ; one pair will produce ten hatches during the year. Feed regularly, but scantily, as they will find the greatest portion of their own food. Eggs. Eggs should be gathered daily, in fact whenever they are to be found, for fear of loss or accident ; those from the select poultry should be placed in bran, with the narrow end down- wards, marking thereon the date, as the preference is ahvays given to the freshest eggs for setting, though they will keep good Poultry on an ordinary Farm. 531 for tliree weeks, and if 30U have more than required they may be sold at a good price. But ordinary eggs should be sold only when dear, and pi^eserved when cheap, in the following manner : — If there are many, procure a tub that will contain, say 40 gallons, which place in a cellar or other cool room, and put therein one bushel of quicklime, 2 lbs. of common salt, and \ lb, of cream of tartar, then add 30 gallons of cold water, and stir round a few times to mix the ingredients ; afterwards leave until the follow- ing morning, when again stir up all well together. It should then be of such a consistency that an e^^ will float on the sur- face. Another vessel of convenient size must now be provided, in which the eggs are to be preserved, packing them close together with narrow end downwards (which should be done daily, after a commencement is made, as the fresher the eggs are the better), adding as much of the prepared liquor as will just cover the eggs ; this must be done day by day until the vessel is filled within three inches of the top, then fill up the vessel with the liquor, and in a few days a crust of icelike appearance will be formed over the vessel, so as to keep it perfectly air-tight. Eggs (if fresh) preserved thus will keep as long as required, and for all cooking purposes will answer as well as the freshest, from which they can scarcely be distinguished. Having practised the system for years, I will guarantee it to have the desired effect, if properly carried out. Where labour is a consideration, eggs may be managed so as to pay better than rearing young fowls, as far less time and attention is required with laying hens ; but the non-sitting varieties should generally be kept, though sitters will be required to produce early chickens, which must furnish the fresh eggs for the breakfast-table during the winter-months. COXCLUSION. No given rule can be laid down as regards the keeping and profitable extension of poultry on an ordinary farm, as so much depends entirely upon the conveniences and attendance — whether the latter can be performed by a member of the farmer's own family, whose time is not otherwise profitably employed, or whether it can be had at a reasonable rate ; if not, a large number will have to be kept to produce a profit, after paying for special attendance ; but if poultry of all descriptions are kept in large numbers on too small a space, the ground becomes tainted, and disease and death make their appearance amongst them. Poultry in some hands flourish and pay wonderfully well, whilst in others it is just the reverse ; all depends upon the care, skill, and atten- tion bestowed in the management thereof. For the satisfaction of the reader I will state the produce 532 Feeding Turkeys, Geese, and Ducks jor the London Market. and value for one year of my poultry, as regards the female stock managed as herein stated. In some instances fancy prices were obtained, and prizes taken on exhibition, which, of course, are included in the value. No account of the quantity of food consumed was taken, as I had no intention of offering a statement to the public. It was, however, all grown on the farm, except about 4/. worth. 104 hens produced 13,739 eggs, exclusive of those set ; they reared 372 chickens, besides hatching the ducks and guinea- fowls. 5 turkey hens reared 74 young, 6 geese reared 58 goslings. Ducks hatched under hens : 79. Guinea-fowls hatched under hens : 42. Reared and sold. Attendance : a boy and myself. Total value of the above, 190Z. 175. 8f/. N.B. — 7 store ducks kept ; the guinea-fowls were the produce of one pair. Manor Farm, I^ufford, Ollerion. XIV. — Feeding Turkeys, Geese, and Ducks for the London Market. By Heney H. Dixon. The Eastern Counties may be said to have pretty nearly a mono- poly of our English turkey raising and feeding. Hen-wives are generally " afraid to meddle with them " on the score of delicacy ; but if the requisite food and attendance are not found to be thrown away in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, &c., why should they be elsewhere, except in an essentially damp climate ? They must be tenderly reared and not " dragged up," as the saying is. The Norfolk turkey is black, with a few white spots on its wings ; and in no part of the county is the breed preserved in higher purity than at Sir William Ffolkes's. The Cambridgeshire turkey is of a bronze grey, and rather longer in the leg and bigger in the bone. Very few white ones are to be seen, as they are supposed, like a white long-horn cow, to be more delicate. The adherents of the Norfolk blacks consider that they lay on more flesh, and that it is whiter and finer in texture than that of the Cambridgeshire bronze; but as a rule the latter sort predominates in the East Anglian stubbles, and comes to the greatest weight. A good Aprihhatched cock at Christmas should average about IS lbs. in his feathers, and a hen.-bird about 10 or 11 lbs. in November, with ordinary feeding ; Feeding Turkeys, Geese, and Ducks for the London Market. 533 but if they have been " sent along " with Indian corn, barley-meal, rice, and potatoes, they will make up to nearly 2 lbs. heavier. The small Norfolk farmers generally keep a cock and three or four hens, and consider fifteen an excellent brood. The best broods are always hatched in April, and the second brood, which never comes to the same maturity and is eaten at poult-estate, follows in June or July. A September hatch too often realizes the rustic prophecy, " they'll never be fit, they won't live long enough." Cramp in the legs is very fatal to the broods ; but it only kills them by lingering stages, and a disease in the head very often effects " a highly successful elimination." Wet is the young turkey's greatest foe. They are not let out of the coop till they have been hatched two or three days, and they should then be carefully watched and driven in from a shower. On the smaller fa,rms they are seldom finished off for market, and middle-men go round about the end of August and buy them up at an average of 4/. XQs. per score. They are then sold at a small profit, of sometimes only Qd. per head, to the larger farmers to "shack" upon the barley or oat stubbles, while the " swine well ringled " are put upon the wheat ones. By the terms of some leases the pigs and poultry are the only live stock which may be depastured on the young grass seeds layer. A turkey-boy is placed in daily attendance on the flock, to drive them home if it is wet, and keep them away from the trees, to which, true to their American forest origin, they are very partial. Nice bright plumage and wattles like red sealing-wax are capital symptoms, and if the cocks gobble, they are said to " talk healthy." Fighting is also a true sign of vigour, and so is fly-catching, when they are young. Besides what they get on the stubbles, they have abun- dance of indoor relief. The system of cramming them at night with force-balls is very much abandoned, and they are generally well kept on potatoes, barley-tailings, and light wheat, ground and mixed with milk. Common white turnips, which they eat greedily without slicing, tend to make their flesh white and to " cool their coppers ;" and brickdust to scour their maw is never neglected. They are killed simply by breaking their necks, and the breast- bone is always broken before they are sent off to the poultry- salesman, in order to give the breast a plumper appearance. The cocks, if sold out of their feathers to the neighbouring gentry, will fetch Is. 2d. per lb. and the hens Is., or sometimes only 9^., when a very plentiful season has knocked down prices, or they are not fed up to the mark. The bigger they are the higher their value per lb., on the same principle that salmon of 20 lbs. and upwards fetch (Sd. more in the spring and early summer months for the large West-end dinner parties. The great bulk of them VOL. III. — S. S. 2 N 534 Feeding Turkeijs, Geese, and Ducks for the London Market. go in their feathers to the London salesmen ; but the wives of the smaller farmers take them picked to Norwich and sell them in the market, where very large ones, trussed and ready for the spit, have made Is. 6d. at Christmas. Hen birds, which get fat sooner and are generally killed off before the end of November, are thought to be a daintier morsel than the " gobblers." Some two-year old cocks (beyond v/hich age they are very seldom kept) have been killed at 30 lbs., when a heavy weight is wanted for an audit dinner; but with very high feeding, in one or two rare instances, prize birds have turned the scale at 40 lbs. It is to Norfolk and Suffolk that we look for goose management on the largest and most economical scale. The goose trade of the great Norfolk dealers resolves itself into two branches, — the green geese and the Michaelmas. In March and April they begin to get in their gosling supplies from farmers or cottagers near the commons in both those counties. Most of these goslings are about five weeks old, and many of them in very poor plight ; but six or seven weeks of feeding under stages, on barleymeal, maize, wheat-tailings, and brewers'-grains mixed, make them all ripe for the green-goose market. The Michaelmas geese take their places under the stages in August, and Norfolk and Suffolk are pretty well scoured before the dealers fall back upon the Irish and the Dutch supplies. The Dutch, which are principally grey, come from Rotterdam, and one of the largest Norwich dealers imported 17 tons' weight of live birds last year. They come over by steamers and sailing-vessels, packed in big flat baskets, but not to any great extent after the 1st of October. In the dealers' hands they are are fed on the same principle as ducks — low fare to begin with, and then on a gradually ascending scale. On turnips they are capital substitutes for sheep, and when a dealer has a turnip- field he not unfrequently hurdles off a portion of it and eats it off with them. They first clear the tops and then the bulbs of the softer turnips ; but when they have a field of swedes to deal with, the man in attendance gives each turnip a chop. With this aid they eat far cleaner than sheepj and, in fact, leave nothing but their " taith," which answers admirably as a prepara- tion for the next wheat-crop. Mangolds are not so much to their taste as turnips, but they eat the tops with a special relish. While they are busy with these green crops they require nothing but large troughs of water, and the finishing process consists in putting them under stages for a month, and feeding them on brewers'-grains and meal. On the Western moors of Cornwall every one keeps geese, and they are bought up by jobbers in thousands for the stubbles. Summer Court on September 25th is the " goose fair " of the county ; but they are only eaten there, and bargains are struck Feeding TuTheys, Geese, and Ducks for the London Market. 535 under tlieir savoury influence for draft ewes and wethers. Farmers all over England are supplied very largely both from Holland and Ireland. Geese are extensively bred in Moravia ; and the hilly districts in Germany and Holland are peopled by a number of small goose-farmers, who get their living entirely by them. The Hussenheim goose-market is a very large one and of great an- tiquity, and, according to local tradition, the town owes its name to the bird of its choice. The Dutch hucksters buy goslings from the cotters, — who, like the burghers, are remarkable for turning the penny the right way, — at prices varying from Is. 6(7. to 'Is* They are driven to Rotterdam, where they are packed up in crates, which are capable of holding about fifty or sixty each. Their voyage to Hull by the steamers is charged at I85. per cwt., or about 5/. for 300 or 400 birds, and they are not fed until they are landed, and then with oats. From Hull they are forwarded to central market towns in railway trucks, each of which is capable of holding 230 birds. A small percentage of the more weakly ones die from being trampled on, and these casualties, with the expense of transit and sale attendants, bring up the price to about 3^. 9^., when they are pitched in the market during August and September. The Irish collections are managed on a similar principle. If the goslings are purchased within reasonable distance of Dublin or Dundalk, they are driven to those ports, and if not, they are sent by rail. Liverpool, like Hull, is quite a " board of supply " for English dealers during the season. Considerable supplies of ducks are also brought from Holland, and some turkeys as well ; but the Norwich dealers' duck-supplies are mostly gathered in through the hucksters, from the small cottagers in the county. Rouens and Aylesburys have not been much used for crossing, and the supplies are generally of the small mixed brown and cinnamon sort, which has subsisted since the flood. The cottagers do not force their ducklings, but sell them to the dealers, one of whom takes 30,000 a year, principally in the duck-and-green-pea season. They come to him about 3 lbs. in weight, and after a week in the lean and three in the fat yard, they are turned out in prime condition, and with fully 1 lb. gain in flesh. 10, Kemington Square. * We are indebted for these calculations to the ' Doncaster Gazette.' 2 N 2 ( 536 ) XV. — Extracts from the Report on the Arpimltural Exhibition at Aarhuus {Denmark). By John Wilson, Professor of Agriculture in the University of Edinburgh. Equivalents of Danish Weights and Measures referred to. Square mile is nearly = 22' square miles (English) Tcinde (metrical) = 3*8272 bushels ,, ,, (superficial) = 1"363 acres ,, Foot (fod) = 1-0298 feet ,, Inch = 1-0298 incli ,, Pound = 1-1024 lbs. ,, Pot (fluid) =1-1 758 quarts Eigs-daler (96 skillings) = 2-243 shillings ,, Rigs-daler per Tonde-land = 1 - 6456 shillings per acre , , DenmaKK, which now comprises only Jutland and the Danish isles, is, comparatively speaking, so little known, and its agricul- tural system possesses features so different from our own, that a short sketch of its principal physical and economic features and of its productions is a necessary introduction to the Report which I have now to submit upon its great agricultural meeting. The surface area of Denmark extends over 667tV square miles (Danish), or 6,866,061 Danish Tonder-land. The population, according to the last census returns (Feb. 1st, 1860), amounted to 1,600,551 persons, of which number 737,204, or 45*43 per cent., were engaged in agricultural pursuits.* The character or rather quality of the soil is expressed by an arbitrary standard of comparison peculiar to Denmark, to which we have nothing analogous in our own country nor in the other countries of Western Europe. This I will now endeavour to explain. From a very early period in Danish history the different grain crops cultivated in the country were divided into " hard corn " and " soft corn." Barley and rye represented the first, and oats the second ; wheat at that period was not known as a farm crop. As the land was held by different proprietors in differing quan- tities, and differed itself in quality, it was thought advisable, in 1656, to define their qualities and values by some fixed and readily recognized standard, and all rents and imposts on the lands were reduced into their estimated equivalents of " llart- korn" (hard corn). The Amtmann of the district summoned meetings of the principal proprietors and of those qualified to assist in such an investigation, the quality of the land was deter- * ' Statistisk Udsigt over Danmarks Landbrug.' Kjobenhavn, 18G6. Agricultural Exhibition at Aarhuus {Denmark). 537 mined by them, and the rents fixed according to its estimated produce. The most productive was rated as high as 40 rigs- dalers the Tonde-land, while the inferior qualities ranged as low as 2 r.d. per Tonde-land. In 1660, when the crown of Denmark was made hereditary, and a fixity thus given to the Government of the country, the taxes and other fiscal imposts were calculated on the amount paid for rent, which itself was determined by the estimated pro- duce of the land in Hart-korn. Owing to some irregularities in the working of the system, revisions and alterations were needed, and in 1681 a second general survey was made of all the culti- vated lands, and a rigid re-measurement and re-valuation were carried out. The meadow lands were rated according to their estimated produce in hay; the pasture and grass lands according to the amount and nature of the stock they could carry ; and the arable lands were divided into Tonder-land, and their value estimated according to the amount of Hart-korn they could produce. In 1804, and again in 1827, fresh valuations were made, and the old superficial measurements either confirmed or rectified. In 1840, these were again subjected to supervision, and the taxes of the country re-arranged. At the present date, every portion of the surface, except that occupied by roads or by water, is valued at so much '"'Hart-korn per Tonde-land," and is assessed for imperial or local taxation according to this rate. For the best qualities of land, such as is met with in some of the islands, the taxes are fixed at 1 Tdnde of Hart-korn for each 6 Tonder-land of surface ; for the medium class of soils at 1 Tonde of Hart-korn for 12 Tonder-land ; and for the inferior qualities of soils at 1 Tonde of Hart-korn for 100 Tonder-land of surface. The average rate of assessment of the whole territorial area may be taken at 1 Tonde of Hart-korn for each 20 Tonder- land of occupied surface. When any land is offered for sale, the Hart-korn value is always specified as well as the extent of surface. The large properties, or farms " Herred-gaard," are usually let on leases of 12 to 15 years, with covenants as to the mode of cropping and farming as stringent and often as obstructive as our own. Rents are paid either wholly in money, or half in corn and half in money ; the rates for ordinary farming-land ranging from 10 to 15 r.d. per Tonde-land. The small farms or proper- ties, " Bonder-gaard," are usually let for longer periods, such as 50 years, or for a certain number of lives. The farm-labourers are usually engaged by the year. They are lodged and boarded in the house, and paid at the rate of 40 to (JO r.d. per annum. This brief explanation will, I hope, be sufficient to render the 538 Agricultural Exhibition at Aarhuus (Denmark). following statistical statement of the quality or character of the land readily intelligible, although expressed in a form so entirely different from what we are accustomed to at home. The meadows, woods, and arable lands are valued at 375,069 Tonder of Hart-korn, of which 203,809 are on the islands, and 171,206 are in Jutland. These are divided amongst 1754 large proprietors, who possess altogether 50,118 Tonder of Hart-korn, giving an average amount to each of 28*6 Tonder Hart-korn, and 69,094 small proprietors, who possess 278,528 Tonder Hart- korn; thus averaging an area equal to 4 Tonder Hart-korn each. There are besides 136,925 small occupiers of houses with less than 1 Tonde Hart-korn attached, who possess together 34,531 Tonder Hart-korn, or an average of about "25 Tonder each ; and in other small occupations of various descriptions an area exists equal to 5122 Tonder Hart-korn. Thus the entire surface is occupied in the following proportions : — Per Cent. By large properties 13 "6 By small properties 75*6 By occupatious under 1 Tciade Hart-korn .. 9 '4 By small occupations 1'4 100-0 These two classes of landed proprietors vary somewhat in their relative proportions on the islands and on the mainland (Jut- land), the large estates increasing on the islands, while the pro- portion of small estates is greatest on the mainland. On the Islands. Large proprietors Small ,, Small occupations with houses . . , , , , without buildings Jutland, Large proprietors Small ,, Small occupations with houses . . , , , , without buildings Number. 1,024 30,. 39 1 67,545 7.30 38,703 69,380 Possessing Tiinder-land. 32,724 147,347 16,705 3,205 17,394 131,171 16,705 1,917 Percentage. Proportion. 16-3 73-7 8-4 1-6 100 0 10 3 78 0 10 6 1 1 100 •() The surface area was, according to the last returns (1861) occupied in the following manner : — Agricultural Exhibition at Aarhuus {Denmark). Tonder-land. Productive area <. 4,753,278 Unproductive 2,112,783 G,86G,0G1 Productive occupation — In tillage cultivation, as corn, roots, andi ^ q^,^ -.qo economic crops j ' '"' '-^ In meadows, grass, and irriicatcd lands,\o a-a oao fallows, &c ' j-,-t<4,oJo In woodlands 316,712 4,753,288 Unproductive — Waste lands, moors, &c 2,032,245 Water 80,538 2,112,783 539 The relative proportions of the productive area are — Per Cent. In tillage occupation 41"2S In permanent grass, &c 52"0G In woods 6*GG 100-00 Tillage Ai-ea under Crop. Wheat Rye Barley Oats Pulse Buckwheat Seeds Potatoes Roots Rape Flax and Hemp Carraway, &c Grazing Lands, &c. Grass pastures Natural meadows Irrigated , , Fallows Tuiider-land. 112,358 378,873 549,743 649,264 75,908 49,145 61,078 55,341 4,508 12,872 7,270 5,814 1,408,322 433,635 308,385 324,051 Percentage. Proportion. 5-72 19'31 28-02 33-09 3-87 2-50 3-11 2-82 •23 •66 •37 •30 100-00 57-01 17-53 12-46 13-10 100^00 The average yield of the principal tillage crops is thus given — 540 Aijriculhiral Exhibition at Aarhuiis {Denmark). Wheat .. .. 1,100,000 or atout 10 Tonder per Toudc-land Eye .. .. 3,400,000 „ 1) Barley .- .. 0,000,000 ., 11 Oats .. .. 7,700,000 „ 12 Buckwheat .. 25,000 „ 5 ,. „ Pulse .. .. 600,000 „ 8 „ „ Mixed seeds.. 300,000 „ 10 „ „ The gross produce of the cultivated land is appropriated as follows : — Tender. j Per Cent. For seed 2,250,000 11-7 ,, Food for cattle, &c 7,900,000 ; 41-6 ,, General consumption .. 5,500,000 29-4 ,, Export 3,420,000 17-3 100-0 la 18G5 the surplus agricultural produce exported consisted of— Tonder. Wheat 406,357 Rye 543,381 Barley 1,537,417 Oats 815,.504 Peas 29,967 Beans 8669 Tares 2311 Pape 147,782 Malt 4404 Flour 212,130 Miscellaneous 0057 Total 3,773,910 Oilcakes 7,081,840 The last statistical returns of live stock were made in July, 18G1, and were as follows : — Horses. Stallions 4071 \ Mares 170,411 qoi -rn Geldmss 112, //5j ' Foals, under two years .. .. 30,703 j Cattle. Bulls 21,080] Cows 756,8341 ^-.-.nr-r-A xen (b, (oh ' ' Heifers, and under two years .. 264,102^ Sheep. Over one year old 1,051,517) -. — -i nro Under one year old 700,433) "'''''-^'^•^^ Agricultural Exhibition at Aarhuus [Denmark). 541 Swine. Ovev oue year old 02,181) oaaqpq Undcv one year old 238,747 j ^ ^ " ^ Annual live stock produce (1860): — Foals 20,005 Calves 521,070 Lambs 739,075 Pigs 289,849 This would give an average of the several descriptions of stock per 1000 of the population of — Horses 203 or 408 per square mile. Cattle 099 „ 1012 Sheep 1094 „ 2524 Swine 188 „ 433 ,, The average annual butter produce is estimated at 50,000,000 to 51,000,000 lbs. After providing for the requirements of the population, there remained (1865) the following surplus stock and animal produce for exportation : — Horses 3501 Cattle 38,934 Calves 639 Sheep 29,851 Swine 39,058 Dead meat 1,440,345 1138. Bacon 9,932,312 „ Butter 41,145 barrels. AVool 2,900,307 lbs. Skins 5,385,230 „ Bones 4,557,459 „ The climate of Denmark appears to be not very different from our own. From the returns which have been furnished to me by the Meteorological Committee of the High Agricultural School, it appears that the mean monthly temperature recorded at Copenhagen for the past 72 years has been — Fahr.* j Fahr. January 29-75° | July 61-7^ February 30-01° | August 02-31- March 33-02° April 42-99° May 51-75° June 59-81° September 56-28° October 46-6° November 39*02° December 33'05° The mean Winter (December, January, and February) temp, was 31-46° „ Spring (March, April, and May) „ 42-46° ,. Summer (June, July, August) „ 62-00° „ Autumn (September, October, November) „ 46-64° * In Denmark Iieaumur"s thermometer is used. The degree of Re'aumur is equal to 2-25° of Fahrenheit, or as 4 is to 9. 542 Agricultural Exhibition at Aarhuus (Denmark). The rainfall which has been recorded at the same place for 44 years gives the following mean monthly quantities for that period : — Inches.* Jani;ary 1'71 February . March April May June 1- 1-55 1-45 1-48 2-10 Inches. July 2-28 August .. .. ■ 2-46 September 2'16 October 2-16 November 2-00 December 1"G7 The mean amount of rain fallins" — - ing the winter quarter has been . 4- 9 inches „ sprmg • 4-47 „ „ summer „ „ . 6-85 „ „ autumn „ „ 7"15 „ The mean number of days on which either rain or snow, hail, &c., has fallen in each month, recorded for a period of 32 years, was 157, occurrina: as follows : — January February March April May June July August September October November December 15 12 13 11 11 12 14 14 13 15 14 13 of which snow fell on 7 days. 6 „ 11 O 11 The mean number of days on which wet fell in the Winter quarter was Spring „ Summer „ Autumn „ 40 of which snow fell on 17 35 „ 6 40 „ 0 42 ., 1 157 24 The prevailing winds for the four seasons and for the year, calculated from obserA'ations taken three times daily at Land- boheisholm, 50^ 41' N. latitude, 0^ 2' longitude VV. of Copen- hagen (average of three years), are represented by the following diagrams : — The Danish inch is equal to 1-0298 inch (English). Agricultural Exhibition at Aarhuus {Denmark). 543 544 Agricultural Exkibition at Aarkuus (Denmark). Average for the Year. W-^es This brief and condensed sketch, though very imperfect, will, I hope, serve to convey a pretty good general idea of the agricultural character and capabilities of the country. The Exhibition comprised five distinct departments, which were located in as many different places, though all were within an easy distance of each other. 1. Machines, Implements, and Tools. 2. Butter and Cheese. 3. Seeds — Agricultural and Forest. 4. Fish, and Fishing appliances. 5. Live Stock. The four first departments were open during the whole period of the meeting, from the 24th to the 29th June inclusive. The last was only exhibited on the 28th, the stock being removed the next day. The prizes and honorary awards were on a very liberal scale. In the " Machine and Implement " department medals were given in silver and bronze. In the " Dairy Produce" depart- ment medals were given for large dairies' butter, and for small dairies' butter (under twenty cows), and for whole milk and skimmed milk cheeses, besides money prizes of 25, 15, and 10 r.d. each. In the third department, medals were given. In the " Fishery, &c.," department, silver and bronze medals were given for preserving fish — for preparing fish for food — ^and for tackle and appliances for catching fish. In the " Live Stock " department, money prizes were awarded to a large amount in the following proportions : — For the Horse classes Cattle „ Sheep „ Swine ,, Fat Stock „ in all 2,800 rigs-dalers 2,845 355 ICO 1,000 Or a total of 7,160 equal to 7 Afjricultural Exldbition at Aarlains (^Denmarh'u 545 Machines and Implements. The various objects comprised in this department were divided into sixteen different classes; and there were 182 exhibitors. Several of. our own firms were creditably represented, though their contributions were not on the same scale as at the Vienna meeting', probably because the limited nature of any possible demand for their manufactures in Denmark more than counter- balanced the greater facilities of transport to Aarhuus. Experimental trials in the field were condu(;ted during the week preceding the Exhibition, under the personal superintend- ence of Prof. Jorgensen, of Copenhagen (to whom 1 am greatly indebted for the facilities and information he afforded me during my visit), and a special jury ; and opportunities were afforded each morning of the Exhibition of seeing some of the principal machines, such as reapers, cScc, in operation, close to the show ground. These appeared to attract attention and give general satisfaction. The following prizes were awarded to the English exhi- bitors : — Silver Medals — to Clayton and Shuttleworth, for steam-engine and compound threshing-machines with straw elevator ; Hornsby and Sons, for steam-engine and threshing-machine, and for reaping-machine ; John Baker, for corn dressing-machine ; J. and F. Howard, for ploughs and harrows ; Spear and Jackson, for hand implements. Bronze Medals — to W. S. Underbill, for turnip-sowing machine ; R. and R. Hunt, for horse-hoes. The " Butter and Cheese " department was, as might be ex- pected, upon a much larger scale than we are accustomed to at ordinary agricultural meetings. Both the larger and the smaller class of dairies were well represented ; and the samples of their respective produce, in butter and in cheese, were so numerous as not only to occupy much time, but to give the judges consider- able difhculty in making their awards. In the third department, " Agricultural and Forest Seeds," the samples exhibited were too limited in quantity to admit of any fair comparisons or judgment of what their quality would be in bulk. They were generally very neatly and creditably arranged, but on a scale more suitable for a museum collection than a great agricultural exhibition. The " Fish and Fishing appliances " exhibited were also of a very meagre description ; certainly not equal to what a seagirt country like Denmark was capable of furnishing. This branch of our food-producing industries appears to have been lately exciting more attention in different countries than it formerly 546 Agricultural ExMhition at Aarhuus {Denmarli). (lid ; but certainly not more than it deserves. In countries like Denmark and our own, with such an extent of coast line, the sea offers a field for occupation where the harvest is of a permanent and well-nigh illimitable character — where no seed or seed-time has to be considered, and where the crop is always ready to be gathered in when the elements permit the tillers to leave their homes. In Holland, in France, in Norway, and in Sweden, special exhibitions for illustrating and developing the fishing resources of the respective countries have already been held. At the recent meeting at Vienna it formed an interesting department, and announcements have been made public of an exhibition to be again held in Holland in the coming summer of 1867, for the same object. Would it not be well for us to follow the example thus set us by countries whose natural fishing facilities are not greater, and whose food pressure is certainly not so great as our own. The " Live Stock " were, as usual, the great object of attrac- tion on the single day set apart for their exhibition. Another circumstance tended no doubt to swell the numbers that attended the meeting on that day — the presence of the King, accompanied by the Crown Prince, the Czarowich, and the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia. Each department was visited in detail, and the greatest interest was manifested by his Majesty in everything that tended to illustrate the present or to improve the future condition of the agriculture of the country. The "Live Stock" was arranged in four divisions — horses, horned cattle, sheep, and swine — and these again were sub- divided into different classes. The several " Horse " classes were very well represented, and contained some very well-shaped useful animals, whether for road or purely agricultural work. Those selected by the judges as worthy of a prize had to substantiate their claims to it by per- forming in harness, in a satisfactory manner, a given distance, with a certain weight of draught in a certain time. The horses were thus seen in action at the work for which they were stated to be suitable, and their qualities, good or bad, were thus brought out more prominently and more fairly than would be done by the ordinary mode of judging. The Jutland horse is generally a well - bred, good - shaped animal, from 15 to 16 hands high, rather heavy and sluggish in appearance, and suitable for road as well as field work. The prevailing colours were bays and browns. Some years ago some English thoroughbred stallions were imported for improving their breed ; and more recently, Cleveland blood has been resorted to for the same purpose, but in neither case were the Agricultural Exhibition at Aarhuus {^Denmark). 547 results so satisfactory as was expected. They have no doubt, however, done some good, as many of the horses exhibited possessed many points of resemblance to the Yorkshire breed. There were 1 64 horses on the ground ; they were generally in good condition, and well groomed. In the "Cattle" classes prominence was duly given to the breeds best suited for dairy purposes, of which several excellent specimens were exhibited, Ijoth of the native Jutland and the Slesvig breeds. The Jutland dairy breed is of small size, generally black or white, or of a dun colour, with coarse heads and muzzles — not at all prepossessing in appearance, but pre- senting great opportunities for improvement by judicious selec- tion in breeding, or by crossing with other suitable breeds. The Angel (Slesvig) breed is darkish red in colour, small in size, but well shaped, with fine symmetrical heads and necks, good quarters, and all the characteristics of good milkers. The class for collective specimens of the particular breed afforded a good opportunity of forming a satisfactory judgment of the stock of the exhibitor, as the bull, cows, and their produce, were placed together in each lot. There does not appear to have been at any time much infusion of foreign blood into the native breeds of the country, neither did the stock exhibited indicate that careful selection in breeding which we consider so important at home. In the mixed-breeds classes there were a few crosses with the Alderney and Ayrshire blood, but no pure specimens of either were shown. A little more attention to the preparation of the stock generally for exhibition, expecially as regards cleanliness, would have materially improved their appearance. Many were too low in condition for even ordinary purposes. The same observations which I ventured to make with reference to the stock exhibited at Vienna are even more applicable here.* * "Rarely out of our own country do we find the same amount of care and attention bestowed on the preparation of stock for exhibition that we are accus- tomed to at home. This difference of treatment has its advantages as well as its disadvantages. The animal is shown in its natural every-day condition, with all its points, good or bad, fairly exposed, and its merits or defects open to an easy judgment. It has not been forced by early and rich feeding to assume abnormal proportions or an undue maturity, too often at the cost of its natural powers, but stands as the honest representative of what it professes to be, and visibly justifies the value that is placed upon it. At the same time the unprejudiced visitor from England must, without attempting to defend the exaggerated mode of preparation at home, observe the general depreciation which stock of any sort undergoes when exhibited without that due attention to condition and cleanliness with which all stock properly cared for ought always to be treated. These are indeed points which, though frequently sadly neglected, are as liable to affect the general health and vigour of an animal, as is over-feeding, though in different ways, and certainly claim attention from the owners of stock in the Austrian Empire." — Eeport on the Agricultural Exhibition at Vienna, p. 32. 548 Agricultural Exhibition at Aarhuus {Denmark). The different classes were well represented, comprising no less tlian 438 entries in addition to the separate collective lots (19 in number) of bulls, cows, and offspring. The cattle, as well as the horses, Avere all exhibited in the open, tethered in rows according to their respective classes ; fortunately the weather, though intensely hot, was most favourable for both men and beasts. The "Sheep" classes contained nothing which calls for special notice. The old Danish breed is well-nigh displaced entirely I)y the introduction of the Merino or English breeds. In some cases crosses have been effected, but in none of the specimens exhibited were the results to be compared with the pure imported breeds. The class contained in all 135 entries, inclusive of the fat stock, about 40 in number. The "Swine" classes were poorly represented. In all the specimens exhibited, English blood — Yorkshire or Berkshire — gave the stamp of value to the respective pens. Indeed, neither the sheep nor swine class were quite equal to what might reasonably have been expected in a country so purely agricul- tural as Denmark — a country too Avhich has a large annual surplus produce to dispose of, in which quality is, or ought to be, always a matter of primary importance. Taken altogether, the Exhibition, though somewhat unequal in its departments, was a great success, and most creditable to a country so limited in its population as Denmark now is. The numbers that visited it were far in excess of those at any previous meeting, and must have contributed satisfactorily to the funds of the Royai Agricultural Society, under whose direct super- intendence it was held, and been equally gratifying to the excellent and indefatigable President, Count Holstein-Holstein- borg. The Royal Agricultural Society was established in 1769, and consists of three presidents, a council of 12 members, and about 300 ordinary members, who each pay 10 rigs-dalers per annum. In addition to the subscription the society receives an annual subsidy from the Government of 1600 r.d. Its great meetings or exhibitions are held every third year, the locality being changed for each meeting. Besides this central society for the practical encouragement of agriculture, there exists an excellent school at Copenhagen for teaching those principles of the art, the application of which it is the function of the Royal Agri- cultural Society to develope and encourage. The Royal Veteri- nary and Agricultural High School (Kongelige Veterinair-og- Landbohoiskole) was organised in its present form in 1857, and is intended to teach agriculture, agricultural engineering, vete- The Danish Agricultural Society and School. 549 rinary practice, forest and garden cultivation and management, for each of which there are separate departments. The teaching staff consists of seven professors and ten docents or teachers, who are attended by an average number of 250 students. The regular course of teaching comprises the following sub- jects, which are thus arranged by the — Seven- Professors and Ten Docents or Teachers. 2. Pathology. Mathematics. 1. Anatomy. Botany. 1. Hygiene. Zoologj\ 1. Chemistry, Geology. 1. Agriculture. Mineralogj'. 1. Surveying, &c. Forestry. Horticulture. Engineering, &c. Plan Drawing, &c. Veterinary Jurisprudence. The duration of the school course of study varies in the differ- ent departments, viz. : — The Agricultural course lasts .. , 2 years. „ Veterinary course lasts 42 „ „ Engineering and Surveying course lasts .. ^^ „ „ Forestry course lasts 2h „ The classes are held continuously from August to May, when Examinations are held in each of the departments, and Certifi- cates of qualification (] , 2, and 3 class) given to the success- ful candidates. The Government gives an annual subsidy of 40,000 r.d (4500Z.) to the Institution, The cost to the student is limited to 12 r.d. per annum for the entire course of lectures, with the addition of 10 r.d. per session, with half the cost of the materials used by those who work in the laboratories. These fees, however, do not go towards the sustentation of the school, but go to form a fund, which is placed under the control of the Professors, for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the poorer class of students who would otherwise be unable to avail them- selves of the teaching of the Institution. One of the i lost important and interesting features of the meeting, and which is, so far as I know, peculiar to the great meet- ings of the Danish Agricultural Society, was the discussions which were held each morning during the week of the Exhibi- tion. The questions appointed for discussion were introduced by members specially acquainted with the subjects, and appeared, from the vigour of the discussion and the numbers present, to attract attention and give great satisfaction. The following list of the questions for discussion at the Aar- VOL. III. — .S S. 2 0 550 Agricultural Exhibition at Aarhuus [DenmarTi). huus Meeting will give some idea of tlie mental calibre and pro- clivities of the Danish agriculturists : — 1. What new experience have we in respect to the proper treatment and manufacture of butter and cheese ? 2. Considering the climatal advantages that may result from planting and irrigating on a large scale the moorlands of Jutland, it is desirable to consider by what means these advantages can be most profitably secured. 3. How are the working population of the rural districts housed ; and by what means can their dwellings be enlarged and improved ? 4. Would it be right to graze the land under woods, — is it even advisable to do so ? 5. Do we pay sufficient attention to the cultivation of fruit- bearing trees ; what can we do to improve them ? 6. Consideration of the means to be adopted to meet the future demand for instruction in " Rural Economy " by smaller farmers. 7. Ought we not to pay greater attention to the manufacture of meat, — in what direction ought the practice of feeding to be extended? 8. Are our present means of transport of live stock to English ports sufficient to satisfy the export requirements of the country ? 9. Are there any good reasons for trying to obtain an altera- tion in the law of January 26, 1863, as far as it excludes the older stallions from competition for the Government prizes at the local shows? 10. What value ought to be attached to the trial of strength in judging the horses; — ought this test to be introduced at the local shows? 11. Has drainage answered our expectations, and has this mode of improvement effected an alteration in the mode of utilising and treating the land? 12. Can the present condition and produce of our agricultural land satisfy the claims incurred by our improvements in farming ? I venture to make but one comment upon this list, in reference to the great number and variety of subjects proposed for discus- sion, for which the time set apart was totally inadequate. The same practice of issuing admission tickets for the whole period of the Exhibition, and of a public distribution of the prizes, that I met with at the Vienna Exhibition, is followed at the Danish Agricultural Meetings, and with the same beneficial results. Not that the ceremonial of the distribution of prizes at Aarhuus Agricultural Exhibition at Aarhuus {Denmark). 551 could be compared, so far as pictorial effect went, with that at Vienna. The presence of Royalty, and the varied and striking costumes of the different nationalities taking part in the proceed- ings there, gave a colouring to the latter which probably no other country could have produced. Here, however, the business of the day was conducted in a more simple and more serious manner. Although the nobles and larger proprietors were well represented, the great majority of the recipients were well-to-do yeomen farmers, as independent in their circumstances as in their characters, all wearing the same national dress of the plainest materials, all speaking the same language, and all joining heartily in praising their country and the King to whom they owed allegiance. The President of the meeting. Count Holstein-Holsteinborg, distributed the prizes, the animals being paraded past the tribune in succession as the prizes were presented to the successful exhibitors. Besides the regular discussions already alluded to, another practice exists at the meetings of the Danish Agricultural Society, which not only adds to their general interest, but also tends greatly to the benefit of the visitors generally, and especially of the smaller farmers. Excursions are arranged for visiting some of the leading farms and most improved estates in the district, where they have an opportunity of examining and of seeing carried out in practice those advanced systems which have been recommended to them by the Society, and perhaps discussed at the meeting itself. On this occasion, while one large party proceeded inland by the railway, others went east and west — by steamer or by road — to visit the fine farming and dairy establish- ments of Mr. Saxtorth, at Vosnoesgaard, and of Mr. Dahl, the Amtmann of the district, at Moesskov, where, notwithstanding their numbers, they were received with a most lavish hospitality, and conducted over every department of the farms. In the evening, a visit from the King and the Russian Princes and their suites to Moesskov, added not a little to the enjoyments of the place. The next great Meeting of the Society is to be held, I believe, at Copenhagen in 1869. As that will be the Centenary Com- memoration of the foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society, no exertions will be spared on the part of Denmark to ensure a successful meeting. If an invitation be then again given to foreign farmers to take part in the proceedings, it is to be hoped that ours will not be laggards in accepting it. The agricultural conditions of the two countries seem to be to a great extent com- plementary of each other; the more we know of each other's wants and requirements, the better able shall we be to supply them. ^'^^^'^^^^^^^^^^^^-^^ 2 0 2 ( 552 ) XVI. — Results of Experiments on the Potato Crop ivith reference to the most profitable size of the sets ; the influence of thick and thin pilanting ^ ^c, carried out in the years 1864 and 1865 at Benthall, near Broseley. By George Maw, F.S.A., G.S., L.S., Member of the Royal Agricultural College. Prize Essay. The striking evidence obtained from a few experiments made during the year 1864 with the object of ascertaining the sized potato-set most profitable to plant, induced me during the past year to carry out a more extensive series on a systematic scheme ; a brief report upon which I beg to lay before the Royal Agricultural Society of England. The 129 trial plots, described in the accompanying tabular statement of general results (at pp. 564-569), were arranged with special reference to the following questions, which I propose to c(msider under separate heads. Firstly. As to the influence of the size of the set on the economic results of the crop ; i. e., whether any increase, and to what extent, is obtained over and above the extra weight of the set, in the planting of large in lieu of small sets. Secondly. As to the influence on the crop of the distance at which the sets are planted ; or the results of close and wide planting of various sized potatoes. Thirdly. As to the comparative results from planting similar weights of large and of small potatoes per acre. Fourthly. As to the relative advantages of cut and whole sets. Fifthly. As to the influence of thick and thin planting, and of the size of the set, on the proportion borne between the weights of the sets and the weight of the crop, and the rate of increase under various conditions. Sixthly. As to the relative productiveness of different varieties of potato. Much diversity of opinion seems to prevail on these points, which are of economical importance in relation to both the Farm and Garden cultivation of the crop. The selection of the potato-sets appears commonly to be more a matter of present expediency than prospective profit. The general course is to appropriate the largest for use, the very smallest for pig-feeding, the tubers of intermediate size being preserved for replanting ; this method of assortment results in the use of sets of from two to three ounces in weight, and a set of less than two ounces is as often planted as one exceeding three or four ounces. Experiments on the Potato- Crop. 553 Our primary question is whether an increase in the size of the set will produce an excess above the extra weight of the sets planted ; such extra weight going to increase the strength of the individual sets without increasing their number ? The unequivocal results in favour of large sets, obtained from my experiments carried out in 1864, and recorded in the ' Gar- dener's Chronicle,' as well as from those which form the subject of this report, induce me to describe carefully the conditions under which the experiments were conducted. Every precaution was taken to insure the most perfect uni- formity in the conditions under which the various experiments were made. The manure was separately weighed out, and distributed on each 20 superficial feet of ground. The distance — 2 feet — between the rows was the same throughout the trial ground ; and to counteract the influence of any slight variations in the character of the soil, the particular experiments that would be brought into immediate comparison were placed as nearly as possible in juxtaposition. External rows were rejected for the experiments, and planted with part of the ordinary crop; and every individual set was separately weighed and selected to the specified size, and planted to measure, at precise distances. Notwithstanding these precautions, there was a want of cor- respondence in many of the individual results, which I would notice as a warning against depending on the evidence of single experiments : for instance, in plots planted under precisely the same conditions, and with no apparent difference in the appear- ance of the crops, the produce varied to the extent of several tons per acre. Similar inequalities, apparently unaccountable, will be found in all agricultural crops, and in the conduct of experi- ments every care should be taken that they are fully recognized in the calculation of results. Under the head of " Accidental Variations of Result " at the end of the report, I shall consider this subject more in detail, and endeavour to show the extent to Avhich these adventitious irregularities affect the general tenor of the experiments. It remains now to consider separately the various points to which the experiments relate. It will be found that I have in no case relied on isolated results, but drawn the conclusions from the general bearing of the series. Throughout the report the term "Gross Crop" will apply to the whole weight of potatoes produced per acre, and " Net Crop " to the balance of produce after deducting the weight of the sets from which it was grown. Firstly. The influence of the size of the set on the economic results of the crop; or lohether any increase, and to what extent, is 554 Experiments on the Potato-Crop. obtained over and above the increased weight of the set in the planting of large in the lieu of small sets. Several separate series of experiments may be cited in evi- dence of the influence of the weight of the set on the produce of the crop. An average of from ten to thirteen experiments with different varieties, planted one foot apart in the rows, gave the following results : — Gross Returns per Acre. "^ ■"- tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. ozs. 13 varieties, 1 oz. sets . . 10 19 3 17 or 17*65 per set. 13 2oz. sets . . 12 15 2- 14 or 21-03 „ 12 „ 4 oz. sets . 15 17 2 15^ or 25-39 „ 9 „ 6 oz. sets . 20 6 1 9 or 33-44 „ 6 „ 8 oz. sets . 23 8 1 14 or 38-67 „ After deducting the weight of the sets, the net balances of produce per acre will stand as follows : — tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. ozs. Average c fl3 vai ieties, 1 oz. sets . 9 17 3 0 or 16-65 per set J5 13 ?3 2 oz. sets . 11 11 1 7i or 19-03 „ J) 12 J? 4 oz. sets . . 13 9 0 2i or 21-39 „ 33 9 53 6 oz. sets . 16 13 1 16i or 27-44 „ 5? 6 J> 8 oz. sets . 18 11 0 16 or 30-67 „ The following are the amounts of net profit per acre for each oz. in the increase in the weight of the sets, from 1 oz. up to 8 ozs. (each oz. in the weight of the set occupying 2 square feet, being equivalent to 12 cwts. 11^ lbs. per acre) of seed : — tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. From 1 to 2 ozs 1 13 2 7i „ 2 to 4 ozs,, for each extra oz 0 18 3 14 „ 4 to 6 ozs. „ 1 12 0 21 „ 6 to 8 ozs. „ 0 18 3 14 The average of a number of experiments with different varie- ties planted i) inches apart in the rows, gave very similar results as follows : — Gross Returns per Acre. Average of 11 varieties, 1 oz. sets „ 12 „ 2 oz. sets „ 6 „ 4 oz. sets After deducting the weight of the sets, the net balances of produce per acre stand thus : — tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. ozs. Average of 11 varieties, 1 OZ. sets .. 9 16 0 0 or 13-21 per set. 12 „ 2 oz. sets .. 13 10 0 21 or 16-45 „ G „ 4oz. sets .. 14 13 0 4 or 17-99 „ The average produce of a number of varieties planted at ons. cwts. qrs lbs. ozs. 10 12 0 23 or 14-21 per set 15 2 2 11 or 18-45 „ 17 17 3 12 or 21-99 „ Experiments on the Potato-Crop. 555 intervals of 6 inches in the row, also exhibited similar advan- tages in favour of the larger sets, viz. : — Gross Returns per Acre. tons. cwts. qrs. Average of 11 varieties, 1 oz. sets .. 13 4 1 „ 10 „ 2oz. sets .. 15 19 0 3 „ 4oz. sets ..22 0 2 lbs. ozs. 20 or 10-85 per set. 12 or 13-15 „ 3 or 18-11 „ After deducting the weight of the sets the net balances of produce per acre stand thus : — tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. ozs. Average of 11 varieties, 1 oz. sets ., . 12 0 0 135 or 9-85 per set. „ 10 „ 2 oz. sets . . 13 10 1 27 or 11-15 „ „ 3 „ 4 oz. sets . . 17 3 1 5 or 14-11 „ Every step in each of these three series of experiments gives, without an exception, unequivocal evidence that each increase in the weight of the set produces more than a corresponding increase in the weight of the crop. The following statement will, however, shew that the advantage in the employment of large sets is much less striking in the early than in the late varieties ; out of the examples before given the produce of the early varieties, planted one foot apart in the row, exhibit the following result : — Gross Crop. Net. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 9 3 3 26 8 11 3 ^i 10 14 2 17 9 10 1 10^ 13 19 0 7^ 11 10 1 22i 15 6 0 22 11 13 1 2h 7 17 0 21 2 19 3 23 Average of 7 early varieties, 1 oz, sets „ 7 „ 2 oz. sets „ 6 „ 4 oz. sets „ 6 „ 6 oz, sets „ 2 „ 8 oz. sets Although there is throughout an increase over and above the extra weight of the sets, the advance between the larger sizes is not very marked, and is much below that wherein the early and late sets are averaged together. There is even a falling off in the produce of the 8 oz. sets, in comparison with those weighing 6 ozs. ; but this is partly from accidental circumstances ; the 8 oz. sets being much sprouted before planting, indeed all the larger sets of the early varieties were much more advanced than those of smaller size. After separating the early sorts from the general average results of early and late, given at page 554 the average produce of the late varieties, taken separately, will stand as follows : — Average of 6 late varieties, 1 oz. sets „ 6 „ 2 oz. sets „ 6 „ 4 oz. sets „ 3 „ G oz. sets „ 4 „ 8 oz. sets Gross Net tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 12 0 0 15 11 7 3 26 15 3 1 19 13 19 0 13 17 16 0 24 15 7 2 11 30 6 2 11 26 13 2 19 31 3 3 24 26 6 2 26 556 Experiments on the Potato-Crop. Secondly. As to the influence on the crop of the distance at which the sets are planted ; or the results of close and wide plantinrj of various sized sets. To establish this point, I shall compare, separately, each series of experiments on potatoes of the same weight, planted at different distances : — Averages of 1 oz. Sets. Gross. Net. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 13 varieties, planted 1 foot apart . , 10 9 3 17 9 17 3 0 11 „ 9 inches apart 10 12 0 23 9 16 0 0 11 „ 6 inclies apart 13 4 1 20 12 0 0 13 Averages of 2 oz. Sets. Gross. 'Net. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 13 varieties, planted 1 foot apart . . 12 J5 2 4 11 11 1 7 12 „ 9 inches apart 15 15 2 11 13 10 0 21 10 „ 6 inches apart Averages 15 19 0 of 4 oz. Sets. Gross. 12 13 10 1 Net. 27 tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 12 varieties. , planted 1 foot apart .. 15 17 2 15-^ 13 9 0 -'I G „ 9 inches apart 17 17 3 12 14 13 0 4 3 „ 6 inches apart 22 0 2 3 17 3 1 5 Avei'ages of 4 oz. Sets (similar varieties). Gross. Net. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 3 varieties. , planted 1 foot apart .. 15 8 3 24 13 0 1 11 3 „ 9 inches apart 15 19 2 14 12 14 3 6 3 „ 6 inches apart 22 0 2 o 17 3 1 5 These comparisons all shew an advantage in planting the smaller sets at intervals closer than 12 inches in the rows ; but the results are not very decided, and in one or two cases the gain in the gross crop does not make up for the extra weight of the sets planted. The following comparisons refer to the effect of planting the sets more than a foot apart in the rows. Three experiments averaged together, viz. — 8 oz. "Flukes," 6 oz. "Flukes," and 4oz. "Late Red," gave a gross crop of 23 tons 16 cwts. 1 qr. 8 lbs., and a net average of 20 tons 3 cwts. 1 qr. 17 lbs. The same sizes and varieties, planted at intervals in the rows of 1 foot 3 inches, produced a gross crop of 18 tons 13 cwts. 1 qr. 2 lbs., and a net crop of 15 tons 14 cwts. 3 qrs. 20 lbs. — a falling off of 4 tons 8 cwts. 1 qr. 25 lbs. per acre. Indeed the produce of each set was, as nearly as possible, the same, whether planted a foot apart or 15 inches, so that the additional distance was so much loss to the crop. The average produce of 6 oz. and 8 oz. Flukes shews tons. cwts. qrs. lbs, 17 10 1 25 per acre, 15 8 2 Gh „ 12 IG 0 5 „ Experiments on the Potato- Crop. 557 a similar falling off when planted more than a foot apart in the rows : — Flukes, at 1 foot, the net average pvocluco was Flukes, at 1 foot 3 inches „ Flukes, at 1 foot 6 inches „ This diminution of the crop, through reducing the number of the sets per acre, is remarkably uniform, and as nearly as possible proportionate to the distance at which the sets are planted. The general tenor of these experiments points to an interval of 10 or 12 inches in the rows, as being the most profitable distance at which to plant large full-sized potatoes, of from 4 to 8 ozs. in weight. A moderate increase in the net-crop may be expected from still further diminishing the distance when the sets are below 4 ozs. in weight ; but this point will be again referred to in considering Thirdly. The comparative results obtained from planting equal weights of large and small Potatoes respectively. In the previous series of comparisons (1) the advantage of large over small sets, placed at similar distances, was very striking, large sets producing a much greater crop than an equal num- ber of small sets on the same area, and the crop bearing a very regular proportion to the weight of the individual sets. We have now to ascertain whether by diminishing the distance and increasing the number of small sets an equivalent can be obtained for the increased individual productiveness of larger sets. 1 ton 4 cwts. 1 qr. G lbs. of sets per acre, planted as — Per Acre, tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 2 oz. sets, 1 foot apart, gave, on a number of experi-) ,-. -|i -. -• ments, a net average produce of J And as 1 oz. sets, 6 inches apart 12 0 0 13 Balance in favour of small sets at close intervals of .. 0 8 3 6 2 tons 8 cwts. 2 qrs. 13 lbs. weight of sets per acre, averaging a number of experiments, planted — Per Acre. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. As 4: oz. sets, 1 foot apart, produced a net return of .. 13 9 0 'I'l As 2 oz. sets, 6 inches apart 13 10 1 27 Balance in favour of small sets at close intervals of .. 0 11 24i- 4 tons 17 cwts. 26 lbs. planted — Per Acre, tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. As 8 OZ. sets, 1 foot apart, produced a net return of .. 18 11 0 16 As 4 oz. sets, 6 inches apart .. ..17 3 1 5 Balance in favour of large sets at wide intervals of . . 1 7 3 11 558 Experiments on the Potato-Crop. 3 tons 4 cwts. 3 qrs. 8 lbs. weight of Fluke sets per acre, planted — Per Acrg. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. As 8 oz. sets, 1 foot 6 inches apart, produced a net) -.^ "^ o 0 return of j "' As 4 oz. sets, 9 inclies apart 13 4 2 G Balance in favour of small sets at close intervals of . . 1 1125 These balances are so small, that they can scarcely be relied on as indicating any decided advantage in either direction ; but the nearly equal results of the experiments point conclusively to the fact of *he very regular ratio borne between the weights of the crop and the weights per acre of the sets, a ton of sets, whether planted as large or small potatoes, producing the same weight of crop per acre. It must, however, be observed that, practically, the principle is only of limited application. Taking 1 foot as the maximum, and 6 inches as the minimum distance between the sets in the rows, it will be easily understood that a weight of small sets, say of 1 or 2 ozs., equivalent to large sets of 6 or 8 ozs., could not be got into the ground, therefore the general principle, that the crop varies as the weight of the sets, weight for weight, is not practically appli- cable where the sets differ in weight beyond the proportion of 1 to 2. Small sets, therefore, of 1 to 3 ozs., can, under no arrangement, produce as much per acre as sets of from 4 to 8 ozs. Fourthly. As to the relative advantages of cut and whole sets. A comparison may be instituted between the average results of five experiments with sets formed by dividing large potatoes, and five experiments with whole potatoes weighing the same as the cut half sets. Cut Potatoes. Net Balances, tons. cwts. qrs, lbs. Flukes, 4 ozs., cut out of 8 oz. potatoes, 1 foot apart,] ,.-, 9 n *>3 produced f"' Flukes, 4 ozs., cut out of 8 oz. potatoes, 9 inches apart, j 14 in <> 4. produced ) Flukes, 2 ozs., cut out of 4 oz. potatoes, 1 foot apart,( -.q 4 0 ''I produced \ Flukes, 2 ozs., cutout of 4 oz. potatoes, 9 inches apart,[ ^^ -^^ -^ 2^2 produced j Flukes, 2 ozs., cut out of 4 oz. potatoes, G inches apart,) 8 G "^ 1 produced J Late Eed, 2 ozs., cut out of 4 oz. potatoes, 1 foot apart,) 93 7 1 q produced j " '■DO' Assregate on sis acres of 80 4 0 5 Average per acre 13 7 1 10 Experiments on the Potato-Crop. 559 Whole Potatoes. Net. Balances, tons. cwta. qrs. lbs. Flukes, 4 oz. sets, 1 foot apart, produced 13 3 3 23 Flukes, 4 oz. sets, 9 inches apart, produced 13 4 2 6 Flukes, 2 oz. sets, 1 foot apart, produced 7 5 0 27 Flukes, 2 oz. sets, 9 inches apart, produced 5 12 3 17 Flukes, 2 oz. sets, 6 inches apart, produced 7 10 2 23 Late Red, 2 oz. sets, 1 foot apart, produced 30 15 2 26 J Aggregate on six acres of 77 13 0 lOj Average per acre 12 18 3 11 Showing an average balance in favour of the cut sets over an equal weight per acre of whole sets of about 8^^ cwts. per acre. In another instance tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. Flukes, 3 oz. sets, cut out of 6 oz. sets, 9 inches apart, gave 14 8 1 23 And Flukes, 6 oz., uncut, planted 1 foot 6 inches apart ,.1390 1 Showing a net balance in favour of the cut sets of . . 0 19 1 22 Both these comparative series indicate a slight advantage in favour of the cut sets ; but since the individual experiments do not all point in the same direction, the result of the series cannot be looked upon as at all decisive ; but it rather tends to the conclusion previously indicated, that the loeigkt per acre of the sets planted has more to do with the produce of the crop than any other circumstance. Fifthly. As to the influence of thick and thin plajitiny, and of the size of the set on the jproportion home between the xoeight of the sets and their individual produce, and the rate of increase under various conditions. This subject presents itself under yet another aspect, which interests the physiologist rather than the farmer, viz., the propor- tion borne between the weight of the sets and the weight of the crop, or, in other words, the rate of increase. This rate, as was to be expected, is larger as the sets are smaller and as the distance is greater, up to 1 foot apart, beyond which space no perceptible change takes place. On the general average of these experiments — The 1 oz. sets increased 14'24 fold The 2 oz. „ 8-77 „ The4oz. „ 5-87 „ The 6 oz. „ 5"81 „ TheSoz. „ 4-83 „ At 1 foot interval, the 1 oz., 2 oz., and 4 oz. sets increased 11*50 fold At 9 inches „ „ „ 9*64 „ At 6 inches „ „ „ 7-73 „ 560 Experiments on the Potato- Crop. The rate of progression was found to be very regular, both in individual experiments, and in average results. Sixthly. As to the relative pjvditctiveness of different varieties of the Potato. To avoid undue complication, the varieties employed in these experiments have been rather limited, and the question of their relative productiveness has only been a matter of secondary im- portance. As, however, several of the varieties are very generally cultivated, it may be well briefly to state the results. The average produce of 1 oz., 2 oz., and 4 oz. sets planted 1 foot apart in the rows was as follows on the gross crop per acre : — , tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. LateEed .27 10 3 8i Spencer's Kino; of Flukes 19 13 2 17 Second's Kidney 16 0 3 12 Daintree's Seedling 15 8 1 25 Queen of Flukes 15 3 0 7 Flour-ball 14 2 1 23 "Vite-lots" ( French Kidnev) 13 6 3 19 Flukes. ' 10 0 1 19 Early Handsworth 6 18 1 23 Early Prolific Kidney 4 14 1 18 The average produce of four series of experiments, viz., 1 oz, and 2 oz. planted at 9 inch intervals, and 1 oz. and 2 oz. at 6 inch intervals, stand in the following order : — tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. Late Eed 27 9 1 20^ Spencer's King of Flukes 24 4 2 24 Daintree's Seedling 15 13- 0 0 Flour-ball 14 18 3 20 Queen of Flukes 14 15 3 11^ Second's Kidney 14 9 3 3 Lapstones 11 4 3 5 Early Handsworth 7 14 2 17 Flukes 7 6 0 3 Lemon Kidney 7 4 1 20 Early Prolific"Kidney G 12 2 18 The crops produced from G oz. sets planted 1 foot apart, stand in the following order of productiveness : — tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. Late Eed 37 18 3 0 Spencer's King of Fhdjcs 30 19 3 12 Second's Kidney 26 8 2 22 Daintree's Seedling 25 16 2 5 Flukes 22 1 0 21 Early Handsworth 13 16 2 0 "Vite-lots" (French Kidney) 13 8 1 8 Lapstones 11 ]9 0 3 Early Erolific Kidney 7 9 3 17 Experiments on the Potato- Crop. 561 Of "The Queen of Flukes" and "Flour-ball," there were no experiments with 6 oz. sets. The relative productiveness of the several varieties grown from 8 oz. sets, planted at intervals of 12 inches, stand thus : — tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. LateEed 38 19 2 25 Spencer s Kino; of Flukes 34 0 2 14 Queen of Flukes 30 5 2 9 Flukes .21 9 3 19 Lapstones 4 17 0 26 Early Prolific Kidney 3 15 1 11 The above four series of comparisons are tolerably uniform, as expressing the relative productiveness of the varieties they include. The actual order of precedence of some of the indi- vidual varieties, that do not differ much in their produce, varies a little ; but the relative positions are in general uniform ; the late red in each set of experiments produced the heaviest crop ; and the Early Prolific Kidney appears in every case at the bottom of the list. Of the three varieties of Fluke, the greater productiveness ol both Spencer's King and the Queen of Flukes, than that of the ordinary variety, is very noticeable ; Spencer's King especially, throughout the series, producing from half as much more, to twice as much as the Common Fluke, not only in the general averages, but in all the individual experiments. Seventhly. Accidental variations of Result. It has been necessary, in drawing our conclusions, to altogether avoid relying on the results of isolated experiments. Whatever precautions may be taken to ensure uniformity in the conditions under which agricultural experiments are conducted, unaccountable anomalies in the result will be found to occur ; variations which affect all agricultural crops, and which should be fully recognised and guarded against when inferences are drawn from experiments. The only way to remove such sources of error is to throw together the average results of a number of independent experi- ments, so that the irregularities tending in either direction may neutralise each other. I would cite, by way of illustration, the individual trials making up the average results given under the first head. At page 554 it was stated that the average balance on 13 ex- periments, in favour of 2 oz. over 1 oz. sets, was 1 ton 13 cwt. "2 qrs. 7|- lbs. per acre ; but if we come to details, it appears that, out of these 13 experiments, 5 show a result in favour of the 1 oz. sets, and 8 in favour of the 2 oz. This proportion, 8 to 5, taken by itself, is not very striking, and might be accidental ; but when the sum of the weights of the gains in favour of the 562 Experiments on the Potato-Crop. larger sets is placed against that in favour of the smaller sets, the proportion is increased to 25 to 5. Net Balances, tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. The gains per acre on 8 experiments, in favour of 2 oz.) 97 g q 991 sets over 1 oz. sets, is f " "^ Whilst the gain on 5 experiments, in favour of 1 oz.) ;- ^^y n oi sets, IS out S Leaving a balance in favour of 2 oz. over 1 6z. of 21 IG 1 I65 or 1 ton 13 cwt. 2 qrs. 1\ lbs. per acre. Even this result taken singly might be merely accidental ; but when the other steps in the same series show precisely similar tendencies, the general tenor must be accepted as confirming the indications given by the majority of the individual experiments. In comparing the produce of 2 oz. and 4 oz. sets, out of 12 experiments, the net results of 8 are in favour of the 4 oz, sets, and 4 in favour of the 2 oz. Net Balances, tons, cwts. qrs. lbs. The gains per acre on the 8 experiments, in favour of) og 19 3 9-1 the 4 oz. sets, amount to "" 3 And those on the 4 experiments, in favour of the 2 oz. sets 9 15 2 II5 Leaving a balance in favour of the 4 oz. over the) -.^ 40 19 2 oz. sets of ver the) or 1 ton 12 cwts. 0 qrs. li lbs. per acre. In comparing the produce of 4 oz. and 6 oz. sets, out of 9 experiments, 7 are in favour of the larger sets, and 2 of the smaller. Net Balances, tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. The gains per acre on the 7 experiments, in favour of) oq a 9 I'l the 6 oz. sets, amounted to j^ ^ Those on the 2 experiments, in favour of the A: oz.\ -.^ -,r, r, ini sets, to ) Leaving a balance in favour of the 6 oz. over the) 17305 4 oz. sets of ) averaging 1 ton 18 cwts. 2 qrs. 19 lbs. per acre net. Advancing from 6 to 8 oz. sets, out of 5 experiments 2 are in favour of 8 oz., and 3 in favour of 6 oz. sets. Net Balances, tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. The sum of the gains per acre on 2 experiments, in) 7 i-^ 3 O'^ favour of 8 oz. sets, amounted to f And those on 3 experiments, in favour of 6 oz. sets,^ n 17 "^ '>! amounted to f Leaving a net balance in favour of 8 oz. over 6 oz.) ^ -.q q .-,r, sets, of f on 5 experiments, averaging 3 cwts. 0 qrs. 27 lbs. per acre. Experiments on the Potato-Crop, 563 Of the whole series of 39 experiments, 25 were in favour of large sets, and 14 showed an opposite tendency ; but the pro- portion borne between these numbers does not fully represent the actual result, Avhich is more fairly stated by the weights of the balances on either side ; for whilst the gains on the 25 (acres) experiments calculated per acre amounted to 94 tons 3 cwt. 1 qr. 62^ lbs. in favour of large sets, the gain (14 acres) on the 14 experi- ments favourable to the smaller sets amounted to only 34 tons 17cwt. 1 qr. 27^ lbs., leaving (after setting the gains against the losses) an average net balance, on the 39 comparisons, of more than 1 ton 10 cwt. in favour of the larger sets on each advance, namely, from 1 to 2 ozs., from 2 to 4 ozs., from 4 to 6 ozs., and from 6 to 8 ozs. 1 have been particular in noticing these exceptional irregu- larities, and their general bearing on the tenor of the experiments, as an element inseparable from agricultural experiments, and as requiring the fullest recognition in the estimation of results. It now only remains briefly to recajntidate the general bearing of the experiments, the results of which have been descj-ibed in detail. Firstly. Every increase in the size of the set, from 1 oz. up to 8 ozs. 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 sets in planting 4 oz. sets in lieu of 1 oz. sets, amounted on the whole series of experiments to between 3 and 4 tons per acre ; and the further profit on the increase of the size of the set from 4 ozs. to 8 ozs., averaged about 5 tons an acre ; all the intermediate steps partaking pro- portionately of the increase. Secondly. The advantages in favour of the large sets is more marked in the late than in the early varieties. Thirdly. In the use of small sets of from 1 oz. to 3 ozs. in weight, a larger balance over and above the weight of the sets was obtained by planting from 6 to 9 inches apart in the rows than at wider intervals. Fourthly. 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. Fifthly. It may be broadly stated that the weight of the crop is proportionate to the weight per acre of the sets, and that small sets will produce the same crop as an equal weight per acre of large sets. The fact is, however, of limited application, as a weight of very small sets equal to a weight of full-sized potatoes could not be got into the ground, except by planting them so close 564 Experiments on the Potato-Crop. Table 1. — Results of Experiments on tlie Potato-Crop, ' When Distance Ko. Variety of Potato. Planted. Manure and Ilemarks. in the Pvow. ft. in. 1 Early Prolific . . 1 March 2 20 tons of stable manure per acre . . 1 0 2 Early Prolific . . ,, 2 Ditto ditto .. .. 0 9 3 Early Prolific , . , 2 Ditto ditto 0 6 4 Early Prolific .. \\ 1 Ditto ditto .. .. I 0 5 Early Prolific . . 2 Ditto ditto 0 9 6 Early Prolific . . 2 Ditto ditto 0 6 7 Early Prolific V, 1 Ditto ditto 1 0 S Early Prolific . . ,, 1 Ditto ditto 0 9 9 Early Prolific .. ,, 1 Ditto ditto .. .. 0 6 10 Early Prolific ,, 1 Ditto, sets much sprouted 1 0 11 Early Prolific . . ,, 1 Ditto, sets much sprouted 1 0 12 Flukes '. , 8 20 tons of stable manure per acre . . 1 0 1.3 Flukes , , 8 Ditto ditto 0 9 14 Flukes ,. 8 Ditto ditto .. .. 0 6 15 Flukes 7 Ditto ditto 1 0 16 Flukes r > 7 Ditto ditto 0 9 17 Flukes ; • 7 Ditto ditto 0 6 18 Flukes ,, 8 Ditto ditto .. .. 1 0 19 Flukes > > 7 Ditto ditto 0 9 20 Flukes :, 7 Ditto ditto 0 6 21 Flukes ., 9 Ditto, and 4 cwts. dried blood 1 0 22 Flukes , , 9 Ditto, and 4 cwts. muriate of potash .. 1 0 23 Flukes , , 8 Ditto, and 4 cwts. guano 1 0 24 Flukes .. 8 Ditto, and 4cwts. mineral superphosphate 1 0 25 Flukes ,, 9 Ditto, and 4 cwts. sulphate of ammonia 1 0 2(3 Flukes J > ' 20 tons of stable manure per acre . . 1 0 27 Flukes ., 9 Ditto, and 4 cwts. dried blood 1 0 28 Flukes ,, 9 Ditto, and 4 cwts. muriate of potash .. 1 0 29 Flukes ., 8 Ditto, and 4 cwts. guano 1 0 30 Flukes ,. 8 Ditto, and 4 cwts. mineral superphosphate 1 0 31 Flukes , , s Ditto, and 4 cwts. sulphate of ammonia 1 0 32 Flukes ! > 7 20 tons stable manure per acre 1 0 33 Flukes . . . . . . ,, 7 Ditto ditto 1 3 34 Flukes ,, 7 Ditto ditto .. .. 1 6 35 Flukes 5 ) 7 Ditto ditto I 3 36 Flukes ,, 7 Ditto ditto .. .. 1 6 37 Flukes cut out of^ 8 oz. sets .. ..] ,, 7 Ditto ditto .. .. 1 0 SS Flukes cut out ofl 8 oz. sets . . . . j 7 Ditto ditto .. .. 0 9 39 Flukes cut out oi\ 6 oz. sets.. .. / Ditto ditto 0 9 40 Flukes cut out ofi 4 oz. sets . . . . j ,, 7 Ditto ditto .. .. 1 0 41 Flukes cut out ofl 4 oz. sets . . . . / ) > 7 Ditto ditto .. .. 0 9 42 Flukes cut out of i 4 oz. sets .. ../ ,, 7 Ditto ditto .. .. 0 6 43 Spencer's King . . ? ! 7 Ditto ditto .. .. 1 0 44 Spencer's King . . 7 Ditto ditto .. .. 0 9 45 Spencer's King .. \\ 7 Ditto ditto 0 6 46 Spencer's King . . 1 J 7 • Ditto ditto .. .. 1 0 Experiments on the Potato- Crop. 565 made at Benthall near Broselc Y, in 1865 — rows all 2 feet apart No. Number of Sets per Acre. AVoight of Sets per Acre. Gross produce per Acre. Net after produce per Acre deducting weight of Sets. Produce per Set stated in ozs. Increase of Crop in pro- portion to the weight of Sets. tons. cwts . qr£ . lbs. tons cwts. qrs Ibs. tons cwts . qrs. lbs. fold.' 1 21,780 0 12 0 17i 4 G 0 1 3 13 3 12 7-07 7-07 2 29,040 0 16 0 23 6 8 1 15i 5 12 0 20 9-30 9-30 3 43,560 1 4 1 6 5 19 3 16 4 15 2 10 4-92 4-92 4 21,780 1 4 1 6 4 12 2 25 3 8 1 19 7-62 3-81 5 29,040 1 12 1 18 5 14 1 0 4 1 3 10 7-05 3-52 6 43,560 2 8 2 13 8 8 0 12 5 19 1 27 7-21 3-56 7 21,780 2 8 2 13 5 4 2 2 2 13 3 17 8*57 2-14 8 29,040 3 4 3 8 9 13 0 13 6 8 1 5 11-91 2-97 9 43,560 4 17 0 26 13 17 3 5 9 0 2 7 11-42 2-85 10 21,780 3 12 3 19| 7 9 3 17 3 16 3 23| 12-33 2*05 11 21,780 4 17 0 26 3 15 1 11 6-20 0-77 12 21,780 0 12 0 17| 5 19 0 12 5 6 3 23 9-80 9-80 13 29,040 0 16 0 23 5 12 2 5 4 16 1 10 7-00 7-00 14 43,560 1 4 1 6 6 16 3 20 5 12 2 4 5-63 5-63 15 21,780 1 4 1 6 8 9 2 5 7 5 0 27 13-95 6'97 16 29,040 1 12 1 18 6 15 1 7 5 12 3 17 8-35 4-17 17 43,560 2 8 2 13 9 19 1 8 7 10 2 23 8-20 4-10 18 21,780 2 8 2 13 15 12 2 12 13 3 3 27 25-72 6-43 19 29,040 3 4 3 8 16 9 1 14 13 4 2 6 20-32 5-08 20 43,560 4 17 0 26 21 18 0 24 17 0 3 2 18-02 4-50 21 21,780 2 8 2 13 11 1 3 22 8 13 1 9 18-26 5-65 22 21,780 2 8 2 13 15 17 1 3 13 8 2 18 26-58 6-64 23 21,780 2 8 2 13 7 12 3 13 5 4 1 0 12-57 3-14 24 21,780 2 8 2 13 12 3 1 11 9 14 2 26 18-88 4-72 25 21,780 2 8 2 13 11 8 2 15 9 0 0 2 18-81 4-71 26 21,780 3 12 3 20 22 1 0 21 18 8 1 1 36-80 6-05 27 21,780 3 12 3 20 12 6 0 13 8 13 0 21 20-25 3-37 28 21,780 3 12 3 20 15 8 1 17 11 15 1 2.5 25 - 37 4-22 29 21,780 3 12 3 20 12 7 1 2 8 14 1 10 20 -.34 3-32 30 21,780 3 12 3 20 14 2 2 9 10 9 2 17 23-25 3-87 31 21,780 3 12 3 20 15 16 2 1 12 3 2 9 26-04 4-34 32 21,780 4 17 0 26 21 9 3 19 16 12 2 21 36-20 4-52 33 17,424 3 17 3 4 20 10 3 6 16 13 0 2 42-25 5-28 34 14,520 3 4 3 8 15 7 3 17 12 3 0 9 38-00 4-75 35 17,424 2 18 1 10 17 2 1 21 14 4 0 11 35-21 5-86 36 14,520 2 8 2 13 15 17 2 14 13 9 0 1 39-21 6-53 37 21,780 2 8 2 13 14 10 3 8 12 2 0 23 23-92 5-98 38 29,040 3 4 3 8 17 15 1 12 14 10 2 4 21-92 5-48 39 29,040 2 8 2 13 16 17 0 8 14 8 1 23 20-80 6-93 40 21,780 1 4 1 6 11 8 1 27 10 4 0 21 18-80 9-40 41 29,040 1 12 1 18 13 5 3 2 11 13 1 12 16-40 8-20 42 43,560 2 8 2 13 10 15 0 14 8 G 2 1 13-85 6-92 43 21,780 0 12 0 17 15 16 1 3 15 4 0 14 26-00 18-74 44 29,040 0 16 0 23 19 4 0 7 18 7 3 12 23 - 70 23-70 45 43,560 1 4 1 6 20 19 I 7 19 15 0 0 17-25, 17*25 46 21,780 1 4 1 6 17 14 3 16 16 10 2 9 29-20 14-50 V( )L. III.- -S. 3. ( I P 566 Experiments on the Potato-Crop. Table 1. — Results of Experihests on the Potato-Crop, made at Variety of Potato. When Planted. Manure and Rcmarlcs. the Row. Spencer's King .. INIarch 7 20 tons of stable manure per acre . Spencer's King .. , , 7 Ditto ditto Spencer's King ., i , , 7 Ditto ditto Spencer's King .. , , 7 Ditto ditto Spencer's King . . j , , 7 Ditto ditto Spencer's King .. , 6 Ditto ditto Spencer's King .. , 6 Ditto ditto Queen of Flukes , 6 Ditto ditto Queen of Flukes , 6 Ditto ditto Queen of Flukes , 6 Ditto ditto Queen of Flukes , 6 Ditto ditto Queen of Flukes , 6 Ditto ditto Queen of Flukes , 6 Ditto ditto Queen of Flukes , e Ditto ditto Queen of Fl akes , 6 Ditto ditto Queen of Flukes , c Ditto ditto Flour Ball .. .. , 6 Ditto ditto Flour Ball .. .. , 6 Ditto ditto Flour Ball . . . . , 6 Ditto ditto Flour Ball .. .. , 6 Ditto ditto Flour Ball .. .. , (' Ditto ditto Flour Ball .. .. , 6 Ditto ditto Flour Ball .. .. , 6 Ditto ditto Second Kidney .. , 4 Ditto ditto Second Kidney .. , 4 Ditto ditto Second Kidney .. , 4 Ditto ditto Second Kidney .. , 4 Ditto ditto Second Kidney .. , 4 Ditto ditto Second Kidney .. , 4 Ditto ditto Second Kidney .. . 4 Ditto ditto Second Kidney .. , 4 Ditto ditto Daintree's Seedling > •" Ditto ditto Daiutree's Seedling , 3 Ditto ditto Daintree's Seedling . 3 Ditto ditto Daintree's Seedling , o Ditto ditto Daintree's Seedling , 3 Ditto ditto Daintree's Seedling J 3 Ditto ditto Daintree's Seedling , 3 Ditto ditto Daintree's Seedling , 3 Ditto ditto Early Handsworth , 3 Ditto ditto Early Handsworth , 3 Ditto ditto Early Handsworth . 3 Ditto ditto Early Handsworth ) 3 Ditto ditto Early Handsworth , ■.^ Ditto ditto Early Handsworth , 3 Ditto ditto Karly Handsworth , 3 Ditto ditto Lemon Kidney ., , .3 Ditto ditto Lemon Kidney .. , 3 Ditto ditto Lemon Kidney .. , 3 Ditto ditto Lemon Kidney .. , .3 Ditto ditto Lemon Kidney .. ) *-' Ditto ditto Lemon Kidney .. . 3 Ditto ditto Experiments on the Potafo-Crop. Benthall, n'jar Broseley, in 1865 — rows all 2 feat apart — continued. 567 No. Number of Sets per Acre. Weight of Sets per Acre. Gross produce per Acre. Net produce per Acre after deductins weight of Sets. Produce per S;t stated in ozs. Increase of Crop in pro- portion to the weight of Sets. tons. cwts. qrs lbs. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. fold. 47 29,040 1 12 1 18 35 8 0 19 33 15 3 1 43-70 21-85 48 43,560 2 8 2 13 21 7 1 9 18 IS 2 24 17-58 8-79 49 21,780 2 8 2 13 25 9 3 3 23 1 0 18 44-00 11-00 50 29,040 3 4 3 8 21 16 1 15 18 11 2 7 27-00 6-73 51 43,5'-.0 4 17 0 26 30 5 2 9 25 8 1 11 24-91 6-25 52 21,780 3 12 3 19 30 19 3 12 27 6 3 20 51-00 8-50 53 21,780 4 17 0 26 -34 0 2 14 29 3 1 16 .56-00 7-00 54 21,780 0 12 0 18 14 6 2 6 13 14 1 17 24-40 24-40 55 29,040 0 16 0 23 10 14 2 24 9 18 2 1 13-25 13-25 56 43,560 1 4 1 61 15 16 0 OJ 14 11 2 22 13-40 13-00 57 21,780 1 4 1 6^- 14 4 3 0 13 0 1 21 23-42 11-74 58 29,040 1 12 1 18 14 19 1 1 13 6 3 11 15-80 9-56 59 43,560 2 8 2 13 17 13 1 21 15 4 3 8 14-54 7-27 60 21,780 2 8 2 13 16 17 3 15 14 9 1 2 17-80 6-95 61 29,040 3 4 3 8 19 6 3 2 16 1 3 22 23-87 5-96 62 21,780 4 17 0 26 30 5 2 9 25 8 1 11 49 • 83 6-22 63 21,780 0 12 0 17 10 12 2 21 10 0 2 4 17-50 17-50 64 29,040 0 16 0 23 6 8 2 0 5 12 1 5 18-80 18-80 65 43,560 1 4 1 &l 15 19 3 6 14 15 1 271 13-15 13-15 66 21,780 1 4 1 6| 14 13 2 2 13 9 0 23 24-15 12-07 67 29,040 1 12 1 18 16 12 0 23 14 19 3 5 20-50 10-25 68 43,560 2 8 2 13 20 15 0 24 18 6 2 11 17-08 8-54 69 21,780 2 8 2 13 17 1 0 20 14 12 2 7 28-00 7-01 70 21,780 0 12 0 17 9 15 1 2 9 3 0 13 16-07 16-06 71 29,040 0 16 0 23 12 13 2 12 11 17 1 17 15-65 15-65 72 43,560 1 4 1 6* 13 13 2 21 12 9 1 14i 11-26 11-26 73 21,780 1 4 1 6i 18 6 1 21 17 2 0 1-ti 30-15 15-07 74 29,040 1 12 1 18 17 9 3 10 15 17 1 20 21-58 10-79 75 43,560 2 8 2 13 14 1 3 25 11 13 1 12 11-60 5-80 76 21,780 2 8 2 13 20 0 3 12 17 12 0 27 32-10 8-02 77 21,780 3 12 3 19i 26 8 2 22 22 15 3 H 43 - 50 7-25 78 21,780 0 12 0 17 11 8 3 16 10 16 2 27 18-83 18-83 79 29,040 0 16 0 23 13 2 2 3 12 6 1 8 16-20 16-20 80 43,. 560 1 4 1 H 14 4 2 17 13 0 1 101 10-68 10-68 81 21,780 1 4 1 6| 14 4 1 17 13 0 0 101 23-40 11-70 82 29,040 1 12 1 18 16 3 0 3 14 10 2 12 19-93 9-96 83 43,580 2 8 2 13 19 1 3 7 16 13 0 22 15-70 7-85 84 21,780 2 8 2 13 20 12 0 14 18 3 2 1 33-90 8-47 85 21,780 3 12 3 19i 25 16 2 5 22 3 2 13 4215 7-08 86 21,780 0 12 0 171 4 12 1 13| 4 0 0 241 7-60 7-60 87 29,040 0 16 0 23 7 16 1 15 7 0 0 20 9-65 9-65 88 43,560 1 4 1 6* 8 17 0 3 7 12 2 241 7-65 7-65 89 21,780 1 4 1 6^ 4 18 0 18 3 13 3 lU 8-07 4-04 90 29,040 1 12 1 18 6 10 2 5 4 18 0 15 8-05 4-02 91 21,780 2 8 2 13 11 4 3 11 8 16 0 26 17-66 4-62 92 21,780 3 12 3 m 13 16 2 0 10 3 2 8i 22-75 3-79 93 21.780 0 12 0 17i 6 19 2 27 (J 7 2 10 1 1 - 50 11-50 94 29,040 0 16 0 23 7 58 0 0 7 1 3 5 9-75 9-75 95 43,560 1 4 1 U 7 7 0 7 6 2 3 0* 6-05 6-05 96 21,780 1 4 1 e§ 6 17 2 21h 5 13 1 21 11-33 5-66 97 29,040 1 12 1 18 8 11 3 3 6 19 1 13 10-60 5-30 98 43,560 2 8 2 13 5 0 3 14i 2 12 1 n 4-15 2-07 2 p 2 568 Experiments on the Potato-Crop. Table 1.— Eesults of Experiments on the Potato-Crop, made at No. 99 TOO 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 135 126 127 128 129 Variety of Potato. When Planted. Lapstone Lapstone Lapstone LapstoTje .. •• Lapstone Lapstone Lapstone Lapstone Lapstone Lapstone Lapstone French Red Kidney French Red Kidney French Red Kidney French Red Kidney Blues Blues Blues Blues Late Red . . Late Red .. Late Red Late Red .. Late Red Late Red Late Red .. Late Red . . Late Red Late Red Late Red . . Late Red cut out( of 4 oz. sets . . J March 4 ,, 4 ,, 4 ,, 4 ,, 4 '■■,, 4 ' ,, 4 , , 4 ,, 4 ,, 4 ,, 4 ,, 6 ,, 6 ,, 6 ,, G No. Weight of Sets. 8 ozs. 4 ,, - ) > 4 ,, 2 ,, 1 ,, « ,. 4 ,, Name of Potato. Manure and Remarks. 20 tons of stable manure per acre Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditro Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ditto 1 0 0 9 0 6 1 0 0 9 0 6 1 0 0 9 1 3 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 9 1 0 1 0 0 9 0 6 1 0 0 9 0 6 1 0 0 9 1 3 1 0 1 0 1 0 Table 2.— Results of Experiments on the Early Prolific Kidney Early Prolific Kidney Early Prolific Kidney Seconds Kidney Seconds Kidney Seconds Kidney - . Flukes Flukes Flukes Flukes When Planted. Feb. 16 March 31 Distance Number of in the Sets Rows. per Acre. ft. in. 1 0 21,780 1 0 21,780 1 0 21,780 1 0 21,780 1 0 21,780 1 0 21,780 1 3 17,424 1 0 21,780 I 0 21,780 1 0 21,780 Weight of Sets per Acre. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 4 17 0 26 1 4 0 12 4 12 13 6 13 6 17^ 4 13 6 17^ Produce per Set in Ozs. 28-17 23-21 17-07 13-95 13-55 12-45 30-79 15-0 12-0 12-10 Experiments on the Potato-Crop. Benthal], near Broselcy, in 1865 — rows all 2 feet apart — continued. 5G9 No. Number of Sets per Acre. Weight of Sets per Aero. Gross per produce Acre. Net produce per Acre after deductitjg weight of Sets. Produce per Set stated in ozs. Increase of Crop in pro- portion to the weight of Sets. tons. cwts qrs . lbs. tons CWtb . qrs lbs. tons cwts. tirs. lbs. fold. 99 21,780 0 12 0 17i 14 15 3 22* 14 3 3 5 24-35 24-35 100 29,040 0 16 0 23 7 14 1 27 6 18 1 4 9-53 9-53 101 43,5(30 1 4 1 6i 14 16 0 13 13 11 2 H 12-18 12-18 102' 21,780 1 4 1 6A 11 15 1 24 10 11 0 111 19-30 9-65 103 29,040 1 12 1 18 14 1 3 35 12 9 2 7 17-40 8-70 104 43.5G0 2 8 2 13 8 6 2 m 5 18 0 Oi 6-85 3-42 105 21,780 2 8 2 13 13 8 2 11 12 16 1 22 22-10 5-52 106 29,040 3 4 3 8 17 18 3 9 14 14 0 1 22-14 5-53 107 17,424 1 18 3 16 10 19 2 27 9 0 3 11 22-60 5-66 108 21,780 4 17 0 26 11 19 0 3 7 1 3 5 19-66 2-45 109 21,780 3 12 3 19* 4 17 0 26 1 4 1 6* 8-00 1-33 110 21,780 0 12 0 111 12 9 2 18 11 17 2 1 20-54 20-54 111 21,780 1 4 1 6i 14 7 2 16J 13 3 1 10 23 • 66 11-83 112 21,780 2 8 2 13 13 3 1 24 10 15 3 11 22-50 5-62 113 21,780 3 12 3 19J 13 8 1 8 9 15 1 16 22-07 3-67 114 21,780 0 12 0 171 2 11 2 14 1 19 1 24 8-36 8-36 115 21,780 1 4 1 6J 3 17 3 4 2 13 1 25i 6-40 3-20 116 29,040 1 12 1 18 4 2 2 16^ 2 10 0 26J 5-10 2-55 117 21,780 2 8 2 13 3 17 3 26 1 9 1 13 6-41 1-60 118 21,780 0 12 0 17i 22 14 2 6f 22 2 1 17^ 37-40 37-40 119 29,040 0 16 0 23 19 0 3 8* 18 4 2 13* 23-50 23-50 120 43,560 1 4 1 6* 20 18 1 1 19 13 3 22* 17-20 17-20 121 21,780 1 4 1 6| 32 0 0 5 30 15 2 26* 52-66 26-33 122 29,040 1 12 1 18 35 2 0 26 33 9 3 8 43-33 21-66 123 43,560 2 8 2 13 34 16 1 19 32 7 3 6 28-65 14-32 124 21,780 2 8 2 13 27 17 3 13i 25 9 1 0^ 45-90 11-47 125 29,040 3 4 3 8 21 12 2 20| 18 7 3 12* 26-70 6-67 126 17,424 1 18 3 16 18 6 2 7 16 7 2 19 37-70 9-42 127 21,780 4 17 0 26 38 19 2 25 34 2 1 27 64-15 8-01 128 21,780 3 12 3 19J 37 18 3 0 34 5 3 8 62-42 10-40 129 21,780 1 4 1 GJ 24 11 2 23 7 1 0* 40-44 20-22 Potato Crop, made at Benthall, near Broseley, in 1864. Gross Produce per Acre. Net Produce per Acre after deducting Weight of Sets. Eate of Increase. Manure and Ptemarks. 20 Tons of Stable Jilanure used per Acre. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 17 2 1 21 12 5 1 23 3-52 Single rows, 2 feet apart. 14 2 0 14 11 13 2 1 5-80 Single rows, 2 feet apart. 10 6 1 6 9 2 0 0 8-53 Single rows, 2 feet apart. 9 6 3 14 6 18 1 1 3-48 Single rows, 2 feet apart. 7 17 2 22 6 13 1 16 6-77 Single rows, 2 feet apart. 7 11 1 8 6 19 0 18* 12-45 Single rows, 2 feet apart. 14 19 1 1 11 1 1 25 3-84 Single rows, 2 feet apart. 9 2 1 6* 6 13 2 2U 3-75 Single rows, 2 feet apart. 7 5 3 5 6 112? 6-0 Single rows, 2 feet apart. 7 7 0 7 6 14 3 17i 12-10 Single rows, 2 feet apart. 570 Imjyroved Value of Scotch Sheep. close as to be prejudicial to the crop. The advantage, therefore, of large sets remains practically unimpaired. Sixthly. JVeight for weight cut sets produce, as nearly as possible, the same weight per acre as whole potatoes ; but for the reasons given above, the weight of the sets should not be reduced by subdivision. Sevejithly. Smaller sets give a larger produce in proportion to their weight than the larger sets. Eighthly. When the intervals between the sets in the rows are diminished to less than a foot, the produce of each individual set is proportionately diminished. Though this is not necessarily accompanied by a diminution of the weight of the crop, no in- crease in the produce of each individual set is caused by placing the sets at intervals wider than a foot. Ninthly. With reference to the relative produce of different varieties, a Late Red sort takes the precedence throughout the experiments ; and of the several varieties of Fluke, " Spencer's King of Flukes " and " The Queen of Flukes " are much more prolific than the ordinary variety. XVII. — On the improved value of Scotch Sheep. By G. Mueeat. The facilities now offered by railways and steamboats for the transport of Scotch sheep from their native grazings to southern farms — thus saving a journey which often lasted several weeks, to the injury of their health and condition — gives to the English farmer an increased interest in this kind of stock. The keen demand which has of late existed for sheep of all kinds, has also sent us further a-field in search of supplies : some notes, therefoie, on the recent range of prices, and the efforts made to improve these mountain breeds, may be acceptable in an English journal. The respective merits of the Black-faced Stock on the most exposed and barren grazings, unfit to winter young sheep ; or, again, of the Cheviot on their range of conical hills, with here and there a sheltered dell, adjacent to rich cultivated lands, need not be enlarged upon, but the results of efforts to improve these native races are not so well known. In the rainy climate of the far north the short and finer staple of the Cheviot wool is not so well suited to defend the skin of the animal from wet as the long, shaggy fleece of the Black-face, besides the Cheviots are more liable to be attacked with rot than the Black-faces, even when both are grazed on the same grazings, in consequence of their preferring the low boggy parts for the sake of shelter, whilst the Black-faces invariably prefer the dry bare heights for their beds ; yet even here the use Improved Value of Scotch Sheep. 571 of a Cheviot ram with Black-faced ewes has been successful, giving an extra value of 5s. to the lamb. * In all the Border counties, on the medium high ranges, where the climate is not too bleak and severe, and some portion of turnips can be got in winter, the Leicester-Cheviot cross has answered admirably. The increased value of the lamb at weaning time has of late been about 15s. per head over the pure-bred Cheviot. The tegs cut one-third more wool, the extra quality of which has enhanced the value by 2|fZ. per lb. The quality of the mutton is excellent ; they are kind feeders and attain good weights at an early age ; if kept equally well from the first they would probably prove a better paying sheep than the more tender Leicester of the South. The only drawback is the difficulty of maintaining a stock of ewes, as it does not answer to go beyond the first cross. The change effected within the last twenty years in the climate of Scotland by the improvement of the low boggy lands, and by well-directed surface drainage, is conducive to the introduction of such an improved breed of sheep. In the autumn of 1865 the high price of sheep in the midland counties induced me to travel to the North at the time of the border fairs to look out for purchases, as well as to be present at the annual sheep sale of a crack breeder in Northumberland. Arriving at Berwick, after a journey of 300 miles, I went next morning to the market, where a lot of good Cheviot wethers attracted my attention, and I was at some pains to make out their price ; they were bought by a dealer for the Newcastle Market at 63s. per head. Proceeding thence to Kelso sheep- fair I found draft ewes, half-breds, ranging from 51s. to 5Gs. per head. I next attended Messrs. Borthwick's annual sale by auction at Kilhain, in Northumberland, where 1000 half-bred shearlings wethers made from 59s. to 77s. per head ; 1000 ewes and theaves making from 40s. to 57s. Next day, at the greater border fair of St. Ninians, half-bred Leicester and Cheviot ewes made 46s. to 54s., and three parts bred 48s. to 56s. At the ewe fair held at Oldhamstocks on the following day, three-parts-bred ewes made from 53s. Qd. to (JQs. and half-bred Leicester and Cheviot from 53s. 9^. to 69s. The Thurston Mains half-breds, being very superior, made, from 55s. to 70s., while the South- downs from the same farm were sold at from 51s. to 59.s. 6f/., and several other lots of Southdowns fetched from 47s. Qd. to 54s. I need hardly say that I returned to the south without having purchased a single sheep. High as were these prices in 1865, those of 1866 ranged still higher, though the pretensions of the breeders were by no means * I am indebted to Mr. Lauder for information on this subject. 572 Improved Value of Scotch Sfieej}. satisfied. Of the Inverness July fair, no^\- the most important in Scotland, v,e were then told that business was very slack, many farmers leaving the market without having sold a single animal ; yet for Cheviot wethers an advance of Qs. to 85. per head over the prices of the previous year was asked ; ewes and ewe lambs made 8s. or 10^. more, and wether lambs 35. to 5s. above the prices of 1865, this, too, in spite of a fall of 20 per cent, in the value of wool. The price of Cheviot wethers was from dOs. to 50s., Cheviot ewes 335. to 425., wether lambs I85. to 235., ewe lambs 175. to 245. : Black-faced wethers made from 275. to 405., ewes from 275. to 365., lambs from I65. to 22s., half-bred hogs made from 425. to SOs., and lambs from 25s. to 32s. At the Julv fair of 1867 prices had greatly receded. Cheviot wethers were from 10s. to 125. per head lower. Ewes from 12s. to 14s., lambs from 6s. to 7s., half-bred lambs from 45. to 6s. The stockmasters, however, are on the whole well satisfied, the general feeling amongst them being that prices will not be lower for Cheviot sheep. I have before me a list of the prices at this Inverness fair from its commencement in 1818, down to the present date. I will onlv make a selection from this long column of figures, adding a few remarks on the different periods. From 1818 to 1830 prices fluctuated much, but the average was low. For instance the prices of 1825 were nearly double of thoseof 1822 and 1823. From 1830 to 1850 prices were remarkably steady, with an upward tendency, but in 1853, and again in 1860, trade received a new impulse, which attained its height in 1866. The follow- ing selection from this table will illustrate the course of events pointing out some of the years of highest and lowest prices : — Prices of Cheviot Sheep at Inverness Fair. Year. Wedders. Ewe s. Lamb s. Remarks. g d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. 1820 20 0 to 25 0 16 0 to 17 0 10 0 to 11 0 1822 12 6 , , 13 0 8 0 8 6 4 6 6 0 lovr year 1825 29 0 , , 32 0 15 0 19 0 9 0 10 6 high 1830 15 0 , , 21 0 8 0 11 0 6 0 6 9 1833 22 0 , , 31 0 13 6 21 0 9 0 11 6 average 1840 24 0 , , 33 0 15 0 23 0 7 0 11 6 good average 1843 19 0 , , 25 0 8 0 12 0 5 0 8 0 low 1845 23 0 , , 33 0 13 0 20 0 8 0 13 0 1850 20 6 , , 29 6 12 0 20 0 8 0 13 0 1853 26 6 , , 38 0 17 0 28 6 9 0 17 0 1858 24 0 , , 34 6 16 0 25 0 13 3 14 9 low 1860 26 0 , , 38 0 17 6 27 6 12 6 17 6 1864 31 0 ,, , 41 0 21 0 31 6 14 0 18 0 1865 32 6 , , 44 0 22 6 33 6 14 6 20 0 1866 30 0 , , 50 0 27 0 36 0 16 0 22 0 1867 29 0 , , 37 0 20 0 28 0 13 0 20 0 Improved Value of Scotch Sheep. 573 As a further illustration of the rans^e of prices within the last two years, I may mention that at Melrose, which has the repu- tation of having the largest lamb-fair in the south of Scotland, on the 1-lth of August, 1866, from 70,000 to 80,000 lambs were shown, being fully 10,000 above the number of the previous year. The quality was also good ; but prices had considerably receded — half-bred lambs were down from 55. to Qs. At the same fair in August, 1867, there were 80,000 lambs on offer, scarcely equal in condition to those of last year. Prices were still further reduced, so that the best lots made from 10^. to 125. less than last year, the highest price obtained for three-parts-bred lambs was 27s. per head. At Lockerby, in 1866, upwards of 30,000 Iambs were shown, chiefly from Dumfriesshire ; half-bred lambs made from 285. to 435. ; Cheviots, from I85. to 295. At this same fair in 1867, the numbers shown were estimated at 70,000; prices for every description had fallen from 30 to 50, and, in some instances, even 60 per cent, below those of last year. Half-bred lambs made from 205. to 255. Gd. ; Cheviot wedder lambs from Gs. Qd. to IO5. 6rf. ; Cheviot ewe lambs from IO5. to 125. In several instances wedder lambs were sold at 7s., the price they obtained from the same farms last year being 18s. to 19s. Last year a lot of Cheviot ewe lambs made 25s. 9f/. ; this year, from the same farm, they only realised lis. The Earl of Durham's annual sale of fat stock was held at Fence Houses, on the 20th November, 1866, where 800 fat sheep were sold. The average prices were as follows : — s. d. 60 Half-bred Leicester and Cheviot Wetliers averaged., .. 76 4 100 „ „ llieaves „ .. .. 63 0 20 Southdown Wethers averaged 79 0 40 „ Tlieavcs „ 68 3 30 „ Wethers „ 80 2 36 „ Theaves „ 62 0^ 210 Half-bred Leicester and Cheviot Ewes averaged .. .. 64 4? 304 Cheviot Ewes averaged 52 8f It afforded a good illustration of the comparative value of the Leicester, Cheviot, and the Southdown ; and I consider that, if equal numbers of each breed had been on sale, the crosses would have made more money per head than their aristocratic rivals. If it be objected that this trial was not a fair one, the soil and climate being unfavourable to the Southdown, my answer is that 20 Southdowns, worth over 4/. each, could not but possess merits of no mean order, and be fair specimens of the race. At the Dumfries Show, held on the 13th December last, for the best pen of 5 half-bred shearling wethers, under 22 months, the first prize was awarded to Mr. R. Smith, Ladyland ; these 574 Improved Value of Scotch Sheep. sheep were sold the same day to Pvlr. P. Murphy, butcher, at 5/. 8s. per head. The heaviest weighed 315 lbs. live weight, and the average was 278 lbs. The second prize pen of 5, belonging to Mr, P. M. Johnstone, Bankhead, Dalswinton, averaged 235 lbs. ; they v/ere sold at 5Z. 2s. 6d. each. The first prize — a cross between the Blackfaced ewe and the Leicester ram — was awarded to Mr, R. Webster, Arras Kells ; these sheep, under 22 months old, were sold at Al. Is. QcL each. In the class for sheep of any breed, the first prize was awarded to a pen of pure-bred Leicesters, shown by Mr, P. M, Johnstone ; the heaviest weighed 276 lbs, live weight, and averaged 262 lbs., and realised 57. 7s. 6g?, each. The second prize was awarded to a pen of sheep, 2 years old, a cross between the Black-faced ewe and Leicester ram ; the heaviest weighed 276 lbs. live weight, and the five averaged 268 lbs,, and were sold at 5/. 12s. per head. In the class for pure-bred Cheviots, under 22 mouths old, the first prize was awarded to Mr. M'Gill, Rotchell ; the average weight of this pen was 209 lbs. live weight ; they fetched 4/. 9s. each. The second prise lot in the same class made 4/. each. A pen of half-breds, Leicester and Cheviot, one year old, averaged 273 lbs. ; this lot was also shown by Mr. M'Gill. The first prize Black-faced wethers made 3Z. 7s. 6rf. each. That this improvement in value has not been effected without pains and expense, on the part of breeders, is evidenced by the prices paid for rams obtained from flocks of high reputation ; for instance, on the 13th September, 1865, 169 Cheviot rams sold by public auction at Beattock, by Mr. Oliver of Hawick, made the following prices : — £ s, d. 1 Five Shear Earn 38 0 0 18 Four Shears averaged 26 6 1 The highest price being 115 0 0 60 Three year-olds averaged 15 11 3 The highest price of this lot heing .. .. 155 0 0 64 Two year-olds averaged 14 18 8 Highest price .. .. 121 0 0 26 Yearhngs averaged 6 13 5 The highest price was 18 0 0 The 169 sheep realised in the aggregate the high sum of 2484Z, 10s,, or an average of 14/, 14s. per head, which is the best proof we can give of the high estimation in which this breed is held by the flockmasters of the Border counties. During the year 1864, the gross number of fat sheep sent south by rail from Dumfries alone was 40,000, the greater part of which were cross-breds, worth from 45s. to 65s. per head. A large Improved Value of Scotch Sheep. ^ 57 b farmer, well acquainted with the south-western counties of Scotland, wrote to me as follows : — " I know many farms in Scotland, from which a few years ago the Black-faced lambs averaged 10s. per head, that are now selling — the produce of the same ewe by a Leicester ram — at 24s. The Leicester ram is by far the best cross for the Black-faced ewes, at least in this part of the country. The cross betwixt the Cheviot and Leicester answers admirably on all the best farms, while on the poorer farms we greatly prefer the Black-faced cross. A farmer near Kirkcudbright, last spring, sold his first draft of tegs in May, out of the wool, at GOs. per head, the fleeces averaging 9J- lbs. ; of course they were a cross between the Leicester and Cheviot ; this may be considered an extreme case, yet there are hundreds to be found in the same locality weighing in spring 18 lbs. to 20 lbs. per quarter, and cutting 8 lbs. of wool each. At the great ram fair held at Hawick, 372 Leicester rams were sold by public auction, the average of which was 5Z. 17s. 7d. per head, the highest price being 14/. 10s. At the Lockerby Show, held in April, 1865, the first prize hogs weighed 180 lbs. live weight, which was the highest aver- age ever known at this Show. Within the last ten years the number of crosses with the different mountain breeds have increased at least threefold ; the only limits to the system of crossing will be the deficiency in the supply of the pure element in the female line. Since, how- ever, there are large areas which can never be stocked by any but the pure native races, we may reckon on these moors and mountains to furnish to more favoured localities their surplus produce. It is a remarkable fact, well known to practical men, that in breeding from a Black-faced ewe by a Leicester ram the produce decreases in value with each successive family ; hence, when ewes have twice bred to a Leicester sheep, they are known by the name of double-milled ewes, and, though still young, are rejected by the experienced breeders as deteriorated in value. I have thus endeavoured to put together a few remarks, the result of many inquiries, which I trust may be of use in calling attention to a valuable source of supply for store sheep, and also serve to illustrate the remarkable rise and fall in the value ot sheep, which has taken place within the last two years. ( 576 ) XVIII. — Statistics of Live Stock and Dead Meat for Consumption in the Metropolis. By EoBERT Heebert. In the first six months of the present year, notwithstanding a deficiency in the importations of foreign stock, compared with the corresponding period in 1866, the great metropolitan cattle- market was fairly, though not to say heavily, supplied with beasts in greatly improved condition as far as regards English arrivals. The Scotch supplies were remarkably prime ; but the few Irish beasts brought forward were scarcely of average weight. On the whole, the trade ruled stead}^, and prices were supported. The general value of Scots and crosses ranged from 5^. to bs. 4c?. per 8 lbs. The Norfolk " season " closed remarkably well ; whilst Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, and Northamptonshire are now forwarding some very good stock, and in full average number. In 1866, the best Scots were at one time worth as much as 6s. 4:d. per 8 lbs., the fall being equal to IM. per lb. This decline, however, may be attributed to the restrictive measures still in force in reference to the removal of beasts from London for consumption in the country. Formerly from 500 to 600 prime beasts were frequently thus disposed of. Whilst the im- ports of live stock from the continent have fallen off, we have had very large quantities of foreign, chiefly Dutch, meat on offer in Newgate and Leadenhall, from which markets country buyers have been partly supplied. The supply of meat actually' imported in the period under review was very little short of 150,000 tons. A large portion of it has arrived in fair saleable condition ; but the prices realised have been comparatively low. We understand that the importations during the winter months will be on a very extensive scale, as there is a growing demand for offal in most of the continental cities. The same may be said of Scotland and most of our own districts, in which wool and skins are selling at higher prices than in the metropolis. As we are now gradually recovering from the effects of the cattle disease, and as stock is still very abundant in Holland and Germany, Ave may safely anticipate a moderate range in the value of animal food for several months. Some very good beasts have been received from France, but that country has very little to spare for us compared with Holland, Belgium, and Germany. The exertions made to improve the breed of sheep in Holland and Germany by means of crossing have been attended with considerable success ; still much has yet to be done to secure high prices in this country. The total number of sheep brought forward has not been quite equal to that of last year, but the condition of most English Statistics of Live Stock and Dead Meat, Sfc. 577 breeds has shown considerable improvement ; hence the weight of meat disposed of has exceeded 1866. This, together with the ample supplies exhibited and disposed of in Newgate and Leadenhall, accounts for the moderate prices current during the last six months. The average top quotation for mutton has not exceeded 5s. per 8 lbs. against 6s. in the corresponding period in 18GG, and 5s. lOd. in 1865. Of lambs there has been a full average. Sales, therefore, have been rather inactive ; at one period, the best Down lambs sold at ds. per 8 lbs, ; but the price soon fell to 8s., and at the close of June was at Qs. Sd. per 8 lbs. In 1866 prices ranged from 6^. 8f/. to 10s. per 8 lbs. Although the importations of foreign calves have been only moderate, the veal trade has not improved. The best calves have realised over 6s. per 8 lbs. ; but, as the number of English lias been on the increase, there has been rather more competition in the market. The supplies of pigs having been extensive, both English and foreign breeds have sold slowly, at prices ranging from 3^. Qd. to 45. 6d. per 8 lbs. Grass-fed stock has thriven well, and we believe that it was never in a more healthy state than at present. A very large crop of hay has been secured, and the prospect of root crops is fully equal that of last season. The outlay for artificial food, therefore, will certainly not increase. The following return shows the total supplies of stock exhi- bited in the Metropolitan Cattle Market in the six months : — Total Supplies of Stock exJiibited. Beasts. Cows. Sheep and Lambs. Calves. Pigs' 1861 .. .. 109,812 3005 604,650 6,560 15,952 1862 ., .. 116,735 3054 631,672 8,259 17,407 1863 .. ., 120,045 3005 628,072 10,449 16,435 1864 .. .. 131,694 3014 622,330 9,935 17,679 1865 .. .. 130,977 3086 614,760 12,189 16,028 1866 .. .. 107,816 1220 677,560 6,721 12,953 1867 ., .. 108,180 1400 674,670 8,468 11,200 The supply from our northern districts was small — from the eastern counties on the increase. Other parts of England fur- 578' Statistics of Live Stock and Dead Meat nislied good supplies ; bvit from Ireland and Scotland the receipts were limited, as will be seen from the annexed figures : — District Bullock Arrivals. Northern Districts. Eastern Districts. Other parts of England. Scotland. Ireland. 1860 .. .. 4,000 68,520 21,420 5,033 1477 1864 .. .. •• 62,170 19,980 9,918 2740 1865 .. .. 1,000 54,460 17,570 11,797 2517 1866 .. .. 5,290 31,188 12,680 8,800 3000 1867 .. .. 400 36,630 14,110 5,632 903 Average Prices of Beef and Mutton in the Six Months. Beef.— Per 8 lbs. to sink the Offal. 1861- 1863. 1863. 1864. 1865. 1866. 1867- Inferior Middling .. Prime s. d. 3 4 4 4 5 0 s. d. 3 0 4 0 4 8 s. d. 3 4 4 4 5 0 s. d. 3 6 4 6 5 0 s. d. 3 8 4 8 5 2 f. d. 3 10 4 10 5 10 s. d. 3 4 4 4 5 0 Mutton.— Per 8 lbs. to sink the Offal. 1861. 1862. 1863. 1864. 1865. 1866. 1867- Inferior Middling . . Prime s. d. 3 8 5 0 5 10 s. d. 3 6 4 6 5 4 s. d. 3 ]0 4 8 5 6 s. d. 3 8 4 6 5 2 s. d. 4 4 4 10 5 10 s. d. 4 0 5 4 6 0 s. d. 3 6 4 6 5 0 Although trade in the manufacturing- districts has been some- what heavy this year, the consumption of animal food in the United Kingdom is fully as large as at any former period. Prices, however, as we have shown above, are now considerably lower than they were in 1866. But the fact appears to be that the rates current in that year were too high to be lasting. The total imports of foreign stock into London during the six months were as under : — for Consumption in the Metropolis. 579 Imports in the first Six Months. From Beasts. Sheep and Lambs. Calves. Pigs. Aalborg.. Amsterdam . Antwerp Barcelona Boulogne Bremen .. Cadiz Caen Calais .. Copenhagen . Deauville Dieppe . . Dunkirk Gerstemunde Gothenburg . Hamburg Harburg Harlingen Jersey . . Kbnigsberg . Oporto . . Ostend . . Randers . . Rotterdam Standby Tromville Total . 231 2,471 50 3,905 3,640 717 79 345 89 118 54 15,545 2,779 8,610 380 4,777 2 44 579 2 944 215 418 45,994 1 86,730 3,316 5,498 694 35,904 710 46,217 8,844 920 3 138 188,997 3,798 345 145 14 235 343 146 565 1,030 1,601 2 53 8,277 158 5 41 55 5 122 179 37 10 4,332 4,944 The above gives a total of 248,212 head, against 244,985 head in the same period in 1866 : — Imports at Corresponding Periods. Beasts. Sheep and Lambs. Calves. Pigs. 1860 .. ., 17,193 76,415 7,965 2,492 1861 .. .. 22,045 46,674 6,187 4,309 1862 ., .. 11,402 49,332 9,459 883 1863 ,. .. 16,701 91,206 11,445 1,229 1864 .. .. 29,460 85,920 10,392 14,212 1865 ., .. 40,921 122,579 9,993 32,582 1866 .. .. 46,343 180,460 7,480 10,702 The returns issued by the Board of Trade give the follow- ing imports of foreign stock into the United Kingdom in six months : — 580 Statistics of Live Stock and Dead Meat Imports ill Six Months. Oxen, Bulls, and Cows Calves Sheep and Lambs Pigs 1865. 1866. 74,392 18,785 250,212 38,706 72,812 9,122 411,729 29,873 1867. 69,110 11,558 268,478 13,776 The supplies of meat in Newgate and Leadenhall have been extensive, business steady, and prices moderate. Beef has ranged from 3^. 2d. to 4^. lOcl. ; mutton, 3s. 4:d. to 5^. ; lamb, 4:S. Ad. to 7s. ; veal, 3^. lOd. to bs. 2d. ; and pork, 3s. 2d. to 5^. per 8 lbs. by the carcase. The Wool Trade. A further decline has taken place in the value of all kinds of wool. At the large public sales of colonial held in London the quotations gave way ^d. to l^d. per lb. ; and in the private con- tract market a similar decline has taken place. The fact is, that production has overtaken the wants of Europe, and that, without a good export inquiry for France, Belgium, and Germany, even present rates are not safe. The quantity of colonial wool adver- tised for sale in August and September was 119,399 bales, to which about 30,000 bales were added, bringing the total quantity up to about 150,000 bales. The oppressively high duties levied in America on wool and woollen goods have, no doubt, partly tended to depress the value of wool in this country. Our im- pression is, however, that the consumption of British manufac- tured cloth in the United States will steadily increase. The last clip of English wool was large and of full average quality. The following are the present values of English wool in London : — Per 210 lbs. Fleeces: — £. s. £. s. Southdown liog2;etts 16 10 to 17 0 Half-bred hoggetts 17 10 to 18 0 Kent fleeces " 17 0 to 17 10 Southdown ewes and wethers .. .. 15 0 to IG 0 Leicester ditto 16 0 to 17 0 Sorts :— Clothing and picklock 18 0 to 18 10 Prime 16 10 to 17 0 Choice 15 10 to 16 0 Super 14 0 to 15 0 Combing : — Wether matcliius: 19 0 to 19 10 Picklock .. ". 16 0 to 17 0 Common 14 0 to 15 0 Hop matching 20 0 to 20 10 Picklock matching 16 0 to 17 0 Super ditto .': 14 C to 15 0 for Consumption in the Metropolis. 581 Compared with the same period in 1866, the above quotations show a decline of from IO5. to SO*, per pack. Imports of Wool in Six Months. 1865, lbs. 1866, lbs. FoJdin :: :: ::} 37,470,008 101,948,949 Exports of Wool in Six Months. 1867. lbs. 117,220,028 1865. lbs. English I 4,014,604 Colonial j 36,. 526, 133 Foreign j 5,304,109 1 Total .. .. I 45,844,846 1866. 1867. lbs. 3,566,886 29,451,959 2,540,984 35,559,829 lbs. 3,117,235 39,626,742 6,035,779 48,779,756 4, Argyle Square, St. Pancras. XIX. — On the Composition and Nutritive Value of Anthyllis Vulneraria {Ladfs Fingers) as a Fodder Plant. By De. Mgustus Yoelcker. The Anthyllis Vulneraria (Lady's Fingers, or Kidney Vetch), grows wild throughout the length and breadth of England. It is very common on dry pastures and rocky or stony places ; but though it may be seen on a great variety of soils, and is appa- rently independent of the prevailing mineral constituents of the land on which it grows, it is naturally a lover of the limestone, and flourishes on the thin oolitic soils of the Coltswold hills, and generally on calcareous and open sandy land. Of late years the Anthyllis has been recommended for cultiva- tion as a fodder plant ; it is reported to yield a large crop of hay and green food, which is specially useful for sheep, and to succeed well on soils too poor for the growth of broad clover. It certainly grows on extremely poor pastures and dry sheep-walks, and is apparently relished by sheep ; but whether it is, as has been asserted, an extremely nutritious food, even when grown on the poorest soils, we have no evidence to show. Probably it may be grown to the best advantage on calcareous sandy soils, and there yield better or more abundant fodder than VOL. III. — S. S. 2 Q 582 Composition and Nutritive Value of tliey would produce in the shape of sainfoin oi- clover to which tribe of plants it is akin. The cultivation of this crop has been attempted with some degree of success in Norfolk, the county from which I obtained the material for the subjoined analysis. More frequently than in England the Anthyllis may be seen as a field-crop in France, where it is grown much in the same way as the Trifolium incar- iiatum, that is, well harrowed after harvest into the oat or wheat- stubbles, it is then ready, for feeding the following summer, coming in rather later as a green crop than the crimson clover ( Trifolium ijicariiatum). I am not aware that this plant has been submitted before to an analytical examination ; so, having received from Norfolk some hay entirely composed of the kidney vetch, I took advantage of the opportunity, and subjected it to a full analysis. The hay in question, as regards appearance, vv^as stalky and coarse ; it must not be supposed, however, that the crop was mown too late in the season, for most of the plants had just done flowering, and some were still in full flower. The plan adopted in the following analysis was similar to that described at some length in my paper " On the Composition of Orange Globe Mangolds " in Vol. II,, Second Series, of this Journal, I need not, therefore, mention in detail the mode in which the several determinations were made, but give at once the general composition of the hay, as follows : Dried ; at 212° Fahr Moisture 10-40 ^Organic substances soluble in water .. 26*47 .... 29'56 Organic substances insoluble iu water) Kj-gn r4-T (crude fibre) - .. .< f Mineral matter (ash) 5-08 .... 5-68 100-00 100-00 ♦Containing nitrogen 1"19 .... 1*33 Equal to albuminous compounds (flesh-) -.„g g,r,K forming matters) / Hay usually contains from 14 to 16 per cent, of moisture, or 4 to 6 per cent, more than the Anthyllis hay at the time when the analysis was made. The day on which I received the hay was very warm ; the small sample coming into my hand probably was drier than the bulk is likely to be at the time of stacking ; in some measure, however, I believe that the small amount of moisture Avas due to the deficiency of small leaves (which attract moisture readily), the want of juice, and the prevalence of dry woody stems in the Anthyllis hay. Anthyllis Vulneraria as a Fodder Plant. 583 The following figures express the 'Detailed Composition of Hay, made of the Anthyllis Vulneraria (^Kidney Vetch), Calculated quite Dry. Moisture 10-4G ., .> Oil and wax 1-18 .... 1-32 *SoiubIe albuminous compounds 2"87 .... 3-20 f Insoluble albuminous compounds .. ., 4'52 .... 5*04 Gum, su2;ar, and carbon-hydrates, readily) >o qi An ni convertible into su-ar ^ 4.3-JX .... ^J-U4 Indigestible woody fibre (cellulose) ,. .. 31'98 .... 35'72 Mineral matters, soluble in water ,, ,. 4'50 .... 5'03 Mineral matter, insoluble iu water .. ,, "58 .... "05 10000 100-00 *ContainiDg nitrogen "47 .... "52 tContaiuing nitrogen •72 .... "80 The sample of hay analysed by me was not nearly so nutritious as clover, sainfoin, or common meadow-hay of good average quality. A comparison of the relative proportions of fatty matters, of sugar and analogous carbon-hydrates readily soluble in water, of albuminous compounds and of indigestible woody fibre in different kinds of hay, enables us to form a good proximate estimate of their nutritive qualities. The comparison should always be made in the perfectly dry materials, for the proportion of water in hay is subject to great variations. The inferiority of the Anthyllis hay appears in a marked degree in the following tabular statement : — • Composition of Clover-hay, Meadow-hay, and of AnthyUis-hay , dried at 212° Fahr. Clover-hay. Meadow-hay. Anthyllis-hay. Fatty matters 3-81 2*99 1-32 *Albuminous compounds (flesh - formino;) ion/> n oo o or matters) - J 18-9(> 9-88 8-25 Sugar, gum, and carbon-hydrates, readily] convertible into sugar (respiratory sub-> 41*27 48*09 49 '03 stances) ) Indigestible woody fibre (cellulose) .. .. 26-95 31-80 35-72 Mineral matter (ash) .. 9-01 7-24 5-68 100-00 100-00 100-00 ♦Containing nitrogen 3-03 1'58 1-32 A glance at the preceding table shows — 1. That the Kidney-Vetch-hay examined by me contained only one-third the amount of ready-made fat which occurs in good clover-hay, and scarcely half the amount found in ordinary meadow-hay. 2 Q 2 584 Value of Anthyllis Vulneraria as a Fodder Plant. 2. That it was somewhat poorer in albuminous compounds or flesh-forming matters than common meadow-hay, and contained nothing like the amount of these compounds which occurs in clover-hay. I was rather surprised to find so little flesh-forming matter in the Anthyllis, for the plant belongs to the natural order of Leguminosae, a tribe which is distinguished by a much larger amount of nitrogenous compounds than is found in true grasses. The hay analysed by me, however, as mentioned already, was decidedly stalky, and the comparative paucity of tender leaves, which are always rich in nitrogen, and the prevalence of woody fibre (cellulose), a substance not containing any nitrogen, no doubt accounts for the deficiency of flesh-forming matter, which, comparatively speaking, may not be so great when the crop is eaten green, as it is when made into hay. 3. That the Anthyllis contains more indigestible woody fibre than either meadow- or clover-hay. The small percentage of ready-made fat and of flesh-forming matters, and the large amount of woody fibre in the sample, certainly do not speak in favour of Anthyllis as a forage plant. It must, however, be remembered that my remarks, strictly speaking, only apply to the specimens analysed by me, and that we have yet to learn what is the average composition of the crop before a generally correct opinion can be expressed as regards the nutritive value of Anthyllis Vulneraria. This plant, at least when grown on poor sandy soils, has a great tendency to drop, towards its maturity, the finer and more nutritious leaves, and to become stalky and coarse. It may, therefore, be better on such soils to consume it green than to make it into hay. In a given state I am inclined to think the plant would compare more favourably with green clover than hay made from the Kidnev Vetch will with clover-hay. Lahoratory, 1 1 , Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, July, 1867. XX. — Remarks on the Imj)lement Department at Bury. By Eael CathcAET, Senior Steward, NiMROD used to say, I can part with the horse, but not with his condition. So the Society — the thing being divisible — should part with its stewards, not with their experience. Mr. Wren Hoskyn, Sir A. Macdonald, and Mr. Caldwell, have written valuable papers on previous meetings: would that their example Remarhs on the Implement Department at Bury St. EdmuncCs. 585 had been regularly followed. A fresh eye is of essential import- ance towards a duly progressive system. It is now my object to record the experiences of three busy years of office ; to preserve the mere residuum — the moral " Extractum Carnis." Many things pass as a whole that would never pass in part. I am proud of having been an officer of the Society ; and yield to no man in appreciation of its importance, past, present, and to come. Those who studied the Bury Meeting may well be satis- fied with general results ; yet in speaking of details in my own department I must be critical — if not critical, I am nothing. Whatever may be thought of my opinion, credit I know will be given to my motives, and my observations will not be less relished because they are outspoken. I am to deal chiefly with prin- ciples, because for the third time consecutively the Society is to have the advantage of Mr. Coleman's practical notes on the general show-yard. Before entering in order upon our subject, let me stay to pitch one or two preliminary key-notes. There is an activity positively contagious — a keen interest — insight — a tendency to encourage, not to snub, a suggestion — a hatred of mea- sureless content — these qualities are required to counteract the natural drowsiness of institutions. Those who this year studied two great agricultural meetings were struck by some reflection such as this : — If management requires breadth and unity, may we not unduly sacrifice unity for breadth ? It would be pleasant to dwell on picturesque and hospitable Bury ; to refer to Suffolk, the home of that farmer-penman, Arthur Young ; and birthplace of the poet of the farm, of whom it was well said — " Bloom field, thy happy omen'd name Ensures continuance to thy fame ; Both sense and truth this verdict give — While fields shall bloom thy name shall live." Space does not allow even for the great event of the Meeting — the visit of the Viceroy of Egypt — more than a passing notice. Despite the fickle weather, here at least, his Highness was thoroughly satisfied with his reception. With an evident know- ledge of agriculture and mechanics, he was full of sympathy with our object, and left a most agreeable impression. He told us at luncheon how he had himself adapted his steam-plough tackle to work earth-levelling shovels, and he applied two bills of fare to illustrate the process. The great ruler in Egypt must have been impressed by the forty-two acres covered with everything that could exemplify the perfection of modern agri- culture : still more must he have been impressed if he reflected that he saw an outward and visible sign of that hidden force destined to expand, to fill, and to move the wide world, and 586 Remarks on the Implement wliich may be indicated by two plain words — freedom and co-operation. His Highness was evidently " not one to travel from Dan to Beersheba, and cry — 'tis all barren." The principal characteristics of the last exhibition of Imple- ments are briefly these : — On account of the exclusion of cattle, the Bury Show was essentially an implement show ; considering the value of the implements, perhaps the best exhibition ever known : remarkable more because of perfectionment of parts than for novelty of design; and for evidence of the steady advance of steam power as applied to agriculture. With steam tackle, heat being power, to cherish heat is the great object ; hence the goal for racer engines, and, in the best sense of the word, engine jockeys. Traction engines — called in the yard tractarians, Avere a note- worthy feature, and snorted about in all directions ; there was no prize for these mechanical Calibans : yet probably for them there is a great future. Might not a curious paper be written on the history of implements ; how they became naturalized in agriculture? Large entries and extensive trials, with corre- sponding pressure on stewards and judges, pointed to the abso- lute necessity of avoiding any tendency in the implement depart- ment to become hide-bound. A characteristic and perhaps valuable feature is to be found in the fact that there is a minni- mum of official interference. In short, the Society opens the door — personal interest walks in and about. The general meet- ing in the yard being merely a form, a characteristic of our agricultural convocation is now, all work, no talk. The Sunday service in the yard is interesting and appreciated. When at Bury the clergyman said, " I beg you to accept the prayer-books you have used," the general response, " Thank you kindly, sir," was touching. The visitors of the labouring class were intelli- gent ; none trudged unknowing and whistled for want of thought. An important teaching of the implement yard is, that improved agriculture must have improved servants ; and this leads me to refer to two important considerations — the promotion of educa- tion, and the encouragement of rational cheerfulness — for " A merry heart goes all the day, Your sad tires in a mile-a." The key to the future of the implement department is in the phrase, " the spirit of the time must teach us speed." Consider the growth and the tendencies of our population, study American analogies, and we see that our necessities will lead every day to the increased use of machinery in agriculture — necessity being the motive, competition the machinery of progress. It is to be observed that, as regards any Government, reforms are apt to come fi'om without ; at least a system should be viewed from Department at Barn St. EdmuncVs. 587 without, I advocate no do^-and-tlie-shadow principles. You can't run far before your day ; time itself, that changes all things, changes by degrees. To preserve things we must go back to Our original principles : acting less from habit, more from reflection. Improvement in the yard like improvement in the implements, must be made stop by step — improvement of details resulting from a close application of that science of sciences — applied common sense ; its disturbing influences are possibly laxity, and rhinoceros-skinned routine. As we hear less in these days of judges and more of juries, where for the purpose of exhibitions does the essential difference lie? Prejudices of the pocket are not likely to interfere with the wished-for progress in the future: all we want is concentrated, sympathetic, receptive management. As regards the agricultural mind, insight ; as regards the agricultural voice, fine perception. The agricultural and engineering press is able. " By evil report and good report," when construed together, much may be learned. That press is a sort of tree of knowledge — the pulse of the agricultural body — and on that pulse we should ever have a sensitive finger. The difficulties of the future implement department are great, like the steam-hammer, which can smash a boulder or crack a nut, we must so justly arrange our testing machinery that we do even-handed justice alike to the Triton manufacturer and the minnow embryo. Reader, do you know the good old play ' Speed the Plough ? ' and the oft-repeated and now proverbial question " What will Mrs. Grundy say ? " Even Mrs. Grundy would, I am sure, have approved the following preface to a iew practical sug- gestions : — Little things are little things till neglected ; how many things are out of mind Avhen out of view? In our yard there might be at either end of every row of sheds a notice to show the number of the stands comprised in that row ; a sort of thing that those who run may read. There are two nuisances that should be sternly repressed — a sort of " cheap John's " noisy vendor of small wares, and the wet-paint nuisance. There is too much black smoke in the implement yard ; this is the result of bad fuel and bad stoking. Care should be taken to avoid an issue of incorrect prize-lists. The undecorated " tractarians " should be controlled in their gyrations, but not unduly tram- melled. The police of the implement yard requires considera- tion ; fires to be duly raked out by a certain hour. In reference to the Suffolk Societies' Prize, would it not be desirable to obtain a Report on the Plans and Models of Labourers' Cot- tages ? Might not the very efficient, Assistant-Steward of imple- ments be more employed ? There was a want of shelter for the implement trials ; there has been sad loss of all-important time 588 Remarks on the Implement in measuring' and setting out portions of land for trials. The implement trial-floors were injudiciously constructed, and pro- voking difliculties in connecting centres on line of motion. No crane, and so no end of dragging and shunting heavy mills. The crying want with us is more forethought and combined action as regards field and yard trials.* The importance of "the soft answer" is nowhere better exemplified that in the office of Implement Steward. If my last year of office could return, I would say to my colleagues, " There is^ ample work for three of us ; we will each take our depart- ment : I would not fear your discretion, only each day report, so that we are not at cross-purposes. We must, as far as may be, keep up the tone in our yard. The Society is bound to carry out its conditions ; routine must give way to utility ; we are not Medes and Persians. And above all it is essential that the governors should sympathise with the governed." Whilst re- ferring to the office of Steward, it is due that I should record my sense of the good service rendered by the Assistant-Steward, Mr. Elphick. The prize system hinges on the due selection of judges ; and the secret of being able to obtain judges depends on the fact " that the labour we delight in physics pain." That we may not overstrain this tendency to labour for love, let us consider the duties, qualifications, and treatment of our implement judges. Nothing is more sensitive than credit, and the judge's decision immediately affects credit. The number of judges is limited; there is often undue hurry ; sometimes a five minutes' run where an hour is required. In short, judges are often unduly worked, and unduly blamed. A judge should be a man of experience, of a fine temper ; he should not only avoid haste, but the appear- ance of haste. As Lord Bacon says, patience and gravity of bearing is an essential part of justice. The general public know little of the laborious and intricate trials. Forethought and further division of labour is the solution of many of our diffi- culties. We must at once subdivide the Miscellaneous Depart- ment, which, indeed, requires of its judges far-seeing and also microscopic eyes. How far do we by our treatment encourage these essential and scarce officers ? The answer to this question is not satisfactory; there is undoubtedly a feeling akin to discon- tent. On the part of the Society there is a want of sufficient consideration ; beyond a bed the judges have little to be thankful for. Such things as these that follow are not duly considered : — An over-crowded town ; visitors considered fair game ; lodgings * I should like to read a clever paper on the great American agricultural gatherings. Department at Bury St. EdmxincVs. 589 where no refreshments can be had, and yet tired men must at night make and compare notes, for thoughts, like water spilt, may not be gathered up again. The judges absolutely require a quiet and convenient rendezvous. Then instead of giving the judges table money, and allowing them to consult their own con- venience, quite regardless of distance and conditions of toil and dirt, we insist on handing them over for perhaps eight days (jr more together, to the tender mercies of a virtually uncontrolled showyard refreshment contractor, with his " bak'd meats coldly furnished forth." Surely the better plan would be to have a refreshment-room, good plain refreshments, with a duly posted tariff, somewhat as in the members' coffee-room of the Lords and Commons. Give table-money, say, stewards 5s. a day, judges IZ. Is., and let all pay. The judge, tired and toil-stained, it may be miles away from the show-yard, naturally says, " Why shall [ not take mine ease at mine inn." In short, these are weighty matters. I should like to see a committee of three appointed to consider the whole subject ; I have a high opinion of the im- portance of the offices referred to. 1 wish to see judges sup- plied with all appliances and means to boot ; and 1 believe the best test of good and efficient regulations of stewards and judges is a host of cheerful and well-satisfied exhibitors. Exhibitors are tried in the fiery furnace of competition ; they are entitled to sympathetic consideration. It would be difficult to over-estimate the effects of free competition ; the implement trade is now of world-wide interest ; it is highly sensitive, as proved by the fact as stated, that the Society's admirable Report on Steam Cultivation has already advantageously affected the manufacturers of steam-cultivating tackle. There would appear to be phases of progress, periods of special growth, in the various departments of agricultural implements ; for example, draining and tile-making, clod-crushing, reaping, steam cultivation, the gradual economy in the agricultural use of coal in the production of steam : the history of this last result, and the history of the reaper since the introduction of M'Cormack's reaper in 1851, might be suggestive. I cannot avoid touching on, but 1 will touch lightly, the vexed question of the prize system. Objectors to that system object chiefly for two reasons: they say trials are often unseasonable, often hurried. From their own stand-point these objectors have much reason. But looking all round the subject, there appears a consideration which, to my mind, is conclusive in favour of the prize system. Criticism depends on comparison. The prize system does not create competition ; it brings it to a practical issue : there is no such thing as absolute perfection ; but relatively, implements may be excellent. Contests 590 Remarks on the Implemeiit Department at Bury St. Edmund's. are annually becoming more keen. The results of tte last steam contest must make steam-farmers wish that competing firms could make, not engines only, but drivers. To return to the imme- diate subject — exhibitors — they are not satisfied; and with reason. As Englishmen they willingly submit to constituted authority : they feel that time and chance happeneth to all ; but they hate neglect and oversight, which after great preparation, made in accordance with published conditions, is naturally aggra- vating. They hate undue haste, and the appearance of undue haste. There is moreover a falling to the ground between two stools, or, in other words, between two classes of judges. It is a question how far judges by their awards influence purchasers ? That tbey do influence purchases I cannot doubt, as the ordinary farmer requires a guide ; if my observation is just, that criticism depends on comparison, then the judges, by the result of tlieir comparisons, should influence purchasers. That judges sometimes suggest improvements is a fact within my own knowledge. Rotation is a law of nature ; the rotation prize system, the triple division of 1856, works admirably, but perhaps requires extension. However that may be, further division of labour, especially in the Miscellaneous Class, is immediately necessary. Experienced stewards know that when there are many exhibitors who complain, there are more who are discontented ; notwithstanding much may. be done by patient hearing and sympathy with the mixed multi- tude. Indeed towards the last it became quite pleasant to go to and fro in the yard, and on recognising familiar and intelligent faces, to exchange friendly greetings. My task is finished ; only I would add two or three sentences, not by way of empty compliment, but to express a hearty feel- ing. For our great Society my wish is, may it ever be said " Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety." Of the honorary directory, need I say, I concur in the general feeling — one of unqualified respect. The judges, they who bear the heat and burden of the day, their disinterested labours, command our appreciation and deserve our thanks. I can see an eminent engineer judge, rain on one side, fire on the other, yet all day wearing an expression of pleasant humour, as though reflecting on " Man born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward." To my friendly colleagues, one and all, I am indebted for many agreeable and profitable hours : may 1 say, and trust the feeling is mutual, should old acquaintance be forgot ? I do think a great charm of our meetings is, that they so tend to blend the sym- pathies of those whose best interests are really identical. ( 591 ) XXI. — General Report on the Implement Show at Bury St. Edmunds. By JoilN CoLEMAN. Nearly 5000 entries, occupying 282 stands, filling up, not merely the ordinarily allotted area, but streaming far over the space originally intended for the cattle classes, makes up an exhibit without parallel in the annals of the Royal Agricultural Society. This was, indeed, an attractive feature of the Show, and we cannot but hope that the results of the trials so patiently conducted, and a careful inspection of the long array of machinery of every kind here collected together will convey lessons, the fruits of which may be seen another day. We anticipated a great show, well knowing the enterprise of our leading firms, so many of whom are located eastwards. Before we enter into details, it may be desirable to mention that the Show-yard, enclosing some 42 acres, was well chosen, situated on the outskirts of the town, easily reached from the farthest points, approached by a broad drive, the visitor was set down before a neat and sensible-looking erection, comprising the Alpha and Omega (entrance and exit). Secretary's quarters, Post-office, &c. This building, which cost some 700/., was so framed that it all takes to pieces, packs up easily, and, as soon as done with, goes into warehouse at Leicester, till required next year. The Show- yard, an irregulai'-shaped enclosure, partly composed of old turi and partly new-made grass, was on gently rising ground, the machinery in motion occupying great part of two sides, and making an extraordinary show. The railway accommodation was most inadequate, notwithstanding the erection of a siding in the yard, where machines and stock were at once delivered, provided they surmounted the previous difficulties. Great delays occurred both in bringing and removing the goods. The passenger trains Avere also much behind time, and had there been the rush of either Leeds or Chester, the results would have been lamentable ; but all acquainted with the present state of the Great Eastern Railway were prepared to hear complaints, and really on the whole the Society may be congratulated on having got through a difficulty so well. The small accommodation afforded by the town, charming as it is in all other respects, the very insignificant quota of visitors it could itself furnish, led one to anticipate small results, even if the Show had been complete. The absence of horned stock made it a clear case from the first ; the extent of the deficiency depending upon the weather, but under the most favourable circumstances a financial loss was inevitable. This, however, is of minor importance, provided the objects for which the Society has Avorked for a quarter of a century are 592 Implement Show at Bury St. Edmund's. furthered. The collection of such a magnificent and instructive array of machinery could not fail to interest the East Anglian farmers. The Trial of Implements, conducted with great care and patience, and the results as detailed in the appended Reports, will doubtless prove useful to intending purchasers. The exhibitors, though they may condemn the system, which has in many cases proved their stepping-stone to fortune, with one or two excep- tions, rushed eagerly to the fray, and met their fate, as they always do, like men ; all cannot win, and defeat in such com- petition is not disgrace. The Judges of Threshing Machines state that the entries were generally very good, and so it happens that useful Imple- ments remain unnoticed, simply because the results were not sufficiently perfect to win. A careful inspection of the tables giving the preliminary trials in Classes B and C will prove how generally good was the work. Reference to the Reports of the Canterbury and Worcester Meetings, the two last occasions when similar machinery came into competition will show, that at the former such threshing machines were tried as do not finish, i. e., which leave the corn to be acted upon by further processes ; whilst at the latter all the money was bestowed on finishing machines. The Council have acted wisely in now giving prizes for both, thus acknowledging the value both of the simpler and the more complicated machinery under different circumstances. The Judges express a strong opinion in favour of the simpler form, and farmers who thrash out of doors — a practice that is very general in many districts — will generally endorse their views. The finishing machinery in many cases fulfills its purpose well ; but, as a rule, the crop is not sufficiently uniform to afflard an even sample as it leaves the machine, the motions are too unsteady and irregular for good dressing, and the result not worth the power consumed. With regard to Steam Engines, I regret to state that the Judges' Report has not yet been received (October 3rd). Beport of the Judges on ThresMng-machines. "We have to report a large entry in the following proportions : — Entries. Prize. Class A, — Horse-power Machines, the power not to exceed £ that of 4 horses 5 .... 20 „ B. — Portable ]\Iachines, not exceeding 8-horse-power, to be worked by steam, including any variety that does not j^rofess to do more than prepare the corn for the Finishing-dressing machine . . 19 .... 40 „ D. — Portable combined Steam 'Jlircshing and Finish- ing Machines 14 .. .. 40 Total 38 £100 Implement Show at Bury St. Edmunds. 593 Class A. — House -power Machines. Wc \>e.% to submit for consideration of the Implement Committee that this prize be discontinued, and the money offered for a cheap and simple straw- elevator, or any other labour-saving application, in the Threshing Section. Horse-power machines, though still in use in some districts, are generally so indicative of a backward condition of agriculture, the process is altogether so clumsy, and the power consumed so great for the ^vork performed, that we think it is a positive mistake to encourage by prizes machines that oiight to be bye-gones in English agriculture. The plea may be raised that a large foreign demand still exists for these rude contrivances; it may be so, but this must yearly diminish as the advantages and economy of steam become more apparent. The primary object of our Society moreover, in offering prizes is to develope machinery valuable to the British farmer — the benefitting exhibitors being incidental. The five competing machines were tested as follows : — A pulley being placed on the drum-spindle, each machine with horse-gear was driven through the dynamometer by one of Burrell's engines, the governors being adjusted for a slow speed ; after putting through a few sheaves, to see that everything was in. order, 100 sheaves were allowed, the time of threshing noted, the dyna- mometer indicating the total horse-power, from which the average horse- power per minute was ascertained. The results are recorded in the subjoined table : — Class A. — Table Xo. 1. Number of Article. Price Complete. Time during Experiment. Work Done. Total Horse- power for imin. Average ^ Horse-power. Wallis, Haslam, and"! Stevens / Tasker and Sons Eansome and Sims . . Turner and Fardon . . Woods and Cocksedce 4754 4609 3562 627 and 628 2318 57 50 60 55 49 mm. sec. 12 40 \ 100 Sheaves of Wheat. 18 14 20 47 4 30 27 34 ^45-94 72-40 68-31 69-37 60-82 3-63 3-95 4-62 15-41 4-40 No. 1. Wallis and Haslam's gearing is fitted with wrought-iron spindles and brass spherical bearings to reduce friction. The driving-wheel is large and strong ; the horse-gear is on a frame running on four wheels, and is expe- ditiously packed up ; the horse-poles appear to be too high to secure the easiest draft, a defect that may be easily put right ; the drum, 3 feet 6 inches by 20 inches, is fitted with Goucher's beaters. Most of these machines would be improved if the slatted incline plane which receives the straw from the drum were lengthened, so as to allow a better chance for the separation of straw and grain ; as it is, a vast quantity is brought over, and more or less wasted. No. 2. Tasker and Sons entered a well-made, strong, and portable appa- ratus ; the horse- work being carried on a frame with four high wheels, ou which the drum is also packed ; the horses work either in shafts or traces ; the gearing is light, and the speeds well arranged ; the straw is received on a tra- velling web, and thus elevated to a greater height, allowing more space for the grain to separate itself. An inclined slatted platform would be more effectual. No. 3. Eansomes and Sims. The spindle is replaced by a cross strap, working through an intermediate motion ; the drawing-wheel is in segments — sujiposed 594 Implement Show at Bury St. Edmund's. to be an advantage in the event of a cog breaking. This, however, is doubtful > barn and horse-works carried on loose wheels ; patent drum with six round twisted beaters; cast-iron bearings; the drum-frame altogether too small. No. 4. Messrs. Turner and Fardon's machine is fitted with a drum capable of working far beyond the power of four horses ; consequently 100 sheaves were slipped through in only 4^ minutes, consuming 15-horse power. No. 5. Woods and Cocksedge's machine is a complete contrast to the last. It has a nominal 3-horse power ; the drum is only 2 ibet 6 inches long, and the feeding is a very slow, tedious business, as is evidenced by the time consumed over 100 sheaves. We awarded to Messrs. Wallis, Haslam, and Stevens, First Prize, 121. ; to Tasker and Sons, Second Prize, Si, Class B. The entries in this class, which includes all machines that only profess to prepare the corn for final dressing, were the most numerous and important ; we are unanimous in considering that in portable machinery employed in the field, the complication of a separating apparatus is undesirable, the result obtained not being commensurate in any degree with the outlay of money and power. How seldom is the crop sufficiently even in quality to present an uniform sample throughout, and how impossible it is that the top, middle, and base of a stack, should be alike; lastly, how can sufficient steadiness of motion be secured when the fans and screens, which are depended upon for separating the corn, are all driven through the drum-shaft.? Who has not felt the sudden check, and sometimes almost stoppage, of the drum from irregular feeding? And, when this occurs, the speed of the various parts of tiie machine is retarded, so that the fans do not blow out the chaff, the screens fail to separata the grain; hence we have, as our experiments fully prove, much tail-corn, chaff, &c. mixed with the head-corn, or else a fair sample is obtained at the cost of allowing much good corn to go over with the tail. If our readers will direct their attention to the power consumed by the single and finishing machines respectively, they may judge for themselves whether the result is worth the cost. The restrictions of the Society as to the amount of horse-power consumed by these machines very materially afi'ected our awards, putting out of court some excellent machines that otherwise might have been distinguished ; the fewer the restrictions, either in live stock or implements, the more satislactory to all parties are the awards. Still it is only reasonable to expect that for a single blast-machine an 8-horse-power engine should amply suffice. The conditions are well known to exhibitors, so that if they fail to comply with them they have no ground for complaint ; nevertheless it must be very annoying to be thrown out owing to a small excess of draft. Having an unusually large entry, and a limited time, our object was to give such a preliminary trial as would enable us to cull out the worst machines, and thus narrow the list for the final and conclusive test. A high shed, sufficiently large to hold two machines, was provided ; under a second shed the dynamometer, on a frame with wheels, traversed by means of rails from one position to the other as required, a dunnny, with band-wheels of sinnlar diameter, enabling the authorities to get a second machine into place ^vhilst the trial of tlie first was proceeding; the introduction of the dummy is a decided improvement over the Worcester arrangements, and when once we got into work no unnecessary delays occurred. Two of Burrell's 10-horse power engines, provided with three speeds for the governors, were employed to drive each machine ; and very steadily they worked. Everything being ready, 10 sheaves were allowed to insure the straps, screws, &c., being in order. Then 100 sheaves were put through, time noted, the dynamometer indicating Implement Shoio at Bury St. EdrnwuVs, 595 tho power consumed. During this trial wo examined minutely the nature of tlie work, tabulating the resiuUs, as given in Table No. 2. As a rule, tlic corn was clean threshed, the machinery being nearly all sui)plied with Goucher's patent beaters, modified in a few cases. The corn was more or less broken in every instance, partly from the dry and free condition of the sample ; noticeable differences occurred in tho proi)ortion of Whitecoats, &.c.^ unthrashed ; those machines furnished with a rubbing apparatus cleaned the corn most thoroughly. The separation of small seeds from the chaif, an important point, when the latter is used for food, appears to depend upon the combination of blast and screen. The general adoption of Coulson's spring suspenders, for carrying the caving-screens and winnowing-box (modified as to substance, some being equal throughout," others strongest in middle, thus making both ends elastic), is a decided improvement, both as reducing cost and lessening draft. The following table gives the results of tho preliminary trial, and indicates the I'eason for our selection of machines for further competition. (See next page.) In the second trial the following points were to be solved : — The weight of corn threshed during an interval of ten minutes ; the proportion of grain not sacked, i.e., scattered, left in the chaff, carried over with the straw, or under tlie machine (all of which must be more or less wasted in the field) ; the wheat in Whitecoats (also indicative of loss, since good large corn is sure to come over with these) ; and lastly, the weight of chaff and foreign matter in three bushels of the sacked corn ; that machine was held to possess most merit which most comijletely separated chaff from corn, and left the separation of the dif- ferent qualities of grain as the only work to be done by hand. We proceed to notice briefly the different machines. Marshall and Sons, Gainsborough : ])articularly steady in work, owing to solidity of frame and well-balanced driving gear. The corn is thoroughly rubbed by hurameller, and the chaff well blown away; altogether an excellent machine. Exceeding the limit of power, it is disqualified ; but we should be wanting in fairness if we omitted to express the high opinion we all entertain of the merits of Messrs. Marshall's machine. Humphries, of Pershorc, fully justified the high reputation they have gained. Their chief merit is simplicity. The working parts are few, draft moderate, and liability to derangement reduced. The corn on its way to the humnieller is retained in the whitecoater-box, and subjected to the action of iron beaters revolving 500 times in a minute : hence the absence of whitecoats. The separation of weed-seeds is well done, the winuowiug-box having a fine wire base through which dirt and seeds are shaken. Eansomes and Sims have a strong open frame, well-strutted ; a simple arrangement for bagging chaff without power; the bags, of peculiar shape, being suspended to the chaff-bonnet; Brinsmead's shakers, a series of bars revolving at right angles to the passage of the straw, furnished with teeth that interlap with those in front and behind, and thus carry on the straw by a continual agitation ; the separation being rendered more perfect by the action of a puddler, which, with a pendulum motion, seizes the straw as it comes, retains and spreads it out, and so prevents it being jerked from the drum on to the middle of the shakers. This must be an admirable arrangement for barley. Eeference to Table No. 3 will show the moderate power for work done. The winnowing process was not good, and admitted of some improvement, more chaff and heads being left in the sample than in any other case before us ; this, together witli the large proportion of white- coats and the indifferent separation of weed-seeds from chaff, are defects that should be remedied. The safety-feeding hopper is noticed by the Miscel- laneous Judges, we therefore refrain from more than a passing allusion. This novelty consists of a fence round the mouth of the drum, to prevent any person from tailing in ; in case any one " tlie luorse for U<2uor " fell over tho fence 596 Implement Shoio at Bury St. Edmund's. PQ a DQ ED <1 H g 1-4 r« O W o o inoomci^ooicoooo CI .■^oo>-i< o •c3oeoco««ociccic'ococ(ci •paanfuiun ujoq o o .omoinmcimmoooom O -CI C|.-lrHrtr-^C)0>0^i-l •u93iojqunA\«aqg o o -ooooooooooooin '«' •cociinir5»nTt<-^-^3 UIOJJ 83JIJ iJtlD o o -looojo -in •omomw . •SSUIABS o CI o .oooicino .moooo • .— ■ CI CI CJ ^ >— Cl • r-^ CI CI CI CI • •nj03 in o -ooooooooooooo ■nJOD o o -ooooooooooooo lO •i^oootatO'.;oi-icoci •naJiBqs ubbio o 1^ o -ooooooooooooo in •4n-*r-r^«£>«:inci«3t~»n«D-nooo5H<'*»n cc«j5incccot^»nT>ic»n«o»nc50 •J3AS.0C[ -BSioq iBuirao^ : •DOPJ •apn^v : o^cjcoicw-ccoooo-fininoooo oocDCiQO'yicOJ^i^Trcninr^oo — CO ocoooioj^t^oooi — fi^oao o 3 o 1 a . o P 2 Humphries, E Boby, Robert ^Marshall, Sons & Co. . . Ruston & Proctor Ransomes & Sims Clayton & Shuttleworth Robey & Co. Rurrell, Charles .. Tuxford & Son .. .. Underbill. W. S Wallis & Haslam .. .. Holmes & Son Nalder & Nalder .. .. Tasker & Sons Catchpool & Thompson Implement Shoio at Bunj St. Edmund's. 597 PQ aj cl d 00 £3 -t Cl trf r^ Vh ■^-J Cw o O Cm O 1 o N O C3 ^ N s M C3 U a o u CO ■X3 1? 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O VOL. III. — S. S. 598 Implement Show at Bury St. Edmund's. fence, a moveable iron grating is so arranged as to fall and close the inoutli. In its present form this arrangement is rather inconvenient to the feeder, interfering with the regularity of the feed. Nalder and Nalder's machine, which received the third prize is novel in some respects. The winnowing apparatus is driven hy a simple eccentric, which appears to work well; the shakers are driven hy a friction-pulley, and the travelling-wheels are of cast-iron with semi-hollow felloes. It would be hardly fair to pass unnoticed the machines of Messrs. Holmes and Sons, Norwich, and Messrs. Clayton, Shuttleworth, and Co., Lincoln, although owing to the power consumed neither were eligible for the prize. The construction of both is good, the Lincoln firm being Avell known for the excellence of their workmanship, whilst Messrs. Holmes clean the chaff by a very simple arrangement. As both these makers will be referred to hereafter we abstain from further comment now. Having the arrangement of the money in our own hands, we considered it desirable to award three prizes, viz. : — First j^rize, Messrs. Eansomea and Sims. Second prize, E. Humphries. Third prize, Nalder and Nalder. It is worthy of note that W. S. Undcrhill's machine was the only one fitted with his patent blast-elevator. Class C. In this class we have all those finishing machines that are suj)posed to dress lip the sample ready for delivery. Eight entries came under consideration ; the trials were on the same principle as before. Three bushels of the head- corn from each lot were passed through one of Boby's finishing-machines, as a test of merit. The quantity of light corn, &c., thus removed varies very considerably, and proves the correctness of our views as to the imperfec- tions of these machines. No farmer who values his character as a good deliverer would like to offer such samples in a market. The following table give the results of the preliminary canter. Messrs. Holmes and Son's machine, with the drum nearer the centre than is common, is well balanced, strongly made, and steady in its working. The corn is elevated to the top and above the shakers, and winnowed by a cross- blast, the winnowing-box having a face of fine perforated zinc wire; the dirt and seeds are blown away, the chaff is sacked well. To obtain this cross-blast either mitre-wheels or friction-wheels are necessary, the latter are used in this case : not, perhaps, the best mechanical arrangement, as these wheels and the shaftings are somewhat in the way and very unsightly, yet they are well balanced and work quietly. The box-shakers have edge-beaters, which tend to keep the straw up and thus assist the jerking action ; they are driven by a double crank and connecting-rod. The rotary screen is regulated by a change of speed, sending the corn through with greater or less rapidity, according as much or little tail requires removal. Goucher's beaters are used, but in addition is a plain convex beater. A trap-door at end of the hummeller converts this into a single blower, if re(iuired. In Clayton and Shuttleworth's machine the drum-spindle is attached to a strong bracket, which, although somewhat unsightly, steadies the drum and saves the brasses. Penny's screen is used. The workmanship is excellent, and the machine has a compact and trim appearance that looks like work. Everything is made as simple as is practicable. The table given at p. 600 embodies the facts arrived at, and will sufficiently explain the reasons for our decisions. Implement Show at Bxmj St. Edmund's. 599 3 M Q ->3 <1 « O PL, Hi Q •psjnfuuin luoj ■naJioaqun avrijs •spaas mojj 9ajj jtfuqo 'Ji inmooooi'^inoinmocooo O I~ lO 00 -* r^ 00 C^l 1- r-c -f l^ «3 05 CO lO •sSaiAUD tnoajaajjVgBqQ •njo3 tnoaj aajj jguqo inojjaajjsSaiAtto •aa3[t!qs ireaio ooirtoicoooooaoino ooooooominoooirtooo c^ C4 oi 3^ (M (M c^ rt r- (^^ cj c>, ,_, c^ 5<, tM ooooooooooooooo ■^ ./^ ^ ._ ._ ._ .-.--.».- ^ Jj^ gooomooooooooooo o ooooooooooooooo •paqswq^ atiaio SSS'^'^'^^oosoooooo OOOtMOOt^050000f-it-.cn(3»0 •saAcaqg jo •ojfj •amix •J9M0d -asjoq aSuaaAy ■utm T ioj jaA\oti -aswq ib:)ox •J3Al0d -asioq puimojj oiomiooooutioincoio-^tot^cot^ O— 'OOO^OC-lSOOJOOOOtDCOOJCOClr^ iOOOOCT: 05int^Or-( t^ 05 O -■ 00 o o tM00t^'*^-)5 « 9 f^H 2 K 2 600 Implement Show ai Burn St. Edmund's. o o lO LT '^ '■*i -?! o s N 0) g ^ fl. _N K 13 r3 a o o c-i m \M ^- •noiiDnajs c . a to 1 o n o o -no3 iBotuBtpai^f rt ii S 2 O o >< o tn s W ^"'^ H-? H* KW rt* •sjTOoaiiqAl 2 « — ' O o •SutAiOUUIAV ■-I?) pauq jCq praq jo N «> ■* 01 CO ^ to cn siaqsnq s Jo ;no \\vj^ •SPJWX : in 00 CO to •spuooss 1 o o w 00 Kf* CI CI (M *"* in ». Kh* '&a -^ r-'-l Khd rtl* CO •cuoo ?gaa ■* 7" to •o CO r' S3 r- 1^ CT) O LO (N »--. CC 1" CO CO ■* CO -* CO -H O to t^ en •ajnnitn CI en o 00 o r>\ in I joj jaAiod-ssjoH ^ Cl l_ o ^ oo 00 CD o CJ (M Cl •.laAiod c-x 05 O 00 CO ^_^ 1--. -3SJ0H luiipv 00 00 05 o en CN (N Ma.wod 00 1» 00 00 00 00 00 -8SJ0H iBuimoij o o o o o o o fl •BJUJ o (M 1.0 lO o If} in Ct? « i^ *"*. ^ "" o to CI o == i^ o c.e o o ■* o^ »n CI CI -* CO WO. t; c -2 l.a t^ •o c in o f^ o oc •n rt (>. o eg m to '^ o ^ HS eg CD t>> - o fe D 3 »n in >n 0-5 tM '-J s in t- •^t^ o 00 CO 'l* C-? Ol 00 ^ ^ CI < o t-. W r_; o i ! a ci s Pi O t*> 'A cd H a K 1 pq ►^ P^ Implement S/ioio at Bury St. Edmund's. 605 ^ a r^a a> +3 . o ^ a 3 O C3 '3 -^ a o O OJ S go§ a; 5| p c.!Z > > ^» K toi iJ f— 1 f- ° '^ ^"^ " o i 53 5 o III 00 C-l • • • . . a C5 :r=^ o l°i o u-5 Ph >> c ■S|^^ O I^ lO lO o irt Q C « w r^ t-- 1^ 00 ■•" ii _ -O (M ^ > ^" C3 O S O SCO § " « . wj . ai M ^ uJ J2 o> S ^ ^^ -^ ^^ -—-).— ^. 00 00 CO 00 C^ CI 'a O CD i «• o «- C-, V? 12 2 •2<~'u 05 CO J^ ^ l>l (M tl ^ . . U5 (M SP'i' it CO (N 2 £ S CI 00 ^Wft 0 r- 0) II! 0 »o 00 (N 0 CI ^ =1 -s -;.s CO «- 1°i 0 to B3 >. a ■~i^4 CD 0 2 3-S a ■<)< -< S.SSS 0 "-^ H^ M >. •^ 5 10 in a O" -s-oo S w (N 0> "-• «+J «>• t- 3 o'-P 00 00 CO Oi to -*< 1 ^ I— 1-1 ^ 60S -H (35 g - • : Xi 'Zl .a 0 • W C3 0 pq • s '« a a a OJ rt a g <:cQ 1^ fS w !> 3 9^ 13 O '-D '^ t^ p pq PL, 1^ s« 3 s- 00000 00000 VJ CM 9 cs o t> 5 2 pq _, 0) ■Ti a JS , ^ bO w 0 0 00 ^ to 0 0 a! ■§ -rtC t^ J n fl to" P-i © C CO CO . B as CO CO • <-> Hcc 0 f >> 1 . C>) 3 w P5 "« 0 0 0 <1 . H .a to to l« to ^ <£> in ^ I-. a 0^ M< « 0 • C/3 w ^ ^ 0 ^3 . a i Ci 03 ^^a ^H 0 fc C P Kpqp? Implement Shoio at Bury St. Edmund^, 607 One hundred and forty-tlirce trials on seventy-six articles Avere made by us eKclusivcly of the preliminary trials and stoppac^os, — the results were mostly very satisfactory, except in the case of mills with stone grinders ; in these the chief difficulties were caused by the great weight of the mills, and it was also hard to applj' the proper speed, most of them having their puUies too small, and some of the exhibitors, or their men, were in too great hurry, and so much overfod the mills that the dynamometer was loaded beyond its power. We beg to suggest that when these machines again come to trial, better arrangements be made for attaching the machines to the dynamometer, as a great deal of time was lost in moving them and getting them ready for trial. The platform should bo level all round, so that a machine can be put on it on any side. We recommend also that a shed be erected so that the trials be made under cover, as much inconvenience was experienced from not being sheltered from the wet. The stone mills should be brought to trial on four wheels. John Hickek, Dunchurch, Rugby. James Maetin, Wainfleet, Lincolnshire. The absence of detail in tlie above Report renders a few par- ticulars desirable; Messrs. Richmond and Chandler, who are once again ahead of all competitors with chaff cutters, have introduced spiral springs on each side of the box, by which the feed is pressed down in place of the lever and weights, which are troublesome to regulate. Another novelty by the same firm consists in the introduction of a travelling chain on the bottom of the box, which draws the feed forward, and materially reduces the labour of the attendant, a useful addition to the larger machines. Messrs. Picksley and Sims, well known as good makers, exhibit several novelties, principally an arrangement by which clutches are substituted for ordinary change-wheels, so that alteration in the length of cut can be made whilst the machine is in motion. Messrs. Carson and Toone have a simple arrange- ment for sacking the chaff, particularly useful where operations are conducted out of doors, not unfrequently the case in large sheep farms. The average horse power appeared to be inoderate. Metal grind ing-mills are a particularly interesting and im- portant class, which appears for the first time at a Royal trial. At Newcastle the miscellaneous judges awarded a medal for Amory Felton's American mill. This has been much improved upon in several particulars, and Messrs. Riches and Watts, Amies and Barford, and others, have made and sold large numbers since. So far as we can learn they have generally given satisfaction. The wear of the grinding surfaces, both cylinders and breasts, is considerable, but as the cost of the former is only 3/., and the latter o()s., the outlay is not exces- sive when we consider that, with proper care as to absence of stones, from 700 to 1000 quarters of corn may be ground without renewal. Mills of this class supply a want long felt by those whose occupations are not large enough for stone G08 Implement Shoto at Bnry St. Edmund's, mills. The American mill consists of a fluted barrel cone- shaped, the surface of the best chilled metal, revolving^ in contact with similarly fluted breasts ; the corn enters at the upper end of the mill, and is passed round and round until it is delivered as fine or coarse meal, or only kibbled, according to the proximity of the breasts to the grinding surface. The rapidity with which ordinary work can be performed, the moderate power consumed, and the comparatively low price, are points in favour of these machines. Messrs. Turner and Fardon's mill is probably more ingenious than practical ; a spiral screw runs from end to end above the barrel, revolving independently ; this screw passes the corn forward after being carried round by the barrel, and the rapidity with which it is driven determines the coarseness or fineness of the sample. The power was too great, and the corn handled quite warm. The judges mention 8 machines as entering for trial, yet the results are only given in 2 cases, a matter of regret, as exhibitors are generally anxious to learn all they can as to the draft of their machines. The novelty in the mill class is the patent crusher exhibited by Stather and Thompson of Hull, which has been used largely, and Avith great success, to crush cotton seed, grind locust beans, and palm kernels. The peculiarity consists in the fact that the work is done without contact. The iron beaters, which resemble the arms of a whitecoater in a thrashing machine, are not within an inch of the ribbed concave, against which the corn is thrown and broken by centrifugal force, caused by the beaters revolving some 3000 times per minute. This mill is simplicity itself, consisting of a narrow cylindrical box, into which the corn is admitted above and escapes through the meshes of the wire slides which form the sides, and are altered according to the nature of the artic]j3 and the fineness of sample required. It is quite evident from the trials we Avitnessed that any hard dry substance must be reduced, but we apprehend difliculty with soft damp corn, and it will be noticed that the barley was not well ground, while other harder substances were thoroughly reduced. Bones were speedily made into powder, and samples of coprolites were shown, although we did not see them ground. We understand from the judges that the power consumed for a given quantity did not greatly exceed that of the prize metal mill, but a much longer time is required. This is an objection, and we are led to con- clude that this highly ingenious machine is not in its present form so Avell adapted for a farmer's use as cither an American metal mill, or a good pair of Burr stones. The fittings were evidently rude, and might be considerably improved. We regret that the judges have not given the power consumed in these trials, and entered more generally into details. Implement Show at Bury St. EdmuncCs. 609 Althougli inello:ible for the prize, and therefore not brought to trial, we must notice C. Burrell's Portable Mill for grinding coprolites, as an implement much valued by large occupiers in the Eastern Counties, who employ coprolites largely as the base of their turnip manure, and who still consider they can make a good article at a lower figure than that at which it is sold. The 4 ft. 6 in. French stones, built on edge, produced a capital sample. Price, 130/. Iie][>ort on the Hand-power MacJdnes. It will not be necessary to attempt an elaborate detail of the trial of hand- power machines. There was little novelty to describe, and provided the implements were strong and simple in construction, the dynamometer affords evidence of peculiar importance in guiding us to our decisions. Corn-Dkessing Machines. We felt no difficulty in awarding these prizes ; the two winning machines producing with great ecomouy of time and less power samples very superior to all the others. The division of corn in Tasker's machine was exceedingly good, giving an excellent sample with only a modicum of good grain in all the collected offals. The merits of Corbett's dresser was scarcely inferior : whilst in several of more costly and complex structure the quantity of good grain in the spouting was sadly in excess of what should be found there. Each machine had a preliminary trial, and re-adjustment was made when required. Two bushels of wheat Avcre allowed for each experiment. The following tables of dynamomical results cannot fail to be interesting, and we tender our cordial thanks to Mr. Knight, our attendant engineer, lor his valuable services. If, on examination, these tabulated I'orras be found, seeminglj', not to agree throughout with the awards, it should be noted that speed and lightness of draught would not in themselves assign the first posi- tion, if defect in strength, and want of simplicity in the construction of the working and wearing parts, or inferiority of sample produced, counteracted those admitted advantages. Quantity, 2 bushels Wheat. Name of JIaker. Article. Time. Revo- lutions. Power (in foot lbs.). Price. Remarks. £. s. d. John Baker 41 i 55 73 6,360 9 10 0 Benjamin Kittmer .. 71 1 26 51 5,305 9 0 0 K. and R. Hunt .. .. 650 2 30 87 4,530 8 8 0 Page and Girling 706 1 32 54 6,550 9 10 0 Iiobert and J. Reeves 752 1 28 52 4,530 10 10 0 Commended. S. Corbett and Sons . . 992 1 7 34 1,850 9 5 0 Prize £8 Murton and Turner . . H09 2 10 75 13,230 11 11 0 Holmes and Sons 3483 1 27 49 8,470 8 10 0 Tasker and Sons 4612 0 54 32 4,005 9 10 0 Prize £12 Robert Boby 328 2 33 84 12,260 15 0 0 William Smith .. .. 57 2 35 88 10,560 9 9 0 Eansomes and Sims . . 3571 1 46 Gl 6,630 10 0 0 Commended. CoiiK Screens. In this division of implements, the rapidity of the work, tlie lightness of the power, the simplicity of the construction, and the decided superiority of 610 ImjyJement Show at Bury St. Edmuncts. the samj)lo. produced by Hornsby's screen removed every doubt as to the award. This new rotary screen consists of a simple cylinder of coiled wire, like the ordinary fixed-mesh screens that have been Ions; used, but instead of the cross-bars being placed longitudigally, they are placed diagonally, in a serpentine form, and each separate coil of wire is lapped or bound round the outside of them in the ordinary way of wire-stitching. Then by bringing the adjusting screw to act upon the whole cylinder it is contracted or expanded equally from end to end, and thus easily adjusted to suit grain of any size. The large and cumbersome sheet-iron screw, formerly used to conduct the grain along and to diffuse it over the screening surface is dispensed with, the inner serpentine bars answering the same purpose, and thus giving lightness and strength, great simplicity with durability. This machine aflbrds a large screening surface without complication of parts. Qua itity, 2 huslieh Wlieat. Name of Maker. Article. Time. Revo- lutions. Tower (iu foot lbs.). Price. Remarks. Robert Boby .. ,, Penney and Co Nalder and Nalder . . Richard Horusby and\ Sons / J. T. Poyser . . . . Coleman and Morton R. and J. Reeves Ransomes and Sims . . 338 .1311 4791 1584 3576 731 753 3573 2 25 3 53 1 36 1 4 3 58 3 40 1 52 3 31 83 133 56 36 136 126 G4 121 6555 6720 3965 2905 7900 6050 2960 2730 £. s. d. 9 9 0 14 14 0 10 10 0 11 0 0 22 1 0 12 12 0 8 0 0 12 12 0 Commended. Commended. rize£l0 Commended. Three com^:)etitors being very anxious to have their screens tested with harley, we allowed the competition, supplying each with one bushel for the trial. The sample produced from the same descri23tion of rough corn was decidedly in favour of Mr. Boby's screen ; but this second experiment more fully convinced us of the already proved superiority of principle and con- struction in Hornsby's, with its ready adaptation and its ample cylindei'. Mr. Poyser's machine indicates the clever and ingenious mind of its inventor : its value is no doubt duly appreciated in the celebrated granaries at Burton, but when placed on the same lower but level trial-ground at Bury, we failed to discover preponderating merit, for in the trial both of wheat and barley the division of corn was not made as described, " i7i the most 2Krfect manner I " Much good grain was delivered in the spoutings, and the sample was decidedly inferior to Mr. Boby's. Mr. Poyser's screen, however, deserves honom-able mention for some clever and peculiar arrangements for separating both broken corn and coarser substances fi-om the best grain ; still the implement requires great power and hardly produces a corresponding advantage in the sample. Trial ^vith Barley (1 huslicV) Name of Maker. Article. ; Time. Revo- lutions. Power (in foot lbs.). Price. Remarks, ' J. T. Poyser . . . . Penney and Co Robert Boby S576 1312 341 2 36 1 48 1 19 89 62 43 6045 33G0 5200 £. s. d. 22 1 0 12 12 0 15 10 0 Highly Com- mended. Implement Show at Bury St. Edmund's. Barley Hummelleks. (^Quantity, 2 huslids.) Gil Name of Maker. Article. t T""^- lutions. Power (in Price. Remarks, foot lbs.). Eobert Boby Holmes and Sons 354 3485 4 54 133 •2 28 90 £. s. d. 15,360 5 0 0 5,670 4 10 0 Prize £5 Chaff CaTTEBs. The aiTaugement of the working jiarts in Riclimond and Cliandlor's, and Bcntall's machines was beautiful, combining great strength with mucli sim- plicity. A provision for altering the lengths of chaff by changing the posi- tion of the wheels without removing the wheels themselves was admirable. Smith and Grace showed a very excellent chaff cutter, and produced a sample equal to any one of their clever compeers. Their machine was eminently simple in construction and low in price ; but it was beaten both in time and power by the machines to which we unhesitatingly awarded the prizes, feeling sure that where a large quantity of chaff has to be provided they would be found the cheaper articles, because of the great strength, admirable adaptation, and the saving of jiower and time required to produce a given quantity. If we had had more money at our disposal wc should certainly have apportioned some of it to Smith and Grace for their very good little hand-power chaff cutter. Quant it if, 28 Ihs. Straio. Name of Maker, Article. Time. Revo- lutions. Power (In foot lbs.). Price, Remarks. &. S. d. Joseph Warren .. 389 5 40 195 25,220 4 14 6 Edward Hammond . . 1462 4 27 150 25,250 5 5 0 Prize £4 The Reading Iron\ Works / 2510 5 40 190 26,810 5 15 0 Hunt aud Pickering . . 1766 7 22 249 24,945 5 5 0 Picksley, Sims, aud Co. 2765 7 3 241 41,350 7 0 0 James Cornes 1052 6 4 207 22,960 4 15 0 Carson and Toone . . 521 5 11 174 30,275 5 10 0 Richmond and Chandler 11 4 10 142 15,070 7 7 0 Prize £6 Smith and Grace 772 5 28 193 26,825 3 10 0 rHighlyCom- \ mended. Grindikq Mills. The labour of producing fine meal with grinding and crushing dills worked Tby hand-power was necessarily protracted and severe. These trials brought vividly to mind a remark by the late lamented editor^ ]\Ir. Pusey, — " If you once establish a moving power on your farm, whether steam, water, or wind, it is not the labour only of thrashing that may be saved to men or horses, but the winnowing, the dressing, the chaff-cutting ; even the turnip-slicing machine, when the turnip is consumed at home, may be grafted on the j^rin- cipal wheels aud thus borrow their motion. The more labour is thus set free 612 Implement Sliow at Bary St. Edmund's. from mere work of routine, the more will be applied to the further improve- ment of the parent of all a^'^'iciiltural labour — the soil." * Trial lolth Barley (1 pecli). Name of Maker. Article.] Time. i Revo- lutions. Power (in foot lbs.). Price. r>,eniui-ks. Hunt and Pickering . . Samuel Corbett and Son Smith and Grace 1771 1 17 2 996 j 12 58 773 ' 11 10 510 564 255 52,345 64,350 93,430 £. s. d. 4 10 0 5 5 0 5 5 0 Trial ivith Beans (1 ■pecli:'). £. s. d. Hunt and Pickering .. 1771 5 17 151 23,430 4 10 0 Samuel Corbett and Son 996 4 8 120 25,350 5 5 0 Prize £4, Smith and Grace 773 3 20 105 15,620 5 5 0 Prize £6. Crushing Mills. These mills were all good mills, and varied very little in the samples they produced. The decision was rather puzzling, and until we got some assistance from the faithful register of time and power furnished by the dynamometer our deliberations — ; " Like diff'ring doctors, serv'd but to declare That truth lies somewhere, if we knew but where ! " Trial with Linseed (1 peck). 1 -Rpvn- i Power Name of Maker. ; Article. Time. ,„,;'"! (in mtions. j.^gj. j^^ .j_ Price. Remarks. Edward Hammond "1 Bentall / E. R. and F. Turner . . Woods and Cocksedge 1480 2245 2287 1 II 6 6 8 8 C 3 174 258 178 48,325 31,570 36,585 £. s, d. 5 5 0 8 15 0 5 10 0 Trial with Oats (2 pecJcs). Edward Hammond Bentall E. E. and F. Turner , . Woods and Cocksedge 1480 2245 2287 10 8 8 45 13 22 317 270 409 I £. s. d. 53,535 I 5 5 0 40,050 I 8 15 0 62,523 ' 5 10 0 Prize £6. Prize £4. Commended. * ' Journal Eoyal Agricultural Society of Englaiul,' Vol. 1., p, 16, Implement Show at Eiirij St. EdmuacVs. 613 Cake Breakp:rs. {Trial loltli li Ih?., crush d fnc.) Xame of Maker. Keruark? Kdward Hammond 1 Bentall / Hunt and Pickering ., Coleman and Morton Woods and Cocksedge Holmes and Sons E. and R. Hunt .. S. Corbett and Son . . Ivichard Hornsby andl Sons / i:. K. and F. Turner . . E. Page and Co. Triol with 14 lbs., broken coarse. Edward Hammond Bentall Hunt and Pickering .. Coleman and Morton Woods and Cocksedge Holmes and Sons 11. and Pi. Hunt .. S. Corbett and Son Richard Hornsby and Sons "1 E. R. and F. Turner . . J E. Page and Co. 1492 I / If 0 57 1773 1 30 733 1 8 2302 1 1 3490 0 40 654 0 43 998 0 50 1586 0 33 2259 1 32 2050 1 13 30 45 36 42 21 22 23 16 48 39 1840 2075 1525 3440 1560 1660 3540 905 2025 2355 4 15 3 15 0 Prize £5. 3 10 0 4 4 0 3 5 0 4 15 0 3 3 0 3 10 0 5 0 0 Prize Commended, The machines to which we awarded the prizes in this class not only pro- duced the best samples, especially of finely-broken cake, but were also the lowest in price, and very strongly constructed. Turnip Cutters. Trial with Mangold (1 civt.) For Sheep. JCamc of Maker. Article.! Time. Revo- lutions. Power (in foot lbs.). I'rice. Remarks. £. s. d. Carson and Toone . . 526 2 5 64 4 10 0 R. and R.Hunt .. .. 660 1 40 59 6440 4 5 0 S. Corbett and Son . . | 999 2 2 63 3950 4 10 0 Edward Hammond 1 Bentall f 1500 2 19 , 71 5920 4 5 0 T. and E. Howell .. 1091 2 17 74 4640 4 15 0 Woods and Cocksedge 2290 2 45 86 6025 5 5 0 VOL. III. — S. S. 2 s 614 Implement Show at Bury St. EdmuncVs. Trial tuifh Doiihle Action, for Beasts and Sheep (1 cwt. of Mangold). '^^ Name of Maker. Article. Time. Revo- lutions. Power (in foot lbs.) Price. Remarks. Eansomes and Sims" (Beasts) .' 1 II £. s, d. 3600 1 48 56 2570 5 5 0 £5 Kansomes and Sims (Sheep) 1 2 10 07 6510 Edward Hammond 1 Bentall (Beasts) ..\ 1502 2 17 74 4640 5 5 0 Commended. Edward Hammond Bentall (Sheepj ../ 2 52 89 5215 Richard Horusby and) Sons (Beasts) .. ..J 1589 1 40 52 4950 5 0 0 Prize £10 Richard Hornsby and) Sons (Sheep) . . . . J 2 11 68 6205 •' Hornsby's disc turnip cutter we thought clearly in advance of any other in scientific construction. It possesses one great advantage in having the angle- knives (similar to Gardiner's) fixed on a bar Avhich is so curved that the knives in cutting the roots tend to draw them to the centre of the disc ; tlae peculiar form of the hopper also much helps to conduct the roots to the cutting sur- faces. The roots do not " roll " in the hopper as in barrel turnip cutters, but fall uninterruptedly to the knives. In every other machine they required more or less hand-pressure to keep them in contact. KOOT PULPEKS. Amongst the rougli notes made during the trials opposite Homsby's pulper (1592) this remark is written, " Hopper does the work of other peoples' hands ; " inasmuch as the roots fell continuously to the knives, and none of that hand-pressing was necessary without which no' other machine kept the roots in contact with them. In this pulper at the base of each knife is a clearance hole through which the pulped roots fall, and as the knives are so arranged that no two pass over the same track, the ciitting action is very steady and regular. The simple provision of a patent horizontal oscillating bar, which receives its motion from an eccentric on the spindle, having teeth, through which the cutters pass, both prevents the escape of the last piece and clears the cutters. The pulper in appearance much resembles the same maker's turnip cutter, and possesses the same advantageous arrangement in hopper, frame, and disc. It is very strongly made, and produced an excellent sample of pulp. Two of the pulpers were diiven with somewhat less power than Hornsby's, but the quality of the work and the construction of the implement were not so good. (See Table next page.) Such are the facts in connection Avith these trials that wc have to lay before the Society after giving to their relative merits our most patient and impartial consideration. We Avere anxious to conclude the trials earlier, "but found that, after giving about tAvelve hours' attendance daily, it AA'as impossible to do so, and at the same time insure an investigation that should be ample and convincing. More time seemed wanting in nearly every depart- ment, not that important Avork Avas hurried, or that decisions of high con- sequence Avere precipitated. On this ground, Ave strongly feel that the Society should either allow more time or provide a larger staff of implement judges ; Implement Show at Bury St. Edmund's. 615 that tlie public on entering the show-yard on the first day may be guided as they proceed to the implements that have won the prizes, and there- fore may be presumed to be entitled to their special attention. The imple- ment department grows with a steady and a wholesome growth. At the Oxford Meeting 20 exhibitors contended for bl. and two medals. At Bury nearly 500 implements were catalogued, and 430?. besides ten silver medals were left to the disposal of the judges ! Tria I toith -. ciot. Mangold. ' Name of Maker. Article. Time. Revo- lutions. Power Cin foot lbs.). Price. Kemarks. '. £. s. d. E. Hammond Bentall 1520 3 57 109 19,595 5 15 6 K. Hornsby and Sons 1592 2 42 86 10,500 4 12 6 Prize £5 K. Hornsby and Sons 1591 2 30 77 11,520 4 12 6 S. Corbett and Sou .. 1001 4 24 133 16,625 4 10 0 R. and 11. Hunt . . 6G5 4 26 139 8,550 4 4 0 Ealph Mellard and Co. 216 5 10 165 19,475 6 0 0 E. Hammond Bentall 1510 2 56 91 9,125 4 4 0 Commended. Woods and Cocksedge 2295 4 0 130 11,820 4 10 0 Picksley, Sims, and Co. 2797 5 55 187 7.745 3 10 0 Commended. Believing that it is essential to future and increased success and usefulness, and due alike to exhibitors and the public, that, after a fair and satisfactory trial has been instituted by competent judges, the best implements in each class should be pointed out on the first day of entrance into the show-yard, we respectfully commend the subject to the consideratio.i of the Coimcil. We beg to tender oiu- sincere thanks to the Stewards of Implements for the excellence of their arrangements. August 3rd, 1861 Edward Wobtley, He^'by Canxssll, > Judges. •Report of the Judges for Field Gates and Miscellaneous Articles, Prize of 101. for best Gate : James Bragging (o4G), Strong Oak Gate with Patent Ironwork. Commendations : James D. Young (923), Iron Gate. Frs. Morton and Co. (288), Iron Gate. Bayliss, Jones, and Bayliss (1128), Iron Gate. Saint Pancras Iron Company (1882), Iron Gate. Of Field Gates entered for competion there was a great assortment, more especially of those made of iron, many of which wc have commended ; but as iron gates are considered to be less generally useful on the farm, the prize was awarded to a gate made of oak, very strong, simple in its construction, easily repaired (being fastened together with small bolts), with patent iron- work, which is merely a screw attached to the top of the gate, serving for a hinge, allowing the gate to be readily raised or lowered at the point. 2 S 2 616 Implement Shoio at Bury St. Edmund's. Miscellaneous Articles. Silver Medals lucre awarded to : AVoods and Cocksed2;e (2339), Strong One Horse-Power Gear. Webb and Son, (3381 to 3396), Assortment of Leather Machine Bands. Warner and Son (1229), Chain Pump for Liquid Manure. Tangye, Brothers, and Holinan (422), Four-Inch Double-Suction Pump. Alfred Wrinch (3123 to 3201), Assortment of Garden Spring Chairs, and general collection. A. B. Childs (4092), Patent Aspirator. Bobj', Clerk, and Co. (2951 to 2989), Assortment of Cast-Steel Draining Tools and Forks. Burncy and Co. (2737 to 2758), Strong Wrought-Iron Cattle Troughs and Cisterns. Clayton and Shuttleworth (4735), Adjusting Blocks for fixing Engines and Threshing Machines. Musgrave and Brothers (1367 to 1407), Collection of Stable and Cow Fittings, with Dog Kennel and Piggeries. Commendations : John Baker (56), Elastic Eeaping Machine Piake. Hawkes and Spencer (508), Patent Chain Corn-Drill. James and Fred Howard (854), Double-Action Haymaker. Eichard Hornsby and Sons (1599), Improvement in Grass Mower. Burgess and Key (324), Improvement in Grass Mower. Wilkinson and Son (2724), Improved Horse Hoe. Eansomes and Sims (3632), Iron Turn- Wrist Plough. John Grant (3465 to 3468), Portable Pailway and Tnrn-Table. Eansomes and Sims (3656 to 3661), Improvement in Lawn Mowers. Eansomes and Sims (3656 to 3661), Guard for preventing accidents from Drum on Threshing Machine. The show of implements was a great increase on former years, 4804 being the number of articles exhibited, forming 282 stands. There was perhaps not so much novelty as on some former occasions, yet the tout ensemhJe was on the whole highly creditable. The work of inspection was much impeded during the first two days, from many of the exhibitors failing to have their stands imcovered, and having no one to represent them. TliC great variety of articles in the Miscellaneous Department rendered it advisable to keep in remembrance the Society's primary object, viz., "to encourage the manufacture of such implements only as are of practical use in agriculture." We were unanimous in deciding that the following articles were most deserving of notice : — Woods and Cocksedge (2399). This Horse-Gear is made entirely of iron, a great advantage, as the lower frame is not liable to decay from exposure to weather and damp earth. The horse-wheel being extra large, lessens the draught ; the intermediate motion is also of iron, fitted up with pulleys, and a short spindle is attached with a universal joint, which will allow of three machines being worked at the same time if required, of course according to the power wanted. This intermediate motion is fitted with a clutch to throw out of gear, which can be done instantly without stopping the horses. Webb and Son (3381 to 3396). An assortment of Leather Bands, for driving machinery, of excellent quality, the leather being thoroughly strained and worked to a uniform thickness in its manufacture, thereby preventing the band stretching during use, a frequent cause of much hindrance and annoyance. Implement Show at Bury St. Edmund's, 617 Warner and Sons (1220). A Chain Pump for Liquid Manure, of very- simple construction, its peculiarity being that nothing can choke it. An endless chain with discs at definite intervals to fit the pipe passes over a wheel above, and entering the bottom of the pipe the li([uid is elevated by the discs. The model shown had a barrel of about two inches in diameter, and into the water was thrown a quantity of stones and gravel ; nothing seemed to interfere with its working, the stones and dirt passing out at the spout with the water ; suitable for small depths, 12 to 15 feet ; peculiarly valuable for manure, which destroys valves of ordinary pumps; simple, and not liable to get out of order. Tangye, Brothers, and Holmau (-122). A Double-Action Pump in one barrel, with an air vessel of corresponding exterior, securing a continuous jet, and producing a powerful hydropult. It is worked by a central spindle, without either rods or guides, whereby the working parts are reduced to a minimum. A new arrangement of the valves allows of every part of the pump being examined without disconnecting any of the pipes. Alfred Wrinch (3123 to 3201). An assortment of garden seats, tables, spring chairs, &c. ; the whole collection being really meritorious, we were induced to deviate from the usual practice of confining the awards to what may be properly termed " Agricultural Implements." A. B. Childs' Aspirator (4692). This machine is very simple and durable, and may be worked by either hand or steam power. Separation is effected by aspiration, without riddles, according to specific gravity ; each gi'ain is weighed as in the most delicate balance, and every ingredient lighter than the good grain is removed and separated. We had no opportunity of testing the power required, but it would doubtless be considerably greater than that required for ordinary winnowing machines, a defect which the inventor considers to be counterbalanced by the perfect way in which the grain is cleaned by one operation. Boby, Clerk, and Co. (2951 to 2989), exhibited an assortment of draining tools, forks, &c. The draining tools consist of nine pieces, made of solid cast steel, and the forks of the same materials, combining lightness and durability. Burney and Co. (2737 to 2758), a collection of strong Wrought-Iron Cattle- Troughs and Cisterns, made of the best Staffordshire iron. For their strength, lightness, and durability, they are highly meritorious ; the price per gallon is very moderate, and deserves notice. Clayton, Shuttleworth, and Co.'s "Adjusting Blocks for fixing Steam Engines and Threshing Machines " we considered worthy of a medal. It is a very simple and ingenious contrivance, by which an engine or threshing machine may be thoroughly fixed in half the usual time, without any chance of its slipping afterwards. Musgrave and Brothers (1367 to 1407), a large assortment of stable fittings, cow stalls, &c. A sj^eciman of a loose box, 12 feet square. The door folds back perfectly fiat, and having no projection, removes all fear of a horse being injured. The fittings altogether may truly be termed harmless ; the water- pot is fixed on pivots at the sides, by which means it may be emptied without removal from its place ; the water passes imderneath the floor of the box by a drain, covered with loose plates of perforated iron, any one of which can be easily removed in case of obstruction ; the water-pot and manger are enamelled, and can be enclosed by a grating, which fastens back when the horse is feeding. The rack is furnished with a sliding hay-guard, which lies on the top of the hay, preventing any undue waste. One special improvement to be noticed is the " noiseless tie ;" by merely a touch of the finger the horse may be released at once in case of fastness. A sliding bar is inserted in the divisional ]iar- titions, and this can be pulled out oir leaving the horse for the night, so that 618 Implement Show at Bury St Edmund'' s. in case it should get loose it would bo confined to the space opposite its own stall. The whole arrangement is admirable, giving licalth, comfort, and safety to the animal. The piggeries, cow-stalls, and dog-kennels are equally well adapted to secure comfort and cleanliness. John Baker (56). An Elastic Reaping-Machine Eake (commended). This rake is provided with elastic spring teeth, attached to independent parts or sections, similar in principle to the Haymaking Machine, so that, when meeting with extra resistance, the teeth will yield to the strain, and will instantly resume their proper position again when the obstruction is passed; hence all chance of breakage in the teeth of the rake and other parts connected is greatly diminished. Hawkes and Spencer (508), a Chain Corn Drill ; rather a novel contrivance for ensuring a regular deposit of corn. The advantages which it presents arc that the deposit is regular, whether it works up hill or down ; that the speed of the horses does not interfere with the quantity sown ; that only one wheel has to be changed, whether the seed be five pecks or twenty-five pecks to the acre ; the " feed " being regulated by means of a lever and " index. " attached to the end of the corn-box. James and Frederick Howard (854), a Double-Action Haymaker. Its chief advantage is, that the axle-boxes revolve, the barrel being on the main axle ; the forks are always the same distance from the ground, and the machine will cross ridge and furrow. The principal cause of breakages in old-fashioned haymakers was that the barrels and travelling-wheels did not rise and fall together. The side frames are outside the travelling wheels, so that the grass does not lodge ; there is simplicity of gearing by the barrels sliding out ; the whole is readily got at. "Richard Hornsby and Son's Paragon Reaper (1599) varies from most other machines, by having a direct action to the knife, the cutter-bar being jointed directly to the crank shaft. The draught also is taken from below the pole, and from the front of the frame, a little to the cutting side, obviating the objectionable side draught, and weight on the horse's neck. Here also was exhibited a Reaper, termed " Governor Self-Reaper," on similar principles. It is so called because the rakes are worked on a principle similar to the governors of a steani-engine. These rakes are carried by a vertical axis, and brought low enough on the cutting side by a cranked carrying-bar to gather and deliver it into sheaf at the side, leaving a broader clearance than is usual. The position of the rake being much forwarder than common, gives an advantage in the gathering of crops, particularly when laid, Wilkinson and Son's Horse Hoe on improved principles (2724), Each hoe works on a separate lever, and is kept at a uniform depth by means of a regulating wheel in front of each hoe, so that however uneven the surface of the ground the weeds are eftectually destroyed. The hoes can be given more or less pitch, according to the state of the land ; the steerage affords a ready means of keeping the hoes in their proper ]iosition between the rows of corn ; the cutting blades are made of steel, and easily replaced when required. Burgess and Key's Mowing Machine (324) has been greatly improved in its construction since tlie Plymouth Meeting. The credit of introducing the short connecting-rod and direct thrust to the knife belongs to this firm, who exhibited it at Plymouth. Ransomes and Sims (3632) "showed a New^ Iron Turn-Wrist Plough, M'ith steel breasts, of their usual excellence in manufacture. The mechanism by which first one, and then the other mould-board is brought into work, whilst at the same time the wing of the share is reversed, is very simple and effective. The coulter and wheels are also so arranged that their position may be changed from side to side without the ploughman having to leave the handles. The Automaton Law'n Mowers also exJiibited at this stand are very simple Implement Show at Bury St. EdmuncVs. G19 and li2;lit in drau^lit; the improvement in the driving gear is dispensing with the old ratchet and levers, and therefore with the noise occasioned by the clicking of the ratchet-teeth, whilst as the name Automaton signifies, the machine is self-regnlating, heing always in gear for the forward motion, and out of gear when drawn backwards. They have also made a very laudable attempt in constructing a guard to prevent accidents with thrashing machines ; it is made of wood, in the shape of a large hopper, placed over the mouth of the drum ; and on the front of the hopper a hinged grating is attached, which when down completely shuts off the drum. Anything by which accidents witii machinery can be avoided is highly valuable ; and this we consider most commendable. Eichraond and Chandler exhibited a straw cutter with this improvement ; inserted at the bottom of the feed-box is an endless lath and chain propeller, carrying forward the straw, clover, &c., giving great assistance to the " feeder," especially in case of short materials being used. Two bevel pinions kcj^ed on to the fly-wheel shaft, gearing into two bevel wheels of unequal diameter, with one handle, enables the machine to cut two lengths, and provides an instantaneous stop-motion. No extra shafting or pedestal is needed beyond what is required in all other machines cutting one length, Owens and Co. exhibited the " Cassiobury Fire Extinguisher," a simple and portable fire-engine. The great advantage is that it can be immediately brought to bear, and a man or woman may stand at any distance from 10 to 50 feet from the seat of fire, according to circumstances, and deliver a strong jet directly upon it. It will deliver a good volume of water 35 feet high, and 50 feet horizontally ; it is not liable to get out of order, and occupies but little space. Woods and Cocksedge's arrangement for piggeries is very simple and efficient, the feeding troughs being in front, hanging on a pivot, accommodating either large or small pigs, according to the angle at which it is ])laced. Under the head of articles not usually classed with Agricultural Implements, there were a great number of very useful things for ordinary purposes, which it would be impossible to enumerate in this report, but we may mention that Mr. Windover's carriages, made of Hickory and Steel, seemed to combine in a high degree lightness, elegance, and durability. Amongst the novelties wo may also mention " Hancock's Spring Bed," and the " Gurney Beach-Seat," as being worthy of commendation. John Thompson. John WHEAXLEr. ; Willi such an entry the duty of the two gentlemen who have so ably reported was no sinecure. The very fact of having to examine nearly 5000 articles implies severe labour, even if thei'e were no hindrances. Exhibitors, supposing they receive due notice as to the day and hour when the judges will inspect, should be at their stands to explain novelties or ingenious inven- tions which they consider worthy of notice, whereas they were continually running after the judges, and perplexing and hin- dering them not a little. Some of the makers never came in contact with the judges at all, and many were the eager inquiries addressed to any man wearing a badge, to know if he was a miscellaneous judge. We proceed to notice some of the novelties. From time to 620 Implement Shoio at Bury St. Edmund's, time attempts have been made to invent a crood drying machine for corn, which would prove a great boon, after such a harvest as that of last year; hitherto these attempts have failed, chiefly on the score of costliness or the impracticability of the various schemes. James Paxman's invention, exhibited by Davey, Paxman, and Davey, of Colchester, is a step in the right direction, inasmuch as the drying apparatus is combined with, and a part of an ordinary portable engine and thrashing machine, so that damp corn may be thrashed and dried at one operation ; after being thrashed and once winnowed the corn is passed into a cylinder, surrounded by a steam jacket. The corn during its passage through this cylinder is subjected to a double action, namely that of the steam in the jacket and of a blast of hot dry air generated in a small furnace on the opposite side of the machine, and sucked up and circulated by a fan ; this current meets and completely passes through the corn as it is travelling along the cylinder. The steam is conveyed through a ^ in. opening in the boiler by vulcanized tubing to the cylinder, the waste steam partially condensed is collected at the other end and is used to warm the water, and thus save fuel. The corn remains exposed to this double agency for about IJ minutes, that being the interval consumed in passing through the tube. The wheat experimented on was first damped with 1 gallon of water to the bushel, and was in a soft and very bad condition, more lumpy than it would be after the Avorst harvest ; it came out quite hot and in a sweat, it should then be laid on a floor and turned, when it soon cools and hardens. The exhibitor, over confident of his machine, told the judges that the corn might be left in a sack, so it was left, heated a good deal, and came out clammy and "nosey." This was not a fair test, as there must be time for the moisture which is drawn out of the corn to escape. Mr. James Amos made a rough experiment to ascertain the loss of steam taken from the boiler, by ascertaining the degree of heat communicated by the waste steam to a given quantity of cold water during a fixed interval. As far as could, be judged the loss was about f of a horse power. All barley growers well know what a mess they are in with their crops after a wet cold season, how unkind the corn, how difficult to sell to the maltsters save under a guarantee. In such cases an expensive process of sweating is necessary before germination can take place, and it is a question of much importance how lar this drying arrangement could be made use of in place of the kiln. It would be necessary to exercise great caution as to the tempera- ture, since too sudden or great a heat would destroy the germinating powers of the corn. The idea is ingenious, the Implement Shoio at Bury St. Edmund's. 621 apparatus simple and inexpensive, and v/e think that something may be made of this novel application. Mr. William Creasy, of Bull's Hall, Bedfield, Wickham Market, exhibits another drying and cleaning machine. The object being to pass heated air through a uniform thickness of grain, Avhilst the latter is being gently agitated to dry it quickly at a moderate temperature ; this is particularly important in the case of barley, The machine consists of an inner and outer cylinder, covered with perforated material such as zinc or iron. The inner one is fixed to a hollow tube which runs through it, this tube is supported at each end by stands. The outer cylinder revolves on this fixed tube by the aid of friction rollers, leaving a space between the two cylinders at the sides and ends of from 6 to 9 inches. The corn is fed into this space by a pipe which runs from the outside hopper through the tube (which carries the cylinder) in a diagonal direction, dropping the grain between the ends of the cylinder, it is then carried round by the outer one so as to fill up the space between them ; the corn being regulated at the discharge end, the space is kept constantly full. The corn is gradually drawn along from one end of the machine to the other by blades which project from the outer cylinder in an angular direction. The discharge is arranged in a similar manner to the feed, viz. — by running a pipe through the tube in a diagonal direction from the inside to the outside of the machine. The heat is thus produced, the fire is contained in an inner vertical cylinder, surrounded by an outer cylinder, leaving an annular space between them of 5 or 6 inches, a passage is made from the outer to the inner cylinder through this space to supply fuel. The outer cylinder is connected with a fan on one side, and with the tube which runs through the machine at the other. The radiate heat in the outer chamber greatly assists the process. The heated air is forced through the perforations of the tube into the inner cylinder, and so through the corn which surrounds it into the air, carrying with it the moisture arising therefrom. The temperature of the heated air is regulated by a valve opening in the lower part of the cylinder containing the fire through Avhicli a small portion of the blast can be directed, and the heat rendered more or less intense. In the second machine exhibited for drying malt, brewer's grains, &c., the cylinders are covered with sheet iron, and are both made to revolve in one direction by gear work, though at slightly different speeds, fitted with hollow perforated blades which agitate the material to be dried, and also allow the hot air to circulate. The corn machine is said to be capable of drying 70 or 80 bushels of corn daily at a temperature varying from 622 Implement Show at Bury St. Edmund's, 90° to 100°, and with an expenditure of about 3-liorse-power. This is certainly a meritorious invention deserving of notice. Messrs. Howard's Safety Steam Boiler and superheater consists of a series of vertical tubes, amongst which the fire circulates Avith great facility ; it is introduced in place of the ordinary Cornish boiler for fixed engines, and appears to possess some considerable advantages ; each tube has within it an internal one rising up through the water space, dividing the water into annular and central columns ; the current of heated air im- pinging upon the tubes, causes the water in the outer spaces to rise to the top and flow down the inner tubes ; an active circula- tion through all parts of the boiler consequently results, and even . hard water leaves no incrustation. The points of merit contended for by the makers are — Safefi/, the bursting pressure of each tube being calculated to be 2000 lbs. per square inch, and if, notwithstanding, a tube burst no dangerous accident could follow : Economy of fuel — In a 40-horse boiler steam is raised to 80 lbs. pressure in 20 minutes with 2 cwt. of coal. We have not seen these results, and merely state them as given by the exhibitors. There is economy in using superheated steam, the steam space or reservoir being exposed to the radiated heat of the heating chamber. The different parts are well put together and simple, no bolts or joints are exposed to the action of the fire. One of these boilers is being employed to drive machinery at the Paris Exhibition. One of the most attractive features of the Miscellaneous exhibition was Eli W. Blakes stone breaker and ore-crushing machine, exhibited by H. K. Marsden, of Soho Foundry, Leeds. This invention has the merit of simplicity and efficiency, being capable of smashing up granite and swallowing large sized stones. A vertically suspended jaw, with an indented or furrowed surface, is made to play backwards and forwards, coming in contact with a similar fixed surface. The opening being widest at the top and contracting downwards, large masses are converted into small fragments by a series of crunches, as they descend. The motion is acquired by means of an elbow joint leverage, working from an eccentric on the fly-wheel shaft; driven by a 3-horse engine, it is capable of reducing 40 tons of metal per day. A rotating screen working below receives the crushed material, and separates it into two samples. With jaws 10 in. by 7, the price is 140/. The uses to which this ingenious contrivance is adapted are many. The ironmasters in North Lancashire and elsewhere employ it for breaking up slag for road-making at a cost, it is said, of 2>d. a ton. It is used for making concrete and asphalting, and for reducing ordinary Implement Show at Bury St. Edmund's. 623 road metal it must effect a savino^, provided there is sufficient work to do. Cameron's steam-pump, exhibited by Tangye, Brothers, and Holman, London, alluded to in the judges report, is an exceedingly ingenious invention. We venture to extract a short descuiption from Eufjineerinfj, which publi- cation contains a better account than we could give. " This is the simplest of the class of pumps with steam moved valves which has come under our notice, at each stroke the steam -piston knocks open a small piston valve which admits steam to a large piston, one on each end of the slide valve, and which work the latter by direct action of steam. These pistons (to the valve) have no packing, and are the simplest possible. They cushion perfectly. A handle on the outside puts on the slide valve at starting, in case it is not well over to admit steam. The best test of steam-pumps of this class is to see, not how fast, but how slow they will go, and we worked Cameron's so as to make but a single stroke per minute, the stroke being but a few inches in length. At these very slow speeds the stroke is not gradual but intermittent, the engine stopping to collect steam at the end of the stroke. The action is certain at all speeds, and Avhen working at full speed and with 100 lbs. pressure in the air vessel, the suction hose may be suddenly lifted out of the water without the pistons striking the ends of the cylinder covers. The parts are so accessible, that although still hot with steam, we had it to pieces in hardly more than a minute." We have only to add to the above excellent description that the price of this pump is 30/. C. Burrell's machine for shelling and dressing clover and trefoil seed, with patent separator for removing weed seeds, appears a valuable invention ; by submitting the seed to a double operation, the shells are completely removed, and the seed is not broken. 25 sacks of clean seed can be thrashed in a day. Price, 60/. Gooday's multiple needle thatching machine, is an improve- ment on Magg's and Hindley's invention. The straw being carefully drawn and laid on a table is passed between rollers and fastened together by a lock-stitch. The price is moderate, and provided the work can be done with sufficient celerity, this promises to be a useful addition to our agricultural novelties. ( 624 ) XXII. — Report on the Exhihition of Live Stock at Bury St. EdmriiuVs. By C. Randell, Senior Steward. WlIKX in the early part of 186G the Council of the Royal Agri- cultural Society reluctantly came to the conclusion that the increasing^ ravages of the Cattle Plague rendered it expedient to suspend for a year the show at Bury St. Edmund's, they Avere influenced not alone by the apparent certainty that a show from which cattle would necessarily be excluded must be a failure in reference to the immediate interests of the Society, but also by the conviction that a meeting so deprived of one of its greatest attractions would prove a disappointment to the inhabitants of the town and district where such meeting should be held. It was therefore resolved, with the concurrence of the Local Com- mittee, that a year should elapse, in the hope that the plague might then be stayed, and a Cattle Show be held in 18G7. The liberality and energy which the inhabitants of the town and dis- trict had already shown through their Local Committee, and their readiness to meet every wish of the Council as to the preparation of the showyard and the approaches to it, materially influenced the Council in their decision to wait a year, in order that a suc- cessful meeting might compensate the district for the exerti(ms which th(! inhabitants were ready to make to ensure that success. But the plague remained, and the Council felt that although they had by the appointment of a Commission to inquire into and report upon the results of steam-cultivation, done the greatest good in their power to the general interest of agriculture in 1 8()G, yet that a show must be held in 18G7, It has been held, and although, as was anticipated, the result to the Society in a pecuniary sense is a failure, it is satisfactory to record that the exertions of the Local Committee continued unabated to the last — that the show of horses was partially successful — of implements, sheep, and pigs entirely so, and that the agricultural j)()pulation of Suffolk and the adjoining counties evinced the most lively interest in the contents of the showyard, and the exhibition of steam-cultivation outside of it. It had been a primary object of the Council to make the show of Horses at Bury St. Edmund's compensate as far as possible for the absence of cattle, and very liberal prizes were offered ; the result was a larger entry than at any previous show, Battersea excepted, still not so large as the Council had a right to expect, and the deficiency was noticeable in the liorses of the district, which in some classes have often been more numerous at the local shows — it may be that those local shows having lieen Report on Exhibition of Live Stock at Bury St. Edmund's. 625 held previously, were the means of pointing out to owners that their chances of success at Bury were gone, and the excellence of those animals which were exhibited, pretty clearly showed that only the best had been thought good enough to put in an appearance. Still the fact remains, the show of Horses has not yet been as good as it ought to be. In cattle, sheep, pigs, and implements, the Ro^al Society's shows have been pre-eminent, and, although in the estimation of practical farmers generally all these stand higher than hackney-horses, yet in this department, as in all others, the same pre-eminence should be attained ; and by liberal prizes, and the most liberal accommodation, the difhculty which will often arise from the distance at which the meetings are lield from the principal horse-breeding districts, must be coun- teracted. In Class I., the prizes of 100/. and 50Z. attracted 0 thorough- bred sires; and the well-known "Scottish Chief" could only get second to " False Alarm," the winner at Islington ; it must have been a nice point for the judges to decide whether the comparatively short legs and long ribs of the "Chief" should outweigh the beautiful action of the " Son of Trumpeter," but the latter won, as it has often done. In Classs III., the hunting brood-mares mustered strongly, the grand old " Silverlock," be- longing to Captain Barlow, being placed first ; a thoroughly useful looking brown of Mr. Hurrell's, second ; and a stylish mare, not equal to so much weight, Mr. Harvey's, third. In Class LXlll., for weight -carrying hunters, 5-year old and upwards, 17 competed, and formed the most attractive class that has been seen in the Royal Society's showyard, a grand lot of what they professed to be — weight-carrying hunters, from which the judges selected the " Master of Arts," Mr. Gee's, for the first prize, a very grand horse to look at. Mr. Sutton's " Voyageur," the horse for an old gentleman to enjoy hunting upon, was second ; and Mr. Heygate's " Mountain Dew " the third, looking likely to keep his place with either in a fast twenty minutes ; exclusive of these many a 14-stone man would like to be allowed to make his selection, and go away content with Mr. Hall's " Double First," Mr. Taylor's "Harkaway," Mr. Wilson's "Sir Harry," Mr. Pretty's " Baron," or Mr. Williams's " Charlie " and still leave other real hunters.* * The Report of the Judges, Messrs Thurnall, Smith, and Oldacre, just receivefl, (Sept. 14,^ eoutaiiJb the following remarks: — Class I. For tlic Thoroiujlihred Stud Jlorse bed ccdcidated to improve and per' petuate the breed of sound and stout 'Thoroughbred Horses for General Stud I'urposes. — The contest was a close one between the first ai.d second horse, and had the question been simply which was the better sire for getting racehorses, their places might ha\e been reversed; but we considered 'False Alarm' better adapted for 626 Report on the Exhibition of Live Stock For the first time at a show of the Royal Society a leaping- bar was placed in the ring, and formed a great source of attrac- tion, when the hunters above 3-years old displayed their jumping powers, they were not required to do so by way of influencing the Judges at arriving at their decision, seeing that many first- rate hunters object to this kind of "larking," but it certainly amused the public and did no harm ; on the contrary, more than one of the horses improved in temper by the proceeding, and went home with a better promise of making a hunter than when he came to Bury. the general purposes which the Society has in view : his action was truer, he had the best feet, and carried himself best — moreover he was giving his opponent a year. The ' Chief,' on the other hand, had a better loin and somewhat more length. Class II. — Stallions for (letting Hunters — The seven entered may be divided into two classes — one having plenty of breeding but little substance, the other plenty of substance but a deficiency in quality. We felt it our duty, although very reluctantly, to pass this class over without awarding a prize. Class III. Mares suitable for breeding Hunters. — The competitors in this very important class were more numerous than visual, and there were several very good ones to select from. The winner, ' Silverlock,' was a lengthy low mare, looking as if she had been a hunter herself, and just the right stamp to breed more. The second, a mare by ' Theon,' was very powerful, had great length, and a rare set of legs ; she looked all over a hunter, but her foal was leggy and did her no credit. The third was a very game-looking mare, full of quality, but not quite equal in power to the other two. Added to these was a thoroughbred chesnut mare of Major Wilson, which would have stood ^high in the class had not the veterinary inspector disqualified her. Class LXIII. Weight-carrying Hunters. — Here we had an entry of seventeen, including several well-known prizetakers, viz., 'Master of Arts,' 'Voyageur,' ' Mountain Dew,' and ' Buftbon.' ' Voyageur,' when standing, is a very fine specimen of a hunter ; but his action, though true, lacks force and energy. ' ]\Iaster of Arts," is very powerful and gallops sti"ongly ; but he bores, and wants pulling together and better handling than he had here. ' Mountain Dew,' the third in this class, is a fine slashing goer and looks all over a hunter, as did also the reserved number, ' Harkaway,' and the commended ' Butibon.' ' Double First ' is a nice active horse, but not equal to the same weight as those before mentioned. Class LXIV. Four-year old Hunters. — In this class of fifteen were the well- known 'Tom' and the 'General,' and 'Denmark,' from Herefordshire, who took the second prize, and thus parted the stable companions. ' Tom ' is a horse of wonderful power and length ; his legs and feet are excellent, his arms and thighs wonderfully muscular; he is a grand goer, and perhaps, take him all in all, one of the best four-year olds ever shown. ' Denmark' is own brother to ' Mountain Dew,' and, like him, a fine goer ; he is a little higher on the leg than *Tom,' and not equal to the same weight, but he promises to be a first-class hunter. The 'General' is a very elegant horse, nearly, if not quite, thorough- bred, a beautiful galloper, and carries himself in fine form ; and we have much pleasure in reporting that we have seldom seen three such young horses together. A nice chesnut of Mr. Clark, of Hook, was the reserved number, and a raw grey of Mr. Jacob Wilson's looked like making a hunter. Class LXV. This was a poor class of only five, and, owing to what appeared to us an unnecessary requirement for three-year olds, one of the best of this small class was disqualified, on the ground that being unbroken she could not be ridden in the ring -, and the result was that we felt it necessary to abstain from awarding a prize. at Bury St. Edmund's. 627 It is very satisfactory to me that the Judges of other riding- horses — the Hon. George Lascelles, Mr. C. Nainby, and Mr. Beevor have left nothing for me to say ; they report, — Wc commonccd our duties under very unfavourable circumstances as to weather, with Class IV. (lloadster Stallions), which, as might be expected in the native country of trotters, was well tilled ; and we consider Ko. 42, Mr, Beart's " Ambition," an excellent six'cimeu of the class, having extraordinary action. Mr. Grout's "Sportsman" No. 40, was a useful, compact, active horse, an excellent mover, and of true and level form. Mr. Grout also showed a horse with wonderful pace and action in his trot, in No. 47, but rather narrow, and not a good walker. Class V. was not well represented, and there was nothing in it of extra quality. Mr. Overman's " Jeimy Lind," a true-shaped useful mare, likely to breed well, and with a promising foal, took the first prize; and Mr. Eeddell was second with " Bury Belle." Class VI, had only one representative in the ring, and as he was a useful pony, we gave him the prize. Class Vll. — We do not consider this as a good class, and the prize horses could not aspire to be more than useful hacks. J Class VI II. had but one entry. Class IX. was good, and the first prize' pony shown by Mr. Wallis is full of action and quality, and no doubt will some day attract some attention in Rotten Eow. Captain Barlow's black " Piccadilly " is also a good pony with action, and Mr. Branthwaite's pony well worthy of a prize. Our reserve num- ber : Mr. Groucock's " Puss," a compact neat cob, with short quick action. We then proceeded to award the Local Prizes in our department, and com- menced with Class LXVI. for Hacks, 5 years and over, not less than 14, and not over 15 hands. In this class we had some difficulty, owing to the appear- ance in the same class of horses of a totally different character, and we would suggest that it is advisable to class hacks according to the weight they are intended to carry. Though there might have been hacks up to more weight than the prize horses, yet the excellent action of No. 218 and No. 215 led us to place them first and second ; and we feel sure that Mr. Badham's " Major " is both an easy and showy conveyance over the " McAdam." Mr. Harvey's " Favourite " showed full of Arab blood and action, which made it im- possible for us to pass him over, though perhaps more of a charger than a roadster. Class LXVIT. did not long occupy us, as only a couple presented themselves in the ring, and Mr. Scriven's " Lotte," a compact old-fashioned nag with action took easily the first prize. Class LXVIII. was inferior, and the prize-takers, No. 23G and No. 235, were not of extraordinary merit. Class LXIX. had no entry. Class LXX. we could not report as a good class. Class LXXI. was altogether a good one, and contained several clever ponies. We hear that this is not the first time by any means that Mr. Milward's '' Steward " has caught the eye of Judges by beauty in form and action. Mr, Milward also got the second prize with his " Dunbar," a clever pony with famous action, but a trifle heavy about his neck. We commended No. 251 and No. 255, both useful horses. Class LXXII, was limited in number; but there was nothing came before us more perfect than Mr. Wade's " Tomtit," full of qualit}', action, and a tower of strength. Mr. Hitter's " Tommy " Avas a little beauty, with a wonderful forehand and sweet head. This class brought our labours to an end, and allowed us at last to seek shelter from the rain which had desoended heavily 628 JRepor't on the Exhibition of Live Stock all the day. We ^vo^lld venture to snp;p;est that the full particulars of each class should be entered in the Judges' books, and so avoid the necessity of constant reference to the x'l'ii^ted prize sheet, which, in a soaking rain, is attended with some difficulty. G. E. Lascelles, C. M. Naisby, ' > J udges. In agricultural horses, the Suffolks, as was to be expected at Bury St. Edmund's, made a very attractive display, although in point of numbers some classes were deficient. Class X., for old stallions, had only 5 entries, of these Mr. Boby's " Con- queror," grand to look at, was first ; Mr. Crisp's " Duke." younger, more level, with more action, second. The 2-year olds in Class XI. mustered more strongly, and far a-head among them is the first prize colt, Mr. Wilson's " President ; " Mr. Crisp with a very good one is second ; and Mr. Clayden's executors, third, with a neat but small one ; two others, Mr. Grant's and Mr. Biddell's were highly commended. If the Suffolk breeders did not show us many of their grand old mares, certainly those they did send were good ones. Of the 7 entries Mr. Wolton's " Moggy" is a wonderful mare, his " Violet." the second to her, a great beauty ; Mr. Tomline's " Danby " good enough to obtain a first instead of third prize anywhere but here; and Mr. Sewell's "Bragg," a great, good mare, not placed. Short in number as this class was, it did great credit to the county. In Class XIII., for 3-year old mares, there Avere only 4 competitors, one of these, belonging to Sir Edward Kerrison, was objected to as not being pure Suffolk ; no evidence was adduced in support of the objection, and if there be any- thing in it, other Suffolk breeders will be trying to get into the same cross, for assuredly a more perfect animal is seldom seen, she obtained the first prize ; the second going to a low, level, useful mare shown by Mr. King. Class XIV. had only 7 2-year old fillies, about a third of the number we have sometimes had, but again admirably selected, Mr. Cross obtaining first prize with a very fine mare. For the Special Prizes offered by the Local Com- mittee of Bury St. Edmund's for 3-year old Suffolk stallions 4 were shown, Mr. Crisp's "Cup-bearer" first; Mr. Biddell, with a real " Punch," second. For the pairs of mares only two appeared. Sir Edward Kerrison winning with very good ones, one a 3- year old, an extraordinary mare. For mares not having had a foal in 1867, 5 very good ones were shown, Mr. Keer first ; Sir Edward Kerrison, second ; and the Marquis of Bristol, with two good mares got a high commendation. Only one pair of geldings were shown in Class LIX., the Duke of Grafton's. Fourteen were shown in the class for yearling entire colts, and the Judges commended the whole lot, although among them one at Bury St. Edmund's. G29 black-brown, and one bay colt, tlie latter a very good one, seemed out of place : Mr, VVolton had first prize with a very superior colt ; the second went to a very light boned one, shown by Mr. Tomline ; and the Suffolks finished with 5 nice yearling fillies, the two best of which were shown by Mr. Rist ; Mr. Wolton was highly commended, and the two others were commended. The classes for agricultural horses, not Suffolk, were not well filled, nor was the quality of those exhibited very good, if we except Mr. Coy's 4-year old " Matchless ;" Mr. Welcher's white- faced 2-year old, and Mr. Holland's old mare, a winner when two years old at the Royal Carlisle Meeting. The Judges of these classes say of the SufFolks : — Nearly all the animals exhibited had good symmetry, action, and consti- tution ; in some cases these points have been obtained with the loss of size and substance required for farm-work. The Agricultural Horses not Suffolk were shorter in numbers, but most of them have good action, symmetry, and size. The Judges consider it part of their duty to report a special improvement in the Classes of Young Horses, scarcely any of those imperfections appearing amongst them likely to become hereditar}'', which have so frequently been comi)lained of at previous shov/s. The great number of the classes of horses, and the necessity for keeping all entire ones in the range of boxes specially erected for them, prevented the classes following consecutively the order of the catalogue, and so caused occasional difficulty to the visitors in finding any class they wanted ; this has not escaped the notice of the Hon. Director, and it will doubtless henceforth be removed. Sheep. Leicesters. — The Judges, Mr. Buckley, Mr. Clarke, and Mr, Mann say : — We found Class XX., although numerous, far under an average. Class XXI. — The older sheep far above the average of late years. Class XXn. (Shearling Ewes). — Nothing to remark upon. Still these gentlemen found among the shearlings three prize animals — one deserving a high commendation, and three others to commend, so the class must at least be considered respectable; while the old rams, 21 in number, headed by young Turner's wonderful three shear, closely followed by Mr. Burton's second and third prize sheep, were all commended. Of the 4 entries for shearling-ewes two got prizes — one was highly commended, and one commended ; these facts put together prove that the show of Leicesters at Bury was a good one. Cotswolds and Lincolns. — The Judges, Mr. Bartholomew, Mr. Little, and Mr. Newton, report: — The Cotswolds were not well represented from their native district, either in point of number or quality. The Norfolk breeders were in great force, and gave the Cotswold breeders notice to take care of their laurels, as all the prize sheep were bred in Norfolk. The first prize Shearling of Mr. Brown of Marham, Norfolk, was a very VOL. III. — S. S. 2 T 630 Jteport on the Exhibition of Live Stock superior specimen of the class, being of large size, with excellent quality of wool and mutton. The second prize sheep, belonging to the same gentleman, was very little behind. The third prize sheep, belonging to Mr. Aylmer, was a strong, useful, large sheep, not of the same quality as the former. ; but with an excellent fleece of wool. The Shearlings from the original Cotswold breeders wore not up to the standard of excellence usually exhibited at the Eoyal. The Aged Rams were a good class, so much so, that the Judges commended them generally ; and Mr. ]3rown and Mr. Aylmer were as successful as in the Shearlings, showing very good specimens, the former taking the first and second prizes, and the latter the third. . The Shearling Ewes were not numerous, there being only 7 pens. Mr. Brown was again successful, showing a pen of fine symmetry and quality, seldom haa a better been exhibited ; Mr, Aylmer being second and third again, with 2 pens of very good ewes. • The Lincolns and other Long Woolled Sheep. — This class was by no means largely represented, there being only 33 entries : 17 Shearlings and 11 Aged Rams, 5 pens of Shearling Ewes, two of which were disqualified. The Sliearling Rams : Mr. Aylmer took first prize for a Lincoln, apparently with a dash of the Cotswold. Mr. Marshall's second jirize sheep had the true character of a Lincoln, having a good fieece of wool and fair quality. The sheep in this class were not well represented. In the Aged Sheep, Mr. AVright of Nocton, in Lincolnshire, showed a very superior sheep, and obtained first prize. Mr. Charles Williams, of Carlton-le- Moorland, gained the second prize with a good sheep ; the class was superior to the Shearlings, having good wool and mutton. The Shearling Ewes did not possess any particular merit, only 3 pens were left to compete for the prizes. Oxfordshire Downs and Shroj)shires. — The Judges, Mr. Masfen, Mr. Hobbs, and Mr. Edmonds, say of the former : — Class XXIX., comprising 13 Shearling Rams of ordinary merit, we may dismiss with the remark that, although there are some large-framed fat-natured sheep exhibited, we do not think them so uniform in their character or so mus- cular as they should be. Class XXX., for Aged Rams, brought together three competitors only, the first and second prize sheep, both belonging to Mr. Wallis, being two useful animals, with great propensity to fatten, and of full average merit. In Class XXXI. there w-ere six entries of Shearling Ewes of rather different type, the first and second prizes being awarded to Mr. C. Howard for sheep of good character and symmetry, though not so heavy or in such high condition as Mr. Overman's third prize pen. Of the Shropshires the same gentlemen report : — We were highly gratified to find the classes so largely and well filled with animals, whose general appearance gave immistakeable proofs of careful breed- ing, and of their distinctness as a race ; the sheep exhibited at this meeting were for the most ])art of uniform character, good colour, excellent symmetry and size, and combiningwith these properties the essential requisite of being rent- paying and profitable in the quantity and quality of their wool and mutton. Class XXXV. was well su]iiiorted by 39 Shearling Rams. The prize and commended sheep, shown by Messrs. Evans, Mansell, Crane, Smith, and Bowen, are decidedly good and handsome ; and several others, not specially rel'erred to in our remarks, are creditable representatives of the breed. Class XXXVI. consisted of 13 Aged Rams, including some of more than average merit. The first prize sheep, belonging to Messrs. Crane, is very hand- some, of masculine character, yet symmetrical and of fine quality ; he is well supported by Mr. Mansell's second prize sheep, Avhich is also of good character at Bury St. Edmund's. 631 with a heavy frame ou short legs. The third prize ram (Mr. Evans's) is an animal of trood size, but, althour;h well fed, is a little slack in points. Class XXXVII. contains a full average entry of Ewes, amongst which are some very good animals ; but we do not think the class so unit'orndy perfect as those of the males. Mr. Smith's first prize winners consist of lour ewes of perfect symmetry and fine quality, and one with a capital body, but rather weak neck. The second prize sheep (Mr. Horton's) are heavily fleshed, and of good size, but not so high in qualitj'' as their victors. We consider some of the other sheep iu this class may be improved by a stricter attention to uniformity of character. No doubt this is so, but a comparison of the Shropshire sheep shown at Bury with those at any previous Royal meeting will show that an approach to uniformity of character has gradually but decidedly been obtained, and considering that in the process of improving the old spotted-faced Shropshires the breeders have been by no means agreed as to the type which it was most desirable to establish, it is not surprising that some variation of character still exists, or rather it is remarkable that among so large a number of exhibitors the specimens of their different flocks should show so few exceptions to uniformity of character. Certain it is that the Shropshires are fast making their way into new localities, and that no flockmasters in the kingdom appear to be more unsparing in their efforts to excel each other, whether in breeding, feeding, or sliearing, than the men of Shropshire. The Southdoims as usual formed the most striking feature of the sheep show — perfect in form and quality of flesh, and so nearly alike in character, one only regrets that their want of size must confine them mainly to their native downs, and that the occupiers of deeper stronger soils must be content with less neatness and less quality in order to obtain greater rent-paying qualities. The Judges, Messrs. Fookes, Turner, and Budd, say : — The Class of Shearling Southdown Rams was, with few exceptions, very good ; especially those exhibited by Lord Walsingham and Sir \\'. 'J'hrockmorton. The Class of Earns of any Age was considered bj' the Judges to be one of the best ever exhibited at the Meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society, and was generally commended. The Shearling Ewes were very good, with the exception of a few pens. The pens exhibited by Sir W. TTn-ockmorton and the Duke of Richmond were particularly good. Taking the whole cf the classes, we consider the exhibition of Southdowns to be a good one. The Hampshires of the Bury show-yard should be shown with some of the Hampshires — if there are any — of the sort bred twenty years since. Nothing could be much uglier than they then were ; nothing combines so much size with so much quality of flesh as Mr. Rawlence, Mr. Canning, and other breeders of these sheep now show ; it would not be too much to say that the ewes shown by the former were the best of any breed in the show-yard, and if he would put them to the second prize ram, not his own, he would run no risk of losing that extraordinary size and weight of flesh which he has hitherto maintained, but which his first 2 T 2 632 Report on the Exhibition of Live Stock prize shearling ram. would appear, as compared witli Mr. Coles's, to be exchans^ing- for something' approaching to Southdown quality. The Judges, the same gentlemen who officiated in the South- down classes say of them : — The competition for the Hampshire Down Classes was small, the whole of the pens being good, especially the pens of Shearling Ewes exhibited by Mr. Eawlencc. In consequence of the improvement which has extended during the last few years in the flampshire Downs, their symmetry and quality make them nearly equal to the Southdowns. The Black-faced Suffolks must possess qualities which a stranger knows not of. The men of Norfolk and Suffolk know their business too well to make it safe to assume that these sheep are as bad as they look, and there must be some merit, though not visible, to compensate for all their faults. Still it seems difficult to understand that their good qualities, whatever they are, might not be retained, with some modification at least of the long legs, short ribs, thin necks, bare backs, and naked heads that characterise the Suffolk sheep shown at Bury, and yet it seems that these were considered favourable specimens, for the Judges say : — The show of Black Suftblks was considered to be superior to any before exhibited ; but there is still room for more improvement. Surely a cross Avith Hampshire or Shropshire would bring them nearer to the ground, with wider and deeper carcasses, more tendency to fatten, and — crossed with Shropshire, if not Hampshire — more wool. One point of difficulty in connexion with the sheep classes is not yet satisfactorily settled. The Council have been anxious that all sheep exhibited should have been really shorn after a certain day, the 1st of April, and every exhibitor must certify that this condition has been complied with, and inspectors have been ap- pointed to report and to disqualify all that have not been shorn hare after the time appointed. But these inspectors, Messrs. Workman and Bone, and it is impossible to find two men better qualified than those to whom the Society is indebted for under- taking this most disagreeable duty, find this difficulty — the fact of Inspectors being appointed has, with many breeders of sheep, only led to greater skill in deception, and made detection most difficult : the consequence is that only those who try to cut their sheep into form, out of wool grown before the 1st of April, and do it badly, are detected, while the more skilful escape. After the Plymouth meeting it was recommended that the 1st of May should be substituted for the 1st of April as the date of shearing, but in compliance with the wishes of some breeders of sheep this suggestion was not acted upon. The question must come before the Council again, and the regulation be made absolutely efficient or abandoned. One month later as the tixne for shearing would be effectual, and all at Bury St. Edmund's. 633 must then show on equal terms. Hitherto the Inspectors, in their anxiety to avoid the injustice of disqualifying any sheep improperly, have given to all the benefit of any doubt there could be, and in so doing feel that they have passed, as fairly shorn, many about which they were far Irom satisfied. Pigs. The show of Pigs at Bury was characterised more by uniform excellence than by the appearance of any very remarkable animals — some of the classes, the large white breed and those not qualified for the specified classes were only scantily filled, as were those of all kinds for three young breeding sows ; but the small white breed, boars and sows, were in great force both in numbers and quality, and as a whole perhaps have not been so uniformly good at any previous meeting. The classes for pigs of a small black breed were, as was to be expected in Suffolk, also well filled, and among a lot of very good ones Mr. Sexton stood pre-eminent for both boars and sows. With so much general excellence it is superfluous to say that the winners were good, or to do more than to refer to the prize list for the names of the successful exhibitors. Nor must I enumerate all the animals marked for approval in my catalogue.* It is satisfactory to find that the veterinary examination of denti- tion showed only two cases where the age was greater than certified, and one, evidently an unintentional error, where it was less. Upon the whole the meeting at Bury was as successful as, in the absence of cattle, could be expected. The exhibition of im- plements was the largest and best ever seen. The horses numerous and good enough to form a most attractive feature. Leicester sheep fully as good as usual. Southdowns such as might be expected when Lord Walsingham, the Duke of Rich- mond, and Rigden compete with comparatively new men, and in some classes are beaten. Cotswolds introduced us to pre- viously unknown competitors, who utterly vanquished the breeders from the native hills of these sheep, and suggested the idea that, unless those men come to the rescue whose names heretofore were conspicuous in the prize list, Norfolk, not Gloucestershire would soon be resorted to by those who are looking for first-rate Cotswolds. Shropshires and Hampshires were distinguished by the evidence afforded of their continued improvement ; and Lin- colns good, but showing how few breeders of them appreciate the wish of the Council to encourage their exhibition. Pigs in most classes good, as they have ever been ; in some, the small blacks especially, much better. All this will tend to satisfy tlie Council that their mission for this year has been accomplished as satis- * The judges, at a late date sent a brief report, speaking favourably of the show of pigs in general terms. 634 Report on Exhibition of Live Stock at Bury St. Edmiuid's. factorily as was possible. With the expression of a hope that the interchange of ideas between the men of Suffolk and the visitors from other localities will be mutually beneficial, and that the Local Committe will feel how entirely their efforts to promote the success of the show were appreciated by the Council, I must conclude this report. For myself I can only say that I resign my office as steward with very grateful recollections of the kindness and hospitality which I, in common with those with Avhom I have acted, have received in the three towns which the Society has visited during my tenure of office — of friendships formed which will not cease with the stewardship, and of the indulgence Avhich I have received from the Council in many points on which I have felt interested — henceforth my part in the business of the Society will be less active, not less earnest. Chadbury, near Evesham, Sept. 6th, 1867. Report of the Steward and Judges of Poultry. ' The Report of the Judges of Poultry speaks so fully to the quality of the birds shown that it is not necessary to enlarge upon it, but it may be as well to state that much interest is felt in this department of the show, as evidenced by the almost con- stant crowd of persons round the pens during the week. In con- sequence of their non-arrival till 7"30 on the morning of the 15th, it was necessary to disqualify 10 or 12 lots of birds; this was most unfortunate, as several of them were very good of their kind ; 2 would doubtless have taken prizes. H. Bakthkopp, Steward of Poultry, Hacheston, July 31. The I'oultry Judges appointed by the Royal Agricultural Society of England offer their congratulations on the display that was the ans\ver to the prize sheet issued by the Society. They believe that the end sought was fully attained ; in proof thereof they would call the attention to the fact that the prizes for Brahma Pootras went to Ireland, Scotland, and England. The show of Dorkings was most excellent, proving that these really useful fowls are exten- sively kept; the B.ahma Pootras and Cochin Chinas were equally good. The Judges were disappointed in the number shown of the French breeds, LaFleche and Crevcca2ur ; these fowls will be deservedly prized wherever eggs are the object'of keeping poultry, if however a supply of chickens for the table be desired, their non-sitting nature is an objection. The quality of the geese and turkeys left nothing to desire, but the numbers caused disappointment. The Judges hope that the Council will continue this part of the show : there never was a time when so much interest existed about poultry as at present. Societies arc being organised for experiments in breeding, and encouragement given to this pursuit, which is rightfully con- nected with agriculture, will add another to the many obligations conferred by the lioyal Agricultural Society of England on those whom it seeks to benefit. Signed on behalf of Edwakd Hewitt and W. Tkottek, by their desire. Jidij 20th, 1867. John Baily. ' ( 635 ) ABSTRACT REPOET OF AaRICULTURAL DISCUSSIONS. Meeting of Weeldy Council, Tuesday, Fehruartj 11th. Mr. Eamsay in the Chair. A Lecture was delivered by Professor Simonds on " Some of the Causes which Produce Disarrangements of the Digestive Organs in Young Sheep." Professor Simonds said : he would in the first instance make a few general observations with regard to the digestive system of the sheep. The DiGEsTtvK Orgaks. Sheep belonging to the class designated ruminantia have a very complicated system of digestive organs, which pass the food back from the stomach to the mouth for the purpose of its being re- masticated and re-insalivated. We have, first, the rumen or paunch, into which the food goes primarily ; next the reticulum, or second stomach ; then the third stomach ; and, lastly, the foiu'th, or truo digestive stomach, the others being in fact preparatory organs. It is unnecessary that I should go into disputed questions as to whether the food is passed dii'ectly from the rumen into the mouth, or is previously passed into the reticulum, and then into the mouth ; or whether, on its second descent from the mouth, after being re- masticated, it passes into the rumen, or directly into the third stomach. I may, however, state that I hold the opinion that the food is passed fii'st into the rumen, and that, at each subsequent swallowing of that food, the matter, however it may be reduced, is still jmssed into that viscus ; and the reticulum is nothing more or less than a supplier of thoroughly masticated and insalivated food to the third and fom'th stomachs, in order that it may be properly digested. When the food is passed from the fourth stomach it goes into the intestinal canal, and there it becomes subject to the action of certain secretions, which produce that change in it by which the nutritive parts are separated from the others. These nutritive parts, to which the name " Chyle " is given, are precipitated upon the mucous membrane of the intestines, where the process of their absorption goes on. The fecculent or innutritioua matter passes into the large intestines, where it is retained for a a certain length of time, subject to the fui-ther absorption of any nutritive parts which it may possess. Ultimately it is voided by the rectum in the shape of small nodules, which are compressed into that form by the action of the gut during the passage. The necessity of these observations will be evident when we come to consider the affections which are commonly known by the term diarrhoja, having their centre mostly in the intestinal canal, and their origin in material, which may be to some extent acrimonious, coming 636 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. in contact with the lining membrane of the canal. But not only have we causes of that kind atfecting the consistency of the fecculent matter, and. the amount of nutriment extracted from the food of the animal, but also very often an irritable condition of the bowels, pro- duced by causes not acting directly on the intestinal canal. Indirect causes frequently produce fatal cases of diarrhcea in sheep, particularly in young animals ; and it is therefore important to be able to separate the one cause from the other, and to ascertain whether it is acting directly or indirectly on the intestinal canal. The White Scour on Turnip Lands. In the case of very early lambs, losses frequently occur from what farmers term " white scour." When lambs are perhaps not more than four or five days old, there will be an exit of liquid evacuations of a pale colom', which are exceedingly sour, and to some extent even excoriate the parts they come in contact with. This white scour generally happens when the ewes are remarkably well fed ; and very seldom indeed when they are being fed on ordinary grasses, or even receiving only a moderate supply of turnips. In the ordinary case of ewes lambing on turnips, they are often supplied with a very large quantity of good turnips, and at the same time with a considerable amount of highly-nitrogcnised food in the shape of oats, peas, or oilcake, the object of the individual farmer being to fatten his ewes and his lambs together. This is a system which used to be followed to a certain extent in Middlesex. A farmer, under these circumstances, although he got his ewes into good condition very easily, and could get rid of them in the latter part of the year as fat ewes, yet lost a large number of lambs from " white scour." The real cause of this affection is, I believe, a peculiar condition of the lacteal secre- tion induced by this highly-nitrogenised food. The milk of the newly jjarturient animal is rich in an animalised product called colostrum, and if we examine milk very shortly after parturition, we shall find that in addition to the ordinary fatty globules which exist in such large numbers, there are present a considerable number of cells of large size filled mth granular matter. On the condition of these cells will the coloiu* of the milk depend : if present in large numbers, the milk will have a yellowish-brown apj)carance ; if their number is small, it will be of the ordinary colour. Now, in the ordinary state of things, these cells of colostrum very soon disap- pear, and they are met with very sparingly indeed in milk a few days after partm'ition. If, however, the animals are kept too well, the period is prolonged, and the young animal is subjected to a disturbing influence. It has been said that these cells exist in the milk, that nature may furnish her own purgative to a young animal, whose bowels are loaded with a peculiar substance, called mecovmm, and there can bo no doubt that milk which is rich in colostrum has a laxative effect on the intestinal canal. But further, we must regard these cells as agents which absolutely excite fermentation in the millc ; and there can bo no doubt, I thinlv, that lactic acid in excess is thereby pro- duced, so that Avhen the milk is received by the young animal, a more Tlie Digestive Qrfjar,s in Young Sheep. 637 than ordinarily firm cui'd is produced in the stomach. When a young animal partakes of milk, the milk (that is to say, its caseine) is acted upon by the gastric juice, and the first effect of digestion is tho coagulation of the caseine ; but after a short time the same cause acts upon the coagulum thus produced, and it is broken up or otherwise digested. Now, if you have an abnormal condition of the milk itself produced by a cause of this kind, yoii will find that when the clot is produced in the stomach of the young animal the gastric juice is not solvent enough to break it up ; so that it becomes an indigestible material, often accumulating to the extent of three or four pounds weight. The whey of the milk is passed thi'oiigh the intestinal canal, and is voided with the mucus of the intestines as an abnormal secre- tion and comes from the intestines in the form of a white fluid. I have seen many young animals fall a sacrifice to this state of things, because not merely had they functional derangement of the stomach and intestines, but absolutely inflammation of these organs. Tho animals then die of gastro-enteritis, induced by causes of this kind. For getting rid of the aflection, common sense would tell tho farmer to alter his management ; for you can hardly do anything that will be beneficial to the lambs without paying attention to the health and food of the ewes. Let the nitrogenized food be lessened in quantity, especially cease to use cake and corn for a certain time, and you will find fewer cases of this kind occurring. Thus you wall strike at the root of the evil at once. Something might be done also with regard to the lamb, whose sys- tem is ill-adapted to bear up against disease. It should be prevented from taking more milk for a day or two by being taken from the ewe, the necessary support being given it by well-boiled oatmeal gruel, and so on. Antacids should also be given, particularly bicarbonate of potash, which will have a tendency to break up the firm coagulum of caseine in the stomach ; and if this treatment be combined with a little gentle aperient and carminative medicine, the case may not be unsuccessfully dealt with. Perhaps as good a mixture as can be given to the lamb for a day or two while it is separated from the mother is a scruple of bicarbonate of potash, with about 10 grains of rhubarb, and from 5 to 10 grains nutmeg. Give this with a little pejipermint-water or gruel once or twice a day, and with such management as I have indicated the white scour will generally be arrested. DlARRH(EA. I pass on to speak of other derangements of the digestive system which lead to diarrhoea in young sheep prior to weaning. In considering the manner in which the animals are managed, attention must of course be paid to the system of farming. In the case of ewes upon tm-nips when the lambs are strong, the common practice is to use what are called lamb-hurdles, by means of which the lambs can run out of the fold on to the turnips, and retiu-n to the ewes at their will. If these turnips have a large amount of top quickly grown the lambs become subject to diarrhoea. On the other hand, if there is an advanced ripening of the turnips, the weather (338 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. Laving been genial, with scarcely any wet, the animals do re- markably well. Particularly is that the case if the turnips run up so as to produce their flowering stems, which the lambs can crop, not only with impunity, but with very great advantage. On the other hand, if the turnip-tops are immature, or only partially developed, or if the weather is wet, food of this kind, given as it mostly is in great abund- ance, will act as a direct irritant upon the mucous membrane of the stomach and the intestinal canal, and diarrhoea will be the result. Occasionally this functional derangement of the intestines leads to a partial attack of gastro-enteritis — in other words, to inflammation of the mucous membrane of the intestinal canal, and the young animal soon falls a sacrifice to the scoui-ing. Here, too, we have only to alter the system of management, by limiting the quantity of green im- matui-e tops that are given to the lambs, or substituting some other food. Fortunately at the period of the year when lambs are dropped turnips are very rarely found in this particular condition; but on certain soils and in certain states of the weather it will occasionally occm*. Diseases after Weaning. DiARUHCEA. After weaning, a large number of young lambs are lost, and from precisely the same cause, namely, diarrhoea. Here we frequently find that several causes are brought into operation, some of them unques- tionably of the same nature as those to which I have already alluded, and others totally different. If lambs are placed on clover or artificial grasses, and if the temperature is not only elevated, but a great deal of watery vapour is mixed mth the atmosjahere, the animals if they are eating largely of green succulent vegetable matter, particularly if unripe, will become affected with diarrhoea; and nothing less than an alteration of the management will be sufficient to stay the evil. Vegetable Hair Balls. But this affection is often induced by another cause. It is not, perhaps, so generally known as it ought to be, that the stems and leaves of broad-leaved clover have a large number of vegetable hairs upon them, and that these, when received into the stomach, are very apt to become agglutinated, and to be rolled into a ball-like form within the rumen. So long as substances of this kind remain in the rumen, or first stomach, it is a matter of no consequence whatever ; if they only reach the second stomach, as well as the first, it is also a matter of littlo moment ; but if they j)ass, as they are very likely to do, into the third stomach, or rather through the floor of the third stomach, directly into the fourth, they often become offending agents to this organ, and not unfrequcntly pass on, half digested, into the intestinal canal. I do not mean to say that very many cases of diarrhoea are attributable to causes of this kind, but we not unfre- qucntly find a diseased condition of the fourth stomach, and especially of the small intestines, induced by the presence of such bodies. Tke Digestive Organs in Young Sheep. 639 These substances are similar in form to tlie hair balls frequently foimd in the stomachs of fatting calves, but as connected with disease in the digestive organs they are of far greater moment in the case of young sheej) than in that of other young animals. A hair ball in a young calf very rarely indeed produces any mischief, unless it be passed or attempted to be passed into the mouth again, to be re-masticated, in which case it will often happen that choking ensues, as shown by several specimens in the Museum of the Royal Veterinary College. The chance of choking does not depend upon hair which is deglutated, or attempted to be deglutated ; but the evil actually occm-s from the hair as a ball passing upwards from the rumen. I am not aware of any diagnostic symptoms by which the presence of these vegetable hair balls can be detected ; it is only through a jjost mortem examina- tion that one can tell that an animal has suffered from such a cause. It is a common idea among farmers and shepherds that lambs die from wool-balls ; for though wool-balls are not to be confounded with vege- table hair-balls, the two are produced in a similar manner — that is, by the matting together of the wool or hair ; yet hair becomes matted much quicker than wool, and it is only when the animal is living on clover, and particularly broad-leaved clover, that hair-balls are found present to any great extent. Disease op the Lungs. Moreover, a large loss of lambs is found to arise fi*om diarrhoea as symptomatic of a diseased condition of the lungs. In investigating this disease, it is always necessary to endeavour to understand upon what the symptoms really depend. For want of this we frequently find a person saying, " I am losing a large number of lambs from scour ;" and he believes that this arises entirely from something that disagrees with the digestive organs of the sheep, or that some disease exists in those organs with the nature of which he is unacquainted. When you speak to him further on the subject, he will say, "I have changed the food of my animals ; some having died upon such a food, I put the others upon food of a different character ; they were upon artificial grasses, and I put them upon natural grasses; they were upon clover, and I put them ujjon artificial grasses. I have given them corn, peas, and so on ; and though they will not eat much dry food, which is not to be expected when they can get green and succu- lent food at this time of the year, nevertheless, I find that a lax state of the bowels is as prevalent among them now as it was a week or two ago." If you ask this man, " Have you noticed whether your lambs are coughing ? " he will reply, " Yes, I have found them coughing very much, and I have observed that the coughing preceded the diarrhoea." This he will say, though knowing very little about what the coughing depended upon. Now, this form of diarrhea is really due to the presence of entozoa within the bronchial tubes of the lambs; and the diarrhoea is but symjitomatic, coming on as one of the last things in the break up of the animal machine. We know that in several affections of the limgs in sheep or other animals the disease 640 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. is often accompanied with diarrhoea. In cases where there has not been a healty and perfect decarbonisation of the blood, from struc- tural disease of the lungs, diarrhoea often results. Take, by way of illustration, that disease which in the human subject is known by the name of i^hthisis. It is well known that some persons who are at- tacked by this disease have diarrhoea, and when the disease tends to a fatal termination the diarrhoea becomes very copious, and life is some- times sacrificed through the depression of the animal powers thus produced. Nevertheless, the origin of the diarrhoea is disease of the lungs, which prevents them from performing their i:)roper functions, viz., the proper decarbonisation of the blood. This accounts to some extent for the presence of diarrhoea in sheep. The Filaria Bkonchialis. Now, this filaria hroncMalis is a worm, which I am justified in saying is somewhat on the increase. We can readily imderstand why it should be so : for although we really know very little of the natural history of the worm, or of the best means at our disposal for getting rid of it, we can see the likelihood of the afiection passing from sheep to sheep, and from farm to farm. So long as we are unable, through studying their natural history, to get rid of these worms before they pass into the organism of the sheep, so long shall we be contending with a disease which is in reality om- master ; and we may therefore look for a great increase of cases of this kind. With regard to the circum- stances which favour an attack, it is rather remarkable that though on no description of land is there absolute immunity, yet sheep kejit in open light-land districts are far less frequently attacked than those kept in enclosed spaces, and particularly sheep which are kept at that particular period of the year already alluded to in parks. With re- ference to the worm itself, it would appear that even if only one or two of the worms, being of diflerent sexes, find their way into the bronchial tubes, that would be quite sufficient to lay the foimdation for extensive disease of the lungs. They lay this foundation by tra- velling as far as they can through the bronchial tubes (which are con- tinuations of the windpipe) into the very air-cells of the lungs, where they deposit their ova. As the result of that deposition of ova, which may be said to be in myriads, irritation is set up first in the lining membrane of the air-cells, which extends to the parenchyma of the lung. The lung then imdergoes a peculiar change : it becomes altered in colour, it will sink in water, and, as an aerifying organ, it is in many parts altogether destroyed. This often takes place, particularly on the fringe or edge of the lung, but not unfrequcntly in other por- tions. The brood of young worms is hatched absolutely in the bron- chial tubes and in the air-cells of the lungs •, so that the large quantity of these worms which are frequently met with in the bronchial tubes did not enter from without, but were produced within. These crea- tures may, so far as their immediate develojiment is concerned, be termed ovo-viviparous — that is to say, a great number of eggs will bo thrown out as eggs ; but frequently the young worm will escape from those eggs while yet within the parent. In making a section of the The Difjestwe Orr/ans in Young Sheep. 641 lung, talcing the smallest possible quantity on tlio point of a scalpel, just sufficient to soil a piece of glass, you will see, in a space of the size of a drop of water, millions of eggs just hatched ; and if you examine an old worm, you will see eggs in all stages of development ; so that she brings forth her young in a living form, and also in the form of eggs more or less mature. Now, one worm will produce — if I were to use figures here I should have to speak of billions, and even of trillions — an immense number of eggs, and we can therefore easily understand how avast amount of mischief may be done, even by one or two worms. But now the question arises, Hov/ did this one worm get there ? Where does the parent worm come from ? We must repudiate the theory of fortuitous generation. I no more believe in the fortuitous generation of a worm, or of the lowest form of animal life, than I believe in the spontaneous origin of myself. We must look for other causes. And here we have opened to us a vast field of investigation as yet scarcely entered upon. I have experimented again and again with this class of worms, which are designated by the name of nematoid or hollow worms, and in every experiment I have failed to produce them within the windpipe. I would, then, throw it out as a probable cause of their existence, that a great number of the ova are expelled in the coughing of the sheep with the mucus which is coughed up. Large numbers are, I believe, expelled at each coughing, mingled with the mucous ; and I would just hint at it, as a probable thing, that these ova come to maturity to some extent externally to the sheep ; that certain plants — it may be ordinary grasses — become the habitat of these creatures in an immature form, and that in this condition they are taken into the organisation of the sheep, and as each entozoon has its own particular locale, these creatures very soon find their way into the windpipe, and a very few doing so are productive of immense mischief. Now, I am inclined to believe that this is really the means by which their pre- sence is to be accounted for. We cannot for a moment suppose that all the worms which we meet in the lungs, for example, under circum- stances of this kind, can have entered from without. We cannot sup- pose the explanation to be that the ova floating in the atmosphere are, after they have become somewhat dry, received into the respiratory organs, and there become matured. There are some things which appear to me to militate strongly against that view of the matter. I have, for example, broken up many old worms when yet alive, and having thus procured eggs in various stages of development, I have placed them in different kinds of fluid, none of which could interfere with their vitality, and have in this manner brought them in contact with the nostrils of sheep. Not only have I done that, but I have used a thick mucus, like gum-water, putting into it a number of living worms, as well as a large number of ova, and have administered this very slowly to sheep, so that it might hang round the mouth, and the worms might travel down the windpipe ; but, singular to relate, in all these experiments I have failed. Knowing that )iomatoid worms are perfected to a certain extent out of the organism, I have been led to the conclusion that it is not improbable— I do not say it is positively the case— that the ova themselves are the real cause of the mischief ; 642 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. that, being expelled in the manner I have mentioned, they become parasitic to some vegetable matter, and, being thus taken into the sheep, produce disease. This would explain why, if you put fresh sheep on a farm where the worm affection has existed, those sheep become diseased, and the evil continues year after year. We know that weather often has an influence by rendering animals more suscej)- tible ; and we know, too, that particular systems of management have an influence ; but we are now looking at the matter in an abstract point of view, and I throw out the hint that this may be one cause of the increase of the disease. There are a large number of worms which affect sheep in particular, some occupying the true stomach itself, under the influence of which sheep will die in a dropsical condition ; and from this cause, under all circumstances and conditions, and at all ages, scores and scores of sheep are at this moment being lost. There is no diarrhcea in a case of this description. Within the last few days I have received some worms of exactly the same class as those found in wild rabbits ; and I believe that the worm which is found in the stomachs of sheep is one that exists in other creatures, and it may be common to half-a- dozen kinds of animals. One word with regard to the means for getting rid of the lax con- dition of the bowels regarded as symptomatic of limg affection. As in this instance diarrhoea is not a disease affecting the alimentary canal, it is not our object to give astringents. No change of food, no medicine, having that object in view, will produce any benefit at all. We must endeavour either to get rid of the worms as they exist in the trachea or in the bronchial tubes of the-lamb, or to root out the disease which they have produced within the lungs. The best thing we can do is of course to attempt to get rid of the worms themselves and destroy the broods as they follow one another ; and this can be effected only by getting the sheep to inhale a medicated atmosphere. Perhaps, however, I should not say "only," because it is well known that there are certain worm-destroyers which, on being given to sheep, are quickly diffused through the system, and are found beneficial in destroying these worms. But these anthel- mintics are often i:)owerless, so that after all we have to come back to a medicated atmosphere, which can be used with great facility, safety, and advantage. If sheep be placed once a day, or perhaps once every other day, in a shed, so arranged that the animals can be got to inhale the fumes of burning tar into which sulphur is cast from time to time, and the atmosphere is thus impregnated with sulphurous vapour, wo shall find that we destroy, probably, not the parent or matured worms, but a very large number of those recently hatched. I do not suppose that we have any influence over the ova as ova, but we have consider- able influence over the young worms ; and I believe also, to use a homely phrase, that we give a " notice to quit " to the old worms. We make their habitat rather untenantable to them, and the result is that they are inclined to quit the body, and so some of them are got rid of. Then many lives may bo saved if we strengthen the constitution The Digestive Oi'gans in Young Sheep, 643 of tlio animal by generous diet. Here we may take such an agent as turpentine in conjunction with a little balsam of sulphur and a little oil, than which I do not know a nicer anthelmintic. Turpentine, although a diuretic, is found to be got rid of in the animal system to some extent through the medium of the resjiiratory organs. It is an agent which becomes quickly diffused throughout the system of the animal that takes it, affecting even the breath, the milk, and other secretions. It acts powerfully on the kidneys and on the mucous membranes of the lungs, and is an energetic destroyer of entozoa ; so that persons may give turpentine, in conjunction with the old- fashioned balsam of sulphur and a little oil, from day to day, with considerable advantage to their lambs. This must be followed by the use of sulphate of iron in the food of the animal, with corn diot ; and much benefit will be found to ensue. II. The TEicocEPHAiiiTS. We also find, particularly in the situations to which I have referred, intestinal parasites, which are the cause gf the direct irritation of tho mucous membrane of the alimentary canal, and are necessarily asso- ciated with diarrhoaa. There are two foi^ms of worms particularly which inhabit the intestinal canal and lay the foundation for diarrhoea. One of them is a worm called, from the peculiarity of its formation, the tricocephalus, or hair-headed worm. Though common in many animals besides sheep, it exists to a greater extent in them than among any other domesticated animals. These tricocephali are very often a great source of mischief. They burrow their heads into the mucous membrane, and exist more particularly in the cfccum and colon than in any other of the large intestines, and but very rarely in the gmaller. Dwelling there, and producing an irritation of the intestinal canal, they cause the hurrying on of the contents of the intestines, and diarrhoea, in fact, results from the local irritation. These worms are with great diificidty diagnosed — that is to say, looking at the sheep, we cannot at fii'st say whether they are or are not the cause of diarrhoea. If, however, a large number of sheep are afiected, and a good deal of mucous is discharged with the alvine evacuations, if all ordinary means of arresting tho diarrhoea fail, and if tho animals, although wasting, nevertheless have a tolerably good appetite, we may come to the conclusion that tho diarrhoea is due to the presence of worms ; for, as a general rule, when worms exist in the intestines of almost any animal, there is rather an increase than a diminution of the appetite. Generally speaking, when we eflect the expulsion of the tricocephali, they come away in a mass. They have a peculiar liking for each other ; for no sooner do they quit their hold of the mucous membrane of the intestinal canal than they run together, thus producing a large lump or mass. In this way they are usually expelled ; and it is with difficulty that you can separate one of these long-necked worms withoiit breaking it, in consequence of its neck being twisted in all possible directions with that of others. The Sclerostoma. Another kind of worm, not so well known as the tricocephalus, but also the cause of diarrhoea in sheep, is the one designated sclerostoma. G44 Ahstrnct Report of Agricultural Discussions. liard-lipped or liard-moiitliecl worm. This also exists in tlio large intestines, attaches itself by its sucking disc or mouth to them, feeds on the juices of the animal, and lays the foundation for diarrhoea in the same manner as the tricocephali do. Very frequently these two kinds of worms coexist in immense numbers, and I myself have taken great numbers of both from the same animal. Now, before throwing out a hint as to the best means of getting rid of these, I will refer to otlier worms which are present in the intestinal canal, and about which persons are exceedingly solicitous ; I mean Tapewobms. They are more common in lambs than sheep. They often exist in large numbers, and I have seen as many as a dozen or so in the intes- tines of one animal. Their natural history is pretty well made out ; they are, in fact, the perfect entozoa arising out of hydatids, those pecu- liar bladder-like bodies which are met with in different parts of the organism of various animals, and which are nothing more nor less than the scolices of tapeworms. I believe that the dog is infested with something like seven or eight varieties of tapeworm, and, with one exception, I believe the whole history of the tapeworm is known. In common with Dr. Cobbold, I have for some time been engaged in investigating the development of this class of entozoa, and I have by me, as Dr. Cobbold has also, tapeworms produced from various hydatids which have been given to dogs, cats, and other carnivorous animals. We have them at various ages. We gave the hydatids to the dog, and killed him within a certain number of days, and found the jiroduct of the hydatids present. And so we followed the develop- ment of these creatures from time to time. I refer to these exjieri- ments to show that we know something pretty certain with regard to the tapeworm, but little as to the nematoid worm ; for as to how these tricocei:)hali and sclerostoma get into the intestines and in- crease in number, all we know ^ is that they are oviparous, perfect male and female. Take some of the large intestinal worms by way of illustrating this point. You have seen in the horse and in other animals a large worm-, nearly a foot in length, very like the earthworm, but very white in colour, and called, because it is like the earthworm, the lumbricoid worm. I have a specimen in my possession of a pig's intestines, with worms in it six or eight inches long, though the pig was only six weeks old. There arc not less than between 200 and 300 ci-ammed into the intestines, and the worms are developed to the size of an ordinary quill. I have other worms taken from dogs only three weeks old, and these worms, though they are not lumbricoid, are fully matured. In fact, they had been perfectly formed in that short space of time ; but, strange to say, though they are found of various sizes and of perfect form, you never find a young one as the immediate product of these parent worms. Here is an egg which is not visible to the native eye : that egg has to produce a yoimg worm, which is to be developed somewhere; yet we never see it in such a form as to enable us to say that it is a young lumbricoid worm. We Icnow nothing about them ; but here is this fact, that if you take one of these worms, cut it up, put it in a jar of water, allow it to remain The Digestive Organs in Young Sheep. 645 there for ton or twelve montlis, and tlien examine tlie deposit at the bottom, wliicli has the aj)pearance of so much decomposed matter, you will see the young worms beginning to exist in the eggs, and not before. Their vitality is preserved. They undergo a subsequent change. The young worm is produced ; it becomes parasitic, and enters the intestines and stomach of the animal. So that in reality we open up a vast field of science — one that will amply repay an indi- vidual for cultivating it, but which will require a life, or two or three, to make anything out of it at all. Eejiedial Agents. As a means of getting rid of these intestinal worms as a cause of diarrhcea, I believe that great benefit would result from the daily use of salt. Even though the lambs are scouring, and salt is otherwise objectionable, a certain quantity of it mingled with ordinary food will be found effectual in arresting diarrhoea. Besides that, advantage will result from the more direct anthelmintic agents. Let balls, which are preferable to draughts, be made of Venice tiu'pentine, with sulphate of iron and some gentian. Give them to the sheep, and you will find that you bring away these tricocepliali and coUus-tcenia in very large numbers. Then, having got rid of this cause, ordinary attention and dry food will be effectual in restoring the health of the animal. Straw as Food. But besides the forementioned causes of diarrhoea in lambs, we have occasionally other agents that are of an opposite character. Sheep suffer less than any other animals from what we may call an excess of indigestible woody fibre. We will suppose, by way of illustra- tion, that a man has a number of young weaning calves, or under a year old. He is rather niggard. He has heard a great deal about the nutritive properties of straw, and he thinks fit to have it cut into chaff, and supplied to his animals in excess, I know what will be the result. He will have a certain number of cases of diarrhoea, and occasionally sustain severe losses in consequence. That diarrhoea depends upon the direct irritating effects of the indigesta upon the intestinal canal. It is a material that is not properly digested and assimilated. The fact is that straw is straw, and in the body of an animal you can make nothing else out of it. You may rely upon it that a very small quantity of blood will come out of it ; whilst there is a great deal of indigestible material in it, which acts as an irritant on the intestinal canal, and produces diarrhoea. Sheep will now and then suffer from similar causes. If a man gives too much chaff' and too little corn to his sheep, or if he withholds a certain quantity of green and succulent food at the commencement of ■winter, there will be frequent cases of diarrhoea. The same amount of mischief, however, is not produced in sheep as in cattle, because sheep, though ruminating animals, gather their food in a somewhat different manner from oxen ; they take more pains, in short, in masticating their food. Hence, when sheep are uj)on pastures, we see them feeding very closely, and masticating every mouthful for a longer time than the ox, which VOL. III. — S. S. 2 U GAQ Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. swallows Ms food in a mass. Cliaff is partaken of in the same manner. In these circumstances a change of food becomes necessary, and acts beneficially. It is not necessary to give astringents, because they do not strike at the root of the evil. Eemove the cause, then, and the effect will cease. DiARRHCEA EeGARDED AS A SyMPTOM OF DiSEASE. Now, not only these several causes, and a number of others to which I have not referred, are productive of mischief ; but diarrhoea is also very often symptomatic of other diseases. If I wanted the best illus- tration of this which science affords, I should direct attention to the circumstance of sheep becoming affected with the malady which we term cattle-plague. Here we have a disease which in the sheep is invariably, I believe, associated with dysenteric purging. Hence, we get an apt illustration of morbific matter carried into the organism of an animal, and so deranging its entire system, as to lay the foundation of a fatal attack of diarrhoea. I have thus thrown out a few hints with regard to some of the causes which produce derangement of the intes- tinal canal, and I know I have done so very imperfectly. I will only say, in concluding, that among our most useful astringents for arrest- ing diarrhoea are galls. Next to the use of astringents stands the neutralisation of the acid secretions which come from the mucous membrane of the alimentary canal in all cases of diarrhoea — without reference to the causes that produce it — by means of ant-acids, j)articu- larly bicarbonate of potash, which is a most effective agent. If we feel a disturbance or a lax state of the bowels coming on, we shall frequently find that by abstaining from food and taking a good bold dose of carbonate of soda, the complaint will be checked at once ; for the simple reason that the carbonate neutralises the acid secretion which exists, even without reference to the causes which have given rise to the diarrhoea. The Chairman asked the Professor if he had ever analysed the hair- balls of which he spoke ? Professor Sijionds had only examined them microscoj^ically. They were composed entirely of vegetable hairs ; the mucus of the intestines glued the hairs together, and converted them into a species of felt. The Chairman, in reference to tape-worms, said he saw one, 24 feet long, which came from a dog of his, last summer. Professor Simonds : In oxen these worms attain an extraordinary length. True, they were not common to the ox, but he had seen them come from that animal double the length to which the Chairman re- ferred. The worm known as Taenia elongata was so designated in consequence of its immense length. The Chairman said, among sheep about twelve months old, bred in the mountains, there was a disease known by the name of " the sick- ness." These sheep lived on coarse food and experienced a good deal of wet and cold ; and the loss from this cause was very severe in the hilly districts of the north. When he was amongst the hills some time ago he advised the farmers to give their sheep peas, beans, and things of that sort, and the farmers now said that he was the best The Digestive Organs in Young Sheep. 647 doctor they had ever seen. The sheep were affected with diarrhoea to a very great extent. He observed that Professor Simonds had not referred to the quantity of milk taken by young lambs. His own impression was that they took a great deal too much, more indeed than their delicate stomachs could well convert into food. Sheep that were highly fed gave a good deal of milk, and their lambs seemed more liable to disease than those of sheep which were lean and yielded less milk. Had the Professor noticed that ? Professor Suvionds replied that he had, and was inclined to think that lambs which had the opportunity of going to their dams as often as they liked would rarely be found to glut themselves. It was not because the animal had taken a glut of milk that they got these large accumulations of curd. In reality it was often seen that when an ordinary quantity of milk had been taken the cui'd accumulated in the stomach. The Chairman said, with regard to the digestibility of milk, it was generally believed that rich milk was easier of digestion than weak. Professor Voelcker desired to make a remark or two on the question how far food of the same description — for instance, tui'nips or grass — at diiferent periods of their growth affected the health of cattle, by producing either constipation or diarrhoea. There was a very great difference in the effects which food of the same kind produced. He believed that the land on which the food was grown had much to do with this ; for he knew practically that there were some soils which invariably grew produce that was termed "scoui-iug food." Such were the scouring lands of Somersetshire, which lay upon the lias, and almost invariably had the effect of producing diarrhoea. This varied with the season, and it was remarkable that in hot summers the land became more scoui-ing than at the colder periods of the year. It has been observed that the period most dangerous to the sheep was when they were put on clover or natiu-al grasses, at the time the herbage was making rapid gi'owth. Thus, when warm weather set in suddenly, after much rain had fallen in the early part of the year, there was a rapid development of leaf, and the produce became very sour. He believed that this was not merely attributable to the pre- sence of much water — an opinion entertained by practical feeders — but was also due to the imperfect condition — the want of elaboration in the crude juices of the plant. Having examined that subject he had constantly found that a large amount of crude nutritive matter was present. It was not true, as was sometimes maintained, that unripe food contained a deficiency of nitrogenous matter ; the very reverse was the case ; if the food were too rapidly grown they would inva- riably find much nitrogenous matter in it, but not in the form of albumen, of caseine, or of any definite chemical compound : they found it — he could hardly say in what condition, but ho could tell them in what condition it was not — it was not as nutritive albumen, or as nutritive gluten, or in any form which was commonly designated flesh-producing — it was unelaborated crude feeding material. Then there was also present in this rapidly-developed young produce a very much larger proportion than usual of saline matters which were taken 2 u 2 648 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. from the soil, and were evidently stii-red np in tlie plant, to serve afterwai'ds in tlie assimilation of atmospheric food and its conversion into sugar, gum, and other nutritive siibstances. This imelaboratcd matter and this excess of saline or mineral substances, which often abound in clay, had a tendency to produce a laxative effect upon sheep, and oxen also. Moreover, in very young produce a much larger proportion of vegetable acids was invariably present than in riper produce ; and these organic acids no doubt had a medicinal effect when taken internally ; there they were converted into sugar and became real nutritive mattei-s. These organic acids differ much in their character ; in the earliest stages of growth an acid was pro- duced which gave way to another very similar in composition, but different in its effects on the living organism. The acid to which he alluded (oxalic acid), was found in very yoimg rhubarb ; it was not, however, confined to rhubarb stems, but occm-red as perhaps the most common and widely circulated acid in the vegetable organism. Within a week this acid — a deadly poison, would pass into the form of citric acid — a similar composition, but different in its effects.. The citric was then changed into malic acid, one acid succeeding another, until finally they disappeai'ed, or became neutralised by the very materials which were accimiulating in the vegetable organism. The result of these chemical changes in the ripening of the food — changes which had not yet been investigated so minutely as their importance deserved — was that the food became totally different in its practical effects. In corroboration of what he now said, he might remind them that very early in the season it was an extremely dangerous thing to eat much rhubarb-pie. When the rhubai'b became plentiful and cheap, then he ventured upon it — not because it was cheap, however, but because he knew that by that time the oxalic acid had disappeared, and had given place to malic acid — the acid of the apple — or to citric acid, which was extremely gi-ateful to one's constitution. Mr. Fbebe considered that the loss of lambs was often hardest to control in the autumn, especially on the richer pastui'es. He had been informed by a gentleman who farmed good rich grass lands in the Isle of Ely that they used to have such losses from scoiu- in his father's lifetime, that they had almost given up keeping hoggets ; but his father being a malster determined to try malt, and it proved to be of so much service, that it had been employed ever since, removing any apprehension about stocking the land with yoimg sheep in the autumn. On his own di-y light-land faiin he was free from the forms of the malady of which Professor Simonds had spoken, and experienced no practical difficulty until he arrived at the end of July, that is, until the sheep had been over the layers once ; from that time, however, difficulties would arise, and careful, vigilant ma- nagement be particularly required ; if the lambs were fed entirely or mainly on the stale layer, diarrhaea would inevitably set in. He met the difficiilty in this way ; early in April he put some early rape on the strongest of his land, which would best bear it in the warmest months of the year ; in the middle of July he folded the lambs on The Digestive Organs in Young Sheep. 649 that at night, giving them a free range for a few hours in the day on the layers, which had already been folded over once. As they chiefly ate the rape they did perfectly well so long as it lasted. Then, when the rape was gone, his next green crop in snccession would be early Pomeranian turnips. He had tried pulling some of these and feeding upon the old depastured layer, but diarrhoea set in almost immediately. He wished to ask the Professsor to what cause he would attribute this disease, seeing that in his case it had occm-red within a few days of the lambs being made to depend on the foul layer, and that the malady abated directly they were taken off it. Perhaps he might be disposed to attribute it to some form of worms ; but the objection to that solution is that the space of time during which the lambs were on the layer was so short, that there was no symptom whatever of any mischief brewing before they went upon it, and that the malady ceased within a day or two after they were taken off. The layer was Dutch clover and trefoil ; the time was the month of July last, prior to the heavy falls of rain. Professor Sdioxds : The fact was pretty well known that in practice it was not judicious to allow lambs to follow ewes, as it was termed. If lambs were constrained to partake of food where ewes had been before them, injmy might result to their young organisms from the quantity of feculent matter which would be lying about, and in pro- cess of undergoing chemical changes. That would be a source of mischief; but it was further inferred that the land having been manui'ed on the surface, the young herbage would grow up very quickly, particularly in showery weather. Thus they got an unripe leaf of plant, and this he should consider the chief cause in operation. Indeed, he should look to the manuring on the surface, the rapid gK)wth of the vegetable matter, and its immature condition, as ex|jla- natory of the fact, rather than to anything else. Mr. FixLAT DrxxE said the same rajnd growth, with the like effect produced on the bowels of sheep, occui-red on the richer lands during the spring months. On the better grazing lands of the midland counties they could not keep their lambs without experiencing a good deal of trouble from scour. Very often they died off in large nimibers, as described by Professor Simonds, when apparently strong, hearty, and thi'iving rapidly, from ten days to a fortnight old ; and he be- lieved the cause to be that the land was really too strong and the grass too good for them : it was in a rapidly gi-owing state : it was undergoing changes ; probably it was more easily fermented, and so gave rise to a disturbance of the delicate digestive organs of the young animal. He had been very much gi-atiiied and instructed by the able and most useful lecture of Professor Simonds. Every year a large number of animals were foimd to be infested with these creatures, and the great difficulty was to cope with the malady when the flock was being increased. The only way, as it appeared to him. of materially lessening it, was by varying the food, and giving a larger quantity of diy food. He might remark, that he had found great advantage, not only in cases of scom'iug. but also in connection with worms, in giving sheep a small quantity of lime-water with turpentine. Others who 650 Abstract Rejmrt of Agricultural Discussions. by Ms advice laacT used tliis remedy had found it answer better than any other. Most persons were too much inclined to rely on medi- cines, and he agreed with the Professor that they should look more to causes. The Chairman in proposing a vote of thanks to Professor Simonds said that, as a practical farmer he quite believed almost everything the Professor had told them ; and he agreed with Mr. Dunne, that the only remedy for the evil in question was to endeavour to protect flocks before the disease had got a firm hold. 3Ieetmg of Weeldij Council, Tuesday, April 2nd. Mr. Thompson", President, in the Chair. A Lecture was delivered by Professor VoECKER on The Eelative Value and Manurial Properties of Purchased Food. Dr. VoELCKER said : In no other country is the art of feeding so well understood as in England. Foreigners, on coming to this country, are surprised when they look at its fat stock, and still more so when told in what an incredibly short time it is fattened for the butcher. For the superior skill which distinguishes the British farmer in comparison with continental stock-feeders there are several reasons, which it may not be amiss briefly to consider, by way of introduction to this subject. They are, indeed, so well known to us, that it is the more surprising that our continental neighbours seem to ignore some of the most rudimentary principles with which every stock-feeder in England is well acquainted. The first oversight is " the proper selection of stoclc." The English farmer has learnt to appreciate the advantage of having well-bred animals to fatten, and therefore abstains from spending money upon coarse, ill-bred beasts, which do not thrive upon any kind of food, and, as the saying is, soon " eat their heads off." A second point is that the English feeder has learnt that iJie sooner he can, hy good feeding, prepare his animals for the hutcher, though he may spend more money in a given time, the better it will be in the end ; not that he is satisfied with merely giving his stock an abundance of food, but he is very careful in placing before them such mixtures as he has been taught by his own experience are most approiH'iatc to the object in view. A third point is, that whilst in many j)a'i"ts of France, Germany, and Holland, and, indeed, throughout the continent of Ern'oi^e, animals are half-starved in their infancy, the British farmer supplies his young stock abundantly ivith cahe and food usually called con- centrated, or, in chemical language, nitrogenous ; nor does he cram yoimg stock with chaff, innutritions grass, and similar bulky food, which on the continent is given too much, to the exclusion of more concentrated nitrogenous food. I should not like to saj^ a word in disparagement of straw as food, which is most valuable in its proper place ; indeed, for fattening beasts, which are abundantly supplied Relative Value and Manurial Properties of Purchased Food. 651 with oil-cake, if liay-ctaff is not at command, a certain amount of tender straw-cliaff is almost indispensable. Young stock, however, should not be supplied with food which is so poor in fibre-producing substances, as straw is proved to be, and the English breeder seems to have learnt this practical lesson from his own experience. But perhaps the maia reason why the English breeder and feeder of stock excels foreigners so much is, that he is an emmenilij practical man, who, by placing at difierent times all kinds of food, good, bad, and indifferent, before his animals, has learnt by dint of sheer experience what is best suited to them. On the continent, on the contrary, the science of nutrition has been much more studied than the art of feeding. Very little attention has been paid to practical feeding experiments, such as those conducted so carefully and successfully by Mr. Lawes of liothamsted, which are quite unique ; so that those desiring information on the subject would do well to study the valuable records of his experiments, as published from time to time in the Society's Journal ; more especially his paper on pigs, which is quite a model paper on experimental feeding. The art of feeding and fattening stock is a peculiarly practical one, and can only be acquired by practical experience. The scientific experimenter with precon- ceived notions on the subject of nutrition is too apt to forget that he has to deal with, not merely dead receptacles, but living creatiu-es, with a nervous system, peculiarities of habit;, and an organism, which must be considered at the very outset. The whole subject, however, of nutrition is, and probably will continue to be, in a great measure, enveloped in mystery; and so long as we cannot clearly establish prhiciples applicable in every instance, it would be unwise to throw overboard the results of actual farming exi^erience, and to fatten according to the prevailing theories of the day. It may be instructive to examine the way in which continental physiologists and agricultural chemists endeavour to get a deeper insight into the chemistry of food, and the powers of animals to assimilate flesh and fat, and so on. In studying the process of nutrition, they proceed by supplying animals with what they con- ceive to be enough food to keep them at their live weight ; they then experiment with different kinds of food, the weight of which is arranged according to its composition ; and from the results of the weighings they derive general deductions, according to which they estimate the value of the food. In England, on the contrary, even in accurate feeding experiments, the plan is to put before the animals an abundance of food of different kinds, to let them choose what they will take, to ascertain afterwards what has been taken up in the animal organism, and how much has passed into excreta, and then deducting from the total amount of food the matters which remain undigested, or have been altered in various ways in their passage through the animals, the English experimentalist seeks to arrive at some conclusion as to the value of the food usually given to cattle. Now this plan appears to me by far the more rational. The chemistry of food has engaged the attention of many scientific men. The literatm-e of the subject is very extensive ; and to chemists 652 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. and pliysiologists of the liigliest order, including Boussingault, Liebig, Bishop, and Voyd on tlie continent, and Lawes and Gilbert in this country, farmers are largely indebted for elaborate and useful researches. Certain principles have been distinctly established by their joint labours, but a great deal remains to be done before we can get a much deeper insight into the mystery of nutrition. We iindoubtedly possess certain advantages over the generation which immediately preceded us, and these enable us to select, with greater certainty, the kind of food best adapted to particular cases, whether working oxen, milch cows, or fattening stock. We have also learnt to form a more correct estimate of the real money value of food. As the subject of animal nutrition is too wide for a single lecture, I shall limit my remarks to the chemistry op purchased food, and shall direct special attention to the fact that the money value of such food is very materially influenced by the value of the food constituents which pass through the animal in the form of solid and liquid excre- ments. It is well known that the manurial properties of different kinds of food vary exceedingly. Thus the dung of animals fed upon oil-cake, or uj)on peas, lentils, and leguminous seeds in general, is very much more fertilising than that of straw-fed beasts. Hence it may be useful for us to inquire into the relative manurial values of the principal kinds of purchased food. The following list probably includes all or nearly all the articles at the present time brought into the market and em^^loyed by the British farmer as auxiliary feeding materials : linseed, linseed-cake of various kinds, earthnut-cake (commonly called nut-cake), rape-cake, cotton-cake (decorticated and undecorticated). These cakes form, so to speak, the first class purchased food. Secondly, we have beans, peas, lentils, and fenugreek. These legu- minous seeds form a second class of purchased food. In the third class I arrange together the farinaceous seeds — Indian corn, wheat, barley, oats; and, by way of appendix, I add malt, malt-dust, bran, and pollard. Then, in a fourth class, I put together the following materials, which are now and then in the market, and are useful auxiliary foods : palm-nut meal, locust-beans, brewers' grains (which may be had at a moderate price by farmers who are well situated for obtaining them), and molasses. In every kind of food we find the following classes of food-con- stituents ; nitrogenous, or flesh-forming substances ; and fat-j)roducing substances, which may be conveniently divided into two groups, in their order of merit : (1) ready made fat ; and (2) sugary or starchy food ; ready made fat being much more valuable than either sugar or starch. Indeed, I shall not be far wrong in saying that one part, in weight, of fat or oil is as valuable as a feeding material as two-and-a-half parts of sugar or starch, or any analogous compounds. Among starchy compoimds I include the vegetable jelly pectine, and pectinous sub- stances ; and not far removed from starch and more digestible pectinous matters is the young cellular fibre, which is digestible to a consider- able extent, and ought to be taken into account in estimating the Relative Value and Manurial Properties of Purchased Food. 653 value of different articles of food. Then we have in all feeding ma- terials the woody fibre, which, being indigestible, possesses no feeding value. Lastly, we have the mineral matters, which play an important part in the animal economy, inasmuch as they supply bone materials, and also the various salts which are requisite in the formation of blood, and are invariably present in the juices of flesh and other secretions. On examining these different classes of food, we find that the rela- tive proportions of their chief feeding constituents vary exceedingly. The nitrogenous or flesh-producing substances, as they are generally called, although in reality they do not produce, par excellence, butcher's meat, are particularly abundant in all kinds of oil-cake and leguminous grains, more especially in decorticated cotton-cake, and next to it in order, earthniit-cake. The proportion of nitrogen in leguminous seeds very nearly approaches that in oil-cake. Cereal grains contain on the average only half the proportion of nitrogenous substances contained in leguminous products. Now the feeding value of the articles of food given to stock really depends not so much on the amount of flesh-forming constituents, or in other words, ou the amoimt of nitrogen which the different kinds of food are shown by analysis to contain, as on the proportion of ready-made fat, and sub- stances capable of producing it. It must be remembered that in butcher's meat we have invariably a mixture of lean, muscle, fibre, and fat ; and the mixture is much more readily produced from food, having a fair proportion of albuminous matter with an excess of starchy sub- stances or of ready-made fat, than from food containing an excess of flesh-forming constituents — albumen, caseine, gluten, or their equiva- lents. The food, then, which is richest in nitrogen, is not exactly that which produces butcher's meat most readily, or at the lowest cost. The value of oil-cakes depends in a gi'eat measiu'e on the amount of ready-made fat which they contain. Hence a foreign cake, poor in oil and very hard- pressed, is not equal as a meat -producing auxiliary food to good English oil-cake not much squeezed in the oil- mill. This perhaps is one reason why hard-pressed Marseilles cake is not so well adapted for the fattening of stock as it is for young stock. The reason why foreign cake is inferior to English cake as a fattening material is, that well-made English cake is generally richer in ready- made fat and oil. Eegarded merely as feeding materials, the various food-constituents follow each other in value in the following order : (1) ready-made fat and oil ; (2) starch, sugar, and pectine ; (3) nearly equal to starch or sugar is quite young digestible cellular fibre ; (4) then come the albu- minous substances — gluten, caseine, vegetable albumen, and analogous materials ; (5) lastly, we have mineral substances and woody fibre, possessing scarcely any feeding value. The money value of food, however, as I have already intimated, does not depend simply upon the actual amount of feeding materials which it contains, but also upon the value of the fertilising elements which pass through the animal into dimg. Let us, therefore, inquire which 654 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. of the food constituents easily pass into dung, and wliat is the money- value of these fertilising constituents ? First, then, we have to consider whether fat, starch, or sugar easily passes through the animal. They sometimes do pass through. If oil- cake, for instance, is badly bruised, or given too abundantly, a good deal of ready-made fat passes through the animal, and considerable loss is thereby experienced; for, though ready-made fat, and starch, and sugar are most valuable feeding constituents, they absolutely possess no value whatever as fertilising constituents. We should, therefore, aim at as complete assimilation of the fatty or starchy matters in the animal's body as is possible ; taking car^ so to feed the animal that the starchy food constituents may be as completely burnt up or altered as possible. It may be objected to this view of the subject that several oily sub- stances, such as whale-blubber, sprats, fish-refuse, and similar oily substances, are renov/ned for their fertilising value. I am quite aware that materials which are largely imjyregnated loitli oil are fre- quently used with great advantage as fertilisers ; but their fertilising value is entirely owing to the nitrogenous matter which they contain, and not in the least to oily matters : indeed they would be all the better if they contained no oil whatever; for oil, fat, starch, sugar, pectine, and similar things, consist of three elementary substances — carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen — only. They contain neither mineral matter of any fertilising value, nor the element nitrogen, which pro- duces ammonia in feeding-materials that readily decompose. At the best, non-nitrogenous substances can only produce carbonic acid, and this feeding material we have in abimdance in the atmosphere as well as in the soil, where it is continually being generated dui"ing the decay of the vegetable remains of former crops. In the next place we have to consider the nitrogenous matter which passes through the animal. All nitrogenous substances contain, on an average, aboiit 16 J per cent, of nitrogen ; consequently they produce, on decomposition, a con- siderable amount of ammonia. For many years we have known that hj far the largest portion of nitrogenous matter jDasses through the animal and is recovered in the dung. The loss of nitrogen which the food thus sustains has been variously estimated : by some it is esti- mated at one-tenth, and by others at one-fifth, of the total amount. Experiments recently instituted on the continent, however, seem to shov/ that the loss is not so great — probably not more than one- sixteenth part, if so much. Of course in young stock a little of the nitrogenous food is required for the building up of the muscle ; but even in that case the total amount recovered from the food in the dung is very great in proportion to that which is assimilated by the body, or may be supposed to be lost. And indeed some recent experiments, in which everything was carefully weighed, show that the loss is even less con- siderable than 6 per cent. It must, however, be borne in mind that cxcrementitious matter cannot be perfectly collected : some loss will be experienced by a slight fermentation, and so on ; and a small pro- Relative Value and Manurial Properties of PurcJiased Food. 655 portion of tlie nitrogen in food will also probably escape by exhalation from tlie lungs and the skin. Very little of tlie nitrogen of food is, however, lost by fermentation, or is necessarily lost in the keeping of farmyard-manm'e ; the mineral matters, excepting a small fraction only of the total amount of food, pass entirely into the excrements. Of the vai'ions mineral constituents of food we have only to consider two, namely, potash and phosphoric acid. In estimating the fertilising value of food constituents that pass into tho dung, we have therefore to deal with: ^'1) nitrogen (estimated as ammonia); (2) potash ; and (3) phosphoric acid. By ascertaining how much of each of these matters j)asses through the animal, a very close estimate may be formed of the money value of the dung produced by different articles of food. Mr. Lawes, in a very valuable paper published in the year 1862, gives the average composition of the priacipal kinds of food ; and from the average composition, by making the proper deductions for loss of nitrogen, the value of the food constituents which pass into the dung- may be estimated with tolerable accuracy. Indeed Mr. Lawes made such an estimate in a circular which he j)ublished some time ago. At that time, however, ammonia was much more expensive, and phos- phoric acid cheaper ; potash has been cheaper since the discovery of the mines in Saxony. The money estimates given by Mr. Lawes are based on the prices cui-rent in the year 1862 : ammonia being estimated at ^d. a lb. ; phosphoric acid, calculated as phosphate of lime, at Id. a lb. ; and potash at 2d. a lb. In the following estimates I have calculated ammonia at 6(?. a lb. ; phosphate of lime at Ihd. a lb., or one-half more than Mr. Lawes' estimate ; and jiotash at lie?, a lb., or one-fourth less : these prices agreeing better with the money value at which other fertilising constituents can now be purchased in the manure market. Adopting the data which I have found in various publications, many of which have been carefully collated by Mr. Lawes, I have calculated the value of excrementitious matter from one ton of food consumed, and I find that linseed-cake is worth as a fertiliser alone, making an allowance for loss, 3/. 15s. 8r?. a ton, or somewhat less than the estimate of Mr. Lawes, who puts it above 4Z. ; whilst linseed, which I estimate at about 10s. a ton lower than Mr. Lawes did, is worth as a fertiliser only 2L 17s. 9fZ. a ton — a point which ought to be con- sidered in estimating the relative value of the cake and seed as feeding materials. Decorticated cotton is worth as a fertiliser 5Z. 6s. Qtd. a ton, according to my rates of charge, which are certainly not too high. The ordinary English cotton-cake contains little more than one-haK the amoimt of nitrogen contained in cake made from the shelled seed ; it is also much poorer in phosphate of lime, and is worth only 2Z. 18s. a ton. At the present selling prices of English cotton-cake, it is, in my opinion, by no means a cheap food, being much dearer in proportion than decorticated cotton-cake. The manurial value of earthnut-cake, decorticated, is 4/. 18s. a ton, imdecorticated 2?. 10s. a ton. Eape-cake, which possesses even a greater fertilising value than linseed- cake, is worth, according to my estimate, 4Z. 8s. 9c7. a ton. Beans, X^eas, and lentils are worth 8Z. 2s. a ton. All the leguminous seeds 656 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. have about the same fertilising value. Indian corn is worth only 11. 5s., wheat 11. 7s., barley 11. 5s., malt 11. 6s. There is, therefore, no very great difference in the cereal grains, as far as their fertilising constituents are concerned. Bran and pollard, which are much richer in nitrogen than the fine flour, are worth 21. 15s. a ton. Malt-dust, on account of its manurial value, is one of the cheapest foods that can now be bought: after passing through the animal it is worth 31. lis. per ton, while rice-meal is worth only from 15s. to 25s., according to quality, and if there is much husk it is not worth so much, since the husk of rice consists chiefly of woody fibre and silicious matter, and is not to be compared to the husk of such grain as Indian corn. Palm- nut-meal is worth as a fertiliser 11. 14s. per ton. Still lower is the value of locust-beans, which are worth as a fertiliser about 18s. del. per ton. In the same way brewer's grains are worth 12s. per ton, whilst as a fertiliser molasses has no appreciable value. I think we may derive some useful hints from these estimates. Wc shall find that the money value of purchased food is very much regu- lated by the value of what j)asses through the animal, and that, after all, linseed cake is by no means a dear cake, inasmuch as a con- siderable portion (fully one-third) of the money expended upon it is recovered in the dung. We may learn also that decorticated cotton- cake, when it can be had at about 9Z. per ton, is the cheapest cake for those who are anxious to produce good rich manure. Eapecake is also a very valuable feeding material, and cheap, inasmuch as more than one-half of its cost is returned in the manure : at the present time it can be bought at about 7Z., and of that il. is recovered. These are not mere fancy statements, but the result of practical inquiry. The Norfolk farmers pay as much as bl. per ton for rapecake as manure, and no doubt it is worth as much to them. I consider that sufficient attention has never been directed to the money to be recovered in dung by a judicious expenditure for purchased auxiliary food. I sometimes think with reference to certain mate- rials that the full money value may be in that way re-obtained. If malt dust in particular had no feeding value whatever, it might answer to buy it merely as a manure. Another practical lesson to be learnt is that brewers' grains are worth buying, simply for the manure they make ; at 3d. or Ad. per bushel they furnish an economical manure, and even at 6d. per bushel they are cheap ; hence it is that the London cowkeepers are very anxious to buy them. Perhaps one of the cheapest fattening kinds of food is palmnut meal, in it we get more fattening material at a moderate jH-icc than in oil-cake ; but as it is not rich in nitrogenous matter, a little deduction must be made for its inferiority as a fertiliser. In conclusion. Dr. Voelcker said these were some of the practical lessons that had occurred to him while studying a subject which he had suggested to the Chemical Committee, because of its great im- portance. The President said those present were very much indebted to the Professor for the highly interesting and valuable lecture which he had delivered — all the more valuable because it dealt with a matter that Relative Value and Manurial Properties of Purchased Food. 657 liad never been sufficiently considered by tlic Society. Tliere had been a great many discussions upon the value of different kinds of food for mere feeding purposes, and tliere bad been frequent analyses of such food ; but sufficient prominence bad never been given to tbe value of tbe residuum. Tbey all knew tbat one man could feed animals at a profit, wbile anotber, under tbe same circumstance, ex- perienced quite a different result. Ke remembered a discussion tbat took place at tbe Central Farmers' Club on tbe cost of feeding animals ; and tbere was a difference of at least 50 per cent, in tbe extreme costs brougbt forward. Various articles differed so mucb in cost tbat it bad always been considered a great point to economise as mucb as possible, in order to prevent tbe value of tbe food going into tbe manure. Tbe value of manure was 5s. to 7s. per ton, tbe value of food would be about 12Z. per ton, and tbe value of beef about 8s. per stone, or G4/. per ton. It was clear tbat, if one could turn an additional portion of tbe food, by good management, into beef, it was very desirable. Tbe lecturer bad sbown tbat in certain kinds of food tbere were many important elements, very good as beef and mutton- producers, tbat were combined witb otber elements wbicli, tbougb of no great value as food, were valuable for tbeir manurial properties. Perbaj)s it migbt not be more costly, in tbe end, to buy food wbich bad great manurial value, combined witb an equal quantity of flesb- producing elements. Tbis was a very important jDoint for considera- tion. Tbey were all, probably, alive to tbe importance of not using a too bigbly concentrated food. Some agriculturists made great mis- takes on tbis point, and bad failed egregiously in cattle-feeding, by not mixing bigbly-nitrogenised comjiounds witb sufficient quantities of food of tbe woody-fibre quality. It was a significant fact tbat tbe instincts of an animal invariably led it not to take more tban was sufficient of bigbly-concentrated food, wbile it would afterwards turn to stubble, straw, &c. On bebalf of tbose present, be begged to tbank Professor Voelcker for bis valuable lectui-e. Mr. Eandell said it was always very gratifying to find tbe results of science corrobating tbose of practical experience, and tbe general effect of tbe lecture bad been to effect tbis in a remarkable degree. Witb reference, bowever, to tbe comparative value of linseed oil-cake and otber foods enumerated, bis experience did not rim paralled witb tbe lectui'er's scientific examinations. All farmers knew tbat tbere was a marked difference between a portion of land wbere sbeep fed upon oil-cake bad been depastured, and anotber portion of tbe same ground occupied by sbeep tbat bad been fed upon roots or similar food, Tbis matter bad been put to tbe test for generations, and nothing equalled good linseed-cake in manurial value. As to straw being adapted for young stock, bis own impression was tbat it was only suitable when given in conjunction with cake, a practice which tbe Lincolnshire farmers find to answer very well, imparting vigour to tbe constitution. Indeed, it was now absolutely essential to keep young stock upon straw, as tbey had not sufficient bay to give them. As to cotton-cake, whether decorticated or not, it was not a safe food 658 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. for yotmg stock. His idea v/as, that in considering tliese matters they should start with a certain money value, and not the weight of the stock. He had frequently and carefully tried the effects of different kinds of food in what might be termed the manufacture of mutton, and in every instance linseed-cake had beaten everything else hollow. As far as his experience went, carob beans, notwithstanding the amoixnt of sugar they contained, were little better than straw : and added nothing to the weight of the sheep as compared with roots. In conclusion, he remarked that in manurial value nothing was com- parable to oil-cake, Mr. ToER said his experience of cotton-cake was that it was not half so cheap as good English oil-cake. The merit of feeding mixtm'es depends, not on the predominance of one particular thing, but the proper combination of various substances. In feeding a cart-horse the animal's digestion should be consulted, and he found that to crush all corn and use it with a little vegetable matter or salt, added at least one-third to its value. Again he had found sprouted barley a third better than barley itself, and he had used it for the last quarter of a century, in spite of malt-taxes. After remarking that the lecturer had let doMTi English linseed-cake rather more than it deserved, Mr. Torr concluded by observing that it was not possible to keep old manure without its losing nitrogen, and if it were highly concentrated and well made, it was not right to subject it to too much exposure. Mr. Holland, M.P., referring to the fact that a young animal would take large quantities of straw, he remarked that it showed how unerring Nature was in her laws. When rich, stimulating food was given to cattle at an early age, the animal showed his sense of its artificial character by often leaving it to feed upon straw. He feared that as a rule agriculturists did not know so much of science as they should, and believed it was absolutely essential that that they should be acquainted with the elements of the materials they used for feeding. This would enable them to jndge whether they were acting in a mode that would repay them, or were expending too much tipon highly nutritious food, without taking the question of bulk into considera- tion. Mr. MiLLBANK, who had made experiments chiefly as an amusement in the feeding of stock upon various kinds of food, thoroughly concurred in the remark that there was nothing like linseed. Although his sheep undoubtedly throve on cotton-cake, he had had several lament- able accidents in conseqiTcnce of using it (chiefly producing inflam- mation), such as he had never known with linseed. To animals kept in confinement, cotton-cake was simply injurious, and sheep kept in the open air did not thi-ive anything like so much upon it as they did upon linseed. Indeed many animals absolutely refused to eat cotton-cake : to obviate this he steamed the cake in a portable boiler, and then the food was somewhat better relished, but not in the same way as linseed. With animals it is much the same as with us — what we like we thrive i;pon. At any rate, they would thrive least of all upon food they partly ate and partly left. After remarking that the Reclamation of Land from the Sea. 659 lecture hacl convinced liim that it was better to keep manure covered than exposed, he concluded by observing that in his experience hay and straw were of little valiie as manure. Professor Voelcker, in reply to a question by the preceding speaker, said that the value of straw as manure might be taken at about 8s. per ton, but hay, which was richer in nitrogen than straw, would be about 15s. : it was therefore of little value as manure. Meeting of Weelcly Council, Tuesday evening, April 30th. Mr. Thompson (the President) in the Chair. The Secretary read a paper, contributed by Mr. S. Shellabear (agent to the Earl of Leicester), on Reclamation of Land eeom the Sea. The inclosure of certain land at Holkham was commenced by the Earl of Leicester, in the summer of 185G, by the erection of about 150 yards of embankment at its western end, excluding the sea, which flowed over it in that direction from Holkham Bay. At this time the land was protected from the sea, on the north side, by a long range of sand hills of considerable width and height, covered with marram, the growth probably of a long series of years; and there is, perhaps, no more secure protection against the sea than these hills, if ordinary care and attention be paid by repairing with rows of faggots the occasional damages made from time to time by currents of wind, and in plant- ing the newly-drifted sand with marram. On the south were grass- marshes, enclosed many years since, and the whole of the eastern end was open to the shifting channel of Wells Harbour, which formed its boundary in that qiiarter to a length of a mile and 200 yards. The embankment here was the heaviest portion of the work connected with the inclosure : it was commenced in the spring of 1857, and completed in the autumn of 1858. It starts from a point at the western end of Wells Quay, and runs in a straight line alongside the Channel, nearly due north to a high shingle beach, forming the eastern end of the sand hills, and crossing the old channel twice in its length, a new one having been previously cut to the eastward. The south end of this bank being upon the high level clay deposit, is formed entirely of that material for a distance of about 400 yards, but the remainder of it is built upon the sand, and is formed entirely of sand inside, protected on the sea side by 2 feet thickness of puddle (dipping at the foot 5 feet into the sand), and on the land side by one foot of puddle. The width at the top is 5 feet. On the sea side its slope is 4 to 1 for a distance of 8 feet from the top, and 5 to 1 for the remaining distance ; upon the land side the portion made in 1857 had a slope of 2 to 1 to a distance of 8 feet from the top, and then 3 to 1 to the level of the ground ; the portion made in 1858 was formed throughout to a slope of 2 to 1. The upper portion of the slope upon the sea side, and the whole slope upon the inside, were covered with grass flag, cut 3 inches thick. The top of the embankment and the 5 to 1 slope on the outside were covered with shingle. Experience has shown that sand is the better material 660 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. for the construction of tliese banks, no settlement liaving occurred in the large one so formed, while the smaller one, entirely of clay, has required additions to be made to maintain the original dimensions. The sluice is in this bank, towards the south end, and is built in the clay ujion piles : it is a barrel-arch of 4 feet 6 inches diameter, with a self-acting sea-door, and a second door upon the inside, raised or dropped by a screw. Besides carrying off the water from the 580 acres of land comprised in this inclosure, it is required to discharge the drainage water of 1000 acres of grass-marshes and the supply from strong sj)rings ujion them. It is found to be too small to do this in the short time during which the tides will allow it to work, and besides has a settle- ment in the centre ; it is therefore contemplated to replace it by an arch of a larger size. The whole of this work was executed by Messrs. Buxton, of Manchester, from the designs and under the super- intendence of Mr. Arthur Saunders, of King's Lynn. This bank has not received any serious injmy since it was com- pleted, except during the winter of 1862-63, from the water inside, after the breach made in December, 1862 — in fact, no rejiairs have been required beyond the occasional renewal of the flag and shingle when washed away, and the necessity of maintaining the shingle, which protects the foot of it to a higher level than was originally contemplated. It should, however, be stated that it is but little exposed to the action of the sea, its sea-face being towards the east and adjoining the channel, on the opposite side of which are unin- closed marshes but rarely covered by the sea, with the additional pro- tection of high sand-hills in the distance. The highest tides (which alone cover these uninclosed marshes) occur only with a west or north- west wind ; in an easterly gale, therefore, there is no expanse of water to break upon the bank, and in a gale from the west or north-west it is to a great extent self-protecting. The extreme north of this bank is connected by a high bank of shingle, with the sand-hills forming the remainder of the northern boundary. It was through this bank that the breach was made by the very high tide of December 22, 1862, which at the same time also broke over and swept away the short bank at the west end of the inclosure. The latter was sjoeedily rej)laced ; but the shingle bank, when once broken over, wasted rapidly to an extreme dej)th of 28 feet in the breach and a width at the uj)per part of 125 yards, and its repair was a work of greater difficulty. The breach was successfully closed in the month of June following, with shingle, conveyed to the spot by two lines of tramway, from an average distance of about half a mile. The new bank thus formed, having a slojDe of 12 to 1 on the sea-side and 5 to 1 towards the land, has stood exceedingly well u\) to the present time, costing but little for repairs. Marram is rapidly gTOwing upon it, and in a very few years it will jwobably become a high sand-bank, livith a strong- base and face towards the sea beneath the sand, and standing about 5 feet above the highest tides. Of the 580 acres inclosed, above 200 acres adjoining the old grass- marshes were a strong clay loam, 80 acres mud land (originally skirting the high clay lands), 170 strong blue clay, or clay-loam, buried beneath Reclamation of Land from the Sea. 661 the sand to a depth of from 6 inches to 3 feet, and the remaining 130 either shingley stones, or sea-sand, to an unknown depth. A very large portion of the land inclosed was, therefore, either almost worthless or requiring considerable outlay to bring it into cultivation ; moreover, from the meeting of the tides from the east and west upon this spot, it •was intersected by several large creeks, and the best portions of it by innumerable small ones. In the autumn of 1859 the land was laid out for division into fields. One road was formed, passing through the entire length, and crossed at right angles at intervals of about 500 yards by two others. These roads are each 30 feet wide, and arc bounded on each side by a ditch. The lands between are again divided by a ditch into fields, varying in extent from 10 to 20 acres. Every field, therefore, has access to a road and is square — two very important advantages with steam-culti- vation. In bringing it into cultivation the next operation was to fill up the large creeks throughout the farm, sand being brought from a distance where necessary by means of a portable tramway worked with horses, or moved fi-om the adjoining lands, where available, by barrow roads: in either case the creek was ultimately brought to the level of the land on each side by a coating of soil of similar quality. In the same way the small creeks w^hich appeared only in the stiff lands were filled uj^, or else by digging, — and thus reducing the level of the adjoining land. By the summer of 1862, a large breadth of this land had been brought into cultivation ; coleseed, peas, wheat, and oats were grown upon it, and a fm-ther portion was sown with wheat — when the sea again came over it. Up to this date the crops were better than they have been at any time since, and it seems pro- bable that the cultivated lands, especially those which had been sub- soiled, became more strongly impregnated with the salt than when in their original state. The damage done to the watercourses and roads was inconsiderable ; but the land had become so thoroughly saturated as to be incapable of bearing horses imtil late in the spring, and the roots of autumn-sown corn were destroyed by the wet and salt in the land. Underdraining, which had been done partially before, was now systematically commenced, and up to the present time about 230 acres have been drained with lf}-inch pipes, at a distance of 12 yards in the clay and 24 yards in the sandy subsoils — nearly all the drains emptying into the ditches. The fields being all flat, considerable difficulty was experienced in maintaining a regular and proper fall in the di-ains, the slightest dip causing the drain-pipes to silt up in the sandy lands. The plan now adopted is to set out the level of the outlets ia the ditches, and a point 4 feet above the bottom of the drains to be cut across the centre of the field, with a spirit-level, adding the rise to be allowed in the di-ains. From these two points given him, the foreman is enabled to give an even fall to the bottom of the drain throughout its length, by placing a T staff 4 feet long upon the level point at the outlet, and having a similar staff moved up and down the drain, aligning it upon the level given him in the centre of the VOL. III.— S. S, 2 X 662 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. field. Four levels only are given in each ditch, and four across the centre of the field, the remainder being put in with the T staves in the same manner. By this means the work is satisfactorily done, and the foreman is able to superintend the whole, check the levels of every drain, and assist a second man in laying the pipes in the drains, of which about 16 to 18 chains are cut every day from April to August, the work being impracticable in winter. Four hundred and twenty acres of the land have been cropped, but only 340 are at present under cultivation ; the remaining fields are being treated as follows : Some of the heaviest clay lands are being sanded to a depth of 3 or 4 inches by means of the j)ortable tramway (two horses drawing a load of from 4 to 6 tons), 8 or 10 inches of sand being taken from the sandy fields for this purpose, and to bring the clay beneath within reach of the steam-plough. In other fields where the clay is at a greater dej^th, pits are sunk, and the clay is harrowed upon the land to a depth of 5 or 6 inches (when solid), the surface-level having been previously reduced by harrowing the sand into the last pit sunk ; in other parts where the clay is from 12 to 16 inches from the sui-face, or where the sand is not required for the heavy lands, the ground is trenched, and from 8 to 10 inches of the clay brought to the surface : but in these cases, from the frequent occurrence of creeks in the clay below, the sinking of a pit is often necessary to complete the field and make the soil equally good throughout. With respect to cultivation but little at present can be said. Good crojDS of wheat, oats, barley, coleseed, turnips, mangold-wurzel, and clover have been grown upon the land, both before and since the winter of 1862 ; but it was not until the summer of last year that the land can be said to have recovered, to any extent, from the flooding at that time. As soon as the fields have been drained, they are broken up with Fowler's steam subsoil plough to a dej)th of 16 inches, allowed to lie the winter, and j)ut under crop the following year. Since the erection of the main bank, the work has been all done by Lord Leicester's own staif and labourers, with the surplus labour of the immediate district, under his own personal direction. It has necessarily, therefore, occupied a considerable time ; and no steps have at j)resent been taken to reduce the croj)ping of the laud to any system. Mr. E. B. Grantham, C.E., F.G.S., was very glad to lay his prac- tical experience on the reclamation of land from the sea, and the formation of tidal and other banks before the Society. Mr. Shellabear's paper had a special local bearing, and gave an appropriate example of the reclamation of land on the coast of Norfolk, showing at the same time that there had been some failure, and that the bank had proved very expensive. The question, on the whole, admitted of very general treatment; the practice of enclosing lands from the sea being ex- tremely ancient — a matter of interest even in the days of the Eomans. At the present day it had lost none of its importance, but demanded more and more the study and skill of the engineer. There would always be vast difficulty in the prosecution of the work, because in many cases the engineer was brought face to face with that powerful Heclamation of Land from the Sea. 663 enemy, tlie sea, wliose opposition never tired. Wlien sucli a work was contemplated there were several considerations whicli ought not to be lost sight of. First, the question of area — whether it was worth while to make an expensive bank to reclaim a certain number of acres ? Then the value of the land to be worked for agricultural pm-poses. In Ms own ex- perience, on the coast of Essex portions of land had been reclaimed at considerable cost, but a long time elapsed before it could be utilised by the agriculturist. In these instances the land was rough in itself, and seemed to retain the salt of the sea so long that it required long exposure to air and rain to disperse the salt before it was fit for cattle to graze upon. On the other hand, in other cases the land had been brought into cultivation almost as soon as the sea had been shut out ; he remembered a peculiar example on the banks of one of the large rivers in Ireland, where the tenants of the landowners ran up small walls, and shut out the sea ; by this means the mud was enclosed, and the next year the farmers were able to raise a crop of wheat. In this particular instance he attributed the success to the fact that the river runs over a large bed of limestone, and brings down a deposit which neutralised the effect of the salt. The soil, too, was very rich, and under these circumstances perhaps it was natural that the crops would take almost immediate effect. Instances similar to this he believed had occm-red in Norfolk. The nature of the soil which the rivers brought down into the bays that were to be reclaimed was a third, and highly imj)ortant conside- ration. Limestone always neutralised the salt, but there were mate- rials often brought down of a totally different character. Much skill was required in determining the kinds of banks to be used for different places ; scarcely two cases admitting of precisely the same treatment ; the surrounding circinnstances being of the most varying description. Hence anything like classification was impossible. Generally speaking, embankments might be treated under three heads. One was an embankment of earth against the sea with large slopes, and perhaps flat fore-shores, where the waves did not break with great force, in which case the work might safely be done by sodding, and other similar contrivances. This method was as inexjjensive as it possibly could be. The second method was banking against the deep water of the sea. This work required to be stoned ^dth considerable batters on the one side and of considerable strength on the to}?, the width being generally sufficient to bear the blow of heavy waves, even, at a considerable elevation above them. The back slopes of these banks were of pretty much the same kind, because a foreshore was really the portion that received the blow of the sea, and was therefore more likely to be injured. It was here the engineer foimd the greatest trouble in resisting the opposing force. The third kind of embankment was the stone walling, or the upright wall, which was of all the most difficult of construction. There was a difference of opinion amongst engineers as to the precise form these walls should take. He was just now superintending the construction of a sea-wall nearly a mile long in the Isle of Wight on behalf of the Government. It was 2x2 664 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. a wall to preserve the land from being washecl away by tlie sea, and belonged fairly to the subject under the description of lands nov/ being discussed. The difficulty experienced in building this class of wall arose from various causes : there were great risks of its being blown up, and the expense altogether was so gi'eat that it was only in exceptional cases the method could be resorted to. Another kind of banking was by the sides of rivers where the waves were not very destructive, but where it was quite essential to have a most careful construction to prevent the flood from over- flowing the side lands. At the entrances to large rivers it was some- times necessary, although there was no exposure to the sea, to have careful stoning, because the work was frequently tested by heavy seas. In the river Crouch, in Essex, they took great pains to stone the facings, because the stream, though not wide, was deep. The sea washed the banks there in a i)eculiar way, coming from the German ocean with a sort of cutting side-wave, that probably had a more wearing effect upon the face of the stone than if it came directly upon it. A railway on the Humber was made in the same way. The stones were placed in the line of the stroke of the sea to break the blow, and to save the direct face of the stone from concussion. This had answered remarkably well. The value of earth walls depended entirely upon the locality. Mr. Shellabear mentioned that sand had been found to be the best substance. He (Mr. Grantham), however, did not agree with this, believing that the working of such a material was attended with great difficulty. Of course, much depended upon the mode in which the faces of the banks were made. A good sodding, in some cases, might be made from the marram mentioned ; and if it could be got to grow in time to save the bank from injmy, no doubt it was one of the best protectors it was possible to get. He had been called upon to prepare plans for fencing off some accumulated land in the Humber. The land (an island) had accumu- lated from the sea ; and a wall was built round, which it was proj)osed to extend further. The sort of sod that had been referred to seemed to be the best adapted for the purpose, and he had no doubt they would be able to place it at a very small slope. A wall had been in construction for some years on the principle of pitching it with stones. In the first place, for the purposes of temporary protection, faggots were used with great advantage. Groins were also employed, and they acted well in protecting the foundations from wear and tear. The Morecambe Bay Railway might be instanced as a case where a good deal of land was recovered by banks of facing stone and also of groins. He had himself at the present time superintendence of a bank at Fleetwood which had been successful to a certain extent. Several circumstances of a secondary character operated in the erection of walls, which, if not properly attended to as minor matters, gave vast trouble and expense. Particularly might be mentioned sluices and culverts for drainage. Sluices were seldom put in at sufficient depth ; and often the capacity of the drains was not properly regulated. It frequently happened that the sluices were cheaply Reclamation of Land from the Sea. 665 made, and were merely effective while the bank was being made ; iifterwards they were sources of perpetual trouble and cost. He himself had some time since, to repair works of this kind that in the first instance cost but little, while the repair alone cost 700Z., simply because of a want of attention and foresight in the original builders. Having gone carefully into the question of outlay, he was of opinion that, except in the case of extraordinarily good lands, an agriculturist should not go beyond a cost of 20?. per acre in making a bank. This might be considered a rather high figure, but he had kno^Ti it pay in r. case of large reclamation. The land must be pretty good land to allow of such a result, and be brought quickly into cultivation, all the work should also be well done, so as to incur as little outlay for annual maintenance as possible. Some lands were done at a much cheajier rate, but it was doubtful whether the cheaper scheme was not actually the dearer method. He called the attention of every agricultm-ist interested in these matters to the recent Act of Parliament, by which a combined system could be established for the purpose of bringing about extensive reclamations. An individual enclosing land would do so at his own cost and risk, but there was no reason why he should become thus involved. The Commissioners of Sewers appointed under the 23rd of Henry VIII. had been continued, and the powers of the Act had been increased by the Land Drainage Act of 1861, enabling landowners who were interested in a piece of reclaimable land to combine to execute the work of enclosm-e, being equally taxed to defi'ay the expenses. Hie experience of inland rivers had taught him that there was [great advantage to be gained by such a imion of landowners. He recommended all who felt a concern in the question to look into the Act, and become acquainted with its provisions. The advantage was that in combining in a work of this kind every con- tributor took his part, not only in the cost, but in the management and benefits to be derived from the prosecution of the work in a systematic way. The Inclosure Commissioners had the sanctioning of this Act, and therefore everything was done in a public manner. The opera- tions of the Act could be carried out without difliculty, and the result would be the improvement of inland rivers, and the reclamation of land from the sea, the latter being, of course, the original intention of the Legislature in the time of Henry VIII. No doubt there were a great many persons having coast lands, and large areas of border, who would be glad to combine to borrow or expend money for their reclamation. The Act to which he had referred would show how this could be done, and the general interests of agriculture would be pro- moted thereby. The Peeseden't : You did not say what slope you would recommend against the full force of the open sea. In the Himiber, which is little more than a tidal river, the same slope of com'se is not required as in the spot where you have a heavy sea. What slope do you recommend in the case of open water ? Mr. Geaxthaji : It is difficult to speak with precision, but I should say that somewhere about two to one, if well stoned, with some foreshore. 666 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. The President : Have you directed yoiu' attention to tlie preserva- tion of banks where they are nearly undermined by the -waterSj like the river banks in Holland ? Mr. Grantham : I have never had any experience of that descrip- tion of banks. In some instances, where I have had to deal with land floods, and where the landowners wished it, I have introduced culverts which would let in flood water when they wished to inundate the land. The sluices were self-acting, and occasionally there were land sluices, too. The sluices were, however, very numerous. Mr. Lawrence said there could be no doubt the Wash was a fruitful school for engineering of the description connected with the reclama- tion of land, and experience of the most useful character had been acquired there. Sir J. Eennie, Mr. Fowler, and some of the other eminent engineers had attempted too much there, when they endeavoured to grapple with the ocean at once. They struck a line across the estuary of the Wash, and in one instance they spent 14,000/. in making a fragment of an embankment which was washed away with a single tide. The quiet processes which were now being followed to reclaim the land were very instructive, and they would probably lead even- tually to the saving of that immense tract of land which once had the designation of Victoria County. This could only be done by degrees, and by following the operations of nature slowly. He did not believe in some of the great works that had been undertaken of building large sea v/alls, and grappling suddenly with a tidal ocean with 26 feet rise and fall. In a sea-girt island like oiu-s, such wonders could not be expected. We must proceed as it were terrace by terrace. The expenditure of hundreds of thousands of poimds in the "Wash, proved how great were the mistakes made in the reclamation of lands. The drainage of the Fens was one of the greatest works in the country. The work undertaken by the Norfolk Estuary Company was not sur- passed by any work in Holland for the drainage of high land lying behind the sea ; but their shares at the i^resent time were only worth a few shillings, and hundreds had been bought at half-a-crown each. The general question of land inclosure closely concerned the Society and its supporters, because all agricultural topics were strictly econo- mical questions. Equally important was the question of the President as to the undermining of banks by the water ; the only thing to do was to give a good foreshore. Of course, if the occupiers of land chose to go to more expense they could stone the front of the bank and make an effectual barrier against the sea, as they did in Holland. Mr. Hawkshaw said it was impossible to lay down general principles regarding slopes, because so much depended upon material. The sand of the sea-shore made its own slope, and that was six or seven to one. This proved an effectual barrier against waves if it was long enough. He could give one piece of information respecting slopes in works of great magnitude. In Holyhead it was found that stone thrown into the sea in deep water gradually assumed three kinds of slopes. At about 5 feet below the water it was six to one ; deeper down it was three to one ; and very deep down it was one-and-a-half to one, show- ing that everything depended upon the force of the water and waves Reclamation of Land from the Sea. 667 and the kind of material. If the material had been softer the slopes would have been flatter. Neither could general rules be laid down as to where land could be reclaimed. All that coxdd be said was that if the land was worth 30Z. an acre when reclaimed, not more than 15/. or 20/. ought to be laid out upon it. If the cost was greater, it was much better to buy land ready made. Slopes covered with soil and sods were, in his opinion, utterly inadequate to resist the sea, imless there were a very large foreshore and shallow water. If the foreshore was flat and very wide, an embankment possessing a slope of two to one covered with sods was practicable. No sloi:)e of such a descrip- tion, however, should be relied upon to resist the action of the sea. In the Mediterranean the French made all their barriers against the sea by blocks of stone of some 20 tons each, which they found stood to a slope of one to one, and if they were a third the size they would be two to one, and so on. Mr. Fkere said the outline of the sea-wall at Algiers was at first concave ; but it had been foimd better to substitute a convex outline, along which the waves would run, instead of gathering inwards towards the centre of the cui've with concentrated force. Mr. Harding said he had had considerable experience of the recla- mation of lands during many years' residence at King's Lynn. For twenty years he had had a considerable portion of the fen lands under his control, and had, in the capacity of contractor, executed nearly 200,000/. of work. His first undertalring was a sea embankment near Louth. It was at the entrance to the Hmnber, and there were un- doubtedly different slopes there. The first portion of the bank was silt ; then they came to a strong clay ; and the slope varied from sis to one to three to one, according to the position and the manner in w^hich the bank was struck by the tide. On the Norfolk coast, between Cromer and Wells, there was a bank 4 miles long, and there the slopes were five to one, the material being of clay. In Norfolk and Lincolnshire they saw nothing of stone, which is too costly for reclaiming the land for agricultui-al purposes : 40/. per acre would never cover the expense. In 1839, he remembered. Sir John Eennie devised a plan for inclosing several hundred acres of land on the Wisbech river. It w^as a bold project ; the proposition being to make an immense bank, and cut off the whole of the sea. The contract was undertaken for something like GO, 000/. Every practical man who knew the Fen country said it was impossible to carry it out, because every time there was a spring-tide the large tract of land was covered with water. When the work was partly done it was found that the back water was so great that it was impossible to proceed, and the contractor was ruined. The way to do it would be to run across small embankments, which could be cast up by tool instead of barrow work. This would divide the work into sections, and largely increase the chances of success, because the area of the waterway was gradually reduced. The land would thus be reclaimed piece by piece. The benefit of land depended of course a great deal upon what the land had cost. Sometimes land could be bought from the sea at 2/. or 3/, per acre. On portions of the Norfolk coast the land was very rich, 668 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. wHle on other coasts it was very poor and miserable. On tlie Essex coast all the surface was impregnated and poisoned by something that came from the oysters, ; he knew a piece of land that was enclosed on which millions of ant-hills had since risen, costing about 3/. an acre every year to level them. The grass did not grow till late in the season, and as soon as the hot weather came, the land began to crack. The consequence was that no tenant could pay his rent. In Norfolk it was different, because there was a sufficient quantity of alluvial soil to make the land pay well. Various reasons were given for this rich- ness. His opinion was that the sea had nothing to do with it. There were two sources to which he looked : one was, the matter washed out of the drains into the river, and the other, the animaculae deposited. It was possible to achieve great results by the judicious enclosure of land. Some time ago he was asked to make a certain embankment ; but, as a practical man, he declined. A London engineer came for- ward, and, although he was told the work was impracticable, he under- took to do it in six weeks, at the moderate cost of between 400Z. and 600/. The gentleman wished to make an earth embankment with brick-bats and faggots, and a wooden tunnel at the bottom. The work went on for 16 weeks, 4000Z. was spent, and the first tide that came swept every particle of the bank away. He mentioned this to show that, after all, practical exj)eriencG was the chief thing to guide those who attempted the reclaiming of lands. A great deal more might be done in improving our rivers; the chief thing was to train them : as a rule the back waters were not sufficiently concentrated to scour a deep channel. Faggots, if used, might be placed at a slope of about one to one ; and it was astonishing how well they stood. Some gentlemen were great advocates for faggot jetties ; but they had a tendency, when the water passed by, to the cutting of the bank between the jetties. It was better to have no jn-o- jections, if they could be avoided. In various places where the water pressed hard, piles might be used. Mr. Holland, M.P., agreed that this was a question of much interest and importance to agriculturists generally, and it was specially valuable to the Society ; our population was increasing every year, but our island did not increase, except through these adventitious cu'cumstances and scientific achievements, whilst a large area was taken annually from agriculturists for the purpose of building. Hence the importance of gathering together all available facts as to the means by which our waste lands might be made serviceable. One or two in- teresting points had arisen out of the discussion. One was as to the value of silt, and another remark showed the importance of ajjplying animal matters to the land for the production of vegetable substance. In reclaiming the land from the sea they were providing additional area, and at the same time a manure to enrich it. He moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Grantham and Mr. Shellabcar for their addresses. Mr. Clayden, who seconded the motion, said he was connected with the Norfolk Estuary Company, whose depreciated shares had been mentioned during the discussion, and he begged to state they were not in quite such a bankrupt condition as had been represented. The Steam Cultivation. 669 company was working slowly in the reclamation of land, and they felt assured they should be able in a few years, from the silting-up of the land, to add to the value of the county of Norfolk. The President put the vote of thanks, extending it to the gentlemen vvho had assisted in the discussion. He regretted that the attendance was so small, and thought the Council would have again to consider whether it would not be well to alter the hour at which the meetings were held. A vote of thanks to the President was also passed. Meeting of Weelchj Council, Wedncsdcaj, May 2^tli. Mr. Thoi^ipson, President, in the Chair. A discussion was opened by the President on the Eeports recently presented to the Society on Steam Cultivation. The President said he had undertaken to open the discussion, not with the view of delivering a lecture uj^on steam cultivation, because he hoped their time would be much better spent than in listening to the opinions of any one man ujion a topic so extensive, but for the pm'j)Ose of making, in the first j)lace, a few remarks upon the reports themselves, and then throwing out one or two propositions, or rather questions, for consideration by the meeting. First, then, a few words about the reports themselves. As one of those who took an active part on the committee aj)pointed to organise an inquiry into the jDresent state of steam cultivation on an extensive scale, I feel great pride and gratification in seeing laid before the Society, in the course of twelve months, such ample and excel- lent rej)orts upon this important question. The duty undertaken by the Commisioners was very onerous, but they have carried it out in sj^ite of many difficulties, and have displayed great talent in the way in which they have completed the task. That they should have joersevered, notwithstanding a most unfavourable season, during which the weather caused delay in all the oj^erations of husbandry during the summer and autumn, and prevented steam imjjlemeuts from being brought into use, as in any ordinary season, was only what was expected from men possessing the spirit of true Englishmen. That they should have col- lected such a mass of valuable materials was only the natural reward of their patience and perseverance. But when we come to look at the reports themselves, and see that, while they contain a great mass of details, involving continual comparison and repetition (without which indeed, the returns would have lost a large portion of their value), they at the same time come before us as a really readable volume, constituting consecutive narratives — I do say that it is a jiroof of literary merit of no common kind. Permit me, therefore, publicly, on behalf of the Society, to ofi'er our best thanks to the Commissioners for the zeal with which they have undertaken a most difiicult duty, for the perseverance with which they have carried it out in spite of numerous 670 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. difficulties, and for the gi-eat ability and talent with whicli they, espe- cially those gentlemen to whom was entrusted the work of preparation, compiled reports that will no doubt be read with interest in all parts of the civilised world. Having thus unmistakeably given my own opinion upon the cha- racter of these reports, I would briefly allude to some remarks I have occasionally heard, expressive of a little disappointment that they do not contain certain things which the objectors hojied and expected to find in them, but which I wish to show could not properly have been inserted. I have heard it said that the reports should have contained a state- 3IEXT OF AVERAGE KESULTS, which would havc Settled some of the leading features and principles of steam-cultivation. This objection very probably takes some such form as this : — " It is now ten or twelve years since , steam-cultivation was fii'st introduced ; there are hun- dreds of steam-engines at work on the land, and so extensive an inquiry as that of last year ought to have settled some of the main questions affecting steam cultivation, such as the average cost of steam versus horses, or any other j>ower; the kind of implements which we had best employ ; and the best mode of applying the best power." While not agreeing at all in these views, 1 think it right to mention them, because I believe that a complete answer can be given to any objec- tions that may be raised. I think we are very apt to attribute too much importance to a statement of average results. There is a feeling common amongst us, that if the number of instances of which the average has been taken is sufficiently great, we arrive at something like a law of nature from which there is no appeal. When considering the value of averages we ought especially to consider the kind of results from which the average is collected, because if the results themselves are dissimilar, it is plain that the average loses its value altogether. Take any familiar example — chairs, for instance. On comparing the cost of a certain number of chairs, of the same kind of material and manufacture, the average cost of a great niunber would furnish information as to their price ; but on comparing chaii-s of all kinds, from the plain wooden kitchen chair to the highly-ornamented drawing-room chair, covered with satin-damask, the average struck would furnish no idea of the value to an intending purchaser. It would not be the average price of any particular kind of chair, and therefore, instead of being a guide, it would only lead him into error. If we apply this to the case in hand, we shall at once see that the cost of cultivating strong clay land will always be greater than the cost of cultivating light-land farms. Therefore the average cost of cultivating the two different kinds of land would be of no value to the man who wished to obtain information as to the cultivation of one or the other. In endeavouring to sti-ike an average of the results of steam cultiva- tion in a certain number of cases where the soil is somewhat similar, you have to take into account the old adage, that " one man will tlu'ivo where another will starve ;" and if you arc to consider not only the diffijrences of soil and climate, and the size and position of farms, but Steam Cultivation. 671 also what is the average of the capacities of the men who would have to conduct the operations, then I think you will perceive that if our reporters had attempted to deal with the question of averages at all, they would have been brought into great difficulties in their calcula- tions, and would in the end have produced a result of no practical value. Consequently, I think they have exercised a ■wise discretion in discarding all averages, and merely tabulating the results of their inquiries, side by side, for the convenience of the reader in search of special and comparative information. Then we come to the second jjoint I mentioned, tlie kind of machinery to he adopted. There are strong reasons why the name of any individual maker shoidd, if possible, not be brought forward in a report of this kind ; and the only reason which would be sufficient to warrant the adoption of such a course would be the existence of so many makers, and so large a variety of apparatus, that it would be a positive benefit to an in- tending steam cultivator, bewildered in his choice, to be guided by the experience of gentlemen who, like our reporters, have had the opportunity of seeing many implements, and judging of their various capabilities. In the early days of steam cultivation there were a gi-eat number of inventors and makers. Dui'ing the last five or six years, however, many of these implements have been found unable to stand the test of every-day wear and tear ; the consequence is, that a few implement makers have gathered up the best of the inventions, and at the present time the number of those who stand as recog- nised manufacturers of steam cultivators is so small that if a pur- chaser cannot, after an exhibition of the implements at work, and a perusal of the descriptions furnished of their different merits and capabilities by those who have worked them, decide which maker he should go to, and which system he should adopt, he is, depend upon it, not in a position to begin to cultivate by steam, and had better post- pone altogether the introduction of a steam implement upon his farm. The third question I have heard raised is as to the lest mode of applying steam power, the system of husbandry which hest brings out the full pjower of steam upton certain farms. It has been said that our reporters should have gone into those questions. Now, I do think that here, as in the other points, they have exercised a very soimd discretion, and so far from feeling any disappointment myself that we have not made greater progress in BettHng a definite code of steam cultivation, I think we shall, if we look fairly at it, feel very grateful that so much has been accomplished. Of the answers returned in reply to questions sent out by the Society, 178 came from owners and employers of steam apparatus ; and out of those 178, only one had had his apparatus at work for more than ten years ; and only 33 have been working a steam apparatus more than five years. Some, perhaps, may say that a man who has been at work 60 long ought to have been able to make some progress towards esta- blishing a definite system of cultivation adapted for steam ; but it must be borne in mind that even so short a time as eight or ten years ago the 6 72 Abstract Report of AgricuUural Discussions. steam apparatus itself was by no means in the perfect state it is now. It required'grcat and constant improvement ; there were heavy expenses of wear and tear, and constant outlay for renewals. So I cannot see how those who have been at work five or six years only can be expected to have made much progress in fixing a definite code of steam cultiva- tion. We must remember, too, that all this time they have had to prepare their farms for the introduction of steam, to instruct their men in the use of machinery, and to inform themselves, in many cases, as to the best mode both of working and applying the new power. In fact, it amoimts to this, that they had not only to adapt agriculture to steam, but to adapt steam to agriculture at the same time. If that be so, we are undoubtedly much indebted to those pioneers of progress, who have thrown themselves heartily into this question, and have spared neither time nor money in their determination to make the cultivation of land by steam a great and signal success. Having dealt with the objections which I have heard stated, and which I hold have no foundation, I would next ask your opinion and invite discussion upon certain questions which I will very briefly indicate. One question I put before you is : What in your opinion is the most useful and practical feature .'of these rejjorts? I have been asked that question myself; an answer can never be better supplied than by such a meeting as this, and I have thought it would not be a bad way of treating this discussion to repeat to you some of the ques- tions put to me by gentlemen interested in steam cultivation. As to the question, " Which is the most prominent practical feature of the reports ? " I have no hesitation in saying, that I should assign the chief prominence to the fact that the reports are a faith- ful record of numerous cases where steam has been aj)plied to the cultivation of farms imder a great variety of circumstances, such as soil, climate, position, and other special conditions. These descrip- tions of so many difierent farms, and the faithful accounts of steam operations in a large number of instances, will furnish reliable data to almost every one who, finding himself in a difficulty, may wish to profit by the experience of others ; he will be almost sure to find in these reports some case similar in many resjiects to his own. If the water he is obliged to use be bad, he will find instances in which a few pennyworths of Frank's fluid have been found sufiicient to destroy its injurious character, and save the boiler. If in a wet season, that he should be in danger of losing his seed-time, he may read that others have got out of their difficulty by purchasing a steam plough in addition to a steam cultivator. Indeed, there is hardly any difficulty which can occur to a man using a steam apjiaratus which is not here described, and resjiecting which he will not find advice founded on experience to assist him out of it. Even in those few instances, where an inquirer fails to meet with the information he is in search of, the reports will tell him where he may apply for information to men who have probably gone through the same diffi- culties as himself. Steam Cultivation. 673 Then, again, a man wisliing to set up a steam apparatus would be able to find the experiences of those who, in somewhat similar condi- tions of soil and situation, have decided what kind of apparatus would be best suited for the particular system ho meant to adopt — whether aiming at great results by a largo outlay, or otherwise. There is, for example, -|tlie farm of Mr. Bomford, No. G9 in the report, which is rather an extraordinary instance of a man who is so taught by successful experience that he is not satisfied with having had two steam-engines and sets of working apparatus upon his farm, but intended, when the Commissioners visited him, to have two more. That I should consider a strong case of a man of large capital and energy going in for great results. If, on the other hand, a man wish to take the lowest mode, of employing a steam aiixiliari/, as it is very proi^erly termed, and with a small outlay to get a powerful assistant (but still only an assistant) to the ordinary api>liances of the farm, he has the experience of those who have gone before him in the same path, such experience being recorded and illustrated by most able pens, for his special guidance and instruction. These are my own opinions, but I should like to hear what, in the opinion of the meeting, are the most practical and useful features of the reports. A second question, to which it might be useful to direct your atten- tion, is, — " Does it appear from these reports that steam cultivation is successful as a commercial speculation '? " As the solution of a mechanical problem, no doubt it is a most perfect and thorough success. That which was proposed has been accomplished, and great feats of cultivation have been performed by steam which no other power could possibly have undertaken with the same result. But then comes the question, whether as a commercial speculation steam cultivation has generally been a success ? Does it in the majority of cases lead to profit in a pecuniary point of view ? I should be inclined to describe it as a success loldch a very small amount of ignorance and inattention icould convert into a failure ; a success where well managed, and a failm-e where badly managed. Between these two extremes there is to be met with almost every variety of great and modified success down to partial failure. A clever man will make steam cultivation answer; but a man who does not understand the subject himself, or cannot obtain an efficient manager or assistant, must be very careful how he touches the matter at all. That is the impression left upon my mind by a very careful comparison and perusal of the reports. No doubt upon clay land a depth and perfection of cultivation can be attained which could not otherwise bo accomplished. In fact strong clay, such as that described in one of our reports two or three years ago,* as a soil varying at different seasons of the year from glue to cast iron, cannot be really and efficiently worked except by steam. But, unfortunately, that kind of soil is chiefly held in small occupations, and the problem how to apply steam succeesfully to them has not yet been solved. * Vide ' Journal,' Vol. xxv,, Part II., p. 521. 674 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. The piircliasG of a powerful steam apparatus by the o-\vner of 200 acres or so of clay laud, is, of course, out of the question, unless it be used on the adjoining farms as well. As yet, however, the partnershii) or company principle has not been sufficiently tried in agriculture for the results to be spoken of with any degree of con- fidence. This is one of the things upon which suggestions are desirable, and in which it would be most gratifying to see advance- ment made. Again, with respect to light lands, I believe we shall soon see steam-engines very generally employed as an auxiliary on a large farm for cleaning stubbles in the autumn, for breaking up land for barley in the spring, and for many similar pm-poses. A light, cheap steam apparatus would be most valuable on such lands ; indeed, I believe we shall soon see no farm of any considerable acreage without it. This is a matter, however, in which improvement is required ; we want suggestions for the use and management of an aj)paratus for light lands, not too heavy nor requiring too much power, and pm-chase- able for a reasonable sum. The three questions then which I should like to propound to the meeting are these — 'Ist. Which is the most practical and useful featm-e of the reports ? 2nd. Does it appear from these reports, or from the general knowledge of those who may speak upon the subject, that steam cultivation is successful generally as a commercial speculation ? and, 3rd. In what direction does om* present system of steam cultiva- tion most require improvement ? Mr. EucK said the reports must be read with general satisfaction by every member of the Society, for, no doubt, the investigations of the Commission had been carried out in a most impartial and straight- forward way, both as regarded those who allowed their farms to be exhibited, and the implement-makers, whose machines were tried. The reports had suggested four questions to his own mind, rather different from those of the Chaii'man, but still equally important. They were, 1st. What power can we get out of sixpenny worth of coals ? 2nd. Will work that is done by steam be equal or superior to that done by horse-power ? 3rd. Will the land cultivated by steam be in a suj)erior state to that cultivated by horse-power ? 4th. Will the crops produced by steam cultivation be larger than those produced by horse-power '? His own opinion was that sixpenny worth of coal would give as much power as one horse in a day's work; and that two operations with steam would be worth at least three by horse -power. By steam- cultivation, clay laud would be broiight into projier condition in the com'se of two or three years, and light laud would be improved abnost immediately. He had no hesitation in saying that steam-cultivation would cause an average increase of 8 bushels an acre in the crops throughout the country. Mr. Smith (of Woolston) had read the reports very carefully, and could endorse the praise uttered by the Chairman resj)ecting the authors. The reports, which would be fouud full of good and amjjle evidence, if people would only take the trouble to read them, indirectly Steam Cultivation. 675 touched upon tlie question as to Low far steam-cultivation was a com- mercial success. Indeed, the whole thing resolved itself into tho question, whether it would answer for a man to buy steam tackle. Upon that point Mr. Eandell said that he bought a set in 1857, and had worked it ever since with the most successful and gratifying results ; and the main advantage apjieared to be the production of a deeper soil. What better evidence could be given of the commercial results "of steam cultivation '? Similar evidence was given by Mr. Stephenson of Yorkshire, who declared that he had not spent 5s. upon the repair of his implements, and who pointed out that the ropes and porters were the main item of wear. j\Ii', Armstrong and others supported this testimony as to the wearing powers of steam implements. In two cases it was shown that heavy lands had been worked at a trifle over 7s. per acre, while with horse work it would have cost at least 14s. The reports showed throughout that the drainage was greatly improved by the breaking-up of the under- soil. He (Mr. Smith) told the Society that years ago, having found it out on his own land, which was cold clay, as stiff as any in England, yet never a drop of rain ran off it ; it all went through into the drains, leaving its fertilising properties in the soil as it passed through. If land coidd be cultivated 8 or 10 inches deep, and the steam-engine brought to bear upon it directly after harvest, what could the result be but a complete commercial success ? The most extraordinary thing in connexion with steam cultivation was, that when land had been worked for some time, it required but a few days of engine work annually, so that farmers could afford to let their horses be idle for a portion of the year ; indeed, since he had cultivated by steam, he had never used more than three horses, whereas before he used six at hard labour. Mr, Bomford showed that it saved him so much in horses that he was going to spend another 1400Z. If, then, by steam cultivation the drainage was improved, the natiu'al consequence in most soils must be an increase of produce. Professor Voelcker, in his Analysis of Soils, stated that there was a vast fertilising quality in our clays ; and this he had experienced on his own farm, where he grew corn every year, wheat and beans going on regularly. As he could not manure the land deep enough for beans every year, he had occasionally to use a little artificial manure ; and no doubt with this kind of cultivation he could keep growing on the cold clay for ever. The great point was to keep up the productive quality by artificial stimulants and deep cultivation. The most prominent feature of steam cultivation, in his opinion, was that it kejit the land clean ; whereas persons who had not the advantage of steam cultivation had dead fallows every four or five years, and had to use three or four opera- tion for their fourth crop. Another prominent feature in the report was the proof it gave that a steam-engine did three or four times more work in one operation than that done by a horse ; a double depth was reached, and a double effect produced. Again, Mr. Prout said he had saved considerably by using Fowler's apparstus. Ui)on the question of produce, Mr. Eandell, who was an excellent farmer, said he did not 676 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. appear to make any increase, but lie acknowledged tliat lie got stronger straw ; and Mr. Stephenson, in Yorkshire, said he got good crops before he used steam cultivators, aud he got no better now. The fact was, that where a man farmed high, it was difficult to drive cultivation beyond a certain point ; but when it was acknowledged that the straw was stronger, it was evident there must be in the end a better result with less manure. Referring to the Chairman's remarks as to an apparatus suitable for light soil, he thought we should not look to reduced prices in machinery. He would not reduce the cost of his, for the machine he worked was as good now as it was ten years ago. The Commissioners said that Howard's windlass was better than his, but that was a matter of opinion. His was constructed upon sound mechanical principles, and had stood the test of ten years' work. He did not, however, wish to enhance the value of his own apparatus. It was of no consequence to him whether he sold one or not. He made them, not to sell, but to work upon his own farm. He would call special attention to No. 8 in the Eeport, showing how an outlay of say 360L on steam-cultivation enabled Mr. Cranfield to add 225 acres to his farm without buying a horse ; otherways he would have required 40 horses in all. Professor Voelcker, referring to a visit he had recently paid to Mr. Prout's farm, bore testimony to the improvement which had been effected in the drainage by steam cultivation ; this, however, was nothing new to him, as he had many years ago seen similar results on Mr. Ruck's farm. This recent visit to Mr. Prout's, continued the Professor, makes me say, I believe that if steam-ploughs were placed on our strong clays, we should ultimately not want any drainage at all. The water that falls now goes through the drains, simply because it runs through the cracks in the ground ; it does not go thi-ough the soil. If, however, the good effects of steam cultivation could be realised, we should have an abundant store of food within the reach of the growing crop ; like Mr. Smith of Woolston, we should only require once now and then a little artificial manure to stimulate the surface, and we could then depend upon the intrinsic virtue of our clay-soils. This may, at the present time, be thought a little Utopian ; but I believe that when steam cultivation has reached a high state of perfection, we shall effect a gi'eat saving in our manures. We shall not then require any looking after our drains, nor shall we have to take them up, and put fresh pipes in, or furnish extra drains to carry off the water ; for, by the constant cultivation of the heavy clay-lands, we should improve their mechanical condition to such an extent that every inch of rain-fall would be taken up and utilised. Mr. Thukloe could not agree with the preceding speaker, that culti- vation by steam would entirely do away with the necessity for drainage. In the concluding report of the Committee of Investigation, it was stated that engines required to be driven at a imiform speed, and jn-ctty fast, by which, he presumed, was meant that the steam apparatus for breaking up the land ought to go at a uniformly quick pace. In that view he quite concurred ; but he feared that with Howard's apparatus the thing Steam Cultivation. 677 could not be done in all cases or in all weathers. That apparatus was worked by a leather strap (A Voice : " It can be worked in many ways"). At any rate that was one of the ways, and the strap could not always be kept on in wet and windy weather, although in fine weather no doubt the apparatus answered extremely well. He mentioned that defect some time ago to Mr. Howard, who then brought out a union-joint, which was fixed to the central axle of the fly-wheel, and, of course, being so fixed, it retarded the pace. If any- thing could be devised by Mr. Howard to make the aj^paratus work in all weathers, they would have an almost perfect implement. Mr, BoiiFORD explained with reference to his piu-chasc of a double set, that he had 600 acres of land where he lived, and 300 nine miles away ; it was for the 300 acres that the second set was purchased, and when not required for his o^ti purposes he intended to let it out. If the 900 acres were all together, one set of tackle woidd be sufficient. As soon as his crop was off he was anxious to get his land broken up. The work could only be done in fine weather, and therefore the sooner the better. Mr. BuLSTEODE, who had read with great pleasure the full and able report of the Commissioners, said that the question of outlay woukl always be one of primary importance to the ordinary farmers of Eng- land, The trials made hitherto were in favour of the direct system, in which the apparatus was the most scientific, but also the most expensive ; and if farmers were to take the verdict of that Society from the trials already made, they would have to purchase at a cost from 800Z. to 1500L, which a great many neither would nor could do. The reports, which quite coincided with his own experience, revealed several startling results. In the first place, the trials of machinery did not appear to have been always successful. Two machines, pur- chased by Lord Berners and Lord Vernon, respectively, though they took piizes at the Shows where they were exhibited, yet both proved failures in practice. Again, although the stationary or roundabout system had been condemned by that Society, yet hundreds of sets on that system had been working successfully for years, and had yielded a good profit to those using them, Mr. Smith, of Woolston, being among the number. The results, though at first rather startling, ceased to be so, if they considered how the trials had been made. There were small regular plots of ground, the machines were of the best description, and the men by whom they were managed were skilled men, well up to their work. All this involved great advantage over the work on an ordinary farm, and, in some degree, exjilained why a system of gi'cat general utility did not appear to advantage when compared with one of greater cost and special excellence. The case was something like that of a short run between a thoroughbred racer and a hunter. This was a matter which he thought should be specially brought before the farmers of this country ; for if they found many instances in which farmers having engines from 8 to 10 horse-power were enabled, by making an additional outlay of from 250Z, to 300/., to adopt steam- cultivation successfully, surely it was a matter well VOL. III.— S. S. 2 Y 678 Abstract licport of Agricvltural Discussions. wortliy of attention. Had farmers simply followed the verdict of tlie Society, they must Lave spent from 800/. to 1500Z., or have let steam- cultivation alone. At the same time, while sjieakiug so positively in favour of the stationary system, he hoped he should not bo misunder- stood. He was perfectly convinced, and the remarks of the Commis- sioners bore him out in stating, that the direct system was the most scientific and economical for farms of large size, and with fields favourably situated ; but on farms of ordinary size, with fields of ordinary shape, with ordinary covenants and leases, and with ordinary purses the indirect system was generally the best, and would produce the greatest result with the least risk. To those who asked, "Why not hire machinery on the more economical and scieutific system ? " the remarks of the Commissioners on the hiring system afforded a full and sufficient answer. The two great advantages of steam-cultivation, namely, a reduction of the number of horses required, and facilities for performing operations at a rapid pace, were both to a great extent lost under the hiring system. Farmers could not venture to reduce their horse-strength, if uncertain whether they could have an engine to cultivate their fields when they wanted it ; if, a few days after ploughing, they thought it would be advantageous to give the land a good stirring with the drag- harrow, which was a very valuable adjunct to steam-cultivation, they could not do it if the machinery was gone. In the Litter case, they would have to fall back on their horses, letting them travel over the ground, thus undoing much of the very work which had just been done so carefully and at such great expense. Again, under the hiring system, in some cases they would have to j)ay almost double what the rate of cost would be if they had tackle at home. Others might differ from him on that point, but such was the result in his own case. Then, again, such was the importance of judicious management, that, without it, the best tackle made might be perfectly useless, while with it even inferior tackle might be comjiaratively useful. Sometimes persons did a great deal of mischief to their tackle by doing at once what ought to be done in two or three consecutive operations. Again, it was most important to avoid all inmecessary hindrances. When he first began cultivating by steam, he had so many stoj)i:)ages that he soon began to study how he could reduce them to a minimum, and ho found it most imjiortant for the tackle to be worked in the best manner. An advantage of the indirect system, which had hardly been sufficiently spoken of, was the saving in the exiiense of water-carriage, for whereas under the direct system on many farms the water-carriage must involve great cxi>ense and vexation, imder the indirect system it could be done almost for a nominal sum. His object, he wished it to be understood, was not to condemn tho more scientific ajijiaratus, which was well adai)tcd for large and special farms, but to show the great value of the cheap and stationary apparatus. He felt iierfectly convinced that steam-cultivation would overcome all the obstacles it had to contend with. It had needed, however, some impetus, and he was sure the thanks of the country were due to the Eoyal Agricultural Steam Cultivation. 679 Society of England for tlio money wliich liad been devoted to tlie late investigation, and for the ability displayed in the valuable reports wliich had been published. Mr. Davis totally dissented from the opinion that steam-cultivation would produce any eft'oct on strong land, imless thoroughly drained in the first instance. Whilst complimenting the Commissioners on the ability with which they had done their work, he pointed out instances of divergence in their statements which he did not see how to recon- cile. For instance, in one rejjort it was stated that the tackle could be removed in an hour and a half, by four horses; in another, tluit the work of removal would require six horses for a day and a half ! He believed it was quite impossible for any man, however active, to remove tackle from his farm in less than half a day. Mr. Edmonds said he had had a steam-plough for three or four years, and liked it extremely ; in fact he should not like now to farm without one, especially on strong land. He could not agree with Dr. Voelcker, that with steam cultivation they could do away with drainage altogether ; for in practice they found that with a depth of 10 or 12 feet of clay, the rainfall would either remain on the land till it was evajiorated, or nnist run away from the surface through the drains, and he did not think it could remain long enough to evaporate without injuring the crops. His opinion was that they must continue to drain deeply in clay-soil, and one advantage of the steam-plough was that it would help to do away with deep furrows. On light laud he thought steam-cultivation was much less expensive than cultivation with horses ; but the implements at present employed might bo im- proved, and special attention should be directed to those reqiiired for the after-working of the soil. Land laid uj) in autumn, and left in that state in winter, might in his opinion be prepared for a crop with a simi3le scarifying. In his neighbourhood coals cost about IZ. per ton, and it would be well if something could be dune to economise fuel. The difficulty of getting Fowler's plough on to strong land in wet weather might be obviated by having roads on headlands, or by having a patten, like Boydell's, on the wheels of the engine. Under ordinary circumstances it took about two hours to remove a set of Fowler's tackle with a pair of extra horses. Lord Vernon, who farms nearly 2000 acres of very heavy clay-land, which he at first regarded as a hopeless task, said : — I watched very carefully the series of trials, which commenced at Leeds, down to that which took place at the last Show of the Society at Newcastle. I had the honour to act, during almost the whole time, as one of the Stewards of Implements connected with steam-ploughing ; but it was long before I could satisfy my mind that any implement had sufficient power to work my land. It is perfectly true, as stated by Mr. Bulstrcdc, that the prize set of apparatus on the direct system, which I bought at Newcastle, did not work so successfully on my farm as on the trial ; but I am perfectly satisfied that, so far as the trial went, the judges, who devoted an immense amount of attention to tho task, came to a correct decision, and chose the best imT)lcmcnt exhibited ; and I caa 2 Y 2 680 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. only account for its not proving so successful on my own farm by tho fact tliat the land was unusually stiff and ungrateful, and tliat tlie breakages were, in consequence, very heavy. I am very glad to have this opportunity of stating that Mr. Fowler, of whom I bought that implement, supplied me with other apparatus on terms very creditable to him indeed ; and that set, which has been on my farm for a year, has worked very successfully in every way. I might appeal to Mr. Wilson to confirm my statement that, instead of laud which was before almost uuiu'oductive, I have now land which will produce some of the best wheat-crops in the county, It is, I think, hardly fair to lay the blame of any failm-e on the Society, for the successful adoption of steam-cultivation has been very gradual. I have no doubt that, as we go on, we shall improve in details. It is my opinion — I know it differs from that of many of my colleagues on the Council — that trials of steam-cultivators, which are enormously expensive, ought not to be so frequent as they are now ; and that, as we have now a codification of the results of steam-cultivation throughout England, when trials hereafter recur, thrice as much attention should be paid to them as has been paid hitherto. My experience as a Steward of Steam-culti- vation has been that the duties of the judges have been almost more than men could perform within the time allotted to them, and cer- tainly more than consistent with securing a satisfactory report of results. I cannot quite agree with Mr. Smith, of Woolston, that when the ploughing-apparatus is not at work there is no cost attend- ing it. The case has been very different with me. I have Avorked my apparatus with an expensive staff; the manager has been paid very high wages ; and I am firmly convinced that unless duly qua- lified men, superior to ordinary agricultural labourers, are employed, the cost of breakages will be enormous. If the wages paid are higher than those of ordinary agricultural laboiu-ers, the excess should be fairly set down to the apparatus. I may add that I pay my staff on the scale recommended to me by Mr. Fowler, and I find from the reports of the Commissioners that it is not higher than what is generally paid elsewhere. I did not think, when Dr. Voelcker got up, that he would so completely dash certain of my hopes to the ground. I live, as I have intimated, in a district where the laud is very stiff, and where 3000 acres have been drained at a cost of 6Z. 10s. per acre ; so that his remarks on drainage have rather damped my feelings. His Lordship concluded by remarking how very highly the Society ought to value the labours of the Commissioners. Dr. Voelcker, in explanation, said it was an accepted axiom that without drainage no improvement of land was possible, and he had not intended to express any opinion to the contrary. His remarks ajiplied to the futiu'c ; his imj)ression being that, many years hence, after plenty of good steam-cultivation, the mechanical condition of the land would be so improved that the want of drainage would be far less than at present. Of course they must begin with drainage, and what he hoped for might not be realised in some cases under 10, 20, or even 50 years. He had been speaking prophetically. Steam Cultivation. 681 The President said lie had hoped that Professor Voelcker, for whose scicntitic attainments he felt the greatest possible respect, was going to withdraw altogether what ho must characterise as rank heresy. Mr. Smite (of Woolston) observed that he had worked his tackle with his ordinary farm-labourers from the time he started, eleven years ago, and had found no difficulty whatever. He had experienced no breakages, and his implement was as good now as ever it was. In consequence of his windlass being made on an unsound princiide, he changed it at the end of about four years, and adopted the 4-wheeled windlass, which had kept in very good order. The cost was compa- ratively trifling, being simply the interest of money on about 180Z. to himself, but 2iOL to other people. Mr. Holland, M.P., having remarked upon the advantage likely to arise from the j)ublication of the Eeport in the Society's Journal, said : — There is this feature in connexion with all professions, that you should have a knowledge of the individual with reference to whom, as a professional man, you are about to act. The first act of a medical man, when treating a patient, is to feel his pulse ; and so, in like manner, we should feel the pulse of our own land, so to speak, before we apply steam-power to it in any shape. In this Eeport any man who wishes to apjjly steam-power to his land, whatever that land may be, will find all the information he needs in a condensed and handy shape. Now, in spite of what Dr. Voelcker says, I believe that you must have deep drainage in connexion with steam-ploughing. Take my own county for example. The heavy land in the Vale of Gloucester is all in deep ridge and furrow, the work of some unkind agriculturists in former ages, and this must all be undone by the steam-cultivator before we shall make a full profit out of that land. It is thrown up in such immense high ridges, that a 5 ft. G in. man, in one fm-row, can hardly be seen from the next adjoining fui-row. And not only is the land on the surface of that shape ; but, on going down into the subsoil, you find that the undcr-surface has taken the same shape, and that that is a heavy clay. How, then, are you to deal with land such as that, without drainage ? Again, these furrows very seldom run l^arallel with one another, and are generally in the form of an S. I tried to drain them in parallel lines, but my drainage fixilcd, and I was obliged to follow the old course of ridge-furrows, as the only mode of getting the water off the land. Through the applications of steam- ploughing, however, I am gradually bringing down these high ridges. I find that we need not be at the expense of putting drains in the fur- rows so deep as would be otherwise necessary ; and now, after seven years' steam-ploughing, I have more or less done away with the ridges, and made the surface comi^arativcly flat. I too, like Mr. Smith, find that the water docs not run off the land, so as to do it damage by carrying away the fine soil into the furrows ; but now that the water runs off through the drains, it takes a much less quantity with it ; and I admit that the drainage is of less conse- quence now than it was formerly, because there is a larger flow of water through the interstices of the land into the drains, and the land is placed in such a position that it can take advantage of the rainfalls. 682 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. I should be sorry, however, under any circumstances, to begin the expensive system of steam-ploughing without the previous application of drainage to the land. Turning to another aspect of the question, I consider steam-culti- vation as not only a revolution in our method of working the heavy clay-lands of this country, but also a moral revolution, ali'ecting every class of persons connected with agriculture. I look upon it as im- possible for tenants in the long run to take up steam-ploughing, unless the farms are put into proper condition for them. Small fields and hedgerows must be done away with, for exijerience tells me that the economy of steam-ploughing depends on the quantity of rope employed, and the absence of impediments caused by hedgerows. But an important question now arises, " Will the tenant-farmer, when the advantages of steam-ploughing are well understood throughout the country, embark his capital in the enterprise where his tenancy is for a short period only ? " I believe that we shall find these hold- ings cease to be yearly, and that a system of leasing will pervade the whole country. Here I connect the landlord and the tenant together in the matter of steam-ploughing ; let me now connect the labourer with it, and show what will be the moral advantage to him. Of course you take your best labom-ers ; like Mr. Smith, I have men from my own village who have been educated as steam-ijloughers. The term during which I have been engaged in the system has given time enough for a generation of young steam - labourers to grow W]} ; and I find that those have become a species of aristocracy among the villagers, that they value the advantages of their position, and are determined to hold it, and have their children educated also, so that they in their turn may become some of the best men in the village. All these things are going on together ; and, as I have remarked elsewhere, your best laboui'ers, your steam-ploughers, or those Avhom you employ in connexion with steam-cultivation, must come out of decent cottages. Mr. Stephenson spoke in favour of the round-about system, after ten years' experience of it. He concurred in thinking that all land ought to be ch-ained before it was steam-ploughed. Mr. Watts, who had been working Fowler's apparatus for the past six years, said that last season he added another engine to the set. Like Mr. Holland, he had had to encounter the difiiculty of some very high-backed land, which, however, he had gradually reduced, and in every way he was satisfied with the system. The labom-ers in the field had been taught to work the apparatus successfully. Mr. CoLE3iAN (Chelmsford), whilst concurring in what bad been said with respect to the value of the reports published in the Society's Journal, drew attention to the fact that in the statistical report the cost of working the apparatus constructed by himself was shown in a difierent manner to that generally adopted throughout the rej)ort. The case he referred to was in No. 23, where the cost of working was represented as 17s. M. per acre, whereas he believed that taking a day's work at 11. lis. 4d. for seven acres per day, it was under 5s. an acre. But by some curious arrangement, which he did not under- Steam Cultivation. 683 stand, a cliarge of 31. lis. 3d. was added, tlius producing a result of 17s. 4.(1. per acre. He fancied it must have arisen thus : — The year 1865, when only 150 acres were done, was an unfortunate year for steam-ploughing, and he presumed that the whole amount of the interest on capital, maintenance, and so forth, was concentrated in those few days. Mr. Jacob Wilson, who had been appealed to by Lord Vernon, in the course of his address, said that when his Lordshij) commenced steam cultivation, although he had a very small farm in hand, he had to engage a special staff to work a pair of engines. In fact, he was simjily working for the good of his tenantry ; and when the men were not employed in steam operations, they were occupied in the 2'>lfinta- tions and in other work. No practiced farmer would take that as a fair example of employing agricultural labour ; but he could now get labourers in Northumberland who could work the engine efficiently ; in fact, any of his boys were quite competent to the task. He had adopted Fowler's double-set engine after much attention to the subject of steam cultivation, and opportunities of investigating the trials of the Koyal Agricultural Society, which many other men had not possessed. Up to the year 1864, he had never seen a set of tackle which to his mind was what he wanted. He might, perhaps, be peculiarly situated in having three roads running through his farm ; consequently, however, much he enlarged his fields, he always had crooked fences. Owing to the difficulty in working about circuitous hedges with a single engine, he obtained a Fowler's direct set ; with tliis he was perfectly satisfied, for he could work it at any angle in any corner, and from whatever jilace he chose to put the engine. In his coimtry the best coal was from 3s. to 4s. a ton, which brought expenses down considerably, in comparison with those of 3Ir. Euck. It was a matter of deep gratification to him to have been associated in the preparation of the report, and that it had been so well seconded by the country at large, and especially by gentlemen who used machi- nery in the cultivation of the land, of whatever make it might be. The desire of the Council was, that the report should have no bias in favour of, or against any individual maker ; and he was sure that the reporters would have the credit given them of having made a fair statement. That report would, he thought, bring out one point in a practical way which had never before been educed. A great many persons, whom he might term amateurs, seemed to think of going into steam cultivation, with the hope that it would do evcnj- tliinij for them ; but those who had had exjierience of its working, he was sure, would agree with him that there could be no greater mistake. Even in the matter of manure, for instance, his experience was that he did not want less, but probably more, because steam enabled him to grow a greater variety of crops. That, he thought, settled the point. The President had told them that only a very few farmers had had this moans of cultivating the land for more than five years, in fact, he (Mr. Wilson) believed that, as a rule, it could not be for more than three or four years. Now, during that period they would naturally have, as he himself had experienced, a good deal of u^J-hill work. 684 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. They probably went a little deeper tban necessary. Perhaps tliey broke the pan, and probably some part of their imjjlements also. It was not, therefore, until their second course through the farm that they realised the great advantage derivable from the system. Mr. liandell was one of the few men who had been long at it ; and cer- tainly, to raise, as he had done, the value of a farm consisting of a strong blue tough clay from 8s. an acre to its present value, said a great deal for the utility of steam cultivation. Most fervently did he hope that the best wishes of the Council for the furtherance of English agriculture, and especially for steam cultivation, would be amply realised through this Keport. Mr. Beale Browke said he was the occupier of about 2000 acres of land, and had been in possession of one of Fowler's sets of tackle for six years. This he had kept in constant use, and he had arrived at the conclusion that it was a fine weather implement only, and that in such circumstances it was most valuable ; but it ought not to be used at any other time. He did not think that the cost of working, had anything to do with the question; in comparison with horse-labour, the chief advantage of it v.as, that it could be used and made to do an enormous amount of work at the right time. After repudiating the notion that in consequence of the adojjtion of steam cultivation, they would be able to do without manures, he said one of the faults ho found with the system was, that he sometimes went deeper than he wished to go ; but on the whole he could speak most highly of it, and his only wonder was that it was not more widely adopted. Mr. Morton suggested that as the reports were of so valuable a character it was desirable that they should be circulated in a cheaper form than in the Society's Journal. The President stated that it was intended to publish them in a 5s. volume directly ; and that if it were found necessary the Council would no doubt be prejiared to publish an extract at a still lower price, eighteen pence or a shilling. As Mr. Browne had described his imple- ment as a fine-weather one, he wished to know whether that remark applied to Fowler's only or to any other steam api:)aratus ? Mr. Browne rejjlied that ho could not speak much of any other than Fowler's, because he had never had any other, and no other was used in his neighbourhood, Swindon in Wiltshire. In wet weather it was found that tlie tackle broke ; and, in fact, he was of opinion that the time for bringing it out was when the sun shone on both sides of the hedge, and they could do a good long day's work. It had been observed that the ordinary agricultural labourer was not qualified for the work, but he had installed his men into the office, and, following the instructions given by Mr. Fowler, had had no difficulty whatever in working the apparatus with them ; of course theii- wages had to be raised. Mr. James Webb said that within a radius of seven miles of Evesham, there were not less than nine sets of tackle at work, so he was obliged to follow the stream. Those who used it five or six years ago were using it now, those who had come into the neighbourhood since had adopted it, and there was not one instance of its proving Steam Cultivation. 685 unsuccessful or being given up. He mentioned this because in the vicinity of Worcester, which was not many miles off, two or three landlords had started implements which were always under repair. Success, he believed, greatly depended on the skill ef the people by whom the machines were worked. Those in the neighbourhood of Evesham, with the exception of Mr. Holland's and one other, were in the hands of the farmers, and worked by their labourers. At first he hesitated whether he should adopt the direct-action, or the round- about system. His farm consisting partly of light land and partly of strong clay, altogether GOO acres in extent, was large enough to have employed the direct-action ; and he could get on it at all times ; but he adopted the cheaper plan, and was perfectly satisfied with the results. The original cost of the steam-engine and tackle, including thrashing apparatus, was 700/. Sir W. Stirling wished to know whether any one present, with a small holding, say of 300, 400, or 500 acres, had pm-chascd a steam- engine himself, and could state the benefit derived from its use. At that moment they were all, as it were, in conflict with the labourers, who were constantly being withdrawn from the land for many and various purposes. Therefore it was, that agriculturists turned to machinery with an anxious eye. He farmed many hundred acres of light land, but had not yet been induced by anything he had heard to lay out a large sum of money in the purchase of a steam-plough ; nor did he find that his neighbours were inclined to do so either. He considered that a discussion like the present would be much more valuable to the farmer than any report that might, be published on the subject, however admirably got up. The President said that Mr. Stephenson, for one, who had given his testimony, was one of the early patrons of steam-machinery, and spoke well of it after eleven years' experience on a farm of about 390 acres. Mr. Robert Helmsley also farmed a small holding by steam. Mr. Webb observed that one of his neighbours purchased an engine last autumn for a farm of less than 400 acres, and had employed it very successfully. Mr. Helmsley said that before introducing the steam-engine on his farm, he looked round to see to what purposes he could apply it besides cultivation, and he had turned it to account in grinding, thrashing, and carrying on a variety of other operations. In his opinion a man ought to have at least 300 acres of arable land if he would use the steam-engine ; he certainly should not have procured one himself had he not held pretty nearly to that extent. The system he adopted was the round-about, which he considered the simplest and best. The President then moved, and the Earl of Powys seconded a vote of thanks to the Committee of Inspection, and especially to the gentlemen who had acted as reporters. The motion having been carried by acclamation — - Mr. Algernon Clarke, one of the reporters, briefly acknowledged the compliment. Speaking for himself and his colleagues, he said they were not prepared to assume the responsibility of recommending VOL. III. — s. s. 2 z 686 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. tlie tackle of any particular maker. In fact, they did not undertake to save people the trouble of thinking for themselves. All they aimed at was to save people the trouble of going round the country for themselves ; they had endeavoured to collect as much information as they could with the least expenditure of their own time and the Society's money; and he could assure them that they had worked hard with that object before them. The President said he perfectly agreed in the course which the reporters had adopted in not assuming the responsibility of recom- mending the tackle of any particular maker. He had only men- tioned the objection taken for the pm-pose of refuting it. Lord Vernon moved a vote of thanks to the President, whom he congratulated upon being the means of completing the Eeport on " Steam Cultivation." END OF VOL. III. — SECOND SERIES. PRINTED BY W. CLOTTES AND 60NS, STAMIOKD STREET, AND CHARING CROSS. 3^0))al ^gncultural ^ocietp of a^nglautr. 1867. HAEKY STEPHEN THOMPSON. Cru£itce£{. AcLAND, Sir Thomas Dyke, Bart., KiUerton Parle, Exeter, Devonshire. Berxers, Lord, Keythorpe Hull, Leicester. Bramstox, Thomas William, Skreens, Chelmsford, Essex. Challoxer, Colonel, Portnall Park, Staines, Middlesex, Chesuam, Lord, Latimer, ChesJiam, Budis. Marlborough, Duke of, Blenheim Pari;, Oxford. PoRTMAX, Lord, Bryanston, Blandford, Dorset. Powis, Earl of, Powis Castle, Welshpool, Montgomeryshire. RuTLAXD, Duke of, K.G., Belvoir Castle, Grantham, Leicestershire, Speaker, The Rt. Hon. the, Ossington, Newark-on-Trent, Notts, Thompson, Harry Stephen, Kirhy Hall, York. Tredegar, Lord, Tredegar Park, Newport, Monmouthshire. Cathcart, Earl, Thomton-le- Street, Thirsk, Yorkshire, Chichester, Earl of, Stanmer Park, Lewes, Sussex, Downshire, Marquis of, East Hampstead Park, Bracknell, Berkshire, Egmoxt, Earl of, Cowdray Park, Petworth, Sussex. EvERSLEY, Viscount, Heckfield Place, Winchfield, Hants. Hill, Viscount, Hawkstone Park, Saloi). Hood, Major-Gen. the Hon. A. Nelson, Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, Berkshire, Johnstone, Sir John V. B., Bart., M.P., Hackness Hall, Scarborough, Yorkshire, Jonas, S-Amuel, ChrishaU Grange, Saffron Walden, Essex. Kerrisox, Sir Edward C, Bart., Brome Hall, Scale, Suffolk, Miles, Su- William, Bart., Leigh Court, Bristol, Somersetshire. Walsixgham, Lord, Merton Hall, Thefford, Norfolk. a^tiftv iHcmbei-g of Council. ACLAND, Thomas Dyke, M.P., Sprydoncote, Exeter, Devonshire. Amos, Charles Edwards, 5, Cedars Bond, Clapham Common, Surrey. Barnett, Charles, Stratton Park, Biggleswade. Bedfordshire. Barthropp, Nathaniel George, Hacheston, Wickham Market, Suffolk. Bowly, Edward, Siddington House, Cirencester, Burgess William, Brentwood, Essex, Cantrell, Charles S., Riding Court, Datchet, Bucks. Clayden, John, Lifflebury, Saffron Walden, Essex. VOL. III. — s. s. a ii List of Officers. Clive, George, M.P., Perrystone, Ross, Herefordshire. Davies, David Keynolds, Mere Old Hall, Knutsford, Cheshire. Dent, J. D., M.P., Eihston Hall, Wetherby, Yorkshire. Devonshire, Diike of, K.G., Holher Hall, Lancashire. Druce, Joskph, Eynsham, Oxford. GiBBS, B. T. Brandreth, Halfmoon Street, Piccadilly, London, W. Holland, Edward, M.P., Dumhleton Hall, Evesham, Gloucestershire. HoRNSBY, EiCHARD, Spittle Gate, Gi-antham, Lincolnshire. HosKYNS, CiLANDOS Wren, Havewood, Boss, Herefordshire. Hudson, John, Castleacre Lodge, Brandon, Norfolk. HuTTON, William, Gate Burton, Gainsboro', Lincolnshire. KiNGscoTE, Colonel, M.P., Eingscote, Wootton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire. Lawes, John Bennet, Eothamsted, St. Albans, Herts. Lawrence, Charles, Cirencester, Gloucestershire. Lopes, Sir Masset, Bart., M.P., Marisfoic, Roborough, Devon. Macdonald, Sir Archibald Keppel, Bart., Woolmer Lodge, Liphook, Hunts. MiLWARD, EiCHARD, Tliurgarton Priory, Southicell, Notts. Pain, Thomas, Ugford Cottage, Salisbury, Wilts. Pope, Edward, Great Toller, Maiden Newton, Dorset. Eandell, Charles, Chadbury, Evesham, Worcestershire. Eead, Clare Sewell, M.P. Honingham Tliorpe, Nonvich. EiCHMOND, Duke of, K.G., Goodwood, Chichester, Sussex. EiDLEY, Sir Matthew White, Bart., M.P., Blagdon, Cramlington, Northumberland. Eigden, William, Hove, Brighton, Sussex. Sanday, William, Holmepierrepont, Notts. Shrewsbury and Talbot, Earl of, Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire. Shuttleworth, Joseph, Hartsholme Hall, Lincoln. Smith, Egbert, Emmett's Grange, Southmolton, Devon. ToRR, William, Aylesby Manor, Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Trollope, The Eight Hon. Sir John, Bart., M.P., Caswick, Stamford, Lincolnshire. Turner, George, Brampford Speke, Exeter, Devonshire. Vane, Sir Henry Ealph. Bart., Hutton Hall, Penrith, Cumberland. Vernon, Lord, Sudbury Hall, Derby. Wallis, Owen, Overstone Grange, Northampton. Wells, William, Hohnewood, Peterborough, Northamptonshire. Western, Sir Thomas B., Bart., M.P., Felix Hall, Kelvedon, Essex. Wilson, Major Fuller Maitland, Stowlangtoft Hall, Bury St. Edmund's, Suffolk, Wilson, Jacob, Woodhorn Manor, Morpeth, Northumberland. Wilson, Professor, Iver, Uxbridge, Bucks. Wynn, Sir Watkin Williams, Bart, M.T., Wynnstay, Bhuabon, Denbighshire. H. HALL DARE, 12, Hanover Square, London, W. Editor — P. H. Frere, Paston House, Cambridge. Consulting-Chemist — Dr. Augustus Voelcker, 11, Salisbury Square, E.C. Veterinary-Lispector — James Beart Simonds, Poyal Veterinary College, N.W. Consulting Engineer— J aues Easton, or C. E. Amos, Grove, Soidhwarh, S.E. Seedsmen — Thomas Gibbs and Co., Corner of Halfmoon Street, Piccadilly, W. Publisher — John Murray, 50, Albemarle Street, W. Bankers— Tjm London and Westminster Bank, St. James's Square Branch, S.W. ( iii ) STANDING COMMITTEES FOR 1867. Hood, Maj.-Gen. the Hon. Chairman. Barnett, Charles. Bramston, T. W. dFinancc Committee. A. Nelson, Kingscote, Colonel, M.P. Randell, Charles. ToRR, William. The President. Chairman of Finance Committee Chesham, Lord. Bramston, T. W. flouiSe Committee. Challoner, Colonel. GiBBS, B. T. Brandreth. ToRR, William. SJounial Committee. Thompson, H. S., Chaii-man. Dent, J, D., M.P. Cathcart, Earl, Vice-Chairman. Holland, Ed., M.P. Speaker, The Pvt. Hon. the. Hoskyns, C. Wren. Johnstone, Sir J. V. B., Bt., M.P. Milward, Richard. Kerrison, Sir E. C, Bt. Wallis, Owen. AcLAND, T. Dyke, M.P. Wilson, Jacob, C]^emical Committee. Holland, Ed., M.P. Hoskyns, C. Wren. Huxtable, Ven. Archdeacon, Thompson, H. S, Wells, William. Wilson, Jacob, Lawes, J. B., Chairman. Cathcart, Earl. Vernon, Lord. Johnstone, Su- J. V. B., Bt., M.P. Kerrison, Sir E. C, Bt. Lopes, Sir Massey, Bt., M.P. Dent, J. D., M.P. Tetertnarw Committee. Hood, Maj.-Gen. the Hon. A. Nelson, Paln, Thos. Chairman. Simonds, Professor. Johnstone, Sir J. V. B., Bt., M.P. Spooner, Professor. Challoner, Colonel. Varnell, Professor. Dent, J. D., M.P. Wells, Willl^m. GlBBS, B. T. BRANDP.ETH. WiLSON, JACOB. Walsingham, Lord. Hood, Maj.-Gen. the Hon. A. Barnett, Charles. Barthropp, Nathaniel G. Bowly, Edward. Clayden, John. Dent, J. D., M.P. Drcce, Joseph. GiBBS, B. T. Brandreth. Holland, Ed., M.P. Hudson, John. Jonas, Samuel. nockfl^vi\t$ Committee. MiLWARD, Richard. Nelson. Pain, Thomas. Pope, Edward. Randell, Chas. RiGDEN, Wm. Smith, Robert. Simonds, Professor. ToRR, William. Turner, George. Wallis, Owen. Wilson, Jacob. a 2 IV Standing Committees for 18G7. {mpUmcnt Cor.imftttt. Challoner, Colonel, Chairman. Cathcart, Earl. Verxox, Lord. Hood, Maj.-Gen. the Hon. A. NELSON. Kerrison, Sir E. C, Bt. Macdonald, Sir A. K., Bt. Amos, C. E. Burgess, William. Cantrell, Chas. S. Druce, Joseph. GiBBS, B. T. Brandreth. Holland, Ed., M.P. #fucval 2aiir Lord Tredegar, Chairman. Powis, Earl of! Chesham, Lord. Portjian, Lord. Vernon, Lord. Hood, Maj.-Gen. the Hon. A. Nelson. Sir E. C. Kerrison, Bt. Barnett, Charles. Barthropp, N. G. Bowly, Edward. Burv, The JLayor of. Bramston, T. W. Cantrell, Charles S. Challoner, Colonel. Clay, G. P, Clayden, John. HoRNSBY, Richard. HosKYNs, C. Wren. Eandell, Charles. Read, C. S., M.P. Sanday, William. Shpttleworth, Joseph. Thompson, H. S. ToRR, William. Wallis, Owen. Wilson, Professor. Wilson, Jacob. 1) Commtttu. Dent, J. D., M.P. Gibbs, B. T. Brandreth. Greene, E., M.P. Holland, E., M.P. HosKYNS, C. Wren. Jonas, Samuel. Le Grice, Henry. MiLWARD, Richard. Paln, Thomas. Randell, Charles. Read, C. S., M.P. Shuttle WORTH, Joseph. Thompson, H. S. ToRR, William. Wilson, Major. Wilson, Jacob. GUucation ^ommttttf. Powis, Earl of, Chairman. Druce, Joseph. Walsingham, Lord. Erere, P. H. Johnstone, Sir J. Y. B., M.P. Hoskyns, C. Wren. Kerrison, Sir E. C, Bt. Read, C. S., M.P. Acland, T. Dyke, M.P. Thompson, H. S. Barthropp, N. G. Wallis, Owen. Clayden, John. Wi^lls, William. Dent, J. D., M.P. Voelcker, Professor. SI)otu?^ai-lJ Conti-actS Committee. Randell, Charles, Chairman. Cathcart, Earl. Vernon, Lord. Hood, Maj.-Gen. the Hon. A. Nelson. Amos, C. E. Gibbs, B. T. Brandreth. Committee of ^election. HoRNSBY, Richard. Sanday, William. Shuttleworth, Joseph. Thompson, H. S. Tour, William. Cathcart, Earl. P 00 o ° O Ct O in OS o O CI m o o o a. to o vn to c< O I- > « la r-i to ^ i-t o --< o Tj« *- -^ *- O CI 00 CO ■# to to to O M r-l O O O O O t- rH O O O O t- CO to Irt *- O i- 00 C^ rH 1-1 Q\\Ci o o O O I o o 1 o o I M CO I ww o 3^ , — . ° ''3 ^.3 M>>^Ja, ;Q-iPa!P-i O « .go S d "" S n I o3 S <» 5 S .2 ' 3 " ir! . .saw ;c5 'O O eS OpMfq 5 = 5 m to W 00 O CO CO « O rl to rH O O to CO CO o o in o o o o o o o o in O O O CO in rH c^i in •^ cN in o o o O 00 t- in CI cs CM r-l to :.& a -i .9 ^ooSS gMw<( III Xll Dr. ROYAL AGRICULTURx\L Half-yearly Cash Account To Balance in hand, 1st July, 1866 : Bankers Secretary To sale of Stock, lOOOi. New 3 Per Cents. ., To Income, viz. : — Dividends on Stock Subscriptions : — Governors' Annual Members' Life-Compositions Members' Annual Journal : — Sales Advertisements ". £. s. d. 25 0 0 80 0 0 863 1 0 (1 Year) 112 8 0 .. .. 34 1 0 £. s. ,627 0 26 5 280 13 3 968 1 0 146 9 0 £. s. d. [,653 0 873 18 1,395 3 3 £3,922 8 0 Balance-Sheet, „, ^ ., , liabilities. 1 o Capital : — Surplus, 30th June, 1866 , .. ,. Less Surplus of Expenditure over Income during the Half-year, viz : — Expenditure Income £. s. d. 23,993 18 5 1,986 2 7 t:22,0O7 15 10 (Signed) A. N. HOOD, Chairman of Finance Committee. QUILTER, BALL, & Co., Arcovvtauts. SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. FROM 1st July to 31st December, 1866. XIll Cr. By Expenditure : — £. s. d. Establishment — Official Salaries, Wages, &c. .. 344 18 0 House Expenses, Rent, Taxes, &c. 347 7 8 Additions to House and Architect's charges 642 4 0 Journal :— Printing 413 1 0 Delivery and Advertising .. .. 123 0 2 Stitching (2 Numbers) ,. .. 156 1 1 Prize Essays 150 0 0 Wrappers (4 Numbers) .. .. 27 0 0 Other Contributions 112 2 0 Editor's Salary 250 0 0 Chemical : — Consulting Chemist's Salaiy Veterinary : — Grant to Royal Veterinary College (half-year) . . Advertising Postage and Carriage Education Steam Cultivation Enquiry (on account) Subscriptions received in error by Bankers returned By Bury St. Edmunds Meeting By Balance in hand, Dec. 31, 1866 :— Bankers Secretary 31st December, 1866. £. «. d. 3,393 12 7 .528 15 5 £3,922 8 0 ASSETS. By Cash in hand ■ By New 3 per cent. Stock 18,027Z. 19s. 6rf. cost |*17,268 14 By Books and Furniture in Society's House By Show- Yard Plant By Bury St. Edmunds Meeting, Preliminary Expenses * Value at S9i=:£,U0S9 19s. 3d. Mem. — The above Assets are exclusive of the amount recoverable in respect of arrears of Subscription to 31st December, 1860, which at that date amounted to 1293i. £. s. d. 528 15 5 7,268 14 1 2,000 0 0 2,000 0 0 210 6 4 £22,007 15 10 Examined, audited, and found correct, this 23rd day of January, 1867. (Signed) HENRY CORBET, \ Auditors on the FILINCIS SHERBOPvN, / 2Ktrt of the Society. ( xiv ) AGEICULTUKAL EDUCATION. The results of the Oxford Local Examinations held in June, 1866, are communicated in the Eeport of the Council to the General Meeting, held December 12th, 1866, page vii. The Council determined last year to offer Scholarships, in addition to prizes, for both Senior and Jimior Candidates, in connection with the Cambricfge Local Examinations held in December, 1866. The scheme was as follows : — Prizes. I. To candidates who answer papers to be set in Mechanics and Chemistry as applied to Agriculture. Open to Seniors and Juniors who have passed the Preliminary Examination, as above, and also to any young men not exceeding 25 years of age (duly recommended). Mechanics applied to Agriculture £10 Chemistry applied to Agriculture 10 II. To Candidates who obtain certificates, regard being had to their place in the General Class List. Seniors, a first prize of £5 Juniors, a first prize of 5 III. To Candidates who (having passed the Preliminary Exami- nation) are distinguished in any of the following special subjects : — Seniors. q ,. y j Pure Mathematics, a first prize of £5 ( Applied Mathematics, a first prize of . . . . 5 Section P. Chemistry, a fii'st prize of 5 Section G. 1. Zoology, and the Elements of Animal Phy- siology, a first prize of 6 2. Botany, and the Elements of Vegetable Phy- siology, a first prize of 5 3. Geology, including Physical Geography, a first prize of 5 No student will be examined in more than one of these three divisions (1) (2) (3). Juniors. Section 7. Pure Mathematics, a first prize of £5 Section 8. Mechanics, a first prize of 5 Section 9. Chemistry, a first prize of 6 Section 10. 1 J,")T?°;l^gy'^^f*P^^%^^ ^ [ (o) iJotany, a fii'st prize oi 5 No student will be examined in more than one of the two divisions (a) and (b). A sum of 30Z. will be given away in secondary prizes of not less than 21, each according to the discretion of the Committee. Agricultural Education. xv The Comieil also offer (besides the foregoing prizes) 1 Senior Scholarship of 50Z., and 4 Junior Scholarships of 20Z., to be com- peted for at the ensuing Cambridge Local Examinations in December, 1866, limited to sons of tenant-farmers, or of owners, if not exceeding 500 acres, occupying their own land, on the following conditions : — • That the Senior Scholarship shall only be given on condition that the scholar spend a year with a practical agricultm-ist, to be approved by the Education Committee, or at one of the Agricvxltural Colleges, such as Cirencester, Glasnevin, or the Agricultm-al Department at Edinburgh, and that the money shall not be paid until a testimonial as to good conduct and industry be produced, at the end of the year of scholarship, from the body or person under whom the scholar has studied. That the Junior Scholarships shall only be given upon condition that the scholars spend a year at a school to be approved by the Education Committee, and that the money shall not be paid imtil a testimonial as to good conduct and industry be produced, at the end of the year of scholarship, from the persons under whom the scholars have studied. These Scholarships will be awarded according to the order in which the Candidates stand at the Cambridge Local Examinations. To compete for these prizes 74 Candidates offered themselves, 21 of whom were Senior, 45 Junior Candidates. (There were 6 Candi- dates for Mechanics applied to Agriculture, 10 in Chemistry applied to Agricultm-e. No Candidate fulfilled the necessary conditions to enable him to compete for the Senior Scholarship. For the four Junior scholarships 7 entered. The following is the Prize List. Names of Successful Candidates at the Examination held in connection with the cambridge local exabiinations, 1866. List I. — Chemistry applied to Agriculture. Name. School. Prize. E. Swanwick .. R. A. College, Cirencester £2 List II. — Prizes to Candidates vjIio obtain Certificates, regard being had to their place in the General Class List. Seniors. C. J. Langley .. Abington Ho. Sc, Northampton, the first prize £5 H. T. Bovey .. Clevedon Coll., Northampton, a prize of ..2 T. Hill .. .. Grammar Sc, Wolverhampton „ ,. ..2 W. Waterhouse Grammar School, Lancaster „ .. ..2 Juniors. E, King .. .. Abington Ho. Sc, Northampton, the first prize £5 J. E. Betts .. Mr. Dm-ham's, Northampton, a prize of .. .. 2 H. Cooch., .. „ „ „ 2 E. B. Hunt .. Clewer House Sc, Windsor „ 2 F. N. Weaver ,. Grammar Sc, Wolverhampton „ 2 Agricultural Education. List III. — Prizes given to Candidates iclio, having passed the Prelimi7iary Examinations, are distinguished in any of the subjects mentioned in the B. A. S. E. Prize List, Name. *C. J. Langley *H. T. Bovey .. *H. T. Bovey .. *C. J. Langley T. W. L. Hay .. W. P. Eeynolds *W. Waterliouse * W. H. Chippindall School. Abington House School Clevedon College .. Abington House School Brewood Grammar Sc. Clewer Hoiise School Gr. Sc, Lancaster .. Pure Mathcs. £5 — - £2 Mixed Maths. 5 — 2 2 2 j Chemistry \ & Zoology Botany Geology — 2 Pure Mathcs. £5 — - £2 2 Juniors. *W. S. Waymouth Montvidere Ho., Torquay *J. E. Betts .. Mr. Durham's, Northampton „ *E. King .. .. Abington House School . . „ *E. King .. .. „ „ Mixed Maths. *W. S. Waymouth Montvidere Ho., Torquay * J. E. Betts .. Mr. Durham's . . E. Cambridge . . Liverpool Institute . . *R. Capron .. EuUand's Sc, Taunton E. Hicks . . . . Clewer House School *H. Cooch .. Mr. Durham's *E. B. Hunt .. Clewer House School Junior Scholarships Of 201. each, given upon condition that the scholars spend a year at a scliool to he approved hy the Education Committee. Chemistry 55 Zoology 55 Botany Clevedon College. " " Clewer House School, Windsor. Abington House School, Northampton. Clewer House School, Windsor. C. A. Day Charles Higham E.B.Hunt E.King .. .. J. E. Vidlcr .. In all these lists where prizes of the same value are given to more than one candidate for the same subject, the candidates' names are arranged in alphabetical order; and where the value of the prize does not exceed 21. the prize is to be given in books. * Those candidates to whose names an asterisk is prefixed appear in the special Cambridge list of distinguished candidates. It will be seen that there arc 5 Junior Scholarships given away. The 5th was added by a special resolution of the Council, held on the 6th inst., the 5th competitor having done very well,_and there being a very slight difference in the number of marks obtained by him and the competitor who stood 4th in order of merit. ( xvii ) (^^^a)}^ antr l^epovt^. AWAEDS FOE 1866. Class V. The competing Essays were not considered worthy of a Prize. Class VIII. The Prize of 10/. was awarded to Mr. Geoeoe Maw, of Benthall Hall, Broseley, Staffordshire. VOL. III. — S. S. ( xviii ) i^urg ftt CftrmunK^ iMeetins, 1867: IN THE WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY, JULY 15. Reference Number iii Certificates. Class. 1 2 3 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 SCHEDULE OF PRIZES. I.— Live-Stock Prizes offered by the Society. (All Ages calculated to July 1st, 1867). CATTLE. Short-Horned. Bull, above three and not exceeding six years old Bull, above two and not exceeding three years old Yearling Bull, above one and not exceeding two years old Bull-Calf, above six and not exceeding twelve months old Cow, above three years old Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, not exceeding three years old Yearling Heifer, above one and not exceeding two years old Heifer-Calf, above six and under twelve months old No Third Prize will he given unless at least Six a^iimals he exhihited, except on the Special re- commendation of the Judges. Hereford. Bull, above three and not exceeding six years old Bull, above two and not exceeding three years old Yearling Bull, above one and not exceeding two years old • • BuU-Calf, above six and not exceedmg twelve months old Cow, above three years old Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, not exceeding three years old _•' ■' •• Yearling Heifer, above one and not exceedmg two years old • •• Heifer-Calf, above six and under twelve months old No Third Prize will he given unless at least Six animals he exhihited, except on the Special re-^ commendation of the Judges, First Prize. £. 25 25 25 10 20 15 15 10 25 25 25 10 20 15 15 10 Second Prize. £. 15 15 15 5 10 10 10 5 15 15 15 5 10 10 10 5 Third Prize. Prizes for Live Stock, XIX CATTLH— continued. Devon. Bull, above three aud not exceeding six years old Bull, above two and not exceeding three years old Yearling Bull, above one and not exceeding two years old BuU-Calf, above six and not exceeding twelve months old Cow, above three years old Heifer, in-milk or in-calf not exceeding three years old Yearhng Heifer, above one and not exceeding two years old . . . . Heifer-Calf, above six and under twelve months old No Third Prize will be given to Classes 17 to 24 unless at least Six animals be exhibited, except on the Special recommendation of the Judges. Sussex. Bull, above one and not exceeding six years old .. Cow, above three years old .... Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, not exceeding three years old Yearling Heifer Norfolk or Suffolk Polled. Bull, above one and not exceeding six years old Cow, above three years old Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, not exceeding three years old Yearling Heifer No animal with horns or " slugs" is qualified to compete in Classes 29 to 32. Channel Islands. Bull, above one and not exceeding six years old Cow, above three years old Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, not exceeding three years old Yearling Heifer No Second Prize will be given to Classes 25 to 36 unless at least Six animals be exhibited, except on the Special recommendation of the Judges. First Prize. £. 25 25 25 10 20 15 15 10 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 Second Prize. £. 15 15 15 10 10 10 5 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 b2 XX Prizes for Live Stock. 44 45 Reference Number in Certificates. CKTTLE— continued. Other Established Breeds. First Prize. Second Prize. Tbira Prize. Class. £. £. i'. Not including the Short-horn, Hereford, Devon, Sussex, Norfolk or Suffolk Polled, or Channel Islands Breeds. 37 Bull, above one and not exceeding six years old . . 10 5 38 Cow, above three years old 10 5 39 Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, not exceeding three years old 10 5 40 Yearling Heifer No Second Prize icill be given to Classes 37 to 40 unless at least Six animals he exhibited, except on the Special recommendation of the Judges. 10 5 HORSES. 41 For the Thorough-Bred Stud-Horse, having served Mares during the season 1867, which, in the opinion of the Judges, is best calculated to improve and jyerpetaate the breed of the sound and stout 1 horough-Bred Horse for General Stud Purposes 100 50 25 Hunters. 42 Stallion, with not less than four Thorough-Bred crosses, suitable for getting Hunters, whose re- gular charge lor serving half-bred Mares during the season 18G7 has not exceeded Five C4uineas 50 25 10 43 Mare, iu-foal, or with foal at foot, suitalile for breeding Hunters 20 10 5 Hackney. Stallion, not less than 14 hands 3 inches, nor exceeding 15 hands 2 inches, suitable for getting Hackneys Mare, not less than 14 hands 2 inches, nor ex- ceeding 15 hands 1 inch, in-foal, or with foal at foot, suitable for breeding Hackneys No Third Prize will be given to Classes 41 to 45 iinless at least Ten animals be exhibited, except on the Special recommendation of the Judges. 30 I 15 I 1 20 . 10 10 Prizes for Live Stock. XX] HOESES — continued. Ponies. Stallion, above 13 hands 2 inches and under 14 hands 3 inches Mare, above 13 hands 2 inches and under 14 hands 2 inclies Stallion, under 13 hands 2 inches Mare, under 13 hands 2 inclies AGRICULTURAL HORSES. Suffolk. Stallion, foaled before the 1st of January, 1865 Stallion, foaled in the year 18G5 Mare and foal Mare, three years old Filly, two years old Agricultural. Not qualified to compete as Suffolk. Stallion, foaled before the 1st of January, 1865 .. Stallion, foaled in the year 1865 ]\Iare and Foal Mare, three years old Filly, two years old J^"o Thii-d Prize vjiU he given to Classes 46 to 59 tmless at lead Ten animal be exhibited, except on the Special recommendation of the Judges. SHEEP. Leicester. Shearling Earn IJam of any other age Pen of Five Shearling Ewes, of the same flock .. No Third Prize will he given in the Ham Classes unless at least Six animals be exhibited, nor in the Eive Classes unless Six Pens he exhibited, except on the Special recommendation of the Judges. First Prize. 20 15 15 10 20 20 15 Second Prize. 25 15 20 10 20 10 15 10 15 10 £. 10 10 25 15 20 10 20 10 15 10 15 10 10 10 10 XXll Prizes for Live Stock. Reference Number In Certificates. Class. 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 SHEEP — continued. COTSWOLD. First Prize. Sliearling Earn Ram of any other age Pen of Five Shearling Ewes, of the same flock Lincoln and other Long-Woolled. Not qualified to compete as Leicesters or Cotswolds. Shearling Ram Ram of any other age Pen of Five Shearling Ewes, of the same flock ,. Oxfordshire Down. Shearling Ram Ram of any other age Pen of Five Shearling Ewes, of the same flock Southdown. Shearling Ram Ram of any other age Pen of Five Shearling Ewes, of the same flock Shropshire. Shearling Ram Ram of any other age Pen of Five Shearling Ewes, of the same flock Hampshire and other Short-Woolled Not qualified to compete as Southdoiuns or Sliropsliires. Shearling Ram Ram of any other age Pen of Five Shearling Ewes, of the same flock .. No Third Prize will he given in the Bam Classes tmless at least Six animals he exhibited, nor in the Ewe Classes unless Six Pens he exhibited, except on the Special recommendation of the Judges. 20 20 15 20 20 15 20 20 15 20 20 15 20 20 15 Second Prize. 20 20 15 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 Prizes for Live Stock. xxiu Reference First Second Number in Certificates. PIGS. Prize. Prize. £. Class. £. 81 Boar of a large white breed 10 5 82 Boar of a small white breed 10 5 83 Boar of a small black breed 10 5 84 Boar of the Berkshire breed 10 5 .85 Boar of a breed not eligible for the preceding classes 10 6 86 Breeding Sow of a lar^e white breed 10 5 87 Breeding Sow of a small white breed 10 5 88 Breeding Sow of a small black breed 10 5 89 Breeding Sow of the Berkshire breed 10 5 90 Breeding Sow of a breed not eligible for the pre- ceding classes 10 5 91 Pen of three Breeding Sow-Pigs of aflarge white breed, of the same litter, above four and under eight months old 10 5 -92 Pen of three Bi'eeding Sow-Pigs of a small white breed, of the same litter, above four and under eight months old 10 5 93 Pen of three Breeding Sow-Pigs of a small black breed, of the same litter, above four and under eight months old 10 5 94 Pen of three Breeding Sow-Pigs of the Berkshire breed, of the same litter, above four and under eight months old 10 5 95 Pen of three Breeding Sow-Pigs of a breed not eligible for the preceding classes, of the same litter, above four and imder eight months old . , 10 5 XXIV Prizes for Live Stock. II. — Poultry Peizes offered by the Society. All Ages calculated to July 1st, 1867. Reference Number in Certificates. Class. 1 2 G 7 8 i) 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 FAKM POULTRY. Dorking (coloured), Cock and Hen any age Dorking (coloured), Cock and Hen — Chickens Dorking (white), Cock and Hen any age .. Brahma Pootra (dark), Cock and Hen any age Brahma Pootra (light), Cock and Hen any age Cochin China (buff). Cock and Hen any age Cochin China (any other colour), Cock and Hen any age Crevecoeurs, Cock and Hen any age .. La Fleche, Cock and Hen any age .. Houdans, Cock and Hen any age Spanish, Cock and Hen any age Game (blackbreasted and other reds). Cock and Hen any age Game (any other colour), Cock and Hen any age Pencilled Hamburgh (golden), Cock and Hen any age Pencilled Hamburgh (silver), Cock and Hen any age Spangled Hamburgh (golden). Cock and Hen any age Spangled Hamburgh (silver). Cock and Hen any age Sebright Bantams (golden and silver), Cock and Hen any age Bantams (game), Cock and Hen any age . . Bantams (any other breed), Cock and Hen any age Turkeys, Cock and Hen any age Geese, Gander and Goose any age Ducks (Aylesbury), Drake and Duck any age Ducks (Ixouen), Drake and Duck any age Ducks (any other breed), Drake and Duck any age First Prize. Second Prize. Third I'rlze. Prizes fur Implements and Macliinery. xxv III. — Implement and Machinery Prizes offered by the Society. I. Steam Engines — Fixed. £. For the Class of Fixed Steam-Engines 30 IT. Steam Engines — 1'oiitahle, For the Class of Portable Steam Engines, with two cylinders, above 10-horse power 40 For the Class of Portable Steam Engines, with one cylinder, not exceed- ing 10-horse power 40 III. Threshing Machines. For the Class of Portable Threshing Machines to be worked by horse- power, not exceeding that of fonr horses 20 For the Class of Portable Threshing Machines not exceeding 8-horse power, to be worked by steam, including any variety that does not profess to do more than prepare the corn for the finishing dressing machine 40 IV. Finishing Machines. For the Class of Portable Combined Steam Threshing and Finishing Machines 40 V. Hand Dressing Machines. For the Class of Corn Dressing Machines 20 Ditto Screens 10 VI. Barley Hummellers. For the best Barley Hummeller 5 VII. Chaff Cutters. For the Class of Chaff Cutters to be worked by steam or horse-power . . 20 Ditto ditto ditto hand power 10 VIII. Mills. For the Class of Grinding Mills with stone grinders, for gi'inding agricul- tural produce into meoZ, by steam or horse-power 15 For the Class of Grinding Mills with metal grinders, for grinding agricul- tural produce for feeding purposes, by steam or horse-power .. .. 20 For the Class of Grinding Mills with metal grinders, for grinding agricul- tural produce for feeding purpose's, by hand- power 10 xxvi Prizes for Implements and Machinery. IX. Crushers. ■£• For the Class of Linseed and Corn Crushers by steam or horse-power .. 16 Ditto ditto ditto hand-power 10 X. Oilcake Breakers. For the Class of Oilcake Breakers for large and small cake, to be worked by steam or horse-power 15 For the Class of Oilcake Breakers for large and small cake by hand-power 10 XI. Bone Mills. For the Class of Bone Mills to be worked by steam or other power , . . . 20 XII. Turnip Cutters. For the Class of Turnip and Root Cutters 15 Ditto Root Pulp)ers .. 15 XIII. Field Gates. For the Class of Field Gates, 10 feet long, with suitable hangings and fastenings, not to exceed 11. 5s. in value ,10 XIV". Miscellaneous. Awards to Agricultural articles, and essential improvements therein, including Steam Engines not qualified to compete for the above prizes (10 silver medals) Special Prizes. xxvii IV. — Special Prizes, amounting to £570, offered by the Suffolk Agricultural Society and Local Committee of Bury St. Edmunds. Reference Number in Certificates. HORSES. Suffolk Cart. Three year old entire Colt , Pair of Mares Marc, not having had a foal in 1867 Pair of Geldings One year old entire Colt One year old Filly Foal Hunters. Weight-carrying Mare or Gelding, five years old and upwards Weight-carrying Mare or Gelding, four years old Weight-carrying Mare or Gelding, three years old Eoadsters. Mare or Gelding, five years old and upwards, not less than 14, and not exceeding 15 hands Mare or Gelding, three or four years old, not less than 14, and not exceeding 15 hands Carriage Horses. Mare or Gelding, three or four years old, not less than 16 hands Mare or Gelding, two years old PONIES. Mare or Gelding, not less than 13, and not exceed- ing 14 hands Mare or Gelding, not exceeding 13 hands .. CATTLE. Suffolk or Norfolk Polled. Pair of Cows in-milk or in-calf, not less than three years old Bull, Cow, and their offspring, the latter not to exceed nine months old on the 1st July, 1867, and the Bull and Cow to have been in the pos- session of the Exhibitor from January 1st, 1867 First Second Prize. Prize. £. £. 20 10 20 10 15 10 15 10 15 10 10 5 10 5 30 20 15 10 15 10 20 10 15 10 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 15 10 15 10 XXVlll Special Frizes. ■ Reference Number In Certificates. PIGS. First Prize. Second I'rize. , Class. 114 115 Small Breed (Wldte). Boar and Sow, to have been in the possession of the Exhibitor from January 1st, 1867, and their offspring, which arc not to exceed twelve weeks old on July 1st, 1867 Small Breed {Black). Boar and Sow, to have been in the possession of the Exhibitor from January 1st, 1867, and their offspring, which arc not to exceed twelve weeks old on July 1st, 1867 £. 10 10 10 10 10 6 5 25 1 £. 5 5 SHEEP. 116 117 118 Blackfaced Suffolk. Shearling Earn Earn of any age Pen of Five Shearling Ewes 5 5 5 BUTTER. 119 6 lbs. of Fresh Butter, in 1 lb. lumps o SUFFOLK CHEESE. 120 Six New Milk Cheeses 2 121 For the best Design for a pair of Labourer's Cottages, containing three bedrooms, accom- panied by a full specification, and detail of quantities, with estimate of cost at Scheduled prices 15 Conditions relating to Live Stock, xxlx CONDITIONS EELATING TO LIVE STOCK 1. No bull above two years old will be eligible for a prize unless certified to have served not less than three different cows (or heifers) within the three months j)receding the 1st of June in the year of the Show. 2. All bulls above one year old shall have rings or " bull-dogs " in their noses, and be provided with leading sticks. 3. No cow will be eligible for a prize unless certified to have had a live calf, either between the date of entry and that of the Show, or within the twelve months preceding the date of the Show. 4. No heifer, except yearlings, entered as in-calf, will be eligible for a prize imless she is certified to have been bulled before the 31st of March in the year of the Show, nor will her owner afterwards receive the prize luitil he shall have furnished the Secretary with a further certificate that she produced a live calf before the 31st of January in the subsequent year. 5. All foals must be the offspring of the mare along with which they are exhibited for the prize. C. No horse shall be exhibited without a certificate from a Member of the Eoj'al College of Veterinary Surgeons, as to the state of the animal with refer- ence to hereditary diseases, particularly those of the respiratory and visual organs ; which certificate shall accompany the Certificate of Entry ; but the above shall not supersede the usual examination by the Society's Veterinary Inspector of all horses selected by the Judges for prizes, or reserve, or com- mendations. 7. A form of certificate ■will be sent to every Exhibitor of horses, to be filled up by a Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, certifying to the soundness of every horse exhibited, without which such horse shall not be admitted into the Yard. 8. The ponies in Classes 47, 49, 110, and 111, and the hunters and hacks in Classes 103, 104, 105, 106, and 107 must all be ridden during the Show, and must therefore be provided with saddles and bridles. 9. A charge of 11. for the accommodation of a horse-box will be made for each entry of horses in Classes 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 55, 56, 57, 96, 100, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, and 111. 10. A charge of 10s. will be made for the accommodation of a stall for each entry in Classes 53, 54, 58, 59, 98, 101, and 102 ; and of 1?. for each enti'y in Classes 97 and 99. 11. All rams, except shearlings, must have been used in the present season. XXX Conditions relating to Live Stock. 12. The ewes in each pen must be of the same flock. 13. Sheep exhibited for any of the prizes must have been really and fairly sJiorn hare after the 1st of April in the year of the Exhibition ; and the date of such sliearing 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, wth instructions to report to the Stewards any cases in which the sheep have not been really and fairly shorn hare. No sheep shall be trimmed while in the Show- Yard. 14. The three sow-pigs in each pen must be of the same litter. 15. The breeding sows in Classes 86, 87, 88, 89, and 90, shall be certified to have had a litter of live pigs within the six months preceding the Show, or to be in-pig at the time of entry, so as to produce a litter before the 1st of September following. In the case of in-pig sows, the prize will be withheld until the Exhibitor shall have furnished the Secretary with a certificate of farrowing, as above. 16. No sow, if above eighteen months old, that has not produced a litter of live pigs, shall be eligible to compete in any of the classes. 17. The Judges of pigs will be instructed, with the sanction of the Stewards, to withhold prizes from any animals which shall appear to them to have been entered in a wrong class. 18. All pigs exhibited at the country meetings of the Society shall be sub- jected to an examination of their mouths by the Veterinary Inspector of the Society ; and should the state of dentition in any pig indicate that the age of the animal has not been correctly returned in the Certificate of Entry, the Stewards shall have power to disqualify such pig, and shall report the circum- stance to the Council at its ensuing monthly meeting. No ])ig shall be oiled or coloured while in the Show- Yard. 19. If a litter of pigs be sent with a breeding sow, the young pigs must be the produce of the sow, and must not exceed two months old. 20 All disqualifications will be published in the awards of the Judges. Rules of Adjudication. xxxi EULES OF ADJUDICATION. 1. As the object of the Society in giving i^rizes for neat cattle, sheep, and pigs, is to promote improvement in hreeding stock, the Judges in making their awards will be instructed not to take into their consideration the j^resent value to the butcher of animals exhibited, but to decide according to their relative merits for the purpose of breeding. 2. If, in the opinion of the Judges, there should be equality of merit, they will be instructed to make a special report to the Council, who will decide on the award. 3. The Judges will be instructed to withhold any prize if they are of opinion that thei'e is not sufficient merit in any of the stock exhibited for such prize to justify an award ; should, however, the question of disqualifying a whole class arise, the Judges shall consult with the Stewards of the yard, and their joint decision shall be final. 4. The Judges will be instructed to give in a reserved imrnber in each class of live stock ; viz., which animal would, in their opinion, possess sufficient merit for the prize in case the animal to which the prize is awarded should subsequently become disqualified. 5. In the classes for stallions, mares, and fillies, the Judges in awarding the prizes will be instructed, in addition to ^ symmetry, to take activity and strength into their consideration. 6. The Judges will be instructed to deliver to the Director their award, signed, and stating the numbers to which the prizes are adjudged, before they leave the yard, noting any disqualifications. They are to transmit under cover to the Secretary, before the 1st of August, 1867, their reports on the several classes in which they have adjudicated, in order that each report may be included in the General Report of the Exhibition of Live Stock at Bury St. Edmunds, to be published in the Journal of the Society. xxxii Regulations for the Poultry Department. EEGULATIONS FOR THE POULTKY DEPARTMENT. 1. Members of the Society to pay 2s. M., and non-members 5s. on each pen. 2. A pen shall consist of one Cock and one Hen, one Gander and one Goose, or one Drake and one Duck. 3. Carriage must in all cases be paid by the Exhibitor. 4. All pens will be disqualified if the plumage of the birds shall have been trimmed, removed, or otherwise tampered with. 5. Proper persons will be appointed by the Society to attend to and feed the birds sent without a servant in charge. 6. After the Show, the Society's men only will be allowed to remove the birds from the pens, and place them in the baskets. 7. When the owners may desire to have their poultry returned to them by railway, they must state so in their Certificate, and duly address the back of the direction-card, so that it may only require to be turned over, in which cases the signatures of the railway servants, acknowledging their receipt, will be sufficient. 8. In the case of poultry sold and sent by railway, the Society will not undertake to do more than deliver to the railway vans, and to take the receipt of the Company's servants for the same. 9. In no case will the Society be responsible for the safety of either the birds or the packages. 10. A charge of ten per cent, will be made on all sales effected through the Society. 11. The Society Avill not be responsible for any accident that may occur through any bird exhibited at the Show, and it shall be a condition of entry that each Exhibitor shall hold the Society harmless, and indemnify it againsl. any legal proceedings arising from any such accident. 12. The Society will not in any case, or under any circumstances, hold itself responsible for any loss, damage, or mis-delivery of poultry, or other article exhibited at tlie Society's Show. Tlie Judges Avill be instructed to take especial notice of tlio ages and morils of chickens when competing with adult birds. Conditions relating to Machinery. xxxiii CONDITIONS KELATING TO MACHINERY. Steam-Engines. All engines must be fitted with a steam-indicator, in addition to the ordinary spring-balance. The actual power used during the respective trials will be correctly ascertained. Fixed Steam-Engines. 1. The fixed steam-engine must not be more than 10-horse nominal power, and the diameter of the cylinder must not exceed II5 (that is, eleven and a-half) inches. 2. The Exliibitor will not be required to bring a boiler, as steam will be furnished by boilers supplied by the Society ; but he will be required to fix the engine, also to find the material for doing so, at his own expense, and in such a position in the Trial- Yard as may be pointed out to him by the Director. 3. The engine exhibited must be supplied Avith a governor, and have a starting-cock to regulate the supply of steam, and be fitted with a thread equal to the 2-inch gas-pipe. 4. In adjudicating on the merits of the fixed engines, reference will be had to the price, simplicity of construction, probable durability of the whole and in detail, and the means provided for easy access to the working parts, and to economy of fuel. PortaUe Steam-Engines. 5. The engine with two cylinders will be worked with steam at 80 lbs. to the square inch, and the cylinders must not exceed 8^ inches, or be less than 7 inches in diameter. The engine with one cylinder will be worked at 50 lbs. to the square inch, and its cylinder must not exceed 10 inches, nor be less than 8 inches in diameter. 6. The engine with two cylinders will be calculated at 9 circular inches for each horse-power, and loaded accordingly in the first experiment. A second experiment will be made with each engine, when the load will be increased 50 per cent. The engine with one cylinder will be calculated at 10 circular inches for each horse-power for the load in the first experiment, and 50 per cent, will be added to the load in the second experiment. 7. The tubes in the boiler must not be less than 2^ (that is, two and a-half) inches in diameter (inside measure), nor less than No. 12 on the metal-guage in thickness, nor placed a less distance apart than 1 inch from each other. The tube-plates must be made of iron equal in quality to " Lowmoor " or " Bowling " iron, and the trade-mark of the iron company must be legible on each plate. 8. The engine must be provided with a good water-guage, and with a short piece of pipe fitted with a cock, having a thread to fit the lialf-inch gas-pipe, for the purpose of fitting a pressure-guage. YOI.. ITT. — P. ?;. C xxxiv Conditions relating to Machinery, 9. If the encrine te worked on the expansive principle, it is desirable that the means used for cuttin'^ off the steam be of a simple character. No force- pump must be fitted with more than two valves, and these must be easy of access. If a heater for water be used, it must be so constructed that the engine will work with or withoiit it. 10. The Society will be empowered to select any of the engines exhibited, for tlie purpose of driving other machinery under trial, and will pay the Exhibitor 11. a day for the use of the engine and a competent attendant, during the time the services of such engine may be required. 11. In adjudicating on the merits of the engine, reference will be had to the simplicity of construction and the probable durability of the engine considered as a whole and in detail, the portability of the engine, the strength required for safety, the economy of working, and the price. 12. The Judges will be instructed to have the boilers filled properly with water, and a forcing pump applied, by which the boilers are to be tested up to fully twice the working pressure ; a portion of the water will be then drawn off, and the steam got up to the working pressure. The engine will be set to work for a short time, and then cooled down. 13. The Exhibitor will then be required to take the engine to pieces in the presence of the Judges, and withdraw tlie piston, slide, eximnsion-valve, and pump-valves for examination. When the whole is put together, the engine will undergo the trial of working in the ordinary manner, and in accordance with the practice of former meetings, with the assigned pressure. Chaff Cutters and Mills. Chaff cutters will be required to cut chaff three-eighths of one inch in length in the trial. The Exhibitor must provide means for cutting various lengths, to show the usefulness of his production. The Judges will be instructed to p.ay attention to the length of chaff cut ; and if the deviation from the given length of three-eighths of an inch is, in their judgment, too much dejiarted from, they may refrain from taking any notice of the machine in question ; and in estimating the weight of chaff cut, allowance must be made and taken according to length of chaff cut. Grinding mills will be fairly set to work, and their production compared with a sample which the Judges shall cause to be produced by one mill, and which pro luce shall, in their estimation, be adapted for the farmer's purposes of feeding. The mill under trial shall be "set" until it produces like meal; and the time, poiver, and quantity of work be noted. Metal mills for grinding will not be expected to produce " softened " meal, although any mill in combination, with rollers or otherwise, which will do so, Avill receive consideration from the Judges. Speed and Pressure. All implements turned by a winch or hand-crank shall not be worked at any trial beyond the following speed : namely, 42 revolutions per minute for 12-inch crank, 37 revolutions for 14-inch crank, 32 revolutions for IG-inch crank ; and in addition to the winch-handle, which must be supplied with the machine for the purpose of trial, a pulley not less than 4 inches wide, of the same radius as the winch, must be fitted to each machine. The machine in its trial will be driven by the pulley of the testing machine, which pulley is 31 inches diameter, and will make 32^ revolutions per minute. Conditions relating to Machinery. xxxv Chaff cuttins; and other small machines, worked usually by horses and by steam power, will be worked when under trial by a pulley not less thaia 5^ (that is, five and a-half) inches wide, moving with a velocity of, or about, 900 feet per minute. Exhibitors are requested to pay particular attention to the instructions given for the speed and working of their machines, as the Judges may refuse to try any machines not fitted in accordance with these instructions. The working pressure of steam not to exceed 80 lbs. and 50 lbs. per square inch, in accordance with Condition 5. Special Arrangements. The Judges will be instructed to employ in the trial of the steam-engines, as a test of power, an apparatus known as a force-register, such apparatus consisting of a friction-break, to supply and I'egulate the friction required to balance the power of the engine under trial. 2. At a distance of about 34 feet, or such other distance as the Society's Engineer may determine, a platform will be laid down, upon which the boiler of the Society may move in a direction perfectly parallel with the friction-break. 3. Each fixed engine must be placed in such a position by the Exhibitor as to require a driving-strap of such a length as the Society's Engineer may determine. 4. Each Exhibitor must provide his own driving-strap, which shall be of the required length. 5. Each fixed engine will have attached to it a steam-pjipe, the end of which must be at a given distance from the centre line of the boiler platform, and be provided with a union of such dimensions as the Engineer of the Society may determine, each being cut with the same screw ; and it must be at a given height from the boiler platform. I 0. A short piece of flexible pipe, capable of sustaining the temperature and an . pressure of 50 lbs of steam to the inch, for the purpose of forming a simple and ready communication between the boiler and the engines, will be provided by the Society, 7. To insure all these points being fully adhered to, a lithograph plan and section, showing the exact position of shaft, diameter of ]uilley, and a friction- break, and also of the boiler, with the end and height of the steam-pipe figured with the exact dimensions, will be supplied to Exhibitors on application to the Secretary. 8. As soon as the Exhibitors shall have complied with the conditions required of them by the Society to entitle them to exhibit, the order of trial will be fixed by ballot, taken by the Stewards in the first week of July, and the ordinal number assigned for the trial of each engine will be forwarded to each Exhibitor. The Exhibitors will then place their respective engines in the order thus assigned, beginning at one end with the engine drawn by ballot No. 1. To enable this to be done effectually, each Exhibitor will be required to specify the width or space which his engine will occupy for trial. 9. All the engines intended to be tried must be fixed by a given time — namely, by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, the 9th of July, and strictly in the position and under the conditions required; if not, the Judges will have the power of declining the trial, and of having the engines removed from the yard. c2 xxxvi Conditions relating to Machinery. 10. A supply of water will lie provided with a head of not less than 12 feet, and furnished with three separate hose pipes of sufficient length — two of these for supplying the portable engines, and the other for supplying the boilers of the Society for the fixed engines. 11. The trials of the steam-engines will be made with Llangennych coal, as on former occasions. 12. Any engine entered for competition which, from defect in construction or any other cause, is in the opinion of the Judges and Consulting Engineer unsafe, shall not be allowed to work on the Society's premises ; and further, the word unsafe shall be attached to the engine during the remainder of the Exhibition. Forms of Certificate for entry, as well as Prize-Sheets for the Bury St. Edmunds Meeting, containing tLe whole of the conditions and regula- tions, may be obtained at the Office of the Society, No. 12, Hanover Square, London, W. DATES OF ENTRY. Certificates for the entry of Implements for the Bury St. Edmunds Meeting must be forwarded to the Secretary of the Society, No. 12, Hanover Square, London (W.), by the 1st of May, and Certificates for the entry of Live Stock and Poultry by the 1st of June. Certificates received after those respective dates will not be accepted, but returned to the persons by whom tlioy have been sent. The Prizes of the Eoyal Agricultural Society of England, and all Prizes offered by the Bury St. Edmunds Local Committee, are open to general competition. ( xxxvii ) The Council have fixed the following- rates of Charge for Analyses to be made by the Consulting Chemist for the lond-fide use of Members of the Society ; Avho (to avoid all unnecessary correspondence) are particularly requested, when applying to him, to mention the kind of analysis they require, and to quote its number in the subjoined schedule. The charge for analysis, togetlier with the carriage of the specimens, must be paid to him by members at the time of their application. No. 1. — An opinion of the genuineness of Peruvian guano, bone- dust, or oil-cake (each sample) 5s. „ 2. — An analysis of guano ; showing the proportion of moisture, organic matter, sand, phosphate of lime, alkaline salts, and ammonia .. .. .. .. ., .. 10s. „ 3. — An estimate of the value (relatively to the average of samples in the market) of sulphate and muriate of am- monia, and of the nitrates of potash and soda . . . . 10s. 4. — An analysis of superphosphate of lime for soluble i^hos- phates only .. .. ,. .. .. .. 10s. „ 5. — An analysis of superphosphate of lime, showing the pro- portions of moisture, organic matter, sand, soluble and insoluble phosphates, sulphate of lime, and ammonia .. £1. „ 6. — An analysis (sufficient for the determination of its agricul- tural value) of any ordinary artificial mamu-e .. .. £1. „ 7. — Limestone : — the proportion of lime, 7s. Qd. ; the propor- tion of magnesia, 10s. ; the proportion of lime and mag- nesia .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 15s. „ 8. — Limestone or marls, including carbonate, phosphate, and sulphate of lime, and magnesia with sand and clay .. £1. „ 9. — Partial analysis of a soil, including determinations of clay, sand, organic matter, and carbonate of lime .. .. £1. „ 10. — Complete analysis of a soil .. .. .. .. .. £3. „ 11. — An analysis of oil-cake, or other substance used for feeding purposes ; showing the proportion of moisture, oil, mineral matter, albuminous matter, and woody fibre ; as well as of starch, gum, and sugar, in the aggi'egate £1. „ 12, — Analyses of any vegetable product ,. .. .. .. £1. „ 13. — Analyses of animal products, refuse substances used for manure, &c. .. .. .. .. from 10s. to 30s. „ 14. — Determination of the " hardness " of a sample of water before and after boiling .. .. .. .. . 10s. „ 15. — Analysis of water of land drainage, and of water used for inigation .. .. .. .. .. .. .. £2. „ 16. — ^Determination of nitric acid in a sample of water .. .. £1. N.B. — Tlie above Sccde of Charges is not appUcahle to the case of persons commercially engaged in the Manufacture or Sale of any Substance sent for Analysis. The Address of the Consulting Chemist of the Society is, Dr. Augustus VoELCKER, 11, Salisbury Square, London, E.G., to which he requests that all letters and parcels (postage and carriage paid) should be directed. VOL. IIL — S. S. d ( xxxviii ) jilemlieriS* Ueterinara J^ribikgei?* I. — Serious ok Extensive Diseases. No. 1. Any Member of the Society who may desire professional attendance and special advice in cases of serious or extensive disease among his cattle, sheep, or pigs, and will address a letter to the Secretary, will, by return of post, receive a reply stating whether it be considered necessary that Professor Simonds, the Society's Veterinary Inspector, should visit the place where the disease prevails. No. 2. The remuneration of the Inspector will be 21. 2s, each day as a professional fee, and 11. Is. each day for personal expenses ; and he will also be allowed to charge the cost of travelling to and from the locality where his services may have been required. The fees will be paid by the Societj^ bi;t the travelling expenses will be a charge against the applicant. This charge may, however, be reduced or remitted altogether at the discretion of the Council, on such step being recommended to them by the Veterinary Committee. No. 3. The Inspector, on his return from visiting the diseased stock, will report to the Committee, in writing, the results of his observations and pro- ceedings, which Report will be laid before the Council. No. 4. When contingencies arise to prevent a personal discharge of the duties confided to the Inspector, he may, subject to the approval of the Com- mittee, name some competent professional person to act in his stead, who shall receive the same rates of remuneration. II. — Ordinary or Other Cases op Disease. Members may obtain the attendance of the Veterinary Inspector on any case of disease by paying the cost of his visit, which, will be at the following rate, viz., 21. 2s. per diem, and travelling expenses. III. — Consultations without visit. Personal consultation with Veterinary Inspector .. .. 5s. Consultation by letter .. .. .. .. .. .. 5s. Consultation necessitating the writing of three or more letters. 10s. Post-mortem examination, and report thereon.. .. .. 10s. A return of tlie number of applications during each half-year being required from the Veterinary Inspector. IV. — Admission of Diseased Animals to the Veterinary College ; Investigations, Lectures, and Eeports. No. 1. All Members of the Society have the privilege of sending cattle, sheep, and pigs to the Infirmary of the Royal Veterinary College, on the same terms as if they were Members of the College ; viz., by paying for the keep and treatment of cattle 10s. (id. per week each animal, and for sheep and pigs " a small proportionate charge to be fixed by the Principal according to circumstances." No. 2. 'i'he College has also undertaken to investigate such particular classes of disease, or special subjects connected with the application of the Veterinary art to cattle, sheep, and pigs, as may be directed by the Council. No. 3. In addition to the increased number of lectures now given by Professor Simonds — the Lecturer on Cattle Pathology — to the pupils in the Royal Veterinary College, he will also deliver such lectures before the Members of the Society, at their house in Hanover Square, as the Council shall decide. No. 4. The Royal Veterinary College will from time to time furnish to the Council a detailed Reportjof the cases of cattle, sheep, and pigs ^treated in the Infirmary, ( xxxix ) ^oyal ^gn'rultural ^onftp cf €ncjlanti, 1867-8. THE DUKE OF EICHMOXD, K.G. AcLAND, Sir Thomas Dyke, Bart., Killerton Park, Exeter, Devonshire. Berners, Lord, Keythorpe Hall, Leicester. Bramston, Thomas "William, SJcreens, Chelmsford, Essex. Challoner, Colonel, Portnall Pari:, Staines, Middlesex. Chesham, Lord, Latimer, Chesham, Buclcs. Marlborough, Duke of, Blenheim Pari:, Oxford. Portman, Lord, Bryamton, Blandford, Dorset. Powis, Earl of, Poicis Castle, Welshpool, Montgomeryshire. Rutland, Duie of, K.G., Belvoir Castle, Grantham, Leicestershire. Speaker, The Rt. Hon. the, Ossington, Newarl:-on-Trent, Notts. Thompsox, Harry Stephex, Kirhy Hall, York. TiiEDEGAE, Lord, Tredegar Park, Newport, Monmouthshire. Cathcart, Earl, Thomton-le-Street, Tiiirsk, Yorkshire. Chichester, Earl of, Stanmer Park, Lewes, Sussex. DowxsHiRE, Marquis of, East Hampstead Park, Bracknell, Berkshire. Egmoxt, Earl of, Cowdray Park, Petworth, Sussex. EvERSLEY, Viscount, Heckfield Place, Winchfield, Hants. Hill, Viscount, Hawkstone Park, Salop. Hood, Major-Gen. the Hon. A. Nelsox, Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, Berkshire. Johxstoxe, Sir Johx V. B., Bart., M.P., Hackness Hall, Scarborough, Yorkshire. Jonas, Sasitel, Chrishall Grange, Saffron Walden, Essex. Kerrison, Sir Edward C, Bart., Brome Hall, Scole, Suffolk. Miles, Sir William, Bart., Leigh Court, Bristol, Somersetshire. "Walsingham, Lord, Merton Hall, Thetford,' Norfolk. ©tijcr fHcmber^ of Council. Acland, Thomas Dyke, M.P., Sprydoncote, Exeter, Devonshire. Amos, Charles Edwards, 5, Cedars Road, Clapham Common, Surrey. Barnett, Charles, Stratton Park, Biggleswade. Bedfordshire. Barthropp, Nathaniel Georgi:, Hacheston, Wickham Market, Suffolk. BowLY, Edward, Siddington House, Cirencester. Cantrell, Charles S., Riding Court, Datchet, Bucks. Clayden, John, Littlelury, Saffron Walden, Essex. Clive, George, M.P., Perrystone., Ross, Herefordshire. VOL. in. — s. s. e xl List of Officers. Davies, David Eeynolds, Mere Old Hall, Knutsford, Cheshire. Dent, J. D., M.P., Rihston Hall, Wetherhy, Yorkshire. Devonshire, Duke of, K.G., Holker Hall, Lancashire. Druce, Joseph, Eynsham, Oxford. GiBBS, B. T. Brandmkth, Halfmnon Street, Piccadilhj, London, W. Hassall, William, Bubncy, Whitchurch, Salop^ Holland, Edward, M.P., DumhJeton Hall, Evesham, Gloucestershire. HoRNSBY, Richard, Spittle Gate, Grantham, Lincolnshire. HosKYNS, Chandos Wrkn, Harewood, Ross, Herefordshire. Hudson, John, Castleacre Lodge, Brandon, Norfolk. HuTTON, William, Gate Burton, Gainsboro' , Lincolnshire. Klngscote, Colonel, M.P., Kingscote, Wootton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire. Lawes, John Bennet, Rothamsted, St. Allans, Herts. Lawrence, Charles, Cirencester, Gloucestershire. Liddell, Hon. Henry George, M.P., Rarensworfh Castle, Durham. Lopes, Sir Massey, Bart., M.P., Maristoio, Eohorough, Devon. Macdonald, Sir Archibald Keppel, Bart., Woolmer Lodge, Lij)lwoh, Hants. MiLWARD, Richard, Thurgarton Priory, Southwell, Notts. Pain, Thomas, Ugford Cottage, Salisbury, Wilts. Randell, Charles, Chadhury. Evesham, Worcestershire. Read, Clare Sewell, M.P. Honingham Tliorpe, Norwich. Richmond, Duke of, K.G., Goodwood, Chichester, Sussex. RiGDEN, William, Hove, Brighton, Sussex. Sanday, William, Holmepierrepmit, Notts. Shrewsbury and Talbot, Earl of, Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire. Shuttleworth, Joseph, Earisholme Hall, Lincoln, Smith, Robert, Emmett's Grange, Southmoltmi, Devon. Stone, N. Chamberlain, Ayleston Hall, Leicester. ToRR, William, Aylesby Manor, Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Trollope, The Eight Hon. Sir John, Bart., M.P., Casivick, Stamford, Lincolnshire. Turner, George, Brampford Spelce, Exeter, Devonshire. Vane, Sir Henry Ralph, Bart,, Hutton HaU, Penrith, Cumberland.] Vernon, Lord, Sudbury Hall, Derby. Wallis, Owen, Overstone Grange, Northampton. Wells, William, Holmewood, Peterborough, Northamptonshire. Western, Sir Thomas B., Bart., M.P., Felix Hall, Kelvedon, Essex. Webb, James, Spring Hill. Fladbury, Per shore, Worcestershire. Wilson, Major Fuller Maitland, Stowlangtoft Hall, Bury St. Edmund's, Suffolk. Wilson, Jacob, Woodhorn Manor, Morpeth, Northumberland. Wilson, Professor, Iver, Uxbridge, Bucks. , Wynn, Sir Watkin Williams, Bart, M.P., Wynnstay, Bhuahon, Denbiglishire, H. HALL DAEE, 12, Hanover Square, London, W. Editor — P. H. Frere, Paston House, Cambridge. Consulting-Chemist — Dr. Augustus Voelcker, 11, Salisbury Square, E.G. Veterinary- Inspector — James Beart Simonds, Royal Veterinary College, N.W. Consulting Engineei — James Easton, or C. E, Amos, Grove, Southwar/:, S.E. Seedsmen — Thomas Gibbs and Co., Corner of Halfmoon Street, Piccadilly, W. Publisher — John Murray, 50, Albemaile Street, W. Bankers — The London and Westminster Bank, Si. James's Square Branch, S.W. ( ^ii ) STANDING COMMITTEES FOR 1867-8. Hood, 5Iaj.-Gen. the Hon. Chairman. Barnett, Charles. Bramston, T. W. dftnaitfc Committee. A. Nelson, Kingscote, Colonel, M.P. Randell, Charles. ToRR, William. ^oxiSt Committee. The President. Chairman of Finance Committee. Chesham, Lord. Bramston, T. W. Ch.alloner, Colonel. GiBRs, B. T. Brasdreth. ToRR, William. Slounial Committee. Thompson, H. S., Chairman. Dent, J. D., M.P. Cathcart, Earl, Vice-Chairman. Holland, Ed., M.P. Speaker, The Rt. Hon. the. Hoskyns, C. Wren. Johnstone, Sir J. V. B., Bt., M.P. Milward, Richard. Kerrison, Sir E. C, Bt. Wallis, Owen. AcLAND, T. Dytce, ]\].P. Wilson, Jacob. Cj^emical Committee. Lawes, J. B., Chainnan, Cathcart, Earl. Vernon, Lord. Johnstone, Sir J. V. B., Bt., M.P. Kerrison, Sir E. C, Bt. Holland, Ed., M.P. Hoskyns, C. Wren. Huxtable, Ven. Archdeacon. Thompson, H. S. Wells, William. Lopes, Sir Massey, Bt., M.P. Dent, J, D., M.P. Wilson, Jacob, 'Fctertnan) Committee. Hood, Maj.-Gen. the Hon. A. Nelson, Pain, Thos. Chairman. SiMONDS, Professor. Johnstone, Sir J. V. B., Bt., M.P. Spooner, Professor. Challoner, ColoneL Varnell, Professor. Dent, J. D., M.P. Wells, William. GiBBS, B. T. Brandreth. Wilson, Jacob. ^tocfes^ii^eS Committee. Walstngham, Lord. Hood, Maj.-Gen. the Hon. A. NELSON. Barnett, Charles. Barthropp, Nathaniel G. BowLY, Edward. Clayden, John. Dent, J. D., M.P. Druce, Joseph. Gibbs, B. T. Brandreth. Holland, Ed., M.P. Hudson, John. Jonas, Samuel. Milward, Richard. Pain, Thomas. Pope, Edward. Randell, Chas. RiGDEN, Wm. Smith, Robert. Simon Ds, Professor. TORR, WiLLLAM. Turner, George. Wallis, Owen. Wilson, Jacob. e 2 xlii Standing Committees for 1867-8. i[mplcmcnt Committee. Challoner, Colonel, Chairman, Cathcart, Earl. Vernon, Lord. Hood, Maj.-Gen. the Hon. A. Nelson. Kerrison, Su- E. C, Bt. JIacdonald, Sir A. K., Bt. Amos, C. E. Cantrell, Chas. S. Druce, Joseph. GiBBS, B. T. Brandreth. Holland, Ed., M.P. HoRNSBY, Richard. HosKYNs, C. Wren. Randell, Charles. Read, C. S., M.P. San DAY, William. Shuttleworth, Joseph. Thompson, H. S. ToRR, William. Wallis, Owen. Wilson, Professor. Wilson, Jacob. (General Hetce^ter Committee. Thompson, H. S., Chah-man. Rutland, Duke of. Powis, Earl of. Chesham, Lord. PORTMAN, Lord. Tredegar, Lord. Vernon, Lord. Hood, Maj.-Gen. the Hon. A. Nelson. Sir E. C. Kerrison, Bt. Trollope, Rt. Hon. Sir John, Bt., M.P. Wynn, Sir W. Williams, Bt., M.P. Amos, C. E. Barnett, Charles. Barthropp, N. G. Bowly, Edward. Cantrell, Charles S. Challoner, Colonel Clayden, John. Dent, J. D., M.P. Gibus, B. T. Brandreth. Holland, E., M.P. HoRNSBY, Richard. HosKYNS, C. Wren. Leicester, The Mayor of, Milward, Ricilard. Pain, Thomas. Randell, Charles. Read, C. S., M.P. Sanday, William. Shuttleworth, Joseph. Stone, N. C. ToRR, William Wallis, Owen. Webb, James. Wilson, Major. Wilson, Jacob. 'Ijolu^^aitJ Coutiact;^ Committee. Randell, Charles, Chairman. Cathcart, Earl. Vernon, Lord. Hood, Maj.-Gen. the Hon. A. Nelson. Amos, C. E. Gibbs, B. T. Brandreth. HoRNSBY, Richard. Sanday, William, Shuttleworth, Joseph. Thompson, H. S. ToRR, William. Cathcart, Earl. P(jwis, Earl of. Walsingham, Lord. Speaker, Right Hon. the. Hood, Maj.-Gen. the Hon. A. NelsoN Clayden, John. Dent, J. D., M.P. Druce, Joseph. Committee of ^election. Holland, E., M.P. Johnstone, Sir J. V. B., Bart., M.P. Milward, K. Randell, Charles. Thompson, H. S, ToRR, William. Wallis, Owen. Wells, William. Standing Committees for 1867 8. xliii CctliicfltfoiT Committef. Powis, Earl of. HosKYNS, C. Wren. Hood, ]Maj.-Gen. the Hon. A. Nelson. Kingscote, Col., M.P. AcLAND, T. D\'KE, M.P. Wells, W. Dent, J. D., M.P. Wilson, Professor. Frere, p. H. Voelcker, Di-. Holland, E., M.P. Cattle ^plague Committee. The whole Council. "^t* The President, Trustees, and Vice-Presidents ai-e Membere ex officio of all Committees, ( ^^ ) MEMOEANDA. Address of Letters. — The Society's office being situated in the postal district designated by the letter Wj members, in their correspondence with the Secretary, are requested to subjoin that letter to the usual address. General Meeting in London, in December, 1867. General Meeting in London, May 22nd, 1868, at Twelve o'clock. Meeting at Leicester, in July, 1868. Monthly Council (for transaction of business), at 12 o'clock on the first Wed- nesday in every month, excepting January, September, and October : open only to Members of Council and Governors of the Society. Weekly Council (for practical communications), at 12 o'clock on all Wednesdays in February, March, Aprit, May, June, July, and November, excepting the first Wednesday in each of those mouths, and during adjournment : open to all Members of the Society, who are particularly invited by the Council to avail themselves of this privilege. Adjournments. — The Council adjourn over Passion and Easter weeks, when those weeks do not include the first Wednesday of the month; from the first Wednesday in August to the first Wednesday in November ; and from the first Wednesday in December to the first Wednesday in February. Diseases of Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs. — Members have the privilege of applying to the Veterinary Committee of the Society; and of sending animals to the Eoyal Veterinary Colk-ge, on the same terms as if they were subscribers to the College. — (A statement of these privileges will be found in the present Appendix.) Chemical Analysis. — The privileges of Chemical Analysis enjoyed by Members of the Society will he found stated in the Appendix of the present volume. Local Cheques. — Members are particularly requested not to forward Country Cheques for payment in Loudon ; but Loudon Cheques, or Post-office Orders on Vere-street (payable to H. Hall Dare), in lieu of them. All Cheques are required to bear upon them a penny draft or receipt stamp, which must be cancelled in each case by the initials of the drawer. They may also conveniently transmit their Subscriptions to the Society, by re- questing their Country Bankers to pay (through their London Agents) the amount at the Society's Office (No. 12, Hanover Square, London), between the hours of ten and four, when official receipts, signed by the Secretary, will be given for such payments. New Mejibers. — Every candidate for admission into the Society must be pro- posed by a Member; the proposer to specifiy in writing the full name, usual place of residence, and post-town, of the candidate, either at a Council meet- ing, or by letter addressed to the Secretary. Packets by Post. — Packets not exceeding two feet in length, width, or depth, consisting of written or printed matter (but not containing letters sealed or open), if sent without envelopes, or enclosed in envelopes open at each end, may be forwarded by the inland post, if stamped, at the following rates :— One Penny for every quarter of a pound or fraction of a quarter of a pound. *,* Members may obtain on application to tlie Secretary copies of au Abstract of the Charter and Bye-Laws, of a SUitement of tlie Ueneral Objects, &c., of the Society, of Chemical and Veterinary Privileges, and of other printed papers connected with special depart- ments of the Society's business. ( xiv ) $loi)al 9[gn'cultural ^on'etL) of englanti. GENERAL MEETING, 12, Hanoveb Sqtjaee, Mat 22, 1867. EEPORT OF THE COUNCIL. The Council have to report that since last December the Society has lost by deaths and resignations 226 Governors and Members, while 5 Governors and 173 Members have during the same period been enrolled on its List, which is now constituted as follows : — 77 Life Governors, 82 Annual Governors, 1388 Life Members, 3903 Annual Members, and 15 Honorary Members, making a total of 5465. The Council have elected the Right Hon. Lord Tredegar and the Right Hon. Lord Chesham to be Trustees in the room of the late Sir John Shelley, Bart,, and the late Lord Feversham ; the Right Hon. Earl Cathcart, a Vice-President, in the room of the late Marquis of Exeter, K.G, ; His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, the Right Hon. Sir John Trollope, Bart., M.P., ]Mr. William Hassell, of Bubney, Whitchurch, Salop, and Mr. James Webb, of Springhill, Fladbury, Pershore, Worcestershire, to be Members of Council in the room of Lord Tredegar and Lord " Chesham elected Trustees, and Sir Edward Kerrison, Bart., and Earl Cathcart, elected Vice-Presidents. The Bury St. Edmund's Meeting to be held in the week, commencing Monday the 15th of July, postponed from 1866 in consequence of the prevalence of the Cattle Plague, promises to ' be unusually large in the display of implements. The entries xlvi Repoi f to llart of the Sooiefy. ( 1 ) » EEPORT OF THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE. Appkoved by the Council, 3rd July, 1867. ' 1. That tlie first examination shall take place at the Society's house in Hanover Square, during the week commencing April 20, 1868. 2. That forms of entry be prepared, which are to be duly filled up and returned to the Secretary, together with a certificate of general education, on or before the 29th of February, 1868. 3. That the examinations shall be conducted by means of written papers, and by a viva voce examination at which any member of the Society may be present. 4. That every candidate be required to satisfy the Examiners in the Science (Chemistry) and Practice of Agriculture, and in Book- keeping ; and also in one of the two following subjects ; Land Sm*vey- ing, and Mechanics as aj)plied to Agriculture. 5. That the successful candidates be placed in two classes, and bo arranged in order of merit. 6. That candidates, in order to be placed in the first class, must satisfy the Examiners in both the above-named subjects — Land Sur- veying and Mechanics applied to Agriculture. 7. That any Candidate may oficr himself for examination in one or more of the following subjects, viz. : — Botany, Geology, and Vete- rinary Science. Any knowledge which he may show of these subjects will be counted to his credit in the general classification, provided that he shall have fulfilled the foregoing conditions, and provided that the knowledge of these subjects do not fall below the standard fixed as a minimum in each of these optional subjects. 8. Each successful candidate obtaining a first-class certificate shall thereby become a life-member of the Society. 9. That the following Prizes be awarded to successful candidates placed in the first class for aggregate merit : — First Prize, 30Z. ; Second Prize, 201. ; Third Prize, 20/. ; Third Prize, 10/. 10. That the following additional Prizes be awarded to the candi- dates who shall show the highest merit in each subject respectively : — JMonoy or Books to tbe value of ^ Science and practice of Agriculture £10 Mechanics 10 Chemistry 10 Botany 10 Geology 5 Veterinary Science 10 Land Surveying 5 Book-keeping 5 Report of the Education Committee. li 11. That certificates, to betermecT first aucl second-class certificates, be granted to candidates placed in the first and second class ; such certificates to specify the subjects in which the candidate shall have satisfied the Examiners. EDUCATION FRIZES. APRIL, 1868. FOKM OF APPLICATION FOE CANDIDATES. To be returned fiUed up on or before 29th February, 1868. Name of tlie Candidate at full length .. (. Date of his Birth Branch of Business followed hy his family . . I Business intended to he followed ly himself t } Residence of Parents or Guardians The Names of the Schools at ivhich the Can- ' didate has been educated, stating the num- her of years spent at each ; accompanied by Certifcates of gene al Education ,. The Candidate Jias to state whether he will he ' examined in Land Surveying, or in Me- chanics as applied to Agriculture ; or in both subjects He mrist likewise state in which of the fol- lowing optioned subjects he desires to be examined, viz. : — Botany Geology Veterinary Science Copies of the above Forms may be obtained of H. HALL PAKE, Secretary. ( lii ) SHOW AT BURY ST, EDMUND'S, JULY, 1867. STEWARDS OF THE YARD. Stock. Charles "Randell, Edward Bowly, William Wells, Poultry. N. G. Barthbopp. Implements. Earl Cathcaet, William Sandat, William Toeb. Forage. William N. King. Honorary Director of the Show. B. T. Brakdreth Gibbs. STOCK JUDGES. Thorough-hreds and Hunters. F. Oldakeb, William Smith. Henby Thurnall. Hackneys, Koadsters, Carriage Horses, and Ponies. Henry Beevor, Hon. G. E. Lascelles, C. M. Nainby. Agricultural Horses. Henry Crosse, John Wood, David Wright. Leicester Sheep. John Buckley, Charles Clarke, George Mann. Cotswold, Lincoln, and other Long- woolled Sheep. William Bartholomew, Edward Little, E. J. Newton, Oxfordshire and Shropshire Down Sheep. A. Edmonds, Charles Hobbs, E. H. Masfen. Southdown, Hampshire, and Blackfaced SuiFolk Sheep. Trancis Budd, Henry Fookes, J. S. Turner. Pigs. Samuel Druce, J. B. Slater, Thomas Trotter. FARM POULTRY JUDGES. John Bailey, Edwald Hewitt, William Trotter. BUTTER AKD CFIEESE JUDGES. George John Oxivep, John Dekovan. Steioai'ds, Judges, 8fc., at Bury St. Edmund's. Inspectors of Shearing. liii IIenry Boxe, J. B. WORKMAIT. Veterinary-Inspectors . Pkofessor Simosds, Professor Vaeneix. Assistant. — E. L. HuyT. IMPLEMENT JUDGES. Fixed and Portable Steam-Engines. John V. Gooch, T. J. Bramwell, James Easton. Portable ThrasMng Machines and Finishing Machines. John Brasnett, H. B. Caldwell, John Coleman, Thomas Scott. Steam-Power ChafF-Cutters and Boot< Pulpers, Bone MUls, &c. John Hicken, James Martin. Chaff and Turnip Cutters, Corn-Dressing Machines, Grinding and Crushing Mills, Oilcake Breakers, &c. Henry Cantrell, Edward Wortlet. Field Gates and Miscellaneous. John Thompson. John "Wheati^ty. Consulting-Engineer. C. E. Amos. ( liv ) AWARD OF PEIZES. Note. — The Judges were instructed, besides awarding the Prizes, to designate as the Beserve Number one animal in each Class, next in order of merit, if it possessed suf&cient merit for a Prize — in case an animal to which a Prize was awarded should subsequently become disq^ualified. HOESES. TJiorough-hred Stud Horses. Captain F. Baklow, Hasketon, Woodbridge, Suffolk : First Peize, 100?., for " False Alarm," chestnut, 5 years-old ; bred by Lord Spencer, Altliori), Kortbamptonsliire ; sire, "Trumpeter;" dam, "Treacherous;" she of dam, "Pantaloon." William Donald, Stud Farm, East Acton, Middlesex : Second Prize, 50Z., for "Scottish Chief," golden bay, C years-old; bred by J. Merry, Esq., M.P., 6ft, Eaton Square, London ; sire, " Lord of the Isles ;" dam, " Miss Ann ;" sire of dam, " The Little Known." The Eev. John William King, Ashby-de-la-Lannde, Sleaford, Lincolnshire : the Beserve Niimler, to his " Ratcatcher," bay, 7 years-old ; bred by himself; sire, " Eataplan ;" dam, "Lady Alice;" sire of dam, "Mel- bourne." Thorough-bred Hunter Mares. Captain F. Baklow: First Prize, 30Z., for " Silverlock," brown, 15 years- old; bred by himself; sire, " Kobinson ;" dam, "Gipsy;" sire of dam, *' Warrior." Henry Hurrell, Harston, Cambridge : Second Prize, '207., for his dark brown, IG years-old ; bred by himself; sire, "Alpheus." William Harvey, Tim worth, Bury St. Edmund's : Third Prize, 101., for his dark brown, 13 years-old ; bred by the late Eichard Gurney, Norwich ; sire, "Landlord;" sire of dam, "Fury." John Grout, Woodbridge, Siifiblk : the Beserve Number, to his " Alice," chestnut, 9 years-old; breeder unknown. Haclmey Stallions. Charles Beart, Stow Bardolph, Downham ]\Tarket, Norfolk : First Prize, 40/., for "Ambition," red roan, 4 years-old; bred by himself; sire, Mr. Buititaft's " Phenomenon ;" sire of dam, Mr. Baxter's " Performer." John Grout : Second Prize, 20?., for " Sportsman," brown, 5 years-old ; bred by Mr. Dnrrant, Gorleston, Yarmouth, Norfolk ; sire, " Sportsman ;" sire of dam, " Oakley." Thomas Lancelot Eeed, Downham Market : Third Prize, 10?., for " Trot- away," chestnut, 8 years-old ; bred by Eobert Case, Hilgay, Norfolk ; sire,Betts' " Young Firea way ;" sire of dam, Flauder's " Young Fireaway." Award of Live-Stock Prizes at Bury St. Edmund^ s. Iv ElIAS Jolley, Banham, Attleborongh, Norfolk : the Reserve Niimher, to " Rapid Roan," bay roan, 6 years-old ; bred by the Earl of Albemarle, Quidcnham Hall, Attleborough ; sire, Mr. Baxter's " Performer ;" dam "Ladybird." Hachiey Mares. Henry Overhak, "Weasenham, Brandon, Norfolk : First Prize, 30?., for " Jenny Lind," chestnut, aged ; breeder unknown. Herman Biddell, Playford, Ipswich, Suffolk : Second Prize, 207., for "Bury Belle," broAvn, 5 years-old ; bred by himself ; sire, " Oulston ;" dam, " Brunette ;" sire of dam, " Mundig." Captain F. Barlow : the Reserve Number, to " Gipsy," brown, 19 years- old ; bred by himself ; sire, "Warrior;" dam, "Evergreen;" sire of dam Pony Stallions ahove 13 hands 2 inches and under 14 hands 3 inches. John M. Tharp, Chippenham, Soham, Cambridgeshire : First Prize, 20?., for "Brun Lein," brown, 13 years-old; breeder unknown. David Lister, Westwood, Ilkley, Leeds : Second Prize, 15Z., for " Black Performer," black, 4 years-olil ; bred by himself ; sire, " I31ack Harkaway ;" dam, " Black Bess ;" sire of dam, " President." Pony Mares above 13 hands 2 inches and under 14 hands 2 inches, Jonathan Reed Cooper, Manor House, Barton, Bury St. Edmund's : First Prize, 15?., for " Countess," chestnut, 4 years-ola ; breeder unknown. G-ecege Cardinall, Sudbury, Suffolk : Second Prize, 10?., for " Bertha," bay, 6 years-old ; breeder unknown ; sire, " Phosphorus." Thomas Fulcher, Elmham, Thetford, Norfolk : Third Prize, for " Jessie," bay, 6 years-old; breeder unknown. Pony Stallions under 13 hands 2 inches. Edmund Farrer, Sporle, Swaffhani, Norfolk : First Prize, 15?., for his bay brown, 10 years-old. Pony 3Iarcs under 13 hands 2 inches, Thomas Wallis, Witchford, Ely, Cambridgeshire: First Prize, 10?., for his dark chestnut, 4 years-old ; bred by Mi-. William Cockle, Hilron, Ely su'e, " Prickwillow." Captain F. Barlow : Second Prize, 5?., for his " Piccadilly," black, 7 years- old; breeder unknown. Frederick Branwhite, Long Melford, Sudbuiy, Suffolk : the Reserve Number, to his bay, 5 years-old ; breeder unknowu. Charles Groucock, Plumstead Hall, Norwich : the Reserve Numher to " Puss," dun, 9 years-old ; breeder unknown. Suffolk Stallions. Charles Boby, Alton Hall, Stutton, Ipswich, Suffolk : First Prize, 25?., for " Conqueror," chesnut, 8 years old ; bred by himself; sire, Mr. BarthroiDps " Hero ;" dam, " Bragg ;" sire of dam, Mr. Crosse's " Old Briton." VOL. III.~S. S. " f Ivi Aicard of Live-Stock Prizes at Bury St. Edmund's. Thomas Ceisp, Butley Abbey, Wickham [Market, Suffolk : Second Prize,. 151., for " Duke," chestnut, 5 years-old ; bred by Mr. Bromley, Wickham- brook, Newmarket. Suffolk Stallions — Two Years-old. Wn.T.TAM Wilson, BaylLam Hall, Tpswicli : First Prize, 201., for " President," red cliestnut ; bred by Mr. J. A. Piggott, Buckingham Hall, Witham, Essex ; sire, Mr, Barthropp's " Hero ;" sire of dam, " Heart of Oak." Thomas Crisp : Second Prize, lOZ., for his chestnut ; bred by himself ; sire, Mr. Crisp's " Champion ;" dam, " Diamond ;" sire of dam, Mr. Crisp's " Sultan." The Executors of the late Samuel Clayden, Little Linton, Cam- bridgeshire : Third Prize, 5?., for the chestnut ; bred by the late S. Clayden ; sire, Mr. Badham's " Emperor ;" dam, " Blossom ;" sire of dam, " Samson." Suffolk Mares and Foals. Samuel Wolton, Newboum Hall, Woodbridge, Suffolk : First Prize, 20?., for " Moggy," chestnut, 12 years-old ; bred by himself; sire, " Pioyal Duke;" dam, " Moggy." Samuel Wolton, Kesgrave, Woodbridge : Second Prize, 107., for " Violet," chestnut, 5 years-old; bred by himself; sire, Biddell's "Canterbury Pilgrim ;" dam, Wolton's " Empress ;" sire of dam, Cordy's " Marquis." George Tomline, M.P., Nacton, Ipswich : Third Prize, 5Z., for " Darby," chestnut, 7 years-old; bred by himself; sire, Lewis's "Boxer;" dam, " Darby." Suffolk Mares — TJiree Tears-old. SiE Edward Kerrison, Bart., Brome Hall, Scole, Suffolk : First Prize, 15Z,, for his chestnut ; bred by Mr. Cross, Holbrook, Ipswich ; sire, " Kaglan." Thomas King, Preston, Bildeston, Suffolk : Second Prize, for " Matchet," chestnut ; bred by Mr. J. Nunn, Fornham, Bury St. Edmund's ; sire, " The Suffolk Captain." Suffolk Fillies — Two Tears-old. Thomas Cross, Holbrook, Ipswich : First Prize, 15Z., for his bright chestnut ; bred by himself; sire, Eist's "Harwich Emperor ;" dam, " Depper." William Wilson, Baylham Hall : Second Prize, 101., for " Scott," chestnut ; bred by Mr. Freeman; sire, "Briton;" sire of dam, "Didie." Samuel Wolton, Kesgrave : Third Prize, 51., for " Empress," chestnut ; bred by himself; sire, Wolton's "Warrior;" dam, Wolton's "Empress;" sire of dam, Cordy's " Marquis." Agricultural Stallions. George Cot, Downham, Ely, Cambridgeshire : First Prize, for " Matchless," dark bay, 4 years-old ; bred by S. Coy, Downham ; sire, " Farmer's Glory ;" dam, " Sorrell ;" sire of dam, " Matchless." Major-Geneeal the Hon. A. Nelson Hood, Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, Berks : Second Prize, 15?., for " The Don," brown Clydesdale, 3 years- old ; bred by himself; sire, Mr. Taylor's "England's Glory;" dam, " Smart ;" sire of dam, " Major." Aioard of Live-Stock Prizes at Bwy St. Edmund's. Ivii Agricultural Stallions — Two Years-old. William "Welcher, Upwell, Cambriclp;csLire : First Prize, 20Z., for " Honest Tom," bay ; bred by himself ; sire, Tibbett's " Thumper ;" dam, "Beauty ;" sire of dam, Hammant's " Emperor." Fbakk Battcogk, Hemmingford Abbots, St. Ives, Hunts : Second Prize, lOZ., for " Drayman 2nd," bro'^vn ; bred by R. Bennett, Holywell, St. Ives ; sire, " Drayman ;" dam, " Bonnie ;" sire of dam, " Young Active." John Tingey, Ellingham, Attleborough, Norfolk: Third Prize, 5?., for " Young Glory," chestnut; bred by himself ; sire, " Prince;" dam, " Brag ;" sire of dam, " Old Prince." John Warth, Sutton, Ely, Cambridgeshire : the Reserve Nurabcr, to " Emperor," bay ; bred by himself; sire, " England's Glory." Agricultural Mares and Foals. Edward Holland, M.P., of Dumbleton Hall, Evesham, Gloucestershire: First Prize, 20?., for "Matchless," red roan, 14 years-old; bred by himself; sire, "Invincible;" dam, "Scott." Agricultural Fillies — Two Years-old. John "Warth: First Prize, 151., for "Beauty," dark bay; bred by himself; ■sire, " Samson ;" dam, " Brisk." Edward Ftson, Heigham Green, Bury St. Edmund's : Second Prize, for his bay ; bred by himself; sire, Mr. Bromley's " Prince ;" dam, " Club." Edward Ftson: the Reserve Numher, to his bay; bred by himself; sire, Mr. Bromley's " Prince ;" dam, " Blossom." SHEEP. Leicester Bams. PiOBERT Ward Ceeswell., Pvavenstone, Ashby-de-la-Zouchc Leicestershire : First Prize, 20?., for his 1 year 4 months -old ; bred by himself. John Borton, Barton House, Malton, Yorkshire : Second Peize,107., for his 1 year 3 months-old ; bred by himself. HoBEET Ward Creswell : Third Prize, 5?., for his 1 year 4 months old ; bred by himself. Joseph Gould, Poltimore, Exeter, Devon : the Reserve Number, to his 1 year 3 months 2 weeks old ; bred by himself. <3-eorge Turner, Jun., Alexton Hall, Uppingham, Leicestershire : First Prize, 20Z., for his 3 years 3 months 2 weeks-old ; bred by himself. Johs Borton : Sec©nd Prize, lOZ., for his 3 years 3 months-old ; bred by himself. JflDEN Borton : Third Prize, 51., for his 2 years 3 months-old ; bred by himself. J[k>EEKT Ward Creswell; the Rcs'e'rve Nuraber, to his 3 years 4 months old ;.bred by himself. /2 Iviii Aioard of Live- Stock Prizes at Bury St. Edmund's. Leicester Ewes — Pens of Five. James and Edward Tindall, Knapton Hall, Killinsjton, Yorkshire : FinsT Prize, 151., for their 1 year 3 months old; bred by themselves. William Browne, High Gate, Holme-on-Spalding Moor, York : Second Prize, lOZ., for his 1 year 3 months 1 week-old ; bred by himself. Joseph Gould : the Reserve Number, to his 1 year 3 months 3 weeks-old ; bred by himself. Cotsivold Bams. Thomas Browne, IVTarham Hall Farm, Downham Market, Norfolk : First Prize, 20?., for his 1 year 4 months 2 weeks-old; bred by himself. Thomas BR0A\rNE : Second Prize, lOZ., for his 1 year 4 months 2 weeks-old ; bred by himself. Hugh Aylmer, West Dereham Abbey, Stoke Ferry, Norfolk : Third Prize, 5?., for his 1 year 3 months 2 weeks-old ; bred by himself. John Gillett, Oaklands, Charlbiiry, Oxon : the Reserve Numher, to his 1 year 4 months 2 weeks-old ; bred by himself. Thomas Browne : First Prize, 20/., for his 4 years 4 months 2 weeks-old ; bred by himself. Thomas Browne : Second Prize, lOZ., for his 3 years 4 months 2 weeks-old ; bred by himself. Hugh Aylmer : Third Prize, bl., for his 2 years 3 months-old ; bred by himself. Hugh Aylmer : the Reserve Numher, to his 3 years 3 months 2 weeks-old ; bred by himself. Cotsivold Ewes — Pens of Five. Thomas Browne : First Prize, 15/., for his 1 year 4 months 2 weeks-old bred by himself. Hugh Aylmer : Second Prize, 107., for hig 1 year 3 months 2 weeks-old bred by himself. Hugh Aylmer : Third Prize, 5Z., for his 1 year 3 months 2 weeks-old bred by himself. John Gillett: the Reserve Numher, to his 1 year 4 months 2 weeks-old bred by himself. Lincoln and other Long-woolled Bams. Hugh Aylmer, West Dereham Abbey, Stoke Ferry, Norfolk : Fjrst Prize, 20/., for his 1 year 3 months 2 weeks-old ; bred 1 y himself, William Francis Marshall, Branston, Tincoln: Second Prizf, 10/., for his 1 year 3 months 2 weeks-old Lincoln ; bred by himself. PiObert Wright, Nocton Heath, Nocton, Lincoln : Thied Prize, 5/., for his 1 year 5 months-old Lincoln; Ired by himself. PiOBEKT Wright: the Reserve Numher, to his 1 year 5 moi-ths-ild Lincoln^ bred by himself. PiOBERT Wright : First Prize, 20/., for Lis 4 years 5 mont! s-old L'ncoln ; bred by himself. Charles Williams, Carlton-le-Moorland, Newark, Notts : Second Prize, 10?., for his 3 earsy 3 months 2 weeks-old Lincoln ; bred by himself. Aioard of Live -Stock Prizes at Bury St. Edmund's. lix Charles Williams : Third Peize, 5?., for Lis 3 yea -s 3 mouths 2 wceks-cld Lincoln ; bred by himself. John William Eichardson, Willoughton, Kirton-in-Lindsay, Liucolnsliiiv : the Reserve Number, to his 2 years 3 montbs-uld Liucoln ; bred by himself. Lincoln and other Long-woolled Ewes — Pens of Five. Clarke Hales, Manor House, Bassingbourne, Royston : First Prize, 15/., for his 1 year 4 months-old LincoLns ; bred by himself. Charles Lister, Coleby Heath, Lincoln : Second Prize, 107., for his 1 year 4 months 2 weeks-old Lincolus ; bred by C. and J. Lister. Charles Lister : the Eeserve Numher, to his 1 year 4 mouths 2 weeks-old Lincolus ; bred by C. and J. Lister. Oxfordshire Down Bams. George Wallis, Old Shiflbrc', Bampton, Faringdon : First Prize, 20?., for his 1 year 5 mouths 2 weeks: old; bred by himself. Charles Howard, Biddenharp, Bedford : Second Prize, 10/., for his 1 year 4 months 2 weeks-old ; bred by himself. John Bryan, Southleigh, Witney, Oxfordshire : Third Prize, 57., for his 1 year 4 months 2 weeks-old ; bied by himself. George Wallis: F^fisT Prize, 20Z., for his 2 years 5 months 2 weeks-old; bred by himself. George Wallas : Second Prize, 107., for his 4 years 5 months 2 wecKs-old bred by himself. \ Oxfordshire Down Ewes — Pens of Five. ' Charles Howard : First Prize, 157,, for his 1 year 4 months 2 weeks-old ; bred by himself. Charles Howard : Second Prize, 107., for his 1 year 4 months 2 weeks-old ; bred by h'mself. Henry Overman, Weaseuham, Pougham, Norfolk : Third Prize, 57., fcr his 1 year 5 months-old; bred by T. Case, Testerton, Fakculiam^ Norfolk. Southdown Hams. Lord Walsingham, Merton Hall, Thetfovd, Norfolk : First Prize, 207., for his 1 year 4 months-old ; bred by himself. Sir William Throckmorton, Bart., Buckland, Faringdon, Berks ; Second Prize, 107., for his 1 year 4 months-old ; bred by himself. Lord Walsingham . Third Prize, 57., for his 1 year 4 months-old ; bred by himself. Lord Sondes, Elmham Hall, Thctford, Norfolk : the Beserve Numler, to his 1 year 4 months-old ; bred by himself. Lord Walsingham : First Prize, 207,, for his 2 years 4 months-old ; bred by himself. Sir William Throckmorton, Bart. : Second Prize, 107., for " Buckland Bunker's Hill," 5 years 4 months-old ; bred by himself. Ix Aioard of Live-Stock Prizes at Bury St. Edmund'' s. Sir William Throckmokton, Bart. ; Third Prize, 51., for " Young Duke," 2 years 4 montlis-old ; bred by himself. Lord Walsinghasi : tbe Eeserve Nurnber, to bis 2 years 4 montbs-old ; bred' himself. Southdown Ewes — Pens of Five. Sir William: THROCKivroRTON, B'tirt. : First Prize, 15?., for his 1 year 4 months-old ; bred by himself. The Duke of Eichmond, K.G-., Goodwood, Chichester, Susses : Second Prize, lOZ., for his 1 year 4 months-old ; bred by himself. The Duke of Eichmond, K.G. : Third Prize, &l., for his 1 year 4 mouths- old ; bred by himself. Lord Sondes : the Eeserve Numler, to his 1 year 4 months-old ; bred by himself. SJirojJsJiire Mams. John Evans, Uffington, Shrewsbury : First Prize, 201., for his 1 year 3 months-old ; bred by himself. John Evans: Second Prize, lOZ., for his 1 year 3 months 2 weeks-old; bred by himself. Thomas Mansell, Adcott Hall, Baschurch, Shrewsbury : Third Prize, 5?., for his 1 year 3 months 3 weeks-old ; bred by himself. John Evans : the Eeserve Numler, to his 1 year 3 months-old ; bred by himself. James and Edward Crane, Shrawardiue and Forton, Shrewsbury : First Prize, 201., for their 2 years 3 months-old; bred by themselves. Thomas Mansell : Second Prize, 101., for his 2 years 4 months-old ; bred by himself. John Evans : Third Prize, 51., for 3 years 3 months 1 week-old ; bred by himself. George Anderson May, Elford Park, Tamworth, Staffordshire : the Eeserve Number, to " Great Eastern," 3 years 6 months-old ; bred by himself. SJirojpshire Ewes — Pens of Five. Henry Smith, Sutton Maddock, Shiffnall, Saloi^ : First Prize, 15?,, for his 1 year 4 months-old ; bred by himself. Thomas Horton, Harnage Grange, Shrewsbury : Second Prize, 10?., for his 1 year 2 months 3 weeks-old ; bred by himself. Henry Matthews, Montford, Shrewsbury: Third Prize, 51., for his 1 year 3 months 2 weeks-old ; bred by himself. Joseph Beach, The Hattons, Brewood, Dudley, Worcestershire : the Eeserve Number, to his 1 year 3 months 1 week-old ; bred by himself. Hamjjsliire and other Sliort-woolled Bams. James Eawlence, Bulbridge, Wilton, Salisbury, Wilts : First Prize, 20?,, for his 1 year 6 months-old West Country Down ; bred by himself. Egbert Coles, Norton Bavaut, Warminster, Wiltshire : Second Prize, 10?., for his 1 year 4 months-old improved Hampshire ; bred by himself. . Awcsrd of Live-StocTi Prizes at Bury St. EdmumTs. Ixi AUBED MoEEisoN, FontluU House, Tisbury, Wiltshire : the Beserve Numher, to his 1 year 5 mouths 2 weeks-old Hampshire ; bred by himself. "William Brown Canning, Elston, Devizes, W^iltshire : First Prize, 201., for his 4 years 5 months-old improved Hampshire ; bred by himself, William Brown Canning : Second Prize, 107., for his 2 years 4 months 3 weeks-old imj)roved Hampshire ; bred by himself. James Eawlence, the Beserve Numher, to his 2 years 5 months 2 weeks-old West Country Down ; bred by himself, Hampshire and other Short-woolled Ewes — Pens of Five. James Eawlence : First Prize, 151., for his 1 year 5 months 2 weeks-old West Country Downs ; bred by himself. James Eawlence : Second Prize, 10?., for his 1 year 5 months 2 weeks-old West Country Downs ; bred by himself. Alfred Morrison : the Beserve Number, to his 1 year 5 months-old Hampshires ; bred by himself. PIGS. Boars of a Large Wliite Breed. J. AND F. Howard, Britannia Farms, Bedford : First Prize, 10?., for " Hero," 2 years 2 weeks old (Yorkshire) ; bred by Mr. Duckering, Northorpe, Kirton - in - Lindsay ; sire,, Hero ;" dam, " Countess of Leicester." EiCHARD Elmhiest DucKERnsfG, Northorpe, Kirton-in-Liudsay : Second Prize, 57., for " Cultivator 3rd," 2 years 5 months 1 week-old (Lincoln- shire) ; bred by himself ; sire, " Cultivator 1st." Thomas Crisp, Butley Abbey, Wickham Market, Suffolk: the Beserve Number, to his 1 year 6 months 1 day-old ; bred by himself. Boars of a Small Wliite Breed. William Hatton, Addingham, Leeds: First Prize, 107., for "King of West," 3 years 2 months 1 week 1 day-old; bred by Col. Townley, Burnley, Lancashire. Thomas Crisp ; Second Prize,' 57., for his 1 year 6 months 1 day-old (Suffolk) ; bred by himself. Peter Eden, Cross Lane, Salford, Manchester : the Beserve Number, to " Lord Lyons," 1 year 3 months 1 week-old ; bred by Eichard Dickin, Heaton Norris, Stockport ; sire, " Blair Athol ;" dam, " Snowdrop." Boars of a Small Black Breed. George Mumford Sexton, Wherstcad Hall, Ipswich : First Prize," 107., for " The Hermit," 1 year 3 months 1 week-old (Suffolk) ; bred by him- self; sire, " Gladiateur;" dam, "Blink Bonny ;" sire of dam, " Battersea Prince." George Mumford Sexton: Second Prize, 57., for "Marksman," 10 months 1 week 1 day -old; bred by himself; sire, "Gladiateur;" dam, "The Model;" sire of dam, "Negro." Ixii Award of Lwe- Stock Prizes at Bury St. Edmund's. Philip Bennet, Eougham Hall, Bury St. Edmunds : the Beserve [Nuniber, to his 1 year 3 weeks-old (West Suffolk) ; hred by the Eev. Morton Shaw, Eougham Eectory. Boars of the Berkshire Breed. Arthur Stewart, Saint Bridge House, Gloucester : First Prize, 101., for " Saint Bridge Lad,' black, little white, 11 months 1 week 4 days-old j bred by bmiself ; sire, " Teddy ;" dam, " Gipsy ;" sire of dam, " 2nd Duke of Gloucester." Joseph Smith, Henlev-in-Arden, Warwickshire : Second Prize, 51., for his black little white, 21 mouths 3 weeks 4 days-old; bred by himself; sire, " Young Henley ;" dan , " Judy." George Mumford Sexton : the Beserve Numler, to his black and white, 1 year G months 2 weeks-old ; bred by himself; sire, " Sir Eobert ;" dam, " Worcester Eoyal." Boars of any other Breed. Peter Edek: First Prize, 10?., for "King Lear," white, 4 years 8 months 1 week 6 days-old (middle) ; bred by Mr. W. Gammon, Dee Mills, Chester. EiCHARD Elmhirst Duckering : Second Prize, 51., for " Dreadnought," wlii?, 1 year 10 months 2 weeks-okl (improved Lincolnshire middle); bred by himself; sire, " Cultivator 1st." Breeding Sows of a Large White Breed, James and F. Howard, Britannia Farms, Bedford : First Prize, 10?., for " Princess," 1 year 1 month 3 weeks 5 days-old (Yorkshire), in-pig ; bred by themselves ; sire, " Hero ;" dam, " Beatrice ;" sire of dam, " Imperial." Eichard Elmhirst Duckering, Nortliorpe, Kirton-Linsay : Second Prize, 5?., for " Princess Eoyal," 2 years 5 months 1 wcok-okj (improved Lin- colnshire); bred by himself; sire, "Cultivator 1st." Eichard Elmhirst Duckering, the Beserve Numher, to " Queen of Hearts," 2 years 6 months-old (improved Lincolnshire); bred by himself; sire, " Great Britain." Breeding Sows of a Small White Breed. Eichard Elmhirst Duckering: First Prize, 10?., for "Lily," 1 year 8 months-old (improved Lincolnshiie) ; bred by himself; sire, "Dread- nought 1st." g Jacob Wilson, WocfJiom Manor, Morpeth, Northumberland : Second Prize, 51., for "Lady York," 1 year 9 months 3 weeks-old (Yorkshire), in-pig; bred by Mr. Holmes, Jackson Street, York. Peter Eden, Cross Lane, Salford, Manchester : the Beserve Number, to " Beeswu-^,," 1 -^ear 8 months-old; bred by himself; sire, " King Lear ;" d' u, " Pride of the Village." Breeding Sows of a Small Blach Breed. George Mumford Sexton, Wherstead Hall, Ipswich : First Prize, 10?., for " Hippia," 1 year 4 months 3 weeks 2 days-old (Suffolk) in-pig ; bred by himself; sire, "Stockwell;" dam, "Princess of Wales;" sire of dam, " Battersea Prince." Award of Live- Stock Prizes at Bury St. Edmund' s. Ixiii Geokge Mumford Sexton : Second Peize, 5Z., for " Achievement," 1 year 3 months 3 \veeks-old_ (Suffolk), in-pig ; bred by himself ; sii e, " Stock- well ;" dam, " Princess of Wales ;" sire of dam, " Battersea Prince." Thomas Crisp, Butley Abbey, Wickham Market, Suffolk : the Baserve Nuinher, to his 3 years 1 month-old (improved Sufiblk), in-pig; bred by himself. breeding Sows of the BcrJcsldre Breed, John King Tombs, Langford, Lechlade, Gloucestershire : First Prize, 10/., for his black and white, 1 year 3 .weeks G days-old, in-pig ; bred by himself. Arthur Stewart, Saint Bridge House. Gloucester ; Second Prize, bl., for "British Queen,'' black, little white, 11 months 3 weeks 6 days-old, in-iMg; bred by himself; sire, "Tim Whiffler ;" dam, "Old Bobtail." Arthur Stewart, the Beserve Number, to " Young Bobtail," black, little white, 1 1 months 3 weeks 4 days-old, in-pig ; bred by himself ; sire, " Tim Whiffler ;" dam, " Old Bobtail." , Breeding Soios of any other Breed. EicHARD Elmhirst Duckering : First Prize, 10?., for " Lady Byron," white, 1 year 11 months-old (improved Lincolnshire middle) ; bred by Mr. Joe Byrom, Hazlehead, Pencistone. John Sagar, Lister Hills, Bradford, Yorkshire: Second Prize, 5Z., for " Princess Eoyal," white, 1 year 5 months 1 week-old (middle), in-pig ; bred by Mr. D, Wilson, Cross Hills, Keighley; sire, "Hero;" dam, " Airedale Queen." Jacob Wilson: the Beserve Numher, to "Golden Link," 2 years 7 months 5 days-old (Yorkshire middle), in-pig; bred by W. B. Wainman, Esq., Carhead, Crossbills, Yorkshire ; sire, " Perfect Cure ;" dam, " Happy Link." Breeding Soio Pigs of a Large Wltife Breed — Pens of Tliree. Richard Elmhiest Duckering : First Prize, lOZ., for his 7 months 2 weeks old (improved Lincolnshire); bred by himself ; sire, "Cultivator 3rd;" dam, " Queen Bess." Breeding Sow Pigs of a Small White Breed — Pens of Tliree. Hugh Aylmer, AYest Dereham Abbey, Stoke Feriy, Korfolk : First Prize, lOZ., for his 7 months 1 Vvi.tk 1 day-old; bred by himself; sire, " King Cube ;" dam, " Lucky Link ;" sire of dam, " Perfect Cure." John Sawyer, Tunstall, Wickham !RL^rket, Suffolk : Second Prize, 5Z., for his 6 months 3 weeks 4 days-old; bred by himself; sire, "Ace of Trumps ;" dam, " Victoria 1st ;" sire of dam, " Marquis." Samuel Geatee Stearn, Brandcston, Wickham Market : the Beserve Numher, to his 7 months 3 weeks 4 days-old ; bred by himself; sire, " Tom Thumb ;" dam, " Alexandra 2nd ;" sire of dam, " Prince of Wales." Breeding Soto Pigs of a Small Blade Breed — Pens of Tliree. George Mumford Sexton: First Prize, 10?., for his 7 months 3 weeks 4 Ixiy Award of Live-Stock Prizes at Bury St. EdmuncL^s. days-old; bred by liimself ; sire, "Lord Lyon;" dam, "Queen Mary;" sire of dam, " Battersea Prince." breeding Sow Pigs of the BerJcsJiire Breed — Pens of Three. WiLLTAM Yells, Bound Robin Fann, Highwortb, Wilts : First Peize, 10?., for bis blaclv and wbite, 6 montbs 3 weeks G days-old ; bred by bimself ; sire, " Cbampion ;" dam, " Maid of Honour ;" sire of dam, " King of Newport," Eev. Henry G. Bailt, Swindon, Wilts : Second Prize, 5?., for bis black, white points, 7 montbs 3 days-old; bred by bimself; sire, "King Charley ;" dam, " Nonsuch ;" sire of dam, " Hannibal." Major John E. Riley, Elm House, Winkfield, Windsor : the Eeserve Number, to his black, white points, 7 months 3 days-old ; bred by him- self ; sire, " King Charley ;" dam, " Nonsuch ;" sire of dam, " Hannibal." Breeding Sow Pigs of any otlier Breed- — Pens of TJiree. Richard Elmhiest Duckering : First Prize, 10?,, for his white, 6 months 1 week-old (improved Lincolnshire) ; bred by himself ; sire, " Dread- nought 2nd ;" dam, " Jewel." SPECIAL PEIZES OFFEEED BY THE SUFFOLK AGEI- GULTUEAL SOCIETY, THE LOCAL COMMITTEE OF BUEY ST. EDMUND'S, AND THE EOYAL AGEICUL- TUEAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. Suffolk Entire Colts — Tliree Years old. Thomas Crisp, Butley Abbey, Wickham Market, Norfolk : First Prize, 20?., for " Cupbearer," chestnut ; bred by the Executors of Mr. H. Sargent, Maresford, Wickham, Suffolk; sire, Mr. Crisp's "Conqueror;" dam, " Princess;" sire of dam, "Mr. Crisp's "Prince," Manfred Biddell, Playford, Ipswich, Suffolk : Second Prize, 10?., for bis " Punch," chestnut ; bred by Mr. Frost, Shadingfield, Suflblk ; sire, " Conqueror ;" dam, " Britton." Stiffolk 3Iares — Pairs. Sir Edward Kereison, Bart, Brome Hall, Scole, Suffolk : First Prize, 20?., for " Depper," chestnut, 11 years-old ; sire, " Duke ;" dam, " Scott ;" sire of dam, " Royal Duke :" and for " Dandy," chestnut, 3 years-old ; sire, " Champion ;" dam, " Bragg ;" both bred by himself. William Thompson, Jun., Thorpe, Colchester: Second Prize, 10?., for " Blossom," chestnut, 7 years-old; bred by bimself; sire, " Darby :" and for " Scott," chesnut, 9 years-old ; bred by Mrs, Chevely, St. Osytb, Col- chester. Suffolk Mares. Francis Keer, Raydon, Oxford, Wickham Market : First Prize, 15?., for his chestnut, 4 years-old ; bred by himself ; sire, Mr. Cris|)'s " Conqueror ;" dam, " Moggy." Award of Live-Stoch. Prizes at Bury St. EdmuncCs. Ixv Sir Edward Kerrisok, Bart. : Second Prize, lOZ.,for " Bonny," chestnut, 4: years-old; bred by himself ; su-e, "Nonpareil;" dam, "Bragg;" sire of dam, " Eoyal Duke." Suffolk Geldings — Pairs. TiiE Duke of Gbaftok, Bustou Hall, Thetford, Norfolk : " Smiler," chestnut, 7 years-old ; sire, " Captain ;" dam, " Darby :" and for " Punch," chestnut, 10 yearS'Old; sire, " Captain;" dam, " Dejjper;" both bred by exhibitor. Suffolk Entire Colts— One Tear-old. Samuel Wolton, Newbourn Hall, Woodbridge, Suffolk : First Prize, 151., for his bright chestnut; bred by himself; sire, " Wol ton's Warrior;" dam, " Bonny ;" sire of dam, " Hero." Geobqe Tomline, M.P., Nacton, Ipswich : Second Prize, 10?., for his chestnut ; bred by himself ; sire, " Harwich Emperor ;" dam, " Darby ;" sire of dam, " Hero." Suffolk Fillies — One Year -old Isaac Eist, of Tattingstone, Ipswich : First Prize, 10?., for " Smart," chestnut ; bred by Mr. Frost, Stoke, Colchester ; sire, " Harwich Em- peror ;" dam, " Depper ;" sire of dam, " Boxer." Isaac PtiST : Second Prize, 5Z., for " Violet," chestnut ; bred by Mr. G-reen, Manningtree, Essex ; sire, " Harwich Emperor ; dam, " Depper ;" sire of dam, " Boxer," Suffolk Foals. Sir Edward Kekrison, Bart., Brome Hall, Scole : First Prize, lOZ., for his chestnut; bred by himself; sire, "Ploughboy;" dam, "Bragg;" sire of dam, " Eoyal Duke." Alfred Frewer : Debenham, Ipswich : Second Prize 57., for his chestnut ; bred by himself ; sire, " Wilson's Briton ;" dam, " Depper ;" sire of dam, " Wilson's Duke." Hunter Mares or Geldings. Thomas Gee, Dewhurst Lodge, Wadhurst, Sussex: First Prize, 75Z., for " Master of Arts," chestnut, 5 years-old gelding ; bred by John Baker, Easkelf, York; sire, " Pottinger;" sire of dam, " Galen." Thomas Sutton, Alwent Hall, Darlington : Second Prize, 50?., for his " Voyageur," dark chestnut, 8 years-old gelding ; bred by John Eeynolds, Garristown, Dublin ; sire, " Jolly Tar ;" sire of dam, " Spencer." Edward Nicholas Heygate, Buckland, Leominster, Herefordshire : Third Prize, 25?., for " Mountain Dew," brown black, 5 years-old gelding ; bred by himself ; sire, " The Era ;" dam, " Whiskey ; sire of dam, " Whindhound." Thomas Taylor, Bury St. Edmund's: the Reserve Numher, to "Harkaway," chestnut, 6 years-old (gelding) ; breeder unknown. Hunter Mares or Gelding — Four Tears-old. Thomas Gee : First Prize, 40?., for " Tom," black brown gelding ; bred by Mr. G. Jaunten, Hatfield, York ; sire, " Serenade ; dam, " Augur." Edward Nicholas Heygate : Second Prize, 20?., for " Denmark," black brown gelding; bred by himself; sire, *' The Era;" dam, " Whiskey ;" sire of dam, "" Whindhound," Ixvi Award of Livc-Stoclt Prizes at Biwy St. Edmund's. ThO-MAS ee : Third Fuize, 10/., for " Q'lie General," chestnut gelding •, bred by ]\Ir. E. Danby, Eouth, Beverley ; sire, " General Williams ; sire of dam, " Cato." William Hardistt Clark, Hook, Howden, Yorkshire, the Beserve Number, to his brown gelding ; bred by Mr. Reader, Holme, York ; sire, " Cawston," sire of dam, " King Caradock." JRoadster Mares or Geldings. George David Badham, Buhner, Sudbury: First Prize, 30/., for " Major," grey, 11 years-old gelding ; breeder unknown, Egbert John H. Harvey, M.P., Crown Point, Norwich : Second Prize, 201., for " Pavoin-iie," chestnut, 7 yeais-old gelding ; bred by himself. John Grout, Woodbridge : Third Prire, 10?., for " Black Bess," black, C years-old mare ; breeder unknown. John Grout : the Beservz Number, to " Alice," brown, 5 years-old mare ; breeder unknown. John William Scriven, Throstlenest, Otley, Yorkshire : First Prize, 20Z., for " Lotti," brown, C years-old mare ; bred by himself; sire, " Old Flying Buck ;" dam, " Jenny Lind ;" sire of dam, " Merry Driver." William Wright, Doddington, Cambridgeshire : Second Prize, 10/.. for " Queen of the Seas," chestnut, 3 years-old mare ; bred hj William Fisher, Doddington Hall; sire, " Oilaudo;"' dam, " Queen of the Seas;" sire of dam, " Young Shales." Carriage Mares or Geldings — Four Tears-old. John Grout : First Prize, 30/., for " York," brown gelding ; breeder un- known. George Turner, Barnham, Thetford, Is'orfolk : Second Prize, 20/., for "Hawk," bay gelding; bred by himself; sire, " Birdcatcher ;" dam, " Kitty." Carriage Mares or Geldings — Two Tears-old. George Kersey Cooper, Euston, Thetford, Norfolk : First Prize, IC/., foi' his brown ge'ding ; bred by Mr. W. Denis, Barningham, Ixworth ; sire, " Barabbas;" sire of dam, " Brandon." Thomas Easterson, the Eed House, Bawdsey, Woodbridge : Second Prize, 5/., for " Fitz Weatheibit,-" brown gelding; bred by himself; sire, " Weathcrden ;" dam, " Eainbow ;" sire of dam, " Esculapius." Pony Mares or Geldings. Eichard Milward, Thurgarton Priory, Southwell, Notts : First Prize, 10/., for " Steward," bay, aged gelding ; breeder unknown. Eichard Milward : Second Prize, 5/., for " Dunbar," bay, 4 years-old gelding ; breeder unknown. James Allen Eansome, Carr Street, Ipswich : the Ikserve Numlcr, to " Sir Harry," bay, 6 years-old gelding; bred by Eobeit Smith, Emmett's Grange, South Molton ; sire, " Bobby." Henry Roe Wade, Little Waldriugfield, Sudbury : First Prize, 10/., for " Tomtit," bay, 5 ycars-okl gelding ; breeder unknown. Egbert Gittus, West Row, Soham, Cambridgeshire : Second Prize, 5/., for " Tommy ,"^ brown, 5 years-old gelding ; breeder unknown. Award of Live-Stock Prizes at Bury St. EdmuncCs. Ixvii Geoege Mumford Sexton, Wlierstead Hall, Ipswicli : the Eeserve Number, to his bay, 5 years-old gelding ; breeder uuknown. PIGS. Boar, Sow, and Litter — Small Wliite Breed. George Mumford Sexton : First Prize, lOZ., for his boar, " Carhead," 1 year 5 months 6 days-old ; sire, " Wainman ;" dam, " Windsor Lass : sow, " Prolific," 2 years 1 month-old ; sire, " The Clipper ;" dam, " Hapi^y-go- Lucky ;" litter 2 months 2 days-old ; all bred by himself. Peter Eden, Cross Lane, Salford, Manchester : Second Prize, 5Z., for his boar, " Emperor," I year 1 month 3 weeks-old ; sire, " King Lear ;" dam, " Pride of the Village :" sow, " Empress," 1 j^ear 9 months 5 days-old ; sire, " King Lear;" dam, " Snowdrop ;" litter 2 months 2 weeks-old ; all bred by himself. John Sawyer, Tnnstall, "Wickham ISIarkct : the Eeserve Nuviher, to his boar, " Ace of Trumi3s," 2 years 1 month-old : sow, " Victoria 1st," 2 years 6 months 3 days-old ; litter 2 months 1 week-old ; all bred by himself. Boar, Sow, and Litter — Small Black Breed. George Mumford Sexton: First Prize, lOL, for his boar, "The Duke," 1 year 7 months 5 days-old; sire, " Battersea Prince;' dam, "Royalty;" sire of dam, " Worthy:" sow, 2 years 11 months 6 days-old; sire, " Shortnose;" dam, " Siberia;" sire of dam, " Negro;" litter 2 months 3 weeks-old; &11 bred by himself. Samuel Geater Stearn, Brandeston, Wickham Market : Second Prize, 5?., for his boar, " Black Tom," 1 year 4 months 2 weeks 4 daj^s-old ; sire, _' " Xegro 1st : sow " Black Sal," 2 years 8 months 2 weeks 3 days-old ; litter 2 months 2 weeks 3 days-old ; all bred by himself. Samuel Geater Stearn, the Reserve Numher, to his boar, ''• Negro 2nd," 1 year 4 months 2 weeks 4 days-old ; sire, " Negro 1st :" sow, " Slut," 2 years 9 months 3 weeks 6 days-old; sire, " Sambo;" dam, "Jet;" litter 2 months 2 weeks 1 day-old ; all bred by himself. SHEEP. Blaclc-faccd Suffolk Bams, John Mo Green, Stradishall Old House, Newmarket : First Prizf, 10?., for his 1 year 5 months-old ; b:ed by 1-imse f. George Dobito, Lidgate, Newmarket: Fec.nd Pbize, 51., for his 1 }ear 4 months 1 week-old ; bred by himself. John M. Green : the Eeserve Kumler, to hi 5 1 year 5 months-old ; I red by himself. George Dobito: First Prizf, 10/., or Ms 2 years 5 mon(hs-jld; bred by himself. George Dobito: Second Prize, 5?., %x L's 2 yens 5 mo:.ths 1 ve^k (,ld; bred by himself. William Harvey, Timworth, Bury St. Edmund's : tl e Ee:ervc. Kumler, to his 2 years 3 months-old ; bred by himself. - • ^ Ixviii Award of Live-Stock Prizes at Bury St. Edmund's. Black-faced Suffolk Ewes — Pens of Five. William Harvey : First Prize, 10?., for liis 1 year 3 months-old ; bred by G. Dobito. William Harvey : Second Prize, 5?., for his 1 year 3 months old ; bred by George Dobito. Major Fuller Maitland Wilson, Stowlangtoft Hall, Bury St. Edmund's : the Beserve Number, to his 1 year 3 months-old ; bred by the late Eemy Wilson, Stowlangtoft. BUTTEE. Lady Caroline Kerrison, Brome Hall, Scole: First Prize, 6Z. Thomas SawyeBj Hill House, Thwaite, Stonham, Suffolk : Secon Prize, 21. FAEM POULTEY. Coloured Dorking — Cock and Hen any age. .John Dale Hewson, Coton Hill, Stafford : First Prize, 5?.; bred by himself. Frederick Parlett, Leathercuts Lodge, Great Bad don, Chelmsford : Second Prize, SI. ; cock bred by Mr. J. Holme, Knowsley ; hen bred by the Plon. Mrs. Arbuthnot, Inchmartins. Henry Lingwood, Barking, Needham Market : Third Prize, 21. ; bred by himself. Coloured Dorking Chickens — Cock and Hen. Joseph Lewry, Bolney, Cuckfield, Sussex : First Prize, 51. ; bred by himself. Donald C. Campbell, M.D., Brentwood, Essex : Second Prize, 31. ; bred by himself. Mary Seamonb, Hartwell, Aylesbury, Bucks : Third Prize, 21. ; bred by herself. Donald C. Campbell, M.D. : the Beserve Numher ; bred by himself. White Dorking^Gock and Hen any age. Henry Lingwood : First Prize, hi. ; and Second Prize, 3Z. ; bred by himself. Dark Brahma Pootra — Cock and Hen any age. B. W. Boyle, Galtrim House, Bray, county Wicklow, Ireland : First Prize, 61. ; bred by himself. Keith Jopp, Aberdeen : Second Prize, 4L ; bred by R. W. Boyle, Esq. Henry Lacy, Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire : Third Prize, 2Z. ; bred by himself. John Kennis, Wharf Cottage, Chelmsford: the Beserve Number; bred by himself. Bight Brahma, Pootra — Cock and Hen any age. John Pares, Postford House, Guildford : First Prize, 51. Herbert Dowsett, Park Farm, Pleshey, Chelmsford : Second Prize, 47. ; bred by himself. Award of Live-Stock Prizes at Bury St. Edmund's. Isix Frederick Crook, Vine Cottage, Forest Hill, Kent : Third Prize, 21. ; bred by himself. Buff Cochin China — Coclc and Hen any age. EiCHARD White, Broomhall Park, Sheffield : First Prize, 5?. ; bred by himself. Howard Mapplebeck, Woodfield, Moseley, Birmingham : Second Prize, 4Z. ; bred by himself, Henry Lingwood : Third Prize, 21. ; cock bred by Mr. Tomlinson, Balsall Heath, Birmingham ; hen bred by himself. Cochin China, any other colour — Coclc and Hen any age. Joseph Stephens, 48, Bradford Street, Walsall, Staffordshire : First Prize, 4?. Charles William Brierly, Ehodes House, Middleton, Manchester : Second Prize, SI. ; bred by himself. Edward Tubman, Ash Grove, Whitchurch, Salop : Third Prize, 21. ; cock bred by himself. Crevecoeur — Cock and Hen any age. Colonel Stuart AVortley, Eosslyn House, Grove-end Pioad, London : First Prize, 51. ; and Second Prize, SI. La Fleche — CocTi and Hen any age. Colonel Stuart Wortley : First Prize, Al. The Rev. Clement Gilbert, Stnimpshaw Hall, Ipswich : Second Prize, SI. ; bred by himself, Houdan — CocJc and Hen any age. Francis Benjamin Heald, Whitemoor, Nottingham : First Prize, 4?, ; bred by Monsieur Perre, Houdan, France. The Rev. Clement Gilbert : Second Prize, 27. Spanish — CocJc and Hen any age. James Thresh, 24, Manchester Road, Bradford, Yorkshire : First Prize, 5Z, ; bred by himself. Henry Beldon, Goitstock, Bingley, Yorkshire : Second Prize, 4Z, ; bred by himself, Jabez Walker, Ash Street, Merridale Road, Wolverhampton : Third Prize, 21. ; bred by himself. BlacTc Breasted and other Bed Game — Coclc and Hen any age. W, Church and J. W. Houlding, Hospital Street, Nantwich : First Prize, 51. ; bred by themselves. Samuel Matthew, Chilton Farm, Stowmarket : Second Prize, SI. ; bred by himself, James Wood, Moat House, Wigan, Lancashire : Third Prize, 21. ; bred by himself. Game — Coclc and Hen any age, Samuel Matthew : First Prize, 51. ; bred by himself. William Boyes, Beverley : Second Prize, SI. ; cock bred by Mr. Scrim- minger, Pailton, Lutterworth. Frederick "Watson, Messing Hill House, Kelvedon : Third Prize, 21. ; bred by himself. Ixx Award of Live- Stock Prizes ai Bi ij St. Edmund's. Golden Pencilled Hamhurgli — CocJt and Hen any age. TnoMAS Wrtgt.et, Jan., Tongc, ]\Iiddleton, Manchester: First Trize, 4/.; bred by himself. Frederick Drewry Mort : Second Prize, 27. ; cock bred by ]\Ir. T. "Wriglcy, jun. ; hen by INIr. T. Prcstwich, Manchester. Francis Pittes, jun., Newport, Isle of Wight : Third Prize, 17. ; bred by himself. Silver Pencilled Hamhurgli — Code and Hen any age. Henry Beldon : First Prize, 47. ; bred by himself. Henry Pickles, jnn., Easby, Skipton, Yorkshire: Second Prize, 27.; bred by himself. Golden Spangled Hamhiirgh — Code and Hen any age. Henry Bet,don : First Prize, 47. ; bred by himself. Nathan IMarlor, Denton, INIanchcster : Second Prize, 27. ; bred by himself. John Poe, Tladficld, Derbyshire : Third Prize, 37. ; bred by himself. Silver Spangled Hamhurgli — Code and Hen any age. Henry P)Eldon : First Prize, 47. ; bred by himself. Henry Pickles, jnn. : Second Prize, 27. ; bred by himself. Thomas Lyon Feli,owes, Honingham Ti:arago, Norwich : Third Prize, 17. ; - _ bred by himself. Golden and Silver Sebright Bantam — Code and Hen any age. Henry Draycott, Huml m stone, Leicester : First Prize, 37. Game Bantam — Code and Hen any age. Daniel Cancer, Firdington, Warwickshire: First Prt-^e, 37. ; cock bred by Sir H. G:orge Gcr3, Bart. ; hen bied by himself. Francis Pittes, jun., Newport, Isle of Wight: Second Prize, 27. ; bred by himself. Edmund Spencer Tiddeman, Childeidi' ;h Vicarage, Brentwood: ihe lieserve Nuinher ; bred by himself. Bantams of any otliei- Breed — Code and Hen any age. Henry Beldon : First Prize, 4'. ; bred by Mr. Herrick, Arnold, Dorking. Edward Pigi-on:, Lympstone, Devon : Second Prize, 37. ; bred by himself. Nathan Marlor : Third Prize, 17. Sir Edward Kerrison, Bait., Promc HaU, Scole : the Ecserve Kumlcr ; bred 1 y himself. Turlry — Code and Hen any age. John Smith, B ecdor Hill-;, Cu-aiitham: First Prize, 57. ; bred by himself. Edward Leach, Pochdale : Second Prize, 47. Lady Mar :aret IMArroNALP, Woolmer, Liphook, Hants : Third Prize, 27. ; bred by lerself. Thomas ^Morton, Oflford-d'Arccy, Buckden, Hunts: Fourth Prize, 17. ; bred bj- himself. Thomas Lyon Fellowes : the Ecserve Numlcr; bred by himself. Aioard of Implement Prizes at Bury St. Edmund's. Ixx'i Gander and Goose, any age. 1\Iary Seamons, Hartwell, Aylesbury : First Prize, 5Z. ; bred by herself. John Kearsley Fowler, rrebcndal Farm, Aylesbury : Second Prize, 3?. ; bred by himself. Mary Seamons : Third Prize, 21. ; bred by herself. Mrs. W. T, Bkackenbury, Thorpe Hall Farm, Dowuham, Norfolk : Fourth Prize, 1?, ; bred by herself. The IIev. George Hustler, Stillingfleet Vicarage, York : the Reserve 'Numler ; gander bred by Mr. Young, Driffield ; goose by Mr. Walton, Ackland, iliddlesborough. Aylesbury Dralce and Duck, any age. Mary Seamons : First Prize, 4Z. ; and Second Prize, 2?. ; bred by herself. John Bowman and Edward Fearox, Whitehaven, Cumberland : Third Prize, 11. ; bred by Mrs. Seamons. Mary Seamons : the Reserve Number : bred by herself. Rouen Dralce and Duck, any age. Edward Tudman : First Prize, 47. John Gunson and Skelton Jefferson, Whitehaven : Second Prize, 21. ; bred by themselves. Herbert Dowsett : Third Prize, 11. John Kearsley Fowler : the Reserved Nuniber ; bred by himself. Any other Breed, Drake and Duck. Sidney Alexander Wyllie, Hampton Villa, East Moulsey, Surrey : First Prize, 21. Edward Walter Greene, Bury St. Edmund's : Second Prize, 1/. ; and the Reserved Number. IMPLEMENTS. Steam-Engines— Fixed. Clayton, Shtjttleworth, and Co., Lincoln : First Prize, 20/., for their Ten- horse-power Horizontal Fixed Steam-Engine ; imijroved and manufac- tured by themselves. TuxFORD and Sons, Skirbeck Works, Boston, Lincolnshire : Second Prize, 10?., for their Teu-horse-power Fixed Steam-Engine, with horizontal cylinder, extra expansive valve, and jacketed cylinder ; invented and manufactured by themselves. The Reading Iron Works Company (Limited), Reading: Highly Com- mended for their Ten-horse-power Horizontal Fixed Steam-Engine ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Deacon and Wood, Kennet Iron Works, Reading: Commended for their Eight-horse-powcr Oscillating Steam-Engine ; invented and patented by Simeon Deacon, Reading, and manufactured by themselves. VOL. III. — S. S. ff Ixxii Award of Implement Prizes at Bury St. Edmund's. Steam-Engines — Portable. Clayton, Shuttleworth, and Co. : First Prize, 25?., for their Eight-horse- power Single-cylinder Patent Portable Steam-Engine : invented, im- proved, and manufactured by themselves. TuxFOKD and Sons : Second Prize, 15/., for their Eight-horse-power im- proved Horizontal Portable Steam-Engine, with expansive valve and jacketed cylinder, and strong boiler : invented and manufactured by themselves. Brown and May, North Wilts Foundry, Devizes : Highly Commended for their Eight-horse-power Portable Steam-Engine ; improved and manufac- factured by themselves. The Reading Iron Works Company (Limited) : Highly Commended for their Ten-horse-power Single-cylinder Portable Steam-Engine ; improved and manufactured by themselves. RasTON, Proctor, and Co., Lincoln : Commended for their Eight-horse-power Portable Steam-Engine ; manufactured by themselves. Clayton, Shuttleworth, and Co. : First Prize, 25/., for their Twelve- horse-power Double-cylinder Patent Portable Steam-Engine; improved and manufactured by themselves. Eansomes and Sims, the Orwell Works, Ipswich : Second Prize, 15/., for their Fifteen-horse-power Double-cylinder Expansion Portable Steam- Engine ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Brown and May : Highly Commended for their Ten-horse-power Portable Steam-Engine ; improved and manufactured by themselves. TuxFORD and Sons : Highly Commended for their Fourteen-horse-power Improved Horizontal Portable Steam-Engine with two cylinders; in- vented and manufactured by themselves. Threshing Machines. Ransomes and Sims : First Prize, 20/., for their Single Blast Portable Steam- Threshing Machine, with 60 in. drum ; invented, improved, and manu- factured by themselves. Edward Humphries, Pershore, Worcestershire : Second Prize, 12/., for his Combined Portable, Threshing, Shaking, Riddling, Winnowing, and Sacking Machine ; invented, improved, and manufactured by himself, Naldeb and Nalder (Limited), Challow Iron Works, Wantage, Berks : Third Prize, 8/., for their Portable Compensation Threshing and Dressing Machine ; improved and manufactured by themselves. Wallis, Haslam, and Steevens, North Hants Works, Basingstoke : First Prize, 12/., for their Patent Threshing Machine, to be worked by 4 horses ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Taskeb and Sons, Waterloo Works, Andover, Hants : Second Prize, 81., for their Four-horse power Portable Threshing Machine ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Finishing Machines. Holmes and Sons, Prospect Place Works, Norwich : First Prize, 20/., for their Patent Combined Portable Threshing Machine, to finish the corn for market ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Award of Implement Prizes at Bury St. JEdmund's. Ixxiii Clayton and Shuttleworth : Second Prize, 15?., for their Combined Portable Double-blast Finishing Threshing Machine ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Marshall, Sons, and Co. (Limited), Britannia Iron Works, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire : Third Prize, 51., for their Threshing and Finishing Dressing Machine ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Hand-Dressing Machines. Tasker and Sons : First Prize, 12?., for their Corn Dressing Machine ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. CoRBETT and Son, Park Street Works, Wellington, Salop : Second Prize, 8?., for the combined Corn-dressing Machine ; invented, improved, and manu- factured by Thomas Corbett, Shrewsbury. Egbert and John Peeves, Bratton, Westbury, Wilts : Commended for their Patent Corn-dressing Machine ; invented and improved by W. Beavan, Dilton Farm, Westbury, manufactured by themselves. Eansomes and Sims : Commended for their Improved Dressing Machine ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. HoRNSBY and Sons, Grantham, Lincolnshire : the Prize of 10?., for their Patent Adjustible Corn Screen ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Robert Boby, Bury St. Edmund's : Commended for his Improved Patent Self-cleansing Corn Screen ; invented, improved, and manufactured by himself. Penny and Co. (Limited), Lincoln : Commended for their Patent Adjustible Eotary Corn Separator ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Eansomes and Sims : Commended for their Patent Self-cleaning and Ad- justible Rotary Corn Screen, with stone separator ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Barley Hummellers. Holmes and Sons : the Prize of 51., for their Barley Hummeller ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Chaff-Cutters. Richmond and Chandler, Salford, Manchester : First Prize, 10?., for their Chaff-Cutter for Horse and Steam-power ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Edward Hammond Bentall, Heybridge, Maldon, Essex : Second Prize, 6?,, for his Chaff-cutter ; invented, improved, and manufactured by himself. PiCKSLEY, Sims, and Co. (Limited), Bedford Foundry, Leigh, Lancashire : Third Prize, 4?., for their Albion Pattern Chaff-cutter ; invented, im- proved, and manufactured by themselves. Carson and Toone, Wiltshire Foundry, Warminster : Highly Commended for their Chaff-cutting Engine ; invented by the late Hugh Carson ; improved and manufactured by thewselves. James Cornes, Barbridge Works, Nantwich, Cheshire : Commended for his Registered Chaff Machine for horse or steam power; invented, improved, and manufactured by himself. .7 2 Ixxiv Aicard of Implement Prizes at Bury St. Edmund's. Edward Pagk and Co., Victoria Works, Bedford : Commended for his Chaff- cutting Machine for horse, steam, or water power ; invented and manu- factured by themselves. EicHMOND and Chandler : First Prize, 6/., for their Chaff-cutter for hand- power ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Edward Hammond Bentall : Second Prize, 4:1., for his Chaff-cutter ; in- vented, improved, and manufactured by himself. Smith and Grace, Thrapston, Northamptonshire : Hic^hly Commended for their Cliaff-cutter ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. James Cornes : Commended, for his Pegistered Chaff Machine ; invented, improved, and manufactured by himself. Mills. E. K. and F. Turnisr, St. Peter's Works, Ipswich : First Prize, 9?., for their Grinding Mill, with 3 feet French Stones ; manufactured by themselves. John Tye, Lincoln : Second Prize, 61., for his Portable Corn Grinding Mill, with 3 feet (3 inches Derbyshire Gray Stones ; invented, improved, and manufactured by himself, EusTON, Proctor, and Co : Commended for their Portable Corn Grinding Mill, with 3 feet 6 inches French Burr Stones ; manufactured by them- selves. Amies, Barford, and Co., Queen Street Works, Peterborough : the Prize of 201., for their Patent Portable Metal Steam Corn Grinding Mill ; invented by Fclton : improved and manufactured by themselves. Smith and Grace : First Prize, &., for their improved Grist Mill for hand or horse power ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Samuel Corbett and Son, Park Street Works, Wellington, Salop ; Second Prize, 41., for their Patent Metallic Grinding Mill for hand-j)Ower : in- vented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Crushers. Woods and Cocksedge, Suffolk Works, Stowmarket : First Prize, 87., for their Universal Crushing and Grinding Mill, for steam power ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. E. K. and F. Turner : Second Prize, 71, for their Crushing Mill for steam power ; invented and manufactured by themselves. Edward Hammond Bentall : First Prize, 6/., for his Patent Corn and Seed Crusher ; invented, improved, and manufactured by himself. E. E. and F. Turner : Second Prize, il., for their Crushing Mill; invented and manufactured by themselves. Woods and Cocksedge: Commended for their Roller-crushing Mill ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Oilcake Breakers. Amies, Barford, and Co. : First Prize, lOZ,, for their Patent Improved Oil- cake Mill, for hand, horse, or steam power ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Edward Hammond Bentall : Second Prize, 51., for his Improved Oilcake Mill, for steam power : invented, improved, and manufactured by himself. Award of Implement Prizes at Bury St. Edmund'' s. Ixxv Edward Hammond Bentall : a Prize, U., for his Improved Oilcake Mill : invented, improved, and manufactured iDy himself. E. and E. Hunt, Atlas Works, Earl's Colne, Halstead, Essex : a Prize of 5?., for their Hand-power Oilcake Breaker ; improved and manufactured by themselves. E. E. and P. Turnee : Commended for their Oilcake Breaker ; manufactured by themselves. Bone Mills. The Beverley Iron and Waggon Company (Limited) : First Prize, 107., for their Double-roller Bone Mill : Second Prize, 6/., for their Single- roller Bone Mill ; improved and manufactured by themselves : Third Prize, 47., for their Bone-dust Mill ; improved and manufactured by themselves. Turnip Cdttees, &c. HoRNSBY and Sons : First Prize, 107., for their Patent Disc Turnip Cutter ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Eansomes and Sims : Second Prize, 57., for their Improved Double Action Gardner's Turnip Cutter ; improved and manufactured by themselves. Edward Hammond Bentall : Commended for his Improved Gardners Turnip Cutter ; improved and manufactured by himself. HoRNSBY and Sons : First Prize, 67., for their Patent Disc Root Pulper, for steam power ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Edward Hammond Bentall : Second Prize, 47., for his Improved Disc Root-pulper, for steam-power ; improved and manufactured by himself. Hornsby and Sons : the Prize of 57., for their Patent Disc Eoot-pulper ; in- vented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Edward Hammond Bentall : Commended for his Improved Disc Egot- pulper ; improved and manufactured by himself. PiCKSLEY, Sims, and Co : Commended for their Turnip-pulper ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. Field Gates. James Braggins, Banbury, Oxfordshire : the Prize of 107., for his Field Gate, with patent ironwork complete ; invented, improved, and manufactured by himself. MISCELLANEOUS. Silver Medals. Woods and Cocksedge, Stowmarket : for their Strong One-horse Power Gear, with separate intermediate motion ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. BuRNEY and Co., Mill Wall, London : for their Strong Wrought Iron Cattle Troughs and Cisterns ; manufactured by themselves. Webb and Son, Stowmarket : for their Assortment of Leather Machine Bands : manufactured by themselves. John Warner and Sons, 8, Crescent, Cripplegate, London : for their Improved Chain Pump for Liquid Manure ; invented and manufactured by them- selves. Ixxvi Award of Implement Frizes at Bury St. Edmund's. BoBY, Clark, and Co., Bury St. Edmund's : for their Draining Tools, Forks, &c. A. B. Childs, 481, New Oxford Street, London : for his Patent Aspirator ; invented, improved, and manufactured by himself. Tangye, Brothers, and Holman : for their Four-inch Double-action Patent "London" Pump, mounted on plank; invented by Stephen Holman, manufactured by themselves. Alfred Wrinch, Ipswich : for his Assortment of Garden Chairs and Collec- tion of Articles. Clayton and Shuttlewobth : for their Adjusting] Blocks for fixing Engines and Threshing Machines. MusGRAVE, Bkothees: for their Stable Fittings, Cow-house Fittings, and Piggeries. Commended. John Baker, "Wisbech : for his Patent Elastic Reaping Machine Rake ; in- vented, improved, and manufactured by himself. Hawkes and Spencer, Tiverton, Devon : for their thirteen row Chain Arm- Drill ; invented by H. Besley, Halberton, improved and manufactured by themselves. James and Frederick Howard, Britannia Works, Bedford : for their Double- action Haymaker ; invented and manufactured by themselves. HoBNSBY and Sons : for Improvements in their " Paragon " Mower ; invented and manufactured by themselves. Burgess and Key, 95, Newgate Street, London : for Improvements in their Mowing Machine ; invented and manufactured by themselves. W. Wilkinson and Son, Ely : for their Patent Lever Self-regulating Horse- hoe ; invented by W, F. Wilkinson, manufactured by themselves. Ransomes and Sims : for their Patent Iron Turnwrist Plough ; invented by J. Skelton, Lostwithiel ; improved and manufactured by themselves : for their Guard for preventing Accidents by Drum on Threshing Machine ; and for their Lawn Mowers ; invented, improved, and manufactured by themselves. John Grant, Love Lane, Bankside, London : for their Patent Portable Railway, Turn-table, and Ballast Trucks. James D. Young, 18, Portland Place, South, Clapham Road, London : for his Iron Field Gate ; invented and manufactured by himself, Francis Morton and Co. (Limited), Liverpool : for their Iron Field Gate ; improved and manufactured by themselves. Bayliss, Jones, and Bayliss, Victoria Works, Wolverhampton : for their Wrought Iron Flat-barred Field Gate ; invented, improved, and manu- factured by themselves. The Saint Pancras Iron-Work Company, Old Saint Pancras Road, London : for their Improved Wrought Iron Flat-baiTed Field-Gate ; improved and manufactured by themselves. ( Ixxvii ) AWAEDS FOE 1867. Class I. The Prize of 251. was awarded to Mr. Gilbert Murray, Address Elbaston Castle, Derby, for his Eeport on the Farming of Hunting- donshire. Class II. The Prize of 25Z. was awarded to Mr. C. Webster, Kendal, for his Eeport on the Farming of Westmorland. Class III. The Prize of 30Z. was awarded to Mr. C. Cadle, Clarence Street, Gloucester, for his Essay on Farming Customs and Covenants existing in England. Class IV. The competing Essays were not considered worthy of a Prize. Class VI. The competing Essays were not considered worthy of a Prize. Class VII. The Prize of lOZ. was awarded to Mrs. Somerville, Manor Farm, Eufford, Ollerton, Notts, for her Essay on Farm Poultry. Class Vni. The Prize of 15Z. was awarded to Mr. W. E. Litt, Shrewsbury, for his Essay on a Disease in Sheep. Class IX. The competing Essays were not considered worthy of a Prize. Class X. The Prize of 25Z. was awarded to Mr. H. II. Dixon, 10, Kensington Square, W., for his History of the Eise and Progress of Herefords. ( Ixxviii ) lESSagS antJ mepOVtS.— PEIZES FOR 1868.— An Prizes of the Koyal Agricultural Society of England are open to general com- petition. Competitors will be expected to consider and discuss the heads enumerated. I. FARMING OF MIDDLESEX. Thirty Sovereigns will be given for the best Eeport on the Farming of Middlesex. The leading geological features and the character of the soil should be briefly described. Eeference should be made to any older records of the state of agriculture in the county. The influence of the London markets on the management of both pasture and arable land and garden ground ; the present state of the dairies ; the enrichment or impoverishment of the soil ; the extent of Ian withdrawn from culture by buildings, highways, &c., to be considered. XL IMPROVEMENT OF GRASS LANDS. Twenty Sovereigns will be given for the best Essay on the Improvement of Grass Land. in. MOORS, MOUNTAINS, AND WASTES. Twenty Sovereigns will be given for the best Essay on The Experience of those who are at work on the edges of cultivation on Moors, Mountains, and Wastes. IV. THE DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURER. Fifteen Sovereigns will be given for the best Essay on the Domestic Economy of the Agricultural Labourer with reference to his Food and its Cooking. V. PRESERVATION OF TIMBER. Ten Sovereigns will be given for the best Essay on The Preser- vation of Timber, by Painting, Steeping, or other Methods. Prizes for Essays and Reports. , Ixxix VI- ARABLE AND GRASS LANDS. Twenty Sovereigns -will be given for the best Essay on the Comparison between the Outlay and Eeturns on 100 Acres of Arable and Grass Land, respectively. VII. RETENTION OP MOISTURE IN ARABLE LANDS. Ten Sovereigns will be given for the best Essay on the Eetention of Moisture in the Soil of Arable Lands in Dry Climates. VIII. SUCCESSION OF GREEN CROPS, Fifteen Sovereigns will be given for an Essay on the best Mode of providing a continuous succession of Green Crops, including Roots, &c. IX. DEVON BREED OF CATTLE. Taventy-five Sovereigns will be given for a Short History of the Rise and Progress of the Devon Breed of Cattle. X. LEICESTER BREED OF SHEEP. Twenty Sovereigns will be given for a Short History of the Rise and Progress of the Leicester Breed of Sheep. XI. ANY OTHER AGRICULTURAL SUBJECT. Ten Sovereigns will be given for an approved Essay on any other Agricultural Subject. Reports or Essays competing for the Prizes must he sent to the Secretary of the Society, at 12, Hanover Square, London, on or before March 1st, 18G8. Contributors of Papers are reqxiested to retain Copies of their Communications, as the Society cannot be responsible for their return. VOL. III. — a S. Ixxx Prizes for Essays and Reports. EULES OF COMPETITION FOE PEIZE ESSAYS. 1. All information contained in Prize Essays shall be founded on experience or observation, and not on simple reference to books or other sources. Com- petitors are requested to use foolscap or large letter paper, and not to write on both sides of the leaf. 2. Drawings, specimens, or models, drawn or constructed to a stated scale, shall accompany writings requiring them. 3. All competitors shall enclose their names and addresses in a sealed cover, on which only their motto, the subject of their Essay, and the number of that subject in the Prize List of the Society, shall be written.* 4. The President or Chairman of the Council for the time being shall open the cover on which the motto designating the Essay to which the Prize has been awarded is written, and shall declare the name of the author. 5. The Chairman of the Journal Committee shall alone be empowered to open the motto-paper of any Essay not obtaining the Prize, that he may think likely to be useful for the Society's objects ; with a view of consulting the writer confidentially as to his willingness to place such Essay at the disposal of the Journal Committee. 6. The copyright of all Essays gaining Prizes shall belong to the Society, who shall accordingly have the power to publish the whole or any part of such Essays ; and the other Essays will be returned on the application of the writers ; but the Society do not make themselves responsible for their loss. 7. The Society are not bound to award a prize unless they consider one of the Essays deserving of it. 8. In all reports of experiments the expenses shall be accurately detailed. f 9. The imperial weights and measures only are those by which calculations are to be made. 10. No prize shall be given for any Essay which has been already in print. 11. Prizes may be taken in money or plate, at the option of the successful candidate. 12. All Essays must be addressed to the Secretary, at the house of the Society, on or before the 1st of March, 1867. * Competitors are requested to -write their motto on the enclosed paper on -which their names are written, as -well as on the outside of the envelope. ( Ixxxi ) iHembers!' f n'bileg:eg of Cfiemiral ^nali)gis(. The Council have fixed the following rates of Charge for Analyses to be made by the Consulting Chemist for the hond-Jide use of Members of the Society ; who (to avoid all unnecessary correspondence) are particularly requested, when applying to him, to mention the kind of analysis they require, and to quote its number in the subjoined schedule. The charge for analysis, together with the carriage of tlie specimens, must be paid to him by members at the time of their application. No. 1. — An opinion of the genuineness of Peruvian guano, bone- dust, or oil-cake (each sample) 5s. „ 2. — An- analysis of gi;ano ; showing the proportion'of moisture, organic matter, sand, phosjahate of lime, alkaline salts, and ammonia .. .. .. .. .. .. lOs. „ 3. — An estimate of the vabie (relatively to the average of samples in the market) of sulphate and muriate of am- monia, and of the nitrates of potash and soda ,. .. lO.s. „ 4. — An analysis of superphosphate of lime for soluble phos- phates only .. .. .. .. .. .. 10s. J, 5. — An analysis of superjDhosphate of lime, showing the'pro- portions of moisture, organic matter, sand, soluble and insoluble phosphates, sulphate of lime, and ammonia .. £1. „ 6. — An analysis (sufficient for the determination of its agricul- tural value) of any ordinary artificial manure .. .. £1. „ 7. — Limestone : — the proportion of lime, 7s, 6cZ. ; the propor- tion of magnesia, 10s. ; the proportion of lime and mag- nesia .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 15s. „ 8. — Limestone or marls, including'carbonate, phosphate, and sulphate of lime, and magnesia with sand and clay ,. £1. „ 9. — Partial analysis of a soil, including determinations of clay, sand, organic matter, and carbonate of lime .. .. £1. „ 10. — Complete analysis of a soil .. .. .. .. .. £3. „ 11. — An analysis of oil-cake, or other substance used for feeding purposes ; showing the proportion of moisture, oil, mineral matter, albuminous matter, and woody fibre ; as well as of starch, gmn, and sugar, in the aggregate £1. „ 12. — Analyses of any vegetable product .. .. .. ,. £1. „ 13. — Analyses of animal products, refuse substances used for .manure, &c. .. .. .. .. from 10s. to 30s. „ 14. — Determination of the " hardness " of a sample of water before and after boiling .. .. .. .. . 10s. „ 15. — Analysis of water of land drainage, and of water used for irrigation .. .. .. .. .. .. ... £2. „ 16. — ^Determination of nitric acid in a sample of water .. ., £1. N.B. — The above Scale of Charges is not applicalUe to the case of persons commercially engaged in the Manufacture or Sale of any Substance sent for Analysis. The Address of the Consulting Chemist of the Society is, Dr. Augustus VoELCKEK, 11, Salisbury Square, London, E.G., to -which he requests that all letters and parcels (postage and carriage paid) should be directed. ( Ixxxil ) #lem]bci!5* l^etetinarg i^ribiltgc?* I. — Serious or Extensive Diseases. No. 1. Any Member of the Society who may desh'e professional attendance and special advice in cases of serious or extensive disease among his cattle, sheep, or pigs, and will address a letter to the Secretary, will, by return of post, receive a reply stating whether it be considered necessary that Professor Simonds, the Society's Veterinary Inspector, should visit the place where the disease prevails. No. 2. The remuneration of the Inspector will be 21. 2s. eacb day as a professional fee, and 1?. Is, each day for personal expenses ; and he will also be allowed to charge the cost of travelling to and from the locality where his services may have been required. The fees will be paid by the Society, but the travelling expenses will be a charge against the applicant. This charge may, however, be reduced or remitted altogether at the discretion of the Council, on such step being recommended to them by the Veterinary Committee. No. 3. The Inspector, on his return from visiting the diseased stock, will report to the Committee, in writing, the results of his observations and pro- ceedings, which Keport will be laid before the Council. No. 4. When contingencies arise to prevent a personal discharge of the duties confided to the Inspector, he may, subject to the approval of the Com- mittee, name some competent j^rofessional person to act in his stead, who shall receive the same rates of remuneration. II. — Ordikary or Other Cases of Disease. Members may obtain the attendance of the Veterinary Inspector on any case of disease by paying the cost of his visit, which will be at the following rate, viz., 21, 2s. per diem, and travelling expenses. III. — COKSTTLTATIONS WITHOUT VISIT. Personal consultation with Veterinary Inspector .. ,. '5s. Consultation by letter .. .. .. .. .. .. 5s. Consultation necessitating the writing of three or more letters. 10s. Post-mortem examination, and report thereon . . . . . . 10s. A return of the number of applications during each half-year being required from the Veterinary Inspector. IV. — Admission of Diseased Animals to the Veterinary College ; Investigations, Lectures, and Eeports. ^ No. 1. All Members of the Society have the privilege of sending cattle, sheep, and pigs to the Infirmary of the Pioyal Veterinary College, on the same terms as if they were Members of the College ; viz., by paying for the keep and treatment of cattle 10s. 6d. per week each animal, and for sheep and pigs " a small proportionate charge to be fixed by the Principal according to circumstances." No, 2. The College has also undertaken to investigate such particular classes of disease, or special subjects connected with the application of the Veterinaiy art to cattle, sheep, and pigs, as may be directed by the Coimcil. No. 3. In addition to the increased number of lectures now given by Professor Simonds — the Lecturer on Cattle Pathology — to the pnpils in the Eoyal Veterinary College, he will also deliver such lectures before the Members of the Society, at their house in Hanover Square, as the Council shall decide. No. 4. The Royal Veterinary College will from time to time furnish to the Council a detailed Report of the cases of cattle, sheep, and pigs treated in the Infirmary. a ^^-■r-m' /4 rJi^ ., ,' \MU, (^f^a,^, ,-'^"A^' ^^^^7^^./^,^^0C;^-.^' :r^^r^^^^> N.pP>Pft^rN;^;9,;KrKrO^An^B-: H M Iw *\'.s T^< New York Botanical Garden Librar 3 5185 00257 6583 -,'^AM'V"^'^- ^■^m^ ■Gmm:':'"^ :'"■^.1.^ ^^I^B^^^^'^^M^ '.Mm^m '.-0^1;^^