34^ 



TJic Country Gentleman's Magazine 



The first field entered contained a piece of about byi 

 acres of rye and vetches, after cabbage, which were 

 being mown and carted off, to be cut up ^^■ith straw, 

 &c., for the cattle in sheds and the horses. Another 

 portion of 6 acres was in oats, which were sown in 

 May, the land receiving a dressing of 2 cwt. of guano 

 and I cwt. salt per acre, the previous crop being also 

 cabbage. Next a piece of wheat containing six acres 

 of the club-headed rough chaff variety, a white wheat 

 of good quality, yielding and strong in the straw. 

 This crop was after clover mown for hay first and the 

 aftermath eaten off by sheep, receiving a liberal allow- 

 ance of rape cake. The clover ley was ploughed 

 twice, and the bushel per acre drilled with the ordinary 

 Suffolk drill (manufactured by Messrs Smyth, of 

 Peasenhall) on the 2ist November. Mr Mechi pro- 

 poses to take a crop of Rivett's bearded wheat after 

 this year's crop, the second year's wheat being fol- 

 lowed by mangold wurtzel. The next field, 9>^ 

 acres, was in wheat, the variety being Rivett's 

 bearded, which was drilled on November 1 6th, at the 

 same rate per acre before mentioned, the previous 

 crops being white wheat, and the land being manured 

 with 2 cwt. guano and i cwt. salt per acre. 



Another piece of wheat, containing 1 1 ^ acres, after 

 peas, was drilled on 1st November. These wheat 

 crops were all uniform witli well-developed ears, 

 almost entirely free from blight, good stiff straw, and 

 clean, the horse-hoe having been freely used in the 

 spring, and were estimated to produce 50 bushels im- 

 perial per acre — Mr Mechi and his foreman placing 

 the figm-e even higher ; but, perhaps, the heaviest crop 

 was a piece 13^ acres after beans, well manured for, 

 which promised to be quite 54 bushels per acre. 



The lightest crop of wheat was 9 acres of red, after 

 mangolds, drilled on December 13th, which seems 

 rather late for the one bushel per acre, Init this Mas 

 estimated to produce nearly 40 bushels per acre. This 

 field received the usual dressing of 2 cwt. guano and 

 I cwt. salt per acre. In the next field, 6j4^ acres of 

 wheat, after clover, there is a small portion dibbled at 

 the rate of one peck per acre, on November 20th, 

 which, although planted at the same time as tlie rest 

 of the field, v/ill not come to harvest so soon by a 

 week, and which looks thinner than the residue, but 

 still a good crop. Captain Hallett, who has had 

 much experience in thin seeding, was of opinion that 

 there would be quite as large, if not larger, produce 

 per acre ; but many of the deputation did not concur 

 in this opinion. There were 5}^ acres in beans, and 

 6X in barley, which were fair crops for the season, 

 but which do not call for special remark. The only 

 roots at present sown were 7 acres of mangolds, a very 

 fair crop, which were planted on 17th and i8th April, 

 after wheat, the land being deeply cultivated in the 

 autumn, and heavily manured from the sheds before 

 Christmas, Mr Mechi never ploughing the land for 

 inangolds in the spring. A piece of about 7 acres, 

 upon which a crop of M'hite clover had been fed off 

 with sheep, was being broken up ready for sowing 



white turnips, the modus operandi being to send the 

 old-fashioned Essex wood plough, drawn Ijy three 

 horses first, going about 5 inches deep, and then fol- 

 lowing in the same furrow with a subsoil plough, also 

 drawn by three horses, which pulverized the ground 

 to a depth of about 9 inches more. A field of peas 

 had been picked green for the London market, pro- 

 ducing 240 bushels of peas in the pods per acre, and 

 realizing, clear of expenses, ;^i I, 5s. per acre; and this 

 was broken up ready for white turnips, if it could be 

 got ready in time, and a favourable change occurred 

 in the weather. 



The portion in ryegrass was inspected with much 

 interest, as here Mr Mechi has gone to great outlay in 

 laying down pipes for irrigation, and fixing hydrants, 

 &c. A crop of hay has been taken, and the sheep 

 folded on it subsequently, and the irrigation process 

 was going on, the intention being to mow a crop of 

 rye-grass, green, for the cattle in the sheds. Mr Mechi 

 stated that he considered that almost 99-iooth parts of 

 the liquid applied was water, and that he could not 

 raise more than enough to irrigate 20 acres, applying 

 it at the rate of 100 gallons per minute, and covering 

 about I acre per day. The portion on wliich the 

 sheep were folded was very thin and imtchy, and 

 certainly not calculated to prove remuneratiAC for the 

 large outlay incurred. 



The secret of success in the growth of Mr Mechi's 

 wheat crops appears to lie in thorough drainage of the 

 land, the removal of all large hedgerows and timber 

 (100 trees having been felled last year), the absence of 

 game except a few pheasants and partridges, deep 

 cultivation, and a complete pulverization of the soil, 

 thus exposing as much as possible to the action of the 

 atmosphere, and bringing it in contact with the ma- 

 nure applied, the clover leys being all twice ploughed ; 

 the application to the root and green crops of a heavy 

 dressing of manure from the sheds manufactured by 

 cattle consuming rape cake, corn, and other feeding 

 stuffs, tlie manure being carefully protected from the 

 action of the sun and rain ; careful selection of seed, 

 thin sowing in proper season, and frequent horse- 

 hoeing in spring. With this treatment, a tenacious 

 clayey soil assumes more of a loamy character, and 

 produces in a season like the present, which is peculi- 

 arly adapted for it, the successful results chronicled 

 above. 



The course of cropping generally adopted on the 

 strong land is ; i, white wheat ; 2, Rivett's bearded 

 wheat ; 3, mangolds ; 4, red wheat ; 5, vetches ; but 

 sometimes i, wheat ; 2, beans or peas ; 3, M'heat ; 4, 

 mangold are taken instead ; on the lighter land, which 

 is gravelly on a clay subsoil, I, wheat ; 2, peas ; 3, 

 wheat ; 4, turnips ; 5, barley ; 6, seeds, is tlie rota- 

 tion adopted. The quantity sown per acre is : Wheat, 

 I bushel ; barley, 6 pecks ; peas, 2 bushels ; beans, 3 

 bushels ; oats, 2 bushels. 



The tank which receives the liquid manure from the 

 sheds and the water from the drains is 30 feet deep and 

 30 feet square ; and although there is a solid deposit 



