Tip tree Hall Farin 



349 



of mud from the sewage some 12 feet to 15 feet deep 

 at the bottom, it is never cleaned out, Mr Mechi 

 placing no value on the solid matter. 



The machinery consists of a fixed six horse-power 

 engine and boiler, put down twenty-five years ago at a 

 cost of;^l5o, which drives a pair of stones, a thrashing- 

 machine, an oil cake-breaker, a chaff-cutter, and a 

 root pulper ; pumps the water supply to the sheds, 

 and the liquid manure for irrigating, and steams the 

 food in winter for all the stock. 



The full amount of live stock consists of six cart 

 horses and one nag horse, -which occasionally works 

 the chaff-cutter or pulper, foi-ty-five beasts, w'hich are 

 now being bought in, about ninety ewes, with their 

 120 lambs, one pig, and 250 head of poultry. As 

 might be expected, the horses working three in a team 

 on this strong land, and ploughing their acre a day, 

 cannot be in high condition, especially as they get now 

 no allowance of com ; but, as one of the deputation 

 remarked, better see poor horses and clean land, than 

 foul land and fat horses. The sheep are very moderate 

 half-bred Downs and long-wools, and are certainly not 

 a credit to the management, the ewes suffering much 

 from flygalls and want of shade. iMr jNIechi does not 

 breed any cattle, his general practice being to purchase 

 yearlings from March to September, and commence at 

 Christmas sending them off weekly as they are fat. 

 After arriving at Tiptree Hall, these never are taken 

 out of the sheds until they go to the butcher, the whole 

 of their food being judiciously mixed and brought to 

 them. It was thought by many of the deputation 

 that older beasts would be better for thi> purpose, as 

 they would have arrived at their full size, and would 

 not require so much food for the formation of bone, 

 &c. , and it was the opinion of several that much more 

 air should be admitted to the sheds and boxes during 

 the summer, even if closed in winter. 



The boxes have sparred floors and cement tanks 

 underneath, from which the manure is forced by 

 flushing with water. 



The inspection being over, ample justice was done 

 to an excellent repast, over which Mr Mechi presided 

 in his usual hospitable manner. The usual loyal toasts 

 having been duly honoured, " The Union of English 

 and French Agriculture, and the Emperor of the 

 French," were given,, Mr Mechi stating that the 



Emperor was deeply impressed with the necessity of 

 giving every encouragement to agriculture, as he justly 

 regarded the production of food as of the highest im- 

 portance to the welfare of his country. In proposing 

 success to agriculture, the President said that he re- 

 garded this as a business visit to test the soundness of 

 certain investments, as nothing was sound in agi-icul- 

 ture but what would pay. He instanced want of 

 drainage, overgrown hedges and banks and trees as 

 great obstacles to profitable farming, advocated 

 strongly the use of steam, which, he predicted, would 

 become almost as general with farmers as manufac- 

 turers, and concluded by reminding agriculturists that 

 it was their duty to provide good and cheap food for 

 the million, consistently with making a profit for 

 themselves. 



Mr Moore, Mr Bridgland, and Mr Ford replied, 

 the latter gentleman stating that having visited Tiptree 

 previously, he was enabled to judge and speak favour- 

 ably as to the progress and improvement made in the 

 interval. He considered Mr Mechi as a pioneer, and 

 he had read his works with profit, and thanked him 

 for his usefulness and the large-heartedness displayed, 

 both in his farming and in his reception of brother 

 farmers. 



Mr Mechi having stated at Birmingham that he 

 made 18 per cent, on his capital of £,\(i per acre, and 

 would have preferred to increase his capital to £,2^ 

 per acre, was requested by Mr Masfen to give his 

 opinion as to what per-centage he would obtain on 

 this additional capital. Mr Mechi, in reply, stated 

 that last year he had to sell hay and straw, which, had 

 the additional capital been forthcoming, he should 

 have consumed with cattle, thus obtaining a much 

 greater quantity of manure, both liquid and solid, and 

 thereby increased fertility and yield. He considered, 

 if he had employed ;^i5oo more, he should have made 

 20 per cent, on the whole capital. Mr Mechi, in con- 

 clusion, said that no doubt the main question involving 

 investment of capital in the soil was security of tenure. 

 He was decidedly in favour of a long lease, or an 

 equitable tenant right. Long leases were impossible 

 in all cases, and he thought landlords should be most 

 particular in looking to character, conduct, improving 

 business habits and capital of tenants, and then bad 

 farming would soon become the excei^tion. 



FARM LABOURERS IX SCOTLAXD^ 



IIL\\'E sometimes thought, gentlemen, whether or 

 howsuch societies might beturned to Ijetter account ; 

 whether anything could be done to conduce to their 

 greater success and greater prosperity. We all know 



- Delivered at the annual meeting of the New Deer Asso.ia- 

 tion by -Mr Dingwall Fordyce, .M.P. 



that this is almost the only occasion in the year in 

 which proprietor and tenant, farmer and landlord, 

 meet together, and I have thought if there was any 

 way by which, at these meetings, efforts could not only 

 be made to improve the condition of the cattle and 

 liorses, and poultry, and such like, but also to improve 



