310 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



profitable quantity of manure to apply to our crops. 

 Every one present acknowledges the principles of 

 high farming— we must be liberal to the soil if we 

 expect it to be liberal to us. But within the last 

 two or three ye^rs there are many instances in the 

 best-farmed districts of Scotland in which these 

 principles have not been judiciously carried out. 

 Owing to the high price of farm produce, and the 

 facilities afforded of obtaining manures, the error 

 with the best farmers has been rather over-manur- 

 ing, i)roducing an over-luxuriance of the cereals, 

 very mucii to the loss of the farmer. By all means 

 let as much manure be applied as will give the 

 most profitable return to the farmer ; but having 

 ascertained the quantity that will produce that 

 effect, let care be taken that it be not exceeded. 

 Were the cost of a ton of turnips to be counted up 

 on son:e farms of particular kinds of soil, and 

 where large doses of manure had been applied, 

 considerable astonishment would be felt at the ex- 

 pense. In some cases which came under our ob- 

 servation this season, we found that the cost of 

 raising a ton of Swedes was 12s. Now, turnips 

 seldom pay more than 6s. or 7s. per ton when used 

 for feeding, and this year there are not many feed- 

 ers that will make more than half that sum. These 

 remarks have been suggested by an experiment of 

 Mr Rowat's, where 6 cwts. of dissolved bones per 

 acre gave as large a crop as 10 cwts. of the same 

 substance. It will be said that the 10 cwts. will 

 tell upon the succeeding crop. True; but why apply 

 the extra 4 cwts. to the turnip crop. The money 

 paid for it would have been much better lying at 

 interest in the bank, or applied in some other way 

 for a year till the next crop was sovv'n. But we 

 maintain besides that there is considerable loss in 

 the manurial value of the superphosphate by apply- 

 ing it to the soil a year before it is required. 

 Another important fact stated by Mr. Rowat is that 

 charcoal manure, which possesses by itself a com- 

 paratively inferior manurial value, is found to pro- 

 duce as great an effect when mixed with Peruvian 

 guano as an equal weight of guano. We can 

 account for this m no other way than by attributing 

 the effect to the property which the charcoal has of 

 fixing the ammonia of the guano. But though we 

 have tried before now other substances whicli had 

 the same property, we have never obtained such 

 ^vourable results. The success attending Mr. 

 Rowat's experiments certainly warrants a trial of 

 the same substance used by him. The following 

 are two experiments performed by me, the one in 

 1856, and the other in 1857. In the first experi- 

 ment, the whole field was manured with good farm- 

 yard dung at the rate of 20 tons per imperial acre, 

 and all the substances were applied at the rate of 

 2bs. bd. per imperial acre. As there was consider- 

 able variety in the condition of the soil in the field, 

 1 thought It better to make a series of experiments 

 over the field instead of one equal portion of land 

 oeing taken in each experiment, and the produce of 

 adjoining ridges weighed— 



First Experiment. 

 T-K. , , , Tons, cwts 



Tons, cwts. 

 Second Experiment. 

 Steamed bones and Peruvian guano . . 6 1 

 Dissolved bones alone . . . . 6 7 



Third Experiment 

 Dissolved bones alone .. .. 5 l7f 



Steamed bones alone , . . , 5 19i 



Fourth Experiment 

 Leone guano alone . . . . 4 75 



Leone and Peruvian ., .. 5 12^ 



Last summer a small quantity of guano from the 

 West India islands was sent in for experiment by 

 the Messrs, Cunningham. Turnip sowing was 

 nearly over when it reached me; but still I deter- 

 mined to try the experiment on a portion of a clay 

 field in not first-rate condition. 



Tons, cwts. 

 4 cwt, of Peruvian guano per ^4 of tops. 



imp. acre, gave i 13 1 1 of roots. 



8 cwt. of West India guano per ^2 15 of tops. 



imp. acre, gave ill 10 of roots. 



2 cwt. of Peruvian and 4 of ( 3 7 of tops. 



W. Indian per imp. acre gave i^ 15 1 of roots. 



Messrs. Glendinning, Hatton Mains ; Allan, 

 Clifton; Walker, Kilpunt; Black, Newyearfield, 

 also took part in the discussion, detailing the ex- 

 perience of the application of different kinds of 

 manure. Two experiments mentioned by Mr. 

 Rowat gave rise to considerable discussion, viz, 

 those in which it was found that 8 cwt. of dissolved 

 bones produced as large a crop as 12 cwt. of the 

 same substance, and where 4 cwt. of guano, mixed 

 with 4 cwt. of charcoal, at a cost of £3 l6s. pro- 

 duced as large a crop as 8 cwt. of guano alone, at 

 a cost of ife'S 12s. The opinion of the meeting ap- 

 peared to be that every farmer should ascertain for 

 himself, by experiment, the proper and most 

 profitable quantity of manure to apply per acre on 

 his farm according to the condition of each field, 

 so as to raise the fullest crop ; and that having as- 

 certained that quantity, it would be injudicious to 

 apply more, as a larger crop of turnips would not 

 be raised, while there was a risk of injuring the 

 succeeding grain crop. 



The Chairman concluded by moving a vote of 

 thanks to Mr Rowat for his excellent pajier. 



HOLLY (Ilex aqusefolia)— Common holly — is one of 

 the very best shrubs or trees we possess, displaying 

 either character, according to situation, age, and appli- 

 cation of art ; it is found (according to Loudon) in most 

 parts of Europe, in North America, Japan, and in 

 Cochin China. In Britain it is found congregated in 

 natural woods and forests : but for the purposes of this 

 article (viz., in hedges) the holly stands pre-eonaent. It 

 will not be necessary here to describe the somewhat 

 tedious practice of raising the plants by seed ; we will 

 suppose that a hedge is intended. It is always necessary 

 to well-trench the soil, and prepare a space sufficiently 

 wide to receive the plants. That their roots ramify by 

 adding to the original a portion of well-decomposed 

 manure, or rich compost would be aswell. Then say 

 in September or October, or in April or May, select 

 from some respectable nurseryman plants that have been 

 repeatedly removed (this point is of great importance to ' 

 insure success), of such size as suits the taste or means 



