4.6 



THE FARMER'S 'MAGAZINE. 



while distiuctly &tatiug tbat they acted ou a quite diiTcrcut 

 ptiaciple. 



After thus giving their decisiou to the public iu print, the 

 judges f;o ou to say, that Howard's plougiiiug l-).ys the furrow 

 too mucb on its back, " a position justly condenined by all 

 practical laeu," yet on the next page the following sentence 

 occurs : " Though we give the preference to the crested fur- 

 row in lea-ploughing, we would not have it supposed tbat we 

 underrate the advantages of the rectangular furrow in the 

 same description of ploughing. We msy mention whst we 

 consider three of the most inaportaut of these advaatagea—lat, 

 By means of it the greatest solid content of soil can be turned 

 over at the least expense of labour ; 2nd, The greatest surface 

 i3 exposed to the action of the atmosphere ; and, 3rd, From 

 the furrow being wider, there is a considerable saving of time 

 iu ploughing the same extent of laud." 



At Shislhill, on the 7th of March, there were horses and 

 ploughs from Forfarshire, from Stirlingshire, froai Lincoln- 

 shire, from Bedford, and from Suffolk, sensible and shrewd 

 men from every corner of the country, peers and ploughmen, 

 merchants and mechanics, assembled to perform aud see the 

 work which was to engage such a high tribunal — and the 

 above is part of the verdict ! The public have been fooled to 

 the top of their bent. Look at the first and third of the above 

 " considerations" — are they not precisely the same ? and what 

 do they amount to? Simply to this — that by ploughing with 

 B wide furrow, the speed is greater than with a narrow one ! ! 

 Then examine the second "consideration," and do not forget 

 that it is signed by five gentlemen of " Bt3ndiag and experi- 

 ence." The hypothesis coritniiied in it is not only erroneous, 

 but, as applied here, eminently unjust. Any boy can test it 

 with half-a-dozen bricks. No doubt the long back of the rec- 

 tangular furrow will expose a greater surface to the atmos- 

 phere than the shorter back of the crested furrow ; but these 

 live gentlemen seem to have forgot that it takes a proportion- 

 ably greater amount of room to hold it ; in short, it is im- 

 possible by the rectangular furrow to enlarge or diminish the 

 amount of soil expose J to the atmosphere, because it is guided 

 by au exact law ; but in the crested furrow the height of the 

 apex will very much affect it, as exemplified in comparing the 

 roof of a moflern Episcopal Chapel with the flat roofs of the 

 houses around it. 



The position the judges have assigned Finlayson's plough 

 has my entire approval : the ridge was capitally ploughed, and 

 was, in the opinion not only of myself, but of every 

 one I have consulted on the subject, second only to Hornsby, 

 No. 27. Next to Fiulayson, I consider Hornsby, No. 30 ; 

 then Miller, No. 19; then Hornsby, No. 24; then Andrew 

 Gray, No. 8 ; then Miller, 17 ; then Andrew Gray, No, 4 I 



I sdrait that I had no other data to judge from btit the 

 work, and I must confess that iu doing so I laboured under a 

 disadvantage, not as compared with the judges, but in the 

 absence of all knowledge obtained from the ploughmen them- 

 selves; for I hold it to be utterly preposterous to attempt 

 judging of any implement subject to the human head and 

 hand, without having in the very heart of our council the man 

 who works it ; yet, so far as I saw, the judges at Shielhill 

 seemed to look upon the ploughmsa as merely a continuation 

 of the machine. 



In conclusion, I would submit the following three facts as 

 the result of my carefai study of the subject ; end however 

 much they may differ from the opinions expressed in this re- 

 port, I will be backed by every practical man : — . 



Ist. I have never yet seen a well-ploughed ridge that did 

 not cost the horses heavy draught and the ploughman hard 

 work. 



2nd. la plougl.iiig tough lea with a level furiow-sole there 

 is a difficulty iu resting, and the furrow will have a teudeucy 

 to fall back into its original position ; but a furrow cut deeper 

 at the land-side, when or.ce put in position, cannot possibly 

 open on the Eecond day, becaiise it is not only kept in its 

 place by the lap of the next furrow, but the heavy edge ia 

 beyond the culminating point. 



3rd. That however much the Scotch or swing-plough may 

 be, as a whole, preferred to the English or wheel-plough, there 

 is no doubt whatever that the English mould is infinitely su- 

 perior to the Scotch ; ami, without aoy exception, I consider 

 the moulds made by Horiisby aud Sons as best calculated for 

 the purpose of any that I have ever seen, because they form a 

 section of a delicate and elongated screw, offering little resist- 

 ance to the soil ; aud if Mr. Hornsby would, regardless of a 

 fraction more draught, put a little more metal into the plo>;gh, 

 so as as to give the holder sufficient power over his implement, 

 he may snap his fingers at this unimportant discussion about 

 wheel or no wheel. 



I am, sir, your obedient servant servant, 



A Perthshire Farmek. 



BULLOCK GRAZING OR GUANO— WHICH IS 

 THE CHEAPEST FERTILIZER?— At the discussion 

 meeting of the Ipswich Farmers' Club, recently held in the 

 great room at the White Horse, there was a very full attend- 

 ance. Mr. M. Bidden, the vice-president, occupied the chair. 

 The secretary rea i the minutes of the previous meeting. Mr. 

 R. Bond was then requested to state the result of the interview, 

 held at the Club House in London, on Monday If.st, between 

 a deputation from Ipsviich and the Committae of the Ccniral 

 r.4rraers' Club, on the subject of the establishment of an 

 Anti-Malt-tax Association. Mr. Bond stated that the depu- 

 tation met with a very cordial reception, and that it was re- 

 solved to call a special meeting of the Central Club on the 

 question, to wl.ich every member would be specielly invited. 

 The chairman then called on Mr. W. Biddell, of Hawstead 

 Hall, to introduce the subject of the evening, with which we 

 have headed this article. Tiiat gentleman delivered a most 

 scientific, as well as a really practical address, giving data for 

 all the conclusions he had arrived at, which was iu favour of 

 guauo as the cheapest fertilizer. A discussion ensued, in 

 which Mr. E. Packard, Mr. A. Packard, Mr. J. A. Hempson, 

 Mr. R. Bond, Mr. Dobito, and Mr. Newson, took part. Mr. 

 Biddell having briefly replied, the following resolution, moved 

 by Mr. J. A. Hempson, seconded by Mr. W. Biddell, was 

 carried unanimously : " That manure cannot be made satisfac- 

 torily by high grazing, with beef at 7s. per stone, while guano 

 can be procured at £13 per ton." 



THE LEECH AS A WEATHER-GLASS.— The fol- 

 lowing observations on a leech were made by a gentleman 

 who kept one several years for the above purpose: — "A 

 phial of water containing a leech was kept in the lower 

 frame of a chamber window sash, so that when I looked in 

 the morning I could know what would be the weather on 

 the following day. If the weather proves serene and beau- 

 tiful, the leech lies motiouless at the bottom of the glass, 

 and rolled together in a spiral form. If it rains before or 

 after noon, it is found to have crept up to the tnp of its 

 lodging, and there remains till the weather is settled. If 

 we are to have wind, the poor prisoner gallops through its 

 limpid habitation with amazing swiftness, and seldom rests 

 till it begins to blow hard. If a remarkable storm of thun- 

 der and rain is to succeed, for some days before, it lodges 

 almost continually out of the water, and discovers uneasiness 

 in violent throes and convulsive motions. In the frost, as 

 in clear v/eather, it lies at the bottom ; and in snow, as in 

 rainy weather, it pitches its dwelling upon the very mouth 

 of the phial. The leech was kept in an 8oz. phial, about 

 three-fourths filled with water. In the summer the water 

 was changed once a-week, aud in the winter once a-fortnight." 



