THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



proportion of water that it contained, especially where 

 the climate was very moist. Every one who grew man- 

 gold wurzel to a great extent must have found that the 

 drier the summer, and the hotter the weather, the greater 

 was the amount of roots, and the greater their value. 

 That remark, of course, applied especially to the eastern 

 coast, where the climate was comparatively dry. With 

 respect to the autumnal cultivation of stubbles, he would 

 remark that he was quite as sanguine as Mr. Williams 

 himself in reference to the application of steam-power to 

 field culture. He had no more doubt than that gentle- 

 man had, that in a short time — and he did not care in 

 how short a time — they would see the steam engine as 



busy in the field as it was now in the stack-yard. He 

 was convinced that the greatest benefit that could be 

 conferred on agriculture was the application of steam- 

 power to field cultivation. 



Mr. Bond having briefly replied, 



On the motion of Mr. Shearer, seconded by Mr. 

 Tatam, the following resolution was adopted: — 



" That, in the opinion of this Club, the progress of agricul- 

 ture will be greatly developed by an extension of autumn 

 cultivation— aud that the adaptation of steam-power to that 

 object is extremely desirable." 



Thanks were then voted to Mr. Bond and to the 

 Chairman, and the proceedings terminated* 



AGRICULTURAL POLITICS— WHAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD TAKE UP. 



The present state of the House of Commons augurs 

 well for business, and for the consideration of questions 

 which have hitherto been sacrificed amidst the strife of 

 party warfare. With a decided majority on the side of 

 the Minister, and with the absence of that exuberance 

 of eloquence which has long retarded business by a 

 flood of talk, there is good hopo that some of those 

 questions may be approached in a dispassionate spirit, 

 and discussed on their own merits. How long this 

 desirable state of things may last is another question. 

 It is therefore the more to be lamented that at the pre- 

 sent advanced state — we will not say of the session, 

 but of the season — no progr-ess is likely to be made 

 in such questions as the following. To enumerate 

 only a few of the most important, there is the 

 education of the people, including industrial and 

 middle-class education ; there is the establishment 

 of a decimal system of weights, measures, and money ; 

 and the improvement of arterial drainage. What 

 may occur before the commencement of another 

 session to raise other questions, which may retard the 

 advancement of the above, who can say ? It must not 

 be forgotten, too, that the present Government are less 

 likely, perhaps, to originate them than others which 

 we have had ; though there has probably not been for 

 a long time one more likely to propose them if con- 

 vinced that the country desired them, or better able to 

 carry them through successfully. In this country 

 nothing is gained without agitation ; and if such im- 

 provements as those indicated above are desired by the 

 people, they must move for them. The anomalies 

 existing in the sale of corn by weight in some districts, 

 and by measure in others, as well as the difierent quan- 

 tities passing under the name of a bushel in difierent 

 and even adjoining markets, had attracted the attention 

 of agriculturists at the commencement of that which 

 proved to be the last session of the late Parliament, 

 while they appear to have survived tlie election. 



Our journal of the week before last contained an ad- 

 vertisement of the resolutions passed at a meeting held 

 at Northampton, respecting the inconveniencies resulting 

 from the variety of weights and measures by which the 



difierent kinds of grain are sold in difierent parts of the 

 kingdom. They expressed an opinion in favour of the 

 sale of corn by weight, inasmuch as wheat, barley, and 

 oats may aud do commonly vary as much as ten or 

 twelve pounds the imperial bushel. They state likewise 

 that 601bs. was assumed as the weight of the imperial 

 bushel of wheat for the purposes of the Tithe Commu- 

 tation Act, which they declare their unwillingness to 

 disturb ; and they give it as their opinion that the 

 above weight fairly i-epresents the average weight of a 

 bushel of wheat. They therefore pray the legislature 

 to fix that as the standard weight of a bushel of wheat, 

 and such other weight as the standard for other descrip- 

 tions of grain as shall fairly represent an imperial 

 bushel. They further pray that the Act of 5 Geo. IV., 

 cap 75, intituled " An Act for ascertaining and establish- 

 ing Uniformityof Weights and Measures,"may be altered 

 so as to give definite weights for each description of corn, 

 and make the act compulsory in every part of the 

 kingdom. The want of uniformity complained of arose 

 solely from the above flaw in the act, which, while it 

 established the imperial bushel as the standard, failed 

 to make the use of it compulsory. While these were 

 the opinions of the meeting at Northampton, those of 

 the Farmers' Club of London appear to be considerably 

 divided as to whether corn should bo sold by weight or 

 by measure, while they were strenuous and unanimous 

 respecting the necessity of- enforcing uniformity, whe- 

 ther of weight or of measure. The question, therefore, 

 of the sale of grain by weight or by measure ma^r be 

 considered one of Sir Roger de Coverley's questions, 

 on which there is a great deal to be said on both sides ; 

 while with respect to uniformity of some kind there is 

 no difierence of opinion. There is one point which ap- 

 pears to be overlooked in this discussion, or at any rate 

 not to have received the attention which it deserves, 

 namely, which is the most prevalent custom ? This is 

 an important question ; because, whichever is the most 

 prevalent, we may bo certain that will be the mode most 

 easily established in general use. It is satisfactory to 

 hear that the Central Club is about to pursue its enqui- 

 ries on tliis subject ; and to obtain, as far as is possible, 



