THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



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that night watering is preferable to watering by day, 

 and the water will do more good in shady than in 

 6iinny weather. The water of the streams in this 

 part of the country runs from the chalk, the upper 

 green sand, and the upper oolite formations. That 

 best adapted for irrigation is pure spring water. 

 The water which produces the richest vegetation I 

 have ever seen is from the oolite formation in the 

 vale of Wardour ; it has been analyzed, and was 

 found to be remarkable for its purity ; its soluble 

 contents v.'ere the chlorides of sodium, calcium, and 

 magnesium, in very small proportions; it pre- 

 sented no trace of any other metallic salts, and was 

 in all other respects an unusually fine specimen of 

 natural water ; its saline contents were barely 

 sufficient to give an opaline appearance to a solu- 

 tion of soap, and it was singularly free from the 

 quality of hardness. The temperature of this water 

 is three degrees lower, in the months of May and 

 June, than the river water adjoining. Though both 

 are used for irrigation in the same meadow, their 

 effects are wonderfully different. The river water, 

 although warmer, does not produce half so much 

 grass as the spring v/ater, and certain weeds which 

 the land is subject to, such as the cow-parsnip and 

 others, are entirely destroyed on the part watered 

 by the spring ; whilst on the part close alongside, 

 watered by the river water, these weeds grow very 

 luxuriantly." 



Here, then, we have unanswerable evidence of 

 the good effects of pure v.'ater applied in copious 

 proportions to grass ; and that such waters are for 

 the same purpose rendered of still greater value by 

 the addition of organic or even earthy matters, the 

 testimony in our possession is equally conclusive. 

 Mr. Combes tells us, in another portion of his 

 address, "The meadows should always be in readi- 

 ness to receive the first fresh of the river from the 

 autumnal rains, as this water is, especially after a 

 dry summer, rich with alluvial matter." If the 

 washings from higher lands, brought down by the 

 floods, adds richness to the irrigation waters of the 

 chalk formation, still more Ijeneficial are the addi- 

 tions to them of organic matters. The water of the 

 Hampshire Itchen, after it has passed V/inchester, 

 and received a portion of tlie sewage, is known to 

 the owners of the adjoining meads to be more 

 fertilizing than before its arrival at that city. Simi- 

 lar remarks have been made by Mr. Tibbits, in the 

 case of the waters of the river Maun. The pure 

 water-meads of the West of England do not equal 

 in productiveness the foul water-fertilized meads of 

 Clipstone, near Mansfield ; they do not approach 

 in their yield of food those of Edinburgh, which 

 are irrigated with water still more impure. We see, 

 then, that for grass lands the amount of water, 

 either bright or impure, which may be beneficially 



applied, is very large. But how does the remark 

 apply to the cereals ? In their use, is there not a 

 directly contrary conclusion to be drawn ? We are 

 all aware that with us, the driest portions of our 

 island are precisely those where the largest propor- 

 tions, and the best wheat and barley, are produced. 

 We see their cullivation more and more neglected 

 as we approach the western sides of our island — 

 that oats, which delight in a moist climate, then 

 gradually take their place. "No summer is too 

 dry for wheat," is the ordinary observation of the 

 farmer. Even in far warmer climates than ours 

 the use of water to cereals is but hmited, even in 

 lands where irrigation is much better understood 

 and far more extensively practised than with us. 

 Some of these customs have been traced by Mr. 

 R. Russell, of Kilwhiss (Quar. Jour. Ar/., 1S54, p. 

 295.) It was when remarking upon the vast 

 artificial waterings of the Egyptians — their 50,000 

 water-raising machines in the valley of the Nile, 

 and, after dwelling upon the rice plant, which will 

 only flourish in naturally moist or watered places, 

 that he adds very correctly, that, "comparatively 

 speaking, very little moisture is required by wheat 

 and barley in the ahiiost rainless climate of Egypt. 

 Clover and such kinds of crops are there very 

 largely increased by irrigation, but it would appear 

 that the quality of wheat is deteriorated when grov/n 

 on irrigated lands; this fact is well known in 

 Arabia. The wheat of Egypt, and that produced 

 on the irrigated lands of Spain, are of very in- 

 ferior quality ; whilst that which is grown on 

 the arid plains of Castile and Syria is of very fine 

 quality." 



But although it may be correct that the applica- 

 tion of the liquid manure, which we have in this 

 place to consider, is not beneficial to the cereals of 

 our country in their growing state, yet this con- 

 dition is by no means opposed to the use of sewage 

 for soils on which corn is afterwards to be sown. 

 The practice of the Flemish farmers, in fact, is to 

 apply their liquid manure for all kind^ of crops. 

 It is true that, as they have to carry the liquid to 

 the field by horse-labour, they make this liquid as 

 concentrated as possible ; that they use only very 

 impure water ; that they add to and ferment with 

 this their urine, night-soil, rape-cake, soot, and every 

 other enriching substance they can procure; but 

 then there is no reason to doubt but that these 

 skilful fanners would gladly avail themselves of a 

 much weaker liquid manure, if it could be distri- 

 buted without animal labour over their soils. 

 These farmers, moreover, employ liquid manure 

 before the seed is s^own, not as a substitute for, but 

 as an adjunct to manure in arable soils. The crops 

 to which they apply manure, and the kind of dres- 

 sing, were long since given by Mr. Radchffe in his 



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