THK FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



lUl 



Apjobn, and though ho reports it as being only of ave- 

 rage quality, it gave of 



Water 



Protein compound 



Oil 



Starch, lignin, &c. 

 A«h 



12'80 

 26-18 

 10-50 

 43-42 



7-10 



100- 



. , ,, , inn L r 5-088 ammonia. 



And the ash gave per 100 parts | ^.^^q phogphate of lime; 



so that one pound of the oilcake produced of 

 Grs. 



Ammonia 355-GO 



Phosphate of lime 329 70 



Oats, according to Boussingault, would contain — 

 Grs. 



Ammonia 154*00 



Phosphate of Ume 229-60 



Now let us look to the quantities No. 1 consumed 

 during the twenty. four hours he was shut up : 21bs. of 

 oilcake, ^Ib. of oats. This was more than the average, 

 as he ate little else in confinement. The consumption 

 was, therefore, of 



Grs. 



78820 

 774-20 



Ammonia 



Phosphate of lime . . . 



The liquid excretion, taking the quantity as the same 

 voided in the first experiment, would be of 

 Grs. 



Ammonia 687'30 



Phosphate of Ume 1070 



The difi"erence in the ammonia is very nearly what 

 would be accounted for in the quantity stored on, ac- 

 cording to Mr. Gilbert, together with the small propor- 

 tion voided in the dung. It is clear, from the former 

 experiment, that the phosphate of lime can be equally 

 well accounted for in the solid excrement, though, in 

 this instance, the urine alone was analyzed as a check 

 upon the former remarkable result, which I think it has 

 fully confirmed, and the quantities were not again mea- 

 sured. I am not chemist enough to do more than 

 point out the general bearings of Dr. Apjohn's analysis, 

 but I think I have sufficiently opened the question for 

 others more qualified to take it up, and shown the prac- 

 tical farmer that where he gives artificial food to his 

 sheep, out of every £10 expended at least £8 15s. goes 

 to the improvement of the land. 



This will further lead to the conclusion, that where 

 the manure made by cattle fed in the house is carefully 

 guarded from waste, the value of one class of manure 

 may be much greater than that of another ; and there is 

 no doubt that its application to crops should be regu- 

 lated accordingly, for there is great loaste in giving to 

 crops more than a sufficiency of manure, whatever that 

 may be. 



Having begun by a comparison between two lots of 

 sheep belonging to different breeds — the Southdowns 

 and Shropshire Downs — I -wish it to be understood that 

 I do not question the superiority of the former, fed upon 

 their own dry and warm Sussex Downs, as to quality of 

 mutton ; but in my own instance, and that of some of 

 my friends -who ha-ve imported and kept up flocks of 



pure Southdowns, I have seen a great tendency to de- 

 generate, arguing an unsuitableness to our climate; 

 and in this I am borne out by the observations made at 

 the London Central Farmers' Club by Lord Bcrners, 

 on the 6th Dec, 1858 :— 



" Mr. Bond had truly observed that we must look to 

 the breeds both of sheep and cattle, and select those 

 which were best suited for early maturity. Mr. Bond 

 had referred to the Hampshire Down, a class of sheep 

 with whose value he (Lord Berners) was fully acquainted, 

 for he had tried them to a great extent. It cost him 

 £600, however, to try them on his land in Norfolk, 

 and he was glad after all to get back to Sussex. Sub- 

 sequently he tried the Sussex Downs in Leicestershire, 

 and the success he had achieved in Norfolk induced him 

 to persevere with them twelve years in the former 

 county, but the climate and soil proved unsuited to their 

 development, and he had to give them up for the Lei- 

 cester and the heavier breeds." 



It is for this reason that, although the mutton of the 

 Southdown may be a shade superior to the Shropshire, 

 yet I think the latter better suited to Ireland ; they are 

 in mutton very much superior, and in wool and early 

 maturity nearly equal to the Leicester. They flourish 

 on the cold clays of Staftordshire, and I think I have 

 amply proved their tendency to early maturity, a point 

 upon which Lord Berners lays so much stress, and the 

 judges of the Royal Dublin Society so little. 



CENTRAL FARMERS' CLUB. 



The following subjects have been selected for discussion 

 during the ensuing year :— 



February 7.— Arterial Drainage— includmg the state of 

 our Rivers and Water-courses — proposed by Mr. J. A. Clarke, 

 Long Sutton, Lincoln. 



March 7. — The Education, Discipline, and Introduction 

 of the young Farmer to Life— Mr. R. Bond, Kentwell, Long 

 Melford, Suffolk. 



April 4.— The Progiess of Agriculture— Mr. R. Smith, 

 Emmett's Grange, South Melton. 



May 2.— The Advantages of Steam in Agriculture — ^how far 

 they have been availed of— Mr. J. J. Mechi, Tiptree Hall, 

 Essex. 



June 6. — What System of Cultivation upon Mixed Soils 

 will, under present circumstances, be found most profitable ? 

 —Mr. R. Baker, Writtle, Eases. 



November 7. — The Growth of Seeds in alternate Hus- 

 bandry, without the admixture of Trefoil or Rye-grass- Mr. 

 J. Marshall, Riseholme, Lincoln. 



December 5.— The Composition of Different Varieties of 

 Vegetables and Plants, and their respective Values as Food- 

 Mr. J. C. Nesbit, Kennington Lane. 



The discussions will commence at half-past five o'clock, p.m. 

 Members unable to attend these meetings are invited to for- 

 ward practical information upon them. Their letters will be 

 handed to the introducer of the subject to which reference is 

 made. 



