THE FARMER'S MAGAZliNE. 



SAINFOIN SEED. 



An itnpottant question as to pure Sainfoin samples was de- 

 cided in the Common Pleas last week, Mr. Davy, a Berkshire 

 farraei", facing the plaintiff, and Air. Gillclt, a farmer End 

 seedsman in the same county, the defendant. It had been 

 tried in the County Court, but the jurors divided, three to 

 two in favour of the plaintiff ; and it was removed accordingly, 

 by certiorari to Westminster, where it occupied a great part 

 of Monday and Tuesday, Mr. Justice Keating preaiding. The 

 seedsmen-ranks were reiufoiced, on the defendant's side, from 

 the metropolis ; and the verdict turned on the amount of 

 burnett seed among the 5.3 qrs. of sainfoin sold by the defend- 

 ant to Mr. Davy, without a sample or a warranty. 



It was allowed by the skilled witnesses on both sides that 

 you would expect tomeet with it in every sainfoin sample, but 

 Mr. Davy's per-centage of it, according to the testimony of the 

 witnesses, and Prof. Buckmana especittlly, who thought it was 

 a crop of burnett, must have been something enormous. The 

 seed was duly drilled in with barley in the February of 1858. 

 and fed with sheep that autumn, mowed in 1859, fed again in 

 1860, and then ploughed up es being perfectly useless, instead 

 of running out its five or six years ; and at the end of that 

 time Mr. Davy applied to the defendant for compensation- 

 and wished for au arbitration by a mutual friend, who cer- 

 tainly fixed the claim for compensation at a most moderate 

 figure. The defendant declined all such overtures, and princi- 

 pally relied on the claim being a stale one, in consequence of 

 the lapse of time, and on the fact that the plaintiff, instead of 

 merely running his lambs over the sainfoin after the barley was 

 cut, had folded sheep on it, who hsd eaten the very heart out 

 of it, and laid the fouadatiou for lob and other weeds among 

 the plants next spring. 



The general mass of his evidence went to show that no 

 sainfoin samples were now free from a V2ry great admixture of 

 burnett, and that no purchaser could expect it. lu shape the 

 two seeds are very distinguishable, as the sanfoin ia oval and 

 the burnett has four angles; and while the former coats 

 2^d. a pound, the latter is only Is. The seedsmen's theories 

 were very various. One had seen more than one part in five 

 burnett ; another thought a fourth or a fifth & fair sample, but 

 had never seen less than a fourth, and did not expect, on an 

 average, to get leas than a sixth in it ; while some said an 

 eighth or a tenth. A great Strand dealer " would not give a 

 fourth burnett if he knew it. I should not have done you 

 justice if I did." In fact, he went so far as to say he would 

 not sell it if it was in that state, but would clean it. Another 

 eminent dealer said that he might send three or four per cent, 

 out in his samples, but certainly not more than five ; and has 

 for twenty years past only recommended milled seed — i. e., set 

 loose from the shell. He added, there ' has not been much 

 more burnett of late years, but there has been much more 

 noise made about it. If I was asked for pure sainfoin, I would 

 not send it at all ; if I was asked for the best, I'd send the best 

 I had." He, however, thus qualified the last sentiment on 

 croas-examiuation : " I should not do you justice if you paid me 

 the beat price, and I sent you one-fourth burnett." The 

 plaintiff, as it happened, had paid the top price, 523. in 1858, 

 and hence this witness virtually settled the question against 

 those who called him. The jury, after a very short consulta- 

 tion, found for the plaintiff for the X'41 6s. 9d. claimed. On 

 the count charging fraud there was a ver.lict for the defendant, 

 as there was not the smallest ground for attributing to him 

 anything of the kind. The seed was proved to have come to 

 him direct from Mr. Forshaw, a very aged and infirm farmer 

 iu the neighbourhood (whose health alone prevented him from 

 travelling up to speak to the fart), and had been passed on at 

 once to the plaintiff. 



BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND 

 SOCIETY. 



The monthly meeting of the Council of this Society was 

 held on Saturday, Mayi4, at Waghorn's Railway Hotel, Taunton, 

 J. W. Buller, Esq , M.P., presided. The following were also 

 present : — Messrs. J. Gray, H. G. Moysey, Jonathan Graj', 

 E. S. Drewe, J. Widdicombe, W. Thompson, J. Daw, 

 C. Gordon, Jan., .7. P. Pitts, J. Fry, E. Archer, W. E; Gillett, 

 J. W. Walroud, J. D. Hancock, R. Bremridge, R. Dymond, 

 H. C. Andrews, C. Bush, E, U. Vidal, J. H. Cotterell, R. 

 Smith, J. Hussey, J. Lusb, H. A, F. Luttrell, and 

 W. Wippell. 



Wells Meeting. — The deputation appointed at the first 

 meeting to visit Wells, and to inspect the sue of the proposed 

 exhibition yard, namely. Ash Close, reported favourably, and 

 that city was definitively fixed upon as the place of exhibition 

 in 1362. 



Financial. — Dr. Gillett brought up the quarterly state- 

 ment of accounts and bills, which were ordered to be paid. 



Truro Meeting. — Dr. Barham presented to the Council 

 a programme, drawn up by the local committee, of the pro- 

 posed amusements for the exhibition week, consisting of a 

 series of conversaziones, and a visit to the mining district by 

 an excursion train, which was approved of by the Council, 

 The Director reported that the entries of stock, in the various 

 classes, were very good, and the number of competitors more 

 numerous thau on any former occasion. The sum of £500 

 was voted for the current expenses of the Truro exhibition. 



New Members. — The following gentlemen were elected : 

 — Mr. John Sobey, Liskeard ; Mr. Robeit Nichols, Loat- 

 withiel ; Mr. Peter Davis, Probus ; Mr. Tonne, Warminster ; 

 Mi. R. T. Pender, Falmouth; Messrs. Hosking and Son, 

 Hayle ; Mr. Jo'ieph Gundry (a governor), Hyde, Dorset; 

 Mr. William Frith, Wells; Mr. John Palmer, Holyway, 

 Launcestou ; Mr. Jones, Ringwood. 



REMARKS ON STABLES.— Plenty of breathing room 

 is of the first consequence, whether we are providing enter- 

 tainment for man or beast. All caunot afford to lodge their 

 horses so well as others, or even to give themselves as much 

 breathing space as science and common sense s'ay is desirable ; 

 but man}-, even in stables where cost has not been considered, 

 restrict their horses most unwisely, simply for want of thought 

 and knowledge. It is well known, as pointed out by Mr. 

 Miles, that a horse, whose stable is well lighted, drained, and 

 ventilated, and in which he has room to move, will do coa- 

 8i(?erably more work, and require less corn, than the same 

 horse would do, if kept tied up in a badly-contrived stable, 

 although his allowance of corn may be greatly increased. The 

 vitiated atmosphere he is doomed to live in, the want of pure 

 air to breathe, and the absence of the cheerful influence of 

 light, combine to make him dull, listless, and dispirited ; and 

 no amount of com can counterbalance their depressing effects. 

 In forming the boxes, it must be remembered tliat while the 

 horse should have a quiet corner to feed in, he likes to see his 

 neighbour. A ramp in the partition, falling a^ay from the 

 rack, filled up with |-icch round iron bars, placed one inch 

 apart, admits of these conditions. Bell traps in many situ- 

 ations are invaluable, but in a stable they are out of place. 

 They form evaporating pans, filled with liquid refuse, to afford 

 a constant supply of noxious gases. The flooring of stables 

 is a matter of very considerable consequence. Nothing can 

 be worse than the pebble pitching which is often used. It ia 

 inconvenient for the horse- to stand or lie upon : soon falls into 

 pits ; enables the earth to absorb any amount of moisture, and 

 frequently retains it in puddles to evaporate and poison the 

 air. Good clinkers set herring-bone fashion, on a bed of con- 

 crete, form the best stable floor that has ever been suggested. 

 Where the expense of clinkers is aa objection to their use, 

 hard and unabsorbent common bricks placed on edge iu a 

 herring-bone pattern (which improves the foothold) may be 

 substituted. Iron for mangers Mr. Miles thinks a cold and 

 uncomfortable material for a horse to feed out of, particularly 

 in winter, when its surface ia wetted with the condensed 

 breath of the horse. — Builder. 



