519 



pounds of straw per acre and 868.12 pounds of flax, while the barn-yard 

 manure made but 3,134.33 pounds of straw per acre and 505.88 pounds 

 of flax. 



Previous to 1872 flax had been sold in Flanders with but little regard 

 for differences of fiber, but it was subsequently found that the flax grown 

 with chemical manure was worth 1^ francs per G pounds more than that 

 grown with barn-yard manure. 



In 1873 the society renewed its experiments. Three sowings were 

 made, two on experimental plots and a third on a well- worked oats- 

 stubble, oats being considered a very eligible preliminary to flax- 

 culture. The last-named plot had been treated with 33,011.72 pounds 

 of barn-yard manure in November, 1872, and on the 5th of April, 1873, 

 was fertilized with Ville's preparation at the rate of about 250 pounds 

 per acre; it produced 4,881.27 pounds of straw, 1,262.48 pounds of flax, 

 and 308.7 pounds of seed per acre. 



The second plot, one of the original plots on which four previous 

 cro'^^s of flax had been grown, was fertilized with Ville's preparation at 

 the rate of 1,070.65 pounds per acre, and produced for its fifth con- 

 secutive crop 4,095.24 pounds of straw, 861.87 pounds of flax, and 240.89 

 pounds of seed per acre. 



The third plot, of new ground, was treated with 35,688 pounds of 

 farm-yard manure and 802.98 pounds of colza-oil-cake per acre; it 

 yielded 1,446.27 pounds of straw, 251.6 pounds of flax, and 120.45 

 l>ounds of seed per acre. 



From these experiments it appears that the new oats-ground, with 

 a comparatively light chemical fertilization following the heavy stable- 

 manuring of the previous autumn, yielded the largest crops, while the 

 new land heavily manured just previous to the sowing showed the poor- 

 est return. The other plot, from which five crops had already been 

 grown, maintained about its average production with previous years. 



Influence of AamcuLTURAL machinery. — In a late address 

 before the agricultural committee of Ambazac, in France, M. Teisserenc 

 de Bort stated that while in France the culture of the soil employs forty- 

 five persons per hectare, in England it employs but sixteen, and in the 

 United States nine. This difference is ascribed to the extended employ- 

 ment of machinery, especially in America, which causes farming opera- 

 tions to be more thoroughly and promptly performed. French farms 

 are mostly too small to admit the expense of perfected machinery. The 

 great English land-owners subdivide their estates among tenants in 

 such a way as to secure the greatest benefit. English farms average 

 45 hectares, and Scotch 30 hectares. Of 2,660,000 American farms, 

 2,070,000 -die less than 40 hectares. A hectare is 2.47 acres. American 

 farmers often associate their capital "for the purchase of costly machinery, 

 an example which French farmers would do well to follow. Large 

 landed proprietors should take the initiative and secure machinery for 

 the use of their tenants at a reasonable cost. 



Marketing of farm-produce in Paris. — The Journal Pratique 

 d^ Agriculture, from ofiicial sources, gives the following figures, showing 

 the quantities of meat, butter, and eggs sold at the halles of Paris 

 during 1872 and 1874 : 



