77 



the quantity of straw used), in one year not less than 800 

 tons of the best manure he ever saw on his farm. He pre- 

 fers this method to wintering of cattle on it, first, because 

 the sheep eat less, of course more manure is gained ; 

 , and in the second place, because he finds the quality 

 richer. 



This excellent mode of raising abundance of rich ma- 

 nure, cannot be too strongly recommended. 



Several intelligent farmers have of late years grown 

 ruta bag* or Swedish turnips, for horses and for other 

 stock, during that critical period when the common tur- 

 nips fail, and grass has not yet become abundant, and for 

 these purposes this esculent is invaluable. But Mr 

 Church of Hitchell observes, that where the soil is thin 

 and dry, it is impossible to raise a good crop of Swedes 

 under any management. He therefore begins to enter- 

 tain an idea of substituting potatoes in their room *. 



4. Mr Blair of Montague, near Perth, on the first ap- 

 pearance of severe frost, has been accustomed, for thirty 

 years past, to store up turnips, cutting off their tops and 

 tails, and thus preserving them sound and good for three 

 months, much to the advantage of his farm ; and Mr John 

 Shirreff has received a gold medal from the Society of 

 Arts, for communicating to that public spirited institu- 

 tion, a simple mode of drawing and stacking, either the 



* Mr Kerr observes, that potatoes, he understand*, are 

 now very extensively applied to the use of caule and horses 

 in Lanarkshire. If this is ultimately found to answer, and 

 the practice become universal, it will secure the country 

 against the possibility of famine in the very worst of years. 

 It will become a source of tangible humansGojxl, usually ap- 

 plied to animals, who may be supplied from other sources 

 calculated for their subsistence. In a year of dearth, the high 

 price of potatoes, will naturally induce the farmers to stint 

 their cattle, for the supply of ihe people, and to replenish 

 their own pockets. 



