38 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



[No. 1 



after six or seven years' bearing ; in which cape 

 only a very slight, hot-bed is necessary (say 80^ 

 bottom heal), with 2 in. or 3 in. of any soil under 

 and about the roots ; and 5 in. or 6 in. ot'old tan, or 

 any light soil, over them: atmosi'heric tempera- 

 ture about 55°. 



Roots, placed between two layers of soil in pots 

 or bo.xes, may be introduced into any eaili' 

 forcing- house at work; or trenches may be cut 

 between the lines in the open ground, and hot 

 dung or leaves introduced mider hoops and 

 mats. Beds for torcinu asparan'us, with trenches 

 between, cased with brickwork, I consider as ex- 

 pensive and unprofilable. 



Islewortli, Dec. 14, 1S36. 



From tlie Britisli Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. 



0]V A PARTICULAR MODE OF APPLYXXG FARM- 

 YARD MAWURli:. 



By Mr. John Baker, Nassau Cottage, Leeds. 



The present depressed state of agriculture 

 through the kinirdom, invites the serious attention 

 of all connected with that important branch of in- 

 dustry ; it being a lamentable liict that, whilst the 

 most splendid discoveries in science are daily ap- 

 plied to the improvement of our trade and com- 

 merce, aiiricultitre, as a science, remains almost 

 stationary, notwithstanding individual and nation- 

 al pros[)erity are so deeply interested in pi'omoting 

 its welliire. For more than twenty-five years I 

 farmed from 500 to 1000 acres in the county of 

 Norlblk, during which time my attention was care- 

 fully directed to the consideration ol' every method 

 or system of farming which was calculated to in- 

 crease the productiveness of the soil, and to im- 

 prove the condition of that numerous and indus- 

 trious class of persons who are dependent upon it. 

 Tlie proper use of manure is amongst the most 

 material improvements which I have discovered. 

 By theconmion, 1 may say ireneral, mode of mana- 

 ging it, only half the benefit which ought to be 

 conferred on the crops is given, whilst the system 

 which I have adopted doubles the value of all the 

 manure made, and at the same time it really les- 

 sens the expense ; and it is to this point that I will 

 confine myself in this paper. That "the muck- 

 cart is the best farmer," is a maxim as fully ac- 

 knowledged as it is oft-repeated, and believing 

 that upon the proper use and appHcation of it the 

 success of the farmer mainly depends, I have nev- 

 er failed to attend to this imporlant branch of hus- 

 bandry. Having experienced the practical advan- 

 tages of my system, as well upon land under my 

 own cultivation in Norfolk, as upon farms belong- 

 ing to my relations and friends in that county, 

 where it had been introduced at my suirffestion, I 

 am induced, at the earnest recommendation of 

 many gentlemen who have also witnessed its 

 beneficial efi'ects in Yorkshire, to invite the atten- 

 tion of agriculturists generally to the subject. Ma- 

 nure of almost every description is carried from 

 the place where it is made, and deposited on a 

 heap, lor four, six, or eight months, where it fi?r- 

 menls and becomes a soft, black, cohesive mass; 

 it is then put on the land and ploughed down, afier 

 which the crop is sown; this may not always be 

 done, but something resembling it is the prevailing 

 and general practice in every part of the country. 



My method, the success of which has been proved 

 by numerous experiments, is to spread the dung on 

 the land as soon as convenient after it is made, ex- 

 cept in vvinier; the manure made at that period ot 

 the year remains at the fold-yard till the spring, 

 where it does not ferment. The whole is taken in 

 the sprinir, sunmier, and autunm, fresh to the land; 

 if in fallow, it is ploughed in with a thin furrow; the 

 land is harrowed tmd ploughed again in a fort- 

 night, and in a fortnight alter, harrowed and 

 ploughed a third time; after which the muck, 

 however long it may have been, is reduced, and 

 the soil will he in as fine and friable a stale as the 

 land is capable of From the time the dung is put 

 on to the last menlioned ploughing, notlimg can 

 be more unsightl}' than its appearance. If it is to 

 be applied to pasture, I spread it over the surface 

 of ihe ground from the beginning of spring to the 

 end of autumn. Three essential points are to be 

 observed : first, to a[)ply the manure to the soil 

 as soon as convenient after it is made (except in 

 the depth of winter;) secondly, to keep it as near 

 the surface as possible ; and, thirdl}', to mix it well 

 with the soil. These being observed, I confident- 

 ly assert, that advanlafires equal to double those 

 now derived from manure are communicated to 

 the land b}^ an increase in the fertility of the soil, 

 exhibited in healthier and more abundant crops; 

 so that a farm of 200 acres of arable land of me- 

 dium quality, producing 400 loads of dung or two 

 loads for every acre, worth five shillings per load, 

 will be benefited to the extent of ten shillings 

 per acre annually, and where more manure is 

 made, which on every well managed farm is done, 

 the advantages will be greater. This result has 

 been produced upon the farm now in my occupa- 

 tion, belonging to Lord Cowper, in the neighbor- 

 hood of Leeds, to which I entered at Candlemas 

 1831 ; it was then in the most deplorable condi- 

 tion ; so deplorable was it, indeed, as to lead many 

 of my friends and neighbors to predict the impos- 

 sibility of mj' procuring a tolerable crop upon one 

 of the fields for seven years to come; but this 

 field, from the application of manure according to 

 my method, has become exceedingly productiv^e. 

 1 fallowed it for turnips, and in May (1831,) I put 

 on about twelve and a half tons of good fresh- 

 made stable-dung per acre ; as much as possible 

 was taken from the stables and carried to the land 

 the da}' it was made. My proceedings greatly 

 amused my agricultural neighbors. The prece- 

 ding tenant observed, that however such a system 

 might have answered in other parts of the coun- 

 try, here it would be a useless expenditure both of 

 time and mone}-, and a great waste of manure. 

 To convince him of the benefit to be derived from 

 such manuring, I directed one piece in the middle 

 of the field to be left without covering. With 

 the exception of the land upon which no manure 

 had been laid, the field produced a very fine crop 

 of turnips, worth at least six pounds per acre, 

 whilst the crop raised upon the land not manured 

 was not worth six shillings per acre. After the 

 turnips, the field produced a very heavy crop of 

 barley, averagmnr not less than seven quarlers 

 per acre, and in 1833 I obtained a most abundant 

 crop of clover without any manure except on the 

 land omitted in the firsi year. I also covered a 

 field of paslure the same summer with the same 

 kind of manure, half of it in June and the rest in 

 August. Six weeks aller the first part was done 



