J837J 



F A R JVl E R S' REGISTER. 



313 



found in rye and barley. Some sprinc; wlieat was 

 sown by us in May, in the hope of escapiiiii; the 

 worm. It is now (July 16,) coming into head. 

 The fly of the irrain worm is seen upon it at 

 eveninL^ in small numbers. We shall note its 

 efl'ects in our next numl)pr. 



We would here call the public mind to the fact, 

 that three years auo, vvliile the worm was yet but 

 on our borders, the State Asjricuitural Sncieiy 

 pointed out, in a memorial to the legishuun^, the 

 apprehemied evil, and urged the policy of oliering 

 very liberal preuMums |i)r the discovery of an etR- 

 cient prevetuive; but their suggestions were not 

 even courteously tioticed. Such premiums miiiht 

 not have done good — but they could not possibly 

 have done harm; and had they led to the discove- 

 ry of a preventive of" the evilj f:\ich a discovery 

 would have benefited the stale millions of" dollars. 



From tlic Brilisli llusliaiidry. 

 MAKAGKMENT OF CLAY FAilMS. 



Jieaison's System.. 



Knowlc Farm, in the neighborhood of Turi- 

 bridge Wells, which was a ['*i\v years ago. in the 

 occupation of the late Gen. Beat^^on, contains 

 about 300 acres of land, of which 113 are arable, 

 and is described as abounding with cla}-, and reten- 

 tive of surface moisture, but when dried by the 

 summer heat, it becomes as hard as a brick, and im- 

 pervious to the plough, unless with a great power 

 of animal exet'iion, particul.trly as the jjeneral 

 mode is to plough deep. The established rota- 

 tion in that part of Kent, and the neighbonng 

 portion of" Sussex, is fallow, wheat, and oats,> with 

 occasionally cLover and rye-grass; and th"e hus- 

 bandry api)cars to have remained unaltered for 

 many ages, with the single exception of substitu- 

 ting lime lor manure instead of nnirl. Upon this 

 system the farm was managed during the General's 

 absence, while governor of" the Island of St He- 

 lena; and finding on his return, in the year 181.3j 

 "that he had no cause to boast of its profit, he re- 

 solved to trace the Avhole progress of the opera- 

 tions, from the commencement of the fallow to the 

 close of the rotation;" the result of which was, 

 that "having made a series of experiments, to 

 which he devoted his attention during five years, 

 he determined upon the total abolition offal- 

 lows.''''* 



* His experiments were extended to various objects 

 besides the working ot the land; particularly to the com- 

 binations of dilierent Icinds of manure, and the burninc^ 

 of clay, (lor which, see ourvol. i. chap. 16, 17;) but ou1- 

 present extracts only extend to the subject Of fallow- 

 ing, the charges of which he stales to have amounted 

 to £16 per acre, thus: — 

 Labor, breaking up the clover ley and 



three subsequent ploughings. 

 Eleven ha? rowings at ten acres per (Jay, 

 Manure, one and a half wagon loads of 



lime, between the third and fourth 



ploughings, 



Carting and spreading do. - 



Seed, two and a half bushels of wheat 



10s. 



Sowiug and rolling, - - - . 

 Rent and taxes for the year of fallow, 

 Ditto for the year of crop, - ^ ^ 



Vol. V— 40 



£16 



In order to e!Ii>ct this, he, adopted several new 

 implements, chiefly of his own invention, lor a 

 description of which we nnisl refer to his "New 

 sysiem ot" cultivation," as we have onlv seen thd 

 scarifier in use. This is of a liolit construction, 

 and certuinly perf^jrn)s well ; though Upon land 

 such as that described by the General, it is worked 

 by a pair of horses, and sonietiuies more, inylead 

 of" one. 



He conceived that the grand scource of all thft 

 heavy expenses of the old method niigiti be tra(u'd 

 to the fallow itselfj and to the moiie of prejiaring 

 it — " by brinuiiig up immense sluijs wiih. ilie 

 plough; by revVu'sinu' the suil, and thus burying 

 the seeds of weeds that had fidlen on the suriiicej 

 by which a l()undation is laid for all the subse- 

 quent laborious and expensive operations. To 

 avoid these, he. iherefbre, thought it necessary to 

 proceed in adifierent n)anner — "to only break and 

 crumble the surltice soil, to the depth that may 

 he re(juired; to burn and destroy the weeds; after 

 which he would have ihe land iri a fine and cleail 

 state of pulverization, and in readiness for receiv- 

 ing the seed, without losing a year's rent and fi<x- 

 es; and all this at a mere trifle of expense, Avhen 

 comj)ared wiih that wliich is incurred by a Hallow." 



In pursuance of" this, he reduced the ploughing 

 to a single o|)eration at the depth of four inches. 

 The chief use, indeed, which he made of the 

 plough was to open furrows at twenty-seven inch- 

 es apart, which was performed by a couple of hor- 

 ses at the rate of three acres per day, and wag 

 merely intended to prepare the land for the scari- 

 fiers, "which, by passing twi(;e across these l"iif- 

 rows, loosen ail the stubble and roots of weeds, 

 which are afterwards, with a small portion of the 

 soil, placed in heajis and burned." Ey these 

 means, together with the^more f"reque'nt repetition 

 of" the horse hoise-hoeinu, and the introduction 

 of the row-culture, the General assures us "that 

 his lands were rendered nuich cleaner, and yield- 

 ed better crojjs than they did formerly, after all 

 the heavy expenses of" lime and fallows."* — 

 He indeed, states, that these operations produced 

 ■ the effect of pulverization to Ihe de|)ih of" si.x. or 

 seven inches, and their expense was — 



s. d. 

 Five scarifyings, with a, single horse 



implement, at Is. 80'. per acre. - 8 4 

 Two harrowing, at 10 Aa'. - - - 19 



Id 1 ; 



that the whole charge of cultivation, tinder a four- 



* On this subject he also observes, that "those who 

 plough deep, and bur}' the seeds of weeds by the first 

 ploughing, are no't aware that, by this outset of theif 

 fallow, they lay the foundation ot a great deal of labor 

 and mischief, and bring upon themselves the absolute 

 necessity of a fallow, as the only means of eradicatin"- 

 the progeny of those seeds, which they have inadver- 

 tently deposited deep in the soil. Now, if the whole 

 of the stubble and its roots, with a small portion of 

 the surface soil, which contain those seeds, be collected 

 and destroyed by fire, it is reasonable to suppose that 

 lands might be as efi'ectually cleared of weeds in this 

 manner, as by Ei summer fallow; besides they would 

 have the benefit of a considerable portion of ashes. 

 Pf^haps, also, this mode of burning might have a ten- 

 dency to prevent the disorders of smut and blight; 

 disorders with which my crops have not been in the 

 smallest degree affected."— 2d Edition, p. 90. 



