168 



FARMERS' REGISTER— DUTCH ASHES AS MANURE. 



and April; on oats and beans in the bcginninir of 

 May; on rye in October and November. They 

 are also used in gardens with great benefit to the 

 crops, by being scattered over tiic surface, after 

 the land is sown and raked. They are also good 

 for hops, a handful being given to each plant. 

 When applied to grain, they promote its early 

 growth; but are principally useful m increasing the 

 quantity. They are generally sown by the hand 

 like grain, but care must be taken to leave no part 

 of the surll\ce without its just pro[)or1ion. 



In Holland, the mode of applying them is as 

 follows : In March, the wheat is worked with 

 the hoe between the rows, and sown with clover, 

 and in May, the rows of wh«at are weeded. The 

 wheat being reaped, and as soon as the danger of 

 floods is past in the spring, the land is haiTowed, 

 and thereafter they strew about 20 imperial bushels 

 on the acre of clover. This practice is greatly 

 recommended, and found to be highly advan- 

 tageous. 



An eminent Dutch agriculturist, F. L. W. 

 Brakkel, in a work lately pubUshed by him at 

 Utrecht, points out the advantages of using Dutch 

 ashes on the clover in this way, his alternation of 

 crops being potatoes, rape-seed, peas, wheat, clo- 

 •ver andoats. Another writer on agriculture, J. R. 

 Schwarz, says the, ashes must be used in their dry 

 state, and thinly strewed, and on ploughed land 

 niusfbe harrowed in before or at the sowing. 

 They are of most use on cold wet grass lands to 

 dry the ground, destroy the acidity, and kill the 

 mosses. They are so nmch persuaded in Belgium 

 of the great use of Dutch ashes, that the farmers 

 have the following proverb : "He who buys ashes 

 for clover, pays nothing; but he who neglects do- 

 ing so, pays a double price." The great advan- 

 tages to be derived from this practice are also 

 pomted out by Sir John Sinclair, in his tour in 

 Flanders; and many other testimonies might be 

 adduced in its favor. 



By an analysis made by Professor Brande of 

 the Royal Institution, the contents of the specimen 

 given him were : 



Siliceous earth, - - - - 32 

 Sulphate of lime, - - - 12 



Sulphate and muriate of soda, - 6 



Carbonate of hme, - - - 40 

 Oxide of iron, _ . - - 3 



Impurities and loss, _ - - 7 



100 



The great advantages Avhich the Dutch ashes 

 hold out to the farmer are, their being a cheaper 

 and (at least lor some purposes) more certain and 

 beneficial manure, than any now in use. They 

 can be easily transported to a great distance, they 

 give a greater number of bushels to the ton than 

 bones or rape-cake, and they are only about half 

 the price per ton of" either. It has also to be re- 

 marked, that bones are getting scarce abroad, and 

 are rising in price. Besides, the Dutch ashes re- 

 quire no previous expense, or jireparation in this 

 country, but can be immediately applied after be- 

 ing landed; whereas, bones and rape-cake have to 

 unilergo the process of grinding, before they are 

 fit for use. 



Aar a top dressing, these ashes are superior to 

 common manure, it having been found, on making 

 comparative trials in Flanders, that the crops of 



clover, where tlie ashes were used, were much 

 eariier, heavier, and superior iij every respect to 

 those which had undergone a top-dressing ol horse 

 and cow dung. As a top-dressing to the second 

 crop of clover, they will be found highly advan- 

 tageous, as by being used this way, they won- 

 derfully increase the rapidity of growth and pro- 

 duce. One of the best proofs of their usefulness 

 is the fact, that while we have frequently in this 

 country very Ijackward and light crojis of clover 

 and grass, in Flanders, where this top-dressing is 

 used, such a defection seldom if ever occurs. 

 They are therefore likely tol»e of great use to the 

 farmer on the lands which have "grown sick of 

 clover;" and the importance of having a ^ood 

 crop of clover is the more obvious, when it is. 

 considered that, in general, the succeeding crop_ 

 of wheat is only good when the preceding crop of 

 clover has been so. 



Besides fertilizing the land, the ashes may be of 

 great advantage in preventing the injuries arising 

 from worms or insects; and will no doubt be highly 

 useful as a top-dressing, if regularly persevered in 

 for a certain time, in destroying the mosses and 

 lichens so apt to injure the lawns and natural pas- 

 ture in this country. 



I have found a bushel of these ashes to be about 

 forty pounds in weight. The ton therefore, con- 

 sists of about fifty-six bushels. At £3 per ton, 

 which will be the price f iom the shop, free of every 

 charge, the expense of manuring an acre will only 

 be about £1— [or ^4 80.] 



BREAD BIACHIKERY. 



Mr. Cawderoy has patented the undennentioned 

 improvements in macliinery to be used in tlie pro- 

 cess of manufacturing bread and biscuits. 



This patentee has. devoted his attention to every 

 part of the process of bread manufacture; he com- 

 mences the operation by causing the fiour to pass 

 through a sieve, by means of a cylindrical brush, 

 in very minute quantities, and with much uni- 

 formity. From this sieve, the flour descends, into 

 a mixing vessel, with an inclined bottom. The 

 Uijuid to be mixed with the flour, to consitute the 

 sponge, is admitted from a reservoir through a pipe 

 near the bottom of the mixing vessel, and the 

 quantity admitted during the process is adjusted to 

 the quantity of flour passed through the sieve, by 

 means of a stop-cock. On the inclined bottom of 

 this vessel, a series of vertical rods, constituting a 

 kind of rake, is made by means of a crank, to 

 move forwards and backwards on the inclined bot- 

 tom, in a direction at right angles to the inclina- 

 tion; and the apparatus is so arranged, that the 

 quantity of inclination may be varied at pleasure, 

 to suit difl'erent qualities of the bread intended, or 

 of the materials employed in its manufacture. 

 The greater the mclination, of course the quicker 

 will the mixture pass off from the rake into tlie. 

 second mixing vessel, placed a little lower than 

 the first, to receive it. This vessel, which has its 

 bottom horizontal, is likewise furnished with a 

 traversing rake, to mix the ingredients still more 

 intimately. The sponge is afterwards returned 

 into the mixing vessels, to have an additional sup- 

 ply of materials to complete the dough, the usual 

 time being allowed for it to rise andfidl, to pre))are 

 it for separation into loaves and the operation of 

 baking. The dough is next ti-ansferred to a press- 



