«SI)c iTavmcvVi iUcintl)li) bisitor. 



103 



liiiits of the lower part of Pitlawiire, niul lije ens- 

 tfii\ siion- ol":M.inliiii(l, would groatly lieucr tlieir 

 roiiilliifiii hv lillinsr oiu' liiilt' llie liniil ilicy now' 

 go'ovei'. liiil timkf tliis |in)|p(isiiiiii) to n iiimti 

 iiikI Ire will iiiiswer ' I rnii sc.irci^'y iiPt jilonj; now, 

 y.rid if I pot oivpell" on one \ui\t\ I .-iliMll si.ii'vr.' 



" Wo lind II w.irtii. di'v (■iiriii;;. Wlieiit litiJ' liepii 

 niiicli injiiii-il l)y ilit; fly, h.il in Cast reviving by 

 till! late rains." 



Cattle. — A (Vienil informs ns, ms an evidpiirc 

 of the I'lMolaiini creatpd liy onr Auriroltnral ex- 

 Inliilions, llial anuni!; tiio.<L' who am pr«parjn;; 

 uniin.il^ an<l arliclis in v.'r..'itfirn \fw Vork, lie 

 knows onn m'ntlpjnan who is jreltinir ready tfu 

 yo'ie of cntl'e as his contrihiiiion in that line to- 

 wards the nerl Slate F.iir at iNm^ilikeepNip. 'I'lie 

 " River coiiiitit'!'," and tin; line caltle nl" New Rn- 

 glaii'l, should he larirely and nolily represented 

 on llie oi-fa,sion. — Cu'livator. 



Good Far.miiNG. — It may he laid down as a 

 staiidiiii; rule, and as a ffiiide to dired onr e.\ertinns 

 that .ill good rarmiiiL', the whole of that process 

 liy wliieli had land is to lie convened into iiood. 

 or land natiiriilly good and productive is to he 

 continned in that stale, is conipri.sed in the three 

 f'ollovvin<r operations of Inishanilry. 1. To carry 

 off'all sta>;nant and piiperfliioiis svater hy means 

 of judicious draining. 2. To return, tlnoiiuli the 

 inediinn of manine, the stren^jth and fertility 

 whicli h.is heen exiracted from the land hy crop- 

 pini;. 3. To eradicate all noxious weeds, that the 

 slreiiL'lli of the inannre may he thrown into the 

 crops and not into the weeds. — Rttoslonit's Re- 

 marks on Ldimashire Fdrmins- 



Soakiii; Seeds in Chemical Solutions* 



A jireit d-'.il has been said and written latterly, 

 both ill this t;onntry and in Europe, particularly 

 in (iermany, respectin;^ conccntratpil mannies. — 

 Poiidretle and Giiano — the one made anion;; onr- 

 selves~tlie other imported from a ^'reat distance, 

 are claimim.' the close atlenlion of the ai;riciilin- 

 ral comnniiniy, wliicli we helieve is ever ready 

 to enihraee enterprises whicli hold out reasonulile 

 promises of advaiita;!e. 



In some parts of the continent the startling; 

 riociriiie ha.s heen held, and teii;icioiisK' insisted 

 upon, that n// sctds nny be fo trenteii im In g^roiu 

 most hn-urianlli), williout any manuring of the soil 

 in which Ihe:/ are to he noirn. 



The article fjiveii below, in reference to this 

 cnriuns subject, we take from a late lumiher f>f 

 the "Transactions of the Iliiildaiul and Aj;ricnl- 

 tiiral Society of Scolland." IJelievina it to be of 

 jireat interest to the farmer, to be acquainted with 

 every process by which his earners may be filled 

 — and to the political economist, to provide for the 

 <laily sustenance of the millions whose daily wants' 

 are without a holiday, we mean to revert to this 

 matter in a future tuiinber. — Phila. Farmers' Cab- 

 inet. 



There was perhaps no object in the exhibition 

 of plants in the Society's Show at Dundee, in 

 Anijiist, Icl43, which nilracted such frener.d atten- 

 tion as the rcin.irkably slroni; and visforoiis outs 

 growing in soil, exhibited by iMr. James Camp- 

 bell, of the Cdncaiitinal Seminaries of that town. 

 The soil ill which they j;rew pos.sessed no pecu- 

 liar property, except that it had not been manured 

 for (deven years. The vi^or of the plants, ac- 

 cording to Mr. Campbell, was entirely to be as- 

 cribed to their seed liavinj; been subjected to a 

 process by which they weie soaked in certain 

 chemical .solntion.s. Mr. Campbell has, since the 

 show, in the most liberal and disinleresteil man- 

 ner, placed the [larliciilars of his process ill the 

 hands of the Society, for the benefit of aiiricul- 

 tiirists (Tenerally ; and, to further his -.'ood inten- 

 tions, the Society hasthonjjhi it proper to |inlilish 

 liis own explanation of the method of condnciiiig 

 the process of jireparin;; the seed, as it is ^iven, 

 in letters, addfes.sed, at various times, to the sec- 

 retary. 



The lirst letter contains an inlimation of Mr. 

 Campbell's intention to exhibit plains of oats ai 

 the Society's Show at Dundee, on ilie Slliof Au- 

 gust, in a letter dated Seminaries, Dundee, I7lh 

 of July, 184'}, which was couched in these lerin.-': 

 "Not (leinga member of the Highland and Agri 

 cultural Society of .Scolland, s(niie apolojty is 

 necessary for my ;iddiessin}; you. Before pio- 

 ceeiling further, therefore, I beg leave to infiirm 

 you that, some years ago, I became proprietor of 



about 140 acres of land, some of whkh stood ' 

 innch in need of iii'iiro-vemtMit. My atienlion has 

 accordingly been, lor a considerable time past, 

 directed to agiicnlliiral improvement in various 

 ways, and I conieive llii.« may be held as an ex- 

 cuse for the bberty which I now take in writing 

 you. 



" Much has of late been said iind written on the 

 subject of extraneous and olhcr manures, and n 

 great many nostrinns have been piifled oft' and 

 applied with various success. Many coniposis 

 have been formed, wlio.«e teinliiicy i> to yield 

 abundant crops on certain soils, but it iniist still 

 be eonles.sed tiiut no manure or other iipplication 

 of inncli p('rman'..-ncy of efl^;ct, or approaehiiig 

 to any tiling like universal aptitude to .--oil, has yet 

 heen priiniiccd ; and in all circnmstances, the ex- 

 pense of mannres is s:i!l wry great.. 



"The discovery, tliere'tiire, of a process bv 

 which the cereal and other gramineous seeds 

 might he obtained in cxlraortliixary ahnndance,. 

 without the n.se of manures, is ceriainly a great 

 desideratum. Now, this desideratum, however 

 strange it may appear. I have fjood ground.'i fiir 

 I'onchiding 1 have attained. 



" It is now a cutisiilerable time since I liegaw 

 to imagine th.at if the idtnnale principles of which 

 the proxiinaie consiiliients of most of the ifia- 

 mineon.s Seeds are composed, could, by anv pos- 

 sibility, be made so to cnier the sub-stance ol' the 

 seed, and at the same time not to iiijine its vital- 

 ity, ns ihoronghly to imbue its texture with an ex- 

 cess of these principles, the end u oulu be accom- 

 plished ; and it is by doing this, !o a certain ux- 

 teiit, that I am convinced 1 have sncccedcd. 



" In the spring <d' last year(1843) I began some 

 experiments with oats, which were going^on well, 

 vvlieii, towards Ihe end of July, 1 leli llieni nnpro- 

 tect'.-d, and on returning, fom or five weeks alter, 

 fouiul, to my great regret, that my labor was lost, 

 by Ibe de|iredaiioiis of pfmliry and sparrows.. — 

 The stems were alt trodden down, and not a grain 

 left. I have this season, however, taken proper 

 [iiecaiilions, the whole being so secured, that no 

 bird or fowl can get access. 



"The soil in which my seeds were sown li.as 

 had no inannre of any kind, to my certain knowl- 

 edge, tor the last dereii years. 1 have corn in the 

 natural slate, as well as others that have imder- 

 gone the process which 1 use, so that a compari- 

 son of the results can ea.sily be instituted. The 

 results of such a comparison will be lonnd alto- 

 gether surprising. 1 shall be pie|iared loexhibit 

 specimensofvai ioiisgrains, by ditllient proces- 

 ses, on the 8tli of August, in the proper |d;ice.. 



"1 may only further mention that the greater 

 iiiinilier of the steins of the oats are iis thick as 

 small canes, and the leaves (ioiu one inch to one 

 and one-seventh inch in breadih, of a vigiwons 

 dark-green color — that the seed was very light, 

 not exceeding 37 lbs. per bnsliel, and consisted 

 of grains set aside forleediiig poultry — that the 

 average nntnber of stems fiom ihirty-lhree seeds, 

 is eleven and u half or twelve to each seed sown, 

 and the gross apparent produce between five and 

 six hundred Ibid, both of oats and bear.-—! am," 

 &c. 



On the l!>ili of September following, which 

 was only a tew weeks after ihe plants had been 

 c'Xhibiled at the Society's show, Mr. Campbell re- 

 solved to di.-Mdose his process lo the public, and 

 cmnmunicated his intention in these terms, in 

 another letter to the Secretary : — " When in I'Jd- 

 inbnrgh, some lime ago, 1 took the liberty of call- 

 ing at y mil office, in the Highland Society's rooms, 

 w here 1 .saw Mr. M'Donald, and stated to him that 

 I intended to make further comninnications to 

 you n-specting my plan of preparing seeds so ;is 

 to produce superior crops of grain, 



" I have since that time resolved ihat my best 

 way was to make a fiiM disclosure of the process 

 to the three great national agricultural institutions 

 of Great Britain and Irelanil. Willi ibis view I 

 sent a i-oinmunication, on the 8th iiist., to his 

 Giace the Duke of Kiclnnond, who 1 then imag- 

 ined was presideii! of both the Briiish Socielitss ; 

 but his Grace informs me that lie is not now pres- 

 ident of the Royal .Agric.iihural Society of En- 

 -jlanil, and, nut lieiiig able to atten i any of the 

 meeiings at Edinburgh, recoinineiids me to apply 

 10 you, as secretary of the Highland Agricnltnral 

 Society. 1 therefore now take the liberty of maU- 

 mg to you the following commuiiicutiun for the 

 benefit of the agriculiural interest of Scotland. 



"1 steeped the seed* of the various specimens 



exhibited, in sulphate, nitrj.'e, and trinriate of 

 ammonia, in tiilmte of soda .'ud [ oitisli, ai'd in 

 combinatiotis of these, and in all ci.^'-s I'le le.-^nllK 

 were highly favorable. For i-xailiple, seed.- of 

 wheat steeped in sulphate of iinmonia on llic.5ih 

 of July, had, by ;he lOili of .Xngiisi, Ihe last day 

 of the show, tillered into nine, tin, and eleven 

 stems, of nearly e<pial vigor, Hhile seeds ol' the 

 same sample, unprtpfirtil, and .sown at Ihe sanin 

 lime, in the same soil, br.d t>ot lilleieil into more 

 than hco, three, and Jour iieiiiM. 



"i ].i-epi.red the vnr'O'. s mixlnrrs from tin 

 above specified sails exat:tly neinralized, and iIhmi 

 added from eight to tweue iTasines if water. — 

 The time of steepi'i^ v-u ie.l li otii fifty to iiineiy- 

 fonr lioiir.s, al a lemperatuic •:f uooiit oO dcg. Fuli- 

 retiheit. I found, liowi ver, that barley does not 

 ;>tM'ce"d so well if sleepe.'l beyund sixiy hours. 



■' Rye-grass and other giainiueous seeds do 

 Willi steeping from sixtec" t;) Iwenty honr.s, and 

 clovers from ei^iil to ten, but iiol more ; for, lie- 

 ing bi-lobale, they are apt ro s«ell too innchjitid 

 burs!, 



"The \'eiT SHper'tor spnimens of tail oats, nv- 

 eraging 100 grains on each stem, and eight avail- 

 able stems (roni each seed, were pre|iareil from 

 sulphate of ammonia. Tl e specimens of barley 

 and bear were prepared fri'in nitrate of amnionic; 

 the former had an average f f t':n available stems, 

 and each stem an average of thirty-four grains 

 in the ear ; and the latter an average of also ten 

 av.-iilable stems, with sevi nt_\-lwo grainn in the 

 ear. 



" Tlie oilier specimens of nats which were next 

 the most prolific, were from muriate of aniinoiiia, 

 and ihe promisciioiis s|ieciiiiens of oals were 

 I'lom niiiaie of soda and pot.-'sh — strong, niiiiicr- 

 ons in stems, {some having not h-ss iIkiu fifty- 

 two.) and not so tall as eiiher the prep:iration3 

 from the sulphate or miiriale of amnioiiia. 



"It was objected by some l! at the tallest oats 

 were too lanii, and woiiM break down belbre 

 coming to sect!, lint 1 have no fear of that, as 

 they were sirong in proportion lo their height ; 

 and should triere even be any ground for the ob- 

 jection, I am confident that a combination of snl- 

 pliHles of ammonia and soda, or potash, would 

 rectifv the excess of height, and render the grain 

 equally prodnctivi-. 



•• I have at present a series of experimenls go- 

 ing on in the country, with sends prepared in 

 sevsu difte.rent ways, and sown in pure sand, and 

 in a lilly subsoil taken six feet from under the 

 surface, and in which there is no humus or or- 

 ganic matter of any kin.!. Along with the pre- 

 pared seeds are also some xmprepnred, and I ex- 

 pect to be able to form a coinparative esliiriute 

 of their growih by visiting the place in October. 



" .\l all events, from the (experiments which I 

 have already tried, I inn tpiite satisfied that, even 

 wiihoiil the a|)plicalion of common manures, doii- 

 lile crops, at least, may thus be raised ; and under 

 the application of ordinary manures, crops /en- 

 _/bW greater than usual. 



" The various salts were prepared by ine from 

 their carbonates. — 1 am," i^c. 



The results observed on inspecting the progress 

 of the ex|)eriine!ils with i-rcpared and unpre- 

 pared seed.s, the inteniion of inspecting which in 

 Oilolier, was intioialed in llie above letter, are 

 thus described in a subseipient letter to the Sec- 

 tary, dated Seminarie.-i, Dundee, 16th of Novem- 

 ber, 1843: — " I should before this time have giv- 

 en yon, as I believe I sometime ago purposed to 

 do, an account of Ihe state in wliich I (oiind tbn 

 vegetation of prepared .seeds whiidi I menlioned 

 I hail sown about the miihlle of last August. 



" 1 visited ibe place on the 12th of October, 

 and found, to my great satisfaction, that the plums 

 from prepared seeds excelled, in u very marked 

 degree, those from seeds sown along-side of them, 

 but unprepared. The fiirmer bad from _^re to 

 C'f^hl stems, while the latter had not more llian 

 two or three from each I'etiA, and this in an exposed 

 situation, and among earth which was taken 

 from a considerable depth under the surface, — 

 about eight feet — a kind of reddish till, rather 

 adhesive, atnl not in the least pulverized liy the 

 influence of the atmosphere : and situate in Kin- 

 ross-Bliire, about 400 feet above the sea. 



" Th*- season of the year was of course, not ihe 

 most liivorable, but the contrast was striking. — I 

 am," &.C. 



.Mr. Campbell's sanction, obtained by n|)plirn- 

 lion of the Secretary, lo give publicity lo his pro- 



