C. HKEX CUOl'S.l 



I\I()UEKN ENGLISH FARMING. 



[OUEES CHOPS. 



coprolites was to be obtained at a common 

 rer.t ; nnd there were munuro iimimructurera 

 pnpiirod to pay lor tlio information ; but Mr. | 

 Ilenalow " did not consiilor 8ucl» a course i 

 consistent with his position as a uiuu of; 

 science and a clerfjyinan,"" Jlo was rciiuestcd 

 by Mv. Potter to keep silent I'or some months 

 upon tlio subject, as that gentleman " wiulied 

 to have the chance of availing himself of the 

 discovery." Accordingly, he sent the results 

 of his investigation to jNIr. J. B. Lawes, who 

 made the superphosphate, obtained iVom copro- 

 lites, the subject of a patent, which he, how- 

 ever, was not ablo to maintain. After this, 

 beds of coprolites were discovered in Hamp- 

 shire, Cambridgeshire, and Dorsetshire ; and 

 further investigations ia Norway put Mr. 

 Lawes in the exclusive possession of large 

 beds of a mineral called apatite, rich in 

 phosphates; of which he began to import 

 whole cargoes, for his manufactory at Bow, 

 near the English metropolis. The super- 

 phosphate of lime, however, produced from 

 fossils, being much less soluble than those 

 which are obtained from fresh bones, can 

 only be applied when mixed iu moderate 

 proportions with the latter. 



GREEN CROPS. 



One of the best essays ever read oa a 

 matter of agricultural art, was delivered by 

 Mr. J. K. Fowler, of Aylesbury, at the 

 Midland Earmers' Club ; the chairman, 

 Viscount Sandon, very justly praising it as 

 •• quite a model paper, full of facts." ifarmers 

 are, on most occasions, twitted with their 

 delight in '* talking turnips," and the subject 

 of Mr. Eovvler's paper was the congenial one 

 of growing green crops. Although tabular 

 statistics and elaborate calculations were kept 

 iu the background, still Mr. Eowler, in his 

 practical little treatise, has embodied as much 

 sound information as experts in other 

 branches of industry contrive to compress into 

 their literary efforts. But we will not follow 

 the thread of Mr. Eowier'a diicou;ae throusrls 



the details of preparing seed-beds, sowing, 

 weeding, utilising winter and spring vetclies, 

 rye, w inter oals, trilolium, incarnalum, lucerne, 

 rape, white mu:«tard, and oilier crops, clasaod 

 as green food for the summer and early autumn 

 mouths. Neither is it necessary lor ua to 

 describe his production and treatment' of the 

 various kinds of turnips, SwedcH, Kohl liabi, 

 cabbage, and mangold- wurzel, chissed as food 

 for winter and early spring. The Biinple 

 mention of this diversified list of subjects will 

 show the wide range of agricultural produce 

 treated of iu a well-handled paper, on one single 

 but important branch of the business of the 

 farmer. Mr. Fowler's opening remark, how- 

 ever, merits attention. Very naturally allud- 

 ing to the importance of maintaining the 

 supply of animal food, he observed that the 

 great point for consideration was, how to raise 

 the largest quantity of vegetable produce for 

 feeding the live stock, not upon grass farms, 

 but upon arable or mixed farms ? He believed 

 that more stock and meat might be produced, 

 acre for acre, on arable than on grass land ; 

 and, in discussing the subject, one gentleman 

 observed — "He was glad to hear that Mr. 

 Fowler thought the growth of green crops the 

 foundation of British farming, because many 

 of the farmers of the midland counties were 

 disposed to place that fouudation upon the 

 plan of consuming a vast amount of corn by 

 their cattle. This was like beginning to build 

 a house with the chimney-pot. If, by the 

 purchase of four shillings' worth of superphos- 

 phate of lime, Peruvian guano, or other arti- 

 ficial manure, they produced one ton of roots 

 (which he held they could), and that tou was 

 worth nine shillings by their stock, then the 

 raising of their green crops must ever be the 

 foundation of agricultural progress and im- 

 provement." 



In concluding this division, we must ac- 

 knowledge our great obligations to several 

 articles in the Quarterly Rfvieio, which show a 

 mastery in the treatment of agricultural sub- 

 jects, highly cre«^table to that periodical. 



