10 



KEW ENGLAND FARMER 



.TXJLY 



1-* 



General Remarks- , crops — abcut 3 1-3 quarters of wheat and between . besides tlie carriage of the tiles, tliat is only 51. per 



All claims for premiums to be awarded on the 5 and 6 quarters of oats per acre. A similar course ' acre. Ot the 6 acres which had bem subsoil plough- 

 day of e.xbibition, must be entered with the Secve- , «"J3 pursued, with variations, till within a few years ■ ed, 2 were drilled with Chevalier barle/ and 4 with 

 tary of the Society or ills agent, on or before t> o'- ] when rye-grass and clover were sown witli the last .Tartarian oat^. Red and white clover, rye grass, 



clock, A. M. of that day 



All other claims for premiums must be handed 

 or forwarded to the secretary in writing. 



All prrmiums awarded, the pMynieiit of which is 

 not demanded of the treasurer within one year from 

 the day nf e.-ihibilion, will be considered as given 

 to increase the funds of the Society. 



No animal, for which a premium has lierctofore 

 teen awarded by this Society, will be entitled to 

 another premium, unless it be of a higher order, 

 and for qualities different from those for which the 

 former premiums were awarded. 



No person will be entitled to receive a premium 

 unless he complies with the conditions on which 

 the premiums are offered, and gives notice as re- 

 quired, of his intention to claim the same. 



In regard to all subjects for which premmms are 

 offered, it is to be distinctly understood, that the 

 trustees reserve to tliemselves the right of judging 

 of the quality of the animal or article offered; and 

 that no premiums will be awarded, unless the ob- 

 jects of them are of decidedly superior quality. 

 By order of the Trustees, 



J. W. PROCTOR, Sec'ry. 



From the .Tournal of the English Agricultural Society. 



E X P E R I JVI E N T S 



On the Improvi-ment of poor lands by Stibsoil phiigli- 

 ins;, both witli and without Undenlrmning. By 

 the Rev. W. L. Rh.vm, Vicar of Winkfield. 

 To the Secretary of the English JigrUulturul Society : 



Sir, — .As it is of more importance to the progress 

 of agriculture to have well-authenticated facts and 

 accurate details of different modes of cultivation, 

 than mere theoretical speculations, I venture to lay 

 before the English Agricultural Society the result 

 of two experiments, made with considerable atten- 

 tion to every circumstance whicli might influence 

 the result. 



1. The first which I shall mention may be found 

 interesting at this inoment in consequence of i:s 

 throwing some light on the use of the subsoil plough, 

 which, although by no means a new invention, has 

 lately been strongly recommended on particular 

 soils, not without some discussions as to its merits, 

 and doubts of its general usefulness. 



The field which was the subject of the e.\peri- 

 nient was once a portion of the open common in the 

 forest of Windsor, and brought into cultivation soon 

 after the inclosure of the fiirest in 1813. Its soil 

 consisted of a very moderate loam, inclined to yel- 

 low clay, only a few inches in depth; the subsoil 

 chiefly a stiff clay, but with occasional portions of 

 a very gravelly loam, nearly impervious to water. 

 The surface is slightly undulated, and sufficiently 

 inclined to let off the surface-water by means of 

 open drains. It was first brought into cultivation 

 by paring and burning the surfuce ; and no very 

 regular rotation of crops was followed. The first 

 crop was turnips, broadcast; a very good crop, in 

 consequence of the ashes. After this had been fed 

 off by sheep, came oats ; a good crop. It was then 

 chalked, at the rate of about 15 tumbrel loads to 

 the acre, and manured with good dung, IJ tumbrels 

 . per acre. After this, part of the field was planted 

 with potatoes, part with beans, and part with pens, 

 as experiments ; Ihe crops were moderate. The 

 next crops were half wheat and half oats ; fair 



vhen 



crop. The grasses were mown twice for hay the | and other grass seeds, wore sown after the land 



field was pas- | had been harrowed, and the surface was rolled. 

 I The season being moist, the clover grew very rap- 

 idly, and the barley sufl'ered in consecjoence. The 

 crop, notwithstanding, was fair, reckoned at about 

 4 1-2 quarters to the acre ; which is more than is 

 usually grown in the neighburhood. Had there 

 been no clover, C quarters might have been fairly 

 expected from the length of the straw and ears. 

 'J'lie Tartarian oats kept down the clover. The 

 straw rose above a man's brad, and the crop was 

 very heavy. It is not threshed out, but we esti- 

 mate it at S> quarters to the acre. From the yield 

 of a small portion threshed, I have reason to think 

 it will exceed this. The field is now (Dec. 21st) 

 after all the rain which has fallen in autumn, as 

 dry and sound as any pasture I have. My cows 

 and horses liave been occasionally turned into the 

 field without making any impression; and the old 

 water furrows, which were dug out by my men, 

 from habit, are quite dry, with fine clover in the 

 bottom of them. 



The conclusion to be drawn from this experi- 

 ment is important, as it shows that, wherever the 

 subsoil is retentive of moisture, complete under- 

 draining is essential ; and that the subsoil plough 

 should never be used until the water can run off 

 below. It also shows what an improvement is made 

 on moderate land by the union of draining and 

 subsoil ploughing. The cost is nothing when com- 

 pared to the result. The 50/. I laid out on this 

 field, I consider as the most profitable investment 

 I ever made. The 4 acres which were not subsoil- 

 ploughed are in artificial grass: as soon as the 

 field is again broken up, which will be in two or 

 three years, this portion shall also have the benefit 

 of the subsoil plough. 



[The other experiment will be given in our next] 



next year. 'I he two next years th 

 tured, chiefly with sheep. 



This I consider to have completed the prepara- 

 tory cultivation ; and the field, when broken up, 

 showed a manifest improvement in the depth, col- 

 or, and texture of the soil. After that it bore beans 

 and wheat. It was then fallowed, in order to clear 

 it of the coarse natural grasses which, in spite of 

 all this ciillivation, had not been entirely eradicat- 

 ed, and also of a considerable portion of couch 

 grass (Triticum repens,) which had increased in 

 the soil. Six acres of the field were subsoil-plough- 

 ed, early in 1838, to the depth of 14 or 15 inches, 

 by means of the Rackheatli-plough, made by Messrs 

 Ransome & Co., at Ip.swich. A common swing- 

 plough (the only plough 1 ever use,) with two hor- 

 ses abreast, first made a furrow of about G inches 

 deep. Not having a large team, I had several such 

 furrows opened, and then the two horses, and two 

 more who had been carting manure while the other 

 pair was ploughing, were yoked to the Rackhenth 

 plough, which stirred the subsoil 9 or 10 inches 

 deep. The common plough after that filled up the 

 furrows. Thus somewhat less than half an acre a 

 day was subsoil-ploughed with 4 horses, the weath- 

 er being very favorable. The land was now ma- 

 nured with 10 cartloads of yard dung to the acre: 

 one acre was planted with potatoes ; in another 

 acre, mangold-wurtzel seed was drilled in rows 18 

 inches apart; two acres were sown with Swedish 

 turnips, and two acres with red tankard turnips. — 

 The mangold-wurtzel was either taken off early by 

 the fly, or failed ; and turnip seed was drilled over 

 it. The Swedes were also sown a second time. 

 Before Christmas there was a very good appearance 

 of Swedes and turnips, which had been properly 

 hoed two or three times and were clean. I con- 

 gratulated myself on the result of the experiment, 

 and began to feed off the turnips with sheep, draw- 

 ing a portion for the cows at home. The winter 

 was •^vet, and I was soon obliged to remove the 

 sheep. The ground became too hollow to bear 

 the cart wheels and the tread of the horses; and I 

 began to regret having loosened the subsoil, which 

 now held wet like a sponge. I had never thought 

 that the field reiiuired underdraining. The water 

 always ran off by the open drains before it was sub- 

 soil ploughed ; I might, therefore, very naturally 

 have concluded that the subsoil plough had now 

 ruined my land. The turnips were now eaten oft' 

 or carted home till late in spring; and perhaps I 

 shoulil have lost the use of them altogether, or 

 spoiled my land by cutting it up, if I had not de- 

 termined on an effectual remedy. 



I immediately ordered 18,000 draining tiles, 

 which fortunately 1 procured from different kilns in 

 the neighborhood : they were the footed tiles. T)ie 

 common size cost 2 guineas a thousand, besides 

 carriage; they were 13 inches long; those for the 

 main drains cost 3 guineas a thousand, G inches in 

 diameter, but only 12 inches long. I laid out the 

 drains .30 feet apart; the common drains 2G inches 

 deep, the main dr.iins 30 inches. An immense vol- 

 ume of water ran out of the drains before the tiles 

 were put in ; and in a short time after they were 

 filled up, my she( p relurned to the fold, and my 

 cart took the daily .■■■upply of turnips for the cows. 

 The whole field was underdrained at a cost of 50/., 



For the New England Farmer. 



BUTTER AGAIN. 



IMr Coljian — In my first letter on butter, I omit- 

 ted to state that much of that celebrated butter of 

 Holland is made from new milk; and that the but- 

 termilk remaining is a very good food — much bet- 

 ter than that proceeding from cream churning. I 

 know not whether any of our farmers adopt this 

 process ; or if they do, what improvements they 

 have made on the practice of the Dutch ; and I 

 should not be astonished to learn that they had 

 really " beaten the Dutch." 



The superior quality of Dutch butter is attribu- 

 ted by some persons to the salt which they use: — 

 they make a secret of the preparation of their salt 

 It is certain that their butter has very little of the 

 taste of salt in the sense that ours has. Their 

 secret consists, probably, in diminishing that acrid 

 taste which proceeds from the muriate and sulphate 

 of magnesia. 



For the want of positive knowledge, I will now 

 indulge in my own speculations, which may go for 

 what liiey are worth. 



I can easily imagine that the rich strippings from 

 the cows may be churned with more ease than 

 common milk. Now let us suppose that some of 

 our experimental farmers, with some knowledge of 

 chemistry, could find the means of stripping the 



