VOL. \IV. NO. 5. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGIS I ER. 



3d 



inij water and air to pass among t!ie soil at a coii- 

 Kiderable dnpth in the fjround would, to a ceitaiu 

 degree, produce that effect upon solid clay of con- 

 verting it purlinlly into soil ? — T tliiuli it would. 



.Mr L:tch. W hilt was the nature of that soil 

 whicli you said was cuvercd with bent before yuu 

 ploughed it up? — A great part of it I did not think 

 worth more than .'is. an acre. 



In consequence of what you have done to it, 

 what is it worth now ? — I consider Uiat it is worth 

 2^ an acre to any farmer. 



What was the course of cropping that you adopt- 

 ed in the improvement of land ? — At first I was 

 rather undecided with regard to the rotation I 

 should follow, till fro:n observation I formed a judg- 

 ment what was the best course. The mode of ro- 

 tation 1 generally followed was this : I drain al- 

 ways, if possible, in the lay or grass, because by 

 draining in tlie lay the worls is more neatly done ; 

 then having completed the drains, I take a crop of 

 oats tlie ne.\t year. Upon the greater part of that 

 farm I have been obliged to plough very shallow 

 furrows for the first crop, because there was not 

 more than three or four inches of soil that I dared 

 turn up ; then I took a crop of oats, and upon soine 

 of the fields I had not more than from 24 to 30 

 bushels of oats. After the separation of that first 

 crop from the ground, I applied the subsoil plough. 

 Then I gave it another ploughing, and had a green 

 crop; potatoes upon some parts and turnips upon 

 others. 



Could you have attempted any of those crops 

 previous to the subsoil ploughing? — Not to advan- 

 tage. 



How long had it been in grass before you turned 

 it up ? — Some of it 15 years. 



Wliat is the next crop after the turnips and po- 

 tatoes ? — I then lay down what I have had in po- 

 tatoes with wheat ; I sow wheat in the end of the 

 season, as soon as I can get the potatoes up ; what 

 I have had in turnips I grow barley upon in the 

 spring, and [ sow grass seeds upon both. 



You could not have attempted barley upon that 

 soil before? — Not with any success, and not wheat, 

 because the land was so full of moistuie that it 

 honey -combed by frost, and so threw out the plants. 

 There was one field especially, after a very severe 

 winter, and with a frost, there was sometimes a 

 space of 20 or 30 square yards from which every 

 plant or vegetable had been thrown, not a bit of 

 grass remaining upon it. 



Afler the wheat what do you take ? — I sow grass 

 and barley. 



Do you cut the grass for hay ? — Some : the oth- 

 er is pastured from the beginning. 



What is the nature of the grass it produces? — 

 Very good, and very heavy crops of hay ; I have 

 generally about 300 slone, which is about three 

 tons per acre. 



Do you think that any improvement is likely to 

 be so valuable for general purposes as frequent 

 draining and subsoil ploughing for strong land? — 

 None. 



That, you think, is the most important thing for 

 general purposes of farming that you are acquaint- 

 ed with ? — Decidedly. 



And applicable to more qualities of soil than any 

 thing else ? — Applicable, I should say, to all quali- 

 ties of subsoil. 



And equally applicable to England as to Scot- 

 land ? — Equally so, and very much wanted. I 

 have a friend who has made an experiment under 



my directions in Cheshire, upon very stiil"land, Mr 

 Barton ; it is the most thorougli brick clay I ever 

 saw; an extremely sterile farm in its original state. 

 Mr nartou has been couijj'etely successful ; he has 

 thoroughly drained the ground and subsoil plough- 

 ed, and it is now laid down without furrows, and I 

 there saw a large field of this exlrciuely stiff clay 

 with a beautiful seed surface upon it. 



jVr Dcnison. Do you think that it is applicable 

 ti- a soil wliere there is a bad gravelly substratum ? 

 — 1 think so; I think any substratum, if it is ex- 

 posed to the atmosphere for a sullicient length of 

 time, will become fertile. In the most barren 

 country, if you see where a ditch has been dug, on 

 the soil whicli has been thrown up, you will gen- 

 erally find a richer verdure and strong weeds grow- 

 ing. 



fV kite's 'Iccounl of Draining on SiniWs Plan. 



MAIN DRAIN. 



^ j Turf laid on ifie clones. 



Broken gtonfi*. 



Stones laid on their edge. 



6In 



SMALL F, R DRAINS^ 

 12 In 



^ ^^ ^r!rg Tui T laid on the ston- e. 



Broken stones. 



Stenes laid on iheir edge. 



The main or leading drains are cut 3 feet deep, 

 15 inches wide at the top, taper to C inches at the 

 bottom, and filled up with stone from 15 to 18 in- 



ches. The smaller drains, leading into the main, 

 are 2 feet G inches deep, 12 inches wide at the top, 

 taper to 3 inches at the bottom, and filled wild 

 stone 13 inches, with turf upon tlie stone. The 

 stone is first placed on edge, about C or 7 inches, 

 and the remaining jiart covered with stone broken 

 to 2 1-2 inches ; a section of these drains is given: 

 the drains are parallel to each other. The subsoil 

 varies much ; the price for cutting the whole, break- 

 ing the stones and filling, has invariably been Id 

 per yard ; some part has worked belter than others, 

 and, upon the whole, I think the work cannot be 

 done for less. With regard to the distance be- 

 tween the drains, in this part, the work must be 

 put out according to circumstances, which requires 

 much attention, as great e.xpensc might unnecessa- 

 rily be incurred, or the object fail. When the 

 land is ready for the operation of the subsoil plouglj, 

 a man with a pair of horses turns out the first fur- 

 row from 10 to 12 inches wide ; then f dlows the 

 subsoil plough to the depth of 14 inches, taking 

 care not to stir the turf covering the stones in the 

 drains; it is worked at right angles of the drains, 

 and drawn by six horses, two and two abreast. The 

 plough is drawn from an axletree, with double 

 shafts and low wheels ; the horses draw perfectly 

 even, and by this mode it is no more than ordinary 

 work. 



GAPES IN CHICKENS. 



A correspondent of the Albany Cultivator gives 

 the following remedy for the gapes in chickens : 



" Remove the worms out of the windpipe and 

 they will get well. This can be done with safety 

 and facility after a little practice, in the following 

 manner. Let some one take the chicken, holding 

 its legs in one hand and placing the other over its 

 back, so as to hold it firm ; then let the operator 

 take a small hen's feather or a large pigeon's feath- 

 er, and strip off the feather from the stem except- 

 ing about an inch or inch and a half from the tip 

 end, according to the size of the chicken ; wet it n 

 little, and strip that part back so that what remains 

 on the stem will stand back like the barbs on an 

 arrow, excepting the extreme point, which roll a 

 little so as to make a point ; then let the operator 

 take the head of the chicken in his left hand, plac- 

 ing his thumb and forefinger on each side of the 

 bill, in such a manner as to hold the mouth opei;, 

 the neck gently but firmly drawn out in a straight 

 line ; then observe the opening back in the tongue, 

 place the feather as near to it as possible, and 

 when the chicken breathes, the windpipe will be 

 open, enter the point quick, and fear not after the 

 point is entered; push down gently from two to 

 three inches, (don't be in too much of a hurry,) then 

 draw out, and turn the feather as it is drawn, and 

 the worms will adhere to the feather, and others 

 will be loosened, and the chicken will sneeze them 

 up frequently, so that they will fly out of their 

 mouths. It is not advisable to enter the feather 

 more than twice at one time ; let the chicken go, 

 and if it gapes the day after, you have not got them 

 \ all ; try again. This is a sure cure if attended to ; 

 generally you need not perform the operation more 

 than once, but sometimes oftener. The greater 

 part of my chickens, over one hundred in number, 

 have had the disease, and I have lost but one. I 

 have taken out as many as eleven worms at one 

 haul." 



In scalding hogs, dip them in cold water before 

 hot, and the bristles will come out easier. 



