64 



Asricullural Societies. — Bran as a Manure. 



Vol. VL 



For the Fanners' Cabinet. 



Agricultural Societies. 



Mr. Editor, — Permit me to copy from an 

 Eniilisli papi'r, part of a speech delivered be- 

 fore the lloyal Agricultural Society, at Liver- 

 pool, the latter end of July, by Smith of 

 Deanston. .Many of his remarks arc admira- 

 bly adapted to our latitude; and on the eve 

 of our own Exhibition, which takes place on 

 the 29th and ;30th of the present month, would 

 seem to be perfectly in season: I augur the 

 best effects from these periodical gratherings 

 of our practical men, and fancy that 1 see 

 around me the beneficial results the whole 

 year after. From what I learn, a very large 

 and interesting meeting might be expected. 



D. of C. 



" Ei'ery farmer well knew there was no- 

 thing so profitable in agriculture as the con- 

 sumption of his own produce at his own door 

 and on his own soil, and the same principle 

 which was good in small things, would also 

 hold good in larger. It was to the advantage 

 of the farmer that the grain he required 

 should be produced on his own land, and 

 there consumed ; and it was equally benefi- 

 cial that the manufacturer should have his 

 manufactures consumed in his own country, 

 leaving its enriching influence on the ground. 

 This country had been able to bid defiance to 

 the cheap labour of all other countries on the 

 earth — and so she would continue. It was 

 clear, that in order to have bread cheaper, 

 the best mode is, to produce a greater quan- 

 tity — because the more is produced, the 

 cheaper will it be to the consumer, and the 

 greater will be the quantity consumed. 



" He would urge upon the society, not to 

 di-scourage persons who came forward with 

 what they might consider improvements, nor 

 to bo too hasty in rejecting such as were of- 

 fered to their notice: he had frequently seen 

 thintrs offered to the notice of societies, which 

 at first appeared exceedingly absurd, but in 

 the end turned out to be really the germs of 

 the greatest improvements.' At the same 

 time, he would advise competitors, if at first 

 their implements were not noticed as they 

 mif^ht imagine they deserved, not to be dis- 

 couraged, but to persevere, and eventually 

 they might depend on success. In taking a 

 survey of the country, and especially of the 

 eurrotmding neighbourhood, there was, it must 

 be confessed, great room for improvement; 

 but that meeting would doubtless sow good 

 seed, and in due time an abundant harvest 

 would be realized. In his opinion, there was 

 no principle so well calculated for producing 

 improvements as the itineratimr principle — 

 it excited a spirit of inquiry, and by converse 

 with others it improved men's minds; and by 

 competition, faculties were brought into ex- 



ercise which would otherwise have lain dor- 

 mant. It was for this reason, therefore, that 

 he approved of such meetings as the present, 

 its ploughing watches and other modes of 

 competition amongst farmers and their ser- 

 vants, which were the means of incalculable 

 good throughout the country. He had had 

 the good fortune to bring forward some im- 

 plements on the present and other occasions, 

 (the Deanston Plough, &c.) and if his life 

 was spared, he hoped on future occasions to 

 exhibit still farther improvements." 



Brail as a Manure. 



I AM desirous of calling the attention of 

 your readers to the consideration of bran (the 

 husk of wheat) as a manure, not only for tur- 

 nips, but also for wheat and grass. The great 

 facility that every farmer has of obtaining it 

 from his neighbouring miller, and its cheap- 

 ness, warrant their trying a series of experi- 

 ments in drilling it with turnips and wheat, 

 and putting it over their grass lands as a top- 

 dressing. Experiments have been tried, but 

 not extensively enough to warrant its being 

 said how much is saved in expense, and what 

 quantities per acre ought to be used to ren- 

 der the best return. It is ta this point that 

 I wish attention to be directed, and as Sir 

 Humphry Davy in his "Elements of Agricul- 

 tural Chemistry" writes — " Nothing is more 

 wanting in agriculture, than experiments in 

 which all the circumstances are minutely and 

 scientifically detailed" — would some of your 

 readers assist this object, and drill a small 

 portion in each of their fields of wheat and 

 turnips, with bran in quantities from 3 to 6 

 cwt. per acre, and report the result in your 

 paper. 



The following extracts from Liebig, would 

 leave, in theory, bran to be at once the cheap- 

 est and best manure that could be employed : 



" Phosphate of magnesia, in combination 

 with ainmonia, is an invariable constituent 

 of the seeds in all grasses. The bran of flour 

 contains the greatest quantity of it. 



"The perfect development of a plant ac- 

 cording to this view, is dependent on the pre- 

 sence of alkalies or alkaline earths; for when 

 these substances are totally wanting, its 

 growth will be arrested, and when they are 

 only deficient, it must be impeded. 



" So likewise none of our corn plants can 

 bear perfect seeds, that is, seeds yielding 

 flour, without a large supply of phosphate of 

 magnesia and ammonia; substances which 

 they require for their maturity. 



" It is the greatest possible mistake to sup- 

 pose lliat the temporary diminution of fertility 

 in a soil is owing to the loss of humus — it is 

 the mere consequence of the exhaustion of 

 the alkalies." — Mark-lane Express. 



