276 



Capital 



Magnesian Limestone. 



Vol. V. 



very fully attended. The animals had greatly 

 improved by means of these anniversary 

 shows, and were indeed most excellent. 



10. Bowen and South Lincoln Agricultu- 

 ral shows. On this occasion a very hand- 

 some silver cup was awarded to the son of a 

 farmer, a premium for the best ploughing. 

 The stock of all kinds was very superior. 



11. Warwickshire Tenth Anniversary of 

 Agricultural Society. The show of Here- 

 fords and long-horns, for which this exhibi- 

 tion is very famous, was particularly fine, and 

 commanded universal admiration. 



12. Abingdon Agricultural Association. 

 The object of the Society being the encour- 

 agement of labourers in husbandry, the 

 ploughing-matches were executed in a mas- 

 terly style, and were proofs of the practical 

 utility of the Institution. 



Capital. 



There is no mistake more common nor 

 more injurious, than that of supposing that 

 the more land a man holds, the greater must 

 be his profits, for the profit does not arise 

 from the land itself, but from the manner of 

 using it ; for the best soil may be made un- 

 productive by bad management, while the 

 worst may be rendered profitable by the op- 

 posite course ; but without sufficient capital 

 no land can be properly cultivated ; at the 

 same time, there is nothing to which capital 

 can be applied with greater certainty of a 

 fair return for liberal expenditure, when cor- 

 rectly employed, than land. In fact, assum- 

 ing always that the expenditure be directed 

 with judgment, it will be found that the pro- 

 fit upon the outlay increases in more than a 

 proportionate degree to its amount; thus, 

 supposing twenty-five dollars be the lowest, 

 and fifty the highest sum that can be em- 

 ployed in the common culture of the same 

 acre of land, it is more than probable that if 

 twenty-five dollars return at the rate of ten 

 per cent., the fifty dollars will yield twenty, 

 or any intermediate sum, at the same pro- 

 gressive ratio. And admitting this to be true 

 — and it is presumed no experienced agricul- 

 turist will doubt it — it follows, that a capital 

 of 5,000 dollars, expended in the cultivation 

 of 200 acres, will only yield a profit of 500 

 dollars, while, if applied to no more than 100 

 acres, it would produce 1,000 dollars ; there- 

 fore, it is evident that his profit would be in- 

 creased by diminishing the quantity of his 

 land. Many a man has been ruined by a 

 large farm, who might have acquired a com- 

 petency with one of half the size. Most 

 farmers are anxious for large occupations, and 

 many are thus betrayed into the error of tak- 

 ing a greater quantity of ground than they 



have the means of managing to advantage ; 

 some, in the delusive hope of acquiring those 

 means by future savings; others, from the 

 vanity of holding more land than their neigh- 

 bours : hence arises deficiency of stock, imper- 

 fect tillage, and scanty crops, with all the con- 

 sequent train of rent in arrear, wages ill-paid, 

 and debts unsatisfied — distress, duns, and 

 final ruin ! While he, who prudently com- 

 mences, with only such a number of acres as 

 he has the power of cultivating with proper 

 effect, is certain of obtaining the full return 

 from the soil, and not being burdened with 

 more land than he can profitably enjoy, his 

 engagements are within his means; and thus, 

 while enjoying present ease of mind, he lays 

 the surest foundation for future prosperity. 

 It therefore behoves a man to weigh well the 

 charges with his means, and never allow 

 himself to be seduced by any ideal prospect 

 of gain, into the imprudence of entering upon 

 a larger farm than his property will enable 

 him to manage with the spirit necessary to 

 insure success. — British Husbandry. 



Magnesian Limestone. 



It had been long known to farmers in the 

 neighbourhood of IDoncaster (England), that 

 lime, made from a certain stone and applied 

 to land, often injured the crops considerably. 

 Mr. Tennant, in making a set of experiments 

 upon this peculiar calcareous substance, found 

 that it contained magnesia, and on mixing 

 some calcined magnesia with soil in which 

 he sowed different seeds, he found that they 

 either died, or vegetated in a very imperfect 

 manner, and the plants were never healthy; 

 and with great justice and ingenuity he re- 

 ferred the bad effects of this peculiar lime- 

 stone to the magnesian earth it contained. 

 Yet it is advantageously employed in small 

 quantities, seldom more than 25 or 30 bushels 

 per acre. A. simple test of magnesia in lime- 

 stone is the circumstance of its effervescing 

 little when plunged into an acid, and its ren- 

 dering diluted nitric acid, or aquafortis, milky. 

 Stones of this kind are usually coloured, 

 brown or pale yellow, and are found in seve- 

 ral counties of England, and in many parts 

 of Ireland. With regard to the quantity of 

 lime that ought to be applied to different soils, 

 clays are thought generally to require a larger 

 quantity than sand or dry loam ; but these 

 must be well drained before the application. 

 It has been applied in almost every quantity, 

 from one hundred to five hundred bushels per 

 acre — but one hundred and si.xty to light 

 lands, and eighty or one hundred bushels 

 more to heavy, cohesive soils, may be consid- 

 ered a full dressing. — General Report of 

 Scotland. 



