318 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 5 



I have highly manured. I commenced farming 

 by dividirin; into five fields. I planted one in com, 

 and prepared a fallow, on both ol" which I sowed 

 wheat, clover seed in the sprint? on my fallow, and 

 strewed plaster the two succeeding springs. I 

 most, generally prepared a tallow of one of" my 

 clover fields, two or three times perhaps of a stub- 

 ble field. I had continued this course lor fifteen 

 years, and had strewed each field four times with 

 gypsum befijre I began to perceive a diminution 

 in my crop of wheat, and it attracted my particu- 

 lar attention. The wheat come up well, and 

 promised a good crop m the spring; but the stalk 

 shot up spindling, the blade died prematurely, the 

 head was short, and the wheat defective when cut. 

 My system had become, from long practice, easy 

 and fiimiliar. It was not costly. It had been very 

 profitable, and was not lightly abandoned; but as 

 I thought, and still think, fi'om the proof of expe- 

 rience, not until the good effect of gypsum had 

 ceased. I am drawing marl at the expense of .^12 

 per week, and if gypsum would act on my lands, 

 with its former effect, I should be pleased to save 

 the cost and trouble. The experience which Mr. 

 Peyton refers to, in Eastern Virginia, is entitled to 

 much respect; but I do not attach much importance 

 to that of Pennsylvania. I liave a personal know- 

 ledge, that on most of the wheat-growing lands 

 there, in addition 1o gypsum, they use lime liberal- 

 ly, and do not neglect putrescent manures; and I 

 have understood, that in Western Virginia, m farm- 

 ing, Pennsylvania habits prevail; audit will be re- 

 collected, that the proposition I stated was, that a 

 long and continued course of clover and gypsum, 

 unaided by other manures, would prove injurious 

 to the wheat crop. 



Mr. Peyton apprehends that my doctrines are 

 calculated to do mischief: if they be so, I have 

 fallen into a great error. My intention was to do 

 good. 1 feel a deep interest in the agricultural 

 prosperity of the country. The old aristocracy is 

 generally worn out, both in fortune and intellect, and 

 i deem it most important, that a solid, substantial, 

 and enlightened class of agriculturists should be 

 raised up, who may serve to check the inordinate 

 spirit of schemers, gamblers, and speculators; forit 

 IS a fact, as lamentable as true, that ev^en in this 

 land of liberty and equality, few men, however 

 iiigh their morals and intellectual faculties, can at- 

 tain and exert their proper influence in society, if 

 clogged with poverty. 



#^*# #***#* 



From tlie Slirewsbury, CEug.) Chronicle. 

 IMPLEMKNT FOR MILKING COWS. 



We were much interested laielv in attending a 

 meeting at W'ithington, near li^ltoxeter, of far- 

 mers and others, convened by William Blurton, 

 Esq., of Field-hall, for the purpose of exhibiting 

 and explaining an invention of his, for milking 

 cows. JNlr. Blurton is already known as the au- 

 thor of several useful inventions connected with 

 liirmingand dairy pursuits : for one of which, "the 

 swing cheese fi-ame," he received a medal from 

 the Society of Arts. On the present occasion, a 

 numerous and very respectable party, from various 

 districts of the county, and even from Shropshire 

 and Derbyshire attended. An excellent and sub- 

 stantial dinner was served up soon after one 



o'clock, at the Sadler's Arms. Mr. Blurton pre- 

 sided at one table, and Mr. Hamp, of Walton- 

 upon-Trent, at the other. After dinner, Mr. Blur- 

 ton exhibited the "milking syphon," for which he 

 has obtained a patent. It is a small metal tube, 

 with a syphon at the lower end, and on its intro- 

 duction into the teats of the cow, the milk flows 

 freely out of the udder, without any manual labor. 

 Mr. Blurton spoke in aver}' modest and becoming 

 manner of his invention, wishing its utility to be 

 proved by experience, rather than be taken upon 

 the credit of his assertion ; though he expressed 

 himself rather confidently that, after a trial, most 

 dairy farmers would preier its use to the present 

 method of milking by hand. Two objections, 

 which had occurred to the minds of several, that 

 the cows might be irijured by the use of the sy- 

 phon, and that its introduction might cause a con- 

 stant discharge of milk, INJr. Blurton, met by say- 

 ing experience had proved them to be groundless. 

 Mr. Ritchie, a veterinarian surgeon present, gave 

 it as his decided opinion, that cows would not be 

 injured by the use of the syphon. Mr. Blurton's 

 cowman was called into the room, and any gen- 

 tleman was allowed to interrogate him. He an- 

 swered many questions, and said that he could 

 milk 16 or IS cows in an hour with the syphons, 

 and would much rather milk 16 with them than 6 

 without them. Several cows were afterwards 

 milked in the yard with the syphons, and though 

 on account of the number of persons who crowd- 

 ed round them, the experiment was tried under 

 rather disadvantageous circumstances, every one 

 appeared astonished at the easy manupr in which 

 the milk was extracted from the cows by this new 

 process. In consequence of being disappointed 

 by the manufacturer, Mr. Blurton was unable to 

 supply the company with syphons : but we under- 

 stood he would shortly have an ample stock of 

 them. We do not say that every objection, or 

 every degree of prejudice, was removed by the 

 exhibition of the invention in actual operation ; 

 but it will now have a fair and extensive trial, 

 which we are disposed to thing will be success- 

 ful. 



[The foregoing article may, perhaps, furnish ano- 

 ther instance of such facts as our friend, Gideon B. 

 Smith of Baltimore, recently communicated, and pro- 

 perl}'^ commented on in this journal — viz: of American 

 inventions, which had failed to attract notice here, be- 

 ing re-discovered, (or possibly "pirated") in Europe, 

 and thence introduced in this country as both new and 

 important. We remember that the principle of this 

 invention was announced, and many statements con- 

 cerning the practice furnished in our newspapers, 

 years ago. It was then stated to be due to a Yankee 

 boy, who used such simple tubes as bits of rye-straw 

 would make. The operation of drawing off the milk 

 was considered, at first, perfect, and free from all objec- 

 tion : but subsequently it was found that internal irri- 

 tation was often produced by introducing the straws. 

 This ill cfl'ect, however, might well be produced by 

 the sharp or rough edges of cut or broken rye straws, 

 and not by the smooth and rounded extremity of a me- 

 tallic tube : ana this change of material may serve 

 completely to remove the former practical objection to 

 the plan.] 



