FARMERS' REGISTER— FLOATING OF LAND— PLOUGH AND HORSES. 97 



first is, the conversion of a considerable quantity of 

 straw, which would otherwise have been of little 

 value, into a wholesome and nourishing article of 

 food ; the second, that grass so mixed, has not that 

 purgative quality it is known to possess in its sim- 

 ple state, and seems to keep the bowels in a me- 

 dium state, preventing alike the extremes of scour- 

 ing and costiveness, circumstances of much im- 

 portance to the health and strength of the animals. 

 It has been recommended, and to a certain ex- 

 tent practised by some farmers, to mix old and 

 new hay. Upon this point, we have simply to 

 observe, that if old hay has been well got, and 

 properly secured in the stack, it will be found for 

 many purposes superior to the new ; it certainly 

 contains a firmer and more concentrated nourish- 

 ment than new hay can possibly do; and for all 

 animals that are employed in constant and severe 

 exertion, it is infinitely preferable. There is a 



Eeriod, however, beyond which, even the best old 

 ay will, by being excessively dried, begin to be 

 •• impaired in its quality, and be eaten with much 

 - less relish. In such cases, a mixture of new hay 

 will be useful ; as the old, by the absorption of the 

 new juices, will recover a part of the moisture and 

 flavor it had lost by long keeping. The same 

 thing will happen, if the hay of the former year 

 has been of an inferior quality, owing either to its 

 having been allowed to stand too long before cut- 

 ting, or to its being bleached with rain after it is cut. 

 In either of these cases, the defect will be in some 

 degree repaired, by mixing it with new juicy well- 

 flavored herbage. a. z. 



On tlie Floating^ of Land. 



From the (Edinburgh) Farmers' Magazine. 

 To the Conductors. 



Gentlemen, — Amongst the many pertinent 

 and sensible remarks in your review of Mr. Mid- 

 dleton's Survey of Middlesex, I was surprised to 

 find that the reviewer should think Mr. Middleton 

 speaks in rather too high terms on the subject of 

 irrigation, when he states, " that forty acres of good 

 water meadow will support, in the greatest luxu- 

 riance, 600 Wiltshire ewes and lambs for six weeks, 

 from the middle of March to the first of May." 

 On this quotation from Mr. Middleton, the re- 

 viewer observes, " that it exceeds any thing he 

 has met with respecting the produce of grass land ; 

 for it is only the best meadow that will feed five 

 ewes and lambs per acre, from the middle of March 

 to the first of May ; and the greatest part of the 

 pastures in the kingdom will not support near so 

 many." 



As the produce of watered meadows certainly 

 very far exceeds the produce of the best pasture 

 land, or the best untvatered meadoio in the king- 

 dom ; and as the floating or watering of land is 

 one of the greatest improvements that can be in- 

 troduced into any country, when the rearing or 

 feeding of stock is an object; I would beg leave 

 to point out to the attention of the reviewer, the 

 following statements of the produce of watered 

 meadows by different authors. 



Mr. Davies, in his agricultural survey of Wilt- 

 shire, on the subject of watered meadows, states, 

 " that one acre of good meadow will support 500 

 Wiltshire ewes and lambs for one day;" conse- 

 quently forty acres will support the above stock 



Vol. 1—13 



for forty days, which is only two days less than in 

 the statement given by Mr. Middleton. 



Mr. Wright, in the second edition of his trea^ 

 tise on watered meadows, gives the following in- 

 stance of the produce of a meadow in the neigh- 

 borhood of Cirencester. "It was one which had 

 been watered longer than the oldest person in the 

 parish could remember, but was by no means the 

 best meadow upon the stream, nor was the pre- 

 ceding winter favorable for watering. It contains 

 six acres and a half The spring food was let for 

 seven guineas, and well supported near 206 sheep, 

 from the first of March till the beginning of May : 

 the hay was sold at thirty two guineas, and the 

 aftermath for six guineas. A meadow of seven 

 acres, the whole crop of hay on which had been 

 sold for £ 2 before it was watered, has, ever since 

 it has been laid out as a watered meadow, been let 

 at the annual rent of £3 per acre." 



In Mr. Wright's third edition, is the following 

 account of the product of a meadow : 



" In order to make the most of the spring food, 

 the proprietor kept the grass untouched till the 2d 

 day of April ; from which time he let it to the 

 neighboring farmers, to be eaten off in five weeks, 

 by the undermentioned stock, at the following 

 rates per head : A sheep, lOfZ. per week ; a cow, 

 3s. Qd. ; a colt, 4s. The quantity of land is eight 

 acres, 



107 wedder sheep, one week, £ 4 

 8 cows, ditto, 



4 colts, ditto. 



Total of 5 weeks, 

 3 colts, 3 weeks, to be added. 



£35 1 10 



Or £4 7s. Sf^d. per acre. 



After being fed as above, the hay crop was, as 

 usual, about fifteen tons, and was six weeks in 

 growing." 



Since such are the immense advantages to be 

 derived from the floating of land, and that,where- 

 ever there is a considerable stream of water, many 

 acres may be thus highly improved, I think ex- 

 tracts from the treatises of Mr. Wright, on the 

 art of floating land, and from Mr. Davies's ac- 

 count of the art, in his survey of Wiltshire, might 

 be introduced with great propriety into your valua- 

 ble magazine. Yours, &c. s. e. 



ANNUAL CHARGE ATTENDING 



A PloiigSi and Two Horses. 



From the (Edinburgli) Farmers' Magazine. 

 To the Coiiductors. 



Gentlemen, — Experimental agriculture be- 

 ing an object of importance, I am glad to notice 

 that you propose to pay it considerable attention. 

 Having some reasons to believe that the expense 

 attending experiments is seldom justly ascertained, 

 I beg leave to send you a statement of the annual 

 charge of a plough and two horses, which may 

 serve a double purpose. It will show the immense 

 increase which has taken place in the price of la- 

 bor, and assist those Avho may transmit you the 

 result of experiments, how to calculate the expense. 



