1.—1846.] THE 
AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 11 
this being delayed ; merely remarking, that supposing, 
as was stated by himself, that the difference between 
the crop of Wheat which failed and that which suc- 
ceeded, after draining, was about 20 bushels per 
acre, at 7s. per bushel, there would be a gain of 77. an 
acre; far more than the tenant’s outlay in the first 
year, to say nothing of the saving which may have arisen 
from preventing the loss alluded to, had he exercised a 
Sound discretion at first, nor of the greater facility for 
working the land afterwards, both of which may fairly 
be taken into account in computing the difference by 
way of profit and loss. But, this being an extreme case, 
supposing that 10 bushels per acre were gained by 
draining, at 7s. per bushel, equal to 37. 105. ; this, as in 
the present case, where tiles were allowed, would more 
than reimburse the tenant’s principal and interest in one 
year’s crop, after which the capital would be free to be 
used in a similar way in another field, and so on till all 
were drained that needed it, the tenant in the meantime 
deriving the benefit year by year of more abundant 
crops of grain, gradually dispensing with fallows, and 
substituting Turnips, or other fallow crops, requiring a 
less number of horses to work his land, &c. ; this again 
enabling him to keep more stock, this producing more 
manure, this again raising better crops, thus increasing 
his prosperity in a ratio far more rapid than is generally 
thought. After all the draining necessary had been 
effected, the ‘capital employed in it may be used to 
advantage in what is termed the “higher branches of 
the art of farming ;' I say this with all deference to 
your friendly criticism on my last paper, but, being a 
dabbler in gardening, I am humbly of opinion that, 
without due provision for the roots, we shall have but 
few branches, whether higher or lower, and although I 
am as free to admit as any one, that skill and care in 
training and pruning the latter are essential to perfec- 
tion, yet attention to the former is necessary to exist- 
ence. This leads me to doubt the policy of tenants 
aiming at the higher branches of farming before they 
‘have thoroughly conquered the lower ones, for nothing 
probably pays better than draining, and where it is really 
needed to the extent required in the case I have alluded 
to, it is hopeless to expect even a common profit without 
it. I therefore submit, that although it may be most 
advantageous, where a landlord agrees to effect the 
necessary draining on a farm, for a tenant to occupy his 
capital in what is termed “ the higher system of farming 
which is gaining ground,” yet where, as is commonly 
the case, this is not done by the landlord, a tenant should 
not hesitate in his choice, but commence with that as 
the basis of all future improvements.—A Looker-On. 
(To be concluded neat week.) 
: Home Correspondence. 7 
E Glass Milk Pans.—Those who have read the stric- 
tures upon the “ Glass trade” in the Gardeners’ Chronicle, 
and have witnessed their results, will readily acknow- 
ledge the beneficial effects which would follow if you 
Were to advoeate the introduction into the butter dairies 
of the kingdom, milk pans made of glass properly 
annealed, as a substitute for those composed of lead now 
in use. You would then confer benefit upon glass-man, 
dairyman, and the publie in general. I mean not to 
"urge the deleterious effects which lead has upon some sour 
milk, for I am not chemist enough to illustrate the sub- 
ject, but I will urge, that of all materials of which dairy 
utensils are composed, none ean be compared for sweet- 
ness, cleanliness, and delicacy, to glass.— Glan Hafren, 
Welshpool. 
To Cure Bacon.—Having been in the same dilemma 
as your querist * Curly Tail,” a friend in Yorkshire 
gave me the following recipe :—Take 3 galls. of spring 
Water, 6 lbs. of common salt, 3 Ibs. of common loaf-sugar, 
4 ozs, of saltpetre, and 4 ozs. of bay salt ; boil the whole 
Over'a slow fire, skim it ; when quite cold it is fit for 
use. Rub the meat to be cured with fine salt and salt- 
' Petre pounded, and let it drain two days to free it from 
blood, then put the brine over it. Hams, chines, and 
clumps should remain in the brine three weeks. Fat 
Pork will keep 12 months in brine, and be better than 
thefnew if, kept well covered with brine.—F. C. 
Thick and Thin Drilling Wheat.—As I promised, 
I send you the results of thick and thin drilling Wheat; 
‘the field, a clover lea on the chalk (soil thin), manure 
With an equal dressing of stable-yard dung, well rotted, 
ploughed, and pressed, after which it was rolled with a 
two-horse roll, well harrowed and drilled with Chidham 
Wheat, the best I could procure. One land, in the 
Middle of the field, of an average quality, measuring 
2 roods, 15 poles, drilled 104 inches wide, at the rate of 
bushel per aere, produced at the rate of 323 bushels 
Der acre, head and tail; the proportion of tail was 
1 bushel in 9 ; weight of head, 62 lbs. per bushel ; tail, 
57% Ibs. per bushel; the remainder measuring 7 acres, 
2 Toods, 33 poles, on each side of the: above land, drilled 
103 inches wide, at the rate of 1 bushel, 7 gallons per 
acre, produced 303 bushels per acre ; weight of head, 
Nearly 63 Ibs,; tail, nearly 59 Ibs. per bushel; proportion 
Of tail, 1 bushel in 9. ‘The cause of this last weighing 
More than the thin drilled was simply that it remained 
ve days longer in the field, having been cut five days 
earlier than the thin drilled, and all carted in one day ; 
ìt will be seen from this that the thin drilled Wheat 
_ took longer to ripen than the thick; taking into con- 
Sideration the greater weight of the thick drilled it is 
evident there is considerable gain by thin drilling ; 
had the Wheat been of equal dryness, the market value 
qud have been the same; it was all drilled on the 
29th October, 1844 ; the thin drilled reaped on the 28th 
9f August, the thick on the 23d August, Very little 
difference was observable through the winter ; in the 
spring, 80 soon as the ground was dry enough, it was 
rolled with a heavy 24-in. iron roller, 10 days after 
harrowed with thick-tined harrows, a few days after 
hoed with Garrett's patent horse hoe, and 10 days after 
this hoed by hand. It was the opinion of several people 
who saw it just before harvest, that it (the thin drilled) 
would not produce so much per acre as the thick; it 
was five days later to reap. On minute inspection the 
ears of the thin drilled were found to be much finer, 
and free from blight, and there were not so many misses 
in the ear as in the thick drilled. My object was to 
make it a fair experiment; to insure this, I super- 
intended the whole of the operations myself ; the land 
was as near an average of the whole field as possible, 
if any difference not quite so good Wheat land as some 
to its right; the manure all the same, seed all alike, 
rolled all in one day, harrowed the same, horse-hoed 
ditto; the hand-hoeing consumed several days for the 
whole field. In conclusion, I would say, should any 
one try thin drilling, they will never sueceed unless it 
is well hoed and kept perfectly free from all sorts of 
weeds; their object should be to grow the erop they 
sow; this can be done by thin-drilling and clean hoeing; 
but if people will not drill, they cannot hoe ; and if they 
continue to sow broadeast, they must sow thick, in 
order that the weeds may be kept under by the thick 
corn. I know of some of my neighbours who still con- 
tinue to sow on the same sort of land that I occupy 
3 and 4 bushels per acre, and say that a less quantity 
is not safe; the reason is clear to me, they suffer the 
weeds to grow, and all farmers know that weeds grow 
best in thin corn, unless kept under by the hoe; so to 
save hoeing they adopt thick sowing, for it is clear, that 
when Wheat is thick, weeds cannot grow so well. 
You may publish all, or any portion of this letter yoy 
think proper. I have inclosed a sample of each for 
your inspection. P.S.—The weights and measures are 
all imperial.—James Eames, Chawton, Alton, Hants. 
Seed Wheat.—I feel no doubt about a large propor- 
tion of the Wheat sent being in a state fit for germina- 
ting ; but it may be a question whether it is good policy 
to sow any portion of so very bad a sample. So far as 
lam.aequainted with really trustworthy experiments 
it appears to me that, ceteris paribus, the best crops 
may be expected from the best seed. But this is one 
of the many thousand points upon which practical men 
are divided in opinion ; though we might have fancied 
that there could scarcely be one upon whieh a greater 
uniformity in opinion ought to prevail. , When agricul- 
tural societies shall more fully understand than they 
seem to do at present the importance of an organised 
system of experimenting, such questions as the one you 
have put to me will be answered once for always, and 
no one but the most perverse will be able to dispute the 
correctness of the answer. I very much doubt whether 
the sample owes the poverty of its character to frost. 
Is it not one among numerous instances that can be 
produced this year of our climate having failed in 
bringing to perfection this and certain other crops, in 
localities not quite so fully favoured as some others, 
where the same crops have been pretty well ripened? I 
asked my miller, a few days ago, how it happened that I 
could not get half so much gluten as I had expected from 
alump of dough, and that what I did get was of 
inferior quality—in fact, I had been obliged to send 
to another mill for somo flour for the purpose, 
having to prepare some for exhibition. He expressed 
great surprise, as the flour was of this year’s growth, 
from an excellent sample of Wheat, which had (unex- 
pectedly to himself) weighed heavier than usual. The 
only conclusion at which I eould arrive was, that the 
sample had either been cut too green, with plenty of 
starch, but little gluten, or else that it had ripened with- 
out having received a sufficient. quantity of that kind of 
manure upon whose presence an abundant supply of 
gluten mainly depends. Some flour I received from 
him afterwards contained much the same quantity of 
gluten as usual. It is sometimes rather hazardous ex- 
plaining what may be the natural causes of occasional 
and local failures in our erops—for some of the laws 
of nature are not always in good repute among a certain 
class of practical men, A friend of mine got well 
hissed at an agricultural dinner-a short time since for 
recommending a plan to which gardeners have recourse 
of eontinually importing certain seeds from abroad in 
order to keep up their stock of fine plants in those cases 
where our own climate may not be equal to the task of 
thoroughly perfecting their seeds. I believe the advice 
was most excellent, and that if farmers generally paid 
better attention to procuring the very best seed, they 
would largely inerease the amount of their produce.— 
J. S. Henslow, Hitcham. 
Relative Value of Food.—On reading your report of 
Professor Playfair’s lectures, delivered the other week, 
my attention was directed to what I considered to be an 
error (perhaps of the press) in the tables given (at the 
close of the lecture) to show the relative value of various 
articles of food, containing each 1 Ib. of protein, the 
nitrogenised element of food. It is there stated that 
100 Ibs. of "Turnips, which contain 1 lb. of protein, 
cost no less a sum than 2s. 9d., being at the rate of 
upwards of 60s. per ton. Now, I would ask, what 
farmer would not be willing to dispose of any quantity 
at 20s. per ton, which would reduce the cost of 100 Ibs., 
containing 1 Ib. of protein, to 11d. Carrots, too, are 
charged at the rate of 47. 10s. per ton, and upwards. 
The price mentioned for Potatoes is pretty correct, 
according to their present value, for those of good 
quality, but atleast double the amount for what they 
can be procured for by the poor man in favourable 
seasons. Bread, flour, and flesh are charged correctly 
according to their market value, but Peas and Beans 
somewhat too high; 14d. per lb. would be, I think, 
sufficient for-either, and allow, too, for the cost of 
grinding them to meal, Whilst calling attention to theso 
errors, I would not, however, dispute the. theory of 
Professor Playfair, whieh Ithink is very good and just, 
viz., that it is desirable to encourage the. labouring 
classes, and particularly the poor of Ireland, not to 
place such exclusive dependence on the Potato erop as 
an article of food, but to seek more frequently the aid 
of pulse and grain, which (even with the corrections I 
have taken the liberty of making) I think ean be clearly 
shown to be-capable of being supplied nearly, if not 
quite as.cheap'as Potatoes, and particularly if used in 
conjunction with other vegetables. It is now generally 
known that food is required for two purposes, to nourish 
the body and to support respiration. To supply the 
former, a healthy man requires 5 oz. of gluten or fibrine, 
which can be furnished by 3 Ibs. of bread, 2 lbs. of 
oatmeal, 10 oz. of cheese, or 20 oz. of beef, but requires 
no less than 15 Ibs. of Potatoes, whilst, for all the pur- 
poses of respiration, 73 lbs. of Potatoes are amply suffi- 
cient. .An Englishman would, I take it, find consider- 
able difficulty in stowing away this enormous quantity 
of vegetable food, and how an Irishman is able to 
manage it is beyond my ability to explain, but I presume 
the inconveniency is such that a less quantity is gene- 
rally taken, and thus the system denied its proper 
nourishment. However, to pursue our subject, the 7& 
lbs. additional of Potatoes necessary to supply the re- 
quisite quantity of gluten at one half the cost stated by 
Professor Playfair amounts to 2d., whilst the same 
nourishment is contained in half a pound of Peas, at the 
cost only of 3 farthings, thus showing the superior 
economy, as well as the advantage, of varying the diet, 
I would venture, in conclusion, to suggest to the Irish 
landowners and men of wealth, the desirableness of 
establishing in every village soup kitchens, by means of 
which Peas, Swede Turnips, and Carrots, with a little 
meat, may be economically converted into good 
wholesome food, a quart of which per head gratuitously 
dispensed would warm the stomachs and gladden the 
hearts of thousands that will otherwise feel the pinching 
of poverty and hunger during the approaching winter. 
—W.C. Spooner, 
Top-dressing.—Surely, it must be an easy matter 
for the chemist to inform us what are the practical re- 
sults of the system of manuring recommended b; 
“Oxygen.” It is not necessary to show what oxysalts 
are produced, but that nothing valuable is carried off 
by the atmosphere, which is the fate of the carbonate 
of ammonia evolved from putrifying manure. Let 
fresh manure in a closed vessel be subjected first to the 
summer, and then to the autumnal heat of ‘the air ; let 
the nature of the substance which taints the air be ascer- 
tained, and the quantity, and thus we shall know whe- 
ther such manure may, without important loss, be used 
as a top-dressing either in summer or autumn. If no 
such loss occurs, then, whether or not there be any 
beneficial oxidising effect of rain and air, there will be 
gain by preventing the loss of carbonate of ammonia, 
and also by the manure being at once intimately mixed 
with the soil. If the.chemist decides that such serious 
loss: does take place by evaporation, then even if one 
better crop is produced by top-dressing than by burying 
the same manure, we must conclude that it results 
solely from the manure being diffused through the 
whole of the ‘soil, and becoming thus immediately 
effective, and that subsequent crops would prove that 
on the whole top-dressing is wasteful.— Sigma. 
Yeast.—I have been informed that yeast may be 
dried, and kept in that form for a long time, without 
losing its properties as a ferment; and that Paris is, or 
used to be, supplied with large quantities of yeast in 
this form from Flanders. Can any of your readers 
state whether the fact is so? You have once or twice, 
in your columns, inserted receipts for making yeast, and 
it would be a great addition to the value of such re- 
ceiptsif you could publish some method of preserving 
yeast uninjured for a length of time. 
Z. Y. M. ke i 
Experiments with Varieties of Wheat.—The ten 
varieties of Wheat mentioned below were all drilled 
9 pecks to the aere, on the 19th of Nov., 1844, ona 
field of clay land, ina good state of cultivation, and 
were cut between the Ist and 7th of Sept., 1845. 
Aconitum — 
" Number of 
Quantity of 
No. Names Land | Ushels Of | “per Acre, 
planted, produced, 
A. R. T. | bush. lbs, | bush, Ibs, 
0.1 19 17 47 48 
0.1 19 H 43 24 
Das T. 15 60 44 50 
0 1 "8 19 40 4 8 
0 1 16 16 30 47 23 
p alt 12 44 35 4l 
oci 42 12 12 46 28 
0 1 16 11 3 31 35 
0 1 15 13 26 9: “4 
10 |Red, unknown ....| 0 1 15 | 18 35 39 28 
—C. Randell. à 
Food for Horses, &c.—Can sawdust, shavings, young 
branches of trees, or twigs of Hawthorn-hedges, be 
turned to account as food for cattle, horses, pigs, &e, t 
1f so, that which is fit for human food might be econo- 
mised. A chemical change might, I think, be produced, 
by which food might be obtained which would yield, 
perhaps, only a small amount of nourishment, but which 
would keep up the animal heat of the system. 
cattle, especially for milk cows, it is well-known that 
