cost per annum : 
difference in the expences of cultivation here and in 
France. 
this hea 
The comparative costs of production in the two Countries, may 
be thus stated :— 
To cultivate 150 Acres of Arable Land, in England, upon the 
ordinary or common system of cultivation, if weli managed, pu 
3900 
The following is his published statement on 
LESS IN FRANCE. £ s d. 
.- At 8s. per annum .. 60 0 0 
i. Poor, County, 
Church, and Asse! 
By Tithes 
» Rates 
DOr AOO ins RO 
«+ One-third, from 25s. in Eng- 
land, or 85. 4d. r acre 62 10 0 
» Horses .. Six at 20l. per horse in Eng- 
land,—one-third less .. 40 0 0 
» Labour. .4 Ploughmen, at25l. £100 0 
4 Labourers at 317. 10s. 126 ] 
2 Boys at 8s. per week 
» Rent 
0 
Deduct (only) one-fifth, al 
Er vabourer SOR] 
0 0 
, &c. S 10 0 0 
r and tear, less 
00. os ou 40 0 0 
£580 3 0 
ich must be added a District 
lled the ** Contributione ” 
whic s about Is. Gd. per acre 11 5 0 
And the “ Octroi,” a on all 
Commodities carried into Towns, 
which may be stated at 1s.per acre 
710 0 
1815 0 
£598 18 0 
[We do not publishthe first part of this document, asit 
bears upon a political question with which this paper has 
nothing to do.] —On the health of the magistrates of the 
eastern division of the county being drank,Sir Brook Wil- 
liam Bridges, Bart. replied. He considered it his duty to 
support this association, and he urged all present, land- 
lords, tenants, and others, to put their shoulders to the 
wheel, to employ every means in their power to proe 
duce food for our enormous population. He approved 
of such meetings as this because they connected the 
different classes of society, fostered a friendly feeling in 
every breast, and rewarded industrious merit. During 
the evening about 30 labourers and servants entered 
the room and received at the hands of the secretary of 
the association various rewards. 
Farm Memoranda. 
Wiitrrerp Farm, Worron, GrovcrsrERSHIRE.—In 
my last notice of this farm (see page 13), I stated that 
nearly 80007. had been spent on it by the landlord. 
he exact sum, omitting fractions, was.7828/., and it 
Was spent thus :— 
On roads and bridges .. E m .. e. £ 451 0 
Grubbing up hedges, tree roots, levelling, &c. — .. 
rainage orig ee . 
ences and walling — .. 0 .. Is Lk 
Subsoil ploughing .. m vv m 
Liming 5 sem uns . . 
dBetldings |. 00 fue 
The valuation of the farm, in 1840, by an eminent 
‘Professional man from Bristol, was — ..  .. 3200 0 0 
Since then land has been added to the farm of the 
d og Mec cai c Rte 30 0 0 
pking its annual value in'its original state ..£230 0 0 
he valuation of the farm (rather high, as I consi- 
er it) by the same person, in 1843, was 564l ; 
So that it had increased in annual value during those 
three years by 334L, which is about 4} per cent. 
Upon the sum spent. This is by no means a very large 
Yeturn from the outlay—not nearly so large as we often 
ear of in other instances ; but the expenses were in 
Some instances necessarily, and in others (according to 
9ur improved knowledge) unnecessarily greater than 
those incurred in other cases of a similar kind, As an 
Instance of the first, look at the two first items for roads 
And for grubbing up hedgerows and levelling. Few 
estates are so utterly in a state of nature as to require 
2n outlay of about 8/. an aere, which this amounted to, 
ìn levelling and road making. And then look at the item 
of 20667. for the drainage of about 200 acres (the whole 
9f the farm did not need draining). This operation 
(though somewhat more costly in the ease of Whitfield, 
owing to hedgerows, Willow-beds, quarries, and other 
such like hindrances) need not have cost so much per 
acre, had the cheap pipe-tiles been then manufactured. 
Upwards of 10002. were spent in tiles, stones, and haul- 
tng; and it is not too much to say that this sum woul 
have been reduced to 400/., had pipe-tiles been used 
instead of the ordinary tiles and flats, or stones. And, 
astly, the item of 2978/. 10s. might have been consi- 
derably less ; thus, 628/. were spent in the erection of 
thrashing machinery of a new deseription. I mention 
all these things, lest the reports of Whitfield farm, 
Which have been extensively published, should have 
Ad the effect of deterring landowners from setting 
Vigorously to work in the permanent improvement of 
pelr estates. The comparatively small interest which 
word Ducie derived in this case for the large outlay he 
Meurred, was owing to causes which are not now in 
existence, or which need not be in the way. Improved 
Methods of execution, and the examples which his 
THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. ` 45 
lordship's experience affords, will much cheapen future 
operations of a.similar kind. I will shortly send you 
an account of the buildings which have been erected 
on this farm.—M. S. 
Iebvielos. 
Essays on Various Subjects, by Members of the Stew- 
poney Farmers’ Club, during the Year 1844. 
London : Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. 
Tue Srewponey Farmers’ Crun is one of the most effi 
cient of any we know. It has gone the length of pub- 
lishing the Essays read by its members at their monthly 
meetings. And a very valuable series of papers they 
are. We have, in this little volume, essays on mixing 
aud deepening soils ; on keeping and using cart-horses ; 
on the relative value of artificial manures; on the culti- 
vation of ''urnips ; on the management of Grass lands, 
and the best rotation of green crops; on the manage- 
ment of sheep ; on the best method of harvesting corn ; 
on the management of fences; on the advantages of 
draining ; on the best method of bettering the condition 
of the agricultural labourer ; on farm accounts, and on 
farming leases, And it would be difficult, if not impos- 
sible, to name another dozen of subjects of equal im- 
portance to the farmer, or more suitable for discussion 
by a Farmers’ Club. Some of these Essays we have 
already laid before our readers ; that, for instance, by 
Mr. Maughan “ On Leases,” and others; and we shall, 
for the present, confine ourselves to the first paper in 
the volume —thatby Mr. Mathews “ On Deepening Soils.” 
And we refer to this especially for the purpose of 
quoting his excellent remarks on the benefits derivable 
from discussion and intercourse amongst farmers. He 
says— 
% In towns and populous districts association is easy 
of attainment, and the inhabitants thereof have the 
vantage of this ble mode of eliciting know- 
ledge by a constant collision of their wit and intellect 
with that of others. An evening is seldom spent alone, 
and their daily occupation compels a constant inter- 
change of reciprocal mental benefits. With the farmer 
it is far otherwise, his locality is insulated, and his oceu- 
pation in a great degree solitary. He has to surmount 
serious practical obstacles to effect an association wit 
his fellow men, and it unfortunately happens that in the 
season of the year when many circumstances combine 
to give him leisure, those practical obstacles are aug- 
mented, and it requires more than an ordinary degree 
of energy to overcome them. His neighbours are not 
at hand, his paths are neither smooth nor clean, he is 
compelled to call to his assistance the aid of his horse, 
the horse involves a man, and both involve expence. 
He has besides with considerable mental exertion, to 
get the better of an awful vis inertie,which is engendered 
by early rising, long continued exercise, and exposure to 
the sedentary influences of a cold atmosphere. Thus it 
is, that the every day business of a working farmer has 
hitherto prevented him even the disposition to acquire 
the elementary principles of the first of human occupa- 
tions, and has rendered him incompetent to register and 
to reflect with practical advantage on the daily observa- 
tions of a long life. 
* These obstacles are much aggravated by the mis- 
taken feeling too prevalent with the working farmers, 
that he has not done his duty, unless at the close of 
each day he has thoroughly exhausted his physical 
strength, so that day after day, week after week, year 
after year, his life and energies are consumed by hard 
bodily labour, In good truth he lives by the sweat of 
his brow, and too often forgets that Providence has 
lanted a spirit underneath it which calls for some share 
of his daily attention. 
are now learning what ironmasters, 
chemists, and fi long ago di: d to be 
good economy: viz., to abandon a certain portion of 
their manual labour, in order to leave their mental 
energies sufficiently awake to receive beneficial impres- 
sions, to study the razionale of their business, and not 
to receive anything as conclusive truth unless supported 
by good sound sense and intelligent reasoning; they are 
learning, indeed they have learnt, that there is no more 
necessity for a farmer's mind to lie fallow, than there is 
for his land. But as I have said there are obstacles to 
be encountered, and obstacles which unless met and 
dealt with manfully and courageously will still prove 
bling-blocks to his ad . He must be 
impressed with the necessity of bringing a small portion 
of his physical energies to his fireside at the close of 
every day, and consider that he has not done his duty 
to his Jand, to his stock, or to his labourers, till he has 
devoted some portion of his time to the attentive consi- 
deration of how each is to be benefited and improved. ^ 
* The subjects suggested for our consideration durin; 
the ensuing year, are admirably seleeted, both as afford- 
ing us amusement and instruction ; and we can none of 
us well and attentively consider them without finding 
ourselves at the close of the year much more intelligent 
and much better farmers than we are now. 
* Gentlemen, we must meet, and talk, and think, and 
there is no doubt but that by individual contributions 
(for we can all throw in our mite), our common stock 
of knowledge will be much inereased—and increased, I 
trust, to a degree, that will fully and amply repay us for 
the cost and trouble of attaining it.” 
The subject of Mr. Mathews’ essay is the advantage 
of mixing and deepening the soil, and this he illustrates 
by an extraordinary case in point. We have merely 
room for the passage in which he details his experience, 
but we recommend our readers to obtain this little book, 
and benefit by the.perusal of the whole of this essay, 
as well as of the other valuable papers it contains :— 
“T selected 15 acres of land, of a very impracticable 
character, and in its then state almost valueless. E 
chose it the more on that account, and from its con- 
tiguity to the turnpike-road which it adjoins, and from 
which I knew it would be seen by all my neighbours, 
and by such agricultural persons as chanced to travel 
by it. I found I could only compass seven acres of it 
the first year, and it is to that seven acres my observa- 
tions will apply. I trenched it in 1840, retrenched it in 
1841, and have had two crops off it subsequently ; so. 
that having had it under a process of improvement for 
four years, I am enabled to lay before you the experi- 
ment in its extended and ultimate form. 
* When I first examined the field, I found about five 
inches of what was called soil, and I soon discovered 
that in wet weather it was very wet, and in dry weather 
it wasi very dusty. The immediate subsoil was a 
siliceous concrete, impervious to water, in which was 
imbedded a great quantity of large pebble-stones, 
but not at all in the character of gravel; below 
that was a tolerably fair quality of loamy red sand. 
I trenched it 24j inches deep, and as I had to stock 
through the concrete and remove the stones, it was 
an operation of very considerable expense. I then 
planted with Carrots. The second year I retrenched it 
the same depth, and took early Potatoes. The third 
year I manured it for Turnips, and the fourth year I 
was bold enough to plant Wheat, where Wheat had 
never before grown, and a much better crop I have 
seldom seen. 
* The detail of my expenditure and receipt is as 
follows :— 
1840 EXPENDITURE. 
Trenching 24 inches deep, taking out 
1700 tons of stones, sowing Carrot-seed, 
hoeing, getting up, and marketing, £ s. d. £ s. d. 
251. r acre m .. .. 17810 0 
Rent, Levies, and Tithe .. .. E 700 
1841 18510 € 
Retrenching .. «e . 396 7 8 
Seed Potatoes . . 2610 6 
Soot put in with the Sete. 310 0 
Planting, cleaning, getting 
DM M 15 0 0 
Rent, Levies, and Tithe .. m .. og 
2 88.7 9 
Manure, 70 tons, at ł0s. a ton  .. . 55 0 0 
ones and soot drilled with seed «3,1440 6 
Turnip-seed, drilling, and cleanin; SEK) 
Rent, Levies, and Tithe .. oe E ers a 
1843 6610 9 
Seed-wheat,sixbags ^ .. se we n 
Ploughing and drilling .. — ..  .. 310 0 
Rent, Levies, and Tithes .. <. . 0 
—— 136719770: 
Total m .. . 956 17 9 
1840 RECEIPT, 
Stones sold to turnpike surveyor oe Soe. 
Sixty tons of Carrots at 50s. — .. - 15000 
Five tons of small consumed  .. E 500 
—— 202 5 0 
1 
Potatoes sold in the field E m 83 0 0 
mall Potatoes consumed *  .. oe 5 0.0 
88 0 oO 
1842 
Turnips consumed and drawn off oe 28 9 6 
1843 
Eighty bags of Wheat at 19s... m 76 0 0 
Total  .. «+ £994 5 0 
“This, gentlemen, is the result of an experiment 
under whieh I believe a greater outlay has been made 
in manuallabour than has ever been expended before 
upon land of a purely agricultural character. ‘The im- 
provement in the quality of the soil is visible to all who 
see it, and I think cannot be estimated at less than 2/.. 
per acre to rent.” 
Miscellaneous. 
Prospects of the Guano Trade.—The arrival of the: 
mail with letters from Lima enables me to give you 
correct data, which may be useful, and certainly are 
important to the English creditors, who ought to be 
quite aware of the real state of the guano fund, and pre- 
pared to act upon that knowledge when the Minister 
Plenipotentiary, Mr. Ythirroya, arrives. His appoint- 
ment has been finally announced to Her Majesty's Go- 
vernment, and he is expected by the next steamer from 
the West Indies. No doubt one object of his mission 
is to make some arrangement with the English bond- 
holders. The Lima papers of July are occupied with, 
his mission and with the guano question, The Execu- 
tive had submitted to Congress the proposal of “ an ex- 
tension of the time of the original contract, in favour 
of the contractors, and permission for them to ship 
10,000 tons more guano, for which they had offered to 
advance the Government a further sum of 203,000 dol- 
lars, or, at 48d. the dollar, about 40,0007.” Congress. 
refused to pass this measure, which was then pending.. 
I may here say, that the first contract permitted the 
contractors to export 120,000 tons guano, within a 
limited number of years. This term expires in 1846.. 
The contractors had, however, only shipped 30,000 tons 
up to July last; and supposing that they have since 
then shipped 20,000 tons more, it is evident that they 
must get the remaining 70,000 tons shipped off in the 
next 12 months. They are naturally very anxious to 
have the period of their lease extended, and offer this _ 
40,0007. bonus for this object. But the Congress 
having now become aware of the immense value of the 
guano fund, are not inclined to part with it, and wish 
rather to make it available for re-establishing the 
finances and credit of Peru. The Minister now ex- 
pected may, therefore, be empowered to deal with it in 
treating with the bondholders. When the Peruvian 
