* 
122 THE 
[Fzs. 21, 
one has keard of the urine tanks of Flanders, which are 
to be found all over the country, at home, and in the 
fields. They are built in a most substantial manner, 
and so far under-ground, that when they are “covered 
in, the farmer is enabled to cultivate the soil over them 
Contraets are generally entered into between the 
farmers and those in towns who have much of this 
at command, as brewers, distillers, &c., 
i 
who fatten animals from the refuse of their works. 
urine of one 
21. is commonly given for the 
veys, 
towns to 
which it is principally applied is Flax ; and then they 
dissolve in it Rape-cake, which renders it a most power- 
ful manure. After the Flax-seed has been sown and 
covered in, and rolled, so that the surface is made quite 
smooth, they proceed to apply this mixture. It is 
applied in the following manner :—Fi nen are em- 
ployed altogether, two to pump, two to tter it, and 
one todriveit. A rectangular piece of ground, 30 yards 
in breadth, is measured off across the ridge ; this is 
sub-divided into six portions of five yards each. The 
field was laid off in ridges of 10 yards, Six wooden 
vessels are filled and placed in the middle of a ridge at 
the distance of 5 yards from one another, so that the 
contents of cach vessel, which is about the size of a 
Potato firlot, is the allowance for every 50 square yards, 
There is nothing in which they manifest such economy 
as in the saving of. this material, which they prize as à 
most valuable assistant to their labours. Rape-cake, 
besides being applied as mentioned above, with the 
liquid-manure, is also used in a dry state. The Rape 
is cultivated principally as a manure, and is used ex- 
tensively where the cropping is very severe. Ashes 
are never used but as a top-dressing to Clover ; but th 
irafie which is earried on in them, between Holland 
and Belgium, is sufficient to form a distinct trade with 
2 certain class of merchants in Belgium. The farmers 
in Belgium set a high value on them, and place so much 
dependanee on them for the success of their Clover- 
crop, that (I understand, from what I have read) there 
is à current saying among them, that * He who buys 
ashes for his Clover-erop, pays nothing ; but he that does 
it not, pays double.” It is really surprising that this 
manure, whieh has been proved to be so efficacious by a 
class of experienced farmers like the Flemish, has never 
been tried, or at least sufficiently tested, in Scotland. 
believe some were importéd in the beginning of this year 
by Messrs. John Mitchell and Co., in Leith ; but I am 
not aware that they have met with the reception we 
would anticipate from the well-known successful results 
of their application in Belgium. There is nothing so 
much wanted at present, in the agriculture of Scotland, 
as a good lasting top-dressing for Clover. The failures 
in this crop have been frequent of late, and the effects of 
nitrate of soda last only with the crop to which it is ap- 
plied, while sad disappoi have been experienced 
in the use of gypsum. But before recommending an 
extensive use of this material, I would suggesta few 
comparative trials to be made with it, gypsum,soot, and 
other substances ; for if the failure of gypsum arose 
from there being a supply of it already in the soil suffi- 
cient for the growth of the plant, an application of Dutch 
ashes might be attended with a similar result, as the 
great proportion of the ingredients of the ashes are salts 
of lime, with the useful addition, however, of some salts 
of soda. Some attribute their great effects in Belgium 
to the lime which they contain, as few of the soils there 
have any amount of lime in their composition. They 
are applied in different quantities to the soil, from 10 to 
30 bushels an imperial aere, — P. Me L. 
AN EXPERIMENT IN AGRICULTURE. 
Oxs or two of my agricultural friends have, at my sug- 
gestion, engaged to try the following experiment, with the 
view of testing the truth of the opinion countenanced, 
as it would appear, by some of the later publications of 
Baron Liebig—that manures are only serviceable to the 
crop by supplying it with the inorganie materials which 
it requires, and not by the ammonia disengaged by 
organic matter undergoing decomposition, 
As, however, the results of one or two experiments 
only can hardly be regarded as conclusive with refer- 
ence to a question of this kind, I am desirous of making 
known more generally the nature of the experiment, in 
the hope of inducing some few of your numerous readers 
to undertake it likewise; not disputing, indeed, that it 
might be possible to arrive at the same result by other 
modes of proceeding, but conceiving that by the one 
suggested all danger of altering the mechanical condi- 
tion of the manure in question is avoided, and therefore 
that any difference in the effect produced upon the erop 
might be attributed with greater confidence to the pre- 
sence of ammonia in the one sample of manure, and its 
absence from the other. 
Experiment.—Select three equal plots of ground, all 
requiring manure, and in a proper state to receive any 
crop containing much nitrogen, such as the Cerealia, 
Beans, Peas, &e, Let the first of these plots remain 
unmanured, and weigh out an equal amount of fresh 
stable-dung to spread upon the two others. Let one of 
these quantities be preserved as much as possible from 
eyaporation, and the liquid portionsbe carefully retained, 
either by means of a cistern caleulated to receive the 
drainings, or by preserving the whole upon a water- 
tight floor. Let the corresponding quantity be likewise 
spread upon a floor caleulated to prevent the draini 
from .being carried off, but evaporation fro 
moted by frequent turning, and afterwards by a certain 
degree of heat, such as that produced by tan or fer- 
menting dung. When it appears desiccated, mix with 
it a little quicklime, and if an iacal smell is 
AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 
ble that the fair remuneration to which a tenant is 
entitled for his outlay of capital or of labour in perma- 
nent imp: ments should I d to him by voluntary 
emitted, continue to add more until the smell -goes off. 
Whatever be the quantity of quicklime added to this 
second heap, let an equivalent amount of powdered 
chalk, or of quicklime rendered mild by exposure to 
the air, be mixed with the first portion, By this ar- 
rangement you will have two portions of manure con- 
ning exaetly equal quantities of fixed inorgauie iu 
dients, but the one destitute of the ammoniacal salts 
which the other will contain. The point to be deter- 
mined therefore is, will any difference occur in the 
quality and amount of the crop produced by the first 
and by the second portion of the manure so treated ? 
all the excess beyond the amount obtained from the 
unmanured plot being regarded as due to the action of 
the manure.— C. D. [We should be glad to hear from 
any of our correspondents who may be disposed to try 
this experiment. The subject of it is of great im- 
portance. We hope that it will be extensively tried.] 
ON THE STATE OF BANDRY IN LOWER 
BRITTANY, 
WITH INCIDENTAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONDITION OF 
THE FARMING POPULATION THERE, COMPARED WITH 
THE SOCIAL STATE OF THE ANALOGOUS CLASSES IN 
IRELAND, 
By Martin DOYLE, 
(Continued from page 106.) 
The soil of Basse Bretagne is so varied that plants of 
Norway and of the south of Earope are indigenous to 
it, and the /andes, though very poor, are generally capa- 
ble of improvement, and in some places are in progress 
of being reclaimed. I shall briefly describe their natural 
state, and the modes of bringing them into culture. 
The upper soil of those moors is a shallow bed of 
vegetable detritus and silicious sand; the subsoil is 
either argyl or rotten schistus, with a thin layer of 
silex between it and the surface soil, called prit- 
prat, which frequently contains oxide of iron. In 
summer, when there is a very rapid evaporation of 
moisture, the soil becomes too dry; in winter the 
opposite excess renders it unfavourable for culture. 
The vegetable matter on the surface is Heath (Erica 
vulgaris), and Rushes (Silex europreus). These moors 
are often held by the peasantry in common, for wild pas- 
tures, and therefore somewhat as in the case of land 
held under joint-tenaneies in Ireland, or in leases in 
rundale ; there are occasional impediments to inelosing 
and cultivating by individuals ; more generally, how- 
ever, these tracts are at the disposal either of the elass 
of larger proprietors, or of the inferior class of land- 
owners, who possess portions of them under the same 
titles by whieh they hold their homestead fields, namely, 
by purchase at or subsequent to the period of the Revo- 
lution, when the property of the land proprietary of the 
kingdom was brought in such numerous cases to the 
hammer of the State auctioneer, from those who, by 
their adherence to republicanism, contrived to maintain 
possession of their estates. 
As the occupancy of land is now a subject of much 
discussion in Ireland, I shall advert to the ancient 
customs of landlord and tenant in Basse Bretagne ; an 
also inquire into the results which have followed there 
from the changes made at the period of the French 
Revolution. * 
t is a remarkable circumstance that the form of 
tenure termed Domaine Congéable, founded on the 
most rational and equitable principles, and adapted to 
a high state of civilisation, was originated in the fourth 
or fifth century in that ancient province, where alone it 
became established in practice, according to the reports 
of celebrated jurists ; this form of lease was introduced 
after the last emigrations of the Britons from England 
to the mountains and forests of Cornouaille, and the 
other parts of the province in question, where they 
found a people ef the same race, language, and habits, 
The lords of the soil, who, after the devastations of the 
Romans, then had but thinly-inhabited tracts of forest 
or partially-cleared land, gave every encouragement to 
the refugees, who obtained from them equitable and 
mutually advantageous terms of tenure. 
The following conditions were agreed upon :—'The 
seigneur or landowner was to receive a yearly rent, in 
proportion to the actual value of the land, in its uncul- 
tivated state, with this important clause: That the 
labour and capital of the tenant (indispensable to the 
improvement of the land, and which were to be ad- 
vanced by him), with all expenditure for buildings, 
orchards, inclosures, &e., should become his own pro- 
perty, or that of his heirs ; so that thelandowner bound 
himself to allow the tenant, at the termination of their 
connexion, the full value of his expenditure ; in default 
of which the lease continued in force, under the original 
conditions, the landowner being always required to give 
six months’ notice (before Michaelmas) to the tenant, 
of his intention of resuming possession, and of his 
readiness to pay the just demands of the latter, The 
other party had the right of disposing as he pleased of 
his claims for indemnity for buildings, &c., provided they 
were kept in such a state of repair as gave security for 
the rent. E 
I may advert to the striking aecordanee between 
the prineiple of that old Breton law and the report of 
the commissioners appointed to inquire into the oceupa- 
tion of land in Ireland. “Although it is certainly de- 
~* Here, uled myself of the 
in 1838; ro my 
agreement, rather than by compulsion of law ; yet, upon 
a review of all the evidence furnished to us upon tho 
subject, we believe that some legislative measure will be 
found necessary, in order to give effieacy to such agrec- 
ments, as well as to provide for those cases which can- 
not be settled by private arrangement,” 
“ We earnestly hope that the legislature will be dis- 
posed to entertain a bill of this nature, and to pass it 
into a law with as little delay as is consistent with a fu'! 
discussion of its principle and details, We are con- 
vinced that in the present state of feelings in Ireland, 
no single measure can be better caleulated to allay dis- 
content, and to promote substantial improvement 
throughout the country. In some cases the existence of 
such a law will incline the landlord to expend his own 
capital in making permanent improvements. In others 
he may be called upon on the eviction or retirement of 
tenants to provide the amount for which their claims 
may be established under the Act.” 
This defect, however, attended the Breton law—the 
award was made according to the amount of expendi- 
ure, without reference to the real value of the improve- 
ments made ; but this could be remedied by a stringent 
clause, requiring the landlord’s assent to the tenant's 
expenditure, or some special agreement guarding 
against the unreasonable demands of the latter." The 
principle of the law was decidedly good, but through 
the inadvertenee of the landowner, or the pliability of 
his disposition, a imes contrived, by gra- 
dually adding to the extent of his buildings, fences, &e., 
to run up à bill of eosts in the end disproportioned to 
the pecuniary means of the seigneur, and to the value 
of the property at the time. The latter, however, in 
such cases generally renewed his engagement with the 
former oceupier, taking care for the future to be more 
regardful of his own interests, Ultimately, no doubt, 
he derived remunerating advantage, from the inereased 
value of his farm, and the greater security he obtained 
for the rent, 
In 1791, an Act of the Legislative Assembly, was 
passed (on the avowed principle of giving equal rights), 
to enable the tenant to demand his congé, or cancella- 
tion of the lease, with compensation in full for his ex- 
penditure in permanent improvements whenever he 
pleased—a power which, by tacit understanding, tho 
tenantry had not previously elaimed (though admitted 
in theory), because they were seldom if ever disposed 
to leave their farms. In the following year, when the 
madness of the Republican legislature was uncontrolled 
by respect for the rights of property, and while the fiend 
of liberty and equality sought to grind into dust the aris- 
tocracy of the land, another Act was passed which de- 
clared the occupying tenantr I hout France 
rent free! But this state of anarchy and spoliation 
was corrected in 1795, by an act of legislation, which 
confirmed to those landowners, whose estates had es- 
caped confiscation, and to all the purchasers of forfeited 
property, the first rights of ownership ; and, in fact, re- 
adopted the principle of the law of 1791, which had 
secured to the tenant (according to the old Breton 
usage) the privilege of claiming compensation (but re- 
quiring the previous consent of the landlord) to the 
outlay of the tenant, and also established to the former 
the right of resuming the possession, which he had 
before the republican era. 
The Breton iandlords, however, were dissatisfied with 
the retrospective operation of the new law; for, in 
giving to the tenant the power of claiming payment in 
full of his demands for building, &c., at six months’ no- 
tice, under penalty. of forfeiture of the land to him by 
the landlord in case of non-payment, a boon was con- 
ferred upon the tenant which he had not previously 
possessed, unless by special agreement ; and the land- 
lords have, in consequence, generally adopted the mo- 
dern usage throughout France, which is to give leases 
for seven or nine years, with written agreements either 
to allow or not for farm-buildings, &c. 
In some parts of lower Brittany it is the praetice to 
lease the farms (on those short terms), as in other 
countries in a primitive state of agriculture, on shares ; 
the landlord finding the capital, and the tenant the 
labour, Nothing, however, can be more opposed to 
their ancient mode of occupancy than the nine years? 
lease ; but we easily find, in the social system of modern 
France, sufficient causes for inducing both parties to 
enter into short terms of tenure, among which is fore- 
most the law which gives to children equal rights of 
inheritance, and therefore oceasions frequent transfers 
of property. = 
Now, the social condition of Ireland, as nearly as pos- 
sible, demands an approximation to perpetuity of tenure, 
and the old Breton law, which practically involved this, 
appears to be a good model for the object in question, 
without depriving the landlord of the contingent advan- 
tages which he might derive should his property rise in 
intrinsic value. It should not be forgotten that the 
tendency of land in Ireland will be to rise in value (even 
if left in a neglected state) from the constant increase 
of population, and progressing skill in agriculture, with 
the concomitant development of industrial resources ; 
the right of a proprietor and his heirs to profit 
accordingly, even though the benefits be remote and 
contingent, should not be lost sight of. 
Te À 
: Home Gorrespondence, 
Guano ant Sunerphasphate of Lime as Manure— 
There have recently b several communications in 
