17—1846.] 
THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 273 
GEEDS.—CORNER OF HALF-MOON-STREET, 
THOMAS GIBBS and CO. 
(By Official appointment), the SEEDSMEN to the 
“ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND," 
"Beg to remind the Members of the Society, and Agrieulturists 
in general, that their only Counting House and Seed Ware- 
house is at the Corner of HALF-MOON-STREET, PICCA- 
DILLY, London, a: r the last Fifty Years. 
Priced Lists of Agricultural Seeds are always ready, and may 
‘be had on icati 
TURNIP SOWING. 
OTTER’S GUANO was used by Dr. DaunENY 
ainst Peruvian Guano, Bones, Superphosphate, and 
eight other Manures for Turnips, and BEAT THEM ALL. See, 
for particulars, ‘Journal of Royal Agricultural Society,” vol.vi. 
3 3 also at p. 224 of the Gardeners’ Chronicle of this 
28, Clapham-road-place, London. 
FOR TURNIP SOWING, &c. * 
ONE MANURE mixed with SULPHURIC ACID 
by far exceeds all other Manures that have been tried 
"against it, and may be had in any quantity, either together or 
separate, by applying to Jonn Hunt, Bone and Sulphuric Acid 
Works, High-street, Lambeth. 
BRITISH GUANO, warranted equal to Foreign, at 4l. per 
on, and may be paid for when the result is known. 
Tore Dace E 
SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 1846. 
VO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 
ultural Society of England. 
THURSDAY; — 80—Ag ural Imp. Soc. of Ireland, 
Wmpwzspav, May 86 Agricultural Society of England. 
THURSDAY, — 7—Agricultural Imp. Soc. of Ireland, 
LOCAL SOCIETIES. 
MEETINGS FOR THE 
Wroxnspay, April 29—Agi 
FARMERS’ CLUBS. 
y 
apil 97—Welington-Darlington | May 6—Harleston 
—  99-Newton —  7-Blefüeld and Waleham— 
— 30—Ontery St. Mary Richmondshire — Grove 
May 1—Ciaydon Feny 
— 2_Mel —  8—Wrentham — Norrhaller- 
=- t C k on —Tavistock—Debenham 
rkerhill —St. Germains — Chelms- 
—  5—Wingarworih—Aràleigh— ford—Hadleigh —Wakeñeld 
Wa'for edburgh — St. — Lich fied 
Quivox — Framlingham — | — —— 9-Dartford—Probus--Winch 
Rochford Hundred — Aber- comb—Cardiff — Swansea— 
gavenny—Wootton Basset Northampton, 
—  6=Braintree and Bocking 
In our last Number, p. 260, is a communica’ ion 
rom Mr. Hesry, which shows that Messrs. GIBBS 
and Mysrs’s system with regard to sales of Guano 
is not understood. Their present scale of prices is 
‘as follows :— 
For land under 15 tons . . .£12 
For 15 and under 30 tons . o i 
For 30 tons and upwards . . . 10 
With a discount, in all cases, of 24 per cent. 
It will, therefore, be seen that they do not object 
to selling even one ton; but for anything less than 
330 tons they have fixed high prices, in order to afford 
‘some scope to the dealers. 
Letters from the Patagonian coast, dated 2Ist 
of December last, inform us that in every spot 
where the Guano is found, to which we alluded 
‘some weeks ago, English vessels are taking cargoes. 
Twenty or thirty cargoes of this material will pro- 
Dably arrive in England within a few weeks. 
Tue subject of Tenants’ Ricurs, and the nature 
of the terms generally on which land in this country 
is held, have lately occupied considerable attention 
amongst farmers. The London Farmers’ Club has 
done much to excite the discussions which have 
taken place on these matters at similar societies 
‘throughout the country; and now it has taken up 
the collateral subject of the Least (see a report of 
their proceedings in another page), on which we 
ope it will succeed in inducing an equally exten- 
Sive debate. It has done and will do much good 
in thus guiding the discussions of local societies, 
provided always it does not induce them to take 
erroneous or impolitic ground. But this, we think, 
any impartial person who has examined these dis- 
‘cussions as they have been held, or reported in the 
columns of agricultural periodicals, will consider 
that they have already taken on the subject of 
Tenants’ Rights. Talking of “rights” and “legal 
enactments,” whether strictly justifiable or not, is 
certainly not good policy. It does but raise the 
Spirit indicated in-a letter, in another column, by 
our correspondent, “ R. L.” who probably belongs 
to the class against whom such remarks are neces- 
sarily pointed. Tenants’ Rights have no exist- 
€nce, excepting in so far as they are founded upon 
Special agreement with the owner of the land occu- 
Pied, or upon, what is understood as equally binding, 
the custom of the country. If a tenant-at-will, 
without any understanding with his landlord, erects 
buildings, drains. land, makes roads, or executes 
any other permanent improvement of the estate 
he occupies, he does so with his eyes open to the 
tisk he runs, and whether his card in that lottery 
prove a blank or a prize, he can have no fair ground 
for complaint. Let those who object to this system 
9f unprotected tenancy at will, and it is most faulty 
in whatever light we view it, endeavour to get it 
altered by pointing out to landlords their true inte- 
Testinthe matter, not by any threat of coercion ; 
Or so must agitation be regarded, for legal enact- 
ents on matters which are purely the subjects of 
Private bargain. Their efforts, thus directed, will 
be far more likely to succeed, for their case is much 
stronger on this ground than it can be on any other. 
Who has any interest in a system which induces 
the investment of capital in cultivation, if the land- 
lord has none? He of all should be the loudest in 
coudemning unprotected tenancy at will—that 
miserable system on which large tracts in this 
country are still held—and to which, with its inva- 
riable attendants, ignorance and want of enterprise, 
we must attribute the bad farming which over such 
districts still prevails. Why, land is almost value- 
less, except in the degree in which capital is invested 
in its cultivation. A mode of tenure which should 
induce a doubly high cultivation would double the 
value of an estate. Let any landlord look over 
his rent-roll, and select the best fields on each of 
his farms—those paying the highest rent. Are they 
those originally or intrinsically the most valuable— 
those which the geologist would point out as occu- 
pying the most favourable sites—those whose sub- 
soils would indicate extraordinary fertility? No— 
whatever their subsoils may be, they are invariably 
the home grounds, where the tenant, whether he 
intended it or not, has been most actively at work ; 
those nearest the dung heap, and whose cultivation 
has been the most costly. 
Again, there is a tract of land in this country 
stretching from Dorsetshire to Yorkshire, varying in 
width from one to ten miles ; it occupies the site of 
what geologists call the blue lias formation ; it is 
naturally of a most uniform quality, 2. e. the mineral 
constituents of the soil, which of course are exclu- 
sively the landlord’s property, are very constant in 
their quantity and proportions. Is the fertility of 
this district equally constant? On the contrary, 
there is hardly another district of equal extent of 
such variable value. There is land within it varying 
from 10s. to 37. per acre in annual value, and this 
variety almost wholly arises from the neglect or 
poverty of farmers in some cases, and their energy 
and wealth in others. 
Does not all this prove beyond doubt how land- 
lords are i sted in the establisl t of a system 
which shall tend to induce a high degree of culti- 
vation? And to suppose unprotected tenancy at 
will to have that tendency is most preposterous, 
ON THE MANAGEMENT OF HORSES. 
[Tux following is an abridged report of a discussion 
on this subject, for which we are indebted to the kind- 
ness of the Secretary of the Newcastle Farmers’ Club.] 
Mr. Grorce Bares, of Heddon Banks, introduced the 
subject. It could not, he said, be a matter unworthy of 
serious thought, how the farmer could most economically 
feed his live stock, when the vast number of horses and 
cattle kept in this country was considered. MacCulloch 
had estimated the number of horses kept for pleasure, 
for agriculture, and for other purposes, at 1,500,000. 
The staple food of the horse was corn and hay. Corn 
was costly, and hay was far from a profitable crop. 
The substitution, therefore, partially at least, of a 
cheaper diet, was desirable. Last winter he had re- 
sorted to straw and Potatoes; and he had also grown 
Potatoes for this purpose against the present season ; 
but, owing to their increased value, none of them had 
gone to the horses. Youatt strongly recommended 
manger-feeding. Hay and straw, cut up, and mixed 
with corn, was excellent food. The bruising of Oats 
was an economical practice. The quantity of unbruised 
Oats consumed by two horses, if bruised would keep 
three. He had his Oats all bruised in a cheap old mill, 
and let his horses eat what they liked of the straw 
put before them ; what was left answered the purpose 
of bedding. But what he had heard and read of Whin- 
feeding, damped the ardour of his inquiries into the 
value of all other kinds of food. He held in his hand a 
volume published upwards of half a century ago, in 
which there were several curious and interesting state- 
ments on the subject of Furze, or Whins, as winter-food 
for horses. A gentleman had observed a horse feeding 
upon Whins, in preference to other food, upon an open 
common, and was led to make inquiries on the subject. 
He then found that Whins were cultivated in the neigh- 
bourhood of London, and that horses and cattle had 
been fed thereon in Wales for ‘at least 100 years. It 
was evident, therefore, that Whins had been used in 
this country for provender for upwards of a century 
and a half. They were also used in Scotland ; and 
during the peninsular war the horses of the British 
cavalry fed and throve upon this diet on the Pyrennees. 
In the “ Royal Agricultural Society's Journal" (vol. vi., 
part ii., p. 379), there was an admirable prize essay on 
the subject, by Mr. Owen Roberts, of Bangor. [Mr. 
Bates read an extraet—which we will take the liberty of 
lengthening.] 
“Tn the northern districts of the principality of Wales, 
and more especially in the counties of Carnarvon, 
Anglesey, and Denbigh, Gorse has, time immemorial, 
een in general use as food for horses. It has also oc- 
casionally, and when other provender was scarce, been 
employed as food for horned cattle. Where, either by 
itself or in conjunction with other p it has been 
used as food for milch cows, the results have been 
highly satisfactory. It has given to the milk and butter 
a fine colour and a rich flavour. Those who have ap. 
plied it to this purpose are of opinion that cows yield a 
better profit than when they are fed with the best hay, 
or even with Turnips. he butter is in all respects 
of an improved quality. The experience of its utility as 
food for sheep has hitherto been very limited. This 
has chiefly arisen from the little attention bestowed by 
Welsh farmers upon the feeding of that class of 
live stock. Where, however, the experiment has been 
made, in conjunction with Turnips, sheep ate it freely, 
and improved rapidly in condition. It is in feeding 
horses, however, that Gorse has hitherto most generally 
and most advantageously been employed. It is because 
this plant grows so abundantly in all parts of the prin- 
cipality, and because it is so much employed in the 
keeping of horses, that in many seasons the less wealthy 
classes of Welsh farmers may congratulate themselves 
on their escape from ruin. It will grow luxuri- 
antly on the thinnest, the coldest, and apparently the 
most sterile soils. It is capable of being used as cir- 
cumstances may require, at one year’s growth as well 
as at two. With moderate attention to its culture, and 
by keeping it from being injured by sheep and cattle, it 
will produce if it be cut every year, at the rate of from 
8 to 14 tons per acre, of good succulent provender ; if it 
be cut every second year, it will yield at the rate of 
from 12 to 24 tons per acre. Instances have oc- 
curred of farmers having been known to pay at the rate 
of 151., 204, 307., aye 40/. per acre for Gorse, to those 
who had bestowed some little care in the cultivation of 
it, and that upon land immediately contiguous to that 
which they themselves occupied. Scores of acres of the 
land so held, though capable, with the slightest atten- 
tion, of yielding luxuriant crops of Gorse, are suffered 
to be ofno value. Nay, such farmers allow whole dis- 
triets to remain unproductive. Their own Grass crops, 
from want of activity and forethought, are almost worth- 
less, and they purchase in the immediate neighbourhood, 
at a high rate, of more intelligent and industrious indi- 
viduals, that very provender in the form of Gorse which 
land in their own hands, if judiciously managed, is 
eapable of furnishing in abundance, and in return for 
the most trifling outlay.” 
At the end of his essay (continued Mr. Bates), Mr. 
Roberts gave the testimony of several Welsh farmers 
to the value of Whins. Tuomas WiLLIAwS said— 
“I am 74 years of age. As a farmer and a cow- 
leech I have been practically acquainted with the use of 
Gorse as food for cattle since I was a boy. When 
milch cows are fed with Gorse the produce in milk and 
butter is always better than when they are kept on hay. 
(Mr, Nicholas Burnett: I ean vouch for that.) My 
father died about 63 years ago, and my mother was left 
in the occupation of ‘a small farm called Cilmelyn, in 
the parish of Bangor, with myself, then 11 years old, 
nd two younger brothers. The rent of that place, 
though now 122. 12s., was only 1/. 5s. There was no 
winter fodder whatever for the three cows that my 
mother had, and hay was at that time sold at 2s. 6d. 
the ewt. My mother set me and my two younger 
brothers to gather and to chop Gorse, prom: ing to each 
of us a new pair of shoes on May-day if we did our 
work well We gathered the Gorse on the borders of a 
common; and with two mallets and an axe, which I 
faney I see before me now, we chopped and bruised 
what was required to keep the three cows up to May- 
y. We received the promised new shoes ; and the 
cows when turned out to Grass, were in a far better 
condition than when they used to be fed with hay. 
My mother always afterwards used to say that her 
cows never yielded such good profit as they did the 
winter they were fed with Gorse by her boys." 
One of Mr. Roberts's witnesses declared emphatically 
that Gorse was at least as good as hay, and he seemed 
to be of opinion that it was even better. The essay was 
illustrated with plans of Gorse mills, from which it 
would appear that they would not be more expensive 
than many other implements which the agriculturist 
kept on his farm. 3 
* The earth,” said Mr. Roberts, “ carried from exea- 
vations and euttings connected with the numerous rail- 
ways in progress throughout every part of the kingdom, 
and the slopes on the sides of these railways, may be 
regarded as furnishing the means of introducing and of 
extending the cultivation of the Gorse piant as proven- 
der, and at an expense that would barely amount to 
more than double the cost of the seed." 
“In Gibbs’s Catalogue,” said Mr. Bates, “the price 
of the seed was marked at 1s. 6d.” 
« The chief point in the raising of Gorse is to clear 
the land from Couch Grass, and to make it tolerably 
ry. To attain the former object, the best plan, if the 
soil be tolerably deep, will be to carry off a spit deep of 
the surface. The value of the soil in forming à compost 
with lime, sand, clay, &c,, will amply repay the ex- 
pense. After repeated failures, by removing the active 
soil which abounded with roots, and exposing the yellow 
rammel, comprising the subsoil, farmers liave succeeded 
$e 
a 
5 
a 
should be pared with a breast plough and burnt. Where 
the land is composed of cold, stiff, retentive clay, the 
best expedient will be, should the surface be loaded with 
Couch Grass roots, &c., to take off a thin paring, and to 
burn it, The land afterwards, in order to preserve the 
plants from the bad effects of water, should be put 
