o aida 
38—1846.] 
THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 
635 
siderably risen since then, the following table is un- 
doubtedly what it professes to be—a statement of the 
prices paid for measure work during 1843-4 in various 
| districts of England. 
Per Acre, ee Bush. 
^» || TaRasn- 
DIBBLING. Horne, Mowine. HARVESTING. ING. 
A a x r3 46 m E 
Turnips. E Š * E $3 3 $ 
5 Sa 3 ô às E B 
2 E a a E 
s.d. s.d.|s.d. s.d.|s.d. s. d.| s.d. s.d.|s.d. s, d.|s. d. 8. d.|s. d.|s.d. — s.d.|| d. 
7 Oto 8 0/2 6to3 0/3 6to4 O|| 7 Otol0 0/2 0to8 0/2 0to2. 6) .. 5 0!l8to 
5 012 0—3 03 0—4 0|| 6 0—10 012 0—3 0/2 0—2 6) .. |10 0to12 0 
7 0— 9 0 36 4 0 NO USER ETT NEIN occ ack ah 
Pees 39 4 3| 9 0-11 0 39 2 10|28 0 F 
10 0—11 0 34 & 6 10 26 
ne 10 0 *27 427 10 0 26 
0| 40—80 *1 6 *1 10 70] *16 
0 80 26 3 3| 6 0—10 0 26 
30 50 20 2 0 80 16 
3 6j. zi 20 20 HU) cista tee 
40 16 270 2 ej|T0—80 26 
3 40 70 18 243 76 30 
Witham, 46 $10 0 28 3 2|| 80—10 0 26 
Tsle of Thanet, 
Kent ae 40 40 0 CELO Us 7131) Pees He 
Lewes, 3 ae oe 10 0 *276 *5 0|12 0—15 0| 26 
Wrentham, Suf. 3 0 1 0 20 30 80 36 
Collumpton, Dey ve 60|19—2926—3 0 #60) *2 0 
Truro, Cornwall 4 0| 7 0—10 0 26 3 0|| 9 0—10 0| 2 6l K 
Tn the cases m: 
beer or cideris given in addition 
to the money name: 
jd, $ Per bu , 
by the quantity sown is very bad policy. "The master's eye | twice hoeing. 
To pay seed operations | ing at day's wage: 
must be as constantly upon the party as though they were work- 
8, le e seed be wasted or stolen. $ For 
|| Per bushel dug. 
I shall conclude with but one additional observation. 
Of course measure work is paid for in money, and it is 
greatly better for all parties thatit should be paid for 
in money alone. Giving beer or cider in addition to 
Money generally diminishes the sum given more than 
is justified by the value of the drink, and these liquors 
are not of that strengthening character which some are 
inclined to believe. I may state as an illustration of 
this, that I had for some years on this farm a man who 
had been long in the habit of excessive drinking, and 
yet one day he formed a resolution (and has kept it 
now for three years with much benefit to himself) never 
more to partake of intoxieating drinks, and his value to 
me asa labourer (for he was a hard-working man) so 
far from being injured was much increased, Stimulat- 
Home Correspondence. 
. Profits and Costs of 'arming.—In 1836, I came 
into a small property of 30 acres, held under a lease of 
99 years, at 5s. pez acre, of which term 84 years then 
remained unexpired ; the land was then worth 15s. per 
acre. In the same year, I purchased 30 acres adjoin- 
ing them, worth 23/. per annum, for 8007. On this part 
(the freehold) I laid out 4007. in new buildings, and on 
the two parts (the frechold and leasehold) about 1007. 
in fencing and draining. I have been offered now for 
the whole, 60 acres, 25s. per acre. The total expendi- 
ture for the 10 years ending last May, is 3,1747. This 
includes the interest on the purchase money of the 
freehold, at 3} per cent. ; ditto, on stock and imple- 
ments, at 8 per cent. ; ditto, on permanent improve- 
ments, at 6 per cent. ; ditto, on first year’s expenses, at 
5 per cent., labour, manures, rent paid, rates, &c. 
The total receipts amount to 1,0007. with about 9007. 
worth of stock and crops in hand. How am I to cal- 
culate whether ou the whole, i. e. supposing I was to 
give up farming, and sell all off, whether I am out or 
in. pocket, taking into consideration the improved 
State of the land ; as by Inwood’s tables I arrive at 
very different results. Of course, I allude particularly 
to the leasehold portion, as the freehold is certainly 
Worth what it has cost me, viz., purchase, 8007.5 build- 
ings, 400/.=1200/. [Take your total receipts on the 
One hand, including /ega/ interest on the several items 
Since their respective dates, including, also, the present 
Value of your stock and cultivation ; and, on the other, 
take your total expenditure, charging legal interest as 
before, and also charging a reasonable sum for your 
Skill and labour as farmer; the difference between 
ese is the sum which up till now you have invested, 
Consider whether or not the increase of value in the 
estate since you have had it has been cheaply pur- 
Chased by this outlay.] Of the 60 acres, 17 are in 
vass, because they are in front of the house ; the re- 
Maining 43 are arable ; the situation is high, and ex- 
posed to southwest gales from the sea ; soil poor and 
gravelly; will not suit breeding ; dry ; good Oat, Barley, 
and Turnip soil ; rather difficult of approach from the 
Steepness of the hill; near a good market town. Pro- 
duce : Swedes, usually 18 to 22 tons per acre ; Oats, 
40 to 45 imperial bushels ; Barley, 32 bushels ; Wheat, 
20 to 24 bushels, but poor in quality, and, with the 
Cattle, liable to suffer severely from the smoke from 
Works in the neighbourhood, which prevents breeding. 
Ow many men should I constantly employ, how many 
horses, and what stock to keep? I have usually 10 to 
12 acres of green crops, 13 to 15 of corn, the remainder 
M Clover of first and second year. At present I have 
5 horses, 2 cows, 4 three-year-olds, 45 ewes and lambs, 
ie reeding sows, with large litters, I usually fatten 
2m 4 to 6 head of cattle every winter, of from 10 to 
Score per quarter, and about 50 sheep. My manual 
Power Consists of three men and a boy regularly, and 
eee man when he can be spared from the garden ; 
oe 12s. per week, head man 15s, in the house. The 
ation: Turnips, Barley, Clover, Wheat, Mangold 
ing drinks are not,in the long run, of that value in 
maintaining strength that people are apt to suppose. 
While, however, we approve of paying for piece-work 
solely in money, that opinion by no means extends to 
the payment of one’s constant day labourers. Amongst 
a steady, and, if I may use the word, an educated class 
| of labourers, possibly money wages may be the best 
| under all circumstances ; yet, taking labourers as we 
| find them, they are perhaps better off, both ina physical 
| and moral point of view, where that system of paymen 
partly in grain and partly in cash prevails, which pre- 
vails in Northumberland andsome of the Scottish coun- 
ties. But I must not enlarge—the reader will find a 
very excellent and interesting paper on the subject, by 
| Mr. Grey, of Dilston, in the second volume of the 
Society's Journal.—M. S. 
Wurzel, Potatoes, Oats: but the Wheat erop I am 
almost tempted to give up, from having suffered every 
year from the smoke or gales of wind. I use one of Bar- 
rett and Exall’s hand thrashing machines, which does good 
work, but requires four men (and strong men) and a boy, 
and is too hard work. Would you recommend a horse 
power on a farm of this size? [Your farm is hardly 
large enough to pay for it.] My horses do not consume 
above 35 bushels of Oats per annum, per head—no 
Beans only chaff of straw and hay—with Lucerne 
and Vetches—do hard work, and are, from good groom- 
ing, in beautiful condition, to which I attribute the 
quantity of corn being so much under what I see 
usually recommended. I lime about every four years, 
60 bushels per acre.—T. M. T. [The arable land will 
cost you, probably, 35s. an acre in manual labour, and 
your Grass land about 18s. Your stock seems a pretty 
fair quantity, if one may judge of the quality of your 
land by its stated rental.] 
On Planting Waste Land in Ireland.—1 have had 
it in contemplation for some years to address the fol- 
lowing observations to the editor of some widely circu- 
lating journal, for insertion in his Paper, should he 
consider them worthy of publication, upon the subject 
of improving waste lands in Ireland by planting ; and 
I have selected yours, as it is one devoted to the pur- 
poses of gardening and agrieulture, and, on that ac- 
count, best fitted for directing publie attention to this 
subject. The time is now arrived, I conceive, when, in 
consequence of the visitation of Providence from which 
we are now suffering, it has become the duty of the land- 
owners of Ireland to end to provide ex dinary 
employment for the poor on their estates ; and I am pre- 
pared to show, by a plain statement of facts, that by 
adopting the plan which I propose, gentlemen who have 
land suitable to the purpose, and which is unfit for til- 
lage; may assist. in giving the desired employment to 
the labourer, and, besides, secure to themselves a very 
large return for the trifling outlay. There are at pre- 
sent in Ireland many thousand acres of land which are 
not capable of being cultivated, and which do not yield 
from 1s. to 10s. an aere, but which would grow timber 
extremely well—such as the steep sides of hills, rocky 
lands, cut-out turf bogs, moors, &e. These I would 
propose to plant with trees suitable to their dif- 
ferent soils, such as Larch, Scotch Fir, Spruce Fir, 
Oak, Beech, Alders, Poplars, &e. Now, it would take 
4470 of those trees, set 4 feet apart, to plant an Irish 
aere ; but allowing that 4000 of them arrive at maturity, 
and are sold at 3d. each ; at the end of 20 years they 
would pay 2/. 10s. per acre per year; if sold at 6d. 
each, they would pay 5/.an acre for the same term ; 
and if sold at ls. apiece, they would pay 2007., or 107. 
per acre per year for the same period. This is, how- 
ever, a low valüation; as I have myself seen trees of 
but 25 or 30 years’ growth, sold for from 2s. 6d. t 
7s. 6d. apiece. Some may think that it would be difficult 
o 
of the country with which I am acquainted, the farmers 
find it difficult to obtain a sufficient supply for the pur- 
poses of their farms. Besides, it is almost certain that 
the railways in contemplation will require immense 
quantities of native timber, in the shape of sleepers, and 
in some eases of rails. Besides the advantages I have 
mentioned above, as resulting from a system of plant- 
ing, it would greatly improve the appearance of the 
country, and be of considerable service in the way of 
shelter for cattle.— H., an Irish Subscriber. 
Soda-ash and the Wireworm.—In your Paper of the 
29th ult., I read at p. 588 an article signed “ W. Prestoe, 
Shirley,” in which it is stated that the wireworm “ be- 
comes a winged fly, or rather a beetle very like a large 
fly ; it is then, and then only, that the White Mustard 
or soda-ash is disagreeable or in any way serviceable to 
keep off the wireworm." I believe this to be the case, 
because I have put wireworms into soda-ash for hours, 
and it has not injured them, while some land usually 
much infested with the worm having been dressed with 
soda-ash was nearly clear of the wireworm in the fol- 
lowing year. If this be so, it is obviously of much im- 
portance (as soda-ash costs 15s. the cwt.) to know at 
what time of the year the wireworm is in the beetle 
state, so that the application may be then made.— 
F. K., Northfleet. [* The beetles are found in the 
fields from April to June. The larvee hatched from 
their eggs are several years in undergoing their trans- 
formations. As soon as they have done feeding, having: 
east off their skins as they increased in size, they form 
an oval cell a£ a considerable depth in the earth, where 
they:change about July or August to pupze ; and, after 
a few weeks or months of this state, the beetles issue 
forth rejoicing in the spring." See p. 344, 1845.] 
Supplying Food for Workhouses.—Either a slip. of 
my pen,or of your printer's types, has introduced a 
mistake (at p. 612 e, 14 lines from bottom) which should 
be corrected. For “securing the object whieh they 
do” we ought to read “securing the object which they 
should do.” Perhaps I may add an observation to what 
is there remarked. It is the custom when guar 
are contracting for the supply of the workhouse, to 
accept the lowest tender. I have known A send in a 
tender for beef, at 5s. per cwt. below B. No positive 
t | fault could be found with the article furnished, which 
might justify the guardians in rejecting A’s tender ; and 
yet eyery member of the board has declared that 
would rather have taken B’s meat at the higher price’ 
than: A's at the lower. It would be exceeding the 
limits admitted in the Chronicle, to enlarge upon work- 
house regulations ; but as the question of diet has been. 
noticed in connection with the subject of the lecture 
you have printed, I may state for the consideration of 
those who may possess the opportunity of bringing such 
question before. the proper quarters, that it is the 
opinion of some persons of considerable experience, 
that it would very little, if at all, increase the rates, 
were the inmates allowed to eat as much as they liked. 
At present some have too much ; and, then, whatever 
they leave of Potatoes, &c.,is thrown to the pigs, some- 
times in pailfuls, whilst those who complain they have 
too little, are tied down to the very same amount as in- 
dividuals who have only half their appetites.—J. S. 
Henslow, September 15. 
Effect of Autumn Planting on Potato Disease.—I can 
bear testimony to the efficacy of autumnal planting, as 
a palliative, if not a complete preventive, to the 
ravages of the Potato disease, having planted 3 acres 
in November last, the crop from which is a very good 
one, and which I am now raising, perfectly free from 
disease. That autumnal planting has something to do 
with the exemption from disease in the plant, seems 
tolerably evident from the fact of a Potato garden, not 
a furlong off, and exactly on the same level, but which 
was planted in the spring, being badly affected ; the 
sets in both cases being taken from the same store 
Potatoes. The crop which I am now raising was 
planted on the ridge and furrow system, with many 
different sorts of Potatoes. The manure (raw farm- 
yard dung) being laid in the furrows, and the sets 
placed upon the manure, precaution being taken to use 
good middling-sized Potatoes for sets, without cutting 
them. They were then covered over with earth about 
7 inches deep, about 2 inches of which were drawn off 
them early in the spring. I strongly recommend ex- 
cluding Potatoes from the air as soon after they are 
taken out of the ground as possible, as I find that 
however sound they may be when first dug up, by long 
exposure they become diseased 3 and that this is occa- 
sioned by atmospheric influence I have little doubt, 
because the Potatoes which are stored in ridges, after 
being kept open for some days, for the purpose of 
effectually drying them, become diseased on the outside 
of the ridges, while all beneath them continue sound.— 
Frederick Phillips, Downham Hall, Sept. 15. 
Russian or Winter Bean.—Having sown two acres: 
of Beans in the second week of April, one of Tick 
Beans, the other of the Winter Beans, I had an oppor- ` 
tunity of observing the different habit of these vari- 
eties in the present season, under circumstances that 
are not likely to occur often, either as to the time of 
sowing, or character of the weather in May and June. 
The time of Bean sowing had been sacrificed for the 
sake of cleaning the ground, and the risk of loss was 
met by planting rows of Drumhead Cabbages between 
the Beans, which were 3} feet apart in the rows, and 
consequently 21 inches from Cabbages to Beans. 
to obtain a sale for timber of this sort, but in the parts | 
varieties of Beans were forced into premature blossoms, 
and the pods well formed previous to the July rain: at 
harvest the estimated produce was above 2 quarters of 
Ticks, and under 2 quarters of Winter Beans per acre, 
or much higher than was expected during their growth. 
After the rains, the stems of the Tick Beans made a 
