796 THE 
AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 
[Nov. 28, 
. Home Correspondence. 
Farm <Agreements.—The object of the following 
clause is to provide against a tenant doing serious 
injury to his farm, but, at the same time, nof so strin- 
gent as to prevent a good farmer from pursuing or 
varying his rotation of eropping according to quality 
and condition of soil, situation, and other varying circum- 
stances, I shall be much obliged by the opinions of such 
of your correspondents as aim solely at the benefit of 
both parties affected by such agreements. “To farm 
and cultivate as arable acres of the land described 
in the schedule as arable land ; and two crops of corn, 
or two crops of corn and one of pulse, with a thorough 
cleaning of the land with a green crop (or fallow if it 
cannot be done without) and laying down for one or 
more years with a sufficient quantity of Clover and 
Grass seeds, and to be well and sufficiently manured 
for one or other of the last-named crops, is to constitute 
the round of cropping of the said land to be cultivated 
as arable.” The rotation of the above crops is left 
entirely open to the tenant.—J. H., Namptwich. 
On Shed-feeding Sheep.— This has been a good deal 
tried by different graziers and keepers of sheep in this 
neighbourhood, but [ am sorry to say not with success, 
owing to the difficulty that seems to exist in keeping 
foided sheep free from the foot-rot. In the Agricul- 
tural Gazette, at page 778, is a paper on this 
subject by *J. A. C.," and from the style of his 
writing I presume that he has had considerable expe- 
rience in shed-feeding sheep, and therefore as he 
appears as anxious as I am for bringing about agri- 
eultural improvement, I trust that he, or some other 
of the readers of the Gazette who are conversant with 
the subject, wiil kindly point out what means would be 
mostlikely to prevent this disease attacking the flock. 
In the paper alluded to, “J. A. C." describes it as only 
requisite to have the shed in whieh the sheep are kept 
well bedded (I presume with straw), but yet that has 
been found not to answer in this neighbourhood. Iam, 
however, much of the same mind as “J. A. C.,” “that 
this dep of agricul lp d loudly ealls 
for improvement," and I am of opinion that if any mode 
of management can be pointed out by which the feet 
of the animals ean with certainty be kept sound, that 
one stumbling block will be removed towards improve- 
ment in this department — Thomas Dixon, Darlington, 
Nov. 23. 
On Thin Sowing.—l have attentively read the 
several statements which have appeared in your Jour- 
nal from time to time, respecting the superior crops 
produced by Mr. Hewitt Davis, although raised from so 
much smaller a quantity of seed than is usually em- 
ployed by * old farmers," and I find that much praise 
is attributed to that gentleman for his peculiar system, 
viz., sowing a small quantity of seed at wide intervals, 
and constant hoeing. Now without wishing to detract 
from the merit which is due to Mr. Davis for earvyin 
out that mode of culture, my object in addressing you 
is simply to point out that there is nothing new in the 
js," which is in fact only 
principle called * Hewitt Davis’s, 
a revival of the system first promulgated by Jethro 
Tull in 1701, and it would be but an act of justice to 
the memory of that gentleman were you to make it 
more generally known, that to Jethro Tull we are in- 
debted for the system of thin sowing, and also the in- 
vention of the drill and introduction of the horse-hoeing 
husbandry. In that justly celebrated work, entitled 
* The Horse-hoeing Husbandry,” by Jethro Tull, pub- 
lished in the year 1731-2, at page 174, it is stated :— 
& About the year 1701, when I had contrived my drill 
for planting Sainfoin, I made use of it also for Wheat, 
drilling many rows at once, which made the work much 
more compendious, and performed it much better than 
hands could do ; making the channels of a foot distance, 
drilling in the seed and covering it, did not in all 
amount to more than 6d. per aere expense, which was 
above ten times over paid by the seed which was saved ; 
for one bushel to an aere was the quantity drilled." 
have carried out Jethro Tull's system to a certain ex- 
tent, and I find that the Tullian principle is more 
correct than that of Mr. Hewitt Davis, because the latter 
gentleman * goes the whole hog," and simply asserts,— 
* sow thin, at wide intervals, and hoe.” Now, although 
a convert, as I before said, to the Tullian system, I must 
beg to tell Mr. Davis, and also many of your readers 
who might be induced to try this new old system, that 
they must be careful not to rush to an extreme of thin 
sowing, unless their land is in good heart, and clean, 
and a due regard is had to the time of getting in their 
seed. At page 184 of the before-named work, Tull 
says, “when Wheat is planted early, less seed is required 
than when late ; because less of it will die in the winter 
-than of that planted late, and it has more time to tiller.” 
** Poor land should have more seed than rich land, 
because a less number of the plants will survive the 
m 
number of stalks, which will have large ears, and in 
these, more than in the number of plants, consists the 
goodness of a crop.” * * * Six gallons of middle- 
sized seed we most commonly drill on an acre ; yet on 
rich land, planted early, four gallons may suffice.” Let 
not the farmer, however, who thinks of trying this plan, 
rest with having drilled a much smaller quantity of 
seed than he has usually done ; for that operation is 
but a part of the whole which is required to insure 
success, even upon well-conditioned soils. Indeed, the 
next step is an all-important one, viz., the width of 
intervals ; and I know from experience that there is 
more prejudice against drilling at a wider distance than 
6 inches, even than against one bushel of seed versus 
two bushels, The fact, however, is, that thin sowing 
is useless unless at intervals of not less than 9 inches, 
and the hoeing properly done—not skimmed over just 
to hide the weeds, but a thorough deep stirring. Hear 
again what Jethro Tull says upon this point, first observ- 
ing that, for the hoe-plough which Tull speaks of we have 
now the improved horse-hoe, Atpage 194, Tullsays,“ We 
are not so exact as to the weather in the first hoeing, 
for if the earth be wet the hoe-plough [horse-hoe] may 
go the nearer to the row without burying the Wheat, 
and the frost of the winter will pulverise that part of 
the furrow which is to be thrown to the Wheat in the 
spring, although it was hoed wet." * * * “Neither 
is it necessary to be very exact as to time, but it must 
never be until the Wheat has more than one blade, an 
it may be soon enough when it has four or five leaves, 
so that itis done before or in the beginning of winter." 
E “The greatest fault you can commit in hoe- 
ing is the first time, when the furrow should be turned 
from the row not to go near enough to it, nor deep 
enough.” * * The spring hoeing is performed 
after the great frosts are passed, and when the weather 
will allow it, and then turn the ridge from the middle of 
the interval to the rows on each side.” 
to how many times Wheat is to behoed in the summer 
after this spring operation it depends upon the cireum- 
stances and condition of the land and weather ; but be 
the season as it will, never suffer the weeds to grow 
high, nor let any unmoved earth lie in the middle of the 
intervals long enough to grow hard, neither plough 
eep near the rows in the summer, when the plants 
are large, but as deep in the middle of the intervals as 
the staple will allow, turning the earth towardsthe Wheat, 
especially at the last hoeing, so as to leave a deep wide 
trench in the middle of each interval.” * * 
* We augment our Wheat crops, not in number of 
plants, but in stalks, ears, and grains. The first is by 
increasing the number of stalks from one, two, or three 
to 30 or 40 toa plant, in ordinary field land ; and we 
augment our crop by bringing up all the stalks into 
ears ; for if it be diligently observed, we shall find that 
not half the stalks of sown Wheat come into ear.” 
“The last way of augmenting the produce of 
Wheat plants is by causing them to have large and 
plump grains in the ears ; aud this can no way be so 
effectually done as by late hoeing, especially just after 
the Wheat is gone out of the blossom ; and when suc 
hoed grains weigh double the weight of the same number 
of unhoed (which they frequently will), though the 
number of grains in the hoed are only equal, yet the 
hoed erop must be double." I think the foregoing 
quotations will sufficiently bear out my observation re- 
specting the credit of this system being due to the 
author I have quoted. Indeed, the work of Jethro 
Tull should be every farmer's text-book. Should you 
consider the above worthy a place in your Journal, it 
may be the means of inducing some of your readers 
who may be, like myself, but a young farmer, to seek 
further into the work in question, from which, I flatter 
myself, I have gained considerable information.— H. C., 
Wooburn, Bucks. 
Calcareous Deposits in Drains.—I see, in your last 
Gazette, that a correspondent (T. G. Clitheroe) specu- 
lates upon the possible effect of caleareous deposits in 
stopping drains in the limestone distriets, and also in 
those in which quick-lime is used as a manure. I hap- 
pen to have discovered, by accident, a very remarkable 
instance of this. I was recently draining a large pas- 
ture field on the side of a hill, in the Cotswold district, 
which was a complete swamp; there was a consider- 
able depth of soil, and the men were surprised at meet- 
ing continually in the course of the drains with what 
appeared to them like irregular fragments of rock, in 
continuous lengths, which they had some difficulty in 
separating. On a close examination of these, they were 
evidently very ancient drains which appeared to have 
been originally formed of three blocks of stone—one 
having formed the base, upon whieh two others had 
been placed, meeting at the upper edge ; thus leaving a 
triangular space for the flow of water. These stones 
ad become consolidated into one mass by the calca- 
reous deposit of the water, and had, no doubt, ceased to 
act for many years. There is a tradition that there 
was heretofore a castle upon the top of this hill, which 
lies near the old Roman Foss-road ; it is probable that 
these drains were coeval with that structure. There 
are springs in various parts of this county, which are 
very remarkable for the quantity of deposit in their 
course, "There is one at Chalford, in the vale district, 
which, in common parlance, petrifies all substances sub- 
mitted to its action. hen the earth is carefully re- 
moved, and the substance is submitted to the action of 
water to cleanse away the ordinary dirt, the most beau- 
tiful forms become apparent, the nucleu of which have 
evidently been roots, branches of trees, &c., now con- 
verted into limestone without any change even of 
minute structure. Where such springs exist, no doubt 
drains would cease to act in the course of a few years ; 
but these, I apprehend, are rare. I have seen man 
old drains opened in this county, all formed of stone of 
the country, but I never observed the slightest deposit, 
excepting in the instance I have mentioned. — C. 
Laurence. 
Antimony for Pigs.—l beg to thank you for your 
reply to my enquiry as to porkers, and I hope you will 
excuse my recurring to the subject of antimony for 
them, In * Paxton's Cottagers' Calendar," edited at 
a 
@ 
* | to physic healthy animals. 
your office, and which I have had much pleasure in cir- 
culating by distribution amongst my neighbours, direc- 
tions are given, at p. 66 (the top of the page), for “ in- 
troducing into the food of baconers, for the first five or 
six days, as much powdered antimony and sulphur as 
will lie on a shilling.” Being ignorant as to the power 
of antimony, and how it operates, I asked the question ; 
as well as from having seen a not very credible if 
humorous anecdote at some time, which is probably 
not new to you, namely, that some Roman Catholic pro- 
tector of a monastery, who had seen the fattening power 
of antimony upon pigs, and who held the Chinese opinion 
that obesity was a blessed state to be desired, adminis- 
tered the same to the holy brotherhood, and killed them; 
"nde antimony derivatur! Since writing to you, the 
decay amongst my Swedes has become more decided, a 
dry pithy rot being apparent in very many. In this 
neighbourhood many erops of Skirving's Purple-tops (to 
say nothing of other sorts), are as far advanced towards 
seeding as they were at the latter end of March in the 
present open and forward year. That excellent Turnip 
appears to start off earlier than most. In the present 
summer, so very favourable has the season been for 
luxuriant growth that, although Turnip sowing was very 
late, the plants have stood too near to each other and 
drawn one another up towards seeding. Itisa 
old remark that no man can be trusted to thin his own 
Turnips, because he is sure to spoil his erop by not 
leaving them sufficiently distant from each other. But 
the luxuriance of this year has been greater than the 
most unsparing thinner could calculate upon, and shows 
how very difficult it is, if not impossible, to lay down 
any fixed rule for distance in thinning Turnips, whether 
the crop be sown early or late. The Tankards have 
been a sad failure this year, all tops and not above one- 
third of usual bulk. ‘They have, too, a sickly decaying 
appearance.—A Subscriber. [It cannot be good policy 
Our experience as regards 
the Turnip crop resembles yours.] 
Potatoes.—1 have been careful to be present, when- 
ever it was possible, at the digging up of Potatoes in 
this vicinity, and by observation and inquiry I have 
endeavoured to ascertain every fact concerning them, 
In this occupation, my attention has been drawn par- 
ticularly to one cireumstance. Whenever the crop has 
been overrun with weeds the produce has been remark- 
ably healthy. In a sandy piece of land almost covered 
with Couch Grass, I could scarcely detect a diseased 
tuber. Now, I conceive that this will point out the 
most profitable method of cultivation during the preva- 
lence of the present maiady. The Potato thus situated 
has been in a comparatively natural state, and has thus 
been able to combat successfully with a natural enemy. 
When growing sp ly it is ded by other 
plants, and if these have been an obstacle to the en- 
largement of the tuber they have, by preventing gross 
luxuriance, given the plant, &c., hardiness of which 
cultivation has deprived it. But to follow Nature too 
closely, and to sow a crop of Barley over the imbedded 
sets would be useless, for the produce, I am afraid, 
would not pay the expense of cultivation. Instead of 
this, a plan which I saw tried by an intelligent labourer 
is, I believe, worthy of adoption, at least by way of 
experiment. His crop was planted without manure, 
at the earthing up he sowed some White Stone Turnip 
seed. ‘Thus in the first part of the season when the dis- 
ease produced little injury the Potatoes were unrestrained 
in their growth, but when, after the wet weather, the 
malady begun its destructive career, the Turnips grew 
apace, asserted their right to the rich contents of the 
soil, deprived the Potato of the unnatural stimulus of 
cultivation, and thus prevented its falling a prey to the 
almost universal destroyer. No plan that has come 
under my notice has been so satisfactory in the result 
as this. The cottager had twenty bushels of sound 
Potatoes to the chain (I have not seen this year a 
larger produce), and in addition a valuable crop of 
Turnips. "There are, besides, other reasons for aiming 
at this double crop. It is found that the Potatoes 
ought not to be taken from the ground before November. 
By allowing them to remain, they keep better, and are 
improved in quality. But there is the drawback that 
the ground is lying useless all this time. If, however, 
some Swede or white Turnip seed is sown, the second 
crop takes its turn after the Potato has finished its 
course, The Turnip, moreover, is a desirable adjunct 
to the Potato. Every one who has tried it knows how 
the hog thrives with boiled Swede Turnips mixed with 
Potatoes better than with the latter diet alone, and the 
physician assures us that our own stomachs also perform 
their duty more effectually with a variety and change of 
food than with a continuance of the same aliment. 
Besides, if the land is not manured, the Turnips will 
be peculiarly sweet, and fit for human food. I may 
also add that there are various reasons for not earthing 
up the Potatoes on light land. Mr. Knight recom- 
mended it, and I, with some others, tried it last year 
with satisfactory results. If the Potatoes have been 
autumn planted, they are already six inches below the 
level surface, and, if the soil is raised higher, the tubers 
grown in this part will have been produced ao tall as to 
become the almost certain prey of the disease. Whilst 
without this earthing up the produce in the six inches 
of underground stem is more likely to be sound by 
having an early maturity. On the level surface, too, the 
Turnips will be more easily grown, and if alternate 
rows are left and earthed up against the winter’s frost, 
the operation will be more easily and effectually per- 
formed.— Sigma. 
