THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 
843 
provision, and 
classes, and “tg 
hee 2 is from 
„neir lands to tenants possessing less than 107. 
E 
1. gerative upon them, under the penalty of a competent 
sabour rate, to maintain in annual employ such a number 
of labourers on the land as, according to a survey to be 
made septennially of the parish, shall be awarded to be 
requisite for the full and complete management of land 
on the most approved system of husbandry. Something 
of this sort, in conjunction with am aet abolishing the 
duties on all building materials, and compelling the 
1 hol 
to bui and comfortable cot- 
tages for their labourers, would soon empty the union- 
houses—those sinks of disease and'd lizat re- 
x both | attention 
derived from extended experience and science “were 
unknown. {T confess, until I had read Mr. Parkes’s 
Essay on “The ' Temperature of Soils as affected by 
Drainage,” I was at a loss to give satisfactory explana- 
tions for my practice, although I had come to the same 
conelusion that reading his works will, I think, at once 
bring every one. "To his works I would refer all who 
are about to drain, for it is a lamentable fact that by 
far the greater portion of the money spent in draining 
is comparatively lost, aud as yet few are aware of the 
full benefit to be gained. One of the most important 
benefits to be derived from drainage is a higher tempe- 
rature in the spring of the surface soil—a benefit of 
t i in ourcli but whichis notfülly at- 
duce the poor-rate, reclaim morals, and bring the land 
into ‘such a state of fertility and beauty as to gratify 
both the moral and physical sense.—R. L. 
White Mustard.—kaving seen inthe “Journal of 
the Royal Agricultural Society,” vol. vii., page 31,a 
prize Essay on White Mustard, by Thomas Cooke Bur- 
roughes, recommending it as a green crop to be-grown 
on poor land and‘ ploughed in as manure for crop of 
Wheat, I shall be much obliged to you or any'of the 
readers of ‘your widely-cixeulated paper for inf À 
on this subject, arising either from their experience or 
from their observation of the practice of others. The 
result-of the experiments ‘tried by Mr. Burroughes, 
appears to me to be of the utmost consequence to the 
occupiers of mountain lands, as there are millions of 
acres in this kiugdom at present destined to the starva- 
tion of a few poor miserable sheep ; but which if made 
capable of producing tolerable crops of corn atso cheap 
arate as that related by Mr. Burroughes, will in future 
render this kingdom independent of foreign supply. By 
paring, burning, and liming an old sward, we get a crop 
of Buckwheat, which if ploughed down will give a tole- 
rable crop of Wheat, which is generally followed 
by a erop of Barley or Oats, and there the matter 
ends, as the land by such practice becomes so deteri- 
orated as to be incapable of producing more than a 
poor crop of Grass, and the land is generally left un- 
tilled for many-years before it can again be pared and 
burnt with a chance of success, as Buckwheat sown 
without a good supply of ashes will not produce more 
than a thin stunted erop not half.sufficient to plough 
down as manure for a crop of any sort.of corn, Is 
there anything beside White Mustard which may be 
expected to produce on our poor thin soils:a sufficient 
green crop to be ploughed down as manure? . Sir 
Humphrey Davy in. his “Agricultural Lectures,” 
page 243, says: ' All green succulent plants contain 
saccharine or mucilaginous matter, with woody fibre 
and readily ferment. They cannot, therefore, if in- 
tended for manure, be used too soon after their deat 
When green crops are to be employed for enriching a 
Soil, they should be ploughed in, if it be possible, when 
in flower, or at the time the flower is beginning to 
appear; for it is at this period that they contain the 
largest quantity of easily.soluble matter. Green crops, 
pond-weeds, the paring of hedges and ditches, or any 
kind of fresh vegetable matter; require no preparation 
to fit them for manure. The decomposition slowly pro- 
ceeds beneath the soil. The soluble matters are gra- 
dually dissolved, and the slight fermentation that goes 
on, checked by the want of a free communication, of air, 
tends to render the woody fibre soluble without occa- 
Sioning the rapid dissipation of elastic matter." : May I 
beg the fayour of an early insertion of the above in your 
excellent paper as may be convenient, as I apprehend 
there are many thousands of the occupiers of mountain 
lands who are deeply interested in the information they 
May receive through your means as well as—A Moun- 
taineer. 
Prevention of Foot-rot in Shed-feeding Sheep.—1n 
reply to “ Thomas Dixon’s ” inquiry respecting the foot- 
Tot in shed-feeding sheep, I beg to refer him to Mr. 
Karkeek’s prize report of the Farming of Cornwall, in 
the “ Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society,’’ page 
450, where it is stated, “that the foot-rot was easily 
prevented by carting a quantity of earth, in the form of 
a mound, in the centre of the yard attached to the shed, 
upon which are occasionally strewed small quantities of 
slaked lime, aud that simple remedy has prevented the 
disease," —From a Correspondent. 
The Principles of Draining.—Experience had long 
‘shown to me the important difference between drains 
of 24 and 4 feet in, depth many years before Mr. 
Parkes had written on the subject, and so satisfactorily 
removed all doubts by his conclusive reasonings and 
experiments, I had found out that the deepest drains 
were the cheapest, most durable, and far more effectual 
in all soils; hence in all my practice I have long since 
abandoned putting in any in arable land at less than 
four feet. I have repeatedly had to redrain land that 
had been previously drained at shallow depths, and 
seen that the deeper drains run first, the longest, and 
discharged the greatest volume, and removed the cold 
damp from the surface, which the shallower had failed 
to do, The practice of shallow, draining has arisen from 
the erroneous impression prevailing. that their use is to 
take the surface water, and not to permit it to first 
- soak down, whereas no rain water should pass off the 
ground, but all should be encouraged to go through it, 
and which, with proper tillage and drainage, it will do. 
Drains, are intended to: prevent the return of water 
Upwards, and not to admit water from above. That 
aining is so little understood is hardly to be won- 
dered at, when we consider that until Mr. Parkes's 
th. | fall, and then there is every chance of the drain being 
tained by drains of lessthan4 feet deep, and searcely felt at 
all when only 21 feet. If rain passes through the soil 
to the depth of 4 feet, the temperature of the soil, by 
the passage of the water, is considerably raised ; whilst 
on the contrary, if drained only 24 feet down, the 
water from below is soaked upwards to the surface by 
eapillary attraction, and will be continually passing off 
by evaporation—this vise of water, and the effect of 
evaporation producing extreme cold in the spring, ap- 
pears too often unknown, Ihave drained all descrip- 
tions of soil, and as yet have never seen occasion to 
drain arable land less than 4 feet in depth, nor at dis- 
tances less than 35 feet; of course the distance from 
35 feet upwards will vary with the character of the soil, 
the lighter requiring fewer drains ; but I take 4 feet to 
be the best depth for all soils, and the least expensive. 
I pay 9d. per rod for cutting and laying and filling-in 
4 feet drains; but labour in England varies con- 
siderably. ‘There are draining tools, which, in the 
hands of men aceustomed to them and to the work, 
enable them to earn 3s. or 3s. 6d. per day at this rate 
of pay per rod. There is no material equal to tiles or 
pipes. The labour of picking and breaking stones is 
nearly equivalent to the cost of tiles. Where fuel is 
moderate, 14-inch tiles may be made at from 10s. to 
18s. per 1000, the cost of coals being from 8s. to 28s. 
per ton; and about 750 are sufficient for an acre at 
40 feet distances. If tilesare used, no stones should be 
put on them. I put a little Heath or straw on the tiles 
to prevent their dislodgement by the fall of the earth in 
filling in, or.soil working in at the joints. At the prices 
I have given draining costs from 65s. to 90s. per acre, 
including carriage of materials ; I never use pipes or 
tiles less than 14 inch bore. I think the use of stones 
alone is objectionable, and have lately heard great com- 
plaints where they have been used, and the draining cost 
from 8/. to 97, per acre. All drains should be carried 
directly up the fall, never across. The object in view 
should be ever to give an even current with the greatest 
permanent and always washing itself clean. A know- 
ledge of geology will much assist in arranging the 
direction of the drains; cutting across the lines of 
strata or deposits lets out. the water that lies between 
them. Before draining examine your land by sinking 
little wells 4 or 5 feet deep ; andif you find a porous 
substratum that allows water to freely pass down, and 
you are not shown that water rises in winter, do not 
drain, for no benefit can acerue therefrom.— Hewitt 
Davis. 
Tenant Highis.— When I penned my former letter to 
you on this subject, to which your correspondent, “A 
Northumberland Farmer," takes so much exception, I 
of course expected that it would provoke some angry 
replies, and was prepared to sustain them as every man 
ought to be who ventures to mingle passion with argu- 
ment. Allow me, however, to set my northern friend 
right on one or two points where he has fallen into 
error. Your correspondent * R, L.” is not * A. Lincoln’s- 
inn Receiver.” - He is whatvhe: represented: himself to 
be, a landlord ; and one whose tenants do not clamour 
for tenants’ rights; one who has always been ready to 
meet his tenants, more than “half way-in any improve- 
ments ‘they may require or suggest on’ their. lands, 
whether in draining or the erection of farm buildings, 
removal of timber.or otherwise. Whether ** A North- 
umberland Farmer” be what he represents himself 
cted to it, the practice had been ge- j 
d | nerally confined to tenant farmers, and the advantages 
animal food, on a given quantity of food ; and l-believe 
it has also been proved that a.cow will give more milk 
when stall-fed, and.the.amilk: (will -throw.up.-more 
cream (Tam speaking particularly of winter), than: when 
she is suffered to range throughout the day or-a.por- 
tion-of-it.on: a meadow, although -she.may. be-housed 
at night and secure a'fair allowance of roots^and 
hay. Whether there is more profit ‘none Way ‘or! the 
other is not the point at which.at.present I.wish ta 
arrive ; but do. you ‘mot’ conceive that»the flesh of a 
beast or sheep which is allowed the greatest quantity of 
liberty consistent with making a sufficiency of fat, would 
be’ not: only x:ore :agreeable to the- palate, but more 
wholesome ; and that the cream of a cow só' treated 
would makesuperior butter. [We should imagine:so.] 
By wholesome, I. mean:more easily digested. by-the de- 
bilitated stomachs of ‘those who move in the-higher 
classes of life. ^ Venison.eaters all know that it. is; not 
worth eating if it has been fed in small enclosures;and 
is far inferior to good mutton, although it may be made 
very fat. "Why should not the flesh of beef and mutton 
suffer in the same way ; and if this beso, I camseeno 
reason why a man who kills his own mutton -and:par- 
takes of his own dairy should-deteriorate the quality of 
either for the sake of a little quantity. “There is nothing 
more unpatriotic in it than in preserving game; which 
certainly eat and destroy food "which would produee'far 
greater weights than their own‘earcases if consumed by 
domesticated animals. ` This said game, by the way, and 
venison (properly reared), are always recommended*by 
the faculty when the digestive powers are notin plough. 
boy order. Is not this confirmative of my views? To 
determine this point;is of more importance tham any at 
rst sight appear; for it is next to impossible for. the 
class of persons I am speaking'of to carry out the-un- 
natural-system to perfection; it requires the constant 
attention of the principal, and the chances are; if he 
attempt it, that as much (or more) food is consumed or 
wasted asin the more natural way [No ! No !], and’ if 
Iam right in my conjectures, he puts into his unfortu- 
nate stomach a worse quality of food —W. C. 
Societies. 
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY or ENGLAND, 
A Weekly Council was held at the Society’s house; in 
Hanoyer-square, on Wednesday, the 9th December ; 
‘present, the Earr of Eemonr, President; in the chair, 
Duke of Richmond, Lord Portman, Lord Southampton, 
Hon. H.W. Wilson, Sir’ Matthew White Ridley, Bart., 
David Barclay, Esq., M.P., Thomas Raymond Barker, 
Esq., Samuel Bennett, Esq., Humphrey Brandreth, 
Esq., W. R. Browne, Esq., Colonel Challoner, John 
Bell Crompton, Esq., Richard Garrett, Esq., Brandreth 
Gibbs; Esq., W. G. Hayter, Esq., M.P., ,C. “Hillyard, 
Esq., W. Fisher Hobbs, Esq., John Hudson, -Esq., 
Samuel Jonas, Esq., John Kinder, Esq., Philip Pusey, 
Esq. M.P., Professor Sewell, William Shaw,’ Esq., 
William Shaw, jun., Esq, H. S. Thompson, Esq., 
George Turner, Esq., Thomas Umbers, {Esq W.B. 
Wingate, Esq., B. Almaek, Esq, J. B. Browne, Esq., 
Rev. Daniel Gwilt, Rev. James; Linton, Samuel Solly, 
Esq., Thos. Tweed, Esq., and F. E. Williams, Esq. 
The following new members were elected :— 
Freeman, John Gardner, Rockfield, Hereford 
Nash, Thomas T., Great Chesterford, Saffron Walden, Essex 
Greg, Thomas, Ballymenock, Belfast 
T Rev. H. D. Cockburn, Weaverthorpe, Sledmere, 
Pe Gloucester road; Regents Park, London 
Longmore, George, Orleton Court Farm, Ludlow; Salop 
Smith, James, Icklesham, Rye, Sussex 
ry-road, Canterbury 
veley Hill House, Birmingham 
Oswald, Thomas, Old Pala 
amsden, Henry, Ledstone, Pontefract, Yorkshire 
Sancton, Philip, The Ley, Ley Lane, St. Alban's, Herts 
Jacson, Charles Roger, Barton, Preston, Lancashire. 
The names of 10 candidates for election into’ the 
Society at the next meeting were then read. 
RIZE Essivs.—Mr. Pusey, M.P., chairman of the 
Journal Committee, reported the adjudication of prizes 
for Essays. 
MISCELLANEOUS COMMUNICATIONS. 
ieati from Viscount Palmerston, H.M; Principal 
I entertain some doubts. I happen to know g 
of the north ; a shrewd race inhabit there, and should 
it really be the locale of your correspondent, the “Ama- 
Secretary of State for the Foreign Department, havingye- 
ference to Reports on the Potato Disease in Poland and the 
United States of America, 
2.0 icati on the Potato Disease, from Mr. 
teur," I feel inclined to believe he must have g 
thither from Cockney-land, perhaps from Lincon's-inn ; 
in which case one may reasonably account for his un- 
profitable farming, and why his landlord ‘refuses: to 
drain for such a tenant. Badinage however apart, I 
wish to say that, according to my experience, no-re- 
spectable landlord ever refuses to grant his tenant such 
aterm and interest in his farm as will render him 
secure of a remunerating return from. an outiay in capi- 
tal in the improvement of it; for although some land- 
lords will not grant leases, it is well known and under- 
stood ‘that the security of tenure is:equivalent to a! 
lease so long as the tenant fulfils ‘his part of the con- 
tract, and that in my judgment the inereasing clamour 
for tenants’. rights springs from one of the marked vices 
of the present times, viz., an inordinate thirst for eman- 
cipation from all ties and obligations, civil and religious. 
They have cast- off the church, and the next attempt 
will be to reduce the land-owner to the condition of a 
mere annuitant, This will not, however, be accom- 
plished without a struggle.—H. L. 
House-fed. Cattle.—There can be no doubt, if there 
is any truth in Liebig’s doctrine, that a beast or sheep 
Dr. Reidy, Mr. Whytell Mr. Rogers, Mx. Tilleard Ward, 
and Mr. C. Williams. 
3. A Paper on Mineral Poisons used as Therapeutic Agents by 
the Agriculturist, from Mr. Read, of Crediton. 
4. Specimens of Soil from a field in Jamaica; on the property 
of M; ‘ord, known as the “Lightning Field," on:nc- 
count of ‘its peculiar liability to injury duxing;thunder. 
storms, 
A communication from Dr. Spurgin, of Guildford.street, 
explaining the construction and advantages of a portable 
contrivance for supplying given quantities of liquid manure 
to the roots of plants, 
6. Communications from Mr. Dean and Mr. Charnock on 
Draining Tiles. 
T. A copy of Mr. Raynbird's new Work.on Grasses, illustrated 
by natural specimens dried for the purpose, and guardedin 
the alternate leaves of the work on pages opposite to the 
letter-press. 
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9. Letter from Dr. D 
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13. Letters from: Mr, Mumford, Mr. ‘Piper; Mr, Fairbank, and 
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stallor shed-fed will produce the greatest quantity of 
; Mari , 
14, Letter from "Mr. Salmon, of Bristol, on Guano 
