60 



THE AGRICULTIRAL GAZETTE. 



[Jan. * 







jei like dry cruff, almost useless as a manure. To 



prevrnt this, I tread or bett it hard down with a shoTel, 

 and if of a targe sixe spread it out a little first | this con- 

 aolidation prevents) the flies from penetrating it for the 

 juices, and binders waste by evaporation. By thia method 

 an amount of benefit rosy be realised from the summer- 

 made manure in the field, nearly equal to what is obtained 

 'rom cattle fe he boose. Afrer it has lain in that state 



aome lime, and after it has enriched the ground and 

 herbage, the rooks generally come— often too soon — 

 for the grubs and earth-worms, and scratch it about, 

 to that without any manual labour we hate the benefit of 

 enriched berbag. in a very short apace of time. But, as I 

 have before said, it often happtfja that the dung is voided 

 where the herbage is already too luxuriant ; in such crises 

 it ahould be removed entirely to a bare and poorer spot, 

 and spread and comprr»«ed as before described. I hare 

 observed that horses are more apt than other cattle to drop 

 their dung on long grass and on moist places ; whercrer 

 thia ia the case it ahould he removed to a drier and more 

 barren spot before it does an injury. By constantly fol- 

 lowing surb a practice as this, it it obvious that in the 

 United Kingdom many thousand acrea more than those 

 now ao treated might be annually enriched, on which, it is 

 evWrnf. 'hat much more atock could be kept, and aa there 

 would b« more manure for the arable land, there would be 

 a great increase of grain and root OTCpt. By taking away 

 the surplus mm e from places where it wastes and does 

 In f , those spots become of greater value to the occupier ; 

 the herbage would become sweeter for all kind* of stock 

 and there would only remain the middle of the fields to be 

 manured from the farm-yard or compoet-heap. When a 

 field is too rich, aa in some inatancea U the case, it would 

 be advisable to collect the dunir, of cattle and appropriate 

 it for ier purposei, for it ia manifest that so much herb- 

 age and grain as is annually wasted, from over -luxuriance, 

 is a national as well as individual loss. If nob! en, 

 gentlemen, an d landed proprietors eould but be induced 

 to adopt in thnr parks and grounds the practice I have 

 thua recommended, it would soon become generally known, 

 and, if practised systematically by ail who have the means, 

 it would soon increase the vegetable product is of the 

 country to a very considerable extent.— W. JJillinaton. 

 Under hill, Oswestry, Salop. 



The Hooks. — At a meeting of proprirtors, farmers, ind 

 Others, called by advertisement in the Dumfries news- 

 papers, to consider the most effectual means of putting a 

 stop to the serious injury done to cro| fce. by the in- 

 creasing number of Crows in this district of the country, 

 various gentlemen stated the cost they were put to in pro- 

 tecting their ■ ps from the ravages of the Crows, and the 

 damage they sustain, notwithstanding all the care and 

 cost they are able to bestow in preventing it. From these 

 statements it appears that many farmers are at the present 

 time paying, and find it necessary at other seasons of the 

 year, particularly during the brairding of Wheat and 

 Potatoes, to pay several persons for herding and keeping 

 off the Crows, and that during several months in the year. 

 That the damnge actually sastained, over and above the 

 expense of herding, by the ravages complained of, amounts 

 to upward* of 4000/. annually. The meeting unanimously 

 resolved— that while they did not pretend to guy whether 



ows may be productive of benefit, while kept within 

 proper numbers, by destroying grubs and other insects, 

 they were satisfied that a great excess of numbers at pre- 

 sent exists, and that much serious loss and damage is the 

 conaequence. And that with a view to remedy this evil 

 they respectfully but very earnestly entreat that those gen- 

 tlemen who have rookeries upon their estates will either 

 themselves cause the increase of the numbers in their 

 rookeries to be prevented in time to come, by such me- 

 thods as they may deem most expedient and effectual, or 

 permit the committee named by thia meeting to take the 

 neceaaary measures at the proper seasons. — Annaudale. 



The Market*. — I inclose the return supplied by a 

 widcly-cii slated provincial journal, in which you will se 

 maltmg Barley quoted a* from 35s. to 37s,, while in the 

 Agricultural Gazette of Saturday last the highest quotation 

 is 32*. for the same article. The beat evidence, however, 

 of the incorrectness of this report, is the fact that the 

 average return of Barley for the week ending the 5th of 

 January is given at 32t.7d., while the highest price quoted 

 in theGaxette in its Mark f.ane report of the 5th, is 32s., 

 with this observation annexed— •• malting Barley continues 

 in demand at Monday's quotations." — I). [In answer to 

 our correspondent, we have only to say that the names of the 

 parties furnishing market-reports are the only sureties we 

 can possibly have for the accuracy of those reports; Messrs. 

 Kingford and Lay are the parties who furnished the 

 report which -he has animadverted on, and we doubt 

 not but they would sell an that day the various qualities 

 of Barley at the prices they named.] 



llcrberry Blight.— I beg to thank "A Moorland 

 Gardener" for his interesting account at p. 12 respect- 

 ing the Berberry blight. His statement contains much 

 both for and sgainst the opinion that Berberry blights 

 Corn. May I be allowed, however, to observe, that 

 perhaps "A. M." was too young at the time he ate M a 

 wamefu* " of Berberries, to notice that the bush he pu'd 

 them from might be infected by two kinds of blight, one 

 a rusty fungus, the other a light mealy one, similar to 

 mildew seen on Hawthorn hedges. If the shrub in 

 question has no evil influence on Corn, it is strange why 

 the opinion should be so prevalent amongst farmers all 

 over the country. Lately I had some conversation on the 

 subject with J. Cully, Esq., who stands high as a Norfolk 

 Agriculturist; he informed me that he once had a large 

 Berberry bush in his garden, and when there happened 

 to be Corn iu the adjoining field it was always mildewed 



near the bush, but was not so after the bush was 



destroyed.— J. Wightom. 



Mean* of Improving the Quality of Manure.— L pon 

 exti ive farms, which consist almost entirely of arable 

 land, there is necessarily a large portion of the Straw that 

 cannot receive much aid from the dung of animals. 1 h 

 is commonly denominated muck, and when applied to the 

 soil proves but a weak manure ; consequently, in carting 

 it out, much labour is expended to produce small results. 

 I am myself subject to this difficulty, and wish to devise 

 means for improving the quality of that portion of my 

 muck which cannot be used in the cattle-stalls or sheep- 

 fold. I venture, therefore, to solicit the insertion of this 

 letter in your Agricultural Gazette with a view to obtain 

 answers from your correspondents to the following ques- 

 tions:— 1st. Supposing the muck were formed into large 

 manure-heaps, and during such formation one of the fer- 

 tilisers now in use were added thereto— which of them 

 would be roost effectual in producing the desired result ? 

 2dly. W hether such a mixture of muck and other matter 

 would be a better application of the ingredients than if 

 the muck were applied to the soil in the usual way by it- 

 aelf, and the fertiliser also by itself, drilled with the seed 

 for the intended crop 'i—ll.C. [Instead of answering 

 this letter, ss usual, among our " Notices to Correspond- 

 ents," we insert it here, in order to elicit from our readers 

 statements <>t experiments or observation on the import- 

 ant subject to which it refers.] 



Experiments with Manures. — [I beg to notice that the 

 lawn on which one experiment was made, has been under 

 the scythe from 14 to 15 years; the soil is of a light 

 gaudy nature, over a layer 10 or 12 feet deep, of brown 

 sand, which is superincumbent upon a bed of clay. It 

 will be seen by our April experiment, that 3|oz. guano, 

 per yard, produced a greater weight of Grass than that 

 which had 4 O* per yard ; this result rendered it de- 

 detirable to ascertain whether 3* oz. per yard was the 

 maximum for land such as this trial was made on. Our 

 committee, who have taken a warm interest in this mat- 

 ter, suggested that 'another trial should be made : the 

 result is now before you ; and though the season was far 

 advanced (21st July and 4th August) and the lawn re- 

 peatedly mowed before the manure was applied, the effect 

 of the guano and nitrate on the hungry soil was truly sur- 

 prising, for during" the sultry month of September, the 

 portion done over with guano and nitrate formed a strik- 

 ing contrast in colour and luxuriance to the surrounding 

 sward. This trial showed a gradual increase in the 

 produce up to that which had 7 oz. of guano to the 

 yard i but I found 7 oz. too strong a dressing ; it has 

 a tendency when first applied to scorch the sward, 

 and the decrease in weight in the portion done over 

 with 8oz. results from the latter cause. I mixed the 

 guano with more than double its weight of ashes, which 

 were ii e from prunings and other refuse on the premises.] 

 The subjoined particulars refer to an experiment which 

 was made on one of the lawns in the Botanic Garden, 

 Manchester, with Guano, Nitrate of Soda, and Granulated 

 Compost, on the 27th April, 1843. The grass was mowed 

 and weighed on the -9th June :— 



Rath per Acre. 



Manure, 



Oct., is dried, and now in separate lots for the „_ 

 of gentlemen who may feel disposed to examine it^ 



The produce of 10 square yards, on 

 which 3oz. Guano per yard mixed 

 with ashes was spread, weighed 

 gibs. 3 oz 



The produce of 10 yards, on which 



4 oz. Guano per yard was spread, 

 weighed in lbs. 13 oz. 



The produce of 10 yards, on which 



5 oz. Guano per yard was spread, 

 weighed 11 lbs. 5 oz. 



The produce of 10 yards, on which 



6 oz. Guano per yard was spread, 

 weighed 11 lbs. 8 oz. . 



The produce of 3 yards, on which 



7 oz. Guano per yard was spread, 

 weighed 3 lbs. Hi oz. 



The produce of 3 yards, on which 



8 oz. Guano per yard was spread, 

 weighed 3 lbs. 1 1 oz. 



The produce of 10 yards, without 

 manure, 4 lbs. 11 oz. . 



The produce of 2 yards, on which 

 2oz. Nitrate of Soda per yard was 

 spread, weighed 2 lbs. £ oz. . 



The produce of 2 yards, on which 



3 oz. per yard Nitrate of Soda was 

 spread, weighed 2 lbs. 4£oz. . 



The produce of 2 yards, on which 



4 oz. Nitrate per yard was spread, 

 weighed 2 lbs. 5 oz. 



The produce of 2' yards, on which 



5oz. Nitrate of Soda per yard was 



spread, weighed 2 lbs. 6$ oz. . 

 The produce of 2 yards without 



manure, weighed 15 oz. . 



The following trial was made on 

 the 1th August with a new descrip- 

 tion of Guano, from the Cape of Good 

 Hope, which was reported to contain 

 40 per cent, of animal matter; the 

 (Jrass was cut on the 24th Oct.: — 

 The produce of 2 yards, on which 



1 oz. Cape Guano per yard was 



spread, weighed 1 lb.2$oz. . 

 The produce of 2 yards, on which 2 oz. 



Cape Guano per yard was spread, 



weighed 1 lb. 5£oz. 

 The produce of 2 yards, on which 3 oz. 



Cape Guano per yard was spread, 



weighed 1 lb. 8oz. ... 



The produce of 2 yards, on which 4 cz. 



Cape Guano per yard was spread, 



weighed 1 lb. 12oz. 

 The produce of 2 yards, on which 5 oz. 



Cape Guano per yard was spread, 



weighed 1 lb. 14 oz. 

 The produce of 2 yards without 



manure, 12 oz. .... 



Rain in Aug. . 2.60 

 do. Sept. . .20 



do. Oct. . 8.00 



Ha7 ? " AtU - 

 "AT. f- 



ions cwu.lfc.c^l** 1 



1 »9 78 u 



2 6 96 6 



• i: 





li 



»< 



2 8 99 4 



» a 



2 9 78 i U 



2 13 62 10 



Hi 



2 13 



5 11 lj fc 



I 28 1J 



99 1« 



2 9 32 10 



2 9 108 4 



or la* 



5 « 





The produce of 1 rquareyard, on which 

 1 OS, (iuano mixed with nslies 

 was spread, weighed 3 lbs. 



1 he produce of l yard, on which 1$ oz. 



Gu-inn mixed with ashes was spread, 

 weighed 3 lbs. 2oz 



The produce of 1 yard, on which 2 oz. 



Guano mixed with ashes was spread, 

 weighed 3 lbs. 11$ oz. 



The produce of 1 yard, on which 2 J 

 oz. Guano mixed with ashes was 

 spread, weighed 4 lbs. 4 oz. . 



The pr ice of 1 yard on which 3 oz. 



Guano mixed with ashes was spread, 

 weighed 4 lbs. 11 oz. 



The produce of 1 yard, on which 3$ 

 oz. Guano mixed with ashes was 

 spread, weighed 5 lbs. 14 n z. 



The produce ol 1 yard, on which 4 oz. 



Guano mixed with ashes was spread, 

 weighed 4 lbs. 10 oz. 



The produce of 21 square yards, on 

 which 3ftJ oz. (iuano mixed with 

 ashes was spread, weighed 69 lb- 

 ]*oz. The same, when dry or made 

 hay,2i;bs.2oz 



The produce of 21 yards, on which ;£ 

 oz. Nitrate of Soda mixed with 

 ashes was spread, weighed 56 lbs. 

 6$ oz. The same when made into 

 hay, weighed 17 lbs. loz. 



The produce of 21 yards on which 

 42 oz. Granulated Compost was 

 spread, weighed 42 lbs. 6 oz. 

 The same, when made into hay, 

 Ialte.2«oa 3 \ 



The produce of 21 yard*, w thout 

 manure, 37 lbs. 14J oz. The same, 

 when dry, 13 lbs. 6 oz. 



Ill 1 product of 4 yards, on which I oz. 

 Nitrate of Soda mixed with ashes 

 was spread, weighed 10 lbs. 4 oz. . 

 The produec of 4 yards, on which 

 lioz. Nitrate of Soda was spread, 

 weighed it lbs. 2 oz. 



The produce of 4 yards, on which 2 oz. 

 Nitrate of Soda mixed with ashes 



was spread, weighed 15 lbs. . 



Fall of rain Kb May, 

 do. in June, 



Prodlck. 

 Grass. 



tons. cwt* lbs- ox. 



6 9 72 



6 15 5 



8 78 12 



9 3 74 



Guano, 



cwts. lbs. oz. 

 2 73 8 



5 12 



5 45 



10 2 63 8 



6 64 4 



12 13 J 



8 118 



9 50 12 



9 19 92 



Hay. 



10 90 



2 9 60 



1 15 15 



3 102 7 



107 13 



1 11 10 



1 7 52 



Gran. 



Compost. 



5 43 12 



Geass. 



5 10 82 8 



6 21 4 



Nitrate 

 of Soda. 



75 10 



8 



3.10 

 l.« 



6 



1 7 



1 39 4 



5. inches. 



i 



Result of a subsequent trial of Guano and Nitrate of Soda 



Site JuW iVA th S 1l Bo "" ic Garde "' Manchester, on 

 me ^lst July, 184J. The crop was mow^I am *k- o.»k 



2 11 108 2 

 1 28 12 



"• • 



is a 



Arm 



Gem 



1 4 110 2 



19 3 14 



I 12 46 ft 



5 ' 



S « 



8 



1 17 91 



2 57 8 

 1 12 46 



II » 



13 K 



1 



I 



— Alex. Campbell, Botanic Garden, Manchtst 



Dec. 15, 1843. 



Salt. — Some"' time ago there was published "A 

 Address to the Landed Interest on the Important Di» 

 very of the Decomposition of Salt for the purpomj 

 Manure, by Henry Kemp." In that address nearest 

 that M The multiplied varieties of the culinary and fee 

 garden have also borne witness to the general eflicaii 

 prepared salt, and though I am aware that the sop* 

 culture usually bestowed on these department* bis* 

 them from offering so unequivocal a test as fields tM* 

 worn and exhausted by Corn, yet the superior beilts* 

 vigour of everything to which it was applied in tbep 

 den afforded the strongest evidence for concluding tW» 

 agency may be as universal as dung, or any other p 

 assistant of vegetation." In another place it * S* 

 11 The Salt produces one-third more of Corn tt« 

 best dung, and its cost is only about 10s. per i*P 

 acre," but how to decompose the Salt appears to aj 

 been a secret. Has that secret been revealed / ?fl^ 

 those instructive articles in the 1st vol. of the d*** 

 named "Rural Chemistry," we are informed* 

 Salt can be decomposed, how to convert it I 

 sulphate, and from that into a carbonate. H tf ^ 

 Kemp any other], method of decomposing Salt . ^ 

 haps it may not be uninteresting to ask it 

 Salt in the Bible has always a reference to commonaj 

 the muriate of soda. We ar e informed that the tera ^ 

 was originally employed to denote common salt, < 

 afterwards generalized bv chemists and employed &J 



gene 



1* 



crop was mowed on the 24th 



in a very extensive and not very definite sen . se ' *( 

 understood by it any body that is sapid, easi T 

 soluble in water, and not combustible, so that \J*\ 



rtllS» 



sented a class of substances midway between c. } 

 water. We are also told that the carbonate iui . 

 found in Syria and other places on the surface ^ 

 ground, and that it has often the appearance ^ 

 dusty powder of a grey colour and alkaline tas • ^ 

 reading the works of some of our Divines, there » 

 things we learn ; the first is that they fancy we 

 very good at explaining a text, however far tu r^ 

 tion be irreconcilable with the context ; and ^ 



them speak about Salt or saltness, it a PP e J r3 g j j lor i' 

 nvmous with barrenness ; and then we are referr ~ 

 Calmet, and Volney, as describing the laud aooui^ 



Sea and other places, as barren from the q«a« -^ 

 it contains, and that no bird can fly across the ^ 

 or animal live in it, and that its shores are wi ^ . 

 tation. Some of these statements should be T ^ Q ^ 

 great caution. In an essay read before : I he .'^ 

 Society of Berlin, January 6, 1839, by Pror. ^ „ 

 New York, it is said— "The Dead Sea lay ° ^ 

 its vast deep chasm, shut in on both sides ojr ^Jf 

 mouniains, and with its low projecting p° 



