THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



109 



- ^ t^^^oHri* becomes 



* r::::Ji :«r^ considers * ■». 



. .nd otherwuc ucicu Artlin tPrar.t this 



f potash would counteract this 



r r «U~ c*>a K 



lighter and ---- f tagh WO um counter... — 



* b,C *£' In salt at a distance from the sea, is 

 *c~ ^mmon *- ',, ,...« as ropects colour and idiunp- 



Sfintageous to gram c«ops £ r P ^ does nQt 



**" ' nd sfof Vow h like SaWeS Soot differs 

 ^S* 'nitrated its effects on Grass intended for 

 ie fr0 °!, ! i«ler in hay gives less price for hay raised 

 ht ^ ba ; *u?p lie and muriate of ammonia have the 

 by ,oot. Sulp t Yr e n : trates Sulphate of soda and mag- 

 » tfflC eff r!i£«nri "and i«l not "pay i* most cases .hen 

 D " v 7 hv STmsei es to Potatoes or grain, but they do 



; gltittTZE «« ^ auxiliary t0 



f ^L AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT 

 R01AL AU " ETY OF IRELAND. 



*t the meeting of the Council on the 8th inst., the 

 At the » ee ""5 t of t h e receipts and expen- 



Secretary pre* £ turn fi F fo ^ ^ 



dilure incurred at the late C ^ had ^ ^.^ 



,t appeared hat tbesu ment8f entrance to the 



the sale of tickets to of ^^ &<j ^ and 



tt W T urn of l»?kU been subscribed in different 



fountiesTn the province of Ulster for the purpose, making 

 ftotal 'f 3355/. received upon thatoccasion. It appeared 

 i ?tLt the ^um of 2954/. had been expended in the 

 ^ reckon o f he""ilion and show-yard giving the enter- 

 t nments and in all the other incidental expenses includ- 

 SgTnet sum of 500/. paid to the centra society toward, 

 he payment of premiums, leaving a balance of 40/. in 

 favour of the local committee, alter defraying all the 

 expenses of that great meeting. The Secretary stated 

 tZ he had addressed a circular to the different members 

 of the council, to the effect, that inasmuch as Mr Hill, 

 the owner of the prize Bull "Eden," at the cattle show at 

 Belfast, had declined to comply with the proposal of 

 the council for a re-adjudication, upon the teirns long 

 since communicated to him, the opinion of the full 

 council should be taken as to what proceedings should be 

 next adopted, for the purpose of bringing the matter 

 to a final close; and that a special meeting of the 

 council should be summoned for Thursday the 15th of 

 February next, to take the subject into consideration. 

 A letter was read from the Earl of Listowel, stating his 

 conviction that the cause of Agriculture can in no way be 

 so well promoted as by the employment of intelligent 

 and competent Agriculturists upon private estates. A 

 letter was read from Sir Richard O'Donnell, Bart., stating 

 that it was his intention to place a premium of 12/., or a 

 gold medal or a piece of plate of that value, at the dis- 

 posal of the Society, " for the landlord in Ireland who 

 shall have thorough-drained on the farms of his tenants, 

 or induced his tenants so to do, the greatest quantity of 

 land, not less than 100 statute acres, upon Mr. Smith of 

 Deanston's principles, in the years 1843 and 1844. 

 Letters were read from the secretaries of various local 

 societies, sending in the names of a sufficient number of 

 t members to the central society, to qualify them for the 

 society's premiums this year. 



FARMERS' CLUBS. 

 Bromsgrove.—kt a meeting of this Club, held in the 

 Town Hall, Bromsgrove, on January 30th, the Report for 

 the year 1843 was read, from which it appears, that at 

 the formation of the Club on the 20th June, 16 members 

 were enrolled, but that the number has increased to 58. 

 The objects proposed in its establishment were the diffu- 

 sion of information on Agricultural subjects, and the pro- 

 motion of Agricultural improvement. "For the fulfilment 

 of these objects, a meeting is held each month, at which 

 some subject connected with Agriculture, is brought for- 

 ward for consideration ; elementary lectures on subjects 

 connected with the theory and practice of Agriculture 

 are occasionally delivered; and the surplus funds of the 

 Uub are applied to the purchase of books for the form- 

 ation of an Agricultural Library. At the first meeting 

 an introductory lecture was delivered by Mr. H. F. Fardon, 

 onthe Advantages of Association for the improvement 

 or Agriculture," in which the history of English agricul- 

 ture was briefly given, its present importance enforced by 

 ererence to statistics, the duty and interest of nations and 

 or individuals with respect to its improvement examined, 

 e possibility of improvement urged, and the means of 

 ^mprovement inquired into ; these are a remunerative price 

 P r ocuce,suchequitableand proper arrangements between 

 .. naiord ana " Tenant ns «V»oll i n ^ n/ . A the. loffpr tn cultivate 



1 



per acre. The lot undressed with soda weighed 2 lbs. 2 oz. ; 

 that which received soda weighed 4 lbs. 6 oz. The subject 

 of Seed Wheat, and the best method of pickling and planting 

 the seed, afforded matter for discussion at several subsequent 

 meetings, at which it was resolved, "That there is an adap- 

 tation in different varieties of Wheat to different soils ; and 

 that the practice of annually changing the seed from one soil 

 to another is a good one ; and that arsenic, sulphate of cop- 

 per (blue vitriol), and salt, have been used with much suc- 

 cess in the pickling of Wheat for the prevention of smut." 

 A Paper on M Wheat Sowing " was communicated at one 

 of the meetings by Mr. Richard Smith, of Upper Hall, 

 near Droitwich. On strong clay soils, that moulder and 

 heave after hard frosts, he approved of sowing broadcast 

 and ploughing in from 2^ to 3 bushels per acre, the land 

 being previously fallowed, because greater space is thus 

 afforded for the roots. More seed, however, is thus re- 

 quired, and the crop cannot be so well cleaned. By dril- 

 ling again, the seed is deposited at an equal depth, but 

 the plants are crowded and the water is retained in the 

 narrow channels made by the drill-share, particularly on 

 strong soils and where the drilling is done lengthwise of 

 the ridges. Mr. Smith recommends Lord Western's sys- 

 tem of drilling, which is to have the heel of the common 

 drill-share made four inches in width to scatter the seed 

 that width in the row ; a space of nine inches is left be- 

 tween the rows for tillage. Dibbling is the most perfect 

 system, and will probably spread and become universal as 

 population increases. All these remarks suppose the 

 ground in a good state of cultivation, for if it is wet, foul, 

 or poor, Wheat cannot be grown without loss. 



Arrangements are about to be made by this club for the 

 delivery of elementary lectures to the members, and the 

 formation of a library has been commenced, and it is hoped 

 that a lecture will shortly be delivered by Mr. Smith, of 

 Deansion. It is also intended to institute^ ploughing 

 match. The report, of which the above is an abstract, 

 having been read, Mr. Wright read a paper " On the 

 Utility of Leases," advocating well-adjusted leases on 

 Corn-rents. In arranging these rents, the price of Corn 

 should be calculated on an average of a certain number of 

 years. The rent of a particular year should not be 

 founded merely on the prices of that year ; otherwise, the 

 tenant may have the highest rent to pay when he has the 

 least produce. A resolution was adopted by the club, 

 expressive of their opinion, that the only sound system for 

 tenancy of land is on the principle of leases for 7, 14, and 

 21 years on Corn-rents. — H. F. Fardon, Sec. 



West Firle.—Xt the annual meeting of this Society 

 on Jan. 31st, the report for the past year was read. At 

 the meeting, which took place on the 11th of September, 

 the subject discussed was, M The advantages of drawing 

 off Turnips, or feeding them on the ground." The chair 

 was taken by John Ellraan, Esq., president, who opened 

 the evening's conversation by giving his views upon the 

 subject, and upon this the resolution of the evening was 

 chiefly founded, viz., " That no general rule can be laid 

 down as to feeding Turnips on the ground, or drawing 

 them off to be consumed in sheds or yards. That on dry 

 light soils where sheep can feed them, treading is advan- 

 tageous ; but on more tenacious soils the Barley crop is 

 frequently injured by the treading of sheep— still there can 

 be no doubt, that in fattening sheep, one acre of Turnips 

 will produce much more mutton when consumed in warm 

 yards and sheds, than when fed on the open ground." 



dressing, produced 24 lbs. more grain than that upon 

 which the nitrate of soda was used. — Dr. Madden, o* 

 the Advantages of Extended Chemical 4nalysis to Agri- 

 culture. 



Improved Modern Husbandry compared with the Old 

 System. — I. Old System. — Statement, showing the expense 

 of the cultivation, together with the return from, an acre 

 (Scotch) of cold, stiff soil, with a hard retentive subsoil, 

 before improvement by draining, &c. ; lease for 18 years; 

 rent 25s. per acre. 



per 



Expense of a Six Years* Rotation. 



60 bolls lime, at lOd. per boll jC2 10 



Carting and spreading l 10 



First crop,— ploughing, seed, and harrowing . • l 18 



Second ditto ditto 1 15 



Grass seeds and harrowing • . « . • 10 



Rent for six years, at 25s. . • . . • . ; m 



Return of a Six Years* Rotation. 

 1st, 5 quarters Oats (with Straw) 



•2d, 5 ditto (ditto) .... 



3d, 85 stones Hay, at 3/. per 100 stones 



4th, pasture, at 20s 



5th, ditto ,, • ••••. 



full, ditto „ 



0» 

 f> 









 



j6"15 13 



t 



6 











» 



S 11 







1 







1 



a 



1 







£\1 II O 



The same repeated till the end of the lease, the land getting 

 worse instead of improving. 



Statement showing the expense of improvement, culti- 

 vation, and return from an acre of the same land, during 

 a lease of 18 years ; rent the same. 



Expense of the first Six Years. 

 Draining with tiles at IS feet interval, 25 inches deep; 



tiles, 21s. per thousand £7 0- 



Lime, carting and spreading . . . . .. 400 



Ploughing, harrowing, and seed . . . . l is > 



Second crop— ploughing, harrowing, and seed . . 1 16 O 



Expense of Green Crop, viz. — 

 Subsoil and other ploughings . . . Jbi o 

 Grubbing, horsc-hoeing, and weeding . l 10 

 Dung, 10/. j lime, U. 5s. . . . . 11 5 



jC14 14 0- 















Ploughing for Wheat and seed • • • . . 



Grass seeds, harrowing and rolling . • • . 



Rent lor six years, at 25s 



Interest on expense for draining for five years, at 5 per 



cent, per annum i ].-, 



£\6 15 9> 



a 6 o 



l s 9 



7 10 



Return of the first Six Years. 

 1st, 8 quarters Oats (with straw) . 

 2d, 8 ditto (ditto) 



3d, Potatoes, l-3d ; Turnips, 2-3ds, at per acre 

 4th, 4 quarters Wheat, at rJOs. 

 5th, 15u stones hay, at 3/. j foggage, 5*. 

 6th, Pasture, at per acre .... 



£ai 5 a 



10 



10 



11 



12 

 4 15 

 2 



O- 

 O 

 O 

 



o 



Expense of the second Six Years. 

 1st, Ploughing, harrowing, and seed 

 2d, Ditto, ditto, ditto 



3d, Green crop without subsoil-ploughing 

 4th, Ploughing for Wheat and seed 

 5th, Grass seeds, harrowing and rolling . . 

 Rent for six years, at 25s. .... 



Interest on draining, six years • • 



• 



Return of the second Six Years. 

 1st, 9 quarters Oats (with Straw) . 

 2d, 9 ditto ditto • 



3d, Green crop— at least • • • 



4th, 5 quarters Wheat, at 60s 



5th, 200 stones Hay, at 3/.; foggage, 5s. . 

 6th f Pasture, at per acre 



£49 15 O 



1 12 O- 



1 10 fr 

 12 O 



2 4 

 1 5 O 



7 io o 



S 2 O 



428 3 



II 

 11 

 12 

 15 



6 



2 



5 



5 O 



O 



O 



5 O 



O 



the 



— — -w - ^^ *-^ a- a ^» I'l UWVI iA « m V* I'ihV a-* a ^ » . ^ ™ — — — — 



ln Tenant as shall induce the latter to cultivate 



bo'rPj inthe best P ossible manner for the interests of 

 comm • laStly ' Ski11 and knowled g e in the farmer, to be 

 ciatio Uni ^ ated bv Proper education, and promoted by asso- 

 fertili" I the next meetin g " the advantages of lime as a 

 farme S " Were consider ed. All plants grown by 



must a? C ° I ? Uiln lime in a g reater or ^ss degree, which they 

 with • i . from the soil - In a caustic state lime combines 

 formeS CIUS m the ^^ and sonie of the compounds thus 

 pose 8re s . erviceab Ie as food to plants. It also decom- 

 frenn ^ rtam noxious compounds of iron, &c, which 

 acenri • eX ' St in the soil > but »t differs in its action 

 the ,1 1 6 t0 the 8tate in which ifc is applied. It hastens 

 thus h np ° Sltl0n ° f ve S etaWe and animal matter, and 

 Twni a . tendenc y t0 exhaust the soil of these ingredients. 

 Mr Fir? ° f Potatoes ^re exhibited at the meeting by 

 *erVer 6aCh containin g the produce of six roots. They 

 each r P • ^ Dear t0 S ethe r under similar circumstances, 

 and mn i!T2 g & dressin S of farm-yard manure. When up 

 sown W ' a , smal1 Portion of carbonate of soda was 

 a De t*een the ridges of one lot, at the rate of 150 lbs. 



Miscellaneous. 



Specific Manures are frequently capable of adding 

 one or two substances only to the soil. It is evidently, 

 therefore, of primary importance to ascertain, in the first 

 place, whether the soil really requires the substance ; for 

 it is impossible that any specific can be valuable when ap- 

 plied to soil already abundantly supplied with the very 

 substance it is intended thus to add to the land ; in this 

 instance, there must result either no effect or an injurious 

 one, and in consequence, in both instances, disappoint- 

 ment. Let us take an example : nitrate of soda has been 

 much and deservedly praised as a manure, and it has almost 

 universally been declared to be equal to, and to act in a si- 

 milar manner with nitrate of potash (saltpetre), in which 

 case it would have the advantage of greater cheapness to 

 recommend it. But in the above statement it is quite for- 

 gotten that the manure acts in two distinct ways : 1st, as 

 a nitrate ; 2d, as containing soda. Now, as regards the 

 first action, viz., as a nitrate, these two salts can replace 

 each other without the least difference in their action ; 

 but as respects the second mode of action, viz., the sup- 

 plying the plant with soda, it is clear that they differ as 

 distinctly as saltpetre does from common salt ; and prac- 

 tice has proved this, for in more than one instance a con- 

 siderable difference has been shown in the result obtained 

 by the two manures. Thus, Prof. Johnston mentions the 

 following result of an experiment at Erskine, near Glas- 

 gow, in 1841, upon Hay, with the two nitrates, in two 

 different fields— the one being a light soil, the other a 

 clay. In the light soil the nitrate of soda produced 3 cwt. 

 more Hay per acre than the saltpetre, whereas, on the 

 clay, the saltpetre exceeded the nitrate of soda by J cwt. 

 nearly ; and it is well worthy of remark, that common 

 6alt, another compound of soda, was also employed in both 

 cases, but yielded exactly 5 cwt. morenpon the sand than 

 onthe clay; thus proving, we think, as well as a chemical 

 analysis of the soil could have done, that the clay soil con- 

 tained naturally more soda than the sand, and likewise 

 probably that the sand was richer in potash. A similar 

 case is likewise mentioned by Dr. Daubeny, of Oxford, 

 where the nitrate of potash exceeded the nitrate of soda 

 upon Wheat by upwards of 4 bushels per acre, and in 

 which case the nitrate of soda produced no effect what- 

 ever ; in fact, an equal portion of soil, without any top- 



j6*57 15 



The expense and return of the third six years will be much the 



same as that of the second. 



Abstract I. — Unimproved Land. 



Expense during a lease of 18 years . * • . £& 19 



Return diUo ditto . • . . 52 13 



Profit per acre during the whole lease 



II. — Improved Land. 

 Expense of the first six years 

 Ditto second ditto ... 



Ditto third ditto • 



5 14 



44 



28 



5 

 I 



3 









 



Return of the first six years 

 Ditto second ditto 



Ditto third ditto 



j£l65 5 <*• 

 Profit per acre during the whole lease . .64 14 



The above system of cropping is not one to be generally 

 recommended ; it is merely adopted as the basis of the 

 above calculation because it is generally followed.— State- 

 ment made by Mr. Smith of Deanston, at Bristol. 



Guano Contract.— The following is an extract from a 

 translation of the Guano contract, to which much atten- 

 tion has of late been directed :— Art. 1. The company,. 

 (Messrs. Quiros, Allier, and Co. ; Gibbs, Crawley, and 

 Co. ; and Puimiroll and Co.,) has the exclusive privilege 

 of exporting abroad the guano of the islands and othett 

 places where it is produced, as discovered, or to be dis- 

 covered, for the period of four years, obligatory upon all 

 the contracting parties from the present date. Art. 2. 

 The quantity of 20,00G tons is assigned for the extraction- 

 of each year of the four years expressed in the preceding 

 article, with the privilege of exporting the following year 

 that which shall not have been exported in the year tr> 

 which it corresponds ; but, at all events, 80,000 tons- 

 shall be exported in the four years. Art. 5. — The state 

 places for its capital in the company the guano at the 

 value of 30 dollars the ton. Art. 6. The contractors 

 place for their capital their industry and labour, and shall 

 advance for account of the association all the expenses of 

 getting the guano, loading, insurance, freightage, com- 

 mission of shipping and of sale, and other expenses caused 

 by the business as well in Peru as in the markets of con- 

 sumption. Art. 7. From the produce of sales of tha 



guano are to be deducted the costs, freights, insurances. 



