124 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



[Feb. i>i, 



uestion of considerable importance to the farmers of the 

 oils to which crushed bone* are n fertilising addition, for 

 Erroneous views of its mode of action ha* led, through 

 injudicious modes of application, to much disappointment 

 and loss. That the decomposable animal matters do not 

 form the chief fertilising ingredient of crushed bones is, I 

 think. indicated in several practical ways. ThustheChe»hire 

 farmer*, who use the boiled or steamed bones of the 

 Manchester *iztvmanufacturer$ very extensively for their 

 pastures, consider that for these the bones are certainly 

 at enriching to the land f when nearly all the size and 

 grease are removed by the process of steaming, as 

 when the bones are in what they denominate ''the green," 

 or unboiled state— and the evidence does not conclude 

 here : — the more skilful farmers, who use the crushed 

 bones as an excellent drill manure for Turnips, have long 

 »ince discovered that the fresh bones are not nearly so 

 powerful as those crushed bones which have been fer- 

 mented in heapSp either by themselves or with other 

 fertilisers, until in fact the mass is reduced by the putre- 

 factive fermentation nearly to the same appearance as 

 garden mould. By this process it is true that the pro- 

 portion of carbonate and phosphate of lime remains 

 unaltered in the remains of the bones, but then almost all 

 the purely animal matter is dissipated in the gaseous form. 

 Volumes of ammoniacal matters are evolved, ami yet still 

 the farmer finds that the crops of Turnips he can produce 

 with the fermented or nearly-decomposed bones are far 

 superior to those grown with the unfermeuted. I am not 

 aware of any very valuable experiments with calcined 

 bones, but there are several very recent experiment*, to 

 which I need hardly refer your readers, upon the applica- 

 tion of sulphuric acid to bones, which clearly support the 

 same conclusion, for from these it appears that the ferti- 

 lising properties of bones are certainly not impaired by 

 this process, although by the action of the sulphuric acid 

 on the bones, a very considerable chemical action takes 

 place, the animal matters of the bones are decomposed, 

 and a very large portion of their constituents »re evolved 

 in the gaseous state. It is very likely, I think, that all 

 the reported advantages of this new mixture of sulphuric 

 acid with bones may be obtained at much less eipense to 

 the farmer by mixing a portion of gypsum (sulphate of 

 lime) with well- fermented crushed bone*, (?) but still I 

 cannot but consider these experiments as affording addi- 

 tional evidence that it is not the decomposing animal 

 matters of the bones which furnish their chief fertilising pro- 

 perties, but that their agricultural vslac must be attributed 

 x^hieflv to the copious presence of the phosphate of lime. — 

 Cuthbert IV. Johnson. 



Shed-feeding of Sheep. — Foot-rot. — When offering a 

 few remarks lately respecting the confinement of sheep in 

 sheds, 1 felt disposed to introduce something respecting 

 the probability of their becoming affected with the foot-rot 

 from want of the liberty of rambling, but I abstained 

 from doing so from the apprehension that such reference 

 would have been considered hypercritical or visionary by 

 your readers. Yet, as I perceive in your publication of 

 the 3d inst., a coincidence between the notion which then 

 occurred to me, and an alleged fact related by another of 

 your correspondents, in the communication which suc- 

 ceeded mine in the same column, I take the liberty of 

 sending you a few addenda to my former letter, suggested 

 by the information conveyed by Mr. Grey, of Dilstoo. 

 That gentleman states in substance that he had confined 

 sheep in sheds, and occasionally with successful results ; 

 but that the advantages which he derived were over- 

 balanced by a virulent disease in the feet, which was 

 cither the foot-rot or some modification of it. Now, sir, 

 the experience of Mr. Grey on this subject goes farther 

 than the point on which it directly and primarily bear?, 

 ▼iz., the expediency of feeding sheep in thed* ; for it has 

 an important bearing also on the discussions which have 

 taken place respecting the cause of the foot-rot. AVarm 

 moisture has beeu assigned as the origin of that malady, 

 -and I venture to say with good reason i moist pasturage 

 in a warm season of the year induces evaporation that 

 becomes noxious to sheep, from the circumstance of their 

 lying with their feet folded under their hear: a,in the manner 

 most calculated to produce great heat and moisture, which 

 also affects their bedding in the sheds, and generate?, in 

 Mr. Grey's opinion, an ailment similar to, if not identical 

 with, the genuine foot-rot. Inflammation ot this nature does 

 not arise (unless infectious matter has been deposited on 

 the pasture-ground by other sheep) in flocks that have a 

 abort dry pasturage, and sufficient liberty of range ; it is 

 on rank grass in low land, and generally moist pastures, 

 that the foot rot is found to exist. Sheep that have a con- 

 siderable way to walk io search of their food escape this 

 affliction, which, like the gout in the human race, is a 

 frequent attendant on a life of sloth and voluptuousness. 

 They may have galled feet from over-travelling, but not 

 the foot-rot, which seems to have been the effect of the in- 

 creased weight and consequent inactivity of the large 

 varieties. I am aware that a different theory has been 

 adopted by eminent veterinarians respecting the foot-rot — 

 that some high authorities among them attribute it to the 

 deformed structure of the hoof from overgrowth, through 

 want of the friction which rough land supplies to pare it 

 down, or the neglect of the shepherd to trim it with his 

 knife ; but I cannot conceive that the distorted form of 

 the hoof occasions the malady in question, which appears, 

 with far more probability, to arise from moisture under 

 the particular combinations calculated to render it the 

 chief agent in developing the ailment. Mr. Grey may 

 perhaps recollect whether those of his sheep which became 

 diseased in the feet had any deformity of structure in the 

 hoof previously to their being confined in the sheds. I 

 fancy that he will not attribute the effects which he wit- 

 nessed to any preceding want of natural or artificial hoof 



paring. Neither his remarks, however, nor mine, tend in 

 any degree to prove that sheep in actual preparation for 

 the butcher may not be house-fed with great advantage 

 on Mr. didders' system, while they harmonise with the 

 convictions of those sheep farmers who consider that 

 exercise is essential to the health and hardihood of their 

 flocks, and that close confinement in sheds and small 

 yards, in a state of unnatural warmth, and amidst the 

 effluvia which arises from fermenting litter, must be more 

 or less prejudicial to sheep, excepting those which are to 

 be transferred at once from their prisons to the shambles. 

 — Martin Doyle. 



On Flax Culture. — I had no idea that you would pub- 

 lish any part of my former letter on this subject ; and as 

 you ii ive thought proper to publish a part and not the 

 whole, I hope you will now find room for my explanations 

 of assertions, which must, from the amount of profit 

 named as being realised by the culture of the Flax plant, 

 appear to some of the old school of farmers a regular de- 

 [tisfon. 1 be^ leave to hand you a pamphlet from the 

 Belfast Flax Society, which, in pages 7 and 16, will cor- 

 roborate the facts represented by me so far as prices go, 

 and as for the expenses incurred, T venture from my prac- 

 tical experience to lay before your readers the following 

 plain Ptatement : — I have told them 60/. per acre can be 

 made by the cultivation of the plant ; it is but fair I should 

 show such a result is to be accomplished. The following 

 are the particulars of the expenses of growing an acre of 

 Flax in Ireland, and the profits derived from the same : — 



An acre of land, including taxes 

 2j bushels of seed .... 



Ploughing and sowiner 

 Weeding, VI hands at firf. per day 

 Pulling, II hands at Is. „ 



Wat. ring, J hands at If. M • 



Scutchinc. 7' 1 stone at lOrf. per stone 

 lilting, &c. &c, 10 hands Ht l*. per day 

 Caning 1 to null and market, £ tow 



10 

 Produce according to Mr. Dcnman's 



acc<unt in page 16 jtjQ 



Thin, Mr. Editor, a profit is shown of 60/. These parti- 

 culars I am prepared to prove, and if any of your readers 

 desire further information, 1 shall at all times feel plea- 

 sure in affording it. As several gentlemen have expressed 

 a wish to obtain a work on the subject, it is my intention 

 to put together such information and instructions on the 

 cultivation of Flat, as may be advisable to follow in order 

 to grow the finer qualities, as I must repeat that it is much 

 to be regretted that our French and Belgium neighbours 

 should take from us five millions of pounds sterling an* 

 nuallv for Flax, an article that our farmers can and ou^ht 

 to grow themselves. — J. II. Dickson. 



Number of Gallons in Tanks of various Forms and 

 I)ime)isio7i$. — The following is a Table showing the con- 

 tents in gallons of square-built and of circular tanks of 

 various dimensions : — 



THK Nl'MDKR OF 4AILOW* CONTAINED IV SQTARK- B VU.T TANK 3. 



.*2 5 







. 1 10 







. 10 







. 8 



1) 



. 12 







. 7 







. 2 13 



4 



r o 10 







. \[) 



8 



C 

 o 



5 



. When the Depth is 



ft. ft. 



3 feet. 4 teal. 5 feet. 6 feet. 7 feet. 



ti 

 6 

 6 



6 



7 

 7 

 7 



7 



8 

 8 

 8 



8 

 8 



9 



9 



y 



9 



9 

 lo 



10 



10 

 10 

 10 

 10 



11 

 11 

 II 



11 



II 

 II 



19 



12 

 12 

 12 

 12 

 12 

 12 



by 



If 



M 

 99 

 »t 

 iff 



t? 



y 



»t 



N 



»t 

 If 

 M 

 »> 

 >» 

 M 

 H 

 t> 



99 



9> 

 II 

 99 

 f » 



11 

 • 9 

 M 



M 



91 



99 

 9* 

 F» 

 99 

 M 



S 



4 



5 



6 



4 



5 



6 

 7 



4 

 ft 



6 



7 



8 

 5 



6 



. 

 8 



9 



5 



() 



7 



8 



9 

 lo 



6 



7 



s 



9 

 lo 



ii 

 



4 



8 



'J 

 10 

 11 

 1> 



I 



836 



447 



568 

 672 

 522 

 658 



77* 

 903 



597 

 74* 



894 

 1044 

 1194 



810 

 1008 

 1176 

 1341 

 1513 



930 



in6 



1305 



I 491 



1677 



1437 



Km 4 



1840 



2055 



2259 



1.144 



1548 

 1788 

 2016 

 2232 

 2466 

 26«S 





448 

 596 

 744 



8y6 



872 

 1132 

 J ^00 



796 



992 

 1192 

 1898 



1592 



1120 

 1444 

 1568 



179J 



2016 



. 9 4 



1488 

 1740 



iy 



22.16 

 2 4 80 

 16 H 



19:6 

 Si 



2 104 



2740 

 3012 



1 798 



-"64, 

 2384 

 26 



76 

 8288 

 3584 



560 

 74. > 

 930 



1120 



870 



1090 



12y0 



1505 



995 



1240 



14<)0 



1 740 



'990 



1400 



1680 



i960 



2240 

 2520 

 1550 

 I860 

 2175 



2 485 

 -'795 

 3100 

 2055 

 8398 

 2740 

 3080 



3 425 

 3705 

 2240 



2580 



29*0 



3360 



37 



4110 



44^0 





672 

 894 

 lll6 

 1344 

 1044 

 1316 

 154-i 

 lb l»6 

 1 194 

 I 488 

 1788 

 2088 



238 



1680 



2016 

 235 4 

 26 vS 

 3024 

 I860 

 2232 

 2610 

 2982 

 335 4 

 3720 



2466 

 2874 



8288 



3 6;; 6 



4110 

 4518 

 2688 

 3096 

 8570 

 4032 

 4l64 

 4932 



•:»;6 



8 feet. 





1526 

 1806 

 2107 



1393 



1736 

 *o«6 



2436 

 271 



ly60 



2354 

 274 4 

 3136 

 3528 

 2170 

 •26»4 

 3045 



3479 

 3918 



4340 



28/7 

 3356 



3^.36 



4312 



4795 



6271 



3136 



36 1 2 

 4172 

 4004 

 62118 



5754 

 6 J 7'-' 



9 feet. 10 feet 





1984 

 •2384 

 2/ - 4 

 31S4 

 2246 

 2638 

 3 1 tf 

 3584 

 4032 

 24!>'i 

 2976 

 3480 



3976 

 4 472 

 496() 

 3288 



3832 



43^4 



492S 

 54-iO 

 0024 

 3584 



4129 



4768 



5376 



59 '.2 



6.76 

 7 'tis 



3528 

 3942 



4536 



'2790 

 3348 



3915 



4473 



5038 



5«S0 



3699 



4311 



4932 



554 1 



616-. 



6777 



4032 

 4614 

 53(5 4 



6043 



6696 



7390 



806*1 



3720 



4350 



4970 

 5590 

 6200 

 41 10 

 4790 

 5430 

 6l60 

 6850 

 75.10 

 4480 

 5160 

 5y6) 



6780 



74 40 



8220 



8^63 



THK XUMBKn OK GALLONS CO.VTAIXKD IN KOUND-Bll |,T TANKS. 



Diameter 



When the Depth is 



3 feet.! 4 feet. 



4 It. 



234 



312 



5 



363 



481 



6 



525 



7(10 



7 



720 



960 



8 



93 5 



1244 



9 



1185 



1480 



10 



1464 



l|69 



11 



1776 



2368 



12 



2112 



2316 



5 feet. 6 feet 



390 

 605 



875 

 1200 



1555 



1975 



24 40 



26' 



352') 



1050 



1440 



186i 

 2370 



2928 

 35 52 



7 feet. 8 feet. 9 feer. 



1630 



1 1 77 



2765 

 34 1 6 

 1114 



4224 4928 



2438 

 2(J60 

 3904 

 4734J 

 5682 



10 fee 



3555 

 4893 

 532fj 

 5336 



M. S. 



4SS0 

 5920 

 7040 



Societies. 



ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY or ENGLAND. I 



Tiif. Council having referred the communication made 

 to them at their last meeting by his Grace the Duke of 



Richmond, on the results obtained by the application^ 

 sulphuric acii! and bones, as a manure for Turnips, t .? 

 Journal Committee, Philip Pusey, Esq., M.P., thc'chS 



man of that Committee, has recommended to the Coun l" 



the publication of the following reports on that subject -^1 



I. — Thf. Duke of Richmond's Experiments 



Experiments made on Turnips with five different kind 

 of manure, on the farm of Gordon Castle, in the year 104"? 

 The seed (Dale's Yellow Hybrid) whs sown on the loth 

 of June, and as it was wished to ascertain the result 

 while the Duke was at the Castle, the Turnips, before ther 

 came to maturity, were taken un on the 3d of November 

 and carefully topped and weighed^ ' 



1st. — One imperial acre, manured with 8 bushels of 

 bones and 14 cubic yards of farm-yard dung, at an expenje 

 of 3/., produced 12 tons. 



*2d. — One ditto, manured with 2 cwt. 91 lbs. of guano 

 at an expense of 1/. 17*. 4d., produced 1 1 tons 4 cwt. * 



3d. — One ditto, manured with 16 bushels of bones at 

 an expense of 1/. 16*., produced 11 tons. 



4th. — One ditto, manured with 83 lbs. of sulphuric 

 acid and 2 bushels of bor.e-dust, mixed with 400 gallons 

 of water, at an expense of lis. Gd., produced 12 torn 

 4 cwt. ► 



5th. — One ditto, manured with 83 lbs. of sulphuric 

 acid, mixed with 8 bushels of bones, and sown with the 

 hand, at an expense of I/. 54?., produced 1 1 tons. 



(Signed) Thomas Bell, Farm Steward. 



II. — Dr. Manson's Experiments. 

 My field of twenty-one acres was last autumn deeply 

 ploughed with three horses out of Oat stubble, it ha\ing 

 previously carried a Wheat crop after two years' ley, well 

 manured. In the spring it underwent the usual process of 

 cleaning, and received about the 1st of June, twenty-five 

 quarters of Linksrield lime. Drilling and sowing com- 

 menced upon the 10th, allowing four bushels of bones and 

 ninety-six pounds of sulphuric acid, properly diluted with 

 water, fo the acre. The manure was prepared by putting 

 into a large vat, placed in a corner of the field to be sown, 

 thirty-two bushels of bone-dust ; and for each bushel was 

 added ninety-six pounds of water, and twenty-four of sul- 

 phuric acid ; there were thus in the vat at once 32 bushels 

 of bones, 384 gallons of water, and 47£ gallons cf 

 sulphuric acid. The whole was allowed to lie for a 

 fortnight previous to use, when it was found that the 

 acid had nearly dissolved all the bones. The mixture 

 I was then drawn off and added to water, in a large water- 

 cart, in the proportion of one gallon of the mixture to 

 50 of water, and it was distiibuted to the drills from 

 three spouts into three drills at a time. The drills were 

 previously slightly harrowed down, and immediately drilled 

 upon receiving the liquid manure. Owing to the great 

 drought which prevailed at the time of sowing, and the 

 very recent liming, very few of the seeds vegetated till after 

 the rain, which fell about a month from the time of sowing. 

 The heavy gale which prevailed about this time cut down 

 the greater part of the early plants, and has thus left the 

 field deficient in some places. I observed that after the 

 field came to be singled, it underwent that process in 

 the order in which it was sown ; 13 acres having been 

 sown with farm-yard manure, and the remaining 8 with 

 the bones and sulphuric acid, the plants from the acid 

 keeping the lead of those sown with court manure, and are 

 to-day a heavier crop, though not looking quite so healthy 

 in the blade, owing to their having come earlier to matu- 

 rity. The expense, 1/. per acre, viz., 4 bushels of bones, 

 at 2s. 6rf., 10*. ; sulphuric acid, 961bs. at ){d., 10s. Those 

 laid down with court manure received 20 cart-loads per 

 acre, at 2*. 6d. per load, 21. 10*. Weight, per Imperial 



acre, as ascertained on 15th November, the date of 



weighing : — 



Tons cwt. lbs. 

 Sulphuric acid and bones 12 5 SO per Imperial acre 

 Court man are . .10 17 104 ditto 



Spt/nie, Oct. 20, 1843. (Signed) D: D. Ma'nsON. 



ROYAL AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT 



SOCIETY OF IRELAND. 



At the Special Meeting of the Council on the loth inst., 

 a letter was read from Mr. Charles M'Donnell, of CHfden, 

 in the county of Galway, accompanying a specimen of 

 dried Seaweed, pulverised, which he had prepared in 

 great quantises, believing it to be a most valuable manure 

 for raising Turnips and other green crops. Means were 

 then taken for collecting subscriptions in Dublin, &C 

 towards the expenses to be incurred upon the occasion of 

 the Great Meeting of the Society in Dublin on the 14th and 

 15th August next. The re-adjudication upon the bulls 

 belonging to Messrs. Grey and Hill, about which a diffi- 

 culty had arisen since the last General Meeting of the 

 Society, was directed to take place on the 15th of April. 



FARMERS' CLUBS. 



Ayrshire Agricultural Association. — Professor John- 

 ston delivered a lecture on Agricultural Chemistry to this 

 Association, at Ayr, on the 30th ult., from which we 

 extract the following : — M There are cer'ain substances 

 which are special to certain plants. Some plants require 

 more alumina, potash, magnesia, &c. than others, and it 

 is the key to successful Agriculture to know what par- 

 ticular ingredients in the soil every description of pl* nt 

 requires. A certain soil, for instance, may require more 

 potash, magnesia, &c. for a particular crop, and yet that 

 soil may be capable of yielding a very good crop of some- 

 thing that requires less of these ingredients. If you wa« 

 to grow a, b, c } you must make the soil perfect in the 

 substances necessary for all; without this it may grow a 

 and 0, but may be defective in that which is neces- 

 sary for c. When you wish it to grow c, therefore, 

 you must add what it wants for that purpose. Let n\ 

 give an illustration of how it may be that a comparative y 



