



1844.] 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



189 



. _^[ned from the fertilisers wa 

 5^2 from 4 tons of farm-yard dung, 

 ^buiaedjrom Turnips. 



Gain in bulbs 



•one dot • • •' * 



JS^.,e fsod« • 

 wirned bone* . 



5^r q u.Ut r ofRapc^s: . . 



set against that 



j^O 13 03 



Less iu bulbs 



£\ 9 ni 



2 

 



1 

 5 



Bene* 



Humus . 

 Artifi'Hal guano 

 vitratecf soda 

 jimmoniacal salts 

 J urcign guano 





 2 

 l 





 

 



3 



2 



6 

 8 

 10 

 18 

 11 

 



18 



8 



02 

 1 



05 



05 







04 

 l 





12 



Grass. 



o 



2 

 1 







18 



7h 



8 



101 



Sulphate of soda . • • • 



Common salt 



Ntrmteoftoda 



foreign puano • • ■ * 



Conccntratedmanure . . . ,• # |f 



10 



o 5 ;3 



l 



3 



8 

 2 



12 



11 

 3 2 



1 4 



9 

 6 



/mmor.iacal salts 



Sul bate of ammonia . • • • 

 Refute taPpetre from powder-mills . 

 Muriate of ammonia .... 

 achate of magnesia . • • • 



^"boils of 4 bush.', at Is. per boll 



Papers on Sheep-washing and Irrigation were then read. 

 The last communication consisted of reports of trials made 

 at the request of the Society by farmers in different parts 

 of the country, of certain varieties of Wheat, which had 

 been decided to be the best in a competition that took 

 place in Edinburgh in 1342, and the comparison thus ob- 

 tained was not only to be in respect of the recommended 

 Wheats themselves, but also with varieties usually raised 

 in the part of the country in which the experiments were 

 made. The varieties of Wheat selected by the Society for 

 the trials were white Daitiig woolly-eared, Pearl, and 

 Chidham ; and of red varieties, Belgian red and Blood 

 red. To Mr. Dickson, near Edinburgh, was assigned the 

 three white varieties, namely, Dantzig woolly-eared, 

 Pearl, ar.d Chidham ; and they were compared with the 

 following varieties : Short cluster, Chidham, Hunter's, 

 llopetoun, Belgian red, White Essex, and Fenton ; and 

 the results obtained from these were as follows. per Scotch 

 •ere ia value and quantity, viz. : — 



Daotzig, woolly-cared 



Pearl 

 Chidham 



Short- cluster 

 C ullham 

 Hunter's 

 Hopetoun 

 Belgian Red 

 White Essex 

 Fenton 



»» 



i* 



N 

 M 



>» 

 »» 

 »» 

 )» 

 »» 



Bushels 

 per acre 

 55 



47 

 49 



47 

 52 



48 



49 



53 



46 



lbs. per 



Value of Corn 



Bushel 



and Straw 



65 



j£-2C) 4 



654 



23 16 3 



6o| 



23 13 114 



614 



22 4 1 



65| 



25 4 5 



654 



24 1 1 



}4* 



23 5 5 



64J 



24 2 11 



654 



22 19 6 



64 



24 13 



57 



To Mr. Ritchie, of Alloa, were also assigned the three 

 above-named white varieties, and with them he compared 

 llopetoun, Hunter's, and W T hittington, and the results 

 per Scotch acre obtained by him were as follows :^ 



Chidham 

 Pearl 



1'anzig woolly-eared 



Hopetoun 



Hunter's 



vYhiitington 







lbs. per 



Value of Corn 





Bushels 



Bushel 



and'Straw 



»» 



3S 



64 



*M 7 9 



»» 



40 



60 



15 4 



ired 



37 



C3 



15 15 10£ 



H 



41 



62 



17 13 4i 



»» 



43* 



6.4 



19 1 2 



it 



36 



02 



16 9 5 



These two statements may 

 they indicate the results per 



be correctly compared, as 

 Scotch acre. Air. Allan, 



Berkshire, conducted the experiments with the red varie- 

 ties, and compared them with Hunter's, and he obtained 

 these results per imperial acre :— 



Be^an Red^ 1101 "^ *** 3i * bUSh • , 57 lbS ' per bush * 

 Huater'8, rather less'than 43* Z 574 " 



via w 01 ?* 1 *? donations ser »t to the Society was a small 

 packet of African guano, from Mr. James Bell, of Liver- 

 pool obtained from the first cargo, per the Levenside, of 

 ow tons , that has just arrived in Scotland. The cargo, 

 ton IV' h /' been offered at auction, and 8/. 2s. 6d. per 

 Ua *!T*> but offered ^ 9/., and but little had been 



finMn+tt ■ -—"■*«• «** <?*. f aim uul nine uau uctn 



has r!nl ° , he D manare wiU be imported. The Society 



«d coV; are it p ;t7h r e lt? tnn ,o analyse tuu guano ' 



vi an. 



Dehrnhn FARMERS' CLUBS. 1 



cus«ed -7»i • Sub ^ ect of artificial manures was dis- 



femieml h \ mee ? 1 ^ of «>*» club on the 2d inst. The 

 Toar ITh.A ! -, ,ntrod «ced the subject said, that last 

 small ex?pnV"* u MTCral kinds of artificial manure to a 



Using; ouam.!. Vi ew ° f testia & their comparative fer- 

 v l uautIe s J and from the success he had had with 



urate I , C f b / F UU1 ' ni "ate ot soda, salt 

 **'■ Per Lie ' ,„ 2 t C r 1,° J Uan .° P." acre > at 



«ad tried 17 }W should commence immediately. He 

 urate 1^?"°' S?P sum » nitrate of soda, saltpetre, and 



. atc « .Last vear h» f«~ j , _ . '„ ,.-, l . / 



heat (every 



— — per arrp k " ° r-« — --» **t a cost °f 



^alauanJjrj/u h t8ken with the greatest care an 

 dr *«ea and «f 7 measure > of the produce where top- 

 k<k Pt and L u r 7 0t top-dressed, and having had them 



in "ease of .1 d u eparatel - v ' he found there was an 



* U «l the Jtlnl* W / ls per acre ^ here he had a P- 

 g«ar,o ,.2°^ ^ ey °J ld the produce of that where no 

 Fro » a ton d i ! ' ai ^ a P r °P°rtionate increase of Straw. 

 t0 Wheat »u!! ? .T cwt ' of ^trate of soda applied 

 bash els pe'r acre J \ ridgM ' he had an inc rease of six 



th S «ke?ncre a rel!bttt P th? Cre , 26 '' ; fr ° m Salt P etre ab ° Ut 

 ,od * : with both .„ I . C ,° 8t P er acre more than for 



« Straw He ha d ^r ? ltpetre there was * n ^crease 



per a cre, cos 287 J, PP u Urate at the rate of 5 * cwt. 

 > cost ^ f- per acre ^ but w . thout h * 





use. He had also tried an experiment with the above J 

 manures on Clover last year, each at an equal co6t per 

 acre ; he had sown two ridges with guano and gypsum, 

 two with guano alone, two with gypsum alone, and two 

 with urate alone. He had the greatest produce from the 

 guano and gypsum ;— from guano alone, good ; from gyp- 

 sum alone, good ; from urates not so good as from the 

 other artificial manures. He believed the produce from 

 the guano and gypsum was double, compared with the other 

 part of the field where no manure whatever had been ap- 

 plied. — Another member stated he had had a small quan- 

 tity of guano sent to him last year, with directions for sow- 

 ing, which he strictly complied with. He top-dressed a 

 spot in his Turnips, which were up and fit for the hoe ; it 

 was a decided failure — indeed, the Turnips so top- 

 dressed were the worst in the field. He had also used a 

 small quantity on Grass land ; the effects were soon 

 visible ; the Grass there soon outgrew the rest of the field, 

 for which there was a good reason — the cattle grazing 

 therein would not eat the grass when top-dressed with 

 guano, it was so very rank ; thinks probably too much 

 was applied, or that it ought to have been mixed with 

 ashes or mould ; he had used nitrate of soda as a top- 

 dressing for Grass land, which produced a visible increase. 

 — Another member said he had used soot as a top- dressing 

 for Wheat, and found an increase In the quantity both of 

 Straw and Grain. He had watched an application of lape 

 cake, burnt earth, and farm-yard manure, for Turnips ; 

 the proportion used was as follows : — rape cake one third 

 of a ton per acre, drilled in with the seed ; 90 bushels 

 burnt earth, also drilled ; and about 15 chaldrons per 

 acre of farm-yard manure ; the other part of the field was 

 manured with pig manure, and from it the best Turnips 

 were obtained ; the next best, where the rape cake was 

 applied ; from the common farm-yard manure and burnt 

 earth, the Turnips were about equal. He had also ex. 

 amined the Barley which succeeded the Turnips ; the pig 

 manure had the preference, then the rape cake, then the 

 farm-yard manure ; the burnt earth appeared there to have 

 lost its power. — Another member said he had seen a field 

 of Turnips where the occupier had manured with the best 

 bullock-yard manure, which, falling short, he had finished 

 the field with rape cake ; where the rape cake was used 

 there were two thirds more Turnips than where the bul- 

 lock-yard manure was applied. — Another member said he 

 had top-dressed part of a field of Wheat with soot, about 

 25 bushels per acre, from which the increase was four 

 bushels per acre. — As but few artificial manures had been 

 tried, and those only to a small extent, it was thought ad- 

 visable by the club not to come to any resolution on the 

 subject this evening, but from what had been stated, it 

 was hoped many of the members would be induced to try 

 as many of the artificial manures as convenient, both as 

 top-dressings for Wheat, and also for Clover and Grasses, 

 and that they would report the results of such experi- 

 ments to some future meeting of the club. — Wm. Green, 

 Secretary. 



Collingham. — At the meeting of this Club, held the 5th 

 March, J. S. Woolley, Esq., jun., came forward to explain 

 his method of keeping Farmers' Accounts. The system 

 is principally this, — he has two books, a journal and 

 ledger ; the journal is for one year, and contains 52 pages, 

 one for each week ; half of each page is occupied by a daily 

 journal of labour, the other page is divided into three 

 parts, one for the stock account, another for the corn 

 account, and a third for the cash account, which is an 

 account of all receipts and expenditure not coming under 

 the head of labour, stock, or corn. The ledger then is 

 divided into four parts, ruled double ; the first is occupied 

 by a common cash account, which receives the weekly 

 receipts and expenditure in labour, stock, corn, &c, and 

 at the end of the month is balanced and carried into the 

 ledger, or second part of this book ; the third part is ap- 

 propriated to the yearly valuation, and the fourth is to be 

 occupied by all debts due to and from the farm, such as 

 cake and bone bills, rent and taxes, &c. The meeting was 

 numerously attended, and the members expressed their 

 satisfaction in the proposed plan. — Robert M. Wright, 

 Seer eta vy. 



of Mangel-wurzel, 41bi. of white Belgium Carrot-seed, and 

 3 lbs. of Swedes were sown per acre ; 15 carts of manure 

 per acre, were allowed for these crops. One-half of the 

 Swedes are carted to the farmyard for the cattle by re- 

 moving six rows alternately ; but to supply the drain thus 

 made upon the land, a quarter of a pound of Linseed-cake 

 per head is daily given to the sheep when consuming 

 the remainder. For the white Turnip*, which are all 

 consumed upon the land, only 10 cart-loads of manure are 

 allowed. 



* Grass Land. — The management of this department ii 

 admirable. Tne average stock of Leicester sheep is 550 X 

 of short-horned cattle, 40, all of a very superior breed, and 

 in high condition. There being 70* acres of good permanent 

 Grass-land upon this farm, the heaviest cattle are pastured 

 upon it, with a smaller proportion of sheep. The younger 

 stock are principally maintained with the ewes and 

 lambs upon the seeds. Much pains is taken to make com- 

 post on a large scale, which is applied to the Grass-land in 

 the autumn, winter, and spring. Thistles and other weeds 

 are carefully kept down. Nine farm-horses are kept." 



This is a most extraordinary stock for a farm of 25S 

 acres, of which 7G are permanently pasture, and 50 in Clo- 

 ver-seeds. 



" The next farm, Mr. Newham's, of Edlington, afforded 

 us great interest. As a tenant-farmer he is peculiatly 

 liberal in his management, both by consuming Linseed- 

 cake, to a great extent, and purchasing bones, as the fol- 

 lowing account, which he delivered to us, of his consump- 

 tion of these articles for the last four years will show : 



Year. 



Tons of Oil-cake ; 

 consumed. 



Bushels of Bones: 

 consumed. 



Cost of Bones 



1839 

 1S40 

 1841 

 1842 



12 

 16 



28 



1200 

 1 00 

 1000 



1000 



jtir-7 l" 



151 5 



125 O 



( 125 



4 



78 



4100 



S5S 15 II 



A vera jf e 



»<H 



107* 



1 4TI39 l» 9 



liUbtefos. 



Report of the Judges appointed to inspect the Farms 

 entered fur the Prize and Siveeps'akes proposed by the 

 Yorkshire Agricultural Society. 1843. J. Coultas. 

 York. 



(Continued from page 1/4.) 



" Godfrey Wentworth, Esq. [who received the second 

 premium], has occupied his Woolley-park farm about 14 

 years. The four-course rotation of green crops, Barley, 

 seeds, and Wheat, is here adopted ; a variation being 

 occasionally effected by the introduction of Beans or Tares 

 on portions of land that would otherwise have been sown 

 with pasture-grasses or Clover after the Barley- crop. 



u Turnips and Falloiv Crops. — The preparation for 

 these commences as soon as the Corn is carried, by 

 ploughing and harrowing the stubbles as much and as 

 often as the weather permits — making the last ploughing 

 deep to give the greatest exposure of the soil during the 

 winter. The manure is led from the farm-yard in Decem- 

 ber and February ; placed in a convenient and level site 

 on a layer of earth, and protected from the air by a light 

 covering of the same. For these crops the mannre U con- 

 veyed by one-horse carls, up the centre of each third drill, 

 as soon as the drills are formed, and care is taken to 

 spread it equally and quickly that it may be covered in 

 with the least exposure to wind and sun. The drills 

 for Potatoes are 30 inches apart; for Mangel-wurzel 27 

 inches ; Carrots and Swede Turnips 25 inches. We 

 found all these crops extremely promising and remarkably 

 clean. They had been sown about the 8'.h of May ; 6 lbs. * 



" II s sheep, from the period of weaning from the ewes 

 to the time of their sale when fat, whether on Turnips or 

 Grass, have always a full supply of oil-cake, be the pas- 

 ture good or closely eaten. His opinion is, that the extra 

 produce of beef and mutton pays for the cake, and that 

 he obtains the prodigious benefit of the superior manure 

 without cost. Certainly the land gains much by the 

 application of linseed-cake, as food for cattle, and we never 

 met with an instance where so much was consumed on a 

 farm of scarcely 300 acres. 



" This year, two acres of Lucerne and two acres of 

 Sainfoin, have been sown close to the farmstead, for the 

 purpose of soiling. Ten regular draught-horses are em- 

 ployed ; the practice is to purchase annually two, of two 

 years old, and sell out two of seven years old, thus keeping 

 the stock always young. The ewes kept on the farm, 

 on the average of the three last years, have been 122 ; 

 lambs bred from them, 151, which are sold fat, when 

 shearlings ; and in addition to this stock, from 250 to 30ft 

 shearlings are bought each September, put upon Turnips, 

 and sold fat in the spring. Mr. Newham also fatten* 

 about 20 bullocks every winter in the yards with linseed 

 cake, holding besides about 20 cattle of various ages- 

 It is chiefly from the vast supply of first-rate manure, 

 made from these causes, and the liberal purchase of bones,, 

 that the high condition of Mr. Newham's farm has been 

 obtained. He adopts the four-couree of Turnips, Corn, 

 Clover, and Corn, varying the Corn crops, but often, 

 taking two crops of Wheat in a course, and sometimes 

 substituting Beans in the place of red Clover. His mix- 

 ture for one year's pasture is ten pounds of white Clover, 

 ten pounds of Trefoil, four pounds of Rib-grass, four 

 pounds of Parsley, and a quarter of a peck of Rye-grass 



per acre. 



" Mr. Snowden, of Marr, who has occupied his farm 



15 years, has also practised a course of cropping some- 

 what similar to that followed by Mr. Newham. He sows 

 Swedes 22 inches apart, allowing nine carts of well -rotten 

 farm-yard manure per acre for the rows, on which he also 

 drills 10 bushels of bones, 6 bushels of pigeon-manure, 

 8 gallons of whale-blubber, and 10 bushels of ashes, all 

 mixed together. Estimating the farm manure at 10*. a 

 cart, the cost of manure per acre for the Swedes is about 

 6/. More than half this crop is carted to the farm-yard, 

 for cattle, and not many are eaten on the Grass-land. 

 The white Turnips have 24 bushels of bones, and 10 

 bushels of ashes drilled, with two pounds of seed ; these: 

 Turnips are seldom drawn." 



The concluding remarks of this valuable report are weH* 

 worthy the attention of Agricultural societies. 



" In closing our report, we may perhaps be permitted: 

 to remark, that valuable as large Agricultural meetings 

 for the exhibition of stock and implements are, on ac- 

 count of the opportunities which they afford for obtaining 

 a knowledge of the excellences to be aimed at by the.' 

 breeder and the grazier ; and the improvement of ma- 

 chinery, which these exhibitions have mainly encouraged, 

 yet the minute inspection of well-cultivated farms, is not. 

 less worthy the attention of the arable farmer. We are 

 of opinion that the produce of grain would be much 

 more than doubled, and that the profit of the cultivators- 

 would be greatly increased, if the praiseworthy examples. 

 set on the farms we inspected were generally followed. 

 An inquiring mind is necessary to form a perfect, or even 

 a successful farmer. The best-informed farmer would, on 

 each of these seven farms, discern that he had something 

 yet to learn, and would see some practice from which to 

 improve his own." 



An apology would have been necessary for extracting 

 so large a portion of a published work, had it not been 



