THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



217 



,— rTpMFRS' CLUBS AND AGR1CUL- 



VUSL SOCIETIES, m uk- * d -- by Mr . Hyett, of 



X w£-lt *» nn * ?fl" Stable to place within the reach 

 C<r?2;. hat it wooM be «X"™* lo » means of obtaining 



the 



S^ft£er». upon «•«"«*- £'£ § of commerce now coming 



■"SSSof «* ; a J^Teir co-rnercial and agricultural 



"2; go »s to ^ l ! m * * offer my services to the several 



-.latTbave determined to ^ offer ^my the followin& 



;»Ciubs ^^^n^SSnted Chemist to any Club 



££. * : S^U o?"' S" 1 " 1 •"■ ana,yse for lheir me ' 



ffJSSftg— ^^ as guano the 



1. lf«n«"* ^ "V"f h bone-dust, rape-d.ist,&c., for adultera- 



,£*»<* •of^tt^Ewminins.^th • view to its com- 

 tion*. 'or each '» r "P , e, of tnese man nres. so as to 



■^ Md tSd r impurity, or estimating the amount of 

 detect the ^ ** al ma tter, contained in any sample of bones, 

 ^» te VJr o inorganic matter in any mixed manures, 6s. 

 **«*» ie £ est mating in a soil the amount of soluble saline 

 , ^/,-Foresi » phosphates, gypsum organic 



matter, or o ime. y f of releiltlon c f water by a 



^tter hurn " s, i ; * 'dicating the necessity of draining, for the 

 ^^of 'one ingredient, 5s.. and 2,. M. for each addi- 



tioosJone limestones, marls, &c, to ascertain the 



5. E'rlto.-*** mesence of magnesia, alumina, or silex, 

 V™* ertsiiiing the proportions also of either of the latter, or 



iS^aooinSty of water, starch, sugar, gluten, vegetable 

 TZToTVooTfilre in Turnips. Potatoes, Mangold Wurzel, 

 SEZ n i?ZVt «he first, and 2s. 6d. for each additional inere- 

 Z ™d for determining the quantity of oil or fat, and of other 

 JSim"e princes, requiring expensive re- agents, m any agn- 



^ tU I^irvTr'o5tt "-Estimating: the amount of casein, fat, sugar, 

 or «lu.eoi.tsiuc.l in milk or cheese with a view to comparing 

 Seproouce of two or mure breeds of cows, or of different modes 

 offeedinr. for earh ingredient, 5s. 



6. A Lecture on any Agricultural subject, 3/, to 5/. 



- For chemical advice generally, on Agricultural subjects, the 

 cbsrge must be regulated by circumstances. 



g Water or liquid manure examined, with respect to its fitness 

 for irrigation. I am, rentleman. 



Yours, most obediently, 



PaiDSwick, March 26. A. GYDE. 



TO AGRICULTURISTS, MINING PROPRIETORS, 

 MANUFACTURERS, and OTHERS. 



EOYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION.— 

 The department of ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY and 

 Chemistry applied to the Arts, Manufactures, and Agriculture, 

 new offers considerable advantages to parties engaged in the 

 above-mentioned pursuits, both as to the moderate scale of 

 charges, and the punctuality and accuracy with which all 

 Analyses are conducted. The Chemists may be consulted at ths 

 Institution daily, after 11 o'clock, or in the country, if required. 

 Simple Assays, one guinea each. Analyses, from one guinea 

 rpwarris. Where business is regularly sent to the Institution 

 the charges are reduced. R. J. Longbotiom, Secretary. 



Z\)t agricultural <K alette 



SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 1S44. 



MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 



Wedkbiut, April i 0> Agricultural Society of England. 

 Thumdat, April 11, Agricukural Imp. Soc. of Ireland. 



( 



Wa 



Th 



muMPAY, April 17, Agricultural Society of England. 

 omdat, April 18, Agricultural Imp. Soc. of Ireland. 



FARMERS' CLUBS—April 8 -f 



West Hereford. 

 Wickham Market. 



During the years 184*2 and 1843, upwards of 400 

 experiments with manures, of which we have the ma- 

 nuscript report, were made by Mr. Lawes, whose 

 name will be recognised as that of an intelligent writer 

 in the Agricultural Gazette. We mention this to 

 snow that the opinion of this gentleman on the gene- 

 ral subject of experimental farming is well worthy of 

 «ur attention. It will be seen from the following re- 

 Eiarks by him, that his extensive experience in this 

 rim 1 y pr n° Ves lhe amount of error to which expe- 

 thTn l" lable ' from the influence of other causes 

 "*n those specially employed bv the experimenter. 



out nn l ° reme(,y this is-either'as already pointed 

 i -or i many occasions, and as Professor Henslow has 



from ? K P rac . Uce -by collating the results obtained 



servers , ^T™ ° f lhe same cause > b y different °b- 

 — what i gr - ea ^ variet y of circumstances, or by 



tout the e t^ similar ~ increasm g- not the number, 

 ^'tes as foCs 2 ** ex P eriments - Mr - Lawes 



Ravin JS!H re t0 offer some remarks upon this subject, 



^T^i durin p *• Iast f * w y«™ in p- 



« Rreatflpfl If ' y ex P enm ents, and having wasted 



Precaution nlc^t o 2?* fr ° m ign ° ranCe i° f ^ 

 Pzson wish n y an accurate result - A 



naturally fln v g l ° try a Tarie ty of experiments is 

 space of Ian,» US t0 -, P erform them upon as small a 



^to svlc^ S J°J hle ' * have divided whole fields 

 *e creator. tl ^ fortieth of an acre; and although 



*e rcuitTJl Slble Care was taken to ensure accuracy, 

 ^ned, bv aZl "^sfcetory. I have since ascer- 



^easuring th e f • K ation? that e( * ual s P aces of land 

 Manured with ., ortletn °f a n acre, unmanured, or 



whi ch v arv i„ ,i! Same su °stance, yield weights 



Ration a^J e ir?r 0n ° f S * ! * The S reatest 

 ^clined to thirl fi ? Ver and Gras s; a" d I am 

 quantity f iZi .i! h ? If an acr e is the smallest 

 ment upon thL at ° Ught t0 ** us e d for one experi- 

 re ^uced to I fi n Cr ° pS \ The enures should be 

 ^^rass is hernn«- PPWder ' End S0wn *>v hand when 

 °JM*, a r^ U Z\ t0 g ro ^ I I Prefer the month 



The Grass shouM all h " g u dected for lhe P ur P ose ' 

 m ev ery resDef . t !n CUt the same da X» and treated 



«P«i2«ni !fi t ma f- k iS fit t0 Carry - £ach 



^ be made into a separate stack, and 



thatched ; the weights should be taken about two 

 months after the Hay is carried. 



" Experiments upon Wheat, Barley, and Oats, may 

 be performed upon a quarter of an acre. I prefer the 

 beginning of May for top-dressing with soluble salts, 

 such as sulphate of ammonia, guano, &c. In har- 

 vesting the experimental portions, they may either be 

 made into stacks in the field, or they may be threshed 

 out at once in the barns. Experiments upon 

 Turnips may be conducted upon much smaller 

 spaces of ground, provided a space of not less 

 than 27 inches be left between the rows ; the 

 fiftieth of an acre will give a very fair result, 

 particularly if the Turnips are sown upon the 

 ridges. A. space of 129 yards lone;, by 27 inches, 

 is about one-fiftieth of an acre. If a portion of 

 ground of this size is used, a drill should be employed 

 to sow the Turnip-seed, and the manure should be 

 strewed by hand down the marks made by the drill, a 

 light roller being passed over them to cover the 

 manure. The seed should be sown very thick, to pre- 

 vent injury from the fly; and to enable the Turnips to 

 be 5et out at equal intervals, each row should contain 

 an equal number of Turnips. The Turnips should be 

 weighed about the beginning of December ; all the 

 roots, dirt, and tops, should be completely removed, 

 and the bulb weighed. This is the only fair way of 

 estimating the weight of a. crop of Turnips, and if it 

 were done, we should not hear so often of crops 

 weighing 30 tons per acre." 



No kind of experiments can afford more useful re- 

 sults than those instituted for the purpose of ascer- 

 taining the limits within which the results of other 

 experiments can be depended upon. Mr. Lawes re- 

 fers here to the effects of manures alone, and a good 

 deal of the variety there noticeable is, it appears, 

 owing to variety in the soil, and to other disturbing 

 causes. There are many kinds of experiments con- 

 nected with the soil, to each of which the above re- 

 marks by Mr. Lawes will apply, as they are all 

 equally affected by the same sources of error ; such 

 are experiments with different varieties of any plant, 

 for the purpose of determining the one of greatest 

 productiveness. But there is another class of experi- 

 ments, of great importance to the farmer, which aim 

 at the determination of the nutritive properties of 

 different kinds of food, or of the fattening tendencies 

 of different breeds of sheep and cattle ; and in these 

 we can say, from experience, that the greatest care is 

 required in drawing accurate inferences from the re- 

 sults arrived at. 



We have no doubt that, were a sheep-farmer to 

 divide his flock into tens, and observe them weekly, 

 he would often find as much difference between these 

 different lots, though fed and treated alike, as another 

 would who had treated his lots variously, feeding one 

 on Carrots, another on Swedes, a third on Field-beet, 

 without hay, and a fourth, fifth, and sixth on all 

 these, with hay. It requires a whole season at 

 least, and a flock ten or twenty at least in number, to 

 determine the merits of any peculiarity in the ma- 

 nagement of sheep. And while on this point, 

 we may just mention one particular which appears to 

 have been overlooked by experimenters on the value 

 of different roots as food for cattle or sheep.^ A great 

 source of error in all such experiments lies in the fact, 

 that most of the different roots grown by the farmer 

 come to perfection at different times during the year. 

 The common Turnip should be all consumed by No- 

 vember, the Swede by March, while the Mangold 

 Wurtzel and Carrot are as good, or even better, 

 during the months of April and May as at any period 

 while they are fit to eat. Thus, of two experiments 

 with Swedes and Beet made on different lots of 

 sheep, the one in December and the other in May, the 

 former would probably result in proving the Swede to 

 be the most nutritive food, and the latter would pro- 

 bably justify a preference of the Beet. We cannot 

 tell how far to depend upon such experiments till all 

 their details are made known. 



' It will soon be Seed-time tor the Mangold- 

 Wurzel. This plant prefers a light soil, but will 

 succeed on much heavier land than is suited for Tur- 

 nip culture. It should be sown before the end of 

 April. The land (a Wheat or Oat-stubble ploughed 

 deeply in autumn), having lain exposed to the action 

 of the weather during winter, will then harrow down 

 to a fine tilth. It should be ploughed, not very 

 deeply, about ten days before sowing; and, if 

 the weather be warm and drying, the harrow and 

 roller should follow close upon the ploughman. When, 

 after repeated harrowings, the soil has been rendered 

 sufficiently fine, the manure may be laid on ; and in 

 doing this, either of two ways may be adopted. It 

 may be applied broadcast, i. e% it may be emptied 

 out of the carts in heaps at the rate of about 20 tons 

 per acre, and spread evenly over the surface ; after 

 which, it should be immediately ploughed in, and 

 then the land should be harrowed, rolled, and bouted 

 up for sowing as soon as possible; or the manure may 

 be applied in the drills, and this is generally the more 



economical plan. In this latter case, we suppose two 

 ploughs to be at work ; the land is first ribbed by 

 these, a furrow being turned out, and a drill formed 

 every 26 inches. As soon as a few drills are thus 

 formed, the carts with manure are led up the centre 

 of each three, and a man pulls out the load at a regu- 

 lar rate without stopping the horse. Supposing he 

 has been directed to apply 20 tons per acre, he should 

 then spread a load of 15 cwt. over about 84 yards in 

 length. This is divided amongst the three drills to 

 which it belongs, and spread evenly along the bottom 

 of each by three men, who follow close behind the 

 carts. The ploughs, by which 12 drills may by this 

 time have been formed, three of which are then filled 

 with manure, instead of continuing merely to bout 

 up fresh drills, should now work round and round 

 those already prepared ; on the one side, splitting 

 those first made in which manure has since been laid, 

 covering it up, and leaving the land ready for the 

 seed; and on the other, opening new furrows. There 

 will thus never be more than 12 drills open, and in 

 never more than six is there manure lying exposed to 

 the air. Two ploughs, with manure-carts and men 

 to keep them going, will get over 5 or 6 acres a-day. 

 The land as it is thus left, should be rolled and sown 

 as soon as possible. If it be in fine tilth, and the 

 ploughman skilful, the drills need not be formed by a 

 complete bout of the plough ; they will be sufficiently 

 well made by a mere ribbing of the land. 



The seed should be sown as soon as possible after 

 the drills are ready to receive it. It should be dibbled 

 in by hand. We have not seen the machines at work 

 which are described in some publications, for forming 

 the holes to receive the seed ; but from the statements 

 of others we believe that they greatly facilitate the 

 work., Before sowing, the drills should be rolled 

 lengthways by a light roller, in order to flatten them, 

 render the ground firmer, and hinder any chance of 

 the dibbles being pushed in too far. This is of great 

 consequence, as the seed is very easily buried and 

 destroyed. To guide the dibblers in this work we have 

 been accustomed to use a wooden roller about one foot 

 in diameter, having upon it at intervals of one third of 

 its circumference, strips of wood of triangular secticn 

 nailed lengthways. These, as the roller passes up and 

 down the drills, make marks across them at equi-dis- 

 tant intervals of about 12 inches. The seed is sown 

 upon these marks, and thus comes up regularly over 

 the field. The women and children who plant the 

 seed use a short dibble, which they learn to press only 

 half-an-inch into the land ; they have a small bag of 

 seed tied round the waist,* and they hold a little of it 

 in the left hand, from which by the action of the 

 thumb and fingers they separate two or three berries 

 at a time. They stand on the left side of the drill to 

 be planted, with the right foot upon the top of it; 

 bending, and stepping forward with the left foot, 

 they strike a hole in one of the aforesaid marks, 

 and on lifting out the dibble they place the two 

 or three seeds, which they have ready between 

 the fingers and thumb, in the hole thus prepared, and 

 without lifting it they drag or slide the right foot 

 along the top of the drill and cover the seed up. The 

 covering is done wholly by the right foot, which rests 

 above and presses the seed thus covered, while the 

 left takes another step of 12 inches, and the hands are 

 employed as before, first the right in forming the hole, 

 and then the left in placing the seed, after which it 

 is again brought forward to cover up. A great deal 

 depends upon the proper division of the work among 

 the feet and hands, and on each member performing: 

 its appropriate office. When once a labourer gets into 

 the way of it, he can perform his task so rapidly that 

 it appears as if he were running along on all-fours. 



The quantity of seed ihus sown varies from five to 

 seven lbs. per acre. The kind of seed to be sown 

 should be one of three kinds— the long red, and the 

 red and yellow globe. Last year, by weighing two or 

 three successive rows of each kind, we ascertained that 

 there was a produce of 3 U tons per acre of the first, 

 and 834 and S8j of the second and third. The globe 

 Beet is believed" to be of the best quality. 



Each of the berries in which the seed occurs con- 

 tains three or four seeds, so that from the two or 

 three berries which are sown at each spot in order 

 to ensure plenty of plant, a little bush of plants 

 springs, and whenever these get sufficiently large 

 they must be singled out. Before doing this, how- 

 ever, the land should be horse-hoed. This pulls down 

 the ribs and fills up the furrows, leaving untouched 

 a space of only 3 inches wide up the centre of each 

 drill, in which the plants are situated, and this i9 

 easily cleaned by the hand-hoe. Not only waste of 

 time, but injury to the plant, is frequently committed 

 in this operation, by the care which the hoer takes to 

 treat the young plant gently. The proper way to do 

 it is this :—The little 3-inch-wide ridge in which the 

 bunches are situated should be knocked away by a pustt 

 from the hoe, directed so as at the same time to knock 

 away one third of one of the bunches; the ettect ot 

 this is, to leave two or three of the centre p ante of 

 the bunch unsupported, which accordingly fall down 



