THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



219 



tbt 



—rriuTartber pwwntrf the «t«. 



___ i»_ A «r*r nrrHSlOn.il V 



Samples 



Zb. renal, if not superior, iu «»j «-rj- — » 



*% 2** by adopting a proper system of ma- 

 ^or article might be produced at home. 

 *Tw* the difference in prices, according 



*^w.hich 7/. per cwt. were readily obtained, 

 ***** r ,S w- considerably below half that 



therefore, that a proper system of 



• -It was wanted to enable the home grower 



\r2-pete with the foreigner. The soil and 



«rtfm tfmntry was abundantly proved to be 



to the Flax crop than those even of the 



the greatest P« rfectioa in its cultivation 



__*d In the Flax-growing countries of the 



JTikium especially, continued dry weather 



w- Zml^mc often renders the preparation of the 



i _ l *WL. ;» ; mn oi-r<>otl« nor. 



-^dy difficult, ana wiich ^«« "rC'^T 7 £k 



FuTJf t rood quality is rarely produced. The 



mdmMne* and shower so characteristic of our 



•t teat period of the season, obviates that difficulty, 



eerr attention is paid to the preparation of 



m tae seed sown at a proper season, a good 



w almost with certainty be calculated on. 



tsese general considerations regarding the 



w kfch ia now occupying a much larger share 



-j tJiiurion of the farming community than it has done 

 Zr ■ee? ▼««"* past, I shall endeavour in a few papers 

 Ibt ikject to place before the readers of the Gazette 

 iprovevl practice both as regards its cultivation 

 Itctsrr. 1 do not, however, feel myself war- 

 tCatiof as some of the advocates for the extension 

 Fill initirr hare done, that there is not an acre of 

 i in the country but will grow Flax of the finest 

 It it tree that the Flax-plant has a rich range of 

 tad, bet like alt our cultivated plants, there are soils to 

 it is decidedly unsuited, and on which its cultivation 

 ■ot be attempted. There is perhaps no other crop 

 matures greater attention in the performance of 

 connected with its culture and management, 

 •hen Men attention is bestowed, there are few, if any, 

 yield a greater return. Nor need any fears be enter- 

 that by its more general cultivation the supply 

 toon exceed the demand, as this cannot be the case 

 Wast many years to come. The demand has been 

 I increase for lome time past, and there is no good 

 to suppose that it will not continue to increase 

 increased cultivation. An important part of the 

 Plill of the Flax-grower has hitherto in these countries 

 •Ml alssost entirely neglected, namely, the proper 



it of the MOd, which, of itself, often affordl 



lw|t a return as some of our other cultivated crops 



Ht-ftaf had more than ordinary experience in the 

 re and management of Flax, and being connected 

 the district m which the most important movement 

 teexttMkn ' 



,..• ctTT * ea ' mto P erat i°ni I hope I may be excused 

 Vt liberty of assuring my readers that the directions 



^before them on the subject will be the result of 



"*» ind tnat they may be implicitly relied on. I 



add that I shall willingly reply to any inquiry 



■Jactf through the Gazette, when the directions 



thei 



|HtB Bey 



not 



appeal 



1 21^ ac,u t-^UlATJS Uif THIS StlUKES 



W THE MORAY FRITH.— No. III. 



ft.. r „ , (Continued from p. 202.) 



of l^Ji!Z*u andSubsoiL -- X vef y remarkable feature 

 hflLgyJ . ? ""lUsnda of Scotland, observable on every 



^to tk? vl 8t fr0m thc t0 P 8 of the highest moun- 

 | «i oottora of our lowest valleys and sea-coasts is 



nekfint. l j 0TmDg of loose sand and gravel over the 



" let 1 a k t,0ns everywhere exist of the country 



flttnadw i?v g | lu J mer K ed beneath a great ocean, and it 



* ▼tWt « • the sha P es of the hilIs and of the 

 fro* tw2»T fre Ti mpre88ed 0Q the Und before it: arose 

 ^faedstoL e "mmits of the highest mountains 



£~» over with rifted angular or but partially- 



***s beln^ . en different in composition from 



the retiri y a Deen tor a 6 es lsIands 



*** ©PPosinr •I atm ; the glens beneath ar e studded 



P**Ut barrier. V Wlth 11Umerou s terrace-banks and 



horizontal Tan0U9 altitudes I and lower still, a 



*J« Present 1 

 ■~*P* of repose 



^s across tht. 

 J»Fort-WiUi lln fJ" w ^ alc donian Valley, from Inverness 



^•■^-d Jj iner i cb y Growing the northern counties 

 * * t* teoerT/ fr L ° m the re8t of Scotland. The 

 J**** level of tk r? ^nk exactly coincides with the 



2*** the deposit a .r.° n - an Canal; and the * eneral 

 •••■■*■. iu J™ 1 ■■«— its great regularity round all 



* *e denoiit T.T •! nal; and the general 



..— *, its varr,n • T~ 8 great regularity round all 



^ •»»>«« iu w5 m breadth fr °m a few yards to two 

 ^iich'mr«u ngC0I ? p08ed of 8a o d a a d rounded 



*-i oT«22 ,d ?■ size of a m;in ' s heaJ ' 



s 



K^ r . 



•n& * 



^thebank;or a t n t L a ;?f. 8tickin ^° n the »™' r 

 la «e bonld^. ;i a * t , w,thln a ™j few feet of the 



jften 

 sen 1 



'• We "iiY W n ° Y , Cry dUtant geological era, 



Wi^ - eit °er f .mm!]. 16 able absence of or 8 anic 



-**■ ««W o» ^'J 1 or vegetables in these gravel 



localitie. I? haVe becn transported to 



fbere i. . n ° 7^ di » tant geological era, 



ro ^ ani ma l. remarkable ab8en ^ e of organise 

 , 3°^ o ft the Tl°\ Ye 8 etab ^8 in these gravel 

 -*P*tw tt i ch *" y k P V or C0Q nected with the 



C0Ter them i b «tthe rocky substances 



constituting the gravel can often be traced to their original 

 beds, and the directions of the currents from which they 

 were deposited can hence be determined. The scratches 

 on the rocks below, and the component masses of the 

 gravel in the neighbourhood of Inverness, and all along 

 Nairn and Morayshires, demonstrate that the main cur- 

 rent proceeded from the south-west extremity of the great 

 Glen towards the north-east ; and the primitive boulders 

 from the interior of the country, strewn over the plains of 

 Ross and Sutherland, indicate the same direction ; while, 

 on the north-west of Ross-shire, the current appears to 

 have had a course more from the north. In the forms of 

 the hills and valleys we can often trace the course of cross 

 currents and eddies ; and although the heterogeneous 

 mixture of substances in the gravel demonstrates the 

 extensive movements which occasionally and at first pre- 

 vailed among the waters, still it would appear that there 

 were long periods of repose, during which the clays and 

 finer particles subsided ; so that even the higher ridges 

 frequently exhibit a remarkably good loamy subsoil. 

 That the course of thc waters tended generally towards 

 the north is farther clear from most of the escarpments 

 looking towards the south, and the declination of the 

 ridges being in an opposite direction from them ; while it 

 would also appear that the southern front of the hills was 

 most exposed to the currents, as it is a commonly ob- 

 served fact among the farmers that the northern slopes of 

 the ridges usually have the finest soil, and they are most 

 abundant in clayish particles. 



By far the greatest portion of the Agricultural districts 

 in trie north rests on the gravel beds and terraces now 

 described, which thus form the common subsoil of the 

 country; and from its open, porous texture and the 

 general admixture of all manner of substances in its com- 

 position, that subsoil equalises much the productiveness 

 of all the districts, and renders them less dependent than 

 they would otherwise be on each peculiar or prevailing 

 substratum of rock. In fact, the gravelly subsoil is, on 

 an average, at lea.-t 10 feet deep, of which the debris of 

 the immediately subjacent rock forms in general but a 

 small proportion, — although it is remarkable that, on the 

 whole, t'nere is a much greater quantity of clay present 

 than could be expected from the loose appearance of the 

 beds. Indeed, a recent analysis of one of the commonest 

 subsoils about Inverness has shown that it contains up- 

 wards of 60 per cent, of aluminous matter, which readily 

 accounts for the rapid growth of trees in apparently mere 



sand-pits. 

 This paper having extended to a greater length than I 



expected, I must defer a sketch of the climate of the 



north of Scotland to another Number of your Journal.— 



G. Anderson, Inverness. 



(T(/ be continued.) ' 



MECHANICS AS APPLIED TO AGRICULTURE. 



By Mr. Cottam. I 



(Continued from page 203.) 



The operations of Agriculture to be performed by ma- 

 chinery may be divided into five classes. 1st. Imple- 

 ments used in tilling the land and in the cultivation of the 

 crops. 2dly. In harvesting the crops. 3dly. In prepar- 

 ing the crops for market. 4thly. Implements used in 

 preparing the food for the stock on the farm. 5thly. 



Domestic machinery. 



Under the first head will come the draining tools— the 

 plough, the harrow, the cultivator, the rake, the roller, 

 the drill, and the horse-hoe. Before I enter upon the 

 implements, I will take the liberty of giving a slight 

 sketch of the great improvement made by Mr. Smith, of 

 Deanston — that of thorough-draining and subsoil-plough- 

 ing. This system will prove of great assistance to the 

 Agricultural engineer, because the land can be laid all flat 

 and even, will always be in a fit state to work, heavy rains 

 will have a less injurious effect upon it (if any), and the 

 hot sun in dry weather will not retard the performance of 

 machinery as formerly. This system is clearly shown on 

 the diagram ; the drains are to be cut thirty inches deep 

 and eighteen feet apart ; the land may then be ploughed 

 four or five inches deep, and subsoil-ploughedjfourteen to 

 sixteen inches more : this is only to break up and raise 

 the soil, not to turn it up to the surface. The subsoil 

 plough should follow the ordinary plough : it will take a 

 great power to draw it at first, but it is evident that eveiy 

 year it will take less power to perform the operation. 

 Land so drained and ploughed should be ploughed with a 

 turn-rest plough, that the furrows may be all one way, and 

 the land laid flat, so far as the natural undulations of the 

 soil will permit it ; in this state it will be easy to under- 

 stand how this system will make wet land dry and dry 

 land moist, in that state most congenial to the growth of 

 plants. When the rains come, the water has not to flow 

 from the ridges or stetches into surface drains, washing 

 away all the manures and pabulum of the soil with it, but 

 where it falls there it passes through to the drains, and 

 becomes filtered in its passage, leaving all its virtues be- 

 hind it : this shows that it is as beneficial to drain the hills 

 as the valleys. If we compare this system with that of 

 land not under-drained, but v*hat is called well drained 

 on the surface, and ploughed in high and narrow stetches 

 (or lands), the subsoil has been what engineers call pud- 

 dled, that is, trodden down till it is quite hard and 

 impervious to] water, and impenetrable by the roots of 

 plants, for it has not been disturbed for years, never having 

 been ploughed more than from four to six inches deep. 

 When ploughed it is laid up in ridges or stetches, the 

 narrow ones in seven furrows ; but they are made iu 

 various numbers, so that in every five feet you have a dram 

 a furrow wide. Now, if we observe this furrow in harvest 

 time, we shall find if it is a wet season the crop in 



season the crop will be dried up and equally at poor. The 

 diagram will show the reaaon there is no depth of soil to 

 hold moisture. Here, at the best, on the top ©/Jthe ridge 

 we have but six inches deep, diminishing in the space of 

 two feet six inches to nothing in the farrow ; while in the 

 new system we have sixteen inches of soil to bold 

 moisture. If we wanted to keep anything moist, and 

 we wet a blanket and laid it over it, and found it dry 

 quickly, we should put on four blankets. Now this is a 

 similar case ; one has four inches depth of soil, and the 

 other sixteen inches. In a dry season the roots can 

 descend and obtain support. What an advantage does this 

 mode of culture give to the implement-maker ! He has a 

 flat surface to work upon, and that in a dry state. 



Mr. Cottam now compared the various ploughs, show- 

 ing the improvements made upon them, referring to 

 numerous models and diagrams, for want of which it 

 would be impossible for us to give even an outline. He 

 showed various waysof setting out the turn-furrow or mould- 

 board of ploughs, as practised by different makers, and par- 

 ticularly one dei> ed by the late Rev. \V. Rham, in *hich y 

 although apparently a beautiful curve, all the vertical lines 

 were straight. He also explained Smith's, of Dean- 

 ston, new turn-rest plough, and the way the sod waa 

 cut, raised, and turned over, referring to numerous 

 mathematical diagrams. After going through the har 

 rows and the cultivators in a similar maimer, he com- 

 pared Finlayson'f, Biddell's, Wilkie's, Kirk wood's. Lord 

 Ducie's, and his own, pointing out the advantages and 

 disadvantages in working them. One harrow, said to be 

 invented by Smith, of Deanston, and improved by himself, 

 by serrating the discs (a sort of quoit-shaped instrument), 

 attracted considerable attention. It was shown by the 

 Dynamometer, that so great an improvement had been 

 made in English ploughs, that they were now superior 

 to the Scotch, by taking less draught, as 32 to 40» 

 Mr. Cottam concluded by showing the great importance 

 of every improvement in Agriculture. The importance of 

 any improvement in Agriculture will be easily compre- 

 hended by the following calculation : — The extent of land 

 under Wheat in the United Kingdom is about 8,00(1,000 

 of acres, and the average produce about 24 bushels per 

 acre. Now if this average could only be increased to 27 

 bushels, this would yield 3,000,000 of quaiters, which at 

 the present price, say 50*., would amount to the sum of 

 7,500,000/. It is not only in the \\ heat-crop that an 

 increase could be obtained by the new system of thorough 

 draining and subsoil-ploughing, but all other crops ; and 

 the quantity of food (or stock of all descriptions would be 

 increased thereby. 



ON INFLAMMATORY FEVER IN YOUNG 



CATTLE. 



Inflammatory fever or quarter-evil, or,as it is also some* 

 times tei med, black-leg, is one of the most fatal diseases to 

 which cattle are subject, being exceedingly rapid in its pro- 

 gress, and seldom admitting of cure ; never, indeed, unless 

 the remedial measures are actively adopted at an early stage 

 of the disease. Young cattle chiefly are its victims, and 

 so rapid is its progress, that on being looked over in the 

 morning the animals may appear as usual, and before 

 evening one or more of them may be suffering from in- 

 flammatory fever, which may even have proceeded so far 

 that decomposition has commenced in the part affected, 

 after which a cure is hopeless. The farmer can never 

 place much confidence in the success even of the best 

 treatment for the cure of this disease ; but he has much 

 more influence in preventing its ravages than is usually 



supposed. 



Inflammatory fever is now fortunately a disease of much 

 rarer occurrence than formerly. In many cases 1 have 

 known the rearing of calves altogether abandoned from 

 the prevalence of this disease, and the probability of their 

 bemg carried off by it before completing their second 

 year. What appeared more surprising still, the animals 

 making greatest proficiency in their growth were inva- 

 riably those most liable to suffer. In other districts, how- 

 ever, it is comparatively unknown, especially where a 

 uniform system of treatment is adopted in the feeding of 

 the animals. A knowledge of the animal economy is of 

 scarcely less importance to the farmer than that of the 

 best systems of cropping, as his live-stock constitute tne 

 largest portion of his capital, and such knowledge would 

 often save him from serious loss. It would show him that 

 the disease to which we are now referring was the natural 

 consequence of his violation of the laws of Nature in the 

 treatment of his young cattle,and the penalty which he must 

 pay for his defective management. His young cattle at one 

 time are so miserably fed as merely to support life, and at 

 another fed highly, the change in the quality of food being 

 also effected in a short space of time. That this should pro- 

 duce aderangement of the system cannot appear surprising. 

 In districts where Turnip cultivation is little practised, 

 the young cattle are supported during the winter on straw, 

 and that often of an inferior quality, from being impro- 

 perly saved, with a run for a few hours each day over their 

 miserable pastures ; and so far have the animals been 

 reduced during the winter by this treatment, that the first 

 few weeks of the spring, after vegetation has made some 

 progress, and the grass affords a full bite, produces such 

 an effect on them that inflammatory fever seizes them and 

 speedily carries them off. Those making most progress 

 at the time are also most likely to become the victims of 

 the disease, the reason for which is obvious. Though 

 occasionally occurring at different periods of the season, 

 yet nine-tenths of the cases of the disease which occur 

 take place in the spring or beginning of summer, as a no 

 other period does the system undergo such a change from 



and on the sides of the furrow all perished, the straw a transition in the quality of food. -.tit will 



short, and the ears of Corn small and unripe ; in a dry I Though little can be done in the way of cure, yes i% 



