THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



251 



^7^7^T«luten in the following I 



^s^ ssaS- 88 audthe prices of 



of each 

 sub 



Amount 



8 „u- ,— - price of >00 Estimated value 



ttance of Glu- i b3 . f Glu- to the Farmer- 

 contain- ten per, tcn in eac h the oata of these 



inff 10° 

 lbs. of 

 Gluten 



acre— su bstance. 



calculations. 



Wfceat 

 Do. Straw 



Barter 

 Do. Slr»w 



Oats 



po. Straw 



rot**** 



Scant 



\\s. 8d. 2s. bd. 



0s. 2^rf. 4s. 



3s. O'id. It. 6rf. 



8«. 4 Jd. 2*. 8d. 



05. Od. .2*. 



7»- 



■ 



per 60 lbs. 



i. cwt. 



. 53 lbs. 



. cwt. 



,. 40 lbs. 

 . . cwt. 



14s. 5§d. 28s. 



6s. 2d. 5s. 



13s. Od. 



.. ton. 

 .. 6u lbs. 



Ijocttne , cry 



Do. ft*** • 

 Red Oo»er, dry 



Do.frrth • 

 Btttitx* . 



Turnip 



Carrot 



B»ckwbeit 



)|e.dow Cat's 

 tail, aod Rye- 

 GraM 



\6s. 7d. 60s. .. ton. 



7s. Sid. 10s. 

 13s. lOid.j 

 8s. Q£d..l2t. 



..ton. 

 .. ton. 



TABLE Y. -Classification of Plants 

 iAD Constituent 



according to their Miueral 



s. 



Silica Plants. 

 Oat- s( raw and seed . 

 Wbeat-straw . 

 Barley-straw&seed. 

 Rye- straw 



Limb PLANTS. 



Tobacco,' Ha vannah) 



„ (Datch) 

 Pesotraw 

 Potato haulm 

 Sainfoin , 

 Meadow Clover 



Potash Plants. 

 Maize-straw . 

 Turnips . 

 Beetroot . . 



Pota'oes (tubers) 



Helianthas tube- 

 rosus, sunflower , 



34.00 

 22. 



19. 

 18.65 



24.34 

 13.07 



27.82 



4.20 



33.33 



39-20 



c/2 



Authorities 



67.44 



62.23 



63.74 

 59.44 



61.65 



56. 



Wiegmann & Polstorf, 

 61.05 jSaussure. - x 



55.03 Presenilis, 



63.89 Hertweg. 



Berthier & Braconnot. 

 , Hertweg. 

 Wiegmann & Polstorf. 



Saussure. 



84.3 15.7 



Braconnot. 



o 



=r 

 n 



a 







s 



"3 ^O 



to 



a 

 p 





CD 



a 



o 

 m 



Qbl I 

 CjO 



to 



• 



Per centage 

 of ashes. 



t 



* 



8 



J* Oi CrO •"* 



Fart soluble 



in water. 



> 



p 



& 





Part insoluble 

 in water. 





»- CO 



J O f~ 



• • 1 »_ 



Carbonic acid 



a 



<6 



CO 1 CO 



1 Sulphuric 

 acid. 





b 



r 



o 



a 



Muriatic acid. 



Silica. 



o 



3 

 0* 



1 

 1 



vi 







Potash and 

 Soda. 



3 



p 





-7 CJ co to 



Carbonic acid. 



OD »C o ® 



Phosphoric 

 acid. 



Silica. 



t: '- *-: *.i 

 f C X &i CO 



Lime. 



• • » 



VI * 00 o> 



Magnesia. 



Oxide oi 

 Iron. 



> 



D 

 BO 



ft*. C/> 



i * 



2- ° 



— ns 



3 P 



o 



I 



c 



3 



I 



> 



> 

 r- 



-5 



7) 



o 



o 



o 

 o 



> 



s 



K 



■x 



CS 



td 



- 



H 



3 

 »■* 



K 



3 





ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLAX.-No. III. 



"MchVo** proce . 8 ! in the cultivation of Flax is weeding, 

 the nreti requirin ? mv »ch care and attention, although 

 We b J pre P arati0Q of the land for the crop should 

 soil. AnV° f 0nducted > 8 to have left few root-weeds in the 

 Cro P and^ Weeds wu ^> however, spring up among the 

 don a 



_ so must be removed. This is usually 



W readiwV 116 pknts are a few inche8 in height, and can 

 Wweentl t S K- n 5 UUhed fr0m the weeds ' which wiU be 



tl »u- j ine ' 



formed bt &nd fifth weeks aftcr so win g- lt is P er " 



^ound th • W ° v 0en and children, who, with coarse cloths 



Jounjr J™* , e8 ' cree P on aU-fours, which injures the 



^em moll tLaT thaa walkin & on them i and enables 

 •^ facincr th - y 1 ° dUtin g ui sh the weeds. They work ' 



inp th 1 j " 4Bun S u, sn the weeds, iney worK 

 Gesture «nl e Jv ln ' S0 that tne Pl«nts laid flat by their 

 «^Zt m l « *?• -t once • ' 



"ieait assUf^ •. U8 ac on ce blown up again, or 



^tion n. ; regai - n their erect Position. This pre- 

 P ra cti8ed bv th n Unimp0rtant » thou g h it is invariably 

 ,tri ^DR manner ♦r° nt . ,nental farmers, and shows, in a 

 * er J Process in m, ! lute atte ntion which they pav ** 

 , ^0 C D6Cted with the culture of the plant.' 



portunity to sow the Clovers and Grasses ; and this is a 1 

 common course of cropping in districts in which that crop 

 is grown. In this case the seeds of the forage and herbage 

 plants are either sown with the Flax-seeds, or just before 

 the weeding of the crop ; the treading of the weeders, and 

 pulling up the weeds, in the latter case, affording the ne- 

 cessary covering. Flax, however, is too close a growing 

 crop to admit of the Clovers and Grasses being grown 

 among it, without interfering with their growth ; nor does 

 the admixture take place without injury to the Flax-crop 

 itself; still it is supposed that what is thus lost on the one 

 hand, is gained on the other. The Flax-crop is but a short 

 time on the hind, being pulled while vegetation is still 

 active ; and the pulling of the crop loosens the soil, and 

 causes the Clovers and Grasses to push forward afterwards 

 with increased vigour. But this early pulling of the Flax 

 also admits of the other seeds being sown afterwards, when 

 a slight harrowing only is required, to prepare the land for 

 their reception ; and this, indeed, seems the preferable 

 practice, though the former is that most frequently adopted. 

 These, then, are the principal details connected with 

 the cultivation of Flax which should come within the 

 province of the farmer to perform. So far, no difficulties 

 have presented themselves in the way, and no departure 

 from the ordinary operations of husbandry has been 

 required ; but the after management involves a degree of 

 minute attention to details which the other labours of the 

 farm rarely admit cf being devoted to it. Flax has not 

 hitherto been cultivated to any great extent in this 

 country, and however great the returns from it may be, 

 so long as the preparation of the crop for market devolves 

 on the grower of it, the quality will be inferior and the 

 crop unremunerating. Even in those districts on the 

 Continent where its cultivation is best understood, the 

 grower does not prepare it for market, but very wisely 

 leaves that department to a class of persons who devote 

 themselves solely to that business. These Flax-factors, 

 therefore purchase the crops while growing, paying the 

 farmer at the time, so that he is relieved from all further 

 trouble with it. From the superior management which 

 continued practice enables this class of persons to adopt, 

 they can afford to give the farmer even a better price for 

 his crop, while growing, than he would probably obtain 

 after preparing it for market himself; and the advantage 

 of having the return from his crops in less than three 

 months after sowing it is, of itself, too important to be over- 

 looked. It is to this system of management that the superior 

 quality of the Continental Flax is chiefly to be attributed, 

 and before Flax can be grown advantageously in this 

 country, a similar practice must be introduced. The 

 state of Flax culture in Ireland affords a striking illustra- 

 tion of the truth of this remark. The crop has been 

 cultivated there almost from time immemorial, and a 

 public Board has been in existence in that country for 

 upwards of a century, enjoying a Parliamentary grant of 

 over 20,000/. per annum, exclusively devoted to the 

 encouragement of the linen manufacture; but notwith- 

 standing all this, the preparation of the crop for market 

 was conducted in such a very inferior manner, and the 

 prices thence obtained so low, that the growth of the crop, 

 a few years ago, was all but given up altogether. The fact 

 is, ordinary farm labourers can never be expected to con- 

 duct this work in a proper manner, it being so different 

 from any other part of their labours. Not, indeed, that 

 the operations connected with it are in themselves difficult 

 of execution, or not easily understood ; but to insure suc- 

 cess, and produce fibre of good quality, the peculiar 

 manner of performing them, and the precise time at which 

 they should take place, require such a degree of experience 

 as long and continued practice alone can give. The 

 watering, for example, is a very simple process, yet the 

 water itself may contain matters incompatible with the 

 production of Flax of a superior quality ; and a short time 

 either too long or too short in the steep will prove equally, 

 if not more injurious. The grassing, too, is an exceedingly 

 simple operation, the intention in this case being to 

 remedy any defects in the watering, and to get any impu- 

 rities which may be carried from the ponds washed off by 

 the rains ; and further to improve the colour of the whole 

 by exposing it to the sun, or, to use the familiar phrase, to 

 get it bleached. Yet, simple as is the latter process, and 

 indispensable as it must appear on the slightest reflection, 

 it is not a little singular, that until the Belfast Flax Im- 

 provement Society directed attention to the subject, its 

 proper performance in Ireland was to be regarded as the 

 exception— not the rule— notwithstanding the degree of 

 attention which Flax culture has for such a lengthened 

 period attracted there. The Irish Flax was uniformly 

 characterised by its want of uniformity both in colour and 

 texture, circumstances which are attributable to defects in 



grassing. , 



These observations are made not so much with a view ot 

 preventing the more general culture of Flax in this country, 

 as to guard the cultivator against failure in making the 

 attempt. Flax is, beyond question, either a very profitable, 

 or a very unprofitable crop, according to the course of pro- 

 ceeding adopted. It is, no doubt, often found unremune- 

 rating, when the different items of expense are taken into 

 account, but in such cases it may be presumed that the 

 management has been defective, seeing that experience has 

 so fully confirmed its value in other cases.— J. bprouie. 



(To be continued.) 



Home Correspondence. 



The Potato. -Notwithstanding the attention the Fotato 

 has received from its cultivators in field and garden, it is 



"»en frnm - .«uurc u. toe piauu 1 lamentable to observe how frequently a failure or tne 



S* toGras, on an l. Ca " 8e ^ !t is wished to lay down the crop takes place, either intimating that a proper mode of 

 ^^ the land V h,C . hF,axhas b «*n grown, the prepara- culture has not been ascertained, or if kn °7 1 Q ^ a8 ^ ot 



eIaad for *e Flax renders it a favourable op- been adopted with sufficient care. It 1. generally acknow. 



ledged that the chief source of failure exists in the tuber 

 used for seed, and much anxiety is usually entertained 

 amongst Agricultures in order to obtain seed with ger- 

 minating qualities unimpaired; but there can be as little 

 t J oabt that other circumstances also enter into the realisa- 

 tion or disappointment of the farmer's hopes. A few 

 remarks on these two topics of seed and circumstances, 

 may find a place in your columns, as extensive and 

 repeated observations have shown that there seldom or 

 ever would be a complaint of failure if proper means were 

 taken to avoid it. Potatoes intended for planting in the 

 spring should not be dug up until the spring, but allowed 

 to winter in the soil where they grew. This advice is a 

 matter not of opinion, but of fact. On many farms, 

 there is no doubt, this plan cannot be adopted, because 

 the Potato-land is wanted for winter Wheat; but there 

 are abundance of farms where it can, particularly hill- 

 farms, where no Wheat is cultivated, and from which 

 situations seed- Potatoes are in general procured. The 

 practice, so far as I am aware, first took place accident- 

 ally. Frost and snow had set in early, before the Potato 

 crop had been secured, and the consequence was, that a 

 portion of it could not be got at again till winter had passed 

 over. The farmer conceived that his undug crop would 

 be totally destroyed by the frosts of winter, but he found 

 that only tlie surface Potatoes were gone,— all others, even 

 with a light covering of earth, escaped unhurt. These 

 were used for seed, and sprouted without a single failure. 

 Here it may be necessary to combat a common notion, 

 that a very slight frost is sufficient to injure the tuber : it 

 will only do so under certain circumstances ; and these 

 are, sudden thaws after exposure to frost. Every one 

 knows that a frozen limb, if brought suddenly near a fire, 

 would be killed outright; but if first rubbed with snow, 

 then plunged in cold water, and the natural temperature 

 afterwards gradually restored, it will live, and probably 

 escape without injury. As with animal beings, so with, 

 plants ; a sudden elevation of temperature is more dis- 

 astrous than the mere exposure to frost, unless that is 

 intense. This fact, with regard to the Potato, could be 

 borne out by many examples— two may suffice. A quantity 

 of Potatoes in an open shed were accidentally exposed to 

 frost, so that they adhered in lumps by its influence ; 

 a portion of them was, immediately when noticed, covered 

 thickly with straw, and allowed to thaw very gradu- 

 ally ; the remainder were brought into a warm sun 1 

 the former, after the frost had by slow degrees 

 gone out of them, were found to be uninjured, or nearly 

 so ; while the latter were very nearly useless. The other 

 example is rather a curious one, although a verification of 

 the proverb, that n too much kindness may kill." In 

 the severe winter of 1814, the Potato-pits of the cotters 

 and other labourers were for a protracted period frost- 

 bound and inaccessible, so that on the accession of fresh 

 weather there was a general move to get in a portion of 

 the hoarded roots, lt was found on this occasion, that in a 

 number of the pits the Potatoes were frosted, and strange 

 to say, these were in general found in those lots most 

 deeply and carefully covered with soil ! The frost storm 

 had lasted so long and been so severe, as to penetrate 

 even the most thickly-earthed pit. The thaw came with 

 a very moist S.W. 'wind, and of course penetrated most 

 readily into the shallowest pits. The thaw in these had 

 been completely yet gradually effected, while in the others 

 more thickly coated the frost was not displaced, when the 

 Potatoes contained in them were exposed suddenly to the 

 influence of a very mild wind. The plan recommended 

 of keeping seed potatoes undisturbed in the soil wherein 

 they have grown, is practised on a few farms in this 

 vicinity (S.E. of Perthshire) with the desired effect of 

 preserving unimpaired their vegetative properties. The 

 same thin^ is practised by the natives of New Zealand,, 

 with this difference that the seed is left in the soil when 

 grown to grow again another crop ; this plan, of course, 

 will not Buit the farmers of Britain, but may sometimes 

 be witnessed in gardens where a last year's Potato sprouts 

 up, is allowed to stand, grows with great vigour, and 

 generally furnishes an enormous crop. Where Potatoes 

 are allowed to remain in possession of the soil which grew 

 them, it is advisable to take up every other row or drill, 

 and earth up the residue more deeply : this is the mode 

 of procedure in the instances noticed, and the crop is al- 

 most as secure as if pitted or housed ; in many cases 

 more so, for there is no risk of dry rot. If farmers 

 suitably circumstanced were to carry the above recom- 

 mendation into effect, an adequate supply of seed 1 ota- 

 toes might be furnished for the market, and the hazard 

 of failure almost cease to annoy us. Where Potatoes are 

 kept over winter in the above natural manner, they may 

 in general be cut into eyes with safety, which is not com- 

 monly the case with such as are taken up in autumn. 

 If the latter are planted whole, a failure does not often 

 occur. An extensive Potato-grower in this immediate 

 vicinity never cuts a root, and scarcely ever fails of an 

 excellent crop ; he gives more room in planting both in 

 the breadth of space between drills and in distance be- 

 tween the seed roots. We shall inquire into the circum- 

 stances suitable for the Potato in another communication. 



— Vidimus. 



Bones.—" A. H., Aberdeenshire " states at page 188, 

 that his "boiled bones were about 12 lbs. per bushel 

 heavier than the unboiled." This is singular, as the 

 unboiled bones which I used weighed 56 lbs. per bushel, 

 whereas some boiled bones offered me for sale we ^ ed 

 onlp 28 lbs. per bushel. There is an extraordinary differ- 

 ence in these statements; I can ODly account for it y 

 "A. H." having purchased his boiled bones "hole, 

 whereas mine had been boiled after crushing, whicn J™* 1 "* 

 no doubt have the effect of extracting a m " c ;.|~"; 

 amount of grease, and probably cause a great ;. <»»«?»«« 

 both in weight and quality. It is very evident that there 



