1844-] 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



301 



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The G«sb rAL MKBTI> ' t, r«nrtnn on Wednesday 

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TT^dTtt'I TURA.L ASSO- 



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IT , &-»«* •» Ve^'la, "nVfo^E^ry. Certificates and 



JJTUt of '''"'"""'iifatfon is to be made (free of e.s pense) to 

 W -,-.„ ar6 , application » ™ hnrT- _ M . y 2 . 1844. 



. V one having a ™""ot second hand, but perfect, 

 A S .JtfSSLS »#, to X, Post-Office^irkbv 



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SMTRDAY. MAY 11, 1844. 



BTlHOfl F oR TmWOPwIoWING WEEKS. 



- Mar 15 Agricultural Society of England 



WvwnnAY, May 15 W^ tu „j Imp . Socof Ireland. 



t_M f-. May 16 {Highland and Agricultural Society. 

 ,i- _«.ay M»T« Agricultural Society of England. 

 ?J5STf. M*y » Agricultural Imp. Soc. of Ireland. 

 1 " UM ' M nr (Gloucester. 



FARM1 .1 :>• CLUBS-May 25 | Card iff. 



a* r, <>«•* there is an important error in the ac- 

 " AT t "of"" Exuerinients with Manures," on the estate of 

 coont of Ex ^ nmei n of the transcriber, the quantity of 



MT - Ar hit, erf Hmc I"ed per acre is stated to have been 

 TE'S t' h i bs f TrTe readers requested to erase the words 

 1 ton The quantity ejm^djv^cwt. 20 lbs. 



Wl have great pleasure in directing the attention 



of our readers to the account in another page of what 



is believed to he the first public meeting held in 



England, for the special purpose of promoting Aori- 



cui n ral Education. > 



Last year, the importance of educating the Agri- 

 cultural classes, and the importance more especially 

 of giving farmers' sons an Agricultural education, 

 wis pressed upon the attention of the Cirencester 

 Farmers' Club, at one of their monthly meetings, by 

 Mr. R. J. Brown, of that town. A committee was 

 on that occasion named for the purpose of carrying 

 into effect resolutions approving of Mr. Brown's 

 views. The members of this committee have since 

 then been unremitting in the advocacy of their cause, 

 and the public meeting held on the 29th ult. at 

 Cirencester, was called by them in order that they 

 might lay their plans before the Agriculturists of the 

 district, and report the progress they had made in 

 carrying them into execution. The resolutions which 

 they suggested, proposed and seconded as they were 

 by landowners and practical farmers, were carried all 

 but unanimously in a full meeting of the Agricul 

 turistsof East Gloucester!, i the Karl of Bathimt 

 being in the chair. The heartiness and activity which 

 •eem to characterise their proceedings, augur well 

 for the success of their plans. The first resolution 

 is one which, were it entertained and adopted by 

 every Farmers' Club in the kingdom, would, when 

 worked out, be productive of great national good. 

 It was moved by the Earl of Ducie, and seconded by 

 -Mr. Kearsey, a tenant-farmer, that it is expedient to 

 provide an institution in which the rising generation 

 of farmers may receive instruction at a moderate 

 expense in those sciences, a knowledge <A' which is 

 essential to successful cultivation ; and that a farm 

 lorm part of such institution. 



This, when established, will be the first Agri- 

 cultural College in England. It has long been the 



»name of our country that it possesses no Educational 

 institution for farmers, such as those which benefit 

 «most every Continental state. There is an Agri- 

 ^turai sch(J0 , at Tempiemoyle, in Ireland, and there 



chv ? i ship of A «"culiure at Edinburgh, the 

 thpT L Ch is occu l )ie <i by a practical farmer, but 

 inese are the only cases of the kind that we know of 



fanW reat r ntain * If > "°wever, rne Cirencester 

 Droi u landlor(ls succeed in establishing, as they 



LnPtK' theirCol,e ge on theCotswold Hills, we may 

 thi .iV- i exan, P le wi ll induce others to attempt 

 distri ^u ment of simiIar institutions in other 

 the firT • • t success of this attempt at Cirencester— 

 thn in U,S believed >of the kind in English history— 

 A e rir.^! SeSSeS national interest; and we do hope that 

 lonU«! 1Sl8 , of alIclas ^s in the country, whether 

 realhv rt r ? yteriants of the land, will "prove the 

 ance inf I* lntertst b y affording substantial assist- 

 ed be"" lg the ob J' ct of ir - Much assistance 

 ^e matt ^^l °^ ^ mere eN P ress,on of feelings on 

 ^ewM.at Gr ' ex tUe A £ ricu hural periodicals and 

 from all "i ,7 da >' be fille d with communications 

 eulturJ E?° ^ lnle rested in the subject of Agri- 

 *nt si' a, l ° n ; li is certainly the most impor- 

 Aftfam. i . Ich can engage the attention of 

 •5 en ' 7 ntCrS ^ let h °e that on which they 

 ^terestl! , y t aml usefull y ^idd their pens. An 

 « u t thp .Jl thus be excited in the matter through- 

 ^rri,"L ex ^ nslve a nd rapidly wideoin 



already holds morally and physically. Were there, 

 as there ought to be, a national sympathy with the 

 promoters of the Agricultural Institution at Ciren- 

 cester, no difficulty would be found in the way of 

 expressing it usefully. We have no authority to say- 

 so, but we have no doubt that letters, whether merely 

 of inquiry as to the nature and prospects of the pro- 

 posed Institution, or expressive of the writer's anxiety 

 to be of assistance to it, would meet with immediate 

 attention if addressed to Mr. Brown, who, we believe, 

 acts as Secretary to the Committee appointed at the 

 late Public Meeting. 



The value of the object at which the Cirencester 

 Farmers' Club is aiming, is unquestionable. The 

 following extract from the Report to which we have 

 alluded, states the advantages which would follow the 

 establishment of Schools of Agriculture : — 



" So long as observation and experience were 

 deemed all that was requisite to the successful pur- 

 suit of Agriculture, very little education, or knowledge 

 of any sort, was deemed an essential preliminary. 

 The son had only to follow the father about the farm 

 for some three or four years, and to observe the 

 mechanical operations for the preparation of the land 

 for the various crops — the seasons of the veaj: at 

 which they were performed— and the feeding ami 

 general management of the live stock. This slight 

 degree of information, together with the means of 

 purchasing a sufficient stock, was then considered 

 sufficient to constitute the farmer. 



" But when the attention of men of science was 

 turned in this direction, it became apparent that the 

 then existing practice of Agriculture had no sound 

 foundation to rest on; — that the composition of the 

 various soils was unknown ; — that the composition of 

 the manures applied to them was unknown j — that 

 the elements of the crops Bought to be produced by 

 the agency of the one and the other were unknown ; 



«riculim»i . and ranidlv widening c rele of 

 re *dil v to £ i rea( r s ' and me n would be prepared 

 ^ a er °J. °7 ,be example so well set at Cirencester. 

 Britiag farm , made to g ive the character of the 



™er as high a station intellectually as it 



that the mode in which those crops assimilated the 

 food provided for them, and therefore the state in 

 which such crops would be placed under the most 

 advantageous circumstances for the reception of such 

 food, was unknown. In truth, that little more was 

 known, than that on certain land, tilled in a given 

 manner, so much grain and feed, in ordinary seasons, 

 had, in fact, been produced, and therefore that under 

 similar circumstances the same results might be 



anticipated. 



u The principles "and facts, however, promulgated 

 from time to time by scientific men — the analyses 

 published of various soils, manures, crops, &c. — the 

 obvious advantages which attended the adoption of 

 draining, upon more scientific principles — the intro- 

 duction of implements of various kinds founded on 

 more just conceptions of the laws of Mechanics, and 

 the more effective application of power — all combined 

 to convince teachable minds that much was yet to be 

 learned by those who were interested in obtaining 

 from the soil the utmost that it was capable of yield- 

 ing, without deterioration, and at the lowest scale of 



expense. 



" Hence arose an appetite for such knowledge, and 

 a feeling of the necessity for some better medium of 

 communication with one another on these subjects. 

 The formation of Farmers' Clubs and the establish- 

 ment of the Royal Agricultural Society of England 

 may be traced to these causes. 



" The result of the intercourse to which these 

 institutions led, particularly from the occasional 

 attendance of men of superior acquirements, was a 



general cuirrotton that a great variety of knowledge 



was essential to the successful pursuit of Agricul- 

 ture, which the existing race of farmers did not pos- 

 sess, and much of which they could not hope to 

 attain for want of a suitable preparatory education. 



" The Members of this Club, deeply impressed with 

 this conviction, felt the importance of securing for 

 the rising generation of farmers the advantage of 

 early instruction in all those branches of knowledge, 

 and that the time had arrived at which various cir- 

 cumstances conspired to indicate the necessity of 

 rendering land as productive as possible, at the least 

 expense of time and capital. This became the sub- 

 ject of discussion at many of their meetings. < m the 

 necessity of an establishment of a School of Agricul- 

 ture upon some plan or other, all were agreed. 

 They found that institutions, having this object, 

 existed in most parts of Europe— in France, in Italy, 

 in Switzerland, in almost every province of Prussia, 

 in Sweden, ac Wirtemberg, Bavaria, Bohemia and 



Chemistry Association of Scotland. Any of them, 

 who with the individual dissentient at the late Ciren- 

 cester meeting, may doubt the advantage of teaching 

 farmers the sciences on which the success of their 

 practice depends, should read that Address. The 

 Association, through Professor Johnston, are doing 

 a great deal of good among Scottish farmers. In 

 Ayrshire and many other districts where lectures 

 have been delivered, the excitement that has been 

 produced is taking a right direction ; text books of 

 Agricultural Science are being published for use in 

 the parish schools, and the young are being instructed 

 in Agricultural Chemistry. 



AVe hope and believe that the effort now making 

 at Cirencester will succeed, and that the means of 

 acquiring a knowledge of the practice and science of 

 Agriculture will be placed before the young— not 

 merely there, but, under the influence of example 

 >et there and in Scotland, in many other districts of 

 our country. 



Now that so great a dem an n EXISTS for manures 

 imported from other countries or manufactured in 

 this, it is important that the farmer should be sup- 

 plied with efficient means of insuring himself 

 against that to which he is so liable— loss khom adul- 

 teration . We have, then fore, great pleasure in 

 giving all possible prominence to the following com- 

 munication from Mr. Lawes, in which a valuable 

 suggestion is made on this subject: — 



" In the article on Guano, taken from Professor 

 Johnston's * Lecture,' (page 270), there is a very 

 important error, viz. : — that of considering the uhole 

 of the organic matter as ammonia; the quantity 

 stated is from 32 to 65 per cent. The quantity of 

 ammonia in the best guano varies from 10 to 15 per 

 cent. ; a great deal only contains 2 or 3. It is not 

 unusual now for samples of guano to be offered for 

 sale, the analysis of which is guaranteed in the fol- 

 lowing manner : — 



Org-anic Matter and Ammoniacal Salts 

 Water 



60 per cent. 



10 



M 



II 



This is opening a great door for adulteration, as 

 there is an abundance of organic matter in England 

 worth little or nothing, whieh might be mixed with 

 guano ; and still such an analysis might hold good. 

 I should recommend those who purchase guano to have 

 an analysis from the agent, giving the per centage of 

 real ammonia, quantity of phosphates, &c. ; then let 

 them take a small portion of it and inclose it in a 

 sealed bottle ; if after harvest they have reason to 

 suppose, from the smallness of effect, that the guano 

 has been adulterated, they could then have the sample 

 in the bottle analysed by a good chemist, and recover 

 damages from the agent who supplied it. The 

 analysis of guano is exceedingly difficult, and can 

 never be undertaken by the Agriculturist ; and if all 

 farmers refused to purchase the guano unless the 

 quality was insured to them by a written analysis, 

 they would stand a better chance of procuring a 

 genuine article." 



ON BLACK HORSEPONDS.— No. I. 



In these days of agricultural advancement, when our 

 great Societies, by offering every sort of encouragement 

 to improve the breed of our domestic animals, have called 

 universal attention to the advantages of keeping them in 

 the highest state of health, strength, and condition ; 

 when our Farmers' Clubs, by instigating extensive and 

 endless experiments on the efficiency of foreign manures, 

 and by drawing the most ca^nl deductions of profit and 

 loss ,,-om thci. application, have sanshed tnr.,,~u e8 f 

 their value, and having enlisted the merchant into thmr 

 service, have induced him at great cost to freight bis 

 lhipa with bones and nitrate of soda from South America, 

 or guano from Atrica or Peru, it is surpiising to 

 notice a common custom in many towns, by which not 

 only the health, and sometu.es tbe life of the most 

 valuable animals, but hIso a manure as rich in quality and 

 far greater in quantity than any winch is imported is year 

 after vear sacrificed carelessly, and without reflection. 

 The slovenlv and improvident habit ot allowing the 

 liquids from 'the farm-yard and from the dung-heaps to 

 orze out into the hortepoiid, where the cattle are com- 

 pelled to drink, meets with frequent animadversion; 

 but the extent of the evil is calculated by lew. Observa- 

 tions on this subject in the Agricultural Gazette have 

 latelv called my attention more particularly to it. I have 

 obtained from two of the many black horseponds within 



y reach samples of the usual bevrrage of the cattle of 

 the farm, f he occupier of which has this year lost three 

 valuable cart-hor.es. The death of the first he attributed 



. ------ t A ", • • arw i ; n Ireland to having «irunk too much water after a hard day's work; 



Other parte Of the Austrian dw^^WjJ bnt th / syn , ptoni9 , as l am informed, were at least as 



" The Club eventually came to the resolution tl at iiiia* Q f the quality as of tbequantity of the 



the establishment of Agricultural Colleges, wiiu water being , he caugeotdeathj an a I a m strongly inclined 

 example farms attached, in which young men Having ^ ^.^ ^ t ^ q ^^ ^^ probable reason can be as- 

 received an ordinary education should be instructed , $jgne(i in tlie case of lbe otner two> t have since analysed 

 in those branches of knowledge which would best these wnters . in one case , m all imperial gallon there 

 qualify them for the pursuit of Agriculture, would were 16g grains of dry solid con tents, and in the other 

 be the most desirable course; and they determined 108 gra i„ s of dry ingredients j both waters gave an aiaa- 

 that an effort should be made to found a College m i ine re-action and were nauseous and ** h "*< ™ ter ' ( 

 in their own district." ... ! and emitted a disagreeable *to£™*J the flowing 



In another part of this dav's Paper our readers wil an imperial gallon ^«*JE^ t £l»d in grains,- 

 find Professor Johnstons Address to the Agricultural , organic, earthy, and »aaneiu,reu.enL,s 5 



