1814.] 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



303 



^Tdo not, of course, appiy w »» ™. .-Y7™ 

 :^ Lothian, there 1 .g some excellent hgW IWmp 

 *J? ifrer.il parts of the county, particularly m the 

 ih^hood of Dunbar, and generally along the cob* 

 5E Xih of Forth. The greater part of the .hire lies 



h^iof red sandstone, whinstone, limestone, and 

 ^"nlThe prevailing colour of the land is brownish-red. 

 ^ZateJrhe climate of East Lothian, though va- 

 riant, fc naturally mild and salubrious. It has been 

 Swh improved of late, by the extension of thorough, 

 a •*;«, and bv the high state of cultivation to which 

 ^tleen brought. Compared with that of 

 SLund and Ireland, it is much colder, with a longer 

 SLuance of frost and snow during winter ; but dryer, 

 „2 le«f frequently deluged with ram, throughout the 

 other feasons, than the latter country. As an instance 

 of what is here considered early ripening, I may mention 

 thit a quantity of new Barley was sold in Haddington 

 market on the 22d of July, 1842. We frequently expe- 

 rience iorne very chilling east and north-easterly blasts 

 from the German Ocean ; our heaviest rains come from 

 that quarter, often continuing for three consecutive days. 

 Tbe lowlands of East Lothian are, however, supposed to 

 receive less rain throughout the year than any other dis- 

 trict of a similar extent in Scotland. This circumstance, 

 combined with a strong fertile soil, and good manage- 

 ment, renders it peculiarly adapted to the production of 



its staple crop— Wheat. 



\Yoodsand Plantations.— The most of the land being 

 *ery valuable for the production of Corn, there are few 

 extensive plantations in the county. Binning Wood, at 

 Tyningham, the seat of the Earl of Haddington is, how- 

 ever, one of the most magnificent forests of hard wood 

 —chiefly Beech and Oak — in the lowlands of Scotland. 

 The most remarkable circumstance connected with this 

 Wood, is the great size to which many of the trees have 

 •ttained, considering tbe apparent unsuitableness of the 

 soil and situation. Tyningham is situated on the north 

 bank of the river Tyne, at its junction with the sea ; the 

 fields around the house consist chiefly of light blowing 

 sand, and before being planted were of no use but as a 

 rabbit-warren. The plantation, however, proved strik- 

 ingly successful, the trees growing to the water's edge. 

 What its noble planter, Thomas, sixth Earl of Hadding- 

 ton, has said of the Oak, is worthy of notice : — " As the 

 Oik it my favourite tree, I have planted it everywhere ; 

 and I can show them very thriving on rich, poor, mid- 

 dling, heathy, gravelly, clayey, mossy, spouty, and rocky 

 ground; nay, even upon dry sand." There are some 

 excellent plantations and much fine timber in other parts 

 of the county, but they need not be noticed here. 



Size of Farms — The farms vary in size according to 

 their locality. Near the towns 250 to 300 acres is con- 

 sidered a good size, and in more remote situations, 380 

 to oOO ; while in some parts of the county it is not un- 

 common to find them so large as 700 or 900 acres ; but 

 tfie average size of farms in East Lothian ranges between 

 WU and 360 acres. In medium soils suited to the five- 

 snift rotation of cropping, a man and pair of horses are 

 considered to be capable of working, in ordinary seasons, 

 trom oU to , o acres, and, where the soil is light and free, 

 tv acres. By a recent county regulation, 00 Scotch 

 acres are denominated a Ploughgate. I may here mention, 

 wit on this and all future occasions, when the word acre 



m^f uc Ut aDy ex l >ianati0 »> the imperial measure is 

 »«<int ; the Scotch acre is above one-fourth larger than 

 the English.— 7\ Sullivan. & 



d. Marl trom Magdeburg (clayey). 100,001) parts con- 

 sist of 



58,.'i51 parts silica and quartz sand 



8,450 

 6,670 

 0.300 

 18,201 

 3.794 

 0,520 

 2,139 

 1,575 



»» 



>» 



alumina 



oxide and protoxide of iron 

 oxide of manganese 

 carbonate of lime 

 carbonate of magnesia 

 phosphate of lime 

 gypsum 



potash and soda united with silica and 



traces of common salt 



100,000 parts. 



This marl is used with the best possible result nn dry 

 sandy soils, and as an alterative of their texture. 5000 or 

 6000 cubic feet were used per Magdeburg acre. It has 

 beenimpossiblehitherto togrowLucernehere. Since,how- 

 ever, this marl has been used, it grows luxuriantly, which 

 is easily explained, by the marl supplying these soils with 

 a great quantity of gypsum, which is soon conveyed by 

 the rain water to its deep roots. Even if only 80,000 lbs. 

 of marl per acre be used, still this acre would receive 

 thereby 1240 lbs. of potash and soda, which, although 

 they are combined with silica, are still gradually washed 

 down to the subsoil ; for the silicate will be gradually 

 decomposed by the carbonic acid of the rain water and 

 the air. This marl being deficient in phosphate of lime 

 and common salt, cannot be called the very best, and 

 therefore quantity must make up for quality. 



0,480 

 4,860 

 0,92 



0,200 

 0,540 

 2,040 



2,131 

 4,246 



ft 



ON MINERAL AND INORGANIC MANURES. 



No. XVI. 



* tw i, Professc >R Charles Sprengel. 

 coniisVof Friesland (loamy). 100,000 parts 



'5,998 parts silica and quartz sand 

 IfoO „ alumina 



b ' m •• oxide and protoxide of iron 



oxide of manganese 

 lime 



magnesia 



potash combined with silica 



soda combined with silica 



sulphuric acid, combined with lime as 



gypsum 



Phosphoric acid, combined with lime and 

 oxide of iron 



carbonic acid, combined with lime and 



magnesia 

 coal or humus 



humic acid, combined with lime, magnesia, 



alumina and iron, traces of common salt 



pares. 



acr ") Ttlt^ll qUant '\ tiea (»7 1000 cubic feet per 

 ^^plo.eT() 0r r H U8ed r es P ecial, y if ^ong with some 

 he »th soils lm ( .i C $akc0t nit ™geo), the moors and 

 ^mittine the . £ UCe "J 1 Sorts of cr0 P s > as e *ery one 

 tion ^iH easiU T' Ce ° f mineral ^stances on vegeta- 



1> 



M 



» 



n 



**V*un t 2H 111 su, *' nunc a <-id combined with lime as 

 P^Wnd's;! a 1 1 ? I,hor,c Rcid > ™<i 740 lbs. of 



J? 11 * crop 8 "^o a riik A8 thlS ia more thari is required for 

 ^ *>£ soM h 8 - PCr HCre WOU,d bc V"* "fficfellt. 

 L h;8ic %, on wl,i«K WCW ' ret * uire also t0 be improved 

 **'<*<*. This f CCO T aiore rat,ier tha * le " " t0 



"J 1 ** ^count as * ! L" ****** ° n '- V in chlori » e > on 

 Jk? eous *a»ur e ftf , ° n ac <*°»nt of nitrogen, a simul- 



m **t* salt be used S W ' U be Beoewar J. u " less a 



ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLAX.— No. V. 



Although the duty of preparing the Flax for market 

 should not devolve on the grower, for reasons stated at 

 length in my last paper, yet under the most favourable 

 circumstances the manufacture will still be performed by 

 the farmer for some time to come. Our account of the 

 cultivation of the crop would not, therefore, be complete 

 without also presenting the reader with some information 

 as to the management necessary to be adopted in the 

 subsequent processes before it is ready for market. 



The period of pulling the crop obviously depends, in a 

 great degree, on the intention of the cultivator. When 

 it is wished to procure fibre of fine quality, in which case 

 the crop will have beeu thickly sown, it is necessary to 

 pull green ; but when the saving of the seed is a principal 

 object, a greater degree of ripeness is required. As the 

 saving of the seed should never be neglected, a sort of 

 compromise, if the term maybe allowed, should be made 

 with regard to the precise decree of ripeness of the crops ; 

 it should not be pulled so early as if no value were placed 

 on the seed, nor should it be allowed to become so ripe 

 as if the quality of the seed were the chief consideration. 

 To judge of the proper time for pulling, the best criterion 

 is when about two-thirds of the stalk is observed to turn 

 yellow and to lose its leaves ; and also when by cutting 

 the seed-pod across with a knife, the seeds have changed 

 from their fluid state. The quality of the Flax, as well 

 as that of the soil on which it is grown, must be taken 

 into account in determining the precise period at which 

 it should be pulled, and on all these points some expe- 

 rience will be required. 



It is here necessary to observe that when, through any 

 circumstance, any portion of the crop is lying, it should 

 be pulled without delay, without any reference to its 

 state of ripeness, as in that position it would speedily be 

 destroyed. This it is important to keep by itself; the 

 mixture of different qualities producing an inferior sample, 

 besides being at variance with economy, as regards 

 quantity alone, as in undergoing the after process of ma- 

 nufacturing, one part will be broken and carried away in 

 the manipulation, before the other is sufficiently reduced. 

 In like manner, and for a similar reason, the long, middling, 

 and short Flax should be tied up separately, each variety 

 requiring different treatment. Great diversity of quality 

 before pulling is, however, a sympton of defective cul- 

 tivation, as unless in the case of a diversity of soil the 

 quality should be uniform throughout. Under all cir- 

 cumstances, taking up the crop in a wet state is to be 

 avoided if possible. 



In Ireland, Flax is usually taken up by women and 

 girls, who also attend to the grassing, turning, and lifting, 

 after being watered. In districts where the common Rush 

 can be procured, bands for the Flax are formed of Rushes, 

 having been previously beaten with a mallet, and dried by 

 exposure to the sun. They are also formed into bands 

 before coming to the harvest-field, each person supplying 

 herself with two or three dozens of them, which are 

 fastened round the waist, and used as the pulling goes 

 forward. The pullers are particularly to observe that the 

 different handfuls are regulirly placed, so that the stalks 

 may lie even at the ends, and should any long weeds, as 

 Thistles or Rag-weed occur through the crop, they mu^t 

 not be pulled with the Flax. When Rushes cannot be 

 procured the b^nds are formed of the Flax itself. Straw is 

 not suited for this purpose, being rotted by the watering 

 process. 



The management of the Flax after pulling, in some 

 degree depends on the course which is afterwards to be 

 adopted. In Ireland, and also in certain districts on the 

 Continent, the crop is made to undergo the watering! 

 process a few days after it has been pulled, or so soon a» 

 it can be conveniently rippled ; while in other cases it is 

 dried in the field and afterwards stacked up, to undergo • 

 the subsequent operations in the ensuing season, when 

 the weather is favourable for the purpose. Until lately 

 the saving of the seed was generally disregarded in 

 Ireland, but it is obviously of too much value to be 



neglected in any case. 



When the Flax is to be watered in the autumn, the rip- 1 

 pling should be carried on almost simultaneously with the [ 



pulling of the crop. In this case the pullers should place 

 the handfuls of Flax slightly crossing each other on the 

 bands, as the pulling goes forward ; and their handfuls 

 should be of such a size that they can be grasped readily 

 afterwards by the hand in rippiin?. The purpose gained 

 by placing them in some degree|crossing each other, is 

 to facilitate the separation of the handfuls afterwards, 

 which, by careful handling, may be easily done, and thus 

 not only save trouble, but prevent the Flax from being 

 injured by rough treatment. The bunches should be 

 small, and the several handfuls laid loosely together, so 

 that the Flax may be slightly seasoned after pulling, be- 

 fore rippling. Where a large quantity is to be manufac- 

 tured, the number of hands employed at the respective 

 operations of pulling and rippling should be regularly 

 apportioned, so that they can keep pace with each other, 

 and the rippling may commence the day after the pull- 

 ing, and thus allow a day to intervene between the per- 

 formance of the two operations, for the purpose of dry- 

 ing the Flax. 



The importance of the foregoing arrangements will be 

 manifest on a little reflection, and much inconvenience 

 is often occasioned by not attending to them. Frequently 

 in the hurry of pulling, the Flax is at once bound up 

 into bunches, in which it remains on end a few days be- 

 fore rippling ; but then when the latter process comes to 

 be performed, great loss of time is experienced in the 

 separation of the Flax again into handfuls, besides being 

 productive of much injury to the Flax itself. These 

 minutise may appear irksome to the general reader, but 

 the Flax-grower must remember that attention to these 

 will, in most cases, constitute the difference between suc- 

 cess and failure in his operations. 



Before the rippling process is commenced, the capsules 

 should be so much hardened, and the seeds themselves 

 have attained such a degree of ripeness, that the former 

 will readily break down on being subjected to pressure, 

 and admit, of the separation of the seeds from the matter 

 with which they are surrounded. This is necessary to 

 prevent fermentation actively setting in among the cap- 

 sules after being taken off the Flax, which it would at 

 once do if any excess of moisture be present. The sav- 

 ing of the seed is, indeed, at all times difficult, when the 

 crop is watered in the autumn, and even with the greatest 

 care fermentation will set in, unless the capsules be 

 thinly spread on a dry floor and repeatedly turned over. 



The rippling machine is an instrument like a comb, 

 the teeth being of iron, usually fastened in a wooden 

 block, and attached to a plank or long seat, as shown in 

 Figure 1. The teeth should be round, smooth, and ta- 

 pering, standing about twelve inches out of the wood, 

 and placed at such a distance from each other as to pre- 



vent the seed-pods from passing through. Two persons 

 are usually employed in rippling, each alternately draw- 

 ing his handful of Flax through the machine, which is 

 placed in the centre of a large winnow-cloth,on which the 

 seed-pods are collected and carried to the barn or other 

 place in which they are to be preserved. The cloth and 

 rippling machine are moved from place to place, through 

 the field, as the work goes forward ; and after rippling, 

 the Flax is again bound up into bunches or sheaves, to 

 be taken to the water. To preserve uniformity in the 

 watering, the produce of each day's rippling should be 

 placed in a separate pond. 



The capsules containing the seed are now to be spread 

 thinly over a boarded floor to which the atmosphere has 

 free access, and turned repeatedly until thoroughly di- 

 vested of their natural moisture, when they may be stored 

 up in any quantity required. In moist weather, and 

 when the quantity of seed on hand is large, it is ex- 

 tremely difficult to save the seed properly, even under 

 the most careful management. When the seed is in- 

 tended for crushing or feeding, a slight kiln-drying will 

 not be injurious, and will save much labour in preserving 

 it; but when intended for sowing, this process would, 

 manifestly be injurious, as interfering with its vitality. 

 — J. Sproule. 



ON THE APPLICATION OF CHEMISTRY TO 



AGRICULTURE UPON RATIONAL 



PRINCIPLES.— No. XVI. 



{Continued from p. 284.) 



In the beginning of last year I performed a comparative 

 experiment with sulphuric acid and gypsum, as fixer of 

 the nitrogen in urine. 



This experiment has been related by Professor Henslow, 

 in the first Number of this Paper ; but as I consider the 

 subject of extreme interest, 1 will detail some parts of 

 the experiment which he omitted, more especially my 

 notes of the manner in which the fixing media acted 

 upon the liquid. I procured three barrels, each holding: 

 o-l gallons, which were graduallv filled with human 

 urine, between the 27th of Jan. 'and the Gth of April, 

 the same quantity having been added to each alternately 

 everv morning. 4 * 



Barrel No. 1 (X.)-Jan. 27. Put into the ttCld f 

 ounces, by measure, of concentrated sulrpeb. 14. The 

 sp. g., 1.850, and one gallon of ^ 



