308 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



had been excited to obtain the information which it w 

 the wish and object of the Association to spread over the 

 country. The learned Professor then referred to a remark 

 by Mr. Pusey, in regard to the cultivation of Scotland, 

 which appeared in the journal of that Society: — li I cannot 

 (says Mr. Pusey) place the general farming of Southern 

 Scotland or of Northumberland on a level with t!ie farm- 

 ing of our southern counties, such as Buckinghamshire, 

 but rather with that of North Devon ; nor the general 

 farming of Eist Lothian on a level with the general 

 farming of Lincolnshire ; nor the best farming of East 

 Lothian on a level with the best farming of Lincolnshire, 

 because it is the best land only of East Lothian on which 

 such noble examples of farming are given, while in Lin- 

 colnshire the barren heath and wold have been taught 

 nearly equal luxuriance." Mr. Pusey's opinion was not 

 so complimentary as might have been anticipated ; but 

 the reason he had assigned was good, tor in Scotland th 

 excellence of cultivation diminished in proportion as you 

 approached the interior ; as, for example, land brought 

 only 1/. per acre at the Lammermoor hills. When he 

 first visited Scotland he entertained an opinion similar to 

 that which he believed had formerly been entertained by 

 Mr. Pusey. In some parts of Scotland farming was in 

 as high a degree of excellence as in any part of the world, 

 but still a great deal remained to be done which had 

 hitherto been neglected. In passing from Edinburgh to 

 Lanark, the quantity of uncultivated land was enormous, 

 and between Lanark and Glasgow there were great tracts 

 in the same state, which, if put under the care of a skilful 

 East Lothian farmer, would yield a greatly increased 

 "return. There were also several straths throughout the 

 country lying uncultivated, which were as good land as 

 much of that which had undergone cultivation. In pass- 

 ing from Edinburgh to Lanark, and thence to Glasgow, 

 he had observed that want of draining was most conspi- 

 cuous. The cultivation of this land was objected to on 

 the ground that the climate was so very bad that no re- 

 munerating prices could be obtained. But draining would 

 improve the climate. There were two objections to 

 deep draining, viz., the expense and the imperfect draw- 

 ing of the drains. In regard to the expense, he knew 

 that in Roxburghshire deep drains had been adopted, and 

 in three years the capital was returned ; very rarely it re- 

 quired five years to do so ; and, besides, the land was per- 

 manently improved. In reference to the drawing of the 

 drains, he might state that in a recent Number of the 

 Royal Agricultural Journal, a gentleman, who had 

 drains three feet deep and puddled at the top, offered a 

 reward to any one who would keep the water out. As to 

 the effects of draining, by looking at the geological map 

 to the tract of country up the Frith to Crieff and 

 Strathearn, and to the east over Kinross and Fife*hire, 

 Grass-land was seen which was covered over with Moss. 

 Now, practical agriculturists were aware that, in order to 

 extirpate Moss, they applied lime. But it was impos- 

 sible to overcome thoroughly this difficulty, unless the 

 climate were ameliorated. Deep ploughing was another 

 great means of improving much of the land he had seen, 

 rendering crops much more prolific. In many parts of 

 the Highlands certain geological deposits were found, 

 such as mixtures of gravel and sand, leaving only a small 

 quantity of soil on the surface. This existed always on 

 the hill sides in the straths. It was the practice not to 

 tear up the stones beneath the soil, but simply to plough 

 the thin surface covering it ; and he believed that if the 

 subsoil plough was applied, and the stones ploughed up, 

 the land would be improved. Gentlemen in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Stirling had taken up stones as deep as 10 

 or 14 inches, and the increase compared with former 

 crops was enormous. He had been told by a farmer, in 

 the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, that the dung had 

 gradually sunk into his land far beyond the reach of the 

 plough ; and, on having recourse to deep ploughing, he 

 was astonished at bringing to the surface whole deposits 

 of town dung which had accumulated for generations, and 

 which of course increased his crops greatly. 



He would now pass to the second object which the 

 Association had in view — the increase of knowledge by 

 investigation in the laboratory ; time, however, would 

 not permit him to detail one-tenth part of what had been 

 done. He had received some soils from Sir George 

 Macpherson Grant, for the purpose of inquiring into 

 what was generally called overliming the land. Overlimed 

 land produced Barley and Turnips, but not Oats. In 

 order to clear up the mystery, whether this arose from 

 overliming, Sir George had sent him six soils to be 

 examined. Thirty years ago these soils had produced 

 very good crops, but since then they had failed to pro- 

 duce anything except Barley and Turnips. The result 

 of this investigation was, that the soil being unfit for 

 Oats did not arise from the presence of too much lime. 

 If it was kept in view that Barley required a light soil, 

 and that Clover and Oats required a soil close and stiff, 

 it would be admitted that it was not the chemical con- 

 stitution but the mechanical condition of the land that 

 was at fault, and that a remedy was to be found in the 

 application of some heavy instrument to compress the 

 soil, so that the roots of the plant might get that close 

 soil which it required. He would caution all farmers 

 against using large doses of lime at once on such land, 

 and before it was drained ; perhaps, also, it might in many 

 cases be better to put on lime in the shape of compost. 

 Mr. Proudfoot, of Pinkiehill, had a field which, 60 years 

 ago, was a moor, and which, having been drained and 

 limed for four rotations, where the land was still marshy, 

 Turnips exhibited a peculiar disease, the rest of the field 

 being pretty good. There was a large fungus or wart 

 that gradually reached the bead of the Turnip, and 

 destroyed it. On examining the soil, he (Mr, Johnston) 



found the composition of the Turnip and of the soil itself 

 to be as follows : — 



Comparison of Ashes of Swedish Turnips and the Soil in which 



they were grown. 



Turnips. Soil. 



Chloride of potassium . . 4 42 0.02 



Sulphate of potash . . . 31.37 0.S7 



Phosphate of ditto . . . 5. "2 

 Carbonate of ditto . . . 24 3& 0.11 



Phosphate of magnesia . . 1.06 

 Ditto of alumina . . . 6 06 6.45 



Ditto of iron 



Ditto of lime .... 2.64 



Alumina 



Carbonate of lime . . 

 Oxide of manganese . 



Silica 



Organic matter .... 

 Water ...... 





1097 



0.29 



8.70 



0.22 



1.32 



78.29 



* • 



6.24 



• • 



6.61 



96.64 



99.10 



By looking to the carbonate of lime, it would be seen 

 that in the ash there was upwards of ten per cent., while 

 in the soil itself there was less than one-third per cent. 

 The soil had also as large a quantity of manganese as of 

 lime, and to this circumstance he attributed the cause of 

 the disease. In order to remove noxious substances from 

 the subsoil, the best way was to drain even when there 

 was no spring water, because the rain washed out and 

 carried away any of those noxious ingredients in the sub- 

 soil, which did great mischief to the plant. He had been 

 making several investigations in regard to the failure of 

 the Potato crop, but he had not yet been able to come to 

 a conclusion as to the cause. He then referred to those 

 gravelly or ochrey masses which formed one, two, or three 

 feet below the surface, and were an impervious impedi- 

 ment through which no water could penetrate, and to 

 which the roots of plants loathed to come. Besides 

 these, there were other formations of the same kind ; 

 they were very thin layers, and formed like cups. It was 

 impossible to improve such land, without breaking the 

 pans. In many districts marl was to be found in great 

 abundance while lime was scarce, and it was therefore of 

 importance to know the relative value and qualities of 

 the two, in order that farmers might judge which would 

 be the most useful and economical for their individual 

 use. Upon this subject he had drawn up a table, of 

 which the following is a copy : — * 



Composition of 



Marls. 



Banks 

 of the 



Caithness. 



Logie Marl. 



Boyne. 





■ 







Wet. 1 Dry. 



Wet. 



Dry. 



Brd. 



Water . 



1.5 



2.0 



45.04 



62.50 



* * * * 



• • 



Organic matter • 



1.4 



1.0 



2.57 



4.49 



5.42 



14.61 



1.0 



Carbonate of lime 



92.2 



10.7 



46.56 



84.71 



28.76 



77-56 



82.2 



Do. of magnesia . 



l.i 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 







0.(1 



Gypsum 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 



0.0 



8.0 



Alumina and earthv 



■ 

















matter 



3.1 

 99-3 



S5.1 

 98.9 



6.04 



11.29 2.90 7-81 



7-5 





99.1* 



100.45 96. 58 



PQQfi 



9*-7 



One of the kinds in this table from the Bovne was best 

 for heavy soils, and another for such as were light. It 



was of great importance to get marl in a dry state, in 



order to save the expense of conveyance. It was also 



advisable at times to mix it with quicklime. In regard 



to steeping seeds, he had no doubt that every kind of 



seed grown would be greatly benefitted, and he had drawn 



out a table which he thought contained all the elements 



which a steep for Grain ought to contain:— 



Steep for Corn and Beans. 

 Phosphate of soda, ** 



Sulphate of magnesia, ( 1 lb. of each in 10 gallons of water to 

 Nitrate of potash, j steep 300 lbs. of seed. 



Common salt, J 



Sal ammoniac, or \To be dried with gypsum or quick- 



Sulphate of ammonia, J lime. 



After referring to the great loss which the Association 



had experienced by the death of Mr. Oliver, of Lochend, 



the learned Professor concluded his address. 



CIRENCESTER AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 



An influential meeting was held on the 29th ult, at 

 Cirencester, Gloucestershire, in furtherance of a plan 

 recently projected for the establishment of an Agri- 

 cultural College and Example Farm. Many of the first 

 agriculturists of the Cotswold district were present, 

 both landlords and tenants, amongst whom were Earl 

 Bathurst, Lord Sherborne, Earl Ducie, Ambrose God- 

 dard, Esq., T. H. S. Sotheron, Esq., M.P., Sir J. Paull, 

 D. Ricardo, Esq., Professor Daubeny, and many others. 

 Lord Bathurst took the chair, and Mr. Brown, of Ciren- 

 cester, to whose exertions, his lordship stated, it was chiefly 

 owing that the scheme had reached its present position, 



when they 

 15 years 



a 



eir 



[May 11 



y returned home from school, perhi^TTT 

 of age; farmer, then iostrocuS flj L !i° r 



they knew themselves or, it might be, placed*,* *-5 

 a large premium, with some neighbouring tninTi' h 

 of whose practical and scientific knowledge th' 

 tained a higher opinion than of their own. Bi't'* Cnter * 

 could teach more than he knew himself ;' the n !* man 

 whom they sent their sons might know a great deal° D k° 

 might be a good farmer and breeder of stock—but n 

 unable to communicate the degree of scientific knowl rf 

 which is necessary for the successful prosecutio r 

 Agriculture ; and although a farmer qualified in all 

 spects might be found, was it to be supposed that 'h" 

 could accommodate as many pupils as required hi 

 struction ? In all points of view, therefore, it was.^" 

 cessary that they should support this college whit 

 would afford them an opportunity of giving their son 

 sound practical education on all subjects relating to t\ 

 occupation. — Mr. Kearsey, tenant-farmer, of Tarlton 

 seconded the resolution. He sincerely hoped that an i ! 

 stitution which was calculated to be so extensively use" 

 ful would meet with the necessary support : if it did he* 

 was sure that those who came after would be grateful to 

 them for their exertions. — Sir John Paull mo\ed the 

 second resolution, which named a committee to deter- 

 mine on the plan of a suitable educational institution and 

 to carry the design into effect. He said it frequently ap- 

 peared to him as a most remarkable circumstance that 

 farming was the only thing which was supposed to come 

 without education. If a young man were put to any 

 other trade, either ironmonger, grocer, lawyer, or sur- 

 geon, it was deemed requisite that he should be trained 

 to that particular vocation in which he was to exercise 

 his talent ; but a man hesitated not to take a farm with- 

 out previous instruction, presuming that, being the son 

 of a farmer, it must, as a matter of course, follow that he 

 can be a farmer likewise. — The resolution having been 

 seconded, Dr. Daubeny, Professor of Rural Economy at 

 Oxford, rose to propose the third resolution, that a sub- 

 scription be entered into to defray expenses. During his 

 travels on the Continent, he had visited several colleges 

 in France, Germany, and Italy, established by the re- 

 spective Governments for the instruction of youths in- 

 tended for Agriculture, and from their general distribu- 

 tion was led to infer that the necessity of imparting an 

 education to young farmers adapted for their future occu- 

 pation, was felt in every other civilised country in 

 Europe. He moreover observed, that in several of 

 these colleges young Englishmen were found, proving 

 that the want of some institution of this kind was felt 

 also among ourselves. He had even been applied to by 

 strangers with respect to the regulations and terms of 

 admission to some of these colleges, and particularly by 

 one person, who was anxious to learn whether any and 

 what provisions for the religious instruction of a Pro- 

 testant existed in the Agricultural College of Grignon, 

 near Paris ; a circumstance showing that misgivings were 

 entertained by parents on that head, in sending their 

 sons to a foreign Agricultural College, which might be re- 

 moved by the establishment of one at home. Since, 

 then, a demand for the kind of instruction which may 

 be imparted at such an establishment exists both here 

 and elsewhere, is there anything in the circumstances of 

 this country which forbids us supplying it ? Is there 

 not, on the contrary, a stronger reason for giving to 

 British farmers a good education than exists elsewhere i 

 This was not the place for any political discussion; 

 but those who, like himself, cherished the hope of 

 seeing the population of the country mainly supplied 

 with the necessaries of life from its own soil, must of 

 necessity assume that the latter can be rendered capable 

 of yielding a much larger produce than it does at pre- 

 sent ; for as the population is increasing at the rate, it is 

 said, of about 700 a day, the produce of the soil must go 

 on increasing in an equally rapid ratio, if we are to con- 

 tinue to depend upon our internal resources for food. 

 But as the industry of the nation is already taxed to its 

 utmost, this increase can only be obtained by increasing 

 skill, increasing intelligence, increasing knowledge on ttie 

 part of the cultivator. The farmer might in this respect 

 take a lesson from the manufacturer, who, though » » 

 acknowledged that in point of mechanical skill brew 

 Britain takes the lead of all other nations in the worid ' 1 ' 

 so far from imagining that he is arrived at perfection, tna 

 he is constantly aimine at improving his machinery 



ne is constantly aiming ac improving ma u»v~ -- * 

 his processes ; whilst the farmer, who in some dis 



carry out resolutions passed by that Club last year, on 

 the subject of Agricultural education. The report, which 

 detailed the reasons which had actuated this Society in 

 taking measures for the establishment of an Agricultural 

 School, and which specified the circumstances on which 

 the success of the scheme depended, having been read, 

 the Earl of Ducie rose to propose the first resolution,' 

 which referred to the propriety of establishing an Agri- 

 cultural College. His Lordship said, that upon the sub- 

 ject of education a great change had taken place in 

 opinion within a few years ; the farmers had begun to 

 see more clearly than before— at least such of them as 

 had sons— the necessity for establishing an institution 

 like the one proposed. He did not suppose that there 

 were any agriculturists present, who did not contemplate 

 that one or two of their sons should follow farming as a 

 profession. But how did they propose to get them edu- 

 cated ? At present they were compelled to send them to 

 hool, where they, no doubt, learned much that was 

 useful, but not in the line of life in which they were des- 

 tined to work their way in the world ; the only oppor- 

 tunity they had of teaching them their business, was 



memorial on the system 



of his 



read the Report of the committee of the Cirencester and has gone on from time inw^— «- ,- . . hpr 



Fairlord Farmers' Club, which had been appointed to forefathers, fondly imagines that there is n0 tur " 



room for advancement. It is not expected, now » 

 that by the foundation of the proposed College, ^ 

 farmer should be rendered a practical chemist, or c ap, 

 of originating discoveries ; but that in each agncui 

 district there should be a few persons capable ot sags ^ 

 ing improvements, whilst the great majority sno^ a 

 least be sufficiently well informed to understand tne I 

 ciples upon which the approved practices in huso 

 are founded, and the conditions on which they a 1 

 for their success. Thus, for instance, if the plan o v 



serving the liquid manure be introduced in a gi 

 trict, it should be understood by the farmers who ^ 

 it, what elements it imparts to the soil, how tne 

 ments may be best prevented from escaping, an 



their loss is so injurious. The V™te*?\ c0 ™%*\wh 

 expressing his satisfaction, that the first A$rw . 

 College in South Britain should have been P r0 J ec ^|,, 

 the inhabitants of a town and neighbourhood in ^^ 

 from early associations, he felt a personal ana 

 interest, and confessed that he entertained a » ^ 

 desire to see the institution established ° ^^ 

 account, than for the sake, even of the gre 



