342 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



d. Labour and culti\ation of tallows and young — this system might diminish the value of land to its 

 Wheat. possessor ; but this is not the case ; this sum of money, 



e. Manure yarded up, &c. amounting in the instance before us to 1000/. and 

 None of the roots were consumed on the land, or a upwards (see classes d. e. f. //. inventory), is 



valuation of the manure left there in that way would evidently productive of profit as much as any other 



have been required also. part of the farmer's capital. The incoming tenant 



/ Such portion of the labour and cultivation of informs us that he is well satisfied that he has got 



the fallow or green crop of the previous year, as may i his money's worth ; he is satisfied— opponents of this 



system of entry cannot but acknowledge that outgoing 





[May 2 



3, 



be supposed to remain in the soil unexhausted, for 

 the benefit of the young grain-crops now on the land. 

 This was put at one-half. 



g. The unconsumed portion of the out-going 

 tenant's roots and straw. 



The 4 following is the valuation of the articles 

 thus classified : — 



a. Working Cattle:*— 1 riding mare, 4 horses, and 



harness ......... 



b. Lire Stock: — 1 18 ewes with lambs, and C s. d. 



in lamb, and l ram . . . 205 



5 Cows 34 



and pigs, and I boar. 



£ 



85 



*. d. 



4 6 



Fowl* 



• 



. 33 12 



m 2 8 



c. Implement*, viz .—3 ploughs, 3 carts, water-cart, 



rollers, harrows, subsoil plough, horse-hoes, 

 sowing machine, potato- washers and steamer, 

 tnrnip-cutters, cake-crusher, troughs, hurdles, 



d. Cultivation nf Wheat, fallow*, ifc. — 123 acres of 



Wheat cultivated as follows :— 

 PJotiKhiiiga. amounting to log£ acres £ s. d. 



265 



171 3 fl 



tenants under it have every reason to be satisfied 

 and for two reasons we think that of all those parties 

 who have any connection with the matter, the land- 

 lord has the least reason to complain. At the close of 

 each tenancy his land reverts to him in the highest 



possible condition — he offers it in the highest state of 

 cultivation ; and an arrangement which insists on an 

 immediate outlay of capital by the tenant is the best 

 possible security for his rent. 



We were wrong in saying there were but three 

 parties interested in this matter. Besides the interest 

 of the landlord and that of the two tenants between 

 whom the business lies, the prosperity of a whole 

 nation is intimately connected with a system which 

 encourages the investment of capital in land. 



13 id o 



a is o 



once ploughed, at 8s. 

 Cultivating, amoiinringto33 acres once 



cultivated, at is. 8d. .... 

 Hammings, amounting to 358 acres 



once harrowed, at Srf. . . . i ] 



ISO acres drilled, at . . . .12 



17&£» nshela of seed Wheat, at fl*. . 70 



Fallow ploughing*, amounting to 124 



Met a* once ploughed, at Br. . . 49 12 



3^4 acre* <>t young Clover, the seed for 



which cost, as per bills . . . 16 



18 



6 



4 



8 

 

 



f. 



iVnnurr.* — In heaps in the fields and 



yard*; 2243 cubic yards, at 3*,* .336 9 0< 



Dung dropped last ye 1 30 acres of 

 Clover depastured, and 4 acres of 

 Vetches fed off 36 



206 II 8 



Italf-culllrntinn of the previous year's green 



crops :— 86" acres of roots, at jff3 13*. '2d. . 

 The whole expense of cultivation per acre 

 was estimated as follows : — 



3" pjonghings, at S* 14 



4 harrowings, at nd. . . . ,028 



1 rolling 8 



Ridging up 4 



Sbwing 10 



3 horse-hoeings 3 



2» hand-hoeing* 6 



30 yards manure, at 3s. 6d. . . .550 



3/2 9 



314 12 4 



r< 



±7 6 4 

 Straw, roots, ,yc., left by the outgoing tenant: — 



35 tons of Carrots, at 15*. . . 



70 ns of Mangold Wurzel, at 10«. 



2ft tons of straw, as per lease 



15 tons of straw unconsumed, at 30*. 



26 5 



35 



25 



22 10 



108 15 



s. 

 4 



d. 



6 



-1135" 



2*1 3 6 



706 II 8 



... . . *1*28 16 



This, with additions for certain articles oC Iiousc- 



hvlil fiirmturc, &c, was the sum to which the valua- 

 tion of the inventory amounted. The amount of 

 capital required for the cultivation of this farm will 

 be ascertained by adding to this the sum required 

 for the payment of labour, and for the purchase of 

 additional live-stock and implements. 



The following are the particulars of these additional 

 branches of outlay, as estimated by the in-coming 

 tenant : — 



°* 5 ant* ,e * and harne8r * ,6e * » makin-g the whole 

 ■'+ / ~*** ir \ **°nnt of the tenant's capital under this head 

 J. w« and l«mb* ( to help to stock, the Clover 

 field, 140/.; 250 ' ; -bsand one-shear sheep, to 

 be ttougttt in SeVJtnber a October, 375/. ; 

 3» head of oxen to BNo^mght in October, 450/. j 

 making the whole amrlait of farmer's capital 

 under this head 



e, 3 enrbr, l ploagb, 5 frames of harvest carts, har 

 rew»> horse-hoei, Sec, say ;oi., making the 

 sums under this head amount to 

 d. Crrttiiatitto, 8fc-.~ Half a year's expenses, horse 

 account, wages, &c, including Wheat and 

 Turnip-hoeing, harvest work* &c ,500J M making 

 the capital u 11 n>r this head amount to 



iwrrs: — A purchase of artificial manures will 

 he required, equal in value to 5 tons of guano, 

 say 5h/., making this branch of the farmer's 



capital amount to 



/• Balf Cultivation of the previous year's green 



_. cro » m 314 



The half-year's rent and taxes due at .\Tichaelma* 



are net paid out of capiul, the farm heing-snpposed 

 to have produced that amount, bat not more, by 

 sales, before that time. 



The total capital required by the farmer in this 



instance thus amounts to .... j£3(j65 1 



Jnuhsum isalvmt III. 7a per acre over the farm. 



Lnere are a great many interesting subjects in- 

 volved in the particulars of this valuation, as well as 

 in the general principle of it; weshallnot enter upon 

 any of them now, but merely allude to the fact in 

 order to invite the criticism of our correspondents. 



This is a casein which the tenant apparently re- 

 quires to invest a large amount of dormant capital • 

 were it really dormant throughout the period of his 

 Jease, only re-appearing at the close of it by sale to 

 the next tenant, there would be just cause for fear 

 that the necessity for its outlay would embarrass the 

 farmer, and so by confining competition for 

 tenancy to a smaller number — viz., large capitalists 



* The price was thus low, because the manure wa3 not per- 

 fectly made, nor wus it of good quality. 



t This is left from tenant to tenant unpaid for, as stipulated 

 in the lease. 



ON BLACK IIORSEPONDS.— No. III. 



We have stated that the solid matter contained in the 

 urine of man and animals is equal to the best guano as a 

 fertilising agent, and that it contains all the elements that 

 are found in guano, capable of supplying plants with 

 either organic or inorganic food. That such is the case 

 we are prepared to expect, when we reflect that the 

 herbivorous animal derives its sustenance from the plants 

 used by it as food, and that, after those substances which 

 are required in the animal economy are separated and 

 worked up, the remainder is expelled from the body as 

 excrementitious matter — the urine containing the greater 

 portion of the soluble saline and earthy salts, as well as 

 the principal amount of nitrogenous matters — while the 

 solid excrements are principally made up of undigested 

 woody fibre, with a lew salts and a little nitrogenous 

 matters. All these salts having originally existed in the 

 plant, but been separated and rearranged during their 

 passage through the animal, they are capable of again 

 entering the texture of the plant, ministering to its 

 growth, and assisting as a means of perfecting its seed. 

 Before such can be the case, however, these substances 

 must be in a state of perfect solution in water, the 

 roots of plants being incapable of receiving into their 

 texture any solid matter, however minutely divided. 

 Hence the cause of the rapid and marked benefit follow- 

 ing the application of soluble saline manures, such as 

 the nitrates of potash and soda ; or mixed manures, con- 

 taining soluble salts in combination with substances 



which must undergo decomposition before they become 

 soluble, and capable of mioiaterlng to the growth of 

 plant"- This fact should always be borne in mind, that no 

 substance can enter the texture of a plant except in 

 solution. From the above circumstances it necessarily 

 follows that the liquid portion of the excrements roust 

 be of more value as a manure to plants than the solid 

 portion, since the liquid excrements contain by far the 

 largest portion of saline and nitrogenous matters, and in 

 the only state in which they can be serviceable to plants. 

 The composition of the urine of the cow will serve as an 

 example to illustrate this point ; at once showing the 

 large amount of potash, soda, ammonia, phosphates, and 

 other saline ingredients lost to the farmer who allows the 

 urine of his cattle to run into the nearest ditch, or, by 

 finding its way into his horsepond to become the disgust- 

 ing beverage of his farm-yard stock. 



The following is the composition of the urine of the 

 cow, as given by Sprengel, and examined under three 

 circumstances, viz., when fresh— after it has undergone 

 putrefaction—and when allowed to putrefy with the 

 addition of its own bulk of water. 



Putrefied 

 lj. rea Fresh. Putrid, with Water. 



42* 9 



12 4 



lourless crystals of a slightly pearly l usC re l t d X 

 quesces in a moist atmosphere, but otherwise' undent 

 no change. Its solution in water may be exposed to uT 

 atmosphere for several months, or be heated to the b 1 

 iiwr point without change ; but when the other constitn" 

 ents of urine are present, it putrefies with rapidity beinl 

 almost entirely resolved into carbonate of ammonia ; thif 

 change proceeds at a more or less rapid rate, depend^, 

 on the temperature of the atmosphere. The carbonate 

 of ammonia thus formed is partly held in solution in the 

 water of the urine, and partly escapes into the air- thi. 

 escape of ammonia continuing for a considerable time, 

 the solution becoming gradually weaker and weaker until 

 at last a very small portion of the original quantity i, 

 left. The ammonia thus generated by the decompo^- 

 urea of the urine is sensibly felt on the eyes and nose on 

 entering a stable in the morning that has been closed dur- 

 ing the night, and is frequently the cause of those i Q * 

 nammatory affections of the eyes which young horses are 

 subject to, from its acting as a direct and constant irri- 

 tant on the delicate conjunctival membrane of the eve. 



When urine is diluted with an equal bulk of water be- 

 fore it is allowed to putrefy, a much larger quantity of 

 ammonia is retained in solution; thus, on referring to tbe 

 analysis, we find that when the urine is allowed to putrefy 

 alone, only 487 lbs. of ammonia are found in 100,00ft of 

 urine; but when diluted with an equal bulk of water 

 previous to fermentation^the amount of ammonia is found 

 to be 1622. pounds, or upwards of three times the quantity 

 contained in the undiluted urine: but even this is not the 

 whole quantity of ammonia capable of being yielded by 

 the urea, by one-fourth ; since 100 parts of urea ought to 

 yield, by their decomposition, 56£ parts of ammonia. 



It is to the ammonia generated in the soil by the slow 

 decomposition of all animal manures that much of their 

 effects 011 the crops are to be ascribed. This is particularly 

 the case with good guano, which contains so large a 

 portion of those substances capable of yielding ammonia 

 to the growing crops; yet how little attention is bestowed 

 by the practical man on the urea, which, as urine, finds 

 its way out of his fold-yard, in solution in water, to the 

 nearest ditch, and often to his horsepond ; or takes to 

 itself wings after fermentation, in the shape of ammonia, 

 and, unseen and unheeded, passes off into the atmosphere; 

 and thus the means of realising hundreds of pounds, 

 which in many instances can be but ill-spared, is totally 

 lost to the farmer. — Alfred Gyde, Pa>nswick. 



ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLAX.— No. VII. 

 1 The breaking of the woody part of the stem, for the 

 purpose of separating it from the fibre, is the next pro- 

 cess in the manufacture of Flax. Before undergoing 

 this operation, it has been usual in Ireland to dry it by 

 artificial heat ; but this, although it makes the stem more 

 brittle, and of course more easily separated from the 

 fibre, is also injurious to the fibre itself ; and if proper 

 means are taken to have the Flax thoroughly dried after 

 being taken up from the Grass, no further artificial 

 drying will be necessary. Should the Flax, however,, 

 still be damp from defective management, artificial heat 

 must be employed; but it is to be observed that this u» 

 only to be continued so far as to dry the Flax, and not to- 

 roast it, as is too frequently the case. 



Various contrivances for breaking the fibre of the 

 Flax are in use. The machine most commonly employed is 

 represented in the accompanying figure. It consists of 



I 



Albumen. .. . 



Muctts 



Benzoic acid . 

 Lactic acid . 

 Carbonic acid . 

 Ammonia 

 Potash . 



Soda ...!.* 



Silica 



Alumina - . , \ \ 

 Oxide of iron •.*.*. 

 Oxide of manganese . ', 

 Lime . 



Magnesia . . . - " 



Chlorine . 



Sulphuric acid .. . ] 



Phosphoric acid . . ] 

 Acetic acid . 



Sulphuretcd hydrogen ." 

 Insoluble eartny uuosyhatca 



and carbonates . 

 Water . 



4U00 



10 



1'JIJ 



9-1 



5i 



256 



205 



664 

 554 



30 



2 



4 



1 



65 



3« 



272 



40r. 



70 



10U0 



40 

 2.->0 

 500 

 165 

 4H7 

 C64 

 554 

 5 



buo 



30 

 120 



5; 



33 

 1623 



66 1 



554 



8 



['■■2.521 



2 



22 

 272 

 388 



2(5 



1 

 1 



180 

 95,4 42 



8 

 30 

 2;2 

 33 2 

 46 

 20 

 30 



150 

 95,481 



_ , t . 100,000 106,000 100,000 



By far the largest portion of the organic constituents con- 

 tamed m the solid matter of the urine is the urea and 

 this also is the most important, since it contains a larger 

 amount of nitrogen than flesh or bljod,- 

 manures. It is composed of 



° «" . . : 26.7 



Hydrogen . , . r ; iG 

 Carbon . . . 20.0 

 Nitrogen . . . 4fi.7 



two powerful 



When 



100.0 



in a state of purity, urea exists as transparent co- 



two wooden frames, attached to each other by a hinge, 

 the cross-bars of which are so placed that two of them 

 xhall not be opposite to each other, the upper frame 

 having usually a bar less than the lower one. * n 

 breaking machine here figured has the upper frame acte 

 on by a spring, which raises it to admit of the Flax beiig 

 introduced between the bars ; and by means of a simi 

 contrivance, also represented in the engraving. m ° n °% 

 communicated to that frame by means of the left rot* 

 the workman. By repeated strokes of the upper trw 

 on the lower one— the handful of Flax being changedaHu 

 turned between the strokes— the woody part of the see 

 is at length broken in such a manner that it can ai 

 wards be entirely removed by the subsequent operau 



of scutching. . e j 



The other methods of performing this °P eratlon "L. 

 not be described at length, as they are more or less ae 

 tive. In several parts of the North of Ireland* " ort °' "Ig 

 wooden mallet is employed, the effective part of *" 

 is the side ; and the Flax being spread on a ba |V !rtt 

 surface, is rerfuced by repeated blows of tin. ^P 1 . 6 !^. 

 By attention, the work is sufficiently performed in 

 manner, the only objection to the use of the ** lw ™ { * 

 the length of time required to effect the P"^!* n 

 however, when only small quantities ot flax a re 9* 

 for domestic purposes, it may be advantage ous ly 

 ployed. The Flax is also sometimes bruised by a 6 



