THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE 



[July is, 



The Potato crop is in many districts a failure; 

 many cases are reported in which the seed has been 

 gown twice, but has never sprouted. Turnips, 

 though sown late, or rather through brairding late— 

 for the seed may have lain dry in the ground for 

 we eks— may yet yield a plentiful crop if the weather 

 be favourable. Mangold Wurzel, in all cases which 

 we have heard of, is a failure : the dry weather set 

 in just at its seed-time. 



The most favourable account that can be given ot 

 the present condition of the farmer's prospects, is 

 that if the weather be suitable, the Wheat crop will 

 probably be early and plentiful, and that we may yet 

 have good crops of Turnips, and of aftermath Grass. 



The accounts of the appearance of the crops in 

 Scotland are generally more favourable than those 

 from most districts in England. 



EFFECTS OF CHARCOAL AND SALT ON THE 



SWEDISH TURNIP. 

 Herewith I send you three plants of Turnips, 

 (Skirvins's), sowed on the same plot of ground, at the 

 same hour of the same day. In the case of the largest 

 specimen, the seed was well mixed with about twelve 

 times its bulk of charcoal-dust. In that of the next 

 size, the seed was mixed with five times its weight of 

 common salt, and nine bulks of charcoal; and in the 

 case of the plant just come up, the seed was put in quite 

 alone. In all three case3 the seed was put in drills in 

 soil which last year bore Mangold Wurzel in seed, and 

 the year before Wheat, and no manure has been applied 

 since. My object in usinix the charcoal and salt was 

 from the consideration that both substances are powerful 

 absorbents and retainers of moisture, as well as direct 



food for plants. 



No-. 1 and 2, in spite of the parched state of the ground, 

 (the 3rd June) came up strong in five days, and con- 

 tinued growing ; No. 1, however, soon and rapidly 

 taking the lead. At the end of a fortnight all three 

 rows were once watered, which however failed to bring 

 tip the seed sown without anything. When our first rain 

 came heavily, ten days ago, No. 1 grew almost visibly, 

 and three or four days after, No. 3 just began to show. 

 I may also state that I sowed Belgian Carrots with 

 charcoal only, the first week in May, and though the 

 Boil then was quite dusty, and so continued until ten 

 days ago, the plant came up well in three weeks, which 

 is at least ten days sooner than Carrot seed usually 

 comes up, even under favourable circumstances as to 

 rain. I sowed one more row of the Turnip, with 

 & double quantity of salt, which seems to have de- 

 stroyed the seed, as none has yet appeared. If 

 you t ink these experiments worth noticing in your 

 excellent Journal, you are quite welcome to do so, and 

 I shall feel happy if so simple a substance should prove 

 of use in forcing a pl»nt of Turnips, or other roots. — 

 E s s r : x , ( \issiobury, Watford. 



[We are exceedingly obliged to the Earl of Essex for 

 interesting communication. Of the specimens sent, 

 s T o. 1 appears to be a plant which has had about six 

 weeks' vigorous growth ; No. 3 has not yet acquired its 

 rough leaf; and No. 2 is of a medium size. This extra- 

 ordinary difference in plants sown at the same time, on 

 the same plot of ground, appears to be wholly owing to 

 the simple means adopted, as described above, which, 

 from his Lordship's experience, certainly appear to be 

 well worthy of extensive trial.] 



SKETCHES OF EAST LOTHIAN HUSBANDRY. 



3. Hoeing Implements. — These include the several 

 iustraments employed in tilling and pulverising the 

 intervals of plants cultivated in rows. It has been 

 already stated that some of the cereal Grasses, particu- 

 larly Oats, were, under peculiar circumstances, sown in 

 rows. The implement most commonly employed In till- 

 ing the intervals is the hand- hoe ; but where the system 

 is practised to any considerable extent, a machine drawn 

 by one horse, consisting of a series of flat triangular 

 shares, nearly as wide as the intervals in which they are 

 to move, and attached to a frame supported upon wheels, 

 is sometimes employed. This implement in its present 

 imperfect condition is not found easily manageable or 

 Tery efficient, and is therefore but very seldom used. 



A hoeing implement of general use is the small paring- 

 plough already referred to. Its purpose, as its name 

 implies, is to pare away a slice of earth from the sides of 

 Bean, Potato, or Turnip drills, before horse-hoeing or 

 grubbing the intervals. The other implements of this 

 class are several kinds of drill-grubbers, horse-hoes, 

 acufflers, &c, designed to follow the paring-plough, and 

 further to reduce the soil pared from the drills, and to 

 drag to the surface weeds of every description. Drill- 



ever invented — was first originated and employed. 

 Threshing by the flail is now almost, but not altogether, 

 unknown here. I am aware, however, of only one 

 solitary instance of a farm in the Lowland district in 

 which this rule instrument is still used, but it is very 

 common in the Lammermoor district, as the quantity of 

 Corn grown there upon any farm does not warrant the 

 expense of erecting a threshing-machine. The usual size 

 of the machines employed on farms of from 300 to 500 

 acres is that requiring the power of six horses to propel it. 

 Machines driven by four horses are used on arable farms 

 under 300 acres, where any one is used. 



Threshing-machines, on the larger class of farms, are 

 now generally driven by steam-power. Water, as being 

 even still more economical, is preferred and used where a 

 sufficient supply of it can be had ; but where this is not 

 the case, steam-power is employed. Wind-driven ma- 

 chines were, until lately, very numerous ; but this, as 

 well as the most expensive and objectionable of all — 

 horse-power — ha9 gradually given way to the steam engine, 

 which has been found to be much more uniform and 

 expeditious in executing its work than either. In 1805, 

 when Somerville wrote the Survey of the County for the 

 Board of Agriculture, there was but one threshing- 

 machine in it driven by steam, but farm-engines are now 

 so numerous, that Sir Thomas B. Hepburn, member for 

 the county, has been somewhat appropriately styled the 

 representative of tall chimneys. The engines most com- 

 monly used are what are termed hi^h-pressure, or non- 

 con Jensing; condensing-engines are also employed on 

 some farms, but they are not so simple or so cheap as 

 the former. Six-horse-power engines are the most 

 numerous, although, on very large farms, eight-horse- 

 power engines are not uncommon. 



The chief advantages of steam power arises from its 

 great economy, particularly in a locality where coals are 

 abundant and cheap. A cart-load of about 15 cwt. of 

 small dross coal, purchased at the colliery for a shilling, 

 will, in ordinary cases, supply with fuel a six-horse- 

 power engine for 10 hours, during which time from 35 

 to 45 quarters of grain may be threshed. The quantity 

 threshed in a given time will, of course, depend upon its 

 quality and the length of the straw; but under favour- 

 able circumstances, and with an average quality of grain, 

 from 4 to 5 quarters of Oats or Barley, and from 3§ to 

 4 J quarters of Wheat, may be threshed in an hour. 

 Little need be said here about the threshing-machine 

 itself, as it is now well known to every person engaged 

 in agricultural pursuits. Alterations and improvements 

 have, no doubt, been made in some localities on certain 

 parts of the machine, but all if s essential parts, and the 

 principle of its construction, are the same everywhere. 



When the threshing-machine is made to be driven by 

 water, it is usual also to have a horse-course and appa- 

 ratus attached, for the purpose of applying horse-power 

 when a sufficient supply of water cannot be obtained. 

 By varying the positions of the pinions on the common 

 shaft, which communicates with the horse and water- 

 wheels, either power can be used separately, or both may 

 be combined when the water is unable to propel the 

 machine alone. 



The number of persons requisite for working a thresh- 

 ing-machine of the usual size — a six-horse-power — is 

 generally seven — four women and three men. Two 

 women loosen or unbind the sheaves and lay them upon 

 the feeding-board, to the man who supplies them to the 

 machine, and other two women are required in the under 

 or corn-barn, 'to remove the grain as it falls from the 

 fanners attached to the threshing-machine. Two men 

 are necessary for carrying away the s'raw ejected from 

 the machine, to be piled up for use either in the straw- 

 barn into which it falls from the machine, or in the 

 stackyard. Wheaten straw, to be used as litter, is gene- 

 rally conveyed at once to the yards in which it may be 

 required. 



A threshing-machine and all its necessary appendages, 

 together with a six-horse-power high-pressure engine, 

 may now be erected for about 150/. 



Winnowing- Machine or Fanners. — The winnowing- 

 machines are nearly the same as those in general use in 

 other parts of the country, and therefore do not require 

 any lengthened description in this place. One pair of 

 fanners is invariably attached to, and driven by a leather 

 belt or chain from the threshing machine. Besides this 

 one, which separates the chaff from the grain before 

 coming to the ground, another is used for dressing or 

 preparing the grain for market, generally worked by 

 the hand, but frequently also by means of a belt from 

 the machine. Instead of the wire sieves so commonlv 

 used in the interior of winnowing-machines, a strong 

 canvas cloth revolving upon two wooden rollers is by 

 some Farmers preferred and employed. From six to 

 seven quarters of Oats is the usual quantity which ran be 

 once winnowed in an hour, by a machine in good order, 



harrnwc „uv 1 ,, . .* • **—». ~*." «««».», „... uv ~v U ... «.< uvur, OY a macmne in gooa oraer, 



w£ u a " a , ched hoes of various shapes, were until and actively worked. Best fanners, with sieves and 



lately much used for these purposes, but are now nearly - JJI — u - U - J r ~ « *- — - 



altogether dispensed with, at least on the heavy clay 

 farms ; the dnll-grubber, an implement with cutters only, 

 being found to perform more effectually the double pur- 



pose of dragging weeds to the surface, and of pulverising 

 and tilling the intervals between the rows of plants The 

 drill-grubber, it may also be remarked, frequently'super- 

 sedes the use of the paring-plough. The operations of 

 the dnll-grubber are chiefly confined to Bean and Potato 

 culture ; a lighter implement with teeth similar to those 

 of the common harrow, rather appropriately termed a I 

 scraper, being generally used for Turnips. 



4. Barn Machines. — East Lothian has the undis- 



dlily 



specftl 



provided with several kinds of carts, each adapted t» 

 some particular species of work ; some are in " 

 employment while others are used only on 

 occasions. 



Single-horse Carts.— Formerly, on account of bad 

 roads and other causes, none but two-horse carts vr 

 used in this county, for the different purposes of farmin^ 

 but single-horse carts are now generally preferred trfd 

 more frequently employed, especially in long journevg 

 conveying Corn to market and coals from the collierr' 

 &c. The superiority of the single over the double cart* 

 consists in being much lighter, more steady and compact' 

 and consequently less shaking and burthensome on the 

 shaft-horse. The majority of single-horse carts are made 

 with the body permanently fixed to the shafts; this 

 construction being supposed to render the cart more 

 steady and compact than the turn-up or coup-cart. I a 

 the economy of the farm, every ploughman has the 

 charge and management of a pair of horses, and whea 

 carting, he drives them both himself. When using 

 single carts, one follows the other, the horse of the last 

 cart being fastened by a short rope from his bridle to a 

 ring in the hind-door of the foremost cart. These carts 

 are usually 4| feet in length inside the boards ; 3 feet 

 2 inches in breadth at bottom, and 14 inches deep. 

 Price, with wheels and axle, 9/. 10s. to 10/. 



The Double-horse Cart differs little from the single 

 cart except in being larger and stronger. It has some- 

 times a fixed but most generally a turn-up body. Double- 

 horse carts are now employed only in carting oat dung 

 from the yards to the fields, earth or other heavy mate- 

 rials. Although single-horse carts are, beyond a question, 

 the most economical and profitable for general purposes, 

 experience has fully decided that the double-horse cart 

 cannot be altogether dispensed with ; and is invariably 

 used for conveying dung to the fields during winter, 

 when farm roads are not generally in the best condition. 

 A two-horse cart is commonly 5 feet long within the 

 sides, 3£ feet in breadth, and 1 7 inches high. With side- 

 boards it will contain, if well filled, about two cubic yards 

 of diing. Price, with wheels and axle, 10/. 10s. to 11/. 



The Corn-cart consists of a sparred frame-work, with 

 the bottom and part of the sides boarded, and is used 

 solely for the purpose of carting Corn in the sheaf, hay, 

 or similar materials. When being employed, this cart is 

 mounted upon the wheels and axle of any of the close 

 carts, and may be drawn by one or two horses according 

 to circumstances. No species of cart is better adapted 

 to the purpose for which it is intended than this. None 

 admits of a larger load with the least possible trouble to 

 the driver or horse. The only alterations or improve- 

 meats- lately effected in the construction of the Corn- 

 cart consist in making the body wider and dispensing with 

 the usual side-rails. Corn-carts of this description are 

 now much used in the hill-district ; they have no side- 

 rails ; one cross-rail supported upon two upright iron 

 stays prevents the Corn from falling forward on the 

 horse, and two semicircular bars of iron-halves of wheel- 

 rims answer the purpose, serve to keep the wheels from 

 disturbing the load, and support a strong board nearly 

 bisecting the cart, on which the driver stands while fork- 

 ing the sheaves to the stacker. The object of this form 

 is to render the cart less liable to be overturned in uneven 

 situations. Ia some of the Corn-carts now made, the 

 rails are so fitted to the body, that they may be taken oK 

 and replaced at pleasure, and the body used for carting 

 wood, &c. The usual dimensions of the Corn-cart are- 

 length of rails, 10* feet; height of spars, 20 inches, 



breadth 5^ feet. ' rf- 



Cart-wheels are generally 4£ feet in diameter , caw 

 metal naves were in much vogue some time ago throe i fl- 

 oat the county, but have now fallen into disuse, brew 

 attention is paid to the fitting of the axle. 



In this hasty sketch of the principal ™& e **™*™ 



general use here, I have omitted even 

 name a very considerable number of others < »r w 

 importance, but the most of them shall be noticed jvuen 

 I come to speak of the different operations ia vr&icn j 



machines in 

 name a very 



spea 



are employed. 



T. Sullivan. 



riddles, may be had for 8/. to 8/. 10s. 



The only other machines belonging to or worked in 

 the bam, are a HummeUer for the purpose of separating 

 the awns from the grains of Barley, and a machine for 

 bruising Oats, Peas, or Beans, for horses or other animals, 

 both of which are driven by the same power that propels 

 the threshing-machine. The threshing, hummelling, and 

 winnowing of Barley always proceed simultaneously, but 

 the bruiser is seldom worked with the other machines, as 

 the motion necessary for threshing is considered to be 

 too rapid for the purpose of bruising properly. Besides 

 the machines already mentioned, a churn and a straw- 

 cutter are also not unfrequently worked in connection 



puted honour of being the county in which the Threshing- with the threshing-machine. 



machine— decidedly the most valuable rural implement | 5. Wheel-carriages or CARTS.—Every farm is 



SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION. 



The following account of the half-yearly e**™^" 

 of the scholars of Messrs. Nesbit, of Keiroingtoa no «~ 

 Academy, abridged from the Maidstone f^ v \^ tn 

 serted here with the view of placing before our 

 Dr. Reid's excellent remarks on the value of a mi .^ 

 education even to those who may only receive i ^ 



indirect benefit. Of how much greater value row 

 to those who, like the farmer, daily ■JP ennt * 1 ' J t de - 

 tions dependent for their success on the tavou 

 velopment of scientific principles ! tv. D. $• 



At the hour appointed for the examination "• was 

 Reid, F.R.S.E., took the chair, and the schoolroom^ ^ 

 completely filled with a respectable audience, 

 short address from Mr. J. C. Nesbit, various W ^ 

 selections were recited by some of the pupiw. ■ Esqn 

 satisfactory examination in geometry, by J . " ' eX& . 

 M.A., was then conducted, and after an exre ^.^ 

 mination in geology, by Mr. Richardson, oi» ^ tb „ 

 Museum, one of the young gentlemen, ass *■ ^ 

 members of the Chemistry Class, delivered a ■ ^ 



ture on chemistry, and was highly complimente 

 chairman and applauded by the audience. ^ 



Dr. Reid, in the course of his rcm * ina tion»i 

 the conclusion of the recitations and e * a ™ mU l g a- 

 said no one felt more desirous for ine i . mse if. 

 tion of a knowledge of modern science tna. di 



Where he had received his education, there we i ^ 

 , of 200 boys in his class, and upwards of *"" % mt tt 

 I in the school, and he had had the good fortune 





