1844.] 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



4S5 



SEED-WHEAT.— Any one desirous of purchasing 

 Sped for next reir is invited to inspect the two varieties 

 of V\he»t, SHIRREFF'S HOPETOUN and MORTON'S RED- 

 STRAW WHITE. 120 acres of which are now growing on 

 WHITHELD FARM, THORNBURY, GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 

 The present is the only season of the year when the value 

 of any variety of Wheat as Seed can be ascertained by inspec- 

 tion ; fcr, if the examination of a mere sample of the gram, 

 which can be seen at any time, be nearly uninstructive as to 

 its quality in the eye of the baker (see Ag. Gazette, No. 5), it is 

 € itirely so as to the productiveness or habit of growth of the 

 variety to which it belongs. These points, which are of the 

 highest importance in the eye of the Farmer, can be ascertained 

 only by an examination of the growing plant when in full ear. 



John Morton, Whitfield, Thornbury. 



1£t)t gCQricuItural QBa&ttt 



SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1844. 



VEsnAv, July 53J , le 



f BPNKSPAY, July 24 ( f O 



hi.rsoav, .Tuly 25 l" at § 

 riday, July 2'ij 



finent and Cattle Shows and Meeting 

 ie Agricultural Society of England, 

 Southampton. 



MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 



TrEsn.w, 

 W 



T 



Friday, July 



Thursday* July 25 Agricultural Imp. Soc. of Ireland. 



Wednesday, July 31 Agricultural Society of England. 

 Thursday, Aug. 1 Agricultural Imp. hoc. of Ireland* 



FARMERS' CLUBS. 



TuJv or/Rit'hmnndshire. i 



••my »t Grave Ferry. CFramlincham. 



CDebenham. July 30< Isle of Thanet. 



July 26 < Stoke Ferry. J t Rayleigh 



tHalesworth. j Aug. 3 Coilumpton. 



T„i~ o- i Cardiff. 

 Ju] y 2 ' iGlouces 



wucester. 



r "Fifty-nine Thousand Pounds' worth of 

 Guano (we quote from a statement by Mr. Milne at 

 the late meeting of the Scottish Agricultural Che- 

 mistry Association) were last year imported into 

 Liverpool alone. But guano is imported direct from 

 its sources into many other ports of the United 

 Kingdom beside this ; indeed, advertisers are daily 

 announcing the actual or expected arrival of cargoes 

 direct from African or Peruvian islands at second 

 and even third-rate seaport towns, so that the sum 

 here named is perhaps not an eighth of what has 

 been spent in the purchase of this manure during the 

 present season ; and, from the better knowledge 

 which prevails of its fertilising properties, as well as 

 from the enormous supplies which will by that time 

 have arrived in England, we may suppose, that if 

 this year's value of guano sold be reckoned by tens, 

 that which will be bought by farmers next year will 

 be reckoned by hundreds. 



Now we ask, Is not the expenditure of some hun- 

 dreds of thousands of pounds on a substance so often, 

 because so easily, adulterated as this — an expenditure 

 too by parties generally so incapable of detecting the 

 fraud — is not this a subject of serious agricultural 

 importance ? It is absolutely necessary that farmers 

 should combine to insure themselves against a source 

 of such serious loss, to the action of which they are 

 so liable; for we can tell them that if the articles 

 which have lately appeared on this subject in the 

 Agricultural Gazette have failed to awaken them to 

 their true interest, they have by no means been so 

 uninfluential on the parties whose roguery they ex- 

 posed. These gentlemen see that it is necessary now 

 to have a semblance of authority for the value of 

 their trash, to insure its sale; and, as illustrative of 

 this, Mr. Gyde, of Painswick, whose name is well 

 known to our readers, lately gave us the following 

 account of an attempt made upon him : — 



"The object of the party in sending me the 

 sample of guano so shamefully adulterated, was to 

 ascertain if I would become an agent for its sale; if 

 so, I was to receive a handsome commission, &c 

 My answer was to be left at a Post-office, and every 

 precaution was taken to prevent the locality being 

 detected, in case the proposition did not meet with 

 a favourable reception. The so-called guano con- 

 sisted of a mixture of red marl and old mortar 

 crushed together to the extent of 95 per cent. ; the 

 remaining 5 per cent, consisted of vegetable matter 

 (probably partially-decomposed sawdust), and 

 genuine guano. This mixture had been moistened 

 with putrid urine, and re-dried. It certainly had the 

 appearance of a fair sample of guano when casually 

 looked at, and would no doubt deceive any person 

 unaccustomed to the genuine article. When moist- 

 ened with caustic potash, and heated, it only gave 

 traces of ammonia compared with the effect pro- 

 duced on natural guano ; and after drying and heat- 

 ing to a red heat, 95 per cent, of inorganic matter 

 was left, which did not contain I per cent, of phos- 

 phates. I think the answer I sent them will prevent 

 their offering it in this neighbourhood. The largest 

 amount of adulteration of guano I have met with 

 has been 15 per cent., excepting the above instance." 

 This case, in point of impudence, can be com- 

 pared only with the notorious instance published by 

 Mr. Solly, in which a manure containing only 3 per 

 cent, of what it professed to be, was considered to be 

 good enough for agricultural purposes. 



Well, there can be no doubt after this, and the 

 many other instances we have at various times pub- 

 lished, that there is a necessity for vigilant careful- 



districts, should adppt the means suggested by Mr 

 Hyett, of Painswick, in an early Number of this 

 Paper. Let each of them nominate some scientific 

 man as their agricultural chemist, and secure his 

 services at certain rates of charge in the analysis, 

 before purchase, of all concentrated manures, natural 

 or artificial. We allude to inland Farmers' Clubs 

 particularly, in reference to the purchase of guano, 

 for farmers near sea-ports can buy at the ship's side; 

 and though, through error, an impure article may have 

 been imported, yet impurities to any considerable 

 amount are, in ninety-nine cases out of the hundred, 

 to be attributed to the roguery of secondary manure 

 dealers, after it has been brought on shore. The 

 general and hearty adoption by Farmers' Clubs of 

 means such as this, would go far to deter dis- 

 honest people from attempting this deceit. But the 

 subject must be taken up immediately, if it be 

 intended to exert any influence ; for guano is daily 

 arriving in this country, and unless sufficient influ- 

 ence be exerted to the contrary, as soon as it is 

 cheapest it will be bought up from the importers, in 

 order to be adulterated and diluted ready for next 

 spring. 



Only one Society, that ' we know of, has heartily 

 adopted the plan to which we allude, and that — a 

 Society, indeed, formed for the very purpose of 

 securing for the farmer the services of the chemist — 

 is the Agricultural Chemistry Association of Scotland. 

 The Report, in another column, of the half-yearly 

 meeting of this body, is well worthy of perusal. It 

 will be seen what success has attended the efforts 

 which have been put forth in Scotland to bring the 

 farmer and chemist together. The circumstance 

 mentioned at that meeting by Mr. Milne, that all 

 the instances of fraud in the manure-trade, which 

 we have published, have occurred south of the Border, 

 is sufficiently convincing of the influence exerted by 

 the existence of a ready and certain means of detection. 

 It is not guano alone which these district agricul- 

 tural chemists would have to analyse — they would 

 find cases of adulteration in many other manures. 

 Mr. Gyde informs us that he lately analysed, for a 

 farmer near Chepstow, in Monmouthshire, a speci- 

 men of bone-dust, in which lie found 20 per cent, of 

 sand, and 12 per cent, of water, so that, for all agri- 

 cultural purposes, one third of it was useless. One 

 would think, from the constant occurrence of these 

 instances of fraud by manure-dealers, that, though 

 familiar with it from childhood, farmers were not 

 yet convinced of the expediency of the old rule — 



" Taste and try, before you buy." 



ness in the purchase of guano. It is most desirabL 

 that t armers Clubs, and especially all those in inland 



GEO-AGRICULTURAL NOTES ON SOUTH 



GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 

 JThk word in the above title, which is meant to express 

 the character of the following contributions to the 

 Gazette, is intended at the same time to signify that 

 dependence of the farmer's practice on the nature of the 

 soil he cultivates, and therefore on the geological charac- 

 ter of his vicinity, which it is my object to illustrate. 



South Gloucestershire, perhaps, more than any other 

 district in the kingdom, possesses a very variable 

 geological character; the character of its agriculture 

 is also various, and an attentive survey of it will con- 

 vince any one, as it did me, that these stand to one 

 another in the relation of cause and effect. 



In order that my remarks on its farming may be useful, 

 I must first describe its general appearance and climate. 

 The district to which the following remarks refer, is 

 that portion of Gloucestershire which extends on the 

 east and south to the boundaries of the county, on the 

 west to the river Severn, and on the north to a line 

 drawn from near the village of Frampton-on-Severn to 

 the town of Stroud. The whole of it is included in 

 No. 35 of the Maps of the Ordnance Survey. Its great- 

 est length, from N.N.E. to S.S.W., is about 26 miles ; its 

 greatest width, from N.N.W. to S.S.E.,is about lGmiles. 

 Looking at it with regard to the elevation of its surface 

 above the level of the sea, it may be divided into two 

 portions — the one on the elevated table-land of the Cots- 

 wold range, and the other constituting the extensive 

 tract in the vale of the Severn between Gloucester and 

 Bristol. The average elevation of the one is from 500 to 

 600 feet above the average level of the other ; and of the 

 330 square miles which constitute the extent of the whole 

 district, about 80 belong to the hilly portion ; the rest to 

 the vale. The two districts are divided by a bold edge 

 or escarpment, stretching between them in a direction 

 N.N.W. and S.S.E. The surface of the table laud slopes 

 towards the east, its highest points being always near the 

 edge of this escarpment ; and these are, therefore, situa- 

 tions from which a very accurate idea of the general 

 appearance of the whole country may be obtained. In 

 the northern and southern parts of the district the table- 

 land is furrowed out by valleys of considerable extent, 

 which are independent of one another ; each is complete 

 in itself, possessing a scries of lateral branches, into 

 which, again, a second series of smaller valleys run : 

 their sides thus present a number of recesses and pro- 

 montories, to which, chiefly, the beauty of their scenery 

 it due. As, at the same time, the rock of which the 

 Cotswold range consists — the oolitic rock — is made up of 

 a series of nearly horizontal beds of various kinds — lime- 

 stone, clay, and sand — the valleys which cut through this 



series of beds bear upon their sides the characters of 



each, and another source of variety in their scenery is 

 introduced. 



As ail of them occur close to one another, the whole 

 being within a space of ten miles, the high land necessa- 

 rily stretches out is the form of long arms, which extend 

 as so many headlands into the vale. From the extremi- 

 ties of these arms most beautiful and extensive views of 

 the vale may be obtained; and instead of proceeding to 

 state all the particulars as to the character of the surface 

 of this, the second portion of our district, it may be well 

 to climb one of these heights, and obtain thence a view 

 of its general appearance. 



Stinchcombe-hill, which stands further out into the 

 midst of the vale than any of the neighbouring hills, 

 being at the extremity of the longest of the arms just 

 mentioned, will best suit our purpose. 



If we climb this hill early on the morning of a sum- 

 mer's day, we shall probably find the whole of the vale 

 covered by a thin stratum of white cloud, which hides 

 from us, as a sea, the whole of the country it rests upon. 

 The high lands on the far side of the Severn appear as a 

 distant coast, ourselves being on the top of one of the 

 boldest headlands which here stretch far into the midst 

 of the strait. 



As the heat of the day increases, this cloud gradually 

 disappears, and discloses to us the beauties of the land 

 it had covered. Looking to the north, the west, and the 

 south, we see stretched out before us the vale of Glou- 

 cester and Bristol ; on looking eastward, behind and on 

 either side of us, we find it bounded by the escarpment 

 of the table-land already described ; and as we gradually 

 direct our gaze from north to south over the western 

 horizon, the Malvern hills in the far distance — May Hill 

 — the Forest of Dean — the distant Welsh hills — the open 

 6ea in the Bristol Channel — and the Mendip hills be- 

 yond Bristol, successively pass under review. These 

 boundaries present every variety of outline and appearance 

 — they form a fit frame for the beautiful picture which they 

 surround. The scenery of the vale itself also varies in 

 its character. Northward its surface is comparatively 

 level ; to the south it is irregularly broken up into hill 

 and valley. In the northern part of the vale. the city 

 and cathedral of Gloucester may be seen at a distance of 

 15 miles, and here and there over th? whole of it, vil- 

 lages with their church spires make their appearance. 

 We can see very little but pasture land ; indeed, with 

 such immense quantity of timber as everywhere covers 

 the vale, arable land could not be cultivated. 



Isolated portions, however, in the midst of the thickly 

 wooded country below us — one surrounding the foot of 

 the hill — another near Frampton on Severn — a third 

 between these — and others, are bare, and cultivated by 

 the arable farmer. This hinders any monotony to which 

 the scene would otherwise be liable. The northern part 

 of the vale consists chiefly of a clayey soil ; these bare 

 spots occur where a deposit of gravel has taken place 

 over the clay ; a difference in the subsoil, thus produc- 

 ing an entire change in the appearance of the surface. 



The southern part of the vale is, as I said, broken up 

 into hill and vale. A ridge, or rather escarpment, about 

 150 or 200 feet high, commencing at Bristol, and run- 

 ning northwards 15 miles, then turning east by Tortworth 

 and Wickwar, and again southwards by Sodbury, incloses 

 a basin-shaped tract of country of considerable extent : 

 and, besides this, many detached hills occur here and 

 there, as in the neighbourhood of Thornbury and Berkeley, 

 adding to the irregularity and beauty of the scenery. 



The climate of this district does not vary much in 

 point of temperature, being of such limited extent. It 

 is probably, however, always from 2° to 4° colder on the 

 table land than in the vale, and this, where, as in this 

 case, it is united with a much greater degree of exposure, 

 will make a great difference in climate. 



At Bristol, the following is the monthly average 

 temperature, in degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer :— 



January. February. March. April. May. June. 



37-3 40.2 41.1 47.1 55.8 61.9 



July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 



63. 61.5 57.6 51.7 43 40.6 



The average number of wet days in the year at Bristol, 

 is 166, which are divided out among the months as 

 follows: — 



January. February. March. April. May. June, 



15 12 16 10 9 12 



, July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 



U 12 13 16 20 17 



At Cheltenham, the following are the results of me- 

 teorological observations, which have been carried on 

 for seven consecutive years, during the first eight 

 months of the year; and for five years, ending 1837, 

 during the remaining four months. The average tem- 

 perature for each month is as follows : — 



January. February. March. April. May. June. 



37.6 40.4 41.5 46 53.6 59 



July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 



61.1 59-7 55.5 50.4 43.9 41.5 



The average quantity of rain which falls in the year at 

 Cheltenham is, according to these observations, 31.81 

 inches, which is divided amongst the months as follows:— 



January. February. March. April. May. June. 



2.17 3.55 2.L 1.86 1.6 321 



July. August. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 



3.58 2.72 3.11 2.94 2.85 Z.lt 



These observations give the average temperature of 

 the year at Bristol, in the south of our district, 50° ; and 

 at Cheltenham, beyond the north of it, 49" 1- 



The temperature of Chalford springs, occurring in the 

 valley of that name, three miles east of Stroud, which 

 are the largest springs in the county, does not vary 

 throughout the year, and may be taken as the average 

 annual temperature of the place ; it is 49* 8. 



The temperature of a considerable ipnng, near riils- 

 ley, was, in the month of August, 50'. This, too, may 

 probably with accuracy be taken as the temperature of 



