1844.] __ 



Sir H. Davy and others have jurt^ objected to naked 

 fallows, that they facilitate th* escape of nutritious 

 effluvia? from the soil, when there ore no plants to absorb 

 them ; and that, if nitrous salts are produced in hot 

 weather from exposure of soils containing vegetable and 

 animal remains, it is probably at the expense «t ammonia ; 

 and this is not denied by the advocates of summer-tallow.*. 

 In hoeing between the rows of fallow crops, the objects 

 contemplated appear to be the looseningof the toil. Liebi^ 

 g ay8 _.*By loosening the soil which surrounds your, 

 plants, we favour the access of air and the formation of car- 

 bonic acid"— the destruction of weeds, and the mooldiin 

 up of the plants, with the intent of benefiting them. The 

 benefits aimed at by loosening the soil are the admission 

 of the atmospheric air into the soil, there to operate on 

 animal and vegetable matters in the earth for supplying 

 the roots with food. In the words of Liebig, il The car- 

 bonic acid, which protects the undecayed humus from 

 further change, is absorbed and taken away by the fine 

 fibres of the roots, and by the roots themselves ; this is 

 replaced by the atmospheric air, by which process the 

 decay is renewed, and a fresh portion of carbonic acid 

 formed." But in the widest rows, and with the horse- 

 hoe and plough, the soil is not stirred to a depth exceed- 

 ing six inches, while the finer fibres of the roots of most 

 plants, to which this deep hoeing is applied, reach cer- 

 tainly very far beyond this depth ; and it is the extremi- 

 ties of these fibres that are the mouths of the roots. I 

 admit that some of the roots shoot laterally some of their 

 branches, probably still to seek moisture ; but broad-cast 

 "Wheat, and Wheat sown in rows rarely exceeding nine 

 inches asunder, are rolled, harrowed, and hoed with the 

 same object, where merely the surface can be bruised and 

 torn up, while the Wheat seed is sown from four to six 

 inches deep, the roots extending to a much greater depth, 

 and the finer fibres probably a toot or two below the sur- 

 face, to a depth, indeed, to which we cannot suppose, 

 even under the mo&t favourable circumstances — those of 

 fresh sown ground — the influence of the atmospheric air 

 can penetrate for the purposes of vegetation, for few seeds 

 will germinate much below six inches. The advantages 

 of destroying weeds cannot be disputed, but the benefit 

 of moulding up plants is very questionable : it was never 

 practised or recommended by Mr. Coke (Lord Lei- 

 cester), of Norfolk, for white crops : to Turnips it is not 

 considered beneficial ; to Mangold Wurzel injurious; and 

 I can myself vouch that, for Potatoes (to which roots it 

 is generally considered most applicable), it is useless, 

 except in a final hoeing, to allow a freer passage of air 

 along the rows. — T. M. G., Revenue Police, Granard, 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



487 



Ireland. 



(To be continued.) 



SKETCHES OF EAST LOTHIAN HUSBANDRY. 



Tillage Operations. — EastLothian has been lung 

 noted for the comparative excellence of its tillage-farm- 

 ing ; in no district, perhaps, is rural labour more skil- 

 fully executed. As I have already stated, I am by no 

 means desirous of representing the sy*tem of farming 

 pursued in this county as the most judicious in every 

 respect that could be devised ; much less am I anxious 

 of holding it up as a perfect model of rural economy, for 

 the imitation and guidance of all readers of the Gazette. 

 "Whether the EastLothian system of farming is superior 

 or inferior to that pursued in some of the most improved 

 districts in England, I am unable to say. It may be 

 proper to obst rve that my remarks upon the agriculture 

 of this county apply solely to its average •haracter, and 

 not to what is practised only by a few more advanced or 

 enterprising than their neighbours. There are, un- 

 doubtedly, many examples of unskilful and slovenly ma- 

 nagement to be met with in some localities. 



The following, among other circumstances, have ob- 

 viously contributed, to a considerable extent, in bringing 

 about an improved mode of tillage in this county, viz. : 

 the extensive practice of thorough-draining, the invention 

 and employment of efficient implements and machines 

 for executing and economising rural labour, the nature 

 of the soil itself, and the manner of hiring and general 

 management of farm servants ; to these, of course, is 

 to be added the security for the outlay of capital, which is 

 afforded by the lease. The advantages arising to the 

 tillage farmers of this county from the complete drain- 

 age of their land, and the use of effective im pie men? s, are 

 too numerous and apparent to require any elucidation 

 here. Even after being thoroughly drained, the strong 

 stubborn nature of the greater part of the soil renders it, 

 in unfavourable seasons, peculiarly difficult, expensive, 

 and precarious to work to any decree of perfection ; and 

 this disagreeable quality of the soil has undoubtedly con- 

 tributed very much towards the general adoption of im- 

 proved cultivation, as it compels the anxious and indus- 

 trious fai mer to resort to every expedient, and to tr »ery 

 mode of management which practical judgment— often 

 the result of dear-bought experience — could devine. 

 Nor must the admirable manner of hiring and managing 

 farm servants, long successfully pursued in this counts, 

 be overlooked in enumerating some of the leading cir- 

 cumstances which have conduced to its improved culti- 

 vation. Uy far the greater part of the regular farm- 

 labour is performed by married servants, provincially 

 termed hinds. They occupy comfortable houses pro- 

 vided for them by the farmer, and which are always 

 •ituated near the farm- steading. They are hired by the 

 year, and paid partly in money, and partly in the produce 

 of the farm, as shall be more particularly detailed in a 

 subsequent article. The advantages arising to both 

 master and servant from this lystem, are many and 

 obvious. The hind, from his permanency of employ- 

 ment, naturally acquires an interest in the' prosperity of 



own assigned duties, and from being chiefly confined to 

 one sort of work, has evidently a better chance of 

 becoming thoroughly a master of it. 



Premising these general remarks, I shall now proceed 

 to describe the manner of performing the principal tillage 

 operations, as they are at present practised on the gene- 

 rality of farms in this county, beginning with the most 

 important and indispensable of them all, viz. : — 



Ploughing — It may be necessHry to explain some of 

 the technical expressions connected with this subject, 

 employed in this and other parts of Scotland. Land once 

 formed into ridges, is subsequently ploughed by either 

 of the following methods, viz., 1. The ridges may be 

 split out in such a way that the space formerly occupied 

 by the crown of the old ridge becomes the furrow of the 

 new. This operation is technically called crown-and- 

 furrow ploughing. 2. Two ridges may be ploughed 

 together, by which means the form of the old ridges, and 

 the situation of the intermediate furrows, are preserved 

 unaltered. This mode of ploughing is termed casting. 



3. The ridges may be gathered, which is effected by 

 beginning at the crown or centre of the ridge, and plough- 

 ing all the furrow-slices towards it. By this means an 

 increased elevation or curvature is given to the ridge. 



4. The last operation may be reversed by commencing at 

 the furrows without ploughing into them, and concluding 

 at the crown, which than becomes an open furrow. This 

 process is called clearing, the ridges being, when this 

 method of ploughing is adopted, divided or cloven into 

 halves. Each of these modes of ploughing shall be 

 afterwards more minutely described. 



Peering, or feirinw, is a. Scotch term, referring to the 

 opening of the first furrow-slices in ploughing a piece of 

 ground, or the process of marking off or striking the 

 furrows which regulate the after ploughing of land into 

 ridges. Where the ploughing of a ridge or other piece 

 of grouud terminates, is called an open furrow ; thus, 

 when the crown-and-furrow mode of ploughing is pur- 

 sued, every furrow is an open one; but in the case of 

 the ridges being cast only every fourth, one becomes an 

 open furrow, the others are termed close furrows. The 

 last furrow-slice in ploughing a ridge or o:her piece of 

 land is generally named the hinting furrow. When ridges 

 are ploughed, by turning the horses at the headlands to 

 the right about, as is sometimes done in the case of 

 gathering, they are said to be hupped in ; and when 

 ploughed by turning from right to lett, as in cleaving, 

 the ridges are said to be winded out. The most of these 

 technical expressions will, doubtless, apj>ear rather 

 strange to southern readers, and may probably sound 

 somewhat harshly in their ears, but they are well under- 

 stood in all parts of this country. Their use, however 

 improper in a Paper like the Gazette, is almost unavoid- 

 able in describing the different methods of performing 

 the important operation to which they refer. I shall 

 endeavour, however, to employ only those local terms 

 which cannot be dispensed with, without occasioning 

 some prolixity of detail. One of the ploughmen, gene- 

 rally the steadiest and most skilful, on every farm is ap- 

 pointed to the rank of foreman, a station next in point 

 of trust to that of the steward or grieve. The usual du- 

 ties of the foreman are to feer or mark off the land into 

 ridges, both for himself and tor the other ploughmen, to 

 conduct the process of ploughing and other tillage ope- 

 rations, and to regulate the time for stopping from and 

 recommencing work. He is also generally required to 

 -tack and sow corn, for which he commonly receives 

 two bushels of Wheat yearly, in addition to the ordinary 

 wages of a ploughm.m. — T. Sullivan. 



AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENTS. 



Having in my three former letters disposed of the 

 details of my farming operations, I will now proceed 

 to consider, * 



First, The imperative necessity of agricultural im- 

 provements in a national point of view, and how those 

 improvements can be most readily effected. 



Secondly, The defects in the present system of farm 

 valuations, and evils resulting therefrom to landlord, 

 tenant, and country. 



Third y. The relation of landlord and tenant to each 

 other in a pecuniary point of view ; their identity of 

 interest, and the importance of long leases, with Corn- 

 rents. 



Fourthly, Suggestions for rendering the Royal Agri- 

 cultural Society a standard and model of agricultural 

 improvement in every essential point. 



Lastly, Popular but prevalent errors as regards agri- 

 cult me, with a few general remarks. 



The existence of a superfluous capital, with a super- 

 abundant unemployed population, is a dangerous anomaly, 

 threatening, in its continuance, ultimate destruction to 

 our nation. Luxury for the wealthy few, and poverty 

 for the willing, but unemployed many, must produce dis- 

 content, anarchy, and ruin. It is an alarming fact, that 

 much of our income is derived from the capital we lend 

 to foieign countries; whilst, in our own, we dole out 

 grudgingly, in rates and in charities, a tithe of what 

 ought to he the just and well-earned wage of the indus- 

 trious but unemployed labourer. 



Ask the majority of your independent friends whence 

 they derive their income? The widow will tell you, 

 11 My money is making a road, cutting a canal, or build- 

 ing a town in America." The orphan will say, *' Mine 

 is supporting «• civil war in Spain or South America, or 

 growing corn in Russia for the London market." The 

 ipitalist will report his strong-box full of bonds — Chi- 

 in, Columbian, Peruvian, Mexican, French, Spanish. 

 Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Austrian, Prussian, and 



the farm, hag usually an anxiety to perform with care" his [ Neapolitan (some of which, by-the-by, pay neither interest that between the two there is 



nor principal); but neither the widow, the orphan, or 

 the capitalist will tell you their money is profitably and 

 delightfully engaged in growing food for themselves and 

 their fanilies — in providing employment and profit for 

 their fellow-countrymen, of every grade, from the labourer 

 to the merchant. No ! Agriculture has had as yet no* 

 charms for the capitalist or speculator. The one lends 

 his money to strengthen foreign competition in agricul- 

 ture, commerce, and manufactures ; the other sows use- 

 lessly and prejudicially more seed than the total annual 

 amount of our Wheat importation — the extra quantity 

 sown actually diminishing the produce to a similar 

 extent ; yet all this takes place whilst we are complain- 

 ing of superabundant capital and population, as if an 

 industiious population could be too great. My opinion 

 is, the more numerous we are the more prosperous we 

 shall be, for we live by one another. The denser the 

 population the greater our power and our trade, pro- 

 vided we keep our capital at home and at work amongst 



ourselves. 



To ship off our labourers and our money is nothing 

 less than suicide. It is giving away, economically and 

 politically, the sinews of our strength ; and I call upon 

 every man who has the welfare of his country at heart to 

 put "a stop to it. How is this to be done ? I answer, 

 Easily ; and point to my operations at Tiptree Hall 

 Farm, as a solution of the difficulty. If every capitalist 

 expends, as I have done, 46/. sterling money in improv- 

 ing each acre of poor and indifferent land, the sum total 

 required would be many hundred millions. I need 

 hardly point to the magical effect of this expenditure on 

 our trade, commerce, and manufactures. Every indi- 

 vidual in this country would feel it. It is too grand and 

 delightful a prospect to hope to realise. There is too 

 large a mass of miscalculation, ignorance, prejudice, 

 pride, and long custom to be removed. Facts and results 

 will scarcely do it ; but reason and truth must prevail at 

 last : and I look forward with hope that the patriotic, 

 the intelligent, and the wealthy will exercise their influ- 

 ence, by example and precept, to procure so desirable a 

 result. Agriculture is our sheet-anchor; to that we 

 must look for employment and for profit: it is a vast 

 field for enterprise : it is our vital strength as a nation ; 

 and our pride of country alone should stimulate us to be 

 independent of foreigners for the supply of our daily- 

 bread — the staff of our lives. 



In considering how these improvements can be most 

 readily effected, it is quite clear that individuals gene- 

 rally have seldom the means, the ability, or the inclina- 

 tion to carry out a perfect system of agricultural im- 

 provement : it must be done by companies of associated 

 capitalists, the same as our railways and other great 

 undei takings. I will venture to assert from experience, 

 that there is not, in agricultural undertakings, one tithe 

 of the difficulty or uncertainty that attended railway 

 operations. Rival companies will be beneficial to the 

 public by the protection of competition. General rules, 

 however, on fundamental principles, must be obtained by 

 sanction of Act of Parliament; and I apprehend an exa- 

 mination of competent authorities would lead to a table 

 of laws adapted to the security and profit of the share- 

 holders, the benefit of the landowner, and the welfare of 

 the tenant. Mortgagers might transfer their mortgages 

 to the company, with full authority to carry out neces- 

 sary improvements, on condition of receiving from the 

 company all benefits over and above five per cent, interest 

 for the company's capital. Should the landowner desire 

 a sale, the company would have the opportunity of pur- 

 chasing outright by public competition ; or the landlord 

 might have the power of redeeming his property, on pay- 

 ing the company principal and interest up to a period of 

 sufficient notice. In all cases where there is not an 

 absolute sale, landlords should have the power of redeem- 

 ing their property or transferring it to another company, 

 under equitable arrangements to both parties. The vari- 

 ations in rents and prices of corn would be no greater, 

 on an average, than the fluctuations in railway or other 



shares. 



As to the fear of companies engrossing land, the same 

 objection cannot apply to them as to charities. Share- 

 holders invest for profit, and livalry will necessarily pre- 

 vent oppression. What tenant would not rather trust to 

 fair competition under a company than to individual 

 favour, cupidity, or caprfoe, to say nothing of the uncer- 

 tainty of individual life ? Landlords would also benefit. 

 Frequently now (I know several cases) a landlord, with- 

 out agricultural knowledge, is prevailed upon, by a 

 designing or an incompetent tenant, who shows an annual 

 statement of heavy losses, to reduce his rent, till he 

 receives but two per cent, for his money. I proceed to 

 c ,<) er — The propriety of valuing improvements ; the 

 defects, in the present system of valuation, and its evil 

 results to the landlord, the tenant, and the nation. 



At present a bad farmer is almost sure to get a new 

 lease (for who is anxious to take it after him ?) whilst a 

 thorough good one is almost as certnin to be turned out, 

 or have his rent raised — the landlord being generally 

 ready to avail himself of those improvements which a 

 wise farmer is compelled to make for a profitable return. 

 These improvements are bona fide his property, and 

 ought to be. legally as much so as the coat on his oat * » 

 and it is a scandal and disgrace that they are not valued 



to the incoming tenant. t k T? 



Let us see, in fact, how it acts on the landlord. I snau 



prove clearly he is a loser by it ultimately. «*.--.* 



The outgoing tenant is obliged in self-defen^tojtarve 



the land and injure his crops the last four y 



lease, whilst it takes the incoming t*n.n X™' £ 



years to repair the damage done : by b» PJ * ~£ £ 



during eight years 



