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1844.] 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



545 



QEED-WHEAT. — Any one desirous of purchasing I have each passed resolutions in favour of the early 



^J Seed for next ear is invited to inspect the two varieties 

 of Whe t, SHIRREFFS HOPETOUN and MORTON'S RED- 

 STRAW WHITE, 120 acres of which are now growing on 

 WHITFIELD 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 ; for, if the examination of a mere sample of the grain, 

 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 

 entirely 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. 

 Price, 85. per bushel. John Morton. Whitfield, Thombury. 



tCfje -^grfcultttral ©a^tte 



SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1844. 



MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 



Wednesday, A u#. 14 Agricultural Society of England. 

 Wednesday, Aug. 14) Meeting at Dublin of the Agricultural 

 Thursday, Aug. 15 J Imp. Soc. of Ireland. 



Wednesday, Aug. 21 Agricultural Society of England. 

 Thursday, Aug. 22 Agricultural Imp. Soc- of Ireland. 



i- . .. i.i- <i c. r<r nut- « „j Kiohmondshire. 



FARMERS' CLUBS- Aug. *2\ Gloye Feiry . 



It is a matter of no slight advantage attendant on 

 the weekly publication of an Agricultural Journal, 

 that the attention of its readers may thus be called to 

 subjects of importance at the most fitting times. It 

 is not meant that agricultural topics are of temporary 

 interest only ; the operations of husbandry, which, 

 taken together, form the business of the farmer, each 

 of them exert a special influence on the great result 

 ~-the quantity of net produce, or the money income 

 of the farm. And thus there is not a single question 

 connected with the practice or the science of Agri- 

 culture, which can at any time fail to be of interest ; 

 but while the farmer may reasonably have an eye to the 

 future, and to subjects which may hereafter require his 

 notice, his first and best attention will probably and 

 justly be devoted to the consideration of questions of 

 present interest. Certainly, therefore, we cannot at 

 present direct our readers to the consideration of a 

 more important subject than the proper period for 

 reaping Wheat. 



It would appear, at first, that the farmer cannot be 

 wrong in allowing his grain-crops to attain maturity 

 —to become fully ripe; ancient practice, so far as it 

 oes, would certainly justify him in doing so. This, 

 owever, is not always a good guide to go by. 

 If by the period of maturity the time be meant 

 when a plant has acquired its greatest value as an 

 article of food, certainly this stage in the growth of 

 every kind of crop ought to be attained before it is 

 harvested; it is, however, by no means certain that 

 maturity in this sense is not attained by our Corn 

 crops at an early period in the process of ripening. 

 Indeed it may safely be asserted that grain has passed 

 the period of perfection and has begun to lose its 

 value before it has become dead ripe. In support 

 of this the testimony of all Nature may be urged that 

 strength and vigour progress with growth only up to 

 a certain period. 



General reasoning, however, of this kind could 

 never have been so influential with any farmer as to 

 induce him to alter so important and time-sanctioned 

 a practice as that of leaving grain to ripen thoroughly. 

 And, practically speaking, the question remained un- 

 disturbed, and we were vain enough to fancy that at 

 least we knew when our Wheat was ready to harvest, 

 tillMr. J.Hannam, of North Deighton,near Wetherby, 

 Yorkshire, in the " Quarterly Journal of Agriculture" 

 for June, 1841, boldly asserted that the practice of 

 allowing Wheat to become fully ripe was an injurious 

 one. This assertion was based on the details of a 

 careful and elaborate experiment made during the 

 previous year, 1840. In 1841, Mr. Hannam con- 

 tinued hisjinvestigations on a still more extensive 

 scale, and the results thoroughly corroborated his 

 former conclusions. In September, 1842, the details 

 were published in the M Quarterly Journal of Agri- 

 culture," and the question was discussed at length, 

 the conclusion being that the best "period for cutting 

 Wheat is when it is raw, i. e. from 10 to 14 days 

 before it becomes thoroughly ripe. 



This decision has been since confirmed by the testi- 

 mony of both Science and Practice. Professor 

 Johnston in his Lectures quotes Mr. H.'s results, 

 and confirms them by argument. He also states in 

 his " Elements" (p. 188, 3d Edition), as " the result 

 of theory and experience," that " about a fortnight 

 before full ripening is the proper time of cutting 

 Corn — as the skin is then thinner, the grain fuller, 

 the bushel heavier, and the yield of flour greater." 

 Mr. Stephens in his excellent "Book of the Farm," 

 corroborates Mr. H.'s position. Indeed both the 

 English and American Agricultural press have 

 supplied numberless cases in support of his facts 

 and arguments. To these our limits will not 

 allow us to refer; we may, however, as tes- 

 timony of peculiar value, name, that amongst the 

 authorities who support the practice Mr. Hannam 

 advocates are several of our Farmers^ lubs : those, for 



cutting of Wheat. On Thursday of last week it was 

 resolved by the Wetherby Club, that it is advisable 

 to cut Wheat at from 7 to 14 | days earlier than is 

 customary in the district. This Club is in Mr. Han- 

 nam's immediate neighbourhood, and its testimony 

 is therefore peculiarly valuable. Such, then, being 

 the case, we cannot do better at this time than call 

 the attention of our readers to the subject, and direct 

 them for a full statement of the case to Mr. Han- 

 nam 's papers in the " Quarterly Journal.'' To such 

 of our readers as have not the means of referring to 

 the back Numbers of that periodical, the following 

 epitome of that gentleman's researches will not be 

 uninteresting. 



Mr. Hannam's first experiment was executed in 

 1840. Three samples were cut viz. respectively : — 



No. I. Green cut . . Aug. 4, 1840 

 II. Raw ,, . . Aug. 18. 



III. Ripe „ . . Sept. 1. 



These were thrashed and carried to market, when 

 the following prices were put upon them : — 



No. 1 6is. per quarter. 



II. • • . • 6is. ,, 

 III 62*. „ 



In 1841, a more extensive experiment was insti- 

 tuted ; 5 samples of half-a-rood each were cut, viz. : 



No. I. Very green • • . Aug. 12. 



II. Green .... Aug. 19. 



III. Raw .... Aug. 26. 



IV. Raw .... Aug. 30. 

 V. Ripe .... Sept. 9. 



These samples were threshed, and the samples 

 were as follow : — No. 5 (ripe) was " bold, but 

 coarse ;" Nos. 1 and 2 (green), " fine in the skin, 

 but small ;" and Nos. 3 and 4, * equal in boldness of 

 grain to No. 5, and superior in clearness of skin," 

 being M unexceptionable as a sample." This desic- 

 cation, or drying-in of Nos. 1 and 2 proved that it 

 was taken too early. The whole of the samples were 

 shown at the Annual Show of the Wetherby Agricul- 

 tural Society, Sept. 22, 1841, when the superiority 

 of the raw-cut grain was confirmed by the Judges, 

 who awarded to it " an extra premium, with a high 

 commendation of the sample No. $, cut a fortnight 

 before ripe." — Yorkshire Gazette, Sept. 25, 1841. 



Having in one trial ascertained the value of the 

 samples by market, and afterwards by the opinion of a 

 public meeting, in order to leave no loophole for doubt, 

 Mr. Hannam determined to test their qualities at the 

 mill. The gross quantity of each was ground and 

 dressed by Mr. John Hardcastle, of Wetherby ; and 

 from the results we compile the annexed tables : — 



No. 



Grain. 



III. 



IV. 



V 



Quantity Weight. 



bush. 



st. lb. 



15 10 



16 6 

 14 13 



Flour. 



st. lb. 



12 6 



12 3 



10 II 



Follard. 



Bran. 



st. 

 

 1 

 1 



lb. 

 12 



3 



9 



st. 

 2 

 2 

 2 



lb. 

 1 

 5 

 6 



Waste 



Cut. 



Weight per Bushel of 



No. 



Grain. 1 



Flour. 



Pollard. 



Bran. 



III. 

 IV. 



V. 



lbs. 

 625- 



59$ 



lbs. 



49 ^ 



46?, | 

 43 1 



lbs. 

 Sf 



6* . 



lbs. 



m 



0$ 



Weight per cent, of 



No. 



Grain. 1 



Flour. ] 



Pollard. 



Bran. 



III. 



IV. 



V. 



lbs. 

 100 

 100 

 100 



lbs. 



lbs. 

 7 15 



11 *3 



lbs. 



■41 



15 If 



" From this we see," says Mr. Hannam, " that the 

 bushel of No. HI. gives more flour than the bushel 

 of No. V. by 6^ lbs., showing a gain of 1 5y per cent. 

 in weight of flour upon equal measures of grain." 



Again, we find also that there is an advantage of 

 " nearly 8 percent, of flour in favour of No. III. upon 

 equal tveights of Wheat." 



The theory upon which Mr. Hannam explains 

 these astonishing results is, that as the sugar in the 

 green plant becomes changed into the starch of the 

 Wheat, so if permitted to remain till fully ripe 

 another change will take place, the starch becoming 

 gradually converted into woody fibre; for it is a well 

 known chemical fact, that sugar, starch, and fibre, 

 are composed of the same constituent elements united 

 in the same proportions, and are one and the same 

 substance in various forms — in some such way as 

 water, ice, and snow are different forms of one com- 

 bination of oxygen and hydrogen. 



This gradual change to woody fibre takes place in 

 many vegetables as they ripen, and it is by taking this 

 into account that we can explain the curious fact 

 shown in the Tables that the ripe Wheat contains 50 

 per cent, more "flinty particles" — " pollard," or 

 " sharps,"— than the " raw cut grain." Hence it is 

 no wonder that the flour of the ripe should be less 

 free in the grain. 



from which it appears (see Lectures, p. 7;J4) that the 



Raw Wheat contained 99 per cent, of gluten. 

 Ripe do. do. 96 M " 



The other advantages claimed for cutting early, are 

 a better quality and greater quantity of straw, a 

 better chance of securing the crop, &c. 



The quantity, i. e. the weight of straw must, it is 

 evident, be increased, and it is equally true that its 

 quality is improved owing to there being more soluble 

 matter in the /res/* than in the dry straw. In fact, the 

 additional weight of straw is nearly all an additional 

 weight of nutritive matter, starch, sugar, &c which 

 would when dead ripe have become fibre ; and there- 

 fore it is of great consequence to the value of the straw 

 either as an article of food or as a manure. We 

 have not space to allude to the other indirect advan- 

 tages which Mr. Hannam claims for early reaping 

 Wheat, nor can we follow his arguments or facts so 

 fully as we would wish on the points alluded to : if, 

 however, we have been able to give our readers an 

 idea of the case as it now stands, or to draw their 

 attention to the further investigation of the subject, 

 we shall have done them good service. 



In conclusion, we give Mr. Hannam's estimate, 

 based on his experiments of the money value of an 

 acre of the same Wheat cut raw and ripe. 



No. III. Cut a fortnight before ripe . .jC14 18 

 V. Fully ripe 13 11 8 



— H. 



Mr. Hannam also claims a "better quality of flour," 

 for the raw cut grain, and quotes the analysis of j^' 

 instance, of Leominster, Stewponey, and Wetherby, Professor Johnston, to whom samples were sent, | £ r ^ g ^Pj Crosbu. 



APPEARANCE OF THE CROPS. 



Collected by E. J. Lows, Esq., ok High Field House, 



Lknton, Nottinghamshire. 

 On tracing the appearance of the crops over Engl md, 



and part of Wales, 1 have attained the following general 

 results, viz.: — Wheat is, without a single exception, an 

 average ; if it can be called better in one county than 

 another I should say it must be so in Oxfordshire ; from, 

 this shire I have had specimens of ears of Corn sent con- 

 taining upwards of 80 grains in each head. Oats hardly 

 appear in any county to have reached an average ; it is 

 very short on the straw, and the account of it from 

 Northamptonshire is worse than anywhere else. Early 

 sown Barley will be nearly an average, with the exception 

 of Westmoreland, Northampton, and Wales, where it 

 appears to be deficient. But owing to the long drought 

 in every county many acres prepared for Barley were 

 not sown at all; and, also owing to the same cause, 

 many acres were sown in the middle of May and June, 

 which have vegetated at twice, consequently the quality 

 will be very inferior, as well as the yir-ld remarkably bad. 

 Hay is a worse crop than we have known it for some 

 years, not being half an average in any part of England, 

 except on irrigated lands. This crop has been a complete 

 failure in Northumberland, Cumberland, Huntingdon, 

 Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, &c. Clover and Grass 

 seeds seem to share the same fate with Hay, but perhaps 

 not to such a great extent. Beans vary very much ; they 

 are bad in Lincolnshire, Rutlandshire, Northampton, 

 and Surrey. Of Peas, the best reports are from 

 Ruddington Grange, Nottinghamshire, and Castle 

 Donnington, Leicestershire, where the plants are thick on 

 the ground and well podded ; they are very bad in Rut- 

 land and Kent. Potatoes seem to have suffered in most 

 counties ; indeed, from what remarks I have obtained, there 

 cannot be nearly an average. Where the Potatoes are 

 most grown they appear the worst, from dry-rot. The 

 accounts from Westmoreland, Lancashire, Staffordshire, 

 Worcestershire, Wales, and Shropshire make them a 

 failure. The Potatoes look very healthy in Nottingham- 

 shire. Turnips, in all probability, will be an average 

 crop, although in some few instances they have been 

 entirely destroyed by the fly. Fruit is very abundant all 

 over England. For full remarks on the crops I refer 

 you to the observations from different people from every 

 county, commencing in the North of England. 



Northumberland. — Berwick-by- Wooler. — M We 

 had a remarkably fine winter, and the months of Fe- 

 bruary and March were favourable, though stormy. March 

 was very wet till about the 22d, when it set in dry, and 

 continued so until May 9th ; then we had two wet days. 

 It rained also oh the 17th and 19th, succeeded by dry 

 weather. Rain occurred on 7th June, followed by high 

 winds, amounting to a gale on the 13th ; it rained on the 

 17th and 19th, since which it has been generally fine. 

 The season on the whole has been very dry. Wheat 

 looks very well; spring Wheat, though thin, looks well. 

 Clover and seeds are bad. Barley has borne the cold 

 dry weather better than might have been expected. Oats 

 look promising, but very short on the straw. Turnips 

 look very well, except the early sown varieties, which are 

 very irregular. Pastures are bare, but green." — J. C. 

 Langlands. 



Cumberland. — Hurraby, Carlisle. — <f We have two 

 kinds of land — strong clay-bottomed and light sandy. 

 On the former, crops are good ; on the latter they have 

 been burnt up by the drought — (the former land pre- 

 vails). Grass is very light on all lands ; Wheat very 

 good ; Oats and Barley in most places good. Turnips 

 promise well. Fruit very abundant." — J. Atkinson. 



Westmoreland.— Kirkby Those.—" Wheat looks 

 remarkably well, and a greater breadth than usual has 

 been sown. Barley is a slender crop, less than we have 

 had it for some years. Oats are very short, and cannot 

 possibly reach an average. Potatoes are greatly deficient, 

 dry-rot being general; I have seldom seen such a 

 falling off on all kinds of soil. Turnips promise w,U. 

 Clover and sown Grass will not be more than one-third 



this observation also applies to meadow 



