1844.] 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



549 





growing side by side with it ; it is also of a different 

 colour, being of a lighter green. These remarks are true 

 of Oats and Barley ; Wheat steeped is taller, but of a 

 darker green, and apparently later than Wheat unsteeped. 

 Different steeps give different colours to the growing 

 crop ; thus, a steeping in nitrate of soda alone gives a 

 darker green, and greater luxuriance than a steep com- 

 pound of nitrate of soda and guano. We, in this part of 

 the country (South of Scotland), are very much infested 

 •with black and useless ears in our crops of Oats and 

 Barley this season. On the steeped portions of the fields 

 there are fewer black ears ; very few comparatively where 

 the steeped seed was dried with lime, but a great many 

 more where it was dried with soot alone. As soot is 

 much of the same nature as charcoal dust, I do not attach 

 much value t6 your recommendation to try this latter 

 substance. Half a bushel of Oats were steeped for 24 

 hours in a pretty strong solution of bones and sulphuric 

 acid (one by weight of the last to two of the first, with 

 an equal weight of water). The Oats were sown moist 

 and warm ; black ears are rarely to be found where these 

 were sown, while the ridges on each side are so full of 

 them that if you walk through them you will be made as 

 black as a sweep. My steeps consisted chiefly of guano 

 and nitrate of soda ; my rule was to give 1 lb. of each 

 to a bushel of grain ; but it was not strictly adhered to — 

 generally exceeded, I believe. I seldom steeped longer 

 than 48*hours, but I have reason to believe that steeping 

 for a longer period will increase the fertility of the seed, 

 although at the risk of injuring the vital power of it. 

 What strength would you consider as the right strength 

 of a solution in which Wheat is to be steeped 60 hours ? 

 Would sulphuric acid weakened with water, and thrown 

 upon a heap of seeds, newly taken out of a steep, and 

 afterwards mixed with lime, have the effect of forwarding 

 or retarding the drying of the grain? I find that sul- 

 phuric acid, in strong solutions, has the effect of retard- 

 ing the drying of the seeds. — A Susbcriber. [Your first 

 question can only be answered by an experience which 

 we do not possess. With regard to the second, we should 

 certainly say the throwing of sulphuric acid of any dilu- 

 tion must be a very hazardous operation. If the acid be 

 present in sufficient strength it would altogether destroy 

 the texture of the seed.] 



Bark of Trees. — Your inquiry about protecting trees 

 from being barked by cows is auswered by stating that 

 the dung of dogs — Album grsecum of chemists — mixed 

 with lime as a wash, and applied to the trees, will prove 

 effectual against all animals, sheep, hares, rabbits, horses, 

 and cows. It may be coloured by soot, to take off the 



glare of the lime. — X. 



Turnip sowing. — The following particulars are much 

 at your service, should you think them worth a place in 

 the Gazette ; their publication may possibly prevent 

 other parties falling into the same unpleasant predica- 

 ment With myself. Owing to the very dry state of the 

 ground I took uuusual pains this season with my Turnip 

 sowing : I procured the best varieties from an eminent 

 London firm ; I procured a box of Campbell's mixture 

 to make a fertilising steep ; and I prepared my manures 

 in the most approved manner ; besides all this my ground 

 was in excellent order ; and yet at this moment I have 

 scarcely a single plant in three fields. I attribute this 

 total failure entirely to the use of Campbell's steep. I 

 have come to this conclusion from the following circum- 

 stance : I gave some of the steep to a tenant occupying 

 a neighbouring farm, requesting him to immerse a small 

 portion of his seed, and sow with it two bands in the 

 middle of his field, which he did. These two bands now 

 show a complete failure, whilst the rest of the field is 

 covered with strong healthy plants; the entire field was 

 drilled on the same day, and all circumstances similar, 

 excepting the steep. Mr. Campbell's instructions were 

 minutely followed, the seed being steeped 12 hours, and 

 dried immediately afterwards in a current of air. The 

 following are the particulars of sowing, &c : — No. 1. 

 Sown in May with Laing's improved Swede : manured 

 with a mixture of bone-dust, woollen waste, and liquid 

 manure from the farm-yard, the whole mixed a fortnight 

 before using, and in fine order. No. 2. Sown early in 

 June with Dale's hybrid Swede; one-third of this plot 

 manured with ashes and cloacine, the remainder with a 

 mixture of farm-yard dung, woollen waste, and liquid 

 manure, well mixed and in fine order. No. 3. Sown 

 early in July with Gibbs's white Globe ; manured with 

 rotten farm-yard dung. In the middle of June, no 

 plants having appeared in No. 1, it was resown, tiie seed 

 steeped as before ; there is now (July 25th) scarcely a 

 plant in any of the lots, although there has been abun- 

 dance of delightful rain. I am now sowing Nos. 1 and 3 

 with white Globe and red Norfolk, the seed unsteeped ; 

 No. 2 will be sown with Wheat in September. I am 

 greatly disappointed, as you may suppose, and know not 

 what will become of my cattle next winter, the hay crop 

 being also deficient. In case of need I send you my 

 name and address. — E. R. 





Societies. 



AGRICULTURAL IM PROVEMENT SOCIETY 



OF IRELAND. 

 At the Weekly Meeting of the Council on August 1, 

 the following programme of the proceedings for the 

 great meeting was agreed to : — The business of the 

 Council was divided into two departments, namely, the 

 show-yard department, and the distribution of tickets ; 

 the first of which would be transferred to the Horse 

 Bazaar, Stephen's Green, on and after Monday the 12th 

 of August next, while the managing committee would 

 meet at the Society's Rooms in Sackville-street, and sit 

 constantly from day to day, for the general dispatch of 



business. It was ordered — That the entrance tickets 

 for stock into the show-yard, should be distributed by 

 the clerk of the yard, at the Horse Bazaar, Stephen's 

 Green, on and after Monday, the 12th inst. ; and that 

 all the tickets for admission to the different entertain- 

 ments should be distributed at the Society's Rooms in 

 Sackville-street, on the same days respectively. From 

 the great increase of new members, and the demand for 

 tickets, it was found advisable to confine the issue of 

 them still to Members of the Society, Subscribers to the 

 Local Fund, and Strangers from England and Scotland ; 

 but that, in the meantime, every facility would be given 

 to enable persons anxious to participate in the proceed- 

 ings of the meeting to become Members of the Society, 

 for the purpose. The Council then adjourned until the 

 next week. 



FARMERS' CLUBS. 



Maidstone. — At the monthly meeting of this Club, the 

 subject for consideration was The Comparative Advantage 

 of Large and Small Farms. The discussion was introduced 

 by the reading of some sound and excellent remarks on 

 this subject from the first chapter of "British Husbandry," 

 and a very interesting conversation ensued. On the part 

 of small farms it was argued that they admitted of much 

 closer attention being given to minute details, and that 

 as the profit of farming mainly depended on small sav- 

 ing, the small farmers were most productive. In support 

 of this view, the happy state of the people in Germany, 

 Norway, and Switzerland, where the farms are all small, 

 and worked by their owners and their families was com- 

 pared with the pauperised state of the population in Suf- 

 folk, Norfolk, and Yorkshire, where the system of large 

 farms prevailed. It was also contended that as the small 

 farms thus provided livelihood for a greater number of 

 families, they were more advantageous both to the indi- 

 viduals holding them and to the nation. On the other 

 hand, it was argued that the happiness of the small far- 

 mers alluded to arose probably more from their own pro- 

 vident habits than from the size of their farms ; and it 

 was added that in many of those countries mentioned, 

 in Switzerland, for instance, the population was sta- 

 tionary, or nearly so, whilst the Irish small farmers, who 

 were celebrated for their early marriages and improvi- 

 dent habits, were amongst the most destitute people in 

 the world. An instance was mentioned in which a gen- 

 tleman of large landed property, who imagined that small 

 holdings produced most public happiness, pulled down 

 his large farm houses, and laid out his property in small 

 farms of from sixty to eighty acres. He soon found ten- 

 ants, who went on well enough for the first year or so, 

 as they employed no labour beyond that of their own 

 families ; and at times wanted employment to fill up their 

 own time. This they could not get, as they were all 

 small farmers together, neither of whom had capital to 

 employ any one, and each wanted to be employed. The 

 result was that in a year or two every one of these tenants 

 gave up his small holding, and the landlord laid his estate 

 out again in large farms. It was stated that the race of 

 small farmers with small capital, who might be considered 

 half farmers and half labourers, were least disposed, both 

 from want of means and information, to adopt any im- 

 provements ; they were always compelled both to buy 

 and sell at a disadvantage; that in every period of agri- 

 cultural pressure they were invariably the first to suffer; 

 and it very frequently happened that themselves and 

 their families, if they were not employed as labourers by 

 the large farmers who succeeded them, were at last re- 

 duced to the union house. Such cases had repeatedly 

 occurred under the old poor law. In the earlier part of 

 the discussion it seemed to be generally imagined that 

 the small farmers gave a larger amount of employ- 

 ment in the aggregate than the large one^ but so many 

 instances were adduced where the reveree was the case 

 in whole parishes, that it was ultimately the opinion that 

 the large farmers gave the most. Even supposing, how- 

 ever, that three times the amount of produce was raised 

 on a farm of 300 acres, than was raised on three farms 

 of 100 acres each, it was still contended that it was for 

 the benefit of the community, as well as of the farmer, 

 that the largest possible amount of produce should be 

 raised from a given space of land, with the smallest pos- 

 sible cost. It was admitted to be almost invariably the 

 case that the small farmers only turned off their men 

 during the winter, whilst thz larger capitalists almost 

 always found them some profitable employment. It was 

 admitted that, from the comparative deficiency of super- 

 vision, the large farmer seldom got so much work out of 

 his labourers as the small one, who generally also got 

 more out of the dairy, piggery, and poultry ; but it was 

 believed that those advantages were more than compen- 

 sated for by the great advantages of capital, which 

 enabled the large farmer to adopt a uniform system, to 

 purchase the best implements and machines, and to 

 apply, in catching seasons, a large amount of force to any 

 given operation. The following resolution was ulti- 

 mately 8greed to : — •' Resolved, That it appears to the 

 members of this Club, that in this district it is most 

 beneficial to the community at large that arable farms 

 should not exceed 500 acres in extent, nor be less than 

 250 acres." 



Darlington. — At the monthly meeting of this Club, 

 held on Monday last, the subject under discussion was, 

 The best Method of Making and Securing Hay ; also The 

 best Season of the Year for applying Manure to Grass 

 Land. Henry Chapman, Esq., the chairman, introduced 

 the subjects, and read an interesting paper thereon from 

 the pen of Mr. Davidson, a regular correspondent of the 

 Club. During the discussion which ensued, it seemed to 

 be the general opinion of the members present that, in 

 fine sunny weather, experience has already taught us 



nearly all that is requisite to be done in making and se- 

 curing Hay to advantage ; but that, under all circum- 

 stances, even in the finest weather, it is desirable to keep 

 the Hay in such a state of security that, should* change 

 of weather take place, no considerable injury may be 

 sustained ; it is also an important matter to economise 

 labour as much as possible, for which purpose the Hay- 

 making machine may be used to great advantage in dry 

 weather. In a wet season it was considered best not to 

 have too great a quantity of Grass cut at one time, and 

 to allow the Grass when cut to remain in swathe for 

 some days, should the weather continue wet, occa- 

 sionally turning the swathes ; but when the Grass has 

 been spread, it is desirable to have it put up into 

 small cocks, or lap-cocks, as soon as possible, opening 

 the cocks out during the dry part of the succeeding 

 days, but never opening out more in one day than can 

 be put up again in the same day, or before rain comes 

 on, and increasing the size of the cocks as the Hay dries. 

 The Hay-machine should be sparingly used in damp 

 weather, as it beats out the seeds of the Hay too much ; 

 it was also believed to have an injurious tendency by the 

 wheels running over the Hay, and pressing it upon the 

 damp ground. When Hay has got a good deal of weather 

 in the harvesting, it was recommended to mix about a 

 peck of salt with each ton of Hay in the stacking, pro- 

 viding the Hay be tolerably dry when stacked, salt being 

 known to improve the flavour and quality of Hay very 

 materially that has suffered from the weather. In dis- 

 cussing the best season of the year for applying manure 

 to Grass lands, there were some members present of 

 opinion that there was no need to manure Grass land at 

 all, and that, by pasturing it frequently, it might be kept 

 in condition, and the manure more profitably employed 

 upon the tillage land of a farm ; yet the majority were 

 decidedly in favour of applying manure to Grass land, 

 believing that, by judicious management, it might occa- 

 sionally be quite as profitably applied to Grass land as to 

 tillage ; and the unanimous opinion was, that the best 

 season for applying the manure is immediately after the 

 Hay is taken off the land, as the manure at that time gets 

 free access to the roots of the Grass; besides, Grass newly 

 cut generally grows rapidly, by which means the manure 

 is soon grown over, and the roots of the Grass receive 

 the full benefit thereof; and at this season there is no 

 danger of any part being washed off by the rains of 

 winter. In cases where it is inconvenient to apply 

 manure to Grass at this season, the next best time was 

 considered to be in the spring, just when the Grass is 

 expected to begin growing ; and, in this climate, proba- 

 bly the beginning or middle of March might be suitable. 





Miscellaneous. 



Lucerne. — Select a dry piece of land, either rather 

 light or good mixed soil, but not stony, strong, or clayey, 

 certainly not the least inclined to be wet or springy, with 

 either a sand or chalk subsoil— the latter is preferable ; 

 let it be made perfectly clean, especially from Couch- 

 grass, and deeply ploughed ; but if on a small scale I 

 would have it dug by spade, or four-pronged carrot-fork 

 (prongs 16 inches long and a little flattened), digging in 

 plenty of good rotten farm-yard manure. When the ground 

 is ready for the seed, open drills with a hoe 1 7 or 18 inches 

 apart, and not more than 1£ or 2 inches deep ; then put 

 the seed in a glass wine-bottle with one or two quills 

 stuck in with the cork (which is cut on the sides to> 

 admit the quills) ; this will deposit the seed more 

 regularly than by hand into the drills, which are then 

 raked over ; about 24 lbs. of seed per acre is sufficient, 

 which can be procured of any respectable seed-merchant, 

 at lid. or Is. per lb. I consider May the best time for 

 sowing, but if the ground is not too dry for the seed to 

 vegetate, any time before the middle of August will do ; 

 but if the land is not perfectly clean, let the sowing be 

 put off till the spring, and without a crop of Corn. It is 

 fit to cut for a first crop of Hay generally from the 20th 

 to the 28th of May, the year after sowing (this year it 

 was a fortnight earlier), and for a second crop when it 

 comes into blossom ; it takes a longer time making into 

 Hay than Grass, as it is better only turned, not shaken 

 out, otherwise much leaf is lost. The crop must be well 

 manured every year in January, February, or beginning 

 of March, and the ground between the drills kept per- 

 fectly free from weeds by hoeing in dry weather, andV 

 picking the Grass out of the drills where the hoe would 

 cut off many of the plants. The grand secret in growing 

 Lucerne, I am persuaded, is in keeping it clean, an<f r 

 when kept so, no green crop can bear any comparison in 

 value ; it is very far superior to Tares. I have now a 

 third crop fit to cut, 26 inches high, on the same ground 

 I cut for Hay only five weeks since. No lime must be 

 used for manure. I am inclined to think guano mixed 

 with farm-yard manure would answer well. If the quan- 

 tity to be laid down be more than one acre, the plough 

 and drill must be used, in which case it should be put in 

 not more than two inches deep.— Correspondent of 

 Mark Lane Express. 



Burning Clay. — •« Let sods be cut of a convenient size 

 to handle — say a foot wide and 18 inches in length;, 

 with these form a parallelogram, or * long square;' let 

 the walls be a couple of feet thick, and trampled or beaten 

 firmly together, and raised at least three feet high ; the 

 kiln should be so situated that the wind may blow 

 against one of its sides ; the kiln may be from four to six 

 yards long by three yards wide, and an aperture, within 

 one yard of each end, and others at a distance of about 

 five feet from these, should be left in the side wails, when 

 building, for the purpose of forming dram-like openings 

 across the kiln; make one of these drain-like openings 



from end to end in the length of the kiln ; these funnels 



