tc \ 



iTuTltforton -Meteorological Observations in rererence tc 

 the Prize offered by me Society for the best account ol 

 Prognostics of Weather. •_''—,- 



xi Mr Pearse— Pre>entof Back-btnd and Tug for Gig-horse*. 



fr Dr 'burgess— Communication on Glanders. &c. 



?I Messrs. Morton— On Ilraby's Draught-machine. 



It Mr Mmta— Paper on the Ec momy of Manures. 



36 sir' Edmund Priueaux, Bt.— On the Promotion of the Objects 



t.f the Society. . : 



37 Mr. Sparks-On the Red- water. 



S8 Earl of Essex— Communication of the Results attending the 

 Employment of Charcoal as a Manure. 



Together with Reports of the Beccles Farmers' Club, 

 Chippenham Agricultural Association, and Geological 

 Society of London; Transactions of the Highland and 

 Agricultural Society of Scotland, Jamaica Agricultural 

 Society, and Labourers' Friend Society, Veterina- 

 rian, &c &c. 

 Adjournment. — The Chairman declared the Council 



to stand adjourned at its rising to Wednesday, the 4th of 

 September ; and failing a meeting on that day (for want 

 of a requisite quorum), to stand further adjourned to 

 Wednesday, the 6th of November, for the despatch of 

 business. The Council then adjourned accordingly. 



HIGHLAND AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The annual great Cattle Show of this Society was held 

 last week in Glasgow. On Wednesday a meeting of the 

 general committee was held, for the purpose of complet- 

 ing the preliminary arrangements for the meeting. The 

 chair was filled by the Earl of Eglintoun. Mr. Campbell 

 haviog read the report of the local committee, Sir C. 

 Gordon, the secretary, laid upon the table the Society's 

 new medal, and read an abstract of the entries of stocks, 

 which he stated were larger than upon any previous 

 occasion. The number of lots was 1404 ; amongst which 

 were 222 Ayrshire cattle, 55 West Highland cattle, 160 

 horses. 117 sheep, 184 lots of butter, 83 lots of cheese, 

 and 176 implements. He believed the largest number 

 ever entered before was 1014, at Edinburgh, in 1842. 

 A dinner took place in the evening at the Trades-hall, 

 and was attended by upwards of 200 noblemen and gen- 

 tlemen ; the Earl of Eglintoun in the chair. Thursday 

 was the day appointed for the show of the stock, dairy 

 produce, implements, &c, and for the allocation of the 

 prizes. As a proof of the immense extent of the present 

 Exhibition, it may be mentioned that the names of the 

 exhibitors occupy no fewer than 87 closely- printed octavo 

 pages, embracing stock, implements, and seeds. Of the 

 Short-horned breed there were no fewer than 29 bulls 

 entered for competition, many of them most splendid 

 specimens.— Of the Short-horned breed there were 15 

 cows offered for competition ; and of these, one belong- 

 ing to the Duke of Buccleuch, and another shown by Sir 

 T. J. Trafford, of Trafford Park, Lancaster, and bred by 

 Mr. John Forrest, attracted much notice. — In the Ayr- 

 shire breed 61 bulls of various ages were shown, the great 

 majority of which were from this and the adjacent western 

 counties. In this class 99 cows were shown, many of 

 them perfect pictures of the breed. There were also 

 some beautiful heifers and oxen among theAyrshires.— Of 

 the West Highland breed there were 16 bulls exhibited 

 from the counties of Perth , Argyle, Banff, and Dumbarton. 



The show of Horses gave great satisfaction In the 



class of Stallions alone, not exceeding eight years old, 

 there were 23 competitors. From the counties of 

 Lanark, Renfrew, Stirling, and Ayr, (from the former 

 especially) there were some beautiful animals.— Of entire 



°! ts . there were no fewer th an 40 shown, and of draught 

 and brood Mares there were 45 competitors, from the 

 counties of Lanark, Renfrew, Dumbarton, Edinburgh, 

 Waddirgton, Stirling, Ayr, Dumfries, &c— In the class 



rairs o( horses of any age, adapted for agricultural 

 purposes, there were eight competitors, all of them 

 very fine animals.— Of Sheep the entries were very nu- 

 merous, and under this class a pair of South American 

 Alpacas, accompanied by a young one, two months old, 

 were shown by xMr. A. Garlshore Stirling, of Craybarnet, 

 *mcu were purchased from the stock of the Earl of 

 wby, m July, 1843.— The Implements exhibited were 

 a„so nut nerous beyond all former precedent, and con- 

 tained many modifications of implements in present use, 



nicn m a y prove high , y vaIuable< The fo i| owinff are 



I awards in this department :— For the best collection 

 rn \t 1CU d i 1 Ira P leme nts and Machines, ten sovereigns, 

 roll r * Law ' Sh ettleston, Glasgow, for the best 



oiiection ; five sovereigns, to Mr. James Wilkie, Ud- 

 mgstone for the best workmanship, &c— For a new 

 b " usetul Agricultural Implement or Machine that has 

 exhil S . at ' sfa . ctoril y ^sted in actual work, not previously 

 And ai? com petition, seven sovereigns, to Mr. 

 and fi* M ' Kerro *» Kilmarnock, for his Antler Plough ; 

 Plou )■ ? 0verei S ns > to Mr. John West, Lundie, for 

 usef 1 ■ Apparatus for lifting Potatoes.— For a 



Plm, u lmprovement iQ the construction of Subsoil 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 





565 



tion of the Turnip and Porato crops, five sovereigns, to 

 laid Mr. James Wilkie ; two sovereigns to Mr. Alex- 



Vlir- , *' Stewarton 5 and tw « sovereigns to Mr. John 

 M'Gill, Sundrum.— For the most useful improvement in 

 any of the Utensils or Midlines used in Dairy Hus- 

 bandry, five sovereigns, to Mr. Robinson, Lisburn, 

 Ireland ; and two sovereigns to Mr. Richmond, Salford. 

 — For the most successful introduction of any Machine 

 or Implement that is generally approved of in "the prac- 

 tice of Agriculture in England or elsewhere, or a 

 modification of the same, and which has hitherto been 

 but little known or employed in Scotland, five sovereigns, 

 to Mr. William Crosskill, Beverley; and a silver medal 

 to Mr. Houston, Johnstone Castle.— For a Weighing 

 Machine, adapted to general farm, purposes, capable of 

 weighing stock or produce, dead or alive, from the weight 

 of a sheep to that of a loaded cart, and which will indi- 

 cate the addition of one-thousandlh part of the mass to 

 be weighed, five sovereigns, to Mr. Thomas M'Cririck, 

 Garallan.— For an improved method, whether patented 

 or not, of manufacturing Drain Tiles or Pipes, whereby 

 the price will be reduced ; the Tiles or Pipes to possess 

 the requisite qualities of usefulness and durability, and 

 satisfactory evidence as to the price to be produced, ten 

 sovereigns, to Mr. Eiheridge, Southampton.— Besides 

 the above, the Judges awarded various premiums In 

 money and medals for articles not within the range of 

 those specified. On the evening of this day the great 

 dinner of the Society took place in the City Hall ; about 

 1200 gentlemen sat down, presided over by the Duke of 

 Richmond. 



a 



useful 



Plou , r v>cinenc m the construction or Subsoil 



stone f fi o 6 soverei gns, to Mr. James Wilkie, Udding- 



*i ior Subsoil Plough with improved Share.— For 



mon t 1 I n P rovem ent in the construction of the com- 



lifciDir |T rse Plou S h » which has for its ob J' ect the 

 tity of t j turnin g over the greatest possible quan- 

 ta the ] S ° ! * ' n a § iven time ' wi th the least resistance 

 , !"^ u Sht, and which produces at the same 



ar *d \Vl.p Ur | 8h, r~ F ° r ausefl *i improvement in Farm Carts 

 L 'ddin«rn„ ' I soverei g°s, to Mr. Robert Crawford, 

 Machine or U useful improvement in the Threshing 



arton Jfq??]! 1 80verei g™, to Mr. David Craig, Stew- 



"ruction of m ° St useful im P r <>vement in the con- 



UI any of the Implements used in the cultiva- 



FARMERS' CLUBS. 

 North Cornwall. — At a late monthly meeting of this 

 Club, a large party visited a field on which Mr. J. S. 

 James had tried the effect of covering Grass with layers 

 of Straw. The Straw had been spread over about one- 

 third of the breadth of the field, and through the entire 

 length from east to west. Mr. James caused the Straw 

 to be raked off for some width up and down the line of 

 division, and from several patches in different parts. 

 The difference was very marked : where no Straw had 

 been laid, all the Grasses were thin and short, and the 

 field appeared almost as brown as the soil itself. But 

 where the Straw had been spread, the Grass presented a 

 lively green, and in quantity was thick and matted, cor- 

 roborating Mr. James's statement of the enormous in- 

 crease. He had cut and weighed it, and the increase was 

 at the rate of a ton to the acre. The Chairman had 

 brought from Woodley six turfs, in order to show the 

 meeting the effects produced by Strawing the land. He 

 also answered some objections which had been made. 

 The increased growth evidently did not arise from con- 

 tact, for the high Grass, on which the Straw principally 

 rested, was scarcely at all acted upon. It was also clear 

 that no unfavourable effect was produced in changing the 

 quality of the Grasses ; for they retained all their original 

 properties— there was no new Grass, but all were very 

 much improved. That it was not to be attributed to 

 atmospheric influence, or a diminished evaporation from 

 the soil, was proved from the fact that the rush had 

 been equally susceptible of the effect. There was but one 

 question to be solved, and that was the question of 

 agency ; the increase in quantity and quality had been 

 proved to demonstration — A paper was then read by Mr. 

 Shephard, On the System of Cropping in theDistriet— its 

 Defectsand Disadvantages, with Practical Hints for its Im- 

 provement. — He said, when I proposed to lay before you 

 some remarks on the subject we are met here to discuss, 

 I did not sufficiently reflect that if it were properly 

 treated, it would include a review of nearly all our 

 agriculture. It is a subject of great interest to all, in- 

 cluding as it does the means of providing employment 

 for our labourers, and the means of supporting from our 

 own soil a rapidly increasing population. The first 

 course of cropping I shall mention is that adopted in 

 this immediate neighbourhood, viz. : — Potatoes — Wheat 

 — Barley — Clover, the Clover cut for Hay and secondly 

 for [seed, the whole of it upon one dressing being 

 planted with Potatoes. This system, confined however 

 to this more immediate neighbourhood, has been in 

 practice ever since my recollection, and still continues. 

 And, notwithstanding the occupiers of the land find its 

 production annually diminishing, they still persevere in 

 the same objectionable course. Possibly, however, this 

 miy^risefrom its affording to the artisans, and the other 

 working men of the town and vicinity, great facilities 

 for getting a few yards of Potatoes annually. I will 

 admit this to be of considerable importance to such 

 parties, and would be the last man to urge anything 

 that would deprive them of the advantage : the system 

 may, nevertheless, be improved without doing this, and 

 I would recommend that instead of Potatoes, Wheat 

 should be the first crop, then Potatoes, and next Barley, 

 which would not only clean the land but give a far better 

 crop alike of Barley and of tne seeds after. Another 

 system, which you will find among the farmers who 

 occupy more largely, but which is still more objectionable 

 than the former, is that of first Potatoes or Turnips, then 

 Wheat, Barley, and Oats, or else Wheat, Barley, and Oats, 

 without the previous crop of Potatoes, or Turnips, Wheat, 

 and two Oat-crops; the Oat-crop in either case seeded out, 

 and generally cut for Hay the following year. This is 

 done upon the manuring of the Potato, Turnips, or 

 Wheat— in fact, of the first crop. Now, I ask, can it be 

 possible to pursue any system more ruinous than this ? 

 Though the soils in this neighbourhood vary, and conse- 

 quently require to be differently cropped ; yet, let the 

 land be what it may, never take three white crops in 

 8 uccession, nor two after a green crop. If you take two 



white crops following the green crop, you leave your 

 land in a worse state than when you first broke it. I 

 would recommend those who farm largely, and where 

 there is a mixture of soils, wet and dry, to observe the 

 following mode in preference :— On their dry land where 

 they can grow Barley, to have Wheat, Barley. Turnips, 

 and Barley, manuring for Wheat and Turnips ; on those 

 dry lands «here they cannot grow a fair crop of Barley, 

 they should have the intermediate crop Potatoes instead 

 of Turnips, because I conceive that all the lands that 

 grow Barley in this neighbourhood are capable of grow- 

 ing Turnips. On their wet lands, where the green cropa 

 cannot be grown with advantage, they should have 

 Wheat and Oats, and allow the land to remain out two 

 years. I could wish such farmers to adopt the system I 

 have found indispensable in my own case ; to take for 

 inst-ince 60 acres out of their estate, and crop it as I 

 have mentioned, they wou'd have 10 acres of Wheat, 20 

 of Barley, 10 of Turnips, 10 of seeds, and 10 of Lea, which 

 would be put into Wheat in the autumn of everr year. 

 Were they to adopt this system they would find that the 

 rusty appearance of the land in the spring of the 

 year, so characteristic of this neighbourhood, would in a 

 very short time disappear. Some persons, I have ob- 

 served in the last few years, have adopts! a course of 

 cropping, I suppose with a view to profit; I can only 

 hope that for their own sake* they may not be deceived ; 

 all depends on the period they remain in their estate*, — 

 that is, Wheat, Barley, and Turnips, Wheat, and Barley 

 seeded. It would appear from this that farmers had an 

 objection to see their land too free from weeds ; for as 

 soon as they succeed by judicious management in getting 

 a good crop of Turnips, they seem to look with a jealous 

 eye upon the good condition of their land, and again take 

 the two white crops from it. I now come to the system 

 adopted on the moors, which is Wheat and two Oat 

 crops, the last crop partially seeded, and the land allowed 

 to remain out of tillage for years. I am not sure that 

 there are not some farmers who believe that mere rest in 

 Grass is the cause of the land's increase in fertility ; but 

 I presume that every person who has studied the matter 

 at all knows that land is enriched, not by rest, but by 

 the quantity of food that cattle consume on it ; or, in 

 other words, the quantity of manure it returns. Here, 

 then, there is a great field for improvemeut ; and I am 

 disposed confidently to assert, that were 1000 acres of 

 waste or moor land which we have around us brought 

 under a proper system of cultivation, the two great and 

 desirable objects with which we set out would be attained 

 —that of providing employ for our labourers, and food 

 for our increasing population. 



Miscellaneous. 



Proper Time to Harvest Wheat. — Some experiments 

 lately made indicate that there may be an improve- 

 ment as to the usual time of securing the crop. By the 

 Quarterly Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, it 

 appears that Wheat cut a fortnight be/ore it was ripe 

 produced an increased quantity and weight in flour and 

 straw, with a better quality of both. Mr. John Han- 

 nam of North Deighton, near Weatherby, in England, 

 cut a sheaf in his field, August 4, 1840 ; the Wheat was 

 then green— i. e. both the straw and ears were in full 

 vigour and sap ; the grain was perfectly formed ; but 

 the chaff so strongly adhered to it, that it was scarcely 

 possible to separate them by friction in the hands ; it 

 was then plump, but so juicy, that on the slightest 

 pressure it yielded its milk. He let it stand in the field 

 a fortnight, and then housed. On the same day this was 

 done (August 18), he cut another. This, too, was yet 

 green, or at least not ripe, or what is usually termed raw; 

 the straw, though looking green, when closely examined 

 was fast approaching to yellow, and a foot from the 

 ground wus quite yellow. The ears, also, were more 

 open ; the chaff of various shades of yellow and green ; 

 and the grain though soft and pulpy, yet not so full of 

 fluid as before. In a fortnight after, the whole field was 

 ripe, when he cut his third sample (Sept. 1). The same 

 day he housed the second sheaf. This third was not so 

 far ripe that the straw would break, and the ears curl, 

 and the grain shake out ; but it was in its usual state 

 when reaping commences, when the straw is entirely 

 yellow. This third sheaf was left (as in the case of the 

 former ones), a fortnight on the field, and then carefully 

 housed. From each sheaf 100 ears were selected and 

 put away in a bag, preserving also the straw of each. On 

 threshing them the following was the result : — 



Comparative Weight. 



Gross Equal 



Produce. Meaiure. 



No. 1, cat August 4 (green) . 756 568 



No. 2, cut August 18 (raw) . 736 5S0 



No. 3, cut September 1 (ripe) 650 570 



The comparative weight of the straw was :• 



No. 1 fgreen) ... 550 



No. 2 raw) . . , .475 



No. 3 (ripe) . . . ,450 



As to the value of the same, by the judgment of an ex- 

 tensive grower, the following was the result: — 



No. I, 61 shillings per quarter, or 1 dollar 6j2 per bushel. 

 No. 2, 64 shillings per quarter, or 1 dollar 76 per bushel. 

 No. 3, 62 shillings per quarter, or 1 dollar 70$ per bushel. 



A miller valued them at the same rate, with the ex- 

 ception of No. 2 at 63 shillings, and No. 3 at Gl shil- 

 lings. Mr. Hannam's deductions are— that the Wheat 

 reaped a fortnight before it was ripe has the advantage of 

 the ripe in every point of view: 1st, in weight of gross 

 produce, thirteen and one-fifth per cent. ; 2d, in weight 

 of equal measures, nearly one-half per cent.; 3d, in 

 weight of equal number of grains, nearly two and one- 

 fifth per cent. ; 4th, in quality and value, above three 



Equal Number 

 of Graiag. 



19* 

 239 



