

566 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



[Aug. 17, 



measures, 

 weight of 

 one-tenth 



and one-fourth per cent. ; 5th, in weight of straw, five 

 per cent. That reaped a month before it was ripe 

 has the advantage of the ripe 22 per cent, in point 

 of straw ; but in other points the disadvantage 

 thus: 1st, weight of gross produce, eleven and five- 

 thirteenths per cent.; 2d, weight of equ 

 rather more than one-third per cent. ; 3d, 

 equal number of grain?, better than 13 and 

 per cent.; 4th, quality and value, rather more than 

 four-fifths per cent. The advantages, then, of cutting 

 the crop a fortnight or so before it is fully ripe may be 

 thus summed up: 1st, straw of better quality ; 2d, a 

 better chance of securing the crop; 3J, a saving in 

 securing if. It is sta'ed that, with regard to the crop of 

 1839 in England, the beginning of the reaping was late, 

 and the result in the North of England was, that fully 

 75 per cent, of the whole Wheat-crop was damaged. 

 The saving of securing the crop is two-fold : there is 

 less waste in reaping or from strong winds ; and the ex- 

 pense of it is said to be less. Mr. Hannam tried another 

 .experiment, which showed a result in_100 lbs. of gram 

 grown, as follows : — 



Smut in Wheat. — Mr. Bevan made an extended 

 course of experiments in England, which are found in the 

 ninth volume of the M English Agricultural Magazine." 

 He took both sound and smutty grain — the first being 

 designated in the following table of results by the letter 

 A, and the second by the letter B :— - 



iNuiiiin-f oi 



smutted 

 ears in 3 

 sheaves. 



Flour. 



Seconds. Bran. 



71bs l/Tos 

 7 16 



5 13 



7 H 



II 15 



Solution of potash 



Muriate of potash 



Nitrate of potash, (saltpetre) 



Soda 



.Muriate of soda,! (com. salt) 



Sulphate of soda, (Gl. salts) 

 Muriate of ammonia, (sal. am.) 

 Common soot . . • 

 Lime saturated . 

 Muriatic acid, 'spirit of salt) 

 Sulphuric acid, (oil of vitriol) 

 Dry, In its natural state 

 Washed in common water . 



A. 



1 

 3 



17 

 9 



12 

 1 



B. 



81 

 218 

 115 

 159 



241 



150 



123 



2 



13.6 



6.323 

 none .own. 



bUrilli'ia 



of good 



Wheat 



per acre 



A. B. 



Cwt. of 



Straw 



per acre 



A. B. 



21.6 13.6 36.6 29.I 



20.2 10.1 36.0 21.1 

 23.8 14.3 36.0 31.9 

 •20.2 11.7 35.6 26.7 

 24.0 14.5 41.5 33 3 

 21.fi 12.3 39.5 27.8 

 19.8 17.6 35.4 30.2 



20.8 11.4 34.8 25.3 



21.9 12.4 38.7 25 9 



20.7 16.1 35.7 31.1 

 20.4 17.8 35.4 34.1 



20.3 14.7 35.7 31.0 



10.7 18.3 



35.8 



No. I was cut one month before fully ripe . 75lbs 



No. 2 was cut three weeks before fully ripe 76 



No. 8 was cut two weeks before fully ripe 80 



No. 4 was cut one week before folly ripe 77 



No. 5 was cut when ripe . . • ■'****«• 



Thus, No. 3 gave more a bushel than Iso. o, by six- 

 and-a-half, and a gain of about 15 per cent, on the 

 flour of equal measure of grain. In grinding, it was 

 found that No. 5 ground the worst of all ; there were a 

 greater quantity of flinty particles which would not pass the 

 bolt than in any of the others. The bran from No. 5 

 was coarse and heavy, while that from No. 3 was as*' thin 

 at a bee's-wing." He then sums up the advantages of 

 cutting two weeks before it is fully ripe ; 1st, there is a 

 gain of 15 per cent, of flour, and equal measure; 2d, a 

 gain in the weight of straw of 11 per cent. ; 3d, a gain 

 of lfi3 in the value of eight bushels, and a gain of about 

 4)83 on every acre of Wheat producing 28 bushels— his 

 calculation being founded on the price of Wheat at that 

 time in England. An experiment of cutting the grain 

 •ten days earlier than usual was also tried by a farmer in 

 Michigan, on 60 acres— the berry being soft and in the 

 milk ; and the result was, that it yielded more flour and 

 less bran than usual. Another advantage of early reap- 

 ing is stated, on good authority, to be security from rust. 

 A farmer is said to have tried an experiment on this 

 •subject. Finding one of his fields of Wheat in a very 

 raw or green state was badly struck with rust, he deter- 

 mined at once to cut it, and did so amid the laugh of bis 

 -neighbours, who thought him crazy. The fields adjoin- 

 ing suffered little from rust, and stood till fully ripe ; 

 yet at threshing, that which was first cut gave the finest 

 Wheat and the best yield. — Report of Commissioners of 

 Patents, U.S. 



Mr. Borthwick, of Crookstons, Wood- thinner and 

 Trec-pruncr. — In the thinning of plantations, or the 

 cutting of trees in any situation, it is always an object of 

 Attention, and often of difficulty, to fake care that they 

 do not injure other trees, valuable shrubs, or fences, &c, 

 in their fall. In cutting out a Larch or Fir, for instance, 

 ^tfrom some surrounding Ashes, Elms, or Planes, if this 

 consequence is not provided against, how often has one 

 to regret the smashing of a fine hard- wood tree, or valu- 

 able shrubs, or the breaking down of some expensive 

 fence. To provide against such evils, means are taken to 

 make the tree cr trees that are cut fall in such a direction 

 as to avoid them. If the trees are of any size, perhaps 

 20 or 30 years old, or even of less age and growth, it is 

 generally found to be necessary to attach a rope or ropes 

 to the upper part of the tree, to be held and pulled by 

 •one or more persons, according to circumstances, so as 

 to cause the tree, when cut, to fall in the proper direc- 

 tion. To accomplish this purpose, it has been customary 

 to employ climbers, or persons to go up the tree by 

 oceans of a ladder, to fix the ropes ; an operation which 

 is attended with much labour, loss of time, danger to 

 the persons employed, and inefficiently, from the diffi- 

 culty of knotting the rope sufficiently near the top of a 

 tree, which is necessary in order to increase the lever or 

 purchase upon it. The inconvenience of these expe- 

 dients led me to the invention and adoption of the fol- 

 lowing instrument : — It consists of a hook, the interior 

 curve of which may vary in size from 4 to G or 8 inches 

 in diameter. A ring, attached to it, must be of sufficient 

 size to take in a rope of sufficient strength, say of what 

 is called by the rope-makers from 9 to 18 threads. The 

 handle or shaft, which must not be shorter than 15 or 

 18 feet, may be made of any light and strong wood, such 

 as the shafts of hay-forks are made of. The hook is pro- 

 vided with a socket, into which the handle is fitted, but 

 is not fastened by any nail. This simple apparatus is 

 •earned by the forester's assistant easily in his arm. A 

 proper place, such as the insertion of a branch, is 

 -chosen for placing the hook round on the tree to be cut. 

 The rope, which is spliced through the ring of the hook, 

 being unrolled, the shaft is inserted in the socket of the 

 hook, and being held in the hand of the forester or his 

 assistant, the hook is held up by it to the part of the 

 tree selected as most proper to pull from ; the hook is 

 put round this part; the handle is then withdrawn from 

 the socket; and, by means of the rope, the hook is 

 pulled firmly into its place by the assistant, who takes 

 his proper position so as to guide the tree, and he con- 

 tinues to pull as the forester advances in cutting the 

 ■a*e n of the tree ; and, whilst he aids the cutter by 

 widening the opening of the cut, draws the tree over, in 

 the direction wished for, where it gently falls and crashes 

 down, without injury to anything. — Transactions of the 

 Highland Society. 



pounds of seed Wheat, take 1 pound of alum, 1 

 nd of copperas, £ pound of saltpetre, 5 pound verdi- 

 pulverise these ingredients, and dissolve 

 lfncient quantity of boiling: water. When i 



This course of experiments indicates lime-water to be 

 the most effective. Putsche, in his " German Encyclo- 

 pedia of Agriculture," gives the following as the receipt 

 of M. Schruitz, of Diirer, in the province of Juliers, in 

 Prussia. So confident was M. Schruitz of its efficacy, 

 that he offered a standing reward of a ducat for every 

 head of smutted Wheat found in his field. For every 

 500 



pou 



gris : pulverise these ingredients, and dissolve them 

 in a sufficient quantity of boiling water. When the so- 

 lution has become cold, add as much more water as will 

 be required to moisten the whole thoroughly. The heap 

 should be turned several times within the ensuing 24 

 hours, well mixed : it is then ready for seeding. — Report 

 of Commissioners of Patents, U.S. 



Selection of Seed Wheat. — An able writer in the 

 Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, 

 in relation to the subject just mentioned, gives the fol- 

 lowing directions : — " In making a comparative trial 

 with varieties of Wheat, it is necessary to select a portion 

 of land uniform in texture, subsoil, and expense, and 

 which for years has been cropped, manured, and la* 

 boured tn all respects alike." " The lines of separation 

 (of the varieties) ought to be well defined to guard 

 against the mingling of the different varieties in the ope- 

 ration of sowing and harvesting. I recommend the seed 

 to be deposited by a drill across the ridges, with a 

 vacancy of three feet intervening between the varieties, 

 and the seeding of all the land to be executed on the 

 same day." " Respecting the quantity of teed, I can 

 testify, from experience and observation, that even with 

 the same variety of Wheat, any material difference in the 

 state of the plant, all other circumstances being alike, in- 

 fluences the size of the ear, length of straw, and time of 

 ripening, and the quantity and quality of produce, as 

 well as the effects of red gum and mildew." He says, 

 " a thin plant (i. e. a small number of young plants of 

 Wheat standing on a given space of ground) generally 

 enlarges the ears and corn, and retards the ripening, and 

 aggravates the effects of red gum and mildew, while the 

 straw is shortened both by a very thick and a very thin 

 plant. It is therefore desirable, in comparative trials, to 

 have all the varieties of the same thickness of plant." 

 Another source of error which he mentions, is " the dif- 

 ferent propensity of different Wheats to tiller, or send 

 out side shoots." He recommends, therefore, the trial 

 Wheats to be sown " not by equal measures, but by mea- 

 sures calculated to contain the same number of seeds ;" 

 and also that the seeds should be sown " so thick as not 

 to call forth the tillering propensity." He recommends, 

 also, that journals of comparative trials should be kept, 

 M embracing the appearance of the crops at all the dif- 

 ferent stages of growth, with the weather," or any other 

 influences which may occur. A German writer of great 

 celebrity further recommends that an estimate of the 

 number of kernels of a kind be made by counting the 

 number contained in a small measure, so as to give still 

 greater accuracy to experiments made on this subject. 

 The following are considered, by an authority on this 

 subject in our own country, as suitable characteristics to 

 be taken into consideration in selecting Wheat for our 

 crops :-— " 1st. The general hardiness of the plant, and 

 capability to resist the Hessian fly, or throwing out by 

 frost and winter-killing, rust, and mildew. 2d. A good 

 strong upright stalk, with just enough straw for the 

 object, and no more. 3d. No beard is desirable ; a 

 head filled and heavy, and retaining the grain as long 

 after it is fit to cut as possible. 4th. A predisposition to 

 tiller well. 5th. A plump full berry, capable of yielding 

 a large quantity of white flour, with a large proportion of 

 gluten, and as little bran as possible," — Report of Com- 

 missioners of Patents, U. S. 



carcase, 



ing a 



attacked than others, and in them it is more likely to be fatal 

 It is believed to be more prevalent in high and inland localities' 

 where the air is keen and bracing, than where the atmosphere 

 is milder. When the disease is thoroughly established, there is 

 but a poor chance for curative treatment. The conflagration is 

 so extensive and rages so fiercely that we cannot put it out. If 

 one half the previous value of the animal can be realised by 'the 

 *"""—-«, the butcher's knife will be the best resource. In apply- 

 remedy, it is all-important to commence early, when a 

 slight cough orthe least impairment of health is perceived. We 

 should then bleed freely, give a dose of Epsom salts (a pound 

 with two drachms of ginger), blister the sides, and put setons 

 in the brisket. If this is delayed tili a certain stage, the bleed- 

 ing will do harm instead of good. The salts and the setons will 

 be advisable as preventives, and the latter should be stimulated 

 with hellebore ointment. If the disease in the calves is con- 

 fined to the joints and limbs, and the chest is not affected it is 

 that which is locally denominated joint-evil, and in various dis- 

 tricts receives different name3. If, however, the chest is affected 

 as in the former disease, we have reason to fear it must be 

 connected with it. If the former disease, it is an inflammation 

 of a rheumatic character of the membrane lining the joints, 

 sheaths of the tendons, and fibres of the muscles, and often flies 

 from one part to another, and bafflles all treatment. It is pro- 

 bably owing to exposure to cold and want of shelter, and if the 

 young animal has been very badly kept in the winter, it is more 

 likely to be attacked by the disease the succeeding spring and 

 summer. As to treatment, give a mild purgative, and follow it 

 by ginger, gentian, and spirit of nitrous ether— a quarter of an 

 ounce of each in a pint of warm ale. Rub hartshorn and oil or 

 a stronger stimulant, on the affected parts, and if the pulse 

 feels strong, bleed. Warmth, shelter, attention, and care, are 

 indispensable. — W. C. S. 



Drilling Machines. — 6. tp. — We know of none answering your 

 description. You had better apply to some first-rate agricul- 

 tural implement maker. Of course we cannot recommend. 



Feeding Cattle. — A. O. — Cattle may doubtless be fattened on 

 oil-cake and straw ; but the profitableness of your scheme 

 depends so much on the price you would be able to get for your 

 manure, and upon your skill in the purchase and sale of stock, 

 that, in our ignorance of these, we cannot answer your question. 



Grass.— Lump;/.— Sow early in spring; Alopecurus pratensis 

 14 lbs., Avena flavescens 41b., Dactylis glomerata 5 lbs., Festuca 

 duriuscula 2 lbs., F. pratensis 2 lbs., Lolium pcrenne 12 lbs., 

 Poa pratensis 1 lb., Medicago lupulina 1 lb., Trefolium prateum 

 4 lbs., T. repens 5 lbs., and Rye 1 bushel, per acre. These are 

 the kinds and quantities recommended by Lawson as seed on 

 light soils for permanent pastures. You will have to sow only 

 those in which your pasture is deficient. 



Guano.— J. B. H.—lt will keep uninjured, if kept in a close 

 apartment. Your plant is Melilot Trefoil— Melilotus officinalis. 



T. White. — Peat charcoal mixed with guano will tend to 



hinder the escape of ammonia: peat ashes will not do so; in- 

 deed, if they were mixed when fresh, they might expel the 

 ammonia. The use of guano will not put an end to that of 

 lime ; the latter will be required just the same as before. Pos- 

 sibly it may be better to spread the super-phosphate of lime on 

 the young Wheat in spring than to plough it in with the seed in 

 autumn ; it will not be so liable to waste. We should be glad 

 to know your experience of this manure. 



Liquid Manure.— R. S. T.— Throw all this, from the house, into 

 the tank. You may add soot to it ; but the cheapest way is to 

 pump the whole over compost heaps of manure, rubbish, soot, 

 &c. The drainings of your yard are valuable as liquid manure. 



Suffolk Duns.— A wishes that some of our Suffolk correspondents 

 would inform him in what the excellent milking properties of 

 the Suffolk Duns consist— whether in affording large quantities 

 of milk or butter, or both combined? whether they have ever 

 been tried at a distance from their own county, and found to 

 retain these valuable properties, as on consulting some bock 

 authorities he finds considerable diversity of opinion to exist. 



Tanks.— R. B.— Dig a cylindrical hole, say 10 feet deep and 10 

 feet in diameter, making the bottom basin-shaped; surround it 

 at bottom with brick paving, at the sides with an ordinary stone 

 or brick and mortar wall, ramming clay well down behind it, 

 and at the top with a flat stone and lime dome, leaving an open- 

 ing by which to enter it, and a sufficient number of small 

 openings round the edge for the liquid to enter it. A ■ P«mP. 

 communicating by means of pipe and rose, within 1 foot of the 

 bottom, is wanted to complete the work. 



White Beetroot.-^ Reader asks for mfor mation abou the 

 culture of White Beetroot for sugar, and how far it is j kei> 

 to succeed under great heat, where the soil, however, is rich and 

 a supply of water for irrigatiou attainable. f rt „ rwPP w 



Winter 'frAKE9.-2\To.5.5.7.-If they are sown in about foutmU 

 time, we apprehend you may expect a crop in June H* ****** 

 of green food it will afford you depends so much on the quality 

 of the land that we can hardly answer your question, it wm 

 probably be from 7 to 10 tons per acre. folate 



*** As usual, many communications have been recencd too late. 



SMITHFIELD, Mondav, Ang. Ij-Ber ^jeofSlJ. 



Best Long-wools - * J 3 6 



Ewes and second quality 3 * 



Lambs - " * 4 ° 



Best Scots, Herefords,&c. 3sl0to4s 2 

 Best Short Horns - 3 8 3 10 



Second quality Beasts -30 36 

 Calves - - - - 3 8 4 4 



buuui 'an. i»»v..u<*T a r ..^»- --- - — . ihntr hivf> done. H»i<* «"" — 



which are plentiful, do not find so ready a sale " ^ h ™ * ^ -^ 9teady . 

 rather less money- Lamb-trade is very heavy. Veal iraac in 

 Pork is a little more in demand. 



Friday, Aug. lo. , if 



The trade for the best Beef is about the same as < °« M ™*^^ $ce is 

 moderate; some of the best ^ot. make 4s 2d. but the more K«° e J er /heavr 



4s. and Short-horns as lOd f er 8 lbs ; ™ £ dl "K ^n ' r »A Is rather improved, 

 on hand, and make from 3. to 3s 4d. The Mutton trade is r at ™* * WJf9 i r 

 there bein K a «ood clearance at the dead market, and rather a .no , il5eS . 

 here this morning ; there is nearly 2d ^rl^ nolTtZTthe%\"l continues 

 second-rate remain about the same. Laml is ™™** r ^™* lo „ trade but 

 from 4s to 48 6d, with very few at the latter. C*U « ate a s &t fr(jm 



some of the nicest still make nearly 4s 4d. Fork remains siea 



Beasts, 751 ; Sheep and Lambs, 9930 ; Calves, B48 ^'^field 



Notices to Correspondents. 



Analysis.— J. Hemming.— Vie cannot undertake analysis of soils. 

 There are many gentlemen to whom you may apply, as an in- 

 spection of our advertising columns will inform you. 



Cabbaoes. —North Earle.— The Early York, if sown in a bed 

 now, and transplanted when ready in autumn, will be fit at 

 the time you name. 



Disease in Cows, kc.—J. K. says thathchas had four cows dead 

 lately, of water in the chest and a decay in the lungs; and three 

 calves, of a swelling in the knee and other joints. The cause 

 of death in his cows was in all probability the dreadfully fatal 

 epidemic called Pleura- Pneumonia, which word signifies in- 

 flammation both of the substance of the lungs, and also the 

 membrane covering them and lining the interior of the chest. 

 The actual cause of this fatal disease is unknown, but it is 

 doubtless produced by some poisonous gases or effluvia in the 



HAY.— Per Load of 36 Trusses. 



New — — 



John Cooraa, Salesman. 



SMITHFIELD, Aug. 15. g 2 , 



PrimeUplandHaylOO. to 108s. Clover - 100. to 120. | Straw - 



Inferior „ 8J J 5 . " 



New Hay . „ 80 M 



Cumberland Market, Aug. 15. 



Scarier 0.d Ha, >« •» I *£$£ «*«I19. 10 J » I ^^ , o83 . 



Whitkchapel, Aug. 16. , 



. 90s to 98. 1 Old Clover 126s 130s I Straw 2is 

 • 75 88 I New Clover 95 



Fine Old Hay 

 New Hay . 



110 



Lonff-wooled Wethers 

 Do. Hofjtf'tts 



atmosphere. Cattle in good condition are more likely to be , southdown Fleeces 



WOOL.-BRITISH, Friday, Aug. 16. 



unaltered. The demand is good, 



per lb- - 

 Southdown HoffRkti \' \ d W ',' 8 * 

 Kent jS War*. Wool Broker. 



f Oott English Wool Market remains 



prices have not advanced. 



per lb. 

 Is Odtolild 



11 13* 

 10 11 



« 



