1844.] 



■everal irs ago he tried the experiment of cutting the 

 flowers andapplesoff every four alternatedrills before they 

 came to maturity, and allowed the Potatoes in the other 

 drills to bring forward their seed to maturity. He planted 

 the Potatoes, but never could see the slightest difference 

 between the one and the other ; in short, it would not 

 pay the expense. — Mr. Fleming had always observed 

 that Potatoes shallow planted, and where there were a 

 good number exposed to the air, so that they became 

 quite green, made the best seed. A great injury was 

 done to Potatoes by deep planting, as it was absolutely 

 necessary that they should have free access to the atmo- 

 sphere.— The Chairman said, it would be of great advan- 

 tage to the meeting if, after the valuable information 

 they had received, Professor Johnston would sum it 

 up before them, and perhaps endeavour to reconcile 

 some contradictory statements which had been made. — 

 Professor Johnston then went over the leading facts 

 brought forward by the previous speakers, and pointed 

 out their value in so far as they suggested to others the 

 propriety of making them the subject of experiment. 

 For example, the plan followed by Mr. Burnet and 

 others of planting Potatoes in autumn, as a surer way 

 of getting a good crop ; the course of treatment before 

 planting recommended by Mr. Alexander, viz., to keep 

 them in small bins to prevent heating ; the proposal of 

 Mr. Allison to plant whole Potatoes ; the suggestions of 

 Mr. Anderson, who recommended well-drained and pul- 

 verised land, also opening the drills, putting in the 

 manure and the seed, and covering them up immediately, 

 together with his plan of using green Potatoes. for seed ; 

 the opinion of Mr. Stirling, that the failures are 

 owing to the seed being grown over a long period 

 of years ; and the suggestions of Mr. Fleming and 

 others — all these were matters of great importance, 

 and such as gentlemen should take into consideration, 



and make the subject of experiment for themselves. 



SirRobeit Bateson said he had found a small Potato 

 which grew out of the stem, produced by the juice, 

 which when planted produced excellent crops.— The 

 Chairman then shortly addressed the meeting. They 

 had been engaged in a question of vital importance, and 

 he would appeal to every gentleman present if they had 

 not received much information. He would only express 

 his hope that the meeting that day would be followed by 

 other meetings of a similar character, and he would sug- 

 gest that sound practical farmers, like Mr. Allison, 

 should be brought forward to such meetings to give the 

 results of such experiments, from which all might derive 

 solid and truly useful information ; while men of science, 

 like Professor Johnston, could digest that information, 

 and reconcile what appeared inconsistent ; and he had 

 no doubt, notwithstanding the forebodings of Mr. Stir- 

 ling, that the cultivation of so invaluable an article of 

 food as the Potato would be greatly improved and ex- 

 tended. The meeting then separated. 



AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY 



OF IRELAND. 

 The following remarks on the great Annual Meeting 

 of this Society, at Dublin, on Aug. 14th and 15th, are 

 extracted from the Dublin Farmers' Gazelle:— 

 Amongst the live stock exhibited were very many 

 which, in the opinion of the Judges, would not only 

 have been creditable, but which could hardly be excelled 

 at either of the national Shows of England or Scotland, 

 especially amongst the Bulls ; but in all the other classes, 

 together with some splendid animals, the great majority 

 *ere very inferior ; neither in any ether of the Cattle 

 Uasses did the stock come forward in the usual propor- 

 tion to the entries ; and the vacant stalls thereby occa- 

 sioned gave a scattered appearance, which bore the sem- 

 blance of an attempt to spread a few cattle over an im- 

 mense extent of ground. Much of this deficiency was 

 uouotless caused by the unfortunate prevalence of the 

 w\-K 1P l r? butmuch m <> r e, we fear, by the classification 

 led t Soc 'ety, departing from the track that has 



out- f° S " Ch happy results >n other Societies, has struck 

 tin 1% USelf# The novel distinctions of " Pure and Dis- 

 J net Breeds of Cattle for Breeding Purposes." and of 



nnt- j D »stinct Breeds for Fattening Purposes," were 



efforth ". r h 00d by ° Ur breeders - U P t0 thia time ' the 

 liti . s Deen ^ produce animals possessing both qua- 



for tl m fi highest degree of perfection ; and being now, 



bre \* f time ' calIeJ on t0 produce pure and distinct 

 e s for each purpose, and left in ignorance as to the 



should^ f f the terms of competition, no wonder they 

 sentth SCt0 8en(1 fo^ard their animals, or having 



hom t 6nd that the y mi S ht better have kept them at 

 ext e \ Tne competition in sheep was by no means so 



ce t ? sive ' n °r were the lots individual^, with some ex- 

 conta?Y qUal t0 0Ur expectations. The Horse Class 

 r espectKi a feW fine animaIs » and mav be characterised as 

 greater and ' as re S ards swine, we have seen a 



animal* * UnQber > a »d, with few exceptions, superior 

 arrived f m&ny ° f the P rovin cial Shows. We have now 

 really P ,, a de Partment of the Exhibition which was 

 In JLl Ce i ! Ient — that of the Agricultural Implements. 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



exhibited!- ** " th ~ ra ^a~oTp riZ e S ** the Iraptement. 



M^rs [, nr b n^ en H ral , a l Sortment of collected Implements, to 

 Messrs Drummond and Co., Dublin, 5/. 



facture to \^JTu lM *>rtmentof Implements of Irish manu- 

 Fnr^hl k fl ^ H \? nd J " Sherid an. Dublin, 4/. 



of Stir Hne fnr nl** P1 ° U ? h « hi *™. to Messrs. Drummond, 

 For the ^Srpl 8 P1 „° U&h ' the **f 9 Medal. 



Me°i< ShPrin! u-m S Pi ° Uph manu factured ™ Ireland, to 

 For t'h? hi V 5 » Br: , d £ efoot u * treet - Dublin, the Socie- Medal. 



theMc !df 1 be8tJsUbso1 Piou * h exhibited, to Mr. Wilkie.Glas^ow, 



ufSL^i bCS i r Su \ S0il PIouph manufactured in Ireland to 

 Messrs II. and J. Sheridan. Dublin, the Medal. ' 



MedaL Turnwrist pl ° u S h . to Mr. Wilkie, Glasgow, the 



For the best Turnwrist Plough manufactured in Ireland, to 

 Messrs. H. and J. Sheridan, Dublin, the Medal. 



For the best Grubber, to Mr. Wilkie, of Glasgow, for his 

 Finlayson's Grubber, the Medal. ' 



lZ th C . b |S t ^ r8e H °,*' S? Mr Wi,k5e » of Glasgow, the Medal. 

 Du F bl[n: h the b MedIl Urn,P *"" * *—* D ™ d ™* ** 



-SMysaaftaaaa Droppinff Machinc ' to 



n F °L a « ac . hl , ne for sowi »£ Carrots, to Messrs. Drummond and 

 Co., the Medal. 



For the best Corn and general Drill Machine, to Patrick 

 Gogarty,of Castlehellingham. 2/., and the Medal. 



■ H v <— H — — ■ _ a a _ ■ 



597 



T Z J i )s, i » a A . ndcrson » of Dublin, for a model of an improved 

 method of Slating, 21. 



To Mr. Big-, Crawford- st., London, for his Sheep- dipmn* 

 Apparatus, the Medal. ' v 6 



tT T ° M e* srs - Courtney and S cphens, Dublin, for their improved 

 Hay-tedder, the Medal. 



To the same, for their Water Barrel, the Medal. 

 To the same, for a Clod Crusher and Bar Roller, 2/. 



To Mr P W. Etheredge, for his patent Tile-making Machine. 

 51, and the Medal. 



To the Hon. C. J. Trench, for his Model of a Cottage with 

 Ofhces, the Medal. 



To John G Wynne, of Bushmills, county Antrim, for a collec- 

 tion of Draining Tools of native manufacture, SI. and the Medal. 

 To W. Langford, of Newtowubarry, for his Self-adjusting 

 ; Tumbling Carts, 21. and the Medal. 



^ T " R ? bert Law » cf Shettleston, Glasgow, for his Farm Cart, 

 the Medal. ' 



To the same, for his collection of strong and useful Imple- 

 ments, '.il. ' v 



To John Martin, Peter-st., Dublin, for Rodway's Horseshoe, 

 the Medal. 



To John Molloy, Rutland-square, for his newly-invented 

 Hames, trace fastening to swing bar, the Medal. 



To Messrs. Paul and Vincent, Blackhall-place, Dublin, for 

 their Threshing Machines, the Medal. 



To same, for their simple Beam and Scales. 21. 



To James Richmond, of Salford, for his Improved Chaff 

 Cutter, the Medal. 



To the same, for his Beam and Oat Crusher, the Medal. 

 To the same, for his Improved Churn with right and left-hand 

 motion, the Medal. 



To the same, for General Excellence of Workmanship, 3/. 

 To Messrs. H. and J. Sheridan, Dublin, for their Improved 

 Weighing Machine, the Medal. 



To Mr. James Willis, Dublin, for Herbert's Patent Flower 

 Mill, 11. and the Medal. 



To Mr. James Wilkie, Glasgow, for the superior workman- 

 ship of his collection of Implements, 5/. 



To D. J. Wilson, Esq., Belvoir, for his Model of a Labourer's 

 Cottage, the Medal. 



To Richard Robinson, of Lisburn, for his Steaming Apparatus, 

 the Medal. 



To the same, for his AVater-case Chum, the Medal. 

 To the same, for his General Scientific Arrangement, 31. 

 To R. Gray, of Uddingston, for a collection of good and well- 

 executed Implements, 3/. 

 To F. M'Neill and Co., for their Roofing Felt, the Medal. 



To T. G. Stoney, Esq., for his Model of an Agricultural 

 School, the Medal. 



FARMERS' CLUBS. 



Wetherby. — Tiie first quarterly meeting of this 

 Society was held on the 1st inst. The attendance of 

 members was numerous, and after an interesting and 

 highly-instructive discussion upon the subject proposed, 

 viz., The best Method of Harvesting \\ heat and Barley, 

 including the Period and Method of Cutting and Securing, 

 the following resolutions were a street I upon : — 1st, That 

 the best time to cut Wheat is when the grain is in a raw 

 state, and the Straw beginning to assume a yellow hue 

 up to the ear, or from ten to seven days earlier than is 

 customary in this district. 2d, That the beat time for 

 cutting Barley is when the Straw and grain are fully ripe. 

 3d, That the best method of cutting both Wheat and 

 Barley is by mowing ; and where Clover or Grass seeds 

 are growing, it is desirable to leave the stubble not shorter 

 than four inches. 4th, That round stacks are better 

 than long ones. 



the ashes. In this case, however, the land received no 

 such assistance. It is a field called the Brake Ground 

 —10 acres of exceedingly stiff clay, valued at 25s. per 

 acre ; and was (Michaelmas, 1829) an awfully foul piece 

 of two years old— I was going to say, seeds— however, it 

 had been down two years ; and, for want of something 

 more fit, I was induced to plough and plant it with 

 Wheat— and a miserable speculation it proved. The 

 seed-time of that year, as most of us in this part of the 

 country very well remember, was exceedingly wet. This, 

 combined with the bad state of the land, left me no 

 resource but to dibble it ; this was done as well as it 

 could be, and after being twice hoed the following spring, 

 the crop was as nearly as possible 16 bushels per acre. 

 Here then was a stubble in the best possible state for 

 burning, and the weather being dry after harvest, it was 

 skim-ploughed, and attempted to be dragged, but that 

 was impracticable— it wai so tied together that it could 

 only be parted with forks, which increased the expense 

 of burning this piece to 50.v. per acre ; but it was we'd 

 repaid : the quantity of aihes burnt could not have been 

 less, upon by far the greater part of the field, than from 

 150 to 200 yards per acre. It was then planted, after 

 being ploughed, with Vetches ; but such a crop of Crow- 

 foot, Charlock, and rubbish of all descriptions came up 

 the following spring, that I had all mown off together, 

 and carried to the fold-yard. I then proceeded to fallow 

 it, but, as if tins field was to be unfortunate, the latter 

 part of tha summer proved wet, and it was very imper- 

 fectly done, and after draining, was left till April, 1842. 

 The whole of that month proved dry ; the field was" 

 forked, at an expense of 25s. per acre, and by that means 

 rendered clean at last. No rain fell till the night of the 

 11th of May, and on the 12th and 13th it was drilled 

 with Barley, the produce of which, fit for and sold to the 

 maltster, was ! 6 bushels per acre. The next crop was 

 Beans, mixed with a few Grey Peas, and certainly the 

 greatest crop of straw I had ever seen. What the pro- 

 duce may be I cannot yet say, but I shall be enabled to 

 inform you, as it is stacked by itself; but I should sup- 

 pose nearly or quite as many bushels as there were of 

 Barley. All these pieces of land to which I have nowalluded 

 had the ashes burned and spread upon the field, at the 

 expense, as I have said, of from 40s. to 50$. per acre ; 

 the greater part done with wood cut from the hedges, the 

 value of which I can scarcely state. When that was all 

 exhausted (a good deal having also been used to put upon 

 the tiles in draining) I had recourse to coals, and can- 

 state the expense. Three tons of raked slack, which 

 costs here from 9s. to 10*. per ton (at the pits St.) will 



burn in the summer in heaps of about a cart-load each 



more than 100 yards to the acre. I have had in some 

 cases much more than this done ; and as the labour of 

 burning with coal is rather less than with wood, the whole 

 can be well done at a cost of 3/. 10*. per acre. But there 

 is another mode of procuring ashes, which, though some- 

 what more expensive, has its advantages : these are, that it 

 can be done at a time of year when the other mode 

 would be impracticable from wet ; and also, that in doing 

 it, the banks, borders, and high headlands, frequently 

 seen in old inclosures, are removed ; it is by burning 

 these in large fires of 50 to 200 yards with coal, and cart- 

 ing and wheeling the ashes upon the land. 1 have done 

 a good deal in this way ; and the cost, not including 

 horse labour— which, of course, varies with the distance 

 to which the ashes have to be drawn— is as follows : 



100 yards per acre, labour to burning:, at 6<f. . £2 10 

 2 tons of coal, at Qs 18 



Wheeling and spreading a distance of 50 yards 

 from the heaps, and filling" and spreading the 

 remainder, 100 yards, at i£d o 12 





 



*hip noH " Cal invention > evident efficiency and workman- 



cornpa h Which We have ever before Seen C0Ul<1 be 

 the Sen- 1 |° the ira P lem ents offered for competition by 



a general i anufacturers ' Wilkie > ^^ and Gre ?' As 



«*ond » colIection » that exhibited by the Messrs. Drum- 

 assortm aS e m r 8t credital >Ie, containing, as it did, a full 

 the Ur„ 0f the mo8 t valuable implements ; n< 



a 

 nor were 



Lisburn «h a P parent efficiency. Mr. Robinson's, of 

 ^•ervedly d rn, . n S aQ <* steaming apparatus were most 



Miscellaneous. 



Improvement of Cold and Heavy Soils by Burnt Clay. 

 — The first field, (5 acres.) is valued at 7s. 6d. per 

 acre. I entered upon it 1C39, a foul Bean-stubble; the 

 following May it was skim-ploughed to the depth of 

 about 1£ inch, and all that the plough raised burned with 

 faggots, at the co^, including spreading, of 42s. per acre. 

 It was then ploughed and scuffled, and the weather being 

 favourable, was rendered perfectly clean ; then planted 

 in October with "Vetches, which, the following summer, 

 were eaten off by sheep folded upon them ; succeeded by 

 Wheat (1842), which produced 22G bushels, of 02 lb.-.'; 

 or 1 bushel more than 45 bushels per acre. It 

 was sold at 7s. per bushel ; and this crop therefore pro- 

 duced more than the fee-simple of the land in its former 

 state. This field is laid down, and is looking very well. 

 A small field of three acres adjoining was similarly 

 treated at the same time, with nearly equal results ; the 

 difference in the Wheat-crop, which was not quite so 

 heavy, being attributable to the Vetches having been 

 eaten off by horses tethered on them instead of by sheep. 

 The second instance of the power of ashes, unaided, in 

 rendering exhausted land capable of producing a crop, is, 

 I think, even more conclusive than the first, as it may 

 be said that the great crop of Wheat produced in the 

 former case was attributable to the manure left by the 

 sheep in consuming the Vetches; and this is correct in 

 a degree, but I know not how that crop of Vetches 

 could have been obtained to create that manure without 



I • v .£4 6 



I give you the following as an instance of the effect o! 

 this latter mode :— A field of clay-land, called Bitton 

 —20 acres, worth 28s. per acre— was Wheat in 1842; 

 During the following autumn and winter I had the banks 

 and headlands all round the ground burned, which pro- 

 duced 2400 yards of ashes, 400 of which were drawn to 

 another field. Part of the piece, about 5 acres, was 

 planted wilh Vetches, which were mown while green for 

 fodder for the sheep, to eat while consuming the Tur- 

 nips upon the other 15. Upon these 5 acres a dressing 

 of ashes, 100 yards to the acre, were spread when the 

 Vetches were removed ; and after being cleaned by the 

 requisite ploughing and scuffling, it is now planted with 

 Wheat. The crop upon this portion of the field must 

 therefore depend entirely upon the ashes : it has derived 

 no benefit from the Vetches. Upon the 15 acres, which 

 were dressed in like manner during the winter, where no 

 attempt was ever before made to grow Turnips in conse- 

 quence of the tenacious quality of the land, and without 

 the aid of manure of any description, except the ashes, I 

 have had a very excellent crop ; and the most extra- 

 ordinary part of the matter is, that though the greater 

 part has been eaten off in the months or October and 

 November last, which were very wet, by nearly 400 sheep 

 constantly kept upon them, tiie nature of the soil ha* 

 been for a time so changed by the ashes, that I have been 

 enabled to plough close behind the sheep, and drilled the 

 Wheat as fast as ploughed. For those who. like myself, 

 have undertaken the task of getting a considerable tract 

 of foul and poor clay-land into a tolerable state of culti- 

 vation, there are, to my knowledge, no means by which 

 it can be accomplished in so short a time, and with so 

 great a certainty, as by burning. Let it be accompanied 

 in all cases by draining; let the first crop be a green one 

 consumed upon the land, and the land will be at once 

 established, and may ever after, at the least possible ex- 

 pense, be maintained in a productive state, provided it be 

 kept clean and cropped in a fair and reasonable manner. 

 — C. Randell, in the English Agric, Soc.'s Journal. 



