



1844.] 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



625 



S 



15 



rrn WHEAT. — Any one desirous of obtaining 



c i Wheat for use this autumn, may ascertain, by apphca- 

 ~ ff^'e ,he particulars of the crops of two excellent varieties - 

 tion «° ™ Y"^,,, and Morton's Red-Straw White, which have 

 Shirren a v been gj 0wn on 



^u.TFlELD FARM, THORNBURY, GLOUCESTERSHIRE 

 VH . ♦if'iMt 3 vears. This year's crop is on sale at 8s. a bushel. 

 IT/^Molr oj Whitfield. 



TO AGRICULTURISTS. 



/CAMPBELL'S CORN STEEPS.— The Material for 



(J Wheat is on Sale by the undermentioned Agents, at 2s. 6d. 



^v^Sstanding the extreme drought of the last spring and 



r the results of the experiments, in very many instances, 



T?oT PP n surprising, averaging a saving on seed, in the first 



Have utcu _ O „ro onri vielriine- a nroduce of 20 ner cent. 



adSnal in stra 



H e «m SctoTo/ the' Judges, Glasgow Cattle Show, Aug. 7, 1844. 



^ a monTthe remaining articles of the Exhibition (of Roots, 



h /fcc ) the Judges would direct attention to a series of 



See smpl.q exhibited by Mr. James Campbell, of Dundee, con- 



8? ^i* of various Grasses (they were Wheat, Barley, Naked 



S«r pv and Oats), raised from Seed steeped in a Fertilising 



i id These were contrasted with others which had not 



IXrp-'nne the process, and were in all cases decidedly superior." 



M S; -Messrs. G. Gibbs, 26, Down-street, Piccadilly; 



rrw Gibbs corner of Half-moon-street, Piccadilly ; and Ed w. 



Inrlet 40, >New Bridge-street, London. W. E. Rendle, Ply. 



Jnnnth' Manure Company ; J. Campbell, 5, Mersey-street, 



nveroool- P. Bruce, Merchant, Hull; Crouch and Co., 66, 



Cose Newcastle-on-Tyne ; W. F. Karkeek, Truro ; John 



Mave'r High Offley, Staffordshire; George Griffith, Bewdley; 



j R Haden, Warminster; Phillips and Whittem, Coventry; 



John Towers, Maidenhead; Samuel Waldie, Carlisle; John 



Rodway Carmarthen; James Black and Co., Aberdeen; W. 



Campbell, Merchant, Wick ; Wm. Cuthbertson, Printer, Annan ; 



J and D. Campbell, Thurso ; Maxwell Dick, Irvine ; Dickson 



and Turnbull, Perth ; Drysdale and Co., Glasgow; Drummond 



and Sons, Stirling; Wm. Dalrymple, Cupar Angus ; John Dykes, 



Kilmarnock; James Haldane, Lauder; J. Bell, Dundee; Thos. 



Kennedy, Dumfries; A. Kennedy, Thornhill ; P. Lawson and 



Son, Edinburgh ; Wm. Low, Forfar ; A. M'Farlane, Kinross ; 



John Ogg, and Shield and Co., Arbroath; Geo. Robertson, jun., 



Kirkwall ; John Rae, Ellon; A. Simpson, Macduff; A. B. Teller, 



Ayr; Wood and Co., Stonehaven. 



®f)t Agricultural €£a?ette 



SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1844. 



_ 



MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS, 



FARMERS' CLUBS. 



Sept. 20— Debenham, Stoke Ferry, Wrentham- 



Sept- 21— Cardiff, Gloucester. 



Sept23-West Hereford, W. Firle, Fairford, W. Market, Yoxford. 



Sept. 24— Framlingham, Isle of Thane t, Rayleigh. 



Sept. £G— Riehmondshire. 



Sept. 27— Halesworth. „__ 



The month of August is the gala month of British 

 Agriculture. To those who would estimate its re- 

 sources, its capital, energy, and skill, no season is so 

 favourable ; for the success arising from their appli- 

 cation is at this period evidenced both in the golden 

 maturity of our crops, and in the splendid Exhibitions 

 of stock and mechanical ingenuity which our three 

 national Societies afford us. 



Not only do the Exhibitions of these Societies pro- 

 mote improvement in stock and machinery, but 

 indirectly they cannot fail to diffuse agricultural 

 knowledge and improvement in general. For can 

 it be supposed that great numbers of persons, 

 from all parts of the empire, can be brought toge- 

 ther at a season when the success or failure of the 

 previous year's operations are written on the face of 

 the country, in a language so plain that he who runs 

 may read, without much information being received? 

 And we cannot suppose that, coming as they do with 

 rninds ready to criticise what they see and hear, men 

 of science, practice, and capital, can associate without 

 much that is useful being conceived and propounded, 

 from these considerations, therefore, it is obvious 

 that the results of our Annual Agricultural 

 Meetings constitute a meter by which may be indi- 

 cated to us the intensity of that energy in agricul- 

 tural improvement which has already done so much 

 tor the country. One pleasing feature developed at 

 :? es ^ m . eet mgs promises us important results, viz., 



e desire which was everywhere apparent to seize 

 tne opportunity presented by the assemblage of 

 scientific men, in order to unite scientific knowledge 

 ana practical skill in the investigation of subjects of 

 agricultural interest. And the necessity for such an 

 investigation exists all the more, because the results 

 01 discussions at Glasgow simply prove our entire 

 ignorance of many of them. It is thus alone that we 

 may expect improved methods of culture to be made 

 ^°wn, the causes of failure in our crops to be 



certained, prejudices to be removed, knowledge to 

 If ^"used, and a spirit of observation and inquiry 

 ^encouraged. 



how aCtUal results of the meetings alluded to are, 

 r>PrTi er ' the best illustrations of what may be ex- 

 Jnp Thus, at the Glasgow meeting " the best 



A ! S ,° f makin g Science promote the Practice of 

 ^"culture," and « the Causes of the Failure of the 



tn?. W were di scussed ; and at the Southamp- 

 ton meeting of the Agricultural Society of England, 

 «na at the Irish Society's Show at Dublin, the sub- 

 IW ■ •' A 8 ricult ural Education;" of " the Best 

 iin 11 ! 011 of St °ck for special purposes ;" and of 

 The fi aUon ° f Flax '" were respectively mooted, 



nent ° f theSe is a matter * general and perma- 

 wist» i nte i rest " We Bave already seen morasses, 

 te lands > and heaths, converted, by its aid, into 



golden corn-fields and profitable pastures. Heather 

 has given place to the Oak, and the rabbit to the 

 sheep. 2 



The cause of the failure of the Potato-plant, again, 

 on account of the money value of the crop, is a 

 question of immediate importance. At the present 

 time especially, when that failure has been so general 

 throughout the country, and when, in addition, the 

 Hay and the Red Clover crop have also failed, and 

 when, as report says, the Turnips are failing, it is 

 worthy of most anxious investigation. 



In estimating the importance of a knowledge of 

 the specific qualities of stock, we must look only to 

 two products — beef or milk, muttjn or wool;— and 

 some of our purest breeds of stock, and certainly 

 of our multitudinous crosses, must be inferior to 

 others in both these respects. The breeding and 

 grazing of such is therefore a loss {which might be 

 prevented. The cultivation of Flax also — the sub- 

 ject introduced at the Dublin meeting— is not unin- 

 teresting to us. It has been shown to be a crop 

 worthy of a place in the rotation of a judicious 

 farmer on good soils ; and to the farmer of poor 

 lands, as well as to all, its cultivation is of conse- 

 quence, for it provides us with Linseed-cake, one of 

 the best substitutes for our green crops in a season 

 like the present, and a most excellent fattening food 

 in any season. 



At present, of course, we cannot give even an out- 

 line of the information brought to bear on the sub- 

 jects alluded to. Each is worthy of extended consi- 

 deration. Our object now is merely to call attention 

 to these discussions, as they indicate the existence 

 and activity of a spirit of improvement, and as they 

 evidence a power which our Agricultural Societies 

 possess of promoting the progress of the science, and 

 the practice of the art ; and should the spirit of re- 

 search and observation which was excited be the only 

 result of these proceedings, that power will not be in- 

 effective. " Let us," said Mr. Alexander, at the 

 Glasgow meeting, " go home, and put in force the 

 various suggestions wc have heard ; a little labour 

 will enable us to test many opinions, and a little time 

 put us in possession of a great amount of knowledge" 

 The sentiment was unanimously applauded and ap- 

 propriated. With this spirit abroad, can we fail to 

 learn that from which safely to deduce principles 

 whereby our practice may be regulated? 



Let us, however, suggest that if it be intended to 

 adopt the discussion of any question on a future oc- 

 casion, the subject should be publicly announced, and 

 our local clubs recommended to take it into consider- 

 ation. The experience of the whole country would 

 thus be brought to bear upon it, and the matter 

 would be thoroughly sifted. In carrying out this 

 design, instead of mingling argument with convi- 

 viality, and trusting to one or two speakers for in- 

 formation on any subject they may select, as is the 

 case at our English Society's meetings, we would ad- 

 vise the adoption of the method practised at the 

 Highland Society's Show at Glasgow, which is, to 

 have public breakfasts, at which questions may be 

 discussed, and information given or received by any 

 one who may think proper to attend; these interfere 

 neither with the duties of the day nor the pleasures 

 of the evening. Anniversary dinners are unfitted as 

 times for the discussion of business questions ; after- 

 dinner hours are as essentially the hours of relaxation 

 and amusement amongst Englishmen as those before 

 that period are of business and reflection. 



On the strength of this peculiarity our Continental 

 neighbours term us a" dining race :" and thus it 

 cannot be expected that a concourse of Englishmen, 

 with spirits elevated, can settle themselves down, 

 contrary to their wont, after a day of pleasing toil, to 

 the calm discussion of difficult questions. From ne- 

 glecting these considerations many discussions at 

 agricultural dinners have failed ; and the extraor- 

 dinary eclat with which those of the Highland Society 

 went off during the last meeting, are undoubtedly to 

 be attributed to the arrangement we now recommend 

 — an arrangement which, by discussing business at 

 business hours, does not oppose itself to the customs 

 of society, but, on the contrary, enlists them in its 



service. 



This lesson will, we trust, not be lost ; it is not the 

 first which we have with advantage derived from the 

 experience of the parent Society beyond the Tweed. 



— H. 



Several complaints have lately been made by 

 Correspondents of the ravages of that extremely in- 

 jurious parasitic plant — the Clover Dodder. 

 Many such complaints were made at this season last 

 year, and they elicited from the scientific and prac- 

 tical readers of the Gardeners' Chronicle much useful 

 information, from which, according to our last 

 week's promise, we now proceed to make a tew ex- 

 tracts. In the Number for Sept. 9, Dr. Lindley 



writes as follows :— 



" As soon as the seed of the Dodder is ripe, it falls to 

 the ground, and usually seems to lie dormant till the 



succeeding year. When the spring returns, the embryo 

 sends one end down into the earth to form a root, and 

 with the other it rises upwards, like a small white thread 

 or worm. At this time it is not a parasite, but seems to 

 derive its food from the 6oil, like ordinary plants. It 

 cannot, however, do so long, but withers and perishes, 

 unless it touches some living branch or stem. If it suc- 

 ceed in doing so, it immediately seizes the live stem by 

 means of a sucker, which is protruded from the point of 

 contact ; and theD, twining from left to right, and form- 

 ing more suckers as it twines, it establishes itself on its 

 victim, and ceases to have any further connexion with 

 the soil. From that time forward it is a true parasite, 

 feeding on the juices of the plant it has seized upon. 

 After making a few turns round the branch, and securing 

 itself firmly in its new position, it again lengthens, and 

 catches hold of some other branch, when more suckers 

 are protruded ; and thus it goes on — branching, and 

 twining, and sucking, and branching again — until it 

 forms that appearance which Professor Henslow well 

 describes as resembling ' fine, closely-tangled, wet cat- 

 gut.' Now the Dodder has a new and independent seat 

 of life wherever it has twined round a branch ; and as it 

 is incessantly twining and separating, and twining again, 

 a single plant is speedily in the condition of a polype — 

 so that if it be cut into a thousand pieces, each piece will 

 immediately go on growing, as if nothing had happened 

 to it. Tearing the Dodder to pieces, then, so to from 

 extirpating it, only multiplies the mischief, instead of 

 arresting it. 



" This short statement will show that it is a formidable 

 enemy that has been thus unfortunately introduced 

 to our fields ; and, as these things are not very nice in 

 their food, it is not impossible that the Clover Dodder 

 may next take a fancy to our Wheat-fields, unless we 

 can speedily put an end to its presence. It is of little 

 use to cut it in pieces, — it is of no use whatever to do 

 so, if the fragments are left where they can catch hold of 



anything else. 



"As it is only an annual, it would be killed if we 

 could prevent its flowering ; but that is difficult, because 

 of its hiding itself among the lower branches of plants, 

 where it cannot well be seen : and a few heads of fl jwers 

 will soon renew it in a succeeding year. The right plan 

 would be to dig up the Clover where the Dodder appears, 

 so as to form a circle considerably beyond the patch ap- 

 parently formed by it, and then to burn it in heaps ; or, 

 in cases where the entire field is infect d by it, to 

 sacrifice the whole crop, and burn it. This may appear 

 a violent remedy, but it is the only one likely to be ef- 

 fectual ; and even this will fail, if (which is not yet the 

 case, but soon will be) the Dodder is allowed to form its 

 seed : for, they will fall on the ground, lie hid in the 

 crevices, and reappear with the next crop, — when all the 

 labour will have to be done over again." 



The following remarks on the rapidity of its 

 growth are by Professor Henslow : — 



11 I find one of the patches, which I stated to be two 

 yards in diameter three weeks ago, is now six yards in 

 diameter, which gives us a ninefold increase in area. The 

 mere raking which this patch had received appears to 

 have promoted the spread of the Cuscuta, possibly by 

 having retarded the development of the flowers, and by 

 thus fitting the numerous fragments left upon the Clover 

 for DQ ikinj independent aud more vigorous shoots. 

 Another patch is now a perfect mass of cream-white 

 flowers, upon which a number of flies have stationed 

 themselves, in seeming enjoyment of the succulency of 

 the heads of flowers. As you have thrown out a sugges- 

 tion that this Cuscuta may possibly become a future pest 

 in our Corn-fields, unless it shall be timely checked, I 

 directed my attention to the plants upon which it is now- 

 growing, and I observed it was attached to and evidently 

 attacking the following species :— Geranium dissectum, 

 Daucus carota, Carduus arvensis, Euphorbia exigua, 

 Viola tricolor, Malva sylvestris, Linaria spuria, Senecio 

 vulgaris, Medicago lupulina, Alopecurus arvensis^ and 

 another Grass, which seemed to be Agrostis vulgaris." 



The seed of this plant appears to have been 

 imported from Cabul along with the seed of Trefod. 

 The following is an extract from the communication 

 of a correspondent, with remarks by Dr. L ndley :-~ 



" I have the pleasure of sending you a packet vi the 

 state in which it was purchased at a bazaar with . tnat 

 which produced the Cuscuta above mentioned. Close 

 examination may possibly detect tiie seeds of the parasite 

 mixed with those of the Trefoil.'' 



We have carefully examined the seed alluded to in the 

 foregoing letter, and we are able to state that the seed of 

 Cuscuta trifolii was in it. Out of a small packet we 

 have picked thirteen seeds, each with its snake-like 

 embryo perfectly alive and fit for growth. 



We are also enabled to state something more important ; 

 namely, that the Dodder-seed may be readily separated 

 by sifting. Lucerne-seeds are about 2 lines long and 

 11 broad. Clover-seed is much the same ; the Dodder- 

 seed is spheroidal, and scarcely a line in diameter. It 

 is of a pale-grey colour, in form like the quarter of an 

 Orange, and looks more like fragments of grey clay than 

 an organised body. 



In a subsequent paper we are informed that Dodder 

 seed may be separated from Clover-seed by the use 



of the sieves called No. 17. 



From the information thus accumulated, it appears 



that the existence of this weed in our U°™~™™' 

 is matter of serious importance. Those who have the 

 misfortune to be attacked by it ought to place the 

 spots where it has made its appearance unde the 

 strictest quarantine. Let them act upon Dr. Lindley s 



