1844.^ 



^^Tifan^sSring^edish and common Turnips as ] 

 favourable opportunities occur during the winter and 

 !»rlv spring months, is becoming general. The leaves, 

 n being cut from the bulb, are scattered over the sur- 

 face of the land, and ploughed down immediately after 

 the removal of the Turnips. Wheat is sometimes but 

 not often sown upon Clover leys, as the practice is by 

 „ m p fl ns a favourite one with the East Lothian farmers. 

 There are some cases, however, m which it is expedient 

 to erow Wheat instead of Oats after Gras^, and in this 

 cJe the land usually receives a partial fallowing. 



Seed Wheat is invariably prepared for sowing by 

 mcklin"— a P rocess resorted to for the purpose of pre- 

 venting samt - The liquid most commonly employed for 

 this purpose is stale urine, and the process of steeping 

 r pickling is generally as follows : — Two tubs, one of 

 which may be larger than the other, are required for the 

 operation. The barn floor, cart-shed, or some other 

 suitable place, being well cleaned, the larger tub in 

 which the seed is to be steeped is placed on an elevated 

 stand and the other vessel containing the urine laid 

 alongside it on the floor. The pickling tub is then 

 nearly filled with the grain, and the urine poured upon 

 it with a stable pail till the tub is full. The seed is well 

 stirred with a shovel, and after being all thoroughly 

 moistened and allowed to remain five or ten minutes, 

 the liquid is withdrawn through an orifice into the other 

 vessel. The Wheat thus pickled is then laid in layers 

 upon the floor, and a quantity of newly slacked lime, 

 sufficient to absorb the moisture, sifted upon it while 

 beino- spread on the floor. A fresh allowance of Wheat 

 is now put into the steeping tub, and treated in 

 a similar manner until the entire quantity to be then 

 sown has be on pickled. The seed with the lime sifted 

 amongst it, is immediately afterwards turned over and 

 intimately mixed ; it is then conveyed in sacks to the 

 field to be sown. No more seed is pickled at one time 

 than what can be sown on that or the following day, as 

 the vegetative powers of the Wheat are often materially 

 injured, or totally destroyed, from remaining any length 

 of time unsown. Besides stale urine, which is universally 

 regarded as the most efficacious pickle, a solution of salt, 

 sufficiently strong to buoy up an egg, is sometimes em- 

 ployed. But the principal recommendation of this steep 

 is the facility with which it may be prepared. A solution 

 of blue vitriol is also occasionally used as a pickle 

 for seed Wheat. 



The seed is, in the great majority of cases, sown by 

 the hand, but the broadcast-sowing machine is also em- 

 ployed on many farms for the same purpose. Wheat is 

 frequently sown in the manner styled ribbing, already 

 adverted to. When this mode of sowing is adopted, the 

 seed is scattered by the hand in the usual manner ; but 

 as nearly the whole of it necessarily falls into the inter- 

 vals between the small drills, the plants grow up in 

 parallel rows in the same manner as if sown by the drill- 

 machine. The practice of ribbing in Wheat upon sum- 

 mer fallows is highly approved of, as a means of pre- 

 venting the ejection of the young plants by the influence 

 of the winter frosts; it is, further, almost a certain way 

 of securing a good crop of Clover the following year. 



Wheat is sown from the beginning of September to 

 the end of March. The quantity of seed depends of 

 course upon the time of sowing, and the quality and con- 

 dition of the land. After summer fallow, two bushels 

 per acre are deemed sufficient ; and after Beans, Potatoes, 

 or Turnips, three bushels. Old Wheat is sometimes 

 sown in preference to the new, and in this case a less 

 quantity of seed suffices. 



The produce has been, in many instances, so high as 

 Mx quarters per imperial acre, but this quantity is 

 reckoned a great crop ; four quarters per acre are fre- 

 quently obtained in the low district; and many farms 

 average 3£ quarters during a lease. Taking the average 

 of the whole county, however, for the last few years, 

 the produce is estimated at 2| quarters per statute acre. 

 The weight of Wheat varies, according to the seasons 

 and other circumstances, from 60 to 66 lbs. per bushel. 

 — T. Sullivan, 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



675 



Home Correspondence. 



Manures and Drainage. — Publications on experi- 

 mental or practical manurings are of much value, but 

 there is for the most part a very material omission in 

 *uch reports. I refer to the analysis of the soil, which is 

 necessary in every such case, previously to the applica- 

 tions of manure. Trials of various substances are made 

 and multiplied with great care and precision, and the 

 results are watched and recorded with minutest attention, 

 without any, or with only a slight reference to the con- 

 stituents of the soil. Is there any one science besides 

 Agriculture, the facts of which are thus carelessly de- 

 termined ? Now, let any one of these reports be read, 

 *&d let the reader try the most successful experiment on 

 his own soil. Will the result be similar? No. And why are 

 he results dissimilar ? That is a question seldom put ; 

 ^d the experimentalist either sits down discontented, 

 0r goes indefatigably to work with the next best manure, 

 perhaps with equal ill success. One tries nitrate of 

 ^da on a soil within reach of sea-breezes which have for 

 a ges borne to it enough of soda, and he fails. Another 

 carries nitrate of potash to a soil containing sufficient 

 Potash, and he fails. So it is with gypsum, and many 

 tner substances. One remark, however, may be made 

 y th e way, and that is, that appearances sometimes 

 eceive. Some well-established facts have shown that a 

 F eat ln crease may be made to the weight of a crop of 

 d a T» or to other crops, by a manure the effects of which 

 o not make any great show on the ground ; and on the 

 °*trary, instances of great apparent with little actual. 



effect often occur, as when a deeper green in a plant may 

 be produced with little benefit to the produce. Some 

 allowance must be made for variety of seasons, but soils 

 of great fertility and good tilth are much less exposed to 

 injury from too dry or too wet weather than poor soil-. 

 It is true we cannot give to a poor sterile soil all the 

 constituents of one that is fertile, without incurring an 

 expense far beyond the profit. This, however, is unne- 

 cessary, for we know that a very small quantity of some 

 substances will often insure a great crop, and in such 

 cases all further applications would have been an unne- 

 cessary outlay ; and so, by parity of reasoning, the extra 

 fertilising materials in a fertile soil are frequently of no 

 apparent use. The great object then is, that in every 

 case of manuring being reported, an analysis of the soil 

 be given. It is not enough to say the land is a sand, or 

 gravel, or clay, or loam, but it is indispensable that the 

 constituents of the soil should be minutely stated ; then, 

 and not till then, will Agriculture take its proper rank 

 as a science. [This is, probably, sufficiently correct ; 

 but coupling together, 1 st, the imperfection of our means 

 of analysis, and the consequent impossibility of ascer- 

 taining the actual composition of the soil of a field ; and, 

 2d, the great expense of the operation — an expense the 

 greater in consequence of the great variability of soil 

 even in its mineral component parts — coupling together 

 these two considerations, we question if it be not the 

 more economical plan for farmers, if they require them, 

 to try the various manures each for himself on a limited 

 scale, and then be guided by personal experience in the 

 matter of their more extended use, rather than rest on 

 reports of published experiments, the imperfections of 

 which are here so accurately indicated.] — A question 

 has been lately asked in your Journal — "What is the 

 action of sea-salt on carbonate of lime ?" In dry 

 weather, after a high tide, little hollows may be observed 

 on the limestone and chalk strata of rocks on the sea- 

 coast, where the salt water has been Evaporated, leaving 

 crystals of common salt. In all these instances the rock 

 appears more decomposed than it would have probably 

 been if only rain-water had fallen and been dried there ; 

 but this requires to be verified. — Many able articles have 

 been published on drainage, but nearly all of them relate 

 to arable land. Now, a little observation will show that 

 the draining of Grass land is of equal importance. The 

 difference between good and bad pasture land is not so 

 apparent as it is on land bearing a crop. Meadow land 

 more resembles arable land, as there is a crop of hay to 

 be made ; but the bulk may be considerable in certain 

 seasons, while the quality is of inferior value. Grass 

 land is usually wet land made partially dry by surrouud- 

 ing ditches, and some open drains. It is very seldom 

 properly drained so as to remove the stagnant water within 

 reach of the roots of Grasses. Grass land may be classified 

 as follows: — 1st. Constantly wet on an impervious sub- 

 soil ; bearing the sedges and many sub-aquatic plants 

 which thrive in land full of stagnant water, but are of little 

 value, and that only in the middle or latter part of sum- 

 mer. 2dly. Wet, but on a porous substratum, and conse- 

 quently experiencing a slight circulation of air through it, 

 by the passing away of some portion of the water with 

 which it is, charged. This land supports better Grasses, 

 but it is so chilled by evaporation, and there is still so 

 much stagnant water, that such land is comparatively 

 very inferior. 3dly. Originally wet, but thoroughly 

 drained by open or closed drains two or three feet deep. 

 Land in this state is but seldom seen, but it generally 

 produces the best Grasses, which are growing the great- 

 est part of the year, and the sedges and inferior Grasses 

 which formerly grew upon it are gradually disappearing. 

 It is frequently objected to drainage, that there is not 

 sufficient fall or outlet for the water. This objection is 

 often imaginary only, and if the operator begins his work 

 at his lowest point, and drains upward as long as he can 

 see the water run, he will generlly find fall enough. 

 There are, however, cases where there is a fall, though it 

 is not apparent. This is well worth attention. A 

 stream of water runs nearly as fast at the bottom of a 

 full channel as at the surface ; it runs faster than either 

 in the middle. Suppose an outlet to be into a full water- 

 course, a drain full of water leading into this full water- 

 course will still slowly convey the water in the drain, and 

 the drain will receive a supply from the water in the soil 

 which would otherwise stagnate there. Such full drains 

 should be frequently cleared of obstructions under the 

 surface, and the good effect will infallibly appear, even 

 under such unfavourable circumstances. From the 

 usually flat surface of Grass land, closed drains are not 

 frequently made. Open drains are commonly too shal- 

 low ; they should be deep enough to draw away the 

 water beneath the surface soil, so as to render it warm 

 and dry very soon after being wet. It will not then be 

 injured by a wet season, nor by a dry one. — T. P. 



Dibbling Wheat. — We live in an age when the pro- 

 ductive powers of the land are more fully developed than 

 they have hitherto been. Any improvements that will 

 increase the quantity and quality of the produce, are de- 

 serving of consideration ; to follow an established sys- 

 tem, merely because our progenitors have so done, 

 savours strongly of prejudice ; agriculture, like other 

 sciences, should keep pace with the increasing intelli- 

 gence of the age. The dibbling of Wheat has recently 

 met with encouragement ; whether the practice will fully 

 answer the expectations of its promoters, further expe- 

 rience will demonstrate. The following experiment, upon 

 a small scale, has succeeded beyond the expectations of 

 the parties interested ; when first tried it was laughed at 

 by some, and considered a Utopian scheme by many ; 

 whether its further extension will be deserving of sup- 

 port, is a matter for consideration. A gentleman of 



Epworth dibbled, the rir=t week in Now mbt-r, 1843, two 

 quarts and half a pint of golden-drop Wheat on 1 rood. 

 5 perches of land, tie holes being 9 inches apart each 

 way, two grains beiug put in a hole ; and 5 quarts 2 

 pints and a half on 1 rood, 35 perehes of land ; half of 

 the latter being in rows 12 inches apart, ami 4 J inches 

 in the row, two grains in a hole ; the other halt of the 

 1 rood, 35 perches the same distances, but three grains 

 in a hole. The land is a light, black sandy soil, about 

 A \ inches deep ; the subsoil a very light sand, and had 

 been the previous year cropped with Potatoes, manured 

 with very indifferent straw-yard manure, and had like- 

 wise been alternately cropped with Wheat and Potatoes 

 for some years previously. The land dibbled suffered 

 from the depredations of the birds, which got part of 

 the seed. The following management was p.. r sued after 

 the seed was put into the ground : — Three sacks of soot 

 were sown upon the land in December, yet the Wheat 

 looked very thin and bad during the whole of the winter. 

 About the middle of May 1 cwt. of Ichaboe guano, mixed 

 with 2 cwt. of gypsum, was sown upon the Wheat, which, 

 in consequence of the dryness of the season, did not ap- 

 pear to afford much benefit. It was twice hoed during 

 the spring, and in May began to tiller and assume a 

 luxuriant appearance, and maintained a dark healthy 

 colour throughout ; the straw was remarkably strong and 

 of good length ; the ears very large, many of them con- 

 taining upwards of 70 grains, but averaged about 60 

 grains; there were 3 rows of corn, and some 4 in the 

 ear; the stems varied from 8 to 21 from each root. The 

 corn is a remarkably bold and fine sample, and weighed 

 14 stones per load of three bushels ; the weight ot the 

 straw was not ascertained. The produce from the 1 rood, 

 5 perches of land, was over 12 bushels; and from the 

 1 rood 35 perches, 21 bushels, making 4 quarters I 

 bushel of corn from less than 1 peck of seed on 3 roods 

 of lund. The growing crop suffered more from the 

 drought, in consequence of being so thin upon the ground, 

 than the thicker sown crops. The same gentleman 

 sowed 1 rood of Wheat broadcast, 4 pecks per acre ; I 

 rood, 8 pecks per acre ; and dibbled 1 rood, 3 pecks per 

 acre. Having disposed of the land with the growing- 

 crops (which got mixed), the produce could not be 

 knoA-n ; but that sown with 3 pecks per acre had a 

 decided superiority over the broadcast ; if the land had 

 been of a stronger nature, in better condition, and the 

 weather moister, there is no doubt the crop would have 

 been more abundant. The gentleman purposes repeat- 

 ing the experiment, being convinced of the practicability 

 and advantages of the dibbling and thin-sowing system. 



— T. B. Pearson, Epworth. S. L. B. adds — I am 



anxious that the system of dibbling Wheat should be 



fv.rly tried. Be so good as to say at what depth the 



seed should be sown ; whether more than a single grain 



should be deposited in each hole ; and at what distance 



from each other the holes should be made. The rows 



should, I understand, be six inches apart. I may here 



mention that the experiment of sowing some Wheat last 



January, much thinner than usual, has answered very 



well : the thin-sown has yielded considerably more. In 



the spring I had some difficulty in dissuading my steward 



from ploughing it down as a failure. A small quantity 



of Oats was dressed in the early stage of its growth with 



nitrate of soda ; the effect is very striking, but I merely 



mention it to draw your notice to the subject ; for 



though the increased produce of the dressed portion was 



obvious to every one who saw the field, I am afraid the 



steward has not kept that parcel by itself, which will 



prevent me from sending you an accurate return. I will 



send you soon the result of Campbell's steep applied to 



Oats. [Thank you : we should be glad to hear soon 



from others of our readers who may have steeped their 



grain, on this subject. Dibble Wheat in holes U inches 



deep, and 6 inches apart every way ; 2 seeds in each 



hole.] 



Tanks. — If your correspondent " Joe" can heat the 



water in his tank, he will stop the leaking by introducing 

 a peck of oatmeal into the tauk, when the water is quite 

 hot. I have recently tried the experiment with complete 

 success. The oatmeal renders the water mucilaginous, 

 and in its passage through the cracks it deposits a por- 

 tion of the glutinous matter held in solution, and by 

 degrees fills up the cracks. In the mountains of Scot- 

 land, flaws in the stills used for the manufacture of 

 illicit mountain-dew are effectually closed by means of 

 wetted oatmeal. I am assured that in the same manner 

 defective iron boilers may be made perfectly water-tight. 

 «« Joe" has committed a mistake in not using pure 

 cement. If all other measures fail, he may still accom- 

 plish his object by lining the bottom with roofing tiles 

 placed close together and covering them with a coat half 

 an inch thick of cement, unmixed with any other material, 

 and applied by a workman who knows how to use it. — 



R. G. L. Another correspondent says that he has 



three tanks, and all of them hold perfectly well ; the 

 liquid in them being secured by puddle dams of good 

 clay 18 inches wide — the tanks being faced with brick. 

 They are sunk in very open gravel. 



Carbonate of Iron. — Is not this salt highly conducive 

 to vegetation ? It may frequently be seen in the bottoms 

 of open drains (?) of an orange colour. I suppose it to- 

 be produced by a previously existing state or iron in 

 solution, as a protoxide or as a sulphate of iron, both 

 equally pernicious to plants. When exposed to the 

 atmosphere, the iron probably unites with the carbonic 

 acid of the air, and thus it becomes carbonate ot iron. 

 It will then be seen that Grasses thrive in it with much 

 luxuriance, and if the contents of the drain be thrown 

 out to its sides, better Grasses soon appear there. The 

 subject deserves inquiry. There is not much encourage- 



