ture 



1844.] 



The same year's seed was found so much better 

 • practice that it" would be well to get it raised in the 

 'outh ef France, or in some early climate, in time for 

 Turnip sowing in this part of the country ; he thought it 

 ossible that at Penzance, a place remarkable for its 

 earlv crops, by a little management, Swede seed might be 

 raised in time — a question worthy the notice of our 

 « e «tern neighbours. 



Mr. Kingdon begged Mr. Archer to favour the club 

 vrith some further particulars, referred to last meeting, 

 . CO nnection with his mode of more economically keep- 

 ine farm-horses. Mr. Archer said his stables were filled 

 with ground-racks, but he did not generally use them ; 

 he had his hay and straw cut into chaff, in a loft above ; 

 the chaff was then mixed with the usual allowance of 

 corn and let down through a tube to the manger below. 

 The mouth of the tube and the manger were arranged on 

 the principle of the bird-cage fountain, so that the horse 

 could not breathe on, or otherwise injure his food, no 

 more being drawn out than was eaten ; by this means he 

 had found 14 lbs. of chaff and two gallons of corn per 

 day sufficient. Mr. Rodd then detailed the result of 

 experiments made at Trebartha, on the field he had 

 placed at the disposal of the committee. He had brought 

 with him specimens of Turnips grown with the different 

 manures recommended. Those from the ground ma- 

 nured with guano alone were far superior to any of the 

 rest ; those with bones, next in size ; those with guano 

 and sulphuric acid, and those with bone-dust and sul- 

 phuric acid, had both been comparative failures, as might 

 be seen by the specimens he had brought with him. He 

 would now detail the result of experiments on a subject 

 introduced by their president, and which he perceived by 

 the public prints had received his name, ** Gurneism." 

 He had brought with him specimens of the effects pro- 

 duced by its action, from different kinds of covering, 

 all of which were labelled. The Grass under its influence 

 would be observed to be a foot long, whilst that on the 

 piece of turf, cut from an adjoining portion of the field, 

 uncovered, would be seen to be but two inches in length. 

 The greatest efTect,however,hadbeenproducedbya basket- 

 work netting. He had not been able to obtain any statisti- 

 cal data of the increase produced by straw, as the piece of 

 ground hurdled off for this purpose had been broken into 

 by his cattle, and the Grass had been eaten ; the increase, 

 however, had been great. Mr. Gurney observed that 

 since their last meetiug he had ninde several experiments ; 

 some showed the operation of light and shade. He had 

 covered a piece of ground by day, removing the covering 

 every night ; vegetation under it was soon much in- 

 creased, and of a similar appearance to that where the 

 covering was constantly down. The increase was at the 

 rate of 4000 lbs. per acre, in three weeks. On another 

 piece of ground, covered by night, and uncovered by day, 

 vegetation was evidently impaired, and looked unhealthy ; 

 there was no increase of Grass whatever. The fibrous 

 covering in both these cases was long oaten straw, laid 

 on at the rate of 20 lbs. to the land-yard. 



Westfirle — On Monday last the meeting of this Club 

 took place. The subject for the evening discussion was, 

 How far, or to what extent, can poor pasture or mea- 

 dow lands be converted into arable, without raising the 



price of meat to the consumer ? A member said that 



he ploughed up four acres of turf which would not keep 

 a sheep. He ploughed with four bullocks, let it lay till 

 spring, raked up and burned the Grass, then ploughed 

 again, and sowed red Globe Turnips, and the produce 

 *ould keep 200 ewes for two months. — Another member 

 *&id he thought when land was laid down, it ought to 

 remain so six or seven years, as the accumulation of 

 vegetable matter would be of advantage to the following 

 crops. In Norfolk, where labour was cheap, it was laid 

 down for four or five years. — A member stated that in 

 some parts they laid the land down for two or three 

 years, and then ploughed it again. This was the system 

 °n the Cotswold, which is a sheep country. He was of 

 opinion that it was of considerable advantage, and in 

 breaking up he should not take the best or the poorest, 

 as he doubted whether the latter would pay, as the pro- 

 duce would- not perhaps be good enough to fatten cattle : 

 in his opinion the old pasture land of England contained 

 the raw material of more grain than the inhabitants 

 could consume. Perhaps one reason why landlords 

 objected to the breaking up of land was, that the tenant 

 round when he entered a farm that the land contained a 

 given quantity of vegetable matter,which wasthe landlord's 

 property, and it was the tenant's duty to leave the land in 

 Jhe same condition ; but if broken up, the landlords feared 

 at the soil would be exhausted and impoverished ; but 

 j»e ; thought that when land was broken up a higher rent 

 !ght fairly be expected by the landlord, as the farmer's 

 P out 8 would be considerably increased ; he was also of 



like" 00 that by Ia * in S down otlier land tue P roduce would 

 WlSe u e greater ; he had broken up land which was 



g0 , Wortl1 above 7s. per acre, and it still retained the 

 cron (iUaIity wllicn pasture land always bears to following 

 old "T !t work «l better, and yielded better corn than the 

 a d arabIe i fce broke up 30 acres and laid down 30 acres, 



tirr t0und that that which ,,e broke U P y^ided three 



nrod S RS much as thac wbich he had laid down > but the 

 L. „ WOuld be larger far a considerable time. There 



wouH° l ? UeSll0n but tlmt the ]a y' m S d ° wn of arable land 

 a rp 5°° d ' as by that mean » ^ conveved to the soil 

 been d S i Upply ° ( ve S etable matter of which it had 



as he b P r i" He W88 in favour of the alternate system, 

 both «i. e «k*I ! he l )roduc e would be much greater on 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



677 



be increased to the farmer, and the public would be bene- 

 fited by the increase of stock and corn. At the same 

 time, this meeting is further of opinion that, as a general 

 practice, the alternate system would be preferable to any 

 method of breaking up without restriction." 



Barnet. — A meeting of landowners and farmers resid- 

 ing in this neighbourhood was held on Wednesday last, 

 for the purpose of takiug into consideration the injurious 

 character of the existing system of hay selling, and to 

 discuss the plan proposed to be substituted in lieu thereof, 

 through the instrumentality of an Association, projected 

 by some influential hay farmers in this locality. Several 

 startling facts were stated to the meeting, proving the 

 necessity of some exertion being made to lighten the 

 burthen laid upon the hay farmer. From the year 1840 

 to 1843, the price of hay had been gradually falling, the 

 average price of those years having exhibited a decrease 

 of from 20*. to 30*. per load ; while, on the otlier hand, 

 the general crops of the last three years did not produce 

 an average quantity. The scarcity of the present year's 

 crop must, of course, cause higher prices, but that was 

 an exception to the general prospect. There was a 

 necessity, then, to see whether any relief could be obtained 

 in the way of diminution in the charges or expenses in- 

 curred in the sale of hay. When any complaint on this 

 subject was addressed to salesmen, it was invariably met 

 by the cry of " Oh ! look for a reduction of rent ; " but, 

 on the contrary, let the farmers see what the salesmen 

 took from their pockets ! The salesmen's charges 

 amounted to no less than one-third of the rent of meadow 

 land, or ten per cent, upon an average of the whole crop. 

 This view of the case showed that it not only concerned 

 the tenants, but the landlords also. The extent of the 

 burthen imposed on the hay farmer under the present 

 system, was truly surprising. A year or two ago an 

 attempt was made to reduce the amount of the charges, 

 but this was resisted by the salesmen, and the same per 

 centage which was paid when hay sold from 5/. to 10/. 

 per load, was still continued when the price of the article 

 had fallen to 70s. per load. Believing that an absolute 

 necessity existed that every endeavour should be made, 

 to reduce the charges which press so injuriously upon 

 the farmer, several influential persons had attended meet- 

 ings lately held to devise a remedy which was proposed 

 to be effected through an Association of hay farmers, who 

 would appoint their own salesman, taking upon thetn- 



Miscellaneous. 



On the Comparative Advantage of Employing- Horses 

 and Oxen in Farm-work.— This is a subject which has 

 excited some controversy among agriculturists. Lord 

 Karnes wrote elaborately on it, and was at great pains in 

 showing the superior advantages of employing oxen. 

 His observations and calculations are not suited, in many 

 spects, to the advanced state of husbandry in our dav, 

 however valuable they may have been three-quarters of "a 

 century ago. The writer of the following essay is situ- 

 ated in a district of Scotland where oxen are not much 

 used in farm-work ; but he has for several years past 

 been in the practice of employing them himself; 

 and in the hope that his observations may not be 

 unacceptable to his southern brethren, he has presumed 

 to send them across the Border. Previously to the 

 discovery of shoeing in the ninth century, horses' feet 

 having no protection against the stones and hard ground, 

 and their hoofs not being so durable as those of oxen, 

 the latter almost superseded them in field labour. Even 

 up to the middle of last century, when there were few 

 made roads," and when, consequently, all thoroughfares 

 were nearly impassable for wheel carriages, agricultural 

 produce was carried on the backs of the animals, oxen as 

 well as horses. It may not be altogether out of place or 

 uninteresting here to allude to the plough-team of for- 

 mer days. The manner of yoking oxen in early times 

 seems to have been to fasten the draught gear to the 

 horns. This barbarous practice extended even to a mo- 

 dern date. Lord K^nies says — * People differ in the 

 manner of yoking oxen ; in some places they are yoked 

 to the tip of the horn, and in some by the root ; these 

 modes are visibly inconvenient. When an ox draws by 

 the shoulder like a horse, his head is free, and his mo- 

 tion natural ; when yoked by the horns, he lowers his 

 head to the line of the draught, his posture is constrained, 

 and his step short ; his neck indeed is strong, but his 

 shoulder is a better fulcrum for the draught." This is 

 very cool reasoning certainly. It was well for the poor 

 brutes that the policy and interest of the master chanced 

 to be accordant with humanity. Until about the end of 

 last century, the ordinary collars were not used ; a sort 

 of stuffed bow was fastened round the neck, and the 

 single tree lay on the shoulder, to which were fastened 

 the chains for drawing by. The array of numbers and 

 apparent strength employed in a plough-team would as- 



selves the responsibility of all sales on credit, abolishing tonish our modern agriculturists. From the earliest 

 the mischievous practice of throwing the risk of bad debts j times, I presume, up to about the year 1 760, as many 

 upon the a^ent, and providing a fund for prompt pay- ' •*»--—» »«.__«■•_, ... 



ment to those members who mi^ht be desirous of imme- 

 diately receiving the proceeds of the hay sent by them 

 for sale. A general outline of the rules proposed to carry 

 out the intended new system of hay selling was then 

 given, from which it appeared that a considerable reduc- 

 tion of the present charges would be at once effected ; 

 while in the event of the Association receiving the extended 

 support of those for whose benefit it was especially de- 

 signed, the charges would ultimately be reduced to a mere 

 nominal amount. The object was a legitimate one, in 

 which both landlord and tenant were equally concerned ; 

 and it was urged strongly upon the attention of the 

 farmers and gentlemen ot the neighbourhood. 



Hcbiefas. 



Practical Instructions for using Guano as a Manure; 

 illustrated by Practical Results. James Clark, 24 

 and 25, Billiter-street, London. 



With the exception of eight or ten pages of original 

 correspondence at the end of it, the contents of this 

 pamphlet are compiled from works already before the 

 public; and amongst these the columns of this Paper 



from 12 to 20 oxen, and G or 8 horses would have been 

 engaged in drawing one plough ; this can be partly ac- 

 counted for otherwise than by the rude and awkward 

 manner of joking. Before 1770 very little breadth in- 

 deed of artificial Grasses was sown. The ground was 

 cropped for a succession of years, until the natural 

 Grasses (what we now term weeds) got thickly and firmly 

 rooted, the growth of which afforded food during the 

 day in summer for the animals, and at mid-day the 

 ploughmen pulled thistles Irom among the corn for night 

 provender. In winter the horses were allowed about a 

 feed of Oats daily, with Oat-straw ; the oxen got the 

 latter only. While thus poorly fed, the animals had not 

 strength in the draught ; hence the numbers requisite. 

 The farm which I occupy has been tenanted by my an- 

 cestors for many generations. At the time of the Revo- 

 lution, my great-grandfather, and his son for many years 

 after that, employed 12 working horses and 28 working 

 oxen, one half of each set being yoked to one plough ; I 

 now work the same land to better purpose, 1 presume, 

 with G horses and 2 oxen. In further discussing this 

 subject, I shall endeavour to treat it in the order pointed 

 out in the conditions : — 1. The Age and Breed of the 

 Horses and Oxen, and the time at which they arc first 

 put to Work. — Horses in this country are put to work 



have been the fruitful though unacknowledged source of 



much useful matter. The directions given by Mr. Clark I at three 5f *" old ? the 7 f' e of * en ir . om the commence- 

 as to the use of guano are sufficiently trustworthy, and ?™\ wor ^ d steadily, although it is considered preju- 

 dicial to their future development. I am not aware of 



the evidence which he has gathered together of its value 

 as a fertiliser is perfectly conclusive. We extract the 

 following as one of his most interesting proofs of this. 

 It is extracted from a letter by Mr. Grieve, of Archer- 

 field, near Haddington : — M 1 have given you, in the fol- 

 lowing table, the result of a trial made by me last year, 

 with four different kinds of manure, in growing Swedish 

 Turnips : the manure was applied in the drills, without 

 any moisture, and the Turnips sown on the 20th May, 

 1843. Where the guano was used they brairded more 

 rapidly, were sooner ready for the hoe, and kept ahead 

 of the others to the 27th November, when they were 

 lifted and carefully weighed. The soil of the field on 

 which they were grown is a dry, friable loam, and had 

 been from time immemorial in Grass, until 1838. 



i a- 



Kinds and quanti I £ « 



ties of mauures j^ u 



used per Scotch w c 



acre. 



« o> 



— 



*0 — C 



o o 







/. s. 2 



c 

 c 





J3 r r. 



u 



c e 



u 



o 



o 

 " O 



— ! 



a 



3 



T. 





s 

 - 





Guano, 5 cwts It 15 29 17 13 6* 12* 11 I 13 



Farm dun^ I2c«rts 



Bones, 26£ bu»liels 



Rape-dust, 12 cwts 



3 12 25 7 8 6 15 

 3 3 25 124 6 5 Ij 

 3 22 19.J 22 5 9 



6 



14 







2 

 

 2 



12 

 14 



S J 



f; :<S 2$ 13 



13 34 14 27 



22 31 6£ 14 



6 30 i;| 



ma 



do a i tV" d „ pa * t . ure land * The followin 6 resolution 

 op ed : — " i t j g the opinion of this meetiner that 



eeting 



U P wVh m ^ present under pasture, might be broken 



much advantage, inasmuch as their value would {either rape-dust or bones.". 



On the same field where the Turnips grew, we sowed 

 Wheat on the 17th February, 1^44, without manure of 

 any kiod: no difference was observed in the Wheat till 

 it came out in the ear. Where the dung was used, it 

 appeared a little taller and stronger in the straw than 

 that with guano ; but the guano is decidedly better than 



the breed of the farm-horse in the middle and northern 

 districts of Scotland beiDg recognised by any particular 

 name. The most perfect figure of a draught-horse is 

 .at of the Clydesdale breed ; he is distinguished by a 

 short compact body and strong broad bone, these pro- 

 perties being characteristic of strength and durability. 

 Oxen are put to work somewhat older than horses, and 

 they are not at the outset so able for steady work ; they 

 cannot be depended on before they are four years old. 

 Our work oxen are bred principally in the shires of An- 

 gus and Aberdeen. The peculiarities in their figure are, 

 a small head, deep chest, round body, and short legs. 

 The largest sizes, although frequently selected for work, 

 are, I conceive, not the most proper. They have natu- 

 rally small bones in comparison with the size of the 

 body ; hence the strength of the limbs and the weight of 

 the carcass do not always correspond in reckoning them 

 as " beasts of burthen." The weight of my oxen aver- 

 ages about 800 lbs. without the offal, when fed. When 

 much heavier, I find they want activity and endurance, 

 and their feet, from the additional weight, are more apt 

 to give way. 2. The Condition of Horses and Oxen, 

 the Work performed by each, and its relative Value ; 

 Nature of the Soil where worked.— la all well and eco- 

 nomically managed farming establishment*, due regard is 

 had to the keeping the horses in good condition. Effi- 

 cient work can never be performed by ill-fed, ill-groomed 

 animals. The ordinary allowance of food to each horse 

 daily is 16 lbs. of Oats, and as much Oat-straw as he 

 chooses to eat. My oxen get as many Turnips as they 

 can ear. They are fed four times a day, at 5 a. m., 11 

 A.M., 6 p.m., and half-past 8 p.m., and at each time they 

 , eat betwixt them 125 lbs., being in all 500 lbs. daily. I 

 1 often slice the Turnips for them, especially at mid-day, 



