THE AGRIC 



-^^Tu^otgood. The fields are not large 



*7X hed*e-rows are crowded with the Oak and the 

 i Neither the arable nor the pasture-land are 



£ lB1 * - * There is no general rotation adopted ; the 



8 



tm 



■ ^irrown The soil on the sandstone oitne coai 

 SMlre f is a' sandy clay-light when dry, but cling- 

 ?tozether when wet. In some places, when near to 

 !£ g rock it is brashy. It forms a good Barley soil, and 

 Zl crops of Wheat are raised from it. There are few 

 Simons on it, and these are greatly more valuable as 

 °°^ons than those on the clay. About three-fourths of 

 tV« district are in pasture, which is of good quality. 

 V v little of it is drained. There is rarely any regular 

 tern of cultivation followed on the arable land. The 

 2ntre of this district is crowded by a large population of 

 colliers and others engaged in the coal trade, and the 

 W is divided and subdivided among a great number of 

 holders. The farms are very small. Wheat and Pota- 

 toes are the chief crops. Barley and seeds are grown 

 occasionally. The average Wheat-crop per acre is below 

 three quarters ; that of Barley is about four quarters. 

 The crop of seeds, after being mowed and depastured 

 during one year, is broken up for Wheat or Potatoes in 

 the next. The system of breaking up seeds £pr Potatoes 



ii very common. 



Millstone Grit. — This is the name given to the rock 

 on which the coal strata lie. It is a siliceous sandstone, 

 varying considerably in its texture t it incloses and 

 forms the coal basin, dipping under the coal strata on 

 every side. It extends from Itchington, where it is over- 

 laid by the red marl, by Tytherington, Cromhall, and 

 Wickivar, to Chipping Sodbury. This band is nowhere 

 above half a mile in width : it is about 10 miles in length. 

 Beside this, which is the greatest extent of the millstone 

 grit, it occurs in the midst of the coal strata, dipping to 

 the north and south, and forming a ridge against which 

 those strata lie on either side. At Bristol it again makes 

 its appearance : Brandon-hill consists of this rock. It 

 occurs again at Almondsbury, in junction with the moun- 

 tain limestone. A very small extent of it, however, is here 

 exposed, being almost immediately covered up again by the 

 lias clay. It occurs also at Doynton,where its junction with 

 the mountain limestone is again exposed, the coal strata 

 being, however, obscured by the red marl and blue clay. 

 The country has been here curiously broken up by a fault, 

 so that on crossing from Wick towards Doynton, up the 

 ravine between the two places, we pass first over a tract 

 of the millstone-grit, then over one of mountain lime- 

 stone, again over a tract of a siliceous rock precisely simi- 

 lar to that first passed over ; and in the bed of the river 

 by Doynton, and in a small quarry near it, the mountain 

 limestone again occurs dipping at an angle of at least 

 60°. All these rocks dip one way — slightly to the south- 

 west The only mode in which their appearance in this 

 manner can be explained is, by supposing a fault to have 

 taken place across the strata in the line of their strike. 

 The millstone-grit varies very much in its texture. It 

 is, at Kingsweston, a very soft sandstone ; at Bristol it 

 is very hard ; at Wick it is a coarse conglomerate ; at 

 Cromhall, again, it is a hard siliceous sandstone, resem- 

 bling that at Bristol ; while, at Sodbury, it is a splintery 

 rock in which the granular structure is entirely effaced. 



Near Sodbury, Yate, and Wickwar, beds of strontian 

 occur, overlying the millstone grit. I obtained some 

 specimens in which fragments of the rock were imbedded 

 in the material of the mineral, and which, on being taken 

 out, left their impression, as if they had been enveloped 

 when in a soft state. This mineral is not made use of, 

 except in some instances, when pounded down as a finish 

 to gravel-walks, over which it is strewed. 



Agricultural Character of Millstone Grit.— The sur- 

 face of the millstone grit is generally level and uniform. 

 About three-fourths of it are in pasture. The fields are 

 frequently much overshadowed bv hedgerow-trees. The 

 aim is the tree which is natural to the soil. The pasture- 

 land, beside being soured by the shade of trees, is very 

 easily injured by dry weather. It is frequently very shal- 

 ° f ^' ana is then easily burnt. Perhaps an average crop 

 of 18 cwt. of hay per acre is mowed from it. The soil is 

 generally a keen sand, and, where it is shallow, is full of 

 «K 'angular fragments of the rock. Near Sodbury it is 

 *f k Cy 80i1, 0win S» probably, less to the disintegration 

 W the rock, which is here extremely hard, than to that of 

 we seams of clay by which it is separated. 



ine general rotation followed on the arable land is a 



4°t? r "p ear3 ' course ; !»** Wheat, 2d, Barley, 3d, Seeds, 

 * fl ' Fot atoes. It is a very general practice to leave the 

 "op of seeds out of the rotation, and thus reduce the 

 course to one of three years' duration. This makes it, 

 a sandv land, a very severe rotation, and under this 

 ystem it is accordingly found necessary to fallow land 

 occasionally. The average of the Wheat crop is less 



and* I 66 { l uarter8 » that of the Barley crop about three 

 : . a , h alf quarters. Turnips are sometimes grown 



thain 8eeds ' and the avera g e cr0 P is P robabl y less 

 an 10 tons per acre. Lime is much used on this land. 



nf i s n s P read ov er the soil once in three years, at the rate 



: l 8 " or 90 bushels to the acre. It is said to do it good 



en appli ca ti 0I1# Nothing but the farm-yard manure 



DMr PP i t0 the cro P s ' and the dun S dropped on the 

 on III™ is S enerall y gathered together and plactd 



cro V , le lan . d " No bone-dust is used for the Turnip 

 P* Indeed, it is nowhere generally used in Souih 

 Gloucestershire.- M. S. 



THE LUXURIANT-POTATO FAILURE. 



we nave had complaints without number of the failure 



of Potato crops, owing to the sets perishing by dry 

 rot, wet rot, &c, but the sort of failure which your cor- 

 respondent "R." laments, in a late Number of the 

 Gv2ette, and on which he asks your advice, we have not 

 heard so much about, though I believe it is not uucom- 

 mon, especially in small gardens, 



I shall never forget one of these luxuriant failures 

 coming under my notice when a lad. I had observed, 

 when the early Potatoes were dog up, that wherever 

 there was a plant with two or three good strong 

 stems it was sure to afford Potatoes of a larger size than 

 usual ; and when I afterwards saw a crop where all the 

 stems were large, I naturally concluded that the produce 

 of Potatoes must be large also. I accordingly ventured 

 to congratulate my grandfather on tfie abundant crop he 

 was likely to have, the tops being nearly as high as 

 myself; when he puzzled me much by saying that I was 

 sadly mistaken, for they were all running to tops. How 

 the Potatoes could nin to tops I could not imagine ; but 

 in after years I fancied I had found a satisfactory 

 explanation of the mystery, and I send it in the hope that 

 it may be of use to *' R." The sort of Potato of which 

 I speak was a very valuable intermediate variety, known 

 in North Lancashire as Lord Morris, or Murray's. It 

 was a vigorous grower, and the deficiency in the produce 

 I believe was owing to the ground being too highly 

 manured (for a very powerful manure was used), and to 

 the rows being much too near each other. '* R." does 

 not mention the distance at which his Potatoes were 

 planted, but he does say the tops were magnificent — 

 finer in many parts than he ever saw ; that the ground 

 was well manured with stable-dung, in many places with 

 Potter's guano, and frequently watered with liquid 

 manure, of human urine and soap-suds. The season 

 cannot be to blame, as he suggests, for upon the whole it 

 has not been unfavourable for late varieties ; besides, we 

 should have heard much more of it if the evil had been 

 general. There can hardly be any doubt, in my opinion, 

 that the frequent application of liquid manure was the 

 cause of the mischief. Plants, as well as animals, may 

 have too much of a good thing — they may be overfed ; 

 and it is an every-day observation that excessive luxu- 

 riance is opposed to fruitfulness. Facts in abundance 

 might be mentioned in proof: I will state one. Col. 

 Le Couteur, in his experiments with manures on Wheat, 

 found that one application of liquid manure was in- 

 juiious, but some Wheat to which liquid manure 

 was a second time applied, grew so rank and full of 

 leaves, that only a few plants produced ears, and the 



grain was worthless. 



One of the most visibly bad effects of an excess of 

 manure, especially of liquid manure, on Potatoes, is, 

 that owing to their luxuriance, the stems are more 

 brittle, and are much more lialle to be laid by winds and 

 rain, than if their growth had not been so rapid. 



If your correspondent is aware of the functions of 

 leaves, he will readily see the evils of this. Leaves are 

 most important organs, and their use can hardly be too 

 often explained and illustrated. All the matter which 

 constitutes the Potato is prepared or elaborated in the 

 leaves by the action of light, and consequently the pro- 

 duce of a plant must in a great measure depend on the 

 quantity of leaves which it can expose to the light. If, 

 then, by a too luxuriant growth, many Potato stems are 

 laid, a considerable number of leaves must be shaded, 

 and the crop of tubers must be so much less in conse- 

 quence. 



But if, in addition to this over-manuring, the rows 

 are too near each other, the evil is much greater, the 

 Potatoes now run to tops with a vengeance ; the stems 

 are drawn up, they are taller and weaker than if grown 

 farther apart ; the sap, as was observed by Mr. Knight, 

 will have farther to travel, and more time will be re- 

 quired for its ascent and descent ; and even if the stems 

 should continue upright to the end — and it is hardly 

 likely they could — there would even then be a less 

 breadth of efficient foliage than if the rows had been at 

 proper distances apart. In the latter case, almost every 

 leaf might have been able to perform its functions, while 

 in the former case the lower leaves would be shaded and 

 useless. The plants would have presented a compara- 

 tively level surface— the uppermost leaves only would 



have been efficient. 



Look at our woods. A wood where thinning has been 

 wisely attended to, will yield a much greater weight of 

 timber in a given time, than another wood where the 

 trees have been left to themselves after planting. In a 

 few years the branches meet, then intermingle, and the 

 trees become engaged in a life or death struggle, fight- 

 ing as it were for the precious light. 



The cause of the difference in the weight of timber 

 produced is obvious, for there must be a much greater 

 breadth of foliage exposed to light by an acre of more 

 or less cone-shaped trees, standing at proper distances 

 apart, than by an acre of trees which are crowded. 



There is another case which I may as well mention 

 now, by which it is possible there may be a vigorous 

 growth of stems, without a corresponding crop t 1 tubers ; 

 and that is, where in a poor soil manure has been placed, 

 as is the common practice, in the rows only. Some 

 may be inclined to doubt this, but it was the opinion cf 

 the late Mr. Knight. In such a case he observed the 

 young plants grow very freely at first, because their first 

 emitted roots find abundant nutriment, and these 

 roots consequently extend rapidly ; but they extend into 

 the unmanured soil, and if that be not rich, it cannot 

 afford food. Abundant machinery will consequently 

 exist with a scarcity of raw material ; and the produce 

 of tubers will naturally be found defective, comparatively 

 with the growth of the plants. 



If Liebig'i theory of the summer nutrition of vegetables 

 was true, this should be the best and most economical 

 mode of applying manure, because we should then have 

 the greatest amount of foliage at the least expense of 

 manure. But as has hitherto been the faith of this 

 country, plants depend upon the soil as well as upon the 

 air for their food during the summer, as well as at any 

 other period of their growth. We should, therefore, be 

 careful to provide for their summer wants. 



If M R.," then, has any faith in the above remarks, ho 

 will withhold his liquid manure from Lis Potato crops 

 next year, and so apply the other manure that his plants 

 may live frugally, and not expend that in the production 

 of superfluous stems and leaves which should have been 

 reserved for the more important production of tubers. 

 He will be careful also that his plants have sufficient 

 breathing room, and that the rows of his late varieties be 

 at least two feet apart. The object to be aimed at is to 

 have the whole of the ground covered with foliage during 

 summer, without the leaves of one plant interfering with, 

 those of another ; this is a point of great importance in 

 the culture of all plants producing grain, fruit, timber, or 

 roots, and I am afraid is no*: yet sufficiently understood 

 by the majority of those whom it more particularly con- 

 cerns.— J. TownUy, 



ON THE ACTION OF GYPSUM, with REMARKS 

 ON MISSTATEMENTS OF THE WRITER'S 



VIEWS.— By J. S. Henslow. 



I am nut intending in, this comraunicitio* to enter 

 into any discussion respecting the fixation of ammonia 

 by gypsum. I propose doing this on some future occa- 

 sion, whenever I shall have been favoured with the 

 returns I am still expecting to receive of my Schedule A. 

 Can I hasten those returns a little, by requesting the 

 several experimenters to forward them as soon as they 

 conveniently can, or else to inform me of the rt ns 

 why they have not been able to fill them up? My 

 present object is a word of advice to practical men, on a 

 subject which is of quite as much consequence to them 

 as the determination of a disputed point in agricultural 

 chemistry. I would seek to impress upon them the pro- 

 priety of extreme caution in attending to the advertise- 

 ments of merchants who are recommending the novel 

 manures which are now being applied to various agricul- 

 tural purposes. I am not alluding to the adulterations 

 of these manure, but to the applications of them. The 

 public has already received due caution respecting the 

 iniquitous extent to whirh such adulterations are carried 

 on ; as in the example noticed in page 259 of the Gar- 

 deners' Chronicle for 1844, where a substance was 

 proved by analysis to have been adulterated to the 

 amount of 97 per cent. ; so that a farmer might be 

 obliged to pay at the rate of GG/. per acre, instead of 

 40s. to produce a proposed effect. I pass by the dis- 

 honest dealer, and wish to speak of the advertisements 

 of dealers whom I shall presume to be perfectly honest, 

 but mistaken in the advice they give to the farmer. I 

 find my name has been set forth as a guarantee for the 

 efficacy of gypsum in its application to agricultural pur- 

 poses, and therefore I have a right to caution the public 

 against supposing that I have directly sanctioned what I 

 certainly have not advised to the unqualified extent 

 which might be supposed from the terms of an adver- 

 tisement lately sent to me. I have not the slightest in- 

 tention of impugning th^ motives of the advertiser, of 

 whose firm I know nothing, any more than I know of 

 any other firm dealing in this description of merchandise. 

 Rut I must declare that he has gone far beyond any- 

 thing I have ever stated in recommendation of gypsum 

 as a fixer of ammonia. He may be quite right in 

 his recommendation of gypsum for such purposes, 

 and I shall be much surprised if it does not prove 

 to be efficacious under peculiar circumstances; but 

 his declaration of my views is much too unqualified when 

 he says— " Sir John Herschel, Liebig. Professors Hen- 

 slow 'and Johnstone, strongly advocate the addition of 

 gypsum to liquid manure-tanks, and dunghills, for the 

 purpose of fixing the ammonia." Surely any one who 

 has seen and thought about what I have suid in my 

 "Letters to the Farmers of Suffolk,"' must have under- 

 stood that I have hitherto been inviting practical men to 

 make trial of the advice which chemists have given them 

 concerning gypsum as a fixer of ammonia. In my 

 Address to the HadieLh Farmers' Club, which precedes 



have said _ — - . . , 



reason shall be shown against such a practice), that a 



little powdered gvpsum be scattered from time to time 

 over the materials (of the dunghill) as they accumulate ; 

 it ean do no harm, and I btlieve may do much good. 

 Let a sufficient quantity of water be sprinkled over it to 

 wet the gypsum thoroughly." This exposition of the 

 applicability of the views of chemists concerning the use 

 f gvpsum, is very far short of proving|me to be a" strong 

 advocate" for the use of it under all the circumstances 

 named ; and the letters which follow greatly qudify even 

 the opinion given above ; because I afterwards found that 

 some chemists of reputation were doubtful of the gypsum 

 proving effectual in dunghills. I wrote those letters with, 

 a view to provoke practical men to decide the question 

 for themselves. I am not yet in a position to state the 

 result of their co-operation for this purpose. I felt sur- 

 prised also at finding the name of Sir John Herschel 

 quoted as a " strong advocate" for the use of gypsum, 

 and therefore wrote to the advertiser to point out to me 

 any passage in Sir John's writings which might relate 

 , to the subject. He has obligingly referred me to the 

 1 'Farmer's Magazine" for 1843, p. M* where he states 



