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1844.] 



S"~ EED WHEAT.— Donningtoo, near Stow, Glouces- 

 tershire— From the number of testimonials received of the 



THE ^AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



t^/ icrpiiiit." — li\j*»* *.«.v ..»-..«%*»_.. .,* vwowiiiwiiiiifl ittwum itj tut: 



extraordinary crops produced both this year and last, ROBERT 

 BEMAN is induced to offer to the public his Red Cluster 



. *. ».l. wilt Krvth c^aenne li'ic i*\t»/-\H »^/%r^^l *w* Ki^l« A l^ ****** _ -_, 



It 

 B 



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Wheat, which both seasons has produced 6o bushels per acre in 

 several instances; and, having: been grown upon old turf, and 

 I andpicked before it was planted, it is beautilul seed, and per- 

 fectly clean. Price Js. 6rf. per bushel. 



r. B. has likewise a small quantity of the celebrated Whitfield 

 Red Stiaw White Wheat to dispose of. Price 8$. per bushel. 



Orders, accompanied by a remittance or good reference 

 punctually attended to. Sacks marked Is. 6d. each. 



05 



remunerating 



9 



* 



i 

 9 



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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1S44. 



MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 

 Thujudav, Oct. 24— Agricultural Imp. Soc. of Ireland. 



Thursday, Oct. 31— Agricultural Imp. Soc- of Ireland. 



FARMERS* CLUBS. 

 Oct 21— Wenlock, Fairford. 

 t. 82— Framlingham, Rayleigh. 



Oct. 2J-Hichm.md»hire, Grove Ferry, Blofield and Walsham 

 Oct. 25-Debenham, Stoke Ferry, Hadleigh. "a.saam. 



Oct. 26— Gloucester. 



Oct. 28-Chepitow, Wickham Market, Yoxford. 



I 



With regard to the best practical method of effect- 

 ing the general introduction and promoting the bene- 

 ficial operation of the Allotment System, we deem it 

 desirable that the inhabitants of every rural parish 

 should carry it out among themselves. The ac- 

 quaintance which they may be supposed to possess 

 with their own circumstances and affairs constitutes 

 them the proper agents in the matter. Wherever it 

 is proposed to introduce the system, a meeting of the 

 inhabitants should be called, and a small committee 

 appointed for the purpose.* This committee should 

 obtain a list of such cottagers resident in the parish 

 as are desirous of renting land, together with a detail 

 of the circumstances of each applicant, statino- his 

 age, residence, the number and capabilities of his 

 family, the name of his employer, the name of the 

 owner of his cottage, the size of his present garden 

 the quantity of any land he may elsewhere occupy* 

 the names of owner and occupier of land adjoining - 

 with any other information that may be needed. ' 



These particulars having been ascertained, it will 

 generally, perhaps, be found best to appoint a sub- 

 committee of about three individuals to superintend 

 the carrying out of the system, subject to the super- 

 vision of the general committee. This sub-com- 

 mittee in forming their plans should lay it down as 

 a general rule, to be deviated from as little as pos- 

 sible, that every allotment should be near to the 

 cottage of its occupier This is of great importance; 

 Jor if it be far off much time will be lost in goino- to 



f- r/' - the manure cannot be so easily nfade 

 arable for it, and it is not, as it should be, under 



he tenants eye. The disadvantages of such an 

 arrangement are obvious. 



The land should of course be obtained of as good 

 a quality, and at as moderate a rent as possible. It 



nouid however, be borne in mind that the system 

 » not likely to be established on a wide and perma- 



rnn! T*S Unl ? SS lt is made the interest of all parties 



?T f d with it to diffuse and uphold it. The 

 «naiord.. therefore, should have such a rent as will 

 remunerate him for subdividing his land, and fencing 



verv, „ l0 ^ ents 5 and such a rent the labourer can 

 ver y well afford to pay. 



small !! m * Cases fa; " mers might be induced to sub-let 



coZr?T ? f their fields which mi g ht a 4J°in the 

 can h! , Iabourer ; and all parish land which 



decidedlu? u re , 1 avaiIabIe for the purpose ought 

 j^.[ t0 .be let in allotments. 



well thp . m P ortant for the committee to consider 

 kndlord a°'i Ul0 , n which the y s,ia11 take between the 

 attach.? i,, e allotment tenant - We think the 



] °rd Md i tI old his land direct, y from the iand * 



arran-empn? m the con >mittee. Under such an 



^thJZhlh 7 - C0 " wr in a P arish **&* be " 

 apermanpn, e lnst 'Umentality of the committee. 



Comm*' 0c Cupier of a small nlnt nf ornimH • ih< 



would 



adoption of s^ucliTpIar^ "° ° bjeCtion l ° ** 



^rl S1Ze of each allotment will of course varv 

 Hp h. it c f \ rcum stances of the case. Regard should 



the ih T Stren - th - and leisure S the man, 



ze o •' T l 3ge °I lhe chiIdre "> **• and *l 

 Sn.wn f alI ? t . ment should be proportioned to the 



SoS 7 W^^ U Which he is thus fou » d to 

 ESSTl e 1 b . el,ev 1 e that an error is frequently com- 



mtred in making these allotments too smalt An 

 able-bodied man, with a wife and four or five 

 children, can easily manage half an acre of land, and 

 m some of the cases which we have quoted much 

 more was successfully and beneficially occupied 



We now come to the consideration of a point on 

 which we believe erroneous views are frequently 

 entertained--we allude to the regulations 4 under 

 which the allotment tenant should be placed. M'e 

 tinnk that the sole object which we should attempt 



hn 3 T v! feCtIy by 1 means of these regulations 

 should be the proper cultivation of the lancfand the 



punctual payment of the rent. We would not 

 enforce any particular rotation of crops, but would 

 merely stipulate, that a certain portion of the produce 

 should be consumed on the land, and that the manure 

 produced should be returned toit. Every tenant ou-ht 

 to be sure of receiving the value of any improvements 

 he might effect in the land by deep digging or 

 manuring, in the event of his being obliged °o leave 

 his allotment before reaping the fruits of them. A 

 time for the payment of the rent should be fixed, 

 and any minor regulations adopted which the special 

 state of the case might require; but beyond this we 

 should not be disposed to go. We would not attempt 

 (as is frequently done) to enforce regulations as to 

 general moral conduct. If a man were a good 

 ton*, he should hold his allotment, if a bad one, he 

 should lose it; and having provided for this, we 

 would leave the improved circumstances of the indi- 

 vidual to accomplish the change in his moral cha- 

 racter which they are proved to be capable of doin- 

 liut we cannot believe that it is desirable to impose 

 regulations on him as a tenant which it does not fall 

 vmnm the province of the landlord to enforce. 

 n natever may be the character of the labourer, he 

 is entitled to the means of supporting himself and his 

 tamily lo provide him with those means is to 

 lavour his moral improvement— to withold them, is 



to plunge him into the abyss of pauperism or of 

 crime. 



Since the allotment system has been so abundantly 

 proved to be the fertile parent of such great advan- 

 tages to every portion of the community, and since it 

 is a system so easy of introduction everywhere, may 

 we not call on every individual connected with the 

 land of this country, as owner or as occupier, to pro- 

 mote its general introduction I Humanity on the one 

 hand, and necessity on the other, combine to urge 

 attention to the condition of depressed labourers, and 

 the call of each will become louder and louder till 

 their demands are fairly considered and met.- 



hke form, and are afterwards covered with straw, 

 roughly drawn out as thatch, which is kept in its 

 place by the weight of long poles resting upon it. 

 At intervals of two or three yards faggots e placed 

 in the centre of the heap, inclining " backwards, and 

 reaching from the ground to the roof (see a, «, a , 

 tig 2). Them act somewhat as chimneys, and 

 facilitate a due ventilation of the heap., thus'hinder- 



mg any tendency to heating or putrefaction in the 

 roots. 



When one heap is completed, another is built 

 within a foot of it, the passage left being intended as 

 a channel both for the egress of the water which 

 drops from the thatch, and for the circulation of air 

 No security against frost, at the sides of contiguous 

 heaps, is required, further than that which is afforded 

 by the interlocking of the bushy eaves of their 

 respective roofs. \\ hen, however, a series of heaps 

 has thus accumulated, as in Pig. l, a rough dead- 

 wood hedge should be construc:ed around them (see 

 section in Fig. 2), and the space between it and the 



hurdles which may be U or 18 inches, should be 



loosely filled with straw. 



Last winter, the weather during which, however 

 was not very adverse to the successful pn rvation 

 of roots, we kept upwards of J-J00 tons of Swedes, 

 Carrots, and Mangold-Wurael in this way, without 

 losing any considerable portion by putrefiu n. We 

 shall take an early opportunity of returning to this 

 subject. 



THE ANOMALIES OF AGRICULTURE. 



(Continued fr-m pig* ( ; .o.) 



LET those to whom this seems •■ a marvel and a mys- 

 tery, and to whom the contemplation of the subject 



from this point of view, u comparatively new, read a few 

 pages Of Evelyn's •• Terra," ur.d see the tort ol stuff that 

 paa d for science with the literati of the Royal Society 

 of his day ; take this passage as a specimen. 

 "Those who have written * de . combinatoria * 



reckon up no fewer than one imndn.i and seventy-nine mil- 

 lions one thousand and sixty (!) dil. nt BOrts of earth ; 

 but of all this enormous number, as of all other good 

 things, they do not acquaint us with above eight or nine 

 eminently useful to our purpose," &C. ; and a little fur- 

 ther c.n, in informing his " acute and nobl< aud c nee, 

 where to find the best soil on their estates, he continues: 



My lord Bacon directs to the obserfation of the 



rainbow, where its extremity seems to rest, as pointing 

 to a more roscid (?) and fertile mould ; but this I con- 

 ceive may be very fallacious, it having two horns or bases 

 which are ever opposite " ' 



L _ M 



Without entering, at present, into any detail on 

 the most economical method of removing and con- 

 suming the various green crops now cultivated by 

 the farmer, we have to submit to our readers the 

 following figures, descriptive of a good plan of 

 harvesting them. 



Fig. i. 



committee """ ? c ? u P ler of a smaI1 plot of ground ; the 

 *ouId wnrl i tllen be tnss °l vea \ and the system 

 should iWl.i. y ltseIf ' Tlle committee, therefore, 



ao, e land* 01 "? y USC itS iniluence in procuring suit- 

 in some cases, where a number <^f houses 



Iro/I *rt^^*i • . «... _ 



Fig. 2. 



ar e corjo- rp{ v Q . —^ vaac», wuere a numoer^r nouses 



divi <le a fi!n u° gether ' ie ma y be desirable to sub- 



^ trouble f ™ Uer of which mi S ht ob J* ect t0 

 tenantry T n ° r f ce * vni g rents from a numerous 



amon S*the rp S a Case Iet a respectable man from 

 of th * wholp u S become a nswerable for the rent 

 acre beinir J°i 1] ! ct and P a y ^ in, a small sum per 

 ■Jk.JTry Wiled to the rent of the whole, and 



• t, !°^epurpose of covering his risk and 



The ; -^ 



Ko^^w^^f^^^ *»■* ^e« W it is 



Sin C ? by Mr • SwoeJ iZ ti tl i e laW ° f the land - An Act 



W dV Parlia ^nt?ena ct s £ *V ¥"*** and passed in the last 

 air L d f s,r able that th? ? •*• ,n any parish whe r e « ma 7 



— uisitlon signec 



6 Paris »' - 1ecid? d ,^ n l of «>« "'habitant householders of 



or non-adoption of the 



Fig. 3. 



of theLV re ^ Ji «it on ien° P d a i ny .L hree in «»Wtant householder^ 



owners 



I ^- e Parish, to d e d 8nd of thc inh 



I G »r'ci en ^M ct afterwards nrorw^ tl ? n OI nonad °ption of the Dringing mem irom tne held being backed between 



'^h«%r ,w ^^'^^~SSStoi , orS2 them and tilted up at the proper place. The roots 



are piled up above the hurdles in a ridged or roof- 



The first of these is a drawing in perspective of a 

 series of heaps, of which Fig. 2 is the longitudinal, 

 and Fig. 3 the transverse vertical section. They are 

 made in the following manner i — Two row's of 

 hurdles are placed upon a firm piece of pound, 

 parallel to one another, and 9 feet apart. The in- 

 terval between these is filled with roots, the carts 

 bringing them from the field being backed between 



•Such is the direction of the immortal author of the 

 "Novum Organon"!— Such the reply and criticism of 

 the most talented and admired biographer, physiologist, 

 scholar, and naturalist of his day— John Evelyn ! Come 

 we now to the next epoch — still amid the annals of the 

 Royal Society— the reading of Sir Humphrey Davy's 

 lectures on Agricultural Chemistry, and from thence 

 to the appearance of Liebig's works. Let it be borne 

 in mind, that from the publication of the " Terra " papers 

 to the reading of Davy's lectures, not more than 135 years 

 had passed ; from thence to the translation of Lie'big's 

 "Organic Chemistry of Agriculture and Physiology" (or, 

 as the work might indeed with emphatic simplicity be 

 called, Quantitative Physiology), there had elapsed but 

 15 years. Compare this period with that which has 

 elapsed since " Adam delved and Eve span ;" or takeout 

 the last five years alone, since the quantitative method 

 of Liebig and the "practice with science " of the Roval 

 Agricultural Society have shed their joint and kindred 

 influence upon the art of tilling the earth ; and then let 

 us compare, if it be possible to compare, the growth of 

 practice with the growth of science ; and judge, if it be 

 possible to judge, what the investigation of the physical 

 sciences has done, how long it has been about it, and "what, 

 at an equal ratio of progress, it yet may do for that art which 

 its empirical profeasors believed to be subject to no rules 

 but tho&e of their own ignorance, anA as ever was the 

 case, disclaimed the infant science until in a few short 

 years it grew to be a giant, and disclaims them. It is 

 indeed a matter of almost startling curiosity, even to 

 those who feel — what perhaps no one ought to feel — only a 

 remote interest in such a subject as Agriculture, to mark 

 its present existence on the face of — I will not say the 

 earth, but I will say a single county— nay, a single parish 

 or estate, of a country even the first in arts and civilisa- 

 tion, and knowledge and wealth, upon the globe. Look 

 on this side of the hedge, you see every new appliance 

 and discovery put into practice ; the soil dry, deep, pul- 

 verised, and rich, the produce nearly doubled, the very 

 climate improved, and each element made a friend of, as 

 its Maker intended, instead of being an enemy, through 

 the sloth and negligence of man. Look now upon the 

 other side of the same hedge, but on another farm, 



"Like a mildew'd car 

 Blasting his wholesome brother ! '• 



The soil cold, dank, and unwholesome, with stagnant 

 moisture, coarse in texture, shallow, foul, and poor; the 

 produce scanty, starved, and blighted, the victim oferery 

 change, instead of the grateful recipient of each in their 

 genial turn. Without moving a step the observer may 



" look now upon this picture, now on this, 



The counterfeit presentment of two brothers!" 



Agriculture as it was, on the one hand ; agriculture as 

 it is in gome places, and should be everywhere, on the 

 other. It is a view which, whether regarded physically 

 or morally, no age perhaps ever saw, or ever will see in 

 such powerful contrast and relief, as that in which it is 



