706 ■ 



msmted to «h. We enjoy a \ ir prifilec;e--tha« t 



vini? in what geologists would call a Transition I I. 



We have, on tl Dfl hand, the self-satisfud and p« tty 

 unsnspicious ignorance of the old-fashioned d 



farmer, as he is now taught to style himself, in our fields; 

 and on the other, the new-born and equally self-satis- 

 fied • u closet conceit" of the theoretical writer, in our 

 libraries. The man of science upbraids the firmer, be- 

 cause he is not a remlv-n: tie chemist, familiarly and 

 practically spplviog the results of discoveries which the 

 theorist has only Just made, and i yet hardly sure o* 

 and the old farmer laughs at the book-gent >, »nd 



asks what he can know about forming? The strife 

 has Indeed begin— the strife that never yet w*s absent 

 from the birth of infant science: for nothing great was ever 

 born without the warning throes of parturition. Let 

 Astrononu logy, Geography, Medicine, nay, let the 



purity of our Christain fai'h attest that! ( n those 

 who read now of conflict! v> se very echo has pi 

 away, between the struggling -li* coverlet of master-minds 

 with the P r lices of the age of which they were the 

 pioneers, ami usually tl martyrs, doubt or wonder that 

 science should be doomed still to encounter every oppo- 

 sition at the hands of those whom it most concerns and 

 will most surrlv benefit? No! Man is still the iime 

 that he e?«t was: and. the very individual who reads, 

 with a glow of triumphant sympathy, of the personal or 

 moral persecutions of a Socrates or a Luther, a Galileo 

 oraNewton,aColuuibusoralVk, a ll.rvey or an Ark- 

 wrighr, little thinks that he i« perhaps himself helping to 

 swell the war-cry of human prejudice against some 

 martyr-science of his own day. It would seem as it 



truth, like refined gold, must go through the furnace 

 seven t H I id, before it is duly consecrated for the 

 use and su - rvience of man. Oppotiti I prejudice 



it must en ter: if that opposition be weaker, and 



that pr. lice more trm at in our own age, let the 

 praise be given to those wi.osc earlier advance in the 

 great warfare against them has cleared the way for an 

 t» rv »ry and a less hostile reception. It cannot be 

 denied, honever, that in respect of the I » relating 



to af nr« very has rather suffered from ridicule, 



negt .tt y ad than from any very for- 



ih!e array of actual « n. Tull and Bakewell 



wen d and laughed at, but they survived to turn 



the tables upon the scoffers; indeed, a recent writer of 

 gi dlity draws water from the rock, by a somewhat 



singular congratulation of his cotemporaries that so 

 m h shonld till) rei n to be done in the appliances of 

 •c toe to the art In question. M Formidable, indeed/ 

 ssys this writer, " would have been our position had the 

 resources of art aud science already forced our lands to 

 thr «t capability of pro tiveness, leaving no sl- 



U hut dep lence on other nations for the bread 



of even a small section of our people; but however 

 strange the feet may be, it is no less historically true, 

 that while the manufacturing and commercial portions ot 

 our people, by the application of the discoveries in 

 modern .- nee (especially in chemistry and m chanics) 

 to their respective arts, have multiplied their wealth to a 

 degree which it almost exceeds the power of numbers to 

 calculate, the agriculturists alone have, till within a 

 very short period, remained unconscious of the similar 

 advantages that they also might derive from the appli- 

 cation of science to the most ancient of all arts. * * 



u Happily, the same concentrated force of scientific 

 discoveries and mechanical inventions which had so mar- 

 vellously augmented the productive powers of so many 

 mechanical arts and manufactures, has also begun to 

 accelerate the wheels of agriculture, clearly and obviously 

 increasing the productive powers of the soil, in a ratio 

 proportionate to the degree of scientific knowledge, and 

 the amount of aid from improved mechanical implements 

 of husbandry, that have been applied to co-operate with 

 human labour ; and no theory or prejudice can hope to 

 withstand the influence of this salutary movement.* * * 



" Had these improved systems (even as they now exist) 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



[Oct. 19. 



ever, in found to pay well w ■ a good i p can be 

 •)taine !. It ll cultivated to a greater or less extent on 

 all kinds of land, and in every part of the county, but it 

 is on the light Turnip soil, and in the upland district, 

 where it is chiefly grown. 



The principal varieties of this grain cultivated here are 

 the »tch or common two-rowed Barley and the Cheva- 

 lier. The for r has been grown in thia county from 

 time immemorial, and is considered to be better adapted 

 than any other kind for light inferior soils and elevated 

 situations. It also ripens at least a week earlier than 

 the Chevalier, but the latter yields a much larger pro- 

 duce when grown on good land. The Chevalier is better 

 suited tor malting, and is therefore preferred in the low 

 parts of the county, whilst, the common Barley is that 

 generally grown In the more elevated districts. The 

 following are the results of an experiment made some 

 time ago by Mr. Hope, of Fentonbarns, with the view of 

 ascertaining the character and value of Chevalier Barley 

 as compared with the Scotch variety. The soil was a 

 dry loam of good quality. The seed allowed per Scotch 

 acre was as nearly as possible fourteen pecks. The field 

 was sown on the 2"»tli March, the common Barley being 

 il cut by the 8th, and the Chevalier by the 12th ot 

 August. 



Produck tkr ScoTcn Acre. 



Weight 



per qrs. bus- pk» 

 bushel. 



I tal per ■tHW, per 



f :ie. Acre, l'ilbe. 



qri. bus. pki.io the stone. 



Chevalier Barley, best . 53 lb 



DO. Do. inferior 51 



Common Barley* best ..51 



Do. Bo. inferio; 18 



ffer e in favour of 

 tin- i >lier 



'.) 



7 

 o 











6 



'2 

 2 

 fi 



.} 



1} 



8 1 

 7 1 



241 



208 



1 qr, 



the Barley was finished. The Grasses and ( 

 were then sown, and half of the rolled portion w&a 

 bush-harrowed ; the other half as well as the part not 

 rolled, was covered in with Grass-seed harrows. 



1 was surprised at the small apparent difference 

 of the crop, but, on closer inspection, the shallower sown 

 seemed thicker planted, and the deeper to have stocked 

 more, from being thinner. It was with a view tj settle 

 this point that it seemed necessary to count the plants 

 which would grow at each depth. The seeds were treated 

 in the following manner : — Two boxes, 5 feet 10 inches 

 by 1 foot, were filled with soil ; No. 1 to within a quarter 

 of an inch of the top ; No. 2 to the top on the one de 

 regularly sloping to within 3 inches of the top of the 

 other. They were then divided across by slips of wood 



2 inches broad, so as to leave fourteen spaces of 

 2 inches by 1 foot in each box. The same weight of seed 

 was sown in each box, the slips were removed, and 

 the boxes filled to the top with soil. They were 

 placed in a greenhouse for the first ten days, to prevent 

 the risk of heavy rains, which would have crusted the 

 surface. This may have caused the seeds to spring from 

 a greater depth than would have happened under ore 

 nary circumstances. The quantities sown as marked in 

 the first column of grains of sixteen to the drop, were 

 such as each ought to have produced nearly the same 

 number of plants, had the seed continued as good as 

 when sown and counted in spring, with the exception of 

 the Timothy, of which nearly a double portion was sown 

 from the difficulty of distributing so small a quantity 

 equally. A quarter of an inch is too deep for the Poa 

 nemoralis, as the Timothy grew more freely when 

 scarcely covered. 



33 



w 



a to e»- cc o> 0>"0 ~ ^i ■-• -0CK"- I *''ght *ow». 



The above experiment, with many others instituted 

 r the same purpose, are given in detail in the 

 nineteenth Report of the United East Lothian Agricul- 

 tural Society. 



Barley is generally sown after a Turnip crop, and also 

 occasionally after a summer fallow. When the Turnips 

 are consumed on the ground by folded sheep, which is a 

 very common practice here, the land is ploughed iuime- 

 diately after the Turnips have been eaten off. This is 

 generally about seed-time, and the Barley is sown as soon 

 as the land is ploughed. But when the Turnips are 

 removed from the ground during the winter and early 

 spring months, the land is ridged up as soon after as ir 

 I convenient to do so, in which state it remains until the 

 period for sowing the Barley arrives, when a seed- furrow 

 is given to it preparatory to sowing. The grubber is 

 now employed by many farmers with economy and ad- 

 vantage for the same purpose, instead of the plough. 



According to the usual rotation of crops observed 

 throughout the county, Barley is succeeded by Grass, 

 either for hay or soiling as might be found necessary. 

 The seeds of the Clover and Rye-grass are sown at the 

 same time with the Barley, the general practice being, 

 after the seeds of the latter crop have been sufficiently 

 covered, and the surface reduced to a fine tilth by the 

 process of harrowing, to roll the land with a heavy roller, 

 and ttien to sow the smaller seeds either by the hand or 

 with the broadcast sowing-machine, generally the latter. 

 A single or double turn with the Grass-seed harrows 

 usually completes the process, but a second rolling is 

 frequently found to be necessary on strong clay land, for 

 the double purpose of excluding drought and further re- 

 ducing the surface if cloddy, as the Clovers are not 

 found to succeed well on strong adhesive soils unless the 

 land has been previously well pulverised and prepared 

 for their reception. 



Barley is sown from the last week in March to the 

 middle of May. The quantity of seed varies, according 

 to the quality of the soil and other circumstances, from 

 seven to ten pecks to the acre. Five quarters per acre 

 are regarded as a good crop, although five and a-half and 



a — m * m #"\ sv « m % • ^ _ 



u 

 to 



*-^-l£ *- *> — to tO Ki *C rC rO to 



CD t$ 0> — <0 ••OJC'OMO'iMWO 



Average inch. 



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rt 



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 3 



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 P 



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 5" 



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— — to 10 en — wwwwwto*^ 



Oi£tOtS CD flOK-CX^MOC 



Total o( each 

 kind. 



m 

 CD 



~ — — K> tO O — CO W K) IO ^3 K)KO 



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Total cucli 

 kind- 



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 3 



■3 



r s t J ie y n ^ CX !S six quarters are often obtained ; 35 bushels, however, are 



been fully carried out over the whole length and breadth i reckoned a fair avera g e crop per acre. 



of the land, the capabilities of further increase might The medium weight of the common 

 have been talked of as questionable ; but it is notorious . . ru ,. a f , r:hevaliftr : . 



hownm this table, oeyo Italian Rve- 



__ _ question 



that to this hour there has been hardly any adoption of 

 the greater number of these elements of amelioration 

 especially the fundamentalelement of thorough-draining— 

 throughout the larger portion of the midland and western 

 regions of our island ; and to this very evil of retard* 

 improvement we may now point for ground of hope, and 

 confident assurance, that the supply of food may be in- 

 creased in a degree fully adequate to any demand that 

 may arise from our so formidably increasing population. 

 The means of amendment are at hand ; they are under- 

 stood and practised by the more intelligent cultivators of 

 districts which are now the most productive, and little 

 more than half a century ago were the most unproductive 

 portions of our island ; and the education of the middling 

 and lower grades of farmers in a knowledge of the sys- 

 tems adopted by their more enlightened brethren, seems 

 to be the chief desideratum, in order to effect the general 

 adoption of these systems throughout the empire." — 



C. W. H. 



__ o ______ _ or Scotch Barley 



is about .V_.V lbs., and of the Chevalier 54 lbs. per bushel ; 

 but there are many instances of well hummelled Barley 

 weighing 58 lbs. to 60 lbs. a bushel. Barley is used to 

 some extent on every farm. The hinds receive a certain 

 quantity as part of their gains or wages. In many farms 

 the horses get a boiled mixture of inferior Barley and 

 Bean., two or more nights a week, Throughout the greater 

 part of the year. Almost the only kind of bread used by 

 the hinds, and other farm servants, consists of a mixture 

 of two parts of Barley with one part of Beans ground 

 together ; this bread, though sufficiently wholesome and 

 nutritious, has a black and unpalatable appearance. — T. 

 Sullivan. 



is 



shown in tnis u««, ^/J"- r" " wei ht of Italian Rye 



,_r_i??^r__-'K , K 



Sb l«=S_«S_ srs 



would have been dear at 1 half pno e a 

 total of the second ^jf^'^M* 

 ^^Kt^mJ^d thTs 'spring. 1B44, and now 

 a e r mg her? the number of plants appear, to dimin^h 

 Tthesa-e proportion as ^"^^otan inc'h of 



generally most vigorous ^J^.^^Vib-grass, and 

 Lpth, with the exception of Cock ^ -foot 1 g ^ 

 red Clover, which do well tc ^ an inch a ^ 



ther this difference arises from these <">P * u 



suitable, or from the smaller number of pl« » . 



SKETCHES OF EAST LOTIII/vN HUSBANDRY. 

 [We beg our readers to correct an error in the last 

 Paper of this series. The average produce of Wheat in 

 East Lothian was there stated to be 2| quarters per im- 

 perial acre ; for this, read 2G bushels per acre.] 



Barley. — This grain is not much cultivated in East 

 Lothian, owing to the suitableness of the greater part of 

 the soil for the production of Wheat. Barley, how- 



• See Col. Greenwood's pamphlet, " The Tree-lifter." 



WHAT IS THE BEST DEPTH OF COVER FOR 



GRASSES AND CLOVERS ? 



By S. D. Stirling, Esq., of Glenbervic, near Falkirk. 



The experiment shown in the following Table was made 

 to ascertain the exactdepth at which each kind of seed sown 

 would grow most abundantly. In 1842, Messrs. Drum- 

 mond and Sons, of Stirling, made a similar experiment 

 at my suggestion, the results of which were exhibited at 

 the Show in Edinburgh ; but, as garden experiments are 

 laughed at by some, and as the difficulty still remained 

 as to the treatment in the field necessary to obtain the 

 best depth, I, in 1843, sowed 15 acres all over with red 

 and )eliow Clover, and a third part with each of the fol- 

 lowing Grasses in addition, viz. :— Italian live-grass, _ - . - ng of 16 t0 tne arop, uu».»v.-y ■ -_* 

 Pacey's Rye-grass, and Timothy. Two-thirds of the *fig ;i ^s m ^^ q( cacb , when the see- 

 land intended for each of the Grasses was rolled after [ 



suitable, or from the smaiieruu^. thi * nin - them oat 

 ascertained iaa future "pen^M « b t 



be p P l«ti which come up, aud they wl il ^od ha 



: i esssTiSf saaw » — - 



ably more. , , n0 ( w 



I„ 1842, when the Grass seeds were bad wd n 



be procured of average qual.ty, I •!>«**'?£„,, „ 

 t Je times the weight per acre , wtacU had o ^ 



"as much disappointed b, follow.ng S nJ.ir > ^ fbt 



be numuer of seed, per lb I 8 » b J°'^Jf £actio>* 

 «d.bt in grains of 16 to the _drop, om.tung : I rf 



