708 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



[Oct. 19, 



were ground in the forenoon and often sown in the after- 

 noon ; and if at any time laid in a heap, strict injunc- 

 tions were given to spread them thin, in order to prevent 

 heating. Very different is the treatment now, when 

 means are used to produce that state. They were sown 

 by a machine in a continuous stream, at the rate of 

 3 quarters to an acre ; aud in every application the crop 

 of Turnips raised by them was superior to the usual 

 quantity of the best prepared farm-yard dung : the fol- 

 lowing crops, however, were inferior, and a dressing of 

 short dung was applied in the spring to bring them equal 

 on the boned land. On cloddy soils the rutting coulter 

 throws the soil wide, and it does not fall back again to 

 cover the bones ; a double mould-board plough was 

 made to pass quickly behind the sower, which threw 

 fresh earth over the bones, and a roll followed. For 

 seven years the crops were beautiful. On the stronger 

 loams in Leicestershire the success was equal in every 

 respect, the bones being sown in a cool state, and con- 

 taining the portion of dust made in grind.ng them. On 

 the ferruginous sands in Surrey, bones in the same state 

 and quantity succeeded well ; but in one year a partial 

 failure took place on a loamy sand, fallowed and wrought 

 after a crop of winter Vetches. The tilth was rather 

 cloddy, but not too unfavourable. The Turnips brairded 

 well : the plants rose after hoeing, and about half 

 covered the drill, but never grew more. During the 

 season the plants never showed the vigour usually pro- 

 duced by bones ; the season may have checked their 

 action ; a cold, drizzling rain from the east prevailed at 

 the time of sowing, and for some time after. The pre- 

 paration of bones by mixing and fermentation has now 

 become fashionable, and the sowing by drop-drill 

 machines. My next experience was in South Wales, on 

 soils of loose poachy loams. The bones were mixed with 

 ashes and earths, and heated with hot lime, repeatedly 

 turned and slaked with urine, suds, and water, and sown 

 with a drop-drill machine at the rate of 16 to 20 bushels 

 to an acre. In every case the crops were beautiful, but 

 not superior to those produced by cool bones ; which 

 leaves undetermined the use or advantage of heating the 

 materials. Some farmers mix the ground bones with 

 earths, aud produce, by their lying for a length of time 

 in this state, a putrefactive preparation instead of fer- 

 mentation, and it is found to answer well. No farmer 

 who can commfind a sufficient quantity of vegetable 

 manure, or farm-yard dung, will ever think of using any 

 auxiliary ; but many hilly and inland situations will 

 hardly ever supply the quantity required, and conse- 

 quently substances will be sought to produce the vege- 

 tables, which in their turn will yield the manure required. 

 One very great recommendation of bones is the lightness 

 of carriage ; for if a farmer had large masses of vege- 

 table manure at a distance presented to him, the cost of 

 carriage would forbid their acceptance. The prime cost 

 of bones is also less. In dry seasons rolling is essential, 

 in order to compress the drills and the manure, to ex- 

 clude drought, and retain moisture. — D. 



Salt. — Several communications on the article "Salt," 

 mentioned in pages 317 and 60.5, leads me to state that a 

 more valuable substance cannot be purchased, and 1 would 

 recommend all farmers not to be stingy in its use. How, 

 I will ask, are those large crops of Potatoes produced 

 both in Guernsey and Jersey, but from its general use 

 there ? having little to depend upon beyond the sea-weed 

 found upon its shores. With regard to the quality of 

 their produce, that is another question. Col. Le Couteur 

 prides himself in quality — not quantity. He objects to 

 the old jog-trot system pursued by all Jersey farmers ; 

 of course he pursues the English fashion, as. practised in 

 the Isle of Thanet, his heap of manure being composed 

 of sea-weed, sand, and refuse from the farm-yard. 

 Although I have but a small quantity of land, nothing 

 do I prize so much as salt ; i applied it during the dry 

 weather to my Raspberries with complete success, filling 

 in the crack and dispersing it everywhere. My garden 

 and land has had 12 months' fallow, the land being in a 

 desperate state of neglect, full of coarse Grass and as hard 

 as a brick. Potter's guano (liquid) had no effect, but 

 where I applied my pond-water with salt, I found won- 

 derful effects ; my Strawberries, though neglected, were 

 fine through its use, although 1 regret to say that it was 

 the cause of death to many poor frogs ; the least quan- 

 tity seemed fatal. When in the state of New York and 

 also in Canada, I was surprised to find that it was their 

 custom to give horses and cattle a handful or two of salt 

 in their water to drink ; nothing is such a treat to them, 

 or so anxiously sought after. In several spots (for 1 

 have a variety of soil in a small compass) of a clayey 

 nature, 1 am troubled with the Canadian Thistle, (I call 

 it,) which roots very deeply. I have, after pulling it, 

 tried salt, and I think it will be found to be the only re- 

 medy, as upon digging I perceived its effects. — Verax. 



On Flax Seed as Food. — Conceiving this to be a 

 truly important subject for the consideration of the 

 farmers of the United Kingdom, I have much pleasure 

 in referring to the subjoined account of the results 

 obtained by the use of Flax-seed Compound, as com- 

 municated by Sir Charles Burrell at the recent meeting 

 of the Arundel and Eramber Agricultural Association. 

 I extract the following report from the Sussex 

 Express: — "At the late meeting of the Agricultural 

 Association here, Mr. Warnes advocated his system of 

 box -feeding. He said that in Sussex, Turnips could not 

 be grown as in Norfolk, but Nature had done much in 

 giving them a fine pasture ; in addition to that, they 

 should use boxes for their cattle, such as many of them 

 had seen that day on the Show-ground. With regard 





which would not. By this means, and the use of boxes, 

 three bullocks ought to be fattened instead of one ; and 

 'his was no longer an experiment, for hundreds and 

 thousands were now fattened in that way. The Chair- 

 man then read the following interesting statement : — 

 4 Account of six heifers, which were put into Sir C. 

 Burrell's boxes on the 15th May last, to be fattened 

 according to Mr. Warnes's system of summer grazing, 

 but which had no compound till the 16th of June. Cost 

 price of each— No. 1, 10/. ; No. 2, 10/. ; No. 3, 9/. ; 

 No. 4, 8/. ; No. 5, 11. ; No. 6, 6/. Nos. 5 and 6 have 

 been sold ; No. 5 only has been killed ; No. 6 is to be 

 slaughtered in a day or two. No. 5 was sold to Mr. 

 Page, at 3s. lOd. per stone. She weighed 75 stones, 

 and therefore realised 14/. l'2s. 6rf., or 11. 12s. 6d. clear 

 of the cost price. From this sum we deduct the cost of 

 keeping. 1st. The Grass from the 15th May to the 9th 

 September, when the butcher took the heifer away, or 

 17 weeks at Is. 6c/. per week. 2dly. The compound, 

 from the lGth June to the 1st August, at 5lbs. per day, 

 and from the 1st August to the 9th September at 141bs. 

 per day, amounting in the whole to 5G stones, which, at 

 Id. per stone, gives 1/. 12s. 8t/., or for Grass and com- 

 pound, 4s. 10c/. per week, or for the whole time, 

 3/. 4s. 10'/., which, with the 7/. paid for the animal, 

 leaves a clear profit of 4/. 7s. 8c/., independent of 

 manure — an important consideration. The cattle 

 numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4 consumed 501bs. of Grass each 

 per day ; Nos. 5 and 6, 351bs. each per day. Two weeks 

 they had Vetches. It ought also to be remembered that 

 the Grass was obtained principally from waste ground, 

 such as sides of roads, corners of fields, fences and 

 gardens.' • The foregoing statement is confirmatory of 

 those in my papers on this subject which recently 

 appeared in the Agricultural Gazette, as exhibiting the 

 results obtained by the use of the Compound at 

 Horkesley Hall. There is not indeed a more important 

 article of food for the various domestic animals of the 

 farm than Flax-seed. No expensive apparatus is neces- 

 sary for testing its value, and it is with a view of inducing 

 such farmers as have not hitherto used it to give it a 

 trial, that I venture to direct their attention to the fore- 

 going important statement of the results obtained by Sir 

 Charles Burrell.— J. Sproule. [In the following extract 

 from a letter of Sir C. Burrell's, which has lately 

 appeared in the Brighton Gazette, another proof is seen 

 of the excellence of Mr. Warnes's system of feeding : — 

 "J have this week a second instance of the soundness of 

 Mr. Warnes's system, in the sale and slaughtering of the 

 second and least of the two Sussex 2-yearling steers, 

 which weighed 72 stones 3 lbs. of very prime beef, being 

 4 stones 3 lbs. above the weight expected from her 

 measure, and also above the butcher's expectation, who 

 preferred buying by weight to purchasing according to 

 the measured weight. The original cost was 6/., and 

 being sold at 3s. 10c/. per stone, it fetched 13/. 18s., a 

 profit worthy consideration as derivable from Mr. 

 Warnes's box-feeding system, with an expense of only 

 about 30s. to 35s. for each box, if (as I conclude) a range 

 of boxes be built. I am myself so entirely satisfied of 

 the goodness and 'soundness of the system, that I have 

 ordered a hovel to be converted into five more cattle- 

 boxes, making 13 in all — a proof of my conviction of the 

 correctness of all Mr. Warnes has advanced." — C M. 

 Burrell, Knepp Castle.] 



Ithaboe Guano. — I have lately purchased 10 tons of 

 Ichaboe guano ; but in order to have it genuine I sent a 

 sample to a chemist to be analysed. The analysis is as 

 under: — 



Water . * . 



Ammonia 

 Organic Matter 



Silica 



Chlorine 

 Lime 

 Magnesia 

 Potash . 



143.31 

 105.41 

 14(5.36 



50.84 



26.10 

 05.20 

 46.10 



23.20 



Soda 



Sulphuric acid 

 Oxalic acid . 

 Uric acid 

 Phosporicacid 

 Carbonic acid 



30.00 

 50.90 

 85.41 

 68.00 

 99-12 

 16.04 



1000.00 



Another chemist to whom I showed it pronounced it 

 to be excellent ; but told me that I ought to mix gypsum 

 with it, otherwise a large portion of the ammonia would 

 escape into the air. I shall be much obliged if you wii) 

 inform me in what manner I can best apply the guano to 

 Wheat, as I intend to commence drilling immediately. 

 My farm consists of various soils, from a light soil on a 

 subsoil, varying from a quicksand to a very stiff clay. I 

 should also be glad to be informed whether a good dress- 

 ing with clay would not improve the light soil, as it 

 appears to require consistency and depth. — A Constant 

 Reader. [All light soils will benefit by such an appli- 

 cation. Guano is better applied to Wheat in April than 

 in autumn. You can sow 2 or 3cwt. broadcast, and 

 harrow it in over the young plants ; do not fear that you 

 will injure your crop by so rough an operation. The 

 guano should be sown in wet weather. Gypsum may be 

 beneficially added if your soil does not contain a suffi- 

 ciency of it, but it is questionable if it would tend to fix 



the ammonia in guano unless both were dissolved in 

 water.] 



Dibbling Wheat.— I am much pleased to see that 

 some attention is paid to the poor and labouring classes, 

 for in proportion as they are benefited, the community 

 is benefited. I now allude to an article in the Gar- 

 deners' Chronicle of the 7th inst., in which it is stated 

 that, by the allotment of lands in one parish, the poor- 

 rates have been reduced from 5s. Zd. to 2s. Gd. in the 

 pound, and parties who were living upon the rates are 

 now contributors towards them. With such abundant 

 evidence of the advantages of dibbling seed iu preference 

 to any other method of putting seed into the ground, it 

 would be rendering a very great service to persons having 



ground. I am of opinion that a very simple instrument , 

 and at a very small cost, could be made which would 

 enable two boys to do as much as four can do with the 

 dibble now in use. I beg, therefore, to suggest my plan 

 and leave it with some of your mechanicaf readers to act 

 upon it. A dibble, with a handle about 18 inches long 

 made like a shovel-handle, at the lower end of which 

 should be fixed a plate and four dibbles, with flanges 

 1J inch from the point of each (that being considered 

 a sufficient depth to put the seed into the ground), the 

 dibbles, by means of a spring-handle, being made to 

 turn half-way round, would be an instrument of a kind 

 which I conceive would be of very great advantage. If 

 you think well to give it a place in your Chronicle I 

 hope it will meet with attention. — A Constant Reader. 



Dairy. — Can you explain the cause of the strong 

 bitter flavour which is perceptible in the cream of some 

 dairies at the present time, and is said in the north of 

 England to occur occasionally in different places? The 

 bitterness is not to be perceived in the milk, nor in the 

 cream till it has stood for one or two meals; the butter 

 is not affected ; the cows are pastured and eat no other 

 food ; and it has been ascertained that the evil is not 

 confined to the produce of any one cow in particular, of 

 the five milked in the dairy alluded to especially ; and 

 the milk is immediately poured from the pail into white 

 Staffordshire milk- pans. — Lactceon. 



Early Harvesting. — Having cut a field of Wheat 

 about ten days before being perfectly ripe, according to 

 the views recorded in some of your late publications, I 

 am desirous of acquainting you of the difficulty I had in 

 making sale of it, although it was on all hands acknow- 

 ledged to be a good grain of steel Wheat. When I sent 

 it to the mills it was rejected, as having been cut green. 

 My horses returned with their loads, and I was forced 

 to send the grain to Limerick market, a distance 

 of 28 Irish miles, where I with difficulty got only 13d. 

 per stone. Now, Sir, if it be true that the farmers and 

 millers of England find it advantageous to cut green, 

 how came such ignorance on the part of those in a 

 quarter of the country where so much Wheat is grown, 

 and where there are so many extensive buyers ? I lost 

 the expense of my horses and men for one d^y, and the 

 carriage of Sd. per cwt. to Limerick. Any information 

 you can give me on this head will be thankfully received ; 

 and should you be able by advice or reproval to effect a 

 change in the views of the millers, next year may not 

 be so unfortunate to those who cut green. — J. V, 

 Bruden, M.D. 



Thin Sowing. — Having read Mr. Davis's little "Trea- 

 tise on Thin Sowing," I was induced last spring to try 

 it on a small scale with Scotch Potato Oats without 

 dressing. The following is the result : — On two lands, 

 containing 1 rood 6 perches, seed at the rate of 2 bushels 

 per acre, drilled 12 inches between the rows, produced 

 2 qrs. Z\ bush. ; weight of Oats, 41 lbs. per bushel; 

 straw, 23 trusses, 4 lbs. The adjoining two lands, with 

 the remainder of the field, sown at the rate of 3 bushels 

 per acre, 9 inches between the rows, produced 2 qrs. 

 lbush. 1 pint; weight 41 J lbs. per bushel, and 20 

 trusses 2 lbs. straw; which shows an advantage of the 

 thin sowing at the rate of 1 qr. lbush. of Oits, and 10 

 trusses 22 lbs. straw per acre, besides the difference of 

 seed. The thin sown Oats were not so ripe when cut as 

 the others, which 1 think will account for their being 

 rather lighter. The increase of Oats, straw, and saving 

 of seed, will amount to about \l 15s. per acre.- 



Relf, Reigate. 



Curiosity.— I send you a Potato into which a young 

 shoot of a reed has grown so as to split the Potato. 

 This occurred in some boggy land which has been made 

 dry ; the reeds are not quite killed yet, because the sub- 

 soil is blue clay. I suppose that the reed has been 

 driving into the Potato for moisture, being at the last 

 gasp from extreme thirst. Are such instances common ? 

 —J S [We have known the roots of Couch-grass 

 nierce the bulb of the Wild Hyacinth.] 

 P IVeeds.-k correspondent of yours wrote some time 

 ago upon the destructiveness of Weeds on the headlands 

 offiSds and under hedges ; pray let me add railroad- 

 Sarke and waste land. Surely it would pay tor the poor 

 to be employed cutting down Thirties and other Weeds 

 which we now on all the roadsides, and are elsewhere 

 ritoJed to flower and seed, and to be spread a 1 over the 

 Sing country, increasing the trouble or the poor 

 f m a thousand fold for the year follow»ng.-Co^. 

 Dipping Sheep.-l believe I once before alluded to 

 thif fn \our Paper. I, however, do it .gain income- 

 .uence o^ having just had my flock dip P; d for this year 

 ^ow he 4th or°ith year I have had it done) an I u i « 

 lon-wooled sheep there was not (as my man assured 

 me? one ogle tick to be seen. If those who keep .sheep 

 would reflect upon the comfort to the animals of being 

 dive ted of the swarms of vermin which generally crowd 

 them humanity alone would surely lead them to undergo 

 thTt inins expense and trouble. But when you add to 

 his the g g reat P difference in the quantity of food con- 

 umed-lb g etween a sheep that, as soon as it has satisfied 

 it. appetite, adjourns to the nearest gate or post, and 

 here P ?»b might and main till his empty stomach drives 

 Sm to hi. pasture, and another sheep who, havmg 

 n !™ a ■£_,« ~!l;-i« Up* down and takes its nap— it be- 



Saml. 



S2. l ?JSff'-S with large node—, a serious 

 nue.t on of profit and loss. And not only this, but at 

 ?he end of a 'few weeks, the undipped .bee,, will, afwdj 

 Shaving destroyed „o« food, be .nfimtelj r m wor « 

 condition than the contented one. \\ hen I first near 

 rC's ^position, I had a^uahleJoeU devoured 



**<*« ovvu *«»., v.~, w.- - — , - j • "=• wouia oe rendering a very great serf ice to persons naving oi uigg » ~«— r-y- - r , f . i. tried ail 



to summer grazing, he had found six stones of Grass, a few acres of gr0UIld if ao instrument was invented to by scab, which I could not cure, tnougu d 



which would fatten cattle, was only equal to one of hay, [ facilitate this tedious mode of putting seed into the 1 means, and went to much expense, une aipp *. 



