1844.1 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



721 





D 



r. HALLETT'S DRY SOLUBLE FERTI- ground sketch of the rick containing the produce of 



LIZER'S arc, considering their power, the cheapest Ma- an acre : 



nnres in u<e, for they are entirely composed of the Phosphates 

 •nd other Salts of Ammonia, and other acknowledged powerful 

 fertilizers They are fairly before the Public as tried things 

 'see No 33 of the Gardeners' Chronicle, See). 5 cwt. of cither 

 has been found cq-ial to nearly 30 tons of ordinary horse- 

 manure. They are appl cable to all sorts of field and garden 

 ctovs No. 1 for heavy top growth, as Corn, Hop?, &C. No. 2 

 . for aU roots, and a sure preventive of the Fly in Turnips. 

 Price of each, 10/. per ton, or 12s. per cwt. 



DR. HALLETT'S CONCENTRATED LIQUID FERTILIZER 

 . extensively used by Gardeners for improving the size and 

 flavour of fruits and vegetables, and the colours, and perfecting 

 the seed of floweis. Sold in quarts at is. 6d., and in bottles, six 

 times the size, at 7s. 6d. Each quart requires 32 gallons of 

 water, to reduce it for use. 

 Aeents for the above. London — Mr. Fothergill, Thames- 



f g t . >i r . G. Hallett, the Factory, Broadwall. RUctcfrUrjj 

 Messrs Warner & Warner, 28, Cornhill ; Hurst & M'Alullen, 6, 

 Teadenhall-street ; Winstanly, Poultry ; Pace & Co., St. Peter's 

 Aliev. Norfolk— Bullard and Watts, Norwich. Suffolk— Mr. W. 

 Revans, Yoxford. Leicester— Mott and Co. Gloucestershire- 

 Mr Bet'terton, Fairford. Devonshire— Mr. Seward, Plymouth. 

 Wilts— Mr. G. King, Devizes. Glasgow— Mr. D. T. Jackson, 

 Hartlepool. Sunderland, Stockton, and Newcastle— Pace & Co. 

 Dundee— Green and Co. Further respectable Agents wanted. 



Am- flue. 



Bottom of Rick. 



< 



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Bottom of Rick. 



AlR-FLCE. 



Zi)t 0grfottttttral gsra? ette* 



SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1844. 



MEETINGS FOR THK TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 

 Thursday, Oct- 31 — Agricultural Imp. Soc- o! Ireland. 

 Wbdkksuav, Nov. 6— Agricultural Society of England. 

 Thursday, Nov. 7 — Agricultural Imp. Soc- ot Ireland. 



farmi:ks' clubs. 



Oct. 28 -Chfpitow, Wiekham Market, Yoxford. 





In a former Number we called attention to the 

 numerous crops of Barley which are yet in the field, 

 and endeavoured to point out how such a circum- 

 stance might have been prevented. Whatever effect 

 our advice and the experience of the season may 

 have on our management for the future, our present 

 duty is unquestionably to make the best we can of a 

 bad bargain, and to contend to the utmost of our 

 means with the disadvantages which are before us, 

 from whatever cause they may have resulted. 



One of these disadvantages— the difficulty of 

 securing the crop — is now felt pretty generally. 

 The state of the crop, owing to its mixture of ripe 

 and half-ripe straw, is such that it requires much 

 more than ordinary fine weather ; and, in the second 

 place, the season is so far advanced that instead of a 

 continuation of the fine warm weather necessary to 

 enable us to secure the crop quickly, we have fre- 

 quent showers, heavy fogs, and short days. To 

 expose our crop for so long a period with a certainty 

 of fickle, and & probability of stormy weather before us, 

 is a matter of such imminent risk that it becomes a 

 question of duty with all who are thus situated to 

 ask, Is there no method of avoiding it? 



In our opinion, the following method, which has 

 been often successfully employed, in securing grain 

 in difficult and adverse seasons, will be found capable 

 of diminishing in a very great degree the risk alluded 

 to, and will enable us to harvest our backward crops 

 without the delay and danger of more than a day or 

 twos fielding. J 



lake the first opportunity after the grain is cut, 

 when the straw is dry— i. e. free from rain or ex- 

 traneous moisture— to secure the crop in the follow- 

 ing manner:— Place four sheep bars or hurdles in 

 two parallel lines, leaving a space of about 24 inches 

 wide between the rows. This will form a double 

 ence about 6 yards in length. Upon each side of 

 me double fence spread a bottom of thorns, and upon 

 wis, place a course of sheaves with the heads towards 

 e sheep bars. After a few courses of sheaves have 

 oeen laid in this manner put an occasional one with 



a 

 got 2 feet 



2 bars iu length. 2 bars in length. 



Any number of these ricks, it will be seen, may 

 easily be made, and the air will have equal access to 

 every part ; so that in the course of a month or live 

 weeks the grain which has been so secured, lower. 

 raw it may have been, will come out fit for the stack- 

 yard or the barn. 



If we claim any merit for this method of securing 

 grain in an adverse season, it is on the score or 

 utility, not of originality. On the contrary, one of 

 its chief recommendations is, that it has in several 

 cases been employed with perfect success, and that 

 there are several modifications of the same principle 

 in common use. Among these we may name the 

 frame-work chimney, which is so generally used in 

 all stacks in Scotland, and that which is used in hay- 

 stacks in England. Perhaps, however, the most 

 original and simple illustration of the principle by 

 which we now propose to secure grain in difficult 

 times, is that of setting the stack astride of a Quick- 

 thorn hedge; a practice which has long been honoured 

 by the approbation of our grandsires, and which 

 derives its utility from its admitting a current of air 

 into the stack. — //. 



PARHELIA, &c, 



Seen by E. J. Lows, on 20th and 21st October, 1844. 

 On the days above stated I noticed very rare and inte- 

 resting atmospheiic phenomena, on which the following 

 are my remarks. For two or three days prior to the 

 20th the weather had been showery with slight frosts at 

 night. 20th— barometer, max. 29.351, min. 29.2-18 ; 

 thermometer, max. 53°, min -40°; wind, S.W. ; mean 

 amount of cloud, G^ ; few cumuli ; fiue sunshine a.m. ; 

 nimbus and cirrostrati, dull, with few drops of rain at 

 5 p.m. At 8h. 30m. p.m. a brilliant halo of 45° encircled 

 the moon ; at 8h. 40m. a mock moon, of a pale silvery 

 hue, shone out of the halo. on the E. side, and on the 

 horizontal level of the moon ; this continued visible till 

 8h. 50m. p.m. ; the lunar halo remained all night. 

 8h. 30m., noticed a very brilliant and beautiful display 

 of Aurora Borealis : a bruad stream of flame extended 

 from the N.E. horizon, through the constellations Auriga, 

 Capella, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Lyra, and dis- 

 appeared in the horizon in \Y\, near Serpentarius ; this 

 band flickered b:ightly for 15 minutes, when it vanished. 

 8h. 40m. — a flame crossed (through the broad flame) 

 from the Polar star through Perseus. 8h. 45m. — another 

 stream of light extended through Ursa major, Ursa 

 minor, to Draco : at this time the flame from the Polar 

 star to Perseus was very vivid. During the whole of 

 this display the horizon from N.E. round by N. to N.W. 

 appeared as one continual flame, not glaring upwards, 

 bat along the horizon ; therefore the chief portion of the 

 light was reflected from below. At 9 o'clock the Aurora 

 Borealis vanished, excepting a slight glimmering now 

 and then, which would scarcely have been perceived had 

 not the phenomenon been noticed before. At 11 p.m. 

 the stars shone through a haze, which gave them the 

 appearance of being surrounded by burrs. 



Oct. 21. — Few cumuli and cirri; fine sunshine a.m., 

 the shpnvo 1 .""I"""!. F* 1 •" u^aoiunai uuy .uui dull p.m. ; rainy night ; barometer, max. 29.572, min. 

 the wall f J? n S ltudmall y- Continue to build up 29.241 ; thermometer, max. 55°, min. 39 ° ; wind, S.E.; 



have cot 9 S ^ e ^ Ve ^ on eac } 1 s , itle of ll * e bar f ?^J y° u mean for ce of wind, 2 ; mean amount of cloud, 7 ; ther- 



„i .i__ 1 _*, i._-_l i . ' 9 a.m., 47° ; hygrom., 42^°; therm. 9 p.m., 



40 r ; barometer rising. 

 clock a.m. a highly prismatic halo, cc, 

 of 45° in diameter, surrounded the sun ; the clouds 

 around were thin linear cirri, those on the horizon cumuli. 



View of the Phenomenon at ah. 10m. p.m., with the addition of 



the Parhelia. 



N.E 



e got z feet above the bars ; after which lay a mometer at 9 a. 

 v., rse .^ ver ^e passage between the bars, and roof up 46£° ; hygrom., 

 win sides to the centre. Cover the roof with old At 11 o'cloc 



tea h ° r i Straw ' and bind il wel1 down - This 



mJ v u e wit hout treading on the rick, as the 



Th" g K - y the sheaves lie > the better the work is. 

 rnir1Hi 1S c n £ done » we nave a rick > through the 

 b v o f * hich there is a P assa g e or flue •*> feet clee P 



gene ]f ^^ and as tlle heatls of llie sneavcs are 

 to th * 0wa . ri * s the passage, the air has free access 



air r? £. rain ""~* n fact, there is a continual current of 

 Bidesf^h th r ou 6 h every part of the rick j for as the 

 thicV r *°k are ° n ty one course of sheaves in 



the ™- SS ' e is a multitude of flues leading into 

 is ain . Passage, through the whole of which there 

 grain ^ nual taught ; by which arrangement the 

 snhprf 6 • a , 11 tne benefit of exposure to the atmo- 



The W \ Ut any ° f its risks " 

 in W a. wnicn we have now described— two bars 



land fi 1 wiU hold the Produce of half an acre of 

 weath!- When P ro Perly built will harden and 



Prolnn • U " f rlv as soon as if ^ were in shock - Bv 



teav K g le double row of bars a rick of anv size 

 everv h \ / med ' We should advise, however, that 



that ol! acr ? should ^ put in separate lengths, i.e., 

 broken^ff U u 1Cation with the ot her ricks should be 

 of everv u y a passa g e 2 or 3 feet wide, at the end 



affiles wi7h e fi Uat ? bar - ; this P assa g e > runnin S at ri 6 ht 



increa J k tl ? e Jon £>tudinal one, would materially 



*se tne circulation of air. The following is a 



S.E 



N.W 



s.w 



HORTZOV 



llh. 30m.— An inverted arc of a rainbow, dd, rwtirg 

 on the summit of the halo c c appeared. At the point e, 

 where this rainbow cut the halo, it was almost as brilliant 

 as the sun itself. This lasted till Oh. 15m. p.m., when it 

 vanished, together with the halo. 



lh. lorn. — The halo cc and inverted arc of rainbow 

 d d again appeared ; the latter was very distinctly pris- 

 matic, having the red colour next the sun. From this 

 time until a little after 2 o'clock no change worthy of 

 mention, excepting that the inverted rainbow kept in- 

 creasing and decreasing in brightness, and every now and 

 then so brilliant that you could scarcely look at it. 



2h. Ira. — A Parhelion, a a, of a silvery colour, 

 appeared in the S.E. side of the halo c c, and on the 

 horizontal level of the sun. 



2h. 5m. — Mock sun vanished ; the portion e of inverted 

 rainbow d d was extremely bright. 



2h. 9m. — A halo, or, more properly speaking, a rain- 

 bow, f f, became visible, surrounding the upper or N.E. 

 half of the halo c c, at a distance of 15° from it; this was 

 of a silvery hue. 



2b. 10m. — Another inverted arc of a rainbow, gg, 

 appeared at the vertex of the r.u'i w ¥ W. The inverted 

 rainbow d d was brilliant in the highest degree. Both 

 the inverted rainbows, d d and g g, were situated and 

 opened in a direction to the N.E. 



2h. 15m. — Atmosphere very dense. Inverted arc of 

 raiubow g g, and rainbow f f, and S.E. side of the halo 

 c c, disappeared. Inverted rainbow d d very brilliant. 

 Few cirrostrati below the sun, and cumuli round the 

 horizon. 



2h. 18m. — Halo c c very indistinct. Inverted rainbow 

 d d still very bright. 



2h. 2Gm — Inverted rainbow d d vanished. A faint 

 parhelion B b was visible in halo c c, on the N.W. side, 

 and on the horizontal level of the sun ; this lasted till 

 2h. 30m., when all vanished. Scud and cirrostrati 

 covered the whole visible surface of the sky, and became 

 more dense every minute. The clouds were evidently 

 formed on the spot, and plainly by the vapours reaching 

 the cold current. Overcast, close evening ; rainy night. 



Excepting the halo c c and inverted rainbow d d, which 

 were prismatic, the colour was pale silver throughout. 



A very similar phenomenon to the one seen to-day was 

 noticed by Ilevelius at Dantztc on 30th March, 16G0, 

 only this was parhelia, and that described by the Polish 

 astronomer paraselense. — E. J. Lowe, Highjield House, 

 Lenton, Nottinghamshire. 



GEO-AGRICULTURAL NOTES ON SOUTH 



GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 



1 Continued from page 69 1 . ) 



Mountain Limestone. — This lock occupies a consi- 

 derable portion of our district. It occurs in a tract of 

 a horse-shoe form, and of considerable breadth, under- 

 lying the millstone grit, and overlying the strata of the 

 old red series from Sodbury by Wickwar, Cromhall, and 

 Alveston, as far as Almondsbury. On going southwards 

 from Almondsbury we pass over a district of lias clay, 

 which here appears to overlie the limestone, for, imme- 

 diately beyond Henbury, we again come upon that rock, 

 forming the range of hills which extend towards the Avon 

 beyond Kingsweston. From this spot it widens out 

 between Westbury and Filton, in a southerly direction. 

 A considerable tract of this rock is expo>ed south of 

 Bristol, comprising Clifton and Durdam Downs, &c. 

 The rock here is much intersected by wide veins of cal- 

 careous spar, which is quarried and broken down to 

 a fine gravel and used for rough-casting buildings. 

 The mountain limestone, more than any other rock in 

 the district, seems to have suffered violence. The fault 

 on Alveston Down, that at Doynton, the extensive ravine 

 at Clifton through which the Avon flows, a similar one 

 between Wick and Doynton, through which the Boyd 

 runs, another at Tortworth Park, and a fourth in the 

 grounds of Blaize Castle, Henbury, all occur in this 

 rock. They are productive of the finest and most pic- 

 turesque views in the county. The mountain limestone 

 does not form a good building stone, being too splintery 

 for the mason's chisel. It forms an excellent road ma- 

 terial, however. The only rock, indeed, which can com- 

 pete with it in the district for that purpose, is the trap 

 rock of Damory, near Tortworth, but this, though per- 

 haps a tougher and more durable material, does not form 

 nearly so smooth or so excellent a rond. This rock is 

 also the best source of lime for building and other pur- 

 poses in the county ; it burns, when pure, as at Crom- 

 hall, of a perfectly white colour. 



Agricultural Character of the Mountain Limestone. 

 — The surface of this district, with the exception of 

 instances just alluded to, is uniform and regular. It has 

 frequently a bare and bleak aspect, because of the want 

 of hedgerow trees, and because of the frequent occur- 

 rence of downs and commons. The general level of the 

 district, too, is higher than that of the surrounding 

 country, aud it is thus more exposed to the weather. 

 The Beech and the Ash are the trees of most frequent 

 occurrence on it ; the Elm is also occasionally seen. 

 The commons are dry, the pasture on them close but 

 sweet. This district is about one-half under arable cul- 

 ture. The pasture-land^is easily burnt ; there cannot be 

 too wet a season for the soil where it is shallow. An ave- 

 rage crop of about 18 cwt*. of hay per acre is cut. The soil 

 on the arable land is full of angular fragments of the 

 rock, and is generally very thin. It is, however, a good 

 calcareous loam when of any depth, and its natural light- 

 ness, increased by the numberless fragments of stone 

 occurring in it, renders it an excellent Barley soil. The 

 rotation adopted is one of four years' duration, the same 

 as that adopted on the millstone grit in the neighbour- 

 hood ; 1st year Wheat, 2d Barley, 3d Seeds, 4th Pota- 

 toes. Turnips are sometimes grown instead of seeds, 

 and frequently that crop is omitted altogether. In that 

 case it would be difficult to find a more exhausting suc- 

 cession of crops. Everything is carried off the land, and 

 very little return is made to it. The grain is taken to 



