1844.] 







they would improve their own farms more than by adopt- 

 ing the customs of a distant county, [This is unquestion- 

 ably true.] for a very great deal, I find by experience 

 depends on locality. Scotland in most seasons will crow' 

 the heaviest root-crops, while England will grow the best 

 Wheat and Barley ; Oats will generally, also, be found 

 best in Scotland, because the climate is cooler and more 

 moist ; they are too thirsty for the dry lands in Surrey 

 and it is found better to buy Oats and grow Barley As 

 to Turnips, if we were to sow them as early as they do 

 in Strathern, on our warm land, they would get rotten 

 before winter ; but then we have the advantage of grow 

 ing a good crop of Turnips after Peas. As to broad 

 hedge-rows and waste land much might be said but I 

 will only remark at present, that if there were more 

 hedges on the "high lands" of Scotland, they would be 

 found very useful for shelter ; but the fact is, it is a hard 

 matter to contend against a high climate, and because 

 hedges grow but very slowly they build there stone dikes 

 (walls) when they can afford it < I may also add hi 

 the probability is, while England retains her wealth and 

 game laws we shall have warrens near' the metropolis 

 paying better than Cornfields. I thought Scotchmen 

 knew as well as anybody that the nearer court the more 

 play! As to ploughs, I doubt whether the Scorch 

 swing-ploughs be fit for all soils and situations ; 1^ 

 thought so, and had one direct from one of the besf 

 Perthsh.re makers but found it not altogether unexcep- 

 tionable on Weald clay. The implement described 



££^A^H££^TU R A L GAZETTE. 



703 



proportionate t^Lirbl/del^T -° f Potatoes ' <^ tr^^ .JL™***! *<** «>. ».Jont, of &,«*■ 

 LZZTJ"! _<f '?PW*.-: -Wngst the useful 



by your correspondenr as a " large, clumsy, wooden 

 ar .c e,-' certa,nly d,d ,ts work better in certain states of 

 the land. I might here remark that I do not think 



2SJ? iS^fcft* *J dM .f. -ve as 'the 



information contained inn" An >° D S st 'be useful 

 the six months I Tit k T ° Ur Paper ' J hare "« f > ^"S 



msmm 



cricks h, l' n ? " b .t e ° I ' ain,ed ' "P° sl "-e to the sun 



sSKSHSas a =S 



ng rot and preserving timber ; but, having little know 

 edge of chemutry, I ara unable to delerrn ne the! 

 respective merits, or which of them-takin* ,H ,h£ n 



remaps, Sir, you will favour me with your opinion on 15L l« r h <"^ * 3, a, 

 Zst l W ^"^!° m ^ OMof ^ w "«-«»« ««► -"•-'»■¥■•* • '• 

 /W° ' Ch "'" 5reatly «»Wige-J Hacks 



SlaU-feeding.-l find it imposible to read the account. 



which, devot.ng a certain portion to each field h^m? w 



=saauarS»SSS3 



it had been unfairly treated.— G. B -C 

 ^'P™*" »f Horse Labour.- In your last Number a 



fcrm^T / e ° .' he Value of h0 " e » » nd °«n or 

 ^X /I" mad / ! but the "Jculation is based on a 



offer the fo ™f 7 "° '♦'"? ^ the work fl ™ ""^ I 

 oner the following extract : it is entitled " A Review of 



the Corrected Agricultural Survey of Lincolnshire " b. 

 Thomas Stone, London, 1800:— " nc °»"nire, by 



Calculation upon , S(ork of ,,„„„ ^ 



term of 21 years. 



"-—t, "i"""/ . — :-.... v ..w iuiiu « ciose nrmpa 

 dries into a substance almost as 'lard as bricks." Small 

 incisures and deep ditches are almost essential to get 

 the surface-water off this soil, and old meadows sad high 

 hedges are found in practice almost necessary in the cnJ. 

 afon of good Hops However, these is no doubt as 



Kf£f T'i.?" 1 t 5 oroB «*-«J«ining can be done at 

 less cost, we shall have fewer open ditches ; but 6/. or SI 

 for draining an acre of land that is not worth more than 

 los. to le , ,s a serious affair even to the landowners, who 

 are sometimes as poor in their way as tenant-farmers. 



zz w ±i t men i s res st ctin e the c ° st ■'« ~ " 



of Sk rea'reH h eP ' ^ Th ™ B ^ h ° mer > one kind 

 cost of wC T , us , m T Sreat quantities, on the annual 



any work haVn ^ *"»«•*»"«> information from 

 "is no nt f- 1 T rCad - NoKr ' correct knowledge on 

 ewilS • . f . the greatest importance; it could he 

 easdy obta ned at a moderate expense, and is in every 



SoTiety e a r nT S of ' he ,ttenti » n ,?' the *°^ Agricultural 



pu uUs J? Vt ry ° ne ? eIi " S an interest in Arming 

 Etto l h ?P e aQd *™t that the Society, or 

 some patriate gentleman, will bring the matter to the 



Le tL P , er ' ment - Thii might be done as follow ■- 



W y ProteS? fidd , S '- A a ° d B ' be 6eleCted > and " Ve- 

 hs ,?o t t ° m belng tres Passed upon by any of 



B a fielH f r Ut A he a Wh eat-field, autumn-sown 



a»acre C r Gra l 8 ° r C '° Ver - From each fieId ^ half 

 wire lattice?'.?. 81 "" 8 t0 ^ the , r or l e acre . b « fenced with 

 let oue ha' t .' ""T ■ latel y a ft « the Wheat is sown, 

 CJ" C ' ^ ' Urned ln '°, C C .; at harvest, let the 

 «ad 1 comn.rp^ b f. ac u curat ely weighed, and measured 

 compared with the other portions of the fields. 



r -.„„ „« uuuamg ana seal -.eedm°" of cattlp 



"Led "The 6 8 Pre T tire ' Particu,ar1 ^ if "earned food 

 be used. The apparatus necessary for steaming, and its 



advantages and use, are now well enough understood to be 

 easily set m operation. In 1812, and from thence to . 1 °18 

 teat extensive and excellent agriculturist, thela te John' 

 Chr.st.an Curwen Esq., M.P. of Workington Ha 1 

 Cumberland, in communications to the Society forthe 

 Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce 

 demonstrated, and corroborated by the testimony of other 

 agnculturists and dairymen who followed his plans, from 



.ta KM. tZ S r""f " f" h h >- ^ ! d -ntages of 



Game.-We have, in works on Agriculture, a great s tn7f!^- tneSSe . a t . hdr f C f " withhim ' the adTa nta'geso 



B 



* you?ti c S n . ce p of your . u allow u ing this letter t0 a PP ear 



other e T nr • le Paper ' the ab ove-mentioned or any 



^ined CTn V ' tricd ' and the C0St P er head ascer " 

 the farmer ™ ^ have conferred incalculable benefit on 



Potatl ^ Con s'™t Reader. 



°P { n''on aioS^'iT'"" 1 ' " thfl , generaI1 ^ received 

 ■kould be in! i S Fotat °-g r owers, that a Potato plant 



oeen in a ie-?/^ 7 f P ' D ° yOU not think this has 

 Jt bein* snot I ree the cause of the faiIure this season, 

 maQ 7 Person, ^ y .°, ne y ? Around this neighbourhood 



a »anynpr«n«- " MI J r , one - Around tins neighbourhood 7\r \\, f , 5 lue marK denoting the decimals, 



height befnrI 8 i° P tlU the P lan t ^s arrived to a certain ^d that the table really given by the Professor would 



t0 stay from h 67 h ° e the m J after this it is general «^ r 5l e " gra n ?f TL °" 28 lbf ' ; Red CIover > '-^ lbs. ; 



... y irom three rn «i T «r 0Q L- ^«**«.» *t 1 1 .. White Clover. 9.11 lh« • anA T„«rn o tc iu_ /-. . 



to stayf rom "rL fc " cj : u ? e inem 'y alter this it is general 

 thi *. in mv «„? F ' e t0 . S1X weeks before tQ ey mould them ; 

 P °tatoes for in 10 ^ 1S / ery much a 8 ainst the g rowth of 

 in m any caa-, »i, J F8t plaCe hoein S thera dee P (and 

 in ^ weaftVr i eU J? e7 0n * ht t0 be moulding them), 

 mo " o? t hef r the 4l fibr es will get stinted, or will lose 



patnfcchief 1°" h ( ul / i g° ur J » moulding, I think, 

 Iast - Mv n 1 mUSt u be d0ne ' in a dr 7 ^ason like our^ 



m * Potatoe- !n L S> r he i her U be a d, 7 or we t season, for 

 ar e above th. . r hoedone ifl eh deep, when half of them 



WiI1 f airly 8ta n3 U • ' and mouId ed when half of them 

 Uai * after ho?.n^ gai ? u the mouldin &» which is a short 



at 8i * differenf nf * . six diff erent pieces this year, 

 eri.««j ; er ent Places, and nor nn. A.H..J at i,.._ ' 



poses and cattle for fattening ; with respect to co ws/those 



hedth InS W6 -S '■ * great ; mprovem ent in their condition, 

 health, and milking ; and their state after becoming dry 

 when a few weeks' feeding makes them fit for the shamble 



•7«Pir Y « 7 C l0SS / FOm the fir9t cost I with res Pect to 

 stock, there were early maturity, diminished risk in rear- 

 ing, a saving m the cost of feeding, besides the creation 

 of an additional quantity of manure. In 1814 seventeen 

 calves were reared-11 short-horned or Durham, and 

 Ayrshire ; not one was lost, nor were they subject to any 

 complaint ; m size they were little inferior to those of 

 double their age ; so good was their condition that one 

 of the Ayrshire heifers of 18 months old was butchered. 

 The live weight was 55 stone, of 14 lbs. to the stone. 

 The carcass was 31 stone 9 lbs., and the loose fat 2 stone 

 9 1ba .; it was killed at the meeting of the Workington 

 Society, the carcass esteemed particularly beautiful, 



a , ii ^i gbIy a PP roved b y the members who saw 

 it. The Durhams were in much better condition, and 

 would have killed 46 stone at least ; all costly food was 

 rejected; the produce of two acres, divided between 

 Turnip and Clover, abundantly sufficient to support a 

 beast till 2 years old; the manure created was considerable. 

 Believing the facts here mentioned to be correct, as I 

 find them printed and well authenticated in the volumes 

 of the Society's Transactions, if the suggestion I have 

 ventured to make should prove useful, I shall be much 

 gratihed, and only ask the result and details of any trial 

 to be made known through your paper.— J". S. 



Inorganic Constituents of Plants.— At page 676, you 

 gave an abridged report, from the Dumfries Courier of 

 a lecture delivered by a Professor Johnston, at Castle 

 Douglas ; and in a table given in col. b, showing the 

 quantity of inorganic matter in lOOlbs. of hay, the Pro- 

 fessor is represented as stating the amount in" Ryegrass 



of 7 , fu 52 " 8 J lbs - 5 Red CIo *er, 74.8 lbs ; White Clover, 

 91.1 lb.; and Lucerne, 95.6 lbs. Here, I presume, there 

 is an error in placing the mark denoting the decimals, 

 and that the table really given by the Professor would 



nO f/M* I? I*ia r***r\ fr+ K «* M C llO 11 Tm 1 ^~* * mm. . _ __ 



Decrease of the value of 

 each horse after 3 years 

 of the term, at 1/. per 

 head, for 8 succeeding 

 yens, with simple and 

 compound interest on 

 cadi sum . 



Purchase of one horse 



every year, for the last 

 10 years of the term, 



on account of losses 

 through age and decay, 

 at 1.5/., with interest, 

 simple and compound, 

 thereon 

 Admitting that, for the 

 wst 10 years of the 

 term, a horse is every 

 year purchased, at 4 

 years old, to supply the 

 place of one dead 

 through ace and decay, 

 there will be 10 horses 

 losing 1/. per head each, 

 IB the 12th year; 9 los- 

 ing 1/. per head each, 

 in the 13th year j 8 

 losing U. per head 

 each, In the Nth years 

 7 losing 1/. per head 

 each, in the 1.3th year j 

 6 losing 1/. per "head 

 each, in the 16th year; 

 5 losing 1/. per head 

 each, in the 17th year; 

 4 losing 1/. per head 

 each, in the 18th year; 

 and 3 losing ]/." per 

 head each, for the re. 

 rnaining S years ; with 

 interest, simple and 

 compound, thereon . 



d. 



150 



Cr. 



Value of ten 



horses at the 



end of the 



term of 21 

 years . .150 



£ i. d. 







100 1 10$ 



19? 1C 0$ 



79 U 5£ 

 £527 9 44 



Balance against 

 the farmer .277 



H 



£517 9 4* 



Calculation upon a Stock of Horses increasing in value upon a 

 farm of the same size, for a term of 21 years. 



at sii differpnf i * e Slx dlff erent \ 



^°«nd I h£ P ."' and not one failure 

 P °ta-oes I if n P J* winter, and for c 



My seedling 

 common round 



eni "bout the!an„ £ ?' VV he be « inni n? of March, and 

 *> s °"o w , the effort «£** X h " e ex P«ienced, to 

 fj Plants h a 7 e itfj' h °T S , dee P in a dr y season I 



\\ hite Clover, 9. 1 1 lbs ; and Lucerne, 9.56 lbs. Correct 

 tables of this nature are valuable to the intelligent 

 farmer, for he is enabled, by them, to calculate 3 t!ie 

 amount of each inorganic constituent removed from the 

 soil by his crop, and by a corresponding analysis of 

 manures, knows what is most proper to apply to restore 

 his field to its previous fertility. In this lecture the 

 Professor draws the attention of his audience to the dis- 

 appointment which must follow the trial of any manure 

 which is expected to prove a general specific ; and from 

 his remarks on this head, several of your contributor 

 may also profit ; as, in many articles I have read, a manure 

 is lauded or condemned, according to the result of a 

 given experiment, without at all taking into account the 

 previously-existing composition of the soil. The diffi- 

 culty of obtaining a correct analysis of the soil of the 



Dr. 



Twelvehorsesati5/.per 

 horse, upon an aver- 

 age of 4 years old ; as 

 it is intended to keep 

 an improving stock, it 

 will be necessary to 



havetwosupernumer- 

 ary horses, always 

 havingtwo colts rising 



3 years old, purchased 

 every year, and two 

 7 years old horses 

 making up for sale; 

 but no allowance for 

 the maintenance of 

 the two supernumer- 

 ary horses ought to be 

 made, because a team 

 of younghorses do not 

 eat so much.or require 

 so much nourishing 

 food as old horse, 

 besides that their la- 

 bour will amply com- 

 pensate for their main- 

 tenance, by their uti- 

 lity in seed time and 

 other strait times . . 

 The interest of 30/. per 

 ann. simple and com- 

 pound, for the whole 

 term, being the cost of 



two supernumerary 

 horses 



Balance in favour of the 

 farmer 



£ s. d. 



Cr. £ *. d. 



20/. per annum, 



for 18 years, 



gained with 



interest simple 



and compound 



thereon, being 



the difference 



between the 



purchase of 



two colts ris- 

 ing 3 years 



old, and sell- 

 ing out two 



horses rising 



7 years old . 387 19 10^ 

 Value of twelve 



horses at the 



end of the 



term, at the 



improvedages200 



180 



52 15 5j 

 355 4 5 



•^587 19 104 





j£587 19 10£ 



some 



* I observe that the expense per pound of the three articles 

 mentioned above, differs very considerably, as does the expense 



of the licences to ii«i» tinm ■ k,.#- ««.K n . <,u~ «-„-__» «- _^ 



iiRiiuimcu auuve, tuners very considerably as does the expense --—-—--, .,....„—>. „--.. *.- *..v. .*..^ UU<U 4« 



- — -~ .« Ci . Krowm I have had I of the licences to U9e them ; but, perhaps the expense is ac- 0n ! 9 ! was 2 ~° '» the Y more than filled a bushel basket, and 



01 your correspondents nlpnHr nf \\u\J I <: ord,nff to the emcac F °' the article as a preventive of rot and i weighed 65 lbs. The largest of the bulbs, 80 in number, 



, Plenty or made, decay. * were 0Q the gouth 5Jdc Qf fhe lant _ Some 8 - 



— Lusor. 



Agricultural Facts.— A farmer in this neighbourhood 

 put a large Potato, at the proper season of the year, into 

 a heap of mould and ashes left the preceding autumn 

 when the weeds and leaves of the garden had been burnt. 

 It grew with great vigour, and at my request the plant 

 was moulded up and was allowed ample room. In the 

 autumn I took up the plant in the presence of several 

 friends. The diameter of the branches was 8 feet ; the 

 number of Potatoes, without counting the very small 

 ones, was 220 ; they more than filled a bushel basket, and 



WPIitIipjI fi^ IKo Tl » i m. „r *u« U..1U- Oft : l 



