1844.] 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



803 



two rotations are not unfrequently pursued on the same 

 farm, each adapted to the particular soils. Upon the 

 dry, loamy, and fertile district of Dunbar, the following 

 course of cropping, somewhat different from the rota- 

 tions already enumerated, is that usually adhered to, 

 v i z , : — 1. Turnips, dunged, and generally fed off; 

 2. Wheat, with Clover and Rye-grass seeds ; 3. Grass 

 fed off with cattle or sheep ; 4. Oats (generally of the 

 Potato variety) ; 5. Beans, dunged ; 6. Wheat. In- 

 stead of Oats, Wheat is often taken the fourth year, 

 which confines the rotation to four crops. 



The following interesting and valuable observations in 

 reference to this rotation of crops, and to alternate hus- 

 bandry in general, are extracted from the " Statistical 

 Account of the parish of Dunbar," written by the Rev. J. 

 Jafrey, its present minister, who is a zealous practical 

 agriculturist, and published in the "New Statistical 

 Account of Scotland :" — " This course (speaking of the 

 above), peculiar to the parish, has been called the Dun- 

 bar system ; but objections have been made to it. Wheat, 

 every second year, it is said, exhausts the soil; the 

 answer is, that the food of plants in the soil may be ex- 

 hausted by any crop, while the soil itself cannot be 

 exhausted. Where there is a command of manure there 

 is no system which will so richly repay the labours of 

 the husbandman. It was adopted here for many years 

 on one of the best farms, without any diminution of 

 either quantity or quality ; and in order to ascertain 

 whether soil is injured by frequent crops of Wheat, the 

 glebe of Dunbar was properly dressed, either with sea- 

 weed, street- dung, or soot, and cropped with Wheat for 

 five successive years. The result was an extra crop 

 every year, and the land left in a condition that it may 

 produce a crop or two of any kind without additional 

 manure. The least crop in the succession was on the 

 third year 10| bolls (5-j quarters) per acre ; it promised 

 to be the greatest, but it was lodged flat as the surface 

 soon after it came into ear. All the other crops were 

 above 12 bolls (6 quarters) per acre. One season, 

 exactly suited to the soil, there were 8£ quarters per 

 acre ; and the last of the five years there were 7 quarters 

 per acre. It was ascertained that on each of three of these 

 years there were more than 300 stones of straw per acre. 

 The soil is a sandy loam. There is another field in the 

 parish which has produced Oats four successive years 

 with increasing produce and fertility. Hence it seems to 

 follow that land, properly cultivated and manured, may 

 produce abundantly the same kind of crop in regular 

 succession. If the food of plants is exhausted in exact 

 proportion to the weight of crop produced, it is worthy 

 of investigation, whether the advantage of changing the 

 kind of crop arises not from one kind giving off food for 

 another, but solely from the different modes of cultiva- 

 tion which different kinds of crop admit of at different 

 seasons." — T. Sullivan. 



ON MINERAL AND INORGANIC MANURES. 



No. XXIX. 

 By Professor Charles Sprengel. 



(Continued from page 739.) 



d. Turf Ashes. — The Grass sward of barren meadows 

 or other waste land is cut off in thin slices, which being 

 divided into smaller pieces, and placed against each 

 other, are left to dry; then placed in heaps, lighted, and 

 the obtained ashes are then strewed about, ploughed 

 under, and the soil then farther prepared. 



A soil manured with turf-ashes will always yield better 

 crops than one manured with peat-ashes, which is caused 

 partly by the great amount of ashes brought on the same 

 area of land, and partly by containing a greater amount 

 of manuring mineral substances. They are also prefer- 

 able on account of always containing potash, combined 

 at times with carbonic acid. Turf-ashes, however, like 

 wood and peat ashes, have not always the same value. 

 This is determined both by the nature of the sward and 

 the quality of the earth which it covers. Grass often 

 consists of Mosses and a felt of roots belonging to bad, 

 barren plants ; and if the earth adhering to these is also 

 bad, the ashes which will result from the burning of such 

 turf will have but slight manuring powers, as they will 

 then merely contain the less powerful mineral manures — 

 lime, potash, common salt, phosphate of lime, gypsum, 

 &c. In this case, quantity may somewhat supply quality, 

 the turf being cut a little thicker, for the sake of obtain- 

 ing more ashes, which, however, will at times be imprac- 

 ticable, the stratum of humus below the Grass being very 

 thin. For the sake of knowing before-hand what result 

 the manuring with turf-ashes will yield, and to see what 

 advantage may ensue from burning our turf, it is very 



advisable to subject the ashes of the turf to a previous 

 chemical analysis. The following are some of tne results 

 of my analyses of turf-ashes. 



1. Ashes of turf 4 inches thick, which were derived 

 from a moor covered merely with Reed-rushes. 100,000 

 parts consisted of — 



83,574 parts of silica and quartz sand 



j This analysis proves that these ashes will not produce 

 any striking effect, even if 20,000 lbs. were to be u<ed 

 on the Magdeburg acre of land, because by this quantity 

 the soil would merely receive 20 lbs. potash, 3 lbs. 

 common salt, 109 lbs. sulphuric acid, 37 lbs. phosphoric 

 acid, 5-4 lbs. magnesia, 1G1 lbs. lime, 1001 lbs. alumina, 

 and 16,715 lbs. silica: so that the burning of the marshy 

 soil, whence the ashes are derived, could only have a 

 beneficial result if conjointly a manure of wood-aihes, 

 or such mineral substances (marl) were to be added, as 

 are rich in phosphoric acid, magnesia, potash, common 

 salt, and lime. 



2. Ashes of a turf one inch thick, derived from a sandy 

 soil rich in humus, which were overgrown with Reeds, 

 Rushes, much Moss, and a little peat. 100,000 parts 

 consisted of — 



97,444 parts of silica and quartz sand 



alumina 



oxide and protoxide of iron 

 oxide of manganese 

 gypsum 



magnesia partly combined with silica 

 potash combined with sulphuric acid 



and silica 

 soda combined with silica 

 phosphate of lime and a little phos- 

 phate of iron 

 common salt 



100,000 parts. 



If 100,000 lbs. of these ashes be placed on one acre of 

 land (which will be the case if the Grass burnt be one 

 inch thick), the soil will receive thereby 360 lbs. gypsum, 

 203 lbs. magnesia, 39 lbs. sulphate of potash, 40 lbs. 

 soda, 99 lbs. phosphate of lime, 30 lbs. common salt, 

 &c. From this it is seen, that if these ashes are to be 

 beneficial, the soil must, in addition, be manured with 

 lime, bone-dust (phosphate of lime), common salt, and 

 potash, all which are to be found in wood-ashes, or 

 good kinds of marl. 



In England, the land off which the turf has been burnt 

 is mostly as well manured with lime, which, certainly, in 

 cases where the Grass-ashes are so deficient in lime, as 

 those last mentioned, will be very beneficial, as the lime 

 will decompose the carbonic humus and the organic re- 

 mains of the soil, and thus procure more vegetable food 

 for the plants. 



3. Ashes of a turf 1$ inch thick, of a sandy loam, rich 

 in humus, which was overgrown with Reeds, Moss, white 

 Clover, and some good Grasses and herbs. 100,000 lbs. 

 consisted of — 



93,071 parts of .silica and quartz sand 



0.065 



• 1 



1,200 



M 



0,520 



tf 



0,360 



M 



0,203 



M 



0,039 



» 



0,040 



it 



0,099 



II 



0,030 



tt 



1,352 

 1,728 

 0,320 

 0,619 

 0,327 

 0,380 

 0,079 

 1,706 



tt 

 M 



ft 

 ft 



alumina 



oxide and protoxide of iron 



oxide of manganese 



lime 



magnesia 



0,418 



tt 



ft 

 tt 



tt 



5,006 

 6,200 

 0,920 

 0,805 

 0,270 

 0,188 



0,544 



tt 

 tt 

 tt 

 tt 

 tt 

 tt 



tt 



alumina 



oxide and protoxide of iron 



oxide of manganese 



lime, partly combined with silica 



magnesia 



ditto. 



0,100 



0,0!:, 



2,378 



»» 



phosphoric acid, partly combined with 



lime, partly with iron 

 sulphuric acid, combined 



lime into gypsum, and 



potash 

 potash 



common salt 

 carbon 



potash combined with sulphuric acid 



common salt 



sulphuric acid combined with potash 



and lime 

 phosphoric acid combined with lime 

 and magnesia 



100,000 parts. 



These latter ashes are evidently preferable to the two 

 former, as they contain more potash, phosphoric and 

 sulphuric acid, common salt, and magnesia ; and as they 

 are also not deficient in lime, it is to be supposed that if 

 only 50,000 lbs. were used per acre, they would act 

 beneficially. But as they do not (like the preceding 

 sorts), possess either caustic lime or its carbonate, a 

 simultaneous manure of burnt lime would be very 



beneficial. 



Turf-ashes, however, do not manure only by means of 

 the substances they contain, but also by one which is 

 formed in them, and this is ammonia, which is generated 

 by the protoxides of the ashes being converted into per- 

 oxide at the expense of the water. I have dilated on 

 this process under the head of Burnt Clay, to which I 

 refer the reader. It is obvious that the more protoxide 

 of iron there is in the ashes the more ammonia will be 

 formed. It is also well to be attended to during the burn- 

 ing of turf, that all the protoxide of iron be converted into 

 an oxide, which will be best effected if the turf be burnt 

 in small heaps, slowly and at a very gentle heat, hinder- 

 ing them from bursting into flames. And that the am- 

 monia thus formed may not escape, but, on the contrary, 

 be fixed by the humic acid of the soil, the ashes, after 

 having been spread, should be ploughed under as soon 

 as possible, but very shallow, as the access of the nitro- 

 gen of the air is indispensable for the forming of am- 

 monia. The formation also of caustic lime in the pro- 

 cess of burning turf will act as a solvent on the carbonic 

 humus and the organic matters in the soil, kill the ver- 

 min, and be useful in many other respects, as I have 

 shown in my work on Cultivation. 



partly with 

 partly with 



100,000 parts. 



Home Correspondence. 



Cotswold Farming. — The course of cropping upon the 

 Cotswolds was, some years back, Wheat upon two or 

 three years' seeds, which was generally breast-ploughed 

 and burnt ; then Oa's, and Turnips, which had all the 

 manure which was made upon the farm ; the rest of the 

 land was left in a sort of fallow, for without any manure 

 the Turnips were very bad ; the whole was in a manner 

 folded in winter, and then laid down with Clover and 

 Rye-grass, in either Barley or Oats. I am sorry to say 

 many farmers still follow this course, though all now 

 drill ashes, and most of them bones with the ashes, on 

 the land which has no manure for Turnips. The more 



enlightened farmers in our district have discontinued 

 sowing Oats after Wfeeat, and keep some of their land 

 in a five years' course, and some still in a six years' 

 course, by putting Vetches or Peas after the Wheat crop. 

 In writing upon Cotswold farming, I must be impartial,, 

 and acknowledge that there is very little clean farming. 

 I will allow that our land is very natural for Grass, and 

 it is very difficult to keep it clean of couch Grass. This 

 evil is never more visible than in the Wheat crop, and 

 many farmers actually justify it, upon the principle that 

 it consolidates^ th c land ; and, if you attempt to clean 

 the land for W'heat, you make it so light that the crop 

 is destroyed by Hie wire-worm, forgetting that this evil 

 is soon remedied by Crosskill'g clod-crusher, or any 

 heavy roller. The effect of breast-ploughing and burning 

 in this neighbourhood is almost magical, not only on the 

 Wheat crop, but i n the after crops. It is the fashion to 

 write against it, and many landlords are discontinuing it 

 upon their estate*. It appears to me the principle upon 

 which it acts here is entirely misunderstood ; Mr. Min- 

 chin has wriit •»» some good things upon it in " Baxter's 

 Agriculture;" but he has evidently mistaken the prin- 

 ciple here, for he Ia ys it does not answer so well upon 

 sands. Now, the down lands are the dead earthy land* 

 I spoke of in my last letter, upon which paring and 

 burning answer* remaikably well, and this soil is almost 

 entirely composed of sand. I believe Mr. M lochia is 

 right as regard! most countries ; but not as regards our 

 hills. It is generally believed the gypsum of the Ash 

 is the cause of i { 8 fertility : I think otherwise. A few 

 yearsago I accidentally met Dr. BuckLmd and Dr. Dau- 

 beny, upon a coach going to Oxford i I was not ac- 

 quainted with them, but knowing who they were, we 

 talked much of forming. I told Dr. Daubeny paring and 

 burning did woudt rs upon our land, and asked him how 

 it acted; after s ome pause, he seemed to think the 

 gypsum acted beneficially ; I own I v\as not satisfied. 

 Some time after \ attempted to analyse some of this 

 earthy land, expecting — why, I know not — to find a good 

 deal of alkali in the soil . but, to my astonishment, found 

 none. From information subsequently given by Dr. 

 Daubeny, it struck me, that connected with this was the 

 principle of the good effects of paring and burning. Our 

 oolite stone will Hot effervesce with acids, yet, the acid 

 being thrown off by the action of fire, it makes excellent 

 lime ; so the burning throws off the acid from the soil* 

 and though it destroys some vegetable matter, it 

 endows it with alkaline properties, without which the 

 remaining vegetable matter in the soil could not be de- 

 composed (?) I believe this is the reason why burning 

 answers so well here; and, if I am tight, burning would 

 be injurious where there already exists sufficient alkali in 

 the soil to decompose the vegetable matter. — T. Beak 



Browne, Salperton. 



Hedges .It is too often the case that we see hedges 



long neglected assuming such a height and breadth, that 

 they are neither Useful nor ornamental ; and many being 

 allowed to get too high, grow open at the bottom, and 

 thus decay and die. Except for particular purposes, 

 farm-hedges should not be allowed to get to the height 

 they frequently a re allowed to grow to ; as in our north 

 country, where w-e have such heavy snow-storms, that 

 block up roads, they shelter so much drifted snow, that 

 the hedges, by being too high, are bent down, and often 

 broken and much damaged; whereas, if they had been 

 kept lower, thef w uld have been closer and more com- 

 pact, and would generally escape unhurt by the snow ; 

 likewise they are more ornamental, and it is much easier 

 to get them pruned. In a late Number of the Chronicle, 

 one of your correspondents condemns the existence of 

 hedges on farms altogether. No doubt he may be right 

 to some extent, where the inclosures are small, and detri- 

 mental to a free circulation of air for drying the corn in 

 harvest ; but llrffl is not the case where the fields are of 

 considerable extent— say from 10 to 20 acres, or more. 

 Hedges are often f much service in a tempest, or on 

 exposed situations, as they give shelter to cattle, &c, 

 when they would otherwise be unable to stand out to 

 graze ; beside*? they add very much to the beauty of a 

 farm or district- Uut to the subject of improving Thorn- 

 hedges. Where they are got too open and straggling, I 

 would advise, not that they should be cut in at the side- 

 branches, almost to the main stem of the plant, as is 

 sometimes done I but to give it the radical cure at once, 

 by cutting the hedge completely to within 10 or 12 

 inches of the ground, trimming off all the side-branches 

 close to the stem, leaving nothing but the bare stumps^ 

 This must be done in the winter season ; when this is 

 done, dress the hedge-border on both sides, if in need of 

 it, as it will be got quite easily at to clesr it of weeds ; 

 by the month of May, the plants will push a great number 

 of fine young shoots through the bark of the old stems ; 

 and by the end of autumn the hedge will average 2 or 3 

 feet high or m° r e, assuming the appearance of a young 

 Thorn-bedge of ^ or 4 years' standing. In the autumn, 

 give it a prune on both sides, to take off the straggling 

 side-shoots, anu" give it a tapering shape to the top, 

 making the top of an equal height : thus you will have 

 a better hedge than ever it was before in the course of 

 three or four years. Of course, where the hedge is not 

 protected by a stone sunk dyke, it will require protection 

 by palings for tw or three years, as cattle would crop 

 the young shoots, and otherwise damage it. — A. 9V., 



MuiryfolU, B a" J f shire. 



Campbell'* Sleeps.— I some time since promised to 

 give you the results of some experiments with steeps. 

 Last spring my bailiff tried Campbell's 6, with spring 

 Wheat, which *as a failure; attributable, as I then 

 thought, to tb« continued drought. On Oats he was 

 more successful J they came up evenly, retained a good 



