1844.] 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



805 





pudding-stone, and the soil is evidently, from its ap- 

 pearance, a very inferior one, requiring pressure to con- 

 solidate it. Previous to Mr. Davis's occupation, a field, 

 termed Starve Acre, from its unproductive quality, would 

 scarcely grow anything ; but under his management it 

 has become the best on the farm, and has produced, with 

 thin sowing, no less than 5 qrs. of Wheat per acre. The 

 whole of a apparently intractable land has been sub- 

 soiled, and a veiy large portion drained by Mr. Davis, 

 who, although his lease has only five years to run, is now 

 draining a further portion, four feet deep, the labour 

 alone costing him 9d. per rod. So convinced is Mr. 

 Davis of the value of draining, that he believes even this 

 expense will be fully repaid to him. His practice is to 

 lay the laud in ridges, varying from 12 to 24 feet in 

 width. The seed having been got in, he generally runs 

 Smith, of Deaoston's, subsoil-plough down each furrow, 

 between the ridges, even through the drained land. With 

 reference to the system of thin sowing, the deputation 

 had an opportunity of seeing the stubbles that were still 

 remaining unbroken. The strength of the stubble roots 

 were remarkable, and were found to have tillered to from 

 eight to ten stalks each. The next criterion for judging 

 presented to the deputation was Mr. Davis's stae.k-yard° 

 consisting of five large stacks of Wheat, two of Oats, two 

 of Buck Wheat, one of Pulse, and three of Hay. Be- 

 sides these stacks, there was a barn full of Pulse and 

 arother of Whe*t and Barley. The appearance of the 

 crops was excellent. The straw was exceedingly strong, 

 and the ear was very fine. The Pulse crops were re- 

 markably well podded. The Wheat was the Essex rough 

 chaff, which Mr. D. had been told could not be grown 

 on the system of thin sowing, as it had been said that 

 thin sowing produced mildew, a disease to which this sort 

 was particularly liable. Mr. D. states, however, that 

 mildew is a disease that he has scarcely ever been trou- 

 bled with. As the members may not all be aware of 

 Mr. D.'s rotation, it is as follows : — 



1st Year Rve f For & reen meat and feeding; off with 



'Tares i shee P in A P ri, » Msl Y> June, and 



I July, and followed by 



Mangold Wurzel ^ 



Swedes f With a liberal dressing of farm- 

 Cabbage i f yard dung. 



Turnips J 



2nd Year. .Oats or Barley, sown with Clover 

 3rd Year. .Clover twice mown for Hay 



("The Beans have Turnips drilled 

 4th Year. .Beans or Peas-j betwixt the rows, which come into 



(. feed in September and October. 

 5th Year.. Wheat 



The quantities and periods at which he sows are the 



following : — 



s. 



>> 



»» 



M 



II 

 II 



this yard, which were i year filled, b: les e barn.. 

 Mr. Davis has turned up six inches of pure chalk, wh ; ch 

 has all become disintegrated and mixed with the soil ; by 

 this means he has been enabled to apply his system of 

 rotation to it, entirely dispensing with fallows. On one 

 of the fields, in which, under the old system, nobody 

 would have thought of trying to grow Tares or Beans, 

 is now to be seen a most luxuriant crop of Cub' nd 



Swedes, and the whole of the farm bears striking evidence 

 of the great success of Mr. Davis's management, who 

 states that he had of last year's growth 14 large stacks, 

 and the barn full of corn, three stacks of Clover-hay, and 

 root crops for the fattening of 200 wether sheep and 100 

 ewes with their lam besides 12 oxen. Haling Farm, 

 which has been under Mr. Davis's management /or only 

 nine months, presents no point worthy of particular ob- 

 servation, beyond those that have been mentioned with 

 reference to the other farms, except the decided inferi- 

 ority of the last year's Wheat and straw, now being 

 threshed, as compared with those upon Mr. Davis's other 

 farms. The leading features of Mr. Davids system are 

 deep ploughing, early and thin sowing, and frequent cul- 

 tivation between the drills ; which system, as applied by 

 him to the farms above named, appears to have been 

 most eminently successful. The following resolution was 

 unanimously agreed to :— ,( That in the opinion of this 

 meeting it is highly desirable, in a national point of 

 view, that Mr. Hewitt Davis's system of drilling and 

 cultivation, as expounded in his pamphlet, and reported 

 upon this evening, by the deputation from this Club 

 appointed to inquire into it, should receive the serious 

 attention of agriculturist, and should be tried as gene- 

 rally as possible by way of experiment." — Maidstone 

 Gazette. 



Rye 14 bushel 



Tares 14 



in August and September 



{in 3 sowings in August 

 Sept. and Oct. 



Mangold Wurzel.. 6 lbs in April 



Swedes 1 quart in May 



Turnips 1 „ in July 



Cabbages 1 every 3 feet, in June 



0ats 7 pecks in Jan. Feb. and March 



Barley 6 ,1 in Jan. Feb. March, and 



April 



Wheat 3 „ in September and Oct. 



Peas 8 „ in Dec. Jan. and Feb. 



Beans 8 „ in September and Oct. 



Mr. Davis's Rye and Tares for green feeding are sown 

 in rows at 9 inches apart, all his white Corn at 10£ or 

 12 inches, his pulse at 27 inches, as are also his root 

 crops, and Cabbages, tm the ridge. The growing Tares, 

 winter Beans, Wheat, Rye, and winter Barley, also Cab- 

 bages and Turnips, had a very healthy and flourishing 

 appearance. The general appearance of the winter 

 Barley and Rye, for spring feed, which is now a few 

 inches above the ground, would lead a person passing by 

 to the conclusion that the usual quantity of seed had 

 been sown, till on examination he would find that it con- 

 sisted of separate vigorous plants, which had each tillered 

 out some seven or eight stems. Mr. D.'s general sys- 

 tem of growing Turnips is that of planting double rows 

 of Turnips and Cabbages alternately — a plan which has 

 this advantage, that however severe may be the weather, 

 the sheep always find food in the Cabbages, which, 

 although they draw the ground more than Swedes, 

 yet produce a much larger weight of food per acre. 

 These Swedes and Cabbages, considering the soil and 

 the season, were exceedingly good. The number of 

 stock upon this farm was 14 cows, 1 bull, 200 pigs, 

 about 30 colts and brood mares, 300 fatting Down sheep 

 on green crops and oil-cake, and 200 ewes in lamb. 

 Mr. Davis uses the Kentish turn-wre st plough, Smith's 

 8ubsoil plough, and Finiayson's harrow. He has dis- 

 carded the old dished wheels of his waggons and carts, and 

 substituted for them others, nearly straight, for their 

 lighter draught. He prefers the flail to the threshing 

 machine. His cart-horses were all of the heavy Cleve- 

 land carriage breed, about 1G hands high, clean-legged, 

 with strong bone, and of great activity. Mr. D. has se- 

 lected them from the job carriage horses which are sold 

 off in London at the end of the season. They cost him 

 *™rn 12/. to 20/. each. At Addington Farm, the depu- 

 tation had the opportunity of seeing Mr. Davis's Wheat 



fi ii an ^ a Kentish plough at work in an adjoining 

 J^ld, ploughing to the depth of 12 inches. This farm, 



hough of nearly similar soil, in other respects is of better 

 quality than that of Spring Park, but before Mr. D. took 



' nadhad four tenants within seven years. Mr. D.'s system 

 appeared to have been equally successful here as at 

 Spring Park. Selsdon Farm, however, offered the best 

 criterion of Mr. Davis's mode of cultivation. Eleven 



the- free, and 

 ffered for it. 



, ., v«... D „i. „x «uwuo »» t inches on the 



cnaik, comprising 136 acres of arable land, with 120 of 

 Poor park land. It never had had more than three stands 



Stewponey.— The following are extracts from a Paper 

 on Keeping Farm Accounts, read by Mr. Amery at the 

 late meeting of this Society :— •' An accurate system of 

 accounts affords the only safe index by which you can 

 ascertain the value of new and improved modes of farm- 

 ing. It appears to me that only two accounts are neces- 

 sary, namely, a day-book or journal, and a ledger, which 

 may be kept in different parts of the same book ; but in 

 order to have the advantage of double entry, I very 

 strongly recommend a cash account also. The first 

 thing to be done in commencing any system of accounts 

 is to take as accurate a valuation as possible of all pro- 

 duce on the farm, live stock, implements, fallows, seeds, 

 &c. ; and Michaelmas, when harvest is ended, is, in 

 many respects, the most convenieut period to do this. 

 This valuation represents the capital at that time actually 

 employed in the farm, and the amount thereof should be 

 the first entry in the ledger to the debit of the farm, and 

 the first entry in the cash account to the credit of cash, 

 as due from the farm. All subsequent entries will be 

 made from the journal or day-book as they occur, the 

 farm being debited with all items of expenditure, labour, 

 purchase of stock, implements, repairs, rent, taxes, 

 interest on capital at 5 per cent., &c. &c, for which the 

 cash account would have a corresponding credit, and 

 being in like manner credited with all sales of produce 

 and stock, and the value of produce consumed on the 

 farm, except the keep of horses which are required to 

 cultivate the farm, for which also the cash account 

 would have a corresponding debit. At the end of every 

 year, say from Michaelmas to Michaelmas, the ledger 

 and cash account must be cast up and balanced ; and, if 

 they are kept correctly, the result of both will appear to 

 be the same. Then, in order to ascertain the actual 

 profit of the year, a fresh valuation must be taken, at 

 the times' price, similar in all respects to that at the 

 commencement of the year, taking care to deduct a per 

 centage for the wear and tear of implements from their 

 former estimated value, perhaps 15 per cent., and the 

 difference between the amount of this last valuation so 

 taken and the sum standing to the debit of the farm 

 as due from it, shows the real amount of profit or 

 loss for the year. This closes the amount of the last 

 valuation, and will form the first entry of a new account 

 for a succeeding year ; the journal, ledger, and cash 

 account will be then worked precisely as before." 



Miscellaneous. 



On the Analysis of Soils. — The following directions 

 for selecting specimens of soil, or subsoil for analyses, 

 are extracted from a paper issued from the Museum of 

 Economic Geology, in the department of Her Majesty's 

 Woods and Forests : — " Soils being generally the upper 

 decomposed portions of subjacent mineral substances, 

 whether hard rocks of various kinds, or clays, marls, 

 sands, &c, mingled either naturally or artificially with 

 vegetable and animal matter, it becomes very desirable 

 in collecting specimens of them, that they should be ac- 

 companied by others of the hard rocks, cliys, marls, 

 sands, &c, on which they rest. In selecting soils for 

 analyses, care should be taken to obtain fair average spe- 

 cimens ; and to insure the true subsoil, or subjacent hard 

 rock, chy, sands, &c, specimens of the latter should be 

 obtained as near as possible beneath the spot whence 

 the soil may have been so selected, for it sometimes 

 happens that the soil of a field varies in places from 

 resting upon different kinds of subsoils. The soil above 

 hard rocks is not unfrequently separated from them by 

 broken angular fragments, the half decomposed portions 

 of such hard rocks ; specimens, therefore, of subsoils, or 

 subjacent mineral substances, should, in such cases, be 

 taken from the solid hard rocks beneath, and not from 

 these fragments, which have commonly suffered too 

 much decomposition to exhibit the real chemical com- 



position of the rocks themselves. The quantity of soil 



f " '""vtci iiou uuu inure UlUU mice Binmia iiusiuuii ui me luina tueuiacivca. * "v. ifu«"i"i,j " l J,J " ■'. * * » 7» • 1 • u 



*or stacks in its stack yard ; there are now 14 stands in ■ taken as a specimen should weigh about a pound, which occasion a precipitate of phosphate of iron, in which case 



hould be tied up in a canvass bag, and labelled. With 

 respect to specimens of subsoils, if of marl, sand, or clay, 

 portions weighing about a pound should be tied up in a 

 canvass bag labelled to correspond with the respective 

 soils above them. If the subjacent rocks be hard, a 

 piece also weighing about a pound, and fresh broken from 

 the body of the rock, as nearly as possible beneath the 

 spot whence any specimen of soil may have been selected, 

 would suffice, and should be wrapped in strong brown 

 paper, labelled to correspond with the soil above it." The 

 substances usually met with in soils, are silica, alumina, 

 carbonate of lime, Cdrbonate of magnesia, phosphate of 

 lime, phosphate of magnesia, phosphate of alumina, 

 phosphate of iron, peroxide of iron, oxide of manganese, 

 sulphate of line, salts of potash and soda, and organic 

 matter. Some of these are often absent, and the deter- 

 mination of others may sometimes be deemed superfluous ; 

 nevertheless, it is our wish to make the process suf- 

 fi( ltly complete to meet all ordinary cases. 1. The 

 first step in the process is, properly to dry the specimen 

 to be analysed over a water-bath, at 212 Pahr.f a 

 higher temperature than this should not be used, as it 

 might cause the decomposition of some of the organic 

 matter. The dried specimen is to he powdtnd, sifted 

 through a liwn i ve, well rubbed in a mortar soas to insure 

 the uniform admixture of all the parts, again dried over 

 the water-bath, and put into a stoppered bottle. 2. Five 

 hundred grains of the dried specimen are to be spread 

 out on a sheet of writing-paper, and exposed to the air 

 for 12 hours; then weighed, and the increase of weight, 

 if any, noted. The absorption of moisture from the air, 

 if it take place to the extent of seven or eight grains in 

 the above quantity, may be considered a favourable indi- 

 cation. 3. One hundred grains of the dried specimen 

 are to be introduced into a previously counterpoised 

 bottle, containing hydrochloric acid, with the usual pre- 

 cautions ; and when action has ceased, the amount of loss 

 d termined, which will be the carbonic acid resulting from 

 the decomposition of the carbonates. 4. Two hundred 

 grains of the dry specimen are to be put into a platinum 

 crucible, and exposed to a red heat, being occasionally 

 stirred, until on cooling it assumes a reddish appearance 

 throughout. It is again to be weighed, and divided into 

 two equal parts. 5. One of these parts is to be intro- 

 duced into a counterpoised bottle, containing hydro- 

 chloric acid, and the disengaged carbonic acid estimated 

 as before. If the quantity of carbonic acid thus deduced 

 be less than that obtained before calcination, the differ- 

 ence must be added to the weight of the calcined product 

 under operation, and this deducted from the weight 

 before calcination, will indicate the amount of organic 

 matter. 6. The other half of the residue left after calci- 

 nation is now to be boiled in a flask with about an ounce 

 of hydrochloric acid. By this means all the ingredients, 

 excepting the silica and part of the alumina, will be dis- 

 solved, some of them being decomposed. The insoluble 

 part is to be separated by filtration, washed until no 

 longer acid, and dried. The solution, together with the 

 washings of the insoluble powder, is to be marked A, 

 and put aside for subsequent examination. The powder 

 is to be finely powdered, and mixed with four times its 

 weight of dried carbonate of soda; the mixture is then 

 to be heated in a platinum crucible until it fuses into 

 a glass. The crucible and its contents being placed 

 whilst warm in a Wedgewood dish containing distilled 

 water, about an ounce of hydrochloric acid is to be added, 

 and heat applied. More acid and water may be added, 

 if necessary, until nothing more is dissolved. This being 

 done, the solution and insoluble part are to be evaporated 

 to dryness, in order to aggregate the silica held in sus- 

 pension ; and care must be taken during this operation 

 that no hard lumps be left in the solution, as the silica 

 sometimes forms a coating over such particles through 

 which the acid will not act. The residue, after the eva- 

 poration, is to be heated with water mixed with about 

 half an ounce of hydrochloric acid ; the solution is to 

 be filtered, and the insoluble part washed. The latter is 

 the silica, which must be carefully heated to redness, and 

 weighed whilst warm. The solution from which the 

 silica has been separated, is to have solution of ammonia 

 added, which will throw down the alumina. This must 

 be treated as the silica and weighed. 7. The solution A 

 is now to be examined. For this purpose, add ammonia 

 in excess, and afterwards strong acetic acid in consider- 

 able excess, and boil the mixture ; phosphate of peroxide 

 of iron, and phosphate of alumina, if present, will be 

 precipitated, and will remain undissolved. Collect and 

 wa^h this precipitate, and label the solution c. Treat 

 the precipitate with solution of caustic potash, which 

 will dissolve the phosphate of alumina, and leave the 

 phosphate of iron ; separate, wash, dry, and weigh the 

 latter. Add ammonia to the potash solution to throw 

 down the phosphate of alumina, which is in like manner 

 to be collected and weighed. It must not be inferred 

 that the phosphates of iron and alumina thus obtained, 

 existed as such in the soil. The phosphoric acid may 

 have been, at least in part, in combination with lime or 

 magnesia, while the iron may have been in the state of 

 peroxide, and the alumina uncombined ; but on dissolv- 

 ing these ingredients in the hydrochloric acid, the phos- 

 phate of lime or magnesia would be decomposed, and 

 phosphate of iron and alumina formed. As this decom- 

 position would always take place under the circumstance* 

 indicated, it next becomes a question, whether the equi- 

 valent proportions of peroxide of iron and alumina, or 

 of phosphoric acid, existed in excess. To determine 

 this point, divide the solution c into two parts; to one 

 add a few drops of solution of perchloride of iron, which, 

 if any earthy phosphates still remain undecomposed, will 



