1844.] 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



817 





T30YALTgRICULTUR.\L society of ENG- 



_LV LAND— D*. Lyon Pi.avpair, Consulting Chemist to 

 the Society, having kindly consented to deliver Two L?c'ures 

 hPforethe Members on the occasion of their ensuing: General 

 Meeting all Members will have the privilege of free admi^ion 

 representing tickets, to be obtained at the Office of the 

 Society. By Order of the Council, 

 12f Ha nover.Rqnare, Dec. 4. Jamks Hudson, Sec. 



^oijRBIDGE and HEATH'S COOKING APPA- 



XJ RATUS, combining- Sylvester's Patents.— This Cooking: 

 Aonaraius is believed to possess greater general advantages than 

 nnvvet submitted to the public, both as regards strength of ma- 

 terial and workmanship; in fact, the laws of beat are so applied 

 as to produce the greatest effect with the least consumption of 

 fuel without destruction to the apparatus ; and B. and H. can 

 safely recommend it, from experience, as unquestionably supe- 

 rior to anything of the kind hitherto made. A Prospectus can 

 be forwarded, upon application, detailing particulars and prices, 



to 130, Fleet street. 



hitherto denounced may be advantageously adopted 

 by both landowner and occupier. 



Upon these grounds — i. c, in the hope of modify- 

 ing a restriction which, when carried out without 

 due discrimination, seriously retards the progress of 

 agricultural improvements — we held, that the general 

 merits of the proposed system are worthy of special 



investigation. 



To this inquiry we now proceed. In estimating 



tivation. therefore, can be a good one, which neglects 

 to provide employment for the labourer, but w^ich 

 obtains its profits from the interest which is due to 



him.* 



But it is not merely on moral and equitable 



grounds that we are bound to look at the labour 



required by a method of cultivation before we can 



estimate its value — on national grounds the amount 



of employment we can give is of the utmost iniport- 



the merits of any system of husbandry, it is essential ance ; the exigencies of a vast and increasing popu- 

 to ascertain:— 1st. The amount of profit arising lation can only be supplied by allowing the healthy 



Cfie 



SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1844. 



MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 

 Wedkesuat, Dec. 11— Agricultural Society of England. 



_ _ Smkhfield Club Exhibition. 



Thursday, Dec. 12— Agricultural Imp. Soc- of Ireland. 



Wednk«dat, Dec. 18— Agricultural Society of England. 

 Thursday, Dec. 19— Agricultural Imp. Soc- ol Ireland. 



FARMERS' CLUBS. 

 Dec. 10-Abergavenny. Dec. 20-Wrentham. 



Dec 13— Kichmondshire. Stoke Ferry. 



Grove Feriy. » D*C 21— Rayleigh. 



Dec 21— Winchcomb. 



We have as yet received but few communications 

 on the subject of our late remarks on Farmers' 

 Clubs. We should feel exceedingly obliged if any 

 of our readers living near the place of meeting of any 

 such Society, would be kind enough to inquire of 

 the Secretary if he has noticed our request, that in- 

 formation might be forwarded to our office of its 

 name and place— of the days of its meetings for the 

 ensuing year— of the subjects to be discussed on those 

 days, if they have been determined on— of the sub- 

 jects discussed during the past year, and of the reso- 

 lutions arrived at on those subjects. 



Of course, if any Society has determined on refus- 

 ing the publication of these matters, we can have 

 nothing further to say ; only we are anxious that our 

 request should at least be brought under the notice 

 of all, and it can then be dealt with as may be thought 

 proper. We believe, with many, that an attempt to 

 centralise and connect or compare the now disjointed 

 dicta of Farmers' Clubs would be beneficial. See 

 page 769. _^ 



Among the many questions of interest which have 

 been partially discussed at the agricultural meetings 

 of the present year, is the policy of breaking up 



INFERIOR PASTURE-LANDS. 



The chief argument urged by the advocates of the 

 proposal is, that such a change would give much ad- 

 ditional employment at a time when it is much 

 needed. With such a claim upon our notice, the 

 question is certainly entitled to the fullest investi- 

 gation. We are the more anxious, however, to enter 

 into the merits of the case, because, up to the pre- 

 sent period, the tenant farmer has universally been 

 jealously restricted from adopting the system in any 

 degree, or under any circumstances. Now, we are no 

 friends to restrictions upon the good farmer, who is 

 " up to the age," and who, endeavouring to get as 

 much as he can from the soil,g/w* to it in the same 

 proportion that he takes from it ; at the same time, 

 however, it must be conceded, that with the tenant- 

 at-will they are, in some degree, necessary evils. The 

 restriction alluded to, therefore, though in many 

 cases it may be essential, in others is decidedly in- 

 jurious ; for, whether or not arable land be superior 

 to pasture in creating profit and labour, there are 

 unquestionably cases— many, too— in which lands 

 that will not produce a natural crop, should be made 

 to produce an artificial one. > 



The restriction we allude to is so universal, that 

 the tenant farmer in but few cases ventures to ques- 

 tion its propriety ; and, indeed— so F#on doth use 

 breed habit, and habit mould the mind—many of 

 our landowners also are convinced that it is essential 

 to their interests, and ought, in all cases, to be pre- 

 served inviolate. No matter what the soil may be, 



from it — i. e. the balance left in the hands of the 

 cultivator after the expenses of cultivation have been 

 paid ; 2d. The gross amount or value of the produce 

 raised from the soil— Le. its quantity and value with- 

 out reference to its cost ; 3d. The amount of employ- 

 ment it has given— i. c. the proportion of the ex- 

 penses of cultivation absorbed in cost of labour — the 

 gioss sum which it has invested in employment. 

 On the first blush of the question, it may appear 

 that the first is the only important consideration, as 

 upon the profits of cultivation depend the land- 

 owner's rent and the interest of the farmer's skill and 

 capital. No matter, therefore, according to this view, 

 what may be the quantify produced, or what may 

 be the expense of labour ; so long as the balance is 

 sufficient, the system is a good one. It is true that 



and the able labourer to invest the only capital of 

 which he is possessed— his physical energy. Of 

 what avail will be the produce of a great quantity 

 of food if we do not provide an equal quantity of 

 employment to enable the labourer to obtain that 

 food? For these reasons, therefore, we maintain 

 that the merits of any system of cultivation depend 

 not merely on the profit to the cultivator and the 

 quantity of food which ft produces, but also on the 

 quantity of employment it provides for the labourer. 



We shall next week test the merits of the arable 

 and pasture system by these principles.—//. 



the ploi <;n. 



{Continued from pag* b02 ) 



The frame-work of the plough must be regulated by 



sufficient, the system is a good one. it is true uiai the work t0 be done, so far as strength to sustain the 

 the profit of cultivation, whether it arises from a tear and wear and lhc shocks of the roughest work is 



1 !..««. ,%«. « ptotiI r*r\ct f\f m-rwlnptirm lc .... «. i « .1 _r .l. u.-_ 



large gross produce, or a small cost of production, is 

 the first matter to be considered— upon this both the 

 owner and cultivator depend— and if there were no 

 other interests vested in the soil, it would justly 

 engage our whole attention. The time, however, has 

 gone by when a man can say that he has an exclusive 

 right in landed property. He has the first claim 

 upon it, because his capital is sunk in it ; and, simi- 

 larlv, the tenant, according to his proportion of 

 capital ; but no further. Property has il is acknow- 

 ledged, its duties as well as its rights. " No man," 

 said a late and lamented nobleman, " has a right to 

 do wrong with his own." So in the cultivation of 

 land we must not consider any system worthy of our 

 acceptation, solely because it is a profitable one to the 

 cultivator, and through him to the owner. Though 

 the owner have the main interest in the soil, the 

 country at large has also a claim upon it. If the 

 owner have capital buried in it, the country affords 

 that capital the protection of the law, secures it 

 against all foreign or domestic interference, and in 

 fact gives it a convertible and actual value. Capital 



considered ; but its dimension?, the length of the beam 

 and the length of the stiits or handles, as they only 

 affect or regulate the power which the man or the horse 

 has over the implement, need not vary with the work to 

 be performed. These are wholly Independent of the 

 consistence of the land to be ploughed, or of the form of 

 the furrow-slice, which both vary, and their dimension 

 may therefore be fixed ; and amidst the immense variety 

 of forms of the plough, it is satisfactory to know that 

 this point, one so much affecting tiie appearance of the 

 implement, need not vary. The length of the beam in 

 some degree affects the power of the horse over the im- 

 plement. It it be long, the straightness of the furrow 

 evidently will be less affected by any I dialing deviations 

 of the horse from the straight pith, and the motion of 

 the implement will be more regular. This, however, is 

 as well insured by lengthening the draught-chain as by 

 lengthening the beam. The longer the handles of 

 the plough, and the shorter the beam in proportion, 

 the n.ore power will the man have over his im- 

 plement. There are, however, limits to both of these 

 points, which convenience in the length of the imple- 

 ment impose. Very excellent dimensions are those of 



fact gives it z convertible and actual value capital ^ ^ of Qarke and Fergusgon , plough- 



would be useless lumber were it not that the wants maker8 of Stirlingshire (see woodcut). The length of 



of an industrious population afford a ready exchange 

 for its produce. And, lastly, the soil is one portion 

 of what constitutes " England," and it is incumbent 

 upon each pari of any body, to act so as to aid and 

 benefit the whole. It cannot, however, require argu- 

 ment to show that English soil ought to minister as 

 far as possible to the wants of En- 

 glishmen, or that a duty devolves on 

 property, which cannot be shaken 

 off or commuted — a duty to pro- 

 duce as much as possible for the 

 benefit of those whose demand con- 

 fers a value upon what would other- 

 wise be valueless, and by whose con- 

 stitutional union the proceeds are 



the beam is in these ploughs 3 feet, and that of the 

 handles is 5£ feet; that of the whole plough is 10± feet, 

 which leaves 21 inches for that part of the frame-work to 

 which the body of the plough is attached. 



Tiie following is a sketch of the mere frame-work of 

 their plough, on a scnle of 1 -36th : — 



secured to their owner. Allowing, therefore, that 

 the country has some right in the soil, and that its 

 claim for as full a supply as possible of the neces- 

 saries of life is a valid one, it will be evident that the 

 second question must be answered satisfactorily— and 

 the quantity of produce as well as the net profit 



[Frame- work of Clarke's Plough. Scale l-3Gtli.] 



The cutting parts of the plough are the share, which 

 cuts horizontally the bottom of the slice, and the coulter, 

 which cuts it vertically from the fast land, of which it 

 forms part. It is evident that these should cut it 

 perfectly. There should be no tearing when the mould- 

 arisin^from any'system of management, must be j board begins to work. Any tearing must require an 

 arising rroiu * J J psHmatino- its value otherwise unnecessary exertion of power, and will in- 



taken into consideration in estimating its value draught. In some districts an invention has 



The next question-that of labour-depends on cre-^e ™« r **^ \ 



been tried which does away altogether with the attach- 

 ment of the coulter to the beam of the plough, and 



the" grounds urged in the above case. If a country 



has a claim in the soil, every individual has also an -~ oy \ des in its p i ace a projecting edge, standing up from 



interest in it. Individuals constitute a nation, and the sock on the vert i ca i p i ane f the side of the plough, 



Un«r l\nvn lmlividnallv Q dlHrP hm. i . • 1-* 1 !■ — ■■ 2m »A»ui>.le tlia nlrtlia-h flt ft POnST- 



ill its interests they have individually a share. " This, 

 however," it will be said, " does not prevent us from 

 producing cheaply. If we give you quantity, we do 

 our duty to the country at large and to individuals; 



~. «.« x.«v«rally poor , - _ 



portion to remain in its originally unproductive condi- 

 tion, would often be looked upon with an eye of sus- 

 picion, and sometimes even be considered an agricul- 

 tural pirate, whose design was to plunder the soi at 

 the expense of its owner. A restriction like this, 

 then, so general as to be applied to every description 

 of soil, and under every sort of circumstance— a rule 

 which ought to have so many exceptions, but which 

 has been generally carried out with so few— cannot 

 but have operated against the interests ot agriculture. 

 We therefore hail with pleasure the movement which 

 has called for investigation into the principle upon 



which this restriction is founded ; for whatever may _, , tnirrase mc re i y on mora, grounds; 



be the merits of the practice proposed, it will doubt- . vve ™*™£™ w too gySJj «J by th / land , £ 

 less be able to show sufficient to convince many ^^"^ UtVbyrefusiuc him permission to work 

 that there are cases where that which they have I iov it< ma k e s htm a pauper. 



our liaDinties; aim uhc ui *««-» - ~ t -- - 



for the labourer : he has a right to demand this on 

 the clearest grounds. If the nation has an acquired 

 claim upon property from the fact ot the benefits it 

 has conferred on that property, the labourer has a 

 stronger natural one, the title to which is patent to 

 every well-informed conscience. 1 his cla«m-the 

 right to labour-is his inheritance -it is, in fact, 

 his capital, a profitable field for the investmen of 

 which he may rightly claim as his due. When. 

 therefore, the rich man invests *» capital in the soil, 

 he does it with the knowledge that there is a mort- 



3 



to 



ace upon it, and it is his duty in the first instance 

 Satisfy the ojrjfindcre^^ 



but inclining backwards towards the plough, at a consi- 

 derable angle. This, of course, insured the perfect 

 cutting of the sod ; but it was found in practice that it 

 encountered more obstruction, and was more liable to 

 bend, or, if made of cast-metal, to break, than the 

 common arrangement for the purpose : it was, therefore, 

 abandoned. Tue relative position of the share and the 

 coulter must, as we have already said, be such that they 

 mav cut a Fquare-cornered sod. With regard to their 

 actual position in the plough, it is obvious that the more 

 inclined they are to their work, the more easily will it 

 be accomplished. The cut will be more gradual— lest 

 abrupt. They should, therefore, be as much inclined to 

 their work as is consistent with a convenient form of 



the plough. 



Now, it is evident that, though it may be necessary, 

 when altering the dimensions of your furrow-slice, 

 making the plough go deeper or shallower, or when 

 going from one description of soil to another, as from a 

 clayey to a strong soil, to alter the position of the share 

 or of'the coulter; yet there can, under no circumstances, 

 be any necessity for an alteration in the form of those 

 parts of the plough. Here, then, is ano her part of the 



* See Professor Henslow's admirable letters on this subject, 

 in the Suffolk papers of last mouth. 



