58 



NI I AGRICULTVKAL GAZETTE. 



Rax. 27, 



ixtei &um f i>>n 9 baa btea rep 



\u> has lout good mi 



i* 



o by Mr. il ul- 



e in this renewal 



ton 



a. ution of the matter ; for the truth has 1 



# ited by him, cot originally stated by 



Those wno have not read this correspond 



will fed it facta on which it has turned, g 



at pa*«« 7*3 Att and 843 of last vear't 



Mr 



This has been 



m* 



ct-s 783, 825 and 843 of 

 TaiPta'i letter is given at the last-named 

 and Mr Hamilton's reply to it has just 

 mUbltci in the l>ublin Farmer i 



Jlr. Tklkkr obtained his 2 • tons of green 

 food off acres of Italian Rye-grass by manur- 

 ing 34 acres up till the second cut, and after that 

 manuring another 34 acres which ha been sown 

 that year, leaving the former 3£ acres to go to see 

 He believes, and so do we, that the 34 acres left to 



which had been patented I m 



we believe, of Loaitn, who at Wokingham and 

 Reading had exhibited the results of his patent 

 method with extraordinar 

 done only on the small scale ; and, indeed, the first 

 expense of the plan, greater than the fee simple of 

 the land, hinders its being done on any other. We 

 have seen his experimental plot at Reading; it 

 consists of not more, probably, than a quarter of an 

 acre ; one half of which has been prepared by Mr. 



and the other half treated in the ordinary 



of other countries to supply us. AV Wliw ex ^ 

 that disability has arisen from the entire cutting 

 of certain sources of supply, from the difficulty ^ 

 obtaining means of transport, or from bad harvei 

 in other countries, we ^ do not here inquh^ 

 The main facts are that since September 5, 1&5/ 

 to January 5, 1855, the imports of Wheat ha** 

 been 396,340 quarters, and of Flour 255,785 cwtg ! 

 the quantities imported in the similar months rf 

 1851, 1852, and 1853 being 755,428— 1,389,66U 



the half which he hoped to prove comparatively a 



> * * a a ■ 1 1 • * 



and 1,839,447 quarters ol wneat, and 1,541,863^ 

 991,758— and 1,709,197 cwts. of Flour respectively 

 Take into account the high prices which have % 

 year failed so extraordinarily to attract supplW 

 and we must believe that all of the causes inju 



Wilkins, 



method. The unfortunate circumstance connected 



with all these experiments hitherto is, that both the 



each case have been under Mr. Wilki: s 

 direction. That he has honestly done his best by __ 



cated have combined to produce so remarkable \ 



manure been continued there, failure is, however, believed. Ata public meeting ; result. As^ indicating the relative growths oft 



have produced as ranch as the young seeds on which at Reading which he called to exhibit the results of 



it was ed and so he takes credit for having his practice, the large Mangolds produced by his 



done all he says on 3J acres instead of 7. Or, rati r, peculiar plan were contrasted with puny roots 



be contends tha' it is really s question nut ofiof common cultivation grown in adjoining rows — 



manuring and in the east of so ! fine . >wn Hemp and Flax were shown beside the 



L we stunted stems of the ordinary mode of growth, and 



other contrasts were exhibited. But on claiming 

 for Ins method of culture the merit of these con- 



lly-growing a plant as Italian R>e-g 

 ve be is right. Nevertheless, this style of 

 will not satisfy a matter-of-fact disputant 



and Mr. Hwmtos, of 



advantage. He says : 



* As to Mr, Tti .fik's own aeetnt of his 7 acres, with 

 Mi iafeni<Mis shifting of the paternity of his crop 



mak 



mm 



actet fas spriaf 





1 1 



acres in autumn, 



his iiherml e ht tee of 3i, 5^, or? seres, from which 

 are to calculate the annual produce, he only makes 

 tut 27" tuaa, or 38 V tons to each of 7 acres, though he 



9mU UtUlto ku crtdit of 3| acres. But will this reason- 



lag satisfy t\ iHihlie mind I Are farmers to have their 

 seeoad teste to rid« out tin fusions upon as a fox- 



hunter has his s tt t t d hors* to niett him wWi the first 

 It exhausted ? Mr. Ttltt (who informed me that the 



*y 



all used 

 did use 



»» 





I to the matters of detail to which we alluded at 

 >8§6, Mr. Hamtli itays:— 



h r—ptet to the number of hydrants, this does 

 Jfect the question at all ; the propor >n of 1 to 6 



found everywhere else the minimum ; and 

 in the parliamentary minutes of the Board of Health 

 there appear to he no instances quoted where the 

 hydrant* aro in a smaller proportion ; and if I 

 misunderstood M Tklfer on this point, the printed 

 account of hit farm which he gave me, ami which 

 describes hi* hose as 150 yards >ng, was not likely to parall 



me, I only profess to give the beat b forma- 



trasts, he was met by a very reasonable scepticism 

 to the honesty and genuineness of these inferior 

 samples. Were the plots which grew them really 

 cultivated as a good farmer would ? — that was what 

 no one knew — the audience had the word of a 

 stranger as their only guarantee, and he was 

 likely to leave them unconvinced. It was fortunate 

 for Mr. Wilkins that his proceedings had been 

 watched by Mes> u Sutton, the seedsmen, of 

 Heading, whom everybody in the audience knew 

 and tn and when Mr. Martin Sutton, in the 



midst of all these murmurs of incredulity, stood up 



bear witness to the honesty of Mr. Wilkins's 

 account, the reality of the experience which he 

 related, and the genuineness of the specimens which 

 he exhibited — the people felt at once that here was 



j «,«*«. ****** ^* **•»«, »rw -^—j _— ~_. — ~ -^ -~*wu mjn. 



tember the amount of sales of English Wheat 

 officially recorded has been 1,674,166 quarters thi* 

 year against 1,004,546 during the same weeks of 

 1853. 



Our readers are aware that Mr. Pusey, in whom 

 more than in any other man, the interests of the 



'bodied, 

 has been suffering from very severe illness. We are 



glad to learn from the letter of Dr. Acland to the 



daily papers that he is at length rallying ; and we 



sincerely trust that in due time he may recover from 



his severe attack, and be able to resume the position 



he has so long and so usefully occupied in the 



councils and direction of the Agricultural Society, 



REPORT AND ESTIMATE OF A FARM. 



I now send you a detail of the mode of cultivation 

 which I think would be the most profitable for you to 

 adopt : an estimate of the working cattle and implements 

 required, and of the number of sheep and other stock 

 you will be able to keep. 



This farm is on the chalk formation, and the soil 1 



.. . . 1. » ■% - « . 1 1 ., ,. * either a thin gravelly loam or chalk with flints. It 



the missing link by which alone the chain of consists of 260 acres, of which 20 acres are in pasture, 



evidence became complete ; and the credit of the 60 in down, and the remaining 1 80 acres are under the 



speaker saved. ; plough. Of these 180 acres I would have always 2d 



The farmers who listened to his statement went acres in Saintfoin, and of the remaining 160 acres, one- 



away convinced. That is to say they believed that balf, or 80 acres, I would have producing grain, aad 



y laying an impervious floor, whether by brick, the otller half producing Turnips or other roots, and 



•meiit, or what not, some 20 or 30 inches below fodder cro P s ' these to alternate yearly with each other. 



the irface of the soil, and upon that floor laying T he J f t orfol , k « ftmr field system, which is almo* 



the 



ate. 



— w* •vmvwvm. w* uvvuo, M4WU .»•»«£»• •*>«<«• ■»-« rruvOT, 



Barley with Clover seeds sown amongst the Barley, and 



after Barley Clover or seeds ; this finishes the rotation. 



From this system it is evident that the several crops 



come around on the same field every four years. This 



quick repetition of the same crop on the same grounds 



the greatest objection to the Norfolk system, as it hw 



been found that the land soon gets tired of Clover and 



Turnips when repeated on the same ground in so short 



a period. The Clover very frequently fails, dying in 



r ^ r „ Mt * v W „ A VAi the spring or in the early part of the summer. Tl» 



titaitU, bo ■tumid "rather aim at supj log "the no doubt, is ready to believe. ButTow many 'of ' T^ ni P is also a feilin g cr( >P> producing fingers and toes 

 iMfcriMiHiaa *ii»t t nnint-*! ««» *u — j-* — ai — \f ^ - L ' • 1. , ,. . . / instead of large bulbs when repeated every four years. 



The Scotch, or six field system, puts off the Clorer 

 and root crops two years more than the Norfolk 

 system ; but then they have only one-sixth part of 

 their land in roots, and one-sixth part in Clover, one- 

 sixth part being in Beans or Peas, and the remaining 

 three-sixths in corn ; by this rotation they have one- 

 third only producing fodder crons. and two-thiri 3 " 



^^ eoold collect from others, and with due eauti..n 9 by upr ht pipes communication between the 

 !2S ^T' J ! r m0il6 & whl * ^ 1 * t r n,el L li h*™^ ™»*s of pipes and the surface of the 



could be cheeked, I expressed nr. 1 feel in cr that the »-^«^j 1 *u « • v -i v* t*ic 



dauwer, naatisf: ry,andmycon ioS th.^/ ? ou ^h g K ; Y ^ n f P°^S m liquid manure from 



large mnlta were obeiioable/certainlv there wi w ■ aboye '/ ml f ^ "rating the soil with it from below 

 ywof that the result of about 100 tone of r.nus had u P w ards— for this is Mr. Wilkins s method :-by 

 ever been obtained at three cuttings, there or elsewhere. ado P tln g *" this vstem, at a cost of some 100/. to 

 I cannot, however, but -ate all such contro rsiea 20 ' P er acre ? ^e most marvellous increase of 



— A - - ........ fertility is obtainable. That was what they 



a 



qwque ease woniiy of the editor of the Agricultural 



dsAdsssebs Utat I pointed out than defending; Mr. Caird that agricultural 



m his aimeflneement as a f^t. tlimi <X ^n« .f 1^ had Dlan into oneratiftn , 0f courgej not Qne . f| . g ^ 



been ree 



from a Scotch acre 



VVp have 



1 tine 100 tone of green Grass shrinking back 

 statement. 74 in another (\lv. Tbt pitd'c rm^ 



think I hare shown practically, in Mr. Telfir 



to 381, The conclusion I Ar&w frnm th\a .'« 4k. 



likely that they should. If we had 150?. per acre 

 to spare upon our farm we should invest it in the 

 purchase of our occupation, not in improving its 



Mr. Wilkins is an indefatigable and enthusiastic 

 man. 



crops 



has not been weighing and measuri 



extent or accuracy, to enable any < j ..„„„ 



results we might count upon if we adopted the same the London ^ m m k _ 



system, and I hope that the result of all this writing audience. He urges his plans with the utmost conff and a fo(i ^ er producing crop, you can have those crops 



and painstaking records of the coming dence, and ia gaining all the support which energJ "'^ xL " "^ ' ' '^ 



and activity command. * * * ~ " " 



He holds meetings in Oxford Town Hall, at producing grain for sale in the market. 



m___ _ , • t»_ . "producing 



season's produce. 



Without wishing to revive any personal discussion 

 in connection with this subject, we must be allowed 



At the Oxford meeting, 

 last week, a considerable sum of money was sub- 



which the land soon gets tired of at as great a period 

 apart as you have crops on your list whose nature and 



habits are different. 



K . tk . .— • ■ — ™ scribed far a trial of the plan upon one acre of \ r T-J?*? ad0pted the e,ght field s J' stem ' SD /l f 



here to my tha our argument was not a tu ytoqm ground, and the terms on which the patentee was fc A*?i b<J m -° St P™ duct ] ve of Iar S e cr °C 

 , u pur^of jrepare'd to negotiate with any counCt^L^ Si t^tl {*ZXT%1^* l™*'**^^: 



argument 



an 



♦k ™ 1 • v..« 6D ui auu iiuouiu nut oe omerwise. cottages with car- 



themselves inaccurate. It is dens under 5/. 5s. annual rent are to pay one penny 



iw u- u~- >C u* ge e<1 iaa . ccurac 7 °n P« annum, and houses with gardens under 20? 



dant, which is what we are said to Lve a-year 7*. 6rf. per annum for license to Xpt the 



nd to prove his charca of inaronrar.tr tr. k« .™*» m t* _... i li. , .■ . . * u "P l lR e 



auu me application 01 a large quantity ot manure w - 

 the root and fodder crops, 1 had large crops of WlM"* 

 every two years. 



adapts 



i£ff fn« P » r ° Te ^! s L char «« L 0f ^accuracy to be | system. It may be worth while tryinsr the ex for the dr ^ friabIe land of J' " 1 ' &™ is the following: 



J!; 1Baccu rate, which is what we claim to have periment for its possible horticultural results -it Divide the 18 « ^res of area into nine fields of 20 acf« 



afr H.i, T Wa *.? ot to prove "y^""? whatever of may, perhaps, be worth while even in an mrriJ.nl f. h ; one of the fie,ds > or 20 acres » to be alwaya 



f Ir :_5* 1,lt 7 c lhat onr «">»>*« were aimed ; it was tnral point of view, to A^ZLIZ l^^l^ 1 ' Saintfoin J this field to be renewed every five years 



discotrfon thattl^ 11 ™ 1 ^ ^'^ w «! nnder Wuini. to'plants rfw^rtTfiSd^ SSmiJ'a^d S in ^ : d , own anotl ^ field . of Sain ^oin, and breaking 

 o«c»n that w, inquired into the abihty of supply of food, but that it will ever be of direct 



witnesses and the ch 



M^sitsi coam ° f a m ° nth ° r tw ° thst the 



truth of th« most important of the manir imnnrt.nt 



the farmer 



use 



ign 



annTr w past , year wiU ** improvement, he will do mischief 

 J?r r A , e ^ n confidently predict attention to this subject. 



Then say 



20 air* 



20 



^m may 





interesting 



corn 



during the autumn months of the past year with 

 the imports of previous years during the same 

 season, as illustrative both of the productiveness of 



the past season here and of the diminished ability 



the old Saintfoin field. 



No. 1, to be in Clover 



No. 2, to be Wheat, after the Clover...'" 



No, 3, Winter Vetches, Winter Barlev, and Rve, for 



spring fodder, and then planted with Kape for sheep 20 

 ^o- 4, Oats, after the Vetches, Rye, and Rape — 2° 

 No. 5, Turnips, Swedes, Cabbages, after the Oats ... 20 

 No. 6, Wheat, after the Turnip seeds and Cabbacres... 20 

 No. 7, Mangold, Carrots, and Potatoes, after the Wheat » 

 No. 8, Barley, with Clover, after Mangold. Carrots, 



and Potatoes f. 20 



By this arrangement you will have— _-* 



In Wheat two 20 acre fields, Nos. 2&0 ... ••• !2 

 In Oats (No. 4) ...20 * 



In Barley (No. 8) - - ... 20 * 



9 



•: 

 11 

 ff 



» • t 



«•• 



... 



80 acres of seed producing crop 



• »t 



•• 



.80 



