THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



77 



bat 



Y&j covering, «<»* of villainous flavour. 



The W os hree cen turies, and almost naturalised in 

 ns nHf ^.V nort h of Italy ; admissible under the 



*"** T listment bill, but not worth our possession, as 

 Foreign M' gkulk . fl holes and corne rs of hedges and 

 itiflfounai ^ progeny does not exceed the size of 

 copfl 5- !,v e"*, after four years' growth. The tubers, 

 ** f ct are represented to be no larger than Nuts, 

 in eober la » ^^ Hke Chesnuts, woody in fibre, 



. w ingrowth, and by no means nutritive— very 



*^Tv to stand beside an Irish Lumper. 



KZpsoraha csculenta, from the banks of the Missouri, 



\ the native Indians are said to feed upon its tubers, 



*Eh are about the size of a pigeon's egg, covered with 



when 



which are 



The inner part, however, which 



% ve rr tou»h envelope. 



[twin erowth, so tasteless, hard, and woody, even 

 Bio* b ( __, u ^ ;i: ._ that it toQ cannot b e 



hasa 



, farinaceous look, may be alimentary, but is 



60 



after some 



hours 



boiling, 



^^aAv'rus tulerosits, which is not of American extrac- 

 tion bears tubers externally resembling those of th 



e 



ll 



111 

 otato. 



states also that after cultivation in his garden during four 

 or five years, it showed little evidence of amelioration. 

 The haulms of all these plants are useless as fodder ; 

 t'lis respect, however, they are not inferior to the Pots 

 *< U'e see then," observes our author, " that of the pre- 

 ceding tubercules (all, excepting the La thy r us, borrowed 

 from America) there is not one capable of yielding 

 aliment in any remarkable degree* If, as is alleged, 

 lome savage tribes feed upon these American tubers, 

 what does this prove ? That they have apparently no 

 better means of sustenance. Do we not see them, in 

 other regions of the globe, feeding upon even worse 

 substances— swallowing unctuous clay, larvae, insects, 

 &c. Are we, therefore, to do the same, who possess 

 excellent cereals, kc. Unless, indeed, long cultiva- 

 tion should produce on these roots offsets such as 

 have attended the cultivation of the Potato we have 

 nothing to expect from them. Genuine agriculturists 

 mast emphatically pronounce against them, and disabuse 

 the public of illusions which can only be mischievous." 

 He excepts from condemnation the Peruvian plant 

 Uhco, as possibly containing the qualities which, with 

 culture, might fulfil at least some of the conditions 

 necessary to qualify it to serve (but still imperfectly) 

 instead of the Potato. In 1847 the French Minister of 

 Agriculture distributed some tubers of the Uiluco to 

 public garden establishments ; and these tubers pro- 

 duced others similar to those of the parent plant— some 

 underground and others axillary (and when the stem 

 was losing its vitality), but both equally capable of re- 

 producing. The Uiluco strongly resembles the Potato ; 

 the taste, however, of the former in the raw state is worse 

 than that of the Potato in the same uncooked state ; nor 

 does it become well flavoured and farinaceous by boiling, 

 however prolonged this process ; on the contrary it 

 only grows harder, and clogs and becomes watery and 

 very disagreeable to the taste. This is the best of a bad 

 p and though as the Solanum tuberosum was a taste- 

 lew root when first dug up from Sir Walter Raleigh's 

 garden at Youghal, there is a possibility that the 

 UIucus tuberosus (distinguished from the Ullucus 

 tointhi, the Napi lissa of naturalists), might become 

 presentable at table, if under the foregoing candid 

 expressions of discouragement it were worth while to 

 uH^ d nurture ft, the general opinion will probably 

 <* that it ought not to be placed on the muster roll of 



Pi* + . ent8 - M - Merat is a decided admirer of the 

 <Wo-mto the culture and malady of which 



P Q blicatioD. 



our 



%— w v.x^ culture ana iuaiauy oi 

 Dnhr . J udic iously inquired in the 



course 



he 

 of 



has 

 his 



Mr. Button 



Miscellaneous. 



Huttnn~TiT 5 S y 3tem °f Cattle Feeding. 

 ™*»,of Sowber Hill, near Northallerton, 



tak 



Mr. John 

 has been 



farms 1 k d? for sorae y ears > P oor > wild » worn-out 

 hundred tenaDtS dro PP ed > w*»l he »as about fifteen 

 °f steam h*r ° V m ° re ' and has fo,lowed out the system 

 chaff and? 8 Lluseed and meal, combining this with 



tons 'renoSt ? d r s a large number of cattIe - He has 

 tn * whole t P00^, worn " out soils > and reduced 



wit h the fin!! * / tate of 8 ardea cultivation, combined 

 A Partv J cessfal Ceding of "prime short-horn steers. 

 &rmi n ' f n *°? e 29 "gnculturista lately inspected his 



^4 o ^r 8, ,^ the 1 d T» ,leaUh * and ha ppy 



^^et t\J i, we "-f«d short-horn steers, ready for 

 fol(1 or'ato e and almost fat condition of the straw 

 for faU.fi, F< f Ca , ttle in liis yards— many worse are sold 

 fences of *i y condition of his draught horse?, are 

 Hiehthev r Value of the LiMeecl compound on 

 ^ the fitm 6 the fat cattle to the utmost limit, 



ex pen* s Z • l st0 ? k and horses once a da y- To suit (he 

 H and 1 m. 111168 tUe followi "S is the formula of his 

 d *seagL * lU be seen > *h* cost of feeding is at this 

 T ^ not m <>re than 6s. 



. per week : 



irtM?"SL* Fat Bea *t for 0*e Wee 



T OF 



m is, i 4. 



JmSk IK per lb. ... 



Coau ^ [ ° m *° lbs - ^ lbs. por day) 



*** « etch &* ;:; 



IV 



• .. 



♦ - • 



.#• 



• « • 



r t • 



■ . - 



2 



1 

 1 







6" 



1 

 7 



The' 



toed 



The small quantity of roots per day — taking the mini- J 

 mum of 70 lbs.- — would, in 20 weeks, amount to some 

 4J tons only, thus finding all the roots necessary for 

 feeding four cattle on 1 acre of a 20 ton per acre crop. 

 Journal of the Chemical Society. 



Calendar of Operations. 



n 



it 



tt 



m 3 «>3.^ e l t0 , th f *»»Sfct Worses is 1 lb. of 



« «wal, at noa^ at the cosfc of 4 ^ pw d j 



6 



LinseoJ 



JANUARY. 



Boeder of the Fens, Jan. 29. — A fortnight of frost and snow- 

 in January seems to be regarded generally with feelings of satis- 

 faction, and if such weather should prevail for four or five weeks 

 we should be reconciled by the expectation of enjoying favourable 

 weather in the spring, to compensate largely for present severity ; 

 and we know that all heavy land will be greatly fertilised by the 

 agency of frost if ploughed up a good depth, and, indeed, loamy 

 soils also must derive much benefit from the same cause, if pre- 

 viously turned up. This may seem a truism not worth repeating, 

 but we saw this morning two fields that occasioned this remark- 

 one was a Wheat stubble, where no game is preserved, undisturbed 

 since harvest, the other, a large piece of 30 acres, had been scari- 

 fied and left with all the Grass and rubbish. Now we cannot but 

 think this to be an abuse of scarifiers, as no doubt if such imple- 

 ments had not been in vogue this field would have been ploughed 

 5 or 6 inches deep, and would have been then better for all 

 purposes than it now is ; and in this instance the excuse of 

 horses being otherwise engaged in the farm will not hold good. 

 Yards are everywhere being emptied of manure, but the disposal 

 of that manure varies very much ; we before described our 

 method, which we continue to practise, endeavouring to improve 

 by varying the place of deposit, the quantity in each heap, and 

 the degree of pressure applied to hasten or retard fermentation 

 according to the stage of its decay and moist or dry condition. The 

 object of all should be at this period of the year to make manure, 

 whereas we see abundance of cases where manure is carted to 

 arable and Grass fields direct from the yards, so that you see at 

 one end of the field heaps of soiled straw, the colour scarcely 

 changed, in another part dry friable dung, and elsewhere it may 

 be, good manure of a dark colour. Stock of all kinds demand 

 the greatest care and attention; shelter from wind in any 

 quarter cannot be too much insisted on ; beasts tied or shut up to 

 fatten ought to lie warm, with sufficient ventilation, but store 

 stock and young horses in yards with open hovels will generally 

 be found to prefer the open yard, and should have liberty to take 

 the air as much as they please, shelter being provided in case 

 they want it, and to keep out draughts of wind, which do them as 

 much harm as we should receive from sitting near an open door 

 or window during cold weather. Jobbing labourers now find 

 work rather scarce, as farmers can only just employ their 

 regular hands, carting manure, or earth, or gravel being the 

 staple occupations while the ground is covered with snow. 

 Hedging furnishes something to do for one or two men, and im- 

 provements, where the tenure of a farm admits of their being 

 made, will always be undertaken by improving tenants; roads 

 are recommended by some, but roads are permanent improve- 

 ments, and cannot be lightly undertaken without leases or some 

 security for a return corresponding to the outlay ; nobody denies 

 the blessing of good roads, but some expectation of being remu- 

 nerated must exist ; for any man laying out money to benefit his 

 successor without adequate advantage to himself is foolish, to 

 say the least of it; and in farming, every man who has good- 

 naturedly parted with his money knows full well how easy it is 

 to lay it out, but with uncertain occupancy when will he see it 

 again ? Ordinary labourers now receive 13s. a week ; Wheat 70s. 

 per quarter; beasts make Ss. a stone; Linseed cake, 13/. a ton; 

 pigs, 65. 6d. to 75. a stone; Barley-meal, Is. to Is. 2d. per stone ; 

 Potatoes, Ss. per sack of 2 cwt. J. TV., Peterborough. 



West Sussex, Jan. 30.— We have lately had a slight fall of 

 snow with moderate frosts, which have been very seasonable, 

 both for checking vegetation and allowing of our carting on the 

 fields. There is no iear now of the "Wheat being too forward ; it 

 will be in the very best state of progress to meet a favourable 

 spring, and it will also be looking for a few April showers, for the 

 land is very dry. I should think it has not been drier in the 

 memory of man. At this time of the year, even on our clay 

 lands, the ditches are dry as they were in the summer; and a 

 few miles back among the downs water is getting expensive, r 

 being sold by the bucketful. And as the winter Is now ad- I tarnation, 

 vanced without rain, fears are entertained about the supply next ! flowers... 

 summer. Turnips are also checked in time; they were 

 beginning to look rather green. They have kept better than 

 we expected ; many of them were rotted in the autumn, no 

 more have gone since. The ewes and lambs have done 

 well, as might be expected in this dry weather. The lambing 

 season is nearly over. Fatting cattle do very well, they have 1^ 

 bushel of Swedes and Mangold Wurzel cut together, and given 

 twice a day, and 51bs. Linseed-cake and what hay they will 

 eat, which is about lOlbs. each, and on this they do better than 

 when they had three bushel Swedes and 41bs. cake with hay 

 ad lih. Peas are now being put in as the weather permits. And 

 the little frost that we have had has been suitable for carting out 

 dung to the fields. This with chalk carting, road mending, and 

 the necessary barn work, is our present occupation. Wheat thrash- 

 ing is far advanced, and our market has lately been well supplied. 

 At another time I may give a description of our Chichester 

 market, which for order and business-like system I believe is 

 not surpassed by any county town in England. G. S. 



>» 



TO GENTLEMEN ENCAGED IN PLANTING. 



WATERER and GODFREY respectfully invite 



* * attention to their stock of the following very desirable 

 HARDY PLANTS. 



Araucaria imbricata, from 2 to 

 7 feet high; as handsome as 

 plants can be. 



Cedrus Deodara, in any quan- 

 tity, from 1 to 3 feet high 

 Do. do., 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 

 feet high ; splendid plants 

 Cedars of Lebanon, 3. 4. 6, and 



10 feet high 

 Pinus Douglas i, 3 to 10 feet 

 insignis, 2 to 7 feet 

 Menziesi, 3 to 7 feet 

 Pinsapo, fine plants, 3 to 

 6 feet 



Nordmanniana, lj to 3 ft., 

 all from seed and remark- 

 ably handsome 



nobilis, 14 to 2 feet; a few 

 larger, 5 and 6 feet high, on 

 their own roots, and with 

 perfect leaders 

 Montezuma?, 2 to 4 feet 



Pinus canadensis, 3 to 8 feet 

 Cupressus macrocarpa or Lam- 

 bertiana, 4 to 7 feet 



thyoides variegata, 3 to 



4 feet (the variegated white 



Cedar) 



Juniperus, Upright Irish, perfeet 



columns, 3 to 7 feet 



„ chinensis, 2 to S feet 



Yew, common English,3 to 8 feet 



Irish, 4 to 10 feet 



gold-striped, 14 to 3 feet 



do., tall standards, 4 to 7 ft. 



Dovaston, or Weeping, 



worked on tall straight 

 stems 



Thuja aurea, the finest plants in 



the country 

 Libocedms chilensis, the finest 



plants in the country 

 Large variegated Hollies 

 „ Standard Bays 



v 



Also an immense stock of large Evergreens, Standard Orna 

 mental Trees, &c. 



All the plants here offered may be seen growing in our 

 Nursery ; they are removed every year, and will travel any 

 distance with perfect safety. Of some, such as Araucarias, 

 Deodaras, Golden Yews, Thuja aurea, Pinus nobilis, Nord- 

 manniana, we have any quantity ; and the plants, for root ami 

 branch, are not to be surpassed. Priced Catalogues will be for- 

 warded on application, enclosing two postage stamps, to Waterm; 

 and Godfrey, nephews and successors of the late Hosea Waterer, 

 Knap Hill Nursery,* Woking, Surrey, near the Woking Station, 

 South- Western Railway, where all trains stop, and where capital 

 conveyances can be obtained. 



The 2d. stamp will also include a descriptive Catalogue of their 

 American Plants, Roses, and Nursery Stock in general. 



MESSRS. E. G. HENDERSON and SON, of the 

 Wellington Road Nursery, St. John's Wood, Louden, beg 

 to inform their Patrons and the Public that their NEW CATA>- 

 LOGUE OF SEEDS for 1855 is now ready, and will be 

 forwarded post free on application. 



E. G. If. & Son take this opportunity of stating that none but 

 the most popular and improved kinds of Vegetable Seeds appear 

 in their list; and among the Flower Seeds only those whose 

 beauty and merit arc universally acknowledged, together with 

 a carefully selected stock of the principal new varieties. 



E. G. \i. & Son beg respectfully to call particular attention to 

 the following choice seeds of Florists' Flowers, which have been 

 saved from a fine collection of named plants, and also to the 

 annexed New and Choice Flowers, which they can confidently 

 recommend, and in their Catalogue will be found the names of 

 20 beautiful ornamental Grasses. Also 12 variegated and orna- 

 mental foliage plants, for decorating the flower garden during the 

 summer months, with full descriptions and other information 

 respecting the following 



CHOICE FLORIST FLOWERS. 







1 





Per packet — s. 

 Antirrhinum, extra fine 



mixed ... 

 Auricula, fine mixed 

 Balsam, double Camellia 

 flowered, in packets of 

 6 distinct colours se- 



rKirttLC ■•« ••• ••• 



double Rose flowered 

 in packets of 6 distinct 

 colours separate 



lew doubte. Camellia 

 Rose, in packets of 10 

 distinct colours sepa- 

 rate, extra fine 



Aurora, fine dbl. cr. 



new dbl. pale yellow 



from stage 



d. 



6 

 6 



Per packet— 5. 

 Chrysanthemum, Pom pone, 



d. 



3 



. » . 



... 



««• 



» 



3 



V 



» 



If 



V 



5 



1 

 1 





 







9 • • 



1 6 



Calceolaria, from choice 

 hybridized flowers 



25. M. and 5 



Cineraria, from choicest 

 varieties ... Is. 6d. and 2 



fine mixed 



„ large flowered, 

 fine mixed 

 Geranium, choice show 



„ choice fancy 

 Hollyhock, first quality 



second quality 



„ in 12 distinct 



Colours, each colour ... 

 Pansy, choice show, from 

 named flowers 

 choice fancy, from 

 beautiful striped aud 

 spotted flowers 

 Petunia, from extra fine 

 named varieties 



saved from crimson 

 flowers with green 



1 



1 



O 



2 



6 



M 



6 



2 



6 



1 







6 



1 ff 



» 



1 6 



1 



»> 







6 



edges 



• t * 



- - * 



Verbena, choice mixed 

 Mimulus, beautifully 

 blotched 



1 

 1 





 



G- 



NEW AND OTHER CHOICE FLOWERS. 







Per oacket — s. 



• • • 



« * • 



• •• 



1 

 1 

 



Notices to Correspondents. 



Boarding for Stalls : Mr Young, of Leeds, keeps his horses on 

 boarded floors with some straw on them, and finds it a great 

 economy in straw, and also advantageous to the health of the 

 animals. He is an extensive livery stable keeper. He lays 

 three ground sleepers (for a 6-feet width) the whole length of 

 the stall, from wall to outside of gutter. They are of Larch 

 or Oak 3 inches thic*k and 4 inches wide, and cross rails are 

 nailed above them with what are called diamond nails — i nails 

 through into each sleeper. These cross boards are f Elm, 6 or 

 7 inches wide, 1£ to 2 inches thick, aud from 1£ to 2 inches 

 apart, to allow the wet to get through. 



Cow : Liverpool. We fear she is past all surgery. The mesen- 

 teric glands are probably diseased. The following may be 

 tried :— Calomel, opium powdered, half a drachm each, to be 

 given daily in thick flour gruel for four or five days. A few 

 Beans and Rape-cake may be given with the food. W. C. S. 



Dextrine: Dextrine. We presume the effect of the acid on the 

 starch to be its conversion into dextrine, which if washed clear 

 of the acid may no doubt be used as food. The freedom from 

 acid will be ascertainable by taste. 



Potatoes : S F says :— " I am preparing to plant a crop of 

 Potatoes, and am very desirous to prove the principle of 

 culture recommended by your correspondent M S.," Forfarshire, 

 which appears to me very judicious. His four points I shall 

 exactly observe: but as I feel anxious to carry out his system 

 to the utmost, I would venture to ask him to state the depth he 

 plants his Potatoes, and how the hoeing is effected" 



Porr.TBT Books: T P. Mr. Daily's address is Mount Street, 

 Grosvenor Square. Your bookseller will obtain Tegetmeier's 

 work. 



Salt: J A Carr. Place a lump before her, and let her take as 

 much as she chooses. That is the best >\ay of determining the 

 proper quantity. 



Salt and Limb: An Old Subscr, r. Chalk and salt should b- 

 just as efficient as lime and salt; in both e* time is ne ad 

 for the assumption by the 1 I mi of the altered form 



or combination to w hi : icy is due. 



Water : I) Q L. Wind will not rill the wells except it be accom- 

 panied by water ! 



Abronia umbellata 



Anagallis azurea grandi- 

 flora 

 „ rubra 



Arctotis breviscapa 



Aster, new Peony pyramid, 

 in packets of 10 dis- 

 tinct colours separate 3 



new bouquet pyra- 

 midal, in packets of 

 12 distinct colours se- 

 parate ... 



Alonso Warscewiczi 



d. 

 G 





 

 6 



6 



n 



... 



• • . 



. . • 



... 



rr 

 v 



» • • 



3 

 5 





 





 



Clintonia pulchella 

 Coreopsis corona ta 



filifolia ... 



tricolor nana 



Drnmmondi gran- 



ditlora ... 



Calendrina umbellata ... 



Cyclamen persicum ... 1 



„ ,, rubrum 1 



Centuuridium Drummondi 



6 

 



6 

 6 

 G 

 6 



6 

 6 

 

 



V 





V 



« • • 



■ ■ 



811- 



• 1 • 



V 



m • • 



• • • 



• • 9 



Dianthus Dunnetti 

 perba 



chinensis fl<»ra 



pleno, extra fine 



Digitalis, new spotted 



Eucnida bartonioides 



Eschscholtzia tenuif »lia... 

 Gramauthes gentianoides 



Hume a el ( ms 



Ipouiea ru bra cauulea . . . 



„ limbata ... 

 Leptosiphou luteum 



aurcum 



Linum grandiflonim rubra 



I*. 6d. and 



Lobelia racemosioides ... 



erinus oculata ... 

 ., Queen Victoria 



(scarier) 



„ Koi Leopold (blue) 

 Larkspur, new double im- 



pr 1 Hyacinth 



flowered, in packets of 

 6 distinct colours^ ... 

 imnanthes sulphurca 

 odorata 



1 









c 







« 







6 



1 



6 







C 







6 



1 







2 











6 



1 



6 



v> 



6 







6 







4 







2 e 



• . . 



1 



Per packet—*. 

 Lychnis fnlgens (scarlet) 

 Lythrum roseuni superbum 



Mignonette, new large 



flowering 



Oxalis rosea ... ... 



Phlox decussatn.from fine 

 named varieties ... 1 

 Drummondi cocci nea 



Portulacca, new orange ... 9 

 „ rosea ... ... 



Primula sinensis fimbria ^ 

 alba, and rubra, mixed 2 



Poppy, Mv large 1 



flowered, in S brilliant 

 colours... 



Rhodanthe mangles! 



Reseda myriophylla (new 

 Mignonette) 



Schizanthus Grahami car- 



nea 



retusus 



„ retusus albns... 

 6 Salpigl us. scarlet, blue. 



and sulphur, each ... 

 Stock. Scarlet Interme- 

 diate ... 



German, new larg 



flowering, in packt 

 of 6 distinct colours, 

 separate 



Intermediate, or 

 Autumn, in packets 

 of 12 distinct colours 

 separate 



Brompton, or Win- 

 ter, iu pack of 10 

 distinct c mrs, sep. 



Emperor, in pkt 



of 5 distinct colour 



separate 



Sweet William, new db 

 mixed 



Tro) olum, Triomphe de 

 Gand ... 



Lille Schmidt 



tri or 

 Schewerianum i> 



Vittadenia lobara... f .. 1 



Whi tla via grand iflora ... 1 



d. 



4 

 6 



6 







2 











6 



1 



9 







4 







3 







b 



6 



S 



IT 



2 & 



yy 



3 



2 6 



it 



6 

 G 



. . - 



• • • 



2 

 













(> 







6 



H<n.< s Sacchakatts (New Singer Cane), 1*. and 2s. & 

 Dioscorf-.y Batatas (Japanese Yam), 8 (/.each tubtr 

 February 3. 



