6 1555. 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



91 



their yield of milk. They were 



and their calves sold within a few 



Jv?d for 30*. each ; I allow 10s. for the 



*,'„ and reckon 20s. towards reduction of 



° f "« be seen that during the 33 £ weeks they have 



It .* U _ ; n f 156 lbs. each; this 1 apportion wholly 



of the 



»**Pf iSrial! making at 6d. per lb. il. 18s. Oncom- 



Arir value at present, I find them worth more by 

 f**,? Ih than their first cost. Up to the early 



Dirt 01 



* ^^2^7 steamed food per day. During 

 with **° __.,„ a(ra j n t e pt wholly in stall, and treated 



Vetch than their first cost. Up to the early 



txi tbey were in stall, and on winter food; during 



r months on Grass, being housed at night, 



Jifcpr they were again n C p,nuui V ,« •«-, ~~- _~~- 

 0cfc ^-n ,,lv described. Their progress throughout has 

 UPr** 10 " S ' ,i*«binrr the vield of milk and gain of 



" Pre 3'aad taking the yield of milk and gain of 

 beenstetujj . feedinsr in stall and on 



bt toto consideration 



f 



^ food ha s DOt been t0 com P arative disadvantage. 



Jlf £ nualitr I can only speak as regards the yield of 



and butter, which I have tested frequently, and 



^result nearly uniform, being from 16 quarts of 



u % oz of butter. On one occasion, in Dec, 

 ■S ; he non stall food, the yield of butter reached 



SjFl from 16 quarts. This uniformity in the 

 T id of butter can only be expected from attention to 

 E temperature of the dairy. I may at some time seek 

 Vision ito explain, on the invitation of your intelligent 

 Clitheroe correspondent, my mode of equalising this by 

 the application of hot water in winter, and cold in 



summer 



The produce of the dairy is disposed of in new milk 



2i per quart, or in butter at varying prices, and old 

 Uitt Id. per quart. For some time the latter, owing 



miii- 



has been the more pro- 



to the higher range of butter 



Stable. The pecuniary results will appear to be : — 



Iqntrts per day new milk, at 2d. per quart ... per week 10$. 6d 



Gain in value, %l 105. each, during 33£ weeks 



Yield of excrement, 84 lbs. per day, 5£ cwt. per week 



1 

 2 



6 

 2 



14 2 



To ascertain the quantity of excrement, the yield from 

 eight cattle, of solid and liquid during 12 days, was 

 found to weigh 71 cwt., being the contents of the tank 

 under the tails of the animals, into which the excrement 

 es through open boards. To ascertain its value I 



?e referred to several analyses made by Prof. Way 

 of the manure from my cattle. I assume the per 

 eentage of nitrogen at 50 — 60 ammonia per cent., or for 

 112 lbs. 67. 



Iti value at Id, per lb. will be per cwt. 



Phosphate of lime 64 per cwt. 



OsAU. 

 OJ 



5 

 found 



per cwt. 



As the same food, in quantity and quality is 

 adequate to supply the large yield of 14 quarts of milk 

 rich in nitrogenous casein compounds, and also a phos- 

 phate of lime, the assumed per eentage of these and the 

 "value of them in this excrement will be moderate, and 

 probably below what is its real content. It is free from 

 admixture of straw and other foreign material, and 



undergoes little or no fermentation previous to its being 



applied. 



Your readers will 



Agricultural Gazette. 

 ' of- 



find a description of food in the 

 Sept. 30th and Oct. 7th. It con- 



f2*J f Rape cake and 2 lbs. of Bean-meal per day, 

 Jib. of Bean-meal, or 7 lbs. per week 



lftS' ? eadow hay ' at 3 *- ed • p- cwt -> 84 lb - p- week > 



g». Bean & Oat straw & shells of Oats, 70 lb. . . . 

 * 103. of food, 10a. per ton 2241b 



Attendance, U. ; coals, 1 Jdf. ; cooking, Ud. . . . 



Per week. 

 2s. l)>d. 

 3£ 



25. 7\d. 



2 11 



1 





1 







4 7| 



• • ■ 



1 3 



and to this I hope now to recal attention. About 30 years 

 have elapsed since the late eminent philosopher 

 De Caudolle promulgated an hypothesis' 4 On the fecal or 

 radical excretion of plants," by which much light was 

 thrown upon the inquiry concerning the necessity of 

 rotations in cropping. In the spring: of 1854, at a 

 meeting of the Croydon Farmers' Club, it was staled 

 that red Clover could not be generally re-cropped on the 

 same land more frequently than about once in seven or 

 eight years ! I was thereby led to undertake a close 

 and protracted series of experiments with several 

 varieties of the trifolium family, the common red, the 

 white or Dutch Clover, and some of the smaller yellow 

 Trefoils. Plants were carefully lifted, the roots were 

 washed, and then inserted in phials of very pure filtered 

 rain, or distilled water. After standing and growing in 

 such pure water for several days, 1 found that, in 

 every case, matters had been excreted by the roots of 

 each variety, which were detected, more or less palpably, 

 and proved the presence of carbonic and sulphuric acids, 

 of chlorine, potash, and ammonia. Now, although we 

 may not be able to prove by such facts that plants do in 

 reality poison the land by fecal exudation, so far as each 

 individual is concerned, or conversely, that they may 

 enrich or manure it for others of a different tempera- 

 ment ; yet, as exudations do take place without question 

 or doubt, we ought to keep our minds open, and our 

 judgment free from the prejudice of empirical routine. , 

 I claim, therefore, the reconsideration of De Candolle's 

 theory, and venture to as&ert that it is not solely by 

 exhausting the soil that certain plants fail if planted on 

 the same ground year after year ; for were this the 

 ease manuring would renovate the ground, but it fails 

 to do so, and thus, if Peas or Wheat be sown repeatedly, 

 the farmer may manure to whatever extent he shall 

 please, yet his crops will dwindle and become poorer. 

 Soils differ everywhere, even in the same field or 

 garden ; and therefore each farmer ought to become his 

 own chemist. In the Isle of Thanet, that rich granary 

 of London, I had proof in 1820, that if Peas were 

 frequently replanted the ground became poisoned or 

 " overpead." The ssed might germinate, but the plants 

 soon became yellow, or (locally) u foxed," and yielded 

 nothing of a crop. J. T., Croydon, Feb. 6. 



octette** 



au 



%* 8 9i 



me green crops I use consist of Cabbages till Decem- 



^r, Kohl Rabi till February, and after this Mangold. 



P u not ascertame( i the produce per acre of the 

 wobagea by actual weighing, and therefore do not 

 raturean estimate. That it will doubtless be larger than 

 wy other I cultivate, may be inferred when I state that 

 Of 301h gsome of the individual plants I found them 

 lira iu m ^ ^ ^s- each, and such were by no means 

 *«: My Kohl Rabi (Cabbage Turnip) is likewise pro- 

 . , IVe * * have ascertained, by actual weighing, a 

 L Uee ^ 34 tons per acre, including the fresh green 



not th i e8 ' wmcn are eaten wita relish, and have 

 vatuTok ive P ro P ertv of Turnip-tops. In culti- 

 row o f bages and Kohl R^i I introduce between each 

 to all oh ? ar ty P otat °es, which are taken up in time 

 to the ( u n , e *§hb° ura room to expand their foliage 

 ftabi T I EacQ cro P> Potatoes, Cabbage, or Kohl 

 earlyp reC as occu pyi n g the half of an acre; the 

 bjjf m, atoes afford satisfactory remuneration for their 

 Solid e e manure applied is the mixed liquid and 



farm-!^ rement of cattIe > fed on the produce of my 



^ near aV nex * 8eason nas already been ploughed 

 its fo^ 00t dee p ; taken from under the animals in all 



^cent n e ^ 8 ' atl( * w ^ tnou t exposure to the atmosphere, 



the cuhiv ltSrein0Va1, [t wil1 remain undisturbed until 

 pound f Vat ? P and narr °w are used for preparing the 

 Cabbap*« r a rece P tion of the plants aud tubers. The 



*fe BuSt? l Rabi would doubt,ess be a P rofit - 



peat ext f ° r the ha ^ y et I cannot use tnem to a 

 ^ and but* * Uhout detrime nt to the flavour of the 



(To be concluded in our next.) 



Horn 



*6tatffl*~7'/! JL * e Corr espcmdence. 



^Crtl K i> *"~ This is a sub J ect which from time 



^'vea that f clairaed the attention of farmers ; it 

 •°*phcaJl tI manure al so, and renders it the more 



•* aubieot. vu i8 ° ae leadin 8 P° int connected with 



jctis, wUich appears to have been overlooked : 



ROYAL AGRICULTURAL OF ENGLAND. 



Monthly Council, Feb. 7.— Mr. Miles, M.P., presi- 

 dent, in the chair. 



Finances*— Mr. Raymond Barker/ chairman of the 

 Finance Committee, reported the current each-balance 

 in the hands of the bankers, at the end of the previous 

 month, as 3818Z. He informed the Council, that this 

 balance included a subscription of 1400Z. from the 



thorities of Carlisle, towards the expenses of the-j 

 ensuing country meeting of the Society to be held in 

 that city. He laid on the table, for the information of 

 the members, the various quarterly statements of 

 account connected with the different financial depart- 

 ments of the Society. 



Implements and Machinery.-— Col. Challoner, chair- 

 man of the Implement Committee, submitted to the 

 Council the report of that committee ; which had refer- 

 ence principally to the following points :— 



1. The recommendation of implement and machinery prizes 

 for the Carlisle. Meeting, similar to those offered at Lincoln, 

 with the following alterations :— 



(1.) That the deep ploughing should be required at a depth 



of 9 instead of 10 inches. 



(2.) That the prize for the best liquid-manure or water- 

 drill bhould be raised from 51. to 101. 



(3.) That the prize for the best reaper should be raised from 

 20J. to 30/.; and that an additional prize of 201. should 

 be offered for the second best reaper. 



(4.) That the horse- power for the fixed steam-engines should 

 be reduced from ten to eight-horse power. 



(5.) That instead of the former prize of hi. for the best 

 corn-dressing machine, a prize of the same amount 

 be offered for the best machine to M dress corn for 

 market after it has been screened or riddled." 

 The recommendation of the following new conditions 

 affecting the construction and trial of implements : — 



(1.) That in adjudicating on the award of the prize of 200?. 

 at the Carlisle Meeting for the " steam cultivator that 

 shall in the most efficient manner turn the soil, and be 

 an economical substitute for the plough or the spade," 

 the attention of the Judges be particularly called to 

 these terms in which this prize is offered. 

 That in adjudicating on the award of the prizes for 

 reapers, the attention of the Judges be particularly 

 called to the best mode of delivery. 



(3.) That in portable steam -en nes worked on the expansive 

 principle, the condition under which the steam is cut 

 off shall not restrict the makers, as last year, to 'a 

 lap on the common slide/' but simply to the employ- 

 ment of "no complicated means ' for effecting that 



object. 



(4.) That the greatest attention be paid by the Mechanical 

 Judges to the plans and specifications of the boiler 

 and fittings proposed to be supplied by the winner f 

 the fixed steam-engine prizes to their respective 

 customers. 



(5.) That, in the case of the threshing-machines, the greatest 

 attention be paid by the Judges to the state of the 

 Barley after it has been threshed (as to injury more or 

 less, or otherwise, of the grain, after such operation). 

 3. The recommendation of the following special objects: 



(1.) That, in future reports of the exhibition and trial of 

 implements and machinery at the Country Meeting 

 published annually in the Journal, it be suggested to 

 the Journal committee, that the drawings and speci- 

 fications should be given of the boilers proposed for the 

 two prize fixed steam-engines ; in order that the pur- 

 chasers of those engines may be enabled to ascertain 

 that the implement maker supplies to him a proper 

 boiler, similar to the one exhibited in his original 

 drawings, and which the judges had included in their 

 * award, as an essential condition affecting the com- 



pleteness and general value of the engine. 



(2.) The recommendation that the Council shonld place at 

 the disposal of the Implement Committee the sum of 



115Z. for the purchase (at prime cost) of the Dyna- 

 mometer for threshing machines, invented by "Mr. 

 Amos, and employed by him with so much success at 

 the Lincoln Meeting ; and a sum not exceeding 2W. 

 for rendering the present three friction-breaks of the 

 Society, for testing steam-engines, self-acting and 

 independent of special calculation: — the adoption of 

 these new arrangements not only saving the expense 

 of a breaks-man, but affecting a saving of one day's 

 time in the trials. 



The Council unanimously confirmed and adopted this 

 report. 



Carlisle Meeting. — Mr. Milward, as Chairman o' 

 the day of the General Carlisle Committee, submitted to 

 the Council the report of that Committee, which had 

 reference principally to the following points : 



1. The election of Mr. Fisher Hobbs, as Vice-Chairman of the 



Committee. 



2. The settlement of the date for the Meeting, as the week 



commencing Monday, the 23d of July. 



3. The suggestion that a pavilion should be constructed at 



Carlisle for the purpose of accommodating 800 guests at 

 dinner, at four o'clock on the Thursday of the week of 

 meeting. 



4. The request to Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, that as Honorary 



Director of the Show, he would prepare as usual the pre- 

 liminary plans for the respective show-yards at Carlisle. 



5. The request to the Stewards of Implements that they would 



purchase the requisite amount of Barley and Wheat in the 

 straw, for the purposes of the trial of agricultural machinery. 



6. The adoption of the same schedule of Prizes and conditions 



of show, for Farm Poultry, at Carlisle, as at Lincoln 

 last year. 



7. The acceptance, with thanks, of the following Special Prizes, 



to be competed for at the Carlisle Meeting under the 

 general regulations of the Society's Show. 

 (1.) From the Carlisle Local Committee: 751. for Cheviot 



Sheep, and 80/. for horses. 

 (2.) From George Head Head, Esq.: 100/. for Galloway 



Cattle. 

 (3.) From Robert Ferguson, Esq., Mayor of Carlisle : two 

 pieces of plate, value 40/., for the best thorough-bred 

 stallion, and of 30/. for the best coaching stallion. 



The Council confirmed and adopted this report. 



Steward of Cattle- yard. — On the motion of Mr. 

 Simpson, seconded by Mr. Barnett, Sir Stafford North- 

 cote, Bart., was appointed one of the Stewards of the 

 Cattle-yard at the Country Meetings of the Society. 



Foreman of Field. — On the motion of Mr. Thomp- 

 son, seconded by Mr. Hoskyns, power was given to the 

 Implement Stewards, at the Country Meetings, to elect 

 a Foreman of the Field, at such a rate of payment for 

 his services as the Council may decide. 



Important communications from the Earl of Claren- 

 don, on the discovery of supplies of guano, were referred 

 to the consideration of the President. — The annual 

 report of the Royal Veterinary College was referred, 

 with various other papers, to the weekly meetings of the 

 Council, at which all members of the Society have the 



privilege of being present. 



The Council adjourned to Wednesday, the 14th Feb., 



at 12 o'clock. 



2, 



(2.) 



Farmers' Clubs, 



London. — A crowded meeting of the members of this 

 Club was held on Monday last at the York Hotel, New 

 Bridge Street, Blackfriars, for the purpose of taking 

 into consideration the following important subject pro- 

 posed by Mr. Mechi, of Tiptree Hall, Essex :—" To 

 what Extent can Town Sewage be Profitably applied to 

 the Purposes of Agricultaire." Mr. Shearer, of Hamp- 

 shire, presided. The chairman, in introducing the 

 business of the meeting, stated that they had met 

 together that evening for the purpose of considering a 

 subject which was of the utmost importance to the 

 agriculturist. The committee had appointed him to 

 take the chair, not because he was a distinguished prac- 

 tical farmer, but because they considered that he might 

 be of use in promoting the interest of the Club, and of 

 this he was sure, that after remembering the many 

 pleasant evenings he had spent there, and the amount 

 of practical knowledge he had derived, they could 

 command him at any time (hear). This Club was of 

 the greatest value to all connected with agriculture, and 

 he therefore trusted all present would do their utmost 

 to support and extend its usefulness. The subject 

 which Mr. Mechi was about to bring under their consi- 

 deration was fraught with the greatest interest, not 

 only to farmers but to every class in the community, 

 for by the introduction of railways, by the extension of 

 common roads, and the large space occupied by new 

 buildings, 10,000 miles of land in this country had been 

 lost to them. It therefore behoved every class to do all 

 they could to promote agriculture. With regard to 

 town sewage it was a very important question, and 

 one upon which he was certain the Club would be glad 

 to receive any information In conclusion the chair- 

 man stated that he did not think the Club could receive 

 information of more importance, or from a better source, 



than from Mr. Mechi. m ^ , ■ 



• Mr. Mechi, who, on rising, was received with cheers, 

 spoke as follows :— One hundred years hence, which 

 is not long in the history of a country, our succes- 

 sors will scarcely believe that a nation wanting annually 

 many millions of quarters of grain to fill up its 

 own inadequate production of food, should waste the 

 only means by which such deficiency might be made 

 good. I mean the productions of the land when they 

 have fulfilled their office of nutrition to man and beast. 

 Every one now at all conversant with the theory of 

 modern agricultural chemistry must know that our 

 agricultural produce loses little by such a process, and 

 that the bulk of its elements are returned to us in the 

 shape of excretce if we take the trouble to collect them 

 I am aware that the practicability of doing so has been 

 questioned ; but I purpose this evening to show that 

 there is no difficulty in the matter, except what exist i 





