1< 



Tli E A« EtICULTURAL GA ETT1 





i |o i ntt th* ?h character 



Scottish b# ti«s cooitqueiit on the 



im of thtrt obtain- nd he p*r- 



mci ii to be condemned/ 1 The 



only quevi n i« witther a preftrmbk elahfl for the 



•torn of & la 1 drainage and, under 



iod mrr >r», for the erection of farm 



trail I itt re v, ' the aecnrity of other 



claim* I the pr *rty. \V» have confidence 



e^| profitabU-nesa of agricultural i prove 



far from t - they v 1 

 her creditor*. The powers 



W OI * , 



or an 



incr 



who** otefuloees 1 





exitt — hap| 



aa 



point 



• d 



been doul ed, do, hov ver, 

 we believe— an i it has been 



at we have 



with great fofau then that we 



i pipers that t e powers as 



fcy La 1-4 Improvement C upmyare 

 H d, as to the extent of such im- 

 provements, a 1th* amount of capital required for 



their mm>er exect 



Thb 



h 



pec? rather 

 >resents. When 



he na lal 

 the lual, wh the sn eet p 



an il proprietor looks aroui im for assist 



from these companies I is nothing to him that 

 the powers o;' noma arnon them are inexhaustible 

 ao Jong as he ki ws that the powers of none of 

 them are, pa t of fact, exl sled. It th-n 



hi* business to compare them, and ascer- 

 tain with v ich he c most cheaply ai itljr 



do bs»iness This, of course, is a decision !:•• tnunt 



make f. We *ha!l not mulertnke the tori 



dioos ta»k emiini i the mat for him t 



we cai i*?hap«, a.*%i»t h 

 D*jn s 



tn by extracting U Mr. 



V to d 



format 

 We nifty n on, though it is unne-i 



the subject 



s statement i purely histi cal 

 ' M ri m of mere mat' of fact— 



tha Mr Du » n o ce bearer in the General 



rr*» /iri'l 1 



univbs hs ca u i aiu a thud part;, (a ba tv 

 insurance office, r instance), and then he cai 

 put in oti .the I ;vate M s Drainage Act, and 

 a I rho cowm ju charged by the companies. 



i% 1 <*n ♦ peri- nee, •, already pained in the 



working of these several acts, it id found that the legal 



ensee attending the 1 vate Moneys Act, and the 



I Jier rate of interest recpiii I by private bankers on 



single transactions of the kind, togetbet with the risk 



and rc^ nwbilify attached to the works, and of charging 

 the estate, far outbalances the commission requii by 

 the trading eompa es, who are enabled 1 ensive 



de* >gs to effect the »netary arrangen ats much mor* 

 easily and cheaply than an individual landowi r, and 

 without any exam in a n of titles and notice to mort- 

 gagees, exeept in the case of the Lands Improves* t 



tampan * 

 In addition to this, we may remaik that the West 



of England Drainage Company is .stated to be an 

 i operatic? company only. The ' ik nil Land Drain 

 age Company is not only thi hut it provides 

 money to the landowner who has executed 

 approved works. The Lands Impro rnent Com- 

 pany, again, though it employs a staff of supeiin- 

 ending officers, lias not hi' herto acted as an operative 

 company dii eet iv, hut provides money to landowners 

 who ha xecuted authorised and approved woiks. 

 There is mi pie morn for all these cump inies, and 

 all of them are in » fficient operation. The \ mallest 



of them, .is we must suppose, from i provincial 

 character, the West of England Company to he, 

 has drained during the following years the following 

 acres 



18-19 



1 > 



ittuistics, our endeavours shall be to aff.id J"^; 

 perfect knowledge of whatever the Legislature mav 



community 



5* 



advanta ous, In order to meet the requirements f the** 



~*"" : '— Mucli lias been said and written about tim 8 ? 1 ^ 



-^..— u-^.» *u„ -,^-i.i «„j ii. ,, ... . ,,l! 8tatajf 



agriculture throughout the world, and it Wtmld ill U* 



ch fai to stand here and eulogise that class to ^fii* 



belong: but this I may say, without the fear of «^..*_ *. hlc ^I 



■ - 



1851 



• * • 



• - 



1: ! acres. 

 L649 



33<; 



» 



1 8fi 2 

 1 853 



' • 



• . . 



3010 acres. 

 14 





Land l>™ 





•vemant Coi 



i rop#rti»Mhavr thtohoieeofeCWf*] 



means afcargin .. oat of dr ng upon » nhori- 



th r%, rncdintn tbev can eitW tM>rrow 



m* mmmy to pended, oi bey can apply tbeir own 



P/ivau^ fundi to th* object, and tak a rr.i"r. P | mr geon 

 ••Utas for t ! . r . payment, in which la 1 1. r instance 



tte/ will retain person* 



mtml 



mooey r\p#odt ami ran leave to whom they please _ 

 rcnt-flferite payable by their successor 



'•Thr m ej|D!4 referrel to are the Pn Mvnevt 



"£**&**<* 0* & i.> Vict cap. c.) limited to drmi 

 only. 



«T!>e West of England or South West Land Draining 

 Company t^.t {U A 12 Vict. cap. cxlii ), for ti 

 purposes of " 



I Hoad«aktng. 



, *J*1 L* n<1 Hrainageand Improvement Com- 



paajr a Act (1 13 Vict. cap. .v . ), t r the purpoaeaof 



| F.mbani 

 t^TMIinR f.rm bi»i mp.. | b^, Vlfckmg 



v ict. c»p. jgi m)f for u Je p Urp0Btt of r v 



Draining. . . 



^iw«t *ad warpti*. t • fsm Wlihi 



! ; mM6 Mt a»d J ^making, andptSiing f 



ParlLm ^ f[ 'T^! ° m Which **" 8eVeral Acts of 



Pari ament enable liuidowners to extc I the repayment 

 well as I 



la fining, and 



,a 54 ... I 3 , 



It has drained in almost every county in England, 

 an«l is at presfiit at work in 15 counties. It ha 

 po , r< lining to be done under contiacN entered 

 into, i 500 acres, ami the number of hands in daily 

 em nunt is al * W It has the exclusive 



power of charging its improvements in perpetuity 



v. D the land, so that the owners of a limited 



interest in the land are able, for the mere interest 



of money spent, to effect its permanent improve- 

 ment. 



The General Land Drainage Company drained 

 * acres in 1854, and executed roads and 



buildings of the value of 35,000/. Duiing the 

 draining season th have had a permanent staff of 

 l->00 men in their employn nt, and have large 

 works now on hand ; one contract alone being for 



The I nds Improvement Company is the youngest 



of the numl and in some respects, as we have 

 •shown, exceeds them all in the unlimited character 

 of its powers. It too is, as might be expected, 

 already in extensive connection with landed 

 improvements throughout the country— indeed we 

 have been told that already during the short period 

 of its existence it has transacted business to the 

 extent of 200,000/. ; and that there is scope for it 

 and for many other agencies, whether for providing 

 capital or seeing to its efficient application to the 

 land, no man can doubt. 



the satisfactory conclusion xo wmen me statistical inrmir*^ 

 been brought, and tbe compliment paid to us by tbe Lord/LT 1 

 Committee of Privy Council for Trade, tend to show tha* 

 intellectual improvement has not been altogether dormant R ?* 

 thus admitting that credit is due to the agriculturists of ScoM * 

 for intelligence and public spirit, in the manner they sor^S! 

 responded to the call made to forward a great national u!Sl 

 taking, I would be guilty of an unpardonable injustice toM 

 Hall Maxwell were I not also, upon this occasion, to say thati" 

 represent the unanimous feeling of that body in ascribing tki 

 Slice* of tie statistical inquiry to be mainly depeudent on tS 

 great ability, energy, prudence, and tact which he brourfit * 

 bear, not only on the difficulties he had to encounter, but also ft! 

 vast amount of labour he had to contend with ; and last but n* 

 leas', the perfect confidence he secured by the strictly CoufidenMti 

 manner in which he treated all communications made to him y} 

 this inquiry proves important in a national point of view~ly2 

 who can doubt bnt Btteh must be the case?— it is our opinion tS 

 Mr. Hall Maxwell has well earned the complimentary refeiwS 

 made to his ' indefatigable exertions' in the official document iS 

 read, and also the gratitude of the general community." 



We have not space this week to present the factt 

 which appear upon the face of the statistical report 

 of the agricultural condition of Scotland during 

 the past year, or the truths which those facts 

 teach us. The main points, as regards extent and 

 [uantity of produce, were given last week. And it 

 is curious to note, as is done in the Edinburgh 

 Evening Courant, how absurdly at fault they prove 

 the best filiating agricultural estimates to be. M'Cui- 

 loch 'a estimate— the one which, from the rani 

 of this statist, we should have been most inclined to 

 trust, is compared with the actual fact in the 

 following figures : 



Crops. 



* ♦ • 



M« 



• ■ * 



■ • » 



Wheat 

 Harley ... 

 Oats ... 



Means and Peas 



I'-tatoes 



Turnips 



Iiax 



• ■ * 



• ■ • 



• •• 



■ • • 



Mb. M'Culloch's 



EbTJMATES. 



Acres. 

 ... 350,000 

 ... 450,000 

 ...1.300,000 



50,000 



2' 10,000 

 450,000 



20.000 



RETUBl 



• t • 



• t • 



• • • 



«tt 



Acres. 

 168,216 

 207,607 

 932.994 



43,871 

 143,032 

 433,915 

 6,670 



Out of seven particulars in this table, it will be 

 seen that two are over estimated in the proportion of 

 2 to 1, one in that of 3 to 1, Oats and Potatoes are over 

 estimated in the ratio of 3 to 2, and Beans, and 

 Peas, and Turnips alone are anything near accuracy. 

 This is in the case of a country which more than 

 any other in the world is systematic in its agri- 

 culture. What the much less perfect data on 

 which alone an estimate in England rests have led 

 to as compared with the actual truth, cannot yet 

 be told. We shall know it in a year or two, how- 

 ever. _ Of that we are sure, for the success of this 

 experiment in Scotland must ultimately ensure 

 success throughout the country. 



I acknowledging the receipt of the agricultural 

 returns from Scotland, given by the public spirit 



Xt^ U l* n r'u amount by*kiehthe «Vj»lb °Jx? 0t l k ^"^turfets, and gathered by the energy 

 •fccted, m.v be thus coniDwrf :~ ^ of Mr. Maxw, u, the Board of Trade paid a welf 



merited compliment to the Highland Society and 

 its secretary, for their services in conducting « this 

 interesting but most laborious experiment to its sue 

 ^ cessful issue." Their letter proceeds as follow •_ 



J!H th !"l ne tim ' ' m y •«* feel that had it not been 

 for the cordial co-operation of the whole body of Scotd 

 farmers, even the energy displayed in the conduc of 



b,t\ P !lT i i b ^ be Wfc% -ould net:! 



pared : — 



*i I'roport if 

 ▼er which [of Akjoud 



tot* 



charged. 



it may 

 extend. 



ment or 



Itent- 



charge. 



Draining 



Act 







• years 



Ail 



I.f mining 



irrtgn n and W„rping 

 'Sinar 



Koad makin.r 



From 



&. I0j. U 

 to 



M©*.1U 



Present 



churgp, 



AGRICULTURE IN THE WEST OF FRANCL 

 M. Bajault, an eccentric but clever cultivator of his 

 property in the department of Deux Sevres, left at his 

 death, a few years a^o, some humorous essays abound- 

 ing in quaint and pithy proverbs, which have been col- 

 lected and published by M. Rinffel, the director of the 

 model farm at Grand Jouan. The author himself had 

 been very well educated, and was formerly a deputy of the 

 general council of his department, He lived to the age 

 oi 70, and was greatly in advance of his contemporaries 

 and neighbours in practical husbandry. During many 

 years he had circulated an enormous number of copies 

 of an almanack abounding in pointed aphorisms, and 

 containing excellent instructions for social and agricul- 

 tural improvement. He popularised husbandry with a 

 degree of humour and talent which his lively country- 

 men fully appreciated. 



^ Many of ^ his suggestions addressed to the cornice* 



aluable matter. 







• • 





• • * 



• *» 



J\« 6 ».vuuuitti assemunes; aoouna m vamawic *««« — 

 I shall adduce a few illustrations of his graver style and 

 .*™ .... ^uuiic M,.nt or tiui a MM .u M ^.a. * « .. , matter, avoiding the burlesque passages in which he 90 



All 



and public spirit of the agriculturists of Scotland 

 rdi b i bus coming forward to promote a ieat na nnfi 

 I undertaking." l Z™ 1 n ^oml 



▼ailing Atthot«,^»: 1 ** TT . , , . - . 



F* and 

 • Act. 











I>rm\mng 



Tk* f**ds Impromwmi Coi 



n~< ***** *+ 



nK*tioa and Wan 

 » kln^ 



Enetonnp 



Cfcana* <n 4» 



vulue of 

 monpy. 



{"resent 

 value, H 

 to 5 p. ct. 



J earn 



All 



£5 2 10 



frequently indulges. Having defined"a cornice as a con 

 gress of proprietors, farmers, and cultivators, **& 

 assumed that its first duty is to study the agricultural 

 circumstances of its own arrondissement, and eulogised 

 its usefulness if it acts upon right principles and a good 

 system, he asserts that rather more than half of France 



:oral 



An* 

 AnrTl!!*i" A°- t J an '! ,^ S ?" e ofthe "OortTntelliMnt r ' rodu<:tivene5:s of the nat ' Tfi Rnil « 1 "'"' "'« increasiflg 



e 



term. whU J .^P 1 ' 11 "^ in the follow fng 



CO "ra 8t to the '. f > - 18h I**!' l S bein « in Striki 4 



81 yeaw 



£6 3 2 



From 



£8 10 8 



minim, to 



Jt 11 



max. 



£6 15 



U the pre 



Bent 



arge 



•* L nder either of ti 



to «rtate ; bat J ZE?ZS^^ m ** ^ **«% 



m^^^A 1 . U / ^^^g^BWat with abk^, of t g ««ccaatf»I 



land, with 



and enterprmng of his class ; and that he was ouali 



man'tfc U W - " 3S hy P° siti0 ^ to h * their ffe: 

 man, the i i ov % proves . He gpoke &s foll ;(; kes 



y of 

 opportn- 



sties iaquiry WM institmKn,' 1 alio t. L \\* ',*" ,! " ral ' ta - 

 tion M p , in the ah.once of all W a , " '* ,1 tJV ty T ^^ 

 prowrulion of this important "x Z^T ' , l hro »R«»nt the 

 appreciated, I MJ , „ ^ ,^ ^« "^hj^ bee. so fully 



, f 



Hall 



consists of loccage (woodland), in which ^— r 

 husbandry leaves most of the land uncultivated, 

 lie points out the absolute necessity of increasing tbe 



r»rAn!ifi*Iw« r it .• r - __-«v 



companies that 



the 



guarantee 



cou^cUon.Uh-^S 



population cannot be driven onwards to fresh land, as 

 the steppes of Russia and the back woods of America 

 lhat the productiveness of even the worst soils may be 

 increased by labour and manuring, he illustrates ty 

 the fact that cottage gardens, and small fertile fid» 

 adjoin tracts of barren moors from which the 

 industry of man, with the aid of enriching for* 

 yard dung, has reclaimed them; and it is 

 modes of accumulating fermenting or mixed manures 

 that he consequently directs the main currew 

 of all his reasonings. With this preliminary •phonj 

 that "agriculture is a science of locality but of &TXT* 

 principles," he informs that (12 or 14 years ago » 

 least) in the department du Nord, which ^ 

 expends 1,200,000 francs in mar), lime, and Wt 



to the 





