j — 18S5J 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTK. 



101 



- .tome addition to the powers of the farmer 

 , it fce > *•*"" ol tivati on of his stubbles lor the greeu 



*Zj+i following >*ar. 



cup* 



Home Correspondence, 



r ^M impnvmtHt Companies.^ \\[ you permit me 

 ^^ t^retders of your widely-circulated Journal 



nt rate of rent-charge of the Lands' Im- 



\ &wpa n yi t0 re i ia * v ■ loan ( ca P ital and inte - 



• i>- years^is not 6/. 17«.G(Z. per cent, per annum, 

 A* w ", • Hf. fiailey Duiton in his letter of the 28th 

 ^^ • '|| ie present rate of the company is 61. 15s. 

 '* ii 7* - er annum. 'With regard to Mr. Denton's 



per 



!—.«*£• on the great advantages offered to landowners 

 J^T General Land Drainage Company, by a charge 

 JjJV jerf, per cent, per annum for 50 years, as 

 ^Jlrtd with tlie charge of 61. 1 5s. per cent. ptr annum 

 TTVTteirs, by the Lands' Improvement Company, 

 ^i *•** me t0 '•' hefbre your readers a very 

 lit calculation, showing the exact sum which would 

 y|«Li.bythe inheritance or lands improved, for the 

 vof 100/., in improvements, in either case : 



Years. Kate. 



50 x £5 2 10 = £257 1 S 

 25 X 6 15 = 168 15 



Camn ] Lwd Drainage Company, 



veiiient ( ompauy, 



it 



, .. • •• ••• •..*» Co 6 o 



ould be a saving to the land- 





Difference 



i4 f«r8 that there 

 inline inheritance, by the Lands' Improvement I 

 Cjj*"-' r ^te, of 884. 6s. 8d. upon the outlay of every I 

 Hliot improvements. These figures require no fur- 

 fer comment od my part. William Napier. [It is only 



as referred to them by the Weekly Council, held on the 28th 

 of February : and their request to Prof. Way that he will 



draw up, for publication in the Journal, a tabulated statement 

 of the anal;. sea of the different manures, both natural and 

 artificial, having regard to the normal ami average compo- 

 sition, and value of the ingredients, taking as a standard 

 the analysis of guano, published in the Society's Journal, 

 vol. at., p. 224. 



Gv ano-Supply. — The President reported the con- 

 tinued influx of communications from the Foreign-office, 

 on the extensive researches undertaken by direction of 

 the Earl of Clarendon for deposits of guano and the 

 nitrates, and transmitted to the Society by Lord 

 \V ode house. 



Judges' Awards.— On the motion of Mr. Fisher 



Hobbs, the following resolution, of which Mr. Mil ward 



had given notice, was carried ; namely — " That a 



Reserve-number be given by the Judges in each class 

 of Live Stock." 



Ages of Pigs.— On the motion of Mr. Fisher Hobbs, 

 the following resolution, of which Mr. Brandreth Gibbs 

 ha J given notice, was carried (and a committee appointed 

 accordingly), namely : — " That a special committee be 

 appointed, to recommend some conditions in order to 

 ensure the ages of pigs exhibited at the Society's Shows 

 being correctly returned in the entries." 



K.-says and Reports received in competition for the 

 Prizes of the Society in that department for the 

 current year, were referred to the Journal Committee 



U* hfwever, to add a word of comment from ourselves. 

 IVr sd compHrison is not to be effected by adding up, 

 u J It *er* a payment now, all that each company 



every vear during a course of years before irs 



it «ti8ned ; but by addding up now the present 

 irirr of that claim in each year of the series during 

 viiich U> claim is standing. The question pimply is, 

 tfcHher 10W. ifi procured on cheaper terms by paying 

 kit an annuity of ('/. 15a. for 25 years, or by paying 

 • •nntutv i Sd 2.?. lOrf. for 50 years ? — and it can be 

 m*rered by a reference to the first ready reckoner that 



to band.] 







onrtifg* 



Place, 

 elected a 



ROYAL ACrJCULTUKAL OF ENGLAND. 



Monthly Council, March 7 ; Mr. Miles, M.P.j 



President, in the chair. 



Eittrd Warner, Esq., M.P., of Grosvenor 



n, and Higham Hall, Essex, was 



wnor of the Society ; twenty-nine new members 

 were ilso elected. 



1 i— Jtfr. Raymond Barker, Chairman of the 



Fiance Committee, presented the monthly report on 



iccotmis, from which it appeared that the current 



•ft balance in the hands of the Bankers was 324 U. He 



before the Council the report of the House 

 wtorniittee. 



. ^ K J Ar -— Sir John Johnstone presented the report 

 * «M Journal Committee, detailing the advanced pro- 

 pw i made in the preparation of the ensuing July 

 "•oer, tlic-ir recommendation of remuneration for 



^evsand researches connected with some of the papers, 



2«hwr Mgfjestioa, the names of Sir Stafford North- 



£.« Mr. Dyke Acland should be added to the list of 

 *r committee. 

 Aoaict 



for adjudication. 



His Excellency the Baron de Cetto presented a collec- 

 tion of works on the part of the Royal Bavarian Agri- 

 cultural Society at Munich. The* New York State 

 Agricultural Society transmitted the last volume of 

 their transactions. The Count de Gourcy presented his 

 agricultural "Promenades/' ff Itine'raire," and "Voy- 

 age," in England, Central France, and other continental 

 districts. M. B. Vicuna Mackenna sent his agricultural 

 account of Chili. The Association for Promoting Im- 

 i proveraent in the Dwellings and Domestic Condition 

 of Agricultural Labourers in Scotland presented copies 

 of their first Annual Report. Prof. Simonds, on the 

 part of himself and Prof. Morton, as the joint editors of 

 the new series of the " Veterinarian," laid copies of that 

 work before the Council. Mr. Cuthbert Johnson trans- 

 mitted a copy of his pap;r on the Application of Sewage 

 to Agricultural Purposes. — The Council ordered their 



usual acknowledgments for these and other presents 

 made to the Society. 



Adjourned to Wednesday, March 14. 



the sewer water itself ; but when we come to consider 

 the very small average proportion which the valuable 

 ingredients bear to the bulk of the water, and also the 

 necessary irregularity of their admixture with it at 



different times and places, this is found to be by no 

 means the case. 



[An immense mass* of facts on the ultimate purposes serve*], 

 hy food, and on the dietaries of various e s and classes ef 

 people, was then given in a -eries of tables, and the following is 

 the use made of them.] 



In applying the results of these tables to elucidate our 

 main question, namely, the composition of the excre- 

 ments of the population of London, the latter is taken 

 at 2i millions ; and this number is supposed to com- 

 prise males and females of various ages in the propor- 

 tions given in the last census. It has next been 

 assumed that all males under 15 years consume the 

 amounts of carbon and nitrogen given in the dietary 

 table for males under that age, in schools, in public 

 establishments of boys, in prisons, in work-houses, &c, 

 and in many cases of individual experiment. The various 

 classes of males over 15 in the metropolis are supposed 

 to be represented, so far as the carbon and nitrogeu 

 they consumed is concerned, by the average of sailors, 

 of soldiers, and pensioners, of prisoners with labour, of 

 prisoners without labour, of men in workhouses, in 

 infirmaries, as well as of certain individual cases of 

 direct experiment. And again, the average given in 

 the table of children in workhouses under 16 years, and 

 of gills in various asylums and public establishments, 

 &c, is applied to the female inhabitants under 15 

 years. That, on the other hand, given of women in 

 workhouses, in prisons with and without labour, with 

 soldiers embarked, and of a case of individual experi- 

 ment, is supposed to apply to the adult female popula- 

 tion. There are also given the calculated dietaiits of 

 several families and other establishments, of mixed ages 

 and sexes, of different grades of society, the results of 

 which fully confirm the indications of those of the other 

 classes, and at the same time justify the appropriation, 

 for our present purpose, of the figures given for the 

 various classes in the manner above-mentioned. The 

 average thus taken of the amounts of carbon and 

 nitrogen consumed per head per day for each of the 

 divisions as to sex and age, is multiplied by the number 

 of individuals of each such divisions, and the figures 

 thus obtained for the several divisions being added 

 together, we obtain, of course, the amounts of carbon 

 and of nitrogen consumed by the total population in one 

 day ; and from this is easily ascertained the annual 

 consumption. Before leaving the question of the amount 

 of the constituents consumed in food, it may be well to 

 notice a point of some national interest and importance, 

 which the calculation of the various dietaries may help 

 to elucidate, namely, the probable average consumption 

 of Wheat by each individual of the population. This 

 has been variously estimated at from 6" to 8 bushels per 

 head ner annum. The amounts of bread, floor, &c, 





i W 



ltural Chemistry.— Sir John Johnstone also 



mnjitt !! J! 1 ? , Council the report of the Chemical 



Wpid infefease in the number of analyses made, at a 



I. The 



'**, *hich embraced the following subjects : 



<*«cea charge, in the laboratory of Professor Wav, the 

 Z2S°5 ch em i s t to the Society, for its members, the 



■STtTt L n V e last Tear bein S more tlian double that in 

 St fh^ ^ ou ? : Pr ofeasor "Way remarking on this 

 5thV«L^ resultwas gratifying both a* an indication 

 ^tending application of artificial manures, and as 

 i-W iS " Tlmista kftble evidence of the increased con- 

 -iSLii i . a ^ ricuItu rai public in the decisions of 



•ml w • 



Society of Arts, March 7 th-— On the Sewage of London. 



Mr. Lawes read a paper on this subject, which is fully 

 reported in the Journal of the Society, from which we 

 make the following extracts :— 



Whoever undertakes to bring forward plans for 

 the economical disposal of the sewage of the metro- 

 polis, is at once met by the difficulty arising from 

 the enormous bulk of the material with which he 

 has to deal. It is estimated, that between 100 

 and 200 million 



sewers annually ; and it is said that solid matter, , 



amounting to nearly 200,000 tons, is suspended or dis- average amount so consumed. 



solved in this liquid. Those who advocate the emplov- ! £? the calculations is, that the average quantity of the 

 ment of the sewage bv irrigation, must therefore seek drv substance °f food— that is, excluding the water it 

 for an extensive tract of hnd at no great distance . naturally contained— is, within a very small fraction 



from London on which to deposit this fluid ; whilst those on , e _? ound P er llead P er daV > includ,D S lolh sexes and 

 who propose to separate from it a solid manure must 



produce a substance of sufficient productive value to tfhe waste by respiration, perspiratu-n, growth, <lc, ascer- 

 bear the cost of carriage to all parts of Great Britain tai V ed in great detail is tllen deducted frora thc food consumed, 



r\c i„x« ... « i i ii i ,' **nd the remainder finds its way into the servers. The main 



Of late years much money has been uselessly expended results are given as follows.] 

 in patents and inventions for converting: the sewase i 



per annum. 



tons of fluid pass through the ' fegistei-ed in the dietaries, which have been calculated, 



° ^ lead to the conclusion that G$ to 0} bushels is about the 



Another point illustrated 



all ages. 



and the wants of agriculture. 



^u.u amount or alteration ; also, that tli 



1 y 1 limeV **» uecominsr year by ve 



arid a greater amount of skill and capital 



ar more 

 pital devoted 





frajend 

 3 facture. 



mTn?ti e i? y £ r0f ; Wa y in the examination of tups 

 *****mn^tX on * h f ich the * r P< 'har managemen 

 i / l ^ ! ^ for Particular manures may eventually bo 



! W«4mn[of5 aUons mnde by «ie consultins chemist: 



^•W, wd It tnPWS*. a,kaI J s P tl ,ens of Nitrat 



•'^witi.Tn^rnlH - S frf,m the ^''fe-beds of Mexico, 



forth! F ■If^i 01 ' "^^iXifg *»>e nlkaline Nitra t.-s 



y* th^r research fbr Guano: :). Kxaminatlon of 



f}™™> made at the request of Viscount Palmer- 



^rmation as Secretary of State for the 



^«atu f r i ment ' 4 - Analysis of Poisonous Oil-cake, 



rea" n q n CSt Cf the Ocwncil of the Society. 



o I lie committee to Prof. War. that be 

 tftfhnjr tliemUt of tha So< ty." investigate the 



• 



c 



n-ould, 





tb * inSTr dehvcr a lecture before the members 

 ■u mlhZT' ' ■ the tototy, ^n the recent 



. ■■•H^.e^u " p r ,IU " : . ihQ Boclety, "On the recent 



"»• 'imposition of the atmosphere in relation 

 *>ther lectures for the seaswt will be 

 ^Welr Am ' ; lleir subjects and the arrangements 



' snail have been decided upon by the 



ded 



patents and inventions for converting the sewage into 



a portable mauure, which might have been saved by a 



better knowledge of the true principles of manuring, 



It should never be for- 

 gotten tbat it is the cost of carriage which regulates in a 

 | great measure the distribution of manures, and assigns 

 to each a limit of area, beyond which it cannot profitably 

 be employed. No one doubts the value of stable manure ; 

 yet its use is confined to a range which does not exceed 

 a few shillings per ton for carriage ; aud a farmer who 

 would have to cart it beyond this range would not 

 accept it as a gift ; and it is for a similar reason, that 

 even if the manufacture of a solid manure from the sewage 

 of a small town could be carried on with profit, it 

 might still be quite impracticable as applied to Loudon. 



[The first part of the paper, to which we shall hereafter n IV: r, 

 related to the nature of manur. nd the elements of vine in con- 

 nection with it. ^lv. Lawes then went on to apply these principles 

 to sewage]. 



Assuming as we may do for all practical purposes, 

 that 'the great bulk of the excrements of horses, cows, 

 &c, in the metropolis, will not find its way in the sewers 

 — that the refuse of manufactures valuable as manure 

 which will do so will be comparatively limited— and 

 that the matter abraded from the street with their small 

 admixture of the excrements of horses and other 

 animals, will also be of comparatively little value 

 recur to hum 

 taken into ca 

 what data ca 



chemical composition of the excrements of the total 

 population of London ? 



After this full discussion of the nature of the evidence 

 at command for the estimation of the composition of the 

 excrements of a large mixed population, let us see what 

 are the results to which it has brought us ; 



Estimated Constituents of the Human Excrements of London. 



Constituents. 



Ounces per 

 head per 



day. 



Average of 



both &exes 



and all ages. 



Total dry substance 

 Mineral matter ... 

 < "arbon 

 Nitro n 



Nitrogen — ammonia 

 Phosphates 





• . • 



... 



. . . 



• ■ 



. . . 



■ . • 



2*01 



0--r> 



74 



0-3.J 

 0-42 



O-20 



Pounds per 



head per 



annum. 



Average of 



both sexes 



and all ages. 



Tons per 



Annum. 

 Total for 



both sexes 

 and all a^e 



45 95 

 10-34 

 16- 



7-94 



9-64 



4-58 





51.1- 

 11,636 J 



1' Si 



we 



The average amount of real dry substance voided in 

 the excrements of each individual of the population in 

 24 hours, is thus seen to be only 2 ounces ; or equal to 

 about 46 lbs. per annum. This 2 ounces of dry sub- 

 stance will contain rather less than half an ounce of 

 mineral matters, and the annual amount of these per 

 head will be about 10 lbs. ; and about two-fifths of 

 the mineral matters voided, or about one-tenth of the 

 total dry substance will be phosphates. Of carbon iu 

 the excrement*, there is about three-quarters of an 



abuiit 8 lbs. per annum ; and these amounts of nitrogen 





10 







V^'J V ? y s L *boratory from Holies Street 

 *> carrvW ! * h . ere S reat er facilities will be 

 tof «l»SociIf? ° Ut hls ^rations as consultin 



« » wwidttatioa of Mr. Bethel!* suggestion, 







whatbulkof sewage will they bedi-tributed ? What would 

 be the actual value of the constituents if separated from 

 their admixture with water I And finally, what are the 

 most promising means of turning these constituents to 

 economical accounts in tl estate of solution and dilution 

 in which we find them ? It might, perhaps, appear at 

 first sight, that the most feasible way of estimating 



what constituents enter the sewera would be to analyse 



In what condition of solidity j are equal to .4*2 of an ounce per day, and nearly 10 lbs, 

 or solubility will these constituents be found, and through per annum of ammonia. The amount of the constituents 



voided by* the total population in one year, if entirely 

 reed from water, is seen to be 51,286^ tons. Of this 

 about one-fifth is mineral matter; and the nitrogen it 

 contains amounts to about one-sixth of the whole, 

 namely, 88o.0f tons, which is equal to 10,758 { tons o 

 ammonia. Now little more than | a cwt. of ammonia is 

 the usual artificial dressing for an acre of cereal .grain. 



and it might be calculated to yield an increase of crop 



