THE AGRIC1 LTIRAL GAZETTE. 



•).>7 



jiUliirv fi » » 5 t0 which end * if the t UD f eS ? f 



*^ be pal I in AIa y or even mown off cIose to 



i * only Will its seeding power be 



^Jnd but the new corm will be prevented 



£l |T0iind 



d thus the parent and progeny are both 

 off it one blow. Now, although it is more than 

 bk that lie eradication of this pest cannot be 

 -kd in one year, yet it will be materially 

 _^l an( j V ve have found two or three seasons, 

 ^^2lV t-f l ^ e P u lli n g process, quite sufficient ; 

 STST cost of the operation is more than paid for 

 amoving a plant which takes up so much room 

 to bring it into the fourth category of our table, 

 if it did not possess poisonous properties, 

 jch plants as Thistles, and even some 

 Gmm0i guch as Ilordeum (the Barley Grasses), 

 !wly injore the hay, on account of the mechanical 

 Sections they present, such as the spines of the 

 fatter and the awns or beards of the latter. The 

 Huiiles, which are mostly biennial, are easily over- 

 cmt as the cutting them off below the crown at 

 tfge destroys them ; but the perennial forms, with 

 the creeping underground stem (rhizome) must be 

 down while in the freshness and vigour of 



in a day, and at the same time remove weeds ob- 

 jectionable from other causes, it will at once be seen 

 that, provided we can get Grass to grow on the de- 

 nuded soil, this in itself may be expected to be suffi- 

 cient to meet so trifling an outlay, to Bay nothing of 

 the great improvement in the value of the j ;re 

 and hay crops as respects their nutritive qualities. 

 To this end, these weeds should be attacked in the 



the position of this class, in each of the years 18 Mi, 



1841, and 1851. 



Table I.—Froportim per cent of Occupirsasui Labourers [male*) 

 30 year* of age aid upwards, of the total male population of 

 Great Britain, of 20 yean of age and upwards (exclusive of the 

 i iy and navy abroad). 



• • * 



wgtlL and never allowed, as is usually the case, to 

 ■fttnto flower before they are thus attacked, as then 

 Seir work is done, and the full-grown leaves have 

 _ _t only been active in bringing forward the Bowers, 

 bat at the same time have increased the growth of 

 rhizome. One or two seasons of this treatment will 

 greatly weaken this pest, but perfect eradication will 

 require Ion r time. Objectionable Grasses must 

 be got rid of by other means, and it is a fortunate 

 circnm ™ce that whatever tends to improve the 

 fertility of pasture mostly results in the destruction 

 of GrMSW of an inferior kind, which die out as the 

 better species take a stronger hold upon the soil. 



3d. There are many weeds in almost every 

 pasture which occupy a large space, but inasmuch 



they add something to the hay, and do not possess 

 my more positive injurious tendencies, are allowed 

 to remain unmolested, such as the following : 

 Rumex, Docks and Sorrel, various species ; Poly- 

 fonum bistorta, Snake-root ; Plantago lanceolata, 

 knee-leaved Plantain ; Heracleum sphondylium, 

 Cow Parsnip ; Anthriscus syhestris, beaked Parsley ; 

 lad many other large-leaved plants. These, of 

 ttrarae, are highly varied in their structure and 

 habits, which must at all times be estimated in 

 dealing with them, but in general they may be 

 expeditiously attacked in detail, by pulling and the 

 quid, or in the aggregate by mowing; — the former 



*hods, if perfectly done, destroying the indi- 



aalsatonce 



autumn, as the seeding Grasses will sow the denuded 

 spots ; and if, in the following spring, the pasture 

 be bush harrowed and rolled, a rapid change for the 

 better will be observed. 



In dealing with pastures it should be borne in 

 mind that the Grass tribe of plams is more nutri- 

 tious than any other pasture herbage ; the latter, 

 however, frequently takes possession of the land by 

 reason of exhaustion of the soil, want of drainage 

 and other neglect ; and where this is the case, it, 

 after all, frequently follows that encouraging better 

 herbage, by fertilising processes, prevents the neces- 

 sity of mere mechanical methods of eradication of 

 pasture weeds. 



England and Wales 



Scotland 



Islands in the British Seas 



■ . . 



• • • 



* i • 



• m . 



Great Britain (taken separately) 



• • • 



OBSERVATIONS ON 



STATISTICS.- 



By 



AGRICULTURAL 

 H. R. Lack. 



being 

 be cut 



that the 

 down 



in time, 

 herbage 

 before it 



performance of its func- 

 This is usually too long delayed, which is 



the 



whilst mowing, though it operates 

 more slowly, is still certain if done 

 ike rule to observe 

 iketild at all times 



b* advanced in the 

 turns, 



to reason why hay-making, especially if delayed 

 TO too ripe, so slowly effects the desired end, and 

 ■•wd warn us that, though sometimes a larger crop 

 ■ urns obtained, it is often counterbalanced not 

 «y by loss of nutriment in the hay itself, but by 

 «W^ences still more prejudicial to the land. 



J** 1 The best plants in which to observ 

 ♦ikcts of the occupation of the soil by useless 

 y*ies are the Plantago media, Hoary Plantain ; 

 £ w. mr. major, Greater do. ; Primula verts, 

 towshp; Bellis perennis, Daisy. It is not at all 

 ^common to see the broad-leaved Plantain spread- 

 ^iU smgle bunch of leaves close to the soil, 

 jcupying hundreds of circular patches to the acre 

 J*wn ;> to 10 inches in diameter ; and frequently 

 ^tions may be seen of twice or thrice that size. 



*J* are almost if not entirely passed over by the 

 2~^ *nd at most can only add their small flower- 



2T **£*$ to the hay - And the same ma y be 



li tK i sy ' onl y in a less aggravated degree, 

 ?™ Plants are smaller; whilst the Cowslip, 

 rpn its leaves do not grow so close to the ground, 



rt»«ni ei li a great s P ace > and J nst ^ th ^ spring 

 80 the Grass growth is determined. The Plan- 



and Daisy are from their manner of growth 



SibJ^l l n lawns > on which account we deter- 

 ?"*** the last 



**» *Jich was expeditiously done by cutting off 



ft aw u below the crown 5 and thou 8 h we 



**dfo i i li is nofc at a11 times safe to recom - 

 WntH^ • ^ ture 8Ucb P rocesses as have only 



«u "*f . m the gardens, yet, after all, this is the 



^verrtf lnethod of eradicating these plants 



r they occur, except in such pastures as can 



bin 



year to attack them on our own 



bei 



all gnch r~ lrn ? ation > properly carried out, killing 

 ■tool* ,J; t8 in a most summary manner. It 

 . _A re . f ° re resolves itself into a matter of ex- 



caa 



« wail* u : ** our own experiments show, a boy 

 t *T 7 ^ught to overlook at least half 



an acre 



^ to formed *? the action of the new leaves. 



same 



The number of persons employed in agriculture in 

 Great Britain has been gradually diminishing of late 

 years, as compared with increased population. In the 

 year 1831, according to the Census returns, 31 J per 

 cent, of the males of 20 years of age and upwards 

 were employed in various occupations connected with 

 agriculture, whilst in the year 18.51 only 26 per cent, 

 of the males of 20 years of age and upwards were so 

 engaged, showing a decrease of 5£ per cent, in the 

 latter as compared with the former year. The im- 

 proved method of cultivating the soil, and the introduc- 

 tion of steam and other more perfect machinery for 

 performing farming operations, are no doubt the chief 

 causes of this diminution. 



In reviewing the movements of this class during the 

 period that elapsed between the taking the two last 

 Censuses of 1841 and 1851, it is necessary to bear in 

 mind the peculiar position of the agriculturists conse- 

 quent upon the more general introduction of the free- 

 trade system of politics on the part of the government 

 of the country within that period. The decay and 

 reak up of the old protection, and the introduction of 

 the new free-trade system, with the uncertainty of its 

 results to farming interests, acted in any way but 

 favourably either upon the undertaking of agricultural 

 pursuits, or towards stimulating agricultural energy. 

 In addition to this change of policy of the government, 

 the increased demand for manufactured goods both at 

 home and abroad (which demand is looked upon as the 

 result of the introduction of the free-trade system), 

 may have been an inducement to many to have em- 



• The proportions for the year 1841 are rather lowsr than they 

 ought to be, in consequence of -farm servants'' having been 

 returned in that year as "domestic servants;* whereas in 1831 

 and 1851 such servants have been returned, more properly, as 

 agricultural labourers. 



Although the number of males of 20 years of age and 

 upwards, employed in agriculture, has greatly increased 

 in 1851 (see Table II.) as compared with the number 

 employed in the year 1831 ; it will be seen that they 

 bear a less proportion to the population in the year 1851 

 than they did in the year 1831. This decrease is to be 

 accounted for by the fact that the majority of the in- 

 creased population embraced manufacturing or commer- 

 cial occupations ; there being comparatively but few open- 

 ings for them in agricultural employments. 



Table II. — Number of Occupiers and I urers (male*) of 20 years 

 of age and upwards employed in agriculture in Great Britain. 



1631 



1M1 



England and Wales 



Scotland 



Islands in the British Seas 



■ i • 



• • • 



• • • 



• > ■ 



• *• 



* - 



Total, Great Britain 



1,075,91. 1,041.980 

 167.145' 166,009 



8,694 7,275 



• . . 



i 



1,251,751 



1851 



224,629 



187.1IK) 



9,5& r > 



2. Size op Farms. — The statistics relating to the sizes 

 of farnib are only obtainable for the year 1 851, In that 

 year there were 285,936 farms in Great Britain, of th* 

 average size of 1 02 acres each. The proportions in a 

 thousand farms were as follows : — 



Under 100 acres 

 100 and under 200 

 200 and under 1000 

 1000 and upwards 



• . . 



. ,. 





• • ■ 



• • 



• • • 



• •• 



• * • 



« • • 



*r2«arma. 



... 187 „ 

 137 „ 



4 



• •■ 



• • • 



1f 



1 



in 



the 

 700 



England and Wales. — The number of acres in 

 hands of 2038 English farmers, holding farms of 

 acres and upwards, exceeded the number of acres in the 

 hands of 97,800 small farmers by 10,060 acres, viz. : 



No. of Farms. [Acres of Land. 



Farmers holding Farms of 700 



acres and upwards 

 Small Farmers 



• •• 



• • • 



« ♦• 



2,038 

 97 



Kill 



2,152,060 

 2,141,990 



It is remarked in the census report " that when agricul- 

 tural statistics are obtained, the comparative results of 

 farming in the large and small way will be evident. 5> The 

 large holdings in England and Wales are in the south- 

 eastern and eastern counties, the small farms in the 



barked in the more promising commercial" employments, north-midland, in Yorkshire, in Wales, and in the north- 

 western counties, comprising Lancashire and Cheshire. 

 The average size of farms in England and Wales is 

 1 1 1 acres ; this, it will be remembered, differs little in 

 size from the "hyde" of the Anglo-Saxons, which, 

 according to some estimates, contained 1 00, according 

 to others 120 acres. The average size of the English 

 farms is much greater than that of Scotch farms. 



Scotland.— In Scotland both large and small holdings 

 are numerous, viz., 360 farms of 1 000 acres and upwards, 

 and 44,469 farms each of which is under 100 acres. 

 The average size of Scotch farms is 74 acres. 



Idands in the British, Seas.— 947 farms in a thousand 



and to have abandoned the less remunerative agricul- 

 tural occupations. 



The period then must be viewed, with respect to 

 the agricultural classes, rather as one of trial and 

 transition than one of progress, as a period during 

 which the great question had to be tried, whether or not 

 the new free- trade system would benefit or injure 

 farming interests, whether it would increase or curtail its 

 profits. The question may now almost be said to have 

 been fairly tried, and the result to have proved, to most 

 minds, beneficial, and we may therefore look forward 

 with interest to the coming census of 1861, to furnish us 

 with a fairer view of the position of the agricultural 

 classes as existing in a time of agricultural prosperity. 



Farming has of late years been regarded and treated 

 more as a science, and its operations regulated by estab- 

 lished principles, rather than by established practices. A 

 large proportion of the total number of farmers in Great 

 Britain are now working their lands upon scientific 

 principles, from which most beneficial results may be 

 anticipated. The improvement in the working of farms 

 is not confined to England alone, but is being rapidly 

 pursued by many Continental nations and by the United 

 States of America, and it is evident that if the British 

 farmer does not now bestir himself and call to his aid 

 the latest improvements that science can offer him, he 

 will be left far behind in this age of universal progress. 



The systems of rotation of crops ; of returning to 

 the soil in kind, in the shape of manure, &c, the 

 mineral properties exhausted by crops ; of draining and 

 irrigation, and of reclaiming waste or exhausted lands, 

 are every day becoming better known and more generally 

 acted upon, and it can hardly be expected that those 

 who persist in doing only as their fathers have done 

 before them, will be able to compete with others who 

 manage their farms on the more improved and reason- 

 able principles. 



The same man who laughs at the rude implements of 

 the savage scorns the more perfect machines of civilisa- 

 tion : it may be that be thinks with Aristotle that a 

 happy medium between two extremes is best. 



I. Persons Employed.— The total number of persons 

 engaged in agricultural pursuits ia Great Britain in 

 each of the years 1841 and 1851 was : 



1841 ... m 1,499,278 



1851 2,390,568 



No comparison, however, can be made between these 

 sums on account of the discrepancies in the enumeration 

 of 1841. The following table, No. 1, showing the pro- 

 portion of males of 20 years of age and upwards engaged 

 in agricultural occupations, gives a more correct view of 



are under 100 acres, and therefore come under the 

 denomination of small farms, if farms under 1 00 acres 

 can be so designated. 



The number of farms in each division of Great 

 Britain in 1851 w T as 



England and Wales 



Scotland 



Islands in the British Seas 



• •• 



• • • 



• •« 



t * • 



• ■ • 



• . . 



• •• 



Total— Great Britain 



( lb be concluded next weel 



No. of Farms. 

 225,318 

 56,650 

 3,968 



285,936 





Home Correspondence. 



Seeding thick and thi*.— Repeated experiments hare 

 proved that the capabilities of grains of corn, whether 

 Wheat, Barley, or Oats, are only to be known by plant- 

 ing early, thinly, and singly ; and in order for the full 

 development of each grain, whether on poor or rich 

 soils, it requires to be planted at least 3 feet apart 

 square. Although the notion of planting at this 

 extreme distance may be ridiculed and pronounced 

 illogical by thick seeders, yet we contend that by 

 judicious management on good and well-prepared soils, 

 and by planting early in September, each plant of 

 Wheat thus treated will invariably not fail to produce 

 4000-fold, and half a pint of selected seed is thus suf- 

 ficient to plant 1 acre, and as a natural consequence, it 

 is, of course, quite possible to obtain a produce of 4000 

 half pints, equal to 31 bushels, and 1 peck per acre, 

 quite equal to the average yield of the United Kingdom, 

 from the opposite extreme and ordinary practice of 

 sowing 256 half pints, or 2 bushels of seed, and some- 

 times more to the acre. Anomalous as this 

 appear, yet it is certain, and 

 evidence to prove the contrary, 

 fold is thus obtainable from half a pint of seed, not 

 30-fold is nor can possibly be obtained from a full crop 

 of 256 times the quantity, by reason of its extreme 

 thickness ; for, were it so, 50 times 2 bushels would be 



as tms may 

 defies irrefragable 

 that whilst 4000- 



