j-;6 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



submitted without reserve to 



Boldbn, Ksq., will be 

 public comp on. Mi «oLDKNwa»acotemporarv 

 of the Colli* and hia cattle have been bred 

 chiefly from the h< i of Messrs. Bates and Booth. 

 Mr \mulfkV ek is d< ided from the herd of 

 the Earl of Ca*li>lf ri IK cie, and Karl Spencer, 

 and thosw of Messrs. Bat , Bow s, Booth, Fawkes, 

 Maynahd, Ta.n^i/ibay/I m r, and othenr. And 

 we nuv mention in reference to Mr. Tanqueray's 

 herd, what v I omitted last week, that a ood por- 

 tion of the voung stock are by the best bulls in the 

 country, namely Duke of Gk ter and 5th Duke 

 of York. 



Manure Company, the late Manchester Sewage 

 Manure Company,and the Cyanic Manure Company, 

 we may refer to the operation of the last as charac- 

 teristic, if not of the'process as employed by all, at 

 least of the value now set upon a substance most of 

 which used generally to be wasted. 



The manner in which it is used at Belleisle is as 

 follows : — Bone-dust and crushed coprolites are 

 placed in a long tub, along the central axis of which 

 is the shaft of a revolving agitator— so many casks 

 full of blood are poured in over the bones and well 



~" Sul- 



The idea of a Steam-Rasp for grating down the 

 soil into a. fine seed-bed, first enunciated by Mr. 

 Hotrad in theae columns, has been adopted by 

 numerous inventors, so that something of the sort 

 may be expect I at Carlisle. Wishing to prepare 

 the agricultural publ for the novelties likely to 

 compete for the 2< . pfi», we would direct atten- 

 tion to the practical objections weighing against 

 some of them. 



The theory of the operation of minute and deep 

 pulverisation we leave for future consideration ; 

 merely observing that it may be useful for preparing 

 ground for c tain kinds of cropping, and at some 

 distant time, when the action of the atmosphere 

 npon line particles of earth better understood than 

 at present, may I roved profitable and el ctuala 

 a means of fertilisat ;;. I » it as yet the crops raised 

 from our land seem unable to repay any very costly 

 operation ; and it m \ therefore, lead to future 

 succtss if steam power shall first perform something 

 more like present processes. And we believe that Mr. 

 Hoskyhs himself — taking into account the necessity 

 for an exposure of the soil in rough clods at some 

 Seasons, the spontaneous crumbling of such clod 

 which occurs at others, together with the frequent 

 cleansing from root-weed neb must be pro ded 



for — is prepared to welcome any modification of the 

 rotatory rasp - pable of tilling heavy land more 

 efficiently than the plough. 



What is the general expectation with regard to a 

 successful steam-cultivator 1 ? Why, that it will 

 effect the ordinary tillage of our fields — in an im- 

 proved manner it may I —with greater cheapne— 

 and expedition than at present. The earliest idea 

 awakened by the advent of a steam -plough was the 

 extravagant supposition that land would be nov. 

 prepared in hours instead of days ; and we still con- 

 sider that no invention will answer which does not 

 include economy of time among its advantages. 

 Can a farmer be expected to sell off the most 

 of his teams for the sake of substituting an engine. 

 unless th iatter * facilitate the breaking-up of 

 his Turnip land or stubble for sprii corn, proceed 

 with unprecedented dispatch in autumn cleaning, 

 and pre] re a se i-bed for Wheat or any other crop 

 in double quick time ? No data exist by which we 

 can foretell the amount of work due from a steam- 

 rasp ; but the 1 y i ure of the process of grating. 

 or scratching necessitates either an enormous ex- 

 penditure of power, or a tediously slow rate of 

 performance. One of the most carefully studied 

 inventions of this kind is calculated (according to 

 the specification) to till, with a powerful engine, 

 about 2lH) square yards per hour, or only 1 acre a 

 day. Mr. Mkchi, after constructing and totting one 

 of these mincing or powdering machines, has con- 

 cluded that the process is altogether impracticable ; 

 and that the soil must be dealt 



mixed by the arms upon the working shaft. 



acid is added to the mixture, which 



of 



phuric 

 boils 



and 



is 

 effervesces 



the bones 



under the action 

 and blood, and after 



the vitriol on 



thorough commixture for about 10 minutes the liquid 



mass is allowed to escape through the opened end 

 of the vessel, and it runs in a heap upon the earthen 

 floor, where, as it cools, it hardens and dries. Some 

 16 or 18 large vessels full of this mixture are thus 

 poured out in the course of the day, forming at the 

 end of it a large mass of probably 40 or 50 tons of 

 manure. It soon hardens, and in a day. or two is 

 turned over with the spade and broken small, and 

 is found already dry enough for drilling. This is the 

 Turnip manure of the Nitro-phosphate Company. 

 In their Wheat manure the tme materials are used 

 in different proportions, and a larger quantity of 

 blood being u ed artificial heat is needed to dry 

 the resulting compound. The Turnip manure con- 

 tains about 2 or 3 per cent, of nitrogen along with 

 16 per cent, of soluble phosphate of lime; the 

 Wheat manure contains about 7 per cent, of nitrogen 



reduced to 10 ner cent. 



and the phosphate 

 The proportion of 



is 

 ingredients 



per 

 needed to 



proportion 

 duce these results we have, of course, no 



pro- 

 right 



larger 



with in masses 

 than mere dust, and must be cut and raised 

 by a slow, teady motion. 



A steam digging machine has been invented in 

 Germany ; the power reqnii 1 for all its motions 

 has been a^ rtained from experiments, and every 

 detail corrected by calculation ; and the patentee 

 estimates that the strongest engine which can be 

 efficiently employed in spite of its 

 to the 



to publish, as it is on the determination of these that 

 the relative merits of the plans adopted by the dif- 

 ferent companies depend. Several thousand gallons 

 of blood are daily using nov it Belleisle, and at the 

 works of the other companies which use it very 

 large quantities are being also turned to agricultural 

 uses ; so that this may be considered one of the 

 most prolific of the home sources from which the 

 enormous agricultural demand for manure is now 

 supplied. 



How rapid the growth of this demand has been 

 appears in the history of the London Manure Com- 

 pany, which sells about 10,000 tons annually of 

 n nures of all sorts, and which, from 3 tons of 

 guano in the first year of its formation (sold at 26?. 

 per ton), has risen in its transactions to the quantity 

 of 3000 tons, sold last year. 



The great room for extension of the manure trade 

 appears also in the number of companies which have 

 latterly engaged in it. To some of these companies 

 we have referred in past numbers of this Paper. The 

 substance manufactured by one of them — the British 

 Economical Manure Company — was fully described 

 in last year's volume from analyses by some of our 

 best chemists, and readers of this Paper were warned 

 both from the recorded experience of those who had 

 used it, and from the recorded opinions of our best 

 writers on the food of plants that the substance was 

 neither worth the sum' demanded for it, nor cal- 

 culated to do the good which it pretended. We 

 reexet to find that a repetition of this warning is 

 required, and that the sale of a substance little 

 calculated to be useful is being pushed in Scotland 

 as well as England in spite of the'abundant evidence 

 which exists of its low agricultural value. 



ight will dig 



FARM NEAR CHELMSFORD. 



I* giving the system of cultivation in detail as carried 

 out upon this farm, we wish to be understood that it is 

 not from any conceit we entertain upon our own manage- 

 ment, but rather to convey to your readers at a distance 

 the system pursued, the state of the weather, and the 

 prospects of farming at the particular period at which 



whilst the largest proportion have 

 than 



or.- 



The frost upon several nights was so **— 

 thermometer marked only 3° r 4° a i ^wil^ 

 upon one particular night, the 9th Feb** *~~ 



*n 



situations fell to that point, consequential! * 



>* 



u 



■fa 



has ensued to crops upon the ground of even, a_~ 

 tion, and most of our tender description of ^^^ 

 are destroyed. Even the common Furze i 8 \* aS 1 * 

 great extent, and Rye upon our driest i***!** % 

 land is also partially destroyed by the unus*!*]* 11 * 

 of the weather upon portions of the field froatk? 

 the snow was blown away. *■■* 



We had remarked upon the effect of the 

 upon the young plants of Wheat before your 

 tions appeared, but we have since made a n»~^ 

 examination, and find that great deficiency of2r 

 found upon all those pieces of a light gravelly ehST 

 or upon other descriptions of soil where nnt J^ 

 consolidated. We feel assured that in most 

 •loss of plant is attributable to the effect of Jrost 

 this farm two instances occur proving it beyZJj 

 doubt ; in one a field that had been sown dovT ii 

 Red Clover, and which failed in the Bering ofm? 

 7 acres upon one side, and 2 acres upon the other v* 

 ploughed up, leaving about 12 acres in the nnddk k 

 Clover, which was mown twice and a portion three t* 

 for foddering. The whole was manured and also drill* 

 the same day in the same manner, and olid* » 

 together a full plant ; the two sides succeeding Oifcaj 

 Potatoes are now an excellent plant, but much of i* 

 plant is destroyed upon the portion that had beenCW 

 and upon which the land remains in a porous state. ft» 

 proves that it was not to the mineral solution of rioa 

 that was employed in dressing the Wheat that it 

 deficiency is attributable; and if we may be al'owed to 

 venture an opinion we shall at once state that we befiew 

 the extraordinary dry season that attacked the Wheat 

 sowing, succeeded as it was by a continuation ol 4rr 

 weather until the frost set in, did not produce the wd 

 consolidation of the soil, except upon such portion m 

 had been reduced by tillage to a depth of mould wtt 

 readily closed round the grains of Wheat ; and u it 

 protection by the snow ceased, except upon such porta* 

 to which it was drifted and accumulated, thote parte 

 as well as the sheltered end of the field, re mainingSr 

 the most part uninjured. In the early part of fii 

 notice we stated that a field of Barley was drilled l 

 January — the field was much exposed, and was diratoi 

 of the snow— but the severity of the weather led all 

 expect such a deficiency of plant that we wereiadwl 

 about three weeks since to drill an additionaFqwito 

 of seed upon the field that the whole might 

 ripened together ; this precaution became more mc* 

 sary on account of the onslaught upon the field by fceb 

 of rooks from all quarters, and more especially froai 

 neighbouring rookery, where they are protected m 

 encouraged to such an extent to become 0Dl Jj. *? 

 greatest pests we have ever had to contend wit 

 having cost us upwards of 105. per week from W 

 period to the present time to protect our crops Itm 

 their depredations. Rooks, it is true, may sometime!* 

 beneficial in destroying grubs, but under the i 

 state of society their assistance would now be pj 

 dispensed with ; these black-feathered gentry urn 

 feed upon insects if they can procure grain, a* 

 always prone to reap that which they have not s "*^ 

 carrying on war against them also, if not 90 , ex P^ 

 as 



farmer. Afc 



Upon the 1st and 2d days of the current^mOTu^ 



iltti 



eying on war against tnem a*»o, « »*>* ~ , • ^ 

 that before Sebastopol, i3 equally harassing w 



Barley referred to began to make its apP*^*,, p 

 ground, and is now about two-thirds ^^^ g£ 



i all tho 



depredat 



upon all those portions of the field P^^V* 

 the depredations of the vermin referred to, \ 



that even Barley will stand considerable frost *^ 

 injury, if the land is well pulverised and w ^ ^ 

 succeeding its being sown remains dry. . ^ 



borated as regards Wheat. A portion ot i J^ 

 was put in early in January, and has come \- ^ 

 frost plentifully, and remains excellent ana J i^ 

 plant. Talavera Wheat, also sown in Hie ^ ^ 



February, has a'so come up, and apF ear8 . 

 healthy plant. 



depth of 1 foot not more than 1 ! acr oer •""r~" ™ "T "Au "" fwticuur period at which 

 .1 average quality of cnltieateThL' ZTtJZS' 2" *? ™*. *£L*ZSSL "S? 



day on the average quality of 



Mr. Usher's steam" plough in 1852, according t 

 Professor Wilson, broke up no less than 7 am 

 per day, the eost of working being only 2s. 6d. an 

 •ere ; k d though the style and depth of its 

 may have 



Upon the whole we are J w ^ 

 with theap arance of the young W heat, i o ^. 

 this farm, bat also generally throug mU J " tvW t^ 

 and upon the heavy land portion of tins 



and ascertain what 

 their own. 



is our position relatively with 



Upon the 18th January we put in 12 acres of Barley 

 upon a light soil, and had purposed upon the following 

 days to have put in a still larger quantity. Upon the 



that it has planted unusually well. 



in t 



hr*# 



A large portion of winter Beans were p ^, 



this district, and the plant be^"* the l«J 

 excellent ; those upon this farm, so ^ - t 



. . e succeeding night 



considerable frost followed, which continued with un- 



depth of its work 



rtprmjn teen far inferior to that made by the j 19th, however' rain" felf«d"upon th 



b-erman engine, this rapid rate of labour is far more 



likely to g. the farmer's patron, e. Our advice to 

 inventors : however ingeniously you ] .v pul- 



, dig or plough ; however perfectly you may 

 fnn°mS ? 'T ° f the ^vier labours of tillage; 



Mt 



Ter 



-/• A* \j* 



you can reap success. 



JL^!! "Y ft!™* a * Belleis l«» near King's 



Cross, where the Nitro-phosphate, ot 4 M,i, E 

 Company, at present manufacture their fert.Hser 

 until their works in Plaistow Marshes arTcompleted 



is used now by " 



And as blood 



out this" district, and the plant before the 



? _j this farm, & 



6ctober7were' mostly killed by it, and tbe ^ 

 ploughed in preparation for Turnips ^ ,** 

 We learn that most other persons ha>e tbo ^ »»» 

 not only of the winter variety, but aw »#*% 

 early in the spring, and a large hre a< "" fjff ^ 

 been resown. Peas have, on the conttj^ „ J 

 beyond expectation, where not sown i ^. ^w 

 vember as to have become advanced 1 



winter had set in. mnsist'O? o f 5 



As regards our spring sowing , c ■ oD |*^ 



and Oats, that has been long c° m P'^ ' g sett, 



advertising in <mr "columns, lucTaMhTZSn i "? la ^ b VL weU f h ^S^^yeT^7 a ' "^7yZ 



, m as tne London | price, the best couples not producing more than 42*., 



usual severity until the 26th of February following 

 when a rapid thaw took place. During the period alluded 

 to snow fell on two occasions to considerable depth, but 

 which immediately was blown into drifts, filling the 

 roads, and laying the fields bare. The unusual severity 

 of the weather destroyed the white common Turnips 

 entirely, as well as most of the green hardy varieties. 

 The Swedes also exposed were so greatly injured as to 

 become ol little value, and the Mangold Wurzel Pota- 

 toes, &.c, not well secured by a more than ordinary 

 covering of earth became frozen and spoiled, and to 

 such an extent that the keeping of stock has been since 



attended with unusual difficulty and expense, and sheep a"re" impeded i^lTei ^ogress J the coOT, 

 and lamh.. » .«» M h^e ,,.„ ..„._ .. ^ ^ ^ SO acre*), preP^ - 



Wurzel, is all manured, subsoiled, V w * 



Turnips and Rape have not been i te ■ %x ^r 

 early ; but we have had such eo nti na*^ fiot t* ^ 

 and such drying winds by day, ^ ^ ft t ' f 



safe to >w until rain falls? 



that the 



moment having become so dry l onge( p 



