>2 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



5TlaiHl has been levelled and trenched I west a long line of shelter to several farms which Thinking thus HghOToTl^ 



up, and ___ , 



and trench-ploughed to the depth of 12 inches, in 



gome cases more, minting the peaty soil with the 

 gravelly granitic rubble of the subsoil. The land 

 has been drained, and instead of the dead black 

 appearance of the peat, it has now a dark brownish 

 grey colour. Where it is under cultivation all the 

 natural planti have disappeared, and excepting 

 three fields, which last year were in Turnip and 

 Rape, all the land is now laid down to Grass. In 

 fact, the contrast bet w* en 1846 and 1854 is perfect : 

 six years ago the 'whole surface was covered with 



collectively extend beyond 1000 acres 



If the Continent contribute a steam cultivator at 

 Carlisle, it will most probably be the one invented 

 in 1853, by " Joseph Bauer, captain to his Majesty 

 the Emperor of Austria's 57th Regiment of Foot, 

 and a native of Vienna." Let us try to give a 

 general description of this contrivance. Suppose a 

 rectangular carriage- frame mounted upon four 

 wheels, carrying a steam-boiler, with fly-wheels and 

 cog-wheels on both sides, and a complicated mass of 



of 

 to 



invention we need not add anything as to 

 wieldy and intricate character, which will f J?^ 

 practical employment in the field. I. A C ' 



21- 



ON A PROCESS FOR THE DETECTTnv n 



TKRATin.,. OF Oll ^ 



CERTAIN ADULTERATIONS 

 FLOUR, AND BREAD. 



** ^' ' P~< ™- «W -• «*6 S? : SS^nd'EtL* 5» WSJ 



the only plants were Heaths and Carices and Bents. 

 All this has now disappeared, and in its place there 

 is rich and luxuriant pasture in every inclosure, 

 and the fields are covered with sheep and oxen 



As to the details of manage- 



this result has been obtained, 



that whether 



By Thornton J. IIerapath, op Bristol 



From statements that have been made in the C 

 and other periodicals, it would appear that the R?* 

 and Linseed cake which are now so much md f 

 Weeding cattle are often purposely adulterated b? 

 principled manufacturers with Mustard-cake • and ■ 



grazing in them, 

 ment by which 

 we may mention 



in 



trenching 



or trench-ploughing, care was taken to mix the de- 

 composing granitic gravel with the peat; that the 

 land was well cultivated and manured with guano ; 

 that in most cases, two crops of roots were taken, 

 followed by Oats with Grass seeds; and in this 

 Grass it will be allowed to remain as long as it pro- 

 duces good keep for the stock now kept on it. In 

 September last the Clover and Italian Rye-prass 

 sown the previous spring were being cut a third 

 time — a very thick close crop ; the red Clover in 

 blossom, and 18 inches high, and the Italian Rye- 

 grass 30 inches hiji. That one crop had kept five 

 cows p<*r acre for 20 weeks. The one-year, two- 

 year, and three-year old pastures presented a thick 

 close covering of fine Grass, and the white Clover 

 over the whole was abundant. The following letter, 

 just received from Mr. Fowler, describes the present 

 condition of the land : — 



u Reclamation of Waste Land must at the present 

 moment be regarded as a subject of very great import- 

 ance, and, I may add, one most lamentably neglected by 

 our senators. In 1846 I purchased and in the following 

 year took possi ion of about 376 acres here ; the tenant 

 was then paying about 3s. 6d. per acre rent. In April, 

 1847, 1 commenced operations, viz., draining, subsoiling, 

 &c. ; my improved land has gone through a rotation of 

 crops, and it is now in pasture. Last Monday I had 

 an auction here for letting part of it for grazing only 

 until the 8th of November next About 100 farmers 

 attended, and the first two lots, containing 20 acres in the 

 two fields, brought oil. 10s. ; in 1846 they were worth 

 Zl. 10s. One of the fields was a complete quagmire 

 when 1 first had it ; the other mostly dry, but, lacking 

 deep cultivation, produced very little. The other im- 



} [roved fields which were let had, or I may say, have 

 ittle Grass in them, ewes and lambs having been over 

 them, but the rents they brought were satisfactory. It 

 is moat shameful that Parliament should not throw with- 

 out delay the waste lands into public competition on 

 encouraging terms. The * dog Jin the 

 ciple should cease." 



machine ; the hinder carriage-wheels being set wide 

 enough apart to travel on each side the strip of tilled 

 ground. These are the steerage wheels ; their axle 

 being moveable like the front axle-tree of a waggon ; 

 the machine is propelled by the fore-wheels, which 

 sustain the principal weight, and are closer together 

 than the others, so as to run always upon hard ground 

 immediately in advance of the diggers. We will 

 not attempt a clear description of the mechanism 

 by which the digging blades are actuated and the 

 whole machine propelled, for without diagrams our 

 words would appear only so much confusion about 

 cams, wipers, eccentrics, oval toothed-wheels, 

 cranks, hooks, chains, and levers. We have to do 

 simply with the resulting action produced ; it is an 

 engineer's province to speak to the merit of the 

 mechanical means employed in obtaining it. 

 Under the boiler is a horizontal lever frame 

 about 6 feet in length, having its fulcrum at the 

 hinder end of the machine, and capable of rising 



about H feet at its other 



and falling 



which is near to the 



of spades side by side 



front 

 (or a 



at 



wheels, 

 single broad 



end, 



A number 



blade), 



the manger' prin- 



The cause of this luxuriant pasture is to be found 

 in the perfect drainage of the land, and the intimate 

 mixture of ihe peaty surface with the subsoil. We 

 may mention that at Princetown, close by Prince- 

 hall, cultivation is being carried on (similarly 

 in spite of climate), with every promise of success, 

 by the convicts in the prison grounds. 



^ In the Princehall estate, then, we have an illustra- 

 tion of infertility under which, as it was apparently 



are suspended from the free end of this frame ; and 

 can also be swung backward and forward into a 

 slanting position as a spade is in manual digging. 

 The motions are these — at the commencement of a 

 stroke, the sharp, lower edges of the spades are 

 about 3 inches above the ground ; the machinery 

 urged by the engine depresses the lever-frame, thus 

 forcing down the spades almost vertically into the 

 soil ; the spade handles being then pulled down 

 forwards, the spade-blades rise in a slanting position, 

 breaking off a slice of earth the w T hole breadth of 

 the work, and throwing it back some 2 or 3 feet. 

 The frame then rising, lifts up the spades, while the 

 machine advances for another stroke. A vibrating 

 harrow is attached behind, so as to reduce the 

 upper portion of the dug soil. 



The inventor states that several trials made by 

 him on diverse qualities of land gave 75 pounds as 

 the weight required to drive a spade 1 foot broad, 

 I foot deep into soil in one second of time. The 

 cohesion of the ground, or the resistance against the 

 slice or spit breaking loose, did not exceed (even in 

 tough ground) 2£ ounces for every square inch 

 included in the length and width of the slice. From 

 these data, and taking the weight of earth to be 

 lifted at 95 to 105 pounds per cubit foot, he esti- 

 mates that a machine built for 8 feet breadth of 

 work, 1 foot depth and 5 inches thickness of slice 

 or spit will require 6 horse-power (effective) when 

 making 30 strokes per minute. The machine thus 

 advancing 5 x 30 



150 inches per minute, will 



rjr J perform at the rate of 100 square feet per minute ; 



theresnlt of climate, the owner might have been ima- I or 1 acre in about seven hours and a quarter. As 



gined helpless, yielding nevertheless to means skil- 

 fully applied at that link in the chain connecting 

 climate with the produce of the soil, where the 

 direction and effect of its influence may be most 

 effectually modified ; and an altered soil is made to 

 yield an altered produce, notwithstanding that 

 heat and light, and rain and cloud— the same 

 duration and intensity of each — play upon it as 

 before. 



Of course many instances similar to Princehall can 

 be adduced in Scotland and the north of England, 

 which indeed are themselves almost throughout an 

 illustration of the way in which climatic difficulties 

 have been overcome. The influence of shelter as well 

 a» drainage in modifying the effects of climates are 

 snown both on Dartmoor and on many Scottish 

 estates. The high enclosures on Mr. Fowler's land 

 nave this effect both on the vegetable produce and 

 on the hve stock which consume it, and planting 



kind °( v S A C0tland ^i^ the best influence of this 

 of thi< ZVf m ^ Y 2 ° >' ears a S° instances in proof 



e rtato ■ Sf ?°T A ? nt t0 US *W the Abbotsford 

 | S il € :, am * m a^od every vo i ume of the Highland 



Iransactions illustrations of it will be 



Inus, m the last iwtie, Januarv 1855 we 



see Mr. Stuart Jf ac Kenzib, of 'SeafoTt? referZl 



a™Kl*T a ? X • ' V *tf** the * helte * of the 

 ■able land in their neighbourhood as amonj the 



advantage! obtained, forming as they wiuTpon the 



Society's 

 found. 



regards the quality of the work, the inventor says 

 that the strips or slices are completely inverted ; the 

 lower edge of the piece falling from the spades being 

 first to light on the ground already dug, is held up, 

 while the upper (or stubble or sod) end drops into 

 the trench formed by the spades. He also says, 

 that when working very slow, the pieces remain 

 nearly unbroken ; but when the machine makes 20 

 or more strokes per minute, they are cast for a dis- 

 tance of 2 or 3 feet, and are entirely crumbled by 

 the heavy fall. 



Now, from experiments we have ourselves made, 

 we do not believe that this complete turning of the 

 slices can be generally effected in this manner ; the 

 pieces once free of the cutters, and left to the 

 chances of mere falling, will not so regularly accom- 

 modate themselves to our wish ; so that we have long 

 ago concluded that, to be thoroughly accurate in 

 burying every portion of the surface, each piece that 

 is cut must be laid by force in its required posture. 

 We may assure Captain Bauer that if the best he 

 can do is to throw backward the strips or spits of 

 soil, cut by his blades, he must offer to accomplish 

 a great extent of work in order to compensate us 

 for so imperfect a performance : we cannot afford 

 the various expences of a six or eight-horse engine 

 upon only 1£ acre per day, unless the digging be 

 well done— the surface weeds and rubbish buried, 

 and the subsoil exposed more completely than this 

 machine is calculated to do it, and at least more 



j efficiently than by our present deep ploughing. 



yme 



the less costly varieties of oilcake which are *-nfau 

 in this country as manures are said to be ** 



sophisticated with cheaper materials. 



Having been called upon lately to examine Beretil 

 specimens of Rape-cake which were supposed to fa* 

 adulterated with Mustard, I long experienced consider- 

 able difficulty in detecting the presence of the latter m 

 I found that the results afforded by the ordinary method 

 of analysis were not in every instance perfectly satisfy 

 tory. The usual mode of examination, as is mfl 

 known, consists in reducing the cake to a fine powdff 

 and mixing it with cold water, when the presence of 

 Mustard is supposed to be evinced by the pungent Uitt 

 of the resulting solution, as well as by the lighter colo» 

 of the Mustard husk as compared with that of the Ripe,* 

 The process of analysis, however, that I was at last in. 

 duced to adopt is undoubtedly much more concluan. 

 and will henceforth, I' am satisfied, be invaria 

 employed by agricultural chemists in investigations of 

 this nature. It consists in treating the cake, pre- 

 viously broken up into small pieces, with repeated 

 portions of boiling water, and squeezing the insoluble 

 remainder in a linen cloth, so as to obtain the hosk of 

 the seed in a separate state, and then to act upon the 

 latter with hot diluted nitric acid, and examine its 

 structure under a microscope. By means of the nitric 

 acid the starch grains, &c, are dissolved, and the husks 

 themselves are rendered so transparent as to retily 

 admit of their structure, and the form of their con« 

 stituent cells, being observed. The form of the eel sin 

 the husks of the various oleaginous seeds is so essentially 

 different, that a simple examination by this process ii 

 immediately convince us that a better means of deter 

 ing the adulteration of the oil-cake could not be deviled. 

 Thus, for example, the cells in the Mustard-husk arc 



very smal], whilst those of the Rape and Lins 



a.-Portion of Rape-husk. ^.-Portion of Mustard-bast 



c— Portion of Linseed-busk. . 



iseea »■ 



are'considerably larger, and differ "from them m *P' 

 The .Mustard husk has, moreover, so t0 'T^j 

 hexagonal net-work of thicker tissue, whicn ^ 

 characteristic, and is not observed in eitner 



others. 1 ■ will J* 



A somewhat similar method of analysis ^^^^ 



enable the chemist to detect the adulteration m ^ 

 flour with the flour of the leguminosa (M ean n, r iev <)■"> 

 and of Buckwheat, and of cereals, as Rice, wm. l' ^ 

 Rye, and Indian Corn ; and also that ot m^ ^ 

 mashed Potatoes. M. Donny has sh °* d ; ffere nt» 

 cellular matter of leguminous flour is very ^ 



its microscopic characters to that of wnea *™ [a i& 

 of the cereals generally. The mode, ther e, ?V '^j* 

 I proceed to separate this cellular matter .or ^ 

 tion is to heat about two or three to** 1 * 1 *** dA 

 suspected flour or bread in a small evapo ^^ 

 with a sufficient quantity of dilute nitric ac.u, ^ 

 of about one part of ordinary nitric acta ^^ ^ 

 seven parts of water, until the whole 01 t ^ ^ 

 glutinous matters are dissolved ; ana* ^m* 

 the yellow cellular particles which flow tbe nV>* 

 the surface of the acid liquid, and submit ^ 

 amination by a microscope of modera w y ^p^ 



between two" pieces of glass. A series «' /"^jj tfe* 

 experiments with good Wheat flour. *a, 

 immediately convince the operator 



ingredient is present 



if any rfujJJ 





fro* 



upon to perform such analyses, it is - tter w*~ _y 



set up several specimens of the cellular w ^ . fl ^ 

 different varieties of flour, &c, m gJ*V» t hftfl d *£ 

 solution, so that he may always hav€ rUien ^ pft £p 

 required for comparative examinauon. o ^ du ]ter»5£ 



1 find one or two per cent ^ndevgL^ ^ 



* See Professor Johnston's " Instructions 

 Soils," &c.,p.90. 



Atoft** 



