364 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



small that the 



»Uce with sand— the interbtices are so 

 finest particles are arrested on its surface, and the body 

 of sand beneath kept quite clean. The expense m some 

 mi liters no doubt would be considerable, but in many 

 places like this abundance can be had for the cartage 

 alone, and a cubic yard would furnish 10 or 12 yards of 



I have heard complaints frorn^ some farmers 



dram. 



that in certain descriptions of soil their drainage was 

 too perfect, running off the rains so quickly that in 

 droughts their soil was too dry. This could not be the 

 case r 'm sand drainage ; the outpour would be slow and 

 constant. To sum up, it remains to be proved on a con- 

 siderable scale whether or not sand drainage may be 

 advantageously substituted for the ordinary descriptions 

 of drains; and it is exceedingly probable that in the 

 neighbourhood of trees and other plants which insinuate 

 thetr roots so pertinaceously into all open drains they 

 shall thereby be excluded, and the continuity of a drain 

 kept up. /. L., M.D.,Newburgh, Fife. 



Sieam—A\\ attempts to use steam carriages on a 

 common road have failed, the friction on the wheels 

 being great from the roughness of the turnpike road, 

 and it! want of surface resistance to the weight of the 

 engine, which sinks deeply into the soft material, the 

 wheels turning round on their own ground when the 

 steam is up. Experiments on the highway having been 

 unsuccessful, how will they answer in the field ? Steam 

 power to be made available for tillage will, in all pro- 

 bability, have to call in the aid of horses, the latter to 

 draw the machine, the former to work the grubber. 

 The great advantage of steam would be to stir wet 

 damp stiff soil deeply in winter or summer to benefit by 

 the frost, air, and sun, and afterwards pulverise it 

 thoroughly, ready for the drill. Should the first opera- 

 tion be accomplished how would the second be carried 

 out ? The strength required to force a heavy apparatus 

 ©ver rough ground to finish it off would be enormous, if 

 possible. So many difficulties present themselves 

 without the assistance of a railway, which appears out 

 of the question in small enclosures, that agriculturists 

 should remain satisfied with making steam useful 

 in thrashing, crushing grain, cutting chaff and 

 Turnips, pumping water, &c. A portable engine would 

 meet all these wants on a farm, and might be shared 

 with neighbours by a little amicable arrangement. The 

 subsoil plough, spade, and long steel fork, will be found, 

 where judiciously applied, the best tools for working the 

 land deeply and effectually. It will be said, how can a 

 large holding be cultivated by manual labour 1 The 

 answer is, it is not necessary or advisable to dig or fork 

 the whole of the arable portion of a farm ; depending 

 upon the acreage, it may be divided into either a fifth, 

 seventh, or tenth part, to be turned up with the fork 

 and spade annually during the idle months in the winter, 

 when hands are plentiful- and labour scarce. Again, it 

 may be said the expense is an obstacle. The system 

 will pay itself the second year ; and in after seasons the 

 gain, if the soil has been fairly broken up, will be great, 

 and compensate the tenant for money laid out. The 

 influence of the atmosphere on the land is well known : 

 can it then be doubted how immense the advantage must 

 be of exposing 14 inches instead of 6 to be acted upon \ 

 Falcon. 



Fowler's Steam Plough. — The above plough is now at 

 work in one of the midland counties, on the new red 

 sandstone. With regard to the plough, I saw it at the 

 Exhibition, but it was then an infant, and had many 

 imperfections (so I thought at the time, and so they 

 turned out to be) ; but it is a giant now, and at draining 

 is perfect. It is at work on a farm yielding miserable 

 crops (6 bushels of Wheat per acre) [?] and the land- 

 lord is draining the land against the tenant's will. The 

 land is undulating, and faces the north, so that the fall 

 €>f the land, and the slip of the soil are the same way. 

 The first field done lay rather bad for the drains, many 

 had to be put in by hand, and many, or most of those 

 "done by the plough in this field would be catch drains, 

 9 yards apart ; the next field lies well for work, and the 

 plough did its part well. Nearly all the holes that were 

 dug to put in fresh lengths of pipes, had water standing 

 in them from 8 to 12 inches deep, and within about 

 30 inches of the surface, on the 7th of May, and after 

 the very long dry time we have had. Who could farm 

 such land in such a state ? A Visitor. 





Crimes* 



ROYAL AGRICULTURAL OF ENGLAND. 



Audit of Accounts, May 1 8. — Mr. Raymond Barker, 

 Chairman of the Finance Committee ; and Mr. Knight, 

 Mr. George Ravmond Barker, and Mr. Dyer, Auditors 

 on the part of the Society, examined, audited, and certi- 

 fied aa correct the accounts for the half-year ending 

 December 30, 1854. 



Special Council, May 18.— Mr. Raymond Barker, 

 Y.I\ in the chair. On the motion of Mr. Mil ward, 

 seconded by Mr. Fi*her Hobbs, the report to be made 

 toy the Council to the ensuing General Meeting of the 

 Society was taken into consideration and agreed to. 



^ General Meeting, May 22. 

 sident, in the Chair. 



Mr. Miles, M.P., Pre- 



M R vmZ T i° f C T° l0nel O^oner, seconded by 

 Mr Raymond Barker, Lord Portman was unanimously 

 e ected President of the Society for the vear ens S 

 rising of the Carlisle meeting in July next 



The Trustees and Vice-President were re-elected for 

 £e year, and Mr. Dyke Acland, Lord Fe£22 Mr 

 Mainwanng Paine, Mr. Allen Ransomed Mr Burch 



Western, new members of Council for the two years, 

 ensuing the Carlisle Meeting. 



The Secretary read the following Report from the 



Council : 



REPORT. . 



Sin:e the last half-vearly meeting in December, the Society 

 has lost, by death and otherwise, 227 of its members, and has 

 gained by election 132 new members. The Council, on the re- 

 commendation of the finance committee, have also removed from 

 the list of the Society the names of 285 members who have made 

 no payment during the last seven years They have unani- 

 mously elected Dr. Edward Hartstein, Professor of Agriculture 

 in the Royal Academy of Poppelsdorf, an honorary member of 

 the Society. The Society accordingly now consists of— 



89 Life Governors, 

 141 Annual Governors, 

 795 Life Members, 

 3838 Annual Members, and 

 19 Honorary Members 

 making a total of 4832 names on its list at the present date. The 

 funded property of the Society stands at 9264Z.8s.lld. in the 

 stock which has now become the new Three per Cents.; the 

 current cash-balance in the hands of the bankers being 32267., 

 which includes 1400/. as a contribution from the authorities of 

 Carlisle towards the expenses of the country meeting of this year. 

 Since the date in November last when the Council ordered the 

 sale of 1500*. from the invested capital, the following payments 



have been received :— 



Arrears of subscription £1677 



Current subscriptions 1S4? 



Life compositions 389 



■ 



£3913 

 while every claim against the Society has been duly discharged. 

 The continued indisposition of Mr. Pusey, and the consequent 

 suspension of hisMong and invaluable labours to the Society as 

 the Chairman of the Journal Committee, have rendered some 

 temporary arrangements in that department necessary. The 

 Council have accordingly requested Mr. Thompson to act as the 

 Chairman, and Mr. Wren Hoskyns and Mr. Dyke Acland as 

 Vice Chairmen, of the Journal Committee. The new number is 

 now in progress, and will be published on the 1st of July. Prizes 

 have been awarded to reports on the Farming of Buckingham- 

 shire and Warwickshire, and also to essays on the causes ot 

 Fertility and Barrenness in Soils, and Lameness in Sheep and 

 Lambs: a paper in the latter class has been disqualified, on 

 account of its delivery not having been made by the 1st of 

 March ; and the prize in the class of Mildew in Wheat withheld, 

 in consequence of the want of sufficient merit in the competing 

 essays; while adjudications have still to be reported in the five 

 remaining classes. The following subjects for the Essays of 

 next year have already been adopted : — 



1. Farming of Bedfordshire. 



2. On the Production of Turnips possessing good keeping 



qualities. 



3. Spring-feed Crops: with special reference to early 



growth. 



4. The different mechanical modes of deepening the Staple 



Soil, in order to give it the full benefit of atmospheric 



j influence. 



5. The Chemical results superiuduced in newly-deepened soil 



by atmospheric action. 

 | 6. The construction and maintenance of Farm Roads : with 



special reference to clay lands. 



7. The Roots of the Wheat Plant : the history of their 

 I growth and development. 



8. Essay and Plans for the construction of Labourers' Cot- 



tages : with special reference to domestic convenience. 



9. Account of the different modes of bringing Moorland into 



cultivation, based on practical experience ; and speci- 

 fying the methods pursued, the expense incurred, and 

 the results as far as ascertained, regard being had to the 

 subsoil, locality, and elevation. 

 Two distinct and improtant investigations are in progress by the 

 Consulting Cheu.ist of the Society, namely — 1. On the chemical 

 effects of the atmosphere on the soil and vegetation ; 2. On the 

 value to the farmer of different substances sold to him for manur- 

 ing purposes. Professor Way has already, in the course of this 

 session, delivered before the members two lectures : the first, On 

 the relation between the atmosphere and- agriculture : and the 

 second, On the chemical principles involved in the production of 

 butter: for which he has received the cordial thanks of the 

 Council. He also consented to deliver a lecture on the 13th of 

 June, On the use of fish as manure; and Professor Simouds, as 

 the Veterinary Inspector of the Society, has expressed his willing- 

 ness to elucidate before the members, at a Weekly Council in the 

 course of next month, the physiological conditions affecting the 

 quantity and quality of milk secreted by the cow under different 

 circumstances of feeding and management. The Governors of 

 the Royal Veterinary College have made a most satisfactory 

 report to the Council of the successful manner in which the 

 special objects of the Society in reference to domesticated animals 

 have been carried out in that establishment under the inspection 

 of Professor Simonds. The programme of the Country Meeting, 

 to be held in the city of Carlisle, in the week commencing 

 Monday the 23d of July next, has just been issued, and the 

 arrangements are nearly completed. At this meeting, so favour- 

 ably situated in reference to the south of Scotland and the north 

 of Ireland, additional prizes are offered for reaping machines and 

 steam cultivators, as well as for Scotch and Galloway cattle, 

 Cheviot and Herdwick sheep, and for Clydesdale and other 

 horses. The entries for implements closed on the 1st inst. ; and 

 though the number is not equal to that of either of the last two 

 years, it has been ascertained that the covered shedding, 20 feet 

 wide, engaged by exhibitors in that department, will extend to 

 very nearly three-quarters of a mile in length. The entries for 

 live stock, which will not close till the 1st of June, are already 

 numerous. The Council have again to acknowledge the liberality 

 and ready co-operation of the railway companies, in promoting 

 the objects of the Society in the transit of live stock and imple- 

 ments to the Country Meeting. The principal companies have 

 already signified their consent to a renewal of their concessions 

 of last year, in favour of the exhibitors at the Carlisle Meeting. 

 The Council have decided to hold the Country Meeting of 1856 

 in the district comprising the counties of Bedford, Buckingham, 

 Cambridge, Essex, Hertford, and Huntingdon, at Chelmsford, the 

 county town of Essex. They have also determined that the 

 Country Meeting shall be held, four years hence, in the Central 

 District, which will comprise the counties of Oxford, Warwick, 

 Northampton, and Berks : and thus, after a circuit of 20 yearsj 

 the Society will return to that part of the kingdom in which at the 

 city of Oxford, under the most favourable circumstances, it held its 

 first meeting. The Council have viewed with much interest 

 the progress of measures adopted by the Government of France 

 to stimulate and improve its agriculture. At the request 

 of the French and English Foreign Departments, for 

 Council have taken every means to make known in this country 

 the inducements held out and the facilities afforded to the exhi- 

 bitors of the United Kingdom, at the agricultural meeting to be 

 held next month in Paris ; and they have decided that six of 

 their members shall form a deputation, to be present on that 

 occasion. The Council trust that this international gathering 

 will be attended with the most favourable results tc the agricnP 

 ture as well as to the cordial understanding now so happily sub- 

 sisting between the two nations. The Council have continued to 

 be favoured by the Earl of Clarendon with copies of successive 

 despatches received at the Foreign Office from her Majesty's 

 Ministers and Consuls abroad, reporting the result of their 

 inquiries and researches connected with the occurrence of guano 

 or the nitrates in tropical districts. Some of these communica- 

 tions have been of an important character, and have referred to 



discoveries of extensive dli^itTornio^v^u^ m _ 

 well as to the occurrence of an unlimited snnnK * n,u H 

 bonate of soda in South America. His lordfh J S? "**«*. 

 the Council an assurance that whatevpr f.^i wV"^ *** 



hateverfacilh 



™*7*U 



granted to other countries by the Government? Ell? 1 * 11 •• 

 +^».r.:* rt «: rt « -*i,««~ i— j-__ * • \ v ^ v/vcl ""ienig within '- 



tefcalf of theasril^ 

 commercial communities of the United Kingdom. mtari1 



territories these newly-discovered deposits o^V?^ 

 by her Majesty's Government on behalf nf *h« lli u ?? 



By order of the Council, 





James Hudsojl Sccfttirr 



This Report was unanimously adopted by t ! 



Mr. Raymond Barker, chairman of the Finan^P - 

 mittee, having read the auditors' balanceSL * 

 best thanks of the meeting were voted to the ar 

 for their care in auditing the Society's accounts • »k». 

 Mr. Knight, on the part of himself and his coUeJ!? 

 acknowledged the compliment, taking that opporS 

 of bearing testimony to the clear, simple, acid 





exid 



manner in which the accounts of the Society were b* 

 On the motion of Lord Feversham, seconded bv )L 

 Druce, the cordial thanks of the meeting were exprettri 

 to the President for the great services he had throu^i! 

 long a period and on so many occasions rendered to fa 

 Society. Mr. M iles acknowledged that expression of the 

 friendly sentiments of the members towards him and 

 hoped that they would one and all endeavour to U 

 present with him at the Carlisle Meeting in July. 



■: 



Notices; of Sooks. 



Professor Johnston's Instructions for the Analytk 

 Soils, <&c. Third edition. Blackwood & Son. 

 No one has had a larger experience than Prof 

 Johnston, whether as an agricultural chemist or 

 teacher of agricultural chemistry. His instructions are of 

 the greater value on this account ; and the agricoltonl 

 student will find in this little volume a guide to tin 

 department of his studies as explicit and trustworthy 

 could be desired. 



The Journal of the Bath and West of England Sociek 

 The table of contents of this issue of the journal is 

 various and instructive as ever, with as much on the 

 general subject of agriculture combined with its special 

 adaptation to the district of the society, to secure far 

 the work a general as well as a local circulation. We 

 have already made some extracts from its pages, ud 

 have other articles in type, of which our readers shall 

 have the benefit as soon as possible. 



We observe that Mr. Acland, to whom the renovated 

 character of this society is so much due, acts now is 

 one of the Journal Committee of the English Agricultural 

 Society during the lamented illness of Mr. Pusey. , 



Miscellaneous. 



. Tlie New Markets, Copenhagen Fields, were to have 

 been opened on June 1 ; H. R. H. Prince Albert lias, 

 however, signified his intention of being present at the 

 opening ceremony, and that has, therefore, been post- 

 poned to suit his convenience. Everything is nowrewj 

 for the permanent use of the new market. 



Calendar of Operations 



MAY. 

 Berwickshire Mere Farm, May 21. 



After a long period rf 



cold, drying east winds, we had a regular wet day on ^£"*[ 

 the 10th inlt, which put a stop to our fallow work fo. that **. 

 The wind, however, soon dried the land, and operations ww 

 resumed last M onday. The three past days have been i tine, n», 

 and growing, but to-day our old enemy, that « te ™^ 

 easier has returned in full force and as cold as ever, ine n 

 plant is strong and healthy, as is generally °b^md n*. 

 spring, indeed late sown spring Wheat has grown £»«-,-, 

 Barley which looks very " blae" after the la to frcstj ing 

 Oats have all along reaped the benefit of a fine seed bed mm 



Potatoes having been sound last year, ujjp 



SonsTderattte breadth (for this d«g 



of last month. wj» 



^rv -^wa 



and Peas are up. 



but a middling *crop, a 



has been planted in 



Tares look very poor inaeea, auu ""*."- ~ T ho latter** 



most wanted-before " seeds" afford a cu ^f'J^ cat tny tf 



is well planted and green; but we cannot expe c . ^^ ^ 



three weeks at least. Young OnaBjiaring^ ^ 



an early date, the Clovers have suffered n « c ^ ares tn^ 

 hoar frosts : in many places it looks no better than ^ — g 

 Old pastures, being closer in the bottom have st w } 



better. Lambs are a middling crop, j> tt * **™^* p tb»* 

 hogs require an allowance of cake and t*ea > ^ 



condition. Want of keep has overstocked the faj ^ 

 clipped hogs, and caused a f languor in the m ^g 



and half fat are almost unsaleable. O^gtotuere ^. 



ses and cattle, the price of h»^ h figure: * 



of Grass for horses 



after the storm, has again 



e, tne pntx "• -«v * , . h figure; *~ 



reached its fon^WSS*? 

 rmen to possess any of IV ^ 



the fortunate few, who happen ^ ^os^ j pri **M* 

 onaKioH frt c^iir* irriizmar cattle at a veiy *» t ^ p^ct 



rffi 5 



ind irtB 



they are doing no good in this cold weather. J?& li ^to&L 



beautifully; but clays, W — -- 1ftfh which n»«^- 

 run together by the rain of the 10 tii, wi n dotl r, tfJJ 

 additional labour. Stackyards are a 11 but c ea ^^ 

 local demand consequently better than that 



enabled to secure grazing »»«* * ^ A v v l'~* 1 <* 



is more than could be done for *°? c J^gJ; but rf«g 

 Swedes hare been sown las ^ wee !F, in r J|^ r . Light li»^ 



beautifully; buY days,. previously ^^^ S 



run together by the rain of the 10 tii, wi n dotl u tfJJ 

 additional labour. Stackyards are all but^ciea^ ^ptf* 



markets. J. T. 



May *--™**A*$^ 

 memorable for four months of continued^ on n^ 



winds, not gentle breezes bu m«?"y ^ ty fen *> lI J%rf 



'„:* A n ^ an aA fhP. air wuh the aus>y ^ rw» 



one occasion darkened the air 



bare* 1 * 



^tl-r. 



one occasion uuimucu ..»»« — •-- laving uaic ~Z !**1lti" 



dikes, and drifted it in heaps like s™"'^^*, fwm**""" 



- ies lifting them, seed an" dry , 



o another ; therefore lOUK«6 

 o Wheat, yet Jhe *bjence « „ # 

 d the W heat plant on 1 M £ . ffl!: 

 established, and a great deal ba* heenph wg J f , gfip 



to aiiomei T Mw-r— - v „ rP oi rain fo r .^ 

 seldom injurious to Wheat, yet__the^bjewj ^ oUsg€ tU$* 



or part of a field, to another ; 



seldom injurious 10 ™ ueai, j-« -~ lfr-iit so^^ZhhT 



time has prevented the Wheat .plant on^fc b*^ 



ainsrs 'exceedingly thin, ^^Z^ **/* ^ 



of unusually favourable circumstanc^ w g pleasing ^ 

 t ♦ . „™.it7rtive crop. On the i' <»__, fine sho'^jgrt 



lately partaken, and though «•!"»»,, once *<>«$< 

 food for stock may «oon be plentiful, • ^ g«»t »«" # 



turn out a productive crop. On the ii. » ■ fi M^y* 

 took place in the weather ; ««*»>» which tb e jg» ^ 



i 



*e» 



anxiety on that score 

 the month of May 



t soon uc i""" - „ • ,„ i iv tne s"=" „*,oi«e*-- 

 u re. Hoeing is » 9Uftl ; y hich m <» «£&«#>» 

 , and is an operation ^ n dissent*"*^ 

 this creed there are some ^ #,**> 



ecessary, but from this «eed 'here a wd 



who arcue that it lessens tbe yiew " 



