442 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



he says with perfect implicity and modesty :— 

 " Though my pretensions to acquirements in the 

 instructions of these gentlemen are but slender, they 

 are such as enable me to acknowledge benefit in 

 seeking to regulate my proceedings by their rules. 3 ' 

 That Sir. Horsfall's acquirements are very much 

 beyond his pretensions will have been apparent to 

 all the readers of this Journal. The frequent papers 

 on cattle feeding with which he has favoured us 

 during the past season prove not only scientific bu 

 practical ability. And on this latter point we are 

 able to say that for many years he has been engaged 

 in farming pursuits — every detail of management 

 being under his direct control— the object through- 

 out of pecuniary success having been not only kept 

 in view but successfully attained. 



On the 20th June, at another weekly meeting of 

 the Council of the Agricultural Society, a second 

 paper on the same subject was read by Mr. Scott, 

 of Charing Cross. It is impossible to speak 

 too highly of the substantial, instructive, and 

 suggestive character of Mr. Scott's communi- 

 cation. A great deal of it bears on the business 

 rather of the butter merchant than of the dairy 

 farmer ; but whether in reference to the manufac- 

 ture or the sale of dairy produce it is a most useful 

 contribution to our knowledge of its subject, and 

 will no doubt find a prominent place in the Society's 

 Journal. If we may be allowed to write one word 

 in criticism of this paper, it would be to direct 

 attention to what is one of its merits in a literary 

 point of view — the fluent confidence with which 

 authorities are marshalled, and his own w T ide expe- 

 rience is alluded to by the writer — so that those 

 not possessed of 'personal knowledge of the points 

 which it embraces, are carried away even more 

 readily by its reasoning than they were by that of 

 Mr. Horsfall, which it appeared to overthrow. 



The history of this discussion is completed by 

 adding that, in a leading article which appeared on 

 Monday last in the Mark Lane Express, the writer 

 laughs at. the " much vaunted progress " indicated 

 by Mr. Horsfall's achievements, announces himself 

 as the a opponent of humbug," and exclaims, "how 

 awkwardly would that first letter have appeared in 

 the Journal without this rider to it. How much 

 harm might the first alone have done if allowed to 

 appear uncorrected ! " 



The answer to all this outcry is simply this, that | 



Mr. Horsfall never "promised to effect the complete 



revolution" in the butter manufacture which the 



Mark Lane Express seems to have feared from his 



communication— that the "first letter " has never 



been corrected, and that as a simple statement of 



fact it must stand, however " awkwardly " it 

 may read. 



The facts of the matter may be correctly j»iven 

 both by Mr. Scott and Mr. Horsfall without the 

 inferences of the former regarding the conclusions of 

 the latter being substantiated. It is a very hasty 

 ill-considered decision to assert that Mr. Scott has 

 come to " the rescue of the Society 



potently, any one who simply publishes his agricul- 

 tural experience, especially when it is done at the 

 request of the Agricultural Society. 



[J uni 30 



To deepening the soil as the efficient means of an 

 increased fertility there are many testimonies. 

 Perhaps the most definite and valuable is that of 

 the Rev. S. Smith, of Lois Weedon, in Northamp- 

 tonshire. His evidence is valuable, both because it 

 refers to two very different kinds of soil, and 

 because it extends over a uumber of years. It has 

 already been pretty fully discussed in these columns ; 

 we refer to it now, however, rather for the purpose 

 of illustrating the principles of tillage than in order 

 to commend any particular mode of farm practice. 



wtt 6 in 



that green Heath next, and then th^ 

 mould.-I have made no difference in \h? 

 draining between arable and Grass land 



I*. 



tionof the minor drains is up ~an7 d^^ft^ 

 but I could never see any difference between S^ 

 systems where there were no springs — I h ** 

 done any draining except under the Marqui 8 T<1 

 dale s system of putting a sole to every tile T 

 the expense of erecting a machine of m v *^f** 

 supplied my neighbours all round.— I have nev^ 

 any benefit by giving air at places to either iL 

 minor drains.— The average number of acZ 

 charging at the outlets is 3 or 4 acres, 

 subsoil are clay, with no springs.— The 



-The «a l- 

 geologi 



Having walked over his fields both in winter, w r hen 

 the process w r as in operation, and in summer when 

 its results were ripened, we can speak as to the means 

 employed, the soil on which they are employed, and 

 the produce which rewards them. Early in July 

 last year we saw Beans and Swedes and Wheat on 

 a very stiff loam, which had been gradually 

 deepened by means of the fork, latterly indeed 

 trenched. And on a gravelly soil, in an adjoining 

 field which had been similarly deepened, there was 

 an abundant crop of Wheat. The Swedes were 

 luxuriant and healthy, such as are seen ordinarily 

 under good culture in September : the Beans 

 were wonderfully podded : and the Wheat was 

 the most extraordinary crop of the three. It 

 had been Wheat after Wheat on the same soil 

 for a succession of years : triple rows, a foot from 

 one another, being cultivated with 3 feet intervals ; 

 these intervals, forked and cultivated during the 

 growth of the rows on either side, being the site of 

 the next year's crop. This alternate crop and 

 fallow, without the use of manure, yields an average 

 of 34 bushels per acre per annum over the whole 

 land so treated ; deep and thorough tillage thus 

 proving to be in effect the equivalent of manure. 

 The fact, for so after 10 years' observation it may 

 be called, is, that by dint of deep and thorough 

 tillage successive corn crops can be grown by bring- 

 ing the mere life of the seed into connection with 

 the stores of food for it which a tolerably stiff soil 

 and the atmosphere together yield. 



But the advantage of a deeper soil on the one 

 hand, and of more thorough tillage on the other, is 

 now everywhere admitted ; the more general pre- 

 valence of Turnip husbandry has contributed greatly 

 to the latter good result ; and Mr. Smith's, of Dean- 

 ston, subsoil plough, and every instance of cultiva- 

 tion such as that of Lois Weedon on a horticultural 

 scale, and by horticultural means, have contributed 

 to the former. And so we see that cultivators, 

 horse-hoes, grubbers, are taking the place of those 

 imperfect tillage implements — heavy drags and 

 harrows ; and ploughs for deeper work are made 

 and used in large numbers. We do not add here 

 remarks upon the obvious cause of infertility which 

 shallowness of soil is when lying on the rock, 

 r .i Where plants are "scorched because they have no 



elusions to which Mr. Horsfall would h^ledlhem" , dee P ness . of «"**" &* remedy w obvious enough, 



It is perfectly true that it is in relation to the quan- 

 tity of milk, and not in reference to that of 



the 



how T ever inapplicable it may be. 

 chalk 



Pastures upon the 



the mountain limestone, and the millstone 



grit are often thus burned u 



it possible so to deepen sue 



cream, that the produce of butter is important, but 



Mr. Scott was not the first to make use of that 4 w . „ i * * - , , , - , A . ., 



self-evident truth. The quantity of butter from the ! ! ?!l \™?$ ] ^ &?^?! W ? U _ Id J^™^ P r °? uctl 7, e lf 



in summer, and w r ere 

 land, it would be seen 



milk yielded by the cows is given in the original 



paper, and while the yield of butter from the cream 



thrown up is unprecedented, the proportion 



yielded by the milk is very far from being the 



average which Mr. Scott contends it is. We fear A . r A 



the writer in the Mark Lane Express founds ^T}^\ 



his glee over Mr. Scott's conclusions upon some of 



that book farming which he would certainly in his 



cooler moments have condemned. 25 ozs. of butter 



from 16 quarts of milk, which Mr. Horsfall gets, 



would be a great step forward in dairy experience 



if it could be generally attained, whatever may be 



Said in the books which Mr. Scott has quoted, and 



on which our contemporary relies. The 



they could be laid one a-top of the other than they 

 now are in their extent and shallowness. 



- average" 



quoted by Mr. Scott is not the average of such cows 

 te Mr. Horsfall uses. Most of the cows milked 



Hi the trial 





Is alluded to by Mr. Scott were Kerries, ^ ake apertures for air. 

 , Ayrshire, cross-bred, Irish, any of which f^** 1 !* ftSft ?? 



,-„».« V__ . t ' »- ,1 s ,» sou on part is light at t 



Galloways 



27 hei "earn than ordinary. If the short-h 



ana the Cheshire cows are taken for comparison 

 mt. Horsfau/s yield of batter from the milk is one- 



orns 



third higher than the average of Mr. Scott. 



from h JL Ke n0t CareM t0 defend Mr - Horsfall 

 fcSJwS t P h l r ent ' ? e lalter S€ems t0 ha ™ wisely 



SfV.2 tCXrz t n ei tlie l0Ye t of tru ft 



thanks from w. receive ™J th ™S bu t 



tion ^sssfife 1 * err a - 



another colnmn-we do, however LtJ° Und !2 



the mj-tice of holding up to ZS^^ST- 



EXPERIENCES IN LAND DRAINAGE. 



No. XX. — The result of the drainage here is very 



The parallel system has been pursued. — . 

 The depth of drains where the land is strong 3 to 4 feet ; 

 I where light, with sand bottom, 4 to 5, in some cases 

 6 feet— No difference has been made between Grass 

 and arable land. — Direction of the minor drains with the 

 fall. (The lands are mostly without much fall, being in 

 a level country.) — Formerly before pipes were used the 

 tiles were 3 inches in diameter with flats in sand bottom; 

 lately 2| inch pipes with collars in the sand bottom ; 

 without collars in the clay land ; and 4 to 6-inch pipes 

 for main drains — these mostly dispersing the water 

 into open ditches. — It has not been found necessary to 



— The average number of acres 

 e main drain from 8 to 10. — The 

 part is light at top with deep sand bottom— part 

 loam with clay marl bottom, with in some places a 

 stratum of chalky gravel intervening of 2 to 3 feet, the 

 marl being 6 to 10 feet deep.— And part strong surface 

 soil, with subsoil of 5 feet of clay. Height above the 

 sea level about 12 to 15 feet. Where the land is strong 

 the drains are 8 to 9 feet asunder. Where light with 

 sand bottom 12 to 15 feet asunder. I may add that the 

 improvement in the land is quite satisfactory. /. Geddes, 

 Everingham , near York. 



No. XXI. — The result of our drainage operations 

 on all descriptions of land is perfectly satisfactory, 

 having laid down as many rods as would reach from 

 hence to jour office— 76 miles.— The drainage is up 

 and down the furrows, draining as much as possible 

 when the land came in for winter fallowing.— As to 

 the prevailing depth of the drains, I plough 9 inches 



mation is clay down 50 feet.— I have great pleM* -~ 

 replying to your queries about draining. 1 2* 

 my farm it has worked admirably, never bavin -Tu^ 

 single drain fall in or get out of order. Then * 

 system I cannot understand of putting in ^^ m . 

 pipes, or throwing in the subsoil without any Hea*» 

 other loose material, or even the top spit or soil to nW 

 — Edward Twynam, Allingtoru 



XXII.— The drainage has been quite satisfactory -- 

 Mostly parallel, and about 3 feet deep.— 1 have no GrtM 

 land that requires through draining, therefore ban 

 drained according to springs and swampy placea.~.Ai 

 to direction of drains, I have followed both pin* 

 according to circumstances, and been successful in both- 

 the depth has been according to soil.— I have wA 

 no collars or sockets, and generally 1 J-inch pipes aaj 

 2 or 3-inch main drains. — I tried one field with air it 

 both ends of the drain, but found no benefit.-Aboul 

 4 or 5 acres on clay arable, but more on Grass disdbm 

 into one outlet. — I have found that it is much better to 

 be ruled by circumstances of soil, fall, &c. ; as to depi 

 and distance, &c, and not to adopt one system tad ok 

 depth, which, in my opinion, is complete waste of opitiL 

 — I tried one field at 4 feet 6 inches, and at a distance, to 

 make the expense the same as more drains at \m d*. 

 tance and depth ; it failed, and I had to run drain 

 across and above the others, some to the outlets, others 

 were dropped down into the deep drains ; top drain 

 smaller pipes than the deep drains, done 6 years, tod 

 works well. — I have 150 acres strong clay, with chalk 

 stones in it, that I have tried at different depths, nd I 

 certainly find that following the furrows, which were 

 winding at about 2 feet 6 inches, and then plot 

 the lands down, then cross ploughing, then askew, mikes 

 a vast improvement, and in 3 years makes the hcUi 

 quite level and the apparent improvement very grea: 

 Charles Barnett, Biggleswade. 



XXIII. — The result of my drainage operations on tl 

 descriptions of land has been satisfactory.— The draiaagt 

 adopted is both parallel and with the furrows when the 

 lands are very convex and the soil tenacious.— As to 

 depth, 4 ft. 6 in. mains, and 4 ft. minor drains.-! h*n 

 not drained much Grass land, but prefer 3 feet deep, 

 so as not to deprive the soil of too much moisture 

 to meet the drought in summer.— The direction his 

 been across the fall.— Two-inch pipes have been 

 for minor drains, and from 3-iuch to 6-inch for tj» 

 mains— i, e., suppose the length of main dram to fit 

 15 chains long, I would begin the first length of far 

 chains 6 inches, the second 5 inches, the third 4 meft^ 

 the next three chains 3 inches, and the last am 

 2 inches.— I have given air to the mam ""J^ 

 cannot say that I have perceived any peculiar I b€Mt 

 From 5 to 7 acres drain at an outlet— My sod *m*J 

 with a grey clay subsoil, interspersed ™* •«" 

 gravel veins, flint, and chalk stones, Nicfola***** 

 Milton, near Blisworth. . e l-— 



No. XXIV. - Drainage perfectly *»g k 

 Parallel.— Four feet six inches deep in the , {urI T: 

 many places in going over the old high lands six*** 

 I have made no difference in the mode ol or^j 

 between arable and Grass land, because on ^ 

 experience tells me it acts as beneficially in oi* 

 other.- Our land is all hilly. I ^^J^j 

 as near as possible at an angle ot 4S U P \ hfiffl || 

 66 feetapart.-The pipes used have been 6 mco d 

 outfall of the main drains, 4 inch at tne ^_ kf * 

 do., and 2 inches for the cross drains, but » j^ 



-No benefit has been found *™ m &* m ffa '&#* 

 eight to ten acres drain at one outfall, i , ^g 

 .i? .. , _j_ _r _i.~ 4U*„ D .n/l and eravel,^**^ 





soil is 



alternate beds of clay, then sand and gr 

 commonly called iron stone ; the soil ( 



geological formation is in the lower^ bed a 

 clay. The upper stratum is where they « jp 



™.f«« B M™> ironstone. Wm. M**s 



m 

 * 



Northamptonshire ironstone 

 Northampton shire. 



No. XXV.~ 



satisfactory, 



tbf 



Drainage «*"-• — -*» ^gt *» 



rather steep WJ, ^ * 



Sains have r been placed more diagonally 



parallel except in some 



r, or 



where 



900 



ft 



slope, which I in such cases prefer, - - ^^gm 

 cases the old furrows have been t™°*^ 5 ^ 



soil?? 



5 feet- 



1: 



4 feet deep, in some cases 3 feet ^ 



sionally in gravelly and more P 010 " 8 ^/^ I *J 

 heavy arable lands, which mine ff^\^ IJJ 

 venture to exceed 8 yards •Pf 4 ^ pre f*r 8J«5J 

 found 9 yards too wide, and I should p* ^ 



3 feet 6 inches depth tetany ^J^jjffi 



at" (fyards apart with good eff ec t . ^ tf i^J 

 same eort of soil I have found 4 feet ar ^ ^p 

 apart the cheapest and most eftc ^ 



surface is still sometimes we j -t ^ £*£ 

 state of the Grasses show tti« w apneVi ^ *>* 



distances. Where the ridges were 

 have followed them, draining p«J»£ - 



n 



effected. 



ie urn*." — -•• - oenen 



The direction has been gene 



