

THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



4 :> 9 



collector 



ed taxes, 



the medium of ,.-,.... ,. . 



• fixed officer, and in the habit of sending sclie- 



xjLto etch occupier ; any portion of such returns may 

 ^^il^Tiiri to the collector, sealed and addressed to 

 J* l 23TiD8pector--this would avoid any unpleasant- 



r'e part of the farmer to an objectionable sur- 

 i of his business by his neighbours, and there 



be then little inducement to make unfair returns. 

 TT^eonfiue the returns to farmers and occupiers of 

 Wnot holding less than 5 acres of arable land or 10 

 !f*dnre. 5. The collector of the returns to be paid 

 U breach schedule, to be paid him by the overseers of 



of the parish on the certificate of the inspector. 

 . ajj J>arties refusing or neglecting to make such 

 ■*nr na shall be summoned for penalties on the instruc- 

 Smsof the inspector to that effect, and all fines paid to 

 the overseers of the parish. 7. The inspector, for the 

 more certainty oi obtaining the returns by a given day, 

 ^,11 dispatch an agent into each hundred of the county 

 to collect tlieni from the returning officers. 8. Each 

 collector of tlie returns shall send to the inspector a list 

 rf the Dimes of the occupiers liable to make returns, 

 with the number of acres in their occupation, 

 tad the required number of schedules shall then 

 U forwarded to the collector, and the inspector, 

 taring them in his books, would then have the lists in 

 readifieM U> fill them up on the receipt of the returns 

 and be enabled to ascertain who were defaulters. 9. The 

 object of making the returns so late as in October is to 

 have a clear and correct estimate of the results of the 

 different crops after their maturity, for all crops, par- 

 ticolarlj Wheat, are liable to great injury in quality and 

 fuantitv from bad harvest weather and the effects of 

 aide* and blight when it is near maturity, for which 

 allowance could be made by any returns made in 

 July or August, and the yield of the different crops 

 fodd be to some extent ascertained by the quantities 

 thraahed out previous to the 21st of October to be sent 

 to market and fur seed. 10. The expense of obtaining 

 the whole of the returns to the government, if the col- 

 lectors are paid by the parish authorities (which in 

 many instances would not exceed a few shillings and in 

 the largest parishes U. to 41.) would be some 10,000Z. to 

 2,000/. Saml. Sandars, Ilempstcd, 2Qth June. 



Baturn of the number of acres of land in my occupation in this 

 garish, and their respective modes of cultivation from October 

 tlMt, IBM, to October 2 1st, 1855. 



Total occupation 300 acres. 



to one, but to all the known and necessary operations of 

 our field practice. Now it will at once be seen that it 

 we can fulfil the first condition we fulfil the second aud 

 third by implication ; that is, the two latter are con- 

 tamed in the first ; hence let us addres-s ourselves to 

 the study of the first condition. We desire to do more 

 work, in less time, and for less money (by a tillage 

 machine) than it now costs. How is this to be effle 

 I will here affirm, only by a change in the " nitii 

 of operating in the field, and beg to support this 

 affirmation by an appeal to our knowledge of all the 

 past attempts at steam cultivation. 



this is the first 1 have seen in tins Deigliouurliood ; it 

 will be fully ten days before Wheat here is generally 

 shot, and as we usually reckon six weeks between the 

 bloom on Wheat and the sickle there seems little pros- 

 pect of our having harvest before the last week in 

 A-ugust. 



Oats and Barley on good land promise a fair 

 but not a great crop—on moderate and poor land the 

 plants are short and a bad colour. Beans are not very 

 long m the straw, but appear to be blooming well. The 

 weather has been warm (75° in the shade) and showery 

 during the last three weeks, and meadows have grown 



past attempts at steam cultivation. From the earliest wonderfully • we now bv «T ;™ . ^TiT 1 5 1 

 attempts down to the latest essays of Lord Willoughby usual before' we mow \™ fft g tn T* i^T *" 

 d'Eresby and Mr. James Usher, it appeal's inventors Mc^ ifcW^ * CUt *»* eW ^ 



Corn crops. 

 Whist, winter sown 

 m m spring sown 



Rye ... 



Barley 

 Otto ... 



Bttai tLd Peis 



2^ r grain ... 

 ^Allows ... 



Acres- 

 ... 40 

 ... 20 



• •■ 



• ■ ■ 



• i« 



■ •1 



• •• 



• t > 



• » . 



• * - 



• • • 



■ • ■ 





• • 



• * 1 



• • • 



30 

 30 

 10 



20 



150 



Pasture, Meadow, and Woods. 



Acres. 



Clover and Artificial Grasses 20 



Meadow and Pasture ... 60 

 Hops 



* • ■ 



Root or other crops. 



1 ••• 



%***, Beet Root... 



"Wand Vetches .. 

 flu ... 



it* 



• » t 



• ■ • 





• * . 



• • • 



.« • 



20 

 5 

 5 



10 



Wood... 

 Other crops 



• • • 



• • • 



• • • 



• «• 



• .. 



• ♦ • 



• » • 



«*• 



10 



Woods 



• • • 



• # t 



• • • 



90 

 20 



40 



Total occupation- 

 Corn crops and fallow 

 Koot crops 



Pasture, meadow, &c. 

 Woods 



• •• 



tii 



• • • 



• - ■ 



• • • 



• . - 



Acres . . . 



TSstek W? ° f K 0,d W1,eat ( if «*) * granary 

 *« stock, l.t September, the present year ... about 



••• 



150 

 40 

 90 

 20 



300 



*m 



mJ!( w G su PP°^d yield 



5" e, 8l't per bushel of the 



" cr ops of Wheat 



is? 



2&*>t [■boot 

 •■"•Penman". 



1 



Barley. 

 Full crop 



Average 

 Short crop 



}^ight (about) 

 5 21bs. per bush. 



ne date of this r 

 in the 12 months. 





30 qrs. 



General report of the following 



crops. 

 Hay and Clover— Are they an 



Average crop ? 



Full crop? 



Short? 



Average crop? 

 Full crop? 

 Short ? 



Average crop ? 

 Full crop? 

 Short? 



orses, sheep, and swine 



Potatoes 



t • • 



Turnips 



• • • 



. , . 



have never succeeded in doing more work, in less time, 

 than the plough ; and as to fulfilling the third proposi- 

 tion of <-'at less cost," that has not been approached. 

 Now it is also known, however varied may have been 

 the mechanism, inventors have never attempted to work 

 it on any other method than that of the plough ; hence 

 what deduction can we draw \ Why, that the method 

 of the plough is not suitable for the economical working 

 of a steam-cultivating machine. Thus far I obtain 

 negative evidence in support of my affirmation, 

 that the "method of operating" must be altered. 

 We will now proceed to establish my affirmation by 

 positive evidence, and that will be by inquiring by what 

 particular method or means a steam-driven cultivating 

 machine could be employed on the surface soil, so as to 

 fulfil the " condition " of doing more work in less time 

 and for less money than is now accomplished by the 

 plough, &c. Every mechanician knows it will be com- 

 paratively easy to construct or invent a machine to fulfil 

 a certain method or purpose when we shall have first 

 discovered what particular method or purpose it is to 

 fulfil. The first question to be asked by an intending 

 inventor would be— What is the characteristic or nature 

 of the farmer's field practice to which we desire to apply 

 the power of steam ? Is it a question of distance, like 

 the voyage across the Atlantic ? No. Is it a question 

 of velocity, like the railway business I No. Is it a 

 question of depth, like the drainage business? No. 

 Then what is it ? Why a question of surface (or super- 

 ficies), it \ being admitted that a farm of 300 acres of 

 land represents a surface of 1,800,000,000 inches, whilst 

 the depth to which our intended machine is required to 

 operate is only 6 inches, cr one three-millionth part in 

 relation to the whole superficies of raw material com- 

 posing the farm. Hence, as we have now discovered 

 it is a question of surface we have to deal with, we will 

 make a large machine, say 84 feet in length, and 5 feet 

 in width. Now comes the important question — How are 

 we to use it so as to fulfil the condition required, of 

 doing more tillage work in less time and for less money 

 than is now done by the plough, &c. I We know this 

 machine will be heavy, and the labour to be encountered 

 will be great. Hence we have to ask the question, 

 What method or figure is the simplest and easiest by 

 which to move a heavy weight the least possible 

 distance, and yet perform the greatest possible amount 

 of work 1 As Lord Bacon long since observed, 

 in researches of this kind, we cannot do better 

 than appeal to Nature to see how she manages in 

 such cases. Art is only the handmaid to Nature. 

 We are the artists, and the wisest course we can adopt 

 is to aid and imitate Nature in our operations or con- 

 trivances. The question we have now to ask of Nature 

 is, how does she operate when she desires to move a 

 heavy body the least possible distance, whilst that heavy 

 body shall execute or perform the greatest possible 

 amount of work within a limited time ? The natural 



Mr. HorsfaWs Dairy Procure.— Being on a visit a 

 short time ago in the neighbourhood of Otley, I took 

 the opportunity of inspecting, in company with two or 

 three other brother agriculturists, Mr. Horsfall's dairy 

 establishment. Whatever may be the value of the 

 system pursued in that establishment, whether the 

 amount of butter produced be above or below the 

 average, how far the administration of extra food 

 may be conducive to the quality of the butter, 

 &c. &c, these are questions upon vihich any one, 

 having the data before him, is as competent as I 

 am to form an opinion. Nor should I have ven- 

 tured to trouble you with any observations on the 

 subject, were it not that there appears to me to be one 

 essential ingredient in the case which has somewhat 

 escaped notice in the controversy concerning it which 

 has arisen ; and that is the condition of Mr. H onfall's 

 milch cows. Our observations showed us that by the 

 practice of housing the cows from 6 p.m. until nearly 8 

 on the following morning, and by giving them during 

 this time two meals of warm cooked food, a feeding as 

 well as a milking process is carried on ; and that this 

 must very materially influence the economical part of 

 the question, because the condition of the cows is 

 such that 



rj V P0*e»ion at th a a T ,\ lM? > u " rsB8 > sneep, ana swine 



^L^ftmwhbi^tV' *".l" tnrn ' and tlle number 



i'red on the farm 

 during the year. 



fr SJi| Hjinin.i, 1 !, 



Number of fleeces of 

 wool dipt the pre- 

 sent year ... 150 



is correct to the best of my 



John Smith. 



10 «ie countt * ? p Ca ? d ma y be sealed if desired, 



^ o.|^ 0f ^7 inspector, with the name of the occupier 



** k m or beC \iK e) 'o^ lthin U da y fi » ft *r October 21st, 



e Member 8th next, under a penalty of 40s. 



V* ilham Seers, Collector of Returns 

 for the Parish of Heme! Ilempsted. 



*t 15th, 185 



A* 



•«■ ua Portm* 1 *«hii vi xiemei 



?£*« faSef^? 01 ? f the returns would be the 

 ?£». ««••« a n-~ erS . h * nds °» September 1st in 



s* 



quantity of 

 in each year. 



F®<* quart™ 'nr ** rmin & ham » estimated the quantity 



*»qt*rWs whii^f per . 4 cent ' 0f *■ a ™ual growth of 



Sfci^ 0r 14 per To \ l tl,e wnt er's estimate was two million 



^***«^,or ^ 'i"* * ™ Se ? tember \ st ' 1854 ' as on} y 



H qlj. uae l * t0 14 days' consumption. 



J^ZT!l° n '- ln ™y ^st letter to the Gazette 





I 



alte 



*«am, on !ta right introduction to th c 



^.j - .»o. e h er" m TV h -° d " ° f 0peratin S ° D the 

 ST*"* ; hence w WaS a PParently only 



2t*PPo«.ion::K US . pr ° Ceed t0 ""mine whether 



rr^ ttiriu bft8e,e8 s and 

 *"-" WlH be established. 



onth 





without foundation, or 

 We can arrive at a 



Sr^tbefuiK 4 y first e »c«ting the conditions 

 ^n^. .?«ulhiled to render a steam-driven cnlti- 



farmer, and then<r p roceeding to 





e 



first 



them. T}, 



***** sLlT? condition required is, tlmt a 

 il. ii"^ ^, than ii J ? on \ orew ork, in less time, and 



«> it shall be subservient not only 



i 



examples I shall adduce to afford the required evidence 

 shall be a cow grazing, a sheep feeding, a man broad- 

 casting seeds, a man tethering a horse, a hawk beating 

 for its prey. Feeling certain these several illustrations 

 adopt the shortest course to attain their ends, we will 

 consider their method of proceeding, and if we shall 

 appreciate the motives prompting them, we will see 

 whether we cannot employ the same means to fulfil our 

 proposed labour of tilling the surface soil with a heavy 

 body like a steam-engine. Charles Burcham, London. 



Crops in Yorkshire. — The following notes on the 

 appearance of the crops and prospects of the approach- 

 ing harvest are the result of close personal observation 

 over a large extent of land during the last 10 days. 

 Turnips. — The Swedes first sown have suffered greatly 

 from fly and much land has had to be sown twice. This 

 failure has, however, sometimes arisen from the knavery 

 of the seedsman. I had sown two kinds of Swedes in 

 one field within a day of each other — one kind brairded 

 beautifully ; the other showed a very few sickly plants, 

 which speedily disappeared under the operations of the 

 fly, and I was obliged to sow the ground again, which 

 I did with Yellows, and they are now finely up. 

 Thinking something was wrong with this Swede seed I 

 had 50 seeds put into fine mould in a flower pot, and 

 placed it in a greenhouse ; only 15 seeds grew, and these 

 were feeble plants ; so much for seed. Yellows and 

 Whites generally are up, or coming up, and the matter 

 is so exceedingly favourable now that we have great 

 hopes of a good crop generally. Potatoes. — Thus far 

 this valuable root looks very promising- Whea f . — This 

 crop is this year a very unequal one. On good land in 

 high condition the crop though late promises to be 

 a full one. On poor land it is not only late but a 

 very moderate crop. I was over several farms last week 

 where the tenants do not expect more than half the 

 yield per acre they had last year, and my own opinion 

 on this point agreed with theirs. I have to-day (2d 



July) seen a field with many of the ears fairly out ; 



111 a fortnight or three weeks after being 

 dried, they are ready for the butcher. The cows ap- 

 peared to us to be about an average sort of short-horn. 

 Their fresh condition however, the glossiness of their 

 skins, and the unmistakeable appearance of health which 

 they exhibited, are facts which should not be lost sight 

 of in any criticism to which Mr. Horsfall's dairy prac- 

 tice may be subjected. George Legard, near Malton 9 

 Yorkshire. 



Sowing Thick and TJtin. — Since turning our attention 

 to the growth of corn, though but tyros in this branch 

 of agriculture, careful investigations have proved to us 

 that from an extravagant full seeding of 2 bushels per 

 acre of Wheat, or 3 bushels per acre of Barley and 

 Oats, some of the seeds do, and must, by reason of its 

 extreme thickness, and as a necessary consequence, 

 fail to produce any ears or ear at all, and only one, two, 

 and three diminutive ears are or can be possibly 

 obtained from each grain, averaging only about two 

 abortive or puny eais, and containing in both not 30 

 perfect grains. This need not cause great astonishment 

 nor disbelief, and we speak it without fear of contradic- 

 tion ; for if it were so, 60 bushels per acre produce of 

 Wheat and 90 bushels per acre of Barley and Oats, 

 would of course consequently be often realised, viz., 

 30 times as much as was sown, which at first sight 

 appears but little ; but where is even this insignificant 

 produce obtained from such proceedings? A corre- 

 spondent on whom we can rely upon for truth, writes 

 us from Inverness, * The practice of thin sowing has 

 not come this way yet, grain being generally sown about 

 6 bushels to the acre ! " How is this inadvertence to 



can it be in the difference of a Scotch 



We contend that our 



be accounted for— 



or the Scotch bushel ? 



acre, 



growing crops from only 6 or 8 pints per statute acre 

 with some 20 to 80 fine ears protruding from each 

 grain or stub, hang dangling and wafting majestically in 

 the summer's breeze as noble examples for larger estab- 

 lishments, cannot be beaten by anybody's else, or any- 

 where, except from a smaller quantity of seed even 



than this. Hardy <k Son. 



Dairy Statistics.— In my reply to " D/> there is an 

 error in the computation of Mr. Scott's average — "it 

 would require 1957 quarts'* should be" 2154 quarts to 

 produce the 196 lbs. of butter, and allowing a cow to 

 produce milk 300 days in a year, which is less than 

 my cows continue in milk, the result will be little more 

 than 7 quarts per day ; in my present stock of 1 *T there 

 are not more than three giving so little," &c. Thoma 

 Horsfall. 



orfeties 





ROYAL AGRICULTURAL OF ENGLAND. 



Monthly Council, July 4.— Colonel Challoner, 

 Trustee, in the chair. Twenty-five new members were 

 elected. 



Finances.— Mr. Raymond Barker, Chairman of the 

 Finance Committee, submitted the monthly report of 

 the accounts ; from which it appeared that the current 

 cash-balance in the hands of the bankers was 2668J. 



Journal. — Mr. Thompson, Chairman of the Journal 

 Committee, laid on the table the first number of the 

 Journal for the currrent year, and reported the follow- 

 ing recommendation of the committee, which was 

 adopted by the Council, namely : — " That a sum not 

 exceeding 150/. may be expended by the Journal 

 mittee in payments to authors of papers for the Journal 

 during the next twelve months." 



Chemical Investigations.— Mr. Thompson then pte- 





