Sept. 1, 1855.] 



THE AGRICULT1 RAL GAZETTE. 



587 





• to existence. As a liberal and patriotic nobleman 

 jfis lordship's name has been often before the public, 

 ind if we require a proof that the enterprise and perse- 

 verance of the Scottish character is not confined to any 

 class that it belongs to the peer as well as to the 

 asant we j iave }$ here. Who could have expected to 



find in' one of the isles of the Hebrides the latest 

 improvements in agriculture carried out on a grand 

 scale, and in a first-rate style of excellence ? Yet here 

 it is to be seen in full operation. 



Through the polite attention of Alexander Pitcairn, 

 Esq. factor and general manager on the Breadalbane 

 estates in that part of Argyleshire, we were conveyed by 

 means of an open boat and four oars from Ardmaddy 

 House, one of the marquis's residences, to the Island 

 of Luing, where we landed at the small village and 

 harbour of Toberonochy. A straight road leads from 

 the landing place to the farm buildings, whioh are 

 situated on a rising ground a few hundred yards distant. 

 The appearance of the large mass of substantial stone 

 buildings, with the neat slated roofs, formed a strong 

 contrast to the black houses or huts of the inhabitants 

 which we passed at the landing-place. The space occu- 

 pied by the buildings and courts is 231 feet by 219 feet, 

 affording accommodation for 12 horses, 192 bullocks, 

 600 sheep, and 100 pigs, all under cover, and all drained 

 of their liquid manure into a large reservoir or tank, 

 containing 360,000 gallons. The tank is subterranean, 

 built of stone, with groined arches resting upon two 

 rows of pillars. It is immediately under one of the 

 dung courts. The whole arrangements of the cattle 

 house are admirable. The animals are all in one large 

 apartment, ranged in 8 rows of 24 each, running from 

 north to south. Along the northern end of the rows 

 runs a wide platform or passage paved with dressed 

 Dundee stone, with a door at each end ; entering by the 

 door at the eastern end, the rows of cattle run at right 

 angles on the left hand, and on the right is a range of 

 doors opening from the various compartments for food, 

 dry or steamed. Here also is situated the steam-engine, 

 with threshing, bruising, and chaff-cutting machines, 

 forcing-pump, &c. On the left hand side of the stone 

 passage or platform, and on the same level, between 

 every 2 rows of cattle, run the 4 feeding passages, like- 

 wise paved with dressed stone, 5 feet 4 inches wide. On 

 each side of this feeding passage is a wooden division, 

 4 feet high, finished on the top with a broad ledge or 

 rail. In the wooden partition are 12 doors on each 

 side, answering to the number of stalls for the cattle, 

 which are tied up in pairs. These doors slide sideways 

 on small wheels, and through them the food is passed 

 into the feeding mangers from wheeled trucks. The 

 manger is 2 feet wide, and has two divisions, leaving a 

 large central compartment for the food opposite the 

 sliding door, and giving a separate water trough in the 

 corner before each beast. A sliding handle, like a bell- 

 pull, in the passage opens a valve, and admits or excludes 

 the water in each watering-trough, as required. The 

 Stalls are separated by divisions of solid stone, 4 inches 

 thick and 3 feet 9 inches long. Into this are inserted 

 the iron rods, which are upright, or rather diagonal, 

 sloping backwards at top, on which traverse the rings of 

 the chain with which the cattle are tied up. 



Besides these four feeding passages, there are six 

 passages running in the same direction, behind the 

 cattle, for removing the manure and taking them in or 

 out. These are made at a level 16 inches lower than 

 the feeders, and entered by the stone steps from the 

 platform at the north end, but terminated by doors at 

 the south, leading into the manure courts outsid 

 the same level. These passages are 9 feet wide, except 

 of course those at each end of the building, which are 



°nly half this width, being used only for a single row of 

 stalls each. 



The stalls for each pair of oxen are 6 feet 6 inches 

 ^jde, and 7 feet long, or 9 feet including the manger. 

 Iney are paved with asphalte and have a slope from the 

 Ur^u *° *^ e drain for their droppings, which is 

 i« inches wide, and 6 inches deep next the cattle, and 

 j* inches next the passage, which is also floored with 

 fSpnalte. The difference of level between the passages 

 j* a good arrangement ; it enables one to see the cattle 

 o advantage before and behind, and gives less trouble 



The steam-engine 



e, on 



ro ine person feeding. The side walls are 10 feet high, 



stm r ° 0fS 0pen > tlle woodwork planed and varnished, 

 P.ported on hollow cast-iron pillars, down the last of 



emnf n . eare8fc r the wal, » the rain from the gutters 

 cerf . les ,. ltge ^- There are large square ventilators at 

 .^am distances along the roof ridge, with louvre board- 

 S sides. There is also a large stone built air pipe 

 re e , r ea ? n feeding passage, with grated openings at 

 . guiar distances communicating with the external air 



canb eans ° f a gratin S at the end of the air FP e > which 

 of w f set ^ at Pleasure. There is an abundant supply 

 ater, which by means of flexible hose can be carried 

 *?y part of the building. The stalls and passages 

 awa e P* constantly washed and clean, the water running 

 chiefi ! Q t0 tlie li( l m(i manure tank. The cattle were 

 a *dw if yea F old blocks of the short-horned breed, 

 hair I ° n m con( *ition, perhaps rather drier in the 

 be ; ? nd more confined in their bowels than they should 



W i* as tne /^ u mips were just over, and the <*rass 

 1 jet come in. " 



blocks and tackle ; when down tliey are secured by 

 thumb-screws, and rendered steam-tight by an ingenious 



tight by an ingenious 

 insertion of a leaden circle where the rim of the boiler 

 meets the lid, an invention of the factor, Mr. Pitcairn ; 

 perhaps balance weights and pulleys would be better for 

 raising and lowering the lids, as saving time and labour. 

 A tap is inserted in the boiler between the false and 

 real bottoms, by which the liquor from the steamed 

 food can be drawn off at pleasure, 

 is of 10-horse power, and consumes half a ton 

 of coal per diem. The diameter of the force- 

 pump is 6 inches, the length of stroke 18 inches. 

 The suction-pipe from the tank is 5 inches in diameter, 

 and for two lengths of the discharge pipe it is the same ; 

 it then diminishes for 100 feet to 4 inches, then to 

 3-§, and after this to 3, and lastly to Sty. The hydrants 

 iu the fields are 100 yards apart. The pipes are at 

 present laid for 55 acres, which are all under Italian 

 Rye-grass for the first time. Cutting commenced on 

 the 18th of June, after which the irrigation commenced 

 for the first time, and is continued as the Grass is cut. 

 There are 75 acres under Turnip for winter keep. The 

 stable is as perfect as possible : the walls 10 feet high, 

 roof open woodwork planed and varnished as in the 

 bullock house, width of building 19 feet, depth of stall 

 8 feet, width 6 feet 6 inches, iron foot-posts, asphalte 

 pavement, grooved to prevent slipping, drained into tank. 

 In the wall behind each pair of stalls is a recess, in 

 which is a corn bin below and a cupboard above. The 

 weekly allowance of corn is put into the bin, the lid 

 of which cannot open when the cupboard above is 

 locked. In the cupboard each carter has his shovels, 

 broom, and all the etcetera of the stable. The sheep- 

 house we did not approve of ; it appeared to us to want 

 free circulation of air. The sheep pens being in two 

 tiers or rows one above the other, are too much crowded ; 

 the foul air does not escape as rapidly as it should, nor 

 is there sufficient fresh air admitted for the number of 

 sheep ; in fact the experience of one season only in which 

 it had been tried had been sufficient to prove the neces- 

 sity of having fewer animals and more air. No animals 

 thrive better in houses than sheep, if properly treated, 

 but a certain degree of space and abundance of fresh 

 air seem absolutely necessary to keep them in health. 



The pig-house had not been fitted up, and it is probable 

 that it will be put to some other use, as the expense of 

 feeding these animals on a farm of this description and 

 in such a situation is greater than the profit. We can 

 give no results of the liquid system here, as the pipes 

 were only laying down and much of the land only just 

 drained and brought into regular cultivation ; but every- 

 thing seemed to be done in the most perfect manner, 

 and in the mild and moist climate of the western high- 

 lands there can be little doubt as to the large crops of 

 succulent food which may be obtained. The island of 

 Luing is about 6 miles long by 2 miles broad, but not 

 more than a third of it is in the Marquis's occupation 

 at present. The acreage of the whole island is about 

 3500 acres, of which in 1848 about 1200 were arable. 

 The land in the Marquis's occupation consists of about 

 1)36* acres, of which in 1848 there were 377 acres 

 arable ; now, however, the arable land has been much 

 increased by draining and cultivation. 



It may give some idea of the spirited manner in which 

 these improvements are carried out if we give the 

 dimensions of the great leading cut or open water- 

 course into which all the land is drained, 

 depth is from 9 to 10 feet ; width at the top, from 9 to 

 12 feet ; width at the bottom, 3 feet. It is paved with 

 slate flags where there is no rock, and built up the sides 

 with stone for 3 feet for security. It has two branches 

 running up separate valleys, and the whole length is 

 above li mile, or 2891 yards exactly. The soil is fer- 

 tile, but much requires to be done yet before it can be 

 brought into good farming condition. Too much praise 

 cannot be given to the noble proprietor for this magni- 

 ficent attempt to bring out the capabilities of these 

 western islands, and so afford natural employment to 

 the population by the development of their county's 

 resources. /. A* (7., of Argyle. 



(To be continued.) 



Its average 



i 



WATER MEADOWS. 



¥*H them. 



the time was most unfavourable for 

 They were getting steamed chaff with a 



The 



Httle 



ft 

 P°se nft : ~ "!***** fcUC cu S me J s raaae use oi ior tins pur- 



W^n 8 ?! 111 ? h J pi P es throu gh a ^se bottom perforated 



the bKt 1 The heavy iron lids are hin 8 ed on 



e next th « wall, and hauled up by means of 



Ujf> ioT 1 P re P ar ed in large iron steam vessels contain- 

 s A «0 gallons each, 



gine is made use of for this pur- 



*u£ 1 }>a ii-* *«*xgt5 iruu sieuui vessels eu 



fiparp !«♦ 8 ons eacb > of which there were 12 - 



r t steam from the engine is made use of for thi 



By Sir Stafford Henry Nortiicote, Bart. 



[From the Journal of the Bath and West of England Agri- 

 cultural Society.] 



The system upon which water meadows have been 

 laid out and managed in the West of England is gene- 

 ally admitted to be superior to those followed in other 

 parts of the country. The skill displayed in bringing 

 water upon lands on the hill-side at very high levels, 

 and the economy of the process when compared with 

 the costly systems adopted in some other counties, have 

 excited the warm admiration of competent judges.* 

 So highly have the advantages of water meadows been 

 valued in some of the southern counties that as much 

 as 307., 40Z., or 50Z. per acre has in many cases been 

 expended in forming them, by casting the whole surface 

 of the ground into high regular ridges, with gutters 

 along their crests and along the valleys between them, 

 the former to bring the water on, the latter to carry it 

 off when it has overflowed the slopes of the ridges. In 

 our own districts it has long been the practice to water 

 our land in a manner quite as efficacious as that to 

 which we have alluded, but at an outlay of little more 

 than one-tenth of that of our neighbours. This we have 

 done by means of our catch meadows, which have 



* See Mr. Pusey's interesting article "On the Theory and 

 Practice of Water Meadows" in the "Journal of the Royal Agri- 

 cultural Society," No. 21, 1849. vol. x. 



commonly been laid out at an expense not exceeding Al 

 or 51. per acre. 



The principle adopted in making a catch-meadow is 

 that of leading the water along the natural inclination 

 of the ground in such manner as to keep it at the 

 highest possible level along the field which is to be 

 watered, and cutting gutters, one below the other, to 

 catch the water as it flows down over the land, and to 

 distribute it regularly over each successive portion. In 

 some cases the process is to cut a number of branches 

 to take the water from the carriage gutter in various 

 directions, and to direct the stream into one or other of 

 them by means of " stops," according to the part of the 

 field which it is desired to irrigate. When the supply 

 of water is insufiicient to cover the whole surface of the 

 land, one portion is watered at a time, which is of course 

 a less satisfactory and a more expensive process than 

 watering the whole at once, inasmuch as the water can- 

 not be laid on all over the ground while it is at its best, 

 i. e. after the first heavy autumn rains ; and the neces- 

 sity of frequently altering the stops and attending to the 

 progress of the water as it is brought off one piece and 

 on another involves additional labour. 



It is therefore obvious that any improvement in the 

 system of irrigation which tends to effect an economy of 

 water must be of considerable importance ; and if such 

 improvement can be accomplished by a system which 

 renders the original formation and periodical restoration 

 of the water meadow simpler and cheaper, it is well 

 worthy of general adoption. 



The credit of having introduced into practice a system 

 answering to this description belongs to Mr. Bickford, 

 of Crediton, to whose improvements at ten ion has 

 already been called in the "Journal of the Royal Agri- 

 cultural Society."f His plan is as follows : — 



A carriage-gutter is in the first place cut in the usual 

 manner along the line of the highest ground. The incli- 

 nation of this gutter should, if possible, be such as to 

 give a fall of 2 inches in 4 land-yards, or 1 in 396 ; but 

 if such a fall cannot be obtained, a much less rapid one 

 will answer the purpose. The gutter should be about 

 1 foot wide, and about 6 inches deep. These dimensions, 

 which are much less than those usually observed upon 

 the old system, should be gradually contracted as the 

 gutter approaches its termination, so that it may at 

 last die into the ground. Below th'iB carriage-gutter, 

 and in the same direction with it, are cut other and 

 smaller gutters, which are perfectly level from end to 

 end, and which successively catch the water as it trickles 

 over the land immediately above them, collect it, and 

 when they are full, begin to overflow at all points at 

 once, and so to distribute it evenly over the next 



In laying out these gutters the use of the 

 spirit-level is superseded by a very simple and con- 

 venient instrument. It is composed of three pieces of 

 wood, put together in the form of the letter A, standing 

 about 5 feet high, and having a span of about 4 feet at 

 the bottom. A plumb-line is suspended from the top, 

 and a notch is made in the centre of the cross-piece, so 

 that when the two feet stand on the same level the line 

 crosses the notch. The gutterer rests one of the feet 

 upon the ground, and, using this as a pivot, turns the 

 whole round like a pair of compasses till he finds by the 

 plumb-line that the two feet stand even ; he then marks 

 the spot where the first foot stood, and, using the 

 other foot as a pivot, finds the next level spot in the 

 same manner, and so proceeds with great rapidity to 

 trace out a level line through the field, marking each 

 spot as he goes on. When this is accomplished, he 

 takes the gutter-plough (an important part of the 

 system), and proceeds to cut a furrow of about 4 inches 

 wide, and about 3 or 4 inches deep, along the line of 

 the marks, thus producing a small level gutter, quite 

 as large as is necessary for catching and distributing 

 the water, but not large enough to be an annoyance 

 to the occupier of the land by upsetting his hay-carts, 

 throwing down his horses, or serving as a pit-fall for 

 his lambs. 



The old-fashioned gutters, besides being open to the 

 objections just alluded to, have the further disadvantage 

 of absorbing a large quantity of water, rendering it 

 difficult or impossible to irrigate with a small stream, 

 retaining a considerable proportion of the wealth of the 

 water in the shape of a deposit of sediment at the 

 bottom, and promoting the growth of coarse, sedgy 

 Grasses along their margin. They are, moreover, 

 more expensive both to cut in the first instance, and 

 to clean out in each succeeding year, than the small 

 Bickford gutters, which are rapidly and easily cut 

 with the plough every year, and therefore require no 



cleaning. 



The plough which is made use of for this purpose 

 is simply an adaptation of the common horse-hoe, the 

 feet of the latter being replaced by two upright knives 

 in front, and a furrow-slicer § behind. The two knives 



section.t 



+ Any one who wishes to try this plan may be strongly advised 

 to read attentively the two articles in the M Journal of the Royal 

 Agricultural Society," written respectively by Sir Stafford North- 

 cote and Mr. Bickford. They have the advantage of being illus- 

 trated by several good plans and diagrams. The articles are in 

 vol. xiii., pp. 162 and 17*2. 



X The practical purpose of the level gutters is explained in the 

 text with perfect clearness, and, theoretically speaking, in order 

 to fulnl the purpose indicated they should be perfectly level In 

 practice, however, it will be found advisable to give and take a 

 little— that is to drop the gutters over the hills or projecting 

 surfaces, and to raise them in the valleys or receding surfaces,— 

 in the first case to insure the water covering the hills; in the 

 second, in order to prevent its lingering in the hollows. 



§ The knives answer to the coulter of a plough, and cut the 

 sides of the gutter. The furrow-slicer performs the part of the 

 fan, or the wing as it is sometimes called, that is, it severs the 



UUTOW-SllCe from thft omnnil rvn ita nn^nr cnrfaAO T hair a f^„r,^ 



\ 



