

5S8 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



[Sept. 1, 1855. 



are set at a distance of 6 iuches from one another, 

 but may be screwed up closer, so as to leave a 

 space of but 4 inches. Their distance regulates the 

 width of the gutter, which they mark out and cut ver- 

 tically as the plough \ roceeds ; the furrow-slicer, which 

 is placed behind them, and which is fixed horizontally, 

 scooping out the sod at the proper depth. The instrument 

 is easily managed ; and when once a meadow has been 

 laid out, a common labourer can keep it in order, by 

 cutting every year fresh gutters by the side of the old 

 ones, and filling up the latter with the earth he takes 

 out. This is better than cleaning out the old gutters, 

 as it checks the tendency to the production of aquatic 

 Grasses. The expense of cutting the fresh gutters, 

 the level having once been ascertained, does not amount 

 to more than \s. an acre ; whereas the cleaning out 

 of old gutters with the ordinary tools cost at least 2s. the expense only 7s. or 85. per acre. _ It would be easy 



coming in produce or such casualties as are incident to 

 all rural affairs, but it is difficult to see that there is any 

 great practical fallacy in the system, and if so there 

 seemB to be proved that in very positive fact additional 

 value may be conferred on land in Grass, the large 

 money transactions which are attendant on arable 



cultivation being avoided. 



If such advantages are attainable where irrigation 

 can be effected by the power of gravitation, the power 

 of steam could be afforded where water could be had, 

 but where the shape of the country did not admit of 



gravitation. 



If the system were pursued for a series of years, it is 



believed that a beneficial effect would arise from the 



application of a small quantity of lime, were it only 



10 bushels per acre, to be washed in in the same manner, 



The price of the plough is 3/. 



The expense of laying out a water-meadow on Mr. 

 Bickford's principles must of course in great measure 

 -depend upon the character of the ground. From the 

 best information I can obtain I am led to believe that 

 it may be reckoned on the average at about \l. an 

 .acre. On the land in my own occupation to which I 

 have applied the system the cost has been somewhat 

 less, but then tiie land had been previously watered in 

 the old way, and portions of the former carriage-gutters 

 were available for the new work. The gutterer whom 

 I employed (Mr. Edward Ellis, of Newton St. Cyres) 

 has since had a good deal of occupation in laying out 

 meadows in various parts of England, and I understand 

 from him that he considers 11. an acre a fair average 

 price. Looking to the great benefit conferred upon the 

 land by the process, the cost must be regarded as 

 wholly insignificant. In many cases the whole outlay 

 may be recovered in a single year. 



to test the utility of such an application on a small scale 

 before it was resorted to. A. B. 



EXPERIMENTAL GRASS FARMING. 



I propose to make an experiment in the management 

 of Grass land, on which I shall be glad to see the obser- 

 vations of yourself or of such of your intelligent readers 

 and correspondents as may choose to offer their opinions 

 in anticipation of the result. I propose to make the 

 experiment on a field of 6 imperial acres, which is in 

 pasture, and is now rented at 16/., from May 1 to 



November 1 ; land of eood quality, and well drained. 

 The experiment is as follows: 



1st. To apply in the spring 4 cwt. of the best guano 

 in solution and mixture with 5000 gallons of water per 

 acre ; the irrigation to be made by means of iron pipes 

 laid underground, and by hose, and jet, from a tank 

 placed 80 feet above the level of the field, so that the 

 water and guano will be distributed with facility and 

 efficiency under that pressure. The irrigation will be 

 regulated as to time by the season and weather ; but it 

 is proposed to apply it in February or. March — perhaps 

 early in April ; and if the month of May should be very 

 dry, there will be no difficulty in applying by the same 

 means 5000 gallons of pure water per acre. 



2d. It is proposed to take a crop of hay, which ought 

 to be of the finest quality, and it is expected that it 

 will come early, and probably be cut and made by the 

 middle of June. 



3d. As soon as the hay can be moved to a corner of 

 the field, it is intended again to apply 4 cwt. of guano 

 in solution and mixture, as before, with 5000 gallons of 

 water per acre ; and again to allow the Grass to grow 

 for a hay crop, which it is supposed may be cut for the 

 second time about the time of harvest in the fields 

 around, and saved as well as the adjacent crops, more 

 or less well, according to the season. The question is, 

 Whether the powerful manuring will not produce a 

 second fine crop, and what, under such treatment, may 

 be the probable value of the two crops? Is it too 

 much to expect that the first crop of hay may be worth 

 1 21., and the second Ql. per acre — together, 20/. per acre \ 



4th. If such should be the result, how will the 

 .account stand at the end of the first and second years \ 

 for it is proposed to pursue the system, and to apply 

 the fame treatment in consecutive years, in the belief 

 that (he bent fits, such as they may be, will proceed in 

 an increasing ratio. The expense will be as follows : — 



... ... ... £65 



30 



Home Correspondence. 



Potato Growing. — I think the following plan of growing 

 Potatoes more simple and judicious than the details 

 given by your correspondent at page 522. In autumn 

 a piece of stubble land is thoroughly cleaned, then 

 towards the end of November green or fresh fold-yard 

 manure is applied broadcast, at the rate of 8 to 10 tons 

 per acre. The land is then immediately ploughed a 

 good depth, and thus it remains exposed to the free 

 agency of the atmosphere till spring, when the surface 

 is occasionally stirred by the grubber, harrows, &c, so 

 as to keep the weeds in check. At the time of planting 

 we are content with having the land lightly ribbed over, 

 say at a depth of about 4 inches ; then at this depth, 

 and about 27 inches apart, we place the tubers whole 

 10 inches asunder, and before covering them a sprink- 

 ling of Peruvian guano is strewed 

 tubers, at the rate of 10 stone per acre. By having 

 recourse to this treatment and selecting a tolerably 

 dry soil there would be no fear of success as 

 regards the growth of the Potato, and I am not very 

 sure too that this practice has not something to do with 

 diminishing the amount of disease. I have tried the use of 

 lime by sprinkling it at this season along the tops of the 

 drills and found no good effects from it any more than 

 where this was not done. There can be no use in giving 

 the expenses attending the above plan, as every practical 

 man will be able to estimate that in his own locality. 



P. Deane. 



If the following is of any use 



along with the 



Dairy Statistics. 



• • ■ 



■ * • 



• - • 



• • • 



you, or any of your readers, you are welcome 

 I had in the year 



4 cows, average value of produce per 



cow 

 7 

 8 

 

 7 

 8 

 8 

 8 



The produce was made up 



8041? lbs of butter 



54 calves 

 Milk and cream 



to 



to 



it. 



1847 



1848 

 1849 

 1850 

 1851 

 1852 

 1853 

 1S54 



• • ■ 



• . t 



ft 



it 



ft 



ft 

 tt 



ft 

 }1 



• • • 



tt 



n 

 tt 



ft 



V 



ft 

 ft 



£ 



.9. 



d. 



13 



15 



6 



13 



10 







13 



18 



6 



12 



9 



6 



13 



3 



9 



12 



16 



H 



13 











11 



7 Hi 



thus 



ft! 



* • » 



• • • 



• ■ • 



404 

 118 

 203 



ft. 



12 

 3 

 6 



d. 

 2 



6 



34 



Cost of tank, pipes and hose 

 24 cwt. of guano— 1st crop l^v^* 

 „ „ 2d crop j 



pay 

 mill 



told 



Total cost 1st year 



* ■ • 



■ • • 



95 



M the crop should be worth, 1st crop 



2d crop 



Per acre 

 Six acres 



t • • 



12/. 

 SI. 



201. 

 6 



120?. 



... 120 



Surplus of produce over expenditure, 1st year ... £25 



This presents a remarkable result, and at all events 



so great a margin as to make the experiment at least a 



safe one ; and if it be assumed that the expenditure is 



repaid in the first year, the second year would stand 



thus, and no interest is charged because the capital is 

 repaid. 





Value of two crops, as before 



Cost of guano, or an equivalent quantity 

 nitrate of soda for one of the dressings 



Net surplus produce ... 

 Or 151. per acre. 



Again there is a fair margin 



• • * 



of 



£120 



SO 







■ ■ • 



£90 



to meet a short- 



The cows were about half of them Alderney, the others 

 short-horns. They were not highly fed ; they eat 

 Cabbages or Turnips while being milked, and neither 

 buttermilk nor cream was injured. G. F. D. [Many 

 thanks. Pray tell us what method was employed when 

 the cows fed on Cabbages and Turnips to keep the 

 butter sweet.] 



Yorkshire Crops. — I spent the whole of last week in 



journeying through the North and West Ridings of 

 Yorkshire, and over a great portion of the midland 

 counties, and the following is the result of a very atten- 

 tive examination of the corn and root crops seen during 

 my progress. The Wheat crop is in general a very 

 bulky one ; but on good land it is everywhere much 

 lodged — rust is seen here and there, though not to any 

 very great extent — but a fine heavy bright crop is no- 

 where to be seen. From my own observation, aided by the 

 opinion of the most intelligent farmers I have met with, 

 I can have no doubt but the Wheat sample of this 

 year will prove generally a very mixed one ; on all the 

 fields where the crops were imnh and early lodged, 

 many of the ears have a deaf or imperfectly filled side, 

 and hence, when the grain is rubbed from the chaff it 

 either gives very few grains, or one half of them are long 

 and lean and will yield nothing but bran when ground. 

 Oats are a full average crop, and although a good deal 

 lodged are not nearly so much damaged as Wheat. 

 Barley is also an average crop, a good deal down, and 

 will not I fear prove a very bright sample. Potatoes 

 are a good crop, but the disease is showing itself un- 

 mistakeablv, and in my opinion will extend itself as the 

 Potato becomes more generally ripe. Turnips are on 

 the whole a late and, I think, a very inferior crop, and 

 in many places nearly lost in weeds. The harvest will 

 be general in Yorkshire this week ; in the midlands 

 most of the Oats and Barley will be in the stackyard in 

 this month, but very little Wheat will be secured so 

 soon. RoaUlus. 



Oilcake.— U the information that I have lately re- 

 ceived be correct, the adulteration of oilcake is beins 



their chickens, Charlock and other seeds to an oil-mill, 

 at Is. per bushel, to be mixed with and sold for an 

 article which costs seven times as much. But now his 

 occupation is gone, the cake-makers have overbid him 

 and are using this precious compound, which costs 

 under 1/. per ton, in making cake for which we have to 

 12/. and 131. per ton. The manager of a 



my informant that they were bid 

 more money for it. A carman overhearing, says, 

 "That is to go into Essex, we often send 100 tons 

 a week." The first part of my communication is per- 

 fectly correct, and can be proved. The latter is not so 

 well authenticated, but if such practices are going on, I 

 thought you the most likely party to ferret it out ; the 

 majority of agriculturists look upon you as their pro- 

 tector and instructor. If such practices are going on, 

 it would put the parties on their guard. B 



Crops in Lincolnshire Fens. — Our harvest being so 

 very late I did not think I could give a correct report 

 before the 11th. The Wheat crop on peaty soils will 

 be very deficient, I think the worst I have ever known ; 

 and upon the fine soils in this parish and neighbourhood 

 all that is laid, of which there is a considerable quantity, 

 the quality will be very bad, 4 lbs. to 5 lbs. per bushel 

 less than last year. T. Aitken, near Spalding. 



Potato Culture. — I should like to solicit your opinion 

 on a plan which I adopted in the cultivation of early 

 field Potatoes called Shaws. I prepared my ground in 

 the usual way — ridge culture. The usual practice in my 

 neighbourhood is to set the plants 9 inches apart, the 

 rows being 27 to 30 inches wide. I resolved to plant 

 27 inches by 27 inches, for in this way I felt that light 

 and heat would more readily be transmitted to the 

 plant; and I moreover split that portion of the ridged 

 earth between the plants so as to afford a convex sur- 

 face to the space it occupied. In this way I expected 

 to insure a larger surface exposed to the sun's heat. 

 As it is important to get the Potatoes early to market, I 

 expected the bine of my plants would not be unnaturally 

 forced, and that the energies of the plant would be 

 directed to the formation of tubers. The result has not 

 met my expectation ; not that I consider it has failed 

 under the conditions. I had a very large growth of 

 bine, and my Potato plants suffered under the fangs of 

 the wireworra. What I wish to elicit is, in dealing 

 with the Potato plant which is the best plan to insure a 

 growth of tuber ? Can it be attained by wide or close 

 planting \ A. B., August 27. 



Wheat Midge.-—! observe in the Agricultural part of 

 last week's Chronicle an inquiry about the Wheat midge. 

 I may mention that one field I saw was much affected 

 with it, and I have heard by the remarks of others that 

 it 'is to be found in some of the fields round here, but I 

 think not to any great extent generally ; but would it 

 not be well for those whose corn is affected to take great 

 care at the time of threshing out to burn all the chaff 

 and dus-t winnowed from this corn — that they might 

 destroy it while in its chrysalis state and thereby 

 benefit themselves and neighbours another year ? J. 

 Divers, Maidstone. 



Alderney Cow. — As you have thought the statement 

 mentioned in my letter worth noticing (see p. 540), I 

 will add that within the last few days the quantity of 

 butter made from the milk of the cow has been ascer- 

 tained, viz., 7 oz. from one day's milk, being 4 J quarts. 

 We make butter after the Devonshire manner. /. G. 



Foreign Correspondence. 



Dairy Produce.— Observing that you have lately 

 taken up this subject in the Agricultural Gazette, and 

 that you are desirous of obtaining as much information 

 as possible thereupon, I am induced to offer you the 

 result of my experience on this side of the Atlantic. I 

 have for several years kept an exact register of all nry 

 dairy produce in the following manner. The milk of 

 each cow is measured morning and evening, and the 

 quantity entered by me in a book under the name of 

 the cow ; in different columns I enter the quantity of 

 milk furnished to the house, consumed by calves, &c. ; 

 the remainder is what is to be made into butter. I 

 make butter (in the Devonshire manner — scalding the 

 cream) three times a week in summer, and twice a week 

 in winter. At the end of each week I register the 

 quantity of milk made into butter, the quantity of butter 

 made," and the number of quarts of milk it has taken to 

 make a pound of butter ; at the end of the month 1 

 enter in another book the average number of quarts _o 

 milk it has taken to make a pound of butter during the 

 month, and when the twelve months are completed, tn 

 average number for the whole year. I am thus f^abie 

 to show at any moment what quantity of milk wa 

 required to make a pound of butter in any given week , 

 I can also tell from my book what the food of the cow 

 was during the week, or the average for any mom , 

 and finally the average for the year. I find tn jV t 

 1854 the average fo" the year was 84 quarts of _ ml1 * 

 make a pound of butter ; the smallest quantity * • 

 6 quarts in the first week of May, and the great m 

 91 quarts in the month of August. My cows are u 

 extraordinary, milkers ; they are a cross between 1 



,_„.__ A i_u*- 1 fin d they fatten easdy. 



I have no dim- 



I no 



short-horn and Ayrshire. 



being always kept in good condition. 



it answers my purpose test to separate the two actions: to fit the 



knives or coultf-rs into the iron cross-piece of Newington's hand 



cultivator, which one man can easily draw by hand • The piece of 



urf is then severed on its under surface by a narrow sharp 1 shovel 



carried on to an unprecedented extent, and the profit culty in disposing of them to the butcher * hen 



n it throws guano making into the shade. A neighbour longer want them for the dairy. Their food in su ^ 



of mine has been in the habit of buying the sweepings is Clover, Vetches, and Indian Corn cut green, 



and rubbish of different mills, sifting it, and fattin <* old can rarely get a bite of Grass before the -Otli 01 * . 

 sows with the dust and dirt, selling what whole corn he 



gets to the miller, broken corn to his neighbours for 



and our Clover is ready to cut about the second 



in June : the Vetches come between the two ; - 



cuttings 



