G36 



THE -AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



uuCL ti'd Ji>». ot starchy materials ; Oat» contain the 

 same quantity of fat in every 100 lbs. ; but in con- 

 sequence of the large proportion of husk, the quantity 

 of flesh-forming and starchy substances is lessened to 

 15 lbs. of the former and 47 lbs. of the latter ; thus 

 Oats are not as valuable for fattening purposes as oat- 

 meal — especially as, from the presence of the husk, and 

 their undivided state, they are not so rapidly digested. 



Wheat and Bran, Middlings, &c\— Wheat, in its 

 entire state, contains only one-half the fatty materials 

 of Oats, and hence it is not usually employed in fatten- 

 ing ; the fat of Wheat resides almost entirely in the 

 outer portions, which, when removed, constitute bran, 

 pollard, and middlings — the latter, or finest bran, has been 

 remarked by Prof. J. Johnston as being almost similar 

 in its composition to oatmeal, being much richer in 

 both fat and flesh-forming foods than the inner parts of 

 the grain. Its value in fattening pigs has been long 

 known ; and the writer can speak from long experience 

 that it is equally efficacious in fattening poultry. It 

 contains 6 lbs. of fat, 18 lbs. of flesh-forming, and about 

 53 lbs. of warmth-giving food in every 100 lbs. 



Barley and Barley-Meal. — Barley is rot advan- 

 tageous as a fattening food, as its per centage of fat 

 is very low, being not more than 2 lbs. in every 100 lbs. 



Indian Corn. — Indian Corn is remarkable for the 



[Sept. 22, 1855. 





LOIS-WEEDON. 



A spirited essay of the Lois-Weedon practice was 

 made last year by Robert Calwell, Esq., of Belvedere, 

 in the county of Down, to the extent of 14 acres, all 

 the operations having been performed in the most care- 

 ful manner (a still more extensive one, amounting to 

 29 acres, is carrying on this year). The balance sheet 

 of this experiment has been laid before a meeting of the 

 Chemico-Agricultural Society of Belfast, and is as 

 follows : — 



Cost of 14 a. r. 36 p. of drilled Wheat. 

 4 J cwt. of Wheat sown, finished 19th Nov. 1853 ... 



Marking out, 16s.; drilling, 11. 7s. 6d 



Rolling, 6s.; covering with rakes, Ss. 



Dig ng, one spade deep (a spade deep is probably 



ai t), 14?. per half acre ... 



Forking, 10.?. per acre, 31st March, 1854 

 Forking and weeding between drills of Wheat 

 Horse-hoejng between drills, 6th May 

 Scarifying the fallowed intervals, 10th Jnne 



breaking clods, 8th May 



Hand- weeding and wheeling off weeds 



1 1 • 



1 . - 



£3 25, 



,3d. 



2 5 



6 



14 







9 19 



2 



7 







6 15 



6 



5 



2 



1 16 







10 



6 



14 12 



7 



Rice is one of the least advantageous foods 



large quantity of oil contained in yellow varieties — 

 nearly 8 lbs. in every 100 lbs. Its capability of supply- 

 ing flesh is not so great as that of oatmeal, hence it 

 « not well adapted for laying hens, which it renders 

 too fat ; but this peculiarity fits it remarkably for 

 fattening poultry, for which purpose it is largely 

 employed in the United States. 



RlCE.- 



«ither for fattening or supplying flesh ; it contains only 

 a trace of fatty materials, and less than half the 

 quantity of flesh-forming food contained in Oats. 



Peas and Beans.— All the varieties of Pulse contain 

 ja much larger proportion of flesh-forming or nitro- 

 genous substances than any grain— in fact, about 25 

 per cent., or double the quantity contained in Wheat ; 

 whilst the proportion of fat is not more than 2 in the 

 J 00. This composition admirably fits them for the 

 support of the animals undergoing much muscular exer- 

 tion ; given to fattening animals, they are apt to harden 

 the fibre, as in the well known case of Bean-fed bacon ; 

 and the elaborate experiments of Mr. Lawes in pig and 

 aheep-feeding prove most distinctly that the increase 

 in weight of a fatting animal is dependent on the car- 

 bonaceous, and not on the nitrogenous constituents of 

 its food. 



Milk. — Milk is a most advantageous addition to the 

 food of poultry, as it contains 3 lbs. of fat (butter), and 

 nearly 5 lbs. of warmth-giving (sugar of milk), and 

 4 lbs. of flesh-forming food (curd), in every 100 lbs. 

 Skimmed milk, or butter milk, from having had the fat 

 removed, are by no means so advantageous. 



Animal Fat. — If any pure fat is given to fatting 

 fowls, it is evident, from what has been previously stated, 

 that it should be of as solid a character as possible, for 

 as it is assimilated without much change it is evident that 

 the firm character of the fatted poultry is much increased 

 by it. The evil effect of Linseed-cake upon geese has 

 already been alluded to, arising from the liquid condition 

 of the oil contained in it ; the best addition to the food 

 of poultry consists, therefore, of the hardest and 

 cheapest variety of common fat, namely, mutton suet, 

 or what is equally good, the paring of the loins, which 

 are at present sold to the tallow melter. 



Cooking Food. — One other circumstance remains to 

 be considered in this section, namely the alteration 

 effected in food by cooking. The influence of heat is 

 chiefly exerted, in the case of vegetable foods, on the 

 starch which constitutes so large a portion of all grain : 

 this in its natural state consists of small granules, which 

 are (as in the well-known case of Arrowroot, a very 

 pure variety of starch), insoluble in cold water, from 

 the circumstance that each is coated with a firm mem- 

 brane ; when heated to a degree somewhat short of 

 boiling water, this membrane cracks, and the interior 

 gummy portion of each granule dissolves in the water 

 and thickens it. There is no doubt but that starch 

 thus altered, is more readily and rapidly digested than 

 in its insoluble state ; hence the advantage of cooked food 

 for fattening pigs, and the desirability of employing 

 toiling water to scald the meal used in fattening poultry. 



It may perhaps lead to easier understanding of the 

 relative value of the different kinds of food, if their 

 constituents are stated in a tabular form, it being borne 

 m mind that such statements are merely approximations 

 to the truth, as the composition of grain varies with the 

 character of the season and the soil. 



Table showing the composition of the substances employed in 



fattening poultry. 



Every 100 lbs, 



c 



«•• 



- •- 



Oats contains ... 

 Oatmeal 



"Wheat ... 



Middlings (fine bran) 



Barley ... 



Indian Corn 



Rice 



Beans and Peas 



Milk ... 



* - 







. . . 



» - - 



• t • 



• *» 



?> 



6 

 3 



e 

 2 



8 



...A trace 



. . . £t 



15 



47 



18 



63 



12 



70 



18 



53 



11 



! 60 1 



11 



\ 155 , 



7 



80 



25 



48 

 1 5 ! 



2 

 2 

 2 

 5 

 2 



1 



A trace. 

 2 



i 







20 



2 



1 

 4 



14 

 5 



S 



continued 



9* 



9 



12 

 U 

 11 



Jo 

 io 



. 8 7 



• • • 



• • » 



• • • 



All cost previous to reaping 



Scarifying the fallowed intervals after stocks were 

 removed, 2d till 14th October 



Forking and taking off stones and weeds from fal- 

 lowed intervals, to have all clean and fine for 

 drilling 



Interest on cost of implements 



46 18 8 

 3 16 



• • • 



*»■ 



• • ■ 



• • - 



• •• 



• » « 



t • • 



7 

 1 



13 

 12 





 



All cost one year 59 19 8 



Leaving ground well prepared for drilling. 



Produce bad, only 5 tons 17 cwt. on 14 acres ; Wheat 

 bad quality, heads 1 inch longer than same Wheat 

 broadcast on Potato ground, stooked as thick on ground 

 as broadcast, but being worked too late among, roots 

 were loosened, half of heads consequently did not fill ; 

 the pickles of those that did fill well were very large. 

 Crops left 1Z. 2s. for rent per acre, straw left for har- 

 vesting and threshing expenses. 



Mr. Calwell thus ascribes the defective crop to the 

 late working of the soil and consequent loosening of the 

 roots. It is very possible in this he is correct. It is 

 probable from the sum charged for forking, 10s. an 

 acre, which, after the digging, ought to have been a 

 light and inexpensive operation, that the forking was 

 deep, which for a spring operation I should think wrong; 

 it may also have been, and very likely was, carried too 

 near the plants : the cost of the operation would also 

 indicate this. He was also too late in sowing. 



Let us now compare with Mr. CalwelFs essay Mr, 

 Smith's first year's experiment on his four-acre field. 

 He says, under date of November, 1850 — "I entered 

 upon the field last month (October) ; I then timply 

 ploughed the field an inch deeper than it had ever been 

 ploughed before ; cleaned and levelled it ; and so, with- 

 out further preparation, got in my Wheat. I have just 

 sent in my spadesmen to trench the fallow intervals two 

 shallow spits deep for the succeeding crop, and, without 

 any misgivings, await the result. November, 1851.— I 

 am now enabled to give the result of my experiment on 

 the four-acre field of Wheat, on which I entered in 

 October, 1850: — 



Paid for ploughing (6s., the half portion of each of 

 the 4 acres) £1 



Harrowing, levelling, and cleaning the foul stubble 

 (lUs. uo.)... ... ... ... mmm ... ... 



Pressing the channels for the seed (la.) 



Dropping the seed in the channels by hand (5s.) ... 



Four pecks and one gallon of seed (5*. per bushel)... 



Kolling (6d .) 



Hoeing between the rows (3s.) , scarifying the inter- 

 vals (3a.), bird keeping (is.) 



Reaping (9s.), carry in » to barn and unloading (6s.) 



Threshing and winnowing 20J qrs. (at 2s. lljd.) ... 



Hates and taxes (is. 8d.), and interest on 2oZ. for 

 outlay, implements, &c 



4 



2 





 1 

 

 



2 

 3 

 3 





 4 





 5 

 2 





 

 





 

 



— 









 

 2 



Total outlay 



• • • 



• • • 



204 quarters of clean Wheat (exclusive of tails) 

 8 tons of straw (40s.) 



• • • 



1 13 8 



... 14 14 6 



... 35 17 6 



... 16 



£0 16 



£57 17 6 



It is here seen that Mr. Smith very correctly makes 

 no charge against this crop for double digging or other 

 operations having report to the succeeding crop, and 

 Mr. Calwell should have followed this rule ; he would 

 then, notwithstanding the ahort-coming of the crop, 

 have had a much heavier balance on the profit side, 

 though still too light. As applicable to the general pre- 

 paration and to the ensuing crop, we may deduct from 

 the expenses of this crop the following items : 



Marking out 



Digging one spade deep (this we are to suppose 

 refers to the intervals, which is then a prepara- 

 tion or fallowing lor the ensuing crop) 



Forking at 10s. per acre (this appears to have been 

 applied to the intervals, as the next article doe3 

 to the rows) 



Hand-weeding and wheeling off weeds, as already 

 a charge of 61. 15s. 6d. has heen made for forking 

 and weeding between the drills, and as much of 

 this weeding must he to the benefit of future 

 crops, there may fairly be deducted from this 



1 ic ni ... .,. # . t •* • t . # 0mw 9mm 



Scarifying the fallowed intervals after stooks were 

 removed ... 



Forking and taking off stones and weeds from 

 fallowed intervals 



9 19 2 



7 



10 

 3 16 



7 13 



Deduct from this the amount, which, according to 

 Mr. Smith, was expended in ploughing', harrow- 

 ing, levelling, and cleaning the foul stubble at 

 16s. per acre, and which is not charged by Mr. 

 Calwell 



39 4 2 



• - • 



. . . 



* » • 



• •• 



• • • 



11 4 



28 2 

 r 21 an acre, which added to the 12. 2.t. 0d. which by Mr. Cal- 



w ell's estimate he has for rent, would give him 21. 2s. Od. for 

 rent, &c. 



The correctness of this view may be questioned, as it 

 may be said the existing crop has derived benefit from 



these workings of the iutervals ; but 1 have notmSde 

 any deductions from the more superficial operations in 

 them, to which alone we can with certainty attribute 

 beneficial results to the growing crop: any benefit from 

 the deep working and bringing up of crude material to 

 the surface to the growing crop is very problematical— 

 indeed, I think it cannot admit of question that the 

 throwing on the surface of this crude material is 

 injurious to the growing crop, although highly produc. 

 tive of future fertility ; and I am disposed to think that 

 properly these expenses should not even be charged hi 

 toto to the succeeding crop, inasmuch as their beneficial 

 effects are not exhausted by it, but a long future fer- 

 tility is induced by them to the soil. 



However valuable Mr. Smith's plan may be as proving 

 the possibility of producing, without manure or ranch 

 previous preparation, a crop of Wheat on exhausted 

 land in England, I do not consider it in the same 

 degree applicable to Ireland. We all know both from 

 the slovenly tillage of Ireland, the moisture of the 

 climate, and the mildness of the winters, that the soil 

 here is far more redolent of weeds than it is in England. 

 We have evidence of this, if it were w r anted, in these 

 two accounts before us ; for, while Mr. Smith has onlv 

 expended 105.au acre in harrowing and cleaning his 

 stubble, and has had to incur no future expense for 

 weeding, Mr. Calwell has expended over 21. an acre in 

 works connected with weeding after the crop was in 

 the ground, and we know not how much before. In 

 instituting this plan, then, in Irelatfd, I think it would 

 be advisable to commence with some ordinary fallow 

 crop that would leave the land in its usual semi-clean 

 state ; or with a spring cereal crop, Wheat if you please. 



It is rather curious that making these deductions 

 from Mr. Cal well's account, and charging it with the 

 harvesting and threshing, his costs come within a shil- 

 ling of Mr. Smith's ; for while Mr. Smith's is Zl. 13s. lOd. 

 an acre, Mr. Cal well's is about 3Z. 145. 10c?* J. M. 

 Goodiff. 



DEFINITION OF QUALITY IN WOOL. 



The points to be treated, as respects the quality of 

 wools, were thus defined by the Jurors of the Great 

 Exhibition :— " The fineness and elasticity of the fibre ; 

 the degrees of imbrication of .the scaled surface of the 

 fibre as shown by the microscope ; the quantity of fibre 

 developed in a given space of the fleece ; the compara- 

 tive freedom of the fleece from extraneous matters ; 

 and the skill and care employed in preparatory processes, 

 such, for example, as that termed % scouring' the fleece, 

 upon which depends its liability, or otherwise, to mat at 

 the bottom of the staple." 



The qualities most valuable in regard to the fleece are 

 thus pointed out by a colonial correspondent of great 

 experience and judgment: — 1. Fineness. 2. Fullness. 

 3. Freeness. 4. Soundness. 5. Length. 6. Softness. 



1. Fineness of the fibre of the wool can be judged of 

 by practice when a lock of it is laid on the cuff of a 

 coat of a dark colour. A deficiency in this quality 

 will show itself by an abrupt falling off in fineness either 

 in the neck or breech of the animal, or in both. The 

 difference in fineness between these parts and the rest 

 of the fleece should be so gradual as to be almost im- 

 perceptible. The "settler" cannot exert himself too 

 much to breed u close up," as it is called (i.e. to make 

 the whole fleece as nearly as possible equal throughout), 

 otherwise the character of his flock as " good breed" 

 will never be established, and the wool will invariably 

 prove bad in the manufacture. No hair must be any- 

 where visible on the animal, especially under the fore- 

 legs. 



2. Fulness means the closeness with which the staples 

 or locks of wool grow together on the skin. Upon 

 opening the wool of a Bheep possessing this quality in 

 perfection, only a thin line of skin, as fine as a pencil 

 stroke, will appear round each staple, but if deficient, a 

 space almost bare. This is a point in which the 

 Australian Sheep are generally deficient, and of course 

 the weight of the fleece suffers most materially. Some 

 of the German sheep have great rolls or puckers of 

 skin under their necks und other parts, which give them 

 a singular appearance, but the extent of wool-bearing 

 surface is thereby increased. 



3. Freeness means that the separate staples or locks 

 of wool, and also the separate fibres of each staple, are 

 distinct, and by no means entangled together, or what is 

 called " smushy," like cotton wool. A deficiency in this 

 quality shows itself most plainly along the ridge of the 

 back. In a well-bred sheep the wool, on being opened, 

 should fall apart under the hands as clear and broken 

 as the leaves of a book. A want of knowledge of this 

 quality has caused infinite mischief in Australia, from 

 people having mistaken an absence of freeness for 

 fullness or closeness of growth, which we have already 

 explained. 



4. Soundness or strength of fibre is a quality in which 

 New Zealand wool, like its native flax, is said to be pre- 

 eminent. Along the ridge of the back there is a sort of 

 division between the wool of each side. Tenderness, ut* 

 deficiency in soundness, invariably shows itself there. 

 Take out a staple from this part, and give it a strong 

 steady pull, holding one end in each hand. If this proves 

 sound, depend upon it that the whole fleece is so too. 

 This is an indispensable quality in a combing wool, such 

 as New Zealand is fitted to produce, as the process of 

 combing tries the soundness especially. It is one also m 

 which the Australian wool is liable to be deficient, arising 

 from a check to the growth of the wool from the sheep 

 having been half-starved by drought, an affliction to 

 which those countries are so often liable. For thougu 



