698 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE 



ro 



18o 



ring j or subdividing can be practised both in pre- 

 paring land for a crop, and also while the crop is 

 growing — by the hand or horse-hoe. 



The next inquiry is, to what extent shall toe pul- 

 verise in order to secure the greatest atmospheric 

 action ? A soil to 



finely comminutec 

 natural agencies ( 



be completely aerated must be 

 But how; mechanically or by 

 Nature will break the largest 

 clods for us if we only give her time : " the first 

 shower of rain bursts the sun-and-air-baked clod, 

 and it falls exposed in the natural cleavage." If, 

 unwilling to wait this time, we cut and crush up 

 our rough clay fallow by machinery, the same rain 

 which would have left its coarse clods finely 

 powdered, will now cause it to agglutinate and close 

 up. We cannot successfully violate the scientific 

 method of " assisting nature," unless we are pre- 

 pared to repudiate her assistance altogether: and 

 this we cannot do in cultivation until we substitute 

 artificial heat and light for sunshine, irrigate in lieu 

 of intercepted rain-fall, and breathe air, carbonic 

 acid, and ammonia, through the soil by injecting 

 steam-pumps. A valued correspondent, who has 

 well studied and expounded the properties of a clay 

 soil, thus elucidates the mystery — " You are aware 

 of the practice of sportsmen of late years, having 

 their gunpowder in large grains. Why ? because 

 the freer admission of air among large granules 

 causes the whole to ignite in the barrel, and also 

 prevents consolidation by the ramrod. For ■ ram- 

 rod' read f cohesive attraction and gravitation,' and 

 the philosophy of clods is made manifest." 



A machine for ra >ing or grating the soil into 

 powder is not specially adapted, therefore, for aerat- 

 ing such an obstinate cohesive material as clay ; 

 though it might be expeditious in making a shallow 

 seed-bed upon ground which has previously under- 

 gone the slow process of atmospheric fertilisation, 

 just as we find the * clod-crusher" useful at certain 

 times. And a further reason may be given. The 

 above writer says, " It is the property of atmospheric 

 air to lose its active qualities, when it is, so to speak, 

 cut up into detail. The natural retention of animal 

 warmth by fur coverings is a familiar, and per- 

 haps the best illustration of this." By subdividing 

 clay soil we enormously increase the extent of 

 superficies upon which the air might operate ; but in 

 proportion as we do so, we reduce the ability of the 

 atmosphere to act upon it. Instead of locking up 

 the air in no matter how many myriads of minute 

 cells, we ought to be continually changing it for fresh 

 supplies ; currents of air charged, as it were, with 

 active ingredients, should play through the soil, con- 

 stantly replacing that which "has been sucked of its 

 virtues. If 



of cattle, which by its means were rapidly and econo- 

 mically brought to a fit state for the butcher. I thought 

 that I could do no better than immediately to forward 

 ic to Professor Way for analysis, at the same time 

 requesting his opinion as to its value in comparison 

 with oilcake. You will perceive that the result is highly 

 in favour of the new cake ; and I hope that it may be 

 the means of reducing in the market the now, to the 

 farmer, unprofitable price of Linseed-cake, which it 

 would be very likely to do, as many thousands of tons 

 might be produced in the United States of America 

 alone ; and I am given to understand that Mr. Barber 

 believes that it can be supplied to the farmer at (at 

 least) from 21. to 3L less cost than Linseed-cake. 



I would beg to suggest that out of compliment to Mr. 

 Barber, as the introducer of so valuable an article of food 

 for cattle, that, it should be called " Barber's Cake/' which 

 would in the market be a convenient distinction between 

 it and that hitherto commonly known under the name of 

 " oilcake." Mr. Barber has already been spirited enough 

 to establish machinery in America for the manufacture 

 of it, and I believe that his great desire is to render its 

 introduction of as much benefit as possible to his country. 

 The paper alluded to by Professor Way is to be found in 

 the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, Vol. X., 

 part 2. T. G. A. Parkyns, Ruddington Manor, near 

 Nottingham, October 16. The following is Professor Way's 

 letter and analysis : — 



m m ■ " 15, Welbeck Street, Oct. 12, 1855. 



Sir Thomas,— I have made a careful analysis of the sample 

 of cike which reached me on the 3d inst. In order that you may 

 have the means of comparing it with other kinds of cake, I have 

 enclosed a paper published by myself some few years ago, of 

 which I beg your acceptance. With a full proportion of albumi- 

 nous constituents, the sample of cake now analysed contains 

 nearly twice as much oil as foreign or English Linseed and Rape 

 cake, and I think it should therefore be superior to them in 

 feeding and fattening properties. Experience, however, alone can 

 decide this point. The proportion of water (moisture) is also small 

 which is in favour of the cake's keeping without injury. Unless, 

 therefore, it should be distasteful to animals, I should form a 

 high opinion of its value.— I am, Sir Thomas, your obedient 



se ^. nt W ,- " 3 - Thomas Way. 



■ Sir Thomas Parkyns, Bart." 



Sample of Oilcake received from Sir Thomas Parkyns, 



October 3, 1855. 

 Moisture 



Oil and fatty matters 



yard-manure in large quantities, uses no artificials? 

 rather despises them ; yet with this manure, without 

 oilcake or even green feeding to enrich the durrg-heap 

 solely made up of straw thrown in abundance under 

 them and passed through his cattle, he obtains very 

 heavy and fine crops. He is held a good farmer, and 

 is a money -making man, for he is a shrewd one. 



The grazier 1 do not meddle with ; he is a fat, com- 

 fortable, well fed, and most knowing fellow. Yorkshire 

 could nor beat him. The smaller farmers- 



holding under 100 acres 



that is, those 



6.58 



19.40 



Albuminous matters (containing 4.46 nitrogen) 28.31 



• • • 



a 



Woody 



Starch, gum, sugar, &c. 



Mineral matter or " ash " 



• - - 



* . • 



* • • 



• •• 



• - * 



The mineral matter consists of 



Lime ... ... 



Magnesia 

 Phosphoric acid 

 Silica 



Potash and soda 



10.64 

 26.98 

 . 8.09 



100.00 



-as they fall lower in the scale 

 of means also generally sink lower in their economy 

 until you come to the 5th, 6th, or 8th succession of Oat 

 crop, the last crop being superseded by one of weeds 

 which are left for three or four years for the benefit oi 

 the miserable cows and ponies that the possessor may 

 happen to have. Of course subsoiling and draining are 

 in every case out of the question, although no land in 

 the world wants it more or would better repay the cost. 

 The tenant, though with a lease almost interminable, 

 will not do it, and then the landlord, even when so 

 disposed, has little temptation to it, for the tenant would 

 not give him one penny more rent for it on account of 



his outlay. 



Still there is one redeeming point in the Irish farmer 

 he is a man of taste ; not more does nature abhor a 

 vacuum than he does a straight line, except in making 

 a short cut to save time, which he loses tenfold 

 the next moment with the first idle fellow he meets ; he 

 has the most acute sense of the beauty of curves, and 

 nothing will persuade him to draw a straight furrow; he 

 ploughs and digs his Potato ridges, which guide all 

 future tillage, in ail manner of twists without any other 

 discoverable reason than this love of the beautiful, for 

 even does the side of the field at which he commences 

 happen from some accident to be in a straight line and 

 his first ridge or two be directed by it, he cannot bring 

 himself to stick to this ugly way, but gradually serpen- 

 tines into the more beautiful if not most grotesque 

 waves. Occasionally too will be seen a small field sown 

 with Clover and hay seed, and even here his taste is 

 shown, for they lie in alternate stripes, waved of course, 

 which gives a very pretty variety to what would else 

 carry too much sameness. /. M. Goodiff, Granard, Oct. 3. 



• ■ * 



■ • • 



• • * 



• t . 



* ■ * 



• •• 



* # • 



• ■ • 



• • « 



• * * 



0.34 



0.84 

 2.62 

 2.27 

 2.02 



S.09 



(Signed) J. Thomas Way. Oct. 12, 1855. 



IRISH FARMING. 



As oases in deserts there are certainly bright spots in 

 Irish farming, but unfortunately they are all but limited 

 to the few wealthy and resident proprietors, and perhaps 

 not more numerous rich and intelligent tillers of the 



atom 



we could incessantly stir and com- 

 mingle a finely granulated staple, as deeply as the 

 aeration is needed, perhaps the case would be 



different A ,.,,-pI ^^JtLa Ul + i. • I uu » ulure numerous ncn ana intelligent tillers of the 



of ht S ; a ^ ch - m f k : l ?1 wl f" n g t0 + bring every , andf foP M examples these are very ineffecmal, it is 



ot his raw material into contact with a their wealth that does it ; but, taking it as a whole, the 



chemical solution, grinds it to a powder, and then tillage economy of the country is execrable, the great 



agitates and churns it m the solution for hours. In good that a great evil was to effectuate is still in nubibus. 



subjecting fine earth to the action of a subtle fluid A cart to stop a gap is a common thing enough in Ireland, 



like air, we can imitate this process — but only when Dut trus * s still capable of imnrnvement — « T'li mai™ » n 



the work is shallow, and therefore readily manipu- ?° £ a P 8 — rn han g no gates- 



lated— as, in horse-hoeing. To rouse and beat-up in them S wh y shou,d I ? I **«f i 



a foot depth of soil sufficiently often would require m a " weather to herd my wretched 



a most extravagant expenditure of labour. The ™** "«^^l n^tP^rVr 



only remaining course is, to cut our clay ground ^ a P 8 ' whl « h %! th ? old fe "<>w I leave as temptations 



the foil depth we choose, to go into ?^™/ Ji^" ^^ ^ h>m a small Grass field, containing 



moderate size, which will leave 



free circulation of air, and can 



by the action of the weather. 



disintegration 



become 



I won't even put a bush 

 ieev a wretched child tmt 



yours 



proceeds, 

 gradually aerated 



the entire 



-in other words, we should keep the land 

 rough until the crop is to be sown ; we may then 



pulverise for a seed-bed , and afterwards hoe whilst 

 the crop is growing. 



Theory, then, leads us to the same practical con- 

 clusion as doev observation of our actual methods of 

 tillage : that is, we arrive at the same kind of im- 

 plement desci >ed as the desideratum in the bcyrin- 

 iug of this article. L A. C. 



. - - - than an acre I find five gaps level with the base of the 



interspaces for the j fence, on the road side ; on another farm the whole road 

 be easily crumbled fence is one continued gap. Why, I have seen a farmer, 

 As the self-acting a knowing man as he thinks himself, certainly a cunning 



one, holding about 100 acres of land, herding a single 



hog on a headland, and his son, 18 or 20 years of age, 



herding 6 or 8 swine on the roadside. He has one 



gate, value 2s. 6d., on his whole farm ; he has something 



over a quarter of an acre of Turnips and no other green 



crop, save the everlasting Potato and a quarter of an 



acre of Cabbage plants to plant out on the edges of his 



Potato ridges and for the market He does not think 



j Vetches a paying crop ; would not the same area in Oats 



. n - be worth more? Cannot comprehend making manure 



fallowing or ; out of them, or that intervening between two white 



crops would make up any shortcoming at market. 

 Winter Vetches, never heard of them. Sells much of 



mass will 

 mechanical assistance 

 being given in the form of frequent rough stirrings. 

 Fine pulveration of the surface would bar the 

 descent of air currents to the recesses of the sub- 

 soil ; and however thoroughly it might fertilise the 

 shallow surface stratum (which alone it is in our 

 power to till so constantly), it must only be, ? ^ UOTa 

 practised when the underlying portion of the staple j he worth* more* 

 has already received sufficient 

 aeration- 





Thinkii 



OILCAKE FROM COTTON SEED 



that it may possibly be of some use to the 

 agricultural l public, I beg to inclose you the analysis of 

 a piece of Oilcake made from Cotton seed, which has (in 

 a sm all quantity only) been manufactured and imported 

 into this country by a gentleman of the name of Barber 

 residing at Poulton Hall, in Cheshire. I received the 

 piece of cake with the information that he had imported 

 only sufficient to try its feeding effects on about 20 head 



his hay, feeds his milch cows with straw, and has 

 through the winter perhaps a gallon or two of milk a 

 day from his whole dairy stock of seven or eight cows. 



Or let us take one of a better class, holding perhaps 

 200 acres of land ; he is, however, more of a grazier and 

 dairyman, therefore his ground is not deteriorated by 

 repeated cropping*. He perhaps grows 10 or a dozen 

 acres of Turnips, most of them, however, for the market, 

 and for the months of November, December, January, 

 and February feeds all his stock exclusively with straw, 

 March and April with hay, turns out to Grass on 1st of 

 May, his milch cows some score or so dry through the 

 winter ; " cattle fed solely on straw and hay in the 

 winter thrive better on the summer Grass than those 

 which have had Turnips or other green feeding." No 

 Clover, no Italian Rye-grass, no Vetches. Of 

 course he grows a reasonable share of Potatoes, 

 but he applies to them in ridges, and to his Turnips 

 in drills, indiscriminately reduced or unreduced 



ON BURNING CLAY AS A MANURE. 



I am glad to see by the leading article in the Agricul- 

 tural Gazette of Sept. 15, that you are endeavouring to 

 call attention to the subject of burning clay as a manure. 

 There is a certain description of land which has had 

 amongst farmers for time immemorial a bad name. I 

 allude to the poor stiff clays which we find dotted about 

 the country, and for which nobody has a good word to 

 spare, except, perhaps, an occasional interjection of pity 

 for the poor unfortunate occupier. The value of this 

 description of land has not advanced at all in proportion 

 to that of the lighter soils in the kingdom, and is pro- 

 verbially occupied by the poorest class of tenants. I 

 have known many instances where such laud has been 

 gradually let for a lower and lower rent till it has 

 become a matter of difficulty to find an occupier. I have 

 myself had such a case to deal with, and if this meets 

 the eye of the owner of any such land, let him take 

 comfort from what I am about to write, and adopt the 

 same means, and I do not fear for the result. 



The farm I allude to was given up by a tenant who 

 had succeeded his father on an estate where the greatest 

 security to a good tenant has always prevailed, and where 

 the tenancies remain in the same family for generations ; 

 the rent of this farm had been lowered repeatedly to 

 suit the decreasing means of the occupier, and stood at 

 last at 1 0s. per acre ! This may sound absurd when I say 

 the farm is in sight of, and not more than 8 miles 

 distant from a large manufacturing town of 100,000 

 inhabitants ; and yet the soil was reduced, and so pro- 

 verbial for sterility had this unfortunate farm become 

 that no one would take it at that rent, and the owner 

 had it thrown on his hands when agricultural prospects 

 looked the darkest, and the enviable task of farming it 

 and bringing it round devolved on me. And many a 

 joke did my brother farmers have at my expense, the 

 whole subject seeming to afford them intense amuse- 

 ment, and the joke against me throughout the miserable 

 wet seasons of 1852 and 1853, during which most trying 

 times I was engaged in burning clay extensively ; but 

 so wet was the land that I could not apply it without 

 making each field a complete mortar heap, and render- 

 ing it unfit to sow the seed upon. The first two years* 

 the miserable crops yielded about as follows : — 



2 quarters of Wheat per acre, 



1 quarter of Barley per acre, 



1 quarter of Beans per acre, 



Less tli an 3 quarters of Oats per acre. 



The straw was like needles, and barely sufficed to 

 maintain the 10 horses required to work the farm, w> 

 that I could not keep any stock in the winter, having 

 nothing to feed them upon, and consequently could not 

 make any manure. 



In 1853, directly after harvest, I laid on my burnt 

 clay, and by great exertion succeeded in applying about 

 10,000 cubic yards upon rather more than 100 acres of 

 land. The result was extraordinary. I have no hesi- 

 tation in estimating the straw at four times the quantity 

 formerly produced, and I increased the insurance on the 

 corn from 300Z. to 700Z. I succeeded in producing 

 10 acres of excellent Turnips, the whole of which were 

 drawn off and eaten in the fold-yard, in which I kept 

 24 head of horned cattle, all of which had Turnips and 







