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THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



[Oct. 20, 1855. 



wjiicn uiauv liave orcliarus which otten yield truit but 



once in two years ; and woodland might be cleared and 

 let out in small quantities upon lease. But I assure 

 you, although the legislature have reduced the stamps 

 upon leases — and where the rent is not 51. the stamp 

 is only 6d. — a poor man cannot get an acre or two 

 upon lease. I believe many thousands now engaged in 

 40^. freeholds will before 10 or 12 years find the deeds 

 in mortgage when wanted similar to F. O'Connor's 

 case ; and simply renting a plot of land upon lease 

 would prevent many having anything to do with 40*. 

 freeholds : besides which, I do consider, looking at 

 these words in Genesis — u God made male and 

 female, and gave them the earth for their inheritance," 

 that while these words are manifest that it was ordained 

 that man should have the earth, it is a shame that we 

 should have a New Forest of 92,656 acres, and Dartmoor 

 200,000. Why should not land be leased in small quan- 

 tities, for I say again one acre of land to. a poor man is 

 a great good to get \ Charles Paul, 3, Albert Grove, Feck- 

 ham. P.S. To give a man his acre or two (upon lease) 

 you make him independent instead of dependent, and there 

 is a wide difference between these words, and if you 

 could but get land leased at an equitable rate it would 

 be a blessing to mankind, and you would prevent many 

 emigrating ; a man may get an acre of land in America 

 for 5s. f in this country he cannot for 70/. an acre. 



Function of Salt in Agriculture. — In your article on 

 this subject the power of salt to fix ammonia is in a 

 great measure attributed to the presence of sulphate of 

 lime in the salt, if I understood you rightly. It is, 

 therefore, a matter of some importance to know the sort 

 of salt which contains sulphate of lime, in the propor- 

 tion most likely to retain the ammonia in guano for the 

 longest period. A dealer in salt advised a farming 

 relative of his never to be persuaded to buy refuse or 

 agricultural salt because of its low price, for it was in- 

 fallibly the dearest in the end, but to buy the pure salt 

 although he paid much higher for it. I have used tons 

 of salt, oil, or fishery salt—best salt— and this refuse 

 salt ; and although I do not feel competent to pronounce 

 a judgment on their relative values, I have decided to pur- 

 chase the best salt, if I buy any more for field purposes, 

 rather than either of the others. It may be, however, 

 that pure salt contains the least sulphate of lime. This 

 would be an argument against using it with guano ; but 

 what salt to apply together with guano, instead of the 

 pure salt, is a point which I do not think settled. Can 

 any description, known to contain the requisite quantity 

 of sulphate of lime, be got in any particular quarter ? 

 In the siftings of Stafford coal ashes, I read in an 

 extract from the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal 

 there is 2.44 per cent, of sulphate of lime. If 1 cwt. 

 of guano were mixed with 10 cwt. of these siftings 

 there would be about \ cwt. of sulphate of lime therein 

 to operate upon the guano, if in such an admixture this 

 be a thing possible. Allerton, Oct. 14. 



Potato Haulm. — In a table of the comparative value 

 of different kinds of fodder published by M. Antoine, at 

 Nancy, 300 lbs. weight of Potato haulm is given as equal 

 in value to 100 lbs. of the best upland meadow hay. 

 Potato haulm stands very nearly as high as Carrots, and 

 superior to a slight extent to Swedish Turnips and 

 Mangold Wurzel, and very much superior to Cabbage 

 and Beet leaves, and to common Turnips. The Norwe- 

 gian farmers, who never perhaps thought of the theory 

 which we might build on the relative value of Potato 

 haulm to other fodder, are said to collect their Potato 

 leaves, and to lay them on frames or fences, or any 

 other places where they may be dried with facility ; 

 when dried they are kept for making cooked mashes for 

 milch cows. A good handful of them is put in a vessel 

 for each cow, and hot water poured over it; it is then left 

 to stand covered until next day, when the leaves and 

 juice are given to the cows. It is said that they yield 

 much milk on this meal. I only met with this scrap 

 about Norway the other day, and it may be new to some 

 of your readers, who, like myself, have hitherto thought 

 only of the value of the Potatoes themselves, and have 

 left the haulm on the field. The analysis of Potato 

 haulm would lead us to think it of some value, but I 

 know not what constituent renders it so good as the 

 Norwegians seem to find it to be for milch cows. One half 

 of the ash is made up of lime, chloride of potassium, and 

 potash. Leaving Potato haulm to be ventilated in your 

 columns, if it be not too inconsiderable a matter for the 

 operation, I wish success to the man who gives his 

 milch cows the first Norwegian mess of it a la mode. 

 Allerton, Oct 13. 



Fisken's Plough. — Anxious, on a former occasion, to 

 expose « I. A. C." as little as possible, and the short- 

 comings of the invention in question because capable of 

 great improvement, it appears we have failed in con- 

 vincing him of his (we repeat) serious mistake. The 

 facts of the case which he ought to have laid before 

 your readers are briefly these. Mr. Fisken's rigger 

 steam plough (not Mr. Fisken himself, as somewhat 

 learnedly but unwittingly insisted upon) is a compound 

 of two old failures, the one patented in 1812 (No. 3632) 

 by the Messrs. W. Chapman, of Durham, and E. VV. 

 Chapman, of Wallaend, Northumberland ; and the 

 other in 3833 (No. 6351), by Mr. J. Saxton, of Lon- 

 don ; and instead of « lessening the strain," or "working 

 with a less strain upon the (its ?) anchors than any one 

 else has ever worked with," as unfortunately repeated 

 last week, it does the very reverse, the strain being 

 greater by the additional strain upon them in working 

 the driving rope and rigger (or driving ropes and 

 riggers according to the combination) "plus" the 

 increase of rigger traction friction not so easily 



estimated. It is with some reluctance we go back 

 witli him to his "bold announcement" and its start- 

 Hng proof — u one's little finger at the long end of a 

 lever," but when he himself admits that H the driving 

 rope is running 20 miles per hour when the plough 

 carriage is going only two," we may be allowed to ask : 

 how can this difference be obtained without an increase 

 of strain upon the anchors? The fact is, he commits suicide 

 when he acknowledges that " the strain upon the rope is 

 thus only 1-1 lth of the whole draught of the implement," 

 for, granting this to be correct, if the long end of the lever 

 balances the short — the "little finger" a "ton weight," 

 then M the anchorage at the far side of the field " has 

 to sustain "a drag" equal to twice the draught of the 

 implement, " plus" twice " one eleventh," " plus " rigger- 

 friction, or something more than double what he rather 

 dogmatically teaches. With regard to steam ploughs 

 sailing in our fields — Lincoln Fens, for example — the idea 

 is so very refreshing now that we have no telegraph 

 news from Sebastopol, that we hope the readers of the 

 Agricultural Gazette will allow us to enjoy it a little, as 

 questions of this kind can always be safely left in the 

 hands of experience. If the continuous "feed" of a 

 straw-cutter acts retardingly against the knife, like a 

 brake on the wheel of a railway carriage — how can it 

 be otherwise with the continuous progression of Usher's 

 rotary ploughs against the unploughed land \ W. B. 



Steam Engines. — Mr. Mechi has sent us the following 

 memorandum, which should have been appended to his 

 last week's paper on this subject : — I find that without 

 the air-vessel the escape-valve rises more or less at 

 every stroke, and there is some jarring : with the air- 

 vessel there is scarcely ever a rising of the valve, all is 

 easy and tranquil, whereas without either valve or air- 

 vessel, there was everywhere resistance, jarring, and 

 straining. It is easy to understand that the confined 

 elastic air receives the shock of the pump rod, and 

 during the return of the latter gently pushes forward 

 the water to the boiler. We should, with such an 

 arrangement, rarely hear of any difficulty in supplying 

 steam boilers with water. 



Farmers' Clubs. 



Killucan. — Stall Feeding. — The following is a portion 

 of a paper on this subject, read by Mr. Harkness, at a 

 meeting of the Killucan Farmers' Club : — A friend, who 

 settled in the west of Ireland in the winter of 1852, fed 

 30 cattle in the winter 1853-4, for six months, giving 

 them the first four months three feeds of Turnip daily 

 50 lbs. each, and for two months two feeds of 50 lbs. 

 each with grain and oil-cake, at the rate of 40s. per head. 



The cattle were sold in the Dublin Smithfield 

 market at an average of 271. 10s. £825 



Deduct. 

 The Ballinasloe price of cattle when laid in £450 

 Extra food, cake, &c, at 40s. a-head ... 60 



Attendance and interest of money 30 



£540 



£285 



Setting the dung and extra food passed as excrement 

 against the straw, these 30 cattle thus paid all extra 

 food, and 111. each to pay for Turnips and profit. The 

 rent of Turnip field at 19s. per statute acre, and the 

 fair proportion of manure and tillage chargeable against 

 the Turnip crop, amounting in all say to 5/., would leave 

 the handsome clear profit of 61. a head for feeding each 

 beast, or assuming 25 tons of crop per statute acre, and 

 2\ cattle kept for six months on such a quantity of 

 Turnip, the crop would thus pay at the rate of 151. per 

 acre for feeding. In 1854-5 the same friend fed a larger 

 lot of cattle, and gave various kinds and quantities of 

 food. His cattle getting cut straw, cooked with 4 lbs. 

 of oil-cake and 2 lbs. of Barley-meal with decreased 

 Turnip, not exceeding 112 lbs., have altogether pro- 

 gressed more rapidly than the cattle fed by any other 

 method, making in some cases at the rate of 3 stone 

 per week for three months. The details of the last trial 

 we will get and publish. We find another case reported 

 in the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal, that of 

 Mr. Milne, of Clobemon, Ferns. 



The 25 cattle fed by him from January to May 1853, 



sold for £335 17 



Cost price, interest of money, and extra food ... 219 19 



£115 18 



This sum is left to pay for the Turnip, or 41. 12s. 6d. 

 per beast, which at the rate of 2\ animals to a statute 

 acre of Turnip would be 121. odd per statute acre, the 

 straw being paid by the unappropriated food going for 

 the manure. The following instance of cattle feeding 

 we have from a Northumberland friend, of tried experi- 

 ence, Mr. Stephenson, Fonrstones, near Hexham, Nor- 

 thumberland. We sent him a copy of our queries, and 

 the following communications he gave in reply : — « I 

 may not be able to answer all your queries satisfactorily, 

 but if the following short remarks be worthy your 

 attention, you are welcome to them. Having a hill 

 farm along with my home one, I am enabled to breed 

 all the stock I feed, which places me in a different posi- 

 tion to a man who has to face the market to buy his 

 lean cattle. My general system of feeding fat cattle is 

 from home grown produce —viz., three feeds of cut 

 Swedes of 40 lbs., more or less, according to the size of 

 the animal, and 4 lbs. of compound each per day, with 

 an unlimited quantity of uncut straw. The compound 

 is made from crushed Linseed, with Bean, Pea, or Barley 

 meal, and is cooked in a pot made for that purpose. 

 I put 20 head of cattle, short-horns and half-breds, to 

 feed the first week in November 1854 ; the fair market 

 value for which would be 13£. each. I have sold 11 of 

 the number, after feeding them 11 weeks, at 18Z. each ; 



M 



the remainder, 1 have no doubt, wilt do as well, as they 

 are a fair average of the lot. I have now put a second 

 lot to feeding ; 16 half-breds, 1 year and 7 months old, 

 which I expect will be fat by the month of June. 1 

 fed a lot of the same kind of animals last year, 4 of 

 which I sold at 1 year and 10 months old in Newcastle 

 market, on the 18th of April, at 151. Ss. each. I am a 

 decided advocate for early maturity in cattle feeding. 

 Quick returns is what we ought to aim at I presume 

 that your subject is intended to prove that Mr. Mechi 

 is wrong in his assertions that fat cattle do not pay for 

 the food they consume. I have no hesitation in saying 

 that the stall-feeding of cattle does pay. If we look at 

 the crops of Swedes which Mr. Mechi is stated to grow, 

 from 12 to 15 tons per acre (the results of high farm- 

 ing), we need hardly wonder at his failure in feeding 

 fat stock. I can grow from 25 to 30 tons per acre with 

 good farming. High farming is one thing, and good 

 farming is another. I have no opinion of the former as 

 a system for a man to adopt who has his living to make 

 by farming, but I am a warm advocate for the latter. 

 I will back the balance sheet of the good farmer against 

 the balance sheet of the high farmer for any amount. 

 I agree in one remark made by Mr. Mechi — that farm- 

 ing is notoriously a slow business ; but it would be much 

 slower if it was not for the benefits derived from the 

 feeding of fat cattle and sheep. Further, Sir, in answer 

 to your inquiries as to the cost per ton of my last year's 

 Swedes, I think the following will be near the mark : 



Rent of land per acre £2 



20 square yards of home made manure, 35 3 



Preparing land, ploughing, grubbing, harrowing, 



hoeing Turnips, &c 2 10 



£7 10 



u I estimate the crop at fully 25 tons per acre, which 

 will give 6s. the cost price per ton. The compound, 

 with the present prices of grain, will be Id. per lb. It* 

 you compare this with the statement already sent you, 

 you will find the cost per head per week as follows : 



60 stone of Turnips £0 2 3 



2 stone of compound 2 4 



£0 4 7 



* I have used this compound for some years, and believe 

 its feeding properties to be superior to either Linseed 

 cake or meal given in a dry state. I never give hay to 

 feeding cattle, believing that it is a kind of food for 

 which they never pay. Neither have I made any charge 

 for straw or attendance, which cannot amount to a 

 great deal per head. I will be paid in the manure made. 

 Mr. Stephenson's report is very much to the point. 

 We have also before us a most distinct report upon 

 stall-feeding from Mr. Campbell, the intelligent agri- 

 cultural manager of Sir Charles Coote, Bart., of Bally- 

 finn. We had the satisfaction of examining a large 

 farm of Sir Charles, which has been reclaimed within 

 the last eight or nine years from a waste deer forest, 

 under the judicious, economic, and efficient management 

 of Mr. Campbell. In addition to his excellent drainage 

 and general improvement of the ground, we were highly 

 gratified with his machinery and conveniences for cutting 

 Turnips, straw, Furze, crushing bones for manure, and 

 all kinds of grain and Pulse to be cooked by steam or 

 hot water in large vats. Mr. Campbell remarks : — 

 " I may observe that on such a farm, inferiorly situated, 

 or far from the manure market, I consider stall-feeding 

 stock indispensable, and without which the necessary 

 stamina could not be supplied profitably during a desired 

 rotation of the crops." Again he says — * As to profit 

 we do not complain, if we secure on an average 20s. per 

 month per head in cash. We frequently do more, but 

 we consider this sura but a small portion of the profits 

 of stall-feeding, as proved in effect on our cereals during 

 the rotation. " Journal of the Agricultural Improvement 

 Society of Ireland. 



Winchcomb. — On Wednesday last this association 

 held its annual meeting. The forenoon was spent in 

 awarding and distributing the various prizes at the 

 disposal of the association, and the members and others 

 afterwards dined together in the evening. Mr. E. 

 Holland, M.P., occupied the chair, and stated, in the 

 course of the entertainment, that since the formation of 

 the Society, 16 years ago, as many as 597 premiums 

 had been distributed by it to deserving persons for skill 

 and good conduct, and the amount subscribed in money 

 to pay those premiums was no less than 1198J. The 

 Earl of Ellen borough spoke in the course of the even- 

 ing. He said : I think it very desirable that there 

 should be one occasion in the course of a year in which 

 gentlemen who possess property, and those who are 

 their tenants and cultivate their property, and the 

 labourers also, especially those distinguished by good 

 conduct, should meet at the same board on terms of 

 perfect equality. I rejoice to hear that the subscribers 

 to this Society are not diminished in number, but I 

 wish that we met here on these occasions in greater 

 numbers ; and I do hope that those gentlemen who are 

 here to-day will on future occasions endeavour to induce 

 their friends to accompany them, so that we may have 

 a full and proper representation of the property, 

 tenantry, and labour of the union. And, gentlemen, 

 Mr. Holland has very justly observed on the character 

 of this institution. It is idle to suppose that the small 



ward which it i9 possible for us to give to an indi- 

 vidual can really be a remuneration to him for in 

 some cases some 36 years of good conduct. The 

 thing is impossible. At the same time, the higher 



are not in themselves quite insignificant. 

 They will pay a man's rent for a year, which, 

 in a certain degree, is an,, object to any jnan in 



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prizes 



