842 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



action of deep and shallow drains, and satisfied him- 

 self that there wafl no fear of making land too dry 

 by deep draining, except in peat soils. 



The most 



The tables of the Agricultural Statistics of Scot- 

 land have jH»t been published, and we shall next 

 week give them in a cond used form, 

 material fact, and that which possesses the most 

 immediate interest and will exert the most imme- 

 diate influence, is 'he proportion in which the Wheat 

 crop of the present vear is stated to stand to that 

 of 1854. Sixteen out of 85 districts return their 

 produce as equal or superior to that of 1854, and of 

 the remain.hr 35 are seated at 10 per cent, or more 

 below that crop. Taking into account the character 

 of 1854, as compared with the average of years, we 

 should imagine the Scottish yield of Wheat this year 

 to be not much below the crop in ordinary years. 



Of course the character of the Wheat crop in 

 Scotland does not much affect the supply of bread 

 for the whole country, but the report now publi>hed 

 is useful, as indicating the yield elsewhere under 

 the circumstances of Scottish agriculture. How 



friable rich loam of a reddish colour, and in the low 

 lands of the finest black alluvial deposit— no chalk, no 

 coal, no peat, no morasses or bogs, no binding gravel, 

 and but lirtle slate, but many minerals ; such are the 

 characteristics of our colony in agriculture. I do not 

 allude to stock keeping ; that would lead me too far 

 away, but I have only written to give a few hints to 

 emigrating farmers. Q. F. } resident in Adelaide. 



np like magic. But before you do so, j^TS55id"S 

 a careful analysis, for all ia not good marl th^ l. ,. ! 



by that name. 



pub- 

 food 



ON BREAKING UP GRASS LAND. 



I have some misgivings with regard to the sweeping 

 way in which it has been laid down that we may break 

 un ancient pastures, and that the artificial pastures are 

 as productive as the ancient Grasses. I think 

 the general impression of farmers is very much 

 opposed to it, and any results drawn chiefly from 

 Lancashire and the districts named by Mr. White, 

 DUght to be viewed with caution before they are 

 adopted as applicable to the length and breadth 

 of Cheshire. That ancient turf land of the descrip- 

 tion given by Mr. White ought to be broken up is 

 another question ; but as far as my impression goes, an 

 ancbnt turf, if a good oue, will do more work than any 

 new one. You know whether it will for cheese ; 

 but I am speaking with reference to the fattening 

 of cattle and feeding them. The question of breaking 

 up ancient turf is now one of very great and national 

 importance. It is very evident that we must go to 

 some source beyond the arable land now in cultivation, 

 to secure the supply of food to the people upon a sure 

 foundation. Our attention has been called to this in a 

 neighbouring county by a young nobleman of great 

 promise, with whom I agree in some matters ; I wish I 

 could subscribe to all he says. There are 17 millions 

 of acres of pasture land in this country, as compared 

 with arable. We all know that pasture land, when 

 broken up, will yield much greater crops of corn than 

 the arable land. I should say, if a third of this land 

 were broken up, it would yield more than all the arable 

 land together. But the question comes, what descrip- 

 tion of turfs should we break up % I would venture as 

 already dry enough to keep without heating. The straw ] a farmer to say it is madness to plough turf land of 

 burnt, or decaying upon the ground nourishes it ; thus, j very high quality ; it is equal madness to plough turfs 

 although sowing Wheat for several years in succession of very low quality, or clays of very low quality, that 

 is almost impossible to succeed elsewhere, here it is the have good coats on their backs. Such had better 

 usual practice. But it is not to be supposed that manure remain in turfs. The class of land we may draw 

 is useless — the few farmers who use it find the benefit : upon is the great breadth of wiry herbage turf 



good marl that is ca ued 

 Your marl has a great propo*^*, 

 lime, which is a great criterion of value when it i f 

 from minerals. You want a careful analysis of all them/? 

 you have ; and you should go back to the ancient svs em 

 of using the best of them to improve the quality of v 

 herbage. The old system of marling through EneU^J 

 as been left off rashly, and we ought to revert to t 

 It is a grievous calamity, gentlemen, that any l a «A 

 situated between the Mersey and the Dee should ta 

 growing Scotch Fir. (Mr. Tumor refers to Delamere 

 Forest). The Cheshire gentlemen could not do a wiser 

 thjng than petition the crown, and negociate for its 

 re toration to cultivation. Mr. Tumor at tlie Chester 

 discussion. 



h 



Wheat 



useful it is as indicating the possibility of 

 lishing early in the season reports of our 

 supplies, future years will no doubt tell. 



AUSTRALIAN FARMING. 

 Of all countries in the world perhaps none can excej 



South Australia in the quality of its Wheat. It does 

 not average, perhaps, more than 15 or 16 bushels per 

 acre, and the straw worth nothing ; but the land is 

 cheap — in very many eases, perhaps in most, it need not 

 be ploughed above once in two or three years, being 

 merely sown and harrowed the others. The reaping 

 done by machine at the rate of an acre per hour soon 

 clears the field ; the corn may be threshed the day 

 after it has be n eut, and sent to market ; it is then 



elsewhere the exhaustion of the land goes on slowly ; 

 it is usu-il in Mich a case to let the land lie fallow for a 



upon 

 land 



be 



brought 



year or two, and break up fresh land for Wheat growing, 

 To show the fluctuation of its price I may state that in 

 . 850 it was 2s. \i)d. per bushel of 60 lbs., and now it is 

 ±0*, — (the price a week 



(the price a week ago, now lower). All grain, 

 <&c., here is sold by weight; 60 lbs. are a bushel of 

 Wheat ; ,50 lbs. a bushel of Barley or grain, (the Chick 

 Pea used instead of Beans but not grown here) ; 40 lbs. 

 a bushel of Oars ; 20 lbs. of poll ird or bran. 



The Cape Barley is much grown, and yields an 

 abundant crop ; so also does English Barley ; the grain 

 is harder perhaps than in England, and is not preferred 

 by the maltsters, so that English made malt is a common 

 consignment to this colony ; so also are English Oats ; 

 Rye does not flourish, and, strange to say, that although 

 Beans and Peas would succeed admirably, yet they are 

 never grown. It is to be observed, however, as Wheat 

 and Barley will grow upon almost all the land, another 



crop is the less necessary. 



The climate occasions marked differences between the 

 farm here and in England ; here you will scarcely see 

 anywhere a barn or a cowhouse, or sheds for winter 

 feeding— very few stables even ; what is the natural 

 consequence ? No warm yards covered with straw are 

 to be seen, no litter for horses, no refuse except husks 

 from the rick-yard, the ears being cut off bv the machine 

 close to the ears, so that there are no corn ricks at all, 

 except in certain places or with small farmers, who are 

 obliged to reap the corn in the usual way, and here only, 

 of course, do you see shocks or sheaves "of corn. There 

 being no winter feeding of stock or sheep, there are no 

 fields of Turnips, or Mangel Wurzel, or Cabbages. The 

 land not being locked up by frost or snow is green and 

 luxuriant all the winter. Neither the white nor red 

 Clover, nor Tares or other green crops are grown. 

 Summer is the season when the cattle suffer most, for as 

 the Grasses are mostly annual, and die off about October, 

 their dried remains, and a few insignificant weeds, are 

 all that sustain them till the following April, when the 

 rams ^set in. If any green crop is sown it is Lucerne, 

 which succeeds admirably. There are no native Grasses 

 large enough for hay, so that Oaf s are sown and cut green 

 for this purpose. The Oat yields about 1^ tons per acre of 

 Hay which sells for (this year) 107. per ton. It must be 

 evident there is no straw or stable manure, and if there 

 were so great is the drought that an ordinary dung-heap 

 would crumble into dust before the summer was out 

 most if not ,aUi arnmoniacal properties would evaporate, 

 and it would be of littie value ; also on bad roads the 

 conveyance of manure would be expensive. Guano has 

 been lately introduced, but in a very limited degree. 



The sections of land, 80 acres, are all half a mile Ion* 

 and a quarter of a mile wide, and adjoHl a public road ; 



for 



more 



the most part i hey are very thinly wooded 

 e than an ordinary park in England. Ther 



-not 

 ere are 



very few He fences, posts and rails or posts and wire* 

 bem* chiefly In use. Of forest trees there is very little 

 Tar,e,y 5 flowers few. The land is very rarely* of a 



Stiff clay, more often of a salt 



sandy structure, thirsty Cheshire marl upon y 



lliPQ 4ll<.A 111 ... J 



is trie great Dreaotu ui wiry 

 that is, the land that ought to 

 into cultivation, and would supply an almost inex- 

 haustible quantity of food. It is a comfort to hear 

 Lord Sandys say we could produce three times as much 

 as we do. What would be the consequence to every 

 branch of industry in the country if even it were 

 doubled ? Whatever is added to the income of the 

 country by this means must be spent in promoting 

 every other kind of productive labour. I think the 

 recommendation to break up ancient turf has been 

 put too broadly ; but I say, anything that is capable of 

 conversion to green crops with advantage, may be safely 

 and profitably broken up. It would yie d more than it 

 does, and you would have all the corn crops in addition. 

 About cheese- ma king I feel less confidence. The general 

 impression is that from cows grazing upon ancient turf 

 the cheese is of better quality. I certainly do not 

 concur in the assertion that the richer the land, the 

 richer the quality ; I think the practical evidence is 

 directly contrary to it. I think that the marl and clayey 

 marls, taking England through, make richer cheese 

 than lands of high quality that have been greatly 

 forced. If I am wrong, I should be glad to be 

 set right. I am not laying this down dogmatically 

 but rather as a channel for your own inquiry, for it is a 

 question of too much importance not to be fully and 

 fairly dealt with. We have heard of grazing cows on 

 red Clover the fir^t year ; I doubt the wisdom of graz- 

 ing red Clover with anything the first year. I think if 

 I were to poll the gentlemen present, they would say as 

 a person once said to me, u Can you get better Wheat 

 after mowing Clover or grazing it ? " I said, after mow- 

 ing. I like theory and practice to go together. You 

 think that the manure droppings would make it better, 

 but it is not so. Nesbit says, in grazing it, you stop the 

 growth of the plant ; but in order to test it, he raised 

 the root (after mowing a portion of the field and graz- 

 ing the rest of it), cleaned and weighed it. If I remem- 

 bered the result I should be afraid to state it, but it was 

 something like ten-fold more from the mowing than 

 from the grazing. Some attribute good cheese to arti- 

 ficial manures ; but I say you want a series of experi- 

 ments fairly conducted and honestly stated, and you 

 ought to satisfy yourselves what kind of manures im- 

 prove the quality of milk, and what deteriorate it. I 

 guess Mr. White hit the point when he said that the 

 cheese is more difficult to make after the application of 

 manures ; it does no% however, follow that the cheese is 

 not better when if is more difficult to make. I recollect 

 the case of a friend of mine in Staffordshire, who disturbed 

 the quality of hischeese for several years after laying lime. 

 I am now suggesting points for your consideration rather 

 than giving advice. I do beg that you will pause before 

 you rashly break up ancient turf of fine qualitv, and 

 before you break up marly clays of moderate quality, if 

 there is a tolerably good coat upon the IB. All the large 

 class between these two may be converted into tillage 

 land with advantage, and the public interest requires 

 it shall be so. What is the effect of your best 



YIELD OF THE PAST HARVEST. 



Worcester. — I beg to say that I consider thecroa 



of Wheat in this part of the vale of Evesham extremely 



good. Since harvest I have threshed two fields of 34 



acres — one of red Talavera, the other of a Russian 



and the yield has been 13 bags or 39 bushels 

 per acre. I have made numerous inquiries, and I find 

 the average on the farms around me to be from 33 to 

 36 bushels per acre. This is certainly not the average 

 of 1854, but for many years past. It may be objected 

 that many farmers have grown less — that oue or two in 

 a parish may have grown this crop ; but that others 

 are far below it. I grant it ; but spread the crops over 

 the general acreage, and it will amount to what I have 

 stated. In all the fields there are many bushels of 

 refuse corn only fit for pigs or fowls ; but whatever 

 may be the yield or quality, the bread is certainly very 

 good and very superior to that of last year. Besides 

 there is a general impression that the yield is better 

 than was expected. The Barley is an excellent crop, 

 and the Beans and Peas, like the Wheat, turn out better 

 than was expected ; so that upon the whole I have 

 nothing unfavourable to report, but on the contrary 

 everything to cheer and please. Henry Hvdson, the 



Elms, Fershore. 



Norfolk. — In answer to yours received yesterday! 

 beg to say that the Wheat crop in this district, and I 

 may say county, is very deficient — full one- third. The 

 Barley is a fair average crop, though not fine in quality. 

 The Oats are barely an average in quantity, and qiiality 

 inferior. Beans a fair crop. Peas, none of any con- 

 sequence grown in this neighbourhood. The Wheat 

 is quite as deficient in quality as it is quantity, a great 

 deal of it not weighing more than 56 lbs. to 57 lbs. per 



bushel. Tkos. Brown. 



Suffolk. — In reply to your favour I beg to inform 

 you that I consider the Wheat crop a full average, 

 Barley above that estimation, Beans better than usual 

 Peas not so good, Oats very few grown in this district, 

 Turnips and Swedes are fair crops, Mangel splendid. 

 I have no better guide for my op'nions than the com- 

 mon report of the neighbourhood, compared with ray 



I have 



own experience as a farmer and maltster. 



threshed no Wheat but from my own seed, at 



I have 



no 

 Michaelmas, which yielded well ; Barley 

 threshed more, but cannot distinctly btate produce 

 per acre, as the stacking goes on without reference to 

 separate fields ; I was well satisfied with my first turn- 

 out of Barley, both in qu -ntity and quality, but 

 threshed a stack last week large enough for 40 quarters 



the Grass; the 



the 



Cambridgeshire : Chatteris. 



which gave but 20, it was down in 

 Barleys malt kindly, but require selection m w 

 samples offered. Wheat seed has been well done ana 

 in good time, although it appeared likely not to 

 finished in the usual time. O. Edwards, Framing^** 

 December 10. .. 



In ennVivnnnng to 



give a brief report of the produce of the last ^^l 

 will confine my observations to my own pan*, *» ' 

 consists of about 14,000 acres of land, chiefly »*ao > 

 and is situated in the midst of surrounding P** 18 ^ 

 where the soil is similar ; and consequently the rem - 

 that will apply to this will also be applicable to sew 

 neighbouring parishes. In this parish we nave ^ 

 separate and distinct descriptions of soil, * ™ lC ^ er 

 designate respectively higli and fen land. The o 

 is a strong and stiff soil, whilst the latter is very g • 

 but the proportion of high land to fen is very sih^ 



I have now tested my own yield of vVheat , ° n nP n r- 

 these varieties of soil, and have also taken tne oji 

 tunity of making inquiries of several other ^p* rw* ^ 

 ascertain their probable produce, ^he resu ^ 

 own experience, and of the inquiries I have ' 

 that upon the high lands the crop is about an ^ ^ 

 or nearly so, but upon the fen lands the yie _ |d 

 plorable. But to give figures, 1 place the avera D ; ^ 

 of this parish at 4. J quarters per acre, 

 very acre, whether high or fen land, *^ i/%ft can0 ot 



eld 



Now, taking 



on 



that 



and barren, which all the manure 'that 



„,„! i , - . ,., . . . our pastures ? 1 remember in mv 



HSritff* f? r, 7 i ,fe A n y° ur S""*.. 1 *°*S hl that a good cat of 



Wheat last year, I conceive the acreable r roduc .f l(Je 

 exceed 2 quarters. But in the spring ■"J^ „ilh 

 the ten l.nd were ploughed up and sown " ^ ^ ite 

 green crop* or spring corn ; we should > i,. r vest at 

 the yield of that which was reaped at „,, 



24 quarters per acre. We find the quality, vejr . 

 re»tly iul.r.or either to last or to an ave » ^ 

 The deficiency in weight cannot be less w ^ jg 

 per quar.er. As to any increased acre g > ^ 

 scarcely possble. As the system n>o= • e gW0 

 adopted is to gto* Wheat every *' te ™* tio ^i land i* 



« here this is not pursued « find no addi ^ 

 .Wheat. Barley is but little grown, an, b0 „t* 

 I saw good Grasses spring warrant a report. Oats and Beans are proa* 1 



