





. 



•J 



185L] 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



59 



not be obtained as additional rent, and some doubt may 

 arise whether the 130J. can be realised, more likely 1002. 

 only. Then it will be seen in this case, and it is not 

 altogether hypothetical that at least 1500/. will have 

 been expended, which is not warranted by the circum- 

 stances, and that at the end of 22 years the landowner 

 will have sunk 21452. on the farm, which he has no hope 

 of seeing again — a pretty round sum to throw into the 

 ditch, as the party would literally do who submitted to 

 such wild extravagance ; but then he will have the satis- 

 faction of having paid for the best stereotyped theory of 

 the day. I will conclude the subject by one more calcula- 

 tion, which may have its use. Take as an example a 

 clergyman of a country village, with 2000/. spare cash at 

 his banker's, and who, without the power to curtail his 

 expenditure, is expending the rent derived from a glebe 

 farm of 500 acres, which requires draining, and conceive 

 him to have borrowed the Government money at 6.J per 

 cent, with which to drain the land, and further that he 

 is induced to do it extravagantly, at an expense of 71 

 per acre, and that his tenant will agree to pay only the 

 additional rent of 5s. per acre, it will be easily seen that 

 in 22 years his 2000/. will have disappeared. Now, let 

 us suppose that shortly afterwards he dies, the farm 

 paaes into other hands, and his children or representa- 

 tives discover the sad and melancholy fact, that the 

 2000/. has been irrevocably lost. You may, perhaps, 

 confer a service on some of your readers by inserting 

 the following table, showing the interest to be paid for a 

 certain cost per acre. The first column contains the ex- 

 penditure on an acre, and the second the interest to be 

 paid to Government at 6£ per cent. : 



the latter. It would not be prudent at present to at- 

 tempt to explain this su peri o ri ty. 



Tne proportions of substances which were chosen are 

 no doubt arbitrary; what are the best proportions 

 remain to be determined. Experiment, moreover, alone 

 can show what influence soil and climate may have in 

 these results, as also the comparative influence that all 

 these substances may have on the subsequent crops 

 obtained from an artificial meadow, submitted to their 

 action for several successive years, and on the crops 

 which may afterwards be reared thereon. 



Substances used. 



Dose 

 per 

 hec- 

 tare. 



Order of Efficacy, 



after the 



1st 



crop 



Per Acre. 



£10 



1 11 



2 



2 6 6 

 8 



3 2 

 8 17 



4 



4 12 6 



5 



6 15 C 

 6 3 

 6 11 



6 18 6 



7 

 7 6 3 



Fossa. 



6J ptr Cent* Draining Tabic 

 Interest. i Per Acre. 



:o 



I 



84 







2 











2 



7 







3 











3 



lot 



c 



4 











5 











5 



n 







6 











6 



6 







7 



6 







8 











8 



6 







9 















1 











6 





£7 



8 

 8 

 8 



14 

 

 1 



9 



8 17 



9 4 

 9 12 



10 

 10 8 

 10 15 



11 

 11 

 12 



13 



3 

 11 



6 

 2 





13 17 

 15 8 





 

 6 

 6 

 

 6 

 6 

 

 

 6 

 3 

 





 

 

 



Interest. 



£0 10 







10 



** 



10 



6 



11 







11 



6 



12 







12 



6 



13 







13 



6 



14 







ft 



6 



15 







id 







17 







18 







1 







Crude plaster 



Carbonate of potabb 



Burnt plaster 



Salt 



Sulphate of soda ... 

 Nitrate of potash ... 

 Sulphate of soda ... 

 Nitrate of ammonia 

 ul ph ate of potash . 

 Burnt plaster 



Sal ammoniac 



Nitrate of potash .. 

 Sulphate of potash . 



>ea salt 



Nitrate of ammonia 



Burnt plaster 



Carbonate of soda . 



Carbouate of potash 



Sea salt 



Sal ammoniac 



Sea salt 



Carbonate of soda . 



Crude plaster 



Salt 



Crude plaster 



Salt 



kilo*. 



269% 



16jj 

 1888 



83$ 



16§ 

 33| 



1 \ 

 k 



66r 



1' 



lGff 

 33j 



88$ 



2 ■■• i 



1 \ 



13*4 

 &> i 



6V 



1* 



h 



1334 



1 



2 

 4 



3 



ft 



6 



7 

 8 



9 



10 

 11 



12 

 13 

 14 



15 

 16 

 17 

 18 





19 



5 



2i> 



20- 



21- 



2i- 



ti - ** 





O fcj 





m 



6 



~3 rf 



*-' 



.-— — — 





3 « 





C v 



1 



The numbers marked 



show that the crop obtained was 



inferior to that yielded byunmanured ground 



ON THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT SALINE 



MATTERS ON THE SAINTFOIN. 



Br M. Isidore Pierre. 



The action of any substance employed as a manure 

 on a piece of primitive soil, should be considered as the 

 resultant of the partial actious of this fcubstance on each 

 of the plants in the tame soil. In order, therefore, to 

 give an accurate account of the result of experiments 

 made on this subject, it is necessary to be able to 

 accouut for each of these partial effects, and this, in the 

 present state of agriculture, is no easy matter. 



An artificial meadow, in consequence of its simplicity 

 in a botanical point of view, is much more fitted to such 

 experiments; and for this reason we have chosen it for 

 the special object of our study in the first instance. 



We have, moreover, applied ourselves almost exclu- 

 sively to that species of Saintfoin commonly called large- 

 seeded or double- crop Saintfoin. 



The saline matters employed in these experiments 

 were: 1, carbonate of soda; 2, carbonate of potash; 



SCOULAR'S IMPROVED GRUBBER. 

 Although a variety of implements, passing under the 

 name of" grubbers" have been introduced into this district, 

 none of them have hitherto so fully accomplished the 

 purposes to which they are applied, as to supersede, to 

 any considerable amount, the use of the common plough 

 or harrow. I need scarcely say, that the point aimed 

 at by the inventors of sucli implements has always been 

 to get the soil cleaned and pulverised more easily and 

 speedily than could be done by the old process ; and 

 that they have called them * grubbers" or "cultivators" 

 according to their more peculiar adaptation to the one 

 purpose or the other. The grubber which has hitherto 

 been most approved in this county is that commonly 

 known as Finlayson's harrow. I have long used it, and, 

 in the main, with advantage ; but still it is at best a very 

 defective implement. When land is foul it constantly 

 gets choked ; it has such an effect in firming the soil, 

 except on the mere surface, that it is always necessary 

 to plough again after using it ; and it is costly to pur- 

 chase and keep in repair. I had often felt very anxious 

 to get an implement free from these objections ; and 

 having, about a year ago, had lent to me by my landlord, 

 Mr. Hay, of Dunse Castle, a pamphlet published 30 years 

 ago by General Beatson, in which, after referring to the 

 slim and contemptible looking implements with which 

 he had seen the natives of India and China cultivate the 



f 



3, sulphate of soda ; 4, sulphate of potash; 5, sal am- , soil, he figures and describes one of his own invention, 



moniac ; 6, nitrate of potaah ; 7, nitrate of ammonia ; 

 8, common salt ; 9, burnt plaster ,• 10, burnt plaster, 

 with salt", in different quantities; 1], crude plaster; 

 12, crude plaster, with salt, in various proportions. 



These different substances produced different resuhs 

 On the different crops of Saintfoiu, so much so, that if 

 classed according to their efficacy, so far as it relates to 

 the average of the whole of the four crops, or to any 

 particular crop, they would not retain the same order. 



This variation in order will be understood by a refer- 

 ence to the subjoined table, the matters enumerated in 

 which are divisible into four great classes : 



1. Those which produced an increase in the four 

 successive crops of Saintfoin. 2. Those which produced 

 an increase in oue or more successive crops without 

 producing a diminution in the remaining crops* 



3. Those which acted favourably on one or more crops, 

 *° d afterwards caused a diminution in the others. 



4. Those which acted unfavourably on all four crops. 



with which alone he had succeeded in cultivating his 

 farm. I was so convinced of the soundness of the prin- 

 ciples propounded in this little treatise, that I sent it to 

 Mr. Scoular at Haddington, whom I had long known as 

 a skilful mechanic, asking him to read it with care, and 

 to say whether he could furnish me with an implement, 

 very much lighter and cheaper, and yet more effective 

 than the grubbers commonly in use. Having heard 

 about this time that several forms of light grubber had 

 recently been introduced in different parts of Scotland, 

 I was induced to visit a friend in Mid-Lothian, from 

 whom I obtained much valuable information on the 

 subject. On the same occasion I called upon Mr. Scoular, 

 and found that just when I sent him General Beatson's 

 treatise, he had been engaged in constructing a grubber, 

 which he thought an improvement upon one which had 

 shortly before been introduced into East Lothian from 

 Ayrshire, and that he had got what he considered most 

 useful hints from the pamphlet referred to. This Ayr- 



>ve were led to conclude, from our experiments, that j shire implement having been first used on the farm of 

 certain costly substances, such as nitrates of potash and ~ 

 ammonia, might be advantageously employed ; whilst 

 others such as salt and carbonate of soda, could only 



ffj£?* • SpUe ° f their low P rice » afc the ex P« n ^ of 



ine ssaintfom, at least under the circumstances iu which 

 we experiments were tried. 



i n «\Z i]l u e S * en ' too > that sal ammoniac, notwithstand- 

 ing ^ Cr ° P P'Ntoeed b 7 fc cannot be recom- 

 K £i fi ".^^uence of the great outlay necessary 



not 111 U T ance ' from its hi S h ***** which outlay is 

 not afterwards covered by the returns obtained. 



infn, t0 i h ' VJ V ^ T * crude rath * r than bwnt, 



Ln q d?H f*' J*" 8 ^terenee we believe to be well 



Win, /ft ^ 0Ur own experiments in the 

 department of Calvados, but from those of other persons 



Marat departments of Seine and Oise, and Seine and 



Crude plaster as is well known, only differs from that 

 «^is burnt by containing 10 or U percent, more 



aw | ia consequently less rich in actual plaster than 



Traprain, is now currently known in East Lothian by 

 that name, and has now come into very general use in 

 that county. Through the kindness of my neighbour, 

 Mr. White, Causeway-bank, I am enabled to exhibit 

 one of them to-day, so that the members of the club 

 may have the opportunity of comparing it with the 

 implement invented by Mr. Scoular. He had several 

 of these Traprain grubbers in his yard when I visited 

 it in February last ; but as his own implement appeared 

 to me to be preferable in several respects, I purchased 

 four, and shall now narrate my experience in using 

 them. My first trial was upon a field which had been 

 in Turnips the year before. These had been consumed 

 by sheep early in the autumn, and the land ridged up 

 about Martinmas, so that after the frost and rains of 

 the whole winter, I found it too much weathered to admit of 

 the seed being properly covered by the common harrows. 

 I therefore sowed the Barley broadcast andthen went ov t m 

 it with these grubbers, following it up with the harrows. 

 The seed was as well covered as I could wish, any weeds 



that had rung up were destroyed, and the surface soil 

 nicely pulverised. The space gone over in a dav by each 

 implement was about four acres. My next trial of them 

 was upon a field intended for Turnips. Part of this field 

 had been under Potatoes in the previous rotation, and was 

 very foul. After going over this piece of land, first length- 

 ways and then across, the weeds were brought to the sur- 

 I face and removed with far less labour,and in much shorter 

 time than I ever could do before. I may here mention 

 that after the weeds had thus been brought to the sur- 

 face, and well freed from the soil by frequent harrowing 

 and rolling, I collected them by means of common hay* 

 rakes. I have now ascertained that a given number of 

 women will clear about five times more space in a day 

 by raking than they could do by handpicking, and make 

 quite as good work. I used in this instance the common 

 hay-rakes ; but I have found since that iron teeth, set a 

 very little closer, do better than wooden ones. My next 

 trial was upon a piece of viry light moory soil, upon 

 which the Turnips had just been consumed by sheep. 

 This field I purposed to sow with Grass seeds without a 

 corn crop. Part of it had already been ridged up and 

 sown ; but I resolved to try whether I could obtain a 

 sufficient tilth on the remainder without using the plough 

 at all. Taking advantage, therefore, of a moderate rain, 

 which had softened the soil, I set these grubbers to work, 

 and by going over it twice, 1 found my purpose effec- 

 tually accomplished. The soil was stirred .»$ d ply as 

 was required, the manure kept Hear the surface, and a 

 fine mould, most favourable for the brairding of small 

 seeds, easily obtaiued. The ridges were then marked off 

 by a ribbing plough, the seeds sown, covered in by 

 Crosskiirs Roller, and the whole work accomplished 

 more speedily and satisfactorily than could have been 

 done by ploughing. I was convinced, moreover, that 

 had I wished to sow Barley, it could have been covered 

 in by the second grubbing quite satisfactorily. Part of 

 my Turnip break this year consists of a low lying boggy 

 field, which was drained and brought into tillage for the 

 first time about ten years ago. This I allowed to remain 

 in the winter furrow until I was nearly ready to proceed 

 with the sowing of it. It was then worked by these 

 grubbers, and about three-fourths of it drilled up and 

 sown without any ploughing. The remainder, not being 

 so clean, got one furrow ; and though sown in appa- 

 rently as favourable circumstances, the crop is not 

 nearly so good as on the part which was worked 

 by the grubbing only. After my Turnip sowing 

 was over, I found great advantage from the use 

 of these implements in working a piece of strong 

 clay land in bare fallow. From the size and hard- 

 ness of the clods I was afraid, before trial, that here 

 they would prove of little use, but in this I was agree- 

 ably disappointed. Since harvest I have again had re- 

 course to them, and I think with advantage. From the 

 earliness of harvest and the favourable weather, I have 

 been enabled to do something towards cleaning a field 

 intended for Turnips next year ; and have found, as ia 

 spring, that the grubbers greatly farthered this process* 

 Besides this, I have used them in preparing a piece of 

 land for Wheat, after Potatoes. As soon as the Potatoes 

 were removed it was twice gone over with the grubbers, 

 and the Wheat drilled in, immediately without any 

 ploughing. Having a piece of Bean stubble alongside 

 this Potato land, three ridges of it were, by way of 

 experiment, worked in the same way, and from its pre- 

 sent appearance it seems likely to do as well as the 

 remainder which has been treated in the usual way. I 

 have thus shown that this implement can be success- 

 fully applied to a great variety of purposes, and have 

 no hesitation in giving it as my deliberate opinion, that 

 by means of it much of our field labour can be accom- 

 plished in a better manner, and at greatly less expense, 

 than by the customary processes. In particular I 

 believe that if land intended for root crops be deeply 

 ploughed in autumn, it can ordinarily be brought into> 

 a more favourable state for drilling, by working it with 

 this or some similar implement, than by ploughing ; and 

 the reason seems just to be that the soil, which has been 

 mellowed by frost, being kept a-top, and the winter sap 

 retained, a good braird is almost certain to follow* I am 

 convinced from what I have seen and heard, that in very 

 many cases spring ploughing may thus be omitted with 

 decided benefit to the Turnip crop, and with a very great 

 saving of time and labour. The distinctive feature oi 

 this system of tillage consists in loosening and pulveria* 

 ing the soil to a sufficient depth without turning it over. 

 This can be done by various implements ; and I recom- 

 mend Mr. Secular's simply because I have proved 

 it, and think it the best which has come under my 

 notice. Its recommendations are that it is cheap- 

 costing, with the apparatus for moving it from place to 

 place, about 3'. ; it is very light, of very easy draught, 

 and quite under the control of the ploughman. It can 

 be worked on the foulest land without checking, and it 

 brings all fibrous rooted weeds to the surface without 

 cutting them in pieces as the plough does. My object, 

 however, is to recommend a system of culture, rather 

 tlian a [articular implement ; and believing that these 

 details of my own experience will be interesting to the 

 members of this Club, I have had much pleasure in lay- 

 ing them before you. Being anxious to know how far 

 the experience of others who had used this grubber 

 agreed with my own, I some time ago applied by letter- 

 to six farmers in East Lothian, who, I ascertained, 

 had tried them, from each of whom I got a most ex- 

 plicit and obliging answer in a few days, and who corro- 

 borate my statement in every particular lf * ia,A ner - 



If time per- 



mitted, I should have liked to read their answers entire, 

 but as I have already occupied much of your time, I 



