.') 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE 





^M 



IRISH PEA.T CHARCOAL. 



TO FARMERS, AGRICULTURISTS, AND OTHERS. 



THE IRISH AMELIORATION SOCIETY beg to 

 draw the attention of the public generally to tne fertilising 

 and deodorising properties of Irish Peat Charcoal. Mixed with 

 Bifcht-soil or sewage matter it instantly and wholly destroys all 

 offensive smell, renders it easy of manipulation, adapts the fer- 

 tilising properties as a ready food for plants, and enables it to 

 be transported by Railway or any other conveyance without ' 

 the slightest inconvenience. 



The extent to which Charcoal (carbon) enters into the com- 

 position of every article of agricultural produce, and the value 

 of night-«oiI as a manure, render any observations on these 

 points unnecessary. Mixed with night-soil, in about equal 

 weights, a most efficacious manure is produced a; a very small 

 cost 



Price of the Charcoal, ready for use, at Dublin, exclusive of 

 ticks, 35j. per ton ; in London, Liverpool, Bristol, and other 

 leaports in England, 48s. per ton, exclusive of sacks; or 60s. 

 per ten, sacks included.— Agents will be forthwith appointed in 

 ill the principal towns in England. 



Head Office, 9, Waterloo-place, London. 

 Feb. 1, 1851. L. Pabbott, Secretary. 



rr HE LONDON MANURE COMPANY be- to 



X offer, sa under, CORN MANURE, most valuable for 

 epnog dressing— Concentrated Urate, Superphosphate of Lime 

 Nitrate of Soda, Sulphate of Ammonia, Fishery and A*ricuL 

 tural.Salts Gypsum, Fossil Bones, Sulphuric Acid, and* every 

 other Artificial Manure ; aia > a constant supply of English 

 and Foreign Linseei-cake. Peruvian Guano, guaranteed the 

 genuine importation of Messrs. A. Gibbs and Sons, 91. 10#. per 

 Cun, or 9/. 5*. in quantities of 5 tons and upwards. 



-at,., Edward Purser, Secretary. 



40, Bridge-street, Blackfriars, London. 



ANURLST 





 







The following Manures are manu- 



Mr. Lawes's Factory, Deptford Creek : 

 Clover Manure, per ton £11 n 



Turnip Manure, do 7 



Superphosphate of Lime 7 



Sulphuric Acid and Coprolitea ... "" 5 



w t, r> 0ffic ?» 69 A mn * William-street, City, London. 



H.U. Peruvian Guano, guaranteed to contain 16 per cent, of 

 Ammonia, 9L 15s. per ton ; and for 5 tons or more. 91. 10s. per 

 tan, in dock. Sulphate of Ammonia, Ac. 



]Y|R. J. C. NESBi^F.C.S.7l^ 



-A-'J- Analytical Chemist, Laboratories, 38, Kennington-lane, 

 London.-PRIVATE INSTRUCTIONS in Chemical Analysis 

 !i n rvrn e ^ 08t approved methods of making ARTIFICIAL 

 MANURES. Analyses of Soils, Manures, Minerals, <fec, per- 

 ormed a s usual, on m oderate terms. 



(^UANO AND OTHElTMANlJRES^^^uvian 



oT Gua "° ° f *|?e fi Qest quality; Superphosphate of Lime- 

 Gypsum ; Salt ; Nitrate of Soda ; Moffat's Patent Concentrated 

 City Sewage Manure, and all others of known value.— Apply to 

 Mark Fothergill, 204, Upper Thames-street, London. * 



little fortune to begin business with ;' I told him 

 it was a Utile fortune, and the probability was much 

 in favour of its dissipation by his untrained son 

 within a year, either from want of knowledge or 

 judgment, or from misfortune or fraud ; but if in- 

 vested in the capital of education, it would be 

 beyond the reach of accident, diminution, or robbery 

 and would produce certain, and probably abundant' 

 interest." ; 



We strongly advise those who are debating with 

 themselves how best to spend 150/. in the education 

 of a son, to procure and study Mr. Lawrence's 

 pamphlet. We must, however/add one word, not 

 by way of criticism, for the point on which we should 

 in that case say this pamphlet is deficient is one 

 which hardly comes within the scope of scholastic 

 education. There are three things necessary to make 

 a successful farmer, even supposing him to have the 

 means of energetically pursuing his business. The 

 1st— Intelligence, or as it is named in Mr. Law- 

 rence's pamphlet— Science ; the 2d— Experience, 

 or the knowledge of good methods; the 3d is 

 Business Habits ; and it is not referred to in this 

 pamphlet. Now, so far as we have had experience, 

 we believe that agriculturists will generally permit 

 you to tax them with ignorance of science ; the way 

 they meet you there, if they are disposed for con- 

 troversy on the point, is to dispute the exceeding use- 

 fulness of science ; they will, however, rarely admit 

 a want of practical ability, and in general there is 

 much less ground for such a charge ; if made, how- 

 ever, it is often taken as something very like an 

 insult : but the third, in which we really believe 

 that agriculturists are most deficient — and un- 



haje been fed The state of theTi^i^T^ 

 indication of the feeding of the beast ; if he has not 

 been forced it will run regular all through but if 

 forced it will be unequal, thick in the butt, and thin 

 m the shoulder "Now it may seem idle to discuss 

 the influence of different modes of feeding cattle on 

 the value of their hides— when the effects of these 

 different modes upon their carcases have not yet 

 been determined : but the question is of some 



Witt asttcttitutai ©ajette 



SATURDAY^FEBRUARY 1, 1851. 



MEETINGS FOB „_,„ „«,^ 



t£u«;«"' I eb - l~t s, i cultu "! ?o<n«*y of Belaud. 

 ibumd.t. - 6 - Agncu tural I mp. Soe. of Ireland. 



Mr. Lawrence, of Cirencester, has added a very 

 excellent pamphlet to the number of the exhorta- 

 tions which have been addressed to the farmer upon 

 Education.* In the course of it he illustrates the 

 distinction between 



and 



, ( w , .. . science and experience : 



While experience records effects, and is barren of 

 all intelligence as to the why and the wherefore, 

 science unfolds the causes, and their mode of opera- 

 tion. And he speaks of experience as of great im- 

 portance m agricultural education :— " It teaches the 

 seasons of the year, and even the dates at which 

 the various preparations of the soil for the several 

 crops, _ the planting, the sowing, and the harvesting 

 will, in ordinary seasons, and under ordinary cir- 

 cumstances be most successfully accomplished in 

 the particular latitude, and on various soils. It 

 teaches the circumstances under which, and the 

 mode in which the various operations may be suc- 

 cessfully performed, to a given extent. It teaches 

 the selection of the breeds of animals best adapted 

 tc particular localities ; everything in the breeding 

 and much in the rearing and general management of 

 stock of all kinds; and it is omnipotent as respects 

 all purchases and sales involved in farming opera- 

 tions. Experience, therefore, allied with attentive 

 observation, is of great value, and her lessons 

 should never be disregarded by you." Bat" it is 

 on the sciences related to agriculture that he lays 

 the greatest stress as necessary to the complete 

 education of the young farmer. " Science is know- 

 ledge and knowledge is power :" it alone is able as 

 a guide in untried circumstances :— 



Bon «??"? DCe i S l° thing more than the observa- 

 tlrL fac j s \ an 4 the remembrance of them with 



morl o 2^ C1 ™ mstances - ^ ^ the mere me- 

 mory of effects, disconnected from their causes" 



you succ°e* *°. \ leSS0DS • of b °th is neces^ t0 

 when vo« m l t ? ractlce of agriculture ; and 



wnen you comprehend <• earl*, ™W ;* :_ a-1 , 



doubtedly to their great injury— is ground on which 

 we must not tread. It is not to bad book-keeping, 

 or anything of that kind, pronounced although it is 

 by a late Attorney-General as the high-road to bank- 

 ruptcy in any business, that we now refer— that is 

 a subject on which we may occasionally scold. But 

 if we ever venture to hint that those among the 

 farmers have themselves alone to blame for deficient 

 balance-sheets, who throughout the year cannot be 

 said to have regarded farming as a trade, requiring 

 as every other occupation does, the close and con- 

 stant superintendence of a master — we are charged 

 with insolently interfering where we have no busi- 

 ness. Nevertheless, to this, as much as anything, 

 we look for the improvement of agriculture— a closer 

 and more constant attention to the details of the 

 profession. Of course, such remarks will admit of 

 personal application only here and there ; but they 

 do apply in many instances most justly, and when- 

 ever the pleasures of a country life are more regarded 

 than the fieldwork of the agriculturist, he need not 

 wonder if low prices do, indeed, destroy his capital. 

 We venture, then, to add this remark on this one 

 point, as a postscript to the letter Mr. Lawrence has 

 addressed to " those who have resolved on farming, 

 as their future occupation." 



importance, and as we believe the writer of the 

 above to be in error, we shall take the liberty of 

 stating our reasons. 



(1.) The quality of the hide, generally speaking 

 will depend very much upon the breed. The skins 

 of different breeds, although equally fed, are yet 

 widely different from each other, both as to thick- 

 ness and fineness of texture and " greasiness." The 

 hide of the short-horn, for instance, differs widely 

 from that of the Welsh breeds, or the Kyloe, or 

 Galloway. (2.) The original quality of the hides of 

 different individuals of any one breed are widely 

 different from each other in all the above particulars, 

 altogether independently of the treatment they 

 receive. It is very obvious, then, that very great 

 differences will exist in the tan-yaid, where hides 

 are promiscuously collected, and that still greater 

 differences will result to the currier if the whole is 

 subjected to a hasty and uniform process of tanning. 

 Again, the expression forcing a beast, although 

 still used among farmers, is by no means a proper 

 or scientific one ; and it is therefore liable to be 

 misapplied by parties probably not familiar with its 

 meaning, for the forcing of an ox is neither less nor 

 more than the proper feeding of an ox. We may 

 cram a chicken, but we cannot get at the third 

 stomach of a ruminating animal. The practice of 

 changing food, so as to encourage the appetite, pre- 

 supposes a previous defect in the quality given, and 

 neither that nor mixing food, to tempt the animal to 

 eat, can be construed into " forcing " it. The facts 

 of the case are simply these. In the olden time the 

 ox was fattened during summer, and starved during 

 winter ; and indeed in modern times the practice is 

 but still too common ; but, generally speaking, we 

 are now striving to do away with the latter half of 

 the practice, by fattening without intermission from 

 the time the animal is calved. 



The question, then, resolves itself into the effect 

 produced upon the hide of the ox by the starving 

 and proper feeding him, respectively; if he has been 

 starved, it will " run regular all through ! " but if 

 "properly fed," it will be unequal— " thick in the 

 butt and thin in the shoulder"— which seems absurd 





experien 



will 



of 



resnpet c/.;»„ i *^6<"ucu wun attention and 



Thf' *ZA T? *♦? Pedal -^tivation." 

 science hS^enl^it^H P ^ iculars in which 

 tnre ; it states and T 1 \ ° f 'f 1 ut51it ? in a ^ ml - 



^oultnXonZJn^^ the efficienc y of ^e 

 the followinr a nn S ro ^ rences ter> and concludes with 



farmer StWoT *? anecdote : ~" 0n Rising a 



y^iSt IZ e hls T T the advanta s e *>f th g 



For some time past, as many of our readers 

 doubtless know, two of the London daily news- 

 papers have employed special correspondents to 

 investigate the condition of our rural provinces; 

 and they have collected a vast amount of informa- 

 tion of great value to the farmer, which we hope to 

 see reprinted ultimately as separate publications. 

 The objects of the two inquiries are different. The 

 correspondent of the Times confines himself almost 

 exclusively to agriculture, while his contemporary 

 takes up the much more comprehensive subject of 

 labour in every branch of industry. 



Labour is, of course, to every one an interesting 

 subject : but the farmer who provides the raw ma- 

 terial of many manufactures, and the food for all, 

 must feel a deeper and more general interest in it 

 than almost any other man. This appears not only 

 in the case of those great channels of employment 

 connected with the^ wool and cotton trades, where 

 such stores of agricultural produce are annually 

 consumed ; but also in more limited and peculiar 

 cases of less general importance : and to all of them 

 we propose at present to direct attention. 



The 45th letter of the correspondent of the Min- 

 ing Chronicle relates to " the boot and shoemakers 

 of Northampton." 



. The writer, to do justice to his subject, soon finds 

 it necessary to describe the labours not only of the 

 shoemaker but those of the tanner also, the currier, 

 and the grower of hides : thus bringing home the 

 subject to the door of the farmer himself. In 





"greasy ;" and skins generally 



enough. If the starved ox turns his tail to the 

 storm, as he invariably does, that certainly is not 

 likely to make its skin grow thinner there than on 

 the shoulder; nor, conversely, when properly fed 

 and sheltered, is it likely that the opposite should 

 be true. No doubt hides are younger now than 

 formerly, resembling in this respect more nearly 

 calf than neat hides ; but taking into account the 

 changes which have taken place in travelling, this 

 makes them better adapted for the wants of the 

 present age, provided they are equally well tanned. 

 The skins ^ of extra stock at Christmas exhibitions 

 are complained of as 



# form__^ 7 



fit for the more hasty system of tanning ; but even 

 granting they are so, the difficulty remains the same 

 of solving the uneven quality charged upon the 

 hides produced by improved farming ; for although 

 grease may resist the tannin longer, yet we must 

 suppose hides to be pretty equally greasy through- 

 out. Again, we have heard it said, we overstretch 

 the hides of cattle no w-a-days ! " You farmers now 

 so stuff and stretch the hides of oxen as to make 

 them thinner ; and, therefore, of less value ! " 

 Now, such theorists quite forget the continual 

 change to which the animal system is subject, and 

 also that what makes beef grow makes hide grow 



quite as fast to hold it. 



ons of 



reporting on the income of the currier, he says, leather 



And so we have glanced at the pros and ~— ~ 

 this question, to the extent the farmer is concerned 

 in it, and find that raw hides, as produced by him,, 

 are better fitted for the times than those of former; 

 days, and that the complaints of tanners and of 

 curriers to the contrary are v-'thout foundation — so 

 that the greater difficulties experienced by the latte r 

 fall to be attributed *f the less perfect state of th * 

 art of the former — * difference which they have * 

 right to settle K-tween themselves, but not to lay ^ t 

 the door of **e farmer, or saddle him with their "ba d 



Where 



ree 



CB4U 



addi eased to a Youth 

 lture occupation. By 

 Piccadilly. * 



of his earnings will depend to a great extent np^ 

 the quality of the skins upon which he is emr 2o Y ed - 

 The skins which are considered by th* carriers as 

 the best to work, are those whick are tanned at 

 Stourbridge. A great deal arp* ars to depend not 

 only upon the quality of tiie tanning which the skin 

 undergoes, but upon the mode in which the beasts 



A TRIP TO NORTH DEVON. 1 



At a time when we are all agreed that agricultui •e 

 must progress, it may be interesting and instructive t o 

 watch and exhibit amendment wherever we rind i fe. 

 Having received a polite invitation from Earl Fortescu e 

 to inspect his agricultural operations, the Great Wester n 

 Railway brought me to Tiverton, from whence to Castl 8 

 Hill is a pleasant coach ride of about 25 miles— quite ft 





