

THE 



u1TM nTTT.TTTR/VL GAZETTE. 



l"imi not Coin- to vt 



j the author credit for novelty, for 



of truths which 



unknown to some of the 



.»»=» "p- «3S?5ST 



i; U ,r. I II aSvocitedtho principle 100 years ago.*™ Freda-icVsylace, 

 h7adva.ua*. be gained from tef eoftme *£*» --= 



the M th« ki.l down as the oo. ^ ^ £ 

 £nS» ption. AUIwishto,low,todrawa«cn»on 



Hw^lvantages gained from deep culUvat.on and he 

 ««t«mogSt; soil .f.nyownexpene.^ nferm 

 Shu taught uk to look with distroatat th 'F^ -. 

 £Hi n * .iu .^upo.. .arable fanners te no^ty 



moretj 



are taking » imp»e» "i~" ■— „*„„!.- bpninc 



,eir . iel deper.-lance on stock ^ep'n~ 



to give them the means to profitably grow -corn,^ 



for placing their chief depen-bnee 



I 



Juvve 



found the 1 



promau./ ««» - ---, - - u j m p 0rta nce 



tVtml stock kept upon the £ , 



Home Correspondence. 



0MoZifv of aides. — The observations of the corre- 

 j!£Sjt£S^ Ckronif, which ««M- 

 list week's Guzette, can only excite ridicule m th ; minds 

 of a tanner or currier. As a practical currier of -0 

 vea^xperSce, I can without hesitation confirm your 



General Sew of he question. The matter may he of 

 general i ^ fa &n ^ 



produce of ar»bl land, largely interfered with the 



rofiu from cultivation ; and « I, too, have experienced, 



au d on rST^cal. ,f farming, how much the occasion 



J? Inure to grow com may be lessened by deep and 



ToO p S c ^ h^ i place in hides, no portion of 

 i lis'found its way into his pocket ; »»»*. wh«e -och 

 absurd and careless statements are made it is desirable 



that they should fc«E"2^F^SS 



of the parents, and the great want of occu^ti^T* 

 lads after they leave school. Nothing tends mc 

 diminish crime than an abundance of employe 

 which the statistics of the country will verify. ^ 

 value of spade husbandry having been proved, p art i * 

 larly upon clay lands, why should it not be practise 

 to a great extent, as, after all, the expense of di 

 15 inches deep is not greater than ploughing 6 in^ 

 with a dressing of manure, and the former will if 

 turned up in time, bear the heaviest crop. Farmer* 

 may have some difficulty in collecting a suffiei™ 

 number of men to dig their land, when they require a 

 few acres prepared for root crops, and may not ha Te 

 time personally to attend to the work. This mighty 

 obviated by establishing gangs with a responsible^ 

 man to contract for the job at so much per acre, a c^ 

 tain depth of soil being moved. It is almost impossible 

 to lay down decided rules applicable to all localities, fa 



•Ti V « cimilnr announcements. Tne statement, to lay aowu uewucu imw a^.^re «; an wirauues, bot 

 C ood culT^ionT^dl^ '»«<* *** W P rofit3 P" 1 ;i;^Tan anS has been forced (I presume highly | general hints may be given which may induce men tf 



goou cuiu%»i«>u,iMi« »h>camelesa I introduce with I tIiat n «" 1 «" mu< " i _ xJL^r a *u;„ ;« tho ;~fl,,««<«i f^ ovprt. themselves m nromotmor t.Vif» xbM^. 



as m v occMlon — , 



mucb \>lmm— the wok to your readers. 



To kivo the confidence which is so much wanting 

 inteHiocing new systems, I begin with drawing 

 attention to die author^ wry satirfactorv balance-she^ 

 Bho* ' the cost of grow mg an acre of \V heat, with th 

 return which he ^.obtained from land where he has 

 Mown Wheat, without manur for five succ< 

 the return given being the last year's : — 



The Outlay. 



One double-di^in* of the fallow ground, being 

 two feet «f » ry five feet 



Two ftinicle forfcinfl ■•• _ . . . m 



PrtatiH tuwiug, hoeing, carrying, threahmg, 

 and rutee 



BetA, two peeks 



fed), it will be unequal, thick in the butt and thm m the 

 shoulder," is directly the opposite of the fact. Every 

 tanner or currier, who has the misfortune to come into 

 the possession of the hide of a prize beast, knows it is 

 as deficient in substance as in quality. I have now in 

 stock a hide from one of Prince Albert's prize jmunals, 

 and there is not a piece of thick leather in it. 1 his 

 ivo yean, fa . Hke mogt of % similar charact er, disproves your 



. ...... uj_ — > "pretty equally greased 





- 



■ > • 



• » « 



. . - 



£ 1 10 

 1 



2 

 



1 





 







X 4 IS 6 



KETtmif. 

 Wheat, 4 quarters 9 busbeU, at «*< 



Straw, I tun 1- cwt., at 4Uj. 



- •• 



*. . 



*•• 







£ 8 10 



3 4 



•£ll 14 



Now, if we add to the charges 40*. an acre to cover 

 rent and interest of capital, and 40*. an acre more for 

 ptvrision for rontiafenetai and dressing (for I would 

 not Msjour e the idea that land can be fanned for ever 

 without di-ee« a net profit of 3i. 0.^. 6rf, per acre, 



per anr.um, rtmaini ; and this is pained by cultivation, 



wl di permanently deepens the staple of the land. 



The practi which has given this extraordinary 

 return is as follows:— The ground is laid out in stetches 

 of fiv»> feat, each of which is thus appropriated — one- 

 half is given to growing three rows of Wheat, at inter- 

 vals of one foot. The other half is left to admit of 



being worked as follows : as soon as the young Wheat 

 shows, this part is trenched two feet deep, and to within 

 six ii fthej mg Wheat. The top soi Ibeing placed 



undi nnost and the bottom uppermost. In this state the 

 wide intervals he all the winter exposed to the action of 

 frost and atmo lieric cIkUMWj which are so beneficial 

 to newly turned- up earth. In the spring, this space La 

 a;nin turned over with the fork one spit deep, and has 

 t ;e cultivator run through it as often as the incrusta- 

 tion of the surface calls for it. In this period, so long 

 as the growth permits, the youn_r Wheat receives 

 several horse hoeings. As soon as the Wheat is 

 harvested, the fallowed space is again turned over with 

 fie fork , and levelled, and channels are made by a three- 

 wheel preeaer to receive the seed, which is carefully 

 dropped, grain by gTain,, three inches apart, at the rate 

 of two pecks per acre. In this way upwards of four 

 quart rs of Wheat have been grown from the same land, 

 and without manure, for five successive years. By this 

 simple process, with nothing beyond the use of a simple 

 cultivator, the spade, the fork, and the presser, has the 

 same acre of land been made to pay back so bountifully for 

 the fanner's labour ; the fertility has been gained from 

 the decomposing action of heat and cold, wet and 

 drought, wind and rain upon the well tilled intervals, 

 which, at the same time, has been gathering the trea- 

 sures of nitrogen, ammonia, and decom| ed organic 

 matter, the descending rains cam- into the substrata made 

 pervioae by the deep tillage* When we reflect on the 

 idntity of the constituent of grain, with the matter 

 afforded by decomposed soils, or supplied from water 

 and the atmosphere, it will not appear surprising 

 after • ! wintering and summering under deep and 

 constant exposure, that the teeming earth should so 

 soon be r vdy to receive the seed ; but I must not 

 trespass further. The little book may be had of James 

 Ridgway, Piccadilly, and the farming may be seen by 

 application to the Rev. S. Smith Lois, Weedon, near 

 Towcester, Northamptonshire. There can be no doubting 

 of the practice or the return, for it is in any one's power 

 to see the former, and, as to the latter, I privately saw 

 the farmer in whose barn the corn was threshed, and 

 who assisted to measure it ; and unwilling as farmers 

 generally are to admit of facts that tell against their 

 own practice, he neither questioned the accuracy of the 

 labour, nor the returns, nor disputed the advantages ; ! woVld 

 but simply, and with astonishment, told me « he knew I amom 



statement, that hides are _ 



throughout ; " a portion near the tail (at least a super- 

 ficial °yard) is rendered comparatively worthless by 

 saturation with fat. I have not unfrequently been able 

 to squeeze out the grease from such hides after tanning ; 

 and where this is the case, no length of time or strength 

 of liquor will enable a tanner to convert such material 

 into good leather. I think also, with great submission 

 to your authority, that the distension of the hide by full 

 feeding does diminish the substance. Your suggestion, 

 that the animal, by turning his tail to the storm, thickens 

 the hide in the butt, is an ingenious mode of accounting 

 for what is certainly a physiological fact ; for all my 

 experience confirms your opinion that the hides of such 

 animals are the most irregular in substance. A thin, 

 bad shoulder is the usual characteristic of the skin or 

 hide] of an ill-conditioned animal. In the breed, how- 

 ever, we find the greatest influence upon the pelt ; and 

 the change which has taken place in this particular has 

 almost revolutionised the trade; In this county, for 

 instance, where the old long-horns almost exclusively pre- 

 vailed, we had the best hides in England for substance ; 

 and I have heard my father say that they had at one 

 time great difficulty in supplying thin leather. Now it 

 is completely reversed. The best hides, as proved by 

 current prices, are from the West of England. Climate 

 also appears to have much influence : the Cornish hides 

 :u-e of the finest grain, in some cases being hardly infe- 

 rior to calf-skins in texture ; French hides have the 



influence to exert themselves in promoting the welfare 

 of the labouring classes, although it may cause moi* 

 trouble than profit— the latter appearing in the eondoet 

 of the men, making them more respectable and tru& 

 worthy, in proportion to the interest evinced toward 

 them by their superiors in wealth and position. Falm, 

 Smitkfield M arlret.— Hum an beings living in large 

 towns are too much absorbed in business, or pleasure, 

 to think about anything which does not immediately 

 touch upon their particular occupations or fancies- 

 hence few trouble themselves to inquire from whence 

 the food comes, or what misery the animals maj 

 endure before the joints are placed on their tables. Of 

 course it would not answer any good purpose, if the 

 exit of every sheep and ox was lamented over ; tfoy 

 were created to serve as food for man, and their ig* 

 ranee of this fact renders their lives happy, provided 

 they are treated with common humanity. It would 

 not require any great research to prove that it is more 

 expensive to torture brutes than to use them kindly. 

 However, it appears the contrary is attempted to te 

 proved, by the strenuous exertions made to continue 

 Smithfield market. Surely the public must be permitted 

 to have a voice on this important point, and one of sock 

 vital interest to all classes, more particularly to those 

 whose purses will not allow them to purchase meat fa 

 first- class butchers. Do those who 6it down to the sirloii 

 and haunch ever picture to themselves the unnecessary 

 misery the ox and the sheep endured, before they 

 supplied the smoking dishes \ or how many of their 

 companions, belonging to the same flocks, were, by ill 

 usage, rendered only fit (or rather unfit) for the 

 sausage and preserved meat manufactories ? Supposing 

 Smithfield could be enlarged so as to give an extra 

 inch to unfortunate bullocks, it cannot be increased m 



as the people multiply ; and if twenty acres 

 could be added to-morrow, a few years to 

 make the nuisance more intolerable than f 



number of quadir 



area 



-ame superiority, and, in comparison with the inferior 

 Welsh and Irish, are not more dissimilar in character 

 than the beasts which produce them. I must apologise 

 for the length of these observations, which I have en- 

 deavoured to limit to that part of the question which 

 interests your readers. /. S. Whitten, Goundou, near 

 Co n&ry, Feb. 6. 



The Labourers in' Agricultural Districts deserve the 

 sympathy of the public on many accounts, and certainly 

 their patience under poverty and hard fare is not one 

 of their least virtues. The idea of striking out any plan 

 which may generally improve their condition is one 

 which cannot be carried out, so much depends upon the 

 locality in which they reside, and the masters for whom 

 they either work or should work. The formation of a 

 society for the purpose of finding profitable employment 

 for the poor might be attended with advantage, if 

 properly organised, in every parish, but is met by the 

 objection that a company not looking for gain would 

 undersell the farmer and gardener, and thus injure a 

 class already reduced to the lowest scale of emolument 

 to be obtained from the cultivation of land. So far from 



damaging the interests of the farmer, a society of the peo le are in the habit of p arta king of this disgust^ 

 above .description would relieve the rates from a number ^ erou3 fo0(L p erha £ g some D farrae r who ^ 



nuisance 

 by congregating a greater 

 in the centre of the metropolis, without thejfc 

 bility of again stretching the market, independe: 

 of the injury to the health of the inhabitants of Londoi, 

 which loudly calls for its extermination. The short Jj* 

 it can last, even if doubled in size, ought to induce thos 

 who advocate the continuance of Smithfield to change 

 their opinions, for the sake of persons who may be in- 

 clined to expend money, on what must one day becon 

 extinct, and sooner than most people anticipate, in^ 

 of all improvements. London, with two millions «^ 

 habitants, should have four capacious abattoirs, alter 

 French plan, where animals should be slaughtered » 



carried through the streets as beef and mutton, 



instd 



of goaded and hunted through the thoroughfares as ol* 

 and sheep, maddened by fever, and their corrupt* 

 cases sold to feed our fellow- creatures, propagating m 

 ease and death to a fearful extent. Should awr » 

 doubt the result of eating unhealthy meat, let W 

 one day try the experiment, and he will then fee 

 vinced of the awful consequences that must fo Uo^ . 



"to 



habit of supplying Smithfield market with hve 



would be kind enough to furnish a history 



experience 



it was all true." 



, There is a recommendation of tins 



plan of farming which I must not omit to allude to, for 

 in this appears one of its greatest merits to the very 

 worthy gentleman who has taken such pains to spread 

 the practice. The hand labour it calls for 



of able-bodied paupers who are now provided for 

 without making any return to the public purse. Men 

 are disinclined to lay out money unless they can touch 

 a sure per centage for time, trouble, and capital ex- 

 pended ; they are not satisfied with an indirect benefit 

 proceeding from their exertions. Would it not be better 

 for an individual, in tolerably comfortable circum- 

 stances, to expend 101. in labour on his property, 

 although he could only anticipate receiving back again 

 the same sum, without interest, than paying one-half 

 the amount in rates, encouraging idleness, and losing 

 his money \ This is no imaginary case, but one of daily 

 occurrence, and may truly cone u ller the old saying, 

 "Penny wise and pound fooish." Suppose that in 

 making work for the labourer a portion of the money 

 expended should not return to the master, yet he 

 would be a gainer by promoting industrious habit* T* - * * -„\rw 



amongst the poor, and rendering them independent ^^ ^^^ ° f Lond ° n ' by ^ 



of the Union, which takes so much out of the arrricul- 





of trif 



1 w 



months' experience of the advantages ^^ 

 advantages of sending his animals into a crowde WT 

 in the heart of the metropolis. The opinions of & e * 

 can relate facts on their own knowledge, navm v£ 

 bably suffered in their pockets, will be worth tf 

 anonymous statements that can be collected. Le V^ 

 men point out the losses sustained by the present ; sj*£ 

 and the public voice may then compel an influent! p^ 

 to treat the subject with a full determination ot ' 



we to wait till a fc** 



tunst's pocket, because he will not consult his own interest, 

 and keep the collector from his door, by thoroughly culti- 

 vating his land ; but whilst advocating the cause of the 



capital it calls for, and its simplicity, I hope many others 



Toll fr T CX ,'Tc P,e c° f .^, r ' Smit J 1 ; . and with Jethro I e ™^> ^ "ot well looked after. This may be and no 



«*« wwmuu vi tticix ucj-nouurs, ny a uismclination on 

 the part of the labourer to do justice to his employer, 

 scrambling over his task, and caring little how it is ex- 



xample ot Mr. Smith : and with Jethro Pent^rl ;f„ Arwr ii i„ i i n — -»-—«*.«*-*••!>«- umu uora Asiumrton, Hon. jjuuj«j * -- . p ^W 



"- [fe &n " S ' " ,d . bsMm<! <"**» I '-> »" <"° ™t «f proper m^gananVon Ve ^r\ SSrifjE gTlir'SS £-* »*' 



guishing the nuisance. Or are we to wan tm »•-. $ 

 lives are sacrificed, and the mortality nicr ^f e ^" 

 former by the horns and hoofs of infuriated biu' ^^ 

 the latter by the unwholesome carcases, disjp* 15 ^^ 

 devoured by the poorer classes ? The idea ot m c , ^ 



the same time feeding the people on bad pro? 19 ^ 

 odd. Falcon. 



^orietfesu 



ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF .^jferf 



A Weekly Council was held at the Societj ^ 

 in Hanover-square, on Wednesdav last, the ^ 

 February; present, Mr. Posev, M-P< fgj 

 chair ; Lord Ashburton, Hon. Dudley Pelf * 

 Right Hon. Sir Jaine 

 Hon. Thomas Francis 



