1 % 1 % Z 



WfP .»,:■■ n.l) LI LK AL GAZETTE. 



estate, in a moist climate, re 



riders it tota 



unfit 



si 



shall assume that mark 



are 



f the cultivation of cereal crops, however well its 

 c inatic conditions may be suitable mother respects. 

 Bat moisture, fogs and clouds keep ■**«*£ 

 winter, and dry land sooner cools from frosts than 

 when wet, as water in the act of congelation gives 

 out a large amount of latent heat. Dry air and cold 

 air are almost synonymous terms in winter. Culti- 

 vation will therefore rather have a tendency to 

 increase the winter's cold. . 



In regard to the inHuence of cultivation in effect- 

 ing changes in the character of the season in the 

 British Islands, we think it admits of considerable 



far at least as to make it appreciable 



From its insular position it is, 



perhaps, less susceptible of these effects-our obser- 

 vations are by far too inaccurate to serve our 

 purpose ; and besides we do not know how far the 

 extremes vibrate on either side of the means. One 

 day varies from another, and there were never two 



The same may be said of weeks, 



;.' f". Allocate..,. l«%-*3& 



to benefit by sun, rain, and frost, it w II be 

 «thprw£ for under such circumstances lands 

 te*M suffer less from drought than those not 



*TS£y 'still entertain strong |W^"j^ 



TO the aubwil to the surface, and no doubt great 



S is necessary before such a work is begun ; 



but with Proper damage, effected m the previous 



year, mucli less is to be apprehended from it than 



bder the old system, when trenching resulted only 



in the stagnation of a greater quantity of water in 



the soil, Veducii the whole to something worse than 



the sol nj quality. Sometimes the subsoil is even 



more fertile than the surface ; and when spread over m 



it produces better crops, both as to quantity and exactly alike. ^ ^^ 



quality. The rain tends to wash much fertile mat- | months, $cl years , oux, in f ^ ^ j 



ter out of the soil downwards, to where, under shal- 



In Bhort, shallow 



that the green crops must all be converted into 

 and we shall suppose that the land is good nV* 



W 



doubt, in so 



to our instruments. 



low cultivation, it is useless. 



culture is incompatible with successful husbandry 



especially the cultivation of Turnips. 



There cannot be a doubt, we think, that when the 

 means of the cultivator and his time admit of it, the 

 plan of trenching the soil, as pursued by the Duke 

 ofM sceesti , is the best mode of breaking up toler- 



ably deep > Is in sward. 



And we are glad to have the opportunity of thus 

 describing the successful issue of the practice in so 

 manv instances, under such a variety of circum- 



ttanc 



w WnAT an uncommonly mild 



hadl" s the remark f 



season have we 



Winter 



«< me reminc 01 every one. 

 Menu to have lost its place amongst the seasons. 

 The pas res ivs been clothed w h the verdure of 

 spring, and vegeta* , roused to activity, may, in 

 some instances, be ill-prepared to withstand the 

 extremes of the early spring months. 



The contr. which the r >urs of one season 

 present to the mildness of another, furnishes matter 

 for pleasing reflection to many, an 1 recondite specu- 

 lation to not a few. A mild moist winter was anti- 

 cipated by some as a compensation for the dry and 

 unusually fin* autumn which had preceded it. It 

 is very probable that there is some general con- 

 nection between the two, although the special or 

 local phenomena will ever be entirely beyond our 

 foresight. Some, who seem to have no taste or 

 patience for unravelling the complex processes, 

 which act and react on each other, in the minuter 

 changes of the weather, study the subject under 

 the two grand divisions— fair and foul — and 

 endeavour to link the great deviations from the mean 

 or averse with certain conjunctions and positions 

 of the planetary orbs towards each other and the 

 earth, v h th imagine have the effect of up- 

 set! the equilibrium of our aerial ocean. The 

 phn of our satellite have also long been held in 

 ectful awe by the weather-wise ; but it is very 

 gen ally admitted that th and all other signs fail 

 to instruct us. 



It is a somewhat prevalent opinion that cultivation 

 has considerable 

 of our winters, 



Each and every one of these theorists will freely 

 give examples as illustrations of the truth of their 

 positions. This circumstance alone ought to make 

 us extremely cautious of applying isolated meteor- 

 ological figures, when attempting to trace the 

 relation ot one phenomenon with another, and 

 especially when we are solving practical questions, 



there appear certain characteristics which it assumes 

 and maintains. The ameliorating agencies of cul- 

 tivation have, however, far more to do with 

 the "terrestrial" climate than with the atmo- 

 spheric. Over the great forces of the air man 

 has no control ; they will act quite independent 

 of him, and the winds will ever blow where 

 they list. Extreme seasons of mildness and rigour 

 do not fall out by accident, but, on the contrary, 

 their concomitants are numerous and striking. The 

 south-west winds laden with moisture have not only 

 given us an open season, but they have penetrated 

 into Western Europe, which has also shared their 

 heat and moisture ; but the western seaboard of 

 North America appears to have got their own share 

 of winter's cold and ours also. In Britain the tempe- 

 rature of January varies, more than of any other 

 month in the year ; this is determined by the cur- 

 rents of wind, whether they may blow from the 

 expanse of sea to the west, or from the wide extent 

 of continent on the north and east. The tempera- 

 ture and directions of the winds for the two follow- 

 ing years are good examples of their effects : 



1834, Jan,, mean temperature 45.40. 



Days of wind, 1 N., N.E., 1 E., 9 S.E., 9 S., 11 S.W., 6 W,, 



3N.W. 

 1833, Jan., mean temperatare 27.79. 



DaTB of wind, 5 N., ll N.E., 5 E. f 3 S.E., 4 S., 1 S. W., 6 W., 

 2 N.W. 



The' character of our seasons is entirely depen- 

 dent on the directions in which the winds may 

 settle, but they produce opposite effects in summer 

 and winter — for in the former the moisture of the 

 south-west winds obscures the sky with clouds, and 

 prevents the sun from heating the earth and lower 



wu &iia.u ou^pvoo. t««« *«^ *c*uii io guou deep "ftjij ^ 



soil, worth 30s. an acre. F ***1 



1. Course of cropping.— -84 acres of arable hud ^ 



divide into 6 fields of 14 acres each ; and the so n 2 



allow of the following rotation. ** 



1 . Wheat, with Rye sown in autumn. 



2. Rye and Swedes. 



3. Barley, with Grass and Clover seeds, 



4. Clover. 



5. Wheat. 



6. Carrots and Mangold Wurzel. 

 The produce will be. 



140 tons of Rye. 



240 ,, Swedish Turnips. 



120 „ Clover. 



100 „ Carrots. 



200 „ Mangold Wurzel. 



800 tons of crreen food from the arable land. 



And 100 tons of Grass from the pasture land, and 30} 

 from the water meadow, making 400 tons of Grassy 

 which we may suppose 200 to be made into 50 tons of ha- 

 There will then be for winter consumption 50 tons * 

 hay, and 540 tons of roots, and for summer consumptioi 

 140 tons of Rye, and 320 tons of Clover and Grasa 

 About 18 tons of green food per week for them a 

 summer, and 20 tons of green food, with nearly tw 

 tons of hay a week for them in winter ; and the same 

 stock which would consume the former in summer % 

 would consume the latter in winter. You will then be 

 able to keep about 25 oxen, besides a pair of horses, 

 summer and winter, selling them in March, April at 

 May, to weigh 7 cwt. or 1\ cwt. apiece. 



2. Stock. — Perhaps the best plan of consuming ftg 

 by stock would be to purchase two-year-old oxen q 

 May and June, feeding them on the Rye at first, and 

 grazing them in the Clover and pasture fields during 

 summer, and bringing them in for consuming the ha; 

 and roots in winter. 



3. Labour. — One pair of horses is enough to manaji 

 the land, if you employ a little extra manual labour on 

 the headlands of fields and so on, leaving the horsestodi 

 only the main portion of the work. If there be any d 

 ficulty about the horses getting over their work, joq 

 might dig the Wheat stubble for Carrots. The labour 

 need not amount to more than 21. 10s. per acre ove: 



the land. 



4. Implements needed. 



~One plough, Al. ; two harrows, §L ; one roller, 81. ; scarifier, 

 10L ; two carts, 20£. ; Bean-machine, chaff-cutter, &c, 501,; 

 feeding, horse and stable apparatus, harness, &c, 2t,; 

 total, 1172. 



5. Capital. 



Stock — 2 horses 



*» o oxcri «,* ••• ••• •«« 



£60 

 250 





 





 



£310 



t * • 



Labour— 110 acres, at 50s.... 

 Food for horses— 50 sacks of Oats 



• t • 



• • • 



£275 

 20 





 





 



• * i 



• •• 



• • • 



. . . 



Implements 



Seed— Wheat, Barley, Clover, Swedes, &c. ... 



Bent and Taxes— 110 acres, at 305., for reut alone 



# • • 



• « * 



• § • 



295 



117 



45 



247 





 



0* 



£IQU 4 



reap 



and 



— — — 



mitigating the rigours 

 giving us warmer summers. 



trata of the atmosphere. Drought and heat gene- 

 rally go together in summer, and dry air and cold 

 weather are still more inseparable in winter. 



Those who study the language of the heavens 

 find a certain consistency and constancy in the 

 mode in which the contingencies of the weather are 

 worked out — order and method are observed which 

 the philosopher and the poet attempt to trace ; the 

 one through the cold material laws of nature, the 

 other intuitively, or by inspiration. The southerly 

 and northerly winds, especially in winter and 

 autumn, seem to prying man to be joined and knit 

 to each other, apparently in artful perplexity; the 

 two ar#ever ready, at each other's call, to wage a 

 keen conflict, in which the one tries to undo the 

 other ; instead of growing weary with their continual 

 strivings, they rather appear to glory in each other's 

 strength. True, the relaxing breezes from the warm 

 south have rather had the upper hand of their 



6. Balance Sheet for the year. 



Received— for 25 oxen, 7i cwt.. at 5d. 



per lb £137 10 



For 28 acres of Wheat, at 30 



bushels, at 55. 6d. per bush. 277 £ 

 For 14 acres of tf arley, at 52 



bushels, at 3s. 6d. per bush. 127 8 



* 



JCS42 I t 



Paid 



• -• 



• • • 



• * • 



• • • 



Stock... 



Labour 



heed 



Kent 



Depreciation in value of imple- 

 ments and horeee, 10 per cent, 

 on Hit. ... ... ... ... 



• • • 



•• • 



• • • 



• « i 



• • « 



• • • 



• •• 



■ . » 



• • • 



• • • 



• • • 



• # • 



£250 



295 



45 



247 



11 14 



*hen thin are so many conditions" to be takenLTo ! ^^Tg^^^"'*"* *KS ""l* ^ 



account. I warmm ot April with the moisture of November in 



mid-winter. But are 



£W 14 » 



This lands r you in a loss on the year's proceeding 

 but having arrived at this result, weighing each stepn 

 the process as well as I could while taking it, I do wt 

 see that lam at liberty, because of the unfortunate res 

 at which 1 have arrived, to remodel the different pars 

 of the scheme. Nevertheless, I may state for yourefl- 

 couragement, that it is quite possible to keep one-ffli 

 more stock than I have named, by careful manageme 

 by taking "stolen " crops, such as Mustard, Rape,aCj 

 capable of growing between corn harvest and the spriH 



has the improved operations of modern I 'TT" 161 ' i ^ i" 6 ? -° t0 e looked u P on seed tLme ' and b ^ Purchasing cheap cattle food, sucb « 

 agriculture had upon our climate ? To discuss the -7 g , , Pf rtormin g wheeling gyres in \ Linseed, and consuming your straw. M. S. 



special action of these agencies would, "n the mean! ^XFT^ tow ? d8 the P ° lar circ,es < there to be 

 time, be out of place. A few only w 11 be alTuTd ^ ?£ the Wat T 7 treaSUres ' which are evidentl y 

 • • Ki ,nd cl„L If HKSf One . of th : e . mam elem ^ts of discord ? ~ 



10. Any count rv dram 



undoubtedly, have its w ^.,.„^ 40 ^ w . ine 

 operation saves the expenditure of the heat in 

 porating the water which falls from the heavens • 

 the other accomplishes a somewhat analogous effect, 



for vegetation in nrh'ro crrw+u ,\, « ~ " __r._i i ' 



sopher of late replies in the affir 



eva- 



storm 



mative. 



Borbent 



The philo- 

 The rotary 



4 , v - -Ppeared an 



enigma # to us, though the following lines certainly 

 do inspire a certain respect for it. How beautifully 

 and truthfully is the circuit of the winds, in our 



expressed by frolicsome Mkrcu 



buiuwil oi soiar neat, much of it beim? rendered \vC iTi? CA f lcoa 5 u , u / ironcsome Mercutio. 

 atent during the mysterious processes of Sm£ .^t?^^^^ 

 tion ; but a bare drv soil is snnn j, oa ^ ™a a •^ m mm { 



. . A . dr 7 8Cl1 ia soon heated, and deprived 



of its moisture. Some tract* in Mexico have been 

 rendered comparatively barren, through the destruc- 

 tion of its forests by its first conquerors from the old 

 world. A country cleared of wood permits other 

 agents to come into play, or act with greater inten- 

 sity, which thus may ' * 



" What more inconstant than the wind, who. wooes 



R 



Evea now, the frozen bosom of the north ■ 



?»™in e a! k? a "* ered > P«ff' «waj from thence, 

 Turning his face to tne dew.dropping south. A 



d 



ucing 



in 



pro- 



changes in the capabilities of its" loftfte 

 raising certain crops, than the sKght differences in 

 meteorological -figures, 

 would lead us to 



owing to 

 expect. Thus 



this clearance, 

 an overwooded 



SCHEME OF CULTIVATION FOR SMALL 



FARMS. 

 The farm consists of 110 acres of light land, lGacresof 

 which are water meadow, and 10 permanent Grass land. 



and T£ I Cr -° PP i ,nS d f T ed td 7 i8ab,e > ^e implements 



and stock required, and the capital needed, are all de- 



Home Correspondence. 



Liquid Manure.—! wish to call your attention fA* 

 remark contained in a speech made by Dr. Anders^ 

 at a recent meeting of the Highland and Agncuttjj 

 Society, as reported in your paper of the 1st iDS j[''*L 

 to request your opinion as to its correctness. Dr. Ad* 

 son says, « It ought to be remembered that the am <JJ 

 of ammonia in liquid manure was very small, and _ 

 in phosphates it was entirely deficient (!), ^Jf n ^ 



So* 



must 



with a certain proportion of the solid manure, 

 this appears to me to be a very important question, 

 one well deserving your attention and consideration 

 have certainly always considered liquid manure to 

 deficient in anything like a store of ammonia, but i , 

 tainly supposed it was especially valuable on ^ c0 ^ d jf 

 the phosphates and other salts that it contained ; *% 

 I am altogether wrong in this respect, I should i» 

 hke to know to what the very striking effect ot a 

 repeated applications of liquid manure, even wflfi* ^ 

 siderably diluted, is owing. For, although it W s 

 questionable whether it will answer to apply lC J 



