8 



1851*1 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE 



123 



• 





1856. 



1857. 

 1858, 



large scale, by any very expensive system of pipes, or 

 carts, or such HI there can, I think, be no doubt of 

 its well repaying the cost of its application, in a more 

 simple and inexpensive way ; such, for instance, as by 

 means of irrigation, when much diluted, or by mixing it 

 with dry mould, marl, ashes, or other convenient sub- 

 stance if it be tolerably free from water. W. M. If., 



Bashhy, Lymlngton. 



p r y m — Observing in your valuable Paper of Feb. 



1st last that one of your correspondents is anxious to 

 know how he may mark his poultry, I take leave to 

 suggest a system which I have followed for some years 

 to my satisfaction. It is simply as soon as the chicken 

 is hatched to remove with a sharp pair of scissors the 

 hind claw on the right or left foot, which in no way 

 injures or retards the growth of the chicken. I keep a 

 hundred head of poultry for the sake of the eggs only; 

 and as it is of importance to me to know the age of my 

 hens, which I never keep beyond the third year as 

 layers, I find this system of marking exceedingly useful. 

 My plan is to take off the hind claw on the right foot of 

 those hatched (we will say) in 1851 ; the hind claw of 

 those on the left foot will have to be removed from 

 those hatched in 1852, and in 1853 it will not be neces- 

 sary for me to make any mark. 



Example : 

 Hitched. Laying. Sold off. 



1851, Hind claw right foot. ..1852, 1853, 1 854... Christmas ot lfi"5. 



1852, Hind claw hit foot ...1853, 18H, 1855... 



1853, No claw taken off ...1S54, 1855, 1856... 



1854, Hind daw ru-bt foot.. .1855, 185t>, lb-j7... 



A Suhscrih r, Midland Counties. 



Drainage Acts and Drainage. — The article entitled 

 "Drainage under the Act," in the Gazette of the 25th 

 ultimo, evinces the j Tactical knowledge of the writer 



both as to the mode of execution and the effect which 

 good drainage should produce, and is deserving the 

 careful perusal of all who contemplate the drainage of 

 their estates, whether done under the Acts or not. One 

 would fain believe the impression erroneous respecting 

 the compulsory adoption of deep and distant drains 

 under all circumstances ; for I can affirm that no such 

 instructions, direct or implied, have ever been given to 

 myself. My Reports to the Board have invariably ad- 

 vised the execution of the several works at such various 

 depths and distances as were best suited to the character 

 of the respective subsoils ; and in no case have I been 

 called upon to reconsider the plan proposed. With two 

 or three trifling exceptions, however, I certainly have 

 never been permitted to carry to completion the systems 

 recommended in those Reports, but whether this is in- 

 dicative of the accuracy of the surmises that "some pet 

 plan to which the inspector or others in office may have 

 committed themselves," is expected to be enforced, I 

 know not. If it be, 1 am content to wait until, as in the 

 instance given, results work conviction of the error. 

 Facts are irresistible by ingenuous minds, and even the 

 dogmatical teaching in this respect of the deservedly 

 admired Drainage Essay of the Quarterly, must give 

 way before them. If the standard of excellence be, as 

 most will allow, complete and permanent effect at the 

 least cost, then must depth and distance be regulated by 

 the requiremeuts of each case ; but if efficiency is to be 

 secured irrespective of cost, then may 4, 5, and even 

 6 feet drains be cut in all land, care only being taken to 

 put them near enough. The principle, however, upon 

 which the universal application of the deep and distant 

 system became fashionable was, that extra depth com- 

 pensated for wider intervals, and hence that an equally 

 effectual result was obtained at a less cost. It is impos- 

 sible, with daily evidence of the contrary, to concur in 

 the opinion that landowners and their agents practically 

 know more about the qualities and capabilities of the 

 soils of their estates than strangers do, and particularly 

 as regards the operation of drainage. An inspector 

 under the Drainage Acts in Scotland has just favoured 

 me with a communication, in which he remarks, " I cer- 

 tainly think that no applicant I have had to deal with 

 has any right to complain of the expenses of the work- 



I for many of them, as well as all the 

 people on their estates, were so thoroughly ignorant of 

 what good drainage was, that they would have wasted 

 most of their money if the inspectors had not interposed 

 and shown how it should be done." And it will be 



works, and that you should satisfy yourself, :is far as 

 practicable, as to the extent of the fitn s and trust- 

 worthiness of that individual, in order that the commis- 

 sioners may be enabled to decide what amount, if any, 

 of occasional inspection will be requisite during the 

 progress of the works." Clearly, then, this point 

 was exclusively for the board to deal with ; hut 

 no answer was ever given to my letter, and the 

 matter remains, as we see, in the same unsettled 



Now all this difficulty 

 assistant commissioner's 



and unsatisfactory position. 

 and jealousy about the 



it would prove of great benefit to the courin 

 Ir. Christopher, M P., and Col. Challoner, thoi lit i 



■ ,i_ its 



desirable that the cost of machinery required by farmers 

 for commencing this branch of cultivation, so new to 



many of them should be accurately ascertained Mr* 



Miles, M.P., had been just endeavouring to obtain that 

 i information from one of M. Ciaussen's ir lends near 

 him, and it appeared that one machine only was essential, 

 but that two might, for further preparation of the Flax* 

 be employed, if the former thought proper ; the first 

 machine cost 10Z., and the object of it was to separata 



charges might be at once obviated by paying them the fibre for the manufacturer, and to leave the shoves 



annual salaries proportionate to their respective dis- 

 tricts or on some other suitable basis. I do not suppose 

 that were this done our demands would be unreasonable ; 

 but on the contrary, it is very probable that, on the 

 ground of certainty, we should be ready to accept very 

 moderate remuneration, and such at least as should 

 be commensurate with the times. There would then 

 only remain actual expenses to be charged for — the 

 salary being apportioned to each applicant along with 

 the other official charges. It would not be necessary to 

 stipulate for exclusive service, but for the diligent and 

 efficient discharge of the duties of his office whenever 

 required, and without delay. In conclusion, I cannot 

 refrain from briefly directing the attention of the landed 

 interest to no less than three instances of the misappli- 

 cation of deep and distant drainage which have been 

 made public within the last fortnight, and which, for 

 their edification and government, are worth all the 

 theory that has been Written on draining since the time 

 of the flood ; or rather, which confirm the soundness of 

 the theory that forewarned them of such results. The 

 first instance is that which your correspondent of the 

 25th ult. details, and which is of the greater value from 

 being a special experiment, having the deep work "ex- 

 ecuted precisely in accordance with the inspector's 

 directions," and having also his admission on subsequent 

 inspection that the 3 acres so drained "were scarcely 

 benefited at all." The second instance is that recorded 

 in the Times of the 28th ult. by their commissioner in 

 his report on the agriculture of Cumberland. Speaking 

 of the drainage which had been done on Lord Lonsdale's 

 estates, and the necessity of providing in the drainage 

 of that district for the percolation of a very much larger 

 amount of annual rain-fall than occurs in other parts of 

 England, says " it can never be safe to act altogether in 

 defiance of local experience until we have had time to 

 mature our own ; and accordingly further experience 

 has shown that very wide intervals and excessive depth 

 will not do for the soil of Cumberland. Four feet deep 

 and 7 to 10 yards apart are now the standard on Lord 

 Lonsdale's estate ; an additional drain having been in 

 many fields put in between the wide intervals which 

 were at first unsuccessfully adopted." I am told also 

 of another instance in this county, where the same ad- 

 ditional drains have been put in to remedy the defective 

 results of the first execution. The third instance is 

 one rather deducible by inference than from a statement 

 of the fact itself, but is to my judgment little less con- 

 clusive. The testimony alluded to is that given by Mr, 

 Mechi in last week's Gazette in his " Trip to North 

 Devon," where he says, "Another great mistake is the 

 recommendation to lay such heavy land on the flat ;" 

 that is, when thoroughly drained. If to lay such land 

 flat be a mistake, it 



or gross remaining matter, amounting to two- thirds of 

 the original Flax, behind it, to be returned by the former 

 to the land ; the second machine would cost 501., and 

 was adapted for clearing the fibres effectually from the 

 refuse after the first chemical process. — The Hon. 

 Dudley Pelham, M. P., conceived it important to 

 inquire into the effect that the introduction of this 

 new system would have on the relative employment 

 of labourers in Flax culture and its operations.— 

 Mr. Kennedy inquired the price of new British, 

 cotton compared with that of the ordinary foreign 

 cotton, and was informed that it was from 4cZ. to 6d. 

 per lb , while the foreign cotton ranges from 8cJ. up- 

 wards, according to quality.— Mr. Fisher Hobbs in- 

 formed the Council of the result attending Flax culti- 

 vation in the eastern counties, where the growers 

 were unable to obtain a market for their produce. The 

 farmer's capital was, he thought, too nearly exhausted 

 at the present moment to render it prudent for him to 

 embark in any new line of cultivation, without being first 

 well assured that after having overcome all the practical 

 difficulties of a new crop, and its preparation tor sale, 

 he should find a ready market for its disposal. He 

 hoped, as in the case of wool, that there would 

 be a probability of farmers having a Flax-market, 

 so that the article might be taken off their hands 

 at so much per acre or ton, without loss or risk 

 of their capital employed. Seeing among them that day 

 a member of the distinguished family of the Leeds Flax, 

 spinners, he would appeal to him on this point, in the 

 hope that he would be able, from experience of the 

 whole question, to favour them with an opinion on tl;a 

 subject — Colonel Challoner then ascertained, by in- 

 quiries addressed to M. Claussen, that Flax injured by 

 the farmer for sale and use under the old system, was 

 available and equivalent to uninjured Flax for the pur- 

 poses of M. Claussen, who would give as good a price for 

 it. — Mr. Marshall, M. P., replied to Mr. Fisher Hobbs, that 

 while his brothers were the Flax spinners, he was only, 

 to a limited extent, a grower of that crop for their use* 

 They were, he believed, in the habit of paying 71. or tiL 

 per acre for the use of land for the Flax crop, they 

 bearing all the expenses of cultivation, while the 

 farmer had the benefit of the land for the remainder 

 of the year. There was at the present time a market 

 for Flax. In Belgium the "fabricant" relieved the 

 grower of all trouble and responsibility attending Ins 

 crop, visiting his farm in person and taking it at a valua- 

 tion. On the old principle, the object had been to 

 obtain long fibre ; a mixture of which in the w r arp with 

 cotton in the weft was stronger than cotton, and moro 

 durable in wear, being employed for sheeting and shirts. 

 On the new principle, the Flax is broken up into short 

 is only so by reason of its m stead of long fibre ; and instead of steeping in hot or 



drainage not being effective, and hence that probably | c ^ water, chemical means were employed to^ facilitate 



there is in this case also a misapplication of depth and 



distance. But on this subject of laying drained land 

 flat, I purpose shortly to avail myself of Mr. Mechi's in- 

 vitation to discuss this question of open furrows, which 

 is one of no inconsiderable interest and importance as 

 affecting the efficiency of proper drainage. John If. 

 (harnocl' 9 an Assistant Ct missioner under the Act, 

 Wakefield, Feb. 3. 



ing of the Act 



£>onettt& 



ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. 



CULTIVATION OF FLAX. 

 {Continued from p. 10P,) 



Sir James Graham enquired of M. Claussen, whether 

 the farmer, in separating the seed from the straw, would 

 be liable to injure the fibre: to which M. Claussen 

 replied, that no such injury to the fibre would arise 



from the straw, so long as the separation is made longi- 

 tudinally ; that an ordinary threshing-machine might 

 be so employed as not to injure the fibre : in fact, that 

 the only injury that could arise would ensue from 

 breaking the fibre across, or steeping it on the old 

 system. — The Chairman thought it desirable that no 

 time should be lost in putting the farmer in possession 

 of all the conditions under which Flax could be grown 

 advantageously, and conn 



th 



as the time for sowing 



equally evident to all who will take the trouble to read 

 the Acts, that the legislature were as fully sensible 

 of the same fact, and consequently provided for the 

 drainage being properly done under the supervision of 

 inspectors selected f >r their knowledge of the subject. 

 My Scotch correspondent, in reference to the necessity 

 for seeing the drainage during its progress, in order to 

 be satisfied of its proper execution, says, " 1 have some- 

 times been rather puzzled and doubtful how to act 

 when I have been called upon to inspect and pass ex- 

 tensive drainage works when I had not been called in to 

 see them when being executed. I quite agree with 

 you that there ought to be an intermediate inspection 

 while the works are in progress. It is a delicate thing, 

 however, to propose an inspection without being called 

 in or sent for, as it may be said or thought that we are 

 acting tor our own pecuniary interests, and wishing to 

 make a job of the business." Feeling the necessity „ , „^. 



^.!! n , 1 l!^ ireCtl0ns .? n , this ^sential point, I wrote, about | that would cost 10?., and also by hydraulic pressure, 



as in the case of hay for exportation, and that the 

 railways might eventually contract at lower rates 

 for the conveyance of this new branch of traffic. — Mr. 

 Majendie thought if the machine was portable, it might 

 Our general instructions | be let out from farm to farm. If the Claussen pro- 

 did not produce any injurious effect on Flax 

 rendered it unfit, in any degree, for subse- 



the process without injury to the material. If land is 

 clean and in good order, Flax may be grown without 

 manure. But the farmer cannot do two things : he^ 

 could not under the present system, and for the present 

 market, both grow it and prepare it for the manu- 

 facturer. With regard to thick and thin sowing, 

 that question had reference to the object of the cul- 

 tivator, namely, whether a fine fibre and little seed were 

 required, or a coarser fibre with a full crop of seed. 

 On the banks of the Lys, in Belgium, where the finest 

 Fiax had been grown for centuries, and used for making 

 the finest lace, they practised thick sowing, 3 & bushels 

 per acre, and obtained about 1 4 bushels of seed per acre ; 

 but the stems were long and straight, without branches, 

 and the longest fibre was obtained. In Ireland and 

 Russia thin sowing was practised, from 2 to 2 J bushels* 

 per acre, and from 16 to 20 bushels of seed were 



from any of the present modes of separating the seed obtained ; but the stems of Flax branched out more, 



and an inferior fibre w r as the result. It would be 

 tlie safest plan for beginners in this country to sow 

 thin, and thus get more linseed and straw. He con- 

 cluded by remarking that if M. Claussen succeeded 

 in his laudable endeavours, so much the better would 

 it be for the farmers of this countrv, — Mr. Mac- 



Mr. Alcock, M.P., stated that coals could be brought 

 from Yorkshire at 7s. 6d. per ton, but they were a 

 compact heavy article of transit, while Flax would 

 be bulky and light. — Mr. M'Dermott observed, that 

 the bulk of the Flax might be reduced (without 

 Feeling the necessity of j license) by partialj removal of the straw by a machine 



artney thought that the average growth of Flax in 



Ireland had not fallen off. He referred to Lord 



-eyed to market at a profit, Clarendon's liberal aid in promoting its cultivation 



e crop was near at hand. — in that part of the United Kingdom, to the mode in 



which the factors purchased the crops, to the cost of 

 veyance, and to Schenck's improvement in steepinJ^ 





two years ago, to the board especially on the subject ; 

 lor irom the general instructions we had received, it 

 appeared to me that we had no power to make inter- 

 mediate inspections, or indeed any inspections, without 

 direct instructions to do so. ll J1 J_ 



^ * - fc * Wil1 be . desirable tuat y°° u should ascertain 



for 



cess 

 that 



w »ose superintendence And direction the applicant „„«. „ MMIIt , ,„ _, ~^-~ , ™ 



the advance intends to place the execution of his ' quent use in all the ordinary stages of manufacture, 



Hamond had grown Flax in Norfolk, but finding 

 no market for his produce he had sent his Flax to be 

 manufactured into linen for his own shirts. He h&d 

 also had several of the cottages on his estate thatched 

 with the straw, and more beautiful thatch he never saw. 

 Mr. Fuller, M.P., had also grown Flax, in Sussex, but 

 he had no better success in getting it off his liands ; and 

 when he offered it to a large manufacturing house, he 

 was told that they could only give him linen in return 

 for it.— Mr. Shelley remarked, that there was no 

 difficulty in 'farmers growing ;Flax, the only ffficulj* 

 was to get a market for it. In Sussex it could 

 turned into money. If M. Claussen could 



not be 

 make it 



• 



