10 



]H51.| 



THE AGRICULTURAL VZKTTE. 



1*5 



placed at the end f Uu ak i , which a er 

 AtiAHv three th*r hi tmhave been |>ut in, u 



thai 



tba an of'tiie boiler, and die otlier two ^ui- distant 



of the grate 

 The one at the end of the grate waa 



i ♦!.- Liilor rlip npxt 10 niA«R. the ftftXL 



the one at the ana ui me grai ud the one at the » ml 

 of the boiler. The one at th 

 ]2 incbea from th boilei tlu 

 8 Uichea, and the one at the end 

 nfkm' that addition there waa 

 per cent. 



left to clean 



this plan of a boiler is the quantity of water to be boiled, 



But if a tiue 



All that can be 8a 



l|i # n if there is a tlue tnrougn uie Doner. 

 through the boiler i*^uiopted, there diould be a door 

 both back and front of boiler in briJft rk, to enable 

 the flue to be cleaned, or the evils pointed out by Mr. 

 Me- would assuredly take place. R. Kicklin. 



Htrds w laying down Land to Permanent Pasture* 

 It is ) {lily important that the land hould be cleaned 

 fro» weeds, and well pulverised by repeated ploughing 

 and harrowing before the aeed is sown ; and in cases 

 where the soil is particularly loose or sandy, it is 

 desirable that it should le ak • rolled befor sowing ; if 

 this is not effected, the m (man y of which are very 

 minute) will some of them be too deeply imbedded in 

 the soil, while others may not be covered at all It is 

 alto desirable that the ds should be sown when there 

 [f not much wind, and thai they should be delivered 

 from the machine or the hand placed rather near to the 

 seii ; otherwise, the smallest and most \aluableof the 



.seeds may be carried by the wind into the adjoining 



field or hedgerow. Tlie harrows, which should Le very 

 light, must be again drawn over after &<>win- and if th- 

 soil is very light and dry, the roller also ; and it the 

 bjil is poor, a dressing of Peruvian HW, Of super- 

 phosphate may be harrowed in with the seeds, at the 

 rat-* of two hundred weight per acj The sorts of 

 m* 1 should, nf course be selected in aesordan <•< 



with the nature of the soil, and the purposes 

 f||P which the j a mure is intended ; this and much other 

 useful ssformation may be obtained from Low< u Ele 

 meuts of Agriculture,*' Stephens's " liook oftlie Farm," 

 Sinclair's "ilortM Grarmeaais," and other works; or 

 from seed -men and agriculturists, who have paid espe- 

 cial attention to this part of botany and agriculture. If 

 corn is sown with the Grass seeds, it should not be more 

 than 1 1 ad, or 1 J bu-liel to the acre of corn, and for 

 th purpose Gats are preferable to BarFv. On improv- 

 ing old Pastures. — Having as tar Si ible er ated 

 the Strong L r rowing weeds, and coarse Grasses, and im- 

 proved the condition of the land, according to its require- 

 ments, if any, heavy harrows should be drawn over the 

 old turf early in the spr . to loosen the soil for the 

 admission of seeds of the finest and most nutritive kinds 

 of perennial natural Grasses and Clovers, which, if 

 sown freely, will < jupy the numerous .-mall interstic 

 between the plants of Grasses already growing, and 

 thereby prevent tlie luxuriant growth of coarse brasses 

 and noxious weeds. It is a good pra s to sow these 

 seeds at the same time as the top dressing is applied ; 

 but this is by no means necessary. (/•', < Cata- 

 logue of Natural and . icial brasses.) 



estat near Chippenham, the property sf Joseph Neeld, 



iiq., M.P. 



Drain«4 feet de *p. 36 fbet spirt, lg hu-h pi] .10, 



•ti;.*.W i»tir 1000 £13 2 



Digftof, breaking, and filhug stones, 1*4 cubic yard*, 



at 3d per sard IS 0! 



Cu'tlnjc a«1 tajinp pipes and stones, and refill in gsoil, 

 1S.83 chains* at 2*. ikt. .13 



£4 1 5 



If * A. R." will take the trouble to obtain the paper and 

 read Mr. Scott's lecture, he will see that he is both a 

 scientific and practical man, and will also learn that he 

 is executing 3 miles of draining per day. Fossa. 



■ ibii m ■« ■ i warn' ~ ; 1 M — ~ L ■ "~l ii |i i n » -L.lM„ 



m*A in "»«• hieute»t waj [peesaaie, *un ms aessi iuui n.trr.»wi 



Dad nu his farm, taking rare to cross the harrowing, toM 

 not feo pull it in rows. With regard \\i*m j Mr. 



A. Marshall pretWree 3 Imtttolt, but Mr. Hron »e considered 

 bushels quite plenty, it being o( K>urte mad r»too i that tlie 

 seed en) »j* was ul the best quality, » «-t the greatest 

 purity. In ref- ran ee • :1k oun* nlaut, he might remark that 

 Klax was ao speedy in s Rn«ih that nothing could overtake 

 It, In dry seasons Che strav would he short, add the eevd 

 ebutui.i ; iw moist weather, the stalk would be longer but the 

 •eed scant? . The expense or' weeding was trifling, not amount- 

 ing t per acre. 





Mr. Bbale 



Draining. -" Agrieola Redivivus" having p: sed his 

 opinion so inoffensively, and d< d me to correct his cal- 

 i "illation, if 4 ' I can do the work cheaper," I readily respond 

 to his wishes; but first I must distinctly inform him that 

 he misunderstands me. 1 do not advocate :one drain- 

 ing where pipe-draining can be done more economically. 

 I have put in hundreds of thousands of pipes where 

 stone could be had a few hundred yard off, for digging 

 And carti, . What I complain of is that we are not 

 allowed I the Government Inspectors to use the stone- 

 which are dug out of the drains in making them, hut 

 have to submit to the damages and expenses of c ting 

 them off the land, when those very *• nes might be put 

 into the drains at a trifling c -r, and ther save the 

 pipes entirely or be put in, in addition to the pipes. If 

 " A. II." will kindly take a trip to Bristol, and thence 6 or 

 7 miles on the Gloucester road he will see very many 

 acres apparently covered with stones thrown out of the 

 drains, which will have to be carted off at as much ex- 

 pense as " A. R.'s " were carted on, and with an equal 

 degree of damage to the land. Surely it would be 

 economical to bury those stones on the spot, and take 

 the chance of making the soil a little more porous and 

 pervious flr the surface water, which there is more mis- 

 chievous than water from the springs. The stone is of no 

 value for roads or walls. Now as to the calculations. 

 "A. K.'s" calculation is erroneous, 90 £ rods per acre 

 will not require - i 73 pipes ; the quantity of stones per 

 acre" is very wide of the mark, and 90) rods per acre is a 

 curious quantity for an acre of systematic draining ; the 

 drams would be rather more than M feet apart, an odd 

 width to adopt. The following is the cost per acre 

 winch I have paid for years, and the works are executed 

 in a good, substantial and satisfactory manner. 







nf!S* drain *' J° f -et apart, 1452 pipe?, at 17s. per 1000 

 cEfln' 1 ?' • at 3,. per 1000 ... Z ... 



p*f "red * Pipe$ and fiUiDg 88 rod * at 6<f ' 



tnem from the iand when the farmer had eittierert 

 »«n in o heaps, and patting in SO jartU at 34. No 



I ••• ••. ... 



£ s. d. 



14 8 



4 6 



2 4 



• * * 



a • • 



7 6 



£4 8 



remaps you may doubt this expenditure; I shall there- 

 fore take the liberty of copyin , Mr. Scott's statement, 

 printed in the Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette of Jan. 23d, 

 ' W, what he is expending per acre on the Grittleton 



I 



ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF UXGLAND. 



A Weekly Council was held at the Society's 

 House in Hanover-s«mare, on Wednesday, the 26th 

 of February ; present, Mr. Pusey, M.l\. Trustee, in the 

 chair; Karl of Essex, Lord Whunuliti'e, Hon. K. II. 

 live, M.P., Hon. Dudlev Pel ham, M.P., Rt Hon. 

 Sir Thomas Frankland Lewis, Bart., lit. Hon. T. F. 

 Kennedy, Sir Robert Price, Bart , MP., Mr. B. Ahnack, 

 Mr. Baker (Writtle), Mr. I). Barclay, Mr.T. Raymond 

 Barker, Mr. Hodgson Barrow, M.P., Mr. Bastard, Mr. 

 Bethell, .Mr. Beale Browne, Rev. T. C. Browne, Capt. 

 Wentworth Buller, R.N., Mr. Burke, Mr. Burton, jun, 

 Dr. Calvert, Colonel Ch.tlloner, Mr. Cliarlesworth, Mr. 

 Christopher, M.P., Mr. Clavering, Mr. Evelyn Denison, 

 M.P., Mr Dewing, Mr. Druce (Ensham), Mr. Druee, 

 jun., Mr. Dyer, Mr. Ferrabee, Mr. Fuller, M.P., Mr. 

 Fisher Hobbs, Rev. C. E. Keeue, Mr. Lakin, Mr. C. 



Lawrence, Mr. Loft, Mr. Long, Mr. Maddisoti, Mr. 

 Majendie (Hedingham Castle), Mr. Neil! Malcolm, Mr. 

 Marshall, M.P., Mr. Miles, M.P. (Leigli Court), Mr. 

 Moody, Mr. Ralph Neville, M.P, Mr. NiooU, Mr. C. 



E. Overman, Mr. Parkins (Chesfield Lodge), Mr. 11. 

 Parish, Mr. T. Pavnter, Mr. Pclly, Mr. Pendarvrs, 

 M.T.. Mr. Rice, M.P., Mr. San ford fNynehead), Prof. 

 Sewell, Mr. R. N. Shawe, Mr. Slade, Mr. Slaney, M P.. 

 Mr. S. R. Solly, Mr. Stausfield, M.P., Rev. T. Steve: 



Mr. Strafford, Prof. Way, Mr. Wight, and Mr. Wilson 



(Stowlangtoft). 



The following new members were elected : — . 



M.r art iey, George, Lissaaur*, Co. Autrmi, and Bourton, 

 Warwickshire. 

 Sj. ■>, ner. Thomas, Abbot's- Prom' ey, Ru^eley, Staffordahire. 

 Bo.^er, J. Slu*niD^toQ Va'e, Lt -ter. 

 Fowler, K , boi-*m Prettoa Hall Sto kt^n-nn-Tees. 



The names of nine candidates for election at the next 

 meeting were then read. 



DISCUSSION ON I LAX. 

 I. Cultivation or the Flax (hop. 



Browne, of Ham pen, near Andoversford, Gloucester- 

 shire, at the request of the chairman, favoured the 

 ( uncil with the result of his experience in tlie growth 

 of Flax. He had been one of the hr.st members ofthe 

 Society to call the attention of farmers to the cultivation 

 of Flax, whicli he believed to be the paying crop ; anil 

 having become acquainted with what had been done in 

 Belgium and Ireland, he had for the last 7 years devoted 

 his att ition to the conditions under which the growth 

 and management of Flax, in this country, might h 

 carried on in the most economical and succe lul man- 

 ner. In Warwi ihire, his friend Mr. « Ire^ ry Watkins, 

 the High Sheriff of that county, on being informed <»t 

 the results to be obtained from Flax culture, had called 

 the farmers in his neighbourhood together, and formed 

 them at once into a local association for the purpose of 

 consulting together on the best mode of proceeding in 

 adopting the Flax crop, and of aiding each other by 

 arrangements tending to their common advantage. Mr. 

 Browne then proceeded, at the suggestion of Mr. Miles, 

 M.P., to state, under the following heads, tim result of 

 hia practical experience in the cultivation of Fiax : 



Climate, Locality, Soil. — His ia-d in 6 Ion cost 'UirewaR 

 billy, and as Ttriab'e in its character as the climate ; it c**i- 

 •fs •■ i of eavy class, utouebrHsb, and sandy loams 2 feet 

 thick. He believed 'hat oo mill, capable of j^rowin^ anything 

 wa« unsuited to Flax, trothied it were robot and of fine tilth ; 

 In fact, that be would not UesitaM to grow it oa a common 

 turnpike road, wirh a rooi^t «-oil an incb thick ; at the sanx- 

 tim«* a dep'h of 3 feet was fonai* to be moft advantageous for 

 the expsnti->fT ( ,t its ro<»ts. Sir Robert Kane bad shown that i 

 takes the least from the po' of «u plant ; ao<! that, derivintr. 

 as i'did t a large amount of its nutriment from the atmospher. 

 it was the lease exhau^tirijj- crop that c<>u'd be put into the 

 ground, provided the manure from the seed and refuse w«r 

 retnified on the laud, and only the Flax fibre itself carried * ft* ; 

 and Mr. Browne bad reason t<> bel eve that this opinion was 

 n<»w enterta'ned by ail parties cunneced practically with the 

 cultivation of the Flax crop. It prew best, Mr Br >Wn had 

 found, on an old lev pasture ; it a's > f»urceeried well after 

 Whevit, or eveu Turnips ; and the land mif lit be laid down Drit 

 Clover. In all ci-es. however, it wir necessary to obain a 

 tine a state of soil as possible previously to towing. In his own 

 ca*e. he nave th* 'and a slight manuring tor this crop. 



Sowing, Weeding. — The hrst great thing, in Mr. Krowne's 

 opinion, was to #et thoroughly cJean s< 1, and i.e had been 

 desired by hfl Ireod, Mr. A. Marshal', <»t Leeds, to pre** this 

 point particularly upon the attention ofthe C uncil meeting of 

 that tUy. Mr. Browne had himself suffered treat loss by 



planting ioul seed, from the additional expenses inc med in 

 the consequent weeding, pulling, and after management. He 

 had, however, at h-Dg'h, by preat pi rsever^nee succeeded in 

 clean ing his crop so eff-ctiially as to receive from the parries 

 who had used his *eed last year the most favourable account. 

 ot its purity, iir. Browne then placed before tbe meerng two 

 sample* of the seed he now employed. A v ek previous to 

 sowing, or even on the very day ot planting, Mr. Browne had 

 been m the habit of employing a scujfier or breast- pi ugh for 

 the purpose ot moving ihe gmund and thus c u'ti g up th 

 weeds, ap* eiimiuarv operation <hat be had found save much 

 subsequent expense in weeding the after crop. The Flax was 

 not so tende** a crop as many petsnus had imagined, tor some 

 Flax seeds having been accidentally w*sud and left on his 

 ground after harvest, produced plants wi-ieh stood well 

 through the whole of the ensuing winter* He had f -und th^ 

 hrst week in April the best time lor sowing thr Flax seed and 

 he preferred the broadcast system. He used an old seed 

 wheel that had become too large for Clover, and covered the 







' 



Pclling, ^tacking, Trseshing, Produce.— At the end of 

 July, or mug of August, according to the situation, the 



Flax would be ripe and rvaly for puikng. The cost ot this 

 Operation-* of which the great secret was to leave tbe ends 

 perfectly straight and the ro ts in a brush— had been variously 

 estimated by different growers, according to ctrcum- ances ; be 

 thought 7s. or 8f. per acre too little, and 14s. too much. In 

 his own case, he found tht* V2s. or 13s. was about the expense. 

 If tlie land is la! I dowu with Clover, it should be done directly 

 the Flax is putied ; the she.ives sbou'd be put in rows, and the 

 land between them roll lie had f»und Clover good, except 



in years of great drought. The t heaves were tied evenly 

 with Flax straw. bands, and were capped by drawing the band* 

 near the roots ofthe plant, and thus causing the *>< 1 ends 

 of the sheaves to spread out as a covering for the stalks ; 

 by this plan the rain was prevented from penetrating tbe 

 eheaf. The Flax, att« r standing a fortnight or three weeks in 

 the field, was then carted en a dry day to the barn or rick, 

 until convenient to thresh it. In making his licks, he placed a 

 sack n.'led with chaff or straw in the middle of the plot on 

 which they wt-ro to stand ; aud each rick being gradually 

 made rouud this sack as a moveable centre p , this was 

 gradually pul i up as the work proceeded, an o^en space 

 or flue wi'hin th- bods of the rick was left, which caused ven- 

 tilation, aud prevcu'ed that heating ot the Flax so injui us to 

 Us quality, and to which it is so very liable, as he bad found on 

 .►he occasion to his great loss. Mr. Browne recommended that 

 the ricks should be thatche i as soon as , -sible. The thresh- 

 ing was performed in Mr, Browne's establishment by beetles; 

 and tht- kb< aves, ins eaa of being untied and spread open, were 

 kept iu their hands, and at first on one side, and then turned 

 over on the other side and beat again. He n commended that 

 the work.pe >i>le should be particularly instructed to attend to 

 tni> i it, which they are apt to neglect. The expense of 

 threshing with beetles was Id. or 8<i. per bushel. The produce 

 of seed per acre had been vari nsly estimated at from 16 to 24 

 l.u-heU; he thought 20 bushels mt^ht be considered as a fair 

 average of his ewn crop ; and, as far as hecouid judge, 4 cwt. 

 might be taken as the amount per acre he obtain* d of the 

 dressed Flax. Wi n ngard to the Fiax straw, some bad 

 tbo J.-ht that the fanners wi uld be able to get 51. per ton for it ; 

 but this estimate, \ feared, would onlv lnslead them ; be felt 

 quite certain tnat ZL per ton was as much as they would gene* 

 rally get. On this point, M on all otners connected with this 

 important subject, ins whole and sole object was to prevent 

 partita w.io intended to tr> the cultivation of Flax irom being 

 milled In auy way in their laudable c.deavoura to carry it on 

 woo I fully, either iu reference to the investment aud im- 

 provemSnt of their capital in this new crop, or to its employ- 

 ment among the libuurers on their farms, 



Mr. Samuel Druce, of Ensham, then favoured the 



Council with the result of his practical experience in the 

 growth of Flax in Oxfordshire for tlie last few years. 

 lie called the attention of the Council, however, more 

 particularly to the results of his last year's crop, whicli 

 be had drawn out for tlie information of the members 

 into a balance-sheet of expenditure in cultivation and 

 realisation I >y sale of produce, lie thought this state- 

 ment would satisfactorily show to them the value of th© 

 Flax-crop, and the attention which under present circum- 

 aiues it appeared to deserve. Mis property lay on the 

 ( >\f<>rd-clay formation ; and tlie piece of ground on 

 which the trial of cultivation to which lie referred was 

 made, consisted of a deep red loam, and iu extent was 

 6i. 2jl 36 p. 



1,— EXFENSLS CF CCLTIVATION, 



* * « 



■ • • 



» . * 



One ploughing, at 10*. per acre 



Suwiu* and narrowing at 1*. id. per acre 



Weeding, at 2j per acre ... 



FUucaetrtl, 1 : H bishels, at 9*. 

 ii »it ot land, at 48* p^r acre 

 Ta*es, at iis. i ar acre 

 Fulling Flax, at lis. per acre 

 Car ig and stacking, at 4*. * 

 Tareihing 

 Winnowing 



• * • 



» • • 



« • • 



£ $. 

 2 17 

 8 

 11 

 6 1 



13 14 



• r # 



- . - 



■ ■ ■ 



#*« 



« « » 



• - - 



• » • 



• •• 



... 



f • » 





• . • 



> > ■ 



1 



4 

 1 

 5 





 2 

 7 



12 



d. 



3 

 7 

 5 



6 

 9 

 4 

 1 

 10 

 1 



c 



£3G 10 4 



?,— Sale of PaonccE. 



£ «. 



ale of Flax. Reed, llfi| bushels, at Sf 46 10 



bale o Flax-straw, VI tons 2 cwt. 2qrs., at 



51. per i ou 36 7 



Sale ot ehaiT, at 5j. per acre 1 8 



d\ 







6 



r 



£8* 6 1 



Leavin- a net j-rofit of 47C. 15#. IM. on tbe 6 x. 1 a. 36 p. (or 

 mtr flu more than * r >§ acres) ot land employed in this trial nf 



FUx cultivation. 



Mr. Druce concluded his statement by expressing his 

 conviction that tlie Flax crop was not an exliausting crop 

 at all ; in fact, that his son had found a piece of Wheat 

 after Flax one of the best Wheat crops he had grown. 

 I le thought at all events, that it would be found a good 

 tiling for every farmer to grew some Flax on his farm, if 

 only for the purpose of working up his inferior hay, 

 with a paste of Beans and Flax-seed, as food for his 

 cattle. It may perhaps be interesting to add that 

 Arthur Young some 50 years ago refers to the cultivation 

 of Flax in Mr. Druce's neighbourhood, in the following 

 terms : im Eight or nine years past there was a con- 

 siderable quantity of Flax raised in Oxfordshire, at 

 Watereatoo, Hamptou, and Yardington, in boggy land ; 

 and good Wheat got after it by Mr. Cocks, &c. ; but at 

 present there is none. A very singular husbandry, 

 however, in this vicinity has been the culture of this 

 plant for the object of seed, for the sole purpose of fat- 

 tening bullocks : the high price of linseed-cake oc- 

 casioned this management, which answered well. The 

 Flax was watered, and dressed, as in the common way ; 

 but the object of the cultivation was the seed for live 

 stock/* 



Mr. Sanford, of Nynehead Court, Somersetshire, 

 then favoured the Council with some valuable remarks 



in reference to the cultivation of Flax in Somersetshire* 



