218 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE 



facilities of the Government or Private Loan 

 I>i nage .Act for the permanent improvement of 

 draining. E. W. 



Our own case is one of the numerous instances of 

 the folly of boasting. Ever since a self-gratulation 

 was indulged in at the perennial stream of poultry 

 knowledge which flows from the office of the Agri- 

 cultural Gazette, its letter-box has been filled with 

 anxious inquiries \ and the consumption of postage 

 stamps has been so great, that, were not Queen's 

 heads like those of the Hydra— cut off ever so many, 

 and they are reproduced somehow — the penny por- 

 trait of her Majesty would by this time be found 

 only in the cabinets of virtuosi. 



It is not every sybilline leaf which reaches us. 

 that need be presented to the perusal of our readers 

 in this place. Only now and then a more suggestive 

 one than usual may advantageously be allowed 



in 





a 



altitude of 



to escape from the close guardianship of the edi- 

 torial locker. " A. W." — latitude, longitude, and 



sidence quite indeterminate— has con- 

 verted his or her delightful garden into a poultry- 

 walk ; but the fowls do not appear so likely to 

 thrive as the flowers did. One of the hens, a pullet, 

 drops every other night, while at roost, an egg with- 

 out a shell! Last Friday an egg (a portion for- 

 warded for inspection) had fallen into ashes placed 

 to receive the droppings ; its form was that of an 

 inflated balloon, with the pipe for its inflation 

 attached. And on Sunday, in the same place, 

 another egg, equally defective as regards shell, ap- 

 peared . 



Now so far the case is common enough ; and as 

 hens after recovering from the tendency to abortion 

 (for such it is) are very liable to relapse into the 

 same disorder again, we should have been inclined 

 to answer the question, " What shall I do for the 

 henV in the words of echo— "Do for the hen." 

 She would, ordinarily, be best eaten, or made into 

 soup. But vve are further informed "the garden 

 walks are laid with spar and refuse from had-iuorks. 

 I expect the poor birds are suffering from bellund (?). 

 Their < > are streaked or blotched with blood, and 

 some of the yolks have spots of blood upon them. 

 I observed the fowls, after rain, drinking water by 

 the carnage-drive ; this seemed to tell me that they 

 must soon fall victims to such infusions. They feed 

 well, but all are poor." 



Enough is here said to suggest the idea that 



I then ploughed and subsoil — , 



few weeks the natural pulverisation and solidity, 

 resulting from exposure to the elements, will bring the 

 soil into a beautiful state for the reception of the seed. 

 A rolling and two double tines of the harrows will be 

 found necessary to give further solidity and tilth before 

 drilling, the latter to be followed by a light rolling. It 

 may be alleged that this system throws the Carrot in 

 the place of a corn crop, and that consequently a portion 

 of the expense of the cultivation of the previous crop 

 of Turnips must be charged upon the Carrots. But, 

 granting this, the chances are in favour of the Carrots 

 producing a greater profit per acre than the corn crop, 

 and leaving the soil in far better condition for the 

 following crop. It must be understood that I am alluding 

 to the poor siliceous soils, upon which 3 quarters of 

 Wheat, 4 of JBarley, and 10 tons of Turnips, are 

 esteemed abundant crop. The after management will 

 be the same as that described in a previous paper; 

 the produce will vary from 400 to r50 bushels per 

 acre, whether of the red or white varieties, or from 

 8 to 15 tons. This, at 11. per ton, the price at which 

 they are occasionally sold off the land, will amount to 

 from SI. to 15/. per acre; and the tops, either fed on the 

 land or ploughed in, are equivalent in value to the 

 fold manure from the previous crop of Turnips. The 

 rest of the crop will be somewhat as follows, taking 

 men's wages at 10s., and women's at 5s. per week, and 

 that the crop is cultivated upon a soil that admits of 

 easy tillage. (See Transactions of Highland and Agri- 

 cultural Society's Journal f< 



Rent of land, rates, tithes, <bc. 

 One scarifying ... 

 One plouKhin* ... 



One subsoiiing with three horses 

 Ooe rolling (two h rsng) 



Four h<trrowings, a^ Gd 



4 or 5 lbs. Seed, at Is. Gd 



Two bus) els per acr« of wood ashes or char- 

 coal to mix with the seeds in drilling ... 

 One light rolling (one horse) ... 

 Drilling • 



Artificial Manare 



Hoeings — Dutch hoeing: be- 5. 



tween drills ... 1 

 Do. do. setting out 8 



Do. do. second hoeing ... 3 



Do. do. third hoeing 2 



Do. do. two horse -hoeings 



-with steerage-hoe 2 



• • • 



t • • 



• • • 



• •• 



9 ■ • 



• * ■ 



• • * 



■ IB 



• t 



• • I 



-- . 



• • ♦ 



• • • 



• • » 



d. s. 

 6 to 2 

 to 10 

 Oto 4 

 to 3 



• • • 



• • • 



• •• 





 

 

 



£ 

 1 









 

 













 

 



8. 







1 



6 

 9 

 

 2 

 6 



1 

 

 1 



d. £ 

 Oto 1 

 6 toO 

 6 toO 



s. 



10 

 3 



7 



d 



toO 10 



15 



9 toO 

 OtoO 

 toO 



OtoO 



3 toO 

 OtoO 

 Otol 



1 

 2 



7 



1 





 1 

 





 

 6 





 

 

 6 





 4 

 







Oto 2 



Manual labour in taking up and storing 

 Horae labour do. do. do. 



• • • 



Contingencies 



• t • 



4 t • 



■ • * 



■ ■ • 



t t • 



Jt 



12 

 1 



4 1 

 10 



Gtol 1 

 to 15 

 to 2 



6 to 6 

 OtoO 





 10 



4 

 



2 6 l o 6 10 4 



roots is still 



either poultry-keeping must be given up on this 

 unindicated spot, or that the walks, &*, composed 

 of pretty but deleterious materials from lead-works 

 ( from lead- works ! "—the very name inspires ghastly 

 terror) must be broken up, and replaced witlThonest 

 -ravel and stone. Other particulars are mentioned 



A. W., from which it would appear that 

 fowls are in a chronic state of slow poisoning 

 reader knows as much about their homestead as our- 

 selves, but the pit's mouth is a poor su stitmte for 

 the barn d. r. We have often wondered whether 

 any poultry are kept, and how, in the flaming, desert 

 region between Wolverhampton and BirmtnXam 



the 

 The 



But 



Coal 

 may 



Sv , l 1 Tu S ° P° lsonoas > that we may con- 

 cede a bird in the mere act of pluming itself to 



^=i h ^™ 3 "attar o/its bil! to put i? 



in 



any inexplicable 



out of health at least. Cat, are often poisoned Vv 

 licking themselves clean after rubbing agS painY 

 The amateur is more liable than the farmer to such 

 accidents amongst his fowls, and it is worth beari 

 tie possihdny in mind, when 

 disease makes its appearance. 



unfo U waS e P vw ler 5 n0t entire ^ safe from these 



^premises in!! P ° 1 ? 0M 5 S °r timeS « 8ed U P™ 



let l?o e X'n P T° n ' hke Slander ' when °n<* 

 intended In f?^? ^ a wider area than was 



A pennv worth nf ' ^ " n ° limitin § its effe ^- 

 a pennyworth of arsenic, successively emoloved 



M be made to destroy a' whole nation. ?&££ 



mi 



- estroy 



had a few sheep dipped. 



nation. We once 

 The ingredients of their 



she suhlW } " We u t0baCC ° Water ' P erha P s «>rro ! 

 sue sublimate, perhaps arsenic also. The sheep 



Jd we, and were freed from their ticks ; but a few 



which could get X e e 7?n Thaf "L fe-S 

 reverse of Medea's youth-renewing soup-and he 

 probabihty is, that the dropped pfrasi^s eaten or 

 even the worms sent up andTilled by the dnppinl 

 from the sheep, were sufficient to cause a S£25 

 blank in our poultry-yard. ^ 



CULTURE OF CARROTS ON POOR LANDS 

 O v poor S an,Iy soils, which do not adhere from s heep- 

 tread.ng I wottTd recommend the Carrot m follow 



S^ed a oV ,aVe H e T ^S^ -hivateUn/: r*. 

 I™ J i , OT . ^.^d Wi«> fating sheep to which 



wm or oilcake is given. The land mav be ™JX? 



Total £- 



The straw used for covering the 

 available for litter. From 5d. to 6d. per bushel is the 

 price at which Carrots are frequently sold from the 

 field, where no expense or risk of loss from storm* is 

 incurred ; and if we put the actual cost at 61. per acre, 

 and the average value of the crop at only 121. 10s. per 

 acre, it leaves such a balance that will defy any "poor 

 land farmer to obtain from a corn crop, particularly at 

 the present free trade prices, that follows Turnips fed 

 off, and the land will be left in a better condition for 

 corn than if it immediately followed the Turnip crop. 



In the neighbourhood of large towns there is a constant 

 demand from cow-keepers and stable-men for Carrots ; 

 and we know of no root used for feeding cattle which 

 will yield so large an amount of produce from poor 

 lands, or ilat may be removed with so little exhaustion 

 to the soil. Professor Way has suggested, that as the 

 long root of the Carrot derives most of its nourishment 

 from and pulverises the subsoil, it is a good preparation 

 j for gram and other plants whose roots feed chiefly upon 

 the soluble particles nearer the surface. 



Upon a farm where Carrots are annually grown to 

 the extent of from 5 to 10 acres, during 14 vears there 

 were only two crops that produced less than 500 bushels 

 per acre, the remaining 12 averaging from 500 to 1400 

 bushels, or from 10 to 38 tons, and these crops were 

 grown on poor sands and gravels, the gross rental of 

 which could not exceed 25s. per acre. The value of 

 Carrots to the farmer depends upon the produce of the 

 Turnip crop : when this is below an average they become 

 of higher value ; and it is a convenience to have a root 

 which, being stored, is equally nutritive in all kinds of 

 weather, which admits of general application, and is so 

 nutritious for all kinds of cattle. At the present time 

 of k>w prices for grain and remunerating prices for 

 stock, this system of growing Carrots is worthy of 

 especial attention, as the taking two green crops in 

 succession will lay a foundation for a more abundant 

 gram crop, which is the only means of compensating 

 tor its unremunerating price. ^ 



To the labourer the value of the Carrot, when com- 

 pared with the Potato, will be found equally grea* 

 Carrots may be bought at 6 J. a bushel ; Potatoes are 

 now seldom ess than 2* a bushel. A few pence will 

 purchase seed sufficient for a bed of Carrots or Parsnins 

 whilst the cost of the seed Potatoes becomes an important 

 item when taken from the labourer's pocket. From the 

 Carrots or Parsnips the probability is that he will obtain 

 with common attention, a root that will furnish him 

 with a good supply of winter vegetable food ; while if 

 he continues to plant the Potato, the chances are'in 

 favour ; of -their being teken off from year to year by the 

 prevailing distemper, and the crop will barely exceed 

 the value of the seed. 



serv 



DEEP DRAINING AND OPEN FURROWS 

 The high reputation which Mr. Mechi has mosVde- 



8o m^ 

 ontfat 



an erroneous 

 more dangerous. 



enunciated bThhn" 



ness of his opmion with regard to thl «L- 

 furrows, where land has been thotou-hK? ' * 

 he wnl no thmk me wanting in courS fn T*' 1 5 



draining : b y deep I ^ ££ ^Tp^ 

 superior efficiency of deep drains I fcJr 1, * 

 philosophically explained and experime^u' "* * 

 a well-known agriculturist in ^l 1 ™^ 11 ? P^ 



comment. 



Koyal Agricultural Socie yTo 1J 

 > this part of the subiec.t. IlZ. ** 



*•» 



briefly expressed 



few^J 



-- ». & opinion will 



i- t t - -j j. r „ statement of a 

 which I consider to be of more value than 



ened theoretical refutation. I liave d^rV^ 

 the very stiffest description over * rer^Z^ * 

 extent (during the last eight or ten years) and W 

 no occasion to use any furrows whatever The \a 

 which I have operated is the rjaidt c'm whS^ 

 many degrees stiffer and more compact th-an the TJl? 

 clay (the geological site of Mr. MechiVlandinF 1 

 Here for acre after acre there is not a siu 2 l e fiT* 

 and I can safely assert that after the late° inS 

 heavy rains of last January upon these fields w(Z2 

 rain had ceased an hour or two no water whatever^*! 

 be seen, though it was running away in torrents tbS 

 the drains. To this statement an objection n*TJ 

 raised, that the land is cultivated as Hop-^oumL •! 

 therefore is no fair specimen of ordiimry^cuItS 

 proceedings. I cannot admit the validity ol ad 

 objection, though I can afford to put aside the t«fcJ! 

 derived from my stiff soils thus employed, aTJi 

 stiff common farming lands tell the same tale • t*l 

 them the furrows are the same distance apart u'\i m 

 lightest sands — in other words, as water-conmiite tj*r 

 are not needed at all. The explanation I have to fo 

 is this : that in these most tenacious clays, thowS 

 draining is employed in the correct sense of the tat 

 Many years ago I experimented on this description « 

 land on a small scale ; and I then found that the drai» 

 ought not to be more than 1 5 feet apart in order to k 

 thoroughly efficient. This gave me confidence as to*? 

 method to be adopted in my future proceedings, tbowh 

 I must confess I was half deterred by the pnwpetfre 

 cost : it was enormous, equal to half the fee simple^ 

 the original value of the ground. But I perserered, ul 

 I am happy to add that I have had no reason toreprt 

 of the outlay, as I have been amply repaid inlhe* 

 sequently exuberant fertility of the soil thus treafci 

 In this land, the drains are from 4 to 5 feet deep, u4 

 from 12 to 15 feet apart. The cost was l«i f . per am 

 And here I again repeat, that, after the heaviest 



1 is inappeanw 

 With these bt& 



ar of the necwiij 

 for open furrows, I cannot but infer that land so re- 

 quiring them has not been thoroughly drained, deeply 

 enough, probably, as in Mr. Alechi's ease, but a* 

 thickly enough. This is, of course, extremely to- 

 agreeable intelligence to the farmer, yet, if it be OTld, 

 it is not the part of wisdom to shut our eyes to the trei 

 Only a few years ago, what is commonly termed t 

 draining was a most unpalatable necessity, dbtrtdK 

 upon landowners, and was for a long time re ed ; ** 

 it is now almost universally acknowledged to be Wt 

 foundation of good farming, and they only hate tfted 

 wisely who have obeyed its requirements. But, on w 

 other hand, it may be state!, for the comfort of * 

 farmer in these disastrous times, that this very 

 land, after drain a •, wi th proper cultivation and manun 

 is capable of pi iucing enormous crops, both 

 and roots ; this I can testify to from experience 



And, by the way, with regard to root cr0 P Sj ^" 

 on this character of soil were formerly almost otMI, 

 because they could neither be fed off nor carJ j?* i ^ 

 without spoiling the land, we have, thanks to Cros^i 

 of Beverley, an instrument by which this ^ rmerlJ ^ 

 cessible crop is rendered as available as if it ^ ere o_« 

 on light lands. I allude to his " Portable Farm i»«J 

 way." I have now about a third of a mile of it MM* 

 on my farm, by which root crops have been car j?T |J f 

 the most tenacious of my fields, and immense l wn rJL 

 dung carried out upon my Hop-grounds, during t Jfp 

 weather, without occasioning the slightest injury 



as dry as if it rested on a sand bed. 



m 



tti* 



land. It is simple in 



its construction, and 



a 



e*ij 

 and I ft 



farm labourers ; - ... 



irt** 



Ke nis cioa-crusmii^ ^»«j ;. . 



le of almost universal application, 



to* 



a 



most useful as a substitute for horses, in » » 



of ways. Like his clod -crushing roller, J^^^^i 



railway iscaj 



large farm. .,. . n 



But to return from this incidental digression 



open furrow question. I will give a . nothe ^ he g^t fe* 

 two, from farms not in my occupation. X ^ 



mall irm, of about 40 acres, which I dr ^ m . e ^thro« 

 This land was unusually wet, and although "^ ^ 

 up in high narrow furrows, of about 8 ^ 



was impassible for horses, excepting in ^ u % 

 weather, when the ground baked up as ^ 



brick. The seasons for sowing were irequ , ^ 

 the land could not be got ve ^ %i ^i\ 



as 



Now the drains in this farm were put l f^ ]:j ^» 



distences varymg faft^ 



ot 



feet, such as from the character 



the surface soil not being ot oi 

 After the draini«g was ^^Z^t^ 



sufficient, 

 texture. 



mended 



and lay the ground perfectly flat. 



He 



folio** 1 



# 



