236 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



acre 



we look up to it for superior agricultural 



provemeut ; 



intelligent-*' ; the confirmed rules of pract 

 ment, and the successful investigations of science- 

 directed skill. What periodicals have we in Ireland ; 

 or what do they record? Glance at their meagre 

 sheets, and read the wretchedness of Irish cultivation. 

 We seek in vain in their columns for original writings, 

 the results of well-planned experiment and sound expe- 

 rience. It is time we find columns of multiplied quota- 

 tions from magazines, journals, and pamphlets, all very 

 good in their nature, but lamentably indicative of the 

 want of that support which gives dignity to a publication, 

 and makes it useful and interesting. Libra, March 31. 



The Tullian System.— It is very natural that " Amicus 



Tall," and others who feel interested in the Tullian 



system, should desire the fullest information on the 



expenditure it involves. Having applied the system to 



Wheat growing, both on very stiff clay and on light lands 



on the chalk, I can give an account of the actual cost 



incurred in the primary operations. In October last, 



I applied a six-acre field of very stiff clay to this purpose. 



It not having been previously drained, I had it drained 



throughout, at 3 feet deep. The field was ploughed, and 



then marked out, and sown at the rate of two pecks per 



-strictly as directed by Mr. Smith, in the * Word 



hi Season." As soon as the Wheat was above ground, 



the intervals were dug — not with the spade, but with 



the graft, used in draining— about one foot deep. This 



was done by contract, at 2s. 3d, per score of running 



rods, and cost 14Z. Is. 9d. The men being strange at 



the work, and the clay so stiff as to make it desirable to 



have buckets of water by their side to dip their tools in, 



would not undertake the work at a less price. Hereafter 



I shall be able, I believe, to get it done at 2.9. per score. 



u Amicus Tuli" seems to suppose that this digging is 



only two-fifths of the acre, but it is fully one-half. The 



Wheat, just above ground, could be approached on either 



side within 3 inches, and therefore 2 feet 6 inches wide 



were dug. As this digging cost, for the half of the six 



acres, 14/. \s. 9d. 9 it follows that were the whole dug, the 



cost per acre would be Al. 14s. Mr. Smith reckons the 



cost, for the first year, 4/ per acre. Considering that the 



wages paid in Northamptonshire are 9s., whilst in this 



part of Surrey they are 125. per week, I find my expenses 



tally very well with Mr. Smith's estimate. The men 



earned '2s. per day at the digging. And I may here 



remark that, by this spade labour, G inches of subsoil 



ljelow the plough had never disturbed, were brought to 



the surface. The Wheat is luxuriant, and the intervals 



singularly clean. Now, on the light land, in a different 



part of my estate, about a mile and a half from the field 



I have mentioned, the whole was dug one spit deep, 



after taking off a good crop of Potatoes. For this 



digging 2\d. per rod was paid. In November, when the 



Wheat had come up, we trenched the intervals. For this 



trenching we paid 6d. per rod, which is equal to 41. per 



acre. On this light land we have run Dr. Newington's 



Cultivator through the intervals, prior to the late rainy 



weather. Nothing can look better than this Wheat— 



of a fine dark colour — close to the ground, and tillering 



well, it gives promise of a good return. Although so 



thinly sown (2 pecks per acre), every one remarks that 



it is now "much too thick." I shall be happy to show 



these fields to any one taking a real interest in the 



question, and who may feel inclined to try the system. 



I can answer for the thorough truthfulness of the 



statements my excellent friend, the author of the 



« Word in Season " has put before the public. He is 



too experienced a judge to be easily misled, and far too 



upright intentionally to mislead others. I believe the 



whole subject to be deeply deserving of the attention of 



agriculturists and landed proprietors, as one means of 



alleviating the pressure of the times, and our best thanks 



are certainly due to Mr. Smith, for his earnest and 



patriotic pursuit of this enquiry. James Gadesden, Ewell 



Castle j Surrey. 



Poultry.— About six weeks ago one of my hens 

 became ill,*and lost the use of one of its legs. I was 

 told over-laying was the cause of the malady, and was 

 recommended to give her a few peppercorns, and a 

 little bread soaked in ale, whicli was forced down her 

 throat. In a few hours the bird was walking about the 

 yard ; however, in a couple of days she had a relapse, 

 when the same dose was administered, and she was 

 separated from her companions for 48 hours, when she 

 quite recovered, and has had no return of her complaint, 

 and produces her fair number of eggs per week. This 

 may be a useful hint to amateurs, as I was informed by 

 a poultry fancier of some experience that my hen would 

 die. Falcon. 



Tullian Agriculture. --It is cheering to perceive that 

 minute tillage, or the Tullian system, is coming into 

 practice. The value of frequently moving the soil 

 between growing crops has been most satisfactorily 

 proved, both as a means of increasing the produce and 

 destroying weeds. However beneficial it may be to stir 

 the earth at intervals, in order to make it more produc- 

 tive, yet it appears rather a dangerous plan 'to advocate 

 the use of the fork and hoe as substitutes for manure. 

 Under such management, in all probability, after a 

 time, the land would become exhausted, and require a 

 number of years to regain its fertility for general pur- 

 poses. A good dressing every third year, assisted by a 

 liberal allowance of manual labour, will keep most 

 descriptions of land in bearing condition, provided suit- 

 able manure is applied. The great enemies to cultivation 

 are a superabundance of moisture,Netties, Thistles, Docks, 

 Charlock, Dandelions, Buttercups, &c, which are too often 

 permitted to flourish in luxuriance, and dug in, under 

 the idea o£ keeping the soil cool during the summer. 



Having plundered the soil of a vast amount of nourish- 

 ment, many of them again spring up to torment the 

 farmer, and reduce his profits. Weeds ought to be 

 considered of some use, from the multitudes that are 

 permitted to show themselves amongst growing crops. 

 The late mild winter will tell a tale, this year, on imper- 

 fectly cleaned land, which, as the warm weather advances, 

 will be covered with vegetable and insect intruders. 

 Where Potatoes were planted last year on clay soil, it 

 has been found impracticable to either fork or dig in 

 manure for spring sowing, instead of which the land has 

 been breast-ploughed about four inches deep, so as to 

 bury the muck, and promises, when the weather holds 

 up, to be in famous order for the land-drill. It is difficult 

 to lay down precise rules for cultivation to meet the 

 wants of agriculturists. What answers one season 

 fails another. A man must be guided very much by 

 the material he has to work upon. In stiff soil, deep 

 trenching once in three or four yqars is found sufficient, 

 and better than doing it every season. After this opera- 

 tion, about four inches of the soil should be kept moved, 

 so that the air may penetrate and prevent the earth 



Annually turning over 

 clayey soil 12 inches does not give it time to become 

 separated, before it is again excluded from the influence 

 of the atmosphere, and reduced to a damp consistency, 

 resembling dough. After the deep digging, if from 

 four to six inches are made intimately acquainted with 

 the agricultural tools, and well incorporated with lime 

 siftings from an old wall, road dirt, soot, and ashes, well 

 saturated with liquid from the yard tank, it will become 

 fitted in due course to be returned to its original posi- 

 tion, without any fear of its again running together. The 

 lower six inches may be treated in the same manner, 

 thus affording in about eight years a description of soil 

 that will be most valuable, and capable of being tilled 

 with comparatively little trouble, having lost in a great 

 degree its tenacity during the process. Draining is, of 

 course, indispensable. Perhaps some of your more 

 experienced correspondents will favour your readers 

 with their opinions on this, subject, in reference to stiff 

 clayey soils. Light land may be worked deeply with 

 advantage, but manure should seldom be covered with 



dison, Mr. Marshall 

 Par 







son 



Mr. S. R. Solly, Mr. C. Hampden 



and Mr. George Wilbraham. 



V 



rkins Mr. Rowjandaon, Mr. Sanford M r ^ ^ 



I' I r °J- SA^ H -> S ^ M^ber?a 



Turner, Prat** 



The following members were elected • 



Francklin, John (Hi*h Sheriff Notr* i n , 

 Wilbraham, Hu*h, Westport, Co Mavo ? r T ht **> *«*. 

 Cartwri*ht, "William 8.. Stow Houfe N^i * U °", 

 Brookt, Samuel, The Bank. Mandate* ^ ' Moq *** 

 Walker George Richard, Heathfield Home (W , 

 Caioes. James, Cheselborne, Blan«lford i\* ford - 

 Esdaile, Wm. C. Drake, lo/GloucS^^r 

 Locke, Wadham, Stourcl<ffe. ChS 

 Montgomerie. Fred. Molyneux, OarffihamT^ , 

 Nurcombe. John, Hopcott, Minehead? Some™ ^ 

 Tottenham, Rev. Rt. Loftus, VicardaleTfrH i) 



The names of three candidates forefe?-^- 



meeting were then read. 



ion at the 





massing and becoming hard. 



Communications were received by the Coun 1 ^ 

 Viscount Palmerston (through Mr. Adding ^ 

 nutting a copy of a work from Vienna, « coato.2* 

 account of an insect called the Gollubatz-flv wh' ?£ 

 been very destructive to cattle on the Lower Dan\!l 

 From Chev. Claussen, copies of a pamphlet publish^L 

 him on the Flax question, and an expressions C 

 thanks for the kindness with whicli the Council W 

 received him at two of their weekly meeting v 

 Mr. Wheble, of Bull mershe-court, near Reading J? 

 ing favourably of Mr. Donlan's machinery, whjj? 

 had inspected, for the preliminary operations < 

 Earmer on the Flax grown by him, and renderin 

 once, in his opinion, adapted for M. Claussen's purw* 

 without much trouble or expense : Mr. WhebleS 

 transmitted specimens of Flax prepared in his pregg, 

 by Mr. Donlan, in the course of five minutes *ai 

 he expressed his opinion, that with this mechiS 

 facility offered to them, many farmers would grot Ril 

 which he thought neither an expensive nor anexhiatnf 

 crop. From Mr. Bethell, of 8, Parliament- street, saBplti 

 of fibre from Rye-grass, which the spinners at Mi* 

 Chester stated they could easily work into fine cloth 

 From Sig. Londriani, of Milan, offering to instruct tfe 

 dairy-farmers of England in the method of matt 

 from skimmed milk, a cheese equal to the " Parrotf 



description of land. The writer has no wish to speal 

 positively as a rule for others to direct their course; 

 [though his manner of writing may be somewhat con- 

 cise, he is only too glad to obtain hints from all quarters, 

 and has gained much information from labourers, who 

 often state facts without being able in any way to 

 account for them, which, when analysed, are of much 

 value. We may learn something every day if we keep 

 our eyes and ears open. Well-made farm manure can- 

 not be dispensed with. Falcon. 



Deep Draining. — It is some time since I have read 

 anything more practically useful than the communication 

 from Mr. Paine in the last Agricultural Gazette, and it 

 so far falls in with the opinion I have long entertained, 

 that I am induced to trouble you with a few observations. 

 This gentleman has, I think, to use a common expression, 

 "hit the right nail on the head," in pointing out, and 

 indeed proving the importance of draining at narrow 

 intervals. There had been a great deal of discussion on the 

 depth of draining, which, without undervaluing it, is, in 

 my opinion, of no greater importance, than the proper 

 intervals between the drains. What a difference there 

 is in the dryness of the land, in the immediate vicinity 

 of a drain, and that at some distance from it, particularly 

 in the spring ! The situation of the drains on my own 

 land (the London clay), can now be distinguished at a 

 considerable distance, by the lighter colour of the land, 

 for the space of several feet on each side of the drain. 

 Now, why should this be the case ? If the water can 

 escape 30 fast as is desirable from the land, midway 

 between the drains, this portion of the ground ought to 

 be dry first, and that near the drains last, seeing that the 

 latter has not only its own superfluous water to get 

 rid of, but that which it receives from the adjoining land, 

 in its passage to the drain. No doubt the field alluded 

 to by Mr. Paine is a specimen of perfect draining, assisted 

 as it is by subsoiling ; but then the expence, which 

 Beema enormous. Mr. Paine says that it has paid in 

 his case ; I doubt much that it would on some of our 

 thin soils, on the London clay ; and until such perfect 

 draining can be profitably practised, the surface water 

 furrows, and eight feet ridges, as recommended by Mr. 

 Mechi, are, I think, desirable. I should be very sorry 

 to dispense with them in my own case, and indeed I have 

 much mischief occasioned by making the attempt, 

 not one or two days' rain, that injures retentive 



a copy of a Farming Essay on the Management of Clay 

 land under green crop. From Mr. C. Whytell, resulta 

 of his experience in the use of manures, and the 

 destruction of wire-worm. 



The Council having ordered their thanks for tin 

 favour of these communications, interesting discusaooi 

 ensued among the members present, on the destructai 

 of the wire- worm, and on the action of charcoal it 

 depurating fecal matter. — Colonel Hall, M.P., reported 

 the great advantage he had derived from a drill-rob, 

 or presser, supplied to him by Messrs. Barrett and* 

 of Reading. It was ^particularly adapted for light bads, 

 and was well known and estimated in the East Rwg 

 of Yorkshire. It was drawn by four horses ; the prewn 

 were about three or four inches apart, and they 



into the soiL Witt 



of fe 



d 



fessor Way related some 



It is 



fortnight together. 



land, but a succession of wet weather, for a week or a 

 \ _ When the land is thus saturated, 



who is there that would not if he could dispense with a 

 continuance of rain, until the drains had got rid of much 

 of that which has fallen ; but as we cannot do this, the 

 next best thing to be done, is, in my opinion, to let it 

 run off the surface as fast as it can. W. C. Spooner. 



£>mztit$. 



ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OP ENGLAND 



A Weekly Council was held at tl e Society's house 

 in Hanover-square, on Wednesday last, the 9th of April 

 Present, The Earl of Ducie, Vice-President, in the chair, 

 Lord Bndport, Sir Robert Price, Bart, M.P., Sir John 

 V. B. Johnstone, Bart, M.P., Don Domingo Savignon, 

 Mr. Hodgson Barrow, M.P., Mr. Bosanquet, Mr. Burke, 

 Mr. T. T.Clarke, Mr. Capel Cure, Mr. Dyer, Mr. Gades- 

 den, Colonel Hall, M.P., Mr, R. Jennings, Mr. Mad. 



or 



cut about half an inch deep 

 the Turnips were about six inches out 

 ground, he passed this roller over them; 

 in every case of his own trial, or that of others he W 

 heard of, the wireworm was entirely destroyed, w 

 Coleseed or Barley it had the same effect. He «* 

 sidered that it consolidated the land more than C» 

 kill's clod-crusher. — Sir John Johnstone called w 

 attention of Professor Way to the action of charcoal* 

 a deodoriser and secerner of manuring matter.-nfr 



interesting researches ■ 

 whicli he had been engaged on this subject. He m 

 found that although charcoal in fine powder, wlien J» 

 as a filter, would intercept all manuring ™ ite * m ^ 

 mechanical suspension, and would transmit we 

 through it perfectly clear and colourless, it na« ^ 

 power to arrest the valuable element a m * on * & 

 passed through along with the water ; also n» 

 manuring matter which it did arrest was oni} J; 

 bv the charcoal into a condition to become f°^tbe 

 decomposed, and to escape in the gaseous form ^ rf 



atmosphere, so that the charcoal so enl P l0J ^ anlir iag 

 comparatively very little increased value as a ^ 

 substance, than simple charcoal which had noi ^ 

 ployed as the bed of the filter. Profe ssoT vj^ y- 

 proceeded to answer the various enquiries m ^ 

 on points connected with this important J ^ 

 received the thanks of the Council for tne ^^ 

 details he had given them. Sir Robert fnc s ^ 

 Johnstone, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Robert Sm ^'^ nt a* 

 landson, Mr. Sanford, and other members ^ 

 furnished interesting practical detai s on — ^ 

 The Council then adjourned to the follow*,, * 



a 



J>rom 



The American Paul r*s Companion: "^^ 

 H Treatise, with iUuxtrations and portrait* y . 



fifth edition. 



>•:■ 



m 



of this publicau 



from life. By C. N. Bement 



York, 1850. Pp. 379. 

 On first hearing of the existence ~- - Whether . 

 were anxious to procure it, to ascertain the v» 



an original work, founded on obser vajon ^ 



World, or a rehashed farrago of the Jiu I ^ 

 books. « The author of the work u vr )oDg . 

 lord of the American Hotel, Albanj . . g fnl|y qB £ 

 perience as a public caterer, Mr. i*ine ^ fr0P , » 

 tied to judge of the qualities of pouiw , > { -^t** 

 earliest youth, he says, he has taken b 













