364 





THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



"herbage of Buckwheat grows thickly and rapidly, and | 

 smothers and kills any other vegetables. It has been 

 used as a green manure by the crop being ploughed 

 into the ground, and there left to decompose and 

 add a vegetable mould to the soil. In this way 

 the process is much facilitated by the crop being 

 rolled and pressed level to the ground, and is fur- 

 ther aided if a quantity of earthy compost could be 

 spread on the surface before the ploughing is done 

 But this mode of fertilising land has not gained 

 any repute in Britain, where the climate is too late and 

 rainy to allow the early growth of the succulent crops 

 that are necessary, and the timely development of the 

 decomposing vegetation. The vast accession to the list 

 of fertilisers, in the article of auxiliary manures, will 

 completely supersede such methods of manuring land in 

 this country, and a crop may never be accounted 

 valuable which affords a manure only, and food for neither 

 man nor beast. It is now decided that the haulm of 

 Buckwheat is only to be used for the dung-heap, and the 

 seeds are useful chiefly, if not solely, as food for poultry, 

 and the larger game birds. Hence the cultivation of 

 Buckwheat will not be large, and is restricted to the 

 neighbourhood of the game covers, where it may be very 

 usefully sown in open patches of ground within the plan- 

 tations, and the seeds ripened and gathered by the birds 

 at pleasure. The crop is alternated with Potatoes, 

 which are thrown upon the surface by the spade in small 

 quantities, as occasion demands. When Buckwheat is 

 grown outside the woods, or on adjoining grounds, the 

 crop is built into ricks on the open spaces of plantations, 

 and the sheaves are thrown abroad to be picked by the 

 birds at leisure. Or the dried crop is threshed, and the 

 seeds placed in wooden troughs for the use of the game. 

 Buckwheat contains : 



a 



t 





i ■ 



I 



tA 



\:l 



,- 



• • • 



• ■ ■ 



■ - • 



Water 

 Woody fibre 

 Starch, gum, or sugar 

 Gluten and albumen 

 Fatty matter 

 Saline matter 



• • • 



« • • 



• • • 

 » • • 



• • * 



• ■ • 



• • • 



• • • 



- . • 



• »A 



• • • 



• t • 



18. 



18. 



45. 



10. 

 2.6 

 2-3 



The leafy shade of Buckwheat places it among th e 

 smothering crops, and the fibrous root ranks it among 

 the grain crops ; consequently it is not a proper plant of 

 any of the above distinctions, and fails to hold a place 

 in the list of the useful plants. The crop of seed is 

 from 4 to 5 quarters per acre. /. D. 



Measures. — Observing in your Paper a request to 

 forward the various measures, I send you that of this 

 country — the Welch acre, which consists of 



Square yards. 

 8a perches of 8 square yards, or 64 yards x 80 perches, 



equal to 5120 



English imperial acre 4840 



Black Wheat. — A grain of black Wheat was found by 

 young gentleman, of Toronto, in the crop of a wild 



pigeon he had killed. The 

 ear produced from this 

 grain was given to Mr. 

 Harry Turner, son of 

 Colonel Turner, K.H., of 

 Bamby, near Toronto ; 

 by him was given to his 

 father, and planted at 

 Bamby in the spring of 

 1847. It came up almost 

 like Grass in the sum- 

 mer of 1847, but was al- 

 lowed to remain through 

 the winter ; and during 

 the ensuing spring (1 848) 

 came to perfection, being 

 fall Wheat. The single 

 grain, by 1850 (August), 

 had multiplied itself by 

 planting, during four 

 years, into a large sheaf, 

 containing many hun- 

 dred stalks. Given to 

 me at Bamby, on the 1 th 

 Sept., 1850. H. P. P. C. 

 [The annexed is a draw- 

 ing of the specimen sent.] 

 A Word in Season. — 

 Should Mr. Nicklin and 

 others who are growing 

 grain crops on the bed 

 and alley system, recom- 

 mended by Mr. Smith, 

 think the fallowed alley 

 in it, lying uncropped, a 

 "waste of space, and would 

 like to grow a green crop 

 thereon during the sum- 





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after 

 plant 

 York 

 would 



last stirring 





Difference 



* • • 



'280 





The Welsh bushel consists of — Wheat, 3 old bushels ; 

 Barley, 3 old bushels ; Oats, 6 old bushels. /. T. 



Turnips. — In your Gazette of the 17th, " H. E.' 9 asks 

 why we may not sow Turnips in April, and you answer, 

 that too early maturity will produce mildew in the south 

 of England. But this is not all ; in the north of Scot- 

 land Turnips sown before the middle of May are apt to 

 run to seed, which, as everybody knows, is hurtful to 

 them, drying up the roots so that they are little better 

 than dry wood. I am aware that the cause of a light crop 

 is oftener too late than too early sowing. But if we take 

 the advice of " H. E.» we shall find that an April crop 

 is inferior to a July one, if not in bulk, at any rate in 

 quality. But here let me notice "H. E.'s" remarks 

 upon dibbling, versus drilling. I cannot help thinking that 

 the estimated expense of each operation is a little at fault. 

 Suppose in dibbling each plant was to occupy 3 feet. In 

 that case there would be 14,520 pints manure used per 

 acre, or 227 bushels, or say five cart-loads, which is the 

 £arne quantity that he recommends for drilling. Now, 

 I find in the experiment that one horse carries manure 

 for 2\ acres dibbling ; and for drilling, four horses 

 carry for only 6 acres (I suppose the remainder of the 

 seven horses are drilling). And it must be poor work 

 for three horses to drill only 6 acres a day ; it is not too 

 much to say 9. As « H. E." has adopted the estimate, 

 perhaps he will explain ; and I must notice the plan 

 that he recommends of marking the rows with the drill, 

 previously to ridging up for them. This is surely 

 homely farmmg. It reminds me of a ploughman that 

 laid a hue to enable him to go straight, and by holding 

 the plough handle to it, managed to make a furrow with 

 no straightness in it, but just like a bow. He must be a 

 poor hand indeed, that cannot gauge a 27 inch drill by his 

 eye. Now, a word as to dibbling in general ; to do it any- 

 thing like right, a very careful hand must be employed, 

 and with any of the implements that I have yet seen he 

 must have some mechanical knowledge, for they often 

 get out of order. But even in a perfect way several 

 seeds will be deposited in one hole and will come up in 

 a clump, and in hoeing will be difficult to single. While, 

 if the seed is drilled, it will be divided over the ground 

 more equally, ^and the plant will come up stronger. 

 And if an agreement is made with the hoer to fill up 

 any blank as he singles them, a fine equal crop will be 

 secured. And this can be done at little or no additional 

 cost. G. o. 



Patent Harrows.— In your description of the agricul- 

 tural implements in the Great Exhibition, you mention 

 Sanders and Williams' harrows. I think it is but fair 

 that you should state that I am the inventor of this 

 implement. The patent was taken out by Sanders, 

 Williams, Taylor, and Armstrong, and at the Patent 

 Office you will find their names as the patentees, and 

 mine as the inventor. Samuel Lawrence Taylor. Cotton i 

 End, Bedford. j 



average 



mer months, it is my 

 opinion they could not 

 do better than to fork 

 in a little manure the last 

 time the alley is forked 

 over, and immediately 



the 



a row of Early 

 Cabbage, which 

 be ready to come 

 off before the time of 

 sowing Wheat. The Cab- 

 bage should be planted 

 18 inches plant from 

 plant, and were they to 



say 4 lbs. each, 

 they would produce 

 23,232 lbs., or 10 tons 

 7 cwfc. 48 lbs., of green-meat per acre — a weight 

 sufficient to last four cows, supposing they were to eat 

 80 lbs. each per day, 1 weeks and two days. If the grow- 

 ing of Cabbages would not injure the present nor the 

 after crop of Wheat, I think the experiment would cer- 

 tainly be worth a trial. W hen I have grown them between 

 double rows of Beans, they have done well and grown 

 to a large size ; and 1 have grown good crops of Wheat 

 after them. I have twice had the pleasure of walking 

 over Mr. Smith's farm, but unfortunately was too late 

 in the season to see his Wheat standing, but I saw from 

 the very strong stubble and stoolings he must have 

 had a surprising crop. I here saw the very best crops 

 I ever saw of Swedes, Mangolds, Carrots, and Parsnips, 

 and winter Beans interlined with Cow-Cabbage ; these 

 crops were really magnificent. Parties really interested 

 in spade husbandry, who should feel disposed to visit 

 Mr. Smith's farm during the summer, would be equally 

 as much interested in his system of growing roots, as 

 they would in his system of growing Wheat. Both 

 systems decidedly merit the serious consideration and 

 attention of all cultivators of the soil. W. Griffin, Eydon, 

 near Daventry. 



The Value of an Acre of Roots is the result of many 

 circumstances, and climate so far alters the quality, 

 that a comparison of crops raised under widely different 

 latitudes must be unfair ; but there is less, if any, reason 

 why the quantity should vary so much as it does in 

 Great Britain, or even on two adjoining farms, under 

 the like advantages of climate, soil, drainage, manure, 

 and tillage. The various numbers of roots and the 

 unnatural modes of adjusting them over an acre, militate 

 against obtaining a maximum of produce. Drills, 

 varying in width from 18 to 36 inches, and the plants 

 thinned out to from 10 to 18 inches apart, are practices 

 sufficient to cause difference enough. Some of the 

 heaviest crops grown are recorded as having been raised 

 on 27 inch drills, and 12 inches apart— 19,36*0 plants per 

 acre — which is by far the most general and approved 

 method. Nevertheless, a plant could not be placed in a 

 more disadvantageous position, when we consider the 

 desired result— bulbs ; if the object were to grow leaves, 

 then the practice would be correct, for the great pre- 

 ponderance of lateral play-ground encourages, nay, 

 compels the plant to waste its energies in the production 

 of leaves. I would suggest, as a subject highly desirable, 

 comparing the results of roots grown as customary, and 

 in various sized squares, say drills 12 inches bv 12 

 inches apart, 15 by 15, 18 by 18, 21 by 21, and 24 by 

 24 ; the elementary source of food being the same. A 

 few carefully conducted experiments, in different 

 localities, will be a useful addition to our agricultural 



knowledg 



apprehend the best yield J^i^t^*^"^ M 1 

 narrow to admit of culture with our Jrest^^ * 

 that is a seeming objection which will «Z hor *-lta 

 the exertions of our mechanics, XTtT** 

 once stamped the dimensions best suited ♦ ?^ er ^ 

 Three feet drilhby 1^-4* *V**t*^^ ** 

 roots per acre, which is practised in p^fS^ 9 * 

 m ^ be wasteful, at least for the first four i ftHSj 



find t Sb V ' r P r ° Verbia11 ^ " «*»«• en ets^i 

 find it to their advantage to allow more plant* . J?* 



scale-beam denotes that in their climate ft ^ 

 weight is obtained by such wide intervals tod**** 

 and convert to useful purpose the thinninw LT* * 

 line the Swedes with white Turnips. 7\SreZ T' 

 no general unpractised method which would «T T 

 add to the acreable yield of our root crops as thU 

 the trouble of carrying them off! Yes: praL l 

 churlish. Ingenuity must devise the best mean J 

 figures proclaim whether the result is profitable T 

 the south of England, where the time of sowing mmt 

 late narrower drills are preferred ; yet itma/adX 

 doubt whether using half-grown thinnings would m 

 so much additional to the produce. Whatever infW 

 climate and season may have upon the Turnip to reaiS 

 more or less space, it must be wrong in practice and i 

 waste of rent and raw material to make that spice 

 parallelogram instead of a square. T., May 15. ' 



2%e Working Classes.— There are so many contndfc. 

 tions in human nature that few things cause astonifc. 

 ment ; but though it may not surprise those acquaint 

 with the manners and practices of the lower orders of 

 our fellow-creatures, yet the reckless way in whicfc 

 hard earnings are squandered away in public-hoaw, 

 offers a subject for serious consideration and reflectioo, 

 and produces painful feelings of regret and disgust at the* 

 profligacy of mankind. Let the times be good, bad, or 

 indifferent, as fancy dictates, the beer-shop never wanti 

 customers ; and many a family is brought to ruin and 

 want by the debasing vice of drunkenness. It is de- 

 plorable to witness the utter want of principle which 

 induces a man to sacrifice the comfort of his wife and 

 children, and his own respectability, to gratify his brutal 

 appetite for intoxicating liquors; making himself lower 

 in the scale of the animal kingdom than the horses he 

 drives or the pigs he feeds. A human creature who 

 indulges in the practice of steeping his senses in madden- 

 ing draughts of fermented poison, is outraging common 

 decency, and disobeying the laws of God and man. For 

 the present, laying aside the higher views of the sin of 

 drunkenness, let us consider how far an individual is per- 

 forming his duty as a member of society. We all belong 

 to the great family of mankind, and have in childhood 

 experienced the fostering care of our country, in the pro- 

 tection of thelaw,and the benefit of charitable institutions ; 

 if not directly in our own persons, yet indirectly, throagh 

 our parents. Surely, a knowledge of these facts should have 

 some influence over the feelings of a man who has tfee 

 commonest intellect. Too many, in all classes of the 

 community, pass their lives as if they were not account- 

 able for their actions to their fellow-creatures. This* 

 a great mistake, and leads to innumerable evils. The 

 various grades of society are dependant upon each other, 

 the poor on the rich, and the rich on the poor, the idea 

 of equalitv, excepting as far as regards religion, and tut 

 laws, is an absurdity, not worthy of a moment Wen- 

 tion. The fact of our requiring assistance from 

 one another, proves that we have no right merely to 

 consult our own humours, without reference to ■« 

 neighbour's benefit. This golden rule being adm ted, 

 let us ask a simple question, have we any a« 

 permitting us to destroy the intellect which our Mtfff 

 has gi ven°us « Every man, no matter tawtag » 

 station may be, has a part to perform (for *b *& 

 must be answerable) in the great family of ^th « 

 race ; and he is useful, or worse than^nwte«, M^ 



is better 



to the manner in which he carries out his duty 



a 

 th 



day's work, or a quarter of a day 8 _ ««, 



„.an idleness, and living W^k^X r J» 

 ont of the mouths of the sick and the y un • 

 houses are only intended for ^ ■Jjjjj. bo£ 

 mind, and not for the able-bodied labourer. ^ 



of almost all evil in this country may be _ J*^ 

 drunkenness ; the hospitals are «*p*J«\ . h their 

 brought to the lowest stage of ^^f^^'dernu* 

 practice of a habit which sooner or later wu ^ , 



the constitution. How few sots **"* 9iiep a* 

 And where one arrives at a good old age, , 



Drunkenness, although more pre m ^^ 



se* 



classes, yet exists among t the.m, . 



turely. 



the labouring classes, yet wow. ^rXtent it ^ m 

 higher Order, of society, not to the ex ^ ^ 



years ago, but sufficient to show a bad exa j 

 who ought to look up to them for advice an ^ 



in time* of need. What P»^ J^ J And£ 

 derive from rendering himself «««j«^ % ^ 



the drunkard does so, the police ™V™ condurt J 

 evidence. Many excuse the.r ^ tr V° howe ver rf* 

 pleading the effects of liquor, * uca off A* 



avail, being rather an aggravation oi & ^ £ 



' ° The annals of crime mU ^ w 



The hospital registe ^ 



otherwise. 



against the drunkard. 



the 



domestic 



ll ^ "; * * The co 

 shortened. f ,lt? 



drunkard's life is shorten e- d 



•tic life are blasted by the dru 



SocW * 



_ __ _ _, tirrptch^"^^^ Aft 



insulted' by the drunkard. !»«» f „ heavily^ 

 and sin of many a wife ] and eMJ ^ deep fol ^ 

 head of the drunkard, and kurses ou ^ mei utf 

 to the grave. Surely *«•"«£ Thereve»^?g 

 checking the prevalence ^ ^gj*-,. of P*^ m 

 suffer from the decreasing co "!" B, J fl fco«. 

 mankind would benefit immensely. 





