







1851. 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZKTTE. 



445 



on mm future occasion, when I shall be . is aimitial to their health, and wfakh tlicj cannot get 

 i *l2r mftU, to arisiaetorily demonstrate all j in a poultry -yard. 1 owls too are often killed by too ^ ioteai#d to b# IOimrdlftleU .i au «ht«^. 

 ^li— ^^ n uta8 this question is put tome, much kindns**— particularly by the ladies, On< — J *-- 



;t»iib» have a better herbage. I wfib ti to uudcr»t»ud, that 

 bv too * ^° " ol r# ** mmen4 l* m bs to be kept on Rape, unless they 



i:i:t 



— s!T^Icityof the drains, of whatever material feed of com (Barley) a day, is generally sufficient in 

 ••* m kTnlde. is of the utmost importance, 1 repeat | summer. Perhaps two in winter, night and morning, 



7 pfiahtbe objects I have in view, namely, that is, if they run out. CUricus pcrbUnci*. 



m 



small field of I acre of 

 it advisable to make an 



:JLTeTlnte7n*l temperature of laud, and to cause J Haym tng.— Having a 

 - from the heavens, which is always cliarged mowing Grass, I thought 



nCu to permeate through it, and leave itsfer- arrangement with a neighbour to put the produce with 

 es at the roots of the plants, drains i his (he having about 5 acres), by which both might be 

 patches of land or put in verv thickly improved by being in a larger bulk. Having the con- 

 CTminimum quantity always carry at venience of a weighing machine, I had the curiosity to 



nm&oma, 

 « proi 



» should as a minimum quantity always carry - , - , , t 



* jJhle as much water as a one-inch pipe can, and have mine weighed before taken to the stack ; there 



**^*** six ei<dit, or teu times as much, and even were 3 waggon loads of it, and the hay weighed 3 tons 



!L*nthat. Q, Wilkin*. 74 cwt. ; but what ought I to calculate that would produce 



^ < - ,-/ Mmnaotd Wmwtl On iSjain referring to of hay when tit for use. say it Ctaistmas. The QfMI 



JZSecL I will endeavour to answer some of the ob- | was cut on Saturday, and carried on Wednesday, con- 



of - G. S. 



to the best of my power ; premising I sequently in this fine weather it was well made. What 



LTm8*l ■** be to ° hanl on :mv ■ u eT nl "W** 1 ! lnii . v * *** to knoW i>— wliat further loSfl in weight 



m ie during my novitiate in Gunning, which 1 have calculate on, of what ought 1 to charge for it ai 



With regard to the estimate, 



^v~ to a few years 

 - —chiefly compiled by the gentlemen I was with, the 

 ITTof Mr. Dickinson, late MP. for that division of 

 *" w9B t by whom the estate is highly farmed. I be- 

 tbe estimate for dibbling will be found correct ; but 

 I am not so sure about the drilling, as the latter 



1 



This quantity varies 



^ never tried ; it is, therefore, a supposed estimate. 



an reconsidering it, I think I put in too many 

 mmm into the bill ; and, certainly, the marking out the 

 numb previously with the drill fcj superfluous. I did 

 Mtiaean to say it was necessary. Then we come to the 

 MiBber of acres drilled per diem. 



in different parts of the country, and depends on how 

 low they are at it each day, and on other causes. Now, 

 Lincolnshire, where I also passed a term of farm 

 Stodv, they drill from 10 to 12 acres per day : this was 

 SB light land on chalk in the Wold district, — and cer- 

 fcinlv 9 or 10 acres ought to be done, if the drill stays 

 out till *) or 6 ; but if it goes in, as they sometimes do, 

 the plough rinish, of course less will be performed. 

 With respect to Turnips, I have already acknowledged 

 that A is premature even for Swede sowing. I 

 merely asked the question for experiment sake, thinking 

 that as Mangold Wurzei goes in during that month, 

 Swedes night follow them at the end of the month, and 



But I also men- 









thcy would scon after in May. 

 uoned*( which is not noticed), that I considered June to 

 be, after all, as good a time as any, particularly in a dry 

 May, and that June is often a moist month, chiefly in 

 the early part of the month. Lastly, although I do not 

 doubt that drilling Mangold along with manure (like 

 Turnips), might answer, I must defend the system of 

 dibbling, with the seed on the manure. The thing speaks 

 for itself : I have seen the most splendid crops grown 

 under this plan : every year, on the farm I above men- 

 tioned, about 40 acres are grown, and if your corre- 

 spondent u G. S." were to pay a visit to the farm, he 

 would, I have no doubt, see the same this year, and also 

 the same system pursued, explained better than I can do 

 it. With regard to the difficulty of dibbling, &c, surely 

 it does not require any very great capacity for making 

 holes in the earth with a dibble, at regular intervals, 

 especially when done with an improved implement, four 

 feet long, and shod with an iron point. As is remarked, 

 two or three come up in one hole : and so they would in 

 a manner, in drilling, but careful hands are employed 

 to single them, transplanting to any missing hole. Men 



K first with hoes, and women and girls follow to thin by 

 nd : finally, if necessary, horse hoeing across the 

 ridges is resorted to. There is no more trouble in all 

 this, than if they were drilled like Turnips. I have seen 

 the system pursued for two years : and the roots raised 

 have been so splendid in size, and abundant, that there 

 has been seen no necessity for discontinuing it, in favour 

 of any other. The Mangold (which is the Orange Globe 

 variety), comes in for the stall-fed beasts, of which there 

 are generally from 25 to 30 yearly tied up, of the Here- 

 ford breed. They begin with cut Turnips, and steamed 

 hay chaff, sprinkled with meal or oil cake, and towards 

 spring the Mangold comes in as a change. If any are 

 left over, which is generally the case, they are given to 

 the sheep, of which 600 or 700 are yearly fatted 

 wethers), in fold, on land in preparation for Turnips, 

 or whom it is also cut in troughs. To further advocate 

 the Mangold Wurzei dibbling, I may allude" to its being 

 pursued by Mr. Huxtable, I believe, its first inventor, 

 I mean, as to the plan of the seed laid on manure : also 

 to Mr. Mechi's report of its working on the farm of Lord 

 Fortescue, at Castle| Hill, by Mr. Graburn, his Lord- 

 ship's agent, as described in your back numbers. H. E. 

 Poultry. — Many of your correspondents seem to be 

 iu difficulties about their poultry. From long experience 

 I have found that none of the choice fancy sorts will 

 hrive well in the cold damp districts of the midland 

 counties. I have tried the Dorking, Poland, Topknots, 

 and others, but they became diseased, and did no good. 

 There is a kind of poultry much valued in this neighbour- 

 hood, that I do not remember to have seen in London 

 or the south. We call it the Poland Pheasant. They 

 ^ very handsome, the plumage something like a cock 

 pheasant ; the cock is nearly black, with reddish wings, 

 aud when well-bred, with a double comb, can scarcely 

 te equalled in beauty ; and, in size, not inferior to the 

 Spanish, with good short legs. They are very hardy, 

 *od prolific layers. We gathered upwards of 3000 eggs 

 *** year, from four or five-and -twenty hens. Allow me 

 I > add, for the benefit of poultry fanciers, that fowls will 

 seldom prosper unless they have plenty of liberty, and 

 •r* allowed to range in the fields. They eat a good 



at Zl. per 

 ton \ A Young Haymaker. [Your hay will probably 

 decrease one-fourth part in weight The Tree Cabbage 

 or Cow Cabbage is sown in February and March, 

 transplanted in May and June, and consumed in 



autumn.] 



A Word in Season. — I have been searching in vain 

 in the former number of your Paper for a review of a 

 pamphlet which has just been put into my hands, 

 "A Word in Season." If the statements are to be 

 relied on, and I have no reason to doubt them, it will 

 create a complete revolution in agriculture ; but I wish 

 to know what wiser heads than my own think of it. 

 I have given up farming, but keep a few acres for expe- 

 riments, and would willingly try this. If I have over- 

 looked your critique on the work (which, as it has got 

 to a 7th edition, must have been some time before the 

 public), I shall be obliged by your directing me to th« 

 number in which it appears ; if not, perhaps you will 

 favour us with your opinion. R. N. [The work and its 

 doctrines have been the subject of ample discussion in 

 past numbers of this year's volume.] 



The A ere. — This question appears to be still open to 

 a further reply. Here, in Cornwall, the customary acre 

 exceeds the statute acre by having 18 feet in the side 

 on the square rod, pole, or perch, while the statute acre 

 has but 16J ; therefore, the area of the Cornish acre is 

 to the statute acre as 324 is to 272.25, or, in round 

 numbers, as 100 is to 84— very nearly. W. E. QUI, 

 Truro, June 3. 



From late Rape 

 1 hire rar. 1> eren mu -h benefit, tie weather being often wet, 

 eV.. and sheep f«*ed more plentiful, in addition to which the 

 markets are usually better supplied with mutton. Rape does 

 veil for spring feed, particularly it tilled in a sheltered kit na- 

 tion ; it renders, perhaps, a *r*aer quantity of food per acre 

 than may be calculated on, fur it sprouts rery quickly in the 

 aprimr, if not eat*- n too cloae during the autumn, ai«d if con- 

 tinued to be ■tiM-ked on during thf summer the laud can be> 

 again eown with R»pe, Turnips, or Vetch**, Wheat •tubblea* 

 after an early harvest, may be tilled to Rape with great advan- 

 tage. I would recommeud towing Rape at early at pottible in 

 the spring, dnllinir it 15 or 18 inches apart, horse- hoeing, and, 

 if necessary, hand hoeing also. A eery u»e*ul Implement for 

 preparing the land for this us well at otner crops it the sharer ;_ 

 its capabilities, I hare no doubt, you all know. With guano, 

 superphosphate, dtc, Ripe may be grown after Turnips, Wheat, 

 Barley, Oat-, Grass, or almost any crop. I hare frequently 

 seen Mustard sowq with Rape, which 1 have heard proves a 

 good mixture. 1 would add, by way of conclusion, that it would 

 very much tend to improve the following crops, irrespective of 

 the benefit to the sheep, if, when foldc 1 on Rape, they wer* 

 given a small portiou ot oil-cake daily, say half-a-pouno each. 

 I would not advise couhuing them on Rape, but would recom- 

 mend their having a vra«s field to run in at times, if convenient. 

 Ruliocks and pigs also do well on Rape. There is also another 

 advantage to be derived from Rape, when you have more than 

 your own stock will cousume, and when stock is dear, viz., in 

 plou^uiug it in, which Mr. Nesbit says will imptove the land, if 

 heavy, more than feeding it off; and in the Mark I jane Bmres$ t 

 of Sum September last, you may find bis statement confirmed 

 by many prac ical farmer a , and experience has proved it to be 

 one of the best preparations for a W tieat crop. In the discussion 

 which ensued, some useful points were elirited. Three sucSSS 

 tive towin«t of Rape were advocated— the first in the comm*nc*- 



asent of May, or even the latter week in At 1. If the weather 

 proved favourable, and the soil congenial ; and the two next 

 sowings should take place at intervals of a month or five weeks 

 tiom each other. The English Dwarf Rape was recommended 

 tor sowing. This variety having tmall roots could be grown on. 

 land of Inferior quality to what was necessary tor the sjuiroou 

 sorts, while it produced a broad leaf and rlpeued earlier. The 

 drilling of Rape in preference to broad casting was strongly 

 reeomtmndtd. Some of the members stated it ooutd be grown a 

 week to lu days' earlier, besides producing a much heavier crop. 





e^onrtiesk 



Miscellaneous. 



Cost of Cultivation. — The different items uhicli make- 

 up the costs of cultivation are found to vary considerably, 

 influenced partly by the nature of the soil and climate, 

 partly by tMSJBtem of husba&drv pursued, and chiefly 

 by thV greater or less command of capital and energy 

 possessed by the cultivator. It is difficult to ascertain 

 with precision the amount of these costs, and any re- 

 liable facts on this point are, therefore, the more valu- 

 lable. We have been favoured with such information 

 as has enabled us to compile the following table, showing 

 the sums which make up the cost of cultivation, with 

 the yield of corn per acre, in the undermentioned dis- 

 tricts : 



Belfast Society for the Promotion of the Growth 

 of Flax in Ireland, June 25.— The growing Flax crop 

 was reported to look generally well, though in some 

 districts it appeared rather short, and had, in a few 

 instances, been attacked by the Flax-flea ; but the late 

 showery weather had greatly improved the crop, and it 

 promised well. A return of the quantity of sowing 

 Flax seed imported from Russia, Holland, Prussia, 

 America, and England, into Ireland, for the season just 

 terminated, had been received, and a rough estimate 

 made of the amount actually sown, after adding the 

 probable quantity of home-saved seed employed, and 

 deducting what had been left unsold. From this cal- 

 culation it appeared that the sowing of Flax in the 

 present year amounts to about 1 19,454 statute acres, 

 which should yield nearly .'50,000 tons of fibre. Com- 

 paring this with previous years, it appeared that the 

 sowing was, in 1847, 58,312 acres ; 1848, 53,863 ; 1849, 

 60,314; 1850, 70,000; 1851, 119,454. The quantity 

 sown in the present year was, therefore, about double 

 the average of the previous four years. The largest 

 quantity sown in Ireland, in any year, was in 1844, 

 when it was estimated that there were 122,688 acres 

 under Flax ; so that the breadth grown this year is 

 within a fraction of the largest previous culture. The 

 attention of the meeting being drawn to the circumstance 

 that specimens of Flax and of manufactures, ticketed 

 " Golden Flax," had been placed among the samples of 

 fibre exhibited by the Royal Flax Society in London, it 

 was resolved that the parties who had done so should 

 be required to remove the articles, and that a notice 

 should be placed on the spot to the effect that they had 

 been deposited without the committee's knowledge, the 

 society not sanctioning the use of its name in connection 

 with substances termed " Golden Flax," as there is no 

 such variety of the Flax plant, and having previously 

 disavowed its sanction of such advertisements. A stone 

 of Flax fibre, steeped on Schenck's system, by Mr. 

 Allen, Latimerston, County Wexford, was shown to the 

 meeting. It was of great strength, and valued at 521. 

 per ton. 



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Probus : Mr. W. Trethewt, of Treegoose, on * The 

 utility of an early crop of Rape, and the best means qf\ 

 obtaining it," showed the present method of cultivation ' 

 in his district. 



The method adopted a few years since, he said, for 

 preparing the land for this root was to skim, burn, and 

 plough down the ashes, or plough to rot, &c, but it was now 

 found that a single ploughing with the skim coulter, with the 

 aid of artificial manures, is not only a more certain means and 

 less expensive ; but, in addition to these two advantage*, the 

 land may be pastured to the very dav of ploughing and tilling. 

 If the weather prove favourable, in a few weeks the Rape may 

 be stocked with fattening sheep, either draft ewe» or wethers ; 

 whilst the iambs may be put in such pastures as are best 

 adapted for bringing them forward. I can speak, he paid, 

 from experience that, the better lambs are kept the less danger 



I attends them, and therefore the early crop ot Rape gives u>od 



The column of « total cost " does not include interest 

 of capital, depreciation, insurance, or tenant s profit ; 

 and under the head "yield » is only included the corn, 

 as we had no sufficient data for comparison and future 

 reference, by which they may test their own expense^ 

 and produce, and ascertain in what respects they excel 



*■! of green food, the tops of plants, and Grass, wlich j ?He dratT ewes 7^™ <* tTgoue' iSS JT 3d the | or faU short of the examples here given. 



It is proper 



