SB* 



32 



1851.J 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE 



509 



taMsTthU caution ; establish agents in every mark. 

 "^'^tlirtWfhout -he kingdom,] blish their names, aa 



lv » tinted, for the « tclusiva sale of guan 

 ^thec meucement of the season, and send int ligeat 

 gad independent persons, from time to time, unex- 

 peeiedlv to inspect their stock, and then, in case of any 

 Jelinquency being discovered, to expose it to the utmost. 

 jU i I am of opinion, is the course Mr- rs. Gibbs and 

 Co. are in duty bound to adopt, to ensure the public a 

 •er.aine article ind moreover, that it would, if manful) J 

 carried out, be an effectual barrier against the extensive 

 frauds now, I fear, practised by parties who, from moving 

 in a respectable sphere, as upright tradesmen, lull all 

 px^picion, and dispose of, with impunity, a doctored, half 

 fpurious article, at 1 Is. per cwt P. Kittt wuni. 



Drawing. — The proof which Mr. Wilkins has pro* 

 d to give of the superiority of drains 5 feet deep in 

 nil soils, will, no doubt, be interesting to many ; and 

 I would suggest that it would probably simplify the 

 matter were he to confine his proof to stiff clay soils, as 

 few now doubt the propriety of d p draining in other 

 ■oils. There will also be little need to complicate the 

 fnbject by enlarging on the advantages of a deep and 

 dry soil, the higher temperature thereof, greater scope 

 for roots, &c. It will be sufficient to show that the 

 water can sink freely through the required depth of 



il, as no one will dispute that all the benefits derivable 

 from draining will then be ensured. Nor will any one 

 deny that if the water sink equally down to the depth 

 of 4 or 8 feet, the result will be more favourable' than if 

 it were arrested at a less depth ; 4 feet of dry porous 



il is better than 3 feet, and so on. No one doubts it. 

 The on! question is how the 4 feet, or even a much 

 depth, can be best obtained in the stiff soils referred 

 to, for it so happens that practical men who have seen 

 all kin U of draining tried, are of opinion that with the 

 beat in >1< yet known there is some little difficulty in 

 getting the water to sink through even 18 inches of 

 really stiff soil midwi between the drains. I would 

 not say that Mr. Wiikins will fail in proving this 

 opinion to be erroneous, and that it is practicable to 

 procti a depth of 4 or 5 feet of porous dry soil out of 

 any su ill, however stiff it may be. 1 merely say that 

 such a thing has never yet been proved. Most of the 

 universal deep drainers whose opinions are on record, 

 display a highly becoming zeal in showing the advan- 

 tage of reat deptfi of dry soil ; but being generally 

 imbue 1 with the old erroneous notion that tli drains in 

 any soil, without any particular condition being com- 

 plied w i, will rlraw off the water and deepen the soil 

 to the level of their bottom, just as the tap of a beer 

 barrel can drain off the liquid within to its own level ; 

 they end by proposing a plan which in really stiff soil 

 would leave about two-thirds of the ground exactly a 

 it was befre, with the water retained upon, or very 

 near, the surface. The matter is, accordingly, far from 

 being settled, and what the owners an 1 occupiers of stiff 

 ■oils now require to know is, what they should aim at 

 attaining ; in other words, what it is possible as well as 

 desirable to accomplish by draining in their case, that 

 they may direct their la! Tour with the best chance of 

 Success, and not lose the solid benefits within their reach 



by aiming at results which they may find to be unattain- 

 able. Mr, Wilkins, it is to be hoped, will succeed in 

 clearing up this point, and to assist him in doing sol 

 would hint the necessity of avoiding certain fallacious 



arguments hitherto used, some of which he may find in 

 a pamphlet entitled " Agricultural Drainage, being part 

 of an Essay in the Quarterly Review." I mention it 

 as being one of the latest publications on the subject, 

 W at present will only point out one of the fallacies 

 referred to, which occurs at p. 25 in these words : " We 

 doubt whether, in any natural soil, the friction is so great 



esist a fall of 1 inch in a yard ; if we are right on 

 this point we should always attain the object of lowering 

 t 1 water table to 4 feet by 4 feet 6 inch drains, 1 2 yards 

 apart." This it will be seen is the foundation on which 



sists of about 10d birds of 



Cochin China fowls — the? 



to res 



our friend of " The Quarterly," builds, and a pretty one 

 it is, truly. He first assumes that the water will, as a 

 matter of course, sink through any sod to the depth of 

 4 feet, and next that it will find its way to his drains 

 3G feet apart, by having a fall of 1 inch in a yard ; such 

 reasoning altogether sounds strange to one who has been 

 accustomed to draining and managing stiff clay soils, 

 particularly when the many controversies about open 

 furrows and water sinking down, &c, are considered ; 

 and instead of its being a good example of close reason- 

 ing, bearing upon the point at issue, and having reference 

 th to the necessities and difficulties thereof, I think 

 Mr. Wilkins, when he reflects on it, will perhaps agree 

 with me that absurdity can go no farther. There is 

 also another line of argument frequently pursued, which 

 Should be avoided hereafter, as not being likely to con- 

 vince any observing man— I mean the argument that 

 tunnels and deep cuttir 5 frequently lav ponds or wells 

 «rv, whereas shallow cuttings would not have done so r 

 ■tliese are no doubt very interesting facts in themselves 

 and very useful in illustrating the value of deep drains 

 in poro-. ilg through which water can pass, but they 

 J*ye nothing to do with the drainage of stiff clay soils. 

 n is easy to show why a deep cutting may drain a pond 

 °r a well at a distance, whilst the stiff soil between the 

 1*0 pomt s may remain as much in want of draining as 

 **er. Any one with a slight knowledge of strata may 

 «>on conjure up a hundred cases of the kind. J. Donald. 

 ,; —As I think the remarks of "Clerhus l)er- 



umsis ' are likely to deter many who may wish to keep 

 °*.s as an amusement, but who have only a email spac< 

 Jievote to the purpose, I wish to say that the result of 

 ^J experience is quite different to his. My stock con- 



the most ehoice breed of 



„ at* constant lv 1 t in con- 

 finement, but are abundantly fed, and the houses and 

 walks kept per ctly clean. The i n the\ . th 



be that c i be bought in this market; and knowing 

 that they are very fond of Lettuce, 1 take care t have 

 a constant supply in my garden for their daily ate ■ 



they also eat a considerable quantity of greaves. The 



-ravel on the walks is frequently renewed. My fo* 

 are always in good health ; I do not lose half-a-dozen 

 chickens in a season, and I ha\ a much larger return 

 in eggs than "Clericus Perbiensis " mentions. Yesterday 

 I weighed some of the chickens from broods which are 

 a few days more than three months old, and find the 

 finest weigh 4 lbs. each. You have recorded in th 

 Gardeners' Chronicle the dates of incubation of one of 



my hens which hatched and reared ^ve broods of 



chickens in one year. I have hens which have never 

 had a day's run in a field, much heavier than others 

 which have constantly roamed over several acres of 

 ground. Should any of your re lers wish for more 

 information on this subject 1 will with pleasure answer 

 their inquiries, and I shall fed much obliged by " Cle- 



ricus Dei-bieris'is" informing me to what address I can 

 send him a letter. R //. Bowman. U Vale, Pen: a*o . 



Poultry. — I have a bantam hen sitting in my fowl- 

 house, and, according to my usual practice, put a cross 

 with pen and ink on the eggs, in order to recognise them, 

 in ease, as sometimes happens, other hens lay in the 

 same nest. In the adjoining compartment of the shelf 

 (about 2 feet from the ground), on which the bantam's 

 nest is, and divided from it by a partition, another hen 

 has been for some days frying to sit without any 

 under her, but whenever found there 1 have had 1 r 

 taken away, not wishing to have another brood this year. 

 Yesterday morning 1 found to niv surprise that she had 

 taken her usual ton the chalk n<st egg, in addition 

 to which was one of her neighbour the bantam's marked 

 eggs. The latter I restored to its rightful owner, and 

 turned the pilferer out of the fowl house ; but this 

 morning there she was again with two of the crossed 

 egg* from the bantam under her. Now, as the house is 

 locked up, and only myself and my gardener ever go to 

 it, how could the egi^s have been removed from one nest 

 to the other ? It could only have been done by the hen 

 herself, and in what way could she have done so without 

 injury to them ? The Heats, as 1 said before, are divided 

 entirely by a partition, and are only open in front with 



a ledge an inch or two high to pr vent the eggs or 



chickens, when hatched, falling out. I have mentioned 

 iiis fact (of the truth of which you may rely"), to several 



friends, who think it so ttraordinary that, on their 



suggestion, I have given you this (rather too lengthy 



perhaps) account of it, in the hope of some of your cor- 

 respondents who keep poultry, saying whether they have 

 in their experience met with anything of the same kind \ 



W.A. 

 Drainage. — In a letter in reply to "Inquirer,' 1 I find 



that Mr. Wilkins recommends the medium depth of 



6 feet for all drains, * but the deeper the better." In 

 the Weald clay of Kent, which is commonly of a very 

 tenacious character on the surface, but milder below, 

 the body of the water naturally passes downwards until 

 arrested by a more retentive stratum, and, therefore, 

 the deeper the drain, the more efficiently they will act. 

 In other parts of the Weald, the soil is compounded of 

 the subsoil or cultivated earth, and of a strong clay, 

 upon which it lies. This soil admits of percolation; 

 but the tenacious clay beneath does not, and, if this 

 clay be at a considerable depth from the surface, there 

 will be little utility in carrying the drains into it. In 

 these strong clays, not subject to springs, drains 2.^ feet 

 deep have been found more efficacious than those made 

 4 feet deep. Again, in the heavy lands of Norfolk, the 

 drains which answer best are 2\ feet deep, and laid at 

 the distance of 22 feet apart. When they are made deeper, 

 in clay in which flint and chalk boulders are found dis- 

 persed about, the expence of taking out the lower bed 

 of 16 or 18 inches is very expensive, costing in that 

 county from Gd. to 8'/. per rod of 5 J yards. In tin 

 clay lands of Hampshire, the drains made from 

 .30 to 36* inches in depth, and 18 to 24 feet apart, hi 

 been found most successful. On the same land?, drains 

 now made 1 8 to 24 inches deep are found entirely successful. 

 In the neighbourhood of Neweastle-on-Tyne, some clay 

 lands have been drained by drains laid 2\ feet deep 

 and 20 ieet apart, with highly satisfactory results. In 

 Scotland, the subsoils of retentive clay have been more 

 completely drainod by drains 2 A feet deep and 18 feet 

 apart, than by 4 feet drains laid 36 feet apart. Also in the 

 counties of Worcester and Hereford, the best drains in 

 the clays are those laid from 2 to 3 feet in depth ; 

 those made 4 and 5 feet deep being found far less effec- 

 tive. Mr. Tebbit, of Mansfield, near Nottingham, a 

 practical authority of eminence, states that the best way 

 he has adopted on strong clays is putting the drains 

 14 feet apart and 2 feet deep, while he finds other clays 

 that will draw at 18 to 24 feet apart, and 2 to 3 feet in 

 depth for the drains. Subscriber, July 22. 



P<at Charcoal. — "J. Vivian" will please excuse my 

 not more punctual reply, owing to not having received 

 the Gazette of the 19th until yesterday. In making 

 peat- charcoal, I take common sods of turf, 10 inched 

 long by 3 inches in thickness, placing every two together 

 like the letter A, around a burning sod of turf as a 

 centre, until a base in formed 4 feet in diameter. Upon 

 this base every additional two i Is of turf are similarly 



oupled, as above described, until a solid cone is form , 

 about 3 feet high. The air r circulates through 



the invrstices of the i ?, when in the cour of an 



hour and a half the heap will become one red mass and 

 the outside sods ,• .red with a little ashes. At' this 



period it is to be extinguished bvafew buckctsfU of 



liquid manure thrown upon it ; or covering it with 

 damp sods ; or an old | n boiler, to exclude the air • 

 a large pot will form a good extinguisher, ai 1 the one' 

 in general use amo g country blacksmiths when making 

 peat-charcoal. Charcoal, thus extinguished, should be 

 carefully examined, as the slightest spark would com- 

 municate with the whole mass, or set fire to the building 

 in which it might be unfortunately placed, leaving 

 nothing but a wreck behind. L'<bra y July 29. 



Clod ( usher. — I have to thank your reviewer of 

 agricultural implements at the Great Exhibition for 

 noticing the model of a clod- crusher which 1 wrote vou 

 about. He has, however, made a serious mistake. He 



says. " hut we ibonld ft ar the peculiar form of the rings 



is scarcely a substitute for Crossk ill's smaller teeth pro- 

 jecting upon each side of the rin^s." The fact, how- 

 ever, is, that Sillar's roller, which 1 exhibit and manu- 

 facture, has the side teeth which he commends in Cross 

 kill's. 1 may say it combines all the good points of 

 CrosskuTs, so far as the dirbivnce in principle will 



admit. IL Bennett, M, / tdo+tnet, Live 





Farmers' Clubs. 



'Wolsingham, DruuAM : Church Uaseholeb . — A 

 rather numerous meeting of gentleman inter to* in 

 this question took place in the Town Hall, on Tuesdav. 

 W. Woolen Esq., was moved to take the chair, in the 

 absence of I At! wood, Esq. 



The Chairman explained thst under the present *y«tem, 

 which had subsisted for crn'urie*, between the leaseholder* 

 and the church, the latter bad levied a fine of one or one and 

 ahulr year * rent in etery septennial renewal. whtch *are it 

 an income calcinated upon a 4 per cent, tab'e ; and a year and 

 a half fine, juat a quarter of the annual rent of the leasehold, 

 leaving th. csseo the other three quartern clear to himself. 

 This was therefor* the true basis upon which the lessees had 



purchased, Inherited, or settled their property, and upon 



which they would no doubt loo e cmtinu d, if Parliament had 

 not already interposed, and fa n »w proposing to further inter- 

 fere wi'h, for th-- b< >f the lessors. The proposed measure 

 now before the Bou»a of Lords will increase the interest o he 

 lessors from a quarter to more than one half of the annual 

 talue ; whilst on the o'her hand, the lessee in effect will have 

 no additional pivih-,. conferred; but insurmountably a 

 heavier blow and a greater discouragement to improving hrs 

 land, or emplo»in r extra labour, than the mo*t unenlightened 

 and uncivil! 1 «gfs of our history ever Inflicted All that is 

 professed to bo additionally conferred upon the lessee is giving- 

 him a right of renewal mpon such terms ! , a thing which he has 

 been in possession of uninterruptedly from time immemorial. 

 Parliament, in arranging the »ithe question ac f e 1 upon the 

 well-recogntsed principle that for the interest of agriculture 

 and the country at large, it was indi«pensable to base the 

 settlement upon a fixed rent. charge, that the beneficial em- 

 ployment of c-Hpi'al and labour might be free and unencum- 

 bered by any third party coming in to participate beyond his 

 fixed rightfal claim in that which he had not sown. Such also 

 was the eminent importance to the country of the full develop- 

 ment of the capabilities of our agricultural resources con- 

 sidered to be, that Parliament and the Governmen* deemed it 

 fo national a concern as to pa«s the Drainage Act. and by it 

 placed the Government in the extraordinary position of a 

 moneylender, that the improvement of the land and employ, 

 ment of labour should be stimulated and encouraged, whilst 

 at the same time the country at large was enriched and our 

 climate ameliorated. Lastly, the legislator, influenced by the 

 same enlightened views, passed the Im-lomre of Commons 

 Act, and apn in'ed the most enlightened, economical, and 

 attentive c mmis^ioners the country possesses, to facilitate 

 and encourage improvements, employment of labour, and 

 amelioration of our climate. Why, there is a very natural 

 q lestion to asli f should Parliament and the Government, 

 wh'cb have tbu* recognised this great and well-established 

 principle, so frequently now have it proposed to them to violate 

 it in so enlargei a manner aa the in f ended episcopal and 

 capitular esta'es bill would do; and instead of, as the tithes 

 case, by a fixed ren*-charge enfranchising the leaseholds upon 

 fair terms, it wi'l impose the law of making: fresh valuations 

 take place (virtually by the commissioners* um' ire, against 

 which there will no appeal) every 21 years. Therefore, Bhould 

 the proprietor lay out his capital in improving his estate— not 

 a tenth, as with the ti'hes, but on*-haIf of the actual value of 

 his improvement would be taken by the church as belonging 

 to the moiety to be transferred by this bill from tke lessee to 

 the lessor ; and a f the same time his septennial fine would, for 

 the other moiety, be proportionally increased. This appears so 

 mon? trouc a violation of the hi'herto practice of Parliament, 

 and would impede the proper development of our agricultural 

 resources, that it becomes of national paramount concern ; 

 and it is impossible it can be entertained, should the lease- 

 holders only s< e the danger in time, which is now hanging 

 o«er the property, aud unite in one effort to secure their just 

 claim. On the other hand, it will not benefit the church, as it 

 will prevent the property being made of increased value, the 

 country being the chief lo«er. There was also one subject 

 *hich must be of considerable interest to the lessee, and which 

 he begzed to name, as it evinced on the part of our diocesan, 

 which at this exigency appeared an especial and kind con- 

 sideration towards them, and thi practice for ages they have 

 enjoyed in always having their leases renewed under the 

 hurch. and which at this moment merited our warmest 

 acknowledgments, and did much honour to our illustrious 

 prel te. It was well known that a moiety of the sa'mon lock 

 on the river Wear belonged to the see, that practices have 

 long been pursued there which have met the reprehension of 

 our anglers ; and in the opinion of many of our most eminent 

 fishers have driven the true salmon (S*lmo salar) from these 

 waters. That the lessee had been solicited by a few spirited 

 gentlemen of the county to let them it at a rental, for the sole 

 purpose of throwing open the lock, and thus greatly benefiting 

 the public at large, by allowing salmon to breed in the upper 

 treams, and again mtke thig river a salmon water ; that after 

 this, for the same object, the lessee was highly and influentialiy 

 memoriali-ed, and other communications held with his agents, 

 hu k all to no purpose. It wasthen proposed to indict the Jock 

 hs a public nuisance, and counsel advised we had a good case. 

 The gentlemen of the county also came forward liberally, 

 whilst Mr. Marshall still with pleasure proffered his able legal 

 ■vices gratuitously at this epoch, it struck him that from the 

 bishop's well- known character, and the pleasure it seems to 

 rd his lordship to have it in hi- power to confer a public 

 ood upon the county, he (the chairman) hoped he was actin 

 i accordance with his lordship*a sentiments when he propose^ 

 ie memorial to the bishop and thus bringing to his notice the 

 subject ; and we cannot too highly -honour the sentiment which 

 ai d c'ated his lordship's deco-ion, viz., that bad every proper 

 j'-ans not previously been employed to induce the lessee to 

 Men to fair terms, and consider the public in the matter, the 

 bishop, I believe, would not have been any party in refusing to 



