THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



once a y«2C 



a 



i..tereit or. 44.000?. i* 



^^^ „tro per cent, and 5 per cent, is also 

 ftTl tie same sum for rent, wear and tear, &c, leaving 

 J net profit of 2400J. In this calculation the pro- 

 portion of pulp is assumed, as we have sad, at o per 

 cent, of the roots employed; and its value at M. 

 the ton. Sir R. Ka.ne had estimated it, on he 

 authority of Dumas, at 2^ per cent, anc its value 

 at VJ. 5s.. which Mr. Sullivan considers too high 

 If Sir R. Kane is right as to the proportion of 

 pulp, and wrong as to its value, this would reduce 

 the net profit by 1000/. If from the inability of 

 the Irish farmers to purchase stock there should be 

 no market for the pulp, the net profit will be 

 reduced to 400/. 



therefore f hope we see for them is 



, from the 



in the statement quoted 

 charced by Mr. Sullivan, from the "Statistique de l'Agri- 

 g culture de la France," that the manufacture of Beet 

 sugar has increased in that country, from 51,201 

 tons in 1840, to 100,000 tons in 1850, notwithstanding 

 the equalisation of the duties on imported sugar and 

 sugar the growth of Franee, which has beeir in 



Sept. 20 



progress during the interval. 



I HOUSE FEEDING AND MARKETING <OF 



STOCK. 



A few days since, four large plans were put up in the 



agricultural department of the Exhibition in Hyd^psrk, 



by Mr. Burness, London, connected with the house 



feeding and marketing of stock. The exhibitor, an ex- 



, ..perienced agriculturist, has arrived at the conclusion 



By reference to Professor Hancock s version of 1^ ^ fce « We tQ compete with forei „ n farmerSj we 

 this calculation, quoted m JS umber 33, it will^ be j ^^ be chemica u y an( j mechanically ahead of them. 



For instance, we cannot compete with the foreign 

 farmer on the natural system, such as pasturage or 

 grazing. The extensive plains of America, and the 

 continent of Europe, yield butcher meat at a less figure 

 than the grazings of England. In the various depart- 

 ments of the Crystal Palace, the majority of our readers 

 before this time will have perceived salted beef in 

 abundance of a superior quality, fit for the supply of our 

 whole shinninsr interest. That parties are here making 



sugar 



seen that it is substantially the same, except that 

 he gives no credit for the molasses and puip. M. 

 Ham-ojr's estimate of the cost and profits of 

 manufacturing sugar from dried Beet, as given 

 by Mr. Sullivan^ is for the manufacture of 

 00,000,000 kilogrammes (" 61,607 tons") of Beet, 

 at u 16 francs (12*. lid. per 1000 kilogrammes, 

 one ton nearly)." The cost of desiccation is put 

 down at 12,300/., and of general manufacture 

 27,600/., equal together, as Professor Hancock has 

 stated, to nearly 135. the ton of Beet, instead of 9s., 

 as in the preceding calculation. The produce is 

 2700 tons of refined sugar, which, duty deducted, 

 would be worth about 39$. the cvvt., according to 

 Mr. Sollivan— in reality, 40*. (2700 tons of 



108,000/.) Besides this, there is molasses, 

 1800 tons— 3600/., and pulp amounting to 2400/., 

 which is valued only at ( .)\ the 220 lbs. (100 kil.), 

 because, being made from dried Beet, it is less 

 valuable as cattle food. The total expenses, by this 

 process, are 78,000/., the total returns 114 ; 000/., 

 leaving a balance of 36,000/. for interest, wear and 

 tear, and profit. If, however, in this calculation we 

 substitute, as Prof. Hancock has, Mr. Sullivan's 

 own price of Beet, 15.?., and his own price of sugar, 

 28,?., leaving the molasses and pulp as they are, a 

 very different result would come out ; the total 

 expenses will be 86,105?., the total returns 81,600/., 

 leaving a loss of 4505/., besides interest, wear and 

 tear, &c. In this statement, the produce of sugar 

 is 4| per cent, of the Beet. Other calculations follow 

 of what the profit would be at 5, 5|, 6, and 6J per 

 cent, of sugar ; and Mr. Sullivan is very angry with 

 Prof. Hancock for fastening on the lower calculation, 

 and not knowing that in the manufactory of Serret, 

 Hamotr, Duquesne, and Co., who supplied the com- 

 parative estimates, 7 per cent, of raw sugar, equal to 

 5h per cent, of refined sugar, is now obtained. For 

 ourselves we confess to have fallen into the same 

 error — if error it be — as Prof. Hancock, and to have 

 supposed that " April 18, 1850," the date attached 

 to this 4£ per cent, calculation, referred not to the 



wise calculations against us, there can be no mistake. 

 Witness again Mr. Borden's" meat biscuit," of the United 

 States, and the exertions of all the nations in the world 

 to pick up all our chemical and mechanical improve- 

 ments, for no other purpose than to be able to under- 

 sell us in our own corn and cattle markets. We are, in 

 short, cackling for a 5s. protection, while we are 

 teaching foreigners how to grow corn 10s. cheaper. 

 Mr. Burness, however, proposes artificial means, be- 

 yond the reach of the foreign farmer, on the natural 

 system, as auxiliaries for us in our present exigencies. 



" Muck is the mother of meal " all the world over ; 

 and Mr. Burness proposes manufacturing the whole of 

 the waste offal of cattle, and, indeed, the whole sewage 

 matter of towns, into a comparatively dry and portable 

 manure, and has invented machinery for this purpose, 

 so as to supply us with an abundance of cheap manure, 

 and thus enable us to compete with the foreigner in 

 Mark-lane. On the other hand, again, he proposes an 

 entire revolution in the mode of marketing butchers' 

 meat, conferring upon the home farmer many advan- 

 tages over the foreigner. To do justice to his scheme, 

 we must discuss it somewhat in detail, and therefore, 

 on the present occasion, shall confine our observations 

 to his mode of managing and marketing fat stock. 



House-feeding and box-feeding is no longer mere 

 theory — it is successful practice, and the only practice, 

 as Mr. Burness contends, which will enable us to appear 

 in Smithfield successfully with the farmers of the Con- 

 tinent ; and, in Newgate and Leadenhall, with the salted 

 meat and "meat biscuit " of our colonies and the 

 United States. Some two or three years ago, it 

 appears that he laid before the Royal Agricultural 

 Society a paper suggesting various improvements 

 on the feeding box, so as to obviate present objections ; 

 but on making some discoveries connected with the mar- 



state of things " 20 years ago," but to the present keting of dead meat— then and still under his investiga- 

 time. We thought that this was the actual present tion > the paper was withdrawn, but is now again returned, 

 produce, and that the subsequent calculations at a j So faras P atentable > he proposes patenting his improve- 

 higher per cenfage were hypothetical estimates by ™ ents J. for his invent ions are provisionally registered, 

 Mr. Sullivan himself, just as his estimates of the but so f » ^ farmers are concerned, we are given to 



profit of growing 15 tons of Beet is followed by 

 others, showing what it would be on 20 and 30 tons. 

 " The simplest way," he says, in his letter to the 

 Advocate, " to show how Mr. Hancock has distorted 

 the question, in the total absence of any numerical 

 facts of his own, is to state that 15 tons of Beet 

 yield one ton of sugar, and on this supposition the 

 following estimate would represent the profit : 



which we now pay for lairage and forT^"^ 

 from the railways to the lairs, and from th^? "" 

 market, Mr. Burness contends, will do 

 provide feeding boxes of the kind \v\Ad™* 



iv 



icn 

 a 



he 



pt ,- 



poses m which cattle may be sold— 

 obvious at first sight; for if it is profitable ^2?* 

 the farmer to erect household aecomvUda^ . JP 

 should it be otherwise in towns or the suburb* Tj ** 

 When the ox arrives in the metropolis temtE^ 

 cannot be in all the corners of it at one time A (v ^ " 

 slaughtered it is subject to subdivision, but uSS 

 it cai* only occupy one space or area of land ' 

 quently, if four acres are provided for it, tkree oNk*" 

 must always be empty. Now such being a fact f 

 which cannot be controverted, the propriety f t 



it from railway to lair, from lair to market m 



veiling 



understand that no charge will be made for anything 

 connected with the feeding box, and even for his other 

 improvements he promises not to ask a single halfpenny 

 until farmers have first received a shilling. His feeding 

 boxes are so constructed that the manure may be 

 removed by carts. This is effected simply by elevating 

 the subdivision gates or bars, the former worked by a 

 rope or chain with a weight on two pulleys ; the cart 

 may then be backed into the second box and so forth. 

 Or where parties object to cattle lying on their manure, 

 he provides for its daily removal by wheeling it out with 

 a barrow to the dunghill. 



His mode of roofing is different in the framework 

 from that of the Crystal Palace, but so constructed that 

 an ) r number of cattle may be contained under one roof 



* In this," he add* "T v, * '• V^ °t , or rather system of roofs. On his plan for a farmer he 



pulp and llal 1 I * not ] nc J™*ed the exhibits a system for 200 cattle, and for a cattle market 

 S^ assumed the cost of from MOO to 7000 oxen, and 30,000 to 40,000 sheep. 



^v SZf!L » *??; °L e I er ? hl & hest P aid b Y ! H , 1S , prmei P le of roofin S ** that of a double roof. P 



from market to the slaughter-house, if not a different ' i 

 contiguous, may be questioned ; for every removal c«*T 

 the farmer and the public something more than a » 

 duction in the quantity of butcher-meat. Such m\t 

 a convenient system for bankers, butchers, and salesn* * 

 but' it neither suits depresssed agriculture nor a heavier 

 taxed public. The area of land required for the lair^e f 

 an ox in the metropolis is valuable, and more so u\L 

 centre than the circumference. Now as all landlords bait 

 a right to charge rent for their areas, and do charge rent 

 for their areas, it obviously follows that one area would 

 be cheaper than four, and that that area would be cheaper 

 at the circumference, so that the difference should be 

 paid by butchers and salesmen. The different areas nw 

 under lairage, market, and slaughter-houses exceed that 

 which would be required on Mr. Burness's plan bv 400 

 to 500 acres ; hence the result in the item of rent alone 

 when the fee simple of land can scarcely be set down at 

 less, even in the suburbs, than 500?. per acre. The 

 city architect, in his evidence before the select com- 

 mittee of the Lords, took credit for part of the present 

 area of Smithfield (some 2 or 3 acres) at 65,u00/.'! 

 According to Mr. Burness's plan, when the fat ox op 

 sheep arrives at the metropolis or any other large town 

 (supposing a railway leads into the market ground), it 

 is quietly driven into a well-littered boxj where it ij 

 treated as it had been treated when at home. In this 

 position it can remain ruminating at ease until a few 

 minutes prior to the commencement of the market^ 

 when it may be tied up to a ring in its box, and die 

 subdivision gates elevated ; and when sold, untied and 

 allowed to lie down at pleasure, the gates having been 

 first lowered. In such a box it can be fed by the 

 butcher until taken to the slaughter-house, which ac- 

 cording to the general practice, would, we believe, be 

 at an early hour in the morning, so that in those cm 

 where private slaughter-houses were used, little incon- 

 venience would be experienced from tmefe the 

 streets. His practice is just that of selling the fat ox in 

 his stall— a practice the benefits of which have from lime 

 immemorial been appreciated by farmers. Wereafanner 

 to take out his ox from the stall, and to drive itsometvoor 

 three miles over a flinty road to tie it to stake to sett 

 to a butcher, would he not be set down as a notable fool l 

 and yet does not this practice involve the very pm- 

 ciple of the system of separate lairs now in force in ail 

 our manufacturing towns, and proposed to be per- 

 petuated in the individual case of Smithfield? l*» 

 as such parties may be versed in agricultural WJW 

 surely, says Mr. Burness, 1851 demands some ^ 

 more of the British capital, which has invited aiiw 

 nations of the world to bear witness to its chemical a» 

 mechanical ingenuity than this. X. 



Expenses. 



15 tons of Beet, at 15*. £u 



Cost of manufacture, sav 91. per toa 9 



5s. Od. 

 



ON THE CULTURE OF THE VETCH- 

 The Vetch is one of the most valuable cuftJJ 

 plants of the farm, and has been long jw*™* 

 Britain. The herbage is peculiarly grateful to aw 



tron? *¥ 

 good quality, and cl^J^ 



and also to sheep and to swine ; cattle also eai jit 

 avidity. The plant delights to f^^^Ji. 



20 



Produce, 1 ton of sugar, at 23$. per cwt. 28 



5 









 



Profit 



loams, tenacious, and, at the same 



The soil must be of good quality, a 



good heart, and of firm texture. The land » 



ploughed, with one furrow, after a crop oi fc 



Barlev, or Oats, and sown with four bushels * J^, 



any manufacturer. 



We 



u , ^ A - find, however, 



Hamoirs statement, 39,900/. set down 



by M. 



, t . . i j "« as the cost 



of manufactory 2700 tons of sugar, which is more 

 than 14* .15,. U the ton. This would reduce the 

 gtow profit in the above calculation from 71. 15s. to 

 Sheaving the mol asS e S and pulp to pay interest on 



SP'iS ?°:i , aS . f • r a , S ,% wo * ld go- On the whole, 



as now 



to 



the manufacture of BMarTlttife 



queshou, however, will in a few months bl decided 

 by the best of all test, that of actual experimen 

 1 he Irish Sugar Beet Company are, we underhand 

 w ^nT ence manuf M urin S s ^ar, from the 



wj> find nothing in Mr . SuiiWb statement, , 

 explained, to justify the warmth of his tone, 



5? ZtV t a * either in the cQltivati - 



or 



Beet of 200 acres, as soon as the ^ h Xth ^ 

 have contracted shall be ready. If the etwrimS 

 jaeceeds, their operations will expand. 7f "S 



Sffif SKfiS.^ ^1 Ct ° f J P-nMh^y will 



.-. , , ,- Interior 



ol the principal roof he constructs a temporary one, so 



to speak, sufficient to create currents of fresh air during 

 summer, and thus keep the building cool. 



He next arrives at the conclusion that what is good 

 for the fanner's ox or sheep, is also good for the 

 butcher s. In other words, that fat stock should be 

 treated by our large commercial and manufacturing 

 towns wjth the same deference to agricultural science^ 

 as they are treated by farmers themselves. If farmers ' 

 follow the natural system, so may our urban friends— 

 but .f farmers adopt the artificial, as we now obviously 

 must, then ought they also to reciprocate with us. The 

 arguments to the contrary lately given before a select 

 committee of the House of Lords 



the end of February, or so soon in March as tb ^ 



will permit. A small proportion of the seea 



or Oats is very usefully mixed with "J^'JJJ^i 



The land i* h*$ 



as for OatsTand "rolled heavily m™, *? e jj£ ** 

 ^ . fcL. *t. :„ t „i «f thrpe to four weeK., ^ 



earthy culms tend to convert the waterv 

 of the Vetch as food for animals. 



sown. 



After the interval of three to 



seed, and * » 



portion of a field is sown with the ««» *£ ' ^ d 

 same way harrowed and rolled, as ^.7'* , & 

 after the lapse of three to four weeks mo ,4 

 sowing is done, which will finish the seeding 

 and end the sowing of spring Vetches a^ rf „ 

 of April, or even later, and into the 1 of # 



which provides a regular succession w ^ #& 

 Vetches, for the purpose of summer soiu * 

 in the varda* 



con*** 

 win* 



icceeas m<= •■— : f t j, e f»n» ^ 

 then cut for hav. The work-horses ^ ^^ w 



This work, performed by a sp 

 old horse or brood mare, will 



spare 



ive 



stent, 



-that to drive the fat 

 ox so many rmlcs to die lair of the salesman is advan- 

 tageous for the health of the ox, after being over fati-ued 

 already m standing some 10 or 12 hour! on foot In a 

 radway van ! go for nothing in the estimation of th« 



If it fails th»t ' f' r / " 6 'J 01 ?° nCUrS With *• I™P<> siti °n, 



w ..--- r—r r— ,uieywill man U °^ IS / C r° tne en 8 in ^ ^ that the sales! 



W e wish them all success, and the h^t UiZ J , l fied ? char g in S for the natural system of 



> the best Lurage what ought to furnish the artificial. The sunA^ ^nwuh cautlonTo fc5S«wh«« 



ThefirrtCTltinpr of spring 80W ? V |^ Vi** J 

 use in June, and succeeds the red u«, farmtf .P 



ork-h-. — Vetcn"-^ 



in the cattle-yards with a f*"Wj vlon5 A^JJ 

 were cut in the forenoon of the pre ^.^ gr- 



that the herbage may be in a *>» e " '"^nt ^ 





amp 



le 



mrnton the farms of requisite ex ^ 

 only put into a systematic rotation " 



and 



effr* 

 Xheprtr 



• It i« as 

 and so we h 



to we bare 



*<5f 



much physic a* food ; §oj . g€T er- , 

 uve found it to our coit hi -: ,uto« 



al l° 



it is T 



0> 



