

■ 







I 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE 



• 



Sooth East Hants Agricultural Association, on Tuesday 



lift : I heff to offer, in competition for the premium 



offered by the Society, the following experiment upon 

 the use of the white Belgian Carrot, for «he purpose of 

 fatting early lambs, carried out by myself in two suc- 

 >e seasons, in the winters of 1849 and 1850, and 

 in 1850 and 1851, at my farm at Maidenstonehcatli, 

 md also on the farm of Richard Trench, Esq., at 

 FrehiHs. Having noticed the great value of the White 

 Carrot for the feeding of horses and pigs, I was induced, 

 in* the month of November, 1849, to commence an 

 experiment, for the purpose of proving the value of 

 this root for the feeding of early lambs, as compared 

 with that of the Swedish Turnip. I began with giving 

 the Carrots, cut with Gardener's machine, in troughs 

 plaeed side by side with others containing Swedish 

 Turnips, cut with the same machine, in advance of the 





the mains 3 inches 



made 



tin v 



653 



will remain serviceable so much the longer. The view 



taken of draining may be erroneous, and the writ* t 



only feel too much obliged to any practical dm who 

 will correct any mistakes he may have mad*. The main 

 point to be ascertained is, what style of draining is the 

 best for a particular soil I What is contended for is, that 

 one plan will not suit every desc ription of land. Falcon. 



Miscellaneous. 



The St. Quhox Club at 31 yvcmill. — After seein* the 

 luxuriant crops of grain and Turnips at Morriston and 

 Lyonston, the club went onwards to the almost world- 

 famous farm of Myremiil. With many operations on 

 this farm almost every reader is familiar. The plan of 

 collecting the liquid manure of the steading, of allowing 

 it to ferment in capacious tanks, and afterwards of dis^ 



> view u r ^r 1 anl «I«ted. The crops of Wheat 

 t i £fti£? ' '■ft in »«■«• « remarillv fine. Ja' 



fact, taking a district of 10 miles, through" which we 

 passed by different routes, I have never se< n sich urn* 

 form heavy fields of Wheat and Barlev. The lots hew 

 are very much larger than is common* in this country ; 

 and the system of fanning is what is called high faming 

 The common rotation of crops in Norfolk is :- 1 TuruiwL 

 with manure; 2 Barley, with manure; 3. Clover, or 

 Beans ; 4. \\ heat, with manure (special). The Turninq 

 are fed off on the field. On theVLer ly Z\™£Z 

 with barn-yard manure and marl, the "marl" 



giving 



iequence, I discontinued giving any cut Swedes whilst I 

 had any Carrots for use, they having continued in good 

 condition until the 1st of April. Finding my early 

 Somerset lambs doing so well upon Carrots, I decided 

 upon feeding the South Down lambs upon Mr. Trench's 

 farm in the same manner/ and the result was precisely 

 the same, they having refused to eat my cut Si s, 

 when they could get Carrots. I had no means of 



the purpose of feeding pigs. About 90 are in course of 



being reared or fattened in it at present. The floors 



are boarded, with interstices of about half an inch left 



between the boards, and there is no litter whatever used. 



The pigs appeared to be clean and comfortable, and they 

 ™ a *~ k out w | (li ft to ] era |,j e ( j rree r ease 



upon the boards. The evacuation! of the animals, which 

 pass'through the interstices, are afterwards carried by a 



.. - . „_ . , -..subterranean conduit, to the tanks. This conduit, as 



proving with accuracy the difference in the quantity of well as the space under the boards, and the pens -ene- 

 tarroteand Swedes consumed by a given number of rally, may be rinsed with water from the pipes by in tro- 

 lambsjieitherdidIattemDtit.considerin?thm*rorronf.i;L-mry J«^-- - i....^-iwi..i._-ir r. r K . .4 



for the Carrot quite conclusive ; although I believe a lot of 

 lambs would consume a greater weight of Swedes than 

 of Carrots. The quantity of hay consumed was about 

 the same as in former seasons, when feeding with 

 Swedish Turnips. But I was struck with the apparently 

 diminished quantity of corn and cake consumed by the 

 lambs whilst feeding on Carrots ; I therefore determined 

 upon ascertaining the actual quantity of oil-cake end 

 Peas consumed by a lot of 100 lambs whilst feeding on 

 Carrots, as compared with former seasons when feeding 

 on Swedes ; and having in previous years found that 

 100 lambs, being allowed as much as they could eat, 

 consumed on the average four gallons of Peas and 

 2$ pounds of oil-cake per day, for a period of nine 

 weeks, commencing at five weeks old, until they were 

 14 weeks old, being at that age fit for sale ; I then found, 

 to my surprise and satisfaction, that 100 lambs, being 

 fed ad libitum^ only consumed two gallons of Peas and 

 14 pounds of oil-cake per day (having at the same time 

 the usual allowance of hay and as many Carrots as they 

 would eat), or, in fact, about one-half the quantity 

 usually consumed before commencing the experiment 

 tf Carrot-feeding. I had some thoughts of sending a 

 statement of this experiment to the meeting of this 

 Soci* ty last year, but I considered it required further 

 trial before I could offer it with confidence to the notice 

 of the agricultural community ; and I can only say, that 

 the like experiment earned out during the past winter 

 has proved quite as successful, and was attended with 

 the same results as in the previous one. The advan- 

 tages to be derived from feeding lambs with Carrots, 

 I find, consists in the saving of one-half the cost of oil- 

 cake and corn, and that the lambs will be fit for the 

 butcher earlier, and attain a greater weight, and bet r 

 quality at a given age, than when fed on any other root. 

 In proof of which, I have never, during a period of 

 more than 20 years, sold lambs so fat and heavy at the 

 age, as those which I have fed during the progress of 

 this experiment, and in the manner here described. 



ducing a hose into the building as often as it is thought 

 desirable. _There is a wide walk along the centre of the 

 house, between the rows of hog-pens, along which food is 

 conveniently carried ; and here Mr. Kennedy proposes 

 to lay down a pipe connected with the engine, for the 

 purpose of heating the building in winter by means of 

 escape steam. At another part of the Steading prepara- 

 tions are being made for the erection of buildings calcu- 

 lated to house comfortably 400 sheep for winter feeding. 

 Phe trial which Mr. Kennedy made last winter, iii 

 the building which we have described as being now 

 fitted up for pigs, qnite convinced him of the propriety 

 of following out this plan. There is to be a wall along 

 one side of the sheep houses, but the erections otherwise 

 are to be entirely of wood. The wood is prepared by 

 being steep I in a solution of lime ; and, if by this 

 means one-half of the advantage which is said to be 

 conferred by rendering the wood more durable can 

 be attained, the proces> must be of very great import- 

 ance to farmers. Some houses on the est e of Clo«=e- 

 burn, which were erected SO years ago with Scotch 

 grown Larch, prepared in this m aimer, are said to be 

 still in a good state of preservation. The process is 

 cheap and simple. The wood is first sawn and planed, 

 as it is so hard after steeping that tools will not work 

 upon it. The boards are then sprinkled over with 

 newly slaked lime, and put into a pool, the sides and 

 bottom of which must be nearly water-tight. A little 

 hot lime may be now and again added, to keep up the 

 strength of the solution, and the wood may be allowed to 

 lie immersed in the steep for two or three weeks. But 

 home-grown wood, with the sap in it, must alone be 

 used, as dry foreign wood derives little or no benefit 

 from the process. If such an easy process 'renders 

 deals doubly more lasting, what is to hinder it from 

 being tried on any farm ? The advantages woulAnot be 

 confined to timber employed in building ; it might be 

 almost of equal importance to steep flakes, gates, paling, 

 stakes, and even implements after they have been made, 

 such as wheelbarrows and other appliances which are 



better stand for the Wheat. We saw the fields preparing 

 for the crop of Wheat. The Clover is sown with the 

 Barley and mowed once. We saw at the Earl f 

 Leicester's, the Mangold Wurzel fresh as when pulled 

 from the ground. They place them in the autumn in 

 rows, about S feet high, 3 or 4 feet at the bottom, and 

 cover with straw, and take them out as wanted. They 

 were feeding some South- Down and cross sheep for 

 mari t with these and oilcake, and they were in capital 

 condition. Ther< are 1(100 to 1500 sheep constantly on 

 the farm, and they are sending them off to market regu- 

 larly, aud replace by purchase from the north. Fhe fat 

 cattle are in cov. red stalls, or rather yards, as tliev have 

 abundance of room, well littered, with water and salt 

 before them ; and they are fed with oilcake, Mangold 

 Wurzel, cut too fine, 1 think, and they feed them What 

 they will eat. The fixtures at the Earl of Leicester's 

 are excellent, and everything about the . stablishment 

 shows the greatest care, to the very smallest minutx* 

 of the farm. They were threshing their Wheat with a 

 first-rate portable steam^ngino, and the amount of work 

 perform.- 1 by it was very large. Two English gentle- 

 men, whom w< met on our return to Norwich, informed 

 us that the use of Rape-cake has proved entirely suc- 

 cessful in arresting the ravages of the wirewoiw in the 

 Turnip crop. They burrow themselves in thelUpc, and 

 that is the end of their labours. After leaving Norwich, 



took a day at Ipswich, at Ransome and May's great 



plough and engine tablishment, and it i3 one of the 

 most complete, as it is one of the most extensive, esta- 

 blishments in this country. Nine hundred men are 

 constantly employed. While I was there, five steam- 

 engines were being shipped for Lord Dombrfeski, of 

 Russia, for his £old and copper mines in Si ria. and a. 



larg 



r time 



I 



I intern 1 to do in full hereafter. 



;e lot of ploughs for Valparaiso ; but 1 ha\ not spa 

 ime to give a description of this establishment, which 



I visited a number of 

 farms In Suffolk, where they have good farmers, but 

 their land is not erjtal to Norfolk, and their crops lighter. 

 The Suffolk polled cows are altogether used for the dairy 

 —they are very #xcellent milkers, and a valuable bi d.. 

 The Suffolk Punch horse is here found in great perfec- 

 tion, and they are the best breed of work horses fchave 

 seen. The horses are large, but clean-limbed, pood 

 travellers, and very valuable. These are worth from 

 30/. to 6<»/. But I must close. New York State Agricul- 

 tural Journal. 



OeTOBEB. 



METEOROLOGICAL REPORT.— September 



{Continued from p. C38.) 



Date. 



Should the foregoing statement lead to inquiry upon peculiarly liable to rapid decay. Two of the fields at 



the [subject) and prove serviceable to my brother 

 farmers, it will then have produced the result desired 

 by the author. Joseph BlundelL 



Draining.— -The object of draining is to keep the soil 

 comparatively dry and warm during the winter, and 

 moist in the summer. Water does harm where it rests 

 on the laud, but good where is percolates through, and 

 afterwards runs off. General principles may be laid 

 down to guide the agriculturist in draining; but 

 carrying out the system depends upon the nature of the 

 land, locality, and other circumstances. What may 

 suit one district in a country, will not answer for 

 another. It seems impossible, as some persons wish, to 

 lay down rules to be strictly adhered to in all cases of 

 Graining; as well might they insist upon the same plan 

 w cultivation being adopted for sandy loam and clay 

 land; where a sour blue subsoil exists under astiff clay, 

 ~eep drains at great distances from each other, are not 

 «> beneficial to the land as those sunk 3 feet, and about 

 41 apart; clay will not allow water to pass through it, till 

 , Uas been acted upon by the air, unless where it has 

 1 f n mov ed by the spade or plough. It appears reason- 

 22 , Su PP° se > should the foregoing statement be cor- 

 rect, that drains 3 feet deep and 21 apart will loosen 

 Jjjay sooner than those of 5 feet, and 30 feet interval, 

 solid clay is impervious to water may easily be 

 Fovecl, by digging a hole, and filling it with the element; 



en ^ will be found merely to evaporate, unless there 



nas^M drain tolerabl y close ** hand - Rain wiH not 

 one ,. ou 8 n cla y til1 the atmosphere has mellowed and 

 the^ }*> hence workmen are aware that in stiff land 

 c x ! ams do not run freely for a couple of years, which 

 perience teaches them, though they may not be able 

 gpve a reason for the fact. ~ 



^ept. 



Oct, 



10 



' 



10.10 p.m. 

 0.30 a.m. 



1 p.m. 

 1.30 p.m. 



29 35 

 29.03 



1 1 t 



- - - 





Wind and Weather. 



■ • ■ 



28.85 

 28.85 



9.50 p.m.! 28.91 



• • t 



Aiyremui, wnicn are under Italian Kye-grass, are pas- 

 tured with a large flock of sheep. It is truly astonishing 

 to see the number which are folded on a small piece ol 

 ground, making the side of the field to appear as if half | 

 covered with them. Mr. Kennedy is fattening 15 to the 

 imperial acre, and the sheep seem to thrive remarkably 

 well with him. Indeed, we are told that not a single 

 sheep has died at Myremiil thi.s season. Mr. Kennedy 

 has also a 12-acre field of Carrots, which we do not 

 think can be excelled in Scotland. The field was 

 dressed with, J i carts to the acre of rough dung from the 

 cattle-boxes. The manure was ploughed into the land 

 in the early part of winter ; and this was followed in 

 spring by two applications of liquid manure from the 

 pipes. It ought to be recollected, however, that the 

 solid manure, though rough from the boxes, was a good 

 fertiliser, as Mr. Kennedy's fattening cattle from which 

 it was produced are very highly fed. North British 



5 



6.50 a.m. 

 1.30 p.m. 



• . • 



29.28 



7 p.tn 



t 





t 



4 



7 



a.m 



a.09 



• • t 



- - - 



5.30 p.m. 25.45 



Agriculturist 



Sun, 5 



7.3") a.m 

 11.40 a.m. 



7.50 a.m 



• - « 



29 A 3 



29.27 



29.25 



i . . 



29.40 



. . • 



• •• 



29.£0 



Gentle breeze ; starlight. 

 SE. a.m. Blowing hard ; 



barometer falling fast ; 



hard rain. 



SS W. Do. ; clearing a little. 

 1.30 r m. Moderating and 



veering to SW. 

 P. M. - ' • Bri «. k ib o wery ; 



barometer risii 

 a.m. Brisk SW. r with hPavy 



•tormt ; barometer rising. 



30 v. m. Barometer fell 

 •ga^n ; wind backed to 

 SS\\\, and Increase ; 

 n'ght rainy. 

 Fine morning ; heavy enmuli 

 in southern horizon. Noon, 

 NW, and gentle ; r.M. over- 

 cast ; bri!>k breeze SW. f 

 but baroi cr still rising* 

 Evening raining. 



11 p.m ; 29.72 



* • • 



A.M. \S\ t p.m. StV. Brisk 

 breeze, and fine pleasant 

 day ; barometer stationary 

 after 11 40 a.m. 



a.m. WSW., 11 WNW„ 



5.50 N W. Brisk ; fine 



day ; barometer rising 

 steadily. 



Farm Memoranda 



Farming of the Earl of Leicester. — Mr. Bell 

 and myself proceeded to Norwich, in Norfolk, about CO 

 miles distant, and, the next morning, proceeded to Holk- 

 ham, about 3'2 miles from Norwich, the seat of the Earl 

 of^Lticester, " .--•—.— 



farm buildings 



In 



*™&Ie iaH ■* -i - tapping springs on 



Rr *r u > n mav be necessary to lay the tiles at a 



at 4 fe t pth ' indeed such'land may be safely drained 



Tu'wJi a i ^ ^ ee ^ a P arfc > or even more, in some cases. 



** should not be less than 2 inches in diameter, and 



H The cjclouic nature of thi» storm at Portland was so 

 evident, that it was adverted to by a correspondent of the* 

 Timet, and by the local newspapers ; the violence of it having 

 washed away a considerable portion of the stage- frame of the 

 breakwater of the t arbour of refuge in Portland Roads. 

 Although the force of the wind was more particularly expe- 

 riersced there, this stormV-eye must have been of considerable 

 extent, as it j'&ated over Woolwich at about the same time, 

 as I there obsesved the veering of the wind to be Dearly the 

 _^. . ~ _ . same, afcd a fine forenoon was succeeded by a rainy disagree- 



and examined Ins fine Devon stock, his able evening. This storm travelled northward, having come 



3 and farm. The stock was not so exten- i'r m the south. 



f This storm came from the westward, ana travelled east- 

 ward, behifc produced by the collapse of the hinder quadrants* 

 of preceding storm. 



X This storm came from the westward, also, and the ssma 

 observations apply to this as to the preceding storm. 

 Dorchtster [Oct. 9J. /". P. B. M> 



I (To be continued. ) 



sive as I had anticipated, thoi Ii there were some very 

 fine animals. He had six or eight beasts fattening for 

 the Smithfield Show, that were very fine, and will prove, 

 I imagine, severe competitors for the short-horns and 

 Herefords. Twelve fine yoke of Devon oxen are em- 

 ployed on the farms, and their quick, elastic tread was 

 a subject of admiration, when comp.* red with the heavy, 

 loggy tread of the English cart horse, to be met with in 

 the" north ^>f England, and in some of the central 

 counties. Mr. Keary, the bailiff of the Earl, was 

 absent, so that we had not the privilege of seeing him, 



• Calendar of Operations. 



SEPTEMBER. 



Wfst SoMEmsETSHiiE, Sept. 2?.— The wetther of the past 

 month has been of a most delightful autumnal character, hut 

 though fine, it has Ukewise been dry ; during that period 



