

. 











' 





- 



THE AGRICULTURYL GAZETTE 



749 





D ^biclThis time and the soil may be applied to 

 ** most profitable account. I would recommend the 

 d* \! f t he cottager to that cheap and useful little 

 JjTdar by ^ir Joseph Paxton, if more massive and 

 C *!!l s iTe information is not within his reach. For 

 e *P^ous years one copy has been purchased for the sum 

 UTad or 25 copies for 5s. Fifty copies, I imagine, 

 timid eo a great way in one society's district, and 10s. 

 *°t of the funds, distributed in the shape of the above 

 Vtle work, would not, I think, be badly bestowed. /. G., 



ftiilthurst . 



v pT^ At p. 701, a correspondent complains of being 



. fggted with fleas, fostered, apparently, by his fat 

 . j nce sent you an account of an efficacious mode 

 ^attacking wasps* nests, which seems to have been 

 Adopted with success by some of your correspondents ; 

 And if the following notice of a successful attack on fleas 

 be not beneath your notice, perhaps you will give it 

 currency. Our Bob, clever dog as he is at a rat, cannot 

 contrive to rid himself of his fleas. Partly Scotch 

 terrier and partly undefined mongrel, he is short-necked 

 ad short-legged as a turnspit. In spring and autumn, 

 more especially, the fleas take up their quarters in two 

 nositions, one along his back and the other on his chest; 

 where they increase and multiply to an extent sufficient 

 to make the life of Bob very uncomfortable. I recom- 

 mended some sweet oil (any oil would have answered) 

 to be poured over the infested parts, and rubbed in with 

 . ra<% knowing how instantly fatal such an application 

 would be to insect life. The application succeeded per- 

 fectly. I am told the dead fleas tumbled out by scores ; 

 and hundreds fell off him as the rubbing proceeded. 

 He was afterwards washed with a solution of common 

 soda in order to get rid of the oil ; and Bob has assumed 

 gie air of a decidedly comfortable dog ever since. J. S. 

 Uenalow, Hitcham, Nov. 10. 



believed, trom all the enquiry he had been able to make, that j 

 the condition of the agriiu tural labourer was most taii» factory. I 

 He was not alluding to the *ta*e of the po tr-ratet, because he 

 knew the low price of produce had a tendency to diminish 

 rates ; but he said the labourer was Ka a prosperous conditio!. 

 (Marki of dissent.) He *bould be happy to hear an objection, 

 butbesta'ed what he believed to be the truth, and why he 

 believed it was this :— In Essex the estimate of a t laboure- 

 week's wages was the value of a bushel of flour— that had 

 beta the general rule of action ; and as the price of a bu*h«d of 

 flour now was 5#. Gd., and he heard they were giving 7* (kl. a 

 we*- k in this neighbourhood, and in his own neighbourhood they 

 gave 8*. and beer, it showed that the labourer was better « if. 

 i K person exclaimed, 4i The waives are not so high.'') He new 

 i here were some gave 6#. < d. some Is. (nl. some 65. and 9*. ; and 

 probably the average would be about 85. or ?*. 6d. Well, then, 



■■-■■• »■"**" ■ 



timber. Hut all this must e >flM to an end be 1 they could 

 go to the country and show they had do»a their duty as agri- 

 cultunsts— and by agriculturists ha meant the landlord, ib# 

 tenant, and the labouter*. Therefore, be said, let tin -sn go to 

 the country «*ith clean hand*, and be sure they bad done r 



duty beiore they complained. Then as to the management of 

 iheir stock—he did not »nea* of the men there, for he called 

 them the Napoleons of fanning, and he «aid if all the country 

 was farmed as Cambridgeshire was, the foreigner could t 

 put his head in with his foreign corn. He believed ley 

 would have to produce corn as the manufacturer did hi* 

 otton ; for the manufacturer sold to them at one time for 

 &f. dd. that which he now sold to them at Get, and got a better 

 profit. How was that done ! Hot by the otdclum*v system of 

 weaving by hand ; but let them look to what had been dona in 



w I manufactures, to the capital invested in machines, not only to 

 •t must be quite clear that wages being 7j. 6d. the labourer make the article, but to make tne machinery, as shown ia 







octettes* 



>! 



At this meeting Mr. 



Saffron Walden, Oct. 22. 



M.P., alluded to the trial of the American 



It was first tried on Mr. Mechi's 



ILES, 



reaping machine. 



farm, but the weather was bad, and it was not considered 

 a fair trial. Mr. Pusey, however, reported the trial 

 experiment to the Council of Chairmen, and they deter- 

 mined to give the machines the two great medals. But 

 at the same time Mr. Pusey advised that another trial 



It was made at Mr. Pusey's. Now 

 The two American machines came 



should be made, 

 mind the result. 



into competition, 

 was present; he 





With M'Cormick's, Mr. M'Cormick 

 worked it first, and it did its work 

 most admirably, and perfectly to the satisfaction of Mr. 

 Pusey and himself (Mr. Miles.) They then put Hussey 's 

 machine together ; no one was there for it, but they 

 got it into gear, and till they thought they had got it into 

 the best gear they did not try it. The machine started ; 

 they found it as bad a machine as they thought could 

 be invented for the purpose, and they then gave the 

 great prize to M'Cormick's, and declined to give any 

 prize to Hussey's. After a time they were taken into 

 Yorkshire ; Mr. Hussey was present, and Mr. Thomson, 

 of Moat Hall, conducted the trial ; they then found, on 

 cross-furrows, the trial proved Hussey's far superior 

 to M'Cormick's, and they asked that they should give 

 him the medal ; but to this he (Mr. M.) objected, as it 

 was not the same machine that was shown in the Exhi- 

 bition, and they could not say whether any alteration 

 had been made in it or not. This would be stated in 

 the Society's Journal, but as this was the first oppor- 

 tunity he had of explaining the matter, he thought it 

 right to do so. Nothing could be better than the work 

 of M'Cormick's machine, and with two pair of horses he 

 had no doubt it would reap 16 acres a day. (Hear.) 

 Now, as to Flax ; it would be recollected that M. 

 Claussen appeared before the Council of the Society, and 

 having described his operation, they told him what they 

 tad to look to was a ready market for the Flax, and if 

 tta grower had anything to do with the steeping it 

 ***ld be useless to England. He then said he had 

 invented a .machine, for about bl. 9 which the farmers 

 could use at home, break the reed of the straw, and 

 ^nd it to the manufacturer ; and he put down the pro- 

 duce at 81. or 91. an acre. But the machine was not 

 forthcoming, nor was it certain that the process itself 

 would succeed, for he found on enquiry that it was not 

 Perfect But that there was something in it he had no 

 doubt ; and it behoved them to look at every penny, 

 *hen a penny was to be turned. He was tired of the 

 ?7» " Cultivate, cultivate "— it sickened him to death, 

 fa he said the generality of the farmers had strained 

 ev <-ry nerve to do themselves and the country justice, 

 *{jd we saw them now without a remunerating price. 

 *" e Royal Agricultural Society would do its duty, and 

 *°uld recommend to practical farmers nothing but what 

 j?* 8 for their benefit ; but if they had progressed up to 

 ^present time, there might be a time when they could 

 jot do it, not from want of will, but from want of means. 

 *^ e farmers had strained themselves in their efforts to 

 ^auce, and it was time to see whether something was 

 £ ot to be done, which it was not in them to effect, but 

 or a higher power to carry on. 



J**- Mechi, after alluding to the delightful bond of union 

 tal? l8ted between Lord Braybrtoke, his family, and the 

 ^pbourhood, said they had heard something of -he difficult 

 ration of the agriculturists, which meant, he supposed, tl e 

 J£*wi of the landlord, the tenant, and the labourer; and 



Jr " •astv.js observed bv Lord Hardwicke, of the fclthe-owiw 



me government. There were live parties concerned, but 

 l^bi n 0uid allow bim to ir.v. rt the order, and begin with the 

 *»d tK° r> DCCa use he thought industry was the parent of capital 

 IChce ia b'>*rer was the foundation of agricultural operations. 







Koa? they were here to speak tee truth ; and bt 



must be in a better state, and he was sure they were all de- 

 lighted that it was go. (Hear.) Now he wont from the labourers 

 to the teuants ; he knew this was ticklish ground, and in the 

 first place he must state hat the low price of the farmers' 

 produce — he meant of corn, for meat was dear enough — 

 certainly entitled him to all the deductions in the cost of his 

 productions that he could fairly clvim. They knew the jrnat 

 items in that co*t were rent, labour, tithe, and government 

 taxation. Now they could not complain particularly about 

 labour ; he did not think, they did, and the labourer was w*dt 

 off; but he did think that rent should be reduced, if they were 

 to have prrmanently a low price of corn, to some hing like a 

 fair proportion to the price of their produce. He be;ieved in 

 many cases that had been done, and in many cases where it 

 had not been done, it would be doue, either fri-m the good 

 sense and cumulations of the proprietors themselves, or from 

 the stern force of compulsion and necessity. He came now t 

 the tithe, and the clergy would Hod to their sorrow that they 

 would sink or swim with the farmer ; but tin- farm*rs mart 

 recollect that if the\ were paying the tithe rent charge on a big h 

 price now, they had that price and were bound to pay on it. 

 lie did not say whether it was right or wrong to fix the churge 

 on bo high a scale, but he wished the tithe were higher on th 

 farmers, because it proved that they had had more, and they 

 should all be sorry to see it so low next J ear, Then they 

 came to the landlord, and in reference to this point he felt 

 they were in a comparatively happy difttrict^ for he \ % *ure 

 the landlords he saw there were too much men of business to 

 expect thtir tenants to pay their rent out of capital ; but if the 

 tenants got a proportionate reduction, he did not think the\ 

 would te so ba^ly oft*. They heard a good deal about agri- 

 cultural ruin. Now in commerce, when they heard a man wai 

 ruined, when they looked for him he was gone, and bin name 

 was in the Gazette; but when he (Mr. M.) came here he still 

 saw tne same happy faces. (Mo, no.) He did not say all, but 

 he saw a great many that he had seen before continuing in 

 the same tenure, (A voice— "Not happy."; He could only say 

 that he recognised those honoured names, the Claydon*, and 

 the Webbs, and the Jonases, as being still there, and long 

 might they remain. But he would not hear of their being 

 ruined, because he did uot believe it to be the ca*e. (A voic*— 

 "Where is the balance-sheet?") In reference to that he 

 would only say that in the course of a few weeks, at the 

 request of the Society of Arts, he should lay before them a copy 

 of nis books, and he had no doubt that many would be happy 

 to see that he had lost some money, if it should be so ; they 

 would then be made b.3ppy for oace. But at all events, Jast 

 year he had a valuation ot his property, a very gatUfactory one 

 to him as a landlord, and this year they should have It as a 

 tenant; but he would not anticipate, and till the next month 

 he hoped they would restrain their impatience. The question 

 had been asked— has agriculture done her duty ? He denied 

 that she had. If he took the state of cultivation in Cambridge- 

 shire, he should feel happy on the subject of agriculture, 

 because they had there men of great ability and great capital, 

 who were an honour to their country in agriculture, and 

 he honestly believed they were not losing money. But let them 

 loVk at the general state of the country ; go from one county t«> 

 auother and look at the reports on farming in the different 

 counties of the kiogdom, and he said that the almost universal 

 complaint was, that good farming was the exception, and bad 

 farming was the rule. He excepted parts ot Norfolk and Cam- 

 bridgeshire, but when they spoke of the whole kingdom, they 

 spoke of Ireland, Scotland, and England, and if they bad read 

 the reports on the farming of the different counties, he thought 

 as honest men they must come to the conviction that however 

 high the agriculture of this country might stand, as compared 

 with other nations, generally it was low compared with that 

 perfection which existed in parts of this country. Let them 

 recollect it wa3 their duty to improve it. Look at what the 

 manufacturers were doing ; and manufactures were essential 

 to their success. He had had at his farm this year crowds of 

 foreigners from all parts of the world ; he had talked with 

 them upon the subject, and as to labour, he had gone into a 

 comparison of its cost, both as to the money paid and the work 

 done, and he could prove to them that the labour of England, 

 taken by the quantity of work, was as cheap as any, if not the 

 cheapest in the world. There was a fact for Mr. Jonas to 

 look at. (Laughter.) He believed, therefore, ao far as foreign 

 labour went, they had nothing to fear. Then, as to the manu- 

 factures, trade and commerce of this country, let them look 

 at the advantages the agriculturists possessed from these. He 

 had said to these foreigners— 4t What do you do with your 

 corn I* and they said—'* We send it to England ; we cannot 

 affard to eat it ourselves, and we *end it to you ; it is with 

 meat the same— it is half the price because we have no one to 

 sell it to f and the agriculturists in this country would be in 

 the same state if they had m-t a district which afforded a 

 market to send their corn to— he tent bis corn to the manufac- 

 turing district ; and therefore the greater the union between 

 them the better for those two interests, and the happier for 

 the country at large. (Cheers.) Then, again, look to the 

 difference in practice in agriculture in different parts of the 

 country. There was as much as 2| per cent, difference, and 

 this in "any manufacture would cause its entire removal from 

 one part to another, and he did not know whether 1} per cen 

 would not do it. Essex, for instance, ploughed with two 

 horses, and stood pre-eminent for ploughing, while in *ome 

 other counties they used six in a line ; and having appealed to 

 a surveyor in Herts on the subject, he sent him the allowances 

 made there for the ploughing on heavy land, and he found tue 

 first ploughing lit., the second lis., the third 10j., and the 

 fourth 8j. ; and he believed there were four ploughings for 

 Wheat. (A. Voice : " I don't believe it— it is not generally the 

 case.") He gave no names, but this letter was dated from 

 Herts last week. Then let them look at the extraordinary dis- 

 crepancy as to the form and site of ihe fields, and the system 

 ot" management. Look at Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire, and 

 they saw large fields. He knew a farm in Norfolk of ItOO 

 acres in only four fields; he went into Devonshire, and he 

 found there a farm that a gentleman told him the tenant had 

 left, and he could not let it, and on inquiry what it was, he eaid 

 it wa* a farm of 67 acres, and there were 27 fields. Thus he 

 had 27 gates to open, had got 27 headlands, and 27 hedges full 

 of trees, and then the tenant could not live. (Hetr.) Was 

 that a solitary instance ? He appealed to a noble lord there, 

 whether he did not know one whole parish in which there was 

 an average of three-acre held* ? Then wba: conclusion could 

 they draw but that agriculture was in a most backward stae. 

 as compared to manufactures, aud trade. This must b^ 

 amended. He heard of landioids who cuuM not let their 

 farms, heavy undrained land ; aud when they were told to 

 keep stock on it. could they, he would a*k, keep stuck oa 

 heavy land in winter, unless the* had buildings to put IS It. J . 

 Then there were 1 jndl rdf who did u> Uke to cut down thtu l 



the Great Exhibition. Then he said to ths agriculturists, 

 compare jour own clumsy contrivances with this, and I do say 

 agriculture ts far behind in it* application of tttearn power, n 

 drainage, in fences, and timber— your buildings are badly 

 placed, and before you can produce the article at a cheap price 

 and in abundant quantity you must remedy all these things. 

 With respect to taxation, he thought it did not require any 

 conjuror to show ihat th« bought all their thing* at the 

 cheapest rate. (N ••, n Wh? hi* lady bought two beau 1 

 drestes the other day for 7#. I0d. f and he bought an umbrella 

 the day before ) SSUff if for 18 (., a v#ry food one. (Laughter.) 

 lie stated this to show that the expanses of the farmer wera 

 reduced in a great d< >jree \ ty ln e ar lea Imported for his use. 

 Due word as to himself. It might or mifbt not be fortunate 

 that he was connected with agriculture; but he bought *• tne 

 farms, and fin Ung them undrained and the buildings tomhm * 

 down, he said to the tenant. M l»«y me a fair par rentage, an3 

 I will do all that it required." 1 lie tenant said the farm u«i 

 poor, and would not pay for It ; to whu h he replied, " Th« n 

 give it up, and I will do it m>iel!.'» He did do it himself— and 

 let them reineinher that the more capital they got lr-m manu- 

 factures to Isy out on sgriculture, the more corn 1 *• d 

 get, the more labour they would employ, and the less pauperism 

 they would have— and he could only say that the expei itura 

 ot his money in agricultural put kuUs was a thing be *b Id 

 m ver regret. He did n»>t at all admit that good <ii ainege, e 

 removal of feaces, and other things of this kind were uprot 

 able, but if they were he said the satisfaction was self. abiding 

 that he had applied bis money in promoting the content met it 

 and the employment of his fet low-creatures, instead of 1 est-. 

 ing it in foreign loans, and foreign specular, ns, as many w< 1 

 do if they believed all they were told as to the prospects of 

 agriculture. (Hear.) By-and-bye he should have to talk to 

 them about his hatain •« heft and his own concern*, and ha 

 hoped many w- d benefit by If—be did aot mean such men, 

 as Mr. Samuel Jonas, lor he thought they had dona all they 

 could, and would reap the advantage of it. lie had now to 

 propose with great pleasure the health of the judges of the day. 

 I Cheers )— Mr. S. Jonas returned thanks, and said btttlt pn-ud 

 10 endeavouring to promote the ot Jects of the Society, becauts 

 the one class as landlord* and tin ther as tenants were here 

 combined to improve the social position and the morals of the 

 people amongst whom they resided. Speaking there as a 

 tenant farmer, it might be expected that he should make 

 a few observations in reply to t< me of those that had been 

 addressed to the meeting. Mr. Mechi stated that he con- 

 plained loudly of the state of ngriculture— of the bad state of 

 the land, and the way in which much of it was cultivated ; but 

 could Mr. Mechi, or any man of business be surprlM d that the 

 lands of England >hould he gradually going out of cultivation f 

 that when the tenant farmer* sfere deprived of a ju«-t remune- 

 ration tor their skill and capital, he oid find the land ot tbe 

 country in this state ! As a commercial man, what actuated 

 him in bin pursuits but a remuneration for his capital f Mr. 

 Mechi stated that the labourer was benefited imn J by the 

 present state ot things : but he (Mr. J J begged leave to differ 

 from him ; anil he would ask, was the large decrease of popu- 

 lation in Ireland, to the extent of two millions, a proof «.f th« 

 improved state of the labourers ! He was sure many of them 

 must have had their feelings *adly touched at seeing the crowds 

 at the railway stations, who from the circumstances of the 

 times were compelled to leave their homes, and seek in far 

 distant land* that employment of which they bad beesi unjutUy 

 deprived by the enactments of tbe Legislature of this country. 

 Again, Mr. Mechi had spoken of the bad manner in which the 

 land was drained ; but were they to look to Mr. Mechi as a 

 good example of the ijstem of drainage ! He (Mr. J.) bad the 

 compliment paid him, by that gentlemen or some one else, of 

 having sent to him a publication by Mr. Mechi, in which bo 

 state! the maimer in which he began at Tiptrte Heath ; he 

 stated that in his first attempts at drainage, after having d . 

 the ditches, he laid stones at the bottom ; he was then at the 

 expense, on the top of these st >nes, of laying the tiles ; he 

 covered them up, and when the rain came he rushed to his 

 open ditches to see the result, and to his astonishment not a 

 drop of water could he find in the pipes. (Laughter.) Was 

 that the man who was to he held up a* an oracle to them I 

 (Cheers.) He knew of no man more overflowing with tbe milk 

 f human kindness than Mr. Mecbi, but he could not allow 

 his statements to pass without *o»e observations from him. 



(Cheers.) ___ __ «__. 



METEOROLOGICAL REPORT.— November 



( Con > inued from p. 734.) 



Date. Time. 



Nor. 13 



14 



15 



Sun. 



16 

 17 



3.10 p.m. 

 10.10 p.m. 



7.45 a.m 

 11.5 p.m 



7.40 a.m 

 6 p.m. 

 iO.ao p.m. 



3U.30 

 3<US 



• * * 



30.29 



* » • 



29.95 



• • ■ 



80.11 



• •• 



29.83 





8 a.m. 

 10 p.m 



7.55 a.m. 

 11.50 a.m 



29.78 



• . * 



29.77 

 V9.79 



29.80 



18 



19 



20 



v 



I 



p.m. 



8 



a.m. 



7.40 a.m. 



1120 



p.m. 



8 



a.m. 



6 



p.m. 



29.79 



29.77 



Wind and Weather. 



p.m. 1. aim. Dense, overcasts 



a.m . Brisk N ; fine and bright. 

 P.M. Ren tie. 



N. Gentle. Fojrjry, a.m. Cold, 

 disagreeable day, with a 

 little snow. p.m. overcast. 

 Barometer falling steadily 

 till evening, and then rising. 



N. Gentle. Fine bright day. 



Barometer steady, 

 a M. N, brisk. JPine morn- 



2*. Brisk. Bright, be»ntiful 

 day. Barometer steady. 



• • ■ 



29.89 



29.54 

 ^9.69 



\ 



\ 



• •* 



HfW, Gentle. Overcast. 



[P.M. Rainy. 



Northerly. Brisk. Fine bright 

 I day. 





• I think this storm must have travelled northward over 

 France aud the German Ocean, in which case the barometrical 

 depression will hare Jbeen greater at London than here. an<fr 

 the hour of minimum would be in the evening of tne 15th. It 

 was probably a cyclone of very considerable extent. 



\ \ These depressions would be produced by small cyclone* 

 originating in the rear quadrants or tbe preceding storm. 



t This is a storm of great diameter coming from the west- 

 ward and south ward, and lying a long way off to the northward 



Dorchester Nov. 20. F* P. B. M* 



{To be continued.) 







