



















THE AGRICULTURAL GlZETTl 



0O, 



manure ana crops, to and irom a central i 



Where possible, the main line should 

 an incline outward from the steading and the 



with 

 L^t'of the field. 



have a , — 



etHne be so placed as to it, that its hauling power may 

 be°used to the best advantage. In this way waggon's 

 girted would, by their own impetus, run to their des- 

 tined siding, under the control of the breaksman, where 





the working part would therefore be attached bchin 

 where there would be sufficient plstfcrm for the 

 attendant The cistern and receptacle for fin 



space as possible. Another 



, ~*«^x carries the working imple- 



.»«.«* m w be attached to the main frame, as in 



Lshers, by strong pivots, and the game apparatus 



must take up as little 



strong 



frame, which carries the 



a man wim ma nurse na-u oxner waggons to send back, for raisins and denre 



while those brought were being driven to the field along satin, spring X r T KlS^r 

 the temporary line. To save turn-tables, several of sary for givin* motion to the m^Ai\Z\Zu^\J f ♦ 

 whi ch would be required at the buildings, the sidings uniform Site ;°2d m" nl ^ d™^ this^er 1Z 

 Aould branch ff „ such time as to give a good sweep wheels of the machine, to communica e ^tleJZ 

 fctothe field. The rope from the engine would haul vating or hauling part ; and 3d, means of rivSl for- 



the incline, and turn them into their ward movement to the ^lole a i regular inuSS m, 



last has reference both to the action of the working 

 implement, and to the advance of the machine when 

 hauling. The machine is intended to be used in various 

 ways, according to that which is best suited to th* work 

 it has to do, and the state of the land. On level pre- 

 pared land it is to move along the surface, v rking as it 

 goes ; or it is to be placed in the middk and, bv haul- 

 ing, work to a centre ; or placed at the end of a Held, is 

 gradually to advance, as if drai I up a working teol ; 

 <»r, to shorten the distance of haulage, it is to run on a 

 tramway, with the implements attached at some <& 

 tance by chains. The hauling apparatus mart then be * 

 arranged as to work at best advance . iiflVreni 



angles, or the machine must have a turn-table within 

 itself. 



Another important thing is the manner in which in 

 whole shall rest and move on the ground. Large broad 

 wheels, almost rollers, first occur ; if the motion was 

 continuous, these would he best ; if only intermit . it 

 would be difficult to move the m -bin. ■, which must 

 necessarily be of considerable weight, out of t) hollow 

 made even by a large wheel. It would b pot*ihl<> to in- 

 vent a means by which each wheel should earrv two 

 tramways, which were alternately, by a rotary i 4feti. 

 or by a side lifting motion, pi ed I>efore the wheel. 

 When placed at the end of a field, a tramway could be 

 laid. A sort of sledge-frame, with low broad wheels, 

 might be useful in some cases ; whatever plan is ad 

 for this part, that of making the engine haul itself up 

 seems one of the most efficient, unless it is placed on 

 rails. It will he found in practice to be of consequent 

 to attend to the kind of gearing by which power is eon 

 mnnicated to the working part ; Hat chains * dig on 

 pins and flat sides appears to bo one of the best. Th 

 great cause of the failure of steam carriages on common 

 roads, which in theory is quite feasible, was the concus- 

 sions and connecting the power by rigid means. M ha- 

 nics are accustomed to overlook, or at least not to gh* 

 sufficient thought, to the difference between a fixed an 

 steady engine, with a moving part and the mat' rial to 

 be operated upon brought to it, and an unsteady engine 

 with a moving part brought to the work, and that very 

 partially prepared for it. 



We now come to the cultivator itself ; in this, as 



before shown, I incline to follow the combined action of 



the spade and fork for the principal implement, and so 



ir back as 1844 made a sketch of the motions and 



In the Exhibition I fonnd 



never Uil ml -nig *m useful una a* to* 



successful issue. Kxpsr nts with any machine of the 

 kind must 1 « attended with very considerable expense i 

 whd even if completed, the demand n»* be limM 

 and slow. t would the* <re ^^ ^ ^ m g, 



object to which societies and indh amis should hold 

 out 



Ci i* 





the waggons up 



proper places — those with roots to the house for the 

 purpose? for dung to the line before mentioned — while 

 the peculiar harvest truck, with a moving stack, were 

 hauled up to a stage which was nearly as high as the 

 Urge roof, thence the stack is thrown down to the part 

 allotted for the covered stack-yard, through sliding 

 panels in the roof. There would also be trucks for 

 carrying common carts, from which they would be 

 driven to some less accessible part. Along the trunk 

 line may be seen an iron pipe of considerable dimen- 

 sions, for the purpose of conveying water, or liquid 

 manure, either to cisterns in suitable places, from 

 which, or from the main pipe direct, the liquid is distri- 

 buted over the fields by portable tin pipes, or flexible 

 hose. The main pipe is provided with contrivances for 

 stopping or changing the course of the contents. In 

 practice, several contrivances would occur, which would 

 simplify the operations, and lessen the expense, without 

 endangering the safety of such a line as this. 



The remarks on the steam farm have led me away 

 from those on the machine for working the land. As 

 far as one can judge of a machine from drawings, the 

 best. I have met with, of a steam plough, is one patented 

 by Usher, of Edinburgh, a description of which, with 

 plates, will be found at page 70 of the 5 1st volume of the 



e eneouragvmeot to practical men. 

 I hare extended the remarks to great ka<*b 

 which have little novelty to recommend then 1 ho*. 

 rver, what is brought tog. ler is the means of drawing 

 the attention of those apable of devising and executing 

 machines for the •] lier and leas cxpenaive mki 1 

 of th land, it will be a great satisfaction. ? 



Who 



AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY. 



shall dei-ide when doctors 



" Mechanics' Magazine," the whole appears to be well 

 arranged, and compactly put together. The ploiHi 

 itself is also improved, and revolves; other implements 

 can be substituted. The method by which the frame 

 carries the working part appears good, as it can 

 be raised or depressed ; and by the addition of stron* 

 springs to this part, accidents from concussions, which 

 would be fatal to an unyielding tool, might be, in a 

 great degree, guarded against. The work done by the 

 common plough by horse labour, is only one part of 

 the operation of tilling the soil, it must be followed by 

 other implements. It would be a great improvement 

 if the first operation could be made more complete, 

 consistent with no great increase of draught, as few 

 form operations are profitable, except in particular cir- 

 cumstances, which require more than two horses The 

 advantage of the plough is, that it can be made to pass 

 quickly along, taking off a uniform slice of earth, and 

 toning it over ; in this latter the various grubbers are 

 defective as a first work, although suitable enough after 

 other preparations on the earth. The plough leaves 

 the slice ot earth too smooth in many soils, and the 

 part immediately below the sole of the plough is quite 

 beaten down ; to this, at competitions, it would be well 

 to direct attention. There was a plough exhibited with 

 a short fork attached, which worked at the side of the 

 plough, with a sort of digging motion ; the intention 

 was to turn out Potatoes ; by reversing the fork, and 

 making it act downwards, it might be made to break 

 |jp the earth, after being turned over with the plough, 

 iiie necessity of making the first work more complete 

 ji still more urgent with the steam cultivator, but there 

 • a limit to this. Time is an important element in 

 agriculture, both in regard to the operation and to the 



pocket ; climate and other circumstances will 

 seldom allow sowing to follow immediately upon 

 breaking the land, and the action of the air is one of 

 we best harrows, and its aid is required before imple- 

 ments can be employed to the best advantage to reduce 

 «ie land to a seed-bed ; it is not necessary then to 

 attempt to complete the work at one operation, but to 

 leave it in a better state than it is by the common 

 plough. The spade in proper hands is a much better 

 Wuirator than the plough, as in using it several opera- 

 ■ons are combined ; it is driven into the ground by the 

 average of the handle, the spadeful is loosened,* then 

 wted and turned over, then receives some thrusts, 

 which leave the surface regular, yet sufficiently open to 

 *&oit the air ; to render the work more complete, a 

 fork is used in the space left by the spade, to it the 

 *me motions are given, and the soil is deepened and 

 »osened without being turned up. This combined 

 •cfaon^appears to be the best to follow, as far as possible, 



^ould ensure regularity 



when doctors disagree ? Net 

 dabblers in acieaee ; nor do 1 pretend 

 to do so. Here we hare the great « pounder < agri- 

 cultural chemistry and th gfeftt practical agricultur 

 St isaui . like sit * of old on the colour of the chameleon, 



and perhaps th as little cause of different . The 



qu n is simply that of th* iicy of inorgMlfa 



matters applied to the soil, in the common aeo . 

 of the term*, as manures. It does not . nit of <)ii< ioit 

 that where a soil is d< fifties t in in <*ani<* matfc 

 supplying of them become* mvessary ; Mr. Puf 



ot deny this, nor that inorganh fences are essentia 

 id the fabrie sf *e«;crab] and animal oi ,m*m. 



It is a speculation, p.rhqps rather taalTul. of LieMg, 

 founded on facts, that is qtmtfaMd— tft* KuflMtncv of 

 twrtain i> ;:u.i ■ matters for an abnormal prod nci ion, 

 and applied as manures— thai has been taken up by Mr. 



1'n , whose e\p. intents I, >tgOM tars inconclusive, 



a*ld in which opinion, it, as 1 belie**, Willi draw rife 

 his writings that in th applicatidi of inorganic mattSSH 

 as manures, he presuppose* the present* ol . ftifficienqf 

 f organic matters, he must be ooaiiderod can t. 

 In his manure for Wheat, Oats, and Hurley lie only 

 offers certain i rganic matter* as substitutes for lb* 



"animal manures, which act by their infcjgaaic con- 

 st itu en 



The subject has boen introdu 

 this paper by such powerful hands, perhaps 1 shoukl 

 say h . that it may bo i< -nsidered an impertinent 

 work of supererogat in one so liumM* in all 

 his attainment- to mix himself up in it, but I 

 think it well to endeavour to indu t consideration of 

 this subject, ler oni the experiments of Mr Lawes, 

 too hasty • nelusion may be come to, that Lieb h*R 

 been v nig in his evidences, fclfeuse he May appear to 



hav* erred in an inference from ; ... in. 1 think ti 



i *.l 



into tli' • 1 i ms 







farmer's 



means of producing them. 



an implement which, without explanation as to its 



manner of working, I was not surprised that it found no 



favour. The machine I allude to was one by Mr. G. 



Thompson, of Westminster, who has carried out ver 



much the desired motions, and only required the forks 



attached. I propose that a series of spades should be 



attached by arms, cranks, and guides, to a main axle, in 



such a way that the reatest leverage power shall begin to 



act on the spade, at the time it begi ns to enter the ground ; 



after its being forced to its full depth, the spade i^ 



carried on and upwards, then the point is lowered so as 



to lodge the contents ; the turning over, unless the earth 



would do so of itself, I am not prepared for, after which 



it is moved up to the highest point; but before it has leaves from 



reached that the forks have begun to make a similar j they extract from the soil their proper n 



mnv*>m<mt nn)v rrnmnr ri**na» nnri ricm^ ****» ■ ■ "- ■ ' ' ■■ ■ ■ ■ " * ■ ♦'— car! ic acid generated by the 



general rule to be drawn from Lie bit is, not that inor- 

 ganic matters are sufficient of th $ to ism, 



merely aided b\ tmospherio influences, but that tfcfey 

 are essentially requi in its development : for, in 



asserting the great principle of their essentiality, h* 

 admits the very great influence of carbonic aeW and 

 ammonia, and devotes much space in his work on agri- 

 cultural chemistry to the detection of ammonia in the 

 atmosphere ; and in his discovery of it in mnple sugar, 

 ascribes its presence there to have been derived from 

 the roots — a conclusion 1 am disposed to question, as it 

 would be more readily obtained through the leaves. 

 He says, "Carbonic acid, water, and ammonia, contain 

 the elements necessary for the support of animals and 

 vegetables. The same substances are the ultimate pro- 

 duets of the chemical processes of decay and putrefaction. 

 All the innumerable products of vitality resume, after 

 death, the original form from which they sprui \nd 



thus death— the complete dissolution of an existing 

 generation— bsiomes the source of Ufc for a new one.** 

 Could we liav* a more decided assertion of the 

 requirement in the Soil of animal and vegetable 

 manures. But, again, he says, u The roots * (before th« 

 production of leaves) "perform the functions of the 



the first moment of their formation : 



■ 



m 



dicularly, so as to stir the soil without lifting it. From 

 seeing very hastily Mr. Thompson's machine, it is to be 



hunur-. or mould, a product of the decay of vegsh 

 tal . matter. " Bv loosening the soil which Sur- 



forward n 

 the spade 



already 



from the atmosphere are formed, the carbonic 

 ic soil is no further required." It is now tha 



would be used with the intermittent motion of the ; recently applied manures cease to influence the growth 



1 1^ 1 aU. *_— 1 1__ 1,1 1~_ 3 _1 -? _!__... .1 1- >a _-_ T 1 I. . .1 *!_..*»_ 



y aepth, for the drawback to the use of the spade and 

 ■J^k is, that their proper use depends upon the moral 

 Gbaracter as well as upon the physical strength of tL_ 

 w orkmen. As your Paper cannot well be taken up 

 *Kh sketches, any further remarks on the subject will 

 00 best^made by going over a sort of descriptive plan of 



Machine, having reference to what has already been 

 ■wted. I would again refer to Usher's, as giving the 

 •~tt idea of the whole machine. It would consist of a 

 ^touiotivc furnace and boiler, on the most improved 

 7* 111 ; particularly as regards compactness, together with 



asiderable power. I would have an engine on each 



•y so as to give greater uniformity of action to the 

 j£™*g tool, to which it is connected at each end. 

 I**8e should be mounted on a strong frame work, as 

 ^as possible, consistent with passing any obstacles. 



■"* m action it would move on the unbroken around : 



For continuous motion of the whole a different kind of 

 implement must be usedc On this I have little to say, 

 but may mention that a sort of Archi median screw- 

 blade, with a rotatory and spiral motion, has occurred 

 as one plan, these screws should act in a slanting 



plants 

 work, they have promoted a large abnormal develop- 

 ment of leaf— of vessels — to take in the organic matters 

 that are freely offered to them in the atm os p he re and ill 

 exhalations from the soil ; the great business of the roofs 

 h now to drink up water from the depths of the esrtll 

 direction, so as to throw out the earth. The blades of and the inorganic matters they find dissolved in it; they 



ow tlie region of organism* The grifft 



. a nted and object in the application of manures is to obtain this 



have a sharp half-turn to enter and hold the ground, lai development of leaf; and, as by the more than 

 For detached implements, such as would be wed by admission, by the direct assertion of Liebig, the matter 

 hauling, many of those now in use could be adapted, most essential to this end is carbonic acid, an organic 

 more particularly by combining two, such as a | matter — the applica >n of organic manures is, aceord- 



~ efficient than insflMiic ones could be, 



crusher and a dibbling machine, or some ol Dr. 

 Newington's with a sowing machine followed by a 

 roller. The means of transmitting power to one of 

 these detached machines, so as to make it a more 

 efficient cultivator, should also be thought of. To obtain 

 power on the machine it must either be of very con- 

 siderable weight, or else the tool must so catch hold of 

 the soil as to compensate for want of weight, such as 

 the plough. Though many difficulties must occur, yet 

 they have already been partly overcome ; and it is the 

 pride of our country that the talents of our practical 



and this is no more than Mr. Lawes has proved. 



Neither does Liebig, although finding ammonia in the 

 atmosphere, do any discredit to its utilit applied as a 

 manure ; for he says, in speaking of the employment of 

 bone-dust, dried dung, lime, ashes, &e. as portable 

 manures, " Although by these means the necessary phos- 

 phates are furnished to a soil, and solid animal excre- 

 ments rendered unnecessary, they have led to the 

 neglect of the liquid excrements, that is, of the u: 

 of men and animals* which is thus completely lost 





