372 Chronicles of Science. [July, 



grains of water must be driven off from grass to make two tons of 

 hay, or to dry a fair grain crop off four acres of land. To carry 

 this quantity off in vapour will need 10,000,000 cubic feet of dry 

 air, at an ordinary summer temperature ; but if the air were heated 

 artificially to 212 D , and the water were thus converted into steam 

 at the boiling point, not more than 400,000 cubic feet would be 

 needed to carry it away. Or, supposing that the air was heated up 

 to nearly 212° and could be removed saturated before it had cooled 

 down below 140° in the process — thus carrying off a full load of 

 water at that temperature, then about 1,000,000 cubic feet would 

 be required to make ready for the rick two tons (say 87. worth) of 

 hay, or five acres (say 507. worth) of a wheat crop. "VTe are told 

 in books that 1 lb. of coal will boil off 6 lbs. of water, and if so, we 

 ought to be able with one ton of coal to heat (sufficiently) enough of 

 air to carry off the water which exists in the quantities of grass and 

 com respectively which have been named. It is to be hoped that 

 the prize offered by the Society of Arts may elicit the results of 

 some satisfactory experiments in connection with this subject. 



Among the principal agricultural facts of the past quarter are 

 the extraordinary prices which have been commanded by pure bred 

 short-horn cattle. Mr. Betts's small herd of u Grand Duchesses " — 

 thirteen cows, bulls, and calves — descended from cows of the late 

 RLrkleavington herd bred by Mr. Bates from " Young Duchess," a 

 cow bought at Charles Collin gs sale in 1810, have realized at a 

 sale by auction 5,759/. 5s., or 4437. a piece. Other families of pure 

 short-hom blood have fetched from 1307. to 5607. a piece at the sales 

 of Mr. 0. L. Betts, near Aylesford, Kent, and of Mr. D. Macintosh, 

 near Boroford, Essex. Sixty-three animals of all ages at the 

 former sale made 1807. 19s. each, and fifty-seven animals of all ages 

 at the latter sale made 1167. a piece ; and thus Mr. Strafford the 

 auctioneer, sold on two successive days 120 animals of all ages, for 

 18,0007., or 1507. a piece. 



An important lecture by Dr. Yoelcker before the English Agri- 

 cultural Society, on the relations of food and manure, throws light 

 on the economics of an important branch of farm practice. The 

 various food constituents were declared to succeed one another in 

 the order of value according to ike following list: — 



1. Beady-made fat, i.e. oil. 



2. Starch, sugar, pectin. 



3. Youn2: cellular fibre. 



o 



4. Albumen, gluten, casein, &c. 



5. Mineral matter. 



6. Woody matters, which are of little or no value. 



But the money value of purchased food depends not only on 

 the actual nutritiveness of the material, but also on the value of the 

 fertilizing matters which pass through the animal into the manure. 



