as Compared with Artificial Mamcres. 
121 
manures to supplement the poor dung, equally good crops 
might be obtained as by depending wholly on rich, but too 
dear, dung. It may easily be remarked : But who would go 
such ridiculous lengths as to attempt to fatten 180 head of 
cattle on a small farm ; one half as many would be quite 
enough, and the rest of the roots might be consumed by sheep ? 
The reply to this is, that the land is not suited for treading by 
sheep. Further, if it is supposed that half a dozen old cows, 
placed here and there in corners, and fed frequently at a cost of 
15s. per week, are useful as manure makers, why should not 
the system pay equally well, or better, on a larger scale ? An 
ordinary farmer may be able to afford to keep a few oil-cake 
feeders, but he would be an extraordinary farmer who would 
increase his cattle from 60 to 180, without finding out that 
his system was too costly, and an extra capital of 3,0001. or so 
required. 
My present system of farming is to aim at keeping up the 
manurial condition of the land, so that it may produce good 
crops at the smallest cost for manure. For years past, my main 
reliance has been placed on artificial manures. Some dung is 
made and some bought, but it is found to answer best, as a rule, 
to sell hay and straw and purchase manures. The land is 
barely second-class, but for all this, in suitable seasons, the 
crops have certainly been better than the crops of those average 
farmers who mainly depend upon dung. Profits on an average 
over thirty-three years would be considered fairly good by most 
people. In parts of half a dozen fields, no dung has been 
applied for about forty years. On the parts entirely manured 
by artificials, the crops, save on one part of light sandy soil, are 
quite as good as on the parts dressed with dung. The yield of 
wheat averaged fully 4 qrs. over twenty years. Every kind 
of crop, excepting the seeds, is annually manured with either 
nitrate of soda, dissolved bone superphosphate, mineral super- 
phosphate, or a mixture of all. The land was never rich, nor is 
it rich now, as when any portions are left (as some are every 
year) without any manure, the yield of corn is a good deal 
under what is manured. Parts left without any manure for 
either mangolds or swedes showed a miserable crop of only 
about two tons per acre. The cost per acre for manure of all 
kinds for the 240 acres of arable does not now amount to more 
than 360^., or 38s. per acre. All kinds of artificial manures 
are now much cheaper than they were some time ago. The 
manures used on this farm are bought at one third less money 
than they once were. 
Many experiments have been tried from time to time, and 
some of them are reported in the ' Journal ' by the late Dr. 
