450 
Agricultural Maxima. 
and Eyland's mangold manure, 3 cwt. salt, on a small piece sown with long 
mangolds. On one part of the field I put, for experiment, some superphosphate 
in lieu of the 2 cwt. of Proctor and llj-land's manure, mentioned in the first case ; 
hut the quantity applied was of the same money value. These experiments, 
however, were not taken into account when selecting the average of the field. I 
ought to mention that previous to the land being ridged I applied about 2 cwt. 
salt per acre over the whole of it. After the ridges had been turned back or 
" split " and rolled down, the seed was drilled ; the quantity sown being 6 lbs. 
per acre. As soon as the rows were visible, the horse-hoe Qa single-horse one) was 
drawn do^Ti the intervals, and when the plants w^ere from 3 to 4 inches high 
they were side-hoed and singled out to a distance of 16 inches apart, the strongest 
plants being left where possible and the blanks filled up by transplanting. This 
was perfonned with a small garden-trowel, in order that the roots of the plants 
should not be injured nor turned up in planting, as is too often the case. In 
a few weeks the transplanted ones could not be distinguished from the others. 
The crop was afterwards horse-hoed as often and deep as could he done without 
injuring the plants, and to this and deep autumn tillage I attribute in a gi-eat 
measure my gi-eat success. — On the 25th October the judges of the Banbury 
Agricultural Association weighed a square rod, and found the average w^eight 
of the field to be GSs tons per acre. On the loth November Mr. Eyland, of 
Birmingham, and other gentlemen, having expressed a wish to see the crop, 
selected w4iat thej' considered a fair average piece (1-lGth of an acre), and 
fovmd the weight to be 64 tons 1 cwt. 1 qr. 20 lbs. per acre." 
10. Mr. Simpson, of Teawig, near Beauly, Invernessshire, gives 
the following particulars of an extraordinary crop of potatoes : — 
" The land on which they grew was under oats in 1858, after grass in 1857, 
and was stirred in the autumn of 1858 about 14 inches deep (a plough turning a 
deep furrow, and a subsoil plough following). It was simply grubbed across 
in spring 1859 ; then drilled (ribbed) at 30 ,inches with a double mould 
plough. 25 loads of w^ell-made farmyard manure were spread in the drills in 
the latter end of April, and cut sets of potatoes dusted with yypisum were 
planted at 12 inches' distance. The sort is the Protestant — a kind sent to me 
by a friend in the west of Ireland in 1854, and since cultivated by me with 
invariable success. They are somewhat similar in appearance, but much 
superior in quality, to the kind known in London as the ' Irish WTiite Rock.' 
" I had apportioned 4 acres to the gi-owth of diflerent varieties for change 
of seed, the soil of these 4 acres being different from the rest of my fai-m. The 
acre appropriated to the Protestants was the worst piece of the four. The next 
piece to it was under Flukes, which produced but 9i tons per acre, though put 
down with the same manure and 2 cwi;s. Peruvian guano in addition. 
" The exact measurement under Protestants was 4704 square yards. 
The quantity of potatoes carted off was 29 loads, which weighed (by trial) 10 
to 10| cwts. net each. There was no disease in any of the varieties. 
" I annex a sketch of the piece of ground. It may interest you to know 
that the line intersecting it was up till the early part of this century the great 
and only road from Inverness to the northern counties. It was trenched up 
and cropped for the first time by me in 1854." * 
11. Mr. Grey, of Dilston, refers thus in general terms to 
autumn cultivation, as resulting in a maximum crop of 
♦ The plan accompanying this commuuication represents a rectangular field 
divided into four nearly equal and parallel rectangular plots, -with au oblique in- 
tersecting line which cuts off a corner of the field and includes about half of 
the plot under " Protestants," — the soil on one side of this line is clay, on the 
other a black mould or gravel. 
