AGRICULTURE lN r SCOTLAND. 
149 
by weight, of the yolk, will readily dissolve in pure 
water of a temperature of 120° to 140° F., but not 
iii a cold bath, even if it were to remain for three or 
four days; and in the ordinary process of scouring, 
in Spain, there is left of this substance, in the wool, 
from 4 to 7 per cent. That portion of the yolk 
which will dissolve in cold water, if suffered to re¬ 
main On the fibre for a long time, causes it to “swell 
upi” according to Vauquelin, “split, and lose its 
strength ;” whereas, if it be removed by soaking the 
wool in cold water for 24 hours, and then subjecting 
it to a clear running stream, as practised in Spain, the 
part remaining will become indurated in time, con¬ 
verting itself, as it were, into new wool, and will 
tend to preserve father than injure the fibre from the 
attacks of insects and from decay. 
A contrariety of opinion appears to prevail with 
regard to the best mode of washing or scouring wool. 
One class of persons advocate washing it on the 
backs of the sheep ; another, in hot water ; and a 
third class in a cold bath, after it is shorn. The first 
mode is regarded by Messrs. Perrault de Jotemps and 
Girod, of the department of Ain, in France, as being 
often dangerous to the health of the sheep, ana 
scouring it in hot water, as inexpedient, and at the 
same time injurious to its quality. The mode that 
they prefer is, to allow the wool, as soon as 
shorn, to soak in pure cold Water for a greater or less 
length of time, according to its degree of impurity, 
which, ordinarily, will not exceed 24 hours ; and 
then to subject it to a cool running stream, in a simi¬ 
lar manner as practised in Spain. Experience has 
taught them that, by this mode of scouring, the wool 
is of a better quality, and suffers much less by waste 
than by the hot water process ; and besides, as it con¬ 
tains a determinate quantity of yolk, or indurated 
oil, it enables both the buyer and the seller to judge 
more accurately of its value, and ultimately requires 
from the manufacturer much less labor. The expe¬ 
rience of others, however, in preparing wool for felts 
and the thicker kinds of cloth, would seem to justify 
the mode of scouring in Spain. D’Jay Browne. 
New York , 7th April , 1845. 
^gricitllttre in Scotlanb.—No. 7. 
Since the date of. my last letter I have made seve¬ 
ral short excursions in the neighborhood of Edin¬ 
burgh, tempted by the spring-like days which already, 
in this mild climate, begin to visit us. The ground 
is perfectly soft and free from frost; the grain crops 
look bright and flourishing, and some of the irrigated 
meadows are quite luxuriant in the greenness and fresh¬ 
ness of their herbage. A great part of the plowing 
?s accomplished, and early this month potato planting 
will commence. 
Farm of Mr. Girdwood .—A few days since, I 
walked out to Corstorphine, about four miles, to visit 
the farm of Mr. Girdwood. The whole village of 
Corstorphine, a compact, pretty little place, is includ¬ 
ed within his boundaries. From the upland fields, 
which stretch nearly to the top of Corstorphine 
Hill, is a most lovely view, embracing, on the one 
side, Edinburgh, with the castle in the centre ami 
Arthur’s Seat in the background, and the Firth of 
Forth, dotted with sails, and bounded to the north by 
tiyj dark coast of Fife; while on the other 'spread 
‘he rich fields of the West Lothians for many miles, 
the view being only limited to the south and west, by 
the Pentlands and the high hills of Lanark. 
Mr. Girdwood, with much kindness, passed the 
whole day in rambling with me over his fields. The 
farm buildings first attracted my notice ; they are 
far too small for the size of the farm, and are not 
convenient in their arrangement. Another year, 
however, will probably see the whole removed, and 
new ones erected on a more commodious site, fur¬ 
nished with every convenience. The stack yard still 
presents a large array of stacks, comprising wheat, 
barley, oats and beans. In the autumn there were 
about 160, as I understand. The oats and wheat 
were this year cut while quite green, so much so, 
that some of the neighboring farmers did not hesitate 
to say that John Girdwood was “ clean gane daft.” 
Tne result, however, has silenced them ; for his grain 
is heavier and better than theirs, while the straw is 
much more valuable as fodder. The bam yards are 
always in winter well filled with fattening animals. 
These are of various breeds, but chiefly West High¬ 
landers and Angus or Polled. They are bought at 
fairs, sold off to the Edinburgh butchers as soon as 
+ hey come into condition, and their places immediate¬ 
ly refilled. 
That part of the farm which may be called upland 
has only been taken by Mr. Girdwood within a few 
years. The outgoing tenants considered it absolutely 
impossible to raise good turnips there, and thought 
any attempt at improvement quite chimerical?! They 
were overrun with weeds. The rains in winter ran 
in torrents down the furrows, washing away the ma¬ 
nure and conveying accumulations of sand to the 
lower end of each field. Mr. Girdwood commenced 
operations by putting a drain 30 inches deep into 
every furrow, being 18 feet apart; he then dug up all 
the weeds in the open fields, and cleaned away those 
that occupied a space of several feet on each side of 
the hedges. Deep plowing and liberal manuring com¬ 
pleted the change. The turnip crop on one of these 
fields was, two years since, as high as 40 tons to the 
acre, and the crop of the present year, a portion of 
which 1 saw, is very fine. No water now stands in 
the furrows, and it is easy to see that during the 
whole winter none has run over the surface; it all 
oes to the drains. This is an instance of the admi ra¬ 
le effect of efficient drainage, preparing the way for 
deep plowing, and all the modes of modem manuring 
which prove so efficient on well dried land. 
Mr. Girdwood assured me that since he, still a 
young man, began to attend Edinburgh market, the 
number of quarters of grain weekly sold there has 
doubled. It being a market where all the grain sold 
is from the neighborhood, and actually brought in 
sacks to the place of sale, this increase shows the effect 
of the improved modem systems in the increase of 
crops upon the same land ; for near the city not much 
land has been reclaimed. I think that not a single 
intelligent farmer would deny that draining was the 
first step towards this great improvement. While 
the quantity has increased the quality has improved 
in an equal proportion. As to barley, for instance, 1 
am assured that, a few years since, but about five 
samples in a hundred were fit for malting. Now, 
the buyer may almost go into the market blindfold, 
for not more than five out of a hundred-are unfit for 
malting. 
