FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
289 
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS, 
By the steamship Hibernia, we have our regular 
file of European journals to August 5th. 
Markets. —Ashes a limited sale and prices lower. 
Cotton depressed, with a downward tendency. The 
stock on hand at Liverpool on the 1st of August, was 
1,058,000 bales; against 998,000 same period last year. 
Flour and Grain, in consequence of the bad harvest 
prospects, on the advance. Beef has fallen a trifle. 
Pork is more firmly held. Lard on the rise, and fine 
much wanted. Cheese little in market, and good quali¬ 
ties would probably sell well. Rice in good demand. 
Tallow brisk, and a still further advance. 
Money a little more in demand, and discounts had 
risen 1 per cent. 
American Stocks slightly depressed. 
The Weather was rainy and cold, and considered so 
unfavorable for the harvest, that quite a speculative 
feeling was up in the corn market. 
English Agricultural Society .—The annual show of 
this noble Society took place at Shrewsbury, com¬ 
mencing the 15th July, and continuing four days. 
Owing to tbe rather isolated situation of this town, 
the number of people, cattle, and implements present, 
were not as great as on former occasions ; but the stock 
was of a superior kind, showing a marked improve¬ 
ment in this respect. Dinners, speeches, and good 
feeling, and schemes for the improvement of the agri¬ 
cultural class, seemed to be the order of the day. 
An Immense Strawberry .—We find in the Gardener’s 
Chronicle of August 2d, the outline of the exact size 
of a British Queen Strawberry, grown the past season 
by Mr. Stobbs, of Lincoln. It measures in the out¬ 
line, 3& in. long, and If in. deep The circumference, 
af course, we cannot give. We presume it was flat- 
shaped. It weighed a little more than an ounce 
and a half. 
Influence of Galvanic Electricity on ihe Germination of 
Seeds. —Mr. Edward Solly read a paper before the late 
meeting of the British Association for the advance¬ 
ment of science, in which he states, that his experi¬ 
ments on this subject did not in any way prove that 
germination was stimulated by electricity; but, judg¬ 
ing from the known powers of electricity, it would be 
reasonable to expect, that, like light and heat, it would 
exert marked influence on the growth of vegetables, 
in fact, act as a stimulus. Mr. Solly then described 
the recent experiments which have been made on this 
subject, and gave an account of an extensive series, at 
present being made in the gardens of the Horticultural 
Society. Seeds of barley, wheat, rye, turnip, and 
radish, were, in several different experiments, found to 
germinate with increased rapidity, when exposed to 
the influence of a feeble current of electricity of very 
low tension, and the plants not oniy came up sooner, 
but were more healthy than others. These experi¬ 
ments certainly appeared decisive in favor of the sti¬ 
mulating effect of electricity on germination, as dis¬ 
tinguished from the mere chemical effect produced by 
electricity; but, on the other hand, a number of ex¬ 
periments on other seeds had given quite opposite 
results, proving either that the germination of some 
seeds was retarded, whilst that of others was facili¬ 
tated by electricity: or, that the effects, observed in 
both cases, were merely incidental. Out of a series 
of 55 experiments on different seeds, 20 appeared in 
favor of electricity, 10 against it, and 25 showed no 
effect whatever; and, on carefully counting the whole 
number of seeds up in the entire series, there were 
found 1250 of the electrified, and 1253 of the non-elec- 
trified seeds up In conclusion, Mr. Solly stated that 
he felt very doubtful whether the effects observed 
were really due to the influence of electricity. 
Theory of the Utility of Rotation .—Were I writing on 
this subject as a mere theorist, I might say that any 
course of rotation might be followed, and any crops 
taken which the farmer chose, and in any order of 
succession, provided the substances which the crops 
carry off from the land are faithfully restored to it. 
This is a favorite doctrine at present among some 
agricultural theorists. But the study of practical 
farming has taught me that this kind of closet cultiva¬ 
tion would not produce good returns on all our soils. 
The mechanics of agriculture are almost as essential 
to the management of the soil as the chemistry of 
agriculture ; and it is because the former is not un¬ 
derstood in our laboratories, that the confident an¬ 
nouncements of the mere chemist have hitherto been 
so frequently at variance with the practical experi¬ 
ence of the money-making farmer. The natural 
habits of the plant we seek to grow have also much 
to do with the mode of culture. A minute knowledge 
of varieties, even of the same plant, is often a very im¬ 
portant element in successful farming.— Quarterly 
Journal of Agriculture. 
An Extraordinary Rhubarb Leaf of the Victoria kind, 
was exhibited in Stamford market on Saturday last; 
it measured 6 feet 4 inches in length, 4 feet across, 
and weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz. It was grown at Lyndon, 
Rutland, in the garden of Mr. Barfield. The cultiva¬ 
tion of the rhubarb plant seems to have arrived at 
great perfection in some parts of Rutland, the soil 
being well adapted for its growth. Many persons 
make wine from it, and it is said to be a very cooling 
and pleasant beverage .—Stamford Mercury. 
Use of Sulphuric Acid with Bones as Compost .—WitI 
reference to Mr. Pusey’s suggestion as to the pro¬ 
priety of using bone-dust (dissolved in sulphuric acid) 
along with compost instead of water for turnips, I can 
confirm his idea from practice, having last year ma¬ 
nured 5 acres with only 13 bushels of bone-dust dissolv¬ 
ed in 270 lbs. of sulphuric acid and 150 gallons of water. 
After standing twenty-four hours, the liquid was 
mixed with 3 cart-loads of coal-ashes, and left to remain 
for a week, during which time it was turned over two 
or three times. The mixture was then drilled along 
with the seed, and the result was a fair crop of com¬ 
mon turnips, off a piece of poor land, without other 
manure, and at the cost of only J2s. 9d. per acre.— 
English Ag-. Soc. Journ. 
Utility of Sowing Wheat Thick .—Nature in seeking 
to supply what is Avanting by thin sowdng, will con¬ 
tinue to throw out as the roots gain the requisite 
power, a succession of ears till so late in the season 
that it will be impossible for the crop to ripen uni¬ 
formly; the inevitable consequence of which will be 
an undue proportion of small and defective grain in 
the produce.— lb. 
Water Meadows of the Duke of Portland .—These 
meadows comprise an area of upwards of 300 acres of 
land, extending over a distance of about seven miles 
in length. They are watered by the river Maun, as it 
flows eastward from the town of Mansfield. The 
value of the land has been raised from the annual 
sum of 80 1 to that of 3,660/., at a cost (from their com¬ 
mencement in 1816 to their completion in 1837) of 
40,000,'. The profit upon each acre, after defraying 
all expenses, is Computed at nearly 12/. a-year, with¬ 
out taking into consideration the great benefit they 
are to the arable land adjoining them, which, in the 
words of Mr. Denison, they “ enrich to an extent of 
five times that of their own.” Stretching through a 
dry sandy district for so long a distance, and thus fer¬ 
tilizing increasingly land so dependent on foreign aid, 
must show at a glance their almost incalculable value. 
As a triumph of art, they must be considered one 
of the most brilliant and' complete of any that is 
known, reflecting credit equally on the talents of the 
noble owner as projector, and on the intelligence of 
Mr. Tebbet, as executor of the w r orks.— lb. 
