THE CULTIVATOR. 
53 
JForeijgn GTomspontonce. 
MR. NORTON’S LETTERS—No. VII. 
Lab. of Ag . Chemistry Association, ? 
Edinburgh, Nov. 28, 1844. \ 
Luthkr Tucker, Esq.- In my last letter I gave a re¬ 
port of Prof. Johnston’s Lectures in Ayr; I will now 
notice some of the farms in that region, which struck 
me as worthy of attention. The country in the immedi¬ 
ate vicinity of Ayr, is generally cultivated with much 
skill, and some portions of it would compare even with 
the Lothians. 
For several days I was at the place of Mr. Campbell 
of Craigie, who is proprietor of a considerable estate, 
about half a mile from the town, and who, by influence 
and example, has greatly contributed to the advanced 
condition of agriculture in his district. His farm is in 
fine order, and there are numerous experiments in pro¬ 
gress. In one field the effect of guano upon the second 
year’s grass, was very striking; not only was it more 
luxuriant than parts of the field where other manures 
had been applied, but sweeter, for the cattle evidently 
preferred it, and kept it eaten close to the ground. 
The farm of Mr. John Tennant is considered one 
of the best in the neighborhood of Ayr. It is about 
three miles from the town, and comprises 600 acres. 
Nearly the whole is laid out in 40 acre fields. This 
gives the farm* a beautiful appearance, besides saving a 
vast amount of labor both in working of the land and in 
making and repairing fences. Mr. Tennant has drained 
every field, and in answer to a question of mine respect¬ 
ing a certain kind of land, supposing it undrained , he 
said, that of undrained land, he could tell me nothing; 
with him draining was an indispensable preliminary to 
improvement. He has a fine dairy of 90 Ayrshire cows, 
considering them the best breed for milk. He has a 
cross with the Durhams, but it is only for fattening. 
The grain crops were all in the stack yard, but there 
were about 20 acres of turneps in one field that would 
average 30 tons to the acre. They were raised with 
guano and various other portable manures, in most in¬ 
stances combined with farm-yard dung. This is far the 
best method of applying these manures, as it has been 
found to unite economy with actual increase of effect. 
About six miles from Ayr, I visited the farm of Mr. 
Burnett of Gadgirth. It lies high, and is surrounded 
by a rather bleak unproductive tract upon which the 
crops looked sickly and the herbage of the pasture lands 
miserably scanty, except in the hollows of the ridges, 
where was a considerable crop of rushes. A few years 
since Mr. Burnett’s land was in the same condition. By 
the judicious application of modern science and practical 
skill, within five yeai’s he has doubled its value, and 
made a farm that for neatness and evidence of improve¬ 
ment can scarcely be surpassed. The ci-ops remaining in 
the ground were quite heavy, especially the turneps. In 
one of the fields is a kiln, where lime is burned for the 
farm, and in another a tile work, for the manufacture of 
draining tiles, which can easily supply the neighboring 
proprietors when they are prepared to follow Mr, Bur¬ 
nett’s excellent example. He has made 200 miles of 
drains on his own farm, having laid 150,000 tiles in a sin¬ 
gle season. The stock as usual, in that district, is Ayr¬ 
shire, and the dairy is a model of good order and neat¬ 
ness. At the time of my visit, the opex-ation of clearing 
away a portion of the original Caledonian forests was 
going on, and the ground preparing for cultivation. In¬ 
stead of putting in the plow at once, and running 
about among the stumps, as I fear most of our farmers 
would have done, every root even, was dug out as the 
work proceeded. The whole soil was thoi'oughly bro¬ 
ken up and turned over by the spade to the depth of two 
feet, and drains put in 6 inches lower. This field at 
Jnce, therefox-e, will be in a fit state for perfect cultiva¬ 
tion, and will immediately bear remunerating crops. On 
this farm is also a coal mine worked at the depth of 200 
feet, which yields coal of excellent quality. With his 
own lime kiln, tile woi’ks and coal mine, Mr. Buraett is 
in an extraordinary degree independent of foreign aid, 
and a look at his farm, would, I think, convince the most 
sceptical, that book farming may with advantage be com 
bined with practical wisdom. 
On visiting the fine farm of Mr. Alexander of Southbarr, 
near Paisley, my attention was chiefly directed to the diffi¬ 
culty he has encountei’ed in drainage. The subsoil, to an 
extraordinary degree, abounds in iron, so much so that it 
actually in some instances has choked the tiles. He has 
however, contrived in the worst places, to obviate this by 
occasionally letting in a powerful stream of water at the 
upper part of the drain which sweeps it clear. The 
sides and bottom of the open drains are thickly incrusted 
with iron. It is certain that the drains will in a few 
years diminish its quantity, but at present it is a most se¬ 
rious evil. Mr. Alexander pointed out to me a cross be¬ 
tween a Southdown buck and Cheviot ewes, which he 
admires much, and intends raising extensively. This 
gentleman has another farm at Muirkirk, in one of the 
wildest parts of Lanarkshire, where he has made great 
and admirable improvements. At some future time I 
hope to visit it. 
The last estate which I visited was that of Mr. Flem¬ 
ing of Barochan, also near Paisley. Here I was much 
interested by the improvements which have been made 
on a portion of a large peat moss or bog, 150 acres in 
extent. The limits of my present letter forbid my giv¬ 
ing an account of the excellent and economical method 
pursued; suffice it to say, that where peat was once 20 
feet in thickness, are now firm beautiful fields, producing 
vei’y heavy crops, in one instance neai’ly 80 bushels of 
oats to the acre. The whole moss will in a few years be 
converted into a fertile farm. Mr. Fleming has a very 
considerable knowledge of chemistry, and hence the nu¬ 
merous and varied experiments conducted under his su 
perintendence, have been of great practical value. 
Many of the most remarkable results are to be found in 
the appendix to Prof. Johnston’s Lectui’es on Agricul¬ 
tural Chemistry and Geology. 
Were it not that I fear trespassing on the patience of 
your readers, my remarks upon these model farms, as 
they may justly be termed, might extend to a much 
greater length. In the hope that even these imperfect 
sketches may give an idea of some features of improved 
Scottish husbandry, I am, very truly yours, 
John P. Norton. 
LETTERS FROM MR. MITCHELL—No. II. 
Liverpool , England , Dec. 3, 1844. 
Luther Tucker, Esq_ I walked out yesterday to 
have a look at the Liverpool cattle market, held every 
Monday about three miles from town, on the road to 
West Dei’by, whei'e lie the seats of the Eaids Sefton and 
Derby, which at some futui-e time I will take occasion to 
descidbe to you. I noticed in the streets the fii*st ice of 
the season; the air was fine, cool and bracing early, but 
clouded as usual, and was dull before I reached the 
ground. I met upon my way numbers of butchers re¬ 
turning to town with their purchases, or driving them to 
their fields, of which I spoke in my last. The market is 
situated immediately by the side of the great “London 
Road,” upon level paved ground, containing pens for 
about 3,000 cattle, and 7,000 to 8,000 sheep. The beef 
cattle were mostly from 3 to 5 years old, bullocks and 
heifers, varying very much in color, form and weight. 
The average weight of a 3 year old bullock, I should 
judge to be 6 to 700 lbs. dressed (in New England way, 
with hide and tallow.) The best of the cattle were from 
Ireland; and nine-tenths of all there, were either from 
Scotland or Ireland. I noticed many of the Galloway 
polled cattle. The Herefords and Durhams are not 
known in this market, and none stand so high as the 
Scotch and Irish black cattle. I observed to a drover 
that the Herefords were perhaps the first in the Smithfield 
market. “ Ah, sir,” said he, “ we wish the flesh that’s 
on light bone, and care nothing for the breed.” 
“ And pray, sir, what may such heifers be worth ?” 
said I, pointing to a pair of smooth, black polled Scotch 
animals just then driven out. “Sure, sir, and nothing 
short of £27 ($120) could buy them.” They would 
dress perhaps 680to 700 lbs. each. Difference in “feel” 
made great difference in sale of cattle of apparency 
