THE CULTIVATOR. 
301 
Durham, and Devon, with some traces of Jersey blood 
One or two were crosses of the Short-horn and Ayrshire 
but if I remember rightly, no pure blooded animal was 
in the herd. And it may be remarked in passing, that 
the cows about Dublin seemed to me superior, in all 
those points which make a good milker, to those I have 
met with in any other part of Britain. Eight quarts at a 
milking was the average yield at the model farm. Great 
attention is paid to the making of manure, and the system 
of soiling, the best possible for securing most fertilizing 
material, is thoroughly pursued. From six to eight 
hundred tons are made in a year. Draining and subsoil¬ 
ing are practiced upon the most improved plans; and the 
lessee was earnest in his commendation of them; he 
pointed me out a bit of land which presented a rough, 
yellowish, and altogether most unfruitful appearance, oc¬ 
casioned by subsoiling; “ but,” said he, “after two or 
three weeks of sun, and one or two thorough dressings, 
I will bring it to the condition of that along side it, 
which was last year in the same case,” pointing to a 
strip of rich black loam, preparing for a crop of ruta 
bagas. Thorough tillage is his motto, and he regards 
the spade as the best of all implements of husbandry, 
which for England, Ireland, and Scotland, it undoubtedly 
is, both for reducing the land to the best possible state ot 
cultivation, and socially, for giving employment to the 
thousands who are poorly employed, and in consequence, 
poorly fed. 
Every variety of crop is raised upon the farm to a 
greater or less extent. Of all the grasses, the Italian 
rye grass is his favorite, both for nutriment and yield. 
Little clover is grown. The winter grains were pro¬ 
mising well, but his chief dependance is upon the pro¬ 
ducts of the dairy. The field work for the day, at the 
time of my visit, was the preparation of an acre or two 
of ground for ruta bagas. It had been plowed I know 
not how many times; all that remained to be done was 
the throwing of wide furrows with the double mould 
plow, at intervals of two feet-—the strewing of manure, 
in no stinted quantity along the whole length of the drills, 
the lapping of a furrow from either side over the manure 
—the running of a light drill upon the top of the ridge 
—the dropping of the. seed—careful covering with the 
hand-hoe, and the running of a light roller over all. 
The management of the farm dispenses with most of 
those labor saving machines, which prevail in many 
parts of England, and which do all operations at once. 
It is the policy of the manager to do every thing in the 
best possible way; and in ordinary cases, for the best pos¬ 
sible way, a man's hands are the best possible means. 
Beside, whether overlooked or not, it is very desirable 
to offer to the land-holders of Ireland, such demonstra¬ 
tion, that it is their best pocket-policy to bring into ac¬ 
tive employment all the idle hands of the kingdom. 
I need hardly say that entire order prevailed in all the 
work—that every hand had its peculiar duty to perform, 
t’hat every implement was in serviceable order, and had 
its place when unused, that the buildings were of the ut¬ 
most neatness, all of them admirably designed for then- 
particular purposes. In short, it is a model farm, not 
only for Ireland, but for whoever raises a crop. And 
its influence is felt more and more; not only in the im¬ 
mediate vicinity, where the mode of cultivation has im¬ 
proved latterly to a wonderful extent, but in distant dis¬ 
tricts where the school-masters, who derive their notions 
from weekly observation of such exemplary manage¬ 
ment, have carried their instructions. Nor is this insti¬ 
tution the only one in Ireland. At Leopardstown, south 
of Dublin, and upon a gentle eminence overlooking the 
bay, has lately been established an Agricultural College. 
I passed it on my way through a most beautiful country to 
Wicklow, but unfortunately had not time for a visit. At 
Londonderry, in the north, or near it, is also a similar 
establishment, said to be the oldest of its kind in the United 
Kingdom. By the aid of these institutions—not only of 
their special instructions, but by the spirit they diffuse, 
the agriculture of Ireland is gaining ground—literally 7 -, 
gaining ground, year by year; and who does not believe 
that similar establishments, here and there, in our coun¬ 
try, even though they should be set on foot by the enor¬ 
mity of a public appropriation, would be equally advan¬ 
tageous? 
By my next writing, I shall probably have resumed 
my line of march, and may give you some notes of a 
pedestrian ramble towards the eastern borders of France, 
until then remaining, Yours truly, D. G. Mitchell. 
iDomestic Corasponbmce. 
E 
E 
D 
D 
G 
c 
B 
B 
PLAN OF A BARN.—Fig. 88. 
The accompanying plan was drawn at the request of a 
friend, and gives very good satisfaction. It is designed 
principally for neat stock, but with little variation vvouki 
make a sheep-barn. It is intended for a side-hill, l&e 
front resting upon a wall. It would be desirable for tV.ft 
ground to slope to the south, as the yard would eor*<> 
upon that side. There are many advantages to be 
by building upon a side-hill. __ 
i 
Side view, resting upon the wall.—Fig. 89. 
References.—A A, lower floors, 9 feet wide. B P 
bay, 20 by 30. C C, stable, 9 by 35. E E, stable, 10 bj 
30. D D, manger, 3 feet wide. G G, space, 3 feet wide 
F. shed, 10 by 70. a a , barn doors. 
The mam barn is 70 feet by 35, being more convenient 
to have greater length than width, with a shed 10 feet 
in width the whole length. The basement is framed by 
itself. It has 100 feet of stabling, without taking the up¬ 
per story. 
The upper story is 
similar to the lower, 
except that the barn 
floors are above the 
lower floors and man¬ 
ger; the whole of the 
'upper story being co¬ 
vered with floor ex¬ 
cept the bays. 
Centre Cross-section.— Fig. 90. Some objection has 
been made to the beams being made so low. Having 
conversed with an experienced carpenter, I found there 
was no objection to 
framing them into the 
false plates, the inside 
bents being so that 
they will not interfere 
with unloading, as 
may be seen in fig. 90. 
One of the great¬ 
est advantages of this 
plan, is in unloading 
the hay, requiring on- 
End View, with the shed —Fig. 91. ly one hand to take it 
away in any part of the barn, the hay being seven feet 
lower than the floor where the cart stands. 
This plan will admit of many alterations without 
altering the principle. A Subscriber. 
Winter grain, if not already in the ground, should lx 
sown as soon as possible. 
