THE CUE' 
But though a general knowledge of agriculture may be diffused over a 
great country, it is found by experience, that it cannot be materially im¬ 
proved, unless by comparing the various practices which subsist in diffe¬ 
rent parts of the same kingdom. One district has been led to pay a pecu¬ 
liar and successful attention to one branch of husbandry, or, by a fortu¬ 
nate accident, some important discovery has been made in it, while other 
districts excel in other particulars of equal importance. Mutual benefit is 
derived from the communication of such local practices. Of this, the im¬ 
proved modes of draining by Elkington;—the warping of land on the 
banks of the Humber;—the drilling of turnips and potatoes in the northern 
part of the island;—and the more general use of the threshing-mill, and 
various other articles of agricultural machinery, may be cited as examples. 
The, advantages that may be derived from the result of those inquiries, 
which have been carried on by the Board of Agriculture, in so far as re- 
ards the culture of arable land, may thus be briefly stated. The means 
ave been explained, by which, in fertile districts, and in propitious sea¬ 
sons, the farmer may, on an average, confidently expect to reap, from 32 
to 40 bushels of wheat; from 42 to 50 bushels of barley; from 52 to 64 
bushels of oats; and from 28 to 32 bushels of beans, Winchester measure, 
per statute acre. As to green crops, thirty tons of turnips, three tons of 
clover, and from eight to ten tons of potatoes, per statute acre, may be 
confidently relied on. In favorable seasons, the crops are still more abun¬ 
dant; but-even these average ones, spread over a large proportion of the 
united kingdom, would produce more solid wealth, than foreign commerce 
could ever furnish. 
The various means, by which useful information could best be collected 
and diffused, are, 1. Forming institutions for that purpose;—2. The esta¬ 
blishment of experimental farms;—3. The institution of agricultural pro¬ 
fessorships;—and, 4. The improvement of veterinary knowledge. 
1. Institutions for collecting and diffusing Agricultural Information. 
The establishment of a Board of Agriculture in Great Britain, scanty and 
limited as its means have been, has produced the happiest effects;_and 
will probably in future be considered as an era in the history of the art. 
Notwithstanding the limited powers of that institution, the most distant 
parts of the country, are already made acquainted with each other’s use¬ 
ful practices; and the knowledge of beneficial inventions, which, from 
the insulated state of farmers, might for centuries have been confined to 
the place of their origin, have been at once rendered generally accessible. 
The publication of the County Reports in particular, has proved of pecu¬ 
liar importance, from the discussions which they have occasioned;—the 
spirit of emulation which they have excited;—the knowledge which they 
have been the means of circulating;—the truths which they have esta¬ 
blished;—and the errors which they have contributed to overturn. Ani¬ 
mated by the example of that Board, a much greater number of agricultu¬ 
ral societies have been constituted, than ever before existed in qny other 
country, there being hardly an extensive district in the united kingdom, 
in which one, and sometimes more, of such associations have not been es¬ 
tablished. A zeal for the improvement of husbandry, has been thus che¬ 
rished and kept up; and in the course of friendly and familiar conversa¬ 
tion, useful observations are made, new facts are stated, and practical 
knowledge, derived from experience, is generally diffused. Much good 
has already been done by these societies; but still more might be effect¬ 
ed by them, were the Board of Agriculture, placed on such an efficient 
footing, that it might act as a common centre, to all these numerous asso¬ 
ciations, and were for that purpose invested, with the privilege of corre¬ 
spondence postage free. It would thus be enabled better than it is at 
present, to perform those public services, which were in the contempla¬ 
tion of those, by whose exertions the Board was originally established. 
2. Experimental Farms .—The art of agriculture, can never be brought 
to its highest degree of perfection, or established on rational and unerring 
principles, unless by means of experiments, accurately tried, and properly 
persevered in. The ardent inquirer, has too long been obliged to rely 
on vague opinions and assertions, which have not been wananted by suf¬ 
ficient authority; it is full time, therefore, by the establishment of experi¬ 
mental farms, under the sanction, and at the expense of government; or 
by enabling the ’Board of Agriculture, to grant adequate premiums to de¬ 
serving persons, for new discoveries, to bring the art to as great perfec¬ 
tion as possible, by ascertaining the principles on which it ought to be con¬ 
ducted. 
It is alledged, that there are many distinguished characters, who carry 
on experiments for their own information and amusement, by means of 
which, every important fact, will in process of time be ascertained; and it 
cannot be doubted, that their example is of very great advantage to those, 
who have the means of examining the progress that is made. Theirfarms, 
however, are, more properly speaking, pattern farms, for the.advantage 
of the farmers in their immediate neighborhood, .than experimental ones, 
in the strict sense of the word; and they are too often, rather the partial 
records of successful experiments, than the faithful journals of success and 
of disappointment. In order to render experimental farms generally use¬ 
ful, they ought to be open to the inspection of the public; the account of 
each experiment,ought to be regularly published, and every new practice, 
likely to improve the cultivation of any considerable part of the kingdom, 
ought to be examined with the utmost precision, every trial repeated for 
TIVATOR. 201 
confirmation, and, if possible, made by different persons, in different places, 
and on different soils. 
It cannot be expected, that persons of high rank, whose attention is 
necessarily directed to other objects, should renounce their ordinary pur¬ 
suits, and devote themselves exclusively to the conducting of agricultural 
experiments: but if one ormore experimental farms were established, un- 
dera proper system, it would ere long be discovered, what practices ought 
to be avoided, as well as what ought to be pursued. It is important, that the 
one should be made known as well as the other; yet errors in husbandry , 
are seldom communicated to the public, or known beyond the sphere of a 
confined neighborhood, because a farmer is in general ashamed of acknow¬ 
ledging his want of success. Unfortunately also, when his experiments 
answer, they are sometimes concealed, least others should avail themselves 
of the discoveiy. The object of an experimental farm, however, should 
be, to ascertain facts and to publish them ; and as much credit would be 
acquired, by an intelligent conductor of an experimental farm, for his ex¬ 
ertions in detecting errors, as in establishing facts likely to be useful. 
It would surely be a highly beneficial measure, for a country, possess¬ 
ing such an immense revenue, to lay out any moderate sum that may be 
necessary, were it only 5,000/. per annum, for ten or twenty years, to as¬ 
certain points of such essential importance, and which might be the means 
of making, very great additions, to the national produce, wealth and re¬ 
venue. 
3. Agricultural Professorships *—It is not many years ago, since, at 
the expense of a private individual, (the late Sir William Tulteney), a pro¬ 
fessorship was established at Edinburgh, for reading lectures on the art of 
agriculture. The utility of such an institution is so evident, that it ought 
to be extended to all the' other universities. The attention of young men, 
by such establishments, would be directed early to this most useful of all 
the branches of knowledge, which has now become, the general subject 
of conversation, wherever they go. If they inherit landed property, agri¬ 
culture is the topic to which their views should be particularly directed; 
and as there is«scarcely any profession, which will preclude them from 
spending some part of their time in the country; and if, after having accu¬ 
mulated a fortune, they become proprietors of land, their having early ac¬ 
quired such knowledge, would be a source of much gratification, and per¬ 
haps of advantage. For such establishments, no new grant would be ne¬ 
cessary, or required from parliament, but merely an act, suppressing those 
professorships, which are at present sinecures, or of little real utility, and 
establishing in their room, those of agriculture. 
4. Improvement of Veterinary Knowledge .—Some encouragement has 
been given, by an annual grant, to the acquisition and diffusion of veteri¬ 
nary knowledge; a deficiency in which, had proved so fatal to the public; 
interest. It is not improbable, that for every pound of public money that 
has been in this way laid out, a thousand has been saved in our national 
expenditure, in the article of horses alone, employed in the cavalry and 
artillery. It would be desirable, indeed, that schools for veterinaiy know¬ 
ledge, should be established in all the principal towns in the kingdom; 
and that the preservation of every species of our valuable stock of domes¬ 
tic animals, should no longer be left to ignorance or quackery, but that the 
practice to be adopted in the management of their disorders, should be 
grounded on scientific principles .—Sir John Sinclair. 
[From the Genesee Farmer .] 
SUCCESSFUL CULTIVATION OF ROOTS. 
Mr. Tucker,— My business is to work, and not to write for the press, 
but as you ask communications from the farmer, I will, in my plain way, 
state what I have experienced in the cultivation of the potato, ruta baga, 
mangold wurtzel, carrot, and suger beet; manner Of feeding, storing, &c. 
and the quantity ot roots I raised this season. 
The potato with me for ten years, the last excepted, has been a fair 
crop, but by adhering to the old method of tillage, has been more expen¬ 
sive than is necessary, as I find by the course I have adopted this season. 
I planted three acres the 29th and 30th of May; first ploughed, then ma¬ 
nured with coarse barn-yard manure; then ploughed again and harrowed. 
Struck out the rows three feet apart with a one horse plough, say-five in¬ 
ches deep; dropped the seed eighteen inches apart, turned back the fur¬ 
row, and the woik was done. For hoeing first and second time, the cul¬ 
tivator, so gaged as to fill the whole space between the rows, was passed 
through, followed by the hoe, giving a slight dressing, but making little 
or no hill, and the whole labor, after the ground was fitted, did not exceed 
three and a half days’ work per acre. By the use of the plough the seed 
was planted deep; the potato never takes a downward direction. The 
cultivator loosened and mellowed the earth so as to allow the roots to ex¬ 
tend, and to occupy nearly the whole row. Get an expanding and con¬ 
tracting cultivator. Get one! Get one!! The product was over 430 
bushels per acre; 1,300 bushed from the three acres. 
* We would substitute agricultural schools for agricultural professorships. 
Agriculture will always be a subordinate and a neglected study in lilerary 
schools. We want the practice as well as the study —the art as well as the 
science. No young man can become qualified as a first rate farmer without 
learning Iiow things should be done, and why they should be done. 
