10 
(European Agriculture. 
STATE OF AGRICULTURE IN" NORMANDY. 
It is interesting to the farmer to knowhow the tiller of 
the soil in other parts of the world conducts his operations, 
what his course of crops and modes of culture are, what 
his implements and animals, and what his domestic 
and social condition is. With the intention of gratify¬ 
ing this laudable feeling, we shall give a few extracts on 
the agriculture of Normandy, a province of France, 
from a paper in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture for 
June, 1841. 
Normandy is a province of France, divided into five 
Departments, and containing about 2,700,000 inhabitants. 
It differs from most of the southern and eastern parts of 
France in many important particulars. “Instead of ex¬ 
tensive tracts of tillage, without any visible subdivisions 
to make out the different ownerships, and without trees, 
except the formally trimmed ones on the road side, 
Normandy is a continued series of well timbered farms 
and fine forests of surpassing beauty, interspersed with 
corn fields of small extent, orchards and meadow or 
grazing land.” 
The soil in Normandy is considered the richest in 
France, in many places highly calcareous, and in gene¬ 
ral well adapted to cultivation. The farms average about 
sixteen acres each in extent, and are held under leases 
of the usual term of nine years. But about one-half of 
the farms are held by the proprietors; and these proprie¬ 
tors are in a majority of instances farmers of the lowest 
class, or those who take their own produce to market, 
and at home live as poor as it is possible to imagine. 
The following extract will show what the living of the 
French peasant is: 
“ Many of this class, (the small farmers) like common 
laborers, dine upon a few apples or pears, and a bit of 
bread, without the formality of sitting down at table, and 
are content with a drink of their own homemade misera¬ 
ble cider. It is not easy for an Englishman [or an Ame¬ 
rican] to conceive how a man can work hard upon the 
washy diet so general in France. We have seen men 
cutting up wood for fuel, (which is hard work,) from 
morning till night, and in the severest winter season, 
without more nutritious food than indifferent fruit, and a 
little bread; the soup taken, perhaps, for supper at home, 
or for early breakfast, is, if possible, worse as a means of 
support, for it consists merely of cabbage and hot water, 
with a little grease or kitchen stuff; it distends the sto¬ 
mach with wind, and therefore is totally unsuited to a 
working man, who should have solid, not liquid diet.” 
Much cannot be said in favor of the Norman sheep 
husbandry, as there is little or no free range for them, 
and they are kept in small lots of three, four, or half a 
dozen, and usually tied by the legs together, even when 
they have lambs, a course incompatible with thrift, “and 
altogether a worse description of sheep cannot be imag¬ 
ined.” Attempts are making to improve them by the in¬ 
troduction of the Leicester and South Down. 
In the management of their cows and dairies the Nor¬ 
mans do rather better, and the quality of their cream and 
butter cannot be surpassed. The cream alone is churned 
(not the milk as in some of the Dutch dairies,) and this 
operation is performed twice a week, so that the cream 
stands only a short time. A sweet grass pasture in sum¬ 
mer, and sainfoin hay in the winter is considered the 
best for butter. Beets are sometimes given pretty freely 
in winter, but though this food increases the milk, it does 
not improve the butter, and with limited exceptions, 
neither beets, potatoes, or tnrneps are given to the coavs 
that yield the best butter. It is found by experience that 
“ the application oi‘ dung imparts in spring time valuable 
qualities to dairy pasturage, but the grasses in summer 
give, on dunged land, a rank flavor to butter.” 
The Norman dairymen insist that dairy houses should 
have a northern aspect at all times, as a south wind is 
prejudicial to milk; that cream should not be left in the 
milk room, as they mutually exert a pernicious effect 
on each other; that the floor should be flagged and Avash- 
ed in summer, to preserve coolness; that in the Avinter 
the milk should be strained into pans as soon as possible 
after milking, while in the summer the cooler it can be 
made, the better it is for the cream. Pans of common 
earthenware, are preferred to any others, having been 
found superior even to porcelain. 
“ The cream is skimmed twice a day generally, some¬ 
times three times, and care is taken always not to leave 
it too long on the milk. Twenty-four hours, (sometimes 
forty-eight,) in summer elapse before the first creaming, 
and the cream is allowed to lie as short a time as possible 
before churning. By day the cows are turned out, and 
at night kept in stables and supplied with sainfoin hay, 
which is admirable for dairy purposes.” 
The breed of coAA r s most common and the most esteem¬ 
ed in Normandy, resemble the Alderney, and as this pro¬ 
vince is adjacent to Alderney, Jersey, and Guernsey, as 
Avell as Brittany, there is little doubt of the identity of 
the Alderney and Norman breeds. The Agr. Association 
of Normandy have imported from England some fine Short 
Horn bulls and coavs, Avith the intention of improving 
the stock of cattle. There is in Normandy a coarse hairy 
breed of cattle which are much used for the plow and 
cart, “ and four or five of these bullocks or oxen, Avith 
three or two horses, make the teams Avhich are exten¬ 
sively used in Normandy.” 
In the dairy districts the heifer calves are usually rear¬ 
ed, Avhile the bull calves are fattened for the market. In 
some places they are fattened on skim milk, and in others 
on new milk; and in some districts bread, converted in¬ 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
to a kind of pap, is added to the milk to facilitate the 
process. The Norman hog is of the Avorst possible de¬ 
scription as to form; but AA r hen fattened the flavor of the 
pork, particularly the bacon and hams, is good, and the 
meat firm. 
Centuries ago, Normandy was the country from which 
the flower of European chivalry derived their best horses. 
The breed was then large, active and poAverful; but al¬ 
though still active and hardy, it has degenerated in size so 
much, that the Norman horse is iioav one of the smallest 
of European breeds. Of this we have sufficient proof in 
the small size and hardy character of the French Cana¬ 
dian horse, which is in every respect a true Norman ani¬ 
mal. They rarely attain fifteen hands in height, are 
short necked, have good fore legs, but frequently imper¬ 
fect hind ones, but as a breed Avill go faster and do more 
work than their appearance would at first indicate. At¬ 
tempts are making to improve the Norman horse by 
crosses with the best English blood, for the purpose of 
furnishing horses for the cavalry service; and one of the 
Government Haras, or stations for stallions provided by 
the government, is located at St. Lo. At De Pin, are kept 
500 horses and mares, and at St. Lo, about 120 stallions. 
The French government do for the provinces, Avhat 
associations or individuals among us do for agriculture; 
it furnishes funds for agricultural societies, plowing 
matches, &c. and the latter are held by authority of the 
state. Not long since one was held in the commune of 
Augerville, for which 1,000 francs were appropriated by- 
government, and the proceedings were as folio avs : 
“ The ground being marked out by stakes at equal dis¬ 
tances, and five judges appointed, sixteen plows came upon 
the ground: of these, fourteen had a pair of horses each, 
one a pair of oxen, and one a single horse. Nine of these 
plows were of the Norman form. After having plowed 
a field which had no particular difficulties, the teams 
were removed to another full of heath and broom, and 
the competitors were allowed the use of an additional 
horse or bullock. Out of the sixteen which had plowed 
in the free and open field, only nine appeared on the se¬ 
cond trial. In this unbroken and rough field many fail¬ 
ures were soon apparent; some stopped short before they 
had well turned a furrow, seeing that the work was above 
the power of their cattle or their plows; others stood out 
longer but made very bad work, and two plows only 
overcame the difficulties under which the others failed. 
One of these was a new plow called the Grange plow, 
and the other the Dombasle plow, and to these two, and 
the one horse plows, the three prizes were awarded.” 
The Grange plow is described as having these advan¬ 
tages :— 
“1st. It works of itself, not requiring the hand of a 
plowman either to enter the sock into the land, or to 
keep it in its true direction; a driver only is necessary. 
2d. It can be set at any depth, and turns over the fur¬ 
row slices at equal and regular depth. 
3d. It moves as easily even on very sloping land as on 
a flat. 
These effects are produced by a simple kind of mechan¬ 
ism, which can be applied at the expense of about twelve 
francs, to any common plow.” 
But the improved Dombasle plow is the general fav r or- 
itte among the best French farmers. It is modelled from 
the Scotch plow of Small, but with the defects of that 
corrected, and is furnished with wheels, as is also the 
Grange plow. 
There is in the paper alluded to a sketch of the sys¬ 
tem of farming adopted by M. du Moncel, near Cher¬ 
bourg, on his farm of about 800 acres. M. M. makes 
potatoes thq base of his system of culture, using the drill 
plow and horse hoe. He has tried turneps and carrots, 
but has rejected these for the potato, “ since though the 
first roots are the most productive, the potato is twice as 
nutritive, (comparing equal bulks) besides its increased 
value as an article of human sustenance.” * * * “ After 
various experiments M. Moncel has determined on a 
course of eight years, divided into equal periods; in the 
first four years, he has successively potatoes, barley, clo¬ 
ver, and wheat; in the second, buckwheat, colza, wheat, 
and oats.” Of the artificial grasses he gives a preference 
to lucerne, though he has also vetches and red clover. 
His potatoes are a large yellOAV, early variety, a red, and a 
large white for swine. He has tried some twenty kinds, 
but experience proved these to be the best. 
A small stream passes through the yard of M. Moncel, 
which is made to work machinery for thrashing and clean¬ 
ing his grain; grinding his barleys, wheat, and buckwheat; 
converting his straw into chaff; and slicing potatoes, car¬ 
rots, &c. Thus without leaving the yard, the grain is 
reduced to flour and bran from the sheaf, and the straAv 
cut for cattle. From this use of power, our farmers 
might take a useful hint, and in addition to the above 
operations, the same power might be made to saw the 
wood of a family, and crush the corn Avith the cob for 
the stock. 
BEET SUGAR. 
M. Chevalier has lately published at Paris, a valua¬ 
ble memoir on the present state of the beet sugar manu¬ 
facture in Europe. From this it appears that in France 
there are 389 factories, making this year, ninety millions 
pounds of sugar. That Belgium produces sixteen mil¬ 
lions; the German Union, thirty millions; and Austria 
the same; making in these countries a production of 
about one hundred and seventy" milions of pounds. We 
do not learn the quantity of cane sugar imported into 
France; but Belgium imports sixteen millions; the Ger¬ 
man Union sixty millions, and Austria one hundred and 
ten millions. Great improvements have been made in the 
manufacture, and at the great manufactory of M. Dombasle 
ten per cent of fine sugar is easily obtained. But even 
this beet sugar is adulterated with potato sugar, and M. 
Chevalier asserts that it is more difficult to procure in 
Paris any quantity, however small, of pure cane sugar, 
than an ounce of genuine salt, or a glass of simple grape 
juice. 
BOKHARA OR GIANT CLOVER. 
At the meeting of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, 
a premium was awarded to W. Stickney, for some of this 
clover, and of which he gave the folioAving description: 
“The dried plant now exhibited is the growth of the year 
1840, being the second year after sowing; it attained the 
height of fifteen and a half feet. The plant in blossom 
is of the present year’s growth, (1841,) near ten feet high, 
and still advancing. The shorter plants are from seeds 
sown in May last, but did not vegetate until the begin¬ 
ning of June; they are therefore the growth of tAvo 
months, and are noAV groAving at the rate of something 
more than an inch in twenty-four hours; and it is sup¬ 
posed they are now in a proper state to be cut for soil¬ 
ing. If allowed to perfect its seed it is a biennial 
plant.” 
RICH MILK. 
In a late number of the Farmer’s Magazine is a com¬ 
munication from a Lancashire farmer, from Avhich we 
take the folloAving:—“ I have a cow in my stock Avhich 
has had five calves, two of which she has dropped since 
she came into my possession. She is noAV giving not less 
than 26 quarts of milk daily, and this appearing of supe¬ 
rior richness, induced me to try Avhat weight of butter 
her milk for seven days would give; the trial was com¬ 
pleted yesterday, and the butter Aveighed 22 lbs. 3 1-2 
ounces. I had a cow ten years ago which ga\-e 20 lbs. 
6 ounces in a Aveek.” This is, to say the least of it, equal 
to Col. Jaques’ celebrated Cream Pot breed. 
FLEMISH BARLEY. 
At a late monthly meeting of the Royal English Agri¬ 
cultural Society, “the Rev. W. L. Rham,exhibited speci¬ 
mens of Flemish Winter Barley, of Avhich 111-2 quar¬ 
ters per acre were reaped, near Ghent, in 1840.” The 
quarter being eight bushels, the yield reaches the enor¬ 
mous amount of ninety-two bushels per acre. This 
barley Avas tAvo rowed. Mr. Rham also presented speci¬ 
mens of another variety of Brabant barley of six rows, 
straw very long and thick, and Avhich in productiveness 
fell not much short of the foregoing. This too was a 
Avinter barley, a kind not cultivated in the United States. 
NEW METHOD OF WORKING FOUR HORSES. 
At a late plowing match for experimenting on’the quali¬ 
ties of various ploAvs, held at Rozelle, by the Ayrshire 
Agricultural Association, it became necessary to use four 
horses, and to test the force exerted, tAvo dynamometers 
Avere required. The report thus describes the man¬ 
ner in Avhich this Avas accomplished: 
“ In treating of the draft of the horses, it may be use¬ 
ful to notice an expedient that was adopted to measure 
heavy implements requiring a draft of eighty stones, 
while the scale of the dynamometers individually ex¬ 
tended only to seventy stones. The horses Avere yoked 
two and two to the ends of a runner chain, which was 
passed round an iron sheave [pulley wheel] attached to 
the plow’s bridle. The hind pair of horses Avere yoked 
to the short end of the chain, while the foremost pair 
were yoked to the other end, lengthened out sufficiently 
to give freedom of action, and each pair dreAV by a set 
of common swingtrees, with a dynamometer attached to 
each set of trees. In this manner the tAvo dynamome¬ 
ters were found to indicate, with all the precision that 
could be desireol, that equal force was exerted by each 
pair of horses, the sum of the forces being the real draft 
of the implement. This method of yoking four horses, 
be it observed, is one of the best now employed. It is 
simple and effective, equalizing the draft to the whole 
four, in a manner as perfect as it is possible to ap¬ 
proach.” 
The reasonableness of this statement Avill be at once* 
apparent to every practical man, certainly to every teams¬ 
ter. Such knoAV that when four horses are worked in the 
usual way, a much larger proportion of draft, in nine 
cases out of ten, is taken by one of the teams than by the 
other, and the ordinary mode of harnessing and working- 
renders the equalization of draft impossible. This great 
desideratum is easily effected in the manner mentioned 
above. 
EXTRAORDINARY FECUNDITY IN EWES. 
We copy from the last number of the British Quarter¬ 
ly Farmer s Magazine the folloAving notices: “We are 
informed that Mr. Botterill, farmer of Wroot, has now 
in his possession twelve ewes, which during the pre¬ 
sent season, have produced no less than 37 lambs, being 
three each for 11 of them, and for the remaining one 
four. Mr. Thomas Shepherd of Wooley, parish ofMoor- 
winstow, Cornwall, had an ewe sheep that produced 44 
lambs. Four seasons she had two each season; three 
times she had three, three times she had four; and three 
times five. She Avas a cross bred Nott sheep, and bred 
by Mr. Colhill of Devon.” 
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