FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS.
Bythe steamship Caledonia, we are favored by the receipt of our European journals up to the 4th November.
Markets.—Ashes, both pots and pearls, have advanced, and were brisk of sale.Cottonhad declined 1/8d. per lb. The recent advices from Bombay and Calcutta of the East India crop, were not quite so favorable. The stock of Cotton on hand at Liverpool on the 1st November, was 720,000 bales, against 520,000 at same period last season.Flourwas flat, and little doing in it.Naval Stores, declining.Provisionswere about the same as by our last advices, with the exception of Cheese, the finer qualities of which were of quick sale.Tobacco, steady and firm.
Moneystill plenty, and the low rates of interest prevail.
American Stockscontinue nearly the same as at our last. Very few recent transactions.
Agricultural School.—We see by the Berwick Warder, that an Agricultural School is established in Aberdeenshire, by the practical farmers of that county, which promises to be a very useful institution. It is superintended by Mr. R. O. Young, and we like its arrangements better than anything of the kind we have yet seen. To explain these, we make a few quotations from the prospectus.
The young gentlemen who may be intrusted to Mr. Young's charge for the purpose of being instructed in the principles and practice of Scottish agriculture, will have daily opportunities of witnessing the regular routine of farming operations going on at the farm, and of taking an active part in these operations.
They will be required to keep, in a farm-book, a daily record of what has been done on the farm. Explanations will be given of the principles upon which the different operations are conducted, and upon which they will be examined at stated times. Regular minutes will be kept by the pupils of all such explanations, as well as of any facts that may come to their knowledge through their occasional intercourse with the farmers of the country.
There will be stated times set apart for reading, as text-books, the most approved agricultural works of the day; and on the subjects of their reading Mr. Y. will minutely examine the young gentlemen, and will also require them to write exercises upon given agricultural topics—particularly those that bear on practice.
While it will be Mr. Y.'s care to direct the attention of the pupils to chemistry and geology in their application to practical agriculture, a branch of study until lately very little attended to, he will make arrangements for procuring the services of the professor of agriculture in the University of Aberdeen, for a few weeks every summer, to give lectures and conduct experiments on the analysis of soils, manures, &c.—thus securing to the pupils more than a mere theoretical knowledge of this important branch of agricultural education.
As nothing is so much calculated to impress any subject upon the youthful mind, as to invest it with apersonal interest, Mr. Y. proposes to devote to the exclusive use of his pupils, a small farm, of about 50 acres in extent, adjoining to his other farm. This small farm contains a variety of soils, upon which experiments of different kinds may be conducted, on a small scale. It will be possessed and managed by the pupils, under Mr. Y.'s direction, and upon certain equitable rules as to each pupil's share of the concern. Each pupil will be required to keep regular books, exhibiting all disbursements and receipts, and the results of all experiments tried, with every particular connected with such experiments. Each pupil will be required to take his share of management, &c., and the profits of the concern, after paying a certain moderate rent, will, at each term, be divided among the young gentlemen, in proportion to their respective interests. It is conceived that such a plan will have a strong tendency to promote exactness, regularity, and business habits; but, without the consent of their parents or guardians, pupils will not be asked to join in this scheme.
Farmers' Magazine.—Meat-Salting Instrument.—The instrument resembles a common syringe of more than ordinary dimensions, and, although not quite so simple in its construction, it is intended to be used in the same way as the syringe, provided the point or tube be not exposed to the air. The advantages to be derived from the use of the instrument are explained by the fact that a joint of meat may, in the simplest manner, be properly salted in less than ten minutes. The brine is made of the usual ingredients, and after the salt and other substances are completely dissolved, the liquid is poured into the machine, and the nipple or tube (the circumference of which is perforated with three small holes) is inserted into the most solid part of a joint of meat, and the contents are, by a very strong pressure, forced through the fibres until the brine is seen to escape on the surface. For this purpose a smaller quantity of pickle is used than is employed in the ordinary method of curing meat, and the bone (if there be any,) in the centre becomes thoroughly impregnated with the fluid. By the present mode of salting meat, it is a matter of some difficulty to inject the brine into the innermost part of a large joint, whereas by the process which is adopted in the use of Mr. Carson's instrument, the size or substance of the meat presents no additional trouble to the operator.
Prince Albert's Annual Sale of Live Stock.—Since Prince Albert has turned farmer, he has an annual sale of his fat stock, and is said to realize from 50 to 60 per cent. profit on it. The last took place in October, at which time 417 sheep, 55 oxen, and 9 cows and heifers, were disposed of, realising him £1,743, (about $8,000;) a clever sum for fat sheep and cattle.
Produce of Ewes.—Count de Gourcey states in that part of his Agricultural Tour in Europe, just received, that Mr. Walker, manager of the late Duke of Gordon's estates, in Scotland, informed him that from 200 Leicester ewes, and as many Southdowns, theybring up on an average, 450 lambs. We wish we had possessed this information when writing our notes to Mr. Grove's letter in this paper, as it would have been something of an argument in our favor, regarding the difference of opinion existing between us about the number of lambs bred in the United States.
New Farmers' Journal.—Exportation of Cattle to Prussia.—One bull and eight heifers have been recently purchased in England, for the Royal Agricultural Society of Prussia.
Netting for Sheep-Folds.—The fibre of the cocoa-nut is said to make the most durable netting for sheep-folds; it out-wearing several sets of tarred-hemp netting, and is so light, that a herdsman can with ease carry 200 yards of it.
Soiling.—Feeding animals in the summer-season with green food, cut daily, and given them in stalls or yards, is far preferable to grazing—First, because the food is consumed with less waste; secondly, because rest is an equivalent for food. The bodies of animals do not remain stationary, but are constantlywasting in proportion to the amount of exercise they undergo—hence, while they rove at large, they must receive from time to time new supplies in the shape of food, to make up for this waste, which are not needed when they are at rest, and consequently, by the system of soiling, less food will be required to fatten them. Thirdly, because by soiling there is an increase of valuable manure, which, by the old method of grazing, was nearly altogether lost.
American Provisions.—Within the last few days, 204 boxes of American cheese have been received in Liverpool. Every year the quality of the American cheese improves. Another article, which is arriving in very large quantities, is American lard, which is coming into use for many purposes for which salt and even fresh butter has been employed. Very excellent salted beef has come from the United States in considerable quantities.
Epidemic among Cattle.—This has broken out again in a most virulent shape in the north of England.
Journal of Agriculture.—Miller's Safety Reins.—These consist of gut covered with leather, and are, therefore, proof against fracture; and being round, and of neat light appearance, form a rather ornamental and sporting-like appendage to harness or saddle. They are mounted in this way:—They pass through a hook placed on the head of the harness-bridle, and through a leather loop on the head of the riding-bridle, and come down on each side of the neck. About middle-way down the neck is a coupling with two swivels, which receive the reins from the head, and they then pass through the dees of the harness, and through the turrets of the harness-saddle, and along to the front of the splashboard to a rein-holder, by which they are held always ready for use. The head of the horse and the turrets of the saddle being both higher than the throat, and the coupling being short, and having leave to traverse the reins on each side of the neck, it settles on that part of the throat at which the reins, on being pulled, exert the greatest force, when, the windpipe being forcibly compressed, the horse becomes affected in his respiration, and, therefore, stands still, or slackens his pace for breath, which he immediately obtains on the reins being slackened. Thus, feeling he is mastered, the horse shows no farther inclination to run off again; but in case he should renew symptoms of starting off, a few firm grips of the coupling on the throat will let him feel the futility of his attempts.
In explanation of the origin of the invention, Mr. Miller stated that he was a farmer's son, and that, in his youth, he used to be employed at times to assist in catching horses at grass, by means of surrounding them with a rope, borne by a person at each end of it. He remarked that, in this service, although no restraint was laid upon the horses when the rope rested on their chests, yet, whenever it could be got upon their throats, they instantly stood still and allowed themselves to be taken. The idea which this recollection suggested, of the probable effect of pressure on the throat in stopping a runaway horse, led Mr. Miller to the contrivance of his safety-reins. In his first experiment, the band which connects the reins under the neck was attached to the headstall by hooks and straps; but it has been considered an improvement to allow it to move freely upon the reins, on which it settles in contact with the throat, in a proper position for use when required.
Our communications with Mr. Miller impressed us favorably in regard to his contrivance; but, wishing to see it in practice we availed ourselves of an offer by him to afford us an opportunity of judging of it in operation. We, accordingly, on a day appointed, accompanied him in a carriage drawn by one horse, for the purpose of trial; and we witnessed as spectators, as well as made ourselves, repeated tests of the reins, with the horse going at a smart canter, both on a level road and on a descent, and we invariably observed that the tightening of the reins caused the horse immediately to stop. No injurious effect seemed to be produced on the horse by the interruption of his respiration. He always appeared to breathe freely, and to be ready to resume his work, as soon as the tension of the reins was relaxed.
Upon the whole, therefore, we consider Mr. Miller's invention to be a neat and simple, as well as, to appearance, an effective contrivance for the accomplishment of its important object, in the prevention of the disastrous accidents which not unfrequently occur from horses running away; and we think it reflects much credit on the ingenuity of its inventor.
Gardeners' Chronicle.—Rhododendron.—There is a variety of the Rhododendron ponticum growing here, which appears to be different from any of the others. It comes into flower about the same time as the others, but instead of unfolding its blossoms at the same rate as its neighbors, it only opens a few at a time, and continues long in flower. It did not cease flowering this season the whole month of August; consequently was nearly a month longer in bloom than the others. It has a southern exposure, and is sheltered from the north and east.
Blight on Grain from the Barberry.—In the Chronicle of August 19, under the head of "Vulgar Errors," we read as follows: "People still maintain that the barberry blights their grain." This is, nevertheless, a matter deserving attention; for in this, as in many other instances, a popular prejudice has been founded on truth, although the real cause has been often overlooked. Some writers have treated this subject with respect, and among them is Dr. Thornton. The latter says that the "leaves are very subject to therubigo, which will infect the grain in the neighborhood." Here the secret is at once explained, and the aversion of farmers to the barberry-bush at once justified. The vulgar notion is, that the barberry exercises some evil agency upon grain within a certain distance, and accordingly farmers will never suffer it to grow near their fields. They are right as to the effect, but they attribute it to a wrong cause. I have seen some remarkable instances of grain perishing in a semicircle, in front of a barberry-bush, and extending a good way into a field. Any one who has but superficially noticed the barberry, must have observed that the leaves and young shoots of the shrub were covered with a peculiar kind of blight or mildew. Now it is by no means extraordinary that this should be carried by the wind into grain-fields, and infect the grain so as to cause its destruction. This is the true explanation of the mischief caused by the barberry to grain in its neighborhood. [This is the common explanation, but if any one will take the trouble to examine the parasitical plant which attacks the barberry, and that of grain, he will find that they are totally different things. One is the Æcidium Berberidis, and the other some species of Uredo or Puccinia, for it is sometimes one and sometimes the other. We should as soon believe that a hen's egg would be hatched into toads, as that the seed of an Æcidium would produce an Uredo or Puccinia. We are aware of the facts mentioned by Mr. Wighton, for we have seen them ourselves, and they form a curious problem yet to solve.]