The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-06-08 00:00:00

agriculture.

BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND SOCIETY.

Cardiff has boon all alive during the peat and previous
week in the reception of tide society, hichheld its annual
exhibition of stook and implements in the thief town of
Olamorgan'a fair vale; and probably half a million
persons have made a temporary sojourn in that
locality. The proceedings were initiated on Saturday
week, by the trial of agricultural machinery and Miele
-
mote. The trial ground on Cruwys Farm, • mile from
the town, near the Taff Vale Railway, was a stubble
field, ploughed in winter, and overgrown with couch
grass, a field of stift loam, altogether admirably adapted
for the purposes of the day. The first class submitted
to trial were the large used cultivators, or grubbers
with broadshares, to each of which four powerful heavy
horses were attached. The work from the nature of
the ground, was such as to task the whole energies
of these Site animals—in fact it would have required
double the number of horses to have got through •
day'. work of nine hour', with the implements now
under trial. The work was well done, and it was
evident that the implements of the several makers had
their special favourites among the lookers on. Sub.
sequently for the broadshares were substituted the
narrow or "grubber" tines. This, though reducing
the draught, left ample work for four horses. Still there
were also trials of small sized cultivators, both with
broadshares and grubber tines. Some difficulty was
experienced by several of these implements in keeping
clear of the couch. In the trial of drags and harrows
there was no new feature interesting to the Agri.
oulturist, with one exception, that of stand No. 33, In
which the lines had a separate action, by which they
were capable of being separately lifted from behind, so
U to keep the implement oompletely clear of clods or
weeds. There were two ohainharrows on trial, Cam•
bridge's and • spike chain. In the working the spike
harrow got out of order, and consequently could scarcely
be said to have entered into trio with its rival. The
trials " in the yard" of steam engines and threshing
machines did not commence till comparatively late in
the day. On Monday morning operations in the field
were resumed by testing the capabilities of ploughs. A
large number was entered for competition, and with
venous preliminaries, such ae applying the dynanomer,
dte., the trial of this class of implements fully occupied
the judges up to 5 o'clock p.m. The show grounds
have been open since Wednesday, but solely for the
reception of machinery and implements, of which vast
quantities have arrived by railway. The centre of the
enclosure exhibited a wide avenue, at the extremity of
which was exhibited the tent of the council ; on the
right were five sheds, covering • length of ground of
2,000 feet for the exhibition of horse*, eattle, and sheep.
On the left side were eleven sheds, of 2,900 feet length
united, devoted to the display of agricultural imp's,.
mints, threshing machines, steam engines, Am The
cattle and poultry yards opened on Wednesday to the
public, and the Mayor of Cardiff, C. C. Williams, Esq.,
entertained the council of the ninety at dinner. On
Thursday the annual meeting of members was held at
19 o'clock and at four in the afternoon the public)
dinner took place under • large tent on the ground.
Mr. Warren, confectioner, of Merthyr Tydvil, purveyed.
Steam-boats left Burnham pier every morning, acid re•
turned from Cardiff each evening; and, we understand,
the Bristol and Exeter railway company arranged for a
train to leave Highbridge won after the arrival of the
packet at Burnham in the evening, for the oonvenienco
of persons returning to Taunton and other pluse down
the line.

RZMOVING ERGOT FROM RYIL—Two years ago, says
O writer in the Amebas Awrioisiteriet, I hada small
piece of rye, and from Oittlirs not known it contained a
great deal of black rya (segale eornutual). Bleak rye
or ergot is a potion, and my grain contained so much of
It that I could not feed it. By auident a very Ane hog
was doetroymt by eating it. I have met with no mill or
screen that will eeparete It, 00 much Of It Is II &lender
ae the true grain. After various failure., I disoovered
that brine would unmete it, the rye sinking and the
ergot floating on the curiae.. This might, in some in.
'donee , be turned to proAt, se the ergot le bought by
druggist& and is worth much more than the rye itself.
The malt should be iminediately waalied out and both
carefully dried.
STATISTICS Or AIIMBIOAN AORICULTUBIL —The lin-
port/nee of collecting early and complete ofealal return&
of the crop., 'took, ko., of American agrioulture, says
the American Agrielifter4l, is beginning to be felt. In
Great Britain the wheat crop, for example, is eurcely
Ii ted, before official returns of the entire yield
are ptherect and opined before the country. This irrrol
much uncertainty as to probable cirioes, and is undoubt-
edly of inestimable luaus to producers, however it may
effect the interim!e of dealers who speculate mainly upon
the doubt and uncertainty as to the actual growth in any
year. Something equivalent to the system of annual
&While tables recently 'put into operation in Great
Britain, will, we hope, be 00011 introduced here. At
preuml we have only luiperfeot tables gathered once in
ten years, and published in the decennial *ensue reports.
But even these are dill imperfect, and we are happy to
assond any effort to render them more valuable, The
American Geographical and Statistical Society of this
(ay to agitating the question, MI will be seen by the fol-
lowing proosiOap at a reoent meeting for orpnising
an Agricultural Bunion. John Jay, Esq., was oilmen
chairman of this section, and read the opening paper,
taking for his subject—" The preeminence of apiculture
am the leading national interest of the United Stales,
and the increased importance it is to derive from the
growing demand for bread for Western Europe." Van-
on.
aet.b
uturei:TpehFetintaninfolre'vq.Beuresnal:•
tir
catla ituf 41.01:1 wereladdnendt notgo, tyu oodreoo?l:7theitini GermansidEngland,iatot ah
Govern-
ments u the great economic and commercial question of
the age, and u one that is invested in times of scarcity,
with marked political eignifloanoe. The °acuity of the
United BUtce to beams the grain producers of the

world, is apparent from the breadth of her arable land,
the small density of her population, and her command.
log °antral position. Agriculture is destined not simply
to furnish the bulk of our exports, but to exert an all.
important influence upon our national strength in deve-
loping the industrial and moral qualities of our people,
and its future statistics may develop laws thst will assist
us to solve moral and economic questions, that have
punted the statesmen and philanthropists of both
hemispheres. The returns of the °ensue for 1840 and
1850, disclose with tolerable accuracy the leading
features of our agriculture, the amount of land occu-
pied, improved and unimproved, the breadth of
land devoted to the several crops, the annual value
of each crop, the average of crops to the 'ere,
the number of farms, the average sise, the avenge value
of land in each State, &c. They show Indian son, our
native grain, to be by far our largest staple, exceeding
in value, wheat, cotton, and hay combined. This crop
(corn) has doubled since 1810, and yielded the last year
more than eight-hundred millions of bushels, worth
four-hundred millions of dollars. Wheat conies next
and constitute of breadstuff' our largest export. The
apparent deterioration of the soil as shown by the de-
creasing average of crops to the acre, the average of
wheat in New York, Ohio, and Indiana being 12 bushels,
while in England it is 21, and in Scotland 80; the
avgrage duration of life in towns and in the rural
districts with • reference to the fact that in finrrey,
England, it is 45 years, and in Manchester and Liver.
pool only 25, and the increasing proportion of our
population who are relinquishing agricultural pursuits
for trade were referred to as interesting topics which
might be so elaborated and verified by the next census,
that its returns should teach us not only lessons of
political economy but of daily duty. The subject was
one that concerned the whole country and suggestions
for the improvement of the agricultural schedules would
doubtless be cordially welcomed at Washington. On the
conclusion of the paper, the Hon. George Foleom made
BOMB remarks, concluding with the following resolutions,
which were supported by Mr. Pierrepont and Dr.
Adamson, and adopted :—Resolved That in the
opinion of this Society the increasing magnitude of the
agricuitunl interest in the United States renders it •
matter of national importance that the agricultural
schedules for the census of 1800, should be made Si Corn.
plots as possible, with the view of marking accurately
its progress, its capabilities, and the profits of evi-
cultural labour ; and with the further view of discover-
ing where, and to what extent, the arable soil of he
oountry is detonating in fertility under existing modes
of cultivation. Resolved—That the agricultural section
of this body be instructed to invite suggestions from
gentlemen throughout the Union, in regard to the
topics that should be embraced in the new schedules.
On the motion of Mr. Barney, it was further resolved—
That the Governors of the several States be advised by
the Chairman of the Agricultural Section of the for..
going resolutions, and be respectfully requested to pre-
sent to the society for preservation in their library a
copy of the last State oensus and any other official
document' bearing upon its agricultural statistics.
After some further conversation in which Mr. Folsom
and Mr. Dinsmore took part, and a rots of thanks to
Mr. Jay for his address, notim was given that a meeting
of the Agricultural Section would presently be
for working purposes.
BARN CATC—Notwithstanding the "public" consider
rata as the fireside divinites of the unappreciated "belles"
of former generations, and as being especially invented
to be tormented by boys and dogs, farmers who raise
large quantities of grain acknowledge their usefulness,
and if fortunate in their management, think one good
cal is worth all the terriers In the world. Drop in upon
oily Sour and grain dealers, and ask to see their rat
catchers. Every one will show you a oat Partner D.
winters some thirty head of cattle and relies choice
swine, and feeds them high—buying short' or other
ground feed by the ton, and keeping fi in a bin In hie
barn. The pigs are kept in separate pens in a part of
the barn cello, and well supplied with clean
Their mining trough stands under the bin and is sup.
plied from it through a spout, and the aqueduct log is it
one end of the trough. lo nut every arninpnenl made
for the eonvenienee of rata and mien as well as himself?
Yet he told me that he would give $lOO for every rat
or moues that could be caught upon his premises. His
barn and dwelling join, frk keeps etc eak--dre of lite
feminine gender and the other he Wl* his "with.,"
out, The'' wither" on is not enppositd to be a MUM?,
but drivel of the " Thomas" Mid, NO that Milling an
nearly allowing; as rate. His hen§ have their n item
In the earner of the houseiiellar nearest to the barn, and
although grain Is always upon the door no rail are OHL
Ma OMR are fed on inilk—only ones In. great while de
they get anything_else—and they are never allowed to
be in the houte. -He says Oaid have " Wenn they
are fed on too much inset and are preinitted to sleep
near the Are One of illojeate has an estroordinart
fondness for cows I I oaw her walk along in front of
them and MIT as each sow lisked her with Ow tongue..
—IL B. 1., in Ameba%