The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1871-05-23 00:00:00

Zgrintiturt.

Ws have received from Messrs. Suttcn and Sons,
Seed.men to the Queen, Reading, a sehodule of the
Twoursecond Annual Itoyal Berkshire Root Show, to
be held at Reading. on Saturday, November 18th, 1871.
This show (which is open to the United Kingdom) was
established by, and has been conducted solely at the
expense of Messrs. Buttons' and is one of the largest
In the kingdom. We observe upwards of 470 are
off en it ibis year for the best specimens of Swedes,
Turnips, Kohl Rids', Mengel, Potatoes, be.
CtiaaLoen As Result FOOD.—The writer was born
in a foustiottee, hoe lived 74 years, and has known much
of country life, but he never nadersoood " Charliok," as
It is e.ll. it in the West of England (a weal not unlike,
and whose blossom is very shrill& to, the mustard
plata'', to Le other than a useless tutublesoine weed
until List May, when seeing • Wiltehire shepherd with
a Lunch of the tope of that weed, he learnt, on in•
quiring, that the tops of the " Char:o:k," when boiled
as " grit ns," are excellent food. But not being satiated
without practical evideuce, ho gathered • quantity and
had them cooked for tumor, and an excellent vegetable
they pioved to be—equal to if not superior to any
ternip cosecs. What an acquisition for poor people,
sad for destroying the farmer's weeds. The tops should
be Leiter' off, Jest before they are in blossom, as below
the brtekieg-off point they will prove tough and stringy.
E Wtat, Seaford, near BristoL (Our experienee is,
that they are superior to turnip•tops. Eds.]
I eir,ll core' Chroni,le.
buss IRRIGATION PAT ?—I occasionally visit lump.
share, old weeder on the hankie( its lovely and pelluoid
streams. Tlire, early in April, while the upland gratis
Ii at " nil," large fl cks of sheep and lambs are luxe-
riatiug on rich and succulent gram, not forced by
museum, but developed, thus early, by irrigation with
pure pellucid water that bee filtered through the stir-
rowdies chalk hills, suit which, althosigh so bright and
deer, no doubt contains fertilising elements. Out mak-
ing inquiry as to the costa of laying out the fields, in
order to receive the irrigation, I found that very large
stuns were thus expended; in some oases as musph as
tbe (es,imple of tee land ; and that the cost varied
bout ell) to even £lOO per sere. No doubt the value
of eistatione, very c irly, suitable and abundant food for
ewes and Web.,aol then • fine hay crop, amply repays
ci Interest for this large outlay. My objeot in writing
this Palter it to illustrate by these fasts the enormous
advent tees thst t accrue where town !sewage can be
applied fur itriiition, and how wdl it would pay to
prepare the venal to receive it. When I recommend
the atiliaanuu et towu sewage, I am told, "Oh I but
sae what it inn oost to put it on the land." I the"'
fore refer to the liempshire waterineadows as tonvino-
big evidence that it would pay handsomele in
every iusLeueu wirp sewage to serioultaral
production. Those
gigantic pumps at Old Ford and
iltnenatire, that each represent the power of several
thoesantl horses' and each raise 60.000 gallons per
whinge, should be employed in diffusing the sewage
over the adj 'tint lands,rather than pumping it into and
poisoning and obstructing our noble river. But I know
the difficulty ; public opinion is hardly ripe for this,
although it is gradually ripening. Probably mutton
shops at 161 per to (their present price In London) will
batten the ripening proofs's. You ean't deal with the
gigantic London sewage question on is dividual grounds
and croffinets, but, lake our great railwayv,
parlia-
mentary authority is reqeirei to manage the matter on
• great aisle, But Parliament has to consider and
deter to public opinion, and that opinion is not at pre-
sent culciently in lawman of scarnige• ThSZS ii Si
alma bona col Me siawfald, but ea utsairsows or