The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-07 00:00:00

iFFECTS OF RAILWAYS UPON
AGRICULTURE.
The following are extracts from the evidence of James
Smith, Esq Deanston), given before the Select
Committee of the House of Commons on Railway Acts
Enactments—the minutes of the testimony adduced be-
fore which Committee have just been issued, pursuant to
an order of that House, dated the 25th of August last.
The extracts in question relate to the effects of the fa-
cilities afforded by railway conveyance to agricultural
improvement :
Have you had occasion to consider the facilities afforded
hy railway conveyance to agricultural improvements ?
Yes. I have.
Will you state generally what you consider has been
the result ?—I have observed upon those lines that have
been in existence for some years, over which I have had
occasion to travel, that a very great agricultural im-
provement of the lands in the neighbourhood has been
the result, arising mainly from the cheapness and facility
of transports ; and I have drawn out some tables to illus-
trate that. I have one table taking a farm or 200 acres
and a six-course shift ; the committee are aware that
there are different shifts of rotation, and that some lands
suit best to be cultivated upon one, and some upon the
other. I have taken this farm upon the six-course shift,
which is most suitable for the bulk of the medium land of
Englar d and Scotland ; I have supposed that farm to be
in most full cultivation, thoroughly improved, and to be
both arable and pasture. I have taken the quantities
of green and dairy produce and cattle, and every-
thing which I can conceive will be exported from
that farm ; and it amounts to 148 tons. I have
then taken away the imports, consisting of store cattle to
be fed, lime and other matters, such as guano, and the
different chemical manures which are now being intro-
duced ; and also seed, because the shifting of seed in a
good farm is always attended to ; and I have supposed
that this weight shall be transported upon an average 15
miles, which I think is a very low estimate. The quan-
tity imported will be 197 toss ; making altogether, of
imports and exports, 346 tons 14 cwt.
That is all for 15 miles ?—Yes. Then I have taken
the expense of transport by railway at ld. per ton per
mile; on some' railways it is considerably higher, and on
some lower, but in the present advanced state of railways
we may fairly assume that to be the general rate.
For the produce transported, and the manure brought
to the land ?—Yes ; taking it upon the average that I
have taken, and also taking the number of persons that
will travel to market, and in various ways, at id. per
mile, the whole amount of charge of carriage for imports
and exports is 40/. Bs. 9d. By the old mode of convey-
ance the expense would have been, assuming 6d. per ton
per mile for the goods, which I find to be as low as you
can carry it by the old mode, 1421. 16s. 3d.
That is for the same distance?—Yes.
On what principle do you assume 6d. to have been the
charge by the ordinary roads ?—I speak from my own
experience of thirty years. I have had a great deal to
do with carting, both for agricultural produce and
manufacturing produce, and I have found that I could
never get it done under 6d. a ton in England; it costs
rather more than that.
In giving an account of the produce of a farm, you
deduct fur home consumption?—Yes, I do.
Therefore upon a farm such as you have stated, there
would be a saving of 1021. 7s. 6d.?—Yes. Then taking
that at twenty years' purchase, it will give 2,0471. 101.;
if you take it at thirty years' purchase, it will amount
to 3,071/. ss.
Have you given the supposed rental of that farm?—
No, I have not; the rental would be about 4001.
This expense, then, would be in addition to the rent?
—Yes.
And the same farm which without a railway would be
only worth 400/. would be worth 5001. after a railway
was established?—Yes; 10s. an acre more.
You have stated the a dvantage which a particular farm
would have in being able to send its produce to market
by railway, and bringing back manures; will you state
what is the advantage in respect to stock in particular?
—The advantage in respect to stock is very great indeed,
both in bringing lean stock from the district in which it
is reared to the richer district in which it is fed, and also
for the transmission of the cattle, when fed, to the
market for the consumer.
Are you able to show to what extent that works?—l
have some statements here upon that subject; the rate
hitherto charged by railways for the conveyance of stock
is pretty nearly the same per mile as the expense of
driving, and where the great saving occurs is in the
condition of the animals, especially in fat stock ; the
loss from driving them being equal in the case of fat
bullocks on a drive of from 60 to 70 miles to the whole
expense of the transport; it is at least 5 per cent. upon
the value of the bullock.
The advantage as regards the conveyance of the pro-
duce is an advantage of so much per ton?—Yes.
Was not the use of manures imported from abroad
limited to certain distances from the ports?—Certainly,
either from the ports, or from canal communication.
The introduction f railways enables them to be sent
to much greater distances at the same cost?—Decidedly.
In that way districts which were not able to profit by
those manures are now able to do so?—They are.
In consequence of the introduction of railways, have
not there been manufactories established in different
parts of the country for the manufacture of sulphuric
acid for the use of agriculture?—Yes; there has been a
very extensive introduction of artificial chemical manures
in consequence of the facility of transport, and I have no
doubt that it will very greatly increase.
What manures do you principally allude to?—I allude
to Liebig's chemical manures. I have not myself, in my
experience, found any great efficacy in those manures;
but there are other manures which have been found
very efficacious ; there is the urates, prepared from
urine; there is bone dust; there is rape cake, and nitrate
of soda; and there are mixed manures, consisting of seve-
ral ingredients, chemically combined.
Is not the use of sulphuric acid for agricultural pur-
poses considerably increasing?—l think it is; it is very
much used for dissolving bones.
May not railroads be used to carry manures from
towns to a much greater extent than was formerly the
case ?—Certainly.
And in that way the waste that now takes place will
hereafter, it may be hoped, be prevented?—To a consi-
derable extent.
Have you considered to what extent railways may be
made
_useful for the purpose of mixing soils?—Yes, I
have.
Will you state your opinion upon that subject?—The
transport of earths for mixing sails, if the roalroads
could carry them to the immediate ground where they
were to- be applied, would be of very great advantage;
but the difficulty of availing yourself of the benefit of
railways for the transport of soils is, that the soil must
be refilled, in most cases, into common carts, and carted
to a considerable distance.
Railways would be useful only in cases where those
earths eould be easily obtained ?—Exactly.
Take the transport of sea sand?—Sea sand in Ireland
is carried thirty miles up the country in little carts, and
is found to pay the farmer for the carriage when applied
to clayey and mossy soils.
And therefore if the charge made for the conveyance
of earths was very low, should you think that in that par-
ticular case the calcareous sand from the sea shore might
be carried profitably for considerable distances into the
interior?—l think so; and in many instances where
there are moors and waste land, it would be well worth
the while of the proprietor, having a railway passing
through that district, to construct a tram railway from
the railway on to the moor or waste land.
Is not nitre also, and lime, in certain districts, used,
which might be transported with advantage to great dis-
tances 7—Yes.
You are aware of the improvements which have taken
plaee in agriculture, by the introduction of those foreign
chemical manures ?—Yes.
Is not the utility of them as stimulants limited to a
short period ?—Bone dust, which is brought very ex-
tensively from the continent of Europe to this country,
is a very permanent manure. Guano is less permanent,
but it has this advantage, that it enables the farmer to
grow an extended breadth of green crop, for the feeding
of cattle and sheep; and if the green crop is grazed, be
is enabled to increase the produce of his farm.
But that requires to be renewed at short periods?—lt
requires to be renewed at shorter periods than bone-
dust, but it has established extra stock manure upon the
farm.
But would altering the earths be a permanent im-
provement of the soil ?—lt would: a great deal of mossy
soil, if you lay on even half an inch, in some cases, of
sand, or more, especially alluvial soil, it will render that
ground productive for many years.
Is it necessary, in order that these manures may be
made extensively useful, that the charges upon railroads
should be very low ?—lt is.
You have given a calculation of the benefit to a farm
on the supposition that the rate per ton shall be Id. :
what would the advantages be, supposing the rates were
to be reduced to one half or one quarter ?—There can
be no doubt that a low rate of charge would very greatly
tend to the increased consumption of manures, and to
the transport of earths for agricultural purposes ; that
would give a much increased produce to the land, which
would enable the agriculturist to furnish his commodity
at a lower rate; that again would increase the consump-
tion in large towns; and in manufacturing populations it
would also increase a greater traffic upon the railways,
and enable them still further to reduce their rates ; and
as the heavier articles are more consumed by the work-
ing classes, it would add very much to their comfort ;
and there are great tracts of country which would be
cultivated to much advantage if favoured with railway
communication, which are now allowed to lie compa-
ratively barren.
Looking, therefore, to those results, ought not rail-
roads receiving high profits to be obliged to extend
branches laterally to districts which want of communi-
cation has left in comparative unproductiveness 2—l
think so. It has occurred to me upon this point, that
it would be a great advantage if, by some public autho-
rity the country should be divided as regards railways
into sections, so that there might be systems of railways
established for those different sections, according to their
respective wants. A system so established would be en-
abled to provide branch railways into districts which
could not of themselves afford to pay for a railway; they
would be enabled to do that, because this branch, though
it did not pay in itself, would pay as part of a general
system, in consequence of the additional traffic that it
would bring upon, the line.
Referring again to the benefit to agriculture from the
introduction of railways, and consequently, of cheap
conveyance, can
of theadvaatage you give the committee any particulars
of the t
:,:i7sport of the carcases of animals,
as compared with the
it is impossible to system ?—Without a railroad
transport fat cattle any greater dis-
tance than from 50 to 70 miles, without very great dete-
rioration, but railroads will afford the
i means of trans-
beeswith great ad
trans-
porting those cattle 300 or 400 miles
transported 700
vantage, and in carcases they
miles; and in that way meat may be brought f
most istant parts to populous districts st a verr the
additional expense, which, with the expense for tanl9l-1
porting either beef or Palittol2 in the carcass, does not