The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-24 00:00:00

SEPTEMBER 24, 1850
•

precarious as the more delicate growth of Mid-
Kent, and they never occupy se large a portion of a
weald farm as they do in " the garden of Kent."
Upon the whole, my impression is much more favour-
oble hop culture as a source of profit in husbandry
.ince I have inspected the hop districts and conversed
with hop-growers upon their farms. Most of the
_intelligent farmers, though admitting the precarious
nature of the crop, and deploring the losses which
occasionally happen, declare that their hop cultivation
:a in a series of years a source of considerable profit..
There are some cattle reared on the weald, chiefly
the large red Sussex breed, a hardy sort, which, when
well fed, attain large size. They are, however, slow
feeders and large consumers. As working oxen they
cannot be excelled. I believe that if this breed had
received the same attention as short-horns or Devons
have bad from their respective breeders, they would
have been found capable of immense improvement.
&Ir. S. Selmes, at Beckley, on the borders of Sus.
aex, is the 'post celebrated breeder of this stock ; and
as I intend to visit his herd before I leave this part of
the country, I shall defer until that occasion all gene-
ral remarks on Sussex cattle.

There are some good farmers on the weald, and
especially on the sand division, and considerable im-
provement has taken place of late years throughout
the district. Scuffiera and cultivators have of late
been a good deal employed on the stubbles in autumn,
by means of which winter tares have.been grown ex-
tensively. Drilling, too, has extended, as has also
'he growing of roots. Draining, too, is increasing;
and throughout the weald draining is much wanted.
Even in the Hastings sand district there are such
frequent beds of clay that there are few fields in
which some springy places do not require to be laid
dry; while on the weald clay every acre must be
drained before it can be much improved. But to suc-
cessful drainage the small fields and numerous trees
offer almost insuperable obstacles. It is estimated
that one-eighth part of the arable land of the
weald is occupied by hedges and trees, allow-
ing far their shade and roots. Fields of three, four,
and five acres abound, and a larger one is rather a
rarity. Here four horses at length are usually worked
in ploughing, and it may easily be conceived in what
a state the heavy wet headlands on which they turn
must be in wet seasons. Sometimes after a year's
fallow, and a dressing of manure, the cold adhesive
land, shut in from light and air, cannot be sown, and
becomes, as it is emphatically called, a " lost fallow."
• The corn near the hedges is small, much devoured by,
birds, and in stormy harvests soon' sprouts ; and it is
stated, as I believe truly, that there are many thou-
sands of acres on the Weald of Kent, which cannot,
Ire their present state, be cultivated without an actual
• loss; yet this is all good cornbearing land, and might
be made to yield of most sorts of grain a
full average of the kingdom. A striking
illustration of the disadvantage at which this
land is farmed as compared with the more
fertile land of Mid Kent has come under my observa-
tion. About twelve years ago a man left two estates
—one of 150 acres on the green sand formation in
Mid Kent, the other on the weald clay, containing
300 acres. The two properties were deemed of about
equal value, and each of his two sons was to take one
of the farms, the eldest having the first choice. He
selected the green sand farm of 150, which he has
ever since occupied with advantage to his fortune.
The other brother also occupied the clay farm, culti-
vating it according to the ordinary system of the dis-
trict; and, after struggling with difficulties for years
the farm has been sold for a sum that will not much
more than pay his debts. The fatal error was to
allow high hedges and trees to grow around the
arable land. And this is the prevalent mistake of the
district. There is much broken ground, and innume-
rable ravines in this district, where wood and wood
alone can be profitably grown, and there are extensive
plantations in which timber and hop poles yield a
larger revenue than could be derived from the land in
any other way. But hedge-row timber is generally
knotty and stunted, and can never be profitable to the
owner, while it is absolutely destructive to the tenant.
In order to improve this district three-fourths of the
hedge-rows ought to be grubbed up, all the hedge-
row timber removed, and then deep and effective
draining executed; we have no hesitation in saying
that in a few years, by such means followed by good
cultivation, the value of much of the land of this
district might be doubled, and the timber which
now cumbers and shades the ground would go far
to pay for the amelioration. Hitherto shallow
draining has been most used when the land
has been drained at all ; but latterly three
and four feet drains have been laid with so
much benefit that the plan of deep draining bids
fair to become general. I everywhere saw tile yards
containing large heaps of draining pipes. These
pipes, of one and two inches in diameter, are sold fur
from 12s. to 18s. per thousand ; and in soils free from
stones, drains three feet deep can be cut for Gd. per
rod. The farms on the weald of Kent are commonly
small, many of them not exceeding 50 acres; but
Isere, as elsewhere, the consolidation of small farms,
when belonging to the same owner, is going on.
Rents are low, varying on the larger estates from
Bs. to 18s. per acre, and from 33. to 7s. per acre for
tithe. Tenants usually hold their farms from year
to year. But what redeems this district, and, not-
withstanding its many disadvantages, gives its
farms an appearance of comfort and inde-
pendence, is the number of small freeholds occu-
pied by the owners. His land may not be
highly cultivated, his fields may be as small, his
hedges as high and rude, and the timber almost as re-
dundant as the farms of his large landowner, but there
is about the home of the yeoman farmer evidence of
care and attention, a something eluding descrip-
tion, which tells that it is his own. One gentle-
man pointed out to me a stack of curiously or-
namented chimnies, " more than 200 years old," and
to the manner in which his own improvements and
adornments harmonised with the ancient character
of his dwelling, with a degree of pride and satisfac-
tion seldom felt by the nominal or encumbered owner
of a vast demesne. And when, he added, after re-
ferring to the substantial state of his old buildings,
and the well-executed new ones he had erected,
that, after all he had done in the way of improve-
ment,d
ewaouffinrtohtirnratgaislhtabhi he
tni hadmsgof
tothhac
the condition
territorialu savedmp ae aonns oo ffmokhfeakeeping
upnicfanahtgream,
considerableuwy,pehlosoa
mucspeompauelnaladorrpafarnneo oempeetrsosihte.naetetoleyp
loadedmbeolit
believe
vea
stwhmiatuth
andnie
mbEtpnraconuvdemmb
eenret (lifetterednlEs entail,ntbagytleanßdi
lal
s w ot scarcely
uisl
dlikpreoly.
to do in Ireland, and not the least of such improve-
ments would be the increase of the number of holders
of moderate-sized landed estates.

A MIDLAND COUNTIES FARMER.

Sept. 1850.

EXPLOSION AT THE PROOF-
HOUSE, BIRMINGHAM.
BIRMINGHAM, SEPT. 23. —A serious accident,
which but for the most providential circumstances,
might have resulted in a lamentable loss of human

life, occurred at the Gun-barrel Proof-house ihis
morning. _ _

The Proof-house in Birmingham is established by
Act of Parliament for the purpose of testing the qua-
lity and safety of gun-barrels previously to their being
admitted into military stores or issued for public use.
Some hundreds of thousands pass through this orderl
in the course of a year. The extreme danger of the
work here performed may in part be judged of by its
nature, and by those terriffic reports of over-charged
and unproved barrels to which the inhabitants of
Birmingham are accustomed to listen every hour of
the day.
The facts connected with the explosion, so far as we
have been able to ascertain them, are as follows :
Shortly before eight o'clock a loud noise was heard
to proceed from the back part of the premises, and at
the same time the inner yard was darkened by dense
clouds of smoke and dust. It was soon ascertained
that an explosion had occurred in the room in which
barrels are loaded previously to their being fired.
The roof of the building was blown off, and the outer
walls completely destroyed. At the moment the ac-
cident occurred the only two men employed in the
process of loading were John Derry and John Pal-
mer, both of whom, as soon as the rubbish and mate-
rials by which they were covered or surrounded could
be removed, were extricated from the demolished
building. They were both dreadfully burnt and much
hurt—Derry, it is feared, fatally injured ; his piercing
screams are described as agonizing. The men were
both conveyed to the General Hospital, and every at-
tention promptly paid to them. Just previous to the
occurrence of the accident the proof-master was in
the room, and having loaded several barrels gave them
to Derry and Palmer to " ram." Had he remained
in the building half a minute longer he must unques-
tionably have been amongst the sufferers. How Derry
and Palmer escaped instant death appears to be mira•
culous,

How the explosion was caused is as yet a matter
of speculation, although, from the few words which
have escaped one of the injured men, it is not impro-
ba'Jle that it was accidentally the cffect of friction.
All the instruments or implements used in
the loading-room are, for safety, of copper
material, but it is believed that one of the
men dropped together a number of gun barrels on the
floor, and that a spark, the result of friction, caught

[PRICE SD.

the gunpowder. The exact quantity of gunpowder
that was in the building is not known; but it must
have been considerable. The barrels, before beina,
suljected to proof; are loaded with ball, and there is
reason to apprehend that one is lodged either in the
side or hip of Derry.
The concussion caused the destruction of many
windows in the wighbourlicod. The Proof-house in
this respect is sadly damaged, and the adjoining pre-
mises of Messrs. Peyton and Ilicklin, manufacturing
chemists, haVe suffered to some extent. The surface
of the Birmingham Canal, which runs immediately
behind the Proof-house, was strewed with fz agrnents
of the building, and bricks were propelled to the dis-
tance of nearly 100 yards. The Magazine in the centre
of the Proof-house-yard—a massive stone fire-proof
erection—was uninjured. had the shock been suffi-
cient to move this from its foundation, the conse-
quences would have been terrible. The last explosion
of the kind took place 32 years ago, but on that
occasion little personal injury resulted from the oc-
currence.

The business of the Proof-house—so commodious
are the premises—will not be materially checked, so
that the gun trade of Birmingham will not be se-
riously inconvenienced.

THEATRE ROYAL, HULL.
(From the Hull Advertiser.)
Oa Monday evening an English operatic party,
including Mr. W. Harrison, r. Weiss, Mr. H.
Corri, Miss Louisa Pyne, and lrs. Weiss, commenced
a short engagement at this theatre, when each ap-
. peered in good voice, and, by their efforts, determined
to merit approbation. Such an array of talent could
not fail to attract good audiences, including a more
than usually large number of that class in whose
education music, witla its' refining and mind-ennobling
influences, forms a prominent feature. Would thatthe
means of such an acquisition were within the reach of
all ; then would the opera realise one of the great ends
intended to be accomplished by its talented masters.
Operatic performances, by such a talented band of
artistes as above enumerated, are always welcome in
a provincial theatre, affording, as they do, an agree-
able relief from the heavy routine of dramatic repre-
sentation. On Monday evening, as, indeed, through-
out the week, the audiences have been of the most
flattering kind. The dress boxes have presented a
brilliant appearance—the_elite of the town and neigh-
bourhood being present.
The opening piece was Balfe's Bohemian Girl, in
which the whole quintette appeared. The first solo
in the opera deserving notice introduced to us Miss
Louisa Pyne, the prima donna of the party, in that
rather hackneyed but.pleasiag ballad, "I dreamt that
I dwelt in marble halls," the rendering of which at
tohnec e
audience. gae i cl fo r
mh errs t h
Weiss,
ei unequivocalss,ns
the
Gipsyapprobation
u of
Queen,
e n
delivered the music incidental to the part in as agree-
able a manner as the monotony of some of the passages
would allow. Mr. Harrison received a hearty wel-
come on his first entrance, which was continued
throughout the evening : he was encored in the popu-
lar ballad, " When other lips," which he sung in his
wonted style. Mr. Weiss, in " The heart bow'd
down," made a very favourable impression; as also
did Mr. H. Corri, as Devilshoof, the humorous traits
of which character he brought out in a style which
would do no discredit to Paul Bedford himself. But
the gem of the evening was unconnected with the opera,
and which, from the want of proper publicity being
given, was listened to by not more than one-half of the
audience. We allude to the " Variations on Rode's
Air,".by Miss Pyne. It is impossible to describe the
artistic manner in which this was given ; Richardson's
ipnusrtirtuy of tone
meacoulad
dnnroatpisdurfingering of h
surpass the
delivery
favourite
eryofthis
magnificent piece of vocalisation. The sustained
shake in D in alt was listened to with silent amaze-
ment by her delighted audience. An unanimous
encore followed, which was instantly responded to
by this charming cantatrice repeating the bravura
passages.
On Tuesday evening Wallace's opera of lifaritana
was brought out, the two principal characters—Don
User and Maritana—being sustained by Mr. Harri-
son and Miss Pyne. The lady, although small in
stature, .is remarkably prepossessing in appearance,
and possesses vocal powers well adapted for
giving effect to the many rich songs and
concerted pieces falling to the lot of the joy-
ous and aspiring gitana. She displayed judg-
ment and precision, both in her acting and singing,
which would do credit to maturer years. The " Harp
in the air," in the first act, was a charming effort.
Her clear, full voice, now swelling with powerful
melody, and anon breathing the silvery.tones of
.the_
harp, quite enraptured the audience, and at the out
set won for her their especial favour. Throughout the
piece, including that sweet aria," Scenes that are bright-
est," in which she received a fl.ittering encore; Miss Pyne
exercised her vocal powers to advantage, and with such
freedom and grace as will undoubtedly secure for her
a high pcsition in her line. Mr. Corri, as Charles
the Second, and Mrs. Weiss, as the faithful page,
Lazarillo, were equalled good. Perhaps the gentleman
might have dressed a little more becoming a king.
We often look in vain for the display of that charac-
teristic benevolence which the page manifests to his
preserver, and that delicate and artless acting which
is essential to a successful development of the plot ;
not so, however, on this occasion ; all was to the life,
and the singing, especially " Alas ! those chimes so
sweetly pealing" (encored), was,;if anything, more
pleasing than her personations. Mr. Weiss, as Don
Jse
elthlmaho lamented
rorepes,
nnwe
eaottene.
cinuodithl
iroal
ctaylrhrsevi
tsss
ssohaeutoul
erhesnti
such
tenohhat
wsofi
eatmnßaratfoeenhanoubddecrf‘
But it
aßehsrei
ai
orchestra,t
mad-cap
notwospai
yushseaapt
Bacchanalian
hrtm ,saoeoatecnvearwof
fie, i
ereo, ohyhe:uaboaomihssyneci,
eainannprai
ilalstieridtsisaobpedstnnaulaummhtnscraiaertmoreasiv.
tfocHesen 0
actor,
rtonlr.
Harrison
r ei
was
sxaloa
de-
pictedstennef-
cution of some of the first tenor songs in the piece.
better
voice ; yet he was the " soul" of the piece. It is
excels, and however high we may rate his talents as a
aioynesetdahsiffiieonpetir;ovinces, and this was very evident on
dnclofofeh"i"
atthelwriss
compen-
sating for, actually increased the defect.

THE OUTRAGE on Mit. CURETON.
The police belonging to tha City and metropolitan
divisions were actively engagtd during yesterday
(Monday) in endeavouring to trace out the perpe-
trators of this outrage, but up to nine o'clock last
night no tidings of them could be obtained. Mr. Cure -
ton is now nerfectly convalescent, but it is the opinion
of Mr. Brand, the surgeon who was called in, that his
life was saved only through Mrs. Wilson, the land-
lady of the house, going up to his room at the instant
she did The following were the articles taken away,
the publication of which may probably have the effect
of preventing their sale in the market, and may lead to
the apprehension of the would-be murderers :—A silver
lever watch, with double bottom, engine-turned, open
face, capped and jewelled in eight holes, steel balance,
going fuzee, hard enamelled seconds dial; number
stamped in cases and engraved on watch, 7,504; maker's
name John Hux, Percival-street, London. A large
gold curb chain and three gold seals, one a Persian,
attached to the above. A small diamond pin. Anglo-
Saxon coins of Alfred and very many others. Crowns
from Edward VI. to Victoria, in great variety of types
and dates; the Victoria's are proof.; with plain edges.
Half-crowns from Oliver Cromwell to George 111.,
in great variety of dates and types. Shillings from
Henry VIII. to Victoria, a very extensive assortment,
many of great variety. Groats from Edward IV. to
Charles 11., including koala of Richard 111. • a very
large collection. Scotch coins, including three shil-
lings of Mary with her portrait, and a sixperee of the
same type, but with a counter mark, and various others
from Charles I. to Anne. Some dollars of Mary and
Henry, and some specimens of the coins of James VI.,
three-quarter length. A very large collection of siege
coins 01 Charles 1., Newark, Pomfret, Ormond, &c.

PRIDE THAT APES HUMILITY —An anecdote is
related of the lion, and Rev. Mr. •Spencer. now "Father
„
Ignatius" Habited in the garb of the Passionist Order,
bareheaded and barefooted, he applied to a cabman in the
Strand to carry him to Buckingham Palace, to see his sister,
Lady Lyttleton. The cabman looking knowingly at the Rev.
Gentleman, replied, 'No, no; poor fellow I What asylum
have you made your escape from ?'—and declined accepting
his fare though offered in advance."
THE ADDUCTION ; OR, THE MARVELS OF Mrs-
ERIS3I. —This new and original novel, by the Baroness
Procharaka, in 3 volumes, is published this day by Mr.
Shoberl, •20, Great Marlborough-street, and Italy he had at
all respectable libraries. Also, now ready, 2. "Royalists and
Roundheads; or, the Days of Charles the First," 3 vols.
"Reminds us very much of Mr. Warburton's Prince Rupert
and the Cavaliers,' and, like that amusing work, does justice to
t he subject,and sets it out in a new but not less pleasing light."
—Bell's Messenger. 3. "The Miser's Secret; or, the Days of
James the First," 3 vols.—" Whoever the writer may be, we
can safely prognosticate a long series of successes. An easy
style, pictorial power, and truthful colouring, place this novel
high on the list of modern historical romances."--Vorning
Chronicle.

rADVERTISEMENT.j—THE EARL OF ALDLOROUGEI
arm Ilot.Lowsy's Pfr..r.s.—An astounding cure by this miraculous
medicine, alter every other means had failed. See extract from hi
Lordship's letter, dated " Villa Messina, Leghorn, Feb. 21, 1845.
Professor Holloway—Sir : I beg to acquaint you that your pills have ef-
fected a cure of a disorder in my liver and stomach which all the most
eminent of the faculty, at home and all over the continent, had not
been able to etlect ; nay, not ever the waters of Carlsbad or Ma-
rienbad. (Signed) " ALDBOROIJGH." These wonderful pills will
cure any dieease of the liver or stomach.—Sold (also Holloway's
Olutmsnt) at l'rofessor Holloway's Establishment, 244, Strand, and
by *ll medicine vondors throughout thetivllisod world.