The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-06-21 00:00:00

A HINT. TO LANDOWNERS AND FARMERS.

.The policy of laying down the land in permanent pastures,
and allowing it to remain until the whole of the salts and
alkalies are extracted .from the soil, and the surface overrun
with the poisonous plants and insects, diseases the stock by
bloating them up with acrid fat. I have constantly observed,
that fat animals perish in the extremes of heat and cold ; the
beat melting the oil, their bodies run off in a state of fusion.
In cold weather the internal heat is not sufficient to prevent
the condensation of the fat, and consumption of the lungs is
sure to follow ; and what is worse, the disease is communi-
cated to the inhabitants. In order to demornitrate the pro-
priety of ploughing up the old grass lands, and routine crop-
ping the soil, I will point out some remarks from the agricul-
tural report for 1834, which state that there were 32,000,000
acres of land under cultivation, or capable of being culti-
vated; 3,250,000 acres were employed in the growth of
wheat. the remainder for other crops ; 6,000,000.. acres of
waste laud ; but it was stated that it was not advisable to
bring the waste lands into a state of cultivation, because
it was necessary to keep up the price of corn. There are
17,000,000 acres of the amount in pasture land. To con-
vince the landlords of the practicability and necessity of
adopting the routine cropping or soiling, or feeding the
stock with mowing grass, I will point out the various ex-
periments made in the county of East Lothian under the
auspices of Sir John Sinclair, Arthur Young, Mr. Rainey,
Dr. Anderson, and others, for the purpose of ascertaining
the comparative merits of routine cropping, soiling, and pas-
turing husbandry. Ten acres were pastured, the animals
were weighedbefore being put into the pasture, they gained
1921b5. avoirdupois weight per acre, per annum, of beef and
mutton. Upon the supposition, that a healthy person re-
quires one pound and a half per day to support him, this
would be consumed in 128 days. Cattle and sheep soiled on
the produce of an acre of ground, yielding 4001bs. of beef
and mutton, which would mantain double the number of men
that pasturing would; and soiling is a more cleanly way of
feeding stock. In Belgium the process of soiling is generally
adopted, and their butcher's meat and butter is infinitely su-
perior to ours ; and more than double the quantity raised
from the same surface of land. This land converted into til-
lage, three or four times the number might be fed on its pro-
duce, as will appear; from the following calculation then made
by three different farmers. The corn raised on such land was
48 Winchester bushels per acre, which was considered a low
estimate, when we deduct four bushels for seed, six bushels
for labour and horsefeed, allowing the average weight to be
4001bs. per qr., give 1,9001b5. of bread corn for the use of the
people.
When we estimate that one fourth of the quantity goes for
bran pollard, and waste in the manufactory, the remainder
amounts to 1425 pounds weight of flour, or meal to be used
as bread, and other purposes, which at Bibs. weight per head,
will supply food for 475 people for one day instead of 128.
The comparison would be more striking where it extended to
potataes and other esculents, which of course would form a
part of every rotation, were convertible husbandry intro-
duced. None but those who tried it can be sensible of the
vast improvement made by routine cropping. If 2,000,000
of acres of tillage land were sown down, and a like extent
of old pasture land broken up, an additional supply of not
less than four million stones of beef and mutton would
thereby be thrown into the market. In short, were alter-
nate husbandry generally exercised in Britain, two millions
of people might be advantageously employed in bringing
the soil to a proper state of cultivation ; and have scattered
over England and Scotland, and particularly Ireland, so
admirably calculated to rectify the worn out soil.
Provisions might be obtained to supply one hundred mil-
lions of people, however chimerical it may appear in the
eyes of the landlord and farmers. I will appeal to the Jews
while under the theocracy ; the Romans while under the
commonwealth—and to the county of East Lothian in Scot-
land, as a proof of the correct view I haken of the subject.
Three-fourths of the soil ate worn out, and the exclusive
system generally followed, is attended with most pernicious
effects to the public health, and more destructive to the
public interest. One million of youths ought to be at once
drawn from the over populous cities, towns, and villages,
and planted on the soil as apprentices, to be taught the art
of farming, and the mechanic arts necessary to a proper sys-
tem of rural economy. They would then make fine settlers
to settle as emigrants. I cannot close this subject without
strongly urging, the advantages of conjoining live stock and
corn, and making them subservient to each other. Were
the pasture lands converted into tillage, an immense quan-
tity of manures would thereby be furnished for enriching the
poorer soils, and for ameliorating the old tillage fields before
they are laid down with grass seeds, particularly when com-
posed with lime, salt, and new earth. Every three acres of
old grass land broken up would furnish dung for one acre a
year, consequently the ploughing up of a million acres would
return.dung for 330,000 acres of barren or unproductive land
per annum, for three years. Afterwards, by means of com-
posting the whole of the manure that is laid on, an additional
increase of two quarters of grain per acre, and more of
green crops, might reasonably be expected from it.—Drogheda
Arg us.

FURIOUS ATTACK OF A BULL-DoG4—On Wednesday week
as the Royal Mail was about to leave the door of the Sen-
house Arms inn, at Maryport, on its way to Whitehaven, a
bull-dog in a highly excited state, rushed open-mouthed upon
One of the horses, which it attempted to seize by the throat.
Falling short of its aim, it fixed its teeth in the animals breast,
which it severely lacerated. The plunging of the affrighted
horse shook the assailant off for a moment, but in an instant
he seized hold of one of the fore-legs. The horse again plun-
ged and reared, and the passengers became alarmed ; one la-
dy leaped out of the coach, and fortunately sustained no in-
jury. In a short while, the horses trampled the dog under-
foot, and the wheels nearly passed over him ; he narrowly
escaped death, and the mail went on ; in a minute, however,
the dog was again in front, leaping furiously at the throat of
the poor animal that he had already severely wounded ; the
driver was obliged to pull up • and the dog again got hold of
the horse, which he could only be made at last to relinquish
by strangulation. The mail then proceeded, the wounded
horse, although the flesh was torn in two or three places,
being not seriously injured.—Carlisle Prtriot.

The largest iron sailing ship in the world is now building
in Messrs. J. Ronald and Co.'s yard, Footdee, Aberdeen.—
This stupendous vessel is of the following dimensions ;
Length of keel, 130 feet ; breadth of frame, 30 feet ; depth of
hold, 20 feet ; length over all, 137 feet ; tons register, 537.
Judging from her appearance, she is a beautiful model, and
will, carry an immense cargo on a small draught of water.—
She is intended for a company in Liverpool.—Aberdeen
Herald.

THUNDER STORM.—In tile storm on Monday evening,
about five o'clock, the electric fluid struck the chimney of a
cottage at Shawbury, in this county, inhabited by a labourer
named Plassey, and in an instant the roof of the cottage was
in flames ; but through the exertions of some persons in the
employment of Mr. Wellings, the fire was fortunately got
under, by their pulling off the thatch, which prevented it
doing further damage. The lightning also struck one of the
outbuildings of Mr. Bayley, of Besford, which it consumed
before the engines could be obtained from Wem, which, how-
ever, on their arrival, prevented any further damage taking
place, one calf only having been destroyed.—The lightning
was very vivid in the neighbourhood of Whitchurch and
Malpas ; and some trees in Iscoyd Park were struck by the
lightning.—The 1 ghtning also struck a house at Garmston,
in this county.—Salopian Journal.

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

BELGIUM.

BRUSSELS, JUNE 15.—The elections have terminated.—
The modern party has triumphed, both as regards the re-
election of metnbers:who voted for the acceptance of the treaty,
and as relates to the avowed principles of those lately returned.
This result is, of course, highly satisfactory to the govern-
ment, as it conveys the most undoubted approbation of its
measures, and shows that the sense of the country is de-
cidedly-in favour of peace and tranquillity.