The Portland daily press., 1878-01-17
AGRICULTURAL.


Change of Values as Affecting Farming.
In a lecture before the Society of Arts at
London last month, Mr.. J. B. Lawes of Roth
amstead discussed at length the subject of
Freedom OF Cultivation" or, in other words,
the restrictions under which English tenant
farmers generally hold their leases, as regards
what they may or may not sell of the land,
the rotation they shall follow, &c. This is in
itself topic of local interest chiefly suffice
1t to say that Mr.. Lawes considers these re-
strictions as Objectionable and in many re-
spects irrational. And in the vast array of
facts which he presents as bearing on his sub
feet, he deals in measure with wide variety
of topics connected with the maintenance of
the fertility of the soil, and draws largely upon
the results of his own extended experiments
for more than forty years past, and in Ger
tain degree upon the general history of the
improved agriculture of Great Britain. His
address thus assumes wider interest, and
concerns those whichhave no connection what
ever with the special questions of the hour.
Our space will permit but brief reference
to some of the points which strike us in a
casual reading of this quite elaborate paper
avoiding those which, although of interest in
connection with general information as to
systems of farming pursued in England, still
have no special application in this country.
"The agriculture of the last century, said
Mr.. Lawes, CONSISTED of little else," as now
is largely the case in the United States, ethan
taking several corn (grain) crops in succession,
until the produce did not pay the cost of cul-
tivation, and then allowing the land to recover
Its fertility by rest" Then came period of
efforts for improvement, led by the late Earl
of Leicester, who introduced in Norfolk the
very successful four.course system of rota-
tation, in which wheat and barley are alter
mated with clover and roots; and it was the
4. 81 III -
about the insistance OF landowners upon
provisions in leases that have now prevailed
during most OF the present centnary, to pre-
vent the growing Of two white straw crops in
succession, and the sale OF straw, hay, roots,
or other fodder crops off the farm. But, In
the light of subsequent investigation, Mr..
Lawes aims to show that with full liberty to
take such crops and make such sales as he
chooses, the tenant may now do much better
for himself and better for the soil of his land
lord, than If closely bound to the strict terms
of the modern lease. In other words, there
has been change of values fundamentally
affects the whole system. And instead of
dealing with quantities, it is relative values
which Mr.. Lawes brings to the front, in a
way which, to us at least, constitutes the
chief novelty in his remarks.
ssNitro gen, phosphoric acid and potsassa,
the three important constituents of soil and
consequent restrictions, were admirably fit
ted to preserve. In the sale of meat to the
value of $40, the tenant would only send off
the farm IS pounds of nitrogen, 10 of phos-
phoric acid, land 1-3 pounds of potassa ;Swhile
in selling $40 worth of clover hay, he would
take from the farm 120 pounds OF nitrogen,
80 pounds phosphoric acid and 1903 pounds
potassa. And, taking other farm product in
to account, it is stated that in the sale of $40
north of tho rar0hihifo1 4ho,
would be the loss to the land, con the aver
age, of more than three times as much nitro
gen, about two and half times as much
phosphoric acid, and more than sixteen times
as much potassa," as in an equivalent valve OF
the products allowed to be sold. ''Thus, he
says, ssmodern science not only confirms the
value OF a system introduced about three
quarters of a century ago, but 1t shows clear
ly upon what its value really depended
Now, however, owing to changing values,
the farmer must give much more OF the valu-
able constituents, for the same money, than
seventy years ago, in certain products, and
much less in others. Thus in e10 worth oil
straw, at the present time, the exhaustion oil
nitrogen would only be about the same as in
$40 worth of grain, the loss of phosphoric
acid about the same,and that of potassa about
five or six times, instead of sixteen times, as
much-so that, in fact, the sale of given
uOuCt WOIbu VI Lay, euidW VI ObuoI tOuUer
crops, would now exhaust the land to a
much less extent than formerly, as compared
either with grain or meat.
Thus, turning to the means at the farmers
disposal for replacing this exhaustion, the
speaker showed that resources not previously
available are now at hand, in the artificial
manures of the present day-and not only
this, but also that changes of value in this re-
spect are favorable to the unrestricted sale of
farm products. Thus he says, were the
farmer of 1907 and 1877, each permitted to
sell whatever he chooses on condition that he
should bring back upon the land quantities
Of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potassa equiv
alent to those sold, Assuming that 70 years
ago the same fertilizers had been available as
now. which was not the case--afier selling
prohibited products to the value of 200 shi-
lings (e10) the farmer of 1907 would have
had to spend about Ill shillings to restore
the constituents exported, whereas now he
the same constituents for not to exceed SO
Misunderstanding in the latter case a
profit Obi shillings) about one and a half
times as in the former (69 shillings).
The general conclusion reached by Mr..
Lawes is that no stipulation, as between
tenant and landlord, can be generally APP
plicable, as so much depends upon the uatur-
al fertility and present condition of the land.
He points out that the prosperity of the land
holders is essentially dependent upon the
prosperity of the tenants, and insists that if
he were to engage in farming to make mon
ey he could not conduct it to the best advant-
age without eutire freedom of action. And
the changes of the past half century, in the
matter of values, in the knowledge acquired
as to the action OF manures and the capaci-
ties of soils, In external resources of the most
important constituents of fertilizers-all tend
to show, he. believes, that ''the artificial
protection ofrestrictive covenants" is no
more necessary to maintain the value of
English land, than was the protective system
of duties on agricultural products, considered
SO essential to that end thirty years ago.