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gricttttUJat. "Land and Water" considers the Game Laws are doomed, though it does not like the prospect. Game must be preserved, as salmon is preserved, for the public good. If the name be so olyectionable. let it be called by some other-' phea.sant and partridge poultry'—what you will; but give this 'poultry' a sufficient close time. Reduce it to the rank of ducks, snipe, and woodcocks, or raise the latter to theirs; but protect the whole equally when breeding or immature-not as affording exclusive objects of enjoyment, but as affording food and recreation for the people.' THE GAME LAWS.—A Bill to amend the Game Laws, intro- duced in the House of Commons by Mr P. W. Martin,. Sir David Salomons, and Sir Henry Hoare, gives permission to tenants and their servants to kill rabbits on lands in their occupation with- out being liable to assessed taxes, or bound to take out a licence. The Act is not to apply to lands held under a lease for more than five ye irs. It is proposed to add hares in committee, CENTRAL CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE.—The annual general meeting of the members of this Chamber was held on the 8th at the Salisbury Hotel, Fleet-street; Mr George Tomline, M.P., in the chair. A report was submitted which gave & brief account of the progress of Chambers of Agriculture during the past year. The Council earnestly recommended that Chambers throughout the country should forward petitions to Parliament in favour of a readjustment of local taxation. -On this point Sir Massey Lopes, Bart., read a report from the committee appointed to consider the matter, and which urged vigorous and immediate action.—The Chairman said a subject on which the decision of the Council would be required, was the subject of exemption of farmers' horses from licence duty.—Mr C. S. Read moved that a deputation should be appointed to wait on the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the Malt Tax.—Sir G. Jenkinson, Bart., M.P., seconded the motion, which was put and carried unanimously.- Mr Turner then introduced the subject of the best mode of providing for the future maintenance of turnpike roads and highways." He moved a resolution which affirmed that, as hardship and injustice had been inflicted by the practical aboli- tion of turnpike trusts, all turnpike roads should be settle upon a permanent system, and the cost defrayed out of the national funds.—Mr Cawnthorpe seconded the motion.-Several gentlemen expressed their opinion that the Highway Act had worked satisfactorily, and were greatly opposed to the appoint- ment of inspectors.—Sir G. Jenkinson, Bart., M.P., moved an amendment, but on the suggestion of Mr Read, M.P., resolutions and amendments were withdrawn, and the Chamber agreed to wait for the Government measure.—In the course of the discus- sion, Mr Knatchbull-Hugessen, Under Secretary of State forthe Home Department, declared himself personally in favour of a general road system, which in its local management should dis- tinguish between highways and turnpike roads; the former of which should depend for their maintenance on highway dis- tricts, while the latter, as being main arteries of communication, should be maintained by rates levied over a wider district. The highway boards, he added, had declared emphatically in favour of the Highway Act, the only fault found with it being that it was of a permissive character. The chief fear in the rural dis- tricts is that not only the expense of maintaining the roads, but the burden of the accumulated debts, will be thrown upon the local rates. Air Hugessen held out no expectation that Govern- ment would deal immediately with the subject. MR BOWEN JONES ON SYSTEMS OF FARMING. At the annual meeting of the Midland Farmers Club, Mr J. BowEN JOXES, of Ensdon House Salop, read alongandelaborate paper "onthe Relative Merits of the Four-course and other Systems of Cropping." The object (lie said) of a system of cropping, as they were all aware, was to prevent that exhaustion of the soil which would arise from the elimination of its particular elements of nutrition by the growth of plants and therefore in considering the best rotation of cropping to pursue on any sort of land, the point to arrive at was how to get the largest amount of remuneration in return, and at the same time to prevent the soil declining in its productive power. Another object must also be to increase the fertility of the soil by the judicious use of manures, and by good cultivation, &c., through which means they would ensure the growth of larger crops. The nature of the soil, the climate, and situation principally, with a variety of minor circumstances, must guide them in the attempt to carry t7 out these considerations; and although in a review of the subject it would be seen that the progress of modem times had in some degree abolished thoir original impotence when opposed to nature, they would still find that the quality of the soil and climate would continue to give a distinctive character to crops grown on different soils and in different districts. He proposed to divide soils into three sections, and to consider their ex- igencies, as far as possible, in separate order :-lst, Heavy; 2nd, Medium; 3rd, Light Soils. The first section would include clays and very strong loams the second, loams of a mixed character and the third sandy loams to light sands. First: heavy soils. The strong soils were originally farmed on the principle of taking all out by continuous cropping of white and leguminous crops, and then resuscitating by means of the bare fallow. Experience showed that this description of land possessed the power of growing wheat and beans; and practice proved that, when it was foul and exhausted, fallowing, in addition to cleaning the land increased its fertility also. Both practice and the researches of science showed that cultivation of a thorough character would develop the stores of nutritious elementary substances (con- tained in them in forms of combination before valueless) into active fertilizers, as well as render them accessible to the crop from the improved mechanical condition of the land. Taking these truths into consideration, how far could they improve on the old system, and in what way? The quality of the soil was such that it did not require the rest of an alternate green crop, as provided by the four-course system; the too frequent repetition of the root crop proved too expensive from the difficulty of preparing such soil for its successful growth; and there was a practical difficulty in removing the crop sufficiently early to prevent damage to the land; while its consumption upon the land by sheep would, in its mechanical action, be an obstacle to the preparation of a good seed bed for the succeeding ml crop. Neither (lid the soil itself require chemically recouping in this way for the growth of an extra crop; so that the four- course system was not one which must always be strictly adhered to, or which must necessarilv be regularly carried out on this class of soils, especially where only the ordinary appliances used in agriculture a few years back have not been improved upon. A very important consideration for the British husbandman was the production of beef and mutton as a profit- able method of farming, and it remained therefore a question as to what extent the growth of root crops should be pursued in the cultivation of this description of land. This question forced itself on their minds more especially at the present time, from the relatively high price of meat and low price of cereals. Foreign supplies of grain would always prevent high prices remaining of long duration in this country, and we should have no chance against regions blessed with sunny climates, and fertile land, with, in some instances, a low rate of wages, and nominal rents, together with extending facilities for delivering their produce, except by increasing our own yield by improved culture. There could be no doubt that the manufacture of beef and mutton, combined with the production of better grain crops, was the object which must be steadily kept in view for the successful cultivation of land in this country. In the general system of cropping clay lands, although the natnre of the crops was varied to suit the circumstances of different localities, the bare fallow was the key to the rotation. After considering the relative merits of the various modifications of the four-course system, Mr Jones went on to say that difficult as clay soils were to contend with, the fallows might be;,thrown in more frequently and used very advantageously in the growth of mangolds and swedes for winter consumption, or vetches, rape, or cabbage for summer and autumn food, which would enable them to form medium for the production of meat, through the feeding of which the straw would be again returned to the land in an enriched state, and the necessity for heavy outlay in artificial manures obviated. If, however, they could get rid of the bare fallow, with the year's loss of rent and charges, and heavy work- ing expenses, they must take care to remember the principles on which ita action had proved of so much value, and introduce them in any other rotation that might be adopted to its ex- clusion. Thus, by wide sowing of bean crops, considerable cultivation could be effected as well as during the growth of roots. Good horse and hand hoeing, frequently carried out, would also make up in some degree for its loss. It was not easy to lay down on this, of all other classes of land, a fixed rotation as the best to pursue. On such land the success of operations of preparation depended, more than on any other soils, on the weather, and despatch might often make the difference of a crop. His argument was intended to encourage the growth of roots, and by shortening very long rotations, and introducing other green crops, enable the land to carry more stock. Such a course as the following would fulfil these conditions, and would be a step in the direction we must ultimately arrive at when our appliances were more generally perfect:— HALF. Mangolds and turnips. Oats and wheat. Beans. Wheat. oi. Seeds. Wheat. HALP. Fallow, vetches, rape, and other green crops. Wheat. if Barley. ■ <"• Seeds. Seeds.. Wheat. They here got a proportion of green crops and cereals (including beans) of five to seven, and although the larger portion of them would be summer feed, there was a certain provision from the root crops and clover hay to carry the same quantity of stock in the winter as in the summer. Among the soils comprised in the second division of his subject would be found our most fertile arable land, the capabilities of which were, as a rule, sufficiently great to grow more than an alternate green and straw crop, or two com crops in four years, as adopted in the four-course system. An extension to the five-aourse would offer several points worthy of consideration. A longer interval would take place between the repetition of led clover, which, although thriving on such soils was apt to fail if too frequently grown, except on the very richest land. The acquisition of a good root of red clover ensured a succeeding heavy crop of wheat. An extra corn crop might be taken without overtasking the natural powers of the soil by a rotation running thus :-roots-wheat-barley- clover—wheat. The root crop should consist of a portion of mangolds and the rest swedes. The mangolds might be followed by autumn wheat, the remainder of the root ground being sown in the spring, and a portion with Talavera, which would be well adapted to such a soil. Barley wowd next he most suitably grown, and laid down with seeds, which the following year would form a good preparation for wheat, the last crop of the rotation. The continuation of the clover root a second year, and tnrning this into a six-course rotation, was a system often adopted, and had the advantage of beingthe means of increasing the stock-keeping powers of such land. This, however, was done at the expense of the extra grain crop that the land could well bear, and did not materially add to the winter stock of food. At times like the present, or should the land show signs of want of rest, it might be readily substituted without altering the rotation. He thought they would all agree that on the stronger loams they ought to endeavour, if possible, to precede barley with wheat, in doing which, and adhering to the four-course system strictly, they were compelled to carry out the rotation as follows:—Turnips—wheat—barley—clover. They lost the benefit of the clover preparation for wheat by following this arrange- ment and got two green and two white crops together. He saw no particular advantage to be derived from following clover with roots, as (although there was no reason why mangolds or swedes should not thrive well if taken at this period) the clovers could not be used much later in the season than if they had been suc- ceeded with autumn wheat, as it would be necessary to plough them early in order to decay the turf, so as to provide a good seedbed for the turnips in time for sowing in the spring. If this order was observed (with high farming), he saw no objection to a portion of the ley ground being occupied with early winter oats, followed by "a green crop, after beirig harvested, the con- sumption of which would permit the subsequent sowing of wheat, I and keep the course intact. With regard to the light soils, they were by nature more unfitted for the growth of crops from the absence of those ingredients of which the structure of plants was partially formed. The prosperous cultivation of this land was more dependent upon the production of beef and mutton than was that of any other description; and if they had found it incumbent upon them to keep this object in view to meet the demands of an increasing population in farming stronger soils, they would find it was absolutely requisite on the lighter ones. This class of land possessed the advantage of having soil the mechanical texture of which admitted of easy cultivation, which, by its-porosity, was always dry and workable, and which, together with its warmth of temperature, admitted of the rapid growth of plants and their early maturity. Its drawbacks were its sterility, its tendency to grow weeds quickly, and its capacity for disposing of manure, which when not received by the growing plant, was soon dissipated in the sub- soil. What, then, were the essentials necessary to develop its natural advantages and combat its defects; and how far did the four-course rotation of cropping accomplish them ? By providing an alternate green crop, fed on, with a white one, any consider- able diminution in the condition of the land was prevented, although the two off-going crops of grain would not be fully returned by the consumption of the straw and green crops. One of the most complete courses of cropping which had come under his (Mr Bowen Jones's) personal observation was pursued on a farm of a variable but moderately light nature in part, in Hamp- shire, and consisted of the following modification of the four- course system:—Wheat, followed by tnfolium incarnatum, sown in the autumn on one-fourth of the stubbles, vetches sown about the same time on another fourth, and the other half left for the same time on another fourth, and the other half left for mangolds, early swedes, or other early roots. The trifolium was followed in June by swedes on the portions first cleared, and by common turnips, rape, or transplanted cabbages on the later removed portions. The whole of the fallow crops were succeeded by barley, one-half of which was seeded by red clover; the other tf 'i -■ >[/■■■■ ..L. part being laid down with a mixture of white Dutch and trefoil, t with a small proportion of ryegrass. The results were very satisfactory, the crops all being exceedingly heavy. It was difficult to determine by an array of figures now far one method of cultivation exceeded another in cost. Perhaps it would be equally unsatisfactory; for he must confess he agreed to some extent with the late Sir Robert Peel, that nothing is more fallacious than figures." The value of the return of produce must be the standard by which the merits of any system must be measured; and, provided the cost of raising a crop did not equal its value, it mattered not adding to the expenses of cultivation to effect this parpose. He looked forward in good hopes and with faith to the more regular employment of mexsa power as one of the great means for improving the general cultivation of the country, both from the greater despatch as well as from the superiority of culture that would be attained by its application. His conviction was that the basis of good farm- ing in the ordinary run of arable land must be to alternate, as far as it was practicable, restorative green crops with cereals (which exhanst more particularly the nitrogenous substances of the soil), which was the principle of the four-course system; but he thought the time had come when strict adherence to a hard and fast rule -should be forgotten as a thing of the past; as it was in many an instance a cause of loss to the occupier, with- out being a gain to the owner, and consequently it was an act of folly under these circumstances to pursue it. After a brief discussion, a cordial vote of thanks was given to Mr Jones for his interesting and practical paper.

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THE FISHERIES OF THE UPPER…

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