JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. SECOND SERIES. VOLUME THE NINTH. PRACTICE WITH SCIENCE. - LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. V THESE EXPERIMENTS, IT 18 TRUE, ARE NOT EASY; STILL THEY ARE IN THE POWER OF EVERY THINKING HUSBANDMAN. HE WHO ACCOMPLISHES BUT ONE, OF HOWEVER LIMITED APPLICATION, AND TAKES CARE TO REPORT IT FAITHFULLY, ADVANCES THE SCIENCE, AND, CONSEQUENTLY, THE PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE, AND ACQUIRES THEREBY A RIGHT TO THE GRATITUDE OF HIS FELLOWS, AND OF THOSE WHO COME AFTER. TO MAKE MANY SUCH IS BEYOND THE POWER OF MOST INDIVIDUALS, AND CANNOT BE EXPECTED. THE FIRST CARE OF ALL SOCIETIES FORMED FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF OUR SCIENCE SHOULD BE TO PREPARE THE FORMS OF SUCH EXPERIMENTS, AND TO DISTRIBUTE THE EXECUTION OF THESE AMONG THEIR MEMBERS. VAN THAER, Principles of Agriculture. LONDON; PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET, AND CHARING CROSS. Imports of Corn, &c., British Wheat sold, and Average Prices..XIII-XVII ..XVIII-XIX Importations and Average Prices of certain Foreign and Statistics of Dairy Produce, and Prices Current ARTICLE XX PAGE 1 I.-On the Characters of Pure and Mixed Linseed-Cakes. By Dr. V.-Report on the Trade in Animals, and its Influence on the spread .. VIII.-On Dodder. By W. Carruthers, F.R.S., Consulting Botanist to the Society .. 51 89 186 187 246 248 253 258 IX.-Annual Report of the Consulting Chemist for 1871 College 271 275 378 J. B. Simonds, Principal of the Royal Veterinary College 374 XIV.-On Climate and the Supply of Labour as affecting Agriculture in Ireland. By W. Bence Jones, Lisselan, Co. Cork XV.-Illustrations of Irish Farming. By R. O. Pringle, Editor of the Irish Farmers' Gazette' XVI.-Agricultural Education in Ireland. Ty R. O. Pringle, Editor of the Irish Farmers' Gazette' 400 422 ARTICLE XVII.-On Australian Concentrated Mutton-soup as a Food for Pigs. .. PAGE 428 437 482 502 524 By W. J. Edmonds, of Southrope, Lechlade (Senior Steward) 522 XXII.-Report on the Trials of Ploughs, Harrows, &c., at Hull. By John Coleman, of Escrick, York XXIII.-Report on the Trials of Combined Stacking - Machines and Miscellaneous Implements at Hull. By Charles Gay Roberts, of Shottermill, Haslemere, Surrey .. APPENDIX. 606 PAGE List of Officers of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, 1873-4 i, xxxix Standing Committees for 1873 Report of the Council to the General Meeting, December 12, 1872, and May 22, 1873 Memoranda of Meetings, Payment of Subscription, &c. Half-yearly Cash Account from 1st July to 31st December, 1872, and from 1st January to 30th June, 1873 Yearly Cash Account from 1st January to 31st December, 1872 DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER. List of Governors and Members at the end. Table XXIV. Experiments on the Growth of Barley .. IV. & VII. Results of Trials of Horse Harrows, Cultivators, &c., at Hull I. & II. Results of Trials of Combined Stacking-Machines at Hull.. The Binder is desired to collect together all the Appendix matter, with Roman numeral folios, and place it at the end of each volume of the Journal, excepting Titles and Contents, and Statistics, &c., which are in all cases to be placed at the beginning of the Volume; the lettering at the back to include a statement of the year as well as the volume; the first volume belonging to 1839-40, the second to 1841, the third to 1842, the fourth to 1843, and so on. In Reprints of the Journal all Appendix matter and, in one instance, an Article in the body of the Journal (which at the time had become obsolete), were omitted; the Roman numeral folios, however (for convenience of reference), were reprinted without alteration in the Appendix matter retained. METEOROLOGY; IMPORTATIONS OF GRAIN; SALES OF BRITISH WHEAT; PRICES OF CORN AND OTHER PRODUCE; AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS; AND STATISTICS OF DAIRY PRODUCE. [The facts are derived chiefly from the Meteorological Reports of Mr. GLAISHER, and the Returns of the BOARD OF TRADE, and of the INSPECTORGENERAL OF IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.] METEOROLOGY.-1872. First Quarter (January, February, March).—The warm weather which set in on December 13th, 1871, continued with very few exceptions till the 18th March-then followed eight days of severe cold weather, and snow fell over the country, even to the South Coast, and over the counties of Devonshire and Cornwall. This cold period was very severely felt, owing to its suddenness and great contrast to the long continued high temperature of the preceding ninety-seven days. The remaining five days of the quarter were warm-and Mr. Glaisher states that he does not know any instance of so remarkable a cold period as that ending December 12th, 1871, being followed by as remarkable a warm one as that ending March 18th, 1872. The remarkable feature of the winter now under review is the long continuance of high temperature following immediately so remarkable a long continuance of weather of low temperature. For 100 years back, the warmth of the past three months has been but once equalled, viz., in 1846, and has never been exceeded. The mean temperature of January was 41°.3 or 5° higher than the average of 101 years; that of February was 44°.8 or 6°.3 higher than the average, and the mean temperature of March was 44°.6 or 37 in excess of the average. The mean temperature in the three months ending February, constituting the three winter months, was 41°.5 or 3°.5 higher than the average of 101 years. The fall of rain in February was only one half of its average, but in January and March it was in excess. Hardy Pear was in blossom on the 9th of March at Llandudno; on VOL. IX.-S. S. A |