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AGRICULTURE

[UNITED KINGDOM

Implements and Machinery. from one ton consumed (that is, after the tenant has realized the benefit of the increase of his crops) to be, if Agricultural machinery is dealt with elsewhere. As, used each year for eight years, as given in the first column however, it is the custom of the Royal Agricultural Society of the following statement, the second column showing the of England to invite competitions at its annual shows in amount per acre per annum :— specified classes of implements, an enumeration of these will indicate the character of the appliances which were thus Compensation Allowances for One Ton brought into prominence during the closing quarter of the of Linseed Cake consumed. 19th century. These trials taking place, with few interPer acre, in Per annum, missions, year after year serve to direct the public mind to Eight Years. Eight Years. the development, which is continually in progress, of the £ s. d. £ s. d. mechanical aids to agriculture. The awards here summar0 3 3 1 6 0 Last year 0 2 2 ized are quite distinct from those of silver medals which 0 17 2nd ,, 0 15 0 11 3rd „ are given by the Society in the case of articles possessing 0 1 0 0 7 4th „ sufficient merit, which are entered as “ new implements 0 0 8 0 5 5th ,, for agricultural or estate purposes.” 0 0 5 0 3 6th „ 0 0 3 0 2 In 1875, at Taunton, special prizes were awarded for one-horse 7th „ 0 0 2 0 1 and two-horse mowing machines, hay-making machines, horse rakes 8th ,, (self-acting and not self-acting), guards to the drums of threshing0 9 4 Total 3 15 0 machines, and combined guards and feeders to the drums of threshing machines. In 1876, at Birmingham, the competitions Thus, according to the first column of figures, the value were of self-delivery reapers, one-horse reapers, and combined and reapers without self-delivery. In 1878, at Bristol, the of the unexhausted manure residue from the consumption mowers special awards were all for dairy appliances—milk-can for conveyof one ton of linseed cake annually for eight years would ing milk long distances, churn for milk, churn ior cream, butterbe £3, 15s., or nearly 45 per cent, more than the original worker for large dairies, butter-worker for small dairies, cheese tub, manure value of one year’s consumption. Or, as the curd knife, curd mill, cheese-turning apparatus, automatic means ot rising of cream, milk-cooler, and cooling vat. A gold second column shows, the allowance would be at the rate preventing medal was awarded for a harvester and self-binder (M ‘Cormick’s). In of 9s. 4d. per acre over the whole farm. Whether such 1879, atKilburn, the competition was of railway waggons to convey an allowance would be too much or too little under the perishable goods long distances at low temperatures. In 1880, at conditions supposed is a question for consideration. Carlisle, and in 1881, at Derby, the special awards were for broadside diggers and string sheaf-binders respectively, In 1882, at These conditions are : a light-land farm, upon which the steam Reading, a gold medal was given for a cream separator for horse manure from purchased food is an essential element power, whilst a prize of 100 guineas offered for the most efficient and of profitable cultivation; that meat and grain alone most economical method of drying hay or corn crops artificially, either stacked, was not awarded. In 1883, at York, a are sold; and that the farm is given up in a satisfactory before or after being of £50 vTas given for a butter dairy suitable for not more than state in every respect. Also that, on the average, each prize twenty cows. In 1884, at Shrewsbury, a prize of £100 was awarded acre received during the last eight years the manure for a sheaf-binding reaper, and one of £50 for a similar machine. derived from the consumption of one ton of linseed In 1885, at Preston, the competitions were concerned with twocake. The question between the two parties concerned horse, three-horse, and four-horse whipple-trees, and packages for fresh butter by rail. In 1886, at Norwich, a prize of is, whether the outgoing tenant would receive sufficient conveying £25 was awarded for a thatch - making machine. In 1887, at remuneration for his unexhausted manure; and, on the Newcastle-on-Tyne, a prize of £200 went to a compound portable other hand, whether the landowner, or the incoming agricultural engine, one of £100 to a simple portable agricultural tenant, would pay more than will be recovered in increase engine, and lesser prizes to a weighing machine for horses and a weighing machine for sheep and pigs, potato-raiser’s, and of crops. An allowance of 9s. 4d. per acre on a farm of cattle, one-man power cream separators. In 1888, at Nottingham, hay 400 acres would amount to £186, 13s. 4d., which is a and straw presses for steam power, horse power, and hand power large sum to pay; and it is certain that the recovery were the subjects of competition. In 1889, at Windsor, prizes of the amount would only be gradual. It is well known were awarded for a fruit and vegetable evaporator, a paring and coring machine, a dairy thermometer, parcel post butter-boxes to that both time and money are required to get land into carry different weights, and a vessel to contain preserved butter. condition, and here is land already in condition. In 1890, at Plymouth, competitions took place of light portable Although in the foregoing tables the estimates of the engines (a) using solid fuel (b) using liquid or gaseous fuel, grist manure values of food-stuffs are made in accordance with mills for use on a farm, disintegrators, and cider-making plant the prices of ammonia, phosphoric acid, and potash at the for use on a farm. In 1891, at Doncaster, special prizes were for combined portable threshing and finishing machines, time (1898), it is evident that the results may require given and cream separators (hand and power). In 1892, at Warwick, further revision as the value of manure constituents in the competitions related to ploughs—single furrow (a) for light the market changes, and perhaps also in other ways, as land, (5) for strong land, (c) for press drill and broadcast sowing ; two-furrow ; three-furrow ; digging (a) for light land (b) knowledge advances and experience is gained.1 for heavy land ; and one-way ploughs. In 1893, at Chester, self1 For a fuller discussion of the subject the reader should consult binding harvesters and sheep-shearing machines (power) were the appliances respectively in competition. In 1894, at Cambridge, Lawes and Gilbert’s paper in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural the awards were for fixed and portable oil engines, potato-spraying Society, 1897. In the course of a letter written early in 1901, Sir J. and tree-spraying machines, sheep-dipping apparatus, and churns. Henry Gilbert referred to the question as to how the manure from In 1895, at Darlington, the competitions were confined to haystore stock should be valued. The loss to the manure is more in the making machines and clover - making machines. In 1896, at case of the feeding of lean or store stock than in that of fattening animals, but is much less than in the case of milk production. one hand, and by pigs on the other, yet there would not be such material Assuming the increase from the consumption of a given food by store difference in the case of the same description of food consumed respectstock removed twice as much of the constituents valuable as manure ively by oxen, sheep, and pigs, as to render it desirable to make as when used for fattening, the result would approximately be that, any distinction in estimating the manure value of the same food thus in the case of any of the high-nitrogen foods, Nos. 1 to 11 in Table consumed. XXXII., 5 per cent, would be sufficient to deduct from the original In actual practice it has been found convenient, in applying the manure value before applying the scale according to the “class of estimates of manure value, to modify the compensation according to farm ” as defined below ; and that in the case of the lower-nitrogen the class of farm, thus : (1) where the consumption is on farms that foods, Nos. 12 to 17, a deduction of 10 per cent, would be sufficient. have been well managed, with the yard accommodation for the proper With reference to the valuation of the manure constituents when the conservation of manure good, or where the feeding-stuffs have been foods are consumed by fattening pigs, the conclusion arrived at is that, fed on land left clean, and the management has been generally good although there are characteristic differences between the amount and and judicious ; (2) where such conditions are not so good and meritproportion of the various foods consumed by oxen and sheep on the orious ; (3) where such conditions are bad.