FRENCH AGRICULTURE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1816, 26 February 1884, Page 4

FRENCH AGRICULTURE.

A COHRTSPONDKNT of tl c Tunes writes or this subject, says :— Th - reait of i country should always rep escnt its life, and certainly as regards agriculture, in all times the chief indust -y of a greal .nation, the Isle of Prance has been and u famous. The province, the ciadle ol French monarchy, includes the departments of Seine-et-Oise, Seine, Soine-et-Marne, Oise, and Aisue, represented by Paris, Versailles, Melun. Beauvais, and Loan, and including the great cereal basin of La Brie, La Beauce, and the northern plateau of the Vexin district, where for ages arable cultivation has been followed. The districts of Eta in pea, Rambouillet, Meaux, Soissons, Chataan Thierry are all well known to French agriculturists, so that in this special department of One the visitor would expect to find the best features of fanning as (presented br France. It is a corn country, and a source of supply to Paris of fruit and vegetables as well as of grain aud forage. Large farms, middlingsized farms, and small farms furnished examples in their working of what each are capable. The department of Oise is in the first rank for the cultivation of artificial grasses, which French statistics recognize as of great utility, since where they form a pait or the rotation and are fad off by stock the yield of w heat per acre is almost double that of districts where they are not included in the com so of cropping. Crossing the country last autumn from Amiens to Serqueux, Gisors, and on to Chaumont-en-Vexin, I had frequently passed landscapes that reminded one of Kent. Down-like outlines, plenty of trees, red and white cows, lucerne being cut for crcen meat, and here and there a late field of barley still in shock, gave a home-like appearance ; but on aiming at the small station nearest to the Chateau Boullenumc the illusions as to England weie broken by a realistic picture of out of Rosa Bonhcur's paintings, as the fust vehicle I met was an "attelage Nivcr nais ' — an immense waggon diawn by o yoke of four cream-coloured Clmiollais bullocks which, in fact, foimcd a pat ol the farm stock of the chateau, wheie 1 arrived at four in the afternoon, and found the proprietor on his homestead, with friends from the Hociete dcs Agiiculteurs of Pans, superintending the storage of a huge mass of beetroot pulf which was being sunk in a long, deep trench. Thepoition aheady completed was piled several feet above giound, looking like a gieat mangel clamp, save that instead of being covered with earth and straw, it was coated with about 5 inches of rough cement, the roof an^le oi the pit being shaip enough to cany oil water quickly and pievent snow fioni lodging. This beptioot pulp is brought in bullock carts fiom the lailway station, and, after being stored a year, forms nn excellent and cheap food f<>i- cittle. Witli «i glance at the gi cat "nto where ensilage is formed, a nin'nad to be made foi shelter to the bailiff s'house, as one of the greatest stoims of thunder, lightning, and lain that Fiance has known in Octobei covered the landscape with fue and flood. The next day's survey brought undei my notice that the extent of the farms was nearer COO than 300 acres ; to woi k these 18 horses, mostly of the excellent Boullonais race, were employed to do the lighter cultivation, while 40 bullocks did nil the hea\y work. The latter weie splendid animals, of gieat si/c and strength, are bought at about four years old, and sold at six yeais. To piepaie them for market after two yeaii' labour, three months are allowed for fattening, and, reckoning fiist coit and sale puce, nsinillj some pi ofit conies to the fanner who here uses bullocks instead of hoises. The f«u instead consists of a house and buildings forming a hollow squat e. The stables and sheds diain into a tank, fiom which the liquid manuie is conveyed to meadows and distiibuted by water caits. A water trough in the farmyard is kept well supplied by a pump worked by pony gear. A mixture of cut giecn maize, hay, some stiaw, beettoot pulp, and some linseed cake, foimed the 'feed' I saw being pi epa red. In the fields ucio 400 sheep, and under cover .")00 moie. The latter weie justly called 'lionible blasts fiom Geimany,' but as they were bought for 2Ss, and after two months in the fields and one month in stable, fattening on the above mixture, will sell for 375, after giving 2-> woith of wool, they make some pi oil fc to the faun besides man in ing the land. In these sheep sheds, to fix the ammonia, some phosphates are mixed with the litter every three or four days. It is not a piactice to gisc the beetroot pulp to milch cows as it spoils the taste of the. milk The fond if? only far fattening stock. Maize sown m Juno, and now been used as gieun meat, ii cut wp m lengths 2 inches or less. In the farm buildings weie small millstones for breaking maizf, and a dtessing machine having four spouts to make meal, which, mixed with water,w atcr, is given te cow s in milk, to pigs, and lambs- The milk is woiked effectively by pony gear, which is also applied for working an oat-bruising machine, &c. 50 tons of linseed cakes bought in Paris, 17s 6p tor 2 cwts., are consumed during these winter months. Pea skins, only 8s par 2 cwt., are found excellent food for lambs. Maize cake, made of maize and oil costing 11s 6d per 2 cwt,, has been tried, but was not appiovcd as stock food. I do not attempt to yioup these particulars, but gi\c them as I find them in my note book, and as they came uudci notice. At piesent tlicic is no steam power at Chateau Boulleaumc, but a seven horse-power engine will bhortely be located theic, moic paiticulary to pump water to vai ions- pait&of the fat in and work the sevetal machines now moved by hoise-power. The Viacount Chenelles tiicd to do without the inepressible middleman, and had an agent and shop in Paris to sell milk, &c, but the cost and trouble did not obtain a satisfactory letuiu. Thcie is here, however, a slaughter-house for stock, and the experiment was successfully made of fattening 1200 lambs, sending off a score twice weekly to Paris, at fi\e to seven months old, for which the price was at the railway station next to the farm, lHdper lb., the skins were worth 2s, head and feet, &c. Is. and as the purchase cost at three mouths old fiom fanners, wasbut4Jd perlb., this stock fanning was found piofitable. Laige granaries over sheds have producj lifted to them by a very simply horse pnlly, and is a serviceable, effective, and very cheap apparatus. A pump was qliown mo with a hand piston — total cost £2 — which laises the liquid manure fiom a tank for distribution over a splendid new pasture, five years old, upon which sheep in winter and rows in summer are run. From this French farm the ewes are sold fat, four months after lambing, at al out 38s each, the fleece, worth 3s, being extra. In the la3t eight years 100 acics have been laid dow n to pasture, mostly from sfpc! boughq at Reading, and this year, as clsewhete. the grass lands here looked in excellent order. I found by measurement of a be 5\ yards the w idth, JH yai ds the uitch of second beet-pulp store the diinens'ons to the roof, while the basement chamber or trench is 2\ jaids deep. The lotation of crops, four years, has been hitherto beetroot with manure— of sulphate of ammonia, 100 parts ; of nitrate of soda, 70 part 3 ; of superphosphate, 300 parts ; of muriate of potass, CO parts ; of cliied blood, 150 parts; of gypsum, 100 patts ; and farmyard muck. Next years oats and seed with trifolium ; third season trifolium cut two or three times ; fourth year wheat. Driving across a wide breridth of arable land over which bullocks were drawing harrows, a singular line was seen in the distant pasture. This was formed by 60 cows, all in a row, it heine here the custom to tether them with iron chains, which restiict the animals day by day to their measured pasturage.' These 60 cows were truly a remarkably fine 'dairy, show' jn themselves: &n& certainly oue of the best ami moat pfen *! haft eVer seen. Several were , {rise; 'jtftymjt pd W mp^ f i(9^

Normr.ns —bit', deep, n a sive, kindly animals. The value of one of the best in-calf cows, to calve in two months, \vn« C2S. There was aho a good c ntingent of Dutch cows of good dairy type, a three year old in calf Ik ing worth £20. A fine Swiss cow of the tame colour, but diipi'iior in size to those litcly exhibited it Islington, attracted approval by its appearance, hut its were not admiied, and, contiastod with the Norman and Dutch stock, the breed was reckoned veiy inferior. Leaving the cows, we passed a small field of gi een maize being cut as green meat foi iiuinedi.ite feeding of stock, for which it is valued ; but the crop is not giown here for ensilage. The yield pei acie was reckoned at 2-1 tons. The ad jaccnt field was of !)0 acics, from which white sugar beet was being lifted, and 400 sheep had their run over the cleaied part. These e\\ es were bought last September at the Oharties Sheep Pair at 31s each, and were three years old. It is the intention of the Viscount to farm this 90 acre field and other suitable land, ftom which there is easy access to the railway station, on the two-course system - beetroot and w heat, in constant succession ; a practice that, with proper manuring, is found to succeed. Below I give the cultivation of some 550 acres, and as the figures i^present proportion, they are left to represent hectaies, and not actes :

The great silo and Dutch barn, referred to in a foimer lcttei, cost but £300, but it was elected under favouraLle circumstances, "and usually would cost £400. and, consulting the si/,c, stibility, and use of tin: sti uctnrc, it must be reckoned a cheap ' landlord's improvement' that h ould well bear intciest from a tenant foi the outlay. In the park of the chateau wcie two superb specimens of animal life—Chaiollais steers then weighing about 2 tons H cwt., but likely in Febnury at the Pam show to reach over 23ewt. each. Ceitainly they have make and sh ipe, and bone and flame that piomisc tlu-3 Jesuit. A far.ii cart with 9-inch tue wheels of e\celleat make cost, I was told, £20. Tlieie arc five water carts on the faim, but tl eseaic all of iron and of an excellent model for strength and lightness The amounts of the farm, admirably kept by the bulifTs niece, show at a glance the cost of management and the whole position of affahs. The jear is made up 1o the end of each June—a date that has man}' aihantagis. The yokes of o\en aie leckoned at lls each, and theie aie 40 jokes. Each year the do pieciation is estimated, of geir, &c. as follows :—Fiis-t year, cost; second, \ ; thud, \ ; fouith;'lO per c-nt ; fifth, 10 percent. The men aie paid and boatdi-dat £21 12^> for ploughmen who look after the oxen and are specialists ; £19 4s for ordinary workmen. The IS farm hoises are valued in ISSI, say £700, and in 18S2, £.")00—a heavy depieciation ; while the 20 pairs of bullocks at £G0 to £75 the pair will lose scarcely anything. In the books the 24 Dutch cows are enteud as costing £400. or about £17 each, ami I know well a scoie of English farms where the tenants would be glad to ha\e them at £25 each, but who, from present übtrictions, cannot purchase these best of daily animals. Last October thciewere '-caicely any pigs at Chateau B.nillo mine, but one, an excellent sow, bought of Loid Ellesmere, should foou inciease sjood stock. The young boar bought fiom the same sonice is an unwoithy lepresentive ot Woisley. Perhaiis the piide of the place are the Southdown sheep, especially those bought of Loid WaLingham, In France they are finally impioximg the flocks in Oise, and the fiistcioss between Southdown lam and tliose ' hou'ible beasts' bought from Gcimmy shows a suipiising impiovement, and gi\es good maiket value to the lambs. Thee second cross, however, is almost valueless, and a fresh Hock of ewes is bought each season. I should not omit to say I found one thing at Liancouit St. Pieire which was a most satisfactory pait or French farm management. I found in the book a piofit of IS.OOOf. ciedited to 1881 for £720 piofit as lcntfor afaim of under (500 actes. As my hospitable host saw me off at the lailway station he a&ked, • What is theie still to do on the farm V The reply was, ' The lo.idsand the fences may be betteied, and then you will have an English farm.' If other farmers would follow the pwictice earned out at Chateau Boulleaume, the state of French agricultuie would be fairly satisfactory, giving a moderate living to occupier and a fdr rent to the landowner. Eusdagc is one of the means that leads to this desiiable lesult.

Boulleaume Fanr. Bye Wheat On fc-, Tnfohum incainatira I) >. violet . . . Sainfoin (•hey peas Wmtoitiue-s ftunmiei do. . . . Trefoil Jicctioot C.v 1 »t •> l'otdtoos Maize Pastures 1881. 14 32 . l\} . 10 . . 42 .". u ... 4 • ' il . 31', . i| • 24< 1882. 10* 37| 35 7 35V n ii 7r «t 1* 33^ ]', ?' 2(i|