841
THE ESTATES GAZETTE
May 20, 1899.
Cerambyx carcharías. I extract the following from an authority:—,'The Cerambycidcc, the long-horned or Capricorn beetles, are destructive wood borers-. They generally rest by day upon the trees, and fly by night׳. Their larvae are long whitish grubs, with the head smaller than the first ring, and provided with short but powerful jaws. These grubs, in some cases, live several years before coming to maturity.
They are divided into three families and many groups, some species in the tropics measuring five or six inches in length and two inches in breadth.”
This is another instance of mischief done by the want of care and energy in keeping woods and plantations free from decaying wood. If the areas of woodland were periodically cleaned as well as thinned much of the injury done by insects would be prevented. Fire is the best destroyer, and if debris were collected and burnt in situ, it would prevent the spread of such pests.
QUERIES AND REPLIES.
A correspondent sends from Merionethshire two twigs for identification. They are : —(1) Cryptomeria japonic® ; (2) Cryptomeria elegans. Both are from Japan.
SALES OF
LICENSED PROPERTIES
AT
Masons’ Hall, London, E.O.
TUESDAY, MAY 16, at One o’clock.
FLEURET, SONS and ADAMS, 23, Southampton-row. City, Aldersgate-street, No. 130, the Red Lion, p.h., u.t. 37£ years. R. £125..	••	•• £21,000
St. John’s-wood, London-road, Alexandra Hotel, n.t. 58£ years, rent £80 per annum ..	9,510
FORTHCOMING SALES AT
MASONS’ HALL, LONDON, E.O.
THURSDAY, MAY 25, at One o’clock.
J. J. HILL and WEAVER, 28, Theobald’s-road. Bull’s Head, 101, Tottenham-court-road, F.L. Washington. Hotel, Haverstock-hill, F.L.
Aldgate DistiLery, East Aldgate Station, L.
MAY 30.
WHETHERLY and HASLETT, 133a, Blackfriars*road. Edinburgh, Pyrland-road, Newington-green, F.L. Champion, Wells-street, F.L.
.and W. JOHNSON. 3, Hackney-road.
Norfolk Arms, Sandringham-road, Kingsland, L. Marquess Tavern, Canonbury, F.L.
J. J. ORG-ILL, MARKS and ORGILL, 21, Hart-street. Baptist’s Head, St. John’8-lane, Olerkenwell, L. Garibaldi, Bath-road, Chalvey, Bucks, F.
SHEDDON and SMITH, 131, Finsbury-pavement. Fountains Abbey, Praed-street, Paddington, L.
New Inn, Bulstrode-street, F.L.
CRANFIELD and OLIPHANT, 181, Queen Victoria-street.
Prince Arthur, Boundary-road, St. John’3-wood, F.L. JUNE 6.
JOHN HART BRIDGES and SONS, 20, Hart-street. TotterdelTs Hotel, St. George’s-square, Portsmouth, L
J. J. ORGILL, MARKS and ORGILL, 21, Hart-street.
Whittington, 5 and 7, Moor-'ane, t».L.
RIOHARD SMITH and CO., 83, Queen-street. Shakespeare, Westbourne-grove, F.L.
Buck’s Head, High-street, Camden Town, L. Fountain, Crown and Sun, Clare-market.
S. H. BAKER, 62, Coleman-street.
Athenæum, Camberwell New-road, L.
Plough, 66, Coldharbour-lane, Camberwell, F.L. WHETHERLY and HASLETT, 133a, Blackfriars-road. Union, Camberwell New-road, F.L.
JUNE 20.
FLEURET, SONS and ADAMS, 23, Southampton-row, Hanover Arms, Rye-lane, Peckham. L.
Princess of Wales, Abbey-road, St. John’s-wood, F.L. Ye Olde Swan, Notting-hill-gate, B.L.
Aspatria Agricultural College. — Among the successful candidates at the Surveyors’ Institution examinations, in the list which appeared last week, were two holders of the diploma of the Aspatria Agricultural College, Cumberland. Mr. James Caulfield Goff, who was successful at the Professional Associateship examination, received all his training at the above institution, from which he took the examination direct. Mr. Robert Strachan Gardiner, of the Crosswood Estate Office, Aberystwyth, whose name appeared in the Fellowship list, was also formerly a student of the Aspatria College, where he won one of the silver medals of the Royal Agricultural Society. Mr. Gardiner has lately been appointed to an important post on the Duke of Beaufort’s Monmouthshire Estates.
with regard to the employment of a valuer (hear, hear). He did not and never had contemplated departing from the well-established traditions which had hitherto governed the relations between landlord and tenant׳, and by which he believed, to a veiy great degree, justice had been done to the occupying tenants of this country (applause).
The deputation thanked the Minister of Agriculture for the courtesy with which he had received them, and withdrew.
goxz&txQ :
ITS SCIENCE AND PRACTICE.
CONDUCTED BY
CHARLES E. CURTIS, F.S.I.,
Professor of Forest Economy, Field Engineering, and General Estate Management at tlie College of Agriculture, Downton, etc. etc.
INSECT PESTS.
Referring to my Lancasliire correspondent’s letter concerning the boring beetles, I may say that the poplar is attacked by the “ Poplar Twig Borer,” a saperda ; and I attach a drawing of one of the twigs sent me, so cut as to show the swellings and galleries, and a pupa lying m its cell. When the perfect insect emerges I will present a drawing of it ; but it will be found to resemble to some extent the beetle which was found in the Scotch pine, a drawing of which will be found upon this page.
An authority upon this subject says:—“Insects injurious to the poplars.—Of these 36 are named, including borers, span-worms, gall-lice, several leaf-rollers, and miners that eat out the soft parts of the leaves. The lame of the genus sciapteron, a moth much like that which injures the currant bush by boring, has proved very destructive to the poplars in Nevada and Cali-
fornia.” This one attacks poplars in Europe, and has not been imported.
Fig. 1 represents:—(a) The swelling caused by the action of the larva ; (b) the gallery, or bore ; (c) the pupa.
The beetle which was found in the Scotch pine is represented in Fig. 2, and is drawn to the natural size. It belongs to the family known as Capricorn beetles, which are destructive wood borers. It is probable that this species is the
next Act passed should be simple in its provisions, and should simply provide in a general way for absolute security in the matter of compensation to the outgoing tenant for unexhausted agricultural improvements, and that the local interpretations of the Act should be left practically to such bodies as those represented in that deputation.
Mr. J. Walker (Nottingham) and Mr. S. Kingston (Spalding) advocated the recognition of payment for the consumption of home grown corn.
The Right Hon. Walter Long, M.P., replying to the deputation, thanked the speakers at the outset for having so clearly and concisely placed their views before him. It gave him very great pleasure to receive a deputation of that land, and it was obvious that the remarks which had been made that day must be of the greatest possible assistance to him, because, than agriculture, there was probably no industry known to mankind which had been made more frequently the unfortunate subject of experiment—under the impression, he supposed, that the carcase was so indifferent in character, that anybody might experiment upon it for his own amusement, if not for the advantage of the carcase. It was of great assistance to have the opinions of men like those forming the deputation, who spoke with practical knowledge and whose evidence upon those various points afforded another proof of the well-known saying that an ounce of practice was worth a ton of theory. He had been glad indeed to listen to what had been said, because, without expressing himself definitely upon! the various points raised, he might say that generally speaking lie had found himself very much in agreement with the views which had been expressed to him (applause). There was one point upon which he was not quite clear as to the opinions of the deputation, and that was with regard to the question of official arbitrators. He would like to know whether they desired him to understand that they wished the whole question of arbitrators left entirely open as it was at the present moment (“Yes׳.”). Very well; he thought he understood. He was very glad the deputation had come that day because it gave him the opportunity of clearing up some doubt which appeared to exist in the mind of some peoplo as to what was the meaning of certain remarks he had from time to time made in reference to this subject. He thought they would agree with him in saying that the one thing that was more important, probably, than anything else in connection with land legislation was to do nothing which would serve to frighten capital away from tlie land. He did not care whether a man was a small tenant farmer or a labourer, or whether but newly become the proprietor of a large estate, they all of them got impressed on their mind that the most valuable thing ■they could do was to attract as much capital to the land as possible, in order that the greatest possible advantage might be taken of the land, and the greatest good done with it. Capital was a plant of very tender growth, it was easily frightened away, and it was very difficult ׳to attract into fresh fields. He believed he was right in sayirg that recently there was some sign, he would not say a very strong sign, but a certain sign of a return of confidence in regard to the land, ׳and of a return of capital towards the land. They had seen recently that men would purchase land with greater freedom and greater willingness to risk their capital than was the case a few years ago, and if it were the case, then he thought there was additional reason why nothing should be done which would tend to frighten away others, and to stop this healthy flow of capital in tlie direction they all desired to see it talcing, namely, in the possession of land and the developing and improving of land. The Agricultural Holdings Act had to be amended they were told. Well, he had never held but one opinion in regard to any amendment of that Act. He entirely agreed with the deputation, and he was very glad indeed to find that the opinion which he, a comparative amateur, had held so long, confirmed by gentlemen of so much experience and practical knowledge and undisputed authority as those before him. He had always held that this Act had Worked beneficially, easily and well, and that the faults which had been found with it were very much more due to the application of the Act in certain isolated and peculiar parts of the country, than to any inherent failings in the Act itself. At the same time he admitted that it was desirable that the machinery of an Act like that should be rendered as simple as it was possible to render it, and he thought that without for one moment suggesting that they should limit the right of the individual as to the selection of the people he is going to employ, and in whom he has to repose his confidence, yet it might be possible so to simplify the machinery as to give the person wishing to take advantage of the Act the opportunity of a cheaper procedure if he chooses to avail himself of it. For his part, in any change which he was responsible for in regard to this particular matter, he would certainly do nothing which would limit or interfere with the right of the individual to make his own choice
TENANT RIGHT VALUERS AND THE AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS ACT.
DEPUTATION TO THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE.
On the 12th instant a numerous deputation representing the Midland Counties Tenant Right Valuers’ Association, together with the Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire Association, waited upon the Right Hon. Walter Long, M.P., the Minister of Agriculture, for the purpose of placing before him their views in reference to the proposed amendment of the Agricultural Holdings Act, 1883. The Midland Associations were represented by Mr. James Cumberland, of Derby (President), Sir John ltolleston (Leicester), Messrs. D. N. Royce (Oakham), T. Marson (Higham), W. E. Woolley (Loughborough), G. German (Ashby-de-la-Zoucli), W. Thorpe, J. B. Brownson (Derby),
E. Deer (Stratford-on-Avon), J. Walker (Nottingham), J. H. Bradwell Nottingham), F. D. Holiday (Bicester), G. F. Bearn, T. Murray, G. King, A. Burnett, C. Arnold, T. Neasom (Redditeh), and W. Burton (Coventry), Secretary ; whilst the Lincolnshire Association was represented by Mr. Tindall, Mr. Hanson and others.
Sir H. H. Bemrose, M.P. (Derby), introduced tlie deputation.
Mr. Cumberland said the Midland Counties Association over which he had the honour to preside, had a membership of over 120 persons, amongst whom were men of ripe experience, who had had a great deal to do, not merely with valuing, but with the farming interest generally for a considerable number of years. They were agreed that, in any alteration or re-arrangement of the present Act, not only should the fullest compensation be given to the tenant for continuous good farming, but also that proper protection should be given to tlie landlord where any neglect had taken place on the part of the tenant. They recognised that the present Act had been of great service to the country, and that, whilst it was somewhat cumbersome in regard to its machinery, it would, with slight modification, suffice for a number of years to come. He thought ׳it would be conceded that the scales of allowances to the outgoing tenants, which were in practice in the Midland counties, were both fair and reasonable. They were unanimously of opinion that ׳if any amendment to ■the present Act took place, the question of home grown corn should be taken into consideration, believing as they did that the farmer was just as much entitled to compensation for what was consumed on his farm as he was if the com was grown in Germany or elsewhere (hear, hear).
Sir John F. L. Rolleston, speaking on the question of notices (section 7 of the Act), said it was generally admitted that that section had not worked well in these respects. Firstly, the introduction of a technical formality with which the tenant had to comply had had the effect in cases of depriving him of the just claims which he had previously obtained without any difficulty and without any Act of Parliament at all. The tenant farmer was neither by training nor by education a skilled cleric, and the task of proving his claims should bo simplified for him as much as possible. In the second place, the landlord could make no claim unless the tenant had previously given notice to do so, and it might work out in practice that if the tenant had reason to think that the landlord’s claim would exceed his own, that he would not make a claim at all, s׳o as to shut out the landlord altogether. These disabilities, they thought, should be removed, and if notices could not be abolished altogether, which most of them preferred, at least a much shorter period of notice should be defined, and both notices should be given at the same time and independently of each other. Any future Act they considered should embrace any good and well-defined custom, for custom was the result of practice. They deplored that these serious questions and important interests should become the plaything of inexperienced politicians, who, notwithstanding that there was no general demand ■on the part of the agricultural classes for the amendment of land tenure, yet kept throwing squibs and crackers into the agricultural camp by the introduction of Bills suggesting fancy reforms, which would have the effect׳, not of serving the real interests of landlord and tenant, but rather of other parties with whom they were not concerned (applause).
Mr. Tindall (Lincoln) and Mr. Woolley (Loughborough) spoke on the question of the appointment of official arbitrators, strongly urging the right of parties to appoint their own arbitrators in the first instance, in accordance with the custom which had now become general. Alluding to the question of “cumulative fertility,” Mr. Tindall said that in their opinion to acknowledge any such claim, over and above what valuers were accustomed to allow at the present time for continuous good farming, would be a monstrous and unjust proposition.
Mr. Hanson (Lincolnshire) urged that the