362 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



although the backwardneaa of the season has this year pre- 

 vented many sowing as early as usual. The water-drill is a 

 valuable implement in securing a good and rapid early growth 

 of this crop on fen lands. Potatoes are now being planted, 

 perhaps not so extensively as we have kaowu on some former 

 years. This root is scarce, and will be thoroughly used up 

 this season ; all other vegetables commonly in season at this 

 time of the year being destroyed by the severe winter. Land 

 is being prepared for mangolds, and we expect an unusually 

 large breadth of this crop will this year be sown. The root 

 has become so invaluable and so essential to our successful 

 farming, that we anticipate a greatly extended cultivation of 

 it. Keep is becoming scarce, aud our farmers are anxiously 

 lookiug for grass-growing weather, to help them out of their 

 difficulties. Store sheep are not a brisk sale at present, al- 

 though we cannot avoid the opinion that sooner or later they 

 will be very high — wool and mutton point to this ; sufficiency 

 of grass food is the only thing required to occasion it. When 

 this ia realized, we believe extravagantly high prices will pre- 

 vail. The corn trade steadily improves. Wheat sells more 

 freely, at rather higher prices. Stocks of old wheat are work- 

 ing off, and the deficiency of the last harvest is becoming 

 more felt, and will he increasingly so as the summer advances. 

 It would not take much to occasion some considerable advance 

 in prices. — March 19. 



SUFFOLK. 



The past winter having been long, and at times extremely 

 severe, the wheat plant presents a backward and unpromising 

 appearance : it is far from winter-proud, scarce a blade can 

 be seen. We do not argue from this fact that the yield will 

 be deficientat harvest; our experience leads us to no such a con- 

 clusion. We have reaped abundant crops after a poor promise in 

 appearance at spring. As the season is backward, we strongly 

 recommend a thorough examination of the wheat fields gene- 

 rally, that the insidious wire-worm may be discovered where 

 he is committing his frightful ravages unchecked. So much 

 have we suffered in a late spring from the wire-worm, that we 

 especially caution our friends to satisfy themselves upon this 

 point. Much spring corn — peas, beans, and barley — have 

 been drilled within the past few days, and the land has proved 

 in excellent tilth, well frosted, and dry. The work of the 

 country was in a very backward state, and the chance to make 

 progress has been eagerly embraced. The lambing season has 

 very generally commenced ; aud we hear of the same varia- 

 tions in individual success, as usual — good, bad, and indif- 

 ferent. Success, or unsuccess, is termed luck ; but there is 

 never an effect without a cause, and it is the best physiologi- 

 cal course of management which insures the best result. We 

 urge a more thorough investigation of the cause of failure 

 (the loss of ewes and lambs, &c.) ; and it is our experience 

 that it may usually be traced to defective management ; 

 perhaps to too great care— ewes too fat, or, the contrary, too 

 poor : perhaps feasted at one period, and stinted of food at 

 other times. We are convinced one great error is in giving 

 too much root, especially if frosted. Ewes require a large 

 amount of dry fodder, such as straw, to pick over, and straw- 

 chaff, with a small admixture of hay or malt-combs, and but 

 few roots. Our experience has been that the larger the amount 

 of dry food consumed, the better the health of the ewe, the 

 stronger the lamb, and the more easy the parturition. Even 

 our heath and park-fed ewes are a proof the advantages of dry 

 food. The losses from such fed flocks are usually at a mini- 

 mum ; and we have suffered severely in our flocks and pockets 

 from leaving the semi- dry food system carried out at our own 

 homestead and farm to feed turnips elsewhere at a gift. Surely 

 some flockmasters both can and will give us the result of their 

 experience. I could point my finger to the names of twenty 

 men, and more, whose experience would be invaluable towards 

 solving the question of ewe management, of course upon a 

 broad basis ; but we want such men to place their experience 

 on record, that important inferences and sound conclusions 

 may be deduced from a combination of such important facta 

 as practice alone can furnish. We consider the present lamb 

 ing season beyond the average in casualties ; and we attribute 

 it to the unusually decayed condition of the turnip crop. Feed 

 is becoming scarce, and already influences the trade in hoggets 

 aud keeping sheep, giving it a downward tendency. Should the 

 weather continue cold and backward, much difficulty will be ex- 



perienced in finding a suoply of food, especially for the flocks. 

 We are convinced that in such a case nothing answers better 

 than a small outlay iu artificial and nutritious food for lambs, 

 rather than alio wing them to become stunted in their growth for 

 the want of it. It is possible to be penny wise and pounds 

 foolish. Some heavy losses of beasts have occurred through- 

 out the winter from pleuro-pneumonia. The three great 

 agricultural topics of conversation are, The malt tax, and its 

 injustice; Mr. Corbet, and his truthful exposure of the evils 

 resulting from the abuse of game-preserving ; and, Mr. Mechi 

 and his balance-sheet. Of the last named, it is perfectly clear 

 Mr. Mechi has deluded himself (but no one else) into the 

 notion that his farm has paid him a per-centage profit. It is 

 certain, from Mr. Mechi's own published statements, it has not 

 paid him the common market value of his money. Mr. Mechi 

 has not made 5 per cent, per annum of his invested capital. 

 We trust Mr. Mechi will place his entire accounts as landlord 

 and tenant before the public, as much for his own reputation 

 as for the cause of truth and progress. — March 23. 



M I D-K E N T. 



Now that the political agitation, consequent on the altera- 

 tion of the hop duties, is subsiding, and the ordinary routine 

 business of the season urges action instead of agitation on our 

 part, we are beginning to make up the lost time caused by 

 the wet and changeable weather we have so long encountered 

 prior to the 12th inst., when it became somewhat finer; but 

 the wet days alternating with frosty nights delayed work very 

 much, so that much of the hop and fruit- orchard digging, 

 which ought to have been done long ago, is yet to do, and 

 consequently all hands are busily engaged. Ploughing is a 

 little iu advance of digging, and some of the Lent corn crops 

 have been sown on the dry lands ; but in most places the 

 ground is very cold and wet below, and things are likely 

 to be late. The grass, which is everywhere very short, and 

 has been closely fedoffduringthe winter, has scarcely advanced 

 the least yet, and as swedes and mangold wurzel are very 

 scarce, sheep feed is at a premium. Great complaints of the 

 swedes rotting reach us daily, and we are in a bad position for 

 maintaining our lambs unless aided by fine weather to make 

 the grass grow, aud as most of the neighbouring flocks have 

 not lived too well curing the wmter, we are in a bad position 

 for the future. But sheep are in general healthy, and it is 

 to be hoped that as the season is so far advanced ^ner weather 

 will follow. In the fruit orchards there is a fair promise of a 

 crop, and with favourable weather during the blooming period 

 we may perhaps be rewarded by a fruitful year ; and as the 

 last two or three seasons have been almost total failures, we 

 may reasonably expect a more abundant one this time. The 

 past winter, by the copious rains and floods with which we 

 have been visited, has revived the subject of draining again, 

 which the three preceding dry seasons had to a certaiu extent 

 tendered unnecessary; but the extreme wetness of some un- 

 drained ground the present month, compared with others that 

 is drained, has been noticed in the right quarters, and drain 

 pipes in scattered heaps are to be seeu in many fields, showiiig 

 that draining is going on. But. on the other hand, the rain 

 that has fallen has been of great use in replenishing our wells, 

 streams, and ponds, and the outcry there was for water a few 

 months ago has ceased, and it is not likely to be repeated the 

 ensuing summer. Ou the other hand, roads both public and 

 private have suffered much by the frequent changes, and at 

 the present time they are in a very indifferent condition to go 

 through the summer ; and the want of labourers to the many 

 branches of husbandry now necessary to get on with, prevents 

 their being drafted into this channel ; but a month of fine 

 weather will make a change, and we hope to escape any more 

 floods the present spring, as well as severe frosts after the 

 middle of April, as the latter evil proved fatal to many of our 

 prospects last year, and to it is justly attributed the scarcity 

 and couequent high price of fiuit the past and present seasons. 



J. R. 



WEST GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 



The severe changes of weather which have characterized the 

 winter have coutinued to the present time. A succession of 

 sharp frosty nights, tempestuous winds, and often heavy rains 

 succeeding, have naturally delayed the operations in bus- 



