Report on Spring-soion Wheats in 1873. 119 



exceeeding 10 to 11 cwts. In fact the feeling here is strongly in favour of 

 spring sowing, and of sowing the ordinary winter wheats, in preference to the 

 spring wheat, and, from the experience of past seasons, although this season 

 has been the most favourable we have had here for autumn-wheat sowing, 

 many of our best farmers here are deferring the sowing of their wheat till 

 spring. 



As to the time of harvesting there is never more than 8 or 10 days between 

 the autumn and the spring sown. 



My own farm is about 100 acres : 50 in permanent meadow and grass, the 

 remaining 50 farmed on the ordinary four-course rotation ; but, being anxious 

 to winter as much stock as possible, oats are principally grown. 



EoBEET A. Boyd. 



These reports from Medium Soils do not differ materially 

 from those received from heavier and more difficult farms. Mr. 

 Clare Sewell Read, M.P., though declaring that he would not 

 object to sowing autumn wheat in spring, nevertheless reports 

 that the yield of his spring-sown wheats was from 4 to 8 bushels 

 per acre less than their yield when sown in autumn. Spalding 

 wheat, prepared for seed in November, but not sown till February, 

 was partly blighted. " Nursery " wheat sown in February was a 

 poor, thin crop. — Mr. Cantrell, farming near Datchet, found 

 *' Chidham " wheat sown in spring yield very badly — 8 bushels 

 an acre less than the same sort sown in autumn, Avhich produced 

 only 3 qrs. per acre. — Mr. Fames, of Lynch Farm, Medhurst, 

 knows only of one true spring wheat, the bearded so called 

 *' April " wheat : other sorts, however, may be sown up till the end 

 of February; in particular, " Chidham," the " Red Straw White," 

 *' Nursery," and " Talavera," and they are named in the order of 

 the earliness in which they should be sown ; but none of them 

 should be sown after the first week of March, nor so late as that 

 except on well-tilled land. — Mr. Cobban, of Whitfield Farm, 

 Oloucestershire, believes that Hunter's White or Red Nursery 

 wheat will do equally for winter or spring sowing, provided the 

 •latter be not later than the month of February. — Mr. Amwell's 

 very interesting report on wheats is an instructive record rather 

 of his experience generally of varieties, some of which are very 

 confidently introduced as worthy of extensive adoption, than of 

 the special fitness of any of them for late or early sowings. The 

 ^' Square-headed " wheat figured, both front view and in profile 

 (Fig. 3, p. 102), in particular appears to have a fairly proved 

 character for very remarkable productiveness. — From Mr. Ralph's 

 elaborate report of his experience (Honnington Grange, Newport, 

 Salop) of last year's seed-time, I gather that the crop varied not 

 so much according to the time when it was sown, or the variety 

 which was selected, as according to the condition of the land. 

 There was a good deal of mildew in the case of all the wheats 



