122 Report on Spring-soton Wheats in 1873. 



Talavera was sown in the beginning of February ; it came away strong and 

 well, with an unusual crop of straw for this land, but was very deficient iu 

 yield. Nursery was sown in the middle of February and beginning of March ; 

 a nice thick crop, but it did not yield well. Bearded April wheat was sown 

 in the middle of March ; it gave a great crop of straw, and yielded well 

 compared to the other sorts, but then only reached 4 quarters per acre— of 

 splendid quality and weight, however. 



All got from 3 to 5 cwts. per acre of a strong ammoniacal com manure 

 we specially prepared, well harrowed in, and applied in two doses. 



Began cutting August 4th with two of Burgess and Key's reapers, two horses- 

 in each. We cut 250 acres of corn in 8 days in fine style, and had harvest 

 gone on in the same way it would have been the best and cheapest ever 

 known. Carting commenced on the 18th, and we finished on 17th September, 

 and yet had not a sprouted sheaf. Spring wheats were ripe simultaneously 

 with autumn-sown. 



I am sorry I cannot send you any heads. I thought the sooner a bad crop 

 was out of sight, the sooner it would be out of mind, and made short work of 

 it. Produce over 154 acres, 387 quarters, or 20 bushels per acre. 



James Abnot, 



3. Pendeford, "Wolverhampton. 



(540 acres, of which 390 are Arable.) 



Soil. — A light loam on red sandstone. 



The Eotation adopted is generally the 4-course. 



60 acres of wheat are generally sown in autumn, 40 in spring, but last year 

 half the land intended for autumn wheat was left unsown until spring. 



65 acres of spring wheat were got in, 30 of which had been intended for 

 autumn sowing. 



Corner's white wheat was sown in November ; crop good, 5 quarters 

 2 bushels per acre. Hallett's Victoria was sown in November ; quality good, 

 crop not equal to Corner's white by 12 bushels per acre. Taunton Dean 

 sown in February ; crop good, quality fair. The three crops above men- 

 tioned were sown on clover lea manured the July previously. Talavera was 

 sown first week in March ; crop good, quality very fine, sown after turnips. 

 Taunton Dean sown in February ; previous crop mangolds. Red Bearded 

 wheat (or April) sown after roots, crop and quality both good, but apparently 

 not equal in yield to Taunton Dean or Talavera ; previous crop swedes. The 

 mangolds were manured with town manure — with 4 cwts. of superphosphate 

 applied at the time of sowing ; all the crop was drawn off: the swedes with 

 farmyard-manure, and other turnips with superphosphate, two-thirds of the 

 roots were eaten on the land where superphosphate was applied, and one-half 

 the swedes was drawn off where manure was used. 



Harvest began on 16th of August for autumn-sown and 21st of August 

 for spring-sown. I have given you the result of yield in one instance. I 

 have not threshed more. My estimate of the crop is from 4^ quarters per 

 acre of the winter-sown, and of the spring-sown 2 to 3 bushels per acre less 

 on the average. I may remark that on this farm, the spring-sown wheat has 

 been equal to the winter in quality and quantity. Our land is so apt to lose 

 plant in the winter. 



I usually sow one of my root fields with wheat, and do not seed it down, 

 but manure it in the winter and take a second white straw crop to secure a 

 plot of red clover, which I usually succeed in getting. 



E. H. Masfen. 



