Report on Spring-sown Wheats in 1873. 123 



4. Delameee Lodge Farm, Nobthwich, Cheshire. 



(770 acres Arable : GOO acres Eough Wood-land ; 14 acres Permanent 

 Pasture.) 



Soil. — Poor, thin, black and sandy, from 4 to 9 inches in depth, with grey- 

 sand as subsoil, or, still worse, what is locally known as " Fox bench," 

 namely, Oxide of Iron ; thickness varying from 1 to 4 inches, and, until 

 broken up by steam power, impervious to water. 



Climate good ; but, as a rule, it gives us late harvests, 



notation of Cropping. — On this farm no regular rotation has been adopted. 

 The great aim is to grow as much wheat as possible, and, so long as the land 

 is clean, we do not hesitate to take wheat after wheat, or wheat after oats. 

 "When we do this we always fold our feeding sheep on the stubble, consuming 

 a large quantity of decorticated cotton cake, with either second-crop clover 

 or turnips, as the case may be, carted on to the stubble ; of course keeping the 

 land ploughed close after the sheep, 



240 acres of spring wheat are generally sown. No wheat was sown in 

 autumn of 1872, as, from previous experience, we found that the winter frosts 

 invariably make it an uncertain crop. 



222 acres were sown with wheat in the spring of 1873. 



Hallett's Pedigree and Hunter's White were the sorts grown. The 

 former was first bought from Captain Hallett, 6 years ago, at 7 guineas per 

 quarter, and", has been used on the farm ever since with unvaried success. 

 The plan I adopt is to exchange seed with a heavy-land farmer who sows it 

 in the autumn and returns what I want to seed my land. 



The land is kept in the highest state of cultivation by maintaining from 

 2000 to 3000 sheep, 120 to 150 head of cattle, and some 200 pigs. 



The 222 acres of wheat average 372 bushels per sta,tute acre. Our great 

 aim is to put this seed in on land in good heart, and with as solid a seed- 

 bed as we can give it, not ploughing more than 5 inches in depth. 



SiMEOK Leather. 



5. Bbadfoed Abbas, Sheebobne, Doeset. 

 (350 acres Arable ; 50 acres Permanent Pasture.) 



SoU. — Inferior Oolite — brash and sand of that rock ; mostly light. Climate 

 mild but moist, " The land of the mist." 



The notation of Crc/pping generally adopted is the four-course system. 



From 70 to 80 acres of wheat are generally sown in autumn, and seldom 

 any in spring. 



We had few difficulties at wheat seed-time in the autumn of 1872. On our 

 light land in 1872 none. 



90 acres of winter wheat, and 10 acres of spring wheat, were sown ; the 

 latter instead of barley. 



White Essex or White Hoar, and Golden Drop, were sown in autumn ; 

 both good for this farm, Rivett's wheat sown in spring was poor. 



All the winter wheat was sown before Christmas ; Rivett's in March. 



Winter wheat harvest commenced July 28th, 



Of the three wheats used on the farm the yield per acre was — of Essex White, 

 9 sacks, 64 lbs, per bushel ; of the Golden Drop, 8 sacks ; of the Rivett's, 

 6 sacks, 59 lbs. per bushel. 



The spring wheat was cut at the end of August. 



