126 Beport on Spring-soion Wheats in 1873. 



9. The Agricultural Colony, Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire. 



The farm of the Agricultural Colony and Reformatory School is situated on 

 the Charnwood Forest hills, at an elevation of 700 feet above the sea-level. 

 The soil is a light loam, lying upon porphyritic rock. When v^ell farmed and 

 fairly supplied with manure, good crops of cereals may be produced. Of root 

 crops mangels will in ordinary seasons yield the most satisfactory results, 

 while the common white turnip is invariably exceeded in produce by swedes. 

 The disafforesting of the hills has had a considerable influence upon the rain- 

 fall of the district, and the portions of uncultivated land on the forest now carry 

 a vegetation altogether different from that of twenty years ago. 



The Systems of Botatmi adopted on the farm under notice have been 

 generally the five-course, with two years grass; and the ordinary Norfolk 

 four-course, which preceded the five-course for the purpose of getting the land 

 into condition by more frequent manuring. 



Wheat and barley almost invariably follow the green crop, but an occa- 

 sional deviation takes place when wheat is sown uj^wn oat-stubble which has 

 been dressed with farmyard-manure. 



Until 1873 the sowing of spring wheat had not been attempted upon a large 

 scale ; but the difficulties of the seed-time of 1872, and the almost total failure 

 of a large breadth of winter-sown wheat, decided our sowing a considerable 

 extent of spring wheat. The autumn and winter of 1872 will long be remem- 

 bered by the farmers of this district, especially such of them as had not the 

 good fortune to have prepared for an early seed-time. The alternations of 

 rains and frosts were most discouraging. During the months of October and 

 November there were forty-one days upon which rain fell, and the quantity 

 amounted to nearly eight and a half inches. 



The extent of land intended to be sown with wheat was nearly fifty acres. 

 Of this about nineteen acres were sown in a.veiy indifferent manner, and with 

 considerable difficulty. The most successful system of sowing was by broad- 

 casting immediately after the ploughing ; but if a few days of dry weather 

 jiermitted, the drill was used. The varieties sown were Hallett's Red Pedigree, 

 Golden Drop, Larney's Stiff Straw, and Rivett's. As to the comparative hardi- 

 ness or adaptability of these varieties for a wet untoward season I cannot say 

 much, as I believe where failures occurred the ploughing-up the winter-sown 

 lands for spring corn was necessitated by condition of soil and bad seed-time 

 rather than by differences in the hardiness of the varieties named. 



The yield of winter-sown wheats of 1872 on this farm has been very much 

 in excess of our expectations, and I believe the general yield of the district, 

 though variable, is better than was anticipated. 



The Golden Drop was sown on November 9th : preceding crop mangels ; 

 land limed (22 tons per acre) ; three pecks of seed per acre, drilled at 8 inches 

 between rows ; land fairly dry. Looked well during winter, and yielded 

 almost 32 bushels per acre. 



Hallett's Pedigree was sown November 16th on oat-stubble, to which 15 

 loads per acre of good farmyard-manure had been applied ; sis pecks of seed 

 per acre drilled 8 inches between the rows; land dry ; top-dressed with li cwt. of 

 nitrate of soda and I5 cwt. salt per acre in spring. It looked very well during 

 vdnter ; yielded quite 32 bushels per acre. 



Rivett's, sown November 16th exactly as the preceding. Looked miserable 

 during winter, but yielded 40 bushels per acre. 



Larney's Stiff Straw, a Norfolk red wheat, was sown on December ■14th. 

 The preceding crop was mangels ; 2i tons lime applied per acre ; the seed 

 was sown broad-cast, two bushels per acre, top-dressed with nitrate of soda 

 li cwt., and salt 1^ cwt. per acre, in the spring. Part of this crop was ploughed 



