Report on Spring-soicn Wheats in 1873. 129 



not grain. Hoeino;, whicli was generally practised some years ago, is now given 

 up on our very light land. Harvest commenced August 10th. After the 

 first Aveek it was very wet. Much grain was lost ; sprouted and stained. 



I am farming my own property, and shall layout more on pasture and get it 

 in condition ; and I do not grow more corn than is necessary for the straw to 

 keep my stock. You will gather from my replies that I am farming my 

 land easily and inexpensively, leaving my second-rate arable land in grass as 

 long as it will produce gi-ass to pay the bare yearly rent value. By this means 

 I hope to much increase its productiveness when broken up, and to get good 

 clover once in nine or ten years. Our pastures, meadows, and orchards, are 

 worth more than double the uplands. 



John F. Cornish. 



11. Baefoed Faem, Salisbury Plain. 



(About 600 acres Arable : 150 acres Down Pasture ; 90 acres Water Meadow 



and Pasture.) 



Soil. — Principally light land on chalk subsoil, with, a portion of bottom 

 land, partly clay and partly sand. 



notation — generally four-field course, viz. : — (1) wheat; (2) barley or oats ; 

 (3) partly grass and partly vetches ; (4) partly old field and partly roots, 

 with a portion down to sainfoin. 



From 130 to 150 acres of wheat are generally sown in the autumn. 

 Twenty-sis acres were last year left unsown owing to weather, and this was 

 sown in spring. 



Nursery, and Morton's prolific and Lammas wheat mixed, were sown 

 from November 6th to December 3rd, 1872. The quality proved very good ; 

 quantity per acre on the hill land about 22 bushels, which is below aa 

 average ; low land 32 bushels, or an average. 



Nursery wheat, sown January 16th, 1873, on the hill lands, yielded about. 

 22 bushels per acre — quality very good. Nursery wheat, sown February 15th, 

 on the low land clay, yielded about 33 bushels per acre — quality middling, 

 a little pinched. This was a very good field of wheat ; it was struck with- 

 the blight about a week before it was full ; it was not cut before it was dead 

 ripe, August 23rd. I should think the blight injured the crop to the extent 

 of from 6 to 8 bushels per acre. 



We began cutting the autumn-sown wheat on August 6th, carted from 

 August 12th to the 19th. We began cutting the spring wheat on the 19th, 

 and carted from the 26th to the 29th, in the midst of very stormy weather :• 

 could have carried it earlier and well, but preferred carting barley when the 

 weather permitted. 



About half of this farm has suffered from blight in the years 1866-1872, 

 reducing the yield from 6 to 8 bushels per acre per year ; but it did but very 

 little injury to the autumn-sown wheat this year. 



Jas. Coenlees. 



12. BULBRIDGE AND UgFORD, SaLISBUEY. 



(955 acres : 750 Arable ; 106 Water Meadow, 70 Pasture, and the remainder 

 Orchard and Homesteads.) 



Soil. — A thin chalk, with deeper soil towards the meadows. 



The Rotations of Cropping generally adopted are the four- and five-field 

 systems. The extent sown with wheat in ordinary years is about 150 acres, 

 about 20 acres of which are sown in the spring. 



VOL. X. — S. S. K 



