fields in which the underlying rock contains a considerable pei- 

 centage of lime, the soil is of a sticky nature when wet. The 

 percentage of organic matter is very low." Mr. Charles 

 Howard's account of his land is "a light gravelly soil;" and 

 the Messrs. Maiden, also near Bedford, say, " The soil is all 

 alluvial, and varies from light gravel to very heavy loam. The 

 land is farmed fairly high, as it is used largely to grow market 

 garden and special croppings. A slight deficiency in lime, 

 owing to the land having been under arable cropping for a very 

 considerable period, is the only feature worthy of notice. All 

 the fields seemed to suffer but the more typical wheat land, the 

 medium loams, perhaps, suffered most. The land is well 

 drained, and there is nothing naturally prejudicial in the soil. 

 In fact it holds a good reputation." 



The seventy-five acres of wheat land belonging to Mr. Palmer, 

 of Revell's Hall, Hertford, upon which the whole of the crop 

 was affected, are categorized as under : 



15 acres, mostly gravelly. 



1 8 gravel and light loam. 



13 gravelly. 



17 gravel and light loam. 



15 light loam. 



Upon a very heavy clay soil in Kent the attack was very 

 slight, and only the red wheat was affected. The white wheat 

 escaped. 



At Hunningham, near Leamington, Mr. Shepheard, whose loss 

 was equal to about two bushels per acre, reports that one of his 

 affected fields is " a good mixed loam of medium, or light tex- 

 ture, overlying clay, with gravel under in places. Another is a 

 marly clay. The relative organic and mineral constituents are 

 such as are usually found in fairly fertile land. I am not aware 

 of any particular preponderance or lack of any one constituent, 

 but probably in the six-acre field the organic elements in the 

 shape of nitrogen from the decay of the clover roots (the clover 

 was a great full crop) would preponderate." 



Previous Cropping and Manuring. 



It is remarked by Mr. Shepheard, of Hunningham, that the 

 wheat after clover was the most mildewed this season, a 

 few pieces sown after beans and peas were not attacked 

 nearly as much. Messrs. Maiden write : " The cropping and 

 manuring of previous years seem to have had very little influence 

 upon the wheat mildew. It has been most impartial. Some of 

 our wheat is on land which has received artificial manure within 

 the last three years, and some has not. Some is after potatoes ; 

 other after clover ; other after roots fed ; other after peas ; 

 but there is nothing to choose between them." 



In many cases the wheat was sown upon clover ley. On 

 account of the wet autumn of 1891, it was very difficult to get 

 some land in with wheat after turnips, beans, or peas. 



