10 THE FUTURE OF OUR AGRICULTURE. 



2 to 3), especially since in Germany land of any descrip- 

 tion will bear rye, and only the best will bear wheat. " Wei- 

 zenboden " admittedly ranks first among classified soils, 

 also above " Gerstenboden." And the long straw, keeping 

 straight better, and the more nourishing bran, are advan> 

 tages which tell in the balance. Rye, now undeservedly 

 despised in this country, so it may not be amiss to remind 

 farmers, used at one time, as Mr. Prothero reminds us in 

 his book, to be " the breadstuff of the English peasantry." 

 And it would not be amiss if English farmers, farming on 

 poor soil, were to follow the example recently opportunely 

 set by their Irish comrades, of cultivating it again on land 

 which produces but poor crops of wheat. The heavier 

 yield of (better) straw alone might serve as an argument 

 in favour of this. When thrashing machines first came 

 in, German farmers v/ould not use them, because, taking 

 the sheaves only lengthways, they broke up and spoilt 

 the straw, which is greatly valued for its straightness and 

 its length. The wider machines of later make avoid such 

 spoiling. In Germany, by the way, rye does not ripen 

 later than wheat, but rather earlier. Probably the time 

 of sowing and our practice of soiling or cutting in spring 

 in part accounts for the difference. In Germany the rye 

 harvest is generally at least half over when the wheat 

 harvest begins. And on fields sown with the two cereals 

 together, next year you will find more rye growing in the 

 new crop from cast grains than wheat. 



The yield of potatoes, on the other hand, is in Germany 

 not by so much inferior to our own, as would appear from 

 Mr. Middleton's figures. Rightly, potatoes constitute in 

 Germany the favourite crop, which may be grown any- 

 where, even on the lightest sand, and accordingly is so 

 grown, not only because it gives the best return among 

 crops, but also because its use for industrial purposes has 

 become quite general, and in this way it is made to yield 

 money first, and valuable winter fodder after. Therefore, 

 as a reversed case to that of wheat, our good yield compares 

 with a yield in Germany which includes very much poor 

 stuff, including " strings of pearls " not worth the lifting. 



