63 



very dry (0.5in. of rain only) : during March we had mild and 

 growing weather. The wheat and oats looked well, having com- 

 pletely overcome the November check ; and the grass kept grow- 

 ing. The arable land remained free from weeds. Long Hoos barley 

 was drilled on February 23rd, this being the earliest date for many 

 years. April was wet and windy and unpleasant, but not cold. 

 May was cold and dry; the terrible flood that devastated Louth 

 was represented here by a slight shower that barely wetted the 

 soil. Oats made poor growth in Sawpit, except under the shelter 

 of the plantation on the east side, and the hay was poor : wheat, 

 however, looked well — indeed it was the best looking crop of the 

 year, especially in Stackyard, New Zealand and Harpenden Fields : 

 on Broadbalk, however, it was not so good, and there were many 

 jjoppies, especially on the incompletely fertilised plots where the 

 wheat had suffered during the spring ; oats were lengthening in the 

 straw. July opened well, and the prospects for the season seemed 

 very bright. Then, however, there set in a disastrous change; 

 after the first four days it became cold, wet, sunless and 

 generally execrable to farmers. The position now altered very 

 much for the worse. Fortunately, the seeds hay had been got in, 

 but the permanent grass was still uncut. August was wintry and 

 towards the end of the month we only just escaped frost ; the rain- 

 fall was low (L2in.) but heavy downpours on the 2nd and 18th 

 were harmful. A cold, sunless July always has a bad effect on our 

 wheat crops, and this was no exception : good farmers had esti- 

 mated at the beginning of July the yields on New Zealand at 48 

 bush., Harpenden at 46, and Stackyard at 44 bush. When we 

 threshed out, the yields were only 40, 32 and 39 bushels respec- 

 tively. Further, the oats were badly laid, although the yield was 

 only 40 bushels. Fortunately, the harvest was got in easily and 

 by the end of August practically all the corn and the second cuts of 

 hay were in and a good beginning had been made with the plough- 

 ing. The mangolds had made good progress. The new clover 

 was well established in Great Knott (west end) and on West Barn- 

 field, and a strip of Long Hoos sown by the drill, whilst the part 

 sown by the barrow (a usual practice on the farm in the past) was 

 poor. Owing to the weedy condition of the last year's clover on 

 Great Knott (east end), no second cut had been taken but the land 

 ploughed in July and sown with mustard : this grew well and was 

 ploughed in in September in preparation for oats. Mangolds in 

 Barnfield and swedes in Little Hoos looked well : potatoes on Long 

 Hoos, however, showed some disease and went off before the 

 middle of September ; when lifted in October they were a fair crop 

 (5 tons) clean, but with many small tubers. A sunless July is as 

 bad for potatoes as it is for wheat. 



The season began well but ended execrably. The yield of 

 corn was disappointing, leaving the farm in an unfavourable finan- 

 cial condition. Only the grass flourished, and after the first cut 

 it continued throwing in a way that promised much winter keep 



