Nov. I. 1883] 



ATA TURE 



ably lowers the yield of wheat. Properlyread with regard to 

 its distribution throughout the season, the temperature of 

 the summer months ought to guide us to a judgment with 

 regard to the probable yield of wheat. It is the same 

 with regard to wine. Good wheat and good wine years run 

 together. 186S, 1S70, and 1874 will probably all continue to 

 be remembered as good wine years, and theyarewell known 

 as among the best wheat years of the present half-century. 

 In judging as to the eftects of temperature upon the wheat 

 crops, we must not only take average temperature but fluc- 

 tuations between night and day. A single cold night may 

 do incalculable damage, and a few cold days at blooming 

 time may do much to blight a wheat-grower's prospects. 

 Those who watch the weather closely will usually lay the 

 foundation of a sound judgment upon wheat prospects. 

 We require, first, a good seed time ; second, a dry March ; 

 third, a hot June, July, and August. So much for the 

 weather. We require also a good " plant," i.e. plenty of 

 young wheat plants uniformly scattered over the surface. 

 The growing crop must be fairly free from those unac- 

 countable visitations known as "blights," both insect 

 and vegetable, and if we can secure these good conditions 

 we reap a good wheat crop. Let us then endeavour to 

 apply these rules to the actual state of things during the 

 months between seed time of 1SS2 and hai-vest of 1883, 

 and let us glance at the various opinions expressed as to 

 the yield of wheat for the present year in the light of 

 these facts. First, then, we passed through a period of 

 incessant rainfall during the time when farmers usually 

 sow their wheat. A worse seed time we have rarely e.\- 

 perienced. Constant rain and destructive floods were 

 the characteristics of October, November, January, and 

 February last. Now we owe to Sir John Lawes, in a 

 great measure, the knowledge of the fact that a wet winter 

 washes out that element of fertility which of all is the 

 most important, namely, the nitrates. Here then we 

 have to record a very wet winter, in which seeding was 

 interrupted and nitrates were washed through into the 

 drains and subsoil, and that to an unusual degree. 



The consequence was that in the spring a thin plant 

 was the rule upon all stiff soils. After this the wheat im- 

 proved under the influence of a singularly fine spring, 

 and farmers rejoiced in the opportunity afforded them to 

 get on with their root cultivation. Unfortunately this 

 state of things did not last. At the most critical period 

 for the wheat crop summer forsook us. The nights 

 became bitterly cold in June, and a continuation of 

 wet weather set in which lasted almost up to har- 

 vest. Accompanying this untoward state of affairs were 

 blights, and the ears became greatly affected with 

 wheat-midge, smut, and ear-cockle, so that wheat-growers 

 became sensible that their main crop was in extreme 

 danger of ruin, and that before the papers began to pub- 

 lish their estimates. 



This feeling among wheat-growers was quite general, 

 as they knew that empty ears could not lead to full mea- 

 sures. Examination of the ears just before harvest 

 showed clearly that small and shrivelled grains were only 

 too common, and that many of the florets were barren. 

 Accordingly crops were valued low, and the results from 

 the threshing machine are bearing out the wisdom of 

 these low valuations. As to Sir John Lawes' estimates, 

 based on the experimental field at Rothamsted, no one 

 knows better than Sir John that this coincidence between 

 his average yield and that of the country generally must 

 be liable to be upset by local disturbances. As a criterion 

 of the harvest Sir John Lawes' field may be useful, but 

 certainly cannot be infallible. A local frost, a local hail- 

 storm, a local loss of plant, or faulty cultivation, must be 

 always liable to affect any field and rob it of its general 

 average character when compared with the harvest of 

 millions of other acres. All this is simple truth, and in 

 this season we are inclined to think that Sir John's field 

 '' told a flattering tale." The opinion of the writer of the 



present article is based, first, upon the meteorological con- 

 ditions to which the wheat crop was exposed during its 

 growth. Secondly, upon his own experience as a grower. 

 Thirdly, upon information obtained from other growers, 

 and from observation and reading. 



He has come to the conclusion that the wheat crop 

 of 1883 is below an average, and will be disappointing to 

 the grower. Not only was the crop subjected to many 

 bad conditions during its growth, but a large proportion 

 of it was badly harvested, and is now in w-retched condi- 

 tion. If we are not deeply disappointed with the 20 to 

 26 bushels of wheat per acre which our own liberally 

 treated crops arc yielding of marketabh' corn, it is because 

 we have never expected more since those frosty nights of 

 last June, when we resigned our hopes of a good wheat 

 crop. The subject is almost too long for treating in a 

 single article, and we must leave it here. If space had 

 permitted, we should have entered upon the question as 

 to what constitutes an average crop of wheat — a point 

 upon which we appear to be in a state of great ignorance, 

 unless we are to believe that an average which thousands 

 of our best farmers have not been able to touch for the 

 last ten or twelve years is that of the entire country with 

 its millions of badly cultivated acres. This we cannot 

 admit, and after a careful study of the estimates made as 

 to average yield in various counties, we are driven to 

 the same conclusion as that of the writer to the Times 

 last Saturday, namely, that little reliance is to be placed 

 upon them. Average, over-average, and under-average 

 are somewhat vague terms, and difficult to fix. We can, 

 however, base an opinion upon the fact that cheerless, 

 cold, and wet summers that are unfavourable for fruit, 

 bees, and vines, or even to pleasure parties, lawn tennis, 

 and picnics, are not going to be favourable to wheat- 

 growers. We have not touched upon barley and oats, 

 but are prepared to allow that circumstances have been 

 more favourable towards these crops than towards the 

 most important cereal. John Wrightson 



College of Agriculture, Downton, Salisbury 



ON A NEW METHOD OF SINKING SHAFTS IN 

 WATERY, RUNNING GROUND 



WHEN an attempt is made to sink a shaft in very 

 watery deposits of gravel, sand, and mud in the 

 ordinary way — that is, by digging out the solid matter by 

 hand and pumping the water to keep the bottom dry — it 

 is found that, after a certain depth has been reached, the 

 current of water which flows up through the bottom brings 

 solid matters along with it as fast as they can be re- 

 moved, and further downward progress is then completely 

 arrested. Under these circumstances it is necessary to 

 resort to certain special methods of sinking, tv.o of which 

 have been hitherto employed with more or less success. 

 According to one of these methods the shaft-lining 

 consists of an air-tight iron cylinder fitted with an 

 air-tight cover. When the excavation is continued below 

 the natural level of the water, compressed air is forced 

 into the interior of the shaft so as to drive back the 

 water and leave the bottom dry. The workmen can 

 then stand in the bottom and remove the solid matter by 

 hand as easily as if the ground had been naturally free 

 from water. The lining sinks downward as its lower end 

 is laid bare, and is lengthened at the top as required. The 

 pressure of the air is gradually augmented as the depth 

 increases, but unfortunately this process cannot be car- 

 ried beyond three atmospheres without prejudicially 

 affecting the heakh of the workmen. When the depth of 

 the watery running ground surpasses the limit represented 

 by a pressure of three atmospheres, it is necessary to resort 

 to the second method. In this case the water is allowed to 

 stand at its natural level in the shaft, and the solid matters 

 are removed from the bottom by a revolving dredger. The 

 lining or casing consists of a cylinder of masonry or iron 



