232 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
{ September 19, 1875. 
to the cistern being regulated by a ball-tap, and the supply pipe to the boiler 
having a check valve so as to preyent the water flowing up the supply pipe 
and running over by the cistern. 
you with the materials, and they could be fixed by a bricklayer and handy 
| 
| 
Any horticultural builder could supply | 
smith, or the person supplying the materials would undertake to fix them. | 
We cannot recommend tradesmen, but any advertising in our columns would 
serve you satisfactorily. 
EDGING PLANTS (H. £. B.).—The following are good edging plants :— 
Ajuga reptans rubra, dark purple leaves; Arabis alpina variegata aurea, 
Aubrietia purpurea variegata, Cerastium tomentosum, Euonymus radicans 
variegatus, Iberis semperforens fol. var., Sedum acre variegata, Semper- 
vivum californicum, Stachys lanata, Stellaria graminea aurea, and Thymus 
citriodorus aureus, all of which are hardy. The following are more or less 
tender :—Iresine Lindeni, Peristrophe angustifolia aureo-variegata, Sedum 
Sieboldi medio-picta, Mesembryanthemum cordifolium variegatum, Guapha- 
lium lanatum, Santolina Chamzcyparissus, Leucophyton Biowni, Alternan- 
theras in variety, Echeveria secunda glauca, E. pumila, Alyssum variegatum, 
with Lobelias and Golden Feather Pyrethrum. 
TRANSPLANTING CAMPANULAS (/dem).—The plants would receive a 
slight check by transplanting, but if done carefully they would speedily 
recover. They may be moved now, but preferably in early spring. 
ROSES SHEDDING THEIR LEAVES (/dem).—There are spots of mildew 
upon the leaves, induced by drought and poverty of soil. Manure well, and 
in future seasons water copiously in dry weather with liquid manure after 
the buds show, mulching the surface with short manure. 
COURT-PENDU-PLAT (C. H. Lucas)——The Apple and its name are both } 
French, and the latter signifies the Short-hung Flat, from the very short stalk 
and the flat shape of the fruit. It has no reference to plate. 
ERRATUM.—The Araucaria imbricata, referred to last week on page 208, is 
in the garden of Mr. Bousted, Settlebeck, Sedbergh, Yorkshire; not ‘ Mr. 
Dousted, Jedburgh,” as printed. 
CANNING TOMATOES (H. Camps).—A simple and usually satisfactory way 
of canning tomatoes is to pour boiling water over a desirable quantity of 
ripe tomatoes to loosen the skin; let them lie a few minuties, peel them, 
draining well first; cut out all green places, then set on the fire, and after 
they have commenced boiling boil for fifteen minutes. Have your cans 
ready and very hot, fill full, and seal each one immediately as it is filled. 
Some prefer to boil the tomatoes till they seem almost dry; others, again, 
claim that merely scalding them is best, and that they taste fresher when 
merely brought to the boiling point. 
NAMES OF FRUITS (C. & Co.).—40, Doyenné Boussoch ; 55, Flemish Beauty ; 
57, Bellissime d’Hiver ; 81, Jersey Gratioli; 77 and111, Not known. (7. S.). 
—1, Formosa Nonpareil; 2, London Pippin; 3, Nelson Codlin; 4, Not 
known; 5, Not known; 6, Trumpington. (IV. D. Paine).—20, Winter Haw- 
thornden; 25, Christie's Pippin; 33, Not known. (H. Loftus, Tottenham).— 
It is an American Grape, called Isabella. (Connaught Sicbscriber’).—Poire 
Péche. (H. H.).—1, Green Yair; 2, Hessle Pear; 3, Beurré Capiaumont ; 
4, Irish Peach. (G@. Kent)—1, Not known; 2, Newtown Spitzenberg ; 
3, Flower of Kent, 
NAMES OF PLANTS (Mrs. Z.).—It is the common Reed Grass (Phrag- 
mites communis). It will do in any damp place, and if you have not such 
an one you might make a small tank, which might be kept full of water, or 
an old tub sunk in the ground would answer the purpose, (Jf. G.J.).—l and 
3 are both varieties of Begonia Pearcei. No. 3 is very good. No. 2, B. Wel- 
toniensis. (flowering Shrub)—Leycesteria formosa. (A. F. G.).—Poly- 
gonum Sieboldi. (S. W.).—Adiantum pedatum, a beautiful Fern, but not 
rare. It thrives out of doors in the southern counties, but is best when 
grown in agreenhouse. It is a native of North America. 
THE HOME FARM: 
POULTRY, PIGEON, AND BEE CHRONICLE. 
THE CULTIVATION OF WHEAT. 
WHEAT must still rank as the most important of the cereal 
crops upon the home farm. Sometimes barley or even oats may 
realise almost as much money per acre, but wheat is considered as 
being the rent-paying crop. This matter is at the same time a 
question of soil, because some of the light and kind soils are in 
some respects better adapted for a rotation, which places the 
barley crop in a more favourable position than wheat. The cul- 
tivation of wheat affords a wide field for practical illustration, 
this cereal being grown successfully upon nearly every kind of 
soil where the climate is favourable; but the management of the 
land will require systems of cultivation as dissimilar as the soils. 
We therefore propose te refer to the tillage and rotation of the 
different soils separately, selecting first the heaviest strong clay 
Jana and the cultivation requisite for the successful growth of 
wheat thereon. Upon many heayy-land farms formerly very 
little live stock was kept, but since we have to contend with the 
whole world in the sale of wheat it is found best not to depend 
entirely upon the cereal crops. The old long fallow may be dis- 
pensed with, except in cases where the land is foul with couch 
or water grass ; and when steam power is not available upon the 
home farm, and horse power only is used, the long fallowis a 
very expensive and tedious process. The rotation, however, 
upon which the land is cropped will have its effect in diminishing 
the horse labour if the old rotation is given up—viz., first, fallow ; 
second, wheat; third, oats or barley; fourth, clovers; and the 
following rotation substituted—first, autumn fallow seeded to 
green crops fed by sheep, and roots to be pulled; second, wheat 
seeded to clover; third, clover; fomth, oats or barley; fifth, 
beans and peas ; sixth, wheat. Now in this six-course rotation, 
which we approve, each crop is a good preparation for the other; 
and there are various opportunities for cleaning the land between 
them, and also the capability of feeding sheep on green crops in 
the summer months, and furnishing at the same time a supply 
of mangolds, «c., for feeding purposes at the homestead. It will 
be noticed that by this system one-third of the land will produce 
wheat, one-third Lent corn and pulse, and the other third part 
clover, green crops, and roots in each year. This we consider the 
most valuable rotation, except upon some strong soils in certain 
districts of the kingdom upon which wheat and beans constitute 
the customary mode of cropping, but involving at the same time 
a liberal application either of yard dung or artificial manures to 
be successful. 
Upon some strong clay lands, and especially those which have 
not been thoroughly tile-drained, a long fallow once in four years 
affords the only opportunity of rendering the soil capable of 
growing the usual crops; we will therefore describe the mode 
of making the winter and summer fallow in preparation for wheat. 
Immediately after harvest, whether the land is after clover or 
a pulse crop, it is sure to have a considerable amount of the water 
grass running over the surface, and even if the land is fairly 
clean the nature of it renders the fallow requisite. It should 
first of all be scarified with a Coleman’s implement—that being 
the best for hard ground—both lengthwise and crossways, then 
harrowed, rolled, &c., and the grass and weeds carted away; the 
land should then be deeply ploughed, say not less than 6 or 
7 inches in depth, and be properly water-furrowed so as to carry 
off all surface water during the winter. If steam power is avail- 
able the same process may be observed both of scarifying and 
ploughing to lie during winter ; but we cannot recommend that 
steam ploughing should be done deeper than the horse ploughing, 
because it brings to the surface a host of weed seeds which it 
will take years to eradicate, and which should have been allowed 
to lie dormant in the land. The deeper ploughing further neces- 
sitates either extra chalking or liming at heavy cost. Having 
laid the ground up for the winter in order to receive the alter- 
nation of rain and frost, so essential to the amelioration of those 
soils now under consideration, it will be necessary in the spring: 
after the Lent corn sowing is over, to attend to the fallows by 
ploughing back the ridges. This will destroy one crop of weeds 
in their infancy ; then, instead of working the land by harrowing, 
rolling, &c., we recommend (as we are now writing for the infor- 
mation of the novice) that the land after about a month should 
be cross-ploughed. The object of this is to bring it perfectly 
level when worked down, because in the cross-ploughing without 
previous dragging, &c., the land being rough and cloddy drives 
before the plough. If the work is done about a month after the 
cross-ploughing the land will have been thoroughly aérated, and 
will often haye in favourable seasons killed the water grass, 
together with another crop of young weeds. The fallow as soon 
as worked down will now be producing young weeds again in 
abundance, and its subsequent working will depend upon the time 
of year. If August has come it will not be necessary to cross- 
plough again, but only scarify and harrow. The landshould then 
be veered out according to the size of the lands required at seed. 
time, and the dung spread or guano be sown between the veerings. 
The land may then be ridge-ploughed in the first week of Sep- 
tember, and allowed to lie and become stale and mellow for the 
reception of the seed, which in the strong land should not be 
sown later than the first or second week in October; and as at 
that time of the year the land may be wet and heayy to work we 
advise the ridges to be made five turns or 8 feet wide, in order 
that the drill may take a ridge at once ; the wheels and the horses 
drawing the drill will then go in the furrow only. The same 
with harrowing: the horses will keep in the furrows without 
treading the land, so important in heavy clays. 
The quantity of seed we recommend is two bushels per acre at 
the early season ; should, however, the seed time be delayed until 
the late period of November three bushels should be sown, because 
we have to consider the numerous enemies to the young plants, 
besides the possibility of some seeds perishing. In drilling wheat 
on this strong soil the width of the rows is important. They 
should be 12 inches, or only eight rows upon the ridge; no seed 
need then be sown in the furrows. This width of drilling is one 
of the principal features in the whole process of cultivation for 
wheat in heavy land, because such soils are usually infested with 
crowfoot and some other weeds ; and further, after a very back~ 
ward spring the wheat plant will often look yellow and sickly, 
in which case it is not only desirable to destroy the weeds but to 
move the land with the horse hoe, and thus give the plants more 
vigour, and enable them to show a deep green colour so essential 
to the crop. This can only be done effectually by wide drilling > 
it is the only safeguard to the crop. When drilled at 6 or 7inches 
it may be hand-hoed, and this would kill some of the weeds, but 
the hand hoe will not move the surface enough to resuscitate 
ee 
