534 



TEH AOBIGULTUBAL JOURNAL. 



of the wheats standing qnite 5ft, high, 

 and showing the rich colour which de- 

 notes a perfect health. 



No. 1 Field. Twenty-two acres of land 

 under barley sown on April 19th, and 

 dressed at a total cost of £1 5s. per acre 

 immediately before seeding with 3 cwt. 

 of mineral superphosphate and 1 cwt. of 

 guano applied at the same time per acre, 

 followed on May 14th by 1 cwt. of nitrate 

 per acre. The crop looked splendid in 

 colour, and was thick and level in height. 



No. 2. " Brookfield," thirty-one acres. 

 Oats after barley. Steam ploughed. Sown 

 on October 5th with three pecks to the 

 acre of Black Winter oats. Received on 

 January 25th a dressing of 4 cwt. of 

 superphosphate, and on April 19th with 

 IJ cwt. of nitrate per acre. 



No. 3. " Beadles Top," twenty-seven 

 acres. Wheat after oats. Steam ploughed. 

 Sown on October 30th with eight pecks 

 per acre of White Chaff Browick wheat, 

 dressed on January 23rd with 4 cwt. 

 mineral superphosphate per acre, and on 

 April 9th with IJ cwt. of nitrate per acre. 

 Upon May 8th lOlbs. of clover seed per 

 acre was cross-drilled among the wheat to 

 form a layer for the ensuing year. 



No One to Follow. 

 Although the subject is somewhat 

 technical I have devoted the whole of 

 this article to Mr. Front's farm because of 

 the great agricultural importance of the 

 system which he follows, farmyard 

 manure produced by his twelve horses 

 being used only in the growth of beans 

 and mangold. Of course, that system is 

 only applicable in its entirety to lands so 

 situated that there is a ready market for 

 the sale of straw. But given this condi- 



tion and that of a heavy clay soil not 

 deficient in lime, there is no doubt that it 

 has proved itself a triumphant success. 

 Yet even among his neighbours no one 

 follows his example, although this could 

 be done at a profit in all the district of the 

 Roothings, the only requisites being care- 

 ful analysis of the soil, good cultivation, 

 and some intelligence in the application 

 of artificial manures. Indeed, I was in- 

 formed in other parts of the county that 

 Mr. Front " had abandoned the experi- 

 ment as a failure." 



Whether or no it is a failure the reader 

 may judge ; personally I was able to dis- 

 cover but one drawback against it— that 

 after a long period of growth by the aid 

 of chemicals the corn is apt to come rather 

 light for its bulk. Why, then, is this 

 practice not more widely followed, seeing 

 that even where the straw must be used 

 upon the premises the corn lands could 

 be profitably treated with artificials, leav- 

 ing the farmyard manure to be applied to 

 the roots, beans, and pastures, to the great 

 enrichment of the holding ? 



I suppose that the answer must be 

 looked for in the conservatism, not to say 

 the obstinacy, of farmers at large. Still, 

 gentlemen working their own land might 

 follow on the path pointed out by Mr. 

 Front, only then they would have to 

 reckon with their bailiffs, who as a class 

 do not love any new thing, and by acci- 

 dent or design often cause that to fail 

 which they have not discovered or ap- 

 proved. I should add that Mr. Front has 

 also a small light land farm where the 

 same system is followed to a limited 

 extent. Light land, however, does not 

 lend itself so readily to treatment with 

 chemical manure. 



A Visit to Rockfontein, ixopo. 



ACORRESFONDENT under the pen- 

 name of " Observer " sends the fol- 

 lowing : — 



Last Saturday I paid a visit to Rock- 

 fontein, the property of Mr. A. J. Arden, 

 and after a good look round I came to the 

 conclusion that Mr. Arden is amongst the 

 few in the Colony who go in for agricul- 

 ture upon a large and proper scale, and 

 he is the only person in the Ixopo Divi- 

 sion who does so, as I have visited most 



of the big farms in the district. Rock- 

 fontein is a farm of about 3,000 acres, of 

 which nearly 1,500 could be cultivated. 

 It is situated on a high level about one 

 hour's ride from the Umkomaas (Hella 

 Hella Drift), and commands a fine view 

 over the hills and mountains in the Folela 

 and Impendhle Districts. Mr. Arden has 

 been there a little over four years, and 

 when he took possession the place was 

 next door to a wilderness, with a rough 



