1905.] The Winter and the Wheat Crop. 



717 



to be certain that the wheat crop of 1904 would be a very poor 

 one, as indeed it proved to be, despite the generally favourable 

 weather from March onwards. At the present time all one can 

 be justified in saying is that an excellent foundation has been 

 laid, and that unless the conditions take a really bad turn we 

 are in the right train to obtain a heavy crop. We may now 

 proceed to set out the reasons for so rash a prophecy, and we 

 can best begin by a table (No. I.) showing the meteorological con- 

 ditions for the winters of 1903-4 and 1904-5. The figures, which 

 are derived from the Rothamsted records, show for the first five 

 months, October to January inclusive, 1st, the rainfall ; 2nd, the 

 percolation as measured by the amount of rain-water finding its 

 way through sixty inches of bare soil ; 3rd, the quantity of 

 nitrogen as nitrates washed out by the water percolating through 

 this gauge and calculated as pounds per acre ; and 4th, the 

 number of days on which the drains of the wheat-field ran. It 

 should be explained that the Broadbalk wheat-field is tile-drained 

 beneath each plot at a depth of thirty to thirty-six inches, all 

 the drains being led into a transverse trench across the lower 

 end of the field, and records are kept of the dates and times 

 when each drain runs. 



Table I 



Rainfall and Percolation at Rothamsted, 1903-4 and 1904-5. 





Rainfall. 



Percolation 

 through 60 inches 

 of soil. 



Nitrogen 

 as nitrates in 

 drainage 

 water. 



No. of days on 

 which drains 

 ran in wheat- 

 field. 





Inches. 



Inches. 



Lb. per acre. 







1903-4. 



1904-5. 



1903-4. 



I904-5. 



1903-4. 



1904-5. 



1903-4. 



1904-5. 



Oct. ... 

 Nov. ... 

 Dec. ... 

 Jan. ... 

 Feb. ... 



6' 3 2 



2*21 

 2'42 

 3*50 



3'44 



i-37 

 1-67 

 248 

 i-34 

 0-95 



5-09 

 i-8i 



2' 1 1 



3*39 

 3"49 



O36 

 0-89 

 2'13 

 076 

 0*22 



8-o6 

 2 41 

 273 

 4-22 

 3-i6 



071 

 2-07 

 4-87 

 1-52 

 0-39 



8 

 3 



I 



11 



0 

 0 



5 

 0 

 0 



Total 



17-89 



7 -8i 



I5-89 



4'36 



20-58 



956 



33 



5 



Dealing with the meteorological returns first, the contrast 

 between the two winters is very striking. Agriculturists will 



