438 
The Winter of 1885-86. 
consequence of tlie past season, than of wheat or barley. It does not pay to 
grow wheat." 
Mr. Faunce de Laune may be quoted in conclusion : — 
" 11. I consider it advisable to plant a part of the fallows intended for 
winter keep with autumn-sown kale plants, to make certain of a late autumn 
crop to wean lambs upon. 
" 12. Mangold-wurzel has failed twice through being eaten by flea; the 
ground is now sown with kale, Avhich did not grow until it rained. In some 
cases kale has had to be sown twice, and has been seriously damaged by 
earwigs. 
"13. I grow neither barley nor wheat, but I consider the barley in this 
neighbourhood looks remarkably well." 
In several districts winter-beans suffered very much, some 
fields being destroyed, and others proved very short and next to 
worthless ; both these and peas had to be pulled up in the 
spring by Mr. C. Howard. In Wiltshire, Mr. James Greena- 
way was compelled to substitute oats for barley in many cases, 
and also planted more summer tares than usual, together with 
early rape and turnips for autumn feeding. But the general 
consensus of answers to Questions 12 and 13 is that no material 
alterations beyond those mentioned have been made, and that — 
beyond a tendency to substitute barley for wheat, brought about 
more by the state of the markets than the past season — there 
have been but little alterations made. In a few instances, corre- 
spondents have referred to the curious fact that the red wheats 
generally stood the winter better, and were hardier than the 
white varieties. 
The last question in my series is of a somewhat open charac- 
ter, and some of my correspondents ran riot somewhat on 
questions that are, I take it, outside the scope of this enquiry. 
The fiscal relationship of England with other countries, and its 
effect upon the labourers ; the lack of capital among tenants ; the 
question of rents and of heavy taxation ; the duties of tenants 
on the one hand, and of landlords on the other — all these may 
have had some relationship to the exceptionally bad, times 
which farmers have had to go through since last summer. But 
this enquiry was, as I understood my commission, to be of a 
practical and not of a politico-economic character, and all such 
answers I have carefully put on one side. A few excellent 
answers may be well quoted from those that I retained. 
Mr. Henry Woods writes : 
"14. Yes; as affecting the cultivation of maize which is now annually 
grown hero for the purpose of ensilage. The yield of green maize fodder was 
less than half the average of the two previous seasons, wliich produced 32 
and 28 tons per acre respectively. 1 attribute the liglitness c)f last j^ear's crop 
to the cold dry weather during the carlj' stages of growt]i,but lam confident 
that in ordinary seasons a good and remunerative yield may be relied upon." 
