Report  on  Wheat- Mildew. 
651 
sparingly  attempted  for  the  first  six  or  seven  years.  . . . Stale 
ploughed  land  is  less  liable  than  fresh  broken-up  land.”* 
There  is  a curious  difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  mown 
or  fed  clovers  are  most  connected  with  mildew.  Mr.  Beadel,  of 
Essex,f  is  confident  that  where  sheep  have  been  folded  heavily 
upon  clover  there  has  been  a comparative  absence  of  mildew. 
On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Cranfield,  of  Hunts,!  says,  “ Generally 
the  wheat  that  mildews  worst  is  after  clover  fed  off  bare  in  the 
summer.”  Again,  though  two  bad  cases  are  reported  as  having 
occurred  after  a crop  of  oats,  there  are  several  instances  where 
this  crop  is  spoken  of  as  diminishing  the  liability,  one  gentle- 
man going  so  far  as  to  say,  “ I never  saw  it  in  wheat  after  oats  ; ”§ 
and  another,  “We  never  see  a trace  of  the  disease  after  oats.”  In 
my  own  neighbourhood  we  have  been  accustomed  to  consider 
wheat  after  oats  or  mangolds  pretty  safe ; hut  I am  bound  to 
say  that  in  1881,  on  my  farm  and  the  adjoining  one,  the  worst 
mildewed  crops  were  grown  after  oats  ; and  the  next  worst  on 
my  farm  was  after  mangolds.  The  mangolds  were,  however, 
grown  after  a crop  of  rape,  and  the  wheat  after  oats  in  a field 
which  I have  always  found  peculiarly  subject  to  mildew. 
It  may  be  noted  that  in  one  case,  ||  where  mangolds  and  cab- 
bages preceded  wheat,  there  had  been  an  application  of  decorti- 
cated cotton-cake  as  manure.  It  is  not  necessary  to  notice 
further  the  crops  which  are  associated  with  mildew.  Probably 
if  we  could  know  all  the  circumstances  of  each  case  we  should 
understand  better  how  it  happens  that  occasionally  a crop  which 
as  thought  a safe  one  is  attacked  by  mildew. 
Before  proceeding  to  the  next  branch  of  my  subject  I must 
* No.  54,  p.  676.  Analysis  of  Replies. 
Name  of  Preceding  Crop 
mentioned  in  connection  witli 
attacks  of  Mildew. 
Reference  to  Replies. 
Clover  
See  Nos. 
/2,  5,  6,  7,  9.  10,  13, 14,  19,20.  26,  38, 
\ 42,  45,  51,  55,  58,  60,  66,  69,  84. 
Seeds,  Ley,  &c 
8,  23,  31,  39,  59,  72. 
Fresh-broken  Pasture  . . 
43,  54,  64. 
Tares  
60. 
Beans  or  Peas 
14,  37,  60. 
Oats 
16,  17. 
Brank  
11. 
Potatoes 
17,  60. 
Mangolds  
21,  28,  37. 
Cabbages  
27. 
Rape  or  Turnips  . . 
60,  71,  73,  83. 
Fallows 
60,  64. 
t No.  37,  pp.  671-2. 
J No.  45,  p.  674. 
||  No.  28,  pp.  669-70. 
§ No.  64,  pp.  678-9. 
2 u 2 
