224 
The Past Agricultural Year. 
drilled in per acre. The effect of the winter upon clover was 
not prejudicial, as there were heavy cuts as a rule about here. 
Winter tares suffered considerably. Trifolium was not injured. 
Winter oats were not affected in any way, and their yield was 
above an average. Winter beans are not grown. Spring oats 
went in fairly well and in pretty good time. There was a spell 
of comparatively fine weather early in March, which enabled 
farmers to put their Lent corn in. On most of the farms in this 
locality the oats did fairly well, and gave about an average 
crop. Barley is not grown. Spring beans had plenty of haulm, 
but were not well podded, and were much blighted. The very 
wet weather in the spring sadly interfered with the usual culti- 
vation of land in preparation for mangolds, swedes, and turnips. 
Mangolds were got in in a most unsatisfactory manner, and the 
weeds were fast overpowering them, when fortunately a spell of 
finer weather came ; but the crop has been much under average. 
The attempt to get swedes in was abandoned by many, and the 
land lay soddened with moisture, growing thistles, couch, and 
water-grass abundantly. Great efforts were made to get the 
land cleaner, and turnips were sown in some instances, but 
there must be a great crop of weeds with the coming corn crop 
when the usual rotation has been continued. 
" As the land in this district is for the most part naturally 
drained, as it lies upon the Kentish ragstone, and is friable, a 
wet season is not so disastrous as in the heavy clay-land district 
of the Weald of Kent, which is closely contiguous to it. 
" It may be remarked that the wet, cold, and changeable 
weather in the spring at the time of the blossoming of the fruit- 
trees so affected the ' setting ' of blossoms, which were unusually 
abundant, that there was not half a crop of fruit in this, the 
' garden of England.' At the same time the hop-plants were 
seriously weakened, so that they could not grow away from the 
aphides, which caused one of the most general blights on record." 
A report which Mr. Lawes, of Rothamsted, was good enough 
to send me would have been presented here, but the reader will, 
I believe, find that the Rothamsted experience is the subject of 
an independent paper in this number of the ' Journal.' I pro- 
ceed now, therefore, to quote the reports to which I referred in 
the outset as gathered from my other correspondents. The first 
two are from northern counties. 
^ Caithness. — Watten. 
1st. As to' deterioration and ^loss, amongst the hill farms. Cheviot sheep 
occupy most of the hill farms in the northern counties, Black-faces being 
