September 22, 1881.] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
279 
fact that we are more dependant upon seasons than upon any 
system of manuring. It must be remembered, however, that a 
dry climate like that of the eastern and south-eastern counties is 
also an all-important condition for successful continuous corn¬ 
growing. Amidst the frequent mists and rains of the extreme 
western counties of England or Ireland, or in various parts of the 
counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland, with a rainfall of 
GO or 70 inches, it would be quite out of the question to extend 
corn-growing, or diminish the area of the roots and grass crops 
which in moist districts will prove advantageous, especially 
on home farms heavily stocked with cattle and sheep. 
We will now refer to those who have in consequence been in¬ 
duced to carry out a system of continuous corn-growing and arti¬ 
ficial manuring. The first and great pioneer in this matter whom 
we shall introduce to our readers is Mr. John Prout, who has pub¬ 
lished a pamphlet with the title of “ Profitable Clay Farming 
under a Just System of Tenant Eight.” It will at once be seen 
that any question of tenant right does not apply on the home 
farm, or farms in hand and unlet, which at the present time of 
agricultural depression unfortunately prevails upon various estates 
throughout the kingdom, because under these circumstances the 
home farmer has nothing to prevent him from adopting a course 
of cropping and general management which may be considered 
best suited to the soil and situation of the farm, and most likely 
to yield a profitable return for the capital invested in the culti¬ 
vation. The practical system adopted by Mr. Prout at Sawbridge- 
worth, Herts, should be understood by every home farmer or 
manager entrusted with the conducting and tillage of farms, and 
in order to obtain this object we recommend his pamphlet for 
their consideration. The system may be briefly described as per¬ 
petual corn-growing on heavy land, by means of deep and cheap 
steam tillage and liberal applications of artificial manure. Mr. 
Prout states, “ The indispensable preparatory requisites are— 
1 , effectual subsoil drainage, and 2, fields of considerable dimen¬ 
sions ; to which may be added, 3, straight and neat fences ; 4, 
sound headland roads ; and 5, convenient field water supply.” To 
this we may add as a necessary precaution in continuous corn- 
growing, that no wide hedgerows, or spreading timber trees, or 
woodlands should be allowed to exist which would injure the 
growth of cereal crops or prove damaging at harvest time. At 
this particular time there are probably large numbers of heavy 
clay land farms in almost every county being given up by the 
tenants. In various instances it is with great difficulty they can 
be let to tenants of experience and possessing sufficient capital, 
except at such a sacrifice as few proprietors are prepared to accept 
as occupiers, but preferring to take the land into their own hands 
for several reasons, especially where the land is foul and out of 
condition, or, as in many cases, being still very wet and requiring 
drainage, or the buildings and farmsteading may be out of repair 
or require additions. All these are matters which will frequently 
induce the landowner to have carried out under the directions of 
his farm steward or agent. This was precisely the state of things 
which prevailed upon the Blount’s Farm and Sweet Dews’ Farm 
(which are now thrown into one), situate 1 near Sawbridgeworth, 
at the time of Mr. Prout’s purchase of these farms in 1861, and 
probably, as regards the state of the land, very similar to many 
farms which are now continually coming to hand in various dis¬ 
tricts. It perhaps will be best to let Mr. Prout speak for himself 
as to the manner and system he adopted to bring them into the 
highly profitable state and condition in which they now are. 
“I began at once with permanent improvements ; not, however, 
in building, for the two sets of farm premises with little addition 
were ample for my purpose. The land, consisting of clay and 
strong loam lying upon a subsoil of drift clay and cretaceous 
gravel, was in a wet condition. Here, therefore, as will be the 
case upon millions of acres still lying unimproved, the first and 
fundamental process of amelioration was to drain the whole effec¬ 
tually with pipe tiles. The land lay tolerably well for draining, 
and the first thing was to ascertain, by test holes dug in the 
different fields, what would be the best depth at which to lay the 
tiles. The average depth chosen was feet, the distance apart 
33 feet ; the 2-inch pipes of these parallel drains empty into 
4-inch and G-inch mains, discharging, in most cases, into an open 
drain or ditch of 5 or 6 feet in depth, these mains intersecting or 
dividing the fields, and conducting the surplus water into a stream 
which is a tributary of the river Lea. The work was completed 
m four years, at a cost of £6 per acre. The rainfall at Sawbridge¬ 
worth, I believe, averages about 23 or 24 inches per annum, which 
is moderate in quantity compared with the fall in the west of 
England ; but I cannot assign too much importance to the work 
of draining well. Indeed, the transformation effected in the very 
texture of the soil, as well as in its temperature and in the climate 
of the farm (to which I shall refer), are results following from 
this efficient drainage and from the steam tillage which was 
rendered possible by the drying of the land.” We have quoted 
from Mr. Prout’s pamphlet, seeing how aptly his proceedings may 
be applied in certain districts upon land coming to hand, and for 
the present unlet, which upon strong soils at the present is the 
only possible way of making them profitable in occupation either 
as arable or pasture land, although the cost will amount, in some 
cases, to one-third or one-fourth of the purchase value. We 
propose next week to make further quotations, making also our 
own comments, showing how far they may be worth following on 
a home farm or land in hand. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse Labour .—Horses are still engaged in the work of autumn 
cultivation by following the steam cultivator, which will have been 
passed through the soil both lengthways and crossways by harrow¬ 
ing with Howard’s self-lifting drag, followed by the two-horse roller, 
until the harrowings and rollings have been repeated enough to bring 
all couch and weeds to the surface, and carted away to a heap, and 
not regarding a little earth attached, or so free from it as is required 
for burning in small heaps in the field in dry weather. This is the 
surest way to clear the surface of any rubbish, and preparing it in 
readiness for a deep winter fallow ploughing after the Wheat-sowing 
is concluded. Some farmers burn these clods of couch and earth in 
large fires to obtain ashes for the purpose of drilling with future 
crops, which is not a bad plan ; other farmers use the ashes for dressing 
the meadows or parkland, but we prefer to lay out the couch lumps 
with earth attached on to grass land without burning, for we have 
seen it laid out fresh from the field, and do more good on the grass 
land and more lasting in its effects than a good dressing of farm¬ 
yard dung. Some horses will be engaged drawing out dung from the 
heap or yard, as the case may be, on to the Clover leas ; and here we 
must refer to the effect of the dung-spreading machine, which when 
attached to the dung-cart will spread the manure of any condition or 
state, whether decayed or otherwise, as fast as it can be hauled from 
the cart into the machine, which work is also done better and quicker 
than by the ordinary hand labour. Upon the hill farms and the dry 
friable soils where Wheat is commonly sown after Clover the plough¬ 
ing and pressing may now succeed the dunging as fast as spread, as 
early-ploughed Clover lea is best when allowed to get settled and 
stale before being sown or drilled. If the work on the home farm 
should be in arrear from any cause this ploughing and pressing work 
can be done simultaneously by the steam plough turning four or five 
furrows at one operation, and in this way will fetch up any lost time 
which may have occurred. We wish here to state that on light land 
after Clover we consider that the Wheat is much surer to retain 
plant when sown broadcast, or, what is better, by pressing and drilling 
at one operation, whereby the seed is made to fall into the groove 
caused by the ring of the presser than when worked down and drilled 
in the ordinary way, because the seed is seldom buried deep enough 
to feel the solid ground and obtain a firm hold early enough to stand 
the effects of winter weather, and then the plants become a prey to 
insects, such as wireworm, slugs, &c., and is more likely also to be 
lifted out by frost when the ground shrinks after a thaw. In the 
event of applying guano or any artificial manures at the time of sow¬ 
ing, it is always more effective and acts better on the plant when 
buried deep in the press grooves than when applied by the drill, even 
though the drill may be made to deposit the manure deeper than the 
seed. Again, we like the plan of ploughing, pressing, and seeding 
light land after Turnips or other root crops better than by drilling 
the seed, the saving of a regular plant being much more certain. It 
is none too soon to drill or sow Wheat upon the hilly and exposed 
districts on the chalk or limestone soils, for the young plants on such 
land ought to obtain a good hold upon the subsoil before Christmas. 
Hand Labour. — Hedging and ditching may now be done with 
advantage, particularly upon the strong flat-lying land with high 
banks and deep dykes, and especially upon farms where there is 
much underground draining done, which finds an outlet in the 
ordinary ditches of the farm, for the outfalls can then be found and 
cleared so as to work freely during the winter. It is, however, the 
