JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
October 5, 1882. ] 
333 
on account of the thick velvet-like covering on the chaff, it being 
said that it is more subject to mildew ; but we find this refers to 
the chaff only, and not to the straw. It is also credited with 
sprouting sooner in wet weather. This may be the case in certain 
western and northern climates, but not in the south and eastern 
districts of England. We have, however, a good set-off to any 
difficulty, for the thick close chaff preserves the grain from shed¬ 
ding in windy weather in exposed aspects—a matter of great 
importance in all seacoast districts. 
The above variety can be obtained of the various seed merchants. 
But Mr. Oakshott claims to have introduced an improvement in the 
Rough Chaff varieties, and offers us his selected Imperial White 
or Velvet Chaff Wheat, and describes it as having more length in 
the straw with less velvet on the chaff than the original, and this 
we are willing to accede to him as better for growth on light land 
or land not in first-rate tillage. But we prefer the Dwarf Essex 
to any other when a full crop of straw is expected, as it never 
suffers from falling or lodging on land correctly tilled. During 
the three years past we have the following crops of this sort grown 
on very thin gravelly soil and seacoast districtIn 1880, fourteen 
sacks per acre ; 1881, twelve sacks per acre ; and in 1882, thirteen 
sacks per acre—of great weight and fine quality in each instance; 
and we here call attention to the advisability in any selection of 
the Velvet Chaff of maintaining in all its advantages the short 
straw and the thick coating of velvet on the chaff, irrespective 
of any other possible improvement. In making these observa¬ 
tions we by no means insinuate that the Imperial Velvet Chaff is 
not best in some districts, especially on soils not usually throwing 
much straw, and upon light soils in the midland or sheltered dis¬ 
tricts, for we should rather prefer it, for the special reason that on 
such land it is sure to yield full crops of straw and grain of the 
very best millers’ quality. But still we do not name it to the 
exclusion of the Champion White under the like circumstances 
of soil and climate. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse Labour .—The season has been generally favourable for carry¬ 
ing out autumn tillage either by horse labour or steam power, and 
those who have not completed the cultivation of land intended for 
either Barley, Potatoes, Mangolds, and other root crops next year, 
may not have the opportunity in the spring should the weather then 
prove adverse. If we view this matter in another way it must be 
admitted, in the event of the spring being propitious, there is not 
time for fallowing and cultivating without a serious delay occurring 
to the seeding of the crops in the spring. Besides, every practical 
farmer ought to know that, although the labour of fallowing as 
regards tillage may be carried out, yet the result and effect will be 
very inferior compared with that arising from autumn tillage. For 
instance, if we have couch in the stubbles, unless it is cleared off in 
the autumn it cannot be so effectually done in the spring should the 
weather prove ever so favourable ; because, in the act of tillage, when 
the ploughing or cultivating follows closely upon the previous one, 
the couch is not killed, but is in fact transplanted by being mixed 
with the soil, and will certainly make its appearance at a future time. 
We will now suppose that the land intended for Trifolium, Vetches, 
Rye, and winter Barley has been seeded upon land which was clean ; 
some of these crops, however, have, we find, been eaten by slugs, in 
which case the sooner another seeding takes place the better, 
especially as regards Trifolium, for in Ihe second seeding not less 
than 30 tbs. of seed should be sown ptr acre; and it is advisable, 
too, not to sow the same land from which a first seeding has been 
destroyed by the little white slugs, as they will be surely awaiting 
another opportunity of feasting on the young and tender plants as 
soon as they show above ground. 
In all cold and flat-lying land the seeding of Wheat and winter 
Beans must now be anticipated, and the land prepared, so that when 
the time arrives for seeding it may be done without delay. In the 
case of Clover or grass leas the land should be ploughed and pressed, 
using the skim coulter, by which the turf will be buried under the 
furrow when the ploughman has done his work effectually. We, 
however, advise that in those cases where the leas were foul and 
have been broken up with the view of cleaning and destroying the 
couch, that such land should not be sown with Wheat unless it is 
ploughed, pressed, and press-drilled at the same time, because if the 
land is worked dow'n and drilled in the ordinary way the crop is nine 
times out of ten injured by becoming root-fallen in the summer, 
caused chiefly by shallow seeding and shrinking of the land, leaving 
the rootlets bare. Rather than sow such land with Wheat we should 
allow the land to remain in the fallow state after being ploughed or 
ridged until the spring, and then sow with either Barley, Oats, or 
drege according to the nature of the soil and the climate of the 
district. 
Hand Labour .—The hedge-trimming, especially the White Thorn, 
should be completed as soon as possible. In some of the enclosed 
heavy land districts, however, where the ditches are deep, the banks 
high and broad, and the borders wide, in order to prevent shading of 
hedges, these, instead of being trimmed, should be cut as closely as 
possible to the bank, so that the fagging book or Gorse-cutt.ing scythe 
may be used for cutting the growth, not only of grass, weeds, and 
herbage, but also the Maple wood, the Hazel, the Black Thorn ; in fact 
every kind of wood found thereon may with great advantage agricul¬ 
turally in respect of everything (except fencing) be cut and cleared 
away twice a year—in May and September. This we have found 
yields good green fodder for young cattle, dairy cows for the sale of 
milk, breeding sows and store swine in the yards, so what they do 
not or cannot eat will still tread into a manure by the animals ; in 
this way we not only obtain food for stock, but by closely trimming 
the banks and borders effectually keep down and prevent the seeding 
of all noxious weeds and coarse injurious grasses which contaminate 
our fields under ordinary or careless management. The women 
should now be employed in weeding the root crops by hand-pulling 
and heaping the weeds, for the showery summer has in various cases 
produced weeds which during the harvest months could not be 
destroyed by the hoe and are seeded, but by pulling and heaping the 
weeds will decay, but by hoeing only they drop their seed and keep up 
a succession. The irrigated meadows should now be got ready to 
receive the first heavy rains, which are so valuable by fl ’oding them. 
There is still, we notice in our travels, some aftermath hav about in 
the cold districts on the meadows ; on the arable land Clover seed, 
too, is still out in many cases. These matters will require men’s labour 
and women also in attending to them and making the most of every 
hour of sunshine now the days are shorter. 
Live Stock .—The contrast in the requirements and management of 
the different breeds of sheep will now be apparent; for although the 
tupping season for the Hampshire and other breeds of down ewes as 
well as the long-woolled breeds is not yet over, still we fihd that the 
Dorset and Somerset horned ewes are beginning to drop their lambs, 
and with liberal feeding will require but little attention as regards 
shelter if they obtain a dry night lair. We find in our visits to certain 
districts that the management of swine is frequently very much 
neglected, not only as regards the mode of feeding and the accom¬ 
modation for the animals by night as well as by day, but also that the 
breeds peculiar to certain localities are still maintained, without 
reference oftentimes as to the improvement which may be effected 
either by crossing or choosing a new breed of stock. With re¬ 
gard to the capacity of certain breeds for producing numbers and 
rearing them for killing at an early age of the best quality, it is im¬ 
portant to consider these as the leading points or basis of profit; and 
as far as our experience reaches we find that first crosses are better 
than the correct maintenance of any pure breed (except for sale as_a 
speciality), and no cross that we have ever met with has exceeded in 
profit for fatting than the cross of the Berkshire sow mated with the 
large white Yorkshire boar. These sows are notoriously good mothers 
and bring large farrows of good-sized stock as a pure breed, but when 
crossed with the Yorkshire they still bring large and numerous 
farrows, and as weight for age they cannot be equalled in any way, 
for the quarter pork as well as the bacon obtained will always supply 
a good proportion of lean meat of any age or size. 
THE METROPOLITAN DAIRY SHOW. 
The seventh Exhibition of the British Dairy Farmers’ Association, 
which opened in the Agricultural Hall on Tuesday last and closes 
to-morrow (Friday), is probably the best of its kind that has ever 
been held. The animals are on the whole of high quality, the dairy 
products excellent, and the appliances almost bewildering by their 
variety. In the class for Shorthorn cows the Lord Mayor’s cup and 
first prize was won by Mr. Newton Edwards of St. Albans with Daffodil, 
Mr. Walter, M.P., securing the chief honours in the class for heifers 
with Duchess Y. The Channel Island cattle are prominent by their 
numbers and quality, the prizes for cows going to Messrs. J. Cardus, 
Southampton; Le Brocq, Jersey; and Mr. George Simpson. For 
heifers to Messrs. Corbett, Beckworth; Arnold, and Brideaux of 
Jersey in the order named. For heifers bred in the Channel Islands 
the prizewinners were Messrs. Arnold ; Simpson, Jersey ; and H. A. 
Rigg, Walton-on-Thames. Messrs. James Fowler, and Welford and 
Sons, are large exhibitors of splendid animals. The Lord Mayor’s 
cup for any other breed was awarded to an Ayrshire shown by Mr. 
G. Ferme of Roupell Park, Streatham Hill. Mr. Good was the most 
successful exhibitor of Kerries. Goats, poultry, pigeons, ducks, and 
bees with apiarian appliances are admirably represented, but the 
prizes were not awarded when we left the Exhibition. 
The Remedies for the Agricultural Distress. —Mr. A. J. 
Bu rrows in his recently published book, “ The Agricultural Depres- 
sio n and How to Meet It,” thus sums up the remedies for the agri- 
