JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
18 
[ July 1, 1880. 
grain exhibited for prizes at the Guildford Cattle Show at Christ¬ 
mas time. 
Now in certain favourable seasons, although the quality is very 
fine, the crop and value of the grain per acre good, yet there is 
the practical question of pedigree in cereals to be considered, 
which is this : We grow a certain crop (say of wheat) of forty 
bushels per acre, and we wish for more. How is more to be 
obtained ? Outside the question of pedigree we have sown the 
best sample which we could obtain, and prepared the soil for 
the crop in the best possible manner both by tillage and manure. 
It is quite clear, however, that we cannot grow more ears in 
number, and if not, how can we obtain what we require ? for we 
cannot sow more than the customary quantity of seed ; if we do 
we shall get only green fodder, or a laid or lodged crop, instead of 
grain of good quality. The number of ears per acre cannot be 
increased, for in case we drill one bushel, or sow broadcast two 
bushels per acre, we can only reap about one million ears per 
acre. Pedigree, however, comes to our aid, and shows that the 
only means of increase is by increasing the size and contents of 
the ears, and this has certainly been effected by the system of 
selection pursued by Major Hallett in producing his pedigree 
grain, whether of wheat, barley, or oats, and these have, we 
assume, if properly cultivated in every respect, just the same 
tendency to produce large ears as pure-bred Durham cattle have 
to produce their like progeny. To produce these results we have, 
however, to consider the period of sowing, and we know that the 
customary seed time has been very much delayed from various 
circumstances during the last thirty years. We can recollect when 
at certain fairs held in August it was customary to purchase the 
seed wheat of the previous harvest, and to sow it at the end of the 
month, or in the early part of September, according to the soil 
and climate in which the crop was to be grown. 
The chief cause of wheat being sown so late is the feeding off 
roots upon the land, or the clover lea ground being reserved and 
fed with sheep, and other causes. If, however, the home farmer 
decides to grow pedigree grain thin drilling must be resorted to, 
say one bushel per acre, sown early in September, and the dis¬ 
tance between the rows should not be less than 10 or 12 inches ; 
there will then be not only room for effectual horse and hand, 
hoeing between the rows, but the plants will have plenty of room 
to tiller. Thus, without any crowding, ears of full size will be 
obtained, for it rmist be remembered that pedigree corn will 
throw large ears, when ordinary corn will not do so with any 
regularity. We do not wish to recommend any variety of wheat; 
but in case it is found that any particular sort suits the soil on 
which he farms it is desirable to obtain grain of full pedigree, for 
it is frequently the case that white wheats of high quality are 
grown because there is a demand for it at a district market. It 
should, however, be matter of experiment, taking, for instance, 
the best pedigree red wheat, and the same of Belie Vue Talavera 
or other white wheat, such as Essex rough chaff, both of the latter 
are of the best quality. It sometimes occurs that the red wheat 
will realise the most value per acre, and especially when grown 
near manufacturing and seaport towns where there is a demand 
for the red wheats by the millers for the manufacture of a low- 
priced flour, hence the necessity of experimental comparison. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse Labour .—Some horses will be employed in cutting grass with 
the mowing machine on the pasture or park lands. In those pastures, 
however, which were first mown for hay the carting and stacking 
will still be going on ; at the intervals when not so employed the 
tillage of the fallows and the ploughing of land for roots after 
vetches or the hay crop may still employ some of the horses. As fast 
as land is ploughed for roots after a green fodder crop it should be 
worked down with harrows and rolled the same day, not only for the 
purpose of retaining moisture in the soil, but for obtaining a fine 
surface, so that the young plants may receive all the benefit which 
can be obtained from the rain. The finer the land is the longer it will 
retain moisture, in the absence of which no root crop can flourish, 
especially of the early sowings. The late sowings, however, will often 
be greatly benefited by the autumn rains, particularly turnips sown as 
late as the end of July or the first week in August. Land intended 
for sowing with permanent pasture grass seeds should be attended to. 
and kept free from couch grass and weeds, so that it may be clean 
and fine when the sowing takes place, which may well be done in the 
second week of August. As soon as the saintfoin hay is carted off the 
land, and as it is in the third or fourth year when the land is usually 
broken up for another crop, if it is foul with couch or lop grass it is 
a good plan to skim the turf with the breast plough or the one-horse 
paring implement. Burn the turf as fast as it can be collected, for in 
a dry season the turf may he placed on the fires as soon as cut, 
because the best ashes will be derived from turf burned in a rather 
damp state. It should be what is termed stifle burnt—that is, placed 
upon the fires fast enough to prevent the fire showing on the outside 
of the heap; the ashes will then be charred and black instead of 
being a white or red colour. There is no better way than this of 
clearing an old saintfoin lea, because, Dr. Voelcker says, the ashes will 
often contain a considerable amount of potash, besides substances the 
equivalent as manure to 20 bushels of bone dust per acre. The cost 
of paring and burning is not more than several ploughings, harrow- 
ings, rollings, couchings, &c., would be when fallowed in the ordinary 
way. There is, however, this difference, that when the turf is burned 
as fast as cut the insects are destroyed whilst secreted in the turf, 
whereas they have time and opportunity to escape and remain in the 
soil when the land is ploughed and tilled in the ordinary way ; 
besides which, paring and burning will destroy a great number of 
weed seeds which may be near the surface. Nor is it of any con¬ 
sequence what crop follows, because the land will be in good older 
as a seed bed for wheat, or if preferred it may be fallowed and be 
sown early with barley or oats in the spring. The crops of hay this 
year are generally very light and will not require much making. We 
must ask the home farmer to consider the plan of staking the hay in 
layers with some sweet oat or barley straw, and when doing so the 
hay may be carted a day or two earlier, and thus diminish the risk of 
injury by rain ; at the same time it will be found that the straw when 
trussed out of rick together with the hay will be coloured and 
flavoured by the heating of the hay, and will certainly make valuable 
chaff when cut as required either for horses, fatting cattle, or any 
stock including sheep. 
Hand Labour .—As soon as the roots, whether mangolds, carrots, 
Swedes, or cabbage, have been horse-hoed the hand-hoeing should 
follow quickly. If the weather should continue excessively dry the 
plants can be left a little closer than usual in the rows, and in a dry 
season the wireworms and grubs are sure to destroy many plants, 
and in fact they seldom leave enough to make up a full crop if set 
out at the full distance at hoeing time. We find this is more espe¬ 
cially the case with the carrot crop, and therefore recommend a plan 
we always adopt. Instead of setting out the plants in the rows at 
the usual distance at the time of hoeing we clean the land from 
weeds, and when the carrot plants attain about the size of the finger 
we either pull the plants and feed cattle with them, or otherwise 
if labour is scarce we cut them out with the hoe at the required 
distance, and when the plants have attained the size stated the grubs 
will not be able to eat them. The autumn rains, too, will have com¬ 
menced and stop the grubs in feeding upon the roots. As the crop 
of clover will be very light we must ask the home farmer to save as 
much as possible for "a second cutting, as this will not only furnish 
an extra bulk of hay, but the land when sown with wheat afterwards 
will produce a better crop than it would after feeding sheep on the 
second crop. The second crop of clover, however, if not required for 
hay will come to hand well for feeding fatting bullocks in the boxes, 
or furnish supplementary food for dairy cows, horses, &c., which will 
be better than risking the making into hay. This was always a 
favourite plan of ours, for the clover not only comes in at a time for 
use before the root-feeding commences, but the cattle do well upon 
it and make an immense quantity of valuable box manure. 
The time is now come on many farms to buy the sheep stock; 
and in the case of purchasing lambs for fatting next winter, they 
should be dipped to kill ticks and skin vermin, or what is better 
shear them and sell the wool on or about the beginning of August. 
The lambs will do much better, especially long-woolled sorts, and 
make when sold from 5s. to 7s. more per head. This is now a good 
time to put the rams with the Dorset Down ewes ; the best bred 
Hampshire ewes will also offer to the ram at this time if well fed. 
KERRY COWS. 
There are, I am sure, a good many persons who are situated 
like myself— i.e., have no way of keeping more than one cow, 
and are therefore desirous of having a good one : let me, then, give 
my experience of this valuable breed. I have hitherto kept 
half-bred Alderneys; but reading a good account of the Kerrys 
in the Journal, and remembering a great beauty we once had in 
Ireland, I thought, especially as I had just had some unfortunate 
experience in Alderneys, that I would try them. I wrote to Ire¬ 
land, but happening to hear that my friend Dr. Hogg had a good 
herd of them in Sussex, I wrote to him. The result of our corre¬ 
spondence was his sending me one of his cows in calf for the 
second time. She is a great beauty, symmetrical in shape, jet 
black in colour, with very white horns, with limbs like a deer, 
and altogether quite a picture, she only standing 46 inches high ; 
but her appearance is not the best part of her, for she fully bears 
out the saying, “ Handsome is that handsome does.” She calved 
on February lltb, and in four months after calving she gave us 
nearly 8 lbs. of butter a week, and two quarts of fresh milk a day 
besides. I need not say after this that the milk is exceedingly 
rich and the butter good. She is very hardy, will eat anything, 
and very gentle and quiet. I do not think I can say anything 
too favourable for her, and if all the “ Streame ” herd are like 
her Dr. Hogg has a very valuable herd, but one he will not 
long keep if its merits are duly appreciated as they are by— 
D., Deal. 
