JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER . 
August 19, 1880. ] 
175 
and forty-two million bushels, and if we assume that the ship¬ 
ments for the succeeding twelve months are only on the same 
scale, we shall have above four hundred million bushels of Wheat 
of the new crop left for consumption in the States. But the 
States cannot consume three-fourtbs of this, so that we have a 
surplus of one hundred million bushels over and above the abnor¬ 
mally large total sent to Europe in the last twelve months. It is 
an excess upon an excess ; the undisposed balance of 1879 crop 
being carried forward to swell the still greater excess of 1880. 
Without being disposed to exaggerate, it is difficult to avoid the 
conclusion that the United States will have fully two hundred 
and forty million bushels of Wheat to dispose of for export during 
the next twelve months—that is, thirty million quarters, or about 
a third more than the whole consumption of Great Britain. In 
other words, if our soil had not produced a grain of Wheat this 
year, and if all the rest of the world had not a bushel to spare us, 
the American surplus would feed this kingdom easily, and leave 
a few million quarters to spare. 
It is a good prospect, as we before observed, for the home 
consumer, and a splendid one for the American grower, but it is 
unrelieved gloom for the English farmer. What, it may be asked, 
is he to do with American Wheat coming over to this country now 
at the rate of four hundred thousand quarters a week, and with 
a further accumulation in the States, which seems always growing, 
as a vast additional acreage of fertile land is annually brought 
under cultivation ? The hitherto accepted ideas as to the price 
which would pay an American farmer must be revised by the 
light which this rate of productive growth throws on the whole 
question. Last year it was said that American Wheat could be 
profitably delivered in English markets for 30.?. a quarter, but 
it is now believed that even so low a value as 25?. a quarter would 
not keep it back. It is entirely a matter of transport, but then 
facilities of transport are always increasing with new lines of 
railway ; and vessels suitable for grain carriage across the Atlantic 
are fast being multiplied to meet the demand for them. Neither 
railway nor ocean rates of freight will ever, so far as can be seen, 
reach a seriously obstructive point, and, failing that contingency, 
the accumulated store must find its way to our markets in an 
ever-gathering avalanche. To the home farmer there is ample 
food for reflection in a crisis for which no agricultural authority 
from Hesiod to Arthur Young can, so far as we know, find an 
exact parallel .—(Daily Telegraph.') 
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF IRELAND'S 
SHOW. 
This has been held this year at Clonmel, and if the number of 
entries comparatively is to be taken as a criterion of success, success 
has certainly been achieved. In Derry the number was 387 in 1875 ; 
Cork, G74 in 1876 ; Galway, 493 in 1877 ; Dublin, 1200 in 1878 ; and 
Newry last year only 460 : while Clonmel can boast of 930. To pre¬ 
vent bias very many of the Judges were English and Scotch, and they 
were unanimous in giving it as their opinion that as a whole the 
animals exhibited were very superior. This Show, and especially 
some features of it, owing to the past unfavourable seasons was looked 
to with more than ordinary interest both in Ireland and Great Britain, 
and it must be a matter of congratulation that there was no falling 
away. The unavoidable absence of the Lord Lieutenant, owing to the 
death of the Dowager Countess Cowper, took away one of the attrac¬ 
tive features of such expositions ; but the weather made amends, for 
it has been several years since we had such fine warm, very warm, 
weather here. The shade thermometer has ranged from 70° to 78^ 
during the past four days, and to-day has attained the maximum of 
82°, which was on no day paralleled last year. This added immensely 
to the gala appearance of the Show, which was largely attended, 
and the amounts received for admission must have been considerable, 
as a charge of 1?. was made for admission to the jumping ground, 
2s. lid, to the grand stand, besides 5s. the first day, and 2s. 6 d. the 
second, and Is. the third for entrance. The Aylesbury Dairy Com¬ 
pany had a large allotted space in conjunction with the Show too, 
and for which Is. special charge was also made. This had much 
interest for the farming class, as this is a noted dairy district; but 
many thought for the sake of the humbler farmers, and their wives and 
daughters, that no separate charge should have been made. Among the 
rest Canon Bagot, who brought the Irish contingent to Kilburn last 
year, expressed this opinion to me, but said the local Committee were 
responsible. As your readers generally would neither be interested 
in details of the various breeds of stock or the prizewinners in the 
several classes, I shall only extend this notice by referring to the 
farm produce and a few other details briefly. Seymour Mowbray, 
Esq., Killeary, Mountrath, obtained the splendid cup presented by 
W. & H. M. Goulding, manure manufacturers, Cork, and the Society’s 
first silver medal, for a very fine collection, containing several varieties 
of almost all the usual crops grown on the farm, including forty fine 
varieties of Potatoes, the following being the principal:— Red-skinned: 
Kerr’s Red Champion, Surprise, Early Rose, Brownell’s Beauty, Ameri¬ 
can Chiles, Grampion, Early Redskin, Flourball, &c. White: Porter’s 
Excelsior, Woodstock Kidney, Schoolmaster, Snowflake, Magnum 
Bonum, Yictoria Seedling (Paterson’s Victoria), Flounders (very gene¬ 
rally grown as early kind in Ireland), Ashleaf Kidney, American Pro¬ 
lific. Blue-skinned: Skerry Blue, American Purple, Scotch Blue. Purple- 
striped: Dons, Oneida (very curiously marked), Peach Blow (said to 
be a very good late variety). The largest Potatoes were Bresee’s 
Peerless, which I am told is very largely grown in Canada, and forms 
the staple crop. If free from disease and suitable for table use it 
should be largely grown in Ireland. The latest variety shown wa 3 
Scotch Champion. The second-prize collection was furnished by J.D. 
Paul, Esq., Ellenfield, Drumcondray, and to this was attached the 
fine challenge cup presented by Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading. 
This had some wonderful roots, especially Mangolds, which some 
thought could have hardly attained their dimensions this year. The 
farming class were much interested in a self-binding machine, made 
and sent by the Toronto Company.—W. J. M., Clonmel, 
HARVEST DATES IN BERKS. 
Me. T. Owen of Clapton Farm, Hungerford, has written as 
follows :—“ So much having recently been said and written as to 
the lateness of the crops and the harvest prospects, I have from 
my diaries compiled a table which may be interesting just now, 
as it shows at a glance the dates on which I have commenced 
reaping, and also finished harvest, each year from 1819 until 1878. 
The dates, which are thoroughly accurate, show that in twenty- 
six years I began reaping in July and thirty-four years in August, 
July the 15th being the earliest date and August the 27th the 
latest. In twelve years I finished in August, forty-two years in 
September, five in October, and one in November.” 
Memorandum when reaping Wheat commenced and when harvest finished on 
Clapton Farm (containing 600 acres of arable land) from 1819:— 
Years. 
Began 
Heaping. 
Finished 
Harvest. 
Years. 
Began 
Heaping. 
Finished. 
Harvest. 
1819 
July 
30 
Sept. 
2 
1849 
Aug. 
6 
Sept. 
17 
1820 
Aug. 
3 
11 
7 
1850 
11 
5 
7 
1821 
17 
29 
1851 
f 
5 
12 
1822 
July 
15 
11 
3 
1852 
11 
5 
7 
1823 
Aug. 
14 
11 
19 
1853 
11 
11 
20 
1824 
11 
12 
11 
29 
1854 
11 
8 
12 
1825 
July 
23 
If 
1 
1855 
11 
16 
28 
1826 
11 
15 
Aug. 
21 
1S56 
11 
7 
» 
1827 
11 
30 
Sept. 
3 
1857 
July 
27 
Aug. 
25 
1828 
26 
6 
1858 
1* 
19 
27 
1829 
Aug. 
3 
11 
30 
1859 
if 
18 
27 
1830 
3 
it 
27 
1860 
Aug. 
27 
Nov. 
12 
1831 
July 
30 
it 
15 
1861 
91 
3 
Aug. 
31 
1832 
30 
if 
12 
1862 
11 
12 
Oct. 
6 
1833 
29 
ii 
3 
1863 
11 
1 
Sept. 
17 
1834 
11 
22 
if 
16 
1864 
July 
27 
Aug. 
24 
1835 
27 
ii 
2 
1865 
26 
31 
1836 
Aug. 
6 
Oct. 
15 
1866 
If 
30 
Oct. 
11 
1837 
If 
5 
Sept. 
8 
1867 
Aug. 
8 
Sept. 
16 
1838 
11 
*» 
15 
1868 
July 
16 
Aug. 
22 
1839 
11 
8 
Oct. 
8 
1S69 
Aug. 
2 
Sept. 
8 
1840 
July 
31 
Sept. 
17 
1870 
July 
25 
Aug. 
17 
1841 
Aug. 
17 
11 
18 
1871 
Aug. 
8 
Sept. 
13 
1842 
July 
30 
11 
12 
1872 
July 
31 
11 
11 
1843 
Aug. 
15 
11 
18 
1873 
Aug. 
1 
J» 
15 
1844 
July 
29 
11 
21 
1874 
July 
22 
Aug. 
24 
1845 
Aug. 
21 
Oct. 
13 
1875 
Aug. 
2 
Sept. 
11 
1846 
July 
18 
Aug. 
28 
1876 
11 
1 
It 
13 
1847 
Aug. 
3 
11 
25 
1877 
ft 
4 
22 
1848 
July 
31 
Sept. 
22 
1878 
If 
2 
11 
13 
ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION. 
It is now some time since we devoted several articles to the 
question of artificial incubation regarded from an historical point 
of view. Our object in collecting indisputable facts concerning 
its successful employment in times past, was to show that there 
was considerable a priori probability that in the future it might 
again be made of practical use to poultry breeders on a large, if 
not on a small scale. Pretty nearly all the well-authenticated 
cases of success had been on a large scale, and this left a doubt 
in our minds whether on a small scale it would ever be found to 
advance beyond the amusement of the fancier. At the time we 
did not follow up our general survey of these cases with any 
practical observations on the present methods of so hatching eggs. 
We are always unwilling to trust solely to information received 
from even the most trustworthy sources. We had no practical 
experience, but promised to publish the results of any which we 
might gain in the future. We have now personally managed a 
moderate-sized incubator with fair success during more than two 
months, and therefore think we may redeem a part at least of oi r 
pledge. Our wish had been to invest in a machine from each of 
the great incubator manufacturers, and to give them fair trials 
entirely under our personal management. We did not propose to 
publish the tabulated results unless some one incubator proved 
