JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
506 
[ June 14, 18S3. 
for us to come to a conclusion on this point, as there can be little 
question that whether a rick will fire at 200° or not it will be found 
decidedly too hot to furnish good hay. We are also inclined to the 
opinion that field hay or meadow hay may ignite at a temperature 
to be defined, and that the former would ignite much before the 
latter, although the temperature may be the same. We well recol¬ 
lect a circumstance of a herdsman when cutting out water meadow 
hay for his dairy cows at some time after Michaelmas that it ignited 
whilst loading on a cart, which was tipped up in great haste to 
prevent serious mischief. Actual combustion may therefore be 
deferred for a longer period with meadow hay, and in some cases 
may probably not ignite at all if the stack is not opened until the 
following spring season. 
It is very much to he regretted that the trials and experiments 
which cost so much money at the Royal Society’s meeting at 
Reading turned out so badly, and we have strong reasons for fear¬ 
ing that these unsatisfactory trials will have caused considerable 
injury to the reputation of what we believe to be a valuable system 
if properly applied. It has been proved in various instances 
(irrespective of the long usage of the plan by Messrs. Neilson. and 
Knowles with success) that during several past seasons the control 
of ricks of hay which had previously been partially made and had 
kept within reasonable temperature is quite practicable. How 
often do we see a field of hay which up to a certain time has been 
well made, but yet it is not quite fit to carry on a particular day, 
deluged with rain the next day and completely spoilt, when by 
using Mr. Neilson’s system it might have been carried one day 
earlier and saved in consequence. Again, referring to the abortive 
trials at Reading, it was very unfortunate that the Royal Agricul¬ 
tural Society did not adopt the suggestion of Mr. Howard by send¬ 
ing round a committee of inquiry to those farms where the process 
had been adopted during the year, instead of spending so large a 
sum of money by the attempt to hold those elaborate trials. 
Mr. Neilson himself was most unfortunately, and we think unfairly, 
shut out from the competition for 'Mr. Sutton's prize by having 
overlooked the time of entry for his fan, and this fact alone went 
far to rob the trials of much of their interest and public benefit. 
All the other exhibitors of fans were simply copying his mode of 
proceeding more or less, yet thinking probably that they could 
improve on it they all departed from it in one particular. Instead 
of drawing up a stuffed sack to form a central air shaft, they 
inserted vertical cages or bosses of wood or iron. The weight of 
the hay, however, settling down caused the bosses to collapse, and 
the wet hay being tightly compressed on the top of them became 
impervious to air, and caused great mould and injury to the hay. 
It is also a great point with Mr. Neilson in constructing his stacks 
that they should have their sides of equal measurement, or else 
when the fan is set to work it will draw out all the heat from the 
side on which the rick is thinnest, as of course the air will pass 
through the hay the shortest way. Various objections have been 
taken to the work done by the tedding machines, but it must be 
remembered that if a little injury is suffered in some cases, yet 
as an implement and machine in general use the benefit to be 
derived from it is very great, especially in those districts where 
hand labour is scarce and dear, and which is usually the case in 
many wide pasture districts of the kingdom. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse Labour .—It is a busy time with the horses, and the weather 
so perfect, too, without the slighest delay to the operations on the 
home farm, nothing having occurred to impede the ploughing and 
seeding the land for the various root crops, some cases are likely 
to occur in which the turnip-flea or beetle may do some injury. We 
think it is advisable in some cases to drill White Mustard seed in 
admixture with Swede or common Turnip seed, as these vegetate 
more quickly than the Turnip seeds, and engage the attention of 
the fleas, and allow the Turnip olants to take possession sufficiently 
to carry them through any injury to be done by after attacks of 
their enemies. The mowing machines will now be in full use on 
the Clovers and Sainfoin, Rye Grasses, <kc., and if the present 
brilliant weather continues the carting and stacking may employ 
both horses and men until the conclusion of haying in the early 
districts. Let us hope that it may turn out thus, and enable the 
home farmer to dispense with any extraneous or additional assistance 
from the exhaustion-of-heat system of hay-saving, for however we 
may value and approve of its uses in difficult and catching seasons, 
yet we freely admit that all the best hay we have ever made or seen 
has been the result of good management of the grass during the 
driest and most sunny seasons; and with the assistance of the 
mowing machine, the tedding machine, the horse-rake, and the 
elevator at the stack, the work of making and stacking the hay may 
be made at the least cost and of the finest quality. The long-con¬ 
tinued succession of difficult seasons will, no doubt, have taught the 
home farmer many valuable lessons, which could not have been 
acquired in such a practical form by any other means. The horse- 
hoeing of the Mangold, Carrot, Cabbage, and other root crops should 
now be daity continued, not only for the destruction of weeds, but 
for the assistance of the root crops also ; and we advise that in those 
cases where, from unforeseen causes, these crops may not be so 
promising as could be wished, the application of 1 cwt. of nitrate of 
soda may be given between the rows of plants just before the horse- 
hoeing. This will have an instantaneous effect, especially with 
Mangold and Cabbage crops; and on Potatoes also if they do not 
grow as could be wished the nitrate of soda may be applied before 
hilling the plants in the rows. 
On some farms, but especially upon some light soils, like the white 
land on the chalk hills, are much given to the growth of Charlock, 
which appears to be indigenous to these lands, and to rid them is a 
matter well worth the consideration of the home farmer. Instead 
of complaining of these weeds and the cost of killing or destroying 
them in our crops, let us take the opportunity of using the Charlock 
when just coming into bloom as the means of manuring the land, 
and ridding it as much as possible at the same time. For instance, 
if we have a field known to produce Charlock in abundance, greatly to 
the disadvantage of our farm crops, instead of seeding for a Turnip 
crop, grow a crop of Mustard with Charlock. If the land has been 
fallowed a good depth by a winter ploughing, work the land fine in 
the early spring, and allow the Mustard and Charlock to become a 
strong and thick crop, then plough it under and press, and work the 
land fine, and sow Mustard. Another crop of Charlock is again 
almost assured, which if ploughed in when at full growth and flower 
will prove valuable manure. Let this be repeated several times 
during the summer instead of growing Turnips to be fed off by 
sheep, and a valuable crop of Wheat may be grown without any 
other manure. The same if the land is held on for Lent corn may 
be done with advantage, taking care, however, to press the land and 
seed the corn with the aid of the press drill, which will give the 
rows of corn at about 10 inches apart, and at this distance when the 
Charlock comes again, which it will probably do, though in 
diminished numbers, it may be horse-hoed between the rows of corn, 
and the weed-eradicating machine drawn by one horse will complete 
the work of destruction. Still, on some soils it will come again 
whenever the fallow crop occurs, and then the ploughing-in for 
manure operations by growing Mustard may be repeated without 
loss, except the manuring by sheep, which will be well substituted 
for a manuring far more powerful and enduring than the sheep¬ 
dressing, for it is well known to those who have practised the system 
that the death and decay of green crops yield the most valuable 
manure for the production of cereals at a far less cost than any 
other manure. 
Hand Labour will now be required in various ways. The Quickset 
hedges, in fact any hedges, should be trimmed at or before mid¬ 
summer day for the first time, and at the same time to prevent any 
weeds or coarse grass seeding on the borders or in the ditches, 
these may, if not having been previously cut for green foddering of 
cattle, be cut and disposed of, together with the hedge trimmings, 
which may be raked together when dry if it can be reached without 
injury to any growing crop, and carted to a rick or secured in heap, 
for the purpose of covering and protecting Mangold or Potato store 
heaps during the winter. If, however, it cannot be removed at the 
time, let it be raked together and heaped in large heaps on the 
borders, in readiness to be cleared away after harvest. In this 
manner the hedges will be preserved, the ditches kept open, the 
borders clean and tidy, and no weeds, &c., allowed to seed the adjoin¬ 
ing land. At the same time, it will have yielded enough to pay for 
cutting, by affording either fodder, or bedding adapted for covering 
our root-store heaps. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Square, London. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
date. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
1883. 
GJ ?! _, 
Hygrome- 
o- ; 
Shade Tem- 
Radiation 
a 
ter. 
£ fl 
| Temp. 
Soil t 
1 foot 
perature. 
Temperature. 
a! 
« 
J nne. 
cs I 
Dry. 
Wet. 
££ 
So 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
snn. 
On 
grass. 
Sun. 3 
Inches. 
3'.174 
deg. 
66-0 
dee. 
55.9 
N. 
deg. 
67.6 
deg. 
74.9 
deg. 
49.8 
dee. 
117.4 
deg. 
40.8 
In. 
Mon. 4 
80.02 L 
01.8 
57.5 
N.E. 
58.7 
78.7 
46.4 
119.9 
43.9 
— 
Tues. 5 
29.849 
63.7 
54 3 
N.W. 
59.5 
765 
483 
119.6 
45.4 
— 
Wed. 6 
29.S.-)9 
.57.4 
51.3 
N.E. 
59 7 
70.4 
45.2 
114.3 
45.3 
• — 
Thurs. 7 
29.787 
51.0 
49.2 
N. 
59.8 
64.7 
49.4 
73.6 
45.4 
— 
Friday 8 
29.8D4 
58 8 
52.9 
E. 
58.1 
67.4 
50.1 
92.6 
42.3 
— 
Satur. 9 
29.892 
62.6 
57.2 
N.E. 
57.7 
76.1 
47.0 
117.7 
39.3 
— 
29.915 
60.2 
54.) 
58.7 
72.7 
48.0 
107.9 
41.2 
— 
REMARKS. 
3rd.—Fine and bright. 
4th.—Rather overeat in morning : fine bright afternoon and evening. 
5th.—Fine and bright; much wind and dust. 
6th.—Fine throughout. 
7th.—Calm, dull, and cool; slight shower 8 A.M. 
8th.—Fine ; cloudy at interval*. 
9th.—Fine bright morning ; afternoon dull and stormy-looking ; large drops of 
rain 4 P.M. 
A very fine week, temperature above the average. A heavy thunderstorm 
occurred in the valley of the Thames, with 1.75 inch of rain in an hour and 
a half, but no measurable quantity fell here.—G. J. SYMONS. 
