284 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 25, 1*90. 
risk of loss from disease would have been much lessened this 
season. We merely record the thought as it occurs to us, for 
though it is a little wide of our subject, it is nevertheless intimately 
•connected with the home farmers’ interests, and now is the time to 
select seed Potatoes, and so to store them that when the planting 
season comes round again they may be firm and plump, with short 
sturdy shoots as thick as one’s little finger. 
Having given due care to seed selection, let us be equally 
discreet in our preparation of the seed bed, and see that it is both 
•clean and fertile. The safe standard of fertility is that which 
ensures robust growth from the first, and nothing short of this is 
to be regarded as sound practice. If there is a doubt in the matter 
it is better to make certain by sowing chemical manure with the 
seed. Here is the formula :—Half cwt. nitrate of soda, quarter 
cwt. steamed bone flour, quarter cwt. mineral superphosphate per 
acre. The hundredweight per acre of nitrogenous and mineral 
manure is a cheap safeguard against poverty of soil, and the ex¬ 
penditure involved of some 6=. or 7s. upon it points to an increase 
in bulk of yield, the value of which even at present prices will 
cover it and the spring dressing, pay the rent, and leave a hand¬ 
some balance towards the cost of tillages. We like a strong robust 
plant in our winter corn, so that it may come away quickly irff 
spring, and are willing to run the risk of a slight loss of nitrogen 
to secure it. This risk of loss sinks to a minimum if the manure 
is drilled with the seed, as it is then close to the roots, which are 
certain to absorb most of it. If sown broadcast before the drill 
and harrowed in it is so distributed over the entire surface that 
much of it may be washed down to the subsoil by heavy rain 
before the roots can reach it. The dressing of manure may be 
applied to Rye as well as to Wheat and winter Oats. Rye is 
usually sown for an early supply of green fodder for horses and 
cattle, as well as for folding ewes and lambs. We want it early 
and plenty of it, both which depend very much upon fertility of 
soil. In poor soil the Rye plant is always weak and backward ; 
an rich soil it is strong and forward. 
WORK ON THE HOME EARM. 
On mixed soil farms where Wheat-growing is still well to the fore 
early sowing is all-important. We like to begin in the present month, 
and to get through in October. When the Wheat area extends to some 
hundreds of acres this is only possible by having the ploughing well in 
hand, and the drill going by the third week in September. Rye, too, 
and winter Oats and Beans must also be got in early, and a first 
sewing of Tares made by the end of the month. Much of the second 
crop of Clover is being folded by sheep, as the flower heads are so barren 
of seed, and the ploughs follow the folds closely for Wheat, which is 
soon got in. We shall also follow some Cabbage and early Turnips 
with Wheat, as both have been folded with sheep, and the land is in 
such good heart that there is no question about fertility, and no ex¬ 
pense about manures this autumn. 
What a boon to the farmer is a flock of well-bred healthy sheep ! 
Here have we been folding white Mustard, Cabbages, Turnips, &c., 
since the lambs were weaned, leaving the land so rich in fertility that a 
full crop of corn is a certainty. No manure bills, but a delightful per 
contra of plenty of sheep to spare, and a certainty of high prices when¬ 
ever we wish to sell. This gives a spirit and go to farming such as it 
has not had for several years, and the sight of our fine herd of home¬ 
bred store cattle is equally cheering, for there’s money in it, sir 1 Our 
neighbour, Brown, who has made his pile on the Stock Exchange, says 
cattle are a snare and delusion, for the store cattle his man purchased a 
year or more ago after faring sumptuously upon pasture, hay, corn, 
and oilcake were sold recently at the local auction mart for less money 
than he gave for them. Nor does he receive our advice to try home¬ 
bred stock with a good grace, for he has had abortion rampant among 
his cows. We have no doubt that both his cows and store beasts 
suffered much from exposure last winter, for they were out on a cold 
wet pasture daily, and have no suitable yard or lodges for shelter or 
warmth. Brown has built magnificent stabling for his carriage horses, 
replete with every modern appliance and decoration, but his "cowsheds 
near them are a snare and delusion, and he certainly has no just cause 
of complaint at the failure and annoyance resultant from such mis¬ 
management. We mention this because many a gardener having charge 
of the home farm has to struggle on with inadequate means, and is 
blamed for losses and failures which it is out of his power to prevent. 
THE HOP CROP. 
We have delayed issuing our report this season about fourteen days 
beyond our usual time that we might be in a position to say what effect 
the hot weather that set in about that time would have upon the crop. 
We have now finished a most careful personal survey of the Hop-growing 
districts of England, and we are sorry to have to report the extreme 
heat has not, on the whole, been beneficial; it has certainly to a limited 
extent helped the Colgates and late Goldings, but has done great harm 
to many of the early Hops, especially those on dry soils, almost all of 
which have gone off with “ red mould ; ” vermin has also made its 
appearance in the cones in many gardens, and we fear many will not be 
fit to pick that are left over until next week. Fresh fly can be found in 
them ; this is bad, as it foretells an attack of aphis next spring. In 
making an estimate of the growth on as liberal a scale as 'possible we 
should say that 10,000 acres will not produce a Hop, 20,000 acres may 
produce 3 cwts. per acre, 15,000 acres may produce 6 cwts. per acre, 
5000 acres may produce 8 cwts. per acre, 3000 acres may produce 
10 cwts. per acre, and 2000 acres may produce 15 cwts. per acre. 
We are pleased to say that the best growths will be very grand 
indeed, and will be of such splendid quality that have hardly, if ever, 
been surpassed ; we should think these Hops will produce something 
like 70,000 cwts.; there will also be about 100,000 cwts. of fair copper 
Hops picked, and the remainder will be of very indifferent quality, 
which in ordinary seasons would not tempt brewers, but this season 
will all be taken for mixing with good sound old Hops, and will be very 
useful for this purpose. Even at this late period of the picking it is 
not quite safe to say that 250,000 cwts. of Hops will be picked, as it is 
probable that many of the gardens that are left unpicked this week may 
be completely destroyed by red mould and vermin. The Weald of Kent 
and Sussex Fuggles have withstood the ravages of vermin and mould 
best this season, and some of the best growths will be found amongst 
these Hops. 
The Continent will not produce more than half of last year’s, when 
every bale went into consumption. America will grow about as many 
on the Pacific Slope as last year, but the New York State crop will 
fall short by at least one-third ; last year, although America imported 
nearly as many Hops as she exported, every bale of their 1889 crop had 
gone when this season opened. This year it is not likely she will import 
a bale, as in the first place Germany will have none to spare, and in the 
second the import duty, which has just been raised to 70s. per cwt., 
added to the very high prices now ruling at Nuremberg, will put them 
out of the market, consequently America cannot spare a bale of Hops 
for England, and if many of the Hons that have been contracted for 
already should be shipped here, there will be the greatest famine in 
Hops in America ever known, as the consumption of beer there increases 
at an enormous rate, the increase this year over last being nearly 
2,000,000 barrels. 
The position of affairs is unique. America and the Continent pro¬ 
duce just enough for their own consumption and no more. England, 
with an annual consumption of 700,000 cwts. may, if every Hop that is 
hanging on the poles be picked, grow 250,000 cwts.; to meet this de¬ 
ficiency there may be 70,000 pockets of sound old English Hops, which, 
if reckoned as three equal to one pocket of new Hops, will add 30,000 
cwts. to the 250,000 grown in England Ithe Continent has already 
commenced preparing old Hops for the English brewer, and several 
thousand bales have arrived marked 1888, which are nothing but worth¬ 
less Hops of the years 1885, 1886, and 1887 growths, that have all been 
mixed up and manipulated and repacked. The attention of the Govern¬ 
ment should be drawn to these packages ; the same trickery was prac¬ 
tised in 1882, when worthless Hops of ten years of age were re¬ 
packed and sold as 1879’s. Brewers would do well to refuse to buy 
any repacked Continental Hops). 
Long before the 1891 crop can be secured there will be the greatest 
famine in Hops all over the world ever known, and lucky indeed will 
be those consumers who secure their twelve months’ consumption while 
there are some Hops on the market, as it is now certain that even the 
old beds of Germany will be turned out to keep the brewers going until 
the next crop can be secured.— Messrs. W. H. & H. Le May, 68, 
Borough High Street, London, S.E. (in Andover Advertiser'). 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 AM. 
IN THE DAY. 
1890. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32“ 
| and Sea 
| Level. 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
d . 
O'vA 
^ d 
Temp, of 
sou at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
d 
<sJ 
« 
September. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
5o 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass 
Sunday.14 
Inches. 
80.272 
deg. 
58.2 
deg. 
65.1 
N.E. 
deg. 
57.6 
deg. 
68.9 
deg. 
47.7 
deg. 
99.1 
deg. 
42.6 
In. 
Monday. 15 
30.133 
57.5 
54.9 
N.E. 
67.6 
73.9 
50.4 
112.0 
45.4 
— 
Tuesday .... 16 
30.028 
53.0 
56.4 
N.E. 
68.0 
74.9 
49.2 
110.9 
43.0 
— 
Wednesday.. 17 
29.937 
61.6 
57.3 
N.E. 
58.2 
73.3 
52.2 
103.0 
47.0 
0.255 
Thursday.... 18 
29.910 
61.6 
57.5 
S.E. 
58.9 
69.8 
58.3 
114.9 
55.0 
0.110 
Friday . 19 
29.934 
61.2 
57.8 
E. 
58.9 
68.9 
52.0 
110.6 
5>.l 
0.040 
Saturday .... 20 
29.646 
61.1 
56.0 
S. 
58.6 
67.7 
56.1 
111.8 
53.1 
— 
29.980 
59.9 
56.4 
68.3 
71.1 
52.3 
103.9 
48.0 
0.406 
REMARKS. 
14th.—Bright throughout. 15!h—Bright and warm. 16th.—Bright and warm. 
17th.—Bright early ; thin cloud and haze in morning; generally overcast in afternoon; 
heavy rain in evening. 
18th.—Rain in small hours, and generally cloudy till 11 A.M.; then fine and bright till 
3 r.M., and cloudy again after with rain at 5 P.M. 
19th.—Bright morning; generally cloudy afternoon. 
20th.—Rain in small hours; fair morning, with occasional sun; bright afternoon; spots 
oi rain in eveniDg. 
The rain on the 17th ended a drought of twenty days. The nights have been consider¬ 
ably warmer than in the previous week, and the temperature on the average has been 
considerably above several weeks in July and August.—G. J. SYMONS. 
