82 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Ju'y 2-?, 1688. 
for a year or two, require years of careful culture to get rid 
of them. Surely if we could only realise the cost of negli¬ 
gence in letting Charlock become established in the soil, we 
should always be on the alert to prevent the use of unclean 
seed corn, and to destroy those first few hundreds of Char¬ 
lock plants which so often are left to ripen and deposit seed 
in the soil which so often springs up next season by tens of 
thousands. 
Readers of the Journal must know full well how repeatedly 
and strongly we condemn fallows, more especially long 
summer fallows. There are, however, exceptions to all rules, 
and we have known land farmed out and left out of cultiva¬ 
tion for a year or two, in the reclamation of which a long 
fallow and steam cultivation proved indispensable. It is in 
the regular course of good practice in farming that we con¬ 
sider fallows so objectionable; yet as it is quite probable 
that many of our readers have to deal with foul land now, 
a few hints may prove useful at the present time. We may 
as well own that we have to deal with a somewhat large area 
of foul land this summer, and our own difficulties doubtless 
render us sympathetic, for it is no light matter to reclaim 
neglected farm land. 
If steam tackle can be had it is preferable to horses both 
on the score of economy and utility. Take, for example, 
Fowler’s Grubber. By means of it we can break up soil to 
a depth of 2 feet, or if necessary a foot deeper. If used in 
the ordinary way, to stir the soil and subsoil to a depth of 
2 feet, we have the surface well broken up in readiness for 
subsequent cleaning, the subsoil stirred and aerated, and the 
quick action of drainage insured. Then, too, we have various 
cultivators—horse hoes, harrows, and clod-crushers, with 
which to break up and clear the soil of weeds, In a hot dry 
summer we are able to destroy most of the roots near the 
surface by simply stirring the soil occasionally; but failing 
such assistance from the harrows we have recourse to burn¬ 
ing couch grass and any other roots we are able to collect. 
Very highly do we value the effects of fire upon foul land, 
and whenever paring and burning of the surface is possible 
we do it. The advantages of burning are self-evident. We 
effect a total destruction of roots and seeds of weeds as well 
as of the larva of insects, and we impart much fertility to the 
soil by means of the ashes. This process of paring and 
burning would probably prove a cure for Clover-sick land, 
and also tend to impart great vigour to the next crop of 
Clover. 
No special rules can be laid down for the cleaning of 
land; rather should we resolve to turn every opportunity to 
account for doing so. Before all things we must have the 
soil clean, or it cannot yield full crops. A free use of horse 
and hand hoes among root crops is a valuable means to that 
end at the present time ; and later on, as the corn is har¬ 
vested, a prompt use of implements for breaking up and 
clearing stubbles is most important. Most misleading and 
faulty was the advice given last season in some agricultural 
papers, to leave all land intended for spriug corn undisturbed 
till spring ; the reason given for such advice being the sin¬ 
gular one that when soil is ploughed in autumn there is some 
risk of a loss of nitrogen through the drains in winter. It 
may be that there is a trifling loss of fertility, Sir J. B. 
Lawes claims to have proved it; but we are quite willing to 
incur such a loss if only we can get the soil broken up, well 
stirred, and cleaned before winter sets in ; for we cannot 
forget how very speculative a matter the doing such work in 
spring is, and if a heavy rainfall during winter does carry 
off some nutriment down the drain pipes it also leaves much 
behind it in the soil. Let us not forget that the fact of rain 
water imparting fertility to the soil should lead us to expect 
to find some fertilising matter in the superfluous water 
carried off by drains. 
Not a day should be lost, then, in breaking up the land 
immediately as it is cleared of the summer crops. Golden 
is the opportunity of a few weeks of fine weather in autumn 
for such work, and we should now try and make arrange¬ 
ments to be ready to turn such weather to full account if we 
are so fortunate as to be favoured with it. If only we can 
obtain steam tackle it could at once be set at work to follow’ 
the harvest waggon, for which all our horses are usually 
required. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
The heating of hayricks has been so moderate this season that thatch¬ 
ing soon followed the rick-building, and the whole of the work has been 
done quickly and well. We have been surprised to see the hay put into 
cocks on so many farms this year, for with such settled weather haycocks 
were unnecessary, and were, therefore, the cause of a waste of time and 
labour. Still more surprised were we to see much hay carted from the 
cocks to the ricks, for we know that when this is done there is a risk of 
musty hay. When hay is put into cocks and so left for a day or two, the 
hay in contact with the soil is certain to become damp, and it therefor© 
requires to be shaken about and dried before it is put upon the waggons. 
Before the thatching is done all loose hay is pulled by hand from the 
sides and ends of the rick. Especial care is taken to have the thatching 
done well and neatly, and if the ricks have been well made upon a double 
layer of faggots they may be left undisturbed for a year or two if neces¬ 
sary. When the ricks are finished they should at once be insured in order 
to avoid all risk of loss by fire. The rate of insurance for a year is 5s. 
per £100 worth of hay. Hoeing by hand and with horse hoes among 
root crops has had attention. Mangolds and the early-sown Swedes are 
now thinned, hoed, and in full growth. As Mustard becomes ready— 
that is to say, when the seed pods are formed, it is ploughed in. On the 
whole we have been successful with our early crops of Mustard, and 
much good work has been done in ploughing-in this green crop to impart 
fertility to the soil. Winter Oats are fast passing out of the milky stage, 
and will now soon be ready for harvesting. This useful crop is a good 
one upon each of our farms this year, a remarkable improvement having 
taken place in it when real summer weather set in. The straw is long, 
and the grain abundant. Spring Oats, on the contrary, will have very 
short straw, nor can the crop at all equal that of Winter Oats. As the 
horses could be spared from the haymaking, carting of coal and coke for 
storing for winter has been done. We like to get such odd jobs well out 
of hand before harvest, so as to be able to keep the horses upon the land 
after harvest as long as fine weather lasts, and thus get the land clean, 
ploughed, and also be ready to sow winter corn early. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Improvement of Farm Land (A Young Gardener ).—If the weeds in the 
field where Buckwheat was grown last year are only annuals, then w© 
approve of your intention to plough them in at once with some stable 
manure. If, on the contrary, there are perennial weeds among them, such 
as couch grass, plough the land, get out the weeds by using harrows, horse 
hoes or forks, burn the weeds, and apply the manure and plough it in. 
You may then sow White Mustard—20 lbs. of seed per acre, to be ploughed 
in when the seed pods are well developed. If you are successful with the 
Mustard crop ycu will have done much to store the soil with fertility, but 
with hot and dry weather now and in August there is much risk of the 
Mustard proving a failure. With land in such poor condition you cannot 
hope to obtain a really useful green crop for the cows so late in the Beascn 
in your northern county ; it will be well, therefore, to confine your efforts- 
to doing all you can to render it clean and fertile for next season. Two 
courses are open to you in your treatment of the poor pasture—either apply 
early in March a few pounds per acre of mixed grass seed and Clover seed, 
procured from one of our best seed firms, and well worked in by bush 
harrows, or pare and burn the poor pasture, plough in the ashes, and as 
early as possible next spring sow about 40 lbs. per acre of the best sorts of 
grass and Clover, with a dressing of artificial manure. We shall soon write 
another paper on permanent pastures, in which the names and quantities of 
the grasses and manures we use will be given. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATION?. 
Camden Square, London. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
y a.m. 
IN THE DAY. 
Rain 
1886. 
July. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32« 
and Sea 
Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
Temp, of 
Boil at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
dee. 
df.g 
dee. 
deg 
In. 
Sunday . 
30.181 
63.3 
56.6 
S.W. 
62.8 
75.2 
49.4 
115.1 
438 
0.168 
Monday. 
1‘2 
30.005 
62.1 
61.4 
S.W. 
63.4 
68.2 
59.9 
83.0 
58.8 
0.249' 
Tuesday. 
29.983 
62.5 
58.6 
N.E. 
61.9 
73.2 
50.1 
121.3 
46.1 
0 242 
Wednesday . 
14 
29.416 
65.4 
61.2 
W. 
61.4 
69.7 
53.4 
120.6 
53.7 
— 
Thursday ... 
15 
29.804 
59.0 
52.1 
w. 
60.8 
70.3 
51.3 
110.5 
46.3 
— 
Friday. 
29.759 
65.2 
58.0 
w. 
60.4 
73.4 
5 .2 
130.2 
44.8 
— 
Saturday ... 
IV 
30.031 
63.4 
57.2 
s. 
61.2 
67.1 
53.7 
93.8 
46.7 
0.254 
29.883 
63.0 
57.9 
61.7 
71.0 
52.6 
110.6 
48.6 
0.913- 
REMARKS. 
llth.—Generally fine, and rather windy; a few drops of rain about 7 P.M. 
12th.—Heavy ruin early ; dull drizzly morning; soaking afternoon and evening. 
13th.—Fine and bright early, but frequently cloudy during day. Heavy rain from 
11.30 P.M. and 2 A.M. ~ 
llth.—Unsettled morning—sunshine, cloud, and showers ; fine altar noon and evening, 
loth.—Fine, but rather cloudy morn ; bright afternoon; cloudless night, 
lfith.—Bright pleasant day. 
17th.—Cloudy early; heavy rain all the morning; fair, but damp after. 
A dull damp week, and much cooler than the two previous ones.—G. J. SYMONS. 
