264 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 16, 18b& 
calm, fair, and settled is the weather, and we have one more 
golden opportunity of pushing on autumn farm work under 
the most favourable conditions. Not a day should be lost in 
turning to account such fine weather, for wet October will 
soon be upon us, and every effort must be made to get as 
much work done before then as possible. Of really urgent 
work the sowing of Trifolium incarnatum came first. That is 
a trifling affair, for which we have only to select a clean 
stubble, to drill or sow the seed broadcast, and to harrow the 
surface sufficiently to cover the seed well. To make this 
matter quite plain to beginners it may be well to say that by 
a clean stubble we mean one that has no couch grass nor 
other foul perennial weeds upon it. No ploughing or stirring 
of the soil is required for Trifolium incarnatum ; the soil must 
be precisely in that compact state in which it is left after the 
corn is carted off it. Sow good new seed, 30 lbs. per acre, and 
cover it by harrowing so that birds cannot get at it. Next to be 
sown, and of even more importance than Trifolium, is Rye for 
our earliest springsupply of green food for flock-folding, as well 
as for cattle and horses. This important crop should always 
be sown early in September, 3 bushels of seed per acre upon 
rich well-drained land, light rather than heavy. We like to 
have the plants robust and well established in the soil before 
winter, and we cannot manage this unless the soil is really 
in good order, and sufficiently stored with nitrogenous 
manure to ensure a strong quick growth from the germina¬ 
tion of the seed. The fallacy of the dictum that nitrates 
must not be used in autumn is easily seen by practical men 
alive to the importance of robust growth in autumn-sown 
crops. How can a starveling seedling be expected to become 
a fine plant ? An early crop of Rye is of especial value for 
folding ewes and lambs. Like all other crops it was much 
later than usual last spring, but it was nevertheless most 
useful, and the folding was managed so that the Rye was 
not in full ear even in the last fold. For horses Rye answers 
best if cut into chaff and mixed with some dry food. Mention 
is made of this simple fact because we have had some diffi¬ 
culty in having this done. To give Rye to horses as it is 
brought from the field without chaffing involves much waste, 
especially after it is in ear. 
V* inter Oats and Wheat may be sown as soon as the land 
is ready. Sow early, if possible, and if the plant becomes 
“ winter proud” it can easily be checked by running the 
sheep over it. The possibility of early sowing should depend 
altogether upon the condition of the soil. Far better is it to 
sow late, or to wait till spring, than to sow in wet or foul 
soil. We must have a clean, dry seed bed if we would have 
a full crop, and we should not be satisfied with anything short 
of that. V*e must also restore the fertility of the soil by a 
judicious and economical application of manure to it. This 
has either been done by sheep-folding, by ploughing in green 
crops, or we shall do it with chemical manures containing 
well-balanced proportions of nitrogen, potash, and phos¬ 
phorus, according to the condition of the soil and the 
requirements of each particular crop. Let us take for 
example some of those for the sowing of which we have now 
to prepare. We find that the principal manurial consti¬ 
tuents of an average crop of an acre of Wheat in decimal 
parts are—of nitrogen about 60, of potash 35, and of 
phosphates 62. Of an acre of Oats, nitrogen 63, potash 49, 
ana phosphates 43, so that a similar mixture would b 9 
suitable for both sorts of grain, and having regard to the 
low price of Wheat, Oats may prove the more profitable crop 
of the two. For Beans a special and more expensive mixture 
ls^required, the average crop of an acre containing of nitrogen 
lo7 parts, of potash 113, and of phosphates 89. A half 
dressing of chemical manurein autumn at the time of sowing, 
and another half dressing in spring, answers best for grain 
crops. For Beans we prefer a Clover field upon which sheep 
have been folded, or land into which a green crop or two has 
been ploughed. In either case we should give a liberal 
dressing of chemical manure to the crop in spring. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Barns are filled, the last cornrick for the season has been built, thatch¬ 
ing of ricks has been done, and we are once more at liberty to turn our 
attention to ploughing and sowing. Prompt and energetic must be our 
efforts now to turn every hour of fine weather to account, and to do our 
best to get all land work well forward before winter sets in. Pigs and 
sheep are out upon the corn stubbles daily. After stubble feeding is over 
some of the inferior Barley will be threshed for the pigs, much of it being 
so poor in colour that we shall not attempt to sell it. Good Barley is so 
scarce that there is already a brisk inquiry for it, and the trade is likely to 
improve in the course of another month. We have bad several new 
asphalt floors made in the barns of several tenants’ farms, and some of 
this work is still in hand. When well done it proves very durable, and in 
order to insure such durability due care must be taken to make it upon a 
sound foundation, and to have the asphalt of a thickness suitable for the 
wear and tear to which it may be exposed. If heavy loads of corn are to be 
drawn over it 3 inches is not too thick, but half that thickness is sufficient 
when horses and carts are not to go upon it. The asphalt, we may 
explain, consists of a mixture of boiling pitch and road grit or silted road 
sand. A floor an inch in thickness costs Is. 6d. per square yard. We are 
anxious to have the whole of this work finished before corn-threshing 
becomes general, for we strongly object to the use of rick cloths on barn 
floors for cleaning corn upon, the trampling of the workmen being 
sufficient to wear out the best cloth in a season. Wheat has gone to the 
ricks ripe and hard, yet we advise caution in threshing, for soft grain is 
not a marketable commodity, and there is always some risk of it in early- 
threshed corn. The winter Oats upon one of our farms was so superior 
to any other that we had that enough of it was kept to afford a supply of 
seed for all our farms. It is our rule to use the best seed of all kinds we 
can procure, and equal care is taken to have it pure and free from weed 
seeds. If only seed merchants who make a speciality of choice carefully 
selected seed would keep down their prices within reasonable limits it 
would prove altogether better both for buyer and seller, for they would 
soon find their sales increase so fast as to prove the advantage of small 
profits and quick returns over high prices and long accounts. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Lime and Ferns (Frond ).—If by Ferns you mean the common Bracken 
or Brake (Pteris aquilina) then there need be no hesitation about usiug 
quicklime upon the surface for the destruction of liver fluke, for if the 
crowns of the Bracken suffer there will be plenty of growth from the 
creeping stems which abound just under the surface; but if the Ferns are 
of other species which have crowns and no creeping stems, then there would 
be risk of hot lime proving injurious, and probably fatal to them. 
Root Crops (Inquirer). —If the field is a small one digging would be 
decidedly preferable to ploughing, because of the deeper stirring of the 
soil, and trenching is certainly to be recommended for Parsnips. _ Both the 
digging and trenching should be done this autumn, the surface being left as 
rough and open as possible. In March apply the chemical manure broad¬ 
cast by hand, and work it well into the surface with harrows, and the soil 
will then be well stored with suitable fertelisers for the cropB you mention. 
As you intend using only chemical manures the quantities you will require 
per acre are cwt. nitrate of potash, 2J cwt. nitrate of soda, 4 cwt. steamed 
bone flour ground to a very fine powder, 2 cwt. ground coprolite, and 2 cwt. 
agricultural salt. Procure each sort of manure separately, and have them 
carefully and thoroughly mixed under your own supervision before using 
them. 
Chemical Manures (Cambs ).—Muriate of potash is cheaper to purchase- 
than the nitrate, and is used by many excellent farmers. The relative 
economy of the two forms can only be determined by experiments, as their 
effects are not uniform on differing soils. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATION?. 
Camden Square, London. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40 'N.; Long. 0° 8'0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
In the day. 
i c* o3_ 
Hygrome- 
o . 
Shade Tem- 
Radiation 
B 
1886. 
ter. 
5 a 
§«§ 
perature. 
Temperature 
X 
September. 
5 fe a- 1 
In 
On 
os 
Dry. 
Wet. 
So 
N 
Max 
Mtn. 
sun. 
gras- 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
d*e 
dee 
deg 
In 
Sunday . 
5 
29.918 
64.8 
61.5 
S.E. 
63.4 
72 8 
59.3 
108.3 
54.1 
0.028 
Monday. 
6 
39.003 
62.5 
57.6 
w. 
62.4 
71.2 
54.8 
112.2 
49.8 
0.050 
Tuesday. 
7 
30.O3G 
61.4 
55.7 
N.W. 
61 8 
71.2 
54.7 
105 7 
43.2 
— 
Wednesday .. 
8 
29.923 
69.9 
56.1 
8 . 
61.2 
69.7 
50.3 
108.3 
44.4 
0.01$ 
Thursday .... 
9 
29.928 
64.4 
61.4 
S.E. 
61.2 
71.2 
60 6 
106.2 
56.5 
0UIO 
Friday. 
10 
29.7 8 
65.8 
6L.0 
s. 
61.6 
63 7 
61.9 
75.1 
57.8 
0.418- 
Saturday .... 
11 
30.023 
54.6 
52.0 
s. 
6').2 
69.4 
46.8 
108 4 
40.9 
— 
29.934 
62.1 
57.9 
61.7 
70.3 
55.5 
103.5 
502 
0.528> 
REMARKS. 
5th.—Lull morning; generally fair, but shower in afternoon. 
6th.— Bright tine day. 
7th.—Rain before 2 A.M., then fine and bright. 
8ih.—Fine breezy morning ; overcast in uDernoon ; fair evening. 
Otli.—Rain early, and again about 11AM.; sunshine, showers, and fresh S.W.'wintf 
afterwards. 
10th.— Dull early, with strong S.S.W. wind, a thoroughly wet day, ceasing about 5 P.M.; 
damp evening. 
11th.— Fine, bright, and fresh. 
Maximum temperature much lower than in the two previous weeks, but still above 
the average.—G. J. symons. 
