414 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 2, 1893. 
FARM PROFITS. 
Applications from eight farmers for a small dairy farm 
which becomes vacant next Lady Day, and the hire of that 
farm by one of them at a rent of £2 an acre (others were 
willing to give as much), show that farmers do not despair 
even after such a disastrous summer as that which is just ended 
has proved to so many of them. It tends also to show that 
while many a corn farmer is unable to pay a penny of his 
Michaelmas rent others continue to meet their engagements, 
and at any rate to make a '• living profit ” out of the land. 
Or, in other words, they are, by judicious practice, able to 
obtain sufficient interest upon capital invested to pay rent, 
rates, and household expenses. Taxes under Schedule A are 
the landlord’s affair ; if a tenant’s income continues sufficiently 
good to render him liable under Schedule B it is surely matter for 
congratulation rather than complaint; only let the tenant see 
in his own interest that he is really liable for income tax. 
Surveyors of taxes are wont to make fanciful demands, which 
show powers of imagination, of which farmers are frequently 
the victims. Those very important collectors of Imperial 
revenue simply make their demand ; it rests with the farmer to 
prove them in the wrong. 
What we desire to see in the farmer is more business 
aptitude in the conduct of his affairs. Practice that is tenta¬ 
tive, flexible, influenced by demands which are sound and 
sufficiently stable to justify change and concessions on his part. 
To enable him so to act that his landlord must deal fairly by 
him in removing all restrictions from covenants of agreement 
that are at all calculated to hinder him. For example, a 
matter under discussion va. ih.Q Agricultural Gazette just now is 
the profit still possible upon an acre of Wheat. The cost of 
production is stated to be £6 7s., the value of produce 
£ s. d. 
34 bushels of Wheat at 3s. 9d., or 30s. per quarter ... G 7 6 
1 ton straw .4 0 0 
10 7 6 
Cost .6 7 0 
Profit .4 0 6 
By this statement it is obvious that a restriction in the sale 
of straw would render a living profit impossible. Under high 
culture in good deep rich mixed soil, it is possible to bring the 
Wheat yield up to at least 40 bushels an acre with a pro¬ 
portionate increase in bulk of straw. Plenty of such corn land 
has come down in rent to 15s. an acre, and in these cases a really 
competent man is still prosperous. We refrain from giving 
details of cost, because such statements are always open to 
question, and it could serve no useful purpose to argue whether 
any item of expenditure should be less or more. The main 
question is all that is really important, and that appears to be 
clear enough. 
It has come to this in farming, that a f.'.rmer must cultivate 
the right produce, and do it in the right way. The old easy¬ 
going times have departed never to return. The large farmer 
must now be his own steward or bailiff, sticking closely to 
business, giving his personal superintendence to every detail 
of crop or stock, working in point of fact in downright earnest, 
just like any other man of business. Why not, indeed ? Where 
is the hardship ? We know a gentleman in trade, who five days 
out of six is off to business by 8.30 a.m., only returning of an 
evening in time for his dinner at seven. He has thousands of 
artizans in his employment, and probably works harder than any 
of them. Yery different to this was the life of the large farmer 
of twenty years ago. One of them well known to us used to 
hunt three days a week. An off-hand farm of some 400 acres 
in charge of a competent bailiff was visited by the farmer for 
an hour or two once a week or so. Yet profits poured into his 
hands from it in such abundance as now seems like a fairy tale. 
To such a man the loss of hunting, the having to devote the 
whole of his time and strength to actual business, is undoubtedly 
hard, but under stress of progress and competition the change 
was bound to come. He is a wise man who resolves to make 
the best of it, who is up and doing, resolutely setting himself to 
combat and overcome difficulties to which a weaker man 
succumbs, if necessary holding the plough himself, and thus 
command the respect which all good men and true accord to 
earnest effort and moral courage. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Custom tells even in the matter of sowing our layers of mixed seeds. 
In some localities they are never sown with winter corn, but always, 
without exception, with spring corn. No good reason that we have ever 
heard of has been advanced for this custom, and from the extensive 
failure of plant in spring-sown layers this year, it would appear that 
there is considerable risk of failure when a spring drought sets in—not 
necessarily a long drought, April showers fail us quite often enough to 
render the matter worthy of serious attention, and it will be well if 
more of such layers are sown upon winter corn fields than has been 
done in the past. Mention is made of this now while so much winter 
corn is in precisely the best possible condition for such sowings to be 
done—that is to say, the corn plant is nicely visible above ground, and 
the seeds may ba^own at once. 
Acorns abound this year. They w'ell repay one for collection. _ By 
doing so all risk of injury to cows or cattle from eating them is avoided, 
and they can be stored for use both for pigs and sheep, for both of 
which they are really invaluable. Sheep fatten upon them quite as fast 
as they do upon Oats, and we have never heard any complaints of the 
flavour or quality of the mutton being hurtfully affected in any way. 
In a season of scarcity of food they are a great boon, as indeed they are 
in any season. 
Look now carefully to all drain outlets, to the ends of water furrows 
in corn fields, so as to get water from drain and furrow quickly. Any 
stoppage of the drains soon tells upon the corn plant, checking its 
growth and causing it to lose colour. Land much infested with insect 
larvEe may now advantageously be dressed with salt. We may mention 
how highly beneficial salt has proved as a manure for all the Cabbage 
tribe in the Essex experiments. The amount used was 3 cwt. of salt 
and 2 cwt. nitrate of soda. The addition of the salt dressing to the 
nitrate added greatly to bulk of crop. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamden Square, Loxdox, 
Lat.51° 32'40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, Ill feet. 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
In THE Day. 
Rain. 
1893. 
October. 
j Barometer 
at 32°, and 
1 Sea Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of soil 
at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inchs. 
Sunday 22 
30-218 
53-5 
52-9 
S.W. 
53-1 
55-6 
52-5 
59-2 
51-0 
0138 
Monday .. 23 
30-450 
44-1 
43-3 
S.W. 
51-8 
57-lj 
37-7 
89-9 
35-4 
— 
Tuesday .. 24 
30-440 
48-6 
44-7 
S.W. 
50-9 
54-7 
43-6 
75-1 
41-1 
— 
Wednesday 25 
30-107 
52-1 
48-0 
S. 
50-3 
56-0 
46-9 
61-5 
42 6 
0-053 
Thursday.. 26 
29-852 
48-3 
45-3 
w. 
50-8 
54-6 
44-9 
96-9 
41-6 
— 
Friday .. 27 
29-986 
42-2 
39-7 
w. 
49-1 
54-3 
37-3 
91-6 
34-6 
— 
Saturday ., 28 
29-966 
52-5 
49-6 
S.W. 
48-1 
57-8 
40-6 
72-3 
36-3 
— 
30-146 
48-8 
46-2 
50-6 
55-7 
43-4 
78-1 
40-4 
0191 
REMARKS. 
22nd.—Almost continuous rain from 6 A.ii. to 2 P.M. ; overcast till about 7 P.M.; and 
cloudless from 8 p.m. 
23rd.—Misty early, with sunshine; brilliant from 9.30 to noon; overcast after 1 P .M. 
24th.—Overcast almost throughout, but one gleam of sun at 4 P.M. ; fine night. 
25th.—Overcast all day; rain from 10 P.M. to midnight. 
26th.—Almost cloudless morning, and the sun only occasionally obscured in afternoon. 
27th.—Almost cloudless morning, cloudy at times in afternoon, bright night. 
28th.—A little sun early; overcast with occasional drizzle from 9 A.M.; fair aftemoou 
and evening. 
A fine autumnal week.—G. J, Symons. 
