428 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 25, 1893. 
PROVISION FOR WINTER. 
Never before have we seen pastures so bare in tbe third 
week of May as they were this year. On our journey from 
London to Chesterfield bare pasture was visible beyond tbe 
borders of Middlesex, right through Hertfordshire, Bedford¬ 
shire, Northamptonshire, and that part of Leicestershire south 
of Leicester. Some exceptions there were, but they were few 
and far between, pasture generally having very little herbage, 
some being quite brown and bai'e ; Clover only a few inches in 
height was in bloom, spring corn was a thin weak plant, and 
much of the Wheat plant was unsatis‘’actory. The outlook for 
hay is therefore very bad indeed, much of the grass reserved for 
hay having been turned to for bare sustenance for the half- 
starved sheep and cattle. This has been done too in the 
northern part of Leicestershire, and in Derbyshire, where the 
herbage is altogether greener and more abundant. Quite re¬ 
freshing was it to come upon really gi*een fields and move a few 
miles beyond Leicester on the low-lying alluvial land through 
which run the Soar and the Ti-ent. 
As we write this article in Derbyshire, on May 17th, some 
fine rain is falling, and the barometer indicates m^ re rain. If 
it comes now freely and quickly there may yet be some hay, 
but we have entered the eleventh week of persistent drought, 
and matters have become so serious that a special effort is called 
for in making provision of food for our live stock next winter. 
Judging from the enormous quantities of cattle Cabbage plants 
which we have seen at railway stations recently, efforts in this 
direction are being made. On every farm where land can be 
had Cabbage, dhousand-headed Kale, mixed corn and pulse for 
silage, dares, mixed seeds, and roots should be sown or planted 
in the best way possible. Crops full and abundant are wanted, 
and must be had ; with the rain which we may now expect to 
have seed germination and plant growth is certain to be quick; 
how vigorous it may also be depends upon fertility of soil. This 
ought not to be a doubtful matter at all; we have ample data for 
our guidance now in manure application, and if we err at all it 
should be in using too much rather than too little of quick- 
acting fertilisers when we sow or plant. 
Take for example Turnips. We know that an average crop of 
17 tons per acre absorbs ab ut 150 lbs. of potash, 120 lbs. of 
nitrogen, 75 lbs. cf lime, and 34 lbs. of phosphoric acid. Here 
surely is sufficient data to base calculations upon for the feeding 
of an ordinary or an extraordinary crop P It is only the farmer 
who has cultivated his land long enough to be intimately 
acquainted with its condition that can apply this plant food in 
the form of chemical salts with anything like precision. Even 
he must allow a liberal margin for contingencies, while anyone 
ignorant of how the land has been cultivated must make him¬ 
self safe by using plenty of each manurial constituent. This 
would be working in the dark, but it would be safe enough. 
The all important point is plenty of large sound roots for 
storage, plenty of small roots for leaving out or only covering 
slightly with soil. Practice, with science, will do this, but we 
must have both in happy combination with energetic action, 
born of the feeling that winter food there must be. 
Let us be up and doing, then, striving to the very utmost of 
our powers to meet and overcome the difficulties of a season wl ich, 
alas! has brought ruin in its train to many a struggling farmer, 
trained in a school where custom and habit were unfortunately 
the guiding principles. The season is altogether an exceptional 
one, and exceptional means must be adopted to meet and over¬ 
come its difficulties. We must adapt oui’selves to circum¬ 
stances, not only now but always, and not rest content with 
simply drifting along. Well will it be if the difficulties of such 
an unkind season act as an incentive to face and ovei'come 
existing conditions generally. British agriculture has come to 
be regarded as a declining industry. Why has it failed to adapt 
itself to the state of the times ? Is it because the British 
farmer is so badly educated in a technical sense ? It has been 
said so, and probably with some degree of truth, but it is not 
that alone, it is also the lack of capacity to grasp the situation 
and to make a really judicious change. The laying down of 
entire farms to pastui’e is a mistake for which I he farmer has 
paid deal’. In such a seison as this he is powerless to help 
himself by making any such provision for winter as we have 
indicated, all his dependance is in his pasture ; if that fails him 
his difficulties may well appear insuperable. 
WOEK ON THE HOME FAEM. 
The raia has come in time to render a crop of hay still quite possible, 
but the quick strong growth we require will only come on really rich 
pasture. Whenever there is a doubt of this, 1 cwt. or so per acre of 
nitrate of soda dissolved and brought quickly into action by the rain 
would do great good, but it must be used promptly and with the rain. 
The soil is so warm that growth will now be very brisk, and every effort 
must be made to thin-out Mangold, Swedes, Cabbage, and Kale as the 
plants become large enough. Weeds will certainly be troublesome, 
and both horse and hand hoes must be kept going as the weeds appear. 
Have all hand-hoeing done by the acre, and see that it is well done. 
Sow Maize now as we have recently advised, and any of the other green 
crops mentioned in our farm article this week. White Mustard sown 
now may prove very useful for sheep folding later on. Any bare fallow 
that could be well cleaned during the drought might be turned to 
account in this way, and the land would certainly be all the better for 
having the sheep upon it. 
If possible, before grass mowing begins a rough outlying meadow 
will be pared, in order to get the sods dry enough for burning. This 
could not be done sooner, because the drought made the surface so hard 
that par'ng was impossible. The burning will be done at once if it can 
be managed, so as to destroy insect pests ; the ashes will then be spread 
over the surface, and the ploughing be done at any convenient time 
before autumn. This field is wanted for green crops, and it will be 
sown with Oats for next season. It is, of course, optional to plough-in 
the turf without burning, but we much prefer to burn turf when it can 
be managed. This rough pasture has long been a nuisance with its 
coarse sedge-like herbage. It was a moot point whether to take it for 
Lucerne or for mixed cropping. Never has Lucerne been more useful 
than it has this season. It seems positively to revel in a drought, for 
while Grass and Clover near it are stunted in growth, it has continued 
growing in full vigour, affording a most valuable supply of sound green 
fodder. 
METEOEOLOGICAL OBSEEVATIONS. 
Oamdex Square, IiOxdox. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0® 8/ 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
In the Day. 
d 
*s 
1893. 
May. 
1 Barometer 
1 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. 
Oa 
Grass. 
Inchs, 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inchs. 
Sunday .. 
14 
30090 
56-3 
5.-8 
N.E. 
590 
74-9 
48-1 
107-7 
46-2 
_ 
Monday .. 
15 
29-874 
68-1 
59-2 
N.E. 
58-8 
78-4 
50-9 
121-9 
42-9 
Tuesday .. 
16 
29 857 
59-4 
54-7 
N.E. 
59-0 
71-7 
52-9 
111-0 
51-3 
0-065 
Wednesday 
17 
29-630 
57 9 
56-1 
B. 
59-2 
68-3 
50-5 
87-1 
45-1 
0-346 
Thursday.. 
18 
29-617 
59-7 
56-9 
S.E. 
57-3 
t8-9 
49-4 
116-2 
45-0 
0.046 
Friday .. 
19 
29-690 
57-9 
55-0 
S. 
57-0 
66-9 
51-6 
113-0 
46-0 
0-010 
Saturday .. 
20 
29 706 
57-0 
54-1 
S.W. 
57-1 
68-4 
53-1 
114-7 
48-1 
0,028 
29-780 
59-5 
55-5 
58-2 
71-1 
50 9 
110-2 
46-4 
0-495 
REMARKS. 
14th.—Overcast early; bright sunshine from 9.30 A.M. 
15th.—Sunny, but shining through cirrus or cirro-cumulus in morning; overcast after¬ 
noon, spots of rain in evening. 
ICth.—Overcast almost throughout, with a shower from 1 to 1.30 P.M., but gleams of 
sun between 2 and 3 r.Jf. 
17 th.—Overcast almost all day; thunder at 1.12 P.M., with slight shower; heavy rain 
with thunder and lightning at 4.15 P.M.; showers in evening. 
18th.—Overcast morning, with spots of rain at 10.30 A.M.; generally sunny after 
0.30 P.M. 
19th.—Generally overcast and showery till 11 A.M.; much bright sunshine after. 
20th,—Dull and overcast, with slight rain at 9 A.M.; sun bright at 9.15 A.M.; shower 
at 12 noon; sun and rain up to 1 p.M., and cloud and sun after. 
Tire seventeenth warm w’eek; but happily the drought has been broken after 
lasting as a “ partial drought ” seventy-eight days, a period very rarely equalled, 
certainly not since observations were begun here in 1857.—G. J. SYM05S. 
