470 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 8, 1893, 
Conflicting reports as to the influence of the long spring 
drought are so numerous, that it is worth while inquiring if it 
has done material harm or good, and why its influence has been 
beneficial or otherwise, in order that its lessons may be turned 
to account in the improvement in practice which is the aim and 
effort of every sensible farmer. Our opportunities for observa¬ 
tion in southern and midland counties have brought conviction 
that as usual it is in badly cultivated land that the crops have 
suffered from drought, and it is the men of luck and chance, 
taking whatever the seasons may bring them, without an effort 
at improvement, who complain, and who undoubtedly suffer. 
Of this there can be no doubt: it is on heavy wet land that 
corn is coming into ear on very short straw ; it is also on poor 
pasture that the hay crop is a failure. Everywhere in the corn¬ 
growing district it is evident that on rich well-cultivated land 
the Wheat looks well enough. Wheat land for Wheat, and 
that of the best, is the lesson plainly taught; it is enforced 
by the thin yellow growth, with small ears, of the Wheat on 
light poor soil. 
In some districts the drought appears to have proved a 
positive blessing ; as, for example, in the arable districts of 
north-eastern England it is regarded as having been a spring 
of almost unmixed advantage. In Scotland, according to the 
“North British Agriculturist,” “Scottish farmers are all agreed 
in declaring that never, in the recollection of the present gene¬ 
ration, has abetter or more favourable spring been experienced.” 
A full average crop of hay, it is added, is now expected, food 
for stock is very abundant, and a large breadth of Turnips 
has been sown under the most favourable conditions. Turning 
to the north-west of England, farmers are now certain of an 
average crop of seeds and hay; with another fortnight of warm 
showery weather such crops will be much above the average- 
There, as in Derbyshire, the pasture has never lost colour ; in 
Derbyshire growth has in some parts been so short that stock 
have been turned into some of the grass reserved for mowing > 
but in Lancashire it has never gone off, and “ seeds ” have 
been in cut a month earlier than usual. In Surrey we have in 
some parts seen excellent crops, while in others it is thought 
there can be no hay, and there are complaints of corn coming 
prematurely into ear. It is very much the same in Kent, where 
some of the small farmers, already behindhand with the rent, 
and without means to bring the soil at all up to a fair standard 
of fertility, are now struggling for bare subsistence, with no 
prospect of a hay crop, and a certainty of inferior corn crops. 
Those of them having fruit or Hops may do well, but for those 
entirely dependent upon ordinary farm crops the difficulties may 
well appear insuperable. 
To such men the lesson of the drought assuredly is. Cease to 
follow the practice of the large farmers ; cultivate only enough 
land for corn for home use ; have a fair proportion of Hops, 
fruit, and such sorts of vegetables as are calculated to afford 
some profit. Do not forget that of fruit Strawberries come 
into bearing a year after planting, bush fruits the second year, 
increasing in produce for several years subsequently ; Apples of 
such sorts as Stirling Castle, Lord Grosvenor, Duchess of Olden- 
s-nd Keswick Codlin almost as soon, and that a mixed 
plantation of the best fruit is one of the most profitable crops on 
a small farm under really good management. Poultry, mill?, 
butter, cheese, are also produce worthy of the email farmers’ 
special attention ; there is money in all of them. If the profits 
are small the returns are quick, and capital may be turned over 
many times in the year, the amount of profit resting very much 
upon management and skill. For example, the man whose cows 
have now a full feed of grass finds the milk yield improve both 
in quantity and quality, while he who has to eke out the grass 
with hay and oil cake complains of a serious falling off in milk 
yield and in butter. Nor is the butter really good, cake has been 
used so generally for dairy cows this spring that the butter has 
been decidedly inferior. Even now it ranges in price from 
8d. or IGd. up to twice that amount per pound. Plenty of butter 
at the lower prices is to be had at Newark Market every week— 
not this season only, but every season. Surely South Lincoln¬ 
shire farmers could do better than this. The common fault 
appears to be bad management in dairy and cowhouse, the 
result being an inferior article. Would not the makers of such 
butter be surprised to hear that much of it is passed through 
the butter worker, well washed, made up in more tempting form, 
and re-sold at a profit ? Yet such is the case. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Seed germination in some fields of spring corn has been so irregular 
that much of it did not show plant till the drought broke. This points 
to a little difference in the time of ripening, which must not be forgotten 
as harvest approaches. There has also been a second drilling of 
Turnips in fields where the soil dried quickly into a hard crust after the 
first sowing. With frequent showers, and soil so warm, second sowings 
were entirely worth while, and with plenty of manure in the soil the 
young plant is certain to grow quickly out of harm’s way. According 
to the results of sixty-one experiments, carried out by the Highland 
Society last year in different parts of Scotland with manure for Swedes, 
the greatest yield of 17 tons 9 cwt. of roots was obtained at a cost 
of 263. per acre for cwt. of basic slag, 3 cwt, superphosphate, and 
1 cwt. nitrate of soda. It is also noteworthy that in these trials a 
mixture of slag and superphosphate has proved superior to either of 
these phosphatic manures alone ; and that the same mixture of phos¬ 
phates without any nitrate, costing only 17s. per acre, gave an average 
yield of 16 tons 1 cwt., or only 1 ton 8 cwt. less than where the 
nitrate was added at an additional cost of Os. 
Transplant Emperor Cabbage now to come into use in October, jusfc 
when the herbage of pasture is becoming thin and innutritions, and to 
follow it transplant any of the larger sorts of Drumhead Cabbage. No 
crop repays us better for generous treatment than this, our aim being 
to obtain large firm hearts as being decidedly more nutritious than the 
outer leaves. Thousand-headed Kale intended for use in the autumn 
should also be transplanted soon, and for a winter and spring supply 
follow with other crops transplanted in July. Particular attention is 
advisable to these and other green crops calculated to afford a supply 
of cattle food for next autumn and winter. 
Teade Exhibits at Ageicultueal Shows. —Messrs, Edward 
Webb & Sons, Wordsley, desire us to state that they had a large and 
diversified exhibit of their specialties at the Bath and West of England 
Show at Gloucester ; and Messrs, James Carter & Co., High Holborn, 
wish us to announce that they have a fine display of pasture Grasses 
and Clovers at the Royal Agricultural Society’s Show at Chester. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
OAMDKX SqUARB, Loxdox. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.: Lou?. 0° 8' 0" W.: Altitude, til feet 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
In THE D.4Y. 
1 
1 Rain, 
1893. 
May and June. 
1 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 .. 
28 
30-223 
C3-5 
55-2 
N. 
58-0 
72-6 
46-7 
119-3 
42-4 
— 
Monday .. 
29 
30077 
65-6 
58-4 
N.E. 
58-7 
76-4 
51-3 
127-9 
452 
0-261 
Tuesday .. 
3 ' 
30-105 
50-9 
47-6 
N.E. 
58-8 
59-0 
47-4 
93 9 
50-0 
Wednesday 
31 
30-048 
51-8 
45*9 
N, 
56-3 
63-1 
38-2 
107-1 
34-0 
— 
Thursday.. 
1 
.30-037 
66 9 
49-0 
N. 
55-9 
66-8 
38-3 
103-6 
35-0 
— 
Friday 
2 
29-950 
57-2 
51-8 
S.E. 
66-7 
68-0 
48-9 
107 3 
44-1 
Saturday .. 
3 
29-944 
58-2 
52-1 
E. 
57-4 
71-3 
39-9 
113-8 
36-1 
— 
30-055 
57-7 
51-4 
57-4 
68-2 
44-4 
110-4 
410 
0-261 
REMAEKS. 
28th.—Generally sunny till about 1 P.M., overcast and threatening after. 
29th.—Brilliant early, and generally sunny in the morning; overcast afternoon with 
spots of rain at 3 P.M., and rain with thunder from 4 to 5 P.M., and showers 
later. 
30th.—Bain from 1 to 5 A.M. ; overcast all day; gleams of sun at sunset. 
31st.—Overcast early, but generally sunny after 10 A.il. 
1st.—Bright early ; dull day, with occasional sun. 
l^nd.—Generally cloudy in morning ; occasional sunshine in afternoon; fine evening. 
3rd.—Bright early ; overcast morning up to 10.30, then bright rest of day. 
The first week since January in which the temperature has been below the average, 
and even this is but very slightly so.—G. J. SYMONS. 
