120 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
February 8, 1894. 
soil exhaustion may safely be said to be always in evidence. 
Plainly be it said to every farmer that pasture requires an 
annual dressing of manure in sufficient quantity to replenish 
witb fertility every particle of the soil in which it grows, sucb 
annual dressing to be in addition to droppings from stock turned 
out to grass. 
Agreeing as we almost invariably do to cancelling arbitrary 
restrictive covenants in farm leases or agreements, we would not 
only insist upon sustained fertility of soil, but would have an 
annual inspection made by the estate agent or other competent 
person. The test might be applied when most convenient, but 
the most certain test would be that of colour in winter. Brown, 
dead looking pasture in winter is poor pasture ; green, fresh 
looking pasture in winter is rich pasture. As we write we have 
in mind two meadows which now, at the end of Januai’y, present 
a strikingf contrast. One is fresb and green as an emerald ; it is 
full of growth, for the cows were withdi-awn from it early in the 
autumn, and there will be a full bite for them early in spring. 
The other is brown and bare, cows or store beasts have been out 
on it all the winter, having a miserable pittance of Oat straw once 
a day. Stock and pasture are alike starved. Both are caricatures 
which we would gladly improve off the face of the earth. 
While it is certain that the long drought of 1893 told upon 
all pasture, the herbage of rich pasture only failed for a short 
time at midsummer. The annual February manure dressing told 
so well that growth strong and early followed; there was a fair, 
in many cases a full crop of hay. Had this been as general as it 
ought the amount of imported hay would not have grown to 
209,000 tons, as it is now said to have done, nor would stock 
have fallen so low in price. In so mild a winter it will, in view 
of an early spring, be advisable to apply the annual dressing of 
chemical manure earlier than umal—say in the third week of 
February if the weather continues open. Where sheep folding 
on hill farms has been in full action during the winter nothing 
more will be required, but for all other pasture without exception 
should have from 2 to 3 cwt. per acre of pure chemical manure. 
To those farmers who have dressed some of their pasture with 
farmyard manure we say. Give the remainder a dressing of 
chemical manure and watch closely the result, compare carefully 
the cost, and apply the lesson to future practice. 
It can do nothing but good to tell once more of an example 
of this in our own practice. A large piece of permanent pasture, 
held in reserve for hay, was divided by a road into two equal 
parts, alike in every important respect, and it was resolved to 
try the effect of muck on one half and chemical manure on the 
other. Th3 farmyard manure, at the rate of thirty cartloads 
per acre, was applied in the autumn, towards the end of October ; 
its effect was soon visible, the herbage assuming a lively green 
hue, and making gi-owth while the weather was mild and open, 
so that it presented a striking contrast to the brown stunted 
appearance of the other half. In the following February this 
part was dressed with chemical manure, consisting of I cwt. 
nitrate of potash, f cwt. nitrate of soda, ^ cwt. mineral super¬ 
phosphate, and i cwt. steamed bone flour, procured separately 
from a reliable source and mixed at the farm. The effect of 
this dressing was remarkable ; the herbage, starting into growth 
quickly, soon took the lead of the other, eventually yielding a 
crop of hay twice the bulk of that obtained from the farmyard 
manure. 
Subsequently the use of farmyard manure was discontinued 
altogether on the hay pastures, and the effect of a regular 
annual dressing of the chemical manures was a steady improve¬ 
ment in the whole of the pasture, which, so far as the hay crop 
was concerned, was very little if at all affected by drought, for 
the application of the manure by the end of February or early 
in March ensured an early strong growth and a full crop of 
hay. Experience has shown the importance of this early dress¬ 
ing, for if it is not used till April a month’s growth may be lost. 
apart from the risk of drought and subsequent waste of manure. 
We may add that'when, in 1885, the home farm upon which 
such good work was done passed out of our hands, the showery 
spring of that year brought the crown and finish to our work in 
a crop of hay of fully double the bulk of any previous year. 
Ultimately we were induced to modify our chemical manure 
formula for pasture, mainly because that splendid fertilizer 
nil rate of potash is so expensive, and muriate of potash is so 
cheap and so efficient. Our annual dressing per acre is now 1 cwt. 
nitrate of soda, 1 cwt. superphosphate, 4 cwt. muriate of potash, 
I cwt. steamed bone flour, and 2 cwt. common salt. Procure 
enough of these splendid fertilizers separately, have them mixed 
carefully a few days before using, and apply this year in the 
third week of February, and in no year later than the fourth 
week. Last year it was the rain in the last week of February 
and the first few days of March that dissolved and washed-in 
the manure, so that the pasture derived full benefit from it in 
the drought which set in so soon afterwards. 
WORK. ON THE HOME FARM. 
Get in the spiing corn whenever the land is in a condition suitable 
for the work. Long and persistently have we advised the extension of 
the Oat crop ; glad indeed are we to find that at length it has come to 
be regarded as the leading cereal crop of this country. We may also 
remind our readers of the importance of the selection of good seed, thick, 
short, full, and heavy. Such seed corn drilled with the manure in soil 
autumn-cleaned and well tilled will yield a crop far above the average. 
Let your standard of excellence for this crop be ten quarters an acre, 
there is no reason why it should not be twelve quarters in good mixed 
soil. With Oats at the present price of 218. a quarter, and the straw at 
from 603. to 80s. per ton, we have a crop worth £20 an acre. It is 
unlikely that the straw will maintain its present high price, but the 
great scarcity of hay has forced the Oat straw into such prominence as 
was never before given to it, and it is likely to continue in general use. 
Black Tartarian is our favourite sort for spring sowing, but we are 
bound to say that we have always found a really fine heavy sample of 
White Canadian go well on market. Sow from three to five bushels an 
acre, according to soil, the better the soil and situation the lesser the 
quantity. Drill in with the corn in good sound land 1 cwt. nitrate 
soda and 2 cwt. superphosphate, in poor land use 2 cwt. nitrate of soda. 
If spring Beans are grown sow as soon as possible ; sow also Peas 
now, and remember how useful Pea straw is for the fiock. Both Peas 
and Beans are a valuable addition to the mixed dietary of sheep and 
cattle ; we restrict their growth to the home requirements, giving 
preference to Oats and Barley for any superfluous quantities for sale. 
Barley usually follows Oats, but it has long been our custom to sow Oats 
in any land coming late to hand, and we have found that Oats may be 
sown to yield a useful crop any time from early in February till the 
first or second week of May. The latter date is full late we admit, 
but we have had some very useful May-sown Oats—a sort of emergency 
crop, not exactly up to our ten-quarter standard. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Oajiden Square, London. 
Lat.51° 32'40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
In the Day. 
& 
1894. 
January and 
February. 
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 
29-702 
37-6 
34-9 
S.W. 
41-2 
43-4 
35-4 
71-2 
30-2 
0-010 
Monday .. 
29 
30.082 
37-8 
36-0 
W. 
40-0 
46-0 
33-3 
71-4 
26-2 
0-110 
Tuesday .. 
30 
29-759 
42-2 
39-7 
W. 
39-9 
43-8 
3 -9 
75-9 
30-9 
0-152 
Wednesday 
31 
-29-297 
42-3 
41-8 
N. 
40-0 
42-7 
40-0 
48-4 
33-1 
0-127 
Thursday Feb. 1 
29-904 
33-7 
32-4 
W. 
39-9 
50-2 
31-0 
62-8 
26-4 
0-078 
Friday 
2 
30-051 
49-9 
48-9 
W. 
39-9 
52-9 
34-1 
58-2 
29-3 
0-121 
Saturday .. 
3 
30-011 
48-6 
46-9 
w. 
41-9 
51-8 
47-1 
82-8 
44-0 
— 
29-829 
41-7 
40-1 
40-4 
48-0 
36-8 
67-2 
31-4 
0-598 
REMARKS. 
28tli.—Brilliant sunshine all morning; showers of wet snow at 1.45 P.M.; sunshine 
again about 3.30 P.M., and brilliant evening. 
29th.—Some sunshine early, cloudy from 10 A.M. to noon, and generally sunny in after¬ 
noon; rain from 11.45 p.M. 
Cth.—Rain till 2.30 A.M.i bright sun from sunrise to sunset, with brief intervals of 
cloud. 
Slst.—Rain from 1.30 A.M. to 6 A.M., and 8.30 A.M. to 11 A.M.; gleams of sun about 
3 P.M., but overcast again with slight showers later. 
1st.—Shower at 1 A.M.; almost cloudless from about 6 A.M. to 11 A.M. and bright 
sun to 0.3 I P.M.; rain from 4 P.M. to 7 P.M., and overcast after. 
2nd.—Overcast and mild throughout. 
3rd.—Rain from 6 A.M. to 7.30 A.M., and overcast till 10 A.M., bright sunshine from 
10.30 A.M. to sunset, and clear evening. 
A mild and, notwithstanding some sunshine, a rather wet week.—G, J. Symons 
