376 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May 10,1894. 
FARM CROPS. 
When a large profit was possible upon a crop of 3 or 
3^ quarters of Wheat per acre, was the golden age of farming. 
Then was the time when Wheat and plenty of it was the guiding 
principle, and farm management was so easy, its profits so sure, 
that very little thought was given to anything beyond a four- 
course shift. Bare fallows were considered a necessity just 
because farmers could afford to have them, and there was no 
anxiety about market fluctuations because the high price of 
com made an occasional bad market a matter of comparative 
indifference. 
Those easy-going times are ended. From Canada, Australia, 
New Zealand, the United States, the Argentine Confederation, 
Chili, India, and Russia, Wheat is pouring into this country in 
such abundance that according to a recent report the consump¬ 
tive trade of this country is quite overwhelmed with a plethora 
of present and prospective supply. Every quotation of prices 
for home grown and foreign Wheats is under SOs. per quarter, 
29s. being the highest, and 22s. 6 d. the lowest at Mark Lane on 
April 30th. It is, therefore, certain that the profitable cultiva¬ 
tion of Wheat here is only possible under exceptionally 
favourable conditions of soil and cultivation. Under the term 
of cultivation manure is an important factor; we may even go 
so far as to term it the most important, for without it success 
is now impossible. Of what such manure should consist has 
been well shown by the experiments of the Sussex Association 
for the Improvement of Agriculture. Under the advice of 
Professor Jamieson, when the Wheat is sown in the autumn, 
1 cwt of chemical manure per acre, consisting of i cwt. nitrate of 
soda, \ cwt. steamed bone flour, ^ cwt. superphosphate, is mixed 
and drilled with it. In spring 5 cwt. nitrate of p tash, cwt. 
nitrate of soda, ^ cwt steamed bone flour, and | cwt. super¬ 
phosphate per acre are sown broadcast as a surface dressing, 
the estimated cash price of the manure for the two dressings, 
autumn and spring, being about 34s. 6 d. per acre. This was the 
formula published by Professor Jamieson in the report of the 
Proceedings of the Association in 1888. In that report appeared 
a letter from Mr. James Allen of Battenhurst, Ticehurst, in 
which he says that from practically using Professor Jamieson’s 
manure he obtained 7 quarters 2 bushels of Wheat per acre 
from a reputed poor field, and he also mentions a yield of 
upwards of 2 tons of Wheat straw per acre. Where such crops 
can be had, and both corn and straw can be sold. Wheat may 
certainly be still regarded as a profitable crop Conditions of 
culture and yield of crop are alike exceptional, we should 
certainly add to them a carefully selected sample of seed, and 
early sowing in autumn. 
Barley was put in so well that good malting samples may be 
looked for, and profitable crops had once more. The general use 
of the chaffed straw as fodder for horses, store cattle, and sheep 
adds to its value, and a certain quantity of grinding Barley is 
also useful for home consumption. A crop that is so much the 
sport of seasons should always be confined within reasonable 
limits. In these critical times we cannot afford the risk of too 
large an area under crops of a speculative nature. 
Of all the cereals Oats should now have the leading place, 
both because it is the most useful and the most profitable. As 
a fodder crop it is invaluable, and is turned to account in a 
variety of ways. The winter Oat is always available for the 
flock when the herbage of the pasture is scanty in winter. It 
may be eaten off closely in folds, and then give a strong second 
growth, which is harvested before other corn. Under good 
management it never goes into ricks, but is carted from the 
field to the threshing machine, the straw being at once cut into 
chaff, thrown into a barn head, salted, and trampled into a 
compact mass. Gentle fermentation follows, flavour is deve'oped, 
rendering the chaffed straw so palatable that it is eagerly con¬ 
sumed. If it is not threshed, but corn and straw are all chaffed 
together, it is so nutritious that sheep and cattle fatten well 
upon it. We give this excellent plan once more, specially for 
the benefit of new readers, to whom we heartily commend it as a 
means of providing nutritious fodder just when horses are 
working very hard, and sheep-folding has to be provided for. 
As silage a well grown crop of Oats is invaluable. Mown 
when of full height while quite green it yields 20 tons of silage 
per acre, which, if the ensilage is well done, keeps good for two 
years. The silage is much more nutritious than the dry straw, 
of which so much was used last winter to keep cattle alive. Of 
the corn itself very little need be said. A fine sample of Oats 
is always a marketable commodity, a good crop of Oats is always 
profitable. The manure used by the Sussex Association for both 
Oats and Barley is the same as that used in spring for Wheat. 
WOEK ON THE HOME FARM. 
The showery weather has been so favourable to growth generally 
that all crops have a good start this spring. We have seen much more 
transplanting of Cabbages than usual, and regard the extension of this 
useful crop as an outcome of the long drought of last year. Much com 
hoeing has been in hand. It had to be pushed on, as growth is so brisk 
and forward that the corn has covered the ground much quicker than 
usual. Our chief effort has been to keep under Thistles. Annual weeds 
will be smothered where the corn is a full thick plant, with the excep¬ 
tion of Charlock, which appears able to hold^s own in any season. 
Mangolds have come up well, and the horse noes have been at work 
among them. A dressing of nitrate of soda tells well if applied after 
the first turn of the horse hoe ; it quickens as well as strengthens 
growth, the plant is soon out ot harm’s way from insect pests, and is so 
well established in the soil as to withstand the effects of drought. 
Market reports are cheering to graziers. At the Lincoln April Fair 
sheep realised 8s. to 10s. more per head than they did at the same fair 
last year. Store cattle and cows too are advancing in price, and those 
farmers who have managed to keep up condition in their live stock since 
last autumn are reaping the benefit now. Crass is so abundant and 
forward that a good grazing and hay season seems a certainty. 
All field work is being pushed on as fast as possible in order to be 
, ready for the early haysel which we shall have this year. Mowing for 
’ hay both of mixed seeds and permanent pasture will begin at once 
when the Grasses are in flower, so as to have hay fully nutritious, and 
an abundant aftermath. We hold that grass for hay should always 
be mown before there is any tendency to seed development. That is 
the best hay, altogether superior to that made from grass left longer 
before the mowing for the sake of obtaining a little more bulk of crop. 
This is a timely hint, a warning to be ready, to get other work out of 
hand so far as is possible, to see that all implements required for the hay¬ 
making are in good order, and that they are not left for repairs till they 
are wanted for use. Under good management this was done during the 
winter, when all implements and vehicles have an annual examination, 
and are got into good order for use when required. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamden Squarb. London. 
Lat.51° 32'40" N.; Loag. 0° 8' 0" W.: Altitude. Ill feet 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE Day. 
d 
1894. 
April and May. 
Barometer 
1 at 32°,and 
I 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 . • 
29 
30-144 
51-9 
47-4 
N.W. 
49-2 
fi4-9 
36-9 
101-7 
300 
0-081 
Monday .. 
30 
30-063 
54-0 
5 -7 
N. 
50 9 
56-7 
60-0 
690 
47-9 
0-063 
Tuesday .. 
1 
30-324 
49-6 
44-7 
N.E. 
49-9 
54-3 
38 9 
98-1 
31-6 
— 
Wedne^ay 
2 
•10-242 
48-9 
45-9 
W. 
4S-9 
55-8 
36-3 
93-7 
28-4 
0-03# 
Thursday.. 
3 
29-853 
55-0 
50-8 
S.W. 
49 1 
60-7 
46-6 
98-1 
46-1 
0-010 
Friday 
4 
29-829 
52-4 
44-6 
N.W. 
49-6 
55-3 
42-9 
104-3 
361 
— 
Saturday .. 
5 
29-944 
49-0 
42-1 
N.W. 
48-9 
62-0 
37-2 
116-.1 
29-8 
— 
30.057 
51 5 
46 6 
49-5 
63-5 
41-3 
97-1 
35.6 
0154 
KEMAKKS. 
29th.—Bright sunshine till nbout 4 p.m. ; generally cloudy after. 
30th.—Almost continuous rain or drizzle from 1 A.M. to 9 a.M. ; overcast and dull day, 
■with frequent spots of rain, and rain from 3.30 to 4 p.m. 
1st.—Frequent sunshine, hut overcast and threatening at times. 
2nd. Overcast throughout, spots of rain in evening andrsin from 1 P.M. to midnight. 
3rd.—Gleams of sun at rare intei vals; generally overcast and a shower at 11 A.M. 
4th.—Alternate cloud and sunshine, and high wind. 
5th.—Bright sunshine almost throughout. 
Temperature (for the first time for more than two months) slightly beloiv the 
average.—G. J. Symons. 
