438 
■JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 8, 1888. 
WINTER CORN. 
At the very beginning of another farming year we were beset 
by weather difficulties, for at Michaelmas the time for sowing 
winter corn had come, but owing to the dry weather land which 
had been ploughed during harvest had become so dry and hard that 
it could not be brought into condition for sowing till softened by 
rain ; this was one weather difficulty. Another was that much of 
the land to be ploughed for winter corn was so hard that the plough¬ 
share would not enter, and it also had to be left till rain enough 
fell to soften it. Meanwhile a discussion was going on in the 
pages of a contemporary about the respective merits of a stale and 
fresh furrow for sowing Wheat, just as if farming work was never 
the sport of seasons or weather, and we were able to prepare the 
soil at a given time and sow the corn to a day. What is the fact 
this season ? Why, that we are ploughing and sowing as fast as we 
•can without regard to line and rule. All we care for is to get the 
soil into a suitable condition for the speedy use of drill and harrow, 
so that the seed may be sown without the loss of a day. 
The cultural points of real importance are these. The soil 
must be drained either naturally or artificially, so as to insure the 
speedy passage of superfluous water through and away from it # 
Soil that is water-logged is so inert and cold that it never can 
yield full or profitable crops ; manure is wasted upon it, for no 
matter how abundant and rich may be the dressing of manure, how 
thorough may be the tillage, how good the seed, no satisfactory re¬ 
sult can follow till it is relieved of the water. This done, however^ 
Nature’s treasure house is at once unlocked and the fullest measure 
of success is then possible if only we keep the soil free from weeds 
render it thoroughly fertile, and keep it so. Is this done by 
farmers generally throughout the country ? The best answer to 
this query is found in the estimates and reports of the Wheat crop 
of the current year. All concur in placing the average below that 
■of last year, and this goes to prove that the corn crop in badly 
cultivated soil is much more liable to suffer from bad weather than 
that under high cultivation. If this were not so how is it that we 
find such a wide difference in results upon neighbouring farms ? 
It does not answer to take things for granted and to talk of good 
soil and bad soil as if soil improvement were impossible. 
Though the season is so much advanced the hardening of prices 
will probably cause much more Wheat to be sown than was done 
last year. If this is done well results will be satisfactory ; if not, 
Tar better would it be not to sow the Wheat at all. How can we 
•expect a full crop from soil in a half-barren condition 1 It is true 
enough that land can now be had at a very low rent, but in most 
•cases farmers would find it answer to curtail rather than enlarge 
ihe bounds of tbeir holdings. If it is possible for a farmer by high 
•culture to cause one acre of land to yield as much or more than he 
formerly obtained from two acres, surely every sensible man would 
try and do so. This is the point which it is so important should 
have full and general recognition. How is it that a Jersey farmer 
with his seven or eight acres of land is able to thrive and put by 
money ? It may be said, and well said, that a man with such a 
small holding is bound to cultivate it as highly as a garden to get a 
living out of it. Just so, then why not copy his practice and 
apply it to farming generally ? If this were done it would lead to a 
more radical change both in the size of farms and in farm manage¬ 
ment. But depend upon it the change would prove wholesome 
and highly beneficial, for then a great improvement both in the 
quantity and quality of the farm would follow. 
One of the best tilled and most productive farms we know is 
only 60 acres in extent, and every square yard of it is turned to 
full account. The tenant apparently his no thought of any of his 
land requiring a bare fallow, but rather strives to crop the whole of 
it once, and much of it twice yearly. His yards are kept well 
stocked with pigs ; by watching market sales he gets together a 
small flock of lambs early in the year at a cheap rate, and they are 
at once put upon the land in folds and kept there till ready for 
sale as fat hoggets in winter or spring. So by means of sheep, pigs, 
and horses he contrives to enrich his land sufficiently to keep it in 
condition for constant cropping. Tt is by following the ploughs 
and harrows closely and picking up weeds every time the soil is 
stirred that he contrives to keep it clean, and so avoids having any 
of it in fallow. We have wandered slightly from our subject, 
which has led up to such a train of thought, but we know that 
every record of good practice has its special value, and can never be 
out of place in connection with any subject bearing on practical 
farming. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Enough rain has fallen to soften the soil sufficiently for corn sowing, 
which is now being pushed on so fast that a week or two of fine weather 
will enable us to finish this important work. Wheat has to be drilled 
with care, and the soil must be first stirred with harrows, the drill fol- 
lows, and then a turn or two with harrows gives the requisite finish to 
the work. All seed corn is carefully cleaned and no inferior grain is 
sown. ' If we would have a full crop of really fine Wheat we cannot be 
too careful in the selection and preparation of the seed. After cleaning 
the seed it should be dressed with blue vitriol, 1 lb. to 4 bushels of 
Wheat. This is done by dissolving the vitriol in a quart of hot water, 
to which add 2 gallons of cold water. Spread the Wheat upon a barn 
floor, pour the vitriol water over it, turn the Wheat over a few times, 
and it is ready for use. On very large farms it is customary to have a 
tank filled with vitriol water into which the Wheat is lowered in a 
wicker basket attached to a pulley, by which means a large quantity 
can soon be steeped. Winter Beans and the last crop of winter Tares 
have been ploughed in. This is done by attaching a single drill to a 
plough, two ploughs following without drills for Beans, and one plough 
without a drill for Tares. The advantage of this plan is that the seed 
is sown at once without the use of the large drill and harrows, much 
labour being thus avoided, as' well as any loss of time in sowing, which 
frequently happens if rain follows the ploughing. 
The clearance of the Mangolds from the land was finished before 
the weather broke, and we have a fine store of roots for the lambing 
season. A certain quantity of Mangolds are used for the horses all 
through winter, the roots being minced and mixed with Barley chaff. 
So far as we are aware this use of Mangolds for horses is not general ; 
certainly it is not done in Kent and Sussex, where Carrots have the 
preference as horse food. There is no doubt that some such succulent 
juicy food in winter is highly beneficial for horses. 
Kinvek Chevaliek Barley. —We learn that at the Brewers’ 
Exhibition, London, last week, Webbs’ Kinver Chevalier Barley was 
awarded the champion cup open to the world, and first prize silver 
medal for the best malting Barley, and that this is the second year in 
succession that these honours have been won by this celebrated variety. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 82' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8'0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. I 9 A.M. | IN THE DAY. 
1888. 
Get. and Nov. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32° 
and Sea 
Level. 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
S-=§ 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
C3 
"S 
n 
Dry. 
Wet. 
H 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
In. 
Sunday . 
28 
30.243 
(io.2 
56.(5 
S W. 
50 0 
05.2 
55.4 
77.6 
50.1 
0.276 
Monday. 
20 
30.238 
£50 
53.8 
S.W. 
50 9 
56 8 
53 4 
57.8 
504 
0.505 
Tuesday .... 
3o 
30.000 
49.3 
49.0 
N E. 
50.2 
52 0 
47.4 
6o.6 
44.3 
0.262 
Wednesday. 
31 
29.997 
48 7 
46 7 
s.w. 
49.3 
55.3 
44.2 
70.7 
39 2 
— 
Thursday .... 
1 
29.635 
44 3 
44.3 
N.E. 
48.6 
43 2 
42 3 
49.1 
38 0 
0.672 
Friday . 
2 
29.4 3 
47.4 
47.1 
S.W. 
47 8 
49 8 
43.7 
53.6 
43.3 
0.9*7 
Saturday .... 
3 
29.593 
46.8 
46.8 
N. 
48 0 
49.8 
45.8 
53.3 
44 7 
0.080 
29.873 
50.2 
40.2 
49.3 
54.0 
47.4 
60.4 
44.3 
2.652 
REMARKS. 
28th.—Fine, with some sunshine; rain in evening and night. 
*9ih.—Dull and damp early, wet day. 
3 «»tli.— Wet morning, gloomy afternoon, fine evening and night. 
81st.—Bright day, cloudy evening, solar halo in afternoon. 
1st.—Fog ail morning,* rather dense early, gradually changing to rain in afternoon, 
heavy rain in evening and n’ght. 
2nd.—Overcast morning, wet afternoon and night. 
3rd.—A dull drizzly day. Dense high fog, rendering gas nec'ssiry from 11 A.M to 
0.15 P.M. At 11.20 impossible to read the largest type close to a window, and at 
11.85 in the open air a board about 8 feet by I foot, painted white, was invisible 
while within reacli of the hand. 
A very wet week, temperature remaikably uniform in the latter part of the week.— 
G J. SYMONS. 
