352 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 15, 1885. 
inevitable than to struggle on hopelessly against it ; but 
before doing so we ought certainly to see for ourselves if 
failure in this important matter is really inevitable. In 
doing this let us omit nothing, but weigh well the cost of 
foul land, inferior seed, long fallows, farmyard manure with 
the heavy expenditure involved in its manufacture and use, 
and then let us strive to master fully the advantages of clean 
land, no long fallows, the application of manure either in the 
form of pure artificial home-mixed manure, or of green crops 
ploughed into the soil, of good seed of the best sort, of a re¬ 
duction both in horse and manual labour upon the farm. 
How seldom do we meet with a field of White Wheat, and 
yet there can be no good reason why it should not be grown 
extensively upon farms south of the Trent. We were re¬ 
cently asked by a tenant farmer for a reduction of rent upon 
the plea that his crops did not “ pay,” adding, by way of 
illustration, that he had only got a yield of 24 bushels an 
acre of Red Wheat this year, and he had just sold it for 
3s. 9d. per bushel. Messrs. Webb, of Wordsley, Stour¬ 
bridge, send us extracts from a letter published in a news¬ 
paper, and written by Mr. Evan Baillie of Filleigh, to the 
effect “ That from a field which has been considered the 
poorest on Newhouse Farm, in Chudleigh parish, there has 
this year been grown, thrashed, and winnowed White Wheat 
at the rate of 47 bushels per acre. The straw was 6 feet 
highand after telling how the land had been drained, 
ploughed fairly deep, and cleaned from weeds, he adds: 
“ The inferences to be drawn are, I think, these—first, that 
under certain favourable conditions, such as having the land 
in good order, the best seed, and a good season, Wheat may 
still be grown at a profit; and, secondly, that it is, at least, 
more advantageous to farm well than to farm badly. What¬ 
ever goodness there was in the soil the Wheat plants had the 
.vliole benefit of it, there being no weeds to rob them or to 
choke the good seed.” Mark the contrast of results, and 
let us go a little further and see something of the returns 
per acre under what may fairly be considered ignorant and 
intelligent methods of culture. In recent quotations from 
Mark Lane we have the best Kent or Essex White Wheat at 
38s. per quarter, or 4s. 9d. per bushel, which, at 47 bushels 
per acre, give the following remarkable results :— 
White Wheat, per acre. £ s. d. 
Grain. ] 1 3 3 
Straw . 3 0 0 
Red Wheat, per acre. £ a. d. 
Grain . 4 10 0 
Straw . 2 10 0 
£14 3 3 
£7 0 0 
It may be said with undoubted truth that there are plenty 
of worse crops of White Wheat and better crops of Red 
Wheat in this country, and we agree. But there are nothing 
like facts, and our object in a comparison of results in two 
extreme cases is obvious enough, and we have been careful to 
avoid over-statement in either case. One more fact should 
not be overlooked, and that is, that although closely pressed 
by foreign produce, home-grown Wheat still commands the 
highest price at Mark Lane. 
The home farmer must always grow enough Wheat for 
home consumption, and if he be wise he will not make any 
reduction in the additional quantity he is accustomed to 
grow. Let him, however, see that every point of culture 
has due attention, and is done in the best way. Clean well- 
drained land, good seed of the best sort, and well-stirred 
fertile soil. If the land has not been enriched sufficiently 
by the ploughing in of green crops or folding, then give it a 
half-dressing of artificial manure at the time of sowing and 
the other half-dressing next February—quarter cwt. nitrate 
of potash, three-quarter cwt. nitrate of soda, quarter cwt. of 
superphosphate, quarter cwt. of ground coprolite, and quarter 
cwt. steamed bone flour. This is the correct quantity per 
acre for a half-dressing, each sort of manure being had sepa¬ 
rately, and then mixed under the farmer’s own supervision at 
the farm. When the mixing is done weigh off the quantity 
required for each field, put it in bags, and if not used at once 
set the bags apart from others with a label bearing the name 
of the field for which it is to be used. Drill the seed corn, 
follow with the manure mixture sown broadcast, and then 
pass the harrows over. Pay no attention to chatter of igno¬ 
rant people about loss of nitrates, or overgrowth of straw 
from the use of nitrate of soda. Among really earnest 
thoughtful men such erroneous ideas have long been Eet 
aside, for the simple reason that they were proved—mark 
the term—proved to be wrong. If we are to have a full 
strong development of straw and grain among our corn the 
plant must have full sustenance from the time of seed-ger¬ 
mination, and, therefore, the soil must be sufficiently stored 
with fertility. Do not hesitate to sow Wheat or any other 
corn twice or more in succession upon the same piece of 
land if you have only taken care to restore to it the elements 
of fertility withdrawn from it by the last crop. That is a 
point of good culture always to be remembered; but, then, 
in order to do it well and in the right way we must know all 
about the soil, the crop, and the manure we use. Again we 
say, regard the soil as a medium for the conveyance of food 
to plants—a medium from which the store of food is to be 
absorbed, and to which it can be restored just as often as we 
know it to be necessary. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
The Flock .—In about another week the tups will be withdrawn 
from the breeding flock, and two or three of the best of them will then be 
sent to the ewe lambs at two oS farms. In view of this the lambs have 
had plenty of dry as well as green food for some months, in order to 
bring them forward in growth and strength for breeding thus early. We 
are hound now to make every stroke tell, and although sheep have fallen 
much in price we must keep on doing our best with the flock, and we 
have not yet lost faith in lambs as a profitable investment. For some 
weeks past the sheep have been withdrawn from the grass land and been 
on the Clover layers, and the rain has induced so free a growth on the 
meadows that we have an abundance of food on all the good meadows. 
Some poor land will soon have old sheep put upon it in folds to help 
the grass for another season. Old sheep, with plenty of nutritious dry 
food, doing so much good as to render the soil rich in fertility for another 
year. We have a considerable number of such sheep either withdrawn 
from the flock or purchased for folding on poor land, and some of them 
are almost ready for the butcher, our plan being to withdraw them in 
batches from the folds as they become fairly plump. Many old ewes 
were kept so late with the lambs this year as to be left in wretched plight, 
and they were then pushed into the market and sold for a trifle, owing 
to the scarcity of food which the drought caused. To purchase such 
old sheep to fatten for the butcher is certainly a rash proceeding if done 
for that alone ; but for folding on poor land the plan answers very well 
—better, perhaps, than anything else we can do for the improvement of 
poor grass land. 
Arable Land .—So busy have we been upon the land that it has 
been no easy matter to spare horses to cart corn to market. Ploughing 
and Wheat-sowing is being pushed on as fast as possible, and we hope 
now to soon turn our attention to the root crops. Mangolds have made 
a good late growth, and the crop has gained considerably in bulk. This 
valuable supply of roots will be carefully stored, and the Carrots will be 
taken to one of the outbuildings for immediate use among the horses 
and dairy cows. Much of the Mangold field will be ploughed for Wheat, 
which always answers well after Mangold, plenty of manure remaining 
in the soil to insure a full Wheat crop. We have taken especial care in 
the selection of our seed corn for autumn sowing as an important mean9 
to success. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 32'40'’ N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 fee*. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
1885. 
& S cs__ 
C CO <D <D 
> 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
a . 
O T3 
75 d 
Temp, of 
Soil at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Rain 
October. 
5 a> 
M2 as 
Dry. 
Wet. 
5o 
Max. 
Min 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass 
Sunday . 
4 
Inches. 
29.946 
| 
is* 5 | 
deg. 
45.2 
P. 
deg. 
51.4 
deg. 
59.4 
deg. 
42.0 
dee. 
99.2 
deg. 
35.9 
In. 
0.010 
Monday. 
5 
29.699 
5'i.2 
46.0 
s.w. 
51.0 
53.4 
47.3 
63.6 
42.8 
0.018 
Tuesday. 
6 
29.813 
46.9 
439 
s.w. 
49.8 
56.5 
39.4 
75.3 
33.9 
0.475 
Wednesday .. 
7 
29.760 
47.3 
43.8 
N.W. 
50.2 
56.3 
41.2 
92.6 
36.2 
— 
Thursday .... 
8 
29.739 
48.2 
45.0 
S.E. 
48 8 
57.1 
38.4 
79.7 
32.2 
0.101 
Friday. 
9 
29.371 
45.9 
43.5 
N.W. 
48.8 
55.6 
426 
97.7 
38.4 
0.386 
Saturday .... 
10 
28.984 
46.2 
45.6 
N.E. 
48.7 
52.0 
44.7 
58.5 
39.8 
0.041 
29.616 
47.4 
44.7 
49.8 
55.8 
42.2 
80.9 
37.0 
1.031 
REMARKS. 
4th.—Fine, but slight shower about 5.50 P.M. 
5th.—Dull and drizzly all day. 
6th—Fine bright morning, very wet afternoon, and in night. 
7th.—Fine and bright; fine sunset. 
8th.—Dull showery morning ; fine.and bright most of afternoon; showers in late evening. 
9th.—Fine and bright. 
10th.—Rain in small hours, and till 10 A.M.; damp afterwards. 
Rainfall still above, and temperature below the average— in fact, the temperature has 
fallen almost without interruption since the middle of August, aud has been almoi 
always below the average.—G. J. SYMONS 
