102 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 1, 1889. 
CORN HARVEST. 
Already are there indications of the speedy advent of general 
harvest work. Rye and early Peas are already in stack, the mowing 
of Talavera Wheat is begun, yellow Trefoil is mown, threshed, and 
samples of the seed are on the market ; much white Clover has 
also been mown for seed, and winter Oats are fast approaching 
maturity ; but this crop is a week or two later than usual owing to 
late sowing last autumn. All this work is to be regarded as 
preliminary, and is not taken into account with the general harvest 
work. 
Turning to the bulk of corn crops, we have promise of a harvest 
of great abundance. A full corn plant of vigorous growth, full 
>ears, with such plump grain as should tell well both in weight and 
measure. Calm bright weather while the corn was in flower went 
far to ensure full ears and plump grain ; heavy rain has not been 
wanting to contribute its part to crop development ; the fields are 
fast becoming “ white for harvest,” and a month or six weeks of 
fine weather now will enable us to save a corn crop alike good in 
quality and quantity. To take full advantage of such weather our 
preparations must be thorough and complete. No matter how sound 
reaping machines were after last harvest, it should never be forgotten 
that when machinery is in almost daily use for a month or two, 
bearings become worn, joints and connections loosened, to say 
nothing of the risk of breakage which such locomotive machines 
incur. If upon examination any blemish is found of a nature at 
all likely to cause a stoppage or breakdown in harvest it should be 
at once repaired. Whatever arrangement may be made with the 
workmen, it is the farmer’s affair to do all that is possible to save 
the corn, and whether he uses self-binders or not, it is for him to 
help on with the cutting and carting as much as he can. It is 
unsafe to depend altogether on self-binders, for when corn is beaten 
down by storms the binder cannot be turned to full account. It is 
for this reason that we have so far kept to the old reaper and 
employed men to do the binding. Lodged or beaten-down corn is 
so often a penalty of high-farming that it has always to be taken 
into account. With machines in good order, rivets, points or 
fingers, sections, extra connecting rods, and any other parts specially 
liable to breakage, at least three sets of knives for each machine, 
files for sharpening, and plenty of oil, we are ready for the reaping. 
For clearing, carting, and stacking there must be due provision of 
forks, hand drag, and horse rakes, waggon ropes, stack, cart, and 
waggon ladders, straw for thatching, and litter or brushwood for 
stack bottoms. Cart and waggon wheels should be washered and 
greased, any faulty gateways, bridges, or crossings repaired, and 
hedges trimmed where they are at all likely to obstruct the corn 
waggons. 
An extra rick cloth or two are always useful. We do not U 3 e 
the rick poles for corn stacks, but take care always to keep the 
middle of each stack well filled as the rick is built, both to impart 
stability, and to ensure rain water running off and not into the 
stack when a rick cloth has to be used. Stack-building is one of 
our difficulties. We try to have a handy man on each farm who 
■does this, but the stack builders of our youth are not to be equalled, 
or even approached, now by any of them. The symmetrical 
circular stacks, swelling outwards with a gentle curve from 
bottom to eave, and perfectly erect, are almost a thing of the past. 
If now our rectangular stacks will only keep upright we are 
content, but we commend this matter to the especial attention of 
Yarm bailiffs, whose care it should be to have neat stack yards 
and symmetrical corn stacks, provided this can be managed with¬ 
out wasteful expenditure of time and labour. 
In letting the harvest some take the horsekeepers into the 
harvest, others do not allow them to take part in binding or reap¬ 
ing by hand, but give extra pay, and keep them with the horses. 
This is a matter of expediency, and whatever is done see that the 
horses are not neglected, and that they have sufficient green food 
night and morning. With harvest in full swing there must be an 
odd man—generally too old to undertake a full harvest—to prepare 
such food for the horses, and to feed them in the morning. The 
green food used then is either second crop of Clover or mixed 
layer, or it may be Tares, Sainfoin, or Lucerne. Any of these will 
answer, so that the horses have full racks of it night and morning, 
and are not turned out to grass. After the long day’s work of 
harvest enough food should be ready for the horse as we indicate, 
and it should not have to collect its own food on a pasture when it 
ought to be at rest. We allow some corn for horses in harvest, 
but it should be used with discretion, as horses may on some days 
pick up almost more corn than is good for them, and then green 
food is an excellent alternative. This is a matter which must not 
be left to the horse-keeper’s judgment, for he will assuredly use 
corn if he can. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
On a heavy land farm more good work is being done between the 
hay and corn harvest by burning clay taken from the sides of fields and 
borders of ditches. Spread over the surface and ploughed in it opens 
up the soil to the action of the air, and also tends to promote quick and 
regular action of the drains. The heaps are set fire to when only a few 
cartloads are got together, but by the time they are burnt out they may 
contain from one to two hundred loads. Hedges are being trimmed so 
far as time permits, and the trimmings carted to the stacking and in 
readiness for the corn stacks. Ploughs and harrows have been kept 
going on foul fallows, and more Mustard and Coleseed has been sown 
for late feeding or ploughing in. 
A large number of lambs are in folds upon Sainfoin, Rye Grass, and 
Oats. They will go later on to second crops of Clover, and then upon 
the stubbles. The Oats now being fed off are an inferior crop of spring 
Oats, so dwarf and thin that they are not worth putting in the harvest. 
The lambs eat them greedily, they manure the land, and ploughs will 
follow the folds closely. This field is a mile from the homestead, and 
we gladly sacrifice the Oats to enrich it sufficiently for sowing down 
with a green crop next spring. The sowing might perhaps be managed 
in autumn, but the result is uncertain, and time could hardly be spared 
for the work then. 
An early crop of Peas has been harvested and stacked in good con¬ 
dition, and the land ploughed, so as to be available for late Turnips or a 
green crop. It is a good rule always to plough land immediately after 
the crop is cleared when possible, not of necessity to sow another crop 
at once, but rather to keep under weeds. Land infested with Charlock 
cannot be stirred too frequently provided it is left long enough between 
the ploughings for the weed seed to germinate. Stubbles should be left 
long enough for pigs and sheep to clear off the corn, but this need not 
take long if only a field is cleared at once, so as to make way for the 
ploughs to begin as soon as horses or steam power can be spared 
for the work, such autumn culture going far to ensure success another 
year. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEX SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feat. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
Hyyrome- 
d . 
O 
Shade Tem- 
Radiation 
a 
1889. 
ter. 
£ a 
or 
Q.—i X 
perature. 
Temperature 
s! 
« 
July. 
I-'' 
So-~ 
In 
On 
=s 
Dry. 
Wet. 
G o 
Max. 
Min. 
sun. 
grass 
Inches. 
deg 
deg. 
dee. 
dee. 
deg. 
dee. 
deg. 
Ir. 
S inday.21 
20 052 
01 .5 
57.0 
e.E. 
60.2 
68.0 
57 4 
1113 
53.0 
0.804 
Monday.22 
20.899 
60.2 
52.2 
w. 
59 3 
67.3 
49.S 
110.1 
45.9 
Tuesday .... 25 
29.800 
59. 3 
53.9 
s. 
50 0 
65 8 
48 7 
113 2 
48 2 
0.533 
Wednesday.. 24 
29.830 
£8.1 
54 3 
8. 
54 S 
66.2 
48.2 
105 5 
44 0 
0 042 
Thursday.... 25 
29.588 
01 2 
55 6 
w. 
58 7 
G3 9 
54.1 
03 3 
52.0 
0.029 
Friday .20 
20.60.5 
00.0 
54.8 
w. 
58 8 
68 2 
53.3 
117.5 
.50.9 
0.054 
S iturday .... S7 
29 888 
50 7 
54.2 
w. 
50.1 
60 1 
54.4 
93 2 
509 
0.19i 
29.762 
59.0 
54 3 
591 
66.5 
52.3 
107.0 
49.5 
1.72 i 
REMARKS. 
21st.-Fair morning; shower* fr'un about noon aud heavy rain, with some thunder and 
Ughtnng from 0."0 to 3 I’ M ; tine evening. 
2 hid.—liright and fre^h. 
23rd.-Frpqnent showers all day and heavy rain, with thunder, lightning, and hail from 
1.15 to 1 4.5 P.M. 
24th.—Dull all day, with frequent spot® of rain ; showers at night. 
2.5th.—Dull early ; showery after lo AM 
20th.—Fine and generally bright throughout the dav : heavy rain at G and 8 P.M. 
27th.—Dull and showery during the morning; bright afternoon; and heavy rain with 
thunder ^nd lightning 0.33 to G 4G P.M ; 0*08 inch of rain fell m the three minutes 
between 0.33 and 6 3G P.M. 
The temperature lower tha i in previous week, and slightly below average. Rainfall 
excessive.—G. J. STM )NS. 
