204 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
[ March 10,1887. 
low prices which have fallen upon us, and which appear 
likely to continue. What do we know of the soil we cul¬ 
tivate—its nature and requirements ? It is true enough 
that we possess some knowledge of these things, but at 
best it is very superficial. We are still ignorant of the 
way to achieve maximum results at a minimum cost. That 
is the point, and when we become perfected in such know¬ 
ledge we shall once more be able to hold our own in the 
keen competition upon which we have entered with the 
markets of the world. Not only must we strive for 
quality but also for quantity in our farm crops. Instead of 
being the extraordinary crop of a few favoured farms, five 
quarters an acre of Wheat must be the ordinary crop of 
all farms. Impossible ! do you say? We grant that it is 
so under inferior or faulty cultivation, but we may add 
that we know from actual experience it is possible, even in 
soils that are naturally thin and poor. 
Agricultural experiments have now for several years 
been carried on in Bedfordshire, Aberdeenshire, and 
Sussex. Other and most important experiments are also 
being tried in Norfolk under the auspices of the Norfolk 
Chamber of Agriculture. We believe we are correct in 
saying that the West Norfolk Farmers’ Manure Company 
at King’s Lynn is a practical outcome of such experi¬ 
ments, and under the guidance of the able manager, Mr. 
Thomas Brown, farmers are now able to procure manures 
for special crops with a feeling of assurance that they 
have got the best-known mixture of genuine chemical 
manures for their purpose. 
A report of the Norfolk experiments has been recently 
published, which tells us how in 1885 Mr. Clare Sewell 
Bead and Mr. F. J. Cooke attended a special meeting of 
the Royal Agricultural Society to consider the necessity 
of establishing experimental stations throughout the 
country in conjunction with the different agricultural 
societies. Early in 1886 Dr. Voelcker visited Norwich, 
and gave an address on agricultural experiments. This 
was followed by arrangements being made for the imme¬ 
diate carrying out of certain experiments on land at 
Whitlingham, Flitcham, and Aylsham, which had been 
given up for the use of the Chamber by Messrs. Garrett 
Taylor, F. G. Cooke and B. B. Sapwell. A competent 
person was engaged to superintend the work, which was 
carried out under the sujiervision of the three gentlemen, 
who gave land for the purpose. 
We do not intend giving anything like a full statement 
of the experiments and results here, but we must call 
special attention to the. extraordinary results of Mr. 
Cooke’s trial of two mixtures of manure upon a crop of 
Barley at Flitcham Abbey. On one plot of land the 
manures used per acre were 3 cwts. nitrate of soda, 
3 cwts. superphosphate, and 2 cwts. muriate of potash, 
the result being 54'2 bushels of best Barley and three 
bushels of tail corn. Weight of grain per bushel, 54'7; 
weight of straw, chaff, &c., 1 ton 8 cwts. 24 lbs. On the 
other plot the manures used per acre were 3 cwts. 
nitrate of soda and 3 cwts. superphosphate, the result 
being 9 2 bushels of best Barley and 11-5 bushels of tail 
corn. Weight of grain per bushel, 52*2 ; weight of straw, 
chaff, &c., 13 cwts. 3 qrs. 10 lbs., which shows that an 
expenditure of 16s. for 2 cwts. of potash per acre upon 
iplot 1 produced 45 bushels more of marketable corn 
per acre than plot 2, which had no potash, but as the 
report states was otherwise treated in all respects exactly 
the same. It also adds that, judging from previous 
experiments, l£ cwt., or even 1 cwt. of potash, would 
have produced the same result. 
1 The>3 cwts. of nitrate of soda was clearly an experi¬ 
mental dose. We have found in our own practice 
1 cwt. per acre of it answer so well that we never exceed 
that quantity. In addition to that, with muriate of 
potash and superphosphate we are also using this season 
fine bone flour. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
The long spell of fine weather has enabled us to press on all farm, 
work with ease, and with much less labour than usual. Even newly 
ploughed land is quickly suitable for sowing, and any foul land should 
be cleaned while the weather continues so favourable for such work. 
We have a few acres to lay down to permanent pasture, which are very 
foul with couch grass. Ploughing, followed by harrows, cultivators or 
horse hoes, should enable us to get out the twitch and burn it, but we 
shall keep on stirring the land till this is done thoroughly, and then sow 
the grass seed with a crop of Oats. It was suggested to us that Barley 
should be used in preference to Oats, but we could not agree to this, both 
because of the uncertainty as to when we could get the land clean, and 
because Oats are a safe crop to sow late and upon poor ground. We 
cropped much of our poor land with Oats last year, and good reason have 
we to be glad that we did so, for the fine supply of grain and straw has 
been and is still of the greatest possible use for feeding our live stock, 
and so to enable us to avoid heavy expenditure for cattle food. True it 
is that we are using some of Mackinder’s Lamb Food for our home flock, 
but our expenditure of a certain sum upon this wholesome and most 
noui’ishing mixture is fully justified by the results of last year. We wish 
to dispose of our lambs early in J une. and in order to do this advan¬ 
tageously both ewes and lambs must be well fed. We saw some hoggets 
sold recently for very little more than we got for our lambs last June. 
Judging from the appearance of those hoggets we could see they had 
never been really well fed. Anything like profit from animals so badly 
managed—or rather mismanaged—is very doubtful. After our lambs 
were sold last year, we soon began buying old sheep draughted for sale 
from breeding flocks. Our object in doing this was folding on poor land, 
and by autumn we had got together a lot of useful sheep for our pur¬ 
pose, and we have no doubt that the effect of the folding will be visible 
in the crops this year. The sheep have done their work. They have 
been fattened, and have for some time been on sale week by week. 
Prices have not always been so high as we wished, but on the whole our 
sheep speculation has answered well, the sheep doing something more 
than paying expenses. 
OUR LETrER BOX. 
Manure for Grass Land {J. II. W.) —If, as you say, you obtained such 
excellent results last year from ths use of the mixture of manures we 
recommended, why do you not continue using them ? We have repeatedly 
explained the importance of an annual dressing of the same chemical 
manures, and not of different manures. The bonem'al and soot, if mixed 
in equal parts and applied at the rate of 6 cwt. per acre, will certainly do 
goad, but the result cannot be expected to equal that of last year. We 
suppose that when you speak of your intention to dissolve bonemeal you 
mean to saturate it with sulphuric acid. The wisdom of such a proceeding 
is very questionable. Far better would it be to mix an equal or even 
double quantity of mineral superphosphate with the bonemeal. The mixing 
should be done four days before using the manures, in order that the acid 
of the superphosphate may act sufficiently upon the meal to render it 
soluble, and consequently capable of acting more quickly upon the 
pasture. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Square, London. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAT. 
©« «3_. 
Hygrome- 
P • 
©2 ; 
Shade Tem- 
Radiation 
P 
1887. 
ter. 
3 p 
O 
peratnre. 
Temperature. 
d 
tf 
Feb. and March. 
S* 
Bo« 
<DX) 
In 
On 
a “ 
Dry. 
Wet. 
So 
Eh 
Max. 
Min. 
san. 
grass 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
drtflf. 
det?. 
deg. 
In. 
Sunday . 
30.687 
31.6 
34.4 
N.K. 
38.8 
49.0 
29.2 
63.5 
24.2 
— 
Monday . 
30.572 
30.6 
30.6 
N.E. 
37.7 
49.2 
27.3 
74.8 
22.8 
— 
Tuesday . 
30.585 
33.1 
33.1 
N.W. 
37.2 
37.2 
27.6 
55.8 
23.2 
— 
Wednesday 
. 2 
30.656 
30.2 
CO 2 
N. 
36 8 
45.6 
27.8 
79.6 
23.8 
— 
Thursday ... 
. 3 
30.599 
35.8 
35.8 
_N. 
36.8 
43.4 
29.7 
67.6 
25.1 
— 
Friday . 
30.415 
29.4 
29.4 
Calm 
36.8 
38 2 
23 I 
53 2 
29.3 
0.010 
Saturday .. 
. 5 
30.310 
33.9 
33.9 
N.K. 
37.0 
41.1 
29.0 
51.2 
32.6 
— 
30.556 
32.5 
32.5 
37.3 
44.2 
28.4 
63.7 
2J.6 
0.010 
REMARKS. 
27th.—Slight fog and white frost, then very fine day. 
28th. — White frost and slight fog till about 10 a m., then fine and bright. 
1st.—Cloudy with white fog in morning, bright afternoon. 
2nd.—Foggy till about 11 A M., then bright and pleasant. 
3rd.—Fog in morning and evening; day fine, bat not clear. 
4th.—Dense fog, diminishing gradually, but fog all day. 
5th.—Dripping mist early, cloudy in morning and abont sunset, bright in the middle of 
day and in the evening. 
A lsinless week with daily fog (the 010 inch on the 4th being fog), bat a good deal of 
bright sunshine; barometric pressure very high : tempeiature about 4° below the average 
and 9° below that of the preceding week. It is noticeable that at 9 a.m. on six days of 
the week the readings of the dry bulb and wet bulb thermometers were alike, and that on 
three days the grass min. was higher than the shade min.—G. J. Symons. 
