236 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  15,  1900. 
Oue  striking  feature  of  these  trials  is  the  strong  way  in  which  they 
corroborate  the  results  of  the  Woburn  and  Rothamsted  experiments. 
Great  stress  is  laid  in  the  report  on  the  prejudice  which  is  so^prevalent 
against  the  u^e  of  nitrate  ot  soda,  this,  no  doubt,  arising  from  observa¬ 
tion  of  its  effects  when  repeatedly  used  alone  or  in  g^^cessive  quantity, 
but  no  danger  of  exhaustion  of  the  soil  need,  be  apprehended  as  the 
result  of  moderate  annual  dressings  if  used  in  conjunction  with  other 
suitable  artificials,  or  with  fair  dressings  of  farmyard  manure. 
That  Beans  did  not  respond  to  the  use  of  artificial  manures  in  1899 
is  not  surprising  ;  the  only  manure  used  was  basic  slag,  and  the  land 
was  probably  too  dry  for  the  plant  to  make  use  of  the  manure  applied. 
In  previous  years  nitrate  of  soda  and  kainit  had  been  tried  on  Beans 
with  equally  futile  result,  which  shows  that  there  were  sufficient 
inexhaustible  supplies  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  in  the  soil  to 
produce  a  crop  of  Beans  without  eleventh-hour  assistance. 
We  are  somewhat  of  opinion  that,  given  a  good  seedbed  and  a 
sufficiently  full  plant  to  face  the  summer  with,  strong  land  must  be 
very  poor  indeed  if  it  will  not  grow  a  crop  of  Beans.  A  great  point 
is  the  hoeing;  they  must  be  kept  clean  until  they  are  in  flower,  for 
the  flowers  will  not  set  well  if  the  roots  are  meeting  with  much 
competition  from  weeds. 
The  effects  of  artificials  were  tried  on  very  poor  and  coarse  grass 
which  has  sprung  up  on  a  plot  of  land  which  has  gone  out  of 
cultivation.  Nitrate  of  soda  2  cwt.  and  kainit  3  cwt.  were  tried 
separately  and  together;  the  points  noted  were,  the  coarseness  of  the 
growth  {Tomoted  by  nitrate  alone,  the  greater  vigour  of  the  Clover 
resulting  from  the  action  of  the  kainit,  and  the  very  even  and  satis¬ 
factory  nature  of  the  growth  where  both  were  used. 
The  experiments  in  the  growth  of  Potatoes  clearly  show  the  great 
value  of  nitrogen  for  this  crop,  even  in  addition  to  that  contained  in 
a  good  dressing  ot  stable  manure.  They  also  show  that  a  moderate 
dressing  of  farmyard  manure,  aided  by  a  mixture  of  the  three  artificials, 
is  the  most  profitable  mode  of  manuring,  but  this  year  the  omission 
of  kainit  was  the  most  and  of  superphosphate  the  least  felt  of  the  three 
artificials.  During  the  previous  four  years,  however,  8  tons  of  manure 
aided  by  4^  cwt.  of  nitrate  of  soda  had  beaten  any  other  manure  or 
mixture  of  manures. 
Potatoes  have  been  grown  both  on  the  strong  land  at  Quemerford 
and  on  the  lighter  soil  at  Lickhill,  and  we  quote  two  extracts  from  the 
report  which,  we  think,  speak  for  themselves. 
Quemerford. — “  Good  crops  of  Potatoes  may  be  grown  here  at  a 
profit  for  four  years  (probably  more)  on  the  same  land  with  artificials 
alone  as  a  manure  provided  these  contain  nitrogen,  phosphorus,  and 
potash  in  suitable  form  and  proportion.” 
Lickhill. — “  It  would  appear  that  on  this  ground  Potatoes  cannot 
be  very  profitably  grown  for  several  years  in  succession  with  the  aid  of 
art'ficials  alone.”  Verhum  sap. 
Both  as  Quemerford  and  Tickill  experiments  have  been  conducted 
in  the  use  of  nitragin.  The  bacteria  of  which  nitragin  consists  are 
•obtained  in  the  first  place  from  the  nodules  of  leguminous  plants  and 
then  increased  by  cultivation.  Twenty-two  kinds  of  nitragin  are  to 
be  obtained,  one  for  each  variety  of  leguminous  plant,  and  it  may  be 
applied  either  to  the  seed  or  to  the  soil.  The  better  results  have  been 
obtained  by  treating  the  seed.  “Taking  the  average  results  for  the 
three  years  at  both  stations,  a  considerable  gain  has  resulted  from  the 
■emjdoyment  of  nitragin.” 
Work  oi|  the  Home  Farm. 
At  last  the  weather  has  taken  a  turn  for  the  better,  and  there  is  a 
prospect  of  again  getting  to  work  on  the  land.  Spring-tooth  cultivators 
will  be  more  in  demand  than  ever,  for  there  will  not  be  much  time  now 
for  ploughing.  The  sowing  of  the  spring  corn  in  a  decent  seedbed  is 
now  the  chief  anxiety.  Some  of  the  Turnip  land  is  so  sodden  with 
water  that  a  good  mould  can  hardly  be  got  without  ploughing  a  second 
time  ;  but  if  it  could  be  broken  up  with  the  drag  and  harrows  at  once 
and  left  to  dry  through,  one  good  subsequent  rain  would  make  a  thorough 
job  of  it.  Perhaps  we  shall  not  get  rain  when  we  want  it  after  having 
had  too  much. 
A  farmer  tells  us  that  his  horses  have  practically  done  nothing  for 
two  months,  and  if  the  conditions  had  been  more  favouiable  he  would 
have  had  difficulty  in  finding  men  to  work  them. 
Potatoes  might  soon  be  planted  on  land  that  is  already  ridged  up  as 
soon  as  the  ridges  are  dry  enough  to  split  freely.  At  any  rate,  the 
manure  might  be  got  on  and  shaken  out,  the  planting  can  then  be 
quickly  perWmed.  Potatoes  may  be  put  in  now  on  any  kind  of  soil, 
and  there  is  nothing  saved  by  waiting  after  the  middle  of  March. 
Had  the  last  two  months  been  ordinarily  dry  a  large  proportion  of 
crop  would  already  have  been  planted  in  the  typical  Poiato  districts. 
An  ordinary  single-mould-board  plough  is  the  best  for  splitting  the 
ridges,  especially  if  there  be  a  suspicion  of  wet  in  them,  as  it  leaves  the 
land  lighter  than  a  double-mould-board  plough  with  its  more  pushing 
action.  The  common  plough  must  take  three-fourths  of  the  ridge  and 
turn  it  bodily  into  the  furrow. 
Clover  seeds  must  now  be  purchased  and  be  ready  on  the  premises 
for  sowing  with  the  Barley.  Prices  of  small  seeds  are  d-cidedly  higher 
than  last  year,  especially  Alsike  and  Cowgrass.  Pert-onally,  we  are  not 
fond  of  either  of  these  kinds,  and  shall  be  quite  satisfied  with  white  and 
red  Clover.  Good  white  is  9s.  6d.  per  stone  and  red  8s.  6d.  Trefoil, 
too,  is  dearer  ;  this  is  useful  on  dry  soils,  as  it  stands  drought  well,  and 
it  is  said  to  be  a  good  preparation  for  the  corn  crop  following ;  but 
experienced  flockmasters  do  not  consider  it  a  healthy  food  for  lambs 
after  weaning. 
Of  one  thing  we  are  certain,  the  best  Clover  seeds  are  the  cheapest* 
for  they  not  only  produce  a  better  but  a  much  more  robust  and 
vigorous  plant  than  small,  badly  ripened  stocks,  which  are  never  cheap 
at  any  price. 
There  is  only  one  kind  of  Ryegrass  worth  growing  for  sheep  grazing 
in  our  opinion,  and  that  is  Foster’s  Dwarf  Italian.  Ewes  are  well  and 
healthy,  lambs  are  plentiful  and  strong,  all  they  want  now  is  mild 
spring  weather. 
- - . —  t  I - 
A  Wonderful  Milking  Record. —  A.  noteworthy  milking  record  has 
been  established  by  the  red  poll  cow  Crocus,  which  belonged  to  the 
famous  Norfolk  dairy  herd  at  Whitlirgham.  She  gave  birth  to  her 
third  calf  cn  May  11th,  1890,  since  which  date  she  continued  uninter¬ 
ruptedly  in  milk  till  September  28th,  1899,  a  period  of  over  nine  years, 
her  milk  yield  in  the  last  week  of  her  life  being  at  the  daily  rate  of 
43f  lbs.,  or  nearly  gallons.  During  the  nine  years  four  mouths  that 
she  was  continuously  in  milk  she  yielded  altogether  50,428  lbs.,  or 
nearly  23  tons  of  milk.  Over  the  last  five  years  the  average  quantity 
of  butter-fat  in  her  milk  was  as  high  as  4‘3  per  cent.  Her  live  weight 
when  sent  to  market,  after  being  on  grass  feed  for  the  last  six  months 
of  her  life,  was  10  cwt.  1  qr.  11  lbs.  In  the  nine  years  since  her  last 
calving  she  gave  something  like  forty-five  times  her  own  weight  in  milk, 
and  her  average  production  during  that  period  was  5  403  lbs.  of  milk, 
or  considerably  over  500  gallons  per  annum.  For  a  moderate-sized  cow 
this  is,  says  a  Scottish  paper,  a  remarkable  performance,  which  has 
aroused  much  interest  arnongst  the  breeders  of  red  polls. 
Agricultur.4l  Affairs  in  New  Zealand. — A  correspondent  from 
Blenheim,  Marlborough,  New  Zealand,  writes,  dated  16th  October  :  — 
We  have  got  all  our  crops  in,  and  they  are  looking  beautiful ;  in  fact, 
we  have  never  seen  the  crops  looking  better  than  what  they  are  at 
present.  We  hope  prices  will  have  an  upward  tendency  compared  with 
last  year.  The  Massey- Harris  binder  is  the  one  most  extensively  used 
hereabouts,  and  does  its  work  splendidly.  Barley  has  proved  the  best 
crop  this  season,  and  this  is  chiefly  owing  to  the  fine  dry  weather 
we  have  experienced.  The  prices  for  Wheat,  however,  are  unfortu¬ 
nately  no  better  than  last  year  so  far.  The  Government  have  opened 
up  a  large  block  of  land,  in  all  about  35,000  acres  ;  this  they  cut  up 
into  sections,  running  from  50  to  1000  acres.  The  most  of  the  ground, 
though  of  a  light  quality,  is  nearly  all  ploughable.  The  rents  run 
from  28.  to  6s.  per  acre  the  half  year.  The  lands  are  on  the  perpetual 
lease  system  of  999  years,  and  they  are  not  allowed  to  take  more  than 
two  crops  in  succession  off  the  same  ground,  but  they  are  allowed 
to  take  one  root  crop  as  well,  making  three  crops  in  all. — 
(“  North  British  Agriculturist.”) 
Poultry  Farming. — In  auctioneers’  advertisements  one  often  comes 
across  the  announcement  of  land  “  suitable  for  poultry  farming.”  I 
believe,  in  that  profession,  any  land  useless  for  -any  other  purpose  is 
declared  suitable  for  poultry ;  a  bare,  bleak,  wind-swept  field  can  be 
thus  described,  whereas  it  is  nothing  of  the  kind-  A  well-sheltered 
piece  of  land,  with  an  adjoining  shrubbery  or  plantation  for  raising  the 
chickens  in,  is  a  great  point  to  the  good  in  starting.  There  are, 
however,  many  points  to  be  considered.  I  once  rented  an  almost  ideal 
site  for  poultry  keeping.  Part  sloped  to  the  west,  the  rest  was  flat, 
sheltered  on  all  sides  by  hills.  There  was  a  small  plantation,  good 
hedges,  and  a  little  stream  ran  through  oue  fleld.  There  is  always  a 
drawback ;  in  this  case  it  was  that  the  land  was  a  third  of  a  mile  from 
the  house,  a  point  I  did  not  sufficiently  consider  when  I  took  it.  But 
anything  is  better  than  exposed  sites,  for,  apart  from  the  extra  expense 
of  building  shelters,  the  fowls  never  lay  so  easily  as  their  more  fortu¬ 
nately  situated  kindred.  Never,  says  a  contemporary,  take  a  land 
agent’s  view  of  a  suitable  poultry  site,  but  use  your  own  eyes  and 
intelligence.  Moreover,  get  fresh  land,  unless  you  see  the  fowls  running 
over  it  are  absolutely  healthy. 
