33G 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  3,  1895. 
PROFITABLE  CROPS. 
No  !  our  title  this  week  is  not  intended  to  be  satirical,  but  is 
an  outcome  of  a  mental  survey  of  the  agricultural  outlook  for 
another  season,  a  weighing  of  possibilities,  and  a  resolution  to 
have  nothing  more  to  do  with  crops  which,  under  the  test  of 
market  returns,  cannot  be  expected  to  pay  a  fair  interest  on 
the  expenditure  which  sound  cultivation  involves.  Mark  the 
term,  for  it  points  clearly  to  an  avoidance  of  any  extreme  or 
fanciful  practice,  yet  of  work  well  done,  an  end,  an  aim,  well  in 
view — well  within  the  bounds  of  possibility.  We  tatie  it,  that  if 
this  were  done  by  every  farmer  at  Michaelmas  there  must  be 
a  general  improvement,  and  much  less  difficulty  in  “meeting 
the  times,”  even  though  it  points  to  a  radical  change  of  practice. 
The  matter  is  surely  simple  enough.  If  the  price  of  corn 
has  fallen  so  low  that  it  cannot  answer  to  sow  Wheat  or  other 
corn  to  sell  on  market,  avoid  doing  so,  but  also  avoid  rushing 
into  extremes.  We  cannot  agree  that  the  alternative  for  all 
corn  is  all  permanent  pasture  on  a  farm.  Very  much  more  to 
the  purpose  is  temporary  pasture,  and  an  eight  -  years  shift, 
under  which  about  an  eighth  part  of  the  farm  is  ploughed  each 
year  in  strict  rotation,  and  as  regulai-ly  laid  down  to  grass  again 
after  serving  its  turn  for  the  year's  crops  of  corn,  roots,  and 
special  green  crops,  all  grown  for  home  use,  or  for  a  ready  and 
profitable  market. 
The  relief  which  the  adoption  of  this  system  affords  to  a 
corn  farmer  is  immense  No  longer  is  he  crippled  by  his  labour 
bill,  the  troop  of  men  and  horses  which  were  a  necessity  for  an 
arable  farm  can  be  wonderfully  reduced  in  numbers  when 
seven-eighths  of  it  are  brought  under  gras^.  We  have  had 
farms  in  our  hands  in  East  Anglia  with  300  acres  in  plough, 
and  only  30  acres  in  grass,  and  right  dearly  bought  was  the 
experience  gained  in  our  endeavour  to  manage  them  profitably, 
under  stress  of  a  steadily  downward  tendency  in  value  of  a 
large  per-centage  of  crops  which  from  mere  custom  were  still 
kept  on  the  land.  The  only  objectionable  feature  of  the  change 
is  the  painful  -necessity  for  the  dismissal  of  the  labourers.  But 
a  farmer  cannot  afford  to  adopt  the  role,  of  a  philanthropist,  his 
very  existence  as  a  farmer  depends  on  the  economical 
management  of  his  farm  “Every  superfluous  man  must  go,” 
says  stern  necessity,  and  go  he  does  from  farms  where  such 
changes  have  to  be  made. 
It  IS  obvious  that  in  thus  bringing  a  farm  under  this  system 
the  land  may  or  may  not  be  laid  down  to  temporary  pasture 
with  a  corn  crop.  In  most  instances  a  corn  crop  would  be  taken, 
and  wherever  it  can  be  managed  we  would  give  preference  to 
Winter  Oats,  sown  now,  harvested  next  July,  and  so  leaving  the 
new  pasture  “  seeds  ”  clear  of  corn  soon  enough  to  afford  much 
useful  herbage  next  autumn.  We  have  had  this  even  with 
Spring  Oats,  but  very  much  better  with  our  favourite  Winter 
Oat,  for  which  we  would  have  the  land  in  good  heart ; 
and  if  there  is  a  doubt  of  fertility  1  cwt.  sulphate  of 
ammonia  and  2  cwt.  mineral  superphosphate  per  acre  should 
be  drided  in  with  the  corn.  After  several  changes  Mr.  Primrose 
McConnell,  of  Ongar,  says  he  settled  down  to  the  following 
kinds  and  quantities  of  seeds  per  acre  for  temporary 
pasture — Perennial  Rje  Grass  13  lbs.,  Italian  Rye  Grass  5  lbs.. 
Cocksfoot  5  lbs.,  Timothy  3  lbs..  Meadow  Foxtail  2  lbs.,  Broad 
Ped  Clover  3  lbs..  Broad  Perennial  Clover  3  lbs..  White  Clover 
2  lbs.,  Alsike  Clover  2  lbs.,  Trefoil  (or  Lucerne)  2  lbs  — total 
40  lbs.  The  “  seeds  ”  are  mown  for  hay,  or  grazed  with  milk 
cows,  sheep  or  bullocks,  just  as  it  happens  to  suit. 
Live  stock  there  must  be,  and  of  a  class  that  will  render 
profit  possible'  It  need  not  be  pedigree  stock,  any  of  it,  but  it 
must  be  well  bred,  well  fed,  well  sheltered,  for  it  to  answer. 
What  stock  to  have  must  be  very  much  a  local  matter  as 
regards  proportion  If  near  a  town  there  would  be  milk,  if  far 
from  a  town  there  may  be  cheese,  and  there  will  be  butter 
when  we  get  co-operative  butter  factories;  in  any  case  there 
would  be  some  store  cattle,  a  flock  of  sheep  and  some  pigs  In 
all  this  we  have  the  ordinary  farmer  in  view  ;  the  extraordinary 
farmer,  the  man  of  resource,  energy  and  enterprise,  would 
probably  strike  out  a  line  for  himself,  but  even  for  him  we  have 
intimated  a  basis,  a  point  of  departure  which  he  must  find 
useful. 
With  so  much  of  the  land  in  grass,  the  farmer  has  plenty 
of  time  at  his  disposal  for  the  live  stock,  which  often  requires 
more  attention  than  it  gets  for  the  maintenance  of  healthy 
condition.  Sheep  folding,  too,  should  take  a  leading  position 
at  the  proper  season  on  such  a  farm,  and  the  whole  of  the 
pasture  land  have  its  fertility  fully  sustained  by  annual  dressings 
of  chemical  manure  wherever  there  are  no  sheep  folds. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
The  only  corn  thrashing  we  have  done  was  a  field  of  Oats  reaped 
early  as  the  straw  was  wanted  for  chaff,  and  as  the  Oats  were  not  quite 
so  ripe  as  to  render  them  safe  for  keeping,  they  were  placed  in  an  airy 
granary  and  turned  over  occasionally  to  prevent  heating.  This  field 
came  in  hand  last  Lady  Day  in  such  very  foul  condition  that  it  should 
have  had  a  summer  fallow,  but  Oats  were  wanted,  and  we  had  to  make 
the  best  of  it  by  sowing  the  corn  thickly,  drilling  in  chemical  manure 
with  the  Oats.  The  result  was  a  useful  crop  which  will  serve  our 
purpose,  and  the  field  has  had  a  lively  time  of  it  since  harvest,  both, 
with  the  cultivator,  harrows,  and  hand  forks.  This  thorough  autumn 
tillage  will  leave  it  in  very  different  condition  for  next  spring,  when  it 
will  have  another  thick  crop  of  Oats,  which  we  hope  will  smother  what 
little  Couch  Grass  is  left  in  the  soil. 
Most  favourable  htis  the  weather  been  for  all  work  on  the  land, 
which  we  never  knew  in  better  condition  both  for  autumn  tillage  and 
for  sowing.  Our  seed  time  is  practically  over,  as  we  have  only  another 
sowing  of  Tares  to  do,  and  then  we  shall  be  ready  for  the  root  crops,  all 
of  which  have  made  such  marvellous  progress  lately  that  the  much, 
talked-of  scarcity  of  roots  next  winter  will  hardly  be  realised.  Late 
sowings  in  the  north  must  be  a  light  crop,  but  herbage  is  so  exception¬ 
ally  abundant  that  the  Swedes  will  not  be  wanted  till  much  later  than 
usual.  Mangolds  are  good  everywhere,  and  are  fast  gaining  weight  now. 
We  have  met  with  more  Mangolds  run  to  seed  in  our  frequent  long 
journeys  by  rail  than  we  ever  saw  in  a  single  season  before,  and  we  take 
it  as  a  satisfactory  sign  of  the  more  general  early  sowing  of  this  useful 
crop. 
With  early  April  sowings  there  always  will  be  “  bolters  ”  among 
Mangolds,  just  as  there  will  be  some  mildew  among  May-sown  Swedes, 
but  the  per-centage  of  both  is  so  low  compared  with  the  bulk  of  fine 
large  heavy  sound  roots,  as  to  be  unworthy  of  notice.  Potatoes  are 
being  lifted  in  splendid  condition,  and  we  hope  an  exceptionally  heavy 
crop  will  enable  growers  to  meet  low  prices  without  loss.  We  have  seen 
several  interesting  trials  of  this  crop  with  farmyard  manure  and  chemical 
manure  side  by  side  this  season,  and  hope  to  have  something  to  say 
about  results  later  on. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS, 
Oamben  Square,  LONnox. 
Lat.51°32'40"  N. ;  Long.  0°  8/ 0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
a 
Pi 
1895. 
September. 
1  Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
1  Sea  Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inohs. 
Sunday  22 
30-366 
54-7 
53-0 
E. 
56-1 
70-4 
42-6 
103-4 
33-5 
— 
Monday  . ,  23 
30-277 
53-8 
53-3 
N.E. 
51  1 
73-3 
45-9 
98-3 
38-5 
Tuesday  . .  24 
30-221 
65-6 
60-7 
E. 
56-3 
82-8 
50-8 
113-0 
45-4 
— 
Wednesday  25 
30-220 
60-6 
60-3 
E. 
57-5 
80-6 
56-3 
117-7 
49-6 
— 
Thursday . .  26 
30-307 
64-9 
63-0 
N.E. 
58-4 
82-4 
56-2 
112-8 
49-8 
— 
Friday  ..  27 
30-241 
66  8 
63-1 
N.E. 
59-3 
82-6 
56-7 
110-9 
48-S 
Saturday  . ,  28 
30-258 
64-6 
60-9 
E. 
59  7 
79-2 
55-0 
113-8 
46-5 
— 
30-270 
61-0 
59-2 
56-9 
78-8 
51-9 
110-0 
44-5 
— 
REMARKS. 
22nd.— Bright  sunshine  throughout. 
v3rd.— Sunny  and  warm,  but  hazy  and  rather  oppressive  in  the  morning. 
24th. — Faint  sunshine  through  haze  or  mist  tiil  noon ;  clear  later,  with  very  distant 
lightning  in  evening. 
25th. — Foggy  early ;  brilliant  after  10  A.M.  26th. — Bright  sunshine  throughout. 
27th. — Almost  cloudless  throughout.  28th. — Almost  cloudless  throughout. 
A  very  fine  and  exceptionally,  if  not  unprecedentedly  hot  week  for  the  time  of  year, 
— G.  J.  STMONS. 
