382 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTACE  GARDENER. 
Apiil  28.  1898. 
better,  and  tbough  they  may  be  reluctant  to  answer  inquiries  with 
anything  but  a  grunt,  still  it  may  sound  like  a  grunt  of  satisfaction. 
Last  year’s  cereal  crops  were,  taking  them  all  round,  hardly  a® 
good  as  those  of  1896.  Wheat  was  not  so  good,  Barley  was  fair,  and 
Oats  decidedly  deficient.  Wheat  was  rather  thin  of  plant,  and  made 
a  bad  start,  but  we  have  found  that  the  yield  of  grain  was  better  than 
WG  expected ;  and  though  nothing  above  the  average,  yet  when 
■reckoned  up  at  the  much  improved  prices  that  have  ruled,  the  net 
return  per  acre  is  the  best  we  have  had  for  many  years. 
Barleys  were  fairly  bulky  in  straw,  and  were  very  fine  in  quality. 
The  yield,  though  fair,  was  much  reduced  by  wart  of  rain  at  a  critical 
"time,  the  grain  not  being  finished  as  it  should  be.  Ours  is  only 
average  Barley  soil,  being  rather  liable  to  suffer  from  drought.  An 
average  price,  however,  of  32s.  is  nothing  to  grumble  at,  and  here, 
again,  the  return  per  acre  shows  great  improvement. 
The  Oat  being  a  moisture-loving  plant,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find 
i;he  crop  below  the  average;  it  suffered  from  drought  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  growth,  many  shoots  becoming  blind,  and  never  producing 
an  ear  at  all.  This  naturally  diminished  the  crop  considerably.  On 
thrashing,  however,  we  find  the  yield  not  so  bad,  and  the  price,  22s. 
per  quarter,  helps  the  return  to  cut  quite  a  respectable  figure.  Facts 
speak  for  themselves,  and  when  we  find  that  our  grain  crops  have 
produced  £2  10s.  per  acre  more  this  year  than  last,  we  cannot  ^lUt 
look  on  this  result  as  eminently  satisfactory.  ^  , 
Improvement  in  prices  has  been  the  chief  factor  in  bringing  ab  it 
this  happy  result,  and  low  prices  are  what  the  British  farmer  has,!Boen 
suffering  from  most,  for  neither  farmers  nor  anyone  else  can  g%  on 
producing  at  a  loss  for  any  length  of  time. 
Potatoes  were  much  below  the  average,  only  two  or  three  kinds 
giving  fair  returns  as  to  crop.  Up  to  Date  was  far  the  best,  being 
just  double  the  weight  of  Bruce  growing  by  its  side.  Imperators 
did  fairly,  as  did  Reading  Giant,  but  the  latter  showed  great  tendency 
to  disease.  Smalt  crops  and  light  market  supplies  have  resulted  in 
much  higher  prices,  which  large  foreign  importations  have  been  almost 
powerless  to  affect. 
Farmers  who  were  satisfied  with  £3  per  ton,  and  sold  out  at  that 
price  before  Christmas,  would  not  find  their  pockets  very  well  lined* 
Four  tons  per  acre  was  this  year  more  than  an  average  crop,  and 
though  £3  per  ton  was  an  improvement  on  the  price  of  the  previous 
seison,  yet  4  tons  at  £3,  or  £12  per  acre,  was  not  enough  to  pay  the 
grower  and  give  him  a  profit. 
Those,  however,  who  had  an  eye  for  statistics,  and  could  form  a 
good  estimate  of  the  Potato  crop  of  the  United  Kingdom,  have,  by 
acting  upon  the  knowledge  thus  gained,  made  a  very  fair  thing  out 
of  their  Potato  harvest.  A  sudden  rise  to  £5,  and  even  as  much  as 
£6  for  extra  quality,  took  place  about  Christmas  time,  and  though 
the  foreigner  stepped  in  and  damped  things  down  a  little,  prices 
never  fell  much,  and  at  the  time  of  writing  they  are  as  high  as  ever, 
with  a  good  prospect  of  further  material  rise.  Unfortunately  farmers 
have  very  small  stocks  left,  having  been  tempted  by  the  bird  in  the 
hand— some,  in  fact  many,  having  entirely  cleared  out,  so  that  the 
profit  from  any  further  rise  must  go  into  few  hands.  So  convinced, 
however,  are  we  of  the  certainty  of  a  Potato  boom  that  we  are 
refusing  £5  10s.  per  ton  with  scorn,  and  putting  our  small  remaining 
stock  by  for  another  month.  Y/e  advise  others  to  do  the  same. 
This  has  been  a  good  year  for  sheep;  last  season’s  lambing  was 
excellent,  and  though  pastures  suffered  from  drought  before  mid¬ 
summer  and  Turnips  were  likely  at  that  time  to  be  very  short 
afterwards  all  came  right.  Winter  keep  has  been  plentiful  every¬ 
where,  and  those  who  had  looked  forward  with  dread  to  a  big  cake 
bill  and  a  generally  expensive  winter  have  had  great  cause  to  rejoice. 
Sheep  have  been  very  healthy,  and  there  have  been  few  losses ;  the 
lambing  has  been  again  favourable,  if  the  crop  of  lambs  has  not  been 
quite  as  large  as  last  year.  Sheep  markets  have  been  fairly  good  all 
the  year  until  the  last  month,  when,  as  usual  in  April,  they  were 
•overcrowded  with  Turnip-fed  animals.  Why  farmers  should  persist 
•every  year  in  keeping  all  their  sheep  until  April  and  then  pouring 
ilhem  into  the  markets  in  three  or  four  weeks  has  long  been  a  puzzle 
to  us.  We  think  with  a  little  patience  the  prices  will  soon  recover. 
We  certainly  think  the  flockmaster  has  had  a  good  year,  or  at  any  rate 
the  chance  of  one. 
Cattle  have  been  the  blot  on  the  balance-sheet ;  animals  which 
were  bought  at  or  stood  the  grower  to  a  good  store  price  twelve  months 
ago  did  fairly  well  if  fed  off  grass  and  turned  over  quickly,  but  those 
who  like  to  produce  a  good  stall-fed  bullock  or  heifer,  either  for 
Christmas  or  later,  have  indeed  undergone  bitter  disappointment* 
Prices  were  very  poor  in  December,  but  they  are  even  worse  now, 
6s.  6d.  per  stone  of  14  lbs.  being  an  ordinary  price. 
This  depression  in  beef  prices  has  not  so  much  affected  the  price 
of  stores,  which  are  anything  but  cheap,  and  promise  no  margin  for 
profit  if  the  price  of  meat  remains  at  its  present  level.  Pork  has  sold 
fairly,  but  the  enhanced  price  of  foodstuffs  must  reduce  profits  here. 
ISlilk,  butter,  poultry,  and  eggs  have  met  with  much  greater  com¬ 
petition  from  home  production  as  well  as  from  abroad,  and  prices  have 
suffered  a  little,  but  the  consumption  increases  as  prices  decrease,  and 
we  cannot  complain  as  long  as  we  get  our  share  of  the  spoil. 
We  trust  that  our  little  grunt  of  satisfaction  may  find  an  echo 
from  many  others  who,  like  ourselves,  have  found  that  farming  is  on 
the  mend. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Since  writing  last  week  we  had  two  more  very  wet  days,  and  although 
we  had  wanted  rain  badly  we  were  rather  glad  when  the  weather  took  up 
again.  The  last  few  days  have  been  fine,  with  slight  morning  frosts  ;  the 
rain  has  done  endless  good,  land  that  was  rough  and  dry  has  fallen  like 
lime,  and  late  spring  corn  must  go  in  well.  Early  sown  Oats  and  Barley 
had  felt  the  frosty  nights  ;  the  rain  has  had  a  wonderful  effect  on  these 
crops,  and  they  are  running  on  fast. 
The  nitrate  of  soda  came  at  last,  and  is  being  sown  on  the  Wheat. 
The  latter  has  grown  so  fast  and  looks  so  well  that  a  neighbour  suggests 
that  we  are  using  the  top-dressing  needlessly.  May  frosts  have  to  be  met 
yet,  however,  and  as  the  plant  is  very  thick  on  the  ground  we  think  the 
fillip  will  be  needed  after  all.  Wheat  harrowing  still  continues  ;  it  has 
rather  a  drastic  effect,  but  Wheat  likes  kriocking  about  in  spring. 
Mangolds  are  going  in  splendidly,  the  land  is  fine  and  yet  full  of 
moisture,  and  there  should  be  no  doubt  about  getting  a  plant ;  6  lbs.  per 
acre  of  good  seed  should  be  quite  enough  to  sow  now.  Some  people  sow 
a  little  Swede  seed  amongst  the  Mangold,  but  we  do  not  like  the  system, 
as  the  Swedes,  even  only  a  few,  seem  to  have  a  smothering  effect,  and 
Mangold  mixed  with  Swedes  never  seem  to  get  so  large  as  when  they 
have  the  ground  to  themselves. 
Grain  is  getting  dearer,  and  both  pig  and  hen  corn  are  becoming 
decidedly  expensive.  Maize,  however,  can  yet  be  bought  at  20s.  per 
34  stones.  This  is  good  food  for  growing  pigs  intended  for  autumn 
feeding.  The  Maize  should  be  scattered  (unground)  in  the  yard,  the 
animals  will  then  pick  it  up  grain  by  grain,  and  thoroughly  masticate  it, 
which  they  will  not  do  if  it  is  given  split  in  a  trough.  Fine  sharps  can 
be  bought  at  8d.  per  stone  ;  this  as  a  paste  is  good  for  fowls  in  the 
morning,  and  if  followed  by  Maize  for  the  later  meals,  the  fowls  will 
keep  healthy  and  lay  well.  We  are  only  speaking  of  farmyard  fowls, 
however,  not  of  such  as  are  kept  in  confinement. 
We  have  a  splendid  supply  of  Mangold,  and  it  is  quite  astonishing  how 
many  the  fowls,  old  and  young,  can  eat  if  they  have  the  chance. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Square  London. 
Lat.  51°  32'  40"  N.;  Long.  0°  8'  0"  W.:  Altitude  111  feet. 
D.ate. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day'. 
1898. 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level 
Hygrometer 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp 
of  soil 
at 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera¬ 
ture. 
Rain. 
April. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
1  foot 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun 
On 
Grass 
Sunday  . . . 
Monday  . . . 
Tuesday  . . . 
Wednesdav 
17 
inchs 
3C-015 
deg. 
46-6 
deg. 
44-6 
S.W. 
deg. 
46-5 
deg. 
61-7 
deg. 
35-1 
deg. 
99-8 
deg. 
31-9 
inchs. 
18 
29-807 
46-9 
43-1 
S.K. 
46-1 
55-9 
38-1 
90-4 
32-6 
— 
19 
•29-929 
48-4 
44-1 
N.E. 
4G-6 
65-0 
40-3 
89-4 
34-() 
— 
20 
30  054 
40-3 
44-1 
E. 
40-3 
59-0 
38-1 
84-9 
32-8 
0-024 
Thursday  . 
21 
30-213 
49-9 
46-9 
N.E. 
46-9 
59-1 
44-5 
97  -7 
44-4 
■  - 
Friday . 
Saturday. . . 
•?2 
30-138 
43-8 
39-0 
K. 
47-0 
52-1 
.35-3 
95  "2 
31-9 
— 
23 
30-101 
44-1 
39-0 
N.E. 
45-8 
55-7 
32-9 
8C-4 
28-7 
— 
30-037 
46-6 
43-0 
40-5 
57-1 
37-8 
92-0 
33-8 
0-024 
REMARKS. 
ITth. — Brilliant  early  ;  frequently  cloudy  in  afternoon  and  evening. 
18th.— Overcast  early  ;  generally  sunny  after  10  a.m. 
19th.— Generally  sunny  day  ;  tine  night. 
20th. — Fair  with  freciuent,  but  not  strong,  sunshine. 
21st. — Generally  cloudy  till  noon  ;  bright  afternoon. 
22nd.— Overcast  morning  ;  sunny  at  times  after  2  p.m. 
23rd. — Sunny  almost  throughout ;  bright  night. 
Another  average  week  except  that  there  has  scarcelv  been  any  rain  at  this 
station.— G.  J.  Symons. 
