238 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
September  22,  1898, 
Experienced  farmers  know  only  too  well  the  value  of  an  autumn 
fallow.  There  are  seasons,  and,  alas  !  they  come  too  frequently,  when 
a  late  harvest  is  followed  by  a  wet  autumn.  It  is  under  such 
circumstances  that  the  drag  and  harrow  do  little  good,  even  if  there 
be  time  to  use  them,  and  the  farmer  most  reluctantly  has  no 
choice  but  to  use  the  plough  and  turn  under  in  a  lively  state  the 
twitch,  which  before  spring  will  be  again  making  a  hydra-headed 
appearance. 
There  are  stubbles  so  foul  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  a 
cultivator  to  pass  through  them,  and  in  such  a  case  a  shallow  plough¬ 
ing  first  may  have  to  be  resorted  to ;  but  we  must  remember  the 
plough  is  a  cutting  instrument,  whereas  the  cultivator  only  disturbs 
and  lifts.  Now,  as  the  difficulty  of  eradicating  twitch  increases  the 
more  the  roots  are  cut  up  into  small  portions — for  the  small  pieces  defy 
even  a  rake,  and  succumb  only  to  summer  drought — it  is  that  the  drag 
or  cultivator  is  the  proper  tool  with  which  to  first  break  up  stubbles, 
and  that  the  plough  must  not  be  used  until  December  except  in  case 
of  dire  necessity. 
But  though  we  hear  it  stated  by  farmers,  and  hitherto  have  almost 
believed  it,  that  there  are  fields  too  foul  for  a  drag  to  face,  modern 
implements  have  been  so  much  improved  that  we  have  become 
doubtful  on  the  point.  For  one  thing,  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  attempt 
too  much  at  once.  To  go  through  a  tangled  mat  of  twitch  the  drag 
or  cultivator  must  have  the  teeth  set  widely  apart,  or  the  implement 
will  be  continually  blocked  up.  There  must  also  be  plenty  of  room 
between  the  rows  of  teeth. 
Some  of  the  best  of  the  spring-tooth  cultivators  are  not  suited  to 
tackle  such  foul  land  as  we  have  in  view,  but  there  are  new  imple¬ 
ments  which  will  admirably  answer  the  purpose,  as  they  have  been 
constructed  expressly  with  a  view  to  avoid  the  blocking  difficulty.  Of 
course  they  do  not  thoroughly  break  up  the  land  at  one  operation  as 
the  more  closely  set  drags  will  do,  but  if  the  drag  be  again  put  through 
little  of  the  surface  will  remain  unstirred,  and  the  harrows  may  be 
brought  into  use  forthwith. 
If,  however,  a  sufficient  amount  has  been  loosened  at  the  first 
dragging,  it  would  be  better  to  harrow  it,  and  either  burn  or  get  the 
twitch  off  before  bringing  any  more  to  the  surface.  Many  people 
object  to  burning  as  wasteful,  but  at  the  present  price  of  nitrogen  the 
small  amount  contained  in  dry  twitch  must  be  very  dear  at  the  cost  of 
■carting  into  hill,  turning  over,  and  cariing  out  again  when  decayed. 
As  the  other  constituents,  such  as  potash,  are  not  lost  by  burning,  they 
need  not  be  taken  into  account,  whilst  the  benefit  to  retentive  soils 
of  an  application  of  ash  or  burnt  earth  is  very  great.  The  ash 
heaps,  however,  should  be  well  spread  about,  especially  if  they  are 
large  ones. 
Twitch  works  out  of  the  soil  most  easily  where  small  stones  are 
plentiful,  and  the  most  difficult  land  to  clean  is  that  of  a  loose  sandy 
■nature  where  there  is  no  stone  at  all.  On  such  soil  it  is  especially 
necessary  to  avoid  dragging  too  deeply  at  first,  and  it  is  best,  if 
possible,  to  thoroughly  clean  the  top  3  inches  before  stirring  the  land 
any  deeper,  and  then  it  is  doubtful  whether  ploughing  5  or  6  inches 
should  not  be  the  next  operation  before  doiug  anything  more  in  the 
“way  of  dragging. 
A  great  advantage  gained  by  autumn  dressings  is  in  the 
destruction  of  small  weed  seeds,  which  if  ploughed  down  now 
remain  dormant  to  re-appear  at  the  surface  and  grow  at  some  future 
time.  The  fine  tilth  produced  by  the  harrows  is  just  the  medium 
in  which  such  seeds  delight  to  germinate,  and  the  first  rain  will 
-cause  millions  of  them  to  spring  into  life.  Later  on  when  the 
plough  comes  along  they  will  be  buried  to  rise  no  more. 
As  much  autumn  fallowing  as  possible  should  be  practised,  but, 
when  all  the  fields  cannot  be  so  treated,  those  intended  next  year 
•for  Mangold,  Kale,  and  Swedes  must  be  attended  to  first,  for  should 
there  be  a  long  severe  winter  the  work  not  done  now  might  have 
to  be  deferred  until  very  near  the  time  for  sowing.  This  is  a  slate 
of  things  which  the  old-time  farmer  would  not  approve  of,  for  he 
likes  to  get  his  land  ready  for  Turnips  two  months  before  sowing 
time.  Then  if  ploughed  and  drilled  at  once  the  seed  goes  into  what 
is  called  by  him  a  green  furrow,  and  with  every  prospect  both  of 
quickly  germinating  and  the  plants  doing  well. 
N.B. — A  Vicar  Wanted. — We  should  be  delighted  to  see  the 
good  vicar  who  wrote  the  note  on  page  218  here.  If  he  is  of  the  right 
sort  (and  as  a  reader  of  the  Journal  he  must  be)  he  might  become  a 
permanency,  as  at  present  we  are  sheep  without  a  spiritual  shepherd. 
The  vicarage  is  good,  the  grounds  lovely,  only  fit  for  a  genuine 
gardener.  We  are  not  often  troubled  by  drought ;  possibly  this  is  on 
account  of  our  freedom  from  idolatry.  Speak  a  good  word  for  this 
poor  bereft  parish,  kind  Editor.” 
[The  “  word  ”  is — It  is  a  parish  of  Roses,  in  which  the  invited 
vicar  delights.  He  is  of  the  “right  sort,”  but  his  people  would 
not  let  him  go — for  long.] 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Thatching  the  stacks  so  grandly  got  has  lately  been  the  chief  work  of 
the  men.  The  horses  havo  been  again  ploughing  the  summer  fallow,  and 
for  the  last  time.  We  hope  to  get  this  land  sown  with  Wheat  before  the 
month  is  out. 
Thrashing  has  become  mare  general  as  regards  Wheat,  and  the  reports 
are  not  very  good.  The  large  bulk  of  straw  is  not  likely  to  produce  its 
due  proportion  of  grain,  and  we  hear  of  very  good  crops  yielding  only 
4  quarters  per  acre.  It  would  seem  that  the  high  estimates  of  this  year’s 
English  Wheat  crop  will  be  much  above  the  reality. 
We  are  sending  off  a  few  more  Potatoes,  and  we  suppose  many  others 
are  doing  the  same,  for  markets  are  full  and  prices  drooping. 
It  is  time  to  think  of  sowing  Winter  Tares.  They  like  plenty  of  muck, 
which  should  be  well  ploughed-in  ;  all  that  is  needed  besides  is  a  good 
harrowing,  both  before  and  after  sowing.  They  may  be  sown  broadcast, 
thongh  few  men  nowadays  can  sow  well  enough  to  approach  the  even 
distribution  of  a  drill.  Besides  this,  it  is  desirable  to  cover  the  seed  well, 
so  as  to  guard  against  the  attacks  of  pigeons  and  rooks,  and  this  can  be 
achieved  by  putting  plenty  of  weight  on  the  drill  coulters. 
Lambs  are  doing  very  well  indeed  ;  it  is  hardly  possible  to  put  them 
wrong  just  now,  whether  they  be  on  Clover  fog,  Cabbage,  Thousand- 
heads,  or  grass.  Ours  are  on  Clover  during  the  day,  and  on  stubbles  at 
night.  They  are  eating  lamb  food  and  linseed  cake,  but  not  much  as  yet  ; 
we  mix  with  it  a  little  old  cut  oat  straw.  Thts  dry  ration  they  get  early 
in  the  morning,  and  it  prevents  them  getting  too  much  dewy  green  food. 
Clover  carries  quite  enough  moisture  inside  it  without  having  water 
added,  and  we  believe  that  wet  pastures  are  often  to  blame  for  lamb 
ailments  about  this  time. 
The  hot  weather  is  ripening  the  Turnips  off,  and  the  earliest  will  be 
ready  to  stock  by  October.  Successfully  getting  his  lambs  on  Turnips 
without  loss  is  one  of  the  difficulties  of  the  flockmaster.  Turnips  vary  so 
much  in  quality  and  texture  that  it  is  difficult  to  draw  up  hard  and  fast 
rules,  but  unless  the  roots  are  very  well  ripened  indeed  they  should  be 
taken  up  a  couple  of  days  before  use,  and  then  cut  for  the  sheep.  When 
lambs  are  well  accustomed  to  Turnips  the  tops  will  not  hurt  them,  but  at 
first  we  think  they  are  better  without  them. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS 
Camden  Square,  London. 
Lat.  51°  32*  40"  N.;  Long.  0°  8'  0”  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day, 
Rain. 
1898. 
September. 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level 
Hygrometer 
• 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot 
Shade  Tem. 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera¬ 
ture. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun 
On 
Grass 
Sunday  ....  11 
Monday  ....  12 
Tuesday  ....  13 
W  ednesday  14 
Thursday  . .  15 
Friday .  16 
Saturday ....  17 
inchs 
30-053 
,30-019 
30-144 
130-220 
130-387 
130-239 
'29  ”994 
deg. 
64- 4 
60-9 
60-4 
62-4 
32-8 
66-7 
65- 8 
deg. 
58- 5 
55-3 
52-2 
59- 8 
60- 6 
61-9 
63-9 
s.w. 
N. 
S.W. 
s. 
s.w. 
S.E. 
S. 
deg. 
65-1 
64-8 
63-2 
63-2 
63-7 
63-2 
63-5 
deg. 
77-4 
71-7 
69-9 
79-2 
81-1 
84-2 
89-0 
deg. 
53-7 
56  T 
49-8 
59-9 
53-9 
57-8 
55-8 
deg. 
114- 9 
116-9 
100-7 
115- 1 
111-7 
118-4 
122-2 
deg. 
49- 1 
50- 4 
44-8 
54-8 
49- 4 
50- 6 
50-4 
inchs. 
o-oio 
30-151 
63-8 
58-9 
63-8 
78-9 
55-3 
114-3 
49-9 
o-oio 
REMARKS. 
11th  —Cooler  and  generally  cloudless,  except  in  early  morning  and  late  evening. 
12th.— Overcast  earlv  with  a  little  drizzle,  generally  sunny  after  9  A.M.  to  0.30  P.M.  ; 
overcast  afternoon,  and  sun  bright  from  5  p.m. 
13th. — Bright  sun  in  morning,  generally  cloudy  after  noon,  with  spots  of  rain  at 
1  P.M. 
14th.— Overcast  early  ;  fair  morning,  bright  afternoon. 
15th.— Smoke  fog  early,  clearing  by  11  A.M.,  a  little  haze  after  to  11.30  A.M.,  then 
clear  and  bright. 
16th.— Bright  and  hot  all  day. 
17th.— Bright  and  hot  all  day  ;  fine  night. 
Another  very  hot  week,  not  so  hot  as  the  previous  one,  but  exceptionally  hot. 
Rainfall  only  just  measurable.  It  is  more  thau  a  year  since  we  have  had  any  week 
with  even  1  inch  of  rainfall. — G.  J.  Symons. 
