22 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  2,  189 
forward.  First,  pass  the  farming  situation  carefully  in  review; 
then  take  your  own  farm;  see  how  it  has  answered  in  the  old 
year,  consider  well  if  you  can  do  better  in  the  new  year.  What 
of  your  crops  and  stock  ?  Is  your  land  turned  to  the  best  account  ? 
Are  the  whole  of  your  crops  profitable  ?  Is  your  live  stock 
suitable  for  the  land  ?  Are  your  flocks  and  herds  well  propor¬ 
tioned  ;  and  are  the  animals  good  enough  for  your  purpose  ? 
Taking  these  for  our  basis  in  the  inquiry,  let  us  turn  first  to 
the  arable  land  as  involving  the  greater  outlay,  and  see  if  it 
affords  us  a  proportionate  profit.  If  the  farm  is  within  carting 
distance  of  a  large  town  there  ought  now  to  be  a  considerable 
acreage  of  such  crops  as  Winter  Tares,  Italian  Rye  Grass,  Rye, 
mixed  seeds,  and  Clover.  An  ordinary  crop  of  either  is  worth 
at  least  a  shilling  a  rod,  or  £8  an  acre,  as  green  fodder.  An 
extraordinary  crop  may  be  worth  much  more,  and  there  will  be 
two,  three,  or  four  successional  crops  of  some  of  them,  everyone 
of  which  may  be  big  crops  if  only  soil  fertility  is  well  sustained. 
Let  us  insist  on  it,  in  passing,  that  every  farmer  in  full 
practice  ought  to  be  a  past  master  in  the  art  of  keeping  his 
land  sufficiently  rich  in  fertility  for  tbe  full  sustenance  of  his 
crops. 
Then,  too,  in  such  a  situation  we  should  certainly  make  our¬ 
selves  thoroughly  acquainted  with  possibilities  in  connection 
with  fruit  and  vegetable  culture.  By  this  we  by  no  means  point 
to  turning  the  farm  into  a  market  garden,  but  rather  to  a  few 
acres  of  Strawberries,  bush  fruits,  Rhubarb,  Asparagus,  Potatoes, 
and  other  root  crops.  Travelling  recently  from  Sheffield  by 
rail  on  the  evening  of  a  market  day,  we  were  much  interested  in 
a  keen  discussion  for  and  against  the  sale  of  Swede  Turnips. 
One  farmer  insisted  that  with  his  big  crop  of  from  45  to  50  tons 
an  acre,  he  “  coulna’  do  better  than  sell  it  at  ten  shillin'  a  ton,” 
while  another  would  “  hear  nowt  of  such  talk,”  he  had  twenty-six 
stirks  beside  other  stock,  and  had  always  found  it  best  to  ‘  feed  ” 
his  roots  on  the  farm  It  is  altogether  a  relative  matter.  We 
have  in  mind,  as  we  write,  three  or  four  farms  some  five  miles 
from  a  large  and  growing  town,  with  soil  that  is  deep,  yet  so 
light  and  porous,  that  a  two  share  plough  is  easily  worked  and 
heavy  rain  appears  to  have  no  retarding  influence  on  tillage 
The  golden  opportunity  here  which  soil  and  situation  affords  for 
the  cultivation  of  special  crops  for  town  consumption  is  practi 
cally  lost,  the  town  trade  being  limited  to  Mangolds,  which  must  be 
very  profitable,  as  we  have  repeatedly  heard  of  £1  per  ton  being 
given  there  for  them- 
Of  corn  crops  Barley,  where  a  good  malting  sample  can  be 
had,  still  answers,  but  Barley  is  much  too  fickle  a  crop  ever  to 
become  a  farmer’s  sheet-anchor.  Wheat,  in  the  best  mixed  soil, 
where  the  straw  can  be  sold,  may  be  sown,  but  no  sensible  man 
can  now  place  dependence  on  Wheat  as  an  ordinary  crop. 
Well  grown  Oats  are  undoubtedly  the  most  profitable  and  the 
most  useful  corn  crop,  both  for  sale  and  for  home  use.  Well 
may  every  farmer  inquire  if  he  has  turned  Oats  to  full  account, 
first  of  all  in  giving  this  crop  the  benefit  of  high  cultivation, 
taking  as  his  standard  a  yield  of  at  least  80  bushels  per  acre, 
and  then  in  turning  both  corn  and  straw  to  stock  feeding  as 
largely  as  he  ought  to  do.  It  is  assuredly  the  wants  of  our  live 
stock  that  should  now  influence  our  decision  about  corn  growing 
much  more  than  the  corn  averages  of  our  markets,  a  self- 
supporting  farm  as  nearly  as  possible  being  the  end  and  aim  of 
our  New  Year’s  resolution. 
(To  be  continued.') 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
We  are  now  using  silage  from  a  silo  that  has  been  in  use  for  about 
eleven  years.  Though  we  have  found  stack  ensilage  answer  well,  we 
always  fill  the  silo,  because  there  is  no  waste  whatever,  no  spoiled  fodder  ; 
every  bit  of  it  is  sweet  and  wholesome,  is  eaten  eagerly  by  all  the  sheep 
and  cattle,  and,  being  under  cover  near  the  yards,  is  accessible  in  all 
weathers.  Originally  we  used  to  cut  out  the  silage  in  sections  from  top 
to  bottom,  only  withdrawing  the  weights  from  the  section  in  cut  ;  but 
finding  tbe  silage  did  not  spoil  when  the  pressure  was  taken  off,  we  now 
have  all  the  weights  removed,  using  the  silage  over  the  entire  silo  from 
the  top  downwards.  We  regard  this  extra  supply  of  wholesome,  nutri¬ 
tious  fodder  at  midwinter  as  invaluable;  while  it  lasts  we  use  no  hay 
except  for  the  dairy  cows,  the  silage  and  chaffed  straw  answering  well 
for  all  the  other  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses. 
With  the  Christmas  cattle  off  our  hands  we  have  looked  closely  into 
our  store  of  corn,  fodder,  and  roots,  and  find  we  have  an  ample  supply 
even  if  we  do  have  a  late  spring.  This  was  all  the  more  necessary 
because  the  finishing  of  cattle  for  a  Christmas  market  often  makes 
serious  inroads  into  the  winter  stores  of  a  farm,  and  we  regard  it  as 
simply  ruinous  to  purchase  food  for  store  cattle  in  the  winter,  or  in 
fact  at  any  time.  The  matter  is  worthy  of  attention  now  in  view 
of  future  contingencies.  Often  in  autumn  does  the  question  arise,  Is 
it  best  to  sell  cattle — say  about  mid-October — that  are  not  quite  ripe 
for  the  butcher,  or  to  tie  them  up  to  fatten  for  a  Christmas  sale?  If 
the  tying  up  implies  a  heavy  cake  bill  we  would  avoid  it  by  selling  at 
some  little  loss  rather  than  run  the  risk  of  a  greater  ;  but  if  there  is 
plenty  of  home-grown  corn  to  spare  for  the  bullocks  it  may  answer. 
Bearing  this  in  mind  now,  we  are  having  store  cattle  kept  well  up 
in  condition  in  the  yards,  so  as  to  turn  them  out  to  grass  next  spring 
sufficiently  forward  to  finish  them  on  the  pasture.  We  are  convinced 
that  this  is  the  more  profitable  way,  and  we  call  attention  to  it  now 
when  store  beasts  are  so  often  neglected.  Keep  them  going  well,  say 
we,  if  you  would  have  them  profitable. 
OUR  LETTER  BOX. 
Chemical  Manure  for  Oats  (J.  II.)  —  For  your  winter  Oats, 
which  have  ha  1  no  manure,  apply  per  acre  the  last  week  in  February 
1  cwt.  nitrate  of  soda,  2  cwt.  mineral  superphosphate,  quarter  cwt. 
steamed  bone  flour. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Square,  London. 
Lat.51°  32'  10"  N. ;  Long.  0°  8/  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
IN  the  Day. 
‘3 
Q3 
1895 
December. 
Barometer 
at  32°, and 
Sea  Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera  tun- 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
Ou 
Grass 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg 
Inchs. 
Sunday  ..  15 
29-264 
50-3 
48-4 
S.W. 
41-2 
50-4 
34-5 
539 
30-3 
0-053 
Monday  ..  16 
29131 
41-4 
40-6 
S.E. 
40-9 
44-7 
35-7 
50-4 
80-7 
0-268 
Tuesday  ..  17 
29-543 
41-9 
40-6 
S.E. 
41-1 
44-2 
41-0 
490 
36-2 
— 
Wednesday  18 
29-738 
39-3 
38-0 
N.E. 
41-1 
42-2 
37-9 
46T 
33  3 
0-030 
Thursday  ..  15 
29-867 
36-7 
35-1 
N.E. 
41-0 
38-7 
35-4 
41-4 
35-3 
— 
Friday  . .  20 
29-984 
36-1 
35-2 
N. 
40-1 
39-8 
31-4 
45-1 
o-i 
— 
Saturday  ..  21 
29-953 
30-4 
29-9 
N. 
39  9 
34-4 
29-6 
38-3 
26  l 
29-640 
39-4 
38-3 
40-8 
421 
35-5 
46-3 
31  7 
0-351 
REMARKS. 
15th.— Rain  from  3  A.H.  to  7  A.M.,  and  overcast  till  11  A.M. ;  generally  sunny  after,  and 
clear  evening. 
16th.— Occasional  gleams  of  sun  and  slight  showers;  steady  rain  at  4  A.M.,  and  from 
11  a.m.  to  1  r.M. 
17th.— Rain  till  3  A.M. ;  overcast  all  day.  * 
18th.— Dull  early;  rain  at  10  A.M. ;  overcast  day. 
19th.— Overcast  early  ;  fair  day. 
20th.— Fair,  but  sunless. 
21st.— Overcast  and  cooler  ;  fog  in  evening. 
A  very  ordinary  December  week,  not  much  daily  range  of  temperature,  and  rather 
less  than  the  average  rainfall.— G.  J.  SYMONS. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
Rain. 
189*. 
December. 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
l  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperaturt 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inchs. 
Sunday....  22 
29-857 
28-4 
28-4 
N.E. 
38-8 
37-3 
26-1 
38-2 
26-0 
— 
Monday  ..  23 
29-773 
34-2 
33-0 
E. 
38-0 
39-4 
28  0 
60-4 
27-2 
— 
Tuesday  . .  24 
29-489 
38-7 
37-6 
N.E. 
38-2 
89  2 
34-3 
41-3 
29-0 
0-316 
Wednesday  25 
29-641 
33-4 
33-0 
N.E. 
38-5 
34-2 
33-0 
3f>*0 
31*9 
— 
Thursday..  26 
29-870 
32-9 
32-3 
N.E. 
38-0 
36-9 
31-4 
36-9 
31-2 
0-090 
Frilay  ....  27 
30-2-16 
35-9 
35-3 
N. 
37-9 
37-0 
32-8 
39-9 
31  9 
— 
Saturday . .  28 
30-383 
32-7 
32  6 
N.E. 
37-8 
47*2 
32-0 
48*2 
31-0 
o-l  S8 
29-894 
33  7 
33-2 
38*2 
38-7 
31-1 
41*4 
29-7 
0-594 
REMARKS. 
22nd — Fair,  but  sunless. 
23rd— Sunny,  but  not  very  clear. 
24th— Dull  and  rainy  almost  throughout. 
26th — Rain  or  sleet  till  9  a.m.  ;  dull  and  damp  day. 
26th — Slight  wet  suow  or  drizzle  almost  all  day. 
27th — Dull  and  damp  morning  ;  colder  and  drier  after. 
28th— Dull  early  ;  foggy  morning :  rain  from  2.30  P.M . 
A  cold,  damp,  uncomfortable  week.— G.  J.  SYMONS. 
