r  434 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTiGtJLWkE  ANt>  COTTAGE  GAREENER. 
May  f,  189S. 
Many  are  the  differences  of  opinion  as  to  the  value  of  the 
different  manures  used  on  the  farm,  and  as  these  opinions  are 
generally  supported  by  the  results  of  practice,  they  would  often 
appear  to  be  quite  hopelessly  contradictory. 
When,  however,  the  great  differences  of  soil,  condition, 
cleanliness,  drainage,  and  climate,  are  fully  taken  into  account 
the  apparent  divergence  is  found  not  so  irreconcilable  The 
best  plan  is  to  follow  the  general  custom  of  the  neighbourhood, 
and  then  to  improve  on  it  if  possible. 
Many  fine  mixtures  with  high-sounding  names  are  in  the 
market,  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  real  value  of  these 
mixtures  lies  in  the  presence  of  certain  constituents,  and  that 
these  constituents  are  almost  always  to  be  obtained  much 
cheaper  in  their  original  uumixed  condition. 
Take  an  example.  A  manure  guaranteed  to  contain  22  per 
cent,  phosphates  and  3  per  cent,  ammonia,  at  £6  10s.  per  ton, 
less  5s  discount  for  cash,  £6  3s  fid.  Here  we  have  22  per  cent, 
phosphate  at  Is.  fid.  =  £l  13s.,  0  03  ammonia  at  7s.  6d  =£1  2s.  6d. 
value  £2  15s.  6d.,  leaving  £3  8s  fid  ,  or  122j  per  cent ,  profit  for 
mixing. 
Phosphates  are  the  main  factor  in  Turnip  growing.  A  suffi¬ 
cient  supply  of  nitrogen  must  be  present  to  grow  the  plant,  but 
it  will  be  the  phosphate  of  lime  that  will  swell  the  roots,  and  a 
good  supply  of  this  must  be  provided 
Superphosphate  of  lime  at  about  42s  per  ton  is  the  cheapest 
Turnip  tillage  in  the  market  if  the  Turnip  crop  only  is 
considered,  but  it  is  the  succeeding  corn  and  Clover  crops  that 
are  to  be  taken  into  account  A  mixture  of  superphosphate  and 
steamed  bonemeal  at  £4  5s  per  ton  would  be  better  ;  the  latter 
should  contain  about  60  per  cent  of  phosphates  and  1^  per  cent, 
of  ammonia. 
Two  hundredweight  of  bonemeal  and  the  same  quantity  of 
superphosphate,  costing  about  12s.  9d.  per  acre,  and  containing 
in  mixture  about  43  per  cent,  phosphate  and  f  per  cent, 
ammonia,  will  be  an  excellent  and  cheap  dressing  on  land  which 
is  fairly  rich  in  nitrogen  ;  but  where  the  land  is  poor,  or  for 
Swedes  without  manure,  the  addition  of  j  cwt.  of  sulphate  of 
ammonia  per  acre,  costing  about  4s.  fid  ,  will  make  a  manure  as 
good  as  can  be  wished  for  any  soil. 
Where  is  the  potash  ?  someone  may  say.  We  have  tried 
both  kainit  and  muriate  of  potash  on  medium  land,  and  have 
never  seen  any  benefit  result  to  the  Turnip  crop,  though  we  have 
seen  an  after  effect  on  Clover  and  Potatoes. 
Although  good  Swedes  may  be  grown  wi  hout  farmyard 
manure  on  good  land,  a  really  heavy  crop  (if  it  is  to  be  a  sound 
one)  must  have  “muck’  for  the  foundation.  We  have  tried 
heavy  dressings  of  artificial  against  it,  and  have  found  that 
although  the  former  produced  as  heavy  a  weight  per  acre  or 
even  heav  er,  the  roots  were  certainly  not  so  sound,  and  very 
inferior  as  regards  keeping  qualities. 
If  the  heaviest  possible  weight  is  desired,  as  is  often  the  case 
where  only  a  small  area  can  be  devoted  to  the  root  crop,  and 
yard  manure  is  not  available,  we  should  be  inclined  to  use 
4  cwts  superphosphate,  2  ditto  bonemeal,  and  1  ditto  nitrate  of 
soda,  applied  before  the  seed  is  drilled,  with  an  additional  cwt 
of  nitrate  afier  the  plants  are  thinned  out ;  this  may  be  sown 
broadcast  and  horse-hoed. 
Fish  guano  containing  8  to  10  per  cent  ammonia  and  20  per 
cent  phosphates  may  be  brnght  for  about  £5  10s.  or  £6.  It 
also  contains  a  little  potash,  and  is  more  suitable  for  Potatoes 
than  i  urnips,  as  it  is  too  rich  in  nitrogen  and  poor  phosphoric 
acid  for  the  latter.  It  would  do  for  Mangolds,  but  is  rather  too 
slow  in  its  action  for  modern  practice ;  we  cannot  afford  to 
leave  much  for  the  future  in  these  days. 
Pigeon  and  fowl  manure  are  most  valuable  for  both  Swedes 
and  Mangolds;  it  is  a  good  plan  to  mix  them  with  mineral 
phosphate  a  month  or  two  before  using,  and  turn  the  mixture 
once  or  twice  in  the  interval  Where  a  good  dressing  of  this 
mixture  goes  little  else  will  be  required.  The  farmer  of  forty 
years  ago  used  to  swear  by  bones,  but  though  the  half  inch  bone 
as  an  object  of  worship  is  out  of  date,  still  a  devotee  may 
occasionally  be  found  Bone  is  better  applied  as  dust  or 
dissolved,  and  should  never  be  put  on  carr  land  unless  dissolved. 
We  can  testify  to  well-preserved  half-inch  bones  being  turned 
up  on  carr  land  of  our  own  acquaintance,  on  which  none  has 
been  used  for  thirty  five  years  Peat  earth,  as  we  know, 
preserver  fallen  timber  for  centuries,  and  it  has  the  same  effect 
on  bone,  dissolution  being  checked  and  rendered  practically 
abortive  as  far  as  benefit  to  plant  life  is  concerned. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
A  home  farm  usually  lies  very  handy  to  the  farm  premises,  often  in  a 
ring  fence,  and  owners  of  land,  although  themselves  farming,  and  there¬ 
fore  supposed  to  have  full  knowledge  of  the  difficulties  their  tenants 
have  to  contend  with,  have  often  little  idea  of  the  expense  of  farming 
fields  lying  a  mile  or  a  mile  and  a  half  away. 
Fortunate  is  the  occupier  of  a  compact  farm  of  good  land  with  a 
sufficient  proportion  of  useful  grass.  On  some  estates,  where  land  varies 
considerably  in  value,  in  order  to  effect  an  equal  distribution  of  the  best 
and  worst  soils  between  the  different  farms,  fields  have  been  allotted  to 
farmsteads  a  mile  or  two  away.  The  extra  labour  this  entails  is  very 
great,  and  the  laying  out  of  capital  on  more  buildings  (if  the  money 
could  be  found)  would  only  be  like  robbing  Peter  to  pay  Paul. 
We  know  farms  of  which  more  than  half  lies  a  mile  away  from  home. 
When  working  these  fields  it  is  found  impracticable  to  make  more  than 
one  yoke  per  day  either  winter  or  summer.  As  much  work  can  be  done 
by  working  from  6  A.M.  to  2  P.M.,  without  a  break,  as  by  working  from 
six  to  twelve  and  two  to  six,  the  usual  hours,  and  there  will  generally 
be  found  a  few  odds  and  ends  to  fill  up  the  men’s  time  after  dinner, 
while  the  horses  will  be  resting  in  the  stable  or  out  at  grass. 
Of  course  in  midwinter  the  one  yoke  system  prevails  everywhere,  as 
it  is  too  dark  to  work  after  4  p.m.,  and  the  advantage  is  obvious  ;  but 
the  men  are  never  very  ready  to  take  to  the  double  yoke,  and  a  change 
has  generally  to  be  insisted  on  before  they  will  adopt  it.  If  the  horses 
leave  the  stable  at  6  A  M.  and  return  at  2.30  there  will  be  an  abstinence 
from  food  of  eight  and  a  half  hours,  and  supposing  the  journey  to  the 
field  to  occupy  thirty  minutes  each  way,  seven  and  a  half  hours  con¬ 
tinuous  work. 
This  may  not  hurt  a  matured  animal,  but  we  do  not  think  one  under 
four  years  old  should  be  subjected  to  such  treatment.  We  are  now 
working  a  pair  of  two-year-olds  lately  broken ;  we  send  one  out  at  6  A  M., 
the  other  remains  at  home  till  10  A.M.,  when  he  is  taken  out  and  the  first 
one  brought  home. 
Young  horses  should  never  go  a  long  yoke,  many  a  one  has  been 
killed  by  injudicious  feeding  after  a  long  fast  and  an  exhaustive  spell  of 
hard  pulling.  As  we  have  said  before,  we  know  farmers  who  make  one 
yoke  the  year  round  ;  but  having  well  tried  both  plans,  and  having  the 
animal’s  welfare  as  well  as  the  work  in  mind,  we  should  unyoke  at  noon 
if  possible. 
We  are  about  putting  in  a  few  acres  of  common  Turnips  adjoining 
the  Cabbage  plot  to  ripen  by  mid-September.  They  will  be  handy  to 
educate  the  lambs  with  when  the  Cabbages  are  running  short,  and  there 
is  no  easier  way  of  getting  lambs  on  Turnips. 
Cabbages  this  year  are  much  inclined  to  run  to  seed.  Another  result 
of  last  September’s  heat  we  suppose. 
The  land  has  dried  rapidly  lately,  and  is  showing  a  decided  scarcity 
of  fine  tilth,  strong  soils  will  be  hopeless  for  roots  without  a  heavy 
downfall. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamdkn  Square,  London. 
Lat.51°  32' 40"  N. :  Lou?.  0°  8' 0"  W.:  Altitude  111  feet 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
a 
£ 
1896 
April 
and 
May. 
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. 
Miu. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg 
deg. 
deg 
Inchs. 
Sunday  . . 
26 
30-067 
58-9 
53-8 
N.W. 
49-3 
68-4 
51-4 
1  8-6 
45  2 
— 
Monday  . . 
27 
30-109 
54-7 
52-2 
W. 
50-9 
67-7 
45-3 
108-9 
36-3 
— 
Tuesday  . . 
28 
29-9U 
54  4 
47-0 
w. 
51-8 
62-9 
5u-2 
110-9 
43-7 
— 
Wednesday 
29 
29730 
52-6 
45  0 
w. 
52-1 
60-2 
43-8 
109-8 
36  3 
0-07  6 
Thursday  . 
30 
2  ->"654 
47-7 
42-9 
N. 
50-9 
59-7 
3 '-8 
107-1 
28  7 
— 
Friday 
1 
30  193 
44*1 
40  4 
N. 
50-3 
55-8 
36-4 
UiK-7 
28-3 
— 
Saturday  .. 
S 
30-360 
48-7 
42-4 
N. 
50-0 
53-6 
36-2 
97-2 
25  6 
— 
30-032 
51-9 
46-2 
50  8 
61-2 
43  0 
107-3 
34-9 
0-076 
28th.—  Generally  cloudy  in  morning ;  bright  sun  all  afternoon  and  clear  night. 
Lunar  halo  in  evening. 
27th.— Overcast  morning  ;  occasional  sunshine  in  afternoon. 
2«th.— Bright  sunshine  almost  all  day  and  fresh  breeze.  [3.3d  p.m. 
29th. — Generally  sunny,  but  spots  of  rain  at  11  A.H.,  and  showers  at  0.  0  P.M.  and 
30th. — Bright  sunshine  in  morning  ;  cloudy  at  times  in  afternoon. 
1st.— Brilliant  early  ;  generally  cloudy  day  ;  spots  of  rain  at  0.30  P.M. 
2nd. — Overcast  morning  ;  occasional  sunshine  in  afternoon. 
Yet  another  fine  week  of  average  temperature. — G.  J.  SYMONS. 
