l68 
JOUUA^AL  OP  mnTWULTURk  Ak^b  GOTTAQP  GAKDmEU. 
Angurik  iS,  1888. 
conditions,  in  its  three  varieties — early,  medium,  and  late— may 
be  largely  sown  in  proper  proportions  to  follow  in  succession  in 
cutting  It  might  also  take  the  place  of  red  and  other  spring- 
sown  Clovers  that  have  failed. 
Italian  Rye  Grass,  sown  very  thickly  and  as  early  as  possible, 
would  under  favourable  conditions  yield  some  good  food  in  the 
autumn  and  again  in  the  following  spring.  This  crop  provides 
good  fodder  for  dairy  stock.  Jt  maybe  sown  after  Yetches  or 
grain  crops  from  July  to  September,  but  will  require  a  heavy 
manuring  of  nitrate  of  soda  or  other  ammoniacal  dressing. 
Trifolium  pratense  or  Cow  Grass,  if  sown  at  once,  either  alone  or 
with  Italian  Rye  Grass,  might  with  sufficient  moisture  yield  a  good 
crop  in  the  autumn .  It  should  be  simply  brushed  or  rubbed  in, 
or  harrowed  in  by  chain  harrow,  and  a  roller  run  over  it. 
Nitrate  of  soda  and  superphosphate  may  be  used  as  manures. 
This  Clover  can  only  be  mown  once,  but  it  would  affiord  excellent 
feed  throughout  the  late  summer  and  autumn  after  its  crop 
of  hay 
A  mixture  of  rapid-growing  Grasses  and  Clover  such  as  the 
above,  with  the  addition  of  Cocksfoot,  Trefoil  and  AlsiVe,  should 
with  the  necessary  moisture  yield  a  good  crop  by  the  end  of 
September.  Buckwheat  may  in  some  instances  be  grown  with 
advantage  where  climate  and  soil  permit. 
White  Mustard  grows  very  rapidly,  and  may  be  sown  where 
Turnips  and  Mangolds  have  failed,  or  upon  stubble.  If  plenty 
of  seed  be  used  and  some  phosphate  manure  applied  to  the 
stubble  there  should  be  good  sheep  food  m  six  weeks  or  less,  but 
this  crop  does  not  stand  a  hard  winter.  A  peck  of  seed  per 
acre  is  said  to  yield  good  food  in  November  if  sown  as  late  as 
the  end  of  August. 
Rape,  in  the  form  of  Giant  Rape,  may  be  drilled  in  the  old 
drills  where  Mangolds  and  Swedes  have  failed,  or  on  freshly 
ploughed  stubbles.  In  a  favourable  season  there  might  be  time 
to  single  it  and  get  a  good  ci’op,  or  it  might  be  left  unhoed. 
Dwarf  or  ordinary  Rape  can  be  sown  broadcast  in  July  and 
August  on  land  where  crops  have  failed,  and  should  be  harrowed 
in.  On  stubbles  it  may  be  sown  broadcast,  with  3  or  4  cwt  of 
superphosphate  per  acre,  and  will  furnish  good  food  for  the 
spring. 
Thousand- headed  Kale  if  drilled  at  once,  well  manured,  and 
afterwards  singled  might  supply  a  valuab’e  and  bulky  food  for 
both  sheep  and  cows  in  early  spring  from  February  onwards 
under  favourable  circumstances.  If  Kale  plants  are  available 
time  would  be  saved  by  their  being  transplanted  where  other 
crops  have  failed.  Thousand-headed  Kale  has  in  many  distr  cts 
taken  the  place  of  Rape,  as  being  a  more  heavy  bearing  crop 
Vetches  sown  after  an  early  cereal  crop — where  the  stubble 
has  been  broken  up  by  a  plough,  grubber,  or  harrow — might 
afford  much  food,  even  in  the  late  autumn,  upon  well  farmed 
land.  They  should  be  sown  with  a  mixture  of  Oats,  Wheat, 
Beans,  or  Rye  to  keep  them  up 
Winter  Oats  and  Barley  if  put  in  speedily  will  furnish  a 
good  yield  of  food  foi  hay  soiling  or  ensilage.  If  the  weather 
is  unfavourable  to  quick  growth  these  crops  will  still  furnish 
excellent  food  for  stock  in  spring.  Pea  haulm  if  made  into  hay 
should  form  a  useful  addition  to  the  stock  of  fodder  for  winter 
feeding.  Hop  bines  may  also  be  made  into  hay.  For  this  the 
liner  bines,  which  are  often  trained  on  cocoa-nut  fibre  string 
may  be  specially  used ;  but  care  must  be  taken  to  pull  out  these 
strings,  so  that  they  are  not  eaten  by  cattle.  In  making  Hop 
bines  into  hay  the  bines  must  be  got  together  directly  tbey  are 
“  hayed,”  and  not  left  till  the  end  of  Hop  picking.  In  view  of 
the  present  high  prices  of  hay  it  will  pay  to  take  up  the  b  ne 
hay  when  ready.  The  neglect  to  take  this  precaution  is  the 
probable  cause  of  the  Hop  bine  hay  frequently  turning  oiit  so 
poor. 
Late  Turnips,  Swedes.— Where  Mangolds  and  Swedes  have 
failed  to  come  up,  it  would  not  be  too  late  to  run  in  the  same 
drills,  either  with  or  without  manure,  some  of  the  following : — • 
viz.,  the  late  Swede,  hardy  Swede,  Orange  Jelly  or  Golden  Ball 
Turnip,  Green  Globe  Turnip,  Six-weeks’  Turnip,  or  the  Grey 
Stone  Turnip.  There  are  several  varieties  of  Turnips  which 
might  be  sown  in  this  way  which  would  produce  considerable 
quantities  of  keep ,  and  stand  the  winter  even  when  sown  broad¬ 
cast,  some  of  which  may  be  sown  upon  stubbles,  as  the  harvest 
is  early,  and  they  would  have  nearly  three  months  to  grow  in. 
Brewers’  grains  will  form  a  useful  addition  to  rations  of 
straw  for  stock  in  absence  of  hay.  Clover  leys  (old  leys), 
instead  o  being  ploughed  up  this  autumn,  may  no  doubt  under 
the  circumstances  be  left  down  for  another  year  in  cases  where 
the  plant  is  at  all  good. 
Now  this  is  very  comprehensive,  and  surely  suited  to  meet 
the  needs  of  all  farmers.  We  have  not  quoted  the  suggestions 
for  ensilage  for  we  still  think  dry  food  is  preferable  for  all  sorts 
of  stock. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM 
The  corn  harvest,  which  represents  the  sole  work  of  the  farm  at 
present,  is  not  making  the  progress  we  could  wish.  There  is  so  much 
second  growth  in  many  of  the  crops  that  they  have  had  to  stand  much 
longer  than  was  expected  before  being  fit  to  cut,  and  require  a  good  deal 
of  time  before  being  fit  to  stack.  This  applies  oarticularly  to  Oats, 
which  are  very  uneven  in  growth  and  sample.  Unfortunately  the  hot 
dry  weather,  which  would  bring  everything  into  good  condition,  is  not 
to  be  vouchsafed  to  us.  Weather  conditions  seem  to  have  become  quite 
unsettled.  Now  that  there  has  been  sufficient  moisture  in  most  places 
for  the  roots,  a  dry  August  would  be  generally  acceptable.  When 
harvest  is  not  completed  quickly  master  or  man  must  suffer,  but  as 
there  is  still  a  good  deal  to  be  done  beneficially  to  the  Turnips,  no  time 
should  be  absolutely  wasted  this  year. 
The  nnevennesi  in  the  ripening  of  the  cereals  has  been  shown  in  the 
large  number  of  farmers,  who  having  commenced  harvest,  have  stopped 
cutting  and  returned  to  Turnip  cleaning.  This  making  a  break  in  the 
harvest  period  is  very  exceptional,  at  any  rate  on  large  arable  boilings. 
A  start  once  made  is  like  setting  a  ball  rolling  down  hill,  stopping  seems 
impossible. 
Now  is  the  time  to  sow  Cabbage  for  autumn  planting,  if  delayed 
longer  they  will  be  too  small  to  transplant  before  winter.  Five  pounds 
of  seeds  evenlv  broadcast  over  an  acre  will  not  be  too  thick,  and  will 
p-oduce  150,000  sturdy  plants,  sufficient  to  plant  10  acres  well.  If  the 
Cab^iages  are  wanted  for  feed  in  July  an  early  kind  will  be  best,  such 
as  Enfield  Market  or  Early  Rainham,  but  for  autumn  use  Drumheads  or 
Scotch.  A  small  quantity,  such  as  5  lbs.,  not  being  easy  to  sow  by  hand 
dry  ashes  may  be  mixed  with  the  seed  to  increase  the  bulk. 
Stacking  corn  properly  is  not  the  simplest  of  operations  ;  it  is  not 
always  the  handsomest  stack  in  appearance  that  is  the  best,  handsome  is 
that  handsome  does,  and  the  chief  object  in  stacking  is  to  keep  the  grain  dry. 
We  have  seen  a  most  symmetrically  built  s'ack  wet  from  top  to  bottom, 
and  an  ugly  one  that  no  rain  could  touch.  The  great  secret  is  to  keep 
the  middle  high  all  the  way  up,  so  that  the  sheaves  have  a  decided  fall 
towards  the  outside.  This  should  be  especially  attended  to  when  roofing 
up  ;  the  centre  should  be  so  high  that  when  the  outside  courses  are  laid 
they  are  inclined  to  slip  off  altogether  until  coveiei  by  thejnext.  When 
built  in  this  way  a  stack  is  practically  already  thatched,j[and  we  have 
known  such  left  uncovered  all  winter  without  injury. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
OAMDbN  SQUABK.  LONDON. 
Lat.  61°  32' 40"  N. ;  Long.  0°  8/  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day 
1896 
W  twi  * 
0)  03  ^ 
ao;,2 
Hygiomeier. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperatur' 
d 
*3 
C4 
August. 
COacfi 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Wind. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass 
Sunday  .. 
2 
luohs. 
30-096 
leg. 
68-6 
deg. 
68-2 
N.E. 
deg. 
640 
deg 
67-8 
deg. 
66-7 
deg 
it  8  0 
deg. 
61-0 
Inchs 
Idonday  . . 
3 
3t074 
62-8 
54-S 
N.B. 
62-8 
71-0 
46-2 
106-3 
41-8 
0-010 
Tuesday  .. 
4 
29-971 
fl-9 
84-4 
N.W. 
62-8 
71-6 
53-1 
U6-9 
49-2 
Wednesday 
5 
80-083 
68-8 
50-7 
N. 
62-3 
68-0 
47-7 
120-1 
42-3 
Ttursday 
ft 
30' 1 62 
57  9 
61-9 
N. 
62-1 
68-8 
62"2 
119-9 
45-9 
Kriday 
7 
3o-lo7 
69-2 
63-9 
N. 
63-0 
72-9 
48-3 
llU-3 
42-3 
Saturday  . 
8 
30-032 
67-4 
54-9 
N. 
61-7 
65-7 
511 
95-6 
46  1 
0-022 
30-076 
69-6 
53  7 
62-7 
69-4 
80-6 
110-6 
45-3 
0-032 
KEM  VRKS.  " 
2nd. — Overcast  almost  all  day. 
3rd.— Bright  early  ;  generally  cloudy  during  the  day  ;  spots  of  rain  in  evening. 
4th.— Generally  sunny  in  morning,  and  cloudy  in  afternoon. 
5th.—  Bright  fresh  morning  ;  much  cloud  in  afternoon, 
6th.— Alternate  cloud  and  sunshine  throughout. 
7th.— Overcast  almost  all  day,  but  some  sunshine  in  the  morning. 
8th.— Overcast  all  day,  with  showers  in  afternoon. 
An  unsettled  and  rather  cloudy  week,  but  almost  rainices.  Temperature  about 
3°  below  the  average,  for  the  first  time  since  the  middle  of  Apiib— Q.  S.  SYMOKS. 
