266 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Eeptfiuter  10,  189S. 
tenant  fanner,  the  small  yeoman,  the  labourer  with  his  2  or 
3  acres,  they  know  them  all,  and  are  ready  with  the  timely 
loan  or  (but  this  was  in  past  ages)  hint  of  safe  investment. 
No  men  know  better  when  to  show  mercy,  no  men  know  better 
when  to  check  the  improvident.  It  is  so  seldom  that  they  lose 
anything  by  these  bucolic  customers  that  they  can  afford  to  be 
indulgent  to  the  honest  struggler. 
Not  only  has  the  banker  an  eye  on  the  doings  of  his  own 
immediate  community,  but  by  reason  of  his  calling  and  his 
intercourse  with  a  wider  world  than  that  bounded  by  the  county, 
lie  possesses  a  fair  and  accurate  knowledge  of  commercial  enter¬ 
prise  outside  these  realms,  and  if  he  has  the  gift  of  a  ready 
tongue  he  has  many  opportunities  of  enlightening  those  with 
whom  his  words  carry  power  and  conviction. 
■  A  banker  on  his  legs  the  other  day  at  an  agricultural  show 
gave  some  most  interesting  statistics  regarding  the  Wheat- 
growing  countries  of  the  world.  Of  a  farming  stock,  in  an 
eminently  farming  county,  he  spoke  to  willing  hearers.  He 
spoke  of  the  good,  sound  farming  to  be  found  in  Yorkshire, 
and  in  proof  of  that  good  farming  showed  that  whereas 
in  other  counties  the  average  Wheat  yield  could  be  put 
down  per  acre  as  100,  in  Yorkshire  it  stood  at  120. 
Then  came  the  unsatisfactory  part  of  the  story — low 
prices,  prices  that  by  no  means  paid  for  production ;  that 
whether  these  prices  would  last  much  longer  he  was  not  in  a 
position  to  te’l,  all  pointed  to  a  rise  in  the  immediate  future 
and  for  these  very  good  reasons.  India,  once  our  great  corn 
supplier,  was  growing  less  and  less,  and  therefore  on  her  we  could 
not  depend  for  any  great  quantity.  This  year  Australia  sends  ; 
us  none,  and  moreover  had  to  draw  on  the  United  States  herself 
to  make  up  her  owm  deficiency,  and,  as  the  States  were  lessening 
their  output  there  must  be  (if  not  an  actual  deficiency)  a 
smaller  supply  for  us  to  fall  back  upon. 
In  the  Argentine  we  can  find  Wheat  growers  who  can 
compete  with  us,  but  simply  because  so  far  they  have  not  found 
out  the  value  of  their  crops  when  turned  into  gold.  Till  they 
do  find  it  out  they  are  formidable  competitors,  but  once  let 
them  grasp  the  fact  that  paper  and  silver  have  an  infinitely 
diminished  outside  value,  and  they  will  then  require  more  for 
their  produce. 
Another  great  cause  of  the  cheap  Wheat  of  the  last  few  years 
was  to  be  found  in  the  immense  railway  systems  that  had  been 
opened  in  the  States  By  means  of  these  railways  food  stuffs 
were  brought  most  cheaply  from  the  vast  prairies  that  had  lately 
come  into  cultivation.  Fifteen  years  ago  12,000  miles  of  railway 
were  opened,  and  for  a  year  or  two  later  10,000  miles  a  year  were 
laid. 
To  give  an  idea  of  the  cheapness  of  American  railway  freight 
this  gentleman  mentioned  that  in  1882  the  pri"e  per  ton  per 
mile  was  two  and  a  half  farthings,  Ij  1887  the  cost  was  two 
farthings;  in  1892  it  was  one  and  a  half  farthing.  This  was 
what  was  helping  to  keep  down  the  pr’ce  of  Wheat,  and  at  the 
same  time  these  prices  were  most  disastrous  for  the  American 
shareholder,  as  the  railways  paid  no  dividends.  This  state  of 
things  could  not  last  long.  English  shareholders  like  their 
dividends,  and  moreover  will  have  them.  The  American  grower, 
too,  is  in  evil  case,  and  with  his  utmost  efforts  he  can  barely 
keep  body  and  soul  together. 
If  railway  carriage  is  low  steam  carriage  or  ocean  freight  is  I 
equally  low.  In  1873  the  carriage  of  grain  from  New  York  to 
Europe  was  10s.  6d  per  quarter,  now  it  is  3s.  per  quarter.  From 
San  Francisco  in  1873  it  fell  from  76s.  to  70s.  ;  1895  it  reached 
27s.  6d.  The  reductions  from  Ode  sa  were  still  greater.  In 
1872  the  charge  was  reduced  from  47s.  to  45s  per  quarter,  in 
1895  it  was  reduced  to  9s.  fid.  per  quarter. 
All  these  factors  have  helped  to  make  and  keep  Wheat  cheap. 
In  1854  Wheat  was  72s.  5d.  per  quarter.  It  averaged  57s.  for  the 
five  years,  1855  to  1859  inclusive  ;  in  1894  it  reached  228.  lOd. ;  in 
1895  23s.  Id,,  the  average  for  the  years  1890  to  1894  being 
29s.  8d.  per  quarter. 
There  seems  a  possibility  of  a  rise  this  year,  for  taking  the 
great  exporting  countries  of  Russia,  India,  Argentina,  Australia, 
Algiers  we  find  that  they  have  a  deficiency  of  40,000,000, 
56,000,000,  14,000,000,  8,000,000,  and  7,000,000  of  bushels 
respectively.  France,  Italy,  and  Great  Britain  have  a  little 
more  than  usual,  but  Spain,  Austria,  and  Germany  are  very 
deficient. 
Indeed,  summing  up  the  figures  we  find  that  this  year’s 
Wheat  crop  is  6  per  cent,  below  last  year’s,  and  12  per  cent, 
below  1894.  Surely  in  time  we  shall  have  English  Wheat 
growing  once  more  a  remunerative  crop,  and  landlord  and 
tenant  in  better  and  easier  circumstances  than  they  have  been 
for  many  a  long  day. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Farm  operations  have  lately  been  much  hindered  by  unfavourable 
weather  ;  there  is  still  a  considerable  portion  of  the  harvest  in  the 
fields  in  the  northern  counties,  and  unless  drying  winds  are  at  hand  to 
dry  up  the  late  excessive  moisture  much  mischief  must  accrue.  The 
large  majority  who  have  their  grain  safely  stacked  and  thatched  have 
every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  their  position.  Autumn  cleaning  of 
fallows  has  of  late  been  quite  impossible  ;  the  rains  have  marvellously 
improved  the  root  crops,  but  they  will  now  do  without  moisture  for 
some  time,  and  a  really  fine  September  would  be  a  great  boon. 
We  hear  of  several  threshings  of  Wheat;  and  all  are  satisfactory, 
though  varying  considerably  in  degree.  We  have  heard  of  8  quarters 
per  acre,  but  cannot  vouch  for  the  report  being  correct.  The  price  has 
risen  Is.  fid.  per  quarter,  and  the  corn  merchants  promise  a  much  larger 
rise  if  the  English  farmer  will  only  keep  his  Wheat  reasonably  in  hand. 
Can  he  do  so  ?  No  doubt  he  will  be  willing  if  he  can  do  without  the 
money. 
This  is  a  very  critical  time  for  lambs,  the  heat,  combined  with 
moisture,  being  eminently  favourable  to  the  growth  and  development  of 
the  various  v,rorm8  which  infest  the  internal  organs  of  the  sheep. 
A  short  pasture  at  night  is  the  chief  essential  for  keeping  the  animals 
healthy  ;  but  there  must  be  also  a  proper  variety  of  food  for  them 
during  the  day.  The  Cabbage  plot  is  simply  invaluable  in  a  time  like 
this  ;  but  the  Cabbage  must  be  well  hearted  and  ripe.  The  lambs  will 
inform  you  what  is  b^est  for  them  ;  they  always  eat  the  hearts  to  the 
last  bite,  but  carefully  leave  the  green  outside  leaves.  We  watched  a 
cartload  of  Cabbage  the  other  day  entering  the  field,  and  were  much 
interested  to  see  the  eager  way  with  which  the  animals  galloped  from 
all  parts  of  the  field  to  meet  the  cart  almost  as  soon  as  it  was  through 
the  gate. 
All  cattle  under  twelve  months  old  will  require  very  careful  watch¬ 
ing  during  the  next  few  weeks  if  they  are  allowed  to  remain  out  on  the 
pastures.  The  grass  may  appear  plentiful,  but  there  will  every  week 
be  less  real  food  in  its  composition,  and  the  young  stock  may  run  off 
very  seriously  in  condition  unless  help  be  given  in  the  form  of  a  little 
cake  or  other  suitable  dry  food. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamden  Squarh,  London. 
Lat.  51°  32' 40"  N. ;  Long.  0°  8/  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  DAT. 
1896. 
August 
and 
September. 
1  Barometer 
1  at  32°,  and 
1  Sea  Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
A 
03 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
leg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inehs, 
Sunday  .. 
30 
29-926 
64-3 
57-2 
69-0 
67-7 
60-0 
95-2 
44-2 
— 
Monday  . . 
31 
29-891 
616 
66-7 
N. 
59-3 
66-6 
54-9 
81-7 
48-4 
0-224 
Tuesday  . . 
1 
29-868 
68  7 
67-0 
N. 
69-2 
66-4 
61-6 
94-6 
44-8 
0-114 
Wednesday 
2 
29-824 
65-9 
65-1 
S.W. 
590 
60-8 
63-4 
82-8 
51-6 
0-2t0 
Thursday . . 
3 
29-881 
66-6 
52-6 
N.W. 
58-3 
67-6 
62-2 
114-1 
51-2 
0-052 
Friday  . , 
4 
29-875 
69-8 
68-7 
S. 
68-7 
66-3 
65-9 
97-9 
60-2 
0-622 
Sat'irday  . . 
5 
29-660 
66-9 
61-2 
SB. 
59-2 
69-7 
67-8 
101-3 
68-2 
0-199 
29-846 
60-4 
56-9 
69  0 
66-2 
53-7 
95-4 
49-4 
1-471 
REMABKS. 
30th.— Generally  cloudy  and  rather  dull,  but  sunshine  at  times. 
31st.— Gloomy  and  showery,  with  distant  thunder  at  times,  but  a  little  lun  about 
midday. 
1st.— Bain  from  4  A.H.  to  6  A.H. ;  overcast,  damp,  and  showery  day,  but  gleams  of 
sun  about  3  P.M. 
2nd.— Gloomy  and  misty  early  ;  overcast  morning ;  almost  continuous  rain  from 
1.45  p.Jf.  to  6  P.M.,  heavy  from  2.30  P.M.  to  3  P.M. 
3rd. — Humid  early ;  overcast  morning  ;  bright  sun  in  afternoon,  and  fine  evening. 
4th.— Continuous  rain  from  7.30  A.M.  to  noon,  and  10  P.M  to  midnight,  overcast 
between. 
5th.— Continuous  rain  from  0  A  m.  to  4  a.m.  ;  alternate  sunshine  and  spots  of  rain  in 
morning  ;  fine  afternoon  ;  heavy  rain  and  distant  lightning  in  evening. 
A  wet  and  dull  week,  with  average  temperature.— G.  J.  Symons. 
