410 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  !2,  18#8. 
STEALING  AN  IDEA. 
“Stealing  an  idea?”  Yes,  we  confess  our  fault  at  once, 
and  are  not  one  bit  ashamed  of  ourselves.  When  the  idea  is 
good,  why  should  we  ?  We  give  thanks  and  acknowledgements 
where  they  are  due,  and  they  are  due  to  those  masters  of  their 
art  who  in  a  recent  Journal  have  so  carefully  analysed  the 
Rose  crop  of  this  current  year.  Is  “  crop  ”  the  proper  term  ? 
It  will  serve,  although  it  does  not  quite  read  nicely. 
Last  week  we  wrote  on  the  Potato  crop,  the  lifting  and. storing  ; 
and  as  this  week  we  see  from  various  reports  that  an  estimate  of 
the  crop  and  its  value  is  being  made,  we  think  it  advisable 
while  the  Potato  topic  is  fresh  in  the  minds  of  our  readers  to 
give  a  summary  of  these  reports.  We  wish  to  know  now  where 
we  stand,  and  we  shall  also  hope  to  see  in  a  measure  how  this 
season  has  affected  the  several  varieties  of  this  most  useful  tuber 
In  two  adjacent  parishes  which  have  come  under  our 
immediate  notice  one  fact  is  rather  startling.  The  two  crops 
were  about  even  in  their  state  of  growth  on  the  24th  day  of 
J une.  Both  wanted  moisture.  In  the  one  case  the  parish  was 
visited  by  a  very  heavy  thunderstorm.  This  storm  was  most  local 
in  its  nature,  and  the  other  parish  did  not  get  a  drop  of  rain 
Now  for  the  result.  In  the  fiist-mentioned  case  the  Potatoes 
were  never  stopped  in  their  growth;  that  thundershower  just 
helped  them  over  the  most  critical  part  of  their  existence,  and 
•they  finished  a  good  crop  of  shapely  tubers.  In  the  other  case 
no  rain  meant  no  growth,  and  after  when  the  showers  did  come 
supertuberation  set  in,  and  the  owners  were  dismayed  to  find  what 
had  promised  to  be  a  good  crop  was  in  a  great  measure  spoilt. 
It  is  not  Place  aux  Dames,  but  we  give  the  Scotch  raiser 
the  first  word.  From  Markinch  Mr.  Findlay  writes  thus:  — 
There  is  a  very  serious  amount  of  disease  in  early  Potatoes, 
such  as  Regents,  Shaws,  and  Abundance  ;  and  although  there 
may  not  be  much  disease  among  maincrop  varieties,  such  as 
Bruce  and  Maincrop,  yet  the  crop  has  suffered  in  point  of  bulk 
and  quality  by  reason  of  the  foliage  being  swept  off  by  the  blight. 
On  the  whole  I  am  of  opinion  that  this  crop  will  be  a  disappoint¬ 
ment.”  Fifeshire,  much  disease  amongst  Regents,  little  or 
none  among  Bruce  and  Maincrop.  Wigtonshire,  small  crop. 
Devon  is  not  a  Potato  district  par  excellence,  but  the  report 
here  (and  it  is  given  as  a  South  country  sample)  is  that  Potatoes 
have  grown  again,  thus  deterioration  in  value  follows. 
Yorkshire  says  little  or  nothing  yet.  The  Potatoes  having 
only  been  partially  dug  no  true  estimate  can  be  made.  Cheshire 
speaks  of  a  good  crop,  but  disease  very  evident,  and  in  the  face 
of  that  the  price  is  but  SOs.  per  ton.  N.  Lincolnshire,  Hebron, 
Snowdrop,  Elephant,  all  largely  diseased.  The  later  sorts  are  by 
no  means  above  suspicion,  and  second  growth  is  most  apparent. 
Herts,  the  disease  very  general,  one  grower  estimating  his 
loss  already  at  1  ton  per  acre.  Will  it  stop  there  ?  Cambridge 
is  very  low,  2  tons  of  saleable  Potatoes  to  the  acre.  This  must 
spell  ruin.  Warwickshire,  Potatoes  light,  with  exception  of 
Up  to  Date,  which  are  grand  En  passant  we  may  observe  the 
name  is  already  shortened  to  Daiites  by  the  busy  gatherers. 
Bedford,  as  reported  by  Malden  Bros.,  reads  very  badly. 
What  about  tubers  pied  three  weeks  ago,  and  now  2  bushels 
per  ton  only  sound.  Practically  not  a  field  unaffected,  and 
they  consider  that  growers  have  not  yet  realised  the  extent  of 
the  disease.  Good  Potatoes,  such  as  Cole’s  Favourite,  are 
making  75s.  per  ton.  We  might  remark  that  Cole’s  Favourite  is 
not  a  heavy  cropper,  so  it  is  well  there  is  compensation  in  price. 
Two  reports  from  Essex  are  fairly  favourable,  but  we  fancy 
Essex  is  hardly  a  representative  Potato  county.  Mid  Norfolk 
writes,  Potatoes  a  very  bad  crop.  Those  prematurely  ready 
were  secured  sound,  while  those  left  in  the  ground  are  much 
diseased.  Wisbech. — The  early  Potatoes,  such  as  Myatts, 
Snowdrops,  Hebrons,  Elephants,  badly  diseased,  in  some 
instances  quite  50  per  cent  .  Jeanie  Deans  being  nearly  all 
blighted,  while  Up  to  Date,  Findlays,  and  Bruce  have  resisted 
the  disease  remarkably  well.  Mr  Findlay  scores  again!  Just 
as  we  finish  comes  a  note  from  a  large  salesman,  and  this  is 
what  he  says,  The  disease  has  done  more  damage  than  has 
been  the  case  for  some  years  past,  some  districts  feeling  the 
severity  of  it  more  than  others,  and  it  has  greatly  reduced  the 
quantity  of  marketable  Potatoes.  Those  Potatoes  that  are 
sound  are  very  good  ” 
We  think  there  is  some  anxiety  among  buyers,  or  why  all 
these  letters  and  circulars  advocating  their  own  particular 
markets  F  Last  year  these  gentlemen  would  hardly  deign  to 
reply  even  on  receipt  of  a  stamped  envelope 
We  feel  this,  that  every  day  of  continued  wet  greatly 
enhances  the  chances  of  disease,  and  we  expect  that,  when  later 
the  pies  are  opened,  there  will  be  very  few  birds  left  alive  to  sing ! 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Very  little  improvement  in  the  weather  has  to  be  chronicled,  and 
^arm  operations  are  carried  on  with  the  utmost  difficulty.  Thrashing 
has  only  been  possible  on  one  or  two  exceptionally  fine  days,  and  then 
the  wind  was  almost  strong  enough  to  blow  the  straw  away  altogether. 
Many  farmers  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  get  their  corn  early  and 
well  have  found  considerable  damage  has  been  done  to  their  stack  roofs 
where  they  were  not  immediately  thatched,  10  to  15  qrs.  of  damaged 
grain  having  been  quite  a  common  occurrence. 
A  considerable  quantity  of  Wheat  has  been  now  drilled,  and  it  may 
be  said  that  it  has  gone  in  well  ;  the  seed  was  sound  and  dry,  and  should 
do  well.  A  change  of  seed,  especially  for  high  land,  is  very  beneficial, 
the  best  plan  being  to  procure  2  or  3  qrs.  of  pedigree  Wheat  from  which 
to  grow  a  full  supply  of  seed  for  next  autumn.  It  will  save  some 
trouble  in  seeking  a  suitable  lot  at  the  time  wanted,  and  may  save  3s.  or 
4s.  per  quarter  in  price. 
Squarehead,  either  red  or  white  chaffed,  is  a  capital  sort  to  grow 
where  there  is  a  good  subsoil.  We  hear  of  grand  yields  of  Carter’s 
Standup  White  ;  but  it  grows  hardly  straw  enough  for  modern  needs. 
We  are  still  busy  with  the  Potatoes,  making  the  most  of  the  few 
opportunities  we  have  for  lifting.  They  are  coming  up  very  dirty,  and 
as  there  is  a  fair  proportion  of  disease  we  have  to  make  the  pies  narrow. 
We  are  also  making  a  number  of  short  pies  instead  of  one  long  one. 
One  beat  spot  might  extend  to  the  whole,  so  it  is  best  not  to  have  too 
many  Potato  eggs  in  one  basket. 
We  are  glad  to  hear  that  the  Potato-raising  trials  at  Leicester  were 
a  success  in  spite  of  bad  weather,  though  it  is  disappointing  to  find  the 
old  type  of  machine  still  to  the  front.  We  had  hoped  for  some  great 
advance  in  the  science  of  Potato  lifting,  but  it  seems  it  is  not  to  be  yet- 
Lambs  are  well  on  Turnips,  and  in  most  cases  healthy  ;  but  we  are 
sorry  to  hear  again  of  heavy  losses  here  and  there.  Let  us  hope  they  may 
not  become  so  general  as  last  year. 
Our  earliest  Turnips  are  finished,  and  we  are  moving  on  to  those 
sown  in  mid-June.  They  appear  to  be  ripe,  but  it  will  be  safer  to  take 
them  up  and  trim  them  a  few  days  before  use ;  they  will  agree  better 
with  the  stomachs  of  the  younger  sheep. 
Mangolds  are  ready  for  pulling,  but  will  have  to  wait,  as  there  is  so 
much  other  fish  to  be  fried  first. 
MBTEOROLOGHOAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
0am DBN  SqUABB,  LONDON. 
Lat.  51°  32' 40"  N. :  Long.  0°  S'  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  tub  Day. 
d 
"S 
a 
1896. 
October. 
K  J 
Sag 
S  cJ 
a  0  J 
^  CO  05 
48  ^  a> 
03  CQ 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inch  8, 
Sunday  11 
29-735 
42-0 
39-4 
N.W. 
62-2 
45-2 
40-1 
63-4 
39-2 
— 
Monday  ..  12 
29-789 
44-8 
42  2 
N. 
49-9 
45-3 
35-0 
62-0 
29-2 
0-669 
Tuesday  ..  13 
30-163 
42  1 
39-3 
N.B. 
48-6 
50-9 
36-8 
73-3 
30-9 
0-509 
Wednesday  14 
30-252 
46-2 
45  0 
N. 
481 
67-1 
41-8 
86-1 
34-7 
0-142 
Thursday..  15 
30-116 
52-1 
51-7 
N. 
49-2 
66-4 
46-1 
58-9 
40-9 
0-093 
Friday  ..  16 
29'798 
52-9 
52-6 
N. 
50-4 
53-9 
51-7 
66-6 
49-1 
0-068 
Saturday  ..  17 
29-804 
48-7 
46-2 
N. 
50-2 
55-4 
43-9 
93-4 
37-7 
0-063 
29-961 
44-9 
45-2 
49  8 
52-0 
42*2 
72-7 
37-4 
1-534 
11th. — Overcast  and  cool  day  ;  clear  night. 
12th. — Overcast  early  ;  raluy  from  8.30  a.m.  to  7  P.M.,  and  incessant  hetvy  rain  from 
11  A  M.  to  3  P.M 
13tb. — Bright  sunshine  all  the  morning;  overcast  with  spots  of  rain  from  1  P.M.,  and 
ruin  from  4.30  P.M.  to  9  p.m. 
I4th.— Rain  till  6  A.H..  heavy  at  time) ;  sun  all  the  morning  :  rain  again  from  3  P.M. 
to  4  P.M.,  and  dull  night. 
15th. — Rainy  from  4  A.M.  to  8  A.M. ;  foggy  msrniag  ;  dull,  dam?  aRernoou  and  evening, 
nth. — Almost  ineessant  rain  or  drizzle  from  4  a.m.  to  8  P.M  ;  mwalight  night. 
I  17th.— Bright  sunshine  till  3  P.M.  followed  by  rain  and  overoisc  erening. 
A  wet  and  cold  week,  witn  slight  ground  frosts  on  two  nights  — G.  J.  Sym  1V8. 
