256 
JOURNAL  OF  TLORTTOULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  9,  1897. 
A  IIETROSPECT  AND  A  FORECAST. 
Harvest  home  marks  au  epoch  in  the  farming;  year.  To  some 
it  means  the  fruition  of  a  year’s  work  and  hopes,  as  where  the  crojxs 
have  been  well  secured  in  the  purely  corn-growing  counties;  to  otliers, 
where  mi.ved  farming  is  the  prevailing  system,  it  is  only  the  half¬ 
way  house.  Whilst  as  a  corn  grower  the  farmer  Avho  is  fortunate 
may  be  happy  in  the  possession  of  a  well  filled  stackyard,  with  a 
promise  of  good  prices  for  his  produce;  as  a  sheep-breeder  and  stock- 
raiser  he  may  be  filled  with  anxiety  as  to  the  health  and  well-being 
of  his  lambs,  and  the  possibility,  or  otherwise,  of  wintering  his 
cattle  successfullj^  with  only  half  a  crop  of  roots. 
Looking  back  on  the  past  six  months,  we  can  see  much  to  be 
thankful  for,  and  we  think  that,  on  the  whole,  things  have  not  gone  so 
badly  with  the  average  farmer.  The  great  drawback  was  a  bad  start 
in  the  spring,  for  there  was  not  sufficient  frost  during  the  winter  to 
leave  the  soil  in  that  finely  pulverised  condition,  which  is  such  an 
important  factor  in  the  successful  growth  of  either  Bai'ley,  Potatoes,  or 
Turnips.  Still,  matters  might  have  been  worse,  and  rain  in  March 
helped  in  the  reduction  of  much  rough  clod  to  a  crumbly  mould.  May 
Avas  dry,  as  tor  everything  except  pastures  it  should  be  ;  June  wasmoisfi 
which,  again,  Avas  favourable  to  everything  except  hayindcing,  and 
not  very  harmful  to  that.  There  is  an  old  saying  “  A  dry  May  and  a 
dripping  June,  can  soon  put  everything  in  tune.” 
July,  a  very  dry  month,  Avas  splendid  for  the  main  crop  of  hay- 
making,  and  for  the  cereals  generally,  but  too  dry  for  Barley  on  burn¬ 
ing  soils.  Early  Turnips  suffered  as  the  drought  came,  just  at  the 
stage  at  which  they  required  moisture.  The  second  Aveek  of  July  is 
the  time  lor  a  good  douche  for  the  maincrop  Potatoes  ;  by  this  we 
mean  the  later  kinds.  A  thorough  soaking  tlien  keeps  them  growing 
until  there  is  no  fear  of  a  premature  check,  or  of  supertubei-ation. 
Ihis  year,  unfoi'tunately,  Potatoes  did  not  receive  this  watering  until 
well  into  August,  therefore  on  all  but  the  coolest  soils  the  recent  rains 
have  inluced  a  second  growth,  partially  spoiling  the  quality  of  the 
crop  already  in  the  ground,  and  though  the  bulk  may'  be  largely 
increased,  the  later  groAVth  will  hardly'’  have  time  to  develop  good 
sized  tubers,  Avhilst  tho.-e'  of  the  first  growth  will  have  been  spoiled 
by  the  second.  '1  he  rain  came  too  late  for  large  quantities  of  Potatoes 
and  we  hear  of  iite  varieties  having  sulleret,  beyond  hope  of  resuscita¬ 
tion,  through  lack  of  moisture 
A  dry  season  generally  means  abundance  of  Potatoes  of  excellent 
qu.ality  ;  but  since  the  e.xtension  "ot  Potato  growim>'  in  light  land 
districts,  inucli  ot  the  older  Potato  laud  has  been  put  to  other  crops. 
It  is  this  kind  of  land,  dee[)  and  cool,  that  would  have  just  suited 
the  Potato  this  ycir,  and  might  have  done  much  to  make  up 
deficiencies  elsewhere,  on  which  the  Potato  crop  is  looked  for 
almost  ill  vain.  In  Cambridgeshire  and  South  Lincoln,  a  typical 
Potato  country.  Potato  fields  are  few  and  far  between,  Barley  having 
been  largely  sown  instead.  Twenty  years  ago  a  dry  season  spelt 
cheap  Potatoes.  Have  the  times  so  changed  that  Ave  may  experi¬ 
ence  the  A'ery  opposite  ?  It  is  hard  to  believe,  but  ([uite  possible 
that  it  may  be  so  ;  at  any  rate,  crops  ai'e-  almost  universally  light. 
Pastures,  which  were  po  ir  and  bare  in  IMay,  improvtd  greatly 
under  the  inllueuce  of  a  dripping  -Line,  and  July  came  in  with  a  good 
bite;  but  this  soon  disajipe ired,  and  liy  the  beginninr  of  August  the 
fields  Avere  brown  and  short  of  herbage.  Boast  meat  for  animals  we 
thoroughly  believe  in,  but  there  must  be  a  fair  meal,  and  we  fear  that 
many'  animals  have  gone  on  short  commons  during  the  last  month. 
Clover  and  (xrass  are  now  making  rapid  groAvth,  but  they  are  too 
washy  to  be  of  much  value  as  food ;  they  Avill  be  of  more  use  to  give 
sheep  a  change  off  iurnips,  and  to  eke  out  the  latter  crop,  than  for 
use  at  the  present  time. 
The  Turnip  crop  is  likely  to  be  much  below  the  average,  in  many 
fields  the  young  plants  having  only  just  made  an  appearance;  but 
hay,  though  not  very  large  in  bulk,  is  of  excellent  quality,  and 
wonderfully  Avcll  secured.  We  incline  to  the  belief  that  Avinter  keeping 
will  not  be  over-plentiful,  and  that  store  stock  Avill  not  see  higher 
prices  this  side  Candlemas. 
WORK  ON  TELE  HOME  FARM. 
What  wonderful  weather  we  had  last  week  !  heavy  rain  to  put  fresh 
life  into  root  crops  and  pastures,  with  high  winds  to  dry  the  corn  quickly 
and  so  prevent  damage  to  the  harvest  in  those  districts  that  AA'ere  so 
favoured.  It  is  mostly  safely  housed  in  the  South  and  Midlands,  but  Ave 
regret  to  hear  that  in  the  North  and  in  Scotland  much  damage  has  been 
sustained. 
Turnips  Avere  very  much  threatened  Avith  mildew,  but  the  rain  has 
removed  all  danger  for  the  present,  though  a  dry  September  might  revh-e 
it.  The  crop  varies  very  much,  but  Avill  be  much  below  the  average  as  a 
whole. 
Thatching  is  the  woi’k  that  presses  in  many  localities  now.  There  is 
great  satisfaction  in  seeing  the  corn  all  safely  stacked,  but  it  is  not  really 
safe  until  it  is  properly  thatched  ;  and  not  until  this  operation  is  com- 
ydeted,  can  harvest  be  looked  uyion  as  finished. 
Lambs  are  now  requiring  a  variety  of  good  mature  food.  Well-hearted 
Cabbage  is  an  excellent  diet  for  them  at  the  present  time,  and  Thousand¬ 
headed  Kale  the  next  best  thing ;  either  kind  provides  a  capital  education 
for  Turnip  eating  Avhen  the  Turnip  shall  be  the  only  staple  food  available. 
The  early  sown  Turnips  have,  this  season,  suffered  much  from  the 
drought,  and  have  finished  groAving  prematurely  ;  they  are  very  woody, 
and  we  fear  will  not  be  very  digestible. 
Linseed  cake  proved  excellent  for  lambs  during  the  dry  time,  but  now 
that  they  are  obliged  to  take  to  moi’e  watery  food  something  more 
astringent  is  advisable.  The  better  class  lamb-foods  mixed  and  supplied 
by  leading  agricultural  merchants  are  most  of  them  suitable  for  use  under 
present  conditions,  and  if  tried  will  be  found  satisfactory. 
The  rain  has  been  sufficient  to  allow  of  the  cultivation  of  Wheat 
stubbles,  and  those  with  any  rubbish  in  them  had  better  be  moved  at 
once,  AA'hen  the  ground  and  weather  are  favourable  for  the  work. 
Tvvitchy  stubbles  are  often  kept  in  statu  quo  too  long  for  the  sake  of  a 
bit  of  sheep  food  ;  but  it  is  bad  policy,  for  the  grazing  can  be  worth  little 
more  than  5s.  per  acre,  if  as  much,  and  the  loss  of  the  autumn  fallow 
may  cause  an  after  expenditure  much  greater  than  that ;  besides,  there  is 
the  risk  of  not  getting  the  land  properly’  cleaned  at  all. 
OUR  LETTER  BOX. 
Sheep  (/i/worfwnvs).  -  Unless  you  are  anxious  to  get  practical  know¬ 
ledge  of  sheep  keeping,  we  should  not  advise  you  to  buy  lambs  to  graze 
in  your  very  small  meadow.  To  begin  with,  at  the  most  you  could  only 
feed  five,  and  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  lambs  at  this  time  of  year  to 
have  a  wide  range  if  they  are  to  be  kept  in  health  at  all.  They  would  be 
almost  certain  to  go  wrong,  even  with  the  addition  of  artificial  food. 
Your  best  plan  would  be  to  let  the  eatage  of  your  field  to  some  neighbour. 
The  present  price  of  lambs  is  from  lel  to  30s.  As  to  danger  from  fly, 
no  careful  shepherd  ever  allows  flies  to  get  any  hold  on  sheep  he  may 
have  to  manage  ;  and  if  you  have  read  former  numbers  of  this  Journal, 
you  will  observe  we  invariably  insist  on  bought  sheep  being  dipped  at 
once,  and  carefully  watched.  Scab,  alas  !  is  prevalent  at  all  times  of  the 
year. 
MBTKOROLOGIOAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
.  Oamdbn  SqaARH,  London. 
Lat.  61°  12' 40"  N. :  Long.  0°  8/  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  leet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
1897. 
August 
K  fH 
^2  S 
©  03  > 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  loot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Rain. 
and 
September. 
5  55  d5 
08  oa  © 
CO  c&m 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Wind. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Q-rais. 
Sunday  ..  . 
29 
Inohs. 
29-926 
leg. 
62-3 
deg. 
58.4 
S. 
deg. 
69-d 
deg. 
66-7 
deg. 
60-1 
deg. 
89-9 
deg. 
42-4 
Inohs. 
0-100 
Monday  ... 
30 
29-705 
61-6 
57-i 
w. 
699 
71-6 
58-6 
122-8 
63-6 
0-253 
Tuesday  .... 
31 
29-709 
62-2 
55-1 
w. 
69-8 
67-2 
60-4 
1104 
48-2 
0-280 
Wednesday 
1 
29  813 
60-0 
56-4 
s.w. 
68-9 
62-1 
51-4 
»7-8 
47-2 
0-600 
Thursday  . . 
2 
29-492 
61-7 
66-8 
w. 
68-8 
67-4 
53-4 
115-0 
51-2 
0-633 
Friday  .... 
3 
29-831 
81-4 
48-9 
w. 
68-0 
63  3 
48-2 
112-1 
43-4 
_ 
Saturday  . . 
4 
29-965 
62-2 
46-7 
w. 
56  3 
86-6 
41-8 
106-2 
38  6 
0-084 
29-777 
89-2 
64-1 
68-8 
,68-3 
60  4 
108-3 
46-4 
1-750 
REMARKS. 
29th.— Dull  and  misty,  with  spots  of  rain  at  times  and  showers  after  8.30  P.M. 
30th.— Rain  at  1  A. M.;  generally  sunny  after  »  A. M.,  but  spots  of  rain  between  1  P.M. 
and  3  P.M 
31st.— Rain  in  small  hours  ;  sunny  morning  ;  frequent  heavy  showers  in  afternoon,  with 
thunder. 
1st.— Overcast  early ;  almost  incessant  rain  from  11  A.M.,  and  a  storm  tain  at  8  P.M. 
Znd.— Overcast  with  high  wind  in  morning  :  rain  from  0.30  P  M.  to  2  P.M.,  then  sunny 
and  heavy  ra  in  with  thunder  and  lightning  from  6.30  P.M.  to  7  P.M. 
3rd. — Pine  and  sunny  throughout. 
4th. — Pair  morning  and  shower  at  11  A.M.,  sunny  afternoon. 
A  very  rough  week  with  much  rain,  but  bright  sun  at  times.  Temperature  a  little 
below  the  average.— G.  J.  SYMONS. 
