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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  September  12, 1901. 
Forage— Catch  Crops. 
Something  to  take  the  place  of  the  grass  and  seed  crops  that 
should  have  been,  something  to  fill  the  empty  stomachs  of  many  poor 
animals,  and  something  to  put  a  little  money  into  the  master’s  pocket. 
Wheat  growing  seems  about  worn  out  ;  just  a  little  to  make  some 
necessary  straw,  but  as  little  as  ever  you  can  help.  Devote  your 
energies  to  stock  raising,  make  milk,  make  mutton,  the  first  rich,  the 
second  small  and  well  fed.  If  the  land  will  not  pay  the  rent  by 
producing  one  crop  per  annum  make  it  grow  two  ;  in  fact,  if  you  are 
10  make  money  by  stock  you  must  greatly  increase  the  head,  and  by 
so  doing  the  mouth  is  increased  too,  and  then  the  riddle  to  be  solved  is 
this,  What  to  set  before  so  great  a  multitude  ? 
There  is  no  doubt  about  it  that  money  is  still  to  be  found  in  sheep, 
provided  you  have  the  right  sheep  and  the  right  district.  Big  mutton 
has  gonv  out  of  fashion  ;  big  mutton  meant  big  fleeces,  but  as  a  big 
fleece  is  of  no  account  and  a  small  joint  is  of  great  account,  the  fancy 
is  now  for  cross-breds,  and  many  of  the  Down  varieties.  It  used  to  be 
an  axiom  that  sheep  required  much  room ;  and  so  they  do,  some 
varieties.  Others,  again,  will  do  well  in  confined  spaces.  The 
Hampshires,  for  instance,  will  bear  close  folding,  and  we  have  heard  of 
instances  of  the  same  land  carrying  Hampshire  sheep  twice  or  three 
times  during  the  summer  without  any  ill  results.  We  hear  a  good  bit 
of  permanent  pasture,  of  saving  the  labour  bill  by  laying  down  more 
land  to  grass,  but  it  is  not  glass  that  will  bring  the  best  results  with 
sheep.  Grass  soon  gets  tainted,  and  once  tainted  does  not  recover 
itself  for  some  time.  Besides,  grass  does  not  grow  the  weight  per  acre 
that  is  necessary  to  make  sheep  breeding  a  success.  Permanent 
pasture  is  not  made  in  one  year  or  two,  whereas  from  a  well  cultivated 
arable  plot  good  feed  is  produced  at  once  and  in  good  measure. 
England  has  such  a  variety  of  soils  that  it  is  totally  impossible 
to  lay  down  hard  and  fixed  rules  for  cultivation.  That’s  where  the 
individual  science  must  come  in.  It  remains  for  each  man  to  review  the 
situation — take  every  feature  into  consideration  and  then  go  carefully  to 
work.  We  do  not  say  jog  along  in  the  old  linep,  hut  do,  if  possible,  make 
a  little  deviation  when  practicable.  We  learn  qnite  as  much  from  our 
failures  as  from  our  successes.  Forage  and  catch  crops  seem  best  to  suit 
the  chalk  distric's  of  the  south,  the  chalk  districts  which  have  proved 
luch  a  healthy  home  for  sheep.  Certain  crops  do  well  in  the  north, 
but  as  a  rule  ihe  seasons  are  too  backward.  There  may  come  a  season 
(like  the  present,  for  instance)  when  a  b  t  of  catch  cropping  will  bring 
fine  results ;  harvest  is  over  early,  and  the  season,  after  the  fine  rains, 
is  warm.  It  is  astonishing  what  a  reserve  of  warmth  there  is  in  the 
soil,  even  after  two  or  three  rainy  days.  Catch  crops  are  sown  on 
Wheat  stubble  which  is  intended  for  roots  next  year.  The  first  crop 
that  occurs  to  the  reader  will  be  Trifolium,  or  crimson  Clover,  which 
is  easily  cultivated.  Dra^  or  harrow  the  stubbles  two  or  three  times. 
Sow  20  lbs.  per  acre,  harrow  twice,  and  roll.  This  ought  to  be  ready 
to  fold  (according  to  the  season)  late  April  or  May.  The  earliest 
sown  is  best  mixed  with  a  bushel  of  winter  Barley,  and  if  this  is  used 
6  lbs.  ot  seed  per  acre  may  be  saved.  For  late  sowing  use  14  lbs. 
Trifolium  seed,  half-bushel  Vetch,  half-bushel  winter  Oats.  Sow  the 
seeds  separately,  and  harrow  all  well  down.  Septembei  (the  end)  is 
quite  late  enough  for  Trifolium  sowing,  or  the  land  cannot  he  got 
ready  for  Turnips.  Rye  is  another  crop  that  comes  in  handy  for 
spring  ;  indeed,  if  sown  early  enough,  and  the  autumn  be  open,  there 
■may  be  a  feed  off  it  in  November  ;  2^  bushels  per  acre  should  be 
sown.  Winter  Barley  is  also  useful,  but  it  comes  into  use  later  than 
Rye.  Vetches,  or  Tares,  should  be  sown  from  August  to  November, 
so  as  to  give  a  supply  cf  green  fodder  from  May  to  October.  The 
earlier  these  crops  are  off  the  ground  the  better,  or  otherwise  the 
root  crop  will  be  but  light;  indeed,  it  is  the  best  policy  to  sow  Wheat 
after  Vetches,  as  the  risk  of  getting  a  decent  root  crop  is  too  great. 
These  catch  crops  are  not  considered  to  need  either  muck  or  tillages, 
and  the  roots  that  should  follow  them  will  want  2  cwt.  superphosphate 
per  acre. 
By  a  system  of  catch-c  opping,  on  lines  like  the  above,  on  the 
wide-lying  farms  of  Wilts,  Berks,  Dorset,  and  Hampshire,  great 
flocks  of  sheep  are  kept,  1000  sheep  10  1000  acres  in  winter,  and  2000 
to  1000  acres  in  summer.  The  ewes,  up  to  the  time  of  lambing 
(January),  are  kept  upo  i  old  seeds,  Sainfoin,  and  rough  grazing,  and 
then,  with  their  lambs,  are  folded  on  Turnips  or  Swedes  grown  after 
a  catch  crop.  In  April  the  flock  spend  the  day  in  the  meadows,  and 
at  night  are  folded  on  Rye  ;  this  till  the  winter  Barley  is  ready  for 
them.  Then  comes  the  early  Trifolium,  and  the  late  takes  them  on 
till  the  Tares  are  good  meat.  These  see  them  through  July,  when 
there  is  Rape,  Cabbage,  and  early  Turnip,  and  the  eddish  of  Clover  or 
Sainfoin.  Of  course,  in  addition  they  get  a  good  bit  of  cake,  which  is 
not  grudged,  as  they  leave  its  value,  and  more,  on  the  land.  On  a 
sheep  farm  there  should  always  be  Mangolds,  and  they  can  be  grown 
)  ear  after  year  on  the  same  land  with  perfect  impunity,  in  fact  we 
almost  fancy  they  get  better ;  and  as  for  their  lasting  qualities,  we 
saw  some  unearthed  to-day  fresh  and  good. 
There  is  another  difficulty  with  respect  to  catch  crops  that  does  not 
arise  from  the  weather,  and  it  is  a  difficulty  that  we  do  not  wish  to 
minimise.  It  is  the  labourers,  who  may  make  things  look  awkward. 
Of  course  this  applies  to  a  farm  where  the  master,  from  stress  of 
circumstances,  is  making  a  fresh  departure  ;  the  fresh  departure  may 
entail  extra  work,  or  work  for  which  he  has  no  liking.  As  we  have 
said  before,  a  stupid,  pig-headed  man  is  most  difficult  to  manage,  and 
he  will  spoil  the  best  plans  through  simple  wilfulness.  We  cannot 
say,  “  Get  rid  of  the  man,”  for  where  is  his  successor  to  come  from  ? 
We  can  only  say  coerce  him,  by  fair  means  or  foul ;  he  is  really  only 
a  means  to  an  end.  There  is  another  point  about  forage  crops  that 
should  be  taken  into  consideration.  These  crops  draw  from  the  soil 
latent  manures  that  no  other  crops  can  reach,  and  thus  they  not  only 
are  in  a  great  measure  self-supporting,  but  they  act  as  recuperative 
agents  to  the  land.  There  is  no  fertiliser  yet  equal  to  the  sheep,  and 
where  land  is  light  the  tread  of  the  sheep,  which  is  said  to  be  golden, 
will  give  it  a  certain  solidity  that  nothing  else  can. 
Work  on  the  Rome  Farm. 
We  are  having  fine  weather  and  cold  drying  winds,  which  are 
excellent  for  belated  harvesters,  but  we  oould  do  with  a  really  good 
soaking  of  rain.  We  should  like  to  get  the  seed  land  ploughed  for 
Wheat,  a  stale  furrow  being  so  desirable  ;  but  though  ploughing  is 
possible,  it  cannot,  candidly  speaking,  be  done  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 
The  ground  is  hard,  and  where  it  is  at  all  stony  the  plough  cannot  be 
kept  at  a  uniform  depth.  The  work  must  therefore  be  deferred.  Some 
farmers  having  finished  cultivating  their  stubbles  are  breaking  up  their 
seeds  in  the  same  way.  Where  there  is  any  suspicion  of  foulness 
from  twitch  this  is  an  excellent  plan,  as  in  weather  like  the  present 
the  noxious  roots  may  be  reduced  to  a  harmless  state.  In  any  case 
the  breaking  up  before  ploughing  will  make  the  latter  easier,  besides 
making  the  ultimate  result  a  much  more  solid  and  satisfactory  seed  bed. 
The  sod  may  be  worked  about  and  killed,  but  must  not  be  removed, 
as  it  represents  considerable  manurial  value. 
For  winter  Tares,  which  may  be  sown  immediately,  a  good  manuring 
is  necessary.  The  recently  cleared  Wheat  or  Oat  stubble  will  have 
been  thoroughly  cultivated  and  oleaned  ;  it  must  now  have  a  dressing 
of  at  least  twelve  loads  of  good  old  rotten  muck.  All  winter  Tares 
should  be  drilled  before  October  10th.  If  left  until  later  they  are 
longer  in  germinating,  and  therefore  more  liable  to  damage  by  birds, 
especially  when  sown,  as  they  often  are,  in  small  patohes.  Both  rooks 
and  pigeons  have  a  great  partiality  for  seed  Tares.  Do  not  mix  Rye 
and  Tares,  they  are  not  fit  for  growing  together.  Either  the  Rye  will 
be  too  old  and  woody,  or  the  Tares  too  washy.  Sow  them  separately, 
and  use  the  Rye  first.  If  a  mixture  is  desired  the  Tares  should  be 
given  at  least  a  month’s  start. 
Men  are  still  occasionally  seen  working  amongst  Turnips.  The 
necessary  weeding  oaanot  have  been  easy  work,  for  the  tops  had  got 
covered  in.  As  we  expected,  the  grumbles  about  a  poor  root  prospect 
have  quite  caused.  A  few  bare  places  are  to  be  seen,  but  generally 
speaking  crops  will  be  good.  Early  food  will,  however,  be  scarce,  for 
the  failures  were  chiefly  amongst  the  early  sown  plots.  We  have  more 
than  a  suspicion  that  mistaken  economy  in  the  matter  of  seed  has  had 
an  influence  in  such  failures.  Seed  was  dear,  and  good  new  samples 
scarce,  and  in  May  we  several  times  heard  farmers  express  indifference 
as  to  newness  and  quality,  but  a  determination  not  to  exceed  a  certain 
price.  They  risk  a  whole  crop  for  the  sake  of  a  few  shillings. 
- «.#.> - 
Workmen’s  Compensation  Act,  1900. — This  Act  is  “  An  Act 
to  extend  the  benefits  of  the  Workmen’s  Compensation  Act,  1897,  to 
Workmen  in  Agriculture.”  A  “  handy  guide”  to  the  above  Act,  with 
explanatory  notes,  has  been  prepared  in  neat  booklet  form  by  Mr.  John 
Griffiths,  solicitor,  which  is  on  sale  at  the  price  of  6d.  Farmers  ai  d 
others  having  workmen  in  their  employ  must  necessarily  become 
acquainted  with  an  Act  so  full  of  consequences  to  them.  This  “  handy 
guide  ”  attempts  to  elucidate  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  and  lay  bare 
all  facts  in  a  simple  and  easily  understood  manner.  Other  references 
to  the  Act  are  difficult  to  obtain,  whioh  makes  this  pamphlet  the  more 
valuable. 
