540 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  29,  1899. 
business ;  the  noted  breeder  of  some  special  line  of  stock ;  the  man 
given  over  to  Potatoes  and  Wheat,  and  the  smaller  farmer  whose 
sons  probably  stand  in  as  labourers,  and  whose  daughters  make  dairy 
work  and  poultry  rearing  a  ready  means  to  pay  all  the  household 
bills.  Question  these  men  on  their  prospects,  or  rather  on  the  general 
prospects  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  you  will  be  astonished  at  the 
iliversity  of  their  answers.  Possibly  all  will  have  a  bit  of  a  grumble, 
but  as  their  various  holdings  are  essentially  diss  milar,  so  will  be  their 
views  of  the  situation. 
To  arrive  at  a  right  estimate  of  things  in  general,  there  is  nothing 
that  will  beat  Government  statistics.  They  cover  a  wide  range,  in 
fact  all  the  range,  and  arc  compiled  from  reliallo  sources,  and  there  is 
no  bias  either  one  way  or  tlie  other. 
What  1899  will  show  as  regards  a  Wheat  area  we  are  not  in  a 
position  to  tell,  but  we  cannot  be  surprised  that  the  improvement  in 
the  price  of  Wheat  caused  a  very  much  increased  acreage  to  be  sown 
in  1898.  In  the  last  quarter  of  1897  the  price  of  Wheat  was  33s.  31., 
in  the  first  quarter  of  1898  353.  Id,  as  against  a  yearly  average 
ranging  in  1893-9G  from  22s.  lOd.  to  26s.  4d.  We  began  to  hope  at 
last  the  tide  had  turned,  and  so  we  find  that  213,000  acres,  or 
11'3  per  cent,  were  sown  additionally.  In  1895  we  had  gone  to  our 
lowest  point,  we  are  now  getting  into  a  more  normal  state.  The 
greatest  increase  has  been  in  Lincolnshire  and  the  North  Riding  of 
Yorkshire.  As  a  good  deal  of  spring  W^heat  was  put  in,  of  course 
there  was  less  available  acreage  for  Barley,  and  very  little  bare  fallow 
was  to  be  found  at  all. 
We  do  not  (luite  understand  the  reason  for  the  falling  off  in  horse 
breeding.  Is  it  because  we  find  it  cheaper  to  import  than  to  breed,  or 
do  we  fail  to  breed  the  right  sort  ?  We  fancy  too  many  farmers  are  so 
living,  as  it  were,  from  hand  to  month,  that  they  dare  not  risk 
anything  in  so  precarious  a  vocation.  At  any  rate,  we  are  4400  short 
on  last  year,  that  is  for  unbroken  young  horses.  We  do  not  quite 
like  this.  Hitherto  we  have  considered  our  English  hunters,  coach, 
hackney,  and  Shires  as  the  pick  of  the  markets,  and  we  are  very  loth 
to  hear  of  the  supremacy  of  the  foreigner.  Why  is  it  we  are 
relinquishing,  one  by  one,  our  specialities  ? 
However,  if  hqrse  breeding  appears  to  have  received  a  check,  the 
same  cannot  be  said  of  horned  cattle.  The  increase  is  very  marked — 
namely,  122,000.  But  we  have  not  yet  risen  to  the  numbers  in 
1871-75.  Then  the  proportion  was  134  for  every  1000  inhabitants  ; 
in  1897  it  was  112  for  every  1000;  now  it  is  113  for  every  1000, 
There  are  more  cows  than  in  any  year  since  1892,  and  this  is  a  most 
hopeful  sign,  in  face  of  all  the  scare  of  tuberculosis.  jWe  now 
estimate  there  are  seventy-three  cows'to  supply  milk  for  each  set 
of  1000  people. 
Sheep  are  looking  up  again,  with  an  increase  of  403,000.  In 
1891-92  they  appear  to  have  reached  their  highest  point.  Since  1895 
the  flocks  of  breeding  ewes  have  been  steadily  increasing,  and  this  in 
the  face  cf  the  tons  of  frozen  mutton  and  lamb  from  abroad. 
The  landlord,  too,  has  entered  on  to  better  times — at  least  so 
we  judge,  when  we  find  the  landlords,  as  a  body,  are  farming  only 
4^  mi  lions  of  acres  out  of  324  millions.  It  is,  we  fancy,  an  easier 
thing  to  receive  rents  thi'n  to  make  them,  especially  when  so  much 
of  the  profit  has  to  go  out  in  payment  to  overlookers  and  bailiffs. 
We  do  not  wish  to  hint  that  these  men  are  overpaid,  but  farming 
will  not  stand  any  extra  expense,  and  the  tenant  or  landlord,  as  the 
case  may  be,  should  be  his  own  manager. 
There  is  one  item  we  are  very  sorry  to  see,  and  that  is  the 
immense  Barley  bill — £24,800,000  for  Barley  ! — and  our  own  Barley 
land  going  out  of  cultivation.  There  is  something  rotten  in  the 
sta'e  of  England,  my  masters,  if  this  be  the  case.  Of  course  this 
is  not  all  malting  Barley,  there  must  be  thousands  of  tons  of  small 
thin  stuff  of  inferior  foreign  quality  used  for  feeding  purposes, 
possibly  used  in  a  great  measure  in  corn  cakes. 
The  import  of  Maize,  too,  is  on  the  increase,  but  as  a  set  off  wo 
find  that  we  have  imported  160,000  tons  less  butter,  13,000  tons  less 
cheese,  and  less  margarine  and  eggs,  45,000  tons  instead  of  65,000  in 
1892.  We  begin  to  think  the  preachers  have  not  altogether  preached 
in  vain  if  our  national  supply  of  butter  is  on  the  increase ;  it  means,, 
too,  that  it  must  be  of  a  better  quality,  and  that  is  a  pleasant  and 
good  sign. 
For  fruit,  vegetables,  and  dead  meat  our  bill  with  the  fireigner 
amounts  to  £141,000,000.  What  a  hungry  people  we  are  !  The- 
best  customers  in  the  world,  and  paying  with  good  solid  English 
sovereigns.  It  must  be  a  sign  of  national  prosperity,  as  the  stomach 
generally  feels  the  first  pinch  when  times  are  hard.  We  cannot 
forget  the  Barley  bill,  we  do  not  like  it;  and  -w'e  should  be  glad 
if  wiser  heads  than  ours  could  suggest  some  remedy.  We  find  no 
fault  with  importations  that  we  cannot  produce ;  but  this  is  a  different 
question  ;  w'e  have  the  land,  we  have  (he  men,  and  we  ask  only  for  &. 
living  profit. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
We  have  had  a  splendid  rain  at  last,  and  the  troubles  of  the  strong- 
land  farmer  are  somewhat  palliated,  if  not  altogether  removed. 
The  later  Turnips  can  now  be  put  in  with  a  fair  prospect  ;  the  land  is 
both  warm  and  moist,  and  Turnips  sown  at  once  should  be  quickly-  up- 
We  are  sorry  to  say  that  many  fields  have  been  visited  by  tl  e  fly,  and> 
the  land  which  it  was  hoped  would  produce  a  fine  crop  of  Swedes  wilb 
have  to  be  resown  with  common  Turnips. 
This,  besides  entailing  more  labour,  is  a  serious  loss,  for  the  Swedea 
will  be  much  missed,  both  in  the  stockyard  and  by  the  feeding  sheep^ 
whilst  if  there  should  be  a  severe  winter  the  white-fleshed  Turnips  may 
soon  be  rendered  absolutely  useless.  Potatoes  are  growing  very  quickly,, 
and  the  earthing-up  process  is  very  much  improved  by  the  rain.  Lately' 
the  soil  has  been  so  dry  that  it  would  not  remain  up,  but  fell  back  into 
the  furrow.  This  portion  of  the  field  must  be  done  over  again,  as  we  liko 
to  see  Potatoes  well  earthed  up. 
The  rain,  which  is  so  welcome  everywhere  else,  is  inopportune  for  the- 
many  farmers  who  now  have  their  hay  down.  Fortunately  the  rainfall  has 
come  all  at  once  without  any  drying  intervals,  so  perhaps  not  much  harn> 
will  have  been  done.  The  crop  is  not  a  large  one,  but  is  good  in  quality, 
so  it  would  be  a  great  pity  if  it  were  spoilt  ;  besides,  as  Swedes  may  be 
scarce  articles,  the  hay  crop  will  become  of  still  greater  importancci. 
Mangolds  have  grown  very  well  where  it  has  been  possible  to  keep  a  loose 
surface  ;  they  should  now  be  quite  safe,  and  be  the  root  crop  of  the 
season. 
Wheat  is  rrpidly  coming  into  ear,  and  looks  very  well  everywhere- 
but  both  Barley  and  Oats  are  hardly  so  satisfactory  as  they  should  be 
Some  fields  of  ideal  and  well  farmed  Barley  soil  look  well,  but  many- 
pieces  of  strong,  or  even  only  approaching  strong  land  have  done  very 
little  during  the  last  three  weeks,  and  barely  hide  the  ground  from  view. 
Whether  they  can  recover  seems  to  be  very  dubious,  and  Barleys  must- 
be  deficient  both  in  quantity  and  quality.  Oats,  too,  wi'l  be  short  in 
the  straw,  and  that  always  means  light  of  grain.  Pastures  are  very  bare,, 
but  stock  has  done  well. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Square,  London. 
Lat.  .51°  32'  40"  N.;  Long.  0°  8'  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M.  1 
In  the  Day. 
d, 
•3 
(S5. 
1899. 
June. 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level 
Hygrometer 
« 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera¬ 
ture. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun 
On 
Grass 
inchs 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
inchs. 
Sunday  .... 
18 
29-846 
65-0 
59-2 
S.W. 
63-2 
75-1 
53-2 
115-8 
47  -4 
o-osc- 
Monday  .... 
19 
29-688 
59-2 
52-8 
N. 
62-9 
69-9 
50-6 
1-24-8 
47-8 
0-238 
Tuesday  .... 
20 
29-407 
61-0 
,59-9 
S.E. 
62-2 
73-8 
56-C 
102-1 
54-9 
— 
Wednesday 
21 
29-.‘;30 
64-9 
.58 -0 
S.E. 
61-9 
75-9 
55-8 
123-9 
51 -0 
— 
Thursday  . . 
22 
•29-657 
64-8 
59-6 
N. 
62-0 
68-2 
56 -6 
88-9 
52-4 
0-15S- 
Friday . 
23 
29-850 
59-1 
56  1 
E. 
61  -0 
67-1 
54-8 
88-1 
53-9 
— 
Saturday.... 
24 
30-042 
63-6 
57-1 
N.W. 
60-4 
74-1 
55-2 
llS-7 
52-6 
— 
29-717 
62-6 
57 ’5 
61-9 
72-0 
54-7 
108-9 
51-4 
0-471' 
REMARKS. 
ISch.— Sunshine  all  morning,  generally  cloudy  in  afternoon,  rain  from  S  P.M.  to 
midnight. 
19th.— Alternate  cloud  and  sun  in  morning  ;  generally  cloudy  after  noon. 
20th.— Rain  from  0  A.M.  to  4  A.M.,  and  overcast  and  showery  to  10  A.M.,  then 
generally  cloudy  till  4  P.M,,  alul  bright  after. 
21st.— Overcast  early,  cloudy  morning,  generally  i)right  from  1  P.M. 
22nd.— Overcast  early,  sprinkles  of  rain  from  10  A.  M.,  steady  rain  from  0.30  to- 
3.30  P.M.,  and  showers  later. 
23rd.— Overcast  throughout  but  for  a  gleam  of  sun  at  noon. 
24th. — Overcast  morning,  sunny  afte*-nooii. 
A  fine  week,  but  with  a  little  very  welcome  rain.— G.  J.  Symoks. 
