196 
JOURKiiL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  3,  1904- 
and  tlie  bakers  demand.  We  are  told  we  are  slow,  stupid, 
and  pig-headed,  just  going  on  in  the  old  ruts,  out  of  which 
nothing  but  the  prospect  of  starvation  will  ever  move  us. 
Fair  and  softly,  friends.  There  are  many  causes  at  Avork, 
and  causes  over  which  we  have  no  control.  Just  for  a 
moment  consider  our  geographical  position.  Temperate 
zone ;  insular  position ;  a  land  of  much  rain,  fogs,  and 
general  moisture  ;  a  land  where  bright,  hot,  sunny  days  are 
23retty  scarce,  Avhere  clami^,  dull  ones  are  far  more  in 
evidence. 
There  is  no  land  where  crops  are  heavier  than  they  are 
Avith  us.  Look  at  the  immense  amount  of  groAvth  Ave  get — 
of  straAv,  of  grass ;  but  Ave  do  not  get  the  hot  sunshine 
to  rapidly  finish  off  the  cereal  crops  ;  or,  at  least,  so  seldom 
that  Ave  cannot  reckon  on  it  as  a  certainty.  It  is  not  enough 
to  have  dry  Aveather ;  Ave  do  get  that  along  the  eastern 
coast ;  but  dryness  combined  with  heat  is  the  excejAtion 
rather  than  the  rule.  There  are  some  feAv  soils  that  from 
their  nature  appear  to  attract  the  heat.  We  might  instance 
some  of  the  de-forested  lands  of  Nottinghamshire,  Avhere 
Avith  an  average  hot  summer  Avheat  Avill  become  so  hard  and 
dry  as  to  quite  equal  in  quality  any  product  of  North 
America  or  Hungary  ;  but  Ave  find  farmers  are  not  particu¬ 
larly  partial  to  this  land,  for  Avhen  threshing  day  comes 
there  is  a  Avoeful  tale  to  tell — the  Avheat  is  small  and  thin  ; 
it  finishes  before  it  feeds,  and,  although  the  price  is  better, 
it  does  not  balance  against  the  lesser  quality.  As  Avheat 
only  comes  in  its  proper  rotation,  the  other  crops  taken  in 
the  interim  suffer  so  severely  from  lack  of  Avhat  Ave  may 
term  strcnr/fh  in  the  soil,  farmers  often  AA’oirder  Avhether  it 
might  not  be  as  AA'ell  that  this  land  should  return  to  its 
irrimseval  forest.  What  a  farmer  likes  to  see  is  a  bold,  fine 
AA'heat,  plump  as  a  cherry  cob,  and  Aveighing  out  to  six 
quarters  per  acre ;  but  the  miller  will  have  none,  if  he  can 
avoid  it. 
There  is  a  substance  in  Avheat  called  “  gluten,”  and  it  is 
the  quantity  of  gluten  in  the  flour  that  determines  its 
value.  Gluten  is  that  elastic  substance  in  Avheat  Avhich, 
Avhen  brought  into  conjunction  Avith  yeast  in  the  process 
of  bread  making,  causes  the  mass  to  SAvell  and  become 
“light” — i.e.,  porous  and  easy  of  digestion.  Sunshine 
matures  the  gluten  and  enhances  its  quality,  Avhereas  the 
soil  contributes  to  the  quantity.  Naturally  there  are  some 
feAv  wheats  that  mature  earlier  than  others,  although,  as 
before  said,  this  early  maturity  is  often  at  the  ex^oense  of 
quantity.  It  has  been  suggested,  and  the  suggestion  has 
been  acted  upon,  that  it  might  be  Avise  to  try  for  our  OAvn 
groAving  certain  of  the  foreign  varieties.  Hitherto  the  trials 
have  not  been  successful. 
In  the  case  of  Australian  Avheat,  Ave  hear  that  not  even 
Avas  the  return  of  corn  equal  to  the  quantity  of  wheat  soAvn, 
and  this  in  a  hot,  dry  season.  An  agricultural  Avriter  sug¬ 
gests  that  here  is  a  fine  field  for  exjDerimentalists  and 
hybridisers.  And  there  must  be  a  fortune  aAvaiting  the 
man  Avho  can  loroduce  a  Avheat  strong  in  gluten,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  a  heavy  cropper.  So  far  as  Ave  can  learn, 
even  the  foreigner  under  favourable  conditions,  though  he 
comes  at  the  gluten  successfully,  fails  to  get  a  big  yield. 
And  Ave  have  it  on  the  testimony  of  the  late  Sir  John  LaAves 
(no  man  knerv  more  about  Avheats  than  he)  that  excessive 
manuring  tends  rather  to  diminish  the  gluten  than  to 
increase. 
We  note  a  fact  that  may  not  be  knoAvn  to  all  our  readers  ; 
but  it  goes  to  shoAv  very  plainly  the  reason  that  the  baker 
prefers  the  Hungarian  flour  to  our  OAvn.  Not  only  does 
he  produce  a  loaf  better  to  look  upon  (lighter  and  Avhiter), 
but  out  of  a  given  quantity  of  flour  the  Hungarian  yield  the 
gi'eater  number  of  loaves.  Thus  Ave  are  told  :  “  A  sack  of 
best  Hungarian  Avill  make  112  loaA^es  of  4lb  each  ;  Avhilst  a 
sack  of  English  Avill  only  alloAv  for  92  loav'es  of  the  same 
Aveight.”  So  that  he  gets  an  excellent  return  for  the  extra 
5s.  per  quarter  he  pays  for  the  Avheat. 
Much  has  been  said  of  late  Avith  respect  to  the  benefits 
Avhich  are  said  to  accrue  to  us  through,  or  by,  the  use  of 
motor  poAA^er.  We  are  to  reap  our  crops  in  intervals  of 
sunshine  betAA-een  shoAA'ers  ;  Ave  are  to  let  it  get  thoroughly 
ripe  so  that  it  may  be  at  once  motored  to  the  stack  yard 
(this  Avill  merely  be  a  name),  threshed  at  once,  and  motored 
to  the  mill.  This  sounds  A’ery  nice  as  placed  before  us 
by  the  motor  agent,  but  there  are  several  details  that  call 
for  attention. 
To  begin  Avith  :  In  the  matter  of  this  gluten,  to  secure 
the  greatest  percentage  Avheat  must  ^  not  be  alloAved  to 
stand  till  fully  ripe,  it  must  “  finish  ”  in  the  stack,  and  to 
“finish”  successfully  in  the  stack  (according  to  the  state  of 
the  Aveather)  its  stay  there  must  be  more  or  less  protracted. 
It  is  very  rarely,  too,  that  English  AA'heat  is  in  condition 
to  be  threshed  straight  from  the  field,  it  requires  to  “  make  ” 
in  stack  a  longer  or  shorter  time  as  the  case  may  be.  It  is 
only,  as  a  rule,  stern  necessity  that  compels  a  farmer  under 
any  circumstances  to  thresh  before  Christmas.  It  is  partly 
this  damp,  unready  Avheat  flour  that  has  caused  a  dead  set 
against  English  produce.  It  is  impossible  in  our  climate  to 
hurry  unduly  any  natural  process,  and  barring  vermin,  Avheat 
improA’es  noAvhere  so  Avell  as  in  stack.  There  is  ahvays  more 
or  less  danger  in  storing  Avheat  in  granaries — that  is,  if  the 
AA'heat  is  in  the  least  degree  out  of  condition — i.e.,  damp. 
The  mass  is  too  closely  packed  to  alloAv  of  free  ventilation, 
and,  besides  Avhich.  it  is  open  to  depredations  other  than 
mere  vermin.  Also,  too,  on  many  farms  the  granary  accom¬ 
modation  leaves  a  great  deal  to  be  desired.  HoAvever,  Ave 
think  this  year  there  Avill  not  be  such  overplus  of  yvheat  as 
to  make  the  care  of  it  a  great  burden  on  any  shoulders. 
The  agricultural  reports  furnish  most  depressing  reading. 
Never  Avas  there  less  autumn  soAvn  Avheat,  and  such  as 
there  is,  is  by  no  means  a  strong  full  plant  (Avheat  is  not 
aquatic  in  its  habits).  The  grass  lands,  especially  those 
Avhich  lie  Ioav,  have  been  flooded  again  and  again,  a  fact 
Avhich  Avill  certainly  not  improve  the  quality  of  the  herbage 
in  the  summer  months.  Valuable  manures  are  to  be  found 
in  solution  in  streams  and  AvaterAvays  Avhere  their  presence 
is  an  evil,  and  the  lands  thus  deprived  AA'ill  be  the  sufferers. 
Great  as  must  be  the  shortage  of  Avheat  in  the  coming 
harvest,  there  seems  at  present  to  be  every  chance  that 
other  grain  crojos  AA'ill  be  found  lacking  ;  not  from  Avant  of 
Avill  on  the  part  of  the  farmer,  but  from  Avant  of  poAA'er— 
day  after  dav  of  rain  falling  on  land  already  saturated  to 
its  fullest  capacity  suggests  little  prospect  of  a  favourable 
see’d  bed  for  barley  or  oats. 
Of  a  certainty  there  Avill  be  none  early  soAvn,  and  the 
later  the  soAving  the  less  irrospect  there  is  of  yield  or 
quality.  February  is  out,  and  AA'ork  is  more  than  back- 
AA'ard  ;  no  start  having  been  made  at  all  Avith  spring  soAving. 
Speaking  for  ^  moment  on  the  subject  of  barley,  Ave  see 
(Avithout  surprise)  that  the  result  of  some  experimerits  in 
barley  culture  goes  again  to  prove  the  great  superiority  of 
the  old  “  Chevalier,”  as  contrasted  Avith  some  of  the  neAA^er 
and  highly  A'aunted  A’arieties.  Our  old  friend  gave  the 
greatest  yield  and  the  highest  Aveight  per  bushel.  It  is 
alAA'ays  a  faA'ourite  Avith  maltsters,  and  giA’en  a  faA’ourable 
season  there  is  none  prettier  in  sample.  It  is  Avonderful 
hoAv  this  old  favourite  keeps  its  place. 
Work  on  tlie  Home  Farm. 
We  are  happy  to  be  able  to  chronicle  a  change  to  better  condi¬ 
tions  for  Avork  on  the  land.  We  have  enjoyed  a  week  of  fair 
weather  with  drying  winds,  and  the  improvement  in  the  surface 
soil  is  most  satisfactory.  Farmers  are  once  more  ploughing  and 
dragging,  but  they  should  be  careful  not  to  commence  Avork  too 
soon.  There  is  A'ery  small  prospect  of  .severe  frost  noAA',  and  the 
pressure  of  hor.ses’  feet  on  the  land  should  be  aA'oided  until  the 
surplus  Avater  has  quite  drained  aAvay.  Some  farmers  begin  to 
talk  of  drilling,  but  it  must  be  only  talk,  for  even  on  the  best  of 
soils  Ladyday  is  not  too  late  a  date  for  soAving — and  there  is 
nearly  a  month  to  Ladyday  yet. 
There  is  one  item  of  AAork  AA'hich  may  be  AA'ell  done  at  the 
jiresent  time,  i.e.,  cabbage  planting.  The  land  may  be  manurecl 
• — and  it  is  difficult  to  put  on  too  much  muck — ploughed  and 
jilanted  on  the  same  day.  A  Avell  rooted  cabbage  can  stand  an 
immense  amount  of  knocking  about,  and  may  be  planted  under 
all  soi'ts  of  conditions.  Any  farmer  Avho  has  not  any  cabbages 
groAA'ing  and  Avishes  to  ensure  himself  against  .scarcity  of  keep 
next  August  AAould  make  no  mistake  in  buying  plants  for  a  feAV 
acres  and  planting  them  at  once.  The  plants  could  be  bought 
at  Is.  6d.  per  thousand,  and  Avith  raiLvay  carriage  AA'ould  co.st  no 
more  than  2s.  Well,  12,000  to  the  acre  at  2s.,  and  Is.  foi 
planting  (36s.  per  acre),  the  certainty  of  a  crop  (no  turnip  fly), 
and  a  crop  as  good  as  any  three  acres  of  turnips.  We  may 
appear  too  enthusiastic  about  cabbage  for  stock,  but  Ave  belieA’e 
there  is  nothing  so  A'aluable,  and  it-  is  only  the  trouble  and  extra 
labour  Avhich  preA-ent  a  great  increase  in  the  acreage.  We 
belieA'e  that  a  good  crop  of  cabbage  is  AA'orth  £10  per  acre  to 
consume  on  the  land,  and  AA'here  can  you  find  a  more  profitable 
one.^  ...  J.J. 
Beef  trade  is  improA'ing  again,  as  is  the  case  Avith  mutton 
also.  Lambing  is  progressing  Avell  ;  the  Avet  Avinter  and  enforced 
grass  diet  for  the  eAA'es  has  been  most  beneficial  to  them,  and  so 
far  Ave  liaA'e  a  A'ery  clean  bill  of  health.  W  e  see  a  feAv  very 
foi’Avard  lamhs  about,  and  think  that  the  consumer  of  Easter  lamb 
should  be  Avell  supplied.  c  i  •  u 
W’^e  liaA'e  been  delivering  potatoes  for  Avant  of  a  better  job, 
but  cannot  glut  the  markets,  which  are  very  brisk. 
