564 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  30,  1904 
The  Yellow  Peril. 
How  quick  we  are  to  take  up  any  new  phrase  or  catch  word, 
and  give  it  place  and  position  in  the  language  of  the  day.  The 
English  of  100  years  hence  will  be  more  totally  different  from 
the  English  of  to-day  than  ever  was  our  speech  in  the  days  of 
the  early  Georges.  ’  AVe  steal  and  pilfer  from  all  nations,  we 
are  so  cosmopolitan;  we  are  far  travelled  and  deeply  read,  and 
we  are  really  more  adaptable  than  our  neighbours  credit. 
The  yellow  peril— the  phrase  is  practically  new,  and  some 
sharp  farmer  has  with  a  pretty  wit  associated  it  with  a  great 
pest  and  nuisance.  If  only  we  had  a  few  of  the  industrious, 
hard-working  yellow  men  we  should  suggest  the  only  remedy 
that  we  consider  truly  effectual,  i.e.,  hand  pulling.  “Times 
is,  times  was,”  and  labour  is  not  to  be  had  for  minor  industries. 
AVe  remember  in  the  days  of  our  youth  the  gangs  of  women 
and  children  who,  by  their  united  labour,  soon  rid  the  corn 
fields  of  the  strong  growing  yellow  flowered  ketlocks,  charlocks, 
or  wild  mustard.  Once  pulled  up  the  danger  for  another  season 
is  removed.  Should  once  a  plant  flower  and  seed  (and  the  seed 
is  very  plentiful)  the  plague  will  recur  sooner  or  later.  The 
ketlock  seed  will  lie  dormant  for  a  great  length  of  time.  Being 
of  an  oily  nature  it  is  self-protecting.  AA^e  lately  dug  up  some 
very  old  turf  in  air  orchard,  or  rather  where  an  orchard  had 
once  been,  and  to  our  astonishment  we  find  we  have  as  fine  a 
crop  of  ketlock  as  heart  could  wish.  How  long  the  seed  has 
been  there  we  cannot  say,  nor  have  we  any  idea  where,  in  the 
first  instance,  it  came  there.  Ketlock  is  the  greatest  nuisance 
when  it  appears  in  a  barley  crop.  Among  swedes  or  turnips 
it  disappears  under  the  hoe ;  it  adds  to  the  bulk  of  the  weeds ; 
but,  stiu,  being  a  weed,  is  dug  and  effectually  removed.  Hoe¬ 
ing  corn,  even  wheat,  is  not  fashionable,  and,  of  course,  if 
seeds  are  sown  among  the  barley,  hoeing  is  not  practicable. 
If  a  field  be  very  badly  infested  with  ketlock,  it  might  be  wise 
to  let  corn  and  weed  grow  together  till  the  latter  was  in  flower, 
and  then  cut  the  crop  and  make  hay.  It  would  be  capital  feed 
and  an  effectual  remedy.  But  we  cannot  well  spare  our  barley 
crop,  and,  therefore,  w^e  must  seek  to  destroy  the  weeds  wutho  it 
injury  to  the  precious  seed.  Here  science  comes  to  our  aid, 
and  tells  us  our  end  may  be  gained  by  “spraying.”  But 
spraying,  like  matrimony,  must  not  be  entered  upon  un¬ 
advisedly  or  lightiy,  for  the  cost  is  a  consideration,  and  an 
expert  is  almost  needed  to  properly  mix  the  spray,  and  to  suit¬ 
ably  administer  it.  It  is  a  very  easy  thing  to  get  a  solution 
too  strong  or  too  weak,  to  apply  it  on  an  unsuitable  day,  and 
to  apply  it  w^hen  the  w’eeds  have  attained  to  such  growth  as  to 
make  them  difficult  to  kill. 
Now'  as  to  the  question  of  cost.  According  to  an  eminent 
authority  a  good  up-to-date  sprayer  will  cost  £30.  A  cheaper 
kind  of  sprayer  fitted  to  the  body  of  a  cart  will  cost  from  £7 
to  £9.  The  present  price  of  sulphate  of  copper  is  32s.  per  cwt., 
and  151b  at  least  w'iil  be  necessary  per  acre.  Also  it  is  quite 
possible,  and  very  probable,  that  a  farmer,  unless  he  be  par¬ 
ticularly  cute,  may  be  served  w'itli  adulterated  sulphate  of  copper, 
and  thus  the  results  obtained  by  the  most  carefid  spraying  w'ill 
be  very  disappointing.  It  has  been  pretty  conclusively  proved 
by  repeated  experiment  that  a  solution  of  5  per  cent,  strength^ 
at  the  rate  of  SOgalls  per  acre,  W'ill  effectually  kill  the  weed. 
The  best  time  to  apply  is  when  the  w^eed  is  young,  just  having 
come  into  the  rough  leaf.  The  day  of  application  must  be 
still  and  dull.  Unfortunately,  w’e  cannot  arrange  the  w'eather 
for  the  following  days,  but  bright  sunshine  will  do  much  lo 
finish  off  any  little  bit  of  life  left  in  the  sprayed  weed.  A 
soaking  rain  immediately  after  the  spraying  may  be  looked 
upon  rather  in  the  nature  of  a  calamity.  Sometimes  it  will 
happen  that  new  weeds  will  appear  after  the  first  are  effectually 
killed,  and  some  experts  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  two  sprayings 
of  solution  of  3  per  cent,  strength  given  at  the  interval  of  a 
fortnight  are  of  more  ultimate  value  than  one  dressing  of  a 
5  per  cent,  strength.  There  seems  to  be  great  reason  in  this. 
Happily,  this  spray  mixture  does  not  act  adversely  on  the  corn 
crop  or  the  equally  valuable  young  clover  that  is  growing  with 
anu  amongst  it.  It  is  easy  to  see  the  value  of  more  light  and 
air  for  the  young  plants  w'hich  the  removal  of  the  w^eedy  grow  th 
will  allow',  and  also  weeds  do  not  subsist  on  nothing,  but  take 
more  than  their  share  of  moisture,  and  the  valuable  manurial 
ingredients  contained  in  the  soil. 
Professor  AAh'ightson  has  a  most  practical  suggestion  to 
make  anent  this  spraying  business.  It  does  not  seem  to  come 
quite  w’ithin  the  scope  of  the  ordinary  farmer,  and  he  is  dis¬ 
posed  to  think  it  w'ould  be  better  if  there  should  be  a  body  of 
men  set  apart  for  the  profession  of  spraying.  AA'e  have  gangs 
of  sheep  clippers,  gangs  of  sheep  dippers,  hedging  and  drain¬ 
ing  experts,  shepherds  w'ho  salve  sheep  and  dress  for  scab, 
and  therefore  why  not  sprayers  who,  equipped  with  all  up-to- 
date  apparatus,  and  w'ith  a  know'ledge  of  suitable  spray 
mixture,  who,  on  receipt  of  a  post  card,  would  come  and  do  the 
job,  and  relieve  the  farmer  of  extra  w'ork  just  at  a  time  when 
he  is  so  busy  that  he  does  not  know'  w'hat  to  do  fir.st.  Of  course 
in  some  districts  hops  Avould  receive  attention.  AA'^e  believe  the 
process  as  applied  to  hops  is  known  as  w'ashing,  but  it  is  in 
reality  the  same  thing.  Just  at  this  date  we  should  be  thank¬ 
ful  for  an  expert  to  undertake  the  spraying  of  our  Plum  trees, 
W'hich  are  covered  with  an  unwholesome  looking  blight.  Apple 
orchards,  too,  w'ould  profit  by  a  suitable  application.  And  then 
there  is  a  great  field  for  enterprise  in  our  vast  stretches  of 
Potato  land.  AA^e  believe  here  that  in  the  immediate  future 
the  spraying  of  the  growing  Potato  crop  wull  be  considered 
quite  as  necessary  as  earthing  up  and  hoeing.  Possibly,  too, 
the  turnip  fly  might  be  treated  to  a  mixture  w'hich  would  make 
his  life  a  short  one,  if  not  a  merry  one. 
Surely  the  composition  of  suitable  dressings,  their  action  on 
plant  and  insect  life,  might  be  a  capital  subject  for  technical 
classes  during  the  coming  w'inter.  A\^e  give  this  hint  for  what 
it  is  worth.  The  increased  yield  of  a  field  of  barley  or  oats 
W'ill  pay  for  the  cost  of  dressing,  besides  the  feeling  of  satis¬ 
faction  there  must  be  in  seeing  a  good  even  crop.  That  the 
Bordeaux  mixture  checks,  if  not  stops,  the  ravages  of  the 
Potato  disease  has  been  proved  beyond  doubt,  even  the  most 
doubting  Thomas  of  a  farm  labourer  can  see  that,  and  if  the 
turnip  crop  could  be  saved  in  a  like  manner  the  gain  would 
be  immense.  Of  course  there  are  seasons  when  the  little  turnip 
plants  race  away  without  fear  or  favour,  but,  again,  on  many 
soils  it  is  almost  as  difficult  of  cultivation  as  a  rare  exotic.  At 
the  best  it  is  an  expensive  crop,  but  we  have  found  nothing  yet 
to  take  its  place  in  the  economy  of  the  farm.  AVe  know  some 
people  W'ho  cavil  w'hen  w'e  speak  of  the  value  of  a  good  crop  of 
swedes,  but  we  still  pin  our  faith  to  a  good  acreage — this,  of 
course,  especially  in  a  sheep-breeding  district,  w'here  the  turnip 
crop  makes  the  best  possible  preparation  for  a  thumping  barley 
yield,  and  that  of  the  very  best  maltster’s  quality. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm, 
The  rain  which  so  delighted  us  last  w'eek  very  soon  ceased, 
and  w  e  have  had  such  drying  winds  and  hot  sunshine  since  that 
its  good  effects  have  already  disappeared.  As  we  expected,  it 
gave  an  excellent  fillip  to  the  young  swedes,  and  in  them  only 
can  we  now'  discern  any  visible  benefit. 
Clover  and  hay  crops  have  been  dwindling  rather  than  in¬ 
creasing  their  bulk,  and  farmers  are  w'isely  cutting  them  down, 
as  the  W'eather  seems  so  settled  that  as  good  a  chance  of  getting 
some  good  fodder  may  not  occur  again.  AA"heat  and  early 
barley  w'ill  soon  be  in  ear,  but  the  straw  w'ill  be  a  foot  too  short 
unless  rain  comes  before  they  are  shot  level. 
As  noted  above,  sw'edes  have  grown  quickly,  but  are  hardly 
ready  to  strike  out.  A\’^e  like  them  to  get  a  good  size  before 
they  are  thinned.  AVe  also  make  a  point  of  skerrying  very 
close  up  to  the  plants  whilst  yet  there  are  plenty  of  them.  To 
go  as  close  after  they  have  been  singled  avouIcI  risk  knocking 
many  of  them  up. 
AVe  have  finished  drilling  turnips,  except  a  few  which  w'ill 
succeed  the  vetches  niow'ii  green.  We  are  ploughing  this  vetch 
land,  as  it  is  cleared,  but  it  W'iil  be  some  time  before  w'e  have 
a  breadth  Avorth  soAving.  These  late  turnips  do  not  often  attain 
a  large  size,  but  they  stand  frost  Avell,  and  are  useful  in  the 
lambing  season.  There  is  ahvays  a  chance,  too,  of  selling  them 
for  bunching  ;  therefore  y-'e  soav  a  AVhite  Globe  as  being  the  most 
saleable  for  that  purpose.  Mangold  hoeing  and  stz’iking  out 
the  early  Green  Globes  finds  our  hands  plenty  of  occupation 
Avithout  any  attention  to  the  hay. 
AVe  have  to-day  seen  some  hay  (June  21)  stacked,  only  three 
clear  days  having  elapsed  since  it  AA  as  cut.  It  Avas  only  turned 
once,  so  has  been  very  inexpensive  of  labour.  It  Avould  be  very 
handy  to  get  ours  so  quickly,  as  the  SAvede  hoeing  w'ill  so  soon 
make  great  claims  on  our  limited  force  of  men. 
Grass  moAvers  have  been  in  great  request,  as  also  have  the 
machine  makers  Avho  repair  them,  for  farmers  Avill  not  send 
their  moAV'ers  to  be  got  ready  until  the  very  last  moment,  with 
the  result  that  so  many  come  in  at  once  that  some  perforce 
must  wait.  Those  Avho  have  harvesters  needing  repair  would 
do  AA'ell  to  pack  them  off  at  once  to  the  nearest  machine 
shop. 
Market-day  Lectures. 
The  above  gives  a  title  to  a  brochure  of  abstracts  of 
addresses  to  farmers,  delivered  in  the  County  Technical  Labora¬ 
tories,  Chelmsford,  on  Fz'iday  afternoons  during  the  winter 
months,  1903-4.  Some  of  the  lectures  deal  Avith  the  following 
subjects  : — Principles  involved  in  the  improvement  of  a  herd, 
either  for  beef  or  milk ;  Exhaustion  of  land  by  dairying ;  AVheat 
groAA'ing  in  Kansas :  a  contrast ;  the  quality  of  English  wheat ; 
and  “Are  cheap  guanos  AA'orth  buying  at  present  prices?” 
