August  27,  19C3. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
207 
Trade  Catalogues  Received.  ‘ 
Bulbs. 
E.  P.  Dixon  and  Sons,  The  Yorkshire  Seed  Establishment,  Hull. 
Ph.sher,  Son.  and  Sibray,  Ltd..  Royal  Nurseries.  Sheffield. 
Little  and  Ballantyne,  Carlisle. 
.].  R.  Pearson  and  Sons.  Chihvell  Nurseries.  Lowdh.am,  Notts. 
Toogood  and  Sons.  Southampton. 
Webb  and  Sons.  Wordsley,  Stourbridge. 
Disappointments. 
(  ' 
TIib  harvest  moon  has  again  risen,  waxed  and  waned,  but 
it  has  looked  down  on  little  harvest  work,  and  such  as  there 
is  in  course  of  doing  is  not  of  a  satisfactory  nature.  We 
had  no  real  winter,  we  had  no  spring,  and  even  less  summer. 
Taking  the  country  all  round,  the 'rainfall  has  been  abnor¬ 
mally  heavy  and  the  t-enTperature  low.  ' 
A  wet  June  gave  h'p'pes  of- a" -dry  July,  but  alas  for  the  • 
futility  of  such  hopes  f*  Jubv  ‘d|*ett:fer  than  has  been  knowip 
for  forty-five  years.  The  dull,  cldudy  days  make  the  evening’ 
shadows  appear  to  fall  early,  and  the  blustering  winds' 
sound  like  the  foreiainners  of  autumn.  Tf  often  happens 
that  the  South  country  harvest  is  cut  and  gathered  in  broken 
weather,  and  then  our  friends  of  the  North  reasonably', 
expect,  and  generally ,  get,-,  better  weather  for  their  more, 
backward  crops.  ^  i 
We  doubt  if  this  is  going  to  be  the  case  this  year,  unless,- 
indeed,  the  fine  weather  is  holding  back  for  the  Scottish 
harvest.  Not  only  is  corn  slow  in  ripening,  but  much  of  it 
is  badly  laid  and  storm-broken,  thus  making  the  difficidties 
of  harvesting  four-fold.  No  reaper  or  binder  yet  invented 
can  deal  with  a  crop  "of  heavy  corn  laid,  torn,  and  twisted, 
as  some  fields  at  present  are.  Here  comes  in  the  difficulty 
to  that  man  who,  depending  on  machinery,  has  failed  to 
secure  adequate  hands. 
It  may  be  thought  by  some  that  the  present  high  winds 
which  prevail  will  be  of  advantage  to  the  farmer.  True,  they 
help  to  dry  the  land,  and  also — and  this  is  a  serious  business 
— do  much  damage  by.  “necking”  such  Barleys  as  are 
approaching  ripeness.  A  field  of  “  neeked  ”  Barley  '  once  ■ 
seenqs, never  forgotten.  The  forest  of  straws  standingffiead- 
less,  or.  with  the  ear  hanging,  as  it  were;  fey  a*th¥efidv  ready-' 
on  the  first  touch  to  fall  to  the  ground.  'Why  Barley' should 
“  neck  ”  is  not  quite  apparent.  Possibly  thbre  Is^Ar  komemf 
the  new  and  best  varieties  of  Barle/ ‘a  lack  of  tenacity  in' 
the  straw,' for  we  usually  think  of  grain  As  bending  to  the' 
breeze,  not  breaking.  To.  gather  up  these  fallen  head's  is  ah 
impossible  task,  and  the  loss  ner  acre  is  considerable.  We 
fancy  Oats  so  far  are  hardly  ripe  enough,  to  enable  the  wind 
to  thresh  out  the  upper  grains,  and  so,  for  the  present,  they, 
are  safe.  Where  Barley,  through  being  laid,  has  partially  i 
escaped  the  necking  process  the  damage  also  will  be  great, 
for  laid  crops  never  fill  or  ripen  evenly,  and  even  ripening  is 
the  most  important  factor  in  making  a  good  sample  for  the 
maltster.  We  all  know  what  indifferent  stuff  “night-ripe” 
fruit  is,  and  laid  corn  may  be  ranked  pretty  much  in  the 
same  category. 
We  have  been  reading  the  “  crop  returns  ”  for  the  United; 
Kingdom,  and  the  variations  in  the  estimates  in  thi^. small 
area  are  very  great.  All  writers  allow  that  hay  and  Beans 
are  well  above  the  average,  two  crops  which  require  (and 
Lave  got  this  year)  almost  excessive  moisture.  Wliat  has 
struck  us  about  the'  Bean  crop  is  its  exceeding  cleanliness-vr-, 
no  black  fly  or  lice,  and  the  haulms  corned  up  to  the  very  top. 
A  good  Bean  crop  is  a  valuable  asset,  especially  if  Maize, 
continues  to  rise  in  value. 
Oats,  too,  have  profited  by  the  moisture,  and  the  root 
crops  generally,  with  the  exception  of  Mangolds.  Lack  of 
warmth  has  been  a  drawback  to  the  Mangold  ;  also  the  late, 
untoward  spring  was  the  cause  of  much  Mangold  land  being 
but  badly  prepared  for  seed.  There  was  a  difficulty-  in 
getting  a  full  tilth,  and  a  line  soil  is  what  the  sproutihg 
Mangold  loves.  Wheat,  Barley,  and  Potatoes  come  out 
badly  in  the  reports.  There  is  a  constant  complaint  of  lack 
of  sunshine,  without  which  Wheat  cannot  show  a  good, 
plumn  berry.  There  is  still  time  for  Potatoes  to  improve  ; 
that  is,  if  disease  does  not  appear,  and  the  South  cnun'ry 
reports  speak  of  the  prevalence  of  it.  So  far,  we  believe  tne 
northern  counties  have  escaped,  but  what  may  be  the  result 
of  a  continuance  of  tliis  damp,  heavy  weather  we  should 
not  like  to  say. 
It  is  always  supposed  that  the  Eastern  counties  are 
peculiarly  dry.  This  >ear  has  proved  the  exception.  A 
rainfall  in  July  of  5  to  7  inches  from  North  Shields  to; Brent¬ 
wood  in  Essex  does  not  seem  like  the  record  of  a  very-  dry 
countiy.  Surely  the  times  are  topsy  turvy.  There  is  one 
thing  in  favour  of  this  “  droppy  ”  time,  and  that  is  “Keep.” 
Of  course,  under  this  head  will  be  included  the  growing 
TurnipiS,  the  grass  proper,  and  the  eddish.  There  is  always 
a  risk  for  lambs  Avhen  the  pasture  is  full  of  groAvth  and  the 
herbage  more  or  less  unripe,  but  a  careful  flock  master  will, 
bv  the  use  of  dry,  hard  foods,-  counteract  the  effects  of  too 
much  succulence.  It  is  a  great  blessing  to  have  plenty,  and 
wi|,li  the  well-won  hay  crop  winter  will  have  less  terrors 
than  usual. 
.i.Now  for  disappointment  again.  Government,  look  out ! 
We  have  several  indictments  against  our  legislators.  How  , 
can  we  compare  the  cars  of  Juggernaut  -with  our  fiendish  i 
motors  ?  They  are  mild  in  comparison,  for  if  we  remember  ' 
aright  the  Juggernaut  cars  are  only  driven 'put'  at  festival  ' 
times  ;  but  these  motors  are  u^|)n,nS|.for  „eVeF.  They  talk 
about  no  danger  with  a  twenty  ,x:p(le  ‘sp,eed  on  country  roa.c|t^!'““ 
Are  there  no  teams  passing  to  and  fro  from  the'  homestead'^ 
toJhe  field  ?  No  hehds  of  s^o,wvmqyipg'  cattle  ?  Nq  flpefe  of 
shepp.?.  No  lumbering,  heav-j^  carriers’ .  carts,?  No,  ladies, -in 
out, in- their  pony  carriages?  ,  As.  to  the  latter,  they  wnll  be,  ,1 
driven  from  the  roads  altogether,  it -was  bad  enough-  to-L 
pass  a  locomotive  when  the  flag  man  led  a  restive  pony  past, 
but  how  will  it  be  novv  ?  Ami,’  in  case "pf  nccident,  who  will 
be  able  to  prove  negligent  ..a  chauffeur?  We  know  of  many 
a  mile  of  country  road  bordViidd  on  each  side  by  deep,  fear¬ 
some  drains.  How  about  the  occupant  of 'a  light  pony  cart 
under  circumstances  of  that  kind?  Life  has  new’  terrors 
that  our  fathers  never  imagined.  ^  "  ^ 
We  see  only  to-day  two  cases  in  different  counties  where 
drivers  in  charge  of  motor-cars' w'efe  found  to  be  incabablV 
drunk — fine  £2  in  each  case  !  Is  that  ade'quate  ?' '  A' motbr  ; 
under  control  is  bad  enough;  a  motor  und^r  the  charge jof  a 
mailman  or  an  iucapabld  is  simply  an  eugi.ue  of  most  terribly  ; 
destructive  powers.  Is  it  possible  that  the  fine  is  limiteW 
to  £2?  We  hardly  know  at  what  figure  it  should  be  put  if  ? 
public  safety.be.  in  the  least  .consulted.'  , 
Aeain,  supposing  the  motor-car  is  perfectly  harmless, 
what  of -the  d-estruction  of  the  -  horse-breeding  industry.? 
WhaT  of  the  smaller  demand  for  good  old  Oats  and  sound, 
well-got  hay?  We  are  told  w’e  must  utilise  motor  power  on 
our  farms.  Well,'  it  will  have  to  get  a  great  deal  cheaper  first,  ; 
and  a  race  of  men  must  be  bred  and  trained  specially  for  the 
management  thereof.  We  fancy  at  the  next  election  (which; 
cannot  be  far  off)  intending  ca,ndidates  will  hear  more' than  ^ 
they,  possibly  like  on  the  question.  Let  us  hope  they  won’t 
unduly  irritate  the  minds  of  their  constituents  (especiahy  in  ; 
the  rural  districts)  by  coming  round  on  the  canvass  with  a 
motor  running  at  full  legal  speed.  At  the  last  election  very - 
disparaging  remarks  were  heard  here  about  the  rnan  who 
went  round  in  a-,  puffing,  hissing  machine,  and  it  is  a  fact-: 
that  the  man  wffio  drove  the  pair  of  clinking  good  horses  is - 
our  representative  at  present ! 
We  have  not  got  the  Butter  Bill  through— one  of  the' 
many  innocents  slaughtered.  Everything  seemed  pressed- 
to  the  wall  to  make  room  for  twenty'  miles  an  hour!  '  We 
had  also  thought  that  our  interests  were  of  such  importance 
as  to  merit  the  sole  attention  of  the  special  Minister  told  off 
to  represent  us.  Our  industry  is  beset  with  trials  and  diffi¬ 
culties  all  along  the  line,  and  yet  Lord  Onslow  is  taking  in 
hand  as  well  as-  our  affairs  those  of  the  Fishery  Board.  We  .- 
fail  to  see  anything  analogous  in  the  two  departments, 
except  that  one  relating  to  the  harvest  of  the  land— the  - 
other  to  that  of  the  sea.  A  friend  who  is  farmer  and  smack- 
owner  draw's  a  larger  revenue  from  the  latter-  tha,.n  the 
former.  Lord  Onslow  will  be  a  man  of  great  versatility  and  • 
power  if  he  can  manage  both  departments  with  success. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
At  la.st  the  reapers  are  at  work  but  four  clays  later  than  the 
date  we  fixecl  at  inidsuniiner.  The  crop.s  even  now  are  none  too 
ripe,  neither  the  weather  too  propitiou.s,  hut  there  may  be  many-' 
