Farm and Garden.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 51, 13 January 1872, Page 6

Farm and Garden.

A WALK IN WESTMORELAND.

The year 1870 proved a most disastrous one as regarded the hay and green crops in the South of England ; whilst in the North a succession of showers in May and June made the meadows more than usually full of grass, and the hay was housed in the middle of July in excellent condition ; in fact, the yield was larger than were the demands of the district, and the slender crops of the south were supplemented, at a reasonable price, from the north. Green crops, too, were unusually luxuriant, and more bay was sold in consequence. A fortnight's tour in the lake districts of Lancashire, Cumberland, and Westmoreland, in the middle of July has induced me to make a few practical remarks on the agricultural position of these counties. Seeing much over which to rejoice and much to admire, I yet saw a good deal to deplore. First, then, in season, I was glad to see the excellent crops of hay grass. The meadows are very full, and the recent and almost daily showers have greatly thickened the under or bottom growth. Owing to the difficulty which has been experienced in working and housing, consequent on the showery season, a portion of the hay must have deteriorated in quality. Sufficient, however, remains to render the crop considerably above an average. Some farmers, in their eagerness to get the gras3uuder cover, took advantage of every glance of sunshine to shake out the hay. In those cases considerable harm has followed, whilst those who left it standing in cocks till a fine day came—and the wet and fine have been pretty alternatehoused it without material hurt. From the nature of the season, the fog or after grass must necessarily be a hearty crop ; meadows, from which the hay had been removed a fortnight previous, presented a most luxuriant growth. In many portions of the country, however, acres and acres of good meadow land are to be seen quite overgrown with the ox-eye daisy, and many fields present the appearance of having been visited by a heavy snow storm. The plague of locusts with which Egypt, was visited in the days of Pharoah was not more destructive than is this pest to the grass lands, and unless some united effort is made by farmers, and that speedily, it will entirely usurp the place of grass in the whole country Every practical farmer is well aware that cattle will not eat the ox-eye daisy in its green state, and only in the extremity of want will they eat them when mixed with hay. Such is the pertinacity of the see<?, that it will grow after passing through cattle. An easy method of clearing the pest is to pasture the land, where it prevails, by sheep for three succesive years. The sheep eagerly seek and nip the young flowers, and thus prevent them seeding; and if the farmer will take the precaution to cut off 1 the few flowers which, in some cases, may escape the sheep, three years will see his land relieved from the incumbus which now seriously threatens to destroy its fertility. This seems to me a duty which every agriculturist owes to himself, his landlord, and his neighbor. Another point we must briefly touch upon. As a nation, we are not able to grow sufficient produce to supply our wants. Yet, in the districts referred to, I have seen hundreds of acres of land, in the hands of landed proprietors, which did not produce one-tenth what they might be made to produce. From year to year, I was informed the land had been left untilled, and the scanty produce sold by auction, until, at the present time the grass crops are scarce worth the cost of labor to make them into hay. I should think a bill to compel landowners, in the interests of the nation, to properly fulfil their duties to their fellow men, might meet with more favor than have many bills of the present session. The green crops which are grown in the districts under observation are turnips, mangel-wurzel, carrots, potatoes, and a few cabbages; more of the latter might be grown to profit. In all these the crops are very heavy and healthy (potatoes being especially productive, and free from disease), mostly very clean, and evincing great care. That these counties will have a sufficiency of autumn and winter fodder seems now almost beyond the possibility of doubt. Of the fruit crops I cannot speak so favorably. A severe night's frost in the middle of May completely destroyed the blossom of very many orchards, and the trees now present a leaf-blackened appearance, as though blighted by lightning. Gooseberry-trees suffered from the same cause, and the caterpillar has also been very abundant. The latter pest is so easy of remedy that I wonder at its yearly infliction. A bunch of gorse (or, as it is called in some districts, whin), tied in the middle of the tree, is an unfailing preventive. Wheat and barley, of which there is a great breadth sown, particularly in Furness, evinces evidence of more than an average yield, and a fortnight of warm sunnv weather would make them ready for the reaping machine. Splendid in ear and long in stem —many of the fields showing a height of five and six feet respectively—the wheat and barley fields present a sight well calculated to gladden the eye of agriculturists. Of the corn crop I cannot speak so favorably. Looking from a distance, no fault can be discerned, but a close examination shows a woeful number of black or " smut" ears ; in fact, I never saw it more prevalent, and the quality of the grain will be much affected by it in the threshing and grinding. To prevent this, change of seed is frequently tried, but, in most cases, in vain. The surest method is to throw on to i the seed a spadeful of quick-lime, work it up with a hayrake till the seed is while, and then pass it through a pailful of old urine, or, as it is commonly called, " old chamber leg," and then dry. Another pest of the corn fields I was sorry to see most luxuriant, viz, " Wild Kail." Many acres of grain presented the appearance of the " Field of the Cloth of Gold." It is firmly believed by many farmera with

whom I conversed whilst on my tour, that, it impossible to eradicate this weed, which only springs into existence after the land has been ploughed. I know of waste lands, which had never previously been disturbed within the memory of man, on being gone over with the plough, produce a heavy crop. My remedy is to well and carefully harrow the land in the autumn, and thus eliminate all the" wicks ;" then green crop for the successive years, taking care to hand weed should any stragglers make their appearance. I do not say that this will in all cases totally eradicate the " kail," but if proper precaution be taken it will be many years before it will again cause the farmer any inconvenience. In conclusion, I congratulate the farmers of the North on their promising prospects. A fortnight of warm, sunny weather will give them crops of all and every description, such as has not been experienced for many previous years J.R.—(Our North Lancashire correspondent, writing on the 9th inst., says that " the hay harvest is now completed, and, owing to the almost tropical heat which has prevailed since Saturday last, a great quantity of hay, previously uncut, has been housed in good condition, thus rendering the well secured crop above an average. A succession of hot days, combined with brilliant sunshine, is also fast changing the color of the grain, and some farmers have commenced oat cutting. The fine weather has come in the nick of time, and will, no doubt materially alter the aspect of affairs for the better; and the grain crops of the district, which a week ago were viewed with despondency now promise a bright future. The same remarks will apply to green crops. Another week of similar weather to that of the present will place us in the midst of harvest.") t SORREL. A correspondent writing to the Melbourne " Leader" on the above pest makes the following suggestions:—The eradiction of sorrel calls for a succession of practical efforts which it may be well to enquire about. The time is appropriate, for many of the fields are disgraced with that peculiar redness of aspect that tells us the sorrel is far advanced towards ripeness, and will soon shed its seed to fill the soil for successive seasons with full crops of this hurtful weed. To lessen the evil as far as possible, I should advise that the sorrel be at once mown and raked together carefully, when it may be set fire to as soon aB it is dry enough. If the raking be done close upon the heels of the mower there will not be a very large quantity of seed dropping upon the ground ; but if it be some days cut before raking, much of the seed will shed, and the good done will be only a partial one. As soon as the eorrel has been destroyed by fire, there will be the roots to get rid of, and the first chance of ploughing in the hot sun should be taken, so that the roots may be exposed to the sun's action ; if dry weather lasts, as it will do undoubtedly at this season of the year, a second ploughing may be given after the interval of a fortnight, and then the drag harrows will rake out the long roots upon the surface, where they may be left to lie and wjther, or be raked or forked together and burned. But with all this care there will be sorrel left in the ground ; at the same time it may be noted that the burning of the sorral improves the soil where the fires stood, and the ploughing of the ground is what should be done for the spring crop even if there were no sorrel. Besides the cutting and burning of the sorrel destroys numberless other weedseeds ; therefore the labor is well bestowed. To give the sorrel a poor chance of recovery, a crop must be sown ; if the land be rich the crop of cereals will probably keep the remaining sorrel down, for sorrel cannot flourish without air. This is the secret of a good crop of peas seeming to destroy sorrel. It will also disappear from the soil where a large heap of even its own sort has lain for some time. But where the land is poor, or any considerable quantity of sorrel roots remain in the soil, a heavy dressing of manure is necessary on poor soil. The crop being light, and the sorrel getting plenty of air, it cannot be kept down by peas : also where sorrel is in excess, unless the peas be drilled or dibbled in rows and these hoed, it will override the peas, and grow with them, maturing its seed, although not spoiling the peas where the soil is good. With the conditions named above, including the thorough working of the soil, and on rich soil, peas may be sown, but to thoroughly check the sorrel vetches would be the best. These grow so thickly that they smother all other plants, ai?d on their being mown for sheep or cattle food, or hay, a fine clean surface presents itself. On this being immediately broken up it is fit for root crops, which when cleaned with the hoe causes the young sorrel from escaped seed, or root, to be destroyed. Subsequent ploughing in dry weather, and stirring of the surface on the appearance of young weeds, fits the land for cereals most likely for heavy crops. If the vetches have been consumed on the ground by sheep, the soil is so much more benefited. As all the good effects of proper ploughing and manuring to kill sorrel may be counteracted by a surplusage of water spoiling the proper crop, and giving sorrel a chance, attention must be paid to surface drainage at least. Under drainage requires an outlay of capital, but it is preferable in many situations. Sorrel is a plant that luxuriates in hot weather, and in one very dry season and when feed was scarce I kept a number of cows where the sorrel had grown up in the peas. The peas were picked green for market, and the crops was merely a fair one. It must be remembered that it is only a very heavy crop of peas that covers the ground which will check sorrel, not eradicate it, for it will appear again in other crops if nothing else is done. At that time labor was scarce and dear, or the peas could have been kept clean with the hoe ; nevertheless the cutting up of the sorrel would have been merely a temporary remedy. The cows fed on sorrel kept in fair condition, and gaye a good

quantity of milk, but it was very much devoid of cream. From the look of the animals it would seem sorrel is not an unwholesome plant j bu* it is a nuisance among crops, and to keep it down it must be continually cut. This may be done with vegetables; but with farm crops it would appear that the proper mode of destroying it is to farm the land rationally; and in so doing you get heavy crops of the right sort, and very little sorrel. We would urge the advantages of careful selection in seed on all those who may wish to increase their yield of grain without adding to the cost of production. The difference in the yield of judiciously selected seed, compared with that taken in a haphazard fashion, is very great, much more so than most farmers who have not tried it would be inclined to credit. Many who would readily admit the possibility of making double the amount of flesh from a given quantity jf food by means of cattle as compared with common scrubbers, would shake their heads by way of expressing doubt, or deny it point blank, if - told that the produce of a field might be doubled in grain by the use of carefully and judiciously selected seed. Yet such is the case. Owing to the fact that we have always had new land to break up, and that farmers, for the purpose of getting clean seed, endeavor to obtain it from new land, comparatively good seed is obtained. The more land that is brought under " cultivation," as it is erroneously called, and scourged into poverty by constant grain-growing, the more will become the necessity for saving seed by selection. If the largest and finest ears are not saved and grown on good land, until the produce increases to a sufficient quantity for use on a large scale, the best portion of the crop should bo saved at all events. And not only should attention be paid to the selection of seed, but also to the mode of threshing. Seed corn should always be threshed out with the flail. Last seed time we had grievous reports of the loss suffered in the Western district from the neglect of this precaution, and in some instances it was stated that large areas had to be re-sown owing to the machine threshed seed having been used. Wherever it will pay to grow cereals at all, the grower will find himself amply compensated for the time he may spend and the attention devoted to selecting, threshing, and changing his seed, for all these exercise an important influence on the yield of crops.